Confessions of a Serial Lifter

Was I really that out of shape, and just physically disgusting to look at? I spent some quality time with my mom this past week. It was my 34th birthday on the 2nd and she came over on two seperate occasions. One to take me shopping for some new clothes and the other to take me to dinner.

I had practically no clothes left. Nothing fit. At all. Even my socks felt baggy. Anyway, we found some nice shirts and pants and I was a happy camper. Clothes that actually fit! I was excited…until she showed my something she found. In digging through old boxes, she found a picture of me when my son was maybe 1? So about 7 years ago. He didn’t even recognize me. I didn’t recognize me.

I had originally posted on my beginning profile pic that my biggest was around 260. It may’ve been more than that based on that photo. It was revolting to look at. I was in utter disbelief. How did I let myself get that big? What was I eating? When was I eating it? How much of it was I eating? My knowledge of nutrition now had me reeling! What the f**k was I thinking?

Looking back now, I can’t imagine doing the things I was doing. I’m sure I ate lots of fast food. Spent several hours playing video games and/or watching TV. I was setting a terrible example for my son. I thank God everyday that I decided to make a change. I decided to better myself for myself and for him.

Looking ahead, I vow to remain vigilant. I promise to continue the walk on the path of clean living. I promise to show my son and everyone I come in contact with that it can be done. The change can be made.

Have a great day all!

I’m 34 years young today! I am in the best shape of my life. I was a 3 sport athlete in high school and was overweight and out of shape. If I’d had the kind of dedication and drive I have now, back then, I could’ve been a pro athlete I believe. Actually got a couple partial scholarship offers for baseball.

But that was then, and this is now. You can’t change your past so don’t dwell on it. The only thing that I can shape is my future, and it looks damn bright!

Have a great day everyone. Thanks to everyone who has offered and given their advice, tips and tricks. Thanks to all the pros who live out a portion of their lives on bb.com so us amateurs can benefit from their experience and expertise.

To anyone who’s just beginning their journey. Don’t ever give up. Don’t get discouraged. Everyone starts slow. Everyone plateaus. Everyone feels tired and achy. It will pass. And the results of staying on the path are SO worth it. The responses I get from friends and family and the looks I get from strangers are worth passing up that junk food everytime. It’s worth it. Going ahead and going to gym when I don’t feel like it is so worth it.

If I can be of help to anyone, please don’t hesitate to ask. Love you all!

OH. MY. GOD. One of the most unbelieveable workouts I’ve ever done. I was absolutely exhausted and spent. I did chest and tri’s. Sore as hell today. It goes as follows.

DB Bench Press- 50’s for 12, 80’s for 6, 60’s for 10(negatives) superset with cable crossovers at 60 for 10 and a final set of 50’s for 12.

Incline Bench Press- 90 for 12, 170 for 6, 115 for 10(negatives) superset with crossovers at 60 for 10 and a final set of 90 for 12.

(These are done back to back with about 60 seconds between each set.)

Skullcrushers- 55 for 12, 85 for 6, 65 for 10(negatives) superset with bench dips for 10 and a final set of 55 for 12.

Straight Bar Pressdowns- 70 for 12, 120 for 6, 90 for 10(negatives) superset with bench dips for 10 and a final set of 70 for 12. 

Incline DB Flyes- 35’s for 12, 55’s for 6, 45’s for 10(negatives) superset with pec deck flye at 65 for 10 and a final set of 35’s for 12.

DB Pullovers- 55 for 12, 70 for 6, 60 for 10(negatives) superset with pec deck flye at 65 for 10 and a final set of 55 for 12.

High Cable Rope Extension- 70 for 12, 100 for 6, 80 for 10(negatives) superset with bench dips for 10 and a final set of 70 for 12.

DB Overhead Extension- 55 for 12, 70 for 6, 60 for 10(negatives) superset with bench dips for 10 and a final set of 55 for 12.

The last half of this workout just about did me in. I was hurting big time, but all the while I knew I was tearing that muscle down to build it back up again. I had a huge protein shake when I got home with chocolate syrup and a serving of yogurt mixed in, along with an extra 10 g of glutamine and had grilled chicken and mixed veggies about an hour later. Slept like a baby too.

Tomorrow will be back and bi’s. I can’t wait!

Well, I’m entering Week 3, of the Power/Rep Range/Shock training. Shock week is appropriately named for the shock it sends all your muscles.

In Power Week (week 1) you go low reps/high weight. Rep range is between 4 and 8. 4 sets for each exercise. Then on the 5th set you attempt your max from the previous week for 2 reps.

Rep range week (week 2) totally switches things up and you go high rep/low weight. Rep range is between 12 and 15 for 4 sets each. Also, each session, you choose one exercise and do 10 sets, 10 times with only 30 seconds rest between each set. You select a weight you can do 20 times, but only do sets of 10 with it. The first 4 or 5 sets are cake, but wait til you hit sets 8,9 and 10. Look out! The goal is to complete a 10×10 for each muscle group in a 7 day period.

Shock week is a an absolute smorgasboard. First set is a Rep Range week set, 2nd set is a Power Week set and the 3rd set is a negative/superset, 4th set is a Rep Range week set again, but this time to failure.

