Progress Pics and Week 3

My week 3 post is a little early.  I am headed out of town for the weekend and I know it could be days before I can get back in my routine.  This week a couple of small adjustments were made to my eating and my cardio.  We took progress pics (yeah that was painful to see) and we both agreed on the areas that needed help the most (everything from the neck down).  It wasn’t anything I didn’t already know, but the trainer made some adjustments (definitely his area of expertise…not mine).  I shouldn’t complain too much.  There are some big changes from how I looked a couple of years ago.  

By now people around me are catching on that I am back in prep mode.  I only told a few people, but word travels pretty quick.  I am at the gym at odd hours now.  I am in the breakroom a dozen times a day cooking or cleaning up my meals.  So of course there are some signs that I am not acting like a normal person anymore.  One gal finally asked me if I enjoyed all of the food and working out.  The food is pretty simple.  Stop thinking about it as yummy, delicious flavor and start thinking about it as fuel.  The workouts are just the same…it’s a means to an end.  Put in the time and the discipline and the output at the end will be worth every bite of brussel sprouts and every long day at the gym.  So do I enjoy it?  Definitely!  (Why else would I choose such a lofty goal?)

Some of my guy friends notice even bigger differences.  Last week a couple of us went to see a movie.  They each had candy and sodas, while I ordered a nice cup of coffee.  It was an 8pm movie and the girls behind the counter couldn’t understand why I wanted coffee.  Look, it was a 3 hour movie and I had been up all day, worked out for 2 hours, and just wanted something that didn’t taste like water.  Could somebody get me my coffee…please? 

My trip this weekend will be the true test.  I have most things mapped out.  The gym.  A couple of fail-safe restaurants.  A grocery store.  It’s just me and a friend going to see a college basketball game.  But I think my crazy schedule and eating regiment will probably get on his nerves by the end of the trip.  

Week 2: Finding Rhythm

Weight:  218.  Starting Weight:  222.

My meals and and training stayed the same this week.  By now I was gaining some efficiency on cooking food and staying ahead of my schedule.  Nothing stresses me out more than looking in the fridge and realizing I am out of chicken or eggs or veggies or anything else I might need.

At the gym I realized my new annoyance.  Sizing up others!  When I first started lifting 7 or 8 years ago I always would compare my weights to the guy next to me.  If it was less, I felt inferior.  If it was more, I felt a small sense of success.  If the guy was bigger than me…then that only multiplied the sense of either failure or success.  Then a couple of years ago I was lifting with a regular partner and we would battle over who could lift more…no matter what the exercise.  It was a pissing match to be 5-10 pounds more than each other.  I would sacrifice speed of the rep or proper form as long as I could do more.  As I was training for my first competition, the guys in the gym would make comments about my weights.  ‘Is that all you got?’  ‘All those muscles and you can only lift xx pounds?’  Sure it fired me up.  But then I realized that now I was the one at the gym that others were trying to beat. 

It didn’t get to me until I switched to doing high reps.  Five sets of 25.  People expect you to do the same weight at this level as you do when you are doing a set of 6 or 8 reps.  You can’t.  It’s usually significantly less and for good reason.  There are other factors that influence the amount of weight you push or pull.  Maybe I did chest two days ago and my shoulder day is going to be impacted from fatigue.  Maybe I am focusing on slowing down my reps versus trying to rush through my time in the gym.  Rest periods in between sets.  The food I ate before the gym.  The amount of sleep I got the night before.  The placement of an exercise in my day…whether I do it first or last.  ALL of these and several other factors impact the load I put on the machine. 

The load is not about beating the guy next to me.  It’s about understanding all of the factors above, finding a weight that matches my goals, and pushing myself to squeeze out each rep.  I’m focusing on myself and my goals.  At the end of the day, I’ve been guilty of measuring myself by the guy next to me.  It helps motivate me, as I’m sure it does others.  But in the end, my progress from one day at the gym to the next is all about me.  Go focus on yourself!

Week 1 of Prep

January 2nd was my first day of prep. For some reason these dates always stick with me. I'll always remember April 4th as the date my last prep started. Anyways, I wrapped up my first week of prep probably in the same state of mind that I was in almost 2 years ago. A total fog. I was out of the routine of constantly cooking, cleaning dishes, double-checking to make sure I had everything, and shopping for weeks worth of food at a time. I do a lot of this stuff during the offseason, but it's completely different. For example, if you forget to pack a lunch, you can always substitute something else. Tired and not in the mood to cook? Just find something else to eat tomorrow. You can miss a meal. After a long day you can stop and get something quick for carryout. Not during prep.

