BuckSpin - A Year Of Change

I LOLd with Mrs. BuckSpin this A.M. about what is happening to me:

- I am on a sleep schedule
- I need to eat every few hours
- I wake up for a 2 or 3am "feeding"
- I’m getting bigger & bigger
- I am on a high protein diet that consists of a number of liquid meals
- I’ve had meals (like most of us) out of something like this:

…which eeriely resembles a "sippy cup"

I mean, all that is missing is for Mrs. B to burp me!!!! LOLOLOLOL!!!

A good BB Friend of mine is going thru his Peak Week right now, a Peak Week unlike any other:

My Friend

If you get a chance, swing by his Bodyspace and send some good Mojo his way as he heads off to Nationals

These were waiting for me when I got home from last night’s wine tasting:

Monochrome Chuck Taylors bay-bee!

Up to now I had been wearing an oldddddddddddddd pair of Reebok hightops that have seen much better days. The sole of the right one has gone kablooey, so I am really looking forward to safely pulling some deads & doing some squats while stylin’!!!

In that I have had a few people at the fitness center mention that they thought I had gotten noticeably bigger since January, I took some measurements for the 1st time in a while today. I always do these 1st thing on a Sunday in that this is typically when I am at my "tightest", if you will.

To say I was stunned is an understatement. All measurements done via the BB protocol (same as last time):

To keep things in the big picture, I’m inlcuding my 1st measurements from last June 1st in ( ) when I started weight training:

Weight: 215lbs! (195.5") - Got as low as 186.5 last November. I’ve gained almost 30lbs since Thanksgiving!
BF: 15% - Got an electrostatic BMI & added 7% for variance
Chest: 45" (40.75") - Going on 10 months of 100% incline work
Arms: 16"!  (14.5") I have been at 15" FOREVER!!!! WOOHOO!!!
Hips: 37" (38.5") - This got as low as 34.5" last year, but this new booty can’t be denied!
Waist: 36" (34.75") - This got as low as 33.5" last year. Gotta have a lil’ fat to make gains
Thighs: 24" (22.25") - Hopefully these will go up big time soon
Calves: 17.25" (16") - They say these should be 1:1 with arms…I wish!
Forearms: 12" (9.75") - Ab wheel & planks
Shoulders: 51" (47.5") - Finally getting a lil’ width
Neck: 17" (14.75) - Shrugs? I dunno

This has really helped to re-ignite that fire that has been embers lately!

One of the 1st things I learned about bodybuilding is that, to me, the physical aspect (training) is by far the easiest aspect. Its the mental & spiritual that are by far the hardest on one’s self. That muscle between your ears & the inner energy/force residing in that one beating in your chest are, regardless of how you train, worked to failure over & over & over & over, day after day after day.

I am currently running on fumes spiritually. It happens from time to time. I often think of myself as an inspirational junkie, running from stories to movies to tunes, etc, to get a quick "fix" to get me thru that day’s training, that week’s efforts, etc. And, just like any other stimulant, you start to get acclimated to it & need bigger, stronger "doses", if you will.

So, what do you do to replenish the inner batteries, to keep the mind sharp & spirit soaring, to break a "plateau" of inspiration?

I debated over adding this to my online Workout Journal. But a good BB friend told me to “be myself”. This is me. If you are looking for reps, weights & sets, skip reading this.

I’m a very private person. I keep to myself. But every now & then something happens that I feel warrants sharing.

Last Saturday, after my 3rd training session in a row, I was driving to work afterwards. I had already awoken much earlier than I usually do on a Saturday to get everything done that was going to need to get done in order to allow me to train, clean up & change, eat & get to work by 9:30am.

I had just finished a huge Back Day. After 2 rough sessions I was still able to set a new PR for a weight lifted. I was physically beat up & tired, mentally worn down, sore all over, hungry & a lil’ anxious to keep ahead of the clock as I drove off.

I’m not sure if you believe in a higher presence, a guiding force, etc, or for that matter in angels. Not necessarily the halo/winged kind, but someone/something watching over you. I have come to, and whomever/whatever they are/were, they knew I needed a lil’ help at that moment.

Not a few seconds on the road this song came on. I channel flip a lot. The odds of my hitting this song just as it started at that moment….who knows.

But it hit me like a tidal wave. Time stood still. The lyrics just overwhelmed me. They summed up the past year of my life so eloquently, so deeply, so painfully. The beginning of the weight loss, all the effort, shame, hard work, sweat, it all came back. The rebirth, the start of a new life, the even harder work, focusing toward a goal of trading over 3 years of my life for 120 seconds on a stage.

I don’t remember the drive to work at all. All I know is that I got there & the song was over and I was a different person than I was a few minutes earlier.

These are the lyrics. I am sure he was singing about something other that what I went thru & what I am doing, but it summed up my journey so well:

Then the rainstorm came over me
And I felt my spirit break
I had lost all of my belief you see
And realize my mistake
But time threw a prayer to me
And all around me became still

Through the rainstorm came sanctuary
And I felt my spirit fly
I had found all of my reality
I realize what it takes  

Here is the official video. I can’t find it on YouTube.

http://www.mtv.com/videos/seal/33701/loves-divine.jhtml

1 year ago today (February 4th, 2008) this was me. A burger shy of 270lbs and 43% BF built up over 2 decades of apathy:

This is my 1st "Rebirthday". I will celebrate this day every year. Thanks to all my BB Friends for all the help over the past year.

Today’s training was a real break through for me, an epiphany if you will. Over the weekend I watched all the "Gettin’ Cut With Glass" video workouts as well as read that great Fitty thread on training (and identifying) biceps.

So, with all this new info swirling in my brain (gbg will be glad to know I’ll probably be asking a terrabyte less of questions  ) I restructured Chest/Bis today…..and completely & totally checked my ego at the fitness center door.

What I Learned:
- Small muscles, when REALLY isolated, are not very strong at all
- Said muscles can be worked to insane pumps & concentric failure with an embarrassingly small amount of weight
- The Smith machine is a godsend for those w/o PTs
- The Smith machine really allows you to work through imbalances (this is big for me as I try to bring my non-dominant arm/side up) fearlessly & push to those last 2 or 3 good, self-forced reps without a BB or PT.
- Reverse Preacher Curls are the Devil’s playtoy
- Incline DB Curls with locked elbows & open hands after Reverse Preachers borders on Geneva Convention violation
- Then doing Rope Cable Curls with elbows nailed to my sides & hands rotating out at the top after both of the above made my eyes water with a stupid amount of weight not there
- That Cable Flies with hands open, elbows locked & to a full "clap" & squeeze are full of pretty, pretty colors after 4 other incline chest exercises.

- That ego has NO PLACE   in bodybuilding. None. Nada. Zip. You have to have the conviction to, in a room full of guys tossing around huge weights in so-so form, do what you need to do & do it RIGHT, regardless of how many snickers it may evoke. Form is THE cruel taskmaster I will obey.

That said, I will post the teeny, tiny numbers in my Journal with the knowledge that, dare I say, for the 1st time EVER I really, really, worked the way I should have been working all along and the sore reality that those lil’ numbers made me wince & water eyed.

There. I said it.

I started a workout journal in the O35:

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=113167271

Goal is to update it every session for the next 3 years, when I (hopefully) will have worked hard enough to not embarrass myself competing.