Personal PowerLifting Meet

Hi all,
Sorry it's been a while but I have kept to my goals..... I am a week late on my personal meet but I did it this morning. I am excited to say that I made significant progress and am totally happy with my results.

So back in November I tested my lifts and set goals based on those lifts. So I tested then with my Squat at 355lbs, bench at 285lbs, and deadlift at 475lbs with a total of 1115lbs and that was on November 10, 2013. At that time I set goals at Squat 425lbs, bench 350lbs, and deadlift 525lbs for a total of 1300lbs.

Today I was feeling pretty good when I arrived at the gym. I  started of with some light warm up and then got down to it following the same programs as I did back in November. On Squat I hit 415lbs, bench I hit 325lbs, and deadlift I hit 505lbs for a total of 1245lbs.

I  am completely excited about it and am looking forward to reaching for my next goals. I have to thank Muscle Pharm President Cory Gregory for the motivation and the advice of ensuring you are chasing the goals that you want and not chasing goals that don't fit with what you want. I also have to thank Jim Stoppani for his information, motivation, and Pre JYM.

So my next goal is to lean out while gaining strength. I want to shoot for the 10% body fat now. I have again entered the 100K Transformation Challenge from Bodybuilding.com. I am going to follow a program called Down and Up Mass by Jim Stoppani. I am going to follow the eating plan of his Shortcut to Shred program while incorporating cardio acceleration. I am going to be using Pre JYM before and after my workouts adding Muscle Pharm Glutamine to my post workout. I am going to also be using Muscle Pharm Combat and Shred Matrix.

Thank you all for your support. I look forward to updating on my journey.

God Bless
Travis

Power Lifting Status and Goals

Hiya,
So last time I posted that I was shifting my focus from aesthetics to strength based goals. This was because I am not really an aesthetic kinda guy, but I really love the feeling I get lifting heavy weights. So, I also mentioned that I was going to be testing where my current lifting status is by performing a simulated power lifting meet and then I would reevaluate my goal for January 3, 2014.

Today I went to the gym feeling a little under the weather because of head congestion. but I wasn't going to let it stop me from getting the results I wanted. Yesterday, I did some research on the order of a power lifting meet and what a typical warm up progression for 1RM (rep max) would consist of. The meet would consist of the lifts in the order of Squats, Bench Press, and Deadlift. The typical warm up for testing 1RM is as follows:

50% 1RM for 8 reps followed by 2 minutes rest
60% 1RM for 5 reps followed by 2 minutes rest
70% 1RM for 3 reps followed by 3 minutes rest
80% 1RM for 1 rep followed by 3 minutes rest
90% 1RM for 1 rep followed by 5 minutes rest
100% 1RM for 1 rep followed by 5 - 15 minutes rest
+2~5% increase followed by 5 - 15 minutes rest
Continue until unable to complete rep

Today I went with my approximate 1RM and based my test off of those. In the order of Squat, Bench Press, and Deadlift. The only thing I didn't do that would have been allowed in a meet would be 3 attempts at a given weight. I decided that because of time that when I hit my first failure I was done. So where do I sit as a power lifter?

Squat at 355 lbs - I was estimating 400 lbs
Bench at 285 lbs - I was estimating 315 lbs
Deadlift at 475 lbs - Previous best was 455 lbs
Total at 1115 lbs

I was a little disappointed on the squat and bench but it is understandable because I had been focusing on aesthetics instead of strength. I am totally excited on breaking my personal best on deadlift and that makes up for the squat and bench.

So here is where I am at for my goals. Deadline is still January 3rd, 2014. I am still setting my eyes on the 1300 lbs total with Squat at 425 lbs, Bench at 350 lbs, and Deadlift at 525 lbs.

Many people will tell you that it is an unrealistic goal but The question isn't if their opinions are going to let me but rather who's going to stop me!

God Bless,

Travis

Bizzy Diet Day 14

Hi All,
This has been a pretty great week for me. I discovered something that I was missing from my life. Heavy weight training. I was really enjoying the results and the workouts from the Bizzy Diet but I was not feeling the rush of the weight training like I wanted to. So here is where I stand. I am not going to continue with the bizzy diet because I am only 4lbs away from my 21 day goal and it is only day 14. I did some research and I consulted with a trainer from BodyBuilding.com and he suggested trying his Rock Hard Challenge. I took his advice and gave workouts 1 and 2 a try on Friday and Saturday. I love them and I am feeling the affects.

