"Don't Mistake My Confidence For Arrogance"

Check out this video for some motivation. 

A gold mine of motivational quotes.

Struggling Today

I'm struggling today.  I won a minor victory yesterday by not stopping by my favorite pizza place for 2 for 1 pizzas.  Throughout most of the summer that was my thing every Thursday.  Damn, that pizza is so good. 

Now today I'm just kind of in a funk.  I don't have to lift today, (just calves, abs, and cardio) so the motivation is a little bit less than normal.  When I have to lift it gives me something more to focus on.  I guess I just need to focus on getting in each meal properly since that's just as, if not more, important than the lifting. 

 I also started watching Sons of Anarchy while doing my cardio a few days ago.  Badass show. 

It's All On Me

I used to think that I just needed the right diet, the right workout plan, the right coach, the right situation, the right job, blah, blah, blah.  The truth is I could've had the perfect everything and I still would've failed.  Honestly, the perfect everything is just a myth.

No matter what a person is trying to do, the circumstances will never be perfect. Quit with the rationalization and get to work because time is passing one day at a time.  Just think where you'd be if you would've started a year ago, two years ago..... ten years ago. 

Even adding on to that, I'm not even focused on the main goal.  I'm focused on the next goal, the next step, the next class, the next meal, the next workout, the next day with my family.  There is no end point in life until you die.  Until then, there's only right now.  The future is a myth, it doesn't exist.  There is only right now and good things will happen when we start living in the present. 

That's my philosophy lesson for the day.

One Journey Ends And A New One Begins

"Things may seem bad at first, but it’s only in relation to what you’re used to… once you become accustomed to something new, it’s not so bad… you might even enjoy it. If I constantly lived my life dividing thing up into “what I like” and “what I don’t like” and “what is easy” and “what is hard”, I would definitely not be living much of a life. Be careful of craving this and that, because it tends to snowball. First you want this, then you get it, then you want that, and then that, and so on. It’s better to just live your life and be happy… and not be fooled by things like this and that." - Shelby Starnes

I just competed in my first powerlifting meet last Saturday and things went great.  I will post some videos of my lifts sometime soon.  I'm most proud of my 500lb. deadlift.  I have been wanting that for a long time, but have never went over 435lbs. in the gym so I wasn't positive that I could get it.  Needless to say, it went up pretty easily and I wish I would've attempted more. 

Now I begin the journey of competing in my first bodybuilding contest in May.  I am ready this time.  I say that because I have failed three previous times, but it's only a failure if you quit and don't keep trying.  I will succeed this time because I am more mentally strong than I have been previously.  Nothing to do with the diet, cardio, and training is good or bad, it just "is."  I'm going to enjoy the journey and learn a lot about myself along the way. 

I have hired Shelby Starnes to program my diet, cardio, and training so I can be certain that I will leave no stone unturned and be in the bets possible condition for the contest.  If you read this and want to follow along, I will be posting a lot about my experience here over the next 7 months.

New Squat PR - 435 lbs.

New Squat PR.  This one felt pretty tough and I almost stalled on the way up.  Looking to get a belt and knee wraps soon so that should help.  

Needs and Wants - From Shelby Starnes

I found this in Shelby Starnes's log.  There is so much good information there that you will have weeks of good reading.  He is one motivating and inspiring SOB.  Check it out. 

Needs and Wants

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It’s human nature to desire, to crave things.

We crave money, sex, fame, power, drugs, attention… the list goes on and on.

And with this craving we create our own misery.

If only we had such and such, then we would be happy and content.

Right now can’t be that great, because we don’t have (fill in the blank).

But once we get it (if we even do), we quickly realize it isn’t so great after all, and we’re soon chasing after the next shiny thing.

The obvious problem here is that we never get it. We never get there. We end up spending our entire life striving, rather than arriving.

As I mentioned though, it’s human nature. It’s hard to escape. In fact in some respects, trying to escape can just become another desire.

Perhaps it’s best to realize the situation for what it is, and not let yourself get too wrapped up in it.

Yes you’re going to want stuff in your life – some tangible, some not, but don’t let it define you.

Like they say, “Pursue your dream but don’t let your life become one”.

Realize that the game of pursuit is one which can’t be won.

Quieting your mind down and appreciating what you already have is just as commendable as chasing after your dreams and constantly improving.

