Lean4life Goes on X...

P 90X!!!!!

SO the journey continues. I remember I once said " you can never fail, if you never quit" so I'm back to it for this summer. In this blog I will document my journey as I start my internship in Indiana. It'll be an interesting ride as I am starting my first day of p90X in sync with the first day on the job. Tomorrow I will be posting my beginning stats and plan starting tomorrow and expect myself to be accountable on a daily basis. Accountability is something I learned from Adam Waters as a real game-changing factor in combating body transformations.

I will be using the p90X workout along with my rocksolid foundation learned in BFFM. I need a new Powerful Reason Why and need to update my Droid with some kick-ass music. I am doing this for me and to better my life so that I may serve as an example and empower others. Let the games begin!!!

Bulk Phase Year 2 WI Quarter

Goal: Gain 20 Pounds of Muscle

If I keep Bulking probably a couple more times I should end up at my ideal body.

MISSION: 10 Week BULK

Starting Stats:

Weight: 160-170 (will check)

Body Fat%: 12.5% (Kind of High for Starting)

Pics:

End of Year 1 results

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Starting weight: 137.5 (September 18, 2008)
Ending Weight: 168.6 (May 25,2009)
Gain: 31.5 Lbs

Starting Body fat %: 9%
Ending Body fat %: 11.5%
LBM Gain: 149.211-125.125 = 24.086

Spring Break!!!

So I just started my spring break and I figured that this would be a good time to update my blog with my progress over the last quarter. Thanks to a good friend of mine who is training for body building, I've been following a nutrition and weight training program that has delivered some good results. I've been weight training 5 days a week for the last 10 weeks or so and eating as about as much as my body will allow. I've been aiming for about 5 meals a day, and I rarely have not eaten at least 3 meals in a day. Here are the results:

I really did the best I could this quarter to keep to the plan. The eating was more of a struggle then going to the gym. I actually have looked forward to the workouts! They are a great stress reliever. Before I workout I have been taking Universal Pre-workout supplement which really helps to keep me energized throughout the entire workout. Also I always get a protein shake after I'm finished. 

   This quarter has been better than last. I feel more adjusted, and am really proud of some of my accomplishments. I finished the quarter with a 3.95 and have maintained my position as sustainability chair, as well as being elected Hall Council President! I'm really excited to do a lot with this position, as I continue reaching for my goals in body and elsewhere. 

Yea I'm free for a week!!

Oh...I think I'll start a cutting program in about a week or so? I though I wanted to go another month of gaining, but I think I've made enough progress for my first bulk phase ever. 

Along with this note: I'm really glad that I decided to cut first and follow Tom Venuto's plan outlined in "Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle". Without the knowledge attained in the book, I think I would've had a lot harder time with knowing what to eat. Also, it makes it a lot easier now that I'm about to cut, because I already know exactly what to do, but it's not going to be easy...I learned that too.

Yesterday was good but exhausting

   Yesterday, I did well. I ate alot although I could probably eat even more and I got a great high intensity weight training in. I'm looking forward to reaching my goals!

Pics:

blah

Yesterday was good, I did my 20 minute cardio and ab workout with pain, but I'm glad I did it !  Today I will do Full body weights again

Here are my pics:

Focus on the P!

Today, I'm starting to post in the mornings for it will be more consistent than at night. Today, I'm planning on doing an Ab Workout along with 20 minutes of cardio to cut down on some of the fat from gaining while I build. I'm gonna try to make time today to get some protein.

Here are my pics:

First DAY

Well this marks the end of the longest day of my academic school life haha :). Nah, it wasn't too bad, and I almost didn't have the energy to workout, but to my surprise it boosted my energy levels immensely and gave me an opportunity to get out some frustration. I am really gonna go hard core on weights from now on, I thinks it;s the only real way to see improvement. I'm also aware of my limits, so I won't get hurt.

So here's my accountability:

Classes start tomorrow...

Pics:

I need to get whey Protein to make shakes after a workout each day, but I will be eating 3 meals a day to start + 1 shake

I'm trying to gain A LOT and then I will cut before swimsuit season! I'm really trying to focus on my goal Picture and just work on getting there this year.

My goal: Gain Muscle while maintaining fat %

Starting stats for new mission

Weight 149

Body Fat %: 10.5%

LBM: ~133

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Pics: 

Eternal Pain...I don't think so

       This first quarter has been quite an exciting experience for me however shook up a lot of the solid foundation I built this summer. I did not post at all this quarter for several reasons and really just because the whole experience was somewhat overwhelming. I know I'm still not completely settled in and on my feet, but this next quarter and starting today, I would really like to get back on my feet.  

      

      I came to the realization that without objective measurement and accountability your mind can distort your body into anything. This is the reason I need to blog. This is the reason I need to measure consistently every week. 

      

       I thought I could do it without blogging. I thought I was strong enough but the reality is I really do need it to stay on track.

       I have become involved in many many organizations and movements on campus and keeping with those along with my fitness aspirations is sure to be a great challenge and a test of balance. 

       I can do this! This is an area of my life I care a great about and is very important to me, and if I don't take care of it, I feel I will live in pain forever. 

