Don't try this at home

JustinRVA said:
I wouldn't think you could use the fat gripz on bench. They don't turn or slide?
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They do slide a bit unless you grip properly. Using them gave me my first ever noticeable bicep tension from bench press, really bizarre but worth a go.
Trying to use them where ever I can at the moment, really are bizarre kit to play with. Not thought of a way to use them safely on squats but that's fine.
I want to integrate them as part of standard training after this block but at the moment it's mostly about new toys.
 
Well last night's deadlift session turned into a five mile run to fetch my wife and son as she was not feeling capable of driving safely. I didn't bother timing it but know it was around 40 to 45 minutes despite having to allow the family dog to take numerous toilet breaks along the way. Dog is a lousy distance runner, took about an hour and a half to stop panting.
 
She's not a running breed, far from it in fact, soppy, affectionate with a constipation cure bark that beats any burglar alarm, but not a runner. She can beat me for almost a mile but after that she needs to slow down.
Wife struggling recovering from something recently and it's taking it out of her. We'll get there.
 
I have a lab/pit mix and I love running with her because when I start to slow down, she just keeps pulling me. Hope all is well with the family.
 
Ours is a Rott. They can run well for short distance and recover while walking but distance running is not her thing. She could walk across the country but that's her limit.
 
Good stuff on the HIIT. I used to do HIIT with a buddy of mine where we would push his car across a parking lot, jog back, 2 minute rest and repeat.
 
Sometimes you just have to leave all the tech behind. I generally do my best runs that way (of course poor Tom is usually trying to cover both of us with times!).
 
I need the tech for timings, I would lose count otherwise. Only look at it at the very end.
Finishing squats didn't happen. Interval sessions left my legs and rib cage very sore and walking was fun without weight.
 
Deadlifts 52-Oct-2013

I think these are improving. The failure when I set up the worng weight is not here.
The lyrics are potentially nsfw on the background music.

[video=youtube_share;1kUlEB2xqGc]http://youtu.be/1kUlEB2xqGc[/video]
 
Unrealistic targets 2014 and review for 2013

Review first. Unrealistic targets were to get running up to 8mph and lifts up to 100kg on bench and 200 on squat and bench. Total achieved 0, not new, that's why they are classed as my unrealistic targets.
The running got close a few times and in fairness I wanted to get and stay above 7.5mph average and I have done that even with putting on an extra 8 pounds of body weight. The gain in weight was why I wanted to get the pace back up having realised I had slowed down due to carrying more bulk.
Injury meant the lifting took a hammering and I am very pleased with how well I have recovered. I have moved these targets aside and replaced them with shorter term goals that are achievable without endangering myself. Recovery is virtually complete, to the extent I don't even think about it now but I know I have to take a bit of care none the less.

Next years unrealistic target is a dousy with chances of success well away from the slim on slim to none level but it is something I have always wondered about and I have decided to give it a go.

Gaining muscle and losing fat simultaneously.

In the last year or so despite having remained constant weight for between 15 and 20 years I have gained mass very easily. A bit of blubber has accompanied it but surprisingly a lot of this has been muscle mass and I am quite happy with this. At my current rate of gain it is likely that I will hit a very important threshold within a matter of months and this is the driving force behind this unrealistic goal.
The average person has a pint of blood for every stone (14 pounds) of bodyweight up to 14 pints, there are variations to this but as a person of average height etc. this is the maximum weight I would want to be. If there is not enough blood to feed the body it promotes risk of high blood pressure and puts undue stress on the heart, many wouldn't care but even though I know in reality it is likely lifestyle too many of my family or died from have heart issues to take risks with mine.
My current weight is just over 13 stone 8 (190 pounds or 86.5kg) leaving just under 6 pounds of gain before I hit the highest weight I would want to be, not a lot in the grand scale. Once I get to that weight I would still like to have more muscle and lose some of the fat I have gained in the last couple of years.
My body fat percentage is based on a set of monitor scales, so not 100% accurate or close to but they do give me a trend and that is important. I also know from having used stand on scales and hand held monitors that these register higher for me so give the more pessimistic view, I also think they are pretty close to the truth. Last weigh in put me at my heaviest ever just as above with 18% body fat. Ideal athletic range is anything between 10 and 20% for a male so I am perfectly fine as I am, but this means I can lose 45% of my current fat and still be within this range. 18% of 190 pounds is 34.2 pounds 45% of this is just over 15 pounds so plenty to play with while staying safe.

Traditional wisdom states that to gain muscle there has to be a calorific excess to avoid the body simply catabolising the muscle you have built. But I have witnessed and trained people carrying a lot of excess who have been able to train the body in such a way that they were able to build muscle using the excess fat in their bodies as fuel for the recovery and growth phase. I would like to find out if my excess could do the same as it did for them.
Reality check time. The body doesn't like losing it's fat stores, they are the equivilant to the rainy day fund, and there needs to be enough coming in to make the body comfortable using this fat fund on a regular basis for training or recovery energy. My body is used to burning fat in training and recovery regularly but it doesn't generally have to do this in a deficit because I eat a lot. Of course the lower my body fat goes them more my body will want to cling on to it as well so this should be interesting even if it works.

So what makes me so special? Doing this is quite an arrogant aim even though I accept it's liklihood of failure but I have some advantages.

1. I don't actually care if it works of not. This is my unrealistic goal, most of them don't happen, so if this is another one I won't be upset, just know the traditional view is likely the truth.
2. I am a fat burning machine. High metabolism ectomorphs who regularly do high intensity aerobic activity like running at my ARMHR for 40 or so minutes at a time burn fat like no-one else. This means I am the best candidate from this side of the experiment. My body may well see the fat as perfectly valid fuel.
3. High carb diet. I am used to eating loads of carbs all of the time and this will tell my body we are in a constant time of plenty so it should view the fat as more disposable and less precious.
4. Time. I am not in a hurry. The deficit I will be aiming for will be as little as a few hundred calories a day, something I am hoping the body will not even notice. This is currently a target for next year but could well extend beyond that into 2015 or beyond. I have been training decades and will do for decades more, there's no rush.

Obstacles
1. I build muscle very slowly, or at least I normally do. There is a good chance I could find myself losing fat and getting leaner without gaining any muscle at all. The ectomorph in me will make this hard.
2. I don't calorie count. servings are clumsy at best when I prep food and I am used to eating well, trimming a little amount will be tricky for me as I have never disciplined myself to do so before, never needed to.

Monitoring.
I will be doing a photo log and using the scales to monitor this. Will aim for weekly on this, if I miss one I will wait a full week.
The photos will not be the media style before and after, they will be standing in the same place, in front of the same mirror, with no tension and a relaxed out breath to keep things as consistant as possible.
The scales aren't perfect but will give me trends to judge by.

Judgement will be based on weight, percentage body fat and appearance of muscle. Much as I aim for function over form this will be an area where I will rely on the eye.
 
I am totally convinced this is possible to do (and believe I am in the midst of doing it - having started about 18 months ago). As you point out, it is slow going but when you have the time to do it why not? The end result is positive and fits in nicely with your running and strength goals, realistic or otherwise.

I look forward to reading all about it!
 
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