MrMontana98’s BodyBlog

     I receive over 40 inquiries a week about how I eat.  Also, a friend recently queried about how it is possible to eat healthy and still enjoy special occasions with friends and family without either totally refusing to participate or becoming overly glutinous and losing control over a carefully managed diet.   In answering her question I realized that I was also describing my diet that I use to keep myself fit not only in body but of spirit as well.  I hope this helps a few people improve their fitness programs and fitness mindset. 
    When it come to eating healthy I almost always relax on the weekends.  Doesn’t mean I will eat fast food…no way.   However, birthday parties, get-togethers, a romantic meal, and a wonderful cheese and bread platter with a great wine…most definitely.  I don’t view this as a negative either or failing by any stretch of the imagination! Having lived this lifestyle for nearly 30 years I can say that it would be impossible to be part of humanity as well as enjoy and learn from the many experiences that makes us who we are without incorporating the pleasurable aspects of life.  In addition, it would be impossible to keep a strong, fit, healthy and ultra lean physique all of the time through a calorie restrictive diet.  Not forever that is for sure.
     I can get cut as the best of them, but overall strength decreases dramatically, immune system crashes, and joint injuries increase.  If I go to the other extreme and bulk up to the max I can out lift just about anyone, but cardio healthy goes down, blood pressure is up, immune system crashes, and joint problems increase.  Hmmm…seems like going to the extreme on either side wasn’t doing me any favors.  So I had to come up with a healthy medium that allowed me to remain strong, but at the same time didn’t let excess body fat get out of hand either. 
     For most of the last decade I have been using a low carb and high carb cycle to keep me in the right groove.  Since I do compete in both bodybuilding and powerlifting I have to vary the carb cyle accordingly.  When I am prepping to compete for a powerlifting completion I boost carb calories significantly on the days I am doing my heavy lifting.  As much as 1,000 calories extra if it is a squat or a deadlift training day.  If I am swinging into full bodybuilding mode for a competition or photo shoot then the carb cycling is handled differently.  Monday through Friday the carbs are low, 50 -75 grams max, but on the weekends I boost it up o 200 – 300 grams or more with healthy carbs. This helps me to keep my sanity and prevents the body from putting the brakes on the fat burning process.  It also keeps the body from wanting to catabolizing your muscles.  As a whole, muscles are the biggest calorie users of your body.  If you are technically starving it makes no sense for your body to maintain such a big calorie drain, and it will do its best to rid itself of those calorie stealing muscles.  However, these are extreme diets to do extreme things.  Neither is how most people could live there entire life, nor do I particular want to live out the rest of my life in such a manner. 
     So, what do I do when I am not in zone?  Monday through Friday I eat healthy with all of my carbs coming from veggies and fruits.   I also try to get all of my proteins from chicken, fish or beef, and healthy fats form flax or fish oils.  On the weekends to include some Friday evenings I live normal and enjoy not only the food but the company of family and friends.  I may not gorge myself, but I am most definitely going to be all inclusive myself.  Not only does this help me to regulate the diet and keep myself from going into starvation mode, but it allows me to keep my sanity and those around me.  If someone takes the time to make something, the biggest reward they ever receive is when others enjoy the results of well planned meal or a special entrée or dessert.   For thousands of years chefs and culinary chemist have labored with a menagerie of spices, meats, grains and sugars to create dishes with flavors that go beyond the taste buds and into several pleasure centers throughout the brain.  I am not about to forego the labor of love from such masters nor my own mother’s handiwork because of the small blip of calories added to what is an overwhelming healthy diet.  The joy of community with a family or friends gathered together, conversations flowing and appreciation for the few hours labored in the kitchen is well worth it.  Not to speak of my own pleasure of enjoying the plethora of wondrous flavors I so rarely imbibe.
     Enjoy yourself, family and friends.  These moments are not cheat days or failings.  They should be part of a well balanced life, which is essential for long term fitness success.  So make a plan, and enjoy a wonderful meal with your family or friends every weekend.  With Thanksgiving coming in a few short days plan accordingly and make a meal fit for a king or queen.  Then enjoy the feast as it should be.  Of course only eat as much as you feel like, no need to gorge because the next weekend arrives soon enough for the next gourmet meal and experience.  Make time to live accordingly, and come Monday morning you will be ready and prepped for your normal healthy diet.   Just as it should be!

I wrote the following to a friend who is trying to recover from her first post competition rebound.   In this case it is a concern about weight gain and self image.   Not everyone experiences this in the same way, and I know some people really struggle to put on weight.  However, often there is more than just a weight change that competitors go through when the competition diet and prep is over.   I hope this proves helpful to anyone who is or has ever struggled with the post competition stressors or had a setback in their fitness progress.   

