I'm concluding my third week on my new program and loving it.

I've enjoyed more consistency with training and nutrition than in years before and am confident I will reach my goal.

Two things I wanted to share.

First is a philosophy for weight training, and second is the science behind setting REAL tangible calorie targets.

I've been following a program designed by Ian King, whom I consider to be the TOP strength training coach in the world. I've studied his methods and invested in all of his products over the past decade and truly believe he understands how to create a program to achieve optimal results based on the individual.

One of his philosophies I've adopted is the notion of a 3 or 4 week cycle for training. Now, it seems common that most people say, "Switch things around every 4 weeks" etc but such generic advice can only go so far. I say, "If it's not broke, don't fix it" and if your goal is a maximum bench press and your routine has you increasing your bench strength every week, why stop?

My goal right now is not to maximize my bench ... it is to get in optimal shape. Part of being consistent with a routine is having fun and doing the same routine for me is NOT fun. That's why I'm looking forward to changing my training every few weeks. So, with that in mind, the 3 week philosophy works well for me.

It goes like this: pick an exercise regimen, then target 3 weeks.

The first week is your discovery week. Figure out how to use the weights, how you'll go from one machine to the next (for example, with trisets where you do three different exercises without rest, you'll have to learn how to stage the weights so they're ready for you). You'll probably need to tweak your weights to figure out what the right weight is.

Some people get so frustrated on their first workout because nothing seems to go right. It takes forever to swap weights, you think you know the weight but either its way too light or so heavy you can't finish the set. Instead of getting frustrated, always look at your first workout as that "discovery" phase. A successful workout is just coming out of it having a good idea of how it is SUPPOSED to work and what your weights should be.

So, week one - discovery.

Next is week two. This is the "execution" week. You should be able to finish all of your workouts because you've taken good notes week 1 and adjusted your weights. You have a great workout but you are able to finish all sets and reps because the weights are realistic. This week will be a good week because having a focused, intense workout is going to produce a response. This has essentially been my "second" week because I did one week sort of all over the place, then received my home gym and was able to target it very focused downstairs. I'm sore all over and know it was a good week.

Finally, week three ... "overload." This is the week I don't intend to finish ANY set. WHAT?! That's right. Week three I take week two and then I load extra weights. I add a lot so it's heavy and intense. I'm overloading and guaranteeing a more intense workout by virtue of overload. So this is the real "down to the grit" push hard and really find your limits workout.

That's it. Three weeks. Discover. Execute. Overload. If you follow this sequence and then switch to a new routine, you won't be disappointed.

I'm excited about my overload week coming up and even more excited this week to design my next three weeks and see what is in store, so next week becomes a "discovery week."

The second thing I wanted to cover is a bit of information about metabolism. I wrote last week about The Body Weight Factor and how this is an easy way to estimate your calories and make adjustments.

But what if you don't want to estimate? What if you're like me, and you have a few good weeks but say, "You know what? I want to step it up and really hit my targets." I have a specific goal and time frame and want to hit my target, so I need good goals.

I can't just lower my calories arbitrarily because I risk burn out and over-training. So how do I find that "sweet spot" of the maximum calories I can consume while still reaching my weight loss target?

Enter the "real metabolism" concept. I've shared a few tools with others that help compute this, but haven't really explained where that computation comes from. So this week I decided, "I'm going to figure out my real metabolism, and set my goals accordingly."

Whenever I do this, I'm always asking myself, "How can I share my process with others, so they can do the same thing?" So I wrote Your Real Metabolism to explain the computations I've made and then put together The Real Metabolism Calculator™ to make it easy.

What you will have to do is put in the work to track your calories that you eat over a period of time and also your weight. What I'll do then is give you your real metabolism ... not a guess or equation, but the actual average number of calories you've burned per day. From there, we can take your goals and figure out the true target.

My own calculations revealed that based on the level of activity I've had these first three weeks, I need to drop my calories to about 2000 per day in order to hit my target. 2000 is probably a little low for my comfort right now, so the alternative is to raise them to 2200 and then burn another 2200. So, here's my goal:

This week I'll knock my calories down from my average of 2600 per day down to 2200. It's not my target exactly but gets me closer. I'm not ready to add more training to the equations ... too much too fast can be a recipe for disaster.

The week after, I'll increase my calories burned by doubling my time on the treadmill after training sessions to burn the balance.

This should take me closer to my target and keep me on track for my goals.

Warmly,


Originally Posted: Realistic Expectations and Your Real Metabolism

Hope everyone had a great Easter weekend!

This weekend was a fun weekend.

On Friday we had a very good friend stop by. We weren't expecting it to get cold in the evening but a cold snap came. Fortunately we have a small free-standing fireplace on the deck. My daughter helped gather up twigs and sticks and we have firewood logs from several trees that have been "downed" so we soon had a nice fire going. It was great company and conversation.

