Jettisoned Ponderings

This totally made my day! Check it out!

http://mybodysite.com/Publish/successStory.php?uid=13863

I’ve been given the opportunity to test Powerlab’s new product and wil be logging it in the forums for those of you who’d like to follow it!

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=117217571

Inspired by the calf routine that I’ve started doing again (extra rest days needed getting back into it as I haven’t isolated calves in months) I’ve tried changing the way I do my other lifts to be similar to it. The reps are being kept in the hypertrophy 8-12, early sets are taken at a slower tempo to still achieve good intensity and latter sets more explosively while still controlled, and forced reps done if a spotter is available. Warm-up sets are done as needed followed by 3 progressive load sets then one back down set. The back down should be around 75% of the set 3 weight. Reps are again slowed down and controlled and taken to failure. Gets a good pump and finishes exhausting all the muscle fibers. Each body part is hit with 3-4 exercises, no more than 2 body parts per session and no agonist muscles worked in the same session (ie do back/triceps, not back/biceps). For lifting I’m sticking with a mon/tue/thur/fri schedule for main lifts and still hitting calves in the mornings mon/wed/fri in a separate session along with some abs or light cardio.

Tonight should be a great lift. It’ll be my first time lifting with BrittRod and give me a good idea of where she’s at for strength and stamina. I’m very excited to be working more directly with someone again!

First, its nice to see that the home page finally got rid of the top profile, biggest blog and most comments nonsense. Maybe now people will make this place less of a popularity contest and stay on track with why we all should really be here. That was a breath of fresh air I’ve been meaning to comment on for a while.

Inspirational People, what a great idea! There are certainly more than 10 people I can think of, but I’m slowly adding a few to mine. I’m going with the people I have known on here the longest and who have truly kept pushing me to surpass my present self. I hope that perhaps I can be an inspiration to a few people out there, too.

Training partner, its all in the green! I’ll be starting to train with BrittRod tomorrow for legs. Surprisingly she hasn’t been following any sort of a structured routine. This should be interesting…

Food. The new diet is working beautifully! I’m going through chicken like crazy. At least there’s no room in the freezer to store any cheat foods ’cause its got 30lbs of frozen chicken at any given time, plus some beef for me since she’s off red meat now these last weeks of prep. Not to mention the extra fish fillets and bags of broccoli and green beans. Ahh, the details of the bodybuilding lifestyle…

Work: I have two jobs and I truly enjoy both of them now! I still am working at Max Muscle doing nutrition plans there. We also have another local wholesale online supplement store that I now work at both in the store retail, stocking, and pulling orders to ship out. The best part is that with both of these businesses there isn’t the crazy corporate overhead, or having to change plan-o-grams for some stupid promo. I’ve worked for Vitamin Shoppe and GNC in the past, and both of those were more political nonesense than they were worth. The best part is that between the two I get a heavy discount so that will in and of itself save me a good chunk of change (I’m gonna need it for all the groceries…).

The last detail is that my health is finally back to where it should be. I’m still getting chiro adjustments twice a week for now, but I’m feeling the best I have in a long time. People don’t realize how much some extra tension in their back can cause other systems in their body to be affected. I can breathe easier, sleep better, my body is digesting food better despite throwing over 4000 calories of whole food at it a day, I just can’t believe how much of a difference its made. Court’s now having work done as well to correct some issues (surprisingly she was in worse shape than me with a reverse curve in her neck) so overall the state of our household is really taking turns for the better.

Its a good day.

Now that I have days where I have to pack my 5 of 7 meals with me, I had to go get a new cooler. Capacity enough to hold 30 cans, or just one hungry aspiring bodybuilder’s rations for the day. Saves me having to cram two lunch boxes into my duffel bag and try to remember which one I put which meals in.

On another note, back in the 190s! The first couple days on the new diet I actually DROPPED weight down to 187, but as of this morning I’m back up and on track at 191. Still need to gain about 1.5lbs per week to hit my goal.

Next investment, a rice cooker and a giant bag of rice…

I spoke with her at the gym a couple nights ago and if it all works out between our schedules, I’ll probably start training with BrittRod in the near future. I’ve been wanting to do HIT with someone for a while, but need someone capable of spotting that much weight and also who wants to be training the same style. I mentioned the possibility of a program based on Dorian Yates’ style HIT and she perked up, "Oh yeah, I saw ‘A Week In The Dungeon’ and have been wanting to do something like that". Hopefully it all comes together. I know I need a partner to get the most out of that style training and its not an option with Court right now since she’s in her contest prep.

6:00 - Assault the alarm clock

6:30 - Meal 1
-1c (dry) oatmeal w/cinnamon
-1 banana
-1 tbsp natural PB (no added sugar)
-2 whole eggs, 6 whites

7:30 - Workout #1 (Calves/Abs Mon/Wed/Fri)

8:30 - Meal 2
-2 slices 100% whole wheat bread
-2 whole eggs, 6 whites
-1 slice pepperjack cheese

10:30 - Meal 3
-1c brown rice, yam, or potato
-8oz (cooked) skinless chicken breast

1:00 - Meal 4
-6oz (cooked, drained) ground beef
-1c (dry) whole wheat pasta
-1c red sauce

3:30 - Meal 5
-Same as Meal 2

6:00 - Meal 6
-Same as Meal 3

7:00 - Pre-Workout
-Dark Rage (30g carbs)

7:30 - Workout #2 (Mon/Tue/Thur/Fri)
-40g carbs w/electrolyte mix and glutamine
-BCAAs immediately post

9:00 - Meal 7
-2 Pop-Tarts
-2 Scoops MaxPro w/water

10:30 - Sleep

I have a goal, and its a bit of a lofty one… I’m going to be trying to bulk to between 220-230lbs by the end of October. For this one, I’m going to need some help from a friend to ensure as much lean mass as possible. The biggest thing will be pulling out gainer shakes and replacing them with whole food sources. I’m also going to be going up to 7 meals a day instead of 5-6. I’m working with Luis to fine tune the diet now and already prepping some extra food for this week. It’ll probably start out around 4000 calories and build up to 5000+ as the weight begins to increase. More on that later…

Yesterday we had some had a show here and a couple friends in town. One is prepping for Jr. Nationals in a couple weeks and had to get his workout in, so we all went to our gym to get a lift in. Hit chest and biceps starting off with incline dumbbell press. Last set I was feeling good, and having Luis there I decided to go all out since I had a solid spot. With good controlled form, after some help getting them up, got 3 full reps and 3 partials with a pair of 110s! (Heaviest we have at my gym) That really made me happy, especially since I was lifting on pretty low carbs and didn’t take in any additional or the Dark Rage before hand.

On a different note, just gotta give Luis props. He looks insanely good! This shot was taken 2 weeks ago (4 weeks out). Make sure to cheer for him!