superwelter’s BodyBlog

Why do all FBB competitor outfits have such long bikini bottoms? What’s with this tradition? I personally dislike the way it looks and think it’s a little unflattering. Do women have a choice when choosing an outfit and the cut? If so, what’s with the long bikini bottom? A little 80’s, no?
There’s probably a rule that I don’t know about…

I thought I’d take a moment to reflect on my progress and some of the setbacks I’ve encountered.

The Good

Back
I’m making awesome progress with my back. I’m noticeably wider and my lats are definitly giving me that V-taper. I’m really really pleased with how quickly this came along. Seated rows are my favorite and they seem to be doing the trick! It’s too bad there isnt a way to measure your lats because I have significant gains in that area. I also do some minor work with my traps and feel like it’s a big reason why the shape of my body is changing. I feel like traps give the illusion of fitness when people look at me, hah, if that makes any sense…

Legs

I am especially proud of how far along I am with my legs. Up until two months ago, I had never done any type of leg work. I am now very comfortable doing squats, presses and extensions with some fair weight. It’s not leaps and bounds but I’m definitely gaining and there is some definition visible in my quads. My calves have always been large but now I’m feeling that "split".

The Bad

Chest

I’ve hit a point where I’m not making any real progress with my chest. I see the weight I’m pushing increase but I’m not putting anymore size on. It is a little more defined but still looks and feels weak to me. I’m not sure how quickly this muscle progresses but I’m disappointed. It really is the muscle I wanted to see the most progress out of. F*ck! I need some advice on this one.

Shoulders

I’m not really seeing any type of growth in this area but it’s not surprising. I never do shoulder specific exercises. The results (if any) I have gotten are from secondary work during compound exercises. I just cant motivate myself to try and develop this. Should I be focusing on this at all or is the work I get from compound exercises enough?

The Ugly

Arms

This is it, my biggest headache, biceps and triceps. I just cant seem to find a sense of balance here. I’m upset with myself at how little i’ve progressed in this area. I never walk out of the gym feeling like the work I just put into my arms is worth anything. I hate workinig biceps most of all and it’s rather pitiful. This has to be the weakest part of my body and the one that has made the least progress. I’ve moved along with my triceps, but it never feels very intense. I am going to seek some guidance on this one… I have to clear a few things up with this and make sure my expectations are where they should be.

There’s still a lot that I want to do but I’m happy with where I’m headed… it now feels refreshingly odd to miss the gym. I’m moving soon and feel comfortable being in the gym. I don’t feel like the odd man out anymore and that’s probably the most rewarding feeling of all…

We get it, your titties are huge and they look spectacular from multiple angles and in countless colors. You have an awesome physique but it’s obvious that you’re using those two as bait for clicks(and attention?).

There are at least three personal trainers that I know of at my current gym and they’ve never asked me about any free sessions or even tried to spark any type of conversation. We typically greet each other but they seem to keep clear of me.

I’m sure they have their own opinions about my work there, but I think they know that I’m not a complete neophyte and that I’ve got a fair routine.

Tonight’s situation was made awkward by the fact that I’ve never seen this trainer before, and that he was "boxing" with what looked like a potential client. I’m a real fan of the sport and I saw that he had gloves on but no actual boxing was taking place.

I was a third of my night in and finishing off a few sets of incline db presses when he steps over and asks me about a free training session. He wants to do it this very night and asks me to do cardio with him, but I’m clearly there to lift.

He pretty much forces me to turn him down… I’m not really interested in doing cardio and I’m sure the hell not wasting my time on mitts with the guy.

I thought that turning him down would have been enough of a signal, but that wasnt the case. He asks to meet me for a session next week, and voila, I’m instantly committed. What can I do? Lie to his face or maybe just hurt his feelings? There simply isnt a good way out of the situation… It’s a tiny gym and it’s not like I can avoid the guy.

I’m not at a huge loss, I can throw away one of my days with him and get back after we’re done. It brought up a few questions though..

How can you tell if you have a good or bad personal trainer?

What should you look for in a first session?

What types of questions should you ask?

It took me about a month but I finally look forward to leg day! I had a really hard time with it the first two weeks but I finally found a comfort zone and I’m excited whenever the day comes around. I think a big part of it is that its really the only day that I feel like I’m moving any weight because of my upper body still being fairly weak.

I really enjoy working hamstrings and I definitely feel the work I have to put out for squats. I see some small gains in my quads and expect some noticeable results in another 2-3 weeks. There are already early signs of muscle definition in my quads… that makes me optimistic about what I can do in the next couple of weeks!

I’ll throw up some before/after pictures in the next few days for a point of reference…

This week of workouts has been the best I’ve had since I started. I almost feel bad at how short I was falling before joining a real gym… the quality of equipment and the range of weight I have access to is drastically better!
I’m also now working out with a friend and the feeling of having someone else pushing you there is really good. I can get an extra rep with him spotting and it feels like it will be the difference. Having previously only worked with dumbbells, I now see that it was actually somewhat limiting. I can feel a difference since adding barbell work to my routine and I’m stoked about it.
The only thing I see that could become a negative is the fact that we’re going to workout every single day and its during lunch. I’m hoping we can take it down to 4 days a week with one rest day in the middle. The place is also close to where I live so it helps out when I need to makeup a day.
I’m hoping to take some new progress photos in another week since I’ve upped my calories and the workouts have been much more complete.

So the place I joined has one of these machines and I have to say it’s a brilliant piece of equipment. I cant do pullups on my own and this will at least let me begin developing the strength needed to accomplish them unassisted.

I’d recommend giving this machine a shot if you have one in your gym… worth it for those of us on the weaker end of the spectrum .