Finding It Hard to Exercise and Eat Healthy47 lbs LOSTso farAugust 23, 2007 by Israel Lagares | 12 comments
Ever since getting back home from New York I have been finding it extremely hard to exercise and eat better. I told myself that when I got back home it would be back to my normal routine that I followed before heading off on vacation. Well, disappointingly I have not lifted one weight or eaten anything healthy. It has been about 2 weeks since I got back. Ugh. I can’t stand myself right now, but I know that I need to get my act together.
The closest I have come to a workout has been running around the house playing tag with my 2 year old daughter. I know that I lost what I gained (stamina-wise) because running around the living room makes me lose my breath and I start breathing really hard. I have also manage to break a sweat by changing the car seat from car to car outside in the hot sun. Besides that there has been nothing.
I do have the desire, but I am not sure how to kick start myself. My wife is back on track, working out and eating right. She tries to motivate me but I resist. Those darned Burger King Rodeo Burgers are too irresistible, and they are only $1 for now!! How can I say no to that? Anyway, I guess I need to dig deep and man up (as they say back where I am from).
I have already failed my goal of being at a decent weight by end of August. I managed to gain back all the weight I lost and lose all the stamina and energy that I gained.
Here is to hoping that I can man up and start getting my act together.
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Analysis of Israel: week one.47 lbs LOSTso farJune 8, 2007 by Israel Lagares | No comments
Analysis of Israel: week one.
An unbiased third party opinion.
First Impressions:
Israel has incredible upper body strength.
Example 1: Even out of shape without touching a weight for over 120 days Israel can perform seated behind the neck military presses with 135lbs with ease for twelve repetitions. He proceeds with this weight and rep count for 4 sets. It’s apparent pressing 165lbs for 6 to 8 rep sets would be a cake walk for him. Curious if a 225lbs 1 to 2 rep max is within his reach already still within week one.
Example 2: Bench press strength is just as impressive. Performing 10 to 12 reps with 225lbs is routine. Israel uses this weight for up to 4 sets. 315lbs max bench is a good estimation.
Israel’s Strength:
Israel’s ultimate strength stems from his extraordinary stamina. Remember this is a man that weighs 340 plus pounds who can push through 20 sets of strenuous movements with significant poundage. All this while keeping the strictest form. He is a fanatic about form which has most likely contributed to his well honed innate muscular control and subsequent strength. It unusual to find a 340 pounder that can out last me, but in the case of Israel there is living proof. A running background that expanded his lung capacity and possibly a large powerful heart are major reasons that Israel can last to the point where others might feel the effects of over exertion.
Israel’s weakness:
Israel holds a large portion of his weight in his thighs and rear. To burn off weight on one’s legs every muscle head worth a dime knows that you have to really fry those legs. Israel needs to step up the intensity and volume on the resistance training portion of his lower body. His running regimen is without a doubt on target but complimenting that with a more challenging weight lifting plan for his legs will take things to the next level. Here’s what a revamped leg workout might look like:
4 sets squat 8-12 reps 185lbs
2 sets squat 6 reps 225lbs
1 set squat 2-3 reps 265lbs
4 sets leg extensions 12-16 reps 150lbs
2 sets hang cleans 8-12 reps 145lbs
2 sets calf raises 16-24 reps 145lbs
2 sets lying leg curl 12 reps 110lbs
Final Impressions:
Israel will indeed reach his goal. Not only because of his sheer stamina but of his indefaitigueable will and focus. These are his true strengths. Although it never hurts to be naturally strong and have the lungs of a diver. Israel will lose weight and I can confidently say that a final weight of 225lbs is attainable.
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Double Time47 lbs LOSTso farJune 5, 2007 by Israel Lagares | No comments
Today was an awesome day. I woke up ready to workout but couldn’t because I spent the majority of the day with my daughter. It was so great because we enjoyed each others company. For breakfast I had some Total Raisin Bran with some 2% low fat milk. It tasted really good and filled me up. After that I had my daily morning protein shake. I usually prepare my shakes with Green Tea instead of milk or water. I don’t know why but I like it that way. After spending some more time with my daughter and in between episodes of The Backyardigans on Nickalodean, I managed to eat some tuna for lunch with some green tea to wash it down. Yummy!
I called Lukas to come over so that we could have our weekly workout session. He jetted over and we began working out. We benched and did some triceps. Some will argue that you shouldn’t work those two muscle groups on the same day, some will argue that you should. I like switching it up so I don’t really care. We did about 6 or 7 sets of bench. First with 135 lbs to warm up. Then 3 more sets with 225 lbs. Finally 3 sets of 135 lbs to cool down. It was quite a workout. Then we did some triceps and abdominals. He showed me some new exercises to target my mid section and I showed him my patented twist workout. We loved each others new found torture-like exercises.
After we finished with the strength training part of the day, I jumped on to my treadmill and JOGGED for 10 minutes straight. Why did I capitalize “jogged?” Well, it’s not every day that you see a 340 lb man jogging for 10 minutes at a decent speed. Also, I was not expecting to be at this point until 2 or 3 weeks into my working out. So it was an awesome achievement. I jogged for 10 minutes, walked for 6 minutes, then jogged or 4 minutes more. I was extremely pleased with the afternoon workout.
