Powerlifting may seem very dangerous and scary but not really… it’s actually the safest sport there is!

So some people are trying to understand the sport of powerlifting and there’s gonna be plenty of people will be misinformed about the “sport” for sure. Yes, powerlifting looks very dangerous and “scary” but like the title of the topic says, it’s actually the safest sport there is. It really is. I know how some of your friends and family would get scared of your heavy lifting all the time but many don’t understand that “heavy lifting” is the name of the game in “powerlifting”. I mean, they don’t call it “powerlifting” for no reason.

All that heavy lifting they do seems scary and dangerous but once you actually get into it, you would realize that it’s actually very safe and very easy. It can be safe and easy as long you know what you’re doing, lifting in good form and good technique. “Powerlifting” can only be dangerous if you’re getting injured frequently and lifting in terrible technique all the time. It can also be dangerous if you’re always maxing out without spotters. Be responsible in powerlifting and it can be very safe and very easy.

When I first got into powerlifting, I’ll admit that I was a bit scared and nervous first but once you do your first powerlifting meet, you’ll immediately realize how easy and safe it is. At a powerlifting meet, if you fail a lift and get in trouble… not too worry ’cause you’ll be surrounded by spotters anyway for each lift. The people at the meets will you make you feel safe competing. That’s their job.

During your training sessions during the off-seasons, it can be very safe training by yourself as long as you’re lifting weights that you can do and lifting in good form. You don’t need to go for 1 rep maxes each time you hit the gym and I made that mistake when I first started out in powerlifting.

During your strength training sessions, squatting by youreslf can be safe as long as you’re in a power/squat rack and the gym that I go to does have one. You don’t really need a spotter for deadlift at gyms ’cause it’s easy to get out of a failed deadlift by yourself. When you’re benching, it’s okay to bench by yourself as long as you don’t go to failure… when you go for a 1 rep max test on bench and not sure that’s when you need a spotter on bench. I mostly bench by myself at the gym but I do get spotters whenever I think I’m in absolute need of one.

People wanna criticize powerlifting all the time but I think the sport is amazing and so inspiring. I discovered powerlifting a few years ago ’cause I’ve got friends that are powerlifters and they were the ones who got me into it, really. Even though I’ve gotten into powerlifting, I still didn’t give up the bodybuilding either ’cause I do both. I want to get both strong and muscular so I got to continue to do bodybuilding training too. I love doing both.

Powerlifting is also a blast. I find it so much fun showing a live audience of what you can do and it’s such a blast watching and cheering on the other lifters too. It’s a blast watching all these people lifting the big weights. I’m not at the big weights yet but I do want to get there someday and don’t want to get too ahead of myself. That’s the key in powerlifting is patience. If you someday want to bench, deadlift and squat 500 lbs. or over, gotta be patient and be consistent. Powerlifting is very addicting ’cause it’s incredible seeing yourself getting stronger and stronger, it’s a great feeling. I can see why powerlifting has become such a popular sport right now. Powerlifting is getting huge and exploding. I’m surprised there isn’t live powerlifting on cable TV yet but there will be someday… for now you can stream live national powerlifting competitions online.

Powerlifting can be for anyone. Doesn’t matter the age. If you want to get into powerlifting, then do it. I suggest you all to try to it if you lift in the gym on a regular basis. Trying out your first powerlifting meet may sound scary and may get you nervous at first but you’ll find it a piece of cake.

I want to do another powerlifting meet this year. There is gonna be one at Albany Strength this month but I won’t be able to do it since I’m just getting over a minor leg injury and just getting back into full time training, I won’t have enough time to prep for it. I will do another powerlifting meet sometime this Summer for sure, though. I love doing them.

Kev

Led Zeppelin wins “Stairway” case once again, will you accept that they aren’t thieves and move on?

I think this Michael Skidmore clown needs to accept that Jimmy didn’t steal the “Stairway” riff from “Taurus” and move on. Of course this Skidmore guy never will… he’ll figure out another way to get at Led Zep.

https://www.nydailynews.com/snyde/ny-led-zeppelin-stairway-to-heaven-court-rules-20200309-jphuicz44jarhfhbbejgudxf4a-story.html

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-51805905

I think Led Zeppelin getting accused of being song thieves is getting old and tiresome. It’s all pretty silly, in my opinion. Even if Led Zep did take bits and bits from other songs here and there, I wouldn’t call it “stealing” or “ripping off”… it’s more like “borrowing”. There is nothing wrong with “borrowing” from other songs for your own original music ’cause bands & artists do these things all the time. There is nothing wrong with taking a little piece of music that you like from another song to try and re-write it to make your own. It’s unfair that artists get called “song thieves”.