Saturday I was supposed to meet my friend and run but his schedule changed so we decided perhaps on Sunday. My family went to Piedmont Park in downtown Atlanta. We picked up sandwiches from a local deli (I had a multi-grain sandwich with beef and provolone cheese) and laid out a picnic. We surprised our daughter with a kite. Unfortunately, the kite we picked out was a stunt kite (didn't realize that) and it decided to do some crazy stunts of its own ... it was hard to control and kept going into death spins that looked quite dangerous.

We decided to exchange the kite for a regular kite. On Sunday, we went back to a different park and had fun getting the kite in the air. The breeze was only intermittent so it was tough but eventually we had it a good 75 feet in the air. It was a fun time.

We were invited at the last minute to join another family at their home for Easter celebration. My daughter was able to help hide the eggs so the younger children could have a hunt. Again, it was a great time with fantastic company. The downside is that I never did get my run in.

My weight did not move that much this week so it is time to start the tweaks. It is fairly obvious to me what needs to change. My splurge meals this weekend spilled over into more than two, so that needs to be tightened up.

The other thing I'll do is add some cardio after my resistance training workouts. I don't add a lot (remember, I've got 10 more weeks to reach my goal). The common mistake people make is adding too much. First, I'm not beating myself up over the weekend because I had fun, did not go overboard, and because I follow my own advice from the article I Can, I Can't. Second, don't suddenly cut my calories to nothing or add a ton of cardio just because one week didn't give me the movement on the scale that I wanted. Instead, its slow adjustments.

This week, I'll simply walk on the treadmill at maximum incline after my workout until I burn around my body weight in calories.

When I started to make these tweaks I realized many people don't know about what I call "The Body Weight Factor" and how easy it is to make small, easy adjustments along the way. So, I wrote another article that you can read by clicking here.

I also have about 95% of the code done for a new gadget to calculate target calories for dropping weight. You basically enter your goal body weight and it comes back with a suggested calorie range along with an example of a zigzag menu for a week. I hope this will prove valuable to others looking to piece together a program.

Now it's time to go hit my workout. I'll share a tip I haven't written an article on related to the workouts that I learned from another strength coach. Sometimes its good to do your weight training workouts in three week cycles. Then you can follow this simple sequence:

First week: this is when you learn the weights and form and the schedule of the workout. Too many people get frustrated struggling with what the initial weight should be or how they will switch between exercises, etc. If you purposefully look at your first workout as the "set up" stage and simply experiment with the weights until you are in the range that works, you won't get frustrated if you don't get a perfect set or take longer than needed.

Second week: after the "experiment" of the first week, you now have a fairly good idea of what to expect and what your target weights should be, so you go to it and really hit it hard knowing you have the schedule and weights down.

Third week: now is your chance to push the limit. You figured out the targets during the first week and had a solid workout at the weights you can handle the second week, so the third week is for increasing weight across the board and having that intense, barely-can finish workout that really pushes the limit.

Then you can repeat with a new exercise strategy. I sometimes do four weeks, with the first two building up and then the last two being those higher intensity workouts.

At any rate, it's time for me to go hit those weights I keep talking about.

Warmly,


Originally Posted: Happy Easter

So several years ago I received some extra funds that I decided to invest in a home gym set. After piecing it together over the years, we ended up with a fairly comprehensive system. The center piece was a Parabody Squat Rack that also had snake hooks and high and low pulleys with an adjustable bench. I had all dumbbells in pairs from 5 to 100, and PlateMates (little 1/4, 1/2, and 3/4 pound magnets that attach to existing weights). I had a dip station, a treadmill, and a stationary bike. Accessories included a step platform, Swiss workout ball, rubber balls, and tubes.

We were set!

When we moved from Atlanta to South Dakota, there was some fear that the set wouldn't fit. My goal of setting it up in the downstairs room was thwarted when the door frames proved too narrow (this was an old home). We ended up getting it to fit into the garage, but only barely. The subzero weather meant I would have to bring down space heaters and set them up about 15 minutes before working out so my hands wouldn't stick to the metal. I also had to be careful with certain exercises because the clearance at the top of the weight set was ... well, there was none (we wedged it into place).

We then moved into a small house near the beach in St. Pete Beach, Florida. The house was so small, we knew we wouldn't be able to bring the weight set. We didn't know how long we'd be there, so storage wasn't an option and transporting all of that weight would have cost almost as much as a new set. So, we donated the set to a Christian college in Minneapolis (the students drove 8 hours straight to pick up the equipment and transport it back).

I've been "making do" with traveling up the road to the local fitness center in our clubhouse or getting in as a guest into friend's gyms.

This weekend, that all changed.

My wife gave me an allocation of our tax return to do with as I pleased. This would have been fun ... I could have bought a ton of CDs, purchased a flat screen TV, saved it to take myself out to the movies or visited a local bar and bought several rounds of drinks for the locals.

What I decided to do was recreate my home gym, so that at 5am in the morning, instead of psyching myself up to hike down the street and then wait my turn for a "universal" weight system that is limited by the range of motion of the machine itself, I can just walk down two flights of stairs and have everything at my disposal.

