Return to the Iron.

After my workout Thursday, I had my usual protien shake and thought… HEY! I should really clean this effing blender!! Anyone who uses a blender to mix powder, liquid, and fruit will know that after a while, it needs to be taken apart and really scrubbed…

I wont describe the crap at the bottom of this thing under the blades so as to not make anyone sick but…. bleck!! …..bleck? (forget it I’m rolling)

The base of this blender unscrews… revealing the blades, gasket, and threads, of the glass. All which can, and should be cleaned at least once a week depending on use.

One problem… the stupid thing was welded to the bottom!!  It took everything I had to unscrew that thing!!  I think I even may have passed gas!

I cleaned it… put it back together and thought nothing of it until……..

—Yesterday… when I awoke to serious wrist pain… My wrist hasn’t hurt like this since puberty! Today is chest and shoulders… I think I may stay away from pressing today and do some more flies!!

Moral of the story???  let someone else clean your blender!!!   lols 

If I were a terminator I would have the perfect routine, designed for the optimum resistance training, combined with the perfect nutrition, and the best recovery time. I would never lose sleep, and my schedule would be the same everyday.

I am no Terminator… I miss workouts, I lose sleep, My work has extreme hours that change on the drop of a hat.

Still… I move along. I get in my training even if its a crappy session. I think a crappy workout is better than returning to the couch, although a beer and a remote calls to me at times…

Take yesterday… I am selling my truck, so I have been immersed in the sale. Title searches… bank routing numbers.. and options for a 2006 Blazer SS have been claiming my mind. Once the truck was sold I recorded the mileage and parked it. This means we have no extra vehicle in the household…  Of course that’s when my sons truck breaks down…  To say the least its been chaos around here!

I still got my workout in yesterday, and while it wasn’t the best workout I ever had, I still felt some sense of achievement.

I know that this is the kind of dedication I will need to come close to my goals. Looking back at my many failures, I think I am finally on the right track…  

"Come with me if you want to live!" 

Here I am again, I know this music…. wash, rinse, repeat… It takes forever to build the muscle, and even longer to burn the fat.

Last week I decided I was going to start jogging a little at a time in the am, before I leave for work… I made it half way around the block and had to walk the rest of the way… Am I that out of shape?? Thank goodness its 1 am and none of my neighbors are awake to laugh at my patheticness!! (if that’s a word even) This morning, I did better and almost made it all the way.

Since I got a good arm workout in today, I decided to measure my arms pumped. 17 1/2" average. Okay…. I know I know, but it still makes me feel good. My weight has been varying stubbornly between 188 and 190lbs but my waist is starting to shrink a bit..

I want one more hole in my belt dammit!!

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I can’t believe how good it feels to be training again. I didn’t realize how important it is for me mentally.. to be lifting. Don’t worry Dorian Yates is safe from me posing him off the stage.

I’m saying setting a goal, and working towards it, is just something I’ve missed. I feel like all is right with my little world, so long as I dedicate my hour in the garage to building muscle.

As my day unfolds, and crap happens (usually on the Cross Bronx Expressway) I find myself preparing mentally for the nights workout. Then something great happens…. no matter how beat I am from the days disaster, I still manage to get under some iron. This effects me tremendously in so many other areas of my life. I just seem to feel a lot more positive about everything.

For example "I hope I can pay off my bike soon" turns into, "I can’t wait until I pay off my bike."

"I hope my wife is in a good mood tonight." turns into, "I can’t wait to put her in a good mood tonight"

"I hope I have time to lift tonight." turns into, "After lifting tonight I will put my wife in a good mood." Ok, maybe I am a bit obsessed with my wife these days, but its been a while and a man has needs!!

Till next time you can find me on the Cross Bronx, planning my workouts. I’ll be the big dopey looking guy in a white Kenworth with a stupid grin on his face.

Gradually I am returning to the grind. It’s not easy man. My body is perfectly happy to remain at rest, growing ever more lethargic and lazy. Not to mention fat as a mutha. Just me, the remote.. a beer, and my gut to place it on.

Yeah… SCREW that noise! Today I took some measurements just to create a baseline from which to reference that way I know where my weaknesses will be. I will remeasure bimonthly to gauge progress. I still have the goal of benching at least 300 lbs before I die. And since I am not dead yet…   

In the weeks ahead, I just want to concentrate on getting back on the wagon. Not to pat myself too much, but I am mentally on track at least. My body has been hating me with all the old new training I have been subjecting myself to. I have started a training journal as well and I will be working out with it trying to record my progress while my hands are shaking all over the place from just doing whatever set!! 

