Comparatives

2011

So, not that it was a surprise, at least to me, but I made my final decision to not compete this year. But, I at least achieved my goal of looking better (at least from the front) in 2011 than my first show in 2010.

2010

Here are some comparative shots from the two shows, and even though I am not going to compete, I need some motivation to stay in shape.

2010

2011

2011

At least the last 2 years have been a great learning experience. First, I learned that I am not a talented bodybuilder, but I must say, it was a great experience, and I am glad I did it.

Also, I learned more about how my body responds differently at this stage of my life (big shock, not 18 anymore!)

And, I think that is what I have to offer - insights into staying (or getting) in shape, staying active, demystifying dieting (at least for everyday life, as you can see, I still have a lot to learn about contest dieting) - and making it all work in your everyday life.

I hope to keep this blog up - and actually post more - so stay tuned!

Back to posting

Boy, time sure flies lately. Bad job by me on keeping up here.
Well, my latest diet is complete and in the books. I competed for the second year at the Mr. Natural MN show. Good and bad. The bad, I fell one place from last year, boo! To be fair, the competion was much higher this year, making all classes much tougher. The good? I did meet my goal of looking better than last year. My next post I hope to have all the photos, and will do comparisons of each pose.
Now it is back to the normal life, so much so that I am enjoying a Surly Bender as the grill warms up while writing this.
I will hopefully be back in the gym this week, my goal is to continue on my Mon-Tue-Thur-Fri split, and do cardio on Wed, Sat, Sun. Try to stay leaner this summer! I am also going to try some different supplements, I got some free Kre-EFX, and I may try the newest release of VPX's Clenbutrex.
Saying that, I loved the supplements I used prepping: from ALR Industries I used Chain'd Out, HoumaPro, Poison, Hyperdrive, ZeroStim, and WTF. I also used Spiecies Aqualize to flush the water out the last week.

Again, sorry for the long posting delays. My next post will be an in-depth comparison of last year to this year, and my befor and afters.

It's been a long time

B, we shouldn't a left you, without a dope beat to step to!

Long time between posts here, but if it makes you feel any better, I have been punished by about 17 feet of snow here in MN.

But, the decision has been made: May 21st, Mr. Natural MN. This guy will be there.
Not sure what division I will be doing yet, just that I will be doing the show.

So...
The next 16 week countdown starts January 29. Not sure if I am scared, excited, or upset that I am 3 weeks away from morning cardio sessions.

I will also be at the seminar Feb. 5 wandering around, for those that are in the Twin Cities area.

Three weeks to start, I'll put up what I'm cooking, maybe even take a video of one my Sunday evening food prep sessions when I cook my food for M-F.

Hope everyone is having a great 2011!

New Lifting Straps?

I am going to be in need of new lifting straps. Right now, I am using Harbinger padded straps, but the pads don't allow me to lock-in on the bar, and I don't get as good of a grip.

I got the padded ones because the regular cloth ones I had been using were digging into my wrists and leaving red marks (plus they shredded on me, so I needed to get new ones). I am not linking them, even though I have had them for about a year. I don't use them that often, just on my heaviest deadlifts, heaviest shrugs, low cable rows, pull-downs, and chins. So I think I am ok with putting up with the red marks on my wrists so that I can get straps that I feel more confident with.

I was thinking of getting leather straps, but I was listening to Heavy Muscle Radio, and they mentioned Versa Grip straps. When I looked these up, I found them very interesting, and am looking to find out if anyone has an opinion on them, since I have never used that type of grip/strap before. I'm wondering if there is too much padding on these, and that I would run into the same issue.

Has anyone experienced the same problem I have? Good solutions?

Another Meal - Cod with Green Beans and Broccoli

This week I made cod with green beans and broccoli. As in the chili, I was not afraid to add spice to my food to keep it from coming off as bland.

Have chosen cod for a couple of reasons: it is cheaper that salmon, offers a more mild flavor, and it doesn't smell as fishy when I eat at work.

Let's go through how I put this together:
Cod - I cook my cod on a non-stick griddle. Since the cod tends to flake easily, this is the easiest way for me cook it and not loose it on the grill in the back yard. I sprinkle some seasoning salt on the fish as it cooks to add a little more flavor, I guess you could call this "adding to taste" (so in my case, just a light sprinkle). I cook this through, and the cod will start to flake as it nears completion. Keep this in mind, as we may use the cod in the future to do fish tacos for a cheat meal.

Green Beans & Broccoli - this is when I feel fancy, adding seasoning, jalapeno peppers, and creating all the aromas. I grabbed the organic veggies at Costco (my favorite place to grab groceries) but the wonderful peppers I got fresh from my aunt, who grew them in her garden. I love getting fresh veggies, and am thinking about growing my own small garden next spring/summer to supply some of my favs during the summer months.

In the pan I start with some peanut oil, you could use olive, mac nut, whatever you like. This helps me get some good fats in as well as to help keep the greens from sticking in the pan. I then add the broccoli, then the beans, start stirring on low heat, and then let it go for a little while while I finely chop the peppers. I don't like bell peppers, but if you do you can substitute or add those in as well.

I then add the chopped jalapeno peppers to the broccoli and beans, then add some garlic salt, celery salt, hot sauce (I used habanero sauce this time), some soy sauce, some garlic salt, and some cayenne pepper.

I let this cook for a while, until the color is good. Then I let everything cool down, I dish up my five storage containers, and put them in the fridge. This way I can grab one and put it in my cooler with a shaker full of protein and a package of almonds, and I am good for the work day.

Please let me know of any of your favorites, or if you have any twists to what I just did.

Chili

Recipe number one for the blog: CHILI

I love chili, and eat lots of during the winter, in part because it is very easy to prep, and each week I can make it differently.

This is for 5 meals for me, lunch Monday to Friday.
Hamburger: 3 pounds
(you can also use chicken, or if you feel like chili can only be made the way cowboys did, steak)

1 bottle of Spicy V8
depending on how thick you like your stew, you can use less

1 jar tomatoes. My grandparents have a large garden and can tomatoes every summer, so I get a few cans and like to use one for each batch. This can be added if you like.

Peppers: I use a combination of 2-3 jelepenos, 3-4 bananna peppers, and ocasionaly 1-2 habeneros. I like spicy food, so if you don't feel free to use less, or onions and green peppers. I have friends who do this because they don't like the hot peppers.

1 carton of sliced mushrooms

2 cans chili beans
2 cans black beans
1 can red beans

Seasoning - bear with me, because I do this differently every time.
sprinkle of garlic
sprinckle of onion salt
cyane pepper to taste
red pepper flakes (my brother-in-law grew his own habeneros and jelepenoes and dried them, and gave me a supply, and this is what I use. If anyone else does this and wants me to try them, I'm a willing giny-pig!)

And depending on what I used for hot peppers, I might add some hot sauce, if I'm feeling frisky, I use Blair's "After Death" or if I'm less inclined, I use one of the many in the fridge that are not as painful.

Well, that cover's one meal, I'll post more as we go.

The before and after

Finally putting up my photos for my show. November of 2009, I was 242 pounds, pretty much a fat ass. I got on stage May 22, 2010, at 181 pounds.
Looking back, I needed more than 16 weeks to get my act together.

November 2009

February 2010

May 2010

Day of Show