Cordygen5 Test Run sponsored by Millennium Sport

[ripped_holla]

Thanks to Matt at Millennium Sport Technologies for allowing me another opportunity to review one of their products. I have previously used and reviewed Millennium's SHRED-XS, a thermogenic fat-burner and energy supplement. My log for that is linked in my signature below.

Back to the topic at hand: Cordygen5 is a brand new supplement from Millennium that focuses on increasing exercise endurance. It does this via increased oxygen utilization and enhanced ATP production. I look forward to seeing what this product can do for me - a weight-training individual attempting to add muscle mass while still remaining reasonably lean.

Current Stats (09.11.06):

Age: 20

Height / Weight: 5'11", 181lbs

Occupation: College student

Lifting Experience: Working out seriously for about 2 years, overall about 3-4 years. I feel like I've come a long way in the past year, especially in regard to my nutrition and training protocols. With emphasis on the nutrition aspect - it's something I really enjoy reading about and seeing what certain foods do to my body. As of late, I've been a big fan of nutrient timing and "feeding your body what it needs in a given situation."

Diet: ~3000 calories per day (my calculated maintenance, using real-world data from fitday, is around 2600 cals). I used to log daily on fitday but for this current mass cycle I have stopped to allow myself a bit more freedom. I eat every 2-3 hours, with each meal containing a lean source of protein and either a fruit or vegetable (occasionally both). I concentrate all my starchy carbs into breakfast and postworkout and as an overall rule I try to abide by the P/C and P/F meal combos. This is a big change that I've made recently, as I used to eat whatever macro whenever in order to hit daily allowances/goals. Now I see how you can pretty much eat the exact same foods but at the correct times and see great results versus simply eating semi-haphazardly. I would estimate my diet right now is about 40% protein, 30-35% carbs, and 30-35% fats.

Water Intake: At least 1 gallon per day.

Training Protocol: Chad Waterbury ABBH2 program. It uses varied set/rep schemes with each workout and has me lifting every other day.

Other Supplements:

- generic multivitamin (1 per day)
- PrimaForce Lean Green (1 per day)
- Optimum Fish Oil softgels (6 per day)
- Optimum 100% whey protein
- Optimum 100% whey MRP
- NOW dextrose
- PrimaForce CreaForm creatine monohydrate (3-5g per day)

I took the first dose this afternoon upon receiving the product despite having already worked out this morning. I will be dosing at 3 caplets per day even on non-training days. Use will be about 30 mins prior to my workout, which turns out to be almost upon waking as I'm in the gym within 45 mins of waking up in the morning on training days. On off-days I'll take it in the early afternoon with a meal.

Official product description will follow in the next post...

[ripped_holla]

CORDYGEN5™

Cordygen5™ incorporates 100% organic, highly concentrated extracts of five strains & four species of cordyceps for maximum oxygen utilization, cellular energy, stamina and ATP production. Cordygen5™’s oxygen utilization enhancing effects have been touted by many users as a natural, legal and effective alternative to EPO.

Cordygen5™ is the strongest performance enhancing cordyceps product on the market and may provide up to 30% increases in ATP and up to 40% increases in oxygen utilization. Cordygen5™ is perfect for anyone who wants to increase their ATP levels but doesn’t want to consume creatine due to its common side effects. Cordygen5™ is also ideal for anyone who is a non responder to creatine products but still wants reap its benefits. The added bonus is the tremendous increase in oxygen utilization that Cordygen5™ provides. Cordygen5™ will allow all athletes, amateur or professional to break through their aerobic and anaerobic plateaus, maximizing strength and endurance. Whether you are a bodybuilder, powerlifter, martial artist, triathlete, cyclist, runner, swimmer, skier, snowboarder, hunter, climber, wrestler, golfer, tennis, football, basketball, hockey or baseball player, you’ll maximize your performance with Cordygen5™.

