dustofnations’s BodyBlog

Y’know, whenever I hit the gym, I don’t roll in as the most noticeable guy. I’m not very loud or vocal, I don’t throw my weights around, I stay out of the way of everyone else, and generally keep to myself or my partner. But it’s always such a good feeling when I look up and realize that, though I’m not the biggest or strongest guy in the gym, all eyes are on me at the end of my set. I love it when people come up to me and compliment me on how my focus and intensity inspire them to try even harder. I love it even more when those same people ask if they can work in with me.

The other day at my gym, somebody I hadn’t recognized walked up to me and mentioned how it was good to see one of the "few superstars of the place" back at it and working so hard again. He mentioned how he loved the attitude I came with and called me one the, "definite champs." Haha you can imagine the smile THAT ego boost put on my face! But my point is that even though I’m not THE best, I like knowing that in someone else’s eyes, I am and that my dedication and attitude can do so much to help someone else reach their fullest potential. The even cooler part is seeing them work just that little much harder always inspires me to do better myself. Thanks for all the great compliments, everyone! Lol, if only I could blush…

so it’s safe to say I’ve definitely gotten back into the swing of things…had some catching up to do, but I’m feeling good and ready to move forward. I have a more solid goal in mind too. I was happy with just kind of hovering where I was at for awhile, but now I’ve decided to really toss up my strength. Big ups to BIGKONCRETE for the inspiration! I can’t do regular BB Squats anymore since some stupid moves in the past have rendered my knees a little unreliable, so I just rock the leg press. Was pretty happy with myself…threw up 680 about 15 times today for several sets. I wasn’t anywhere near as wiped as I thought I would be, so now I’ll step it up and see just what I’ve got. More assessments on other muscle groups to come later…I don’t even remember the last time I maxed. Wish me luck!

yeah, so I’ve kind of disappeared from this a bit. My workouts have gotten much less regular too. I used to be sure to hit it at least 4 times a week, but now with all of my jobs and everything else going on in my life, my workouts are as scattered as Colombian guerillas, but I still make sure to make my workouts count. All I know is that I’m about to dust myself off and pack it on to get back to at least maintaining 175. I want to start shooting for 200 for a very long term goal, but I’m not gonna push it.

I know a lot of us have busy schedules and it’s hard to get into that gym sometime, but just hold yourself accountable and get in there when you can. Yeah, sometimes we all have days when we really just can’t get into the gym, but remember that when you can get in there, to make those workouts count…get that heart rate up there and flood those vessels to rock those intense pumps. Focus and stay determined. If it really comes down to the line and you just can’t get out of the house or office, sometimes even random stuff found lying around and some furniture make for all you need.

So I finally did it! I’m now officially employed as a personal trainer and I couldn’t be happier with the idea. It’s something I’ve always done pro bono for friends and stuff, but I’ve always wanted to make a career of it. It’s just such an overwhelming feeling knowing that this could be the start of my actual career! And even better, a career doing what I love! Oh yeah, and I hear the money isn’t too bad either But mostly I’m just really happy to get my start. I know I’ve still a lot to learn and still need to earn my NASM cert, but I can’t wait to see what things I pick up and to see how this will shape me as an individual. Wish me luck!

so at the moment, i really don’t know what I’m aiming for in terms of goals anymore. For awhile I was training to compete in lifting competitions, then i figured I’d try to add some more size, then try to cut up a bit. I’ve gotten comments from people saying i could probably do okay competing, but I don’t know if I’m quite at that level yet. Any suggestions?

so i’m gonna have to drop out of the powerlifting competition…kind of a bummer but it’s okay. It turns out i’m leaving town the very day of the competition but at least i get to go see my family down in LA. I can honestly say that i don’t feel i was prepared enough since i took a whole month off in the middle of training. I can use this time to improve and then kick it into high gear when the next event comes along. But to anyone else prepping for an event, good luck and maybe i’ll there alongside you one of these days!

