firebloks’s BodyBlog

I started dieting hard last week and it is going well, but I need to rant —- if you don’t want to hear my poor me and complaining, then just close this box and move on.

First — My wife is in the hospital tonight because of a kidney stone that a different hospital in our area missed on 2 previous cat scans or mri’s or however they identify them.  I got in a big argument with my boss because I felt like he didn’t believe me as to why I was leaving work early and not working tomorrow (she’s getting the stone lasered). I probably should be in bed right now, but I am stressed, didn’t get to the gym today either and can’t sleep.

RANT ——  now I don’t guarantee my numbers/stats are 100% accurate, but they are close and I have been diligent on getting the "estimates" correct as possible and have cross-referenced equations (one rep max and bf%) with multiple websites, so I am pretty confident.  I do acknowledge that they may be off a bit though. ———ANYWAY, on to my rant!  Why do MANY people on here have extensive data regarding everything that has to do with their body, but TOTALLY SCREW UP THEIR BODYFAT PERCENTAGE?!?!?!?!  I won’t be specific, but one guy updated his stats tonight and I just happened across his page.  He had down something like 15% bodyfat!?!?!  I am by no means a mathmetician, doctor, nurse, personal trainer or any other professional that has measured a zillion people’s bodyfat, but give me a break!  This guy had a huge gut, 16" arms, 185# bench press with a 16" neck.  In addition, all his other stats were what you would expect them to be for someone with those numbers - except bodyfat.  Where the heck did he come up with 15% bodyfat?  Based on the LITTLE I know about the subject, he had to have been pushing 30%!  I have crunched the numbers 50 times for myself using 4 different methods/calculators and averaged 20.9% BF.  I by NO MEANS even remotely think that I am in "good" shape, but definitely am in better shape than this guy is.  Its obvious that this guy has spent significant time gathering data and entering it in his bspace —–wouldn’t he want it to be accurate? or at least in the right ball park? or at the very least in the right time zone? 

Again —- I am not trying to be a jerk or anything, but things like this really irritate me.  I don’t pretend to be ripped like nick edge or konkrete or sean 300 or anyone else that makes the top 6 all the time.  But if someone is going to be so anally retentive that they are inputting exact measurements, workout stats including reps, etc. on a daily/weekly basis, why would they be so uneducated on BF?

One other thing——why is this douche bag on monday night football comparing Jay Cutler the bodybuilder to Jay Cutler the quarterback for the bronco’s? SHUT UP STUPID!

I’m going to bed! God, please let tomorrow be better - amen

I’ve been bulking for 18 months now and as everyone on here knows, it is nearly impossible to gain only muscle.  For the last month, my weight gain has been very stagnant.  I think I do too much cardio for the weight to keep adding. 

I have made some huge gains in both strength and appearance.  I am by far in the best shape of my life.  At my son’s football practice last week, I was timed at 4.9 in the 40.  That’s not very good for a back/receiver or for Jamaica’s own, Usain Bolt, but for a 260 lb lineman, like me, that is movin’! (BTW, I saw on Sportscenter that Usain Bolt’s 40 time is 3.53!! That is almost a second faster than Deion Sanders or Michael Vick!). Also, it is kinda weird that Bolt is on Sportscenter again right now talking about his third gold medal….

Transforming my body over the last 2 years has really changed how people act towards me as well as how I feel about myself.  I have much more confidence than ever and feel great!

I decided that September 1st I am going to start cutting seriously, but still just for fun.  I have no desire to be in any shows (least not yet).  I just want to challenge myself. 

I spend about $50 a week on eating lunch and sometimes dinner while at work, and it is just a waste.  About half of the meals are crap full of fat.  They leave me feeling sick to my stomach and too tired to drive.  I have found that when I bring 3-4 well balanced good meals/snacks, I feel great!

The only real hurdle here is to have the motivation the night before to prepare my meals.  The food is in the house, I just need to put it together.

