Monday, January 28, 2008

13 weeks

This last weeks was pretty much shot as far as being strict to the diet and the lifting. Too many little chores that come with getting a new house. Extra errands and paper work and such. I did manage to keep up the cardio training, but the diet slipped a few times and I missed the gym once. I found that walking outside is way more fun than a treadmill. I knew that of course, but I'd forgotten how much difference it makes. I hate the treadmill.

I did a little research on posing this week. I'm considering taking a class, since I'm a rookie and a completely uncoordinated white boy. (If I was graceful and athletic I might have found a sport other than weight lifting that I could do.) I may get by with lots of practice and some tips from the guys at the gym, we'll see. The part that has me the most worried is the individual routine with music. Of course that part doesn't have much to do with your scoring, but I don't really want to look like a stiff at the night show either. I'll need something since I lack the outgoing crowd pleasing charisma that some guys have.

Next week I hope to have some new photos. Maybe there will be evidence of progress.

Monday, January 21, 2008

14 Weeks

First the Excuses. . . No pictures again because we are homeless still, and I haven't had time to set the laptop up to manage photos. I know it is a mac and should be easy, I just haven't done it.

Everything else is going well I think. I had a major cheat day on Saturday, pizza and ice cream. It was great and no adverse effects. I'm also becoming a better cook. I'm a rookie at the carnivorous diet so I've been experimenting. My discoveries will probably seem obvious to those more experienced, but it has been exciting for me. I'm pretty sure I'll never eat boiled chicken again. I tried hard for awhile, but I've discovered that pan fried is so much better that I can't go back. Once we have a house again I'll breakout the grill which should be good as well. I've also learned that the $8/lb free range chicken tastes better than the cheap stuff. I'm telling myself that it is more nutritious as well. Makes spending the money easier.

The other exciting thing is I'm starting to feel leaner. Probably just my imagination, but I thought I saw some signs of emerging cuts in the mirror. Results sure are good for the motivation. The scale said 176lb this afternoon. That is good. Slow and steady weight loss is what I'm hoping for.

The weight loss is creating an interesting mental struggle for me. If I'm not losing weight I'm worried I'm not dieting right. If I am gaining weight it goes against everything I've worked for for the last 10 years. I'm curious to see what this might develop into. Maybe a good question for some more experienced bodybuilders.

Last thing. I took the plunge and removed my body hair above the waist. So far it isn't too bad and not that much to keep up with. I'm still getting used to how it looks though. With my pale skin I think it makes me look softer. It maybe about time to look in to the tanning bed.

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Oprah Rant

I'm not the biggest Oprah fan. As far as I'm concerned she give far too much credulity to anti-vaccination wooers, among other things. But that isn't what is bugging me this time.

As part of my training, I've started putting in some treadmill time after lifting most days. I'm usually there at about 4:00pm which is when Oprah comes on around here. She is always on one of the TVs in the cardio area. I'm not sure what her theme has been lately because I don't listen to the audio, but I do know that she has been devoting a lot of time to pizza and ice cream the last few days. I'm trying to stick to a diet.

So there I am sweating on the treadmill looking ahead to a nice piece of flavorless boiled chicken and some dry salad or something and Oprah is poring fudge on her cold stone creamery cone. I'm not very pleased. Maybe next week will be fashion week or something. Some anoexic models might leave me in a more productive state of mind.

Monday, January 14, 2008

15 Weeks ( a quickie)

Well, not much to report this week. We spent the weekend moving out of our house and in to a rental, so that pretty much killed the diet. I'm starting to get back on track, but we are living out of suitcases and boxes so nothing comes easy. No weight loss to speak of. I'm consistently between 179 and 180 this week. Not worried yet. I at least imagine that my belt is fitting looser.

As we get settled in to the temporary living arrangement I hope to expand my diet experimentation. Still working up to the beef.

Hopefully I'll have more for week 14.

Monday, January 7, 2008

16 Weeks Part 2

This will be just a quick update on my diet experiments for the first 5 days. I'm finding that my vegetarian upbringing might be an added challenge. I checked around at bodybuilding.com and found that tuna is a key component of many diets. Sadly, I've made two heroic efforts at eating tuna and failed miserably. I can chew, but not swallow. I've had better luck with boiled chicken breasts. Not delicious, but edible. I'm going to have to work up to the requisite quantity though.

I'm also planning to give steak a try at some point. It is sort of intimidating, because I've never cooked a steak or seen one cooked. Not to mention that I've never eaten a steak either. I guess I'll be eating lots of eggs and some chicken here in the short term while I expand my dietary horizons.

Coming up soon, some adventures in man-scaping where I will try shaving my armpits for the first time. I know that about half the countries population does this approximately daily, but I'm finding I'm a little frightened of the process.

Thursday, January 3, 2008

16 Weeks

This is the post I have been dreading. Sixteen weeks until the Empire Classic. It is time to get serious about this bodybuilding thing. I've begun easing into my diet now that the holidays are over. I figure that I have a few weeks to figure out what I'm doing before it becomes critical. I'm also just starting my cardio program as well. So far I'm walking for about 20 minutes on my lunch break at work. Next week I'll be adding some treadmill time after my workout. Maybe three days a weeks to see what happens.

The word has gotten around that I'm planning to enter a spring show, so I have some level of accountability to keep me on track. My keep checking in with my training status. That is pretty good motivation. But now is the time to go all the way. That's right . . . the humbling before pictures.

Here I am in all my pasty, pale, hairy, flabby glory. Hopefully the posing and photography skill will progress inversely with my body fat percentage.

Double Front Bicep


Front Lat Spread

Side Chest


Rear Lats

The rest of the details: 5' 8" about 180 lbs. and 12-15% body fat.

I was planning to wait a few weeks until I got a little leaner to work on posing, but from the looks of things I could use the practice.