Back to School and Back Bustin

I'm back to school and have my first week under my belt.   There is definitely a significant difference between training at home and training at school.  First, at home I am able to eat alot more and I also train in a better atmosphere I think.  The Turner Center at Ole Miss is filled with alot of people, most of whom do not know how to train or do not train as intensely as I would prefer.  The only reason this bothers me is because it makes it a less intense atmosphere.  However, before I went out for the first friday night back (hopefully not to ruin all progress) I had a very good back workout.  I had a little problem because there was someone squatting where I usually deadlift.  I am very impatient, so rather than waiting I did my 1 Arm rows first.  This definately hurt my grip on the deadlift, but luckily I only went up to 75% for 2 reps.  So here was my workout:

1 Arm Rows: worked up to 150 lb. dumbbells for 18 reps each side.

Deadlift: worked up to 395x2 (75%) and did 5 sets of 5 for speed at 315

Chest-Supported Rows: 4x5

Pulldowns: 3x12-15

Reverse Grip Pulldowns: 3x12-15

Hammer Curls: 3x8-10

Low Pulley Curls supersetted with wide grip barbell curls: 3 sets

Just trying to get a wide back!! 

After the back workout I had a weekend filled with hangin with friends, feelin like a bad person, and sleeping with the Ripster.  

Some thoughts on my future, teachers, and diet

Well, I often think about my future.  I am, surprisingly, eager to leave school, start working, and begin my life.  However, I am scared about what will be ahead of me.  Hopefully, it is good things.  At this point in my life I feel as though things are going pretty well.  This is thanks to a great family and others that have had profound influences upon me.  Some of these people have been teachers.  Thus, I want to give these people some recognition.  Great teachers can be all the difference in a child's life.  I have had many teachers that have had great influences on me.  Some of which I would like to mention.  In doing so I will go in chronological order.

First on the lineup is Glenn Beuchlein.  I know I have mentioned him before, but he has not only been a great influence on my training, but also my education.  I had Beuchlein in high school for both Competition Government and Economics.  He placed alot of effort into his teaching and always provided extra information that most people would not know.  As I have become a more learned specimen of the university, I have found much of his teaching to be useful.

Next, is a man who I encountered in my first year at Ole Miss, Dr. Lerner.  I came to school underprepared I feel and my writing skills were very underdeveloped.  I started off in his class very poorly, but steadily began to improve.  His class was pretty rigorous and he was a rough grader.  Needless to say, he was a tough teacher to have in my first semester at school.  He gave me my first and only B.  I did not like it at the time, but I realize now that he prepared me for the rest of my classes.  He also helped me receive some financial aid and we still speak quite often.  He is always friendly and always is curious about the classes I take.  The type of relationship he has provided seems to be rare on the college scene.

Finally, one of my current teachers deserves to make the list I have provided.  His name is Dr. Rutherford.  Dr. Rutherford was the professor in my class last semester titled "Research Design Methods" and is now teaching me in a class about Environment Policy.  Dr. Rutherford is a soft spoken man and his voice almost makes you want to sit back in a lawn chair and have an ice cold drink.  However, he is very passionate about his work and cares about many of the same things I do.  These issues are primarily centered around sustainability.  I also went into his office one day and he gave me some very kind compliments.  These compliments were very unexpected from such a soft spoken man.  They really meant alot.  I hope I continue to be around him and hopefully he can help me in my future endeavors.

I have had many great teachers and these are only a few of them.  Others include Mr. Gary Case (a great friend) and also Dr. Weber.  I admire all of these great instructors.

I also wanted to discuss diet a little bit.  Many people struggle with weight, including myself, and there are much conflicting information in regards to diet.  I will review a few methods that I have tried and successfully used.  First, I think it is always important to select healthy foods in general.  Foods that have been processed are not favorable, such as breads and other un-natural foods.  Typically reducing carbs and calories in general will help lose weight, but I have trouble doing this for long periods of time because I love food way too much.  I personally like using methods where I can overeat.  Yes, I said overeat.  Overeating has many benefits.  It allows your body to become more sensitive to the effects of a hormone called leptin.  There are many articles and studies that are on the web about leptin.  My first and most successful method involving leptin was utilizing a diet called UD2.0 by Lyle Mcdonald.  This diet basically consists of around 4 1/2 days of under-eating and glycogen depletion (depleting sugar stores in your body through low carbs), 1 and 1/2 days of carb loading (eating an abundance of good carbohydrates) and then a final day of just normal, balanced eating (good carbs, proteins, and fats with each meal).  There are specific workouts to aid this process and this would be very good to try.  Currently I am doing a method known as Carbnite or a modified warrior diet.  This involves me under-eating on my workout days until 5:00 or so.  I eat no carbs and very low calories.  I usually eat 2 meals of 6 egg whites and raw veggies.  Then, after my workout, I consume my strawberry protein with some orange juice.  Then, at dinner, I eat a big meal consisting of lots of carbs and protein.  On non-workout days I eat low carbs and alot of meat.  This method seems to be working so far, but we will see.   Whatever method you choose, stay consistent, constantly motivate yourself, and allow yourself to enjoy good food every once in a while.  Best of luck to anyone trying to better themselves and become healthier human beings.    

