Final Journal Entry – Ironman to Man of Iron Challenge – Results

February 6th, 2012

 

January 28th 9:30pm

TODAY’S TIP

I can’t believe Contest Day is already here! 

These last 5 months have flown by, and let me tell you, the personal growth that resulted from this transformation went way beyond the 30lbs of lean muscle that I gained.  I truly feel like a new person – a person transformed.

Before I get to the details of my final week before the Contest, I want to finish with my final two steps for creating your own Transformation in 2012:

Step 11:  Enjoy the journey. You will spend most of your time in the process of going for your next goal. Don’t wait until you reach your goal to be happy. Instead, thrive off of every little step you take on the way.

When you reach your goal, bask in the present moment and appreciate all that you’ve become.

Step 12: Give back. We are all in this together. True fullfillment comes from helping others achieve thier dreams.

Training Summary (Final week before contest day)

The excitment and preparation are at their peak now and I feel like a kid who knows he’s going to Disneyland in the morning.

This week brought increased focus to the stage presentation because it’s not about how muscular and defined you are, it’s about how muscular and defined you look.

For the final week prior to show, I kept the cardio and training the same with a slightly higher rep range with high rep sets and/or supersets at the end of each bodypart. I made sure to hammer my legs 7 days prior to the show to allow them to recover before showtime.

This week’s nutrition and supplementation:

This week was unique as I kept my calories and carbohydrates lower than usual up to Tuesday. Then starting on Wednesday I increased my calories and carbohydrates and dropped my sodium intake.

On Friday, I cut my water (around 2pm) all way until after the morning show on Saturday morning. After receiving feedback that I was a little too dehydrated, I consumed normal amounts of water along with carbohydrates to come in fuller for the evening show. My body soaked in the carbs and water like a dry sponge and my batteries were recharged.

It felt invigorating to be up on stage in front of full house at the LA Convention Center. I cherished those moments in the spotlight and felt motivated beyond words!

 

Lessons Learned – Training

1. Change it up. Looking back at this journey, the most progress happened when I changed something. Either new exercises, longer or shorter rest periods, higher or lower rep ranges, more or less sets, using or dropping high intensity techniques and so forth.

It all worked for a period of time until the body adapted and then I needed to change something to keep it adapting (more strength and muscle growth).

2. Aim to beat your last workout. This keeps it fun and effective. By setting the goal of doing better than your last workout, you automatically increase your intensity and focus. You can progress by things such as using more weight, doing more reps, using shorter rest periods, doing more sets, or adding high intensity techniques. Note: Adding sets worked up to a point, and then I need to back down and aim to get more work (more weight/reps) done with less sets.

I made sure that I was either progressing or doing something different every workout.

Bottom line is that if you are not progressing then you need to change up your routine and/or make sure you are recovering properly through proper rest, nutrition, supplementation, and so forth. Now you may have some workouts that are less than optimal, but the key is to ensure an overall pattern of improvement.

3. Have fun with the whole process and stay playful about it. Some days you will feel like Tarzan and other days 50lbs may feel like 100lbs. The trick is to do your best on any given day and have fun going for it.

Look at the big picture and remember that life has certain rhythms and you have to roll with them instead of fight them and let them discourage you. This is a lifelong adventure and there will always be the next workout where you can smash your best.

Lessons Learned – My Top Supplement Picks

Proper nutrition – including the right supplements – played a critical role in helping me gain 30lbs of lean muscle during this 5 month journey.  Here are my “Fab 5″ that I used from dotFIT:

    1. Best tasting Bar:  Iced Maple Cinnamon Glaze dotSTICK
    2. Best tasting Shake:  LeanMR
    3. Favorite for Performance:  NO7Rage
    4. Most Notable for Recovery/Muscle Building: AminoBoostXXL
    5. Most Effective for Strength:  CreatineXXL

Lessons Learned – Regarding Life

  1. Follow Your Passion. It feels amazing to follow what your spirit is calling for with 100% commitment. It’s also liberating to go outside of what is comfortable and normal with no fear, no boundaries, and no need to do what you’ve always done.
  2. Make an exciting plan and take action. If you want something, do something towards it in whatever small increments you can at that time, and consistently take steps in that same direction. Slow progress is much better than stagnation.
  3. Be willing to adjust. Give yourself the freedom to make a plan and change the plan when it’s not giving you the results it once was.
  4. (My biggest lesson) See it all as an experiment and enjoy the whole process. Enjoy the growth and the plateaus. Appreciate the challenges and the lessons. Remain curious and add wonder to the entire situation. With joy, appreciation, curiosity, and wonder you will receive much more fulfillment and success.
  5. It’s not what you do that matters, but what you inspire others to do. It is a truly fulfilling feeling to help another achieve their goal and share in their victory.

I hope that this journey acted as an inspiration to help you follow your passion and go for your goals. You have the power to re-invent yourself the second you choose to.

The past does not equal the future, unless you keep doing the same thing. The second you think and act differently, your results change. With consistent action, belief, desire, and focus on your goal you will live your dream.

Every successful person has had to overcome great challenges, keep their faith, take relentless steps towards their goal, and keep a clear picture of what they wanted.

Now it’s your turn.

