Jacks This and That!

I am becoming the fitness advice guy in the circles I travel.  I’ve been at this for a bit now and I have been consistent if not 100% successful.  People tend to admire the physique of someone that is in shape.  Now of course not everyone will admire the extreme but almost everyone is a little admirable of a lean muscular build to some extent especially on a man. Others see that you are in good shape and probably sense that you are happy about it and they start to want it too.  I’ve seen some people join gyms and start at it really wanting to look and feel good.  I commend them for that.  However most are not willing to give up this or that, or God forbid they give up football or whatever it is that they covet.  In most cases it’s not necessary to give up things but there are sacrifices to be made.  If you want it you have to work at it.  Diet and exercise hand in hand.  You have to want it; that is the key.  I have a couple of friends who are in fact a couple.  They ask for advice and I give it.  I say something like well eat carbs early in the day and towards the end go to protein and avoid unhealthy fat and keep the fat low but have some.  They will look at me strange and then I say look eat several times a day and don’t have ice cream before bed.  I have been asked to help them in the gym by suggesting exercises or by actually working out with them.  She was supposed to show up to work legs and he wanted to hit the upper body on seperate days.  They both backed out.  It really is a shame because I was actually looking forward to it.  The truth is the reason so few are fit is because it takes work and lots of it.  It takes discipline and determination to get fit.  To become one of the people in the best shape it take even more of those things and sacrifices many are not willing to make.  So I will not expect anyone to have the same determination as me and try to help them on their way to whatever health they want and hope that they are happy.  I, on the other hand will look to those in even better shape and see what they are doing that I am not.  Then I will need to decide for myself if their sacrifice is worth the payoff.  For now it is safe to say that I spend enough time at it to be in exceptional shape.  I just need to be smarter about it. That is a whole other area that requires attention.  All in all I like to help and if asked I’ll try.

Ok, Well I am working out like a mad man.  I am very busy and trying to eat clean.  I only have so much time in the day so some times I improvise.  I eat a lot of protein bars and powder.  I try to keep my metabolism moving towards the faster side by eating often and timing the carbs.  I will be backing off on the carbs some.  I think I have been overdoing it.  I have increased the cardio (not that there was much to begin with), to try and lean up a bit. I am increasing the protein to try and hold on to the muscle.  I will keep playing with things until I find what works for me.  I am also trying some new things in the gym and trying to mix it up a little.  I want to try and grow my injury-ridden shoulders and upper chest a bit as well as continue to hit my chicken legs hard.  I will try to go a bit lighter on everything but legs and focus on form and hitting each muscle from every angle.  I am hoping this will help me prevent injury, tighten up while still allowing me to grow a bit.

 
On a side note I am becoming an influence on others. This is cool.  Problem is most people don’t have the willingness to do what it takes for long.  Anyway I try to be nice and encourage them.  I say things like don’t eat ice cream at 10 pm.  Make sure you eat several small meals a day.  Try to limit the crap to one day a week.  Make sure you do some resistance training.  Do cardio in the morning or at the end of a workout.  No carbs late at night and on and on.  Don’t be discouraged and keep at it.  I like to help people.  A friend told me he wanted to start following me to the gym.  I asked him if he was sure that he wants to be that fit.  Everyone wants to look and feel good, but not everyone wants to put in the work.  Still I am glad if I plant a seed.  Truth is I make some sacrifices in what I eat and my time because doing this really makes me happy.  I like it and I guess I always have, just had to put it higher on the priority list than it ever has.

 
I am still not where I want to be but I am enjoying the ride.

I hate when it happens.  You want everything to go well.  Optimize the time for the best possible results.  I had a slight headache that would not go away.  I did half of what I should and with far less effort.  At least I went and tried to push through.  I think what gives someone that extra edge is how they handle times like that.  Some might have pushed harder and worked thier way through it, or on the other end someone might have called it off all together.  I wonder where I fall on the spectrum.  I realize that there is much more to being successful at achieving fitness goals, but I really do believe that the difference between the trully great and those that fall just short comes from how we overcome the obstacles that come our way.  On the other end of that I wonder if the trully great have to give up so much of everything else that they lack in other areas of life.  Balance is important.  Some things are more important than others.  Am I forsaking too much in other areas in the quest to achieve my goals.  I just would like to know what price some people have paid. Just something to think about.

