Today’s Major lift was a bit of an embarrassment. My nemesis…Pull Ups. They seem to be the first thing that goes when I stop working out. I think I may need to start a Pull Up Progression Protocol to be able to get the weight up. I was supposed to follow the normal 5 Rep with the 60%, 75%, 85%,85% of weighted pull ups, but I could not make it through the full sets. waah waah waah. I’ll document my failures too!

Weighted Pull Ups: 5 Reps: 60%, 75%, 85%,85%: 5lbs./ 3 Reps with 5lbs, 2 without/3…/2 1/2…hahah.

Dumbbell Single Rows: 4 Sets 10 Reps: 45/45/45/45

TRX Upright Rows: 10/10/10/10

Incline Curls: 4 Sets, 10 Reps: 20/20/20/20

SUPER SET: 4 Sets, 8 Reps:

Zottman Curls        15’s   15’s   15’s  15’s

Cross-body Curls   15’s   15’s D  15’s   15’s

Pronated Curls       15’s   15’s   15’s   15’s DD   (D’s for had to drop ’em for a sec.)

I’m a core guy. Not much on the Biceps, but I’ll be doing my best to really pump the hell out of these arm knots. The wife will like that.

 

Another wobbly walk out of a gym!

So, Day 2 weight training is legs. Progressive Overload Lift is the Back Squat.

My 1RM right now is 250lbs.

Back Squat: 4 Sets, 5 Reps: 150lbs/160lbs/190lbs/190lbs…..Crushed it.

Front Squat: 4 Set, 10 Reps: 95lbs.

If you have knee or ankle issues, this next guy will fix them (you should consult your physician before, of course) over time.

Bosu Ball One Leg Squat: 4 Sets, 10 Reps, each leg. This does a lot of different things. It will absolutely ignite your legs, #1. #2., It will increase your balance. #3., It is a really good core work out as well. Sweat will fall.

Kalf-Koruption (I just named it that): Calf muscles are normally stubborn muscles to get to grow, but you have to hit all the heads of the muscle (I think that’s right, I’m not a bodyologist). Grab a couple dumbbells. Today, I grabbed 20’s. I did 15 slow calf raises and 10 fast ones. 3 rounds with your feet positioned differently each time. Something like this:

/  \, |  |, \  /. The feet have a tendency to straighten out, so I keep an eye on the to keep them in the right position.

Then I Super Set Leg Raises & Ab Wheel Roll out (except I forgot my wheel, and I didn’t see one at the gym). I improvised by taking a TRX suspension trainer and set it as low to the ground as I could (insert Ludacris’ Roll Out here). 3 Sets, 12/10 Reps.

Got in there. Melted the trunks, and wobbled out like a baby deer.

Let me know what you think. Regrets will probably hit tomorrow morning.

I slept in a little. I also apologize for all the posts in such a quick succession. I had a little run in with the L.A.W. (life and wife). T25 Speed got me moving this morning. Today is Leg Day at the gym. This was a great warm up. YOU CAN DO IT…

Total Body Comp

Open up this little guy (sorry, the OS the physician used doesn’t exactly give photos, and I’m not super tech savvy).

I had a friend at work that told me about this. It’s basically an X-ray that tells you just how fat & where your fat is. I think most of us know where we are holding our fat, but what I was extremely surprised at was just HOW much fat I actually was. I’m 1/3rd fat. Disgusting. I blame it on the ‘Bottle of Wine a day/30 days’ experiment.

Now, I have drastically dropped weight and fat before by simply just not eating anything for a couple weeks. This is not a great idea for those of use who don’t fit in the ‘morbidly obese’ category. Also, it works, but it will completely screw up your hormones if you are not careful. I digress. There was a large part of me that said, “F-this. I’m done eating for a while.” But, it’s Spring/Summer Time. Golf season. Last time I went on a long fast and was physically active, I got that ‘end of the marathon’ wall smash…AT WORK. Now, most of the people I work with know that I am probably, at any given time, doing something completely ignorant. Luckily, one such coworker was sitting next to me, and he quickly got me some lunch (thank you Clay).

