Veggy’s BodyBlog

So I’ve been eating and eating and eating some more. I don’t know if I’m really trying to gain weight anymore or just giving into my urges to overeat. Its only been clean food, so it can’t be that bad right? Every night I come home and my stomach is bulging out. Well let’s just say there will not be any new profile or progress pis during this phase. I’m going to give this diet until the end of the month and if I don’t notice any decent changes I think its purposeless. Feeling stronger everyday but looking at my gut expand in the mirror every  night isn’t a compromise I’m willing to make just yet.

So, I feel stronger, the weight I’m lifting is heavier, but I’m losing weight. I have changed my diet to a clean one and incorporating protein, etc. I think I lost some pounds because I ate a lot of junk food before but I thought muscle was heavier than fat. I don’t think I’m going to meet that goal of 155-160 by the end of october. I’m happy with my progress so far and am noticing changes. I’ll just have to keep working at gaining muscular weight.

I travel frequently for my job and it is already a task at times to make it to the hotel gym after a long day of delays, bad food, and general grind of commuting. I don’t want to sound like I’m complaining because I do love to travel and there are many benefits . However, traveling makes it all the more difficult to find time in the gym but what really bothers me and most recently disappointed me are inadequate hotel gyms.

What I’ve found is that most of the "newer" hotels tend to have a decent gym and if it happens to be a in a large metropolis  one may even be able to find a squat rack.  The Westin tends to have decent gyms (at least the ones where I stayed) because they teamed up with Reebok for all their gyms. But, sometimes you stay at these older hotels that are suppossed to be more exquisite (and they tend to be) but the gym is nothing more than a treadmill, a pair of dumbbells, and a recently added exercise ball. No one can expect to get a satisfactory workout with that type of equipment.
I stayed at one of these hotels this week and was truly disappointed to find the gym lacking all essential equipment. They did have a few dumbbells up to 50lbs, which a month ago I would’ve been satisfied with but these days I can’t do much with that. All wasn’t lost as I was happy that my progress has outgrown this hotel gym I have frequented off & on throughout the year but I was definitely wanting more, Needless to say upon my return today I hit the gym hard and plan to make up some time during the weekend. I like having the weekend to myself, but sacrifices must be made to stay on top of one’s training.

Like they say: bodybuilding it’s a lifestyle.

Beginning of the last week of this total body routine and I was able to add weight on most of my exercises. I’m very happy to make this type of progress. I think this is a good way to be going into a change of routine starting in the Sept.

Also, I’ve decided to drink whey in the morning when I wake up because after reading a bunch of articles and and considering my vegetarian diet I think it would be best for my development and enhancing protein synthesis. I also found that it is difficult and sometime impossible to do the same amount of reps I did on set 1 than on set 3 and I think (not necessarily scientific study) it has to do with my protein breakdown and the lack of protein I have to break down.

I look forward to seeing how this morning whey incorporation helps with my goals. Alright its 12am and I know I should be getting rest for proper restoration and growth. Night*

If any of you live in NY, you know that yesterday was pretty chilly in the morning for Aug, which required me to throw on a hoody with a tank top undershirt. I had to get out early for those 1 day sales, where everything is like half off plus another 10% between the butt-crack of dawn and noon. Needless to say I bought a ton of stuff: iron, glasses, pot set, etc. The only reason I make mention of what I bought is b/c this store doesn’t have shopping carts and as I was lugging my ridiculous amount of bags in my left hand and some awkwardly shaped boxes of pots & silverware through this big store to the parking lot I felt pretty strong.
I’ve been at the gym consistently for less than a month and I’m starting to feel the difference already. I was pretty proud of myself. Anyway as I waiting for my dad (aka the back-in-the-day 22" arm man from push-ups alone) to bring the car around to the front, I took off my hoody dropped the bags around my feet in a weird formation and kind of found my footing  between all the boxes.
I don’t know if it was the stance I was in, if it was the little pump I got from carrying all that stuff, or a mixture of the two but I got a few looks of surprise and I think it had to do with how my physique is coming along. I felt tight, my abs were rippling under my shirt, and my arms was getting some extra blood sent their way. Now it is possible that I may have just had a booger on my face, but I checked once I got in the car and I didn’t.
I’m happy with what I’m doing in the gym so far. I’ve made small steps toward progress and can’t wait to make all my goals.

