it is a difficult challenge to be motivated. i try my best to stay motivated, and this can be done several ways. sometimes a partner can motivate your workout, or listening to music. i have personally decided to go without a partner for the next few months because the training i am planning on doing is going to be overboard. i did this kind of training while i was down range last year. i did squats almost every day to start my workout. these squats werent very heavy, but when i did them i went as deep as possible. i also do 8 sets of this exercise. i benched on that same day. i saw this workout online and someone claimed it was serge nubrets training. i enjoy staying with just one exercises for multiple sets and high reps with moderate weight. i got a lot out of this training. i still want to go to the next level and this is how i see myself being able to achieve that goal. the training will look something like this

squats 8 sets for 12 reps with 225

leg curls 6 sets 12-15 reps with 100

bench press 6 sets for 12-15 reps with 225

incline flyes 6 sets for 12-15 reps with 40-50 lbs.

i am in week 2 of my training and i will do this workout for 2 weeks of my new 12 week cycle! WISH ME LUCK!!!!!!!!

it is a difficult challenge to be motivated. i try my best to stay motivated, and this can be done several ways. sometimes a partner can motivate your workout, or listening to music. i have personally decided to go without a partner for the next few months because the training i am planning on doing is going to be overboard. i did this kind of training while i was down range last year. i did squats almost every day to start my workout. these squats werent very heavy, but when i did them i went as deep as possible. i also do 8 sets of this exercise. i benched on that same day. i saw this workout online and someone claimed it was serge nubrets training. i enjoy staying with just one exercises for multiple sets and high reps with moderate weight. i got a lot out of this training. i still want to go to the next level and this is how i see myself being able to achieve that goal. the training will look something like this

squats 8 sets for 12 reps with 225

leg curls 6 sets 12-15 reps with 100

bench press 6 sets for 12-15 reps with 225

incline flyes 6 sets for 12-15 reps with 40-50 lbs.

i am in week 2 of my training and i will do this workout for 2 weeks of my new 12 week cycle! WISH ME LUCK!!!!!!!!

it is a difficult challenge to be motivated. i try my best to stay motivated, and this can be done several ways. sometimes a partner can motivate your workout, or listening to music. i have personally decided to go without a partner for the next few months because the training i am planning on doing is going to be overboard. i did this kind of training while i was down range last year. i did squats almost every day to start my workout. these squats werent very heavy, but when i did them i went as deep as possible. i also do 8 sets of this exercise. i benched on that same day. i saw this workout online and someone claimed it was serge nubrets training. i enjoy staying with just one exercises for multiple sets and high reps with moderate weight. i got a lot out of this training. i still want to go to the next level and this is how i see myself being able to achieve that goal. the training will look something like this

squats 8 sets for 12 reps with 225

leg curls 6 sets 12-15 reps with 100

bench press 6 sets for 12-15 reps with 225

incline flyes 6 sets for 12-15 reps with 40-50 lbs.

i am in week 2 of my training and i will do this workout for 2 weeks of my new 12 week cycle! WISH ME LUCK!!!!!!!!

i am doing this blog for those who have inquired about how to be successful for this upcoming military challenge. i will not lie to you, and i want the competition to be fair. first step which you all know is to upload pictures of your current physical condition. the day that you load the pictures up on the site and open a bodyspace is the day training/dieting/supplementing begins. you will have around 3 months to submit your final photos from the day you sign up. it is imperative that you do a true assesment of yourself when you initially take the photos. bb.com is looking for someone who can improve from the point of the initial photos. this is a great opportunity to get in even better shape. when i took my initial photos i was already in a half way decent shape. i was not what you would consider overweight, yet i still had plenty of room for improvement.

my first goal was to identify my weakest muscle groups based off my pictures, and to gain some solid lean muscle. i started with a heavy lifting plan, where i would pyramid up to the heaviest weight i could lift for each of my exercises. i also use the principle of specializing, and putting focus on the weaker muscle groups by training them first. i always train tris before bis upper pecs before lower ect... abs was a foucs of mine, so i would do abs about 3 times a week. i want to look really hard in my midsection, and i put most my focus on my lower abs. YES this means all the exercises i hate leg raises lying leg raises decline leg raises ect...the indivdual who is willing to develop the lower abs and obliques will create a physique that is difficult to compete against. my eating habits was chicken and fish. 7-8 meals of high protein and carbs for about 4 of my meals. sometimes 5. i always ate green veggies for my vegetable, and if that was not available in the DFAC i ate salad which they always serve over seas. remember everyone i won this competition while in afghanistan so dont create bull**** excuses for not dieting properly. yes there are some roadblocks with the food served down range but that is no excuse to go on soldiers angel and eat all of those snacks and candy they send. if you do that you will not win.

