Exercise harder

This is a sideblog for fitness and health! (if you get a followback from 'Unicycles', that's me!) I'm currently a 3rd year psychology student who has taken nutrition, exercise, and sports psychology as electives - I dream of becoming a personal trainer after I graduate. While my knowledge in these areas isn't as robust as I'd like, it's enough to satiate my passion for healthy living. :)

[exerciseharder]

Brilliant series on bench form. I've got some correcting to do, namely in that my shoulders flair out a little too much. Just posting this here for future reference.

[exerciseharder]

I feel like I'm making a lot of progress at the gym. Last year I went from an ecto build to somewhat of an athletic build, and this year I want to look visibly muscular. 

I really love every minute I'm at the gym, but I'm getting to that point in my bulk where I'm feeling a bit uncomfortable with ow "pudgy" I am. Having always been very lean, it still feels strange. Sure, I'm making great strength gains, and I love eating...But I'm counting down the days until I my next cut.

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Before and After. 

Unfortunately, I lost my proper "before" image. 6 months of progress was lost when my harddrive died. Regardless, here's me 6 months ago and today. After a year at the gym, I've learned a lot and made pretty decent progress. 

Definitely not where I'd like to be. But I'm happy with what I've done! I've fixed up a lot of muscle imbalance (which was more pronounced 6 months ago), and gained a lot of strength. 

[exerciseharder]

I literally cannot believe this, I can't stop laughing. 

This is where I go for information and inspiration on body building! 

[motiveweight-deactivated2017032]

You won’t see results overnight, but things are changing. Trust the process. Your patience will pay off.

(via motiveweight)

[exerciseharder]

My BF% is resting at 17% after a 10 month bulk/1 month cut. That's not too bad, although I'd love for that number to dip down to 10%. 

Ofcourse, this is just an estimate, but it feels about right. 

[exerciseharder]

1 month and 1 week into my cut and I want to eat everything. I'm down 3.3kg, and have a month to shed another 2. 

I know I can do it, but hot damn do I want a box of donuts.

[edartist-deactivated20140428]

Generation Iron in theatres tomorrow!

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Still waiting to see this over here in Australia, I can't wait!

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One of my workout buddies brought a friend along today. I met him before, when I first started, but hadn't seen him for 11 months. He commented a few times how much I've grown, and how I've got a very good physique. 

I'm not sure of his exercise background, but he did a lot of talking about body building shows and how he thinks that, with my quick progress, I'd be perfect for that sort of lifestyle. I already structure a lot of my life around gym, so it wouldn't be a huge change. 

Really, I don't know what to think. It gave me a bit of a confidence boost, that's for sure! But a performing body builder in a few years? I can't imagine that. 

But I wonder. 

[exerciseharder]

I've spent a month not doing bicep curls and. I. Still. Have. Tendinitis. 

Go away. Please, just go away. 

[exerciseharder]

Progress

My cut has been going well. My wrist and knee has healed, and so far, I haven't lost any strength! I actually find cutting quite easy, so much so that I usually have 800 calories left after dinner. 

I'm shooting for 2100 calories a day, so only eating 1300 is far too low for me. I just eat really clean and can ignore hunger all too well, I need to focus on eating more!

In just over 2 weeks I've managed to shed 3kg, although you can't really see it. Hopefully by the time I hit 5kg, I'll look a bit more defined. 

[exerciseharder]

Cutting

I started my cut a few days before new year's because my wrist/forearm was giving me a lot of trouble (I believe it's tendinitis). I figured I might as well start cardio while I give my arms a bit of a rest. For a few days, it was great! I discovered I love the rowing machine, but loathe the treadmill - I compromise by cycling 5km then rowing 2km. This was a great little routine until I went and injured my knee. My old joint problem was brought back by a bout of unicycling...! 

Regardless, I've already lost about 2.5kg! I think I might be a little bit too under my maintenance though. I know I'm an ectomorph, so 2100 calories is probably a little bit low if I want to maintain as much muscle mass as possible. 

I really just want to get back to my lifting routine, but this tendinitis is ruining any hope of routine. As I write this, I'm icing it for the 10th time...Oh well, no big deal, I've got years of working out ahead of me. 2-3 weeks of minimal lifting won't hurt.  

[exerciseharder]

Measurements - 26th December

Right arm - 38cm (previously 37.5cm)

Left arm - 37cm (previously 35.5cm)

Chest - 99.5cm (previously 98.5cm) 

Weight - 73.3kg

Not bad. I was expecting my measurements to go down since the creatine would be out of my body by now. 

[exerciseharder]

I hate to have to ask, but how many of you are, y'know, real people? 

I get a lot of spam blogs following me whenever I type in certain keywords. Let me know, I'd love to get to know you from my personal blog (Unicycles).

[exerciseharder]

Ham and turkey leftovers, Christmas gains!

[exerciseharder]

My routine

So, all this blogging and I haven't even told you all my weekly routine? Bah! How forgetful of me! Anyway, here's what I've been doing:

Monday - Chest/Tricep

Laying dumbbell flat bench press (once or twice a month I'll do these on an incline) 

Low cable crossover (x2)

High cable crossover (x2)

Weighted dips 

Close grip bench press 

Tricep pushdown

Tuesday - Back/Bicep

Deadlift (4x5-6)

Lat Pulldown OR Widegrip pullup 

Seated cable row

Barbell bicep curl

Machine bicep curl (drop set. I don't do these every Tuesday)

Wednesday - Rest

Thursday - Legs/Shoulders

Barbell squat

Machine leg curl

Machine calf raise

Shoulder press

Cable side lateral raise

Seated face pull

Friday/Saturday - Arms/Abs

Barbell/Dumbbell bicep curl (alternating weekly)

Preacher Curl

Tricep push-down (rope/"V" attachment, alternating weekly)

Weighted dips

Machine crunch/Weighted decline sit-up (alternating weekly)

Leg raise

Plank

Saturday/Sunday - Rest

This is just what works for me. I'm still trialing having arms after shoulder day, but so far it hasn't been a problem. I've structured it this way because I stay at my girlfriend's place every second weekend and don't always make it to the gym those days. 

Making solid gains with this! 

[exerciseharder]

Just a little bit of a treat because leg day.