Speak it, believe it, achieve it!

Jack La Lanne was born September 9, 1914 (according to Wikipedia, however the Jack La Lanne website states September 26, 1914) which puts him at 93 years young! God bless Jack on his special day. Okay, belated by a few weeks. I was watching some YouTube videos of Jack from back in the day courtesy of BodySpacer TommyGibbs and then did a Wiki search on the fitness godfather. The Wiki offered his birthdate and I’m happy to pass on these belated (or perhaps right on time) birthday wishes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIVfe-crHDs

Double-click the link to see more YouTube examples of Jack’s wisdom.

Enjoy!

"The BodySpace Member you are attempting to locate is inactive."

Does that mean the person is gone forever or that they’ve taken a temporary break? No stalker, but I tried to delete someone I thought had deleted their BodySpace account. Only now they appear as a Fanclub member. No biggie. I love BodySpace even if I’m still figuring out all the features and functions.

Saw the following video on Tommy Gibbs’ BodySpace page.

click for Jack La Lanne’s “Unhappy people” YouTube (I’m unhappy because the @#$%ing video doesn’t appear the way I’d like it to!) D’OH!

Yeah.

It’s not that simple at times to automatically be happy but the first step has got to be a person’s attitude. Appreciate what you got. It might not be "Standard English," but it’s definitely good advice. ;)

For Review Purpose Only…

Netflix actually has bodybuilding DVDs as part of their selection of videos. Blockbuster Online didn’t, as far as I know. Anyway, I’m enjoying Jay Cutler’s One Step Closer  DVD of his 2005 Olympia prep. During what he called “my pretend victory party,” Jay’s mother offered this wonderful tribute:

“I’m Jay’s mother, Ann. I flew in from Massachusetts to be with him on this great occasion. I’m very proud of him. He came in 2nd at the show which I know he’s very disappointed about, but to his family and his friends he’s always number one. He tries so hard. And he’s, he’s just really special to everybody that knows him.”

How wonderful is THAT?  Kudos to Jay’s mother. What a nice tribute to her son and eventual Mr. Olympia 2006.

My first purchase from Bodybuilding.com was a black bb.com t-shirt and a copy of Jay Cutler’s CEO Muscle. I’d recommend any fan of bodybuilding in general and of Cutler in particular purchase this book or borrow it from a friend. Not me, though! I just started reading it. ;)

As trivia, I look nothing like Jay Cutler, but could probably pass, at least physique-wise, for the one photographer who worked with Jay during the “One Step Closer” DVD. Michael Darter is a stick with shoulders about one foot wide. Okay, neither of us is that thin, but nearly so.

With the Olympia just days away, I’m really looking forward to seeing who wins this year. I think Jay deserved the 2006 win, but would honestly like to see Big Ron make his comeback and snag that Sandow number nine. Jay will hopefully still be around to take a few more Olympias, say, 2008 and 2009, but I just don’t want a tie for the number of Olympia wins. Guess it can’t be avoided, though, as Haney and Coleman will always be tied for "number of consecutive Olympias."

There’s a bit of bodybuilding history that will hopefully never be duplicated. In fact, maybe it’s better that Jay and Ron both place down a notch and Victor arrives totally ripped for an upset win over them both. Whatever the result I just want the win to be as nearly definitive and unanimous as possible. There will always be sour grapes and cries of "bullsh!t," but I’d like to see another popular result.

Someone recently chose to comment re implants in a message to me.

Uh, do I have breasts???

Seriously, I appreciate anyone who takes the time to write me an email or note. It’s all good. Having said that, I honestly can’t criticize fake. At least not with a straight face (or nose?) as I’ve undergone a nose job   waaay back when I was 20. Prior to that bit of cartilage subtraction, so many people asked if I had had a broken nose because of a bump that was on the bridge of my nose (kinda like Dick Tracy in the comic pages). After the rhinoplasty I was not suddenly (no duh) movie star good looking, but I was never  asked if I had a broken nose again.

Plastic surgery has its place. If self esteem or simply personal aesthetics are a person’s motivation then I see nothing wrong with having a bit of work done. Especially if you have the money to spend.

Hmm. As I recall, I didn’t  have the money to spend. Nonetheless, I cleared out my savings account to pay one Dr. Proserpi a thousand bucks to perform the surgery. I’m glad I did it. It certainly didn’t drastically change my life, but I no longer worried about something as fundamental as my face.

