All posts by Kev Brock

I'm a musician, singer/songwriter, blogger, writer, poet, bodybuilder, movie lover, music lover, video gamer, history/political buff, conservative/republican, etc. I like to do a lot of things.
music

Eddie Van Halen makes public appearance at Tool concert in Los Angeles… turns out he is a huge fan of Tool…

Leave a comment

For a long while now, Eddie Van Halen, the iconic guitar virtuoso stayed out of the public eye and tried to lay low until now. Amidst reports of throat cancer, here is Eddie attending Tool’s concert in Los Angeles while on tour for their new album “Fear Inoculum”.

I remember in the past through interviews, Eddie kept saying he doesn’t listen to music and doesn’t keep up with the industry at all but it turns out Eddie is a huge fan of Tool. Eddie and his son Wolfgang both went to the band’s concert in Los Angeles.

Above is a pic of Eddie and Adam Jones hanging backstage at the show. There were reports saying that Eddie isn’t looking good and Alternative Nation website claims to have leaked a photo where Eddie isn’t look good but don’t believe any of that “click bait” shit.

Even if Eddie maybe battling throat cancer, he’s looking very good in the photo above and seems to be good spirits too, Eddie smiling and all.

Anyhow, here’s a funny story that Wolfgang shared when a Tool fan asks Eddie to take a pic of him with the stage behind him but when the fan asks Eddie to take a pic of him, he never realized the man taking the pic was Eddie Van Halen himself.

https://www.guitarworld.com/news/tool-fan-asks-fellow-gig-goer-to-take-his-picture-fails-to-realize-its-eddie-van-halen?fbclid=IwAR14gUpoYq_ViZW6xB72fSprZEZYaDqdWSbNQOd9GPbFftotAflcO2OauPM

Eddie seems like a good man in real life and it was cool of Eddie to take a pic of the Tool fan even though the fan didn’t even recognize Eddie.

It really does seem like people totally have forgotten who Van Halen were. I remember the video when David Lee Roth tried to crash a bachelor party at a hotel and the guys in the party didn’t even recognize him. Same thing happened here when the fan didn’t recognize Eddie.

I don’t blame the band for no longer getting recognized anymore. Blame the music industry for ignoring rock n’ roll. Nowadays, it’s hard for any rock and metal band to get recognized when this young generation is still so hung up on pop, country and rap music.

Kev

 

Health and Fitness

Should I get a powerlifting coach or a lifting partner when it comes to powerlifting training??? Yes, I should lift with someone…

Leave a comment

I already do have a few powerlifting coaches/partners but they live all the way out in Albany so they only coach me “part-time”. For now, I try to coach myself in powerlifting. For the big three lifts, I learn my form by watching powerlifting youtube videos online through youtube channels such as Mark Rippetoe, Alan Thrall, Omar Isuf, Silent Mike, Mark Bell, Jonnie Candito and all those powerlifting guys that teach you online. That’s how I taught myself in powerlifting pretty much.

My powerlifting friends that live out in Albany also taught me a lot.

While all this is good; however, I do want to get a powerlifting coach and lifting partner of my own. I should really find other local powerlifting friends that can help me even more and I’m gonna try. While some people say my form is good on the big three lifts: the deadlift, the squat and the bench… I feel that my form is not all the way perfect 100% but I’m still trying.

The squat is my least favorite lift of the big three ’cause it’s so challenging to get depth right but I’m getting the hang of it and getting better, though. To get depth right for the USAPL, the hip crease joint needs to be lower than the top of the knee and I’ve been trying to get that. I can get that easily with the lighter weights but when the squats get heavy,  it’s challenging to get depth right. I think the squat is the most challenging of the big three, it really is.

I would like an experienced coach or a lifting partner so they can help me perfect my form on the squat. I also could use more help on building strength faster and so my numbers can go up quicker. Some people say it’s impossible for numbers to go up quicker and build super human strength faster but it is possible. Just need to stay consistent and there are some tricks out there.

