Personal Daily Workout Log - Special Update - July 16, 2007
You can follow my weekly recaps here on the blog every Sunday, and you can follow me EVERY day as I post my daily updates here: Personal Daily Workout Log (June 4, 2007 - Today).
Current Stats (week of July 16 - July 22)
Height - 6'3"
Weight - 193.0
Bodyfat - 17%
Biceps - 14.4"
Calves - 15.7"
Thighs - 23.75"
Waist - 32.2"
Chest - 44"
Notes:
As you know, last week I took an "active rest" week because I was long overdue, as I had been training intensely every week for well over my normal 3 month phases. I was interested to see how, if at all, that rest week would affect my measurements the next week.
Well, today I was quite surprised to find that I actually made more progress during my active rest week than any other week in a while! I actually gained nearly 3 pounds of muscle, while dropping my body fat percentage by nearly 2 points!
I couldn't believe it, and still can't seem to figure out quite why it happened. Could I have been stuck at a peak because of the continued stress I had been consistently putting on my body, not allowing for any real rest and growth?
Only one way to find out… I'm duplicating my exact "active rest" workouts from last week, to see what happens on next week's measurements. Maybe it was a fluke, or even if it was just my body thanking me for the break, will it produce the same results two weeks in a row?
Perhaps more surprising than the increase in muscle mass while decreasing body fat percentage, was that my calves actually grew nearly half an inch. I had to go back and check the past few weeks measurements, then remeasure them this morning just to make sure I was reading the tape right.
The only difference in my active rest week and my normal weeks leading up to it, was that I used only bodyweight for all the exercises on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The exercises and motions all stayed the same, just done with my own bodyweight, instead of a barbell and/or dumbbells. Plus my Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday core and cardio workouts all stayed exactly the same.
My weight training days on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday usually take about an hour each, but with only bodyweight exercises it saves a lot of time because I don't have to load/unload bars, therefore during the active rest week, they only last about 20 minutes!
How could I have made more progress by reducing my weight training time by 2/3?! I feel like I'm on an infomercial that promises your best body in "just three 20 minute workouts"! lol
I don't know quite what to make of all of it, but we'll see what happens next Monday, as I try to keep this week as similar to last week as possible just for kicks!
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Wow, abs showing at 17% bodyfat! That's very unusual and awesome!