"Getting Back on the Fitness Track!"
     It is very common to gain what seems like an unimaginable amount of weight after a contest.  Especially if it is after the first one!  You weren’t just dieting to get fit…you dieted to get on stage and get a body that you were proud of.  That kind of diet is not a normal diet that a person can maintain indefinitely.  Anyone who has ever prepped for a contest knows this.  The light headedness, weakness, lack of energy, and the body screaming to you. “EAT!”.  You aren’t just using portion control you are overcoming what is essentially an automatic function of your body.
   When we finish a contest we eat, we relax and most of all we struggle for some semblance of normalcy in our life.  Spending 12-16 weeks fighting what our body and mind desires is a challenge that is fatiguing and very exhausting.  I have done 55 shows up to as many as 8 in one year!    When I first started competing my only goal was to make it to the finish line.  The entire time I was focused on one thing…getting through the season and trying to be the best bodybuilder on stage!  At the end I would relax, eat and feel strength surge back into my muscles, which had at felt as if they were dormant for the last 16 weeks.  My mind climbed out of the carb starved fog, my focus returned to school, work, friends and family.  In this light a competitor begins to realize that what has been a half year endeavor to be a champion as also been a challenge and a burden that others in your life must also bear.   Along with this, other aspects in life are often ignored or at best set on cruise control.      
    To say this was overwhelming would be an understatement, and how I dealt with it or how anyone deals with it can be very different.   It isn’t surprising some people feel as if their hard fought gains seem to be slipping out of their grasp!  That vast majority of competitors have post-contest gain of 10, 20 and even 30 pounds, and most aren’t happy about it either.   However, all of this doesn’t lessen my or your desire to be the best physically we can be!  This is where finding balance in your life is so important.   Anyone who has ever competed is without a doubt an inspiration to others and their experience and knowledge is invaluable!   
     When I made the decision to find a balance it was to get promoted, finish my degree and most certainly improve upon my past athletic and physique accomplishments.  Once I made this decision I had a direction, a focus and a whole bunch of goals I had to prioritize and work.   It wasn’t easy to tackle, but I at least knew what I was going to do.  More importantly I stopped competing to be the best on stage or be the best bodybuilder in a room.  My primary goal was to be better than I was before.  Not the best that day or the best that ever walked the earth…just the best I could be, and if you follow my earlier blogs you will know this is when I truly began to be my best and excel as a competitor.  For those who have had setbacks or the post competitions blues.  I have no doubt that you are stronger now and look better now than you did one, two, or certainly five  years ago!  Do you feel and look the same as you did just one month ago on a competition stage or last summer before you got a little off the fitness track…no!   But 99% of us don’t look stage ready all of the time.   It is an unrealistic expectation, and it isn’t normal.   I repeat, most competitors or fitness models do not look ripped and lean all of the time.  There are of course those who maintain incredibly lean physiques and not only because they are genetically gifted.  They work their butts off to be in top condition, and it is not an easy thing to do!
     All that being said, most people know what is important in their life, and I expect they could easily write the short list of what they want to accomplish!  I don’t like giving orders in this forum.  It isn’t my place to tell anyone what they have to do, but I will say this.  Don’t look at what your physique is today as a fall back or failure of what you have accomplished.   No one, especially ourselves, can take away anything you have accomplished.   Those accomplishments don’t disappear or get erased with time.  They are real and they definitely are a product of your incredible talents, hard work and determination.    Everyone reading this has seen hundreds if not thousands of seemingly ordinary people do extraordinary things.    Making life and fitness changes that are simply amazing.   Your past successes prove you have shown the determination and drive to make changes in your life and others.   You are now at a new starting point…a new adventure.   It is what makes life so wonderful and most definitely worth living. 
     I can’t tell you how many times I have started the new chapter in my life without even realizing it was happening.  Sometimes I will catch a glimpse of the title page turning, but most of the time I will suddenly realize I am on totally unexpected new path and direction in life without a clue on how I got there.      Don’t try to stop a rollercoaster.  This is the ride of your life and you certainly have control over what you want out of it.  Most of us have experienced the joy and rewards of helping others overcome their own challenges, and in doing so their spirit and energy adds to our own drive to be better!  Join in with them and share their enthusiasm for the improvements you are helping them to enjoy.     
     Whatever you decided to do in work, family, school and certainly fitness we all know you will do a fantastic job of it, and everyone of us will be right behind you all of the way.
 

