mrdead's BodyBlog

Why…?

mrdead — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 21:43:42 +0000

As most of you know, I’ve been having a crisis of faith in myself, lately… Due to the progress pics I had taken, and some comments from a few other people, incuding myself… Well, last night at the gym, I continued to mull one question over and over, again… Why am I doing this…? Ego? Personal accolades? To be a “winner”? Why…? Then, just as there was a loud crash and explosion at the gym and the power went out… I got my answer… Or answers, I should say… Because I love the feeling of going to the gym, getting the pump, and sculpting the best ME that I can… So… That said, I will compete, this year, and my only competition that I care about beating is the ME from last year… I’ll worry about challenging for a top spot next year, but this year will give me another year of experience onstage… This grand epiphany was interupted by the gym staff telling me, that I had to leave, and that it was unsafe to workout in the dark… Screw ‘em!!! I still had one more set… And, I did my set and left… Knowing that I had my answers…

Doing A Lot of Soul Searching…

mrdead — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 21:18:41 +0000

As I write this post, I’m a bit bummed… I took some progress pictures, and found myself severely disappointed… I’ve dropped weight, and body fat, but find myself nowhere near where I need to be for a contest… I could make excuses… Surgery, being number one… But no matter what, it doesn’t change the fact that I am just not where I feel I need to be… I’ve invested a lot of time, money, and effort… But that still doesn’t change facts… Between a lot of visceral fat, lack of chest and lat development, and retaining a lot of back fat I’m just not there… So, I’ll be doing a heavy duty mental inventory to decide what I will do…

Leg Day…

mrdead — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 21:33:16 +0000

Leg extensions:
5 sets of 20 at 110
Leg press:
1 set of 30 at 225
3 sets of 20 at 450
1 set of 15 at 650
1 set of 10 at 720
Squats:
1 set of 30 at 200
3 sets of 25 at 250
Leg extensions:
1 set of 20 at 110
1 set of 15 at 125
1 set of 10 at 140
1 set of 6 at 185
1 set of 6 at 200
1 set of 100 at 70
Lying leg curls:
1 set of 20 at 60
1 set of 15 at 70
1 set of 10 at 80
1 set of 6 at 95
Seated leg curls
4 sets of 15 at 100
Adductor machine:
3 sets of 50 at 80
Abductor machine:
Same as above
Standing calf machine:
1 set of 30 at 205
4 sets of 15 at 395 (Stack)
1 set of 100 at 175 (Uhm… Let’s just say chunks, and leave it at that…)

2 sessions of 45 min of puppy walk on the hill terrain…

Totally drained, as it was a 50 gram carb day… And, sore as hell this morning… Getting dressed was a chore all by itself…

Cardio Change-Up…

mrdead — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 23:46:27 +0000

Well, this past weekend was less than stellar… So, it’s time to add some twists and turns to the cardio… I’ll still be doing the 2 sessions of puppy power walking on hilly terrain… But, I’ll be doing it with a 30 lb vest on… Days set aside just for abs and cardio are now being hit with Billy Blanks Ab Bootcamp and Billy Blanks Cardio Bootcamp… I’ll still be doing the treadmill on days I’m at the gym… The 50/50/75/100 carb split is still in effect… Hopefully this will change things around…

Eye Opener

mrdead — Thu, 29 May 2008 00:51:43 +0000

Well… Last saturday was the first posing class of the season… And, got my bodyfat measured… 20%… I was confused, but not so confused… I’m way lighter than I was at this time last year, more vascular, more defined… But the huge bulge of my lower abdomen told the true tale… I’ve been hitting the cardio ( 2 sessions daily of 45-50 min of walking with the pups on hill terrain, and 45 min on the Dreadmill on days I’m at the gym…) I’ve been killing my abs (Granted my lower abs should be called flabs, but the top 2 rows aren’t toooo bad…) So, that comes with a new dietary breakdown, and news that nearly crushed me… Carbs are now broken down to a 50/50/75/100 split… So, 2 days in a row of 50, then a day of 75, then a day of 100 and repeat… But the "KILLER", was the news that I can’t even have Coke Zero… Due to the artificial sweeteners… Well, we all have our crosses to bear, and have had our perceptions of reality shattered… So, the only thing I can do is work harder, and nail it this year… BTW, 07 June my wife will be taking some progress pics of me, which I’ll post even if I look like crap…

The Big 4… 0…

mrdead — Thu, 15 May 2008 00:07:10 +0000

Well, tomorrow, I will hit that milestone of "turning" 40… Whoopdeedoo… *L* I got to thinking a bit introspectively and retrospectively and came up with my mindset… Who gives a rip…? *L* Seriously though, I’m no different than any other day… No "overnight transformation" No reason to cut back on my training, because I’m "older"… It just happens to be the anniversary of the day the world was "graced/cursed" with my prescence… *L* The only thing I don’t like about this particular B-Day is having to go and have that "special" 40 year old physical… "Congratulations, you’ve turned 40… Now drop your drawers and bend over, so the nice doctor can take her finger and put it up your butt…" I mean with all the fantastic advances in modern medicine and a finger up the butt is the only way to "truly" check for an enlarged prostate…? And what is so magical about turning 40 that it suddenly requires that…? Another mystery of the universe…

But looking back on my brief life, I wouldn’t change a thing, except for training harder and more consistently in my "youth". Otherwise, it’s all good… Bring on 50…!!!!

