Jettisoned Ponderings

I’ve decided its time to really refine down my "Friends" on this site. Having 300+ is just ridiculous and honestly, the vast majority don’t use this site frequently for bodyblogs or updates that I would love to know about. Most are just useless fodder and people posting redundant progress photos to try and boost their hits for a personal advertisment or get more affiliate hits for supplement referrals (you all know which company I’m talking about). As well, I’ve left all but one BodyGroups. I figure that the people who really want to have me as one of their friends on here can message me. Most people probably won’t even notice that I’ve removed them, and that’s fine. This site has grown massively since I first joined it when it was only a couple months old. I still keep in touch with the few people that I’ve talked to the longest time on here. I’m all for making new friends, but really, if someone isn’t an individual that I admire on some personal level, or an immediate peer, then I don’t need all their status updates and what not cluttering up my page that I would rather use to keep tabs on those few I care about most. So… with that, if I’ve removed you and you still want to keep me as a friend on here, please accept my apologies, shoot me a comment or a PM and I’ll add you right back! To me, a "Friend" needs to be more than just a click of a button.

Since I’m now done with my cycle for a bit, time to adjust the diet accordingly to maintain the new weight. I could keep pushing to bulk, but having gained some bodyfat already, I’d like to keep that under control. Plus, I’ve been toying more recently with the idea of using more rebounds to make gains and based on how the last one went, I really thing I’ll stick with it for a while. Basically, it will consist of cycles of 2 weeks low carb, 4-6 weeks of bulking, then 2-4 weeks of maintaining. The duration of each will depend on how long I’d done the previous and also whether I’m opting to run a cycle at the time as duration of those will vary based on the product used and how long of a PCT is warranted. I’ll only be dropping the calories significantly during the weeks before a bulk to slingshot the gains. Otherwise, I plan to take the post-bulk leaning out at a slower pace to stress out the body less. With that, I’m bringing my calories down now to around 3100 from the 4400 I’ve been doing the past 6 weeks. There are still plenty of carbs in the diet to maintain fullness and give energy for the lifts. I’m hoping it’ll all work out and will be eager to give the next bulk run a shot. After all, that’s where the most gains are made and who doesn’t love that?

The day started off well waking up refreshed from a good night’s sleep for a change. Then things went to crap. While making breakfast I noticed my new rice cooker I’ve only used once had died. Great. That and since the first batch of rice turned out OK, I’d already thrown out the receipt. At least I still have the original packaging and can make an attempt to exchange it after work. Besides being an annoying inconvenience, and possibly out some cash if I can’t get them to return the thing, it threw a wrench in things since I don’t have all my food made for the day now. Today is also my early day to work, so I only have 2 of my remaining 5 meals prepared for the day. Half way to work I realize I’d also left my wallet in my gym bag last night and phone on its charger, so I was late to work. Now I’m sitting here, hungry, trying to figure out what sort of sustenance I can get since the only things near me (I’m the only one at my shop today open to close, so I can’t drive anywhere) is a Quiznos or a pizza place.

…on the upside, at least I remembered my water today and its Friday.

Initially I attempted 720, but after getting 13 reps on it I found that my dearest wife hadn’t actually hit the record button on the camera. Oh well, so I turned that into an excuse to max out the machine with 810lbs and give it another try. This is how it ended up (and yes, I’m quite sore this morning!):

585 for 4 reps tonight! Even with padded straps this one hurt a bit digging in. I’m not really training for strength power right now, but for back day I do throw in one heavy lift for the time being. Weight seems to be leveling off in terms of notable gains this cycle, however strength still is on the rise. I’m hoping I can squeeze out just a little more next week, but it’ll be a close call. I’d like to hit 210 (morning weight, I’m usually around 210.5 come bedtime) so we’ll see what happens…

When I started this bulking process almost 5 weeks ago, I set a goal to reach 220lbs by my birthday at the end of October. At the time, that goal had me needing to gain just under 2lbs per week. Doable, but not exactly an easy task, but things had been planned before that to give me all the advantages I could take. My work routine is now consistent day to day and both jobs allow me to get my meals in on time the vast majority of the time. Having my phone reminders set helped immensely the first two weeks and now I’m a machine on a clock ready to be fed at regularly scheduled intervals. Calories have been well over 4000 per day, typically in the 4200-4400 range. Minimal adjustments have been made to it, but I’m finally acclimated to it. Some people say, "You’re lucky, you get to eat so much!" Well, its still a diet, people. I don’t eat this way because I like it. The body is a machine and this is how it has to be fueled to perform the way I want it to. I’ve had to add in detox supplements just to help my system push this much food through me since the only non-food part of my diet is a couple scoops of protein before bed. I don’t have the luxury of half my meals being liquid like before.  The nice thing is that when it all came together I’ve heavily exceeded my own expectations! I’m now to the point that I need to gain less than 1lb per week to hit my goal instead of 2lbs per week based on the initial timeline. This is where I’m stepping into uncharted territory. I’m now at the point that any weight gain going forward will be new records. Its exciting to have to wrap my head around a whole new realm of possibilities. With that comes new goals…

I’ve decided to go all out on mass gain through the remainder of this year. After that I am now planning to get my NPC card next year and compete the first week of April. I will be aiming for a contest weight of 195-197lbs, so I will need an off season weight of 230-240lbs. Come what may, I’ve made up my mind to aim for light-heavy weights. Most likely I will be looking to train with our friend and coach Rita Rae. Not many people have the luxury and opportunity to be able to train locally with an IFBB Pro. I’m looking forward to the experience, honestly. I very much like the process of discovering my own body and building my own workouts and nutrition. However, given that I’m completely stepping out of my comfort zone now I’m reaching out for more assistance to save myself the time, trial, and error, to learn from those more experienced. Getting some nutrition help from a national level competitor, Luis Santa, has made a massive difference. Now, having someone with a trained eye to see my biggest areas that need improvement will be an even more valuable asset.

So that’s where I’m at for now. Get as big as possible this year, kick over to prep mode in January, and hopefully bring home some hardware in April!

Quick update. I’m back over 200lbs now having weighed in at 201 yesterday. This cycle’s been going marvelously. Only once have I had some low back/kidney pain and that was completely my own fault from getting in only about a half gallon of water that day. It all cleared up as soon as I was properly hydrated and getting in closer to 4litres a day again. Strength and recovery have both noticeably gone back up. Tonight made me really happy when I didn’t need a spot to push out 8 reps on Precor front squats (power stance) with 630lbs loaded up on it. That machine has made its mark as one of my favorites as I love front squats but hate the pressure on my clavicles going heavy, even on a Smith machine. Plus the slight rake on the foot pad lets going deep be all the more comfortable. I’m determined to load it up for 8 reps at 720 or more by the end of this run!

This week’s been rough with respect to the diet. The food hasn’t changed, but for whatever reason its been pretty uncomfortable to have to push down my usual food. Its the same thing I’ve been eating easily the last month, but just this week its all been sitting heavier in my stomach right after eating. Hopefully that eases up soon. I’m still toying with some minor changes to make, actually reducing the carbs a bit mid day taking out the pasta and adding in some veggies and nuts. Pushing this many complex carbs it tanking my energy mid-day and I need to lighten it up a little somewhere without dropping the calories. So instead of pasta and ground beef it’ll most likely be steak with either green beans or broccoli and almonds.

I’m sure I’ve forgotten to mention something, but at this point its time to get some sleep and recover from the leg abuse incurred by the changed up and more intense routine tonight. Tomorrow morning should be… domsy.