No wit here...bodybuilding and the community as a whole lost a great man this weekend. While I did not know Steve personally, I had the great fortune to be acquainted with him, speak with him many times, and see him in action time and again. Week after week, show after show, he worked tirelessly to pull together athletes, judges, fans, promoters, and the large percentage of a-holes that we have at every show.
Steve always had time to talk to an athlete and give and honest perspective on how he/she might improve. Always positive and always honest. He had that ability to make us all know that with real work we could achieve our goals in this sport.
Steve did the dirty work behind the stage that no one else would do. I very selfishly worry about how my show will go off without Steve running it.
Last but not least, I know many people that were good friends of Steve and they have all been so touched by this man that I cannot help but feel their great loss.
This bodybuilding culture of ours has become filled with self absorbed, disrespectful, ignorant, rude, and generally f'd up individuals. If not for the few like Steve Stone, we would have no redeeming qualities. Let us hope that he touched enough of us and left a legacy that will create positivity among the bodybuilding brethren and spawn a new group of "little Steve's" that might work to carry on what he started.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Thursday, September 25, 2008
The Glass is half...um...its got 50%
Here we are, past the 8 week mark so through 1/2 of the diet. Well, if you have been following along (and I know my adoring fans and supporters have been) then you know I am more than 1/2 way because I put in a solid 17 weeks of dieting.
Ironically, 1/2 way through and it was like a switch went OFF on Monday. For the first time I could mount a little bit of energy, but could not find the expected strength. Week after week i have been hanging in there with my log book and staying close to the goals. Drops and here and there, but nothing consistent or significant. Monday I started hitting back and I knew something just was not clicking. Deads were weak: 525 x 2 (4 the last few weeks). It is definitely time to pull back there, I just do not have the core to handle it with the return of my little waist. From there the back workout was all over the place. I just could not get my head clear. Every step and blink was cloudy and the finish of each step was dizzy. Tuesday night this was much worse for chest as I muddled through and put all my efforts into just moving through the workout. As I got to quads last night, i was pretty much a puddle on the gym floor. I got through it and handled some decent weights, but it took everything I had to just start each set rather than curl up int he corner. I know, waaawaaaa. But I get the feeling this week something is off besides just the low calories.
As I mentioned last time, my nightly sleep patterns are awful. To sleep between 11-12 and then wide awake by 1 and up and down for the next 4 hours until I finally get to head out for cardio. Perhaps that is catching up with me. Maybe I have a rare tropical disease. I have never been anywhere tropical, but still, these things get passed around. Last night I fought through the entire leg workout and it was frustrating and even at the end was not satisfying. I had it all planned out and we cranked through it, but it never got into a rhythm, I never had to stop fighting myself so I could start fighting the weight. Not a fun way to spend a couple hours.
And that concludes my whining for today. It is of note that its taken about 30min to write this much due to intermittent napping.
In other news, the Olympia is this weekend. I hate that its not on pay-per-view anymore. I am hoping the webcast is improved, I know past shows I have tried to watch was more like watching your favorite football team on Tecmo Super Bowl instead of HD. Hopefully the webcast along with the MD play by play will make it fun to follow. If I had to pick, I would say I am rooting for Dennis Wolf. I have liked his approach, seems to just want to work and get better and win. Of course I want to see big Toney make the Top 5, but who knows what he has left after all the shows this summer. I am also interested to see the women. They keep saying the judging is going to change, but it has not at the O and Arnold, yet. I would love to see some of the smaller/cute girls place high.
Enough about that, no one cares. I am as bad as the guys on the MD forum that all list the same top 5 like anyone else cares that some d-bag picked Dexter in 3rd instead of 2nd.
Yesterday I mailed out my show applications and NPC registration ( I will get a copy of that damn NPC magazine someday). Locked in, lets go. In the words of one Garth Algar: "GAME ON."
Ironically, 1/2 way through and it was like a switch went OFF on Monday. For the first time I could mount a little bit of energy, but could not find the expected strength. Week after week i have been hanging in there with my log book and staying close to the goals. Drops and here and there, but nothing consistent or significant. Monday I started hitting back and I knew something just was not clicking. Deads were weak: 525 x 2 (4 the last few weeks). It is definitely time to pull back there, I just do not have the core to handle it with the return of my little waist. From there the back workout was all over the place. I just could not get my head clear. Every step and blink was cloudy and the finish of each step was dizzy. Tuesday night this was much worse for chest as I muddled through and put all my efforts into just moving through the workout. As I got to quads last night, i was pretty much a puddle on the gym floor. I got through it and handled some decent weights, but it took everything I had to just start each set rather than curl up int he corner. I know, waaawaaaa. But I get the feeling this week something is off besides just the low calories.
