markito’s BodyBlog

I did two types of diet: High carb day, then low carb day. Here’s how it panned out:
Day 1: High Carb
Day 2: Low Carb
Day 3: Low Carb
Day 4: High Carb
Day 5: Restart from day 1
My HC days looked like this:
Meal 1 (when I first wake up)
2 scoops whey protein

Meal 2 (breakfast)
3 whole eggs 3 egg whites
1/2 cup of oatmeal

Meal 3
1 oz mixed nuts
2 scoops of whey

Meal 4 (lunch)
1 chicken breast
1 cup mixed greens
1 tbsp olive oil/vinigerette dressing
2 slices wheat bread
Meal 5
2 scoops of whey
1 tbsp of natural peanut butter

Meal 6 (pre workout)
1 scoop of whey
1 apple

Meal 7 (post workout)
2 scoops of whey
20 oz gatorade

Meal 8 same as meal 4

————————————
LC Day:
Meal 1 (when I first wake up)
2 scoops whey protein

Meal 2 (breakfast)
3 whole eggs 3 egg whites
1/2 cup of oatmeal

Meal 3
1 tbsp peanut butter
2 scoops of whey

Meal 4 (lunch)
8 oz 95/5 lean ground beef
1 cup mixed greens
1 tbsp olive oil/vinigerette dressing

Meal 5
2 scoops of whey
1/2 tbsp of natural peanut butter

Meal 6 (pre workout)
1 scoop of whey

Meal 7 (post workout)
2 scoops of whey
12 oz gatorade

Meal 8
1 chicken breast
1 cup mixed greens
1 tbsp olive oil/vinigerette dressing

Both days before bed I would try to have a whey/cassein blend mixed in water. Now on to the fun part…the cardio! The secret to my marginal success was really my use of High intensity interval training (HIIT). Most people will say you have to do it on a bike or on a treadmill. I’m almost 6′2, so my feet get a little clumsy around the treadmill after 11 mph. So I can’t get to my fastest speed and go all out. But what I found that completely wipes me out is jump rope. Here’s how I did it:

1.5 - 2 minute warm up
30-40 seconds as fast as I can jumping
20-30 seconds crunches (or some floor ab exercise)
repeat.

Now, I’d do this cycle for about 12-15 minutes. After that, I really didn’t have the energy to even move, let alone jump any more. Most people would probably say that I should have done long. Maybe they are right, but how will I ever know until I try? For me, it was about the quality and intensity over the quantity (duration). I like jumping so much that I actually ordered a $35 olympic jump rope (buddyleejumpropes.com)! I can’t wait to get it and rock the house. Let me know if you have any questions or thoughts about my diet /cardio program! Best of luck to everyone! Train hard or remain the same.

Hey hey,

First I would like to say thank you to the two people who actually read my blog! And for the millions of other who are missing out, just know that Markito loves you, too.

Second, I got really nervous this morning because I can feel the beginnings of a head cold coming on and I’m VERY uninterested in getting sick because the show is 5 weeks away and I have a lot of work to do in terms of cardio and dieting. I’ve read a lot of articles that say don’t train while sick, but today in the mail I got the new M&F and they had an article about this same thing! So guess what!? The article said that there is research that suggests that I can train while sick as long as it’s a head cold. Now, how am I gonna deal with this? Basically, I’m going to be sure to not over do it and scale back the intensity for a few days til I’m 100%. The article even said that it won’t prolong your cold, which was my biggest concern.

I worked out today and felt really good, although after the training I felt a little wiped out…so tomorrow, I’ll try not to kill myself

5 weeks til glory!

Win, Lose I don’t care - I just have to get on that stage guys. Wish me luck!

No this isn’t a new type of diet, it’s more of a mind state that I need to adopt if I really want to reach my goals for this upcoming contest. So here’ what needs to happen over the next 56 days:

1. Ultra clean diet - we are talking no more cheat days and for the next four weeks, maybe a cheat meal ONCE a week.
2. Consistent Supplementation - one of my biggest problems is that the weekends are so unpredictable for me that I never really know when I’m going to be able to workout / supplement. The only real way to get supplements to work for you is to actually take them consistently.
3. AM cardio - one good way that I’ve heard of that will help you to cut body fat is to do cardio on an empty stomach…so at least 3/4 days I think I need to do cardio when I wake….NOOOOOO!
4. No more missing workouts - With only 8 weeks til the show, I technically will only have 8 more sessions per body part. It would be disadvantages to miss even a single workout.
5. REST - this isn’t a fancy acronym for a new training method - actually it’s just what it sounds like…getting enough rest. Sleep, sleep, sleep.

