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America, I don’t have anything witty or profound to write about today.  Just doing my thang.  Banged out an intense 60 minutes of cardio this morning and will hit back with Steve later this afternoon.  Since I had some free time this morning I thought I’d knock out the blog.  Here’s the 4^th and 5^th biggest lies of bodybuilding.  Enjoy…

4.  The more you work out, the more you’ll grow.  No, no, NO!  This is one of the most damaging and dangerous myths that ever reared its ugly head.  Ninety-five percent of the pros will tell you that the biggest bodybuilding mistake they ever made was to overtrain – and this happened even when they were taking steroids.  Imagine how easy it is for the natural athlete to overtrain!  When you train your muscles too often for them to heal, the end result is zero growth and perhaps even losses.  Working out a body part every day, if you’re truly using the proper amount of intensity, will lead to gross overtraining.  A body part, worked properly, i.e., worked to complete and total muscular failure that recruited as many muscle fibers as physiologically possible, can take 5 to 10 days, or longer, to heal. 

To take it a step further, even working a different body part in the next few days might constitute overtraining.  If you truly work your quads to absolute fiber-tearing failure (which most of us don’t…), doing another power workout the next day that entails heavy military presses or deadlifts is going to, in all probability, inhibit gains.  Why?  Because after a serious leg workout, you experience what’s known as ‘total systemic fatigue or failure’.  In other words, your whole system mobilizes to heal and recover from the blow you’ve dealt it.  How, then, can the body be expected to heal from an equally brutal workout the next day, especially if it involves the legs or low back again?  It can’t, at least not without using some drugs to help deal with the catabolic processes going on in your body.  That’s one reason why so many individuals get sick somewhere between 3-6 weeks out from the show.  They’re either overtraining for the amount of calories they’re taking in, or underfeeding for the amount of energy they’re expending. 

Learn to accept rest as a valuable part of your workout.  If you’re truly training as hard as physiologically possible, you should probably spend as many days out of the gym as you do in it.  Talk with your trainer or coach to determine your intensity and whether you need to rest a bit more, especially if you’re continually tired and/or sick.

5. The longer you work out, the better.  Sometimes more is not better.  It just isn’t necessary to do 20-30 sets for a bodypart or even 10 sets like many ‘experts’ would have you believe.  In fact, research has shown that it’s possible to completely fatigue a muscle in just one set, provided that the one set taxes the muscle completely, i.e., incorporates as many muscle fibers as possible and takes them to the point of momentary muscular failure or fatigue, otherwise known as ischemic rigor, where, rather than continue to contract and relax, the muscle fibers freeze up, sort of a microscopic version of rigor mortis.  This is done to protect you.  Any further contraction can cause micro-trauma as opposed to micro-tearing.  Although similar, micro-trauma is sort of like an advanced micro-tearing.  Think of a hamstring or quad pull.  Not fun.   

Now I must say that the one set to fatigue principle is NOT your first set.  It could be your third, fifth, or even 8^th set, as the others are simply warm-ups to prepare the muscles for the heavy load.  Mike Mentzer was known as popularizing the ‘one set to failure’ principle, yet many people didn’t know that he’d do as many warm-ups as it took to get him ready for that ‘one heavy set’.  If you attempt the one set to failure principle using max weight on your first set, you run the probable risk of injury that’ll take you out of the game for a while. 

This kind of intensity can usually be achieved by doing drop, strip, or breakdown set where you rep out to failure, lower the weight, and continue doing reps until you either can’t do another rep or you’ve run out of weight.  It can also be achieved by doing your maximum number of reps of a particular exercise and then, by a combination of sheer will, tenacity, and very short rest periods (5-10 seconds), you complete say, 10 more reps.  You achieve the short rest periods by locking out the weight-bearing joint in question, without putting the weight down.  In other words, you gotta bust through your normal pain and energy thresholds and enter uncharted territories. 

If you can truly work your muscles to the point described, it will afford you little, if any, benefit to do another set (Wescott, 1986).  The exception would be body parts that are so big that they have distinct geographical areas, like the back, which obviously has an upper, middle, and lower part.  The chest might also fall into this category, as it has a distinct upper and lower region, each with different insertion points but the same origin. 

In summary, if you can train intense enough, there’s no need to do mega-sets.  If you’ve got bad joints like me, then doing this kind of training would be counter-productive.  I’ve now reached the point to where I’m working in the ‘weak-link syndrome’ – the weakest link in the chain, so to speak.  My muscles might be able to handle the load but the joints can’t.  Pushing the super-heavy weights just don’t work for me anymore.  That’s why I’ve switched to the mega-set philosophy to attempt to stimulate fibers.  But if your joints are strong, you might want to see how this works.  But I’ve gotta warn you – this type of training is NOT for the faint-of-heart.  It’s brutally hard, intense training designed to maximize fiber recruitment in the minimum amount of time.  You’d better have y’game face on for this…

I’m out…Peace!

The Dr.

David “Dr. Buff” Patterson

Personal Training Systems

“There Are No Shortcuts!”

 www.personaltrainingsystems.net 

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Workout partner?  I dun need no stinkin’ workout partner!  Got stood up today, America.  M’boy Steve had to work overtime at Boeing and didn’t make it in for legs.  No worries, though…I made it do what it do!  After a killer leg workout I knocked out another 30 minutes of hard cardio.  The first 10 was excruciating as the legs were really tired and heavy.  But they loosened up in a few and I held steady for the remaining 20 minutes.  After that I sat in the hot tub for 20 minutes – and promptly fell asleep.  Good thing I set my timer or I might still be in there.  Showered up and then threw the ice wraps on the knees and low back, ate a meal, and now I blogging for the second time today and watching the game. 

I’d like to thank Guy Overby one more time for a great response guest blog this morning.  Literally right after I posted it I got the email from Steve that he wouldn’t be here.  Talk about timing.  Guy, your words got me through a killer workout.  My initial ‘reaction’ to Steve’s email was, “Aww man…I gotta do legs by myself?  I really don’t have that push in me with two weeks to go.  But then I re-read the blog, and it was on, America.  I had three options – I could either skip legs (not an option…), do a half-hearted leg workout based upon how I ‘felt’ (again, not an option…), or go in there and give it my all by myself, for myself, and with myself (that was the only viable option).  I’m the only one who controls my destiny.  Today’s leg workout was every bit as good as last week’s, and we destroyed legs last week!  You CAN affect your outcome, America.  No hype, no

bull…just go and push yourself as hard as you possibly can with what you’ve got in the tank.

Speaking of tanks, I just wanna real quick touch on energy levels again.  Remember, you’re gonna feel the effects of carb depletion.  The only time you’ll probably feel good is during your training and first cardio session.  You might be reaching that point to where you’re tired most of the day outside of training.  You might not even feel like training until you get started and endorphins start flowing.  You might feel a bit irritable or grouchy or on edge.  You might find that you can’t focus on things – that you’re a bit spacey when normally you’re not.  Be careful around close friends and family as they’ll more than likely be the brunt of your ‘aggression’.  As I said yesterday, it’s physiological – you can’t control it!  It’s not stress, the job, relationships, or anything else.  It’s the low carbs!  As soon as you plug them back in you’ll literally instantly feel better.  I don’t remember if I blogged on this last season or not, but it’s worth repeating even if I did. 

A study was done years ago in which carbs were depleted to where glycogen stores and blood sugar levels were extremely low.  The individuals all felt like crap, were light-headed, irritable, and couldn’t function clearly with simple menial tasks or answer simple questions.  They were given either a placebo or straight sugar in the form of hard candy and told to suck but not swallow.  They answered questions and had their blood drawn in five minutes.  The placebo group showed no improvement as expected.  The sugar group showed significant cognitive improvement and their blood sugar levels increased significantly.  You can attribute your feelings to whatever you want, but the science says low carbs.  “Nuff said...?

Here’s another installment of 30 of Bodybuilding’s Biggest Lies…enjoy!

4. If you eat a low-fat diet, it doesn’t matter how many calories you take in; you won’t gain fat. The bottom line is, if you exceed your energy requirements either for a meal or for the entire day, you’ll gradually get fatter and fatter.  It’s true that eating a diet rich in fat will pack on the pounds quicker for a variety of reasons, the most significant being that a gram of fat has nine calories as opposed to the four calories per gram that carbohydrates and proteins carry.  That’s why high-fat diets typically don’t work in the long run, especially if you’re eating lots of saturated fats.  Fat is also metabolized differently in the body.  It takes a lesser amount of energy (calories) to digest and assimilate the energy in consumed fat than it does to assimilate an equal (weight wise) amount of carbohydrates.  Consequently, more fat calories get stored than carbohydrate calories. 

However, taking in tons of carbs, regardless of the source, in excess of what your body needs at any point in time will make you fat very quickly.  You’ll start by gaining the water weight (water bonds to carbs at approximately a 4-to-1 ratio…that’s the initial weight gain you experience when you up your carbs) and then once the glycogen stores are full, the excess carbohydrate calories get shuttled to the fat cells if they aren’t burned off as energy through activity.  Many of the popular weight-gain powders are loaded with carbohydrates, and many of the MRP’s (Meal Replacement Plans) have high carbs and high fats – some with upwards of 18-25 gms of fat per serving. 

I’m done for tonight, America…two blogs in one day…that’s a lot for this ole man.  Ya’ll enjoy the rest of your evening…I’m gonna finish watching the game, eat a bit more, and then get my beauty sleep…peace!

The Dr.

David “Dr. Buff” Patterson

Personal Training Systems

“There Are No Shortcuts!”

 www.personaltrainingsystems.net 

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"Everyone believes the world's greatest lie..." says the mysterious old man.

"What is the world's greatest lie?" the little boy asks.

The old man replies, "It's this: that at a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what's happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate. That's the world's greatest lie."  (An excerpt from The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. A fable about following your dreams.)"  Sent to me by Guy Overby.

America, this blog, by Guy Overby, is in response to yesterday’s blog on destiny.  He messaged me on Facebook.  I asked him if I could share his views and opinions.  He so graciously consented.  I love when someone expands upon what I’ve written, whether positive or negative.  We all are entitled to our opinions.  I will be happy to post others as well as long as they are in good taste with no foul language.  If you disagree with what I’m writing, you can always rebutt – just do so in an articulate and professional manner – that’s all I ask.  Now on to Guy’s blog…and once again, thanks Guy!

"Dave, I felt compelled to comment on your recent blog regarding predetermined destinations. This is one subject I am extremely passionate about. I feel you hit the nail right on the head with your statements.  It made me think of my all-time UN-favorite cliché “Everything happens for a reason”.  To me this is the ultimate saying for those looking to escape personal accountability.  Funny, you never hear anyone use this line after something good happens to them. It’s usually after they got fired from their job, had a failed relationship or didn’t get something they had hoped for. So much easier to believe it was due to some sort of divine intervention as opposed to a personal failure.  Whenever I hear someone say this I say, “You are exactly right. Everything does happen for a reason and 99% of the time that REASON is the choices and decisions YOU make on a daily basis”. 

It reminds me a lot of my dad. He smoked two packs of cigarettes a day and loved to justify it by saying “When it’s my time to go it’s my time to go, ain’t nothing I can do about it”. Of course he died at 47 from lung cancer.  Do you know how many people I heard after that say “Everything happens for a reason”?  I said, “Yep, and the reason was he smoked two packs of cigarettes a day!” To anyone who truly subscribes to the philosophy of predetermined destination I would ask them, “Why do you do anything you do? If you truly believe the choices you make in life have zero influence on your future how can you be motivated to even get out of bed in the morning?”  The worst part about this mindset is it enables people to go forward thinking their failures were/are completely out of their control and never take corrective measures because they have already absolved themselves of all accountability.

The above was waiting for me this morning when I woke up.  I messaged him back about how good it was and how I’d like to blog it.  He then sent me “Part II” – even better!  This one was deep, America.  Read it and re-read it – it’ll truly make you think!

Dave, thanks for the compliment; I have always been one of those people who seem to express themselves better when writing than talking. Feel free to use anything you want in your Blog.

On the same topic, I was fortunate enough to attend a 4-hour seminar by Robert Cialdini a couple years ago at the Northwest Leadership Seminar. He is a psychologist and has written several books including “The Power of Influence”. He gave a long lecture on personal accountability and demonstrated this with an equation of; Event + Reaction = Outcome. The best part of this was studies had shown that the “event” only controls 20% of the outcome while your “reaction” to it controls 80%. Your hip replacement was a fine example of this theory in practice. How many people would have reacted differently than you did and had an entirely different outcome? Think of how much easier it would have been to never compete or lift weights again due to your hip injury. Your reaction has completely overshadowed the event. I think it’s safe to say a lot of people would resort to a sedentary lifestyle and blame the event for what has happened to them. Once you become aware of this it’s amazing how often you see it play out it all aspects of your life as well as those around you.

Anyways I could go on and on with this kind of stuff. I find human behavior and psychology incredibly fascinating as you can probably tell. I can’t say for sure if Marga and I will be in Vancouver to cheer you on but we’ll be at the E Cup for sure. You will be happy to know I will be starting my contest diet at the beginning of April at 217 lbs (haven’t gone over 220 since the last show) as opposed to 240 lbs like last year. Your talk to me about skin elasticity and the benefits of staying lean really changed my mind set. I figure every pound of fat I am not putting on this off season is one less pound I have to burn off during my diet.

If you ever get a chance, read the book “The Alchemist”.  The story is a great one but the 4 page introduction was very powerful and addresses this very issue of controlling ones destiny.  Keep up the good work Dave. I believe this Blog has been a great opportunity for you to make people think and assess."

