[Matt Thornton]

Well, the last 12 weeks of school are upon me, and it's been a shitty year. I have 1 term left to turn myself around, and since it's easier to do one thing right when you're doing everything right, I'm just going to change myself physically and mentally.

Let me get this out of the way: I care about looking good. If I said I only cared about performance, I'd just be lying to myself. While I'm not a bodybuilder, and don't intend to be, as a martial artist, I want to be proud of my body, and part of that is being proud of how I look. I'm not going to obsess about whether my lats look good in this light, but I do want a good physique that I can be proud of over the summer.

With that being said, this is still not a bodybuilding program. I'm simply throwing some elements of a bodybuilder's "cutting" phase to improve my physique.

This program will revolve around the following

FITNESS
-Improving cardiovascular endurance through roadwork, rope jumping, and kickboxing (Thai style)
-Improving muscular endurance through bodyweight exercises and high-repetition weight training
-Building solid mental endurance/toughness through the above
-While incorporating bodybuilding-type movements, not straying too far from an athletic-style program (i.e. not sacrificing tumbling or pull ups for extra isolation cable curls)

PHYSIQUE
-Burning body fat through the most effective forms of cardio (HIIT, Sprints, Cardio on an empty stomach)
-Developing vascularity and tone/definition (veins visible, a good level of muscular definition)
-Doing the above while losing as little muscle as possible

SKILLS
-Continuing to improve myself in all areas of MMA (stand up, wrestling, grappling)
-Putting extra emphasis on improving my stand-up, particularly my boxing
-Coupling the stand-up skills, developing a better clinch/sprawl game so I can keep it on my feet

I'm 5'11", and around October I'll be fighting between 150 and 160 pounds. I'm tall for my weight, and I have fast hands, long legs, and a background in boxing and karate. At the moment I think my grappling is better than my stand-up, but my training partners agree I am built well for stand-up fighting, and my kickboxing coach tells me my kicks are going to be "lethal." Kickboxing serves as an EXCELLENT cardio workout, and since I think I'll have a big advantage standing up, I want to improve my stand-up game.

As an added bonus, even though I was doing wrestling before MMA, I've worked on my guard so much that it's the strongest part of my ground game, IMO. So if my opponent does get by my stand up game, and I fail to defend the TD, I have a promising guard game that he's going to have to deal with.

Alright, less about my life story and more about the upcoming training program:

SUPPLEMENTS
I plan on using the following:

For general health/wellness (must-have supplements):
-Multivitamin
-An EFA supplement, possibly Flax Seed
-Whey protein, and plenty of it
-Glucosamine Sulfate + MSM
-Endurox Accelerade

Cycle 1
-Beverly International Glutamine Select + BCAAs
-AST Micronized Creatine Monohydrate (5 grams/day)
-1fast400 HMB powder

Cycle 2
-BSN NO-Xplode
-MAN Body Octane

Also, during the last week or so of the program, I'll go on a water pill/diuretic to flush out some retained water underneath my skin, which can make you look "soft."

If you plan on doing this program with me, or something similar, it's important that you use the creatine the right way. I am NOT loading the creatine. I'm using a method recommended by Ross Enamait (a boxing fitness guru). I will be taking 1/4 teaspoon 4 times daily, bringing my dosage up to 5 grams a day. I may not get results as fast as I would if I "mega-dosed" the creatine, but over time my muscles will reach the same saturation point without all the bloating, stomach discomfort, and water weight.

It's quite the list of supplements, but like I said, I'm putting all my chips in on this one. This is my drive to finally change myself and make a difference. As an added bonus, it will leave me with no pocket money, so I won't be able to go out and buy pizza or anything.

DIET
I will be eating 5-6 small meals a day, and while I won't be CUTTING carbs, I will be monitoring them. All the carbs I take in will be low-GI and complex (except for the sports drink, because that's during the workout). I hate vegetables, but I'm going to force myself to eat them. I'll be taking in plenty of protein, including 3-6 scoops of Whey protein a day.

