BlueandBlackYJ’s BodyBlog

In the late summer and fall of 2008, I made more progress with working out and eating than I ever have. I was in the best shape I had ever been in and I was stronger than I ever had been. It was great. I basically did the 2008 Rock Hard Challenge twice (2 three month sessions). The first time I followed the diet EXACTLY (going from 160 to 173) and the second time I did a bulking diet (going from 173 to 196).

When the second time through was complete, I was pretty burnt out and really put on more fat than I had realized. But you’d expect that when you go up 23 lbs in 3 months. I decided to try Gaspari Mitotropin to shed the fat but ended up giving up a little less than halfway through the 30 day program. I think now the reason I was unable to maintain the will to finish the program is because I went from an extreme bulking diet to an extreme and strict fat loss bodybuilding diet - at the opposite end of the spectrum.

After that (around the end of January) I basically fell off the wagon. I got extremely busy and stopped going to the gym, became really tired neat the end of the day, and was diagnosed with hypothyroidism. I completely let my diet go, making up for depriving myself, if you want to call it that, of all the sweets and desserts that I had not been eating for the last 6 months (except for the occassional weekly cheat MEAL - not cheat day). I put on a lot of bodyfat and stayed that way up until the end of the school year (mid May).

When summer started I was determined to get back into the groove that I knew I needed to be in. My 30th birthday is June 25 and I wanted to get into really good shape for that. So for the last 3 weeks or so I have been doing AWESOME with my diet. I’ve dropped about 12 lbs since the end of April (hopefully all fat) and I am getting leaner than I have been in over 6 months. In the mornings I am weighing in at 169 undressed (as of 06.11.09) and by the time I make it to the gym I am averaging about 176 or so with my shoes & clothes on. I really want to develop my midsection and I feel like I am on my way to accomplishing that.

On another note, I’ve been basically following the Rock Hard Workout since Aug. 2008 so I needed a change. Here on bb.com I found a guy using a program called the "Life Lease Program" and I really liked the way his workouts were set up so I decided to give that a try. I started it on Monday 06.08.09 (weighing 179 @ the gym fully dressed). It basically has me doing 4 sets of 8 on three or four exercises per body part. Day 1 is chest, day 2 is shoulders/traps, day 3 is legs, day 4 is back, and day 5 is arms. Cardio is at least 20 mins. a day, everyday. I’ll do this for 3 months and then change it up for sets of 12 for the next 3 months, while also changing some of the exercises.

Regarding supplementation, I’ve been using no-xplode & cellmass on an off for a while, and I’m about ready to stop using them. They are expensive and I am considering just buying the basics - multivitamin, BCAA’s, L-Glutamine, & Creatine individually and trying to save a good bit of money. I have been and will continue to use ON 100% Whey, but I am going to add the ON Casein Protein powder to alternate with my cottage cheese at night.

So that’s an overview of the past year or so and I’m excited about progressing even further. I REALLY wish I could afford to pay Dave Vignasse to develop a diet program for me that would put me on the right track. I feel like I am doing ok, but I am worried I’m not eating enough to maintain and grow muscle, while limiting excess and being able to shed fat at the same time. But I can’t afford $400 for that right now….maybe later on sometime.

That’s it for now. Hopefully soon I’ll post up some progress pictures.

 

So I did 230 x 4 on BB Incline Bench Press last week and I was feeling stronger than ever. This made me really want to see what I could do on BB Flat Bench so yesterday I gave it a shot. 135 x 1 - feeling good. 225 x 1 - lightweight baby! 275 x 1 - I got it halfway up & stuck, my spotter gave me a slight tap, and I pushed it on up. I might have went up too fast too quick, but I am positive had it been 10 lbs lighter I could’ve done it with no spot. So I’m saying 265 is my max now, which happens to match the most I’ve ever done. So I’m giving myself 2 weeks and I’m going to do 275 with no spot, and that will be my new PR on BB Bench Press.

What is amazing to me is that there is something so mental about bench pressing 225 and over (for someone who really isn’t considered "strong"). And to think that I almost had 225 plus a 25 on each side - 50 lbs over 225, is very satisfying and exciting.

I am at the point now where I have almost reached a place that I have never been before with my body. And this time I have the time to workout, and I can afford to take the supplements I want to take, so by spring break I should be a place I have never been before and continuing on my goal of transforming my body and filling out my frame. I am having fun with this!

So I’ve been bulking for at least two months now, eating so much. I was going to go through December doing that and begin cutting on January 1, but I decided I am ready now. In July I was 160 lbs and I made it up to 197.5, but averaging about 195 in just 5 months. I estimate that at least 15 of that 35 lbs being fat. And I do like the way I look at 195, but I have got to get the fat off my stomach. So I’ve scaled the calories back somewhat, cut some of the carbs and added a little more fat to my diet, and I am about to start running my stomach off. I’m planning for 3 miles or so every other day, shooting for at least 12 miles per week for the first month or so. My goal is to have a visible 6 pack of abs while standing at rest for the first time in my life by spring break. Can’t wait to see them!

