So, I’ve broken my femur and had it reset with pins. Then a year later had the pins removed. Those were surgeries one and two. If you haven’t yet and you’re interested, you can read Part 1 and Part 2 first. I’m not completely certain when I tore my lateral meniscus the first time, but I believe it fell sometime after I had my second operation to have the pins removed. The meniscus tear was surgery #3.
My family lives in Indiana (Bloomington/Evansville area). My dad, sister, and I went to visit them. While we were there we decided to go to McCormick’s Creek State Park. We went there every time we visited, in fact.
As the name implies, there is a creek that runs through the park. That summer we decided to walk in the creek for what seemed like miles. Of course, creek beds are not flat; there are stones, rocks, fallen tree branches, small water falls, big water falls, etc. With the uneven ground and constant pivoting of my feet on the assorted rocks, it caused a lateral meniscus tear on my right knee.
My knee didn’t feel right after that and I knew something wasn’t right. It hurt when I walked and there was some swelling.
When we got home to Florida my dad took me in to my orthopedic surgeon. I think I saw this doctor more than I did my family practice doctor by this point. He confirmed it was a lateral meniscus tear and would require arthroscopic surgery. Oh, joy.
Fortunately, I was young enough and the tear was in the “right place” for him to be able to repair it rather than have to remove it.
Three operations down. Little did I know that three more awaited me – two to come in the very near future.
Have any of you tore a meniscus before? Were they able to repair it or did it have to be removed?
Tags: knee operation, Knee surgery, torn meniscus
Training routines, some bodybuilders have one they love, some are searching for one they like, and others are stuck in the same one they can’t seem to break away from. Open any magazine or read an website relating to bodybuilding and you’re likely to see a training program or four listed. With so many programs available it’s difficult not to get confused or question whether what you’re currently doing is best.
The Magic Formula: Here It Isn’t
The reason is that we’re all looking for that magic formula, the perfect training program that will make us into the next Jay Cutler or Dexter Jackson. The truth is, such a program doesn’t exist. there isn’t a one-size fits all routine. The fact of the matter is, they all work, or at least have their purpose.
In the two decades that I’ve been bodybuilding, I’ve tried dozens or training programs: high volume, high reps; low volume, low reps; high volume, low reps; low volume, high reps; one body part per week, each bodypart twice per week; 4 workout days per week; 5 workout days per week; 6 workout days per week; fast tempo; slow tempo; all heavy compund movements; mostly machines; supersets; giant sets; a lot of rest between sets; little rest between sets; ad nauseum.
Guess what, they all worked.
My wife has been training for about five years or so and to this day she still asks me about training programs, how to do an exercise, if her form is right, how does her butt look in this dress, etc. And for five years I’ve basically been telling her the same thing, “Yes, your butt looks unbelievable in that dress.” Oh, yes, and I’ve also been telling her that the program she does doesn’t matter nearly as much as whether she is challenging her muscles enough to respond and grow. In other words, as long as she is progressing then that’s what matters. Add 5lbs to the bar, do one more rep, do the same weight and reps but decrease the rest time. Those are all ways to increase intensity, and thus, stimulate growth …assuming that proper diet and enough rest are also involved. Diet and rest are probably more important than the training itself.
It’s Just A Twist On DoggCrapp
Ok, now that that’s out of the way, I’ve gotten several questions about my training program. As you’ve already read, my program has changed over the years. I have, however, always returned to what I feel has worked best for me, and that is high intensity, low volume, and low-to-moderate reps.
Below is my current routine. It’s actually a modified version of DC Training (DoggCrapp Training) founded by Dante Trudel. You can read more about DC Training here or here.
The reason I was drawn to his style is because it made sense to me: train each bodypart more frequently using more intensity with as few total sets as possible. Pretty simple really. That is about as basic a description as I could possibly provide, but I encourage you to read more about it yourself to get the full explanation.
While I don’t follow his program the way he recommends it, I do implement many of his principles that I feel fit best for me. I’ll post what I do below and explain my logic behind it.