Another thing I'll be watching is how calorie-dense my food is. My family knows me as a peanut butter junkie, but I'm going to ease up on the peanut butter. The reason being, peanut butter is very calorie dense; you eat a small amount and you've taken in a lot of calories. I want to eat satiating food that is going to keep me full.

My RMR (Resting ****bolic Rate) is about 1800 calories a day. I will attempt to cycle my calories, and after every 3 days I will consume a higher amount of calories (roughly what I need to maintain my body weight) to keep my ****bolism running. I won't be cutting calories to an exact amount, because the intensity of my training will vary.

To remedy this, I got a weight/bodyfat scale for my last birthday. It's actually pretty accurate when compared with a fat caliper (it measured my BF% as 0.3% higher than a caliper). I will attempt to lose roughly 0.1% body fat for three days in a row, and on the fourth day maintain that body fat percentage. In total, I'll be losing roughly 0.6% body fat every week. It will take some experimenting, and there will be days that I lose too much or not enough.

As for cheat days, I have found a healthy median. I noticed that I've been drinking diet soda for so long that I don't even care about regular soda anymore; I never, ever drink it because I get enough satisfaction from diet soda. So, I will be using healthy alternatives to junk food. For example, instead of eating cookies, I'll get a good recipe for protein cookies with all healthy alternatives in it (oats, egg whites, Splenda, etc.) That way, my cravings are satisfied without straying from my diet.

GOALS
I need to have specific goals to reach. I can't just say "get better" because that's not enough. So, here are some tangible, measurable goals I intend to achieve through this program:

*************************
"THE WARRIOR'S TEST" From Ross Enamait
-100 pushups
-500 bodyweight squats
-20 pull ups
-15 one legged squats on each leg
-15 handstand pushups
-50 divebomber pushups (he has fingertip pushups, I'm substituting)
-5 minute plank
**************************

-Get down to about 6% body fat
-Break a baseball bat with a low kick (I'll need to toughen up my legs for this)

OTHER NOTES
Some of the goals I have listed, I have a ways to go. I'm estimating I have a little over 12% body fat right now. If I follow this plan, that leaves me with just enough time to get to 6% body fat by the first week of summer vacation. If need be, though, I'll take one week to "reset" my ****bolism, if I feel like it's slowing down too much.

I also have quite a ways to go with my goals in muscular endurance, strength, and flexibility. At the moment I can do 0 correct one-legged squats, and 0 handstand pushups. If I bust my ass, I know I can achieve the goals I have set.

Tommorow I'll begin posting my progress along with my diet/exercise/supplements. Currently I'm on a small dose of HMB and I'm finishing up a canister of NO-Xplode, and I'm also taking Whey protein, glucosamine, and a multivitamin. I'll post it up once I get the other supplements.

[Matt Thornton]

Oh, I almost forgot to list. As for the fitness/cross training portion of this program, it's really a combination of a bodybuilder's "cutting" phase and Ross Enamait's book "The Underground Guide to Warrior Fitness." Basically, I'm following that book while incorporating a little bodybuilding. It's all about setting goals and achieving them without fancy hype. It's basically a book on how to become a hardass

So, I leave you all with this opening statement from the book:

THE WARRIOR'S CREED

-I will train with the utmost intensity, dedication, and desire.

-I will turn obstacles into opportunities to demonstrate my power and strength.

-No feat is beyond my reach; I will write my own destiny.

-The hell with genetics, I will determine my physical prowess and strength.

-I am an action taker, not an action faker.

-I am a leader, not a follower.

-There are no magic pills. My strength and power originate from my intensity and devotion.

-There are no shortcuts to the top. The warrior's journey is never ending. I will surge forward,
improving myself each day.

-I will rise to the top, overcome all obstacles, and destroy my enemies.

-Excuses are weak, warriors are strong. I am a warrior.

