WHOMPER107′S BODYBUILDING BLO

I am about to enter my last three days of school beginning tommorrow… I’m very excited about seeing the end of this semester and the start of Christmas break, but in the meantime I have to deal with finals. I have six classes at school: Government honors, College prep honors, Physics II C AP, Anatomy/Physiology honors, English IV honors, and Calculus AB AP. AP indicates a college level course where you can be awarded college hours depending on your results on the AP test at the end of the year, for those who are not familiar with how that works. As a senior, I am allowed to exempt three finals the first semester, so I have chosen classes with borderline A’s, Physics II and Government, to secure my GPA in that area. I am also exempting College Prep, a ridiculously easy course. This leaves me taking Calculus (which I have no choice because a large number of people cheated on the SFA, a district administered end of semester course that is so easy there is no reason to cheat), English (which cannot be exempted because it is a dual credit course, it awards both high school and college credit), and Anatomy (I have an 87 in there, making it my only real potential B this semester). The only final I am stressed over is the Anatomy final, I need a 100 and a little bump from the teacher to get all A’s this semester and muscle my way in to the top 10%. The senior class at my school has 828 kids in it and is extremely competitive, as of now I am in the top 11 or 12%. I will be taking the anatomy final on Wednesday, and spending the majority of Monday and Tuesday afternoon memorizing the ridiculous amount of information we are expected to memorize in that class. I suppose I had better get used to it if I plan on continuing to medical school after college and becoming a doctor…

Now that I have thorougly bored you all with my personal academic life, I will move on to bodybuilding. I took an off day Friday, having trained the previous three days, and between work 9:30-5:30 and premade plans with the family yesterday, I was left with little time, and could not train then either. I plan on punishing myself for that extra offday in the gym today, going all out with a shoulder workout followed by abs and calves. I found what may be the best calf workout in existence on the forums here. I cannot remember who posted it, but it always makes walking a challenge the next day. You begin on any calf machine and first perform 15 slow, full reps of a moderately heavy weight, then chase that with 20 faster reps, still with a full range of motion, but without pausing at the top or bottom of the rep. Shake your legs out for 5-10 seconds, then hop back on and repeat the 15/20 scheme, decreasing weight if absolutely necessary. Then you shake it out for another 5-10 seconds, and hop back on and perform 5-12 reps with somewhere near your max. Finally, you finish out with 20 2 foot up 1 foot down reps of around the same weight you began with. I will usually do two of those, and finish out with a light, slow set on the sitting calf raises machine, using the maximum range of motion on each rep.

Anyways, it is about time I get started on this extra credit for physics, then hit the gym and get some Christmas shopping done. So long everyone!

I apoligize to any readers for the lack of updates lately… Between studying for finals next week and finishing up end of semester projects, I have not had a lot of free time. I have not failed, however, to keep myself in the gym and on the diet, spare a trip to Buffalo Wild Wings with some friends on Tuesday (who could resist… $.35 wing Tuesday and friends coming home from college?). It came to my attention this week that my workouts have gradually lost some of the intensity they once had. I suppose being in the same place everyday for 6 months switching up the same old exercises would encourage that… but nothing that cannot be fought with a little will and some ass-busting work. My goal this week has been to not only regain that lost intensity, but improve my focus and have some of the best workouts I have ever experienced. I would say I have achieved this goal over the last three days, with a moderately intense chest workout on Monday, followed by one of the most excrutiating leg workouts I have ever endured on Tuesday, and finally a killer back workout today. I feel I should emphasize how good of a leg workout this was… so I’ll just give the details. I began with the usual two minute warm up jog, stretches, and light set of leg extensions to get the blood flowing. The first real exercise was a set of 295 on squats (free weights people, no Smith machine crap or machine of any sort can compare to real squats). I managed to pull that something like nine or ten times, then removed the 25 and 10 and slapped on the third plate. I did two more sets with this, achieving six and seven reps on each set. For some, this would pass for a workout in itself… but of course not anyone looking for growth. My workout buddy and I moved on to lunges, where I did three sets with a pair of 60lb dumbbells, getting around 14 reps each set. We moved on to leg press, exhausted at this point, but I still managed to do three sets of around 450. We had planned for this to be the final exercise, but I wanted the extra edge that comes with a burnout exercise, so I alone did a set with each leg on the glute kickback machine, moving 190lbs of the maximum 205. I left the gym feeling on top of the world that day… Can hardly wait for next weeks leg day. It’s nearing 9:00PM here, which is bedtime for me. Bye everyone, feel free to comment

