kinkoshinkai’s BodyBlog

So, for the last two weeks I’ve been getting up at about 6 A.M, getting ready and driving an hour north for 2 hour class.  Get home around noon.  Take care of home stuff, catch a quick half hour nap, maybe an hour if I can.  Head to rehearsal until after midnight and even until 2 A.M. on several occasions.  Then up at 6 to do it again!!  Need I mention, NO GYM TIME AT ALL.  Any working out was incidental to learning exercise technique and physiology in class.  Finally the in class part is done and all that’s left is my research paper.  And the shows open this week, so rehearsal time is way shorter.

Tomorrow, back to the gym.  I’m mentally formulating my new split and trying to reconcile myself to the fact that I will have to re-teach my muscles a bit, and even back off on some poundages.  I need to get back on the "trim down" phase, so the plan is to go high intensity but short lift time, and make time for at least 30 minutes of cardio after training at least 4 days a week if not more.  (I don’t ever do cardio on leg days.)  I need to really mix up my cardio.  I may do the circuit room on some days, or take a brisk walk, hit the bikes - who knows.  As a cardio hater, and with the wierd schedule making meal timing tough, I have to do it. 

I’m going to start with chest still on Monday.  Legs Tuesday and a day off with only cardio Wednesday.  (maybe even two sessions in the day)  Thursday - back, Friday arms, Saturday shoulders and calves.  I think that’ll be my split.  We’ll see how this first week back goes.

I’ve been, due to time constraints, using protein shakes a lot, in place of actual meals.  My calorie intake has been geared toward fat loss, meaning that I started at 3200 calories a day, and have gone as low as 2200 on low carb days.  I’m fairly regular with my meals, staying pretty consistent as to time and content.  Still, I haven’t been seeing increased fat loss as I’d hoped.  I’m doing okay, don’t get me wrong, but a recent BB.com article I think will help.  My protein shakes have been Whey, always.  My whole food meals are chicken, tuna, egg, with oatmeal, red potatoes, fruits and vegetables for carbs mostly.  There’s more variety than that, but those are the staples.

The BB.com article informed me however that my whey protein is too quickly metabolized, and I may not be getting the "slow drip" or "time release" effect that my muscles need to stay anabolic.  The whey, too frequently used, spikes too quickly.  So, with that in mind, I’ve ordered some Casseine protein, powdered egg whites, and liquid egg whites for my proteing supplementation.  Hopefully when I get those in a couple days and begin to use them, the metabolization of the protein will be more gradual, keeping my muscles fed steadily, and digesting over a longer period of time.

On a big up-side, the tailor/costumer for our summer shows measured me yesterday, and compared to last year, I’ve added two inches to my chest, two to my arms, and lost a half inch off my waist.  Now I was just 3 months post contest then, so my body fat was lower.  But still, I’m excited by the growth, and my bodyfat is not out of control now, even though it’s slightly higher.  Yay, me!!!

Today was delts and tri’s.  I superset or giant set my delts, because that seems to really burn them, and I’ve seen better growth over the last couple months.  So I start with dumbbell presses, right into side laterals, rear laterals, and finish with front raises, all in one set with no rest.  Three sets that way pretty much burns the snot out of me and I can’t lift my arms.  After a brief rest I then do Smith presses behind the neck and barbell shrugs supersetted.  It only takes about a half hour but I’m thrashed.  Then I hit the tri’s, which have already had a bit of work from the shoulder presses with dumbbells and the Smith bar.  My tricep workouts vary, but today I did decline skulls, rope cable press downs, and overhead dumbbell French presses.  On all my workouts I log everything, to keep my forward moving for goals and strength gains, and takes the guess-work out of set, rep, and weight planning.  I use it to push myself to try to improve each time in the gym, even if it’s only one more rep than last time.

Well, today, I couldn’t improve on last week, and in a couple of exercises, was even weaker!!!  I hate days like that, but I know that they happen.  It’s been a long time since I’ve had such a day, and I HATED it!!!  It feels like failure, and not the good kind where you push a set to its limit.  I mean failure in that I didn’t meet my goal.  My rest, food and supplements were about the same as always, so the only real difference was I was weaker.  Yecchhh!  I had to let the ego go and just finish the sets I had planned, admitting a small defeat.  The plates and bars got the best of me today.  But next time dammit, I’ll get my revenge on them!!!!!!!

A little over a year ago, I could barely squat 90 degrees with 2 plates per side.  Today, I did 3 plates per side, deep, hammies to calves, for reps!!  I’ve lowered the volume this last month and focussed on strength.  It seems to be working!  And I’ve nearly doubled my leg press with this approach!  I’ll measure them in a few weeks and see if the strength translates to size.  I sure hope so.

Went north 4 1/2 hours to SLC for the Utah NPC Open.  I actually saw more muscle in the audience than on stage!  There were a few REALLY strong bodybuilders.  A huge 19 year-old that won the teen division.  The middle and heavy winners, as well as the over-all winner and runner-up were superb.  The figure competition had some really qualified ladies.  Last year, my home town girl that won and qualified for nationals did well there, placing 5th in her division (shout out to Janae Stewart!).  I think the class winners this year were splendid as well.

