As I did my 45 minute cardio session today I was thinking about nutrition.  My mind tends to wander on the longer cardio sessions and today was no different.

I realized that I tend to eat a pretty routine menu.  I don't put in alot of variety for several reasons that I will now discuss.

Calories and Macronutrients:

It takes alot of work to get the calories right and the macronutrient ratios are next to impossible to get perfect.  Don't even try getting them (macronutrient ratios) exactly correct.  Get them in the ball park and you are good.  By eating the same thing I don't have to mess with that very much.

Ease of preparation

By eating the same basic menu, my preparation time is shorter.  I am able to make alot of the same food all at once and then bag it for later use.

Mental comfort

By eating the same menu I am comfortable mentally.  I know that I've met my calories and macronutrient ratios before I even begin.  I have a routine and it makes me feel comfortable.

Conclusion

These things make it much easier to be on a fat loss program.  I know exactly what to eat on a low carb or a high carb day.  It takes all the guess work out of the mix.

Accountability Log:

Nutrition Log:

Workout Log:

Final words of the day:

Don't ever give up.  No matter what adversity you face, never give up.  Every obstacle that arises can be overcome.  There is never a reason to give up.  Not getting the results you want? Make adjustments and work harder.  Things not happening as fast as you'd like? Relax and give it time, but most of all, don't give up.  It took us all time to get out of shape, so why does anyone expect to get back into shape overnight and with very little effort?  Injuries can slow you down, but they shouldn't stop you.  Surgeries from the past can create caution, but they should not eliminate your workouts.  Perseverance reigns supreme!

Until tomorrow…GET BACK TO LIFTING!

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Today I got up at my regular time.  My stopwatch and I headed to the gym for a workout of massive proportions.  I absolutely love my squat days.  I'm learning to love the good mornings and split deadlifts as well.

Today was another day of personal bests.  I keep pushing my body and it keeps responding.  They say that as long as you still have strength and can put in a good workout, your body is recovered and responding.  Mine just keeps responding.  I especially like the 4 day routine that I'm on.  I am now working through both workouts in the plan each week, so my volume has increased and I love that. 

There is just something about lifting heavy weights that keeps me going.  I've definitely decided that bodybuilding contests are in my future.  I've even found the my initial body goal.  Here it is:

That's the body I'm aiming for for the first phase of my bodybuilding career.  He isn't massive, but he is natural.  I like that.

I've been giving alot of thought to self-limiting beliefs and behaviors and I know that if you believe in yourself you can achieve anything.  It is all about believing you can do it.

Accountability Log:

Nutrition Log:

Workout Log:

OK, so those 1-1/4 squats are amazing, but the fifth set is the first time in my life that my legs failed during a squat.  I had the cross bars just about an inch above my lowest point in the squat.  After doing 4 sets of 255 x 8, I decided on the fifth set to go for an extra couple of reps to really kill my legs.  I did the 9th rep and went down for the 10th rep and I was completely unable to come back up.  I had reached positive failure on my squat, so I set the bar down on the cross bars.  What a rush that was!

At my gym, I do my Flatten Your Abs workout upstairs.  Today I had a hard time getting back down from the upper level.  My legs were jello!  Tonight my low back is fried from the good mornings and my hammies are crying out in pain.  DOMS–not sure why I love it so much!

Until tomorrow…GET BACK TO LIFTING!

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Those of you who know me and have been following my blog know that I use a stopwatch to time my rest periods.  It is a habit I picked up from Jeff Anderson's Optimal Anabolics program and it has stuck with me.  Today it helped me with an interesting observation while at the gym.

Today was my extra heavy day.  I aim to hit a minimum of 4 reps on every set.  I do 6 sets.  All of my workout (see the log below) was done in supersets with full rest (meaning I got 1.5 minutes rest between every exercise).  I started out my workout with very heavy bent over barbell rows supersetted with incline barbell bench press.  I worked extremely hard, pressing out some personal bests in the process.  When that was done, I strolled over to the squat rack to set up for my barbell push presses.

After getting the squat bar all set up, I headed off to the lat pull down machine for my first exercise of the superset.  I was cruising along with 90 seconds rest between each exercise.  I finished up 5 straight sets.  After the 5th set of push presses, I headed off to get some water and do my 6th set of lat pull downs.  As soon as my 5th set of push presses was done I hit the clock and set my towel on the bar.  Exactly 90 seconds later I was doing my lat pull down set.  It takes about 20 seconds to pull complete 5 reps. 

As I get back to the squat rack this guy is sitting on a machine nearby.  He comes up to me.

“Hey man, you are lucky.  I almost unloaded everything off the bar.”  he says to me with this sneer.

I look at him with a quizzical look.

“I waited for almost 10 minutes man…if you wanna hog the rack, come back when it isn't crowded” says the guy.

Mind you, this is at 4 a.m.  I could count on one hand how many people were in the gym.

“You didin't come close to waiting 10 minutes for the rack.” I replied

“You may be a big guy, but that doesn't give you the right to hold the rack empty for 10 minutes!” he starts getting louder.

“You know how I am 100% sure you didn't wait more than 2 minutes?” I ask

He starts to calm down.

“How?” he asks

“See this stopwatch?” I ask

“Yeah, I've seen you with that…what a stupid thing to carry around at the gym.  Are you some kind of nerd?” he asks.

“Well, this stopwatch always times my rest periods.  Today it is 90 seconds.  With the 30 seconds I spent at the lat pull down machine, my estimate of 2 minutes fits pretty well.” I respond

“Oh!  And yes, I'm a muscle nerd!” I add

“Wait….is your name Jeff?” he asks

“No, my name is not Jeff.” I respond.

“Damn!  I thought the muscle nerd was Jeff” he replied

“Well, he is, but so am I…but the point is that I didn't take 10 minutes to get back here.”  I finished up.

As I finished my exercise I could hear him behind me…

“Maybe I need a stopwatch too!”

I laughed!

Accountability Log:

Nutrition Log:

Workout Log:

Personal Bests: 

BB Bent over row, BB incline bench press (165 x 6), Lat pull down (190 x 6), Barbell push press (150 x 6). 

Tip of the Day:

Avoid crazy guys with no sense of time while a the gym!

Until tomorrow…GET BACK TO LIFTING!

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Today was a rest day for me and I had alot of fun!  I went to a hockey game and froze my butt off, but it was alot of fun.  I met up with alot of people I know from my past and we had some good chats.  It was a blast.

I did some reading in Championship Bodybuilding by Chris Aceto today.  While I didn't really learn anything new, it simply confirms my existing knowledge.  Chris spends alot of time talking about adaptation and how to avoid it.  He says something I know my friend, Mike Groom, will agree with.  “Heavy weights is the most basic stimulus causing maximal muscle fiber recruitment.  When you take a set to failure in the 6 to 12 rep range, rest assure all the 2b fibers — the one's that have the greatest potential for muscular growth — are recruited.” (p. 112)  Chris spends some time talking about the various splits that are available for bodybuilding.  He recommends different things for beginner, intermediate and advanced trainees.  While alot of it is common sense, Chris puts a different spin on it.  It is very interesting to read.

Accountability Log:

My first perfect day since the toe issue!

Nutrition Log:

Workout Log:

No workout today as it was a rest day!

Tomorrow begins more of the “No Mercy” workouts!  Check back tomorrow for the details.

Until tomorrow…GET BACK TO LIFTING!

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Today's podcast is all about nutrition science.  I promise, it is an interesting topic!

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