I really shouldn’t train powerlifting all by myself ’cause I think it would be fun to train with other people. At my local gym at the Battenkill YMCA in Greenwich, I’m always seeing guys doing the big three lifts there all the time: squat, bench and deadlift. Each time I see those guys do those lifts, I keep asking myself: “Are these guys competitive powerlifters?” They may be and it don’t hurt for me to ask them next time I see them and I could ask them to be my coach/partner. Don’t hurt to try.

If I want to become a great powerlifter… become one of the bests, a powerlifting coach with experience would help. I just gotta ask around. Talk with other powerlifters and meet other lifters and who knows what might happen. I gotta network more in the powerlifting community and I have been. Gotta get yourself out there and get yourself known in the community.

I’ll find somebody hopefully and gonna try. I wouldn’t mind paying them either if that’s what it’s gonna take.

Kev

movies

Martin Scorsese is in a backlash by saying Marvel films or superhero films of any kind are like “theme parks than true cinema”… do I agree with him? He’s not wrong…

Leave a comment

Martin Scorsese who is a legendary film maker and still is making movies today is in a lot of trouble over comments he made about Marvel films and superhero films. While promoting his first Netflix movie, “The Irishmen”, he said some things about Marvel that set off a firestorm of movie fans. Movie fans online have been bashing him like crazy for it.

What Scorsese said about Marvel films, he said he tried to watch ’em but he can’t ’cause to him they feel like “theme parks” and not true cinema. He also feels that stuff isn’t what young people of today shouldn’t be watching.

https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/martin-scorsese-marvel-criticism-james-gunn

At first I was a little angry with him on that and started to piss me off but after thinking about it a while long and hard, he is right. He is dead on pretty much. In his defense, I think what he’s thinking is that when you see a Marvel movie, it feels like a theme park ’cause of all the CGI in these movies and all of these Marvel superhero costumes seem like they’re “theme-park” like. Kind of like when you go to Universal Studios, Sea World, Sixx Flags and Disney World… that’s what you’re seeing in Marvel movies, ya know. That’s kind of what Martin is saying.

He also brings up a valid point that Hollywood doesn’t know what true cinema is anymore. I think what Martin is saying is that he doesn’t want kids today watching these “theme-park” like movies. Superhero movies are getting old and tiresome and I hear him. He’s totally right.

Why won’t kids watch true cinema like in the old days with the “Godfather Trilogy” and I’m sure kids today haven’t even heard of those. Why won’t kids watch movies like “Casablanca”, “Citizen Kane” or any Orsen Welles and Humphrey Bogart film. What about true cinema like the old Clint Eastwood westerns, old John Wayne flicks like “True Grit” and Marilyn Monroe films. How come Hollywood isn’t making movies like those anymore? Instead we’re getting too much CGI crap and too much action movies with no story. We want Hollywood making serious movies again which we haven’t had in a long time. When Hollywood does make a serious movie, it only gets put in selected theaters… not being played everywhere like the old days. It’s always the big CGI action movies that gets played everywhere and marketed heavily. It’s tiresome.

I like superhero movies too, though… some of them are pretty cool but it is getting out of control. Hollywood needs to settle down on that stuff. I wanna see movies with good storytelling and that’s what we’re missing. Everybody’s obsessed with CGI and popcorn flicks nowadays. It’s terrible.

Kev

Health and Fitness

Think I may as well join the USAPL after all… I might do my first USAPL meet in January…

Leave a comment

I think next month, I’n definitely gonna become a USAPL member ’cause I’m already planning to do my first USAPL meet after all.

To sign up for the USAPL, it’s gonna cost me $65 since I’m an over 40 lifter, I’m gonna be competing in the Masters division.

https://www.usapowerlifting.com/member-tools/membership.php

There’s a powerlifting event coming up in Jan. in Loudonville called, “The Northeast IronBeast”, I’m planning to do their full meet which will cost me $95.

https://northeast-iron-beast-powerlifting.blogspot.com/p/usa-powerlifting-northeast-iron-beast.html?fbclid=IwAR0qhPLSJnTN82Gd4B77swWqn7dG8vdbTW4PREtu5zCGy5xpdCXUIvMSGcA

My numbers in bench, deadlift and squat could be up a little higher but this meet will give me plenty of time to bring them up.

