well today is November the fifteenth 2006 and I am now attempting to be a power lifter. before I just lifted but now I am beginning to have a little power in it.  a neighbor of mine, who also recently moved, can take a lot of credit for my new desires to be a power lifter. he comes from a family of excellent lifters and he opened a whole new door to lifting weights, and I'm running with it. about 2 months ago I broke the 1000 lb mark with a 285 lb bench, 405 lb dead lift, and a 315 lb squat, though I am not certain my squat was qualifying.  I am now following power lifting workouts for each of these lifts that I got from  http://www.butenko.org/workout.htm . I use the excel programs that calculate your growth then give you workouts to work towards that growth.  I am only a few weeks into these and can see I will reach my goals for bench and dead lift. as always I am a little slow on the squat, maybe it's because of my height. with all of these lifts, especially the squat, I know I'm also going to need to see a gain in my weight to accomplish my goals.  I am 210 right now but hope to be 220-225 by the middle of next summer in time for the summer Olympics where I will attempt to compete. as for now my projected goals for my lifts are: 315 for bench, 315-335 for squat, and 450 for dead lift and a total lift weight of 1080-1100 lbs. till next time.

wow it's been four months since I have updated this web page, crazy.  in the last entry I was beginning a 12 week program and was thoroughly excited about the prospective outcome.  it was an intense program.  I made it through about 8 weeks when my body started to have problems keeping up and becoming vulnerable to injury and illness.  for the last four weeks I then modified the program to fit my needs. in other words I didn't follow it to a T as I intended before, and all I have to show are a few blurry after pictures (below).  the program was successful however I lost 10 lbs of fat and learned a lot. here are the pictures.

3/24/06

I haven't updated this page for twelve days because I've been absent minded and busy with school, work and going to the gym 6 days a week for about an hour and a half to two hours each day. I am three weeks into this twelve week program and I have forgotten to do a couple of things. First, I forgot to get my body fat percentage tested before I started and second I forgot to post the before pictures which I did take, so I will post them now. These pictures are from Week One.

03/12/06

Well, I am one week into the 12 week get ripped program and can see that this is going to work. I forgot to put a forward to this page containing the article from which I pulled my program, but I will update that soon. It explains the science of why the diet works as it does, as well as the mechanics of the workout routines. Well, I have 6 oz. of chicken and two cups of spaghetti to finish, so peace out.

02/26/06

I have completely updated the workout catalog with the 12 week get ripped program so check it out.

02/23/06

Yesterday was a leg day. I thought I would try something new out. Instead of trying to push the threshold of my legs' limits through heavy weight, I decided instead to push their limits through form. I did a warm up with the bar, 45 lbs for 20 reps. I then did another warm up with plates for 12 to 25. Both of these were done at or below a ninety degree angle. I focused with severe intent so that I would use good and thorough form. After I slowly and thoroughly completed these two warm ups, I decided that instead of bumping up the weight to 225 or 205 lbs I would use 185 lbs, plates and 25's.  I found that by going really deep, to ninety degrees or lower, it was dramatically more difficult to execute this exercise. Quite simply, there is a difference in doing it right and doing it wrong. After a few sets of that I moved to the leg press machine where I worked up to 14 plates total (630 lbs). I was able to do them with proper form. This tells me that my legs are strong and that I should be confident in my exercising of them no matter what the weight.

ps. if you read this, and I wonder if any one ever has or ever will, you can feel free to email me at jimthefretmaster@hotmail.com I've been trying to create a forum type web page  but until then any questions or discussion will be entertained through email.

02/17/06

I have put the first 8 weeks of the 12 week "Get Ripped" program I will be following in the workout catalog, I think it is #27. I have put the entirety of this article with it as well--it's all there. The sample diets provided for each of the four week segments are also included. The diet will be the hardest part, not that working out 6 days a week in the gym isn't hard enough. Eating oatmeal and whole grain rice like it's going out of style will be equally or more difficult, but I'm going to do it and I plan on seeing results that I have never seen before. I am excited. There is a good point to be made in this article, which is that many claim to be weight lifters or bodybuilders and always claim to be in the off-season, which is their excuse for all the excess fat gained which partially hides their muscle definition. The difference between a true-blue, dedicated athlete is one who is willing to shed the fat on occasion and this doesn't mean every 10 years, I mean every one to three years.  It's not going to be the most fun thing but it will be worth it.

I have neared the end of my chest and leg workout routine. All and all it lasted 5 1/2 weeks.  My legs are still pumped. I can tell a dramatic difference in my outer quad as well as in my upper thigh and hamstrings. I walk stronger now, if that makes sense, and am more solid on my feet. It has been a good routine.  I think this would be a good time also to voice a pet peeve of mine.  When I am in the gym I rarely see anybody squat down to 90 degrees. Everybody goes about half way, to a 45 degree angle, which is right about where squats get tough. Either that or they'll go just into the "red zone" then back out. That pisses me off. I'll see scrawny little guys go in there and throw on 275 lbs but only go half way--barely. It's sad. Squats are declared by many professional body builders and enthusiasts as being, by far, the most basic and fundamental lift for the body; yet, it is, in my observations, here in Cedar City, taken with the least amount of aggression and devotion. Well, for the casual weight lifter, I can understand.  On a good and thorough squat day it would not be surprising to vomit or limp out of the gym as if you've been stranded in the mountains for weeks.  Legs are not easy. They are the largest system of muscles in the body and squats require much of the entire body to be properly performed. I guess to many the pain of squatting down into the "hole" isn't worth it when they can simply feel satisfied that they did more weight going half of the way down to a 45 degree angle and not 90 degrees. Truthfully, right now I finish my squats off with about as much weight as I finish  my bench with, maybe even less. Oh well, I don't even think this will ever even get read by anyone anyway. Till next time. 

ps. check out the workout catalog--it's been updated.

02/07/06

For SUU's 2005 Christmas break I did the "ultimate pump" workout from Flex magazine, which can also be found in my workout catalog under #20. The ultimate pump workout was a good workout.  I could tell that the concept of a perpetual pump worked. That means that by lifting a certain body part more frequently it would remain in a continued anabolic state, growing.  All and all, I didn't put 2 inches on my arms like the program touted, but I did add 3/8", which is pretty good for a skinny white boy like myself.  Following the Ultimate pump routine I immediately devised another workout based on the same principle of consistent workouts. The principal of which I speak is more thoroughly described in workout #22 "Be Clock Wise".  The workout I'm currently doing emphasizes legs and chest. To do this I just got a calendar and marked four days as leg days, skipping Sundays and occasionally giving an extra day rest. Then, I marked every four days a chest day. I made two different workouts for legs and two for chest. Basically, on the first set of workouts I included the heavier exercises. For legs it was squats and leg presses and for chest I basically switched between incline and decline routines. Also on the second, and lighter workout for legs, I include shoulders. On the second workout for chest I include triceps exercises.  So far this workout has boosted my legs and chest dramatically, as well as my triceps. I am sold on the clock wise philosophy. I haven't bridged this workout to the next routine that I have planned but I will keep y'all updated. In the beginning of March I will begin a twelve week program from Flex designed to loose fat and trim up for summer. It'll be interesting. peace.