Everybody has a hero, themselves.

#9 Pain. The Good kind.

Sat, 11 Jun 2011 11:31:25 -0400

Pain. I felt surged through my quads, hamstrings, hips, glutes, lower back, abs and traps as I slowly tried to stand back up with an iron bar loaded with weights balanced on my upper back. It took me roughly 5-6 seconds to squat down and stand back up again. Now that’s pretty fucking long for a single movement, something that could’ve been done in probably less that 1 and a half seconds. What took so long? Oh, it’s just the bar and weights I decided to put on my back that day. The very pieces of metal that not only lengthen the time it took to squat, but gave me a burning, throbing pain that seared through almost every part of my body every second of the way.

You know what? I liked it. A minute later I’m back under the bar slowly descending and ascending, for the rest of the half an hour in the gym that day.

That was last Monday morning. By that night the muscles that were in pain during the workout, had a tingling feeling to it, almost like it was stiffening. Come Tuesday morning, It also took me 5-6 seconds to just get up from bed and walk about 3 steps towards the bathroom from my bed. And that was just halfway. My muscles screamed in pain as I winced at every step I took. It felt like my quads were on fire. It felt like someone stabbed me in my hamstrings with a knife. It felt like my butt cheeks were tasered every time I took a step.

You know what? I liked it.

Today(Saturday) is the first day my legs were pain free, aside from a little stiffness. I read this quote somewhere, but I cant remember where or by who :

Pain is weakness leaving the body

I believe in this. I went through 5 days of pain, now I know come Monday, it’s gonna take more weight, or more reps, or even both to make me feel the same amount of pain again. Now I know it will take more than before to weaken me, because I am now stronger from the pain.

That’s how weight training works or everything for that matter. You train, feel the sores the next few days as your body recovers and when it does, do it again. It tells us that we’ve done enough and it’s time to rest and grow. When it’s all good and healed, go at it again.

We’ve all endured the burning sensation whether it’s in the gym or in the ring or on the tracks. To some it deters us from going further. It scares them that they may not be able to pull through, so they give up. They let the weights fall, they throw in the towel, they stop taking any more steps, they let themselves down. It’s common to see the person walking away chin down and head hung after all this. They simply gave up.

Then there are those that have the voices in their head and heart screaming and roaring “one more” “keep going” “you can do it” “you can make it”. These roars get so loud they overcome the pain. They numb us to it which helps us power on. And when we do drop the weight, or hear the ring of the bell, or cross the line, we’re the ones with our heads healed high. We’re the ones that found it in us to to power through the pain. We’re the ones that now know it’s gonna take more than before for us to feel pain like that again because we can take it. We’re the ones that didn’t give up. We’re the heroes.

Pain is weakness leaving the body, only to bring strength in.

movetofit: thespartanwarrior: Do today what others won’t, so...

Fri, 03 Jun 2011 01:55:53 -0400

movetofit:

thespartanwarrior:

Do today what others won’t, so tomorrow you can do what others can’t.

Love that look. The eyes that is.

Pkgm : yeah true. Did you know he was poked in the eye? he had all 5 fingers thrusted in his...

Thu, 02 Jun 2011 14:30:01 -0400

Pkgm : yeah true. Did you know he was poked in the eye? he had all 5 fingers thrusted in his face by shields. I wouldn’t be too hard on him for winning like so, he had alot to lose and a bad eye didnt make it easier. If only GSP went all out and finish…

Mtnman92 : amen to that brother. I dont know if im now expecting him to push, or more so hoping. Im hoping he’d be at least AS aggresive as he was with alvez. he was badass then!

UFC 137 : GSP vs Nate Diaz

Thu, 02 Jun 2011 03:09:00 -0400

Source from Dana White’s twitter.

Me being a GSP fan, I have never missed a GSP match and I dont plan to start! GO GSP!

Thoughts?! Predictions?!

rippedfuel: misskristine: Am I the only one that does bag work...

Thu, 02 Jun 2011 02:57:44 -0400

rippedfuel:

misskristine:

Am I the only one that does bag work barefoot?!

(and she has some thick handwraps lol)

no I always do my bag work bear foot otherwise it can rip the bags apart and..they aren’t cheap (good ones anyway). plus..shoes..puh. I USUALLY train barefoot unless I run or do box jumps because the whole fact that my box jump is a tree stump. haha.

