Put Your Own Mask On First

Put Your Own Mask On First

 

I’m sure; most of us have been on a commercial flight and heard the “in the event of” speech.   I can’t quote it word for word because (to be honest) after a while it all starts to sound like Charlie Brown’s teacher to me.   Anyway, at some point they always say something like “In the event of any loss in cabin pressure an oxygen mask will magically appear from the secret overhead compartment”.  Well, at least that’s the way I hear it.  Next, they tell you to put your mask on first before you try to help anyone else.  Sounds kind of selfish doesn’t it?  I mean, why not help the frightened child setting next to you before you help yourself?  There is a reason for doing it the way they ask.  If you don’t put you mask on first, you could pass out from lack of oxygen and then you will be of no help to anyone including that small child.  Sometimes we can get so caught up in saving the world that we forget to save ourselves.  Hopefully, in the next couple of paragraphs, I can help you see how taking care of yourself can benefit you as well as all the people you care for.

 

Are you that person who is always doing for others and never takes any time for yourself?  Do you think that spending time doing something for yourself takes too much time away from the people who need you?  What if I told you that taking the time to workout and eat right could benefit both you and your loved ones?   Most of us have people that depend on us to help them in one way or another.   Maybe you have kids that depend on you or maybe you take care of someone older.  Whatever the case may be, it can be very hard taking care of all their needs and finding time to do for yourself.  It takes planning, dedication, and most of all you allowing yourself the right to feel better too.  What’s the big pay off?  How can increasing your workload benefit anyone?  Keep reading!!!!

 

If you are reading this article, you are (at least) thinking about getting in shape.  You know that exercise and a clean diet will help you live longer and have a more productive life.  Most of all, it’s what you want.  Take the time to write down some of your fitness goals and try to come up with a plan to achieve them.  I am not going to tell you that it will be easy to do everything for everyone plus yourself.  I will tell you that if you find the time to accomplish your goals you will feel good about yourself and it will reflect in how you treat others.  Don’t let this be one more thing that you deny yourself.  Take the steps you need to take to make this the day that you change your life for the better.

The Need to Progress

The Need To Progress

 

There is nothing more rewarding in the gym than making progress.  To me, it is that golden time when all is right with the world.  The planets align and nothing hurts too badly and I seem to make gains every time that I walk in the gym.  You have to love those times.  Don’t you wish that you could feel those gains all of the time? The real truth is that everyone has sticking points in their progress.  Sometimes, even the most dedicated athletes have to take a step back due to barriers like injuries or loss of mental focus.  If you are having a hard time pushing through your barriers and you just can’t seem to progress, this blog is for you.

 

In the past, I have briefly discussed the subject of progression barriers in articles like “Overcoming Obstacles” and “Keeping The Drive”, but today I want to talk more in-depth about the things that hold us back in weight training and the solutions as I see them.  So, lets get right to the meat of the issue.  There are 4 basic reasons (according to Mike) that keep us from making progress in the gym.  Each reason may have many different variables, but they all branch from the basic 4 and they are as follows:

 

4. Lack Of Knowledge

3. Poor Temple Maintenance

2. Physical Restrictions

1. Insufficient Drive

 

First, lets talk about “lack of knowledge“.  Unless you were programmed in “The Matrix” (yes, I’m a nerd) we all have suffered from this one.  Some of the negative effects from just not knowing any better can be over training, under training, improper form, lagging body parts, and many more.  In fact, lack of knowledge can lead to poor temple maintenance, physical restrictions, and insufficient drive.   If caught early, this one is an easy fix.  Yes, physical fitness (bodybuilding) is a never ending quest for knowledge and the longer you pursue it with an open mind the more you will learn.  The more you learn the better you will progress, but you don’t have to know it all to get started.  If you are just getting started or if you think that maybe your P.E. coach may have left out a few important details, there is a world of good information out there waiting for you to read.  Pick up a training book or log on to a bodybuilding site and check out the training programs and diets.  Find a basic program that you think may work for you and get to work.  Even though I am a huge fan of hardcore training, if you are just getting started you should start slow.  Once you have made it through the first week without killing yourself then you can pick up the pace.  The best teacher I have ever had has been “trial and error” so don’t be afraid to get started. 

