What's on my mind today?
Today was just a down day for me.  It was a rest day so that's what I did.  I spent time talking to a friend about some issues and find that it is always so frustrating talking to this person.  No matter how hard you try, this person doesn't completely listen.  That is how it seems to me.  I can't explain it and I'm sure they would disagree, but it really feels like I give them an explanation, I am told they get it, but in the end they don't really get it.  If they weren't so important to me I'd just give up and call it a day, but that isn't happening any time soon.

I spent about 2 hours today discussing why I said this or that and what the real meaning behind what I said was.  There were alot of perceptions this person had that were so far off that it wasn't even humorous.  In fact, they were not right even once when they tried placing a negative connotation on something I said.  All the negative connotations came from a misperception on their part that I then duly explained.  The explanations seemed to be accepted and things calmed down alot.  At the same time, it was frustrating and has me feeling the way I did in late June/early July.

At the same time, I learned alot about myself during that late June/early July time period, things that got me totally fired up.  I am about to embark on week one of Advanced Mass Building by Jeff Anderson.  Being pumped right about now is a great thing.  I will take the negative energy from today and focus it on my training.  I have work to do and I am going to do it.

Mission 1, Day 90: 10 to go!

Until tomorrow…GET BACK TO LIFTING!

What's on my mind today?
I got in a rather heated discussion today with someone close to me regarding this blog and my daily accountability pictures.  I was told that by doing this I am being selfish and everything is about me.  I was told that anyone who takes pictures of themself and worries about how they look is selfish.  I was really hurt by the comments, more than the person realizes, that is for sure.

I wonder how it is selfish to take daily progress photos?  I wonder why it is selfish to be living a healthy lifestyle?  I wonder what it is about wanting to get in good physical shape that is selfish?

I can hear alot of you already saying “They just don't understand what we do” but I am not willing to just accept that as an answer.  Whether you understand what we do or not, it is pretty harsh to call someone selfish for taking daily pictures.  The daily pictures I take involve nobody but myself. I have a tripod and I use it for the purpose of taking my pictures.  I don't interfere with anyone else's plans to take my pictures.  I don't insist that anyone else get involved with my picture taking.  I do my pictures when it is the most convenient.  I do them to track my progress and to be accountable.  By posting the pictures, I am not proclaiming how great I look or anything vain like that, I am merely saying “Here I am, hold me accountable for my actions.” 

The pictures tell the real story.  Anyone can sit behind a blog and claim to be doing great things and claim to be sticking to their plans, but the pictures won't allow you to hide.  If you are not doing the work you claim to be doing the pictures reveal that to the world.  The pictures are part of the checks and balances that go along with getting into good shape. 

When listening to how selfish I am, it brought me back to M340 Powerful Reasons Why and that got me thinking about each of those reasons.  Are they selfish reasons?  Yes, some of my PRWs are selfish, but alot are not.  I am reprinting them along with some commentary:

1. I want to win a bodybuilding competition in my age division (selfish)
2. I want to reshape my body (selfish)
3. I want to be healthier overall (not seslfish)
4. I want to lower my chances of heart attack, diabetes and stroke–all things that run in my family. (not selfish)
5. I want to prove every naysayer wrong–all the people who told me after my back surgery that I would never be able to lift again. (selfish)
6. I want my family to be proud of me. (not selfish)
7. I want to feel good about myself (selfish)
8. I want to be in the best shape of my life (selfish)
9. I want to be able to look at myself in the mirror and smile (selfish)
10. I want muscles (selfish)
11. I want to be around for many years to come (not selfish)
12. I want to be strong (selfish)
13. I want people to take notice when I take my shirt off (selfish)
14. I want to be appealing to those that matter (not selfish)

    
So alot of my reasons are definitely selfish, but alot are not.  9 out of 14 are selfish reasons, but is there anything wrong with finding motivation from selfish reasons?  Is the act of taking daily photos selfish?  Is wanting to be in the best shape I've ever been in such a bad thing?

Why do people feel the need to disregard an accountability blog like this?  Why don't they take the time to understand the reasons behind it before they bash it?

