That sounds too much like thinking for myself. I've printed off the Beginner Level of Anthony's Weight Loss Programme, which only has 4 routines anyway. I'll see how I feel this evening.
Well, after getting some advice on the Lose Weight board about the muscle soreness, I decided to go for it, and drove "home" in determined mood. I also planned to go to a supermarket and get some decent, non-processed food to eat after the work out. That didn't quite go to plan and I got stuck in the mother of all traffic jams on Doha's C-ring road. Stupid boy. I ended up getting back to the apartment at 7.30 feeling very stressed, but I changed and went straight up to the gym. This is what I did:
The soreness subsided during the exercise, but boy, I nkew about it afterwards. The hot bath I had later was nice, and there is also a steam room I could use up in the gym area. I still need to tweak the first two routines to a better weight, but we're getting there. The dumbbells only go up to about 15, so might have to go for a barbell squat.
For tea I had chicken noodles with chicken sausages (hotdog-style), a couple of small brown rolls ) all bought from the garage across the road, and a drink called Pocari Sweat, which is nicer than it sounds, it's supposed to be isotonic and replaces all the electrolytes, etc., which I think is sensible in this climate. I need to sort out the batchelor cooking, though. I will go to a supermarket tomorrow and buy some proper food to put in the fridge. I've also been invited to a colleague's roof-top barbeque tonight, which should be fun. I'm gonna try and be good, and will probably not drink much, if any alcohol.
So onwards and upwards. This is turning into more a blog than a log!
Had a good weekend (all one day of it), even though I had a bit of a blow-out Friday night with 4 bottles of Corona (such a nice beer in hot weather) at a friend's barbecue.
Still, I was motivated to go and buy some real food and stocked up on chicken, pasta, brown Arabic bread, tomatoes, some tinned fish, eggs, etc. No excuses this week.
And I managed to squeeze in a 30-minute cardio session on an exercise bike. Burned a few of the BBQ calories away, hopefully.
Back on the weights tonight for my second week on the plan. Looking forward to it.
Ta, people. The good thing about being in Qatar is that it's not straightforward getting beer, so I don't drink at all through the week. It'll be on a treat basis only.
Biggest worry is when I come back to the UK for my 1 week in 6 break. The break in the routine could be a challenge, and I'll have to find a gym that I can use on a PAYG basis. Also, the lack of bacon and pork here could have me slaughtering the first pig I clap eyes on.
Into week 2 and I was raring to get in that gym after an awful 90-minute drive back from work. If you know how they drive here in the Middle East, you will understand why it gets stressful.
Anyway, my routine was:
Dumbbell Squat - 15kg x 12
Chest Press - 50kg x 13
Lat Pulldown - 55kg x 10
Dumbbell O/head Press - 12kg x 8
I'm getting closer to my optimum weights now. There was someone else in the gym this time as well, when I've previously been all alone. I tried not to feel self-conscious, and didn't really, but watched the other guy trashing himself on the treadmill before doing really fast reps on resistance machines. I'm sure he thought my 4/4 cadence was strange, as well as the short time I spent in there. He also went onto the lat pulldown machine just as I finished my chest press, and I wondered what to do, but he did 3 quick sets and moved on.
What do you do if someone else is using a machine you want? Tricky one. Do the alternative on the list, perhaps, such as a Dumbbell bent over row...whatever that is!
What do you do if someone else is using a machine you want? Tricky one. Do the alternative on the list, perhaps, such as a Dumbbell bent over row...whatever that is!
Ask them how sets they have left, and if they have more than one, politely ask if you can work in between them i.e. they do one set, you do one set. Most people are polite enough to agree. If not, then come back to it later.
It is v brave to post your pics on here. NO ONE is going to laugh, we're all here to encourage you mate. But if you lapse into bad habits expect us to be quite harsh (esp barcode ;P)
Good luck dude - keep posting on here each week , it helps to make yourself feel accountable. Even if no one posts a reply doesn't mean we aren't reading. ANd of course Anthony and PJ are always here to ask for advice so don't hesitate to put @Anthony or PJ in the title to grab their attention.
