One Month Down, A New Strategy Arrives

332 days

until Saturday January 25 2014

a Saturday 10 months and 29 days from today

Weight: 172 
Workout today-Full Body

2/27/13

Learned some new things-

A beginner (someone who has not been on any consistent program for more than 6 months) will realize the most gains from a workout schedule that works each muscle group 3 times per week. Below is an excerpt from Link to info below

So, Is A 3-Times-Per-Week Training Frequency Optimal?
For certain people… hell yes. For others, not so much. Specifically…
If you are a beginner with any goal, a 3-times-per-week training frequency is the MOST EFFECTIVEway to train.And by beginner, I mean anyone who has been weight training for LESS than 6 months consistently and intelligently. (My full definition of what I consider a “beginner” to be is here: Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced.)
And as usual, this is not just my opinion. It’s the opinion of every single qualified expert, trainer and strength coach with half a brain.
In fact, it’s actually a fact backed by science and real world results.Literally all research and scientific studies looking at the effects of different weight training frequencies in beginners came to the same conclusion: training each muscle three times per week is the most effective way for a beginner to train, regardless of their specific goal.
So, if you’re a beginner with any goal (build muscle, lose fat, increase strength, or improve your body in any way), a 3-times-per-week workout frequency is indeed optimal for you.
- Article from AWORKOUTROUTINE.COM

The second piece of information is bulking. I have seen some numbers that suggest trying to stay lean and build muscle at the same time will most likely give me mediocre gains over the course of a year. In order to see max results over the long term, I will need to "Bulk." This means ingesting an extra amount of calories each day to add muscle mass to my body. The catch is, they cannot be garbage calories. I must still stick to eating healthy lean proteins and complex carbs or I will just put on fat instead of muscle. I must also be putting in the work necessary to make these calories needed for muscle repair.

So, in light of this new information and the completion of my first month of the program, it is time to set a new goal for March. During the month of March, I am going to do more ALL over body workouts for max gains while increasing my daily caloric intake to a surplus. I am estimating my new daily requirement to be 3200 calories per day. My starting weight  for this phase is about 172 lbs. I am very excited to move forward with the new focus. I would like to reach the weight of 180 during the month. The bulking will require cutting at some point. This means cutting back calories and shedding the fat that came along with bulking. I will bulk for March and do an assessment. I am very reluctant to potentially cover my six pack up again but long term is what we are working for here. 

I'm going to do my first all over body workout. Thanks for checking in on my goal. I hope you are reading this and planning on taking action toward your goals today. Living with discipline has been one of the most rewarding things I have come across in my life. Have a great workout! Live Excellently TODAY! 

Feed the Wolf!
Bradley

Goals- Here are a few short-term goals. I will re-post everyday and add dates to them as they are accomplished.

10 Consecutive Pull-ups (Up to 8 on 17 Feb)

1 month of Excellence in Training (Feb 27 2013)

1 Month of Excellence in Diet (Feb 27 2013)

10 Good Handstand push-ups (At 3 against a wall 17 Feb)

1 behind the neck pull-up

1 muscle-up

Explosive Pull-up/ Toe Touch

Body Fat 10% (Scale says 13.9% Feb 19, Reliable?)

Human Flag

Pull-up with behind the back clap

Kuki Push-up

Body Fat 6%

One-arm pull up

One-arm leg raises on bar
Increase to 180 lbs

Back from a Recovery Day!!

333 days 

until Saturday January 25 2014

a Saturday 10 months and 30 days from today

Weight: Did Not Weigh
Workout today- Core

2/26/13

A DAY OFF

I took yesterday off as a recovery day and I feel much better. I really dislike days off despite the importance. They make me feel so far from my goal.  I reached a point where I was sore all over and had zero energy. I'm careful about confusing my energy level with my motivation level. They are very separate things. Usually if my motivation is a bit low, I can remedy that with a couple warm-up sets and some good music. I have been listening to "House Radio" on Pandora. I forgot who gave me that recommendation but THANKS! I was in need of some new sound. I find that once the body gets warmed up good, it's easier to see yourself pushing into the burn. 

BULKING AND CUTTING

 I have read a little lately on "bulking" and "cutting." In case you haven't heard these terms, one means eating a lot of calories to build mass, and the other means creating a calorie deficit to drop fat. I need to read more to make a informed decision but I would like to just continue eating really good (nutritious) calories and see if I can do both. I really don't want to add fat but I want my muscles to have plenty of nutrients to recover and recover well. For now, I have set my daily caloric intake goal at 2500. I do not eat junk. No Double Tree cookies, no cake, no candy. It's all a slippery slope. It messes with your mind. Just one day of not working out and a bad diet can overwhelm motivation. Excellence, that's what we are about here. Max Results. 

