Tommy’s BodyBlog

Great movie. But really depressing.

First, what I understood between the lines of what’s presented in the documentary is that there is no way to achieve anything close to a BB physique without juicing. Sure, you can get a 6pack, and bigger muscles. But you won’t get any close to any pro or amateur BB (and the movie implies that they’re all on juice).Not that it’s a surprise to me. I mean, I never expected to get an Arnold, Coleman or Cutler-like physique. Nevertheless, I feel rather desillusioned, and that the limits of my "natural" body are closer than I thought they was.
Sure, you’ll tell me that there are many "natural" bodybuilders out there with a strong and decent physique. I agree, but to be a natural BB, you need not to never have juiced, you need not to be taking illegal stuff at the moment. Would Arnold be as big as he is today if he hadn’t juiced when he was 16-17? Probably not.

Second, you all probably know this, but the whole steroids debate appears to be a big masquerade. There’s apparently no real evidence on the risks, and there’s no political will to test to scientifically identify these risks. So we’ve got to believe what is unscientifically known: it’s bad for you.
Now, you probably figured, I’m no steroid user. Never tried. Maybe never will. Don’t get me wrong though, I’m totally for it. I’d rather have "steroids for everyone" than "steroids for nobody+a bunch of cheaters-a few caught". But I don’t think it’ll happen anytime soon, especially with our Canadian government trying to stop the sale of all natural supplements in favor of meds with bill C-51.
Indeed, this movie really depressed me. But still, I recommend it to you all (or ya’ll, as my VB friends would say!)

Cheers,

T

I decided to spend the next 4 weeks focusing on my quads and shoulder, while trying a mild cut phase. I’ll add some cardio (20-30 minutes, 5 times a week), and slightly lower my caloric intake.
My new 5-6 day split goes as follow. The 6th day is optional, and will be performed unless I do another activity, such as beach volley ball, football, soccer, cycling, rollerblading, etc. or if I’m exhausted.

Day 1 - Quad heavy / Shoulder light: Deadlift 4×8, Smith Lunges 4×8, Leg Press 4×8, Leg Extension 4×8, Seated military press 4×12, Lat raise 4×12, Front Raise 4×12

Day 2 - Chest / Back: Incline BB press 4×10, DB press 4×10, Cable crossovers 2×10, Lat pulldown 4×10, T-Bar row 4×10, Straight arm pushdown 4×10

Day 3 - Hams / Abs: SLDL 4×10, Single leg curl 4×10, Hugeset Leg raise + Cable crunch + Oblique crunch

Day 4 - Quads light / Triceps: Front squat 4×12, Hack squat 4×12, Leg extensions toes in/out 4×12, Lying BB extension 4×10, Seated DB tricep extension 4×10, Cable pushdown 4×10

Day 5 - Shoulder heavy / Biceps: Seated military press 4×8, Lat raise 4×8, Front raise 4×8, Rear lat raise 4×8, Standing EZ curl 4×10, Incline Alt DB curl 4×10, Preacher BB curl 4×10

Day 6 - Back/Chest light OR rest: Pushups 4×25, Elastic band rows 4×12

Day 7 - Rest

So I’m test-driving this, to see if it’s not too much. I did day 1 yesterday, and it was quite intense. But that’s the point, right?

All comments are welcome.

Cheers,

T

Vacations are doing good, but no so much on the fitness level. I’m still eating clean, but not really training (I get 100 pushups every next day). But the boozing is pretty intense. I know, I know (with a southern accent), it ain’t good for ma’ belly, but hell, I’m far from overweight, and it’s only two weeks a year. Yes, I’m making excuses.
It’s just that I just don’t feel so bad watching the average american dude/gal: overweight, driving an SUV to go around the block, and breading and frying everything (damn, I didn’t think someone could have fried fish 4 days a week, that’s like downing a gallon of oil). What bad could a few Miller Lights do to me? Yes, I’m in denial.
Two days of vacations left now, and I can’t wait to ditch these rubber bands and push some iron. The only thing is, I gotta drive 13 hours to get back home. Then back to work, back to training, back to even more clean eating, and no more booze for a while.

And the cutting cycle. I guess I’m gonna try some very low carb (say, keto) diet. But I gotta plan this right, because carbs are part of my day to day. I would really enjoy a few tricks, if you feel like sharing.