After looking at snecx's tubs of protein... I realised why I'm not gaining weight.

I'm not eating enough. No wonder. Previously, it was easy to gain 1kg every 2-3 weeks, I was eating like a mad man. For the past 1 month... there's no weight gain at all. Gotta up my food intake.
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Hah hah! Kena tegur from PT liao. This guy saw me squating with the make shift rack. After I'm done with the squats, he came and politely asked me if I can pull back the barbell racks together after I'm done with it. Of course I can... but actually I don't think I will. I'm going to use it everytime I go there, there's no point for me to move it back. In any case, it's not obstructing anything or anyone at all. No power/squat rack pun berani kacau me some more. Haih...

Today, Bahagian (A) (3x10 instead of 5x5)

observation:
- Bench press: Unable to balance the bar properly, my shoulder blades are moving all over the place - the bench macam too narrow to allow my back to rest on it. By 3rd set baru dapat balance the bar properly. I hate that fix height hook. My hands is just too darn short to get it off.
- Pendlay row: Can feel the middle back getting more work, but no feel on the lats.
- Did half a Tabata interval on the rowing machine to see what the hype is it about. I guess half is not enough.

Squat
45kg x 3 x 10; 90s rest

Bench press
32.5 x 2 x 10; 90s rest
35 x 2 x 10; 90s rest

Pendlay row
30 x 3 x 10; 90s rest

Dips
16
9
7

Abs machine
55 x 8
50 x 10
50 x 8

Concept 2 rowing
Tried a ciplak half Tabata interval for 2 minutes only.

This post has been edited by iamyuanwu: Jun 13 2008, 12:11 AM

Leong PM'd me this. I thought I'd put it up here for everyone:
Thanks, Leong.



This post has been edited by iamyuanwu: Jun 14 2008, 01:27 AM

Some tasty food for my reference:
Tried it just now, with some modifications:
1 tbs oats
1 teaspoon 5-grain powder (taste absolutely weird, but i know it's good stuff because my mom bought it.)
1 scoop ON Whey choc
1 egg (boiled a bit)
1 tbs peanut butter
a bit of milk.

Thankfully not puke inducing!
Next time, i'll add natural flavoured yogurt. Sure super tasty and canggih one! And the best thing about yogurt... it reduces the puking/nauseous effect.

This post has been edited by iamyuanwu: Jun 14 2008, 01:39 AM

There's this niggling ache at the very low back near ass. It only aches a bit when I bend over hard. Taking a half week off from heavy lifting and see if the soreness & aches at the lower back will improve.
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simplefit.org Level 4 day 3 = 7.15 min
---
Anyone here does clean & jerk and snatches in fitness centres like Fitness First, California Fitness, etc...
C&J and snatch sounds like very interesting. I tried a superbly-cacat-form of hang clean & press --- Woah! Feels like kena trashed! Huffing and puffing -- nice!

Who know how to C&J and snatch?
---
raindrops...
Will post picture tonight.

Snecx lah, not spenx... sounds like spandex liddat. Nanti Snecx slap you with spandex baru u tau. XD
---
cool_iced...
Oi, Mie!
Stop lurking and drop something in my comment. You secretly mornitoring my progress but diam-diam ubi, ya?
---
Heck, why is everyone so bl00dy tall?! Every single guy who posted their journal is 175cm and above. I'm barely 166.
---
Here are the photos! Crap... the photos are so big. Next time I'll resize them to smaller ones.

2008-06-18 This is a 166cm body, so it's actually smaller than it looks.


All poses are home brewed. And i position myself in the best lighting to amplify the illusion of muscles.
XD

When I flex my abs, the nice definition of the pec seems to disappear. Instead of a nice square chest... there's some rounded stuff appearing below... making it looks like I have manboobs.
And don't be fooled by the abs --- i have to flex and suck in until muka merah macam mawar berkembang so that only 4 pieces appear.
I can finally see traces of the nice double trunk running along the back. YES! More squats and deadlift please!

Bata...
Stats? You mean body weight, fat%, etc?
Sama-sama, bro!

