MonStar's Journal: Absolute Dedication

[Saturday Fever]

If you used the same intensity and resistance he does (which he had to work up to) you'd be burning so many calories you could eat and drink like he does.

Genetics is the ultimate copout, honestly. Will I ever have Mr. Olympia's pecs? No, genetically I never will. But I have seen too many people training the wrong way get frustrated with a 315 squat. This same guy got dedicated. He trained right. Now he squats 585 and weighs 156lb. Is he genetically gifted or is he training the right way? He weighed 156 when he squatted 315, he still weighs 156 and he squats 585. That's dedication and hard work, not genes.

 

[PreMier]

Originally posted by Saturday Fever
That's why I chuckle when people say "genetically gifted" when what they should be saying is "dedicationally gifted." Chase and MonStar both bust their asses. Anyone who does the same and follows GOOD training principles would see nothing less than similar results.

Cough*anabolics*cough It does take dedication, but if you are an AAS user, you get to that destination much faster.

 

[Sapphire]

Originally posted by Saturday Fever
If you used the same intensity and resistance he does (which he had to work up to) you'd be burning so many calories you could eat and drink like he does.

Genetics is the ultimate copout, honestly. Will I ever have Mr. Olympia's pecs? No, genetically I never will. But I have seen too many people training the wrong way get frustrated with a 315 squat. This same guy got dedicated. He trained right. Now he squats 585 and weighs 156lb. Is he genetically gifted or is he training the right way? He weighed 156 when he squatted 315, he still weighs 156 and he squats 585. That's dedication and hard work, not genes.

So there's hope for me?????

 

[BCC]

Originally posted by PreMier
Cough*anabolics*cough It does take dedication, but if you are an AAS user, you get to that destination much faster.

With all do respect, I did gain 83 pounds before I ever touched a steroid. All in 3 years time.

Sapphire.....ok your avatar got me...legs! That's right. While SF went off about hardwork and not genetics...I do agree..but as far as my quads go...those are genetics lol. My mom has bigger quads than I do, and my brother has some trunks as well.

 

[PreMier]

Originally posted by BCC
With all do respect, I did gain 83 pounds before I ever touched a steroid. All in 3 years time.

Sorry, I meant no offense. I see nothing wrong with AAS use, and I myself hope to have a physique as well built as yours someday. However, reaching that will be a long time without using..

 

[Saturday Fever]

The size may very well be genetic, but I'm doubting your mom has the cuts your quads have.

But we can all agree, I hope, that if Joe Blow off the street jumped on a cycle and worked out sloppy and ate sloppy he wouldn't look like Chase. Again, it comes back to dedication and hard work.

 

[BCC]

Originally posted by PreMier
Sorry, I meant no offense. I see nothing wrong with AAS use, and I myself hope to have a physique as well built as yours someday. However, reaching that will be a long time without using..

None taken, I didn't mean to come across hostile.



And for as sloppy as Mike has told me he binges at times, I'd hate to see him with his diet nailed down. He'd be just sick.

 

[Saturday Fever]

And for as sloppy as Mike has told me he binges at times, I'd hate to see him with his diet nailed down. He'd be just sick.

 

[M.J.H.]

SF- Gotta' agree man. Dieting is an entire different ballgame than training is IMO. I mean I honestly have no problem at all staying 100% dedicated going to the gym and busting my a*s regularly. I absolutely love it. I mean I enjoy it probably more than anything else in my life. But somehow at the same time, I cannot transfer that dedication to my eating outside of the gym. For example today I binged to the point I puked up some of what I ate. I mean it's honestly that out of friggin' control.

Genetics is the ultimate copout, honestly. Will I ever have Mr. Olympia's pecs? No, genetically I never will. But I have seen too many people training the wrong way get frustrated with a 315 squat. This same guy got dedicated. He trained right. Now he squats 585 and weighs 156lb. Is he genetically gifted or is he training the right way? He weighed 156 when he squatted 315, he still weighs 156 and he squats 585. That's dedication and hard work, not genes.

This is absolutely agree with 100%. I have never agreed with anything more man, awesome point. People who point the "genetically gifted" finger are in my opinion just making up excuses in their minds why other people are progressing and they are not.

Again, it comes back to dedication and hard work.

Excellent point, and I entirely agree.

Jen- Yeah SF does usually word things pretty nicely.

Sapphire- Hey there Cyndi, and yes, that's BCC in that pic that I attached, and his avatar. Now I hope you guys know what I am saying when I look at pics of him for inspiration. Absolutely phenomenal proportions, great overall physique IMO, I can't imagine Chase 10 years from now when he's 28. Holy f*ck.

