Gregg
P/RR/S Newbie
Posts: 31
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Post by Gregg on Jan 7, 2010 16:27:52 GMT -5
I bookmarked and will follow this thread closely. Wait.............................. Waaaaaait a second.............. BOND............. Greg.......................... BOND?  Oh yes, it just got REEEEAL exciting up in here! I better keep this journal mighty fine and dot all my T's! (Or something like that, LOL!) I got your call today, well, I got your text Greg, my wife got your call... I was, how do you say, naked and shaving my, never mind. I WAS SO STOKED when you called, but by the time I got done with ' grooming' and cooked my 74th meal for the day, it was very late. It's 1:38am now for example, maybe I'll call and let it ring once  We definitely have to get back on speaking terms my friend, hope you've been doing very well, and you've been very busy and happy and healthy. Arnold Classic is coming up FAST, we booked our hotel a while ago, so you can count us in - can we count YOU in? It is an annual tradition to hit up the Cheesecake Factory as you know  I'm am really glad to see you around Greg, thanks for subscribing to my journal, means a lot, REALLY. See/talk with you soon...
Definitely have to do dinner Saturday. Busy yes, healthy so-so, but will continue working on that. Got engaged on April Fools Day 2009.
I will follow the journal, and when I know the date of the show, I will attend it to see you back under the lights.
Life is great, love is fantastic, kids are healthy, not a whole lot more I need to feel good.
Talk to you soon. Call anytime. |
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Post by Ivan Drago - aka Arny/Dolph/AM on Jan 7, 2010 17:01:49 GMT -5
Wait.............................. Waaaaaait a second.............. BOND............. Greg.......................... BOND? Oh yes, it just got REEEEAL exciting up in here! I better keep this journal mighty fine and dot all my T's! (Or something like that, LOL!) I got your call today, well, I got your text Greg, my wife got your call... I was, how do you say, naked and shaving my, never mind. I WAS SO STOKED when you called, but by the time I got done with ' grooming' and cooked my 74th meal for the day, it was very late. It's 1:38am now for example, maybe I'll call and let it ring once We definitely have to get back on speaking terms my friend, hope you've been doing very well, and you've been very busy and happy and healthy. Arnold Classic is coming up FAST, we booked our hotel a while ago, so you can count us in - can we count YOU in? It is an annual tradition to hit up the Cheesecake Factory as you know I'm am really glad to see you around Greg, thanks for subscribing to my journal, means a lot, REALLY. See/talk with you soon...
Definitely have to do dinner Saturday. Busy yes, healthy so-so, but will continue working on that. Got engaged on April Fools Day 2009.
I will follow the journal, and when I know the date of the show, I will attend it to see you back under the lights.
Life is great, love is fantastic, kids are healthy, not a whole lot more I need to feel good.
Talk to you soon. Call anytime.ENGAGED??? NIIIICE!!!!! Congrats my old DJ friend EDIT: After making this post, I was able to catch Mr. G Man on his cell, and share a couple minutes of catching up as I flung a few breasts on the F. Grille; and it was great talking with SuppMan once again. The wife and I are really looking forward to the ASC, it's gonna ROCK. By the way... soon, in a few weeks maybe, we will start a "WHO IS GOING" thread and see if any of the usual suspects will be making the trip, either for fun or for booth work PPS: I finally re-sized ALL of the pictures I had saved and organized on my laptop for uploading to the Picture Archive I started a short while ago, and guess what was included in the pile? The good old Arnold Classic Weekend Lift-a-Thon!!! I remember it well... everyone was together, like a veritable Sandlot, a moment caught in time probably never to repeat again sadly. I will slap those puppies up soon! |
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Post by hossjob on Jan 7, 2010 21:47:29 GMT -5
NIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICE! Did you say what show youare doing?
