mrdead’s BodyBlog

Okay, I work in an Internal Medicine clinic. Now, you would think that people in the health care field would be a little less obese. But, I am surrounded by "oompa-loompas"! I have actually had a co-worker say to me, while she literally had a full dozen doughnuts in front of her that she was shoveling in, "I don’t know why I can’t seem to lose any weight!" Or the nurses that say, "Can you go get this patient for me I just can’t walk that far." 75 percent of the nurses in my clinic are as wide as they are tall. And, these people are giving out nutritional and exercise advice!!! I even had a patient say that they would rather talk to another nurse about their weight concerns, because they know what it’s like to not have anything work for them. WTF??? When I had a physical a couple of years back, this morbidly obese gentleman decided to counsel me on my dietary needs. Uhm, no wonder most people don’t follow their doctor’s advice, since their nurse doesn’t even follow a healthy diet and exercise.

Now, onto the good news. I have an evaluation appointment on the 8th of October to get my umbilical (belly-button) hernia repaired. Yay!!!

Okay, I work in an Internal Medicine clinic. Now, you would think that people in the health care field would be a little less obese. But, I am surrounded by "oompa-loompas"! I have actually had a co-worker say to me, while she literally had a full dozen doughnuts in front of her that she was shoveling in, "I don’t know why I can’t seem to lose any weight!" Or the nurses that say, "Can you go get this patient for me I just can’t walk that far." 75 percent of the nurses in my clinic are as wide as they are tall. And, these people are giving out nutritional and exercise advice!!! I even had a patient say that they would rather talk to another nurse about their weight concerns, because they know what it’s like to not have anything work for them. WTF??? When I had a physical a caouple of years back, this morbidly obese gentleman decided to counsel me on my dietary needs. Uhm, no wonder most people don’t follow their doctor’s advice, since their nurse doesn’t even follow a healthy diet and exercise.

Now, onto the good news. I have an evaluation appointment on the 8th of October to get my umbilical (belly-button) hernia repaired. Yay!!!

In my quest to improve for my next show, I’m hitting a road block. My "moobs" are not getting with the program. On chest day, I get a great tri and delt workout. The only thing that seems to be hitting my chest is the cable cross-over. I think I’ll lower my weights and see if it’s just a form issue.

I’ll never order anything from Dorian Yates, again!!! It’s been a year and a half, and I still have not gotten my product. I’ve sent countless letters to his alleged customer service department, with no answer. But, they sure didn’t have a problem taking my money!!!

On a brighter note, I got an e-mail from 8X Mr. Olympia. The man is a "class act". He’s e-mailed me a few times, and even sent me a Christmas card, last year. Even if he doesn’t get number 9, I’ll continue to have respect for this great ambassador to our sport!

Ah… Another glorious leg day… (I love legs about as much as a root canal, but anyhow). You ever get done with you’re planned workout, and feel like you’ve still got a lot left in the tank afterwards? Well, last night I had just that very thing occur. So, what did I do? Well, in one of my more gung-ho moments I decided to do one last set of leg extensions. You know, just one more teeny-tiny set. A set of 100 reps… Uhm… Let’s just say that we’re a little sore today… Yeah… You know the kind of sore that makes you walk like Golum, from "Lord of the Rings"… I actually had a co-worker say, "The hobbits went that way…" Everybody’s a comedian when you’re sore… *L* Anyhow, the workout went like this:

Legs:

Leg extensions: 1 warm up set of 25, followed by 5 sets of 15

Leg press: 5 sets of 15

Squats: 5 sets of 15

Lying hamstring curls: 5 sets of 15

Standing calf machine: 5 sets of 15 (stack for last set)

Then my "genius" idea of leg extensions: 1 set of 100

Abs:

Crunch: 3 sets of 30

Leg raises: 3 sets of 30

I did remember to bring my Anator with me, and I immediately gulped that down, followed by some nitro-tech. Ate a good dinner about an hour later, went to bed, woke up, and was "Looking for the stupid hobbits’s that stoles our Precious!!!"

