Good Morning Blogland...

Happy Palm Sunday to all you single guys, and a few of you married guys, out there...lol.

The past week has been extremely busy for me both work and personally. I have been training but have had no time to blog. I have really done my best to hold the course and work hard, but unfortunately some of the sessions were not what I had in mind. It was a lot to juggle. The big thing is that SOMETHING got done, which is better than nothing.

Hopefully sanity returns this week and we can be on a more normal training, and blogging, schedule.

Legs tonight..

A good chest night the other night, just didn't get to log it and we're not going back - all about forward focus now.

Nice to put in a proper leg day for once. They've been short-changed way too much and it showed tonight. That's okay, as I'll go on to explain when I'm done with the log. First the goods:

Front Squats on the Smith:
*decided to try starting off differently tonight...
wu
90 (plates) x 8 x 5
*really felt my quads firing off here...even with such light weight by comparison (I have done more).

3 sets of hanging leg raises between to let my back calm down (oddly enough...lol)

Back Squats, sumo stance, paused 1 sec at the bottom:
135 x 5 x 5

2 sets of decline sit ups, followed by some hip and groin work.

That's it. I don't do a ton of stuff - hit the essentials and get out.

Now, for the "more explanation"
- 4 months to go to Carlisle and All-Truck. I really want to, and need to, drop BF% between now and then (I need it down for general wellness, in all honesty). This is a big goal of mine so it's time to really get serious. Driving home I thought "man, this is almost like the final cut for a BB competition, but I'm way fatter than those guys and won't be that lean..."...lol.
- One of my key goals now - DON'T GET HURT!!! Can't train if injured, so that's got to be considered. I'll push myself, but going to closely watch my limits to keep the injury bug at bay.
- My conditioning sucks, in a word. I was so totally gassed after this set tonight (legs gas me out anyhow but this was bad...). I need to start putting in a little bit of cardio to make sure I'm getting my conditioning where it used to be.
- The big thing is to reign in the diet. I am getting loose again, and that can't be. So when I'm ready to chew my arm off, remind me I have fish in the freezer.

OK, I'm done ranting - I'm out.

Back n' Bis from yesterday.

Back/Bis

*going to alternate deadlift weeks to help preserve back health. I seem to get into trouble when I do them every week.

BB Rows:
wu
135 x 8 x 1
225 x 5 x 5

Seated Back Extension machine:
100 x 10 x 3

Lat Pulldowns:
150 x 8 x 3

Low Cable Rows:
190 x 3 x 6

High Wide Grip Cable Rows:
80 x 3 x 8

Rack Curlz:
85 x 8 x 3

Preacher DB Curls - slow mo:
20 x 12 x 2

Done. All in all a good night. I need to be careful to not re-aggravate my back injury, so I think an every other week deadlift arrangement will help. This way I don't neglect the lift, but I also don't do it so frequently that I open myself up to injury from getting tempted to throw more weight on too quick. That's usually what gets me - I fail to leave my ego at the door sometimes.

Update...

Been very busy - in three words.

Work has been insane this past week, and I've had a few other personal matters to tend to. I only got in one day last week, which is a bit embarrassing to me. For all the drive and determination to change things around, that's not how it gets done.

This is a new week though. Only one person can control what happens, and that's me. Hopefully it's back to work and back to it hard.

I do say one thing - did a heck of a job eating last week. Aside from one particular meal, everything went exactly according to plans.

More updates to follow this week.

Chest and Tris

Killing it tonight - told the plates to have some Fruity Pebbles, those yabba-dabba b!tches.

Bench:
wu
185 x 2 x 1
215 x 3 x 5
*interrupted by some fat woman, sent over by the trainer, to ask me if I needed a spot...
215 x 5 x 1 cuz I was over the top p!ssed.

Incline (Smith):
150 (I think? ) in plates x 5 x 6
*...I was still in a rage.

