I am a MASS MACHINE doing the "Challenge" and here's my journal!

[CewSaw]

Just getting my journal started for this challenge. Not a lot to say, especilly since I'm in the middle of listening to Skip's first conference call right now One funny thing, Skip said something about some listeners probably being five years old when he first published his website online; this is kind of funny to me since when I first got online I had a laptop computer the size of a suitcase and my email address was a long string of numbers on Compuserve and Mosaic browser was a big deal Pretty sure I was aware of Skip back then, but didn't take advantage of his coacing, I intend to take advantage of this opportunity for free coacing now!

[skiplacour]

Here's your video tip for the day, MASS MACHINE.



Train Hard. Think Big.

Skip La Cour


Click here to order
Skip La Cour's Mass Machine Nutrition
right here on Bodybuilding.com today.

[henderjb]

Up & At 'em. the earlier I get to the gym the more I will enjoy my workout because I'll have better focus not being rushed to get to work.
Kind of hard to get rollin at first - friday morning - always sore & a little ragged by the end of the week. Sore is good though - look at it as a good thing I told myself. Points, think points, just like skip's system - give yourself a point for getting rollin

once I got going, felt like pushing my limits! man am I going to be sore tomorrow I thought & it will make Sat workout hard
but - that's what its all about right - soreness leads to growth

Wide stance leg press - that's it - put on a bit more than next week. little by litle you'll increase the weight until you are pushing major poundage. Realize your leg strength, learn to love the searing pain - that's where you grow.


At end of workout I give myself a 9. Why not a 10? because I could have got rolling faster. took too long to get into my first set, forgot my mouth guard in locker (need that to push the pounds, lost some time going to get it, poor planning). Gym energy was good this morning, my energy might have been based somewhat on surroundings. it should not matter what the surroundings are - I should always push regardless.

massage this eve - yes, recovery. let's take soem BCAA & C afterwards to boost recovery.

[Lex29us]

Welcome!
All the best to you.

[jmorg714]

Good luck and I look forward to getting to know you through the next 6 months!

Jason

[CewSaw]

Sounds great but it's a bit confusing to see your workout in my journal

Up & At 'em. the earlier I get to the gym the more I will enjoy my workout because I'll have better focus not being rushed to get to work.
Kind of hard to get rollin at first - friday morning - always sore & a little ragged by the end of the week. Sore is good though - look at it as a good thing I told myself. Points, think points, just like skip's system - give yourself a point for getting rollin

once I got going, felt like pushing my limits! man am I going to be sore tomorrow I thought & it will make Sat workout hard
but - that's what its all about right - soreness leads to growth

Wide stance leg press - that's it - put on a bit more than next week. little by litle you'll increase the weight until you are pushing major poundage. Realize your leg strength, learn to love the searing pain - that's where you grow.


At end of workout I give myself a 9. Why not a 10? because I could have got rolling faster. took too long to get into my first set, forgot my mouth guard in locker (need that to push the pounds, lost some time going to get it, poor planning). Gym energy was good this morning, my energy might have been based somewhat on surroundings. it should not matter what the surroundings are - I should always push regardless.

massage this eve - yes, recovery. let's take soem BCAA & C afterwards to boost recovery.

[CewSaw]

Due to what looks like will be black ice later I am probably going to miss my workout. I'd set a pretty modest goal of M/W/F so it's discouraging to get off track so soon, especially after getting all enthusiastic after the conference call last night. I might not have written this sort of non-entry in my journal but I see someone more dedicated than me has posted in it, and they got out of bed and got going this morning, which is what I "shoulda, coulda, woulda" done myself since I knew it would be ugly weather tonight.

[jmorg714]

I just wanted to take a second and introduce myself. My name is Jason Morgan. I will be participating in the challenge with each of you that have signed up. I will also be encouraging you and helping in any way I can as a captain for the challenge.