As I mentioned last time, my nightly sleep patterns are awful. To sleep between 11-12 and then wide awake by 1 and up and down for the next 4 hours until I finally get to head out for cardio. Perhaps that is catching up with me. Maybe I have a rare tropical disease. I have never been anywhere tropical, but still, these things get passed around. Last night I fought through the entire leg workout and it was frustrating and even at the end was not satisfying. I had it all planned out and we cranked through it, but it never got into a rhythm, I never had to stop fighting myself so I could start fighting the weight. Not a fun way to spend a couple hours.
And that concludes my whining for today. It is of note that its taken about 30min to write this much due to intermittent napping.
In other news, the Olympia is this weekend. I hate that its not on pay-per-view anymore. I am hoping the webcast is improved, I know past shows I have tried to watch was more like watching your favorite football team on Tecmo Super Bowl instead of HD. Hopefully the webcast along with the MD play by play will make it fun to follow. If I had to pick, I would say I am rooting for Dennis Wolf. I have liked his approach, seems to just want to work and get better and win. Of course I want to see big Toney make the Top 5, but who knows what he has left after all the shows this summer. I am also interested to see the women. They keep saying the judging is going to change, but it has not at the O and Arnold, yet. I would love to see some of the smaller/cute girls place high.
Enough about that, no one cares. I am as bad as the guys on the MD forum that all list the same top 5 like anyone else cares that some d-bag picked Dexter in 3rd instead of 2nd.
Yesterday I mailed out my show applications and NPC registration ( I will get a copy of that damn NPC magazine someday). Locked in, lets go. In the words of one Garth Algar: "GAME ON."
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Late Night Confessions...and recap of the week.
In the past couple weeks I have had a lot of trouble staying asleep at night. I seem to wake up around 1 or 2 and feel wide awake (not so wide awake right now). As a bodybuilder on a diet, its amazing the things you do to pass time: shave my legs, pre blend protien shakes for the week, actually put away laundry, extensive flossing, forum trolling, condensing-moving-measuring supplements, and of course buying things online that I dont need.
Now that you have all had a chance to enjoy my extensive review of the AC Pro, a recap of where I have been....
I wavered on going to AC until Thursday night when Dora and Lisa convinced me to go. Dora was down there with ALRI so Lisa and I decided to drive down Sat morning. I left home around 4am, met her around 5, and we were off. It was a nice day down there and I got to meet a lot of great people and be in the mix of the sport I love, but it was probably too much stress while dieting. Stretching my meals out over all that time was HARD. By about 6pm I was able to sneak out to do cardio and I was so tired and hungry I don't know how I got there and back in one piece. I was so hungry and light headed when I got back I thought I was going to start falling into people in the hotel. I watched a good portion of the night show, but I was getting way too tired and cranky to have fun and we decided to head back at 10. I was 5 meals into it at that point and decided to suck it up and hold out until I got home. At 2am I was in a semi coma on my couch eating my cheat meal and watching college football replays.
Sunday I was a total mess and I still have not recovered. This weekend there is nothing on the agenda except trying to recover from the last two long Saturdays. Training has been tough with the increased exhaustion, but I been in there moving some weight. Coming into the half way point in the diet, I gave a 600lb deadlift one final try (after 525 for 4). 600 got up over my knees and I was close. Would have been a nice accomplishment, but pretty irrelevant for my real goals, so thats it until winter. After that we thrashed back with a ton of angles and reps.
Chest was pretty insignificant, good stretch and handled good weight (3 sets of db incline presses for 8, 6, 5 with the 140's).
Last night for Wednesday night wheels, we flipped the order a little and started with 1 leg extensions, then went into lunges on the smith machine. Going heavy on these was tough and I am starting to pay for it as today goes on. Worked up to 275 for the last set and that was lot on 1 leg. Next was a superset: hacks and presses. 10-12 reps on the hack staying short of failure. It seems to get the sweep activated and more used on the heavy presses. Over to presses and it amazed me how little weight I could handle. I got up to 8 plates on each side for 10-12 reps, shaky reps. Next was a drop set on the press: 10 reps by 5 drops. I crapped out in the middle this week and like a big puss had to take a 30sec break. It was not because of pain, my legs just failed. Next we went back and did 2 more sets of hacks, 1.5 reps. Then it was over to the squat rack for the big 6 x10. Light weight (relatively) and strict form. At this point in the session, 185 will blast you. Finally killed it with 3x20 on the extension.