Cordygen5™ is a pure, solid state fermented, super potent blend of extracts from four strains and five species of cordyceps including Cordyceps Sinensis Alohaensis Hybrid, CS4 strain Cordyceps Sinensis, Cordyceps Militaris, Cordyceps Sobolifera and Cordyceps Ophioglossoides. The Cordyceps Sinensis Alohaensis Hybrid strain contains the highest HEAA (Hydroxy Ethyl Adenosine Analogs) levels ever measured and biological active ingredient levels about 5.3 times higher than the best wild collected samples. The potency of the Cordygen5™ cordyceps blend comes from the proprietary combination of cordyceps strains and the way these strains are cultured and extracted.

Almost all cordyceps strains are cultured in a process called liquid cultivation or fermentation. This process uses a liquid substrate to grow the cordyceps mycelium in a very speedy 5-18 days, yielding low levels of active constituents. The cordyceps mycelium is then harvested by filtering out the liquid medium, drying it and grinding it into a powder. By filtering out the liquid medium many of the quality compounds secreted by the cordyceps are lost. It is usually further processed using hot water or solvents resulting in the loss of nearly 90% of the active constituents of which it had few of to begin with due to the fast liquid culturing process.

Cordygen5™ is grown using a solid state (solid substrate) or biomass method. This is a much slower culturing method where the cordyceps is grown on a sterilized solid medium such as organic grain. The cordyceps is allowed to consume the solid substrate while being subjected to temperature and gas changes (O2 and CO2) to simulate its native high altitude conditions. This process typically takes between 22 and 24 weeks (nearly 6 months) before the cordyceps is ready for harvest. When the cordyceps mycelium is ready to harvest it has consumed more than 98% of the solid medium in which it was cultured on. The residual substrate is then removed yielding 100% pure, super potent cordyceps material with extremely high concentrations of active constituents from every facet of its life cycle. The cordyceps is then extracted & concentrated to increase it’s potency up to 20X. This process allows Cordygen5™ to exceed the potency of other cordyceps products on the market by up to 95%.

For Thousands of years Traditional Chinese Medicine has used cordyceps to support healthy kidney, lung (respiration) and heart function, low male and female libido, fatigue, immune disorders, for general health and appetite and for promoting longevity. Tibetan Sherpas use cordyceps to enhance energy production and oxygen utilization when climbing Mt. Everest. In 1993 the Chinese Women’s National Track Team used cordyceps to set nine world records, three by staggering margins.

In this country its use has been researched for it’s enhancement of energy production with applications in athletic performance and fatigue. Cordyceps has been clinically proven to enhance ATP production, increase oxygen utilization, improve VO2 Max, increase SOD (Super Oxide Dismutase) activity, support immune function, support healthy kidney function, support healthy cholesterol levels, protect the liver and improve glucose metabolism*. One study even suggests that cordyceps may improve testosterone production in leydig cells.

Benefits of Cordygen5™ Supplementation?

• Increase Oxygen Utilization 40%!
• Increase ATP 30%!
• Massive Aerobic & Anaerobic Endurance!
• Enhance Aerobic & Anaerobic Recovery!
• Great Strength Increases!
• Increase Training Intensity!
• Decrease Fatigue!
• Increase Testosterone!
• Ability to Pack Large Volume Training into Short Periods!
• Improve Immune Function!
• Improve Libido & Sexual Function!
• US & International Patents Pending!

Supplement Facts:
Serving Size: 3 Time Release Tablets
Servings Per Bottle: 30

Cordygen5™ 2250mg
Proprietary blend of highly concentrated extracts from:

Cordyceps Sinensis Alohaensis
Cordyceps Sinensis CS-4
Cordyceps Militaris
Cordyceps Sobolifera
Cordyceps Ophioglossoides

Suggested Use: Take three time release caplets 30-60 minutes prior to weightlifting, endurance event or sport. Use Cordygen5™ as a stand alone product or stack it with Kreaceps™, Citruvol™ or Ragnarok™ for mind blowing performance!

[ripped_holla]

September 11, 2006 - Day One

Weight: 181lbs

Training:

- back squats - 6x5 @ 200lbs
- seated calf raises - 6x5 @ 140lbs
- weighted situps - 6x5 @ +35lbs

Done as straight sets, all sets finished for one exercise before moving on.

