About Rev. Oke - My Fitness Timeline and History / Current Philosophies
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In 2002, I was standing in line at my local pharmacy waiting for a prescription. The prescription would take 15 minutes to fill so I checked out the magazine rack while I waited. I flipped through computer publications (I work in the IT industry), some news publications, and then I came to the fitness rack and magazine called "Hydrate" (this was a special off shoot of Muscle Media). The magazine covered over 200 drinkable supplements. The magazine was interesting read, so I purchased it. Inside the magazine there were also quite a number of advertisements. One of them was for Body-for-LIFE.
The Body-for-LIFE program was created by Bill Phillips. It is a 12-week diet and exercise program that if you do exactly what Phillips says, you'll get into shape. Phillips is also the creator of Muscle Media Magazine and EAS supplements. I did not know this at the time I purchased the magazine. One of the requirements of Body-for-LIFE is that you use EAS products throughout your transformation (surprise, surprise). If I had seen this all as slick marketing (which it was) I may have never tried Body-for-LIFE. Instead I bought it. I looked at the advertisements and visited the web site and saw 1000's of people that had transformed their bodies. I wanted to transform mine too. I was marketed to, and I bought it -- hook, line, and sinker.
I showed that ad and web site to my wife. She was supportive. Then I made deal with her. We had been married for about three years at this point, her biological clock was ticking, and we both had good jobs and a good, but small, house. So, I struck a deal with her because I knew I could not do this alone. The deal was that if we both got into the best shape of our lives and did the Body-for-LIFE program and got the house ready for sale by the end of the summer (mortgage rates were at around 5.5% at the time), then we start trying for a baby. She bit, and thus started my fitness lifestyle.
For the full story on my Body-for-LIFE run: CLICK HERE
I completed the twelve-week run through the Body-for-Life program. Making permanent changes to my diet in the process (no more regular pop; no more French fries). I lost a lot of weight on the Body-for-Life program, approximately 40 pounds, and I looked pretty good. I did not feel all that good, but I definitely had the start of nice beach body. I did not really understand at the time why Body-for-LIFE left me weak. I would only find out much later in my fitness journey.
The biggest mistake I made after Body-for-LIFE was not keeping it up. The biggest mistake I made while on it (unknown at the time) was eating too many products with artificial substances in them (fat-free yogurt, diet pop, all the EAS bars and supplements). All these things use artificial sweeteners, typically aspartame (better known by the brand name NutraSweet). I also dropped dairy products and whole eggs (just using 1 yolk for every 6 eggs). These moves were a mistake as well (see "Current Philosophies" section for more on this).
For the next two and half years -- late 2002 through 2004 -- I continued to eat healthier (so I thoughht). I avoided regular pop and fries, but I did not consistently workout. When my wife and I listed our house for sale in the fall of 2002. I took my dog and moved into my parents (this extreme measure was done to keep the house clean for showings). It took seven months and over 50 showings to sell our house and during these seven months I did not have regular access to my fitness equipment. My diet was not consistent either. In 2003 and 2004 most of my time was tied up with working on the new house, some business travel, IT certifications for work, and, of course, trying for a baby (which I'll take over working out any day of the week).
The two and half year hiatus from fitness was also marked with injuries (sore knees, joints, and rotator cuff), a wife imposed ban on taking fitness supplements (due to trying for a baby), and some strange illness (that caused constant dizziness) due to what doctors thought was either a bad allergy medicine reaction or an inner-ear problem.
All was not terrible for me. Going into 2005 I had only gained back about five to ten pounds. Body-for-Life left me thin, but did not leave me fit. I had slimmed down, but I had little muscle definition and my endurance was non-existent. I had also started to get pudgy around the middle again (my waist is where all of my weight seems to go). I was ready and scratching at the walls to get back into shape. My wife had gotten pregnant, which meant the ban on fitness supplements was lifted. At this point I thought about doing another run through Body-for-Life, but since that program did not really give me the muscle tone and overall fitness endurance that I was seeking, I started putting together my own fitness program. It was around this time that I stumbled across the Instone LifeChange Challenge advertisement in Muscle & Fitness magazine. Since defined programs give you targets and goals to shoot for, I figured I would give the Instone program a try.
For the full story on my Instone LifeChange Challenge run: CLICK HERE
My 14-week Instone run left me in the best shape of my life with a large asterisk: I injured my shoulder and it was discovered that I had osteo-arthritis in my pretty much all my joints (not a good start to your 30's).
