Sheiko #29 complete!

Well today was the last day of my shieko 29 program. The volume in this program was pretty high but I feel that it was a great way to solidify my form. I'm still working on all my movements to try and get as close to perfection as I can. I'm feeling stronger, starting to find my groove in all my lifts. Those little things I can only show myself; no cookie cutters here. I'm feeling stronger too. I can feel the gains in all my big lifts, especially BP. While bench does require a lot of form and getting used to flaring lats is a hard concept to grasp but I'm getting a lot better. I would highly recommend using the shieko programs, beat the form into yourself for the weight is nothing if you can't lift it properly. Another word of advice would be study the movements. A lot. And not just bench, squat, and dl. Study everything. Practice with just the bar, hell practice with no bar just your body. If you are told to keep your back rigid, DO IT! some of these lifts go against what we want to do naturally but the form is the safe way out.
I plan on competing in January 2012. I know that I've said this many times but I feel the more I say it the more it gets set in stone. My goal Is 900lbs total. I feel that is very attainable and actually hope to blow that number out of the water. I'm going to start doing some west side style lifting starting this week or the next. Reviewing some of the papers and the work I'll have to put in got me pumped. I guess m a bit crazy for wanting Togo harder and harder, tear my muscles to pieces. This drive to achieve grows in intensity everyday.

Gary Gordon Memorial Championship

Yesterday I attended the Gary Gordon Memorial Championship at Macdill Air force base.  Wow.  What an experience.  Everyone there is friendly, competitors HELP each other, throw ideas and tips around.  It's just one big melting pot of like minded people. There were people there from all age groups.  I saw a 9 year old boy pull 245 off the floor! I believe he was weighed in around 96lbs... that is absolutely insane! I have friends that can't pull close to that!  There were also a few older people there, around 70 I believe, and they were doing incredible as well! That is what its all about.  Functional strength throughout your life.  Most men and women that are 60+ are very sedentary and "achy", but not these folks.  About twenty minutes in I was itching to compete. I firmly believe that I have "the fever", and the only cure is diving deeper into this sport; training, learning, teaching.   It was an incredible experience even if it was just spectating.  I will be competing in early 2012, I'm just waiting for the 2012 schedule to be posted on R.A.W United's website.  I would like to give a special thanks to Rolando Manso for informing me about this event and moreover being a mentor to me in this sport and lifestyle of fitness; I am beyond grateful for the knowledge that he has given me and will continue to learn everything I can. Another thanks goes out to Spero for letting me attend this meet and for being a machine! Lifting AND running the meet is very commendable.  Visit their sites! Rolando's blog: http://www.fitmid-life.com/  and R.A.W United's site: http://www.rawunited.org/

And here is this monster 245 LB Deadlift from a 9 yr old! 

Motivation

As you can see, just over a year apart, not 3 weeks like the commercials.  Seeing the change is a big motivator.  When I first started trying to lose weight, I had problems with plateaus, losing 10lbs then stopping, thinking It wasn't going to happen, I mean my whole family is heavier, so it would seem destined, right ? Well as much as I was trying to force this upon myself, something inside me kept pushing me to change. I knew I could do it, although I had my doubts at times. Now I know that I don't have a 12 pack or anything like that.. but that's not the point. The point is being healthy, being able to function better. I remember going up two flights of stairs and I was winded for 10 minutes. I remember not being able to do 5 pushups.  And I'm here to say there is no "magic pill" ( believe me, if there was I would've found it. )  The magic is putting in the time and effort to change yourself for the better. I was 240lbs on the photo to the right, I'm about 170lbs now.  Change takes time, you will get out what you put in.

The fear of the bar

Last week, I was doing flat bench and my right arm gave out just before lockout.  I managed to push the weight away from my body before it came down. After that happened I really started thinking about what happens to us mentally during and after that kind of mishap. Our body realizes that since it almost got hurt or did get hurt, to be much more cautious. To fear the bar.  Now, I was lucky because I left unscathed, but some aren't as lucky.  One thing I noticed though is that while after it I was weary of the same weight, I took my failure ( no pun intended ) and turned it to be a challenge. Something that I have to fight and work on. To get better, to be better.  Try this application in the gym, or even life.  Learn from the mistakes that are made.  Face that fear, because when you overcome it, there are few greater feelings.

