• Internship went great.
• Stopped counting pounds and officially let the mirror tell me what I need to improve on
• Gained lots of muscle, lost an inch in my waist
• Chest is now officially bigger and sticks out more than abs (without sucking stomach in)!!!!!!! WA-HOOOO!
• changed workout styles consistently during the summer, but found an ex bodybuilder personal trainer who is a master of 3 types of martial arts
• Now sore after EVERY WORKOUT!!!!
• Eating 1 pound of lean beef a day with egg white, onions and tomatoes
• V-shaped is now more pronounced
• Offically sexually attracted to myself LOL!!!!
• I got really sick a week ago and had to go to the hospital. Thankfully nothing was wrong, it was just a very severe 24-hour sickness that required a tube to go down my nose and into my stomach. Yes, that’s TMI, but you’re the one reading this lol.

Okay everyone, my workout now is based soley on enhancing physique and stamina. I’m bigger, stronger, faster, and oh yes, sexier. Much more cut in the abs and back, and very pleased with it all. Stopped counting pounds and just eat more when I want to put on size. I don’t really lift heavy any more, probably once every 4 weeks. Most of my weights for the majority of my body is within to 25-45 pound range. Back and leg workouts obviously need more weight, but its a lot less than my max weights.

I know, you wanna see pics. Lol. I’m so busy trying to graduate, move, remove, unpack, change schedules, find a job, sign up for my martial arts class, budget, and doing other things that standing in front of my mirror to take a picture has seriously been put on the bottom of my list.

Btw, I know I sound Narcissistic, but the truth is I’m not. I am just truly happy with who I am and the road my life is going in, aside from all the ups and downs.

Be Blessed,

Rod

Rod

Sorry for the incoherent thoughts and rambling sentences, but short on time.

 Rodney.

Last week was very ruff. I had exams galore, study sessions till 4 and 5 in the morning, and forgot to take my lunches on several occasions. Friday was my first time back in the gym, and i felt great. Left tired but accomplished, and also improved some. My max bench now stands at a modest 235, but thats not my one rep max. My one rep max will probably be somewhere around 250, give or take a few pounds.

Monday starts my "two week clean bulk". We’ll see how well this goes. I’m going back to eating like a gerbil, nothing but whole grain bagel and chicken breast for breakfast with oragne/grape juice and glutamine. Salad and chicken for the rest of the day, and throw in a little whole grain rice here and there to make sure I don’t die. Also, I bought the BSN Trumass and CellMass(dropped the HPCEE-I can take the taste but CM has given me great results).

The workout is on a 4 day split. I’m focusing on Chest and Legs on Days 1 and 4 and will work the other groups on days 2 and 3. From the reading that I’ve done, I decided to modify my calf workout. I plan on do doing low reps but ridicuoulsly high weights. Also, I plan on doing negatives(not sure if that’s what its called. It probably isn’t.) I’ll actually contract my calves as if doing the rep, but actually holding it for 15 seconds. This will be in addition to doing reps. Day 2 and 3 wil focus on a mix of abs, arms, back, and shoulders/delts. I’m hoping to add a 5th day, but that’s a little up in the air at the moment. Toss in my move to Orlando and work, its like I’m still in school.

As you may or may not know, I’ve finally uploaded several pics of myself. So far I’ve received very positive responses. I haven’t been able to go to the gym at all this week, mainly due to finals and the fact that the gym is closed. Next week starts my 2 week “clean bulk”. There is probaby a technical term for it, but I don’t know and probably won’t look it up (due to lack of time and not just plain ignorance.)

The plan is to go back on my ultra strick diet of chicken and lettuce (really haven’t deviated to much from it) and supplement the needed calories with weight gainer (and sweet potatoes-thanks cbkennerly)

My workout is going to probably be in the early mornings between 6am-7am, meaning Ill wake up at 4:30 to eat, 5:30 to take my creatine (Higher Power CEE) and then hit the gym hard. I’m gonna do the high weight, low rep when it comes to every body part except my abs. The muscles started to stick out more than my chest (I work abs twice a week.) I plan on working on a 4-5 day split, depending on my schedule. The plan is to hit the groups that need the most work, mainly my legs and chest.

I also have a partner now(he’s really there for motivation, as our workout regiments are totally different.) With heavier weights I wanted to focus on technique, just to avoid injury. I plan on killing my calves.

Oh yeah, I titled this Murphy’s Law because I declared war against it this week. More on that to come later.

