Nic Brunicardi

Saturday morning I woke up and felt fine and dandy! I watched some TV and ate a delicious breakfast (with some additional calories like always on Saturdays). A couple of hours later, I had a terrible stomach ache. It really felt like my abs were totally cramped up! Later in the day, I went to the mall, and on my way there I felt like I was coming down with something. My neck and all of my muscles were aching - I felt drained of energy and I was convinced the flu had nailed me.

But I dragged my sorry butt to the gym. I was supposed to train legs and biceps and I was NOT looking forward to it! I slapped myself in the face a few times, got a grip and started my workout… And it was an amazing workout! Great pump followed by great DOMS and all the sickness and pain left my body and hasn’t shown its ugly face again

Remember this:

The Iron never lies to you. You can walk outside and listen to all kinds of talk, get told that you’re a god or a total bastard. The Iron will always kick you the real deal. The Iron is the great reference point, the all-knowing perspective giver. Always there like a beacon in the pitch black. I have found the Iron to be my greatest friend. It never freaks out on me, never runs. Friends may come and go. But two hundred pounds is always two hundred pounds.

-Henry Rollins

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dF8F84kxksc

Now go kick some serious a$$ in the gym, people!!!

So last night it was time for the finals at the Iron Man Pro show 2008. Since I’m stuck here in Denmark, I obviously couldn’t see the show live, but I did get to see bits and pieces on the Webcast right here on BB.com (so thank you BB.com   )

My cyberspace mate Eddie Abbew placed 7th in a very tuff line-up. Last year he placed 3rd, so I guess that’s kind of a set-back, but it was some very hard and heavy competition he was up against, amongst others the winner of this years show Phil Heath who has done some already legendary gains during the past year.

BodySpace’s own Debbie Bell also competed last night at the NPC show and placed 5th, which she can be very proud of. So a HUGE congrats to Deb

About a week ago I made some modifications to my diet, adding some more carbs so I wasn’t so bloody tired all the time. That worked very well!

On Monday I started my new training program (DC training), and even though I’ve only had 3 workouts on it so far I already love it.

Contrary to what I expected I have managed to shred off an additional 1.5 lbs during this week, and at the same time my muscles seem fuller which means I must be burning off some body fat. Yay! for ditching the fat Maybe it’s because I’ve upped my cardio to 5-6 time a week. Anyway, I’m just happy that I can eat a little more carbs and still lose fat!

Today it’s eating day! That means I will gorge a whole lot more calories than usual. I do this every Saturday. I know some people don’t like eating days while dieting, but I think they’re wonderful. Not only do they force your metabolism to react but they also keep you motivated. At least that’s what they do for me! I just ate some pizza a little earlier, and already I feel swollen like a blowfish. Sometimes when my eating day is almost done, I’m actually looking forward to starting over on the diet the next day. It’s a great system

Well, just rambling thoughts from a caloric junkie!

Stay fit and healthy, everybody…

Yesterday was my second day on the DC training, and I must say that I’m enjoying it big time so far! It’s kind of weird only doing ONE exercise for ONE working set per muscle group. However, going to complete failure and adding a couple of rest pause sets prove to be sufficient in creating sore muscles and DOMS for a couple of days. And the workouts are intense! I’m sweating like a beast and I feel completely drained after each session.

One thing I really dislike is rude behavior! There’s this big, chubby dude at my gym who has been training there for as long as I have been a member. Now, I don’t walk around talking to everybody I meet in the gym, but I always say "Hi" or at least give them the head nod if it’s someone I recognize - you know, just to make a gesture. Yesterday was the third time I’ve walked by that chubby dude saying "Hi", and he just looks at me and then looks the other way. That really pushes my buttons! Especially because we’ve been talking a couple of times, so it’s not like he doesn’t know who I am. Later during my workout he walks over to me and asks if he can borrow my lifting belt. Unfortunately I’m not Ninja Bill, so I just said "sure". He did remember to thank me though. I just find it so rude when people don’t respond to a greeting - unless there’s some kind of beef going on between the two of course.

Have an awesome day, folks! The sun is shining here and life is great

I’ve tried DC training once before, and I really, really liked it. However, there was one problem and that was sore joints. I simply used too heavy weights and went too low on my reps. This time around I’ll use a smarter approach and not get caught up in the rep/weight game and instead of going for 5-8 reps per straight set I’ll be doing 8-15 reps.

For those who don’t know DC training (DC = DoggCrapp) it’s a program that utilizes very low volume but immense intensity. The system is based on constant progress either in weights being used or the number of reps performed. Unlike many other programs there is no upper or lower limit to the number of reps you have to perform - your training just has to be INTENSE each and every time, going to failure on ONE single working set and then adding a couple of rest pause-sets after that single straight set.

The philosophy behind DC training is based on the belief that if you want muscular hypertrophy to occur, you’ll have to increase the weight and demand on the muscles, forcing them to adapt and grow stronger and bigger.

Later today I will begin my first day on the program, and I’m psyched about it!

I hope you all had a great weekend and are ready to kick some serious butt in the gym!

I changed things up a bit yesterday. Like I wrote in my Blog, I was sick and tired of feeling small and weak because of my diet. So I bumped up my carbs so I got about 200 more kcal than usual. This helped on my mood and energy, so I also changed my workout from being hi volume and pump oriented to being low volume balls to the wall heavy training. These small changes gave me a new kick in the butt to become the best I can be in this great game

Now it’s Friday - and how cool is that?!!

Have a great weekend everybody.

Now, this has absolutely nothing to do with training! However, I decided to share this pointless info with you guys

I have two cats - both cats have the characteristics of a dog! One cat snatches the mail when the mailman pushes the mail thru the door. It grabs the mail and hides it all around the house. Sometimes I find mail hidden in a box or under the bed that has been lying there for days or weeks. The other cat is in love with this little, green rubber ball. The cat wants you to toss the ball thru the living room, so she can run after the ball, wrestle it, take the ball in the mouth and return it to you, so you can throw the ball again.

What to do? What to do?

The past week or two I’ve had some serious mood swings due to my diet. Not that my diet is responsible for it in any way, but more because of the consequences of the diet. I feel so small and weak - I can’t stand it!  But I haven’t cheated. I’ve stayed true to my diet and fought the cravings with all my heart. I have made progress in regards of shredding. I’ve lost about 1.6 inches on my waistline and dropped 13 lbs. of my weight. But I’ve also lost about 0.2 inches on my arms… And when I look at myself in the mirror I neither see a cut dude or a pumped dude. All I see is a bruised ego and the fear of becoming a paperdoll is written all over my face!

I’ve bought a fat caliper, so now I’m gonna track my fat percentage and monitor it while slowly increasing my carb intake. I need more energy so I can hit the gym harder and heavier than I am now. I still want to become leaner, but I don’t want to sacrifice my muscles in the pursuit - I’m a man, not a Spice Girl member for crying out loud!!!