Since June is “Scoliosis Awareness Month”, I thought I would post something about it and try to help promote scoliosis. This is an interesting video blog and a lot of this stuff resonates with me.

I had my scoliosis surgery when I was real young. Had a nasty double curve and I had no choice but to get surgery on it which means replacing the spine with the Harrington Rod. I have scoliosis for life which is something that I have to live with. My scoliosis adventures would be a very long book but to keep it short and simple… the scoliosis surgery was brutal and long. At the end of the day, though, it was all worth it. Through high school, I couldn’t play sports because of it. I couldn’t play baseball, basketball, football, etc. None of that shit. That’s okay, though ’cause I had no interest in sports to begin with.

I did, however, always had an interest in bodybuilding. I finally got into bodybuilding like 10 years ago or a little over. When I first started talking about getting into bodybuilding, predictably… people started getting worried right away and started criticizing me about it. They’re like, “Bodybuilding is gonna ruin your curvature even more!” I’ve been doing bodybuilding and lifting weights for like 10 years or a little over. Believe it or not, it’s been that long already and I haven’t had anything happen to me.

People immediately assume that bodybuilding is dangerous for scoliosis but not at all. It’s perfectly safe ’cause there’s a lot of people out there in America with scoliosis that are into bodybuilding… yes, lifting heavy weights and all. People with scoliosis that are into bodybuilding do everything: bench pressing, dead lifting, barbell squats, etc. There are a lot of people with scoliosis that are in great bodybuilding shape.

I’ve gotten into yoga recently and that doesn’t do anything to make the curvature worsen either. I can do most yoga poses perfectly fine except that I can’t do back bending stuff ’cause the metal rod can’t bend which sucks but I’ll live with it.

I’m doing serious bodybuilding, lifting kind of heavy and all and I haven’t had anything happen to me yet. Bodybuilding with scoliosis is perfectly safe. To those that have it and if you want to lift weights then go for it. Nothing is stopping you.

Yeah, you’re going to get all kinds of jealous people calling you out about it. People saying stuff like, “You shouldn’t lift heavy weights ’cause it’ll destroy your back” and blah blah blah but don’t listen to the critics and doubters at all. I never did. I just go in the gym and do my thing. Don’t listen to anybody and do whatcha wanna do. Prove the doubters wrong that you can do this.

When I first started bodybuilding, I didn’t know what the hell I was doing. I made every mistake in the book so I did heavy research on bodybuilding so I can do everything right and take it more seriously. When I first started, I started out on machines for a long while… working all body parts in one day which is good for a beginner. Then a few years later I moved on to free weights like dumbbells and barbell stuff. I used to go to the gym like 3 times a week. Just workout whenever I feel like it. Sometimes 1 or 2 times a week and admittedly I did take a little break off bodybuilding a long time ago but no more of that shit.

I now take bodybuilding very seriously and want to stay committed. For over a month now, I’ve been going to the gym 4 times a week. Doing the 4 day split: Arm Day, Chest Day, Leg Day and Back Day. That’s how I do it. I’m going to stick with this routine for the rest of the Summer and Fall/Winter. Workout all year round. Do this on a full time basis. It’s time to move on up and take it to the next level.

It is possible to become the best shape of your life even with scoliosis. Yeah, I’m with this guy in the video above ’cause I too used to be afraid to take my shirt off ’cause of the scar on my back, but thanks to bodybuilding, I’m not afraid anymore. I’ve grown to love my scar on the back and grown to love my curvy body. Being shirtless with scoliosis in front of people may seem intimidating to some but you can’t deny the confidence and bravery. I’m no longer afraid to be shirtless in front of people anymore like I said which feels amazing.

Yeah, when I posted my shirtless pics publicly… I’ve got a mixture of positive feedback and some pretty nasty feedback. That’s okay with the nasty feedback ’cause they’re probably jealous losers who don’t even work out at all. The negative feedback makes me even more empowering and stronger. When you get people making fun of you still ’cause of the way your body is… no doubt they are a little jealous of your muscular physique so pay no mind to them.

I’ve been doing research on scoliosis lately and want to try interacting with other people online with scoliosis. It’s not a well known condition but it should be. Everyone should know about it and bring more awareness to it. I wish politicians would start talking about it. It may not seem like it but there’s a lot of people out there with scoliosis. It’s a big problem. I used to keep it quiet on this kind of thing but now I think it’s a good idea to start talking about scoliosis.

