Ponyboy76’s BodyBlog

Hi,
   This is probably a question for the fellas but I usually consume 2 protein shakes a day with another 2 - 3 meals. I’ve been trying to staedily build muscle while burning some fat off, which some people say doesn’t work and some people say does. Anyway, the first protein shake is in the morning and it consists of 2 whole eggs, a little casein and whey. Its about 35gs. The second is right after I workout and has a serving of oats and another mixture of casein and whey for about 50g of protein. My question is as I’m about to buy some more protein should I buy a more mass building protein like True Mass which is alot higher in protein or should I just stick with what I have and just add another shake sometime during the day? I`m 6′9" 242lbs and I know its a littler harder for taller people to put on dense muscle. Any advice would be great.
Thanks

Its funny but I seem to get more inspiration from checking out the profiles of the women on Bodyspace then the guys. And it has nothing to do with the fact that they might be hot or whatever , but the fact that they post more progress photos and you can actually see the changes they have made. Its very inspiring to see a woman who was maybe 170lbs last year and now at the same point this year is 132 and showing off a 6 pack, tight legs and a strong back. I guess personally, I can relate more because I was a fat body where as a lot of the guys on here were never fat and just want to get bigger. I can’t relate to a dude that was 5′9", 150lbs and who now is 195lbs. I mean that is awesome for him but I`m 6′9" and weighed 335lbs , now 244lbs so I guess its the reverse of what they are looking for. I still see dudes like SuperMaine and the rest on the top 6 as role models because they have the type of body most guys want. I just get a clearer view from the women on BodySpace, so thanks Ladies for the continued inspiration.

So, I have been working out pretty consistently over the passed few months and trying to eat right, going through whatever little trials and tribs have come my way. But now I have kind of hit a serious road block. The software company I’ve worked at for the passed 2 years has decided to get rid of my position so I’m being let go. This sucks especially in this harsh economic time we are living in. Ever since I got the news, I haven’t been really dialed in to my workouts and have been eating a whole lot more than usual. I know its probably mental but I`ve actually been hungrier than usual. I am really trying to maintain my focus and its surprisingly not too bad when I`m at the gym. Its just getting up to go that has been causing me problems. I just think to myself sometimes, "why bother?" I know that`s not the right attitude to have but l guess losing my job and soon my apartment has taken a much larger mental toll than I thought. I`m still trying to fight through it all, but its tough.

I have been bulking for the last 5 1/2 weeks and part of me really hates it. It is hard to not do as much cardio and even harder to eat more food. I`ve tried to eat as well as I can although I have slipped quite a few times, i.e. eating carbs late at night. Bulking is especially hard for me being an FFB (Former Fat Boy). My body seems to want me to get fat again, and not doing alot of cardio is putting a strain on my mindset. I was always in the thought of as long as I keep doing all this cardio work, I will not get fat, which is kind fo true but I also wasn’t gaining any muscle. So, I really wasn’t seeing any positive changes, muscle wise. Now that I have been bulking, I have gained a pretty decent amout of size. I have not measured yet but I feel fuller and more solid which is great. I just worry that I have gained a good deal of fat with it. I don`t think I have because looking in the mirror, I haven`t turned into some lard ass. It , though is still a worry. I will be happy, mentally, when the bulking stage is over in 2 more weeks and I can go back to cardio twice a day. I hope all this eating and cardio less workouts were all worth it.

The following may sound a little sexist but that is not my intention. Last night I was at the gym having a great workout. I was more than halfway done when this girl I have seen there a few times walked in. She is really pretty but there are quite a few hot looking women in my gym so I wasn’t really paying her too much attention. That is until she took off the large shirt she had on and laid down to do some ab and stretch work 2 mats away from me. Okay, this is the point where this story might sound sexist. She was wearing this tight bra thing. It wasn’t like a sports bra, at least not one I`ve seen. I mean her chest was just busting out of that thing. They were like two kids trying fight their way out of a small doorway. She was doing a few different workouts but mostly laying on her back, kind of pushing out her chest. A chest that I`m 95% sure was silicone or whatever they make them out of these days. It was really distracting. The gym on Friday night isn`t too crwded but every guy in the area just stopped what they were doing. Hey, I like sexy women and I`m a fan of a great rack, but there are just certain places that it just turns from hot to just looking for attention. Maybe I`m wrong and she doesn`t realize the effect it has on people aroung her, but I doubt it. Maybe I and the other guys should be more mature about it, but it is distracting. Imagine if some dude was benching and she just happened to bend over right in front of the bench. She may cause the dudes death.  Like I said before there are plenty of hot women in my gym, but they aren’t just all out there. I mean there was another attractive well endowed female in the same area, but she had a sorts bra on and was not busting out. I just think that stuff like that is too hot for the gym.

