Alabama Heat!

233 days 

until Saturday January 25 2014

a Saturday 7 months and 19 days from today

Weight: 186.8

Workout:  UpperBody-Dips, Chin-ups, Crunches, Forearm Roller

Just finished a killer workout and I'm feeling pretty motivated. It's super hot here in Alabama today and I was almost ready for a nap. I decided I'd better get my workout done first. I grabbed my music and my workout log and headed out for some progress. It only took me one set and one Franz Ferdinand song to feel good and pumped and I tore through five sets of most of my exercises. I have really grown to love my pull-up bar in the front yard. I spent about $200 bucks making it and I have already got enough use out of it to make it worth it. Came back in to cool off and had 40 grams of whey protein and a large handful of raisins. I got a very big compliment yesterday on my size. It makes me think something is working. One day at a time. I'm on the brink of something amazing! 

Hit it hard today! 

FEED THE WOLF

Bradley

Holy Moly, I'm struggling!

The last week or so has been characterized by a slow, steady drop in enthusiasm combined with a to do list at home of a million things. I have been letting my workouts slip to a lower priority on the list. I can see how detrimental this is to my progress. It gets into my mind that I'm falling. That I'm failing just like many times before. How can this be? I ask myself. I had so much motivation only a week ago. It's time that I spent some time feeding the wolf and really remembering why I want this. It's time to look over my progress and realize how far I've come. I have frequently remembered this quote lately, "If not now, then when?" and also " If you are tired of starting over, don't quit." I do not want to slack off on my goals. But, I am human and I must realize that I am susceptible to many diversions during the course of this year. There will continue to be many things that attempt to break my focus, things that will be momentarily more fun but will only result in the prevention of this serious goal I have set. I must reset my pattern of eating and working out and think often about the final results. Most recently I weighed 185.6. I would like to weigh 190 by the end of June. Thats only 1 pound per week roughly. In order to do that, I will have to track my food intake more accurately. I use the "MyFitnessPal" app on my phone but I've been slacking on the food entries.

So, in short here are my today goals.

1. Think about why I am doing this 
2. Think about the final results
3. Reprogram my brain with fitness thoughts and refocus on my target

Have a great day!

Bradley

Video of the muscle up progress! The quest for symmetry...

251 days 

until Saturday January 25 2014

a Saturday 8 months and 6 days from today

Weight: 185

It's hard to believe I've gained almost 20 pounds now in the last two and a half months. I will soon be at the big 190 lb mark. I have never weighed 190 in my life! What else is strange is when I am talking to someone and they discover I am eating so much and TRYING to put on weight. With a world full of folks who would love nothing more than to lose a few pounds, here I stand trying to grow. It is difficult to explain but the fact is, I reduced my body fat percentage and realized that I had burned off a lot of muscle during this phase I went through trying to finish a 100 mile race. So I could not have the lean beefy body I wanted without first hanging some muscle back on my bones. Thus began the quest of building muscle and overeating.

Yesterday was terrible. I have a project going on at home and I worked all day and barely ate anything. It's the first time in awhile that I've actually let myself feel hunger and man, the food tastes so much better when you're starving yourself. I kinda tweaked my back working yesterday so maybe all will be well and I can get in a good workout today or tomorrow.

I promised a video of my muscle up progress and here it is. My lovely wife filmed it for me a couple days ago. I have a long way to go before it's perfect but I'm happy to get above the bar now. As mentioned before in the blog, you can see that the lawnmower tire and giant dog are present and ready for action. Maybe you can understand my son, he's good at cheering me on.

