geographer’s BodyBlog

Last Thursday, I made a template of my schedule for the rest of the term and showed it to my friend Dan. He agreed to commit to going to the gym from 800-1000pm 4 days a week. We live in the same place, so it’s easier. I usually eat at around 615-700, rest for an hour and leave at 8pm sharp and arrive at the gym (Gold’s Gym) at around 815 or so (depending on the snow). We stretch and warm up for about 5 minutes, then we are on to the work out. My warm ups are mostly concentrated on midsection exercises as it’s my most problematic area. We decided to go together on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. I swim on Wednesdays and Sundays and have a total rest day on Saturdays. I will probably (though it will entirely depend on my mood) start going to the steam room at the Aquatic Center everyday except Saturdays from 1000-1100pm to cleanse my skin and sweat. The sauna is just a great way to transition from heavy workout to sleeping hour. I love the build up of certain habits. When they become sedimented, they become part of a lifestyle and as natural as the air we breathe. I think this is precisely when results happen. As Erasmus says, UNA HIRUNDO NON FACIT VER (one swallow does not make a spring) Do. Repeat. Do. Repeat. That’s how you reach excellence. That’s my motto in everything I do. Do one thing a hundred times over in various forms and you reach a calibre of work that will surprise you.

We pushed each other well today, but I have to admit my wrists and forearms were very stiff towards the end of our back circuit. We did 3 exercises for both back and chest, but we both think this was not the optimal thing to do. I was certainly losing it towards the last exercise (incline chest press) and needed Dan to support me all the time. It sucks when you lose energy in these workouts. But then again, we just started working out intensely last week so I anticipate it would get better tomorrow and the days to come. Honestly though, I’ve never seen better gains in terms of muscle mass in my upper body EVER since we started entering this intense zone.

Any suggestions on how to handle this?

Did a series of leg workouts today with D. and man, I was trembling after it. We decided to formalize our workouts a bit more and spend at least an hour on a body part each session. I like the intensity zone I get into in these workout sessions. Definitely great to feel the change happening in my body. I’ll post our workout plan here by next week. We’re going to do biceps/triceps tomorrow morning…

For those who are wondering and asking, I’m doing a Ph.D. in Geography. Will explain more on that later…meanwhile, I need to go back to studying and sleep in an hour.

Yes, I’m an Asian boy who is lactose intolerant. Just a pinch of lactose into my food and I get bloated, uncomfortable and I feel really sick. This is very sad news because I read all over the place that Whey is the best source of muscle food.

Now, since most of you guys here have expert knowledge on the best products in the market, what would be the best (hopefully good tasting) lactose free whey protein?

Please post on my wall IF YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS.

Cheers.

I still have no clear bodybuilding plan. I hope to finally lay it out by tomorrow.

However, I feel really tired but happy these last few training days. I went over to my friend B’s place and that was good.

My first training after the New Year was on Jan 2 (Fri), then I went again on Jan 4 (Sun). Then, today, my friend D who is also my neighbor and gym buddy, returned from his small town of Yellowknife and invited me for a workout. I was still a bit sore from my leg workout yesterday but I had the sense that D would want to do upper body work so I agreed to join him. We did shoulders…at least 2 exercises and man, am I SORE. I’m beginning to realize that there’s actually a huge difference between going to the gym alone and going with someone else who can push you further.

D is a pusher (not drugs) and he does it well. He’s way stronger than me even if his frame is smaller. However, when we’re spotting each other, he never makes me feel insecure — he makes me want to reach the same level of strength that he has. He’s a good motivator and I believe he will be a very successful guy in the future.

Today, I realized that I’m finding bodybuilding really interesting because of this: the fact that strength and progress is actually measurable (and hopefully, visibly tangible) compared to the "stuff" that I do as an academic sometimes. I’m not saying that we academics do not produce anything, but I derive a lot of pleasure, for example from seeing that I’m losing a few inches or my stomach is getting flatter…which simply means that I’m also getting stronger.

Anyway, I found this article last week which makes me thank D for being patient with me at the gym. I hope he’s not reading this (nobody among my close friends know I’m keeping this blog), but IF ever I reach my physical goals, I’ll treat the man with some major steak or whatever food he likes:

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance_transformat
ions/the_secrets_to_body_transformation

I’ll show this to D and probably we can lay out a plan together. But I’ll be open to any suggestions from you guys. Have a good one everyone!

