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Post by Merk on Feb 13, 2020 20:18:23 GMT
I wanted to go on that cruise so bad but Maya and I were going through the struggles of keeping our fresh business afloat. There have been a few JSF get-togethers that we had wanted to attend but the timing never seemed to work out. I have to admit it's a bucket list item to actually meet John and get the chance to thank him personally for everything.
I recall there being some amazing photos of everyone doing various things. One that sticks out was Adam and being in some sort of beauty contest and showing some leg (or something to that effect).
All the best with your goals. I look forward to seeing you accomplish your goals and the various things you will learn along the way.
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Post by M@ on Feb 13, 2020 20:24:11 GMT
I recall there being some amazing photos of everyone doing various things. One that sticks out was Adam and being in some sort of beauty contest and showing some leg (or something to that effect). LOL, yes! There was a "Sexiest Male Legs" contest on deck at one point that Philly and Chico participated in. All the photos I took are still in my shared Picasa (now Google Photos) album here.
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Post by M@ on Feb 14, 2020 20:02:05 GMT
Weight: 286.5 lbsI overate last night, but didn't go as crazy as I often have in the past. Woke up lighter today. Go figure. Aside: I got served a banner ad for "Bays English Muffins" on this page. I had them down at the beach this past Fall and they're amazing. I've been looking for them since. Their site says they're at all my local grocery stores, but I can't friggin' find them. I may have to ask at customer service next time.My upper-body is sore from yesterday's workout. I went to the driving range at lunch and had a hard time getting a fluid swing together. I also got worn out after about 75 balls. It might've been better to skip the range today. I'm getting to the start of Arnold's bodybuilding career in his autobiography. His enthusiasm for the sport is infectious. Makes me want to work out multiple times a day.
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Post by shamie on Feb 15, 2020 19:12:09 GMT
In your avatar photo, you look like someone who is comfortable in their skin.
Arnold's autobiography was great. It is incredible that from a kid in Austria, to became governor of CA (spoiler alert).
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Post by M@ on Feb 15, 2020 21:46:37 GMT
In your avatar photo, you look like someone who is comfortable in their skin. The alcohol, cigarettes, and company helped. Weight: 286.5 lbsI was skimming through Arnold's New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding last night and caught a line that said something to the effect of, "The front double-biceps is a brutal pose: If you don't have serious development, your chest just disappears." Can confirm. Sara and I are going to have a discussion about diet and meal prep tomorrow. She's working to lose the last of the baby weight and we've been sabotaging one another's nutrition through fatigue (i.e. one or the other - or both - of us are too tired and hungry to stick to our plans). I think the solution is that we each fend for ourselves in terms of food. I've seen it work with other couples. I think the optimal plan for me is to prep Sunday dinner through Wednesday lunch, then Wednesday dinner through Saturday lunch. Saturday dinner and Sunday lunch can be ad hoc, but I want to take all decision-making out of the equation for those other eighteen meals (3x/day x 6).
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Post by M@ on Feb 16, 2020 17:52:35 GMT
Weight: 285.9 lbs
Today was upper hypertrophy. Arnold's bio inspired me to concentrate harder and really contract the muscle at the top of each rep. I used the same weight I used last week, but my arms and chest were dead by the end of the workout. I'm still really noodly. It's a cool feeling.
I washed my CPAP mask yesterday and didn't adjust it properly before going to bed. I spent the first four hours asleep dreaming of different ways I was suffocating. Finally sorted the damn thing out at 2:45 am, but not after most of my night's sleep had been messed up. I need to replace that mask soon.
I took the kids to the trampoline park (SkyZone) this morning. They bounced, ran, and played for a solid hour until they both started laying down on the trampolines and closing their eyes. We stopped by McDonald's for nuggets and fries (for them - I didn't even poach any out of the bag on the drive home). Tomorrow we're going to go on a nature hike led by a guide from the Loudoun Nature Conservancy. I don't know how much the kids will get out of it, but I'll enjoy it and it should be a good opportunity for some good photos. I'll need to bring some chocolate to give them before we drive home or else they'll crash their naps in the car.
I'm going to sit here for a while and enter recipes I enjoy into the LoseIt app. I paid for a lifetime membership this year (after paying annual membership fees for the past decade) so it makes sense to consolidate my info there.