Great stuff, Guy – you can be a ‘guest blogger’ anytime you want.  And you know I’m gonna order out the book.  Sounds like something right up my alley.  To expand slightly on the equation (because he pretty much said it all…), our ‘events’ are the upcoming contests.  How is everyone reacting to them?  Do not for one minute believe that just because you are ‘doing’ the show means that you’ll be ready for the show.  That’s where your work ethic comes in.  That’s the reaction.  You must push, and push hard, because if you aren’t I promise you someone is.  You know what would be the ultimate contest, America?  In every class, both male and female, every single competitor had a first place look.  8, 10, 12 deep…all looking absolutely incredible!  Everyone dialed in.  Everyone looking good.  And a good time was had by all…peace!

The Dr.

David “Dr. Buff” Patterson

Personal Training Systems

“There Are No Shortcuts!”

 www.personaltrainingsystems.net 

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America, anyone can achieve their fullest potential.  Unfortunately few do.  We go through life never truly maximizing what has been given to us, such as our gifts or talents.  My older brother is the perfect example.  He is a gifted musician who has never achieved his full potential.  I don’t know why.  He could have been a child prodigy, he was that good.  At three years old he sat on the piano stool next to my oldest sister who was a good pianist, but not gifted.  She had taken lessons, could read music well, and played for the church choirs for over 50 years.  She was attempting to learn a new song to teach the choir, which was a bit challenging for her as it had lots of riffs and runs.  My brother, sitting next to her, asked, “Can I play?”  Now remember, he was three years old!  My sister brushed him off.  He insisted, “I can play!”  Finally she said, “Okay…you can play on the piano, but I’ve got to finish learning this, so go ahead.”  She figured he’d plunk on the keys for a few minutes, get bored, and then leave her alone. 

America, without sounding like I’m proud of him (which I am…), he started playing the song BETTER than she was playing it, putting together combination runs and riffs that made her call out to our mom and dad.  How good was he?  That was the first time he ever sat at the piano!  When older and taking lessons, he was so good that at music practice all he’d have to do was cock his head to one side, listen to what the teacher was playing, and play it back perfectly, usually better than her.  He has perfect pitch, perfect tone, and is more intuitive on where the song is going than you can imagine.  But he had one problem.  He was so gifted that he was cursed.  Because of his gift and talent, he really didn’t feel he needed to study and learn how to read music.  He always felt that he knew enough about playing not only the piano, but the organ, drums, bass, violin, and several other instruments that there was no need, and no real desire to truly better himself. 

Well…when he was a teenager and in his early twenties, there was no one in the region who could touch him.  One time Billy Preston came to town.  My brother got to play with him.  Billy stood in amazement watching him play, asking afterwards, “Who IS that guy, and why isn’t he out here with us?”  Fast forward many years.  Kids that looked up to my brother and wanted to be like him now exceed him – not in gift or talent but in knowledge and ability.  They’re not as gifted – they’re good musicians in their own right, but everyone knows that my brother is something special.  But they went to music practice, music schools, and did whatever it took to further their ability as musicians.  They can do more musically.  By that I mean not just play but teach, write, direct, etc.  Now my brother can do all of that as well, but he does it by ear whereas they can do it by ear to a lesser degree and also by reading music.  My brother, in spite of his gift, always has to hear the song first.  He does not possess the ability to read or write.  Potential wasted.  Destiny denied. Or is it? 

You see, we all have what I call an infinite number of destinies.  Who we are might be pre-determined, but the path we follow is always of our own choosing.  In essence, we choose our destiny; our destiny does not choose us (unless we do nothing, at which point we still choose our destiny, even if it is not good).  For many, the pervading belief is that your destiny is pre-determined.  They say your destiny can’t be changed.  But I disagree.  I believe that it can be challenged, even changed.  We are born with an infinite number of futures.  We die with a single one.  Which one will you choose?  Even the bible speaks of choice; “…I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses.  Now choose life so that you and your children may live…”  (Deut. 30:19).  My brother’s destinies were placed before him.  He chose his path.  For many of us, me included, we are at the proverbial crossroads in this bodybuilding/fitness/figure/bikini challenge.  With less than three weeks for some of us and less than six weeks for the remainder, what path will we follow?  Will we rise to the challenge of achieving our current best potential thereby fulfilling our destiny at this point in our lives or will we squander it by slacking on our workouts, skipping cardio, cheating on our nutrition, or just plain thinking, “That’s good enough.”  My goal through this series of blogs is to help each one of you realize your best potential.  That’s why I spend so much time on the psychological component.  Your job is to go out and actualize it! 

Look, I wish I had better genetics.  I don’t.  There are others out there like me.  We have to work harder and smarter just to stay one step behind.  But there are many of you with great genetics.  Fantastic shape, full muscle bellies, great lines…you’ve got it goin’ on!  But if you don’t get lean enough to show all of that, it simply becomes wasted potential.  Guy Overby said a while ago, and I posted it in a previous blog, “I might get beat but I won’t be out-trained.”  I say, “You might out-lift me but you won’t out-work me.”  Genetics aside, I will do what I need to do – no excuses accepted, no excuses given.  I expect you to do the same.

You should never allow your fears to set the limits of your destiny.  Nor should you let the expectations of others define the frontiers of your future.  Your destiny is in YOUR hands.  My destiny is in MY hands.  Whether we win or lose is immaterial to me.  What IS important is whether you live up to your God-given potential, talent, and gift.  All of your futures have already happened.  You just haven’t experienced them yet.  They’re out there…the good and the bad.  Choose the good.  How?  WORK for it!  It’s yours for the taking…

I was gonna present another of the 30 Biggest Lies but I just got off the phone with Turk.  We talked almost an hour as he’s getting ready for his hip replacement on April 2^nd. Even though he’s got his doctor telling him what to expect, nothing speaks like experience.  Since I’ve got one and already rehabbed it and am back to full training…well…he asks, I answer.  So I’m out for the evening, America…peace!

The Dr.

David “Dr. Buff” Patterson

Personal Training Systems

“There Are No Shortcuts!”

 www.personaltrainingsystems.net 

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America, I meant to write on this the night the Winter Olympics ended, but got distracted.  Later I blogged on a couple other points that were of interest to me.  So tonight I’m back to ‘Part I’ even though this is Part III. 

We’re three weeks out from the Vancouver and six weeks from the EC.  Over the past few weeks I’ve talked with many competitors getting ready for either one or both of these shows.  Every year I hear the same few questions…”How do you think I’m gonna do?”  “Where do you think I’ll place?”  “Y’think I got a shot at this?”  If they’re looking good I tell them that.  If they’re not, I tell them that as well.  Hey…don’t get mad at me, America – they came to me asking what I thought.  I answered them.  I have a saying – “Don’t ask the question you don’t wanna hear the answer to.”  N-E-Whoo…I’ve learned over the years to simply say, “I promise you this…you’ll take somewhere between first and dead last!”

I’ve run the gamut on pre-contest thoughts, America.  I’ve stressed over winning, didn’t think I looked good enough to step onstage, freaked out over my diet, over-cardioed and under-ate…you name it, I probably did it.  But now I’m at a point to where I have one thought and one thought only – let me get me into the best possible shape I can and I’ll let the chips fall where they may.  Y’see, I have absolutely no control over who shows up, how many competitors are in my class, the outcome…nothing but me.  So if the only thing I need to worry about is me, then that’s all I worry about. 

I ensure that I get my workouts in each day – no excuses made, no excuses accepted.  I make sure that I push to complete and total failure on my heavies, and when I walk out of the gym I feel good about what I did.  I make sure that I eat the right foods in the right amounts at the right times.  I ensure that the first cardio session is total killer – as hard as I can push, and then hang on for dear life during the second one.  I just started practicing my posing so that’s falling into place right in line with everything else.  The bottom line?  My mindset is correct, I’ve got my game face on, and I’m ready to make it do what it do!

I’m not too concerned anymore about the outcome – used to be, but not anymore.  I think of Shani Davis, the first Black speed skater in the Winter Olympics and the favorite going into the 1000m and 1500m races.  He won gold in the 1000.  But in the 1500 he came up short…he got silver.  When asked what he could have done differently to win, his answer was something like this, “I couldn’t have done anything different or better.  I skated the race of my career.  I left everything out on the track.  It just so happened that [the winner] also skated the race of his life, and his was a little bit better than mine.”  That’s class, America! 

Okay…on to #3 of Bodybuilding’s Biggest Lies…

3. In order to get really big, you’ve got to eat a super-high-calorie diet.  Well….that’s true…you’ll get really big if you eat a super-high-calorie diet, but you’ll look like Professor Klump’s fraternal twin (with a little muscle hidden underneath all that fat!).  However, if you want to get big, lean-tissue wise, then super-high-calorie diets are probably not for you unless you’re one of the very few people with metabolic rates so fast you can burn these calories instead of depositing them as fat.  Unfortunately, studies show that in most people about 65% of the new tissue gains brought about by high-calorie diets consist of fat!  Of the remaining 35%, approximately 15% consist of increased intracellular fluid volume, leaving a very modest percentage attributable to increased lean muscle mass.

According to research, only about 20-25% of increased muscle growth stems from increased protein synthesis.  The rest of the muscle growth is directly attributable to increased proliferation of the satellite cells in the basal lamina of muscle tissue, and dietary energy (calories) is NOT a key factor in the differentiation of these cells into new myofibers (muscle tissue).

Of all factors determining muscle growth, prevention of protein breakdown (anti-catabolism) seems to be the most relevant.  The best way to prevent protein breakdown is through steroid use.  That will lead to increased muscular size, albeit artificial.  The natural bodybuilder cannot prevent protein breakdown in a normal fashion and must build additional muscle through intense weight training and proper nutrition.   Adding adipose (fat) tissue through constant overfeeding can actually increase muscle proteolysis (breakdown).  In other words, gaining excess bodyfat above and beyond what is considered healthy and normal can cause you to lose muscle tissue.  Furthermore, additional adipose tissue can radically alter hormonal balances which are directly responsible for controlling protein breakdown in muscle.  Insulin balance, for one, which partially controls anti-catabolism in the body, is impaired by consistent overfeeding.  So much for the eat-big-to-get-big philosophy!  In other words, stay away from super-high-calorie diets and gaining massive amounts of excess weight unless you’re a genetic freak, or you’re woefully lean and don’t mind putting on some fat.

I’m out, America…time to eat, sleep, and start this party all over again tomorrow morning…peace!

The Dr.

David “Dr. Buff” Patterson

Personal Training Systems

“There Are No Shortcuts!”

 www.personaltrainingsystems.net 

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One of my favorite shows, America, is Criminal Minds.  I can always count on a great quote or saying at both the beginning and the end of the show.  Most don’t apply to this bodybuilding blog but I write em down anyway so that I can use them at the right time.  A few shows ago a great quote came at the end.  Even though I wrote it down I felt it wasn’t appropriate…until now.  The funny thing is, it’s not so much appropriate for the readership but rather for me and my partner Turk.  Y’see, prepping for this spring season is tougher on me than ever.  And Turk is getting ready to have his knee replacement redone because it didn’t’ take well, and he’ll also need two hip replacements.  That’s right…both his hips are shot – bone-on-bone.  If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time then you know about my surgeries and physical limitations, but I’ve always been one to ‘make it do what it do’ until I absolutely, positively cannot do it anymore.  Now my right hip is giving me fits, and my left knee is still bothering me after almost 2 years post-surgery, so I’ve gotta go in and see what that’s all about.  Don’t get me wrong…I’m not saying I’m retiring – not by any stretch of the imagination ( or so I hope and pray…), but I’m starting to realize that one day ‘This Too Shall End’.  The quote, by Eric Frohm, goes, “If I am what I have, and I lose what I have, who then am I?”  Both Turk and I have bodybuilding.  Lemme rephrase…I’ve got bodybuilding whereas Turk HAD bodybuilding.  But now he’s into billiards, and he’s doing quite well at it. 

We were talking the other day when he came over (he could hardly walk, his hips and knee were so bad) and he asked me, “Dude, so what are you gonna do when you can’t compete anymore?”

“I don’t know…hadn’t really given it much thought.  I mean, I used to bowl as a youngster and teenager, and I’ve always been good at that, but I’d definitely need an outlet as I’ve got that competitive mindset, just like you.”  I then asked him, “Do you think you’ll ever step back onstage once you get everything fixed?”

“I can’t say I will, and here’s why.  I’ll always workout for the health benefits, but with three artificial joints, I think my competitive days might be over.  I can’t see me training at that intensity just to step onstage.  My thought is, I really don’t want to go through another series of surgeries for the second and possible third sets of joints, and I’m thinking that pushing at the level it takes to be competitive will simply speed up the process at which I’ll need new joints.  If I’ve gotta get a second and possible third set, I want to put it off as long as possible.”

“That’s the difference between you and me, dude.  I’m not worried about having a second or third surgery – if it happens it happens.  What if I stay competitive and I never need a second hip?  Or I quit training altogether and need another one?  I rehabbed one of my old clients who had her first set of hips when she was in her mid-40’s and she didn’t do anything like what we do and did.  She needed a second set after only 12 years.  I rehabbed her once again.  After a year she was off and running…literally!  Back to mountain climbing, biking…whatever she could do she did.  She didn’t let her hips slow her down, and she definitely wasn’t afraid of overdoing it to the point where she’d have to go back under the knife.  Last I talked to her she was golfing and thinking about taking skiing lessons.”

“Well I ain’t feeling two and three surgeries, so I ain’t gonna kill myself to get that look.  And I don’t know why you’re killin’ yourself now.  You just told me a few minutes ago about how you’re hurtin’…”

“Dude, I’m always hurting!  I live in pain.  Whether I lift or don’t lift, I hurt.  I’ve pushed this body of the past 35 years and it hurts!  My philosophy is simple – if I’m gonna hurt, I might as well hurt lookin’ good! Hahaha…

“Man…you crazy…”

We talked a bit more.  I never did tell him what my next ‘career’ would be, as I don’t have a clue myself.  I just know that one day I will no longer ‘have’ bodybuilding as I currently see it.  What SHALL I do?  Only time will tell…

Hey…I promised that I’d write each day on exposing Bodybuilding’s 30 Biggest Lies…well I guess I lied because I didn’t blog yesterday.  Sometimes, life gets in the way…N-E-Whoo…got a short but sweet one today…enjoy!