Rey...
Heh heh, tak pernah perasan the veins on my arms until you mentioned.
Speaking of which... Mass XXplosion & ON Whey sudah mau habis. You've got stock?

Raindrops...
Secret to bigger chest: work the back more than the chest. Oh, and lots of push ups too.

Ini sudah 5 bulan. 5 months... if still no improvements then I'm certified memang tak guna already. I need to eat more! Eat more!

Bata...
Don't know, man... Fitness First machines. The way it measures pun I feel doubtful.

But I can tell you there is a layer of flab around the waist. Just that I flex kau kau... it became invisible in the photo.
If I slouch on a chair... like Michelin Man liddat... can see 3 lapis on the tummy. Target to reduce body fat to 10%.
---
Just stumbled upon this:
http://hundredpushups.com

Who's up for the challenge?
I'm going to mix it with the simplefit.org and see if I'll get super fit.

1 week sabatical from gym. Lower back soreness seems to have reduced.

40 simple push ups at one go. The last 6-7 reps have to force it out and take a few second rests.

Friday 20 June:
Bhg B

Squats
50kg 3x10

Overhead press
25kg x10
22.5kg x10
22.5kg x10

Deadlift (the 20kg plates are larger, so the bar is slightly higher = less distance travelled when lifting --> making it easier to lift?)
60kg, 2x10

Pull ups
[after 1 set, the stupid mah chow hai PT went and showed a girl how to use the graviton-pull-up-machine --- tunjuk the various grips and how to set up the weights etc. The girl then promptly squeeze out 40-50+ pull ups using 1 tonne counter weight --- as if she was playing see-saw liddat. Then the PT happily chatting with her bf about pull ups and everything under the sun.
I was standing next to them staring at her ass and her boobs and waiting to use the machine... feeling pissed and all 3 of them totally ignored me. Fxcked up my timing! And worse of all, it's not even part of their workout programme or PT session, the PT saja nak action lebih about how high-tech is that graviton! Super @#$%^&%$# TULAN!
Thankfully the girl is slim and pretty also lah... eventhough I'm pissed, I still find solace in staring at her boobies and booties.
If any FF PT ever come and disturb me when i'm in FF, I'm going to screw them left-right-up-down-&-centre! Probably shove a barbell up their arse... a.k.a. hukuman sula!]

10+1 (after 10 reps, I came off from the bar for a split second and squeeze out 1 rep. Then the above incident happened.)
8+1
5

---

Added on June 21, 2008, 7:48 pm21 June
hundredpushups.com
Week 1 Day 1
2-3sec down, half up, down, bounce-explode-up-hands-off-the-floor
10; 60sec rest
10
8
6
7+16 (bounce but no jump; last 16 = simple push ups, muscles feel like could do more but I guess CNS is out already)
--
Oris watch appreciation.
Went to Oris in Lot10. Had a great time learning about certain watch movements and Oris. Cheapest watch rm3800, most expensive rm48k. Apparently, mechanical watches require quite an amount of care and maintainence. Even if they give me one, maintaining an Oris would require quite a deep pocket.

The watches are still hand made in Holstein, Switzerland. The name Oris is from the river Oris near Holstein. Oris' ambassador this year is Nico Rosberg of Williams F1 team.
Watches are still hand made (like most other mechanical watch makers) or hand assembled. Calling the various parts that make up the watch 'small' is an understatement --- microscopic is more suitable. There this part called the hairspring inside the flywheel that regulates the speed of the dials --- the spring is literally as thin as hair... maybe thinner.
---
Then went to H&F gathering. Basket, in the thread... so many people cakap nak datang. Akhirnya beberapa budak je yang hadir. Sial....

This post has been edited by iamyuanwu: Jun 21 2008, 07:48 PM

FF Leisure Mall. It has got to be the most [insert choice of expletives] cacated FF branch ever. That PT is a bit berjanggut, my height or shorter, dark skinned, a bit rounded. A 'dwarf' (as in LOTR) would describe that KNNCCB-imbecile nicely.

I just couldn't understand why Leisure Mall choose to put a cable-stepper that no one touches (except for a few aunties) or 2 cable machines (one of which very little people use)... instead of a power rack. I'm sure the power rack is way cheaper.

