Where Its At

Not going to lie, Ive been slacking big time with the posts. My planned week off begins Wednesday so I have really been pushing my body to its limits when training. I went back to my rest pause style training to really push the threshold. I am hoping that the week off allows for some serious super compensation gains.
As for the teaching job, the kids are awesome and I am really getting along with them.

Todays Back training:

T Bar Row: 2 Sets
315 lbs x 6, 3, 3
315 lbs x 6, 4, 3

Cable Row: 2 Sets
120 lbs x 15, 7, 4
140 lbs x 14, 7, 4

Calbe High Pull: 1 Set
5o lbs x 12, 6, 3

Week off supplement list:
-Rosea Rhodiola (Biotest)
-ZMA (Biotest)
-L-Leucine (Biotest)

Keeping the protein high and the BCAA's coming in. Hopefully I come back heavier!

Video Of The Day:

What It Is

Been awhile. Ive been busy with the new job and trying to stay on point with my nutrition/training. The new teaching job so far is pretty interesting and has opened me up to a variety of new challenges.
I think the kids can relate to me a little more because of my age, which makes the job a little easier.
I havent given up training though, I still kept my clients in my Methuen gym.
As for my training, I still have been keeping everything short and intense, making the most out of my time training. I have a planned week off in two weeks, which my body is DEFINITELY in need of, so I am kind of looking forward that.

Quick Arms today:

Tri-sets:

Decline Skulls into Bodyweight Extensions into Close Grip Push Ups: 3 sets

100 lbs x 10, 12 extensions, 15 push ups
110 lbs x 8, 10 extensions, 15 push ups
110 lbs x 8, 10 extensions, 15 push ups

Kept rest periods in between 90-120 seconds

Reverse Grip EZ Bar Preachers into EZ Bar Curls into Incline Bench Dumbbell Hammer Curls: 2 sets

60lbs x 12, 80lbs x 10, 20lbers x 10
60lbs x 10, 80lbs x 10, 20lbers x 8

We then did some grip specialization work. Gotta get them forearms bigger!

Keep pushin weight,

Easy

Video Of The Day:

Muscle Ink

It's time for a change....I am starting a new job next week at the local High School. This will make life a lot easier and cut down on my stressful travel that I have been dealing with the past two years.
I also have been given an opportunity to submit some physique photos to a new site called Muscle Ink. Hopefully this will get me the chance to get some modeling shoots and show some of the hard work I have been putting into my body the past four years. The site focuses on bodybuilders who have tattoo's. FINALLY, someone catering to people with ink instead of discriminating it.



It is run by Andrew Oye and really shows the more hardcore aspect of bodybuilding. The pictures evoke a wide variety of feelings that I cannot begin to explain. Some show the loneliness one feels in their training quest, while others show the rage and determination needed to succeed.
I am definitely one of the smaller prospects at 5'7" 190lbs, but as we all know I am constantly working on that. Check out the site for updates and hopefully some of my photos!!

http://www.myspace.com/muscleink

Until then, keep PUSHIN' WEIGHT!!!!!!!!

Easy

My Boston

Been slacking on the posts as of late. Ive been dragging ass the past week but have managed to push through the training/work etc.. I have been supersetting almost every body part, keeping the sessions short and intense. Keeping the compound movements heavy and then keeping constant tension on isolation movements to keep oxygen out of the muscle and increase localized IGF-1 release. I have been following the same rep tempo as before. Slow eccentric with a fast concentric to tap into the high threshold motor units and type II fibers which have the most growth potential.
On another note, I am starting a new job at the high school in a few weeks so I am anxious waiting for this new experience. Hopefully I dont get too many kids that were like my friends and I back when we went there.
I will post the video of the day like always...it is the Big Shug video, "My Boston". I get a few quick cameo's in the background when its Terms verse. Check it out.

Legs last night:

Leg Press:3 Sets (Havent done these in a LONG time. Its not a functional movement.)
795lbs x 12
885lbs x 8
885lbs x 8

Free Motion SLDL supersetted with Leg Extensions: 3 Sets
200lbs x 14, 150lbs x 14
200lbs x 12, 150lbs x 13
200lbs x 12, 150lbs x 12

Walking Dumbbell Lunges: 3 Sets
30lbers x 60 feet
30lbers x 60 feet
30lbers x 60 feet

Standing Calf Raises: 3 Sets
120lbs x 12
120lbs x 13
120lbs x 12

Video Of The Day:

Stress is the word of the week. I have been using it to fuel my training this whole week.
Yesterday was no exception. I decided to try deading heavy again and the stress began to fade away after each set. You get into a certain zone and nothing outside of the gym can bother you anymore. You got your headphones bumping and your mind is focused on nothing but pushing as much weight as you can.

