BuckSpin - A Year Of Change

While most people I know find this nuts (see my newest, most favorist BB shirt I have on in my avatar) I describe my morning weekend run as “relaxing”…LOL. I really get a chance to, for an hour, just “be”. While my body gets a nice cardio workout, that muscle between my ears gets to just tag along & think & wonder & plan & dream….you get the idea.

I’m lucky enough to live in a very rural area, and on top of that (literally in this case) on a hill. If I see 2 cars while I’m out that was heavy traffic. What this also means is that I get to run (for the vast majority) uphill for miles before turning for home, at which point my efforts are “rewarded” by being able to run (and I mean RUN) downhill. Its a great feeling to not just be out “running” but to actually be RUNNING and not be straining or pushing or in serious O2 debt. Its kinda primal, I guess.

Sometimes I’ll listen to “Stereo Nature” and soak in all the birds, wind thru thru the trees, the crunch of dirt (oh, forgot to mention about 1/2 of the road is STILL unpaved!) under foot, the occasional brook or stream babbling away. Most of the time I have my Sansa Clip playlist going & I feed off the energy of the music.

I don’t run distances, per se, but I have a rough idea how far various “things” are from home. That mailbox in the rollcage is about 1 mile, the horse corral with the new fence about 2, the start of pavement again 2.5, etc. I try to run for at least 45+ minutes. I run, turn around, run back.

Of course what goes up must come down. About a 1/4 mile past where the pavement starts again the hill…..drops. And I mean DROPS. For about 1/2 a mile (I guess I do know the distances…LOL) its at least a 20+ degree climb, but tucked right in the middle of that is a 1/4 mile stretch where its at LEAST 30+ degrees, maybe more. It is intimidating to already be miles out from home & see it.

Now on the 4th of July I didn’t, per se, cheat on my diet but I did have a great “reward meal” (a big plate of Pad Thai with everything steamed, even the eggs hard boiled!), some fat free frozen yogurt (a large mocha chip), granola in the yogurts, extra fruit, etc. It was easily a 1/3 more cals than I typically eat. So this little pang of guilt, combined with the fact that my cardio efforts have totally SUCKED as of late, created “The Perfect Storm” in my mind, heart & soul to attack that last incline and beat it. I’d been picking away at it mailbox by driveway, but this was going to be it - all or nothing.

Of course the descent was great! When I reached the intersection at the bottom I just turned around & hit it.

Its at this moment that I would like to thank my various BB Friends. If, per chance, you were feeling a little lethargic yesterday morning a little after 8am EST that was from me tapping into all of yours “mojo” for the strength to conquer this task without resorting to stopping or walking. When I got to the serious incline I really focused & refused to let my body (my mind stopped its free ride at this point) slow or stop. Definitely got the ol’ ticker up & pumpin’! But I thought of all of your comments & positive attitudes and, step by step, attacked it.

I thought of the children’s story “The Little Engine That Could”. I could, and I did. I beat the what I now call “The Defribulator”  and ran the entire length of my road for the 1st time! It felt great! Its amazing that, after that, those 10-15 degree inclines atop that felt like DOWNHILL! It made for a great true downhill run back home.

Of course now I know I can do it, and have done it, and that there is zero excuse for not doing it every time! *sigh* So every weekend it & I will dance. And knowing me I’ll try to beat it a little more convincingly each time.

I’m already thinking of a 1x month HIIT session to end all HIIT sessions on it.

I’m a sick puppy….*grin*

Thanks again to all my BB Buds for sharing some strength. I owe all of you some back. Let me know when & the story about when you tap into mine!

The other day my oldest son & I went hiking. I love hiking, and its something I wish I had more time to do/enjoy. There is a wonderful peace I find while hiking that I usually only find either deep in a good book (in a quiet house, but I digress) or in a pew! Plus I enjoy all the views/vistas that can be found.

