unimoose’s BodyBlog

So why is it that deadlifts scare me so?  I started out on the Max-OT workout and was pretty sore when it came to back day.  I had pushed myself on squats and two days later getting from a seated to a standing position (or back again) still caused aching in my legs.  So the first squats I did were just the 7′ Olympic bar.  I needed to work on my form anyway so it was probably best.  This past week I did them again but only with a pair of 25lb plates on the same bar.  I injured my lower back a few years ago and felt it there as I was doing them.  I think for now I’ll slowly add weight each week, it’s not for another 2 days but it’s already on my mind…

Today my mail arrived (first in 3.5 weeks) and my body fat calipers are here.  Time to figure out how embarrassingly high my BF% is and figure out a reasonable goal for the next 6 months.  The good thing is the other box I got today contains 12 cans of tuna,15lbs of brown rice and 4 boxes of protein bars.   I’ve been using fitday.com to track my protein/calorie intake so I’m definitely expecting to see results in muscle growth.  On top of that I’ve been doing 1 hour of cardio (warm up and another 45 min in the afternoon) to make sure I burn some calories.

Other than that, my copy of "Death to Smoochy" and my Patriots jersey came in so I have entertainment through Monday morning! LOL

So I went home on vacation for December.  It was great to be home over the Holidays and see family and friends.  The downside to it all was I didn’t workout once while I was home.  At first I tried to eat right but considering the selection of food I normally have in Afghanistan I wasn’t about to pass by too much good home cooking.  My wife made home made lasagna and I had far too much.

I’m back in Afghanistan now and it’s much easier to stick to my diet and work out.  I guess I will have to figure out a way to continue my healthier lifestyle when I get home.  You really have to wonder how  many of those people from the TV show "The Biggest Loser" do 6 months after the cameras stop rolling and are home surrounded by temptation again.  I’ve been back for about 2 weeks, a cold and jet lag kept me out of the gym the first week I was here.  I knew for a fact I just wouldn’t be able to give it my all.  Yesterday I started with the Max-OT 6 month workout.  The first workout was legs and I really made sure I pushed myself.  My legs are sore today from squats but man was it worth it.  Tomorrow my pecs will hurt because today was chest day!  Trust me, I’m still not lifting enough weight to brag about but I’m back on it and I have a goal.

If you’ve read my previous blogs you know that I’ve never been a fan of my physical appearance.  I’ve always been tall and never carried much muscle.  June will be my first trip home, my son graduates from high school, and I want to have a body I can be proud of.  I’m using fitday.com to track my foods, taking in more then my body weight in protein and starting cardio next week.  Somewhere in our wonderful mail system is a pair of body fat calipers, when I get them I will know what I want for a percentage and I WILL HIT IT!  Now to take some before pictures…

So it’s been a month plus since I started working out and trying to eat better.  Usually by this point I’ve stopped (read quit) for one lame excuse or another.  The other day was a real test and I didn’t realize it until after I got back from the gym.  I like to work out early in my day so I get up at 4:30 and go to the gym.  I don’t need to worry about anyone else, bumping into people, or waiting for equipment.  Plus I like the privacy and can take my time without being self conscious.  On Sunday I had to change things around a bit.  The Patriots were playing the Colts and I wasn’t going to miss that game.  With the time difference that meant waking up at 1:30 to watch.

I’m hoping that this is a sign of a greater commitment then in times past.  Hopefully this means I stand a much better chance with sticking to being healthier.  It’s definitely a sign that I need to look at my alarm clock more often!

The next night I went to bed a bit early but completely forgot to reset my alarm clock.  It went off at 1:30am.  I laid there in bed remarking how exhausted I was but decided that if I skipped that day it would be the first step down the road to skipping again and again.  So I dragged myself out of bed, did the typical morning thing and downed my energy drink without looking at the clock.  By the time I walked over to our camps gym I was getting excited about working out.  It was shoulder day and I worked them as hard as I could.  When I got back to my room about an hour later I was feeling pretty good, sore but good.  I turned on the laptop to talk to the wife and kids and looked at the clock on the laptop when it came up.  It took me a second to realize that if it was after 5pm in the states something was amiss.  I looked at the clock on the wall to see it was almost 3am!  Thankfully I was able to get another 2 hours of sleep.

