Doug’s BodyBlog

Fatigue has set it! I don’t know what my problem is but it is driving me crazy! Most of my motivation is out the door. I’ve made it to the gym twice this week but I haven’t had spectacular work outs when i got there. It seems to be a struggle to just hold myself upright and my eyes open. I thought i might be over training or something but my two previous weeks of training were extremely mild do to a busy schedule. I’ve been getting plenty of sleep too. The only things i can think of are: I stayed up till four last saturday cause my band had a gig out of town and I didn’t get a whole long of sleep that night… and the other thing was that I had been taking 200mg of caffiene twice a day for several months and i thought that might have finally started having a negative effect. I cycled off of it on Tuesday but haven’t felt any better yet. I didn’t think it was that big of a dose anyway so I didn’t think it could do my any harm but cycled off anyway. The other weird problem i’m having is constant hearburn. I rarely get hearburn, and i’ve had it pretty much all day for the entire week. Fatigue and heartburn are an odd combinitation. But either way, i hope they both go away soon cause they’re both driving me crazy! I want to hit the gym hard and i haven’t been able to. Maybe I just need to sleep for 24 hours straight or something and see if that helps… I guess we’ll see what the next week bring me.

I spent the majority of my Sunday digging post holes for a privacy fence. It was for my best friends back yard. We used a hand held motorized auger and we did some with manual diggers as well. The ground was cold, hard, and full of old cement from previous holes. Needless to say… it was tough. My best friends father is law was there helping us too. Me and my bud are in our twenties and he is in his fifities. He kicked our butts! Me and my bud are both lifters too and even though we gave it our all and did a find job, he still left us in the dust. He doesn’t have a body building physique even though he’s in decent shape for 50 something. But his fitness level may be miles above ours. He might not be able to run on a treadmill doing cardio for an hour, but i don’t think he needs to. It just got me thinking about that generation. My father is the same way. He has always blown me out of the water when it came to working and stuff. I always struggled to hang with him on the farm and what not, even when i was a teenager. I guessed they were just raised in another time and under different circumstances. There are some out there, who can lift tons of weight and run for hours and look great, and those are very respectable things and great accomplishments. But i wouldn’t be too quick to assume that those who are "fit" could handle anything like what some of my generations fathers, and mothers for that matter, have accomplished in there life time. It just gave me a slightly different perspective this morning, when i woke up and all my joints were killing me. My goals, execises, and techniques aren’t changed in any way by this. I’m gonna still keep up my regimin, but i think maybe i’ll be able to draw inspiration from this. If my Dad, my friends father in law, and others like him can have that kind of working endurance, then I can surely push my self on the treadmill a few more minutes or get that last rep in the next time i’m struggling. Just some thoughs. To be fair though, when i told about my thoughts while we were digging, his response was… "well that might be true, but when my cell phone won’t work, i hand it to one of my kids." Ah, how the world has changed. haha. Well, that’s it for now. Good luck to all! Peace!

I’m not sure really whats going on at the moment with my training. I’m finishing up my 2nd month of my 3 month program today. And i’ve got to be honest with myself, that i’ve just not given it my all this entire week. I’ve been complacent and have even skipped out on a few sets. Partly because of a overwhelming lower back crap on deadlifts (didn’t stretch my hams and gluts well after my leg day two days beore that week), but i’ve willingly quit early as well. I haven’t had much energy and have just felt very sluggish. I don’t know what the deal is. I don’t think i’m depriving myself of carbs or anything. I’m pretty sure i’m getting plenty of those for energy, and the right kinds too. I actually think i’ve done really well nutritionally, which is usually my problem! I am thinking that i’ve been eating a little too close to my workout time so i’m kinda full somtimes when i first get to the gym. I used to eat after the gym but it was hard craming supper and a protein shake down after the workout. Plus i don’t get home till 9pm so i didn’t want to have those late night calories. I was fine with the program when the weight was higher and the reps were around 5 per set or so. But i just really struggled this week with my 12 reps in 5 sets on each exercise. Next month’s has me doing 20-25 reps per set. The weight will be considerably lighter though, so maybe i’ll be able to endure. The other thing that i seem to be continually frustrated with is my form. I’ve studied it quite a bit but i just seem to never be able to hit the muscle i’m working on. Well, not on every exercise, just mainly with chest. My tri’s and shoulders just seem to fatigue way quicker that my pecs do. It’s hard for me to get a pump, and i think my pecs are really lacking compared to the rest of my muscle mass, and not just that vain "my chest can’t ever get big enough" stuff, i’ve just never had one even though i’m kinda broad. Hopefully with these high reps and low weight next month, i’ll really be able to zero in on a particular muscle and really feel that burn so i know i’m working it. Anyway. I’m only doing cardio next week cause i’ll be in vacation in Red River, NM with some of my best friends. So maybe that’ll be a nice energizing break before i knock the rest of the program out when i get back. We’ll see! Good luck to all! Peace!

