Have you ever kicked yourself for not doing something you know you should of done? Well, here I am again. I had been doing so well and feeling great working out and then I let my new business opportunity get in my way and I got into my lazy habits again.

  So, as an ode to the old whitesnake song, "here we go again" I am starting over and fresh and once again feeling good. I managed to gain most of the weight back which is what prompted me to start over again. That and doing a 15 mile hike/rapelling trip with my son, convinced me that I couldn't get leaner or feeling better by waiting for the motivation to come.

  I was so sore after the week long trip to Zions national park from all of the hiking and rapelling we did. As I was puffing along I kept thinking to myself, why did I quit. If you hadn't of quit this would of been a lot easier. Well, at that point. I said to myself, "I am sore anyways, I might as well get up and start with p90 again."

  So for the past 4 weeks Tony and I have become dear friends again and I am getting back into shape again. Lost 10 lbs already... not that I am as concerned about weight loss. More concerned about how my clothes fit or don't and how I feel. I think I will give Tony his due time and then try and change it up with "Insanity" for fun.

  So anyways, live and learn and forge ahead.

  All my kids managed to catch colds and for some reason they seem to want even more hugs and kisses when they don't feel well, which, in turn makes me not feel so well. Usually.

   This morning when the alarm went off I really didn't feel like getting out of bed. I felt like I was trying to fight something off.. or just plain tired. But my stomach was bugging me so I got out of bed and since I was out of bed decided I needed to go workout.

  So headed to the gym and did Leg presses, Military Presses, Deadlifts and Pull ups. My grip wasn't as bad today. I finished the workout with Sit ups and standing curls and preacher curls. My back is a bit sore already. It felt good and I wasn't feeling too bad. I decided not to take the superpump supplement. The stuff gives me headaches both times I have taken it and I didn't notice any difference from when I took it to when I didn't. Lesson learned?? Quit wasting money on some supplements and just keep working out.

   I did Cardio on a elliptical walker on Tuesday night. I swear the thing was broke. I started out going kinda fast and it was telling me that my heart rate was 140 bpm. Then it started upping the resistance on me and got to the point where I felt like I was trying to run in mud. It said my heart rate was 80 bpm and kept saying "Go Faster!!" I was almost at the same strides per minute and sweating like crazy and having a harder time than I was when it was easier. Then when the resistance came back down... voila my heart rate was back up to 140 bpm and I felt like I was at a easy run. LOL. I will try the other one tonight. Did that for 1 hour while waiting for my son to finish is training. Honest truth though. I felt like I got more of a workout from doing P90x plyo workout.

   Anyways, figured I would do some cardio and see if I could burn some of this extra BF away. I can't run on a treadmill because of a rod down my leg. Fibrous displaysia. Work with what you got.

 Andy

  I like all the encouragement you get from people on here and for all the people that respond to my dumb questions because it really does help me keep going at it.

  Didn't workout this morning because I will be doing a workout this evening. I did get a bit of an additional workout last night because my family came to pick me up from work to go to an event. The event got cancelled and we went across the street to the gym to pick up my son from his kickboxing class.

   While we were waiting my kids started asking me what kind of weights I lifted there. Show I started showing them. Then my kids wanted to see me lift. LOL. So I put some weight on and did some lifting. Nothing major, but it was fun because then they wanted to try it out as well. Too bad most of them were too small for the machines.

  Fun times. I will miss it when my kids get older. They (my family) is what life is all about. They are also pretty encouraging. They told me yesterday that I wasn't very fat anymore. Now there is some honesty.

  Got to love Mondays!

 I was excited to get up this morning. Was feeling overdue for a good workout. Got up early and got ready to go to the gym. Decided to try another shot at the superpump this morning. (stuff reminds me of Tang) Last time I took it I got a migraine the next day. Want to see if that is what caused it. It makes me a bit jittery..

   The workout this morning was Olympic Squats x5, Bench Press  x5, Barbell rows  x5 and weighted situps on an incline 30x3 and Triceps machine (pushdowns) x3 and then extentions  x3. I still felt like I could do a bit more to work on my chest so I did the Bench press machine x3. Felt good and left me a bit shaky afterwords. Was excited because I was able to increase the weight 10lbs on each exercise. Is it usual to feel like my back needs more work because I feel it more in my lower back than in my legs on squats?? Not that it hurts but I feel more tired in my lower back than my legs.

  Squats are a bugger and I think they are going to be a love/hate relationship for sure. I bust a gut doing them which makes me hate them, but love it after I am finished. 

