Lex29’s Body Forum

Whats up Fam!

So in staying on track with the whole eating clean aspect, I used to keep diligent track of everything I ate.  I know for some this can be a royal pain in the ass, but I’m one of those anal virgo’s so its in my blood.  However for the past couple weeks I’ve slacked up on that aspect.  I haven’t fallen off my game, but I did slip up.

This morning while at work, I went back to my log, and started going over the past meals i’ve had over the last couple weeks, and one common denominator that I noticed was that Bread snuck its ass back up into my meals.  Sneaky little bastard!!  I never cut bread out completely, but for someone that was a big bread eater, I limited it to an occasional morning meal.  What I found was that I had started eating it at least two to three times a day once more.  And whats even worse a lot of the times it was during dinner. 

Its easy to slip up if you are not focused on your game.  Being that I can put on pounds faster than I can fall asleep, this was a little upsetting.  But I’m not perfect, so with that in mind we just get back on board and keep it moving.  for the most part my lifestyle has changed in terms of eating the right foods consistently throughout the day.  I can comfortably consume 6 -7 meals, and my water consumption no longer leaves me bloated.  My pressure is even down, which shocked the crap out of my Dr, since she wanted me to stop working out…..(so I guess she doesn’t know everything).

So this little slip up is being looked at as a lesson in diligence.  This can’t be left to chance.  Its a process, and like every process there has to be a track record in order to see areas of improvement, as well as the positive progression.

Stay focused Fam!

Peace!

Whats Up Fam!!

In bodybilding pushing your body to the limit and further is just part of the game isn’t it?  I mean we do try to always get that one rep because we want to constantly improve.  And for the most part our bodies allow this torture.  But there are times when the body puts its foot down, and when it does, it can damn near stop us on the dime!

Here’s my story:

I’m doing crunches in the gym this afternoon after my leg workout.  Since improving my midsection is one of my goals this year, I’ve been paying extra attention to them.  Working all areas; obliques, lower and upper abdominals.  Usually i stick with a range of 12-15 reps, but today i was "pushing it".  First and second set i went for 20 reps each.  At the end of the 2nd set, i felt my abs were relaly tight, tighter than I’ve ever felt them, so I decided to push it for one last set.  As soon as I did my first rep it happened.  BAM….Abdominal Cramp!! 

Now i’m not sure at what point i cried out for my mommy, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t too far after it happened.  The pain was unbelievable!  I immediately tried to lean back in attempt to stretch the abdominals.  At first that seemed to work, becuase the pain on the left side started to subside, but then BAM…right side cramped up on me.  While holding my stomach i could feel the muscles knotting up.  Now a little fear started to creep up becuase I had an umbililcal hernia repaired in 2004, so I was praying that 1) the cramp didn’t create another tear, & 2) that the pain would stop soon before tears started falling.

After being able to stand up, the pain subsided some more, and after walking around a little it stopped.  Once again my body proved who the real boss in this relationship is. 

Moral:  Listen to your body.  If you try to push too hard, prepare yourself for when your body pushes back!!

Peace!

What up Fam!

I had a great get away this weekend.  Me and the misses went down to Atlantic City and stayed at Harahs Casino.  I picked this hotel, becuase it appeared to have one of the best fitness centers in AC.  Next to Borgata, but they weren’t giving me any comps so screw them!! 

Now I know some of you along with wifey might be saying that I am revolving my workouts around my leisure time, but I have goals.  So if that means taking a little time out of my R&R to get my workout in, then so be it.  Besides, I threw wifey a couple benjamins, and she was off!!

Now for all of you that live in the tri-state, I highly recomend the fittness center at Harahs.  They have a good amount of cardio equipment, the only free weights they have are dumbbells, but they go from 25lbs - 100lbs; There is a smith machine which was a pleasure to see, and they had at least (6) 45lb plates, so you could definately get in a good work out with that; and lastly they had a slew of lifstyle fitness equipment.  So if you are considering visiting AC anytime soon, and still want to keep up with your workouts, Harah’s definately did their homework when it came to setting this place up.  I was very pleased…as were some of the patrons when I walked back to my room. 

Gotta love being muscular…lol

Peace!!

Whats up Family!!

So today was my official first day at Bally’s.  You knew i was gonna write about this day.  So Bally’s ofcourse has the rep of being the runway of fitness centers. Meaning, everyday is like a fashion show.  And with my center being smack dab in the middle of Chelsea NYC, its no different.  So ofcourse you have your Divas (No offense to any Divas I know) you have your "I’m too sexy’s, you have your Chatterbox Crew, and lastly your "How You Doin’s".  One big melting pot of people that basically pay money per month just to be seen. 

But there are those there that actually DO work out.  A few, like myself made the transition from my previous gym to this Bally’s.  And if they feel like me it was a great move.  This place is like my Nirvana….the Krispy Kreme of the fitness circle.  I can’t imagine having anything else at my finger tips.  I worked chest today, and it was the best workout I’ve had since I started back.  Hammer Strength machines are the F’n best.  A great alternative to dumbbells.  Because they know benchs are in high demand they have like 15 different stations; 4 squat racks, 3 smith machines,  4 flat benchs, 3 incline, 1 decline.  And that doesn’t include the benchs by the dumbbells.

