SgtTuff13’s Blog

Not oo much to report this time. The weather is still cold and miserable. been in the gym goin on 7 days straight now, doing weights six out of the seven. I reserve Sundays strictly for cardio and abs. Been feeling really good and motivated. The gym has been a savior for me during this deployment. I am what you could call a bit of a loner. Dont get me wrong, I have made some friends here but in the gym I prefer to fly solo. I feel as if aI can stay more focused and my drive greater if I am in my own zone….kinda wierd I guess but it works for me.

Saturday I went to a bench press contest with fellow bodyspace mamber Cozad. No, I did not enter due to the fact that the guys in my weight class throw between 400-500 pounds each. So I was ther for moral support. Cozad did good getting third place in this weight class pushing a respectable 285. Everyone in the contest and the supporters remind me why we do what we do. Its a brotherhood or sisterhood for you ladies out there, that unites us. Everyone no matter race, religion, creed or sexual preference has his/her place in the world of iron. We push each other with words of encouragement and by the pat on the back after we accomplish our goals. We are a select group of people that understands what words like drive and desire truly mean. To us dedication is not just a word in the dictionary, its a way of life. Whether your a musclehead or a rookie, large or small, the gym will always have room for you. To many time people are intimidated by the unknown, or even people in general, if this is you break through that barrier and push on. Unlocking those doors will open a new world of possibilities and even greater gains and friendships.

This coming year lets all reach out and welcome those who are new to the world of fitness and help inspire them. Afterall, the next Arnold or Cutler could be there, wanting help. I hope everyone has a very Happy and Blessed New Year. I will see you all on the other side. As always, keep pushing and stay Tuff

So today started like every other day in this hell hole of a country, cold and miserable. I mean it was -16 and the friggin humvee I was in had next to no heat. You gotta love it. So as I was defrosting and gearing up for the gym, I was side tracked by the thought of not going and staying inside where its warm. That thought quickly got smashed like bug on the winshield. Not go, what in the hell was I even thinking. That was not even an option, so I layered up and proceeded to walk to the gym. The temperature now, a balmy -6. I arrive to the gym and decide to keep my pants and poly-pro on until I got nice and warmed up.

I started my leg work-out on the leg extention machine as always, making them burn and fill with that pain of pure intensity. Moving from there to the leg press I continue to hammer away. I decided that enough was enough, I loaded up 14 plates and pushed until I could feel myself shake. I rested briefly, put two more plates on and went at it again, of course I only got two, but thats two more than I did before. And I completed my workout with the triple play of hamstring exercises, lying, standing and seated leg curls. I was whooped, drained and satisfied with what I had accomplished today. And to think that I was going to stay home….whatever.

This is what seperates us from them, sheep we call them here. The crowd that goes to work, goes to chow, goes to bed. Being led around by the norms of military society. We chose a different path, a path that is not smooth or lined with gold. A path that we plow everyday, moving farther and farther. We never give up, we never surrender. Failure is not an option. We chose our destiny in life, and we push ourselves to accomplish what few others even dream about. The road we have chosen is in many ways the toughest battle we will ever face. We are our own worst enemies, and that damn mirror is its tool. Yet we continue to fight, not willing to surrender when the going gets tough. We fight and drive on with all our might. Success will be ours in the end.

So when the going gets tough, take time and see where you were and where you are now. Look at what you have accomplished so far. I know that it will help get you going. We all have those days, and thanks to sites like this one, we have friends to help as well. Keep pushing, stay motivated and the rest will follow. Stay Tuff  

