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!

What's on my mind today?
Today I went to see a holistic nutritionist. He ran some computerized metabolic tests on me.  I did a resting test and a moving test.  It was amazing to see how it works.

First, he hooked up a mask around my mouth and nose and hooked that up to a computer via a tube.  He had me sit and read for 12 minutes.  All the while the machine was measuring how many calories I burn at rest and where those calories come from.  I will tell you the results in a bit.

He then had me move to the treadmill and had me on there for 15 minutes.  At the end he had me go into a recovery period.  The computer recorded everything.

All of this was very educational and exciting to me.

Set #1  – 295 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #2  – 295 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #3  – 295 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #4  – 295 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #5  – 285 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #6  – 285 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #7  – 285 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #8  – 285 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #9  – 285 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #10 – 285 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #11 – 285 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #12 – 285 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #13 – 285 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #14 – 285 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 7

Adding up the volume, I pushed 15,675 pounds during this workout!

What an intense, pumped up, incredible, energy charged workout!  17 heavy sets of my absolute favorite exercise in the world!  I left the gym pumped up to say the least.

Mission 1, Day 85: Making the tough decisions

Until tomorrow…GET BACK TO LIFTING!

What's on my mind today?
Those of you who read this blog very carefully will have noticed that my accountability chart has changed slightly for this week.  I increased my calories by 300 a day Monday through Friday.  I have also modified the lifting schedule.  As mentioned, I am doing just deadlifts all week.  I will lift Sunday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday this week.  On Sunday I did deads for 20 minutes, Wednesday will be 25 minutes, Thursday will be 30 minutes, Friday will be 35 minutes and Saturday will be 40 minutes.  I can tell you that after my Sunday session, I was very sore today. 

Today was hectic at work, but even there, things are changing.  I am making some major changes so that I take on more of a strategic, rather than tactical, role.  I will not be as involved in the day to day activities except for those I explicitly choose to be involved in.

I am also rewriting my eBook, Get Back To Lifting, thanks to some suggestions from Carlos DeJesus.  I want to make the book appeal to a wider audience and I want to share some of the newer revelations I've had.  This is going to consume alot of my time as I move ahead.

I also have some personal issues that are changing for the better.  I will not go into those right now.  Life itself is just going to get busier as the month of August progresses.

So, with changes in accountability planning, changes in nutrition, changes in working out, changes at work, changes on my book, and changes in my personal life, things are going to be crazy.

Are there things in your life that need to change?  Think things through carefully.  I didn't make the changes in my nutrition or workout schedule willy nilly. I gave alot of thought to where I was and where  I want to be and made adjustments accordingly.  You should be doing the same thing on a regular basis.  This does not mean jumping from one thing to another.  This means making small changes to effect your ultimate goal.  Do you even know what your ultimate goal is?  If not, you will need to identify that as well.

Mission 1, Day 84: Twelve Weeks!

Until tomorrow…GET BACK TO LIFTING!