So, I don’t want to do that again. This plan is to utilize all the knowledge I have gathered over the last 3-4 years of self-experiments, podcasts, research, etc., to see just how active I can actually be while maintaining some sort of balance.

I have an app that I’m tracking my food intake. I’m trying to figure a way to get that posted on here. I think for the first month I’ll just make sure and at least eat as much as I am burning. I did receive in the mail today Dr. Joseph Mercola’s: Fat for Fuel, which I will be diving into. I think the whole ketosis thing is amazing. When I was on my water fast, I could not believe the energy levels and cognitive function. This may be the diet plan for the 2nd month.

If I don’t see any weight loss at the end of  the 1st month, I won’t panic, but I may try this out. I’ll keep you posted. Thanks for reading. Tell me what you think in a comment.

 

Alright, so the weight training I’m doing goes something like this. Each day a ‘major’ lift that I will progressively overload the weight. Each week I’ll up the percentage of my 1 Rep Max (1RM) thusly:

WK1, 4 Sets, 5 Reps: 60%, 65%, 75%, 75%

WK2, 4 Sets, 4 Reps: 65%, 75%, 85%, 85%

WK3, 4 Sets, 3 Reps: 70%, 80%, 90%, 90%

WK4, 4 Sets, 10 Reps: 40%, 50%, 60%, 60%

Then reassess my life choices. Probably will be seeking a deep massage, and I’ll need some encouragement from you.

Day 1 is the good ol’ Barbell Bench Press. I have assessed my 1RM at 185. I think I could have thrown up more, but it was a lonely gym night with no spotters in sight. After I crushed that, it’s basically shoulder day.

Dumbbell Should Press: 4 Sets w/ 25’s

Barbell Shoulder Press: 4 Sets w/55lbs. (I make this more of a clean and press to add a little more effort).

Scare Crows: 4 Sets w/10’s

Super Set: Dips/Triceps Pulldown: Bodyweight (BW) @10Reps, 50lbs. @12Reps

Super Set Burnout: Lateral Fly/Front Fly/Rear Fly/Overhead Press: 3 Sets, 8 Reps w/ 7.5lbs. (I end up looking like a wuss grunting over the last few overhead presses with 7.5lb. dumbbells, but whatevs. They don’t know I just murdered my door wideners!)

Now, this may seem like a lot; it may not. Depending on my energy level and equipment availability, I can get all this done in less than an hour.

Each week, I’ll up the weight on the ‘body part’ lifts if I make a little note in my book that it was easy. I’ll also keep the weight if I struggled to get all the sets/reps in. I’ll snap a few pics of my notebook. I like to read them from time to time because I’m a goof ball and my descriptions are sometimes hieroglyphics.

If you need some clarification on anything, just add a comment, and I’ll give you what you want.

Here we go. Day one under way! I did hit the snooze this morning, but it’s my “Saturday’! Got up at 4:30am, and took a day one pic of my fat ass. Took a chug of my KetoSport ketone salts (going to help kick me into ketosis to burn my chub off). Then I hit the gym for my T25 fasted morning workout (Total Body Circuit today). I have my daily chores and some errands to run. Breakfast consisted of 3 of the most delicious eggs I have ever eaten from some farmers out in Gainesville, VA. These guys just open the door and let the chickens roam the farm all day. I’ll snap a pic of the yolks soon. They are so rich.

This is what I’ll be using to supplement/cornerstone my nutrition and recovery:

Multi-Vitamin: These are Thorne Research’s Elite A.M.-PM. Multi-Vitamins.

Omega-3: Again, Thorne Research. (3/day)

Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA): Ports Research’s High Potency CLA 1250 (3/day).

L-Carnitine: Thorne Reaserch’s L-Carnitine (3/day).

Creatine: Millennium Sport Technologies’ CRE02.

Essential Amino Acids (ESA): Master Amino Acid Pattern.

Probiotic: Thorne Research’s Probiotic.