After Workout Snack

I've been very focused on my protein lately also. It's very important for fat burning and building muscle. Eating a lean protein with each meal further enhances the slow down in the digestive process that complex carbohydrates gives you and makes you feel full longer. It also supplies your body with the repair materials for patching up the muscles you're building. After every workout and within 30 minutes of completion, you must eat a portion of carbs and some type of protein for max results. I usually have a protein shake with milk and about 30 g of protein. I mix a little grapefruit juice in because the little bit of sugar immediately following a workout is actually beneficial to recovery. 

Mrs. Gann feeding the wolf yesterday! A very driven person, her workout program inspired me to action again. 

Very light workout that I ground out with no energy. This sparked the idea of a recovery day.

It's time for me to make some headway on my goals. I hope you will do the same today. 2013 will pass in a short time. Will you be looking in the mirror next January and thinking of how good it feels to have put in that much effort into you? I hope so.

Tear the place down today! Wreck some stuff!

FEED THE WOLF!

Bradley 

Goals- Here are a few short-term goals. I will re-post everyday and add dates to them as they are accomplished.

10 Consecutive Pull-ups (Up to 8 on 17 Feb)

1 month of Excellence in Training 

1 Month of Excellence in Diet

10 Good Handstand push-ups (At 3 against a wall 17 Feb)

1 behind the neck pull-up

1 muscle-up

Explosive Pull-up/ Toe Touch

Body Fat 10% (Scale says 13.9% Feb 19, Reliable?)

Human Flag

Pull-up with behind the back clap

Kuki Push-up

Body Fat 6%

One-arm pull up

One-arm leg raises on bar

Calorie Fluctuations, I will get it right!

336 days

until Saturday January 25 2014

a Saturday 11 months and 2 days from today

Workout today- Legs

2/23/13

I think another increase in my calories allowed is inevitable. Yesterday I spent the entire day watching the clock and forcing hunger away. At the end of  the day, I reached a level of hunger that was intolerable and I went over on my planned calories of 2000. A large part of this is due to not having access to the foods I would normally use to fix the problem. I am going to set my calorie requirement at 2200 and hopefully on some days I will be able to make extra ground when I am not as hungry. My estimated need with most counters is about 2550 to maintain. The reason again for the calorie counting is that it helps me to focus my nutrition on the types of foods I should be getting i.e. whole grain complex carbohydrates and lean proteins. Additionally, I am reducing my body fat to it's lowest percentage ever for definition. With no calories to spare, I avoid all types of cookies, cakes, and any other thing that reminds me how sweet things can be. Today is a new day and I will strive to budget my calories appropriately. I usually eat 250 calorie snacks when hungry. I may try a few larger 350 calorie meals and see if this changes the dynamic of it all.

Here's yesterdays workout. I'm quite sore in my upper body. Abs are no longer getting sore on abdominal day so I'm going to start mixing in more abs each day. Don't get me wrong, soreness is not necessary to build muscle but I use the residual soreness from the lactic acid to gauge my effort level. I believe the longer this program goes on, the less soreness will occur. That has already been the case. The first few workouts were very painful afterwards. Now I work hard and still function normally throughout the day. I gotta get to some leg work my friends. I am about to make some PROGRESS! 

Have a great workout! TODAY is our day!

Burn the Ships,

FEED THE WOLF!

Bradley

Goals- Here are a few short-term goals. I will re-post everyday and add dates to them as they are accomplished.

10 Consecutive Pull-ups (Up to 8 on 17 Feb)

1 month of Excellence in Training 

1 Month of Excellence in Diet

10 Good Handstand push-ups (At 3 against a wall 17 Feb)

1 behind the neck pull-up

1 muscle-up

Explosive Pull-up/ Toe Touch

Body Fat 10% (Scale says 13.9% Feb 19, Reliable?)

Human Flag

Pull-up with behind the back clap

Kuki Push-up

Body Fat 6%

One-arm pull up

One-arm leg raises on bar

Because He Deserves the Best Dad

337 days 

until Saturday January 25 2014

a Saturday 11 months and 3 days from today

Height: 6'1"

Weight: Did not weigh

Workout today- Chest

2/22/13

There's a face. He is staring at me. His eyes are determined. His expression serious. Motionless quiet. I see you. Personal inventory complete. Yep, there's something I want. Light's on now and it's in motion. It's dark outside, it affects me not. This is my time. The time I have grown to look forward to each day. My most productive time. Time I spend getting to where I want to be.

