So I’ve been going to the gym 4 days a week now. I used to go 3 days a week but now I’m switching it up for 4. This way I can have arm day, chest day, back day and legs day. That’s how you want to do it. Workout body parts separately.

Like always, I’m always trying to learn new workouts and I have learned so much by going to the Battenkill YMCA which I like to call it the Battenkill Y which is a gym I go to in my hometown.

For chest day, I’ve tried to get back into benching a little bit but I still can’t seem to get into it. Ya know, barbell chest press on a flat bench which is the most popular workout in history. I know benching is a popular workout but I don’t like it. I try to do benching once in a blue moon, I just don’t like it for some reason. I find dumbbell chest press more fun. Why is dumbbell press for chest better? Simply because dumbbell works the chest much harder than the barbell. Seriously, this info is out there if you do the research. Plus, the dumbbell press is much safer than barbell. I try to do the dumbbell chest press on a bench, but I prefer to do it on the floor. Dumbbell chest press on a floor helps works it much harder and it’s much safer that way too. So I’ll probably do dumbbell chest presses on the floor from now on.

As for other workouts for chest, I’ve gotten into doing cable crossovers which really helps. Incline presses for dumbbells is what I’m gonna start doing a lot and I’m gonna start doing dumbbell flies for chest too.

I’m very happy with what I have with my body… I feel I’m in good enough shape but I’m not afraid to say that the chest still needs some more work. I think the problem is that I haven’t been working hard enough on the chest admittedly and I’m going to from this point on. Lift heavier weights is what I’m going to do. Lift heavier weights where the last few reps would be to failure is how you want to do it.

For back day, I’m gonna do dead lifting on barbell, though ’cause I really love the dead lift. Barbell dead lift is fucking awesome and I’m gonna do that every week. For now, I’m not a super heavy dead lifter but I hope to be someday. For now I can do like 80 – 90 lbs. I experimented with dead lifting in the past a long time ago, I’m just getting back into it and loving it. For middle back, I do cable rows and for lats I do lat pull downs and pull ups.

For legs, I’m gonna do barbell squats ’cause I love that too. Again, I’m not a super heavy lifter yet. I can only squat 80 lbs but hope to lift heavier someday. I can, however, lift 200 lbs. on a leg press, though. For hamstrings, I do seated leg curls but I don’t really need to do hamstring workouts much anymore since I’m gonna do a lot of dead lifting ’cause dead lifting is a hamstring workout. For calves, I do standing calves and seated calves.

For arms, I do the basic dumbbell curl. Dumbbell shoulder presses and tricep extensions.

For abs, I don’t do abs workout much ’cause I’m already doing plenty of ab workout through yoga and doing a lot of planks.

For cardio, I punch the heavy bag for a little and run on the treadmill for a couple of times a week.

Yep, I’m still trying to become the best shape of my life and still taking it seriously. Gonna take eating clean more seriously too. I want to have muscular body and get big. Not afraid to say it. Just taking my time and being patience about it. I love working out. It’s my second passion behind music.

Everybody has a no. 1 hobby and a no. 2 hobby. Music and fitness is what they are. Lets see if I can stick with fitness throughout the year without much breaks and I’m planning on it. I know it may sound arrogant a little bit but I want to have a great body and already do, just need some improvements here and there. People are still giving me nice compliments of what I’m doing in fitness which feels awesome. When you get a lot of compliments about your body, it means you’re going somewhere. Not bad for someone who is in my 40’s and have scoliosis. Many don’t want to admit that what I do is courageous and inspiring but that’s okay. I just do what I do. Just trying to workout and want to be healthy is all.

Kev

For the past two weeks at the gym, I’ve just started dead lifting on the barbell. Ya know, the dead lift workout that is very popular in the gym. A lot of guys like to do it. Each time I go to the Battenkill Ymca which is the gym I go to, there are always guys dead-lifting there. That’s why I’m only going to do back workouts at the gym in the afternoon ’cause that’s when the gym is not busy and not a lot of people there. Ya know, I love working out at the gym but I hate, I absolutely HATE working out at the gym in the evening ’cause that’s when the gym is real busy. The gym gets packed in the evening ’cause that’s when people go to the gym after work and stuff. All the equipment I need to use are always being used when it’s busy which sucks. This is why I mostly like to go to the gym during the day when it’s not as crowded there.

Anyway back to dead lifting, I’m enjoying the workout a lot and I think I’m gonna keep doing it each week. The dead lift exercise on the barbell is really simple, really safe and it feels good doing it too. The dead lift works most of the lower body area like lower back, the glutes and hamstrings mostly. Dead lift works most of the legs too.