Deads: 4 Sets
315lbs x 1
365lbs x 1
385lbs x 2
405lbs (fail)
405lbs x 1

Walking Dumbbell Lunges: 3 Sets
40lbers x 60 feet
40lbers x 60 feet
40lbers x 60 feet

Sissy Squats on the Hack Machine: 3 Sets
50lbs x 12
50lbs x 10
50lbs x 12

Free Motion Stiff Leg Deadlift: 1 Set
200lbs x 15

Glute and Ham Raise with Bodyweight: 2 Sets
BW x 6
BW x 6

Standing Calf Raises: 3 Sets (Done with a slow eccentric/12 second hold in the stretch position/fast concentric)
110lbs x 10
110lbs x 10
110lbs x 8

I played hockey three hours after the training. Legs are absolutely toast today.....now its just time to focus and get past these stressful times.

Video Of The Day:

Lifes Minor Irritations

Been a stressful past week or so. I am slowly trying to work through it but sometimes it just feels like you cant let go of stuff you know you should.
Anyways, training has been my saving grace (along with friends and family), and I have really been hitting the weights with a vengeance.

Sundays Pull Session:
I love getting up and starting Sunday's with training. The gym is dead because most people are nursing their hangovers. The training session wakes me up for the rest of the day and makes me feel deserving of my once a week cheat meal that I will later have (pizza).

One Arm Dumbbell Rows: 3 Sets
130lbers x 12
130lbers x 10
130lbers x 10

Close Grip Pulldown with Extended ROM: 3 Sets (reps are 4-6 seconds eccentric followed by fast concentric)
100lbs x 12
100lbs x 8
100lbs x 8

High Pull supersetted with Rope Face Pull: 3 Sets
190lbs x 12, 60lbs x 10
240lbs x 10, 60lbs x 8
240lbs x 10, 60lbs x 8

Seated Calf Raise: 4 Sets (slow eccentric/fast concentric)
135lbs x 15
135lbs x 15
135lbs x 13
135lbs x 14

Training only took 45 minutes. I kept the pace up.

Check out http://www.rapmullet.com/2008/10/ they got a picture of me and Term up on their front page. Right now he is on a nation wide tour killing it with Redman and Method Man. GET IT!!


TC Luoma
Lifes Minor Irritations

Some of you might have noticed that last week's column was a repeat. While I prefaced the article with a note that indicated I was "just too pissed about a variety of things to write a column," the truth is that Tim, me, and a couple of the boys had taken off to go on spring break.

Yep, nothin' but sun, fun, and debauchery. Wet T-shirt contests, tequila shooters, and cruising up and down the streets in our ragtop, looking for hard bodies and perky ta-tas. The trouble is, we had to be back in the office in two days so instead of heading down to Florida or Cabo, we just pretty much hung around the basement of Tim's house in Colorado Springs.

And so what if there weren't any girls around? Who needs 'em? We just sprayed powerlifter Dave Tate's thin, white T-shirt down with some seltzer and watched the big guy shake it as we stood around rhythmically clapping and shouting, "Who's your dad-dy? Who's your dad-dy?" We even taped it and sent it in to those people who do those Girls Gone Wild videos.

We had to quit, though, when Tim's wife got mad about us getting water all over her grandmother's quilt.

And the fact that it was 30 degrees in the Springs last week didn't make cruising around in the convertible one bit less fun, except for when those kids pelted us with snowballs and put one in Tim's right ear which resulted in a serious infection and permanent hearing loss.

Okay, you're probably on to me. We didn't go on "spring break." I really was too pissed to write. I sat there looking at my computer screen last Friday for about three hours before I gave up and went to the gym.

The funny thing is, I wasn't overly mad about any one thing. Instead, I was pissed because a whole bunch of minor irritations log jammed together. It was like one of those freak accidents that you read about where ice and fog cause a 300-car pile up on a freeway in Pennsylvania. And so rather than calling a psychological tow truck to haul away one or two cars, I had a regular demolition derby of crunched fenders, exploding gas tanks, and burned out husks of cars floating around in my psyche.

I guess the first minor irritation occurred last Thursday morning in the gym where I work out. They've got this new manager — an "aerobics specialist" — and if he had things his way, he'd clear away all those nasty weights and equipment, put in wall to wall hardwood floors, pipe in Destiny's Child all day long and do high kicks like a Radio City Music Hall Rockette 'til he was silly.

