superwelter's BodyBlog

FBB Competitor Bikini Bottoms…

superwelter — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 09:05:46 +0000

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…

Personal progress report

superwelter — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 08:53:39 +0000

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…

eurasionsurgeon, give the titties a rest…

superwelter — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 09:53:27 +0000

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?).

A personal trainer finally approaches…

superwelter — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 09:04:42 +0000

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?

Learning to love leg day…

superwelter — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 07:02:25 +0000

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…

Best Week Ever

superwelter — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 04:33:13 +0000

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.

Assisted Pullup Machine > *

superwelter — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 06:06:31 +0000

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 .

Finally joined a gym…

superwelter — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 07:51:57 +0000

It’s been a few months since i started working out in the small gym here where I live and I thought it was time to get access to some better equipment. I joined a small neighborhood gym where the crowd didn’t seem too "cool" and has low enough traffic that I don’t feel like i’ll ever wait on a machine.
I went in for the first time today and it felt great to have a proper barbell to work with and unlimited set of weights. I previously only had access to a small set of dumbbells and an adjustable bench which made it a little harder to get by.

Presses definitely feel different with a bar and I feel like I’m getting a better workout with the new equipment. It’s probably only because I’ve just started but I’m glad I joined.

Hopefully my next progress pics will show actual progress

2wk Reset

superwelter — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 17:33:59 +0000

Well I had an unexpected reset two weeks ago and I’m paying for it now. I went out of town to handle some family business and have been away from any workouts for a full two weeks. I got back and boy was it hard to get up at 6AM the way I did before I left! I felt extremely weak this morning and had trouble finishing my work. I believe it’s because my nutrition also sucked during my trip and caused me to lose close to 5lbs.
The lapse has caused to feel like I’m starting over and so this is like a new stage for myself because my body looks different from when I started in May and significantly different from last year. I typically will take a starting picture when I begin a new "phase" in my transformation but my camera broke recently and dont have anything to shoot with.

Hoping to maintain another 8-12 weeks of consistent lifting…

Here come the GIFs!

superwelter — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 17:55:57 +0000

I noticed that the top profiles started using GIFs… this should make things really interesting considering how edgy some of the static pictures already are.

HAH, i’m looking forward to this…