Sometimes NOT getting what we want is actually what we need.

Pay Your Taxes Olympians!

I don't believe income taxes should exist.  The government doesn't own our bodies and shouldn't have the right to take a portion of our work under the threat of jail. 

I think the Olympians should pay taxes on the money that they earn from winning a medal.  I also think that all soldiers and military should pay taxes on all of their income, even if they are in a war zone. 

Why?

If we have a law or a rule it should apply to everyone.  We currently have a law that states income is taxed.  To exclude certain types of income would be to put a value on certain types of work.  That value is all subjective.  What I think shouldn't be taxed is different than what you shouldn't be taxed. 

Of course, I don't think any income should be taxed, but since we have the income tax, tax it all!

I'm Fat and I Don't Like It

I'm fat.  Yes, I shouldn't admit that, but I would be fat whether I admitted it or not.  I am also strong, but it's easier to be strong when you're fat. 

I haven't always been fat, but I have weighed more than I would like to my whole life and have almost always been uncomfortable with my shirt off. 

The funny thing is that I know how to help others lose weight and get into great shape.  I've been doing it for almost three years now.  I just haven't been able to follow my own advice and get out of my way.  I always second guess myself and look for a better plan or a better way. 

I need to stop doing this because it will kill me if I don't.  I need to get the weight back under control and stop hiding behind the fact that I'm in better shape than most people or that I'm stronger than most people.  If I'm comparing myself to the average American, sure, I'm doing alright, but that isn't saying much when 33% of Americans are obese. 

So What Am I Doing To Change This?

I have registered for my first powerlifting meet in Dubuque, IA in November.  The weight class I will be competing in is the 220lb class.  This will force me to drop about 25lbs. and then I will readjust my goals from there. 

I also may hire a nutrition consultant to prevent me from second guessing the plan I make for myself.  I'm going to see how the next month goes before I do that.

How to Squat 425lbs

I squatted 425lbs today and it feels fucking great.  I could've written freaking, but you're not stupid and that wouldn't fool you.  You know exactly what I mean.  A 425 lb squat at a body weight of 245 isn't really that amazing, but it's a new record for me and it is just the beginning. 

How Did I Get There?

I started lifting weights around the age of 15.  I don't think I ever did real free weight squats.  I mostly did the beach bro workout.  Chest, arms, shoulders, and back once in a while. I did a few clean and jerks for football, but that was it.  I only got up to about 205 in the bench and I'm sure my form sucked.

When I was 19 and moved back home from my college failure I lifted weights pretty seriously for about 9 months.  I made the best gains ever and felt huge.  I was on some type of program that was an upper/lower split and worked everything based off 1RM%.  Looking back, it wasn't too bad of a program and I got my bench up to 255 if I remember correctly.  I don't remember what my squat got up to, but at least I was working lower body. 

Then I got away from the weights again, met my wife, got married, had kids, and got kind of fat.  I wasn't obese, but I went from about 210 in August of 2003 to 235 in March of 2009.  It was a slow weight gain and I worked out and dieted off and on during those years.

Reality Check

Life kind of sucked in the spring of 2009.  I was working a job I hated (then I got laid off) and I had too many bills and not enough money.  It was hard to find a new job and unemployment didn't pay enough so I attempted to join the Air Guard.  I was told that I was too fat (I had a waist circumference of 42 inches) so I started working out.  I knew that I needed to lift weights to maintain muscle, but at that point all I cared about was getting the number on the scale to get below a certain magical number that the military required. 

After doing tons of cardio (a lot of swimming, which was actually fun), I lost about 12 pounds and then it stopped.  I realized I needed to add weights in, started Rippetoe's Starting Strength, and dropped another 12 pounds pretty quickly. 

At this point I had moved on from the Air Guard and was going to join the Navy active duty to study nuclear power because I scored 99 out of 100 on the ASVAB, which is some kind of military aptitude test.  Long story short, I went to MEPS and was told that I was too old (27) for a job with a maximum age of 25.  Because of the bad economy, the Navy had many people trying to get in so they didn't need to give me a waiver.  In normal times I probably would have gotten in. 