The first time I pieced together my set, everything was brand new.

The treadmill and bicycle survived the trip and were already there, but we had given up everything lifting-related down to even the lifting straps.

I decided not to go new, but check out consignment and used.

BOY was I surprised.

Let's face it ... a dumbbell is a dumbbell. It's still a 30 pound weight whether its been hefted by scores of others before I lay my fingers on it or not. There aren't moving parts or much for wear and tear (I'm talking nice solid metal dumbbells here, not the cheap plastic sand-filled ones that offer variable resistance by releasing there load as you raise them overhead).

The first thing that grabbed our eye was a universal gym set. I know, there it is again ... "universal." But this think was set. It had a strange attachment bar that is hard to explain, but while being a machine, it allowed you to squat, bench, and dead-lift as if you were holding a bar (albeit through a strange range of motion). There was a peck dec, curl, lat high and low pull, and the rest. But then I looked at the weight stack ... 210 pounds. That's it! I used to dead-lift twice that ... no room for growth.

So I said, let's see what we can piece together.

I ended up with a cage from "Tuff Stuff" ... it's got high pulley, low pulley, and adjustable snake hooks, adjustable bench with leg extension and curl, and a preacher curl. Everything I'd need from a free weight perspective, except the free weights.

Enter the Olympic weight set, with a pair of 45s, 35s, 25s, 10s, 10 5s, and some 2 1/2s for good measure. Oh, and an Olympic bar (45lb) along with an EZ curl bar.

Now we're talking.

Of course, I like my dumbbells, so we priced out the large dumbbell stand with pairs from 5s to 40s (hey, I can add the rest when I get there in a few weeks).

The final piece was the dip station ... needed something to do dips, pull-ups, leg raises and hanging crunches, etc.

So we pieced it all together and it came out to less than the original universal set. I heckled a bit, reduced the price even further. We ended up sealing the deal and having it delivered today. It's now sitting in our basement and I just completed my first workout.

We're missing the medicine balls, rubber mats and few other niceties but for the most part, my baby has come home. The home gym has arrived. There are no more limitations nor excuses to training to the full max limit. I can dead-lift, squat, bench, chin, curl, press, crunch, twist, and grunt my way to a muscled physique.

My wife and daughter were so excited, they came down and trained, too. My wife's renewed her commitment to exercise on a regular basis. She didn't like having to walk to the fitness center, but she was more than happy to descend the stairs and knock out some upper body training like you wouldn't believe.

My daughter was curling, dead-lifting, and of course doing lots of cardio on the trampoline.

We're happy! And the best part? The investment for this fully functional set was less than 1/5th of what I paid the first time around. I guess wisdom DOES come with age!

Warmly,


Originally Posted: The Return of the Home Gym

It doesn't all have to rhyme, does it?

Day one went very well.

I woke up promptly and headed out to train. Because I didn't dally watching TV late at night but got to sleep at a decent hour, I was able to catch up on sleep and rolled out of bed easily at 5am. I was able to stick to the nutrition no problem. It's really not much different than what I've been doing, but now I'm very aware of the calories as I'm logging them and have a baseline to tweak. The most important part was that I had no temptation. There were plenty of cookies, chocolate, and other opportunities to "cheat" available but I had no desire and felt some of that joy at being in control.

It's only one day, but that's all it takes.

The problem I think most of us have (and I've been guilty of this too) is looking at an 84-day challenge as 84 challenging days. In reality, I just had one successful day ... so why would any other day be any different? It's just a bunch of successful days like today strung together. And of course 84 days is a goal to draw a line in the sand and look at measurements, but this is about much more than 84 days ... it's about recreating habits for life.

This week will be interesting. Tomorrow I am driving to downtown Atlanta to train with a coworker at his facility which is much more well-equipped than the one in our own neighborhood. I had a discussion with my wife about the refund we're receiving from our tax return. A large chunk of that is going to our Anniversary trip (NEW YORK, HERE WE COME!) Already have the airline tickets and the deposit down on the apartment next to Central Park we'll be staying in. Looking forward to it!

There's lots we could do with the remainder. Invest in a large, flat screen TV. By dozens of DVDs. Go out to eat. But I know what I'm going to spend it on. We talked, and agreed. It's time to rebuild our own gym. I had a full set of gym equipment, everything from self-spotting bench press to cable pulleys, squat rack, and dip station. When we moved from our house in South Dakota to the small beach house in Florida, we knew we'd have no place to put the gym equipment and the cost of transporting it would be prohibitive, so we donated the equipment to a Christian college (the students drove nonstop for 8 hours to pick up the set and drive it back!). Well, now we're settled back in our home, sweet home, and it's time to start building that gym set out again. I'm excited!

Wrote about my nutrition here.

Take care,

In Him,


Originally Posted: Day One Was Fun (And Is Done)