Skippy71’s BodyBlog

Normally I use blogs to talk about what I’m doing now or plan on doing soon in the way of my continuously developing training plan.  For example, the fact that we are only a month away from ringing in 2008 and how I’m hoping to add being a newly non-smoker to my efforts in self-improvement come January 1st.  But, I think tonight we’ll take a pass on all that and take a slightly different track.

I’ve been doing my usual rounds of various pages, leaving comments, updating my own stats and in the process came across a couple of items in the blogs of friends that got me thinking about a few things.

One of these blogs suggested that BodySpace may not necessarily be just about sharing training plans, diet tips and progress encouragement.  There seems to be this notion that for some people around the place, the displaying of pictures in various states of almost-dressed and the swapping of complimentary comments may have more than a little do with mere exhibitionism or drawing the eye of members of the opposite sex (or same sex, as the case may be).

Along similar lines, the other blog looked a little at the apparent double-standard where if you are young and lithe, you can be covered by little more than dental floss and postage stamps and be revered, where as if you are in the group of 30-35 years + (raises hand - guilty as charged) and do not remain somewhat modest, you are regarded as an ‘old perv’ regardless of whether you are male or female.

I have to say, I found both blogs fascinating, extremely well-written and most of all, quite valid in their opinions.  I have seen instances in my few months here which definitely backs up the sorts of issues both of these friends of mine were trying to address.  As for my opinion on these issues….

Regardless of what some individuals chose to do with their page here, I believe that the purpose of BodySpace is to meet and share with others who are fitness minded.  To share in the accomplishments of those for whom fitness is a profession and to encourage those who are just starting to find their way, or are taking on a new leaf (as is my case) in the area of becoming as healthy as we can.  Granted, I’m not blind.  There are a lot of stunning beautiful women on this site, but I am just as drawn to the male physiques I’ve seen if for no other reason than to look at them and go "Damn…I want that guys abs" or "Hmmm….wonder what I should be doing to get biceps like his"

Let’s face it. What’s the point in working so hard, in spending hours pedalling or pushing plates, in watching every calorie if you don’t put yourself out there to be seen.  You work hard, you get results, you become proud of what you’ve accomplished and you want others to see it, to acknowledge it and maybe to serve as inspiration to others who seek similar results.  It’s just a shame that there do seem to be some people though who take it a bit far and maybe only join this site to oggle and flirt, but then there has to be a downside to everything I suppose.

As for the ‘old perv’ thing…I think it takes a lot of courage to put yourself out there and leave yourself open to criticism about how you look.  I don’t think it matters if you are 25 or 55.  We all want to be proud of what we are accomplishing here and I don’t think its vanity to want to be seen as attractive by others and congratulated for your efforts.  If we didn’t want that feedback, then why are any of us on here instead of just keeping what we are doing to ourselves for ourselves.  The sharing and support is what this place is about, in my opinion.

If you feel proud enough of what you have accomplished and are willing to display a pic of yourself in just a towel covering the vital bits so others can see what you’ve done, does it really matter how old you are?  I am 36 and I have got horrible skin, dreadful acne scars but I’ve been putting shirtless pics of myself up there for all to see.  Am I really that hideous that by doing so I’m leaving myself open to be put down for my hard work.  Maybe.  Do I care?  Not really, no.

So, if any of you wanna see me in a pic of just a strategically placed towel, feel free to let me know.  I for one am proud of the work I’ve done in the last 4 months and can’t wait to see how much better I’m gonna look 5 months from now when I turn 37.

Took a couple of days off and my shoulder’s feeling quite a bit better for it - thankfully.

Decided to change my workout and put a little less focus on my size and a little more on my tone.  I wanna see some ripples dammit .

Seriously though, I’ve been very happy with my progress and the size I’ve added so far to my back, chest and arms.  But, I’m still not seeing a whole lot of definition in my abs or legs so I’m going to start putting more focus on toning.  I’ll still keep working on bulk in my larger muscle groups, but I’m gonna start splitting my workouts with a bulk series first then a bit of cardio to get my heartrate going and then amp up my reps and start finessing the details some.

Let’s see how much this change accomplishes between now and the New Year, shall we.

Well.  Momentum’s still going.  Took Tuesday off so I could do some running around and then went right back at it the last 2.  Wednesday’s workout was a cutting day with higher reps and lower weight for most of my key exercises.  Today, I went back to my usual regime but cut the cardio down a little in time, but jacked it up in intensity.

Think I may have over-strained my shoulders a little today on my Lat Raises and had a lot of trouble as a result later on in the session on my military press.  Looks like I might be hitting a plateaux like I did a month ago on my biceps so whether my next workout is tomorrow, or the day after, looks like I’ll be cutting back a bit on the weight in order to avoid any kind of injury.

Canada had their Thanksgiving last month about the 2nd week of October so I just wanted to wish my US friends a safe and kick-but holiday weekend.  Things have gotten a bit slick on the roads up here with the snow we’ve had in Winnipeg this week so emphasis on a SAFE weekend.

*hugs* to all.  Catchya’s soon

Well…I hit another goal today and one I’m extremely happy with. 

For the first time I lifted my own body weight on the humble chest press and then did the same with the upright row.  Today’s weigh put me at 199.5 lbs and I pressed and rowed 200 for 30 reps on each exercise.

Not sure what to set as my next goal, but I just figured I’d make a note of this particular landmark for myself and anyone else who may be curious. 

Have a good weekend everyone

Well today I’m feelin pretty bloody good about how things are going.  I’m into week 14 now and just a few days off  - at my current pattern of progression - of pressing my own weight.  I can feel the strain some in my wrists and shoulders, but I took some new progress shots today and I have to say the mild discomfort I’m feeling in my joints is worth it.  I’m definitely seeing some results.

I’m not quite in the shape I was in my early 20s, but I’d have to say based on how I look and how I feel that I’m getting close.  The love handles are almost gone and I’m definitely starting to see a start to some definition in my midsection.  I don’t exactly have that nice tell tale line of vein down the center of my biceps yet, but I don’t think that’s too far off.  Maybe by Christmas.

I’ve always been something of a fuzzy little guy - had a full beard and moustache when I was 15 years old.  Not exactly a werewolf, but my chest and belly have had a nice light pelt for as long as I can recal.  So, to help show off my hard work, I did something I never thought I’d do.  I got waxed, chest belly and under my arms.  Seems to me this is a common practice among those men out there who are competitive in the field. 

Granted, I’m undergoing my transformation not for the purposes of competeting or modelling but for the sake of my own health, but now that I’ve done the paste and rip, I can definitely understand the appeal from an aesthetic point of view.  I’d originally shaved my head as a part of a charity headshave event for Children’s Cancer when I was living in Australia and liked the look so much I’ve kept it.  I can easily see regular body waxing becoming the next stage in my continuing efforts to look the best I can possibly look.

Feel free to let me know what you all think.  I’d love to hear your opinions.