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Post by Ivan Drago - aka Arny/Dolph/AM on Jan 8, 2010 10:56:08 GMT -5
Good morning comrades,Yesterday turned out to be an excellent series of events; can't ask for much more from that short span between pillows. Two scoops of cardio, sans the resistance training, with a dash of snow shoveling, and a meaty helping of Modern Warfare 2 to cap off the dish with the wife - digestion was smooth and slumber was sound My client I train also canceled, which opened up the evening for me, and although additional income is always a welcomed friend, I can't help but admit I was relieved and took advantage of the unexpected window of freedom. I kept that window closed mind you, because it was 12 degrees outside... Protein was kept very high, as Thursdays are my ( VL) 50g or less carbohydrate day; all of which I saved for the immediate post-cardio ( 2nd session at night) meal; never before has a man savored the otherwise seemingly bland and redundant taste of oatmeal with such fervor as he does whilst caught in the valley of c-prep. Whoa, almost sounds... scriptural... or, like something from a twisted version of Little Foot (awesome cartoon, one of my favorites as a kid). Now that I have indulged my propensity for ADD, allow me to continue... Cardio v.2 last night was amazing, nothing I'm sure I would take time to write home about, mostly because I was already at home and no one writes letters anymore... but still very good none the less. It brought back, into vivid nostalgic and wistful memory, those long and repetitive sessions of cardio in years past. That feeling of emptiness, purposefully induced minimal blood glucose levels, and the ever vigilant unrelenting attempt at trying to read the pages of a magazine all the while bouncing up and down at an incline of 10.... ahh yeah, as AC/DC once screamed in falsetto into a microphone, I am back in the saddle and galloping with a content smirk upon my face (or something close to that). For those of you who have never experienced the bliss and utter orgasmic wonder of contest prep ( as a whole), many have tried to explain it, and many have failed; it is like the Matrix - no one can be told what the Matrix is. I for one... know exactly what pill I will always take when offered down the many roads and dark alleys of life (no, not creatine or BCAA's, those suck in tablet/capsule form folks, think red and green here... think Morpheus!)Since I am not a casted character in the Matrix Trilogy, I digress... but only to illustrate the point that cardio can actually be a very calming, gratifying, and near meditative enlightening half hour journey. So many fellow stage stalkers and pump-posing brethren who grace countless stages through the eras, have put forth this negative and painful stigma that seems forever affixed to the term and activity of cardio, yet I beg to differ. Enter Analogy Hyperbole: Admittedly cardio is not a joy ride in a 2009 Mustang GT-500 convertible in late April through a densely treed winding forest of freshly laid pavement and more curves than Megan Fox, with frequent bright bursts of sunlight jetting through the softly swaying trees and reflecting off the silver rims of your sunglasses as you confidently sink into the hand stitched leather bucket seats, contemplating pulling that shifter back and easing that clutch in, merely to listen to the excited and stimulated roar of the escaping 500 horses through dual pipes behind you..... but that doesn't mean you can't reap some reward and enjoyment from it! The self assured inner and outer glow you can achieve while pondering life a midst the humming plastic covered engine at your feet, and the revolving belt below, is quite obvious when sought out sincerely. In fact, I'd even venture to argue those long sessions of drooped head, blankly staring at that melodic predictable passing of the belt's seam, is like the solemn constant frothy soft crash of the lazy ocean wave assaulting and tickling the sand over and over again as the tide rises and falls. ADD Moment: ...I gotta start to get this stuff into magazines; my wife is always telling me to send in a resume to MD or Flex etc, but my passion springs from honest and forthright places of original love, I am so fulfilled by the sport and the betterment of my life it has materialized, I find it challenging sometimes to motivate myself to extract a profit from my toils and talents. Once again, I have succumbed to the warm and seductive embrace of ADD... my lover and my soul mate. For now, you are all released... be free... cut the chains from your loathing treadmill woes and suck all the life out of life - that you can!Yours truly, -Aray PS: Dolph and JC Van Damm made a new Universal Soldier - NICE!! It's on my Netflix Que