What this guy did was jam a Swiss Ball storage rack right between the two power racks so that it's literally touching them. That means just about when I've psyched myself up do a heavy set, gotten myself all fired up and angry and strong and scared at the same time, marched into the power rack and attacked the bar, some housewife with a fat butt is saying, "Excuse me," and leaning in front of me to grab a pink Swiss Ball. This results in me losing my concentration, my balance, and my spleen.

So I stuff my spleen back in and go back to my office fuming and try to unwind by listening to some spring-training baseball on the radio. Trouble is, Clear Channel, which is the Devil's present incarnation, has bought the radio station — along with 1100 others throughout the country — and replaced my favorite play-by-play guy with a chipmunk. Literally. A little chubby thing with big acorn-filled cheeks who's a purebred corporate shill. I complain but all I receive are condescending e-mails from executive types. I'm ready to go down to their office and super glue some headphones on their pointy little Devil ears so they have to listen to the shit they pump out over the airwaves all day and all night long.

Then the UPS guy delivers this 6-foot-long plywood crate. It's my Real Doll! I get a crowbar and pry off the boards, remove the packing straw, and pull her out. She's the most beautiful love doll I've ever seen. But what's this? She's only got two orifices, when I specifically ordered three! I called them up, but they make some snide comment about that position being "illegal in most states, anyhow."

So the bad feelings are starting to boil up even more, and I'm told by co-workers that I've got the same look on my face as that guy who tried to blow up the plane a few months ago by igniting his shoe.

But the minor irritations keep… piling… on. I go out to walk my 50-pound English Staffordshire to clear my head, but the first guy I run into asks me if he's one of those "Canary dogs that done ate that woman up." I say, "Sure, if you add about a foot to his height and about a hundred pounds," you maroon.

In fact, ever since that dog-mauling story and subsequent trial hit the papers, my dog and I are suddenly the object of fear. Now I don't mind that ordinarily, but when I start reading articles and letters-to-the-editor in the paper about how all dogs that aren't poodles or that cute little dog on Frazier should be sold to Korean restaurants who specialize in dog kabob, I get a little pissed.

So T-dog and I go home but there's no solace to be found there because they're remodeling the house next door, which they've been doing seven days a week, from 7 in the morning 'till 10 at night, for the last 8 months. It's just a constant thump, thump, thump, all day long, which is occasionally interrupted by the soothing sound of a jackhammer.

In an effort to drown out the constant noise, I turn on the tube. And there's "no spin" Bill O'Reilly doing a special on The Corruption of the American Child. O'Reilly is metaphorically sinking his teeth into Jack Valenti who, from what I understand, lobbies the government on behalf of the motion picture industry. Valenti, it seems, is marketing sex toward children! It's true! They even showed clips of American Pie and American Pie 2!

Valenti is back pedaling furiously and hemming and hawing, like everyone pretty much does when confronted by O'Reilly. He's saying it's not true, and they've cut down on the sex, and blah, blah, blah.

What I would have told O'Reilly is something along the lines of this: "You're damn right, Bill. Rather than showcase the splendid dialogue or a thrilling plot, we pushed a little sex. Whats'a matter Bill? Are you a Quaker? Are you a virgin? I like sex. People like sex. People who are having sex don't go out and kill people. And if I had a kid who wanted to know about sex, I wouldn't blush like some Puritan, I'd show him pictures or videos. I'd say, 'Look junior, here are two people making a naked pretzel. Pretty silly looking, isn't it? Here's a crazy woman who's making love to a horse. Isn't she stupid? And if you want to go see a movie where a guy superglues his hand to his dick, well you go right ahead. Maybe by seeing it, it'll save you from the same fate. And if you ever want to look at Playboy or Penthouse or anything else like that, ask me. I'll give 'em to you after I'm done with them.'

"Is that going to corrupt my child, Bill? No, you friggin' idiot. I'll have demystified sex, and if he grows up perverse and deviant, he can get a job at Testosterone with the rest of us.

"And by the way, Bill, did you notice the time slot you've preempted with this special? Do you know what show this paragon of a virtuous network, FOX TV, ordinarily shows at this time? Temptation Island, a show that's sole purpose is to incite people to cheat on their boyfriends or girlfriends, for which the camera conveniently hangs around. So get the hell out of my face, you hypocrite."

