My bodyfat definitely’s gotta be pretty low by now. I’m seeing visible abs, visible chest pecs and my arms are getting pretty veiny. Feels real good. I haven’t measured my bodyfat percentage but I’m going to look into doing that soon. There’s a friend of mine who’s a personal trainer at the gym I go to and I’ll probably get her to do it for me ’cause I’m dying to see where my bodyfat percentage is right now. Last time I measured it was about 16% but that was a long time ago when I first started bodybuilding. I haven’t measured my bodyfat in a long long time and I want to get it done again just to see where it’s at. I’m predicting my bodyfat would be around 10% -14% around there. Maybe I’m even below 10% right now, you just never know. I think I pretty much have a good six pack going which was the goal.

I could get lower in bodyfat, though and I’m working on it. I just made my nutrition a lot more strict again. To lower bodyfat isn’t hard. All you gotta do is eliminate all sugary drinks, eliminate alcohol and just drink water only. I’m going to do just that from now on and avoid Gatorade drinks completely. I’ve also been eating high protein and low carb stuff; however, you don’t wan to avoid carbs completely. You still gotta have complex-carbs like fruits and vegetables. You gotta have your whole wheat too and I get the whole wheat mostly from oatmeal and 100% natural bread which is the only bread I eat (I avoid white bread like the plague, trust me). You gotta have good fats too like natural peanut butter, peanuts like almonds and things like that. I’ve been avoiding ice cream more at least I’m trying to but going to avoid it completely now I think. I love ice cream, I have it as a cheat meal once in a while now but I’m going to ditch it completely, I think.

I’ve also been doing a lot more exercising at the gym than weight training. I’ve been doing yoga, stretching exercises, cardio like the treadmill and elliptical machine. I do a lot of bike riding but I think I’m going to start walking everyday ’cause that would help. Even through the fall and winter, I’m going to start walking outside every day. If it’s too cold out then I’ll go to the gym to do treadmill or elliptical. I already do a lot of walking but I think I’m going to do it everyday, I think.

I’m working very hard to become the best shape of my life and just about there, I think. Got more work to do and I’m working on it. Building muscle and losing fat is my goal.

When it comes to nutrition, I’m not going vegan, I’m not doing keto diets, I’m not doing weightwatchers and all that garbage. You don’t need to pay a lot of money for food to get in shape. I keep my healthy nutrition very simple. I’m not a recipe kind of guy where people make silly things like protein cakes, protein pies and protein brownies and all that crap. You get my point?

I’m the kind of guy who wants to stay in shape all year round. I’m not the bulk and cutting guy like a lot of bodybuilders are nowadays. I don’t want to go through that method.

I love working out. It’s my 2nd passion other than music. It’s nice to get all of this positive feedback of what I do. When you get a built and jacked physique and successful at your goals then you need to stay humble about it. There’s no reason to go around acting like you’re a tough guy ’cause you’re jacked, ya know? There’s so many bodybuilders out there with a cocky attitude just because they’re jacked. That’s not me. Just be humble, stay cool and not take yourself so seriously.

I have more workout videos on my Instagram page if you’re interested in seeing them. Enjoy:

https://www.instagram.com/kevbrockmusic/

Kev

Why is it I’m able to deadlift heavy all of a sudden? It’s simply because maybe I already do have strong and big quads! I was looking for deadlifting videos in youtube and came across this excellent video by Jeff Cavaliere who owns the AthleanX youtube channel which is really great.

This guy describes that the deadlift and leg press are both pretty much the same thing which is pretty much true really. The deadlift is a pushing exercise and you use your legs to help push the bar off the floor when doing the deadlift which is pretty similar to the leg press. In reality, the deadlift is a leg press workout. I have noticed that the deadlift is a lot of leg work, though. Yep, so this is why I’m able to deadlift heavy ’cause my legs were already pretty strong.

For the past 10 years or so I’ve been working out, I’ve been doing a lot of leg workouts which was how I was able to get more strength on my legs. Plus doing a lot of cardio over the years… running, jogging, walking and biking will all help me get strength in my legs too.

Ya know, now that I think about it, maybe I shouldn’t give up the leg press at all ’cause it can be pretty useful for deadlifting and squats. I probably won’t ditch the leg press at all then… just gotta correct my form and I’ll probably lift lighter weights on the leg press next time I do leg day this week.

