Paddy’s Blog

OK I’m tired of circuit training!! It was killing me! It was hard some days to psych myself up to go through the whole body heavy for 3 sets!!  So … I started working out bodyparts again! And I feel like an animal in my workouts! Wow, to only work arms or chest … Last night I did shoulders and I thought they were going to explode!!

Monday Chest/Back Cable Pushdowns and decline Bench Presses supersetted 5 sets

Tuesday Arms Curls and Reverse Curls supersetted 5 sets, tricep pushdowns and dumbell kickbacks supersetted 5 sets

Thursday Shoulders/Back Dips and Shoulder Raises 5 sets supersetted Behind the Neck dumbell presses 5 sets

Friday (tanight!) Legs Deadlifts and Calf Raises supersetted 5 sets Then 5 sets of what I call King Kong Calf Raises: I freaking put dumbells, anything, on my universal to get the weight up as high as possible and I use power hooks to hold the bar! Then I do them fast and i feel like my calves are going to explode! I gotta get a calve machine. www.newyorkbarbells.com has one for $469 shipped free. Maybe I’ll win the lottery!

All excercises I do heavy weight. Whenever it feels too heavy and I realize my form isn’t good, cause let’s say my energy is down, I simply kick the weight down a bit. I love also doing drop sets where I’ll immediately drop the weight down and get more reps out. But I also love what I call Hercules Sets where I pick up weight I can only do 1 or 2 reps right after I did a set for say 6 or 7 reps with really heavy weight! Hercules!!!!

Diet remains the same. Always clean. I don’t cheat … period … anymore. And for those of you who do have cheat meals that’s great (and fun!) but for me I just don’t need them. I’m a freak in that a cheat meal for me will be a tablespoon of peanut butter when I wasn’t supposed to have it, or eating some black olives!

But my diet is so down pat now, I can do carb depletes for 3 days on end, cut up, and have no side effects whatsoever as far as energy or dizziness or carb craving! But then again I’m the nut who loves cardio!

I miss BioBex!!!!!

Ciao all

paddy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmwXZZmmjB8&eurl  

If tomorrow all the things were gone,
I’d worked for all my life.
And I had to start again,
with just my children and my wife.

I’d thank my lucky stars,
to be livin here today.
‘Cause the flag still stands for freedom,
and they can’t take that away.

And I’m proud to be an American,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.

From the lakes of Minnesota,
to the hills of Tennessee.
Across the plains of Texas,
From sea to shining sea.

From Detroit down to Houston,
and New York to L.A.
Well there’s pride in every American heart,
and its time we stand and say.

That I’m proud to be an American,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.

And I’m proud to be and American,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.

Paddy

Done! I made it through! I was off just a bit: only 390 calories burned. It was hard! Before I started I was dragging my knuckles but I pulled it off. Diet today. 9:30 AM: 3 Egg Omellete with 1 tbsp sharp cheddar cheese, protein drink, 12:30 Protein Bar 2 Carbs Net, 3:30: 6oz steak 3 oz chicken breast, small salad 6:30: 4 oz sirloin steak burger 2 oz chicken breast. At 9 I will have a home made protein mix and at 11 a protein drink. Can’t wait till I take the pictures tomorrow morning and tomorrow night!

Paddy

AM  Woke up this morning and man was I tired. But when I looked in the mirror Cowabunga! There was a visible change from the day before. So now I was pysched. When downstairs to my treadmill and looked at it for 2 minutes! heehee But then I took 1 mouthful of Orange Gatorade and got on! Put on the music and Just did it! I wasn’t as full of energy as yesterday that was for sure so I downed the intensity like 1 hair width! And I did 31 minutes instead of 30: 1 minute warm up, 31 minutes red-line, 3 minutes cool-down. Total calories burned: 402! We’ll see what happens tonight. But now I’m really pysched to see what I look like tomorrow morning! It will drive me through the day. Music was on … Mind-Body connection … Thanks Mr. Zane … The King

Ok, the past 2 weeks, I’ve been doing the same routine as previously. Every day treadmill 1 hour. Monday Tuesday circuit training, diet low carbs. Wednesday only treadmill, diet low carbs. Thursday, chest and arms , diet white carbs (bananas, white bread, white potato). Friday legs, diet whole grains (oatmeal, whole wheat bread). Saturday Sunday normal diet high in protein whole grain carbs, strawberries, etc. treadmill only. My protein intake is appx 6×40 or 240 grams a day. I take Omega 3 pills, eat black olives and Extra Virgin Olive oil for fats. But I also eat whole eggs almost every day. Everything da usual … for me.

Today and tomorrow, I am out to find out what will happen if I increase my cardio 50% in intensity. I am out to prove that fat burning is nothing more than calories in versus calories burned. NOTHING else. Also to prove that my body will not decimate muscle hah! Today and tomorrow I will eat low carb as on a normal Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday, but no supplements at all except protein mix and the omega 3 pills.

