MAXHAVOC’s BodyBlog

there is nothing like waking up to feel the soreness from a workout you did 2 days ago. so there i was…two days ago working shoulders. i knock out my first warmup set. feeling good…feeling strong. mentally i’m getting worked up. last time i did dumbbell presses i did 6 reps of 80 pound dumbbells on my last set. so now i’m getting pumped up to do better. i knock out my first set with the 70s. feeling good…feeling strong. next set, 75s reps 9 and 10 were a little hard. here we go, can i do the 80s for 6 or better. i grab them and hoist em up. feeling good. then its one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, and n…i…n…e. oh yeah! the rest of the workout would prove to be on track with that same intensity. so here i am today…i wake up to the alarm clock…beep…beep…beep. i attempted to reach over to hit that elusive button marked "snooze". but no such luck. i cant lift my arms. my shoulders are so worn out. as i lay there paralyzed by fatigue…a smile forms on my face. satisfaction.

i love that saying. i got it from a friend of mine and it is amazing how applicable it is. so with that being said, i thought today i would talk nutrition. nutrition is a lot like practicing medicine. it is not an exact science. there is a lot tweaking and changing until you find what works. So, i was so interested to find i dont see too many blogs out there talking about nutrition. maybe there is and i dont see them, if so I apologize. But i decided to talk about a great find. The history behind my find is simple and short. I started having a protein shake first thing when i woke up to replenish my body after sleeping. But i needed some kind of carb also. so i decided i wanted a bagel (who doesnt love bagels?). So there i was standing in the bread isle looking at bagels. the first one says it boasts 9g of protein, 8g of sugar…yuck. so i move on, next one is 12g of protein, 25g of sugar…and so on. and finally i found the holy grail. hiding among all the high sugars and low protein. Giant store brand cinnamon flavored bagels…22g of protein, 8g of sugar, 57g of carbs…EUREKA! so, if your in search of bagels…that is the one.

today i tried something a little new. I had chest/back today and although i had a great day with lots of gains i decided to try to get an extra burn out of my chest. So after doing 5 sets of incline (that includes warmups) and 4 set of dumbbell presses, i went straight to flyes. i did 2 sets traditional but on my third set i did a "drop set". basically, i started out at the heaviest weight i can do 10 at, then as i felt fatigue, i dropped weight and kept going with no rest. i did this 5 times. my chest was burning so bad. it was great. if you have never tried drop sets i highly recommend them.

its been awhile since i have updated the workout tracker. but i have been focusing on getting past that plateau. tomorrow i have chest and back. i have been stuck on doing chest/back, biceps/triceps for awhile. i love the pump feeling you get. i first started it when i read an article by Arnold. he talked about how he always liked doing opposite muscle groups on the same day. so i thought i would try one day and have been hooked since. now dont get me wrong, i am a strong advocate for changing up your routine when you hit a rut and i do. but when i can i get back to the opposites. chest/back is a very challenging day…it takes a lot to push yourself on that day. but afterward it feels great.

Yesterday was the infamous leg day. i hurt in different places today. pre-exhaust works awesome! So today is a rest day…dont i need it. i have been running 3 miles in the morning and lifting at night. my body is exhausted. but it is a good feeling. so, tonight is sit my butt on the couch and watch TV night.

who doesnt love leg day? ah, nothing like squating all that iron till your head spins. after about the third set you get all dizzy and you start breathing heavy. that’s gonna be today! but i am going to do my change up routine. when i hit a "rut" i like to do a little pre-exhaust. 3×25 leg extensions followed by 4×25 leg presses and then hit the squats. the only pain worse than that is doing quad/hamstring supersets. which by the way is the only time i have ever had to stop and lie down for awhile…lol. so if you ever get into a "rut", try a little pre-exhaust.

you know how when you start working out you have your favorite body part like "i love to do bench press cause i love my chest" or something like that. well, i have found that after awhile your favorites change. for awhile i began to find legs as my favorite part…i spent the last 2 years working them very hard. well, i am finding that now my shoulders are becoming that favorite. last time i did them i began to notice some definition. i started to see a distinctive seperation between my shoulders and my traps. that really motivated me to work even harder. so today is…shoulders. and because it has become my favorite, i know today is going to suck (that is a good thing). This only goes to show you, make sure you work the areas you dont like…eventually you will see change and they will become your favorites.

today i feel a little more tired. i havent lost any strength but i am more tired afterward. not getting the same "pump". so i think it is time to change up. I find that when i get into this kind of slump doing pre-exhaust for a couple of weeks works great. so we will see how i feel tomorrow.

finally back on my "diet". feeling better, more energy. I read a good article in Flex magazine about taking Whey immediately upon waking up…it is workinggreat  for me. My strength and endurance is picking up. I also started running again. 3.5 miles today….whew…and i have legs tonight. How can you not be addicted!

traveling sucks! tomorrow i get back to a regular diet. it is amazing how much nutrition makes a difference. i have been traveling for 2 weeks and i have tried to be disciplined but it is just not the same. i miss my hardboiled eggs and turkey burgers. i have so much more energy and intensity when i can really regulate my diet. my new goal is to put more muscle on and lower my bodyfat. as you all know that is a science in itself. wish me luck