A Gibbering (and nutrient lacking) Fool

 So my wife found a link to my old blog from my teenage years. I have no idea how much she read or how deep she delved into the archives. I do know we're still married, so that's a good sign.  Her review of my teenage writings sparked me to re-visit the site myself.  I got lost in nostalgia.   I laughed, I cringed (I cringed a LOT)  and I learned quite a few things about myself that I had seemingly forgot..

What I learned:

Young me was obsessed with Mountain Dew.  The amount of references to the "Sweet Nectar" as I too often referred to it are uncountable.  It's a miracle I didn't magically turn into a humming bird and fly away.

Young me would've starved to death if it wasn't for Spaghetti O's and a can opener.

Young me complained a lot.  (some things never change.)

Young me really disliked girls. To clarify, I don't think young me really disliked girls, in fact I think young me REALLY liked girls. Problem being girls disliked young me. And young me had a LOT of resentment because of it.

And  there's a lot more too, that which I don't really need to get into here.  Anyways, since this is kind of a fitness blog about my journey let's talk about what got young me to the 135 - 140 lb bean pole status VS what got me to the 182lbs slightly bigger than bean pole status when I was (am?) old me.

Young me typical day of eating:

9:30 am : Red bull (sugar free)

11:30 am : Grilled cheese with french fries

2:30 pm : small kids burger with fries

3:00 pm : Red bull or coffee (sugar free)

After my kid's burger I would work until around 9pm, occasionally munching on a snack here and there with nothing significant.

10:00 pm : If there was no spaghetti O cans left I would find a snack around the house, popcorn, chips.. etc.  Once or twice a week I would visit a taco bell and pound some soft tacos and mountain dew with the wrecking crew.  (Taco Tuesdays anyone??)

As you can see not the most caloric dense OR nutrient dense meal plan.  Now, lets compare to Old me style of eating, which helped me put on significant weight and muscle.

7:00 am - Coffee + Chocolate "Mass shake" (25g protein powder + 125g carb powder) ; Pear or Orange

10:00 am - 4 eggs (whole) 1 cup blueberries, 1 cup oatmeal (cooked),  1 hashbrown pattie or 1 small diced and cooked russet potato


12:30pm - 5 oz chicken breast with seasoning, 1 1/2 - 2 cups white rice w/1tbsp olive oil, 1 cup diced pineapple, 1 cup green beans or broccoli


3:30pm - Protein smoothie, 1 scoop whey, 1 cup frozen blueberries or other frozen fruit, 1/2 cup orange juice, 1/2 cup carb powder

6:00pm - GYM

8:00 pm -  4-5 oz ground turkey, 1/4 avacado, 1 whole wheat wrap,  1 cup white rice, diced tomatoes, green peppers, spinach, sliced cucumber.


10:00 pm - one scoop protein powder


Old me focuses a lot more on whole foods with nutrients, a lot more overall calories and a lot more protein. I lack a bit of consistency but for the most part this is my current meal plan 4-5 days a week. Weekends are my biggest failure as the routine seemingly flies out the window if I'm not on my work schedule.  A step to nail down failing forward.  The BEST gains ever made was when I was tracking calories daily and paying attention to the macro nutrient ratios of my meals and total caloric intake. That takes time and effort, which I've been lacking as of late.  I've been playing a lot of it by feel.  Watching the scale and eating more if it's not moving up or less if I feel I'm gaining too quickly.  I'm hoping to have the discipline to start tracking over all calories and nutrients again but for now we'll fail forward some more.

Step 1 Fail. Step 2 Move Forward

Hello?  Hello? ...Is this thing on?  Has it really been FOUR years? Where have I been?  What have I been doing?  I'd like to tell you I've been hitting the gym harder than I've ever had, that my diet has been spot on, that I've reached my goals and achieved my dreams.  I'd like to tell you I've made what they call in the industry "mad gainz"; That my squat, bench and deadlift have all gone up hundreds of pounds.   I'd like to tell you I'm in the best shape of my life. That I'm bigger, stronger, faster.  I'd like to tell you that my chicken legs are now tree trunks.

Now that we've gotten that out of the way, I can tell you what I have done.  I've Failed. 