Ya know, I can’t tell my own strength and I even surprise myself when I found out that I could deadlift a whopping 200 lbs. which was incredible. I thought to myself, “If I can deadlift heavy then I could probably squat heavy”. The heaviest I can go on squat for now is 105 lbs. for one rep which is pretty good for someone who is just starting out squatting. I still need to get the form on squats right too and I’m learning. Doing research and studying.

Kev

Ya know, after thinking about trying to work on my form for leg press, I’m thinking of ditching that workout completely. I don’t really need to do barbell squats and leg press on the same leg day. I’ve been noticing that doing both is too much for the quads, ya know? I’ve been reading bodybuilding and fitness forums online and many lifters say that you should do both squats and leg press. I disagree.

If you think about it since I’m gonna do deadlift and barbell squats full time that’s good enough for the legs. Doing research on deadlift, I’ve read that the deadlift targets muscles on the whole body pretty much including the quads and hamstrings. All the leg press targets is mostly the quads and some hamstring, that’s about it. I was never a big fan of the leg press anyways so I’m thinking of ditching it from my leg day routine and just do squats and deadlifts from now on. Both squats and deadlifts work the quads pretty good. Doing squats, deadlifts and leg press all at once… oh man, that’s gonna make your legs really sore all week and my legs are pretty sore right now. Another thing, I think doing too much to your quads is a bit overkill and over training, in my opinion and won’t give you enough growth. So again, doing deadlifts and squats is good enough for my leg work.

Not sure if I’ll give up the leg press for good, I’m only thinking about it. I’m probably gonna end up doing it ’cause I’m afraid doing leg press will weaken my squat work. I think I’ll definitely get way more strength doing squats if I ditch the leg press. I want to get more leg definition and get bigger quads and the squats will do that to you. I’ve also read doing research about squats is that squats also works out the entire body just like the deadlift. Squats and the deadlift are both compound exercises so that means they’re gonna target more than one body part.

It’s interesting. In the past, I was gonna avoid benching, squats and deadlifts but now I’m getting into all three full time for powerlifting competitions. I can lift heavy on deadlift but not yet a heavy lifter on bench and squats but working on it. For bench and squats I can only do 70 lbs. for 4 sets and 10 reps each both exercises, the deadlift I can lift heavier for whatever reason. I used to not be a fan of these workouts but I’ve grown into loving them now.

Thank god my hometown of Greenwich has a gym that allows benching, squats and deadlifting thanks to the Battenkill YMCA. There used to be a different bodybuilding gym that I used to go to in Greenwich before the Battenkill Y but then the YMCA took the other place out.

I want to get more strength and get bigger in size. I think benching, deadlifting and squatting will all help me greatly. Free weights is definitely the way to go… fuck the machines. When I first started lifting, I started out using machines then I made my way to barbells and dumbbells which is what I prefer more.

Kev

A lot of people assume that dead-lifting is a dangerous workout; mostly people who don’t workout or newbies believe that. Dead-lifting is not dangerous at all… as long as you do them correctly and responsibly, dead-lifts can be very easy and safe. I think dead-lift is the easiest workout in the gym ’cause all you do is pick the bar up off the floor, that’s it!

A lot of people are scared to do dead-lifts for whatever reason even I’m guilty of that admittedly. Doing my very first powerlifting competition in dead-lifting gave me a lot more confidence in dead-lift and I’m going to stick with dead-lift for a pretty long time… probably for the rest of my life.

Dead-lifting can have many great benefits like if you want sexy legs and a sexy ass, the dead-lift will do that to ya. Dead-lift can also reduce and prevent lower back pain. The dead-lift can be VERY GOOD for the back. It’s not bad for the back like some assume. Dead-lift not only works out the lower body, it can workout the entire body pretty much. It can also be the best fat burner exercise too.

The dead-lift can also help you in real-life situations outside of the gym for example you can help people move heavy furniture, do heavy lifting at your job and things thing like that.

Check out this interesting article here:

http://www.justinkavanaghfitness.com/20-benefits-of-deadlifts-you-probably-never-knew/

Some people will get all worried and stuff about you dead-lifting when they shouldn’t. Dead-lifting is the most easiest and safest workout there is, in my opinion.

Another great benefit that the dead-lift can give ya is that it helps give you more strength for other workouts too for example the bench press and squats. Doing dead-lift could help you bench and squat a little heavier the same for every other exercise in the gym.

Dead-lifting is also the best stress reliever exercise there is, in my opinion. For some reason, each time I dead-lift, I feel real good after that. It does make you a happier person and helps gets things off of your system.

