Henkejo's Journal: A Growing Man

[henkejo]

Hi all.

Background: I'm 23. I live in the wonderful state of Minnesota (born 'n raised). Go Twins! I have a BA in Psychology but I unfortunately don't see my myself using the degree much in my future endeavors. I'm most interested in a branch of psychology called 'Positive Psychology'. What makes people happy (including myself) truly piques my curiosity. I am constantly evaluating my life and questioning if I'm as happy as I could be. Fortunately, my wonderful friends and family have made my life a blessing. 'Unity' is an idea that has significance in my life. It's difficult for me to explain, but it's those times when friends/family gather and individual concerns are forgotten. It can be anything: holidays, family vacations, buddies gathering to grill and watch the big game. I love those moments of unity. My ultimate dream is living the rest of my life in a large warehouse with all of my best friends.

I have ADD tendencies and that has made my life difficult in many ways. I'm a perfectionist- I'm meticulous and quite successful with things that I enjoy doing. However, I tend to ignore situations that seem uninteresting and/or overwhelming. This causes me to procrastinate with some things that are often important. This is an area of my life that I intend on fixing in the upcoming years.

I'm extremely competitive. I'm never going to ignore this trait. It's not necessarily about winning to me. It's more about being attached to a goal. Competition is what keeps me going. If I set a goal, I intend on seeing it through. I competed in sports when I was younger, competed in speech in high school, competed in a professional video game league in college, and competed in a professional beer pong legue immediately after college. All of those competitions were fun, but bodybuilding is different. Bodybuilding is competition 24/7. You are constantly competing with yourself in reaching your goal of achieving that ideal body. Everything you eat, everything you do has an effect on you and your body. Is that decision leading you closer to your ideal version of yourself? Is that food choice going to help give you that edge against the other competitors? Balancing this with life is all part of the competition. It's intricate but so rewarding. I love competing 100% of the time.

Also, I am employed full-time as a customer service representative at a waste company. I answer phone calls all day long from customers complaining about their trash service. It's a rough job but it is paying the bills for the time being.


Training Background & Goals: I started lifting and eating for muscle last February. I did lift periodically throughout college but never seriously. There are several pictures in my bodyspace of what I looked like a year ago. I just competed in an NPC event on Apr 2nd. I dieted for about 15 weeks beforehand and dropped about 30 pounds. I did not work with a trainer for any part of the diet. I did a lot of things wrong and lost a lot of muscle because of it, but I also learned a tremendous amount about nutrition, my body, and how I respond to various stimuli. I took first place in the bantamweight class. I'm proud of this accomplishment, but I want more. I'm going all out now. I definitely will compete again. It's just a matter of when and where. I'm not sure how big I want to be or how far up I want to go. I'm not even sure if I want to stay natural or not. I just want to keep going until I can't anymore.

I would like to put on a good amount of size before I think about competing again. There are a lot of areas that need work: my legs overall, my middle-lower back width, my bicep peak, my chest size, trciep definition, EVERYTHING.

I can't afford training advice right now so I'm freeballin' every thing and obtaining most information from the internet. I did meet a lot of new fitness enthusiasts at the competition and I hope to connect with some of them to learn new things.

This is getting long..I will update more later today.

[henkejo]

reserved

[steve1811]

Awesome accomplishment for you Josh; getting 1st place in Bantam-weight class in your very 1st contest. Also very good detail in your first posting in this journal, I'm looking forward to reading more in the future.

You mentioned losing 30 pounds while dieting down for your contest. That's GREAT! You certainly looked ripped, cut and totally fat-free in your contest day picture. How many pounds are you going to 'gain back' now in your post contest off-season time period? Have you added any weight since your contest day?
You should post some more contest pictures, and also some of how you are looking right now, and then some, as you 'bulk up' again.

Just like you, I am into very much into unity, positive energy and positive friendships. I strongly believe in friends being there for each other, and sharing supportive comments, and words. If we encourage each other and work together, we can achieve great things both in bodybuilding and in our lives in general. Once again AWESOME JOB Josh, and keep it up buddy.

[henkejo]

Awesome accomplishment for you Josh; getting 1st place in Bantam-weight class in your very 1st contest. Also very good detail in your first posting in this journal, I'm looking forward to reading more in the future.

You mentioned losing 30 pounds while dieting down for your contest. That's GREAT! You certainly looked ripped, cut and totally fat-free in your contest day picture. How many pounds are you going to 'gain back' now in your post contest off-season time period? Have you added any weight since your contest day?
You should post some more contest pictures, and also some of how you are looking right now, and then some, as you 'bulk up' again.

Just like you, I am into very much into unity, positive energy and positive friendships. I strongly believe in friends being there for each other, and sharing supportive comments, and words. If we encourage each other and work together, we can achieve great things both in bodybuilding and in our lives in general. Once again AWESOME JOB Josh, and keep it up buddy.

Thanks Steve. Yes, friendship is what I value most in life. I'll start updating this now (probably with less detail than my initial post). I'm just so busy with work and what-not.

6/14/11: Chest Power/Calves/Abs (Weight: 154.8)
Bench Press: 225x5x5x5 (feel like I could push a little more on these but experiencing some aches in wrists and elbows)
Db Incline Bench: 80x10 85x7
Standing Calf Raises 6 sets alternating toes in/out each set
Seated Calf Raises: 4 sets alternating toes in/out each set
Seated Calf Machine: 3 sets focus on inner calf head
Hanging Leg Raises: BWxabout 15 reps for 3 sets
Kneeling Cable Ab Curls: 42.5x20 47.5x20 52.5x? (to failure)

Notes: My calves have good shape but they are waaaay too small. I am going to be hitting these 2-3 times/week from here on out.

6/15/11: Off

Tonight: Quads/Light Hamstrings

[henkejo]

Gosh I really suck at updating this! A recent pic @ about 162lbs:


As I look at myself, I'm still noticing that my lower body is not matching my upper body. I've been crushing my legs for the last 6 months and they have grown approx. 2inches, yet they are still not where I want them to be.

12/8/11: Shoulders/Back HYPER
Seated Db Shoulder Press
60x12
70x10
80x8
80x7
Pullups
10, 9, 7
Db Side Raises
20x15
25x12
25x8-10
Bent Over BB Rows
135x12
155x10
165x8
Reverse Pec Decks
Glose-Grip Pulldowns