Fitness and nutrition

I've neglected this blog a bit because I've been spending on a lot of time on Fitocracy which I found out about from a Fark thread.  It has some stupid social media aspects, but I've learned a lot about fitness there and there are a lot of really hot ladies.  I prefer women with meat on their bones and that's what you get when you do a lot of deadlifts and squats.

I was previously against weight training because I thought it's hard on the joints and unnatural, but now I see there are plenty of weight training exercises which mimic real life situations.  The farmer carry is an obvious example and you could imagine squatting down under something and lifting it up and out of the way.  I belong to a court club which has a weight room, but I prefer to workout early in the morning (~5AM) by myself so I don't have to wait for equipment to free up.  I've got a decent set up for body weight exercises, but just cleaned out a portion of the unfinished part of my basement.  I had all the moving boxes there, but moved them elsewhere (I'll eventually break them down for recycling) and put down exercise flooring last night.  Why?  Because I pre-spent my tax refund on a squat rack, 400lbs of weight plates, farmer carry bars and a bench.  I'll be able to do all sorts barbell exercises which should lead to some pretty quick strength gains since my frame can handle a fair amount of bulking.  Deadlifts should increase my core strength which will come in handy during basketball.

I have been doing the 666 program which is helping to build some strength, but not quickly enough for my tastes.  I am still going to do some of the progressions because I really want to be strong enough to do a muscle up and a handstand push up.  I'm able to attempt one armed push ups and my dips are solid, but I still need work on my pull ups since I put on Fat Gripz to improve hand, wrist and forearm strength.  My wrists are fairly narrow for my frame which will kill my dreams of being a professional boxer, but also limit quite a number of exercises.

As for the barbell work, I think I'll start out with the 5/3/1 program because it seems pretty straightforward and I don't know any better.  I have no idea what my four rep maxes are, but it'll be easy to find out.

I'm still trying to follow a Paleo diet, but I fell off the wagon in Australia and haven't been diligent since I got back.  I definitely can feel the ill effects of wheat, dairy and sugar, but they are still damn tasty.

I'm tracking my visual progress in this album.  I'm stronger than I look, but certainly not "cut" or "ripped."  I think having those as the only goal is a bit bromo so my main goal is overall health and strength gain without sacrificing flexibility.

I'm still hovering close to my short-term target of 20% body fat, but haven't been able to break the wall.  I think I can get there within a couple of months with increased strength training and a renewed focus on nutrition.