Rippetoe's Starting Strength

This was the program that I followed starting in May of 2009 and I followed it for almost a year.  You can Google it for details, but it is a very structured program based around the main compound lifts.  I believe every new lifter should start with this program if their goal is to get stronger, gain muscle, and lose fat.  It worked great for me. 

When I started this program my 5RM squat was about 225.  I think I got up to 325 or so for 5 reps using this program.  Then I got a job at LA Fitness, discovered many other training programs and experimented for a while. 

I did a little bit of crossfit stuff, a lot of bodybuilding/high rep stuff, and a lot of dieting.  I don't know what I squatted during this time because I don't think I went below 8 reps for about 9 months.  I learned a lot and gained some decent size during this time, but my strength probably plateaued during this time. 

Doggcrapp and Bodybuilding Training

I quit LA Fitness in September of 2010 and started working for myself doing personal training.  I did this for about 9 months before becoming manager of Anytime Fitness.  I made my own schedule during this time and had a great training partner so I never missed a workout and made great gains. 

We did Doggcrap training for about 3 months and bodybuilding/high rep stuff for about 6 months.  I didn't do much low rep work, but really pushed the high rep stuff, which must have carried over into peak strength. 

Last July I was squatting with my training partner after a couple week layoff and was feeling great.  We just kept pushing the weight up (I had never had more than 335 on the bar in my life) and doing singles.  First it was 335, then 355, then 375, and I figured what the hell, I would go for 405.  It went up pretty easily and I was amazed.  That definitely shows that high volume does have a carryover to max weight if you are really pushing the high volume work. 

The Lazy Year

That happened in July of 2011 and I have pretty much coasted this last year.  I've gained too much weight (I'm at 245) and am going strong again.  I have signed up for a powerlifting contest in November and will be competing in the 220lb weight class so that's good motivation to cut a little bit of weight. 

Even with the nearly year-long plateau my squat has still gone up 20 pounds and I'm pretty sure I could have squeaked out another 25 (next month I will max again and will push for 440). 

Summary

It took me longer than it had to, but I got there.  The next 200 pound increase shouldn't take me 9 years if I'm doing things right, but who knows.  Nothing ever goes exactly as planned and that's the fun part.

I'm A Failure

I have failed at many things in my short life so far.  I have accomplished a lot and I am proud of what I have accomplished, but I have also failed miserably at many things.  Let's start from the beginning. 

I'm sure I failed at some things before college, but I don't remember what they were.  Anything that happens before a person turns 18 is mostly meaningless anyways.  Unless it's something that causes your life to end or you to go to prison, it really doesn't affect anything. 

You could actually say that anything that happens at any point in our life is meaningless because in the billions of years the universe has been here and the billions or trillions of years that it will continue to exist, we occupy only the very tiniest sliver of time.  Even the most important people in the history of the world aren't remembered by the majority of people alive today so what chance do we have of leaving a lasting legacy?  Yes, we remember some famous people from history, but only a few of the major events or things that happened to them.  So, there's that.

So what have I failed at?  Well, the first thing I failed at was college.  I failed at the part of college that most people think holds the most importance.  I failed at going to class, completing the work, and graduating.  I would say that I succeeded at having fun, meeting people, and learning about myself, but society doesn't care too much about those things.  It only cares that you jumped through the educational hoops, checked the boxes, and received the degree.  Society also cares that you pay back the mountains of debt that most people build while they are in college because society cares about that credit score. 

I have failed at relationships also.  I nearly lost my marriage and my family because of some stupid decisions that I made.  There are no excuses for being stupid, but the main reason was that I was unhappy with myself and where I was in life.  It was probably the lowest point of my life.  It WAS the lowest point of my life.  I'm glad it happened now because it allowed me to finally forgive myself for my past failures and start to build myself up from that point on, but damn, was it hard.

I have failed at friendships throughout my life.  I was never good at being a friend because I didn't have my own life in order.  It's hard to be there for other people and think about them when you're just trying to keep everything working in your own life.  You've got to take care of yourself before you can take care of others.  I took advantage of some friends and other people in my life and if you are reading this I apologize.  I can't make it up to you, but you know who you are and if you ever need anything, give me a call.  I will help you out if you can. 