Monolith- Exactly, that's what is so damn impressive about his physique. What I am always so much impressed by is how close him and I are in age. So he serves even more as motivation because he's a couple years younger.

X Ring- YES, lol, Sapphire's avatar is extremely distracting, and so is Jen's! Anyway, yeah I am really going to try and clean up my diet. I feel like I say this all the time and it's so tough for me to do. But if somehow I could just stick it out I think I could progress a lot more in the direction that I would like to. Tighten my waist up some, etc.

PreMier- I have done a few weeks of M1T bro, I have barely dabbed into anything extreme at all. Please don't use me as an example of an anabolic user. I have TONS of pics far before the M1T that I can show if you like.

However, reaching that will be a long time without using..

That's not 100% true either. Look back at BCC's journals on WBB bro. It didn't take him as long as one might think to make an enormous amount of progress. Training hard, and eating well can get you a hell of a long way, both naturally and on the darkside.

BCC- Thanks again man for stopping by, you have no idea how great it is to see a familiar face.

With all do respect, I did gain 83 pounds before I ever touched a steroid. All in 3 years time.

This is exactly the point that I was trying to make. Although now you may no longer be natural, you make incredible progress while you were natural. People who have never touched anabolics seem to be under this impression that anabolics instantly get you huge.

And for as sloppy as Mike has told me he binges at times, I'd hate to see him with his diet nailed down. He'd be just sick.

As much as this drives me friggin' insane, I have to agree completely. My binge today was sloppy as hell, and f*cking ridiculous. I even puked up some of what I ate, talk about not being able to control myself. If the food is in front of me, I am going to eat it---it's just that simple. I am really going to try and put more emphasis on getting my diet nailed down. Do you mind running through what your diet is like on a day-to-day basis? Both for myself and for the rest of the IM members here.

 

[Rocco32]

Are you eating out when you binge or do you have the food at home? I used to do the same thing Mike (when I was 275 w/ NO muscle). I had to stop carrying money with me and clear all the crap food out of my apartment. It took awhile but eventually my eating habits and cravings turned around.

 

[M.J.H.]

rock- I am pigging out completely basically on everything in site. For a while, when my binging was completely out of control, I would go to fast food places and just dump money into my binges. Yesterday, it was at my hotel (where I work), where I can get leftover desserts and things like that without a problem.

I do keep a log in each journal entry of everything I eat. I really just need to overall clean my f*cking diet up completely. I am not sure why it's been so half-a*sed lately. I really need to concentrate on eating clean and not half-a*sed eating clean. Even though I don't think that breaded chicken is the worst thing in the world, Healthy Choice ice-cream is just f*cking ridiculous. Then I complain about my bodyfat. Jesus.

 

[tucker01]

Best thing you can do Monstar is start preparing your food.

It sounds like you eat all this shit out of convenince. If you have good food prepared, it will make it alot easier to resist that temptation.

Just a thought

Iain

 

[ncgirl21]

Morning Mike Don't be so hard on yourself hun, you've got an amazing body now, just think what it will look like without the binges!

Did you get your other car yet?

 

[M.J.H.]

Iain- Agreed man. Completely agreed. I think that half of the reason that I binge is because its so friggin' convenient, and because its so easy. I honestly think that if I worked at another job I would definitely cut back or even eliminate my binges completely. I cannot work around food, and that's the bottom line, quite frankly. At least not for now, because I need to get in control of this disgusting habit. Honestly how I feel while I am binging and even the next day is enough of a reason to stop completely.

Andrea- Thanks for the support, it means a lot. I am really trying to cut out the binges completely. Yesterday was just sickening. I don't know what got into me. I was doing so good, for so long, binge-free.

About my Celica, no, they havn't gotten an '00-'01 black GT-S in yet that I can trade my car for. So once they do, I will.

 

[M.J.H.]

Thursday, 5-27-2004

Diet:
- MRP + 1% milk
- Gatorade during workout, whey protein postworkout
- breaded chicken, grilled chicken & filet mignon salad
- Lean Body bar, protein bites
- sesame breaded chicken, garden salad + Italian dressing, 2 grilled chicken breasts, baked potato, 2 White Russian's

Diet was okay today I guess. Appetite is never all that great a day after a binge. Ended up today with roughly 3.8-4K calories and right around 280g of protein. Had 2 White Russian's tonight, not the smarest thing, but they were VERY small, and extremely light.

