Joe’s BodyBlog

I posted this a while ago but wanted to share it again here at bb.com.

Aside from all of the great friends that I have made here a bb.com, sometimes you can unexpectedly run into someone who truly changes the way that you think about yourself, inspires you and puts your thinking into a better perspective. Last week on my chest day, a guy hobbled into the weight room.  He had on a walking cast and he was shorter than me but was really cut and built.  One of my goals is to be cut and built like that. Within 5 minutes of entering the room people started asking him how he broke his foot.  By the time the 4^th and 5^th person asked him I could see the tired look on his face from answering the same question over and over. He told all of them that he didn’t know how he broke it.

Anyway, 4 days later, I was doing pull ups and he hobbled over, sat down and started working out on one of the back machines.  I looked over at his foot and told him that I wasn’t going to ask him about it because I heard everyone else ask him about it and we both laughed.It is amazing what you can learn about people and how they handle and deal with everything that life throws at them. He told me his story.  Aside from the broken foot, he survived a kidney transplant and his heart had stopped twice. He is also dealing with lupus and told me HE DECIDED that these obstacles are not going to get him down and are not going to make him quit. Hearing what he went through and seeing how far he achieved in bodybuilding, made my old back problem seem completely insignificant. Aside from that, the thing that inspired and motivated me the most was his ATTITUDE and DRIVE.  It was completely positive in spite of all the obstacles.  That kind of attitude is an awesome paradox, challenging and conquering the obstacles, not giving in and not getting down about it.  How cool is that?  So the next time I start feeling down about myself, the next time when I catch myself sweating over the small stuff, I am going to remember that there are others who have it a lot worse who made the choice to tackle the problems and adversity head on and succeed.

I had an excellent 2^nd week with my new routine. 

The leg and ab routines are INSANE.

I have remained consistent, strong and focused and am giving it 110%

My cardio has been cut down to four 20 minute HIT sessions each week and that has taken me some time getting used to it. Almost feels like I am not getting enough of it.  I love doing cardio and for me doing six 45 minute hit classes each week was tough to give up. But since I’ve lost all the weight that I want to lose I have made the adjustment to doing less cardio. I know it’s for my own good and I have complete trust in the knowledge of my trainer Stevep78.

The diet is going very well and I have remained consistent with it.  Gained 2 pounds but my body fat has remained the same at 12 to 12.5%.  I have noticed new veins popping out on my calves and thighs. I never knew they were there before.

I plan on attending the 2010 Arnold classic again in Ohio and I am making that my goal to have my muscle mass and be cut for it.  It is a realistic and reasonable goal and keeps my focus strong.

So far my new plan seems to be working and working well.  It’s really cool to see the great changes and it is a wonderful pay off for what I am putting into it.  I can state with a good degree of certainty that I am definitely hooked on this. In the 18 months as a member of bb.com it is sad that many of my friends here have come and gone.

This isn’t a phase in my life it is a PART of my life.

I am ready to attack week #3 with a vengeance.

Each day is a victory!

I had an awesome week using the new diet and workout plan designed for me by SteveP.  I gave it 110% and I"m sore like ive never been sore before.  This is a complete and thorough workout.  The ab routine is killer! I had doubts that I would be able to get through it, but I really focused my energy, purged the negative thoughts and got through it.

I stayed completely focused on the diet also and so far it is working out very well for me.  I still have to get used to eating those gummy bears but it is part of my program and thats the way it is.

 At this point, I know I"m going to do really well with this program.  I"m glad that I found a program that I feel is the right one for me and will help me to achieve my goals to burn fat and to put on 20 pounds of muscle.  I am not looking too far ahead because the results will come in time.

 Its funny that for the past 16 months all I thought about was losing weight and fat.  Once again Ive had to change my thinking  but isnt that what a transformation is all about?  Adapting and changing? Since Ive lost all the weight I wanted to lose, I can now remain focused on my new goals.