[Matt Thornton]

DAY 1 (83 days to go)

Weight: ~165
BF%: 12.7%

Diet
Breakfast: Mini wheats, unknown amount + skim milk (est. 400 calories)
Snack: Apple (est. 150 calories)
Lunch: Tuna with saturated fat free mayo and whole wheat tortilla (est. 300 calories)
Snack: 2 scoops/whey protein, balance bar, tuna (est. 500 calories)
During workout: Gatorade, watered down (125 calories)
Post workout: 1 scoop of whey protein
Snacked on a protein/oatmeal pancake
(est. 300-400 calories)

Total Calories: ~1775 - 1875 calories

Notes: I think I overate a little bit. I could've done without that pancake. It was worth it, though, because now I'll have a good breakfast for the next 2 or 3 days. The scale will tell me tomorrow if I ate too much. (Fingers are crossed). Tomorrow, and from now on, I'm going to be a little more exact with my calories. Almost everything I ate, I had a ballpark estimate for how many calories I took in. I also plan on monitoring carbs, protein, and fat closer, though I know my fat intake is very low, especially my saturated fat intake.

Training
MMA Sparring, 3 rounds of 2 minutes
Stand Up sparring, 3 fast paced rounds of 3 minutes
No Gi Rolling, 4 rounds of 3 minutes
No Gi BJJ class, ~1.5 hours

Estimated calories burned: Around 500

Notes: Refer to my supplement notes to see my problems with training today. However, I still feel like I burned a lot of energy. I can't really get exact with how many calories I'm burning, so like I said before, I'm going to have to go by what the scale tells me.

Supplements
Multivitamin, 1
Glucosamine Sulfate, 3 servings
HMB, 3 servings
NO-Xplode, 2 scoops

Notes: The HMB stacked with the NO-Xplode is definitely giving me results. I'm at the end of my jar of NO-Xplode, and today I just went back on my ADD medication: a very high dose of Concerta, which is a powerful stimulant. I took my normal 2 scoops of NO-Xplode without thinking, and the whole training session, I felt like I was on Ephedrine. My heart was jittery, my body temperature went WAY up, and I was getting short of breath. I'm almost done with this container, but when I go back to pre-workout stimulants in a month or so, I'm definitely going to reduce the dosage on days I take my meds.

[Ted-P]

You are gonna get burned out with this log.

Keep it short and simple.

[Frodo]

Nice log. Do you want to be a pro mma fighter? I wish I had the time and money to be as thorough as you. And the dedication. Gotta remember not to start trouble if you are around! ;-)

I try to keep my log detailed; although, I don't record all the data that you record. I mainly use my log as a reference for the things that I forget. So my goals may not coincide with your goals.

What kind of scale did you get for your birthday?

[Matt Thornton]

Originally Posted by Ted-P

You are gonna get burned out with this log.

Keep it short and simple.

Right. I was thinking it wouldn't be realistic to write in it like this every day. But for the first few entries, where I'm still working things out, I say why not.

[Matt Thornton]

Originally Posted by Frodo

Nice log. Do you want to be a pro mma fighter? I wish I had the time and money to be as thorough as you. And the dedication. Gotta remember not to start trouble if you are around! ;-)

I try to keep my log detailed; although, I don't record all the data that you record. I mainly use my log as a reference for the things that I forget. So my goals may not coincide with your goals.

What kind of scale did you get for your birthday?

Yes, I want to be a pro MMA fighter, preferably in Japan. I've never been athletic in my life, but I seem to have a natural knack for martial arts. All the guys in my gym are saying I'm going to be really good. I won't let it get to my head; I still train hard and demand that I get better.

Logs can't always be this detailed. Later in the week probably, I won't feel like writing this much. But just writing things like how I felt, etc., will give me reference so that I'll remember not to do things like take two scoops of NO-Xplode.

