LionelHutz’s BodyBlog

Last week on my leg day, I injured myself while doing squats on the Smith machine. During my first set of squats (after 2 sets of leg extensions for warm ups), I felt something funny in my lower back after the 3rd or 4th rep. Being a typical male with testosterone influencing my thinking, I brushed it off as maybe normal muscle tightness. So I continued to do more reps thinking it would loosen up. Big mistake. I felt something really wrong and stopped it right there. When I walked away…I knew I f#@ked something up. I could just feel something wasn’t right in my back. I couldn’t even walk properly. So I tried to strech and walk it off. No dice. I decided to go home. Of course it got progressively worse in a hurry. That night I couldn’t sleep because any little movement caused a great deal of pain. The next day, I was walking around like the Hunchback of Notre Dame…with alot less mobility. I went to get x-rays and have myself looked at by a doctor and a chiropractor. Fortunately, the x-rays revealed no major damage. The chiropractor said I threw my alignment off and re-adjusted my back. He said the muscles around the damged area were going to be sore and painful for a few days, but would get better with time and rest. Obviously I couldn’t do anything strenuous. Which meant no more working out for a while I had to miss time from work too- double bad news.

I was so upset at myself because I had a plan to accomplish such and such in a certain timeframe and this injury just threw a giant wrench into everything. Looking back and analyzing at the events of the injury, I concluded that I probably didn’t warm up properly and was likely also using bad form because the weight that I had on during the injury was alot less than what I normaly work with. So the moral of the story is ALWAYS WARM UP PROPERLY AND PRACTICE GOOD FORM. Setbacks are a part of life unfortunately. The important thing is to learn something from them and to not let them stop you from achieving your goals….in bodybuilding or in life.

A couple of days ago, the supplements I ordered online finally arrived (big sigh of relief). I was starting to wonder if they were going to arrive at all. I heard a rumour somewhere (maybe the forums?) that Animal Stak2 was in the process of being banned in Ontario…can’t really see why as it doesn’t really contain anything crazy. Oh well…the important thing is it got to me.

People weren’t exaggerating when they said it’s a shitload of pills to swallow. Animal pak has 11- most of them are the big amino acid size types. M Stak has 8- again most of them the big ass types. Swallowing all these pills at one sitting wasn’t alot of fun. Oh well…it’s the results I’m more concerned about. I’m going to combine Animal Pak with M Stak for the first 3 weeks, then 1 week off and on to Animal Stak2 from there. Then once I’m finished the Animal products (hopefully by which time I’ll have added some bulk), start cutting for the summer. At least that’s the plan…things could change.

My first workout on these pills went amazing. I don’t know if it was something in the concoction or what, but I definitely felt a spark. It could have been all in my head, but regardless…the end result was very positive. Also, because I’m taking these supps, I actually look more forward to working out now. After all, I don’t want to be choking on all these pills for nothing.

As mentioned in my first blog, I joined my first gym recently. Since it was a new experience, i thought I’d also try adding some new and different things too. Such as bulking up for a few months to try and gain some muscle mass. Before I suffered and arm injury a couple of months back, I was kinda plateauing in my physical progress…changing things up might be the ticket to seeing some gains again.

Working out at home, I only trained a max of 3 times per week- I’d work all the muscle groups once. Since joining the gym, I’ve increased my workouts to 4 times/wk. Still hitting muscle groups once, but now with more intensity and much more variety. I think this will trigger more muscle growth…I’ve noticed more soreness the day/2 days after now. Strength has been about the same, but  I expect it to go up….well, I pray that it does :p

To further assist in my bulking, I ordered some supplements online: Animal Paks, Animal Stak2 And Animal M Stak. I’ve never tried supplements like this before but have read many  postive reviews, so I thought I’d give it a try. I’m so anxious to try these products out…I feel like an animal already. It’s been 2 weeks and still no delivery. Called the distributor and they said it was shipped out already and it was probably being delayed by Customs……..fu#k’n great    I was hoping to recieve the stuff in like a week or so. Guess not. Now I just hope it doesn’t get refused or confiscated at the border and I DO actually get it. Next time, I think I’ll just buy from a store in town. Costs more, but at least you get it right away.

As the title may or may not suggest, this ‘blog’ will be my first. By that I mean first time ever (woohoo, I get to break my blog virginity….though sadly I don’t feel the same sense of excitement as with other ‘firsts’ ….oh well, maybe it’ll grow on me). So as I understand it, a blog is sorta like a diary right? Well I’ve also never really written any diaries either….I always figured I could remember any thoughts or experiences from memory. But as i’m getting older, I realize that my memory isn’t what it used to be. I guess years of partying will do that. Anyways, there has to be a first time for everthing right? Well here goes….

I figured this would be a good time to start my ‘bodyblog’ since I  just joined my first gym membership just last week. Up till now I had worked out from home- a bench, barbell and a couple of dumbells. Been this way for years. Though anyone can get a good workout using just these 3 things, it gets pretty boring after a while. Plus I want to kick it up a notch and start a bulking cycle (also for the first time). The goal is to add another 10 pounds of muscle…hopefully by summer time. I know it’ll take alot of hard work, but I’m willing to give it a shot.

As for the first time working out in a real gym…it was pretty interesting to say the least. Lots of different machines and equipment that I’ve never used before. Sure I’ve seen and read about them in magazines and stuff, but to actually use the machines is another matter. I had to ask people how to properly use some of the equipment. Better to ask than to risk possible injury or look like an idiot. Having to wait to use equipment was a new  experience too. Not much fun…oh well, maybe I’ll go to the gym at less busier times in the future. All in all though, the gym experience has alot more advantages than disadvantages and I’m glad I joined. I’ll be posting more of my workouts in future blogs to help keep track my progress.

So that’s it for my first blog ever. Feel free to comment or critique it. Forgive me if I didn’t do it properly ( I’ve heard that one before hehe), but remember, it was my first time As with other things in life… the more you practice, the better you get at it, right?

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