I have failed at many of the goals I have set out to accomplish.  I wanted to play college sports, make lots of money, be popular with everyone, compete in a bodybuilding contest, and many other things. 
I have failed at almost everything I have ever tried.  I know I'm not alone because everyone fails at most everything they try to do.  If that wasn't true, there wouldn't be so many unhappy people out there.  There wouldn't be so many Facebook posts every day saying "Can't wait for the weekend", "It's Monday already?  Where did the weekend go?", or "I hate my job."  The world is full of negativity and unhappy people and that's because most people have failed at everything. 

I know you are probably thinking that this seems like a really negative post so far.  You can look at it that way if you want, but it's not.  It's really a very positive post.  Why?  Because everything I have that is good, every success that I have achieved, and every other thing about my life that I enjoy is a result of all of these failures.  In a way, every one of these failures is also a success because they led to happiness. 

Failing at college has led to being creative in finding jobs, learning perseverance, learning what NOT to do in college, and has led to my success so far in my second attempt at college. 

Failing at relationships and nearly ruining my marriage has led to having a better marriage than I ever thought I could have.  Things have never been better and I owe it to Kristen for having faith in me and not giving up.  This was also the failure that really changed something inside of me and led me to start working on myself.  Before this I was always trying to change others so I could be happy.  While going through marriage troubles I realized that there is no way that a person can ever change another person.  We can only change ourselves and hope that other people see those changes and are inspired to make a change.  In the book "Man's Search For Meaning" by Viktor Frankl, I remember reading a part that went something like this.

When presented with a situation that we don't like, we have two options.  Change the situation or change our attitude towards the situation.

Viktor was in a Nazi concentration camp at the time he wrote this.  He was seeing people being killed all over the place, had lost his whole family, and had no real reason for optimism yet he was able to see things clearly and keep that positive attitude.  If he could do that in probably the worst situation a person could ever be in, then we can sure as hell do it in our everyday life here in America, where even the poorest people have it better than the majority of people in the world.

Failing at friendships has led me to be what I consider a pretty good friend.  I don't have a lot of close friends, but the friends that I do have I would be there for anything they need.  I have only learned how to be a good friend by learning from my mistakes in the past. 

Why I am writing this now?  I don't really know.  Maybe it's to get it all off of my chest.  It might be in the hopes of some of the people I've hurt in the past reading it and seeing that I am sorry.  Maybe so other people that are in the middle of something they perceive as a big failure will have some hope that things will get better.  Like I said, I don't know.  When I write I just sit down and start writing what comes to me and this is what came to me today.

After really thinking through all of this, were those failures really failures? I think the only way that something is a failure is if we make a mistake and fail to learn from it. I guess that makes all of these failures a succes. Funny how that works, huh?

Nice Job Bro, Good Job Bro

I sit in the office of a gym for 8 to 9 hours a day and hear some really stupid stuff being said on the floor.  This morning I get here and the first thing I here is "good job bro, nice job bro."  So I look out to see what they're doing and it's standing EZ Bar Curls.  One guy is spotting the other, they're both in tank tops, counting out reps and saying "good job bro, nice job bro" on every rep or "it's all you, man, look at those ripples!"  And these aren't 18 year old kids, these guys are in their 30s and 40s.  

At least they weren't doing it in the squat rack.

Yesterday's workout.

Weight Loss... Very, Very Simple, But Not Easy

I just came across a post yesterday from one of my Facebook friends.  He's a great guy, but he had a post and rant yesterday that I just don't get.  He's been doing a great job of becoming healthier, but hasn't lost as much weight as he would have liked to over the past couple years. 

He posted about Shakeology and other direct sales supplements and his opinion is that they should give their product away for free so people can see if it works.  The first problem I have is the mindset of a product "working" or "not working."  Until that mindset changes, a person will not reach their goals.  No one is going to get results just from using a product. 

There is no such thing as a good weight loss product or a bad weight loss product.  They are all just tools and they can either help or hurt.  A person could consume too many calories of the healthiest food or supplement out there and they would gain weight. 

I can't believe I'm defending the direct sales supplement industry, but the bottom line is this.  Everything works.... if done right.  Shakes can help someone stick to their diet.  Does that mean the shake magically worked?  I don't think so, but if it helps you, then use it.  If diet pop helps someone stick to their diet do we say that the diet pop worked?  No, it was just a tool used to help keep the sugar cravings away. 

