Bodybuilding has become a huge passion of mine. One that I'm trying to have as a lifestyle. After many years of physical inactivity it takes a lot to get me off the couch but I'm loving every minute I'm in the gym (well other than cardio time!).
March 2004 I've just finished off a mass gaining cycle so I've been hitting low reps and really heavy weights. It's taken a large toll on my joints so now it's time to start ripping down some of this fat that I've built up. Right now I'm about 219 and 22% bodyfat so I really need to get that down (but a drastic improvment over Xmas!). My goal is a nice 15% bodyfat so I'm going to work hard on getting down there. I'm following Flex magazine's HUGE program. Ironically enough I'm following their section on cutting not mass gaining. I'll keep you posted on how things are going. This program is for about the next thirteen weeks so don't expect anything new and exciting in terms of me going nuts and totally revamping my program.
December 2003 What did I do!!??!! I've packed on the bodyfat like never before trying out these new diets and definitely over eating over the holiday season. It was just a horrible mistake! What was I thinking! Now I could keep going on this downward spiral and look at my 226 fat ass and give up. Or I can get my lazy fat ass back in the gym. I'm starting the mass gaining program form Muscle and Fitness. See what it will do. Back to clean eating and hardcore training.
July 2003 Well I haven't updated this section for a while since I've been busy working on a new site dedicated to working out. It will have all the current programs that I've been doing and will contain all the advice I can pack in there. It will be a little while before I can actually get all the time to put it up but it will be coming. I've talked about it for a while so it's far past time I actually get busy and start building it.
As for my current programs. I've split the year into cutting and bulking to avoid my tendency to flip flop between programs. Right now it's deep into the cutting cycle and life has made my training take some left turns. But I'm now all ready to get back into training. My diet slipped a little on my vacations but overall I'm still pretty much on track. The current program I'm using is a modification of Dorian Yates programs since I have experienced great results putting on some quality muscle with those programs. I've tried a huge amount of program and usually make my own since then it's totally customized but right now I'm trying to follow the basic principles of rest and recovery that the six time mister olympia set in place. My diet is based on Chris Aceto's carb cycling plan outlined in his book Everything You Need to Know About Fat Loss. I've sat down and figured out everything my body needs to work it's best so now I've been trying to be extremely strick in how I eat. Since nutrition is where I usually have issues it's part of my primary focus with this training program. I've never had a problem getting into the gym and lifting as hard as I could. It's sticking to my diet which has been a problem. So with any strict program you need to build in cheat days. Little breaks for my sanity to recover.
So what does all this have to do with helping people out? Well on my new page I'm hoping to have a bunch of automated tools that will help you calculate your nutritional needs. Until that comes up the old pen and paper way will have to do. First off you need to figure out just how many calories you need. This is probably the easiest part if you have the right equipement. I have both a digital body caliper (Fat Track 2) and the Tanita Body Fat Scale. I've also gone to my gym and got my fat checked. Basically they all came back saying I was about 20% fat. A relative hight number but I'm working on it. So if I come in at 210 pounds and am 20% bodyfat that means I have 42 pounds of fat spred over my body and I'm 168 pounds of rock solid muscle. A base approximation of the calories I need is to multiply the lean body mass by 10 (168 * 10 = 1680). Now I'm "moderately active" so need about 40% more calories. If you are very active then you need about 70% and if you are extremely active then double your calories. That puts my calories at 2352 cal (1680 + 672 = 2352). But what is my breakdown? How much protein do I need? And how many carbs and fat should I take?
Okay protein is the easiest since you need about 1 gram per pound of lean body mass (or if you are bulking then using 1 gram pound), That puts me at 168g of protein which are 4 grams each (total of 672). Now the remaining 1680 have to come from carbs and fat. Fat should be about 15% of your diet. So take my total of 2352 * 15% and you'll get 352.8 calories or 39.2 grams (352.8 g / 9 calories/g = 39.2 g). So my final 1360.8 is all carbs (340.2g). 15% fat, 28% protein and 57% of carbs is the rough breakdown. You can do some refining on top of that. I reduced my carbs using carb cycling techniques to strip off more bodyfat. I'll take in more protein to offset some of the carbs. But these numbers are the basic formula that I follow.
Then you have to divide your meals throughout the day. I have breakfast, post training shake, lunch, lunch 2, dinner, evening protein shake. This keeps my blood sugar pretty consistent throughout the day.
When I started working out I was pushing 255 pounds with likely well over 30% bodyfat. I had tried for years to figure out how best to change my physique and was never 100% committed to training. I used to pick up my brother's Flex magazines and draw the bodybuilders in there, marvelling at their muscle size and lean condition. I didn't think I had the ability to ever train that hard (nor the access to roids to get me in that shape). But I did read a lot of their training articles and learned that I could put on size and get lean if I just put my mind and energy to it. Sounds simple right? Well, no one can force you to work out. during high school I toyed with it and tried out the techniques in Flex and on ESPN's Bodyshaping. I started to see results, then started to see how good that donut would tastes, and how much I didn't want to miss that random TV show. So I worked out after school and then gradually stopped, got depressed, and quit. Then kicked myself in the butt and started again only to quit a couple weeks later.
About my second year university I decided I really wanted to hit the gym and get in shape. I made the commitment to myself after not doing it for my first two years despite saying I would. Friends agreed to train with me but bailed saying it wasn't for them or they just didn't have the time. Then Karen came into my life and didn't back down when we agreed to hit the gym together. So, armed with a workout nut, I put all those past years of reading into effect and pushed myself hard! It was some serious progress as I changed my lifestyle and never turned back. I finally hit the point where I was doing it for me and not for anyone else. I know that doesn't sound like much but it makes all the difference when you hit that sticking point. It's what gets you passed it and keeps you in the gym.
Now I've been seriously lifting weights since that time, about 1998/1999 I'd guess, if not a little longer, and anyone who knew me before will admit that it has completely consumed my life. I constantly am thinking about food and what nutrients I'll get from what I eat. I think of new workout plans all the time and have built a couple programs for friends. 90% of my reading is now bodybuilding books and magazines. I'm obsessed!
In June I had the chance to spend some time in sunny Los Angeles - Of course it was cloudy and overcase when I was there but I'm never lucky with weather. Anyway, there I had the chance to visit the mecca of bodybuilding - Gold's Gym, Venice Beach California. It was a huge gym with all the equipment I could have hoped for. Much better than the Goodlife I frequent here. Also I got to swing on the rings of Muscle Beach and walk the beaches of Santa Monica and Venice. Just to push my cardio to the limit I went out in search of the Santa Monica Stairs when I was done my weights at Gold's. Two hours of walking to get there and I ran those steps up and down three time (running slowly devolving into walking) before walking back to my hotel in Santa Monica.
This past October I made the trek to the Mr Olympia competition to see the biggest and the best of bodybuilding. Let me say that, for a fan, it is a stellar weekend. The fitness expo alone is worth going to! I can out with so many samples and free stuff it is incredible. Meeting the top atheletes in the sport was also a huge thrill. To top it all off my borther and I got up on the Battle of the Biceps stage and joined the competition. Getting smoked was, of course, expected but just doing it was a great achievement for this once Fat Bastard. Check it out under the events section for some pictures.