Selfish?  Not selfish?  I don't know, but I do know my feelings are deeply hurt by the comments that were made in that regard.

Mission 1, Day 89: Ratcheting up the accountability!

Until tomorrow…GET BACK TO LIFTING!

What's on my mind today?
I am always amazed at the things people think of.  At the same time, I am also amazed at what people will fall for.  In today's fitness world there are alot of shady characters.  One has to look carefully to determine the truth.  Unfortunately, most people don't use their resourcefulness to decipher fact from fiction.

I've noticed that certain people get a bad reputation because they communicate too much to their list of subscribers.  Why is that?  Could it be that the perception is they are too pushy?  I'd say that has alot to do with it.  I personally don't judge someone based upon the frequency with which they contact me.  Instead, I look over the information they provide and determine the value it presents to me.  If there is no value there, I have a low opinion of that alleged “expert”.  If the information they present has a high value, I will have a high opinion of the alleged “expert”.  Their expert status, to me, is directly proportionate to the quality of information they provide. 

Being resourceful means you have to determine how much you need the information someone is trying to sell you because none of us has an unlimited amount of money to spend on these things.  I have noticed that there are definitely those “experts” who provide us with recycled information.  It reminds me of a person who is a favorite motivational person of mine, but who I no longer buy his new stuff.  I am referring to Brian Tracy.  I have a great CD collection of Brian speaking.  It is full of great information that I apply to my life daily.  I've then bought a couple of his books.  After a couple of his books you quickly realize he repeats the same mantra over and over.  There's no reason to purchase any of his other products as they are just a repackaged version of what you've already read or listened to.  It is no different with alot of fitness “experts” these days.

If you are going to be resourceful, you have to learn from the programming that you buy.  After going through 1 or 2 programs you should know how to put together your own program.  This is why I advocate No Bull Bodybuilding by Marc David.  Marc teaches you how to program your own workout.  He teaches you what each exercise is for and that gives you power in the gym.  If you go in with a pre-made workout and one of the stations you need is busy, what are you going to do?  With Marc's instruction you can just pick an alternative exercise that does the same thing.  That's what freedom in the gym is all about.  It is an awesome thing.

Yes, I am about to use Advanced Mass Building by Jeff Anderson, but only because he teaches some amazing techniques in that program that I really want to learn.  Once I've learned them, I will utilize them to my advantage in the future.  Just as I've taken my favorite aspect of Muscle Explosion by Nick Nillson, I will do that with every program I go through.  I will learn from each program and use what I learn to put that into some great techniques for my bodybuilding.

Resourcefulness is an important tool in your tool kit.  Use your knowledge to learn about every single program you are interested in.  Don't buy anything without fully checking it out first.  You will be sorry if you do.  You will end up with rehashed information.  You will feel like you are experiencing deja vu over and over again.  You will also have a much lighter wallet in the end.  Buyer beware!

Set 1 — 355 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set 2 — 355 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set 3 — 355 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set 4 — 355 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set 5 — 335 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set 6 — 335 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set 7 — 335 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set 8 — 335 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set 9 — 335 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set 10 — 335 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set 11 — 335 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set 12 — 335 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set 13 — 335 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set 14 — 335 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set 15 — 335 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set 16 — 315 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set 17 — 315 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set 18 — 315 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set 19 — 315 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set 20 — 315 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set 21 — 315 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set 22 — 315 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set 23 — 295 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set 24 — 295 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set 25 — 295 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set 26 — 295 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set 27 — 295 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set 28 — 295 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set 29 — 295 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set 30 — 295 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set 31 — 295 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set 32 — 295 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set 33 — 295 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set 34 — 295 lbs. x 12

And so the week ends.  I had a starting set of 275 lbs. x 3 on Sunday and today I had 355 lbs. x 3.  That's an increase of 80 lbs. in just 6 days.  I increased my starting weight by 33% in 6 days.  Muscle Explosion definitely works for increasing your strength.  I am truly amazed and pumped at the gains I made in strength.  Now I'm ready to tackle some really heavy deads in the coming weeks.  To say I'm pumped up for my workouts next week is an understatement.  I am ready to go right now.  I'm upset that I have to wait until Monday to get going again.  If someone had told me I'd manage to pull off 34 sets of deadlifts in 40 minutes I'd have called them nuts.  What a great workout!

