LIFE version 2.0 beta

Okay, wow. Where to start.

I guess first and foremost, last October I got engaged to the most wonderful woman I have ever met. We are getting married in Nov, 2008. Needless to say, that’s been taking a lot of my time.

While recovering from my back injury caused by incorrect form when doing bent over rows  I put some weight back on from my pre-contest weight of 275. I probably put on 30 lbs when I couldn’t get to the gym and to be honest, after 2 straight years of dieting and intense workouts I decided to just let go a little. Well, needless to say, a little became a lot and by the time my back healed I had gained all that weight.

I then found Crossfit ( http://www.crossfit.com ) and it was new, different and intense. All the things I needed to get back to my routine in the gym. Even with all the wedding planning I was able to get excited and back into the gym. Crossfit is for everyone but even though the workouts are short, they are intense and hard. Scaling the workouts is a must, especially for beginners and intermediate athletes. Just because you are a bodybuilder, doesn’t mean you have the stamina or endurance needed for crossfit.

Unfortunately it took another injury to make me realize this. During one of the high intensity uphill runs I caused my self a pretty serious case of plantar faciaitis(arch strain). I’ve been recovering from this now for months, but, unlike my back injury, I found other exercises to do besides running to help me keep my cardio up.

The current plan is now to switch off of Crossfit again, back to a pre-contest resistance workout plus cardio on off days. I should be able to jog again in a month.

I’d like to get back down to 285 by the end of November and increase my cardio endurance.

Due to my back injury and just getting into a different phase of my life, for now anyway, there will be no more 500lb+ squats or 600lb+ deadlifts, just overall fitness.
I will be more specific going forward, but I just wanted to get out an update.

Okay, so I went overboard on the ab ripper, then I went and did a back day, well, needless to say, during my second set of heavy bent over rows, I tweaked my back. I guess I’ll have to lay off the lower back, and abs for a while now.

Damnit. I hate injuries!

I just attempted P90X’s AB RIPPER X and I’ll tell ya, it’s no joke. I couldn’t keep up. Now, mind you I’m not the abs king of the world but this was hard! Just a FYI!

As promised, an update:

 http://www.youtube.com/v/UCR7LV5z8Nw

I promise a new video is coming, I’ve just been taking some time off from the whole lifestyle, now I’m back in the gym trying to put back on some lost quality mass.

Check out this weeks question answered:

How did you get the motivation to lose weight and how do you keep it?

Here is part 1: http://www.youtube.com/v/V0ZZOb3Xi4s 

Then part 2: http://www.youtube.com/v/uCCjTpNTbp0

 Enjoy!

Check out my newest Video Blog:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STvxPpc2sOM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQqPjwyugQI

Well, here I am 4 weeks out of the imaginary contest. I’m at about 19-20% BF right now, so, like I thought, I probably won’t be down enough for my imaginary contest. To my credit, I did start on 8 weeks out at about 26-29% BF so I think I’ll cut 2-3 more weeks past my 8 week program, see where that takes me. I’m happy with my progress thus far but I feel a weight loss plateau hitting again, I think I am going to have to ratchet UP the cardio and cut down the carbs a little more.

Will this lame stomache ever go away? I know, I know, it took 10 years to make it the wonderful large round shape it was, it’s not going away overnight, I just wonder about the loose skin. I really was hoping that was going to somehow work itself out. I dunno, we’ll see.

I want to thank everyone who’s written to me about my journey, I am still trying to catch up from the transformation of the week email. There are a lot of you out there that are going to lose a lot of weight and experience the life changing feelings I have. If only everyone knew what it felt like to accomplish such a physical feat. Congrats in advance everyone, I know you can do it!

Keep eating, lifting and sleeping and you’ll all achieve your goals.

Oh, I ran into Tom Manno again tonight, I just want to say what a down to earth guy he is. I think I’ll try some of his product line. They sell it here on bb.com. He just did some record for his weight and age the other day, I think he said he benched 663lbs or something like that. Sweet.

Rusty is doing fine too. More people should say hello to him at his website, http://www.rustyjeffers.net  he really appreciates all of his bodybuilding fans.

Adios for now,

 -Ben
 

Okay, well, here I am, transformation of the week guy! I guess I’m no Mountain man that eats raw eggs and has some freakish facial hair so I get buried down in the entertainment section of the articles, but hey, it’s an honor to be recognized for my accomplishments.

Don’t think I am done, far from it. I am just getting started. I WILL get up on stage and I WILL leave with a trophy someday. Just like I said I would lose all this weight, mark my words, I will be a bodybuilder.

Not so much because everyone thinks I can’t, not because no one would believe that I would want to, but because I know I can, and I want to push myself physically past every former barrier I’ve ever experienced.

You know what else, I’ve got a powerful ally on my side now, someone who is going to show me what it takes to hit the stage and pose like no other. That’s right, the cat is out of the bag, my new trainer is "THE" Rusty Jeffers, the most underrated bodybuilder in the last 20 years.

Say what you will about the guy, but he’s one of the nicest pros I’ve ever met, and one of the best posers out there. His symetry and proportion are second to none and I am honored to train with him.

Okay, that’s all for now, back to sleep for me!

-B