  

Who among us has not been guilty of “poor temple maintenance” at some point?  Your body should be thought of like a temple and if you ever want to make progress in the gym you must learn to treat it with respect.   Staying out all night, drinking alcohol, eating junk foods, and smoking are all things that hinder your body’s ability to perform at peak levels.  Nothing that I have listed above should come as a shock to you, but most of us have done one if not all of them many times.  These things are all just a matter of choice.  We all know that the more we participate in our alter ego’s indulgent lifestyle the more it will effect our workouts, but there are also many things we can do that might not be quite so obvious.  In order to get the optimum performance from your body you need to know, and follow through with, more than just the basic health concerns.  Are you getting enough complex carbohydrates and quality protein?  Do you eat often enough and can you eat too much good food?  These questions just scratch the surface of what the high performance bodybuilder already knows.  If you truly want to look like him or her,  you must realize that there is a lot more to building muscle than taking some magic potion.  True bodybuilding is built on the foundation of discipline and hard work and that begins with proper maintenance. 

 

 Next, lets deal with the topic of “physical restrictions“.  This is a very tough subject because it deals with such a wide range of variables.  There are some very real reasons that people are limited physically due to injuries, poor genetics, or other health related problems but it is also one of the most abused areas providing unlimited excuses for people pretending to have heart.  We will deal with the pretenders more when we talk about drive, but for now, let’s talk about the ones who really want it.  Those of us who have had the pleasure of working out for a while have also had to deal with injuries and we have learned how to train around minor strains and sore joints.  The big 3 most commonly injured areas are the shoulders, lower back, and the knees and all three can be show stoppers or just minor set backs.  One of the hardest things to teach people is how to know their limitations and when to push through, work around or give in to your injury.  If you think that you are really hurt, please go to the doctor and get checked out.  However, if you are grown man and your still milking that lame high school football injury, it’s time to give that one up.  Let’s take the Special Olympians and the Wheelchair Athletes example and not let our petty (in comparison) restrictions keep us from being the best we can be.  If your arms or calves are lagging body parts, don’t just dismiss them as poor genetics but work those parts harder.   When you feel that you can’t go heavy do to injury or you have reached a plateau, do high reps for a while to force the muscle to grow another way.  Learn how to work around your limitations in a safe and healthy way and you will be glad you did. 

 

In my opinion, the # 1 reason people don’t make progress in the gym is “insufficient drive”.  We can work through or around almost any barrier that is put in front of us if we have the motivation, but without it our progress will stall out.  Some people have hardcore drive right from the start, others have it deep down and it has to be forced out, and then some just don’t seem to have it no matter how much they profess that they want it.  If a person is not truly dedicated to one thing, something new will always come along and catch their eye then off they go.  That doesn’t mean that the people without sufficient drive cannot make some progress, but that they will not allow themselves to progress pass the point of true commitment.  If we want to keep making progress in the gym, we must keep progressing with our level of commitment.  We must learn to push through pain barriers and get out of the same old routine of doing the same weight for the same amount of sets. Also, the dedicated athlete is not just some dumb jock who does what he or she is told.  The truly driven want to learn more so we can eat better, sleep better, and work smarter to be the best we can be.   I know that lack of progress can kill a person’s drive.  I have been there done that!!!  So, when I say “we” I’m talking to myself also.  Please, if you want it, don’t give up.  Dig down deep and find new ways to progress in the gym.   Don’t let this be one more thing that you look back on and say “what if”.  We only fail when we stop trying.

Overcoming Obstacles

Overcoming Obstacles   

If you have been training for a while or if you are just contemplating getting started, there can be many barriers that have the potential to stop your progress.  Some of them are real obstacles and some are self induced excuses that can easily be overcame. I want to help you realize the difference between the two and help you overcome as many of each as possible.  If I have to tear you down a bit in order to make you stronger, then so be it.  Please keep in mind that I do not want to make you feel bad about yourself after reading this, but I want to empower you with the knowledge that you can get over or around almost anything if you have the desire.

