dunkonu9’s BodyBlog

Got a tough one in today. I felt better than I had in a while. I went in the gym was completely empty ( it is only about 12×12 so that is a big deal). I cranked up the tunes and went at it. Small dark dingy and hot, the way I like it. I mean those nice gyms with all the fancy equipment and machines are nice sometimes but I like the basics. I hit check and tris hard. I changed up my dumbbell workout doing a flat then and incline then decline. Cycling through that for three sets of each. Between sets I did abs of various kinds. Just trying out things I had been reading about to see if there was any in particular I was into. I really like the decline with a medicine ball where you go back with a twist bounce the ball back to the top and then the other side bouncing the ball and back up. I feel like I am getting my whole ab region with that one. When I was done with bench and abs. I went and did cable crossovers high med and low. Using a medium weight where I could squeeze it hard in the middle. While doing that I started on my tri’s doing skull crushers. I have to say that is my favorite tricep workout. Then I finished up with some overhead dumbbell extensions.

I really felt good when I was done. I went to shower and can’t wait to take pics in a few days. I was getting disappointed because this bulking stuff makes me feel bad because I am not dropping any weight. I know that is not the intention when bulking but still I was getting used to seeing the lbs drop off. After looking in the mirror I can see muscles. Like real muscles relaxed just sticking out there. Tri’s, traps, chest without flexing, I did not even know you could see your tri’s from the front but I can see them. My outlook is getting better. I cannot wait till the 1^st when I start cutting hard again. Sounds strange but I miss two a days. I am going to concentrate on HIIT and try to get this whole diet formula figured out, with eating in the structured environment I do where you have only three served meals a day. So I will have to supplement them with really clean meals and I guess replace the bad meals they serve with a can of tuna or something of that sort.

I am positive I will achieve my goal I want to see how much I weigh then and shoot for a certain weight goal. If I can I hope to get my BF% and set a goal for that too. I am going to set the short term goal on the first. I think it will include being able to see my abs J

Well I was sick for a while and did not get a chance to really bulk at all like I had wanted to start. I got over the sickness and decided to go ahead with it till the 1^st of Feb anyway. I am stuck in a place where I have no choice in food really and the gym is really small and dingy. In making the best of it I have been just putting away allot of protein, tuna and other things I packed with me to supplement my diet. I have also just went with heavy workouts trying to finish out the month I guess building more muscle. I do not have a real option for cardio here especially with the hours I am putting in 12-16 a day. Even with all of that I have had one hell of a week of lifting. I have had noticeable gains in the amount of weight I do. I was a little skeptical about any gains I have been making body wise. I would just look in the mirror and see the same thing everyday I was not seeing any fat melt away and really seems as if I was gaining. Today I felt pleased I went in did a killer chest and tri workout and on my way to the shower I was like wow I have some pec muscles finally. It might have been fresh pumping because I had just lifted but they were there. I am going to continue to hit it as hard as possible and hope for the best on pic day I do them the last day of the month. After that I am going serious with the two a day’s. I have read every piece of literature I can get my hands on concerning HIIT and plan to use it. I will take my weights to a medium range and maybe add a few more reps in there. Get serious about the diet part since I do not have any gifted genetics and will have to work damn hard to get there. Sacrifices will have to be made to achieve my goal but it is becoming go time. I will have just a little over 2 months on Feb 1^st till I get home to the wife and I want her to be pleased and I just want to be proud to take my shirt off at the beach this summer. Well there it is another random blog.  

I was doing so good made it through the holidays eating normal. Feeling good about my progress. Gotten some good progress started. I had some good advice to start bulking for awhile. I was prepared to do this but after a week of trying it I got sick. It has kicked my butt pretty good. It sucks I was really prepared to hit it I got some new supplements and try to put a little mass on.

Well I am feeling better. I hit off a cardio session and lifted hest and tri’s not real hard lifting, got back in the groove. I do not think I will be trying to bulk now I think I am going to just continue cutting. I see many two a days in my future. It is just a minor setback. I do not think I will see abs by Feb but I will just start working hard to have them showing by April. Maybe March if I am lucky, I can have them. Diet is the biggest issue I have been working. I am still learning about the nutrition, the protein carbs fat mix. I am learning reading and figuring it out. It is just a work in progress with the diet. Figuring out all the right amounts of what to eat what is good bad and other just sucks a bit. I wish it was as simple as hard work in the gym. I am good at that part.

Well the sickness is gone and hard work is in effect. Now it is time to play catch up on the days I missed in the gym.          

