The unexpected...

Wow!! So much has happened since I posted last!! One things I never ever imagined doing...I did! I moved back to my roots, small town USA, aka Winchester, IN. One thing you can always expect....the unexpected! Five years ago, I left a town of a few thousand, and moved to downtown Indy, in hopes of growing into my dream job as a firefighter. I turned into a gym rat, met some amazing friends in and out of the gym, took a lot of huge step in life, including natural bodybuilding,in which I'm hooked!!! So just a few months ago, I had my dream job offer!!!! But who would've thought out of every city in the nation, this offer was right back where I came from. Night clubs, bars, flashy lights, multiple gyms, all are which I didn't wanna leave, but they weren't by dream job. My family at IFD Station 45 was the hardest part about leaving. For those who don't know, I worked as an EMT on the east side of Indy. Quite an experience to say, but an experience with some great people I once called my 'every 3rd day family', but in reality, we were family...at work or not. And will always be! So goodbye Indy it was, packed up and moving to Winchester. As luck kept rolling on the good side, met a wonderful homeowner who I now call my landlord...yup, she provided the bachelor pad. Two weeks later I bought a jeep (that's what they drive in the sticks)from a local lot...learning it was her brother. LOL. Talk about all in the family! MOMMMMM!!!! For some reason, she's happy I'm back in town:) I'm glad to be closer to family and friends I grew up with! Ok...contest stuff: YES I'm still competing. I lost control of nutrition after my last show, no one is perfect and we get weak, but what builds character is how you handle it. I'm dieting down the next 23 wks for the NPC Natural Ohio and Indiana. 38 lbs to drop, running about 3000-3500 cals a day, balancing a 2 lbs a wk loss. I'll post my diet & training split soon! I'll work on getting progress pics up as well so I can share another transformation with you! Thoughts on Natural Pro Qualifier this year? Friends, family, couldn't do any of this without you!! Thanks so much. Well, it's off to sleep. Rest is big now that I'm cutting fat and training like an animal again! Training is going great! I'm even blessed to have a captain from work, and new best friend in my ring and throwing weights around like a mad man every morning at the Y! I've seen a lot of changes in that old man just since I have been here. Until next time... P.S. guys, keep your traps growing, and for god sake, quit wearing those damn skinny jeans. Thanks

The wheels are turnin'....

WOW it's been a long time since I've blogged! 13 weeks to be exact! I'm now 10 weeks out from the NPC Natural Ohio, and 12 from the Indiana!!! Looking back to old photos from the last contest prep, I'm further ahead this time! Thanks to some friends sharing great advice, and some research, I've caught onto a few more things here and there that I hope will help! The funniest and most amusing of all is applying preparation-h gel around the 'loveeee handles' and the belly. Supposedly, this tightens up the loose skin by removing water, but we'll see! Can't knock it 'til I rock it!

Every week brings new challenges, but ones that are greatly appreciated. As I sift through my diet and training program, I like to change up this, or that, or this, or that. Why? Because I can:) Every week I challenge myself to learn, to strategically plan, to make things more exciting.

Here's a wonderful breakfast recipe I'd like to share with you:

1/4 steel cut oats
4 oz egg whites
.5 scoop whey protein (i like peanutbutter/choc flav)
1 tbsp PB2 (powder peanutbutter)

**Bring the water to a boil, then dump it alllll in! Add sweetener if you'd like! Macros are: 4F 34CHO 30P (will vary according to whey protein macros)**


Current supplements I'm running:

Omega 3.6.9, Intek CLA, Fastin-XR, Beverly Mass Aminos, Beverly Ultra-40, Elite Gourmet Whey Protein, Cellucor Pre-workout, and tribulus.

There's always more supps out there as it's a huge industry, but I'm not made of a million bucks! So far so good, I'll be switching protein up to Beverly soon as I'll wanna rid of all the additives from other shakes. I still keep shakes to 1-2 a day, definitely 1 post workout with 5g of glutamine and usually one pre-workout as well. But any other time of the day, I get my protein from my diet (as instructed to from my favorite IFBB sister). I'll keep you guys updated with more diet/supplements as they change!

Training is going great! I train 6-7 days a week, depending on how well recovered I feel. My training split is different every week for 4 weeks, then I repeat the cycle. I theoretically developed this training program for myself during last contest prep just to keep gains at maximum, never hitting plateus and allowing the body to adapt. I do like to incorporate a lot of what I call 'fun factors', such as FST-7 (seven sets, 30 sec rest between, 10-12 reps, done as last exercise of the body part focused on), drop sets, rest-pause, negatives, supersets, and etc. All of which mix it up a little, and help keeping that muscle 'shocked'.

Cardio is about a 90 min average a day right now, although after starting my thermogenic, Fastin-Xr, I dropped from 209 to 205 in four days, so decided to cut back on cardio. Dropping weight too quick during contest prep can set myself up for a disaster, and I'll peak way to early. Words can't explain how happy I am to lower my volume of cardio!!!!! I'll get some progress pics posted soon!!!

Any comments, constructive criticism, questions, you can email to kevinshook25@gmail.com or facebook me! I'd like to hear them!

Well, I'm off to rest, but I wish you all the best, and keep it healthy!!