First let me start by saying Merry Christmas to all and to all a Happy New Year. This has been one hell of a ride so far. Lets take a look back into what I call "my life." In January I seperated from my wife for eight years. We have been having alot of issues and I thought best that we throw in the towel. By May we were divorced. I have to admit its not easy for me to give up, but both her and I are better for it now. Then came along the next Mrs Sgttuff13. Actually she came along in October of the previous year. We started dating shorlty after my break-up. She is the one in the pictures on my profile. Well let me tell you a little something about my BabyGirl, she saved my life. When my divorce was in its closing stages I thought for sure that I was a terrible person for ruining so many lives. I started to go into a downward sprial and hated myself something aweful. She picked me up and showed me what I really am, a loving and devoted father, boyfriend, soldier and friend. She is the drive that pushes me harder and harder everyday. When I am ready to give up, she is there to inspire me and keep me grounded. My kids do the same but by different means. We got engaged 2 weeks before I deployed. We converse everyday and write as much as possible. Now the holidays are upon us and its really hard to stay motivated. Being away from the kids and her are enough to drive you mad. However, with each passing day, I am one day closer to seeing them again. The four of them are my purpose in life, my drive and my passion. They are the ones that push me in the gym. I want to be ther for them for as long as possible. The kids go to the gym with me back home when they can and inspire me to no end. They always tell me "Daddy flex your muscles." Which I do, along with a funny face to get them going. Tiffany aka BabyGirl, inspires me in the gym by her kind words of encouragement and by her eyes. She is truly my best feature. She knows just what to say to keep me going. 

For instance, just the other day I was ready to throw in the towel and give up again. Not on her, but on my fitness goals. Why is it that people have to make fun or crack jokes at the unknown. Maybe they are to ****ing lazy or even jealous that I am doing what I love and they are not. Maybe its becaudse they have no idea what drive and motivation are. It could be simply that they are just *******ss that have to torment others to make themselve feel better. This happened to me on Christmas Eve. I am very insecure about my appearence. It took alot for me to post the pics on this page because I am not like the guys you see here. I have no 6-pack, I am not ripped to the gill. I am just me. So when I was confronted and slammed on by my peers, I retreated. The pics are now off the page, so others cannot make me feel as they did. This is where she saved me. She reminded me of what and who I am. That the only opinion that matters is my own. And that if I gave up, I would regret it forever. She told me she is proud of me and that she loved me. And no matter what she is behind me.

Needless to say, I am still here, pushing harder, with more drive than ever before. So look out 2008, here I come, you had better be ready for the ass whooping that I am going to lay on ya. To all the naysayers or ****wads out there that push people around to get there rocks off, BRING IT. You are not as strong as we are, you have no honor, no respect, no disipline. Take a long hard look at yourself before you come into our house. You will lose.

I apologize for rambling on, but I needed to vent. We will see you all in the gym next time. Once again Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year to all. As always keep pushing stay strong and be Tuff……

So I was back at the gym today for what I hoped was going to be a good workout. As it turned out it was better than I thought it was going to be. Myself and another cop worked on shoulders and traps for around an hour and a half. So as I was waiting for him to show up I starte with some stretching and warm-ups. Still waiting I decide to go ahead and jump into it. I start with seated dumbell press for 4 sets of varying reps. I felt good ending that portion with 70 lbs for 6 reps. It was tough but felt good. Finally my partner shows up and we bang out 4 sets of behind the neck presses. From there we do front raises for 4 sets. Then side cable raises behind the back for 4 sets. Then comes the real fun. We do 4 sets of behind the back barbell shrugs/upright rows. From there we do behind the back upright rows/dumbell side shrugs.

We are officialy fried, muscles on fire and an empty tank to boot. We grab a bottle of water and decide its time to hit the chow hall for some much needed food. As usual I opt for chicken, rice and some milk. I did have a Mountain Dew with it but its all good. From there I head over to the Green Bean to call my BabyGirl. Its always good to hear her voice, it really motivates me. She has been such a inspiration while I have been gone. It seems like forever since I have seen her, but we will be together in a few short months. Without her, I really dont think I would be able to stay with it, both physically and mentally. So een  though she cant read this I want to thank her for her support. I also want to thank the rest of the people who are at home supporting our troops overseas. In my opinion you are the true heroes. So thank you once again and God bless.

Stay

I have to vent somewhere and I figure that this is as good of place as any. The other day I was in the gym doing my normal tricep workout when I hear this group of jack-offs carrying on like they are at the club. I mean come on if you are going to talk instead of push weight take it somewhere else and leave us alone. I try to keep my cool, Lord knows that, but there are times I would like nothing more than to drop kick them out of the gym. I don’t know, maybe it’s just me, but even athome the same kind of guys are there. You all know the ones that I am talking about. For instant, there is this one guy, who barely workouts, yet walks around like he is Hercules. The same guy that after he does arms states and I quote " These are the biggest arms in here", as he flexes with all his might. Come on, lets be realistic, maybe they are but why make yourself out to be some vain self-centered a-hole that no one in the gym likes. Sorry, maybe I am rambling, but it really drives me nuts…..Okay I am done, no more venting.