My Muscle Up

Don't allow yourself to miss a workout and focus on the negative. Forward movement, one step at a time. Whether you took a day off or two weeks, get back at it and move forward. We both know that it will be worth it in the end. Thanks for stopping in!

barbrothersdc.com


Feed the Wolf!!!
Bradley

Fear of Failure- Be the one

290 days 

until Saturday January 25 2014

a Saturday 9 months and 15 days from today

It's a freaking great day to be alive and able to move forward with my goals. Ever noticed that right before you do something big, you always get those butterflies that tell you to turn and run or that little voice of doubt in your mind that tries to tell you that you're not worthy or qualified? I think it's fair to say that in life most people get this feeling before they put themselves out there. That makes it normal and ordinary. What makes a person extraordinary is having the mental strength to battle that feeling with self assuring thoughts and to step out of the crowd anyway. We each have our own goals in life and face different types of fears each day. One of the greatest of these is fear of failure. I face this fear often and I constantly work mentally to stay focused on the positive and moving forward. It can be tough. Not just with fitness but other things as well. I hope you are talking yourself up and realizing your true value. Put yourself out there and make a difference. All those other people who did it are just people like you and me. Have a great one!
Feed The Wolf!
Bradley

No Excuses, Staying Focused

325 days

until Saturday January 25 2014

a Saturday 10 months and 19 days from today

Recovery Day....again....unfortunately

Great Freaking Morning! Just checking in. I am still down for an injury to my back. Saw my Doc yesterday and he says I will live. I believe I tore a spot on the medial border of my scapula. (Left shoulder blade) This has caused triangle of tension across my whole upper back and elongated my upper cervical vertebrae making it impossible to turn my head very much or look up or down.  It's very tough to be unable to workout and maintain mental toughness. It's like I really need the momentum of the constant workouts to keep the dietary motivation.The problem is that March was a bulking month and without a workout, there is no bulking to be done. I cannot overeat without muscles that are worked and in need of repair. This would seem to me just to add fat. I have done a couple of leg workouts but since my back is still healing, I am forcing a hiatus to jumping around until it is well. I am hoping that in a few more days, it will be as good as new and I can ease back into training. It is so very frustrating because I do not have a lack of motivation, actually quite the contrary, I am just itching to go outside and get that feeling that I am working and making it happen. I have grown to love it and crave it. So with the discipline I have been using to workout hard, I will refocus it onto repairing my back. Lots of ice and heat all day today.

Looking over the last week of lost progress I want to remember what it has taught me and avoid it to the best of my ability from here forward. ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS start slow and warm up the entire body before getting intense.

One or two weeks out of the year will be nothing overall. The Wolf is still here.  I am halting the bulking until workouts resume. I will eat minimal calories today just to stave off hunger and exaggerate the cut.

Thanks for dropping by friends. This is but a single test of many that I must overcome. My goal is real. My thirst unquenchable. I will move forward. Do the same for yourself. Don't forget how many times it has crossed you mind and you have wanted it. Take it. TAKE IT. No one will give it to you. No excuses.

Burn the Ships,
FEED THE WOLF!
Bradley

One Month Down, A New Strategy Arrives

332 days

until Saturday January 25 2014

a Saturday 10 months and 29 days from today

Weight: 172 
Workout today-Full Body

2/27/13

Learned some new things-

A beginner (someone who has not been on any consistent program for more than 6 months) will realize the most gains from a workout schedule that works each muscle group 3 times per week. Below is an excerpt from Link to info below

So, Is A 3-Times-Per-Week Training Frequency Optimal?
For certain people… hell yes. For others, not so much. Specifically…
If you are a beginner with any goal, a 3-times-per-week training frequency is the MOST EFFECTIVEway to train.And by beginner, I mean anyone who has been weight training for LESS than 6 months consistently and intelligently. (My full definition of what I consider a “beginner” to be is here: Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced.)
And as usual, this is not just my opinion. It’s the opinion of every single qualified expert, trainer and strength coach with half a brain.
In fact, it’s actually a fact backed by science and real world results.Literally all research and scientific studies looking at the effects of different weight training frequencies in beginners came to the same conclusion: training each muscle three times per week is the most effective way for a beginner to train, regardless of their specific goal.
So, if you’re a beginner with any goal (build muscle, lose fat, increase strength, or improve your body in any way), a 3-times-per-week workout frequency is indeed optimal for you.
- Article from AWORKOUTROUTINE.COM

The second piece of information is bulking. I have seen some numbers that suggest trying to stay lean and build muscle at the same time will most likely give me mediocre gains over the course of a year. In order to see max results over the long term, I will need to "Bulk." This means ingesting an extra amount of calories each day to add muscle mass to my body. The catch is, they cannot be garbage calories. I must still stick to eating healthy lean proteins and complex carbs or I will just put on fat instead of muscle. I must also be putting in the work necessary to make these calories needed for muscle repair.