Dips:
bw-20 x 6 x 4

Giant Set to finish - had to get the aggression out before I left:
Tri Pressdowns (Straight Bar) / Cable Lat Raises / Overhead Tri Rope Ext
70 x 2 x 10 / 20 x 2 x 12 / Stack (50) x 2 x 15

Out.

Never interrupt me when I'm ready to lift. Bad move on the trainer's part thinking he was joking around with me. He'll get a whooping the next time I hit the gym. Inexcusable. Getting angry helped the rest of my night and I hit everything strong yet methodical...not out of control.

Back and Bis from yesterday...

Yeah...yesterday's workout. Forgot all about logging it here.

Back/Bis:

Deads:
wu
225 x 2
285 x 1 x 6
285 x 0.975 x 1
*Grip let me down on the last set. Almost locked it out but had to set it down. Hands were sweating, which leads me to believe chalk might have been a good assistant. I have pulled in the 400's before, but my back isn't up to that right at the moment. I try to not use straps for these kinds of weights so that my forearm/grip strength isn't compromised.

I will use straps for the remaining lifts though, because I want the target muscles to wear out before my grip does.

BB Rows:
195 x 8 x 4

Lat Pulls:
150 x 8 x 3

Seated Wide Grip Row, chest high:
*A guy I chat with on another board does these and I thought I'd give it a go as a variation. I found weaknesses, as I was really squeezing to get reps even with low weight. I'll be using these a bit more frequently to help correct those weaknesses.
70 x 10 x 3

"Navy Seal Special" Curl pyramid:
*Check out Kevin Levrone's blog - some dude Roger, who's a retired Navy Seal in his 60's, does these with an empty bar. Talk about burn. Goes 1, 1-2, 1-2-3, 1-2-3-4, etc...up to 1-10.
1 set of 1 up to 1-10, empty bar.

That was it. Warm as hell in the gym tonight...phew. Early warm spell here combined with people who aren't sure how to use the heating system properly...lol.

Lack of Updates?

Sorry for the lack of updates over the past couple days. Between work and some other traveling, just haven't gotten here.

Got some more truck goodies this weekend, so soon we'll be updating what's all going on there and talking about the future plans. Getting cued up to hit it strong this week in the gym too.

As a side note, I'll be adding a little cardio in just to help my conditioning a little. I don't believe in cardio as an exclusive fat-loss tool; that comes from eating and lifting right. But I'll take a little benefit from it in that regard but I'm looking for the conditioning benefit mainly.

Chest/Tris/Shoulders March 16

Blah. Tired tonight and it showed.

Bench:
wu
225 x 2 x 1
225 x 1 x 1 <<< felt like a ton.
195 x 3 x 4
*I couldn't get my groove. Long day at work (started at 6AM) combined with being a bit off on nutrition (not that I was eating crap - think I just got not enough of the right stuff) did not help.

Incline (Smith):
*I decided to do some slow negative work with relatively light weights...
(plates) 90 x 6 x 4

Dips:
bw-120 x 3 x 8
*back to upping the assist again...#%$%#!!!

Overhead Rope Extensions for kicks and giggles:
60 x 2 x 8

Lat/Front Raise:
15 x 2 x 8

Out.

Back and Bis for Monday 3/14

Back to the grind - literally. Someone get outta my d@mn way! And what's with the 30 sets of 20 on the cable machines? Aren't you just wasting time, really?

Back/Bis:

Deads:
wu
225 x 2
275 x 1 x 7

BB Rows:
185 x 8 x 4

Shrugz:
185 x 2 x 10

Chins:
bw-120 x 3 x 5

Machine Row Drop Set:
170 x 6, 150 x 6, 130 x 8

BB Rack Curls:
85 x 2 x 8

High Cable Curls:
25 x 2 x 8

Done. All in all a good workout. Hard to get to stations to do what I intended because it seems one guy likes doing nothing but cables. I would prefer seated row over machine row, but this guy frustrates the hell out of me - no other way to say it. He gets on the lat machine (which converts to seated cable row) and spends an hour just dong tricep pushdowns. I don't get it. Why waste the time? Anyhow.