This is a GREAT opportunity to work with Skip as your coach, get the support of other challenge participants and captains while pushing yourself to higher levels than you may currently believe possible. Let's all work hard to make this the NUMBER 1 group and transformation thread on Bodybuilding.com! I encourage you to visit the Mass Machine Challenge journals of the other participants and make sure to rate them all 5 stars. Keep us on top!

Talk to you soon... See you on the boards!!

Good luck and I look forward to getting to know you through the next 6 months!

Jason

[skiplacour]

Assignment #1 - Mass Machine Bulking and Cutting Program Challenge - Video #4



Photo and Writing Assignment due Monday at 8 am Pacific.


Click here to order
Skip La Cour's Mass Machine Nutrition
right here on Bodybuilding.com today.

[CewSaw]

Got out today despite the ice and cold and worked out. I'd like to be like everyone else here and rate my motivation like 10/10 and say w00t and all, but truthfully, I guess it's more like a 3/10. It was kind of funny at the gym today, I'm on the shoulder press with the might 40 lbs and the fellow next to me, well, I just knew he was a whole-stacker and so he was! Someday I'd like to be a whole stacker. Not today! Achy shoulders, and I swear, everytime my husband and I take a long time off, I come back stronger or at least at par. Every time we workout regularly, I get weaker and weaker, while my husband gets stronger and stronger. I'd like to ask Skip about it, but I'm pretty sure he'd say it's what I'm eating or not eating. Or maybe it's mental, I don't know. I know with each passing year my shoulders seem to get crunchier. My husband has a bone spur so he's got a reason. I don't. The last time we met our goals of working out 3-4 times a week in 2009, I think my shoulders got over it, but that was a while ago. 2010 we went somewhat regularly, with 2-3 week breaks every so often, and I don't remember it being a problem. 2011, well... I think about a dozen workouts total. Back to it in 2012! My husband's in it with me, though he did look at me with dread when I got a newspaper today. "For photos," I explained. "NOT of me?" he asked. "No," I said, and he left me to whatever project I'm up to. He doesn't even ask anymore

[MzJules]

I was thinking about what you said about getting weaker and weaker and I have also come across that although not on a consistent basis. For me, I know it's my nutrition. If I do not eat when I should it shows in my performance. I do carbs an hour before, even a protein shake with it and sometimes a big cup of coffee on the way to the gym for kick. Then I do a post workout drink and eat some carbs. It really does make a difference.

[CewSaw]

I was thinking about what you said about getting weaker and weaker and I have also come across that although not on a consistent basis. For me, I know it's my nutrition. If I do not eat when I should it shows in my performance. I do carbs an hour before, even a protein shake with it and sometimes a big cup of coffee on the way to the gym for kick. Then I do a post workout drink and eat some carbs. It really does make a difference.

Thanks for the thoughts, I'm probably going to try something like a snack before a workout. I also know I need to drink more water. I have all kinds of bad habits I have to clean up. At the moment just getting to the gym is a win, I just have to stick with it.

[CewSaw]

I'm sitting here tonight trying to put together my thoughts to finish assignment #1 and send in my goals for this challenge. The first "part" of what I want is pretty easy to decide on, and that's just that I want to get the most out of this that I can. I'd be happy to be the "Best Student" winner, regardless of what my actual physical results were! Well, that's not entirely true. I don't want to keep gaining fat at the current rate of about a pound or more every couple weeks. But even though I know what I don't want, which is, I don't want to miss out on this opportunity to get Skip's coaching, and I don't want to put on any more weight, it's much harder to say what I do want.

It's very hard for me to put numbers on things. As far as my body goes, I feel like, I don't know where I really want to be any more. At the least I would like to get back to my bests of 2010, which was 134.5 lbs. at about the same amount of lean body mass I am now. But since my goal of 2011 was to "Figure out how to gain muscle without gaining too much fat" and I made no progress toward that at all, I would also like to put on some muscle. I'm no longer sure what's realistic. Do I care what's realistic? Do I want goals at the outer limits of "realistic"? I set a goal here on my Bodyspace before I became aware of Skip's challenge...to weigh 129.5 lbs. by March 31st. That seemed realistic at the time, but stepping on the scale this morning, it didn't seem realistic at all! (And I can't delete it and pick another goal, it's sitting there getting more unrealistic by the day!)