I am just getting back on track. I cut both my feet a couple of weeks ago and one of the cuts got infected.  I have not been 100%.  Things are getting back to normal and I am ready for intensity again.  I am hoping to make some changes.  I have been lifting fairly heavy and I am a little beat up.  I am going to try a different tact for a bit by going a little lighter, higher reps per bodypart from differetn angles, focusing on weak areas, detail and by using good form.  I will try yo mix it up often.  We will see what happens. 

Well, I went to eat breakfast this morning.  I was in the kitchen and stepped on something. I did not think much of it and attempted to rub whatever was stuck to my foot of by rubbing one foot against the other.  Then there was pain.  I looked down and noticed I was bleeding really bad.  What I thought was stuck to my foot was actually stuck in my foot and when I tried to rub it off, I actually sliced the other foot open and probably wedged the glass further in my heel. A couple of hours and one emergency room visit later I had three or four stitches in the top of one foot and the heel of the other was glued shut.  I decided to take the day off.

I am learning that some things cannot be achieved overnight.  I turned 42 today and hit my legs hard.  I also touched my shoulders and as always I hit my abs on the way out the gym door.  I have some fat on my lower pecs, lower abs and back.  However my extremities are more vascular than ever and I am seeing veins just under the surface on my upper legs and upper chest after a workout.  I also have one just popping above the surface on my lower abs.  All of the afore mentioned are good indications that small progress is being made.  If I measure with a caliper it does not appear to be much of a change, at least not on my abdomen.  I think those are somewhat subjective because if you want it bad enough you will get the measurement you want.  I need to take some measurements on my arms legs and chest.  My weight appears to be up by a few pounds and my legs seem to be growing.  I don’t like measurements other than weight because I don’t want to be disappointed.  I’d rather just look in a mirror and keep rocking the weaker spots.  Weight seems to be the only measurement I don’t mind.  I still think I am making fat progress on areas other than the trouble spots.  It is melting off from the extremities and the little hidden spots.  Most of my workouts are at a pretty intense pace because I hate cardio and don’t like to sit around.  I only slow up if my heart rate seems to be getting away from me. I don’t think my workouts are very conventional though I try to pay attention making sure I don’t do some of the major no-nos.  I like to play it by ear, be whimsical.  I don’t like to log anything and I vary the weight I work with often depending on how I feel.  I try to listen to my body as to not hurt my self or neglect any one area.  My focus is always on the weaker parts.  My legs get tons of attention.  I’d like to work my shoulders heavier but they are problematic with minor injuries popping up so I have been more likely to skip them until recently which I know was not helping them.  Now I am trying to hit them often from different angles with light dumbbells to try and get them strong enough to overcome their inherent weakness.  I am hoping to get them strong enough to eventually handle heavier weight but I have a feeling that I may have to deal with them as a weakness.  We will see, only time will tell.  I am also eating cleaner lateley except for the birthday crap I had but I didnt have that much.  Lots of lean meat, brown rice and brocoli.  I just need to be patient and pay attention.  I gotta keep rockin though!

One year in.

 
I’m obsessed.  As long as I am obsessed I’ll never stop.  I’ll never hit the mark cuz it constantly moves.

 
I read Ninja Bills blog.  It’s not as simple as throw em up and grow though.  I admire his attitude.  I agree you have to throw em up but much more.  You also need to eat right, rest right and lift right.  Plus you need a run of good health.  I work through injuries and strains and I am careful not to do anything to kill me.  I am learning you do need to mix it up if you get bored. Hell yes, and to confuse those muscles.  I’m not sure if having sex with a donkey will make you a better lover but it might keep you from being bored.