First, let’s talk about excuses.  We have all made excuses to someone else (or to our selves) to get out of doing something that we didn’t want to do.  It’s too hot to do this or it looks like it might rain so we can’t do that.  You know what I mean.  How about “I can’t diet because I’m hypoglycemic and I get the shakes if I don’t have a Twinkie every five minutes”.   Don’t forget my favorite “I can’t work my legs because (fill in the blank)”.   If most people were honest with themselves, they would say, “I don’t work my legs because its too hard and they are so easy to cover up”.  Also, what if I told you the reason you keep getting the shakes is because you stuff a Twinkie in your face every five minutes?  Ok, how about “ I can’t find time to workout because I have a life”.  I’ll bet that 95 percent of the people in the gym have more of a life than the people who use this excuse.  How much time do you spend watching mindless television each night and complaining that there is nothing on?  You could be bettering yourself with that time.  I think you get the idea.  Realizing they are just that and changing your way of thinking can easily overcome excuses.  So, if you are an excuse maker it’s time to put up or shut up.  You say you want to workout “but”.   Work on what’s really behind your “but” then get your butt moving in a positive direction.

What would life be like if there were no real obstacles to overcome?  Would we all just sit around eating grapes with no need to cover up our perfect bodies?  Well, I don’t know if we would be better off without obstacles but I do know that overcoming them to accomplish a goal feels like heaven to me.  The whole concept behind resistance training is built on overcoming obstacles.  In fact, in order to receive muscle growth the muscle must first be torn down.  It’s the same with life.  We must be challenged once in a while in order to grow and increase in mental strength as well as physical well being.  I’m not talking about the big tragedies that actually change our lives forever, but the little day-to-day things that we often blow out of proportion.   Most of us have very busy schedules and new things are always being thrown in to the mix.  Anyone who knows me can tell you that I like things to be in order.  I like knowing my schedule ahead of time so I can plan out my meals and all activities around my workout.  Sometimes in life I can’t control everything.  You have no idea how hard that was to write.  Anyway, when I can’t control what time I might get through putting out the emergency fires that life throws at me, I go to the gym before I start my workday.  Sometimes, when it’s really crazy, I cook all my food the night before and carry it to work in a huge cooler so I have no excuse not to eat right.

Now, I’m going to tell you something else that’s very hard for me to say.   I know that there are more important things in life than working out.  Sometimes you have to give in to true barriers that life throws at you and your loved ones in order to survive, but more often than not most obstacles can be overcome with a little creative thinking and positive drive.  If you really want to get in shape, you can find a way to make it happen.  For me, it is the one thing that is truly mine in a world where I am constantly trying to please everyone else.  I’ll tell you one more thing and then I’ll leave you alone to think about it.   If you will stop making excuses and overcome the obstacles that block you from taking the time to improve yourself, you and everyone you know will benefit from the overall sense of well being that you will receive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Keeping The Drive

Keeping The Drive

 

Remember the first day of school each year?  Can you remember how excited you were to go back and see your friends?  Don’t you wish you could feel that way about working out?  If you have been working out any length of time, you have probably had days that you just didn’t want to go to the gym.  I love working out more than anyone I know, but going to the gym day after day can get monotonous.  When you have to balance the gym in with work, family time, and everything else that life throws at you, it gets even more difficult to go over and over again.  Everyone knows that you have to be consistent to make positive results in physical fitness, but you also need to do more than just show up.  Yes, “showing” is half the battle, but once there, you must put a real effort in to get real results.  In the next few paragraphs, I am going to try to give you some tips to help keep your workout fresh and full of positive drive.   Although I can’t promise that every time you walk in the gym will feel like the first day of school, if you follow along, I believe I can help you get better workouts more often.

 

The very first thing that you must do to prevent losing interest in physical fitness is to make sure that you clearly define your goals.  It can be very easy to go astray without short and long term goals because you have no clear-cut path to follow.  Your goals do not have to be complicated to be effective and they may change as you progress but you must have a goal to stay focused.  It can be as simple as saying “I want to lose 20 pounds” and then you have a long-term goal.  Setting short-term goals of 1 or 2 pounds at a time would also help you stay focused along the way.   Now, write down your plan to achieve your goals.  Your plans will most likely have to be revised even if your goals stay the same but write them down anyway.  This will help you to hold yourself accountable when you see that in order to achieve your goal you must do what you have written.  It is your contract with yourself.  Even if you have been working out for years, it can be very motivating to put your plan in print.

