Jettisoned Ponderings

Things have been going quite well this week. In addition to the new diet, I also started a 30 day cleanse. Same product I’ve used for the last few years ("Power Cleanse for Athletes" by Renew Life) but I usually do 15 days every 6 months. This time I’m doing the full thing because its long overdue and will be complimentary to the cutting process. Been flushing water way more now that the carbs are dropping down and I’m pushing more fluid. It helps so much to be able to stay properly hydrated at work now instead of running around not getting to take in any food or only a few sips of water for sometimes 5+ hours at a time! Weighed in at 189.5 this morning. Bodyfat I’ll wait to check until Sunday.

The diet is great. I pretty much nailed it with where I need to be nutritionally on it and the right amount of calories. My body is constantly running hotter and the workouts I’m pouring sweat by the end of the first or second exercise. The only change I’ve had to make is a timing issue for some fats. With my first 2 shakes I had planned to eat 1.5oz of almonds and bedtime/post workout just my protein shake and the carbs in it. Realized quickly that this wasn’t going to be enough and lacked a satiety feeling. So instead, now all 3 shakes just have 1oz of almonds instead to spread out the same amount. The only change supplement wise I will probably make is adding in some additional BCAAs to take immediately after workouts before I head home and chase them with the last shake.
I’m pretty excited to see how this turns out! The new progress pic is up and you can already see that the held water in the abs has been shed. Vascularity is starting to get crazy in my workouts, which amuses me perpetually. Between the cardio on mornings I hit it (its an extra option for me right now since I’m not on a show prep or anything) and the workouts, I’m netting roughly a 1000 calorie deficit a day. Should yield some good, steady, but quick, results.

Its been asked, so I’m going ahead and posting it. This is my food for a non-training day. Training days have an additional 50 carbs from supplements timed before and during the workouts. AM cardio will be done for 20-30 minutes upon waking before breakfast on both training and rest days. The diet as it is below comes out to 2429 calories.

Meal 1 - Breakfast/Post-Cardio - 7:00am
Oats (Uncooked Measure) w/splenda    1/2 cup
Cinnamon    1 tsp
Whole Egg (Omega-3)    2
Egg Whites International    1 cup
Picante Sauce    2 tbsp

Shake 1 - 9:30am
Max Muscle: MaxPro Natural    2 scoops
Cinnamon    1 tsp
Almonds (Roasted, No Salt)    1.5oz

Meal 2 - Lunch - 12:00
Chicken Breast (Grilled, cooked weight)    8oz
Green Beans    1 cup

Shake 2 - 2:30
Max Muscle: MaxPro Natural    2 scoops
Cinnamon    1 tsp
Almonds (Roasted, No Salt)    1.5oz

Meal 3 - Dinner 5:00
Sirloin (Choice, Top, separable lean/fat, trimmed to 0" fat)    5oz
Baby Spring Mix    2 cups
*Blend: Olive Oil/Seasoned Rice Vinegar, 50/50    1.5 tbsp

Shake 3 - Bedtime/Post-Workout ~10:00pm
Max Muscle: MaxPro Natural    2 scoops
Cinnamon    1 tsp

Thanks to Kris Murrell for posting this in her blog. I felt it was worth reposting.

Carrots, Eggs & Coffee

A carrot, an egg, and a cup of coffee… You will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again.

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her.  She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up.  She was tired of fighting and struggling.  It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen.  She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire.  Soon the pots came to boil.  In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans.  She let them sit and boil; without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners.  She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl.  She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl.  Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.  Turning to her daughter, she asked, ‘ Tell me what you see.’

‘Carrots, eggs, and coffee,’ she replied.

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots.  She did and noted that they were soft.  The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it.  After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg.

Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee.  The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma.  The daughter then asked, ‘What does it mean , mother?’

Her mother explained that! each of these objects had faced the same adversity:  boiling water.  Each reacted differently.  The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting.  However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak.  The egg had been fragile.  Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened.  The ground coffee beans were unique, however.  After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

‘Which are you?’ she asked her daughter.  ‘When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond?  Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

Think of this:  Which am I?  Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat?  Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff ?  Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean?  The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain.  When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor.  If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you.  When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate yourself to another level?  How do you handle adversity?  Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.

