Two Years of Bodybuilding

 

You know, Jack LaLanne looked really good back in the day.  What am I saying, the guy looked good probably to right up before his death for his age at any age he was.

Two years ago I got back from a vacation and realized I was a fat boy.  I was suddenly very motivated to do something about it,  I didn't want one of those 12 week and your done programs either.  There is nothing wrong with a 12 week program to get you started but to make a long term choice requires a long term approach.  After 12 weeks then what?   I was looking for more of a lifestyle transformation. 

Bodybuilding fit the bill.  I added the idea of health and flexibility and I got a program that in the first year helped me drop from 337lbs. to 262lbs. That year I also watched my body fat drop from 28% to about 7% based on the three site method on myself.

This year has not been as dramatic but it still has been a great ride.  The heaviest I ever was this year was 285lbs. and I got down to 265lbs. and could not break through that barrier no matter how hard I tried.  Indicates some muscle gain but not a lot.  Bodyfat % hung out at 7% form most of the year until my recent cut dropped it to 5.5% the last few weeks, 5.25% today.

Lessons this year:

1. Nutrition is as important as training - missing meals and too many cheats and all that work in the gym goes bye bye.  You will hear some people say nutrition is 80% but all they are doing emphasizing the point.  Simply put training damages the body, nutrition builds it.  Good Training will get you some results but nutrition puts it into overdrive and gets stuff done.

2. Patience.  Not my daughter, the virtue itself.

3. Relax.  Anxiousness and nervousness shortcut your gains.  Learn to chill.

4. Vary everything.  My training was more effective when things changed and challenged my muscles more often in different ways.

5. Volume is what works for me.  More sets with low reps did gain me some strength and I need that but what gave me growth was more reps at the right weight.  I beginning to think that the nature of my body may have more slow twitch fibers because every time I do more reps it works.  20-24 sets on a body part, yeah that's a lot but it works.  Along with pushing to failure on the last set or even adding an exercise if I don't feel that my muscles have been challenged takes it that much farther.

If one thing had changed I am not a fat boy anymore.  I am back to being what I was a long time ago -- an athlete.  My skin does not fit anymore, but what is underneath has good endurance, strength and muscle tone.  I feel great and I have the goal of competing sometime in 2014.  Year three is coming up and I am ready to change and grow the way I need to grow and change.