On the road, it is very difficult to find healthy balanced meals.  At truckstops, 99% of them have only typical fast food joints or gas station hot dogs available.  If you ever stop at a truckstop to get gas or just travelling, notice how so many truckers have big guts!  It is very sad that the vast majority of drivers hardly have access to healthy options.  Now before someone comes up with an "end all" plan to help drivers, bite your tongue until you educate yourself. FMCSA and DOT have several safety regulations regarding meds / supps that drivers can take (no thermogenic fat burners for example), pickup and delivery schedules are quite often so tight that drivers don’t even get enough sleep to be healthy and living on a fast food/gas station diet with only a few pieces of fruit at the counter is hardly going to make a dent.

Of course it is possible for every driver to eat right and exercise/workout properly, but it is much more difficult than it is for the general public.  Think of all of the options you have regarding where you eat, where you workout, time schedule, etc… THEN imagine finding that in a new town every day.  It is nearly impossible! 

A few friends of mine and I are quite motivated and the exception to the rule, because we have OCD on <building muscles> (say that in your Arnold voice).  We have dumbells and stretch bands in the truck plus we go to the gym 3-4 nights a week (we get home every night).  One OTR (over the road) guy I know actually has a bench w/ a squat rack and 500 lbs of olympic weights that he sets up wherever he parks everyday.

Sorry for going off on this tangent, just needed to type it all out to get it out of my head.  The negative physical image of truckers needs to change - even if me and a few friends are the only ones doing it!

I actually plan to start my new gameplan this monday, but officially, it starts 9-1-08.

—–Allan

Well, I haven’t written a post in about 3 months, just been too busy.  I have still been lifting a lot though.  My upper body focus is paying off pretty well.  My arms and chest are starting to get some looks and comments, so that always makes ya feel good!  On July 1st I plan to update all my stats and pics.  Starting August 1st I plan to start a cutting regimen that will resemble a pre-show plan.  I don’t plan on competing or anything, just want to shed the fat once and for all.  My arms and chest are finally getting to the point that when I cut, I won’t look like a scrawny goofball.

Been going to a lot of baseball games lately.  My 12 year old - Devin - has had a pretty good season.  He just made the all-star team, so that starts next week.  My 8 year old - Casey - didn’t make all-stars, but he had a blast anyway.  He just turned 8, while most of the kids on the team already turned 9, so he is about a year behind.  He will be fine next year.  He was upset for a few minutes, but he is ok now.

Softball is going well.  I have been hitting much better this year.  No homeruns, but getting a lot of line drives and hard grounders.  Jiu-jitsu has had to take a back seat the last few months.  I plan to get back into it in august or september.  Its tough to juggle the schedules right now.

Hope my friends on here are doing well and still working hard!

Well, I haven’t written a post in about 3 months, just been too busy.  I have still been lifting a lot though.  My upper body focus is paying off pretty well.  My arms and chest are starting to get some looks and comments, so that always makes ya feel good!  On July 1st I plan to update all my stats and pics.  Starting August 1st I plan to start a cutting regimen that will resemble a pre-show plan.  I don’t plan on competing or anything, just want to shed the fat once and for all.  My arms and chest are finally getting to the point that when I cut, I won’t look like a scrawny goofball.

Been going to a lot of baseball games lately.  My 12 year old - Devin - has had a pretty good season.  He just made the all-star team, so that starts next week.  My 8 year old - Casey - didn’t make all-stars, but he had a blast anyway.  He just turned 8, while most of the kids on the team already turned 9, so he is about a year behind.  He will be fine next year.  He was upset for a few minutes, but he is ok now.

Softball is going well.  I have been hitting much better this year.  No homeruns, but getting a lot of line drives and hard grounders.  Jiu-jitsu has had to take a back seat the last few months.  I plan to get back into it in august or september.  Its tough to juggle the schedules right now.

Hope my friends on here are doing well and still working hard!