I need to do body stats soon. I was also down a bit on energy today by botching my carbs at lunch. We'll survive. Time for food.

Inspiration..

“I hated every minute of training, but I said, "Don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.”
-Muhammad Ali

What is it that you want to be champion of? Training for a contest you want to win? Training for personal goals, like I do?

Work hard this week and do the things to succeed. Working hard now will pay off when you reach your goals.

Chest/Tris

Chest/Tris:

Bench:
wu
5 x 5 x 185
*just getting back in the groove of things here a bit is all. Took longer rests between sets to be ready to roll and didn't rush things.

Smith Incline:
*I would have done incline DB's but every place was taken...
4 x 8 x 110 (plates)

Dips:
*I was already feeling toasty in the tris so I just grabbed a short set here...
2 x bw-60 x 7

Overhead Rope Pulls:
2 x 10 x 42.5 (stack of split stack machine)

Pulldowns:
2 x 12 x 42.5 (stack of split stack machine)

Done.

I feel good about it tonight. A little more tricep work than normal but necessary. I think my triceps are my limiter on my bench, so I tried giving them a bit more work tonight. Don't get me wrong - the king is bench, but directly hitting the shoulders or tris is sometimes worthwhile to help get the bench up.

New week, new effort

Back to 3 days and the tried and true push pull.

Pull:

Deads:
5 x 6 x 225
*Just some mid-range/light work tonight. We'll up the ante next week.

BB Rows:
4 x 8 x 175

Lat Pulldowns:
3 x 8 x 140
*really wanted to focus on these tonight, felt like I was getting too far all over the place so I backed down a little and focused on pulling through the elbows.

Rope Lat Pulldowns:
*yeah, yeah...saw Levrone do these and it piqued the curiosity...
2 x 8 x 50

DB Curlz:
2 x 10 x 40

BB Curlz in the rack:
2 x 15 x 45 (empty bar)

Out.

Bicep exercises were what they were - I was spent by the time I got to them. I normally don't do much direct bicep work anyhow.

Good pull night otherwise. Next week I'll adjust a little bit more and hit it just a bit stronger. I want to throw in some variations as well as what I did tonight. I always go a bit slow coming out of a layoff, no matter how long.

Tried and True...

Starting tomorrow it's back to the tried and true. I will be breaking my workouts down into the long-used "push/pull/legs" split again. I traditionally keep it around the big three and figure this is how I will work it:

Mondays - Pull:

I like starting the week off with a challenge. For whatever reason when I break this split down I like training back first thing in the week. Probably because back takes me a bit to recover from and honestly, back is my favorite to work.

The day looks like this:

• Deads - varied sets/reps but never more than a set of 6 reps. Not much sense going beyond that.
• Row variations - typically barbell first, then fill in the gaps afterward with either dumbbells, low cables, body weight inverted, etc. Again, sets and reps based on what I feel like that day.
• Lat work - pulldowns, chins (sometimes both), rope lat pulldowns, etc.
• Direct bicep work - kept to a minimum since they're a synergist in the big pull exercises, but hitting them with a couple sets each of maybe two curl variations doesn't hurt.

Wednesday - Push:

Probably my least favorite day, but because it's my least favorite I need to work doubly hard at it so I excel. Typically...:

• Flat bench - varying the reps and sets and even throw in some DB's, but again I don't do the 15 rep variations. Meaningless to me. Put some weight on the bar and move it = mass on the ass.
• Incline Bench - again, variations here include DB's and the Smith machine, but it's again a number of sets and work them hard.
• Dips - a staple of a good tricep workout, in my opinion. Whether assisted, body weight, weighted bench, they're good for mass.
• Maybe another direct isolation exercise for triceps - like rope pulls or DB extensions, but nothing that requires a lot of sets.
• Perhaps some light raises or shoulder pressing to get some blood to the shoulders - but not a lot of direct work. That's what benching is for.