So, in light of this new information and the completion of my first month of the program, it is time to set a new goal for March. During the month of March, I am going to do more ALL over body workouts for max gains while increasing my daily caloric intake to a surplus. I am estimating my new daily requirement to be 3200 calories per day. My starting weight  for this phase is about 172 lbs. I am very excited to move forward with the new focus. I would like to reach the weight of 180 during the month. The bulking will require cutting at some point. This means cutting back calories and shedding the fat that came along with bulking. I will bulk for March and do an assessment. I am very reluctant to potentially cover my six pack up again but long term is what we are working for here. 

I'm going to do my first all over body workout. Thanks for checking in on my goal. I hope you are reading this and planning on taking action toward your goals today. Living with discipline has been one of the most rewarding things I have come across in my life. Have a great workout! Live Excellently TODAY! 

Feed the Wolf!
Bradley

Goals- Here are a few short-term goals. I will re-post everyday and add dates to them as they are accomplished.

10 Consecutive Pull-ups (Up to 8 on 17 Feb)

1 month of Excellence in Training (Feb 27 2013)

1 Month of Excellence in Diet (Feb 27 2013)

10 Good Handstand push-ups (At 3 against a wall 17 Feb)

1 behind the neck pull-up

1 muscle-up

Explosive Pull-up/ Toe Touch

Body Fat 10% (Scale says 13.9% Feb 19, Reliable?)

Human Flag

Pull-up with behind the back clap

Kuki Push-up

Body Fat 6%

One-arm pull up

One-arm leg raises on bar
Increase to 180 lbs

Calorie Fluctuations, I will get it right!

336 days

until Saturday January 25 2014

a Saturday 11 months and 2 days from today

Workout today- Legs

2/23/13

I think another increase in my calories allowed is inevitable. Yesterday I spent the entire day watching the clock and forcing hunger away. At the end of  the day, I reached a level of hunger that was intolerable and I went over on my planned calories of 2000. A large part of this is due to not having access to the foods I would normally use to fix the problem. I am going to set my calorie requirement at 2200 and hopefully on some days I will be able to make extra ground when I am not as hungry. My estimated need with most counters is about 2550 to maintain. The reason again for the calorie counting is that it helps me to focus my nutrition on the types of foods I should be getting i.e. whole grain complex carbohydrates and lean proteins. Additionally, I am reducing my body fat to it's lowest percentage ever for definition. With no calories to spare, I avoid all types of cookies, cakes, and any other thing that reminds me how sweet things can be. Today is a new day and I will strive to budget my calories appropriately. I usually eat 250 calorie snacks when hungry. I may try a few larger 350 calorie meals and see if this changes the dynamic of it all.

Here's yesterdays workout. I'm quite sore in my upper body. Abs are no longer getting sore on abdominal day so I'm going to start mixing in more abs each day. Don't get me wrong, soreness is not necessary to build muscle but I use the residual soreness from the lactic acid to gauge my effort level. I believe the longer this program goes on, the less soreness will occur. That has already been the case. The first few workouts were very painful afterwards. Now I work hard and still function normally throughout the day. I gotta get to some leg work my friends. I am about to make some PROGRESS! 

Have a great workout! TODAY is our day!

Burn the Ships,

FEED THE WOLF!

Bradley

Goals- Here are a few short-term goals. I will re-post everyday and add dates to them as they are accomplished.

10 Consecutive Pull-ups (Up to 8 on 17 Feb)

1 month of Excellence in Training 

1 Month of Excellence in Diet

10 Good Handstand push-ups (At 3 against a wall 17 Feb)

1 behind the neck pull-up

1 muscle-up

Explosive Pull-up/ Toe Touch

Body Fat 10% (Scale says 13.9% Feb 19, Reliable?)

Human Flag

Pull-up with behind the back clap

Kuki Push-up

Body Fat 6%

One-arm pull up

One-arm leg raises on bar