  I think my body is still getting used to heavier weights because I was so sore from last thursdays workout that I didn't go in on Saturday. Determined this week to hit it all 3 days lifting heavy. Tempted to throw in some cardio on the off days because I want to keep from getting too fat, but still want to gain some size...   

  Here I thought I didn't get that great of a workout yesterday, but lo and behold. I am sore today. My lower back is really tender and my forearms can really feel it as well. Deadlifts rule! I can even feel a bit in the back of my legs. Though I think I could of gone a bit heavier on the leg press.

  I also got on the scale today and I am up to 175lbs, but I really haven't gained it in the gut. So, I am hoping that I am adding some muscle. I will have to buy me some calipers so I can get an accurate reading. I tend to go by how my pants fit more anyways and I haven't had to adjust pants size.

   Once I get done trying to add some size then I will see if I can find my six pack and then I will post some more pictures up. Maybe I will post some more once I am closer to finishing the bulk just to see if I have added anything.

   Well, I get to workout again tomorrow. I am excited because it will be Saturday and I won't be in a rush. Plus I don't have to get ready for work afterwords.

   On a different note. I got to watch my son do Jujitsu last night and had to cringe when he got dropped on his head. He sucked it up and got right back in there though. The kid he keeps going up against has more experience just Jaden is determined to beat him. He is now getting more dedicated at doing his stretching and workouts. He wants to compete. I am excited but kinda nervous because I don't like the idea of him taking too much of a beating. So I keep working with him...hopefully to get him ready.

 

  I was suppose to go to the gym yesterday, but I ended up getting a migraine. Tons of fun. I also didn't have my happy pills (Maxalt is what I usually take for them.) so I was miserable. I go to the doctors office and they tell me it would take me a day or two. I thought, "great! That really helps me now!" So yesterday I was in bed for a large part of the day enjoying my headache.

  Well this morning I got up ready to go. Hit the gym a bit late, but no one was there so I got started. Was suppose to do Deadlifts, Squats, pullups and military presses. I ended up kinda modifying it. The deadlifts were a bugger. I felt like I could do more weight but I could hang on to the weight. The first time I dropped the weight I felt like an idiot and was glad no one was around to witness the fact. So I dropped the weight a bit and did more then the 5 reps. Still killed my grip. Then I headed over to military press. Did ok with that. Not used to it, but managed to work it out.

  Proceeded to go over to the pullup bar feeling like this would be one I could finally do right. I can usually do at least 10 pull ups. I managed 5 because I had a hard time hanging on. GRRRR.. see a pattern here??

   Instead of squats I decided to do leg press and had a hard time getting a weight that I didn't want to kill myself with and one that was difficult at the same time. A bit of fear of heavy weights. Did ****ght at that. Then did them all over again for a total of 5 sets.

   By the end I felt like friggin popeye. My forearms were bulging. Then it recommended that I do a bicep workout so I warmed up with some alternating curls and then went to the preacher bench and put some weight on. OUCH.. my forearms were killing me, but I pushed though and felt good.

  So, overall not a bad workout. I figure grip strength will come. I can feel the deadlifts in my back right now. Legs not soo much. Should of done the squats, but I will do them again on Saturday and wanted to feel good..

   I will give this workout a shot for a bit and then try the traditional 4-5 day split and see how I like that.

   Fun...

 

   ****ght. Did another workout in the gym. Beginning to like it. Slowly. Something fun about lifting heavier weights. Was a bit afraid I was going to be really sore after yesterdays workout like I was last time. But to my amazement I was only a little sore. I will be ready to hit it again tomorrow. The squats seem to be the most challenging followed by the bent over rows.

   I am trying to gain some size and muscle. My mindset is having a hard time with the weight gain though and the thought of eating more. The other thing I fight with is not overdoing it. I left the gym feeling good.. a little shaky down the stairs, but was almost tempted to go back in and kill it some more. I also have been wanting to do cardio. Blah.. patience I keep telling myself. One day at a time. Someone tell me where to get patience because I have none.

   I just figure I am on the right path and I will continue on it. I just look at several of the people on here and I keep motivated to keep at it. I swear some of these people were born with it though. JK.

 Andy

  I got up this morning. Got my stuff ready and headed to the gym. Yes, you heard it. The gym. I have a membership and am now seeing how much weight I can move around.

  I printed the workout for the 5x5 because I want to gain some size and strength. I wasn't really how much weight to start out with so I experimented a bit. I did bench press, bent over rows and squats. I need to findout how much the bar weight is so I can get a feeling for really how much I am lifting.