I just wish that people would realize that weight loss is very, very simple.  Burn more calories than you consume and you will lose weight.  No one can escape the Law of Thermodynamics.  It's very, very simple, but not easy.

After I do this I will be happy.....

How many times do you hear someone say this?  After I do this or after I do that, then I will be happy and everything will be great.  Then they accomplish that one thing (or more likely, they fail, and then pick a new thing that will magically make them happy) and they still aren't happy. 

Add them all together and eventually you're dead without ever being happy.  I do this sometimes, too.  After I finish school and get in my career things will be so much better.  After I get a raise I will have more money.  After the kids are in school I will have more time to do some things around the house. 

I am going to work on realizing when I say these things and stop.  The only time we ever have is now so whatever it is we want, it needs to be done now. 

Want to have more money?  Budget better, get another job, start a business. 

Want to have a happier marriage?  Read some books on marriage and psychology and apply them to your marriage. 

Want more time for an activity or for your family?  Put it first and MAKE time. 

Wherever you are right now is where you really wanted to be at one time.  When you were a kid you really wanted to be grown up and have a job so you could have more money.  When you were in high school, you really wanted to be in college.  When you were single, you couldn't wait to meet someone and get married.  You, I, have what we want right now let's start making it happen. 

Don't spend all your life waiting for things to be perfect because things are never perfect. Do it now.

Irrationality and Emotional Decisions

Having children made us look differently at all these things that we take for granted, like taking your child to get a vaccine against measles or polio.  ~ Melinda Gates

This post is a little off topic, but I don't care.  I'm sure this will offend some of the hippies out there, but this topic keeps coming up on Facebook and in articles on the internet so I wanted to write about it.  Like they say, if you're not pissing off somebody with what you write, you're doing it wrong. 

Childhood vaccinations is what I'm talking about.  Apparently there is a group of people out there that think they are smarter than the doctors and scientists and are taking the miracles of medicine for granted.  Do these people know that the only reason that their kids are relatively safe from things like polio, whooping cough, measles, smallpox, and a bunch of other nasty diseases is that there are smart parents out there that DO vaccinate their kids? 

It is arrogant, stupid, and selfish to not vaccinate your kids.  These people are living in a land of superstitions, conspiracy theories,  and irrationality.  Up until recently, vaccines weren't available and millions of people died from diseases that now are nearly 100% preventable, but yet some parents think they are smarter than the scientists and doctors that develop and test these vaccines. 

I know most people aren't rational, but if you look at it rationally, the only way you shouldn't vaccinate their kids is if the chance that the kid will die from the vaccine (or get autism or whatever) is higher than the chance the kid would die from the disease without getting the vaccine.  The risk has to be higher than the reward.  Even if there's a 50% chance of dying from a vaccine, you should still get the vaccine if the chance of dying without the vaccine is 51%.  Just another reason people should learn more about math and statistics! 

That's not the case now, but it will be eventually and it will be because of the parents that decided not to vaccinate their kids. 

Colorado Shooting, Crazy Scumbags, and Irrational People

I just heard about the movie theatre shooting in Colorado while driving to work this morning.  It sucks and it's sad that so many people died because of a crazy scumbag.  There really isn't a punishment that could do him justice. 

What I don't understand is everyone trying to make sense of it.  There isn't a way to make sense of it.  The fact is that there are crazy people in the world and things like this will happen.  There isn't a way to prevent it and random things like this happen because that's just the way it is. 

I'm sure there will be people that now refuse to go to movie theatres just like there were people that refused to fly after 9/11.  Here are some more facts (I don't have the actual numbers and I don't care to get them).  12 people died out of millions that go to movies every year.  You have a better chance of being killed driving a car or walking down the sidewalk so if this stops you from going to a movie then you are making an irrational decision.  Same thing if you refused to fly after 9/11. 

While this whole thing was sad and senseless, I will keep living life as normal and I hope everyone else does as well.

Coming Out of the Funk

I have noticed something since I started lifting regularly three years ago.  My motivation seems to come and go in a predictable pattern.  I get really motivated around October or November and push really hard with lifting and dieting and make some pretty good gains.  Then around May I notice that I'm not as excited about my workouts and I slowly start eating too much. 

I even knew that this had been a problem for me in the past and was prepared for it this year, but it still happened.  It even happened earlier than normal this year.  It started around April and lasted until just a couple weeks ago.  It's not like I didn't work out at all during that time, but my workouts were inconsistent and I didn't really make any strength or body composition gains. 

