joqthev’s BodyBlog

Alright, so this week I interviewed an all natural pro bodybuilder for an extension agent class assignment.  We also talked about bodybuilding show dieting and the like.  I emailed him my daily diet on excel and he concluded that I needed to eat less and introduce cardio to my life.  He definitely knows what he’s talking about so I went along with it.  For exactly two days, I ate what he recommended and was hungry.  I found that the extra 85 grams of fat I ate every day keeps me from being as hungry.  Apparently though, in natural bodybuilding, you’re going to be hungry up to the competition hour.  The third day came and I concluded that according to what I saw in the mirror, I was getting smaller.  So I said to hell with this and reverted to my old diet.  Even in the gym last night, I was looking smaller, so I weighed myself (on the same scale I always weigh myself on in the locker room) and would you know, I had gained four pounds.  I think that was a fluke though because I cannot imagine gaining that much weight.  Since I think less and make bad decisions when I am hungry, I am trying to figure out how to compensate for this dilemma.  Your suggestions would be great!

Just when you think you’ve invented something new, you start logging your workouts online and discover someone already invented it.  Well I didn’t necessairly think I invented the bench dip itself, just the weighted one.  Maybe in reality I invented the way in which it is performed by me and my workout partner.

In the past I would see women and foreign students do this bench dip.  I reviewed the Strength Training Anatomy book and compared it with other tricep excercsises.  I considered: "What if I put weight on that?"  It worked.  But the problem was, I had to start with 4 plates [45 lbs each] to even feel an affect.  I wanted to make it worth mine and the spotter’s time.  So per set I would do 9 reps with the full load, then two reps for every plate the spotter took off, and 3 reps without weight.  This is how 6 plates looks in sets and reps for the Weighted Bench Dip: 5×9,2,2,2,2,2,3/270. 

My body got used to the movement and I increased in weight.  But there’s a flaw in this.  The weight rests on the top of your legs just above the knees.  Regardless of arm strength, if you put too much weight on, your knee joints will start hurting.  Last week I did 8 plates with ease but it was not comfortable.  Because of this concern I completed this week’s sets with only 6 plates.

I have have had excellent results from this exercise.  Although I do not look like Frank McGrath yet, I will continue to train hard and heavy.  As of now, I am looking for an alternative on this exercise.

Today is statehood day for Oklahoma.  All state offices are closed down, but the federal and city are still running.  So the place I workout at is closed too.  This is a good thing.  It gives me a day off, and a day to vent.  I must admit, I don’t have a tv so I don’t know what’s going on half the time, I don’t know what movies are out, and I don’t know what people are talking about when referring to famous people.  But that’s alright.  I still respect those around me.  What am I talking about?

Since the start of the Fall 2007 semester, there has been a greater number of people per day at the gym than normal in the previous years.  Could it be a television show or a movie that has influenced this?  I don’t know.  Although it’s good to seem more people working out, it’s also bad.  For example, more than half the people in there don’t have a clue how to perform an exercise with good form.  Most of them will use the squat racks and cages for non-intended purposes.  A lot of this boils down to the simple fact that these people have no clue the existance of gym etiquette.

There are three offences that frustrate me the most about lack of gym etiquette: people standing between me and the mirror; people racking weights on the station I am currently lifting on; and people taking the light dumbbells and using on the benches in front of the heavy dumbbells.  Now the last abuse doesn’t seem all that bad.  But if you like to use your workout energy for mainly lifting, then that could be a bad thing.  Think about it: one must grab the weight, walk all the way across the gym to the benches in front of the light dumbbells and proceed with their workout.  It’s nothing to wine about if you’re lifting light, but for most of us, we like to lift heavy and we are very easily agrivated over this issue.  The second offence is simply bad action.  It’s happened on more than one occasion.  The most frustrating for me is when I’m benching and someone racks their weight while I’m lifting.  The last guy was yelled at as I completed my 3rd set.  Totally killed my concentration.  I even warned my spotter to yell at him, but he wasnt uhh paying attention (smart guy).  And of corse the first one: I’d rather watch myself curl or press than stare into someone’s butt.  People have been yelled at for all three offences.  Most of the time they don’t quite understand what the fuss is, but if they ever ask, they will sure find out.

I’m a nice guy almost everywhere.  Even though I smile and joke in the gym, I’m very serious about personal performance, and thus take one’s lifting extremely seriously.  I think the best solution for people lacking gym etiquette is to be yelled at over and over until they correct their mistakes or go somewhere else to accomplish their goals…perhaps