I need to meal prep tonight. Tomorrow I'll be doing some yard work in addition to the lower hypertrophy lifting and nature hike.
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Post by seltzer on Feb 16, 2020 17:55:07 GMT
A fun day with the kids is always time well spent.
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Post by M@ on Feb 17, 2020 19:31:42 GMT
A fun day with the kids is always time well spent. Indeed! I did, however, come to my senses and not commit them to a three hour event (two hour nature hike plus a half hour drive each way). I don't think Alex would be up for that and Lily would definitely have melted down at some point early on. An hour and a half seems to be her limit. Instead, we went to a little playground near a trail that goes down to the Potomac River. The kids threw stones in a little creek and would run back to this gazebo that had gravel landscaping to get more stones. They must've done it twelve times apiece. They're both wiped out now. I got some good photos out of it. Weight: 284.9 lbsIt's embarrassing to note that this is the lightest I've been in a year, but I'm too busy being thrilled with the progress. The change in my mentality has been massive. I'm extremely focused and I'm eager to take each little step towards improved fitness, whether it's getting into the basement first thing in the morning for weight training or breaking up a head of broccoli for some greens on the go. I fucking hate broccoli, by the way, but I'll gnash it down by the fistful if it helps me get lean and strong. I have encountered a problem, however: Hypertrophy. The PHUL routine has two hypertrophy days and I'm having trouble finding exercises that will work for my lower body with the limited equipment I have. I'm doing front squats and clean and jerks for quads, lunges and good mornings for hamstrings. The clean and jerks and the lunges are not isolating anything. My cardiovascular system is hitting its limit well before my leg muscles. I'm browsing Amazon for some extension/curl equipment, but I'm leaning more towards re-joining the Gold's Gym near my house. I was going to get Sara a membership (her request) for her birthday because they have a pool and child care, but it may make sense to do a family package instead. $400 for an extension/curl station is less than half a year's gym dues, but I'm running out of space downstairs. Hmm.
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Post by seltzer on Feb 17, 2020 20:13:53 GMT
Fun time with the kids.
Congrats on being your lightest in a year; I'm confident there will be many more such posts in the future. As for broccoli, have you tried roasting it? Florets and stems, if they're cut thinly enough, about 1/4 inch. Some EVOO and seasonings of your choice on a single layer on a baking sheet in the oven at 400F for 18-20 minutes. Totally different taste profile than when raw. The same general procedure can be done with cauliflower. Once the veggies start to caramelize the flavors really change.
Can't help with the exercise dilemma.
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Post by Merk on Feb 17, 2020 21:48:52 GMT
I recall there being some amazing photos of everyone doing various things. One that sticks out was Adam and being in some sort of beauty contest and showing some leg (or something to that effect). LOL, yes! There was a "Sexiest Male Legs" contest on deck at one point that Philly and Chico participated in. All the photos I took are still in my shared Picasa (now Google Photos) album here. I went through all the photos, a couple of times actually. It brought back some amazing memories from that time in my life. Thank you for sharing this, I really appreciated it.
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Post by M@ on Feb 18, 2020 16:07:20 GMT
As for broccoli, have you tried roasting it? I haven't. My experience with broccoli has been that, when raw, it's a crunchy yet crumbly mouthful of nothing. Raw is my preferred state to choke it down. I've found that any type of cooking massively amps up the repulsiveness scale. The stench becomes a mix of sewage and rotting vegetables and the bland taste is overwhelmed by the smell. I may try roasting it: I do enjoy roasted cauliflower, but I enjoy cauliflower in general. At some point in my JSF career I ate broccoli at least once per day for fourteen weeks in an attempt to get used to it. It didn't work. I still despise the stuff. That said, I've got a Gladware container of it right here next to me that I'll munch down with my chicken and rice this afternoon. My pleasure! I had a great time looking at the photos again, too, and I'm glad all the captions got saved. I miss multi-quote. What year is it that this BB doesn't have that option? Weight. 281.8 lbsI took a diuretic (Furosemide) yesterday for swelling and inflammation issues in my hands, so I anticipate that my weight will go back up this week. Gotta say, my trousers and shoes fit a hell of a lot more comfortably today. I wear golf slacks to work because they look business casual and because I go directly to the practice range on my way home. If my progress continues on its current trend line, I'll be too lean for my current stock of slacks by the end of March. That bummed me out for a minute until I realized that I could buy new Under Armour slacks when it gets to that point. They max out at a 42" waist, so I haven't been able to wear their trousers or shorts for a couple of years. The prospect of being able to buy those kinds of clothes off the rack is extremely exciting and will be a significant milestone. Edit: I forgot to mention that my diastolic blood pressure reading was at 77 this morning. That's the first time I've seen the underside of 80 since I bought the monitor two years ago.