7:30 AM Got on the treadmill. 34 minutes total time. 1 minute warmup 0 incline 3 mph. 30 minutes red-line 12% incline 4 mph. 3 minute cool down 0 incline 2 mph.  I got over walls at 5 1/2 minutes and 13 minutes. Then clear sailing. I even ended running at 6 mph for 1 minute. That was a killer! But it was unreal. The treadmill said I burned 410 calories. The most I have ever burned previously was around 550 for 60 minutes!

6 PM Second session the same as above. It was much harder though because I hardly ate any carbs all day. I hit a wall like 5 times. Yet I was still able to end by running for 1 minute at 5 mph.

Music made the difference though … especially with the second run at 6 PM. 5 minute wall overcome by Nysnc Pop: Do you ever wonder why, This music gets you high? It takes you on a ride, Feel it when your body Starts to rock!!! Yeah! Then at 13 minutes Rick Astley Together Forever (I’m a hopeless romantic): If they ever get you down, There’s always something I can dooooo, Because I wouldnt ever wanna see you frown, I’ll always do whats best for you!! (I had about 3 people on my mind!) But the best was Danity Kane’s Damaged: I thought that I should let you know, That my heart is Damaged, Damaged, So Damaged! Wow, at the end of the day, no carbs, 25 minutes red-lining the treadmill, I took off on a run! Talk about the mind body connection!

Lastly, here’s what I ate today: 8 AM: 3 egg omelette, coffee and protein drink with multi-vitamins and Omega 3. 10:30 AM: Protein Drink. 1 PM: 4 oz lean roast beef, 1 ounce sharp cheddar cheese, 1 tablespoon almonds. 4 PM: homemade protein snack (1 tb peanut butter, 1 1/2 scoops protein mix, 3 tb milk). 7 PM: Dinner same as 1PM meal 9:30 PM: Protein drink 1 oz sharp cheddar cheese, 10 black olives.

I’m going to do it one more day tomorrow. I took pictures this morning before I started and will take pictures Monday night after a normal day of eating plus my Monday circuit training. And I will relay what has happened to the fat muscle composition of my body.

Peace all …  Paddy

For an Angel …

Thanks for inspiring me Becky … for making me know happiness again … and for making me realize … I’m ready to fly …

…………….  Ready to Fly by Richard Marx

I’ve been trying to open the door
To the secret of my destiny
And every new road I think is the one

Seems to lead right back to me

I’ve looked for a way to be wiser
A way to be strong
Now I see the answer was hiding
In me all along

And I’m ready to fly
Over the sun
Like a rocket to heaven
And I’m ready to soar
Right through the sky
Never dreamed I’d find SOMEONE to lift me so high
I’ve always had wings
But I wasn’t ready to fly

Restless, hopeless, and misunderstood
Like so many others I know
So busy tryin’ to keep holdin’ on
When I should’ve been letting go

I was given the gift to find it
The spirit inside me
But I never really imagined
All I could be

And I’m ready to fly
Over the sun
Like a rocket to heaven
And I’m ready to soar
Right through the sky
Never dreamed I’d find SOMEONE to lift me so high
I’ve always had wings
But I wasn’t ready to fly

The answer to all of my wonder
Was right in my hands
Now it’s time for me to discover
All that I am

And I’m ready to fly
Over the sun
Like a rocket to heaven
And I’m ready to soar
Right through the sky
Never dreamed I’d find SOMEONE to lift me so high
I’ve always had wings
But I wasn’t ready to fly

I’ve always had wings
Now I’m finally ready to fly

Did a carb deplete Monday through Wednesday and found I really am a genetic freak … or maybe just used to low carbs …

Ate about 20 carbs in 3 days. Super clean; chicken, turkey, eggs, green leafy veggies, protein powder, vitamins, creatine, etc.

Yet w/ only about 5 to 7 grams of carbs a day I worked out like a maniac, circuit training 5 sets … da usual stuff: decline benches, dips, rows, curls, reverse curls, tricep pushdowns, leg lifts crunches; then I did treamill work (almost red-lining) every day for one hour.

Listened to the gg (guitar god) Frampton himself, every day on the treadmill. When done I get off the treadmill and just listen to Celine Dion singing the theme from Titanic …

Working on a new theory thanks to inspiration from Derek Charlebois. Gestalt (sudden awareness) hit me two nights ago and I think I found THE answer to a bodybuilding quest I started 30 years ago reading Mike Mentzer’s stuff … and recently reading Tom Venuto’s stuff on his web site Burn the Fat. I’ll give a hint for anyone out there reading this: think … what do gymnastics, 100 yard dashes and bodybuilding have to do with one another?

best to all …

Paddy

Whoa forgot my post for the Friday workout! Well here it is one day late …

I did circuit training today but I normally do it on Mondays and Tuesdays as those are my carb-less days. But … I did it today cause … I like circuit training!