Well, I haven’t written a post in about 3 months, just been too busy.  I have still been lifting a lot though.  My upper body focus is paying off pretty well.  My arms and chest are starting to get some looks and comments, so that always makes ya feel good!  On July 1st I plan to update all my stats and pics.  Starting August 1st I plan to start a cutting regimen that will resemble a pre-show plan.  I don’t plan on competing or anything, just want to shed the fat once and for all.  My arms and chest are finally getting to the point that when I cut, I won’t look like a scrawny goofball.

Been going to a lot of baseball games lately.  My 12 year old - Devin - has had a pretty good season.  He just made the all-star team, so that starts next week.  My 8 year old - Casey - didn’t make all-stars, but he had a blast anyway.  He just turned 8, while most of the kids on the team already turned 9, so he is about a year behind.  He will be fine next year.  He was upset for a few minutes, but he is ok now.

Softball is going well.  I have been hitting much better this year.  No homeruns, but getting a lot of line drives and hard grounders.  Jiu-jitsu has had to take a back seat the last few months.  I plan to get back into it in august or september.  Its tough to juggle the schedules right now.

Hope my friends on here are doing well and still working hard!

Well, I haven’t written a post in about 3 months, just been too busy.  I have still been lifting a lot though.  My upper body focus is paying off pretty well.  My arms and chest are starting to get some looks and comments, so that always makes ya feel good!  On July 1st I plan to update all my stats and pics.  Starting August 1st I plan to start a cutting regimen that will resemble a pre-show plan.  I don’t plan on competing or anything, just want to shed the fat once and for all.  My arms and chest are finally getting to the point that when I cut, I won’t look like a scrawny goofball.

Been going to a lot of baseball games lately.  My 12 year old - Devin - has had a pretty good season.  He just made the all-star team, so that starts next week.  My 8 year old - Casey - didn’t make all-stars, but he had a blast anyway.  He just turned 8, while most of the kids on the team already turned 9, so he is about a year behind.  He will be fine next year.  He was upset for a few minutes, but he is ok now.

Softball is going well.  I have been hitting much better this year.  No homeruns, but getting a lot of line drives and hard grounders.  Jiu-jitsu has had to take a back seat the last few months.  I plan to get back into it in august or september.  Its tough to juggle the schedules right now.

Hope my friends on here are doing well and still working hard!

Well, I haven’t written a post in about 3 months, just been too busy.  I have still been lifting a lot though.  My upper body focus is paying off pretty well.  My arms and chest are starting to get some looks and comments, so that always makes ya feel good!  On July 1st I plan to update all my stats and pics.  Starting August 1st I plan to start a cutting regimen that will resemble a pre-show plan.  I don’t plan on competing or anything, just want to shed the fat once and for all.  My arms and chest are finally getting to the point that when I cut, I won’t look like a scrawny goofball.

Been going to a lot of baseball games lately.  My 12 year old - Devin - has had a pretty good season.  He just made the all-star team, so that starts next week.  My 8 year old - Casey - didn’t make all-stars, but he had a blast anyway.  He just turned 8, while most of the kids on the team already turned 9, so he is about a year behind.  He will be fine next year.  He was upset for a few minutes, but he is ok now.

Softball is going well.  I have been hitting much better this year.  No homeruns, but getting a lot of line drives and hard grounders.  Jiu-jitsu has had to take a back seat the last few months.  I plan to get back into it in august or september.  Its tough to juggle the schedules right now.

Hope my friends on here are doing well and still working hard!

Tonight I wasn’t going to go to jiu-jitsu because I was still sore from yesterday.  Jennifer (my wife) ended up going into work 3-11, so at 6:45p today I was bored out of my mind.  I jumped out of the chair, yelled to the boys that I was going and if they wanted to go, they had 5 minutes to be in the car.  So we headed up to the gym and I had planned on going light tonight, due to the soreness.

Of course Miguel picked up on it really quick that I was a little sore and pouting a bit.  He got right in my @$$ and turned the practice up a notch!  To be honest, that’s what I really needed.  We did a total of 500 crunches and 300 push-ups/crab-ups —-wanna talk about intensity?  Two guys puked, I didn’t puke, but did get a taste of the salad I had for lunch. 

