BuckSpin - A Year Of Change

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?

From me and my family:

THANK YOU!

I am honored to have a number of service men & women as BB Friends. All of you inspire and motivate me beyond words. I never take for granted the opportunities your service and sacrifice have and continue to give us. You help to fuel my fire to RMFP.

As part of the In & Out Challenge I’m participating in, I picked up and read a book that I’ve had for too long without opening. If nothing else comes of my participation, the hours inside the pages of "Another Season" by Gene Stallings & Sally Cook was worth it.

Some of you may recognize Gene Stallings as the former head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide, Arizona Cardinals, Texas A&M and also as one of Paul "Bear" Bryant’s infamous "Junction Boys". The last time the Tide won the National Championship Coach Stallings was their coach.

Gene Stallings, as tough a player/coach as there is & was, a man’s man if you will, provides a very personal and moving tribute to his unintentional hero - his son John Mark who was born with Down Syndrome. Its amazing where true strength, courage, dedication and inspiration live and can be not only found but shared. John Mark Stallings epitomizes all of those and then some.

I am really hesitant to just share what I found. Its the journey, not the destination, and if you are a sports fan and looking for a good dose of perspective, this would be a good choice.

This is dedicated to all those of the O35…

Last night I went grocery shopping after work. I like going grocery shopping. If that makes me an rarity for the male gender so be it. It was dusk in Maine and the light from what was left of the sun was low and dramatic. Being unusually warm for late October, I did not need a coat, which is saying something given my now pathetic excuse of an subcutaneous R Value.

I was wearing what I had worn to work - a pair of boot cut jeans and a buttonless, longsleeve black, waffle-weave shirt. The shirt is looking better and better in that what matters underneath it has gotten steadily bigger and bigger. If I say so myself, I look good in it.

Anyway, as I was locking the van to head into the grocery a young couple was leaving the store. Probably in their mid-20s, their body language just screamed "married for just long enough that there are no real reasons anymore to try to impress you".

She was blonde, attractive, in good shape. He was pushing the cart and apparently somewhere else in that he was talking very animatedly and looking God knows where. In short he was taken for granted the pretty lady walking next to him.

I checked my cell phone and while repocketing it just noticed them out of the corner of my eye as we passed.

Now, I’m no male model, but I look a helluva lot better than I used to. I take a lil’ pride in my appearance now. But what I saw about made me drop the phone.

She SCOPED me. Scoped me while WALKING RIGHT NEXT TO HER GUY! For a LONG glance.

Now, I have to say this just does NOT happen to me. Heck, its NEVER happened to me.

Made my year, er, night….

I’m a quote/saying junkie. I collect em’. Love em’. They help me to think clearly and make decisions. One of my favorites is this one. I’m sure there are subtle variations, but it basically goes:

"Experience is the toughest teacher in that it gives the test 1st, lesson 2nd"

I just finished up a great 6 week training cycle that not only yielded nice physical & strength gains but got me back on track from a bout with overtraining that I lost by unanimous decision. I trained fewer times (3x/week) and those sessions were parred to just 2/3s (9 lifts maximum) of what I had been doing as far as exercises/sets as well as addressing certain grips & lifts to allow me to just go balls to the wall gonzo. I trained much harder and more intensely as a result. I rested more (it was perhaps the major focus of this cycle) and it all worked out very well. I even adjusted my ab/core sessions to shorter yet more intense sessions with the same results.

But this last week was rough. I felt tired and had trouble getting jacked up to train. My shoulders, while doing MUCH better, started to ache a lil’ longer between sessions. My legs are still not 100% recovered from my last Training Day From Hell. My sleep quality slowly started to suffer. So, I’m listening to my body and drawing on those lessons learned of going for months and months with no breaks and taking my first planned & scheduled "down time" to rest and heal for a week.

I need to re-evaluate my current sessions. I know I must split Back & Legs into 2 seperate sessions (its just getting to be too much) and work on targeting different areas. I’ll probably end up going back to 4 days a week with Tue & Thur being shortened (4-5 lifts max) yet insane days devoted to either Back or Legs. A few lifts will be shuffled around between sessions, all the sessions will have their lift orders changed, and a few new lifts will either be coming back or tried for the first time.

And today I’m just not ready physically, mentally, preparedly and even a lil’ spiritually. I need to "lay my burden down" and refuel all of those to be ready for what will undoubtedly be the most difficult cycle I’ve undertaken yet…the next one.

Starting Monday, November 3rd, I will undergoing a "trial run" of what is basically a 21 day pre-contest cut to see how my body responds. I got the final details the other night from my coach. This is NOT going to be easy, but if it was then everyone would "look like that", right?

I read all the time how people "fall off the wagon" and cheat on their nutrition, miss workouts, etc. I just don’t do that. So, I view this week as a "reward week" for 6 weeks of busting my @$$, doing every training session to the best of my abilities, eating clean 24/7, etc. I get to just chill, detox, relax, reset, plan, reinspire, etc.

And, as you will read later, I am going to need every ounce of it and have my body, mind & soul 100% recharged for this exciting yet admittedly intimidating challenge I will be undertaking.

I often wonder…is it just a Y chromosome thing?

This type of music (and this one in particular) just GETS to me. It psyches me up, but not in a loud, frenzious way. No, its more of a slow boil. On the outside everything looks about the same. Maybe my body language is a little more synchronized, confident. I’m quieter, a lil’ edgy maybe. I’m sure the only physical manifestation is in my eyes. I’m really not seeing anything.

