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Having Problems eating...

Well since starting the "Surge" on the work out days I am CONSTANTLY full and find it hard to eat Maintenance Calories + 400.

So to help with this I need to keep in mind adding on weight is fine only IF my waist stays below 31"... so here it goes... Holding my breath or at least my waist line. ;)

#Alpha #The Surge #engineering the alpha

From then to Now. Week 8 - Phase III - The Surge

Well I seem to have got things confused somehow. since my last post was Week 5 - 6 so what happened to 6 - 7? Well I'm not sure, but I AM on Week 8 now. Just started. Though the last week I did on the course, Week 7 was over a week ago, as my family and I had a week off in Wales where I ate all I could. I did exercise, but needless to say I did put on approx 1.5kg, or 1" in the waist. So ONE week CAN make a difference. This is an excellent lesson, not just to me, but to everyone trying to keep fit. You CAN NOT take your hands off the reins for a minute. If you decide to get fit it is for LIFE baby!

Now back on track. For the last week of number 7! These were my bio-metrics. Weight: 71kg (156.53lb) (Up 0.83kg or 1.77lb) Neck: 14 3/4” Shoulders: 47" (Up 2") Chest: 41 Biceps: 13 1/2” Waist: 30 1/2” (Up 1/2") Hips: 37” (Up 1/2") Thigh: 20” BF%: 12.34% (Up 1.07%) And these are my bio-metrics after a week in Wales; cakes and Fish an' chips: Weight: 72kg (158.73lb) (Up 1kg or 2.2lb) Neck: 14 3/4” Shoulders: 47" Chest: 40 1/2 (Down 1/2") Biceps: 13 1/4” (Down 1/4") Waist: 31” (Up 1/2") Hips: 35 1/2” (Down 1" did I measure in the wrong place?) Thigh: 20 1/2” (Up 1/2" Have been hitting inner and outer thigh hard mind) BF%: 13.36% (Up 1.02%) So what do these say to me. Well the cheat WEEK was not as bad as I thought, but for the week before with my eating more than I was allowing myself... Maybe I should not have. The thing that has upset me MORE is the increase in body fat %. I'll have to try and cut this down a little. NO more cheating, even a little as I have the last three weeks - I have been having a biscuit here and there. Depression is NOT an excuse. I'll have to try and keep on track now.

Well back on to this new week of Week 8. The Surge. Well looks like workout days are maintenance + 400 calories and non work out days are maintenance - 200. So I am going to have to be REALLY careful on how I eat and work out. I need to push myself in these sections.

I AM keep cheat days on Sundays, with the full fast day on Monday (with 30-40min cardio). The exercise days are all moving up one day a week, so no big change there. Thought the exercises are very grueling with slow movements. I enjoyed the first session and really look forward for the next one tomorrow. I just pray I put on muscle and now fat with the amount I need to eat. Yep today I feel over full ALL the time. I have to eat 203g protein.... I only just made 183g. need to work on that, but what does help is eating 200g of sandwich chicken per day for those extra 40g and at 600g for £5. It's not too bad. But I have just thought... it is expensive when I need to get ONE 200g per workout day AND fill the children's sandwiches.. so what I HAVE found is this. Pea Protein It is the cheapest on the market and has better protein per scoop than hemp and for 2.5kg it's only £18.99 saving me at least £7 per month. Okay I have heard it is the WORST to drink, but boy it will help me grow. Just need to do some more research on if it has milk or soya in it.

Anyway that is all for now. More tomorrow when and if I find out about this pea protein. :)

#protein #fitness #exercise #Muscle #engineering the alpha #Alpha

Why am I Hungry?

Well since last week I have found I am hungry a lot more in Phase II of "Engineering the Alpha" and I have been wondering why... Till now that is.

So why am I hungry? Well I think it is due to the fact I have crossed over the threshold in the Maintenance Caloric Intake Multiplier on Page 169 of the Book. Since I started Phase II I was at 12.34% body fat and now I am 11.24%. So at the start I had a multiplier of 16, but now I should have the multiplier of 17... That is 200 calories difference! Well I have not tried it out eating 200 calories more, but I think this could be the case... So here is too trying more! Time for a Nakd Bar I think. ;)

So just beware of this that if you pass over from one multiplier to another recalculate your daily requirements or you could be starving yourself! That could show why I have reduced my shoulder and chest size over the last week.