Most of practice was the same as usual - technique, blah blah blah.  But then we did something new that was a lot of fun.  He separated us into 4 different weight groups (which put me in the heavyweights).  Then we had our own little tournament.  2:30 rounds, winner stays in, normal points rules, elbow/shoulder/neck submissions allowed.  This one guy they call "Hurley" (yes, he looks exactly like Hurley from the TV show LOST) was in our group.  He is strong, but being so heavy, his cardio is horrible, so wearing him down is pretty easy.  I went with him first and managed to beat him by points.  After I beat Hurley, I was out of gas!  Right when the next guy was coming into the ring at me, I realized that Jennifer showed up to watch!  She got out of work early.  I got a huge burst of energy right then - it was like something just tripped in my head.  Poor Hector had no chance at beating me.  He fell back into full guard, then I passed it in about 3 seconds and nailed an arm bar 10 seconds later.  I ended up winning the next 5-6 matches before a guy from the weight class below ours came up and beat me.  We had both went 7-8 matches straight, so I can’t whine that I was tired, but he just wanted it more than I did.  I gave up——-which PI$$ES ME OFF!  Another 30 seconds of hustle and I could have won it!

Jennifer was still impressed.  She counted 24 bruises on my chest and arms and thought that I had been getting my butt kicked every night.  When I finally got home (after 3 hours of intense training) she made me take a shower first of course.  Then she told me she was proud of me and didn’t realize how tough this is and how hard I try.  Made me feel like a million bucks!  That lasted about 15 minutes.  She is now sleeping on the couch as I type this and my aches and pains are setting in.  I feel like $1.35 right now! LOL!  NO PAIN NO GAIN!  TRAIN HARD OR GO HOME!  IF YA CAN’T RUN WITH THE BIG DOGS STAY ON THE PORCH! —-and all those other motivational sayings.

PEACE, LOVE AND GOODNIGHT!

I talked with Miguel tonight and know that I could have won my class at the Arnold in the grappling tournament.  I plan to crank up the training and make a decision April 1st on if I will fight in the next tournament which is May 24th.  I really want to drop to the light heavyweight instead of being forced to go against +300 lb’ers in the super heavyweight class.  However the real big guys generally have horrible cardio and are really slow, so maybe I should stay in this class.  Well—I guess its something I still need to think about.  I plan to train hard this month and eat right and see what happens. 

I lifted heavy on Saturday and felt great!  I had a great pump and my arms felt like they were as big as they have ever been.  Tonight I went to jiu-jitsu and trained for a solid 2 1/2 hours.  Insane cardio and fitness in the beginning, then some technique for an hour, then an hour of grappling.  I had a huge accomplishment for me….I didn’t get submitted once all night.  I think I rolled with 8 -10 different guys, so I got a good variety of skill level and size thrown at me.  I did take a shot to the mouth and look like Angelina Jolie now, but I expect that to happen now and again.  I will survive.

I had a great time at the Arnold and want to write down these good memories before my old, feeble mind forgets them! 

Devin and I headed down there on Friday am.  The ride was horrible because I hurt my back at work (slipped on ice), so the 5 1/2 hour ride felt like 55 1/2 hours.  When we got to Columbus, we went straight to the show.  We got there at 3:30pm, so we had to hurry because it closed for the night at 6pm.  It wasn’t that busy so we were able to walk around freely, without bumping elbows with a ton of people.

First - of course - we went to the bb.com booth.  We met Jamie Eason, Bob Chick & Bill Romanowski.  All of them were very cool.  Jamie is really tiny - about the same size as Devin.  She was sweet and smokin’ hot!  Bob & Bill were both cool - we talked for a few minutes and got a pic.  Bob is friggin’ huge!  I can’t post the pic because it makes me and Romo look emaciated!  Too funny!  While we were at the bb.com booth, I saw Tabitha2686 and rlxmuscle.  Yes, RLX is huge too.  I just happened across their bspaces a few days ago, so when I saw them in person, they def caught my eye.  Nice looking couple.