Also I think this photo is mainly staged.

Edit; I do mean train as in the context of martial arts training. Sometimes my warm ups include box jumps and running and body weight circuits with a lil kettlebell stuff and a lot of jumping rope. Not the heavy lifting and what not.

There are people who train with shoes? shit…

Day 02 : Badass Superhero Body

Tue, 31 May 2011 14:12:00 -0400

I didnt have much time, and wasnt feeling it for legs so i switched it up with thursday for shoulder workout.

Thursday - Shoulders/ some oly lifts
Cleans - 2x6 4x3
Push press - 2x6 4x3
Strict military press - 4x8-10
Lateral Raises - 4x10-12

I have to learn how to clean properly. I cant get my elbows up and parallel to the floor to catch the bar and I cant catch the bar at the fingertips. My grip tightens and my wrists stiffens up due to reflexes. damnit. Mind over matter.
Didnt have enough time to do the raises at the end so I didnt. Im feeling guilty now.

Day 01 : Badass Superhero Body

Mon, 30 May 2011 13:36:00 -0400

So today was Day 01 of my 14weeks long ‘Building Badass Superhero Body’ and let me tell it you was goooood.

So here’s monday

Monday - Chest & Tri
Barbell bench press - 4x6-8 2x3
Cable crossover/fly - 5x8-10
Dumbbell incline - 5x12-15
Rope pulldown - 3x10
Close grip bench press - 3x8-10

PR’d on the bench which was surprising since the last time I benched was 2 weeks ago, and before that was a month and a half. PR of 3 more reps on my last 3RM.

I think the PR on the bench was cause of a faster weight progression. Had only 2 increase of weights in my working set before I reached my 3RM instead of the extra 1 more before this.

Incase I’m not clear enough, I’m talking about.. (i know the numbers arent impressive but I’m working on it)

Before 3RM 165

Bench : (warm up 95lbx10, 95x10) 110x8, 110x8, 125x8, 125x8, 145x8, 145x8, 165x3, 165x3

Now new 5-6RM 165

(warm up 95x10, 95x10) 125x8, 125x8, 145x8, 145x8, 165x6, 165x5(fail halfway up at 6)

So now, I skip the 2sets of 110. I think that makes all the difference, Im not as burned out when I reach my max effort.

I’m going for at least 175lb next week!

Everything else was good, everything was done under an hour and and 15min.

I forgot to mention also, I’ve got a friend who wanted to join along. He recently (few months?) reached a down low with his self esteem, which he blamed his body to be the main cause. He’s far from obese, but he’s still far from seeing 2 packs, let alone 6, anytime soon. He’s walking around 5’7 1/2 200lb with 27% body fat.

He came to me and asked me for a little guidance to help his diet and workout. Since he’s my housemate for uni it’ll be easier for me to help him out. So now he’ll be coming along with me for all my workouts, and he’s got a revised diet based on my own knowledge from articles and all.

Right now he’s on a cleaner diet, so we’ll see how much weight he can lose with a 4-day workout schedule. Then when it fat loss starts slowing down, I thought I’d have him put in some cardio ala complexes and/or sprints. Probably 2-3 session. Then we’ll see how it goes from there. His priority is to lose as much bodyfat as possible, while gaining a fair bit amount of muscle.

Based on a fat loss template I got and have tried before, I’ve put my friend on a Carb Cycling diet, with more Low Carb days.

High - Carb : 100g, Prot : 225g
Med - Carb : 80g, Prot : 240g
Low - Carb : 50g, Prot : 240g

Anyone care to chip in any suggestions or opinions?

Having my friend ask me for help kinda brought something out of me. I have always been the type that understands and pick things up easily, and apply, teach, explain it well too. So to speak, I sort of have the gift to teach. And I enjoy teaching. Having this passion for fitness have given me a strong desire to pursue it as a career, like a personal trainer.

My friend came to me at probably the best time, since I’m most involved in fitness at this part of my life and I’ve got a desire to be a personal trainer. I know I’m far from qualified, but I guess to me this becomes some what of a test if I can really teach something that I think I know quite a bit of. It tests my people skills, my coaching skills, If I can truly be there to push and improve someone not only physically but also mentally. This becomes the first hurdle really, for me to figure out whether I can do this. Whether I belong in the coaching field of fitness.

