TIME TO GET IN GEAR

I haven't been to the gym in a week. But I am planning on trying to go tonight for a short session. Then a hard session tomorrow morning. After that it will be all morning workouts. Just need to get back on track, and even with me tracking my calories and food it's tough.

I was used to going 3 to 6 days a week. Now I don't know how often I will be in the gym. I am working on trying to get things done the right way. That includes getting Nikki's car fixed. I don't have the money to buy a new motor, so I have to find a way to make a deal with the mechanic. And I want to join a gym over in Bend or Redmond that has a daycare, and possibly does CrossFit.

Things are getting more and more hectic. I have so much to do here and I do all I can to get everything done, but it never gets done. Because so much lands on my shoulders and Nikki's shoulders. Since her mom left, she up and left everything to us and it kills us all the time. We try to keep up with the demands of what happens here, but we can't do it all the time.

I try to make sure I get the yardwork done. Things of that nature are what I care about getting done. But I can't always keep up with everything. I try and it gets hard. But I have to push on and show that I can do this and not break under all the pressure.

FIRST STEP TO FREEDOM

Well I went and talked to the mechanic today again. And he told me it was pointless to just replace the one piston and all else. He would just rather replace the whole motor. I can understand that. It makes more sense.

The problem is my income. I would have to make payments. He would have to buy the motor and I would pay him for the motor and labor in payments. It's a difficult situation. This is the first step towards our freedom from here.

It could cost upwards of 2000 or more to do what needs done. I am prepared to pay it, but it would have to be in payments and not all at once. If I had the money I would pay it all, but that isn't the case at all. And the work market here is way too slow for me. Can't find decent work, even if you constantly talk to the people that you gave applications to. So it's a whole different thing. I hope we get the car fixed and get out of here soon.

OK HERE WE GO

Well I dropped off a note to the mechanic today to release the car and have it looked at. It needs so much work done, and I have no idea of where to start. But I did it so we can get it fixed, and so we can FINALLY move from here. Get a life and start all over again.

These are the important things. People think that what we view as important isn't, and they are wrong. This has been a priority for a long time. And it's just now getting done, that is sad and not acceptable.  I have tried and tried to get the original mechanic to fix it, but he is an ass and refused to do anymore work. Even after I paid him close to 3,000 for all the work he did.

Now we are working on finding a place and maybe even getting a gym membership. But the gym has to have a daycare. And group classes are a bonus. We are trying to get out of here before the end of the year. Let's hope it works

MONDAY

Well the Monday workout is complete. I did a circuit workout today with a 60 second break between rounds. Weigh in was done this morning, and I weighed in at 157.8. So I am maintaining my weight and working on the conditioning aspect of everything now.

Working out helps me to relieve my stress and leave my problems in a pool of sweat at the gym. I am just so glad that I have a gym here to work out in. If I didn't I would still be a time bomb exploding all the time. I am trying to focus on so many things.

Getting a place, working, and all kinds of other things. I have several other issues to contend with. But they will be dealt with in time and in a way that only I  can deal with them.

NEW IDEAS

I have some new ideas about training in mind. One idea I have considered is Cross Fit. Because I blend it with the MMA training I want to go through. It would make it easier to transition to MMA as well, because the training is so similar.

MMA weight training involves circuits, Cross Fit is no different Any kind of training can be a circuit routine. But MMA is intensive on the physical aspects. It's a sport that is misunderstood in a lot of ways. MMA involves martial arts, wrestling, street fighting and various leg and joint locks and submission holds (better known as SHOOTFIGHTING in Japan).

I work out 3 or 4 days a week currently. I weigh 158 lbs. I am looking at cutting some weight and regaining that weight in muscle. Caloric restriction is a bad idea, it would make me sick and I probably wouldn't be able to function. So I maintain a 2,400 to 3,000 calorie a day intake. I try to match my weight in protien and that's difficult. Double is what people have told me to gain muscle. But I want the athletic build that has functional strength.

NEW MOTIVATION

We are trying to keep our workouts up at 6 days a week, but we are slipping to 3 or 4 days a week at the moment. But I am hoping to do some good within the next month or so. Nikki and I are getting ready to start applying to apartments over in Bend and Redmond again.