Next, we saw Jay Cutler at the MuscleTech booth.  OMG!  HE IS A MONSTER!  I’m gonna put his pic up on my myspace.  Online, I have heard not so nice things about Jay - well, I am here to say that he was cool w/ me & Dev.  I hollered over at him and asked him to give us a double - bi.  He asked if I was back far enough to get the whole shot! -everyone around got a good laugh!  He is huge though.  IMO - the biggest guy in the building by far.

You guessed it - we saw Ronnie Coleman next.  Yes, I said that Jay was the biggest in the building!  Don’t get me wrong, Ronnie is big as hell, but didn’t look bigger than Jay.  Anyway - Ronnie was over in the BSN booth w/ a couple females, signing pics.  I got one of those and took a pic w/ him.  He was really quiet and subdued.  I heard he had been there all day signing (+8 hours) and was having an "unofficial competition" with Jay on who would sign more autographs.  I don’t know who won or if it was real or not.

Next, we walked around and racked up on supps, shaker cups, t-shirts, coupons, posters & pics.  By the time the weekend was over, we had 4 bags full of goodies.  I was like a kid on Halloween when we got home a little bit ago.  I poured it all out on the table and sorted the supps and put them in gallon baggies.  I can’t wait ’till tomorrow when I can start hitting them.

8-ball had a punching game that everyone at the show knows what I am talking about.  Basically - it was a speed bag on an arm that you hit and a computer generates a "power number" to record how hard you hit it.  I hit it 4 different times.   My high score was 822.  The high score of the weekend (at least up until this aft) was 866 - by "Tee" - an Ohio State fan.  Ironically, he looked like the smallest guy of his group but packed one heck of a punch.  The lady running this attraction was Becca Swanson.  If you don’t know who she is, google her.  She is by far the biggest, strongest female I have ever seen.  I felt bad because some of the guys were being jerks to her.  Not many people were asking her for her pic or autograph.  I came across her on the web a few months ago and knew that she was planning on going for a 600 lb. bench press this spring, so I talked to her about it.  She did look quite masculine, but was a very sweet lady.  I spoke with her for several minutes and got an autographed pic to put up w/ all the other pics in my garage.  She has worked just as hard, if not harder, than any other pro.  I wish more people could see past the outward appearance and get to know people at least a little bit before they make ignorant, rude comments.  Becca - if you read this - I support you and your dream 100%.  Keep workin’ hard! A real inspiration! 

After the show on Friday, Dev and I hooked up w/ Miguel and the rest of the fighters from our gym and went to the weigh-ins.  We had 2 guys that had to go upstairs and run to drop a lb or two, but they all got under weight within an hour.  We were gonna go to dinner together, but their hotel was the opposite direction of ours. 

Saturday (today) morning, we met up w/ our good friend Mike (firemedicmike) and his son Alexander.  This was the first time we met in person, but have been friends on here for several months.  I felt bad for Mike because he was obviously exhausted (sorry dude but you looked like crap) because he was up all day yesterday, then worked midnights last night, picked up Alexander, then drove all the way down to Columbus.  Poor guy!  Mike is a big fan of Animal supps, so we went over by their booth and Mike got some t-shirts & hats and stuff.  We walked around for a couple hours together, talked, took some pics & stuff.  Carla—–Mike didn’t give me a kick in the shins like you told him to!  Also, he is getting some sick shredding going!  He will do well at his show.  Around noon, Mike decided to take off.  As much as he didn’t want to, he knew he couldn’t keep walking the show and fighting all the people in there for oxygen.  By noon there must have been +50,000 people in there - LITERALLY!  -ask anyone who was there today, it was packed!