I will be updating my log on my training days, which is either 3 or 4 days per week. I'm using Chad Waterbury's ABBH2 program from T-Nation. I'm on the start of the third week and am enjoying it so far. My favorite part is the overall low volume (3-4 exercises per session) and varied set/rep schemes - 3x5, 3x12, 4x12, and 6x5.

Calories are around 3000 per day. I'm hesistant to do much, if any, cardio on off-days as I'm having quite an interesting time trying to put on weight. Part of this is due to eating 90-95% clean and not consuming a lot of calorie-dense junk foods. I feel like I'm eating 10x more than anyone I know, yet I'm not putting on a pound per week as I would like. Therefore, I'm going to make a concerted effort to add calories to the diet. The first place this is going to happen is at night, such as a few more bites of cottage cheese and some extra natural PB. I'll be posting up other ideas as they come to me.

As a college student, I end up biking around about 30 mins per day. This obviously isn't high-intensity cardio but it certainly isn't sitting on the couch. I like the fact that it's a form of "active recovery" during the day. Gaining weight for me is a delicate balance because when I do start gaining I notice it almost immediately in the stomach area. Now that I'm on a workout plan that has me lifting every other day instead of simply Mon/Wed/Fri, I think I can get away with a higher calorie intake and not put on "bad" weight. My attempt to gain lean mass will be a constant theme in this log.

As you can tell by now, my evaluation of Cordygen5 is going to be highly subjective with some supporting objective data. It's sometimes hard to attribute an extra rep here or there to a particular supplement. I have a feeling, though, that if this product is "for real" that I'll see some nice increases in stamina and feel less burnt out after my workouts. One benefit I'm looking for in particular is decreased recovery time between sets. On certain days, like the 6x5 day, I'm doing straight sets of X lbs and by the 4th or 5th set it starts to wear me out. Hopefully I see some changes here.

[whitedevil74]

Good intro. I hope people aren't overloaded with all of these cordygen 5 logs.

[Millennium 1]

Good intro. I hope people aren't overloaded with all of these cordygen 5 logs.

I hear ya on the overload WD, but; I really think we will find that everyone experiences the same effects. I think it will be easier to evaluate and compare if the logs are close together and abundant. The one odd variable may be the amount of time between dosing and workout for everyone.

[RBEliminator]

I'm using Chad Waterbury's ABBH2 program

Good choice, keep us updated on your workout, you keep a log?

[ripped_holla]

Good choice, keep us updated on your workout, you keep a log?

I'm not running a log on ABBH2. I'm liking what's happening so far though. As I mentioned above, I'm enjoying the varied rep schemes. I also find that the exercises used allow almost full recovery before they're beat down again. That is, good separation between muscle groups in the program.

Just want to note that I skipped ABBH1 and went straight to 2. Reason being I didn't think 1 would have enough volume for me, simple as that. I couldn't justify to myself going to the gym to do only dips and chinups for one day's workout, or just bench and rows another day. I like the medium amount of volume here and I'm out of the gym in usually 30-40 mins per workout.

Planning on Waterbury Method next but we'll see. It's an awful lot of volume - a 10x3 exercise followed by four 4x6 exercises. That's a hell of a lot of time in the gym especially when I wake up at 7am on workout days, hit the gym, and have class around 10am daily.

May have rambled there but thanks for the interest!

[hotasice2003]

I am very interested in this product, so I am following all the logs lol...... good luck.....

[RBEliminator]

. It's an awful lot of volume - a 10x3 exercise followed by four 4x6 exercises. That's a hell of a lot of time in the gym especially when I wake up at 7am on workout days!

I've done 8 x 3 for eight different exercises per workout in the past. It's grueling, but you will definetely GROW! Check out my Log!