I've recently been reading a book called Failing Forward by John Maxwell. Now, I'm not generally one for the "self help" genre but someone much more knowledgeable than I had it on their top 3 books of all time list. This particular person specializes in psychiatry and philosophy. That being said, I figured I should probably give it a read.  Let me just say WHAT A GREAT BOOK.  I already find myself thinking about proper steps to take and ways to improve on how I've failed.   My fitness goals being one of them.  

Which leads us back here.  Back to the blog.   Why not?  I feel like keeping myself accountable updating the blog with fresh content will motivate me to press on.  I've grown complacent and its time to reignite the fire. Some history for those who didn't know me back then; Many moons ago I weighed a whopping 145 lbs.   At around  6'1 this is also known as what we call "bean pole status".  I took an interest into graduating out of bean pole status.  I wanted to be able to wear shorts with out a comment about my legs.  I wanted people to stop referring to me as "the tall skinny kid".  So I started lifting.  I had no idea what I was doing.  Slowly I started to learn.  I started taking an interest in nutrition.  I started focusing more on how to improve my lifts and how to eat to achieve my goals.  I trained and ate and studied. I saw results.  They were satisfying.  Comments from friends and family were motivating.  I put on some muscle, some fat, I got a little bigger.  Not Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson big.  But bigger than beanpole status I'd say.  Not shredded. I added some pounds and I added some muscle. I did what I sought to do.   

But then I failed.  I got lazy, I lost some of the hard earned muscle I had put on.  I stopped prepping my food and counting my calories. I went to the gym only when I wanted and when it fit my schedule. I stayed home when I felt like it.  The past few years I've read more articles, studies, and books on nutrition and fitness than I can count.   My failure isn't in the knowledge my failure is in the execution.    Which brings me back to blogging.  A weekly update to keep me accountable to my execution.  I'm sure along the road there will be plenty more failures, but as John Maxwell writes:

"To achieve your dreams, you must embrace adversity and make failure a regular part of your life.

 If you're not failing, you're probably not really moving forward"

So, its time to move forward... Again.   Who's with me?

I might have puked..

     I might have puked.  So what?  In Arnold's biography he said he's puked hundreds of times during a workout.  Dan John said I might puke.  That being said I still don't feel any better about it.  And what scares me even more is tomorrow.  Tomorrow is training day 2 of the program and instead of just one set of 30 rep squats I have to do TWO, count them TWO sets of 30 rep squats.  I will have to set my alarm extra early as it may take me a while to finish those.  It's nearly two days later and I'm still feeling the effects.  I cringe every time I have to take stairs or even get up from sitting down for that matter. Maybe the basketball game later on in the day wasn't such a good idea.   I guess that means its working right?  Anyways here is what day 1 of training looked like.

Dumbbell over head press x 5
Bench Press 5x5
Bird Dog x 2 (core training)
Bat Wings x 3 (kind of like a dumbbell row but you lay face down on the bench and hold the weights for a period of time)

3 sets of 5 of the following complex:


Bent over row
Clean
Military Press
Front Squat
Back Squat
Good Morning

A complex is a series of lifts in which you do all sets of  the above listed exercises before placing the bar down

And finally

Back Squat 1 x 30
(puke)

Day two comes bright and early tomorrow morning.  I will not have a glass of milk before hand this time. And maybe some stretching will be in order; something I don't do nearly enough of.  And since I'm done reading Dan John's book I'll need some new reading material.   Next on the list is Lyle McDonald's Guide to Flexible Dieting:  Review to follow.

Excerpt

The following is an excerpt from the Introduction of the book

See if this sounds familiar: you’ve just started a new diet, certain that it’s going to be different this time around and that it’s going to work. You’re cranking along, adjust to the new eating (and exercise) patterns and everything is going just fine. For a while.

Then the problem hits. Maybe it’s something small, a slight deviation or dalliance. There’s a bag of cookies and you have one or you’re at the mini mart and just can’t resist a little something that’s not on your diet. Or maybe it’s something a little bit bigger, a party or special event comes up and you know you won’t be able to stick with your diet. Or, at the very extreme, maybe a vacation comes up, a few days out of town or even something longer, a week or two. What do you do?