The past two days I have been sick with some sort of G.I infection. Of course our lovely doctors here have no idea whay or what the cause is. So I have been laid up in my room staring at the damn ceiling. Real fun let me tell ya. But all that ends tomorrow. We are getting back on the saddle again and attacking the shoulders and traps. Hell, I might even thow in some cardio. We will see how I feel afterwards. Then to top off the day we have a USO show coming here. Robin williams, Kid Rock, and Miss America are just a few that will be here. Should be a good time. So we will see what happens, other than that all here has been same thing different day. Its cool though, I am half-way home. Take it easy and will hit you all up later. Train hard and stay Tuff

So today I was getting ready to do my chest routine, when I thought what the hell lets max and see where we are at. So i did my warm up with 135, then another at 225. Loaded up another 50 lbs and threw 275 fairly easy. Then I said the hell with it, put on 300. It was not as easy as I thought it should ahve been, but we still got it. I have not seen 300 in a long time. I feel good as hell and ready to kick some ass. Between all the shoulder problems and the stress of being deployed,this has made my day for sure. I know to some 300 is an everyday thing, but to me this is a great accomplishment. Who knows what I can do in the next three months…..time will tell.  

So after I maxed out and reached my first goal, I thought I would finish my workout. I did a couple more sets on flat bench and then went to the dumbell press. I did three sets of varying reps. Started with 80’s and ended with 95’s for a set of 7. From there was decline. Three sets of varying reps again. Starting with 155 and ended with 205 for 10. That was it i was drained from the others so I did one set of pec dec flyes and went to chow. It was a short workout but it was good to say the least. So we will see what happens next. Keep pushing and stay Tuff…..

Well as you can see it has been a little while since my last post. Things here have been caotic to say the least. I have been in the gym and hitting it harder than normal. I guess I am tired of the same old shit day in and day out. The weather here has been shitty, cold and miserable. It makes it really hard at times to get in the mood to workout, especially after working on shift for 12-14 hours. But waht can you do, just suck it up and move on. Besides I do not want to fall into that rut where I say the hell with it today, I ‘ll go tomorrow. Then that one day off turns into two and so on and so forth. In all honesty I hate not going to the gym, I feel like a lazy ass if I dont go. I just press on and once in the gym and the sweat starts to roll I forget about the weather outside and focus on the matter at hand. Dedication, plain and simple. You either have it or you dont……Its hard to find but easy to lose.

Eleven days until my next weigh in and progress pic. Hopefully all this work is paying off, but you will have to be the judge of that. I see changes myself, but that can be all in my head. Well back to the humvee to drive my patrol again. As always stay TUFF

Well here we go again for another round at the gym. I have been going on a 6day on 1 day off cycle and feel that it really fits my needs. Today, we attack the back. I started today with ovewrhead pulldowns to the front. I went four 4 sets, and varied the reps to the weight I used. From there I went over and did T-bar rows. I love the way these feel. These I also did for 4 sets of varied reps. Next was the seated row with a close grip. Really concentrating on the muscle and the feel. 4sets of varied reps again. Then we went over and did 4 sets of one arm rows, also varying the reps used. Finally, I ended the workout with kneeling straight arm rope pull downs. 4 sets of varied reps as always. This was a new exercise to me, and I must say that it really hits the lats hard. Slow controlled movement and the burn was setting in almost immeadiatly. After I completed my workout I did some stretching and it was off to eat. Bad part about today though was that the damn DFAC (chow hall) in the Air Force was out of chicken breast. So I settled for some tuna instead. Oh well maybe tomorrow.

Tomorrow will be the first day back into doing cardio. I knowyou can’t lean out if you dont do it, but I really hate cardio. But you know what, the hell with it. I know that I wont achieve my goal if I dont start, so better now than later…right. The problem I have is that I get bored with it fast. Not sure how I can liven it up any. I could use some advice. In shoool, I use to love doing stadium stairs, however being deployed shit hole, thats not an option. So I guess we will see what happens. If anyne has some advice or is in the same boat as I am, hit me up so I can beat this hatred.