2. You don’t have to be strong to be big.  For a variety of reasons, people, even those with equal amounts of muscle mass, vary in strength enormously.  It might have something to do with fast-twitch/slow-twitch muscle fiber ratios, or it might have something to do with the efficiency of nerve pathways.  It could be more biomechanical, such as limb length and the resultant torque, or kinesiology, such as where the muscles originate and insert onto the bones.  Regardless, it is still a relative term.  To get bigger muscles, you have to lift heaver weight, or as Lee Haney once said, “To build big muscle you gotta lift big weight”.  You, not the guy or girl next door, have to become stronger – stronger than you were.  Increasing muscle strength in the natural athlete, except in a very few, rare instances, requires that the tension applied to muscle fibers be high.  The muscles also have to be under that tension for an appropriate period of time, known as time under tension.  If the tensions applied to muscle fibers are light, or lighter than what the muscle fibers need to promote synthesis, then maximal growth will not occur.  So what’s the best tension or weight to lift to promote growth?  The controversy still rages from the strength pundits who say you need to be in the 3-6 rep range to build maximum strength to John Parrillo and his 100 rep sets (although in all fairness John advocates picking a weight in which you gut out a hard 20-25 reps and then suffer through to 100, doing whatever it takes, short of bad form, to accomplish the task).  In general, there are three pathways in which strength can occur – the strength pathway, the power pathway, and the size pathway.  Power is simply strength divided by time – how long it takes to leverage a weight, whereas strength is just getting it up regardless of time.  Another general rule is that the stronger you get, the bigger you get, and the bigger you get, the stronger you get.  Remember, I said general…too many variables to cover to make sense of this statement in this blog. You’ll just have to take my word on it.  Generally, the endurance pathway is not conducive to maximal strength simply because they’re at opposite ends of the spectrum.  Endurance athletes are not strong (in general…) and strength athletes are not good at endurance activities (again, in general).  Since strength and size are concomitant you usually won’t see muscular, strong long distance runners just as you probably won’t see thin, emaciated sprinters. 

Ok…I’m done for tonight…gotta eat…holla at’cha boi, America! Peace…

The Dr.

David “Dr. Buff” Patterson

Personal Training Systems

“There Are No Shortcuts!”

 www.personaltrainingsystems.net 

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I love it when a plan comes together, America!  Kathy came over earlier so we could work on posing.  Over the past few weeks I’ve been slowly bring her down in carbs and upping her cardio, telling her that soon she’ll start feeling it.  Well…today she came in and there was a definite change in her.  She wasn’t her usual up-tempo, high energy self.  She was a bit ‘subdued’ to say the least.  More quiet, self-reflective, and introspective – at least for the first minute.  Then she opened up and let fly with both barrels.

“Dave, I swear, I just wanted to yell at so many of my people today (she’s a Seattle bus driver…).  They’re talking to me and I just didn’t feel like talking to them.  And then add to that one of my fellow drivers wouldn’t leave the terminal in front of me which made me late getting out and I HATE being late.  And then I get stuck behind two other buses out on the road who were both behind time and I so felt like turning off my sign.  Oh…and then…everyone wants to pay me and I’m yelling at them “Pay the next driver” because it’s not the stops that make me late, it’s when the passengers hold me up wanting to pay…”

I just smiled as she talked.  She’d finally gotten ‘there’ – that point to where other people and things that aren’t in your world irritate you.  “Looks like you’re on point,” I mused.  “You gonna be able to hang these next few weeks?  You can’t go around leaving, cussin’ out, and shooting your transports, y’know…”

“Oh, I’ll be okay.  I never felt like this before in all my years of driving.  It’s just that literally everything that happened today seemed to irritate me to some degree.  Is this normal?”

“Perfectly,” I said.  “As competitive bodybuilders, when we drop our starchy carbs low for the sake of getting ultra-lean it affects our cognitive abilities – our ability to think, act, and do things rationally.  Low carbs over a period of time also cause us to be less tolerant and understanding of others.  We become more self-centered – more “ME” oriented.   Remember, carbs are our brain food – they’re the only nutrient that the brain uses for energy.  Without adequate carbs, the brain gets a little ‘spacey’ initially and then it gets pissed that it’s not getting its energy, and it lets you know. The irritability you’re feeling is simply your brain telling you it wants sugars and it wants them NOW.  It’s a physiological response to the reduction in carbs – you can’t control it.  I’ve heard so many people over the years say that ‘It’s all in your head – you don’t have to act or be that way without carbs.’  My answer to them is ‘Drop your starchies to less than 100 gms for about 5 days and then tell me its all in my head’.”

“So how do I handle this?  I can’t be like this every day.  Not to mention that you said it’ll get even worse!”

“Well…one thing I’ve learned to do is keep my mouth shut around anyone that doesn’t live in my world.  We had bible study at my house last night and I hardly said a word.  No one seemed to stay on point with the topics and I knew me.  If I said anything it wouldn’t be good, so I kept my mouth shut!  Another thing I do is time my leaving the house right after eating so that I’ve got an hour or so of feeling good before the irritability starts to set back in.  If I’m out and about I usually carry a couple Parrillo bars or Protein cookies or brownies…something with very little carbs and sugars.  For you I’d recommend carrying a bunch of protein cookies, brownies, and bars.  Have 1/3 bar and a cookie or brownie every time you feel like you’re running out of gas (brain fuel) but it’s not time to eat yet.  Your body will convert the protein to useable carbohydrate energy via a process known as gluconeogenesis – that’ll give you a little bit of brain fuel.  The key is to always be prepared for anything that could happen once you leave your house and you lose control over your environment.”  We talked a bit more and then went out to the gym and worked on posing for about 1½ hours. 

Hey, I promised you several months ago and then a few weeks ago that I’d write a series entitled “Exposing 30 of Bodybuilding’s Biggest Lies”.  This was a great article written way back in 1993 by Bill Phillips of Muscle Media 2000.  Although I wasn’t a big fan of Bill’s due to his open and candid use of his magazine to push drugs, I had to admit that this article was really good.  Most of the information is still true.  I’ll write and give credit to Bill and T.C. Luoma, but exercise editorial jurisdiction to add and take away as I see fit.  The goal is to write on one or two points each day (if I’m not too lazy…).  Here’s the first one…

1. You can get as big as a pro bodybuilder, without taking steroids; it just takes longer. Despite what many of the magazines would lead you to believe through their marketing, advertising, and promotional blitzes, virtually all national and professional bodybuilders, male and female, use either steroids or steroids in combination with other growth-enhancing drugs.  Without manipulating hormones, it just isn’t possible to get that degree of muscularity, the paper-thin skin, and the continuing ability to pack on mass, despite sometimes having poor workout habits and relative ignorance of the principles involved that many pro bodybuilders have.  As a former steroid user back in the early 1980’s I can attest to the rapid increase in size, strength, and muscularity, and subsequent rapid loss of same once I made the decision to come clean.  Prior to going on, my weight off-season was around 165-170.  While on I weighed over 220.  Since I’ve been clean, without getting fat, my weight is back to 168-170 off-season.  That’s my genetic potential, America.  No matter how hard I trained my body just was not programmed to be much bigger than this drug-free.

Now that doesn’t mean that I still can’t have a decent competitive body for my genetic potential.  Nor does it mean that you should give up.  By using state-of-the-art training principles, consuming a nutrient-rich diet, adding in 45 minutes of daily cardio to avoid blowing up, and by getting proper amounts of rest, almost every person can make incredible changes in his or her physique.  The national or professional competitive bodybuilding circuit may not be in your future, but building the kind of physique that gains you respect and admiration among your peers at the local and regional level is certainly achievable, as are self-respect and robust health.  As I’ve said so many times, sometimes it’s better to be a big fish in a little pond than a minnow in the ocean.

I’m out America…we’ll pick up a couple more points tomorrow…in the meantime, just make it do what it do, baby!  Peace…

The Dr.

David “Dr. Buff” Patterson

Personal Training Systems

“There Are No Shortcuts!”

 www.personaltrainingsystems.net 

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A good bodybuilder will fix his or her mistakes...

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I’m a quotes person, America…have been for years!  During my Master’s program I took an Advanced Sports Psychology class.  Our instructor, Professor Colleen (Cole) Hacker was big on quotes.  We picked that up from her.  At the beginning of the semester all of us students decided to see who could find the best quote.  We spent literally the entire semester finding quotes.  At the end of class we determined that there was no winner as we all had some really great quotes, inspirational (notice I didn’t say ‘motivational’) sayings, and stories.  Everyone got copies of each others findings.  Over the years I’ve collected thousands of quotes and sayings.  I get them from TV, radio, and movie lines.  I ‘steal’ them from other people and signatures if I like them.  I’ve written and developed my own over the years.  I’ve got several books that are just quotes.  I’ve reached the point to where I now have my own personal quotes collection.  A little book by Michael Jordan, “I Can’t Accept Not Trying”, is full of good Michael quotes.  Another great book, John Wooden’s, “Wooden: A Lifetime Of Observations And Reflections On And Off The Court” is absolutely fantastic.  When I blog on the Mac it randomly rotates through 25 quotes in my signature (the PC uses the same one unless I manually go in and change it).  My gym is full of inspirational sayings.  I’ve got my personal favorite on this laptop…as I said, I’m a quotes person.  But every single show, when I reach a certain point in my contest diet (and it varies from show to show…), quotes kinda take a back seat and it becomes sheer drive, discipline, determination, grit, and grind!  I’m at that point!  I can pull quotes out of my glutes to explain what I’m doing – Nike’s “Just Do It”; Yoda’s “Do or do not, there is no try”; even the Bible’s James 1:22 – “Do not merely hear the Word and so be deceived, but rather do what it says”. 

I remember Cole saying something along the line of “Quotes are a great source of inspiration if you use them correctly (I learned to not like the ‘motivation’ word from her as she was the one who taught us that motivation falls by the wayside quickly, and then it’s your commitment, determination and discipline that gets you through anything).  But they are simply a tool that, if used properly, will aid in achieving your goal.  But do not for a minute believe that a quote can win anything, or put you in a position to win, for that matter.  It will ALWAYS be your work ethic that ultimately leads to your success or lack thereof.  Use all the other tools to your best advantage, but never forget that your work will ultimately define you.”  I’ve never forgotten that.

So why am I bringing up quotes, especially since I use them and love them?  This past weekend one of my non-bodybuilding clients from Portland came up for her monthly visit – body comp, workout, going over foods, etc.  It wasn’t a good session, as the numbers weren’t what she wanted to see.  But as we talked, it came out that she had arbitrarily made some changes to her plan without consulting me – she second-guessed me and herself.  Part of the conversation went something like this…

“So what are you eating for dinner?”

“Well, I have my 5 oz of chicken, and I’m not having any starches like you said, but it’s difficult to get my veggies in.”  I just find it hard to eat them all.”

“Hmmm…so are you having anything else with your protein?”

“Well…sometimes when I’m hungry later in the evening I’ll have either some Sugar-Free Ice Cream or Frozen Yogurt, and maybe a few of those cheese-flavored fish crackers.”

I just looked at her.  “Know what I think?  I think you deliberately skip your veggies to justify eating the ice cream, yogurt, and fish crackers.  How often do you have them?”

“Ok…I can’t lie to you, Dave…pretty much every night.  And you know what?  I think…no…I know you’re right!  I could eat [the veggies] but I choose not to because I want the other stuff.  But is it really hurting me that bad?”

“What do your numbers say?”

“I can’t believe that making such a small change like that can make such a huge difference.”

“Y’gotta remember that this is only one part of the equation.  You aren’t pushing yourself hard on leg presses anymore, you’ve backed down to your old cardio intensity to where you might as well sit in the chair…what did you expect to happen?  As the sign over there says, “Results Achieved Are In Direct Proportion To Energy And Effort Expended” – you get out of this what you put into it!”

“I need to write down all of your sayings you have in here.  Maybe they’ll help me to stay on track.  I don’t know why I keep doing this.”

This was not the first time she’d sabotaged herself, but she was now starting to see her pattern as we had enough of a track record to point out the obvious.  “I can give you all the quotes you want, but there’s nothing magical about them – they’re just words on paper.  What you need to focus on is what’s in your head.  So I have one simple question to ask you…What’s more important to you – the foods you eat or the way you look and feel about yourself?  When you can answer that question you’ll realize that the magic is not in the quote or saying, but rather within you.  Just like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, when the good witch, Glenda, told her, “It’s in you, Dorothy.  It’s always been in you.  You just have to believe!”

We talked some more and I sent her on her way.  Our conversation kept playing itself out in my head so that let me know I needed to write about it.  Use your quotes, America, but make sure the work is first and foremost.  My favorite quote is, “Find out what is necessary…and do the necessary well!”  Not very inspirational is it?  Nothing profound, but when I look at it, it speaks to me.  It says, “Dave, if you’re gonna play this game, then you need to play it well.  You’ve gotta learn everything you can about it.  And once you learn it, then you’ve gotta apply it!  And after you apply it, you’ve gotta live it!  And when you live it, you’ll never have a problem with your weight – EVER!  How’s that for a quote, America?  I ain’t sayin’ nuthin…I’m just sayin’ what I’m sayin…Peace!

The Dr.

David “Dr. Buff” Patterson

Personal Training Systems

“There Are No Shortcuts!”

 www.personaltrainingsystems.net 

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Wishing DOESN'T make it come true!

