DCNINJA

WOW, I knew Spain had some animal issues, but this is crazy. Maybe a Spanish vacation is not so much in the cards for me.

Hayley, watch out for overtraining. 13 days without a day off, I don't know. great to see you blogging again. Are you still working insanely early?

Dude, the best advice I can give is hire veggie princess to do your training and diet. She obviously knows what she is talking about, and she actually works with vegan athletes.

Leg day. Started with a 2.5 mile run at about an 8:30 pace. Walked the last half mile because of sciatica issues. I started off with clean and squats. I like these because they are different. I do a clean then squat and start again. I did three sets with 95 pounds. I really was not paying attention to reps. Leg press was my only other exercise today. 10X1 plate (each side) 20X2 plates 30X3 plates 40X4 plates 50X5 plates 40X4 plates 30X3 plates 20X2 plates 10X1 plate The idea tonight was low to no rest. I wanted intensity. This is not a normal workout for me, but you really do need to mix it up every now and then.

James, not completely disagreeing with you. I do weighted dips and pull ups. I also do push ups at the end of my chest workout. I also do ab exercises that are unweighted. That said if someone tells me they want to larger muscles fast, I will almost always tell them to hit some weights. I will also probably tell them to be accountable to someone who knows more than they do or at least knows enough to give an objective reasoned opinion on a regular basis as to how things are going. The reason why so many people fail on exercise programs is lack of accountability and feedback.

Looking forward to it, brother. You had a great season. Peaking that many times back to back is an awesome accomplishment. I was just looking at your 2005 photos. You have really improved a tremendous amount. Keep it up. Next time I am in town or you are out here, let's train together.

Compared to the video, these photos are much better. I still think it might have been the lighting. I think you look great. A buddy of mine just got creamed in NJ when alot of us thought he should have had much higher placing. That is the way it goes sometimes. Anxious to see what another year does for your physique as you pack on some more size. Now go eat, take a few days off, then start hitting it again.

Bro, hard to tell with the lighting. I did notice one thing about your posing that I never noticed before. You come over the top on your ab shots and shadow your abs. It also looked like you were shadowing on your back double bicep pose. Like I said hard to tell under those lights, but you look flat to me. You were much fuller in Bend and AZ. Space out your next show and put on some size for it. I think you can come back a little more muscular and fuller. Just a thought. Any way you slice it, you did a lot of work and looked and great. Can't wait to see how it looked under good lighting with color.

No worries about where you placed. You did a lot of shows back to back, which I think is interesting. Take a few days and get some rest. Recuperate and think about where you are taking your physique next. Proud of you bro, that many shows back to back is damn tough. Send me some photos, I am curious to see how you looked.

There are several ways to get where you want to be. If you want to lose that gut, burn more or eat less. Simple. If you want to be bigger force your muscles to grow. The whole "I don't want to join a gym thing" is what it is. You want the results you have, then do what you are doing. You want results that other people don't get, then you need to do stuff you hate. I hate going to the gym when I want to screw off. I hate eating five times a day. That said I weigh 180 pounds at 5'8" and have a 29 inch waist with 24.5 inch legs. I got that from doing things others won't do. I got there by writing down every rep and every calorie and looking at what worked and what didn't. I hired real trainers who knew how to push me in ways I hated. I threw up, passed out, and wanted to quit more than once in the gym over the years. Your diet is not what I would do, but it isn't awful. I strongly encourage you to get a trainer who is a real trainer. Someone who has been around long enough to know how hard this is. You really need accountability and someone who can remain objective. Hit weights hard. Take no prisoners. If you don't like conventional gyms try crossfit or P90X. Keep a log. Write down what you eat, when you eat, and how you train. Track your measurements weekly. If you opt for a bodybuilding type regimen instead of one of those above, then track every rep every set and every weight. Stop whining and get your ass in the gym. This stuff is hard, but it is not rocket science. You can do it. Heck there are some great logs of what some pretty good athletes are doing on this site. If nothing else just do what joel is doing. He has a great physique and posts religiously.

RUZ, you look great. The outer head of your tricep really sets off your shoulder. Great job!!

Had a good workout yesterday. I warmed up my elbows with two sets of sixty 25 pound dumbell curls and a couple sets of push ups. I hit incline bells at 70 pounds for four sets in the 16-20 rep range. HItting high reps to keep the strain off my elbows. Flat flies, 3 sets of 25 at 50. Iso decline press with 3 plates per side for 3 sets with a drop set at the end. I hit some one handed cable cross overs to finish my chest for 3 more sets. The shoulders were a little harder. I tried clean and press at 135 only to see my elbows burn. I tried the same exercise iwth dumbbells at 55 pounds. It was a good move. I did them with 25 pound rear delts for 3 sets at 20 reps each. I finished shoulders with three sets of 20 rep supersets. side laterals and front delt raises. Weight 35#. Other than the one rep of clean and press with a barbell I was pretty much pain free.

Welcome.

Addiction is painful, but if you can recover and be the person you want to be; it gets easier. Just remember who you want to be. Live that value. You are doing great.

Reminds me of the old days.

Welcome to the forum. Great to have you here.

Worst case I will load up on pain killers. LOL

My elbows and forearms have been absolutely killing me. I have gone to wearing neoprene sleeves and doing more warm ups, but they just keep hurting like mad. This is really making lifting less fun. In short, I am getting pissed off. They started hurting six months ago, and it has gotten progressively worse. That said my training is still pretty strong. My deads are solid, 275 in the 20 rep range. Pullups are not weighted these days, but I hit sets of 20-25. Everything is high reps to keep the strain down.

There is nothing sexier and more attractive than a woman with a great back. So count yourself lucky. Maybe these guys were just lame and afraid that you could out lift their wiimpy asses.

The whole addiction dilemma is always interesting. I have on friend who was addicted to not eating (anorexia), she went to rehab for it, then she became addicted to exercise. She just got back from there. I know people who are addicted to twelve step programs, religion, sex, coke, alcohol, and even shopping. I think most people at one time or another are addicted to something. It is great to see someone have the courage to face that addiction, and the underlying root cause. I salute the integrity of anyone who is willing to deal with those hard topics.

Ruz, you physique looks fantastic as usual. I have to agree on back detail. It really looks great. Btw any luck on low carb Vegan reicpes?

Cool. Keep me posted on your progress. I don't do a lot of barbell movements. I prefer dumbells so there are always options.

Tom, you're doing great. Keep it up. Remember who you want to be.

Drat that flavor thing again!!!!!

First I want to say, "WOW!" Great job. Keep it up. You have made some great progress getting leaner. I agree with all the diet stuff you are hearing. It will definitely help you get there. Have you looked into crossfit? It is a great way to increase muscle mass, and it is a good over all fitness workout that takes very little time. I mention that because I know mom's have limited gym time. Look into it, you might like it. And you have done a great job!! You are inspirational. Keep it up.