My glutes are already pretty tight from those heavy lunges and I am nearly laying down in my desk chair. Couple more hours until I train shoulders and by the time that is over, i question if I will be able to get up one flight of stairs to my dwelling. Of course if I sleep in the car I will be that much closer to the gym for am cardio.
Speaking of cardio, there is no worse thing than the middle of the week in the middle of the month. I have already read MD, Ironman, and Flex (yes, even Flex) cover to cover. Football highlights are over for a couple days. The Mets make me sick and that makes me lose interest in all baseball. I wish MTV would replay the hill and not "Next" which is so awful I cannot tolerate it, which says something. I can get into some bad tv (hence the previous statement about the Hills), but Next and Parental Control are just too awful.
For the record, I am not ashamed of liking the Hills. One day a few years ago I got sucked into a Laguna Beach marathon and from there on I couldn't get out. Its not good tv, but I grew up on 90210 and this fills the void (no, I will not be watching the new 90210, it will make me feel old).
Now that you have all had a chance to enjoy my extensive review of the AC Pro, a recap of where I have been....
I wavered on going to AC until Thursday night when Dora and Lisa convinced me to go. Dora was down there with ALRI so Lisa and I decided to drive down Sat morning. I left home around 4am, met her around 5, and we were off. It was a nice day down there and I got to meet a lot of great people and be in the mix of the sport I love, but it was probably too much stress while dieting. Stretching my meals out over all that time was HARD. By about 6pm I was able to sneak out to do cardio and I was so tired and hungry I don't know how I got there and back in one piece. I was so hungry and light headed when I got back I thought I was going to start falling into people in the hotel. I watched a good portion of the night show, but I was getting way too tired and cranky to have fun and we decided to head back at 10. I was 5 meals into it at that point and decided to suck it up and hold out until I got home. At 2am I was in a semi coma on my couch eating my cheat meal and watching college football replays.
Sunday I was a total mess and I still have not recovered. This weekend there is nothing on the agenda except trying to recover from the last two long Saturdays. Training has been tough with the increased exhaustion, but I been in there moving some weight. Coming into the half way point in the diet, I gave a 600lb deadlift one final try (after 525 for 4). 600 got up over my knees and I was close. Would have been a nice accomplishment, but pretty irrelevant for my real goals, so thats it until winter. After that we thrashed back with a ton of angles and reps.
Chest was pretty insignificant, good stretch and handled good weight (3 sets of db incline presses for 8, 6, 5 with the 140's).
Last night for Wednesday night wheels, we flipped the order a little and started with 1 leg extensions, then went into lunges on the smith machine. Going heavy on these was tough and I am starting to pay for it as today goes on. Worked up to 275 for the last set and that was lot on 1 leg. Next was a superset: hacks and presses. 10-12 reps on the hack staying short of failure. It seems to get the sweep activated and more used on the heavy presses. Over to presses and it amazed me how little weight I could handle. I got up to 8 plates on each side for 10-12 reps, shaky reps. Next was a drop set on the press: 10 reps by 5 drops. I crapped out in the middle this week and like a big puss had to take a 30sec break. It was not because of pain, my legs just failed. Next we went back and did 2 more sets of hacks, 1.5 reps. Then it was over to the squat rack for the big 6 x10. Light weight (relatively) and strict form. At this point in the session, 185 will blast you. Finally killed it with 3x20 on the extension.
My glutes are already pretty tight from those heavy lunges and I am nearly laying down in my desk chair. Couple more hours until I train shoulders and by the time that is over, i question if I will be able to get up one flight of stairs to my dwelling. Of course if I sleep in the car I will be that much closer to the gym for am cardio.
Speaking of cardio, there is no worse thing than the middle of the week in the middle of the month. I have already read MD, Ironman, and Flex (yes, even Flex) cover to cover. Football highlights are over for a couple days. The Mets make me sick and that makes me lose interest in all baseball. I wish MTV would replay the hill and not "Next" which is so awful I cannot tolerate it, which says something. I can get into some bad tv (hence the previous statement about the Hills), but Next and Parental Control are just too awful.