  The squat felt about right for now. I got a bit shaky around 4-5 rep. The bench seemed a bit light but I was nervous because I was the only one in the gym and didn't want to be yelling, "help, get this off of me!" I can always add more next time.

   I didn't feel to beat when I left, but now sitting at work I can feel my back and arms a bit. Want to see if I get sore a bit tomorrow.

   Anyways, I am excited about the gym. I like it that there aren't a lot of people. I was able to do what I wanted. Though I think I will take my Ipod. Keep me company a bit and a timer to make sure I am not taking too long of breaks. No Tony to keep me going.

   There we go. One day down and a lifetime to go.

  ****ght. I know I said I was going to join the gym as of Monday. Did I? No. Why?? Because I took my son to his class there last night and found out that I was misinformed on the time that he is to go. I thought he was going to be there Mon-Thurs 7pm to 8pm, which would give me time to workout while he practiced.

   He actually is suppose to be in Kickboxing Mon and Wed from 4:30-5:30 and then on Tue and Thur Jujitsu from 7:00-8:00. So that kinda throws a wrench in my plans, but what I might do is consider going in early and Mon and Wed and then Later on Tue and Thur. Still works. I even found a workout partner with one of my friends!

  In the meantime I have been continuing with my P90x. I still love Plyometrics. Did that this morning and had a blast. Drenched in sweat and shaky in the legs.

   Tonight I am hosting the Caucas at my house. So, I wonder how crazy it will be. I am sure there will be  a LOT of discussion.

  

  Ok. Finally made the choice. Talked with my wife last night and I am going to get my Gym membership. LOL. You might be saying to yourself. "that took long enough." Well, it has been a long time coming. I was really wanting to see what I could do at home and feel that I had really made a commitment before I signed up for a gym membership. I am at that point now. I truly like the way I feel when I am in better shape. (Can't say I am in the best shape right now.) I want to see what kind of transformation I can make happen with heavier weights and really sticking to a strict diet. Going to hire a personal trainer to push me and see. For some reason I am kinda nervous. LOL.

   I have never really thought about it before but I think I still have the skinny kids syndrome in me. I feel kind of out of place in a gym. I know that is a wrong self image thing. So I am going to prove it wrong. The personal trainer has really surprised me so far. He is really cool and supportive. Not sure what I expected there either. My wife is neutral at this point.

   So as of this coming Monday the adventure begins. Time to see what damage I can bring to those weights in the gym...

 Andy

  Got up today easy. Didn't sleep that well for some reason and kept looking at the clock. I could tell from last night that I was going to be a little sore which I was happy about. In fact last night I was excited because I felt like I was able to move up a bit in weight.

  This morning headed downstairs and pushed play again and started going. I love this workout from P90x. It has some easy looking exercises that are extremely hard to do for the full time and as usual I can feel the effect after the workout.

  Now I just have to get really going on my diet and watching what I eat. I also am going to check out the gym tonight when I take my son to his class. I really want to get more serious on the weights. P90x is great and I still have a lot of room to improve there, but I want to start lifting heavier weights and to put some on some size.

 Until tonight.

Andy

  Got done doing Arms and Shoulders today with P90x. I like the routine, but sometimes feel that it isn't enough. I think I will just increase the weight and see how that does because some of the moves are very hard and right now my arms are feeling heavy which is a good sign. I like feeling like I actually got a workout in.

  Talked with my wife again about joining a Gym. Last night I took my son over to it for his Jujitsu class. He did very well btw. Proud dad. She is actually open to the idea because I could take him for his class and do my workout while waiting for him to get done. If I decided to do this. I will have to call Matt and get a decent program to add some mass to my frame, but muscle mass. I have enough chub already. I wish my best buddy was closer. He goes to the gym everyday and it would be great working out with him. Too bad I can't convince my wife to go with me.

   I am getting very curious to see if I can have the kinds of transformations that I see on this site without taking any kind of steriods and I do consider phermones  steriods just not as potent, but steriods just the same. I will have to see how much my age plays a part in the process, but I really think if I can get the diet down I would be half way there. That is the part that I hate the most. Not the eating part, but the not eating part.

  More discussion to come and hopefully a gym membership and a trip the the gym. It would be kind of nice to use a bench to work my chest instead of pushups.

 A bientot 

  I know people are thinking I dropped the program and quit. No. I did for a bit though. In November I had a ton go on and was having a really difficult time fitting it all in.

  I took my wife on a vacation to Cancun and had a blast snorkling, playing beach volleyball and checking stuff out with my wife. I came back and managed to get sick and then didn't feel like working out. So I pretty well took about 6 weeks off.