So this is where I come to you tumblrs or fitblrs, who are already or on the way of establishing their career in coaching and fitness. Since I dont have anyone to look to as a role model in me coaching someone else, I’m practically starting from scratch here. If you can, please help me out with maybe some suggestions of do and donts, basic know-hows on personal training etc. One day I’d ~~like~~/hope to have a job like yours. Fitness is something I have a burning passion for, and possibly one day make it into the business of personal training. Afterall who wouldnt want to have a job they love to do right?

awesome response! I did mean dont be her sparring partner in terms of 'if you're not a martial artist' but I guess I left that out. I have found that for me, it takes a certain type of male that I can be in a relationship with and fight with. Fortunately I've found that now but before I was faced with a male who didnt like me beating him, or hitting him, and eventually he started to resent everything about me. His exact words were "if you ever hit me again i will beat the shit out of you" and thus I ditched him pretty hard.

All in all i believe martial arts girls are pretty awesome. I'm kinda biased in that opinion though. hehe.

Thu, 26 May 2011 12:09:14 -0400

Thanks, awesome post on your part also. Was wondering if someone was gonna post something more relevant to me instead of the ‘date a runner’.

It’s a good thing you ditched the guy. Hope you gave him a beating before he went his way!

I’d have to agree with you on martial arts girls awesomeness, cause I’m biased also. ;)

Ripped Fuel: Date a Martial Arts Girl (because I'm not a runner)

Thu, 26 May 2011 01:19:00 -0400

Ripped Fuel: Date a Martial Arts Girl (because I'm not a runner):

rippedfuel:

(I’m not trying to say that MA Girls are better, just different and I was inspired by that post. lol)

Date a girl who does Martial Arts. A girl who does Martial arts chooses to face the world rather then let it take over her. She will stand proudly, with an air of confidence about her. She will…

Date a Martial Arts girl? I currently am. I will be the first to quote this post from rippedfuel for truth. Everything, EVERYTHING is true.

My girl hasn’t been training for long, but she rose through the ranks extremely fast. She has boxes filled with medals and certificates at home, which were mainly gold.

She is tough, proud and beautiful. She moves with the grace of a dancer and the speed of a snake. She will not give in easily.

As what rippedfuel said, an MA girl is a girl who survives a dojo filled with men. My girl trumps on the other girls, but thats not where the competition for her lies. She competes and trains to be better than the men. There’s nothing like defying natural laws of genetics, when you outdo someone who is MADE to have an advantage over you. Size, strength, speed etc. Something most males naturally have, most females have to train to have. So she trains and competes herself against the men. What more against trained men. Because she will not give in to ‘natural’ or ‘genetical/gender’ reasoning.

but never her sparring partner

I would half agree with this? 3/4? From my experience, my girl gets competitive even with me. When im faced infront of her, I am no more the boyfriend, I am the enemy. Which sucks. Her natural fighter instincts take over, which (where I agree with rippedfuel) has an after effect on the relationship. I would disagree with the statement, because I think it can be overcome. At least we (me and my girl) did. Slowly it became less competitive and started to be more constructive. No one was trying to win, everyone was just trying to be better in their own skills. It became practice.

By the way, to other guys who date MA girls, if you dont have a little or even ANY MA experience, or even athletic capabilities (reflexes, speed, intuition, flexibility etc), then by all means DO NOT become her sparring partner. Trust me, its no fun getting kicked in the face. I know.

She will grin when you roll together because she has been able to share the biggest part of herself.

I’d like to add to this. I met my girl prior to me lifting weights or even Muay Thai. She was at her prime MA period. So meeting somebody who’s covered in lean strong muscles, bumps and bruises, or ‘trophies of war’, in my 125lb skinny fat frame with hardly a scratch on me for I feared the slightest pain, was very very hard. It was hard for me, being the guy to meet someone more capable than I was in something I was naturally suppose to be better at : physical capabilities. I was weaker, I was slower, I was more fearful of pain. It bruised and battered my ego like hell. So that only added to the list, I was mentally weaker.

