Bodybuilding Secrets Exposed
I just finished the push up challenge week 2 test and got 33 push ups in, which is an increase of 5 from last week! I'm very happy with those results. I apologize. I'm still trying to find a bright enough spot in the house to do my videos and so this one is dark, but you can see me doing my push ups. I thought of going outside, but it is raining today, so that axed that idea.
Here is the push up video as posted on YouTube.
I received this from my follow-up coach from Global Fitness:
| What does the future hold?
The future holds nothing. And it has room for everything. No crystal ball can accurately bring it into focus because there are just too many possibilities. Certainly you can get an idea of what is likely in the future. But the best thing about your future is that it's up to you. < ?xml:namespace prefix = o /> What kind of a future would you like to see? Today you have an opportunity to answer those questions. More importantly, you have an opportunity to fashion those answers into reality. |
What does your future hold?
It is the home stretch. I have 28 days left in my mission and 12 days left in my first 84 days. I threw down the gauntlet a few days ago and upped every goal I have. I mean business and I intend to nail this mission.
Today was one of those days where you think alot about change. I drove through some areas I hadn't been in for a decade and was amazed at the changes. That, inevitably, got me thinking about change and how we can cause change to happen. It is a topic near and dear to anyone visiting this blog because we are all trying to change our physiques in a drastic way.
Time is a necessary element of the changes we are trying to accomplish. Nothing happens overnight. It is all about the time and effort we put in. I have 12 days left until my first 12 week mark. I intend for those to be the best 12 days of the entire first 84 days. Once I hit that marker I will be heading towards the finish line of my first 100 day mission.
I did some writing for my eBook today. It is a fun task because I know when I'm done I will be helping people. At some point prior to releasing this eBook I plan to give my readers (and most especially The Shredder Council) a preview of portions of the eBook. I will expect feedback from all of you.
Accountability Log:
| Mission 1: Day 11 of 40 | Accountability | ||
| Meal/Training Plan: Real-time accountability | Each task completed? | ||
| Day 72: January 5, 2008 | Yes or No | ||
| 6:00 a.m. | Meal 1: Protein shake with glutamine and 15 g. of oatmeal and 3 glasses of water | Yes | |
| 6:00 a.m. | Supplements: Animal Pak, Glucosamine Chondroiten, calcium, chromium, glutamine | Yes | |
| 7:30 a.m. | Meal 2: Protein shake with glutamine, BCAAs and chromium and 2 full cucumbers and 3 glasses of water | Yes | |
| 9:00 a.m. | Meal 3: Turkey with cucumber salad and 3 glasses of water | Yes | |
| 12:00 p.m. | Meal 4: Chicken breast (6 oz.) with large salad 3 glasses of water | Yes | |
| 3:00 p.m. | Meal 5: Chicken breast (6 oz.) with large salad and 3 glasses of water | Yes | |
| 6:00 p.m. | Meal 6: Chicken soup with no noodles, with bean sprouts, cabbage and serrano chilis and 3 glasses of water | Yes | |
| 9:00 p.m. | Supplements: Protein shake, glutamine, calcium and 3 glasses of water | Yes | |
| Accountability Areas: | Points | Possible | |
| Meal 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Meal 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Meal 3 | 1 | 1 | |
| Meal 4 | 1 | 1 | |
| Meal 5 | 1 | 1 | |
| Training | 1 | 1 | |
| Post Workout Nutrition | 1 | 1 | |
| Water | 1 | 1 | |
| Pre-sleep nutrition | 1 | 1 | |
| Accountability | 1 | 1 | |
| Daily Totals: | 10 | 10 | |
| Mission Totals: | 97 | 100 | |
| Workout Log: | |||
| Rest day today |
Yes, today was a rest day and it was so hard to take the rest, but I know my body needs that time to recover. I've managed to hit 97% of my marks in the first 10 days of my accountability plan. I'm actually very surprised by that number.
Updated post on 1/6/2008:
I thought I would post my Day 1 side view picture alongside my Day 72 side view picture. What do you think?
Until tomorrow…
Today my podcast continues to take a step away from the favorite exercises theme and focuses, instead, on the topic of self-motivation. I give you numerous tips for getting motivated and staying that way. I hope you enjoy the content.
In keeping with how my mindset has been lately, today was all about building the intensity. Intensity is the key to success in sports, especially in body building.
