Looking at the above picture lets me know that I can, indeed, make my goals.  Just 23 days into this and I can already see how my stomach is really thinning out.  My chest is tighter and after measuring today, I've lost fat in my chest area as well.  It is odd because I would have thought my stomach would first have shrunk inward from front to back and then from side to side, but the opposite is happening.  I am thinner on the sides than I was 23 days ago.  It is all very motivational just when I need it the most.

Yesterday I talked about being exhausted in my workout (see Mission 1, Day 22: Exhaustion).  The feeling, as I described, was an awesome one.  I woke up this morning with the feeling that I had definitely worked my lower back (deadlifts) and I could feel my traps were quite sore (deadlifts, 2 point row).  My one disappointment was my chest.  It didn't feel sore at all…until I touched it that is.  Well, the disappointment quickly went away when I discovered that. Obviously, the exhaustion I felt was from working out to the fullest of my abilities.  I left everything I had on the gym floor yesterday. 

Today is a cardio day. As it is still early, I went and did a HIIT session this morning.  I will do another tonight.  It feels good, so good!

My nutrition is driving me crazy.  Yesterday ended up way too high in fat.  Today I'm struggling to meet my ratios.  It is a low carb day, but the carbs are honestly way too low right now.  I have not been having my usual yogurt and fruit and I think that is why my carbs are way too low at the present time.  I am going to have to make some small adjustments over the next few days to get things back to where they need to be.  I know my body and soon it will start complaining if I don't get things back to where they are supposed to be.  At the same time, it is all an experiment anyway. 

Tomorrow marks the next big milestone for the Shredder Council.  We begin a 12 week shred that ends on January 8, 2008.  I am so excited about the prospects of what we can all do during the next 12 weeks.  It is an amazing feeling really.  When you have the support of complete strangers who are all seeking the same types of goals as you it is possible to achieve anything.  The fact that I know they are there holding me accountable drives me forward.  I work alot harder because of their influence.  It is strange but wonderful at the same time.

It is about time for me to change up my cardio workouts. I am still sticking with 2 cardio sessions on non-lifting days and 1 on lifting days, but I think I'm going to go back to using The Cardio Coach workouts as they are structured and I need that.  Because the cardio coach workouts are longer, I think the plan will be to use them for 3 workouts each week.  I will have 8 cardio workouts a week, so I will use cardio coach for just less than half of those workouts.

That's it for now.  Until tomorrow…

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It seems that keepng the LBM up to goal levels during this time period is going to be difficult, but I've modified the plan (thanks to some advice from fellow shredders and a couple of others I've spoken to) and still want to hit the same LBM goal, just in a different way.  Right now I think I'm going to have to focus on body fat percent and get that down to where I want it.  When I get to about 7 weeks away from my final 100 day goals, I will hopefully be at a lower body fat percentage than my ultimate goal.  At that point, I will try to bulk up to reach the LBM number I'm aiming for.

Pictures and today's workout information will follow later today.  Today's photos will be the photos I send to Adam for his blog and the Shredder Council stats.

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I walk into the gym and first find the equipment I need to complete my giant sets.  I get everything set up and consider the weight I'm going to lift.  It has been a week since I've done deadlifts and I'm looking forward to them right now.  I rack up 95 pounds and do my warm up sets.  I go slow and deliberate, paying attention to my form as per Mission 1, Day 22: Deadlift explained.  After two warm up sets, I up the weight to 185 pounds and drop the barbell to the floor.  I then take a step back for a just a second.

As I stare straight ahead, I begin to visualize myself lifting the weight.  I've only lifted this heavy once before and I needed visualization to get there.  After visualizing myself doing the weight, I squatted down and got into position.  I thrust my feet downward as though I was going to push right through the floor.  At the same time, I began to lift the weight from the ground.  Every muscle in my body pushed and pulled to get the weight all the way up.  I continued this motion, up and down, for 10 repetitions.  I worked hard through each exercise–explosive pushups, Bulgarian Split Squats and a 2 point bent over row.  I did the mandatory 4 sets and moved on to the second giant set.  It was then that I understood what exhaustion while working out is all about.