What I Do And Why I Do It That Way
- First, I do a 2 on/1 off routine splitting my body up into 3 workouts. This is a fairly recent change for me. For years I did a 4-day bodypart split and it worked great, but since I’m doing fewer sets then I’m able to recover quicker allowing me to work each bodypart more frequently, which provides more opportunities for growth. It makes sense, right? If you train each bodypart once a week then you get 52 workouts in for that bodypart per year. However, if you train each bodypart once every 5 days then you get 73 opportunities to grow that muscle. More doesn’t mean better unless you’re allowing your body to recover, which is why I’m doing fewer sets (but with more intensity).
- I train only two days in a row before taking a day off because as a natural bodybuilder I feel that after two days my body needs a rest break. You might be different, but that’s me.
- After I’ve completed the three workouts that cover every muscle group, I consider that one cycle. One cycle takes 4 or 5 days depending on where my off days fall on my 2 on/1 off routine. And I do three cycles - each cycle having it’s own set of exercises - before repeating cycle one. Actually, all my muscle groups except triceps have varying exercises. I’ve got bad tendonitis in both elbows so I have to stick with cables for now. Quads also; if you read my blog then you know I’ve had knee surgery so right now I’m taking it slow and easy on the leg movements.
- My third cycle is more or less an active recovery cycle. I still keep the same 2 on/1 off split but I drop the rest/pauses. I don’t go in the gym with an agenda other than picking whatever exercises I want for 3-4 sets and 15-25 reps per set.
- I do two exercises for each bodypart, except for shoulders, back, and legs for which I will do three.
- I do only two sets per exercise, but I do two rest/pauses within each set. So, I’ll do as many reps as I can (target is 6-10), rest for a count of 25 (which works out to about 15 seconds), do as many reps as I can do again (usually 3-4), count to 25, and do as many reps as I can one last time (usually 6-10 again. See why below), then I will hold the weight for as long as I can. That’s the first set. Then I do one more set like that and that is it for the first exercise.
- Like I said above I do two rest/pauses within each set. All my reps before the second rest/pause are done in a very slow and controlled manner, no cheating whatsoever. After my second rest/pause, I loosen up my form so that I can bang out as many reps as I have left in me.
- I write everything down. Every exercise, every set, every rep, every weight. I’m a bit anal so I’d probably do this anyway, but the reason I do it is to be sure that each time I enter the gym I am doing more than I did last time – more weight, more reps, whatever. Progression is key.
If you got lost reading that then basically it all looks like this:
CYCLE ONE
Day 1: Chest, Shoulders, Triceps
- Chest: BB Incline Press – 2 sets, DB Flat Bench - 1 set
- Shoulders: Machine Lateral Raises – 2 sets, Reverse Fly on Pec Deck Machine – 2 sets, Seated DB Press – 2 sets
- Triceps: Cable Pushdown – 2 sets, Seated Cable Extensions – 2 sets (these are a modified version of what would otherwise be a Lying DB French Press)
Day 2: Back, Biceps, Abs
- Back: Medium Grip BB Rows – 2 sets, Pulldown to the Front – 2 sets, Reverse Grip Cable Row – 1 set
- Biceps: EZ Bar Curls – 2 sets, 1 Arm Preacher DB Curls – 2 sets
- Abs: a few sets of whatever I feel like doing
Day 3: Off
Day 4: Calves, Hamstrings, Quads (in that order)
- Seated Calf Raises – 2 sets, 1 Leg Calf Press (on leg press machine) – 2 sets
- Stiff Legged Deadlifts – 2 sets, Lying Leg Curls – 2 sets
- Quads: Leg Press – 2 sets, Hacks – 2 sets, Step Ups – 2 sets
/CYCLE ONE
CYCLE TWO
Day 5: Chest, Shoulders, Triceps
- Chest: Incline DB Flyes – 2 sets, Dips – 1 set
- Shoulders: Seated Military BB Press – 2 sets, Bent Over Lateral Raises – 2 sets, DB Side Lateral Raises – 2 sets
