NOT by the number

As I sit here, preparing to burn 150 calories on my spin bike, I begin thinking.  I am thinking about my 20 sets a day I have set before me this week. Over 200 reps that will hit my body each of those days.I think about the food I will use to fuel this machine. The  180 grams of protein, the 140 carbs and 60 fat that will go in every day I touch a weight. And then how I must change it all on the days that the iron doesn’t meet flesh.I look at my tape measure and my scales on my desk, all the numbers they will show me this week and how that will affect what goes on next week. It hits me just how crazy this fitness thing must look to all of you.

Let’s get serious!

To all the people that have just started or are looking for guidance. These numbers, whether you knew it or not, probably are one of the main reasons you have quit in the past. At some point the weight scale has tricked you into failing, you had bad measurement session, your training numbers didn’t quite fall were they were suppose too or maybe you have never tracked and have no numbers to show. Whatever the case may be I wanted to take some time an talk to you all on something that I have been thinking about.

Thought in the Dark

Progress, it is the end goal for EVERYONE. Whether you are looking to get stronger, healthier or you’re on a Zyzz shred quest, you want to see progress. I, as trainer, always like to see this progress and my normal way of seeing this is in the form of numbers. The mainstream media has put the weight scale as the “King of the Measurements.” a while I don’t agree, the weight scale can be a powerful tool for people just beginning to get into the fitness world.

In my camp, we love to look at strength as the “King,” but lately I see a problem even with using this as my leading measure.

Keeping in mind that these numbers all have there place. I want to look at you as a goal oriented person only care about seeing progress so I’ll make this statement.

I realized that the #1 KING OF KINGS measure is… Mental Soundness.

This look different to all of us. The following is going to be focused on “the beginner” in the fitness world, but I will approach “intermediate” and “life timer” in a later post.

Even he enjoys the dark

The Beginner, almost always sets the standard goal, they love how Kim K’s butt looks or they want to look like Ryan Gosling from that one movie. They think with a little research from Dr. OZ and a set of shake weights is what it is going to take to get them there. Ok, maybe it;s not that bad, but let’s just say they are a little mislead by what they see and what it’s going to take to get there. Below are a few things I believe would be great things for a newbie to heed before starting.

–Dedication– Nothing magically disappears by a certain season. All those summer hotties you see worked their butt off all winter to get where they are at. So if you hope to achieve what they have, be prepare to invest  a lot of time.

–Not Magic– No amount of equipment, pills or research will take you as far as hard work will.

–Married to it–  through light and the dark, you have to make it part of you. You have to become one with your goals and you have to make sacrifices to achieve what you are after. And just like in a real marriage, you can’t cheat on it and expect it to work.

–Find a good guide– The greatest things in life are hard to find and fitness is no different. You will have a million things thrown at you via mainstream media and you are expected to make sense of it all. Trying to figure this whole thing out alone is one of the number Lucky for you there are a number of trainers online that would love to help *shameless coaching plug* me being one of them. Contact one of them if you are unsure of your path. This person will also be able to keep you in the game when the numbers don’t play in your favor.

–Find a friend- As I said earlier, if the numbers don’t play in your favor once or twice, you might divorce this whole thing right there. Grab a friend,  let them know what’s up and let them journey with you. If you have no real community to connect with and are looking for an incredible online one, hop over to my Fitocracy tab and check out the great site over there.

TL;DR- As a beginner you have to be mental prepared for the goals you have set for yourself. If the numbers don’t play nice then you need to be tough enough to gut check up and press on. If you have failed because of this in the past, get a guide next time. Do Not Be Weak!

See you in the Darkness,

BT

As the darkness seeps in…

The body returns to former glory.

Week 5 of the cut is over and I’ll be darned if I am not feeling amazing on top of seeing some great results thus far.

My macros for this week didn’t change from last week and  my body is already starting to look comp ready.

With week 6 upon me I will add 3 differences this week.

1. This bad boy http://instagram.com/p/WYdahkiAuj/ .

Yeah, this year I am adding cardio in. Something I didn’t even touch last year prepping for comps. This year I am going to see what I get out of it, if anything. I will be using the spin bike in the morning and during Netflix sessions. I will be using the stairmill for 30 minute sessions after workouts 3 different days a week. I will also be including short cardio body part finishers, just for a little “fun.” Jump rope for shoulders, battle rope for chest, C2 rower for back, and prowler sled or tire flips for legs.

2. I will be starting my EC stack this week. I will be starting with around 24mg/250mg for this week and then upping it as I see fit. Normally don’t need to go that hard with these fat burners, but I figured I would let you know I’m on this stack. If you have any questions around this, feel free to ask.

3. I will be reducing my carbs by 20g this week. This is how I prefer to get my carbs out.

That is the plan for this week when it comes to training and at the end of this post I will have a request from all of you.