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Okay…today is the first day in which I actually felt like I’m having to ‘work’ at this.  It’s no longer fun.  It’s no longer “Can’t wait to step onstage and ‘bring it’!”  Now its, “Lemme get my butt outta bed and do this cardio,” or “Lemme get going on these weights.”  Don’t get me wrong, America, I’m still looking forward to the shows and I’m still training hard, but now the ‘rah, rah’ crap is gone.  Now we’re down to the nitty-gritty.  I’m not hatin’ life yet – that’ll come in the next three weeks.  I’m not wishing the contest was over – that also is a week or so away.  I’m on task.  I’m focused.  I’m determined.  I don’t wanna talk to or deal with people who don’t understand what I’m going through because they just cause me to waste precious energy attempting to explain to them why I’m doing what I’m doing.  All ‘choice’ has now been removed.  There are no more options outside of pushing harder and harder and harder each day.  I know what to do and I’m doing it.  One of my favorite sayings is, “Find out what is necessary…and do the necessary well!”  I’m doing it, America.  You should be doing it also.

Today I noticed that even though I’m eating more food, I’m not feeling full.  I’m hungry literally an hour or so after eating.  Why?  It’s certainly not because I’m not eating enough.  The reason is simple – TEF – Thermic Effect of Feeding.  I’m playing a nutrient partitioning game – swapping out a good calorie for a better calorie and replacing a carbohydrate calorie with a protein calorie.  So here’s what’s happening…I dropped the little bit of starchy carbs out of my egg white omelet this morning and added in more protein.  I just had one slice of Dave’s Killer Bread as my starch.  I didn’t drop calories – I simply swapped out protein for carbs.  Even though I ate a huge breakfast, I didn’t have that sensation of fullness or satisfaction.  An hour later I was starving.  At this point my body is so efficient that it literally expends more energy than it takes in to process, digest, and assimilate the consumed foods, especially proteins.  I had a Parrillo Protein cookie – that lasted all of 30 minutes.  Then I had a Parrillo Protein brownie – bought another 30 minutes.  Finally it was time to eat again.  I ate…no…I WOLFED down my hi-protein/low carb meal.  Same effect – hungry in about an hour.  And let’s not even talk about how I’m heating up within 10-15 minutes of each meal.  If this is what a hot flash feels like…  That’s what it’s gonna be like for the next 3-4 weeks.  Oh well!  Deal with it, Dave.  Let your competition be weak.  Let your competition give up or give in.  As I’ve said so many times, competitive bodybuilding IS NOT about the physical, but rather the mental!  Who can survive the mental drive, discipline, determination, and focus necessary to be at his or her best come competition day? 

This morning I kicked Kathy’s butt on legs and then I banged out my second 45 minute session on cardio with her while she did an hour.  She learned something during cardio – she wasn’t working hard enough.  Even though she’d been doing ‘hard’ cardio, I’d never watched her to define her intensity.  Ok…so here’s how it went down.  I did most of the talking during cardio (I’m always in ‘teacher’ mode…I need to learn how to turn it off…).  She had a harder resistance and ramp whereas I lowered my ramp and set the resistance fairly light and was flying like the energizer bunny on crack!  She started 5 minutes ahead of me, so when I finished I compared calories burned.  I was 75 calories ahead of her at my 45 minutes to her 50 minutes!  My shirt was wetter.  I was sweating more.  Did she burn calories?  Yes she did.  But I more than likely had a much higher EPOC than her – Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption – that higher energy expenditure due to higher body temperature which led to more oxygen being utilized and the body working harder to return it to normal resting state.  In other words, I burned more bodyfat not only during my cardio session but AFTER cardio as well.  You know I’ve always espoused harder cardio, America – this is a classic example of how and why I recommend it this way. 

I just got off the phone with my fellow competitor, John Shepherd.  John and I go way back…somewhere around 1995 when we first bumped in an Over 40 Master’s class.  He attended my School of Professional Training when I ran that and became a certified Professional Fitness Trainer, and we’ve been friends for years.  I love talking with John.  Just knowing that he’s getting ready for the EC lights a fire under me.  I love competition – the challenge of first seeing if I can match or exceed previous bests and then seeing if I’ve still got what it takes to put myself in a position to win.  N-E-Whoo…John likes to check in with me as he prepares for a show.  He knows I’m always gonna give him the straight skinny on how he’s doing and looking.  John knows that I want him to be at his best come game day, and I’ll do everything I can to help him achieve that even though we’re in the same class.  We chatted a bit about foods – that’s always been John’s struggle.  I did a quick over-the-phone meal plan for him, upping his protein while telling him to drop his starchy carbs.  Like me, John is a Parrillo disciple through and through.  I’ve been using Parrillo products exclusively for over 20 years.  Haven’t found anything better and will stack ANY product up against Parrillo’s line.  I told John to add in Parrillo’s new products – Protein Cookies, Protein Pudding, and Protein Brownies as he swapped out his starchies.  I told him how to ‘doctor’ them up to give them better flavor without compromising quality. 

We then moved onto cardio.  He’s at 2 sessions a day - an hour the first session and 45 minutes the second seven days a week. His knee is giving him a bit of problems but he’s pushing hard and starting to see the change in his body.   His weights and exercises were good so I left that alone.  I’m excited to hit the stage with John once again at the EC.

I’m out, America…gotta help my sister beef up her resume’ for a new position at her job…y’boy got mad skills…I ain’t sayin’ nuthin…I’m just sayin’ what I’m sayin’…Peace!

The Dr. 

David “Dr. Buff” Patterson

Personal Training Systems

“There Are No Shortcuts!”

 www.personaltrainingsystems.net 

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 Mobile:  253.576.4859

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Ooooohhhhhh BAAABY!  That’s all I gotta say, America!  My legs are so sore…I’m hurtin’ bad, America, but it’s a good hurt.  You remember me telling you that I changed up my foods a bit to see what that would do?  Well, I’ve been having some serious hip, low back, and knee problems on my left side – the surgeries side – and decided that if I was gonna make it to the shows I’d have to modify what I was doing.  Time to change.  Now you all know that to build big muscles, you’ve gotta push big weight.  Well…that’s just not working for me anymore.  My joints simply can’t handle the load like they used to.  Call it age, call it wear & tear, call it what you want, the bottom line is I can’t do it anymore.  I was thinking of what I could do for legs and remembered Lee Haney years ago saying that once he had built his base, he seldom went over 315 on squats and usually hung around 225 for higher reps and quick sets. So I totally changed things up yesterday.  Instead of leveraging heavy weights, thereby placing quite a bit of stress on my joints, tendons, and ligaments, as well as my muscles, I backed down on weights to where there was little stress on my joints, tendons, and ligaments.  Once I had the right weight I focused on squeezing and contracting the working muscles through their entire range-of-motion, neither pausing at the bottom or locking out at the top.  In essence, instead of ‘lifting weights’, I ‘worked muscles’.  I know…I know…we all work our muscles, right?  Well, yes and no.  Many times we get to pushing such heavy weight that the muscles sometimes ‘lock out’ and the majority of the stress is imposed upon the joints, tendons, and ligaments.  Eventually they’ll give or wear out – that’s what’s happening to me.

Since I’m genetically an ectomorph – skeletal and small-boned by nature – my potential for pushing big weight has just about passed me by.  So now, to train harder, I’ve gotta train smarter.  Yesterday was 42 sets.  We started with 12 sets of leg curls, followed by 10 sets of leg extensions.  Following what I’d mapped out, I stayed within my ‘weak link’ and kept the reps at 12 or above.  Working at a one-up-one-down pace, we banged those out quickly.  On to leg press for 10 sets.  This is where I’ve really been having problems due to the hip replacement and knee surgery.  Don’t quite know what’s going on, but my hip ‘clunks’ 2-4 times during every rep of every set.  It’s not really painful, but it sorta freaks me out to keep hearing and feeling this ‘clunking’ sound every time I lower and push the weight.  So I found a weight and groove that minimized that sound and feeling and really focused on deep leg presses with no lockout at the top.  By the end of the 6^th set I could definitely feel the weakness in the left hip flexor.  My right leg wanted to do most of the work, but I kept the emphasis on the left leg.  As far as I was concerned, as long as my hip didn’t pop out of socket and I’d have to have Steve carry me and my leg to the emergency room, I was good to go.  During each heavy set, the more my muscles fatigued out, the slower I went on each rep. 

After leg press it was on to Smith Squats for 10 sets.  Again, I’ve done far, far heavier weights than I did yesterday, but this time I locked into deeper squats with continuous tension and movement during each set.  As in the leg presses, the more fatigued I became, the slower I descended and ascended.  I was pretty much trashed by the last set – all I wanted was 12 good reps.  But with this bad back, on the 4^th rep my low back said, “Dude, I think we’re done for the day.”  Since I’m a bodybuilder (which by definition sometimes means being stupid even when you know better…) I decided to gut it out.  On my next rep my back gave out and screamed, “I SAID WE’RE DONE, DUDE!”  I listened this time.  So I ended at 9 ½ sets instead of 10, but I DIDN’T end up in the ER.

I can’t explain why my quads, glutes, and hams are so sore (…well…actually I can, but ya’ll don’t need me to go into that dissertation…).  Let’s just say that with the quickened pace and true focus on working the muscles both in the concentric and eccentric phase, I’m doing the potty drop for a couple of days.

Hey…I’ve got another guest blogger for you guys today.  Mike is a young man whom I had the pleasure of meeting almost 2 weeks ago.  We’ve had several phone conversations since then.  I appreciate the kind words he spoke on me, but I need everyone to understand that the magic is not in Dave Patterson or what he says, but rather the magic is in what you CHOOSE to do with what I say.  Whether it’s me or any other qualified coach, if you follow the plan, you’ll get the results!  Mike is following the plan.  Enjoy his blog, America, and I’ll holla at’cha soon…peace!

Hello all!  My name is Mike Miller.  I live in Vancouver, WA. I am 35 yrs old.  I was a former Teenage Texas 15 yrs ago at the Texas State Bodybuilding Championships.  I have fallen off track in my bodybuilding.  However I was checking around the web and I started following "DR. BUFF'S' Blog.  I called him up and I basically said, “I am literally laying down all of my prior knowledge at your feet.  Please feed me the info that I need!!!!”  Boy did I get what I was asking for.  I got in my truck and I drove 3 hours to see Dave.  I had the time of my life.  Everything that I had once found comfort in as a bodybuilder was all wrong.  I didn't really understand the true meaning of INTENSITY.  Let’s just say Dave beat up on this young man.  He kicked my tail on a chest workout.  He has it down to the science folks.  When I shop for a pair of shoes I don't buy the cheap pair that just fit.  I like to buy Quality.  Let’s just say Dave Patterson is the Nike of Personal Trainers.  He is a legend in the Pacific Northwest.  I am only a week out since my meeting with him.  I’ve already lost some belly fat and am starting to really lean up.  I am shooting for the Oregon Iron Man and the Oregon Bodybuilding Championships.  So I am twelve weeks out as of this weekend.  With Dave’s help I have an awesome diet, and my workout plan is dialed in for success.  Every day I am looking leaner in the mirror.  However, because of what I am eating I am not losing my hard earned muscle.  But what I am losing is body fat!!!!  I have always worked hard in the gym on the weights. Now, combined with my new nutritional and cardio plan, my workouts are now tailored with an intensity that helps activate more muscle fibers.  Dave can tell you and show you how to achieve the look that you want, and you will actually see a difference in 1 week!  I did!

Ok, so I am 5’ 7” and 200lbs and I have a very thick core.  I can lift some heavy weights.  I can bench 315 plus for reps.  However, I want all of you to know that I am sucking in my pride when I say that by the end of my chest workout with Dave it was a struggle to get the bar and 25's off my chest.  This is the Intensity that I was lacking. I learned how to read my muscles.  The pump that I experienced when working out by myself was a different kind of pump than training with Dave and his kind of intensity.  You have all heard the term Muscular Failure.  Let’s just say we went there and beyond!!!  Dave knows how to read you, your lifting style, and will set you up with great technique and has the science on how the muscles respond to the types of movement that they need to grow.  This is what you need to hear if you are serious about wanting to train for a contest.   

When it comes to food I was literally in a deficit of 1500 calories or more.  I was way off on my foods which probably led to me gaining bodyfat and not building maximum muscle.  I am now eating more food that ever before and I am still hungry.  I am eating clean now and yes, I bought a Digital Scale.  You HAVE to have a food scale to really find out how much food you need to eat.  He not only helped me find the meal plan that works for me, but he helped me to understand what "Good Food” is.  I mean the clean foods that help our body work at its maximum potential without losing that ability to burn our stored energy (bodyfat).  By weighing and measuring my foods, not only do I know exactly what is going in my mouth, but I will be better set on making those slight changes that will help give me the leading edge on my competitors.

I had written down a list of questions that I wanted to get answered.  What to eat?  What to lift?  Pre-workout foods?  Post-workout foods?  How do I know when I am done working a muscle group?  When would I be overtraining?  Not only did he answer all of these questions and more, he actually COOKED for me and showed me how he prepares his meals.  Man, it tasted great!  I learned that just a little change in the way we prepare our food that we eat daily makes a world of difference in taste and how you feel about what you’re eating.  My time with Dave was priceless - I mean American Express priceless!  I could have spent thousands of dollars on videos and books and supplements and stuff.  He saved me from doing that and gave me what I needed.  I am grateful for that.  Now we all like magic, right?  Let’s just say that Dave is a Magician who can show you how to turn your water bloated, fat-filled, wrong food eating, low intensity training body into a beautiful piece of art crafted with great food, excellent lifting skills, and proper intensity and length of cardio.  That’s Magic!  He's not afraid to share his tricks!!  Folks, all I have to say is when I hit that stage in June my goal is to beat my personal best.  Dave has instilled that in me.  He has also instilled in me a renewed sense of self-work.  I will have to work harder than I have ever worked if I am to reach my goal.  He is not going to fill you with a bunch of Bull.  Dave and his body is a time-tested machine of knowledge and experience.  He has stood the test of time and has been awarded heavily for it.  When you are in the presence of Dave Patterson it is very important to know that you are working with a Legend.  Ask your questions, listen, learn, and take note.  He is the Best in the Business. 