The happiest of people don’t necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way.  The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can’t go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.

When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling.

Live your life so at the end, you’re the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.

Down to 190.5lbs this morning (more dried out than usual) and bodyfat is down to 12.0%. Pretty glad to see that considering I’ve only half switched over my diet. Next week it’ll be in full swing. I’m at the point where I’m starting to show a little more vascularity in my arms and, as Court always notices, around the adonis and obliques. I’m excited to get down to at least 8.0% and then I’ll decide where to go from there. For now though, bulking is completely on hold and getting lean and ripped is the first priority. I should also note that I’m not using any fat burning products at this time. Just a little coffee or tea in the morning and the thermogenic kick from the stims in the Dark Rage.

If you followed Biggest Loser the last two weeks, you should have seen an episode where Jillian goes to visit contestants trying to adjust to life at home. For two of them they’re stressing out so she takes them out to get a drink. The point is that there has to be balance in life instead of stressing excessively over the minor details. One season as well they brought in cake and beer for the contestants (they always have a cheat meal once a week) to explain that its never about depravity, just good moderation and factoring in the calories.

So on that note, I just wanted to share with you what I usually have myself when I’ve had a long week and just need to kick back and unwind (aside from a good beer and pizza from Old Chicago in off season). Its not a habitual thing, but when the mood strikes and I’m not in a strict dieting situation this is what I mix up and more importantly only one!

1oz Effen Vodka (Vanilla & Black Cherry Flavor)
1oz Romana Sambuca (Or Sambuca Black, as in the pic)
6-12 oz Bing Energy (Black Cherry Soda if unavailable)

Really makes me upset seeing this. I could go on a long rant about this, but just read it. Given the two ingredients they targeted, I doubt it will be long before more products get pulled. What really makes me mad though is this line:

"The FDA has no scientific information concerning the safety of the condemned products or their ingredients and, thus, cannot determine whether they represent a hazard to consumers."

Seriously, these are the idiots regulating us. The crap with professional sports isn’t helping either.
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2009/NEW02016.html

Not implementing the new diet until next week when work changes, but this week I’m going through the new workout routine I posted yesterday. I gotta say it felt fantastic! The short rest times really got my heart rate up quick and I was sweating already by the end of the first exercise. Had a fantastic pump (seriously, Dark Rage is the best thing I’ve tried to date in the past 2 years) and this morning I’m feeling what was worked in all the right places so I know the weights were where they should’ve been and there was minimal cheating when fatigue started to hit. The last squeeze sets had a number of fibers popping which always means some new growth is on its way for me. I don’t expect to gain much size out of this, but I should be able to maintain and keep most all of the muscle I have already.

Tonight’s workout will be put on hold only because I’ll be watching the finale of Biggest Loser tonight and its 3 hours. If you’re not doing anything its well worth watching. Some contestants have made some unbelievable changes this season! I hope that America finds some motivation to get off the couch and live healthier from it.

I will be so happy once I’ve solidified a routine again! While I loved the sample of HIT that I did last week, the fact remains that its just impossible to take it on without a consistent training partner. Court’s seen the workouts and gone through Legs with me (spotting only) but she has her own workouts for the next 10 weeks through her show. Until then, it has to remain on deck. Meanwhile, I’ve been long overdue for finding out just what exactly I have been developing under the fat layer I’ve got. I haven’t been down in single digit bodyfat for about a year and a half and I’m missing it with the weather getting warmer. So, I’m going back to the style that first got me started. Short rests, lighter weights, higher volume, and refining the diet to have enough carbs appropriately timed to support the workouts. Plus, I can get through these exercises solo, and with that comes no excuse not to keep up on it. So, here’s the plan:

Straight sets, 30 second rest times, *=2 second squeeze per rep

Monday - Back/Triceps/Abs
Reverse Pulldowns (2 warm-up sets)    3×12
Straight Arm Lat Pulldowns    3×12
Seated Rows    *3×10
Hyperextensions    3×12
Cable Pushdowns    3×12
1 Dumbbell Overhead Extensions    3×12
1 Arm Reverse Pushdowns    *3×10
Machine Crunches    3×20
Trunk Rotation Machine    3×20

