Wuditlooklike

Last weekend, I thought it'd be funny to snap some pics for old times sake in the bathroom. This is especially appropriate with the previous post. This is me, 74 weeks out from the 2010 NPC whatever, haha.
Oddly enough the leg cuts have remained. Some say that you can carve detail in the muscle, but others advocate that muscle separation comes from size and development, not refinement.
My shoulders are lagging, but they always lag- the chest is thicker than previously- if only I could keep this size when I diet.
Here you can see the back- and the imbalance with my shoulders becomes really apparent.
Oh well, bodybuilding's not a sprint, it's a marathon...


*wuditlooklike=old old Redman song...

Shadow of my former self...

This weekend I was hanging out with some of my extended family.
The number one topic of discussion when I haven't seen family in a while is bodybuilding. Either uncles or cousins will want to size me up by asking me how much I bench (and they're usually baffled that I dont bench), or they want to know how they can get back into fighting shape (don't we all?)

My good cousin John was singing my praises and bragging to other family that under shirt lies a beast, an impressive one at that. "This guy is cut like u wouldn't believe!"

Here's where the off season shame of a bodybuilder comes in. I see the pro ball players, big, strong, fast, and cut up all year long.TO's got 99 problems but his 6-pack aint one...

As a competitive bodybuilder, I am in the best shape of my life one or two times a year, and decent shape the last half of my prep, usually 8 weeks out of the year. The rest of the time, I am a complete blubbery mess. Ok, not really, but I am definitely nothing close to what I've looked like on stage. When you open the door to muscle gains, a hint of fat usually sneaks in with it. Depending on your genetics, some get more fat than others. I'm what they'd call a mesomorph (although I used to think I was an ectomorph, or hard-gainer, but I was just not eating enough.) Ironically if your fat gets too high it will also inhibit muscle growth, so it's a fine balancing act.

Call it luck, (good for me, bad for her), but when I met Carrie, I was in the middle of my first contest prep. I remember telling her, "Don't get used to this, I dont look like this all year long."

But being the good woman she is, she hasn't minded my less chiseled physique.

I am my harshest critic. Reading the mags and websites etc. I hold myself to a pretty rigid standard, probably against guys who are like me, only in shape a small window of time. Hell look at Lee Priest. It's nice walking around looking like a beast, and it's pretty disconcerting when the shirts that were tight loosen up, but there's got to be a happy medium!

Lee Priest, ~300 lbs
Lee Priest, 200 lbs

Here I am, more than 6 months later, and I think my deep seeded fear of the treadmill has subsided. I find myself employing the tabata method , followed by 30 minutes of moderate intensity (3.0 mph, 10% incline) cardio 2-3 times per week. I'm even doing abs, even though it bores me to complete death (but is helping on my big exercises like deadlift/squat.)

Diet wise, I'm getting my protein in, and tracking it on my iPhone, but I'm still eating what I want. Deprivation is not something I'm good at.

I look at my contest pics, and would love to walk around like that all the time- but I remember all too well what it took to get there. So for now I'll let people think that I'm walking around like TO, until I can figure out a more humane way to get the physique to brag about- I'll just learn to live with the guilt.

Weights?

We don't need no stinkin' weights...

This is Dumb

Only a bodybuilder...

Three day weekends sorta bug. I train Monday, Wednesday, Friday. After 3 day weekends, I have to train 2 days back to back, and that's pretty draining, so I tend to dread the extra days off.

But we got big change coming, and we need to tip our hats to Dr. King for making this change possible. Word.

Go Get It!

When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: “If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.” It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything–all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure–these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart. -Steve Jobs

If you ever feel too good about yourself,

"they have this thing called 'the internet.' You can find a lot of people there who don't like you." -Tina Fey

"You have no balls, but I should of figured that with all the steroid use!!"

Someone in my family thought they'd take me down a peg or two by insulting my lack of testicular mass. As I've stated time and again, accusing a nattie bb'er of juicing is the highest compliment you can get. Being compared to my enhanced counterparts is actually an honor!

Just what I need, a bigger head. Lolz.

Stay on that grind...

This blog used to be called: "A 16 Week Journey to Enhanced Muscularity."
After my show in May, the title was no longer appropriate.
It's new title is sort of an homage to what I hope is a lifetime pursuit of being a better me.

Though I'm a lot better than I used to be, I still find myself, from time to time, obssessing over my abs, or a missed meal, or *gasp* a missed training session.

I think I found someone I could relate to, and his name is Mike Walker.

You can't buy that kind of joy!

His headline is: "Man Solves Rubix Cube After 26 Years of Trying, Weeps in Victory."

After 26 years of trying, Parker finally managed to solve the Rubik's cube that confounded him. Now, you may be thinking that he only occasionally picked up the puzzle, slowing his progress—but the reality is that he obsessed over it day after day, night after night.