[ripped_holla]

September 13, 2006 – Day Three

Training:

- flat DB bench – 3x5 @ 75s
- decline BB bench – 3x5 @ 160lbs
- seated hammer strength row – 3x5 @ 190lbs
- bentover BB rows (underhand grip) – 3x5 @ 145lbs

Jury’s still out on the Cordygen. I took 3 Cordygen and a Citruvol sample 4-pack first thing this morning and headed to the gym about 30 minutes later after a light meal. Maybe a slightly increased pump from the Citruvol but nothing spectacular. To be fair, these exercises probably weren’t the best for seeing raging bicep or tricep pumps. Back to the Cordygen…didn’t notice any real changes in endurance. Still very early in the test run so I’m not surprised by this.

Calories are slightly upwards of 3000 today with water intake around 1 gallon. Will have eaten two meals of chicken by the day’s end but this week’s grocery store sales don’t start until tomorrow so I need to hold off and make due . Veggies with every meal except breakfast, three pieces of fruit, six fish oil caps, one Lean Green, one multi, and a partridge in a pear tree.

More coming Friday. With Friday comes dose number five, and according to the info I have this stuff reaches full strength after doses four or five…looking forward to it. And my latest goodie box of supps came today with a new product, Syntrax Matrix 5.0 chocolate. I’ve read good things about this protein blend and can’t wait to mess around with it in the blender tonight.

Gym Tidbit of the Day: Somebody please tell little Junior that when you’re 5’7” and 140lbs, Under Armour is not considered reasonable workout attire. Young man, those bones sticking out might hurt somebody. In between stifling my laughs, I noticed Junior doing back-to-the-wall bicep curls…which if memory serves I saw him doing on Monday as well. Junior is no doubt on the path to hyyyyuuuuggeness.

[Millennium 1]

Give it a little more time from ingestion to workout. Some people need a full 60 minutes. C5 will not provide you with a noticeable pump. Look for increased anaerobic and aerobic recovery times with increased strength. 3X5 training isn't the best test for C5 but it should still have a very noticeable effect on recovery times in between sets. Have you done anything cardio or endurance related?

[whitedevil74]

[b]
Gym Tidbit of the Day: Somebody please tell little Junior that when you’re 5’7” and 140lbs, Under Armour is not considered reasonable workout attire. Young man, those bones sticking out might hurt somebody. In between stifling my laughs, I noticed Junior doing back-to-the-wall bicep curls…which if memory serves I saw him doing on Monday as well. Junior is no doubt on the path to hyyyyuuuuggeness.

I hear you, it is not as bad as this grotesquely fat lady at my gym who only wears a sports bra and little biker shorts. I mean it is great that she is trying to improve her health, but unless you have a killer body, no sports bras and biker shorts.

[Hizzie]

I hear you, it is not as bad as this grotesquely fat lady at my gym who only wears a sports bra and little biker shorts. I mean it is great that she is trying to improve her health, but unless you have a killer body, no sports bras and biker shorts.

No, no. It's ok. They just have to realize that they are fair game for trash talking. Just like the stripper on the eliptical with her "pecs" busting out. She is gonna get stares. All is fair.

I love the gym.

[ripped_holla]

Give it a little more time from ingestion to workout. Some people need a full 60 minutes. C5 will not provide you with a noticeable pump. Look for increased anaerobic and aerobic recovery times with increased strength. 3X5 training isn't the best test for C5 but it should still have a very noticeable effect on recovery times in between sets. Have you done anything cardio or endurance related?

I'll try giving it some more time before hitting the gym. I workout in the mornings though which means that extra 20-30 mins comes in the form of me waking up that much earlier. But it can be done if necessary. The pumps comment was related to the Citruvol sample pack, not the C5, sorry about that.

Only one of my four workouts on this program is 3x5, the next two upcoming are 3x12 and 4x12 so that'll be a good test. The last sets of a 3 or 4x12 aren't always the most fun. Haven't done any cardio or endurance stuff yet (discussed in an intro post above). May do some for fun in the coming weeks just to test out the C5 as it relates to the aerobic side of things.

[SPACECLOWN]

I hear you, it is not as bad as this grotesquely fat lady at my gym who only wears a sports bra and little biker shorts. I mean it is great that she is trying to improve her health, but unless you have a killer body, no sports bras and biker shorts.

