New Supplements

After giving MuscleFeast 3 months of my time, effort, and money, I have decided to switch supplement brands.  After doing some research I decided on going with Muscle Pharm (www.musclepharm.com).  Here are the supplements I will be taking.

Assault: Pre-workout.  I never used MuscleFeasts pre-workout supp.  I had been a religious Jack3d user, so switching brands was difficult, but I had to give Assault a shot.  The reviews were great, and I am looking forward to changing it up.

Combat Powder: I replaced MuscleFeasts 100% & Micelar Casein with this product.  They have a 5 protein blend.  For the price per serving, and again, the reviews from a lot of people I respect, I had to give it a shot for myself.

Armor-V: This is Muscle Pharm's multi-vitamin.  This product is pretty much what got the ball rolling for me to switch brands.  I had been looking for a multi-vitamin for some time, and through research, and some suggestions I was pushed towards this product.  The serving size is 6 pills, but the bottle has a month supply, so for the price, I am good with it.  This is the first multi-vitamin I have taken in over 10 years, so I am looking forward to the next 90 days with it.

Creatine: I hadn't been supplementing creatine directly since I started training hard again.  I have just gone with what was already in Jack3d, and in my Anabolic Recover from MuscleFeast.  I decided for the next 90 days, I will also supplement Creatine, and since I went with Muscle Pharm, it made sense to give their creatine a shot as well.  Assault also has Creatine in it, so I am getting 2 servings on workout days, and at least 1 serving daily.

Re-Con: This is Muscle Pharm's recovery drink.  I use it immediately after any strenuous workout.  After sprinting/agility training.  After hitting the iron, and after games.  The flavor is great, and again, only time will tell on how well it works, but with the reviews I am going to give it my 90 days.

As for an Intra-workout supplement I am sticking with Purple Wraath until that bottle is gone, and then i'm switching to AEN's Intrabolic product.  I haven't looked into Muscle Pharm for an intra-workout product, but will do that research in the very near future.  I am happy with Purple Wraath, and the reviews on that product are very good.  I had also tried Scivation's Xtend, but wasn't overly impressed with the results.

I will review this products as I notice any differences along the way.  It's just too soon to give them a fair review.

Flag Football Game #3

Our 3rd game of the season put us against some of the Fond Du Lac Crusaders from the IFL.  They were really good.  Their quaterback had a great arm, and made good decisions, and their receivers pretty much caught everything.  We started off really slow on offense, but Alex figured them out after our second possession, and then the track meet was on.  We eventually brought it to within 4 points, with a couple minutes left, but they had the ball, and were able to run the clock out on us.  Our second half defense was really good, and we didn't get shredded as bad as we did in the first half.
On another note, I only got to play defense again this week, which is okay.  Wherever I can help has been my motto so far.  These guys do not know me, or what I can do, but hopefully I will get some opportunities to show them what I can do very soon.
I did manage to get spiked by one of the receivers on the other team during a "pick" play, which ended up requiring four stitches.  I really didn't think that I would end up having to get stitches because of a cleat in indoor football, but it's just part of the game.  I did end up playing the rest of the game after getting spiked, mainly because it wasn't bleeding, and there was absolutely no pain.  Which of course led me to believe that I didn't require stitches, so after the game, I went to the gym and lifted weights.  Once I arrived home, Kathy saw the wound, and convinced me to get the doctors opinion on the wound, and at 10pm at night, there is no walk-in clinic open, so emergency rooms rates apply!!!  The RN, PA, and Doctor I requested to look at the wound before I would go into the ER all suggested that I get a tetanus shot, as well as have it stitched up, and so pretty much my decision was made for me.  The only pain I felt in the whole thing was in my wallet.  A $200 Emergency room co-pay hit me pretty hard :-(.  

