mooselvlt’s BodyBlog

OK, so vacation is over and its back to reality.  Back to work, back to this colder weather, back to the routine.  I promised myself I would take this whole week after I returned to rest up and stay away from the gym.  I’m finding that very hard to do.  I am absolutely bursting to get back in there so I think tonight is the night.  I can’t wait.  This time last year I would never have been writing this I can guarantee that.  What a difference a year makes!  Everyone stay strong and keep reaching for those goals!

Leaving for vacation tomorrow down to Ava Cowan country, beautiful Fort Lauderdale, FL.  My 12 week cycle this time around ends tomorrow morning as I complete my workout prior to leaving.  Overall results were pretty close to my goal.  I wanted to add 5 lbs of muscle and lose 5 lbs of fat.  The tale of the tape (or calipers in this case) say I gained 4 and lost 4.  Not too shabby.  Just need to keep hitting it hard.  I must say I’m looking forward to my week off though.  The old body has a few minor dings but thankfully, nothing major this go ’round.  Everyone stay strong and keep chugging along.  Until next time…….peace.

I’m now in my 12th and final week of my training program.  Hitting the beaches of sunny (I hope) South Florida this weekend!  I must say I’m looking very forward to the vacation and taking a little break from the hard workouts.  My body is looking forward to the R & R. 

On another note, my San Diego Chargers are now in the position of getting some time off as well.  Its too bad they were so dinged up health wise but New England is just having that special season anyway.  So, maybe next year Chargers!  Have to look forward to baseball season now.  Take care everybody! 

Have to vent a little here about the "experts" out there.  Couple of examples here.  On my drive home from work last night, this nutrition "expert" was on the radio talking about losing weight b/c the tokpic on the radio show was New Year Resolutions and of course this is the gold standard of resolutions.  When the host asked her does it matter what types of foods we eat, she actually said "No, a calorie is a calorie".  Then he asked if it mattered if we ate once a day, 3 times a day or numerous times a day.  Her anwser "No, its all about calorie count."  Huh???  My jaw about hit my steering wheel.  It is amazing that a nutrition "expert" can come on the radio and dole out those 2 great pieces of advice. 

Then I turned over to EPSN radio on the way to work this morning to the Mike and Mike show.  They were talking about the Green Bay - NY Giants NFC title game this Sunday.  Mike Greenberg said "If Brett Favre gets to the Super Bowl and beats New England, he will go down as one of the great QBs in NFL history".  First off, he already is one of the greats in history if not the greatest.  And secondly, doesn’t New England also play a game this Sunday??  Once again, San Diego isn’t even being discussed as having a CHANCE of winning.  Last Sunday the "experts" on CBS predicted these scores for the San Diego - Indy game:  34-17, 34-17, 38-17, 34-21 all, of course, in favor of the Colts.  San Diego wins the game with their back up QB and back up RBs in the 4th quarter.  But now again we will hear nothing but how great the Patriots are and how nobody has a chance of beating them.  If you don’t believe me, just tune in to the All Patriots All the time Network, I mean EPSN, and hear for yourself.  But I warn all of you New England fans, beware the "experts".

I have not been this happy about something in quite a long time.  I am talking about my team, the San Diego Chargers.  Watching them win on the road with their top 3 weapons sitting on the bench in the 4th quarter really got me thinking.  What an inspirational performance by the team.  It was all about heart yesterday.  Hopefully they will have enough left in the tank to play their best to give New England a run for their money.  We shall see.

On a personal note, I had my body composition tested again yesterday.  I’ve made a few strides over the past 2 months, but progress is slow and steady.  Just have to stay focused and keep at it.  Everyone keep working hard.  It will pay off in the end. 

Twenty one days until I get out of this crappy weather here and get into some sunshine (Hopefully).  My 12 week Core Performance program is done exactly the day I leave for Florida so we’ll see where I stand when the day arrives.  I think I’m making some very good progress on my body fat goal.  I can tell not only in the mirror and how I feel but also from feedback other people are giving me.  Just this morning I had someone tell me I’m getting "too thin".  I told them that I’ve actually put on a few pounds lately and the response was "no way!".  So we shall see I guess.  Happy ‘08 to everyone here.  Keep pushing yourself!

