Andy8403’s BodyBlog

I don’t know if others think this way but to me its a personal revelation on moods in the gym.

After seeing growth and results I like to think I have some knowledge of diets and working out. Granted, I don’t have a certification, I do have 4 years of avid lifting experience. I started off around 185 and a total fatass. Initially in my workouts I did extensive weight training and cardio and lost 25 pounds. Through lifting with many people, taking classes,reading books and personal observations I have developed back up into a 210 machine.  I still have higher body fat then I want but I feel great in how I look because I know how far I have come. I am not trying to boast but apparently in the gym I look like I know what im doing. Because of this I get many questions and comments that add to my theory …so here I go.

I have many friends who work out as little as a few days a week to those who are in  every day. From watching them progress or not, I have come to the conclusion that there are two mentalities to lifting. The 2 P’s

Before I explain, to get results in the gym there are many things you can’t do such as, be average, do the average thing, be indifferent to the lift, make excuses, take 10 minute breaks, refuse to listen to advice, and many others. In short, YOU CANT BE NEUTRAL!  To see good results one needs to reach for the extremes. This does not mean grabbing the heaviest weight you can carry . It means you have to be in an extreme mindset as you walk into a gym.

You either need to be extremely POSITIVE  or extremely PISSED.

For example. I know a guy who is loosing weight, over a hundred pounds now. He is getting so much positive encouragement that his mood has has helped him achieve and continue to achieve goals. Due to his extreme POSITIVE mood, the weight is coming off, he’s more happy, more proud, and eager to sustain progress.

Now for the other extreme. I don’t have a specific example from one person but I can give examples of how to use negative energy (being PISSED) to make progress. This is not a new or something you haven’t heard before. It is known that many people work out to relieve stress. I tend to use this mode the best. I take any thing that i’m worried or concerned about and blame it on the weight. If you have relationship problems… F*** the weight. If your your boss is down your back…. F*** the weight. These vibes can be turned into power. I feel better after this kind of session. I’m not in any way condoning violence but I am saying that this energy should not be wasted.. it should be converted.

Hopefully a psychologist is not going to look at this diagnose me as crazy, but, its what I think.

People should not be scared to go to the gym or afraid of what might be said. They just need to know that: Nothing should hold you back from reaching your potential in the gym. Nothing should hold you back from becoming a better more healthy person. Utilize whatever methods work for you the best. What I have said makes sense to me. I am not advising to do anything. I will accepted any feedback positive or negative with open arms. Maybe my decisions will change tomorrow? For now though, this is what is on my mind.

I have been working out pretty consistently  for at least 3 or 4 years.  In the past I have never taken more then 3 or 4 days off at a time. This past week I went on spring break and missed a whole week. Even the week before that I had the flu and only made 4 days.I know they say the body needs breaks but my vacation was filled with massive amounts of alcohol so I don’t know if I got the rest I needed.
Needless to say I felt great my first day back in the gym but it seems like I haven’t been this sore  in forever. First day did chest/ tri’s , second day biceps. To this point it looks like my weight and strength are the same. Today Im going to try squats because it still hurts to hold my arms over my head….lol. Even though my whole upper body is sore I love the feeling. In this context, pain means growth. Over all I think the break will be worth it. Plus the trip to Padre was damn fun. Maybe the best time of my life!

As I look back in the past I realize that I was more bold and confident then I ever should have been. I see  my old posts and analyze  old workouts only to shake my head. Its been months since my last post and I feel as though this one will be valid. For the past 8 weeks I have been strictly watching my diet and increased cardio/ intensity of my workouts. I have experimented with fat burners and had success. I got down to 197 for a week and then have gradually put on lean muscle mass. It sounded unreachable at first but I am gradually lowering my body fat and increasing my muscle mass. I can tell Im getting leaner but my body weight is staying generally the same but upward slightly.I believe my over confidence in the past was  due to the fact that I use to be overweight.Every time I would make progress I would feel great about myself and want to show off. Anyways, now I am truly becoming a machine. I dont think my stats or profile pictures do me justice. I look much better in person. I still have a ways to go though.

Todays workout. (sets in order)
Squats 12×135  12×225  10×315   8×315 8×335  4×365 2×385 1×405 4×315 8×225

Dead lift (sumo grip with straps) 10×135 10×225 8×315 6×405 4×455 2×495 6×315 10×225

Lunges 135 bar 2×10 each leg

Lunges no weight. 160 long stretching type steps

hamstring curls ( I dont remember the weight but 4 sets of at least 2 alternating legs 2 combined

calf raises 185 on barbell feet propped up on plate.  6 sets of 30 reps

calf raises body weight 5 sets of 30

Abs in between calf raises combo of hanging leg raises,  decline situps, side crunches  etc

my legs and back where jello but chest felt great so I threw in a few reps of bench as well  6×225 5×225 4×225 3×225

Cardio….walk up hill for 20 minutes or so.

