Entry #122
Deadlift day: dead-lifts at 225 lbs for 8 reps. Should have done more
weight. First time going that high so next time it'll be much
higher. Also tried out a wider grip
on pulldowns. Flexibility stretches at home.

Entry #121
Full body soreness. My legs got worse and worse, too. Push-ups
definitely suffered; I opted for 20 one-handed push-ups on each arm
instead. They're easier on my pecs and harder on my shoulders
(chest is completely blasted). Attempted to do boxing drills on the
heavy bag but my form was lagging because of early muscle
fatigue. I went bare-knuckle for conditioning my fists so at least
I got something out of it. Instead of combinations I worked on power
shots. Had to make do with what I was capable of doing. 

Rene actually suggested I should visit a massage therapist once
a week for muscle soreness. But I'm immature and told him "NO WAY."

Looks like I have to wait a day longer to check out Cung Le's school.

Entry #120
Bench day: Benched 205 for 4 reps. Ryan messed up my powerlifting
program last time and had me bench 225 for 2 reps. It's all mixed up
now. Trying to get everything back on track, and next time Ryan is my
spotter I'll punch him in the face.

Checking out Cung Le's place tomorrow.

Entry #119
Calories today = 4,864
Current weight = 176 lbs

I need to eat more so I intake about 6,000 a day. Glad I calculated this tonight.

Today consisted of 8 rounds of boxing on the heavy bag.
Afterwards, 10 minutes of kicks on the same bag (would be nice if I had
a banana one for kicks). Stretching after squats did a lot
yesterday; last time I couldn't walk the next day, today I'm a little
sore but am able to run and kick fine. Working on conditioning my
shins. I've primarily been practicing side-kicks in the air, but I
should work on the bag more for kicking. Afterwards practiced
flexibility exercises and stretching.

Wednesday I'm going to check Cung Le's school in San Jose (http://www.cungle.com/cungle/class_descriptions.htm).
If that doesn't turn out good I'll go with Rey's Muay Thai
place. But I have to say it would be cool to train with the famous Cung
Le.

                                      

Entry #118
Squat day:

Squats -- 5 sets; 12, 10, 6, 5, 5 reps (135 lbs for warm-ups, 255 lbs on last three sets)

Leg press -- 4 sets; 10, 6, 8, 8 reps (225 lbs warm-up, 600 lbs last three sets)

Leg extension -- 4 sets; 8 reps (180 lbs)

Leg curls -- 4 sets; 8 reps (120 lbs)

Powerlifting protocol does not condone such isolation
exercises, yet I would like to train calves individually on a
seperate day, perhaps with abs. Should not conflict with the schedule.
Also adding endurance training on my off days with push-ups and
pull-ups, respectively (thanks for this, Jared). Including that with
martial arts training (muay thai, hopefully soon) and boxing
drills on the heavy bag, and there's my summer. And skating.

Water intake is at a good level. Drank half a gallon during the session.

On leg press I was disappointed with how I was only able to do 6
reps, and I thought about dropping the weight a little bit, since I had
just done squats. Instead I pointed my finger at the plates, told them
to "Go to Hell", and then did 8 reps. Terminated. But they'll be back.
Went on to the speed bag for cooling down at the end.

Light shadow boxing and flexibility stretches at home. My speed is picking up a little bit. 

Entry #117
Primarily went back to practicing high kicks today. There was no
sparring match. Once I get in a class that should change. Reconsidering
my summer plans. I don't think I'll wait until I move; I'm going to
check out the muay thai place near here for this summer. In the
meantime, all I have is the gym and my punching bag. Hmm. Not as bad as
I thought, actually.

I'm thinking about taking creatine. Rene actually said it didn't do
much for him. Maybe I should see how far I can go without it. I'm
making great gains in lifting as it is.

Entry #116
Heavy bag work today. Then endurance training with push-ups. As I gain
muscle-weight it's getting harder and harder to do push-ups.
Sunday is powerlifting again. So no more going barefeet. Also, possible
sparring session with George tomorrow (when he gets home from camp -
he's a counselor). THIS time I'll kill him for good.

Entry #115
Los Angeles was productive at least. The weightroom left me with little
variety, however, so I just did bodybuilding exercises. There were no
barbells and the heaviest dumbbells were 50 lbs. I taped two dumbbells
together for each hand for compensation. Also, I went barefoot, like
Arnold.

I think I drove my relatives insane with my obsession for food, but
I was able to pick up appropriate meals at a supermarket near the
hotel. To my luck, there was also a Vitamin Shoppe near it, and I
picked up some protein shakes. I also had my aunt and uncle read my
Arnold magazine. They don't speak english so they couldn't read the
articles, but I could tell they were motivated enough to take up
lifting. I think. Off-topic: I went to Vans skatepark on Tuesday over
there and it was great.