You guys out there want to look great wearing tight jeans and attract the ladies, the dead-lift will do that. You want to look sexy wearing nothing but underwear or boxer shorts… again, the dead-lift. That’s another reason why I want to get into dead-lifting and squatting full-time so I can improve my lower body.

I’m sure bench press and squats have some great benefits too and I’m about to look them up.

Kev

Just hit the gym first thing early this morning to get back day out of the way. That means it’s dead-lifting day ’cause I do dead-lifting on back day. Here is me in my latest dead-lifting video attempting to do a 200 lbs. dead-lift which was a success as you can see. I thought to myself, “As long as I can dead-lift 190 lbs. easily then why not add another ten?”. So I did just that and it was a piece of cake.

I did pretty good in the form in this one except I could keep the bar a little straighter but other than that, pretty damn good

I’m gonna stick with 200 lbs. as my personal record for a while. Not gonna go above that for a long while. That felt pretty damn good, though.

I never thought I would be a 200 lb. lifter but ya never know, just gotta give it a try. If you can’t lift a heavy dead-lift then don’t do it. That’s gonna be my rule in power-lifting, same for bench and squats.

For bench and squats, I can’t do 200 lbs. yet but gonna make my way there but very slowly. Don’t wanna rush.

Kev

Earlier this morning at the gym was chest day and I mostly did barbell work for chest. For bench press, I did 70 lbs. for 3 sets and 8 reps each and did one more set for 95 lbs. and one rep. Then I did incline bench for 30 lbs. for 4 sets and 12 reps each. For the bench, I’m training for powerlifting meets and trying to build more strength so to build more strength on that, I just do 3 sets of regular lifting and do 1 rep of heavy lifting to see what my latest personal record is. For now I’m going to stick with 95 lbs. on the bench for a bit before I hit the big 100. I tried the big 100 lbs. just last week but failed that rep so I got a little more work to do. Maybe I’ll try the 100 lbs. next week. I’ll give it a go.

I am liking benching more and more. It’s not that bad really. My goal one day is to hopefully become a super heavy lifter but I’m not gonna rush and take my slow time. That’s how you wanna do it, ya know? So many guys in the gym are in such a rush to lift heavy when they shouldn’t. I know you guys wanna feel tough and feel strong in the gym but you could risk injury the more your ego gets so big.

Next week, I’m going to do something a little different when benching. I’m going to start doing 5 sets of benching every week. First four sets will be regular bodybulding lifts and the final set will be 1 heavy one for powerlifting. That’s how I’m going to do things every week from now on. That’ll be my secret for building strength. Benching is pretty awesome ’cause I do notice more strength the more I do it. If I want to get bigger chest results then bench is the probably the best way to go. If I want to get big pecs like Arnold’s earlier days and pecs like those wrestlers you see on TV, I should stick with benching full time. Yeah, I really want a big muscular look. Get big like those dudes you see in action movies and in pro wrestling. A lot of people think it’s impossible to get that look without steroids but I disagree. It is definitely possible to get that look naturally. As long as you work hard (meaning work out with extreme intensity), eat right, don’t give up… you can easily get a body like Hulk Hogan, Dave Bautista and even Brock Lesnar. That’s the kind of look I’m trying to go for. I feel like I already got that look sort of but I got lots of work to do still. I like what I see so far, though.

It’s part of why I got into powerlifting ’cause it can be pretty useful for my regular bodybuilding too. As far as weightlifting  goes, will I get into Olympic lifting? Ya know, the clean and jerk movement they do? No way.  I don’t think I’ll ever do the Olympic clean and jerk lift. I’m just gonna stick with bench, deadlift and squat. I’m gonna stick with powerlifting, not Olympic lifting ’cause I never want to be an Olympic lifter.

It’s funny ’cause I was never meant to become a powerlifter at all but what changed you ask? Well, I have a few friends that do powerlifting meets and they’re always posting live facebook videos of their meets so that got me interested in giving it a try so those friends of mine ended up asking me to be a part of a powerlifting meet which was how I was able to do that one in Albany. That’s how I got into powerlifting. A few friends of mine talked me into it was pretty much how. I’ve gotten into really liking it a lot so I’m sticking with it. Gonna do both bodybuilding and powerlifting.

In the past, I never really cared how much I could bench or how much weights I could lift. I just wanted to get muscular and get in shape but I guess it is important for me to find out what my personal records are. Now I am curious of how heavy I can lift. You see, I can’t tell my own strength and now powerlifting will help me be able to tell how strong I actually am.

Last time I deadlifted in the gym was a big 180 lbs and tomorrow I’m going to go for a big 190. I think I’ll film myself doing it too.