For the record, I am not ashamed of liking the Hills. One day a few years ago I got sucked into a Laguna Beach marathon and from there on I couldn't get out. Its not good tv, but I grew up on 90210 and this fills the void (no, I will not be watching the new 90210, it will make me feel old).
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Live from Atlantic City (sorry, no washed up comics)
Big J1 has his predictions, Dave has the play by play, and now I am here with a review. This is not just about the freaks on stage, but the whole experience - because I am in-depth well rounded sort of guy...
To begin with, the day was hell for me, but I will get that in the next post. Hopefully my caloric deficit does not put a negative slant on the review. I got to the host hotel at 9ish after a 4 hour drive with the lovely Lisa, my new partner in crime for these events. Lots of old people, slot machines, and bar lined the way into the ballroom that hosted the show. All very nice, although the Trump Marina is by no means the upper echelon. Its a nice hotel, but don't mistake it for the hotels cross town.
In the lobby there were a few select booths - Species headed by Joel and Jeff along with some lovely ladies (and thank god, some classy ladies, all cute, all tateful). VPX was there and it hurt me to see all those samples of protein bars I could not touch. They did have Red Line RTD's and I drank 4 of them throughout the day. Cold sweats anyone? There was also ALRI represented by little Dora, your favorite and mine. Off in the corner there was some other crap, but I honestly did not care enough to look.
Friday night they had prejudging for Fitness and Pro Masters, didn't seem to make much of a dent in the long day to follow. Sat. morning started a little before 11 with figure. Endless figure. One piece and two. The point of the two-piece? Anyone? Anyone? Am I getting too distracted by abs, is that the problem?
Next came the pro women BB. It was not an exceptional line up. I prefer the smaller girls that had been winning the last few shows, but they didn't show up. The only impressive woman up there was Isabelle Turrell, who got a deserved 6th due to a lack of condition, but her structure is amazing. Its seems she had a little issue with a few too many carbs Friday night - doesn't speak well for her mental strength. There were a couple beasts, the cutie Carla Salotti, and this one little lady with a huge belly that scared me. Overall, not impressive.
Now we come to the Pro Men. My favorite, Toney F. was a little softer than we expect. Darrem looked good and Johnny Jackson was harder than normal, but the show was over when Melvin too the stage. Just a beautiful shape. Tiny waist and great lines. Conditioning was as on as I have seen him in previous pics. The talk of the day was King Kamali as I watched Romano lose his mind when Kamali got the first call out. I dont know any of the history with Kamali and pretty much everyone else that hates him, but here is what i saw: an arrogant out of shape dude on stage making lots of noise and drawing attention to a terrible physique. No quads and the biggest set of obliques I have seen. Just a mess. I do not know how he got 6th...looking back i couldn't see him in the top 12.
The most interesting story that I read after the show was Luke Wood. If you haven't read it, check out the forums, its seems someone had a little issue with his special supplements. To make a long story short, he is lucky to have gotten on stage. He was taking t3 dosed in mg, not the mcg he thought it was dosed in. So he was taking 1000x what he thought. Just stupid. The negative publicity that death would have brought our sport makes me sick.
Back to the show...it never stopped. There was no need to have a day like that. Next was the finals for the Pro-Masters Men, which was many of the same guys that were just on stage for the Open. That got done somewhere after 5 and the NPC portion started (3 hours late, way to hang in there PJ). Prejudging and finals in one shot. Overall domination by PJ Braun, looked great and it was nice to see him smile after his disappointment at the NA.
I almost forgot, they also threw in the Pro-Tan model search. Wouldn't want to forget that. I think the blond one. The one with the legs, boobs, and cellulite in a tacky bikini. Yeah, that one.
On to the finals. Admittedly, my review comes to an end here. I was fried and could not pay attention to much. They did well to move it along and when I left at 10 the pro men were nearly done with routines. Being up since 330am and stretching my meals out had me shot and we had another 4 hour drive on tap. I stayed to see some solid routines from Darrem and Melvin, some boring and disenchanted routines from some of the masters men, and the plain weird from a couple of oversized females (I use the fe loosely).