THANKS DR. BUFF!!!!

FORMER TEENAGE TEXAS

MICHAEL MILLER

David “Dr. Buff” Patterson

Personal Training Systems

“There Are No Shortcuts!”

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America, how y’livin?  Well, we’re 5 weeks out from the Vancouver and 8 out from the Mac Daddy – Emerald Cup.  All of you should be dialed in on your foods, training, cardio, and mindset if you’re doing the Vancouver.  Your energy levels should still be good, although you might be noticing a little effort in getting started, but once you get going, you’re good to go.  You should be within 10-12 lbs of contest weight (and please don’t make the mistake of believing that you’re holding lots of water when it’s actually fat…).  If you’re more than 5-6 lbs out, then you might want to seriously consider doing two cardio sessions a day.  Your pumps should still be good – you’re still big, hard, and full.  If you’re a higher calorie person, then your first session of cardio should be one hour.  Second session is no less than 30 minutes and upwards of an hour depending upon leanness.  If you have to do more than 2 hours of cardio a day, then either you’re too fat or your foods are waaay off!  If you’re a low calorie person with little cardio, my recommendation is to attempt to stay above 11-1200 calories and increase the intensity on your workout to create the energy deficit you need to get lean.  Going much lower than 1100 calories will invariably lead to muscle loss and you’ll find your fat loss will stall out. You might be noticing that you’re slightly irritable, or should I say, definitely focused on the task at hand at this point.  If people don’t live in your world, you probably don’t wanna hang around them very much.  Life should be pretty routine now…cardio, foods, train, sleep, cardio, foods, train, sleep…whatever your schedule is, you should have it locked down. 

If you’re doing just the EC, you should be 16-20 lbs out maximum to minimize muscle loss.  If you’re more than 10-12 lbs out, again, consider doing two cardio sessions a day.  All systems should be go for the EC – lots of energy, big pumps – life is still good for you guys.  The only way someone 8 weeks out should be ‘suffering’ is if they’re behind the power curve and are having to make up for being too fat.  Oh, and don’t be trippin’ that I use the “f” word so freely, America – I call it what it is!

I’ve got a little treat for you guys – a guest blogger!  As you know, I work with lots of clients in preparation for contest.  I picked up Kathy a few months ago and she’s done an incredible job of following the program.  I asked her if she wouldn’t mind writing a quick article on her experiences so far.  I’ve got several others that will be guest-blogging during the course of this spring season and year as well, so continue to check back to see how this competition thing has changed their lives.  But for now, enjoy Kath’s blog…peace!

"MAN"! Is all I can say right now! 

I decided a while ago to compete in a bodybuilding competition...having no idea what it really takes. I've been lifting on and off since I was 13 yrs old - I’m now 50.  I love to lift.  I love the feeling of pushing myself and seeing the results in the mirror!! (Yes, I love the mirrorJ).  

Anyway, I had no idea what it took to get ready for a bodybuilding competition. I got hooked up with Dave through Brenda Dixon, another client of Dave’s and a friend of mine. Dave is helping me with my legs, posing, and food!

So when Dave first tweaked my diet he told me I needed to buy a scale. Telling him that I ate a hunk of bread or about a cup of chicken didn't fly.  When Dave gave me my new eating schedule, guess what?  I’m eating a ton more food!  I am eating the amount of chicken breast in one day that I used to eat in a whole week!  That's no lie! I am eating a ton more carbs...no lie!! And a ton more veggies....I know, who cares! But the thing is I’ve lost bodyfat. I am eating clean. No wasted food for this body! I am way more cut and lean and I get to eat more food!!

I've learned how to lift harder and better than I've ever lifted before. In the past I always thought I lifted pretty hard by most people’s standards. Now I am really lifting! Dave has taught me to ask myself when I leave the gym, "Did I lift as hard as I could? If not, why?" Those women that say they don't want to "get big"...guess what?  You won't! Because most women won't or can’t lift hard enough and long enough to even get close to that “get big” body! Heck, I bust my butt and I’m smaller – not bigger, leaner – not bigger, and more muscular – not bigger!  Dave is helping me work my legs.  My upper body responded quickly to lifting, but my legs…that’s another story.  Even though we’re killing them I am barely seeing progress!  I had no idea how hard they needed to be worked.  But I'll keep on keeping on!

Now posing - oh boy, that's another one! Some competitors make it look so easy. I thought, before I knew anything, that I'd just get on stage and show off my muscles.  How wrong was I?  After my first posing session with Dave I realized that this was a lot harder than it looked.  And I hurt!  So now I am learning the mandatory and compulsory poses....they're not as easy as I thought. Oh, and I need to do a routine to music too?  Good thing Dave is great at not only choreography, but editing and mixing music.  And there’s something else I didn’t know - If I don't make the top 5....no routine! That's not happening if I have anything at all to do with it. I am going to work my butt off with Dave's help! I want to make sure that on "game day" I've done all there is to do to make the top 5!

Yep, my life right now is eating, lifting, cardio, and posing, eating, lifting, cardio, and posing, eating, lifting, cardio, and posing…

Doing the adventure, just one day at a time! Lil bit, Lil bit!

Kath

David “Dr. Buff” Patterson

Personal Training Systems

“There Are No Shortcuts!”

 www.personaltrainingsystems.net 

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America, y’boy got mad skills!  About a month or so ago my laptop died.  I had no clue as to what the problem was.  But thank God for the internet.  I went online and troubleshot it – turns out I needed a new screen and inverter.  But before I found that out I kept doing other things.  At one point I had this thing totally dismantled down to the individual component parts with over 75 tiny screws on my counter. Now I gotta admit, the most I’d ever done to a computer before as far as hardware was to install a couple new memory modules, so this was major to me.  But as I’ve said many times, if I can dial in for a bodybuilding show, I can do anything if I put my mind to it.  To net it out, I put everything back together (no…I didn’t have any screws left over…), said a prayer, and turned it on.  It worked!  So now I have no excuse to blog more as I’d rather blog from my laptop in front of the tube rather than from the Mac in my office (c’mon ladies…I’m a guy – what did you expect?).

Hey, my partner, Turk, called me yesterday morning.  The first question out of his mouth was, “So how you lookin’? That’s the question that should be asked right about now.  The next question that should be asked about 3-4 weeks out is “How y’feelin’?”  So lemme see if I can help you guys figure out if you’re on schedule or not.

I’m gonna write from the perspective of the Vancouver Natural as we’re less than 6 weeks out from that.  I’ll write from the EC timeline as well, just not today.  The first thing you need to know is your timeline, or how much bodyfat you have left to lose verses how much time you’ve got left to lose it.  All of you should know that we can lose between 1-2 lbs of bodyfat (BF) each week if everything is done right and not sacrifice lean mass.  So right away we should be able to figure out if we’re ahead of schedule, on schedule, or behind the power curve.  With a maximum of 2 lbs fat loss per week with 5 weeks to go, everyone should be within 10 lbs of contest weight minus water.  If you’ve got more than 10 lbs of BF to lose as of today, you might want to reconsider doing the Vancouver.  Doesn’t mean you can’t compete, it just means you probably won’t reach your best potential unless you take drastic measures, which will probably cost you some hard-earned muscle.  To lose two lbs of BF each week foods have to be spot on – eating the right foods in the right amounts at the right times.  You’ll also need to be doing upwards of 2 one-hour cardio sessions/day. 

Now I’ve gotta digress a bit to explain the science of all this.  You should know that a pound of fat is roughly 3500 calories.  To lose one pound each week (7 days) you’d have to create an energy deficit of 500 calories (7 into 3500 = 500).  To lose two pounds each week, you’d need to create a 1000 calorie energy deficit.  Losing more than that without sacrificing muscle is extremely difficult.  Why?  Well…if you go more than 1000 calories below your daily caloric maintenance level the fat-burning mechanism literally comes to a screeching halt and the body starts looking for alternative energy sources – you guessed it – muscle.  Trust me on this.  So how do we create this 500-1000 caloric deficit?  One of three ways. 

One, we take in less energy (calories) than we burn in a 24 hour period.  For example, if your maintenance level is at 1800 calories and you want to lose one pound per week, then you’d cut calories to 1300 and that should do the trick.  But I caution you on going much below 1100-1200 calories per day.  Research shows that most human adults, even small women, need about 1200 calories a day as baseline just to get through life.  So if you cut below 1000 calories AND are training hard on weights, more than likely you’ll lose muscle. 

Two, we expend more energy (calories) than we consume.  For example, if you take in 1800 calories and you want to lose one pound per week, then your cardio exercise should create a 500 calorie burn each day to allow for that one pound loss each week.  To lose two pounds per week, then you’d need to burn 1000 calories on cardio each day. 

Finally, we can do a combination of the first two – cut calories slightly while increasing cardio slightly – this is what I recommend.  As long as your calories are of sufficient amount to prevent muscle wasting then you should safely lose your excess bodyfat.  But even with that said, cardio has to be of sufficient intensity, duration, and frequency for this to occur.  To summarize, if you’re within 10 lbs of your contest weight you’re good to go as long as you stay on task.  Even though 5+ weeks is a long time, it’ll fly by! 

Now let’s talk about your look – I call it your ‘checkpoints’.  First off, all you bodybuilders should be fairly vascular by now.  Figure and Bikini should be coming in very soon.  Veins should be popping out after you finish eating – this is called the ‘Thermic Effect of Feeding’.  Obviously you should be nice and veiny during and after your workout – this is called the ‘Thermic Effect of Exercise’.  That will probably change in the coming weeks as you continue to de-carb, but that’s another blog.  Your ‘snuffbox’ should be in.  The snuffbox is that space between the two tendons that pop out when you pull your thumb back.  Another checkpoint is your tri/bi/delt tie-in.  That should be coming in nicely, and all three heads of your delts should be delineated.  There’s a dimpling in your outer pec by the armpit that should be coming in if you cross your arm over your pec and flex.  You should also see a dimple in the lateral aspect of your clavicles (collarbones).  It’s hard to see your back muscles without a three-way mirror, but if someone looks at you, they should see your ‘Christmas Tree’ in your lower back when you rotate your lats medially.  When you hit your back double biceps, all the muscle groups should be separated and some of you might even have veins running along your upper back/traps.  For the men, your quads and hams should be separated nicely.  For most of you ladies, I know that’s an area that usually comes in last for you, so you’ll probably see more leanness in your abdominal region right about now than most men, whereas they’ll see leanness in their legs before you.  One of my female competitors, Kath, is already veiny upper body, with the two main veins running up her abs.  Yet her legs are barely separated.  Don’t worry Kath…they’ll come in. 

There’s so many more checkpoints that I use to gauge a person’s leanness and contest readiness, but this is a good starting point.  If you have NONE of these…well…as I said, you probably shouldn’t be doing the Vancouver.  But I’m trusting and believing that all of you getting ready have been on task and are looking good at this point, which means that you’ll look even better next week, and you’ll look fantastic the day of the show.  Oh…and let’s not forget your posing and routines.  I finished editing my song this past weekend.  I changed it up a bit today and listened to it over and over and over during my second cardio session to start putting together the routine in my head.  That’s how I process – I’ll listen to the song close to 100 times before I ever start posing.  I’ll know every nuance of the song – the beat, bass, snare, and words, and I start timing everything out in my head.  About 4 weeks out I start my actual practice. 

Well…that’s about it for today America.  Sigh…so much to say…so little time.  Holla at’cha boi if you need any help or have questions.  I’m at your service.  Peace…

The Dr.

David “Dr. Buff” Patterson

Personal Training Systems

“There Are No Shortcuts!”

 www.personaltrainingsystems.net 

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America, I was working with a new client this past Saturday.  She’s getting ready for the Oregon Ironman in 14 weeks.  I told her that I’d blog on her, so don’t trip, America.  We had a nice session – she got her butt kicked on legs, learned more about nutrition than she could remember, and pushed harder on cardio than she ever had before.  In other words, everything she was doing up to this point was...how do I put this nicely...wrong!  Now I’m not one to slam another trainer but I gotta say that if you’re a trainer of a competitor and you’re not providing structure and organization to his or her life, then you probably shouldn’t be doing this.  Lemme see if I can explain this without offending anyone...if I take on a client and pretty much give that client free reign to do what ‘feels right’, then I need to get outta the game.  I’m a trainer, a coach, a teacher – call it what you will, but my job is not to be your friend (at least not initially, and definitely not when I need to tell it like it is...) but a resource to facilitate progress and results.  I’ve always said that there’s two Dave’s – Dave the everyday guy and Dave the Bodybuilder.  If you ask me a question on competition – doesn’t matter what it is – Dave the Bodybuilder comes out.  I can’t help it and I won’t apologize for it.  I know what it takes to play this game.  If you wanna play it with me and play it well, then we play by my rules.  If not, well...there’s other trainers out there.  

But back to the lecture at hand...I asked all of the usual questions when I’m interviewing a client and he or she is interviewing me. Just as they interview me to see if I’m a good fit for them, I interview them to see if they’re a good fit for me!  I don’t accept everyone who knocks on my door.  You’ve gotta have the right mindset first and foremost for me to take you on.  Then our personalities have to mesh.  Y’know how there’s just some people you can’t seem to talk to or don’t want to talk to?  I’d be lying if I said that every single client I’ve had over the past 35 years has been a joy to train and work with.  But I digress...

“So how can I help you, “ I asked?  Funny story here, America...I watch the Dog Whisperer with Cesar Milan all the time, and the first question he asks every single time he meets someone for the first time is “So how can I help you”?  Smart man...N-E-Whoo...

