sNEMatii’s BodyBlog

Today’s mood: totally and completely unmotivated. Why? I don’t know. The warm weather is here and I should be thrilled about training and showing off all my hard work….I couldn’t care less. I guess my training thrives in cold weather…I need to move back to Moscow, if that’s the case.

Any suggestions?

Today I squatted 125lbs (4×6)which as close as I’ve gotten to my BW… Now, for anyone who knows me, I hate squats. I will do anything to avoid squatting, but I started a program last week which has BB back squats in it. Since I had no choice, I decided to embrace it.

So if the rule is squat 1.5xBW and DL 2xBW…I’m at 125(squat) for 6 reps and 225(DL)for 3reps…not tooo shabby. By the end of summer I should be doing big things!!!

Watch this space!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have a great week everybody!

This being a networking site, you come across people from all walks of life. Fitness professionals, bodybuilders, aspiring bodybuilders, figure athletes, trainers, (certified?maybe..) offering customized training and nutrition plans for pre contest prep or just to get you ready for the beach/cruise wedding, etc for dirt-cheap. It’s almost too good to be true, because walking into a gym and hiring one of their trainers would run you anything from $300 +/month. So what’ my point?

Well, I was thinking about this the other day. Your trainer tells you he will give you a customized nutrition/training plan, right? So you PayPal your money to him plus an e-mail with all your stats, photos, goals, etc. and you can hardly wait for his/her reply. You keep checking your e-mail, you update your profile, take your ‘Motivation level" up to 10..ok let me stop.

Did you ever stop to think of how many people’s plans he has to ‘customize’, including yours? Did he ask you how much you , what equipment is available at your gym, past injuries, family history? I’m assuming this is vital information considering the fact that you’re not meeting in person and he can’t make a fair assessment of your fitness level. A photo can only tell so much…And as for your ‘customized’ eating plan, did he take into account your goals, body type, etc?

Ok, here’s a red flag based on personal experience….

1.If your ‘customized eating plan’ hasn’t changed in a month regardless of your goals, I hate to break it to ya….it ain’t ‘custom’. You just got the ‘No.4′, just like the McDonald’s No.4, minus the onions and the pickle. Think more along the lines of ‘cookie-cutter’ or ‘one-size-fits all’……And you thought you were special.

2. If you said you want to lose fat and he has you hopped up more diet pills than crack-head, right off the bat…you may wanna rethink your options. Especially if it’s over the recomended dose on the bottle.

3. If he/she has you doing copious amounts of cardio and the scale isn’t moving, you’ve voiced your complaints and it fell on deaf ears or he/she called you lazy(Lol)…..there’s a good chance that they don’t know what they are doing. Many a times, you’ll get the question "Are you following the diet like you’re supposed to?" You stutter, he pounces.

4. If you think your plan is ’customized’ and every one of his clients is on the forums talking about  ‘tuna and asparagus Mondays’, yeah……not so much.

5.If you’re eating the same crap day in and day out regardless of your activity level…that’s a no-brainer. Unless you’re doing the same crap, day in and day out

Remember cheap can sometimes be expensive. And that expense could be your metabolism, your health. If your workout for the day includes Barbell Squats (go HEAVY!!) and you’ve never squatted before, are you gonna step into the squat rack, just to get your workout in to please your trainer?

A person can train, diet and in a few weeks be shredded, six-pack abs, etc. But does that mean he can train YOU and get YOU shredded? You have to take certain things into consideration…genetics, steriods (shhh!! ‘I’m all natural, baby!"), etc… Let’s face it, this is a very visual-oriented industry and obviously you wouldn’t take on a slob of a trainer but at the same time don’t judge a book by the cover.  Do some research.

Just food for thought.

Happy Easter!

Today, I did my personal best. Today I gave it my all. I finally did my first real chin-up. It seemed like forever to get up there, but I just kept pulling, sometimes losing control of my legs, but I refused to quit. Boy, wasn’t it ugly(LOL)! But we’ve all got to start somewhere. I’ve been working with bands for 4 weeks now, watching them get smaller and smaller and still doubting if I’d ever get it. Next goal is 5, unasisted.

I also pulled my heavy-ass trainer on the sled today..lol. Next goal, him + plates.

And I pulled 225lbs a  couple of times on the trap bar deadlift. I’ve pulled 225lbs before but that was different because I was doing pyramids and had worked up to it.

Today I got my body fat tested, I just need a reference point to work from. Jeez..do I need to say it..I don’t think so! But I need to get my ass in gear as far as my cardio is concerned. I have to set some new goals and be really nice to my trainer, listen to everything he says and drop some lard. By mid-April, I should be semi-decent looking in a bikini.

This is a promise to myself; I promise to do my cardio, both AM and PM, including HIIT.

I promise to do my core work…ever since I eased up on Muay Thai, I haven’t been working my abs as much.

I promise to eat as recommended with more diligence.

