I read a post somewhere about people not staying focused and I must confess that I have grown really impatient with people I know personally who constantly see me and want to tell me about their exercise program, or lack there-of. The conversation usually goes,

Them: I’m going to the gym tonight and I went the other day and it’s great!

Me: Yea, that’s why I love this stuff. Little progress each day is what counts.

Them: Do you think I can lose 50 (or X) pounds by next summer?

Me: That may be too much, but I’m sure if you’re consistent you won’t care if it’s only 25, you’re going to feel and look much better.

Them: Yea, do you think I should blah-blah-blah (I begin tuning out at this point)

Why? Because next week when I see them…

Them: I didn’t make it to the gym but once this week cause I was so busy, but on Monday, I’m getting back on track…

I’ve talked exercise with a lot of folks over the years and have been asked just about every question. However, a majority (I would say everyone, but I do know a couple of folks who have been consistent in the past 2 years, not 5+years, but recent past) of those I’ve ever talked to who had goals they can’t reach had one thing in common no matter how big or small they want to become: They have never been consistent with their training or diet.
No use pondering like a Greek philosopher whether aerobics or weight training is better for losing fat, whether machines are as good as free weights, whether creatine works or not, or if supplements are real food, if the person has NEVER even gone 30 days without missing a workout, meal, AND without fast food. When your car doesn’t make left turns at the drive-thru like NASCAR, when the people at your favorite restaurant don’t know your name but the gym owners do, and when your name gets deleted off the pizza-joints Caller-ID, then lets figure out what’s going wrong. Until then, don’t vent on me. As a married guy, I pay my Venting-Dues everyday.

Still promising that you’ll do better “on Monday”, or for the New Year?

I’m Old School. The Game is meant to be sold, not told. Don’t talk about it, be about it.

A2 – Biceps / Legs (6)

Hit the gym between jobs which is always an adventure and rush. Can’t complain too much however as my legs still feel shaky 5 hours later. Those reverse lunges just do a number on my glutes.

Barbell curls – RP
LT-95(14r) / TT-95(15r)
– I really wanted at least 16 here but it just wasn’t happening.

Hammer Curl w/ Hammer Bar – SS
LT-45(18r) / TT-55(11r)

Donkey calf raises – RP
LT-210(18r) / TT-225(26r)

Leg Curl – RP
LT – 119(16r) / TT(15r)
– I had to use a different machine as the usual was taken. The difference is the angle as this particular machine gives much more resistance at the beginning of the movement and stresses the eccentric portion of the movement much more.

One-leg Leg Press – SS
LT – N/A / TT- 180(7-left / 10-right)
- I’m giving this exercise a try as the Hack Squats are getting too shaky on the back. Actually they may work out well with the widowmaker below…

DB Reverse Lunge – Widowmaker
LT – 55(20r) / 60(20r)
- As it should be with any widowmaker I presume, I was ready to go home after this set.

Stretches (which I perform every workout, even if I don’t list them here).

Diet wise, the day will end with:

308 grams of Protein
313 grams of Carbs
101 grams of Fat
3364 calories

I had been slacking on cycling my carbs lately and I’m not feeling too comfortable with some of the extra flab hanging over my shorts. Ironically I feel I look great in the morning, but by the end of the day, not too good.

I am a huge baseball fan. I love the sport so much, I even went back to play in a hardball league last year as softball just wasn’t hardcore enough to me. I wanted to swing at fast pitching, steal bases, and cover centerfield like Ken Griffey Jr.. Even as I sit here and watch the All-Star festivities, I feel kid-like emotions as the game is being held in St. Louis this year. When I was younger the Cards were one of my favorites as they played small-ball and ran like crazy with Lonnie Smith, Willie McGee, Ozzie Smith and power being supplied by guys like George Hendrick and his back-to-the-pitcher stance. They even rented Jack Clark for a while after his years with my Giants. St. Louis is probably the best baseball town with Rogers Hornsby, Stan Musial and Bob Gibson all sporting the birds on their chest. ESPN thinks St. Louis is great as well as they just did a quick spot showing all of the people from the Cardinals past. Yet one name was not mentioned, Mark McGwire.

When Big Mac hit 70 homeruns in 1998 in that town, it could not have happened to a better city. He was on top of the world and so was baseball. So how can he not be mentioned with the greats of the city’s history? His alleged steroid use is why. The sport is now like a guy with a criminal record. They want people to accept them as they are now, but not know where they had been. Yes, baseball was locked-up and addicted to drugs heavily in the 90’s. Note to baseball, “Everybody knows, deal with it!”

