It's a boy!

Hey F.A.T. Nation...yes, it's true - my wife & I have been blessed with a baby boy. Matthew (pictured above) was born on 8/11. So my family is now complete - 2 daughters and a son. Still surreal at times but he's here, he's live & in the flesh and he's awesome!

I see that things are quiet around the blogs. I've been spending some time over on the T-Nation website reading weight lifting articles. I'm trying to get a better understanding of the "why". Hell, I've got a shelf full of books and workout routines already. The problem is still the 6 inches between my ears. A bit hard core in some respects but a strong dose of reality that is not sugar coated. The authors tell it like it is. I especially like Chris Shuggart. Here's the link if you are so inclined: http://www.tmuscle.com/. You have been warned.

I've been up and down with my weight. Still hovering around 200. I recently set some new goals and have hit the gym 3 days straight. A big accomplishment since I'm not getting as much sleep as I need with the baby. The holidays are around the corner boys and girls. Statistics show an average weight gain of 10 lbs. between Halloween and New Years. Let's be prepared shall we?

Remember that an average plan executed with consistency and passion will exceed the perfect plan every time.

Hope all is well in your respective neck of the woods.

With gratitude -

Gene

Having a boy?

Seems like I'm trying to keep pace with my pregnant wife. This is the 1st time I've gained weight during one of her pregnancies. My 1st 2 are girls, so if you believe in old wives tales then she's having a boy. That's what the committee known as "they" says. If the husband gains weight then the woman is having a boy. That would be great since we already have 2 daughters, but it's a piss poor excuse no matter how you look at it. We chose not to find out the gender, same as the 1st 2. It is what it is. People ask us what are you having and we're like "Duh, a baby you dummy". Seems like not finding out is more uncommon these days. Ah science & technology.

Cutting through the nonsense, I am currently lacking in personal accountability. Eating too much. Exercising too little or with little intensity. More so eating too much as I've been hitting the gym 2-3x per week.

I've read much lately about creating a "vision" for your life. I've gone so far as to write out what my life will be like 1 short year from now. All positive, but lacking in specific goals on how I will reach my "destination" (aka vision).

I just have to keep filling my mind with positive thoughts. Because after all; after you strip away all the bullshit, all the excuses, all the whining - it's all about the 6 inches between your ears.

Knowledge is not power. Applied knowledge is power.

Happy Father's Day to all the Dad's out there.

100 days

Some time ago I purchased "The Magic Hundred" - a goal setting program of sorts.

side thought -

I often wonder how many coalition members sort of cross-pollinate. I guess what I mean is, I found out about the FAT coalition (specifically Billy's site) from Craig Ballantyne's TT site. Seems like there is so much cross marketing and merchandising amongst these "authors" that I'm sure we've all seen a lot of the same info on the web. Generally I think all coalition members (whether we are achieving success or not) are "seekers". That is we all want to make positive changes in our lives and for that reason we are constantly looking for ideas, tips, motivation, etc. Based on that, I guess the Internet can be either a blessing or a curse. Ultimately it all boils down to the daily decisions we make but (speaking for myself) I believe we all want more from life and with respect to the FAT coalition, "more" really means "less" in terms of body fat.

I guess the trick is turning a lifetime of learning into a lifetime of achieving.

- end of side thought

OK, so anyway. There was an update and 2nd release of the M100 and since I had purchased it previously I got a free copy. As it turns out my wife is due with our 3rd child in (take a guess...) 100 days. Coincidence? Perhaps. Or not. Maybe things truly happen for a reason.

I've got my copy in hand and began reading it again on the commute to work this AM. IMHO great stuff.

Wrong

I'm still off the beer, but feeling like a tub. Diet has been piss poor. I guess I've used the fact that I'm not drinking beer as an excuse to eat whatever I want when ever I want. I also took a spill at the park last week while playing with my kids. Now I know that no one ever died from embarrassment but I did bang up my knees pretty bad. That annoyed me since I had to lay off my workouts a bit.

Where is Lex Luthor when you need him? Oh wait, here he is...

When I get like this I usually am on the verge of a breakthrough. For me personally it's sort of like hitting rock bottom but without all the drama. Once again the question is, "Will my changes be temporary or lasting?"

That can be a very difficult question to answer.

The plan works if you work your plan...dummy

God - 2 months since my last post. Not gonna bitch or grouse. I have been busy - just not busy with blogging. I got caught up in Face Book and people from my past - all walks of life; college, HS, grammar school - all of a sudden want to be my friend again. I don't know if I should be honored or offended. You didn't give a shit about me before FB, now you want to be my new BFF? Piss off. Nah, just kidding. I enjoy reminiscing, just as long as I don't live in the past. Hey maybe I can be the song guy again (?) and quote from the Jethro Tull classic "Living in the Past"

Happy and I'm smiling,
walk a mile to drink your water.
You know I'd love to love you,
and above you there's no other.
We'll go walking out
while others shout of war's disaster.
Oh, we won't give in,
let's go living in the past.

Once I used to join in
every boy and girl was my friend.
Now there's revolution,
but they don't know what they're fighting.
Let us close out eyes;
outside their lives go on much faster.
Oh, we won't give in,
we'll keep living in the past.

I'm not sure if there is any relevance to the coalition in the lyrics, but hey - it's my blog right?

I've been journaling in a notebook daily. It's been a longtime since I've done that consistently.

Not sure where everyone is with religion. I'm a practicing Catholic and for Lent I gave up beer. It's been over 2 weeks and I feel great. Started a new workout routine from NROL - Fatloss I, and my drinking buddy bro-in-law (who is also Catholic but did not give up beer for Lent) has begun to join me at the gym every M-W-F @ 5:30am. He's a skinny bastard though.

I just got back under 200 lbs since ending my love affair with the suds. I also have been taking photos/measurements every 10 days & perhaps I'll have the balls to post them come Easter.

Hope you are all well and enjoying the extra hour of sunshine. It's great to get home from wotk at night and have it still be light outside.

Keep the "main thing" the "main thing"

That's seems to be one of (many) challenges I have. Staying focused. I'm sure it's a challenge that a lot of us face.

I definitely lost focus around the holidays. I was finishing the house renovation. I moved in 4 days before Christmas and I'm slow in rebounding. It's been weeks since I've been to the gym and my new best friend (along with my brother-in-law) has been Miller High Life. We're purveyors of the High Life. Not good.

But wait on the horizon there is a light...a ray of hope!

I just ordered Tom Venuto's new book The Body Fat Solution: Five Principles for Burning Fat, Building LeanMuscle, Ending Emotional Eating, and Maintaining Your Perfect Weight. Sounds like just what I need. Ending emotional eating (and drinking) for sure.

True to form I've already started to mess with my head. I'm like, "great I'll get this book, then I'll apply the principles of TT and use some of Jon Benson's training tips and start listening to Tony Robbins Personal Power again".

WTF Gene?! STOP

Read the god damn book and apply what it says.

The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.

I know Venuto talk s a lot about setting goals which is a weak area of mine.

Robert Heinlein said - "In the absence of clearly-defined goals, we become strangely loyal to performing daily trivia until ultimately we become enslaved by it."

Makes sense to me.

Happy New Year everyone.