I got an invitation to meet some of the our schools top corporate partners. They range from CEO’s of multi-national corporations, accounting exectutives, recruiters, HR directors, and so forth. Sounds great right? Well I just happen to be scheduled to work during the time of the event (I only found out about it on Tuesday, the event was scheduled for Thursday, which is today.)

 I put in a request to have this time off at work, but no one approved it. Well, they didn’t approve it until I was already at work! ARRGGGHHH!!! Man, do you know how upset I was! I guess the reason why I’m so upset is because I enjoy networking. At one point I was horrible at it. I was the guy sitting in the corner trying his hardest to be invisible. I was extremely shy. However, all that changed when I went to a conference in St. Louis, and had NO CHOICE but to network. Man I never knew how well I could converse with people I have never met. Turned out a few of those individuals were Presidents of organizations! I’m a news hog so I’m up on almost all of the current events from Congo, Zimbabwe, South Africa, China, Japan, England, Cuba, and of course, the good ol’ U.S. of A.

Well, for a bodybuilding update…

I’ve been in the gym consistenly this week, and have started implenting the heavier weight and less reps routine. So far nothing to noticeable, but I do see slight improvements. I did a groin workout on Monday when I worked my legs, and on Wednesday could not walk upright. Not that it hurt, but that the area was EXTREMELY sore. I realized that I was hunched over and walking in a deformed manner. I had to actually use ICY HOT it got so bad. BTW, that was one of the most painful and least pleasurable times of my life. Lets just say that area touches another sensitive area and the HOT kicked in and………:(

I’ve noticed that my strength has increased overall when it comes to lifting, which I guess is good.  I also lost 3 more ilbs but kept my size up (decreased fat?). Also, the veins are starting to be more noticeable in my lower abs(yeppie!). Guess that’s what comes from an ultra clean diet.

Just a note? Anyone got any good calf muscle workouts? I’m trying to to get them bigger without running track again. Any advice is welcomed.

I hit the gym today. Hard. So hard that it hit back. I could barely walk on my way out, and driving even seemed burdinsome. My immediate reaction was to come home and sleep, but then family called and you KNOW how that goes. Needless to say I got no sleep, though the conversation was well worth it. I tried a new lower back workout (want to have the v in the front, aka the adonis belt, and the v in the back.) I’m not sure how long I stayed in there, but I know it was sometime around 2 or 3pm when i arrived and wasnt until  around 5:30 when I left. This is MUCH longer than normal.

 I’m currently at a crossroads, or at a plateau, whichever sounds nicer. My physique is quite nice, getting all the stares and everything, but I want to be just a smudge bigger. Problem is I dont want to add any unnecessary fat or lose my 6 pack. I think I said i wanted to focus on legs more in my last blog, but I realized that’s not really what I want. In fact, Im not to sure what I want. Yes, i want more defined legs and bigger calves, but I also want to gain about 5-10 ilbs. Its getting there thats the hurdle. Also, I may be relocating for awhile, and would hate to bulk up and not have a gym around to cut. I guess Ill figure this out sometime next week. I have some updated picks, but I haven’t been able to upload them as of yet, just because I really dont have the time (the comp Im using right now isn’t one I can upload photos to.)

BTW,

Doctor told me that I didn’t tare anything in my shoulder-great news. Bad news,he limited me on the types of chest exercises I can do (no presses or bench). That completely sucks. Because my chest is naturally flat (seriously, its genetic lol) it shrinks within a few weeks. I also went on a 3 day fruit fast this week, just to cleanse my body, and I didn’t lose as much weight or muscle mass as I thought. I did lose about 3lbs dropping from 149 to 146. Not to bad, if I say so myself. I conversed with a trainer at the gym and he told me he really couldn’t see a difference.

Also, if this blogs reads as if its a bunch of random thoughts posted together thats EXACTLY what it is lol. Mentally and physically I am exhausted and cant wait to shut my eyes until at least too many hours have gone by to count.

Sorry I haven’t responded or posted in a while, been extra busy. Life hit me with a 1-2-3 combo about 2 weeks ago. First, my car got towed visiting a friend. Then, I woke up one morning and my right shoulder wouldn’t stretch all the way. Next, the water pump in my car started leaking. Can anyone say $$$? Well needless to to say my wallet was hit with a figure upwards of $400. That meant things got a little tight.