- Triceps: Cable Pushdown – 2 sets, Seated Cable Extensions – 2 sets (these are a modified version of what would otherwise be a Lying DB French Press)
Day 6: Off
Day 7: Back, Biceps, Abs
- Back: Rack Pulls – 2 sets, Behind the Neck Pulldowns – 2 sets, Reverse Grip Cable Row – 1 set
- Biceps: Alternate DB Curls – 2 sets, Incline DB Curls – 2 sets
- Abs: a few sets of whatever I feel like doing
Day 8: Calves Hamstrings, Quads (in that order)
- Calves: 1 Leg Calf Press (on leg press machine) – 2 sets, Seated Calf Raises – 2 sets
- Hamstrings: Lying Leg Curls – 2 sets, Seated Leg Curls – 2 sets
- Quads: Leg Press – 2 sets, Hacks – 2 sets, Step Ups – 2 sets
Day 9: Off
/CYCLE TWO
CYCLE THREE
Day 10: Chest, Shoulders, Triceps
- On this third cycle I don’t do any rest/pause. I choose 3-4 exercises of whatever I want and do 2-3 sets. I keep my reps in the 15-25 range.
Day 11: Back, Biceps, Abs
- On this third cycle I don’t do any rest/pause. I choose 3-4 exercises of whatever I want and do 2-3 sets. I keep my reps in the 15-25 range.
Day 12: Off
Day 13: Calves, Hamstrings, Quads
- On this third cycle I don’t do any rest/pause. I choose 3-4 exercises of whatever I want and do 2-3 sets. I keep my reps in the 15-25 range.
/CYCLE THREE
Day 14: Repeat starting at Cycle One
Conclusion
So did you get all that? That’s my current routine. Who knows, I may change it, but I tend to stick with what works until it stops working.
If you have specific questions leave me a comment and I will answer it. If you try my routine please let me know how it works for you.
Tags: 2 on 1 off, Bodybuilder, dc training, doggcrapp, intensity, training style, workout routine
Oh, hi, I’m back.
So if you read (LOL, or read) this blog you may have noticed that not much has happened in, oh, since January. I guess like many people who start blogs, they are motivated, post a lot, then the motivation diminishes and the posting slows down, or comes to a complete stop, such as in my case.
Heck, my WordPress hosting was up for a renewal and I called my hosting company last week and actually cancelled it. I talked to my wife and she convinced me to keep it. She said I love to write and there are a lot of things I could share. She said don’t take it so seriously and just have fun.
That’s why I married her.
And that’s what I’m going to do. I’m just going to post whatever, whenever, and have fun.
My original goal when launching this blog was to grow it into a blog with massive readership, and eventually monetize it. Eh, still a goal I guess, but not one I’m pursuing heavily. If it happens, it happens.
So there you go.
If you remember where I left off (and if you can’t then just look at my last blog entry or two – it’s there somewhere), I told you I was having surgery on the 22nd to repair/remove a torn meniscus. I also mentioned that they actually had to do a “lateral release.” It’s a medical procedure for unfortunate schmucks like myself whose patella is tracking laterally. This causes bone deterioration and pain.
I didn’t realize that was going to be part of the procedure, but I woke up and the “damage” had already been done. I wish I’d known because I’d probably have at least tried to seek out alternatives. I’ve read after the fact, of course, that a physical therapist who knows what they’re doing could have helped.
Yeah, so that’s what the Dr. did and 6 months later and I’m still recovering. It sucks. And it makes me an angry person. And that sucks, too. I just want to be back to normal. My knee is still weak and swollen and I can feel A LOT of scar tissue. I sometimes wonder if this is just the way it’s going to be from now on. And if that’s the case then that sucks.
Yeah, yeah, I should be happy I still have two legs that work, and you’re right, it could certainly be worse, but thinking that way isn’t easy. If I wasn’t a bodybuilder then sure, I’d be fucking thrilled that my legs just worked and I could walk.
