I got laid off back around Memorial Day, and it sucks.  I would think I’d use my time more wisely and workout a helluva lot more, but my shoulder has been bothering me and I’m just feeling a little old lately.  Still getting good workouts in though and that is what is keeping my head straight.  Not much out there on the job front, so I’m not sure what I’m going to do, but waiting it out sucks and I suppose I’ll just have to create a job for myself.  Working on that… details to come.

My treadmill is broken, so cardio becomes an outside chore and not something I get to do as often as I should… if you look very deeply in my eyes, you might see some concern.  so I keep it fresh and go around the neighborhood or walk down to the ballfield and run some sprints.

Had a pretty good last 4 days as my lats, biceps, triceps, abs, and chest are sore.  I think I’ve geared up my intensity a little to overcome not having my treadmill.  I suppose one day when I am able to, I will purchase some other form of cardio torture… hmmm, wonder what it will be…

Still ok bodywise… a little gut forming but only at 188 lbs. @ 5 lbs heavier than my lightest, so not too bad.  Will update more as time goes by… see ya soon.

That being said, I’ve been bad the last few days.  Yup, other than … ummm, adult activities, I’ve been too busy to hit the gym.  Monday and Tuesday were scheduled to be rest days, but I had freezer problems last night and spent 2.5 hours messing with that (think I got it fixed). 

So the plan is back at it for tonite and Friday.  Saturday I have to get up early and head to South GA to see dad, but I’ll get plenty of walking in down on the farm.  Off Sunday to rest and spend the day with my gf and then back for a regular week on Monday.

I’m thinking that April 1 is my goal date to be leaner than ever and I think I can make that happen.  My dental technician told me not to lose anymore weight the other day, but I was a little leaner last summer and I’d like to get back there at least.

It was time to add some new exercises/routines to my bag of tricks.  Shock the system, so to speak.  That’s one of the reasons I love this site.  I can get home, log in and pull up a workout someone else has done and either use it as is or modify it and get going.

I tried the Scivation 666 workout for biceps and triceps the other nite.  6 sets, 6 reps, in 6 minutes.  Doesn’t sound too tough, but it got me pretty good.  I figured out that I should pay more attention to my rest periods as currently I just kind of do it in my head.  I added some isolation stuff after and was sore as hell the next day, so that’s going to be used again.

My back and neck have been bothering me some, not enough to keep me from going, but it is slightly uncomfortable when I am lying down.  So my deads have been kept lighter on purpose, but have combined the DL and shrugs which is working my traps pretty well as I will do 5 shrugs for every DL rep, so I get about 25 per set for 5 sets. 

My girlfriend was kind enough to massage my shoulders, neck, and back this weekend and wow!  what a difference.  Still not 100% but there was a definite 10-20% improvement afterward.

I’ve been changing up my cardio a lot, which I haven’t done in the past, so we’ll see how this works.  I always did the same HIIT on the treadmill and it worked great, but I’ll vary it up every day just to keep it challenging and different.  If it doesn’t work, I can always change back.  I’ve got a 16-18 lb head start over this time last year, so I’m thinking that come late spring I will be at a better place than I got to this past summer which was better than I ever thought I could previously.  So, it’s going well on all fronts except work, where nobody seems to have any money to pay us, so it’s going to be a loooong winter, but if you guys go out and buy houses and cars and some crap you really don’t need, we can get the ball rolling again. 

But the holidays are over, so it’s back to normal.  I’m thinking my shoulder is mostly better and returning to shoulder workouts, but I’m going to wait since the last few times I got to this point I only re-injured myself. 

I think this year I’m going to focus on my cardio a little better.  I’m going to make sure not to skip it as much as I did in 2008 (at least late in the year).  I’m also going to focus on getting my back bigger.

That’s all for now.

Anyway, continued with the pushups only chest workout and hit 250 again this week.  Got pretty sore still, so excited about that.  If I’m going to get more definition in my chest, however, I’m going to need some new equipment or join a gym. 

That’s the big decision this year, join a gym or take some Brazilian jiu jitsu classes.  About the same cost.  Different results.  BJJ has it’s rewards as a total body workout.  I need the gym to hit some areas that I’m not able to get with my home equipment.  Maybe I’ll expand the home gym and take the BJJ classes later. Still no clarity on that subject.

Chest is still a little sore from Friday and abs are sore from yesterday, so I’m feeling fantastic.  Going to hit the arms today and back on cardio.  I’ve been doing well with cardio lately.  I still hate it, but it does me right, so it is a necessary evil. 

I’ve been a little more slack with my diet since Thanksgiving, but it’s all by design.  Like the rest of the world, I’ll tighten it up after New Years with the difference being that I will still be on my nutrition plan when January 5th rolls around.  I’m glad that I have learned to master my diet and not give in to inconsistent momentary desires.  It’s all a matter of what I desire more, temporary fleeting tasty yummy satisfaction vs. the body I work so hard for.  When weighed against all the sweat, hurt, and effort a tasty treat is fairly easy to resist.

If I don’t update before Christmas… I wish everyone tidings of comfort and joy.  Now get to work! 

Also to help out, I gave up all bench pressing for a while since that seemed to bother it the most.  Makes it a little difficult to get a chest workout in, but tonight I did 10 sets of pushups and I felt pretty whooped.  I got in 225 pushups, which I suppose is good, but I haven’t used pushups in my routine in about 15 years or so save for the occasional set here and there.  I was going to do 5 sets of dips too, but couldn’t seem to get past 4 on the first set and 0 on the second.  Guess changing it up worked.

My freezer is out and I haven’t had chicken in a week, so I’ve been relying mostly on eggs because I’m too lazy to go to the grocery store every day.  Supposed to get it fixed on Thursday, so I can get back to winner winner chicken dinner.  I suppose its a good thing as a changeup to my diet.  My metabolism is probably very confused right now.

Thanksgiving week I allowed myself 3 cheat meals and one wasn’t bad food wise, just quantity wise.  Who knew casseroles could be so filling?

So I’m back to strict, feeling fat.  Cut out milk and went back to water for shakes.  Have to have a consistent first 3 weeks this month so I can have a New Years cheat meal.  Right now I’m thinking Melting Pot, the food is ok, but the chocolate fondue is awesome, especially when you dip the pound cake in it.  MMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Despite being cold all the time, I’m going to lean out.  This bulk thing just seems to be an excuse I use to stop doing cardio.  Bulking is just not for me.  I’m too scared to get fat again.  Next year I’ll just add one more cheat meal a week to give me either 1 or 2.

On the social scene, it seems like I’ve been quite popular with the ladies the past few weeks, but it has ceased being cool and is now quite bothersome.  Doesn’t matter anyway, since I found the one I want, she claims to want me, so we’re going to see what happens.  She lives an hour away, so I’ll still be able to get in my workouts as we won’t get to see each other as often as I’d like.  I know me and if she lived close, I’d be with her all the time and I’d never workout.  I could have saved a lot of money if I’d just waited until after Christmas!

Didn’t get a lot of sleep last week, but trying to get some shuteye this week.  Last week was devoted to the ignored social life and I had a good time, but I missed the angry conversations with my weights.  Sure, a 45 lb plate won’t keep me warm at night, and it is uncomfortable to cuddle with, but it never steals the covers, never nags, and never asks me to go shoe shopping.

Looking forward to the biggest cheat meal of the year next week!