(You can read about my entire transformation - and see my complete training and nutrition plan every step of the way - by clicking here)

Special Thanks

I would like to thank all of my family and friends who gave me consistent encouragement to go for my best.

To all of you who read this blog, followed along, and started your own personal transformations.  You guys helped keep me focused and motivated!

I would also like to thank everyone at dotFIT for their support and the opportunity to share this journey.  Knowing that I was always fueling my body with the right nutrients, in evidence-based formulations, gave me the confidence that I needed to push my body to the limits because I knew that I was giving it the critical nutrition that it needed every step of the way.  The R&D Team at dotFIT is truly the best of the best!

For me, this has been a very rewarding experience and I’ve learned lessons that will stay with me forever. I see this life as a “choose your own adventure book” where I am embarking on another one and I welcome you to join me.

Please feel free to contact me with questions, comments, or to share your own Transformation Story with me:  http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1432033903

Here’s to living your best life, in your best body.

Jason

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Journal Entry 19 – Ironman to Man of Iron Challenge

January 24th, 2012

January 21st 3:30pm

 

TODAY’S TIP

Creating your own Transformation in 2012 – continued…

So far, we’ve shared 10 powerful steps to creating your own personal transformation in 2012.  Here’s one bonus tip:

Step 10:  Do what excites you! “The emotion of excitement is a priceless gift you can give to yourself, so go for it.”

I have a friend who came up to me and mentioned that the ITU Triathlon Trials (USA Olympic Team Qualifier) were coming to San Diego in May and he was wondering if he should do it.

By the fire in his eyes I could tell that it excited him beyond words. I said, “You better do it, just think of all the juice you’ll have between now and then preparing for it and the amazing memories of doing it.”

He is now on a mission…

TRAINING SUMMARY

One week away. I continued ot stay in a cutting phase with lower calories and more overall training volume. I feel great, motivation is higher than ever and the body is adapting nicely to the higher rep work at the end of the workouts.

The posing has helped as well in the connection to the muscle and my muscles actually get sore after squeezing them to the max (especially the hamstrings). I have also added some new movements to help me “feel” the target muscle group more like decline crunches with a twist to help me fire my intercostals up on stage.


This week’s cardio workouts:

  • 60 minutes of jogging each morning for my morning energy-injection ritual.

Bodyweight:

  • 198lbs (after carb loading)

Today’s Workout – Legs!

1        Full Range Squats (4 sets, 5 reps) (only last two sets were taken to form failure)

2        Front Squats (3 sets, 5-6 reps)

3        Leg Press (3 sets, 8-11 reps)

4        Single Leg Lying Leg Curl  (3 sets, 5-6 reps) – Last set added a forced rep with opposite leg, one of my favorite techniques, call it self-torture.

5        Romanian Deadlifts (3 sets, 8 reps)(Only last set to near failure)

6        Single Standing Calf Raise  (2 sets, 12 reps)

7        Leg Press Calf Raise (2 sets, 15-25 reps) – each set ended with 5 pulses or short range reps (hot to the touch, burn)

8        Standing Machine Calf Raise (2 sets, 15 reps)

9        Seated Calf Raise (2 sets, 15-16 reps)

10     Dorsi Flexion Machine (Shins) (2 sets, 20 reps)

Took a little bit to get going today, calories have been low but once I got the max weight on my back for squats I was in the groove. I have noticed a big change in the legs once I lightened up on back and front squats and took the squat all the way down, until my thighs hit my calves.

I feel it all in my legs instead of my back and couldn’t be happier with the development of the entire thigh area.

Had a hard time walking out of the gym so I would have to say, “Success!”

 

 

This week’s nutrition and supplementation:

  •  This week I averaged 3,200 calories per day, I raised the calories once this week and it felt good, real good.

The supplements as listed below have been working perfectly at keeping my energy and strength up and controlling my hunger on a low calorie plan.

I am especially thankful for the Amino Boost and Muscle Defender as they have allowed me to recover and build new muscle even while on low calories. In addition, no matter how I am feeling, once I sip some No7Rage it is game time - give me something heavy and let me lift it!

 

Next week, I’ll discuss my strategy for getting “dialed in” for the contest. It is very exciting to take the body through a transformation and time in just right to appear as full and defined as possible. I can’t wait to tell you about it.

One last thing — I’m here to help

Please feel free to contact me and let me know what you think of the blog so far, if you have any questions on embarking upon your own personal transformation, or if there’s anything I can help you with. I believe we’re all in this together, so it’s important that we support one another in whatever way we can:

Visit my Facebook Page, or email me at jasonscottjohnson@gmail.com

Finally, I am super-excited that my first book – Re-Create Yourself - has finally been published! Check it out and let me know what you think!

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Journal Entry 18 – Ironman to Man of Iron Challenge

January 18th, 2012

January 17th 9:00pm

 

TODAY’S TIP

Creating your own Transformation in 2012 – continued…

So far, we’ve shared 8 powerful steps to creating your own personal transformation in 2012.  Here are the final 2:

Step 9
Increase your level of motivation through focusing on the reasons why you want your goal. Imagine how it will feel and how it will improve all areas of your life (health, relationships, career, and so forth).