I guess I am going to have to figure out what I want and commit to it! All I had to do to lose weight the first time around in 2010 was eat lighter lunches, walk a lot, and be patient. That didn't work in 2011, or, to be honest, I didn't care enough to try to do it again. I deliberately ate whatever I wanted and said, I'll get going on this later. Not a good way to start my 40th year! But I can't ignore this challenge coming starting tomorrow on my birthday, so I need to stop hemming and hawwing and pick some numbers so I have something to gauge how successful I've been.

[skiplacour]

I am awarding you 100 points for starting an ONLINE JOURNAL because I know the tremendous value of doing so. You'll also get additional points for every journal entry you make during the entire six-month journey.




Click here to order
Skip La Cour's Mass Machine Nutrition
right here on Bodybuilding.com today.

[CewSaw]

After much fussing around, and fiddling with my calculator to try to figure out what I thought were achievable goals, this was what I sent in for assignment #1:

"My main goal for this challenge is to win the “Best Student” award by following through with all the assignments and keeping up with my online journal daily. I’d like to learn as much as I can during this focused period of time so I can maintain my progress and improve continually after this challenge for years to come. I want to become publicly accountable for my own success by following through with this challenge to the best of my ability for the whole 24 weeks and getting the best results possible for me personally.

My other goal is to get back to my previous 2010 weight of 134.5-135.0 lbs. by the end of the challenge, while improving my overall body composition and gaining at least 3 lbs. of lean body mass and lowering my body fat percentage to 24.0% or less.

Thirdly my goal is to get past my current stuck point of 20-25 lbs. machine preacher curls and make my new normal 55 lbs. x 10 reps x 3 sets."

The last one is kind of silly because, well, that preacher curl machine just makes me angry. I sit there and struggle with it. I must have a grimace on my face like I'm lifting a Volkswagen, but it's actually 25 lbs. on the best day and 15 lbs. on the worst. Some days I don't even need the pin, uggh. That thing is my nemesis. Which is silly because when I was 19 I know I curled 50 lbs., at least once or twice. And I was skinny then. Maybe it was from carting Arnold's encyclopedia all over the place! I know I didn't even workout then, just lifted that book all over the place

[MzJules]

Hey CewSaw,
I think your goals are very achievable! Preacher curls ... have you tried praying? Just kidding. If it's the exercise I am thinking of ... as long as you feel your Bicep firing and you are doing it with intention the lighter weight might be fine for now till the muscle really gets stronger. Are you using Skips workouts and his nutrition plan? I just stumbled on skip's site last month so I am not familiar with his methods but I intend to buy his materials this week. I am following another thread he is on and learning so much. I love the way he thinks.

[baldbird]

Welcome to the challenge and good luck.

[CewSaw]

Skipped a workout today just because it was my birthday and I was feeling lazy. Of course, the day the challenge begins, everyone brings me cake, so that's all sitting in my fridge. I'm not really into it though, didn't really overeat today either. I have to admit I'm not really prepared for this challenge, at least as far as having a plan for my diet. Working out is easy, at least, it's easy to plan for at the moment. Go to the gym regularly and get back to whatever my previous best lifts were. For now, it's just machine exercises. Probably this is not the ideal thing. I feel even weaker when we wander over to the cable machines, for instance, and forget about the free weights for now. I don't even think I could lift the barbell now... so machines it is. They make it simple and for the moment, simple is important. Diet is another thing... right now it's more a matter of not eating wrong than it is about eating right.

