August 2, 2012
Rockford Marathon then Aspen Certified Maniac
The Rockford Marathon was really rough. 95 degrees at the finish. I totally died at mile 20 and walk/ran the rest as I could. Still faster than 5 hours but it took me about 4 hours before I could really eat much without feeling sick.
The Aspen Valley Marathon was a totally different experience. Cool and a gradual downhill for about 20 miles of the race it turned into a personal record for me 3:48:20 26th overall and 4th in my division. Even with the high altitude I felt pretty good and best of all since it was my third marathon in 71 days I qualified for the Marathon Maniacs!
Next, I'm training for a two marathon weekend. Kanasas City Marathon on October 20, 2012 and the Duke City Marathon on October 21, 2012. My training is pretty much Hal Higdon Novice 1 doubled. So I run twice a day most days and long run on Saturday and repeat on Sunday. We'll see how well that goes for me.
May 7, 2012
Tulsa, Louisville and Rockford Soon
WOW! It has been a long while since my last post. I've been training hard and getting faster. Tulsa didn't turn out to be faster but I did add the Center of the Universe stop and had fun with a finish time of 4:08:36. Louisville on the other hand was fast!
The Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon was great. I think my nutrition was a little off but I still got a personal record at 3:48:48!
I'm training for my next one coming soon in Rockford Marathon on May 20th. I am trying a little different training running 5 miles in the morning and 5 miles at night as I can (about 4 days a week) and a long run on Saturday. I'm doing very little weight training for this three weeks just to see if I can get my speed up for Rockford. We'll see how it goes.
The Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon was great. I think my nutrition was a little off but I still got a personal record at 3:48:48!
I'm training for my next one coming soon in Rockford Marathon on May 20th. I am trying a little different training running 5 miles in the morning and 5 miles at night as I can (about 4 days a week) and a long run on Saturday. I'm doing very little weight training for this three weeks just to see if I can get my speed up for Rockford. We'll see how it goes.
October 19, 2011
Des Moines Marathon
I ran the IMT Des Moines Marathon on Sunday and it was a beautiful day for it. Started cool and never got too hot. The course was pretty nice with only some gentle hills (well the last one was a little hard but mostly because it was near the end of the race). Some of the course was on trails but they were paved and smooth so they didn't bother my feet wearing my Vibram Five Fingers.
I finished with a personal best of 3:51:21! I’m getting closer to my quest for a Boston qualifying time. Next, Tulsa, OK Route 66 Marathon on November 20th 2011. I've got only five weeks to recover and train. I'm going to try to run even faster in Tulsa. My main objective over the next five weeks is repair, recovery and to begin building again. We'll see how that goes.
I finished with a personal best of 3:51:21! I’m getting closer to my quest for a Boston qualifying time. Next, Tulsa, OK Route 66 Marathon on November 20th 2011. I've got only five weeks to recover and train. I'm going to try to run even faster in Tulsa. My main objective over the next five weeks is repair, recovery and to begin building again. We'll see how that goes.
September 28, 2011
Healing and Cutting the Fat
Recently I was having shin pain. It wasn't the pain that worried me because I could run and it would just get numb but the swelling did. My ankle swelled up about twice its size. I really didn't want to do any damage that would make me miss my upcoming marathon in October so I took a couple weeks off to heal.
Now by "take off" what I actually mean is I just didn't run but instead I substituted another workout for each run I missed and threw in a lot of calf stretching. In case you haven't read all my posts what I do is a workout in the early morning then a run after I get home from work. Usually the workouts last 45 minutes and the runs anywhere from 30 minutes to 90 minutes. Then on Saturday I do a long run which varies from a low of 8 miles to a high of 20 miles (last weekend). As I just let the cat out of the bag, my two week shin rest ended and I ran an "easy" 7 miles then 5 miles then ran my long run of 20 miles. The healing helped as there was no swelling or so little I couldn't see it and only a slight tightness. I'd consider that pretty good for a 20 mile run even if I hadn't had shin issues.
I think this is important to share because you can see that even if you get injured you don't have to stop, just adjust to it and heal.
It is three weeks until the marathon so I am trying to lose the last few percent of fat so I can reach my target body fat of 4% - 5% and hopefully that "lightness" will translate to speed. To do that I'm limiting my carbs and fat and keeping to my running plan. It is getting tough. I'm a carboholic big time. My favorites are mashed potatoes and gravy, macaroni and cheese, cake with tons of frosting and did I mention mashed potatoes and gravy? So of course, cutting those tasty carbs is causing my energy level to hit the floor.
A couple tips I've been using - Strange as it seems the more I move around the more energy I have. In the morning I have a wonderful wife who always makes sure I wake up and don't hit the snooze. I take a pre-workout supplement (N.O.-Xplode) and then my morning workout gets the blood pumping so I'm ready to go. At work I get up and walk around a bit when I feel myself drifting off and I allow myself two diet Mountain Dew cans during the day. Another technique I'm using at work is drinking lots of water. That keeps me cold and makes sure I need to get up from my desk often. I always try to use the bathroom furthest away too to keep me moving. My runs help me make it through the rest of the evening until bed. I'm a night owl with an early morning schedule so I don't usually get as much sleep as I should. I need to work on that. If you have any tips on that let me know.
Now by "take off" what I actually mean is I just didn't run but instead I substituted another workout for each run I missed and threw in a lot of calf stretching. In case you haven't read all my posts what I do is a workout in the early morning then a run after I get home from work. Usually the workouts last 45 minutes and the runs anywhere from 30 minutes to 90 minutes. Then on Saturday I do a long run which varies from a low of 8 miles to a high of 20 miles (last weekend). As I just let the cat out of the bag, my two week shin rest ended and I ran an "easy" 7 miles then 5 miles then ran my long run of 20 miles. The healing helped as there was no swelling or so little I couldn't see it and only a slight tightness. I'd consider that pretty good for a 20 mile run even if I hadn't had shin issues.
I think this is important to share because you can see that even if you get injured you don't have to stop, just adjust to it and heal.
It is three weeks until the marathon so I am trying to lose the last few percent of fat so I can reach my target body fat of 4% - 5% and hopefully that "lightness" will translate to speed. To do that I'm limiting my carbs and fat and keeping to my running plan. It is getting tough. I'm a carboholic big time. My favorites are mashed potatoes and gravy, macaroni and cheese, cake with tons of frosting and did I mention mashed potatoes and gravy? So of course, cutting those tasty carbs is causing my energy level to hit the floor.
A couple tips I've been using - Strange as it seems the more I move around the more energy I have. In the morning I have a wonderful wife who always makes sure I wake up and don't hit the snooze. I take a pre-workout supplement (N.O.-Xplode) and then my morning workout gets the blood pumping so I'm ready to go. At work I get up and walk around a bit when I feel myself drifting off and I allow myself two diet Mountain Dew cans during the day. Another technique I'm using at work is drinking lots of water. That keeps me cold and makes sure I need to get up from my desk often. I always try to use the bathroom furthest away too to keep me moving. My runs help me make it through the rest of the evening until bed. I'm a night owl with an early morning schedule so I don't usually get as much sleep as I should. I need to work on that. If you have any tips on that let me know.
