tom62’s BodyBlog

Lately, I’ve been starving following my workouts. I typically eat within15-20 minutes following my workout, then eating dinner an hour to an hour and half. Then about an hour after dinner I’m starving again. I try to eat low calorie foods like lettuce and green peppers, then i chug a ton of water. I’m getting plenty of protein each day and my carbs are in tune, so I’m not really sure why even when I’m hitting my numbers I’m still starving. Its been pretty intense the last week or so and I’m concerned about unnecessary fat gain so I’ve been running 4-5x per week which seems to have helped. I’ve had to take the last two days off of cardio on account the heat has been far too intense to be running outside. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to curb my appetite at night? I’m getting frustrated try to stay lean while not starving at the same time. Not to mention peeing every 20 minutes from the all the water is a bit annoying.

Duc in altum

Tom

OK so I just got back from spending 3 weeks in Australia a few days ago. There were very few opportunities to lift or run, so basically 3 weeks with about 5-7 workouts total. Today was my first day back and of course its not chest day or back and bi’s, nope; instead its leg day. Squats were rough to say the least i rep-ed 365 three times. Nothing too exciting, the real trouble was trying to get in a decent cardio workout in. I meant to run for 20 minutes, i think i totaled about 14 minutes and i’m ready to call it quits for the day. Jet lag is also kicking my butt, last night i could not fall asleep until 3 AM then I slept until 2PM! Yuck, my body is all out of whack.

It seems like every other day there is another pro athlete in the news who has tested positive for steroids or other illegal performance enhancing substances. Today it has come out that Manny Ramirez did not pass a drug test, awhile back, A-Rod reportedly tested positive for steroids. A few years ago "steroid" was a dirty word, and now it has become more the norm than exception. What are American sports coming to? We have young athletes looking up to these drugies, thinking the only way to get ahead is to take drugs. These junkies are killing their respective sports quite honestly. People argue well they are only doing it to themselves. NO sir, they are doing it to everyone who has ever played the game. The rules clearly state that performance enhancing drugs are illegal, taking them is just like breaking any other rule. It would be like hitting a double and getting tagged out at second, then refusing to get off the bad. The umpire isn’t going to let you just stand on the bag because you want, letting you stand there is against the rules, you are out of play. Manny got a 50 game suspension, that seems like a pretty light sentence considering at any other job a positive drug test would get you fired. Cheating is cheating no matter how you cut it, and steroids are cheating. You can argue "oh well, they still have to hit a 90MPH fast ball" Well guess what people could do that before steroids became popular; do you think Babe Ruth was on roids when he set the home run record, or what about Hank Aaron. I don’t know what do you Bonds?

Lets talk a minute about the health concerns with steroids. There is the superficial effects like acne and male pattern baldness, facial hair sprouting on female athletes, and gynecomastia. Those dont seem to bad, a creame to take care of the acne and and waxing kit for the new mustache should take care of the problem. Well thats all well and good Pizza face, but what about the severe mood swings, impaired blood flow to the heart, sudden cardiac failure, liver and kidney damage. Those all sound like great times dont they? Guys, lets talk a little about that one part of us that we are all so proud of and i’m not talking about the biceps. Taking exogenous testosterone reduces the body’s need to produce endogenous testosterone, which means the testicles quit producing sperm or reduce production (oligospermia), azoospermia (a lack of sperm in semen) may occur, and hey the best news of, note all sarcasm, your testicle shrivelle like a California grape. WOW, nothing like breaking a record at the cost your package. Sure, there is the chance that once you go off the juice your body will return to normal; however there are no guaruntees. Ladies, don’t think you are getting out of this one, or should I say gentlemen, it is very hard to tell one from the other once the female atheltes start taking ‘roids. Female athletes that use steroids tend to develop facial hari, male pattern baldness, and a deeper voice. Their breasts will also decrease as the size of the clitoris increases, not to mention other side effects such as amenorrhea (missing menstrual cycles). Nothing says sexy like a woman with a beard and a receding hair line.