Because of the injury, I could not continue a consistent lifting program. My daughter was born after I finished Instone and my cardio sessions soon became a very rare occurrence as most of my time, joyfully so, was spend helping out with my daughter.
In December of 2005 my shoulder injury had progressed to the point where I needed surgery. The condition that required surgery is known as Osteolysis of the Distal Clavicle, and you can read all about my condition, the surgery, and my rehabilitation HERE.
For next year and a half I rehabilitated my surgically repaired shoulder. My free time was spent on other hobbies, such as spending time with my family, photography, and mythology and religious studies. In late 2007, I started occasional lifting (very light weights) and cardio. The workouts I did perform were nothing consistent. My diet was not well balanced.
Finally in 2008, it got to the point where my pants were just too tight again. I did not like the way I looked. The spare tire was back. So, I started to form another fitness plan. It would be tough given that heavy weights are out. But I had to figure something out. It just so happens that while planning a fitness routine I saw an advertisement for the BodyBuilding.com/MuscleTech $50,000 Transformation Content. I now had motivation even though this was just slipping back into an old pattern.
For the full story on my MuscleTech Transformation run: CLICK HERE
As of this writing, my MuscleTech run is still in progress. However, this time, I have a plan in place for when I finish. Transformation contests are great, but you must have a plan in place if you plan to keep it up. If you do not have a plan or organized routine, you will fail. I have developed a rotation/muscle confusion plan that seems to be working and I plan to keep adjusting it as necessary to maintain a healthy body for the rest of my life.
See the Current Philosophies section below for how I maintain a healthy active lifestyle, even with a job and family activities.
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III. Current Fitness Philosophies
At one point in the 1990's I weighed almost 270 pounds. Lot's of beer and pizza in college will do that to a person. Despite this size I was still in pretty good cardiovascular shape (still played basketball twice a week) and had excellent strength (my squat and bench press were pretty impressive back in those days, both over 300. Now, I could care less what I can lift. I just want to look like I can lift a lot). After I got married I did not keep in good cardiovascular shape and I stopped lifting, but I still felt healthy. I did not like the way I looked, but at least I felt healthy.
It stuck me as odd that I felt worse after Body-for-LIFE and in the years up to now than I did before I made the commitment to lose weight and control my endomorphic shape. I had joint pain, I had dizzy spells. During Instone I tore an AC joint in my shoulder and my joint pain had worsened. My doctor told me that I was just getting older, but I refused to believe that nothing could be done to reverse the fact that my body was seemingly falling apart a little more each day. Although I was maintaining 200-210 pound frame now, as opposed to a 270 pound one, my body hurt. I tried joint supplements, I tried range of motion stuff. My doctors thought the dizziness might be related to various allergy medications I was on. I went from Claritin, to Alegra, to Zrytec, to two types of Nasacort, to Flonase, but still the joint pain and dizziness spells persisted. I tested negative for all types of arthritis. There was no swelling in my joints, yet the pain in my joints and bones was constant. During surgery on my shoulder is was discovered that I had a plaque like build up on around the ends of my bones and around the joint in the shoulder. It looked arthrtic, but tests had shown nothing. Again, doctors pointed to overuse and just getting older. I wasn't even 30 when all these issues started, and now that I am past 30 they persist.
Before I started the MuscleTech contest I decided to re-evaluate my diet and my workouts. I wanted to figure out why I felt better when I was fat. Why did I feel better before I got into fitness? What was I doing differently?
Here is what I came up with:
So, before I started the MuscleTech contest I cleansed out my colon and then switched my diet. My new diet changes included:
Two weeks into the MuscleTech contest I felt great already. I was eating whole foods. My diet had become clean with the exception of the MuscleTech products themselves. I think I may have found the answer medial science could not: proper nutrition.
If you look at today's doctors, they all go by the FDA guidelines and recommend low-fat, high-carbohydrate diets. This is a huge mistake. You need fat. You just need to get healthy fats. You need protein (at every meal). Some people are now recommending a more balanced diet of whole foods including natural carb sources (fruits, unprocessed grains, yams, etc.), leaner proteins (chicken, fish, certain cuts of beef, etc), and healthy fats (fish again, nuts, non-hydrogenated oils).
My grandfathers both lived into their 90's. Both ate whole eggs, lots of meat (including red), fruits and vegetables and not much else up until the time they died. It was like being on a "caveman diet". Heavily processed snacks and fat-free foods and all this other trendy junk you see on shelves in grocery stores is going to kill people in my opinion. The closer to natural that you can eat the better. Some people call this a "caveman diet", but maybe this was the diet nature intended. We did not have all these processed foods 100 years ago. We were still farmers, hunters, and gatherers. Have we evolved so much in this past century that our bodies can live on nothing but processed food? I just don't see evolution moving that fast.