Nah, nothing against the cable machines. It's just that I feel having 2 but with people using only 1 is a bit lame. Might as well replace it with a power rack. But then again... there might be even less people who would use the power rack. Ah, well...

---

Added on June 23, 2008, 7:30 pmA heads up for you guys:
GNC warehouse sale in The Weld (next to KL Tower), 23-28 June 10am-9pm. Kononnya up to 70%.

I'm going tomorrow to check it out, see if I can get some bargain there (I don't think so).

This post has been edited by iamyuanwu: Jun 23 2008, 07:30 PM

Just came back from it.
I 3rd what Darklight said. Memang expected already lah. Whey protein, creatine, Muscletech, ON, BSN, EAS all those still giler babi 'mahai' (my grandma's way of saying 'mahal').

What about other supplements e.g. fish oil (EPA,DHA), flaxseed oil, multi vitamins, antioxidants, & various other supplements?
After 30% discount, wild salmon fish oil costs 70 Ringgit... reasonable kah? I'm so tempted to buy.

Eh, apa ni? Recommend lah website mana-mana yang bagus.
So, Syd... do you sell fish oil tablets and multivitamins?

Today's workout:
Observation:
- My Pendlay row tak boleh pakai. I notice I couldn't really arch my lower back when I pull the bar. I'm lacking the flexibility to bend over and arch the back. It's putting too much strain on my hips. Will switch to Yates or bend over row.
- Damn hard for me to increase my bench press weight.

BHG A:
squats
52.5kg, 3x10
55kg x5

bench press
40kg, 4x10

Pendlay row
32.5kg x10
35kg x10
35kg x7
35kg x5

dips
18
11
9

abs machine
50kg x10
50kg x10
55kg x10
55kg x10 (cacat set)

Yes, I do bend my knees. I bring the bar to my upper abs. But I feel the burn in my thighs and a bit on my lower back.
You coming to the H&F gym meet on Sunday? Then I can ask you to spot my Pendlay row.
---
We are in Malaysia mah, so use metric system lah. Pounds is for the Americans... they just like to be different for the sake of being different.

I see people b-press 60kg... sometimes up to 100kg+ in Leisure Mall... fuiyoh!!
I feel so inferior. Semua guna beberapa big plates... I use one green plate also huffing and puffing like a dog. Some more I need to 'cheat' the weights up. Pizzaboy ajar punya! X^D
---
Week 1 of hunderdpushpus.com kaotim.
Starting week 2 on Sat or Sun.

This post has been edited by iamyuanwu: Jun 26 2008, 07:18 PM

I was pulling your legs, m8! Saja nak tengok bagaimana pizzaboy react.

Not 'cheating' actually. I don't know what it's called, but it's something to do with CNS stimulation thing. Using the thighs and lower body muscles to increase the nervous response... so that the chest and arms can push more weights during bench press. Unbelievable, when pizzaboy first showed me.

It's definitely not for support --- you're already lie down on a bench, what else support do you need.
Pizzaboy ajar the powerlifter's nifty trick.

Lie on the bench, put your feet on the ground. Then pull your legs as far back towards your head as possible (only the toes are still in contact with the ground at this point) and arch your body. You should form a rainbow between your shoulders and your butt.

Now start doing the bench press. When you press the weights up, flex your thighs or try to dig your toes/feet into the ground. Scream if you want (this will probably flex the abs for more nervous response X^D). You'll notice you could push more weights.

Not as easy to describe it in words. Sometimes I forget about the digging toes into ground thing... but this trick allowed me to force the last few reps and complete the whole set.

Today in Bionic Gym, the ghetto gym!

Observation:
- My weird ass programme. First 2 set: heavier and less rep, I reckon it can be useful for increasing strength; next 3 set: normal weights and more set, for muscular growth... I hope...