It is hard being your own cheerleader all the time. I do not have the benefit of a workout partner so its just me, myself, and I when I hot foot it to the gym. When it comes to working out and wanting to change my body I have only one person in my cheering section and that is me. My family, namely my sister and mother don’t and can’t really understand why I do it. They say things like , "When are you going to stop losing som much weight." They just don’t get the struggle. Most of the women I have dated don’t really get it either. They just see it as some obssession that has taken over my life. Of course I see it totally different. I have a goal and I am trying to achieve it but it takes effort and time. I just find it hard sometimes, to get the motivation to hit the gym when everyone else is saying "why bother?" or just nothing at all. Then I remember that I am not doing it for them. I am doing it for me. Its just tough sometimes.

I need to build more muscle. I know my goal is to get that long sort after 6 pack, but all these cardio sessions are shrinking my body. I’ve been doing at least 8 to almost 10 cardio sessions for the last 3weeks.  I know I have lost some muscle. Not much thanks to supplementation. Thank you Xtends. But I don’t want to lose any more muscle. I want to gain muscle. Even if its just a little every month. My diet has also been pretty damn good. I keep my carb intake low and protein pretty high with fats at a good level, too. I’m going to try a sort hybrid weight program that is mostly for bulking but I’ll continue to do the cardio sessions. I guess I should add more calories to my diet but I’m afraid if I do that, I’ll be adding the fat back on. Not sure how to go about this. Any suggestions?

It is sometimes hard to maintain focus on your goals while the rest of the world is doing its thing. There are so many distractions that sometimes they can overwhelm you. There are a few things that help me out when I see that I am losing focus on my fitness goals. One of them is simply looking in the mirror seeing where I might be slipping and trying to visualize what I want to look like.  Another thing is actually checking out BodySpace and the profiles of people who have made alot of positive changes with their bodies which have even clearly changed their outlook on their lives. Funny enough I seem to get a little more inspiration from the women because alot of the guys on here started from a different place. There are a few that were fat and lost weight and built muscle which is where I`m coming from but its hard to relate to a guy who used to be skinny and then bulked up gained muscle. Most of the women seem to come from a I used to be fat and now I want to tighten up. The women, not surprisingly are also a little more expressive with how they were and what they want to accomplish.  The third thing I tend to do to keep focus is to just psyche myself into it. I tell myself to get off my ass and hit the gym. At the end of the day no one can do this for you. People can encourage you but in the end you alone are the person who has to live with your body. You are the one that either succumbs to the laziness, lack of desire or pushes through it to do what you want. I am at a point where I can actually see progression. I see that I can gain the body I want, but I can also see myself reverting to the old ways. The trick is making sure that doesn`t happen. So I have to Maintain focus. Its not even an option! 

Thanks to a few BodySpacers like BigNic and their encouraging words I have not given up on my goals. It has been a rough 2 weeks but ironically the thing that is going the best for me right now is my progress at the gym. I weighed myself today and I actually weigh 5 lbs more than my last weigh in but I look better now at 239lbs than I did at 234lbs. Its funny how that works. I think using the Creatine Monohydrate and Micellar Casein has helped me to put on some more muscle which is a good thing. I have also continued with my 2 a day cardio sessions which seem to also be forcing out that pesky bodyfat. I just have to keep on doing what I am doing.

I`m seriously considering giving up my dreams of looking good and having a six-pack. My progress has pretty much stopped to the point of it feels like I am going backwards. I see everyone else here kicking ass and making great gains while I just don`t seem to be getting anywhere. Maybe I should just accept the fact that what I want may not be possible. This sucks, big time!