So I didn't just randomly pick a trainer off the web to seek information from, I did my research and I found out that he is the Chief Science Editor for Muscle and Fitness magazine. He has a PHD in exercise physiology. I also started following him on twitter to see what information he was passing out and what other people were saying about him and his workout routines. I would have to say that I am impressed with the results that I am hearing about from his programs. Who is this guy? His name is Jim Stoppani and he is one of the video trainers on bodybuilding.com with his Shortcut to Size program. This is the program I was originally interested in but I wanted to drop weight before going into it. So this is what I did, I tweeted Jim and told him that I am still 50lbs overweight and I was wondering if Shortcut to Size would help me cut weight while building muscle or would the HIIT and Weight circuit training (ie bizzy diet) that I was currently doing best for me. His response to me was that I should look up the Rock Hard Challenge.

I looked into the RHC and found that is sounded like something I would be interested in. This program is an 8 week program designed to transform your body. It has listed the workouts, the recommended nutrition, and the recommended supplementation which of course is the official challenge sponsors. I am going to try and stick close to the nutrition and the supplementation with the exception that I will be using Muscle Pharm as my supplementation brand of choice.

So on Friday, I went to the gym to do workout 1 to judge overall gym time and to figure out where I am going to be starting on the weight ranges. A brief overview of work out 1 is as follows a chest shoulder and triceps workout where you are doing 2 sets of 10 reps and 1 set of 12-15 reps per workout or 2 sets of 12-15 and 1 set of 10, which seems pretty normal with 2 mins rest between sets. Here is the kicker, before you get to your 2 minutes of rest you do 1 minute of cardio, ie treadmill, stair climber, or calisthenics after each set before the rest period. This makes all the difference in the world when it comes to kicking your butt. I came out of the workout feeling great and ready to come back and do some more.

Saturday shows up and I decide to give workout number 2 a try. This is legs, calves and abs with the same workout schedule as workout 1 to include the cardio between sets. I can tell you now why I know they use the term "you been stoppani'd" on the twitter microblog when talking about Jim Stoppani's workout routines. Today I went to the gym to do slow steady cardio to loosen up the legs a little but I am still wincing in that wonderful pain of muscle growth as I sit up and down through out the day.

So here is where I stand currently I am down 16 lbs overall and down 2.5 inches around my waist. I am seeing slimming across my entire body and increased definition around muscles as the fat is burned away. Tomorrow, I am starting the RHC with workout 1 and I look forward to the amazing results that are going to come of this program and my dedicated hard work. I want to transform my body into a lean healthy machine.

My new favorite term Swoldier thanks to Steve Cook from bodybuilding.com for that one.

Also, keep an eye on FromTrialstoTriumphs as it is under construction but should be up soon. But to give you a sneek peek go there now and see what happens when you tell a conqueror that they will never walk again.

God Bless all,

Travis

Going Good

I started on the 20th of August a complete strict following of the Bizzy Diet created by Cory Gregory. I re measured my body stats last night to show where I was beginning. I am pleased that I have lost an inch around my waist from when I started out one month ago. This is exciting and motivating for me. Follow the link below to my BodySpace where I am uploading pictures and my stats. http://bodyspace.bodybuilding.com/TravMillr
I would like to give props to Muscle Pharm on their Muscle_Gel product. They seem small and possibly bad tasting from the initial reaction to the packaging and the flavors listed. However, when I tried them the flavors are awesome and when you drink the recommended 12oz of water with them they help curb your appetite and the are packed with 22grams of protein with no sugar. The workouts for days 1 and 2 were great looking forward to tomorrow's workout. Check out my BodySpace and leave comments and or questions or suggestions.