Well, last night was back and arms. I got a killer pump, but I really need to start bringing something with me to the gym to slam in some immediate protein afterwards. I do believe I’ll start bringing a dose of Anator p-70 with me to the gym for some immediate nutrition, as the 20-30 minute drive from the gym takes some time. I’m starting to get more and more keyed in to the nutritional aspect of things, as I really want to bring my best ever to my next two shows. This past show was my first endeavor, and my mass building was basically bulking/fattening. So I wound up having to drop 40 pounds before my show, and lost what I thought was size, but I guess was just fat. I’m also centering in on my supplements as well. Before, while I was working my days off at GNC, I was trying anything within the rules, but not anything consistantly. I’ve now settled into a core of supplements, and hope to make some great gains. My lats and pecs were severely missing last show, so they will be getting a LOT of "special" attention. (Torture *L*)

The workout went as follows:

Back:

Deadlifts: 5 sets of 10 with one set of 25 for warm-up

Close grip lat pull-downs to the front: 5 sets of 12

Wide grip lat pull-downs to the front: 5 sets of 12

Hammer Machine rows: 5 sets of 12

Triceps:

press-downs with the "V" handle: 5 sets of 12 with 1 set of 25 for warm-up

Extensions: 5 sets of 12

Biceps:

Barbell curls: 5 sets of 12

Incline dumbell curls: 5 sets of 12

High cable curls: 5 sets of 12

On a side note: Yesterday, my mom was diagnosed with "Fascio-scapulo-humeral muscular dystrophy", which affects the muscles of the upper arms, traps and back. It’s genetic/hereditary and is most evidenced by scapular winging, degeneration of the biceps, inability to raise one’s arms, inability to purse the lips (whistle/drink from a straw), and facial drooping. It’s a degenerative disease that comes about slowly or quickly, more common in males than females (I don’t exhibit any of the signs or symptoms, and am more than likely just a carrier), and can have a 50/50 chance of affecting one’s offspring. It’s not a "fatal" disease, but incurable. Treatment currently is just maintaining quality of life. As I find out more, I will post. As I said, though, I do not exhibit any of these symptoms, and more than likely am unaffected. If anyone has better knowledge of this and can shed a little more light on the subject for me and my family, it would be greatly appreciated.

The brace is off, and I’m back at it again!!! Last night was chest and shoulders. I decided to redo the first part of the HUGE program, since I had that week of no lifting. But… Have you ever had that "puppy dog" follow you around the gym? You know, the young kid that decides that he’s going to do what you do, and the same weight if not more? Heh… This poor kid, "Bless his heart", was following me around, and wouldn’t say anything to me or anything but just glared. I at least said "Hi". But he would add to the plates I was using and then wound up taking them off. *L* It was actually kind of funny after awhile. And the look on his face when I did "shrugs" with the stack on the calf machine was priceless. At least that was my last exercise. Anyhow, the workout went as follows:

Chest:

Bench press: 1 set of 25 followed by 5 sets of 12

Incline bench: 5 sets of 12

Pec deck: 5 sets of 12

Cable cross-overs: 5 sets of 12 (I love doing these, because the veins just pop out when I do them)

Shoulders:

Front millitary press: 1 set of 25 followed by 5 sets of 10

Lateral raises (machine): 5 sets of 12

Lateral raises (dumbell): 5 sets of 12

Rear delt "cross overs" : 5 sets of 10

Shrugs (calf machine): 5 sets of 10

Got my butt back into the gym last night. I’m still not "cleared" to do some things, but nurses are the world’s worst patients. I hit my legs and abs, and man did it feel good to be back in the gym!!! I’m supposed to have a follow up appointment tomorrow, but it’s basically a formality to say, "Okay, just be careful." Saturday I got drug around the state fair… You know that sea of morbid obesity stuffing themselves with corndogs, cotton candy, fried twinkies, and grease burgers. All the while wearing too tight clothes, so the shirt doesn’t cover the "cottage cheese" gut and the pants or shorts that show off both male and female "camel toes" and butt crack… Sorry, didn’t mean to get side-tracked… The workout was as follows:

Abs (sort of)

Crunches: 2 sets of 20

Hanging leg raises: 2 sets of 20

All sets and reps are per the FLEX magazine HUGE program (with some personal tweaks and changes)

Legs:

Leg extensions: 1 set of 25 and 4 sets of 15

Squats: 4 sets of 15

Hamstring curls (lying): 4 sets of 15

Calf raises: 5 sets of 15

Well, in my infinite run of "luck", I had a bit of a mishap over the weekend. I was "graceful" enough to get my hand stuck in the handle of a chainsaw. How does one do that, you ask? Well, you take a very hard starting chainsaw, an overzealous assistant, and a big dummy to offer to hold it down while they pull like heck on the chord. Well, the big dummy didn’t have his hand set, yet. The chord was pulled, and the chainsaw and handle rolled over the big dummy’s hand and forearm, with the hand still in the handle. So, I’m stuck in a brace for awhile and am only allowed to do cardio and legs. But, on the brighter side, nothing was broken, and surgery doesn’t seem to be necessary.