Back to benching, it is awesome and it’s a real challenge for sure. I actually don’t need a spotter at the gym for benching ’cause the bench there has spotter arms on the sides of them so I’m all good doing bench by myself at the gym.

Kev

In the past, I used to be against doing barbell stuff in the gym. I mostly wanted to do dumbbell stuff for most body parts, but I guess doing barbell stuff is really good. Doing barbell stuff in the gym is really growing on me. I’m really liking bench and regular squats at the squat rack. Maybe doing barbell stuff like those are really effective for building muscle mass and more strength?

A lot of people like to knock the bench press and I was guilty of bashing the bench but I don’t hate bench pressing anymore. If you want to get a much bigger chest, bench press is pretty much the way to go. If I’m going to be doing powerlifting competitions more, I’m going to have to bench, squat and deadlift full time and I just started doing that.

I’ve never done barbell squats in my life before… that I used to avoid like the plague and I just started squatting at the squat rack for the first time. I’m really liking that too. I was doing barbell squats earlier this morning trying to find out what my personal record is gonna be on that and turns out my PR for squats is 100 lbs. for one rep. As long as I can do the leg press machine heavy that means I can squat heavy on the barbell too. I could probably go more than 100 lbs. on squats and I’ll try that next time.

I don’t need a spotter for most of my workouts… except the only workout that I need with a spotter is on the bench of course. You don’t need a spotter for deadlift and you don’t need a spotter for squats either ’cause most squat racks have adjustable safety bars. For bench, I need a spotter but for the heavier sets. The lighter sets on bench I can get alone but for heavier sets, I’ll get a spotter. It’s always good to get a spotter when you’re not sure of something ’cause you never know.

If I want to do more powerlifting competitions in the future and I will, I need to bench, squat and deadlift full time. I need to build more strength if I want to be able to lift heavier which is the goal. Hopefully someday I’ll be able to win 1st place.

Anyway, on a side note if I want to get bigger in size and get even mores strength, I think benching, squats and deadlift is pretty much the way to go. All three of those workouts are the king of all workouts and I can now see why all three are very popular. All three exercises are compound exercises which means they workout more than one body part. The bench can workout most of the upper body including your arms and the squats/deadlift works out most of your lower body.

I used to avoid all 3 workouts ’cause I was afraid they might make my scoliosis much worse but now I’m thinking that won’t be a problem at all. Some may say bodybuilding is dangerous for people with scoliosis and the Harrington Rod but not really. It’s really safe and I don’t see how it could damage the spine even more. As long as you have strength and muscle, shouldn’t be a problem. I’ve been lifting weights heavy for 10 years or more and haven’t had anything happen to me yet. I’m good to do all the bodybuilding and powerlifting all I want.

Kev

Over the past 10 years or more that I’ve been doing bodybuilding and weightlifting in the gym, people have doubted me and criticized me all over. I think all weightlifters go through the same thing whether they want to admit it or not. Yeah, people will doubt you, criticize you and call you delusional… all that stuff. I certainly gotten a lot of that.

It’s one of my biggest pet peeves is when people want to doubt me in fitness & bodybuilding. What’s even more interesting is that some will act like I’ll get hurt doing it and many will act like I don’t know what I’m doing.

Then once I did my first Power Lifting contest and made third place, they’re all of a sudden shocked and surprised about me. I’m like, WOW. After all the negativity I got over my fitness over the years, people wanna act all surprised now.

Yeah, I do know what I’m doing in weightlifting. I do know how to keep myself safe and not injure myself. I also know really good form in my workouts too.

Ya know, you’re going to get this a lot. You want to get into bodybuilding, powerlifting, strongman stuff and things like that… you’re definitely going to get critics and haters for sure. The best part is when people who don’t even workout giving you all kinds of advice and I’m like, huh? Best thing to do is just ignore them all and continue to do your thing, no matter what anyone says.

Sooner or later, people will start to see what you do and then people will catch on and give you respect. It takes time but you can earn respect by everyone around you. You just gotta keep doing your thing and keep working hard. They will never criticize and never doubt you again.

Getting into competitions is actually kind of a good thing. I’ll never get into pose-down competitions or anything like what you see in Mr. Olympia, that will never be my thing but for powerlifting, yes!

I know I talk about this a lot but my first powerlifting meet was the best thing I ever did so I deserve to brag on about it. It really was an amazing experience. I can see why they’re getting so popular. There are many different powerlifting federations all over the country and I would like to try different ones too.