But when you’ve spent the last 20 years of your life being passionate about the sport of bodybuilding and achieving a big, strong, muscular, symmetrical body, then a big busted knee isn’t exciting.
But I’m staying positive that eventually it’ll be back to looking the way it was. This whole knee thing is one reason that I hadn’t updated my blog in so long. I just wasn’t motivated to write about bodybuilding or being a bodybuilder when my outlook was a bit negative as to what the future held.
Nonetheless, I’m working every day to rehab this stupid knee. I even discovered using a foam roller. This damn thing is one of the greatest inventions ever. I plan to write a blog post soon about how unbelievably helpful the foam roller has been in rehabilitating my knee and making it feel indescribably better. I’ve used it everywhere else on my body and it’s truly been a blessing. Stay tuned. You’ll want to learn more about it.
Alright, so I’m back. I promise I’ll be updating regularly and I’m hopeful that all of you will find my blog helpful. Please leave a comment if you have a question or just want to tell me I’m a wuss and to suck it up. That’s cool, too. We’re all friends here.
Tags: Bodybuilder, bodybuilding with a bum knee, bone deterioration, foam roller, knee pain, knee rehabilitation, Knee surgery, lateral release, motivation, ok I'm back, torn meniscus
You can go here to read Part 1: The Great Break, which as my first operation.
My second knee operation occurred about a year after my first. It may not have been quite that long.
This one was to remove the two pins they used to set my broken femur. How they got the pins out of my bone is a mystery to me. As you can see in the picture there was no head on the pins – at least not when they gave them to me. Maybe there was at one point and the Doctors just pried them out like you would a nail from wood.
So, surgery number two and another round of crutches and rehab. The fun is just beginning.
At this point in my life I hadn’t yet started bodybuilding. I was into skateboarding back then (had no choice but to stop playing soccer) and I was a skinny little runt.
Part 1: The Great Break
Part 3: Coming Soon!
Part 4: Coming Soon!
Part 5: Coming Soon!
Part 6: Coming Soon!
Tags: bodybuilding, knee operation, Knee surgery, operation
You feel some pain, you finally decide to get it checked out, and low and behold the doctor tells you the bad news, “You need surgery.” I hate hearing those words. In
These were the very pins used to set my broken femur (yes, I kept them).
November I heard them again for the sixth time, for the same knee!
On December 22nd, 2009 I had my sixth operation on my right knee. All but one has been a result of a broken femur playing soccer when I was 14.
This will be a 6 part post detailing each of my six knee operations as best as I can remember them. Considering the fact that I’m still relatively young I expect this won’t be my last knee operation, unfortunately. We’ll just worry about these for now.
Surgery #1: The Great Break
I started playing soccer at the age of five. That was my sport. I loved it and I excelled at it. My soccer playing days ended on November 1st, 1986 a little after 11:00am.
That morning I had a soccer game as I did every Saturday during the soccer season. During this fateful soccer game I collided with the goalie, which given how aggressive I was when I played soccer, was nothing unusual. However, this was not my lucky day.
After the collision I lied there on the grass feeling immense pain. I looked down at my legs and saw that the bone was nearly protruding though the skin of my outer thigh on my right leg. It wasn’t a compound fracture, but close to it. Instantly, I went into shock. Not knowing what I was doing I got up to walk towards the side lines but fell once I tried to put weight on that leg. I don’t recomend trying to walk on a fully broken femur, it just doesn’t work. In fact, I probably did more damage by doing that. So I fell back to the ground on my stomach and remember screaming for my dad, who happened to be the coach. He didn’t know the severity of the situation so he was on the side line yelling for me to get up and keep playing, which I would have done had it been a collision on any other day.
It didn’t take long before I had a crowd surrounding me. It took 45 agonizing minutes before I was carried off because the ambulance couldn’t figure out how to get the vehicle back to the soccer field.