But then she accepted me for who I was. She loved me, and I loved the fact that she did. Slowly the bruises on my ego healed with her help. It didnt matter to her that I was skinny fat, that I was slow, that I was weak mentally and physically. In her words “I will protect you”. Laugh all you like, but I truly believed in those words.

Then her character started etching itself on to mine. I started to build confidence from her. I started wanting to better myself, for myself. She gave me the little push and became the little voice that told me I could and that she would be beside me all the way.

I started going to the gym because of her. We became each other’s gym buddies. I fell in love with combat sports, because of her. She’d spend time to teach me techniques and little little things which lighted my fire for martial arts. I’d watch videos of youtube of fights, and excitedly share with her. Come night time, she’d teach me how. And after being her ‘sparring’ partner, I now fear no pain, at least not as before. Trust me, she dishes out ALOT of it.

I would not have been the person I am today if not for her. She changed me in and out. Gave me the tools to build myself up to be who I am. She is my pillar of strength, the one I owe every good part of me to.

She showed me how, and helped me along the way as I learned more about myself and build myself. She helped, hell, she started my pursuit of a better life, being a better person, to be my own hero.

Date a Martial Arts girl, I currently am, and it is beautiful.

wbaw: What’s that tumblr? You’ve never made your own protein...

Wed, 25 May 2011 11:52:56 -0400

wbaw:

What’s that tumblr? You’ve never made your own protein bars before? shame. shame on you.

I just made mine 2 days ago. tasted kinda…tasteless though. oh well.

Mine were of powdered nuts, rolled oats, eggs and protein powder.

Per bar : 400 cal, 32 Prot, 20 fats, 27 carbs.

Weight gain protein bars ftw!

#8 Building A Badass Superhero Body

Wed, 25 May 2011 04:11:00 -0400

So my semester break is coming to an end. That means I’ve got 14+ weeks of uni to go to, come Monday. That also means I’ve got 14+ weeks of free (most times) access to the university gym. Time to crank it up and go on a lean mass gain program!

So this is the program I’ve written for myself which I plan to follow for 14 solid weeks. I’ve shown it to a number of successful strength athletes and bodybuilders on T-Nation, made the necessary changes and now I think I’m set to go. Of course any comments, questions or suggestions are open to any of you, I’d love to hear it

14 week Lean Mass Gain

Monday - Chest & Tri
Barbell bench press - 4x6-8 2x3
Cable crossover/fly - 5x8-10
Dumbbell incline - 5x12-15
Rope pulldown - 3x10
Close grip bench press - 3x8-10

Tuesday - Legs
Back Squat - 4x6-8 2x3
Leg press - 4x8-10
weighted step ups - 3x10 (per leg)

Wed - rest

Thursday - Shoulders/ some oly lifts
Cleans - 2x6 4x3
Push press - 2x6 4x3
Strict military press - 4x8-10
Lateral Raises - 4x10-12

Friday - Back
Pullups - total rep 50
Deadlift - 4x6-8 2x3
Complexes - 3-4 sets
   -High pull - 6 reps
   -Barbell row - 8 reps
   -pendlay row - 8 reps

Sat - Legs & Bi
Back Squat - 2x15 2x12 2x10 Ramp
Front Squat - 3x8-10
Goblet Squat - 4x8-10
Barbell curls - 3x8-10
Dumbell curls - 3x8-10

Sun - rest

The sets with 3 reps (…x3) are max effort. Namely bench press, squat, deadlifts, cleans and push press.

There ya go. Not to mention I’ve got once a week Muay Thai sessions. I used to go for 2-3, but I think I’d want to focus on mass gain first and only go once a week.

I plan also to put in at least 2 mobility and sprint sessions at night.Probably Sunday and Wednesday.

Any runners out there care to comment or suggest sprint routines? This is just to keep my mobility and conditioning up. I wouldn’t mind the added speed, but It’s no priority.

thespartanwarrior: Deadlifts today. I love deadlifts. They have...

Tue, 24 May 2011 14:35:53 -0400

thespartanwarrior:

Deadlifts today.

I love deadlifts. They have quickly become my favorite lift in the workout plans. They work everything. If done properly you’ll hit hamstrings, lower back and glutes effectively. There is nothing like picking up the barbell and feeling it bend under the weight.