Yesterday was a success. I did a core workout yesterday and finished with a 1.7 mile jog. The day before I did an upper body workout that took nearly two hours. I am very content with what I have accomplished the last couple of days. Yesterday I came in at 1700 calories with a goal of 2000. My weekly average is now below my goal of 2000. I was slightly over on on my calories on the 20th. 

Here's an easy reason for me to set an example. I want my son to grow up seeing exercise as a normal and necessary part of life. I want him to witness the process that takes places when discipline occurs. I want to be the best Dad possible. He deserves it.

Workout from the 20th

It's time to get ready and go make some results. Stay focused my friend. We are doing it. The equation seems simple...Work + Diet = Results. I remind myself that the reason it's so hard is because IT'S WORTH IT! Forward progress. Have a great day. Live Excellently!

FTW,
Bradley

Goals- Here are a few short-term goals. I will re-post everyday and add dates to them as they are accomplished.

10 Consecutive Pull-ups (Up to 8 on 17 Feb)

1 month of Excellence in Training 

1 Month of Excellence in Diet

10 Good Handstand push-ups (At 3 against a wall 17 Feb)

1 behind the neck pull-up

1 muscle-up

Explosive Pull-up/ Toe Touch

Body Fat 10% (Scale says 13.9% Feb 19, Reliable?)

Human Flag

Pull-up with behind the back clap

Kuki Push-up

Body Fat 6%

One-arm pull up

One-arm leg raises on bar

Writing Your Own History

339 days

until Saturday January 25 2014

a Saturday 11 months and 5 days from today

Height: 6'1"

Weight: Did not weigh

Upper Body

2/20/13

Why am I here? I am here to make history. My own history. I am not here to make a small change and forget it in a couple of years; I am here to change the course of my life. I want this. I have always wanted this. I have never been as disciplined as I am now. I am growing everyday. I have already put in hours of work and hours of disciplined eating. My progress is surging forward. It is happening. I am going to the gym in a few minutes and I'm going to put in serious work towards my goal.

I sometimes miss a day of the writing the blog due to my work schedule. Know that on those days, instead of writing, I am putting in the work during my free time. Yesterday I woke up at 4:00 am and for an hour and a half I danced in the rain, mud, and cold again. I refuse to make excuses. I refuse to be beaten. I will not stop until this is mine. I haven't taken an off day or worked out for less than an hour in over a week. Recovery days are good sometimes but I haven't needed one, haven't wanted to miss a day of training, and they are an obstacle in my mind so I am avoiding them as much as possible.

Nutrition- I have been slightly over on my planned calories the last two days.(About 500 in the hole) I will work today to bring my weekly average into compliance. I am not eating junk food at all. When I go over, it's usually because I have been awake for a very long time at work.

Time to get busy. I hope you make serious progress toward your goals today. But truly, you must do it for yourself. You are worth it aren't you? We spend our lives meeting deadlines for others. For work, for society.... Doing things that must be done.....well, make this something that must be done. Do it for you. No Excuses.

I am Bradley Gann and 2013 is my year. I will not be out worked today.

Burn the Ships!
Feed the Wolf!





Goals- Here are a few short-term goals. I will re-post everyday and add dates to them as they are accomplished.

10 Consecutive Pull-ups (Up to 8 on 17 Feb)

1 month of Excellence in Training 

1 Month of Excellence in Diet

10 Good Handstand push-ups (At 3 against a wall 17 Feb)

1 behind the neck pull-up

1 muscle-up

Explosive Pull-up/ Toe Touch

Body Fat 10% (Scale says 13.9% Feb 19, Reliable?)

Human Flag

Pull-up with behind the back clap

Kuki Push-up

Body Fat 6%

One-arm pull up

One-arm leg raises on bar

Only 341 days to go!!

341 days 

until Saturday January 25 2014

a Saturday 11 months and 7 days from today

Height: 6'1"

Weight: 171.6

Leg Day

2/18/13

Good morning friend, how does it feel to be going somewhere awesome? This is a one way ticket to changing the future. In 341 days, I will be a radically different person than I am today. The change has already started. I am very sore. My upper body was taxed yesterday. I put a lot of effort into my pull up workout. I have not seen a lot of strength gains as far as how many repetitions I can perform. This does not bother me. I have only done 3-4 pull up workouts and I know I am getting stronger. I certainly feel it in my body. I finished yesterday 500 calories below my goal of 2000. My motivation level has not wavered in days now. I simply wake up and get into my normal rhythm. Small meal, blog, visualize, write out workout plan, get to work. It is very satisfying to be going somewhere I've never been. 