I was taken to the hospital and was quickly taken back to the operating room where they used two “pins” (I’d call them nails with no head) to set my fractured femur.
The break occurred along the growth plate (physis). Since I was still growing at the tender age of 14 it would turn out to be the worst place it could have possibly fractured (why in Part 3) and the reason for four of my next five operations.
So I’d be interested in hearing your injury stories too. Please share!
Part 2: Coming Soon!
Part 3: Coming Soon!
Part 4: Coming Soon!
Part 5: Coming Soon!
Part 6: Coming Soon!
Tags: broken femur, broken leg, growth plate, knee operation, Knee surgery, pain, pins, soccer, sports injury
Yeah, six.
Sucks.
I’ll be writing about it in a few days as soon as I get a few minutes.
Stay tuned.
Tags: Knee surgery, operation
Tags: training log, workout log, writing small
For years and years I did a 3 on/1 off, 2 on/1 off workout routine. I split my bodyparts up over four days (i.e., chest/shoulders, calves/back, tris/bis, quads/hams). It worked, but I think there is something better that I’d been overlooking until now. I recently began a 2 on/1 off routine and I have noticed some very favorable results. I also changed another element of my training that I will share with you as well. Maybe this will work for you too.
Two days on, one day off
Being in my mid-thirties now I just don’t recover as quickly as I did in my 20′s. Thirty-six isn’t old by any means, but it’s not 22 either. Recently I’ve changed my workout split to a 2 on 1 off using the same bodypart split mentioned above.
I switched to doing 2 on/1 off for several reasons:
- I was feeling tired all the time
- I was not motivated to train
- My joints were aching
- I needed a change
This split has worked out excellent because after two days of intense training I’m ready for a break. And after that one day break, I’m ready to get back in the gym. My motivation level now is sky high for each and every workout! I’m excited to go in the gym and really push myself, and since I’m there only two days in a row, I’m able to give each training session everything I’ve got.
There is something else I have found to be working well for me… that is, doing only two sets of each exercise instead of the customary 3-4 sets. It just makes sense, doesn’t it?
Two sets instead of three, or four
We’ve always been told that it is best to do 3-4 sets of each exercise, right? But why? Maybe it’s just me but I think that logic is flawed for a couple of reasons:
- Anything after two sets gets boring
- The same amount of intensity is not given to each set because mentally you “save” yourself
Boredom
Let’s address the first one first. Boredom. I may suffer from ADD I’m not sure, but I seem to get bored after the first two sets. I want to go do something different – a different exercise for that bodypart. An exercise with a different machine, a different bar, a different grip, a different rep scheme, a different angle, all to hit a different part of the muscle.
And since I keep my total number of sets for a bodypart low, then doing only two sets of an exercise allows me to do more exercises as well. That’s a plus in my book.
Intensity
As far as the second point regarding the intensity, I think this has a lot of truth to it – at least for me. If I’m planning to do four sets of let’s say, leg presses, then one or more set of those four sets is going to suffer. It is simply difficult to maintain 100% intensity for an exercise in which you do 3 or 4 sets. Now 2 sets is no problem, I can bust my ass on set one, and then bust my ass again on a second set, but after that I lose some momentum. Whether it’s mental or physical doesn’t matter, the fact remains that my workout has suffered. Not good.
The two sets thing came about because I noticed that I just instinctively wanted to stop after the second set. Maybe it was boredom or maybe I knew that I wasn’t going to give my all to the last one or two sets. In either case I’m liking this change. It makes sense and I’ll stick with it for a while to see how I progress. So far so good, I feel stronger and more focused in the gym these days.
Is it right for you?
Is a two day on, one off routine doing two sets of each exercise right for you? I don’t know. It might be worth a shot. Have you done something similar? If so, how has it worked out for you? There are an infinite number of ways to train, what’s yours?