 

Now you’re off and running with your goals and a good plan but somewhere down the road you still lose your focus.  Coming to the gym and doing the same thing day after day no longer gives you the feeling it did when you started so you don’t put the same effort in and you stop making progress.  This is where most people quit!  Don’t break your contract with the person you have to look at in the mirror everyday.  Make a positive revision.  There are many things you can do to revive your drive and get back on track.  Try working out with a partner from time to time to give you an extra push, but be careful when choosing one.  A good partner can help bring you back to life and a bad one can suck the life (what’s left of it) out of your workout.  Also, change gyms from time to time.  A new atmosphere can sometimes give you the boost you need.  If you are still under contract at your gym then just use a guest pass or pay the one time fee at another gym once in a while just to break the monotony.  One of the most effective things for me is to make some changes in my workout.  Throw in some super sets, giant sets, strip sets or anything that can make a positive change.  Those of us who have had the pleasure of working out for years have all felt a drop in motivation at one time or another.  What you do at the point of recognition can make all the difference in the world.

 

The best thing to do is not wait for your motivation to drop and stay ahead of the game.  Make changes before you get disheartened.  Also, try to keep your gym feeling like a special place.  Get away from the gym to do cardio as much as possible and don’t stay in the gym too long before or after workouts.  Get in, get it done, and leave.  In the end, it’s all up to you.  It’s simple really; you’ll either find motivation or quit.   Do you want to be just another person with excuses about why you quit working out or do you want to be the guy or girl that people feel like they have to make excuses to?  Do you want to let yourself down one more time or do you want this to be the time you commit to yourself and make a positive change?  Well, what do you want to do?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Other Side Of Oz

The Other Side Of Oz

In the past, I have written about the positive side of supplements and how I believe that some really do work well. Now, I would like to tell to you about the other side of the supplement world. It should come as no surprise that supplement companies are trying to make money just like everyone else and, I guess, you can’t really give them a hard time for that. Wouldn’t you want your company to make money and lots of it? Although I don’t think that all supplement companies are evil empires, it is the misleading and sometimes flat out dishonest tactics of some supplement companies that has lead me to write this “buyer beware” blog. I still stand by my statement that some supplements are good, but you have to know how to weed through the ever growing mounds of hype in the multi-billion dollar business to get to the good stuff.

So, how do you know what’s good, what’s over priced, and what is just plain bogus? Well, you can start by looking at the physical ingredients listed on the label. It sounds so simple but it does eliminate a lot of the hype. Just because your favorite bodybuilder endorses a certain brand doesn’t necessarily make it this best quality product for your money. Sometimes the lesser known companies can offer the exact same product for a better value. This is easy to find the best deal if you know the exact make up of what you are looking for. After all, micronized creatine monohydrate is what it is no matter who makes it. It becomes a little harder when you are looking at something new to you or when you are trying to get the new and improved version of a proven product. Let’s take protein powder as an example. Although protein powder has been one of the most basic supplements since the beginning of time, all protein is not created equal and there are new and sometimes improved protein products hitting the shelves every day. So, again, how do you know how pick one when everyone says theirs is best? We’ll come back to this later.

Have you ever picked up a muscle magazine and thought you were reading an article on the latest breakthrough in supplementation only to find out it was a 10-page advertisement? How about the ads with the before and after pictures using every trick in the book to make them look bad before and good after? Companies that use these kinds of tactics cannot be trusted. It’s a shame too because they do spend a lot of money on research and are usually the first ones to come out with the new and improved products but they also sell so many products that are all hype and a total waste of money that even a picture of the current Mr. O on the bottle couldn’t get me to buy their brand. Beware of the hype!!! Anything that sounds too good to be true probably is. If a company will flat out lie to you, they certainly will have no problem overcharging you for their legitimate products.

I will not tell you that you can never buy your supplements from the mall because I have done it myself. However, I will tell you that if you do you are probably paying too much for them. If you know that and treat the supplement store in the mall like a convenience store, then that’s ok. Just know that you can find much better deals at the independent health food stores or online.

