And, something new gets thrown into the mix.
Like a number of fellow MuscleHackers (I'd wager), I bougnt a copy of Timothy Ferriss's "4-Hour Body". I read through most of it in a week or so, eagerly digesting the content on "effortless superhuman" and how minutes per week in the gym were enough to gain mounds of muscle. This was all whule I was on the tail end of THT 3.1 HIT, mind you. I;'ve since resolved that this guy is WAY too lucky to be encouraging others to do half of the shit he did. However, all of that reading and processing did give me an idea: what if I did my own little, safer experiment?
So, after having kicked caffeine to the curb in its entirety for 4 1/2 weeks, I've decided that I'm going back to drinking coffee - but the only caffeinated beverage besides coffee will be possibly some energy drinks when I want something cold to drink (that DON'T contain concentrated sugar of any kind!). I had one coffee last night with my girlfriend, but that's it so far. No coffee yet this morning.
What could make me do such a fast 180 degree turn? It's simple: Coffee is mostly harmless, except for the caffeine and the fact that it's a diuretic - it makes you expel water. So, just do what I've been doing anyway - drink lots of water. I did before I gave up coffee and after. I'll just keep drinking more water. It's also a social thing that does far less damage to you than social alcohol drinking. "Having a coffee" with family or friends is a big thing where I live. I genuinely miss doing that.
So, I'll be watching my numbers. Will I gain performance? Lose performance? Stay the same? We'll see over the next 4 1/2 weeks.
As for biceps, forearms and abs day - WOW. I was trashed for over 2 hours after the gym. That's a record for me. Gains right across the board too, even in wrist curls. I was super-smashed after my straight bar curls (two-handed), but still did my last sets of biceps.
I also discovered that I had been doing my kneeling cable crunches backwards. This is a new type of fail for me! I was kneeling previous to yesterday with the weight stack and cable column behind me. I knew I should have been able to move more weight. With the stack in front of me, by the end of my second set, every abdominal muscle fibre I had burned. It was awesome!
Shoulders day is today. I'm excited to get this one started!
All the best for a great Thursday folks!
Adam
The black mistress coffee returns bahaha!. Ah just messing with ya, many of the "bad for you" drinks are mostly social. Coffee, beer, tequila, scotch. Most of us wouldn't sit at home in the dark by ourselves polishing off a case of beer or a bottle of Scotch every night of the week. Dog dies, sure drink that scotch lol. But for the most part it's usually social. I wouldn't call up Adam and be like dooood let's go for a glass of water at the fountain at the waterfront. People would think we were idiots.
ReplyDeleteEver considered de-caf? I know I've been duped a few times at Twiggs coffee house, picking the de-caf from the list and not realizing it. Tastes the same to me. I still disagree with energy drinks tho, mostly cause a) I don't drink em b) have reverse affect on me c) seeing people have 3-4 a day just to keep going is an addiction to me. So was that book worth the read?