That hot, especially when she jogging on the treadmill hehehe

[ripped_holla]

September 15, 2006 - Day Five

Weight: 182.5lbs (yes! up 1.5lbs since Monday)

Training:

- hypers (warmup) 3x8
- partial BB deads - 4x12 @ 155lbs
- leg press calf raise - 4x12 @ 245lbs
- weighted situps - 4x12 @ BW+20lbs

Dosed 3 Cordygens and 3 Kreaceps first thing in the morning, hit the gym a full 45 minutes later (as suggested). Workout went well. I'd say I felt some slight increases in recovery time between sets, especially with the calf raises. Usually by the 3rd of 4th set my calves are burning and I need to wait past the 60 sec rest period that I'm aiming for. Not today though.

Weight is up slightly as well! Very happy about this. Maybe all this eating is finally paying off. Actually I just got back from lunch with a friend who's visiting and ate a big chicken club sandwich, some bruchetta (sp?), and some sort of seasoned potatoes. First big cheat in a long time. At least it was about 4-5 hours after my workout so damage will be minimal. I need the calories anyway so I'm not that concerned.

Not seeing any side effects from the Cordygen at all. Anaerobic endurance may be starting to increase. Feeling strong as ever too, weights felt great today. I'm thinking about switching the partial deads to rack deads because I'd be able to pull more weight. Right now I'm doing 12-rep sets and while my grip is strong enough to hold that weight for all 12 reps I could probably lift a ton more with rack deads where I can drop the weight and regrip every couple reps. Pretty sure it's partial deads in the program though, done as I'm doing them now (down to top of shins, lockout, down to shins, etc) so maybe it's not a good idea to switch. We'll see.

Gym Tidbit of the Day: Goofy personal trainers and goofy clients. Big guy training a younger woman. In the 45 mins I was at the gym, I saw a couple sets of lat pulldowns (fine), some DB bench (with 20lb DBs? c'mon) and finally some squats. Here's where the fun started. No weight on the bar yet we need the neck pad! Maybe if you put the bar where it was supposed to go in the first place it wouldn't hurt. There's a reason people squat with several plates on each side with NO NECK PAD. First few reps of this were maybe 1/4 down. Lower, the trainer says. 1/2 down. Lower still, he says. Then he stands next to the rack to get a good view of how low she's going...and lets her continue at 1/2 reps the rest of the time I'm watching. Cute.

[hotasice2003]

[/QUOTE]Gym Tidbit of the Day: Goofy personal trainers and goofy clients. Big guy training a younger woman. In the 45 mins I was at the gym, I saw a couple sets of lat pulldowns (fine), some DB bench (with 20lb DBs? c'mon) and finally some squats. Here's where the fun started. No weight on the bar yet we need the neck pad! Maybe if you put the bar where it was supposed to go in the first place it wouldn't hurt. There's a reason people squat with several plates on each side with NO NECK PAD. First few reps of this were maybe 1/4 down. Lower, the trainer says. 1/2 down. Lower still, he says. Then he stands next to the rack to get a good view of how low she's going...and lets her continue at 1/2 reps the rest of the time I'm watching. Cute.[/QUOTE]


LOL, that is the only way I ever see ppl squating. I have yet to see someone do a full rep in my gym......

[ripped_holla]

September 17, 2006 - Day Seven

Training:

superset:
- standing BB military press - 3x12 @ 75
- chinups - bodyweight x 11, 10, 7

superset:
- weighted dips - 3x12 @ +15
- dumbbell side lateral raises - 3x12 @ 20s

Kind of disappointed today. Ran out of gas pretty early in the workout. Failed on the last rep of the last set of military press. Chinups were 3x10 last week, was aiming for 3x11 this week, but died on the 7th rep of the last set today. Oddly though I had an absolutely sick pump going, not really sure why. Most likely my increased food and protein intake.

