The importance of sleep and being well rested.

By now most people are aware of the poor sleep habits Americans have. How it affects you physically and mentally and the role it plays in weight gain and obesity. After having a very stressful week last week and poor sleep habits I most certainly felt it in the gym over the weekend. To the point I flat our gave it up to rest. Sometimes ya just gotta know when to say when. So I spent Sunday resting, sleeping and relaxing, clearing my head and doing some reading.  The dividends paid huge today as I easily had one of the better chest sessions in awhile and since I've been here. I completed a final set of 305x6 clean with a struggle on number 7.  That is close to a personal best which was 315x6 many moons ago. 

I first learned the importance of sleep the hard way about 3 years back, when strength loss was speeding up, fat gain was increasing,  Afternoon naps were a must and I just struggled. Sleep Apnea was the initial thought, after a few sleep studies I learned that wasn't it.  A visit to the Endo confirmed what many had thought. A out of whack Thyroid.  I would get these crazy bursts of energy in the evening and could never fall asleep without melatonin, nyquil, ambien  whatever. For years it was this way. Even before Korea in 2007 I struggled, The effects of poor sleep hygiene on the endocrine system are well documented so the damage done to my body for 4 yrs plus was cumulative.

A low dose of synthroid corrected my Thyroid and changed my whole world within weeks. Sleep patterns normalized, reliance on caffeine all day went away and sleep meds at night vanished.  Physical changes also came about as strength and everything else slowly returned. The last 2 yrs have been better than the previous 5 physically  I am sure getting older doesn't help either haha.

Although its an old article this was one of the first items i read in terms of sleep and how it affects the body

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/hardgainer4.htm

So before you go buying all the fancy new products on the market make sure the basics are covered because nothing can replace a good nights rest.

Yes common sense, but today common sense is not all that common.

How do you overcome a lack of support, or when facing adversity

When it comes to taking care Of yourself and beginning an exercise regimine the opportunity for failure is so high, why is that?  Is it due to a lack of support system? Do those close to you not care or encourage you?  Is it lack of education, maybe an injury, or simply is it just too hard?   I've thought about this topic all week simply because I've never had an actual support system. No one shares the same care or compassion or even drive to get in the gym as I do.  Simple posting of a progress photo on Facebook will show you that.  I guess it should have been easy for me to just say screw it.  No lifting partners. No support from loved ones, essentially no one really giving a shit.  Which proves to me that you don't really need a support system if you have the motivation to get it done and achieve the end result.

It's very discouraging for me when I achieve a personal milestone and I try to brag to my wife about it and she doesn't bat an eye or take her face away from the TV. Which is fine, I'm doing this for me anyhow.  For those of you out there hitting the grind and feeling like your efforts are fruitless because you lack any support system keep at it.  The goal is health and getting better, not building egos.

Off to do some dead lifts.  Had a great week in the gym, otherwise it was a shitty week all around.  The gym keeps me centered

Food, food and more food

It's been a fun few weeks in the gym.  Each week more reps and weight are being added. Nothing has changed aside from diet.  Eating full balanced meals in place of on the go eating at home has changed the entire dynamic.  Meat veggies and fruit at every meal.  This weeks highlights

Bench. 285 x 10 reps. No wrist pain
Dead lift.  325x 10 reps. Cardio coming along

Squats 265x 14 reps

I'm digging this new app. After next week ill reset the max's to account for the new numbers and increase all e poundage

Cardio being e weakest link for me always and for ever is starting to take hold. I even did 20 min of eliptical machine after legs,  of course I can't walk today but it still felt good.

Here is where I posted my opinion on the recent sexual assault bs in the military and the impending witch hunts that will follow for all the evil heterosexual male rapist but I digress   There are people out there that get off on using our inability to have free speech against us.so  ill refrain sit back and get my popcorn ready

Finishing up strong

The week started off hot. Everything was flowing, mood was good. Morale untouched.  The end of the week not so much.  Physically I kicked ass. I had a great shoulder workout which is historically my laggiest body part, they just dont grow, even after I hammer them to exhaustion and sheer agony natta.  Friday I chose cardio, did almost 4.5 miles on the treadmill.  I left dizzy, and wanting to vomit but overall happy with the weeks lifts.  On the other side. I've been in a funk the last 2-3 days.  Doubt, pessimism, irritability. I think the isolation maybe kicking in. Who knows. This is typically where I start questioning all my choices and decisions career wise and I am never able to talk myself out of that downward spiral. Hopefully next month is better.

The end of the week finished off with sadness. No details but a training accident here on post left 2 folks very injured and 2 more no longer with us. I cannot imagine the families who received the news. Your sons are away from the war, training and honing their skills and this happened. Really makes you think, however no time to think when I get a message telling me a Patron saint of a man who I worked with briefly but remained in contact with after his retirement passed away as well.  He had a heart of gold, never was in a bad mood, and consistently on a daily basis would ask about my family. A true saint. I'm infuriated that I cannot be local to say good bye. It never fails, every time I go away, birthdays, holidays, tragedies, family reunions. I miss them all. I havent been home to see my family in close to 3 years. Everytime I try some shit comes up, just like this damn assignment.  The same assignment that is going to ultimately seal my fate with OTS because I know in my heart of hearts that the powers that be have seen that I am gone and push the package aside.  Can I deal with this shit for 10 more years?