If we can get a place I want to get a gym membership. But we need to find one that has a daycare or find a way to get a babysitter for Dante. We are working towards being able to leave Fossil behind and start over. Once in Central Oregon, we won't stay long, we will move out of state before the end of the year most likely.

BACK TO THE GRIND

Well tomorrow we are heading out of town and it will no doubt be an early morning. We will be up at 5 AM and in the gym by 6 or 6:30. Home by 8 and out of here by 8:45 or so. It's goin to be one long day. Grocery shopping, picking up the remainder of my meds, and payin bills.

We have been out of the gym for the last 4 days. I need to get the dues paid and drop them off. I am looking forward to owning the INSANITY DVD series. A friend owns it and I will message her this week with an offer. She paid 145 for the 10 disc set. So I have to consider that it's basically new.

Just been kind of lazy in the last 3 or 4 days. But that is about to change. I am about to re-enter the gym and turn up the intensity. This will help me prepare for the INSANITY series. Working on trying to find new ways to get intense cardio done and lose fat.

WAITING ON A NEW WORKOUT

Yesterday was my chest day and I completed my workout from earlier in the day. 3 sets of Dumbbell Flyes at 35 lbs at 15 reps. 3 sets of Flat Bench Dumbbell Presses at 35 lbs at 15 reps and Bench Presses 115 lbs for 10 reps and 3 sets. Today was my day to work my Back. I did 3 sets of Deadlifts at 187 for 8 reps. 1 Arm Rows at 35 lbs for 15 reps. Lat Pulldowns(behind head) at 60 lbs for 3 sets at 15 reps. Lat Pulldowns(in front, close grip) at 60 lbs 3 sets for 15 reps. And Dumbbell Pullovers 3 sets at 35 for 15 reps.

I am working towards getting a new workout. The workout is called INSANITY. It's a 10 disc DVD workout. NO WEIGHTS REQUIRED. It's guaranteed to give you a rock solid body in 60 days. It takes interval training and reverses it. Instead of short bursts, you do long intervals with short rest periods, guaranting your results. Once I complete that I will get my shirt that says I EARNED IT. I also intend to coach for beachbody.com once I finish.

PUSH HARD, NEW IDEAS AND A NEW WORKOUT

Well I made it through the 1st half of a week of Daily Doubles. It's day 3 of doing doubles. Today I worked my chest and I am looking into new ideas to increase muscle endurance and definition. Nikki came across a new workout concet, that get this......REQUIRES NO WEIGHTS. It's called INSANITY.  A 10 disc DVD workout.

I am tempted to take it up. I can take it up and make myself look different in 30 days. That is my goal. Muscle and a bodyfat percentage of 6 to 8%. Maybe even down to a bodyfat percent of 4 or less. My weight now is 160. The challenge is to turn it all to muscle, and it gets difficult.

I plan on ordering INSANITY and taking it to the gym and doing it at the gym for the 90 days. After that I will see what happens. I have seen pictures of people who have done this workout and it is INTENSE. The workout takes interval training and challenges it. Long periods of cardio and short rests with anareobic exercises. The workout itself is interesting. Everything done to the MAX. As many reps as you can do for extended times. The workout is roughly 200.00. But I want to get it, and see if I can get the results I want, in a short timeframe. The other workout to try is the P90X, and P90X2. The P90X2 hasn't been released yet. There are channels on YOUTUBE that have the P90X on them, or you can go to beachbody.com and at the videos for the P90X and INSANITY.

Nikki wants to order the Zumba dance DVDs. So that's like 300+ in DVDs that we want to order. Not to mention our supplements( protien powder in particular). We try to eat good. I eat all kinds of protien, or try to. Eggs and meat in particular. I eat rice and beans as often as I am allowed. Salads and Ranch dressing. Cheese, shredded or cut from the block. Use Whole Milk for cereal and things like that.

So now it's a matter of figuring out if we can get the DVDs we want and still maintain enough to fix Nikki's car. Guess we have to wait and see

THE LONG ROAD AHEAD

As I head into the last week of not having my son here with me, I am looking at going back to daily doubles. That way I can push my boundries. I want to look beyond the strength I have now. I am looking at a long term plan.

That long term plan will fall into place along the way. I have no plans on changing anything anytime soon. It's just an overall outlook and nutrition plan that I am working on developing. I plan on staying at 6 days a week.

