Well fellas, it has been quite some time since I posted here. I’d like to run down a few things, first….to talk about the plan.
This year’s program, WBF: Raw Aggression, was by all accounts the best and most targeted program I have ever created. It took the intensity of the longer programs and took better into account CNS failure over time as well as the limits on the body that non professional bodybuilders have and tightened everything up.
When all this bullshit happened we had just finished Phase 3 of 10 and were about to kick into high gear to end the winter and usher in our spring bodies. In a nutshell, WE HAD A PLAN.
Of course, this reminds me of perennial WB Fitness favorite Mike Tyson. When
Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.
told about an opponent’s plan for lateral movement and a lot of dancing to tire Mike out, Tyson simply responded “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”
Well, 2020 has certainly been a punch in the mouth for all of us. I have had a really rough ride with it all. When the lock down started and the city and state closed and subsequently destroyed massive amounts of business including gyms it took the wind out of a lot of our sails.
I tried, over and over again, to come up with some kind of home workout program. I saw a lot of the big guys rushing to put out some kind of home workout. The truth is, I am trained and have studied for years on how to workout with gym equipment. I felt it would be dishonest to fart out some bs home conditioning program I had never done before.
On top of this, owing to an acute injury about a year ago which cost me 90% of the hearing in my left ear, it turns out a skull fracture was there and never diagnosed with all the attention paid to my ear. This, a year later, left me with a bad case of cerebral edema.
What do you mean the gym is closed, phase 4 is about to start!
The lack of outlet, the lack of gyms, the punch in the mouth that ended my plans along with the 7 day a week often 15 hours a day work I was doing eventually drove me to some form of despair which lead to massive amounts of alcohol consumption. This, after a few months, lead to jaundice.
Add to this two painful procedures on my foot and an acute bronchial issue which has made breathing difficult and boy oh boy, things have been rough. I wouldn’t say rock bottom, but I could see it from where I was standing.
That said, things are starting to look up, finally. While NYC is still enforcing its draconian misuse of power to push the city into the stone age, the state is starting to ease restrictions. As of yesterday, NYS Gyms were open with some caveats. They could open to 33% capacity, gym goers must book time in advance (90 minutes plus 15 minute book ends for shower time) and mask wearing during workouts. It’s not ideal, but beggars can’t be choosers and yesterday I was very happy to be in the gym for the first time in 4 months.
In retrospect I might have handled things better, but I didn’t and there is no time for looking backwards. It is time to look towards the future now.
For me, the big question was whether I should go in and do light workouts until the end of the year and in January get started back on program and on schedule. However, I decided against this. My decision was informed by two separate things. The first is that after a long off season and then a 4 month break from the world I want to ramp up and remind myself what the human
Who says winter requires sleeves!
body is capable of. I want to feel that way. Maybe I won’t be walking around the streets, yolked to the max, wearing my wife beater and enjoying my gains and all the mirin’. However, I should hit peak around the end of December and be able to hold peak until March. Maybe a vacation someplace warm? After March, with minor effort, I can probably maintain something reasonable, if not perfect, until June and then start up again. Assuming I maintain reasonable it ought only take me to July to be where I usually imagine being during the month of July. The second is conversations with J.Nyx about no longer taking full stop break off seasons, but rather doing maintenance programs so we don’t have such a far road to come back every year. After all, we ain’t getting younger.
So there it is, I have a new plan. I really hope I don’t get another punch in the mouth.
So, fellas, are you guys back on the iron? Have you guys formulated your own plans yet? Be in touch on the WB FITNESS telegram group. As we have learned over the years, doing this together always makes it much, much easier to get the results we want.
Time to get back to the Grind.