This particular trail meanders all around the Rockport/Camden area of the midcoast. There is a little personal history to it. Years ago we hiked it for the 1st time. I know he could not have been older than 10. Its a nice trail, raw & kept yet not manicured, IE "as is". Its not a wide, multi-hikers passing cleanly trail. It also has one stretch (about 3/4 of the way in to the mountaintop) that must be a 30-45 degree incline for at least 1/2 a mile. Its definitely a pulse raiser! (and hammy burner!)

Anyway, we set out all those years ago never knowing any of this. We walked & walked & walked. He was obviously tired, but I encouraged him to just keep going. When we got to the base of that incline I had no idea how long it went. So we "kept going". Needless to say it was a rude awakening! But we made it, and were rewarded.

Once you clear that incline it resumes a sane level of climb for a little while, at which point you come to a HUGE rock outcropping. Not rocks, "rock". As in a BIG one. Like the mountain itself. So we literally climbed that and, BOOM!, instant view for miles & miles & miles. It was breathtaking (in a good way, not the like the O2 debt from the incline!) Even at that young age my boy appreciated it. He sat down & took his reward for all his efforts - the view from the top. I reminded him that not many people get to see this, and that only those who did what he just did get to. It was a great moment.

Cut to the present. What once was a really overweight dad & his young son are now my current incarnation of my body & fitness and a tall, lanky teenage boy. We started in, traversing the same path we did years ago, but now with the knowledge of experience on what was in store over the next hour. We got to the incline, took a deep breath and just hit it. My hamstrings definitely felt it, and my boy had to stop once to catch his breath. But once again we pushed thru (in much better shape than the last time!) and once again scaled that giant rock to collect that reward - the view from the top.

It is still breathtaking. See for yourself:

So we just chilled for at least 1/2 a hour & enjoyed the great weather and all the scenery. There were lots of predatory birds (not sure if they were hawks or falcons) flying around, a nice breeze, it was sunny & warm….and I was wishing I had brought something a little more substantial than a bottle of water!

Then I saw them….

Blueberries! In early JULY? Are you kidding me? Its way too early for these to be blue! But, sure enough, there was a nice, wild outcrop of one of Maine’s biggest nutritional exports.

I now know how those bears in all those National Geographic specials feel when they find a crop of berries! In no time I had a nice handful of warm, fresh, REAL (not those huge California travesties you see in the supermarkets) blueberries. THAT hit the spot & was a perfect topper (bad joke) to the day’s efforts.

So I won 3x that day:
1) I got a RARE chance to relax, chill & "lay my burden down", which I desperately needed
2) I got in a great "outside the box" core & cardio workout! LOL! 2 hours of hiking (much of it uphill) on an uneven, rock strewn "as is" path was great! I had a nice sweat going!
3) The most important - I got over 3 hours alone with just my oldest boy. Priceless….

We’re planning on hitting some other trails soon. For anyone looking to maximize their time, consider getting off the treadmill & get on a dirt path, put away the iPod and tune into "Stereo Nature". You’ll work cardio, your core, but also relax that muscle between your ears & "carb load" your soul at the same time.

You’d swear I just fell into a swimming pool from the looks of me as I type this. I just finished my last custom core workout of my 1st 6 week program. I’ve done this 2x a week (usually Tue & Thur early AM) for the past 42 days without fail…a dozen workouts.

Coming out of "The Biggest Loser" fitness challenge (see my Profile) I won    the main instructor (Carol Woodbury, who earned a TON of respect from me!) really demonstrated the value of strong core muscles. She kicked my @$$ early on, but week by week I got better. As the program ended I was determined to keep & add to this. It simply was not an option of "if" but "how much".

After doing a lot of research & drawing on exercises we had done, I came up with a workout that balanced various core muscles & stabilizers, push & pull, bodyweight vs balance ball and even some dumbbell strength training.

You do these in a linear manner, IE one complete rotation & then repeat the whole rotation. Items to note are:

- Great form & breathe correctly
- As little rest between exercises as possible
- VERY high intensity.

If you do it right (bust your @$$, really focus on form & push the intensity/rest as little as possible between) you should get some cardio as well as some post-workout metabolic enhancement. In other words, its a fat burner. I swear sometimes I "feel" like a fat furnace!