July 26, 2011
What makes some people succeed and others fail?
What makes some people follow through
and others quit? I thought about this today because I skipped my workout yesterday. I was still a little sore all over and felt I needed a day off. I still ran in the morning so I was getting a workout that way but no weights. I know it is only one day off. The difference between one day off and quitting is "I will".
When I started working out a few years ago I still remember my thought, it was like an on/off switch in my head. I thought "I will" lose this fat
and improve the function and appearance of my body by bodybuilding
. Sure, I took a lot of steps after that but that first act of setting my mind to it is what made everything else happen. Getting that mind-set came before specific goals. The "I will" comes before the goal setting. The "I will" comes before the first step. The "I will" is what continue me down this path.
Thomas Edison set his mind on developing a practical incandescent, electric light. He actually did not invent the light bulb but improved upon it. In order to improve it he actually had to create seven system elements that were critical to the practical application of electric lights as an alternative to the gas lights that were prevalent in that day.
These were the development of:
1. The parallel circuit,
2. A durable light bulb,
3. An improved dynamo,
4. The underground conductor network,
5. The devices for maintaining constant voltage,
6. Safety fuses and insulating materials, and
7. Light sockets with on-off switches.
Each of these inventions came from the "I will" create a practical incandescent, electric light. Why did he keep going after many failures? There is no quit in "I will". Why will I work out today after a day off yesterday? There is no quit in "I will". If you say "I might" or "I should" or something else like that there is room for "I can't" or "I quit" or "I failed". So fill your life with "I will"s and get to it!
and others quit? I thought about this today because I skipped my workout yesterday. I was still a little sore all over and felt I needed a day off. I still ran in the morning so I was getting a workout that way but no weights. I know it is only one day off. The difference between one day off and quitting is "I will".When I started working out a few years ago I still remember my thought, it was like an on/off switch in my head. I thought "I will" lose this fat
and improve the function and appearance of my body by bodybuilding. Sure, I took a lot of steps after that but that first act of setting my mind to it is what made everything else happen. Getting that mind-set came before specific goals. The "I will" comes before the goal setting. The "I will" comes before the first step. The "I will" is what continue me down this path.Thomas Edison set his mind on developing a practical incandescent, electric light. He actually did not invent the light bulb but improved upon it. In order to improve it he actually had to create seven system elements that were critical to the practical application of electric lights as an alternative to the gas lights that were prevalent in that day.
These were the development of:
1. The parallel circuit,
2. A durable light bulb,
3. An improved dynamo,
4. The underground conductor network,
5. The devices for maintaining constant voltage,
6. Safety fuses and insulating materials, and
7. Light sockets with on-off switches.
Each of these inventions came from the "I will" create a practical incandescent, electric light. Why did he keep going after many failures? There is no quit in "I will". Why will I work out today after a day off yesterday? There is no quit in "I will". If you say "I might" or "I should" or something else like that there is room for "I can't" or "I quit" or "I failed". So fill your life with "I will"s and get to it!
July 18, 2011
Saturday Long Run
It was hot and humid but I still did my long run. Saturday Long Run by rich_bailey77 at Garmin Connect - Details
June 17, 2011
Minneapolis Marathon
I completed my third marathon at the Team Ortho Minneapolis Marathon
. Overall the marathon was very well managed and there were plenty of water stops and other refreshments (food). The volunteers were all AWESOME!
My only complaint was the road and trail conditions were pretty bad. There were large cracks and pot holes throughout the road course that I constantly needed to avoid to keep from hurting my feet or twisting my ankles. The trail was some gravel and some gravel embedded asphalt. The asphalt had worn away so that there was large pieces of gravel rocks sticking up that did not give at all and bruised the heck out of the bottom of my feet. In case you haven't read my other posts, I wear a minimalist shoe called Vibram Five Fingers
. Several other runners I talked to commented about this and they were wearing regular shoes so it must have been pretty bad. I don't think I will run in Minneapolis again unless these issues are addressed. It isn't worth it.
I didn't run a sub-4 hour but overall when I was done I wasn't too sore. I think a combination of it being hotter than I expected and only having three weeks in-between marathons took its toll. I was pretty wiped toward the end (at about 22 miles) and had dipped below the pace I needed for a sub 4 hour so I took it easy the rest of the way with some walking.
*One tip I did learn, don't drink Muscle Milk
after a marathon. It sat in my stomach like a big bag of chalk. I like it for a protein supplement and I would recommend it any other time but not right after a marathon.
. Overall the marathon was very well managed and there were plenty of water stops and other refreshments (food). The volunteers were all AWESOME! My only complaint was the road and trail conditions were pretty bad. There were large cracks and pot holes throughout the road course that I constantly needed to avoid to keep from hurting my feet or twisting my ankles. The trail was some gravel and some gravel embedded asphalt. The asphalt had worn away so that there was large pieces of gravel rocks sticking up that did not give at all and bruised the heck out of the bottom of my feet. In case you haven't read my other posts, I wear a minimalist shoe called Vibram Five Fingers
. Several other runners I talked to commented about this and they were wearing regular shoes so it must have been pretty bad. I don't think I will run in Minneapolis again unless these issues are addressed. It isn't worth it.I didn't run a sub-4 hour but overall when I was done I wasn't too sore. I think a combination of it being hotter than I expected and only having three weeks in-between marathons took its toll. I was pretty wiped toward the end (at about 22 miles) and had dipped below the pace I needed for a sub 4 hour so I took it easy the rest of the way with some walking.
*One tip I did learn, don't drink Muscle Milk
after a marathon. It sat in my stomach like a big bag of chalk. I like it for a protein supplement and I would recommend it any other time but not right after a marathon.
June 1, 2011
Cellcom Green Bay Marathon
Woo Hoo! I completed the Cellcom Green Bay Marathon in personal record time. Ok, so during my last marathon
(Pensacola, FL
) I had crippling knee pain (IT Band
) that kept my time down to about 5 1/2 hours. This run still went very well. I was hoping to break 4 hours however 40mph gusts and sustained winds of 20mph-25mph had other ideas. My final time was 04:02:59.
The marathon
was well planned and there were plenty of aid stations with water, GU
and other refreshments to keep us going. One little mistake in the course though sent all runners an additional 800 feet so times were corrected for the planned mileage. Coming through the tunnel and out into Lambeau Field
was AWESOME! I'm sure it'll be one of the best marathons I ever do. One reason I planned to do this one this year was to complete it the same year as the Packers won the Super Bowl. To honor the Packers the marathon medal has the marathon emblem in football leather on one side.
I felt so good I scheduled my next marathon
for June 5th, 2011 in Minneapolis just three weeks after. The weather report says temperatures from the 60s to upper 70s and no winds. Maybe a sub 4 hour marathon is in my future.