So i’m doing this three month program that came out in a resent issue of Muscle and Fitness. Last month was all about the Strength gains… i may have mentioned it, i don’t know. It’s not like i have a steady following of readers or anything so i’m basically just thinking aloud to myself. haha. Anyway… The reps were really low though, like 3-5 all month, so i was feeling pretty strong cause i was doing like 220 on bench and 325 on deads… but this month is the mass building month. Reps have gone up to 8 - 12 progressivelly through the month. Man do i feel weak!!! i had 5 sets of 8 reps to do for each exercise and man it was rough. I’m feeling it today which is great but i wasn’t sure how much good i was doing last night. I had to drop the weight considerably! It’s amazing how much difference 3-5 more reps in a set makes! It’s cool though, cause i know it’s not about how much weight i’m lifting as long as i can still to proper form. I would like to have stregth gains but i think i did have a significant strength increase last month so it’s ok. Next month is the leaning out month and the reps are in the 15 - 25 range. I think i’ll be benching the bar by that point!!! I’m anxious to see my gains after the three months is up though… So far, it seems like a good program. Good luck to all. Stay strong. Peace out!

I of course speak of my leg workout on Monday. It never fails… I always start to feel in by the next night and then by that next morning I almost fell over when i stood up out of bed. Is it inconvenient?… Maybe… But man does it put a smile on your face just knowing how well you worked a particular muscle group. It always eases up once i get the blood flowing anyway so it’s ok. I started the new year off with one of Muscle and Fitness’s recent workout plans. This month is low reps for strength, then next month is 8-12 reps for bulking, then the final month is an attempt to slim down with 15-30ish reps and loads of cardio. I would like to be adding in the cardio this month too, but man, i’m not sure how me and the treadmill would get along at this point with my legs. I bet i could do some uphill walking as apposed to my usual HIIT. Either way… I think i’m seeing the progress and i like it. And i’ve finally reached the point where i’m able to defeat most kinds of food temptation. I’ve offically adapted to a live style change instead of a temporary diet and it feels good. Well, i guess that’s it for now. Good luck to all, stay strong. Peace!

I would rather be throwing up sick with a fever for a few days and get it over with then have this stupid cough and junk in my lungs for the TWO WEEKS that i have. It’s mainly just a dry cough now which is even worse. I keep waiting for it to clear up so i can get back in the gym. I managed to run everyday through Christmas day and then i got sick. It was only really bad for one day then it’s just been the cough since then. I’m afraid to hit the gym hard cause i doubt i have the lung capacity to do much plus i don’t want to risk the chance of just making it worse. I don’t know what to do, i think regardless of how i feel i’m gonna go back tomorrow… my coughing seems to be lessening but maybe that’s the quarts of nyquil i’ve been taking… who knows. The good news is that even though i didn’t get the cardio in that i wanted over the holidays, i still managed to loose some weight instead of gain or even just maintain. I don’t know if you can loose muscle weight in two weeks or not, i’m hoping it’s just the fat weight and i’ve maintained at least the majority of my muscle weight. Either way, i’m below 200lbs again and my target goal is 180 so only 15 more pouds to go and then i can reevaluate and set a new set of goals. Good luck to all in their coming new years… I hope everyone’s resolutions last more than a month. Stay Strong, Peace!

