13WaRRioR13’s BodyBlog

To all of the past and present service members and defenders of this great country, Happy Veteran’s Day.  Continue serving your country and fighting the good fight.  Thank you for all you have done.  Today is your day, and I salute you.

For the next 4 weeks I am going to focus on form and concentration.  I have been lifting heavy (at least for me) the last two months, and I feel like my body needs a little break.  This week I am doing only cardio and body weight exercises (lots of Army PT exercises, abs, and circuit training).  Then for the following three weeks, I am going to lower my weight to medium weight for higher reps.  I am putting 100% of focus on form.  I will be taking 5-10 seconds a rep on some exercises using cable machines.  I am going to use the cable machines to really work my muscles during the negatives.  I did not set a high body weight goal this month, becuase I also want to drop some BF and slim the waist a little bit.  I am also starting to take casein protien tonight before I go to sleep.  Also I changed my protien this month to Muscle Milk’s new MONSTER MILK.  With 50g of protien per serving I am hoping to really see some more lean rock hard muscle.  I am expecting alot from my body this month, and I am going to push it to meet my goals.  Stats and pics will be updated on 30 November 2008.

A local gym is having a power lifting and endurance competition for "Toys for Tots".  I am extremely excited about registering, and participating in a great charity.  All proceeds go to the "Toys for Tots", also all spectators and participants are encouraged to bring new, unopened toys for donations.  I am going to compete in the bench press, deadlift, and dips competitions.  A big motivation for the competitors is that the 8x Mr Olympia RONNIE COLEMAN will be their.  Ronnie will be a huge motivational key for me to do my best and really max out.  I am going to start training specifically for the two big lifts for the next 4 weeks, then have a week to take it easy and work out light to stay warm.  Its been a long time since I have competed against anyone, I cannot wait for the push it will give me to shine.

I just got back to the good old USA about 2 hours ago.  The air definitly smells better, and there is a lot more green here than the desert.  I cant wait to get back to normal life, find a good gym, and really start tearing up the iron and making some huge gains.  For everyone who gave me their support while I was gone my thanks goes out to you a 100 fold. 

So this may not fully apply to body building, but it was extremely physically and mentally challenging.  I accomplished my goal of taking and passing the EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) Bomb suit qualification test.  I had to wear a 70 lb armored suit covering me from head to toe and complete tasks.  I took my test in about 110 degree heat and completed everything in a good time.  I was in the suit for about 40 minutes and was completely beat when I took it off.  I rested all day and drank a ton of water and was still wore out.  When I get home I can now apply to reclass in the military and go EOD, which is something that I would love to do with my life.  I love being in the military but my current job is just getting to boring.  Ive have done everything this job has to offer from convoying through Iraq on emergency ammunition resupply missions to sitting behind a desk and doing paper work.  Ive done many missions with EOD personnel and I love working with them and I feel like I make more of a difference.  My new goal will now be to get into a EOD unit and pass the 11 months of school.

I will be on a plane to go home in less than a week.  I am excited but I am going to miss the paychecks.  I have only seen my family for 3 days in the last 15 months, so that will be cool to.  Unfortunately for the last week and a half I have missed a lot of gym time, and my protien intake has been about a third of normal.  I havent even had the opportunity to check on my body stats to see where I am at with my goals that were set for today.  I am happy that once I get home I will be able to set a real gym routine and not have any interference from missions.  I expect that my gains and improvements will come faster when I get home.  To everyone that has shown me support while I have been here, thank you very much it is extremely appreciated.

Today started week 7.  I changed all my work outs for this month to keep my muscles guessing.  I was still making slight progress with my other work out plan but it was starting to get boring.  I still have about a month or so until I get home, hopefully I can gain about another 4 or 5 lbs and cut 1 or 2 % body fat.  I want to be in good shape when I hit the house and I want to be a little bigger so when I get more ink done I have more room for work.  All in all I am happy with my progress, I hope I meet all of my goals set for my birthday.

Today started week 6, and of course it was chest day.  I finally increased my 1RM on barbell bench press.  I hit 185 and met my goal today.  Other than that I cut my work out a little short.  I didnt do to well on my meals and protein shakes today either, but I am not gonna complain.  Today I got to meet Tito Ortiz.  He is a lot bigger and person, and a really cool guy.  I am going to post the pic of myself, three of my soldiers, Tito, and Justim McCully.  It was a great day all together.  For the past 7 weeks I havnt ran but 3 times.  I have been working 12 hours a day, going to school 3 hours a nite monday through saturday, and going to the gym.  So there really wasnt much time to run.  Well shcool is finally over.  I just hope that running in 100+ degrees isnt going to hinder my gaining weight to much.  I do want to cut some body fat, but I still want to gain 2 more pounds this month before I get home.  I guess I will find out just how hard this will be.

Today started week 5, and after being in the gym for a month without skipping any training days I have decided that chest day is my least favorite.  I have made gains in everybody part except chest.  After five chest sessions my 1 rm hasnt increased at all, and my chest actually shrunk about one inch.  I added pyramids for my flat bench excerise today and I did feel like it worked me a little more so I think I am going to see where it takes me.  Hopefully I can start to see at least minimal gains in chest size and strength.

Tomarrow is another camp squat competition.  This competition I will be in a higher weight class, and I will actually have people to compete against.  My last competition was in a lower weight class and I was the only one in the 145 lbs and under weight class, so although I placed first I felt like I didnt really win anything.  Tomarrow I will have the chance to earn a medal and deserve it.