Joe’s BodyBlog

On this date last year I broke the 200-pound mark.  I was determined to do it and the anticipation to get under 200 was torture- but it was worth it! 

I have had a busy and productive summer.  I have established a balance between my work schedule and workouts. For the past few days I’ve been battling a wicked sinus infection that has subsided.  My bicep and shoulder soreness have subsided and the glucosamine helps a lot.

I have enjoyed my stay in Atlanta and have gotten in my workouts and stayed as clean as I could with my diet.  I will be heading home on Friday morning and took a few minutes to reflect back on my stay here.

My luck has been better than expected.  Prayers went up and blessings came down.  My coach seat on the plane turned into a first class seat and that was awesome.  On the second nite at the hotel, there was a problem with my room and I was notified that I had to be relocated to another part of the hotel.  It was an inconvenience to have to pack up everything and move but it was worth it.  To my amazement, I was relocated to the top floor of the Sheraton to the Presidents suite complete with a jacuzzi, giant LCD TV and double terraces that overlook the city. 

My training classes for my job are going well but the days are long and the material I have to learn is grueling and sometiomes boring. However, i have met a lot of people from all over the country who are also attending the class also and that makes it interesting.  Among the other people in my class, there are two powerlifters (monsters) who are both into judo.  I couldnt imagine trying to throw one of those guys around but they gave me great advice on nutrition and workouts.  I have worked out each day over at Golds  gym on Peachtree street and it is a great gym.  Working out each day always keeps me centered and at times seems like the only normal part of my day.  It is always nice to connect with people from the bb.com family and one of the highlights of my visit here in Atlanta was meeting  Regina (AKA TuffGirl).   Regina is really cool and we had dinner at one of the best seafood houses in Atlanta.  Regina is an awesome lady who was also honored on bb.com as transformation of the week!  Her transformation story was amazing and it was interestng to hear her tell it firsthand. It was great to connect with someone who completely understands what it is like to stay strong and focused and achieve a goal.

In 2 more days I will be heading home and feel good that I have stayed strong and focused in my goals. I will leave Atlanta with good memories and great times. Each day is a victory!

I am in Atlanta for the next 10 days with my job and I have remained committed to my goals.  I have gotten a 2 week pass to Golds gym and have been working out there each day. Golds is a great gym and it is only 2 blocks away from the hotel.  Golds has everything and I have gotten in some killer workouts. Even though I’m 600 miles away from home, going to the gym and working out always feels like its the most normal part of my day.  It helps to keep me centered and focused. While in Atlanta I hit a personal best on the tricep cable pushdowns.  I figured I’d give it a shot and kept loading on more and more weights until I took on the whole rack.  I did 320 pounds on the tricep cable pushdown 3 sets x 15 reps. Burned like hell but felt great.  I have been doing very well with my diet.  I bought and prepared all of the food that I need to get me though the next 10 days and have eaten clean.  Even though my job gives me a meal allowance, I chose to spend it on healty foods that I prepared instead of going to a restaurant. Im still getting in my 200 grams daily protein and have had no trouble eating 6-7 small meals each day.  I dont really even think it about it too much anymore because eating those meals has become a habit and a regular part of my day.  I dont know what else to say except for the fact that getting in a workout no matter where I am puts me in focus and helps get me through the daily stresses and makes each day is a victory!

I had a successful first month on my new program.  I gave it 110% and stayed clean with the diet.  I worked harder than I ever worked before and have gotten used to the routine.

I gained 5 pounds and kept my body fat in check. I can definitely see and feel the improvements that I am after.  I am concentrating on the here and now and that helps me to remain focused.

I wanted to get some inspiration to help keep me on track and I was not disappointed. A highlight of the month was when I attended the NPC Keystone classic here in the beautiful town in Emmaus, Pennsylvania.  It was a nice ride up there away from the suburbs and it reminded me what a beautiful state that Pa really is.

It was an awesome event and I got to meet and hang out with Rick (AKA 100% beef) and he competed in 3 classes.  Rick is awesome and I made a cool new friend. Had some great conversations and we had lunch (we both brought along chicken and vegetables) and hung out after the pre judging.  It was great to get a firsthand insight in a day in the life a competitive bodybuilder. The evening event was great and it was cool to see all of the competitors in action. Rick got his first ever first place and that was awesome!  I left there more motivated and focused. 

Another thing I have noticed more and more often is that people dont recognize me anymore. I ran into 2 fellow scientists who I worked with for 10 years.  Havent seen them in almost 2 years. At first they didnt know who I was and they were shocked. The ironic thing is that one of them recommended the South Beach diet to me because he lost a lot of weight on it but unfortunately he gained it all back.  That was the diet I used when I first started out and lost about 70 pounds on it.  Well anyway, change is good.
 

Month 1 of new program-Mission accomplished.

Each day is a victory!

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.

The past 2 weeks in my job have been really rough, but it all leveled out and everything is cool again.   I missed over a week of gym time, but it was the first time in 18 months that I took any time off from the gym.  The rest did me good.  I did manage to sneak over to the gym this week  a few times (I couldn’t take being away from it ) for three 45 minute HIT cardio classes as well as hitting the weights.  All of those workouts got me centered and focused again and I needed it.  I stayed clean with the diet and my zero carb isopure shakes were a great way to get in a quick protein meal here and there without the carbs.

For the first time in my life, I can state with a good degree of certainty that I have more confidence and self-esteem then I’ve ever had. Almost surreal but cool. As stated previously, this been more than a body change.  In fact has benefited me in every way possible. How could it not?  I am grateful to all of the friends that I have made here who have continued to motivate me and support me in my journey.

I am psyched to start my new workout routine and regimen on Monday and I am counting the days and June 1^st is the perfect day. I am calling this my “New Beginning”.  I have resigned to the fact that my weight loss phase is over and now it is time to build up. I got as thin as I want to get and now I want the 20 pounds of muscle.  I don’t care what it takes or how long it takes; I am going to do it.  I have prepared myself mentally to work harder than ever and am going to give it 110%

I don’t know about you, but I am addicted to this site. I always visit bb.com every chance that I have. This site has saved me countless times especially when I hit the plateaus and wanted to do something stupid and self-destructive like cheat on my diet or miss a workout. This site and the friends that I have made here always keeps me on the right track.  It’s great to know it is always here for me anytime when I need that extra motivation and it never disappoints me. Don’t you feel the same way?  

I can’t wait until Monday.

As a result of being on a high protein diet along with taking omega 3 fish oil with each meal for the past 3 weeks,  I had another unexpected result.  The 10 additional pounds that I lost during this time made a difference.

My size 32 waist wrangler regular jeans have gotten too big and I went down another notch in my belt.  The 32 wranglers are literally falling  off of me. Since losing more weight I am on my 7^th belt and it is time for a new one.  Will check out the size 30 wranglers this week