Now, if you’re in the majority, here’s what happens: You eat the cookie and figure that you’ve blown your diet and might as well eat the entire bag. Clearly you were weak willed and pathetic for having that cookie, the guilt sets in and you might as well just start eating and eating and eating.

Or since the special event is going to blow your diet, you might as well eat as much as you can and give up, right? The diet is obviously blown by that single event so might as well chuck it all in the garbage. Vacations can be the ultimate horror, it’s not as if you’re going to go somewhere special for 3 days (or longer) and stay on your diet, right? Might as well throw it all out now and just eat like you want, gain back all the weight and then some.’

What if I told you that none of the above had to happen? What if I told you that expecting to be perfect on your diet was absolutely setting you up for failure, that being more flexible about your eating habits would make them work better? What if I told you that studies have shown that people who are flexible dieters (as opposed to rigid dieters) tend to weigh less, show better adherence to their diet in the long run and have less binge eating episodes?

Tools & Supplements

Well tomorrow is the big day.  I start my new routine.  I'm both nervous and excited.  Excited because I've been out of the gym for a little while to let my body reset and nervous because I've never done a routine that involved high rep squats. I'm just about geared up for it. I went grocery shopping today and purchased food for the week.  I usually take one or two nights during the week and prep my meals.  This way I can just grab and go in the mornings and its super easy.  So food is bought, I just need to cook it.  Which i'm not looking forward to in this heat...  Now I'd like to go over some of the useful tools and supplements I'll be using over the next six weeks to help me on my journey:

The Tools:


Good Measures - (www.goodmeasures.com)  Probably the single most important tool in the toolbox at the moment.  Good measures is essentially a mini personal nutritionist that can be setup specifically for my goals. I simply log my food and it calculates for me all my macro nutrtient percentages that I need to hit.  It also tells me if I'm over or under any of my micronutrients for the day.  If I'm under any particular nutrient it will actually recommend a meal or snack that i've either eaten in the past or it will recommend a new food to eat that will help me fill that void.  It calculates an "index" based out of 100 for me and spits out a score for the day.  The higher my score the better I've hit my nutrient and caloric goal for the day.  It works wonders for anyone who is as deep into the numbers as I am or for people who could care less about their macro percentages and just want to eat healthier.  It's a win win for anyone trying to improve their nutrition.

Fitocracy - (www.fitocracy.com) A great tool to log workouts with.  Especially if you're a nerd.  Level up. Earn badges, complete quests.. All in the name of fitness!  I always have trouble remembering my weights from past workouts, this helps a ton.

This Blog / Facebook -  I know a lot of you are probably sick of my status updates about food, calories and the such.  Too bad.  Keeping a blog and updating my status with goals and various progress reports keeps me accountable.  If I post something related to my goals I am much more likely to back it up.  Deal with it.

The Supplements:


A disclaimer:  The definition of a supplement is as follows:  Something that completes or enhances something else when added to it.  Note that last part.   Please for all that is good in this land be sure that your diet and exercise routine is in order before you start adding supplements and wonder drugs that the fitness magazines are trying to sell you.  I've wasted a lot of money on stupid stuff.  Don't do that.




Whey Protein -  I used to think having a protein shake a couple of times a day would make me JACKED.  Thank you muscletech and Iron man magazine for your slick marketing campaigns.   Now I use it as properly intended; a supplement.  I use a scoop or two of whey every day to help me hit my daily protein intake that I don't get from real food.   When you are consuming 4300 calories every day and you need 165g of protein sometimes taking a scoop of whey is a lot easier than cooking some chicken or steak.


Fish Oil - If there is one "magic pill" you want to take to help you in pretty much everything; this is it.  The benefits of supplementing fish oil are simply too good to skip out on.  Studies have shown fish oil has anti cancer effects, can help prevent alzheimer's disease, helps with weight management, helps mental health, fights depression, helps build muscle, helps cardiovascular health.. etc.. etc.  why aren't you taking this already? Shoot for 1-3g daily

Creatine - Creatine is probably the most studied supplement out on the market today.  Why? Because it works.  Creatine works by volumizing the cells and increasing ATP stores.  ATP in a nutshell is a molecule that helps with muscle contraction.   To put it really simply by increasing your stores of ATP you are increasing the amount of reps you will be able to do during a workout.  More reps = more muscle!  Buy regular old creatine monohydrate.  No need to get fancy and buy creatine mixed with other stuff or creatine from some big supplement company.  Creatine is creatine. 5 g daily. There is no need to cycle it or to have a "loading phase" as some companies would like you to think.