Sleep: 7.5 hours.

Weight: 231 lbs. This is just ridiculous. I want to be 212-215 not f*cking 230. WTF? Godd*mn me and my binges.

Lower Body 2

Box Squats
295x3, 295x3, 295x3, 295x3, 295x3, 295x3, 295x3, 295x3

Suspended Good Mornings (deep)
135x3, 185x2, 225x1, 245x1, 275x1!, 295x0

SLDL
405x4, 405x4, 405x4, 405x4, 405x4, 405x4

V-Bar Cable Pulldowns
215x8, 215x8, 215x8

Nautilus Pullovers
220x10, 220x10

DB Curls
60x9, 70x5

Good workout today overall I think. Really seemed to have a lot of good intensity and focus. Maybe it was from binging like f*cking crazy yesterday on so much junkfood it was practically sickening. Anyway, started off with 8 sets of 3 in box squats, really focusing on my form. I used a wider stance, and shot my hips back more. For the first time ever I felt the squats almost completely in my hips, glutes, and lower back. Barely felt it at all in my quads. So I think I was doing them right.

Moved onto suspended good AM's. Did them at a lower setting than I did last time, deeper really beat the f*ck outta' my lower back and hamstrings. Worked up to 275 for a 1RM. Not too bad at all. Moved onto 6 sets of 4 in SLDL with 405 lbs. These sets were f*cking intense. I mean they were all out, balls to the friggin' wall. Moved onto pulldowns and then some pullovers for my lats. Not too bad there either. Finished up with some DB curls and called it a day.

Day 11 of 6-OXO, 3 caps 2x per day. So far everything is going pretty well. I am looking forward to finishing my PCT so that I can start another M1T cycle.

 

[Saturday Fever]

Good session. We'll keep working on the squats, we want to get them just right. Try to tape yourself so you can see what you're doing, how you're doing it, etc. Maybe create a little archive on your computer. Tape yourself each session and in 3 or 4 months look back th these sessions just to see the progression.

Accessory work looks great. Go heavier on your rowing. Still shoot for the same reps but don't be afraid to fail around 4 or 5 once in a while.

 

[atherjen]

Originally posted by MonStar
Weight: 231 lbs. This is just ridiculous. I want to be 212-215 not f*cking 230. WTF? Godd*mn me and my binges.

I refuse to listen to that! you know what it takes to get to where you want to be, and its not just the diet... but the choice to stick with it....
but I am sorry that things got so out of control last nite. dont beat yourself up from it, just move on (I replyed to your post in the dieting section with my thoughts on it as well.)

Box Squats
295x3, 295x3, 295x3, 295x3, 295x3, 295x3, 295x3, 295x3

Suspended Good Mornings (deep)
135x3, 185x2, 225x1, 245x1, 275x1!, 295x0

SLDL
405x4, 405x4, 405x4, 405x4, 405x4, 405x4

I hate you. period. Ive really got to stop comparing myself to men!
Great workout!

 

[Monolith]

Originally posted by atherjen
I hate you. period. Ive really got to stop comparing myself to men!
Great workout!

You could compare yourself to me and feel pretty good about yourself. Probably not quite as impressive, though...

 

[PreMier]

Originally posted by MonStar

PreMier- I have done a few weeks of M1T bro, I have barely dabbed into anything extreme at all. Please don't use me as an example of an anabolic user. I have TONS of pics far before the M1T that I can show if you like.

I wasnt referring to anyone in particular, but it was more towards BCC. Not a big deal anyway, because I have nothing against people who use anabolics. They are just not for me..

 

[Sapphire]

Originally posted by BCC
With all do respect, I did gain 83 pounds before I ever touched a steroid. All in 3 years time.

Sapphire.....ok your avatar got me...legs! That's right. While SF went off about hardwork and not genetics...I do agree..but as far as my quads go...those are genetics lol. My mom has bigger quads than I do, and my brother has some trunks as well.

YIKES!!! Those legs of yours are amazing! Too big for me... BUT very nice!!

 

[M.J.H.]

SF- Yeah man, I think that the more I train squats in this form the more that I am going to really become used to it. At first today I felt extremely weak in this form. I guess because it felt so much like a good morning, and not a squat. Who knows, we'll see how I feel about them in a few weeks.

About my back training, can you give me a layout of what kind of sets/reps to do with them? For example one day 4 sets of 6 the next 6 sets of 4, etc. I mean I really am having a hard time going about my lat work for whatever reason. All I know is that I want to grow, bad, and I think I am complicating things too much---as usual.