so i’ve been using muscle milk for a few months and can say it’s worked out okay. I don’t know about the whole "add lean muscle" thing since i was pretty lean before then, but it’s worked great as a protein supp. Just having the extra protein and all has really helped with rebuilding and recovery, but i think i’m going to switch things up a bit. I went out today and bought some Six Star nitro fuel or something like that…i’ll post it on my page. I do notice how quickly fatigue sets in and all, even with the added protein, so i decided a little extra nitrogen might be a good thing. That coupled with a protein supp should help out a bit. I’m mostly just hoping i can see some strength gains in the near future since i’m pretty happy with my body as it is. Sure i’d like to get a little more cut, but it’s not a priority. If anyone’s tried this supp out before, let me know how it worked out for you or what you thought. Thanks

since my bench competition a few months ago, i’ve been eager to be able to put up 300, but haven’t quite been able to do it. In fact, my bench feels like its decreased a bit. 275 is where i was at for the competition, followed by a small increase, but i’ve gone down since then to about 270. i haven’t been hitting the gym as much, but I’m still training my chest as regularly as before. Generally when i hit a plateau, i try to change things up, but it’s actually taking me a long time to see any gains. Anybody have any ideas?

so i finally got the confidence back to try squatting heavy again. Earlier in 2006, i damaged my knee REALLY badly and couldn’t use it at all. Stupid thing is i didn’t even go to a doctor to have it looked at since i don’t have medical. i just found crutches and kept it in a brace. it took 8 months before i could jog at a steady pace again for a few minutes before it gave me any trouble. It still messes with here and there, but it can take some punishment. Then i chipped a bone in my ankle just before thanksgiving last year so needless to say, i’ve been out of the barbell squat for a good long time. i’ve just been doing hack squats and leg press machines, but today i decided to lay it on the table and try for it. I left high school hitting 370, so thats what i tried for today…no problems and i got the weight up relatively easily. No time to go heavier, plus my back is really giving me crap this morning (my bed really sucks). I’m just happy i’m good enough to head back into 100% good old raw squats. 370 for now, gonna try again soon and get a more accurate measure for my max. Wish me luck!

So there was a question in the exercise forum today asking about why a person was fatiguing so much faster than expected. This is what i told him and figured i’d post it here so it wouldn’t be lost and a lot of people can benefit from it. It’s a long post with lots of into, but i think it’s worth the read.

"your problem is actually a combination of things. Your nutrition, daily habits, and your training. I actually wouldn’t go so far as to call it a problem since it’s a normal thing for all of us.

For your nutrition, its one thing to get the calories you need, but the sources of those calories can make a difference. The large carbohydrate intake would be awesome for endurance type athletes, but since you’re lifting, you may want to up your protein intake a bit. If your serious and pretty consistent about lifting, you would want more protein to be available for gluconeogenesis which is when proteins being taken away from your muscles is broken down and essentially converted to glycogen that can go back into your muscles to supply you energy.

Normally protein doesn’t make up a large part of your energy sources during exercise, but it (as well as muscle tissue) is broken down with resistance exercise which is why you fatigue. take your weight in lbs and multiply it by 0.3. this is how much protein anyone your weight should be getting a day. But its higher for endurance or strength athletes, so go ahead and double that number. If you get close to that amount of protein, you should find that you’ll have a little bit more endurance (and won’t be sore as long). Supps will do the trick, but you dont need them. Some extra eggs or pieces of chicken each day will do wonders.

For daily habits, just make sure you’re getting enough sleep and are giving each muscle group you train at least 2 days to recover before training the same group again. Training them day after day keeps you in a perpetual catabolic state (breaking down muscle) and doesn’t give you a chance to go anabolic (building muscle)

I don’t know how long you’ve been at it, but if you’re relatively new to all of this, you’ve probably been training primarily for strength. That’s all good, but it doesn’t do much to help out with endurance. To train your endurance, lighten the weight and knock out a couple of sets of about 15-20 reps. This can be done for any exercise.After awhile, you’ll notice that you won’t fatigue as quickly. For your legs, you’re always using those a lot and if you happen to run around a lot or skate or something, then you would have already built up some more endurance in them relative to the muscles in your upper body.

I know that was A LOT of info, but i really hope that it helps you out. If you have any question about it, just shoot me a message and i’d be happy to try help clear things up"