I know I said I wasn’t gonna be ready for USAPL but maybe I should give it a shot? I want to experience my first USAPL meet to see what it’s like. I should give it a go. It be kind of cool to win some extra cash anyways.

Plus, I love the sport of powerlifting. I just like going to them. Not just to compete myself but also to watch other lifters ’cause it’s a blast. I think the Northeast IronBeast would be a good opportunity for my first USAPL meet. It’s going to be pretty pricey, yes but it’ll be worth it.

I have friends that are powerlifters that are going to do this meet and I think I’m gonna do it with them. It’ll be fun.

Kev

 

 

Health and Fitness

Debate: To be one of the greatest powerlifters of all time, do you need to be a fat ass? Um no! Absolutely not!!!

Leave a comment

People in the powerlifting community like to argue that you need to be a fat ass and overweight in powerlifting in order to lift the big numbers. Is that always true? No. Not really.

From what I’ve seen in powerlifting over the last few years is that powerlifters come in all shapes and sizes from skinny to muscular to very overweight people.

In the past, it used to be that powerlifting was for fat asses only but I think bodybuilders have picked up on powerlifting over the years. I’ve noticed that powerlifting has become extremely popular in the bodybuilding world. More and more people with bodybuilder like physiques has been competing for powerlifting.

What will it take to get people to realize that powerlifting isn’t just for fat asses? If Russell Orhii isn’t good enough to prove that then I don’t know what to say. Russell Orhii is a young black dude as you can see in the video above and if you look him up in youtube, you’ll see that he has a great bodybuilding physique. A bodybuilder that is into powerlifting.

Some say bodybuilders can’t lift the huge numbers in powerlifting. Um, please. Of course they can! Don’t you know that hypertrophy like training style like lifting in between the rep rages of 8 – 12 can build you pretty good strength? Yes. Building muscle on every body part can build you pretty good strength. A lot of powerlifters out there refuses to train like a bodybuilder still and I do both. I want to get huge someday but I’m not gonna be “fat” huge, I wanna be “muscular” huge if that makes sense. Even if I’m a powerlifter now, I still train like a bodybuilder. I can’t ignore hypertrophy training. A lot of powerlifters don’t want to admit that hypertrophy training and building muscle can be useful for strength training. You don’t want to do heavy sets and few reps all the time.

I do want to become a great powerlifter someday but I’m not gonna stuff my face with a lot of calories and gain a lot of bodyfat… no freakin’ way. I’m gonna continue to build muscle to get strong. On chest day, I do heavy sets and few reps on bench but I do hypertrophy on everything else. Hypertrophy can’t be ignored. A huge chest will help get you bigger numbers on bench.

Anyhow, watch Russell Orhii’s attempts at the RAW Nationals from over the weekend. Although he was slightly disappointing, I thought he did great. This dude is gaining my respect. I’m a huge fan of Russell. I hope to meet that dude in person someday.

Kev

Health and Fitness

Think I need a break from deadlifting, squatting and quad lifting until my minor leg injury heals all the way… yep, still got it…

Leave a comment

Yup, like the title says I think I need a little break from deadlifting, squatting and training the quads completely until my minor left leg injury heals completely. Both of my quads are completely fine, though. I think what’s hurt is my left hip flexor is what they call it. The upper thigh area on the left leg, that’s the hip flexor I think. The injury is not superbad, I’m good enough to walk around and move but I should have gave it a lot more time off. Starting this week, no deadlifting, no squatting at the squat rack and no quad training of any kind until my leg injury heals all the way. It’ll probably take two or three weeks or a little more.

I can still train the lower body when it comes to leg day, though. I can still train the calves and the hamstrings but not the quads.

My left shoulder weakness is gone, my left shoulder is 100% good so now I’m back to regular heavy lifting on the upper body… but the lower body I need to settle down for a while again. I’ll take time off of training the quads until it heals 100%.

The human body is weird, ya know? At one point, you think the injury is gone and once you get back to lifting heavy, you get it back. I should have waited a lot longer and I will this time. Still have it a little bit but not terribly bad. I just want it gone completely so I can get back to heavy deadlifting again.

