"With everything happening today, you don't know whether you're coming or going, but you think that you're on your way. Life lined up on the mirror don't blow it."
-Lil Wayne, "Mirror"
What a great warmup song. So, Jennifer, the results fairy did come last night, and she stole my delts... Let me know if you find them. Lol
It's ok... I'm gonna keep going with this cut for now and reassess when I'm a little leaner. These things have a way of evening out and I'm pretty sure I've got enough time to do a little refining if I need to. In fact, once my legs come down a little I might find I have more symmetry without any more upper body mass.
Lol...the obsessing! Thank God I have my trainer to make these calls for me. I was actually talking to an old client (I used to train full time but do other stuff now) last night who was saying that even though he has competed as a bodybuilder it helps him to have me still do his nutrition. It's a little silly because the guy has plenty of knowledge and expertise and there is no magic. I don't have some weird formula or special diet, it's just that turning the control of these decisions over is really important for some people.
I obsess. About my body. About food. About exercise. Someone needs to steer the friggin' ship or I'm all over the place. Do I cry a silent tear every month when Paypal bills me for my trainer's services? Sure. But I save what I spend in stupid endeavors not undertaken.
Me: "I'm losing my delts."
Him: "Shut up and keep doing your plan."
M: "My delts are back!"
Him: "Shocking." (heavy on sarcasm)
We tend to not only obsess but we panic when we "find something". Whether it's a trainer, a training partner, or a good friend with a good eye and no emotional investment, this neutral second opinion is priceless. It's also important because it keeps us from being self-absorbed feedback gluttons IRL. Maybe gramma doesn't wanna feel your bis again today. Maybe your colleagues just want you to do your day job. Maybe the other people waiting in the bathroom line at Starbucks don't want to squeeze their knees together while you take more mirror time.
Mirror time. The mirror can be an important tool, but a very biased one. So you don't have a training partner? (By the way, b.s. if you're posting regularly on this forum and still think that) Can't afford a trainer? Can't afford your own wireless internet (sorry neighbors)? Take pics every 2 weeks and keep them. Compare them and your progression. It's not perfect, but it's a lot easier. If you need a second opinion I'm happy to look (but ladies PLEASE exercise good judgement about sending pics to anyone online).
Why try to cut back on your obsessing?
- mirror time at the gym is time lost not doing WORK.
- mirror time when you're with others is unattractive, sure, but it also means you're missing out on OTHER people, and they can be pretty cool too. Don't rob yourself of a real life. You can have both.
- time spent obsessing about your nutrition (deciding what to have, not eating clean in actuality) pisses your waiter and your loved ones off... Oh, and it doesn't help you meet your goals. A stressed dieter is a fat dieter.
I'm sure you can all think of other reasons (all none to one of you that have read to this point -- lol!), but these are just a few in my limited personal experience with watching myself and others.
Having a trainer or advisor (e.g. someone like Radar) means humbling yourself. It means adopting the "Beginner's Mind" no matter where we are. And then adopting it again when we get too big for our shirtsleeves.
I played sports in school, and I was ok, but I was a little what they call "uncoachable". I always thought I knew better. Too smart for my own good? Too smart for results. I finally learned that listening to OTHER people is helpful (sometimes). Choose your advisors carefully and wisely. Get a second opinion if necessary (any advice worth taking can tolerate a second opinion). Then stop wasting time looking at it and dive in.
xo, C
PS I'm getting friggin thumb-thritis from my touch screen!
"With everything happening today, you don't know whether you're coming or going, but you think that you're on your way. Life lined up on the mirror don't blow it."
-Lil Wayne, "Mirror"
What a great warmup song. So, Jennifer, the results fairy did come last night, and she stole my delts... Let me know if you find them. Lol
It's ok... I'm gonna keep going with this cut for now and reassess when I'm a little leaner. These things have a way of evening out and I'm pretty sure I've got enough time to do a little refining if I need to. In fact, once my legs come down a little I might find I have more symmetry without any more upper body mass.
Lol...the obsessing! Thank God I have my trainer to make these calls for me. I was actually talking to an old client (I used to train full time but do other stuff now) last night who was saying that even though he has competed as a bodybuilder it helps him to have me still do his nutrition. It's a little silly because the guy has plenty of knowledge and expertise and there is no magic. I don't have some weird formula or special diet, it's just that turning the control of these decisions over is really important for some people.
I obsess. About my body. About food. About exercise. Someone needs to steer the friggin' ship or I'm all over the place. Do I cry a silent tear every month when Paypal bills me for my trainer's services? Sure. But I save what I spend in stupid endeavors not undertaken.
Me: "I'm losing my delts."
Him: "Shut up and keep doing your plan."
M: "My delts are back!"
Him: "Shocking." (heavy on sarcasm)
We tend to not only obsess but we panic when we "find something". Whether it's a trainer, a training partner, or a good friend with a good eye and no emotional investment, this neutral second opinion is priceless. It's also important because it keeps us from being self-absorbed feedback gluttons IRL. Maybe gramma doesn't wanna feel your bis again today. Maybe your colleagues just want you to do your day job. Maybe the other people waiting in the bathroom line at Starbucks don't want to squeeze their knees together while you take more mirror time.
