Weights and bike this morning. Went extremely well! I pushed hard on all the weights… got in the ‘zone’ and it went without issue… although at times I was really straining!
It’s true – this phase of the training I don’t enjoy as much as the mass gain. The nutrition side of it is fine and entirely manageable. In fact, I’m kind of enjoying it. But exercise wise, I like pushing harder yet less reps. So I’m looking forward to getting this phase over with – but in saying all this, I can’t deny that there’s a part of me that really enjoys it. Whenever you’re cutting, results are far more rapid. It’s easier to control your loss – ie. cutting 7,000 cals from your weekly nutrition plan = a loss of 2lbs per week. You can’t do the same for muscle gain. Going from Adding 10,000 cals per week doesn’t mean you’ll gain 3lbs of muscle. Most likely it means you’ll gain 0.5-1lb of muscle. It’s unpredictable. And muscle gain is a long term gain – it’s unlikely you’ll see or feel the changes to the same extent that you will fat loss.
And I’m certainly feeling the changes. Maybe not noticing at this point – but I see myself everyday, so it makes it harder. I’m certainly finding that I have more energy – I think that comes from both the food and the motivation gained from the reducing self-consciousness that I feel. I can walk around and be proud. I may not be where I want to be exactly, but I’m on the road. I know a month from now, I’ll be a whole lot closer to where I want to be than I am now. With weight gain, I don’t know where I’ll be in a month. I may have put on fat, I may have put on muscle. But the extent to which I add is quite unpredictable – well, that’s what I’ve discovered.
So what I’m realizing is that perhaps a huge mass gain just isn’t for me. I want definition and size, but will I ever be able to achieve it to the extent that Ted has? Realistically I have to say no. But if I engage in this plan and keep continuing – especially once I reach my goal – I’ve typically reached my goal, be at the pinnacle of my success, believe I can take on the world – take it on, and then lose all the fitness. It’ll be different this time – continuing with the fitness and taking it to the next level – and that’ll be an exploration for me, since I haven’t done it before. But it’s getting to that safe pinnacle – that foundation that’ll act as a springboard. I feel I’m on my way – getting closer and closer, but I’m not there quite yet. Give me till Dec 23 
And here’s hoping this motivation and dedication will stick. I’m cresting the wave right now and loving it. I don’t want to fall off. Please don’t let me fall off!