Seriously, am I the only one that feels this way?
I’m tired of coming around the corner into the locker room and seeing some guy strut across the room with the shrivelies in full glory. I don’t want to see that! Maybe some there want to, others may not care, but what about the people who definitely don’t want that imagery. Clearly, you have a towel in your hand…why not wrap it around your waist? If wrapping takes up to much time (1.2sec), how about holding it up to the boys at least.
Am I the only one that thinks this is NOT proper gym etiquette?
Hey, I understand that sometimes you’re in a rush and/or I don’t expect people to be covered up 100% of the time. I’m not some sort of fundamentalist, but seriously the guy bending over to pick up his socks without any thing on…wtf is that?! No one (at least I don’t think) likes to be unexpectedly greeted by the place where the sun doesn’t shine after pulling back the shower curtain.

When did this become ok?

The younger parts of my life were spent on the soloflex at home and when I was in college I went back to the dorm to shower, but it wasn’t until starting my career that I started going to a full service gym. I wasn’t alarmed and I’m not some sheltered weird child. It is expected to experience some skin in the locker room. What bothers me is when its gratuitous.

What makes it worse is that its always some old guy, a really hairy guy, a guy with a huge gut, or the best one: all of the above! Beautiful (even decently groomed, hygienic, or whatever) people are easier on the eyes despite one’s preference. For the most part old folks get a past because they’re old and they’re like I dont care and they paid their dues so whatever (kinda). But that guy that was doing his Mike Honcho impression as I pulled the shower curtain back- I was more afraid than upset. I thought I was in a scary movie, like Attack of the Sasquatch or something. Man, did he have a hairy ass!
Needless to say over the past few years I’ve developed a 100 yard stare and only focus on the tops of gym lockers these days. I’ve also become progressively  desensitized with time. I have plenty more thoughts on the issue and scenarios, like what if one of your co-workers are there letting’em loose and you walk in??. But, I digress in fear that should ever happen to me.

In conclusion, guys if you’re showing off just STOP and if you’re not please be cogniscent of your actions and surroundings. I know some of you have developed certain level of comfort with letting the thing swing  in a room full of men, but not every man there is comfortable with your thing swinging in front of him. Maybe you think I’m insecure, maybe you think I need pyscho-analysis and I really do like hairy choda nighmares, and even still ypou may think i’m trying to cover up for something. I think you’re over-analyzing it. I just don’t like looking at bucked-balls-out naked men, period.

What do you think? Am I getting up in arms for no reason or can you see the validity in my ranting?

I’ve been doing this total body workout 3 days a week, every week for a month now and can’t wait to start doing something new. I was doing the total body work to get my body used to training again after a brief hiatus but I miss that pump of a split routine.
Don’t get me wrong, I still get a "good" sore the next day and have already started to see my body take form but I’m definitely ready for a change (at least for my sanity’s sake). I’ll be starting a push/pull 4 day split created by "the beast" & the rest of the scivation team for ectos in Sept. I look forward to the next 12 weeks. Hopefully, my progress pics will show it!

I need help and fast. All my life I’ve had chicken legs and I want to change. I know what you’re thinking squats and chicken breast, but lets recap on who/what I am:
Vegetarian
Ectomorph
Oh, and my spine is lil’ weird (don’t worry I’m fine & it isn’t noticeable) so its not recommended that I put heavy weight across my back/shoulders (i.e. squats).

Now that we’ve gotten all the preliiminaries out of the way I could use some advice. I just started going back to the gym for about a month now and will be changing my regimen starting in Sept. I could use some new execises to help make some gains.

Any ideas…