After seeing my previous post was replete with comments (not! ), I have decided to add another in the form of a journal entry. Having trained for the past two days, I made today an off day. I have been experimenting for the last couple of months in an attempt to find the best training schedule, and have come to rest with a two on one off split. Training more frequently leads me to that sort of ‘never 100% alert and rested’ sort of feeling, and any less would seem to be far too little for someone trying to bulk up. I read some this morning about the handicapped Russian bodybuilder who has a stickied topic in the post your pictures section… very impressive indeed, that has to be one of the strongest willed guys I’ve ever seen. It is definitely worth a moment of anyone’s time who has yet to see. It appears my posts several months ago that were intended to show my school year diet failed to present it, so I will now include the modified current version.

Breakfast - 5:15AM: 4 egg whites, 2 whole eggs, 1 cup oatmeal made w/ skim milk, 1 cup coffee, 1 cup calcium fortified OJ, and a multi.

This meal is cooked and eaten immediately when I wake up, followed by a shower, then I head off to school. The actual eating time is closer to 5:30 or so, given cooking time.

2nd Breakfast - 7:15AM: 2 Kroger Carbmaster Yogurts (12g protein, low sugar/low carb - these are by far the healthiest yogurts I have discovered), 1 cup oatmeal, and some sliced fruit.

This is the motley of ingredients I combine to form what I have deemed a yogurt surprise. Very tasty, one of my favorite meals all day, and easily portable in a tupperware container. Occasionally this meal will replace a later one or be eaten later, normally if I sleep in a little. But nine times out of ten, I eat it right when I get to school before class.

Morning snack - 9:00AM: 2 slices of wheat bread, 4 tbsp. all natural peanut butter, and a Q-Smart Granola bar (10g protein).

Just a regular old peanut butter sandwich… I have been considering getting some all natural jelly or jam of some sort to add extra fruits in my diet, I understand they are rich in antioxidants, and I, like many others, often prove susceptible to sickness during the flu season. I eat it during second period, this class (College Prep Honors… how it became and honors course, I have no idea) is my easiest and the teacher never minds.

Lunch - 10:30AM: 1 medium-large chicken breast (usually marinated before being cooked), 1 cup brown rice, and sometimes a small bag of raw unsalted walnuts with raisins mixed in.

This meal has recently replaced my usual turkey sandwich that I would have for lunch. I decided to make this change because 1. I needed more carbs from sources other than wheat bread, and 2. 3 sandwiches a day is just too many sandwiches for one man. I’ll tell you two places I’m never caught dead cheating in… Subway, and Quiznos. :p

Afternoon snack - 12:15PM: 1 protein bar

The type varies depending on what sort I have around the house. Currently, they are ISS’s Oh Yeah Chocolate and peanuts. These things taste excellent, are high in calories because of the nuts, and have 26g of protein. They are a little messy though… My desk is usually littered with chocolate and nut crumbs by the time I’m done, all of which are swept on the perpetually dirty anatomy room floor.

2nd Lunch - 2:00PM: 2 slices wheat bread, 4 tbsp. all natural peanut butter, 1 apple

Yup, another peanut butter sandwich, this time with an apple. I eat this during calculus, and the potent smell attracted much attention at one time. After 15 weeks of the smell, people have finally grown used to it.

Postworkout shake - 3:45/4PM: Currenty, I use Muscletech P70 formula (I think that’s what it is called, correct me if I am wrong). It is highly unusual for me to be seen with anything fancier than ON 100% Whey, but a buddy of mine at the gym took one serving of his fresh tub and could not tolerate the taste. Now honestly, who says no to free supplements?

Postworkout meal - 4:30/45PM: This meal is usually either A. a homemade weightgainer smoothie consisting of some ice, half a cup of oats, 3 tbsp. AN PB, a scoop of no sugar added low fat frozen yogurt, a scoop of whey, reduced calorie fat free sugar free pudding mix, and some skim milk

or B. leftovers from dinner the night before, if and only if they were either healthy or irresistible.

Usually, I make the weightgainer… can’t compete with 1000 clean calories through the anabolic window.

Dinner - 7:00PM: Whatever mom cooks… normally a meat, carb (rice/potato), and vegetable (salad/steamed veggies). These meals are usually healthy, it’s the way my family has always been. At this point, my appetite is slowing down a little, leaving me room for just the grand finale.