Injuries are frustrating and annoying but I do get ’em admittedly. Once in a blue moon, that happens. I just don’t panic. Keep staying positive and just keep moving, staying active. That’s what you want to do. When you’re injured from the gym, you shouldn’t be lazy and be bed ridden ’cause of it. You gotta keep moving and keep going about your day ’cause that helps heals the injury too.

I don’t go to the doctor ’cause all they’re going to do is give me orders to stay out of the gym and I can’t do that. There are ways to work around injuries. You can either train light weights or not train the hurt part at all. I’d suggest not training the hurt part and that’s what I’m gonna do. Like I said in the past, you want injuries to go away faster, gotta stop putting weight on it and I’m gonna do just that. The reason I had it for a long while ’cause I keep putting weight on it by continuing to workout through it and I gotta stop that but deadlifting is addicting, though. No more of that for a while.

It’s okay to take time off from barbell training once in a blue moon but the only reason you should take time off is when you’re either injured or sick. Don’t take time off from barbell training just because you feel like it and want to slack off from the gym.

I might be doing another powerlifting meet at the Wilton YMCA ’cause there’s another one of those in Nov. and I want to be completely injury free for this one. I didn’t hear anything new from Albany Strength so I think I might be doing the YMCA meet instead.

I love powerlifting. It’s an amazing sport and you can’t keep training through injuries even minor ones. Gotta stop that. If you want to smash your big lifts, gotta be completely injury free 100%.

Kev

 

Health and Fitness

Full body fitness progress pics… Enjoy!!!

Leave a comment

I thought I would finally show off my full body fitness and bodybuilding progress. Click through the 4 pics in my Instagram pics above and you’ll see I don’t skip leg day. After a little over 10 years of bodybuilding, I never really showed off my lower body work until now.

Admittedly, I was a little nervous posting these pics since I’m wearing nothing but boxer briefs but turns out people had no problem with them and they’re getting some pretty positive feedback on my physique which feels good.

This is what over 10 years in the gym, looks like y’all. It may not look much but hey, maybe muscle building is a slow process but I think I look pretty damn decent here. I finally got the “bodybuilder” look that I wanted.

I posed in boxer briefs ’cause that’s the only type of underwear that I have. Would I ever pose in bodybuilding trunks or speedos so I can show off my FULL leg work from top to bottom? Yes I would! Like the instagram post says, that’s what bodybuilding is here for so you can show off your hard work in the gym.

Yeah, yeah, yeah… some assholes out there will look at my pics and may think I’m some sort of ego-driven attention whore but fuck ’em, ya know? I’m sure some are gonna make fun of me but once again, fuck ’em. I’m not upset with critics and trolls anymore like I used to be. If you’re getting critics making fun of your bodybuilding goals then chances are they are probably a fat fuck or a skinny person with no muscle that is jealous of you so pay no mind to ’em.

Bodybuilding is a journey and a lifestyle. You should be able to show off what you got and there’s nothing wrong with it.

Enjoy the pics. I love what I do.

Kev

Health and Fitness

Will I ever join the USAPL so I can do their local and national meets??? Yes, I plan to do that sometime in the future but not right now…

Leave a comment

Since I’ve been getting serious in the sport of powerlifting lately, some of you may ask, will I ever join the USA Powerlifting (aka USAPL) so I can start doing their local and national meets? I have powerlifting friends who are USAPL members and they do USAPL meets all the time. That’s how I got into powerlifting ’cause of them, they were my inspiration of getting into this

I was watching USAPL RAW Nationals live on youtube most of the day yesterday ’cause one of my powerlifting friends from NY was competing in Chicago for the RAW Nationals so I watched him on there. I also watched the RAW Nationals at night so I can watch Jonnie Candito and Russell Orhii compete. Candito and Orhii are two well-known powerlifters with their own youtube channels. I watched both of those guys compete on the live stream on youtube last night. Orhii was kind of disappointing but Jonnie Candito killed it, though.