I had pushed myself on the deadlift to match a personal best of 185 x 4 x 10 and now, as I was about to start the second giant set, I could see what it did to me.  The second giant set starts with deadlifts off a box with a much lighter weight.  If you've read Mission 1, Day 22: Deadlift explained you know how the arms are stiff like meat hooks.  Well, during the first exercise of the second giant set, my arms were quivering.  My traps were already sore and they were quivering as well.  This feeling just got more intense as I moved to the dumbbell bench press and then the walking lunges.  Every fiber in my body was quivering as I continued my workout.  It was an incredibly intense feeling.

Upon completing the final exercise, I walked over to the treadmills.  I could still feel my arms and traps shaking.  I had taken my workout to the level of exhaustion, but not the bad kind, the kind that forces growth.  I wasn't tired, I was energized.  I got on the treadmill and cranked out 30 minutes of steady state cardio.  I honestly felt like my stomach area was shrinking as I was doing the cardio. It was such an amazing feeling.

The workout log:

Exercise	Results (Weight/Sets/Reps)
Deadlift	185 x 4 x 10
Explosive Pushups	BW x 4 x 10
Bulgarian Split Squats	20 x 4 x 11
2 Point Bent Row	35 x 4 x 12 *[PB]
Deadlift from a box	85 x 2 x 20
Dumbbell Bench Press	35 x 2 x 20
Walking lunges	25 x 2 x 20
Seated Cable Row	80 x 2 x 20
*PB=Personal Best

Adam Waters spoke during the Group Shred about the burn after a workout and how good it felt.  I'm here to tell you that bringing your muscles to exhaustion also feels incredible.  I made a point of taking in 16 ounces of Cytosport drink and a protein shake with BCAAs and Glutamine immediately after the workout.  As I drove home, I felt completely drained, but slowly, I began to feel a strange energy.  It was like nothing I'd ever felt before.  Then I thought about my deadlifts.  I got a smile on my face because I knew that exercise had set the stage for everything that followed.

When you hit the gym, don't take anything with you.  When you are done, you should have left it all on the gym floor.  Your workouts  should take every ounce of strength you have to complete.  When your workouts get to that point, you know you are making good progress towards change.  Exhaustion, a feeling generally linked to bad things, turned out to be a huge motivator for me today.  Harness the power of exhaustion and you'll see what I mean.

Until tomorrow…

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As promised, here is the information about the deadlift.  I've scanned the pictures and I will add the explanations they are giving because I'm not sure you can read the information.  This is an awesome article from Musclemag and I highly recommend finding a copy of the magazine and reading through it.

The following is from page 168 of Musclemag, December 2007:

The Grateful Deadlift

Accelerate anabolism with this must-do exercise–your muscles will thank you
by Tim Rigby, MA     Photography by Jason Breeze     Model:  Andre Rzazewski

Although pulling a weight off the floor to your thigh level is a rather simple concept, no other movement encompasses the simultaneous power output of so many muscles within your body.  This requirement of synergistic efforts makes the deadlift the king of all compound movements.  The amount o foverall mass you can develop through the deadlift is unparalleled.  Keep in mind that to lift the heaviest poundages, your power must originate from recruitment of the legs.  That's why many weight athletes consider the deadlift to be the “upside-down squat.”

The Setup

Good positioning is tantamount to successful heavy lifting.  By lining up every part of your body in the correct position, you eliminate any weak linnks from spoiling your chain of movement.

Step 1:  Approach the bar with your feet perpendicular to the bar or slightly turned out for the best biomechanical position.

Step 2:  With your shins as close to the bar as possible, stick your butt down low so that your quads are parallel to the ground.

Step 3:  Grip the bar at shoulder width using either a pronated grip (shown here) or an alternate grip to prevent slippage.

Step 4:  Your legs should be just inside your forearms.

Step 5:  Keep your arms stiff–they are there as meat hooks and should not be used for pulling.

Step 6:  Tense your traps and keep them tight throughout the whole movement.  These muscles will lead you to verticality.

Step 7:  Keep your head (and eyeline) at a level just above parallel to the ground, but be prepared to tilt it back during the lift.

Step 8:  Lat involvement is crucial, but your arms should not make any sort of pulling action whatsoever.

The Takeaway

Any physics teacher will tell you the most difficult part of a lift like this is breaking gravity.  The inherent friction of the weight on the floor causes this obstacle.  Since your legs are your most powerful muscle group, they must take the lead in getting the weight in the air.