In order to up the intensity, attention must be paid to strict form. Therefore, today's workout involved me rechecking the form on all my exercises. Over time we tend to get sloppy and I was no different on my “lighter” exercises. My squats and deadlifts were spot on, but other exercises not so.
Part of upping the intensity is pushing your endurance levels. This means taking the set to the point of temporary failure. This causes a severe burn that lasts 20 to 30 seconds. This is where you need to know your body and listen to it. Push it to the point that it is just unable to complete another rep and you are going to see gains.
You need to prepare yourself mentally for the increase in intensity. You convince yourself that you can survive the pain associated with the workout. By doing this, you guarantee your success during your workout. It is definitely a mind over matter type of thing.
Declare victory over your fears, feelings and self-doubts. When you manage to get out 12 reps of an exercise, challenge yourself to increase the weight by 10% the next time. By doing this, you will drop your reps into the range of 8 to 10, but you can do it if you tell yourself you can.
Use your mind to tackle the issues you face in the gym. If you are trying to up the weight on an exercise, don't be scared to do it. Get it in your head that you can do it and you will do it. When I started squatting, I was afraid to hurt myself. I pushed myself and told myself that I could do it with proper form and not hurt myself. I went from squatting the empty 45 pound bar to squatting 250 pounds in about 6 months time.
Speaking of squats, today I used a new product I found called the Manta Ray. The Manta Ray is a squatting tool that clicks onto the bar and allows you to focus on the lift rather than holding the weight in the right spot. I believe you will be seeing my personal bests get destroyed using this tool.
You can check out the Manta Ray here.
Accountability Log:
| Mission 1: Day 10 of 40 | Accountability | ||
| Meal/Training Plan: Real-time accountability | Each task completed? | ||
| Day 71: January 4, 2008 | Yes or No | ||
| 3:30 a.m. | Meal 1: Protein shake with glutamine and 15 g. of oatmeal and 3 glasses of water | Yes | |
| 4:00 a.m. | Supplements: Animal Pak, Glucosamine Chondroiten, calcium, chromium, glutamine | Yes | |
| 4:30 a.m. | Workout: Lifting and 30 minutes of steady cardio with 3 glasses of water | Yes | |
| 6:00 a.m. | Supplements: Protein shake with glutamine and chromium and 3 glasses of water | ||
| 6:30 a.m. | Meal 2: Tuna (6 oz.) with large salad and 3 glasses of water | No | Missed |
| 9:30 a.m. | Meal 3: Chicken breast (6 oz.) with cucumber 3 glasses of water | Yes | |
| 12:30 p.m. | Meal 4: Chicken breast (6 oz.) with large salad and 3 glasses of water | Yes | |
| 3:30 p.m. | Meal 5: Chicken breast (6 oz.) with cucumbers and celery and 3 glasses of water | Yes | |
| 6:30 p.m. | Meal 6: Chicken breast (6 oz) and large salad and 3 glasses of water | Yes | |
| 9:00 p.m. | Supplements: Protein shake, glutamine, calcium and 3 glasses of water | Yes | |
| Accountability Areas: | Points | Possible | |
| Meal 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Meal 2 | 0 | 1 | |
| Meal 3 | 1 | 1 | |
| Meal 4 | 1 | 1 | |
| Meal 5 | 1 | 1 | |
| Training | 1 | 1 | |
| Post Workout Nutrition | 1 | 1 | |
| Water | 1 | 1 | |
| Pre-sleep nutrition | 1 | 1 | |
| Accountability | 1 | 1 | |
| Daily Totals: | 9 | 10 | |
| Mission Totals: | 87 | 90 | |
| Workout Log: | |||
| Squats | 230x4x10 | [PB] | |
| Deadlifts | 230x4x10 | [PB] | |
| Bulgarian Split Squats | 30x4x10 | ||
| Step ups | 25x4x10 | ||
| Chin up challenge | (70) 5×5 | ||
| Reverse Crunches | 17×3 | ||
| Push up challenge | 30;22;22;19;30 |
In closing, the message today is to build the intensity. Search your soul and determine whether or not you are pushing yourself as hard as you can. Are you taking it easy? Are you taking the attitude that you can always just do better tomorrow? If so, you are short-changing the progress you could be making. Push yourself. Stop babying yourself. You are capable of alot more than you think. Dig down deep and increase the intensity.
Until tomorrow…