Parting Ways... A Workout... and A Very Dirty Dog

So, yesterday I left the domicile I call home and migrated south to a land called Dixie.  I left behind my family and a weekend watching girls basketball, attending a thrilling confirmation bash, and the training   I had been partaking in for the past 5 weeks or so.  The ride was filled with long conversations with the grandmother I call "Momo", scenic observations in the beautiful state of Tennessee, and wreck-less old drivers pulling out in front of me as my speedometer read speeds of 60-80 miles an hour.  The entire way my legs were throbbing in pain due to the fat pig laying across my lap known as Ripley.   Anyhow, my dreadful drive was followed by a night at the bar, where I saw the quarterback of the New York Giants, Eli Manning.
My second day back consisted of watching my puppy act crazy and cover herself in mud at a lake, along with some training and NFL football.  By the way, I am infatuated with the Green Bay Packers' defense... it is an incredible thing to watch.  I am a huge colts fan, but I cannot resist indulging myself in moments of celebration when that defense does something outstanding.  Clay Matthews is just a pure freak, beast.   Evidently, he is fairly strong and trains hard, which even further excites me:

Taking my dog to the lake was quite a treat as well.  That fat pig ran around like a psycho bred by Charlie Manson in prison and took pleasure in covering herself in mud and other nasty substances that occur in nature.  Since then, she has wanted to do nothing but sleep and lay her fat body on my bed.

So, while this fat, fat pig slept I decided to get in a little workout myself.  I had not ate much all day and had quite an exhausting day yesterday, so I don't think I was quite up to par.  However, I did manage to do a few good things.  I did a little bench, stopping at five reps on every set (worked up to 305).  Felt good, but didn't feel as powerful as normal.  Following the notorious bench press, I decided to act like my bodybuilder roommate and do some dumbell incline presses.  Surprisingly, it was pretty smooth.  I did 110 pound dumbells for a pretty easy 11.  I stopped at 11 in honor of my younger brother's baseball number.  I then decided to go back to my powerlifter roots and do some floor presses.  Then, I did some dips and plyo-pushups.  Plyo-pushups seems a little cross-fit-esque or p90x style, but they are very beneficial for building speed and explosion when benching.  I called the younger bro and found out that he had a pretty darn good workout as well... he got jiggy wit it.  He is now passing on our techniques to my cousin.  That little shit did 105 on bench for 5 pretty easily (only in 8th grade), which is a major improvement.  When that gangsta started, just six weeks ago, he could barely get that weight for 1 rep.  Clearly my methods are working!  He was also able to do 45 pound dumbells on the floor press for about 8 reps!  I think that's pretty impressive.  His arms are already filling in.  I am very jealous of this.  No matter how strong I get, my arms always seem to lag behind.  I guess I was never meant to be one of the Jersey Shore gang.  But, then again, I am not into the pre-party "pump" that those guys seem to favor for their workouts.  Anyways, all in all it was a good training day for the Bobe clan.  Jersey Shore cant hang wit Wabash River Shore!!

By the way.. I just now realized that I had a major spelling error in the title of my blog. I am embarrassed that I did not catch it until now and am very surprised at myself!  I am quite (no pun intended) careless at times!

Training with the Broski and the B-- the cycle continues

Over my winter break from school I have been training with both my younger brother and the powerlifting guru himself, Glenn Beuchlein.  First, I will discuss the training with the B.  Glenn Beuchlein is a teacher at the high school I attended and was probably the single greatest influence on my passion for "pumping iron" as Arnold Schwarzenegger would say.  Beuchlein is a 700lb+ bencher and is in his mid-40s, he contributes to elitefts.com as a writer, and has also written a book ("The Tao of B").
I first began training with B leading into my junior year in high school.  I came to him trying to get stronger for football.  At the time I was very weak and was just fat and out of shape.  Eventually, I would go on to lose around 60 lbs. and push myself into great shape.  I credit B for part of my turn around because weight lifting was a very big factor in my body transition.  And on a side note, if I could lose weight anyone can.  I believe I love food, have a slower metabolism, and am lazier (or at least by nature) than anyone on this planet.  Below is a younger, chubby me:

Anyhow, training with B is an unbelievable experience every time I enter his lair and he is always willing to pass on knowledge.  His gym consists of a basement, some weights, a stationary bike, and usually a group of guys willing to do anything to get stronger. His style of training is unlike any set program that can be found on the internet.  There is no set routine, percentages, volume, or whatever so-called trainers like to prescribe.  A chest day could consist of Benching with Kettlebells on the barbell along with several chains, pressing 100 lb. kettlebells off of a swiss ball (last time, the B got 33 reps for Larry Bird), doing pushups with around 200 lbs. of chains on your back, and other crazy exercises.  It never gets old.  I am grateful everytime I get to come home and train with B.  He is a great friend, teacher, and lifter.  Not trying to get all sentimental like Leo Dicaprio in Titanic.  By the way, I don't care who you are, that is a kick ass movie!

Below is some training in B's Gym:

In addition to training with and being mentored by the B, I have gotten the opportunity to mentor my younger brother and introduce him to weight lifting.  The broski's name is Joe Wayne and he is currently in the big 8th grade.  I guess him training with me is a little bit of a rebellion, because he is supposed to be training with the high school football team.
I stopped him from doing that for a couple of reasons: 1. The weight room is way too crowded 2. I DO NOT trust his coaches (I had bad experiences and will discuss in a future blog) 3. I wanted to make sure he uses good form 4. I do not feel that the pressures of other kids his age to "max out" or do whatever will be safe or productive.  I believe learning good technique and receiving one-on-one attention is very valuable starting off.  My younger brother has been exposed to many of the techniques that I have been taught by the great B.  I have thoroughly enjoyed our little bro time everyday and I think I might have sparked a little passion within him for weightlifting.  I am glad he is doing this... I think weight lifting teaches many lessons in life.  I think patience, consistency, hard work, and many other lessons can be taught by the iron!!  I hope he continues to learn, just as a young padiwan like Luke Skywalker would.
The youngster himself having a birthday treat:

First Post-- An introduction to myself

Hello everyone, my name is Brett "Cody" Bobe.  This is my first post and an introduction as the title describes.  I am 20 years old and I am currently enrolled at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss).  As the media has so frequently stated, the school I attend faces many obstacles itself:  mascot, student song (From Dixie with Love), school history, etc.  In high school I played football and wrestled and did not take academics very seriously until I realized that my childhood dream of playing Division 1 football would not be realized... how sad, right?  That seems to be a common dream amongst many teenage boys.
Just a warning: my first post is on more of the serious note... I believe a semi-serious introduction is necessary.  As I continue to write, many of my blogs will be of a less serious nature and hopefully more entertaining.
Currently my interests have been directed to powerlifting, politics and world issues, family, and various other things.  Powerlifting is probably the thing that I devote the majority of my time to outside of school work.  I desperately want to be the best in the sport, no matter how possible that might be.  That is a reoccuring theme in my life-- trying to be the best.  Very rarely has that been a reality and it has resulted in many bouts of depression and self-pity.  Something that sadly many of us are victims of, even though it should not be the case.
Outside of powerlifting, I am very devoted to my school work.  In school I am studying Public Policy and Political Science.  I was raised in a very conservative family-- typical afternoons consisted of listening to Rush, Sean Hannity, Glen Beck, and other conservative radio hosts.  As many of my views have changed, I have been subjected to much confrontation within my family.  However, I am under the belief that one should not allow others to dictate your beliefs.  My main concern is the future of this great earth we live on.  The American economy is unsustainable, our agricultural methods are unsustainable, the environment is unsustainable, the friction amongst rivaling nations is unsustainable.  In fewer words, I believe our future could be very different unless we begin changing our ways of life.
I know not everyone will agree with my views, my training methods, my interests, or what I have to say... but, we can all appreciate struggles in life and I hope to help others push through those.
On this blog, I may also review things that I enjoy: supplements, foods, websites, etc.  Hopefully, all that I write will help someone in some way.