Jen- Hey there, thanks for stopping by. I just felt like such a fat f*cking slob today it was absolutely ridiculous. I am not sure what the hell my problem was. I really am going to try and clean things up. Keep the empty calories to a minimum---so basically keep sugar and alcohol down as much as possible. I agree that I just need to move on. I chose what happened yesterday, and I need to keep that in mind.

BTW, I think with your strength Jen you could easily compare yourself to most men in my gym---so I definitely wouldn't say that you can't compare yourself to men. On Westside you're going to be pulling triple your bodyweight in no time.

Monolith- I tried to tell her, lol.

PreMier- Oh I know what you were saying bro, I took no offense to it at all. I see that you changed your post though, lol. Didn't it originally say that something like, "they're not for me, yet." It doesn't really matter I just feel like I am losing my mind, lol.

Sapphire- Gotta' love huge defined quads! I never used to be a fan of big legs but I definitely think Chase's look amazing.

 

[Saturday Fever]

We'll get to your lats soon enough. Just stick to the plan for now. I won't let you down.

 

[M.J.H.]

SF- Okay man, that's good to know, thanks. Sorry to be asking you about them all the time. I think because I have not been changing things up much with them etc. is really driving me crazy, I have no idea why. I'll stick to the plan for now, no problem, thanks.

 

[M.J.H.]

Friday, 5-28-2004

Diet:
- MRP + 1% milk
- Gatorade during workout, whey protein postworkout
- 1/2 turkey & cheese sandwich, apple
- Metrx bar, low-carb bar
- chicken salad sandwich, banana
- whey protein + 1% milk
- celery + peanut butter
- breaded chicken, 2 grilled chicken breasts, baked potato, Ultimate Cosmopolitan, Ultimate Bloody Mary

Again, had 2 mixed drinks out at Friday's tonight, not the best idea, but both were pretty light. The cosmo was pretty much Ocean Spray and liquer, not much else. And the Bloody Mary of course was a lotta' tomato juice, tasted like sea water, lol. Took in roughly 4.5K calories today, and around 320-330g of protein. Not bad.

Sleep: 2 + 6 hours. Had to wake up and drive home. Oh well.

Weight: 227 lbs.

Upper Body 1

Pin Presses (pins set against chest)
135x3, 185x3, 225x3, 275x3, 305x1!, 315x2

Flat DB Presses
120x3, 120x3, 120x3, 120x3, 120x3, 120x3, 120x3

JM Presses
185x8, 185x8

Upright Rows
165x6, 165x6, 165x6, 165x6

DB Front Raises
60x6!, 50x9

Overall workout today was friggin' awesome. Really intense, very very good IMO. Focus was absolutely awesome. Started off with pin presses, but set the pins right against my chest. So these were basically standard bench presses releasing the tension at the bottom of each rep, with the bar touching my chest. Worked up to 305 for a 3RM, which is a PR since I have never done pin presses with the bar touching my chest. Moved onto 7 sets of 3 with the 120's in flat DB presses.

Then moved onto JM presses which completely trashed my triceps completely Some good sets there IMO, definitely. Upright rows also really hit my delts hard. Upped 10 lbs. since the last time I did upright rows for 4 sets of 6. So I am pretty impressed. Moved onto DB front raises where I hit a really nice PR, used the 60's for 6 reps, not bad at all.

Day 12 of 6-OXO, 3 caps 2x per day. Feeling good. Really looking forward to getting back into M1T.

 

[Saturday Fever]

That was a good session. Accessory work lately has been extremely solid. That's not taking away from the main lifts, those are blowing up. Looking real good. I think the future may hold deadlifts.

 

[Saturday Fever]

For Lower1 hit a new PR on deads and follow that up with some medium weight squat practice. Shoot for 6 sets of 3. Keep the weight in the middle. Not too heavy, not too light. Get a good feel for sitting back for squatting.

 

[atherjen]

Great training session Mikster. Your strength is really climbing these days, not that it was ever babyweights like me, before.
Those JM press's absolutly kill the triceps everytime! I luv em!
Keep it up.

 

[Monolith]

Could someone please explain how JM presses are done?

 

[Saturday Fever]

Monolith, imagine doing a skullcrusher, first. Now do the skullcrusher but bring your hands down to your neck. I'll try to get a picture up for you.

 

[Monolith]

Monolith, imagine doing a skullcrusher, first. Now do the skullcrusher but bring your hands down to your neck. I'll try to get a picture up for you.

Ahh... i get what youre sayin. Thanks.