All in all, the show was pulled together well and besides making the NPC competitors wait so long, it was a solid job. I say get rid of the Pro-Masters or make it a different show. We do not need to see these guys on stage twice. And for whatever reason, many of them seemed old and disinterested. Well they are old, but you would think they would have a little more pride up there. That said, the pro's looked great and earned their money on this long day.
Thanks to Dave for getting me a special seat up front, Lisa for carting me down there, VPX for keeping me awake and slightly nauseous, Joel for priceless commentary, and a special thanks to all the d-bags, tough guys, schmoes, wanna be photogs, and creeps that make these events so special.
To begin with, the day was hell for me, but I will get that in the next post. Hopefully my caloric deficit does not put a negative slant on the review. I got to the host hotel at 9ish after a 4 hour drive with the lovely Lisa, my new partner in crime for these events. Lots of old people, slot machines, and bar lined the way into the ballroom that hosted the show. All very nice, although the Trump Marina is by no means the upper echelon. Its a nice hotel, but don't mistake it for the hotels cross town.
In the lobby there were a few select booths - Species headed by Joel and Jeff along with some lovely ladies (and thank god, some classy ladies, all cute, all tateful). VPX was there and it hurt me to see all those samples of protein bars I could not touch. They did have Red Line RTD's and I drank 4 of them throughout the day. Cold sweats anyone? There was also ALRI represented by little Dora, your favorite and mine. Off in the corner there was some other crap, but I honestly did not care enough to look.
Friday night they had prejudging for Fitness and Pro Masters, didn't seem to make much of a dent in the long day to follow. Sat. morning started a little before 11 with figure. Endless figure. One piece and two. The point of the two-piece? Anyone? Anyone? Am I getting too distracted by abs, is that the problem?
Next came the pro women BB. It was not an exceptional line up. I prefer the smaller girls that had been winning the last few shows, but they didn't show up. The only impressive woman up there was Isabelle Turrell, who got a deserved 6th due to a lack of condition, but her structure is amazing. Its seems she had a little issue with a few too many carbs Friday night - doesn't speak well for her mental strength. There were a couple beasts, the cutie Carla Salotti, and this one little lady with a huge belly that scared me. Overall, not impressive.
Now we come to the Pro Men. My favorite, Toney F. was a little softer than we expect. Darrem looked good and Johnny Jackson was harder than normal, but the show was over when Melvin too the stage. Just a beautiful shape. Tiny waist and great lines. Conditioning was as on as I have seen him in previous pics. The talk of the day was King Kamali as I watched Romano lose his mind when Kamali got the first call out. I dont know any of the history with Kamali and pretty much everyone else that hates him, but here is what i saw: an arrogant out of shape dude on stage making lots of noise and drawing attention to a terrible physique. No quads and the biggest set of obliques I have seen. Just a mess. I do not know how he got 6th...looking back i couldn't see him in the top 12.
The most interesting story that I read after the show was Luke Wood. If you haven't read it, check out the forums, its seems someone had a little issue with his special supplements. To make a long story short, he is lucky to have gotten on stage. He was taking t3 dosed in mg, not the mcg he thought it was dosed in. So he was taking 1000x what he thought. Just stupid. The negative publicity that death would have brought our sport makes me sick.
Back to the show...it never stopped. There was no need to have a day like that. Next was the finals for the Pro-Masters Men, which was many of the same guys that were just on stage for the Open. That got done somewhere after 5 and the NPC portion started (3 hours late, way to hang in there PJ). Prejudging and finals in one shot. Overall domination by PJ Braun, looked great and it was nice to see him smile after his disappointment at the NA.
I almost forgot, they also threw in the Pro-Tan model search. Wouldn't want to forget that. I think the blond one. The one with the legs, boobs, and cellulite in a tacky bikini. Yeah, that one.
On to the finals. Admittedly, my review comes to an end here. I was fried and could not pay attention to much. They did well to move it along and when I left at 10 the pro men were nearly done with routines. Being up since 330am and stretching my meals out had me shot and we had another 4 hour drive on tap. I stayed to see some solid routines from Darrem and Melvin, some boring and disenchanted routines from some of the masters men, and the plain weird from a couple of oversized females (I use the fe loosely).
All in all, the show was pulled together well and besides making the NPC competitors wait so long, it was a solid job. I say get rid of the Pro-Masters or make it a different show. We do not need to see these guys on stage twice. And for whatever reason, many of them seemed old and disinterested. Well they are old, but you would think they would have a little more pride up there. That said, the pro's looked great and earned their money on this long day.