Quoting Lance Armstrong: 

       "Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever."

...

It seems that everytime I try and start, something goes wrong. Well, I've had a rather rough weekend and am recovering from splitting up with my girlfriend. Today, I am just trying to heal and get back on my feet

Giving it another shot

Well here I am....I'm back after the 2nd week of school.

Things are pretty disorganized still, but I can't stay away anymore. I want to give it another shot. I want to get organized and make some goals and do things the right way like I did in mission 1. Today, I will be putting together my new plan and hopefully starting soon.

T-5 days till school starts

Well, I 'm headed off to school in just a few more days. It's been a hard time for me this summer, and quite a fundamental one in establishing some life long habits to continue. My mind has been in a twist of things in preparing from school, and I haven't been blogging really. I wish to continue blogging fully at the start of school, but I'm headed into full school prep mode and won't be blogging very much. I have not quit, but am just taking a bit of a break in the midsts of all that is happening around me.

Thank you Everyone...I'm gonna try to get back on my feet

Thank you all that left comments on my blog. I've been lacking support on the home front and it really helps to see that you guys want to see me succeed. I've just got to get back on my feet today! I was thinking today, and I realized how many negative thoughts have slipped into my day to day habits that have stopped me from doing well on my program. I am going to try today the best I can to make it work, to do it all right and break this string of negativity and temporary failure. 

   Today I remembered something that made a world of difference. I remembered reading that making mistakes is allowed and is okay and the only way to fail is to quit. I will not quit, and I am trying to become stronger. Thank you.

hmm...

Well I've got to confess that these past few days haven't been the best by far and I've felt myself pull further from the blog. I'm just not concentrating on my goals at all. This is the last day of my first week on the weight training program and it's been rather lax in terms of meeting up with all of the standards. As school approaches I feel a daunting sense of close coming to the summer and feel urges to indulge in the last moments of a high school summer. I don't really feel guilty for this at all and believe that rare oppurtunities should be taken advantage of. I'm at a weak point , but I haven't given up. I will continue to come back to my blog everytime. I will use this blog for me to be a release and an oasis, not a burden and a dungeon. I've been thrown off my schedule in all senses of the matter in the past few days, mostly of my own accord and for the benefit of things in other areas of my life which hold priority like my relationships with people and other things.

Solution:

     I believe the solution is to acheive balance once again in my life. I need to get back on a schedule, but not be on a schedule all of the time. I also need time to just do whatever i want and have fun. That's what I did today, and I don't feel bad at all about it. I'm not one to make excuses and I face my actions face to face. I need to get back on schedule.

So i've been thinking

So i've been thinking ... I've been putting way too much emphasis on this program and not on the proper things. I really don't care if anyone understands or cares what I'm talking about cause everything I'm doing here is for me and for me only. I appreciate all the help I;ve gotten but hwen it comes down to it, I can't really rely on it. 

    One of the fundamental things I've learned this summer is the power of focus. I have been putting way too much focus on the negativity of the program and not on the positive reward of my goal and what I'm reaching toward. In starting this program, I tried my best to follow exactly what was told to me was right to do and would work. And I did, because I focussed on the results that listening to that program would give me. Now, In phase 2 it's been a little different. Not everything is just outlined for me and as I'm implmenting my new program I'm quickly learning that some things are working and some things aren't. In an effort to get my mazimum results I've been tinkering with some things or really just thinking about them. However, I've felt myself feel guilty and like I'm betraying the program by not following it exactly and not having everything that is expected of me. The truth is, that I'm just a new soul, a new young man, and I'm just trying to discover who I am in the midsts of the world going on around me. I've found myself lost in the midsts of conflicting messages and chaos all around. But the funny thing is that eventually, If you listen long enough you start to notice patterns in the chaos and you find that things little by little start to make sense and eventually you realize that the world isn't just one way. The world is whatever you make it and life is a beautiful gift given to every human being. The world is beautiful (in this context). however, It's too easy to get lost in the chaos and not know what to do. I really love this blog, it's truly a gift that I have found it. It taps into a universal truth that as long a you keep on coming back that's all you need. We need to connect and not be afraid. And make time! I never feel I have time, but that's only cause I don't make it. I feel so alone sometimes, I'm just here and just unhappy and a lone. There's more to life then what makes you cry-Ben Harper. God, I love him. 

I'm sick of being unnatural, I just want to do what i want. And that's what getting fit was all about. however it's turned into this grand fiasco of other virtues and values aside and make me fucking sick. I am me  and this is my life, my blog, my destiny my wish, my everything! I can quit if I want to! I don't have to come back to this blog, this isn't my entire life. I have my whole life to live, and I certainly don't want to waste on something that's not even making me happy and just is distracting me from what I really want to do.

    I'm thinking in context of the lance armstrong quote that says something like " Pain is temporary, whether it's for a second, a minute, and hour, a week, a month, or even a year. But if you don't take care of it when necessary Pain will last forever!" 