So, yes, nothing at all wrong with cosmetic surgery, but that’s my opinion and perspective. Everyone else on this planet is welcome to differ with me on the subject or, hey, agree. Personal choice, right?

On the other hand, I would take a crowbar to Michael Jackson’s plastic surgeons given the opportunity. Imo, he needed counseling and a friend and NOT whatever procedures were visited upon him. I hope the surgeons choke on any money they received.

Rambling some more, I’d like to briefly consider all things fake and the meaning of what’s real. Certainly cosmetic procedures can change the appearance and can simultaneously uplift the psyche.

And what does it mean to be fake? I have, in the past, laughed at the thought of "natural" bodybuilding as, imo, there is absolutely NOTHING natural about bodybuilding. It’s not natural for me to change my eating plan to revolve around 1500 calories a day, to lift weights three times a week, nor to run like some hamster on a treadmill or on the track five days a week. It’s incredibly UNnatural, in fact. Natural would be for me to order a pizza with extra sausage, chug six beers, and watch the game on big screen TV, damn it! Okay, actually, I guess natural would be for me to go unshaved, howl at the moon, and hunt wild animals for food.

This life is all too often all too fake .

We all set limits. Although I’ve never taken any form of bodybuilding steroid, I have no issue with those who choose to take that course of action. It’s legal in certain parts of the planet, so don’t even swing that ax. And it’s in an athlete’s nature to use any advantage available to succeed at their sport. It’s natural, imo. Otoh, I wouldn’t encourage anyone to use synthol. Perhaps I’m contradicting myself. I don’t care. Find me a person who has the answer for everything with all the loose ends neatly tucked in and I’ll show you somethingsomething. Point? Maybe that people should be free to make their decisions without fear of disrespect or disapproval given the requirement that one person’s opinion does not negatively impact another person’s life.

Sound reasonable?

Can you say suuuucks? I’ve never been any great shakes on the bench. Loooong arms and a weak shoulder department. The most I’ve ever lifted was 170 for a triple, 185 for a single, and I actually got the (pathetic) 200 pound bench club, but it was with a frigging LIFT OFF and  a mightyMIGHTYMIGHTY  bounce off my chest.

Anyway, I haven’t been maxing on bench as my right shoulder had been messing with me. I went for an MRI and the doc said it showed nothing abnormal, but there’s definitely an issue there. And as I’ve lost weight (dropping waist from 37 to 34 over the past several weeks) I’ve also apparently dropped muscle as well as fat. My bench at last max was a pitiful 165 and last night I snuck onto the bench for 95 x 3, 115 x 1, and a single (barely) with 135. That was not the two wheels variation, but the Oly bar and two 25’s and four 10’s.

Sad.

I’m staying the weight loss course, regardless. I want veins in my gut. Okay, they’re there, but they’re covered with fat apparently. Any other old heads remember pics of Jim Bouton of Ball Four fame? He was a baseball player who wrote an expose on MLB. At some point he went vegetarian or vegan and totally got ripped. There was an article in Sports Illustrated or somewhere that showed a shot of him with a blender and saying how he’d laid off the drugs and booze. Not a bodybuilder at all, but he was ripped. Another role model or non bodybuilder mentor would be Quaid? The one actor who starred in Enemy Mine with Lou Gossett Jr.

(checks imdb)

Dennis Quaid. I couldn’t think of his name, but he’s another guy who is (or was) ripped. Not a bodybuilder, but definitely possessing a physique that turns the ladies’ eyes and heads. And that’s what this is all about. Yes, it’s about physical well being, health, self esteem, and self worth, but most people also want to turn heads. And NOT the other way! heh :)

I just weighed myself to test a theory. Maybe that’s not the right word. What I wanted to see was if I weighed 163 or 164 rather than the 161 I weighed yesterday a.m. at this week’s Wednesday Weigh-in.

Had weighed myself after the previous day’s 800 and change calories as well as not drinking anything after something like 9 p.m. the night before, so I was empty Wednesday morning as well as dehydrated. Yet tonight, a few hours after a protein drink, I’m the same 161 lbs.

Raised my calories to closer to 1500 recently because I’d dropped from 168 to 163 in the one week. Was concerned that 5 pounds was too much to lose in one week. With raising the calorie count, I was still hoping to reduce an additional two pounds for the week. I was successful in that, moving from 163 to 161. I’m working for 159 for next Wednesday with the eye on the longer term goal of 150. Maybe even 149 in an attempt to strip my bodyfat down to a more reasonable level (my perspective).