Yesterdays Workout

You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength. 
Marcus Aurelius 

Feed The Wolf,

Bradley

Goals- Here are a few short-term goals. I will re-post everyday and add dates to them as they are accomplished.

10 Consecutive Pull-ups (Up to 8 on 17 Feb)

1 month of Excellence in Training 

1 Month of Excellence in Diet

10 Good Handstand push-ups (At 3 against a wall 17 Feb)

1 behind the neck pull-up

1 muscle-up

Explosive Pull-up/ Toe Touch

Body Fat 10% (Scale says 14.4% Feb 17, Reliable?)

Human Flag

Pull-up with behind the back clap

Kuki Push-up

Body Fat 6%

One-arm pull up

One-arm leg raises on bar

Oh Pull Up Bar, You're gonna pay for looking at me like that...

342 days

until Saturday January 25 2014

a Saturday 11 months and 8 days from today

Height: 6'1"

Weight: Did not weigh
Pull Up Day

2/17/13

I already know what a cookie tastes like. I don't need a reminder of how good it is. I just need results. And I am seeing some incredible results in my abs already. I had a great workout the last two days and feel highly motivated going into today. This commitment is truly unique because I have never maintained such a solid motivation especially with my diet for this long. I think it's about 95 percent mental. But 77.5 percent of statistics are made up on the spot...Hmmm. Today I'm going to eat excellently and put in a very tough workout. I want to start reaching some of my goals on the pull up bar. The obsession with the pull up bar is due primarily the the Bar Brothers and their results. Bar Brothers Official Website. It's appealing to me because I don't have a fancy gym equipment at my house but I do have a bar and I can use it and my body weight to reach all kinds of muscle groups. Here is another amazing video for ab exercises on  the bar. 10 Ab exercises using a pull up bar. Awesome! 

Nutrition is going strong. My intake is now set at 2000 per day. I find it very comfortable to meet this goal but I have to concentrate on good foods in order to stave off hunger. I consume a good bit of peanut butter because it makes me feel full longer. I also notice that walking briskly will give me more time between hunger pains. Around lunchtime I usually have to eat one meal of 500 calories to really stop the hunger. I try to reach noon with 1000 calories remaining and five pm with 500 calories remaining. If I use these benchmarks, it helps me to gauge how the day is going. Overall, nutrition is solid. 

I hope you are moving toward your goals today. If you read all of that then you must clearly have an interest in accomplishing something yourself. You can be normal today or you can be excellent. If you want to be special, do something that is too hard for everyone else. The hardest part is starting. Just stop reading here and start! Once you have the momentum of a couple of days, it will get easier. Throw me a bone back, if you read this and are getting after it. Put what type of workout you did today in the comments. i.e. ABS, RUN, ARMS, BACK. I am very interested in your success. Also, if one of these speaks to you, then please share on whatever social media outlet you use. I'd love to have more people on board for the ride. Have a great day. Live excellently.

Feed the Wolf,
Bradley


Goals- Here are a few short-term goals. I will re-post everyday and add dates to them as they are accomplished.

10 Consecutive Pull-ups

1 month of Excellence in Training

1 Month of Excellence in Diet

10 Good Handstand push-ups

1 behind the neck pull-up

1 muscle-up

Explosive Pull-up/ Toe Touch

Body Fat 10%

Human Flag

Pull-up with behind the back clap

Kuki Push-up

Body Fat 6%

One-arm pull up

One-arm leg raises on bar

If the Honeymoon is Over, Bring it.

344 days 

until Saturday January 25 2014

a Saturday 11 months and 10 days from today

Height: 6'1"

Weight: Did not weigh
Chest Day

2/15/13

I am feeling an incredible difference in my arms. The new strength is very motivating. It's very psychological in how I finish the day. I find myself smiling that "bet you wonder what I'm up to" smile. In all things it seems that I focus on the end product, the actual achievement yet the most profound part is the confidence I gained from getting up, getting focused, and making myself put in the work for something I want. In a You Tube video, I heard a speaker say, " If you quit, no day will ever be your day." So I dwell on that. When the reps are getting difficult I slack off a little and remember that all work is moving forward and I will not accept anything but progress. I feel like I am coming to an end of the honeymoon phase of this idea. The idea of a year long journey to be the best me I can. This honeymoon phase I see as the time where I think of nothing else and charge onto the battle field. I'm reaching the point where the new is wearing off and I welcome it. This is where the rubber meets the road. I am an adult, I know how this works. Excitement wears away a little and your left with a bunch of goals and new habits that need active policing to get them done. I know where I am and I know what happens in this spot. This is what I have to say- Bring it. I got up this morning when you wanted to sleep. I put on my workout clothes and directed my mind to my goals. I went outside and put in rep after rep in accordance with my plans. I won. I'll see you tomorrow if you dare, but I'm telling you you're wasting your time. I'll be up early, I'll be feeding the wolf, and I'll be putting in the work. You cannot stop what I've put into motion.