I believe I am going to try the new Gaspari Mitotropin to get to where I want to be. We’ll see…

Well at the end of the day on Thanksgiving I made it up to 197.5. I thought I might hit 200 but fell a little short. I still can’t believe that in July I was still only 160 lbs. I’m going to keep bulking until the end of the year and on January 1 I’m hitting the cardio hard and I’ll start cutting the body fat. . . . . .Stay tuned.

This morning I increased my morning weigh-in weight from 186 to a heaviest of my lifetime 187. It is just a pound but I have weighed 186 before, but never 187. So I am now officially in uncharted territory! When I weigh in the morning I do it after using the restroom and wearing only my boxers. Usually near the end of the day when I get to the gym I weigh again and that weight (counting my shoes) is usually about 6 lbs heavier, so today I may get to 193-194 or so (which also will be a new record for me!).

EVENING UPDATE: This evening after supper I weighed in wearing my workout clothes & shoes at 196! I cannot believe I weigh that much! I love it. I’ll be bulking through the end of December & can’t wait to see where I end up at that point. Then I can shed off some fat & start working on the abs!

Today at the gym I stepped on the scale and hit 192. I am so excited to be that high on the scale. I never would’ve imagined back at the beginning of July that I’d reach that weight this soon. Now granted it’s not the 192 that I’d like to weigh (more muscle, less bf), but I am making progress toward my goal. I’m packing on as much lean mass as possible between now & January, and then I’ll hit it hard to a clean diet and cardio to burn off the fat. I’m expecting to reach around 200, and then drop about 15 of that before March - hopefully ending up around 185 by spring break. We’ll see. I’ll have to post a current progress pic soon…..

Also, I started using Gaspari Nutrition SuperPump250 & SizeOn last week. I’ll post up my experience with that soon as well. So far I’m loving it….

I always weigh in at the gym each day and usually my weight is a little higher than it was first thing in the morning when I weighed after waking up. So today I stepped up on the scale and it read - 185 lbs! Granted the 185 I weighed today is not the 185 I want to weigh at the beginning of this summer, but it is sort of a milestone for me. The most I have EVER weighed is 186 and that was 4 or 5 years ago. I still think it is pretty cool that 15 weeks ago I only weighed 160 lbs. Hopefully by the summer my 185 will consist of less fat and more lean muscle. I’m just going to keep lifting hard and eating heavy and following my plan. Can’t wait until the summer!

What I look like today @ 175 lbs                    Â
 Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  What I looked like about 90 days ago @ 160 lbs
Today I completed day 89 of my 90 day program (Rock hard challenge by Muscle & Fitness). It has been an incredible ride over the last 90 days. I made so much progress, in my opinion, and I am so proud that I have followed the program so closely for the entire time period. That is something that  I have never done before in my life. The only part of the program that I did not follow is the Month 3 Cardio. I pretty much followed the cardio through the first two months. Although I am incredibly pleased with my progress, I think it would have been WAY better had I completed all of the cardio. I think my abs and definition would be much, much better. No matter though, I am happy with where I’ve made it to and I cannot wait to move into my 2nd phase, which will be an intense bulking session over the next 90 days. I’ll post all my final progress pics tomorrow on day 90 - when I complete my last back/bi’s workout of the program.

Well I just pulled the trigger on the BSN Mass Stack (no-xplode, cellmass, nitrix). I cannot wait to begin using this new stack. I’m using no-xplode now, but hope that using all 3 together will give me a noticeable improvement. It was pretty expensive, so I am hoping that I feel like it is worth it after the next month goes by…I’ve been using just a plain old GNC Creatine Monohydrate so I hope the CellMass shows better results.
This week is my last week of the 12 week 2008 Rock Hard Challenge. I have made awesome progress (in my opinion - gained 14 lbs as of now), but I cannot wait to take it to the next level from here.

I plan on drastically increasing my daily caloric intake, taking this new stack, and changing my reps from 4-4-4-12-20-20 on most sets to something like 10-8-6-4-2 or 4-6 sets of 6-8 reps. I hope that over the next 90 days I can put on another 10 pounds or so. Not too sure what to expect but I plan on working as hard as I can to make as much progress as possible. Can’t wait to see how much my body changes over the next 90 days.

The most I’ve ever weighed was 186, and that wasn’t that solid, so I’ve got a little more progress to make to get to that. Most I’ve ever benched is 265 and I should be getting close to that now. I think within the next 2 - 3 weeks I will be at a place that I have never been before - bigger & stronger than I have ever. I’m pretty excited about that…I’ll be sure to post up the results.

On July 25, 2008 I weighed 167 lbs. and the handheld electronic bodyfat calculator at the gym says I was 6% bodyfat. I know it wasn’t correct & probably closer to 14%.

Today, September 20, 2008 I weigh 171 lbs. The same bf calculator says I was 5% bodyfat, which is probably more like 13%. So I am guessing I’ve lost about 1% bodyfat since then, which is about 1 lb. of fat. I suppose I am happy with that but I know if I had been doing my cardio every week it would’ve been much more….
In July I would’ve been carrying about 23 lbs of body fat and today I am carrying about 22 lbs of body fat (if my 13% estimation is correct.