[jmorg714]

Skipped a workout today just because it was my birthday and I was feeling lazy. Of course, the day the challenge begins, everyone brings me cake, so that's all sitting in my fridge. I'm not really into it though, didn't really overeat today either. I have to admit I'm not really prepared for this challenge, at least as far as having a plan for my diet. Working out is easy, at least, it's easy to plan for at the moment. Go to the gym regularly and get back to whatever my previous best lifts were. For now, it's just machine exercises. Probably this is not the ideal thing. I feel even weaker when we wander over to the cable machines, for instance, and forget about the free weights for now. I don't even think I could lift the barbell now... so machines it is. They make it simple and for the moment, simple is important. Diet is another thing... right now it's more a matter of not eating wrong than it is about eating right.

CewSaw! I'm going to give you a friendly PUSH and tell you right NOW YOU CAN DO THIS!! You need a workout plan? Here you go: http://skiplacour.com/slc_mmt_home/
You want a diet plan to add mass and cut fat? First throw out the damn cake! Then go to : http//skiplacour.com/diet_supplements/

These are GREAT starting points. Skip, myself, the other captains, and others on this thread will help you. Give the plan 2-3 weeks as is before you make any adjustments so you can truely see how your body is reacting to the plan.

[CewSaw]

Feels like it was a long weekend off. Leg workout today. I'm still working on getting back to whatever my maximums were before. I didn't keep a journal then and I don't remember. Honestly, I don't remember from workout to workout and I need to carry a journal with me and not just rely on my unreliable memory.

Diet was okay today. I have no plan set in stone but I would say it wasn't great, but wasn't out of control, either.

I did get out walking despite the uglyish winter day. It actually was nice once I got going. It isn't exactly MASS MACHINE cardio but it clears my head. That's when I catch up on podcasts, in particular, Skip's today. I'm looking forward to Skip's conference call Thursday.

[rmac26]

Train hard bro!!

[jmorg714]

Hey fellow MASS MACHINE!

Here's a friendly reminder from your Coach, Skip La Cour, about the value of keeping your journal current.

I'm one of the Captains so if there's anything I can do to help you, feel free to ask.




Click here to order
Skip La Cour's Mass Machine Nutrition
right here on Bodybuilding.com today

[ScottRoland]

Hey! Scott Roland here checking in with you as your coach for this Mass Machine Challenge! I’ll be stopping by from time to time to see how your progress is going and offer you encouragement and guidance as we go through this 6 month journey together.
Please stop by my journal located at http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...1328741&page=2 and let me know if I can assist you with anything and give me a little kick in the pants as well! We all need motivation.

Today I wanted to share something with you that I found at COSTCO. http://www.morningstarfarms.com/morn...an-burger.html
They are precooked and taste awesome !
Calories: 210
Fat: 7
Protein: 17
Carbs: 24
Cholesterol: ZERO ! !
I have cholesterol problems so this product really caught my eye.

Share any recipes you may have by posting them on my journal!

Remember: Stay focused and dedicated ! !



Click here to order
Skip La Cour's Mass Machine Nutrition
right here on Bodybuilding.com today.

[CewSaw]

It's been an okay day, dietwise. Not bad, not great, pretty much like yesterday. I guess I will know how much I've over- or under-eaten by the weekend, or next weekend probably more like it. My weight fluctuates a lot on a daily basis so if I'm watching the scale (which I'm tired of doing at the moment) I kind of just watch every day if it's bouncing upward, or bouncing downward.

Had a dental visit first thing this morning, which was over with quickly, but I didn't make much good use of the day after that. Did some walking, but skipped the gym tonight. Not exactly pleased with myself. This isn't a very inspiring entry, but it is what it is. Really looking forward to the conference call tomorrow evening. I anticipate tomorrow will be better than today, at least I will make some progress, or I'll at least feel like I'm making progress, if I follow my plans for tomorrow.

[ScottRoland]

Hey team ! ! Here’s your second assignment ! !

