-JB-’s Perpetual Journey

This is my first cut and its not easy.  My hat is off to the bodybuilders who do this multiple times a year for weeks.  It’s been 3 weeks now and although I’m losing the fat I aquired from my bulk faster than I expected to, it’s a brutal process.

First, I love to eat.  Bulking was soooo much fun because I ate everything within reason (I do my best to keep it clean).  I love loading up a plate full of whole-grain pasta or brown rice, throwing some meat on top, stirring it up, and eating it all together.  Now the carbs I get are from veggies.  They’re just not the same.  Every year at our school we have a party for our 8th graders who are going to high school after the summer break.  We have pizza, candy, doughnuts, soda, etc. - enough for over 200 students.  This year I sat in the back of the kitchen eating my all natural lean turkey and cottage cheese while everyone else gorged on garbage.  The other teachers and the students alike were trying to get me to eat ‘unhealthy foods.’  It hard to explain to those who don’t understand why you do the things you do.  That’s why I simply say ‘No, thank you’ and continue eating the stuff my body really needs.

 Also, I hate cardio.  I’ve been running 3 miles about 4 or 5 times a week for a few weeks now.  I still train in the afternoon in the Dungeon 4 days a week.  After I eat dinner at night, I’ve been ready for bed.  I feel drained from pushing myself so hard lately.  Burning more calories than I eat is a relatively new thing to me and my body isn’t really used to it.  That calorie deficit, however, is getting me the results I want.

I’m going to start bulking again very soon.  I hope to reach 230lbs; that’s a short-term goal.  I know what it takes for me to get there.  I have the summer off (one of the only advantages of being a teacher) to really concentrate on training hard and eating right and resting when my body needs it.  Mind over all…

I just updated my personal profile on a training website I visit frequently and noticed that I have gained 10.5lbs in less than 2 months. Since I started training again in October ‘05, I have gained a total of 40.5lbs - in less than a year and a half. I’m not bragging at all; I am not that kind of a person. I just want this to be a lesson to all of those looking to bulk up fast:

You DO NOT need a bunch of fancy expensive supplements. You DO NOT need to lift 4 hours a day. All I have done for the past year and a half is keep my diet clean, train hard in the gym, and rest appropriately. It’s really not that difficult. I don’t take any magic pills because THEY DON’T EXIST!! I eat. And when I eat I am sure to comsume certain nutrients at certain times for maximal gains. My supplements include whey protein (cheap stuff from Sam’s Club), omega-3 fish/flax oil blend (4 1200mg pills a day), a good multivitamin (I take Animal Pak), and creatine. That’s it. Nothing crazy. Don’t be suckered by supplement companys’ claims of “great size gains in only 12 minutes” or whatever. Eat. Train with the utmost intensity. Eat more. Sleep. Wake up and eat again. Plain and simple.

I am no where NEAR done. Knowing what kind of gains I’m making now fuels me to make even more gains. I’m not satisfied and probably never will be.