inked_hardbody’s BodyBlog

Well I just got dumped last night.  I knew it was coming but I figured it would be more of a meeting of the minds then a one sided back handed insult fest.  Anyways it sucks and all, and I dont think I am really that hurt, but it does screw with your head.  Right now I guess I am going to have a hard day to get motivated because I feel pretty much worthless and used up.  But I know this isnt true which is the real pain about it.  Oh well, I am going to go down to my retreat and do my best to make the most of today.

On days and off days, those terms are used by most of us to dictate which days we work out and which ones we dont.  The truth of it is that each and every day is for us an on day.  Each "off" day should have a purpose, whether to rest our weary bodies, to recuperate from an injury, or possibly just something figured into a workout cycle.  On these days we need to be every bit as critical about our choices we make, be it diet, rest, all choices made on these days can either help us or bite us on our "on" days.   

That said, I have just had an amazing back/chest day after an "off" day for recuperating a strained back.  I had an impromtu good morning slipped into my squat set with 315 on my back and lifting that on lower back strength alone caused a nice lil strain.  Well I took a day off (not part of my routine, I take no off days) to let this little pain lessen a before a heavy back light chest day.  In truth today after my first few sets of pull ups my back felt great.  That is not to say that tonight it is not still a little tender, but the point is that my off day was not wasted.  I used it to not only recuperate, but to evaluate my workouts, and see what I need to do in the months ahead.

Each day is a gift, dont waste it, make the most of every moment, every breath.

From here on, or at least until I am told I need to change things, my new progress pics will be made with nothing hidden.  That is to say that the only thing covering me will be dark pixels.  There is a reason for this of course.  The reason is that this way when I look at my pictures there is nothing concealing any flaws that I have and I can look over every inch of my body.  I prefer this because I know that only by being supercritcal can I achieve super results.  Now I have already had an applauding of my choice by a few and a few wierd messages from others barking up the wrong tree but I take all of that in stride because those are just distractions from the real reason I am doing this.  I want people to give me comments and not just encouraging ones.  If someone sees an area that needs improvement I want to know about it.  I dont want people to be just nice, I want them to be honest and this way they can be brutally honest because I am not hiding anything.

Communication is a very important tool for daily life, and since for most of us training is a daily or almost daily thing communication with our body can be equally important.  Today was one of those days when my body was trying to tell me something.  It told me that today was going to be a lite day whether I liked it or not.  I sensed this yesterday when doing behind the neck presses and I could hardly seem to get started, and it became clear on my second set for bench today.  I have identified two possible culprits that I will start addressing from now on.  First and easiest to remedy would be how I train.  I try to hit my body on a three day rotation doing back/chest, arms, legs/shoulders respectively.  Now I typically dont take an off day unless either circumstances arise for me to not be able to work out or I just feel a total need to ( which is rare to say the least ).  The problem I have identified with this is that when I do my first body part of the day I put full effort into it and then the second part suffers from a drainage of energy.  I now must decide to either do a different rotation or alternate the part to get maximum intensity.  Since I have been doing awesome on this rotation I feel that alternation of focus will be my course of action.  That means that one time up legs for instance will get all my energy and the next time it will be shoulders.  This will also be good for allowing recovery without letting the muscles sit dormant for a week. 

The second issue that I must address is diet.  I try to eat fairly clean for bulking up but that is not the issue I think, the issue would be amount of food.  To gain muscle I need to feed the muscles and thats where I have been getting a little laxed.  With my schedule I have been forgetting sometimes to eat as much as I need, eating as little as 3 times a day sometimes. 

With attention paid to these problems I feel I will be back on track in no time.  It pays to listen sometimes when your body is talking to you.

Seeing as though it is Sunday and my job once again is keeping me from being able to go to church I figure I would go ahead and post a prayer I say from time to time just for my workouts.

Dear God give me the strength today to lift these weights, the wisdom to not overdo it and cause myself, and the patience to keep myself in good form.  Help my efforts to make me stronger not just physically but spiritually.  Make me not just a bigger man but a bigger man. Watch over now as I go down the path, Amen.

Maybe you might want to include this too on the days you feel a little weak or lost.

Its funny how those things that used to hold you back can now be used as tools to help you move forward.  I have just now started to bring cardio back into my routine after a long time fighting against it.  In college I was a runner and as a runner I was not able to put on mass.  I always figured this was due to running 10 miles or more a day.  Now that I am putting on mass I am wanting to get a little more cut.  The best thing to aid in this is, you guessed it, cardio.  So now I am taking a more balanced approach of 15 or so minutes on the bike at the end of every work out.  We will see what effects this has.  Hopefully I will have a friend again with cardio.

I know that many people who are looking at what we do from the outside think that we are crazy for doing what we do.  They think that we are selfish, self absorbed, and superficial.  These things may be true to an extent, but we are also, healthier, more energetic, and less prone to be injured.  I work 40 hours a week waiting tables, am going to school for nursing, and still spend at least 12 hours a week working out.  Friends of mine say that they barely have the energy to work 15 hours and go to school much less do anything else.  But these are also the people who spend there evening parked on the sofa or in a computer chair instead of in a gym.  They think that we are just wasting our time trying to impress people with how good we look, when really its matter of trying impress ourselves with how good we feel ( though the appearence doesnt hurt either ).

Monday I get my newest addition to my home gym, a new power rack.  I now can boost my leg work to new heights as well as my back work outs now too.

I went to a regular gym yesterday for leg day since I still dont have a power rack and noticed something quite odd.  When I started woking out in the free weight room ( which is stuck in the farthest reaches of the building sadly ) my lifts were stronger.  I am not sure if it was because I started with squats and deadlifts which release hormones into the system, or if it was from being in front of others and feeling competetive but I was stronger.  I know that whatever it is I should be glad for it and take advantage of it while I can until I get my power rack and no longer have to go there for leg day.  I need to find a way to keep up that same intensity level while I work out at home and I know that I will be able to heat up all my work outs and put on the raw mass that I am looking for.

Over the past few months I have made some changes.  Some of these changes are easy to catagorize and quantify such as muscular gains and strength gains.  But there are other changes that go deeper, to the core of who I am that are starting to take place and for a new way of life for me.  Since I started I have had to spend less time with friends and make a new friend with iron.  I have had to learn discipline in form as well as diet.  There are so many things that a bodybuilder has to do different from the average couch potato that it makes life almost like a new reality when you compare before and after. 

I know that what I am doing is worthwhile and that the playful ribbing I recieve from friends is because they dont understand, but it is to me my proudest moment when they compliment me on noticing changes.  I guess to a seasoned builder this is nothing new, but to someone just starting every change and new reality is exciting.