sugapablo’s BodyBlog

Yup had a new baby.   A little boy.  Cute as a button (he looks like me!).  But dang if all the responsibilities that come with your second child don’t put a damper on your diet and training.  I actually lost weight (4 pounds) and gained fat!  If there’s ANYTHING more devastating to a recreational bodybuilder…

But I started a new routine yesterday…a 12 week challenge out of Muscle & Fitness.  It’s no joke.  It was so hot today (no AC in my basement gym) and the fact that I let myself go over the past couple of months that I couldn’t even make it through today (leg day).  I wanted to puke somethin’ awful.

But I have to keep my eyes on the prize.  My goal for some time (when I started out at 138 lbs) was 170 lbs and 10% bodyfat.  I’m at 168 with about 23% BF.  That’s the fattest I’ve ever been!  Not cool!

So I have my work cut out for me.  I need to stay motivated and MAKE time (without being a neglectful father and husband).  It’s just HARD with two kids, job, house, (wife is in no condition to do housework yet), and my artistic ventures (music performance and a novel).

Luckily this site exists, and I can always find excellent motivation just by connecting with many of you. 

…how bad you feel when you stop training and slack on your diet.  (In comparison that is.)  With all the hectic stuff going on in my life (work, baby on the way, a 4 year old daughter, playing music again, writing a novel, etc.) I let myself slack and I was paying the price for it.

No one’s fault other than my own.  I have the knowledge, I have the tools, I just need to make the time.  The only excuses that are acceptable to not training are illness or injury.  Being that I have a home gym, I should be able to make the time no matter what.

Because when I’m training and my diet is good, I feel great!  I need to always remember that.

Ok, I haven’t posted in a while, and I suppose my workouts have become routine.  I’ve been sick with a flu like thing for a week or two and I just can’t shake it.

I’m planning on being 100% by Monday and re-dedicating myself to getting over my 170 lb plateau that I seem to be stuck at.  I just can’t gain any good weight over it.  Problem is, when I try to get over 170, it seems to be more gut than muscle.

Nothing a little diet tweaking can’t fix I hope. 

On the heels of me breaking the 300 lb. plateau on the deadlift last week, I was able to break my squat record by 30 lbs. this morning, reaching a 255 squat!

At times like these, it’s good to look back at your workout journal and see how far you’ve come.

The first time I tried squats was 3/16/2006 and it was just using dumbbells.  I did 3 sets of 15, using only 15 lbs. in each hand.  Wow!

On that day I also maxed out my bench press with my 4th set, getting only 6 reps in at 65 lbs.!  I’m only 1RM at 185 now, but still!

Now the kicker.  My first time trying deadlifts?  3/30/2006: 1 set of 12 at 65 lbs.!  I curl that much now. 

So while I’m not turning pro just yet, I can still take a tremendous amount of pride in how far I’ve come from the skinny ass, sickly weakling I was when I started.

Not to mention my measurements.

Compared to my first set of measurements on 3/7/2006:

Arms: Then: 11" - Now: 12.5"
Chest: Then (Expanded): 36.5" - Now (Relaxed): 38.5"
Quads: Then (Flexed): 19.5" - Now (Relaxed): 23.25" (I was REALLY chicken-legged.)
Weight: Then: 138lbs. - Now: 170lbs.

Feelin’ like you need a motivational boost?  Dig up your old workout journal and compare!  You’ll see all the blood, sweat, and muscle pulls have been worth it!  Keep goin’!

Broke 300 for the first time today!  305 lb. deadlift.  Felt GREAT!

I know it’s not much compared to some other fellas on here, but for me, this is a real accomplishment.

Feelin’ stoked!  Even though now, I need to buy more weight. 

Well I finally put together my dumbbell rack, so my home gym is now complete. I pretty much have everything you need for a gym to work every muscle plus cardio.

Photos have been posted.  And yes, there’s a lot of extra crap in my basement, but it’s all good. 

It was only 2 pounds, but I gained 2 pounds (putting myself at 168 this morning) and didn’t gain any BF (which stayed at 19.2%).

Pretty happy, even if my arms didn’t grow any.    They’re really hard for me to grow.

Everything is symmetrical too, except my quads, which are 1 inch off.

So I’m going to bulk like a madman all fall and winter, and then cut in the spring and hopefully have something really nice to show off in the summer.

Stay tuned!

Just to try something new, keep my muscles guessing, and to keep things fresh, I decided to start a 5×5 program today.

One thing I REALLY like about it is not having to change plates between sets. 

We’ll see how it goes.  I did chest and biceps today.  Some exercises I made all five sets, some I didn’t, so I think in a few weeks I’ll be exactly where I should be in terms of weight.

It does seem to be a more objective way of determining how much weight you should be lifting.

Watching the Layne Norton videos, he mentioned he does a 6 week bulk, followed by a two week cut.  I’ve been bulking for over a year now, gaining 28 pounds (138-166), but I’ve noticed I’m getting a bit of a Buddha belly.

So I figured I’d go an a two week "mini cut".  Basically lower my cals a bit, and lower my carb intake.  I figured I just want to see what happens.  Hopefully I can get the body fat down a bit, then I can go back to bulking and getting huge.