Step 10
Take full responsibility for your past, present, and future. Release all blame and claim your power to live your dreams. No one can do it but you.

TRAINING SUMMARY

Twelve days away. This past week was fun as I stayed in a cutting phase of overall lower calories with training, which focused on medium to higher repetitions and more volume with added high intensity techniques. So far it’s going fantastically well as the strength is staying up, and the strength endurance is improving.

With the excitement of the contest and increased focus on nutrition, supplementation and good sleep, the performance in the gym has taken a jump as well as the visual aspect of the physique.

The posing aspect of the workouts has also added great motivation and mind-muscle connection. It’s amazing how, with practice, you can bring out the muscle groups at will. Just seeing the muscles come to life adds juice and makes you want to hit it even harder.


This week’s cardio workouts:

  • 59-60 minutes of jogging each morning for my morning energy-injection ritual.

Bodyweight:

  • 195lbs.  

Today’s Workout – Chest, Biceps and Core

1     Flat Dumbbell Press (3 sets, 5-7 reps)

2     Slight Incline Dumbbell Press (3 sets, 6-7 reps)

3     High Incline Dumbbell Press (4 sets, 6-8 reps) – added a rest pause set to the last set

4    Machine Fly (3 sets, 8-10 reps) - all sets were supersetted with max pushups on the floor

5     Standing Dumbbell Curl  (3 sets, 5-8 reps)

6     Incline Dumbbell Curls (3 sets, 6-7 reps) – added a rest pause set to last set

7      Hammer Grip Incline Curls  (3 sets, 8-10 reps)

8      Reverse Grip Pullups (3 sets, 6-9 reps)

9      Decline Leg Raises (2 sets, 6-7 reps)

10    Decline Alternating Twisting Crunches (3 sets, 12-18 reps)

11     Decline Crunches (2 sets, max reps)

Felt great energy today, very intent on keeping the strength up and improving the strength endurance. I really liked the feeling of doing rest-pause reps on the last set of incline press and incline curls. It zaps you at a deeper level, and you can feel the extra recruitment. I stayed as heavy as I could while taking the rep range up a notch from previous workouts. It’s a fun challenge. Thank goodness for the No7Rage which allows me to mentally blast through the unforgiving weights – even while on a lower calorie food plan.

 

 

This week’s nutrition and supplementation:

  • This week I averaged 3,400 calories per day, I raised the calories every 3rd or 4th day and it felt awesome! Some days were 3150 and others were 3600. The workouts following the higher calorie days were “off the chain” as they say, with additional strength, energy, and aggression on the weights. It makes you really look forward to the calorie uptick. The body became more defined this week and it’s always motivating to see new details as they come about to remind you that you are on course.Proper supplementation becomes even more important as I get closer to showtime. The increased glutamine from the Muscle Defender improved my recovery and helped support my lean muscle on lower calories.
  • ThermAccel has been a blessing ever since day one as I feel the added kick in energy, focus, and a constant urge to move more (you can check out the research behind it by downloading the Supplement Reference Guide for FREE here).   I also added FatRelease to help speed up the removal of fat from the liver and support and maintain healthy liver function. In addition, it has a key ingredient which has been documented to decrease the body’s absorption of dietary fat. In fact, subjects taking this ingredient lost 300% more weight than a placebo in just 12 weeks.

All of these little things that I do now will pay off on contest day.

Stay tuned for next week, as I increase the calories, and stay with the increased rep range, high rep work and/or supersets at the end of each bodypart. Plus, I’ll again reduce rests between sets a little more on the higher rep stuff.

This week will also include much more posing and steady tanning, (gotta have that bronze look). You can expect more significant tips on making Your 2012 Transformation.

One last thing — I’m here to help

Please feel free to contact me and let me know what you think of the blog so far, if you have any questions on embarking upon your own personal transformation, or if there’s anything I can help you with. I believe we’re all in this together, so it’s important that we support one another in whatever way we can:

Visit my Facebook Page, or email me at jasonscottjohnson@gmail.com

Finally, I am super-excited that my first book – Re-Create Yourself - has finally been published! Check it out and let me know what you think!

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Journal Entry 17 – Ironman to Man of Iron Challenge

January 9th, 2012

January 8th  8:30pm

 

TODAY’S TIP

Creating your own Transformation in 2012 – continued…

What we’ve shared in previous Journal Entries:

Step 1: Choose what you want, be as clear as possible. Do it for the fun and excitement of the journey.

Step 2: Ask yourself why you want it. With a big enough “Why” you will stay consistent and enjoy the path.

Step 3: Be willing to make adjustments (there is no failure in this – only feedback).

Step 4: Embrace challenges. Challenges will make you stronger and teach you lifelong lessons (replace the word “problems” with “challenges” whenever you can).

Step 5: Create an action plan with small simple steps that lead to your goal.

Step 6: Release your perceived limits.  The only limits you have are the ones you put on yourself.

Step 7:  If needed, use the assistance of a coach, trainer, or friend who has reached the goal you are intending. There is no perfect time or perfect plan. The perfect time is now and the perfect plan allows for adjustments along the way.

