CPAmuscle_#41’s BodyBlog

Well I have decided that my bulking time is over.  This is earlier than I anticipated.  Not that I wasn’t enjoying myself… its just that all my clothes are getting way too tight!  I am definitely happy with the results.  I gained 15 lbs, made great strength gains, appear to be bigger than I was about 4 months ago, and still managed to stay somewhat lean.
Bulking is certainly a different lifestyle, which was good for the short term.  As I shift my routine to lighter weights, more reps, and less recovery time, I feel that I have lost lots of muscle endurance.  I’ve become accustom to heavy weights for low reps. I think this will be a good change for my body as I gear up for the spring-summer months.
Another reason for the early bulking departure is that my busy season is starting to slow down.  Although I am a CPA I do not do taxes but rather financial statement audits for public companies.  Earnings season is well over and by Feb. 29^th all large-accelerated filers will have filed their Form 10-K’s.  Now I can focus on having slightly longer workouts and eating 6 plus meals a day to try and cut this body down again.
Now that I’ll have some more time on my hands, hopefully I can catch up with everyone and see how you’ve been progressing.  I have been nearly non-existent on this site for 2 months.  Thanks to those who still periodically checked in on my relatively inactive profile.

Thanks to all who have given me such positive comments on my new pics.  To be honest I was not very happy with them.  Apparently my "other" muscle has generated some comments too, which was not my intent but none-the-less are appreciated (blushing).   

I haven’t lifted since Tuesday because I’ve been kinda down physically and emotionally.  Been a rough week because I have this awful head cold that I can’t seem to shake.  Been tough sleeping at night because I have been constantly waking up to a clogged nose.  Also tough emotionally this week because Monday marked my 2 year marriage anniversary with my wife.  We’ve been separated for over 7 months now but before that were together for 6 1/2 years dating and 1 1/2 years married.  It has certainly been a difficult and lonely 7 months because of the way things unfolded but it is all for the best.  Unfortunately, divorce has brought out the worst in her and I am just hopeful for the day it is all over and I can move on completely with my life.  2007 will go down as my least favorite year but I am definitely looking forward to 2008.  Anyway, enough with my issues! 

Again thank you all so much for the comments on my pictures.  I am a very tough critic on myself, which I why I am happy to have found the Bodyspace community because you guys always seem to see and comment on things that I didn’t really notice.  Thanks again!!

Well I took some pics one month into my bulk.  Definitely nothing to brag about so far.  It is tough to see fading abs after you worked so hard for them :-(  I feel thicker (all around but mostly in my legs) and have made some good strength gains to date.  I was really bulking pretty clean until this past week when I starting eating out for lunch more and really felt like crap for most of this week because of it.  I have to get back to making better meal choices, even though I am bulking.  I also have to get a better camera too because my Treo doesn’t really take good pictures.  Anyway, I am not too sure how long I will stick with this bulking thing because I definitely liked my lean look as opposed to my bulking look!

Well I started bulking about 20 days ago and it looks like I’ve gained 4-5 pounds already!  Hopefully there is some muscle in those gains… LOL!  I don’t look any bigger but I can never tell.  I’ve always had big legs and I have been working out legs twice in my 6 day cycle so maybe I’ve gained some muscle there.  The abs are slowly fading but still visible.  The next couple of days will be tough with all of the feasting going on.  I guess I’ll have to get some new progress pics up before I start chowing down tomorrow!  Happy Thanksgiving!

After reading up it seems that the fall and winter seasons are the time when everyone bulks up.  Now I am trying to decide if this is something that I should do too.  It has been a while since I have seen my abs like this and now I am afraid of losing them!  I truly enjoy the lean look that I have going; however, I wouldn’t mind a little more mass.  I have kind of mastered my eating habits under the cutting phase but am worried about my abilities in bulking.  Also, the winter poses another issue for me as a CPA… busy season!  Usually I am working 80 hour weeks and finding time to work out is certainly going to be challenging.  I would greatly appreciate any thoughts, suggestions, experiences, or plans related to bulking up.

Well I decided to give this bodyblog a shot.  So for those who take the time to listen to my ramblings, I thank you.  Also decided to go with a more traditional first post (the good ole’ history and motivation story) because I felt it was long overdue.

I returned to the world of iron about 6 months ago to begin a new journey in my quest to staying healthy and fit (well first I had to get healthy and fit again).  It had been over 5 years since I’d last thrown the iron around (the reasons for my absence will probably be covered in future post).  Less than 7 months ago, certain events in my life really put things in perspective for me.  For 5 years I had gotten far away from doing the things I truly enjoyed and one of those things was a healthy, fit lifestyle.

Now a little older and a little wiser (hopefully), my return was marked with a newfound perspective, motivation, and determination to obtain a body I once had.  This time around it was a little different than when I was younger; however, I discovered that the body has a great memory and can rather quickly adapt and return to its earlier form.

In the beginning motivation is easy to come by, but sometimes that original source of motivation loses its fire, especially when it came out of bitterness or resentment.  Lucky for me, I was able to find a new source of motivation… BodySpace.  The people of this community provide so much support and are a great source of inspiration for me.  Whether it is checking out new pictures, progress pictures, reading a profile or blog, the sources of motivation are countless.  There are many amazing transformations and inspirational stories of individuals struggling with various situations but have persevered and came out on top.  If I am down, simply reading these stories really puts my life back in perspective and I realize that my situation or bad day is really not all that bad.  There are days when I come home from work and do not feel like going to the gym; however, if I log on and check out some new pictures, it isn’t long before I am persuaded to go workout.

To all of the people on BodySpace, I thank you for the inspiration and motivation you provide.  For all of those people that have checked out my page, left a comment, or added me as a friend, I greatly appreciate your support.  I hope that through my story, BodySpace page, or comments, I can provide a source of inspiration, support, or motivation to at least one person the same way so many have done for me.  Thanks for listening… now get your a$$ back to the gym! 

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