- Squats... In certain reps, I feel the weights fall on the ball of my feet rather than on the heels.
- Squats... Should I lock out my knees when I reach the top? Because I suspect that I'm locking my knees too hard and I can feel some niggling aches now. Or maybe I should be doing some hamstring and glut work?
- Deadlift... 2nd set, by 5th rep, i need to take a 10 second rest. Crap. During one of the heavy reps, I think I rounded my back a little. So at the top, when I tried to lean backwards to squeeze my gluts... I felt my lower back suddenly snaps into an arch. Fxcking scary! Next time must control my abs, back muscles properly. Always forgets to tighten the abs and back.
- Pull ups... Can't feel the burn/sore in my lats anymore. I used to feel it everytime habis pull ups.

- Misc... my training partner claimed that his spine is injured, somewhere between the middle back and lower back area. I tried to feel his spine and look at his back... I don't see anything abnormal, though he kept saying it aches/sore. I'm not even sure if he can differentiate the soreness of his back muscles with the aching of his spine. This began after a heavy deadlift session 2 weeks ago. Sometimes I observe him perform the squats... I damn scared his knees will crumble like a cave in. I so feel like kicking his knees until they follow the toes.

So he says he can't squat, can't deadlift, anything that involves the spine/back muscles is a no-no for him. What exercise do you guys recommend for him? (I'm guessing he sprained his spine a bit? ).

Squat
60 x 5
60 x 5
55 x10
55 x10
55 x10

Overhead press
30 x 5
30 x 3
25 x 10
25 x 9 (pancit)
25 x 8 (pancit again)

Deadlift
71.5 x 5
65 x 10 (but with many rest in between reps)

Pull ups
12
7
5

Snecx...
Of course I'm still up for the 100 push ups thing. Week 2 day 1 habis.
Semua kg lah. Easier to count, easier to remember. The imperial system is only for the Americans.
---
Basket... banyak orang make a lot of noise for the meet up in FF Consplant. In the end Shanecross, DKSH and me saja datang. Apa ni?!

First time I see aunties doing free weights. I've never seen any female species touching free weights in Leisure Mall. I guess Cheras is an ulu place after all...
But then, LM's free weights is on a split level and highly testosterone charged.
---
Today's log:
Observation:
- Hung over from yesterday. Only managed 4 sets today. Going to die liddat. Worse... now down with sore throat, cold and fever.
- Squat: Shane noticed I'm using more hip action. Less quad activation. I'm OK about that, my concern now is to lift heavy with any correct form (preferably oly style) to stimulate more growth.
- Pendlay row: better form today thanks to Dixon spotting my posture.

Squat
62.5 x5
62.5 x5
55 x10
55 x10
x

Bench press
47.5 x5
50.0 x5
42.5 x10
42.5 x10
x

Pendlay row
40 x5
40 x5
35 x10
35 x10
x

Dips (3++ minute rest)
17
13
11

Various other exercises that I ikut Dixon buat.

This post has been edited by iamyuanwu: Jun 29 2008, 10:22 PM

Yeah, it makes me lift more. I'm hypothesizing that lifting heavier with more muscle recruitment may stimulate more growth.
At this stage, I hope the basic big lifts can increase my overall muscle mass first... before I start targeting muscle groups and isolation.

Yup. Nice too see you too.
Heck... Federal Highway to Subang Jaya is a mess. My goodness...

---

Added on July 4, 2008, 12:03 pmTried to use the hundredpushups.com programme for pull ups.
--> Not possible. Pull up uses too damn much energy just to do one. Unlike push ups, squeezing one more rep is super hard. Fuh!

Week 2 day 3 --> done.
Week 1 day 2 (6-10) for pull ups --> pancit giler - unable to complete.

This post has been edited by iamyuanwu: Jul 4 2008, 12:03 PM

Observation
- Tak cukup tidur. Can't lift nuts! Squats almost failed a few times. @#$%^&*#$&%$!!! Gave up for today's workout. No point, I simply can't lift today. Pissed with myself.

I'm also super pissed with FF LM not having a power rack/squat rack. Fxcking mah lan faan... everytime have to pull the barbell racks apart and all those shite. And the free weights section is so small I might as well deadlift in the changing room --- there's more space there.

Squat
65.0 x5
62.5 x5
57.5 x10
57.5 x9

Overhead press
30 x5
30 x5
25 x10
25 x8
25 x7