The Numbers: January 2010

I was so busy this month that I did not know when the month started and ended! Time just flew. As I mentioned in my previous blog this quarter I am trying to get rid of some of the fat that I gained during my bulking phase from October to December 2009. The goal was to lose 1 lb of fat while gaining 1 lb of muscle during the same time. Basically replace fat with muscle pound per pound.

Here are the raw numbers for the month of January

• Weight: 124.26 lbs
  
• Fat %: 10.99%
• Fat: 13.66 lbs
• Lean mass: 110.60 lbs
• Weight change: -1.34 lbs
• Fat % change: 1.51%
• Fat change: -2.04 lbs
  
• Muscle change: 0.7 lbs

The program did not go as planned. I lost 2 lbs of fat which is great! But on the flip side I was able to gain only 0.7 lbs of muscle instead of the planned 1 lb. The main reason is that I got very busy at work and could not give enough attention to my diet. I ate only when I felt hungry. However I did not miss a single workout during that very busy month.

I have to be more careful from next month. Eat a bit more yet be slightly below my daily calorific requirements so I can continue to lose fat.

Filed under: exercise, fat, lean mass, muscle, numbers, reps, stats, weigh

The Numbers: December 2009

Time for some numbers now that december 2009 has come to an end. Not just the month, but the year and decade as well have come to an end. In december again I have gained a lot of fat while I gained very little weight. The reason mainly is because I reduced the amount of calories to a more “maintain weight” level.

Body weight and fat gain for the month of December, 2009

• Weight: 126.00 lbs
  
• Fat %: 15.51%
  
• Lean mass: 106.46 lbs
  
• Weight gain: 1.46 lbs
  
• Fat % gain: 1.48%
  
• Lean mass gain: -0.61 lbs

It is indeed strange that I have lost muscle. Unfortunately since I am doing slow tempo reps I am using lower weights so I cannot be sure if I really lost muscle or it is just an error in the body fat analyzer. I have a theory that my body fat analyzer has a lag in noticing the fat% change. When I gain weight I usually don’t see a quick gain in fat. It comes after a few days of the weight increase. So I am assuming I will see the fat reduction will come a little later after the weight has remained constant for a while. Only time will tell.

Ever since I started using a slower tempo I am unable to lift a lot of weight for the same number of reps that I used to do. Here are the latest numbers.

Exercises

• Squats: 150 lbs, 9 reps
• Deadlift: 185 lbs, 8 reps
• Bench Press: 100 lbs, 7 reps
• Pull-ups: 120 lbs, 9 reps
  
• Overhead Press: 70 lbs, 6 reps
  

All the weights have gone down, but I am getting a better pump. I would like to continue this on for a few more weeks and then I will switch to strength training. That is it for this post. Not a lot of improvements but I am closer to my target than when I started three months ago.

Filed under: exercise, fat, lean mass, muscle, numbers, reps, stats, weight