Well, 2007 is all but gone.  Fitness-wise it was my best year ever really.  Lost 38 lbs, been successly maintaining now for a couple of months.  I swear I will never let myself slip back to where I was before July 2007.  I look and feel SO much better now.  As for the rest of 2007, eh, some hits and misses.  Ladies, I’m STILL single and unattached.  Had a couple of forrays into the romantic arena but came up empty handed yet again.  Oh well, there’s always 2008!  So now looking ahead its time for some goals for 2008.  I’ll keep my ramblings here to bodybuilding related topics only I guess.  But this is the BEST thing that getting back into shape has reminded me.  You have to have those goals and write them down and hold yourself accountable.  Refer back to them again and again and display them prominently to remind you.  I know that’s what I have to do at least. 

So here it goes for my fitness life.  First, I want to still be at the 180 lbs range come summertime 2008.  I’ve tried to bulk up before and it really is tough for my body type.  So I’ll remain lean this time around.  Maintain 180-185 but get my bf% down to 10% by July 1st.  I’ll reasses from there.  My only other goal is to run a 5K in 21 minutes or under by July 1st.  I think that will challenge me because I’m still building that VO2 Max as we speak.  Wish me luck!  As for goals outside of fitness, well, I’ll keep those to myself for now.  Happy New Year everyone on BB.com!  A lot of you truly do inspire me to strive to be my best because of all the great stories I see on here.  Keep up the great work! 

In keeping with the Holiday spirit, here’s a little diddy for us fitness folks:

On the 12th day of Christmas my (fill in your favortite term of endearment here) gave to me

12 Detour bars

11 Squat Lunges

10 Chicken Breasts

9 Bicep Curls

8 Wide Grip Pull-Ups

7 One-Arm Push-ups

6 Chest Presses

5 Yougurts……………….Faaaaaaaaaaat….
.Frrrrrrrrreeeeeeeee

4 Days of Cardio

3 Omega Oils

2 Scoops of Whey

And a Clean Bill of Health for meeeeeee

OK, ok, I know its corny but hey, I tried.  Happy Holidays everyone.  Stay Strong!

There are many reasons why I like to go to my gym.  First off, its a super nice one-stop fitness shop.  Except for no indoor running track.  Don’t get me started about that.  Anyway, although I am pretty focused when I hit the gym, I can’t help but notice some other people’s rituals and their progress or lack thereof.  I go mainly early in the morning and its usually the same cast of characters in there with me so I can’t help but notice how others are doing.  I can tell you, the vast majority of these people are making virtually ZERO progress.  And it’s easy to tell why.  They do the same thing day in and day out.  The woman on the treadmill talking on the cell phone (if you can carry on a 30 minute phone conversation, that isn’t a workout).  The 2 guys doing all kinds of weird exercises with poor form and then joking around 5 minutes between each set.  The guys who play pick-up basketball for an hour every day then come up and lift and wonder why they can’t make any strength gains.  I can go on and on.  Then you see the people that are truly in great shape.  Lo and behold, they are seldom seen doing the same routines for too long.  They seem to be very focused and single-minded.  They usually are done with their workout in less than an hour, most times significantly less.  All of this tells me one thing.  In order to get the gains and continual progress, you have to be totally dialed in and bust your hump every time you are at the gym and mix in variety every few weeks.  If you are there and don’t push yourself or if you are there too dang long doing the same old things you truly are wasting your effort.  Get to that place called "the zone" and give it all you got while there.  I like to be social everywhere I go, but at the gym, I reserve that for the locker room or lobby.  Happy Holidays everyone!

Well, after shedding a ton of bodyfat and adding quite a bit of muscle since July 4th, 2007, I am continually amazed at some of the comments I get from family and friends.  Just yesterday my mother told me I had better not get any thinner, I was too thin already!  When I told her I’ve actually GAINED 5 lbs in the past month or so but its mostly muscle so that’s why I’m thinner, she had a rather puzzled look on her face.  Last weekend, my friends were also giving me some crap that I was too thin, I couldn’t hold back.  When they asked what I weighed and I told them 182, they were all shocked.  You see, one of them is my heighth and he weighs the same but I guess he’s what you’d call "skinny fat".  They basically called me a liar and still don’t believe I weigh as much as I say.  Deep down, while these comments get frustrating, I do smile inside.  I’ve learned what prooper nutrition and a balanced workout regimen can do for a body.  And I’ll never allow myself to go back!  Happy Holidays everyone and keep working hard!  We’re soon to be bombarded with all the New Year’s resolution folks in the gyms.