This is my treadmill in the “closed” position:
After the workout we had some whey protein and took a break. I made my shake with green tea, fiber, whey protein, and glutamine. It does not taste too bad and I like to take it all in at the same time, instead of separately. For dinner I had two slices of grilled chicken with salad. It hit the spot. So a few hours pass by and guess what? I was ready for my “two-a-day” second cardio session. Normally I would workout in the morning and then again at night, but this time I had to exercise only a few hours later. It was well worth it.
My wife has been wanting to drop about 15 lbs off of her petite frame. She keeps saying she needs motivation, so instead of going into The Shack to get on the treadmill I told her to get dressed so that we could go for a walk. She does so right away and after a nice stretch we start off. Right away I tell her to jog instead of walk. We start off jogging down the street. It’s dark so we decide to jog in the middle of the road instead of the sidewalks. I didn’t want any weird animals jumping out at us. LOL. About 10 minutes into it I start needing to urinate, my wife is 130 lbs and is in pretty decent shape so she is a few steps ahead of me. I yell at her to stop so that I can relieve myself in a bush. A minute later we are back hitting the pavement. The sweat begins pouring down my face, arms, and legs. I immediately realize that my body is beginning to show the effects of working out a few hours earlier. But that did not stop me as I kept pushing. My wife did as well, she was now about half a block ahead of me at the point. I was not in any pain, I simply could not pump my legs any faster. It was odd, almost like slow motion. But I kept at it. When we got back home I was drenched in sweat. I sat down for a few minutes then did some of the ab exercises that Lukas showed me earlier in the day. My wife did some push ups and abs of her own and we went inside. My mom thought it was pouring rain outside. That just shows you how sweaty I was.
After a nice warm shower I laid down and thought of the great day that had just passed. I had managed to workout two times with two different motivated individuals. Days like this are good, especially after the lack luster week I had on my trip.
Oh, I almost forgot, I took some pictures today after my first workout. Here they are:
This is me posing like a super muscular strong man.
I have a long way to go, but this is 8 days later.
This is me looking normal and worn out after the first workout of the day.
Well, tomorrow is another day. I am extremely excited with what tomorrow holds. Hasta la pasta.
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9 Pounds Lighter: Internal Furnace, Thermogenesis47 lbs LOSTso farMay 29, 2007 by Israel Lagares | One comment
That’s right. 9 Pounds of waste is no longer a part of me. By the way, last night I could only crank out 25 push ups. Halfway there but it’s a start. I have some pics of the gym I have set up in my shack and also of the back yard where I will be doing some cross training to spice things up a bit.
I will post those pics as soon as I get home.
“The Shack.” This is where a majority of my weight training will be done. I got an excellent work out today when I squatted. This contraption was a gift from Lukas. He totally hooked me up. He even built the damn thing. It has a lat pull down, bench, incline bench, shoulder press, squat rack, triceps pull down, curling station and some other stuff I made up along the way. I jumped on the treadmill today for about 20 minutes today and broke a mean sweat. I was actually really surprised how good it felt.
The day started out with me not wanting to wake up. I was laying in bed thinking of whether or not to workout in the morning AND at night or to just work out at night. After about 20 minutes of senseless contemplation my daughter woke me up and we got dressed and went shopping. That bailed me out of having to workout in the morning. I did have an excellent breakfast: a fruit salad that consisted of mango and strawberries.
As I walked through the stores I noticed that I was unusually sweaty. I had been drinking tons of green tea and fiber and why protein. So I started to realize that my body was like a furnace. One word. Thermogenesis. It had begun after only one day. I was totally shocked. What is thermogenesis? Google or Wiki it: Wiki Link, Google Link. It makes your body act like a furnace. Burning up the crap in your body. It was so bad that I started getting uncomfortable. So I went home and and decided to workout. I first at some spinach and lettuce and drank some more water ( I had been drinking tons of green tea and water all day). My workout was a quick one. I did squats. Squats of doom. They hurt so bad, my legs are sore. I did 4 sets with 135 lbs: 14 reps, 14 reps, 10 reps, and 10 reps. They hurt so bad I was grunting and sweating and in pain. But it was awesome. I had Lukas come over and squat with me. Great motivation. We are going to try and workout at least once a week together. Afterwards I had some whey protein and some green tea then I sat down for like 20 minutes to recover.
Lukas kept working out, I don’t really know what he did but he did it. So, I was entrusted with the task of building the patio furniture we just purchased from The Home Depot. I looked at it like another workout. I didn’t really sweat so after it was built I went to The Shack to walk on the treadmill and do some bench. Like I said above, it was a really good second session.
Lukas kept pestering me to weigh myself so I finally caved in. That’s when the scale read 339 pounds. The thermogenesis and bathroom visits had begun to o their job.
So I showered and met my wife at Wal-Mart. That’s when I decided to grab some milk gallons and curl them for about 15 minutes on each arm. I broke another fierce sweat and this time it felt good. Like I posted before, I am going to be doing some unusual things to get this weight off. Curling milk gallons as I shop, building furniture, walking aimlessly, it will all help.
Now I am preparing for my business trip. This is going to be my first major test/obstacle. I will be away for about a week with no traditional gym equipment or means of preparing my own food. What will I do? I have prepared some fruits, veggies, nuts, yogurts, cereal, and green tea to assist me on my trip. I will also do some calisthenics while I am away.
I am not looking forward to this, but its been a good start. Now all I need to do is keep it up. My posts this week my be lessened, but I will try my best to keep the blog updated.
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