My BodyBlog

I’ve had occasional stiffness and aching in my right arm for about a month now.  It comes and goes, and I feel it mostly when I am in bed.  I have been attributing it to a fall I had ice skating over a month ago (I sprained my wrist on the same side…that is better now).  I don’t have any trouble using it day to day, and for the most part I don’t notice it working out, although it was starting to fell sore last Sunday night when I was doing Bench Press.  I can’t pinpoint the problem as being my shoulder or my arm, since it’s not a focused pain.  I did triceps two days ago, and its been fine since then.  Sometimes when it’s stiff, I move my arm around and I hear a little cracking, and that actually makes it feel better.

Today I read up on rotator cuff injuries.  Sounds like I have some of the symptoms, but not serious.  I found some exercises designed to strenghten the rotator cuff and help recover from and prevent further injuries.  I’ll give them a try, even though that might not be the problem.  If anybody reading this has had a rotator cuff injury, let me know about it.  How bad was it?  What did you do to recover and how long did it take?

Everyone knows that compliments received about weight loss or muscle gain help keep you motivated.  I’ve received a few over the years, and that’s great.  But lately the compliments are coming fast and furious!  I’ve accelerated my body transformation over the last three months and people are starting to notice!  Here’s what’s been said to me:

From a client who is herself fit and jogs regularly: "You’re really toning up!"

From a much younger guy at the gym: "You must be here every day."  When I said ‘No, 3 or 4 times a week, he said "Oh, you look like you’re here every day!"

From gal at gym, when we were talking about our progress with losing body fat: "What are you worried about, you don’t need to lose any more weight!" (I now look good in a t-shirt.  Getting harder to see the body fat left on my stomach, it is below my belt-line on most of the pants and shorts I wear).

I’ve also had compliments from my wife and sister-in-law.  Compliments help keep you motivated to work hard, and they are a sign of progress.  It’s great to know others are noticing the changes and think you look good!  Looking good is a bonus to the more important accomplishment of improving health and feeling good.  But when compliments are offered I’ll gladly accept them!

In November I decided I want to see my abs.  I had advanced far enough with my body transformation and my knowledge of exercise and eating right that I thought seeing my abs was a realistic goal for the next year.  The more I thought about the possibility, the more excited I became.  Seeing my abs would be a symbol of success and accomplishment that would mean a great deal to me.  My motivation level to do it was sky high!  I set out to make it happen by really cleaning up my diet, increasing cardio, and training abs at just about every workout.  I’m hitting my abs from many angles and using lots of different exercises, both weighted and with body weight.  Awhile ago I wrote a blog saying I couldn’t make my abs sore.  Not true now!  Although not so sore as to restrict my movement, I do feel them from time to time.  So, what’s been the result of all this effort?

When I started I was determined, but still had doubts in my mind if I could really do it.  Considering the amount of body fat I had to lose, was I too ambitious in thinking I could become so lean that my abs could be seen?  I mean, I’ve seen photos of lots of muscular guys with flat stomachs but no abs showing.  At first blush, this is discouraging.  But I know there could be lots of reasons why these otherwise muscular guys have no abs showing.  They are bulking and aren’t concerned, they are cutting and just haven’t lost enought bodyfat yet, or they don’t work abs very much and they just aren’t big enought to show much.  I feel that abs are essential to the overall package and can’t understand why someone wouldn’t work abs regularly, but that’s just my opinion.  If focus, commitment and hard work have anything to do with it, then I’m sure that in the long run none of these circumstances will stand in the way of bringing out my abs.  I’m casting all doubts about my possibility of success aside.

Here’s where I am: I can easily feel my rectus abdominus (ie the six pack!) with my fingers, particularly the upper part directly below my chest.  When I stand in a relaxed position I have lost enought fat so that I am beginning to see something defined in that area.  Not much, but a little shape.  I’m losing bodyfat on the top of my stomach faster than the bottom.  On the sides I have very little bodyfat left.  I feel solid from just below my chest until I get to my hips (the external obliques area).  On my hips I have a little soft flab remaining.  The most stubborn area is my lower stomach, where I can still pinch about an inch of fat covering my internal obliques.  If I’ve gotten any of the anatomy wrong, I apologize, I’m still learning!  When this fat is gone I should have a flat stomach, but of course I will have to lose more body fat for my abs to start showing to any reasonable degree.  All in all, not bad progress.

When I started working out I never dreamed I could get to this point.  To have made an abs goal and to see my progression to this point is an amazing boost to my confidence and motivation.  When I started, I hoped I could do it.  Now, I know I can do it and I WILL do it.  When I would look at pictures of people with great abs I always thought they had to be professional athletes, working out every day.  I now know the truth.  Everyone has abs, and getting them to show is a realistic goal for anyone willing to do what it takes.  Another progress report next month!

Thanksgiving is long over, but anytime is a good time to be thankful for the good things in your life!  I don’t practice any organized religion, however I do believe in a higher power and I try to conduct my life as a moral person who shows respect for other people and our planet.  So when I say ‘Thank God that bodybuilding came into my life’,  I don’t say it from a religious perspective, but rather from the perspective that I’m very grateful that the circumstances of my life evolved in such a way that led me to start working out at age of 38, and also I’m grateful that I had the motivation and commitment necessary to get me through those critical early days and put me on the path towards the bodybuilding lifestyle that I am now thriving with!

I’ve read many stories on bb.com about people who have overcome serious injuries to succeed in bodybuilding.  Even more inspiring are those who are coping with medical problems and are still remaining committed to working out and being in the best health they can be.  I salute everyone who is perservering in spite of injuries or illness.