Friday - Legs:

By far my second favorite of the week. I'm traditionally strong in these lifts anyhow and always have been for some reason. I do keep it very simple and limited to a few lifts though:

• Squats - king of all, I keep the weight on the bar and pound out a number of sets. As far as back squats are concerned, I use variations like sumo stance to help work the various muscles used. Again, weight on the bar = mass on the ass, so I don't get too shy about what weight I use here. Yes, my goal is lean - but putting muscle on helps. And it's not like muscle mass gets added by leaps and bounds - it's a slow process.
• Front Squats - I've learned to replace leg pressing with this. Partly because to load up the leg press machine is a PITA, partly because I like the work I get from this better.
• SLDL's - as if I didn't do enough to my legs, I come back with this lift. Hammer the hamstrings with it, or it's closely related cousin the RDL.
• Assistance - from there I move on to things like pull-throughs, adductor/abductor work, and some other "core" items. The core is more than abs - it's the glutes, the groin, the hips, low back - so I try to do some work to strengthen that.

In a nutshell, that's what we're going to be up to for the next unspecified period of time. I will probably ride this for 12 weeks or so. Eating will be super clean, or as super clean as possible, to make the most of getting lean on this. I will add that information in a later post.

Finishing Up...Rest...

I took this week as an opportunity to rest. I've been excruciatingly busy at work this past week, and next week is looking to be similar with the boss on vacation. That's alright though. We'll still get work done.

I am going to be adjusting my training a little. I have been doing upper/lower split work for about 9 weeks (most of which was not recorded on the blog), and I like to juggle my training about every 8-10 weeks or so. It's not for "muscle confusion" as I don't believe in that BS. It's just about making sure that I don't mentally get bored with what I'm doing and making sure that I'm giving my body the best chance to grow.

Diet was decent this past rest week, though I do really need to watch the opportunities to cheat. Gotta keep it tight.

More to come...peace.

When it's of your own doing...

I have an issue with sympathy sometimes. I'm supposed to care, but sometimes I just can't.

For example, last night I found out that a friend who has been out of work for an extended period of time (over 4 years) may have their house foreclosed on unless they come up with a certain sum of money. Mind you, said friend has 2 houses, 4 cars, and refuses to part with any of them because of "sentimental value".

I don't really feel all that bad.

I mentioned a year ago parting with one house, maybe two of the cars. I got glared at and told I was out of my mind and it wasn't an option. Now when it's dire straits, I still don't hear that being an option. So, they might lose something they've struggled so hard to keep because of an unwillingness to go beyond the "feel good" and the memories and live in the realm of practicality. You want to keep this - you need to get rid of that.

So it is with how we train. I see guys work hard, but they undo themselves at every turn by going on drinking binges, eating crap for food, and not getting enough rest from the gym or sleep, where the body restores and rebuilds itself. Hell I do it to myself so I'm being even more critical of myself than anyone else.

You want progress? Do the things to make progress. Make the sacrifices; don't go to happy hour, don't feed yourself garbage, and get the rest you need. Radical success and radical positive changes in body composition require sacrifice, discipline, and hard work.

Don't undo yourself.

Staying the course...

Upper 2:

Incline Bench:
wu
5 x 6 x 185
1 x 5 x 185

One Arm DB rows:
3 x 10 x 85

Lat PD with the D-Handle Bar:
3 x 8 x 140

SS Hammer Curlz/Tri Pulldownz:
2 x 12 x 35 / 2 x 12 x 50

Out.

Lower Body...ow...

Legs tonight. Wooo!

Squats:
wu
6 x 6 x 245

Assistance work, like adductor/abductor, etc.

Light set of ham curls to burn 'em on out.

I already can't walk.

It's goin' down this week!

Very excited about what this week will bring. It's goin' down! Going to dominate every facet of this week.

The Injury Bug...

Well.

