fltallpaul’s BodyBlog

I have had my mind set to do a show in 2008 for a while now. The close I get to my ideal contest shape the more I realize I still have so much to do. I have read everything I can find in regards to contest prep and it really helps. I have even attended a show to see what the pre judging is all about and now I am really focused. Most everyone I know is on board and knows I am on a diet. A few of them even look at me funny when I reach for a french fry from thier plate…which I love. So I feel I am ready for the next step in my approach. For me that is finding a coach.

 I have been following Layne Norton since I first got on bb.com. He has not done any shows or dieted at all during my time on the site but he has had several pupils that have. Tommy Jeffers became my point of interest since he and I have similiar backgrounds, baseball and bodybuilding. His transformation was amazing and was documented on Layne’s video series. So I decided to speak to Tommy about getting a coach. Tommy replied to me personally and was very helpful. From there I decided to contact Layne myself.

 I sent Layne an email and told him a bit about where I was and where I wanted to go. I expected to hear from him in less than a week. Well I heard from him in less than an hour. We went back and forth on emails for several days and I have decided to hire him as my coach after the New Year. I am going to plan out my bodybuilding season and traing and diet accordingly. I am looking forward to working with someone who has inspired me these last few months.

 I have never needed motivation to go to the gym, and that will never change. I have had trouble in the past keeping my motivation to diet due to lack of progress. The articles and research Layne has done allowed me to get past that plateau and now I am ready to become more than just a bodybuilder in the gym….I can’t wait to step on stage…

So I have been fine tuning my diet, supplements and training for the last year or so. I know what is going into my body on a daily basis and have even been able to adjust my intakes on a daily basis to get desired results. As an example, on days when I know I am going to be putting a lot of effort in the gym or when I want a good pump I can adjust my macros for the day and time it pretty well so I get just what I want. I can also tell on a daily basis what I weigh….the mirror has also become much more of a guide. I have been able to notice slight changes in my day to day appearance that tell me where my conditioning level is at. New veins tell me when I am getting to a new level of leanness while also keeping muscle…

 Sunday I had a cheat day which I was feeling pretty bad about. Before Sunday I was 224 and had clear obliques, leg veins and inner bicep veins. I only mention this because these are the most recent signs that my cardio and diet are working. Well Sunday I was sure that I had blown up all of those gains. I ate pasta, bread, sugar and several other foods that I just don’t eat anymore. I still made sure I ate every 3 hours and that I got my minimum macros so it wasn’t a complete wasted day. I fully expected to look in the mirror in monday and be smooth.

 I also recently started taking VasoCharge and Xtend. Both of these products are Scivation and recommended by the natural bodybuilders that I follow the most. Those being Layne Norton and Tommy Jeffers…both now pros. So with four days of supplementing those two items and a full cheat day behind me I went to the gym for a heavy day of back, traps and bi’s. My training partner had to miss the workout so I put off doing heavy Chest until I can get a good spot from him.

 I did my workout which felt great. I had tons of strength and looked very full in the mirror. I had a t shirt on but I could tell I was looking bigger than usual on this day. After moving through all of my workout I wanted to see my weight. I stripped down in the locker room and was amazed at what I saw….I was vascular all over, obliques still visible, muscle bellies looked very full….seperation in my quads and I actually felt like I was looking at a bodybuilder. Someone walked in while I was doing my posing and I felt bad. Sometimes when I am posing I think about how I used to look at guys who posed in the locker room and think they were conceited asses. Well I intend to be on stage in the coming months and I no longer feel guilty about posing in the locker room. On this night I did feel a bit strange only because I felt like I looked really good.

 I was still sure I had gained a few lbs only because I had eaten like a horse the day before. The only cardio I did was walk for one hour on Sunday night to get rid of my bloat. So I went over and stepped on the scale. I placed the weight at 227 hoping it would prove to be too much….well it was way too much. Once I started tapping it over I didn’t stop until it was 224.

 I am not sure if this means my metabolism is becoming fast enough to handle extra calories, or if this is just what some refer to as a refeed day. Either way I am extatic that I looked bigger, had more seperation and more vascularity and still weighed the same. I think i will be a few lbs lighter by the end of the week now that I am back on my strick eating plan. I guess I will see just how in tune I am with my diet.

 Paul.

Today I got in the mail a nice box from bodybuilding.com. I went to the store to try and find what I wanted last week and they were sold out of one item and didn’t carry the other. Instead of waiting and paying more I just went on bb.com and got it done. Usually I like instant gratification….get it when i want it but since I live in Florida there is a shipping center near me…I got my order in two days. Nice!

 So what did I order. Well first and foremost I got two products from Scivation which I am really amped about. After reading so many positive articles, comments and reading the background behind these two products I am fairly certain I will see results. There is a deal on bb.com right now for a combo of VasoCharge and Xtend for 59.99. They are both $40 products alone so that saved me a few bucks anyway. I also bought a box of Pure Protein bars to keep at my desk at work. Some days I don’t have time to step away to the kitchen for my pre cooked meals and this solves that problem.

 The only supplement that I have taken and truly seen a differnce from is Creatine. I was given a bottle of Phosphagen HP in college when I was lifting daily and not eating right at all. Well within a week of taking this before and after workouts I had added ten pounds and was lifting a lot more weight. I had to ask my strength coach what it was….this was like 95 or so and I had no idea what i was taking…..well looking back i think all the pre and post workout carbs I was getting along with the creatine blew me up. My pumps were sick, my workouts became far better. Other than that I have taken a few things here and there with no real results. I take a creatine product a few times a year and still get a noticable change from it.

 The last few months I have really dialed in a good diet, good habits and I think I can take advantage of Xtends traits. If there is a change in me in the next few months I will know it is directly related….I already had some Xtend today and can’t wait to workout with Vasocharge while sipping on Xtend….Big Pump here I come.

I read recently in an article that the best workout is the one your not doing. This got me thinking about when the last time I completely overhauled my workout. Well it has been a while. Granted I never have the same workout twice but I do stick with 8-10 reps and the same basic exercises. I have decided for the next few weeks to get on a completely new routine. I am going to use a 5×5 program and go really heavy. For example. Last night on squats instead of doing 5 or 6 sets of 10 to 12 reps I went with a 5×5 for a lot of weight…for me anyway. I was on the smith machine, which i use the stoppers so I know how far down to go. I had 3 45’s and a 25 on each side and did all five sets. The last set was tough but not too bad, so next week I will be doing another 10lbs on each side. I continued this for the entire leg workout. Although I was not very tired at the end compared to what I usually do…I can feel it today that I did something different.

 Changing workouts is always strange for me since it takes me so long to find something I really enjoy….opening my mind up to something completely different feels good though so I will see how it goes.