Bulldog92’s BodyBlog

Went to a very cool store today called "MAX MUSCLE."  (www.maxmuscle.com) What a great store and great business concept.  Great staff who were excellent.  While there, the staff offered me a free body fat check with a bicep electrode.  How could I refuse that?  SO I did it and plan on going back in a week or two to repeat it.  Bottom line…I was happy with the results.  Here is the Data for 4 Sep 09. 

TOTAL BODY FAT:  10.1%

WEIGHT = 196 (I think their scale was off a little

FAT WEIGHT = 20 lbs

LEAN WEIGHT = 176 lbs (0% bf weight)

ESSENTIAL FAT = 9 lbs

RESERVE FAT = 11 lbs

EXCESS FAT = 0 lbs

BMR: 1833 kcal (Calorie burn per day doing nothing / lying in bed all day)

TOTAL BODY WATER = 66.1%

BMI: 28.1

THe new disciplined diet is going well.  Today was day 7 - Cheat day, so I went to Moe’s Southwest grill and got a buritto and had a choc chip cookie too.  So, tonight will be a grilled chicken salad after the gym tonight.  Feeling good.  Liking what I am seeing.  Thanks for checking in.  Keep me honest and check back later to see if I can keep at it. 

Alright, I have been messing around and cheating too much with the diet and I realize now that this central issue is undermining my progress and quest for a lean body.  So for the next month, I have decided to stay disciplined with the diet to see if it changes things for me and gets me down the path that I need to travel. 

I took some progress pics a couple of days ago and was "less than enthusiastic" about what I saw.  I have heard trainer after trainer say that what you do outside the gym (mainly in the kitchen and with meal prep and diet planning) is 90% of the battle.  I always nod my head in agreement, but can’t seem to translate the head knowledge into the discipline require to actually do it.  For me, I am good for a few days and then "relapse" to old, unwise choices.  Not super bad choices but bad enough to undermine the hard work I put in at the gym with weights and cardio. 

I am finally fed up enough to actually motivate myself to pursue another course of action. 

I started this 2 days ago and it is going well.  So, on 29 Sep, I will take another round of progress pics to see what a month of disciplined and clean eating does for me.  Then I will post both sets of progress pics. 

So here I go…. 

Been a couple of months since my last post.  Progress is good.  I do better in the summer than the winter with the diet and cardio.  Probably the pool and stolling around in my speedo… just kiddin, I don’t do speedo’s.  Anyway, My summer cardio plan entails 20-30 min of cardio prior to each workout.  I have been doing it the past 3 days and it feels great.  Usually running 1.5 mi followed by a 1.0 mi walk.  Will work that up to a 3 mile run in like 24 mins here in a couple of weeks.  I alternate the eliptical trainer in if my legs are sore or I feel like I need not run that day.  I love to run and this will surly have a postive effect on slimming down my midsection.  Arms, calves, traps and shoulders are growing.  The combo of added size up top with a leaner midesction and bigger calves should round out the overall look and take me further down that path of what I am trying to get to in my mind. 

Hope all you guys are doing well.  Keep pressing and stay disciplined.   

Had my photographer take a couple of pics of my arms today to compare with the one like 2 months ago.  Those were the Cellucor "start" photos back on the 19th of March.  I can honestly say that I was pretty surprised to see the difference.  Both sets were taken w/o a pump, just natural everyday look and …I liked what I saw.  I have been focusing on my arms and calves / shoulders / traps and abs.  Abs need more work (translation; diet needs work but is improving).  I can see the differences and I think the Cellucor has a good bit to do with it.  Don’t get me wrong, I have been blasting them, BUT… I think it is working nicely.  I pla n to cycle off of it for a couple of months then give it a try again.  Will be switching to the Muscle Tech NaNO Vapor and the micronized creatine for a while. 

I know the pool in my subdivision will bo opening soon and I think I have a decent start on the summer training program.  It is easier for me to eat right in the summer for some reason.  I love to grill and cook steaks and chicken and vegatables on the grill like asparagus.  I am glad the weather is getting better here and that summer is coming. 

Getting back with it as far as the diet.  Amazing how a little progress is motivating and makes you want more and "helps" with the discipline.  I think I am back on track. 

Keep pressing friends.  You guys are a big help with the motivation thing as well. 

WHY is it so hard to stay disciplined?  Went on vacation for a week to TX and let the diet slip a bit…lots of fajitas.  Now that I am back at home, it is tough to get back to the discipline that I had before I left.  I know I just need to do it and stop whining about it.  But I can’t help but get frustrated at myself for not being able to get back in gear.  Have not been able to hit the gym b/c of work and schedules for the fam.  So I am taking a little break from here to re-cage and get my mind right in order to reach those lofty goals I have for myself. 

Ready to get back to the gym.  Needing to get back in gear….mentally.  WHy is this so hard? 

Took my PT test today.  Here are the results:

Waist measurement:  34 inches

Weight: 191 lbs

Pushups in 1 min: 50 (maxed it  for my age)

Situps in 1 min: 50 (maxed it for my age)

1.5 mile Run:  10 min 34 seconds (9:48 would have maxed it)

Still decent scores for an older guy but my run suffered b/c I haven’t been training to it.  Been lifting a lot and just jogging…no "1.5 mi training sprints" like I did last year a couple of months out to prep for it.  Oh well. 

