#212 - bodybuilding

i decided it's time to become serious about getting the body i want by weight lifting and good nutrition. i've been thinking about for a long time. i have been weight lifting since 1996 when i had knee surgery in high school. i was forced into the gym at school to rehabilitate my knee back to basketball form. that knee got stronger and i realized that one of the reasons i got hurt in the first place was because my muscles were weak and i was a weakling. our high school basketball team training did not include weight training, which is a real shame. although i resisted a little at first, i came to really enjoy lifting weights. i've been a gym rat ever since and it even led to my degree in exercise and sports science. i've taken lots of classes on exercise and related topics like exercise physiology, motor skills, and even weight lifting. i learned the different techniques, about reps/sets/volume, and about periodization. it was all geared towards training an injured athlete but the same principles apply. i still like to read and learn about exercise.

in college we had all-access to a really nice gym and i really hit it hard. i remember the first time i went to the gym. i was so excited, worked out hard for two hours and puked my guts out. it was great! after that i controlled my workouts and learned to create plans. i experimented with different variables and even got pretty strong by doing heavy lifting sessions with my buddy ALQ. we worked out a lot and were pretty active. if there wasn't so much partying going on i probably would've had a pretty nice physique. HA! beer and unlimited cheap food at my disposal led to weight gain. since graduating in 2003 i have lost about 20 pounds. i think i have lost some muscle as well because although i've been "going to the gym" i haven't really been serious about following a plan. or about my nutrition.

i have never been one to "diet" but if i am not conscious of what i am eating then i overdo it. the dictionary says it is "the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group". well i am an organism and i am keeping track of all the food i consume. what it consists of is 5-6 meals a day. lots of veggies, egg whites, lean chicken breast, protein powder, cottage cheese and water. i have been reading up on nutrition, especially in the bodybuilding community, and it is all pretty similar. it is a pretty healthy way to eat. the biggest problem is time. it's hard enough to fit three meals in a day. imagine trying to do 6. so there is a lot of prep going on. yesterday i spent 2 hours in the kitchen preparing my foods for the week. look up "clean eating" and this is essentially what i am doing. avoiding processed crap and going for stuff with lots of nutrients. i have about ten different veggies in my fridge right now. it's great!

nutrition and exercise go together. i've got my nutrition all planned out and have a few different workouts that i planned as well. i'm trying to workout 5-6 days a week, with three of those being weights. i just wanted to blog a little about it to be accountable. i'm keeping track of everything in this little notebook and i'm pretty excited to see what will happen!