Step 8:  Strengthen your confidence by remembering all of the victories you have had in any arena and by focusing on all of the reasons why you know you can accomplish your goal. Let every small success build your confidence along the way and know that successful people have a knack for focusing on all of their assets instead of their liabilities.

Next Week… Tips on increasing your motivation

TRAINING SUMMARY

Three weeks to go, whoo! The months of training heavy is really paying off now by giving me the ability to do higher reps with much more weight. I also increased my sets, because after the initial work in the medium to high rep range (6-9), I add in 10-15 rep sets at the end or supersets.

My goal now is to maintain the strength and increase the strength endurance (ability to do more reps with less rest between sets). This secondary focus brings out new growth through different pathways than pure heavy sets. Now I have multiple growth factors working. Plus it’s fun to get that insane burn, which leads to a maximum “pumpage.”


This week’s cardio workouts:

  • 55-60 minutes of jogging each morning for my morning energy-injection ritual.

Bodyweight:

  • 196lbs.  I am feeling the slight calorie deficit that I’ve been in this past week, and the increased leanness is all worth it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today’s Workout – Shoulders and Triceps

1        Seated Dumbbell Press (3 sets, 6-7 reps)

2        Standing Dumbbell Press (3 sets, 7-8 reps)

3        Standing Laterals (3 sets, 12-15 reps)*

            *added 3-5 partials at the end to keep the burn going

4        Standing Laterals with Forward Lean (3 sets, 14-15 reps)

5        Leaning Laterals (3 sets, 12-15 reps) 

6        Lying Triceps Extensions (Skull Crushers) (3 sets, 6-7 reps)

7        Triceps Pressdowns (2 sets, 8-9 reps)

8        Reverse Pressdowns  (2 sets, 7-9 reps)

9        Overhead Dumbbell Extensions (2 sets, 6-7 reps)

10     Dumbbell Shrugs (3 sets, 20 reps)

11     Prone Shrugs on Incline Bench (2 sets, 15 reps)

Motivated and ambitious today. I aimed for medium reps on the basic heavy movements and medium to high reps on the assistance exercises. As you can see, my eyes were bigger than my output on some triceps moves. Those guys were fried from all the pressing and skull crushers and I had to bring in the 2nd and 3rd string muscle fibers to finish the game.

 

 

This week’s nutrition and supplementation:

    •  This week I averaged 3,300 calories per day, I dropped the calories a little more and the results were dramatic. My physique became much harder this week, which motivates me and makes me want to keep on. However, I may raise the calories up a smidge to allow for high quality workouts and muscle support.From this point forward, supplementation becomes even more important as I stay below maintenance on the calories. I love knowing I have the best products on the market protecting my muscles, fueling my workouts, and making me leaner each and every day.Here are the new products/strategies on the plan.Muscle Defender: Now taking it before bed and/or upon rising, pre-workout, and post workout. With the low calories, I like to have the extra protection.

      ThermAccel: This formula is amazing (you can check out the research behind it by downloading the Supplement Reference Guide for FREE here). I now take two pills upon rising and I am buzzing all day long with energy, focus, and a great mood. Plus it zaps my desire for food. I went to the grocery store and got 3 items, with one of them being sugarless gum.

    • Daily Supplementation Plan:
    • Pre-Workout:
    • Post-Workout:

Stay tuned for next week, as I increase the calories, and stay with the increased rep range, high rep work and/or supersets at the end of each bodypart. Plus, I’ll again reduce rests between sets a little more on the higher rep stuff.

This week will also include much more posing and steady tanning, (gotta have that bronze look).  You can expect more significant tips on making Your 2012 Transformation.

One last thing — I’m here to help

Please feel free to contact me and let me know what you think of the blog so far, if you have any questions on embarking upon your own personal transformation, or if there’s anything I can help you with. I believe we’re all in this together, so it’s important that we support one another in whatever way we can:

Visit my Facebook Page, or email me at jasonscottjohnson@gmail.com

Finally, I am super-excited that my first book – Re-Create Yourself - has finally been published! Check it out and let me know what you think!

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Journal Entry 16 – Ironman to Man of Iron Challenge

January 4th, 2012

January 2nd  6:00pm

 

TODAY’S TIP

Creating your own Transformation in 2012 – continued…

What we’ve shared in previous Journal Entries:

Step 1: Choose what you want, be as clear as possible. Do it for the fun and excitement of the journey.

Step 2: Ask yourself why you want it. With a big enough “Why” you will stay consistent and enjoy the path.

Step 3: Be willing to make adjustments (there is no failure in this – only feedback).

Step 4: Embrace challenges. Challenges will make you stronger and teach you lifelong lessons (replace the word “problems” with “challenges” whenever you can).

This week:

Step 5: Create an action plan with small simple steps that lead to your goal.

Step 6: Release your perceived limits.  The only limits you have are the ones you put on yourself.

(Next week: Tips on creating your action plan, and increasing your confidence) 

TRAINING SUMMARY

Under four weeks now until the show and I feel ready to rock and roll. Just knowing the show is so close gives me the added fire and intensity going into every set.

These past two weeks have gone very well with increased strength and improved performance in every workout. I have kept my calories up to allow me to continue to grow and train as hard as possible.