The weight I do not increase or decrease simply to make it easy. I just start off with a weight that I can do say 10 to 15 reps. I do as many reps as I can for the set even if it goes past twenty: I just increase the weight next time. But generally I don’t count the reps just feel it …

Bench Press 200 Pounds
Dips
Reverse Curls 40 pounds each
Curls 40 pounds each
Triceps Pushbacks 30 pounds
Shoulder Raises 25 pounds
Rows 40 punds each

I’ll note with the reverse curls and curls I use cables. I do these two sets one after the other. I simply turn my hand and flip the handle of the cable. This is an awesome combo. After the reverse curls my biceps go to work. Sometimes I do two sets each. It makes for a great pump!

I normally do 5 sets but tonight I was really motivated so i did one more. Or maybe it was the Gaspari SizeOn I was drinking! Or maybe my inspiration from the night before!!

Workout Time: About 50 minutes … then Treadmill 1 Hour

The Music tonight on the treadmill was (Peter) Frampton Comes Alive Yeah!
Man that’s the best album of all time!
Love comes close
To wrecking all you have to give
God knows
There’s so much to give Yeah Yeah

Gotta make the cardio fun!

What I ate today (carb day):
Meal 1: ½ cup Lowfat Cottage Cheese with 1 teaspoon sugar free jelly and a handful of berries, glass of diet iced tea with 1 scoop of protein mix
Meal 2: 4 ounces chicken cutlet with salsa
Meal 3: 1/2 cup plain yogurt with splenda and 1 protein bar
Meal 4: 4 ounces chicken breast with salsa
Meal 5: 6 oz lean roast beef on a roll
Meal 6: A glass of Protein Mix with Creatine (Post Workout)

Well … have a great weekend all …

paddy

Well, for anyone out there listening (reading!) , here’s what I did today! This routine is pretty standard for me. I got the music going the whole while! Especially on the treadmill! And it’s great that I workout at home cause I get to sing too! Especially Your Song! God that’s the best: How wonderful life is now you’re in the world …

Exercises are listed with reps and weight. I like about 15 reps decreasing down to 5 reps for 5 sets, with the weight going up. 4 combos of 5 sets super-setted. 30 miuntes before I drink Gaspari SuperPump 250 (I’m hooked) then I drink Gaspari SizeOn while I work out (double hooked!).

Decline Bench
14 225
11 250
8 260
7 270
8 270
Dips
14
11
9
8
5

Curls
100 14
120 14
140 8
150 7 150 5

Tricep Pushdowns palms facing body (not floor!)
100 16
120 11
140 8
150 4 150 4

Reverse Curls (Cables)
17 35 each
11 40
8 45
8 45
5 50
Shoulder Flyes (Cables) Really flyes/shrugs
11 35 each
8 40
4 40
8 45 (Here it becomes more of a shrug that why the reps go up)
12 50

Crunches/Pushups
45/25
35/23
30/19  … I stopped here cause it was getting too late and I was running out of locomotion!!

Workout time: about 1 Hour … Then I did treadmill: 1 Hour

What I ate today (carb day):
Meal 1: 1/2 cup Irish oats w/ a banana & 1 scoop protein mix, vitamin pack
Meal 2: vegetable bagel (homemade: don’t eat bagels from a bag!) and 1 egg, protein Bar
Meal 3: 1/2 oat Bagel (homemade) and 1 egg, 1/2 protein bar
Meal 4: 1/2 oat bagel (homemeade) and 1 egg, 1/2 protein bar
Meal 5: salad greens, spinach, slice of yellow pepper, 6 oz chicken breast, 1 small sweet potato
Meal 6: A glass of Protein Mix, 10 Black Olives, 1 oz of cheese

Music (hey nobody laugh! Heeehee I love all kinds of music!)

NySnc It’s Gonna Be Me, Pop
Madonna and Justin - 4 Minutes
Rihanna - Don’t Stop the Music
Ewan McGregor - Your Song
The 300 Fever
Tim McGraw - Amazed by You
Usher - Yeah!
Rick Astley - Together Forever (hey I’m a hopeless romantic; been since I was 3!)
I’m Ready to Fly - Richard Marx

And lastly …

Inspiration supplied by … An Angel …

paddy  : )

He competed in the heart of the muscle building scene in the 60’s and 70’s amongst the giants of our sport: Schwarzenegger, Mentzer, Corney, Ferrigno, Oliva, Columbo (and all the others). Yet I remember reading a story of this bodybuilder when I was young (60’s? early 70’s? anyone remember it?) entitled something like “Why I am retiring from professional bodybuilding.”Famous last words …At only 5′9″!, and under 190 pounds! when competing, he was not a giant, but it didn’t matter. He would become … a giant killer.In a day and age when physique was built by blood sweat and guts, and sheer determination, he showed us what it meant to look and pose like a god. And when he did his famous hands pointing toward the heavens pose at the Olympia, we thought we were looking at Michelangelo’s David come alive.