Like any good addict, they enjoyed the time they were hooked. But it’s hard to deal with paying the price when you’ve been busted. Of course McGwire only does interviews now saying, “I don’t want to talk about the past.” Sorry Mark, we have to because baseball always does. Well, except unless it involves Pete Rose as well, but anyway…

Without baseball history, the sport might be far down on the “I love sports” pole behind basketball and football for the American public, could it even become a niche product? But the sport always pulls out it’s heroes of old to spark those emotions in people like me.

And I’m watching now.

See, while I think steroids should not be a part of the game, they were. The A’s are my favorite team and I knew McGwire and Canseco were using back then when they were the Bash Brothers but I didn’t care. I didn’t care about Mark’s Andro or Creatine in his locker and I told people then that they were just covers for what he was really doing. I don’t care. Why? Because I also was a fan of bodybuilding and I knew Arnold did it (and every pro for that matter). I even liked “professional” wrestling and I knew Lex Lugar wasn’t clean. And football, where do I begin? Rodney Harrison and Shawn Merriman get busted and it’s an afterthought on ESPN and FOX sports minds. It’s also not on the mind the fans of those sports either. Maybe because they just deal with it.

So baseball, perhaps you should do the same. Trot Mark back out for the festivities (think he’ll be there this year?), invite Bonds and heck, how about a 1998 reunion re-living the love between Sosa (who has also allegedly failed a drug test and did not know how to speak English when questioned about steroid use). You may find that the fans are more forgiving than you thought. After all, everybody deserves a second chance right? Well, maybe…if you had only dealt with the problem when you had a chance.

But baseball, you also were addicted to the juice in a different way. You may not have been the user, but you were the indirect supplier that got paid off the junkie. You were addicted to the cold-hard cash, so there’s no need to hide now, just deal with who you are and see what happens. But you’re scared you will be, “Long Gone!” if you do, and that is the gamble all addicts face when people learn the truth about their past.

Beating the log book is always important, but when it was time for back today, BAM!

But first,  I rode the bike to the gym. As sore as my legs were I didn’t know how much of an adventure that might be, but it wasn’t too bad. I watched some IM videos to get me “in the mood” and I guess it worked. I felt real strong today. I don’t know if it was getting a couple of nights of decent sleep or the extra carbs I’ve consumed, or a combination of everything…but I’ll do it again next week if I can that’s for sure.

My right shoulder is still giving me trouble so I’m staying away from shoulder presses and I even substituted Skull Crushers for Dips as I was feeling a little bit of pain warming up with my body weight on the Dips.

I went back and studied more of the stickies and re-checked my rep ranges as I had begun falling out of where I should be.

Incline Hammer Press-RP

LT-105(18r) / TT-110(17r)

Cable Side Raise-SS

2 sets – 40(10r, 6r)

Skull Crushers-RP

55(23r)

Lat Pulldown with V-Bar-RP

*First time w/ V-Bar as I’m booting out Chins for now and I do regular Lat Pulldowns on another day.

160(17r)

Rack Deadlifts-SS

LT-365(6r) / TT-365(9r) – Felt easy!!!

LT-285(12r) / TT-295(20r) – I decided not to stop! I felt so good that I wanted to at least get all I could out of it as I just got into a groove. I feel like I quit more for fatigue than anything else, but I really look forward to doing these again next go-round to see if I can repeat the performance.

I did even more bike riding today and had a good amount of food so I definitely feel like it was a weekend of progress.

What a weekend. Weekly weigh-in had my at 194 pounds, a couple more than last week. I had to train for two consecutive days as my Friday night lift got canceled. I really hate lifting during the week as my schedule is quite hectic and my head is cluttered. Here’s the leg/biceps workout from Saturday.

Hammer Preacher Curl-RP

LT- 95 (15r) / TT – 95(16r)

Reverse Preacher Curl-SS

LT – 55(10r) / TT – 55(11r)

Adding weight/ reps on these single-joint movements is getting harder each time.

Sliding Calf Raise-RP

LT – DC Style / TT – 360(26r)

***Now the fun begins***

I understand why it takes so long to fine-tune everything. I’m still getting my exercises together, especially on hams. I decided to see if the wide-stance SLDL could remain in the stable and it proved worthy for sure. I felt more in my hams and less in my lower back which is always good with other exercises to follow.

