My spray tan and polygraph are scheduled! Weighed in this morning at 161.6 pounds, lowest ever or at least since around 1982. I’ve gotten some comments at the gym about looking very defined and that’s a motivator! So glad I’m only competing against 40+, I think that’s manageable.

Question: Do you believe that the raw determination to overcome physical and mental challenges is a skill that one is born with or do you think it’s a learned behavior?

It’s getting harder to blog, between the intense training and caloric deficit I am wiped out and not my creative self. I am also sore all of the time now. At 10% body fat, I’ve lost a lot of intramuscular fat, that’s fat that actually supports muscle, adds to your strength and gives you the leverages you need to lift heavy. In light of that, for the final 6 weeks I won’t be using a barbell except for deadlifts and squats. Upper body work will be mostly dumbbells, cables and bands.

Finally under 162 but still have no idea what my stage weight should be since this is my first prep and first contest. I had no idea that this would be possible at 59!

“Wishing to be friends is quick work, but friendship is a slow ripening fruit.”

~ Aristotle

My weight is plummeting, my clothes are baggy and sagging, my big fat cheeks are gone. I am in uncharted territory, never been this lean before.

Looking forward to hitting a couple of my favorite restaurants when I’m in the Bay Area in August for a wedding. Should definitely help with my recovery!

“Change that lasts, takes time.”

Reflecting on another lifetime and remembering that strength is never a weakness and weakness is never a strength.

Now it’s all about the final shred as week after week another layer is peeled away revealing what lies beneath. Pretty sure my 59 year old guns are going to show up!

“Once in a while someone amazing comes along…….and here I am!”

~ Tigger

Officially entered! I need to schedule my polygraph and my spray tan sessions. Just ordered my posing trunks, 30 inch waist, unbelievable that I began this journey wearing 42 inch trousers. I lost 14 lb in 2015, 15 lb in 2016, 12 lb in 2017 and 16 lb thus far in 2018.

“The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease forever to be able to do it.”

~ Peter Pan

It’s amazing how downward movement on the scale is so motivating, under 164 for the first time in 35 years! By contest time this will have been a three year journey. Looking good enough at 59 to go shirtless on the beach and to not embarrass myself on stage but I’m chasing a trophy thus the next month will be intense!

“It’s better to die than to never really have lived.”

~ William Wallace

I think I’ve figured out why I’m not sleeping well and it was self-induced. Normally I don’t use a pre-workout but about three weeks ago I started downing a dozen dark chocolate coffee beans before training and on most days that’s around 3:00 PM, duh! We’ll see how I sleep tonight sans coffee beans. Once again, my clothes are fitting very loose but I’m going to hold off on buying new clothes for a few weeks. On an unrelated note, I’ve started writing a book or to be a little more precise I’m writing an outline for a fictional work that will be my focus after I compete in July. More on that as things progress.

“Wherever you write is supposed to be a little bit of a refuge, a place where you can get away from the world. The more closed in you are, the more you’re forced back on your own imagination.”

~ Stephen King

I’ve lost many friends, family and coworkers to cancer over the years and I have to wonder how much early death could have been avoided and how much of a difference does optimal nutrition and fitness level make in not getting cancer or in surviving chemo.

Here are some interesting links with regards to nutrition and strength training as they relate to cancer.

https://www.t-nation.com/supplements/8-weapons-to-kick-cancers-butt

https://thetruthaboutcancer.com/ketogenic-diet-weakens-cancer-cells/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=28074412

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=28074412

https://www.reachbeyondcancer.com/podcast/

Still having great workouts even though I’m not sleeping well. Being able to rise for the occasion is a skill I picked up in the military, a mental toughness that I’m grateful for. I know that each week will be a challenge, so I need to keep my stressors low!

“Ah but I was so much older then, I’m younger then that now.”

~ Bob Dylan