Inside the Mind of Deserusan

Man, it’s 1:10am and I need to wake up at 4:00am to head out to Cleveland, OH. My girlfriend and Prolab sponsored figure athlete, Vanessa Adams, is competing this weekend to hopefully get her figure pro card. I’m not going to lie, it’s been a fough few months adjusting from my move out here to New York and starting a new career. I love Vanessa more than anything, but I look forward to experiencing her when she’s not dieting. She looks damn good though so I can’t complain too much right?

I will say this though, I am extremely proud of her. She’s come a long way over the past two years both on and off the competitive stage. To me it appears that a lot of women trying to get their foot in the door of industry tend to sell themselves short and jump at the first opportunity to make some quick cash. Vanessa has an iron will and while it hasn’t always been easy, she’s more than likely going to appear in a national ad campaign soon for a very respectable company. A coveted achievement by any athlete.

Anyway, wish her luck and I’ll be back in a few.

In my life when times were tough I’ve had two pillars of support which I could lean on, the first being the iron game. However, the second which has kept my inner spirit glowing in times of darkness is one I rarely talk about. It’s my passion for music. Unfortunately today marks the passing of one of my favorite musicians, LeRoi Moore of the Dave Matthews Band.

September 7, 1961 - August 19, 2008

Growing up in the DC suburbs in the nineties the Dave Matthews Band was somewhat of a cult favorite. Once their ground breaking record Under the Table and Dreaming hit the airwaves they became an international sensation. It’s not until the Crash album landed that it seemed the eclectic group truly mastered their signature sound. LeRoi Moore was an integral part of that using an array of wind instruments such as the baritone sax, a pennywhistle, a flute, the soprano sax, and the alto saxophone. He capped off the a big band sound who’s sum is and always will be greater than its parts.

At live shows, LeRoi was always sporting some Gucci shades and played the part of the dark musician well. He didn’t speak much but certainly let his instrument do the talking for him. Whether it was blissful notes from the pennywhistle during Bartender or the crying solo from his alto sax, LeRoi dutiful filled his role in the band whether in the spotlight, sharing notes with violinist Boyd Tinsley to build the sound the Dave Matthews Band is famous for.

For this long time fan of the Dave Matthews Band I must admit I’m pretty choked up now writing this. I remember the last time I saw them at the Kohl Center in Madison, WI where LeRoi stole the spotlight that night. Despite having been to numerous DMB shows I earned a new respect for him that cold winter night. Yet again I am earning a new respect for LeRoi but unfortunately this time it’s because he has joined the ranks of great musicians who have passed.

Fortunately, all is not lost and I can locate a good LeRoi Moore highlight with a few clicks on my iPod. While he will always be missed and the Dave Matthews Band must move forward, his crying saxophone will still bring a smile to a man who still holds the rockstar dream when he picks up his acoustic guitar. The message the Dave Matthews Band has taught me and LeRoi’s unfortunate passing is a reminder to “Eat, drink, and be merry. For tomorrow we die.”

This one is for you Leroi. A good friend I never met.

*warm-up sets not included

Dumbbell Bench Press: 140lb’ers x 8 x 2

Superset w/

Barbell Bench Press (6-2-2): 135lb x failure x 2

Incline Hammer Strength Press: 360lbs x 8 x 2

Cable Flies (6-2-0-2): 75lbs x failure x 2

Barbell Bench Press (6-2-2): 135lbs x failure x 2

Single Arm Pec Dec: 150lbs x failure x 2

Rope Extensions: 150lbs x 20 x 2

Reverse Grip Extensions: 120lbs x failure x 2

Hack Squat Toe Press: 450lbs x 20 x 8

I’m mentally fatigued. My body seems to be holding up quite well but everything else going on in my life is just draining. There are times I just want to scream from the mountain top about all the thoughts going through my head. Other times I just want to scream into a pillow. Maybe I’ll get my chance someday so we’ll see.

*warm up sets not included

Dumbbell Shrugs (front): 120lbs x 8 x 2

Superset w/

Dumbell Shrugs (side): 100lbs x 8 x 2

Superset w/

Plate Shrugs (behind): 45lbs x failure x 2

Dumbbell Laterals: 60lb’ers x  8 x 2

Cable Laterals (front & behind): 50lbs x 8/failure, 50lbs x 8/failure

Hammer Strength Shoulder Press: 270lbs x failure x 2

Dumbbell Upright Rows: 90lb’ers x 6 x 2

Superset w/

Cable Face Pulls: 150lbs x failure x 2

Reverse Pec Dec: 160lbs x 8 x 2

Barbell Shrugs: 405lbs x 10 x 2

Decline Sit-ups: 20 x 4

Upright Knee Ups: 20 x 4

I need to update my BodySpace tracker but I’m actually down to 245lbs right now and beginning to look in decent shape. My obliques are gone and the abs are starting to show a bit which is stellar considering this was my heaviest last year and quite bluntly, I was a fat ass by bodybuilding standards. At my absolute heaviest right before cutting I was a portly 272lbs at weigh in. In six weeks I’ve lost 27lbs with little to no muscle loss. Not too bad if you ask me.

The one drawback to “getting big” is having to outfit yourself. Since working at a J Crew for extra cash back in high school I’ve become a bit of a label whore. Hey I admit and I do scan the US Weekly Vanessa brings home from work on occasion (she’s in publishing). Anyway, I just bought a few Ed Hardy t-shirts a few more Lacoste polos before logging on here. All are XXL’s. Based on my shoulder and chest size these even when I’m down around 220lbs I’ll still be a XXL. I still need to find a few outfits to sport at all the Olympia events coming up in Las Vegas at the end September. I’m thinking some Robert Graham might be in the line up. What’s the point investing so much time into your body if your clothes don’t compliment it well?

I had a meeting with Rich Gaspari and our COO Joe Babick last week and while I can’t share all the details, I can tell you that they agreed to add another flavor of SizeON. This wasn’t a hard sell on my part because it’s quite clear from forum feedback it would be widely accepted. I’m not sure if a lot of companies pay attention to the consumer chatter here on Bodybuilding.com but we certainly do. Anyway, it should be out in 6-8 weeks so look for it.

*warm-up sets not listed

Hack Squats (rest pause): 450lbs x 8, 5, 3

Laying Leg Curls: 150lbs x 8 x 2

Superset w/

SLDL: 225lbs x 8 drop 135lbs x 8 x 2

Leg Press: 1350lbs x 10 x 2

Walking Barbell Lunges: 135lbs x 24 paces x 2

Single Leg Curls: 55lbs x 10 x 2

Seated Leg Extensions: 150lbs x 100

This was a few days ago and it hurts to sit down, walk, and move. On the upside, it seems my hamstrings are really starting to drop in my side-chest pose which is encouraging. It’s nice to see that a little bit of focus actually yields results. It probably also helps that the leg equipment at my current gym is a bit better than my old gym. Go figure it’s barely even used as well because none of the guys at my gym train legs!

If you have ever listened to commentary during a bodybuilding or figure competition you will most likely hear the term “great genetics” a few times. Most people don’t give it much thought and but as a fitness athlete you most certainly do. This is usually the one limiting factor to achieving a high level of competition which any serious athlete must face eventually. Your diet is in check, you have obsessive motivation, and your training is unparalled. However, no matter how hard you try, you are always stuck with the genetic blueprint that you inherited from your parents.

Whether gene doping is good or bad in the classical sense is a moot point in my opinion. The reason being, high-level athletes enjoy a host of ever evolving technological advantages over their opponents and the “commoners.” As a swimmer you can wear a sharkskin suit, as a skier you can wear helmets developed in a jet propulsion laboratory, most likely they are eating foods coming from genetically modified animals and plants, and I’m sure they are even eating dietary supplements just incase they need something to blame in case they “pop positive” on a doping test. So what’s wrong with gene doping again?

Personally, I have no problem with it. Athletes have always sought to have the upper hand in competition and so have coaches. Frankly, there are bigger fish to fry when it comes to “cheating” that need to be addressed. How filming other teams football practice right before the Superbowl? Haven’t heard a peep about that in some time. What about kids being taken from the parents at the age of five and being forced through grueling workouts in state sponsored Olympic “hopeful” camps? Does it get any sicker than that?

Look, gene doping is a reality. If you think for one second a large percentage of American or athletes from any other country haven’t engaged in this practice then you probably also feel the NFL has a great steroid testing program. Just like steroids there are some risks, but as always they calculated risks that an athlete is willing to take to be the “best” they can be.

Perhaps I’m just a bit jaded when I was 100% natural and trying to compete in a “natural” organization when half of the elite competitors had gyno. These days, I’m not so idealistic and am certainly not kidding myself anymore. Gene doping has arrived and if you don’t think it’s possible go to your grocery store and compare the organic chicken breasts to their cheaper but much large counterparts. The only limitations these days are in the human imagination.