Stats and training

I wouldn't say that I completely overhauled my workout, but I will say that I fully re-evaluated my progress, and realized I have very little information to gauge my progress by.  Honestly, the only things I could go off of is how much weight i could lift compared to the previous week, my weight, and what I see in the mirror.  This is completely inadequate for what I am trying to accomplish.
If I go back and read my original post from October, I had some goals.  One of my goals was to weigh 205 pounds before the season started.  Of course, this was without sacrificing speed and agility.  Well, I discovered that my weight hasn't moved, my agility and speed have improved, and my body fat is yet to be tested (my goal is 8%, but 10% would make me very happy).
So, with all of that said, I have decided to take the bull by the horns, and track my progress a lot closer, and be more detail oriented.  I purchased 2 soft tape measures, a body fat tester, and have joined BodySpace on www.bodybuilding.com, which allows me to enter stats and goals.  So, in my posts here, when I update my stats on My BodySpace, I will leave a link to that page in my blog post.
I have also started evaluating my workout, and progress there.  I'm looking at shortening my rest time, but the jury is still out.  My main object is to gain strength, yet I do need to build up some muscle endurance.  I fatigue way too quickly when doing super sets.  Perhaps my goals are unrealistic, and that is another area I need to revisit.  I'll discuss this more with Kirk Olson, and see what he recommends, and by putting all of that together, I will be better able to gauge my progress and what changes I need to make in order to achieve my goals.

Goals
40 yard dash: 4.5
Body Fat %: 8%
Weight: 205lbs
Bench Press: 225 10x, 315 1x
Squat: 405lbs

More goals to come as I keep re-evaluating my progress.

Flag Football Game #2

I'm going to change up how I BLOG about my training in the very near future.  Reading about individual weight increases is getting redundant and dry.  I think I'll keep weekly stats and measurements, and any milestones I reach, but keep the individual lifts out of the whole thing.  I'm going to focus more on what I am doing, my thoughts on what I am doing, and discoveries I make along the way.  Be it supplementation, dieting, new training routines, equipment reviews, etc etc....

So, on to my game from last night.  We ended up losing the game, but we only played with 6 guys, and the other team definitely took advantage of the height difference.  Short passes were killing me last night, I just couldn't get underneath the route.  I was giving them the short stuff, and hoping for a mistake, which never came. I did get to play some offense last night, and have a couple catches, but not scores.  I'm sure as Alex gets more comfortable with what I can do, I'll get more opportunities.  Right now i'm using it as an opportunity to get some cardio work in, and some work with the guys on the Outlaws.  A couple of things from last night.  I'm not overly impressed with the NFL Equipment Mayhem gloves.  They really loose their grip quickly, until refreshed with water (or sweat, or spit).  My Under Armor gloves stayed sticky longer.  Also, the medium is just a hair too big, but the small was too small. I'm going to try the Reebok Fade, and maybe see what Nike has for gloves as well. Also, I bought a new pair of running shoes.  They are New Balance, and very light, and comfortable.  I got to really work them over last night, and I really do like them.  I will see once I get to try them at XLR8, and see how they are for running wide open.
Next week, I am wearing long socks, that come up to my knees.  My legs got really tore up on the turf this week.  Maybe I should try and stay on my feet more, but at the same time, my style is wide open, so full commitment on every play, so whatever happens, happens.

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" Giving up is for those who never intended to be great, but only posed so that we could admire what they would never become."
George Stoichev

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"When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too." - Paulo Coelho

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"Don't go through life, grow through life." - Eric Butterworth

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"Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself." - George Bernard Shaw

First flag football game

Last night was my first flag football game in probably 10+ years.  It was great meeting some of the guys from the Outlaws (team i'll be playing tackle football with in the fall).  I feel I played o.k., but I have some things to work on.  I am a little more sore than anticipated, but a lot of that is my fault, one, not enough stretching, and two, I probably played a little more physical than I really had to.  So, I am looking forward to next week.  We did end up winning 60-46.  I am really looking forward to throwing on the pads and playing...