I promise to drop some lard…   

I hate Mondays…particularly this one.

I love Garfield he always makes me feel better about being in a pissy mood.

Cling wrap isn’t clingy enough anymore…ever noticed that? Back in the day, if you messed up, you had to start from scratch. There was no way you were going to salvage that piece. Done.

I get to eat ’steak and eggs’ for breakfast…how lucky am I? (more like steak and egg whites)

Daylight savings is one big mind *&#@. I woke up this morning with the intent to do cardio, I spent the hour aimlessly walking around the house. I guess that counts as NEPA..lol

It’s painful watching people compromise form for weight…I saw someone today doing what was intended to be lateral raises that looked like upright rows. Then there was this guy doing upright rows with his butt sticking out so they looked like bent-over rows but he brought the bar up to his chin…..strange. I dont know, maybe it’s one of those new-fangled exercises like isolation curls on a bosu….a two-fer!

Tuna is the new strychnine.

SS Cardio is the new trend in torture methods by trainers.

Ah well, the sun is out, I hope my energy will be better tomorrow.

I’m off to find my happy place.

You schedule the rest of your life around your workout and scheduled meals..

When the staff at you gym know you by name, because you’re in there everyday..and they ask you where you were on you were on your off day.

They call you out when you try to sneak out without finishing your cardio.

You can’t remember the last time you dressed up because you’re in gym clothes all the time.

Supplements become part of your monthly budget.

You get nervous when you realize you only have 4 scoops left…..

Wearing heels is so frickin’ uncomfortable……!

Veins excite you..(yes, that would be me..)

You only shop around the perimeter of the grocery store.

A tray of eggs a week is nothing to you.

You’re ’splurging’ on gym wear.

You have no social life coz it will slow your fat loss…

Proud of your callouses.

You can’t find anything in your kitchen to ‘cheat’ on your diet  with (WTF!?)

You’re super-sensitive about people’s opinions on your eating habits/lifestyle.

You find yourself shopping for a lunchbag/cooler big enough to hold 5/6 meals.

I think I’m gonna need therapy after this.

T

I’m one week into my cut, things are going well. My only complaint is there’s not enough time in a day to fit all my meals in. I wish I could get all 8 in. I’m dropping weight pretty rapidly, today I was down another pound and a half. It’s kind of scary considering I just started, my goal was to drop 8-10lbs and I’m already down 3.5lbs. I’m eating a ton of food (sooo sick of tuna!!) and losing weight pretty rapidly…reminds of Stephen King’s "Thinner". That’s a testament to the thermic effect of food, the right food.

Another thing I love about cutting…veins..lol! I don’t know why. I love looking down at my arms and seeing how vascular they are getting (a cardio bunny’s nightmare!). I’ll be taking some pics soon. Pics motivate me on days when I’m just not feelin’ the gym.

Can’t wait to do this again….a clean bulk then cut until I am where I want to be muscle-wise.

Wish me luck.  

I don’t know what to say because I’m very disappointed. I respect trainers because of course, they know what they are doing. But it saddens me to see trainers at my gym mistreat clients and members at my gym. Talking to my friends who work out at other gyms, I am told it is a common occurence, but I think if you are part of an establishment, you should try to hold yourself to a higher standard and act more professional.

Today I had one of my two personal run-ins with a trainer at the gym I go to. I was in the middle of a superset with a pair of 15s and 20s. I was resting when a lady walks up and without even acknowledging or asking, starts to take one of the 15s. So i start to explain to her that I was in the middle of a set, I’m almost done and she can have them. She puts it down then picks it up again, that’s when I realized, her trainer had told her to just take it. It wasn’t her fault, I didn’t it against her. As for her trainer, he stands there eyeballing me, giving me the ‘what are you gonna do?’ look. That’s what got me boiling, I walked past him to re-rack my weights and he’s still looking at me as if to challenge me. That’s what sent me over the top. The girl next to me was nice enough to let me use her 15s to finish my set, then I left. I went straight to the front desk and and let them have it. It wasn’t their fault but they need to reign their trainers in. I was upset. Over the past year, I have watched these trainers make fun of clients being their backs, AS they work with them. This poor clients are paying them money, only to be made fun of? They mae fun of other members, openly…. I understand that they bring in revenue, but these demi-gods have been left to run the gym. Everyone is so afraid to get in their way because of their lack of courtesy, they literally steam-roll over people especially when they are trying to show-off to their clients. That’s just one of the many turn-offs. And as far as gym etiquette? Forget it! They are above it.

I wish I could lie and say this doesn’t bother me, but after a year, I was bound to say something.

Lead by example.  

OMG, when will it end? When will they trade in their sneakers for Ding Dongs and Ho Hos?

Someone wake me up when this nightmare is over…..some time in February when they are selling Valentine’s day candy.

 I can’t help it…I want to be nice, but I can’t. I’m reallly really trying…