Pre Workout - I've wasted a lot of money on this stuff.  In reality; you don't need it. Most of the ingredients in the pre workouts are just stimulants mixed with other things that give you a nice "pump". A "pump" doesn't build muscle...It looks and feels good; but essentially it goes away.   I'll prefer to take a little caffeine to give me that extra boost.


Beta Alanine - I've just recently been introduced to the benefits of this supplement and have been researching and reading up on the studies..  It seems legit and I've decided to give it a try for the first time.  The following is taken from Livestrong.com;


As a precursor of carnosine, beta alanine is essential for muscle production and repair. Scientific studies have established that beta alanine supplementation increases muscle strength and output as well as increasing muscle mass. Other benefits to derive from beta alanine include increased muscular anaerobic endurance as well as aerobic endurance. Lastly, and more importantly for bodybuilders, beta alanine supplementation increases exercise capacity and allows you to train harder and for longer.

To increase muscle performance and capacity, beta alanine mops up the hydrogen ions and lactic acids produced from the breakdown of ATP in the muscles. This buffering action is due to carnosine and it prevents the muscles from tiring easily by preventing their pH from dropping. Beta alanine through carnosine has also been shown to have strong antioxidant properties. Therefore, its benefits includes faster recovery and boosting the immune system.


That's about it for my supplements.  I take 1/3 of the recommended dosage of a multi vitamin.  I really don't need 200-300% of anything that I'm probably getting plenty of from the amounts of fruits and veggies I eat.  As Sheldon from the Big Bang Theory once said essentially I'd be paying for expensive urine.   That's it for now.  Stay tuned for the status on my first lifting session on Mass Made Simple

mmm calories

     Well my legs have just about recovered from the backpacking mountain adventure from last weekend.  I guess that means its almost time to start my new routine Mass Made Simple by Dan John.  First however we need to make sure the diet is in order.  So lets go over what my diet will be like the next 6 weeks.  Since the nutritional aspect of Dan's book was nil, I am going to be bulking on 4,300 calories a day.  I seem to have made pretty good gains on my recent 4k bulk.  I *MAY* reduce it to 3800 as on the 4k bulk I did seem to get a bit of a belly, however thats usually expected while bulking and not something I'm too concerned about as my body can burn calories and lean out at an alarming rate. We'll see how it goes.

Continuing; for optimal gains you can't just consume 4k calories and expect to gain muscle mass.  You can and will gain weight of course, however you want this weight to be in the form of muscle mass and not fat stores. That being said of these 4k calories the right macro nutrient percentages are essential for optimal body composition. So let's delve a little deeper into the lovely world of macro nutrients:

Protein - Everyone's favorite macro.  A magic nutrient that muscles need and everyone thinks there are no ill effects from consuming too much. If a little is a good, a lot is better right??  Truth be told there is an upper limit of protein intake your body can handle. Your body will extract exactly what it needs and any excess will be converted and stored for fat for a later use.  So there is no need to go overboard.  We want enough protein to achieve positive nitrogen balance and protein synthesis and not a whole lot more.  A positive nitrogen balance means the body is retaining protein and using it to build new tissue. Recent research I've read on protein intake showed that increasing intake from the RDA of .8 gram per kilogram of body weight to 1.4 grams per kilogram of body weight increased protein synthesis significantly.  At 2.4 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight there was no significant increase.  So the group consuming 2.4g seemed to plateau; meaning they were taking in more protein than was necessary.  Based on this study I've decided to meet in the middle at 1.9, but to make life easier I'll just use 2.  So we divide 182 (my current body weight in lbs) by 2.2 to give us what I would weigh in kilograms, then multiply that number by 2 to get my daily protein allowance.  So I should be consuming around 165g of protein per day.  And since 1g of protein = 4 calories that means 660 of my 4300 calories will be coming from protein.  That was easy.