Congrats to Led Zep on another victory, though. I’m sure Page, Plant and Jones are pretty happy about this.

Kev

 

Minor leg injury is gone but still gonna go to physical therapy for a little bit…

So my minor upper left leg injury seems to be gone. I don’t seem to be feeling it anymore so I’m good enough to get back into lower body lifting. However; though, I’m not really a big fan of this P.T. I’ve been going to. It seems like he’s trying to get me to stop the powerlifting which I will never do. It wasn’t the powerlifting that caused it. I blame it on the leg press… not sure how… maybe I went a little too heavy on it, maybe bad form, etc. Probably bad form ’cause bad form usually causes people to get injured in the gym most of the time. I’m back to using the leg press in the gym but being more careful and going slightly lighter.

My PT thinks it’s the imbalancing of my legs is what’s causing the injury and big lifts is what’s causing it but I disagree. It is just a strain and I think that’s all it was. Just a “strain”. Well it’s gone now. Now the P.T. notices that my hips and glutes are a little weak and that’s one thing I agree with him on actually. So I’m gonna continue to go to P.T. for a little while to do exercises and stretches to strengthen the hips and glutes. My hips and glutes are pretty weak and already, I’m googling exercises to try and help strengthen those too. I’ve started getting back into glute ham raises at the gym and should I get back to the barbell hip thrust too? Thinking about it.

I really need to strengthen my glutes and hips ’cause honestly, that would really help with my deadlifting and barbell squats.

I will never give up powerlifting, though. It’s just a minor injury that wasn’t to be taken seriously and already, people are making a big deal about it. Trying to talk me out of powerlifting training which I will never do.

As long as I’m not feeling it anymore, I should be alright to get right back into my strength training. I’ve already had this week. I stop the powerlifting and heavy lifting on my own terms, not everyone else’s. Whatever it takes for them to keep me going to appointments so they can make more money, I guess… but I’ll continue to go to PT for a little while longer.

I got to work on my flexibility too ’cause I’m not that flexible. I’m thinking of going back to Yoga classes this Spring/Summer and I probably will.

I love powerlifting training. That I’ll never give up no matter what anyone says. I’m gonna keep doing my thing.

Kev

RIP: Max Von Sydow 1929 – 2020…

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2020 takes another good one… Max Von Sydow legendary actor has starred in so many films over the years but he’s mostly famous for roles in like “The Seventh Seal”, “The Exorcist”, “Flash Gordon”, Stephen King’s “Needful Things”, etc. The list keeps going on and on.

Max was an actor who loved what he did. He kept going at it until he couldn’t do it anymore. He kept acting until he died in reality ’cause it’s what he loved to do, it wasn’t about the money for him at all. Over the years, Max starred in films in just about every genre you could think of… he did it at all from drama, comedy, thrillers, science fiction and even horror films. He didn’t star in too many horror films but he was most famously in “The Exorcist” in which he played Father Merrin… the famous “The Power of Christ Compels You” scene and he was the leading villain in Stephen King’s “Needful Things”, the film in which he starred as the film’s leading villain, Leland Gaunt.

He also did a role in HBO’s “Game of Thrones” TV show and I remember seeing him in it. Max was a phenomenal actor and he could play everything that threw at him no matter the age. He really was a great talent. Probably the best out there. I also remembered him in “Rush Hour 3” and “Minority Report”. He’s been in so many good movies.

I thought his best role in his career was in “The Exorcist”, of course even though it was kind of a small role… he only appeared toward the end of it… the exorcism scene. Everybody wants to talk about “Flash Gordon” and I’m sure many will forget that he was in “The Exorcist” too.

RIP Max and thanks for the entertainment.

Kev

Got some more music albums from Itunes this week…

Earlier this week, I just purchased some more music albums from Itunes. Mostly older rock music this time. I picked up the new Ozzy album, “Ordinary Man” which is surprisingly very good and liked it a lot… along with it I picked up two older Ozzy albums which are Randy Rhoads era stuff “Blizzard of Oz” and “Diary of a Madman”. I’m a huge Ozzy fan… I love his solo material. While he is great in Black Sabbath, he is also a great solo artist.

That ZZ Top documentary on Netflix made me want to buy more of their music so I grabbed “Eliminator” and “Tres Hombre” from Itunes.

As far as AC/DC goes, got their first album “High Voltage” and an older Brian Johnson one “For Those About To Rock” (which I have on vinyl but needed the digital version). I’m still trying to collect all AC/DC records, their whole discography. Just love the band. I love both eras, Bon and Brian. Doesn’t matter to me.