Kev

In the past, I used to avoid lifting weights for pecs and just did chest workouts just using body workouts alone like push-ups mostly. Push-ups are good for pecs yes and they do help, but if you want to get even more definition on the pecs lifting weights are the way to do it. I experimented with barbell bench pressing for a little while, but I love doing dumbbell presses the most, though. I’ve been sticking with dumbbell presses  on the floor for a little over a month now and I’m noticing some real results. I’ve also been doing dumbbell flies too ’cause it’s important to do both the pressing and the squeezing when doing dumbbells for the chest. It’s also important to do regular dumbbell presses and incline dumbbell presses. So I’ve been doing all three for a little over a month now: dumbbell presses on the floor, incline dumbbell bench press and dumbbell flies.

A lot lately, I’ve been noticing some results on my chest pecs. They’re starting to shape up a little bit. I’m noticing my pecs getting slightly bigger too and I am feeling it which is good. I’ve also been lifting heavier weights doing the dumbbell presses and that’s also been helping. For dumbbell flies you don’t need a lot of weight for that as I’ve been doing 25 lbs. on it but for the dumbbell presses, I’ve been doing anywhere from 40 lbs – 45 lbs. Another way that’s been helping my chest development is that yoga has been helping too ’cause yoga is also a full body workout.

I’m getting strict on nutrition again. I’ve been doing a lot of stretching exercises and yoga. I’ve also been doing plenty of cardio too. I’m doing my best to become the best shape of my life. I feel that I already am in great shape but still got a lot of work to do though. I’ve been going to the gym 4 times a week each week which is going good so far. I’m going to stick with that all year round, I think.

I’ll be going on vacation pretty soon later this summer. I’ll be going to Cape Cod; going to the ocean and stuff like that. Can’t wait to walk around the beach shirtless. A lot of people like to workout during the Spring/Summer so they can be beach ready. That’s nice but that’s not exactly what I do this for, though. Fitness is a lifestyle for me. I’m in it for life. I do want to look great for the beach, don’t get me wrong.

It’s good to finally notice some chest definition. I’ll post pics soon to prove it.

Kev

Some of you may ask… why did I get into bodybuilding and fitness? Well let me tell you something. I got into it for a few reasons.

• I was always small and skinny: Before I started bodybuilding, I didn’t have much muscle on me. I didn’t have any interest in exercise and used to be a lazy person admittedly. I wanted to do something with myself and start to get active in some kind of physical sport. I can’t play sports due to my scoliosis and due to having a Harrington Rod. I could never play football, baseball, basketball or none of that stuff. The only sport that I could probably do was bodybuilding so I picked that. I was also inspired to get into bodybuilding by watching pro wrestling and action movies and I wanted that muscle look for myself. Of course, Arnold Schwarzenegger inspired me through his competitions and stuff.
• I just wanted to have a healthy lifestyle: Before I got into the bodybuilding world, I was a junk food addict. I was also a soda addict, drinking a lot of soda and eating all kinds of junk like chocolate and candy. I also used to be an occasional alcohol drinker. I was never an alcoholic, just an occasional drinker and I used to smoke weed once in a while too. After thinking about all this, I’m like, “My god, what am I doing to myself?” I got into bodybuilding to change my life and get healthier and it’s working. I figure it’s finally time to grow up and be a real man.
• Getting picked on and bullied by people also motivated me: This is another big reason why I got into this. I’ve had too many people pick on me over the years ’cause I’m different. I got into bodybuilding hoping to get a bigger body and maybe then people would think twice before they decide to treat me the wrong way. I’m not a violent person at all but the bigger your body is, the more people will leave you alone. Trust me on that.
• Just simply wanted something different to do: Another reason I got into this is simply because I was bored and wanted something different to do. Something fun and interesting. Wanted something that will keep me busy and active and this was it for me.
• Hoping to impress the ladies: Forgot to add this one in here. Yeah, I’m not gonna lie about this either. I got into this hoping to attract more women. A lot of men will never admit they got into it for this reason too.

Everybody has different reasons for wanting to get into bodybuilding well these are mine so enjoy.

