I have been neglecting this blog. Have not had much to say recently. But this struck me as something that really needed to be out there. I have thought about this a lot recently..what are my dreams and goals. What ideas have I put aside?
I have gone ahead and set my goals. Brought back some of my old dreams and ideas, even found some new ones. I refuse to live a life of "What if?"
Saturday I was craving pizza, my weakness, I had a free one coming from Papa John's so I ordered 2. In about 2 hours I devoured one and saved one for the Sunday. The scale hated me in the morning I was bloated and feeling like crap. Then I went to train...
Shoulder and deads were planned. The carbs certainly helped here. I had the energy and looked full. 10 sets of 10 on presses and deads were quite easy. 205 for the deads felt light even with a minute rest between sets. I did have to use straps the alst three sets, the grip was taxed like Wesley Snipes. Surprisingly I was not craving pizza so I spaced out the servings throughout the rest of my day.
Those carbs helped me through a grueling arm and quad session today. I superstted tris and bis 4 different exercises in 2 supersets. Super painful by the end but gotta have arms... Squats were just downright nasty. 10 sets of 10 with 30% of my max. 205 was just flying up and I was happy to be hitting these ATG through all the sets and reps. Same as thedeads I was resting 1 minute.
Cleaning up the diet is my plan, 10 more weeks left... Checking the diet crystal ball I see a lot of chicken breasts and broccoli in my future.
I decided to enter the Summer Shred at Bodybuilding.com. Was planning to enter a bb'ing or physique contest but the money just isn't there for me. Didn't realize just how expensive it is...Strongman is defintely cheaper. So the Summer Shred is perfect for me. I can challenge myself and actually have a reason to train and diet in a totally different way than ever.
The big difference for me is that I have to increase volume, decrease rest, and not try to lift heavy. I can definitley say my conditioning is questionable, but I know it will improve.
So here is my training:
Sunday: Shoulders and hams
Monday: Arms and Quads
Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday: Kettlebells, Abs, and Grip
Thursday: Chest and Back
I will do low intensity cardio on gym days, just the treadmill for 45 minutes. Will alos be throwing in a 70 minute bike ride at least once a week in place of the Kettlebells.
Here is what today was like...
Side and rear raises 30x10, 3 sets, 1 minute rest
Seated dumbbell press 45x10, 10 sets, 30 second rest
Cable upright row 150x10, 3 sets, 30 second rest
Deadlifts 315x3, 10 sets, 1 minute rest
Pull thrus 120x10, 10 sets, 30 second rest
Treadmill 45 minutes, 3mph, 7 incline
Hurt is an understatement...I have not pushed myself this hard maybe since boot camp and that was a long time ago. I got back in the gym and expected to be in pain but nowhere near this. I was in the gym three days and three days at home doing kettlebell cardio, abs, and grip. Gym days were shoulders and hams, arms and quads, chest and back. Also on those days I managed 30 minutes on the treadmill.
A lot of sweat and groaning but I managed to push through all the workouts. I started weighing in at 243 and weighed 246 today. a WTF moment but an easy fix...no more creatine! I am tracking all my food intake to see what I am eating and then make adjustments. Really eye opening to see how much food I am eating. Again I noticed an overabundance of carbs and will be adjusting little bit each week.
Bumping the cardio this week by five minutes. It really hurt today...I fell victim to a nasty cramp in the front of my right calf. I paused a bit and kept going just lowered the incline and speed to accommodate. Kettlebells have been perfect, 10 intervals 1 minute each and 1 minute rest. I hope I can stop sucking wind soon. Lifting is going well too, just watching rest periods. I will probably bump volume before weights.
RESPECT...
is earned, it ain't give to no- damn- body! ---Ray Lewis. Appropriate given his return and his last season. He really has earned it. What I have discovered this week is that too many people demand it or expect it without ever giving it. I see it in the gym, I hear it at work, I even have experienced just common lack of it in the grocery store. Amazing that people will not care for anyone but themselves and look down at others. But I warn most people, you will here it from me when you disrespect me. Of course when I speak up then I appear to be the a-hole. I guess it is because the majority of the human race lacks the guts, balls, and self respect to say a damn thing. Ladies and gents my prescription is to reach down and grab a pair of proverbial testicles.
GOALS
I hope everyone has them. You have to if you want to achieve anything. Share them too, it is good to have people that will throw in support and encouragement. I love it when you reach one sooner than the date you have set. Oh yeah...set a date otherwise it is just a wish. I have set my goal to close the #2 Captains of Crush Gripper. I almost had it last week, this week seems possible. I would be way ahead of schedule and on my way to trying the number 3. Go out and grab hold of a goal then make it happen!