#engineering the alpha #fitness #calories #body fat

THE LOST WEEK: Week 3 but really 4 of Surge

Man, I am tired. Not just a bit sleepy but F'n exhausted. I should have seen this coming. I got myself into a concert series this summer that broke the dam last week with five shows in eight days. I wasn't getting my usual seven hours a night, I wasn't even getting six most nights. Five was hit just a few nights with some only bringing four. I tried to hit the gym but after a Wednesday lift I didn't see the gym again until Saturday.

What's crazy is on Saturday I got to the gym, dressed, set up for knee raise, did 1 and felt the body object. I know from previous tweaks and stingers when the body isn't feeling it there is a line where not being a wuss and being smart about potential injuries is finite. I unloaded the weight and went to the grocery. I started the cheat day one day early and just gorged out. I knew the body needed fuel and I was prepared to go all out. Pizza, tacos, brats, ice cream, sweet potato fries, Wendy's: is was on.

I finished the fast today after Surge workout 4, spin class, ab class and a yoga session on Monday and of course Surge workout 3 today. Previously when I have accomplished the Four-fecta like that I have allowed myself a protein shake, banana, almond butter and walnut combo after just to be sure the body had something to use for repair as I slept. Not this time. I felt that a week of concerts, mild drinking, over consumption of calories and a cheat weekend meant it was time for me to go all out. This week will be the reboot of week three and I am already following the regimen with the intensity I have been for the last 10 weeks.

I can fall off the wagon but it's not like I can't jump back on. Hell, I'm in great shape. I can catch it no sweat.

I am not tired of this program. On the contrary, I enjoy the strict nature of this program. I am totally in to the myfitnesspal app that tracks every bite I eat. I already plan to keep using it once Complete ends at month four.

I am looking into the BodyMedia Fit Core armband. Like Chrystian at Crunch discussed with me yesterday. I turns your life into a video game where you play off and compete with yourself to break previous marks and increase the intensity whilst knowing each calorie burned and each heart beat monitored.

Anyway, time for final meal and bed. I gotta catch up on my rest . . . life isn't going to slow down because I'm fatigued.

#engineering my alpha #engineering the alpha #jesse mogle #Jesse Mogle #john romaniello #Adam Bornstein #workout #ABS #dedication #Commitment #hard work #insanity #p90x

Zero to Hero: Week 4 to Week 5 - PHASE II - Adept

Sorry, again, for the late posting, but I took my measurements and have been trying to find them for the past few days. Maybe I should have just retaken them.

Any way I have the important info in my head so I can continue. Weight: 70.5kg or 155.43lb (Down 0.5kg/ 1.1lb) Neck: 14 3/4" Shoulders: 46" Chest: 41 1/2" Biceps: 13 1/2" Waist: (Slightly Tight) 30" (Down 1/2") Hips: 36 1/2" Thigh: 20 1/2" BF%: 11.15% (DOWN 1.19%) (Body Fat Percentage) So I am still losing the body fat and I am down to where I am very happy with the results on paper AND in the mirror.

Please mind the messy hair it was 6am on Sunday Morning.

So what have I found different this last week. Well it has been VERY different to Phase I. As the number of Carbs has increased I have found using my food plan from weeks 0-4 not 100% useful. They have been useful, but not too much. I am now trying to juggle numbers again, but find I can sneak in 50g of mixed grain rice to help. The major problem is reducing the fats intake since I am so used to it being 145g not 115g. That poor Avocado is missing me *grins*.

The exercises are great, they are not REALLY taxing, but the constant work makes you sweat. So the work out is good. The Cardio on Mondays is a 4 mile run, around 35 minute work out or a 45 minute session on an exercise bike whilst watching Star Trek Voyager. Sorry had to geek out on "Geek Week"! What I am having problems with is I feel weaker in strength and i put this down to losing a little muscle mass with the food habits. So I have lost a lot of fat, but muscle is reducing too. Even with huge amounts of Protein as well, so I guess it'll level out once the carbs are fully back to between 150-250g per day.

Also as people may know I am due to go into hospital for an operation on my left wrist meaning I will not be able to exercise as per the book. Book I will still attempt to do ALL I can and at minimum moan and groan to the wife.. errr.. maybe I'll try the exercise bike or running instead.

Well that's all from me this week. For now.

#Exercise #Engineering the Alpha #Muscle #muscle #fat loss #progress

Month 3, Day 1: SURGE

And . . . finally . . . the time has come to really push this whole thing up a notch!!