I like to watch live powerlifting meets online all the time ’cause 1) It’s a blast to watch other lifters compete and 2) I use it a way to educate myself about powerlifting.

Someday I’m gonna sign up for the USAPL so I can start doing their local, state and RAW nationals meets. I think the USAPL would be good for me but I’m not ready for this yet. Why? It’s because I’m going to wait until I start hitting the bigger weights. When I feel that I’m good enough for certain numbers that I want that would be good enough for USAPL, I’ll start thinking about becoming a member.

For right now, my numbers for deadlift is about 290 – 300 lbs, bench is about 155 – 165 lbs, and squat is about 135 – 155 lbs. I feel those numbers aren’t good enough for USAPL, yet. When I start getting over 300 lbs. for deadlift and over 200 lbs. for bench and squat, I’ll start thinking about signing up for USAPL. For now, I’m not ready.

As of this moment, I’ll just stick with the smaller local meets like at Albany Strength and the Wilton YMCA.

My goal and my dream that I want to achieve in powerlifting is that I hope to become one of the greats someday. I do want to become the next Russell Orhii, Ray Williams, Ed Coan and Jonnie Candito someday down the road. I’m just not gonna rush and take my time. Be patience. Don’t want to get too ahead of myself.

Someday, I do want to compete on the bigger meets like the RAW Nationals Prime Time. One of these days, I’ll make it on there. I want to become a great powerlifter someday and there’s nothing wrong with having that goal. I feel that I already am killing it in powerlifting and already off to a great start.

I do love the sport, though and plan to stick with it for a very long time. The RAW Nationals in Chicago is gonna be happening all weekend so I’m gonna be watching a lot of it. Not only do I love to compete in powerlifting myself, it’s also a blast watching other lifters do their thing. Powerlifting is an inspiring sport, love it so much.

Some of you may tell me, “But Kev, you’re getting too old for powerlifting”. Nope. Age is just a number. It’s never too late to get into powerlifting. I mean, yesterday morning, I was watching the RAW Nationals and I’ve been seeing all kinds of middle aged men competing who are from the 50’s – 70’s age ranges or older. Those guys were lifting over 500 lbs., it was unbelievable seeing all that. If they can do it so can I. I’m only 42 now and soon to be 43 in December so I’m still pretty young but I can see myself doing this when I’m 70. If you want to lift heavy weights, age doesn’t matter. I’ll be a powerlifter until the day I die, I think… I don’t think I’ll ever give it up.

Kev

movies

Matt Reeves “The Batman” and starring Robert Pattinson and Zoe Kravitz sounds more intriguing the more I hear about it!!!

Leave a comment

Some of you probably wanna know my thoughts about Matt Reeves “The Batman” starring Robert Pattinson and new cast member Zoe Kravitz who just got signed to play the new Selina Kyle/Catwoman. I’m a die-hard Batman fan. I love the big screen movies, love the comics and I love the animated series and animated films as well. I just love anything Batman ’cause I just love the character and the stories.

From what I’m hearing about Matt Reeves “The Batman”…. oh man, it sounds more intriguing the more I hear about it. The thing with “The Batman” they are planning is that it’s not going to be a typical origin story that we’ve already seen so many times. I’ve read this movie is going to be set in the 90’s and will focus on a much younger Bruce Wayne/Batman and in my opinion, I think Robert Pattinson is a great choice. A lot of people are skeptical of the idea since Pattinson’s history with the Twilight films but I think he will make a great Batman. Some maybe skeptical now but wait until the actual movie comes out and give him a chance. I predict Pattinson is gonna knock that role out of the park and kill it! We still haven’t seen what Pattinson is gonna look like in the bat cowl but I’m sure they’re gonna give us our first look at the new Batman soon.

I’m also hearing stuff about that “The Batman” movie is gonna focus more on a detective story and that’s what’s got me sold on it completely. That’s one thing that Batman has been missing for years… the detective part of things which is what Batman is supposed to be… a detective. All those live action Batman movies over the years… the Tim Burton films, the Schumacher films, the Christopher Nolan trilogy and the Zack Snyder Batman… they are all big action flicks and Batman was a crime fighter in all those movies, not the detective.