Mentally

My first step was take a before picture. I also learned from a trainer along time ago to have a motivation picture. Not Ronnie Coleman sorry to break the news to you most people will not achieve that physique. Take a skinnier you or a person with your build. I have a picture of Dan Majerle we are nearly the same size and I think I can achieve that some day. He is also one of my all time favorite players too. Or you can just have a picture of your favorite hottie that you like look at and think about her for your workouts I do that pre workout to get motivated I have a few pics of this smoking redhead that gets me fired up to lift. Get you a good list of motivational music that is upbeat to run to. I think allot of your workout is mental so preparing yourself as much as you can to do the workout because consistency is the key. Make working out a habit. If you smoke you think about do I have cigarettes, if you drink you prepare ahead of time to stop and grab beer if you’re a crack head do you well if you’re a crack head your probably not reading this. Same with working out think about it do the reps in your head get excited about it like you are going to do it better than you have ever done it more weight more reps more muscle better looking.

Training.

I was fed up and the only way I know how to get in shape is run. I started running I was not the fastest and I could not run forever. I set in my mind to run for at least 30 min a day. It was extremely slow on some day but I kept moving my feet. I did a little bike and some elliptical because a few places I was at did not have space to run or treadmills. One day in Africa the course was shut down due to “big cats”. I did decide to take that day off. For the first month I just did cardio and my ground training push ups a ton of abs. I was hurting my back felt like crap I did not want to do it a few days. Then I took my first month pics man I felt good about myself. I went on a run I did not hurt I looked forward to my workouts wondering what I would do. So I moved to some full body weight workouts. Then I all the BB.com articles I could. I thought some people were off their rocker about lifting heavy and doing some HIIT training. I like lifting heavy so I read more about it and decided it only made sense and if nothing else you just get bigger muscles and it makes your belly look smaller like fat chicks with big boobs. I was down for that and added it in about the beginning of the second month maybe a week before. I also started  doing weighted abs shortly after that too I like it hit them hard once a week on my shoulder day. I have it in my journal. Than the whole HIIT thing. I like the concept you do 15 min of cardio instead of the 30-45 you usually do. I was not sold so I just started doing it sometimes like if time was tight. I really got the hang of it after a little bit I do not think I was doing it hard enough we had this ramp on the ship I was on at the time I started doing ramp sprints with a little jog at the bottom if you do it right you will be just as wore out as if you did your 45 min. I still do it between but I am leaning more towards the HIIT now. I do my cardio in the morning before eating if I can and then lift later in the day. I like it like this because I like the heavy hard lifting and if I lifted in the morning I do not think my body would have the nutrition to lift like I want to. Recently I have skipped some of my morning cardio sessions and replaced them with basketball after lifting. I do like to get a long run in and sometimes prefer doing it on my day off. It is important to listen to your body take a day off if your not feeling it take two if you really need it. Your body will thank you. I have had some of my best runs best days in the gym after a day off. Don’t burn yourself out or you will not want to keep doing it you will feel down and out and hurting that is not good. Start where you can I learned my first day in the gym I was not anywhere near where I was at before and I paid for a week later as my chest hurt so bad I could hardly get my shirt on. You don’t jump in your car and just slam it to the floor when you take off especially if it has not been driven in a while. You start out slow let things warm up and you will be able to hammer it to the floor trust me.

Nothing special about my split

Chest/tris

Back/bis

Shoulders traps abs

No legs I play basketball and like to just do bodyweight with them.

All with minimal rest around 30-45 seconds if any. On shoulder days I do my abs between sets. I spend no more than an hour in the gym tops. That is 4 exercises 3sets each of major muscles and 3excersices 3 sets on the smaller muscle. In out no messing around. 

Nutrition

I made the change in my diet as much as I could. I am kind of at the discretion of the cooks for my food. I just make sure I would eat all the veggies they have and any healthy main dish they serve. Most of it is either fried or smothered in cheese and butter. I would grab some extra cereals and peanut butter at breakfast. I did drink a diet soda with lunch everyday and sometimes supper too for me it was enough sweetness to help me cut down on cravings. I have went away from that a little and plan on cutting it out this month. In my second month I started taking some protein after my workouts or at my evening snack. I take a multi vitamin with some extra vitamin C and glutamine everyday. I have since ordered some more protein and some NO2 to give it a shot. I have spent the last week and a half back in civilization so I have ate a little bit of junk and had a few beers because I was missing it. I am back now and have the option of cleaning up my diet I will be trying to cook the right things and adding some things that were missing as far as veggies and how they are cooked. Now that I know what I will need I will be taking plenty of tuna and protein with me next time out the door so I can supplement on the days they are serving junk. As well as a few decent cheat foods for those days that I feel like I need it and it is definitely needed as far as I am concerned. If you are not in great shape and making a serious change for this if it is too drastic you less likely inclined to stick with it. If you are having a good week and you do not feel like cheating by all means don’t but if you cheated on Sunday and you see something that you really want on wed by all means have it in moderation. Share it with your significant other throw half of it out as soon as you get it order it in a small. Then throw a little extra in your workout the next day. Now don’t do it every other day all the time but don’t stop living. You will get to a point where you have put in the hard work and love the new look where you will ask yourself do I really want that or can I go without it today.