[quote]SmallToBig wrote:
dankid wrote:
usually just too distracting for me to bring it into the gym.
All you do is write the set and reps during your rest period takes like 2 seconds :P[/quote]
Ya, ive done it before, but like i said it depends on what type of program im doing. My current program it isn’t necessary, because I can remember everything no problem,and my rest breaks are usually spent “walking it off” trying to catch my breath.
My biggest mistake was waiting until 36 to get serious about working out. Light sports don’t cut it.
I also spent too much time early on micromanaging my caloric intake, instead of just following basic nutrition principles and investing my energy into moving iron.
On log books, they can be helpful if you’re just starting out or are trying a significantly different routine. I used them religiously early on, but have no use for them now.
I’m just carrying a little sheet of paper within my pocket, and note my workout while sipping the postwo shake and chatting with people. For me its pure motivation… I’m always trying to outperform the last effort with either reps or 1.25 kg plates at each side of the bar…
Biggest regret is definitely not taking advantage of the window after my show to add on strength and lean body mass, I wanted ‘hawt abz’ for the summer. I read everything possible and started carb cycling and doing a complicated split… Anyways, speaking of PB what’s the difference bt natural and organic? I use a creamy organic one, is that the best option?
There’s little difference between natural and organic pb, and even the standard brands (Jif, Skippy, etc.) aren’t that bad when you consider the miniscule amount of carbs (3g) per serving.
I love Skippy’s chunky PB. I don’t buy Peter Pan brand often, but I remember it being my second favorite.
Regrets:
Lifting on and off (mainly off) and thinking I will look like a bodybuilder.
Blaming genetics and drugs as the main reasons why I looked like crap after doing # 1. above for 11 years.
Not keeping records/log book and not trying to progress the few times I actually did work out.
Fucking up my shoulders by playing basketball that were already fucked up from previous medical issues.
not doing squats and deads for the first 2 years.
not eating enough
not worrying about moving heavier weight each week
did all this for about 2+ years and im pissed.
fuck it though only 20 and im not a small guy. probably top 25% in my gym. could of been way bigger 
-running 6 days a week
-not eating
-training at a commercial gym without no clue
I forgot to add, going through a few shitty training partners that didnt share the same goals as me. that held me back almost as bad as anything.
-Being embarrassed to train like a bodybuilder and being honest with myself regarding my goals: A few years ago when I was first starting to read T-Nation and fullbody training was the rage and functional strength was in, training like a bodybuilder was spoken about very condescendingly. In the back of my mind, though, I wanted some big-ass muscles and to be sexy AND strong. Apparently, not training arms directly, especially when you have pretty shitty arm genetics to start with, isn’t gonna make them pretty. Wasted about a year not training them at all/throwing in a few half-assed sets.
That’s pretty much it. In my last gaining period, I let myself get a little carried away in the last few months of the bulk to add on a few extra lbs, but that wasn’t that big of a deal. I wish I’d started lifting younger and played football in high school.
Let’s see…
In the very beginning:
-Not eating enough
-Being too carb phobic
-Keeping a good log book bot not using it to actually improve over time.
-Using token effort on legs.
When I was in good “running shape” but basically skinny-fat:
-Not lifting weights hard
-Not training legs hard
-Eating good all week but drinking waaaaayy too much on the weekends
When I started lifting weights again “for real”:
-Using name brand programs
-Not smashing the log book
-Eating too much shit.
-Not being real with myself about my effort. Effort trumps all.
spending too long in a crap gym with no heavy weight,no deadlifts,squats or big guys.
not discovering lifting until my mid thirties.
I really don’t have any true regrets at this point. I mean, I wish I had been surrounded by serious lifters when I was 12 years old. Everything I learned, I had to go out and find it…and that alone is why I made such little progress until I went to college. If I had someone in my family helping me lift, I have little doubt I would probably be in a much different place career-wise (sports perhaps?) or might already be competing.
I personally feel that life itself is a lesson. Some catch on quick and some don’t. I would like to think I at least tried to take advantage of most opportunities when they showed up and that my decisions overall were at least decent.
I still wonder though where I would be if I had more guidance early on and more access to the equipment I needed. I knew guys in high school who looked like they could compete in a bodybuilding contest (one…Hakeem Olajuwan’s nephew…actually did and he was massive for a teenager). I felt like I started later than ideal.
My regrets are pretty common. In actuality though, I regret nearly none of the mistakes I made due to the lessons they provided, as mentioned earlier.
The one that I do absolutely regret is once I snapped into gear mentally and trained to my upper limits, pushing them further and further, I didn’t eat enough. I ate MORE, and over time I ate even MORE, but it wasn’t until THIS year, when I logged everything I ate that I realized how many carbs are in this, how much fat and protein is in that, and where the day’s total calories fall and what THAT feels like. I bet I would be 20lbs heavier if I’d been eating enough this whole time.
Wasting time is a huge regret, and numerous things can contribute to it. For me, the biggest contributing factor is the lack of a logbook which I JUST bought a week ago.
I also kind of want to say I regret not squatting and pulling in high school, but at the same time, I feel like I’d have been too much of a pussy back then and that I eased into seriously bodybuilding so gradually that my mind had time to adapt in tenacity and discipline for each consequent phase. I really don’t think I’d have lasted as long if I squatted and deadlifted from the start.
Oh and I’d like to add to my list of regrets:
I was a chest/curling whore in high school.
I wasted about 18 months (post graduation) in a constant bulking cycle, not tracking workouts or calories.
I was a sloppy 15% bf at best, ate too many calories.
I would squat and deadlift heavy with poor form. I wish I had gotten ‘starting strength’ during high school!
[quote]Chi-Towns-Finest wrote:
I was a sloppy 15% bf at best, ate too many calories.
![/quote]
Your profile lists you at 185lbs. I don’t understand how “15%” was such a negative when the goal should have been more overall size anyway.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
Chi-Towns-Finest wrote:
I was a sloppy 15% bf at best, ate too many calories.
!
Your profile lists you at 185lbs. I don’t understand how “15%” was such a negative when the goal should have been more overall size anyway.[/quote]
Ya is where im at now. Ive been between 13-16% @ 175-195 for a couple of years now. That was my biggest mistake probably. Trying to stay somewhat lean, and bulk/cut to get to 10%. I finally said screw it, and am now on a mission to put on 25lbs. Even if I end up at 18% at 215lbs, at least i’ll have enough mass to hold onto while cutting down.
this may be another regret but whats chop chop chicken? I heard about it in a video with a nz bodybuilder who went to jail and is now bulking up naturally but when I asked other people they had no idea
regrets:
[quote]SmallToBig wrote:
jCaesar88 wrote:
Idk dude, doesn’t seem that hard. I mean, not that hard to remember what you did last week.
But I see your point. Seems beneficial especially in the long run.
So what do you put down, what I mentioned earlier?
What i do is:
Name of exercise
Warmup Sets:
Set 1:
Set 2:
Set 3:
and then the next exercise. I also put notes if it was hard/easy so i know if i can progress next week, or if i felt good incase i did something different warmup or anything.
[/quote]
I got a more efficient way of doing it.
set/rep exercise weight---------ÂÂ---->
5 5 5 4+ 3 3f
interesting stuff eh?