Wide-stance SLDL-SS

First time so figuring out weight – 135 (15r) / 185 (9r) / 245 (2r)

Leg Press-RP

LT – 600 (8r) / TT – 630(8r)

Widowmaker

LT- 470 / TT – 480

My legs were completely toast after all of this. By the time I went to bed that evening, the soreness was already kicking in. This morning, uh boy…

Other side note, while out cruising late Saturday, my ole lady wanted to stop and get McD’s and I resisted. I wanted this weekend to be relatively clean, unlike the last few. I was hating it at the time, but felt better in the morning.

Time waits for no man, and it wasn’t waiting on me today.

Today was one of those days where I say, “I just gotta lift”. I didn’t want to take the day off as tomorrow may be busy and I’ve already had 2 days off from lifting. I did knock out 2 miles of a walk/jog with my kids yesterday for cardio.

I got off late from job #1 and had to squeeze one in before job #2. To make matters worse, in order to save time I went to one of my other gyms that’s a tad closer but is a bit more packed and “lite”.

Therefore the first half of the workout really can’t be compared to anything else as the gym doesn’t have the equipment I’m accustomed to using on this day. Even the back exercises felt a little different (ironically it’s the same Hammer Strength Iso-Row and Hi-Pull but they are newer) but I was actually able to use more weight. I guess the truth will be known the next time I perform this routine at the regular gym.

FreeMotion Chest Press – Parallel grip

240 – (21r) RP

DB Side Raise

20 – (20r) SS

Now I would have performed this exercise either way. My right shoulder has really been giving my fits, primarily on overhead movements so I’m taking a day off from shoulder pressing.

DB Seated Triceps Extension

65 – (23r) RP

Felt my shoulder a bit on these as well.

Hammer Iso-Row – performed one-arm at a time

LT – 125 (15r) / TT – 180(11r) RP

The weight felt light as I was warming up so I just went for 4 plates on each end.

Hammer Iso-Hi Row

LT – 160 (9r) / TT – 180 (6r) SS

LT – 180 (4r) / TT – 160 (8r) SS

I calculated that I go up and down 15-20 flights of stairs at work (depending on how many trips to the restroom I have to take) throughout the day. Today was no exception; however, I did not have enough time for my outside walk. I did take my bootcamp class (job #2) on a run today so teaching that was some decent low-impact cardio for me.

This is the 5^th time through this workout. It’s been a hard day to find the right exercises for but I think they are finally coming together.

I rode the bike to the gym (over 6 mile round-trip).

Incline DB Curl

LT – 35 (15r) / TT – 35(22r)

I had jacked up my rep range for these for a few workouts and went back to my original weight from workout 1. Glad to see some significant progress had at least been made.

Barbell Reverse Curl

LT – 75 (4r) / 70 (7r)

Once I hit 70 lbs. on here things got rough. I went for 75 last workout and failed and 70 lbs. resulted in lower reps as well. 60 or 65 will be used next time.

Seated Calf Raise

LT – NA / TT – 110 (32)

Romanian Deadlift

LT – 275 (12r) / TT – 295 (11r)

Felt really good with these as my leg was trembling after the calf raises. That 11^th reps was about the last one that I could perform safely for sure.

Front Squats

LT – NA / TT – 135 (6r)

Okay, this exercise may stay. I had to see if straps felt better on my wrists and they did, so I think I finally have my leg routine in order on this day. This exercise also makes overload much more practical as well.

Goblet Squats

LT – 55 (20r) / TT – 60 (20r)

Great set overall.

Overall weight wise, I was 185 lbs. at the start (May 6) and 192 yesterday.

Current blast officially started back on May 13. I have not started a cruise yet as my weights are still progressing nicely and overall I feel pretty good.

A1 – Upper Torso

• Inc. Smith Machine Press (15-25r) RP
• Hammer Delt Press (15-25r) RP
• Reverse Grip Smith Bench Press (15-25r) RP
• Lat Pulldown (15-25r) RP
• T-Bar Row (6-8) SS / 10-12 SS

A2-Bi’s / Legs

• Inc. DB Curl (20-30r) RP
• Reverse Curl (10-20r) SS
• Seated Calf Raise (DC recommended reps/but soon changing to R-P sets)
• Romanian Deadlift (10-20r) SS
• FreeMotion Squats (Still putting a few exercises in to figure out which feels best for my back) – (8-12r) SS
• Goblet Squat – Widowmaker (I really like these and I only learned about them in mid-June. I may use them for the 8-12 set as well)

