Tom Venuto wrote a blog article about no pain, no gain. It got me thinking (as usual).

You always hear people say “no pain, no gain” but do they really understand what they are saying?  To me that phrase means train with intensity.  You are going to experience muscle soreness from an intense workout.  That muscle soreness just confirms that you are on the right path towards the accomplishment of your goals.  My goal is to compete in a bodybuilding competition one day in the near future.  This means I have to push my muscles to force them to grow.  That type of intensity brings with it soreness.  In fact, I don't think a day goes by that I am without muscle soreness until I hit my rest periods.

Remember that this type of pain is a sacrifice that we make.  We do it for our end goals.  As long as the pain you are feeling is not the type that accompanies an injury you are doing the right thing.

Today was a hectic day.  I am in the middle of integrating a newly purchased company from Seattle into our system.  I discovered that they are using SQL Server 2005 and not SQL Server 2000 as they had said.  Consequently, I have my Network Administrator setting up a SQL Server 2005 box today so that I can get at their data and make some decisions.

I've been doing more reading about nutrition. It is a subject that honestly fascinates me.  The science behind it is amazing when you understand it.  I really enjoy learning about the things that have changed scientific opinion from the past until now.  For instance, low fat was the rage for a long time and now it is not so popular.  It is quite common for bodybuilders to get 30% of their calories from dietary fat.  Afterall, fat is an energy source. 

The Chad Waterbury book, Muscle Revolution, has some interesting information on nutriton as well. Based on my own research, I believe some of what he has to say on that topic, but not everything.  He is a very sharp guy and has some tested opinions though, so I am keeping my mind open that I could be totally wrong on the things I disagree with him on.

Right now I'm reading a book about the Anabolic Diet and I am intrigued by what the author has to say.  He has worked with the WWF (World Wrestling Federation) and the WPF (World Powerlifting Federation) to help their athletes avoid steroids.  He uses his nutritional approach to help them maximize their body's ability to spur on growth.  His approach is extremely interesting.  As I have just started the book and have only gotten through an overview of the system, I will reserve judgment, but so far it looks interesting.  It can be adapted to a cut, a bulk or to maintain.

I have learned that it is not good to go extremely low carb for a long period of time. In addition, you should really only do it two times a year seperated by at least 3 months time.

Your body wants food. Ask any bodybuilder how they are able to workout so intensely and they will tell you it is because they eat. A friend asked me for advice on her workouts. She said she'd been working out hard and was always tired. She stated that it was her thought that working out was supposed to give her energy. I asked her about her diet. She eats 3 times a day and it only totals about 1200 calories. Her calculated need is 2200 calories. I advised her to bring her calories up to 1400, then 1600, then 1800, then 2000 and finally 2200. It is going to take her 5 weeks to fix the problem. This is her 3rd week and she's already seeing the benefits. Her scale weight is exactly the same, but her clothes fit more loosely and she has more energy. All of her lifts have improved tremendously as well. She's very happy with my advice so far.

I enjoyed my food today.  I ate alot of chicken and with the increase in carbs my energy levels are extremely high.  I am now really seeing the benefits of increasing my calories over the past several weeks.  It has done wonders for my overall look.

I am now on a mission to teach others the wisdomm of eating more.  As you know, I've been reading Muscle Revolution by Chad Waterbury.  He puts it so well:

“It might seem paradoxical, but fat loss is best achieved by consuming the largest amount of calories possible in order to keep your metabolism high and your workouts productive.

Many people simply don't eat enough calories when they're trying to lose fat.  I'll sometimes discover, when calculating the recommended daily calories for a client who's overly fat, that he's already eating fewer calories than he should.  When I have him start eating more, believe it or not, he'll lose fat.  His nutrition habits had stalled his metabolism, and the first step to getting it moving again was giving him enough calories to rev it up and allow him to have productive workouts.” (Muscle Revolution, p. 126)

The point is clear.  You need to eat.  Too many people miss this point.  When you are told that “maintenance calories” for you is 2000, that means that you need 2000 calories just to maintain your existing weight.  When you are told to cut the calories, the majority of people immediately think of cutting back on the food intake.  That is not the only way to create a caloric deficit.  What's wrong with creating a caloric deficit with exercise?  I personally believe that too many people cut their calories by restricting their food intake and then add in a ton of cardio and weight training and that puts their body dangerously close to the starvation mode we all know about.

So I read on Adam Waters' (Adam:  RTP Blog 2) where he says that all the covering up that is going on is not necessarily a good thing.  Adam recommends a 30 day coverup becuase he says that the coverup itself becomes a crutch.  While I can see the wisdom of this advice, I can also say that if a person is sticking to their nutrition and workout plans, I see nothing wrong with staying covered up for extended periods of time.  I personally do not plan to uncover completely until the end of Phase 2 (August 1, 2008).  I will probably show off different part sof my body as I go along, but I won't be completely uncovering until Phase 2 is over.

Throughout the workout I focused on the form and lifting speed.  I aimed to be perfect on every single rep.  It made for some really tough sets at much lighter weights than I'm used to pushing.  I haven't done 15 rep sets in a long time, so this was an interesting change for my body.