During my time between marathons
I hit the weight pretty hard and ate extra calories. I have lost no weight in fact I gained a couple pounds and kept about the same percent body fat
. Starting next week it is all about cutting the body fat. Summer body here I come.
Lambeau Field
(Pensacola, FL) I had crippling knee pain (IT Band) that kept my time down to about 5 1/2 hours. This run still went very well. I was hoping to break 4 hours however 40mph gusts and sustained winds of 20mph-25mph had other ideas. My final time was 04:02:59.The marathon
was well planned and there were plenty of aid stations with water, GU and other refreshments to keep us going. One little mistake in the course though sent all runners an additional 800 feet so times were corrected for the planned mileage. Coming through the tunnel and out into Lambeau Field was AWESOME! I'm sure it'll be one of the best marathons I ever do. One reason I planned to do this one this year was to complete it the same year as the Packers won the Super Bowl. To honor the Packers the marathon medal has the marathon emblem in football leather on one side.I felt so good I scheduled my next marathon
for June 5th, 2011 in Minneapolis just three weeks after. The weather report says temperatures from the 60s to upper 70s and no winds. Maybe a sub 4 hour marathon is in my future.During my time between marathons
I hit the weight pretty hard and ate extra calories. I have lost no weight in fact I gained a couple pounds and kept about the same percent body fat. Starting next week it is all about cutting the body fat. Summer body here I come.Lambeau Field
April 12, 2011
Review of Green Magnitude
Recently I purchased two "Green Magnitude
" Sour Green Apple Magnesium Creatine Chelate and Dicreatine Malate 1.8 lbs containers. I had tried a sample size and it worked quite well with an amazing pump so I placed this order. The taste is almost like a green apple Jolly Rancher and it mixes very well. Some other creatine products leave a grit that isn't very palatable but this almost dissolves completely. It also bubbles and if you drink it right after shaking it is almost like it has carbonation (like almost flat Sprite).
The first time I tried "Green Magnitude" was a sample. I drank it about 20 minutes before my workout and I got an amazing pump during my workout so I decided to get it the next time I needed creatine.
After ordering the full product I learned that Controlled Labs reduced the creatine ratio to reduce the amount of magnesium in the mixture which eliminated a problem with some people getting diarrhea. The drawback, at least for me, is that I do not get quite as good a pump as I did with the sample. To compensate I take one scoop in the morning and one in the afternoon which reduces the number of days the container will last from 80 to 40 days. Needing to do that makes this supplement pretty expensive so I would rather they change the formula back. Overall I'd probably order it again but I may add a less expensive Magnesium Creatine Chelate supplement with it.
Rating (5 stars being best):
Taste: *****
Mixability: *****
Effectiveness: **** (***** pre formula change)
Price: ** (**** pre formula change)
" Sour Green Apple Magnesium Creatine Chelate and Dicreatine Malate 1.8 lbs containers. I had tried a sample size and it worked quite well with an amazing pump so I placed this order. The taste is almost like a green apple Jolly Rancher and it mixes very well. Some other creatine products leave a grit that isn't very palatable but this almost dissolves completely. It also bubbles and if you drink it right after shaking it is almost like it has carbonation (like almost flat Sprite). The first time I tried "Green Magnitude
" was a sample. I drank it about 20 minutes before my workout and I got an amazing pump during my workout so I decided to get it the next time I needed creatine. After ordering the full product I learned that Controlled Labs reduced the creatine ratio to reduce the amount of magnesium in the mixture which eliminated a problem with some people getting diarrhea. The drawback, at least for me, is that I do not get quite as good a pump as I did with the sample. To compensate I take one scoop in the morning and one in the afternoon which reduces the number of days the container will last from 80 to 40 days. Needing to do that makes this supplement pretty expensive so I would rather they change the formula back. Overall I'd probably order it again but I may add a less expensive Magnesium Creatine Chelate supplement with it.
Rating (5 stars being best):
Taste: *****
Mixability: *****
Effectiveness: **** (***** pre formula change)
Price: ** (**** pre formula change)
March 29, 2011
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March 24, 2011
New body fat measurement
Woo Hoo! 6% Body fat and 174 lbs. For those of you keeping score, that means that in the past 5 months I have gained 6 lbs of lean muscle while training for a marathon. That should put me at about 15 lbs per year gain.
March 17, 2011
Cravings
I have been cutting for a while now but ramped it up a bit because of my training for my marathon. I figured it would be easier since I am doing so much cardio. WOW!! I have been craving food (any and all types) like crazy. In the old days, I could go to Pizza Hut for the lunch buffet and eat 5 plate fulls 2 or 3 slices of pizza each and noodles and maybe a salad with it with no problem. Lately, I feel like I could double that!
I have only slipped a couple times but I have probably been at too great a calorie deficit lately so I'm backing off just a bit for the next few weeks. I'm still at a calorie deficit but only a couple hundred rather than four or five hundred. I feel a little better and my workouts are more intense. Also, I didn't fatigue as much during my last run. As long as my bodyfat drops I'm happy with a 1/2% every 2 or 3 weeks instead of the 1/2% a week I have had.
I have only slipped a couple times but I have probably been at too great a calorie deficit lately so I'm backing off just a bit for the next few weeks. I'm still at a calorie deficit but only a couple hundred rather than four or five hundred. I feel a little better and my workouts are more intense. Also, I didn't fatigue as much during my last run. As long as my bodyfat drops I'm happy with a 1/2% every 2 or 3 weeks instead of the 1/2% a week I have had.
March 3, 2011
Mixing it up.
Lately, I have really focused on changing up the order of my sets. What a difference. For the longest time I did not see much difference in my chest even though my strength has been increasing but lately the muscle is looking larger. Some of that is because my body fat has dropped so it looks bigger but I think changing up the order of the exercises confuses the muscles
and causes them to respond more.
Now I know that muscles cannot actually become confused but they do respond to increased stimulus and I believe that is what happens when you mix it up. For example, say I do bench press 12 reps at 135lbs., 10 reps 140lbs., 8 reps 145lbs., 6 reps 150lbs. then rest 2 minutes and do incline dumbbell press. Am I going to be able to do as much weight at the incline dumbbell press
as if I start there? No, of course not. I already stressed the muscles with the bench press so they won't be able to press as hard during the dumbbell press therefore less stress for those fibers maximally stimulated by the incline dumbbell press.
Suppose next week I start with the incline dumbbell press then move to the bench press. Those fibers maximally stimulated by the incline dumbbell press get the maximum stimulation I can put on them because my strength is at its highest and the ones only stimulated maximally by the bench press get a little grow break until the next week or week after. I generally do 3 or 4 exercises per muscle group so I try to rotate the order of the larger movement exercises.