Tags: 2 on 1 off, 3 on 1 off, aching joints, boredom, intensity, motivation, sets, training style, workout routine
On any given day there are numerous distractions that can get in the way of your bodybuilding lifestyle. Pesky distractions that can cause you to delay a meal, skip a meal (God forbid), make you miss a workout, cut your workout short, etc., etc. It sucks when it happens, particularly when it comes to events that affect our diet. The training is important but the diet is what governs how you look and whether you’re going to get anything out of the training (i.e., whether you grow). We can’t control everything, granted, but there are plenty of ways to prevent letting the distractions get in the way of keeping on track with your bodybuilding diet.
If you’ve been bodybuilding, and especially competing, for any length of time then you have probably figured out several ways to make it all come together and work no matter what. What with the training, cardio, diet, posing, etc. We can’t stop living our lives so we have to figure out ways to work around the other “stuff.”
Here are some examples of the everyday “stuff” that I’m referring to:
- Family
- Work
- School
- Vacations
- Traveling
- Going out
Family
Obviously, family is far too important to categorize merely as “stuff,” but for the sake of the simplicity of the article let’s just go with it. I think we can all agree that family comes first, or at least it should. If it doesn’t for you then you should re-prioritize. Your family will love you for it.
Perhaps your wife (or husband) cooks unhealthy dinners and expects you to eat it. This is a tough one because you want to make your spouse happy. Not eating what they’ve cooked can turn out badly. The best thing to do in this situation is to sit down with your significant other and explain that you appreciate that they cook for you and you love eating dinner together, but ask if they can make better food choices.
If that doesn’t work just pretend like you are allergic to everything they cook. I’m kidding, of course. Instead, maybe just divorce them …again, I’m kidding.
Fortunately, my wife and are are both health food fanatics so this isn’t an issue in our home. Although, I have been married before and my wife at that time was the quintessential junk food junkie. We managed to eat dinner together but it was rarely the same dinner. Not an ideal situation, but I refuse to eat pizza every night. We’re not together anymore but I don’t think that was the reason …at least I hope not.
Now, going out to eat with family is an easy one. First off, who doesn’t like to enjoy a good meal out? Pretty much any restaurant you go to will have something on the menu that will cater to your bodybuilding lifestyle. Restaurants typically use a lot of oils, butter, sauces, etc., but if you choose to be super strict that night then you can always ask the waiter to cook it plain or just order something like a salad or plain baked potato with a grilled lean meat. Most restaurants will accommodate this request.
The cook may spit on your food, sure, but I don’t think spit contains any calories. 
Work
Work is where we spend most of our waking life. As such, this is where you need to have the most self-control. There is a lot of temptation lurking about in the office environment that can get you off-course with your diet plan. You’ve got co-workers bringing cookies in that they baked the night before, co-workers grabbing doughnuts for the whole office on their way in in the morning, birthday celebrations, candy dishes on desks, and of course, the co-worker popping their head in your office to let you know they are making the ”lunch-run” and asking if you want anything.
The most important thing in this case is to have your meals prepped for the day before heading into the office. If you leave unprepared then something is going to go wrong, and you don’t want to cave in to the cookies and/or doughnuts …or the candy dish …or “lunch-run.”
What I’ve always found to be the best way to ensure nothing screws up my meals during a work day is to bring two shakes, and a solid food meal for lunch. I’ll drink one shake at around 9:30, eat lunch at 12:30, and drink another shake at 3:30. Something occasionally comes up that will slightly delay a meal, but never ever never ever ever never ever do I skip a meal. That’s committing the ultimate bodybuilding diet sin.
If I’m stuck in a meeting, for instance, then I’ll inconspicuously sip my protein drink during the meeting. If I can’t bring it into the meeting then I will step out to the “restroom” and slam it down. It takes all of 10 seconds.
If your job requires that you travel often then that can pose a unique set of challenges when it comes to your diet. But nothing that can’t be overcome if you dedicated enough to your goals.