Thanks to Dave for getting me a special seat up front, Lisa for carting me down there, VPX for keeping me awake and slightly nauseous, Joel for priceless commentary, and a special thanks to all the d-bags, tough guys, schmoes, wanna be photogs, and creeps that make these events so special.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
WEDNESDAY NIGHT WHEELS
Its not a car show folks....last night Melissa, Clarke, and I jumped into quads at IXL, my home away from home.
Started off with 3 light sets of extensions to warm up.
First real move was leg presses. 1 light warm up. I like this machine because its a heavy sled and you don't have to use 15 plates on each side to get some work in.
- 30 reps (6 plates each side)
- 20 reps (8 plates)
- 17 reps ( 9 plates)
- 13 reps (8 plates + 1 + Melissa)
- Drop set: 5 drops, 11 reps each set (7 plates dropping one per set)
Hack Squats (feet together all the way down, 1/2 up, back down, all the way up = 1 rep)
- 90lbs for 12
- 180 lbs drop to 90lbs: 10 to 5
- 230lbs drop to 90lbs: 9 to 6
Extensions: 6 sets, 3 with both legs, 3 1 leg. All sets to failure around 15 reps
Smith machine Lunges (back leg up on bench):
- 135 for 12
- 185 for 10
- 205 for 10
Squat (all about form here, gotta be perfect, all the way into the hole).
- 135 - 10
- 155 - 10
- 185 - 10
- 185 - 10
- 205 - 10
- 205 - 10
I then posed for 10min and limped out. After a 20min drive home, I could barely move my knees. It was not a restful night. I had my ground beef, 1tbsp MacNut Oil, and a little salad (lettuce). Then i sat around starving. A solid leg workout in the offseason is a great way to eat your face off the next day. It ramps up your metabolism like nothing else. Miserable feeling on a diet. As soon as my eyes opened I was starving and it has not let up yet (its not 5pm).
Delts tonight and some calves to finish. Got to just scrape a little energy up and get through the end of the week.
Started off with 3 light sets of extensions to warm up.
First real move was leg presses. 1 light warm up. I like this machine because its a heavy sled and you don't have to use 15 plates on each side to get some work in.
- 30 reps (6 plates each side)
- 20 reps (8 plates)
- 17 reps ( 9 plates)
- 13 reps (8 plates + 1 + Melissa)
- Drop set: 5 drops, 11 reps each set (7 plates dropping one per set)
Hack Squats (feet together all the way down, 1/2 up, back down, all the way up = 1 rep)
- 90lbs for 12
- 180 lbs drop to 90lbs: 10 to 5
- 230lbs drop to 90lbs: 9 to 6
Extensions: 6 sets, 3 with both legs, 3 1 leg. All sets to failure around 15 reps
Smith machine Lunges (back leg up on bench):
- 135 for 12
- 185 for 10
- 205 for 10
Squat (all about form here, gotta be perfect, all the way into the hole).
- 135 - 10
- 155 - 10
- 185 - 10
- 185 - 10
- 205 - 10
- 205 - 10
I then posed for 10min and limped out. After a 20min drive home, I could barely move my knees. It was not a restful night. I had my ground beef, 1tbsp MacNut Oil, and a little salad (lettuce). Then i sat around starving. A solid leg workout in the offseason is a great way to eat your face off the next day. It ramps up your metabolism like nothing else. Miserable feeling on a diet. As soon as my eyes opened I was starving and it has not let up yet (its not 5pm).
Delts tonight and some calves to finish. Got to just scrape a little energy up and get through the end of the week.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Team U - They are TESTED...
Saturday I spent all day down at the Team U. I went down to hang out and help Dave with the play by play on MD.com. The morning was slow and figure went on forever. We missed the female BB (it was over by 915) and the men went the night prior. I was left to just lounge around and take some pics for MD (which I subcontracted out to Lisa who did a way better job than I would have). Did I mention that figure went on forever? Can someone explain to me if anyone anywhere gives a crap about the one-piece? Is there a reason why they give out 12 pro-cards at one show? If I get second in my class I could qualify for nationals. If I win the overall at the USA or my class at nationals, I could go pro. If a girl at this show gets second in her class she is a pro. Doesn't seem right. Personally, I wouldn't quite feel ready to be a pro when I wasn't even the best amatuer that day.
