I'm Here to PUMP.... Me Up?

I've always been a small framed person.  Growing up I had to fend for myself many times for food around the house and I learned to eat small portions throughout the day.  Not even knowing that apparently that is the healthiest way to be, but it doesn't do anything in the weight room.

As a freshman in highschool I was laughed at for doing only 95 lbs on the bench press and I swore that by the time the semester was over that I would bench over 200 lbs.  Sure enough by January (about 4 months) I went up to 205.  Again my body didn't change much.  Even after highschool I had a hard time gaining weight. 

In 2006 I got sick for a few weeks and lost around 10-15 lbs.  I was down to 118 lbs at 5'8.  Needless to say I looked pretty thin.  After seeing a photo of me that year with family members I quickly came to the conclustion that I needed to bulk up.  So for my birthday that year I hired a personal trainer for a month and learned the ropes.  I was eating like a horse (about 2500 calories and 150 grams of protein a day).  Protein shakes and bars were a normal thing for me and in 3 months I was up to 145 lbs and looked cut. 

Problem with that is it took effort to eat that much all the time.  I was so used to living on maybe 1000 or so calories a day.  So after 3 months I went back to my normal eating habits and stopped working out for awhile.  Within 6 months I was back down to 125 lbs.  In 2007 around my birthday I decided to start bulking up again with similar results.  And for the next few years this became a routine for me.  Work hard for 3 months at the gym while eating then taking the rest of the year off.

This time around I started in December 2010 and was still at 134.  Not a bad starter compared to before.  For 2 weeks I ate everything in site (3000 calories a day and 160 grams of protein).  I gained 7 lbs quick.  I then took the holiday break off and just this past week decided to keep it going for 3 more months.  This time, I want to get bigger and nicely cut.

For anyone interested, I always work out naturally.  No pills at all.  The only thing I take is creatine for helping my workouts last longer and protein shakes and bars.  I only take those on my workout days.  This time around I am also varying up my workouts to 4 days a week.  I may add a 5th day after a month or so.

Funny thing is when I leave the gym my arms and chest are PUMPED.  It's a MAN chest (for me) and I love it.  But by the next day it goes back down.  I want that pumped look everyday if possible.  So I think this blog is simply to keep me motivated to working out and eating for the next 3 months.  So far it has been 4 workout days down and 44 more to go.  Hopefully I can keep it going for 6 months this time (which would be a record for me).

Here's to being ripped and staying thin in 2011.