Savage Muscles’s BodyBlog

It ain’t all roses being single. Sometimes it’s down right tough!

I have two pairs of jeans, both about 3 years old. One’s a 34×34, the other’s a 36×34. I’ve been a little heavy so I’ve been sporting the 36×34’s and last week, they started to rip in the seat~! Crisis! Sunday I had a day off and I went to the mall. Confession here: I don’t care about style / fashion & I don’t know how to shop for clothes. So, armed with my credit card, I went to the mall. My two broken in pairs and warglers which date back to my cowboy days. No more horse, no more bull riding, no more wrangles.

I don’t leave the cave that often but this was a necessity. I spent about 20 minutes walking around in Anchor Blue and looking at jeans. It’s all so confusing… slim fit, lose rise, tapered leg, WTF? They’re weren’t many store attendants there and no one bothered to ask if I needed help. You couldn’t look at me and not think I was out of place.

After that failure I walked around inside Hollister Co. They hand some jeans I really wanted to buy, they were called "Bomber Style" but, the biggest pair they had was a a 34, I started looking around the store anbd realized I was out of place here as well. I left the store. The cute goth girl I have a crush on wasn’t working at Dippin’ Dots that day either, damn!

I made my final attempt at Pac-Sun. Some sweetheart there ended up saving my voyage. I was standing by the jeans looking at the wall when she walked by and greeted me with a, "Hello." I real sweet ‘hello’ too, this girl was a real cutie, which made me feel like even more of a fat-ass! She came back in about 5 minutes and noticed I was standing in the exact same place.

 "Can I help you?" She asked.

"I sure hope so," I replied in a humble voice, "I don’t know what the hell I’m looking for." I explained my situation to her and thank god she hooked me up! I left with a new pair of Fat Jeans (36×34, I am heavy but not a 38, thankfully), I would have bought two but they didn’t have the lighter color in the size in, I’ll have to go back in a few weeks. But, by then, I’ll be down 20 pounds and ready for a new pair of skinnet jeans as my 34×34’s are ripping in the seat as well.

What a sweetheart! She noticed I was in dire need of help, found a few pairs for me thr try on, helped me with what looked good and waht didn’t! I think if she’s there I’ll give her a C-Note to say thank you!

I rewarded myself be being open enough to communicate my needs with the sales associate by going to Hot Topic and buying myself a new Superman Shirt, a really nice black one with a red velvet "S" and a Superman beanie.

Alright ladies & Gentlemen, I?m playing with making my thread more visually appealing. I never would have thought that my love for the iron game would lead me to beautifying on-line traing journals, first time for everything I guess, so here goes:

Feb 10: Chest / Back

I will only be posting reps and sets in my blog as long as I’m cutting. When it’s time to grow I’ll post my poundage. If you’d really like to see, all of these workouts can be found in my Workout Tracker through my bodyspace home base page. But, I’m telling you, unless you’re in need of a good laugh, there’s not much to look at there.These workouts should not be considered to be complete. Coming back from a 12 day layoff, I wanted to sort of ease into it these first few days back.

Feb 3: Chest / Back

Abs: with weights
Cardio: 63 minutes total
Bench Fly- 5 x 20
Flat Bench- 3 x 20
Reverse Sit-Ups- 5 x 20
Dead Lifts- 3 x 15
Chins- 3 x 5
Dips- 3 x 12

I had intended to do 3 sets of 20 for the dead lifts, but it just wasn’t happening today. I had also wanted to do 6 sets for each Chins & Dips, but I ran out of time and got bounced from the gym. I know the effectiveness of high rep / low weights training first hand from last year. I think I tried to incorporate the Bench and Dead in today just for the sake of doing them. I’m not sure if it does me any good to use such high reps with these motions. I think I’ll stay away from these until its time to grow. It’s like this, before my lay-off I benched 295 x 4, dead-lifted 385 x 3, and push-pressed 205 x 6. I guess using 175 x 20 on the bench and 185 x 20 in the dead just made me feel like ‘why the hell was I even doing them’?

Feb 4: Legs / Shoulders

Abs: without weights
Cardio: 61 minutes total
Rear Deltoid Dumbbell Laterals- 5 x 20
Seated Dumbbell Presses- 3 x 20
Leg Extensions- 5 x 20
Single Leg Step-Ups- 3 x 20

I was sore as hell from the previous workout, especially in the abs and lower back, no surprise there. I only performed half the sets I normally do for my abs workout. I opted for the seated shoulder press today instead of an over head type of barbell press; I didn’t want to end up like I did about the bench & dead. Oh well, I still have a good memory of my last strong weeks, pre-ear infection. Cut now, grow later.

Feb 5: No Weights

Abs: with weights
Cardio: 33 minutes total

I woke up at 1am and I couldn’t get back to sleep. Went to the gym around 5am and did my abs / cardio workout. I’ll be damned if I didn’t fall asleep about 6 times at work. When I get off I was going to take a nap so I jumped in bed around 4:30pm and got up around 9:00pm. Dilly-dallied around a little, went back to bed around 1:00am. Because I skipped a half an hour of cardio and my weight workout, Saturday I get to play catch-up.

