mrdead’s BodyBlog

This past weekend was actually a pretty good one. (Aside from the Oakland Raiders getting their butts handed to them.) Saturday, I got some house stuff done. Sunday, though, I got to go to a pumpkin patch! For those of you, that don’t know, Halloween is my favorite holiday. At Christmas, I get Halloween presents. My house is the one in the neighborhood, that all the kids want to go to. And, I get to watch horror movies without anyone giving me a hard time about it. So we went to the pumpkin patch, and wound up getting 187 pounds of pumpkins. We only got 4 *L*. And, it was fun, going out there in the fields with a wheelbarrow, and hunting for just the right ones. And, this Wednesday, I go in for my pre-op evaluation. Then they’ll give me a date for when I get carved up, and then the road to recovery!

Yesterday, I went to the doctor, and got a referral to finally get my umbilical hernia repaired. So, I’m actually kind of looking forward to getting it done. It’s been a very self-conscious issue that will finally get laid to rest. But, in the meantime, I’ve been told no straining, heavy lifting, "bearing down", or anything of that nature. I’ll know the date probably in a couple of days. I’ve already been warned that there will be approximately at least 6 weeks, of no training. (That’s going to drive me insane!) And, I’ve been hooked up with a surgeon that doesn’t like to make big gaping holes. So, in the meantime, I’m going to kick it on the treadmill for a bit, and just try and maintain. But afterwards, it’s going to be full tilt trying to fill out my lats and pecs!

The wonderful gloomy northwest weather has arrived, and I could give a flying fig about most anything. Forget training, diet, fluids, etc… Better to just curl up in bed, and watch the time spent on all that stuff just slip on by. Hmmm… That kind of describes the past few days. Definitely not in character, nor shall it be. Sometimes a person gets caught up in the rat race of paying bills, do we have enough left over to buy supplements, I’m too tired and stressed out to go to the gym, well I’m going to have surgery soon enough so why bother working out when it will just go to waste? All that, and then some has wafted through my mind as of late. Between all that, and the needs, illnesses, and issues of friends and family. "Stop the world, I want to get off!!!"

Well, I’ve grown rather tired of worrying and stressing. And, what pray tell, is the best thing for stress relief and mood elevation? The good old workout! It never let’s ya down. Sometimes we (I) get caught up in everything, and forget about what’s been sitting right there in front of me. The weather is perfect for putting on some good old muscle size. The gym is the perfect and legal place to take out frustrations. And, exhaustion helps bring about sleep. Oh, and "cheat day" is just around the corner!

So, don’t do what I did. Just keep hitting the gym, and it can’t be as bad as things really seem, can it? 

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!

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.

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.

Well, yesterday I had written that I would be going to the Seahawks and Raiders game. Box seats, 50 yd line, field level. Well, our tickets became "ticket". It seems the person my wife works with only had one ticket, not two. So, since she worked with the guy, and I felt that at least one of us should go, she got to be the one. No big deal, I can watch it on the television. Well, after the game, I get a phone call at 11:00. It was my "Dear Sweet Wife", asking me to come up to get her. She had parked her car in a "park and ride" about an hour and a half from our home. Her key wouldn’t turn the ignition. So, I get there and fiddle with it for an hour or so. I’m tired, cranky, and have to get up for work at 5:00. So, I said "Screw it!", loaded the necessities out of her truck into mine, and drove home. We got home at 3:00 AM. So here I am tired as hell, ony 2 hours of sleep, and still down to one vehicle. "Free ticket" my a$$!!!