As far as time/money goes, I really have very little money. I'd love to be on all of the supplements I listed as my goals, but it's looking very unrealistic. I'm going to give L-Glutamine a trial run, and if I don't feel it doing anything for my recovery, I'll ditch it. Creatine mono is cheap enough to stay on, especially since I'll only be doing 5 grams a day. The HMB, I got for free. I'll only use Body Octane and Driven every month or two, and since I'm on ADD medication, I will have to use less Driven. I'm 17, so I still live at home obviously. My parents buy the Multivitamin, and they use the Glucosamine, and they don't care if I use it because I'm much more consistent with it than them. So all I'm really paying for is the L-Glutamine and Creatine. Oh, and the BCAAs, I'm going to drop for now. And as for the Whey protein, my boss/coach gave me two free tubs of protein because he's not using it. I won't have to buy more whey for a while.

For my birthday, I got a Tanita scale. I can't remember the model, but it's silver. I think they sell it on titleboxing.com. It's not the cheaper white one, but the silver one with "athlete" mode. Definitely worth the investment.

Thanks for your help/interest guys. Today I have a day off from school, so I'll be avoiding the kitchen, and there's a NASTY conditioning class tonight.

[Lusst]

Originally Posted by Ted-P

You are gonna get burned out with this log.

Keep it short and simple.

Hehe yeah, it gets harder and harder to add comments to your workouts. In a couple months, mine wont have shit on it except the liftt, set/rep scheme.

[Matt Thornton]

Day 2: April 4th (82 days to go)

Weight: ~164
BF%: 12.6% (perfect!)

Notes for this morning: Felt a little bit drained. Of course, that could be because I had somewhat of a late night and got up at 8:30. I'm feeling better as my food kicks in, though. I ended up losing exactly the BF% I wanted to.

Oh, for my goals last night, I forgot to mention. my stand-up sparring session went great. One thing I've needed to work on is my confidence with hands; I'd have a problem forcing myself to get in there and eat a couple of shots. By the 2nd round of sparring, I was getting so frustrated with my cowardice and the other guy's reach that I thought less about him hitting me and more about my shots getting through. It ended up being a GREAT last 2 rounds where I landed some good clean punches. I even landed a nice jump spinning back crescent kick that I saw Shogun do in sparring once.

Also, I'm proud to say that after 6 minutes of MMA sparring and 9 minutes of stand-up sparring, today I do not feel like I'm bruised beyond belief. I still have a horrible, horrible deep bruise on my right shin that has been there for over a month, but other than that my legs, body, etc. feel great. I'm finally toughening up to sparring.

IF YOU'RE HAVING THE SAME PROBLEMS AS ME WITH STAND UP: I asked my kickboxing coach to give me some tips. I was getting beat bad by my sparring partner in the punching range because of his reach on me. He told me before "use angles," but yesterday I asked him to elaborate. Here are some good tips he gave me:

1) Move in and jab. Because you're in that range, he needs to throw something at you or else he's just waiting for a follow-up. Whichever hand he throws, take a small step to the outside of his jab. (even if he throws a cross/straight, you're outside of his jab, so he won't hit you) You created a small angle, and if you're quick enough, you can send a couple straight shots down the pipe before he re-adjusts.

2) Move in and punch. As he starts throwing back, either rock back or step back a little, so that he overextends his punch. Take advantage of his mistake and catch him while he's open.

3) Set up your punches with kicks. I usually never do this, but it's not a bad idea. Simply throw a quick kick to his body or legs. If he defends, he's open for punches. If not, you just caught him with a kick.

All good things to think about. I effectively used #1 and #2, especially #2. The thing I've been working on is not coming straight in. You get predictable. Mix up your punches and angles.

