Week-5 of Paleo Diet + ultra-brief exercise – 9.5kg/20.9lbs down!

Posted on March 18, 2008. Filed under: Cardiovascular training, My Progress, Nutrition, Strength Training |

	Day 0 125kg/275lbs
	Day 21 117kg / 257.4lbs
	Day 35 115.5kg /254.1lbs

Training:

5 days a week now
still no more than 30 minutes per day
- ±15 minutes of weight training (very short rest between sets):
  - 10 sets of 3 reps / 15 sets of 2 reps (heavier) on one of the following:
    - barbell clean and push press
    - single dumbell clean and push press
    - barbell snatch
    - deadlift
    - John Davies’ “BEAR” (its a killer!) – its hard to do ‘cardio’ after this one, so I do sets on the ab wheel
  - + 1 set of bodyweight dips to failure (up to 18 reps now)
  - + 1 set to failure of a single biceps and triceps exercise if I feel like some ‘beach work’
- ± 15 minutes of very high intensity cardio
  - Tabata sprints (12 cycles instead of 8 )
  - Tabata squats
  - Tabata squats + pushups (as described in my previous post)

Note: I intentionally avoid training legs with a lot of weight as they grow too fast. I need to keep them at a size where I can still perform leg chokes when I start grappling again.

General Notes:

Only 1.5kg lost in 2 weeks. Expected that. Its OK, all of it (and more) is fat. I think I’m still gaining some muscle anyway.
Lost an enormous amount of internal (visceral) fat in the 5 weeks. Cardiac episode and other risks are now dramatically reduced.
Loose skin will be an issue in the belly and lower chest area – been overweight for way too long. No matter, I’ll take the loose skin over a heart attack any day!
Face is going thinner (Yaaayy!!!!)
Can’t believe how easy this is. I’m never hungry, except when I skip meals or only eat fruit during the day (both intentionally).
Knees and ankles don’t hurt anymore – an untrained 125kg was clearly too much for my frame.
Feel much better overall.

Notes to self:

Up protein intake a bit. Daily average is a bit too low.
Fat intake may be a bit too low too.
Need to up fish oil intake as well.
I’m now ready to start doing some Javorek complexes. That should get me in good enough shape to start grappling classes in about a month (after a 5-year ‘absence’).
Possibly a good idea to have a few longer and less intense cardio sessions just to prevent burnout.