Category: Observations

In the end…..

Relaxing at the Marriott Residence Inn Fresno after a long day traveling. Two flights and a four hour drive from San Jose to Fresno, only in California does it take four hours to drive 150 miles!

I’m out here for a family wedding tomorrow, for some inspiration and to do some writing. Sunday I’m staying in Pacifica, where I’ll hike along the beach, reflecting and relaxing. Some people die in solitude while others thrive. I know that I am not the only one, who sometimes needs to walk alone, to be able to walk with a crowd.

I am using my spare time during this trip to work on the outline of my novel, to do some factual research and to ponder the ending. Now that’s tough, the ending and it’s usually the part of a fictional book that is the hardest to write and the easiest to mess up.

“And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.” ~ The Beatles

As the World Turns

Time never stops, never slows down and I want to shout “wait for me!” So much to do and I only two hands, one brain and a single heart.

My entire life I’ve been servant, a helper, a volunteer. I had no hobbies and gave freely of my time. Still I managed to fail as a husband, I struggle as a father. I’m very good at my occupation although it no longer excites me. It’s time for some changes!

Is it selfish to want more “me time”? To wake up in the morning and instead of a crisis to manage, how about a cappuccino to enjoy, a friendly voice to share the road?

“If you find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere.” Frank Clark

Two Weeks Post Contest

We had a great Greek cuisine at Mykonos Cafe and I had my first post contest wine! Feels great to be able eat a bit more, that constant hunger that one has during contest prep is finally gone!

My new fitness goal is to get to an elite level of strength and conditioning for a 30 day visit to Poland, Croatia and Italy in 2020. Starting a six week powerlifting cycle as I continue my recovery diet and increasing my caloric intake, yet maintaining my contest weight at 155.

Today I’m doing some shopping, need to buy some new clothes as everything I have is way too large!

Live long and live well my friends!

Lessons Learned

I am discovering that my bodybuilding competition a couple of weeks ago is encouraging others and that encourages me. Some colleagues from work are now going to the gym and tracking macros. Another co-worker and her husband were at the show (unknown to me) and now they want to get into shape and compete! Today when I was doing squats, one of the regulars came by and she told me that she was at the show and that I rocked!

The most important lesson that I learned competing in a bodybuilding event and in the preparation for the event, is that willpower is never enough for success in any area of life. That success is built upon a foundation of habits that give us a solid structure to work from. We all have good days and bad days. Stay strong and don’t let a bad day rock your boat!

What’s Next?

I’ve had sometime this week to reflect on competing in a physique contest and where to go from here. At present, I’m feeling pretty good, eating about 200 more calories a day and as far as training, it’s been a light week. I am not reverse dieting because I have no intention of bulking up, instead I am hanging out around 156 and establishing that weight as my new fat settling point. I will spend about six weeks powerlifting before going back to a hypertrophy and mobility routine. I will then get down to about 150 pounds and that will be my year round weight.

Next week I hope to have my first meal out, I’m thinking Greek food and wine with a good friend who also appreciates fine dining! I seem to have totally lost my taste for junk food, I’m not sure that my body could even process that crap anymore!

My sister and her husband are doing a 14 Day Baltic cruise out of London next year and they want me to join them. It’s sounds fun but they are going with another couple and I would be the odd one by myself.

I am planning a full month in Europe in 2020, doing a few days in Krakow, Poland to see where my Grandfather grew up and visit Auschwitz as well. I hope to go through Croatia and spend a couple of days there before moving on to Italy where I’ll rent an AirB&B for three weeks. I’ve done my share of cruises but nowadays the thought of being on a floating shopping mall with 4,000 tourists is not my idea of fun.

I guess that my idea of fun is village life in Italy. Picking up fresh food from the local market and cooking it myself. Evening walks on the beach then popping into a local eatery for wine 🍷 and food. In the mornings, I’ll be working on my book and enjoying a cappuccino and scone.

Hurry up and get here 2020!

The Day After

Much to my surprise I placed 3rd and walked away with a trophy! Also much to my surprise, I enjoyed being on stage, I had not expected that. I did mess up on my quarter turns, lost points for that however I nailed the mandatories and my routine. Physique wise, my abs, lower chest and quads should of been leaner and I probably spilled over with my carbs and lost some vascularity. I did not need the judges to tell me that I should of been leaner, I knew this heading in and was determined to have confidence and stage presence and the edge that goes with that.

At this point, it’s to early to say whether I will compete again but I am definitely going to continue to improve my physique. My heart wanted to get back to the gym today but my body is exhausted and I’m sore all over from holding poses. Taking a few days of from the gym and will go back to eating at maintenance.

Older folks like myself require strength training to maintain their type II fast twitch muscle fibers, so I always power lift a couple of cycles a year and so I’ll be doing 5x5s consisting of squats, deadlifts, bench presses and standing over head presses for six weeks before returning to hypertrophy (bodybuilding).

Mentally and emotionally I feel pretty spent right now but will soon be transitioning my mindset and focus from competitive training to writing fiction and learning Italian!

“May the 2nd half of 2018 be the plot twist you’ve been waiting for!”

Tomorrow’s the Day

Passed my polygraph yesterday! Going to do a 40 minute circuit session this morning, some posing practice and get my spay tan first coat. I’m down to 155 but I think that my stage weight is actually 150. Hard to imagine that I started at 220! Still, I’m going to go out there and have fun, I know that I can’t realistically complete against guys in their 40s. 💪🏼🏋🏻🍷

~ We live in a time ~

~ When paintings have no color, words don’t rhyme ~

~ So we search for kindred spirits, other souls that are not blind ~

3 Days Out

I took tomorrow and Friday off, have to bring my stress levels down. I think I’m ready for Saturday, going to go out there and have fun! Polygraph and haircut tomorrow, I’ll also do a 45 minute circuit workout. Friday is spray tan coat one, coat two is Saturday morning, I’ll be really dark. Definitely depleted but tomorrow and Friday I’ll get a little more carbs.

Sometimes our challenges are physical, other times they’re mental or emotional. Regardless, we must rise to the occasion because that’s who we are. Stay Strong!

“No citizen has a right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training… what a disgrace it is for a man to grow old without ever seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable.”

~ Socrates