On Friday I was exhausted. It was a long day. I hadn't slept well for three nights straight and all I wanted to do was stop at chipotle, go home, and relax. But I couldn't...and I didn't. I went home to change my clothes and headed to the gym. First rule of prep...never miss a meal. Second rule of prep....never miss a workout. I was fine once I got to the gym. This is my 'other' gym and it was once again packed with idiots. Big ones!

We Taking Supplements?

A friend of mine asked me for the list of supplements I take. They are rare no matter where I am in my training.  I guess most people expect me to by on all sorts of powders and pills. In my early years I got caught up in the advertisements and fancy labels that guaranteed bigger, faster, stronger results.  So I have tried lots of stuff over the counter and spent plenty of money on the latest stuff out there.  But in the last few years I was taught and still live by the idea that all or most of my nutrition should come from whole food. Of course, I take a multi-vitamin you can buy at the grocery store and some times I try to take a couple of fish oil pills, but otherwise I'm not a fan of pills or other stuff that doesn’t come straight from food.

End of the Year Recap

I started off 2012 expecting that I would continue on my path of slowly gaining some size, keeping my body fat low, but overall just trying to live a balanced life. This included some relaxation on my eating plans. Mostly because I was more focused on taking trips, hanging out with friends and family, and of course focusing on my career. I was happy with where I was, but started to get the itch to push myself again. As I said in my last post things started to slip. I took an entire week off in July to re-think where I was and where I wanted to be. Sitting by a pool and drinking alcohol for an entire week does wonders for your life's ambitions! That led to 6 months of offseason training with my old trainer. I needed his advice and guidance on how to work on my problem areas (chest and legs).
Fast forward 6 months and here I am passing the one week mark on competition prep. I went from 205 in July, to 222 right before I switched into prep mode. I was certainly more strict this offseason and it showed in a couple of different areas. The first thing the trainer adjusted was my workouts to hit my legs and chest 5 days a week. I didn't lift legs and chest 1 day a week...I lifted them 5 days a week.
Leg Extensions 5x25
Leg Curls 5x25
Incline DB Flys 5x25
DB Bench 5x25
This was my pre-workout. Each day I started with this...AND then went into my daily routine. It doesn't look like much on paper, but I thought I saw Jesus on that first day. Cardio was non-existent during this period.
The other thing that happened during my offseason was that I joined another gym. Not a different gym. A gym in addition to the one I already have. This was mainly because my gym has odd hours. It closes at 7pm. Not really open on the weekends. I usually try to go during the day, but I'm screwed if I get busy at work. So I went and paid the $35 a month for another gym. I call it my insurance plan or even my backup plan.
The nice thing about this gym is that it's filled with complete idiots. I mean idiots. Should I discuss their attire? Or their gym etiquette? Or just the way they like to stare people down to psych themselves up? Girls, stay out of the weight area unless you are looking for a date. I've been to a lot of gyms...this one is just filled with idiots. So why is it so nice? It makes me focus on my workouts. I don't talk to anyone, look at anyone. I get in, Get my work done. And then get the heck out of there.

Show me what I’m looking for

Weight at competition:  180.  Today’s weight:  205.

Slowly the weight came back.  I certainly had some ups and downs in the process and the last thing I wanted to do was springboard to a weight that didn’t suit my frame the way I wanted.  Rather I allowed the weight to come on as it wanted.  I kept doing morning cardio and eating clean as much as I could.  There have been some open meals sprinkled in there, but I always got back to my clean eating to turn things around.  I was doing great since the competition back in September, but then I started to lose focus.  The little things like writing out my lifting plans or menu weren’t working anymore.  Long story short, I decided a couple of weeks ago to concentrate on this offseason like I should have been all along.  

