Bulldog92’s BodyBlog

A buddy (PulgasStrongMan) extended me an invite to their 5th consecutive 3 month Challenge.  I was glad he did.  Ithink this will be very good for me and help keep me focused and accountable.  My goals are to gain at least a 1/2 inch on my arms and calves and continue leaning out my midsection.  I really want to see my abs, and I think with this challenge and new re-focus on a clean diet, and cardio at least 3 times a week (every other day or so) I should be able to do it.  The abs are there and they are nice and bumpy…but that little layer still keeps them from popping out.  These are my main goals for the next 3 months (1 Oct - 31 Dec) I will be posting pics regularly, using the same poses for camparison reasons.  If you have any pointers or reccomendations…let me know.  I hope you are doing well.  Keep at it friend.  There is light at the end of the tunnel. 

Have you ever been sick but still wanted to hit the gym but decided to give yourself (your body) a break.  Well, that has been me for the past several days.  I don’t mind taking a break, but I like to be sore all over from the weights before I do, not from sinus and coughing.  Anyway, I’ll be back on it tommorrow, I hope, after work.  My baby has been sick too, so it makes it hard to justify going to the gym when I feel like the family needs me.  I think we are all just about over it all now for which I am thankful.  Tomm will be a cardio (running) day then back.  Then starting Tues it will be every day hard for 4 days straight.  Those are my off days so I try to really push it on my "off from work days." 

I hope you are doing well.  Keep at it and try to keep the big picture of what you are trying to accomplish in mind.  Never lose sight of your ultimate goal.  Then let that goal and the desire to reach that goal motivate you to stick with it every day.  Make the tough choice to eat that halthy snack instead of the candy bar or sugar cola.  Get some help if you need to to develop a good solid plan…then stick with it and DO NOT QUIT.  If you get sick,   take a break and let yorself recover, then get back at it.  Good luck friend.  Keep pressing!  If you have some good advise…talk to me. 

Wow, I can hardly believe it was almost 4 months ago since my last post.  The past couple of months I have not been able to do it because of some technical issue that is finally resolved with the bb.com guys.  Thanks support team for the help. 

The training is going well.  Have not made the big strength gains that I saw early on so I think possibly I am at my natural strength level and plateau.  Gains now will come with very very hard work.  Which is good because I love tearing it up in the gym anyway.  I have started logging all my workouts in the workout tracker though.  Take a look if interested. 

The last blog detailed a plan that I more or less hold to but I do switch it up and move things around constantly to keep from getting into a "same ole routine" slump.  I am still hitting the calves and abs hard and really focusing on the diet.  I went the past 3 months pretty much eliminating cardio just to see if I could put on a little more muscle..no luck with gaining any weight.  I always hold b/w 185-192 lbs or so.  If I had my choice, I would choose to stay around 215-220lbs but at like 6-7% body fat.  Something on the order of Frank Zane in the early 80’s is the ideal in my mind.  A muscular, well porportioned physique is what I am really going for.  Still taking Whey protein and lots of veggies and lean protein and limiting bad carbs, no sugar, cake, ice cream (vanilla), or stuff like that.  I have been at this for about a year and 2 months now and I am pleased with my progress so far.  I am no where close to "content" with myself yet…but hey, it is a journey and I like it.  I often say I am on year 2 of a 5 year plan to look good with nothing on.  One day! Thanks for your interest.  Appreciate the support.  If you have any good pointers for me…please let me know. 

more later… 

Alright, I have been slacking off the past 3 weeks with my diet discipline.  The ab project is still ongoing…I feel very good seperation in there and they are hard…but that last, stubborn layer of fat will not disappear (only a pinch or so but enough to keep them from showing).  I know why. 

So 2 days ago I started my very clean…high lean protein, high fiber (veggies, salad and a little fruit), with low bad carbs.  I am also going to re-institute my 3 days a week running/cardio plan.  So I am adjusting my goal date because I cheated and have not been as disciplined as I should have been…bad me.  Admitting the problem is the first step in "recovery" so I’ve heard and so…it starts again. 

I have been making good strength gains lately…which is nice…but the abs are illusive.  I am also changing my training split.  This is what I am going to try for the next couple of months. 

Day 1 (Fri) - Chest/Bi’s;  

Day 2 (Sat) - Thighs/Abs/Calves;   (Sun) - OFF

Day 3 (Mon) - Shoulders/Traps;  

Day 4 (Tues) - Back/Tri’s/Abs;  

Day 5 (Wed) - Hams/Glutes;  

Day 6 (Thur) - Calves/Abs

So, I will see how this goes for a while.  So still working on the abs (cardio & diet), and the 400lb bench (I love the bench ), the 800 lb squat and growing the calves.

Thanks for looking at this…not sure anyone does…but thanks if you did.  

Just a quick update…tonight I squated 515lbs x 13 reps.  The first rep was a little sloppy so I’m not going to count it so really only 12 good ones.  Had a friend (Shakka - A true presence) spot me on it and would not have even tried it without a solid spotter.  But all went well and I continue to see some good strength gains.  So my new 1 rep max is computed using 515×12.  Overall, I think the plan I’m on now with the clean diet, rest, supps, cardio, and weight training are working.  The plan as well as my friends are great motivators.  Appreciate all the encouragement.  Keep hittin’ it … you are a good influence on me!        