Power week I managed just fine, because it wasn’t far off of what I’ve been doing week in and week out. I just finished Rep Range week and it killed me. I kept thinking the whole time that I’m lifting these little weights that it’s a waste of time. "I can lift twice this much. Why am I wasting my time with this?" I’ve never been more sore or more depleted than I am as we speak. This past week, I slept more soundly however. I feel absolutely worn out, so apparently it did much more good than I thought.

And now comes shock week. Just the name is so ominous. I’m a little scared, to be frank, but I feel like I’m doing a lot of good. I’m taking pics this coming weekend, so we’ll see if there’s any credence to the P/RR/S method! Stay tuned.

For those of you not familiar with that, it’s the Power/Rep Range/Shock workout. It’s kickin my a$$! I’m in the rep range week and I did chest and calves on Tuesday. It wore me out and broke me down so much that I fell asleep on my couch last night around 6 pm and couldn’t hold my head up the rest of the night. I forced myself to eat my chicken and green beans and then passed out again at like 9. I had to stay up to help my son with homework, bath, etc.

I feel kinda bad cuz I didn’t get to do my cardio last night, but I believe in listening to my body, and my body was telling me "Take your sore, tired a$$ to bed!", so I did. I feel 100% better today so I’m excited to hit the back and hams tonight.

I found this great website that’s monitored and compiled by doctors and fitness specialists from around the world. They have an Exercise and Muscle Directory. It’s the neatest thing. You wanna work your delts? Click on delts and it gives you every exercise to work your delts complete with a video and written description of that exercise…plus a detailed picture of the body highlighting what muscle is being worked and how. Along with listing other muscles that act as stabilizers and synergists. It even has a glossary of terms so you can comprehend the information. It’s got a lot of medical jargon.

I’m going to start custom tailoring my workouts with this website to make certain that every single muscle is targeted and done correctly. I feel like this will be an invaluable tool to build muscle and prevent injury. Check it out!

http://www.exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html

I found this great website that’s monitored and compiled by doctors and fitness specialists from around the world. They have an Exercise and Muscle Directory. It’s the neatest thing. You wanna work your delts? Click on delts and it gives you every exercise to work your delts complete with a video and written description of that exercise…plus a detailed picture of the body highlighting what muscle is being worked and how. Along with listing other muscles that act as stabilizers and synergists. It even has a glossary of terms so you can comprehend the information. It’s got a lot of medical jargon.

I’m going to start custom tailoring my workouts with this website to make certain that every single muscle is targeted and done correctly. I feel like this will be an invaluable tool to build muscle and prevent injury. Check it out!

http://www.exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html

Well, I did ‘em and boy am I feeling it today! I actually did 5 sets. 135×12, 155×10, 225×8, 285×4, 315×2. Those last two were rough and I have a lot of soreness this morning, but it’s good soreness, ya know? That soreness that lets you know ‘you done good, kid’. Good news is no soreness or discomfort at all in the aforementioned injured quad.

All in all, I was there for about 75 minutes. I did everything right. I mixed in other back movements, working upper, mid and lower back and even worked my tri’s a bit. I started with 4 sets of dead hang pullups and finished with one set of 8. I did a good stretch before and after the workout and had my protein shake immediately upon walking in my door. I made sure to mix pure whey protein isolate and glucose/maltodextrin. I also added glutamine powder to help with recovery.

I feel very good about my workout yesterday. Today is cardio day so I’ll be putting in my work at the local high school track. 16 laps and 3 stadiums. Lord help me!

As they say inside the octagon…IT’S TIME! It’s time to add deadlifts back into the routine. I’d taken them out a while back when I sustained a minor quad injury and, truth be told, I’ve been a little afraid to do them again.

Well…tonight’s the night. I’m gonna take it slow and see how it goes. I have to start doing them again though. I mean, it’s the mother of all compound movements. I have to do them, right? Plus, I feel fantastic once I’ve finished a nice 4-setter.

My wife had a fall a little over a month ago and shattered her kneecap. It through our entire world into upheaval. 60% of net income…gone. Help with cleaning, cooking, taking care of our 3 kids….gone. Trivial things she did that I took for granted…gone. Sticking to my exercise schedule…gone.

It’s been tough on all five of us. Her especially, because, not only was she in intense pain, but she felt bad because she was unable to contribute. I did the best I could to let her know she shouldn’t feel bad, but all for naught.

At any rate, it’s been a true test, in every sense of the words. I was unable to go to gym and I was at a critical point. It’s time to build muscle. I’ve lost all the weight. Gone. Now it’s time to bulk up and gain muscle and I can’t lift for who knows how long. So I did the best I could. I did hundreds of pushups, pullups and crunches. I have 35 lb. DB’s and several sandbags from hurricane season so I did what lifting I could, but it wasn’t the same. I didn’t have that escape I have to gym. The "me" time. I was having to lift while running after 3 kids, so my mind didn’t feel right….but I persisted. I did the work. I did the cardio. I did "one more" as my mantra says.

Now I’m back at the gym….FINALLY! Did I lose any ground? Not at all. I feel stronger and leaner than ever before. Over the past month, I’ve been able to lose 8 lbs of fat and gain 1 lb of muscle. I can’t complain. But, boy am I glad to be back at the gym. I felt like going around and hugging the people I had missed. Hardly any of us know each other, but we KNOW each other because we see them as frequently as we do our family. I walked through the door and immediately got that look, without a word spoken, "There you are! Where have you been? I thought you quit. Gave up."

Anyone who really does know me, knows better than that. I forgot how to give up a long time ago.