Special Olympics was this past week. I worked the event as security staff, and had a great time with it. One small problem.

Sometime during the Games on Monday, I tweaked my back somehow. The spasms were so bad that I nearly needed help getting to my truck after a late dinner on Monday night. Lots of stretching, heat, and ice and rest have gotten me back to nearly 100% as of tonight. I feel much better.

The sad part is, it took away a week's worth of training. I could hardly function daily, let alone trying to go to the gym.

These are the weeks that we all face sometimes on the road to our goals. Just have to keep working hard to rehab those wounds, know when the body can and can't go, and watch out for the injury bug no matter what it is we're doing.

Stay strong. Back to the gym on Monday.

Not every night is a success

Tonight was supposed to be a lower body day.

Not every day is successful though. Eating was perfect, everything was in line. Unfortunately, I got sucked into something I did not expect to have an issue with. It consumed all my available training time.

That said, not every failure is the end of the road. We'll adjust, we'll bounce back, and get back on track.

Upper 1 (Bench /Back Thick):

Bench
* Still "backed down" a bit. One more week and I'll go back heavy I think.
2 x 8 x 190
1 x 7 x 190
2 x 6 x 190

Rows:
5 x 8 x 190

While waiting for the seated row station...*ugh!*
Rope pulldown burnout sets:
3 x 30 x 40

Seated Cable Row:
4 x 8 x 200

Rack Curls:
3 x 10 x 85

Done

The Fundamentals Part 2 - Program

I have a real appreciation for power lifting movements. So much so that I focus the core of my work around them. A lot of folks who are all about losing fat and such decide that they need to mount up on a treadmill and stay there for hours on end, or do a lot of different exercises for a lot of sets and reps. That doesn't work like they think it will. That will only make a smaller version of you - it won't change your body composition. Curl a beer can 100 times. Sure, you'll get a burn, but you won't build muscle, which in turn raises your resting metabolic rate and helps burn fat.

That said, right now I'm working a four day split, centered around power/compound movements. I break down into two days for upper body, and two for lower. Here's what it looks like:

Upper Day 1: Bench, back thickness

Flat Bench, variations sometimes include DB's and different grips such as wide or close grip, depending on a point of emphasis I may or may not want.
Barbell Rowing. The single best move, in my opinion, to add to back thickness is to put some weight on a bar and row it.
Low Cable Rows. Generally I use a narrow grip for this to fire up the rest of the back that didn't get hit with the barbell rows.
One each of direct bicep and tricep exercises (curls, dips, etc.).

Lower Day 1: Legs, Ham Heavy

Squats - and lots of them. Sometimes using the sumo variation also, but primarily it's to hammer the entirety of the legs but hams play a heavy role in squatting.
SLDL's or RDL's - either variation of stiff leg or Romanian deadlifts to really activate the hamstring muscles directly, while calling on other muscles to assist.
Other assistance work from there, such as pull-throughs, adductor and abductor machine, sometimes some seated ham curls for exhaustion.

Upper Day 2 - Bench, Back Width

Incline Benching, using either the Smith machine or DB's, or rigging up the squat rack to use the barbell (my gym lacks a proper incline bench station anymore).
Chins, using narrow or wide grip
Lat Pulldowns, using whichever grip I didn't use for chins
One each bicep and tricep exercise again (curls, dips, etc.)
*sometimes* some raises to hit the shoulders a little more.

Lower Day 2: Legs, quad heavy

Deadlifts. The king of all, and while primarily a low back exercise you do engage the legs hard here.
Leg Press. Self Explanatory.
Front squats. Again self explanatory.
Some other assistance after all that.

It should be noted that I didn't list sets and reps. It's because even I don't know how many I'll do. If I'm going heavy (working close to max weights), I'll do a lot of sets of singles, or 2-3 reps. If I'm working lighter weights, I'll work maybe 4-5 sets at 70%, but reps upwards of 8. Short rest periods - nothing longer than a minute. I am rarely in the gym much longer than 75 to 90 minutes. Get in, get the work done, and get out. Best way to get it all done.