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Post by Ivan Drago - aka Arny/Dolph/AM on Jan 8, 2010 11:29:04 GMT -5
CATASTROPHE = AVOIDED!!! ;D In a hurried frantic rush to remove the 6.25t of snow from my vehicle this morning, I anticipated a longer-than-usual commute to the office, so I left as quickly as the Mad Hatter. Unfortunately... I forgot to take in the intended re-fill Oatmeal container I had set out by my lunch box (read: book bag) LUCKILY for me, and humanity at large, our workplace cafeteria serves oatmeal! "THIS IS... UNSWEETENED..... RIGHT!?" "Yes!" Ahhhh, the cleansing waters of relief washed over me like a cool dunk in a Baptismal Thankfully, I was able to reach down deep into my Marry Poppins-esque' grab-bag of anecdotal knowledge of measuring over the years, and I was savvy enough to realize the picture I'm inserting below, was about a cup of COOKED oatmeal ( or as we in the bodybuilding persuasion refer to is as: "bout' 50g")  Now... my panic was induced early this morning, before even clocking in... as I reaching into my lower desk drawer, only to find the few remaining crumbs and dust of a once pack-to-the-brim Oatmeal container... all of which only amounted to this 1/2c below. What is a man going to do with a lowly 1/2c, I need subsentence!  sthingy Oh... this picture below from yesterday - I'd just like to say whoever started those rumors about the correlation between Asparagus and urine, regarding smell.... well, they were RIGHT!!! What the...........  asparagus
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Post by themagician on Jan 9, 2010 14:02:27 GMT -5
Enter Analogy Hyperbole: Admittedly cardio is not a joy ride in a 2009 Mustang GT-500 convertible in late April through a densely treed winding forest of freshly laid pavement and more curves than Megan Fox, with frequent bright bursts of sunlight jetting through the softly swaying trees and reflecting off the silver rims of your sunglasses as you confidently sink into the hand stitched leather bucket seats, contemplating pulling that shifter back and easing that clutch in, merely to listen to the excited and stimulated roar of the escaping 500 horses through dual pipes behind you..... but that doesn't mean you can't reap some reward and enjoyment from it! ;D [glow=red,2,300]T[/glow] |
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Post by jona67 on Jan 9, 2010 18:34:42 GMT -5
I remember the lift-a-thon very well!
Dude that weekend was awesome!!! Holy Lift-a Thon!!! My back was sore for so LONG!!!!
Good times! I have those pics too! I should repost them...
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Post by Ivan Drago - aka Arny/Dolph/AM on Jan 10, 2010 0:34:13 GMT -5
I remember the lift-a-thon very well! Dude that weekend was awesome!!! Holy Lift-a Thon!!! My back was sore for so LONG!!!!Good times! I have those pics too! I should repost them... Oh yeah - I am going to slap those bad boys up real soon Speaking of pictures... I am awarding 10 fictitous points of no consequence to the first person who tells me what this is a picture of:A) A desperate bodybuilder's not-too-seldom alternative use of the washing machine, as a dinner table at midnight so as not to disturb the wife's sweet slumber by using the kitchen which is attached to the living room (and a glaring painfully obvious sign of mental issues... for being both hospitable and polite while dieting, AND still having no true chef skills after nearly a decade of chicken preparation to make it even slightly more than leather chewing gum) B) An advertisement for Detergent gone horribly wrong when some health nut used the prop for his disgusting meal of dry Foreman-ized chicken and lumpy cottage cheese C) A Maytag of course! (and what the heck is that plastic tray of dog food?)  Tomorrow... I will be posting this year's contest outlook, tentative schedule of events, and training philosophy - stay tuned! |
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Post by Ivan Drago - aka Arny/Dolph/AM on Jan 10, 2010 14:15:28 GMT -5