In the comics and graphic novels, Batman was a detective in most of ’em. Batman was also a detective in those Arkham video games by Rock Steady. I love the detective stories in Batman and it’s finally time to bring those to the big screen and I applaud Matt Reeves for that. In Matt Reeves “The Batman”, I’m sure  there will be some violence and action scenes but I hear it’s going to mostly focus on story.

I also hear the film is going to feature more than one villain and it’s probably gonna feature everybody. Penguin and the Riddler hasn’t been casted yet but if they’re going to use those characters for the film, I’d suggest they get Robin Lord Taylor for Penguin and Cory Michael Smith for The Riddler… actors who played those characters from the “Gotham” TV show on FOX. Robin Taylor as the Penguin and Cory Smith as The Riddler… oh god, those guys played those characters so well. They made a perfect Penguin and Riddler and I hope Matt Reeves will get those guys for “The Batman”. I doubt it but ya never know. I love the “Gotham” TV show on FOX as I’ve been watching it on Netflix a lot and I’ve been watching Season 4. Only 5 seasons of that show and trying to catch up to the very end of the show.

Back to “The Batman” being a detective story, like I said I love the idea and this movie needs to be a who-dun-it kind of thing. Will it be a murder mystery? Probably.

I wonder who’s going to play the rest of the characters??? They still need to cast a new Alfred Pennyworth, Lucius Fox and they need to cast Harvey Dent if they’re going to use him.

As far as other villains go…. I hope they use Dr. Hugo Strange, Killer Croc, Pyg, Hush, Two Face (Harvey Dent), Ra’s Al Ghul and Deadshot. This film will try to fit all the villains in one film. That’s the goal I think?

This film is looking to be like a trilogy of some sorts so it’s not gonna be a one-off. If this film turns out be a hit then there will probably be more.

Another question you have to ask is will I go see “The Joker” movie with Joaquin Phoenix? I’m hoping to see it and I’m gonna try to see it before it stops playing. I think it’s gonna be in the theater for a long while since it’s a box office hit. I do want to see it, though and it looks good.

Kev

Health and Fitness

Bench press doesn’t give you chest gains, hey??? That’s not what I’ve been experiencing…

Leave a comment

There are a lot of bench press critics out there and I can’t understand why. Many aren’t fans of the flat barbell bench ’cause they claim it doesn’t give you big gains but that’s not what I’ve been experiencing. The bench seems to be helping me pretty good as you can see here. Starting to get the look that I want ’cause of it. I am feeling my pecs getting bigger week after week.

When I first started bodybuilding, I was struggling to grow my chest. I didn’t have much pecs at all in the past but lately, I finally started to figure it out. I feel it’s important to do other chest exercises other than the flat bench.

I’ve learned that you gotta do both the pushing and squeezing movements. I’ve also learned that you gotta get a full contraction by squeezing the chest hard at the top which I’ve also been doing. I’ve also been doing the incline barbell bench, dumbbell flies on bench, dumbbell press on bench, cable crossovers and started doing dips. All that seems to be helping me greatly.

Doing heavy bench press around the 1 – 5 rep ranges seems to be helping too. Some say that doing heavy sets and few reps is only for strength building yes but it can build muscle too, of course.

Don’t listen to bench press critics ’cause they’re all full of it, in my opinion. I think it’s one of the best chest exercises ever and they don’t call the bench the king of all workouts for no reason.

I do want to get giant pecs but that’s gonna take some more time and I’m not gonna rush. Just be patience and keep working for it. I’m finally starting to get that “bodybuilder” look which is what I was after all along.

I did all of this by myself… with no personal trainer and no workout partner. I never used steroids either and no supplement products at all. Just good eating, staying dedicated and consistent. You stay dedicated and consistent, you’ll reach your goals that you want.

I look pretty good here but still got a lot of work to do and I’ll always have a lot of work to do. Even though I consider myself a powerlifter now, I still train like a bodybuilder. I can’t give bodybuilding up. I do both powerlifting and bodybuilding.

Kev