thebigguy1’s BodyBlog

As the cold bug has pretty much left my system a few days ago and I have been back in the gym getting my training back on track and my intensity back up. The oddest part of it all is that I have actually GAINED 4 pounds while down with the cold for the week! For the last month or so, I have been literally force-feeding myself and it has been working. I can actually see the scale moving almost daily. Of course with the size comes a slight sacrifice in definition for me…..fortunately I have always had a fast metabolism and a light frame, so I am not overly-bulky. And I do like the size. At first I could not tell, but little things were tell-tale. I found a ring that was given to me for my birthday in June that will not get on my finger now….my "big jeans" now fit snugly on my quads, and getting out of bed is a complete chore as now I feel heavier and it is apparent upon first awakening…….no complaints, though!

Now, today was a great training day, and as usual I go into the locker room to flex and assess my weak points and strong points. Some guys will do a set movement and then pose in the mirror during a workout on the gym floor. I am still a little gun shy for that so I wait until I am done with my routine and save the flexing for the locker room. And my gym has the BEST lighting and mirrors in the locker room and you can pose and look like Mr. Olympia! So with that, I take off the sweatshirt and start checking out the shoulders to see if I hit the rear and side deltoids hard enough to make them stand out, and this young kid walks in. He says hello, and I say "hello, just being vain and checking the progress!" The young guy then asked me "do you compete?" I said "not hardly, but I appreciate the compliment!". He then goes on to ask me about how he can put on muscle, what is a good routine, and to top it off, he then says "but I don’t want to get too big, not as big as you, no offense!" Now, to me this was not an offense, but a compliment! I always dreamed of one day that little 119 pound me would be considered as "muscular", but to be considered muscular and to be considered "too big" was great!

So, to answer his question, I told him that it would be impossible to get to be this big unless he really REALLY wanted to, was willing to sacrifice any other activities other than bodybuilding, eat until he was sick and tired of eating, lift insanely heavy weights until he felt like he was going to pass out, and then start it ALL OVER AGAIN! To say that "I want to train, but not get too big" is like saying "I want to learn to play the piano, but I do not want to become like Mozart"! Silly, isn’t it?

In any case, I gave him some food for thought, told him to RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH, and then come to the gym with a PLAN, and if he ever needed help or a spot, if I’m there and in between sets I’d help. Now, will he stick to it? Maybe, maybe not. But with his remark, he has certainly helped me to keep going towards my goal…GET BIGGER!

And with that, time for another meal in preparation and eating towards the next workout…

Happy New Year Everyone!! 

Some miscellaneous ramblings…..

Well, I am finishing up my last continuous meal for the day and about to call it a night. As I sit here I am thinking to myself that I know full well that it is the eating and diet that make THE biggest difference in the success in putting on muscle, but jeez it is truly a full time job! I thought of this earlier as I was approached in the gym by a young man that looked to be in his late teens /early 20’s. He walked over and had a question for me, but also wanted to comment on my physique. He was floored when I told him my age and that I probably had ties in my closet older than him .  And with that he asked me about what my routine is like, workout, pondages, etc etc. I got back with him after I finished my workout (that was one of hte things I told him….focus and never let your workout be interrupted), and I told him that the single most important thing to do is research and to learn all he can about bodybuilding. And by research i don’t mean from just the muscle magazines. And secondly I told him that diet is the most important factor. In the gym you tear down muscle, and it is the recovery that is the key to building muscle. He seemed puzzled, and I told him "trust me, it is about diet as much as it is about the weights and rest.

Of course, this little exchange did make me feel good as I hoped that would help him and keep him motivated. And I saw a lot of myself in that young man. Thin, tall, lanky and looked like he really wanted to make a change and was tired of being the skinny guy.

So, with a great chest workout today and the compliment  and advice, it was a pretty good day. Tomorrow will be shoulders….. I am working on bringing out more "width" to the appearance of the shoulders. Mind you, they are pretty above average, but I want those "bowling ball" type of shoulder caps. I saw someone in the gym with the largest shoulders I had ever seen, and that is what I have my mindset on. And yes, i’m still on the bulking routine and hopefully will see some more weight gaintowards the end of January. I have put the scale away and refuse to look at it until then..last reading was 252…so we’ll see!

Til later!

Ron  IIIII—IIIII