JEFF LIVES STRONG!

So this is week 4 of the mix up program I have been following from FLEX magazine.  This week is giant sets.  I have never done giant sets.  They are crazy, ridiculously, gut wrenchingly, puking on the side line, ass kicking, wicked awesome.  If, of course, you are into that sort of thing.  I recommend the mother f-ers to anyone and everyone that is into lifting hard – psychotically hard.  Some of you may be wondering “WTF is a giant set”?  Allow me to explain: Take five to eight exercises (same body part or body area) and stack them back to back to back and so on with no rest between each exercise.  Cut the amount of weight lifted to a reasonable amount – you will inevitably overestimate the starting wait and be thankful to be alive when it is over – then do 20 reps of each exercise all stacked in a row with no rest.  When you have completed one trip through your five to eight selected exercises (100-160reps) rest for three to five minutes – you will need it – because that is one set.  Wash.  Rinse.  Repeat.  Three times.  Follow it all up with a superset of corresponding muscle groups or a giant set focusing on abs and you will have to be helped out of the gym.  The gym needs to not be busy to do this correctly – I go at 4:45 in the a.m. so this is never an issue – you will need to plan ahead your path to the equipment and load the weight on each exercise prior to beginning your first set.  If someone is hogging a machine – then do something similar at a different location – although most people are more than willing to let you work in – just don’t stand around waiting forever for the machine because that would defeat the purpose of the giant set..  I like to do most of these exercises with equipment that is pretty much always available.  For example: dumbbells, all leg equipment (especially smith machines and dead lift areas), and the other stuff that works but it is difficult so the lazy asses are afraid of it.  This is a great way to break the monotony of your workout and truly train like a freak.  Do this right and you will be super pumped all day and anxiously looking forward to punishing yourself again tomorrow morning.  See my workout tracker (week of 2/9-2/13) for the workouts I am doing this week.  Thanks and good luck!

OK - I know I just bitched about days off - but the one turned in to two….here’s why……..

The Killers - my wife won tix and couldnt go because she was out of town.  I asked one of my buddies to go with and we had some adult beverages prior to the show.  I don’t drink very often any more so the 4 pre show beers hit me like a half a bottle of scotch and big ole’ fatty - or a bong rip in honor of Mr. Phelps - would have 10 years ago in the smokey haze of my sophomore year in college.  Holy Shit - I felt like a stubling drunk bastard - no es bueno at all.  We get to the show and we are sitting behing the biggest douche in the whole world - let me explain…..  These are front and center seats - about 300 feet back front and center, and up in the nose bleed section…..in my opinion not the place where the "biggest fans" buy tickets.  This douch was of course the "biggest fan".  Watching this jackass dance was like watching a drunk money with CP - On top of this douches poor dancing skills his dirty whore of a girl friend was trying to give him a handy during his poor dancing - or maybe she was just attempting to distract him enough to stop the retarded jitterbug he was doing.  The HJ attempt bothered me not a bit - it made the night more entertaining - and I don’t blame him for having a whore girlfriend - the lady behind us though felt the need to reprimand these 2 semi grown adults and let them know that they were blocking her view because she didnt want to stand up and watch her "favorite band" from the mile high section of the arena and that their love for one another was grossing her out.  All of this excitement only encouraged me to drink more……and more……and more.  After the show we headed to a bar that I built with a previous employer to have one more drink and of course the owners were there with numerous other "friends" of mine - the bar tab was comped and several drinks later I made it home.  I woke up the next morning feeling like hammered shit…..it has been years since I have been that inbeveraginated.  I guess drinking less for several years really affected my tolerance because the amount - according to receipts about 8 beers over a 7 hour period - would have had absolutely no effect on me 2 years ago - but alas no more - I shant drink again - .NO, not ever…….at least not this week…..either way, that’s the story of how one day off turned in to two.

Did heavy legs today - pretty happy with the weight I was pushing - I really need some deadlift work though - squats too - I am going to be focusing on these 2 exercises more in my leg workouts - any tips you may have are more than welcome……I hope you enjoyed the above story - and oh yeah, I took a cab.

I feel like I need a workout - it is a scheduled day off - and I am sure i will be happy about it tomorrow morning……but damn, the day just isn’t complete without heavy weights and a good sweat! 

I dig this program….it keeps everything fresh and hits muscle groups from a variety of angles.  I have seen great progress in the las t2 weeks and I am looking forward to this weeks training.  It is a heavy week - only 3 days - MWF - I will cardio and abs on Tues and Thursday.  Today went well but it is a significantly slower pace from what I am used to during a workout - it was one hell of a workout though and I am looking forward to lifting again on Wednesday - I have had several inquiries reagarding the workout progression - I will post a link or type it up myself for all who are interested - or you can just check my Workout TRacker.

I have been lifting seriously for over a year now and I switch up my workouts occasionally but admittedly not as much as I should.  I began a new 4 week program out of the January issue of FLEX magazine and just finished the first week.  Each week is different and is designed to keep your muscles guessing.  This week was good.  I followed the exercises as directed and learned some new stuff along the way.  All of the workouts were as tough as what I usually do with the exception of the shoulder workout - it was also a little light on the abs all the way around.  So far I highly reccomend this muscle mix up program to anyone looking for a change.  If you would like to see the exercises involved you can pick up the FLEX mag or check my workout tracker starting on Monday the 19th - week 2 will be posted as they happen next week……I will be sticking with cardio and abs over the weekend in order to rest up for the attack next week….

I am weak….oh so weak to the power of the breakfast taco.  It’s strength renders my will power useless in the face of the awesome breakfast taco.  I had 2 tacos - one was all beef, the other was eggs and sausage.  The tortillas were the worst part so I didnt eat all of them.  I suppose it could have been much worse, but regardless, I have crumbled at the feet of the taco god…….they are by kryptonite  ——at least on Fridays when they teleport themselves to the office…..

Another day of clean eating……lots of protein, no bad carbs, and I feel great.  No alcohol for 9 days either…I don’t drink much anyway but I don’t miss it at all.  I still need to step up the cardio a bit, just been a crazy week at work and I haven’t had time to work in an additional trip to the gym during the day.  Maybe next week will be better for the 2nd workout - I am trying to make it a second time 3 days a week, so technically I still have Fri and Sat to go.

In my line of work it’s tought to eat right at lunch.  Biz happens at lunch and a lot of the guys I work with don’t pay to much attention to what they eat.  We went to a wing place today and I managed to convince myself to order the grilled chicken and shrimp with steavem vegs and rice.  It was good……the wings and fries looked better, but I feel good about myself for not having a set back so soon after I commited to transforming my diet.

Yay me.

So it’s been about a year since I got serious lifting in the gym and man it feels good.  I never have stuck with it long enough to see results and now I am hooked.  My focus right now is the MT Transformation contest.  Intense workouts are no problem.  Watching what I eat, especially at lunch, is the hard part.  I am taking my before pics tonight so I had a last bad meal of Mex food for lunch today……it was OK.  I have been eating relatively clean the last couple of weeks in order to prepare for the commitment to a clean diet so the Mex didn’t really taste that good…..so maybe I won’t miss it that much.  I am also changing up my lifting routines.  THere is a muscle mix up 4 week program in January’s FLEX that I am trying - if nothing else I will learn some new exercises - I am also adding an afternoon/evening cardio 3 days per week - maybe more if it fits my schedule.  That’s it for now.  Wish me luck!

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