I turned off the tube by sticking my remote control in the blender and then went to bed. I hoped to seek refuge and comfort in the arms of sleep, preceded by a little action — if you catch my drift — but in the darkness I mistakenly grabbed a jar of horse liniment that I use to soothe my sore muscles instead of my Stay Hard™ cream. Don't ask.

That was Thursday night, so when I woke up, I had the disposition of a man who had to go downtown for a tax audit, followed by a colonoscopy, followed by a root canal.

There was no way I was going to be able to write an Atomic Dog. So, I pulled out an old column instead and went to the gym, a different gym, one where they understand lifting and the power racks are properly isolated from puffballs and fat asses. As I powered through my workout, the bad feelings started to fade.

And I remembered that that's pretty much how I've shoveled the shit out of the Augean stables of my mind for as long as I can remember. Whenever I had a bad break up, I went to the gym. When my parents died, I went to the gym. When I pulled down my shorts that one time and the girl pointed and laughed and took pictures for Ripley's… well, I sat down and cried. But after that, I went to the gym.

In fact I don't think there's been one blue period in my life, one instance of having bad chemicals in my head, that the gym hasn't been able to fix.

I get e-mails all the time from people who are in the midst of some sort of crisis, and, because of severe depression, just aren't able to train. A lot of times the depression's persisted over months or even years. It's tragic because if it's not a clinical problem, going to the gym might very well clear their depression. It's a horrible Catch-22 situation.

I'm probably the least qualified person to give psychological advice, but I humbly suggest that those of you who are angry, depressed, or maybe just have a small bug up your shorts, go to the gym and train. Perhaps a nice little squat session? Some dead lifts, maybe? Some bench to forget the wench?

Sure, it's probably no cure-all, but sometimes all it takes is a little pump, a little physical exhaustion, to give you a new take on things. But if working out doesn't give you a new perspective, drop me a note. I'll send you a copy of Dave Tate Gone Wild. That ought to do it.

© 1998 — 2002 Testosterone, LLC. All Rights Reserved

Check out Statik Selektah's Stick 2 The Script, it just dropped yesterday!!!

The Usual

The weekend went by way to quick, and now its back to work. At least for us people who didnt get Monday off.
Saturday I did my usual grocery shopping after I was done lifting at the local Market Basket. I was sipping my post workout shake while getting my weekly amount of eggs when a little, frail old lady comes up to me and says, "You should stop drinking steriods." She shook her head and walked away.
I didnt even know how to respond to it, I was kind of in awe. People can think what they would like.
After picking up the rest of the food, I made my way to the check out counter. I ALWAYS get weird looks when unloading my groceries.

List:
-6 dozen eggs
-6 lbs of ground turkey
-4 bundles of asparagus
-2 lbs of thin and trim turkey
-Sack of red skin potatoes
-and then the stuff I am low on such as olive oil, crystal light, etc..

Anyways, behind me in line, the linebacker of a woman who looks like she spends most of her grocery bill in the twinkie aisle looks at me, sighs, rolls her eyes, and says, "You must be on that Atkins diet. What do you like work out 10 hours a day?"
I just nodded and smiled, trying to avoid conversation.
"Why dont you buy food that tastes good instead of suffering through that diet all the time?"
I just responded with "I have goals and I like the discipline it requires'"
What I would have liked to say...."I "suffer" through this diet because I have the motivation required to do so and everytime I see people like you pounding down your Big Mac's with the Super Sized Fries but watching their figure by ordering the Diet Coke, it fuels me even more. That protein shake that used to taste like SHIT now tastes alot better when I see people like you.
People think I am in the gym all day long working out. They are wrong. I train for an hour per day about 4-5 times per week. The rest of the results come from DIET. Its a lifestyle, and thats why it pisses me off when people assume I am taking certain "substances" or other short cuts to get to where I am.
Its hard work, and its a 24/7 type of lifestyle.
So to my old lady friend, and my new linebacker friend.....dont be pointing fingers or ridiculing people who work their ass off day in and day out. Realize the sacrifice needed.

Sunday morning training: Pull

Pull-Ups: 3 Sets
BW x 20
BW x 15
BW x 11

Seated Cable Row: 3 Sets (pronated grip and done with a slow eccentric/fast concentric rep tempo)
150lbs x 12
150lbs x 10
150lbs x 11

Barbell High Pull supersetted with Reverse Dumbbell Flyes: 3 Sets
185lbs x 15, 30lbs x 15
185lbs x 12, 30lbs x 12
185lbs x 12, 30lbs x 12

Busy night tonight. Few more clients, then training, then training Term. Get after it!!

Video Of The Day: