Wow! I have been so busy lately…family time, 3DMJ, training, studying, etc. it’s been hard to get a blog up. I’m a little behind, but I’ll do my best to cover everything.

Family Day
On Saturday April 9^th my wife and I shared a family day with her dad, grandmother, aunt and uncle. We all drove out to Marin Headlands where we celebrated my wife’s late cousin, Mary Kate, by spreading her ashes over a beautiful mountain side which overlooks the stunning San Francisco Bay where she is now alongside her father. The view is like no other and it really is the perfect place to celebrate two beautiful people.

Wow 40!
It’s hard to believe my wife just turned 40! I can still remember like it was yesterday when we got married over 20 years ago. Happy Birthday! I love you!

Very Frustrated
This contest prep has definitely been a struggle and a big challenge, but that’s what makes it exciting. On exactly this same date back in 2009, I was already down to 172.5 lbs, so I am about 10 lbs behind schedule. I really want to be onstage with my teammates in July, but my reality is I just might have to wait for a later show. Just gotta keep plugging away and see where my road takes me.

Weight
Start Date - 12/06/10 - 206.5lbs
Goal Date – Whenever - Goal Weight – 160lbs
Current – 04/18/11 – 182.2lbs

*Note – For about 2 weeks the scale has been stuck at 182.2, so I decided to pull the trigger and make some adjustments with the approval of my teammates. I now hate the number 182.2 with a passion :)

Cardio
Today – 60 minutes treadmill. 3.7 mph at a 3% incline (424 calories burned)

*Note – As of last week I have really increased my cardio (6-7 days per week) because I’m just not that active as I once was when I worked a physical job. A lot of my time is in front of a computer nowadays, so jumping on the treadmill daily for about an hour helps to burn up some calories. I’m breaking that up into two sessions…30 minutes in the morning and 30 at night starting tomorrow. Hopefully it will get the scale moving again.

Weight Training
Training as of late has been really instinctive…especially with my squats. My knees are feeling like rusty hinges, so for the past couple of workouts I’ve decreased the weight and also avoided going to failure by at least 2 reps. I would love to hit personal records and have Rocky like workouts on a consistent basis, but I have realized at this point in my training that is quite unrealistic. It’s been extremely hard to set up any type of progressive routine because far too often my body just doesn’t want to cooperate, so I’m relying heavily on my experience and instincts to get me through each workout. Ahhh…the beauty of getting older LOL! But with all that said…this is the best I’ve felt in quite some time, so I’ve been enjoying the gym a lot lately and I’m now back to 3 workouts per week since I’m feeling good again.

4/11/15 – Lower Body 1
Smith Squats – 285 x 7, 6, 5, 4, 3
Smith Stiff Legged Deads – 315 x 10, 10, 6
Smith Calf Raises – 455 x 6, 5, 4
Decline Sit Ups – BW x 10, 8, 6 *Super slow rep speed

4/13/11 – Upper Body 1
DB Bench Press – 80 x 12, 10, 8
Bent Rows – 230 x 10, 8, 6
Close Grip Lat Pulls – 180 x 10, 8, 6
Military Press – 140 x 5, 4, 115 x 12 *Left shoulder was very mad at me LOL, so I needed to drop the weight on the 3^rd set.
Rear Flys (Pec Dec) – 50 x 12, 12, 10
Single Arm Triceps Press downs – 35 x 10, 10
Barbell Curls – 80 x 11, 10, 9 *Slowly been increasing the weight the past 3 weeks. Tendonitis in my forearms seems to be in check.

4/15/11 – Lower 2
Rack Pulls – 445 x 5, 5 *I was supposed to do 450, but I forgot to add 5 more pounds to the bar…oh well. I still felt it!
Leg Extensions – 245 x 12, 10, 6
Leg Curls – 100 x 9, 7, 6
Smith Calf Raises – 475 x 6, 6, 4
Leg Lifts – 10 x 5 Static Hold, 4 Static Hold

*Note – Trained with Luis Stoner, but he hit up delts and arms. After the workout I ran him through about 2 hours of posing practice. Fun times!

4/18/11 – Upper 2
Decline Bench Press (Smith Machine) – 225 x 10, 7, 6, 5
Seated Rows – 180 x 10, 8, 6
Lat Pulls (Wide Grip) – 180 x 6, 5, 4
Upright Rows – 115 x 10, 9, 7
Single Arm Triceps Press downs – 35 x 11, 11
Rope Cable Hammer Curls – 60 x 12, 12

*Note – All sets shy of failure by 1-2 reps.

This is for Brett :)
At 182lbs I’m soooo far away from being stage ready and definitely not ready to post up any full body pics just yet, but I guess I’m okay with a couple of back shots for now. Here you go Brett!


Until my next blog keep training hard, smart and naturally!