Dosed 3 Cordygen about 60 mins pre-workout. I did have a few beers last night but got a solid 8.5 hrs of sleep and ate a great breakfast this morning. Didn't feel out of it at all but nonetheless it may be what contributed to a less than stellar performance today. Something even the Cordygen couldn't make up for I guess. Got to take what life gives you though especially when you're working out every other day like I am on this program. Every week I have a weekend workout, be it Saturday or Sunday. I do try to take it easier the night before but stuff happens.

Cordygen side effects...on my info sheet there's an "immune function" bulletpoint. I don't know if it's the Cordygen contributing to this but I'm not feeling very run down even on an every-other-day program (I'm on day 21 of 47, 12 workouts done so far). Most of this can probably be attributed to eating a ton and sleeping well. Diet has been 95% spot-on during this program. Also, is that a slight increase in libido...?!?

Bounce right back on Tuesday.

Gym Tidbit of the Day: Chicken legs and old men. I never tire of seeing guys with pretty well-developed upper bodies and chicken legs. I'm talking calves that are smaller than my forearms. Also, anybody have these token old men at their gym that never seem to be doing anything? Always carrying a big bath towel around, looking at people, standing around and "stretching" a.k.a. wild lunges to the left and right, and more or less staring at YOU. I just stare right back and then give them a puzzled look. Weirds me out.

[Millennium 1]

One thing I really notice on C5 is that the recovery time between sets is much shorter oxygen utilization wise. If I let that shorten my time between sets then my strength on each set is good but not stellar. If I wait and use my normal 60-90 second break between sets (which on C5 seems like forever) then my muscular endurance is far better and I feel my strength is much improved. It almost gives you a false sense of readiness because the oxygen utilization occurs at a slightly faster rate than ATP regeneration.

[Mickfootie]

I just recieved a few samples from Millenium Sport of Kreacaps, Citruvol and Cordygen 5.
I stacked the Cordygen 5 with the Kreacaps this morning before my workout and i felt on fire. I am goin to stack my other sample with the Citruvol and see if that is any different.
When i finished i still felt as though i could go back in and have a run on the treadmill. It was amazing as i usually feel shattered when i leave the gym.
Im hoping that stacking C5 with Citruvol that i get some amazing pumps.

I will let you know how that goes after my next workout.

Mick.

[ripped_holla]

September 19, 2006 – Day Nine

Training:

- full BB back squats – 6x5 @ 205lbs
- seated calf raises – 6x5 @ 145lbs
- hanging leg raises – 2x10
- crunches – 2x12

Took 3 Cordygen and 3 Kreaceps about 45mins preworkout. I’m essentially taking these on an empty stomach (first thing in the morning before I quickly eat) so I would think this would speed absorption, which means I don’t have to watch the clock until an hour later. Sets felt pretty good today. The last rep of the second set of squats was a little iffy so I got slightly concerned, but all the rest of the sets went very well. Overall this workout was a ton better than Sunday’s workout. In addition, I left the gym feeling refreshed and ready to face the day. Nothing like that feeling to fire you up.

It’s probably still too early to start chalking things up to the Cordygen, but things are promising. If I feel revved up and ready to go after my morning workout, that’s a great thing that doesn’t always happen. Obviously everyone has days like that but if Cordygen could give me that each and every workout then it’s done it’s job.

I’m looking forward to weighing in on Thursday; I was planning to today but forgot to do so before my workout. I hope to see at least 183lbs on the scale or else it’s time to massively ratchet up the eating. The way I’m eating now I’m consuming foods that are very efficient – that is, they produce a high thermic effect of feeding and a lot of energy turnover. That’s not always the optimal thing for trying to add mass but overall it’s a healthy and intelligent way to eat. 3500-4000 calories might be right around the corner.

Gym Tidbit of the Day: There was a guy doing some nice full ROM squats and some Bulgarian split squats which was great to see. However, this positive sighting was balanced by a lady with a nice spare tire. I’ve seen her a couple times now and each and every time she’s just chilling on a Swiss ball. Sometimes she gyrates a little, sometimes does some 1/10 ROM crunches on it, sometimes just lays on it. I almost, almost went up to her and asked, “What exactly are you doing and who told you to do it?” I would be fascinated by her answer but in the interests of not offending her or having her feel inferior I decided that wasn’t a good idea. Maybe next time.