Assignment #2 - Mass Machine Bulking and Cutting Program Challenge - Video #9





Click here to order
Skip La Cour's Mass Machine Nutrition
right here on Bodybuilding.com today.

[CewSaw]

I thought I'd answer the questions to assignment #2 before the conference call and see how I think after that as well. I'm running late writing this so it's going to be a bit hurried:

1. What is your definition of bulking? Bulking is training and eating to put on as much muscle mass as possible while maintaining a “normal” (non-contest) body fat percentage slightly above normal. Bulking is training to put on muscle without excessive attention to or worrying about body composition or maintaining contest or photo-ready leanness.

2. Have you actually ever done it before? I have unsuccessfully tried to bulk before by training cardio and weights 3-4 times a week and eating 5-6 meals a day (without worrying much about macronutrient ratios). I did not gain significant muscle mass doing this until after I stopped training, then I gained fat weight. I think I could have kept eating a lot but I may not have ever “bulked” as long as I burned it off.

3. What are your training plans during this bulking phase -- and why are you taking this approach? I am going to train 3 times a week alternating upper body and lower body workouts. I am not doing cardio except incidentally during the day (walking more often, etc.) I am doing this because I have no regular workout routine yet and I need to get into the habit of going to the gym again. I chose this schedule because it's one I've succesfully followed before.

4. What are your eating plans during this bulking phase --- and why are you taking this approach? I haven't yet decided what my plans are. Either to pick a calorie and macronutrient balance and plan a diet accordingly, or to track what I'm eating now and adjust accordingly depending on whether I'm gaining muscle or losing fat. I don't think it's going to be a precise plan one way or the other, but I do see it being regular and I can work from there, since I tend to eat the same things day after day. Once I find something that works for me I'll be likely to stick with it for the rest of the challenge or at least for the bulking phase.

As far as today goes, I did upper body, not so many exercises, not all that I'd planned I mean, I was in a hurry and wanted to get home for the conference call and I was just plain tired as well!

[CewSaw]

No workout today and no cardio either, planning on doing it tomorrow morning and then getting back to a M/W/F schedule.

As diligent as I thought I was putting assignment #2 in here last night, I see I totally missed the last question:

5. How did you come up with this plan? And I'd say the answer, after laying in bed last night thinking things over after the long conference call, is mainly by looking back instead of forward. Truth be told, I don't have enough accurate records of what I've really done over the last couple of years to gauge what will or won't work for me, and if nothing ever worked all that well, I guess recording it wouldn't have mattered much!

It's funny because had I started last year doing as much as I've done this year, I would have felt pretty good about it. But with the challenge and public accountability, and just different goals for myself this year, I feel better than had I done nothing (which was what I did last January) but I need to make better plans and stick to them, or I'm going to make slow progress, if any. Slow progress is fine, sometimes, but not during a challenge and really, not personally right for me right now. I'm not comfortable with not being quite sure if I'm making progress or not.

Tomorrow is progress photo day. I wish I'd waited for Sunday last week to do it, so I could put it off another day! I don't think there will be any visual progress, especially since the scale is bouncing around my original start weight. I think it's going to bounce down... but I'm not so sure. I'm one salty meal away from going up instead of down. We'll see tomorrow morning! I know the scale isn't everything, but it is something, and I wish last year I had paid attention to the gradual creeping upward!

If I'm going to accomplish something other than to just "Go to the gym regularly" (last year's unfulfilled resolution) and getting back to my original starting weight, then I'm going to have to do a bit more than just show up at the gym, on this messageboard, etc. I am really enjoying the coaching, the motivation, other people's journals, but if I'm going to make the most of this I really need to step it up some. I don't want these progress pictures to be just another collection of "before" pictures, I have a whole collection of "before" pictures from the past couple years! Always "before" and never "after" - time to get an "after" photo for once in my life!

[MzJules]

No workout today and no cardio either, planning on doing it tomorrow morning and then getting back to a M/W/F schedule.