Post Flu, Crushed Iron, and a helmet

Friday I crashed and burned hard after a great Thursday night workout.  The flu hit me Friday morning, and by noon I was completely out of commission.  It really sucked, because Saturday morning was sprint training @ XLR8, and I didn't get to participate.  Brandon did though, and he absolutely killed it.  He was able to run 20mph again, and gave an attempt @ 21mph.  He only last 3 seconds, but it was a balance thing, and he will be able to give it another shot in the coming month.
Sunday, Steve and I hit the gym, and we hit it hard.  I hadn't walked out of the gym feeling like I sprinted for an hour and a half, ever, especially after only lifting weights.  But we really hit it hard.  We started with power cleans, and got up to 145, but it was limited rest in between, and it got us warmed up quickly.  Next, we moved on to squats.  We did them a little different this time, and honestly, we may stick with this method.  On minimal rest, this was our sequence.  135, 225, 275, 295, 315, 225, 185, 135.  At the end of that, we were absolutely done, but we still had upright rows, shrugs, and dead lifts to do.  Upright rows, and shrugs we do as super sets.  So we got through those relatively easy.  Dead lifts we decided to do a little different as well.  We stayed at 135, but we had to do 50 reps, with minimal rest.  I'd do as many as I could, then Steve would jump on, do his set, then i'd jump on immediately do my next set, and so on.  Needless to say, I was complete jello by the end of our workout.
This morning, Brandon and I went to run routes, it was my first session wearing my helmet.  I was very happy that the helmet did not impede my vision at all.  Also, the shield did not fog up at all, even though I was breathing pretty hard.  I was able to make the catches I would be expected to make.  The next step is to incorporate shoulder pads, and see how limited my range of motion is.

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You just can't beat the person who never gives up ~.Babe Ruth

Chest/Back

With the lower half of my body pretty much out of commission because of Tuesday's workout, and sprinting, I went in today to attack my back and chest.  We started with the bench.  We didn't do our normal bench routine today though.  Today we tried the 28 workout.  7 normal reps, 7 slow reps, 7 reps half way up, and 7 reps from half way, to lockout.  I tried it at 135, and got through 22 reps before my triceps and chest just about caught on fire.  I dropped to 115 on the next set, and didn't even get to 15.  So, needless to say, i'm getting stronger, but my muscle endurance isn't worth crap.  Since we are hitting all our body parts twice a week, I am going to incorporate this routine once a week.  I also did pull-ups.  14 body weight only, then the next 10 with 25lbs, and the final 6 with 35lbs.
We then moved on to incline bench, and ended @ 205 for 3 reps.  Next we moved to Bent over rows.  For this exercise, I revisited my form, and was able to bend over a little further, to really hit my back better.  Though I had to drop weight in order to get a good set in, it was worth it in the long run.  My back will be stronger
We finished up with preacher curls, and just burnt our biceps out.  All in all, it was a great workout, and I felt really good when I left.  I'm really looking forward to legs/shoulders tomorrow night.  I really hope that my legs are ready to get hit again.  I'd really like my shins healed before I play my first game on Monday.  Hopefully ice and stretching does the trick.  I'm also looking forward to receiving my helmet.  It is scheduled to be delivered tomorrow.  I'm just hoping that it fits, so I don't have to send it back for another size.  I'm crossing my fingers.....

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"Do not be afraid of death. Be afraid of the half-lived life!" - Laird Hamilton

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"As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world, as in being able to remake ourselves." - Mahatma Gandhi

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"Great works are performed, not by strength, but perseverance." - Samuel Johnson

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"High achievement always takes place in the framework of high expectation." - Charles Kettering

Back at it!!!!

After a full week away from touching weights, I finally got back at it on Monday (1/2/2012).  I will start off by saying that the week off was very good for my body.  I ended up doing nothing, except for one session with Mike Draheim at XLR8, for sprinting and agility.  Other than that, I sat on my ass, and played XBox 360, and just ate like crap.  I figured, after 3 months of hard work, a week of brainless activity was in order.
Last night, Steve and I hit the chest pretty hard.  I finished my sets @ 265 on the bench, and they came back down to 225, and then 185.  Then we jumped over to dips.  I finsihed dips @ 90lbs.  Incline bench was just as eventful, except I finished it @ 205, instead of the normal 225.  Finally, we added pullovers back into the routine.  They went really well last night, and I think that I was a little light on the weight.  I finished @ 60lbs, but could probably have finished @ 70, if I hadn't started so low.
We are now going to work chest and legs in twice a week.  Along with sprint training once a week, swimming one day a week, skills training twice a week, and biking twice a week I should be ready for the season....hopefully.  I know i'm working harder, but I just hope i'm working smarter.  I want to be maximizing my time in the gym. I do realize I need a very intense stretching routine added in very soon, as well as a hard core, "core" routine.  More to come on all of that.

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It is better to be hated for what you are than loved for what you are not.-André Gide