It started several months ago when a friend of mine asked me to take a look at what he was eating and give him some tips.  He emailed me a ‘typical’ day and there were some obvious issues.  He didn’t eat enough.  On some days he was maybe eating 1200-1600 calories (mostly carbs)…and then other days he was eating 2-3k calories that were mostly consumed in one meal.  Everyone has different opinions on what could be done.  My response was to break up his meals into 5-6 meals throughout the day.  To give him some variety, there were buckets of what he could eat at each meal (based entirely on breaking down his protein/carb/fat intake at each meal).  This allowed him some flexibility.  Very few people can go from eating whatever they want to eating a strict plan all day every day.  This guy needed some flexibility.  His biggest problem was understanding that not all calories are created equal.  He would say things like…’I only eat 1,800 calories a day, why can’t I lose weight.’  Within days, weeks and a couple of months the differences were visible.  He was dropping pant sizes, enjoying the food he could eat and telling everyone around him how great he felt.  One of my goals for post-competition was that I would help others achieve what I did.  This was my first chance to see if I could handle it.  Since then there have been 3 others that wanted help with either their eating, training or both.  I will be the first to admit that I don’t know everything…especially since every person is different!  But there are some pretty simple principles and guidelines that anyone can incorporate.  Everyone thinks there is some secret to how to get it done…there really isn’t.  Find what works.  Stick to it.  Wait for the results you want.

So going through that led to my own intervention.  I was doing great, so don’t think I had bottomed out or stopped completely.  On the contrary…I was training hard, seeing my strength increase, feeling great.  But there is something about this that most don’t understand.  Your mental state is everything!  Without a strong mind you start to second guess and manipulate your brain into seeing something that isn’t there.  It’s hard to explain, but it happened to me.  It took me longer than I wanted to even notice that I was in this rut.  And then once I noticed it…I tried everything I could to get out but nothing worked.  Having a weak mind sucks for more than just the training aspect.  It can affect other parts of your life.  Just your overall personality is morphed into something else.  So rather than spending any more time in this endless cycle…I went to the trainer and told him to fix me.  Write me a new training plan, fix my eating, and just stay on top of me to keep me out of the funk. 

If anything, the blog keeps me honest and focused.  I expect to keep the posts coming about what I am working on, my observations of the day-to-day grind, and the people that are there along the way.  Cheers!  

I’m Back! Catching up on the last 6 months!

It has taken me almost 6 months since the competition to get back to blogging.  No real reason comes to mind.  I’ve been lifting, eating good…but there was no strong desire to sit down and chronicle my day to day happenings.  So here is the last 6 months.

I was happy with my results at the competition.  I learned a lot and had a great time from start to finish.  Two days after the competition I woke up at 6am and headed for the gym for cardio.  That afternoon I headed back to lift weights.  It was total habit at that point!  Just because of work and life I find it easier to split my workout into two sessions.  Six months later I am on the same plan:  40-70 minutes of cardio in the morning 5 days a week AND lifting weights 4 days a week.  The first few weeks were tough.  I wandered around the gym aimlessly, trying different plans, trying to get my strength back.  There just wasn’t much motivation other than showing up each day.  I finally found a new lifting partner.  Actually, a few guys were asking if they could lift with me, but I settled on a couple of guys that worked the same schedule at the office.  Between the two guys, I was hoping at least one of them was there each day to help me lift.  It helped!  I got the kick in the rear I needed and not a moment too late.  We used an old lifting plan from the previous year.  It used warm-up sets, followed by a low rep set to push as much weight as possible.  Maybe even a drop set if we felt like it.  The goal was to add 5-10 pounds of weight to each lift each week.  Squat went from 225 to 405 in no time at all.  It felt good to see the weights go up each week.

Food was interesting!  I modified my all-protein eating plan to include some simple carbs (rice and fruit).  I also allowed myself an off night every few days.  But the rest of the meals were similar.  Eggs, protein shakes, almonds, chicken, beef, peanut butter and my co-workers favorite…broccoli).  At the competition I weighed 180.  Six months later I weigh in at 192. 

So what’s next…

Showing up at the gym is too easy.  I ‘m there twice a day.  So my focus is on growth of lean muscle mass.  Surprise!  Surprise!  This includes working my tail off on the areas that need help (my quads and chest).  I am keeping up with the cardio just to stay lean and it provides some time to read a book.  I haven’t decided on whether I am doing another show or when, but I want to stay within range of a 12-16 week prep.  My last prep lasted 24 weeks.  The trainer is still helping me out mentally and physically.  I no longer consider myself a beginner, but having someone to throw ideas against is a huge advantage! 

Here are a few more pics from the show and right after!

    


Cheers!