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I’ve just finished 2 weeks of solid Cellucor use – the Extreme Muscle Growth System.  The results I’ve seen are pretty impressive.  Let me explain a little more and provide some background, which I’m sure many people can relate to in one way or another.

Since the beginning of this year, I’ve been inundated with work and several other fitness related projects.  I knew I wanted to compete in 2010 but after the New Year rolled around my weeks & months turned into what felt like one long day.  And, with that, time began to fly by.  I was traveling quite a bit with my Marine Corps support position which made it hard to stick to my meals and training so I was at a standstill.  That is until Cellucor and I began to talk…  It was the type of motivation I needed; a breath of fresh air.  It had helped me get back into my old spirits and realize there was still hope to compete this year.  

I   began to use the products and immediately felt a difference from one particular supplement in the stack called M5 Extreme.  Without getting scientific, and to make it easy to understand, M5 Extreme is essentially a preworkout creatine & nitric oxide supplement.  There are ingredients in this formula that act in synergy which allows the body to drive more creatine into the muscles, stimulate vasodilation for better pumps and increase oxygen rich blood to the muscles.  It also improves mental focus and clarity.  (The below video demonstrates and explains in a little more detail.)

I immediately felt the difference incorporating this product into my regimen because prior to using this stack, my mind was a place of unrest; no matter what time of the day it was and no matter what I was doing, I was preoccupied with certain things happening in my life.  By taking M5 Extreme prior to my training (about 30 mins before), it was as if time stopped for that brief moment while I was training.  I was able to crank the intensity up and get back into my old habits of good ole’ high intensity, balls to the wall lifting.  It truly made me realize how bad I was lacking in that department.  I’m always skeptical of products that claim they’re the ‘end-all-be-all’ but I can attest to this product’s true claim to be extreme.

So, for the update:  since I’ve been using the products, I’m up 7 lbs, numbers are up on all lifts (especially squats), body fat has decreased by 2% and energy is still high when training time rolls around. I don’t post numbers here for lifts because I’m not one who keeps a log and writes during training – not my style. Plus, I’m constantly changing my routine around so each workout has a different flavor. You might ask, “How do you know your lifts are up then?” Answer = “When you’ve been training for years, you know how much you’re able to lift on certain exercises. When all of the sudden your able to pick up heavier weights and then do more reps, it’s pretty obvious. If I’m normally working with the 100lbs dumbbells for an exercise then all of the sudden I’m able to crank out reps with the 110s and 120s, you do some evaluation to figure out why the increase. In this case, it’s pretty easy for me (I mentioned it above).

This has gotten me primed so I can begin getting into pre-contest training and diet in a few weeks.  As much as I’d like to post photos now, I learned my lesson last year and will post pics after I get into my prep so I can do a more comprehensive post. I’ll start throwing cardio in and begin using thermos in about a week or so. 

Until then, I’ll keep on training hard, keeping my eye on the 2010 Mr. New Orleans title!  Look forward to keeping you guys posted on the progress leading up to 26 JUN 2010!

***Coupon Code – LA10 for discount***

4 weeks out from the competition!

I’m into my final weeks of preparation for my upcoming bodybuilding competition so I’m beginning to spend a lot of time posing.  When you practice your posing, it’s like doing another training session; it’s physically exhausting.  After each training session I’m trying to spend about 20 minutes going through the mandatory/compulsory poses.  I’ve been doing this by myself which has been difficult.

What I’ve learned over time is many people say they’re a bodybuilder but when it comes down to the fine details of what makes a bodybuilder a bodybuilder, they’re clueless.  A prime example of this is posing.  I’ve found very few people who can pose properly.  Every person has their own spin on it and each one conflicts with what someone else says.  When you try to point something out about they’re posing they get defensive and say, “This is the way it’s supposed to be done.”

People tend to overlook the posing aspect of bodybuilding, which is very shocking to me because posing is the culmination of all the hard work in the gym and in the kitchen.   All the months of lifting heavy, eating an abundance of calories, then the dieting, repeated cardio sessions, tanning, shaving, etc…  Some folks go on stage and have a great looking physique and mess everything up because they don’t know how to pose.  What ends up happening is someone walks away with a bad taste in their mouth and talks about how the judges are messed up.  Granted, sometimes there is controversy in competition and politics can come into play, but at the amateur levels many people miss the boat on how important posing is.  The bottomline is, you have to be able to effectively display what you have and capitalize on your strengths.

My current dilemma: I’m at a disadvantage right now because I’m currently living in New Orleans , LA and my team (Team Body Tech) and Coach (Tim Gardner) is in Tampa, FL.  What we’ve come to rely on over the past few months are photos, emails, phone conversations and text messages.  In a perfect world, I’d be there where they are, training together, attending the team meetings, posing together, allowing my coach to have eyes on me all the time so fine tune adjustsments can be made.  Well, this isn’t the perfect world and I’m not able to do that right now so I have to be clear in my mind what I’m supposed to be doing because there are so many outside influences.

What I’ve been doing over time is listening to what people say, carefully observing their posing, making critiques in my head of what I shouldn’t be doing.  In a sense, I’m watching others to observe their flaws to make sure I’m aware of how bad it looks so I don’t make those same mistakes.  That seems kind of bad but it’s what helps me put everything into perspective.  When my coach tells me not to do something and I see others do it, it becomes very clear to me.  I’m a very observant person and when it comes to bodybuilding, I’m locked on like a laser beam because this is my passion and I want to be the best at it.

Since my show is nearing I’m in the process of putting my music together.   I’ve never done this before so I’m watching videos and listening to various soundtracks to determine what will best suit me.  This is my first show and I plan to keep it simple.  I’ll be going into this show with confidence and an extremely shredded physique so I want to use that to my advantage.  I don’t want to make everything more difficult than it has to be with trying to put a dancing routine together with my music – too much at this stage.  That will come with time, and I’m definitely looking forward to it.

To all the amateurs out there, don’t let the outside influences overwhelm you.  Get a clear picture of what you’re trying to do and stick with it.  If you don’t have a coach, do your research and homework.  Communicate with other people and watch them for weaknesses and flaws.  This will help give you a mental picture of what not to do because you’ll remember firsthand how bad it looks.

My brother and I are still tweaking and adjusting the website to make it look better. One of the recent features improved was the layout of the video gallery. We also added a few more videos to the site today so I hope everyone enjoys watching. I’ll keep posting them as I’m able to take them.

This morning was a great workout; hamstrings, biceps and lower back. My partner (Tom) and I finished off with some heavy deadlifts so that made for an intense ending. Fortunately, I was able to hit 500lbs for my final set of 5 reps. I can’t say that I’ve ever lifted that much weight for that many reps so today was a milestone for me meaning, I’m slowly making improvements. I was attempting to get 6 reps but I wasn’t able to muster up any more strength to pick it up after number 5. My last set for this exercise should be 6 reps so I’ll have to get that one in next time.

Tomorrow we’re hitting shoulders, triceps and abs. Progress is going well overall and considering the circumstances of being in Baghdad, I can’t complain.

Best,
“Double A”