After getting a week under my belt after returning from vacation, I was only up about 2 pounds and more importantly I looked better than at the lower weight. Carbs are now a bit higher and I plan to take this approach going into the New Year but increasing the cardio under I hit the mark I am looking for in the area of conditioning.
Starting this week (today) I am doing cardio 3 times a day M,T, Th,F. On Wed I train legs and prefer not to do cardio but I am going to add in one session early in the day and train legs at night. I also do not do any cardio on the weekends but plan to do 1 session early Saturday morning. I am not looking any further than just this week as I plan this so if it goes well I will take this into consideration for the following week but I am not looking any further than one week at a time right now. I am going this route because I think it will be quite simple to increase the caloric output this way and because I work from home, it is relatively convenient and much more enticing than doing sessions longer than 30 minutes. I still feel that for MOST people, when the cardio session gets longer than 30 minutes it loses it's effectiveness on a "per minute" basis, if that makes sense. Basically, I feel that the first 30 minutes are far more productive than the last 30 minutes if one were doing a 60 minute session.
Increasing the cardio from 8 sessions to 14 sessions should provide quite a dramatic change this week, I would assume. Though I am more concerned with my overall look - and not being absurdly flat - I anticipate the scale dropping to around the 207-206 mark. I am also only Skiploading on Sunday right now but if I have a stellar week and I am just destroyed by Saturday, I may consider starting it late Saturday night and then going all day Sunday.
My carb meals are primarily pre and post workout on training days and then I have added carbs to 2 meals on non-training days, as well. After making this change, my overall look is much better but doesn't seem to be reflected in scale weight for some reason.
Now that my blood has shown that it can maintained in the healthy ranges, I am finally to the point that I can move forward and start filming the DVD in late January/early February and I am incredibly excited about this. I almost wasn't going to comment on it publicly until I actually started the filming because I have announced this twice before in the last 2 years and then was sidetracked with my blood issues. I am confident this time that there are no obstacles and everything is a go. The basis of the DVD will be how to build and/or maintain a bodybuilding physique while on TRT (#TRTbodybuilding). I will be covering EVERYTHING from training to diet, supplementation, how to control and adjust based on blood work/issues, old guy stuff like how to train through and around chronic back injuries (or other chronic injuries), maximizing recovery, at least one seminar on Skiploading and the changes I have made to the concept in the last few years (both for dieting and for off season), a lot of training footage, my stretching protocol that I feel has helped to keep my back healthy the last few years with no major injuries and much, much more.
I may also have a few chapters covering the nutrition, training and supplementation for my wife as she comes back from health concerns the last few years including 3 surgeries for malanoma and her most recent battle with CSA (central sleep apnea) that was causing debilitating headaches. In the process she has gained a lot of weight and she is now in a position to move forward and not only strip off body fat quickly but she is considering competing again. To add to the coolness of that, my 17 year old daughter who is a senior in high school is considering doing a show later in the year, as well. I am giving them both to the end of the month to figure out the competitive part and if they are willing to commit, I will go over in detail what they do for their shows on the DVD, as well.
In the meantime, I am going to enjoy the Holidays but stay very focused on my progress because my condition is very important considering the start of the filming for the DVD only a month or so after the Holidays. I will still time a cheat meal here and there to enjoy the Holidays with my family and friends but it will be minimal compared to how I normally treat the Holidays.