Nice Legs!

I'm gonna be blunt: I would love a nice pair of muscular legs. On me of course.


You know, the kind that looked like they were chiseled by a sculptor where the muscle is just rippling. I was told that (yet again) my genetics would prevent this happening. To this I say, balderdash! I believe that I can make them muscular with enough work. I'm determined you know, and determination can go a long way if maintained.

So, let's dive right in with what I did today!

First up, I did the seated leg press machine. This was recommended to me by my chiropractor because I was getting lower back pains with the other leg press machines. I did 5 sets of 10 repitions. This machine works your quadriceps, gluteus maximus and your hamstrings. I really felt this one, especially with the slow form (2 seconds up, 2 seconds down) that I was using.

Here's a picture that shows what exactly was being worked. It's a bit grainy but hopefully you can see where all the aforementioned muscles are exactly.

Here's what's great about working these muscles. Aside from giving me more strength, they prevent my left foot (which is flat) from giving me pain because my quads (or thigh muscles) are stronger. Also, when biking, I can take on hills more easily and ride faster because of the extra strength. I highly recommend taking your time when working out your legs because, unless you can't use them for whatever reason, you walk with them every day!

I then did both the standing and seated calf raise. The standing calf raise I stand at almost a 45 degree angle when doing the exercise. I haven't noticed any difference between standing at a 45 degree angle and standing straight but I started doing this when I saw a video online emphasizing the 45 degree stance. The seated calf raise is much harder and I reason this may be the fact that you aren't using your whole body to push yourself up. I found a somewhat complicated and lengthy article explaining why this is the case.

http://www.extique.com/askrob/calf-training.htm

My last exercise was working on my hamstrings. To accomplish this, I performed several sets of 10 reps using a hamstring curling machine. You lay down on your stomach, grip the two bars below you, and bring your feet to your rear. Remember: do it slowly otherwise you can injure yourself! I always feel this exercise. My legs feel tighter and I feel like I could kick through a brick wall sometimes. Okay okay, maybe just a wet paper bag but you get the picture. Here's a video showing this exercise is performed. Nothing too fancy here but the guy has good form by not jerking the weights around or cheating using momentum.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6O7OpM5Wtz8

After this, I worked out my upper and lower abs as well as my obliques (the stomach muscles on the sides of your body) using a machine, a decline bench, and a a machine that you twist your body on (to work your obliques).

Another great workout! Pictures will follow soon. I'll post one once a week, most likely on Mondays to show my progress.

Happy working out!

Time Waits For No One, Not Even My Workouts!

Welcome back!

I barely made it to the gym on time today so my workout was only 30 minutes. It was a cool 90 degrees inside with no A/C and I was already sweating before even starting my workout. This worked in my favor because it made look like I'd been working my ass off when I really just came in to walk on the treadmill and read about Lindsey Lohan in US Magazine.

Before I dive right in, I want to go over something that I was thinking about today. I've already mentioned the importance of slow and controlled form for lifting weights but I'd like to also emphasize the importance of stretching after working out. The reason for this is that in most cases, unless it's very warm outside or in the gym, your muscles are cold to start with. Stretching them when they are cold will not have the same effect as stretching them when they are warm. I currently do static stretches after a workout when my muscles are warm where I simply hold a stretch in place for a fixed period of time. There is a debate on dynamic stretching vs. static stretching (read about it here: http://www.elitesoccerconditioning.com/Stretching-Flexibility/DynamicStretchingvsStaticStretching.htm). So far, I've been lucky and aside from a minor back injury, I haven't had anything major. For example, I used to have very tight hamstring muscles (the muscles on the back of leg) and was barely able to bend forward at the waist to touch my toes. Now I'm about 6 inches away from touching my toes without any pain.

I first did the bench press and started out with a warm up set. By warm up set I mean just lifting the 45 pound bar up and down 12 times to warm my muscles up, not that they needed it but it's become a force of habit now. Then I added two 45 pounds plates for the next 2 sets, and then finally added an additional 20 pounds for the last set. I'm just tired thinking about it! The bench press works your pectoralis major and minor muscles of your chest. Refer to the diagram below to get an idea of what I'm talking about.

The area highlighted in red comprises both your pectoralis major and minor muscles.

Next exercise I did was the incline dumbbell fly using free weights. I like using free weights more than the machine because free weights not only workout whatever muscle you are working on, but they also work on your stabilizer muscles as well. For this exercise, I simply adjusted a workout bench to a 45 degree angle, grabbed some weights and started lifting. The way you lift is you're supposed to enivision that you're hugging a tree so your arms are bent at a 90 degree when you start, and slightly bent when you bring the weights up. This works your inner chest muscles. Take a look at the picture below to get idea of what I'm talking about:

That's it. Can you believe it? Like I said, I barely had any time and had just enough time to stretch afterwards, shower and go. I'm also out of protein and need to order more, oh woe is me. :(

The moral of today's story is make sure that you have enough time to workout because otherwise you either won't get a good workout or won't have time to work on your ab muscles, stretch, etc.