How often you travel, how long your trip, and your method of travel will all dictate the best course of action to stick with your diet. If you travel by car and are gone short term (1-3 days) then the easiest thing to do is to pack a cooler with your meals in it. Boom, problem pretty much solved right there. (SIDE NOTE: removing your passenger seat and putting your cooler in its place is a pretty convenient way to travel and eat. I’ve done this before traveling to a competition in Atlanta and it was awesome.) If you travel by plane then that can be a bit trickier.
I remember several years go I was preparing for a natural bodybuilding competition. Near the end of my prep (when staying on-track becomes more critical) I was invited to visit the headquarters of a prospective employer for a job interview. The trip was for three days and I was taking a flight there and back. I wasn’t about to leave my diet to chance. I wanted to be prepared. You never know if the flight will be delayed, if you won’t be able to find anything healthy to eat, etc.
What I ended up doing was pre-cooking and packing every single meal (all 18) in a cooler and bringing it with me. Now, these weren’t simple chicken and white potato meals. My diet at the time consisted of A LOT of cod fish and asparagus.
By the time I had left for this excursion I’d been eating cod fish for weeks. Plus I was on a very low carb diet so I was probably in a state of mild ketosis. Prior to leaving for the trip my co-workers had complained of a “fishy smell” every time they came in to my office. I discovered later it wasn’t my food because I didn’t store it in my office. The fishy smell was coming from me! I reeked of fish!
The fish smell coming from me was bad enough, but then I had packed three days’ worth of fish and asparagus meals onto a plane that no one could escape from. You can be sure, I was hated by the time I got off the plane.
What was my point? -Oh yeah, my point is that even though I was dieting for a show and was only a few weeks away from the competition, I didn’t let a three day business trip prevent me from sticking to my diet. I figured out a way to make it work. You can too.
And yes, I did get the job. Admittedly, however, I scrubbed the bejesus out of my skin and poured on cologne.
School
When I refer to school, I’m talking about college. When I graduated high school in 1991 I went straight on to the local community college. I had no idea what I wanted to be when I grew up so there was no sense forking over tens of thousands of dollars to go off to a university. Nonetheless, I carried a full course-load and worked nearly full-time as well.
I’m not saying this is right, but I arranged my school schedule around my training. As for the diet part, I have to admit that at that time I hadn’t really gotten the diet part down like I do today. I wasn’t educated enough to know how important that aspect was to achieving my bodybuilding goals so I pretty much ate whatever. I visited the college cafeteria on a regular basis and ate whatever was there. That’s also probably why I was smooth. Very smooth.
I did end up going back to school to finish my Bachelor’s degree in Finance several years later. This time at the University of West Florida. By that time I had acquired a great deal of knowledge about the sport of bodybuilding.
One college semester I took classes at the main campus, which was over an hour of drive time away. My first class began at 8:30 a.m. My last class endedat 9:30 p.m. And I had a class or two in between. I did that three days a week. It made for an exeptionally long day. Every morning I’d pack a cooler and put it in my car. I brought all of my meals for the whole day. And if my training fell on one of those long school days, then I’d bring my training gear and all the stuff I needed for showering. In hindsight I should have been less strict, but I was laser focued on competing and earning my natural pro card.
My suggestion today for those of you in college is to rely on either protein shakes to get you through, or do what I did, pack a cooler and keep it in your car. Now, ideally, wait to eat until your between classes, but I routinely ate during class as well – at least protein shakes.
Vacations
Ok, listen, if you’re on vacation enjoy yourself. That doesn’t mean you have to gorge yourself until you can’t move but loosen up on your diet. I don’t think I needed to tell you this, did I? That’s what vacations are for.
Traveling
Not much to say here that would be different from what I’ve already said. Protein powder and coolers are essential when traveling.
Going Out
I’m no longer single and in my 20′s. When I was, I enjoyed it. I went out regularly and stayed up late. Although I went to clubs and bars, I never drank. Drinking has never really been my thing. That’s good, too, since it is counter-productive to reaching your bodybuilding goals and it doesn’t really fit in with living a bodybuilding lifestyle. Many bodybuilders drink and that’s great; it just wasn’t for me.