It’s been a month since my last post…so here’s the update.  The abs are coming along…but not as fast as I want.  I am impatient…a great trait when it comes to things that take a while to develop.  Anyway, I keep hitting them, hard, again and again…varying up the types and intensities of the exercises.  Three times a week I train them from between 45-60 mins.  The development under that little layer of fat is great and I know it’s the fat that is the problem.  That’s burning off too.  Hopefully I can hit my June goal of noticible abs…we will see.  I like the process too…which is a good thing.

Now the squats…today, my friend was spotting me and I squatted 420 or so like it was nothing.  I threw on an extra 45 on each side, totaling 5 45lb pound wts on each side (495 lbs total) and ended up doing 12 reps with that weight.  It felt good…I could have done a couple of more but I did not want to push it and end up blowing something out.  So there it is.  I am glad for the progress and winning these little battles, one by one, is taking me to a new place on this path….and I like it.  Thanks for taking the time to read this…I hope your training is going well.  Stay focused and keep at it…never give up…always challenge yourself to go to that next level, whatever that is for you.  Good luck, keep pressing. 

I think I’m on the right track and I believe I’ve finally figured out a combination of workouts, cardio, rest, supps, and diet that is finally working for me.  There’s been a lot of trial and error but I like my program at this point.  I had a little eye opening moment today at the gym after a set of pullups.

In college when I was at about 170-175 lbs I could only squeeze out about 16-17 pullups.  A couple of months ago, I did 21, which was the first time I had done over 20…ever (at age 37 and 190 lbs).  Today, before starting my back workout I did 26 good form pull-ups.  I was amazed and pleased with the sign of improvement.  Now if I can get the abs to change a little faster I might actually meet my 3 month goal to "see my ab muscles"  for the first time in my life. 

I have just finished with my first month of "ab focused" workouts about 3 times per week.  I have 2 months to go.  I am seeing some good progress but that very last layer of stubborn fat is hanging on for dear life.  Workout motivation has been outstanding lately.  That is making a big difference I think.  Hope all of you are doing well.  Thanks for checking up on me.  Keep pressing.   

Just an update… I talked to the guys wife on the phone today while she was at the hospital.  The Docs were able to save his leg and foot.  His wife told me that it would likely take a min of 8 months to rehab the leg.  Unreal that something that happens in a moment can take so long to mend.  But it sounds like he will be fine…which is a miracle after the trauma to the leg/artery and bones.  His wife said the bike goes…he probably agrees.  Hope all of your guys and ladies are doing well   

This is going to be interesting…

On the way to the gym I see a guy on a sweet motorcycle in the turn lane across an intersection from me.  I see him hit some gravel and lose control of the bike (later found out that his throttle stuck).  He was working hard to save it but it was too out of control and the poor guy slammed into a metal post sign in the median.  His bike slid past me (I’m in the mustang) about 35 yards from the sign he just hit.  I quickly pulled over and ran over to the dude who is now lying in the intersection.  A sweet lady and another guy are holding his head and trying to keep him from moving.  I see that his left leg is just about amputated about 7 inches up from his ankle.  The tibia and fibula bones are completly severed as well as the artery and as you might imagine he is in some kind of pain.  A couple of folks are standing around making 911 calls and seem a little dazed.  The guy is bleeding out pretty badly so I wrapped both hands just below his left knee and put pressure on the artery and got the bleeding stopped (as long as I kept pressure behind his knee).  The paramedics finally show up about 4-5 mins later and we get him on the board and into the ambulance.  About 4 mins after that, the lifeflight helicopter shows up and flew the guy off to the hospital.  So I say all that to remind all of you motorcycle riders to be extremely careful on those most powerful machines…and all you four wheel drivers (like me), to watch out for our motorcycle brothers out there.  

So I finally get to the gym (adrenline already pumping) and do a bench presss warm-up set of 135X10, then 225X7, then I put on 315 lbs and benched it 6 times.  So 315X6 is a new personal best for me.  So it was a good workout day for me but it did not have the luster it normally has after witnessing what I had just seen.  I hope the guy is OK.  I might try to go see him in a day or so to see how he is doing.  I hope all of you are doing well.  If you have a motorcycle…drive carefully.  My kids will NEVER ride them…I just made a new rule today

I know that diet has a great deal to do with abs.  I know I have to lose that layer of flub in order to see my abs.  Knowing this is great…even applying the principle of clean eating has been going well…BUT…it’s been about a month of hitting my abs hard (intensely for 30-40 min 3-4 times a week mixing up the exercises and weights) AND watching my diet and the changes are S..L..O..W.  I am liking what I’m seeing but it is a lot harder than I thought.  I have been taking the Universal Animal Cuts which I really like.  I’m trying to do this as naturally as possible so I’m off the fat burners for a while and wanted to do it the ole fashioned way…hard work.  I know it takes time, so I’m not losing heart or anything like that but I am open to suggestions.  I’ll post up some update pics in a couple of weeks and would appreciate any feedback/recommendations.  Hope you guys are doing well. If you know an ab program that gives serious results…point me that way.  Thanks friends.  BOBBY