Feb 6: Forearms / Biceps / Triceps

Abs: w/o weights
Cardio: 50 minutes total

Reverse Barbell Curls 5 x 10-12
Wrist Curls 5 x 15
Barbell Curls 5 x 8
Lying Triceps Extensions 5 x 10
Concentration Curls 5 x 8

I’d been having some tightness in my left trap / rhomboid area lately so I visited a chiropractor after work before my workout. In was a humorous session, I was a little big for the doctor and he couldn’t get a pop or crack out of my back, but he did get a few out of my neck and gave me a nice ultra-sound massage with some bio-freeze gel. I have a bottle of some stuff called HPQR - High Performance Quick Recovery - which I use from time to time, it’s sort of the same stuff as bio-freeze but it’s a stock grade, usually used on race horses. It’s nice because it’s guaranteed not to burn hair.

Diet over this period: I have not eaten anything that’s not on my approved intake list, but I haven’t been accurately documenting it, which basically means I need to eat more. I have been maintaining my water quota of 1 gallon / per day

Recomp Contest 2008: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=6983381 

Target: It goes without saying that at this point my midsection needs more attention than any other body part at this point. I know what needs to be done, my AbQuest for Karla was going well and I was making great progress right before I got sick on January 22, 2008.

Diet: These first four weeks I want to get the bloat out, so the crash cut is the way to go.  Training:Day 1: Chest / Back 

Day 2: Legs / Shoulders 

Day 3: Biceps / Triceps / Forearms 

Day 4: Chest / Back 

Day 5: Legs / Calves 

Day 6: Biceps / Triceps / Forearms 

Arms: Lower rep range with heavier poundage 

Calves: At this point I think my calves benefit more from intense stretching and low weight low rep training than anything else 

All other muscles groups: high rep range / lower weights 

*Abs: Six days a week, alternating workouts between weighted day abdominal exercises and weightless day abdominal exercises. 

Cardio: I hate to have to go here, but I have to get back on the treadmill, building up to a daily 30 minute run. In addition to the treadmill, I think 30 minutes a day of fat-burning cardio is called for. 

Stretching: I need to make time to perform my 12 basic stretches every day. 

Supplements: 2 multi-vitamins a day, 3 protein shakes a day. I will consider adding a fat-burner to the mix after my first week, I have to earn it. 

Bottom Line: I take pictures and get measured again on Friday, February 29, 2008. By then I want to be 230lbs @ 14% body fat with a smaller waist and smaller hips. I hope to maintain the rest of my circumference measurements as much as possible, but have an ever thigh measure on February 29. I know I get lose 12.2lbs in 25 days, I may even lose more, the though part is going to be getting to 14% from 18% in this time. I may not make the body fat goal but damned if I won’t try for it!

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=6983381

Self Analysis: Since I last had my body fat and circumference measures taken on December 2 2007, my hips and waist measures have each gained an inch. No Bueno! But, there is some good news. My arms taped even at 16.5 inches (last time my right arm was a half inch bigger then my left) and the difference between my thighs is only half an inch (a decent improvement considering that last time my right was 1.75 inches then my left. I’m not too far off from my goal measures. Looking at my pictures from January 31, 2008, I see that what I need the most before I grow is what I have always needed; a smaller, more defined waist, bigger arms and more definition overall. I am especially noticing a lack of thigh / ham definition in my starting pictures. Circumference Measurements Goals (in inches): Neck 17.5 

Shoulders 52 Chest 50 

Waist 34 Hips 36 Arms 18 Forearms 14 

Thighs 26.5  Calves 18 Body Fat: I am currently sitting at 242.8lbs @ 18.2% body fat: 198.6lbs lean mass / 44.2lbs fat mass. This puts me up .8lbs of Lean Mass and 6lbs of Fat Mass since December 2, 2007. Looking at the pictures and comparing between the tow dates I can see a big difference. I see the extra six pound layer of fat. On October 20, 2007 I was 217lbs @ 14% body fat: 186.6lbs lean mass / 23.5lbs fat mass. I have said in before and I’ll say it again, 217lbs was not enough for me, I feel like I can be a power house at 235lbs @ 10% body fat: 211.5lbs lean mass / 23.5lbs fat mass or at 225lbs @ 8% body fat: 207lbs lean mass / 18lbs fat mass. Body Weight / Body Fat Goals: 

So, I found exactly what I need to get me out of my current rut and back in the saddle; The Re-comp Contest 2008. – Thank you Skipper123 for tipping me on to this contest – The contest is run through the forums on bodybuilding.com. The contest is six months long which makes me very excited it will end up being the saving grace for my physique through my transition off of the border mission, which I’ve been serving on in El Centro, CA since July 19^th of 2006.

