Tom’s BodyBlog

I got in a quick 1150 meter swim today, and I feel great! There’s nothing like a good swim to make you feel ALIVE!

Swimming is great for so many reasons. A few are: swimming is low impact, swimming is a total body workout, swimming is very efficient at burning fat, swimming a mile is the aerobic equivalent to running two miles, etc…

It had been a while since I got in the pool, it seems time is hard to come by these days, but I really should make it a point to go swimming more often!

Take care, enjoy yourselves, and go for swim!

So I was having terrible joint aches and muscle pain last week. It almost seemed like I was starting to feel over-trained and fatigued. My recovery seemed rougher than usual. I was a little bit worried, but felt like I was missing something…

I had been craving red meat for weeks now but had been sticking to the usual leaner and more easily digestible proteins (whey, fish, chicken). I really did feel pretty awful. I went to the store and bought some 90% lean ground beef and made patties that cooked down to approx. 3.5 oz per patty. I have eaten one patty with a cup of brown rice for lunch for the past three days, and I have to say, "I feel like a million bucks."

My joint and muscle pains are gone, and I’m sleeping better too. It’s a beautiful thing… red meat, that is.

I got AN AWESOME quick workout in at home today. I didn’t make it to the gym for my full chest & core workout, because I had to fast from last night 5 o’clock this afternoon due to the ct scan and ultrasound. Enough of that though…

This killer quickie involves very little equipment. All you need is an olympic barbell, some plates if you like (the weight can vary depending on strength), and a jump rope.

For the first exercise, I used the olympic bar with a 45 lb. plate on each side. Lying flat with your back on the ground, hold the barbell fully pressed outward from your chest. Holding your feet together, lift them from the lying position and touch one plate then set your feet down and repeat, touching your feet to the other plate. This is one rep. I did two sets of 20 repetitions. If you’re trying this for the first time, you may want to try the bar with no weight and bringing your feet about 6" or 8" from the end of the bar.
The next exercise is pretty simple. Jump rope for 5 minutes.

This workout takes less than 20 minutes and gets your heart going pretty well. It hits your shoulders, arms, core, chest, and legs. That is one killer quickie.

…bad news is the doctor called me this morning with the results of my tests from yesterday. Though my kidneys seem to be in the clear, I have some sort of mass in my liver. So that means more tests for me. Hopefully it will turn out to be benign and not need any treatment. One day at a time, you know?

The good news is I made it through week 13 without losing my mind. I am rested and ready to go. Today is the beginning of 12 more weeks of training til I drop, and I’m going to love every minute of it.

Hope all is well. Take care.

Week 13 is no fun. Absolutely necessary, but still, its just no fun. Week 13 is my rest, recovery, and growth period.

Weeks 1 - 12 were great! I hurt all the time and loved it! I saw more change in myself, positive change, than I had since I was on the wrestling team in high school. I have striations in places I didn’t think I ever would or could. It truly is a wonderful thing. I’ve rebuilt a confindence in myself that I had forgotten was there. It’s amazing what you can do if you dedicate yourself to your health. I busted my *** for three months and love the progress I see so far! I feel stronger, both mentally and physically, than I have in forever!  I used to have some serious vices, but they were the kind of vices that left me feeling empty and like more of a shell than anything else. They were also vices that were killing me, and not making me healthier. I should be dead, really. I am surprised I made it out of that dark place. I truly am glad to be alive. I love this vital feeling that I have when I wake up in the morning. My life is not anything spectacular, and I have my troubles, but I am fortunate and glad to have what I do.

Anyway, that’s enough nauseating gratification. Week 13 is mundane. Productive in it’s way. Totally necessary. I’ve been stuffing myself with clean food. Today was okay. I wrote a paper and went to the grocery and picked up some brown rice, bananas, asparagus, cucumbers, Original Post Spoon-Sized Shredded Wheat, low fat plain yogurt, whole wheat bread, and whole wheat tortillas. I ate some tuna sashimi from the sushi restraunt that I frequent. Overall, not a bad day. But I still wish I could go beat myself to a pulp in the gym. I can’t wait until Wednesday. I can’t wait for the next 12 weeks.

…disappoint yourself, give blood, and then go workout. Wow. Really. WOW.

I understood the science of blood doping. It makes perfectly good sense. Today, I saw the science for myself, or the exact opposite science.

I got a call from the doctor saying my last tests were better, and that some of the levels of my blood tests that they were concerned about had gone down, but some of the levels were still a cause from concern (a build up of creatinine in my liver and kidney). She asked me to come in and give more blood for more tests, so I did. I knew this might present a problem as today was the last day of my 12 week workout program. I decided that in order to stay on schedule with my program, I would just work out after my blood test. What a hilarious idea, right? So I did. I was weak as could be. On the first set of my third exercise, I made 6 of my normal 10 reps. I didn’t quit, but just ended up doing more exercises with low weight and high reps. Anyways, today was bad timing and disappointment.

…So now I’ll take my week off, but when I hit those weights again, I’m gonna hit them like a train.

Today was the first day I worked out without any creatine or n.o. boosting supplements, and let me tell you, ouch. I made it through my chest and core routine, same as last week, but I beats last week’s time and volume, which amazes me. However, I do feel like I’ve been hit by a truck.

I was disappointed when my doctor told me about the build up of creatinine in my kidneys and liver. The first thing I thought when he said no more supplements was, "oh sh*t." All I could think of was, will I lose weight, and will I lose strength, and what will I do now? The news got me so down I put off yesterday’s workout until today.

Today, I realized that I don’t need that stuff. That strength I might lose was the determination in my head, and I’m not giving that up. All I need is some good protien, carbs, and amino acids, and my muscles will have what they need. I like my liver and my kidneys, so I’ll stick with the whey and waximaize. You can have the rest.

Keep rockin it. I know I will.

I can’t leave it at just that. Though I have had some great results using creatine, I have also had some terrible ones.

I was very happy to hear the doctor tell me today that my ct scan came up negative for any signs of problems. However, I was very surprised to hear that I’m at risk of liver and kidney failure due to the high levels of creatinine,  a chemical waste molecule produced in the body by creatine. High levels of creatinine in the blood indicate problems in kidney functioning or the possibility of kidney failure. It is often that these high levels can be seen by blood or urine tests before the patient even notices any symptoms. I was one of those fortunate cases. Approximately 2% of the body’s creatine is converted into creatinine on a daily basis. In other words, mass-induction of creatine into the body via supplements in addition to the body’s natural level of creatine can cause excessive levels of creatinine and kidney failure.

If you use creatine, I know that this blog will probably not deter you from continuing to use it as a work out supplement. After all, I’ll even admit, creatine has wonderful effects on muscle mass. I do, however, urge you to consider this information along with the consideration of your health. If you do use creatine, be sure to drink plenty of water, though that is not a gaurantee that complications will not arise. I just want people to be informed.

Today is the first day of week 12 since I dedicated myself to training for the first time in years. I don’t find out what the ct scans say until tomorrow, but I haven’t had a bad headache since Sunday. I’m going to go all out for legs today. I think it’ll be alright. I can always lay off if I think I’m overdoing it. All I have to do is make it through this week and I have a week long recuperation layoff anyway.

I was reading an artcile about Jason Stathom and he does this awesome deadlift routine. That guy is hardcore. After my layoff period, I think I’m going to make that a fifth day in my routine. That way I could keep leg day as is, and just make deadlifts a longer, stand-alone workout. If my body isn’t recovering with the addition of a fifth day, I’ll just re-assess the situation, but it just looks like a great workout.

And on a random note, sushi is one of the greatest things in the world, ever.

Train hard, y’all.