As I did my cardio today my mind wandered (as usual) and I began thinking about the difference between hero worship and respect.  It got me thinking alot about the differences between the two and why one is dangerous while the other is the way to go.

With one, a person listens to everything someone says and tries to implement their life strategies in exact alignment with that person.  They tend not to question anything said or done by that person.  If the person is trying a new workout, people follow that workout without question.  When the person makes a bold claim, everyone falls in line without questioning the claim or asking for it to be proven true.  It is all about blind (or not so blind) following.  At times it can appear to be a love affair.

With the other, a person listens to everything someone says and then tests the veracity of what is said before trying to implement their life strategies in alignment with that person.  They question everything said or done by that person because they expect transparency.  If the person is trying a new workout, people ask for clarifications as to why that workout should be followed.  When the person makes a bold claim, everyone questions the claim and asks for proof that it is true.  It is all about digging deeper and gaining a greater understanding of the other person's world.

The first is hero worship while the second is respect.  Here worship is dangerous and can only lead to trouble down the road.  Respect is healthy and encouraged.  Respect enables us to learn something from the person we are respecting.  Hero worship is not healthy.  Respect is extremely healthy.  Hero worship takes you down the wrong road while respect enables you to learn alot.

While I understand hero worship, I encourage everyone to form their own opinions and make informed decisions at every step of the way.  It is why I get concerned about the things I read on other blogs at times.  It is why I try to be open and vulnerable on my own blog.  I don't want to mislead anyone.

Accountability Log:

Nutrition Log:

Workout Log:

PACE cardio on elipptical for 24 minutes.

Thought for the  Day:

Take it all in, consider all the angles and then make your own decisions.

Question of the Day:

Do you tend to fall more into the hero worshipper category or the respector category?

Until tomorrow…GET BACK TO LIFTING!5

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Today was body weight exercises for my workout and some cardio afterwards.  The people in the gym must have thought I'd gone insane.  There I was just yesterday cranking out an awesome leg workout and today I'm doing a bunch of body weight exercises!

The workout was very well balanced and well thought out.  I'm currently working through the Upside Down Training portion of the No Nonsense Muscle Building program from Vince Del Monte.  The concept is to improve the stabilizers before getting into the heavy workouts later one.

I am a true believer in having a bunch of diffferent programs in your arsenal so that you can rotate through the ones that work.  I have done Optimum Anabolics by Jeff Anderson and have worked through Marc David's No Bull Bodybuilding program as well.  I believe that having great programs like these in your arsenal gives you the weapons you need for bodybuilding success.  Today I purchased Advanced Mass Building from Jeff Anderson.  While I have not had the time to read through the program, I am sure it will be awesome because Jeff Anderson knows muscle.  Afterall, he is called the Muscle Nerd.

I'm noticing small changes in my body that tell me the fat burning is continuing.  The stats I'm taking on a daily basis are very revealing.  What's interesting is that all three body fat measurement tools I'm using have me at completely different body fat percentages, but they also have me down exactly the same amount.  This proves that the direction you are headed is more important than the number.

Today I noticed that my stomach was softer than it has been in the past.  I believe this is because of all the fat loss that has happened recently.  I am planning to continue with my progress and lose the weight/fat that I need to lose.

Accountability Log:

Nutriton Log:

Workout Log:

Thought for the Day:

Some things are not as easy as they appear to be.

Question for the Day:

What are you going to do differently today that will make a huge difference in your life?

Until tomorrow…GET BACK TO LIFTING!

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How does the principle of total immersion change how you plan?  Listen in for the answer in this brief podcast.

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Today was my first day using the No Nonsense Muscle Building program from Vince Del Monte.  It was a lower body and abdominals workout and I have not done just my lower body in a long time.  This workout was only an hour long and it was intense.  My calves were burning after being worked so hard!  My abs felt like they were going to rip apart.  I am now setting aside FYA for the time being just to see what results I get from this program's abdominal exercises.