I’m not looking out, but looking IN. Deep inside. I’m sure many of you can relate & often see that look yourselves. Do you like what you see wayyyyyyy down in there? Does it scare you that you can’t see the bottom? That you just KNOW you are capable of SO much more than you think you are?

When I hear this I…just…want…to…go…hit…something. Its primal. Raw. The orchestral melodies of the horns & strings are the body physical, ever moving in an engineering masterpiece of perfect harmony. The thunderous percussion & tympani are the heart & blood, pumping harder and faster with each sweeping crescendo.

But is it just a guy thing? Do the pounding drums and soaring scores appeal & awaken some long dormant "warrior" aspect of the male species, long buried under contemporary society’s weight? Or is it a soul thing, stirring the embers of all those who fight, echoes of battles fought and fights to come again and again? Not necessarily battles against a physical opponent (although I first found that look while playing football) but nowadays primarily battles against one’s self and limitations?

I’d be curious as to what the women of BB have to say. In the interim, enjoy Hans Zimmer’s great composition:

I haven’t done any "real" cardio since I ran the Maine Lobster Festival 10K on August 3rd. I do get a great sweat & cardio workout doing my various Hard Core workouts and I lift intensely enough to get out of anaerobic and into aerobic, but I haven’t run in 2 months. It was mostly bad weather on my one day a week to run, then schedule conflicts, my shoulder injury, etc. Plus, I was making great gains physically and still leaning out.

But it was so nice today, a beautiful Autumn day in Maine. The leaves are about 1/3 turned, it was crisp & cool, low sunlight, just gorgeous. So, primarily to just relax my mind and chill for a while, I decided to run a 10K. So I grabbed my Sansa Clip and headed out.

If you’ve read my Blog I’ve written numerous times about the great road I live on and that a round trip to each end is about 6.5 miles, with lots of great hills, etc.

I did it. It was not my best time, but I didn’t loaf or walk any of it. I ran it fair n’ square.

Its pretty cool to just go out & be able to run a 10K. I didn’t even break a serious sweat or really have any major issues stress or cardio wise. I’m a little stiff in the knees, lower back & hips, but it was great. It really relaxed me emotionally, spiritually & mentally.

One down side. I easily racked up a 800 calorie deficit, which is fine. However, when I train I use my shakes during & after so I’m well nourished immediately post-workout. However, with today I was just eating maintenance like I always do.

Big mistake.

I….was….RAVENOUS. I swore I was going to get an elbow cramp from eating. My body was SCREAMING at me to feed it. Its not used to being significantly calorie deficient that fast. I basically needed to eat about 30% ABOVE maintenance to just break even!!! It was almost comical.

But all in all, its pretty neat to just know I can do that when I want.

A quick aside: when I hit the "Defribulator" hill this particular version of this song came on (randomly due to shuffling) and just pushed me up it. Thought it might give you a peak inside & plus that you might enjoy it:

Is it possible to relax and get fired up simultaneously? This does it for me. Many of you will recognize it as the main theme from "The Last of The Mohicans". I listen to this & a number of other instrumentals as part of a special mix for when I’m not in the mood for loud hard rock. For some reason this mood typically strikes on Wednesdays (aka "Legs/Back" aka "The Training Session From Hell") when the total weight moved goes WAY up.

Its also good to stretch pre-workout to in that it allows my muscles, tendons & ligaments to slowly wake up and loosen, but also gets my blood going at a slow, steady simmer. It kinda reminds me of the way I would get my "game face" on when I played football back in high school….a looooooooooong time ago! *sigh* Sometimes I’ve caught sight of "that look", that guy, that competitor, a silent assassin. Its nice to know that "he" is still in there, very much alive & enjoying this new life, this rebirth, a 2nd chance to come out and, um, "play", albeit just he vs. a lot of iron and my body’s fight or flight reflex that I can’t possibly do one more rep….then somehow do two.

He’s a bad @$$…I like him. *grin*

I’m posting two versions. One is from the original score with some imagery, the other just a haunting cover by Indiogenes.

The original from the movie soundtrack:

The Indiogenes cover performed live:

If you have read any of my previous Soul Fuel entries you know that, while I love a lot of contemporary hard rock, I blatantly & shamelessly listen to a lot of music from "back in the day", specifically my "days" in high school & college.

This is one of my standards. Its a great song, awesome beat and a very positive message. I listen to this often during training, especially when doing some cardio or my Hard Core workouts. It really helps to keep the energy flowing.

Make sure to listen to the refrain:

This is sort of my unofficial "theme song" for a variety of reasons, many of which aren’t really appropriate for this webspace, but a great many are.

So….
For everyone who has been ridiculed for eating healthy…
For everyone who gets up before the birds start singing…
For everyone who finds the time to do what they need to do…
For everyone who stands there, muscles shaking, tears in the corner of your eyes, knowing deep inside you do have one more rep buried in what is left of your body but its going to be excruciatingly painful….and then somehow does 2 more…
For everyone who knows the feeling of having great difficulty just lying on the floor from total exhaustion…
For everyone who, every day, picks up one more rock and moves it, eventually over time moving a whole mountain…
For everyone who, one step at a time, covers tens of thousands of miles, all starting with that one first step..

This is for you: