There comes a point at which every bodybuilder must become serious about whatever goal they are considering. One can spend a considerable amount of time planning, pondering, pep-talking, and procrastinating; but talking and planning are not synonymous with action. Action alone produces destiny, while talk produces only failure, and a series of what "might have-been's."
Not desiring to fall into the latter category when considering bodyfat reduction, I determined to take action, backed by the full concentration of my mind. The minds power is that of creation, and when appropriately applied, the mind can manifest virtually any reality that is desired. All reality and matter is energy, and all energy including the minds, is of one substance.
Sometimes, bodybuilders can become incredibly skilled at self-deception. If this deception persists long enough, complacency can enter the picture. When it does, the lies of self-deception propagate cyclically, to destructive levels.
Self-deception, of course, is a matter of cognitive dissonance reduction. People, in an attempt to cope, will construct elaborate systems of belief, if their minds clash with objective reality and sense experience. When this happens to bodybuilders concerning high bodyfat levels, the classic self-lie is something along the lines of "I still look pretty hard at this weight." This process and reasoning holds true for even the most obese, and seasoned, of bodybuilders.
Aside from dissonance, bodybuilders may lie to themselves to resist change, simply because change is difficult and represents the unknown. After all, adding bodyfat comes down to nothing more than caloric excess, and simple carbohydrate and saturated fat consumption. To get fat, all one has to do is eat too much, or too much of the wrong things, and just sit there. No more effort than that is required.
Being lean, however, and resisting the classic all-you-can-eat buffet syndrome, does not come easy. It requires decision. It requires determination. It requires hard work, and it requires getting mad about being, not "pretty hard at this weight", but FAT.
Being Fat
Being fat is not pleasant. Just ask the estimated 61% of North American adults who fall into the overweight or obese category. While being obese and overweight are accepted as a part of life for the average person who leads a sedentary lifestyle, for the serious athlete, being fat to any degree is simply unacceptable. Not only does fat look unhealthy and repulsive, fat performs actions in the body known to be detrimental to long-term and short-term health.
Stories and belief systems of self-denial, no matter how convincing, and resistance to change, no matter how strong, will destroy health in both the long term and short term, and will be the ruin of a long life built upon the healthy tenets of a bodybuilding lifestyle.
As a bodybuilding and nutrition expert, I must admit that I too, at times, become complacent. Being an expert does not always guarantee expert behavior. Although there is much yet to learn for all of us as bodybuilders, with expertise can come numbness to reality. With vast understanding, recognition of information becomes second nature, and cognition occurs less frequently. Knowledge becomes a matter of recall. As one learns more and more, new information becomes increasingly scarce, and the learning curve drops considerably.
When this occurs, one can become complacent, numb, and indifferent because things seem less interesting. Newness and variety feed the human spirit, and being an expert can lead one to feel that it's the "same-old-same-old" day in, day out. Such a thing occurred in my situation. Until now.
Consciousness is such that it allows one to remain in denial for only so long. Thoughts can be relegated to the unconscious for a short while, but they will not remain there artificially under the warden-like gaze of the ego mind. Sense experience continues, regardless of rehearsed inner dialogue designed to maintain the status quo, to trigger the truth the mind eternally knows. FAT is FAT, and THAT is THAT.
Denial is called denial because the notion that one can maintain it for great periods of time is false. Not only does denial deny the thing of its focus, but also its own nature. Reality is fluid and always changing, and this is the only tenet about the universe that holds true.
Nothing is forever, except change and energy. Denial causes suffering by attempting to obfuscate this truth with control, which is simply another illusion that perpetuates suffering. All suffering comes from denial of one kind, or another.
When it comes to denial, the human mind just will not tolerate it, and will "scream" in various ways until the ego has no choice but to listen and submit. Such screaming of the mind is the reality that many overweight persons and bodybuilders face. At my current level of bodyfat, my situation is no exception.
The Beginning
The time has come for me to become lean. Chronicled for the next twelve weeks will be my journey. Included for your benefit will be all of my daily logs. Included in these logs will be my thoughts as they occurred to me. I present them here for your perusal, so that you may get a glimpse into the mind of an expert.
Pay particular attention to the philosophical and logical distinctions present in the logs. They are important and will help you on your quest for health and long life. They will challenge you to think in new ways, and I encourage you to use them to gain an understanding of the commitment required for success.
Use them also to transform your life, as I will use them to transform mine. If you find wisdom here that helps you on your life's journey to health, apply the wisdom and insights to your own life. If you disagree with something, simply discard it and search for other information to make your truth.
In any event, my wish for you is long life and health. If I can bless you through this work, it will have been worth writing. If I have blessed you as a result of my past or present works, please let me know by writing to me. I would love to hear of your many successes. God bless, and enjoy!