[ripped_holla]

Here's a little item I forgot to mention above...

I'm going to try my hand at some martial arts in the next couple days. Over the past few months I've really wanted to start learning one, but it wasn't a big priority. Now I've done some research and am going to start Brazilian jiu-jitsu. I'll start with only a couple sessions a week to get acquainted with it and take it from there. I really like how jiu-jitsu is a ground-oriented, self-defense form of combat. They also don't deal with far eastern philosophy or anything like that. Cool and applicable to real life.

This provides another opportunity for the Cordygen to shine. I know I don't have a baseline for my endurance in jiu-jitsu but I have a feeling I'll be able to tell if my conditioning holds up better than I inherently think it should. Depending on how my body adapts I may have to drop to only 3 lifting sessions per week (right now I'm doing every other day) in order to keep volume reasonable. An extra off-day might become necessary. And my caloric intake...sigh...is going to have to go up some more.

[SPACECLOWN]

Sounds like fun! Why the sigh for cals going up, I would be smiling

Oh I used the foam roller on my quads today. I liked it but when doing the side of the quads it is a bit painful.

[ripped_holla]

Sounds like fun! Why the sigh for cals going up, I would be smiling

Oh I used the foam roller on my quads today. I liked it but when doing the side of the quads it is a bit painful.

I don't mind eating, in fact I love it! It's just that by eating more, I need to shop more, and by shopping more I need to spend more. It ain't cheap to eat 4000 clean cals per day. But I'm slowly getting there.

[SPACECLOWN]

I hear ya. Chicken titties arent cheap and I am eating a ton of them not to mention my bill for veggies.

[ripped_holla]

September 21, 2006 – Day Eleven

Weight: 181.5lbs (arggh)

Training:

- standing BB military press – 3x5 @ 95lbs
- weighted chinups – 3x5 @ bodyweight+20lbs
- weighted dips – 3x5 @ bodyweight + 35lbs
- side DB lateral raises – 3x5 @ 35lbs

At this point in the ABBH2 program, the set/rep schemes switch around. I used to do these particular exercises at 3x12 but now they are 3x5. This necessitated a somewhat lighter day today to feel out the correct weights to use and as always to undershoot my potential considering I’m upping weight each workout. For whatever reason, my military press is and always has been a weak point. I suppose I don’t train it all that often but I’ve never been able to put up even 115lbs for reps. Next program I do I really want to work on this, probably with a push-press or something like that.

First day of my Brazilian jiu-jitsu mixed martial arts went well. I love how I was able to jump right in and start grappling immediately. Learned some takedown techniques and how to transition to an arm-bar and a shoulder joint submission. Pretty cool stuff that I think I’ll enjoy doing. I plan on starting with 2-3 sessions a week and taking it from there. This might require a decrease in lifting but we shall see – if my calorie intake and sleep are both up to par then I might be able to get away with a good amount of training.

Cordygen stuff…took 3 about an hour before the MMA yesterday and felt great. Left feeling really good and wasn’t worn out at all, nor was I sore today. Lovely. I’m liking the product but as usual can’t pinpoint anything as “because I’m taking this here Cordygen I can do x, y, and z when otherwise I wouldn’t be able to.” In other news, I honestly think I’m losing some bodyfat even at these calorie levels. Looking in the mirror today I could see outlines of my abs that I don’t normally see. Perhaps it’s the weighted ab training making them bigger and thus they poke through, who knows. If my body weight stays relatively constant (or up a couple pounds) and I lose bodyfat, that might be the coolest thing ever. I attribute it to my eating habits which I can expound on more if people are interested.

Gym Tidbit of the Day: Other than having to spot a guy doing ¾ reps on bench with a weight obviously too heavy for him, nothing too juicy to report here. Sorry folks.

[whitedevil74]

Here's a little item I forgot to mention above...