i made water my only beverage for the most part, but sometimes i would get a gatorade. this was every blue moon, because i was attempting to control my sugar and fat intake. gatorade is good when your down rage because it is extremely hot and we sweat constantly. you will need ot replenish those electrolytes but dont go overboard. use in moderation.

deadlifts is always my first exercise on back day and stiff legged deads of ham shoulder day. squats are always the lead exercise outside of my warm up on leg day. squats was critcal to my overall strength. i would go from 4 sets of 135 just to warm up 225 then to 315 and from there i go up to failure until i couldnt get one rep.

my supplements was syntha 6 protein, nitrics oxide, and creatine. i was using Gasparis products during this time too. i stayed stocked up so dont wait until your on your last scoop to order from bb.com give them 10 to 12 days for your order to get there sometimes i would get it in 5 or 4. they are the fastest and the best.

i know you all might expect something more extensive but its not the talk that will get you to your goal it is the walk. its it the person who is the most diligent that will accomplish there goals. let your actions match your words. do not cheat any! not during this 3 months of training. if you must cheat and have a sugar rush eat some peanut butter or walnut butter something that still have health benefits.

i am doing this blog for those who have inquired about how to be successful for this upcoming military challenge. i will not lie to you, and i want the competition to be fair. first step which you all know is to upload pictures of your current physical condition. the day that you load the pictures up on the site and open a bodyspace is the day training/dieting/supplementing begins. you will have around 3 months to submit your final photos from the day you sign up. it is imperative that you do a true assesment of yourself when you initially take the photos. bb.com is looking for someone who can improve from the point of the initial photos. this is a great opportunity to get in even better shape. when i took my initial photos i was already in a half way decent shape. i was not what you would consider overweight, yet i still had plenty of room for improvement.

my first goal was to identify my weakest muscle groups based off my pictures, and to gain some solid lean muscle. i started with a heavy lifting plan, where i would pyramid up to the heaviest weight i could lift for each of my exercises. i also use the principle of specializing, and putting focus on the weaker muscle groups by training them first. i always train tris before bis upper pecs before lower ect... abs was a foucs of mine, so i would do abs about 3 times a week. i want to look really hard in my midsection, and i put most my focus on my lower abs. YES this means all the exercises i hate leg raises lying leg raises decline leg raises ect...the indivdual who is willing to develop the lower abs and obliques will create a physique that is difficult to compete against. my eating habits was chicken and fish. 7-8 meals of high protein and carbs for about 4 of my meals. sometimes 5. i always ate green veggies for my vegetable, and if that was not available in the DFAC i ate salad which they always serve over seas. remember everyone i won this competition while in afghanistan so dont create bull**** excuses for not dieting properly. yes there are some roadblocks with the food served down range but that is no excuse to go on soldiers angel and eat all of those snacks and candy they send. if you do that you will not win.

i made water my only beverage for the most part, but sometimes i would get a gatorade. this was every blue moon, because i was attempting to control my sugar and fat intake. gatorade is good when your down rage because it is extremely hot and we sweat constantly. you will need ot replenish those electrolytes but dont go overboard. use in moderation.

deadlifts is always my first exercise on back day and stiff legged deads of ham shoulder day. squats are always the lead exercise outside of my warm up on leg day. squats was critcal to my overall strength. i would go from 4 sets of 135 just to warm up 225 then to 315 and from there i go up to failure until i couldnt get one rep.

my supplements was syntha 6 protein, nitrics oxide, and creatine. i was using Gasparis products during this time too. i stayed stocked up so dont wait until your on your last scoop to order from bb.com give them 10 to 12 days for your order to get there sometimes i would get it in 5 or 4. they are the fastest and the best.

i know you all might expect something more extensive but its not the talk that will get you to your goal it is the walk. its it the person who is the most diligent that will accomplish there goals. let your actions match your words. do not cheat any! not during this 3 months of training. if you must cheat and have a sugar rush eat some peanut butter or walnut butter something that still have health benefits.