Kev

Experiencing my first power lifting competition was really interesting. What I found most interesting about it was how honest they really are. If you do really good lifting there at the meet, you do them perfectly, people around you there will give you respect. When you go to a competition if you want respect, you gotta earn it. If you do a bad lift, they won’t be afraid to say that as well and then they’ll give you honest advice on how to do them better.

When they do give you honest feedback, they won’t put you down and upset you, though. They’ll be nice and humble about it. There’s no judgement at all with these power lifting competitions.

When I went last Friday night, I was hoping to get some good advice and some pointers on how I could lift better but turns out I didn’t need much advice ’cause my two coaches already saw that they knew exactly what I was doing. Really they were impressed with me. Even the owner of Albany Strength was impressed with me ’cause I got good compliments by him too.

Why were people impressed with my lifting that night? It’s simply because I’ve been lifting for many years already. It’s been about 10 years or a little over by now. When I first started lifting weights, I was already doing bench pressing and dead-lifting. I experimented with those workouts for a little bit then I gave them up and now I’m back to them full time. I’ve been lifting weights for a long while. I’m a self-taught body builder and weight lifter. Yes, you heard that right! Some out there would be surprised that I never had a coach or a personal trainer. I did all of this by myself.

How did I teach myself? Simply put, I learned from books (Arnold’S Modern Bodybuilding book is the best bodybuilding book out there), youtube videos and just by watching other people in the gym. A lot of people think I don’t know what I’m doing, they think I’m gonna hurt myself and blah blah blah… I got a lot of negativity over the years. So now all that negativity is starting to turn to positive now that people are finally starting to see what I do.

I love weight lifting. It’s the second passion of mine other than music.

Another reason I got into power lifting competitions is that I wanted to feel like a pro athlete. Take my weight lifting to the next level and go pro, ya know?

Power Lifting competitions are definitely a blast. I definitely wanna do more of them in the future.

Kev

So I’m just getting into power lifting. Yes, power lifting and body building are both slightly different from another. The difference? Well body building is more focused on building muscle, losing fat, strict dieting and all that. Power Lifting is being able to lift the heaviest you can possibly lift and in power lifting you don’t have to worry about transforming your physique to when you’re lean. In power lifting, you can still be really fat and out of shape and lift weights anyways.

I want to do both. Power Lifting and Body Building. In Power Lifting, all that requires is just bench, squatting and dead-lift so I’m going to do all three full time every week. I gotta add those to my workout plan and I just did that. So how would I combine power lifting and body building together? I’ll figure it out as I’m doing some research on the internet and I’ll ask for some advice from my two power lifting coaches that I’ve been working with. Yes, I do have two power lifting coaches and those are the two people who I went to my first Power Lifting competition with last Friday.

I think Power Lifting would be good for me ’cause it would help give me more strength for my regular weight lifting in other workouts, ya know? Power Lifting would be pretty useful and that’s a part of why I’m getting into it. Just to be able to lift stronger and lift heavier is the goal. I’ll also want to build muscle at the same time while building power lifting strength and I’ll figure it out. I want to get a bigger body and I think Power Lifting will help me get that too.

Some  of you may say to yourself, “Power lifting is very dangerous and you’re going to kill yourself”. Um, not really. From what I’ve experienced last Friday night at my first Power Lifting competition, it seems very easy and safe to me. Even though Power Lifting and Body Building are slightly different they are still a bit similar in a way too. In Power Lifting, you just lift the weights that feel most comfortable to you just like in body building. You don’t want to lift weights you can’t lift to avoid injury.

At the Power Lifting meet last Friday, I was watching other lifters and I’ve seen plenty of other lifters that can’t even lift the bar all the way up so that means the lift was no good. I’ll make sure I never do that in a competition meet. When I do more competitions, I’ll make sure all my lifts count. I won’t fail any of my lifts at the competitions, I promise you that. Yeah, I definitely do want to do more power lifting competitions for sure.

I used to be against weight lifting competitions and never really wanted to do that in the past but my feelings have changed and now I want to get into them. I never saw myself as a power lifter until now.

Over the years of my life, so many people doubted me and always worried about my lifting and I want to get into competitions to start proving people wrong. From what I’m seeing so far, I’m doing a good job of that… proving people wrong.

Ever since I did my first competition last Friday night, I’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback from my family, friends and fans. It felt pretty amazing. I never thought I would win a trophy on my first try… when they called my name, my jaw dropped. It was an amazing night for sure. Now someday, I hope to make first place.

Kev