2008 Transformation Contest

So today was my first official day using SuperPump……..ok so I tested it yesterday right when I got it, and did a Dumbell routine at home…plus I had some PlasmaJet.

Anyways so this morning is back day, of course followed with cardio.

First things I noticed, energy is there, even though all I had this morning was about 4oz of chicken, and the superpump befor hitting the gym. My drive to succeed is way up, is this the focus everyone talks about with NO products..I’m working out starting with only 1 scoop. I’m about 30 minutes into my routine and just about wrapping up back day….and I suddenly realize, while I have done about 4 exercises, aside from my pumped up back…I have this aching desire that I havent even worked out. Its the weirdest feeling I have ever had. I mean come on its 6:00am, I am usually sleeping right now how is it that after 30+ minutes of back work, I feel as though I havent done anything. I pushed it hard, and can feel some burn..but I feel like I could go on for another hour, so to tide me over I did one more back exercise..then hit cardio.

I have to say I dont think this would have been possible without………..Superpump.

Thats right burn baby burn!  I previously posted my experience with a man in uniform, now I want to tell you about my experience with one of the gifts he brought me-Cytolean.  Now you may not know this but I dont use a lot of sups because quite frankly, most fat burners dont seem to do squat for me.  I think growing up with asthma and lots of albuterol has my system jacked.  To get back to the story.  I took my first two cytoleans this morning at 4am and wow.  By the time I started my cardio, I could feel that my body was all revved up.  That right the heat was on.  Cardio was fabulous.  

Before cardio, I usually stop by and check out some posts here at bb.com.  This morning I received a wake up call from my "Mickey".  That’s right Ninjabill sent me the Eye of the Tiger Rocky video.  Got me all pumped up and ready to rumble.  That treadmill had it coming.  We were going to play rough now.  GRRR.  Thanks Mickey.  I know you got my back.

Here is todays plan.

4:00  2 cytoleans with 12 oz water

5:00 Cardio 52 minutes of cruising treadmill fun.  Oh let me get all hot and sweaty.  Went 2.83 miles and burned 366 calories

6:15  Meal 1: 1 cup Kashi cereal with 1/2 cup milk and 1/2 cup strawberries.  Animal pak and flex

9:00  Meal 2  Intrapro protein with a small banana.  Cant wait to taste the Intrapro.  I got in three fabulous flavors.  MMMM…. Gaspari is so good to us.

11:20  Cytolean - 2 capsules

12:00  Meal 3: 4 turkey meatballs with 1/2 cup marinara sauce and 2 TBSP Parmesan, 2 cups steamed vegs, and 1 scoop shredded mass creatine

2:30  Meal 4  Instapro protein and superpump 250 (1 scoop each)

3:30  Weight Training - Legs, Calves, and abs
squats  15,12,10, 8
lunges 12,10,10
leg extensions 15, 12. 10  Last two sets are drop sets
deadlifts 12,10,10
Leg curls 12,10  partial reps
calf raises 15,15,15
Decline weighted crunch 10,10
Straight leg crunch 15,15
Hanging oblique knee raises 12,12

5:30  Meal 5: 3oz sirloin, 2 cups grilled bell pepper and zucchini

Gonna be a great day.  Started off good.  
Oh and heres to Day 3 of no diet mt dew.  Woohoo. I so got this.  Team c.w. all the way.  Catch us if you can.

Especially when he is bringing me a large box full of goodies.  Who dont love presents?  Thats right I almost pounced on the UPS driver.  GRRRR… The animal was coming out.  I told him I was waiting for him all day and he had something that I wanted and was looking forward too.  He gave it to me with a smile and said enjoy.  Boy, I hope my normal UPS driver dosent get jealous.   LOL   I couldnt wait to open my box.  Gaspari products.  Oh, I was in heaven.   There was so much hope and excitement in that brown corregated box address to me.  Yes, I made sure all in the house realized that these were my goodies and I wasnt sharing.   Then I flaunted my new dragon slayer t-shirt and my autographed photo of Rich.  Yes, he even wrote a little message of encouragement to me.  I brought it to work today so I could post it in my office.  Motivation Baby.  Its almost time for cardio.  Enjoy the day and stay motivated.  I will post more on my return from the gym.  Thanks Gaspari! You made my night and now your going to make my day.

This was my first go at the new workout and I under-estimated the rigor of it.  I mean no weights, fairly low reps.  I knew the squats were going to kick my butt and I would do counter push-ups, but by the end of the leg swings I was crying for mommy.  