Even though I went out I still stayed on my diet. My friend and I would run out to the car, eat our meal or drink our protein shake, and go back in.
Since I got to bed much later than usual on those nights, the trick was deciding whether to eat again before I went to sleep. And if I did decide to eat, what the best thing to eat was. I usually opted for a scoop or two of whey protein and that was about it.
So again, even when going out with your friends, just be prepared.
Conclusion
Although there are times when life “gets in the way” of our routine, and particularly your meal schedule, there are still ways to keep on track. Going to the extremes I went to in order to stay strict on my diet plan may or may not be necessary for you. At that time in my life I had a clear goal in mind and I was willing to do anything and everything to accomplish it. Consequently, I stunk up some planes. That, I would have reconsidered had I had to do it again. Don’t stink up planes. It’s not cool.
If you have a specific question about your unique circumstance please let me know. Leave me a comment below. If there is one thing I’m good at it’s organization and developing a strategy to make something work. Maybe I can help you with your problem.
Tags: bodybuilding diet, diet plan, dieting while going to school, dieting while having a life, natural bodybuilding diet, stay on track, sticking to my diet while traveling
Do you spend too much time in the grocery store? Do you get frustrated when you can’t find what aisle the milled flax seed is on? Do you go in the store without a list thinking you will remember everything you need but then get home and realize you forgot the toilet paper and miniature marshmallows? If you answered yes to any of these questions then I may have a solution.
If I haven’t told you already then let me tell you now – I freakin’ love making spreadsheets. If a job title of “Spreadsheet Technician” existed then I would apply for that job. Lo and behold, that job title does not exist (that I know of) so I must satisfy my urges by making them on my own time for free. This is good though because if I can make one that I think you may find helful that I can share with you on this blog then I will. And I have!
So I created a simple little spreadsheet to make life easier. Ok, it’s basically just a list (this is definitely not one of the more complex spreadsheets I’ve ever done).
My wife and I seem to spend no less than two hours in the store shopping for groceries. We go every Friday or Saturday and do our shoping for the week. With drive time factored in, we spend up to three hours of our life every week getting food. That is far too much time. And the worst part is we always seem to forget something and end up having to make another trip at some point later on. Ugh!
We all tend to gravitate towards the same foods we like to eat week after week with few exceptions (I’m completely guessing. I have zero scientific data to back up that statement). With that in mind, I created this pre-made grocery list in Excel that lists all the foods or other household items that my wife and I tend to buy each week.
Below is a snapshot of the list.
As you can see, it’s stupidly simple. Each column is three cells across: one to place a checkmark (or “X”) in, one with the name of the food or household item, and one to enter the quantity of the item. You will also notice, however, that it alternates sections of bolded and non-bolded items (doesn’t show up too well in the image but trust me, they’re bolded) to indicate that those items are in the same aisle. The green highlighted items are ones we get at Sam’s Club. You don’t have to do that on yours if you don’t want to.
Before we head out to the store, the idea is to glance at the list and either highlight the items we need or blackout the ones you don’t need. Of the items we need, we can pencil in how much of it we need to buy in the quantity field. Then once we’re at the store and we’ve grabbed the item, we just put a check in the designated box.
Now that I’ve given you an unnecessary explanation of the most simple spreadsheet on planet earth. Here is a link to download a copy of it for yourself if you want.*
How much time will it save you? I have no idea because I haven’t yet used the list. But it’s got to shave off some significant amount of time! Additionally, and perhaps more importantly, it will prevent us from forgetting anything!
I’m sure I’ll continue to make minor tweaks to improve it but hey, it’s a start. It’s not much but I hope you find it helpful.
*NOTE: The font size on the Excel spreadsheet is set to 6 pt font. I did this so that it will all fit on the top half of a regular 8.5 x 11 piece of paper. Feel free to enlarge the font size if you want.
Tags: grocery list, grocery shopping, remember everything when grocery shopping, Save time, spreadsheet