In the beginning when I first started, I didn’t know what I doing. I was totally shit but as I got older and years go along, I’ve gotten better at the bodybuilding thing. Now I’m taking it more seriously than ever before and going to the gym 4 times a week and eating right most of the time.

My dream is to be the best of shape of my life and try to get big as possible. People are already saying that I’m getting pretty big in size, but to be honest, I still have a lot of work to do.

I love bodybuilding. My second passion behind music.

Kev

Each time I look in the mirror with my shirt off, I am noticing I am getting much bigger in size when it comes to bodybuilding. My arms are getting huger, I think I’m getting some definition in the chest pecs finally and my legs are getting big as well. In the past before I started bodybuilding several years ago, I used to weigh 130 lbs. and now I weigh almost 160 lbs. It’s not fat weight, it’s muscle weight is what it is.

I also have a good six pack abs going which many other men in the gym struggle to get. It’s not hard to get visible abs at all. Just gotta lower the body fat that’s covering it. The way to lower body fat is of course, eat healthy most of the time and do plenty of cardio. Doing those classes at your local gym like yoga, zumba, HIIT training and all that stuff will help you get abs too. I used to do a lot of ab crunches on the floor but I don’t do that shit anymore since I’ve gotten into yoga and stuff. I do a lot of planks and stuff and planks will definitely help get you abs.

I’m planning to post progress pics soon so I can prove it. I never really showed off full-body progress pics ’cause I used to be embarrassed to show off my legs, but I think I’m gonna do that soon. It’s good to show off full body progress.

Once again, I’m never gonna compete in a bodybuilding competition or become a fitness model or anything like that, I just want to have a muscular and great body. I’m not into bodybuilding and fitness to make money off of it. My ego is not that big, trust me.

While I’m pretty happy with my fitness physique so far, I could use a little tan, though. I’m gonna do research on body tanning and learn to do it safely. I’ll admit, my skin could be a little darker.

Anyway, here are a few more workout videos of me doing arm stuff at my local gym. Enjoy!

Kev

The more you workout and the more you keep at it, the more people will notice and they’ll start to give you nice compliments. I’ve been getting a lot of nice compliments about my body for the last several years which feels really awesome. People give me nice compliments about my physique online and in person. It’s especially even more awesome when people you don’t know well and complete strangers are giving you nice compliments. When I go out in town, I sometimes get people I don’t know saying that I look good.

When you get positive feedback everywhere you go, that’s when you’ll know you’re going somewhere in fitness and bodybuilding. It does feel real nice and makes me feel proud ’cause this is what keeps me going in fitness. The positive feedback can be good motivators. It’s what makes me never want to give up and try to become even more in good shape. It’s part of why I’m going to get even more strict on nutrition which is going good and work out 4 days a week which is also going good. I also started working out a little heavier so I can get more results

I’m not going to lie, though, I got into fitness hoping to get a ripped and really buffed physique. I want the tough guy look and I want to look sexy for the ladies too which is kind of working a little bit. I’m not gonna lie about that either. Yes, women do love muscular guys… don’t let them fool ya.

A lot of people give me positive feedback on my arms mostly. They’re most impressed with my arms ’cause I guess they are pretty big. They don’t feel that big to me but I’ll let other people do the judging. I’m still trying to get more results on the chest. I do kind of want bigger chest pecs like most guys and that’s why I’m hitting the dumbbell presses again instead of the overrated push-ups. I’m gonna stick with dumbbell presses from now on I think ’cause I’m already noticing chest improvement lately.

Some of you may ask, is it possible to get big and muscular naturally? Oh yes, absolutely! As long as you workout hard and eat right most of the time, you’ll reach your goals. Eating right meaning mostly high protein and low carb stuff. Staying away from bad fats and sugars as much as possible. You do all that and you’ll be fine. I want to look kind of similar like Sly Stallone and Dolph Lundgren when I reach their age, lol. If they can do it so can anybody.

I love fitness and bodybuilding, though. I’m never gonna give it up no matter what anybody says. I’m never gonna compete in a bodybuilding competition ’cause I find them silly and they probably won’t let me do it anyway with the scoliosis that I have. I just want the muscular look and to be healthy. That is all.

Kev

Admittedly, I could do a little better job on the dumbbell incline presses but not too bad. I’ll do much better on them next time, though.