Does any of this seem worthwhile? Not at all.  In the end it is a personal choice. If you want my opinion, which whether or not you want it I’m going to give it and this is my blog so you can just stick it in your juice box and suck it, taking steroids cheats you and your sport. It is not you breaking records or lifting the weight it is the steroids and pretty soon you become the steroids. You loose yourself, your mind, and eventually your body. Think about what your friends and family will think when they find out you are a steroid user and remember not all junkies are shriveled up old men living in card board boxes.

Duc in altum

Tom

Sources: Magnus, Brent C. & Miller, Michael G. Pharmacology Application in Athletic Training F. A. Davis Company Philadelphia, PA 2005

The spring semester has just ended, there is no more work to be done, no more classes to go to, no more 6:30 AM workouts, just a week of relaxing and lifting. It is now 6 days since the semester has ended, and i feel more burned out now than i did at school. My workouts have lagged all week, i am slow and fatigue easily. All i want to do is eat and sit around. I’ve tried to relax and tried to get over the hump, but the constant tiredness and fatigue is just not going away. Caffeine is not helping, sticking to my diet is not working, pushing through the workouts is just becoming unpleasant and i’m not pumping up like normal. My body feels like I am sick, but i’m not ill and i can’t take a deep breath in without coughing. Just feel like crap and i dont want to take time off because i’m heading for australia on sunday and won’t be able to workout consistantly while i’m there. Just frustrating when the energy is there but not the motivation or focus. OK i’m done complaining.

Duc in altum,

Tom

I need some feed back on this. I’m entering my senior year of college with a major in Athletic Training and a minor in Exercise Science. Lately I’ve had to explore where I am going in life after graduation. Currently graduate school is the most viable option. The more I learn about nutrition and resistance training the more I want to work with strength athletes, bodybuilders, and other anaerobic athletes. I chose athletic training because the profession brings a unique aspect of being a medical professional with an emphasis on working with athletes, a population that functions at a much higher capacity than the average Joe. We are not physical therapists who focus on rehabilitating patients to the point of being able to complete activities of daily living. Our aim is to rehabilitate the athlete back to the level of play they are accustomed to. Personally I’ve decided to couple my degree with a minor in exercise science and pursue my certification as a certified strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS). The combination brings potent concoction of a knowledgeable health care professional as well as a fitness professional. Imagine being able to go to the same person to get ready for your next competition as you would for an injury. Being trained by an athletic trainer gives you the benefit of being able to recieve treatments such as preventative taping, therapeutic modalities, and rehabilitation exercises should you sustain an injury while training. Not to mention the benefit of a professional that understands lifting, nutrition, exercise physiology, biomechanics, and anatomy. If you check into the athletic trainer’s background, some programs such as the one I am in, will have 4 years of experience by the time he/she graduates from undergraduate school. That is experience you cannot replace. Real hands on experience with real athletes is an irreplacable aspect of athletic trianing. So, the cut and dry version is, would you ever consider hiring an athletic trainer to train you as a bodybuilder or strength athlete? Why or why not? Why would you choose another professional? What is the benefit of hiring that other professional over an athletic trainer?

I need some feed back on this. I’m entering my senior year of college with a major in Athletic Training and a minor in Exercise Science. Lately I’ve had to explore where I am going in life after graduation. Currently graduate school is the most viable option. The more I learn about nutrition and resistance training the more I want to work with strength athletes, bodybuilders, and other anaerobic athletes. I chose athletic training because the profession brings a unique aspect of being a medical professional with an emphasis on working with athletes, a population that functions at a much higher capacity than the average Joe. We are not physical therapists who focus on rehabilitating patients to the point of being able to complete activities of daily living. Our aim is to rehabilitate the athlete back to the level of play they are accustomed to. Personally I’ve decided to couple my degree with a minor in exercise science and pursue my certification as a certified strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS). The combination brings potent concoction of a knowledgeable health care professional as well as a fitness professional. Imagine being able to go to the same person to get ready for your next competition as you would for an injury. Being trained by an athletic trainer gives you the benefit of being able to recieve treatments such as preventative taping, therapeutic modalities, and rehabilitation exercises should you sustain an injury while training. Not to mention the benefit of a professional that understands lifting, nutrition, exercise physiology, biomechanics, and anatomy. If you check into the athletic trainer’s background, some programs such as the one I am in, will have 4 years of experience by the time he/she graduates from undergraduate school. That is experience you cannot replace. Real hands on experience with real athletes is an irreplacable aspect of athletic trianing. So, the cut and dry version is, would you ever consider hiring an athletic trainer to train you as a bodybuilder or strength athlete? Why or why not? Why would you choose another professional? What is the benefit of hiring that other professional over an athletic trainer?

