One and a Half Years of Bodybuilding

Maybe in couple years I will feel confident enough to post my own picture, but for now a very young Arnold Schwarzenegger will have to do. New minor goal, post my own pic without embarrassment in two and half years - end of year four.

February 15th marks the halfway point of every year I train. On August 15, 2009 I came home from vacation significantly embarrassed by what shape I was in, and began a search for something I could do that would counter everything wrong with my body. Bodybuilding fit the bill nicely for a lot of reasons:

1. It involves long term commitment. Look at any cover of any bodybuilding magazine (look at one of my reviews) and the chances are the guy on the cover has been doing this for at least five to seven years. Probably longer. You simply do not get those kind of bodies from a gimmick or quick 12 week program. There are goals at every level: short-term, mid-term and long-term.

2. I can do it for the rest of my life. Bodybuilding actually has competitive classes that involve 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, 70+ in all divisions: Novice, Amateur and Pro. No shortage of goals to aim for, no matter how old I get. Jack LaLane who died at age 96 was reportedly still lifting up till age 94-95.

3. It involves total body health. You cannot be successful in bodybuilding without doing all of the following: Lifting weights, cardiovascular work, nutrition and flexing/stretching. Lifting keeps your muscles ligaments and skeletal bones strong. Cardio keeps the heart and lungs in shape. Nutrition involves 'eating clean' which dumps the poisons from your body and improves overall health. Flexing and stretching keeps you limber and free moving.

4. Mental Focus: To really lift requires mental concentration. It involves setting aside distraction to focus on the task at hand. Some of the meditative techniques I use to lift have also branched into other areas like work and my prayer life. You can accomplish more when you learn to focus and bodybuilding is part of the training I need to learn to focus.

5. Variety: Do you know that there are so many exercises and training techniques that if you are guy like me, that likes to change things up, you will never run out of variety in workouts. There is also the fact that Bodybuilding follows a cycle: strength building (10-12 weeks), size building (28-30 weeks) and fat loss (aka. 'cutting': 10-12 weeks), then repeat and each of these phases is different. No workout has to be completely the same.

6. Side Benefits: You know with health, my quality of life of life has improved. My blood pressure is normal or low normal because I stress less. If I feel stressed or depressed, I hit the gym. Just this last week, I went to the dentist and filled the out the medical history section for registration and the only thing I marked 'yes' on was that I wore contacts. I suppose I should mention that lifting increases testosterone production and that means improved libido. I would say I am at the same level I was at with that when I was about 25 to 30. Two years ago, I was probably at was at 50 prematurely.

Right now I am halfway through this year's mass building cycle. My weight has gone up 20 lbs. since August 15th but my body fat percentage is flat lined (6 to 7% based on three site method of calculation). That means some pretty good muscle gain and that my diet is right on. The only thing I do not like is the loose skin around my waist and chest. It still makes me look a little fat, but it is pretty much hollow loose skin. Skin takes more time to change than the rest of our bodies, so the spiritual lesson of bodybuilding becomes patience.