The plan is to now focus on increasing the rep range with the most weight I can handle in addition to adding some high rep work and/or supersets at the end of each bodypart. Plus I will joyfully reduce the rest periods. The increase in repetitions (time under tension) will bring added growth and major “burnage.”


This week’s cardio workouts:

  • 55-58 minutes of jogging each morning for my morning energy-injection ritual.

Bodyweight:

  • I dropped a bit to 195lbs after I started cutting back on calories – my body is responding quickly! 

Today’s Workout – Legs

Today is my favorite training day – legs! I plan on hitting a personal best on squats and leg press. I will also throw in some heavy front squats and hamstring curls to torch the legs a little more.  For the calves, it’s all about cranking out heavy calf raises followed by high rep work at the end in the standing and seated positions. There is something very rewarding about hitting the weights with 100% commitment and the buzzing that you will in the target area.

1        Squats (5 sets, 3-5 reps)

2        Front Squats (3 sets, 4-6 reps)

3        Leg Press (3 sets, 5-7 reps) 

4        Lying Leg Curls (Single Leg) (3 sets, 4-5 reps*

*added a forced rep on last set

5        Standing Machine Calf Raise (3 sets, 11 reps)

6        Standing Single Leg Calf Raise  (2 sets, 18-20 reps)

7        Seated Calf Raise (2 sets, 15 reps)

8        Plantar Flexion Machine (2 sets, 15-20 reps)

Felt hyped-up today. Strength was up on every move and I am sure I will feel today’s workout every time I take a step tomorrow. Next workout I will aim for more reps with heavy weight and add in additional high rep work at the end for an added challenge.

 

 

This week’s nutrition and supplementation:

 

Stay tuned for next week, as I drop the calories a little, increase the overall rep range and add in high rep work and/or supersets to the end of each bodypart.   Plus, I will reduce the rest periods between sets – this should be fun!

I will also have a slightly different cardio and supplement strategy as I focus on getting “Contest Ready.” In addition, this week will be devoted to sharpening my mandatory poses as well as the posing routine, (should I go with Rap or Rock?), plus I’ll touch upon more tips on making Your 2012 Transformation.

Remember – I’m here to help

Please feel free to contact me and let me know what you think of the blog so far, if you have any questions on embarking upon your own personal transformation, or if there’s anything I can help you with. I believe we’re all in this together, so it’s important that we support one another in whatever way we can:

Visit my Facebook Page, or email me at jasonscottjohnson@gmail.com

Finally, I am super-excited that my first book – Re-Create Yourself - has finally been published! Check it out and let me know what you think!

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Journal Entry 15 – Ironman to Man of Iron Challenge

December 21st, 2011

December 20th 4:30pm

 

TODAY’S TIP

Creating your own Transformation in 2012 – continued…

Last week:

Step 1: Choose what you want, be as clear as possible. Do it for the fun and excitement of the journey.

Step 2: Ask yourself why you want it. With a big enough “Why” you will stay consistent and enjoy the path.

This week:

Step 3: Be willing to make adjustments (there is no failure in this – only feedback).

Step 4: Embrace challenges. Challenges will make you stronger and teach you lifelong lessons (replace the word “problems” with “challenges” whenever you can).

Next week: Tips on creating your action plan, and releasing youself from perceived limits.

 

TRAINING SUMMARY

Under six weeks until Showtime. This past week was incredible as I experienced new strength gains after going from higher repetition workouts back to heavy workouts at the end of the week. I was pleasantly surprised to see that my strength went up nicely.

I keep seeing that there is no perfect routine (rep range, rest period, or number of sets) but a systematic change is what brings consistent results. The trick is to know when to change and what to change too, but this is all part of the “experiment” that we are all living.

My goal was to increase the weight and/or repetitions on all my big moves, especially on chest and shoulder presses, pullups, and squats.  Mission Accomplished!


This week’s cardio workouts:

  • 55-58 minutes of jogging each morning for my morning energy-injection ritual.

Bodyweight:

  • I’m still at 200lbs, but I look a bit leaner than I did at this weight last week. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                  

Today’s Workout – Shoulders and Triceps

Today is a high set, heavy weight shoulder, tricep, and trap session. My intention to add more sets, more reps and/or weight to all shoulder movements. Focusing on 4-6 reps on the basic moves, and 6-9 on the isolation moves, except for some shoulder lateral work where I strive for more time under tension.

For Delts, the main focus is on shoulder press.  Triceps will experience the heaviest thing I can hoist up and go for at least 4-5 reps on decline skull crushers (gotta love that name).  For my traps, I’m grabbing the biggest dumbbells I can find and cranking out shrugs.

1        Shoulder Presses (4 sets, 4-6 reps)

2        Shoulder Laterals (3 sets, 8 reps)

3        Shoulder Laterals to head height (3 sets, 10 reps)

4        Forward Lean Shoulder Laterals (3 sets, 15 reps)

5        Decline Skull Crushers (3 sets, 4 reps) *added close grip chest presses at end of last set

6         Tricep Pressdowns (on EZ curl bar) (2 sets, 6 reps)

7         Tricep Reverse Pressdowns (on EZ curl bar) (2 sets, 6 reps)

8         Overhead Dumbbell Extentions (2 sets, 9 reps)

9         Standing Dumbbell Shrugs (3 sets, 15 reps)

10      Prone Dumbbell Latarals on Incline bench (2 sets, 15 reps)

Felt great today, and wanted to keep going. The strength was the best it has been and yesterday’s max weights are today’s warm up weights. Every movement was accomplished with heavier loads or more reps, so this experiment is working out nicely.

