BuckSpin - A Year Of Change

Every year my parents come up to visit & spend New Year’s with us. They stay at a local B&B run by a world class chef & his wife, who also has a great background in hotel management (that is how they met, ironically…working together).

We would join my parents for one of their fixed menu 5 course meals during their stay, and to say they were always amazing is an understatement.

A few year ago, we found out they offer a 9 course, 3 hour dinner service every New Year’s Eve. We went last year & it was beyond description.

I have not had a "classic" cheat meal since I started all of this. The last time I just sat down & ate whatever was in January.

That streak will end tonight. I have literally been working & waiting a YEAR for my 1st cheat meal….and this is what I will be having:

We’ll probably go with a nice Chardonnay through the fish course, then shift to a Chateauneuf du Pape for the entrees.

I cannot wait…

No, nothing to do with Optimus Prime…

I’ve started a BodyGroup dedicated to those who have either undergone, are undergoing, or are ready to undertake total life transformations from fat to fit.

If you have undergone a life changing transformation and are willing to help others do the same, or if you are in the process of, please come join us.

If you are READY to begin a transformation, change your lifestyle and seize your life back, read this carefully:

If you can keep up with & contribute to the strength of the pack, you are welcome to join us.

TGIF everyone…

Well, the first serious winter snow has hit and more is coming. A few more inches tonight and the possibility of a nice sized load on Sunday.

(Just reread that last sentence. Sounds like it could have been part of a "Penthouse Letters" feature)

I like shoveling snow…always have. Not sure why either. It could be a rememberance of when life was a lot easier and it was one of my ways to make some pocket money in my teens by shoveling out my grandparent’s driveways. Grandparent pay is AWESOME - always way above minimum plus all the perks (food) after! But I also liked the fact I was helping them, kinda taking care of them. They would turn away offer after offer from neighbor kids and guys with plows knowing their grandson would be there - shovel in hand - to dig them out.

Oh, I earned that grandparent pay! A lot of times the driveway had gone all day and had drifted well into a few FEET of snow. But I just liked doing it.

Nowadays I’m the dad and while I’m lucky enough to live very close to a relative with a Dodge Ram diesel & plow who just pushes the majority of our snow for free I do need to clean it all up, plus there are times when he is out making $$$ and it just needs done. I refuse to not shovel it & just let it sit there assuming he will do it when he gets time. That is rude. Many times he is out very late & I am sure would like to get home and warm. So, I just "do it"…and still like it.

Speaking of still liking it, that is the way I feel about 80s hair rock. So without further adieu….

Tonight’s band took their name from a Russ Meyer film. They scored a number of FM & MTV hits off their initial 1987 album, including a major one with their power ballad "House Of Pain". Raunchy, bluesy, typical of the LA scene bands, I actually saw them at a Detroit concert with Slaughter and headliner KISS in 1991. That was awesome.

This particular tune has a real catchy groove to it. So sit back and grab a ticket on the "Nonstop To Nowhere"  from Faster Pussycat  :

TGIF everyone….

Just thawing out from the big ice storm. We were lucky & made it through the evening with power, and only lost it for about 8 hours earlier today. An ice storm is a dangerous & beautiful act of nature. Its like the world is made of crystal….heavy crystal for those tree limbs & power lines. Got a few wild pics of trees bent in half under the weight of the ice. I’ll post em some time soon.

Also just finished up the last training session of my latest 6 week cycle. It was a good cycle. Going back to a 2 on, 1 off, 4 day split (out of necessity) has been great! Made some nice gains & finally have a REAL Leg Day! Shoulders feel pretty good. In fact, I’m going to pass on my down week & just start a new cycle on Monday with some new lifts and see how they react.

On the topic of reaction, I know, I know. This is the 2nd time IN A ROW I’ve missed a BHD Friday. So once again I will play catch up & offer a "double shot" of the best closet classics of the 80s hair genre.

This first band formed out of California’s Bay area in 1986 from guys who knew each other from childhood garage efforts thru rival club bands each was in. They did a number of tunes for movie soundtracks (RoboCop, etc) but this one has a nice, driving beat and catchy refrain so I chose it. Bang your head to "Bang Go The Bells"   from Babylon A.D.   :

This next band is unfortunately one of those who got caught in the crossfire of being labeled a "hair band" (although they didn’t fight it at the time) even though their sound is much harder & more Southern than the genre typifies. Formed in 1990, their initial album yielded a number of MTV & FM rock hits, but none as well known as this one. How many songs can claim someone on "Lead Chainsaw"? So grab some pre-grunge flannel and cut it to Jackyl’s "The Lumberjack"  :

Its been an interesting, very introspective 24 hours. A public "Thanks" to those I spoke with in private.

In case anyone is wondering, I made public on the O35 Forum the worst kept secret on BB:

I WILL begin training to compete. Its just a matter of when I compete.

My gut (and brain) tell me to heed the example of one of the bodybuilding idols of my youth - "The Shadow" (if you don’t know who that is that is your Google for today)…so I’m gonna go disappear into what excuse of a "Dungeon" I can find in the Midcoast and just "Eat, Lift, Sleep & Repeat". I’ll find a Training Partner (gender not important) who understands the effort & intensity it takes to make oneself physically nauseous from a properly executed set of curls to total concentric & eccentric failure, that knows that tears DO taste a lot different than sweat when forced together.

I WILL be that one Novice who gets the Open guys attention when I do come out into the sun to "play"… …in 2011.

Goals For 2009:

• I WILL earn my NCSA CPT certificate
• I WILL be able to provide for my family & my passion with the above
• I WILL positively impact at least one life as a CPT like mine was
• I WILL weigh 200lbs after my annual cut…and look it

A good BB Friend of mine continuely reminds me to “enjoy the journey”. I am in no hurry to get to that stage. I am looking forward to earning my right to even consider that honor and everything along the way it entails. Its not the destination, but the journey. That journey will begin in 2009 and, if I work hard & focus harder with my eyes on the prize, end sometime late in 2011.
1000 days out…..

“game on”

As part of BodyHard’s challenge posted in the O35 Forum, as of 12/1 I am going to address some aspects of my build that could use extra work for 90 days. They are:

- S errats
- L ats
- O bliques
- B iceps

or SLOB   as an acronym.

Ironically, the acronym fits perfectly with my current splits. I can hit my Serrats on Monday (Chest & Tris), my Lats on Tuesday (Back), my Obliques on Thursday (Legs) and my Biceps on Friday (Shoulders & Bis).

Today, after frying my upper chest & triceps, I added 2 lifts. 3 sets of Serrat DB Presses and 3 sets of Plank Serrat Pushups. All were done in accordance with my training approach, and each set went to temporary failure.

Not sure what I will add for extra Lat work on Tuesday in that they were already a focus this cycle. Maybe a 2nd set of pullups after they have been pre-fatigued? That sounds painful We’ll see….

I know what I’ll do for the obliques *groan*. More on that Thursday *groan* I’m already doing 4 unique bicep lifts. Maybe some chin ups and one reeeaaaalllllyyyyy sssllloowwwwww forced negative curl?