     When it comes to squats and deadlifts perfect form is a reoccurring theme in almost every article, blog or advice column. It is with good reason proper form is reinforced.  Be it powerlifter, bodybuilder or fitness athlete the most free weight anyone will move is during these two exercises.   When done properly they provide nearly complete stimulation to almost every muscle fiber in the body.  Additionally the synergistic effect of the heavy weight boosts natural growth hormones, which not only builds muscle but improves overall health!   That being said the most overlooked key to safe and strong squats and deadlifts has nothing to do with form and everything to do with the air we breathe.
    A common practice among lifters is to breathe out when exerting under the strain of heavy wieght, and normally this is the correct technique for most exercises.  However, it is this very practice that weakens the core and sets up the lifter for a guaranteed injury.   For those waiting for the secret to big squats and deadlifts here it is…never breath out on the upward or downward movement of any squat or deadlift.   
    Why you ask?  Think of it this way.  Take an empty plastic bottle and tighten the cap.  Now crush it or try to.  Go ahead squeeze with all of your might.   In fact you can even run over a small half liter soda or water bottle with a car and it normally won’t break or pop.   Now take the cap off.  Crushes easy doesn’t it?  The same thing happens to you.  Breath out hard and your internal pressure drops to nearly nothing.  All of that stress goes to the only thing left holding you up…the spine and its disk and the supportive muscles in your back.   Crush an open bottle and it crumples.  The stress from being crushed causes a sharp deformation in the first weak spot to go.   The fear that a squat bar will do the same and crush a lifter is one of the primary reasons many people avoid doing the squat!   
     Fear no more and get back under the bar or start pulling it from the ground!   Our bodies act exactly like the closed bottle when it is under stress.  So long as you hold that air, the core stays very strong and stable.  For those physics majors this is a Boyles law being applied to a real world application.  By holding the air in your lungs the internal pressure is distributed equally in all directions, which means throughout your entire core and not just your back.  Now your spine and all those erector muscles aren’t doing all the work.  The whole body is increasing core stability dramatically!    
    Not only does holding your breath take stress off of the spine it also builds your abs.  Now let’s switch to a balloon analogy.    Hold a balloon tightly around the middle with your hands and it can handle several pounds of weight without popping.  Release it and the weight will crush the balloon and it pops.  In the case of squats and deadlifts your abs are just like your hands around a balloon.  They must resist the outward force cause by the internal pressure from the weight you are bearing.  The more weight you support, the higher the internal pressure and resultantly the more your abs must work and get stronger.  All of which depends on your proper control of air under stress. 
     Now let’s put this into practice.  First, don’t take a giant breath.  It should be just enough to keep your core solid.  Too little air and you can’t apply enough pressure to your core and it becomes unstable.  Too much air and you will find it hard to hold the air in, and it will be very uncomfortable to move through the lower portion of the movement if not impossible.    To perform the squat hold your air through the entire down and up portion of the movement.  Take a fresh breath at the top of every rep.  Then repeat the cycle for every single rep.  When doing the deadlift hold the air in when you start the lift until you are upright.  You can take a breath at the top, but before returning the bar hold the air in again.  Once the bar has returned to the floor take in your next breath and repeat the cycle for every rep.   Most deadlift injuries occur during the downward movement as many lifters relax their control or purposely drop the bar.  With breath control being the centerpiece to a safe and effective lift it is absolutely important you control the lifts every single rep! 
     In using strict breath control you will find your rep rate will decrease moderately.  This is a result of having to breath in and out only during certain points of the lift movement.  However this is an added benefit as it will increase your form awareness, and your overall lifting technique will be enhanced synergistically.  Also remember…although breath control is key to the success of these lifts, there are several other aspects that will enhance the squat and deadlift performance and safety.   More to come on those pointers in my next secrets to powerlifting success article!
 
Fear not the bar and get out there and starting using the two most important muscle building lifts available to any trainer.  Just remember that air does a lot more for you than just provide oxygen!

    Quit often my 40+ clients, friends and family tell me they have a goal to lose 10 pounds, fit into an old prom dress, or just bench the same weight they did back in college. I always encourage them in their endeavors, but invariably I discover they haven’t set goals so much as limits. They think the best they can do is lose 10 lbs, they think the best they looked was when the fit into that prom dress, and the most weight they can move was when they were 20. To that I must ineloquently say bull****. When people set limits instead of goals they have already determined the best they can be. We cannot live life by being just content. Complacency sets in and others often follow our examples. However setting a goal to lose 10 pounds on the way to cutting a 100 is the mindset that not only keeps us moving forward, but also provides us with the continued commitment to being the best we can be!