Now, let’s get back to finding the best protein powder for your money. There are so many types of protein that it can be overwhelming. Sometimes it is necessary to research the different types of protein available to find out which would work best for you. How do you do that? If you are reading this blog, you are already on the Information Highway. Look on the forums and do a search for what ever you want to know. Ask questions about protein powders from different sources and compare the answers. I’ll even tell you what works best for me. I like a blend made up from whey protein concentrate, whey protein isolate, and hydrolyzed whey protein. Once you find out the best ingredients for you, then you shop for the best quality product for the best price. Remember, if you want the best price don’t buy from the mall or from the big hype companies. I hope you find what you are looking for at the right price

 

Pass It On

Pass it on 

 

Way back in the days of parachute pants and “Member’s Only” jackets, I needed a helping hand to make it to the next level in the gym.  I had made some progress on my own but I wanted to be a competitive bodybuilder and really had no idea how to go about it.  You see, Al Gore had not yet invented The Internet (sorry Bill but that’s what Al claims) and we did not have as much information at our fingertips as there is today.  I was lucky enough to befriend a bodybuilder in my hometown gym and convinced him that I would be a good project to take on.  He gave me the push in the right direction that helped mold me into be the bodybuilder I am today.  After 20+ years of training on my own, I have been able to pass on a bit of knowledge to someone in need more than once.  If you feel you are qualified, you should give it a try.  Please do not try to pass on training tips that you do not fully understand because you could do more harm than good.

 

We have all seen the guys or girls that come to the gym every day and just can’t seem to make much progress.  Well, first lets give them respect for showing up.   Maybe they are not seeing results like others but at least they are making an effort.   If they never ask for help or show the “dear in the headlights” look, I assume that they are happy with things the way they are.  After all, not everyone thinks the way I do. To some, going to the gym is just a social event and I guess you could be at worse places. Others really want to make good progress but they just don’t know where to start.  The fitness world can be overwhelming to a new recruit so they just go in circles for an hour or so then home.  Then there is a third group, these are the people that have made some progress in their training and are really motivated, but they have out grown the only program they know and have hit a wall.  It’s really hard to tell which group people are in from first glance.  Ok, I can tell social guy and girl from the rest because they are talking forever right in front of the piece of equipment that people are lined up and waiting to use, but the rest don’t reveal themselves quite that easy.  

 

So, whom do you help?   I suggest that you focus on your training and let them come to you.  If you see someone doing something that is really dangerous, then please politely correct him or her, other than that “if you build it, they will come” (I always wanted to use that line).  Seriously, they will come. They will come in the middle of your workout, when you are at work, and from any and all places you may go.  So again, who do you help?  More important, how do you handle people when they approach you?  I think that it is very important to remember, “With size comes responsibility”. You have worked long and hard to be respected, now that you are, you should try to be respectable.  When someone comes up to you in the middle of your workout (and they will), remember that they don’t understand intensity and focus.  I know it’s hard not to blow a gasket, but try to tell them in a nice way that you will be glad to talk to them at a more convenient time.  Maybe, before you go back to your workout you could quickly arrange a time to meet in the near future.

 

When people first started to ask me questions about working out, I went to great efforts to help them all.  I didn’t realize that most people didn’t really plan to follow through with the workout schedule that I wrote or the diet that I spent so much time on just for them.  To most people its just talk.  They don’t mean any harm but they use it as an icebreaker in conversation.  So, when someone says to you “I need someone to make out a diet for me because I just can’t seem to lose this gut.” take a moment to assess the situation.  Do you really think this person will even look at the diet you make out?  If you have your doubts, you can easily weed out the true knowledge seekers from the conversationalist by giving them a task to complete.  I usually say something like “write down everything that you eat or drink for the next 3 days so I can see what your average intake looks like”.  This serves 2 purposes.  If they do it, I know they are serious and it really does help me get a grip on what they are consuming over the course of a day.  Most never complete the task and that’s ok too.  We had a good conversation and I didn’t have to do any unnecessary work.  So, whom do you help?  Help those who are willing to help themselves and the rest just aren’t ready yet!

 

Muscle Management 101

Muscle Management 101

 

It has been one of the greatest pleasures of my life to be involved in bodybuilding for over 20 years.  During this time, I have learned much about building, shaping, and maintaining muscle.  While bodybuilding is a never-ending quest for knowledge, there are a few basic principles that have made a huge difference to my training.  Hopefully, I can keep your attention long enough to tell you some of the basics according to Mike. 