Mirror time. The mirror can be an important tool, but a very biased one. So you don't have a training partner? (By the way, b.s. if you're posting regularly on this forum and still think that) Can't afford a trainer? Can't afford your own wireless internet (sorry neighbors)? Take pics every 2 weeks and keep them. Compare them and your progression. It's not perfect, but it's a lot easier. If you need a second opinion I'm happy to look (but ladies PLEASE exercise good judgement about sending pics to anyone online).
Why try to cut back on your obsessing?
- mirror time at the gym is time lost not doing WORK.
- mirror time when you're with others is unattractive, sure, but it also means you're missing out on OTHER people, and they can be pretty cool too. Don't rob yourself of a real life. You can have both.
- time spent obsessing about your nutrition (deciding what to have, not eating clean in actuality) pisses your waiter and your loved ones off... Oh, and it doesn't help you meet your goals. A stressed dieter is a fat dieter.
I'm sure you can all think of other reasons (all none to one of you that have read to this point -- lol!), but these are just a few in my limited personal experience with watching myself and others.
Having a trainer or advisor (e.g. someone like Radar) means humbling yourself. It means adopting the "Beginner's Mind" no matter where we are. And then adopting it again when we get too big for our shirtsleeves.
I played sports in school, and I was ok, but I was a little what they call "uncoachable". I always thought I knew better. Too smart for my own good? Too smart for results. I finally learned that listening to OTHER people is helpful (sometimes). Choose your advisors carefully and wisely. Get a second opinion if necessary (any advice worth taking can tolerate a second opinion). Then stop wasting time looking at it and dive in.
xo, C
PS I'm getting friggin thumb-thritis from my touch screen!
not so much with the mirror-- I still don't admire myself enough to be constantly looking in the mirror, but the diet? Good god I worry about that every second!!! Is this right?? Is this enough? Should I cut this and add that? It is mind numbing!!!! And maybe why I can't get rid of this headache either. Hmmm. But I'll take what you said about the stressed dieter being a fat dieter to heart. Just worrying so much is just gonna raise my cortisol level and keep me fat. I need to relax and just trust the process.
lol I guess I should get back to ballin so hard. Hahaha!
I couldn't give up working out. But Fritos? Oh I could eat a whole bag and not bat an eyelash. Sure, I'd feel like shit afterwards. But oh how I could eat me some Fritos. F-you, diet!!!
I mash hard when i hug and kiss
You Georgia boys clearly haven't met many of us rough-and-tumble northern tomboys....
I think we can handle whatever you throw at us
Thanks Zed I didn't know you felt that way about me baby!
Back used to be my weak point too so I'm glad to have brought it along.
There have been many ego-induced injuries! Most recently some separated ribs that put me on almost entirely lower body for 4 months of 2010. I think I've learned that lesson for now. What's the saying, "discretion is the better part of valor"?
I thought you were smarter than that Mitch?
Thanks, Cali!
I am not really going for those #'s but I need that reminder constantly! Every powerlifter secretly wants to look like a bodybuilder and every bodybuilder wants to lift like a powerlifter. Gotta keep the "I am strong like bull" ego in check when ballin' at the gym or I strain my wee little genetic capabilities
I am on the elliptical again. It's kind of a bummer. I miss the hard sweat of the step mill but am working with a tweaky hamstring and I think a real run would put me in a bad position for legs tomorrow. Had to think hard on this one for a while to make sure I wasn't losing ground to my innate inertia. I usually bounce these decisions off others... It just helps to have a jury for the cardio trial.
In the end I decided to do the elliptical, easier on the joints, jack up the time a little and later will make sure to go hard and heavy on abs to make up for lost GH stim!
And you thought you overthink stuff!
Have "homework" to do today for a potential job. Gonna keep plowing through laundry and getting myself organized before the niece and nephew spontaneously appear (they could be dumped on me at any moment although I try to Heisman that whenever possible).
CB bodybuilding concept of the day?
Trust
You are putting your workouts in. Your nutrition is on point. And you are waiting for results. Every morning you wake up and check your body... What has magically occurred while you were sleeping?
Sometimes results come this way, but the saying "a watched pot never boils" seems especially apropos here. It's not fair to your body to apply that kind of scrutiny. Give it a chance!
If you have researched your plan well enough and you feel well informed then you probably just need the tincture of time. If you're still unsure, find a mentor or coach whose advice you trust. This person doesn't have to be a trainer. Hell, they don't even have to be a mod... Just find someone who has what you want and ask them to point you in the right direction.
Then give the bread time to bake! If you keep pulling the damn loaf out of the oven it's gonna fall flat or you'll drop it on the kitchen floor. Give the damn thing a chance. Sick of being doughy? Set the timer and get cookin'!
I'm not saying don't check in every now and again to monitor your progress, but these are what I think of as 20,000 ft decisions. You don't make them in the morning pinching what seems like new flab or crying crocodile tears onto the dial of your scale. You are tactical. You are deliberate. You respond not react. You are patient. You trust in the process.
Do you know how the freaking dough becomes bread? I could speculate (ok, it doesn't take that much thought) but I don't have to understand it entirely. I leave that to chemists and pastry chefs. You don't have to understand why your body does everything it does, you just have to learn how to coach it to do what you want it to do. And then give it a chance to deliver.
Peace, chickies!
xo
I'm an over thinker and don't trust the process too often, always second guessing. I must listen to and heed your wisdom!!
2. stiff arm pull downs. there is a ton on youtube and this one isn't anything special but will give you the basic idea (not me, by the way!) Stiff-Arm Pulldown - YouTube
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