NewView’s BodyBlog

Well, I’m back from what we call the sandbox.  Happy to be back with wifey and happy to once again start thinkin’ about hittin’ the gym.  Consistent gym time will be slow as there are much more important things that will take the front seat during the next one to two months.  I am still however gettin’ in some light workouts when I get the chance.  Wifey and I worked out TOGETHER for the first time couple days ago   Great friggin’ feelin’. 

Anyways, tha’s me for now.  Progress pics and all that kinda crap will also be on backburner for a bit.

late.

So I put in my first day back in the gym, recovering from the flu.  This shit sucks.  10 min warmup cardio on cross trainer, 4 sets pullups, 2 sets flat bench, 3 sets cable row, 2 sets incline bench, 2 sets bicycle crunch.  No sweating.. but I could literally feel how much energy/power the flu sucked out of me.  Will be at least another week and a half before I’m back to full strength.  I really wanted November to be a hit it hard month… that plan just got bulldozed.  After November, I’m not sure how my gym time is gonna be — but it wont be good… I’m FINALLY gettin’ ready to leave this deployment around that time so I’ll have too much crap to do.

Well.. at least I’m in better shape than I was 3 months ago and I’m gonna have a base to work off of. I’ll keep hittin’ the gym as much as I can until my life changes in December.. then we’ll see what’s up.

Well, Today I added something that is a timeless tradition among those trying to get into shape.  Well, boxers anyways… not that I’m a boxer — not even a dog, but urm.. never mind.  Jump rope.  I’m jump roping now.  Felt good… before and after leg workout and then went for a 2 mile jog.  Not bad at all.  Hope to use this technique to drop a bit of fat over the next month.

So I can’t change my diet right now.  And actually I’m not sure that I really want to.  Currently I’m not doing as much as I could be doin’ in the gym and I obviously haven’t been doin’ it long enough so there’s really no reason for me to haul off and change my diet.  The one diet change I tried, I damn near fainted ’cause my body just wasn’t operating like it should have (this was the low/no carb diet).  I wont be doing that again.  What I WILL be doing however is starting November, I’ll be adding some jump rope and HIIT elements into my workout schedule (as much as I can handle a schedule in my position).

I’m still not happy with the progress I’ve made… I have made progress, but it’s not exactly the kind I’m looking for.  Now that I’ve been in the gym STEADY for quite some time, it’s time to add some kick ’cause I know my body can handle it.  I’m gonna find out if I’m the kinda guy that can get the body he wants and chew gum/eat ice cream at the same time.

Woke up yesterday with a neck pain.. yesterday was my second day off though so I was good.  Woke up today with a slightly less intense neck pain but the rest of me felt good as hell.  Decided I’d do some good in the gym.  First day back after rest days — chest day.  Hit the flat bench barbell press…. neck a little tight.  Hit the incline bench… neck pain, and actually had to stop the workout.  Finished off with my cardio and stretched out.

I’m thinkin’ I made the right decision.  But damned if that doesn’t suck.

Ok, so I’m officially done with the no/low carb.  I originally decided to try it and then little by little I was on autopilot not eating potatoes and rice and all that stuff.  Day by day, feeling stronger, but somehow weaker/fatigued at the same time.  How could this be?  Today I did a workout and damn near felt like I was goin’ to faint.  Gotta be the no carb crap.  My body is just not made for it.  Just ate dinner and literally had to TRY and put carbs on the plate… I hadn’t even noticed how bad I had gotten.  I’m not diggin’ the whole dieting thing anyways.  I’ll "watch" what I eat - but for now.. I’m just gonna work out.  At least I’ll be able to put in the most amount of effort I can.  Keep in mind… I don’t do protein/whey powders and supplements and all that stuff either.

My body’s not changing at all yet.  I can see absolutely no difference, small or otherwise.  But I’ll tell you what.  My strength and endurance gains are impressing me after this short time.  My leg workouts are becoming better for me to handle.  And I hate leg workouts, I NEVER did them and tried to make sure I didn’t have to do many during army PT.  I’m handling the barbell bench press with ease now.  I’m definitely the strongest I’ve been, ever.  When I started postin’ pics and stuff here at bodyspace I could do, fresh, 6 pullups before burnout…. now I’m at 14, stoppin’ because I have more sets (which I’m still not capable of hitting 14 on the second set).  So I’m really satisfied with my strength gains… but I’m thinkin’ during November I’m gonna have to turn up the heat so I can really change my body.

Also, forgot to mention that I’m no longer doing two workouts per day. Couple days ago I was feeling as if my body was actually about to shut down on me (felt as though I was getting a serious illness).  I rested for 3 days, stopped workin’ out twice a day and I think I’m back on track.  Feeling pretty strong right now.

Guess I’ll put more non-progress progress pics up soon.

Today was one’a those damn days.  You know what I mean? One’a those days that just can’t be helped but you feel like you SHOULD be able to help yourself.  My mornin’ workout today was for the back.  NOTHING felt right.  Other than my first set of pullups… NOTHING went right.  I felt weak, out of breath, tired, lazy, etc.  I guess these are the days that make people just say…. screw it - no more weight liftin’ for me….

I’m not there yet.

Trying to find the best workout weight for bench if I’m tryin’ to build lean muscle/cut fat.  Lets say right now I’m hitting, when I’m fresh, 215lbs 10 or 11 times feeling about 90% effort.  On that second set…. it’s about half that — now I know I shouldn’t feel that way.  So now I have a problem of finding my good workout weight.. I don’t wanna be too light or too heavy.  I’d like to hit 3-4 sets.  What you guys think?

Ok, so I’m diggin’ the bodyspace site.  This helps to motivate me even more than normal.  Definitely diggin’ the fact that I can see others hittin’ their goals, put myself out there to the world and prove that I too can hit my goals.  One of the things that is a little odd about the site though is reputation points…. the little green/red bars.  What is the point of those things?  Apparently its a big deal ’cause there are so many people with full green bars out there… but urm… why?  I hit the question mark button next to it and read it….general synopsis is that these people are the ones that say cool stuff in the forums.  Do they win stuff if the green bar gets to a certain level?  Do the guys with red bars get kicked off the site?  Or is it just to make people aware that "buffguygreenbar" says cool stuff and "scrawnyguyredbar" says stupid stuff?