 

 

This week’s nutrition and supplementation:

 

Stay tuned for next week, as start the week going heavy with more sets and fade back to higher rep work as I keep my calories high for more muscle growth.  I know this week will bring more pleasant surprises of increased performance because I am learning what my body is asking for. Plus I’ll touch upon more tips on making Your 2012 Transformation.

One last thing — I’m here to help

Please feel free to contact me and let me know what you think of the blog so far, if you have any questions on embarking upon your own personal transformation, or if there’s anything I can help you with. I believe we’re all in this together, so it’s important that we support one another in whatever way we can:

Visit my Facebook Page, or email me at jasonscottjohnson@gmail.com

Finally, I am super-excited that my first book - Re-Create Yourself - has finally been published!   Check it out and let me know what you think!

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Journal Entry 14 – Ironman to Man of Iron Challenge

December 12th, 2011

December 11th 2:00pm

 

TODAY’S TIP

Creating your own Transformation in 2012

Step 1:  Choose what you want, be as clear as possible. Do it for the fun and excitement of the journey.

Step 2:  Ask Yourself why you want it. With a big enough “Why” you will stay consistent and enjoy the path.

Next week: Tips on avoiding failure and overcoming challenges

 

TRAINING SUMMARY

Seven weeks from today and it’s go-time. This past week went better than expected with more jumps in strength and ability to rattle out more repetitions at my high weights. On some moves I dropped the weight slightly to bring up my rep range. My energy has been up for every workout (even on less than optimal sleep). It’s funny how powerful motivation can be to overcome hurdles in your path.

My goal was to increase the calories, increase the weight and/or repetitions on all my big moves, especially on chest and shoulder presses, pullups, and squats.  Mission Accomplished!

 
This week’s cardio workouts:

  • 55-58 minutes of jogging each morning for my morning energy-injection ritual. I just downloaded the newest from Paul Oakenfold for this week’s cardio, and can’t wait.


Bodyweight:

  • 200lbs.  Even with the increased calories, my bodyweight stayed the same.  It’s amazing how many calories I now need to consume in order to maintain my weight – especially when I’m eating quality foods!

 

Today’s Workout – Back (pulling movements)

I’m ready to break some personal records today. My past workouts have been nothing but fun as performance is steadily improving. My intention is simple today: More reps and/or more weight on all exercises. I am now keeping my focus in the higher rep range, where I can take my heaviest weights possible and still hammer out 6-9 reps (In the past I was focusing on 3-6 reps). On the isolation movements, I’m aiming for 8-12 reps with heaviest weight possible.

1             Weighted Pullups (3 sets, 5-9 reps)

2             Weighted Pullups (Wide Grip) (3 sets, 6-7 reps)

3             Single-arm Cable Pulldown (3 sets, 6 reps)

4             Lever Row (3 sets, 6 reps)

5             Bent Row (3 sets, 7-8 reps)

6             Standing Cable Rear Laterals (3 sets, 10 reps)

7             Icarion Row (High elbows/wide grip) (3 sets, 8-12 reps)

8             Bosu Ball Reverse Crunches (3 sets, 15-16 reps)

 

I’m stoked – I was able to bang out more reps than ever on pullups with the heavy weight and use higher weights on most of the remaining sets. Plus I threw in a bonus move (bent row). I should feel some rewarding soreness tomorrow.

 

 

This week’s nutrition and supplementation:

 

Stay tuned for next week, as I focus on increased reps, and keep my calories high for some more growth. Plus I will offer more insider tips on making your own Transformation in 2012.

One last thing — I’m here to help

Please feel free to contact me and let me know what you think of the blog so far, if you have any questions on embarking upon your own personal transformation, or if there’s anything I can help you with. I believe we’re all in this together, so it’s important that we support one another in whatever way we can:

Visit my Facebook Page, or email me at jasonscottjohnson@gmail.com

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Journal Entry 13 – Ironman to Man of Iron Challenge

December 5th, 2011

December 4th 7:25pm

 

TODAY’S TIP

“Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate.  Our greatest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.”

-Marianne Wiliamson

Who benefits by you living below your true potential?

Why let your best talents remain dormant?

We did not come here to merely exist. We all have unique gifts and the ability to share them with the world.  Why not free yourself from perceived limits and inspire others with your fearless and free way of living?

Personally, I had to identify why I was holding back and downplaying my true potential. I realized that I can choose to go way above and beyond what I was letting myself do. Now, the fear is gone and I only see freedom in front of me. I hope you are doing the same!

 

TRAINING SUMMARY

Eight weeks until go-time and my recent birthday has put a soaring hot fire up my rear to take everything up another notch. I have all intentions of making this my best year yet.

The reduced volume has already given me another sweet jump in strength and it forces me to put every ounce of juice I have into each and every rep and set.