Next; Carbs! Fuel for the muscle. They supply you with energy to push harder and longer resulting in better work outs.  We love better workouts.  Therefore we love carbs!  We are active, we hit the gym 4-5 days a week; we play sports 3-4 days a weeks, our body needs energy to build muscle and to perform these activities and its preferred  source for this energy comes from carbs. However;  just like I mentioned in the protein explanation; excess carbs will be stored and converted to fat for later use. Sedentary people who don't work out, don't play sports or don't do anything but sit on the couch all day will suffer from excess carbohydrates.  They can become insulin resistant; which causes the body to release too much insulin to regulate blood glucose levels, this then theoretically leads to fat gain.  However an active individual who has a healthy insulin response needs not to worry about this. All the more reason to hit the gym.!  Anyways, Lyle McDonald one of the leading authors on exercise physiology and Susan Kleiner; author of one of my favorite books Power Eating both recommend around 3g per lb of body weight for carb intake. Using their recommendations I'll be eating 546 g of carbs.  And since 1g of carb = 4 calories that means 2184 of my calories will be from carbs.


That means I have 1456 calories left.  These will be for fats.  That seems like a lot. Divide that number by 9 and you get your daily allowance of fat in grams (1g of fat = 9 calories) 161g. It turns out to be 33% of my daily calories.  Which is just a bit more than the 30% recommended for bulking.  Close enough.  Understand that fats are essential for the release of certain hormones.  Especially everyone's favorite: testosterone; the biggest hormone responsible for manufacturing muscle.  More fat = more testosterone. Yes!!




Anyways, that's enough for tonight.  I will go into more detail on the types of foods I'll be eating during this bulk and the supplements, tools and resources I'll be using to help me over the next six weeks a bit later.

Dog Lover Digs Deep

    I thought I was in shape.  I thought I was fit and conditioned.  This was until I attempted to climb some mountains with a 40lb back pack strapped to my back.  I have a new found respect for avid back country hikers now.  That was not easy.  For starters there were mechanical issues with my backpack right off the start.  I'm not sure how those packs are supposed to work but for the first mile or so the weight of the pack was completely on my shoulders.   We pulled over for a minute and made some adjustments.  I was told the majority of the weight was supposed to be on my hips.  I adjusted it; much better.  However it didn't last long.  I couldn't tighten the strap around my waist any tighter and it kept slipping down so the weight kept shifting to my shoulders.  Fighting with my pack the whole way up 5.5 miles @ 4,000 feet was not fun.  Again, I think the lack of strength in my legs came into play as we hiked.  My quads and hamstrings burnt like fire.  By the time I reached the first campsite they were complete jelly. 

   Day 2 sounded like it was going to be better.  It was only 2.6 miles to our half way point. We would rest, get some lunch at Galehead hut and continue on another 3.2 miles to the next campsite.  On paper that sounded easy.  However the first leg was downhill to a valley.  It was a tough downhill.  Boulders, rocks and an 80lb dog that's afraid to jump more than 2 feet.  I had to stop often and help Fenway at spots.



   All the resisting on the rocks, combined with me trying to push her to motivate her in some spots resulted in Fenway tearing her rear pads on her paws.  She began limping about 1/2 way to Galehead and we stopped and tried to tape her up.  The bandage lasted all of 2 minutes, but the limp went away eventually and we continued up.  It took us around 4 hours, maybe more, to go the 2.6 to Galehead.  It seemed like forever but we finally had made it.   That's when things got a bit scary.

     Our friends, Megan and Nathan Staples have two huskies; Ember and Marley.  Upon reaching the hut at Galehead we noticed Ember was not acting right.  She was twitching uncontrollably, was vomiting had a loss of vision and was very lethargic.  It didn't look good. And as an avid dog lover I was scared, probably not nearly as scared as Megan and Nathan must have been. The last thing you want is to lose a dog at 3800 feet, 5 miles away from anything.  We didn't know if she was dehydrated or if maybe she ate something she wasn't supposed to.  Luckily my wife had cell phone reception at the hut and we were able to call the vet. The vet told us to get her down the mountain as soon as possible, however Ember couldn't move on her own.  Now if ever asked if I've ever been a part of or witnessed something heroic this is most likely what I'll refer to.  