Upping the Intensity

mrdead — Sat, 10 May 2008 03:38:31 +0000

Chest:
Decline Bench:
20 reps at 140
15 reps at 160
10 reps at 180
10 reps at 230
Flat Bench:
30 reps at 90
25 reps at 105
20 reps at 120
15 reps at 135
10 reps at 150
8 reps at 165
30 reps at 90
Cable crossovers:
20 reps at 45
15 reps at 55
10 reps at 65
8 reps at 85
Tris:
“V” bar pressdowns:
20 reps at 90
15 reps at 100
10 reps at 110
10 reps at 150
Rope pressdown:
25 reps at 70
25 reps at 80
2 sets of 20 at 90
Machine dips:
5 sets of 10 at 260
Traps:
Calf machine shrugs:
1 set of 30 at 190
4 sets of 12 at 400
Delts:
Seated millitary press:
5 sets of 15 at 100
Lateral machine raises:
1 set of 20 at 60
1 set of 15 at 70
1 set of 10 at 80
1 set of 10 at 110
High Cable Rear Delt crossovers
4 sets of 10 at 50 per side
Immediately after last set:
45 min of Dreadmill with the incline at 7
AM and PM:
2 sessions of 45 min puppy walks

Things That Make You Go Hmmm…

mrdead — Mon, 05 May 2008 12:37:24 +0000

Okay… Normally we all put in how much we lifted, what we ate, etc… Well, this time, I’m going to add some “normalcy”… See EVERYONE here has things they have to do outside of the gym… The gym is where we may spend an hour or two, depending on what we’re doing… Diets do crazy things to us… Trying to get that PR can make us ignore some things… You know, we do a LOT of things outside the “norm”… Well, this weekend had me stop and think… What is the “NORM”…? Go to work 9-5…? Eat 3-7 meals a day…? Lift ungodly weights, or eat ungodly amounts of junk food…? Go to the gym or play video games…? Kiss the wife or husband, and come home to the 2.5 kids…? I mean REALLY!!! What is the “norm”…? Well, I can tell you what my “norm” is… I wake up between 4:00 and 5:00 am, take the pups to go do their business… Feed them, exercise them, take them out again… Get my own self ready… Take the pups out again… And drive an hour to an hour and a half to work… Deal with co-workers that are there to get a check, deal with patients that are there, because it’s there right to have free 81 milligram aspirin, even though they just drove over a hundred miles to get it… Or, show up an hour after their appointment, and demand that they be seen, regardless of the fact that they missed the entire appojntment… Do the “regular job” routine… Drive the same route home… Take the pups out for their business… Take them for a walk, and exercise them… THEN… AND ONLY THEN… Can you go to the gym… You see brothers and sisters… What goes on isn’t just the gym… Now cut your carbs down to 100 or 50, add cardio to that… And, all of what I’ve written, gets forgotten by the “norms”… Because “all we do is lift weights…” This is what makes us outside the “NORM”…Remember… Life happens… Peace, brothers and sisters… I will explain the crazy weekend, tomorrow…

Chest and Back

mrdead — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 04:15:11 +0000

Chest:
Decline Bench:
20 reps at 140
15 reps at 160
10 reps at 180
8 reps at 230
Flat Bench:
30 reps at 90
25 reps at 105
20 reps at 120
15 reps at 135
10 reps at 150
8 reps at 165
Cable crossovers:
20 reps at 45
15 reps at 55
10 reps at 65
8 reps at 85
BACK:
Wide grip pulldowns to the front:
1 set of 20 at 105
1 set of 15 at 120
1 set of 10 at 135
1 set of 8 at 135
Close grip pulldowns:
(Same as above)
Hammer Strength Rows:
5 sets of 15 at 130
Low pulley rows (close grip)
1 set of 25 at 80
1 set of 20 at 100
2 sets of 15 at 120
1 set of 8 at 140

Love the pump from this!!!

The Assasins Have Failed…

mrdead — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 22:44:37 +0000

It was a busy weekend! Friday, I hit back and chest. Saturday, we took the pups to the Vet for thier 12 week shots, and to micro-chip the lab. I felt sorry for the little guy. They took a needle almost as thick as my forarm veins, and rammed it between his shoulder blades. I was at ground zero for that. He yelped, and I almost yelped for him. But, he was a real trooper, and was up and at ‘em. We then took them to the park, and afterwards I got in 45 min on th treadmill, and hit abs. That evening, I refurbished the grill, and made some steak (eye round, of course) and chicken breasts.
Sunday was a horse of a different color… We had breakfast with the in-laws, at a casino. Thankfully, I was able to load up on egg-whites and eat healthy. Then I hit the gym for legs. After that, was 3 hours of mowing lawn with a push mower. We have an acre that is on a 45 degree hill. I have a push mower. I’ve done legs, and it was the first mow of the year…
Later that evening, I was going to take the Lab to "do his business". I opened the baby gate, and was in the process of stpping through, when the Rottweiler slammed into the gate nailing me in the "family heirlooms". As this was happening, the lab was pulling for all he was worth, and I "flipped" over the gate, slammed my wrist and head on the railing, and went ass over tea-kettle down a flight of stairs. I wan’t amused. After lying on the linoleum, nursing my bruised ego and "heirlooms". I got up, and drug myself outside to complete the Lab’s mission of "doing business". Man, I hope this week goes better… *L*