Ah yes, the late great Pantera. A band that helped me in the gym for countless years. I woke up this morning fully intending to go to the gym, but I had a realization that I will get to in a moment. (after reviewing what I have written so far, SEVERAL moments)
I started working out in High School when I was on the wrestling and track team. My first sole reason for lifting any weight came in 1995. I was 15 and was preparing for a "high adventure" type of trip with the Boy Scouts to Philmont in New Mexico. It was essentially a two week survival trip where we carried everything on our backs. It involved trekking through the rain, up mountains, through forests, and we were in the middle of nowhere guided by only a compass and a map. Needless to say, I had one or two ab muscles show through for the first last and only time in my life.
I carried some of these techniques over to high school sports, but was careful not to pack on too much weight so I would stay in my wrestling weight class. I started at 112 as a freshman, and finished my uneventful wrestling career between 125 and 135 pounds. I must have done something right with at least my knowledge of a sport as I was only one of a few recipients of the 4 year varsity award. I lifted, for fun, for Track, although I only participated in the field events. They tried to get me to run, but I sucked at that worse than I did at wrestling. My coach always told me I was the smallest thrower he ever saw. I made the varsity squad for a couple meets at a time, but all in all it was about having fun. As such, I hold a record (scroll to the last entry on this page).
When I left high school I attended the Coast Guard Academy, and I left that in May 1999 under my own will. When I joined, I was steady at 135 pounds. They weighed us and gave us projections for our weight before we would need a remedial health program. The USCG said that if I reached 175 pounds, a healthier Duba must be made. That summer that I left, I discovered The Bodybuilding Encyclopedia (Ironman). It is the last book I have read from start to finish and still reference it today. Needless to say, by the end of the summer, I was 175 pounds, and far from needing a remedial health program.
That's me earlier in that summer, back when the Duba Shirt (a small) was still a little loose. Needless to say that shirt filled out quite quickly. I took a lot of protein shakes and was up to maybe 3-4 cheeseburgers a day. If I wasn't going to grow vertically, might as well grow muscularly, right?
I could lift any time. I would be hungover, as I probably was after the above picture was taken. I could still go out and lift more than I did the previous week. I worked at a landscaping place chopping wood all day and then lifting all night. Life was sweet.
I had my three summers where I interned up in Reading/Boyertown, Pennsylvania. I joined the local gyms up there and began the "Pyramid". Basically, you start at a weight you can do 15 to 20 reps with, then keep going up in weight doing sets of 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, and sometimes that one maxing out. Once you hit that last one (or 2) rep set, you go down in the weight, doing as many as you can, back down the same increments. It was the most mass-producing, muscle endurance building thing I ever did and still do today (for some body parts).
I met my ex and lost my time at the gym. I tried various times to start back up at a gym, ultimately settling on Bally's. It took years of weight gain and ego smashing to get back in the gym. At one point I was up to the 230-240 range. I substituted water for soda and eventually moderately enjoyed diet soda. I realized that as my life was changing and I was moving on, I was better off hitting up the gym in the wee hours of the morning. You have the most energy and empty stomach at that point in the day. I saw a muscle resurgence, but I had a much different approach.
I suffered several injuries over the years, some from lifting. The worst was when I would pull my abdominal muscles. It would feel like somebody had a firm grip on my balls and was constantly pulling them down. I partially tore my pec muscles, pinched nerves in my back, and worked through bone chips in my elbow. I revisited my lifting book/bible, and learned something extremely valuable.
Focus solely on the muscle you are working on. This sounds easy, but it is so easy to cheat in lifting anymore. Arnold always said whatever muscle he was working, he envisioned it ballooning up to fill up the entire room. Look at this picture:
I have reached a point in my lifting life where I close my eyes and visualize whatever muscle I am targeting actually expanding and contracting during my movements. It was very hard for me to get this down. This is why if you see me in the gym, do not get offended if I don't care your there. I have my headphones on and been listening to the band DevilDriver every day for months now. I know the songs, I have developed a rhythm and mindset that when I get into the gym, I am focused on making my body stronger. I have really been able to listen to my body better as I have gotten older. At 32 years old, I don't see myself being able to bench 400 pounds, but I probably could if I cheated through the exercise. But why risk that and getting hurt when I have otherwise remained healthy for the past couple years at the gym?
I use a mix of machines and free weights. I love doing bent over or T-bar rows, lat pulldowns, smith machine bench/incline bench presses, negative shoulder presses with the smith machine. I do some free weights with my favorites including a straight bar curl, barbell rows, clean and press, close gripped bench press (for triceps and one of my new favorites). I tend to hit the biggest grouping of the muscle first, starting out light and directing my focus to the deep muscle tissues.
That is why I did not go to the gym today. After taking off for a couple weeks (between feeling like I was getting sick, hurting my shoulder at a batting cage, and the move), I went back in on Monday. The first two days at the gym are always Back and Chest day. The next two days will be shoulders and arms. The problem with this routine is that, regardless of focus, these last two groups tend to take some of the strain during the heavier lifts. Once I realize how much I am straining them (shoulders especially), I stop going up in weight. I did my chest workout yesterday - which is always the trickiest one for me after a long absence. I felt decent last night. I felt a little sore this morning - but was it that typical soreness? Yes, however, when preparing my coffee and sandwich for the day, every little move I made highlighted the soreness in my chest. Plus my back is still a little sore from Monday. These are the signs I did not have when I was younger, and a wiser, older me listens to my body. I unfortunately woke up at the taint of dawn, but oh well. At least I do not get off-schedule sleep wise (or lack thereof).
I am by no means a God at the gym or necessarily the strongest person in the world. Nor do I think I carry myself that way. I like to be a strong fat guy, working towards being a strong stocky guy. I do everything naturally, eating Kashi products (and now Kashi knock-off products) and bologna. I have never felt stronger in my life than I do these days.
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