 With my shoulder hurting I didn’t want to risk tearing anything so I only worked on my abs and legs. I’ve seen noticeable progress in both areas, with my ab muscles becoming stronger and more defined. The only problem is that my chest has shrunk a little, causing my abs to stick out. A friend of mine pointed that out at the gym on Friday, but I quickly retorted that my "abs" stuck out while his "gut" hung. That was the end of that conversation LOL.

I also found out something else- be careful when working out with friends who have different goals than you.

One of my closet friends (his 6′4, I’m 5′4-go figure) trains hard. However, he trains to get stronger. I train to look good and maintain a models physique. I ended up doing his workout, and left the gym sore, as normal. Unfortunately I also realized that I didn’t get the results that I wanted (the next day it seems my chest sunk in even MORE than the previous day.)

I know its probably a psychological/mental thing, but I could sware its the truth. He’s one of thsoe guys who is stronger than he looks. I just want to look strong. Yes, I know its not the bodybuilding way, but I would be a cold hard liar if I said anything else.

Aside from all that, next week I will start a new regiment. I have finished NO-Xplode, cellmass and Lipo-6. I gave my body about a 2 week period where I didn’t use any of it. I started on Animal Pak about 2 weeks ago and Animal stack about 5 days ago. I plan on adding Animal Pump on Monday to supplement for my creatine usage. I think thats around 30-40 pills I wll be taking a DAY. If my calculations are correct, I should be able to substitue an entire meal from the consumption of those pills alone.

my new workout will start with 1.5 miles on the bike instead of the previous 3. It will be the same regiment (Mon-chest/abs, Weds-Shoulders/Bis/tris/back,Fri-Abs/Lowerbody). I plan on modifying my ab routine just slightly, doing more toning now than anything else, except for the workouts on the obliques and the V-Shape area. I have decided to increase my weight goal from 148~150 (current) to 160. I know this means eating more food, which is tricky, as I don’t want to become bloated. The results of my last "bulking phase" was horrible at best, so I plan on making this as moderate as possible.

I have altered my diet the past few weeks in order to accommodate various types of foods. I have added vegetables to every salad I eat (normally carrots), crutons, and sometimes tomatoes. I now incorporate a small portion of whole grain rice with every meal, and usually some type of bean (pinto, red, and black beans are usually my choice). For the beans, I usually add some type of ms. Dash seasoning (I apply liberally), cover, and bring to  a boil. I let it simmer for a while. The results are amazing!  

With that said, my average meal looks like this: salad with veggies and crutons, small portion of whole grain rice, beans, baked/grilled chicken with any type of bbq sauce. Its a very fulfilling meal,  and has a great balance of everything.  I usually cook about 2 or 3 times a week.  This is due to my hectic schedule. I’ll buy the bag salads from the grocery store, cook about 2 bags full of rice and 2-3 cans of beans. I usually bake about 6-7 pieces of chicken at a time. I store most of it in tupperware in the fridge.

Soon I will add cereal back to my breakfast regiment-but not the one’s so delightfully filled with sugars. I’m leaning towards greenwise cereals- there health conscious foods that aren’t void of taste and texture. There also low on sugars and fats.

I’ll upload so new photos as well as progress pics. I have lost about 4 inches in my waist, possibly more. All my belts and pants are now too big for me, which is a plus. I’m fluctuating from 148-150 on most days. My body fat is lowering with each workout, though I  still haven’t gotten it measured yet.

My primary goal in this next phase is to improve the strength of my legs and build bigger calves while maintaining my upper body strength and appearance (can anyone say run on sentence?) my dads family has notoriously skinny legs and calves. I have done calf raises in the past, with little results ( I can calf raise a few hundred pounds) when I ran track they got bigger, but shrunk as soon as I stopped. In order to improve size and add in some cardio, I’m going to do 30 minutes of jump rope in the morning. I usually run a mile here and there, but I think I’ll be more consistent with this (mainly because I want bigger calves)

If there are spelling and punctuation errors, please forgive me. I typed this on my phone and uploaded it.

Since this is my first real blog, I’ll try to be as honest and cordial as possible. I’m warning you now, I am known, rather notorious, for saying what I believe. I do my best to take into account the feelings of others. Unfortunately, I also know there are times when feelings need step aside. At any rate, I am free writing, so if the sentences are not free of grammatical errors, my apologies in advance. That being said (written), here goes: 

Most of my life I was told those who loved me that I was just too skinny. It’s not their fault, they are just natural at picking out what doesn’t seem right to them. It didn’t help that when I went to college I lost about 20lbs. I went from 140 to 124. It had to do with allot of things, but that’s all in the past. It wasn’t until about 2 years ago I decided I wanted to change my body for the better. Thus began my not so noble quest to “look better.” I experimented with supplements from creatine and weight gainer shakes. Man was I mistaken! Never take those things when you don’t have proper diet to go along with them. 