Oh snap! I’m feeling pretty amped. I’ve been really pushing hard to make sure I’m moving closer and closer to my goal of getting ready for a contest on March 21st. Today was the first day of "Crush Week" where I just kinda throw out my normal routine and just push myself past the limits with heavier weight, varied exercises and more intensity. Hopefully this will really push my body past the plateau I’ve been feeling.

Now all I have to do is figure out how the heck to work my upper quads!!! Any suggestions?

Hey hey hey!

I’ve been doing so much thinking and training over the last three weeks. During this same time, I’ve been really learning my body and understanding what feels good and what doesn’t. For example, I’ve been following a program I got from M&F. I know for a fact that this is a great program, but I wasn’t feeling it certain days and other days I was feeling completely wiped out at the end (a good thing, by my standards). So I decided to make note of the "less" intense days and start making changes.

One area that I’m really struggling in is leaning out my midsection. I’ve been doing cardio twice a week and abs on the same day. I’m starting to think that because I need to lose more body fat there, I might be waiting too long. I’m thinking that maybe it should be more intermittent in my schedule.

The diet seems to be going good so far, been able to keep it clean most of the days out of the week. I think my lack of progress on my abs is STRICTLY linked to the volume of cardio. Starting tomorrow, I think I’m going to try and do cardio on an empty stomach when I wake up. Most likely, I’ll do a DVD at home so that I can save some time. Then if I have cardio scheduled for that day in the gym, I’ll still do it there too.
I don’t care if I don’t win this contest. I just want to show up with a flat stomach and a cool posing routine.

- Kito

I know that the reason I don’t see the true cuts that I really want is because of my lack of cardio. I tried to engage in some cardio and what happens? My calf cramps…drinking so much fluid per day is making it VERY hard to lead a normal life. I have to pee every five minutes and it’s really disruptive to my work schedule. I think my boss is gonna mention it in my review! I’m always in the bath room. I think I’m gonna have to only drink 20 onces of water during work and drink the rest during my time off at home. I just ant all of my hard work to show in my abs (well, I’d actually have to do some crunches first, of course).
Training for this contest has been great but discouraging because my weekend are the HARDEST things in the world for me to keep my diet clean because I’m never home. So tomorrow i’m going to REALLY try and pack the same amount of food and eat everything that I have scheduled. If I can limit my poor nutrition to one NIGHT a week I think I can finally make some progress, but I won’t be able to know until I can pass a weekend without screwing up. Tomorrow is the next test. I’m gonna pass this joints.
Boo-yah!

Not gonna lie, I’m SOOO BEAT right now. I saw that AmySuds has ten weeks out from the OCB Midwest States and that meant I do too! So I had to freakin get my butt in gear. I worked pretty hard tonight but you know what happened? I freakin got a calf cramp during my cardio. Darn you calf cramps! I’ll take tomorrow off and get back on Saturday. Go, go, go!

HC = Hard Core because that’s what I need to be non-stop for the next several (10) weeks before the Midwest OCB States. Today was the hardest day so far (even though it’s only the first one!) because I had taken a two week break to try and nurse a shoulder injury that I was causing to myself (by sleeping on a futon!). I had band practice and I was planning on just skipping tonight and then going tomorrow. But of course, that would have been the easy way out…I’m in the for the [HC] life.

I’m terrified of being on stage in a pair of posing trunks, but I believe that I’ll be a better person for the experience…I can see it now, I go in at around 190 this year and come back next year as a beast! Okay, maybe not a beast, but definitely a small monster Boomshakalaka!

Last night I wrote a quick blog about feeling good when I look better than the people around me. So hopefully that didn’t come off the wrong way…if it did…then eh…what can you do? But seriously - every time i start flexing in the mirror and thinking about how great I’m starting to look - I peep at people like Clemonade, Big Koncrete, Josh Brne, AloneIStand and a host of others who truly represent the sentiment of  dedication and achievement. Soon enough I’ll start to see the differences in me that I’ve been trying to make as I stay focused on the goal of staying in the gym. I was going to stay home tonight…but why bother?! The gym is open…so I’m there. Oh AND I might be posting some new pics after tonight’s workout…I’m getting tired of those same two I have up now…BORING!

Lift On!

I had band practice tonight but I am so tired of letting mondays go to waste when I could spend them training after I am done!

I got so fed up that i decided to do something about it. I went to the gym and trained my legs . so this is good news and some bad news: the good news is that I pushed past my own hesitation and made it to the gym, the bad news is that I haven’t trained legs in a LONG time and I’m paying for it! For one, my training was so sloppy and I need to re-write my leg routine to put up a challenge or either get in there and do the routine to the bone.

Here’s an interesting thought - I was on the train after work today and I noticed that I have a better body than most of the people I see on the train, but I’m not satisfied with that - I don’t want to be a god amongst men, I want to be a King amongst gods.

That’ll  keep me focused for a while. goodnight guys.