Among the pie-chart of daily activities that comprise my life, if we slice and serve the bulky pieces around the table such as watching 3-Amigos and memorizing lines/scenes followed by Back to the Future, and dish out some helpings of Modern Warfare tactical training and rank-climbing online play, as well as put some leftover pieces into Tupperware of staring blankly at the wall for hours on end - we're left with my cherished remaining time spent here on PRRS. I want all here to know I cut my wall staring short today, merely so I could extend and share my life and times here, in greater detail...  Last night before going to sleep, I had mentioned I would outline this year's overall thought process, and also shed some light on contests I am contemplating - and although I don't wanna, I'm gonna do it, and I'm going to be pouting about it as I type, lol! I believe my exact quote, to keep things organized, was "Tomorrow... I will be posting this year's contest outlook, tentative schedule of events, and training philosophy - stay tuned!"Let's tackle that line-up one by one, come along friends... Uno: Contest Outlook (or as Anton Ego would say in Ratatouille, "... After reading a lot of overheated puffery about your new cook, you know what I'm craving? A little perspective. That's it. I'd like some fresh, clear, well seasoned perspective. Can you suggest a good wine to go with that?") would consist of my mental bearing going into this new yet familiar territory. Much as L & C once trekked through endless terrain in their quest to discover and map, the coming 14-18 weeks will be both treacherous and tranquil. Although I am a fervent supporter of mind over matter and the immeasurable energy and limitless potential harnessed within the mental confines of all of us, I will candidly talk about my personal perspective. I do not expect to win, I do not compete to win, however this by NO imaginable means goes to say I do not always train with my fullest intensity and calculate my entire approach and strategy with the same exacting specifications as any IFBB athlete. My entire philosophical construct regarding bodybuilding competition, is that I love it/them, they are a sweet release and near-orgasmic fleeting opportunity to seize and enjoy; nothing less. Would I never let my inability to make the return drive home with something shiny in the backseat a hindrance on my elation, or cast the shadow of doubt on my preceding months of preparation and subsequent work ethic? Absolutely not. Bodybuilding is a therapeutic exclamation point on the already fortunate and exciting ongoing endeavor that is lifting weights. Having this wonderful freeing talent and physical athletic prowess to manifest changes to the physique, to literally mold the human form into something inspiring and self fulfilling, is a great gift never to become tarnished merely by the lack of an accompanying nod from a panel of judges. We'll see how concerned any of us are with a blue ribbon, when it is all taken away from us - and in stead of jotting down squat reps and weights into a journal, we're recording hours spent attempting to stand up and walk using parallel bars, none of us are immune to catastrophic injury. All in all, bodybuilding and competition go hand in hand for me, and I will never allow the sometimes attached stress and anxiety that comes along with stepping foot onto a stage before untold amounts of strangers impede me from extracting every last ounce of unadulterated joy and contentment from this awesome sport. Dos: My planned pump-and-pose platforms throughout Ohio, Pa, Ky, and WV are all written down and organized... but are still not decided upon in any cement or carved into any stone. Primarily I am basing my competition decisions on two factors only: 1) Distance & Drive-Time ( travel and lodging costs), and 2) Sanctioned Organization and Quality ( entry fees and show heritage). I have family members in Kentucky, which would seem to open the door wider for the Northern Kentucky, and also have family living in Dayton, where a couple very plausible shows are being held. Of course, another unspoken consideration would be the schedule, concerning the weekend's date, so I can exploit my body to the fullest while it is in shape and step on as many stages as possible. Some shows I have done in the past that I believe I am leaning towards committing to, due to overall quality and also a certain aspect of nostalgia and the confidence of knowing what to expect and how to get there - would be the Mike Francois Classic (NPC). Tres: My training philosophy remains unchanged in spirit and zest - meaning that by no means will I purposefully let up on the accelerator pedal simply because I'm going into a few curves. Thankfully this isn't racing, preceding metaphor included, and going full intensity through the hills and valleys of contest prep won't derail my locomotion, or send my Cervini-C500 spiraling off the blacktop into the guard rail at 110. I plan on training