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well, my weight is still hovering around 251-252, I just can't seem to bust through that 250 lb. barrier...
My training's going really well, though. I'm doing more work in less time and continuing to make small improvements in my strength and endurance.
I think that I look like I'm leaning out and there seem to be some slight improvement in muscle shape and fullness. I'm certainly not discouraged.
Here's today's pic, if you compare it with my av, I think there's some improvement there:
http://www.canadabodybuilding.com/fo...8&pictureid=97
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Definately leaner, good for you man!!
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Thanks for the encouragement, Gixxer!
Here's another new (for me) exercise I've been using a lot lately: Inverted Rows.
I love these. I've got that inner elbow tendon/ligament problem (golf elbow?) on my right arm. I'm sure a lot of you have dealt with that, and if you have, you know how it can interfere with pulling movements. Pulldowns and chins are just to painful when it's flaring up, even when I wrap my elbow. For whatever reason, inverted rows don't create as much strain for me.
If the gym I'm in has blast straps, I use those. If not, I set the Smith Machine at crotch height, or in extreme cases I'll put a barbell in the rack at that level. (I'd never tie up the rack if there are people who need to use it for squatting, though, obviously).
Then it's either hands pronated or facing each other, about close-grip bench press width. Elbows tucked in, shoulder blades pulled back and down, staying tight, leading with my chest, explode up and control on the way down. It's pretty hard work for me, 3 sets going 10-8-6 with the reps with limited rest seems to work well. I really feel it in my mid-back the next couple of days.
When 3X10 gets easy, I'll try it with my feet elevated.
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AND... here's my latest "Breakfast on the Road" plan: I take a 1L bottle, fill it half way with cold coffee, add three scoops of LG protein, add a little cold water, and shake that up. Quick and easy breakfast to go!
If I make extra coffee the day before I can let it cool down and then put it in the fridge. That makes for a nice cold mocha shake.
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I'm almost at the bottom of my free tub... but I do have a tub of chocolate and a tub of vanilla LG Lipotropic on the way. I'm totally happy with the progress I've made since starting this log, and I feel like eating right and training hard are just part of who I am and what I do now, rather than something I need to work hard to keep doing.
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It's nice to see this log up over 1000 views!
I've been dragging my ass around the last week and a half or so: Low energy, almost lethargic, achy, a bit cranky. Not sure what it is, maybe fighting off the 'flu or something?
Even worse, my weight is back up to 254, after dropping steadily for so long.
My waist isn't any bigger, though, so maybe I need to stop worrying about what the scale tells me and start paying more attention to what the mirror tells me (I feel like I'm looking a bit thicker and more dense through the upper chest and shoulders)...
Anyway, I found inspiration to get through this mini-slump in (of all places) an interview with Team Noguiera's boxing coach "Stankie":
"(You got to have...) the five d’s and the two a’s... on my report card. You got to have desire, determination, dedication, drive, and discipline, and that’s the hardest one, discipline. The two A’s, one is ability, but more importantly is attitude. You give me all that and I can take you to the top..."
Damn straight, "Stankie!" Thanks for that.
It's Monday, and I'm Gordi, and Monday is when Gordi goes to the gym and busts his ass doing cleans and presses. So, am I going to sit around moping about not being 100 per cent, or am I going to go bust my ass in the gym? I'm going to go bust my ass, that's what I'm going to do.
Here's the complete interview, if anyone is interested (and why wouldn't you be? It's Stankie!!):
http://www.cagepotato.com/2008/11/21...his-own-words/
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Well, now I am laid out with the flu. I don't go to the gym when I know I've got something that could spread to other, healthy, people. On the other hand, I still wanted to get a workout in on Wednesday.
My home gym set-up consists of this: 2 swiss balls, 1 foam roller, and a set of power block adjustable dumbbells. I don't think that I could build the body I want using nothing but that equipment, but it's surprising how decent a workout I can have with it in a pinch.
I can do various lunges, Romanian deadlifts, and squats, with or without the dumbbells. I can do all kinds of planks and pushups using the swiss balls. I can do cleans and presses and curls and rows with the dumbbells. It's not too hard to get my heart pounding, work up a sweat, and get a bit of a pump going.
Better than nothing, for sure.
Here's the shake I made today:
2 cups water
2 scoops LG chocolate
1 scoop Dymatize fudge brownie
1 tablespoon greens powder
1 heaping tablespoon flax seed
blend, then add 1 frozen organic banana, then blend again.
It was really thick and delicious.
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Feels like I've already shaken off the 'flu, so it was back to the gym today. My energy levels were through the floor, though. For the first time in a very long time I had to will myself through the workout: "ONE more exercise, ONE more set, ONE more rep..." style. Got 'er done, though.
My new protein arrived yesterday, and I got a nice surprise with the order:
http://www.canadabodybuilding.com/fo...&pictureid=101
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Sorry not to have posted as much recently. My contract at work is running out, and the wife and I are planning to move to Japan in the coming year. I've been pretty busy working out the deatils, plus I just got back from a business trip to Ontario.
My wife was was born in Japan, and she is qualified as an RN over there, so she'll have no problem finding work. I taught ESL in Europe for seven years and loved every minute if it. With a spousal visa and my experience, I should be able to pick and choose among the schools and other teaching options.
We're looking at Nara city: A quarter million people, so big enough to have great restaurants, plenty of gyms, and many grocery shopping options, but no so big that I'll be overwhelmed by the crowds and everything. It's half an hour by train from the huge city of Osaka, which opens up a ton of entertainment options (pro wrestling, MMA, sumo, baseball, concerts, even more great restaurants and lots of shopping...). It's also half an hour from the tea capital of Japan: Uji city (where we got married) and the history and culture of Kyoto.
We've done a ton of research. I'll be able to stay on TRT without any hassle. My wife has lots of friends who are doctors so I should be able to get a script there if things work out. If not, you can get test by mail from Thailand without much hassle. It's illegal to buy needles in Japan... but my wife being a nurse should make it pretty easy to get around that.
Protein powders are expensive there... but sashimi and yakitori are good, cheap options. Grocery stores put tuna on sale an hour before closing, so that's where I'll get my sashimi from!
There is a restaurant called Tori Kidoku where everything on the menu is 280 yen (One yen is about one penny Canadian). They specialize in chicken dishes. I'm going to be a regular there the way Norm was at Cheers. If you get a group of eight people together, you can eat and drink all you want for two hours for about $28. Our plan is to make six friends and go there once a week to pig out.
There's a big gym chain in Japan that has a bunch of branches in Nara. I'll probably get the most expensive membership, which will let me work out at any of their branches in Japan at any time during open hours. You can get cheaper memberships that let you work out only during certain times of the day... but a teacher's schedule isn't always regular.
I'm pretty excited about this.
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Looks like my piriformis is healthy enough to take some heavy work again. I've been using the free motion squat machine at my gym, and loving it!
To me, the vanilla flavour LG Lipotropic doesn't taste as good by itself mixed in water as the chocolate flavour does... but it mixes really, really well into my ingredient-rich shakes with all the greens and flax and fruit and stuff. I'm pretty much done my first tub and I figure I'll burn through the two new tubs in two or three months. I can't emphasize enough that it really makes a huge difference for me to get enough protein. I've been super-happy with my results so far!