 

I believe the first thing that you must have to build muscle is drive or determination.  Set short and long term goals for yourself and have the determination to follow through with them.  Make and follow a plan to achieve your goals.  It doesn’t have to be a complicated plan.  As you learn, your plan will change and your goals may change as well but it’s really hard to get somewhere if you have no idea where you are going or how to get there.

 

Next, lets talk about focus.  Yes, drive, determination, and focus are all related, but I’m talking about focus in the gym.  When you walk in the gym, say hello to everyone if you like, then put them all out of your mind.  Don’t think about Aunt Sally’s lost dog or how you are going to pay the power bill.  Think only of the task at hand.  As you pick up or pull on a weight, focus on the muscles you are stretching and flexing to complete that set.  In between your sets, picture yourself completing the next set and channel all your energy toward doing just that.   Once you learn how to focus in the gym, your gains will come much quicker.

 

In order to maximize your potential to make muscle you must evaluate your diet.  Are you getting enough protein, complex carbohydrates, and good fats?  Is there too much simple sugar in your diet?  I could go on and on about diet but I suggest that each person research a diet to fit their individual nutritional needs.  Small efforts toward a good diet can make a great difference in your results.

 

One of the easiest things to overlook in muscle management is the need for rest and recovery.   Whether we call ourselves bodybuilders, runners, fitness competitors, power lifters or whatever, we are all sometimes guilty of not giving ourselves enough time to recuperate.  After all, the need to give it our all is what separates us from the Joe Couch Potatoes of the world.  Learning to channel all your energy at the appropriate time will help you both during the exercise itself and during the guilt free rest period after training.  Having a plan will not only help you complete the task but it will also let you know when you are finished.  Without proper rest, your muscles will keep breaking down instead of growing.  Don’t be counterproductive with your training, give it all you have then give it a rest.

 

 

 

 

Inside Out

Inside Out

 

Some people think that lifting weights and fitness training are only for the shallow people who think only about their outward appearance.  I have many acquaintances that would be shining examples of this statement, but I also have many friends that are not that way at all. For me, in the beginning, it was just about getting bigger but it soon became much more.  Now, It has become a great source of inner peace and it gives me a quiet confidence that few understand.

 

I think it is very normal for someone who has just started seeing results to flaunt their stuff.  When I first started getting muscles, I didn’t own a shirt with sleeves. A little vanity is not always a bad thing.  It can drive us to get out of our destructive habits and help get us on a healthier course.  Can you imagine how good it must feel to lose 50 or 75 lbs and be able to fit into that little black dress for the first time?  No, I don’t want to wear a dress!!  I’m just saying let her have her moment.

 

Bodybuilding has been a complete transformation to me.  I went from skinny kid to new muscles guy and now I am a responsible muscle owner.  I save my vulgar display of vanity for the stage.  I don’t hold my breath (anymore) when I go to the beach and I never (ok, almost never) wear a muscle shirt in public.  I know that I have muscle and that’s good enough for me.  These days, it’s more about overcoming obstacles and having the right frame of mind.  Yes, the outward goal it still to get as big and lean as possible, but working around schedules, deadlines, and worse to achieve my goal gives me a great feeling of accomplishment.  It’s funny, but bodybuilding gives me the confidence I need to handle the schedules, deadlines, and worse also.

 

Next time you are in the gym and you see a really big guy or a really fit girl working out, don’t be so quick to judge them.  You don’t know them.  Do you really think they are that bad or do they just remind you of your own shortcomings?  Work on being happy with yourself and their mere presence wont bother you so much.

 

 

The Incredible Bulk

The Incredible Bulk

 

Never let it be said that I pick the easy topics.  This is, again, one of the most debated subjects in bodybuilding today.  I think one of the reasons people argue about bulking is that they have completely different perceptions of the concept.  Is bulking just an excuse to eat whatever you want with no guilt from the extra weight gains or is it a positive tool to pack on muscle?  It can be one or the other and sometimes a little of both.  Did you really think I was going to give you a simple answer?  If you did, you haven’t been following along.