“I want to get ready for the Oregon Ironman in 14 weeks,” she said.

“You did the Washington Ironman last year, correct?”  I’d asked her that question during our email correspondence so I looked her up in the photo gallery.

“Yes.”

“And you didn’t do very well, did you?”

“No, not at all.  I was extremely disappointed in my look.”  We talked a bit about her placing, which isn’t important, but what IS important is that she didn’t look very good.

“Well...if I were your coach, I would not have put you in the contest in that condition.  You didn’t look good.  Did you have a coach or trainer or did you do this yourself?”

“I had a trainer, but I always felt like there was something missing in what she was saying.  I never quite felt comfortable in what she was telling me, and sometimes it seemed like she didn’t quite know what to have me do.”  Sidebar – here’s a teachable moment, America.  If you feel like you’re not getting the service and attention you’re PAYING for, then look elsewhere.  Friendship and loyalty only go so far.  And remember, that gut instinct is powerful – if you don’t feel comfortable with what’s being said or done, then beat feet.  

“So talk to me a bit about what you did (notice I moved off of her trainer – I didn’t know their relationship and didn’t want to make her mad, so I turned the conversation personal).  What were you eating, how much, when, stuff like that.  And then we’ll get into your cardio and training.”  She had brought her log book from last year so I took a look at it.  Just as fast as I moved off her trainer, I jumped back on.  America, like I said, I don’t like to slam another trainer, but when things aren’t right, they’re not right!  None of what this young lady was doing made sense.  Carbs were waaaay too high going into the Ironman.  Protein was at less than a gram/lb/BW.  Fat was too high.  Cardio wasn’t enough – typically less than 45 minutes/day and this was less than 2 weeks before the show, and she was told to keep her heart rate at about 60% to burn more bodyfat (read yesterday’s blog to see why this is wrong).  I asked her if she was doing two sessions a day and she said no.  Oh...and did I mention that she was only weight training three (3) days per week???  Getting ready for the Ironman???  You gotta be kiddin’ me, America!!!  Oh, she lost weight, but was just a smaller version of herself going into the show.  She sacrificed and lost a lot of muscle without losing much bodyfat.  

“It’s no wonder you looked like you did.  Your look onstage was pretty much the beginning of a pre-contest diet down.  Ok...we’ve got our work cut out for us, but I think we can make the Oregon Ironman.”  I always like to say “we”, America, because I’m in this with you.  I have a vested interest in you.  You are an extension and reflection of me, but more importantly, I want you to do well, to look well, and to be happy about your look.  Long ago I had trainers that would tell me what to do, but never answer my questions as to WHY they wanted me to do it this or that way.  I didn’t like that, and I don’t do that.  I want to...no...I NEED to make sure you understand it is what you’re getting into.  I need to ensure that you know what you can expect from me and what I expect of you.  Am I a taskmaster?  Yes, but I’ve never yet found an easy way to accomplish a hard task.  If someone out there knows of a way, please let me know.

To net this out, America, I mapped out her nutrition for the next couple of weeks, at which point I’ll see her again and make necessary adjustments.  Then we hit the weights for a leg workout.  I seriously believe this was the first true leg workout she’s ever had.  Her normal leg workout was 3 sets of lunges (light wts), followed by 3 sets of Romanian Deadlifts, finishing up with 3-4 sets of Smith squats if I remember correctly (light wts, high reps).  We started with leg extension supersetted with leg curls.  Six grueling sets later we moved to Smith squats...or should I say she hobbled over there.  Her legs felt more sore and tired after the leg ext/leg curls than she’d ever felt after her normal leg workout.  I simply said, “It’s called ‘intensity’ - something you did not have nor do last time.”  I figured she might be good for 5-6 sets of Smith squats working up in weight to about 8 reps on her heavies, but she surprised me.  She had good quad and glute/ham strength and banged out 8-9 sets, squatting almost bodyweight at her heaviest weight.  We finished up with 4 sets of Hack squats, with the last set being continuous motion – no lockout at the top.  The more the quads burned, the slower she went.  I thought she was gonna cry, America – brought a smile to my face.  Another convert!  After all of that, of which I explained that she had done about 1/2 to 2/3 of our normal leg workouts, she banged out a hard 45 minutes in which I re-defined her cardio intensity.  Poor girl...she was one tired puppy when she was done, but happy that she finally got the guidance she was looking for.  

I then warned her, “You’ll probably be doing the ‘potty drop’ for a few days, so be ready for that.  And be careful going up and down stairs as well.  But not to worry...this too shall pass!”  I finished mapping her out for her new 5 day split.  As I said before, America, it’s really hard to map someone out on weights long distance when you have no idea how strong or weak they are, what their form and technique is like, where their head is at in all of this, or even if they understand our ‘language’.  So I just wrote down the exercises I wanted her to do, along with the total number of sets.  I told her to attempt to match the intensity of each bodypart to her leg workout – if she could do that she’d be doing well.  I heard from her this morning – quads are already screaming at her, “What have you done to us??  This is NOT what we signed up for!!”  Life is good...I’ve found my purpose in life!

Well, that’s about it for today, America.  I’ve still gotta eat and maybe go sit in the hot tub and relax.  I’ll get back to SO WAT next blog (unless I find something else to go off on...).  As always, holla at’cha boi if you have any questions on training, nutrition, posing – time is winding down.  Don’t wait until the last minute and be behind the proverbial power curve.  I ain’t sayin’ nuthin, America...I’m just sayin’ what I’m sayin...peace!

The Dr.

Personal Training Systems | “There Are No Shortcuts!”
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“I just make it do what it do baby...I just make it do what it do!” - Ray Charles

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America, was that a good Super Bowl game or what?  Even though I was going for Indy and Peyton, I felt good about Naw’leans winning.  I mean, how could you NOT at least smile when the game was over?  Just a few years ago the fans were calling themselves the “New Orlean’s Aint’s” and wearing bags over their heads like the Unknown Comic from the old Gong Show.  Mardi Gras officially started a week or so early...wish I was there!

So how’d everyone do on their foods today since some of you are 7 weeks out from the Vancouver and 10 weeks from the EC?  Were you on task?  Did you ‘cheat’ just a little?  Did you go off the deep end?  Do you feel guilty?  Not me!!!  I ate my butt off, America!  Why???  Because I wanted to and  ‘CAUSE I’M LEAN, AMERICA!  It pays to stay lean year-round just for occasions like this.  I know that whatever I did today will literally have no effect on me except outside of a little water weight gain.  No biggie there – an hour of cardio tomorrow and Tuesday and I’ll be back to normal weight and then some by Wednesday morning.  Also, I don’t consider this a cheat day as I don’t really do those.  I pretty much eat what I want when I want.  I’ve just learned how to control what goes in my mouth.  And since I’ve learned how to control my foods rather than my foods controlling me, it’s really not that difficult to eat what I NEED to eat to stay lean so I can eat what I WANT to eat on days like this.  Oh, I just said somethin’ America!

So what’d I eat?  Let’s see...fried chicken (haven’t had that in months), potato salad (my niece put her FOOT in it, it was so good...), spaghetti, barbecued ribs, southern-style gumbo, chips, smoked turkey...oh...and a couple diet Pepsi's – gotta watch the figure y’know!  With everything I ate I only picked up 3 lbs – a little above my normal weight gain for a normal day’s eating.  There really is something to the ‘thermic effect of feeding’ - that speeding up of the metabolism when foods are consumed.  I was sweating literally every time I ate.  Family and friends were chilly in my 73 degree house and I was burning up!  Hope all you guys had as much fun as I did...

Speaking of fun, most of you should be doing no less than 45 minutes of cardio at this time, and for many of you it should be a solid hour.  And for those of you that enjoyed yourself a bit too much off-season, you’d better start cranking out that second session of 30-45 minutes, if not more.  I was asked by two competitors this weekend if they could split up their hour into two sessions of 30 minutes each.  My answer was quick and to the point.  “No, because research shows it takes about 15-20 minutes to get into a good fat-burning zone, and if you only do 30 minutes you’ll get 10-15 minutes of good fat-burning as opposed to up to 45 minutes of fat-burning if you do a straight hour.”  If you want more science, America, go waaaay back to my first few blogs – I think I went more in-depth on the science of cardio.  If not, hit me up with an email or phone call and I’ll be sure to give you the answer.  

Another client asked about cardio intensity – her other trainer told her to do easy cardio to maximize fat-burning.  Once again, I covered that in a previous blog but I’ll net it out for you real quick.  Slower, easier cardio in which your heart rate stays in a target zone of about 60-70% will burn a higher PERCENTAGE of fat calories, but working at a higher intensity level, say 75-85%, will burn a higher total NUMBER of fat calories, and that’s what’s important.  Why burn a higher percentage when it’s a lower number?  You’d just have to work that much longer to get all that fat off, and since the intensity is lower, the fat won’t come off anyway.  Think about it, America...if slower and easier is the way to go, sittin’ on your couch should be the best exercise of all!  Can’t get much slower and easier than that!  But even if you’re exercising or active, let’s look at mail carriers – they walk all day long delivering mail getting ‘exercise’.  How come so many of them are still overweight?  Factor out the foods and it all comes back to intensity, America, so bump it up if you wanna take it off.  Remember the F.I.T. Principle – Frequency (how many days/wk), Intensity (how hard are you doing it), and Time (how long is each session).  Y’know what, America?  I think I’m gonna revisit foods, cardio, and training again.  I’m sure there are new readers out there that didn’t get this the first go-round, and I’ve learned that you can never hear or read good, solid information too many times.

Well America, when last we left Master SO and Weedhoppah, his pupil, Weedhoppah had just finished unclogging the stream of rocks so it could run freely.  He had just told Master SO that he’d finished and was ready to head to the land of competition.  Let’s pick it up from there...enjoy!

The Philosophy of SO – The Land of Competition: Part II

“We shall go to the land of competition,” Master SO replied, “but before we do, I must ask something of you.  When the stream became unblocked it allowed the water to flow but with it all the fish went downstream.  We have no more fish.  We are unable to eat.  Do you see the logs by the stream?  Take the logs into the center of the stream and build them up to block the flow.  This will keep the fish upstream so we will be able to eat.  Lift one log at a time and place it on the back of your neck.  Do not place it on either shoulder.  Start with the lightest log and work up to the heaviest. When you get out to the center of the stream lift the log off your neck, and slowly lower each log into position.  Do not deviate from these instructions.  Let me know when you are done.”  Master SO turned around and strolled off, hands clasp behind his back.

Weedhoppah stood watching Master SO walk off.  He was getting more upset by the minute.  How was he ever going to get to the land of competition if Master SO kept having him do these menial tasks?  But Weedhoppah knew better than to question his master  for two reasons – one, Master SO was the smartest of the smart, the wisest of the wise, and the most knowledgeable of the knowledgeable.  Two, if he questioned Master SO he would receive a wicked slap upside his head, from which he was still smarting the last time he questioned his teacher.

Weedhoppah dug through the hundreds of logs until he found the smallest one.  He lifted it up and placed it on his shoulders just as Master had instructed.  Out into the water he went, but this time, because the weather had changed, the water was warm – too warm.  Within a few trips Weedhoppah was sweating profusely.  The current was still strong, so it took all of his balance and coordination to get to the center.  Log after log Weedhoppah hauled out, following Master’s instructions to the letter.  Each time, in the center of the stream, he would lift the log overhead and lower it slowly into position.  But as the logs became heavier and heavier Weedhoppah found that he had to squat deeper and deeper to lift the logs.  Initially this was very difficult, but over time it became easier.  Soon Weedhoppah was able to lift the heaviest logs easily overhead and wade out to the center of the stream.  No matter how strong the current and how much the water swirled, he had perfect balance and coordination, neither slipping nor sliding on river rocks in the stream.  

When he was done, Weedhoppah found Master SO.  “Master, I have finished the task you asked of me.  I have moved all of the logs from the shore to the middle of the stream.  It is now blocked.  I moved the logs on the back of my neck from the smallest to the largest as you said.  It was difficult at first as I kept losing my balance but by the end I was able to move in and out of the water effortlessly.  Now can we start on our journey to the land of competition?”  

“We shall go to the land of competition,” Master SO replied, “but before we do, I must ask something of you.  Many times each day Grasshoppah walks down to the stream to wash our clothes.  He is getting old and can no longer walk such a great distance.  Take the clothes to the stream and wash them clean.  Use this ladder-type rack I have created.  Push the clothes away from you on the top side of the rack 10 times, extending your arms all the way.  Then pull the clothes toward you on the bottom side of the rack 10 times, contracting your arms all the way.  Do this 10 times for each garment. Do not deviate from these instructions.  Let me know when you are done.”  Master SO turned around and strolled off, hands clasp behind his back.  End of Part II – to be continued...peace...

The Dr.
---
David ‘Dr. Buff’ Patterson
Personal Training Systems | “There Are No Shortcuts!”
http://www.personaltrainingsystems.net
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"The will to win is worthless if you do not have the will to prepare."  Thane Yost

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America, several days ago I promised to start a new installment on SO WAT – the wise old philosopher from back in the day.  So before I get sidetracked going off on some other tangent, lemme just say – enjoy!  And holla at’cha boi if you have any questions on training, diet, posing, yada, yada, yada.  I’m here to help you, but you gotta make the first move...’Nuff said?”

The Philosophy of SO – The Land of Competition:  Part I

Long ago, in the very ancient, the all-wise and all-knowing philosopher SO WAT was approached by his favorite pupil, Weedhoppah.  

“Master,” said Weedhoppah.  “I have trained with you for some time now.  I have listened to everything you said.  I have learned well.  I know everything you have taught me.  I am strong.  I have great stamina and endurance.  I would like to travel to the land of competition.”

SO looked at Weedhoppah.  “This is a long and difficult journey you ask for.”