But the highlight, by far, was that Jay "Cuts" Cutler, aka Mr. "O" was the guest poser!!  He hasn’t been to Utah as a guest poser since 2001, and after being on the road every weekend all year so far, his stop in Utah sported the largest crowd he’s visited all year!  He looked great, and I got to meet him earlier in the day at the Gold’s Gym that sponsored the show.  HE’S HUGE!!!  He really put on a show that night, and made it well worth the long drive.  I got to take my 15 year-old son, too, for his first show, and a photo with Mr. "O".  A pretty cool day, all in all.  The coolest part about Jay being there was that he actually was a "fill-in" for the guy who was originally scheduled, but cancelled.  Jay had an opening and accepted the gig!  On what could be considered short notice, to "fill in", and be so gracious, in shape and such a gentleman speaks volumes to who he is as a representative of the sport!

I just measured my arms!!  Haven’t worked out today.  Just lounging around watching the NCAA games I’d taped yesterday.  Got the urge to check.  I’ve been adding an exercise for my triceps and biceps with only my left arm, since it is smaller.  I’ve concentrated a bit more on hammer curls and cambered bar curls to hit the brachialis on the side of my arms for more thickness, too.  And I’ve been trying to break the plateau in arm size I seemed to have hit. 

Today’s measurement, unpumped and in the morning - 16.75 on BOTH ARMS!!! Of course, that’s flexed.  They are also up to 16 inches JUST HANGING RELAXED!!

Yea!!!!!

The first week of my new split routing is under my belt.  It felt pretty good.  I backed off on a few things in order to keep my 20-25 sets in about an hour pace, not overtrain, be able to recover, etc.  But I hit each thing pretty hard still.  Chest feels pretty good.  I really hope I get some significant growth out of the next 12 weeks. 

It feels wierd to not go to the gym today, but I may go down on the Bowflex and my ab/pull-up rack and do something just to keep the metabolism kicking.  I’ll probably hit 5 or six sets of high rep leg extensions, some knee raises and resisted crunches while I watch the basketball games.  Kentucky’s game (my home state) having been postponed due to the Georgia storm weather is today.  BYU, my alma mater, is on.  And if Kentucky wins, a second game tonight.  If I’m training during the games, evel lightly, that’ll be better than sitting around eating ‘game day’ snacks.  

Weighed in at 220 with 16% BF yesterday, so I’m feeling pretty good.  Today is cheat day (movie popcorn w/o butter) usually, so if I train a bit, keep the progress going as it has been, I feel pretty good with that.

OK, my chest just has not been getting thicker like I’d like it to, and my bench is not improving substantially.  In my ongoing search for knowledge, I read the magazines, blogs, and web-sites.  Notably, of course, bodybuilding.com and Flex. All good information.  Flex obviously must be adjusted to the amateur, and caution to see which training protocols are for pre-contest, bulking, conditioning, whatever.  Trying to train like the pro’s without the professional diet, pharmaceuticals, etc. is counterproductive.  But, by the same token, there’s a lot to be learned from anyone who can get that big.  SO…..

I’m switching from a 5 day a week split, one body part per day, to a 4 day a week, 2 bodyparts, and hitting chest twice.  Mon - Chest/back,  Tues - Delts, traps/tri’s, Wed - legs(quads, hams, calves), Thurs - rest, Fri, Chest/biceps.  The protocol calls for abs, too, on chest days, but with limited gym time (I still try to keep it at around an hour) I hit abs as the mood hits and can do them at home anytime, or with cardio.  I still try to keep the intensity up, hitting 20 sets or so within the hour, but with the split this way, that also means fewer set per bodypart, so I have to hit each set extra hard!!  I plan a program for each day, but when I reach the hour mark (provided I haven’t lost focus, socialized, or otherwise slacked my intensity) I cut out rather than overtrain.  Gotta remember I’m not a 20 year old chippy who can eat pizza at will.

So, in 13 weeks, focusing on chest growth, we’ll see what I can achieve. 

Let me just begin by saying, I hate cardio.  That said, I love to play basketball, which is cardio when done properly, or even walk a golf course, which is sort of super-low intensity cardio (except for running after clubs I might throw or hiking into the hills to find my horrendous Tee shot).  But cardio for the sake of cardio, elipticals, treadmills, jog/walk, etc, NOT A FAN.

But… I DO want to keep fitting in my clothes.  I DO need to cycle my training periods, whether competing or not.  And with a family where eating ONLY perfect lean meals ALWAYS can be tough, it’s time in my training to add some cardio.  I have the elliptical in my room, and as long as something decent is on the TV, it goes by relatively smoothly.  I actually prefer that to even some outdoor cardio.  I don’t have to deal with car exhaust, vagueries of weather or street crossings, dogs barking, etc.  Sooo, starting this week, just 20 minutes per morning to start, low/medium intensity elliptical.  It fits well in the time between waking and sending the first wave of kids to the school bus. 

This is the ONLY change I’ll be making to my routine, so I should be able to determine pretty well how that one variable affects my BF%, how quickly and to what degree, given that diet, sleep, and weight training will remain constant.  I’ve not completely lost sight of my abs, though they are much softer, so before I lose sight of them entirely, this should be the right time for my cardio nemesis to join the training rotation.

I was hesitant to post my photos from today.  Granted, I’ve seen Jay Cutler, Branch Warren, and lots of other pros’ off season photos.  They are not akways tan and ripped.  Ane whatever I look like now, it’s a huge leap past where I started.  But still, having onlydieted down once, relinquishing my more toned self to public view is a shot in the chops.

I take comfort in the fact that I’ve put on mostly quality pounds in the last year, and calculating for body fat, I’ve put on 10-12 lbs of muscle since March nearly eleven months ago.  With only over the counter commercial proteins and supplements, and at age 48, I think that’s pretty good. 

So, chubbier or not, I post my photos in a phase of training that is totally new to me, bulking.