Diet
Breakfast: 1 protein/oatmeal pancake and a couple of bites of oatmeal. (est. 300-400 calories)
Lunch: Natural peanut butter, all-fruit jelly, whole wheat tortilla - 300 calories exactly
Snack: Balance Bar - 210 calories exactly
During workout - Half a Gatorade - 60 calories
Post workout - 2 scoops/whey protein (240 calories)
Some Indian rice/bean meal, I'm estimating I ate about 500 calories worth

Total Caloric Intake: Est. 1710 calories

Diet notes: Felt damn good today. I wasn't feeling all that hungry during the day, so the nice part about that is I get to finish my day with a big meal that leaves me full. I'm hoping I estimated that Indian food correctly. My dad (who made it) gave me more than I asked for. Either way, I don't think I could have eaten over 1800 calories today.

Training
-Fucking hardcore circuit training workout with conditioning coach Mike Varner
-Light rope jumping and a short MMA class

Estimated calories burned: A lot. A lot a lot. Had to be around 500.

Notes: Training was great. The circuit training workout is a beast, but it's going to make a huge difference. My muscular and mental endurance absolutely soar from doing those workouts.

Supplements
-3 servings of HMB
-3 servings of Glucosamine
-2 scoops of NO-Xplode
-1 multivitamin

Supplement notes: I figured out a much better strategy for the NO-Xplode. I knew I was going to be doing 2 workouts, so I wanted the kick from 2 scoops, however, I wanted to avoid the heart-attack effects I was feeling yesterday. So, I took 1 scoop, but I mixed up another scoop and kept it nearby. Over the course of 1 hour, I would take sips from it. It gave me sustained energy without giving me jitters or causing stomach discomfort. From now on, this is how I'm going to take NO-Xplode.




Other notes: The protein pancakes I made are excellent. Like I mentioned in my intro, I think the key to staying on the diet is having "cheat" days without truly cheating. I know myself too well in that I know I won't stay on a diet consisting of endless amounts of protein shakes and tuna on wheat bread, when I'm with my teenager friends who trash their bodies with pizza and soda and cookies. (Love 'em as friends, but they treat their bodies like crap.) So, when I get cravings, or even better, before I even get cravings, I'll satisfy myself with healthy alternatives. Here's a makeshift recipe I used for making these pancakes:

**************************************** ************************
PROTEIN PANCAKE RECIPE FOR PEOPLE WHO HATE MATH
(don't expect any exact amounts here)

INGREDIENTS: -Whey protein (avoid Muscle Milk, I'll tell you why later)
-4 to 6 egg whites (optional)
-Oatmeal, not the instant kind (optional)
-Olive oil (to grease the pan)

1) Scoop any flavor of Whey into a mixing bowl, preferably chocolate or vanilla. I started with 4 scoops.

2) Put in about 4 egg whites.

3) Throw in about a cup of oatmeal.

4) Add water slowly to the mixture. If you add too much you're going to need a lot more of the other ingredients.

5) Stir the mixture until it has a batter-like consistency. If you find it's too soupy (this happened to me), continue adding more Whey protein and/or oatmeal to the mixture. This is where it stops getting exact.

6) Heat a pan up to whatever the hell heat you use for pancakes. Make sure the pan is greased well (I use olive oil; don't use butter), because these things will stick.

7) Spoon out the contents onto the pan, and make the pancakes relatively small. Too big and I find these things cook on the outside and still have raw egg and batter in the middle.

8) Flip when necessary, when they seem done, put them on a paper towel and dry them off (they have a little olive oil on them). You can eat one/some now, or you can wrap them up and zap them in the microwave whenever.

I don't have a caloric value for these things, so you're going to have to keep an eye on them when you're making them and judge for yourself. I recommend using the oatmeal, because it gives a good texture to the pancakes, and it gives you a good complex carb with your protein. Egg white protein is a great form of protein; it's kind of a median between casein (very slow burning) and whey (fast burning).
**************************************** *******************************

In the future I'll post up recipes for:
-Protein cookies (basically the same recipe as the pancakes
-Crust free cheesecake (using cottage cheese)
-"Natural" pizza (I've been eating this on pizza nights, EXCELLENT alternative)
-Anything else I come across

[Lusst]

Badass recipes man, thanks for those.