One of the toughest exercises I've ever done.
Today's J-ropes were not very good, and the chest dips took a lot out of me, so my push-ups were mostly on my knees, but if there is one victory I'm extremely proud of today it is making it through all five of the 90 second planks today! I did it. I can't believe it. In the last plank set, my body was shaking like there was an earthquake going on inside me, but I held on and completed it. This is absolutely fantastic. I'm one happy planker.
However, now, I'm wondering why I'm having such a hard time putting muscle on my upper body--specifically my arms. Yes, I'm losing my gut and I'm so pleased with that--super pleased! But, now that I've been on the PCP for a while, I find myself looking beyond weight loss. I'm doing my exercises and eating more protien then ever before, but I feel I don't look any bigger arm and back muscle-wise. Is it my imaganation? Are the changes so gradual in my photo stream that I just don't see them? Is it genetic? My father was a star athelete, but never a "big" muscle-bound guy. Is it mental? I know I tend to give into weakness a bit more when it comes to exercises like the chest dips and push-ups. Hell, I still don't have the strength to do more than one or two pull-ups. I'm still doing inclined ones just to get some sense of acomplishment. Yeah, I know as I write this, I'm confusing back muscle performance with arm muscle performance, but one thing is for sure. When the PCP is over, I intend to continue working on my arms and back muscles until I see some kind of definitive change like I have with the rest of my body.
"It's times like this I wish my arms were bigger," thought Spider-man
And to think, a few months ago, just writing a post like this would have tired me out. ;-)
More tomorrow,
Sean
There's a big difference between strength and tone, and I think what you're talking about is wanting tone. That will come as the fat layers covering your muscle get thinner and thinner, allowing the the underlying muscular structure to poke through. What I'm most impressed with is how far your core strength has come in a relatively short period of time. We can build arms anytime, pretty quickly, but a strong core is hard to come by.
ReplyDeleteKeep working man.
Thanks, Patirck. :-)
ReplyDeleteWow, your core really built up fast! I cannot do all full sets of plank yet, I think it is connected to my back muscles not being strong. Anyway, way to go man!
ReplyDeleteTotally. You're studdin' out, man!!
ReplyDeleteWow dude! I can't get through all 5 yet. The first is fine but after that I start to collapse shortly after the 60 or 40 sec mark.
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