     In school, work, profession, relationships, and even in health and fitness you cannot set limits to what you believe you can do. This is not to be confused with setting goals. Goals are attainable steps forward in the pursuit of being the best you can be. Limits are those boundaries we arbitrarily set because of what we or others presume can or cannot be done. It can be as simple as saying, "I have always been fat…there is no other path for me."   Or far more complex and challenging. Imagine the mental barricades women must have and continue to overcome to break through the “glass” ceilings in business positions, professions traditionally held by men or even a future President of the United States. Too often people genuinely believe perceived limits are what we are humanely capable of doing.

    In our society we generally set an upper limit of around 30 for when the strength and vitality of youth gives way to the responsibilities and challenges of life. People view the elite athletes as the rare human example of what can be done past 30, but you don’t have to be Lance Armstrong, Bret Favre or 41 year old Dara Torres who won three silver medals in the 2008 Olympic Games, becoming the oldest female swimmer ever to compete in the Olympics and the only swimmer to win medals in five Olympic Games. Take that Michael Phelps! Although these athletes are the elite in their fields, the youngest at 37 is Armstrong. How many of us who saw Dara set a 50m freestyle world record of 25.61 seconds in 1984 expected to see her come back in 2008 and win an Olympic silver medal with an even faster time of 24.07! There is no doubt they are proof that 40+ crowd can be stronger and fitter then when they were 20 or Dara’s case 17. In fact it is conceivable the strongest and fittest years for most people exist long past 40. This is especially true for the many Americans who have never invested in their health and fitness.

    Indeed life doesn’t slow down and stop at 40. I encourage you to take stock in your life and reevaluate if you have been setting limits or goals. If you discover you are setting limits then it is time to really see what you can do. I have been asked how I continue to stay motivated to keep fit little alone strive to better. It is simple I set goals without limits. I have a target of deadlifting 700+ pounds by next spring, but I don’t consider it as my upper limit. Rather it is just one step on the way to being the best I can be. In fact dropping the conventional limits of being too “fat”, too “old”, too “small” and or too “busy” opens not only the door to becoming leaner and stronger it will help you become more confident and successful in all aspects of life. Let’s knock down the barricades and start living life to the fullest. Along the way we just might discover there are a lot more people who want to come along for the ride.

I wish you all the best at becoming your best! 

Almost everyone on Body Space understands to be fit you have to live fit. However in the pursuit of excellence it is not uncommon to see a fitness enthusiast not only put their all into reaching their goals, but to invest every last ounce of available resources in the pursuit of physical perfection. It can even become all encompassing to the point it overrides and even crushes other key aspects of life. I am not just talking about money and time or even more importantly family and friends. Almost all of us have experienced, to some degree, the trials and tribulations of trying to get others to understand why we are willing to “sacrifice” and “suffer” to create that fit, strong and toned body! But there are many other sacrifices we make. Sometimes it is in our professional careers, education, and often forgotten is our service to the greater community we live in. To pursue your fitness goals to exclusivity of almost all other aspects of our lives will create morale and physiological stresses, which will eventually bring down not only our hard earned fitness gains but our entire being as well.

First and foremost we as humans are not pure machines designed to look fabulous and be of the highest performance capability. Try to get a job, find that significant other, raise a family or earn a degree solely on those two things and you will be the hottest and strongest but also single and homeless. Of course, just being on Body Space and educating, motivating yourself or inspiring others is already part of building the mental stimulation that broadens us as people. However I encourage you to stretch yourself beyond this realm, use the strength of character you have developed from transforming yourself and conquer the many other challenges of life. If you can control yourself and get focused enough to drop 50 pounds of fat, carve up those abs and pack on 20 pounds or more of muscle you can do anything! The list of challenges and what each of us need to do is so unique I won’t pretend to be able to tell you what to do. But it isn’t hard to imagine what a difference you can make in relationships, in your career, or finally tackling that seemingly elusive Bachelor of Science or Art degree if we invest our get fit determination into all aspects of life.

Something all too often forgotten are those experiences that educate and broaden our perspective. Such as going to the museum, a musical or theater production, watching the stars or just getting out in nature and simply appreciate the world we live in. Spend some time to learn a little history, about another culture or read the news about another country from that country’s own publications. Let your children lead you and truly concentrate on how they perceive things. Don’t try to teach them but learn and discover answers with them. The process rejuvenates our own ability to learn, and you would be surprised how well it helps you to understand and see your adult peers perspective as well. Last but not least give back to and get involved in your community. It is immeasurable the number of people on Body Space who have said; “I wished I had done this when I was younger” or “I wish I had someone who would have shown me the way earlier in life.” High schools and Community Centers are often in search of anyone willing to donate any skill or time to our future. You have gained a tremendous amount of fitness knowledge. Why not pass it on to a younger generation? There are also a myriad of other ways to give back to your community. It could be as simple as helping to clean your neighborhood or helping an elderly neighbor who struggles to get the garbage to the end of the drive. Whatever you chose to do…do it with no expectations. The rewards are often never what you would expect, but they always will come back to you.

