Transformer in training

This week, I am currently traveling and presenting at a conference. So, I am staying in this hotel in downtown Cincinatti that reminds me of the Haunted Mansion at Walt Disney World. No, that’s not  a bad thing..it’s actually good and really expensive. Whatever the case, they have this gym called "The Gym" and it’s pretty awesome! I guess when you don’t have much at your own gym…seeing a real one is like "Whoa!!!". Well, this morning, I went to go and warmup the legs again….I think they forgot….better yet I forgot that these can be the hardest things to train.

 Sooner or later I will put this into the workout tracker…as for now I couldn’t get it to work:

Leg Press

15 X 90

10 X 200

10 X 200

7 X 400

Deadlift

10 X 90

10 X 180 + bar

10 X 180+ bar

10 X 180 + bar 

Smith-Machine Squat

10 X  90 + bar

10 X 180 + bar

10 X 200 + bar

10 X 200 + bar

Leg Curls

10 X 60

10 X 80

10 X 120

10 X 120

Standing Calf Raise

10 X 200 + bar

10 X 200 + bar

10 X 200 + bar

Calf raises on inclined platform 4 sets of 15 reps

(11:30AM) Unfortunately, I have a hard time resisting the urge to eat the most succulent food…at least in my mind that exist on the earth….soul food. Now,I do have somewhat of a valid argument because I have tasted several cuisines and no not from the local taco bell, or go-go china, or stouffers lasagna…but the real deal holyfield. I must say that at all times I have to come back to what I was raised on soul food.

 So, what’s the big deal??? IT"S NOT GOOD FOR ME!!!! I KNOW THIS AND STILL EAT IT!!!! Man, over the Thanksgiving holliday the sweet yams, greens, chittlins, dressing, cornish hen, chicken, cake, pie and many other things just seemed to caaaallllll mmmyyyy nnnaammmeeee. And yes… I responded with a simple "Fooooddddd", like a hungry dog of some sort.

 So, today I try to squeeze in some cardio to get me back in the mood of working out. My only problem now is that I will be traveling for the next two weeks.Hmmm…real issues have arisen. But, I am determined to tackle these "opportunities", stay tuned for more info. If you have any suggestions, they would be appreciated. later!

(5:15AM) I made my way over to the gym…determined to get in decent workouts before the holiday break. So, today was a chest day. Earlier, some may have saw that I was a little upset that I didn’t have a workout partner; who I think would help me a lot. Well today, I once again experienced my frustration of working out by myself. So here’s how it went…I was doing the incline bench press with I think about 215. Well, I did a few reps and knew that I could possibly do some more but then I was thinking "Man this is getting difficult and what if this bar falls on me with all of this weight on it? I’m a dead man!" So then I put the bar back up on the rack. Once again, upset because I know I could have done more with some reassurance that someone else would be able to catch the bar if I did fail. What do I do…what do I do…and yup you guessed the last question…what do I do? There must be help for the man….

That’s all folks! Happy lifting.

I know this is dum…but have any noticed how the people on the front alternate clothes every few days? I know its weird.

(5:15AM) Fortunately and unfortunately…lifting weights seems to create that life for me. For some reason, I have some kind of complex that seems keep me from "going that extra mile". Hmmm…some may call this complexity "laziness" and how would I respond to that? It probably is….Man…frustration is beginning to set in.

(5:!5AM) When it all boils down…after you finish talking about intimidation…safety or any other words guys tend to use…you’re scared…just like me. What am I talking about? Well, I am glad you asked! This morning I was in the gym getting ready to do some incline benches and had about 225 on the stand. I then lifted the weight in the air, just a little resistance, and then decided to take it down some. As I got ready to go down, I started to think "I may not be able to get this back up!" and "I may have these weights stuck on me in this empty gym!" so I quickly put the weight back up and went down a few pounds. So, yea I was a little scared…scared of plastering my chest and face with weights!!!!! I am pretty sure this may be the reason other people don’t lift as heavy as they potentially could too.

But at the same time, I am a little anxious now, because I wish I had a training partner. I think that if I did then I would not have been scared and then I could push myself to the limits of my full potential. But, life has it where I am stuck hitting the gym by my lonesome…simply increasing weight by 5 lbs each rep or each day until I achieve a new max.

Check out the workout tracker for more info on this mornings workout. See ya when I see ya!

So, today I hit the gym (Notice the workout tracker) and tried to do some different type squats. I did squats to a bench. Okay, I am really jealous now because these squats are nothing!!! I mean I could have literally put about 200 some lbs and been perfectly fine! How do I know this? Because I was barely tired when I finished  my sets this morning and If I did those same sets with no bench, with my ass to the back of my legs…I would have been exhausted!!! Hmm….something for me to think about in the future…

Better yet…bodyspace members what do you prefer?

