Project Gainer

Here in Hong Kong i have found myself having a lot of spare time, and thanks to friends and the good facilites, I have used this time for being active. And I realized that this is material for being a Project, something that I will give certain focus on pursuing (or rather an act of misled enthusiasm, which I invest in writing about an issue instead of dealing with it 😉 ).

I should state this clearly – this is not a complete makeover or me getting brain-washed by some “tranining book”. I consider myself quite realistic about this – and to be honest, the most probable outcome of this is that I give up halfway through. So the most important challenge is to keep my motivation. I will not ever become a fitness guy or a sporter. This should be considered as only a challenge and an “adjustment” of the current me.

The project
So, what is this all about? I have decided to gain weight, strength, stamina and skill in one or several sports. So the project consists of pursuing three goals:

• Gaining weight by eating a lot, especially energy and protein rich food. My principle is very simple – if it’s considered unhealthy, it’s the right thing for me. But first and foremost, I most eat a lot and often to be able to gain weight. It is a big challenge – while others can gain weight by just looking at sweets I have never been able to gain weight over time, no matter the food I chose. To suceed I have to be disciplined and consequent. If possible, I will also use gainer products, like protein drinks.
• Excersise – mainly through the gym. Lifting weights and (optionally) using treadmills I will gain strength (muscle mass) and stamina. The weight lifting is aimed at gaining muscles, not just keeping fit. The whole gym thing is a completely new area to me so I’m still a newbie, although I’m learning.
• Sports. Even though gym excersise surely can be enough to gain mass and muscles, I must have fun some time too. I’m really not your typical sports guy, however I really like practising some sports under relaxed conditions. My aim is to gain skill in one or several sports and in the effort also get a better health and general fitness. An important issue is also to dare to try different sports.

The phases and goals

Phase One

• Reach a weight of 80 kgs.
• Be able to lift my own weight in 3×7 repetitions.
• Regularly have practiced one or more sports and gain noticable skills.

Phase Two

• Reach a weight of 90 kgs.
• Undecided.
• Be proud of my sporting skills. To have regularly practiced more than one sport.

Phase Three

• Keep a stable weight and muscle mass ratio through regular but not intensive excercise.
• Sport for fun
• Be proud of completing my project

Results

• August – Starting weight around 73 kg. Latest excersise during the spring, not much.
• September 14th – Two first weeks of regular excersise. Gym almost every day. Fast results in weight lifting, but still learning the equipment. Started doing squash.
• September 20th – I’ve been ill, so I haven’t gone to the gym for almost a week, and I haven’t eaten as I should. It’s an irritating drawback.
• September 26th – I have now resumed my training routine and today I spent more than an hour lifting weights. I didn’t loose any strength during my sickness. Example of results: 4×7 á 15kgs with biceps, 3×7 á 60kgs with legs.
• November 8th – A long server downtime has made it impossible for me to update. The progress is slow in my gainer project. I have now a weight of ca 77 kgs, which at least is an increase.
• November 11h – I have now changed to another method of weight lifting. More free weights, and more concentrated on one group of muscles. I’m learning new excersises each day! The bad thing is that I perform very poor on excersises I’m not used to.