Enough of the feeling sorry for mysel

Shoulders.  3 reps of the 5/3/1

Barbell Military Press

135x3
155x3
175x8   this was a best for me. putting me close to a 225 max. My wrist felt great

After that I was off to the raises,  DB lateral raises, Barbell shrugs,  DB front raises, DB rear lateral raises. Upright rows.  I was just drilling away.  My strength gains this week were great personally.

More ab work and cardio after.

to have the time to focus on the lift, really hit the weights hard,  run, and eat eat eat.  If anything happens during this assignment it will be that I have that physical transformation I have been trying for for years.

Chasing the road map

Chasing the road map, that's what we go after. Being lean, being veiny, looking like a road map on our chest, shoulders, arms, what have you.  Its not all about big muscles, its about diet, exercise and hydration.

I am naturally a creature of habit. I've had the same cell number since the yr 2000. Hell I just bought my first new wallet last month, the other I bought in 2001. I just find what works and I do not deviate.  The same goes with diet. Yes it gets boring and boring fast, however its the end result that we are after.

I followed a similar diet when I deployed last yr or so and I dropped my initial 12 lbs just from eating, I did not cardio because it was too friggin hot.

Each day is the same, ground hog day.

Breakfast

Eggwhites scrambled with ham, cheese, tomato, bacon, peppers, and mushrooms. A bowl of cantaloupe, and a bowl of strawberries with a small OJ

Lunch is 2 chicken breast, broccoli, brown rice, and a bowl of cucumbers with vinegar on it.  I will occasionally swap out the chicken for fish, or turkey burgers no bun

Dinner is a repeat.  some weeks typically on a Friday, ill have a cookie, or a milk shake just so I do not lose my freaking mind.

I snack on almonds Beef jerky or Jars of peanut butter lol. and If im feeling froggy, ill hit up star bucks

I read an article today how women are increasingly getting Upper Arm tucks. I thought YGTBFSM. How lazy are we that we have to go and cut skin away because they refuse to tone up the muscle underneath.  I understand getting new tits, sometimes you gotta alter what god gave ya, but hell the tricep is 70% of the arm, just lift some damn weights.

so in honor of that article I trained Arms today.

Bis

Standing DB curl
55x8 60x8 70x6 75x6 each arm

Hammer Preacher curls 105lbs x 12 4 sets

Single Arm kettlebell concentration curls. I hold the kettle by the ball not the handle
30lb x 8 4 sets

Tris

Close grip 225x8 3 sets

Rope pull downs 165 x 10 4 sets

Single hand cable behind the neck raises

60x8 3 sets

Bodyweight Dips

3 sets of 10

Finished up with some Hanging leg raises, some ab rope pull downs and hit the tread mill for 35 minutes/

Chasing the road map

Leg day getting it done

Last night I did legs.  Lemme just preface this with the amount of comedy in the gym makes it hard to focu on anything.  The exercises I see  the 1 qtr squats of 900 lbs.  I'm just in awe.

Anyway in 5/3/1 my routine was fairly simple.  After warm up.

225x5
255x5
285 I got for 11. My cardiovascular went out before my legs.  Something I Imadmiteldy need to focus on.   After that it was hack squats, leg presses, leg extensions, leg curls and lots of calf work.  I finished that up with the mountain climber machine Hiit for 10 min. That was prob a bad idea as I'm smoked today but feel good.

Current supps are everything under the sun lol

Xtend BCAAs
God know how many different types of protein due to the guys that just departed  dumped their tubs in my hands
Ergogenix Ergoshred
Ergogenix Ergobolic
Ergogenix. Ergotest
Genomyx. DCP

Multi V and fish oil round it out.

Preworkout I take crazy if its an early lift. Or Hemavol if its an evening lift.  Both are awesome Craze is mind blowing lol

Today is Arm training Bis and Tris. A fun day for sure as ill finish with Abs and cardio

Tomorrow ill cover my food intake and how shitty it is that I cannot rape the dessert bar very night.

Week 4 Daily lift. Cutting the fat

Scale said 223 today that's about 5lbs down this month.  Not a bad start, but damn I'm starving haha.

The nice thing about being away is that I can train a body part each day and do cardio after, instead of racing through my lift to pick up kids etc.  

I use the 5/3/1 program and it has an app that I use and it's awesome. A great program with flexibility

Today was chest.  Week 1 all 5 reps for the main lift flat bench
All you do Is put your max in and the app will calculate the rest for you easy as that.

My max bench is 350 lbs so today's main lift went like this

225x5 ( the app said 205 but I adapted)
245x5
265x5+ meaning do 5 but rep to failure as it will adjust for you in the future on the app. I got it for 10 which put my new max at about 352.  Not bad with a sore wrist.

Afterward was a lot of assistance lifts. Incline bench 4 sets. Cable crosses high setting and low setting 4 sets each.   Stretched. Did some hanging leg Raises and some weighted decline sit ups then hit the tread mill for 20 min.  I do some variation of treadmill elliptical mountain climbing wall every day for 20 min and a few evenings a week go for a 2 mile run.   I figure by July progress should be full tilt.

Ill cover food and supplements. In tomorrow edition