Well, it’s been a few weeks since I last logged in and updated my quest for weight (fat) nirvana, that Last 10 Pounds. And the reason I’m posting this update; a fellow ‘gym rat’ whom I hadn’t seen in several months made the comment “are you buffing up?” This was two weeks ago and as of this morning; it looks like I’ve scored another 3 lbs on the scale. Remember from my previous post, when people notice, combined with total loss of 8 lbs since October 2010, you’re on the right tract. I’m quite sure the loss is mostly ‘fat’ because I’m lifting heavier, keeping up the modified Drop Set routines and still working the higher intensity cardios described in earlier posts. I’ve also been pretty diligent in at least a 1 day a week (Sunday) fast, e.g. intermittent fasting, plus keeping total calorie count down a bit.
I have to admit that between my 4:00 am alarm, spending an hour and a half at the gym 6 days a week plus, my normal daily work routine, I do get tired and by 9:00 pm, I am ready to hit the sheets. The best part, it’s a ‘good’ tired, very unstressed.
From my last post you should note that I have been taking 500 mg’s of niacin (B3) to help control cholesterol. The B3 also had a positive effect on my cardio workout routines. Because of the positives, I have also started taking a 100 mg hit of B6. I feel the B6 puts me in a deeper sleep sooner and keeps me there until the alarm goes off. The only negative (as far as the B6), there is a noticeable grogginess that’s hard to overcome when you first wake up. This grogginess carry’s into my morning workouts and I think, limits my energy output during the 1st half hour or so of any cardio activity. It doesn’t seem to affect any lifting activities, just the cardio. However, I do feel better once the sleep hangover fades.
The other lessen learned on sleep is; ‘DON’T SLEEP IN’. What I found interesting about the B6 is that it works wonders if you are tired and ready for sleep, yet it does nothing to help you fall asleep. Even with the B6 getting me deeper more restful ZZZZZ’s, if I sleep in on a Sunday morning for anything more than 2 hours or so, I have a hard time falling asleep at 9:00 or, I end up waking early Monday morning, way before the alarm goes off. This puts me in a kind of self induced ‘Jet Lag’ that takes until Wednesday to self correct.
So does the B6 have an effect on weight management? Not directly but, since your body needs sleep to recover and heal, I think it has an indirect benefit as a sleep aid. Just keep in mind that the B6 doesn’t help you ‘fall’ asleep and that you may need a longer warm up to get up to pace. I plan on cutting the 100 mg per day B6 back to 50 and see if this improves the grogginess without loosing the benefit of improved sleep. So look for those results in my next post.
Drop Sets; I started down this path in February and I am here to tell you, they will improve your progress in strength gains. I have always struggled at the heavier weights, adding 5 pounds a week and completing 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps. This basic routine will get you to the point of bench pressing your own body weight or dead lifting and squatting 1 ½ times your body weight but, to get beyond, you’ll need something more. Completing 4 sets of drop sets, with 1 set equal to 8 reps at weight followed by 12 reps at a lower weight (25 to 30% less), will improve your performance tremendously, especially utilizing free weights
If you would like to see a 2 week cycle Drop Set Workout Plan, just follow the link to left.
A word of caution; drop sets will ‘tire you out’, so if your weight days contain 3 groups of 2 to 4 exercises (3 supersets), then pick only one group for the drop sets. If you try to complete 3 supersets of drop sets, you will be in pain over the next several days.
Sleep Well, Lift Heavy and Run Hard
MMJennings
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