Before bed - 9:00PM: 1.5 cups of fat-free cottage cheese, some sliced fruit

A year and a half ago, a single bite of cottage cheese quite literally caused me to gag. Now I can basically eat an unlimited amount… but I try to stick to half a tub/1.5 cups. Cottage cheese is not so bad people, mix it with a little fruit and give it a few weeks, it will grow on you.

 So there you have it, my exact diet five days a week. I try to stay fairly similar on weekends, but cut myself a little slack. I manage to avoid the consequences of a cheat meal or two by following it impeccabely all week so that I may indulge occasionally on weekends. For those of you wondering how I bring all the food to school, it is a combination of a plastic grocery sack, refrigerator that I have located in our school’s theater room, cooler in my car for my protein shake milk, and a microwave also located in the theater. Please leave me a few comments, praise or criticism, both are welcome!

Hey all, just thought I would share with everyone my college admissions essay. Keep in mind this was created for the casual reader, not the experienced bodybuilder.

College Admissions Essay Topic A

      One. The first repetition comes easily. Two. My hands perspire, and the steel that was cool only seconds earlier feels warm beneath my fingers. Three. I can now feel my muscles stressing to move the bar from my chest, the weight seems heavier than when I began. Four. I keep my mind focused on the speckled ceiling tile high above me, drowning out the muttering of other gym-goers. Five. The pain sears through my chest, my muscles are screaming in protest. Six. The final repetition never fails to be the most difficult and important. Images of my meager frame years ago flash through my mind as the bar lowers and lowers, until it is level with my chest. Harnessing what is left of my energy, I fling up all 225 pounds of it, while reminding myself of why I must do this. Why I must put myself through such fulfilling torture everyday. Why I must bring my body to the brink of agony nearly everyday of the year. So is the life of a bodybuilder:
The rigors of bodybuilding are not limited to training. Nor are the effects of it limited only to the body. What is done outside of the gym matters just as much as, if not more than, lifting weights. A strict diet comes standard with any bodybuilder’s life, as well as a strong sense of self-discipline and an ability to commit to a goal. If anyone has ever told you that eating five thousand calories a day distributed between eight and ten healthy, high protein meals is easy: he lied. Just for comparison, the average American eats between fifteen hundred and two thousand calories a day; fewer than half of what one must consume to maintain a bodybuilder’s physique. That is excluding the fact that the meals must be clean of all processed fats and other unhealthy substances, which have unfortunately made themselves available among many popular American foods. Although many people may think such an extreme diet is insane, to a bodybuilder it is entirely necessary. Bodybuilding is the fuel of my mind, the fire within me, and the gift I have found that has helped me to realize that I have the ability to achieve any goal I set my mind to. Without it I might be where I was two years ago; weak-willed and lacking confidence.
In December of 2004, with little knowledge of bodybuilding, but a strong urge to pursue it, I made a decision. More than a decision, but a lifestyle change, and probably the most drastic change I have ever undertaken. I began working out daily, unaware of the extreme challenges that come along with being a bodybuilder. Although things progressed slowly at the beginning, I was determined to persevere. I quickly found that through research my expertise grew, along with my pace of progress. As my weight increased, so did my grades, determination, and resolve. Before I knew it, I had become what a year earlier I had told myself was out of my reach. Through my hard work, I had achieved results that I never thought myself capable of, and it only made me want more. I continued growing stronger in the gym, heavier on the scale, and became increasingly more motivated in everything I did. I was amazed to find that I had the ability to sculpt both my body and, at the same time, my mind. Just when I would begin approaching the finish of a goal, I would create another.
      A common question among people who know about my lifestyle is “Why do you do it?”  It is hard to articulate exactly why, because it is a combination of so many things: I do it for the way it makes me feel, look, and behave. I do it for the incredible self-assurance it gives me. I do it for the day that I warm up with the amount of weight that was previously my one rep maximum. I do it for the day I got dressed and realized that I would need an entirely new wardrobe of large sized shirts (there it was: tangible proof for myself that I had grown). But no single one of these touches on the most worthwhile reason that I devote myself to such a tasking hobby. This reason actually has little to do with how I look or feel. It is because bodybuilding is what makes me who I am. The accomplishments it has led me to could never have been achieved through anything else. To improve my body is always something I strive for, but to improve my own character is something I would have never known how to do: not until the day I picked up a weight.
      As a bodybuilder, I represent a different breed. A breed blessed with the discipline of a fifty year celibate, and the never dying obsession to maintain a healthy and respectable body. We are a select few, but those who represent us have a disposition which can be found no where else.