It is one thing to have a ‘manly’ workout kick your butt, but this was humiliating.   I did not complete the set but know that I will have a full circuit Friday.  Originally I actually asked Coach if I could do more cardio or something because this seems  Coach replied that, done with the proper intensity and form, that this circuit would test my mettle and I should not feel like doing more.  He was right.

I remember a coach back in high school bringing in one of the 1980’s aerobic workout tapes and all of the guys laughing their asses off.  That laughter turned into whining  shortly after the session began.  This was exactly the way I felt about this workout.  

Thanks Coach….I think I hate you.

Well I am slow out the gate with my workouts, but I am right on the money with my diet and feeling good about it.

The funny thing is, I am on day two of this transformation thingie, and I only got 10 minutes of cardio in this morning.  10 minutes???  I never do just 10 minutes.  I AM THE CARDIO QUEEN!  This is cardio blasphemy here.

I decided rather than steal Christmas money out of the kids’ stockings to renew my gym 2 pass, I am going to hold onto my integrity and wait until the hubbie gets home to  steal from him instead.  IS THIS NOT WHAT HUSBANDS ARE FOR?

I am feeling really healthy right now, and considering looking up the calorie count for garlic. I find myself munching on it like candy.  As long as I have options for sweet, spicy, salty and bitter, my mouth is content and satisfied.

Tomorrow’s challenge?  Getting up early enough to get to the gym before work.  It’s not in my nature to rise before 7.

So, if you read my blog yesterday about leg day, you’ll know that it was just ‘grueling’ beyond all belief. However, when I got home I was expected to still be able to play and wrestle around with the nieces and nephew as normal. My nephew Domanic watches WWE wrestling all the time so likes to use me as a jungle gym. He got the great idea, AFTER a leg workout, to have me use him as weight and do squats, the result was fun and humorous:

SCT

So, I knew before going to bed last night that today would be an overall ‘difficult day’ since we had all my two nieces and nephew last night overnight while their mother was still in the hospital. I had to wake up early, 6:30am, to take the wife to work, with the baby in tow, and then came back home to crawl into bed until 9:00am. I was just exhausted my leg workout yesterday and dealing with kids.

After I awoke a second time this morning I took the girls to daycare and Domanic and I did some Christmas shopping for my Wife’s secret santa gift exchange for work. Target was hectic, but not as bad as before Christmas obviously. We got in and out, and then headed home for some lunch.

After we ate we cleaned up a bit from the whirldwind that was his two sisters and then I took my supplements. I found out that I won’t be getting my Gaspari package until Jan 3rd, so that just means I’ll have a good ‘week 1′ in the books and then Week 2 and on will be with Gaspari at the helm for supplementation.

Domanic stayed in the kid’s gym while I worked out, with the deal that we’d swim after I worked out. So after I dropped him off there I hit up the gym for some weights. Today had been slated as a shoulders day, but my triceps demanded some work and they got what they wanted.

View my Workout Tracker on my personal bodyspace for an easy to read breakdown:
Click Here!

Weights:
EZ-Bar Curl - 35×15, 45×15, 55×15, 65×15 (rest pause on last set)
- Really focus on the mind/muscle connection of these. The ramped up sets allows me to really kill the biceps right off the bat, and since they are my weakest bodypart I enjoy this.

Preacher Curl - 55×15, 70×15
- Focus on slow negative motion here.

Skullcrushers- 65×15, 75×155
-Quite possibly my favorite exercise for one of my favorite bodyparts. I set a personal PR for both reps and weight on this one today.

Dips - Assisted - 120×15, 150×15
- These were assisted, the amount of weight listed is the amount of resistance.

Cable Hammer Curls - Rope Attachment - 60×15, 70×15
- Focus on getting solid squeeze at top of motion, biceps were dead at this point.

Machine Overhead Tricep Extension - 85×15, 105×15
- I use a machine for this exercise to allow me to finish heavy.

After this my triceps felt like they were carved in stone, I wish I had a short sleeve shirt on to do some vanity checking, but alas a long sleeve shirt is more practical in the cold gym. I immediately went and did my abs and calves, because I was so wiped I had to do them right away or miss them.

Abs -
Weighted Crunches - 40×15, 50×15
Obliques - 50×15 on each side
Hanging Leg Raises - BWx20

Calves-
Standing Calf Raises - 120×25
Seated Calf Raises - 70×25, 115×25 (the 70 burned more than the 115)
Donkey Calf Raises - 100xFailure (approx 57)

I then hit up cardio, because I ain’t no quitter.