I’ve been very lucky.  No broken bones, no surguries, no chronic health problems…I’ve been blessed with good health.  For most of my life I took that for granted.  I didn’t look after my body the way I should have, and I regret it.  I’m making up for lost time these last 4 years.  My body is a gift that I have learned to appreciate and I will take care of it for the rest of my life.  I am reaping the benefits of weight lifting and a clean diet, and I would like to think I could be an inspiration to others in some small way.

A month ago I sprained my right wrist from an ice skating fall.  Again, I was lucky.  It was a mild sprain, and the worst part of it was the inconvenience and having to change my workouts for a few weeks.  It’s almost 100% better now.  I think having a clean diet and being strong before an injury helps improve the recovery process.  I’m always mindful of having good form and avoiding injuries at the gym.  It’s a reality of life however that accidents and injuries will happen.  When they do, we have to do what is necessary to recover and make the best of the situation.  I’m thankful I have always recovered from minor injuries with no permanent after effects.

The final thing I am thankful for are my genes.  By the luck of the draw I have been blessed with a body that is responding very well to weight lifting.  Even though I carried a lot of body fat I’ve always had a thick, broad chest and big legs.  Being small has never been a problem for me!  Having too much body fat had been my challenge, and I’m thankful I’ve been able to bring that under control.  I’ve worked out every muscle group, even calves and forearms, and the result makes me look very well proportioned.  No one can look at me and think "he doesn’t do legs," or "he has great biceps but the rest of his arm looks small".  With each passing month I am improving and I like what I see in the mirror.  I feel like the ‘real me’ is finally shining through, and I’m looking the way I am supposed to look.  I am truly blessed!   

In other blog posts I’ve shared my opinion on how using the scales to judge progress can be a risky thing.  For those struggling with dieting, checking your weight every day can become an obcessive behavior.  If you have unrealistic expectations or insufficient knowledge about what is happening to your body, not seeing the loss of pounds, or seeing added weight, can be frustrating, hurt motivation, and in some cases lead to giving up.

I’ve advocated forgetting about the scales, especially if you’ve struggled with losing weight during your life.  If you have a good workout and nutrition program, and are consistent with it, the body fat will come off.  But that won’t necessarily equate to a reduction in weight on a day to day basis, since other factors influence weight such as muscle gain and fluid retention.  Use photos, the mirror, your clothes, and how you feel to measure your progress, not the scales.

That’s what I’ve been doing up to the end of December, 2007.  I did weigh myself very infrequently, just out of curiousity.  What I saw didn’t affect my attitude or behavior.  When I started working out in March, 2004, I was 225 on a 5′10" frame, meaning a lot of body fat.  I gradually lost significant body fat and built good muscle over the next 45 months, but my weight stayed between 220 and 225.  Now, if I was judging my progress by the scale, I would have quit long ago.  Instead, I saw the results in the mirror and in how my clothes fit, and I was motivated to continue.

When I set up body stats on bb.com, I put in my weight on November 30 of 220.  December was a great month for me, I had many intense workouts and did a lot of extra cardio.  I had the cleanest month in my life as far as diet was concerned.  I saw more progress in the mirror than I had seen in any other month.  I am focused on losing the remaining fat on my stomach and bringing out my abs, so at the end of the month I was very curious as to how much body fat I had lost in terms of pounds.  So, at the end of December I got on the scales, not really knowing what to expect, and I was down by 5 pounds, to 215.  This result was very gratifying, since it was an extra affirmation that I am doing things right.  If I didn’t get that result, it would not have changed my behavior at all because I love this lifestlye and I will always keep how I look and feel as my true measure of success and progress.

I have decided to weigh myself at the end of every month so I can keep my body stats up to date.  If I keep going the way I have been with my lifting, cardio, and food management, I should continue to lose body fat at a faster rate than I’ve been adding muscle, and my scale weight should slowly come down.  I still wouldn’t recommend using the scale to anyone unless they do it in a smart way.  I’m thankful I’ve progressed so far in the mental aspect of transforming my body that I’m able to let the scales play a small role in the process without any fear of having it influence my motivation and behavior.

Yesterday being the end of January, I weighed myself.  I was down another 4 pounds, to 211.  This pleases me, but much better is how I look and the compliments I am getting.  When I get my body fat low enough, I will use the scale to help track my muscle mass gain.  My once-a-month weigh-in will be an interesting aspect of my new lifestlye, but that’s it! 

I just endured a very frustrating time on a business trip.  My patient nature was put to the test and I came very close to telling the client to find someone else to do the job.  It got so bad I wrote a blog on paper to express my feelings about the situation.  I can’t go into too much detail since I’d be risking identifying the client.  I got through it, for a couple of reasons.  One is because I’d negotiated a good fee for the job.  The second reason is because of bodybuilding.

The work situation of course caused me to feel stressed.  I’m sure though my stress level is not as high as it would have been had I found myself facing similar circumstances before I started bodybuilding.  After a difficult evening, I went back to my hotel room, got on the floor, put my feet up on a chair, and did 100 crunches.  I wouldn’t have considered doing this before bodybuilding.  The next morning I stretched for 5 minutes after getting up, which also made me feel good.  It’s amazing how much those 2 simple physical acts reduced my feelings of stress!

Also, the fact that I was looking forward to my usual Friday night workout helped me get through the week.  After having 3 full days off, I’m itching to hit the iron!  It will be a month since I sprained my wrist, and its now feeling almost 100%, so I’m ready to get back into lifting some heavier weights.

I’ve been enjoying the stress-reducing benefits of working out for almost 4 years.  This week is the first time that ANTICIPATING a workout has helped to relieve my stress!  Another testament to the incredibly positive impact that bodybuilding has had on my life.