For several reasons....
Never thought I would be called or could consider myself a Bodybuilder....
Cause I never thought I could get in this condition....
At this age.....
52 years old...
The age at which most people round heah.... that is LJT.... retire...
Not even sure what the word "retire" means.... but that's a subject for another blog post.
So what am I talking about anyway....
Well.... my son and I were talking yesterday and I mentioned that I am considering entering a Bodybuilding Competition I found out about.....
Gulf Coast Body Building Championship being put on by a local fitness center.... Powerhouse Gym... to be held at the Brazosport College Large Theater September 27th at 7:00 pm.
And I told him I'm waiting to see a specialist about my Sports Hernia to see what the plan is for that before I decide to enter or not.
And then he said something that surprised me....
"You need to prepare yourself for people asking you or talking about you being on steroids".
I didn't say anything for a minute.... I was kinda shocked.... and needed to think about what I was gonna say next.
First of all, my son is a really smart guy who doesn't just Fire for Effect.... on anything much less something as serious as this.
So I had to consider what he was saying was real and viable.
Despite that, my first response was....
"Dude - you gotta be fuckin' kiddin' me. Who in their right mind would think I was on steroids or any kind of performance enhancing drugs?"
I mean - come on - I'm 5-9 1/2" and a buck 68 soaking wet.... in another words.... in the Bodybuilding world, I'm tiny....
And I look it.... I have people asking me continuously....
"Are you a Runner?"
NOT
"Are you a Bodybuilder?"
And he responded by naming off several fat reducing or "ripping" drugs I had never heard of....
And related that to my current condition.
And then I told him about a recent change I had gone through....
Not sure what combination of things have come together recently but despite my groin injury - a Sports Hernia - the look of my body has moved to the next level over the last few weeks - noticeably bigger in the shoulders, arms, back and chest - and even my genetically challenged calves have started to add some diamond shape to them.
I told my son I had really stepped up the protein intake - with a lot more fish - as I have documented on this blog.
Eating triple portions of Ahi Tuna, Salmon and Flounder fillets.
But still - it's even shocking to me - and I'm pretty hard on myself (and others) and not easily impressed.
But something is going on.... and I look Bigger and More Ripped than I have ever looked including when I was actually trying to Bodybuild back in my late teens and early tweens.
Which brings up a critical point.
As I've told many people I've talked to over the last few months.... if you wanna look bigger....
GET SMALLER!
That is.... lose the body fat.... which is what I've done.... I mean I've gotten down to the point where I have vascularity in my abs and the inside and outside of my thighs...
These are typically the last places that store fat.... so I'm at a state of minimum body fat... probably around 5 - 7%.
Which means that there's very little subcutaneous fat.... i.e. nothing "hiding" the muscle.... the skin gets tighter.... is literally stretched over the muscle....
Which means the small veins / blood vessels in the muscle as well as the individual muscle fibers and interfaces between muscle groups are more prominently displayed.
The "Illusion" as I like to call it is that you look much bigger than you are...
Thus the post title..... "Illusion of Greatness".
I see guys at the gym pushing these huge weights and they obviously are carrying a lot of muscle on their bodies.... but they're smooth as baby's butts.... too much body fat....
So all that work and effort is masked, camouflaged, hidden, cloaked.....
Under a Layer of Fat!!!
Most of these guys would look twice as big.....25 - 50 POUNDS LIGHTER!!!
But everybody's gotta chase their own "Illusion of Greatness", so Press on Big Dogs!!
For me.... Light and Lean is the ticket.
So anyway.... back to the "Steroid" discussion I was having with my son.
My son reiterated...
"Just be prepared.... People are gonna claim you're on Steroids".
To which I again responded.... That's Ludicrous...
But out of respect for my son's uncanny ability to predict my future....
Let me set the record straight....
I DID NOT HAVE SEX WITH THAT WOMAN....
Oops.... sorry.... that was another disclaimer from another guy....
Seriously.....
I AM NOT ON STEROIDS OR ANY OTHER PERFORMANCE ENHANCING DRUGS!!!!
Never have been..... Never will be.... Never even considered it.
I do take Creatine....I don't think that's considered a Performance Enhancing Drug.... but I've publicized my use of and belief in the positive effects of Creatine in several posts.
Of all the "gimmicky" over the counter products available on the market.... I think it's the one that gives you the most bang for the buck.
Oh..... and I do take in a ton of Caffeine... in the form of Coffee.... lots of Coffee...
I am also a firm believer in the Positive effects of Caffeine in the form of Coffee.... and have written about that a lot also.
Bottom line is that if all the overweight, depressed, in pain, diseased people in the world.... downed at least 2 Grande Cafe' Americanos a day....
We'd end up putting the fucking, corrupt drug, medical and medical insurance industries out of business....
We might lose a few of the stragglers to blowed up hearts.... but the majority would be better off.
The great breakthrough for me which has occurred over the last 5 months has been the strict adherence to a Paleo Diet and the introduction of CrossFit to my workout regimen.
The Paleo Diet has allowed me to strip about 25 pounds of fat away from the muscle while maintaining or creating more muscle than was there and the CrossFit WODs have created a whole new Variety, Quantity, Quality and Interconnection of Muscle that I have never had before at any age.
As I've been preaching for 5 months now.... it's the combination of several things that make the CrossFit workouts so effective:
- Short Duration - High Intensity
- Increased Range of Motion in all movements
- Dynamic Movement
- Olympic Lifting movements requiring the arms to be extended overhead while Squatting nearly heels to butt.
- Requirement of Perfect Lifting Technique to maximize effect and minimize chance of injury - Will Black and Tony Guined of CrossFit WMD are Masters of this....www.crossfitwmd.com - if you're gonna venture into the CrossFit World, this is the place to explore.
No need to talk any more about the Paleo Diet.... nearly every post I do talks about it.
So what's the point of this discussion?
What I am describing above.... Diet and Workout WITHOUT Anabolic Steroids, Human Growth Hormone, Testosterone or Blue XYZ Pump Me Up #123.... is the essence of....
Natural Bodybuilding....
What I am doing right now.... What I have been doing for the last 2-1/2 years....
Is conducting an experiment....
On myself.....
To find out...
To DISCOVER....
What is Possible....
What the Limits are....
What I can do....
NATURALLY.....
With what God gave me.....
And with what God has taken away from me....
And what the Natural World of Meat, Eggs, Vegetables, Fruit and Nuts...
Vitamins, Minerals, Amino Acids, Creatine (Yes - it's naturally occurring in red meats) - http://www.myfit.ca/foods_high_in_creatine.asp
Can give me....
And so far I haven't DISCOVERED....
What the Limits are.
I've already surpassed almost all categories of development I had in my youthful days - with the exception of thighs - I used to squat 465 at 170 lbs bodyweight..... just can't do that with my knees the way they are.... but there are other ways to work and develop the quads that don't put so much stress on the joints.
And that's the beauty of being 52..... I have learned what works for me.... and what doesn't work...
Through the Trial and Error of Time, Experience and Injury....
So back to the Natural Bodybuilding vs "the Alternative" discussion.
Here's a thought..... or a question....
Why take steroids or anything like that and deal with all the negative things that go with them - potential damage to liver, heart, reproductive systems, etc....
When you can achieve healthy results with a strict diet, intense workout routine, proper sleep and supportive lifestyle choices.
I'm smiling as I write this....
Me on steroids....
That's funny.
Guess I gotta consider it a complement....an affirmation.... a thumbs up....
On what I've achieved.
For people to think I'm on steroids....
When I'm not.
Life is a Journey that Never Ends....
Discover that Path....
Without Drugs.
Here here!
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