   That is why I'm here,That is why I'm writing, That is why I'm blogging and recording and taking my picture everyday. Not because of some BS reason. I'm doing this because I'm deciding to face this one aspect of my life that I know that if I don't take care of it, it will pain me for the rest of my life and I will suffer for eternity. I am doing this to eliminate that pain from my life. That pain that I have been feeling for years and years and that I am sick of. That is why! 

     I am suffering in this body and I need to be transformed. I hate being called really skiny, I hate being called fat, and poked and made fun of and told I don't look good in a bathing suit. I'm sick of being hurt and so I'm choosing to take care of this for ME. I will build my body to protect my soul from  eternal punishment. It's not fair to me, it's not fair to suffer like this, and on the same token, I won't let it happen in doing this blog either. I have been feeling pain for not doing everything a 100% and yet not doing anything about it, because my goals and focus are not In front of my face all of the time. 

I have been using the same goal card which is a huge problem because it doesn't really work anymore.

Also, My goal card was way too long and needs to serve the purpose of being very powerful in reminding of my goals in a concise way.

I'm so sick of this urgh....I'm going to college and I just feel all out of place: I need to get myself together and fix this issue. 

I don't blog everyday cause I love to anymore, the honeymoon phase is over and now we're on to practicality. I Well, I'm out of time but I just want to say one thing before I'm finished.

I will do this: All I really want is to have a nice body like the one in my goal card. If i had that and nothing else I would be happy.

That is my goal and the medium to get there and stay there is this blog and my commitment.

I WILL REACH MY GOAL: AND I WILL USE THIS BLOG TO GET THERE> I WILL USE THE 4 PART STRATEGY OF 

1) GOAL SETTING AND MOTIVATION

2) PROPER NUTRITION

3) AEROBIC TRAINING

4) WEIGHT TRAINING

I'M PRACTICALLY half way there cause I already cut my body fat and I don't care if it creeps back a little bit but I really just want to gain the muscle and then shred once again to reveal my new physique. It's really quite simple All I have to do is keep my eye on the goal and use this site consistently to get there. Let's go ! Let's do this!

LET'S GET LEAN

Day 46 (T-83): Keep on coming back

Day 2 of 84

Did I make today count; how much? Today pretty much counted for what it was worth. Today was an Off day so all I had to do was eat right and I did alright at doing that.

Did I sacrifice today in order to be a step closer to my goal?

Physically there wasn't anything to sacrifice today since it is an OFF day. I need to sort out some kinks in my program so that everything is "A okay". Anyways I believe that the most important thing right now is establishing this schedule into my routine firmly before the start of school and not sweating the details ( I don't mean nutrition or training) a whole lot beside working my but t off in the gym and eating right. As long as I do that and keep on coming back to blog every night to keep my self accountable in real time I'll be good.

College is soon and I am so excited for it!

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Accountability: All that really matters :)

Chart:

Pics:

Day 45 (T-84): Phase 2 has begun

I have decided to go on a 84 day weight muscle gaining mission  and it has begun today. 

Did I make today count; how much? I think today was a good start but with great room for improvement. These last few days of research and preparation have separated me a bit from the blog and support and I have felt tendencies to give into temptations; however, I have kept a positive mindset.

Did I sacrifice today in order to be a step closer to my goal?

I don't feel that I sacrificed enough. I forgot how difficult things are when they're first starting off, that is why I felt like the first few days of the last phase lasted weeks when in fact they were nothing compared to the time after. Well, this time isn't as bad, but I must respect the fact that it's difficult and just bite my lip and say " I will do this!"

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Accountability: All that really matters :)

Chart:

Pics:

Day 44: A new direction

I have pretty much finished developing Phase 2 and am in the process of setting some deadlines and goals. This part is very important and is the reason why I've come this far. It's quite hard to figure everything out and know exactly what I'm going to do with all of this information out there and a lot of it contradicting itself. 

Yesterday was an off day with some well deserved rewards meals. I did notice however that even though I didn't exercise at all, my energy levels were extremely low. I'd been doing cardio twice a day and either abs or full body weights each day. So, I guess I'm better off eating clean and shredding hard than eating crap and doing nothing. My body likes the former better, and frankly so do I. 

SO.....

I'm learning a lot and here's what I've got going for me so far

I've modified my system as follows:

1. Goal setting/ motivation: I am in the process of setting new goals, goal dates, and making a new goal card

2. Nutrition  -I've increased my calories to 3200 and am maintaining the same 50% carbs 30% protein 20% fat proportions.

3. Aerobic Training: Since I am in a gain phase I've cut cardio to 3 HIIT on tue,thur,sat

4. Weight Training: After some extensive research I've decided to stick to full body weights 3 times per week @ about 45 minutes each session. I will stay on this until my gains slow significantly and then I will switch to a split day routine.  I've learned some very important information on weight lifting technique in regards to form and other things. I've leaned by watching an episode of "the fit show" featuring Milo the (former Mr. Universe) about trying 100% on each rep and squeeze the muscle and lifting the weight by squeezing, not powering. Wow: Great info!

I am considering today a limbo day phase or rather a Day 0 prep day and tomorrow I will have official mission goals and plans as well as accountability! 

Thank you Adam for suggesting Tom Venutos Secrets site!

Tomorrow is a new day and a new beginning!

Shred on!