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Post by Iroc-z on Feb 18, 2020 17:40:14 GMT
A fun day with the kids is always time well spent. I have encountered a problem, however: Hypertrophy. The PHUL routine has two hypertrophy days and I'm having trouble finding exercises that will work for my lower body with the limited equipment I have. I'm doing front squats and clean and jerks for quads, lunges and good mornings for hamstrings. The clean and jerks and the lunges are not isolating anything. My cardiovascular system is hitting its limit well before my leg muscles. I'm browsing Amazon for some extension/curl equipment, but I'm leaning more towards re-joining the Gold's Gym near my house. I was going to get Sara a membership (her request) for her birthday because they have a pool and child care, but it may make sense to do a family package instead. $400 for an extension/curl station is less than half a year's gym dues, but I'm running out of space downstairs. Hmm. That's a tough one. The only movements that are really going to provide hypertrophy for the quads are all going to be variations of squats or leg presses. I'm thinking the lunges you're currently doing would actually hit the quads more than the hamstrings. The only other movements I can think of for hamstrings that you wouldn't have to purchase additional equipment for, would be stiff-legged or possibly even Romanian deadlifts. You could even try variations of these with dumbbells to spice things up a bit. Big congrats on the weight loss!
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Post by macdiver on Feb 19, 2020 12:35:26 GMT
I have a "Powerhouse phc-pwr 9" rack with cable system and the bench that includes the leg attachment for leg extensions and leg curls that I was about to list on craigs list. If you are interested I will give it to you but you will need to find a way to get it to Maryland from NJ.
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Post by M@ on Feb 19, 2020 16:14:45 GMT
That's a tough one. The only movements that are really going to provide hypertrophy for the quads are all going to be variations of squats or leg presses. Yeah, everything I'm seeing is advocating big compounds with isolation/single joint afterwards. I can really feel the pump and burn with front squats, but the only things burning from the power cleans are my lungs and eyeballs. I have a "Powerhouse phc-pwr 9" rack with cable system and the bench that includes the leg attachment for leg extensions and leg curls that I was about to list on craigs list. If you are interested I will give it to you but you will need to find a way to get it to Maryland from NJ. That's an awesome offer, thank you! I just looked into the cost of a rental truck and the logistics of getting it plus getting out to NJ and back and think I'm better off ordering the seated curl/extension machine from Amazon. I think I'm going to start by trying out some more squat variations and seeing how they feel. All the while, I'll subtly sell the wife on the seated isolation machine. Sneh heh heh. -- Weight: 285.0 lbsThe water weight came back, as anticipated. Yesterday was kind of a mess nutrition wise. I brought my prepped meals to work and ate them happily, feeling full and energetic at about 60% of the calories I would have normally consumed in that time period. Then I got home to find the kitchen in use and a very limited amount of time to get the kids over to my parent's condo for the evening. I stopped at McDonald's and got food for everyone, including myself. Then I compounded my poor decision making by drinking two beers after I brought the kids home. I would have been just as happy to go straight to bed after putting my son down, but there was a thing in the back of my mind urging me to have some decompression time. I felt like I'd been sprinting since 6:30 am and wasn't looking forward to getting up and doing it all over again without interruption. Meh. It's not great, but I'm not broken up about it. Limited time and space in the kitchen is definitely going to be an issue that I need to work around. Generally, one of us needs to wrangle the kids while the other cooks
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Post by seltzer on Feb 19, 2020 19:36:07 GMT
I have a "Powerhouse phc-pwr 9" rack with cable system and the bench that includes the leg attachment for leg extensions and leg curls that I was about to list on craigs list. If you are interested I will give it to you but you will need to find a way to get it to Maryland from NJ. This ^^^^ is the legacy of JSF. Mac, a very nice gesture!
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