Dev and I then went over and watched the NAGA grappling matches.  We had about 20 guys in there today from our gym.  I got a text from Miguel tonight that said we had 5 champions by day’s end.  We have a few kids in it tomorrow - two of which are almost guaranteed victories.  We train hard in our gym w/ an excellent instructor.  I am very proud to be a part of Miguel’s classes and that we put on such a good showing today (and will tomorrow).  I am kind of mad at myself for not signing up Dev and myself for this tournament.  TBH, I was a bit scared and didn’t believe what people were telling me re: format & groupings of the skill levels, etc…  Well, I was wrong.  I watched the class I would have been in and I think I would have won it.  The championship match was like it was in slow motion!  I saw about 20 opportunities each of them had for submissions, but they either didn’t have the technique or were just to out of shape to do them!?!?!  I guess this just solidifies my opinion (fact) that Miguel is an excellent instructor and I should have taken his advice and signed up.  I don’t want to take anything away from the effort the guys in my class did, afterall, I was too chicken to even sign up!  Just wait till the next tournament - you are all in big trouble!

By the afternoon (1-2pm)  the whole Expo was just packed.  Amateur bb show was wrapping up on the main stage and the aisles were not walkable.  Almost every booth had a celebrity of some kind in it.  We stopped and talked with Houston Alexander (UFC) for several minutes and almost got to see him beat the crap out of a guy.  We were talking, when all of the sudden a guy comes up to him and starts yelling at him about a UFC fight Houston was in a few months ago.  Houston was caught off guard, but played it cool.  Then this clown goes to pose for a pic w/ Houston and acted like he was hitting him w/ an uppercut!  Houston almost lost it.  Being who I am, I would be offended if someone did that to me! Much less if I was a professional fighter!  Houston played it cool and laughed it off, but I would not suggest anyone do that where there isn’t 50,000 witnesses - Houston (or any fighter, alpha male, person w/ a sac) would probably rip your head off!  That was very funny!!

We saw a bunch of other celebrities, Lee Priest, Brady Quinn, Arnold, Wolf (American Gladiator) and some other bb’ers (too tired to remember their names right now, see the pics on my myspace).

Finally, we were walking around, getting tired of running into people, tired of smelling guys that probably stopped by the gym on their way to the show so their arms looked big and smelled like crap and really there just wasn’t anything else to see.  We start walking towards the exit and find out that WWE Wrestler Battista was supposed to be back at this one booth in the next few minutes.  My youngest son, Casey (see pic on my bspace), is a huge WWE fan.  So we decided we would wait at the booth (instead of waiting in the long line) and just get a pic of him.  After one hour of waiting, I told Dev that my back was killing me and we had to go.  He asked if we could stay just 5 more minutes, so we did.  Right before we were gonna leave, Battista showed up.  Like I said, we didn’t get in the line, which was now wrapped completely around the block.  With all the commotion, we ended up at the front of the line, in the line! LOL!  These couple of hillbilly redneck hardcore WWE fans (actually the whole trashy family) was PO’d that we cut them in line! LOL!  The security guards threatened to throw them out of the Expo because they were being rude to us.  We didn’t cut the line intentionally, we got pushed there by security, so we took advantage of it.  We got some pics w/ Battista.  BTW - this was the fourth largest person in the building behind Jay, Ronnie and Bob.  Battista isn’t even a bb’er either!  The guy is huge though. 

For any of you who are WWE fans or just watch because that’s what the kids want (like me), you will appreciate this.  I can’t stand John Cena or Randy Orton.  I was yelling to Battista that he needs to get into the Triple Threat Match that they are having w/ Triple H at Wrestlemania.  Battista and Triple H should team up against Cena and Orton.  About 50 people there heard me and started joining in on the banter and conversation. (almost started a riot!)  Battista just looked at me with a grin and said we would have to wait and see.  I don’t think I am psychic, but I may be onto something here.  Battista is up and coming in WWE and has yet to qualify for Wrestlemania, so something crazy like this could happen.  BTW, I know WWE is all fake and nothing more than a soap opera.  For you insane fans (casey included!) you guys need to take a chill pill!  I am a Triple H and Battista fan, because they train hard and have cool characters.  Randy Orton acts gay and irritating and John Cena looks like Matt Damon which is also irritating. 

Well, if you are still reading at this point, leave me a message and let me know your experiences at the Arnold this year and/or if you have any questions or want to talk more about this blog, let me know. 

-Allan 

PS - Jamie - you are still smokin’!