I took a month off from the gym partly because I spent a week with my daughter and the majority of it due to work. That's what happens when you do customer service during the holidays. After the wonderful stress of working so many hours I forgot what day it was, I needed the gym just for stress relief.
If anyone remembers I decided to step onstage in 2013. Originally I was thinking bodybuilding but since i have an allergy to banana hammocks I opted for physique. The contest is July 6 and is the Orlando Metropolitan. I have done something that is quite the shock to me...I have written out an eating plan which allows me to keep tabs on my food intake and make adjustments as necessary. Training is different too, slow reps, more volume, and of course the dreaded cardio. Physique requires a more "athletic" look so I plan to train that way.
These next three months I will be focusing on shoulder, chest, and arms. Three areas that need to pop onstage. Of course I not neglecting my legs, I never will. Love training my legs, now I can just train them stupid...20 rep squat stupid. One other thing I will be focusing on is my grip. I plan to get my #2 CoC closed before April. Since I do not respond to low intensity cardio I plan on HIIT with kettlebells for now. Gym days will be treadmill hell though.
Here is what I did today....
HS seated shoulder press 200 x 5,3,2,2 These reps were slow 5 seconds up and 5 seconds down. That was painful!
Side/Front/Rear raise 15x10 5 sets
Smith wide grip upright row 155x8 4 sets
Dumbbell Clean and press 50, 70, 90, 110 great way to finish the shoulders and a nice ego trip for me!
Romanian deads on smith 315x8 4 sets 135x20
Treadmill 30 minutes 6.5 incline 3.5mph
Weight this morning was 243, my goal is 220. Bodyfat is 15%
It's true! I got my newest toy delivered yesterday and decided to take it to the gym, Fat Gripz Extreme
Was I in for a treat. I know thick bars are the best for grip training but I had no idea what to expect with these things. A bit bigger than the regular Fat Gripz, the Extreme version is definitely for experienced.
I added these on to the HS chest press and was amazed at how much easier it was to press. I was not gripping the handles like a boa constrictor around a small animals neck. I was actually using my hands as hooks. 320 went so easy I decided to jump to 360 and banged out 5 sets of doubles. My next experiment was with Zerchers. This was ok, probably something I might do again. Felt awkward but effective, adds a little different stress to the lift. The final kicker was Behind the Back wrist curls...wow is all I can say. % sets of 6 reps with 135 was all I could handle.
I also did some back and other chest work today. Was surprised at how long I was in the gym which included 35 minutes on the treadmill. Thankfully I was fueled up with Shock Therapy and Atomic 7 from Universal Nutrition. I have decided that I enjoy the simplicity of their products and the fact they work for me.
The company has been around for almost as long as I have, so they must be doing something right.
I checked my weight and bodyfat today. Happy to say I am under 250...248 to be exact. I was surprised by the bodyfat readout I got, 14%. Serious? Really? Well I suppose it could be off since it was my first time. I would guess I am probably about 16%. I will do it again to see if there is a difference.
Like Al Pacino in Godfather 3, I cannot get away from strongman. No, I have not flip flop like Romney but I have decided to do a strongman competition in December. It is for fun and charity and I somehow convinced myself to do it. So if you are anywhere near Bradenton Beach on December 9th come out and watch, Brawn at the Beach.
So I caught this video from National Geographic this morning...
Was certainly a little eye opening for me. Not that I am violent, but I think the "warrior gene" could explain a whole lot about me. Anyone that knows me has probably witnessed a little of my temper. Funny how the gangbangers, Buddhist monk, and Navy Seal all had it. All of them were soldiers in a sense, disciplined in their training, and focused. Yet all could leave the violence and focus on other pursuits.
Strange how much focus and discipline played in all their lives. I find it very similar to my pursuits in the gym. There is a certain level of focus, discipline, and insanity needed to to this stuff.
So grabbing my stuff I headed to the gym fueled by a cream cheese danish, coffee, and some Limp Bizkit. Was shoulders and triceps today.
I was dreading the gym since I took the whole week off after feeling like hell since Wednesday. My feelings were for nothing because I actually did better than I have in a long time.
Shoulder presses were 250 for 6 sets of 6 reps, nailed 5 giant sets of laterals, front raises, and rear laterals. Ended the shoulder session with some high pulls. The high pulls were a little too light so I need to add some more weight next time.
Triceps were brutal. I started with Lockouts on the Smith, 300 for 4 singles! Last time I could not budge 275... Finished the tris off with pushdowns, 50lbs. 20 reps, 7 sets. That was all I could handle, except I did cardio on the treadmill. 30 minutes, wanted to do 45 but my right calf was cramping the whole time. Want to talk about pain?!?!
That's it! Looking forward to watching some football and eating some food...