I’m not a super heavy dead-lifter yet. The heaviest I can lift on the dead lift is like 70 lbs. I would love to lift super heavy someday but it’s a slow process so I’m taking my time and not rushing it. I’m realizing now that the dead lift is one of the best workouts ever. It’s really good for the back. I’ve experimented with dead lifting in the past when I first started out, but now I’m getting back into it.

The dead lift not only gives you more strengths and builds muscle mass on your lower body, it also burns body fat and it’s a good workout for the abs as well. Doing dead lifts will also help give you more strengths for other workouts too.

Here’s an interesting read on dead lifting:

http://main.poliquingroup.com/Tips/tabid/130/EntryId/2256/Five-Reasons-Everyone-Should-Deadlift.aspx

Dead lifting is freakin’ awesome, though. I can see why a lot of people like to do it. Not only guys do it, women do it too.

I’m definitely gonna do dead lifting on a regular basis from now on. I’ve also gotten back into bench pressing for the chest and gonna get back into barbell squats for legs next time I do leg day.

I love bodybuilding and fitness. I stuck with it throughout the winter after a Christmas break from it and I’m planning to stick with it all year long. I really do want to get big and muscular and trying all I can to get there. I like what I have now, though.

Kev

Yeah, I’m still pretty committed to yoga. Been at yoga nonstop every week for several months now. Each time I do yoga, I feel a little more flexibility each time I do it. I’ve also improved a lot on the balancing. When I first started yoga and just a newbie, I was shit at it but I’m getting a lot better. Yoga is like everything else when you practice you improve.

I’ve just started learning arm balancing which is a pose called the Crow pose. I’ve struggled at the Crow pose at first but seem to be getting a little better at that. Ya know, arm balancing, just using your arms to balance on the floor and not using your legs at all. It’s hard to do but I’m getting better at that ’cause I practice a lot of these poses at home.

I’m so glad that I got into yoga finally ’cause I’ve been interested in it for a while. Yoga really does make you feel good and makes you feel like a whole new person. It’s amazing. Now I figured out why yoga is getting popular.

I not only got into yoga to get more flexibility and strength, I got into it ’cause it’s a good stress reliever. That’s what yoga is here for pretty much. Yoga is mainly meditation is what it is. I’ve also been wanting to get into meditation.

Meditation is really good ’cause it helps get your mind off of everything. Yoga and meditation makes you feel better, happier and more confident. Helps you become more upbeat and positive.

Once I feel I’m getting real good at yoga, I’ll video tape myself doing some poses for you all. I love yoga. It’s a new passion of mine that I just discovered.

Kev

With fast food restaurants (and non-fast food restaurants) all over the place, healthy food being more expensive than junk food, people having a problem with drinking alcohol (yes, drinking alcohol makes you fat, get over it)… I’m not really surprised that the US turned out to be the fattest country in the world. Sure other countries has an obesity problem too but the US is the worst.

In this country, you see an overweight person at every turn; there are even a lot of people who are kind of chubby too.

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I’m not against people who are obese but I find it sad that the mere fact that America has an obesity problem. You don’t see too many people who are thin or in pretty good shape these days. I’m not a fat person at all and I feel grateful for that.

Whenever we talk about this problem, people will scream: “you’re fat shaming”. We’re not fat shaming at all. Just speaking the truth and telling it like it is. The reason a lot of people in America are obese ’cause they don’t live prolific lifestyles. Just lazy people who don’t exercise and eat a lot of garbage. People get mad at that ’cause they can’t take the truth.

You wonder why the bodybuilding and fitness industry is so mainstream, right? While I’m glad bodybuilding and fitness is huge in America — only problem is a lot of people don’t want to work out. People either hate working out or simply not interested. I try my best to try to talk people into working out and many just don’t care, lol. That’s okay ’cause I love working out. I take it seriously and dedicated. Working out can be a lot of fun once you get into it. I love it. You should too.

Kev

I love going to my hometown YMCA in Greenwich but each time I go, I learn that people have no respect for public gyms at all. People do annoying things that disrespect the gym… Things like… I’ll name a top 10 in no particular order:

• Never putting the weights back when they’re finished: I can’t count how many times people do this. Happens all the time. Guys in the gym never putting the weights back when they’re done with them. Very rarely you see staff going around putting the weights back, they just hang at the front desk even during slow days. I don’t think the staff even cares.
• Slamming weights on floor after done with their sets:  This is against the rules at the Y but guys do it anyways. They do it all the time and the staff don’t seem to care as well.
• Huge Egos and show offs: Unfortunately, you’re going to run into these kind of guys at the gyms. You’re always going to meet huge egos and show offs. Men who are huge narcissists in the gym and just love their body a bit too much. Sometimes I see men stand there and pose in front of a  mirror and things like that. The mirrors at gyms are not used to show off, they are there so you can watch out for your form when you work out. So what if you have a great physique. Congratulations. I don’t go to gyms to admire other people’s physiques. I go to focus on my own thing.
• Too much talking: You see people talk a long time in between sets. Guys talking with each other between sets a long time. Nothing wrong with talking to people in between sets but talk just a few minutes not just for 20 minutes or more. It’s not good for the muscle if you waste time talking a long time in between sets. Plus, talking a long time during your workouts is disrespectful for other people trying to workout.
• Texting or talking on phones in between sets:  See above. Pretty self explanatory.
• Grunting or screaming: This is also against the rules of the Greenwich Y but guys do it anyways. haha. I love lifting heavy weights too but I try not to grunt or scream. It’s dumb and it’s annoying.
• Equipment Hogging: This continues to be a problem. Guys hogging up gym equipment when I need to use something. They take a long time on one equipment doing different workouts. Hey guys, this is a public gym. They’re not a place for you to make yourself at home. Get over yourselves and share. It should only take several minutes to do a couple of sets.
• The Unwanted Advice Giver: Happens to me all the fucking time and to be honest, I hate it. I’m doing a workout whether on dumbbells or machines then he or she comes along and gives me advice that I’m doing something wrong. Hey, I know I’m doing it right and it’s just YOUR opinion that you think I’m doing it wrong. Just leave me the fuck alone and let me do it MY WAY! Instead, I just politely say, “Thank You” ’cause you don’t want to be rude, ya know?
• People wandering the gym in between sets: Another huge problem at the gym and another thing that people do that I hate. People doing work outs whether free weights or machines, after they get done with a set… they just wander off like get a drink of water, talk to someone or go to the bathroom. It makes someone else thinks they’re done and then this guy comes back, does another set… wanders off again. Happens all the fucking time at my gym. When I do my workouts, I don’t wander off like a lot of guys do. I just stay there.
• Guys never cleaning up after themselves: A lot of times guys would bring water bottles or even protein drinks at the gyms. When they finish drinking that stuff, they just leave that stuff there. Not having any care to put them in a recycling bin when there’s a fucking recycling bin at the Y. I see guys leave water bottles, water cartons and bottles for protein drinks there all the time. By the way, aren’t guys drinking protein drinks at a gym is pretty lame? They can’t wait to do that at home?

There’s my gym rant. Enjoy.

Kev

Whenever I talk about fitness, bodybuilding, yoga, boxing, martial arts and all that stuff to other people a lot of times I won’t get that much of a response. Some don’t say anything at all and some will even go far as criticizing you a lot. When you want to get into bodybuilding & fitness,  people who are not even into that stuff at all will start saying that you’re doing some things “wrong”. It’s like really? The last people you want to take advice from is from  people who are not into bodybuilding or any kind of fitness. They act like “know it alls” ’cause they’re jealous of you, for sure. It’s obvious, right?

It’s crazy how people who are not even into fitness and they think they can give you all kinds of advice when they don’t do these things at all. Sit at home and watch TV all evening and they’re giving you fitness advice and criticizing you. Yeah, that’s the thing you know, when you get into fitness, you’re gonna get all kinds of jealous people for sure. No doubt. You’ve been into fitness for a long while and people want to act like know it alls. Crazy.

I don’t take bodybuilding and fitness advice from people who aren’t into it. I only take advice and listen to those who have been into it for a long time and if they’re a certified personal trainer, I might take advice from them too.

People get jealous of you ’cause they want what you have. A fit and toned body. I wish people would stop getting jealous and just get into fitness themselves but they never do. People getting jealous of me and criticizing me doesn’t bother me that much. It lets me know that I’m doing the right things and it lets me know that I’m looking pretty fit and muscular.

I’ve been into bodybuilding for like around 7 – 10 years now and still going at it. I like what I have now but still got a lot of work to do, though. I need to lower my bodyfat some more which I’m working on. Going to get back into mostly clean eating again on a full time basis this time.

I got into bodybuilding & fitness ’cause I want to have the body of my dreams. Look big and muscular, have six pack abs and all that. I feel I’m getting there, though. I don’t plan to compete in a bodybuilding competition ever, I just want the muscular look.

A lot of guys don’t want to admit that they get into bodybuilding ’cause they want to look sexy for the ladies and I do too. That is also one of my goals. It’s working pretty much ’cause ever since I got into bodybuilding, I’ve had more women hit on me lately which feels pretty good. I’m not making it up either.

Don’t listen to jealous people. Always focus on you. It’s good that people get jealous ’cause that’s what you want to do. It’s letting you know you’re going somewhere.

Kev