Got another Korn album, “Untouchables”. I’ve been listening to Korn a lot lately and I think they’re just a fun band to listen to. That band has gotten a lot of mixed criticism over the years but I find them amazing. They’ve been labeled as “nu-metal” but I don’t think so… they’re still “metal” in my opinion. So they play 7 string guitars and de-tune and they get labeled “nu-metal”??? I think they’re a combination of rock & metal with maybe a little hip hop thrown in but this is an excellent band, though.

No more buying albums for a while ’cause these ones will keep me busy. I love music and can’t live without it.

Kev

Video: Arnold Schwarzenegger the man himself speaks to the USAPL crowd at the Arnold Festival…

Arnold Schwarzenegger, the man himself surprises powerlifting crowd at the USAPL meets at The Arnold Festival by making a special appearance. Guess he was there to help hype up the crowd and get the lifters all pumped up before they start lifting.

I know there has been stuff going on with the Arnold Festival over this Corona Virus stuff with the Arnold being partially cancelled over it and all that.

Now that I’m finally a USAPL member, I hope to one day compete at the Arnold and that’s the goal. One day I will compete for the major meets like the Arnold and the RAW Nationals and go pro. I’d love to win a gold medal someday (a real one) and that’s my dream. You can win actual gold through the USAPL which is awesome. Someday that will happen but I’m not gonna rush and take my time.

It would be cool for me to meet Arnold Schwarzenegger myself someday… while I don’t agree with his politics… I just respect the hell out of him ’cause he’s bodybuilding champion and I’m a fan of his movies.

Kev

Christopher Lloyd and Michael J. Fox reunites but it’s for a poker game, they decide to post an instagram selfie just for old times sake…

Michael J. Fox is hosting a poker game event to help benefit his Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Disease research. He invites his longtime friend and actor, Christopher Lloyd to the poker game. So while these two guys were at the poker game, they decided to take a selfie together just for old time’s sake for both of their instagram accounts. There has been Back to the Future reunions in the past so these two guys have been together in the past before.

Even if there hasn’t been anymore “Back to the Future” sequels, fans still love the movies after all these years and these two guys know there are still fans out there so they took this photo for us fans. I know I’m a huge fan of the BTTF trilogy. Love all three of them; although, the first two will always be the best. The third one, the Western one was pretty good but not the best.

Will there ever be a “Back to the Future 4” for the big screen? In interviews, Christopher said he’s always game for playing Doc Brown again, he said he’s always ready for it but as far as Michael goes, I don’t think he’ll be able to play Marty again due to Parkinson’s. On top of that, Rob Zemeckis the director of the trilogy doesn’t want anymore “BTTF” films with no reason given. I guess Zemeckis just had enough of them and just wants to move on.

Anyhow, Christopher and Michael still do look great together after all these years, though and they are still brothers after all these years too. I wish they could do one more BTTF film ’cause I believe they can pull it off easily, it’s just that Zemeckis wants nothing to do with them anymore. Such a shame.

These two guys are very liberal politically yes but I don’t care, the BTTF movies are still freakin’ awesome.

Kev

Disney plus, quick thoughts…

So earlier today, I decided to take a quick look around “Disney Plus” streaming service since I’m now a subscriber. It’s pretty nice but as expected there’s a lot of kids stuff on there… well it’s Disney so you’ll have to expect it. I’m sure Disney are trying to make their streaming service to attract adult viewers which is why all of Star Wars are on there and why they’re starting to add Marvel movies on there too and it’s why they got “National Geographic” on there.

Anyhow, only reason I got Disney plus was for “The Mandolorian” show pretty much since I’ve been wanting to watch that show for a long while myself and I will start that show real soon. I also wanted to get it ’cause of the upcoming “Loki” show which I can’t wait for. “Loki” is a Marvel show that will be about that villain Loki played by Tom  Hiddleston. I’m a huge fan of that “Loki” character too and can’t wait to watch the first season whenever they put it out.

Since I’m a huge Toy Story fan, I’ll get to re-watch the first three movies and watch the 4th on there since I haven’t seen the 4th one yet. I’m also planning to watch the first “Frozen” movie on there too.

What’s really cool about this streaming service is that it even has Vintage Disney like the old Mickey Mouse Club show and classic Disney cartoons from years ago. I like the old black and white Mickey Mouse cartoons, remember that stuff? All that is on there too.

It has content on there for people of all ages.

The only downside about Disney Plus is that it doesn’t have Indiana Jones on there yet. If you want to watch the four Indiana Jones movies, you’ll have to go to Netflix for that one ’cause the Indy movies are over there. They’ll get Indy on Disney Plus soon, though,  I’m sure. When that happens that means the 4 Indy films on Netflix will get taken off. Remember, Disney owns Lucasfilm now.