Thought in the Dark

This week was the Arnold Classic and saw one of my favorites, Dexter Jackson, take home the gold this weekend. I want to congratulate him on the win. He and every single one of those guys pour every ounce of their being into being the best. My hat is off to them.

The Blade

Talking to Blackjack this weekend we have come to the point that I need to get my name out on more of a local level here in Arkansas. We are thinking of doing some sort of charity event and relate it to fitness. I have no clue what this will be or how we will get it done, but I wanted to let all you all know so that if you have any legit ideas you could send them my way. Legit ideas only, please no fun run 5ks. Kthxs.

::READER PARTICIPATION TIME::

Finally, I said above I would need everyone’s input on something I will be adding into my program this week. I will be calling it “Shot in the Dark.” Shot in the Dark is a set of 4  exercises that I will finishes each of my days with. I will only do one set with the 4 moves (that you all will pick)for 20 reps. This can be any exercise you can come up with that will hit the following muscle groups. I have all the basics in and have great accessory lifts already, but now I want to know what you guys can come up with for me to finish off the muscles.

What I would like from you on is the following:

One exercise for each of my days and please make them odd. The top requested moves will be added to my routine as my weight finisher

1. Chest move

2. Back move

3. Shoulder move

4. Leg move

5. Arm move

Please leave these request on my Fitocracy page here : https://www.fitocracy.com/profile/BlackoutTrainer/

Everyone who leaves this on my page will get a shout out on the next episode of the Jack-N-Out Connection with special guest, Jon Goodman.

Thanks everyone in advance. Also, I know there is no cutting video this week, but I will have a posing video that I will put out later today and will add it to the blog later.

WARNING: I look extremely white in the spot lights

Shameless Plugs:

If you are in need of a coach feel free to email me at coachingwithbt@gmail.com. I have sessions starting at single skype session for $20.

If you haven’t already, check out my facebook page @ https://www.facebook.com/BlackoutTraining

Week in overview

This week began with something that is not so normal for me.

A trip to the doctor’s office.

I have been having some abdominal pain for the past few week and on Monday decided to go have that checked out. Nothing sharp or biting just a little pressure as if a 5 lb plate was sitting on my stomach when laying down.

My doc checked me out and thinks it is from my hernia repair a few years back. He thinks the wire mesh is pulling at its insertion point in my lower abdominal. He hit me up with a weeks worth of pain killers and I have been healing up nicely.

Training this week has gone blah. The kind of blah you feel after you get home from some GVT (german volume training) and you know you wont move for hours. Except it didn’t lift big weights, high reps, or ever once look liked I lifted in the gym this week. Needless to say, but I will to appease the crowd, I am looking forward to next week.

Speaking of things I’m looking forward to, cutting. Ah yes, I will begin my cut at the beginning of February. I was planning on starting in March, but one of my friends told me that Bodybuilding.com is starting their annual 12 week transformation contest. This contest lets anyone enter and looks for the person who makes the greatest change over the 12 weeks. Last day to register is the 31st of January. If you would like know more click below.

Besides that the week was bland. Will attempt to put on a few more pounds and find myself around 175 come end of the month.

TIP OF THE WEEK: Make your Resolution a life style

I know this is a couple of weeks behind, but it needs to be said. If you made a promise to yourself at the beginning of the year, make sure you follow through with whatever that is. If it is to jump out of a plane, find yourself a skydiving business to call. If you want to learn how to swim call your local YMCA, I am sure they would teach you.  If you promised to workout 3 days a week, find a work partner or a buddy on Fitocracy, and have them push you towards that goal all year. Whatever your resolution is, do not just let it be empty words. Make it something that you can look back on at the end of the year and be proud of how far you’ve come.

Getting Started

The hardest part about anything is always, “where in the heck do I start.” Putting together a swing set, piecing together a puzzle, and most importantly (to us) working out.

Starting a workout routine doesn’t need to be complicated. You don’t need to have everything figured out. What you NEED is to START.

Without actually starting your workout, you will never take that first step towards your goal. You will always be stuck in the “I could look like that if I…” phase.

But if you STARTED, you could carve out shoulders the size of Dwight Howard’s or master a killer squat that would make Andy Bolton run and hide. But, that is only IF you start.

I know going to the gym is intimidating because I’ve been the little guy that can’t bench the barbell, I get that. But, there are so many resources online. No one has any excuse for not having a place to start.

My two favorite programs for beginners are:

NOTE: I like the programs, not always the form taught in these programs.

5/3/1

and

YAYOG (you are your own gym)

These 2 leave you with no excuse not to workout. Go to a gym 5/3/1. If  u haz no gym, YAYOG!

Come at me with your excuses now ( I’m not accepting  “my dog ate my workout” at this time)