The 3 C’s: The Key to Growth
I recently read a great forum post by a lifter on bodybuilding.com. Check it out here. It’s called the 80/20 Rule for Lifting and calls your attention to reality: 80% of what you do doesn’t matter.
Supplements, routines, macro nutrient minutiae: all that is distraction to a degree. You should focus on the 20% that matters and I’m calling that 20% “The 3 C’s: Challenging, Consistent, Clean.”
The 3 C’s are what you must do to achieve any growth or body change result:
Challenging:
Lift weights that challenge your muscles to failure and keep increasing weight as you gain strength.
Consistent:
Keep at it. This is how results happen. It takes time, but if you keep at it you will see your body change.
Clean:
What you eat matters. Lean protein, complex carbs, natural fats. Don’t eat crap or else you will never get where you want to be. Your body is made in the kitchen – no joke on this one.
Follow the 3 C’s above, see results, repeat.
I’m changing my outlook on this bulking period and sticking with it until March: Screw the details.
Lift heavy, lift often, eat enough, rest enough. Oh, and have fun.
What does your bulk look like?
Posting and Progress
I recently read a post on someone’s blog informing readers that just because she hadn’t been posting didn’t mean that she wasn’t making progress.
And here I am, stating the same.
I have been waking up early (read 5:30AM) and riding my bike downtown with a change of clothes, makeup, meals for the day, post-lifting and post-cardio workout drinks and a change of shoes on my back. I usually get to the gym in midtown by about 6:05AM and start working out by 6:15.
After a good 45 – 60 minute lift, I down my BCAA’s and head upstairs to the cardio area where I bang out 30 minutes of either walking on an incline at 15% at about 3.3 – 3.8MPH (2 times a week) or I do 20 minutes of walking with 10 minutes of HIIT sprint intervals (only 2 times a week).
After the cardio I’m pretty sweaty, so I hit the showers, dress for the day, and walk my bike (along with all my other stuff) to work where I kick through an 8 hour day of retail new product development.
I have to say that I am really tired of feeling like a sherpa every day of the week. Toting around at least 4 Tupperware containers and a change of clothes and shoes at all times is kind of a pain in the behind. Does anyone have suggestions for how to cope with this?
There has to be a better way!
I am taking my progress pics for this week tonight; however, here are my pics from Week 2 (today starts Week 5 of cutting).
I am nervous to see what the photos from tonight look like, only because my weight has been dropping ever so slightly, although I feel like I see changes in my overall appearance. We will see what the evening brings!
I will post the photos from tonight tomorrow so you can see the difference. I’m kind of terrified but I have about 11 weeks, so if I ned to kick it up a notch again, so be it.
Get ready for more updates soon!
A No Good Day
There is no disguising a bad day in my books. When it’s a bad day, I tell it like it is and just admit it.
Today sucked.
It wasn’t that anything bad happened, it was just a really long day at work where I still didn’t get everything I wanted to get done, done. I didn’t feel particularly well (I may be coming down with something) and I’m getting kind of tired of chicken.
I stomped through the front door this evening at about 7:30 and my boyfriend was standing there. “I had a horrible day!” I hollered as I threw down my keys.
He always likes to look on the brighter side of things. As he approached me I said, “I know that I should be thankful for all that I have, for the job that I go to every day, for the paycheck I get, for the people I work with, for all the things in my life, but despite all of that I still had a crappy day!”
I didn’t work out yesterday and took it as a rest day. Today, I had grand plans of working out in the morning, but when the alarm went off my body did not spring into action.
I hit the snooze button and slept for another hour and told myself I would work out in the evening.
By the time I walked out of the office it was 6:45. I had worked non-stop all day. I was exhausted and slightly miffed and to top it all off it was leg day! Ugh. Hard.
The whole way home the only two things that were on my mind were: 1. my job and 2. am I going to workout tonight?”
I had almost talked myself out of it.
After a brief pep talk at home and a few laughs, I decided that I would hit the gym after all. I threw on my shorts, threw back my pre-workout shake and walked down the street.
Someone once told me that you should never be frustrated or angry in the gym. You shouldn’t go there looking to fix yourself, you go to the gym because it is your refuge. It is your place of peace and meditation.
And so I entered the gym and focused. I began with leg presses and fought out all the angry, moved to squats and kicked out all the frustration, then did hack squats where I got out all the negative things in my head, then deadlifts, leg extension and hyperextensions.
I finished my workout with a smile on my face, two very tired legs and one very happy heart.
I had pushed all of that negative energy out of me; got myself ready to face tomorrow with a smile and a sense of calm and peace.
The gym is a place of renewal and strength for your body and your mind. No matter what you do when you are there, that is your time to focus not only on the outside of your body, but on the inside, where it counts.
And, in case I start to focus on things beyond my control, I have a little soap dish in my kitchen where I keep my sponge that reminds me every day how I should always feel:
How do you keep positive?
It has been so long…
For the past two weeks work has been an explosion of – well, work. I have been in the office early and have left the office late. Fortunately, my eating did not suffer but during the first week of work mania my workouts did.
This I cannot tolerate.
I used to be a morning worker-outer and then I started working with my trainer in the evenings. I started to like sleeping in and working out after the work day was done. However, in weeks like the past two, working 12 hour days and then hitting the gym was easy on Monday and completely not workable on Friday.
Last Friday I almost fell asleep on the train ride home and that never happens to me. Saturday and Sunday I was dragging and felt so sleepy but could not sleep. I was stressed about work and dreaming about it, too.
This past week was better. I managed to get in 3 weekday evening workouts and 2 weekend workouts.
Next week, though I have a new plan: Workout in the PM Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday I will rest and then Thursday, Friday , Saturday I will transition into an AM workout when I typically struggle to workout after work.
I hope this works.
I know that I need to be stronger than this. I need to workout even if I’m tired, but why couldn’t I? Why can’t I?
Should I?
How do you deal with getting to the gym when you’re zonked?
Go Figure Girl! 