intense, heavy as I possible can within sound reason, and holding poses between every set until my partner completes their set or 30 seconds pass. Also, I will NEVER exceed 16 reps of any exercise, or do anything more than a super-set ( whether it be opposing muscle groups, or drop-sets etc) in order to avoid any training induced danger of atrophy. I won't over think everything... and this time around, albeit early into my overall regimen and diet, I can already tell and foresee a blatant difference in myself - maturity. I see no reason why biting my wife's head off, going into seclusion, turning off my cell phone, or obsessing over every last facet and aspect every moment of my waking hours, would in any way contribute to the success I am working toward. In years past, I believe there was a formula, some type of sure-fire method of planning that stage appearance down to the final moments, and if that plan was not adhered to, failure would be imminent (ironically, because of that... failure was imminent, every single time I stepped on stage - where placings are concerned). Thankfully, I was mistaken and wholly ignorant in that regard as a younger athlete, and through no plan of my own, I have simply by default changed over the past few years, and I only feel these changes as an advantage in a big way. You cannot plan the future, only how you will react to it as it appears and reveals itself to you... so printing out a diet months in advance, or pretending and assuring myself of the falsity that is the perfect self-fulfilling prophecy - is misguided and adolescent. The body reacts and adapts in incalculable ways, we've seen it happen ad nauseum with even the highest echelon of professionals over the previous century of sport. I'd like to add some thoughts pertaining to other aspects of preparation, and informal personal experience/opinion, but for now I'd like to leave everyone with the above to ponder and hopefully react to and begin discussions on! |
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Ruehs
P/RR/S Newbie
Posts: 47
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Post by Ruehs on Jan 10, 2010 18:54:34 GMT -5
hey man good to read your writings once again, and awesome to hear you are getting on stage again! I knew that the urge to put in months of ridiculously hard work, and to then walk across a stage for mere seconds to show it would overcome you even though you "retired from the stage"!
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Post by Ivan Drago - aka Arny/Dolph/AM on Jan 10, 2010 22:11:29 GMT -5
hey man good to read your writings once again, and awesome to hear you are getting on stage again! I knew that the urge to put in months of ridiculously hard work, and to then walk across a stage for mere seconds to show it would overcome you even though you "retired from the stage"! Retired..... from the stage? Did I really ever say that? If I did utter that combination of words in that order, perhaps I truly meant to use the word furlough, not retire - honest mistake. I'm like Sarah Connor, you can send advanced humanized weapons through time to murder me, but hours after clocking out of my 1980's diner waitress job I will team up with Reese and somehow out-smart a super computer android with a pure titanium endo-skeleton (well ok, I'm not EXACTLY like Sarah Connor, but T1 was on TV tonight, and I just had to come up with an excuse to post the snap shot I took!)  Now... back to business - Mr. Ruehs, I wanted to give you and all the other Aray journal subscribers a fresh updated taste of the measurement of gravitation effect Earth has on my body... ELEVEN WEEKS OUT NOTE: My true bodyweight upon rising was 207.5 - but after eating breakfast and drinking three 16.9oz bottles of water, this is the result. I'll try to be more exacting in the future. Now....... for those of you suffering from Dory Syndrome (a very aggressive loss of short term memory that was originally introduced into the PDR by Dr. Pixar back in 2003) allow me to refresh your memories with the likes of this: TWELVE WEEKS OUT ...Yeah, I know, same pants - it's a Saturday, fuhgeddabout-it! |
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Post by STEEL Beauty on Jan 11, 2010 14:50:34 GMT -5
Aaron what an awesome journal you've started i wish i was as good of a writer as you though. I would love to start my own journal so if you could somehow help me out with one i would be much obliged : ) lol Although I'm not really following any type of diet or eating plan i should probably at least start keeping a journal of what im eating so i know for next time.