Cardio:
30 minutes Incline Treadmill, sweating like a pig in a bacon factory

After I did cardio I went and got Domanic and we went swimming in the pool for about 35 minutes, we did some laps and just general goofing around, including his ‘water workout’ which is pretty much pool pullups into tricep extensions and then diving to the bottom and touching with both hands. It is just goofy, but fun.

After we swam I stretched out and we shared a meal in Simon’s Cafe in the gym. If you ever make it out to South Dakota make sure to check out Simons inside of Sanford Wellness, the place can make something to ANYONE’s nutrition plan. Since around 40 minutes had passed since I quit ‘working out’ I had a 3 egg bake with some freshly shredded parmesan and cheddar cheeses and turkey bacon. Oh god, heaven. Domanic ate my bread, watermelon, and homemade chips.

A great day, a great workout, personal records shattered, and it’s just Day 2 my friends!

SCT

p.s. I’m also going to be posting a ‘funny’ video later today that my nephew helped me make. Not a ‘workout’ video, just something cute.

Just got my Gaspari items in…whoo hoo Just way guys, you’ll be suprised…my counter is overflowing with Gaspari Goodness.

Didnt get the Cytolean with this shipment…but uh yeah………….

Today’s discussion is going to be on what one NEEDS versus what one WANTS.  Do you know the difference between the two?

I WANT Kim Oddo as my nutritionist.

I NEED to learn and research nutrition myself.

I WANT some fierce hulky powerlifter to TRAIN ME.

I NEED to find the fierce hulky powerlifter WITHIN ME to train myself.

I WANT the body of my imagination to come easy.

I NEED to suck it up; accepting building a strong and healthy body for the hard work that it is.

A person could spend a FORTUNE in pursuit of one’s fitness goals.

I am here to tell you that all you need is the internet, a gym pass, (or a home gym), and a will of iron.  

Iron attracts iron.

Everything you need to know about training and nutrition is right here on Bodybuilding.com.

The rest is optional.

One of my favorite reminders in this one. Are you going to be a winner or a loser? It’s your choice.

Winners vs Losers
When a winner makes a mistake, he says, "I was wrong."
When a loser makes a mistake, he says, "It wasn’t my fault."

A winner works harder than a loser and has more time;
A loser loser is always ‘too busy’ to o what is necessary.

A winner goes through a problem’
A loser goes around it, and never gets past it.

A winner makes commitments’
A loser makes promises.

A winner says, "I’m good, but not as good as I ought to be."
A losers says, "I’m not as bad as a lot of other people."

A winner listens;
A loser just waits until it’s his turn to talk.

A winner respects those who are superior to him and tries to learn something from them;
A loser resents those who are superior to him and tries to find chinks in their armor.

A winner feels responsible for more than his job;
A loser says, "I only work here."

A winner says, "There ought to be a better way to do it."
A loser says, "That’s the way it’s always been done here."

This is my workout plan for the next 4 weeks.  it will be performed every other day with swimming taking place on the off days.   Due to my weight I will be wrapping my knees and might even use some heat prior to the workout.  You can’t get fit if you are injured.

My morning started off bright and early (4am).  ACDC rocked my long steady cardio session.  Cant beat Back and Black or Shook Me All Night Long for eye openers.  Cardio was 55 minutes today.  Tried to keep my heart rate in the 65% zone.  It was hard because I am used to running.  This was more like a walk.  The music kept me going though.  Overall a good session.

Here is todays plan:
4:30 D4 (gaspari products havent arrived yet), Animal Pak and Flex with 12ozs of water

5:00 Cardio long steady treadmill  burned 360 calories and went 2.87miles

6:15  meal 1: 1 cup oatmeal with 1/2 cup strawberries, 1 scoop protein

9:00  Meal 2 Protein shake with 1/2 cup blueberries

11:30 D4

12:00 Meal 3: 2 cups mixed salad greens, 4oz chicken, 2 TBSP salsa, 2 Tbsp chedder cheese, 1/3 cup black beans

2:30 meal 4: Protein shake

3:30 Cardio session (Hip Hop will be the tunes of choice tonight)

0-5 minutes warm up at an RPE 3
5-9 minutes steady at an Rpe 5
9-11 minutes pickup at an RPE 6
11-13 minutes push at an RPE 7
13-14 minutes Peak push at an RPE 9
14-17 minutes recover at an Rpe 4
17-21 minutes steady at an RPE 5
21-24 minutes pick up at an RPE 6
24-26 minutes push at an RPE 7
26-27 minutes peak push at an RPE 9
27-30 minutes Recover at an RPE 4
30-35 minutes cool down at an RPE 3

5:30 meal 5:  4oz chicken roasted with lemon and garlic.  Spinach, tomato and garlic sauted in 2tsp olive oil and topped with 2 TBSP grated parmesan.

