...it's THE BEAST!!

Remember that line in "Poltergeist" where Tangina tells the Freeling family what's responsible for all the chaos in their house?  She talks about the force that's holding little Carol Anne captive in another plane of consciousness and explains what it is, ending it all cryptically with, "To us, it is The Beast!!" 

Flash forward thirty years later, and it could very well be Sagi Kalev busting out of that bedroom closet, scolding those pot-smoking hippie parents and telling them to get with the program and do some "Body Beast" to get into shape and get their household back in order! 

In fact, in 1982, everyone in the Freeling family probably would have benefitted from some Kalev tough love, including the older teenage daughter who ate Lays potato chips while in bed.

All joking aside, after months of making up my own workouts and following some of Muscle Pharm's (which I still highly recommend and plan to use again, by the way) on its Facebook page, I decided to order "Body Beast" from Beachbody.  They're the company responsible for "P90X" and "Insanity."  You may have seen the infomercials featuring Tony Horton and Shaun T, respectively. 

Yes, this post will also be part commercial... sorry!

As far as "Body Beast" goes, I had seen the demo videos, and that it was the newest Beachbody program.  Since it was devoted to gaining muscle mass, and not losing weight, it especially caught my attention.  After weeks of mulling it over, I finally ordered it.  Part of the program involves downloading worksheets for the workouts.  I decided to watch the DVDs at home and take the worksheets to the gym and do the workouts there.

Nearly three weeks later, all I can say is WOW.  The workouts are tough, but I enjoy them.  Check out the demo videos in the link up above, and you will see.

I can also feel my body changing in a good way.  I've put on a little too much "bad weight" with the bulking, but I've started to add in more cardio--and slightly cut the calories--to try and keep the muscle but lose the fat.  My body fat percentage went from 8.7% in September to 10.2% as of last week, so I freaked out and got a little paranoid.  I won't get too worried though, unless it actually goes to 11- and 12%.  That's another blog post though.

I also have other Beachbody plans that I will talk about in later posts.  I'm also about to start using Shakeology, which is on the way in the mail.  I've read a lot about it and its health benefits, so I can't wait to get started.

Bulking and ABS! (Not talking about "automatic braking systems")

Everyone has a six pack, sometimes it's just a little deeper in there than it should be.  You can also do 2,000 stomach crunches a day, but unless you eat right, you're never going to see those abs.

The big misconception about crunches and other ab exercises is that those are what make a six pack prominent.  FALSE!  They only make your core stronger.  Losing the belly fat through your diet and performing cardio (running, jogging, walking, biking, stairclimbing, etc.)  is the rest.  As far as your core goes, that's everything all the way around the middle, not just your abdominal muscles.  There are other things to do besides situps to strenghten that entire area of your body.

Tomorrow's "Manic Monday" on "Good Morning Arklamiss" focuses on abs!  I keep it simple, especially for the first timers who are watching.  I plan to revisit some segment topics in later weeks and introduce more advanced moves for viewers who are following along from week to week.

Signs of my abs come and go lately, since I've been "bulking" and trying to gain weight.  I've been doing the InBody 230 body composition analysis once a month since September.  I posted a picture of the two print-outs below.  I started out at 8.7% body fat, and for the past two months I've held steady at 9.2%.  My goal is to stay under 10% until I stop the bulking and start the "cutting" phase.  My weight has gone up two-and-a-half pounds since last month, and some of that is skeletal muscle mass, which I'm happy about.

I've been bulking almost a month and only plan to do it for another two to four weeks (giving myself six to eight weeks total at that phase) before moving to "cutting." 

I'm pretty much doing this whole thing alone and only asking for advice and help here and there.  I think I need to step it up and start being a little less hesitant when it comes to seeking outside help.

Have a great week, and remember to do something good for yourself! :)

The one on the left was carried around in my gym bag.  Pardon the wrinkles!  Left one is September; the right one is from October.

No, these aren't mine (yet), but I can dream!