Mixing it up has worked well for me. If you try it let me know how it works for you.
and causes them to respond more. Now I know that muscles cannot actually become confused but they do respond to increased stimulus and I believe that is what happens when you mix it up. For example, say I do bench press 12 reps at 135lbs., 10 reps 140lbs., 8 reps 145lbs., 6 reps 150lbs. then rest 2 minutes and do incline dumbbell press. Am I going to be able to do as much weight at the incline dumbbell press
as if I start there? No, of course not. I already stressed the muscles with the bench press so they won't be able to press as hard during the dumbbell press therefore less stress for those fibers maximally stimulated by the incline dumbbell press. Suppose next week I start with the incline dumbbell press
then move to the bench press. Those fibers maximally stimulated by the incline dumbbell press get the maximum stimulation I can put on them because my strength is at its highest and the ones only stimulated maximally by the bench press get a little grow break until the next week or week after. I generally do 3 or 4 exercises per muscle group so I try to rotate the order of the larger movement exercises.Mixing it up has worked well for me. If you try it let me know how it works for you.
February 23, 2011
I lost 55 lbs. and so can you in 3 simple steps!
*Warning -- Long post ahead but worth the reading.
How many times have you read a title like that only to find a sales pitch for a book or new supplement that you can buy for only $19.99? That's not what I am going to do. I am going to tell you exactly how I lost 25 pounds in the first 3 months and 55 pounds in 1 year. I also gained 20 pounds of muscle which means I lost about 75 pounds of fat! I was 30% body fat and I was feeling it. I felt like crap. For those of you that don't know 30% body fat is considered obese. I was 6 foot 2 inches (still am) and 230 pounds. At my lightest about a year later, I was 168 pounds and 6% body fat. Right at this moment (a year and 9 months later) I am 175 pounds and 6% body fat. Really the only thing that matters to me now is my body fat percentage. I no longer care what I weigh as long as it goes up and I stay at the same body fat. Want to get to this way of thinking too? Here's how I did it.
1. Nutrition>! Nutrition! Nutrition!
I put it first because it is the most important. If you want to look like a bodybuilder and not like an Olympic weight lifter type with the big gut then nutrition is the key. It is very simple and easy too. Eat the right percentage of fat, carbohydrates and protein and eat less calories than you burn. Ok maybe not easy but it is simple. I have a friend who burns an unbelievable amount of calories through running marathons sometimes two in a single weekend. He should be skinny as a rail but because he doesn't watch what he eats he replaces all that he burns and more. He has been putting on weight lately because of it.
Read and record all you eat and read all nutrition labels.
Now, what are the actual steps to getting your nutrition right? I figure out how many calories I need to maintain my weight (there are tons of calculators on the web *see below), drop 10% to 15% off that total and then divide that total into the percentages of needed fat, carbs and protein. I go with 20% fat, 40% carbohydrates and 40% protein. The USDA says 30% protein, 30% fat, and 40% carbohydrates but we are bodybuilders so we need more protein and if you are overweight you have plenty of fat already. I tweak those a bit for hard muscle building weeks but this is a general rule. I also eat 5 meals a day so I divide the total calories by five to give me my total allowed each meal. This is my goal meal. If you are reading all the labels and writing down what you eat you can keep track and hit your goal meal each and every meal. I try to get as close to the goal meal every meal that I eat. (Again, I do tweak this a bit as I have slightly more carbs in the morning than I do at my night meal.)
For example, say I determine that to maintain my weight and activity level I need 3000 calories a day. For me that is high. I'm actually at about 2300 calories but in this example I take that 3000 calories and multiply by .9 to give me 2700 calories. Now I convert the calories to each type of food so let's start with fat. Fat has 9 calories per gram and I want 20% fat so take 2700 times .2 and I get 540 calories. Divide 540 calories by that 9 calories per gram and I get 60 grams of fat that I can eat a day. Next I'll do Carbs. 2700 times .4 gives me 1080. Carbs have 4 calories per gram so I divide 1080 calories by 4 and I get 270g. Protein is the same as Carbs so no math just 270g. It is pretty simple math. Now I have my daily totals of 60g fat, 270g carbohydrates and 270g protein. Now I figure my per meal amounts. Just divide each of those by 5. So 12g fat, 54g carbs and 54g protein each meal.
So a sample meal for this person could be:
5 oz Chicken Breast (6g fat, 48g protein)
5 oz Yams (40g carbs, 10g protein)
Notice I'm a little over on the protein and a little under on the fat. The fat can be supplemented later or earlier in the day by adding some good healthy fat like flaxseed oil and the protein can be trimmed later by having a smaller portion at another meal.
If you are getting hungry during the day you are eating the wrong kinds of food. Take a cake for example. One tiny little ounce of cake packs a massive 4g of fat, 20g of carbohydrates and 2g of protein!! A typical piece of cake would be about 100 grams or 16g fat, 73g carbs, and 6g protein. I don't know about you but I can eat 3 or 4 typical slices of cake with no problem and still get hungry in an hour. Now let’s look at broccoli. One ounce has 0g fat, 1g carbohydrates and 1g protein. A typical serving of 100g and you're only talking 0g fat, 5g carbs and 3g protein. Sure it doesn't hit the sweet tooth but look at the massive amounts you can eat and still get nowhere near the levels of the cake. You certainly wouldn't be hungry if you ate a head of broccoli the size of your head but if you ate one piece of cake for a meal you'd be hungry in a few minutes. Proper choices are important to avoid the hungry feeling not to mention vitamins that your body needs to be healthy.
Once you have all that down there is one other thing that you will want to keep in mind about carbs. The nutritional data on the foods we eat shows the Total Carbohydrates and two additional categories of carbohydrates, Dietary Fiber and Sugars. As you would probably think, you want to keep the sugars as low as possible on the carbohydrates that you eat. That is 1 cup of white rice at 0g sugars is a better choice than 1 cup corn at 5g sugar and forget about that piece of cake! I'll go more into detail about sugar carbs in other blog entries but try to keep the sugars as low as possible.
2. Strength training
.
It makes sense that you are what you eat. I would add your body is what you eat and what you do. If you eat great but sit on the couch all day you might be thin but your muscles will be weak, have no tone and you will be very unhealthy. Muscle burns more calories just existing than any other kind of cell in our bodies so having more muscle will mean our maintenance calories needed to keep our body size will be higher. Plus, muscles look great! This is a natural bodybuilding blog so I'm talking nice natural muscles here not bloated, steroid, HGH muscles. Ladies that means the toned look of Jillian Michaels not the masculine featured testosterone taking women bodybuilders. Note to the ladies, no matter how much lifting weights you do you will not look like a guy (unless you already do) because your hormones are different your bodies will never develop huge muscles unless you take steroids like testosterone. What you will get are toned shapely curves that you and that special someone will love.
There are a ton of sites where you can get weight training plans. If you don't use mine just make sure you don't overdo it right away. The weight training plan of a professional bodybuilder is not suited for a beginner and you will get hurt. Listen to your body and expect some pain soreness but not burning crippling pain. If you get that you are training too hard. When first starting don't train a body part more than once a week and your total weight training session should only last an hour or less per day.