As diligent as I thought I was putting assignment #2 in here last night, I see I totally missed the last question:

5. How did you come up with this plan? And I'd say the answer, after laying in bed last night thinking things over after the long conference call, is mainly by looking back instead of forward. Truth be told, I don't have enough accurate records of what I've really done over the last couple of years to gauge what will or won't work for me, and if nothing ever worked all that well, I guess recording it wouldn't have mattered much!

It's funny because had I started last year doing as much as I've done this year, I would have felt pretty good about it. But with the challenge and public accountability, and just different goals for myself this year, I feel better than had I done nothing (which was what I did last January) but I need to make better plans and stick to them, or I'm going to make slow progress, if any. Slow progress is fine, sometimes, but not during a challenge and really, not personally right for me right now. I'm not comfortable with not being quite sure if I'm making progress or not.

Tomorrow is progress photo day. I wish I'd waited for Sunday last week to do it, so I could put it off another day! I don't think there will be any visual progress, especially since the scale is bouncing around my original start weight. I think it's going to bounce down... but I'm not so sure. I'm one salty meal away from going up instead of down. We'll see tomorrow morning! I know the scale isn't everything, but it is something, and I wish last year I had paid attention to the gradual creeping upward!

If I'm going to accomplish something other than to just "Go to the gym regularly" (last year's unfulfilled resolution) and getting back to my original starting weight, then I'm going to have to do a bit more than just show up at the gym, on this messageboard, etc. I am really enjoying the coaching, the motivation, other people's journals, but if I'm going to make the most of this I really need to step it up some. I don't want these progress pictures to be just another collection of "before" pictures, I have a whole collection of "before" pictures from the past couple years! Always "before" and never "after" - time to get an "after" photo for once in my life!

CewSaw, I found you in all the posts! Wasn't easy. I hear you about steppin it up. Dontcha just love accountability!! And hey ... I think that 90% of people don't show up and I am talking about life in general. I know I was missing for quite awhile! Ha Ha!! Focus on what you want. Not on what you don't want. We are gonna do this thing!

MzJ

[ScottRoland]

Hey Team Mass Machine.
Check out this weeks video here!

Click here to watch
this weeks video
.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Click here to order
Skip La Cour's Mass Machine Nutrition
right here on Bodybuilding.com today.

[CewSaw]

Lower body workout today. Skipped leg press and rotary calf machine, seeing as I hate them. I did inner and outer thighs and the glute trainer instead. My husband refuses to do these and I was quite surprised after I finished to see him on the elliptical, of his own free will

I took my measurements and progress photos today. The progress photos weren't any better than I expected them to be, they were about what I thought they'd be, what was difficult was getting the camera at more or less the same angle as before, and trying to smile (or something passing for a smile!) when the camera went off. I need to set up another floor lamp to get rid of the excessive shadows. I'd throw the shades open (actually, not really), but there's not much light here in the evenings anyway!

My measurements seem a bit off, I have an Orbitape on the way to help with that some. My bodyfat measurement seemed off as well. Truth is, my measurements fluctuate so much, the plan is really just to look at the average and judge whether I'm making progress right now from the general direction things seem to be going. My January 1st measurements, from before I'd even heard of this challenge, are way off, at least in the sense that they're not measured at the mid-way of anything, they're measured at the thickest part of everything, the fattest part. But I left them even though it throws off the graphs since I'm sure I'll want to know them come next January or maybe at the end of this challenge, mid-way through the year.

I think I'll save the weekly review for tomorrow. But as far as progress goes, do I really think I lost any fat or gained any muscle this week? No. I do think I am getting accustomed to exercise again. In fact in some exercises I'm feeling like I should be pushing much harder since I'm not getting very sore any more. Some things I feel like I need to be quite careful in, like the leg press. And though I did cut out a lot of junk food, as I said yesterday I don't think that's going to do it. So I have to spend some time soon doing assignment #2 and setting some more concrete plans for myself.