The Fruition of Nutrition

We are told that if we want to look and feel better, we need to exercise and eat right.  Most tend to see it in this order simply for the fact that working out is easier than sticking to a diet.  Most don't hear about how many carbohydrates are needed to fuel your vital organs, how much good protein does to the body ( to the point that they STILL discover new benefits of having more protein intake to this day), and how fat intake can be good!! Diets can get to an extreme complication with an exact daily macro nutrient breakdown so that your body gets what is needed down to the gram, to something like weight watchers where you can pretty much eat whatever the hell you want as long as you stay in your "points".  What diet is right for you ? That is something that only you can truly figure out.  You are the person that knows your body the best. You know what you digest better and what makes you feel like you put on a weight vest! Go from the general things and hone it to your body. Meats, fish, poultry, veggies, fruits, complex carbohydrates like brown rice, potatoes, etc.. Make a healthy meal, WRITE IT DOWN! record everything that you eat, drink, lift, how you tied your shoes... you get the point.  Documenting all of this gives you that traceability on your foods and the effect they have on your body. Eat healthy but don't hate your life doing it.  There are a lot of great recipes out there that are very healthy and taste delicious.  Eat better to feel better!

Ego checking and Day 1

              When you are starting out a new routine, whether it be in the gym or any other application in life, make sure you check the ole ego before you begin. Veterans of the sport know this well, sometimes learned the hard way. If you're just starting to workout, start low! work up to it! If it's your first day in the gym, don't put 5 plates on the bench and have your arms torn off. Ego grows faster than muscle. If you get too much of it, you're going to wind up working against yourself on your goals. I hear some people talking about how they've added 20lbs to their bench in a month because they sit differently pray to the gym gods before they go to sleep every night. The reason that there are such gains when you first start has a lot to do with form, learning how it should be done. Getting your body in tune with the lifts that you're doing. Adding weight to your sets takes times. Don't rush it. I was given some very good advice recently, I was having issues in the hole with my squats ( when you are at the bottom of the rep getting ready to come back up ) I was told to do body weight squats in front of a mirror. Get the form down. Do it a lot. Train the body to move they way it's needed to. It has helped significantly in my squat form. I would highly recommend to do this with your big moves (bench, deadlifts, squats, etc. ). Get used to that motion, because as you get closer to a high workout weight, form starts to suffer. So the better form you have, the less it will be affected when you're really pushing weight.

                   Today was also day 1 of the power lifting routine, I really like how the assistance workouts are tied to the big power movements. It was a tough day, and I enjoyed every second of it. Some people know what their one rep is, but I used the formula given to estimate mine. They actually worked rather well, lifts were tough, but still kept good form and I left with back and shoulders that were on fire. I've gotten a new favorite workout, face pulls. I can't believe I've never heard of these! Amazing!  Hits the upper back nice and hard, and if you don't move the weight right you'll faceplant on the machine.  Which is a great motivator on form!

Fast, EASY way to lose (insert ridiculously high number)lbs in 30 days!

I was walking through Wal-Mart last night, and noticed yet another 'lose fat fast' pill stand in the middle of the walkway. If you want to lose 30lbs in a week, go get a leg cut off. Nothing in life is free, you will get what you give. Eating better doesn't necessarily mean eating less! A lot of people will do crazy things to lose weight, one that got my gullet jiggling was a girl that eats ice cubes and celery for a few days before an event. Celery and ice cubes ?! Celery is one of the few foods that have "negative" calories, meaning that it takes more calories processing celery than what the caloric value of celery is. As far as the ice goes... it will turn back into a liquid, just because you have to chew it doesn't mean it's different than water. At least she's staying hydrated! If you want to lose the weight, it takes time. It's not easy. Do your cardio, do your weight training (yes weight training applies to the ladies too! your body isn't designed to make you look like female bodybuilders so don't be afraid to lift some weights! ), eat right! Before I started dieting, McDonalds double cheeseburgers were the bread and butter of my meals. I mean they taste good and its .99 cents! And I'm a man that loves him some food, so of course I'd have a couple for a meal. I use those double cheeseburgers as my comparison to almost everything I consume. One double cheeseburger is 440 calories. So I could eat one of those for a meal, OR I could have  1/2lb grilled chicken breast, 3 cups of salad, and a cup of lowfat yogurt for around the same calories, 1/3rd of the fat, and double the protein! Now which one would you feel full off of ? For me, one cheeseburger is a slap in the face, a tease to my tummy if you will. My advice is find something that you love to eat.. that you know isn't good for you, and look up the nutrition facts on it. Compare healthier food to whatever you choose and it's an amazing catalyst to eating better.  I eat more food now at 170lbs than what I did when I was 240lbs. Put the right fuel in the engine, it will run better. Easy as that.