charlesbrian63’s BodyBlog

For my whole life I have been a person that was great at starting something and not finishing.  After years of experience of doing this I have figured out that the window of time when I usually give up on something or just quit is a very short window and now I can almost always fight any give up feelings I have whether it be in the weight room or at work or in my personal life.  Fortunetely I have not had any major give up feelings in the weight room in the last year and a half, but have had things(good things) come into my life in this time which has tried my focus a little, I have learned to ride these feelings out and go to the gym no matter what and the give up feelings are short lived and my normal routines return rather quickley.  This is huge growth for me because I used to change my life for about anything or any one that brought me pleasure.  I am better for others if I am better to myself.  I encourage all to ride out any give up feelings because they usually are short lived but we see them as forever, not so.  The sweat and effort we put into making our bodies better are definetely worth a little mental endurance when we have that feeling that we want to give up. NEVER GIVE UP!!!!

Being about a year plus into this new adventure that I used to only dream about, I am learning and realizing that there is no limits to how far a person can take their dreams, being bodybuilding or any other dream.  Some kind of fear used to tag along with me and tell me that I was not good enough or didn’t have a chance to succeed, I guess I had to go down that path to get me to the path I am on.  Realizing and living a dream can definetely alter your outlook on life.  Since I’ve started living a bodybuilding kind of life, it seams like I think about it all the time, how can you not when you are eating every 3 hours or so and setting your alarm at 3am to get up and drink a protein shake, and believe me, and you probably will agree that everybody doesn’t understand this kind of life.  The awesome thing is that I am not doing this to get anybodys approval(although approval and a little attention would be nice!), its all for me!..I do thank God every morning that my body works and that I can go to the gym everyday..Whether your just trying to get into shape or really want to put on some serious muscle(or any other kind of dream or goal), GET up and go for it and work like hell to make it through every time you want to quit, the Rewards are tremendous, I can not even explain how much I know that what I want to do is possible and happening, right now as I wright, my muscles are growing and getting bigger and better!  My next shake is just waiting for cold water, my lunch is prepaired and in the fridge and the protein bar is waiting for 3pm and prework out shake is ready to go, then to the gym I will go, probably contacting someone on bb.com,and see how their day went and wish themwell at the gym tonight. There’s a ton of energy coming from me! Can you feel it, I hope so, I hope you next workout is the best ever, if not, prepair for the next one. I also have to mention the great help that my trainer Wayne has been for me, 2nd to none, and if you have a trainer, they should be also, or you need a new one…

Feb, 28th came and is now yesterday, that was a date that I had planned on for approx. 4 months, a day that I would get to take pics. with my trainer and other weightlifters.  The whole experience was well worth the weight(haha)!, and made my excitement and determination for bodybuilding a whole lot larger and firmly planted my desire to compete at some level some day.  I have to admit that I caught a glimpse of one of the photo’s on the computer and was disapointed at how skinny I looked after all of that work, I couldn’t even look at the rest of the pics.  I am grateful for a picture that I am not happy with because that will give me a pic. to compare future pics. with, I am starting to believe that if I ever get happy with where I am at, that is where I will stop growing.  I hope anyone who reads this will comment and let me know of there experiences with this sport and how it has positively affected their lives.  Its starting to be more than just the weight I am able to lift, its the discipline, the endurance, the people that I meet, the trips to the nutrition store, the grocery store, looking at labels on food, helping others in the gym, seeing newly made friends outside the gym, there’s a lot more but those should get my point across, there is one more I will mention before ending and thats the people on here, people who I probablyl never meet, but know you because of what you are living…..gotta go, its sunday night, the night that I get a little cheat food!

I have and inner excitement that no one locally(family or close friends)really understands, just those who have experienced the same.  I write this as I mix my pre-work out shake and get ready for my last workout before taking fitness photo’s with my trainer and fellow weightlifters tomorrow morning.  Tonights workout won’t make me bigger for tomorrow but will be an investment in how big and prepared I am for future exciting times.  Each weight lifted, every mile ran, every meal counted and all of the other details that I have paid attention to over the last year and a half have been an investment in tomorrow.  I am by no means large, but I used to always think that I could never be like those of you who already had athletic, or well built physiques.  One day it dawned on me that why the heck not, everyone has to start with day one sometime or other.  Almost two years ago, as I ran my weight off, which was the original goal, I decided to walk through the weight room and try to lift and just maby I could start and not quit this time, quiting used to always be an option, not anymore.  Sometimes when the time is right, the time is, just right.  Not going to say much more, except to all of those who have already had these first time experiences, I appreciate you and respect you and hopefully one day soon will hear or know someone who is experiencing their first of many exciting accomplishments that come with bodybuilding.  My appreciation for lifting grows deeper and wider as time goes on, not only about size, but about all of the discipline that this sport requires.  I will always be grateful for my dark past that brought me my bright path that I am on now……"PEACE"

I am very grateful for the life that I have been given, although it took a while to get to where I’m at today.  Eight years ago I got sober and started to clean up my past an look towards a brighter future, mostly mentally and spiritualy at first but recently have added physically to that.  Intimidation, money and time kept me from achieving the body that I had always wanted to have.  A year and a half ago everything came together, I had gotten my financial life in a better way and taken a year off to look at my future, really just started running and eating better so I could wear smaller clothes and it went from that to wanting alot more.  I joined a gym 2 months after I started a new business and lost a total of 31 pounds then started to lift weights and was made aware of a trainer who started you off affordably and that was 6 months ago.  When I started with him I was at 182 pounds with 17.8% body fat and now at 180 pounds and 12.8% body fat, with each new achievement there seams to be a new goal starring me right in the face and on towards that goal I go!!  I currently work out two days a week with my trainer-coach and use what he has taught me to expand my solo workouts the other 4-5 days.  With out a doubt I have been able to loose almost all of that fat around my stomach area because he started on high entensity cardio for several minutes at the end of each workout.  My abs have been the area that is the most interesting to watch change its like, ok the fat is gone and its flat there but it is shaped kind of wierd, but after a while I could see different muscles taking some kind of shape while I was doing certain execises.  It is a real challenge to get muscles balanced and not ignoring any one area because you like the results you are getting in one area.