My example weight training for the week (I do each set to failure. I use the maximum weight I can and still get the reps.) :
Monday: Shoulders And Abs
Exercises
Seated Barbell Military Press Muscle Targeted: Shoulders 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Side Lateral Raise Muscle Targeted: Shoulders 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Seated Bent-Over Rear Delt Raise Muscle Targeted: Shoulders 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Front Dumbbell Raise Muscle Targeted: Shoulders 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Barbell Shrug Muscle Targeted: Traps 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Hanging Leg Raise Muscle Targeted: Abdominals 3 sets to failure
Crunches (25 lb. behind my head) Muscle Targeted: Abdominals 3 sets to failure
Tuesday: Legs
Exercises
Barbell Squat Muscle Targeted: Quadriceps 3 sets of 12-15 reps
Leg Extensions Muscle Targeted: Quadriceps 3 sets of 18-20 reps
Lying Leg Curls Muscle Targeted: Hamstrings 3 sets of 12-15 reps
Stiff-Legged Barbell Deadlift Muscle Targeted: Hamstrings 3 sets of 12-15 reps
Standing Calf Raises Muscle Targeted: Calves 3 sets of 12-15 reps
Seated Calf Raise Muscle Targeted: Calves 3 sets of 20-25 reps
Thursday: Chest Triceps And Abs
Exercises
Incline Dumbbell Press Muscle Targeted: Chest 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Barbell Bench Press - Medium Grip Muscle Targeted: Chest 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Incline Dumbbell Flyes Muscle Targeted: Chest 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Dumbbell Flyes Muscle Targeted: Chest 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Triceps Pushdown Muscle Targeted: Triceps 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Lying Triceps Press Muscle Targeted: Triceps 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Bench Dips Muscle Targeted: Triceps 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Flat Bench Lying Leg Raise Muscle Targeted: Abdominals 3 sets to failure
Oblique Crunches Muscle Targeted: Abdominals 3 sets to failure
Saturday: Back And Biceps
Exercises
Chin-Up Muscle Targeted: Lats 3 sets of 12-15 reps
Bent Over Barbell Row Muscle Targeted: Middle Back 3 sets of 12-15 reps
One-Arm Dumbbell Row Muscle Targeted: Middle Back 3 sets of 12-15 reps
Barbell Deadlift Muscle Targeted: Lower Back 3 sets of 12-15 reps
Barbell Curl Muscle Targeted: Biceps 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Hammer Curls Muscle Targeted: Biceps 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Concentration Curls Muscle Targeted: Biceps 3 sets of 8-12 reps
3. Cardio Training.
Not only is it good for your heart but nothing burns the calories like good cardio. Running is my cardio of choice but I have used jumping jacks, squat thrusts, stair climbing and walking. The main target is to get your heart rate elevated and keep it there as long as possible. Sustained activity burns calories faster than sustained inactivity (duh!). The main thing is pick cardio you can do and sustain for at least 30 minutes a day every day and increase the intensity as you can.
The fat metabolism happens in structures within the muscle cells called mitochondria. Fats are transported into the mitochondria where, in the presence of oxygen, they are broken down to generate energy. More mitochondria means more fat metabolism
, more ATP, and more energy. High-volume training increases the amount and size of mitochondria. Longer exercise (cardio) produces the greatest gains in mitochondrial content (fat burning engines of the muscle cells).
If you don't seem to have time to get into shape this is a quick note for you: A lot of people say they don't have time to get into shape. Obesity reduces your lifespan by up to 10 years. That's 87,600 hours. That is enough time to work out an hour a day for 240 years 7 days a week. I say you don't have enough time to NOT get in shape. I know that sentence is a double negative so shoot me.
* Use this calculator and pick Sedentary for your activity level then use this calculator to see how many calories you burn through exercise and add the two for your total calories needed. http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/calories-burned.php http://www.healthstatus.com/calculate/cbc
How many times have you read a title like that only to find a sales pitch for a book or new supplement that you can buy for only $19.99? That's not what I am going to do. I am going to tell you exactly how I lost 25 pounds in the first 3 months and 55 pounds in 1 year. I also gained 20 pounds of muscle which means I lost about 75 pounds of fat! I was 30% body fat and I was feeling it. I felt like crap. For those of you that don't know 30% body fat is considered obese. I was 6 foot 2 inches (still am) and 230 pounds. At my lightest about a year later, I was 168 pounds and 6% body fat. Right at this moment (a year and 9 months later) I am 175 pounds and 6% body fat. Really the only thing that matters to me now is my body fat percentage. I no longer care what I weigh as long as it goes up and I stay at the same body fat. Want to get to this way of thinking too? Here's how I did it.
1. Nutrition>! Nutrition! Nutrition!
I put it first because it is the most important. If you want to look like a bodybuilder and not like an Olympic weight lifter type with the big gut then nutrition is the key. It is very simple and easy too. Eat the right percentage of fat, carbohydrates and protein and eat less calories than you burn. Ok maybe not easy but it is simple. I have a friend who burns an unbelievable amount of calories through running marathons sometimes two in a single weekend. He should be skinny as a rail but because he doesn't watch what he eats he replaces all that he burns and more. He has been putting on weight lately because of it.
Read and record all you eat and read all nutrition labels.
Now, what are the actual steps to getting your nutrition right? I figure out how many calories I need to maintain my weight (there are tons of calculators on the web *see below), drop 10% to 15% off that total and then divide that total into the percentages of needed fat, carbs and protein. I go with 20% fat, 40% carbohydrates and 40% protein. The USDA says 30% protein, 30% fat, and 40% carbohydrates but we are bodybuilders so we need more protein and if you are overweight you have plenty of fat already. I tweak those a bit for hard muscle building weeks but this is a general rule. I also eat 5 meals a day so I divide the total calories by five to give me my total allowed each meal. This is my goal meal. If you are reading all the labels and writing down what you eat you can keep track and hit your goal meal each and every meal. I try to get as close to the goal meal every meal that I eat. (Again, I do tweak this a bit as I have slightly more carbs in the morning than I do at my night meal.)
For example, say I determine that to maintain my weight and activity level I need 3000 calories a day. For me that is high. I'm actually at about 2300 calories but in this example I take that 3000 calories and multiply by .9 to give me 2700 calories. Now I convert the calories to each type of food so let's start with fat. Fat has 9 calories per gram and I want 20% fat so take 2700 times .2 and I get 540 calories. Divide 540 calories by that 9 calories per gram and I get 60 grams of fat that I can eat a day. Next I'll do Carbs. 2700 times .4 gives me 1080. Carbs have 4 calories per gram so I divide 1080 calories by 4 and I get 270g. Protein is the same as Carbs so no math just 270g. It is pretty simple math. Now I have my daily totals of 60g fat, 270g carbohydrates and 270g protein. Now I figure my per meal amounts. Just divide each of those by 5. So 12g fat, 54g carbs and 54g protein each meal.