Back, Abs, and 2 Scoops of Protein

Welcome back!

Working out my back and abs was the order of today's workout. I tried a new exercise today however: the lateral overhand pull up. Now that's a mouthful isn't it? Here's what I'm talking about if that didn't make any sense:

This is one tough exercise. There's also the lateral pull down machine that simulates this exercise as well. I've read that while lots of people (bodybuilders in particular) can pull down a lot of weight on the lateral pull down machine, they can hardly do any overhanded pull ups. I have barely done any of these exercises so I only managed to do 5 repetitions my first set, then 3 repetitions, and then 5 again. The name of the game with this exercise is practice, practice, practice! Also, slow and controlled movements without using momentum to cheat is important as well. If you do these slowly, you will really feel them in your lateral muscles of your back. Here's a diagram showing where they are (they are called latissimus dorsi - Bruce Lee had some well-developed ones in his heyday):

I also did the lateral pull down machine and was able to go all the way to 130 pounds on the weights. The last exercise that I did was known as the reverse fly. The reverse fly is an exercise much like the fly that works your inner chest muscles but in reverse. Here's an example:

This is probably the easiest exercise for me to with the most weight stacked up. The way it works is that you start out with your arms parallel to the ground grasping onto the handles and bring your arms slowly back as far as you can comfortably go. The point of this machine is to work your deltoid muscles or delts as they are more commonly referred to. Refer to the diagram above to get an idea of what I'm talking about here.

I then finished up with ab crunches on an exercise ball and a 10 minute cardio warm down. I came home, had 2 scoops of protein (about 50 mg) with 10 ounces of water and a banana for that extra protein kick. I'm almost out of protein so I may not be able to take any before bed. Overall, it was a good workout despite being hotter than Hell outside with no A/C in the gym. I know, I know, I can be such a diva sometimes. :)

Until next time...!

Welcome to Bodybuilding Times

Hello and welcome!

I decided to call this blog "Bodybuilding Times" for two reasons:

1. I want to build muscle hence the "bodybuilding" component.

2. It's the journalist in me. I love to read newspapers and follow the news so the word "times" just fit in naturally for me.

What's this all about you ask?

Well, for me, it's to chronicle my journey with gaining mass and muscle. I am not just doing it for exercise and to get stronger, but I want to change the way I look. Call me vain if you will, but I really like the look of a muscular physique. As Sisqo (of "The Thong Song" fame) once said, "The hard body never goes out of style." I agree because a muscular body just looks damn good! Of course, I don't have one right now as I have been making half-hearted attempts to increase my size over the years.

I'll start out by giving you a little background about me:

This is me, in Hawaii in 2006, age 25, still skinny.

I'm 28 years old, 6'4" and a weigh a little more than a buck fifty (167 pounds to be exact). I am thin and have never made an earnest attempt to increase my size and gain weight nor have I really pushed myself in the gym. In scientific terms, I am an ectomorph because I am tall and skinny. I have a fast metabolism and have trouble gaining weight as a result. However, I can get fat if I'm not careful with my diet. I have been like this most of my life and to be honest with you, it has been a source of self-consciousness with the way I look. My parents are thin as well including my sister so I am fighting genetics here. Yet, it's a fight that I want to win and hopefully will.


I'm certainly not an expert on any of this and everything that I do, I've learned on the Internet and from others. When I work out, I always go with the idea of slow and controlled movements to really maximize the results. It also helps to prevent injury because I am not jerking the weights and prevents cheating because I am not using momentum.

When people hear of bodybuilders, the word steroids comes to mind. I am a firm believer that you can gain muscle without them and instead I take other supplements as a result. Currently, I take protein which helps to promote muscle building and recovery after a workout. I take 2 scoops of this after a workout and then another 2 scoops before bed. According to AnswerFitness.com (http://www.answerfitness.com/335/take-protein-before-bed/), taking protein before bed helps to blunt catabolism (muscle breakdown) while you are sleeping. The recovery part means that whatever muscle was being worked on that day, can recover quicker so that it can be worked on again sooner.

I also take another supplement called creatine which is a vasodiolator which helps you workout harder and longer by increasing oxygen to your blood stream and boosting your energy levels. Creatine is very powerful because each 25 mg scoop contains 176 mg of caffeine. Don't take this close to bedtime or you will have a sleepless night!

Last but not least, I also am eating more, at least 5-6 meals a day. This is hard - I'm used to the standard 3 a day (sometimes 2 if it's the weekend and I've slept in). I basically eat in between meals and eat things like bananas, apples, yogurt, cheese and potato chips. This has been pointed out to me over and over as one of the key things to gaining mass.

I started a blog like this on WordPress but it was a halfhearted attempt. I saw the blog of another person tonight and became inspired to start it up again and give it all my go - just like my bodybuilding!

Stay tuned for the next update!