(2:30PM) So, today I saw this new feature on the site that is pretty awesome. A workout tracker! Now, I can easily put in my workouts each day and catalog them for future use. This will be pretty awesome since I haven’t done this through an electronic method before. Cheeck it out sometime. Peace!

(2:30PM) So, today I saw this new feature on the site that is pretty awesome. A workout tracker! Now, I can easily put in my workouts each day and catalog them for future use. This will be pretty awesome since I haven’t done this through an electronic method before. Cheeck it out sometime. Peace!

Yea…not a good combination. This afternoon I had to hit the gym…cuz I felt a little bad about splurging last night. So, I did a lite leg workout, abs, and did some swimming. Today, I did a weigh in and came out at a whopping 209.5. Hmmm…I dunno where all this weigh is coming in at. Anyway…holla it’s nap time.

(5:30AM) Man…Kanye West, although very preening, is still my dude in the rap game. "Graduation" is a good CD and one that I would recommend to anyone.Anyhow, back workout this morning and this song was my motivation….I think I’m a champion in the eyes of my nephew?!?!?!?!? In fact I’m pretty sure I am…that’s enough inspiration to keep my going sometimes. Peace!

(5:29AM) This morning, for some reason, I had an amazing pump while doing my arm routine [Biceps and Triceps]. It was pretty good, so good in fact I saw veins from my wrist all the way through my shoulders! I am pretty sure these are good signs! Hmm..nothing else to really say here. Good luck everyone and as always thanks for the encouragement and the advice.

Over the past weeks I have heard a lot of buzz about something called MRSA. I asked my wife about it, she’s a nurse, and she said in some cases it could possibly be serious. So, for all of those who didn’t know…I just thought you should be informed of something that taking over at the gyms:

http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/features/5-mrsa-hot-spots?src=RSS_PUBLIC

(8:35AM) This morning, I was thinking about the many people who have helped me out here on bodyspace and their professions. Why did I think of that? I dunno really…maybe it was the fact that everyone is so different yet the same in this goal of living healthier lives…or at least I assume this is part of the goal.

I, for instance, am a college administrator that works with various aspects of students lives through programming and advising. Many times, it hard to explain what I do…but think about it like this….if there was ever someone who helped you in college, that was not your teacher, or a program you went to that change your thought on something..that’s the role that I play. Most of the time I am researching ideas,theories, and talking with students to think about how we can help them make it through college. For example, here is a video of the kind of researching that I do, although this was created by a professor at another school these are the types of things we examine everyday in my line of work:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o

Many professions…one goal

(5:30AM) After doing a couple sets of squats of 205 weight…that’s what was running through my mind!!!!!

This morning…I boldly made my way back into the gym after acting like I was lost for a couple of days. This morning, I did my usual Monday routine…LEGS!!!!!!! I think that I have a slick fascination with legs because 1. They seem like the hardest muscles to train and 2. Women seem to really love muscular legs and especially calve muscles!!! So, if women like, especially my wife, then I am loving it!!!!

So, training to obtain those oak trees was the motto for this morning. Right now, as I sit at my desk, typing this blog, I can feel my legs saying "Thank you!!!" LOL!!!! No, really I can tell that I did a good workout this morning.
Tommorow? I will be off to some chest and ab workout…I think that’s what I am lacking chest…at least that’s what my mean, or maybe their jealous, fraternity brothers hounded me about a few weeks ago.

If you don’t know…my fraternity brothers are the reason I started this whole ordeal…they were always fit and I wasn’t.
If you have any critiques…they would be appreciated as well. Peace out folks!

Until I write again…remember that one great power everyone has is the resilience of the human spirit(i.e. will power)!

(5:25AM) Over the past few days I have been hitting the gym on a regular schedule, although I have not been blogging as much. For those who frequent my blog, you know that I have been desperately trying to add some size to my stature. Some suggested that I do to much swimming others said that I don’t eat enough. I think it was a combination of both. Over the past weeks I have slowed down the cardio tremendously (Although my addiction to swimming will not allow me to completly stop) and have picked up on eating.

I must say that being married helps in this particular instance, because food is already prepared for you! I love it. My main problem at first was being to tired to prepare all of my meals for myself. Yea, I love my wife for this and of course many other things.

Anyhow, the end result? The day before my wedding Sep 28, I was at or about 196 to 197. For the last few days I have been hovering between 205 and 208.

But, here’s my problem now. I am tired of eating all of this freaking food!!!!!! I just can’t win for lose. Maybe I need to stop complaining and just suck it up?!?!?!?!? I dunno….for now I am just happy that I have acheived some results.

Question for bodyspace members:

How long should I do this bulking thing? My only goal is to look nice by March 1. Help me out….please!!!!!!!!!!!!!