HARD4YOU’s BodyBlog

I am sorry I haven’t posted anything lately. I just need to take a little time to do some soul searching and critiquing. This is something that I used to do on a regular basis. I think it keeps you well grounded and going in the right direction in life. I allowed buzz of life deafen me to my inner voice.

But I am back and with more fire than ever.

I want to first stop and give God thanks, to all things: especially the little things.  For me it truly is amazing seeing all the wonder he creates I am, talking rocks, leaves, trees, etc….. I mean they seem so small and insignificant in the big small picture. But just think, the same God that created that rock…that tree, created me, us. No man has ever been able to duplicate the creation of those items, and they haven’t duplicated us. That is because just like the rock, something was put into us that makes us strong beyond even our own imagination.

Just this knowledge; this belief has given me power to not only set and achieve my goal,  but to also control the goal, and not have the goal control me.

That being said, I am amount a moth ahead of my schedule on my weight gain. I am at a 191 lbs. My goal was 200 lbs by the end of Dec., so I am ay ahead of schedule.

I know this may not make since to some, but when I am working out or preparing to work out, I think about all that my life has become, and the people I have been fortunate to have in my life, and I get this power………this energy that starts from the heel of my feet and runs through my entire body. Sure, my diet may give me the nutrients to grow and change. But, having GOD on my mind as I work out……………..Man, I could jump across the moon.

I love a variety of music as I work out or pose. But Gospel just speaks to me on a level that is hard to explain. Lee Haney once said you should pick music that speaks to you. Pick music that expresses you who you are and convey that into your posing routine. I say do the same thing in all that you do, including your workouts.

My new goal, is to take God with me not only on Sunday, but through out the week. I know he makes me stronger in the gym. I need him to make strong outside of the gym. I need my inner strength to me my gauge of power, not my outer strength.

Anyway, I will post pics soon. I hope everyone’s learning  more about their selves and not just their bodies they they achieve their goal.

We are such a visual race, we base so much of what we see. But, seeing it does not necessarily  make it so!
Does looking “fit” the same as being healthy?  I think this is the big misconception. I know many people that look great and fit, but their lifestyle says unhealthy.
   Take for example all these football players that keep dropping like flies for “natural causes”. I can’t even begin to imagine the amount of pressure these guys are. They have millions of dollars at stake, and they “have” to be there best, or they loose out. So a little doping here or there won’t hurt. Right? I am not bashing these guys, but regardless of what I feel about it, we have youth looking to us, yes us, to show them the way to a healthy living.

We are such a visual race, we base so much of what we see. But, seeing it does not necessarily make it so!
Does looking “fit” the same as being healthy?  I think this is the big misconception. I know many people that look great and fit, but their lifestyle says unhealthy.
Take for example all these football players that keep dropping like flies for “natural causes”. I can’t even begin to imagine the amount of pressure these guys are. They have millions of dollars at stake, and they “have” to be there best, or they loose out. So a little doping here or there won’t hurt. Right? I am not bashing these guys, but regardless of what I feel about it, we have youth looking to us, yes us, to show them the way to a healthy living.

I worry for the young women of today. They are bombarded with messages of being this then or that skinny, and these “quick fix” ways that stars use to looses weight. Screw that! I know many full figured women that are in freaken awesome health. They are healthier than the crash diet and exercisers because they have taken the time to do it the right way: lifestyle. I know guys that are 265-275 lbs but who participate in triathlons. They are dig boned, but in better shape than most high school athletes. Thin does not mean healthy. Being stacked with muscle does not mean we are healthy. It is how we got there and how we plan on staying there that determines how health we are. If the road we travel to get there is a healthy way, we tend to stick with it for life.

This isn’t to say we should be proud of what we have achieved. But, let’s look at our health in the overall picture. In the end, it really doesn’t matter that we “look health”, only that we “are healthy”. Being healthy is not just about the beauty we see in the mirror, but the beauty we see in ourselves and others.

Try and give a compliment to someone each day. Help them find their beauty. It’ll come back to you.