I posted my official staring pictures yesterday, January 31, and will have my body fat and circumference measurements taken later on today at the Imperial Weight Loss Clinic. Later tonight or tomorrow, bear in mind it’s 0435, I work Midnight shifts and I’m not sure when I’ll be sleeping today, I’ll be able to sit down, look over my pictures and measurements and put some goals on paper as well as my plan of attack to achieve those goals. I’m thinking along the lines of ‘cut down quick and then grow like hell’ but I don’t want to get ahead of myself.

My overall goal, of course, is to own a physique worthy of Reeves, either Christopher or Steve. – Do you like the name play there? You know who I am talking about. – Because I’m stating on Sunday, the day all my prescriptions for the cold from hell run out, I have about two and a half days to get prepared. February 3^rd – July 26^th equals 25 full weeks. 5 days tacked onto the end brings us to July 31^st, the final day of the six month contest.

I saw the prize list and it blew me away! I’m going to date myself here, but I didn’t recognize a product form the prize list. I feel liken the old men from ‘No Country for Old Men’. I did just turn 25 last week, maybe I’ve having a midlife crisis. Yes, I said “Midlife crisis.” I plan to live to fast, die young and leave a good looking corpse. As it should be, I’m in the contest to play for pride, for love of the iron game.

The purpose of this journal entry is to lay out exactly how I’m going to document my participation in the contest. I have as all or nothing style of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Back home in a closet somewhere I have a stack of old training logs in which I have meticulously documented almost ever workout I have ever done. Enter bodyspace,com into my existence and suddenly I don’t feel like such a weirdo.

Documenting my participation in the Re-composition Contest 2008:

Progress Pictures: Guidelines state those progress pictures are to be posted the last day of the month. My intention is to still upload a progress picture to my bodyspace on a weekly basis – In the style of my 01 JUL 07 ‘disgusting pig monster’ picture – because I’m in the habit of it and it was my 2008 resolution.

Sats: Guidelines also state that stats for the waist measure, chest measure, bench press and leg press should be updated at the same time as the monthly progress picture. I am out of practice on the leg press, it’s been years since I’ve used the leg press sled for its intended purpose because I prefer to perform squats. So, I’m hoping that an exception can be made in my case. As the function in the lifting stats are of bodybuilding.com has a max rep calculator, I will be updating my bench press, squat, dead-lift, barbell curl, barbell row and overhead press records on an ‘as completed’ basis. A caveat in the rules states that stats must be update within four days of the last day of the month. I received a message form Re-Comp Contest 2008 Guru Dr. P letting me know that I need to enter new waist and chest measures ASAP. – Which I will have up by the end of today: February 1 – No mention was made of my two mandatory lifting stats. I will make sure I get numbers up for the bench and squat by the 7^th of Feb, I am hoping I will be forgiven for this because I have been out of the gym since the 22^nd. For the future I will make sure that I schedule my workouts in a manner that will put my bench / squats in the timeline of the 4 days prior to the last day of the month.

Log / Journal: Contest rules state that, at a minimum, the contest journal log, mine can be found at: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?p=123779471#post123779471, should be updated twice a month with short summaries on current progress and projected goals. As every time I get on the scale I jot down a few lines along those lines, this will probably be the easiest aspect of the contest for me to get right. I will attempt to end this journal entry by explaining my approach to documenting workouts, progress / goals and journaling, mostly so I don’t get confused in the future.

Some guys can’t live without their cell phone, some guys can’t live without their personal digital assistant; I can’t function without my diet / exercise log or my hardcore training journal, which I happen to write almost everything in before I post it to bodyspace.com.

As was my practice in December and January I will continue to transcribe my daily workouts from my pencil and paper exercise log to the workout tracker accessible through my bodyspace home base at: http://www.bodyspace.com/savagemuscles. At a minimum I will transcribe weekly from my pen and paper hardcore training journal, again, which I wrote this post in first, to both my bodyblog and my forum tread, that way, I believe I’ll have all my bases covered.

The beauty of having hand-written copies of both my diet / exercise log and my hardcore training journal is that after technology fails, and all the chips digress to sand and are blown away like dust, and the nuclear fallout clears, and cockroaches re all that are left… 100 millennia from now when the former Earth is discovered by extraterrestrials or the protozoa mutate into bipedal thumbed being and replace us they will find, buried in a steel time capsule beneath a pile or barbells, this journal, along with every other journal I complete before the ends of days.

Suddenly, I don’t feel so weird for have a hand written note in a journal entry form late 1997 when I was a 14 year old freshmen working out with the football teams that says, “Today was leg day, I couldn’t get enough plates on the leg press; the gym ran out. Rune Wynn christened me The Ox and Blake Cozair endorsed the nickname.” I’m sorta proud to know that whoever finds it, millennia from now will know that hit the gym, hard at times, for nothing more then the love of the iron game.Ok, obviously I’ve been up to long, Midnights shifts do that to the brain, I’ll post more following today’s body fat and circumference measure.

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?p=124642301#post124642301