So its been quite some time since I got up so early for gym activity, in fact I think the earliest I’ve ever gotten up for the gym was about 6:15, and let me tell you when you have a 2 year old that doesnst like to sleep, getting up at 4:45am isnt easy. But non the less I did, got to the gym and did my chest/ab/carido routine for the day. You can read more about that in my personal workout tracker.
I will say it will be nice once my products arrive, I’m doing a similar diet to SCT but not quite the same, I have carbs throughout the day but its only complex low GI green fiber veggies mainly, which if you didnt already know do very little (at least for me) in the way of energy at the gym.
So to cover this right now I start the morning out at 5:00 with some lean protien, and 1/2cup oatmeal, and some almonds…Then about 30 minutes before the gym I’m taking down a whey shake to get some BCAA’s in me.
This morning felt pretty good, I’d like to say week one is conditioning week and thus the lower intensity but that isnt correct, I’ve just plain lost some strength since I layed out of the gym for about 4 week’s prior to this……this is what I get for being lazy, most of my routines are at least 10-20lbs down from normal.

Looking forward to getting my supplementation from either BB, or Gaspari

As I approach the 8 year mark since my first transformation, I am stoked to be participating in another transformation challenge. I’ve gone from over-weight to ripped and competing in two bodybuilding shows over the last 8 years. The past year I’ve traveled nearly every weekend photographing and reporting on bodybuilding/fitness/figure shows. I’ve gone from having abs like those on stage to looking like a walking cheese ball. Airport food, not eating enough to eating too much. Poor eating habits and not hitting the weights have been my downfall. Traveling and being "too busy" is no excuse for letting my physique slide to what it is now.

While I am not competing for prizes or against the 5 competitors, it doesn’t mean I won’t approach the next 13 weeks with any less intensity. I started my transformation challenge last Monday - December 17, 2007 weighing 219lbs. Today 9 days, later I am at 213.5lbs. I cleaned up my diet and drinking more water. This has made a HUGE difference in my energy levels over the week. Hitting the weights again has been a challenge - I’ve lost a good deal of strength and I’m walking like an 80 year old man with a walker. I over did it a couple days and reminded myself to not over due the weights and I’m not out to set any lifting records. Aight - enough babbling. Here are my "Before" photos and as soon as my camera is returned from SONY - be on the look out for some training videos, visits with some of the pro bodybuilders, top trainers, various classes and more. I’ll also be using my network of contacts in the industry to provide insight into products, training and more. I’m here to show that you can accomplish anything when you put your mind to it. Join me in not only watching the five competitors transform here but also set your own goals and do it with them. My goal - drop 30lbs in 14 weeks and see the six pack again.

BEFORE PHOTOS - December 17, 2007 - 219.3lbs

9 DAYS into it - December 26, 2007 - 213.5lbs

The Ab Hunt Begins!

Simplicity does not precede complexity, but follows it.
Alan Perlis

After much thought, I have come up with the following plan for my 3 month transformation.  As I was thinking over all of the many different options, going through a crazy little loop-di-loop in my brain, the same inner words came back to me time and time again.

"KEEP IT SIMPLE."

This is what I intend to do.

Day 1 & Day 2- Low Carb.  5-6 meals.  Consisting of meats, fish, eggs, whey, and lots of green leafy salads.  Copious amounts of olive oil and red wine vinegar.  Whatever spices I choose.  1800 calories or less per day.

Day 3- Carb up.  Same basic meal plan.  Only carbing up on 3-5 servings of fresh fruits and vegetables.  2200 calories or less per day.

This is my plan for month one.  I will evaluate my progress at the end of January and decide if I need to cut back calories further.

Weight training will stay the same, 5 days per week.  I will be lifting heavier, with more intensity, and attempting to cut sets from approx 23 per workout, down to approx 16.  

Cardio will remain 6 days per week.  I will be upping for the first month from 30 minutes per day, to 1 hour per day.   I plan on doing HIIT on the treadmill for one of my two daily cardios.

Month two I will increase cardio again.

Today I fasted, drinking only water, iced tea, apple cider vinegar lemonade with honey, and 1 low carb monster drink.