Mushrooms: Four Sigma Foods CHAGA mix.

Collagen: Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides.

Green Juice: Organifi’s Green Juice.

Protein Powders: sfh Pure & Vega Sport.

Medium Chain Triglyceride (MCT): Bulletproofs’s Upgraded MCT Oil.

Ketone Salts: KetoSports Natural Orange.

Essential Oils: Young Living’s Peppermint, Idaho Blue Spruce, and Balsam Fir.

Magnesium: Natural Vitality’s Natural Calm.

VAXXEN LAB’S Lean Muscle Stack: AXXIS, PILLAR, ANDROXX, EXXSTANE, DESCEND.

And a slew of foam rollers and balls to release some fascial adhesions that are sure to come up.

If you guys want to know what’s up with any of these, or why or when I am taking these, just put a comment in here, and I’ll get back to you shortly.

 

About 3 years ago, I realized I weighed 160 lbs. for the majority of my adult life. I was very active during my teens and all through my 20’s. So, When I realized that I had a good amount of free time, I decided to try and put on some muscle. I had done P90X, Insanity, etc., with a great deal of success when coming to muscle definition, but I had never really put on size. I started researching celebrity workouts and the like. I’m a HUGE Wolverine fan, and I came across this little gem under David Kingsbury’s early blog about how he trained Hugh Jackman; called The Wolverine! It was a progressive overload workout that pretty much followed most body building techniques, but it included a bunch of lifts I had never really done. BOOM! I went head first into that thing for the better part of 9 months. I absolutely love this workout regimen. I upped my calorie intake. I read nutritional blogs and listened to podcasts. I dropped my body fat (at my peak) to 9% and put on 25lbs. of muscle. I was big. My clothes stretched. I was Weapon X. Then I got bored. I started challenging myself to do other weird body experiments.

I did get into Jeff Cavalier, AthleanX.com. I did his 90 day workout. I ate ‘Big Ass Salads’ everyday for a month for, literally, shits and giggles (great plan by the way). I started a 21 day water fast that lasted 15 days (I will probably be doing that again soon). I tried a whole bunch of things just to see what I was mentally and physically capable of.

I golf. That’s about it. I don’t like to run or ride a bike. I did hit the pool for a few months and got up to nearly a mile a day habit. One time, just to prove a point, I did what I called a “Josh-athon.” This included an impromptu Sprint Triathlon one day at a Gold’s Gym. Physically exhausting? NO. Mentally challenging? Absolutely. I have no idea how those people sit on a bike seats for that long. Nevertheless, I did it in under 2 hours. I was pretty stoked.

I was seeking the next body challenge when the ‘Monkey’ took over my desires. I decided to drink at least a bottle of wine a day for 30 days. I wondered what my mental acuity would be like. I wondered if I would gain weight or fat. I did not work out during that month, which inevitably lead my to where I am today. I did not put on weight, but I did lose a lot of muscle. Not a great idea. Now I’m FAT, WEAK, AND TIRED OF IT.

This is the new plan: Murder my body for 90 days. I can’t stand it any longer. I have a great deal of knowledge about my own physiology, and I think I have got it down.

I’m going to do Sean T’s T25 in the morning (full disclosure; I’ve already done the first 2 weeks.) I’m going to work on my foremost passionate endeavor at the moment, which is breaking PAR. (I’m a 5 handicap that has a hand full of 73’s). I’m going to finish my day with The Wolverine.

I have a slew of supplements that I am taking. I’ll post those to my pages, and a link will be coming shortly. I’ll post some body measurements as well. Para Bellum, Corpus.

The goal: Lose 10-20 pounds of disgusting visceral body fat. Increase my Bench Press, Deadlift, and vertical leap, and get my fat ass on some runs that can move myself several miles inside an hour. Did I mention that I absolutely HATE running!?

I’ll edit this thing with links to my FB, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, blah blah blah. I just really want everyone to know what this chubby little dude AND yourself is capable of when you get the right motivation!

For now. This will do. Please follow.