I did not know that this form of training had a name, and a principle to it. I have done this form of training for many years, and it started with my brother. He was passionate about holds when it came to exercising. Many of our exercises required a hold for as long as you could hold it on the last rep, or a really slow rep for the last rep. I later read an article about Time Under Tension, and instantly went back to my brothers training. We didnt have advance equipment. It was really unorthodox, but we were determined to train. We did pull ups on the gutters, and after getting spankings for pulling on the gutters we migrated to using the tree in our back yard. We did not own a bench so we put 2 chairs together and one person would lift the weight over and spot. I later learned how dangerous this was when one of the legs of the chairs broke, eventually we used the ground. Since we lacked equipment, we spent time focusing on proper form and TUN to get the muscle extremely pumped. This training works and I recommend it. I have learned a lot more about training since then, and I am starting to incorporate this principle back into my training regiment. Try it out and tell me what you think!

For breakfast or meal 1 I am eating 5 bolied eggs and one package of instant oatmeal

meal 2 : protein shake mixed with 1 tablespoon of fatfree yogurt 2 spoonfuls of peanut butter 1 scoop of glutamine 2 scoops of protein and 1/2 cup of fat free skim milk all that is mixed into my shake and i eat an apple before the gym

I switched my workout routine and I am now working out during lunch. I still do PT in the mornings with my unit which normally consist of running. I do that workout on an empty stomach. I also do my evening workout which last about 2 hours.

meal 3: 1 package of albacore tuna raw. I buy the large packages with 2.5 servings in the package and I eat all of it in one sitting. I also have another package of oatmeal.

meal 4: I drink a protein shake with some grapes. I might add some additional carbs if I am doing a heavy day, but other than that I get all my carbs from my shake. If I do add carbs it will most likely be whole grain pasta because I bought so much of it last time I went to the grocery store.

meal 5: chicken sometimes skinless thighs but most of the time its a chicken breast. My sister went shopping for me and bought some thighs I need to get rid of so I have to incorporate them in my diet or else they will go bad. I eat a serving of broccoli with this meal.

meal 6: I end my day with a protein shake but this protein shake I do not mix anything but the protein and water.

It is not hard to create your own diet, and you have to experiement with your body. If you are not eating food that you can tolerate cut it out of your diet, because there is always an alternative to what you are eating. Eating healthy can be fun and easy if you give it a chance. It also brings out your creativity in the kitchen. I encourage everyone to try and create a diet for one week and see if you can follow it to the letter.

I am in week 11 of my 12 week process, and now it is time to be very detailed about my diet. I have received great advice from some individuals from my bodybuilding.com family. I am going to be eating a 2500 calorie diet, and I will decrease that down to a 2000 calorie diet in the last 4 weeks of my training. I have calculated that I burn around 3200 calories, and before this 12 week period I was taking in about 3000 calories give or take. In just a few weeks of training I have noticed the definition coming in even though I have not done a lot of abdominal training. I stay pretty cut, and since I won the competition in Afghanistan I have stayed within 5 lbs of that weight. The awesome thing about all of this is I look more muscular. I have achieved a weight that I once thought was impossible. I am currently weighing 185 lbs, and my body feels a bit sluggish. I added a carbs right before my workout, and i have eliminated all fruits out of my diet. Before I hit the gym I normally eat one package of oatmeal raw with a protein shake. I take this in 30 minutes before I go into the gym. I brought cardio back to my diet, but I am only do 30 minute sessions once a week. I feel really good about my progress, but I do not have a workout partner which is hindering me from going as heavy as I like. Even with the change in my diet I do not do any high rep workouts. I stick to the pyramid  type of training. I go up as high as I can and then I come down. When I reach the weight I started with I do a burnout. I normally try to do a drop set on all isolation exercises for the last set.If you are a military guy in the area of newport news hit me up so we can be gym partners. I will keep you posted more often with my progress. I will post something every week buildign up to the competition. thanks for all the support!

I have never really trained anyone in fitness directly. I have always given my advice to individuals in the gym who needed it. I took on a challenge task by inviting my oldest sister to join me in training. I won the military challenge in 2010, and I thought that my sister could benefit from enter a competition like the one I did. I was not trying to win the competition when I entered, but it did give me motivation to achieve a higher level of fitness. We are currently enrolling her in the 100,000 dollar transformation competition. Her start weight is 290 lbs at a height of 5ft 7in. 