Tuesday - Quads/Calves
Warm-Up on Bike    5-8 minutes
Leg Press (Wide Stance, 2 warm-up sets)    3×12
Precor Front Squats (Neutral Stance)    3×12
Adductor    *3×10
Leg Extensions    *3×10
Rotary Calves    *3×8-10
Seated Calves    *3×15-20

Wednesday - Chest/Biceps/Abs
Incline Smith Press    3×12
Lying Dumbbell Pullovers    3×12
Hammer Chest Press    *3×10
Cable Crossover Fly    *3×10
Reverse Cable Curls    3×12
Constant Tension Hammer Curls    3×12
Close Grip Machine Preacher Curls    *3×10
Machine Crunches    3×20
Trunk Rotation Machine    3×20

Thursday - Hams/Glutes/Calves
Warm-Up on Bike    5-8 minutes
Stiff Leg Deadlifts (2 warm-up sets)    3×12
Prone Curls    3×12
Seated Curls    3×12
1 Leg Curls    *3×10
Abductor    *3×10
Rotary Calves    *3×8-10
Seated Calves    *3×15-20

Friday - Shoulders/Traps/Abs
Smith Front Presses    3×12
Side Lying Lateral Raises    3×12
Pec Deck Rear Delt    3×12
Constant Tension Dumbbell Laterals    3×10
Behind Back Shrugs    *3×10
Machine Crunches    3×20
Trunk Rotation Machine    3×20

Saturday/Sunday - Rest

Are you kidding me!? People are commenting on this video that this guy has great ideas. This is the stupidest crap I have ever seen.

So I’m giving HIT training a try officially. I’m tweaking my diet for only a minimal calorie deficit since I’m not trying to bulk right now, but I want to avoid being on any sort of contest like diet to reduce risk of injury and still have adequate fuel for recovery. After watching both "A Week In The Dungeon" and "Blood and Guts" for the first time this week and trying a couple workouts inspired by them I hopped on Dorian’s site and put together a workout based on the workouts there. I did make a few adaptations given the machines and and a couple exercises I prefer. The rotation will be 2 days on, 1 day off, 2 days on, 1 off, and repeating that cycle as long as I keep seeing gains from it. So, here’s what they’ll look like:

(*=warm-up set. Working sets are all out to failure/forced/negative)

Chest/Biceps
Smith Incline Bench: *1×12, *1×10, *1×8, 1×8
Hammer Chest: *1×10, 1×6-8
Incline DB Flys: *1×10, 1×8
Cable Crab Curls: 1×10-12
Machine 1 Arm Curls: *1×10, 1×6-8
EZ-Bar Curls: *1×10, 1×6-8
Incline DB Curls: 1×6-8

Quads/Hams/Calves
Leg Extensions: *1×15, *1×12, 1×10-12
Leg Press: *1×12, 1×10-12
Precor Front Squats: *1×12, 1×10-12
Prone Leg Curls: *1×10-12, 1×8-10
Stiff Leg Deadlifts: 1×8-10
Single Leg Curls: 1×8-10
Rotary Calf Machine (Straight Leg): *1×10-12, 1×10-12
Seated Calves: 1×10-20

Delt/Trap/Triceps
Smith Presses: *1×15, *1×12, 1×8-12
Seated Laterals: *1×12, 1×8-10
1 Arm Cable Laterals: *1×20, 1×8-10
Dumbbell Shrugs: *1×12, 1×10-12
Tricep Pushdowns: *1×15, *1×12, 1×8-12
Lying EZ Bar Extensions: *1×15, 1×8-10

Back/Rear Delt
Pullovers: *1×15: *1×12, 1×8-12
Barbell Rows: *1×12, 1×8-10
Hammer Arm High Rows: 1×8-10
Cable Rows (Long Bar, Wide Grip): 1×8-10
Rear Delt Machine: 1×8-10
Bent Over DB Laterals: 1×8-10
Hyperextensions: *1×12, 1×10-12
Deadlifts: *1×8, 1×8