After month 1 of Prime and month 2 of Adapt it is time for the full on press of Surge. I will be eating 400 calories above maintenance which is at 2400 right now so that's gonna be 2800 a day. I'll eat 200 under maintenance on non-workout days or 2200, which has been my workout day caloric intake during month two.

I have been absolutely sold on this program from day one and show no signs of letting up. The changes in my body have been fantastic and I receive compliments daily when I see people whom haven't seen me in some time.

Something I want to discuss real fast . . .

I went to a supplement store the other day with the sole intent to use his fat gauge thingy to see what it said to compare with the caliper reading I got from my trainer at Crunch.

Of course, this dude went straight into sell mode. Telling me I needed digestible protein over the Muscle Milk protein powder I have been taking. Now, I'm no dummy so I understand Muscle Milk isn't as good as the other brands. DUH!! It's sold at Costco. So I wasn't surprised when the shop employee was trying to push me onto his products. What got under my skin was his tactics of telling me the program I was on was just like any other program just retitled and pushed as "the next big thing!"

He was aghast when I told him I only ate during an eight hour window each day. "Well, your body is eating muscle just as much as it's eating the fat. That's not a wise nutrition model for the long term."

Here's the situation. I have eaten the way THEY tell EVERYONE to eat for the last seven years and I have not seen the results appear the way they have occurred on my frame these last two months. Like Christian the trainer at Crunch says, "You're trying to figure out what works best for you." That is exactly my point. This man at the shop, whom I have no idea what his nutrition/physical fitness credentials equate to, comes at me and my plan like he is the ultimate authority on all this crap he sells. I have no doubt he knows a few juicy tidbits about his supplements because he sells the stuff . . . BUT that's the point here . . HE SELLS THE STUFF! So he is selling me from the get go and when I leave empty handed he looses out. He didn't make a sell and he won't because I'll go on A1 Supplements or any of the other whole seller websites that offer the same product he does at 25% discounts with free shipping. Truthfully I'm not sure how any of these stores stay open. Especially GNC! All their stuff is over priced and very few of these shop employees look like they workout so why would I listen to them about supplement use?

Overall, Roman's plan has done wonders for my physique and I am not egotistical about my results like many of the men in my gym seem to be when they start to grow. I understand what I have accomplished and further more, what I will accomplish, is a product of my intense focus and dedication to an outcome I can control. If all of this didn't turn out to be what I wanted or if the next two months don't result in an absolute Alpha body, I am no worse off for attempting this journey than I would have been had I just kept lifting and eating all willy-nilly like I had a clue.

Do not allow people to deter or detour you from the path you set upon. The hero's journey is wrought with false idols, know-it-alls and never-do-wells. I am on my journey and it's mine alone. I will take advice and will listen to the Christians' and Alexs' of the world because they have knowledge and I want that knowledge in my brain. Honestly, these two men have been my biggest supporters and conversationalists on my program even though they aren't paid by me to give of their time and experiences. They have been invaluable these last two months and no doubt will be influential on these next two months and each month thereafter.

If I could upload the world's experiences on nutrition and physical conditioning so I always knew the right thing to do at the right time I would. That's not an option so I will continue on MY journey and learn the most I can about MY body along the way . . . ignoring those just trying to sell me on their journey.

#engineering my alpha #engineering the alpha #john romaniello #hero's journey #Adam Bornstein #jesse mogle #Jesse Mogle #workout #abs #strength #supplements #protein #carbs #fat loss #fat #alpha #protein powder

Don't let the white noise distract you . . . .

There are days when I am not sure what my topic will be and others when the passage practically writes itself. Today is the latter.

When I go to my gym I want it to be peaceful and serene. Yes I know I am there to tear it up on the steel but I don't want to be bothered and I certainly don't want confrontations with other gym members. I live in Los Angeles, there is enough bullish*t I have to deal with on a day-to-day basis that once I enter the sanctuary of the gym - where I go to better myself and elevate stress - I want it to be as hassle free as possible.

Most of us understand the etiquette of the gym scene or should . . . Don't walk in the space of someone actively working out, don't sit on a machine and play with your phone or otherwise take to much of a rest break, put the weights up when you are finished. One that I take very seriously is be friendly and don't take up a selfish amount of time on a machine or with a particular weight or dumbbell.

I do circuit training and in accordance with such training it is expected that you complete as many reps of 2-3 exercises in a given amount of time. Today I was getting ready to start my 2nd circuit of three. The movements were: dumbbell reverse lunge, dumbbell front shoulder raise and dumbbell flat chest press. I needed to do them in that order, 4-6 reps per movement and complete as many sets as possible in six minutes. I set up the circuit with 40lbs for reverse lunge, 35lbs for front shoulder raise and 70lbs for chest press.