It’s been fun adding weight on all my big movements especially on chest presses, dumbell presses, squats, and pullups.

My goal was to reduce the overall volume and move up in weight on all presses, pullups, and squats — Mission Accomplished!


This week’s cardio workouts:

  • 55-58 minutes of jogging each morning for my morning energy-injection ritual.  I just downloaded the newest from Paul Oakenfold for this week’s cardio, and can’t wait.


Bodyweight:

  • 200lbs! The three changes from last week worked like magic – increased intensity, decreased volume, and increased calories created the “perfect storm” for new growth.  I am liking this.

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

Today’s Workout – Chest, Biceps and Core

I’m amped! It’s time for a little chest, biceps, and core action. My goal is to raise my working weight up 10% and see what I can do. Then I will continue as planned, increasing weight on every set compared to last workout.

Then for biceps, my main focus is to crank out more reps with the 55lb dumbells on standing curls and raise my game for the rest of the workout to include more reps on each exercise and an awesome size building superset.

The core training will focus primarily on the upper abs with a variety of moves that give me the best feel.

1        Flat Bench Dumbbell Press (2 sets, 2 reps at 10% increase), plus (2 sets,5 reps)

2        Slight Incline Dumbbell Press (3 sets, 3-6 reps)

3        High Incline Dumbbell Press (2 sets, 6 reps)

4        Flat Barbell Bench Press (4 sets, 3-6 reps)

5        Standing Dumbbell Curls (2 sets, 6-7 reps)

6        Incline Dumbbell Curls super-setted with Chinups (2 sets,6-7 reps each)

7        Standing Hammer Grip Biceps Curls Alternating (2 sets, 4-6 reps)

            *on last set, dropped weight and cranked out additional reps

8        Spider Curls (2 sets, 6 reps)

9        Bosu Ball Crunches (2 sets, 15 reps)

10     Decline Crunches (2 sets, 8 reps)

 

I felt very motivated, and wanted to go extra heavy on chest, hence the sets of 2-3 reps. Sometimes I like to crank the weight up and just go for it. I added a couple sets because I was having too much fun to stop.

The biceps were much stronger than last session, allowing me to add weight and/or reps to all movements, along with a great superset. The time flew by today and before I knew it, it was time for the post-workout AminoBoostXXL.

 

This week’s nutrition and supplementation:

 

Stay tuned for next week, as I raise the weights, the calories, and the high intensity techniques… let’s see what we can do.

One last thing — I’m here to help

Please feel free to contact me and let me know what you think of the blog so far, if you have any questions on embarking upon your own personal transformation, or if there’s anything I can help you with. I believe we’re all in this together, so it’s important that we support one another in whatever way we can:

Visit my Facebook Page, or email me at jasonscottjohnson@gmail.com

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Journal Entry 12 – Ironman to Man of Iron Challenge

November 28th, 2011

Nov 27th 4:00pm

 

TODAY’S TIP

Rather than focusing on all of the reasons why it might be hard for you to reach your goal, choose to focus on all of the reasons why you can succeed, and why you can reach your goals.

Make excuses for why you must win.

TRAINING SUMMARY

Only nine weeks until it’s time to slap on the oil and take the stage.  This has been a great week, with not only added training volume, but also a nice surprise of added strength.  All of the time spent pumping the well is paying off.  Sometimes, we don’t see the changes coming fast enough with our eyes, but there’s all kinds of great stuff going on under our visual radar that will come to the surface before we know it!

This will be the final cycle of high volume and then I’ll shift back to low volume/high-intensity to let my body supercompensate and grow larger and stronger.

Training goals for this week are to:

  • Add 2 more sets with my top weight on dumbell chest press, over-head dumbbell press, pullups and squats.

This week’s cardio workouts:

  • 55-59 minutes of jogging each morning for my morning energy-injection ritual.

Bodyweight:

  • 198.5 lbs. Back on the Growth Train!  Things are looking good and I expect them to get much better especially during and following this next cycle.  I am coming to the plate with three new changes: First, more calories coming in.  Second, reduced volume.  Third, and most exciting, increased intensity.

Today’s Workout – Shoulders, Triceps and Traps

Today is a high volume shoulder, tricep, and trap onslaught. My goal is to add  volume and more reps and/or weight to all shoulder movements. Beginning with presses and cranking away on an array of various lateral movements to hit the shoulders from all angles for a 3-D effect.

For triceps it will be business as usual with my main mental focus on the decline triceps extention, which always makes it tough to scratch my head for days due to soreness.

Then will finish up with heavy shrugs for that bulldog look.

BACK/REAR DELTOIDS

1             Shoulder Presses (5 sets, 3-5 reps)

2             Shoulder Laterals (3 sets, 8 reps)

3             Forward Lean Shoulder Laterals (3 sets, 8 reps)

4             Single Arm Cable Laterals (3 sets, 12-13 reps)

5             Tricep Pressdowns (on EZ curl bar) (2 sets, 8-9 reps)

6             Tricep Reverse Pressdowns (on EZ curl bar) (2 sets, 8-9 reps)

7             Decline Skull Crushers (3 sets, 6-8 reps)

8             Overhead Dumbell Extentions (3 sets, 6-8 reps)

9             Standing Dumbell Shrugs (4 sets, 9-15 reps)

10          Prone Dumbell Latarals on Incline bench (3 sets, 15 reps)

Felt great strength and energy today. Perhaps it is the increased motivation, maybe it’s because I spent the day at Venice Beach yesterday and got inspired being near the Mecca of Bodybuilding. Or it could, be the extra 1/2 scoop of N07Rage I added…

I was able to add plenty of weight to my working sets and increase the volume, which made it a fun session!