I do know that it is behind me now because I'm looking forward to my workouts and I'm excited for my workout time to get here everyday.  On my off day yesterday I was disappointed that I wouldn't get to lift.  That's when I know I'm back in the right mindset and I'm going to take advantage of it. 

I have been doing more research on upcoming meets and I think I found the meet that I'm going to register for.  It's November 16th in Dubuque, IA.  I will be competing in the raw division in the squat, bench, and deadlift.  My goals as of right now are to bench 315, squat 475, and deadlift 525.  That would give me a total of 1,315 pounds and would be great for my first meet.  I'm not committing to anything after that, but I am leaning towards taking a couple weeks off and then preparing for a spring bodybuilding competition. 

That is scary for me to even think about because I have dieted down for a contest twice so far and quit at about ten weeks out both times.  I did learn a lot about what to expect from those two attempts so I think I would be better prepared this time, but who knows.

Today's Workout

Something Everyone Should Have

I just celebrated the ten year anniversary of the day that my wife and I met.  I was so different then than I am now and I'm sure my wife would say the same thing about herself.  I'm not going to make a huge list and bore anyone with how we are both different.  That would not be awesome.

What I am going to do is talk about my life philosophy, something everyone should have.  Ten years ago, I didn't have a life philosophy or at least I didn't know what it was.  As I have gotten older, I have learned a lot about myself and slowly started to realize things about life, myself, other people, and the way the world works.  I have developed some rules that I try to live my life by.  I'm sure in ten years I will have replaced some of these rules with new rules, but we only live in the present so this is what matters to me right now.

1)  I Am Only Going To Do Things That I Want To Do

Selfish, huh?  At first glance, yes, but really it's not.  I think I am a good person, and to me, good people like to do things that help others so I don't consider this selfish.  If I do things that I want to do then I am going to be a happier person.  When I am happy I am going to be a better husband, father, and friend.  Those are good things.  If I am stuck doing lots of things that I don't want to do in life then I am going to be miserable.

I firmly believe that positive and happy people attract good things and negative and miserable people attract bad things.  By doing what I want to do I will have a happier life and so will my family.

2)  Don't Worry And Don't Do Too Much Planning

Most things we worry about never happen and most of the things that we plan for the future don't apply in the future.  Yes, we need to make sure that we have an outline for what we want the next year, five years, and ten years to look like, but don't spend too much time on those plans because they could be totally disrupted tomorrow.  Be flexible.

3)  Lead By Example

I haven't always done a good job of this, but I'm trying.  I want to live the life that I want my kids to live.  Sure, I could get rid of my dreams, sacrifice, and work a job I hate just so we can get by and pay the bills, but that's not the kind of example I want to set.  I want to keep dreaming big and going after those dreams.  I'm in the process of finishing my degree at age 30 after ten years out of college.  Hopefully that proves to my kids that no matter what kind of setbacks they have, that it's never too late to go after what they want.

I work out and try to stay healthy even though it keeps me away from home some nights.  That's ok because I want them to know that being healthy should be a priority and that I will be around many more years because I stay healthy.

4)  Live Life With Excitement

Some people would call me immature, but I would disagree.  I just refuse to grow into a boring adult that becomes negative and jaded.  I'm going to be doing new and exciting things until the day that I die.  I hope I die doing something exciting like having sex on my 90th birthday, climbing a mountain, or skydiving.  If I don't do exciting things I might as well be dead anyways, right?  A boring life isn't worth living.

I don't think that any of these values will go away as I age because these are a pretty big part of who I am, but I'm sure I will add to the list.  The important thing isn't what is on the list, but that we have some type of philosophy that we live by, even if we can't put it into words.  Without it, we will just drift through life and before we know it, we will be out of time.

Vaginitis

Why is it that the smallest and weakest guys in the gym are the ones that cause the most problems and act like idiots? They walk around with ILS , throw weights, slam machines, and make an ass of themselves.

I just took a break from writing this post because I had to go tell someone to quit slamming the LEG EXTENSION machine. You really have to slam the LEG EXTENSION machine? That must be tough doing leg extensions with 100#.

How about this? Get off the machine and get in the squat rack or lift some heavy shit off the ground. Maybe that will cure your vaginitis.