The routine is as follows:

1st Rotation:   each exercise in GOOD form for 60 seconds
2nd Rotation:   same as 1st rotation but for 45 seconds, plus you add 5lbs to whatever dumbbell weight you used in the 1st Rotation

The Hard Core Workout:  

Balance Ball Elevated Hip Extensions
Balance Ball Prone Jacknives
Sit & Twist Leg Lift w/ Dumbbell
Balance Ball Prone Knee Tucks To Chest
Balance Ball Supine Russian Twist w/ Dumbbell
Balance Ball Supine Leg Pull-Ins
Ab Wheel Roll-Out
Balance Ball Supine Straight Leg Lifts
Prone Torso Plank Twist/Mountainclimber
Balance Ball Supine Straight Leg Scissors
Lateral Plank Side Raise w/ Dumbbell on Hip (each side once per)
Balance Ball Lateral Leg Raises (each leg once per)

and finally, at the end, one set of these to failure:

Double Crunch

This would take me approximately 40something minutes (42-46), give or take a few. Count each movement as a rep. For individual things like the Lateral Leg Lifts, count each lift (IE each leg 30 times = 60).

My PRs for this:
Time: 40 minutes
Reps: 657
RPM (Reps Per Minute): 16.43

I’ll be designing a new one to do for 6 weeks starting next Wednesday (changing my workout cycle…more on that later), but if anyone has any questions I’d be glad to answer them. I know I’ll keep a few portions of this & probably do variations of some.

Oh, the results? How about over 6" OFF my hips & waist in the last 8 weeks?      Granted a lot of that is my "kitchen workout" but still….

I’d love to say I PRd it this AM, but I actually slowed down a little, lifted my hips higher, twisted a lil’ more, straightened my core really rigid, etc. and just like saying "so long" to a good friend I milked the moment for all its agonizing, sweaty, side splintered glory. I am a sick puppy.

This is a little freaky, but its also kinda cool! They started to peek out about 2 months ago & as my body fat drops they are getting more & more pronounced.

>

Here’s a view of the top of my arms:

This is after my 1st 6 weeks of seriously lifting in 25 years. 30 more weeks to go!!

After reading a number of threads on cutting & bulking (new terms for me) it occurred to me that I might be cutting….and DON"T KNOW IT! So I’m asking for a little help, your 2 cents, and any suggestions on how I can do this:

My goals:
- The ultimate goal is to have a build like one of the "Gregs"…at least from the neck down! (I’m setting the bar VERY high)
- See my abs! (Its starting!)
- Keep the definition I have thus far
- Get more muscle mass (I need to work harder at this, which is one of the main reasons for this inquiry)
- Not forfeit any core/cardio gains, or as little as possible

Height: 6′ 0"
Weight: 192.5lbs
BF: 13% (per barefoot on digital scale, but given my growing vascularity & that my abs are FINALLY starting to come out this seems pretty fair)

This is what my daily macros have evolved to as far as targets:
Cals: 2250 (43% carb, 42% protein, 15% fat (less than 6g sat total))
Average Daily Expenditure: 750 cals

As it stands now I get 40-45% of my cals & 50-55% of my carbs for the day ingested by 9am. 5 days a week almost 900 of those cals & over 100g of carbs "fuel" my morning workout an hour later. I eat 6x day, 3 hours apart.

I only use PWO shakes (post) 3x week (after lifting) in that I lift/workout within an hour of eating breakfast.

I should add these numbers have gradually risen over the last 6 weeks to where they are now. I’ve really tried to keep a bead on macro %s and have  added cals weekly to make what were my daily macro %s "dialed in" to my targets and able to hit within a point or two every day (except lifting days, where shakes & extra protein are included & add about 200+ extra cals/etc).

Sooooooooo……am I cutting & don’t realize it?

2nd question. I need to add some muscle mass. if I want to start adding more lean muscle, can/should I start adding cals to this but not "bulk" that would require a scheduled "cut"? In short, can you "clean & lean bulk" and what should/could I do to aid that?

My target "date" is Valentine’s Day 2009, so I have about 7 months to work at it.