Enjoy these.

I love working out. It’s my 2nd passion behind music. Definitely gonna stick with it 4 days a week.

Kev

If you’re a gym rat like myself then you’re probably someone who video tapes most of your workouts either for you to watch for yourself privately or show ’em off on your social media networks. You see people do this all the time in social networking whether in FB, twitter or instagram. So you ask yourself, why do people do these things? Is it for ego and attention? Is it because so they can get a bunch of likes on their videos and jerk themselves off over positive feedback?

No. I think there are many reasons why people do these things. 1) They want to watch their progress and see how they’re doing. 2) They want to see if they’re doing the workouts right in good form. 3) It’s actually a good idea to show off to all your friends and family to show them what you’re doing in the gym ’cause a lot of them don’t get to see it. 4) It’s also a good idea to help inspire people and get them motivated to go to the gym. You’ll never know who you’re inspiring and trying to help. Those who never go to the gym might get interested ’cause of you.

There’s a few reasons for ya. I’m pretty new to this. Videotaping myself working out and I’m actually glad that I’m doing this so I can watch out for my form to see what I’m doing wrong. If you post them publicly in social media and you get feedback from people, there will be some that will give you feedback on your form. If you’re getting positive feedback on your videos and people are saying “good job” then your form is probably pretty good. If someone tells you you’re doing something wrong then you’re probably doing something wrong and need to correct it.

I just noticed on one of my workouts on leg day today, I videotaped myself doing seated calf raises and I noticed that I was doing it kind of wrong. I almost posted the video on instagram today and deleted it. That’s okay, though. It’s okay if you do workouts in wrong form ’cause it’s not a big deal. You can always correct them and never make the mistakes again. It’s called learning, ya know? There are a lot of people in the gym that workout in bad form and I even workout in bad form in some workouts too. We all do it. I think I need to lift lighter weights on the seated calf raise which is the problem and I will do that next time. Bodybuilding is a learning experience. You’re going to make some mistakes and we all make ’em.

Other than that, I do most workouts in pretty good form.

I’m pretty new to this… making my own workout videos which I was meaning to do for a pretty long time and quite frankly, some people are actually enjoying these videos which is why I’m starting to post more. If people are giving you positive feedback then you must be doing a good job in the gym ’cause if people say you doing something wrong, I’m telling ya, they won’t be afraid to call you in on it.

I’m all for negative criticism toward my workout videos, though. I won’t be offended. I wanna do more workout videos and I will. So far so good though, everything’s been pretty positive. It does make me feel good, though ’cause it lets me know I’ve been doing a good job in the gym. I wanna make sure I’m doing real good ’cause there are plenty of people in the gym that don’t care about whether you’re doing something wrong. Some people do come up to me in public gyms and tells me I’m doing something wrong but most don’t give a shit about you in the gym and just minds their own business.

Safety in the gym is very important and got to take it all very seriously.

Kev

I maybe working out for a little over 10 years or so but I’m a beginner dead-lifter, though. I just got back into dead-lifting even though I experimented with it in the past. When you get into dead-lifting, I know you don’t start lifting super-heavy right away. Just lift what you can lift, and so far I can only lift 100 lbs. for 4 sets and 10 reps each. I’ll stick with that for a while, and the more I can do that well, I’ll try adding another 10 lbs. I do know that when you’re into dead-lifting, the heavier you can lift, the fewer reps you need to do. I’ve read about that through various bodybuilding articles through google. It’s okay to do 10 reps when you’re lifting semi-light like 90-100 or a little over but when you start lifting like 180 – 200 that’s when you need to lift 3 – 5 reps for each set.

I taught myself how to dead-lift by watching certain youtube videos so I’m pretty sure that I got the form down correctly. I take bodybuilding very seriously and I know enough that I need to make every workout in good form and know enough that you can only lift the amount of weights that you can be able to lift so you won’t get badly injured.

Some may think I don’t know what I’m doing when it comes to bodybuilding but I know what I’m doing. I see so many people in the gym work out in horrible forms in all their workouts and I might have another post on that soon, but I always try to do the best form possible.

