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Progress after the Big Switch

In my last post, I mentioned about the big switch from strength training to a more balanced muscle mass training and strength training. In this new program, I attempt to keep my weights in 80 to 90% 1RM instead of the heavy 90 to 95% 1RM, I used before for strength training. I used to do 2 workout per week during my strength training regimen. Usually it was on Mondays and Thursdays. Occasionally I would do another workout on Saturdays, time and motivation permitting. On Mondays and Thursdays I used to do 4 exercises. One for each body part
  • Chest and triceps (bench press or dips)
  • Back and biceps (rows or pull-ups)
  • Quads and Hamstrings (deadlifts or squats)
  • Calves or Abs

They are mostly concentrated towards bigger muscle groups. On the occasional Saturdays I used to do these exercises
  • Shoulder press
  • Barbell Bicep curls
  • Close grip bench press

After switching to the new program and doing a couple of sessions with the lighter weights, I felt like I was not doing enough per week. So I started doing 4 workouts per week. Mondays and Thursdays are still the same. However I added Tuesdays and Saturdays too. On Tuesday and Saturdays I will be doing the same exercises as I used to do on Saturdays. How about my recovery then? That is a question, I still need to answer myself. Since I am not doing heavy weights I should be fine with the recovery. The schedule now looks like this:
  • Monday morning
  • Tuesday night - 36 hrs for recovery since last workout
  • Thursday morning - 36 hrs for recovery since last workout
  • Saturday morning - 48 hrs for recovery since last workout
  • Monday morning - 48 hrs for recovery since last workout

However my weight has a different story to tell, although I am not sure if this is a one time thing or will continue to happen. Basically my weight and fat numbers for the last 3 weeks looked like so
  • 5/29
    • Weight: 124.4 lbs
    • Fat %: 9.61%
  • 6/5
    • Weight: 125.2 lbs
    • Fat %: 9.61%
  • 6/12
    • Weight: 125 lbs
    • Fat %: 9.46%

The week from 6/5 to 6/12 is when I switched to the new training. Up until 6/5 (with my old training) I used to gain anywhere from 0.4 to 1.0 lbs per week (when I am healthy :). Which was true during the week of 5/29 to 6/5. However right after I switched to the new training and 4 workouts per week, I say a slight drop in my weight instead of gaining weight. Now I am not sure if this is a bad sign or a good sign or not a sign at all. My fat % dropped a little but it could just be within the margin of error. So I will wait through a couple of weeks more and see if the trend continues. If it does, then I might have to switch back to my old exercises or reduce the number of workouts per week. More updates coming soon...

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