Mikealangelo’s BodyBlog

“Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm,” a quote made famous by Ralph Waldo Emerson expresses exactly why each of us is on bodybuilding.com; a place where we are inspired and educated by others through great wisdom.  Emerson said it best, we all have had our ups and downs, those moments, which push us to the brink; however, there has always been a group to pull us back and encourage us to keep going.  Who are they?  They are the pro’s, the amateurs who’ve accomplished insurmountable feats, and those who are pursuing that goal!  

I was challenged today at the gym when I was running, as I usually do, there was a moment where my heart and brain where challenging each other in a dual to persist or fall.  I immediately thought of a fellow member and how her story inspired me to step in the middle of the battle and strive for the goal!  Today I ran farther than I have in years and I feel incredible, not to mention my time was not too shabby as well!  

So, for those of you who read up on other members, consider this when your body is pulling back on you or you just feel that you’ve reached the brink think of someone who has inspired you and persist!  I also want to thank my friend Tiffany who even though I have only recently communicated with she has inspired me along with so many others!

Today I started my Cardiorespiratory training (INTENSE) and it was phenomenal.  I started off with a 4 minute warm up and then went into sprints for 1 min and then a run for 1 min and did that for five miles.  It was incredible I beat my mile time like no other!  After I did my cardio training I went and worked out my tri’s & shoulders with a 20 minute ab session which kicked a**!  I also incorporated some soccer training techniques into my program which definitely gave me an extra run for my money!  If you’re interested in soccer check out the articles page and look under soccer conditioning.  All in All today was a fantastic workout and it’s just the beginning!  Today marks the start of an intense cardio training sprint!

So, I started working out in January but really didn’t start hitting it hard until February.  Although to date I’ve lost a total of 10 lbs and 8 of those pounds have been since Feb. 22 when I joined BodySpace!  I’m so excited and want to thank everyone for the support!  I’m on my way to losing the weight and building a great body!

Growing up I’ve always been a big kid, bigger teenage, and even a big college student.  I have never been seriously obese although I have always struggled with my weight.  For the past six years I’ve been on & off of working out so I’m not necessarily new to working out although as of the beginning of the year I’ve become serious about losing the weight and gaining the muscle mass to replace it.  I weight 204 currently, in college I peaked at 238 and then lost ~50 pounds to about 175 with the help of supplements, and now I’m struggling to lose the weight although I have noticed change.  Any advice anyone has would help, I know the biggest struggle I have is my diet and portion control which I work on daily.  I run an average of 10-18 miles a week and workout about 30 min 5x’s a week as well.