During the break we headed to Dora's, where Melissa and Dora relaxed in their hot body suits and sent text messages while Lisa and I went off to do 70min of cardio.
Back at the night show, it was a weird scene. The storm kept a lot of people home and I have never seen the Tribecca so empty. Once the show jumped off, I was busy helping Dave by doing a poor job of pronouncing names. Jammed in the press section behind the judges I was left to starve and sweat. Gladiator Mike O'Hearn was in front of me and left little room for me and the metal folding chair behind him. For awhile everyone cleared out and i was left at the table to do the play by play, which I did wrong (anyone that gets an email from Dave knows that everything should be in CAPS and BOLD).
The female BB's were very unimpressive. No one up there deserved a pro-card and would have gotten spanked at any of the other national shows. It was a very poor showing. Figure and fitness - whatever. The Men has some impressive physiques, although I noticed a consistent lack of leg development. The SPECIES athletes represented well and I felt Kyoshi was the most complete bodybuilder in the building that day. There were some thick dudes on stage and I am sure they have never used anything more than a good multi-vitamin and solid whey protein.
After the show I couldn't wait to leave and Melissa was ready to head out and get the body suit out of her crotch. I stuck around to help Dave with the interviews, which was cool. I got to talk for a few minutes with each of the winners and they all had a great attitude and a lot of pride in what they accomplished.
As a final note, bodysuits do not flatter anyone. No matter shape you are in or think you are in, they are just ugly. Something for all supplement companies to think of when they are putting together a marketing scheme for a booth.
During the break we headed to Dora's, where Melissa and Dora relaxed in their hot body suits and sent text messages while Lisa and I went off to do 70min of cardio.
Back at the night show, it was a weird scene. The storm kept a lot of people home and I have never seen the Tribecca so empty. Once the show jumped off, I was busy helping Dave by doing a poor job of pronouncing names. Jammed in the press section behind the judges I was left to starve and sweat. Gladiator Mike O'Hearn was in front of me and left little room for me and the metal folding chair behind him. For awhile everyone cleared out and i was left at the table to do the play by play, which I did wrong (anyone that gets an email from Dave knows that everything should be in CAPS and BOLD).
The female BB's were very unimpressive. No one up there deserved a pro-card and would have gotten spanked at any of the other national shows. It was a very poor showing. Figure and fitness - whatever. The Men has some impressive physiques, although I noticed a consistent lack of leg development. The SPECIES athletes represented well and I felt Kyoshi was the most complete bodybuilder in the building that day. There were some thick dudes on stage and I am sure they have never used anything more than a good multi-vitamin and solid whey protein.
After the show I couldn't wait to leave and Melissa was ready to head out and get the body suit out of her crotch. I stuck around to help Dave with the interviews, which was cool. I got to talk for a few minutes with each of the winners and they all had a great attitude and a lot of pride in what they accomplished.
As a final note, bodysuits do not flatter anyone. No matter shape you are in or think you are in, they are just ugly. Something for all supplement companies to think of when they are putting together a marketing scheme for a booth.
Time to Get Open...
It's been a while since I last posted. I decided to quit dieting, join the county fair tour, and travel throughout the country as a carny working the goldfish booth. It was a life changing decision, but the joy I get when that ping pong balls splashes in is unrivaled.
OK, not really. Still on the diet and still training hard. Too hard sometimes I think. Last night for back I was feeling a little froggy and almost got a new PR. I was going for 525 for 5 and the last rep was up over my knees, but I was done. In the off season I never got over 520 for 5, so it wasn't too shabby. I still had some gas in the tank so I went for a single with 600 and got it 3/4 of the way up - the problem is that without the extra bulk I just didn't have the core strength to muscle up the last few inches. From there I just started pumping reps: wide pull downs, Dorian style BB row, DB row, Close grip pulldown, and 1-arm T-Bar rows.
Last night was Melissa's first training session in a month and it was great to have her back. She was pretty frustrated with her loss of strength, but I know after about 2 weeks the rest will have proven a good thing and she will be ready to start hitting PR's every week. We are going to get her ready for a summer show and big changes are on the horizon. I have never met anyone who is more determined and she basically cannot fail unless she just gets sick of training, which I can't see in the near future. We also have Clarke back on the team as a regular and he is getting stronger and just putting in work like he always does. Rowing that little boat keeps him lean, but he has some nuts and puts up a fight when we go to higher reps.