Good night and God bless
Travis

Tougher Week than last

Hi all, <br>
So this last week was pretty tough on me both physically and mentally. I started the week off in high hopes with a new workout plan that is a great bet to get me started in burning fat and toning the lean muscle that is currently in my body. The program is called the bizzy diet that was created by Cory Gregory the President of Muscle Pharm. With budget limitations I knew that the perfect meal plans and supplements were not going to be there but I did my best with the food and I used the supplements that I had at my disposal. So I started off Monday with a Combat Powder protein shake when I woke up and about 40 minutes before my workout. I followed it by taking Assault powder 15 minutes before the workout. When I got to the gym to do bizzy diet workout A which consists of 20 minutes of high intensity interval training (HIIT) 1 minute slow, 1 minute fast on the elliptical machine. Then you proceed immediately into a 5 workout weight circuit 20 reps each then repeat, where workout A is upper body. Then again no rest you go back to Cardio for 5 minutes slow and 5 high intensity. Follow that up with the exact weighted circuit as before and you are done. <br>
I was feeling great after this workout which I followed up with Recon powder. I showered had 3 eggs for breakfast, took my multivitamins and went to work. Had good high protein lunch with 2 small high protein snacks and finished the day with no issues. <br>
Tuesday is when the challenges started. I woke with the same routine as Monday and hit the gym for bizzy diet workout B which is pretty close to A with the exception of the circuit is designed for lower body. This started well but as I progressed through the lower body circuit I struggled to complete the reps for a couple of the exercises and also on the second circuit as well. This was a lot of mental weakness as well as physical. I didn't get down on myself because I understand that I am no where near peak physical for. I cannot expect to be at Cory Gregory level of fitness. Same routine after the workout and my daily meals were pretty close to Monday's. Work on Tuesday consisted of working inside a vehicle which equates to a steel box with no air conditioning in 113 degree heat. I drank plenty of water and took some cool air breaks but it was very tasking on my body. To finish Tuesday off I went and helped move a lady from one apartment to another one. By the end of Tuesday I was beat and completely exhausted. I took my dose of ZMA Pills which I also took Monday, and went to sleep.<br>
Wednesday when I woke up to go to the gym I couldn't get moving and decided to swap my Wednesday workout with my Thursday rest day so I could recover from the taxing Tuesday. My meals were pretty good the rest of the week but Thursday I didn't make it to the gym because mentally I wasn't ready to get in the gym but I told myself that I needed another day of rest. I then proceeded to blow Friday off as well.
I did finish the week strong and went to the gym Saturday morning and did workout A and then spent the day at the water park running up the stairs to the slides with my son. Today was a rest day to prepare for tomorrow which will be another workout A but also a strong start to next week.
One thing I learned is that all the motivation I have to stay working in the gym to accomplish my goals is not as strong first thing in the morning. I do know that I will overcome that weakness and I will conquer this goal and I will be cut, ripped, and stacked.

Good night and God bless
Travis

Tough Week

Hey all,
It has been a tough week. I did not hit he gym as much as I had planned and scheduled but I did make it a couple of days that provided me with some good workouts. This is more than what I had been doing before getting back into the gym. I also got to try the Muscle Pharm Assault, Recon, and Combat Powder. I also tried the Hybrid N. O. And the ZMA pills.
First off I would like to say that the Combat Powder, chocolate flavor was pretty good flavor and seemed to work well as a break fast protein before my morning workout. I haven't used a lot of it to give an idea of how well it builds lean muscle but I will update as I get into using it more.
The Assault powder seemed to provide a good pre workout endurance and when combined with the Hybrid N. O. Pills seemed to get me through my workout with pushing through the sets beyond where I feel I would have stopped without the supplements.
The Recon powder has a great taste and seemed to keep my muscles from teasing up too much after the workout. But without further use I cannot give a overall effect or review of the product.
The ZMA pills are supposed to be for recovery and to provide better rest. I did experience the better rest the past couple of nights but I don't know how much it is helping with the Muscle recovery and I will explain why here shortly.
Overall, I am excited and pleased with the Muscle Pharm products and I will continue to update you. And by the way I am still using the GNC Amp Ripped Vitapak right now and I think that it is a good multivitamin. I don't know about the CLA and the metabolic enhancers which I will also explain below.
Ok so the reason I am don't know about the recovery attributes of the ZMA pills is because I did a no no and I went to the gym and did not give my muscles a warmup period. This is also the day when I tried the Assault and the Hybrid N. O. Pills. Which allowed me to push hard and I believe that I over worked my muscles and it was too much for the recovery pills to help them. This has kept me out of the gym for the past 2 days. But I will be back in the gym tomorrow.
As far as the CLA and the metabolic enhancers from the GNC Amp Ripped Vitapak and not knowing what results have come from them is because I have not been controlling my diet. This is what I have been focusing on for the past couple of days and will continue to focus on for the next couple because I am working on an eating plan for me and my wife. I would like to put a plug in for www.bodybuilding.com and all the great information and products that they provide.
Until next time
God Bless
Travis