I realize there are tons of vids on youtube showing 6 year olds completing it, people completing it with one hand etc, but before you nay-sayers make fun of this guy, realize that we have something rare on our hands. A person who never gave up, and put his nose to the grindstone and achieved his goal the old fashioned way- hard work, baby!

When's the last time you grinded like that?

Bravo good sir!

It aint enough...

As I've grown, I've come to realize that people's perception of family is a funny thing. In the wake of my grandma's passing, there's been a lot of strife in the family. Some relatives are acting a complete fool, and when talking with the venerable MikeJ about this, I told him that "blood is just blood, love is earned." How much sense does it make to love and respect someone just because you're related? Just because you're "supposed to." Blood aint enough...

So what does this have to do with bodybuilding?

We're still in the hour of the resolutioner. I think that a lot of folks think that you can buy your way to a new you, that they can get fit by association.

Gyms are hustling hard to corral scores of folks looking to make positive changes to their health and physique in the New Year. They make you sign up for a year because they know they'll only have to put up with most of em through March at the latest.
Belonging to a gym is not enough.

Ab lounge, ab blaster, PX90, the perfect pullup, perfect pushup, bowflex.
Buying these gadgets aren't enough.

Jenny craig, slimfast, Alli, Hydroxycut, Nutrisystem.
Joining these programs are not enough.

Might as well put your money here if you think that's enough

I will admit that above actions are a step in the right direction (albeit a small one.) They say that people have a higher chance to succeed with their health/fitness goals when money is on the line. I dont think that's necessarily true (unless you will lose a large sum if you dont get to a certain goal.) I think complacency sets in once you've put your money out there- "I have a gym membership, now pass me that donut!"

Positive change, like familial love, has to be earned, with sweat, hard work, and consistently doing the right thing.

How To Get Big

LOL.

In an effort to make this blog more useful to my readers, I want to expound on certain topics "how to get ripped" "how to get bigger arms" or today's, and perhaps the oldest and most sought after goal by most guys who've ever picked up a weight. This topic has been addressed 100000 times, but it's still the #1 question I get.

"How do I get big?"

The answer is actually surprisingly simple. Again, there's a difference between "simple" and "easy" a principle can be simple, it's application is the hard part.
Sports are simple. Hit the ball with your bat. Put the leather ball through the round ring. Actually being good is a whole 'nother beast.

Quite simply you can get big by giving your body a reason to get bigger. Lift big, eat big, grow. You can't give that information to a neophyte lifter and expect the best results.


1) Weight training- I wont outline a program because I'm of the belief that for the beginner, almost anything you do will work. I will speak in generalities.

• You must be dynamic in training, not sticking with the same weights/exercises for weeks on end. Keep the body guessing-force your body to adapt to increasing heavy loads.
• Good form trumps heavy load, ALWAYS. You're trying to build muscle not powerlift.
  
• Develop mind muscle connection- if you dont feel the muscle working, IT'S NOT! How many times have you benched and felt your delts/triceps tire out before your chest?
  
• Don't overtrain- more is not better. Intense is better. You should be out of the gym in an hour. 3-4 sessions per week is sufficient.
• Get a training partner- not only do they provide motivation and a spot, they also provide accountability.
• Focus on multi-joint exercises. If a lift involves just your triceps in isolation, it is less beneficial than something that involves your chest, delts and triceps.
  

Bigger friends=bigger you

2) Diet- If I told you to add a room onto your house, but gave you nothing to build with, how big would your add on be? Solid nutrition is the material that your body will turn into muscle.

• Shoot for 1.5 grams of protein/lb of bodyweight, broken up into 5-6 meals.
• Dont ignore healthy fats. Mono and polyunsaturated fats are an easy way to get your calories up, as well as burn some fat. Drizzle olive oil on your veggies, you'll be glad you did.
  
• Meat builds meat- don't get me wrong, protein shakes are easy ways to up your intake, but limit the protein shakes to no more than 2 per day.
• Have a shake within 30 minutes of the completion of your training- this time period is referred to as the "anabolic window."
• Take a multivitamin
• Drink as much water your can stomach ~1 gallon a day. A dehydrated muscle is a catabolic muscle. Also aids in digestion of all that food you're pounding down.
• Don't think bigger is always better. Another rookie mistake is to just eat a ton of crap just for the sake of getting the scale to move. You actually look bigger when you're leaner.
  

Frank Zane usually competed at around 195 pounds.

3) Miscellaneous

• Set goals. Why are you training in the first place? Do you want to look like Brad Pitt in fight club? Do you want to look like Arnold in Commando? Do you want to impress a girl (like the poor chap in the Atlas ad?) Find that image and put it somewhere you'll see it often. No one can help you get to your destination if you don't know where you want to go. BTW working out for a female is probably the worst reason to get in shape. If she don't want you, what you gonna do you gonna stop training?
  