B1 – Upper Torso

• Inc. Hammer Press (15-25r) RP
• Military Press (15-25r) RP
• Parallel Bar Dips (15-25r) RP
• Chins (may take these out as I’m now finding it hard to progress in weight) (15-25r) RP
• Rack Pulls (6-8) SS / (10-12) SS

B2 – Bi’s /Legs

• Hammer Preacher Curl (15-25r) RP
• Preacher Reverse Curl (10-20) SS
• Sliding Calf Raise (DC style)
• Single Leg Romanian Deadlift (10-20r) SS
• Leg Press (8-12r) / Widowmaker

C1 – Upper Torso

• Dante’s recommended Pec Dec rep scheme
• One Arm DB Press (15-25r) RP
• Seated Cable Overhead Extension (15-25r) RP
• Hammer Iso-Row (15-25r) RP
• Hammer Hi-Row (6-8r) SS / (10-12r) SS

C2 – Bi’s /Legs

• Barbell Curl (20-30r) RP
• Hammer Curl (10-20r) SS
• Donkey Calf Raise (DC style)
• Leg Curl (10-20r) SS
• Hack Squat (8-12r) – I’ve been having a really hard time with these as my back feels like it’s the weak spot. Therefore I do my first SS here, and then I move on to…
• DB Reverse Lunge – Widowmaker

No set morning cardio is done as I am a married father of 5, so I get it in whenever time allows. To get up in the morning before work is tapping into sleep time and I already have no idea what it is like to sleep a straight 8 unless I’m sick, which is usually what happens. However I park a good distance from my office, only take the stairs (on the 5^th floor) multiple times a day, do a planned 15 minute walk at work, and bike ride at least 25 miles a week and play ball with the kids regularly. So the only time I’m really sitting on my butt is at work.

Currently I’m 5’11, 192 lbs. this morning. Heck, that weight is why I’m jumping on in as the scale hasn’t moved much since I started eating more…and that’s a good thing (what…you mean taking in over 3000 cals a day won’t make me fat?). I’ve been training for 15 years now and I’ve just turned 39. When I got into lifting, I was over 250 lbs. and about 35% body fat. In a few years after that I was down to 175 lbs. and under 10% body fat and for the first time in my life I was officially “slim”. I started working as a strength coach and knew what to tell other people but not myself as I always was afraid of getting fat again. “Athletes need to eat for fuel…but I’m not an athlete and I’ll just get fat with that much food.”

Over the last few years I have followed the cycle of getting bigger (in the 220′s) and losing weight (180′s) and I’ve finally concluded that I don’t know jack about my body. I’ve only half-dabbled into DC training because it fit my personality (log keeping, maximum effort, a methodology) but I just never put it all together until I read the piece done in T-Mag. For some reason, everything just clicked seeing the diet recommendations, workout, etc. all in one place…I don’t know. When I finished my last diet run (chronicalled here), I still could not see my abs despite being at a low 185 pounds. Finally the realization is sinking in that the reason I can’t see my abs isn’t because I’m just not lean enough, it’s because I don’t have nearly the amount of LBM that I should have, especially after training this long.

All everyone tauts is having ripped abs, so I think that I have to be 5% bf and 180 lbs. to get there “for my genetics”. Of course the guys that are bigger and can see their abs just have better genes…that’s it…Unfortunately though, except for my athletes, this stereotype generally holds true because nobody I personally know even knows how to get off the cycle misunderstanding and stagnant gains. Hopefully I can get off the merry-go-round myself. Cause one thing I know, I may be lean, but there are a whole lot of guys that don’t even hardly train and look just as good as I do…and that’s got to change.

Okay, finally I can let go of my secret love affair with the scale. Today I hit my wife-mandated 185. I had been bouncing back and forth between 186-189 for a couple of weeks but she said I could only go as low as 185 (yes, one pound did make that much of a difference for me since it was the goal) so that’s where I wanted to be. I guess it’s more of an opportunity to breathe a little easier and focus on, dare I say, maintaining for the summer which is something I never get to focus on. Plus 185 officially made it the lightest I’ve been in over 12 years.

My original goal date was April 27th but I’ve remained motivated and pushing and I want to encourage you to do the same thing. No matter what, don’t stop! Perseverance is the base to our effort. We may not be where we want to be (I still can’t see my abs-urggghh!), but we can be a lot better than we were a month ago.