So a sample meal for this person could be:
5 oz Chicken Breast (6g fat, 48g protein)
5 oz Yams (40g carbs, 10g protein)
Notice I'm a little over on the protein and a little under on the fat. The fat can be supplemented later or earlier in the day by adding some good healthy fat like flaxseed oil and the protein can be trimmed later by having a smaller portion at another meal.
If you are getting hungry during the day you are eating the wrong kinds of food. Take a cake for example. One tiny little ounce of cake packs a massive 4g of fat, 20g of carbohydrates and 2g of protein!! A typical piece of cake would be about 100 grams or 16g fat, 73g carbs, and 6g protein. I don't know about you but I can eat 3 or 4 typical slices of cake with no problem and still get hungry in an hour. Now let’s look at broccoli. One ounce has 0g fat, 1g carbohydrates and 1g protein. A typical serving of 100g and you're only talking 0g fat, 5g carbs and 3g protein. Sure it doesn't hit the sweet tooth but look at the massive amounts you can eat and still get nowhere near the levels of the cake. You certainly wouldn't be hungry if you ate a head of broccoli the size of your head but if you ate one piece of cake for a meal you'd be hungry in a few minutes. Proper choices are important to avoid the hungry feeling not to mention vitamins that your body needs to be healthy.
Once you have all that down there is one other thing that you will want to keep in mind about carbs. The nutritional data on the foods we eat shows the Total Carbohydrates and two additional categories of carbohydrates, Dietary Fiber and Sugars. As you would probably think, you want to keep the sugars as low as possible on the carbohydrates that you eat. That is 1 cup of white rice at 0g sugars is a better choice than 1 cup corn at 5g sugar and forget about that piece of cake! I'll go more into detail about sugar carbs in other blog entries but try to keep the sugars as low as possible.
2. Strength training
.It makes sense that you are what you eat. I would add your body is what you eat and what you do. If you eat great but sit on the couch all day you might be thin but your muscles will be weak, have no tone and you will be very unhealthy. Muscle burns more calories just existing than any other kind of cell in our bodies so having more muscle will mean our maintenance calories needed to keep our body size will be higher. Plus, muscles look great! This is a natural bodybuilding blog so I'm talking nice natural muscles here not bloated, steroid, HGH muscles. Ladies that means the toned look of Jillian Michaels not the masculine featured testosterone taking women bodybuilders. Note to the ladies, no matter how much lifting weights you do you will not look like a guy (unless you already do) because your hormones are different your bodies will never develop huge muscles unless you take steroids like testosterone. What you will get are toned shapely curves that you and that special someone will love.
There are a ton of sites where you can get weight training plans. If you don't use mine just make sure you don't overdo it right away. The weight training plan of a professional bodybuilder is not suited for a beginner and you will get hurt. Listen to your body and expect some pain soreness but not burning crippling pain. If you get that you are training too hard. When first starting don't train a body part more than once a week and your total weight training session should only last an hour or less per day.
My example weight training for the week (I do each set to failure. I use the maximum weight I can and still get the reps.) :
Monday: Shoulders And Abs
Exercises
Seated Barbell Military Press Muscle Targeted: Shoulders 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Side Lateral Raise Muscle Targeted: Shoulders 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Seated Bent-Over Rear Delt Raise Muscle Targeted: Shoulders 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Front Dumbbell Raise Muscle Targeted: Shoulders 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Barbell Shrug Muscle Targeted: Traps 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Hanging Leg Raise Muscle Targeted: Abdominals 3 sets to failure
Crunches (25 lb. behind my head) Muscle Targeted: Abdominals 3 sets to failure
Tuesday: Legs
Exercises
Barbell Squat Muscle Targeted: Quadriceps 3 sets of 12-15 reps
Leg Extensions Muscle Targeted: Quadriceps 3 sets of 18-20 reps
Lying Leg Curls Muscle Targeted: Hamstrings 3 sets of 12-15 reps
Stiff-Legged Barbell Deadlift Muscle Targeted: Hamstrings 3 sets of 12-15 reps
Standing Calf Raises Muscle Targeted: Calves 3 sets of 12-15 reps
Seated Calf Raise Muscle Targeted: Calves 3 sets of 20-25 reps
Thursday: Chest Triceps And Abs
Exercises
Incline Dumbbell Press Muscle Targeted: Chest 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Barbell Bench Press - Medium Grip Muscle Targeted: Chest 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Incline Dumbbell Flyes Muscle Targeted: Chest 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Dumbbell Flyes Muscle Targeted: Chest 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Triceps Pushdown Muscle Targeted: Triceps 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Lying Triceps Press Muscle Targeted: Triceps 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Bench Dips Muscle Targeted: Triceps 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Flat Bench Lying Leg Raise Muscle Targeted: Abdominals 3 sets to failure
Oblique Crunches Muscle Targeted: Abdominals 3 sets to failure
Saturday: Back And Biceps
Exercises
Chin-Up Muscle Targeted: Lats 3 sets of 12-15 reps
Bent Over Barbell Row Muscle Targeted: Middle Back 3 sets of 12-15 reps
One-Arm Dumbbell Row Muscle Targeted: Middle Back 3 sets of 12-15 reps
Barbell Deadlift Muscle Targeted: Lower Back 3 sets of 12-15 reps
Barbell Curl Muscle Targeted: Biceps 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Hammer Curls Muscle Targeted: Biceps 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Concentration Curls Muscle Targeted: Biceps 3 sets of 8-12 reps
3. Cardio Training.
Not only is it good for your heart but nothing burns the calories like good cardio. Running is my cardio of choice but I have used jumping jacks, squat thrusts, stair climbing and walking. The main target is to get your heart rate elevated and keep it there as long as possible. Sustained activity burns calories faster than sustained inactivity (duh!). The main thing is pick cardio you can do and sustain for at least 30 minutes a day every day and increase the intensity as you can.
The fat metabolism happens in structures within the muscle cells called mitochondria. Fats are transported into the mitochondria where, in the presence of oxygen, they are broken down to generate energy. More mitochondria means more fat metabolism
, more ATP, and more energy. High-volume training increases the amount and size of mitochondria. Longer exercise (cardio) produces the greatest gains in mitochondrial content (fat burning engines of the muscle cells).If you don't seem to have time to get into shape this is a quick note for you: A lot of people say they don't have time to get into shape. Obesity reduces your lifespan by up to 10 years. That's 87,600 hours. That is enough time to work out an hour a day for 240 years 7 days a week. I say you don't have enough time to NOT get in shape. I know that sentence is a double negative so shoot me.
* Use this calculator and pick Sedentary for your activity level then use this calculator to see how many calories you burn through exercise and add the two for your total calories needed. http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/calories-burned.php http://www.healthstatus.com/calculate/cbc
February 22, 2011
Bodybuilders are strange
You know how some people keep a candy bowl at their desk? I keep a bag of chicken jerky. It helps me fight the mid-morning and late afternoon hungries. I prefer the Jack Link's Flamin' Buffalo Chicken Nuggets but pretty much any type of jerky is good.