Today's workout

Supplements

I'm not a huge proponent of supplements.  I have been asked to sell advocare, herbalife, isogenix, and other types of supplements, but I always say no.  Sure, I work in a gym and could probably sell a good amount of supplements and make some extra money, but integrity should come before money.  I admit, it hasn't always been that way for me. 

I feel that a person should have their diet and training in order before they start worrying about supplements.  The diet doesn't need to be perfect, but they should at least have an idea and a plan of what they're trying to do with their diet.  The reason I believe this is that too many people look at supplements as a shortcut or they think that they can eat like crap just because they're taking certain supplements. 

Supplements should be exactly that.  Supplements to a nutritious diet that fill in any gaps that may occur in their diet and this is why I probably will never sell supplements.  90% of people (I'm being generous here) don't have their diet in order so there really isn't any sense in them spending money on supplements.  They would be better served using that money to buy healthier food. 

All of that said, now that I have a plan as to what I'm going to be eating and what my training goals are, here is the short list of supplements that I will be using up to the meet.  Creatine, multi-vitamin, vitamin D, vitmain C, and whey protein.  To me, these are the basics.  Some people would add some other things to the list and I may add more to my list eventually too, but right now I need to focus on the basics and get consistent with them before I start adding more to my plate. 

Epiphany

Ok, so I think I realized today what it is that I need to do.  I have been messaging back and forth a little with Harry Selkow (check out his log here).  He knows his stuff.  I was hoping to work with him because I was thinking that I needed some guidance and motivation.  Well, he definitely motivated me, but not in the way that I expected.

He basically said that I need to man up, register for a powerlifting meet, and get to work.  Once I send in that entry fee and commit to the meet he said I would become a different person.  I would be a lot more motivated, driven, and focused.  I really respect that advice because he could've easily written me a program and took my money, but he told me his true opinion even though it didn't make him any money.  That's integrity right there and you don't find it very often.

I'm going to start searching for meets around November or December and get training.  I had plans of doing a powerlifting meet a few months back.  The meet is actually tomorrow, but I wasn't fully committed because I'm not doing it.  I never sent in my entry form or check so I guess I wasn't very serious.  That's what is going to be different this time.  I'm going to send in the entry fee as soon as I find the meet that I'm doing.  

Paleo Update

So far this paleo thing has been a complete failure.  I lasted for about two days and went back to eating as normal.  I am noticing that it has become a lot easier for me to IF, though I'm not even trying to do that right now.  I normally don't eat anything until noon (no breakfast, that's terrible right?)  Not really, google Martin Berkhan, John Romaniello, or intermittent fasting and you can learn a lot abou it. 

Not that that matters right now because being able to IF successfully wasn't my goal.  I would love to be able to say I'm committed again and ready to go starting right now, but I'm not.  I'm not ready yet, but maybe I will be soon.

Training has been going well, though.  I had taken about four weeks off from lifting because I just wasn't feeling it.  Everyone needs a break sometimes and I figured I should listen to my body.  I got back into it yesterday and worked my way up to a 405lb squat.  It went up fairly easily and I know I could've gotten 425lbs and possilby 450lbs.  My goal is a 500lb squat by January 1st. 

I need to take this weekend and seriously think about what I'm going to do for the next five months with my training and diet.  Right now I weigh the most I've ever weighed (246 lb) and I'm the strongest I've ever been, but I'm also not really comfortable with the shirt off! 

Over the past couple of years I've dieted down for a bodybuilding contest and got to ten weeks out both times before quitting.  I was the leanest I had ever been the second time around at ten weeks out and for some reason I quit again.  I guess that was the point it really started to suck and I didn't keep pushing.

Goals

Why am I doing this and what are my goals?  Glad you asked.

1)  Get healthier 
2)  Look better
3) Get stronger
4) Inspire others

I was 245.6 pounds the afternoon of June 27th.  My goal over the first four weeks is to lose 15 pounds.  I will readjust from there.  I will also be posting progress pics and measurements after four weeks.

Long term goals?  I'm not sure yet.  If this goes well I will keep it up.  If I don't find it sustainable then I will adjust some things after four weeks.  I will keep up the paleo experiment for at least four weeks though.

