So how's your Monday going??

Proper stance is everything

Anatomy of the Modern Lifting Bro

It's the weekend

Get pumped.

Quads

The kind I'd like to have.  Happily hit a new high of over 1200 lbs on the leg press this week.  And that's after going off creatine and starting reduced carb/calorie intake to cut down.  Just sayin'......

Off to the gym

Three million muscle-mad males!

Count me in.

Broke through 180 today!

Dead Lift

 

315 pounds.

Cuz you can never have too much....

Target weight achieved,(partially)

I hit 180lbs on the scales this weekend.  That's a month of added calories, extra carbs, no cardio and  failure sets..  Next week begins a cutting phase hopefully to see how much of the weight is actually new lean muscle buried under the fat gained along the way.

Yowsa Yowsa Yowsa!

We're two weeks into the weight gain cycle, six more to go!

Temporarily derailed

Alas, the best laid plans of gang aft agley, my training regimen for being onstage by October has hit a snag, two snags actually in the form of two bulging discs(L4 & L5) one of which is pinching a nerve in my left leg.  It's made it impossible to walk for the past few weeks and I''m  able to move now thanks to an aforementioned steroid injection, now to be followed up by six weeks of physical therapy with little to no chance of cardio or leg workouts.

In a an attempt to make lemonade out of bitterly acquired, and unwanted lemons, My trainer and I have decided to put me on a weight gain cycle.  It makes sense, no cardio & reduced mobility means I will put on a bit of weight anyway. I've been wanting to build my upper body size, and since I can only work upper body, we will focus on converting that body fat into more muscle tissue through  heavy lifting and failure sets.

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This will entail adding an additional 1000 calories per day into my diet, all from carbs and unsaturated fats.  This will mean a wider waist and a wider everything.  I will be breaking out my "fat" pants when I normally would be gearing up for cutting phase and bathing suit shopping(Weight gain phases are normally done in winter) UGH!

I know it makes sense, and I know it 's the best thing to do but I am so NOT HAPPY with this situation. WHINE WHINE WHINE, yes I know that most of the population has real and worse problems, but it's my blog and where else am I going to complain?  I only hope it doesn't impact my time line for competing in the Fall.

He-Man

He-Man
Originally uploaded by Todd Ehlers

You know I wouldn't mind trading in my current weight lifting/cardio schedule for 10 minutes a day without strain.....