On a more serious note (which i hate to do), I did have my reasons for not blogging last week or really doing much of anything besides work and training. A variety of circumstances took me to a crossroads and forced a lot of self inspection. Faced with losing the person you love most (emotionally speaking - no one is dead), I had to really take account of what got me to that point. How and why did it all happen? After a lot of thinking and a lot of breakdowns, I started seeing my faults and my issues that had affected all of my relationships. I saw that I had lost control of many actions (and reactions) and I was letting anxiety and some depression run my life. Or more clearly, the way I fought those things was not healthy and it was dictating my life and my behaviors without my realizing. After many years of putting off and fighting the idea of counseling, I ventured into last Friday. I never thought I couldn't handle these things on my own, but I came to realize that I had already failed and needed help. A great analogy is dieting - no matter how much I know I think, I would never want to do it without Dave's guidance and watchful eye. The same needs to apply to this journey - its still me that will make the changes and put in the work, but I need some guidance and input. Some new ideas and new approaches.
I am still adjusting and trying to accept this. Its a swallowing of pride. But its my reality and I need to put it out there. Last week was truly the most difficult and trying week of my life and I am not feeling much better as I write this. I lost someone I love and care about more than she or anyone realized - I knew all along but I failed to express it and act accordingly. Many times I even convinced myself I was moving on, but I never did because I never wanted to. Once I realized it was too late. But perhaps if I got what I want I might not have done the thinking and taken the time to realize the bigger picture. My issues go beyond any one relationship and have affected them all. Now its time to work on a change....
9.5 weeks to the show and a new challenge to go along with it. In many ways it makes dieting seem easier and more simple.
OK, not really. Still on the diet and still training hard. Too hard sometimes I think. Last night for back I was feeling a little froggy and almost got a new PR. I was going for 525 for 5 and the last rep was up over my knees, but I was done. In the off season I never got over 520 for 5, so it wasn't too shabby. I still had some gas in the tank so I went for a single with 600 and got it 3/4 of the way up - the problem is that without the extra bulk I just didn't have the core strength to muscle up the last few inches. From there I just started pumping reps: wide pull downs, Dorian style BB row, DB row, Close grip pulldown, and 1-arm T-Bar rows.
Last night was Melissa's first training session in a month and it was great to have her back. She was pretty frustrated with her loss of strength, but I know after about 2 weeks the rest will have proven a good thing and she will be ready to start hitting PR's every week. We are going to get her ready for a summer show and big changes are on the horizon. I have never met anyone who is more determined and she basically cannot fail unless she just gets sick of training, which I can't see in the near future. We also have Clarke back on the team as a regular and he is getting stronger and just putting in work like he always does. Rowing that little boat keeps him lean, but he has some nuts and puts up a fight when we go to higher reps.
On a more serious note (which i hate to do), I did have my reasons for not blogging last week or really doing much of anything besides work and training. A variety of circumstances took me to a crossroads and forced a lot of self inspection. Faced with losing the person you love most (emotionally speaking - no one is dead), I had to really take account of what got me to that point. How and why did it all happen? After a lot of thinking and a lot of breakdowns, I started seeing my faults and my issues that had affected all of my relationships. I saw that I had lost control of many actions (and reactions) and I was letting anxiety and some depression run my life. Or more clearly, the way I fought those things was not healthy and it was dictating my life and my behaviors without my realizing. After many years of putting off and fighting the idea of counseling, I ventured into last Friday. I never thought I couldn't handle these things on my own, but I came to realize that I had already failed and needed help. A great analogy is dieting - no matter how much I know I think, I would never want to do it without Dave's guidance and watchful eye. The same needs to apply to this journey - its still me that will make the changes and put in the work, but I need some guidance and input. Some new ideas and new approaches.
I am still adjusting and trying to accept this. Its a swallowing of pride. But its my reality and I need to put it out there. Last week was truly the most difficult and trying week of my life and I am not feeling much better as I write this. I lost someone I love and care about more than she or anyone realized - I knew all along but I failed to express it and act accordingly. Many times I even convinced myself I was moving on, but I never did because I never wanted to. Once I realized it was too late. But perhaps if I got what I want I might not have done the thinking and taken the time to realize the bigger picture. My issues go beyond any one relationship and have affected them all. Now its time to work on a change....
9.5 weeks to the show and a new challenge to go along with it. In many ways it makes dieting seem easier and more simple.
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