Another ten pounds at two pounds a week, we’re talking five weeks to the goal.

At 6′1" that’s ridiculously low, however my frigging gut was ridiculously big. I’m light boned with 6 1/2-inch wrist and 9-inch ankles. My hip bones would rival some beastie boys, though, which I believe contributes to the less than wasp-like waist line. NO "X-Man" here, unfortunately.

Regardless of the numbers, I’m damned happy that I’m making visible progress toward lowering my bodyfat. I’ve got my eye on a 7 megapixels Cybershot camera as well as getting my Sportster in the shop. Have a $500 inspection (the 20k or 25,000-mile tune-up) for my little Harley. Some warm days still on the schedule, apparently, here in Pennsylvania. Milwaukee Iron (the motorcycle) and York Iron (the barbells) are two of my favorite things. :)

What is your goal? And what are some of your favorite things?

ArnoldSpeaks.com!

Now THAT   is some funny stuff.

On August 15 I weighed 178 pounds according to the entry I made on my-calorie-counter.com. This morning’s Wednesday weigh-in offered 161 pounds. So, in a little more than a month I’ve dropped (reaches for calculator) 17 pounds. Probably not all fat, though. I am, however, feeling good about the reduction in my waistline and increase in my looking-lean-edness (yeah, that’s a word I don’t think you’ll find in your Merriam-Webster). My waist was 37″ (full-on Buddha a.k.a. “let your gut relax, dude”) to today’s 34″ (OKAY! It’s 34 and a quarter inch    , but that’s AFTER a cup of strawberry yogurt).

Maybe this isn’t bodybuilding, but I’m definitely reorganizing the composition of what’s inside my skin. Consistency, calorie counting, increasing the protein intake recently, lifting, and cardio have all played a part. No pics because, hey, as one BodySpacer     joked with me in a forum: “You’re 45.”

I am. I’m 45 but I’m working towards my 15-year-old bodyweight of 150. The weight I was when I first picked up that Sears & Roebuck concrete and plastic weight set. Well, tried to pick it up. Call it starting over. Call it my very own mid-life crisis maybe. All I’m calling it is interesting. I’m motivated by the loss in bodyfat and the increase in discipline I’m feeling versus just caving  to the craving for a double cheeseburger and maybe a half-dozen Krispy frigging Kremes.

It’s a good feeling.

I’m going to increase my protein intake while maintaining the calorie count at or below 1500 by removing orange juice, grapefruit juice, and the Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain bars from my menu. I’ll be substituting three servings of ON’s 100% Instantized Whey Cookies N’ Cream protein mix in water.

Thanks to BodySpace’s doogieh for that recommendation.

Other than the ON, my daily diet consists of oatmeal, some peanut butter, frozen vegetables (broccoli with some added chili powder is my favorite right now), Healthy Choice’s breaded chicken and mashed potatoes, and low-fat yogurt. The grocery was out of strawberry yogurt and so I picked up their blueberry, a few strawberry-banana, and one cherry.

Okay, I confess! I also picked up Klondike’s Slim a Bear 100-calorie ice cream sandwiches. Only 1.5 grams of fat per sammich, though! Sue me.

Date | Calorie count | Wednesday weigh-in | Week

8/22: 1329 (Wednesday a.m. bodyweight: 172 lbs.)
8/23: 1078
8/24: 1027
8/25: 1029
8/26: 1492
8/27: 1275
8/28: 1317
8/29: 1369 (Wednesday a.m. bodyweight: 170 lbs.) Week 1
8/30: 1224
8/31: 1473
9/01: 1428
9/02: 1263
9/03: 1349
9/04: 1400
9/05: 1139 (Wednesday a.m. bodyweight: 168 lbs.) Week 2
9/06: 1233
9/07: 1452
9/08: 1047
9/09: 1136
9/10: 1298
9/11: 1332
9/12: 1480 (Wednesday a.m. bodyweight: 163 lbs.) Week 3
9/13: 1499
9/14: 1360
9/15: 1184
9/16: 1453
9/17: 1105
9/18: 827
9/19: 1434 (Wednesday a.m. bodyweight: 161 lbs.) Week 4
9/20: 1219
9/21: 1497
9/22: 1467
9/23: 1600
9/24: 1233
9/25:
9/26: x (Wednesday a.m. bodyweight: x lbs.) Week 5