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Post by Ivan Drago - aka Arny/Dolph/AM on Jan 11, 2010 14:58:59 GMT -5
Aaron what an awesome journal you've started i wish i was as good of a writer as you though. I would love to start my own journal so if you could somehow help me out with one i would be much obliged : ) lol Although I'm not really following any type of diet or eating plan i should probably at least start keeping a journal of what im eating so i know for next time. - simply because you are not eating based on what is jotted down on loose leaf paper, or printed out from some sort of generic pseudo science website, does NOT mean you aren't following a ' plan.' We are easing into your contest preparations, where food is concerned, and will continue to hone your eating little by little. In no way is it my plan, or even a necessary evil, for you to jump head first into the freezing waters of bodybuilding contest prep; you are neither a bodybuilding competitor, or suffer from the two-edged metabolic woes that I do. Keep your head up, think positively, and continue making the great progress that you have! You are already well on your way, AND have already broken a personal best record in your eating strategy; all in all, you are and have been eating more structured and restrained than you ever have historically as an athlete. Of course I will help you in every way with every resource I have at my command - this will be a very exciting and mutually rewarding experiment that we'll never forget. I will see you tonight for the Quad Quake! |
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Post by themagician on Jan 12, 2010 15:15:46 GMT -5
Aaron what an awesome journal you've started i wish i was as good of a writer as you though. I would love to start my own journal so if you could somehow help me out with one i would be much obliged : ) lol Although I'm not really following any type of diet or eating plan i should probably at least start keeping a journal of what im eating so i know for next time. Sounds EPIC!!!!  [glow=red,2,300]T [/glow] |
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Post by Ivan Drago - aka Arny/Dolph/AM on Jan 13, 2010 23:58:12 GMT -5
I will see you tonight for the Quad Quake! Sounds EPIC!!!! [glow=red,2,300]T [/glow] Epic... indeed! Well, here I find myself a hair from the swift stroke of midnight on this anniversary of 10 weeks and 2 days out ( ok, that's not really an anniversary) and being Wednesday and all... I was on cloud nine as I sthingy fed myself some heaping portions of carbohydrates. Ah yes, the gratifying glory of that weekly anticipated day of days, (H) carb day! 400g have come and gone... I laughed, I cried, I had some flatulence..... what a true all out indulgence of the human spirit, LOL! I made sure to continue along the newly bumped up 40min of cardio I started a few days ago, upon rising, and then went to work on the skillet with some tools of the trade: egg whites, mushrooms, and red/green peppers - the colorful cornucopia of protein was complimented by the grapefruit and 1cp of old fashioned oats floating in cinnamon and Stevia water (Truvia, to be precise!) I have rescinded all artificial sweeteners from my diet, permanently; and have switched to Truvia. The studies as of late demonstrating the detrimental nutrient absorption effects, water retention, and gas/bloating promotion of Equal and Splenda has forced me to seek out a better, healthier, natural (and subsequently more expensive) alternative. The taste is pure, not over powering or bitter, and very fluid when gently stirred into oatmeal. I find myself becoming more reluctant to even sporadically use Crystal Light packets in my water bottles 1x/day to mix in with the powdered BCAA's to mask the metallic tinge and aftertaste - all because of the measly 5 calories and inclusion of the aforementioned artificial sweeteners - a calling sign, and undeniable hallmark, that contest prep is truly in gear and revving at high RPM's!Everything is going according to the malleable yet stringent plan, that is to be revised and recalculated every 2 weeks. I have decided to add pork top-loin (extremely lean, and hand trimmed before packaging and freezing at home) to my protein choice list, and have also upped my intake of roughage and greens to assist in a more alkaline balance and aid in digestion. I am pleased that I am seeing changes at a rapid and noticeable pace already, and also that I am opening myself up to new possibilities and opening the door to new ideas and their implementation. Tomorrow... I meet face to face, with another (VL) Day, and I will shake hands with it and greet it as a friend, a necessary evil that must be embraced and even coddled, in the overall dastardly and daring plan - that is body re-composition! |
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Oh yes, it just got REEEEAL exciting up in here! I better keep this journal mighty fine and dot all my T's! (Or something like that, LOL!)