Disney Plus is pretty cool, I guess but I’m sure Disney will try to improve it in the future. It’s a keeper.

Kev

ZZ Top, most legendary bands have retired and gone but not these guys, they are still going…

So I watched the ZZ Top documentary on Netflix over last weekend and it was a very well-made documentary. Freakin’ loved it actually. I’ve seen a lot of music documentaries and that one was one of the best ones I’ve seen. Very well filmed and well-directed. It’s just a short hour and a half long documentary that shows the life and career of three musicians known as ZZ Top.

I’ve been a fan of this band for a long time but don’t have too many albums by them, though. Watching that documentary made me want to get more of their music and I just purchased “Eliminator” and “Tres Hombre” albums from  Itunes earlier today. Other albums I own by them are “La Futura” (their latest album they released in 2012) and “Deguello” (1979).

I’ve always respected this band so much and of course, it was MTV who helped put this band on the map ’cause they wouldn’t have survived in the industry for this long if it wasn’t for their music videos. A lot of iconic bands over the years have broken up ’cause they either had members that passed away or just wanted to retire but not ZZ Top. They are one band who had the same three guys for over 50 years and they are still going today. They are still going today… making records and still going on some pretty extensive tours too. Yes, they are aging but nothing is slowing these guys down.

They are another band who hasn’t changed their style and sound of music over the years. They’ve always had that tight blues rock sound every album. All three guys are talented as hell musicians. Billy is a great guitar player, Dusty is a great bassist and Frank is a great drummer. These guys play for real too… they play for real in the studio and live on stage. They don’t fake anything. When they play live concerts, there will be no miming to a recording. If you want proof of that, watch that documentary and you will see.

The band is currently on tour right now actually and their support act for this tour is Def Leppard (who I’m also a big fan of).

The question is when will ZZ Top release a new studio album? I think they will at some point but probably after the tour ’cause remember now bands release studio albums after a tour nowadays. I do love the band and I’ve always wanted to see the band myself but they aren’t coming in my area which is kind of a bummer.

Their documentary is worth watching and you should check it out. You don’t have to be a die-hard fan to watch it. It can be for newer fans. That documentary will help make you respect that band even more, trust me.

Kev

Just went for Hulu and Disney+ streaming service this week…

So this week, I signed up for two more streaming services: Hulu and Disney+. Just went for the Hulu without ads and Disney+ bundle deal instead of that triple bundle deal. I’m keeping Netflix and WWE Network so I’ve got 4 streaming services on my Smart TV now so that’s good enough. I took a look at other streaming services but wasn’t really interested in the other ones. I find Hulu and Disney+ being the best so I went for those.

While Netflix isn’t good anymore like it used to be, I’m still keeping it ’cause I still need Netflix for “The Waking Dead” and “Stranger Things”. Also, “The Dark Crystal” and “The Witcher” original shows on Netflix are just a few shows that I still like watching on there.

I gotta keep WWE Network ’cause I still love my wrestling

I went for Hulu ’cause I wanted something different other than Netflix and I’m liking Hulu.

I got Disney+ for the Mandolorian TV show since I’m a Star Wars nerd myself. Also got Disney+ for the Marvel films and Disney classics. I haven’t really looked at Disney+ yet but gonna check it out later this evening and start adding stuff to the watchlist. Yeah, I guess you can say that I like Disney. You gotta like Disney if you want that one. Disney isn’t just for kids, it can be for people of all ages. You’re never too old to like Disney whether you like their animated stuff or live action films. While I do like Disney animated films and some Pixar, I prefer classic Disney films like “Snow White”, “Cinderella”, “Bambi”, “Pinocchio”, “Alice in Wonderland”,”Fantasia”, etc. The old stuff are great…. not really much into the newer Disney animated films with the exception of the “Toy Story” franchise. I love “Toy Story” and I’m sure all 4 of those films are on there.

Tell you the truth, though, I’m not really a TV junkie like some would think. I got rid of my cable box and for that, I needed a few more streaming services. I hate cable TV anyways and most of my TV watching are streaming services. Streaming services is the way to go nowadays. I am a binger but I don’t binge TV 10 hours a day like some people do. I only watch TV in the evenings/nights ’cause like I said before, it’s a good way for me to relax when I’m not in the gym.

Now that I have Disney+, I can start watching the first season of “The Mandolorian” anytime ’cause the show looks good. I’ll start watching that show real soon. That show getting great reviews.

Kev

The Official Music Website of Kevin Brock – Brocking N' Rolling