Today is the 1st of January. I spent New Year’s over at my friend Camille’s place, where Camille, Max and her Mom served me tons of really great food, which includes dark chocolates, almonds, chicken breast and all sorts of Filipino food. Tonight, as I was just getting sleepy and lethargic, I ate at least 5 pieces of Purdy’s chocolates from David’s box. I thought, after those 5 little devils, I’m done with refined sugar among other things this 2009.

2009 is the year I’m saying goodbye to the following food and food groups:

(1) Red Meat: Pork, Beef, Lamb, Duck. I’m quitting red meat this year and I’m quitting chicken by 2010. Then my goal is to be pesco-vegetarian by 2011.
(2) Refined Sugar: Everything that has artificial sweetener in it is not good for my blood. I experimented on chocolates today and I experience an energy crash exactly 2 hours after eating them. So, audieu to everything sugary and useless calories.
(3) MOST Dairy Products: I discovered this term that I am lactose intolerant. I cannot digest cheese, milk and anything made of dairy well. So I’m kicking dairy out of my diet. I will rely on hemp, soy, almonds and other nuts. I will try to eat only two things: (1) cottage cheese and (2) whey protein (for bodybuilding purposes)
(4) Processed junk foods: including chips, soda, and all forms of snacks made of empty calories.

I will actively search for the best available workout for me. Meanwhile, I can still taste the mint in my last bite of Purdy’s chocs. But, I WILL BE MAN ENOUGH to face the consequences of controlling everything that gets into my system — no matter how tempting they are.
Now, those are only three food groups. I WILL NOT LET PEOPLE COERCE me to eat anything of these foods above.

Welcome 2009! And welcome to my bodyblog.

This website sounds totally vain. Who cares about a person’s journey towards a new body? Well, I honestly wouldn’t care who reads this blog. But this blog is all about my journey towards being a new me by June 2009. I wish to go through 3 phases of change:

January-February (8 weeks): Fat Loss
March-April (8 weeks): Muscle Gain
May-June (8 weeks): Prepare for a Bodybuilding Contest?

Yes, I MIGHT join a bodybuilding contest sometime after June. A friend told me that this is the only way that I will be super-motivated to really train smart. I’ve always thought of joining one when I started going to the gym in 2004; but mainly because I don’t have the right social environment to pursue this lofty goal, I never had the chance to even think about it.

But for 2009, THINGS WILL CHANGE. I will try to get as much social support from users of this site to push me and push me further. I will not do anything in my spare time but to do research on the best exercises, food and nutrition, and supplements that will help me turn into the muscular guy that I know my body is capable of.

Why am I doing this? Well, to be honest, I just want to prove to myself that my genes do not determine what my body can do. I come from a family of largely set men and women. I wouldn’t call ourselves fat but we’re definitely not skinny. I grew up as a fat boy who rarely exercises and who was a total geek. I was really afraid of jocks and basketball players growing up, but until recently, I found myself getting more and more interested into physical culture. And for good reason, physical exercise helps and enhances my studies. Yes, I feel that there is a correlation between my mental agility and my physical agility. If I don’t do my rigorous physical exercise, I just don’t seem to perform well in school. As they say, MENS SANA IN CORPORE SANO.

The next six months will be particularly tough for me, in terms of my school requirements. I am trying to get into what they call a Ph.D. candidacy stage in graduate school. What this simply means is that by the end of June, I will be what people call in an ABD or "Anything But Dissertation" stage — which basically means, I’ve done all my Ph.D. requirements except my written dissertation. I will contextualize these things much later. But let’s just say that the next six months will be super-tough mentally for me. So, as an additional motivation, I would want to emerge out of this process as a completely renewed person. I want to maintain my sanity by controlling the controllable: my body.

I think, my friend’s suggestion (joining a bodybuilding contest) is a great way to end this challenge. I still don’t have any idea WHERE I’ll compete; but I can compete either here in Canada or somewhere in Asia. The point is, the contest should be done between July-August; so if you know any contests here in Canada or elsewhere, please let me know.

I want to use this blog for two purposes: to track my physical improvements and to track my intellectual progress as I push for the Ph.D. candidacy. I just turned 25 (quarter life crisis?) this 2008 and I want to be able to achieve at least two things by 2009: my first bodybuilding contest and my entry into the candidacy which also translates to my entry into the job market. My goal is to be stable: physically, intellectually and most of all spiritually and emotionally and come out of this process a better, healthier, hopefully more insightful person

I’m so freakin’ excited for 2009! This year will be intense.