  The good news was I have decided that I can't quit. A break once in a while is ok, but quitting isn't an option. I like the way I feel a LOT better. The other good news was that I only gained about 5 pounds over the holidays. Now I am back on track and trying to get more intensive.

  I looked at hiring a personal trainer and just don't feel quite ready for that commitment yet. I have to feel like I can really make a commitment to go to the gym everyday and I don't feel like I am quite there yet. I get up at home, but it's not as much effort to wander downstairs and put the cd in and push play vs getting up and getting dressed and heading to a gym and then working out by myself and then getting ready and heading to work. LOL...

   Anyways, feel like I am going strong again with the p90x and I will start sticking closer to the diet. That has been a major challenge for me. Needless to say that is probably why I haven't lose all my gut yet.

   The good news again. My son wants to do MMA and there is a Gym that teaches it right in the same space as my Branch so.. I might consider joining since my son will be over there a fair amount during the week.

   There we go!

  I feel it... I am not sure what I did differently, but this morning when I got up and went down to workout doing Plyometrics I was pumped. I got moving and decided to really go for it.

   After jumping around for a bit and really making a goal of touching the ceiling on every jump I starting sweating and it started coming in rivers. I started laughing at myself because my eyes were burning with sweat in them. I didn't want to stop and grab my towel so I just kept going till the break and could finally towel off a bit. By the time to Bonus round kicked in.. I was leaning on my knees to get a breath.. and kept at it.

My daughter came up to see what was making the noise. (I was trying to land soft but jumping higher I didn't land quite as soft as usual.) I just smiled because I was tired. She went back to bed. My family were all sleeping in because of a break from School.

 Then went to work and had to climb my usual couple flights of stairs to open the vault and felt it in my legs. (I am beginning to like that feeling.)

 On a side note. I found of yesterday that another dream might come true for me. I talked with a friend that owns a "Haunted House" and is looking at building another one in my area. I wanted in and he said I could. I will be meeting with his partners and next year about this time might be the proud partner of my own "Haunted House." I am a HUGE fan of Halloween and all things scary. This is the only month that I wish I could extend out for a long period. One day I would love to make a horror movie that is actually scary along the lines of "The Changeling." I am not a fan of gore being used as much as it has been lately. I realise that is part of the scare, but to make it the focus takes away from the movie and makes it less scary and more gross. I could rant on forever about that...

 Plus, I got on the scale this morning. It said 165 lbs. I am not sure if it is accurate, so I will check it tomorrow as well and see. I don't feel a lot different.

  This is probably not what most of you might think it is. I am just ranting a bit. I have decided that as soon as I finish doing my P90x that I will be looking at joining a gym and seriously start weight lifting. My goal: not quite sure. It's kind of like starting a journey into a forest and not sure whats on the other side, but the whole thing is kind of exciting. That is how I feel. I am excited to see what I can accomplish and see what I can make my body do. I am not sure what the end result will be. I have always been a guy with a smaller frame and would like to see what changes I make through weight lifting that would change that to some degree. This is where I continue to bump into some friction.

   My wife seems to not fully support me in this endeavor. I am not fully sure why, but she seems to have some kind of reservations that I can't clue into. When I went and met with my trainer last night and was talking to her on the phone. She wasn't a bit excited about it. That is frustrating for me. I think that she thinks that I am going to become some huge muscle bound ego walking around. But even if I could put on a ton of muscle I am not really that kind of person to have a huge ego. That just isn't me and never will be. I just want to push the limits of what I can do. I like the idea of being in really good shape. When I told my wife that she said. "Well, that is different than weight lifting." again, I said "honey, even if I wanted to I can't pack on so much muscle without resorting to steriods. So, you have no worries about me getting HUGE." I can't seem to convince her of that fact. I would like to be bigger (more musclular) than I currently am, but that wouldn't make me huge. So I am not sure what to say to her. I would love for her to join me in the journey, but I don't see that happening.

  So, I guess I will forge ahead and see what happens. I have no idea what lies ahead, but I am way excited about the journey, a bit nervous, but excited. Hopefully, the gym isn't nearly as crowded as it was last night. Blah... I hope most people don't like early mornings and I can get my workout done without having to wait forever.

   Other than that.. I am super excited about the new "Nightmare on Elm street" which comes out in Oct. Though, I hope that they don't stray too much from the original and make it like the new "Friday the 13th" which seemed more like Rambo taking out college kids then Jason... but that is another whole blog in of itself.