fatdaddy67’s BodyBlog

Not a great day. Yes, I stuck to my calories and diet, but I feel horrible. Last night I munched on a bunch of pickles watching the movie Premonition, and today I feel like I have a food hangover. I have been pounding water like mad, but have felt dehydrated and energy-less all day.

Yesterday’s Romanian deadlifts did a number on my hamstrings. I’m off to eat some tomatoes and chicken breasts.

Today’s calories = 2,700

Just a note: I can’t post comments on blogs…Body Space isn’t working for me, so don’t throw things if It seems like I’m not visiting your blog.

Muscle memory.

Those of you that have achieved a great degree of muscle gains, only to lose them, and once again regain them know what muscle memory is. For those of you that have never heard of the term, I’ll try to explain it the best I can.

Let’s say you hit the weights hard and heavy (or for that matter you are a speed skater with thick legs) in your early 20’s. But, somewhere along the line life happened. Your biceps shrunk from 19 inch monsters to 15 inch pistols as your children rolled through their daycare years. Your 400 pound plus squat sessions are now replaced by legs that struggle to lift your children out of their car seats.

So, time passes, life moves on, and you return to a season in your life in which you once again have the time and will to lift weights. Lo and behold, your muscles grow back to their former glory in record time, and you are once again squatting mammoth weights.

What’s going on? Your co-workers think you’re on the juice; all they’ve ever viewed you as was a pot-bellied goofball.  Muscle memory is what’s going on.

From this site, here is a good description of what is going on:

In order to further explain muscle memory it would behoove us to briefly review what exactly this connective tissue is( for a greater explanation read my article, the anatomy of a muscle fiber.  It goes in great depth in what I am about to cover.  So if it seems a bit confusing, you definitely need to consult this article. ).  Simply put every muscle is made up of 1, 000s of muscle fibers.  These muscle fibers are all individually wrapped with a connective tissue wrapping, or a sheath.  This is called the endomysium.  These individual muscle fibers are then organized in bundles( called fascicles ) which are covered by another connective tissue sheathe called the perimysium.  These bundles or fascicles are then placed together in an orderly arrangement( which determines the shape and functionality of the muscle ) and held in place by a layer of connective tissue known as the epimysium.  Finally each of these layers is held together by the deep fascia( a courser material ).  The connective tissue of every muscle fiber acts like a girdle of sorts.  Which means that it binds a muscle group together, and to its neighboring muscle in many cases.  It also protects, organizes and allows the force of contraction generated by the thousands of muscle fibers in a particular group, to be harnessed with great efficiency!     

The important thing to understand is this: Connective tissue is not only a tuff material but also hugs tight to its surrounding area, almost constricting it!  What does this have to do with muscle growth you say?  Ahh, that my friend, is where muscle memory comes in!  Think about it for a moment.  In order for a muscle to hypertrophy, what needs to take place if it is restricted by this tight binding girdle?  The tissue must stretch and become more pliable right?!  If this did not occur, then muscle growth would be hindered( you cannot grow unless there is enough room to do so)!     

07/22/2007: 246.0 pounds

Bodyfat % = 32.94

Fat =  81.03 (-1.35)

Muscle =  164.97 (+3.55)

My bodyfat percentage indicates that I lost fat and gained lean mass. I don’t know if this is from muscle memory, or if my body is holding water.

I spent the morning sanding a drywall ceiling, and by noon I thought I wouldn’t have the energy to workout. After a Clif’s protein bar, a banana, and a diet Mountain Dew, I was feeling slightly better. But the great thing about lifting weights, and exercising for that matter -is that by the time you get a couple sets in, you usually feel much better.

I hit my legs today, and while they don’t feel as "hammered" as my last squat day, I still feel like it was a quality, heavy workout.

Legs, Workout B

Squats - Maximal Effort - 185×3 reps, 215×3, 245×3, 257×3, 295×1, 305xFAIL

Romanian Deadlifts - 135×12 reps, 135×12, 135×10

Single Leg Calf Raises - 35×12 reps, 35×12

Leg Lifts - 2 sets of 12 reps

Side Bends - 35×12 reps, 35×12

I am really making an effort to do my ab work. During my last stint at weightlifting 10 years ago, I always pushed ab work into the "maybe next time" file. Also, I don’t do much calf work. My calves are monsters and always have been. They grow like weeds, so I water them less.

Today’s calories = 2,700

I felt so great yesterday that I had a hard time getting to sleep. But, I still had a good day. My back muscles are sore, moreso than from any previous back workout I can remember - and I’ve had some heavy ones. I never though deadlifting would impact the back in such a dramatic way, but it did.

I now have so many pairs of pants that are useless. I wore my size 38 work pants this week, and wow, what an encouragement that was.

I am very curious to see where I weigh in tomorrow. I upped my caloric intake about 2,500 calories this week in an attempt to stop the muscle loss while still losing fat. I an OK with losing weight at a slower pace if it means I will have more strength and muscle in the long term. We shall see.

Today’s calories = 2,600

I felt much better today. I can usually tell how my day is going to be - energy wise - when I crawl out of bed. Today my body felt better than normal. This resulted in a very good back workout.

Back, Workout B

Deadlift - Maximal Effort - 245×3 reps, 275×3, 305×3, 335×3, 365×2, 385xFAIL, 375×1

T-Bar Rows - 90×10 reps, 90×8, 90×7

DB Curls - 35×12 reps, 35×11, 35×10

Stiff Leg Deadlifts - 225×8 reps, 225×7, 225×6

If you’ve never performed heavy deadlifts before, they hit your upper back like no other exercise. I can feel my upper back in a state of fatigue. In the past, I have hammered out very heavy sets of dumbbell rows and T-bars, but they do not compare to heavy deads.

I have been craving nachos the last 3 days. I crushed my cravings with a heavy dose of jalapeno in my food.

Today’s calories = 2,700

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Short and sweet tonight. I am tired, and have been kept up lately by frequent nightly visits to the potty. Weight loss can sometimes be trying.

Another good day.

Today’s calories = 2,600

Day 50! Fifty days without a cheat day. Fifty days with little to no junk food. I have amazed myself. Never have I gone so long eating so well.

Here is my workout today:
Chest, Workout B

Bench Press - Maximal Effort - 135×3 reps, 145×3, 165×3, 185×3, 205xFAIL, 195×1

Incline BB Bench Press - 135×10 reps, 135×7, 135×5

Overhead DB Press - 50×5 reps, 45×6, 45×5

Close Grip bench Press - 135×6 reps, 115×8, 115×5

Today’s calories = 2,700