Today, with every press, every crunch, I felt and saw myself getting closer to my goals.  It is here that and more will be accomplished.  I have a session with a so called trainer on Monday…..oooooh, cant wait for that.  I bet you good money that I get the out of shape rookie with the BS certificate that thinks he knows everything because he subscribes to Flex Magazine.  Yeah, I’m sure I’ll have plenty to talk about after that one.

Peace!

What up fam!! 

So today I signed up at Bally’s Total Fitness.  Guys in there were very eager to sign me up.  Guess commissions aren’t coming to easily these days.  The initial sign up went pretty quickly, I mean all they really need is you credit card right?  The key part of this process came when I met with a trainer.  Apparently every new client gets a free training session, with a licensed trainer.  I figured, give me whater my money is supposed to give me, period!

So in walks this guy, seems like he was in some sort of shape.  He (from what he told me) was the manager of the trainers for this facility, and he would be scheduling my free session.  The first set of questions kinda made me laugh a bit, questions like "do you work out" (C’mon guy) He kinda realized that was a lame question, so he got more specific.  "How many days do you work out, do you have any injuries, are you on any medication", then he asked the question that stumped me for a moment…."What are your goals?"

Now before this question, I had never spoken out loud as to my Bodybuilding aspirations.  I talked about it on BB.com, but never talked about it outside that format.  It’s been my "little secret" you could say.  But here it was right in my face.  Do I tell him some lame answer like wanting to build muscle, or do I come out and be straight up about what it is I am after.  Always wanting to be 100% and never fraudulent, caused my hesitance.  Am I a bodybuilder, and if not, at what point do I become a bodybuilder?  I realized then that unless I am confident to speak on it, then I wont be able to take myself and my goals seriously.

I responded by telling him that I was a bodybuilder, and that i am focused on entering my first show this time next year.  I told him that I want him to do a BF analysis, as well as take my measurements so that I can accurately track my progress.  It felt good saying this outloud, because it was the first time I ever made the statement.  Sometimes you have an image in your head of who & what you are, but until you say it out loud, and fully Realize that fact, it will always and forever be just an image in your imagination.  In case you need a reminder, tell yourself exactly who & what you are!!

Peace!

Whats up Fam!!

Well sometimes when you are working towards a goal, you have to leave your comfort zone in order to achieve it.  My gym has been good to me. I’ve met some cool people, and I’ve met some *******s, but all in all its been a great place to work out.  However, my gym is a bit old school.  Thats cool for basic training, but I have bigger plans that or anything but basic.  So I had to change gym’s. 

Might not sound like a big deal, but for some reason i’ve been stressing over this.  Going over the pro’s and con’s in order to make the best decsion.  At my gym now, mostly everyone there are serious trainers.  Some competitve, and others just for the love.  I didn’t want to lose that vibe, becuase on days when i didn’t feel like working out, these people inspired me to get my ass in gear.  (They would literally come up and tell me i’m dragging) This Friday I will be joining up with Bally’s Fitness.  I know this club usually has the stigma of being a fashion show runway, but the one i’ll be going to has sooooo much more equipment than my other gym.  On the tour i took today i was salivating at not only the multiple benchs, and smith machine stations, but the slew of hammer strength equipment.  I felt like I was in a strip club.  (I have issues, this is true) while I was there i instantly felt like i was home. 

I may love my old gym, but if i am to hold true to my goals, I gotta break outta the box.  I’m my own trainer so I’m not missing a training partner, or anything.  And to prove this may be a match made in heaven, the membership is a few dollars less then what I’m paying now.  Nuff Said!!

Peace!

What up Fam!!

So i’m in the gym this afternoon, doing my thang, (you all know how it goes down by now) and one of the regulars that’s always there starts chatting me up.  Now normally I dont get into conversations because i blast out what I can within an hour so I can get back to work and continue getting paid.  But today he caught me on a rare moment.  So during this conversation he asks me if I ever competed. To be honest, that one question was like Halle Berry asking me to father her second child.  My head got so inflated that I had to first relax internally, and the second relax the huge cheese smile that spread out on my face.  finally I responded by saying that I never competed, but I have made the decision to do so starting next year. 

Well as quickly as my head got big, he almost took out all the air, because his next response was, "well you should have done that when you were younger" lol.  Excuse me?!!  My age has nothing to do with what i choose to do.  I may not be going out for Mr. Olympia, but I know damn well I am not too old to compete against anyone in my bracket.  The funny thing about his comment was that he and I are about the same age, I may be a year older, but thats it.  He also went on to tell me how he used to compete back in 2001, and 2002. 

Now see, this is why i keep conversations to a minimum, becuase somewhere along the line someone is going to say something that will tick you off.  I know for a fact that I am not too old, to do anything.  Not sure if he was trying to deter me for some reason or what, but whatever it is, he’s in for a rude awakening.  I’m not one to adhere to others negativity, so he could have saved that comment for someone else.  My last words to him was keep an eye out.  Because i’m not hardly done yet!!