The Myth of Hardcore

I spend some time on YouTube, getting motivation to move more weight than I ever have in my life (as well as seeking my own entertainment). I have to laugh at the "hardcore" fanboys a bit.

It seems there's a myth being perpetuated in the lifting community. In order to be hardcore, you have to wear combat boots, lift in a dingy, dark, busted up gym, and grunt, scream and yell through every rep. To me, that's a complete and total myth.

You can be hardcore and work out in Planet Fitness with all the latest, newest equipment (a lot of the machines, in my mind, are a waste of time though). You can be hardcore and work out in a place that paints their walls teal and yellow. Hardcore is a state of mind, not where you work out or what you wear while doing so.

For me, I train in old t-shirts and standard issue basketball shorts, not in flannels or string tank tops and jeans or "jorts" (think John Cena's ring wear). No combat boots - just a pair of Nike "Dri-Fit" cross trainers that I live in except for work and church.

It's a state of mind. It's turning down happy hour at the bar for happy hour with the barbell and dumbbells. It's turning down the cupcakes and extra cup of coffee at the office for your mid-morning meal and another bottle of water. It's making the time to cook your food for a day, or a couple of days, rather than watching the Super Bowl (trust me, that's what I'll be doing tomorrow) and pigging out on junk food.

It's that state of mind that doesn't change because it's January and vacation is coming in March. It doesn't change because you want to look like you did 10 years ago.

It says that you need to get up that hour earlier to hit the gym, or make and package up meals for the day. It means making sure that whatever supplements you take are ready to go, and taken at their appropriate times. Using the same grocery list week in and week out.

It's not one of those things - or maybe it's all of them.

Anyone can be "hardcore". From the biggest, most fit guy you know to the biggest computer geek in the IT department. It's all about the mindset and standard you hold. It has nothing to do with dressing a certain way, acting a certain way, and it certainly is not about flaunting. Age and gender don't matter, and I know for myself I don't care if anyone notices or not.

Focus within. Be dedicated and hold yourself to a higher standard. Be hardcore.

The Fundamentals - Part 1

Let's start with my personal basics. I'm 38 years old, some days feeling like 18 and others 83.

My gym experience: I've been training hard for the past 4+ years. I went from basically having no strength to having the following bests:
Bench - 225lbs
Squat - 275lbs
Deadlift - 405lbs

I have struggled the most with my bench - for whatever reason it just won't budge. I seem to be a natural at the deadlift and my legs have always seemed to be a dominant strong part of my body.

Weight: I haven't checked lately, seriously. I mentally threw out my scale a while back because I didn't want to rely on it as a sole measure of progress. You can be 250 lbs of solid muscle, or a 250lb fatass, so it's pretty simple to see why I say that.

However, for the sake of this blog and the ideal of working toward reduced weight/body fat over the next six months, I will take a weight very soon.

Bodyfat: Ugh...do we have to talk about this? Yes, as it's part of accountability. I've got a gut on me that doesn't want to go away. It doesn't help that I haven't stayed tight to my dieting, so I only really have me to blame in that department. I'd have to estimate me in the high 20's, being generous.

I am, as of right now, seeing some progress with fat dropping on my arms and around my shoulders. It's the rest of me that's having issues. Solving this will take discipline that I wonder sometimes if I have or not. Well, if I want to hit my goals I better have it.

More to follow.

Six

I decided to start this blog because of the number six.

Six represents how many months out Carlisle is. I hope to use this as a means to keep me accountable and focused on the many things I know I need to get done prior to the show.

Bear in mind, I am not looking to enter my truck in competitive showing - nor am I looking to step on a body building stage in six months. That's NOT what this blog is about. My truck is a work in progress and will continue to be so. Just like my body is also the same way. I am only partially happy with both - and want to make major strides before August.

Follow me on the journey.