I did end up letting my employee go today.  I will not go into detail, but suffice to say that I am comfortable with the decision.  The new person is coming on like gangbusters already and that's an awesome thing to see.

I did alot of thinking about the future today. I'm not sure why I was in such a reflective mood.  I also picked up a new headset with a microphone so that I can finally record my podcast.

I will let you know my “deep” thoughts once I've processed them.  I've been reading The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People by Stephen R. Covey and I think that's gotten me thinking.  I've spent alot of time in my journal lately (my handwritten one).  That, too, is getting me to think.

Accountability Log:

Nutrition Plan:

Workout Log:

Training Notes:  The Single Leg Leg Extension, Single Leg Hip Extension, One Leg Box Step Up, Single Let RDL with DB and DB Bulgarian Split Squat are per leg (so when I have 90 x 14, that's for each leg, so I did that twice).

This was a pretty intense workout.  Back extensions and RDL before the regular Deadlift added a new dimension to the workout.

Thought for the Day:

Change is a good thing when applied in the right way.

Question of the Day:

What do you need to change immediately?  Comment this article with your answer.

Until tomorrow…GET BACK TO LIFTING!

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Today was a rest day.  I spent some time doing planning for Mission 3 and setting up my workout logs for next week.  Vince Delmonte will have me doing an lower body and upper body split.  I will hit lower body one day, upper body one day and then have two days of body weight conditioning work.  This will go on for four weeks and is called Upside Down Training.  If you are interested in putting on alot of muscle, this guy's program is the way to go.

Vince gives the following advice for building Muscle:

Step #1

Committ to lifting weights at least three to four times per week. Your goal is to stimulate your muscles with resistance (stress) which results in your muscles growing bigger to avoid the stress from occuring again. Once you go home, let the muscle heal through nutrition and rest, it will grow bigger and you will repeat this process again. Ideally you should hit your muscles once every 72 hours so you could perform 2 upper body workouts per week and 2 lower body workouts per week.

Step #2

Focus on eating at least 5-7x a day with balanced meals from carbohydrates, proteins and fats. If your goal is to build muscle than you should be eating at least 15-18 x your current body weight. Your carbohydrates should equate about 45% of your intake, your proteins should equate about 35% of your intake and your fat should be the remaining 20% of your intake. You should focus on over half of those meals being solid whole food meals and the remainder can be liquid meal replacment shakes.

Step #3

You should focus on stretching at least half the amount that you lift weights. One of the biggest mistkakes I see is people training, training and training with out any stretching. Stretching helps restore normal length to the tissue and if you are constantly training, your muscle tissues will shorten and big to perform weaker and slower and have a higher incidence of injuries. So if you are lifting weights 4 hours in the week, at least an additional 2 hours should be dedicated to stretching. You must counteract the shortening of the muscle tissues that occurs with weights or else you are a injury screaming to happen.

Step #4

Avoid supplements that have not been around for longer than 3 years. I learned this phisophy from an Australian strength coach who recommended not trying any supplement until it has been around at least 3 years to pass the test of time. This will make your life much easier and help you avoid all the marketing hoopla in the latest fitness and bodybuilding magazine. If you follow this rule, you will discover only a small handful of supplements still standing. Here are the ones you should not go with out: a high quality multi-vitamin, fish oil capsules, powdered creatine and a protein powder. These products will cover your nutritional basis for health, healthy body composition, strength and muscle mass.

You really should check out Vince Delmonte if you're serious about building some serious muscle.

I spent the rest of the day working on my website.  It is just about ready for a preliminary launch!

For those of you looking for the podcast, my headset with microphone died, so I will be recording and posting it tomorrow.

What is PACE?

I have had several people ask what PACE cardio is.  I reviewed it previously, so please check out my review.

Accountability Log:

Nutrition Log:

Workout Log:

Today was a rest day.

Thought for the Day:

Failing to plan is planning to fail.

Until tomorrow…GET BACK TO LIFTING!

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