My cardio is getting split up into intervals. 10 to 15 minutes per interval. So 45 min or more of cardio in one workout. Add my strength training and the walks I take daily and you will see a massive amount of calories burned. Right now it is about defining muscle and adding density. Not just strength. I will work towards my ultimate goal. And that goal is to achieve an 8 pack.....which is every man's dream. I'm looking forward to seeing what I can do in the next 4 weeks

RECOVERY IS IMPORTANT

We all know that we can go to the gym and kill ourselves. But it's what we do away from the gym that makes things happen. We have to have a rest day or 2. I make my rest day on Sunday, because it's the easiest day to pick and it makes for a great break most of the time.

Just because it is your off day, doesn't mean you have to not do anything. Go hiking or something, maybe take a couple of walks during the day, anything to stay active, but not overly active. You need to realize that protien is a big thing in rebuilding muscle. So if you can add protien shakes or protien rich foods to your diet.

Certain fruits are great for helping in recovery, cherries are proven to cut muscle recovery time in half. Adding berries will do the same. So keep these things in mind

GRIND TIME

Back to the gym for another night. Didn't make it out of bed at 5:30 like I wanted. But I am going to make up for my lost workout tonight. I have been doing things differntly. My workouts are changed and there is more variety. So I have like 8 to 10 workouts I can do at any given time. I found that splitting up my cardio is the best way to cut down my bodyfat.

Today is my chest day and I will go hard and hope I can get results. Train hard or go home is what people have always said. This time I have noone to push me.....except for me. I have to push every limit, push every muscle to failure and increase my weight in each lift done.

I do everything I can to achieve my rep max in each lift. 3 sets of 20. So tonight will be the test

GOOD AND BAD

It's good that I have a gym to go to when I need it. Today especially. It just hasn't been my day. My parents decide to start up their usual shit, and threaten to take MY son away from me. I would love to see that happen. But to release my tension I just go to the gym and workout.

So today I worked my shoulders. And I tell you what, I found a killer lift for my shoulders. It's called an Arnold Press. It's a compound lift that works the upper back and shoulders all in one. I split my cardio up into bursts. So total I did 45 minutes. But I split into 5 and 10 minute bursts throughout my workout. My goal is to shed my body fat and define my muscle now. Forget the mass. I'm going for density, strength and definition. A bodyfat percentage of say 7% or less would be nice. We will see if I can achieve this before the fair and rodeo here in Fossil. I have to get up at 5:30 AM to get ready for a workout at 6:30 AM.

CAM GIGANDET WORKOUT

The workout has begun....I spend 45 minutes doing my strength training. I do a 20 to 30 minute warmup, that way my heart rate is elevated. The workout looks easy on paper. But to get into it is another thing all together. All the exercises are 3 sets of 20 reps. I worked my back today and managed 3 sets of lat pulldowns at 60 and 70, 3 sets of single arm rows at 25 and 30. 3 sets on the ab machine at 70,80, 90. And to finish i did 15 minutes on the elliptical.

Weigh ins are on Monday morning at 5:30 AM. Last weigh in was 162. My workout that I am using now will add density and definition. But it will also get my body into an endurance mode, and the workouts will become easier over time. My goal is to get my 6 pack back and to be in the best shape of my life. I feel great now, I am in better shape than I have been in a long time. We will see if I see results in 6 weeks with this program or not

new workouts

I started a new program today. It's the same program that Cam Gigandet used for the movie NEVER BACK DOWN. It's not the simplicity that kills your muscles, it's the reps. 3 sets of 20 for each exercise. Talk about killer. We will see if I can get results in 6 weeks or less

TRAINING AND REWARDS

I have been training twice a day for almost a month. I started at 152 lbs. I now weigh in at 162. My sole goal is 165 to 170. I have gained endurance. I have completed 4 30 minute runs on the treadmill at an incline of 10%. Working on toning my abs and adding definition to the muscle I have and adding a little more mass to my frame.

My new transformation is pretty amazing. I feel better, sleep better. I get up at 5:30 AM each day and go to the gym 6 days a week. I have several workouts that I can use and follow. Workouts will be changed up every 4 weeks to keep from hitting a plateau. Let's hope this works to my advantage