“I am ready,” replied Weedhoppah.  “This journey to the land of competition shall be easy.  I know of and have seen many others who have traveled to this land and done well.  I too am ready to do well.”

Master SO sighed, “Weedhoppah, much you have still to learn.  The land of competition is 11 weeks away.  Many things we must do before we arrive there.  It is true that you know everything I have taught you, but you must understand that you do not know everything I know.  There is still much to learn.  The land of competition is full of pitfalls, many which can your undoing be.  This is not an easy journey.”

“It shall be fun and I shall do well in the land of competition,” replied Weedhoppah.  I am full of energy.  I am eager to go.  Do not hold me back, Master, for this is something I want to do...no...this is something I MUST do.”

Master SO bowed his head slowly and looked down at the ground.  How could he say no to his favorite pupil.  Yet he knew from years of experience that this land of competition had taken many of his students, never to be seen again.  SO took a big breath.  “Many times I have traveled to the land of competition.  The land of competition is SIMPLE, but the land of competition is not easy.  We shall go to the land of competition, but you must do exactly what I tell you.  Any deviation and you will not make it.  Any deviation and we will turn back.  Is this agreeable to you?”

“Yes Master,” Weedhoppah excitedly replied!

“This will be a long and difficult journey.  It may start out fun and easy, but it shall end hard and rough.”

“Have you no faith in me, Master?  Have I not proven myself worthy many times in other ventures?  I have done much for you and with you.  By your side I have stood meeting challenge after challenge with you.”

“Ahhh Weedhoppah,” mused SO.  “I knew this day would one day come.  I have always had faith in you.  I have believed in you from the very beginning.  Yes, you have learned.  Yes, you have proven yourself worthy.  But the land of competition is far more challenging and veritable than ever I could be.  You must understand that the journey you are about to go on is a mental journey.  It is a wide road in which many start down but quickly it narrows and winds until just a few remain.  Do I in you believe and have faith?  Yes.  That is why I shall allow you go on this journey. But one question remains that I must ask you.  Why do you to this land want to travel now?”

“Master, I am intrigued by this land of competition.  It is something I have wanted to do for quite some time.  I am excited for the opportunity to interact with others.  I believe that when we challenge each other, I shall come out victorious over my opponents.”

Master SO stroked his long white beard.  “Weedhoppah, the first lesson you must in the land of competition learn is this:  The challenge is from within, the opponent is yourself, the reward is private, the victory is having met the challenge! Even though there will be others there, remember that you must always seek first the victory of self.  When this is accomplished, only then can we look for victory over others.”  

“I understand,” said Weedhoppah.  “When do I leave?”

“WE shall go to the land of competition, but before we do, I must something of you ask.  Do you see the rocks in the middle of the stream?  They are blocking water from flowing downstream.  Go into the stream and bring back one rock in each hand. Start with the smallest ones and work up to the largest.  Do not deviate from this – one rock in each hand, smallest to the largest.  Let me know when you are done.”  Master SO turned around and strolled off, hands clasp behind his back.

Weedhoppah watched in astonishment as Master SO walk off!  Why was he wasting time moving rocks when he needed to start on the road to the land of competition?  But he remembered what Master had just told him – that he must do exactly as Master ordered.   Weedhoppah did not want Master SO to cancel his journey.  So he hitched up his robe and waded into the water.  The current was strong.  Weedhoppah had to continually fight the current to get to the middle of the stream and then back to shore.  Also, the water was cold.  Weedhoppah shivered constantly as he waded into and out of the icy water. Many times he was tempted to carry more than one rock in each hand, but he did not.  Many times he was tempted to carry the heavier rocks first, but he did not.  He did exactly as Master ordered.  Many times he stumbled upon the slippery rocks under his feet.  Many times he had to lift himself out of the water rocks in hand.  Weedhoppah did not notice that soon he was developing a pattern of moving fluidly from rock to rock.  His balance was improving, as was his coordination.  Within a short while Weedhoppah was moving effortlessly in and out of the water.  Weedhoppah also did not notice that as he lifted heavier and heavier rocks, it actually became easier and easier.

When he was done, Weedhoppah found Master SO.  “Master, I have finished the task you asked of me.  I have moved all of the rocks out of the middle of the stream.  It is no longer blocked.  I moved the rocks one in each hand from the smallest to the largest as you said.  I slipped and fell many times at the beginning but by the end I was able to move in and out of the water effortlessly.  Now can we start on our journey to the land of competition?”  End of part I – to be continued...peace!

The Dr.
--
Dave "Dr. Buff" Patterson
Personal Training Systems | "There Are No Shortcuts!"
http://www.personaltrainingsystems.net
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“Whether you believe you can or you believe you can’t,
you’re absolutely correct!”

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Check this out, America...one of my old clients came in last week to buy some supps.  His girlfriend was with him – normally she waits in the car.  As soon as I opened the door I knew what was gonna happen – I’d get hit with questions on health, fitness, nutrition...you name it, I get asked it.  Sure enough, I go grab the supps and when I walk back in the room, he goes, “Go ahead – ask him!”

“Ask me what?” I replied, knowing full well what was coming.  Now don’t get me wrong, America...this is how I make my living so I don’t have a problem answering a FEW questions, but I’ve learned over the years to keep the answers lean and mean and general at best.  Why?  Because the more questions I answer for free, the more questions they keep asking – for free.  Meanwhile my mortgage company keeps asking, “Uhhh Dave...where’s our money?”  As soon as I say, “I think we need to set an appointment for a consultation”, the questions stop.  So for all you new competitors that are looking for someone to help you, please understand that for many of us, this is how we pay our bills.  But I digress...

“I was wondering if you could answer a question for me.  I mean, I eat good and all that, but I’ve been picking up weight and can’t seem to figure out what I’m doing wrong,” she said.

“Well, the first thing you need to understand is that you’re NOT eating good – if you were, you wouldn’t be talking to me right now, you wouldn’t be looking the way you look, and you wouldn’t be gaining weight.”  

She glared at me.  Her boyfriend said, “I told you he was brutally honest.”

“Look,” I said.  “I’m not trying to hurt your feelings or step on your toes, insult you, or anything like that.  I’ve just been doing this too long to waste time beatin’ around the proverbial bush, so it’s easier on me when I just cut to the chase.  You’re where you’re at because what you’re doing isn’t working – or as my good friend, Dr. Phil, would ask, “So how’s that workin’ for ya”?  (BTW America...I don’t really know Dr. Phil, but since we’re both Dr’s...).  “If you’re truly honest with yourself, you’ll know that what you're doing is not right or good.  Now what we have to identify is WHAT IT IS that isn’t working.  Do you overeat?  Undereat?  Skip breakfast?  Eat late at night?  Eat too much of the wrong foods, or better yet, eat too much of the right foods?  Do you drink?  Are you doing cardio?  If so, how many days per week?  How long do you do your cardio?  What’s your intensity?  These and other questions can only be answered during a consultation.  But I still stand by my original statement that you’re not eating well, along with a couple other variables.”

We talked a little bit more and she said she’d have to save some money but she was going to come back and see me soon.  We’ll see...

So why’d I tell you that little story, America?  Simple – for those of you getting ready for the Vancouver or EC and things don’t seem to be going right, then something needs to change.  The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results.  If you’re not leaning out, then something needs to change.  But the question that begs to be asked is, “What needs to change?”  Is it cut calories?  Increase calories?  Increase protein?  Cut carbs?  Add more fat in (not highly recommended...) Increase cardio?  If so, how much?  Intensify your weight training?  I know what I know, America, and that’s all that I know, but this much I do know...if you change nothing, you get nothing.  On the flip side, if you change a variable, then something has to change, but that change might not always be positive.  That’s where a knowledgeable, experienced coach can help you.  You can change a variable and start heading down the wrong road real quick – lose lean when you think you’re losing BF, be carrying a layer of BF when you think it’s water...if you’re not knowledgeable or experienced enough to recognize when something isn’t working, then my recommendation is to find someone who can help you.  We’re down to less than 8 weeks for the Vancouver and 11 weeks for the EC – holla at’cha boi if you need some help.  Let’s make it do what it do, America!

Hey, I know I promised another installment on The Philosophy of SO, but with time getting to be a premium I felt this was a better blog for today.  I don’t want any of you guys to fall behind the power curve.  Better to be on task and make life easier than to have to suffer even worse than you already are going to suffer.  

One final little tidbit – I know that many of you know about Dave’s Killer Bread at Costco – fantastic stuff!  If y’don’t know, y’better ask somebody...this is, in my opinion, one of the best breads I’ve come across.  Another great little secret I’m gonna share with you is in their deli section.  Look for Kirkland Signature Rotisserie Chicken Breast Meat, Item #39343.  Comes in a vacuum-sealed, 2.56 lb clear soft plastic container.  The cost is $10.99.  America, I’m telling you, if you don’t wanna spend tons of time grilling, baking, and all the other ways you prepare chicken, then this is the way to go.  It’s their whole chicken that's been stripped to just the breast meat, skin removed, totally cooked, and ready to eat.  This stuff jams!  If your Costco doesn’t carry it regularly, request they start.  Since it’s their Kirkland Signature brand, it’s an item they’ll continually stock, but I heard that they only stock it when they have an overstock of whole chickens.  We need to start buying this stuff to get them to stock it year-round.  I’ll upload a picture of the wrapper soon.

Well, that’s about it for this post.  Again, don’t wait until it’s too late to contact me or anyone else with questions on nutrition, posing, choreography, training...anything you need help with I can help you.  I ain’t sayin’ nuthin’, America...I’m just sayin’ what I’m sayin...peace!

The Dr.
--
David ‘Dr. Buff’ Patterson
Personal Training Systems | “There Are No Shortcuts!”
http://www.personaltrainingsystems.net
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To get something you’ve never had, you’ve gotta do something you never did!

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America, Michael Jordan, in his acceptance speech into the Basketball Hall of Fame, ended with “Limits, like fears, are often just an illusion!”  Great line from arguably the greatest player to ever lace ‘em up.  Many times WE place limits upon ourselves simply because of our fears.  My questions to you today are, why CAN’T you compete?  Why CAN’T you win?  Why CAN’T you take the Overall?  Are you placing limits upon yourself? One of my email signatures that I love the most says, “Tell me you will...tell me you won’t...but don’t tell me you can’t!” Someone is going to compete, correct?  Why not you?  Someone is going to win, right? Why can’t it be you?  Someone is going to win the overall, right?  How come it can’t be you?  Granted, easier said than done, but all things being equal, the limiting factor in many a competitor is his or her mindset.  I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, when you step onstage, you have to go in with a winner’s mentality, not just a “I just wanna step onstage” mindset.  Yea, yea...I’ve heard it all before...”I just wanna have fun and do my best.”  So do I, America, but the reality is, I WANNA WIN!  C’mon, be real – NOBODY wants to take dead last!  I don’t know of anyone who willingly trains for months, diets like crazy, and does massive amounts of cardio to place middle-of-the-pack.  But then again...maybe I’m wrong.  Maybe some individuals are satisfied with just steppin’ onstage purely for the fun of it with absolutely no intention of ever winning a show, much less placing in the top 5.  If so, then I’m probably not the blogger you want to be reading, because every time I step onstage, I come to win!  I have a ‘serious fun’ mentality to this game, and that’s all it is, America – a game.  You play it, and you play it well.  Like basketball, football, tennis, and all the other sports, it’s simply a game.

If you’ve been watching the Australian Open the past two weeks, you’ve seen some real competitors.  You’ve seen Venus Williams on the verge of an easy 2-set victory collapse and lose – perhaps we could surmise that her opponent, Li, rose to the challenge and won!  You saw Serena Williams on the verge of losing in the second set rally and win!  You could see the passion in both Li and Serena’s faces and eyes.  You could read their body language.  You could see the ‘swagger’ as they became more confident in themselves and their abilities. Even though I love me some Venus, I found myself cheering for Li because she was a warrior – a fighter.  She wouldn’t give up.  She didn’t quit when she was at her very worst moment in the match – 2 points away from elimination.

We can talk about Serena and how she came back, but I’d rather focus on Li.  I can imagine her saying to herself, “C’mon baby girl...we can’t go out like this.  I just can’t let Venus punk me like this.  Pick it up, girl...you can do this..c’mon baby – push!”  As you saw her win point after point after point, you saw Venus, who normally has the killer instinct, become the passive one.  Venus’ head was down.  She was shaking it.  She had a defeatist look to her whereas Li now had the Spartan gladiator mindset.  I found myself smiling and nodding approvingly at the end of the match, because I’d witnessed a person on the verge of extinction literally rise like the Phoenix from the ashes to win.  She had that mindset, America.  No one thought she had a chance, especially me.  But SHE said, “I can win this – I can DO this!  I’ve worked too hard.  I’ve sacrificed too much.  I’ve come too far to just step out here for a few minutes and go home.  That’s not what I’m about anymore!”  The mindset of a champion athlete, America – that’s what we ALL need to develop.  Doesn’t guarantee victory, but it does guarantee that when it’s all said and done, you’ll feel good about yourself.

I’ve stepped onstage at the night show several times, America, knowing that I wasn’t at my best potential.  When the MC called out my name and all I did was hit one stupid pose and then walked offstage to put my sweats on, I wasn’t hurt, I didn’t cry - I was mad!  Mad at me for wasting my own time.  Mad at me for not giving it my all.  Mad at me for knowing that I should have eaten cleaner or did more cardio or harder cardio or whatever.  I had no one else to blame.  I know, America, that when I prepare myself to my best potential, at my level (and I’m smart enough to realize my own limitations...) I’m hard to beat.  Doesn’t mean I don’t lose – I do - but I always feel good about me and I’m happy for my fellow competitors who placed ahead of me because I know that we all ‘brought it’ to the stage.  That’s competition at its best!