This?

Or That?

• Track your progress- you want as many measures of progress as possible- record your weight, this will keep you motivated. One week your weight might not change, but your bicep may be a 1/4 inch bigger.
• Get your 8 hours of sleep. You dont build a thing IN the gym, but at home while resting and even more while sleeping.
  
• Avoid alcohol binges. A drink now and again wont kill you, but drinking actually lowers your testosterone, reduces the amount of deep sleep you get (recovery,) and throws off your diet.
• Skip excessive supplements. I've seen the ads, I've fallen victim. Guys on steroids pushing supplements with steroid like claims. A good whey and creatine monohydrate will be more than beneficial. Save your money for meat.
  
• BE PATIENT. Rome wasn't built overnight, and neither will your newfound muscle.
• Have Fun. If you're obsessing over missing a meal or a workout (I've been there,) you'll get burnt out real quick, and so will your significant other.

The sound and the fury

Today is my first day back at work since mid December.

rice cake firecrackers not pictured

Every day my monestary-esque office area is interrupted with the rumblings of my 2 scoops of WPI and 2 tbsps of organic peanut butter mixing and mashing up with ice, followed by the distinct crunch of rice cakes.

Sounds like Ryan's back.

When our team won the tug-o-war last year, I told them don't thank me, thank the daily adherence to building a bigger stronger physique. Thank the protein shakes that probably annoy you for 20 seconds every day.

Some call it morning snack- I call it one step closer.

Chainsaw

zzzz
**Kachin-kuh**
zzzz
**Kachin-kuh**
zzzz
**Kachin-kuh wurrrrrrrrrrrrrr**

Today a chain saw* woke me up. Why anyone in a condo needs a chain saw is beyond me. Why they need to use it at 8am is also beyond me. Since my extended stay back home in Monterey, my sleep schedule has been FUBAR'd- but I guess nothing was gonna let me fail today as God gave me the proper wake up call.

What I do know is that today is the day I join the throngs of Americans getting back into the gym. My time off was programmed. Heavy weights can't be lifted without periods of break, to give the nervous system, joints, and associated parts their recovery. Let's see what the resolutioners can bring today!

On Deck: Incline db press, standing military press, v-bar pushdown, 1 arm db rows, and deadlifts. But boy am I ever itchin to get back at it! Got a few good good meals in me now it's time to get at it!

*ok it wasn't a chain saw, but a high powered washer being used right outside my window. Chain saw sounds cooler though doesnt it?

New Year!

2008 was a crazy year

Some notable events:
January-
Along with Big Medium John, began my 2nd contest prep, and this blog CMC turns 29
February-
Had my 1st cheat meal, Valentine's day at Limon (where Carrie and I met)
March-
Taco cheat meal!
April-
Competed in the Fresno Classic
May-
Placed 2nd in novice/open lightweight at the 2008 Contra Costa, celebrated 1 year dating Carrie
June-
Turned 27, celebrated 1 year as a homeowner, Kanye's Concert
July-
A special roommate moved in, Marine World Trip!
August-
Baby Bryce was born!
September-
Jimmy's Bachelor Cruise, Vernon goes 12, Mikej goes 27
October-
Big Medium John turns 27, and I brought out my inner traitor
November-
OBAMA!!!
December-
Jerm turns 20, Rick turns 30, Guma Passed
Obama gettin his lat development on!

Looking ahead to 2009
It's gonna be a real fun year.

Goals:
As you could tell from my post last month, I dont care much for resolutions, or resolutioners, but I like to set goals. A few:

1) Read Everyday: I got some cool books for Christmas: Randy Pausch's Last lecture, Dave Draper's Brother Iron Sister Steel and Outliers (Malcolm Gladwell) to na

2) Eat Big: I'm taking a year off from competition so I really need to get going on that good growth.

3) Track my diet: I recently downloaded an application called Livestrong daily tracker. I want to make sure that I get all my protein, and tracking my macronutrient intake will be crucial for the next goal.

4) Get my abs back:This will mean more cardio, less drinking, less crap food etc.

5) Keep in touch with friends/loved ones: After Guma passed I noticed mom and hugged a lilttle harder, kissed a little more, and told each other we loved each other much more often. To use Kanye's words: "Give people the roses while they can still smell em."

6) Post every weekday (at least): I'm playing with the thought of having a running column, like "Training Talk Tuesdays" etc. I want to make this blog useful to my readers and help me stay sharp.

Other 09 happenings:
Carrie turns 30
Carrie will give me her life for 4 weeks and we'll see how much leaner we can go.
Back to the Arnold with John
Japan trip!
Christine and Richard's Wedding
Jeremy Turns 21 (vegas anyone?)

Let's do it live in 2009!