After many failed attempts to gain proper weight, I went on a mass bulking binge. I gained up to 25 lbs in a period of a few months. Unfortunately, a large amount was fat. Eventually I ballooned to a whooping 164 lbs. Man, I felt obese. 

As a side note, here are a few situations that helped me to “know” that I had gained the wrong weight: 

1. When you go to the beach and your friends stare at your gut in amazement. 

2. When you have to lay on the bed just to button up your pants (for those of you who aren’t sure what I’m talking about, then be thankful you have never gotten to that point) 

3. When a friend tells you, after seeing your stomach, that he had no idea that you were that “plump” 

4. When your younger brother looks at you and makes fun of your stomach 

5. When you’re afraid to wear a tight workout shirt because you look like a crescent moon. 

As some of my pics state, I had tried so many diets, routines, and workouts and saw little to no progress. I became exceedingly angry. But that is not what changed me. Here is: 

I went home to visit my family for a week or so. I was talking with my brother and he showed me some of the clothes he had just bought. He bought a sweater that I absolutely loved. Even though I had slimmed down to 154, my stomach still poked out. The sweater fit tight and looked awesome on me. Unfortunately, he refused to give it up. 

After many nights on Google, eBay, overstock, etc… I found the sweater in a store in New York and had them 3 day ship it to me. I thought about all the effort, money (I probably spent close to $700 on supplements during that time) and time I put in with such little results. I took all that anger, imagined myself in that sweater with a six-pack (stomach-not drinks), chest that poked out firmly, Slim waist, firm and toned arms, and knew that if I wanted to look as good as I knew I could, I had to do something radical. 

I spoke to a good friend of mine and made up a routine as I spoke with him. 

Breakfast: bagel (whole grain), 4-8 slices turkey bacon, orange juice (dont measure), protein shake (optional) 

Lunch through dinner- Salad and chicken (and a little brown rice here and there) 

Yep, that was it. I also would substitute a meal or two with a lean cuisine whole grain rice meal. I took flax and fish oil with nearly every meal, multivitamins, lipo 6, EAS protein light shakes, and cellmass. I introduced NO-Xplode about 2 weeks into the workout due to my fear of caffeine (not allergic, just don’t wanna become dependent.) I dumped every other supplement I had-weight gainers, previous types of creatine, protein shakes, etc…) 

 When I first started back in the gym (on the new regime), I was just angry. I couldn’t realize why. Nope, not until tonight. I was angry at not seeing results. Angry at being fat. Angry at being skinny. Angry because I had let people tell me and determine HOW I should look instead of just being comfortable with whom I AM. I attacked every damn machine in the room. I had a 3 day split 

Monday- Chest and Abs 

Wed. - Back, Arms, Shoulders 

Friday- Lower body and Abs 

Prior to every workout, I bike 3 miles. After every workout, I bike 3-4 miles and may run a mile with the hill set to 5. Everything is done at 134 bpm or above. 

I don’t have a set routine. I just pick a chest machine on Mondays and go. Then I go to an ab machine. I flip flop until I hit about 1 hour or 1 hour and 15 minutes. I don’t speak to anyone; it’s just me, the machines, my mp3 player, and blood flow. 

I don’t do crunches? Why you ask? Simple, I used to do hundreds a day. Guess what I got? More toned fat. I haven’t done a SINGLE CRUNCH since I started this routine. I get pissed off whenever I think about doing them. Does that mean there ineffective? No. It means they don’t work for me. I use the ab machines and free weights. I make sure I put my body through each time I workout. I want to feel and know that I have put this machine through hell so that it will come out stronger. 

Whewww!!! Man, what a load off. I feel better. I guess I’ll say these last few words. Most men have distaste for, fear, or even loathe the action of crying. Well NOT ME!!! I look at that first pic and look at the last and nearly get watery in the eyes! Am I Happy that my body is changing? Without a doubt! Am I in the best shape of my life? Definitely! But the truth of the matter is that for the first time in my life, the first time I can really remember, I am happy with WHO I AM!!!!! Yes, me! Even now I have people saying I should lose this or gain this- They had to see a side of me that is not to kosher at all. Let’s just say when I was done, that comment will never be UTTERED ever again. Thanks for letting me vent (in all of bad English usage-lol)