that's awesome, dude! i've been thinking about keeping a workout log. i'm debating if i should get a journal like moleskine or i should just print some tables that i can customize. how do you keep track of your workout? and yeah, progress is important. when i feel weak/tired, i tell myself that, "if you wanna get big, you gonna lift that extra 10lbs you bucking piece of shyte! now PUSH!!!" yes, it's an awesome feeling afterwards.
I had a moleskine once and I felt all fancy, but then I had a few really boring weeks at work and made little excel sheets and imported them into word in a 6-up config where it already has my exercises, sets, and suggested poundages and a little thing to track bodyfat%, weight, and cardio time. I print one out per week and staple 'em together into a little book that I carry with me and then just scribble down the poundages and reps while resting in between sets. Plus now it's free (except for the paper and laser toner), and that's more money for meat. Lol. To me keeping track is not only important so I don't waste time, but so that I know when I'm not pushing myself or I've plateaued and I need to do another exercise; it's also fun (I'm a nerd!), plus seeing quantifiable results is rewarding.
i'd like to say that i'm seeing some results, but i still feel like a pair of walking chopsticks when i see others at the gym. however, i went to two parties last week and some dudes were stirring at my chest and tits thanks to my old clothes (vanity, vanity, haha). and friends that i've not seen for a while didn't say i gain weight (though i gained 20lbs) so i guess it's a good thing.
Well, it is important to see your own progress rationally. It's hard to judge yourself though, and sometimes we're our own worst critics/enemies. I'm sure you are much stronger and at least noticably more muscular than most, and I'm sure it gets you attention that you might not even realize... like respect or even a place in a social structure which may not even be apparent to you because you take them for granted. Guys with muscular/fit/"alpha-male" appearances definitely tend to garner more respect for the same amount of work or same positions as well as be thought of as more dominating and hard-working; all of us subconsciously and/or unintentionally judge peoples' characters by their appearance, whether it be their hygiene, clothes, self-expression, skin, muscles, or body size. But now I'm just rambling... my point is, don't think your results are going unnoticed.
in terms of dieting, i've now adopted this "bulk slow and keep the body fat low policy." beef and milk are replaced with chicken breasts and fat-free cottage cheese. i've also cut carbs by almost 50%, and no carbs allowed after 18:30 (except from cottage cheese). but i, too, have indulged myself this past weekend - fried chicken
eek: i know, dark meat too!) and chocolate chip ice-cream sandwich. yum!
hopefully the infection isn't affecting your workout. get well soon.
Clean bulking is a concept I hear a lot about... for me it's already a ton of work to just get to the 1g of protein per lb bodyweight, and I will eat as many carbs as necessary to do that, but I do my best to cut out all unnecessary sugars and breads, so now my diet has a lot of splenda and nutrasweet in it, wraps and whole grain pastas in moderation, and veggies instead of chips etc. When I get in full-on cutting mode, then I'll be cutting. For a lot of people who aren't endomorphs like me, I hear clean bulking does well. I bet you are an ecto-meso from your weight and your desire to get big, though.
That said, I cheated too and had lots of valentine's day bad stuff with refined sugar and bad fats... two things my body DEFINITELY does not need ever.
The sinus thing has definitely set me back. What also set me back is wrestling with a friend today and my knee going wacky, so if I squat down too far (not even lifting weights), I have immense knee/hamstring pain.. NOT cool. This had better heal quickly! Thanks for the well wishes though. I think I'm like 90% over it now!