Lifting today means I can eat more. Problem? I’m not getting enough calories (even though I’m on a cut) and I will be majorly shy of my fat goal if I eat everything as I’ve set. Oh, yeah.. I could eat more carbs too since I’m going heavy.

Planned intake:

Calories: 1,788

Protein: 207

Carbohydrates: 94

Fat: 65

Must find more fats/calories… if carbs come too, well, that’s okay.

There is nothing, and I mean NOTHING like good ol’ deadlift.

…well then again i’m also torn between deadlifts, squats and power cleans. But that’s just me.

Spartanwarrior, have you tried a variety of nuts? Almonds, cashew, pecan etc. Loads of calories and healthy fats. Good luck with your cut, am definately following your progress log!

New layout. yay or nay?

Tue, 24 May 2011 14:31:09 -0400

Honestly I liked the previous one better. Plain, simple, yet bold. But even for me it was hard to navigate around. Damnit I added the ask feature and STILL couldn’t find it.

Hope you guys like this one better.

samishealthy: Protein pancakes again for breakfast this...

Tue, 24 May 2011 06:34:30 -0400

samishealthy:

Protein pancakes again for breakfast this time ! 273 cals I modified the recipe with egg whites and strawberries yum (:

Awesome breakfast, I want some. Recipe please? haha. What are the nutritional values of the pancakes?

#7 I have an 'ask me' feature now. but where is it?

Mon, 23 May 2011 15:13:00 -0400

This is a beautifully written passage. In fact his whole blog (although new) is very well written. For anyone who has ever stood under the iron, tried to lose weight, hell tried to change something about themselves. Go to this blog, start from the bottom and read.

In respect to this passage i feel the same way, i’ve been lifting for three years, and have been dreaming of MMA for about 5. I love weightlifting and always will, but i completely agree with that sense of wanting more. I never went out and looked for a gym in order to learn BJJ, muay thai, or wrestling. Until two days ago, unfortunetly there is no place for muay thai near me, so i’m taking up Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

Just out of Curiosity ( i couldnt find your ask box). Do you read the stuff on T-nation? great site. And yeah, Nate Green’s book is terrific i read it cover to cover in one sitting.

Great blog, please keep these coming!!!

From mtnman92

Hey man, thanks for the compliments. It really means alot to me. I’ve never been the type who’d write and this is actually my first attempt at blogging and writing in general! So yeah, it’s music to my ears to know someone enjoys what i read.

Haha, did you notice my profile picture? or was that what hinted it? Yeah I read T-nation. Picture is from Thib’s ‘Superhero’ Article. I found it most fitting for my tumblr. Nate Green is an awesome writer! period!

Again, thanks!

Ps : I now have an ‘ask me’ feature. seriously. where is it?

#6 I AM A CHAMPION Been meaning to post for the past few days,...

Mon, 23 May 2011 04:37:00 -0400

#6 I AM A CHAMPION

Been meaning to post for the past few days, but I’ve been busy. Maybe tonight after my Muay Thai i’d write something.

Someone posted this on facebook and I thought of sharing it here. Truly inspirational. If you have the time, do take a look. I’m certain it’s gonna help you in someway.

When the weights in front of you feels like a ton. When the last 100m of your race feels like a 100 miles. When getting up seems impossible and that little voice in your head tells you to stay down.

Do it. Take a breath, grab the bar and rip the iron off the floor. Drive your legs into the ground and dont stop until you’ve passed the finish line. Tell the voice to shut the fuck up and get up because you know you can.

I am a champion.

“why do we fall, Bruce? So we can learn to pick ourselves up.”

- Thomas Wayne. Batman Begins 2005

fuck-yeah-tumblrs-best-posts: snappykevin: amandargh: theresavoi...

Mon, 23 May 2011 04:22:36 -0400

fuck-yeah-tumblrs-best-posts:

snappykevin:

amandargh:

theresavoidinmypolaroid:

REBLOG AND THEN CLICK ON THE PICTURE. USE YOUR WEBCAM OR NOT.

This is the most wondrous thing. I have turned off all of my lights and I’m sat under my duvet like a secret pioneer into this fantastic little world that I can’t stop watching.

Genuinely one of the coolest things I’ve come across on here.

MINDBLOWN :D

Submitted by snappykevin

I couldnt resist. what is this?