 
Anyway it’s not simple to be great but it is simple to get started.  I keep learning and I know the more diligent and dedicated I am the better off I will be.  I will never be satisfied as I think I will always see flaws.  I’m not trying to just get big but proportioned and lean. I’ve learned a few things and keep learning more.  I want more so I keep tuning.

 
One year in and I want the nagging issues to subside. I want to take more time off work-to-work out. I want to recover faster so I can go back and try again.  I will even eat brown rice, take my protein in water and attempt some cardio! All are things that I did not do when I started.

 
Work hard work smart and push one more out, just don’t pass out or piss your pants.  Both could be embarrassing.  Probably as embarrassing as when my son ripped my shorts and boxers down in the gym when I was getting ready to do some squats on the smith machine.   The little sh!$ still needs to pay for that.

I missed a workout today.  I was really looking forward to it.  First I was very busy at work and new I would be tired.  That didnt matter Iwas still looking forward.  I ate well (until the bowl of cereal I just scarfed down), and i was still amped to go to the gym.  Then work ran a little later, then even a little later.  So what, I was still going.  Then the thing that killed it, my daughter need help getting ready for a test.  That was it I was done.  At first I protested and loudly.  Everything went wrong and I wanted to fight it, but is everything supposed to go my way?  The biggest obstacles are larger responsibilities that come first.  I actually feel guilty.  The thing is that I really enjoy what I am doing and want progress as much as I can. Still, first things first and maybe I’ll have to settle for inside growth instead of oustide.  At least I stayed home.  Tomorrow is another day!

I just wanted to drop a quick note about caring what people think about me or you or whomever.  When I happened upon this site I had already been lifting again for a couple of months.  I looked on the site for information once in a while, it is very useful for that.  I came accross member photos somehow.  Must have been a beautiful women that caught my eye.  Anyway I figured out what it was all about and thought what the hell.  Curiosity took over and I gave it a shot.  I put a few pics up and a couple were; well too much.  One was taken off.  Not that I was showing something I should not, it was just over the line by a bit.  I regret those as I would not want my kids to bump into them.  Anyway the point is I care but I have gained enough self confidence and self awareness to know that it would not be too horribe.  In fact this site keeps encouraging me to keep at it.  Also, I am proud of my achievments. I post pics and it would be cool if I was farther and looked better than I do, but I do what I can with what I have and inch by inch I will get there. I write this beause of a post I made in pic with me in a towel.  Someone rated me at a seven, anyway read the posts and you will see.  The point is I said I did not care what people think and that was incorrect so I am correcting it here.  I dont want to pull the pic down because I dont want it to look like I am intimdated by what some young woman in Balitmore thinks.  I’m ok with the seven and was only joking in the posts.  I care but I feel confident enough to not let a bad opinion or two ruin my day.  I have a honesty policy so I felt the need to clarify.  Anyway I benched 315 today. 1st time in my life! Happy lifting and thanks to all for the support.

BTw, I dont think I am a 10, but I dont look at those ratings that way, I think you are given 10’s by most as a thumbs up and to encourage people to keep going.  If everyone gave an accurate rating, well we cant all be a ten all the time! Though I see a multitide of 10’s on this site that keep me going!

I’ve blathered on enough about this.

Happy lifting

Jack

I’ve been a little stale lately.  I am trying to up the effort a little.  I want to lean out a bit more and add some mass.  I am having a hard time eating as clean as I would like.  I don’t have enough time lately.  Also, I am trying to up the effort at the gym.  I am trying to add a fifth day, this being the first week.  It killed me!  I can hardly move.  I feel worn out.  I need to up the cardio a bit as well, that I hate to do!  I have a very busy schedule w/kids.  To top it off I sprained my wrist yesterday horsing around w/ my son.  That made today’s workout impossible.  I was not a leg day.  Anyway I managed to work around it then I had to rest, I was too worn out.  I am hoping if I get my diet tightened up that will help!  We will see. I wonder if I’ll ever get to the point where I will say “I’m done, now I can maintain!” Doubt it! Rock and Roll BaBY!!!