Mind-muscle
To maximize the deadlift's potential for generating anabolism systematically, you'll need to integrate the form requirements at each step of the lift. Go slow and learn the steps properly, and in time you'll have established the right mind-muscle connection to do the deadlift automatically.

Step 1:  The lift begins with an explosive press of your feet into the floor.  You should respond immediately to the pressing action.

Step 2:  Your butt will raise, and you'll feel the stress on your back.

Step 3:   Once you get the bar off the ground and generate some upward momentum, you begin to activate the upper and lower back muscles for an intense pulling action.

Step 4:  Keep your arms fully extended and stiff.  Resist the urge to pull the weight with them.

Step 5:  Maintain tension in the traps–they are your anchorman in this tug of war.

The Pull

Build, build, build the momentum!  Squeeze every last bit of power you can out of your quads as you transfer the empahsis of the pull support to your back.  This process should not be slow or deliberate–conjure up images of a snap, a jolt, a yank or a whip, and concentrate on speed.  You can rest when you're dead, so in themeantime we insist you focus on completing the lift of this particular dead.

Step 1:  As you reach the halfway point of raising the weight, focus on locking out your legs.  You've already completed the toughest part of the lift, so you must focus on sustaining the momentum just a little longer.

Step 2:  Tighten your abs for core support (and to fry your ab muscles) as the transfer of tension surges from your legs through to your upper body.

Step 3:  Lead with the lumbar.  Thurst your back, starting with the lower portion and ultimately pulling hard with the upper as you approach verticality.

Step 4:  Pull your traps back as forcefully as you can to round out the inertia.

Step 5:  Tilt your neck back and initiate a backward motion, bringing you–and the barbell–toward an upright position.

The Lockout

Hallelujah!  What a glorious feeling you'll get upon completing this lift with hundreds of pounds.  But don't just stop your body from moving when it appears the weight can't go any farther.  Make sure to pull every involved muscle group back as far as you can, including rolling your traps and keeping your neck high.  You can really round this movement out to squeeze every pulling fiber in your upper body and get an isometric benefit too.  If you can feel the exhaustion of taxing so many muscle groups, take comfort in the fact that you have lit the fire for growth hormone production and excellent all around muscle growth!

Leave your ego at the door
Suck up your pride and start with a relatively light weight to perfect your technique.  Don't be surprised if this skill development takes a couple of months.  Because of the full-body involvement in doing the deadlift, you will be more vulnerable to injury than during most other exercises.  While powerlifters use very heavy weights for sets of 3 to 5 (to build extreme strength), bodybuilders should use an appropriate weight for 6 to 8 reps for comprehensive muscle growth and maximal growth hormone production.

Step 1:  With your body now erect, shift your focus on rolling every upper body part back.

Step 2:  Make sure the bar is as high off the ground as possible (resting against your upper thigh).

Step 3:  With your legs locked, try to stand as erect as youc an with your back straight and your traps rolled completely back.  This position will ensure every muscle used int he lift has gone through the complete range of motion.

Step 4:  Keep your chin and eyes up and hold the lockout for a slight pause to get the full isometric benefit before lowering the weight.

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Wow!  Just the idea that I have to post pictures daily has me totally focused.  People tell you that you are doing well whether you are or not, but the pictures don't lie.

The idea of focusing on myself was something I could never fathom in the past, but now I know just how important it really is.  I am working very hard to make small improvements daily.  I know the importance of being healthier.  I am currently planning a visit to the doctor to have my cholesterol rechecked.  It was high the last time I had it tested (6 months ago) but my clean diet and the amount of oatmeal I eat should have it under control by now.

I'm excited about the future.  For the first time I feel like I know where I am going to end up with my physique transformation. Now I just have to do the work that will guarantee I get there.  The work needed is not easy, but it is worth it in the end.  I can tell you that I've grown to love going to the gym.  I had to adjust my weight schedule a little this week, pushing deadlifts off until tomorrow, but I did my two HIIT cardio sessions again today.  Nevermind being a fat burning machine, I now want to be a fat burning furnace, torching the fat off as fast as humanly possible.

Several people have asked about deadlifts and the article I read.  I'm going to scan it and post it here by the weekend at the latest because it is an incredible article.  Look for this article in the next few days.

Shredder Council, I have been remiss in visiting your blogs and plan to pick up the pace again this weekend and beyond.  Now that life is back to “normal” I think I can handle it!

Until tomorrow…

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