Back to dead-lifting, I really think it’s an awesome workout and I love it. I think I’m definitely gonna stick with it for the rest of my life. It’s very good for pretty much all of the back and most of the lower body. Most importantly, the dead-lift is also a big time hamstring workout. That’s why I’m no longer gonna do hamstring workouts on leg day ’cause I’m already doing hamstrings by doing dead-lifting.

The dead-lift is pretty amazing. It’s very simple and safe. Probably the safest workout there is and it feels good doing it too. I can now see why the dead-lift is extremely popular.

Kev

A few workout videos of me doing back day this morning. Enjoy!

Kev

Isn’t it sad that you’re trying to do something very positive in your life and you’re also trying to do something inspiring for other people so they can be happy but instead you get nothing but negativity in return? It’s really true. The more you get into shape and the harder you work out, the more negative people you will get. You like to publicly express that you go to the gym and you like to write about it. You also like to post progress pics and even videos of yourself working out. Yet not many people wants to give you positive feedback. Some do give you positive feedback and some are proud of ya but not enough.

Most everybody just gives you criticism like you’re doing this wrong and you’re doing that wrong. You need more work on this body part and that body part. Ya know, getting unwanted advice from people when you know exactly what you’re doing. Getting advice from big shot know it alls. What’s even sadder is that people who don’t even workout acts like know it alls and gives you unwanted advice. It’s like, huh? Some people would even get a lot worse and give you very negative criticism about your physique and the way you work out… blah blah blah.

When you post progress pics on social networking, you notice not many people will give them the like button and not many give you positive feedback. It’s crazy. You want to do something very positive in your life and it’s definitely going to make people jealous. That’s why they criticize and give you negativity ’cause they are jealous and that’s my opinion really.

Why would people act jealous ’cause you’re into working out and stuff? Is it because they know you’re doing something with yourself and they aren’t doing anything? Is it because they know that you’re in very good shape and they aren’t? Maybe people are into working out and they know you’re in better shape than they are, that’s another reason. There are many reasons people get all jealous. There’s no doubt in my mind that people get all jealous of ya is why they give you negativity and hate.

It’s funny that people don’t want to admit that what I do is inspiring for them. Ya know, think about it… I’m 41 years old doing all kinds of physical things and I’m a guy doing it with scoliosis, I have the Harrington rod and all. People don’t see that as inspiring and courageous? I really do feel like a warrior doing all this.

That’s okay, let people think what they want ’cause all I care about is becoming the best shape in my life. My goal is to live a long life and to be really muscular when I’m 50 – 60 years old.

I love fitness and bodybuilding. It’s a 2nd passion of mine behind music. I’m gonna take it more seriously from this point on and do a 4 day a week workout routine. Gonna make my meals a lot more strict as well. Admittedly I do want to get big and muscular and not afraid to say it.

Sure, I’m not the best at fitness and have a lot to learn. I’m not perfect at my workout forms and I do my best to correct the form at all my workouts. I’ve been at this for like 10 years and have never been seriously injured yet which is good. Admittedly, I’ve gotten minor injuries a few times like a few strains here and there but nothing that bad. I never got seriously injured ’cause I always try to work out in the best form as possible.

I do all this without a personal trainer and am a self-taught bodybuilder too. How did I teach myself? Well through various sources… I’ve learned workouts from Arnold’s “Modern Bodybuilding” book, I’ve learned workouts from Bodybuilding.com… and I learned workouts from popular youtube fitness channels such as Scooby1961 (I still watch his videos admittedly), Scott Herman, The Hodge Twins and Chris Jones aka Physique of Greatness. I also learn workouts by watching other people in the gym.

I love the physique I have now but still have a lot of work to do, though. I want to get bigger chest pecs and gonna do more dumbbell floor presses from now on instead of pushups. For the back, I’ve gotten into dead-lifting and will stick to that full time. For legs, I’ve gotten into barbell squats on Smith Machine so gonna stick with that too.

I’ve been sticking with 4 day a week routine. Worked out three days this week and the 4th day will be sometime this weekend and it will be back day. I love going to the gym and working out. Will never give it up.

Never listen to the critics and haters ’cause they’re just jealous of you and that’s it. It is going to bother some that you’re into working out and there’s nothing you can do about it. Just keep doing your thing and make people jealous. The more jealous people get then you must be in great shape, right? Some will never admit it publicly.

Kev