 

When I first started competing, mullets were cool, people were posing to Ratt, and I believed that I needed to gain as much weight as possible in the off-season to get bigger muscles. All of those things served me well at the time, but their time has long passed.  I will not go into details about my former hairstyle or my musical taste, but I will tell you why gorging myself did work to some extent and why it doesn’t work for me now.

 

I was what you call extremely lean (skinny) when I was younger.  It was mostly because I never sat still.  When I started lifting weights, I ate everything that I could and it seemed to go to muscle.  Starting from a very low body fat level, the extra fat just seemed to fill out my winter clothes better.  At that point in my life, I needed all the extra nutrients I could get to make muscle and make it fast.  Dieting for a contest was only a 4-week venture because I never had that much weight to lose (and because it was the only way I knew). Actually, I was pretty successful with this method for a while.

 

A few years later, I graduated from college and moved to Atlanta, Georgia.  Once there, I tried to repeat the formula that had been so helpful to me in the past, and I failed to achieve the same level of success.  After not placing well in a contest, I was forced to reevaluate my extreme bulking and cutting formula.  I realized, as for bulking, more was not always better.  For several reasons, I had packed on a lot more bulk in Atlanta than I did in College.  One reason was that I could afford more food.  Anyway, I was still trying to diet for only 4 weeks and that just didn’t get it anymore. The extreme bulking was followed by extreme weight loss and that made me lose most of the gains I had made.  So, as for dieting, more (or longer) was probably better.  Realizing my mistakes, I began to control my bulk better and diet longer.  Soon, I was back to getting good marks from the judges on contest day.

 

Today, my whole perception of bulking is different than it was in the beginning.  I try to eat only healthy foods and keep track of my intake for more accurate results.  Also, I try not to gain too much weight after a show and I do more cardio in the bulking phase than before.  A little extra weight can help you with strength training and gaining muscle size but too much can be unhealthy and just is more to take off later.

 

 

 

The Trophy or The Challenge

The Trophy or The Challenge

 

What drives you to achieve?  Is it the shiny object that you receive that says you’re number one, or is it the challenge to push yourself to the limit just to see what you are made of?  For me, it’s a little of both.  Never have really cared much for losing, but if the victory isn’t much of a challenge it doesn’t mean much either (the greater the challenge the sweeter the reward).  I’m not saying that you should go out and climb Mount Everest on your first climb. The risks you take should be calculated risks in which you have thought about all possible outcomes and have solutions for each.  Being prepared and well practiced is part of the greater challenge.

 

Let’s say I know of an easy competition coming up that, most likely, will not have a lot of big name competitors in it.  I train only 3 days a week for it (which would never happen) and I eat fairly well but not real strict.  The day of the show I notice that the masters class has only a few people in it and they look worse than me.  I enter the masters and win first place.  Big deal.  What really happened?  I cheated myself from the challenge of 16 weeks of hard training and diet.  Also, I didn’t compete at the level that I was capable of and robbed myself of a respectable finish.   Don’t get me wrong; there are many masters competitions in which the competitors look better than the guys in the open class.  I ‘m just saying don’t take the easy way out because you wont be happy with the results.

 

Now, lets talk about the other end of the spectrum.  Lets talk about the guy who wants to climb Mount Everest on his first climb.  I really admire this guy for his guts but I question his judgment.  I was this guy once (ONCE!!).  My first show, I had no idea of the level of competition that I was getting in and placed 16^th out of 16.  I don’t recommend that for anyone, but it did light a fire in me.  After that, I started training with someone who had competed before and learned how to compete at the previous contest level and beyond.  Don’t learn the way I did.   It was a hard, hard lesson.  A trophy without a challenge is bad enough but jumping in over your head can be demoralizing and fatal to your competitive spirit. 

 

So, what is a competitive natured person suppose to do?  First, I say not to take the easy way, then I say don’t jump in over your head.  How are you to know what level to compete on?   That is the greatest challenge of all.  You have to get to know yourself and what you are capable of achieving.   If you want to compete in bodybuilding, go to a show first to see the level of competition.  Maybe your first challenge will be to prepare for a show at a later date when you are ready.  Then again, if you have already won Mister Proctorville County, maybe you should stop looking for the easy wins and move up with the big boys.  When we challenge ourselves, it makes us stronger for the challenges life throws at us.  What’s your next challenge?