This is where I make my point so pay attention . . . A man walks up and asks if I'm using all six dumbbells placed around me. I state I am doing a circuit and will be done with the weights after a 6 minute on, 6 minute off, 6 minute on pattern totaling 18 minutes in duration. He is not happy about this and announces his displeasure with the amount of dumbbells I want to take up for my workout. Calling me selfish, I retort with, "you're being rude," and after some similar banter back and forth where he calls me selfish and says I can't use all these weights at once and tells me I should at the very least give him one of the 35 or 40 pounders so he can do his exercise. I tell him that I need all these weights and will be done with them shortly . . 18 minutes might seem like a long time but if your not following a program, which I have much experience with, then usually you can move around the exercises you're planning to do based on availability of the weight or apparatus you need. There were duplicate weights about 30 feet away that were also being used at the time so he decided rather than wait he would make it a huge confrontation and hassle.

He goes and gets a gym employee and brings her in to interrupt my workout. By the time they both enter my space I am about three minutes in to the six minute circuit and my heart rate and intensity are perfectly harmonized to really get the most out of this circuit. The woman and man make me stop so he can again voice his displeasure with what I am doing. I tell her, like I told him, that I would be done in 18 minutes (in fact, if the set had continued unimpeded I would have been ready to move up in weight without losing my six rep goal I had set for myself before the circuit started. I was feeling great and would have been done with the 35's - at this point - in three minutes.)

He states he wants the 40's (though later I'd see him using the 35's across the gym) and that I am again being selfish. I do not hold my cool and say, "fine take them I'll lunge with 45s!" I toss the 40s aside as he NOW decides to walk away and leave me alone. I switch to the 45's and continue on. I am pissed off. I lost two minutes in my circuit, heart rate down and weights switched mid way through to appease a stranger whom couldn't understand that I was doing this circuit and would be done soon.

It's all I can do to not call him a bitch in public but I know better than to loose my cool. I know I'd have been tossed from the gym that very minute and perhaps subjugated to disciplinary action. But here, in this blog, I will call him a little cry baby bitch! Even now I am getting pissed of again about this dudes BS way of reacting to my workout procedure.

Wow . . so many words to express my displeasure. I did not expect this essay to go on so long. I'll leave that bitch, baby and BS part in the blog just to allow my true emotions to play out in this project Alpha of mine.

This man upset me so much I could barely concentrate on the rest of my workout. I did not eclipse the markers I was on pace for when they both approached me. The rest of the workout was beneficial but ultimately I was not able to let this incident out of my head. I had to write this blog about the experience just to leave it behind me. I am not a "drama" dude and will forget all about this by tomorrow's session and honestly, I couldn't point the guy out in a lineup and this just occurred two hours ago.

In conclusion: It seems the whole incident could have been passively resolved if the man would have been forthright with what weights he needed instead of going straight at me with "selfish" accusations. I could have asked what it was he needed and then deduced if it were possible to change what I was going to use to help him accomplish what it was I wanted which was to better myself and lift some steel.

Instead neither of us did that and frankly I didn't want to. I wanted to do what it was I had planned and be left the hell alone! I make concessions so often for people in this city. Every where I go there is someone in my damn way. People everywhere. It's the world we live in. Always someone in our way wanting what we want.

I will look back on this in a day or two and not be happy with myself. Not because I didn't help this man but because I pride myself on being the better person. I believe in KARMA and doing unto others as you would have them do to you. The funny thing . . . . as I was leaving the gym and walking though the parking garage to my car a senior couple drove in to the garage and as they were passing me stopped and asked if I worked there. I replied snidely, "do I look like I work here," then immediately said, "how can I help you?" They wanted to know where to park for the movie theater in the same complex as the gym. I gave them directions and told them to have a good time. I even showed them where the working elevators were located. I'm not sure if that makes karmic amends for my actions in the gym but it did allow me to feel helpful and kind to strangers.

Etiquette, common sense and common courtesy are not common in our world any longer and I do not wish to find myself a part of that negative movement. That being said, in the gym understand if someone gets to the equipment before you and it's not possible for you to work in without disrupting their synchronicity then move on or figure something else out that doesn't require a confrontation. I certainly have had to adapt during this Alpha program and surely I am not the only person capable of adaptation in this city . . . . somedays it just seems that way.