As I’ve said before, I’ve overcome my fears of competing, posing, winning, and taking the overall.  How did I do that?  By believing in myself, first and foremost.  That was something I learned years ago.  I no longer see myself ‘hoping’ to do well.  I see me winning.  I see me taking 1st place, and the overall, and winning best poser...I see that.  Doesn’t always work out that way, and I’m not disappointed when it doesn’t happen, but that’s what I see going into every single show.  Even after my hip replacement my thought was to win, although in the far, far back reaches of my mind I knew it would be a snowball’s chance that I would.  But even though I didn’t win, I placed no lower than 3rd in all the shows I competed in less than 15 months post hip-replacement.  The mind IS a powerful tool, America!  BTW...Elaine said that I’d had two knee replacements and a hip replacement...thanks Elaine, but I’m not that bionic yet.  I’ve had a couple knee surgeries and a hip replacement, along with a shoulder surgery, elbow surgery...dang, maybe I AM bionic!

Hey America, I heard good feedback on The Philosophy of SO series, so that will continue as the all-wise one goes on a journey to...ahh, ahh, ahhhh...you’ll have to tune in next blog – same Bat channel, same Bat time – to read about it.  I ain’t sayin’ nuthin, America...I’m just sayin’ what I’m sayin...peace!

The Dr.
---
David “Dr. Buff” Patterson
Personal Training Systems | “There Are No Shortcuts!”
http://www.personaltrainingsystems.net
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If you’re scared to fail, you don’t deserve to be successful...

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America, I know that most of you reading should already know about your nutrition, but just in case you don’t, and for those of you that don’t have a clue as to what you’re doing, lemme see if I can offer some sound advice.  A couple of weeks ago one of my new competitors getting ready for her first show wanted me to take a look at her foods to determine what she should be eating, when, how much, yada, yada, yada.  We’d talked in the past that since her look was good, there was no need to start worrying about foods 16-18 weeks out.  But now that we were 10 weeks out it was time to revisit them.  She shot me an email detailing all of her foods that she consumed on a daily basis – the usual stuff – egg whites, oatmeal, chicken, a little flank steak, veggies, a little fruit...not bad for 10 weeks out.  It was fairly clean and simply needed to be ‘tweaked’ a bit – no biggie.  The problem was that there wasn’t any amounts – no way for me to tell how much she was eating, therefore no way for me to tell her how much TOO eat!   So I shot her an email back saying, “Please include amounts.”

America, never assume that the person you’re speaking to speaks the same language as you.  I assumed that she was going to shoot back her foods in grams (gms) or ounces (oz).  Wrong!  Everything came back in pieces, cups, bowls, slices...everything BUT gms and oz.  So I shot her another email.

“Do you have a food scale”.  

“No”, she responded.  

“I’ve got a few digital scales left that weigh in gms or ounces.  You can pick one up this Friday when I see you.  Then I can S.W.A.G. (Scientific Wild-A$$-Guess) you for a week and see how it’s working.  If I nail you, we can continue this for a couple weeks.  If I’m off I’ll be able to see that in a week and make the necessary corrections.”  

This ties in with my last blog, America, in which I said you shouldn’t be working with someone who only wants to see you or talk about your foods once a month.  You’re looking at every two weeks at the very least, and my strong recommendation is every week, especially 8-10 weeks out depending upon how the person looks.  But remember, if he or she is waaay off track, then I might start seeing them as far as 16-20 weeks out.  Everybody’s different and every body is unique, so I never cookie-cut a competitor.

She came in for her training (I destroyed her on legs, but she’s pretty tough...she hung in there!) and she bought her weekly supply of Parrillo supps (ok...a little shameless self-promotion there...) and the scale.  Since she now had the scale it was easy for me to start with what I thought would be a good amount of protein, fibrous carbs, and starchy carbs to keep her big and full but at the same time start burning some bodyfat.  The following Friday she came back for another leg workout – that’s her weak bodypart so that’s what I’m spending each Friday pushing her on.  The upper body looks decent.  

“Dave, I’ve been following exactly what you outlined for me to eat. Oh my gosh!  I’ve never eaten so much food before in my life!  I was so far off on my amounts compared to what you’re having me eat.  And you know the funny thing?  I swear I’m getting leaner!  I look better this week than I did last week.  How is that possible?”

“You’re right – you do look a bit more lean  - and full!  Your delts are now capped and your legs have a bit more separation in the Vastus Lateralis and Hamstrings.  You’re starting to come in.  How is this possible?  Easy – I’m simply building your metabolism by giving you more of the right foods at the right times in the right amounts and taking out the crap.  You had too much fruit which has a tendency to store as bodyfat (more on that in another blog...) yet you weren’t eating enough total calories to support the amount of activity you’re now doing.  Your physical exertion is greater now that you’ve included 45-50 minutes of cardio along with power-walking to and from the gym each day, and your intensity has increased on the weights.  You’re expending more calories but your caloric intake has stayed the same for several weeks.  If I would have allowed you to stay at the same amount for the intent of just leaning out, you invariably would have lost more lean than necessary.  I need to keep you in a caloric deficit, but only SLIGHTLY behind your energy expenditure.  Let’s let the cardio sessions burn off the excess bodyfat while keeping the calories high to maintain lean body mass or minimize muscle loss as we go through this.”

“But how did you know where to start at with me?  You’ve never even done a comp on me.”

“Two things – science/knowledge, and experience.  The science tells me that I should start building your foods with protein – that’s easy.  1.5 gms of protein per lb of bodyweight (BW).  135 lbs of BW = ~200 gms of protein.  Fibrous carbs are also easy – somewhere between 5-10 oz (150-300 gms) per meal.  Since they’re literally considered free foods due to the low caloric value I don’t have a problem with any of my clients eating unlimited amounts of veggies and salads – as long as they watch what goes on/in them.  I just picked 7 oz per meal as that’s a good amount for most women.  The SWAG is the starchy carbs – I just took an educated guess as to how much you should eat based on the thousands of people I’ve worked with over the years.  That’s the experience factor.  There’s nothing magical about what I do – you’ve just gotta know what you’re doing.  Many trainers give you a piece of paper that they’ve copied out of a magazine or worse yet, give you their old diet or the same diet that every other competitor they're working with uses.  I’ve corrected many a competitor’s diet that wasn’t working, not to mention most of my regular clients who will never compete that got bad nutritional advice from their old trainer/gym/club.”

“So how long will we stay on this plan?”

“Until I see it isn’t working anymore – if it ain't broke don't fix it.  I don’t need to keep changing things as long as you’re coming down nicely.  But I’d better be able to recognize QUICKLY when things aren’t going right and make the necessary changes.  Don’t sweat the small stuff, m’dear...I promise that if you do what you’re supposed to do each day then this will be a piece-a-cake.  You’ll definitely have to work at it, and you’ll get sick and tired of eating the same ole same ole, but I promise you that you’ll achieve your best look ever going into the shows.  Oh...one other thing...even though you’ll get sick and tired of eating the same things every day, once you reach a certain leanness those foods will start tasting like heaven.  You’ll be trippin’ on how one week you don’t think you’ll be able to stomach another large salad and chicken or fish, and the next week you can’t WAIT to eat that same food!”

“Wow!  This is so fascinating!  I absolutely LOVE how the body can change in such a short period of time simply by changing a few things around.  I thought I’d have to starve myself and do hours and hours of cardio, but I’m starting to see that’s not the case.”

“Nope – not if it’s done right.  You’re lean enough to where you don’t have to start your second cardio session until 4-5 weeks out, and even then I don’t see having to do more than 45 minutes.  I seriously doubt that you’ll need 2 hours a day.  You might be lucky and only need a 45 and 30 minute session.  We’ll see.”

We talked a little more and I answered a few more questions on posing, music, routines, choreography, etc, which I’ll address in another blog, but you get my drift.  America, if you need help with your nutrition, posing, training, or just want questions answered, don’t hesitate to contact me.  We can set up a consultation/training session/body comp/food plan or whatever you need.  But don’t wait too long...every day wasted is another day lost in achieving your best potential.  I ain’t sayin’ nuthin, America...I’m just sayin’ what I’m sayin...peace!

The Dr.
--
David ‘Dr. Buff’ Patterson
Personal Training Systems | “There Are No Shortcuts!”
http://www.personaltrainingsystems.net
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“I ain't skinny - I'm LEAN!”

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America, I was chattin’ with one of my future figure competitors, Melissa, this morning and the subject of going off the deep end came up.  

“Dave, have you ever broken your diet for no real reason during contest prep?”

“Well...every time you break your diet there’s a reason, whether it be physiological or psychological, but yep – many times back in the day.  Seldom do I break now.  I mean, a cheat for me now might be 1/4 piece of a 1/2” slice of Banana Coconut bread my daughter made me for Christmas...”  She just looked at me.  “...Ok...so that’s my daily cheat – either that or a 1” x 1” square of J.O’s double fudge brownie with a forkfull of lowfat Vanilla ice cream.”

“But you’re always preaching and blogging about being on task.  How can you be on task if you’re eating that?”

“First, that’s barely a bite. Not enough to do any serious damage.  Second, I’m lean and I’ve got 10 weeks to go.  I’m 7 lbs away from contest weight and look, and I haven’t even started 2-a-day cardio yet.  Remember, I’m still at 45 minutes for one session.  One of the perks of staying lean year-round.  I ain’t gonna sweat it until 6 weeks out...quit lookin’ at me like that!”

“So when you did go off the deep end, why’d you do it, and how did you stop it?”

Now I looked at her, America.  “What’d you cheat on, how much, how long...spill it, baby girl!”

“Carbs,” she sighed.  “And not good carbs – lots of sugars and sweets – I just couldn’t help myself and I didn’t care.  And now I feel like crap and look like crap.”

“Yea,” I came back.  “And while you were eating everything you knew you should stop but you didn’t – at least until you were full.  That took about 20 minutes or so for the sensation of fullness to set in, but by then you’d stuffed your face.  Then you got mad at yourself for breaking, wondering if you can even do this competition thing.  Now you’re probably second-guessing yourself as far as your discipline is concerned.  You probably yelled at yourself last night or this morning when you looked in the mirror.  More than likely you didn’t get your cardio in last night because you were thinking ‘What’s the use’.  You’re tired and sluggish this morning and probably don’t wanna train and will probably think the same thing about ‘what’s the use’ when we do cardio after your workout.  You might even have a massive headache – it’s known as a non-alcoholic sugar hangover – you’re ‘punch drunk’ from excessive carbs after holding your carbs low for a few days.  Probably feels like a migraine or someone pounding on the front of your skull.  And if you don’t get this under control today you’ll go through the exact same thing this evening and tomorrow and the day after that...”

“Wow.”  That’s all she could say.  I nailed her, America – probably nailed some of you too.  “So why can’t I hold my diet,” she asked?

“You’re too low in starchy carbs.  Even though you’re 5–ft nuthin’ and weigh a buck fifteen, I need to up your total calories and definitely your carbs.”

“But it was working before.  I just started feeling like this when...”

“...When you started working at your new job.  You’re on your feet 12 hours a day, you hardly sit down, and you expend a ton of mental energy.  Your energy expenditure has shot through the roof, and we need to correct for that.  Several months ago you’d just finished school, had no job, no pressures, nothing to burn energy except training and cardio.  So the food plan I had you on worked then.  It doesn’t work now.  No biggie.  We’ll make the necessary corrections and you should feel better and not have these cravings and breaks.  Remember when I said that we break for either physiological or psychological reasons?  Yours was more physiological.”

“So what’s the psychological cravings?  How do you tell the difference?”

“Well...if you’re eating everything you’re supposed to be eating – the right foods at the right times in the right amounts - you should have no physiological cravings. You’re not really hungry in your stomach.  Now it’s your mind that simply wants sugars.  Y’gotta understand, Miss, that the brain prefers quick, easily available energy as a fuel source - that’s carbs.  Since the fat tank hasn’t quite turned on yet so to speak, the brain will still send signals that it wants sugars, and it wants sugars now even though it’s getting enough, just in the form of complex carbs which take time to be broken down and converted to simple sugars for the brain.”

“Well, when you craved, what did you eat?  And was yours physiological or psychological?”

“Initially it was physiological.  I dropped my starchies way too low.  Hit me like a ton of bricks.  But once I corrected it became psychological.  I wanted to eat carbs because they tasted good.  I’m a sweets and salt person.  Cakes, pies, ice cream...I’ve learned how to control my eating of them, along with Lays Potato Chips, Doritos, and Cheetos.”

“How’d you do that?”

“Hmmm...lemme think...I remember always asking myself AFTER I’d binged, “Was it worth it”?  The answer was always NO.  But I continued to cheat for several years.  Just didn’t know how to break the cycle or perhaps I really didn’t want to break the cycle.  Then one day when I felt like cheating I did something I’d never done before.  I asked myself BEFORE I took a bite, “IS THIS REALLY WHAT YOU WANT TO DO?  IS THIS REALLY WORTH IT?  Obviously the answer was no, but since I’d never asked the question in a timely manner before I never knew the answer beforehand.  Lemme re-phrase that...I KNEW the answer but didn’t want to acknowledge the answer.  That’s why I never asked the question.  That was the beginning of the end of my psychological cheating out of control.  Oh, I still cheat, but now I control the foods, the foods don’t control me.”

We talked a bit more, America, but I think you get my point.  Rather than ask the past tense question, “Was it worth it?”, ask the present tense question before you take that bite of junk food, “Is it worth it?”.  Remember, YOU control your foods, your foods DO NOT control you!  ‘Nuff said? I’m out...peace...

The Dr.

Dave “Dr. Buff.” Patterson
Personal Training Systems | “There Are No Shortcuts!”
http://www.personaltrainingsystems.net
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
mobile:  253.576.4859

“To find success double your rate of failure!”

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