Today I had no method of transportation to the gym; had to make do
with what I had in the backyard, and do a bodybuilding workout for
traps and biceps.

Entry #114
Internet has been down for the last few days.

Leaving for Los Angeles today. I'll be back Wednesday. The hotel has a weightroom so don't think I'm taking it easy.

George is leaving for camp the same day. He's pretty lucky because
he's a counselor. When we come back, we'll see who got stronger.

"I'll be back."

Entry #113
Benched 225 lbs today. At lift-off I thought "Hmm this isn't that
heavy". I lower it until about an inch above my pecs and bring it
back up. I'm thinking I'll get at least 4 reps by myself. Then my
spotter, Ryan, roars "ALL THE FUCKING WAY DOWN!" Then he smacks it onto
my chest and I gasp for air. Bastard. I manage two reps with it
touching my chest everytime.

This means war.

Just did shadow boxing afterwards. Worked on some flexibility
stretches for kicks, also. My meal plan has been consistent the last
few weeks. Expect to gain a lot of muscle weight soon. 

Haha I bench the same weight as Arnold.

Entry #112
Weigh in at 178 lbs today.

Been bulking for about a year now. Still no visible fat development. Bulk pictures for my arms:

September 2004:

June 2005:

Abs have remained the same, and I don't have any leg ones.

Entry #111
Glad that summer is here so I can train by myself without distractions.

I guess I'll allow one cheat day on my training log for today. Went
to a party with George. I ate like a savage. Good bulking meals. Meat
meat and meat. And then for dessert, meat. George and I were talking
about something cool, probably Warhammer or Arnold Schwarzenegger or
something, when "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" comes on the speakers.
George smacks his forehead and says "Argh I hate this."
J.C.: "What, girls just wanna have fun, George."
George: "Well we should convert girls to usable fuel, then."
J.C.: "Why don't you like girls...you two need to get laid."
George: "No."
J.C.: "Well, you can kick ass and get laid at the same time, you know."
Me: "Hey, yeah. Except for the getting laid part."
George:
"Yeah, I'm fine with kicking ass, of course. That sounds like a good
idea right now." Then he grabs my throat and I punch him back in the
chest.

Then we go on the driveway and spar. It was dark so I don't know
what happened. I believe it ended in a draw. I mostly just did boxing.
I was full of meat and didn't have the patience to attempt sidekicks.

He dropped me off and I told I'll see him in Hell. He said he'll be there first. But we'll see.

Listen, next week is summer vacation. Nothing but training, nothing
but getting stronger. So this was off-topic. But don't think I'm gonna
go soft on you guys.

Entry #110
Trained with George at Vasona Park. Utilized kicks exclusively in three
sparring sessions. George is much better in this area than me.
Afterwards practiced alternating sidekicks all the way across the park.
Really tired me out.

Entry #109
Legs are a little better. Still having trouble with stairs. Chest and
tris are sore now from yesterday as well. Will just be doing some
stretching and then nunchaku practice for rehabilitation today, and
then go back tomorrow. I seriously can't even shadow box productively
tonight.

Entry #108
Legs have been sore since Sunday. Having trouble walking, and when I
try a staircase I resemble a cancerous old man. George's first comment
to me this morning at school: "God dammit, you and your squat workouts,
I couldn't go to Tae Kwon Do yesterday because I'm so sore." You're
welcome, George.

I did chest and tris today. I managed 195 pounds with 8 reps pretty
easily on flat bench press. Giant Ryan was spotting me again. He
commented that I'm lifting stronger than last time. Well, he roared it
in my face.

Bench press: 195 pounds, 8, 8, 6, 5, 5 reps

Dumbbell flys: 40 pound dumbbells, 4 sets 8 reps

Incline bench press: 135 pounds,  3 sets 5 reps (Was so tired I
was only able to do 5 reps on what I usually use for warm-up)

Tricep pushdowns: 70 pounds, 4 sets 8 reps

Dips: 3 sets 6 reps

Overhead dumbbell extension: 55 pound dumbbell, 3 sets 8 reps

 

 

Entry #107
Legs are dead today. Took it easy. Did some shadow boxing in my room. I couldn't help myself.

I'll hit the weightroom again tomorrow. Until then, stay tough.

Oh, today was George's 18th birthday. We did some sparring but it
was too casual to list as a real fight. Well here you go George, happy
birthday:

I hope you like bullets.