With my new discovery in my mind I started researching nutrition a little more thoroughly. I started my search by looking at classic bodybuilders of yesteryear. It these guys could get big on healthy in an age before steroid, they must have had secrets. In my searches I came across few guys in particular from decades past:
Vince Gironda was ripped for his day. He had a tiny waist (due to never training his abdominals) and a sweeping V-taper. He body style was not in vogue at the time. Contests liked their guys bigger and smoother back in the day. Gironda was simply too defined, but he did pave the way. He went on to became a trainer to famous bodybuilders and stars, including periods with Larry Scott, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Frank Zane (who was a key-carrying member of Vince's Gym).
Vince ate the same "caveman diet" I mentioned above. He was big on liver (liver tablets in particular). He also used lighter weights and isolation movements to develop his body and the bodies of those he trained. Hmmmm, my 97-year-old grandfather ate a lot of liver and a similar "caveman diet" to what Vince described. Maybe the older generations had it right.
Larry Scott caught my attention because he did not have genetics on his side. He had a naturally wide waist and narrow shoulders just like me. Yet clean eating and a proper training program eventually would lead to his capture of the first Mr. Olympia title. Larry is still alive. He is still practicing and preaching good nutrition and training habits, and his still pretty ripped. He still has those famous cannonball arms.
Frank Zane at 65+ is still ripped. He still has is trademark V-taper and vacuum stomach. How has he maintained this physique since his Olympia runs (which ended in 1983 if I'm not mistaken)? The answer is clean eating plus "old-fashioned" supplements including liver, amino acids, etc. He also uses mind training techniques such as mediation. This is an aspect of training I had not thought of before and have started adding in meditative training as well.
It may be true that the chemical supplements of today will help get you big and ripped quick. However, the long term effects of using these supplements overtime are not yet known. Also, if your goal is to be a giant, have a look at the cost of some of these things. Some professional bodybuilders can consume upwards of $50-100 per day of supplements. This just says to me that if big is your goal, and you don't have the natural genetics for it, than you'll only get as large as your wallet allows.
My strategy going forward will be to channel the masters, "Question Everything", and workout smarter (less time, less weight, more intensity). I will eat clean (no artificial or heavily refined foods) and balance my diet (40% protein, 30% carbs, 30% healthy fats). I will add a joint stack and include liver as part of my daily multivitamin regiment. I will use modern (and refined/chemically) supplements only when preparing for a special event (such as a contest). I believe that my longevity will depend on keeping my diet as natural as possible and avoiding the more powerful supplements when in maintain-mode.
You might think it is too hard to stay in shape if you have a family, other hobbies, or other responsibilities, but it's not. Here is my not-so-secret method. I do all my cooking and food prep for my work week on Sunday nights. It only takes me about 1-2 hours on average to have everything prepped for the week. I do all my workouts in the morning. 1 hour of high-intensity, high-rep, and lower-weight work just 3 times a week. 30 minutes of intense, interval and sprint, cardiovascular activity 3 times a week. If I need to burn more fat, I add cardio to the weekends as well. So that is 4.5 hours of working out , 2 hours of food prep, 6.5 hours total, or a little under an hour a day to stay healthy for the rest of my life. The last trick, get your butt out of bed and do your workouts in the morning before you go to work. You'll feel great at work after working out in the morning and you'll have your nights free for family, chores, or other hobbies. That's how I work it and it seems to be working.
If you've read this far, thanks for reading. You obviously have great patience for my rambling style. Look around on the site and check out my BodySpace page. You might pickup a thing or two that is useful. Then again, what do I know? What does anybody really know about nutrition and training? Both topics are still a very young and often misunderstood sciences, although I'm starting to think the older guys got it right the first time around.
Regards,
-Rev.
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Disclaimers: Every body is different. My methods might not work for you. Modern methods might not work for you either. The trick is to experiment and not get frustrated. Understand that it may take years to build a good a physique, but it can be done naturally. You just have to find the missing pieces to your body's puzzle. I am not an expert by a long shot, so please use any of the information on these pages at your own risk and consult your local doctor or certified fitness professional before you start any program. The programs outlined on these pages were highly customized to my physique. Your results my vary. Good luck building your perfect body. It's all up to you. These pages are only here to help.
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©2002-2008 by Rev. Oke: [email protected] (note: responses might be slow using this address. Drop me a line at my BodySpace Page instead).