As we enter Week 2 of the project, things are back on track.  Sunday marked the second trial of my reduced weight and set sizes.

Right now, I’m doing sets of 10 (instead of 12), at 35# (instead of 45#) and I think I’ve finally zeroed in on the proper level of exertion (for me).    4 sets back-to-back leaves me just a hint sore the following day, mostly when climbing stairs.  It’s my intent to get up to 70 total reps (7 sets), and then start increasing set size, before going back to 45#.

On an aside, I’d always wondered what the deal was with the strange increments of kettlebells, and I’m convinced now that it has something to do with the pood, even though the ‘bells at the gym are marked in pounds.  It does make me wonder, though, if the 35# weight is actually 1 pood (36.xx#)… Ron indicates that his free weight dumbells exhibit a 5% variance.

And we’re back…  In addition to the diet and exercise, I’ve done something that I said I wouldn’t do.  I’ve added a daily multivitamin, just out of consideration for the fact that I may have random deficiencies that I’m unaware of (And am not measuring for… blood work like that is spendy beyond the budget for this project).  Moreover, I figure it can’t hurt.

As promised, I’ve continued working on my daily measuring routines, in an abbreviated form of what Tim suggests.  Wake up, get a small drink, shower, pee, and weigh.  It’s not so much the weight part that’s hard to measure consistently as it is the Body Fat % (since I’m using a scale that checks body capacitance).  I’ve whipped up a slick little form that I store in my bathroom drawer, to serve as a visual reminder, and also to make recording convenient.  I’ll get to my actual measurements in another post.

Weight Record Sheets

Another aside: Tim Ferriss was on Dr. Oz today.  I was telling someone at work about The 4 Hour Body today, and they ask if Tim was a fitness author or trainer or whatever… I said no, but had a hard time describing his “title”… In retrospect, I’d describe him as a meta-scientist… He does research on his own, but generally seeks to prove, disprove, or pare down existing research.

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Books, Projects by Kevin