After training with her I realized how some exercises are so easy for me, and yet so very hard for her. I felt very frustrated in this first week. I thought I could at least give her some of my motivation. I entered her in the competition not really concerning myself about whether she would win or not. I just wanted her to become strong in mind and body. I got really discouraged the 3rd day because she had such a hard time with just doing something as simple as walking on a treadmill. I felt as if I was fighting a losing cause. She has a discouraged mind about losing weight, but I continued to encourage her to keep pushing.

Something exciting happened today while my sister was walking on the treadmill. She normally works out at a slow pace of 2.1 on the treadmill, but I woke up to some thumping noises, and I realize she had been attempting to run at 3.0. That was very exciting for me. because up until this point she was not increasing her intensity enough. I think the episode of biggest loser was a very good motivator for her. She got the opportunity to see a guy with much more weight on his body pushing himself hard on the cardio machines.  ow she realizes what I was asking her to do was not out of her range. Seeing she was more than capable of doing more she challenged herself on her on. This was the first step to a lifestyle change.

She is on a diet of 1359 calories. I have been using some of the transformation tips from Chris Gehring's  and Lee Labrada's video show. It is very fun to be challenged, and even more fun to see someone achieve a higher level of fitness. She has given me a reason to intensify my own training. I promise to keep you posted.

I was raised in a very religous enviroment, and my parents lived the Bible teachings at home and in church. My father was a deacon of the church, and my mother is an envangilist. They both have spent countless hours of their lives going back and forth to church for spiritual guidance. It occured to me one day that I could be dedicated to the gym in this same way. I just finish watching Old Superman's interview for the bodyspace of the month Decemeber, and his thoughts tie into mine. I have so many people ask me advice about lifting, but most of them have no desire to dedicate themselves to being fit. I cant tell you all how many times Ive heard someone say I dont want to get to big I just want to be in shape. I always explain to them getting to big is like earning to much money. Trust me it is not something you need to worry about. If it was that easy everyone would do it. If you are not dedicated to bodybuilding or anything you wish to accomplish it is likely you will never fufill your goals. Part of the battle of fitness is mental, and I dare some the biggest portion is fought in the mind. Before you begin your journey do me a favor and Get Ya Mind Right! It applies to me too thats why every piece of reading material that I pick up is geared torwards fitness! Lets get focused in 2011!

I am currently training for a competition in May, and this is the first time I have to really face my weak areas. I put more focus on those areas while I prepared for the Military Challenge, but now my workouts must be tailored to my weak areas. I also have to face the pain of working a weak muscle. Normally weak muscles are the muscles that hurt more. I remember when I first started lifting I had pain in my wrist everytime I did reverse curls with an EZ bar. It gave me pain all up and down my forearm. I later realized that it was the lack of training for that particular muscle that was causing me so much pain. It is almost dangerous to over emphasize one muscle group. It reminds me of someone putting nice tires on the front of a car while riding on donut tires on the back. Without focusing on my weaker areas I am hurting myself in the long run.

I hear so many professional bodybuilders talk about muscle connection. Ive built that muscle connection in my chest, and now I plan to devise a scheme to build it for my legs. I work quads twice a week, and I periodically mix legs in my other workouts. This is what I use to do with chest. Even though it was a back day I always gravitated to some chest exercise. My chest grew to be my strongest muscle group, and it began to overshadow my entire body. If you are a beginner and you read my blog, dont make the mistake I did. Build from the bottom up.

My body has made some drastic changes, and I would like to thank all the memebers of bodybuilding.com. I read your pages often, and I utilize a lot of the tips from this site. I want to climb to the highest moutain and scream it out that i have figured out how to get over my plateau. DIETING HARD!!! Everyone knows how to train hard, but how many people really embrace dieting hard. We rarely cheat on our exercises, but many of us cheat on our diet. I have been cheating myself for so long, and going to the gym upset because I was not making gains. Now I have realized my flaws, and I want to show others the error of their ways. So many of my buddies in the Army ask me how to get stronger, bigger, and more cut. Now I have the right answer for them, and it starts with the diet!

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