Current Data
The following is my current data:
Height:
- 6'1 inches (73 inches)
Body Mass:
- 228 lbs
Body Fat:
- 15.43 %
Fat-Free Mass
- 193.8 lbs
My goals to obtain by the conclusion of the program are as follows:
Body Mass:
- 212.04 lbs
Body Fat:
- 7%
Nutrition Information
| Daily Totals | Ratios |
| Total Calories: 2736 | |
| Protein: 182.4g | 30% |
| Fats: 91.2g | 30% |
| Carbohydrates: 243.2g | 40% |
As indicated, the figures correspond to 30% of daily calories coming from fats, 30% from protein, and the remaining 40% coming from carbohydrate sources.
I will consuming six meals daily, and per meal this corresponds to the following values:
Per Meal Totals:
- Calories: 456
- Protein: 30g
- Fats: 15.2g
- Carbohydrates: 40g
I will also be consuming at least 1 United States gallon of water daily. This is approximately 3.5 liters.
Supplementation Information
The following is the supplementation schedule that I will follow for the duration of the program. All values given represent daily totals for the weeks indicated above the text.
Weeks 0-4
- Prolab Pro-Paks Multivitamins
- Swiss Natural Sources Glucosamine Sulfate
Weeks 5-8
- Prolab Creatine Monohydrate (5g)
- Biotest Hot-Rox Fat Burner
- Optimum Nutrition Glutamine Powder (40g)
- EAS Myoplex MRP's (2x)
- Swiss Natural Sources Glucosamine Sulfate
Weeks 9-12
- Prolab Creatine Monohydrate (5g)
- Biotest Hot-Rox Fat Burner
- Optimum Nutrition Glutamine Powder (40g)
- EAS Myoplex MRP's (3x)
- Swiss Natural Sources Glucosamine Sulfate
Exercise Information
I will begin first by outlining my weight training regimen, and then follow with my cardiovascular schedule.
Weight Training:
The following will be my training split for the duration of the program:
Day 1: Deltoids, Triceps
Day 2: Back, Trapezius
Day 3: OFF
Day 4: Chest, Biceps
Day 5: Legs
Day 6: OFF
Day 7: OFF
I will not be outlining the exact program I will be doing. The reason is that, as an experienced bodybuilder, my program changes from each workout to the next. Thus it would be misleading to present data here claiming to be accurate for the duration of the program. The split provided is sufficient to allow you to construct your own workout after consulting the publication "A Step-by-Step Guide to Constructing an Effective Workout!"
Cardiovascular Program:
Given that the cardiovascular schedule is totally predetermined, it is presented here.
Week 1:
- 3 x 30 min
Week 2:
- 3 x 45 min
Week 3:
- 3 x 40 min
Week 4:
- 3 x 45 min
Week 5:
- 4 x 35 min
Week 6:
- 4 x 40 min
Week 7:
- 4 x 45 min
Week 8:
- 5 x 40 min
Week 9:
- 5 x 50 min
Week 10:
- 5 x 55 min
Week 11:
- 5 x 50 min
Week 12:
- 5 x 55 min
Conclusion
The duration of the diet program will be 12 weeks, or 120 calendar days. The program will commence on January 4, 2004, and continue until March 28, 2004. Therefore, to reach 7% bodyfat in the specified time, a bodyfat loss of ½% weekly is required. This is achievable.
Each week I will include logs with photographs. Follow me, for the 12 weeks of this program, and maybe you can get into better shape along with me.
Disclaimer
The information provided in this publication is for educational and informational purposes only and does not serve as a replacement to care provided by your own personal health care team or physician. The author does not render or provide medical advice, and no individual should make any medical decisions or change their health behavior based on information provided here.
Readers are encouraged to confirm the information contained herein with other sources. Readers and consumers should review the information in this publication carefully with their professional health care provider. The information in this or other publications authored by the writer is not intended to replace medical advice offered by physicians.
Reliance on any information provided by the author is solely at your own risk. The author does not recommend or endorse any specific tests, products, medication, procedures, opinions, or other information that may be presented in the publication. The author does not control information, advertisements, content, and articles provided by discussed third-party information suppliers.
Further, the author does not warrant or guarantee that the information contained in written publications, from him or any source is accurate or error-free. The author accepts no responsibility for materials contained in the publication that you may find offensive. You are solely responsible for viewing and/or using the material contained in the authored publications in compliance with the laws of your country of residence, and your personal conscience.
The author will not be liable for any direct, indirect, consequential, special, exemplary, or other damages arising from the use of information contained in this or other publications.
Copyright ©2003 Clayton South. All rights reserved.
Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means (electronic mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the copyright holder and author of this publication.