Mission 1, Day 88: In-depth analysis…don't be scared!

Until tomorrow…GET BACK TO LIFTING!

What's on my mind today?
Today I continued to use my Betaine HCL at every meal.  It is obviously way too soon to say if there is going to be a difference, but I'm going to give it my best shot.

Today I started thinking about meeting people where they are.  I thought alot about compromise and finding a mutually beneficial meeting point.  This is especially important in a fitness and nutrition scheme.  We have to know ourselves well enough to meet our needs properly.  In a sense, we need to learn to meet ourselves where we are.

Introducing The Gym Boss

I recently picked up a really cool timer called The Gym Boss.  It is available from http://www.gymboss.com.  This is a very unique timer device. It is capable of counting multiple intervals without your intervention.  You simply set up the interval (or intervals) that you want and start the clock.  It counts down to zero and beeps.  It then resets itself, ready to do another interval.  There is even an automatic mode that continually repeats the intervals you set.  

As you can see, this is a tiny device.  It is no bigger than a pager. 

I used it during today's workout.  It felt like I had a slave master pushing me along.  There was no going longer on the rest period because the Gym Boss continually reminded me to get back to work.  It was a much nicer experience with the Gym Boss than it was with my normal stop watch.

Set #1  – 335 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #2  – 335 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #3  – 335 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #4  – 335 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #5  – 335 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #6  – 335 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #7  – 335 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #8  – 335 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #9  – 335 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #10 – 335 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #11 – 315 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #12 – 315 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #13 – 315 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #14 – 315 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #15 – 315 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #16 – 315 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #17 – 315 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #18 – 315 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #19 – 315 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #20 – 295 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #21 – 295 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #22 – 295 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #23 – 295 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #24 – 295 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #25 – 295 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #26 – 295 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #27 – 295 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #28 – 295 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #29 – 295 lbs. x 9

For anyone who hasn't already read my explanation of the reasoning behind this workout, take a look at M3 : D86 Muscle Explosion Explained.   There is definitely a good reason behind pushing myself this hard.

I have learned through some reading that I'm not supposed to do this for as long as I planned (4 weeks) so I will be starting my new program on Monday instead of continuing this.  However, I will interject periods of this type of training in the future as I've seen nice strength gains over the week (started at 275 lbs. x 3 reps and now I can do 295 lbs. x 9 reps).

Mission 1, Day 87: Low energy today

Until tomorrow…GET BACK TO LIFTING!

What's on my mind today?
I have had a few comments and a couple of emails asking me why I am doing the style of workout I am currently involved with, so I figured I'd take the space in today's post to answer those questions.

I purchased a bottle of Betaine HCL from the Vitamin Shoppe today.  I am supposed to take one caplet with every single meal that contains protein to aide in the digestion of that protein.  I started with my 3rd meal and haven't missed yet.  I am very excited to see if this really works.  I did some research via Google prior to buying the product and the comment support what the nutritionist had to say.

Set #1  – 315 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #2  – 315 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #3  – 315 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #4  – 315 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #5  – 315 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #6  – 315 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #7  – 315 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #8  – 295 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #9  – 295 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #10 – 295 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #11 – 295 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #12 – 295 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #13 – 295 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #14 – 295 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #15 – 285 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #16 – 285 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #17 – 285 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #18 – 285 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #19 – 285 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #20 – 285 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #21 – 285 lbs. x 8

Again, I was totally pumped after this workout.  I must say, I was concerned about the reaction of my low back to this routine and so far it has been very minimal.  I have had a small amount of DOMs in my lower back, but nothing that slows me down at all. The bottomline is that I am getting stronger and I am so pumped up and ready to go after these workouts that it is incredible.

Mission 1, Day 86: The Fire Burns Hotter

Until tomorrow…GET BACK TO LIFTING!