Like any lifestyle change it takes some effort to open your horizons, but that isn’t so hard to imagine for those who have made such awesome transformation. It may impact some free time and maybe part of your workout time as well, but we are not automatons designed for training in the gym, eating lean meats, and looking “hot” for the world to see us. This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to be the best we can, and I certainly admire all of the incredible and awesome physiques I see here. Also, there is no doubt that many people have garnered huge successes in all parts of their lives because of the foundation of a fitness lifestyle. Just remember to stop and smell the roses from time to time, and take time to live life rather than just live fitness. If you do find yourself so concentrated on fitness it has become a black hole sucking everything into it. Then take time to readjust, find that balance and open your horizons. Some of the most motivational people I have become acquainted with on Body Space are the most diverse in experiences that go way beyond the fitness world.

Stay the course, target those goals and become the fittest and strongest you can be, and empower yourself to develop and expand your horizons and be the best you can be. I guarantee you will be lifetime fit and lifetime smart all of your life!

     Everyone wants to be fit. If they didn’t Body Space wouldn’t have succeeded, the myriad of diet plans wouldn’t exist, fitness centers would be closing doors, and don’t forget the books. Walk into Barnes and Nobles and scan the store for the countless books on how to get fit, shed the weight, get ripped, build mass, lose 10 sizes, be better and sexier at 40+ and the list is endless. Most people believe they just need to find the one thing…that one secret to motivate them. Then they will have been in the gym yesterday and already be on their way to the new sexy them. Therein lies the problem…no one single thing can motivate anyone to do something new and challenging.

    Sometimes people may find a sexy new outfit or a sleek new suit, head of to the gym and reshape themselves to slide into their new wardrobe; however that isn’t or wouldn’t be the only reason they are fit. Other people will dream of fitting into an outfit or struggle into way-to-tight jeans, and then walk away in remorse because they are just not fit enough and believe they will never be. They want to be fit, but don’t see an outfit or a new pair of jeans as motivators. They don’t realize there is a sexier or more attractive me to be found, imagine how a significant other will respond to the new them, or that a whole plethora of new clothes and styles will be at their disposal. How about just plain feeling better, less days being sick, able to play with the kids, and never underestimate the new found confidence because people (like it or not) just treat fit and healthy people better.

    What most people are searching for is some magical internal willpower switch, which will all of a sudden have them exercising and eating right. I am sorry to say…it doesn’t exist. Even when people find the right motivators, discover what was hidden inside them, and really become the attractive and fit hero or heroine; they must continue to maintain the never ending search for motivation. In bodybuilding, fitness, weight training and all athletic sports no one rides on cruise control basking in the glory of being fit. So if you have been depending on that will power switch to turn on, it is time to start looking outward as well as inward for that motivation that is all around you.

Special thanks to FitSexyCougar’s blog, which inspired me to really think about how challenging it is to find that never ending fountain of motivation.

Check out this link to the latest story on my Militray Desert training here in Southwest Asia: http://www.380aew.afcent.af.mil/news/story.asp?storyID=123163680

I had been in the desert for a couple of weeks and saw a lot of really poor fitness programs on the base here. So I decided to revamp what areas I could and quickly ended up doing what I do enjoy best…giving personal training courses. I do 4 classes each evening with up to 4 people in a class. It is a whole lot more work than I expected. But if you have ever trained anyone, you will know that the return is always bigger than the labor. Their improved condition, boosted confidence and gratitude is worth its weight in gold.

By the way, doing photo shoots while benchpressing 415 lbs is a not as fun as you would think it would be. I should know by now that photographers are dead set on always getting the perfect shot.

In January 2009 my dear friend and WNBF Pro Solandro Eccleston Lee passed on. Read more at this link:
http://www.wnbf.net/news.html?newsId=53

Thanks to Dr.FSC for getting the correct link!

I have received a lot of request on what my training is like.  At the moment I am deployed to the desert, so I am short on time.  But I wanted to drop a quick note about what I am doing right now.  Presently I use lots of heavy quad, double, and single lifts with up to 14 days rest between exercises.  It has been very productive and it has opened up more time for me to add in sprints and some 5k runs, which in turn has helped me lean out a lot.     

In January 2009 my dear friend and WNBF Pro Solandro Eccleston Lee has passed. Read more at this link:
http://www.wnbf.net/news.html