I was reading an article the other day and I just had to comment on it. It said that 21% on Utahans were OBESE. It stated that Mississippi had a 30.6% Obesity rate. Take in the fact that most government estimates are on the low side. How in the hell did Utah get to this point? Hell how and the hell did the US as a whole get to this point? Come on, there are roughly 600,00+ obese people in a state that boast an outdoor activity accessibility of 8months a year, and that does  not include the  snow lovers  33 to 4 months of activity.

It is ironic that the human race has survived plague after plague as well as some of mother natures worst hell fires, only to be done in by by McDonalds and remote controls. Dam that would be said.

There  is no magic  pill;no quick fix. We have to start taking back America one person and one family at a time. It has to be a LIFESTYLE  change. It is not about rather we will live or die,  but how we LIVE. We were not put on this earth to be inactive bodies. There will be time enough to rest when we take that last lay down our resting box. Let’s not put ourselves in a box while we are alive.

Let’s not kid ourselves. When we get up some mornings, it is hell getting in the gym. Not  to mention all the curve balls life throws at us. But, that since of accomplishment when we push through a workout, is indescribable.

I know a lot of people don’t believe in positive books and sayings. But, if you have to believe in something, believe in yourself and the power to change.

My motto before, during, and after my work out is "See it, Believe it, Achieve it". What’s your motto?

The old saying,"Variety is the Spice of Life", doesn’t just apply to the old bedroom. Varying your workouts can not only increase your results, but bring a new passion for your routines as well.

Variations and times to change differ for each person. I the high energy type, so I not only change my workouts about every 6 weeks, but I  also add function training  movements as well in my day to day workouts.  This can vary from plyometics  and sprint training, to calastinics and hill climbing.This way not ony do I build the muscles, but I work them in the capacity they were meant to be worked.
I want to be able to work with what I built when I am older. If  all I am is this massive bump on the log, with limited movement, I have wasted all my training in vain.

Yes, size does matter. But,only if you can use it properly.

I hope that my blogs will help direct and motivate others to achieve the greatness they all thrive for.

Body Ownership……….I think most of us have been told so much from society about what we can and can’t do, that we defeat ourselves before we ever get started.We are told that if you are this age,do this but not that. We are told  only do these number of sets, reps, etc… for our desired goal. We are a race that attempts to manufacture a healthy body,using the cookie cutter method. There is nothing wrong with taking sound advice every now and then, but we have forgotten how to listen to that inner instinct of our own body. We let others measure and set our achievement by their standards.

When I was younger, I played football, ran track,and wrestled. We trained  4 to 5 times a week, completing the same routines and training the same body parts. When i joined the Marines , we  had PT every day. Yet, we are told that we shouldn’t train our bodies this way or that way.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN OUR ABILITY TO  TRAIN OUR SELVES JUST AS HARD. The difference is in how we have become so accustomed to what we hear and read, that our minds have directed our bodies to a lifestyle of mediocrities. We set our standard by others and before long, their failures become our failures; their injuries become our injuries; their wiliness to give up becomes ours.

Look at a Olympic track star. Sure,he may have a profession training routine, great genetics,good coaches,and an endless supply of sponsors supplying his every nutritional need. But I would dare say that the the real factor is his mental state. There is no one that is there in their head at the moment of their competition. It is the athletes own desire to push himself beyond his own established bounds, that makes him great. I would even say, that at an early age he decided he would not set physical limitations on his body, so he could achieve greatness. His body and mind fined tuned their connection to become a a unit of symbiotic power.

I believe we can choose to be athletes for the moment or we can become lifestyle athletes.. Lifestyle athletes have that symbiotic connections. Their body and mind work together to keep the other stronger.There is no limit to the physical peak as they age. Instead, their is a gradual acceptance of the age,and an improvement on the body  due the the utilization on the stored information in the mind. Hence, we not only what we see ourselves as,but what our bodies have physical experience at becoming.

We all have to grow old. But we sure as hell don’t age. Stay young in heart, soul, and mind………the body will follow.

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