Well I got to go do some more patrolling, weather sucks, cold and foggy. God, I miss Indiana and my BabyGirl. But hey we are almost there, just a few more to go. In the end, it will all be worth the pain and misery that we go through on a daily basis. Stay strong and be Tuff

Leg day…..my favorite day of the workout week. I look forward to this each and every week. A day that I can go balls out and feel the pain that is oh so good. To some this is a day that is sometimes dreaded or even put on the back burner, for me though its a day like no other. I start my workout as I do all workouts with some good stretching and a five to ten minute warm up on the bike. After I feel good and lose I head over to the leg extention machine and finish warming up one leg at a time. Now that I am warm and good to go, I continue on with leg extentions, now using both legs in a controlled manner. I get a good squeeze at the top as I hold for a count of two. Then slowly I lower the weight to a point right before it racks itself. I will do 4 sets of this, for a rep range from 10-12, depending on the degree of muscle burn I feel.

From there I head over to the leg press, and do the same thing, four sets with varying rep ranges. My main focus is on keeping tension on the muscles at all times during my sets. I do not lock-out at the top, nor do I bounce the weight off the bottom. Strict controlled movements, thats it. My last set today I did a drop set, from 12 plates down to only four, taking off two plates at a time. By now, I feel tired and drained, yet ready for some more. My legs are on fire, begging me to stop and move on back to the room to rest. But I cant. Hack squats are next on my agenda. Four sets as before, with the same rep variation. These too are controlled with no lockout at the top. These really light me up and get me legs feeling like jello at completion.

After that its off to do lying leg curls. Four sets and yup, you guessed it rep variation. Now on these I really concentrate on the movement. Not that I dont for the others, but I want to be especially careful not to jerk or force the weight to quick. Three years ago I completely snapped my right hamstring playing softball, and I can still feel it today as I lift. After the pain and torture from that incident, I want to make damn sure that I am not going to do it again. Well at least not in the gym, lord willing. Next I go to the standing leg curl and go for four more sets of the same reps variation. Concentrating on the contraction of the muscle. Smooth and controlled. I finish off today with stiff leg deadlifts. These are somewhat new to my workout. I follow the same set and rep scheme as before. I try to focus on the movement and not the weight. I want to feel it in my hammies, not my back.

Now normally I would do calves on today, however I am still recovering from that damn sprained ankle from two weeks ago. So I will try to do those next week. I hop on the bike for a little cool down and then I stretch some more. I feel good, legs are pumped, feeling like jello, but hey no pain no gain right….Time to eat!!! With that I will close and get some much needed food into my system. Stay strong…..

So here we go again. Today was just like every other day in this hell hole. I work for 12-14 hours, go to my room and get ready for the gym. Somedays are better than others, although it still "Groundhogs Day" in my opinion. But no matter how shitty my night on shift was I always find motivation and drive inside the gym. Today was no exception.

After I strechted out, I began to work my chest with fire and desire. I began with flat bench for 4 sets. I started with 135 to warm up and went to 185×12, 205×10, 225×6, 245×4. All sets were controlled and minimal rest in between. From there I went to flat dumbells presses. Once again I followed the same set scheme as before. 60×12, 70×10, 80×6, 85×4. Now I am feeling pretty good and pumped, now its time for the decline. Now, these are somewhat new to me, but I like how they feel. Same as earlier, 4 sets with minimal rest. 155×12, 185×10, 205×8, 225×7. From there as before I go to the dumbells. 60×12, 70×10, 75×6, 80×4. I now decide to do incline dumbells for 4 sets. 55×12, 60×10, 70×8, 75×4. Incline flyes are next on my agenda. I start with 30×12, 35×10, 40×10, 45×8. By this time I am pretty whooped, but finish my workout on the dip machine. I go heavy and crank out as many as I can before I cant push any more.

Afterwards I once again strecth my chest out and go and get some much needed nutrients for my empty tank. At least this place has plenty of chicken and rice to east on. Hell, its there for every meal. I eat and converse with my peers about the gym and the shift we worked. Form there itsoff to the Green Bean to call my BabyGirl. The one time of the day that I look forward to the most. Nto that I dont look forward to the gym, I do, but she gives me things that the gym cant….ya know what I mean. So with that I will cut out of here. Check you all out later….