February 21, 2011
My Cellcom Green Bay Marathon Training
In case you want to follow along.
| Week | Mon | Tues | Wed | Thurs | Fri | Sat | Sun |
| 31-Jan | 3 m run | 4 m run | rest | 3 m run | rest | 9 m | rest |
| 7-Feb | 3 m run | 5 m run | rest | 3 m run | rest | 10 m | rest |
| 14-Feb | 3 m run | 5 m run | rest | 3 m run | rest | 7 m | rest |
| 21-Feb | 3 m run | 6 m run | rest | 3 m run | rest | 12 m | rest |
| 28-Feb | 3 m run | 6 m run | rest | 3 m run | rest | 13 m | rest |
| 7-Mar | 3 m run | 7 m run | rest | 4 m run | rest | 10 m | rest |
| 14-Mar | 3 m run | 7 m run | rest | 4 m run | rest | 15 m | rest |
| 21-Mar | 4 m run | 8 m run | rest | 4 m run | rest | 16 m | rest |
| 28-Mar | 4 m run | 8 m run | rest | 5 m run | rest | 12 m | rest |
| 4-Apr | 4 m run | 9 m run | rest | 5 m run | rest | 18 m | rest |
| 11-Apr | 5 m run | 9 m run | rest | 5 m run | rest | 14 m | rest |
| 18-Apr | 5 m run | 10 m run | rest | 5 m run | rest | 20 m | rest |
| 25-Apr | 5 m run | 8 m run | rest | 4 m run | rest | 12 m | rest |
| 2-May | 4 m run | 6 m run | rest | 3 m run | rest | 8 m | rest |
| 9-May | 3 m run | 4 m run | rest | 2 m run | rest | rest | May 15 race |
February 16, 2011
Marathon? What are you thinking?!?!
I debated whether to post this but here goes; I'm training for the Cellcom Green Bay Marathon. I know what you are thinking, "Marathon training is contrary to bodybuilding! What are you doing?" I disagree and here's why.
First the timing of when you do your long distance training. If you are bulking up it is contrary to what you are doing to burn many calories. You want to have excess calories and lift heavy and often. I'm now in my cutting phase and cardio is very important. I want to be in caloric deficit. I want to drop to 4% body fat and that takes diet discipline and plenty of fat burning. I think the average per week miles add up to 25 miles. This is only 3 1/2 miles a day average. Even on the most miles in a week the total is 40 miles or 5.7 miles a day. The average man burns 124 calories per mile. That is 434 calories a day during an average day of training or 706.8 calories for the longest week. If I only lose fat (at 3,500 calories a pound) that means if just doing the running and no diet changes on the longest week I only drop 1 lb. of fat every 5 days on the longest mileage week or during an average week 1 lb. of fat every 8 days. What about losing muscle? Read the next paragraph about nutrition.
The number one statement I hear that bodybuilders should not run (at least not very much) is "You'll lose muscle because your body will convert protein (muscle) to glycogen as your blood reserves get low." That may be true if all you do is run but a bodybuilder is also lifting (heavy) weights. Lifting progressively heavier weights triggers your body to try to build muscle by creating more muscle cells and storing more energy, Adenosine triphosphate (ATP), in those cells. Look at the two types of cells we are concerned about here muscle and fat. Muscle is for action, movement of some kind. Fat is for storing excess glycogen in the form of lipids or long-chain fatty acids for use later as energy when breakdown of those lipids by lipolysis. Which will your body most prefer to use for energy when you are running? It seems obvious to me.
Now what a bodybuilder should be prepared for is the time between his brain realizing it is low on blood glycogen and his body converting fat to glycogen. Because muscle does have ready stores of glycogen your body will grab a bit of that first until the fat reserves start releasing stored glycogen. However, muscle cells lack the enzyme glucose-6-phosphatase, which is required to pass glucose into the blood, so the glycogen they store is destined for internal use and is not shared with other cells. How do we keep as much glycogen in the muscle cells? What I have found is before you run eat a slower release carbohydrate, which is a carbohydrate that does not contain many sugar grams. I will often use a low fat granola bar such as Quaker Chocolate Chip Chewy Granola Bars. At 17g carbs and 7g sugar I'll eat a half every 4 miles. That way I'm still at a big deficit calorically speaking but my body has a release of glycogen that only needs to be supplemented by fat glycogen release which a healthy body is very efficient at doing.
Properly timing your training with your phase of bodybuilding and adhering to a good nutrition plan a natural bodybuilder can be a marathoner too!
First the timing of when you do your long distance training. If you are bulking up it is contrary to what you are doing to burn many calories. You want to have excess calories and lift heavy and often. I'm now in my cutting phase and cardio is very important. I want to be in caloric deficit. I want to drop to 4% body fat and that takes diet discipline and plenty of fat burning. I think the average per week miles add up to 25 miles. This is only 3 1/2 miles a day average. Even on the most miles in a week the total is 40 miles or 5.7 miles a day. The average man burns 124 calories per mile. That is 434 calories a day during an average day of training or 706.8 calories for the longest week. If I only lose fat (at 3,500 calories a pound) that means if just doing the running and no diet changes on the longest week I only drop 1 lb. of fat every 5 days on the longest mileage week or during an average week 1 lb. of fat every 8 days. What about losing muscle? Read the next paragraph about nutrition.
The number one statement I hear that bodybuilders should not run (at least not very much) is "You'll lose muscle because your body will convert protein (muscle) to glycogen as your blood reserves get low." That may be true if all you do is run but a bodybuilder is also lifting (heavy) weights. Lifting progressively heavier weights triggers your body to try to build muscle by creating more muscle cells and storing more energy, Adenosine triphosphate (ATP), in those cells. Look at the two types of cells we are concerned about here muscle and fat. Muscle is for action, movement of some kind. Fat is for storing excess glycogen in the form of lipids or long-chain fatty acids for use later as energy when breakdown of those lipids by lipolysis. Which will your body most prefer to use for energy when you are running? It seems obvious to me.
Now what a bodybuilder should be prepared for is the time between his brain realizing it is low on blood glycogen and his body converting fat to glycogen. Because muscle does have ready stores of glycogen your body will grab a bit of that first until the fat reserves start releasing stored glycogen. However, muscle cells lack the enzyme glucose-6-phosphatase, which is required to pass glucose into the blood, so the glycogen they store is destined for internal use and is not shared with other cells. How do we keep as much glycogen in the muscle cells? What I have found is before you run eat a slower release carbohydrate, which is a carbohydrate that does not contain many sugar grams. I will often use a low fat granola bar such as Quaker Chocolate Chip Chewy Granola Bars. At 17g carbs and 7g sugar I'll eat a half every 4 miles. That way I'm still at a big deficit calorically speaking but my body has a release of glycogen that only needs to be supplemented by fat glycogen release which a healthy body is very efficient at doing.
Properly timing your training with your phase of bodybuilding and adhering to a good nutrition plan a natural bodybuilder can be a marathoner too!
February 14, 2011
Typical cutting meal.