 

 

This week’s nutrition and supplementation:

 

Stay tuned for next week’s update, and results from another new week of training stimulus (and a big Thanksgiving dinner).

I’m here to help

Please feel free to contact me and let me know what you think of the blog so far, if you have any questions on embarking upon your own personal transformation, or if there’s anything I can help you with. I believe we’re all in this together, so it’s important that we support one another in whatever way we can:

Visit my Facebook Page, or email me at jasonscottjohnson@gmail.com

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Journal Entry 11 – Ironman to Man of Iron Challenge

November 22nd, 2011

Nov 19th 5:50pm

 

TODAY’S TIP

If there is a change you want to make for yourself, have the courage to take action in the direction of your new goal. Many times people want something better, something different… however, all they do is wish.

The change may feel uncomfortable in the beginning, but soon enough the uncomfortable feeling will become comfortable to you and you will have your new-and-improved life circumstance – and new lessons learned.

By stepping out of your comfort zone and reaching for something more, you come out with more confidence and personal growth.

Plus, it’s just fun to see what you are truly capable of.  So go surprise yourself.

“The change we want for tomorrow must begin today.” –Unknown

“If you come to a fork in the road, take it.” –Yogi Berra

 

TRAINING SUMMARY

Okay, it’s just under 10 weeks until showtime, so I’m still in growth mode. I’m happy with the progress and eager for more. So I looked back at the last training phases to find a pattern that brought the best results and I noticed something interesting.

The recent of cycle of training variables had three distinct phases in this order:

1.    Workouts of steadily-increasing volume (up to 4-5 sets per exercise)

2.    Dropping the volume down to 2 sets with high intensity techniques

3.    Staying at 2 working sets and dropping the high intenstiy techniques

This formula worked very well and resulted in exciting increases in both strength and size once I transitioned to a period of low volume. After some time, my progress on the lower volume/higher intensity phase started to slow. This got me thinking, “Why not repeat the whole cycle again and let the magic happen once more?”

Now the plan is to steadily increase the volume (number of reps and sets per bodypart) with a planned drop in volume to repeat the above cycle.

It’s like pumping the well with the extra sets and reps with full expectation of a huge gust of water once I drop the volume again, which lets the body adapt and grow.

The added volume will tell my body that it must add new muscle immediately – and then I can rock even heavier weights!

My main goals this week are to:

1.    Hit 2 more sets with my top weight on dumbell chest press and over-head dumbbell press.

2.    Hit 2 more sets with 60lbs around my waist on pullups for my goal number of reps.

3.    HIt 2 more sets on my squats at top weight for my goal number of reps.

 

This week’s cardio workouts:

  • 55-59 minutes of jogging each morning for my morning energy-injection ritual (I am certainly feeling a little different now with the extra muscle mass to carry around, but still staying light on my feet).

 

Bodyweight:

  • 197 lbs.  Interesting…  I stayed at 3800 calories and came in a bit lighter than last week.

Well, that’s my indicator that it is time to add more calories.  Large increases in muscle mass also increases the daily calorie burn, so more calories are required to keep growth happening.  No Problem!

 

Today’s Workout – Back and Rear Deltoids

Today is what I like to call The Back Attack, and I intend on hitting the same weight for equal or more reps than last workout and adding a set or two to each movement to stay aligned with my increased volume approach.  My goal is to give my body the signals that it needs to grow – and grow fast – to keep up with the added work it needs to deal with.

BACK/REAR DELTOIDS

1             Medium grip pullups (4 sets, 4-6 reps)

2             Wide Grip Pullups (4 sets, 4-5 reps)

3             Wide Grip Pullups (3 sets, 8-12 reps)

4             Single Arm Pulldowns (3 sets, 6-9 reps)

5             Lever Row (3 sets, 8-12 reps)

6             Standing Cable Laterals (3 sets, 12 reps)

7             High Lever Row (with elbows wide) (3 sets, 8-9 reps)


 

 

Felt great today!  I am “pleasantly pooped”.

I was able to keep my strength up and use top weights with the added volume. My back and arms feel like wet noodles, but I know they will come back stronger than ever.  Thankfully, my NO7Rage kept me cranked up for the entire workout.

 

This week’s nutrition and supplementation:

 

Stay in touch for next week as I continue with my new workout plan and increased calories.  200lbs here I come!

 

One Final Thing…

Please feel free to contact me and let me know what you think of the blog so far, if you have any questions on embarking upon your own personal transformation, or if there’s anything I can help you with. I believe we’re all in this together, so it’s important that we support one another in whatever way we can:

Visit my Facebook Page, or email me at jasonscottjohnson@gmail.com

 

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