Valentine's Breakfast 

Ab workout on 2/14/2013 I just make names up for stuff I saw and want to do, the proper name is not important. The work is. 

I wrote a good bit of this blog on 2/14/13. I feel great today 2/15 and had another awesome workout this morning. In my career field, we sometimes have a short amount of time to rest before the next work cycle. Last night was very short. I am thankful the diet has assisted me in feeling good after 6.5 hours of sleep. I had to hit the floor this morning at 430 and get my chest workout done right away. It was truly a good workout and I feel charged up for the day. It's nice to be 9:10 am and know that I won already. I'm trying to keep moving all day and keep the fat burn going. Yesterday's n utrition was solid and I finished 350 below my goal of 1900. 

Decide where you will be and move in that direction. Sometimes I think people work hard initially and see little results and the motivation fails. Stick with it! It's about the direction. Picture the two extremes of this fitness goal. On one side, I can be overweight, unsightly, feel bad physically as well as mentally have a sense of failure and regret  and watch life pass me by. On the other extreme, I could have the strength and shape that a body should have, I could have all that satisfaction of working for it, I could feel great, be moving forward, and loving life and those in it. Take action to move in the direction you want to go. For me, I was tired of settling for mediocre physical shape. I don't want my body to look like someone spilled something, I want it to look like it was placed there for a reason! This is my body. It is the first thing anyone sees when making a judgement of me. From here on out, it will wear the proud banner of self-discipline.

Put in the work today! Glad your here with me. It will only be a few more weeks until the results start really stacking up and others will take notice that something special is taking place. My resolve is sound. I'm on fire!

Feed the Wolf!!!

Bradley

Should I train to muscle failure?

345 days 

until Saturday January 25 2014

a Saturday 11 months and 11 days from today

Height: 6'1"

Weight: Did not weigh
Core/Abs

2/14/13

I am the master of myself. It is 5:41 and I am alive. There is something I want and I want it bad. I'm an animal with tunnel vision. All I see is the goal. I'm moving forward. The crowd of the world and it's countless lazy and normal options bombard me at ever moment but I am strong. Very Strong because there is something I want. I am moving towards it. I cannot be stopped. Through the chaos and the laughing I never take my eyes off my goal. 

Nutrition- Yesterday's nutrition is puzzling. I usually burn off many calories while working out and this allows me to reach my goal without starving. Yesterday I woke at 3:00 am and did not go to sleep until after 11:00 pm. It was a 20 hour day and I did not workout because it was a recovery day. I do not feel like I ate more than necessary. I was consciously eating small amounts of good foods but still became hungry quite often. I was over my goal of 1820 by 644 calories. Honestly I'm not sure if I should scold myself or take it as normal on a super long recovery day.  I don't think I could have ate any less without being miserable so I'm going to chalk this up to learning and just know that I will probably need more calories on days that I don't workout. I will also need to plan for more calories when I am going to be awake and active for 20 hours. Lastly, if possible, I can mitigate these excess calories and increase progress if I am able to include any amount of light cardio on recovery days. 

Training to Muscle Failure- I previously wrote about my workouts and how I train to muscle failure at each workout. Well, in short, that's not cool. After more research it seems that your muscles will strengthen more in relation to total weight moved not whether or not you reach muscle failure. So if you are doing push ups and your sets look like this for example 12, 8, 5, 3 then you have only done 28 push ups. If you pace yourself by reducing the initial reps and do more sets i.e. 5,5,5,5,5,5,5 then you will in fact have moved more weight by doing 35 reps instead of 28. You do not need to reach muscle failure. (muscle failure is defined here as not being able to do another rep with EXCELLENT form.) Armed with this new information, I am planning to reduce my reps and add more sets to my workouts.

It's time to be about it. Great day, Our day.
FTW,
Bradley



Goals- Here are a few short-term goals. I will re-post everyday and add dates to them as they are accomplished.

10 Consecutive Pull-ups

1 month of Excellence in Training

1 Month of Excellence in Diet

10 Good Handstand push-ups

1 behind the neck pull-up

1 muscle-up

Explosive Pull-up/ Toe Touch

Body Fat 10%

Human Flag

Pull-up with behind the back clap

Kuki Push-up

Body Fat 6%

One-arm pull up

One-arm leg raises on bar