Check out my state of the art Training facility!

Hmmm… I think I’ll call it the house of pain!!

Welp… 14 hour days took their toll, and I quit going to the gym. Not long after that, I stopped lifting altogether. My Diet of beer and pizza hasn’t helped any, and now more than a year later, I can say with all honesty I am embarassed to take my shirt off. It was painful to see more and more muscle loss as my gut expanded into beer keg proportions… (well not that bad) but I put on at least 4 inches of blubber in the waist area, and most of my muscle has shrunk and gone smooth. 

I can come up with a ton of excuses. We all know it’s bull cause there are no excuses. You either train or you don’t. It’s a way of life commitment give, or take the ocassional beer, or poptart weakness.

I just can’t go out this way. I am 43 now. That doesn’t mean I am dead. I know I’ll never be a pro bodybuilder but damn… this beer gut I have here is failure. Lets face it.. I not only fell off the wagon… but got run over by the next five in the caravan.

I gots no one to blame but myself here, and athough I have taken several giant steps backwards, I look forward to making progress once again.

Welp Its been almost a week since my last workout. Yes I am distracted… the job is killing me with 14-16 hour days….. My wife decided she no longer wants to work, killing half our income… yada yada…whine…. whine….. I have been doing this long enough to know there are no excuses. In fact, rather than whine about it… I am going to do something about it.

First, I am going to kill my wife…. (Just kidding) lols Even if I cant get to the gym, I have a set of emergency hexagons here at home and there’s always time for crunches. For some reason with me, when I start missing workouts, my diet goes right out the window. THERE IS NO excuse for that! I am grounding myself for that POP TART fetish I had yesterday…

I already know I’ll not make it to the gym tonight. I just hope I don’t have to layover in New York… that always sux on a Friday night. So long as I can get home, I will at least hit the hexagons tonight and be up early on Saturday to hit the gym. In fact, as soon as I close this window, I am going to do crunches till I pass gas! It’s amazing really how a few missed workouts can eff up my whole outlook on life. I wanna kill something dammit!!

Dispatch the Haz-Mat authority… those Pop Tarts are brutal!

I thought I was in some kinda good shape. Now after walking the Swap meet from 7AM till 2PM, I have my doubts. My ass, and ham hocks are effing sore! When I walk, it looks like "Bubba" had his way with me.

On the bright side I got lots of cool stuff! Although I spent alot of cash, I had a great time. Maybe spending extra on a hobby is just what the doctor ordered.

As much fun as I have been having, I let myself miss a few workouts. This is something I will remedy today. Missing workouts can all too easily become a habit with me. Once I get distracted … or something shiny takes my mind, it’s all over for me, and I am back to beer gut syndrome. lol

I love it! Every Spring, Raceway Park (local dragstrip) sponsors an antique, and high performance auto swap meet! Everything you could possibly want, or need in the world of hot rodding and auto restoration is there and it takes me most of the day to walk the whole thing.

It starts this Friday, and lasts all weekend.. maybe I’ll find my door panels and or a headliner for me hotrod. There is always something there I can use… the only problem is getting it to my truck in the parking lot. Oh welp I’ll have to flex my huge muscles and act like a gorrilla to carry it all back! lol

I was virtually the only guy in the gym tonight and I owned the weight. I think it may have feared me a bit (or not) Of course I was in there a few hours earlier than usual and just maybe had a bit more energy.

Oh man…I frikken love the warm weather "bring it on baby!"

Ah yes the birds are chirping… the weather is getting warmer, the seat covers in the left lane have finally started to show some leg, and I am working on my "Teamster Tan" 

It’s true, Spring has finally arrived in the tri state area. So why am I so depressed? Who da frakk knows! Maybe I am going through the changes, Maybe all I have to look forward to are hot flashes and saggy boobs. Whats my malfunction? I mean life is good! I am 41 and still wake up with wood! I should be frikken happy as hell all the time! Right? RIGHT!

I think I am just an idiot. It all works out in the gym. Something bums me out, that’s usually where I get my head right. Tonight is my arm workout so thats a good reason to live… and something to look forward to. 

Now I just gotta figure out what to do with my fifty million Craftsman screwdrivers…