     We emptied and divided most of Nathan's pack between me, my wife and Megan.  Nathan found a trail that was 4.6 miles to the trail head and from there about 1.6 miles to the car.  Then we started our journey down the mountain.  I watched in amazement as Nathan took his husky up over his shoulders and started down the mountain.   He had a 50lb husky draped around his shoulders, along with what was probably a 25lb backpack. He hauled that dog down the 4.6 miles in 85 degree weather at a pace that I could barely keep up with.   We stopped 3 or 4 times to get water and rest.  When Nathan set Ember down when we stopped you could see the fur she left on him, sweat covering every ounce of his body. Just imagine wearing a 50lb fur coat while almost running down a mountain.  He didn't complain one word.  We eventually reached a creek towards the end of the trail where we stopped.  To everyone's relief (especially Megan and Nathan's) Ember was able to stand on her own and drink.  That was a great moment:




 From there it was about another 1.5 miles to the trail head.  We made it.  Ember was starting to look more alert, able to hold her head up.  It was such a good feeling.  Then I saw Nathan do one more heroic thing that should not go unnoticed.  It was still another mile or two to the car. Megan was about to go as we GPS'd the best way to get there.  Sweaty, tired, sore, beat up... He stood up and told his wife to stay and he'd walk the last leg to the car.   I told him I'd go too.  There was no way I could let him go the last few steps by himself after what he had just done.  We walked.  It was an easy walk compared to what we had just been through.  No backpacks, no pulling dogs, no steep inclines... flat road.  We saw the cars, we pushed the unlock button on the keys to hear that sweet sweet "beep beep" and we raised our hands in victory.   This is something I will not soon forget. Thanks Nathan for showing me how deep one can go for the love of their dog...   And for all those wondering Ember is doing just fine now.   Fenway's paws are a little beat up but she'll be back to herself in no time... And we are all a little sore, but so very happy all the dogs are okay.

A Simple Review

I recently finished my latest indulgence in the fitness world; Mass Made Simple by Dan John.  Needless to say I'm excited to start this program.  It will be a lot different of a routine then what I'm used to.  Currently I'm running a full body heavy weight, rest, full body light weight routine.  Dan's routine consists of a full body every two days, with a warm up or stay loose day thrown in on one of the two rest days.    So it looks like I'll be doing a lot of heavy lifting as Dan bans any weight plate thats not real.  Real weight plates in his book consist of a 45lb plate or a 25lb plate.  Also a lot of squatting.  Too much squatting.   I hate squatting.  If I was a short stalky dude I would love it.  But I'm tall, tall and lengthy.  Tall guys get the short end of the stick (hah) when it comes to moving weights.  We have to move the bar a lot further then you vertically challenged folk.  Moving the bar further requires more energy, more muscle activation, we have to go lower when we squat down and higher when we come back up.  It's not fair.

Other than the high rep squats, the brunt of the routine is done with what Dan coined as a "complex";  He defines a complex as a series of lifts back to back to back where you finish the reps of one lift before moving on to the next, the barbell only leaving your hands once all the lifts are completed.  For example day one I will be doing the following complex:

Barbell row x 3
Clean x 3
Front Squat x 3
Military Press x 3
Back Squat x 3
Good Morning's x 3

I will do all these exercises for 3 reps back to back with out dropping the bar.  I will do 3 sets of this.  followed by one set of 30 rep squats.  Yikes!  As the training progresses, more sets and heavier weights are added also some variations to the above complex... You people may see me walking funny for a few weeks.

As far as the nutritional portion of this book goes, I was pretty disappointed.   Dan basically recommends taking supplements I've already been taking (Fish oil & creatine)  followed by eating more fiber and eating more protein.  He doesn't give a ratio or macro nutrient guide or caloric goal. He basically just says to eat more peanut butter & jelly sandwhiches and add an apple to your meals   Not the most in depth nutritional advice if you ask me... However I am fairly excited to start the workout regimen.    My results may be skewed as I am going against Dan's advice in one area.  He recommends to quit any sports or endurance activities that maybe consuming too many calories.  Currently I'm playing softball 3 times a week and basketball once a week.  I've been able to maintain my current body weight so far while adding in these sports this spring, so I don't think thats an issue.  If worse comes to worse I'll add more calories to my already absurd amount.  Maybe a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or two..