Cellucor is just about complete with some good results…will post up some progress shots in a couple of weeks.  Still using the D5 fat burner and the M5 - Creatine, and NO - Preworkout mix.  Will post about that in a couple of weeks too.

Keep pressing friends! 

Today it begins.  I posted up my starting progress pics up on my profile.  Here are my broad goals for the next couple of months and what I will be targeting.  Overall, just get lean.  I think if I lean out in the middle…everywhere else will look bigger. 

1.  Lean out everywhere and reduce fat, especially in my midsection.  Work to get my abs more defined.

2.  Put some size on my calves (stuck at 15.5 inches).

3.  Add some size on my arms (stuck at 16 inches).

4.  Add some size to my shoulders and traps. 

Parts I am happy with but will continue to work.

1.  Chest & Quads.

I will be using the Cellucor M5 - Creatine/NO; P6 - Test booster; R3 - Post workout recovery; NO - preworkout; & D4 Fatburner.

I have a head start on my diet…I have been very good about that for the last 2 weeks in prep for this "start" and will continue it.  Will be doing cardio at least 3 days a week either running or actual biking or eliptical trainer.  I always hit the weights hard so that part is easy for me.

Lets see if the combo of all of this with these new sups really work.  We will find out if they are worth the money. 

I started this morning at the gym with legs.  Off and running…

Hi Friends.  I will be giving Cellucor a try starting on 20 Mar 09 and going thru 30 Apr 09.  I plan on using the supps M5, P6, R3, and D4 for a little over a month. 

A few weeks ago, I requested the 4 day free samples from the company and was pleased with how I looked and felt after those 4 days. (Really.)  I told a workout partner that I felt like Superman after that 4-days and he said "It is probably that s*it you’ve been taking."  …I think he was right.  The combo of the 4 products produced some pretty noticable effects in the 4 day trial that I took them. 

The products were fairly expensive (about $290 for all four) but I figure if the results continue in the same way that the 4 day trial seemed to go…it would be worth it.  I hit a pleateau for a while strength wise and actually went backwards in that area.  Additionally, my diet was causing my progress to slow, progress that I was easily seeing early on.  I have been eating very clean for the past week (back on it ) in prep for starting the sups.  I plan on keeping the diet clean and being dicsiplined and "good" about my diet.  I also plan on snapping a few progress pics before I start and tracking any hopeful progress as the weeks pass.  I will keep it all documented here on my blog.

I know for me, my diet and my discipline in sticking with eating healthy 100% of the time is the hardest thing for me.  I seem to do well for a week and then fall back to old habits for a week.  Not conducive to really making a change in how I look.  So, I start again with some new focus and new determination.  My last blog had similar thoughts about "starting again…again" but I know for me, if I have spent this much money on something, I am way more likely to stick with the diet because of that one fact if nothing else.  So… starting 20 Mar…. here we go. 

Still working out hard but I have renewed focus with the diet and cardio.  For me, it is mostly about eating right and being disciplined with the cardio training.  I have no problems lifting hard and lifting pretty heavy but my issues deal with loving food.  In the South where I am from, food is the center of most gatherings and the center of social events.  I am talking good tasting, terrible for you foods.  I have not endulged with them much lately but for me the challenge is jsut staying disciplined with my choices.  When I do that…and I do the cardio, great things like a slimming waistline and semi-visible abs start to happen.  SO I re-learn and re-apply the lessons that I have learned over and over again and not suprisingly, they still work. 

So now, I am getting ready for spring and I am working to see those abs (all diet for me), and get rid of the little bit of fat around my waist.  It does not get easier as I get older, but my methodolgy is evolving into a more sustainable "long-term" focus. 

It is easy to get discouraged at times but we all just have to fight through those tough times and keep your eyes focused on the prize…better health and better looks and better fitting clothes.  Winter makes it more difficult for me, but keeping it going thru the winter and actually making some progress puts me way ahead when spring actually comes. 

more to follow…. 

It has been a while since I did a body fat check.  I use the link here and follow the directions on the web page to do it.  I use a Accu-Measure caliper and do a 5 spot check.  I plan on doing this at lease once every couple of months.  Still working hard on Challenge #5.   

 http://www.naturalphysiques.com/tools.php?itemid=31

Here were my reading yielding a 9.387% body fat on 12 Nov 2008. 

Chest: =  (diagonal fold midway b/w nipple and the crease of the under arm) = 9 mm

Suprailiac: (diagonal fold taken midway b/w hip joint & bottom of the rib cage) = 12 mm

Abdomen: (vertical fold taken one inch to the side of the belly button) = 10 mm

Thigh: (vertical fold taken halfway b/w knee joint & the hip joint) = 8 mm

Triceps: (vertical fold taken halfway b/w the elbow joint & the shoulder joint) = 3 mm

Gender: Weight: 187lbs Male Age: 38 yrs

Body fat: 9.378%;  Fat weight: 18 lbs;  Lean mass: 170 lbs