I started working out earlier this month.  I started simple with a decent beginner workout.  After 2 weeks I moved to a more advanced workout which I mentioned in my last blog.  That lasted for about a week.  Tell you the truth it kicked my butt!  So I backed down for a couple days and added some of the exercises to my old workout.  The thing is when I left the gym I didn’t feel as if I got the most out of my time.  I tried it for a week tweaking and tuning stuff here and there but only felt like I was working parts and missing a lot in between.  So I went back to the advance work out, one major muscle group a day from every angle.  When I do legs my legs are exhausted, arms, shoulders, chest are completely spent on the way back to my room.  I feel like I accomplished something with my time.  For a majority of the first month I looked forward to Friday.  Friday is my off day.  I wake up at 4:30am to work out and on Friday I get to sleep in.  Tomorrow is hamstrings and I’m looking forward to it but not as much as Thursday.

Thursday brings me to my other first.  One of my reasons for wanting to workout is my upper arms are pretty small.  I work with a lot of big (muscular) guys so I actually feel a bit self conscious if my short sleeve shirt doesn’t cover my upper arm.  The other day I looked in the mirror while I was brushing my teeth and noticed something.  I’m getting arms.  I would have to say my bicep area has increased almost X2 and my triceps just as much.  It’s nothing to really make me impressive but it’s a big step and a change I can see.  Thursday is arm day and I can’t wait to work them out again.  Seeing results is the biggest motivator.  It’s pretty exciting.  I don’t get the muscle "burn" that most people do but man is it hard to move those muscles that I’ve worked.  Today was shoulders and when I walked out of the gym lifting my arms took a considerable amount of effort.  My last exercise was one arm cable laterals and for the final set I needed to use one arm to help the other start the movement.  I’m looking forward to going home the end of next month.  The wife only sees me on the webcam and while she knows I’ve been working out she has no idea how my appearance has changed.  I’m excited about it.  For the very first time in my life I’m actually looking forward to going to the gym and my physique!

This is pretty big for me.  When I was growing up I had acne very badly.  Even at 40 I have a continuing issue with it and my back and butt are covered with the scars.  Add to that fact that when I was 18 I was 6′4" tall and weighed 160lbs.  I was bone thin.  I didn’t really put on any weight until my 20’s but even at 195 (Sophomore year of college) or 220 (graduation weight) I was never really in great shape.  I’ve never really been happy with my body’s appearance so I ignored doing anything about it.  It was just easier to do.  So this is a pretty big step for me.
Unfortunately I left my camera at home when I flew back from my last leave so I don’t have a decent before picture.  In the one I attached you can see that my arms aren’t really that much to show off.  The only thing I ever really worked to avoid was a beer gut so instead of a spare tire I have a spare inner tube.  A half hour on the treadmill 6 nights a week is helping with that too.  Feeling better on top of it is an even bigger plus.

So I continued on my original workout for 2 weeks and increased the number of sets.  For the first week I felt the soreness I expected but by week 2 it was gone even though I had increased weight as well in most exercises.  This week I changed things again.  I found a decent workout online that targets one major muscle group every day for 6 days.
http://bodybuilding.about.com/od/weighttrainingprinciples/qt/onemusclesplit.htm

Right now I’m trying to fine tune what I’m doing for weights so I can get the most out of each exercise without jeopardizing form.  So far this week I’ve done the chest and back days.  After day 1 I came to the conclusion that my head was far too high for my arms to reach in the shower! LOL  Tomorrow is shoulders, I’m sure by the end of that day I’ll be more then happy to do legs the following day.  I’ve also been using more free weights then cable machines to get more of a work out for the supporting muscles and such.  Thanks for looking, any advice is definitely appreciated!

One of the best pieces of advice I saw on this forum was a person answering a question for a new member.  His suggestion was to start slow and build up instead of trying to change everything all at once.  So for the past 3 weeks I’ve slowly changed what I’m doing.  It started with my diet.  One cup of coffee in the morning, no soda, no fries, and no junk food.  I give myself one day a week to eat something bad for me so I won’t completely crack but it’s been paying off.  The following week I started doing cardio.  I started slow, running at a moderate pace for 1 minute and walking for 4 minutes for a full 20 minutes.  This week I started weights.  Nothing earth shattering but my plan is to work up to working out.  I do 5 exercises, 2 sets each, that work the major muscle groups.

Day 1 is legs.  Squats, leg extensions, leg curls, and calf raises.  Day 2 is the upper body.  Bench press, seated row, curls, tricep push down and shoulder press.  I finish each workout with 2 sets of crunches and take 1 day off a week, which coincides with my off diet day, and use both MuscleTech NaNo Vapor and Optimum 100% Whey Protien.

Add to all of this that I work as a private security contractor in Afghanistan.  My menu is pretty limited but I’m used to working with what I have.   Well, that’s it for now.  Thanks for reading, if anyone reads this…

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