Who doesn’t like to go heavy when they lift? Honestly, it is the greatest feeling in the world when you can rep more than you have ever been able. I have recently been joined by my friend Steve in the weight room. Both of us are former football players trying to get cut now that we are retired. I have been out of football now for 2 years, and Steve has recently retired from football after a persistent injury that has kept him on the sidelines for the last month and a half or so. I’m not complaining that I have a lifting partner, I’ve been hoping to find someone for the last two years, but it is very hard to find someone to lift with 5-6 days a week with you. Steve is a good guy, but he struggles with motivation. Getting him into the weight room consistently is a daily struggle. We are both very busy people. We both have class and jobs, but some how I usually manage to get into the weight room at least 4-6 days a week. Steve tells me wants a six pack by next month, but with his lack of consistency and work ethic I find it hard to believe he will have a six pack by the next millennium. When he is there it seems like he is half ass-ing it through the workouts. He never struggles to get a couple more reps if he can’t lift he just puts it down. In the last few weeks of lifting with him I have found that is better to not accept his excuses and make him accountable for his own workouts. It also helps to have a little bit of faith in him. He needs someone to be confident him in until he realizes his own potential. Today he took a huge stride by getting up and lifting with me at 6:30 in the morning. There has been improvement which is wonderful, however its time for steve to start motivating himself and making himself accountable. I have not quite figured out how to progress him from relying on me to tell him what to do and to show up for lifting. Understand, going from playing organized sports to working out on your own is a hard transition. There is no one to tell you to show up or hold you accountable that is all on you. Recently, I have been telling him that his workouts are for pride and respect because all of our friends we used to play football with make fun of him for not working hard, and not to mention I told him that he was putting on fat from swallowing his pride to often. He seems to like the idea of lifting for pride rather than for just the sake of lifting.  Small challenges seem to be what motivate him the best.

I have never been a good bench presser. I would rather squat and deadlift six days a week than bench twice a week. In high school I could deadlift 500lbs before I could bench 225? Something about that is not quite right. The most I have ever benched was 270lbs and that was when I weighed 240lbs. Now at 215lbs I can only get up 260. Not to mention I suffered a pretty bad pec strain which kept me from benching heavey for about 2 months. I have tried high weight low reps, low weight high reps, and high weight with high reps. Nothing seems to get my numbers. Does any one have any suggestions to increase my bench? I bench with an arch in my back which has helped. Thoughts, questions, comments?

There is a certain individual that lifts at my gym and he is a screamer, if you will. I am all for being pumped up and grunting some to get a few extra reps in, but this guy is annoying. He does partial reps on every set with more weight than he can handle. Why? He sreams like someone is removing his appendix without a sedative on the first rep. The gym is two levels; I can hear him screaming on the second level. Its a bit much. The best part is when he is done with a set and he is still grunting and groaning.  If it was just the screaming I woudn’t have a problem with the guy, but its his whole demeanor. I’ve only talked to the guy a few times and the only conversation I can ever remember ended with him saying "I was so ripped back then" and then he walked away. He also sports a T-shirt that says "No, I’m not on steroids, but thanks for asking". Don’t worry buddy no one is questioning it.

OK not sure if i’m doing this whole blogging thing correctly or not, but here’s looking at you. Lately I’ve been wondering when the optimal time would be to take creatine. I’m sure tihs seems like a rather simple question. I have always taken creatine after I workout; however after debating this for awhile post-workout does not seem like a good time to take it. It seems more beneficial to build up your creatine stores before you work out so you recover more quickly during your workout. After a workout the body is no longer activating the phosphagen system, so it is not even using creatine for energy anymore. Hence why taking it after a workout seems less beneficial. It makes more sense to me to take it either before or duringa workout to assist the body in replenishing creatine stores when the body needs them. That is just my opinion, I would like to hear a good argument to take creatine post-workout, if anyone has an opinion on the matter.