The First Step

I have been eating paleo now for about 6 hours.  This will be just an overview of how it works.  These are the foods that can be eaten....

Meats: Look for three criteria. Range Fed/Grass Fed only, Local and Organic. Beef, Chicken, Pork, Lamb, Venison, Turkey, Fish, Eggs, Game birds, Frog legs, Crab legs, eggs I think you get the point. Flesh. Make this your priority at every meal.
 
Fruits and Berries: Look for local and organic first. Strawberries, Blue Berries, Apples, Oranges, Tomatoes, Kiwi, Olives. Anything edible raw.
 
Vegatables: Look for local and organic first. (Not Potatoes or starchy tubers). Broccoli, Green Peppers, Cucumbers, Asparagus, Celery, Carrots, Mushrooms (fungi I know). Edible raw green plants.
 
Nuts/Seeds: Look for local and organic first. Not peanuts, they are a bean. Nuts you can eat raw. Almonds, Walnuts, Sunflower seeds. Pecans, Brazil. Macadamia, chestnuts, sesame

As you can see, the first priority is to eat grass fed and free range when possible.  Local and organic is also best.  That won't be happening 100% at the moment because those types of foods are more expensive than regular grocery store produce.  I will mix it in when I can, but I'm not going to worry about it too much right now.  

These are the foods that aren't allowed....

 GRAINS!: For the most part, man’s first processed food. Wheat, Corn, Wild Rice, Oats, Millet, Rye, Barley and anything made from them. I can’t say enough bad things about them. Everything from Anti-nutrients (Phytates) to Gluten, Lectins, to spiking your insulin. I don’t care how much you paid for what they call Healthy and Whole Grains. THEY ARE BAD.
 
Sweetners and Artificial Sweetners: Sugar, Stevia, Fructose, Corn Syrup, Sucralose, Aspartame, Lactose, Honey and Molasses. Yes we had Honey, evolving in the Paleolithic era, but not enough or often enough to allow us to adapt to the sudden rush of sugar spiking our insulin levels.
 
Dairy: (not including eggs if you classify them as dairy) Milk, Cheese, Yogurt, Butter. If you are considering Whey only protein shakes you are probably OK as most are cross filtered enough to remove and immune damaging properties.
Potatoes/Tubers: Tons of carbs causing huge insulin spike. Sweet potatoes, Yams. Russet potatoes, Beets, Turnips, Cassava. Spuds in general.
 
Legumes: Beans, Peas, peanuts, soy, Green beans, Lima, Coffee, cocoa. You will see them marketed as a free food. From an insulin response they are right. From an optimal health point they are not due to the naturally occurring chemicals in them. Most containing anti-nutrients and their own Pesticide in the form of alkaloids or Lectin.

These food lists were compiled by Jamie Caporosso.  If you are interested in learning more about paleo I would recommend checking him out.  I am getting a lot of my information from him.  

I am planning on having a few cheat meals here and there during this first month.  Right now the plan is to have a cheat meal Friday evening and then again on the 4th.  The other variation that I am making is that I will be drinking drinks with artificial sweeteners in them for a while.  It will be my crutch for when I am craving a food that I should not be eating.  When I feel I don't need that crutch anymore I will drop it.  

For training I will be using Jim Wednler's 5/3/1 for powerlifting.  I'm not going to go into details.  You can google it if you're interested in more info.  It's basically a main compound exercise at the beginning of each workout followed up by high volume bodybuilding style training.  For cardio I'm just going to be doing some type of sprinting a couple times a week.  I won't be making cardio a priority right now, though.  

Going Paleo

I will be posting more over the coming weeks, but I am going to give something new a try.  I'm going to follow the paleo style of diet for a month and discuss the process.  I normally hate all of the fad diets and following a strict plan, but I wanted to give this a try because many of the people that I respect in the fitness industry have good things to say about this style of eating. 

During this time I will be following Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 for powerlifting for my training.  I am going to use this program because I like the focus on the heavy compound lifts while still getting in some bodybuilding pump training. 

I will go into more detail about what paleo means and how I'm going to be eating.  I will be posting progress pictures so if you're offended by a fat guy without his shirt on I would suggest not visiting this site again. 

I'm excited to start and I appreciate any comments or questions.  Ideally, this will turn into a community thing where we can discuss things related to diet and training and learn from each other.