#4 Quoted for truth

Fri, 20 May 2011 01:51:47 -0400

Everybody has a hero, themselves.: #3 My colour coordinated tights, cape and mask are in the laundry.

Wed, 18 May 2011 14:58:08 -0400

Everybody has a hero, themselves.: #3 My colour coordinated tights, cape and mask are in the laundry.:

pkgm:

no point in having muscles if you can’t fight

theherointraining:

So when Im not fighting villains or saving damsels, Im the good looking, heavily muscled, athleticly gifted sexy hunk of meat that you’d call not-so-average joe.

Its my blog and I can write whatever I want, even if it’s ~~not~~ true. Plus, it’s not like I’ll never get there.

Ive been in the…

@pkgm,

you know when i saw the notification that you reblogged this, the only words shown were ‘you cant fight’. i went ‘say whaaa…*click*…oh. oops, my bad’ haha.

fighting isnt for everyone, to each his/her own in regards to building muscles? aesthetics, sports, etc, you name it. :)

#3 My colour coordinated tights, cape and mask are in the laundry.

Wed, 18 May 2011 12:36:00 -0400

So when Im not fighting villains or saving damsels, Im the good looking, heavily muscled, athleticly gifted sexy hunk of meat that you’d call not-so-average joe.

Its my blog and I can write whatever I want, even if it’s ~~not~~ true. Plus, it’s not like I’ll never get there.

Ive been in the weightlifting game not that long actually, 2 years or so. I (and many others) would still consider myself a beginner. But I have never regretted the day I picked up the iron. Taking time moving weights gave me strength I’ve never had, a body which had way more muscles that the basic muscles I was born with, and altered the way I look at things, and the way I look at myself. I had better perspective of people, things, generally the world around me, and better understanding of myself, my confidence, my abilities.

But something wasn’t complete. Back then while I continued lifting, I didnt know what it was. Somehow the iron wasn’t enough for me. It made me happy yes, but it something was amiss. It was with that, that I started losing drive, losing focus, losing passion in the iron.

Then came Combat Sports.

I stumbled on some mma shows and I was hooked. Everything about it was attracting me. Stand up, ground game, strategies, mental strength. I recalled an old friend of mine telling me her dad was a well known Muay Thai instructor years before, so that’s where I headed.

Muay Thai, the national sport of Thailand. Art of Eight Limbs. I was nervous and excited, wondering how was training gonna be, could I keep up with the pace, could I even do anything? Even though I nearly puked a lung out, got blisters the size of my thumb on my feet, cramped my muscles once or twice, I loved it. There’s nothing about it that I dislike (probably the short hour and half classes). I went at it for another class 2 days later, and never stopped going.

Soon I was learning how to throw a punch properly. How to twist my hips to generate more force in a kick. How to knee someone in the rib. Weeks later I got better and better. The only thing growing faster than my set of skills was my hunger for knowledge. This was what was missing. The hunger to learn. I didnt have this feeling with lifting iron. Some may say I wasn’t at it for too long, but then again, with all do respect, they’re not me.

With muay thai it was a never ending. One day I’d learn a combination I thought I’d be able to use, next I’d be countered by something I knew nothing off. It was painful yeah, but man it was beautiful. There’s nothing like learning how to not get hit, by getting hit.

Im hoping (though I’m sure it won’t) that this isn’t just some early stage excitement at something new, and that it’ll die off as I continue. There’s so much more I want to learn, I want to do. Hopefully it wont be long till I’ll be good enough to compete. To have the true experience of what a combat sport has to offer. Going head to head with someone else who’s intention is nothing short of breaking your bones or disfiguring your face…violently.

I’ll confirm it after my first fight, but I think I’ve found my home.

…that was corny as hell.

I wont stop weightlifting just because I’ve grown a liking for Muay Thai. Weightlifting brings alot of benefits, like getting a badass body with hulk-like strength. But now, Im gonna gear all my lifting towards improving or aiding my performance in Muay Thai. In short, imma get a badass body with hulk-like strength and a set of skills to kill to go with it.

The only thing better than a good looking, heavily muscled, athleticly gifted sexy hunk of meat that you’d call not-so-average joe, is that if that good looking, heavily muscled, athleticly gifted sexy hunk of meat that you’d call not-so-average joe can fight.