My breakfast meal
1/2 cup Oatmeal
10-15 raisins
My lunch meal
6oz Chicken breast no skin boiled
1/4 cup white rice
3/4 cup broccoli
1 slice fat free cheese
1T Picante sauce
My supper meal
Something with similar portions to the lunch meal but about double the carbs so 1/2 cup rice. This meal is always at about 3 hours before bed.
I try to have 5 meals throughout the day with the first in-between meal being a medium banana and a 9g serving of protein and the second in-between meal being 9g of protein (chicken jerky usually).
1/2 cup Oatmeal
10-15 raisins
My lunch meal
6oz Chicken breast no skin boiled
1/4 cup white rice
3/4 cup broccoli
1 slice fat free cheese
1T Picante sauce
My supper meal
Something with similar portions to the lunch meal but about double the carbs so 1/2 cup rice. This meal is always at about 3 hours before bed.
I try to have 5 meals throughout the day with the first in-between meal being a medium banana and a 9g serving of protein and the second in-between meal being 9g of protein (chicken jerky usually).
Cutting time
Getting ripped, shredded, sliced or whatever else you want to call it, that's what I've been working on since the second week of January. I did a bulking phase for November and December (both dirty and clean) and got up to 14% body fat and gained 14 lbs. (182 lbs.) The first week of February I was back down to 8% and only lost 5 lbs. to 177 lbs. 2% more and I'll be where I started in November at 6% body fat. I was at 168 lbs. in November so we'll see how much muscle I keep. My goal is 4% body fat by March 1st. I'll have my body fat measured on February 17th and post back.
My goal is to compete in a Natural Bodybuilding competition someday but I'd like to not embarrass myself. I went to see the 2010 Midwest Natural Bodybuilding, Fit Body & Figure Championships in October. Most of the competitors look so much better than I think I ever will but we'll see how I progress. After all, I've only been seriously working out and dieting correctly for a couple years now.
My goal is to compete in a Natural Bodybuilding competition someday but I'd like to not embarrass myself. I went to see the 2010 Midwest Natural Bodybuilding, Fit Body & Figure Championships in October. Most of the competitors look so much better than I think I ever will but we'll see how I progress. After all, I've only been seriously working out and dieting correctly for a couple years now.
January 12, 2010
Welcome to Nature Bodybuilding - tips and techniques for beginning natural bodybuilders
Here's what I've learned about Creatine.
It is one of the best documented supplements that actually works. Forget NO, Beeswax, HGH enhancers, GABA
and other supplements touted by muscle bound steriod freaks. The only thing they are good for is making money for the company and the bodybuilder recommending them. Creatine however, has been tested and has been shown to increase fluid retention in the muscle cells.
How it works: Creatine undergoes a reaction with adenosine diphosphate (ADP) to create adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and creatine. ATP is the energy that muscles use. Free ATP can be used rapidly by the muscle to produce movement. Although ATP can be formed by other sources (e.g. glycolysis using glycogen stores and beta oxidation using free fatty acids), this PCr system is significant because it produces ATP more rapidly than these other pathways and doesn't require oxygen glycolysis and beta oxidation does.
Although creatine is not a source of energy, it acts as a shuttle, supplying your muscles with even more ATP during anaerobic activity (lifting weights). The idea is that by providing the body with additional creatine, muscle concentrations will increase, thereby extending the amount of time that this rapid ATP-producing system can provide energy to the body for high-intensity movements.
Rawson, E.S., & Volek, J.S. (2003). Effects of Creatine Supplementation and Resistance Training on Muscle Strength and Weightlifting Performance. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, found that on average, the increase in strength/lifting performance was 8-14% greater in the creatine and training group, compared to the placebo and training group.
My own belief is that if you are stronger and lifting heavier weights your muscles will grow larger. "Lifting heavy for a higher reps and you will get bigger than someone who lifts light and low reps."
If you decide to take Creatine what dose and when. I'm 177lbs right now and I take 10 grams once a day right after I work out. I use a micronized version (dissolves better and absorbs quicker for less chance of stomach upset). I do not load because I don't believe it matters and I don't want that extra load on my kidneys. Creatine also demands a lot of water. I stick to the .75 ounce of water per pound of body weight, so 132 ounces of water a day for me. Drinking more water also helps your body to eliminate fat and causes increased thermogenisis (body making body heat).
**************************
Welcome to Nature Bodybuilding - Bodybuilding by Nature. This site provides tips and techniques for beginning natural bodybuilders. If you have questions not covered in Nature Bodybuilding please feel free to email your question to rich_bailey77(at)hotmail.com or simply post a comment to my blog.
For this blog a natural bodybuilder is defined as one who does not use drugs or illegal substances, they do use product and nutritional supplements and other legal products.
It is one of the best documented supplements that actually works. Forget NO, Beeswax, HGH enhancers, GABA
and other supplements touted by muscle bound steriod freaks. The only thing they are good for is making money for the company and the bodybuilder recommending them. Creatine however, has been tested and has been shown to increase fluid retention in the muscle cells.
How it works: Creatine undergoes a reaction with adenosine diphosphate (ADP) to create adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and creatine. ATP is the energy that muscles use. Free ATP can be used rapidly by the muscle to produce movement. Although ATP can be formed by other sources (e.g. glycolysis using glycogen stores and beta oxidation using free fatty acids), this PCr system is significant because it produces ATP more rapidly than these other pathways and doesn't require oxygen glycolysis and beta oxidation does.
Although creatine is not a source of energy, it acts as a shuttle, supplying your muscles with even more ATP during anaerobic activity (lifting weights). The idea is that by providing the body with additional creatine, muscle concentrations will increase, thereby extending the amount of time that this rapid ATP-producing system can provide energy to the body for high-intensity movements.
Rawson, E.S., & Volek, J.S. (2003). Effects of Creatine Supplementation and Resistance Training on Muscle Strength and Weightlifting Performance. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, found that on average, the increase in strength/lifting performance was 8-14% greater in the creatine and training group, compared to the placebo and training group.
My own belief is that if you are stronger and lifting heavier weights your muscles will grow larger. "Lifting heavy for a higher reps and you will get bigger than someone who lifts light and low reps."
If you decide to take Creatine what dose and when. I'm 177lbs right now and I take 10 grams once a day right after I work out. I use a micronized version (dissolves better and absorbs quicker for less chance of stomach upset). I do not load because I don't believe it matters and I don't want that extra load on my kidneys. Creatine also demands a lot of water. I stick to the .75 ounce of water per pound of body weight, so 132 ounces of water a day for me. Drinking more water also helps your body to eliminate fat and causes increased thermogenisis (body making body heat).
**************************
Welcome to Nature Bodybuilding - Bodybuilding by Nature. This site provides tips and techniques for beginning natural bodybuilders. If you have questions not covered in Nature Bodybuilding please feel free to email your question to rich_bailey77(at)hotmail.com or simply post a comment to my blog.
For this blog a natural bodybuilder is defined as one who does not use drugs or illegal substances, they do use product and nutritional supplements and other legal products.
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