I have finally found a HIIT program that works for me. I crank the treadmill up to 10 or 11 mph and I sprint for 30 seconds and then step off for 30 seconds and then repeat for about 15-20 minutes. Before hand i was trying to speed up and slow down the treadmill from like 4mph to 9mph and it was just getting rediculous and then i realized i could just step off for a few seconds and carefully step back on. Afterwords, i really feel like i’ve accomplished something, and it gives me motivation to keep going. Plus i’m sweating like a man-beast when i’m done and i haven’t been doing that with the other Cardio i’ve tried. So we’ll see what the next few months will bring. I’m going to try to keep up the HIIT over the holidays even though i won’t be able to lift every day. I usually do pretty good with controling my eating so hopefully the next couple weeks will be enjoyable and not too overendulging. Good luck to everyone out there. Stay strong. Peace!

Well, i think i made it through Thanksgiving without doing too much damage. I definitely had more restraint than i have had in the past holiday feasts. I had to visit several houses this year too so it was even harder, but i managed. I would say my biggest mistake, was not drinking enough water through out the weekend. But i made sure to pick my gallon consumption back up today. I also started taking Creatine and Glutamine today. They’re both in pill form. We’re gonna see where that takes me in the next few months. I took all last week off as a recovery week so i’m ready for a good workout in the gym tonight. I’m excited to see what the creatine does for me in the next week as it starts to take affect. I am concerned about the what kind i’m using though. I bought the GNC Amplified Creatine 189 cause i got a great deal on it. I’ve read several negative posts since then about that particular brand and form though so i’m not sure what to think. I guess i’ll just have to see what happens and hope for the best. Hope everybody out there had a great Thanksgiving. Stay strong! Peace!

Well, I haven’t really been able to do any length of cardio (at least the kind where you run anyway) since i was in high school. My lower back would always cramp up after 5 minutes or so. But, after my recent visit to a physical therapist, and i’m assuming my core training, i’ve managed to put in 20 to 30 mins of steady state or HIIT training for a solid week with no problems. I am very excited about this. Everytime the gym closes while i’m running, i always wish it was open for another 30 mins so i could keep going. That’s a very strange feeling for me. But it’s exciting and encouraging. I’ve just been flexing the hell out of my abs while i run and i’ve had no pain so far. I hope it continues. Also, on top of that, the trainer that keeps an eye on the gym area came up to me and said that he noticed i was leaning out and that my hard work was paying off. It helps when your loved ones pay you compliments but it’s even better when a non-partial 3rd party tells you something like that. So that was also encouraging. Put all that together along with the new found pump that i’m getting in my chest workouts after adjusting my form and it has added up to be a great week of training. Thanks for reading, good luck to everyone out there. Stay strong! Peace!

Well, i’m still enjoying the heck out of my workouts, especially since i corrected my bench form as to take my shoulders out of the equation. Maybe i’ll see some gains there now that my shoulders aren’t fatiguing before my chest has been. But i don’t really think i’ve lost any fat yet. I’ve been floating around the 201 lb - 203 lb mark. I’d like to be down to 190 soon. I know i can’t use weight as a accurate measuring device cause hopefully i’m putting on muscle mass at the same time but i did measure a little for the first time in a month or so and my measurements haven’t really changed any. I know it’s only been a month but i guess it’s just one of those days. I really think i need to get up a bit earlier in the morning and start doing cardio before breakfast maybe. I hate cardio cause my lower back always hurts when i run, but hopefully i can get some muscle imbalances corrected and i won’t have that problem anymore. I guess that’s it for now, just needed to vent i guess. I’m in not way ready to give up, that’s for sure. If anything, it just makes me want to try harder. Good luck to everyone in their goals! Thanks for reading. Peace!