Entry #106
George and I lifted together today, for the first time. According to
him J.C. never makes him train legs, and today just happened to be leg
day on my program, so I decided to introduce George the torture of leg
day.

Squats: 255 pounds, 6 reps

Leg press: 700 pounds, 6-8 reps

Leg extensions: 180 pounds, 6-8 reps

Leg curls: 120 pounds, 8 reps

Calf raises: 270 pounds, 12 reps

Seated calf raises: 205 pounds, 12 reps

I raised the weights on squats, and next time I think I'll go for
265. Having a spotter helped a lot. George didn't go as high as I did,
but that was his first time on squats and I commend him. Had the gym to
ourselves so we didn't hesitate to make some noise. George was having
trouble for his last rep on the leg press machine and he was leaning
forward, so I grabbed his shoulders and slammed him back into the seat,
and called him a wimp. He yelled and then completed it perfectly. The
only way to spot someone, I say.

"Civilize the mind, make savage the body."

Entry #105
At the beach George and I fought a war. As I am writing this I'm
covered in cuts and red marks, along with disjointed fingers and an
injured ankle.

Hmm, let me get some stuff out of the way first. The arcade was
awesome. We played Samurai Shodown (the best), Terminator 2, Metal
Slug 3, Virtua Fighter 4, and some awesome war game where you shoot
things. Then we went on this Haunted House walkthrough. I was hoping
for once I would get scared or something, just to see what it's like,
but no. We walked through a graveyard and all of a sudden a rubber
zombie pops out in front of us and starts screaming. George punched it
in the face. It probably died. The end.

Essentially senior beach day was all-day training for us. We started
out in the morning with a sprint to a group of rocky outcrops over in
the west. I won by a significant margin. After that we jogged over to
the pier and back. Everyone from our class was asking why we weren't
relaxing. A lot of them were smoking, too. This one guy, James, is
someone I thought of as a serious bodybuilder, but not only did he look
tiny, he was smoking with everyone.
George goes up to him: "James, what the hell is this."
Me: "James, if you drink and smoke you'll shrivel up and get weak."
James hangs his head down in shame: "Well, uhhh just something to do, ahh, for fun..."
George: "Well
James, we are disappointed in you guys. And pull up your pants for
God's sake or we'll have to send you home. Young delinquents."

Harsh, but they'll all thank us later.

We fought by a group of cliffs shrouded in fog. Was pretty
cool. Regrettably I am unable to give detailed reports of what
happened because I honestly remember nothing about it. I got kicked in
the head so that might be a contributing factor. It started out
with us on opposite sides of the beach and then charging towards one
another. That was awesome. We always do full-contact bare-knuckle, but
I do know that those were the hardest hits I've ever thrown. Actually
utilized combos, as well. One highlight I can remember was George
backfisting me and I countered it with hook after hook in his
side. I could feel his body crumple and he was yelling. His stand-out
part was when he side-kicked me directly in the head and I stumbled
forward. Fought pretty dizzy the rest of the round. I'm fighting too
much like a brute, taking shots and not bothering to dodge while
powering forward. Maybe it works, but there's probably a better way.
I've really developed a lot more power, maybe due to switching from
bodybuilding to powerlifting?

The first two rounds ended in a tie but the in the third
George hurt his shin on my elbow and he had to stop because he couldn't
stand properly. We ended there. We walked back to where our class was
hanging out, and this girl says "George, were you fighting Hormuz?" She was sunbathing. George replies "Yeah, what are you doing? Lying down and being lazy?" Everyone knows not to get offended at what George says, of course, because that's just how he is, and she laughs.
George: "Let's go practice some kicks, Taylor, you need to do something so you don't get fat."
Her: "Oh my gosh you called me fat?!"
George: "I said you'll get fat if you just lie around doing that all day."
When she gets up George tells her to kick as high as she can, and she goes "HAH you just want to see my underwear!!!"
George: "....... uh Taylor, shut up, now face to the side and kick. Just do it waist-high, if you want." She can't stop giggling so George goes "Okay we're done, you're a terrible student." She just giggles harder and we run away.

We had a one armed push-up contest afterwards but my thumb was
feeling demented after fighting and my knuckles were bloody. I could
only manage 15. George got 18.

Forgot to bring a camera to take pictures. But trust me, it ruled.

Entry #104
Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger was in town a few days ago, I wanted
to go meet him. I wanted to arm wrestle him. Or at least compare our
arms. Who would you guys think would have more muscle? On Friday I'll
hit the weights again.

Tomorrow is beach day and George and I plan to fight on the cliffs. Loser falls off and dies.