I'm going to try my hand at some martial arts in the next couple days. Over the past few months I've really wanted to start learning one, but it wasn't a big priority. Now I've done some research and am going to start Brazilian jiu-jitsu. I'll start with only a couple sessions a week to get acquainted with it and take it from there. I really like how jiu-jitsu is a ground-oriented, self-defense form of combat. They also don't deal with far eastern philosophy or anything like that. Cool and applicable to real life.

Ok, I have fought competively as a MMA fighter several years ago, OG I am old. BJJ is great for a ring, it is great for a match, for a street fight it is not an optimal art. the last thing you want to do in a street fight is go to the ground. That is when the guys three friends run up and start kicking you. One on One BJJ is great. Make sure you combine it with some form of standup fighting. Krav Maga is good for overall self defense. The combination of the two is excellent IMO.

[ripped_holla]

Ok, I have fought competively as a MMA fighter several years ago, OG I am old. BJJ is great for a ring, it is great for a match, for a street fight it is not an optimal art. the last thing you want to do in a street fight is go to the ground. That is when the guys three friends run up and start kicking you. One on One BJJ is great. Make sure you combine it with some form of standup fighting. Krav Maga is good for overall self defense. The combination of the two is excellent IMO.

Thanks for the advice.

What I'm actually doing is a MMA variant based in jiu-jitsu. So we do all the jiu-jitsu ground-oriented work as well as striking, kicking, etc. I think regardless of what I take I'm pretty much effed if I get jumped by 3 guys, so I'd love to just be able to take on one.

[whitedevil74]

Thanks for the advice.

What I'm actually doing is a MMA variant based in jiu-jitsu. So we do all the jiu-jitsu ground-oriented work as well as striking, kicking, etc. I think regardless of what I take I'm pretty much effed if I get jumped by 3 guys, so I'd love to just be able to take on one.

Again only my opinion, these mixed martial arts schools are getting out of hand. I briefly trained at the Lion's Den in San diego and it was good. however, I am of the opinion that one is almost better off training at two different schools, one a pure BJJ, the other a pure stricking art school. The reason behind this is most of the guys teaching at these MMA schools are not truly profficient in either art, they just took some BJJ took some kick boxing and opened a MMA school. Both arts have so many subtle moves that take years to master and a guy honestly with just a black belt is not enough. At this point I prefer a guy who has perfected his art, you get more out of it that way. Then you combine them on your own. What the hell do I know, if you like where you train that is what is most important. good luck, I just have some issues with the recent over proliferation of MMA schools lately, your school might be great, I hope it is. Always have fun.

[ripped_holla]

Just a little something.

At some point, one must evaluate himself and see if his actions are inline with his priorities. I know plenty of people that drink 3 nights a week and don't think twice about it. But what else do they like to do? Watch TV? Play poker? What else do they have to do? Go to class. Eat. Sleep.

I had a riotous freshmen year of college. Drink, eat like semi-crap in the dining hall, stay up late. None of it interfered with my schoolwork though, I made sure of that. I remember times I'd come home at 2am with some buddies on a Friday and eat an entire pizza. Then I'd go to bed.

Last year I had a hell of a time as well. Scaled back a little bit, but it was my first time living in a house with a bunch of guys. You can get away with a lot more in your own house than you can in a dorm. We hosted our fair share of parties and it was a blast. I limited drinking to only Friday and Saturday nights and stopped eating when intoxicated. Regardless of how messed up I got, I was always intelligent enough to not eat a whole box of Cheez-Its before bed.

Have I got all of this out of my system now? More or less. At what point do I need to start thinking, "Hey, if I do x and y, will that have a negative effect on what I want to do tomorrow?" I've gotten better about thinking along these lines. I've started to re-evaluate myself. Does it sound weird to others? Of course. Do I spell it out entirely for them? No, but they know my hobbies and that I eat like a madman. When I wake up at noon feeling like death, what are the chances I'm going to get 3000 calories in? Pretty damn low. And I'll have a crappy workout to boot. Not getting smashed doesn't mean not having fun, nor does it mean not hanging out with friends and retreating to my room every night. It means taking it easy and putting things into perspective.

Just some random thoughts I needed to get out of me. Here's to a kickass day tomorrow.