I like to work out best at night. I finished my workout about 11:15 got in my protein, vitamins, and shower and now its time for hopefully a great sleep.   Please feel free to comment on my posts. I like input. Most of what I do is self taught so I understand I may not be perfect. Let me add that I do focus on form and if the weight is to heavy to keep clean, I dont do it.

So I have not posted in a while due to being busy other random things. For the most part my workouts are similar to the blogs I have posted in the past with variations. I have however perfected my diet and gained strength, built muscle, and Lost Weight. In the past I have been very bad at eating late at night and portion control. Don’t get me wrong I eat good foods, just to much of them. so in the past 3 or 4 weeks I think I have lost 5 to 6 pounds of fat by increasing the number of meals (small) that I eat a day, and not eating carbs late at night. I think its working. I think with my muscle mass I should be at about 185 or 190. Right now I am at 199 so I guess you could say that is a goal. On the other hand I would like to keep increasing muscle mass so if I happen to put on some lean muscle,  I would not mind staying where I’m at.

I am happy with my workouts but unhappy with my weight. I eat healthy  and do slow cardio. I think with my muscle mass I should be at about 185. I am looking into fat burners in order to  lean me out a bit. So far I have researched Universal Animal Cuts, Hi-tech Lipodrene, Anabolic extreme stimulant x, Alri Venom, Biotest Hotrox, Lipo 6, and VPX redline. Anybody have any experience with these or any other suggestions or comments? Thanks

So this will be brief  I worked sets of squats from 225 to 315 and got bold.  I threw up 365 a good 4 times. I got even more bold…..385 2 good times…….more bold 395 …Failed…damn. The weight just kept coming down. I have a strong lower back and the catch guards where at a good  level so I did not hurt myself. This 10 seconds drained my body of so much energy. I powered through lunges  (225 down to 135 on the bar), dead lifts (up to 400),  leg curls and calf’s  but I felt that one bad rep…It kind of pisses me off but that was the best negative ever….lol

So today I did incline presses and a shoulder workout. I happen to love inclines and did about 9 sets of 6 to 12 reps. I did a few warm up sets with the bar at 135 and then went to the dumbbells to do the real weight. I started with 70s then progressed through 85, 90, 95, 100, and then 105 where I got 6 reps.  I then went to shoulders where I did barbell presses behind the head with 105 for 6 sets of 8-10 reps. Front and side raises, 4 sets of 10 reps each with weight around 45s and 35s. Then did 6 sets of reverse flys, and finished my workout with Arnold presses and a a few sets of light weight raises to burn it out. I have to say I am feeling good and my workouts are great….now if I only had about 10 or 15 pounds less fat I would be ecstatic!

Today was my back day. I felt awesome as usual. I get this kind of euphoric high  when it  becomes gym time. Anyways, I started with pull ups, 12 reps. Then I did 5 sets of front pulldowns 8×240 5 x240 7×220 8×200, 10×180.  I then went behind the back and did 2 sets of 8x 140. Pulldowns where followed by close grip pulldowns, 5 sets. This weight was very similar to my pulldown  sets. Next where bent over rows. At my gym the dumbbells  only  go to  120  so  I did 4 sets of  8×120 and then 10×120 .I know I could  use  a barbell  but those just dont feel as good to me. Next up where shrugs. Did 3 sets of 10×315 with the bar and then went and did 6or 7 sets of dumbbell seated shrugs 12/15 x120. After this I just did random stuff to burn me out, reverse fly’s with dumbbells 3 sets 12×35, some rows on the machine and a few pull ups to top it off. I know I did not mention lower back….this is done on leg days. Now I have to drink the rest of my protein and let my body rest for the night. Take life easy but kill it in the gym!

So This week I decided to split my chest workout into 2 days flat bench, decline and flies, and then in around three days I will do incline and maybe shoulders. Anyways, I have  been trying to get my strength up on flat bench and I A guy told me what worked for him. So I tried it. Today I did 10 X 10  at 165. Last week I did 155 and was really sore so today I was really happy to get the 165 a 100 times…haha. Also  I did decline presses with 80pound dumbbells first set being 10 reps  and then 3 more at 8 reps. I followed this with drop set flies for 4 sets starting with 60 and working down to 45. After this I wanted to hit tri’s but I was getting some joint pain and forearm pain so I will wait a few days for that. Might do them with incline.  Over all I am happy. Damn I love working out!

Oh and I am always looking to meet and hear from new people. Feel free to hit me up.

So today was bicepts. Did a lot of sets…I lost count. But all in all I did reps with wide and close grip preacher curls up t0 110 bar, hammer curls up to 70, reverse grip to 135 bar, and some other similar stuff with lighter dmbells to burn it out. Almost forgot about pull-ups, did those too. Now I am about to crap it all away. My buddies want to drink. I took a solid month off with no alcohol So I am about to find out how Animal Pak works with a pitcher of beer…It’s ok though, I dont do this every day. MY bi’s will still be sore in the morning. Also, it seems like I have not weighed myslef in a few weeks, today I jumped on the scales and was at like 205. I was kind of surprised because it looked like I had leaned up some but that is even better….I love muscle mass…haha. Everybody have a good night.