Thats probably because it's hard to get a word in when she starts talking...lol...and you can tell her I said that. I like getting her all worked up as she gets even more passionate about trying to make her point.....the competitive juices start flowing but all in fun.Originally Posted by Gaoshang Xiongshou
Great work again!!
No, I really am just a quiet and introverted person.
April 15, 2012
Birthdays. We all have them. Some look forward to them, while others want to hide from them. Today is someone's birthday. If you are reading this, and it is yours, Happy Birthday to you. I have a real present for you... a revelation. Keep reading.
From time to time, as people celebrate theirs, it makes me think about mine. No, not that thing that comes around every year… that is nothing but a day to me, no different than the day before it, or the day after it.
No, when I think about my birthday, I think about something different: the day I first set foot in a gym, and began on the journey that has made me what I am now, and will make me what I will be later. That is just how my mind works. That was the day that something and someone truly unique was born. That is the day when a being began being forged from the fires of searing, deep muscle failure and the tears of my body as I moved weight, unrelenting and merciless in my endeavor, paying the price to be in the game. Oh yes indeed, the day I stepped into the gym, it was go time. I have never looked back, and I dare the challenges of the future to meet me head on, and get twisted in the process.
It was the day when this world was promised a force that would be unlike any other. It was a force that would make a statement here, there, and everywhere, with whoever came in contact with it. It was a force that would be known by many, but understood by few. It was the beginning of life. That day that comes around every year… that is for your significant others to enjoy. That day is for your family. It is for friend and foe alike. But the birthday… the REAL birthday… that is all for you.
Who remembers their birthday? I may not remember the exact day, but that does not even matter. All that does matter is that my birthday came when it was time, and I have been tearing it up in the gym ever since 1993. So now, I know some of you are thinking about your birthday… that glorious day when it seemed like the gates of a parallel universe opened up, swallowed what you were, and spit out what it knew you would need to be in order to make your moves, and become something beyond imagination and comprehension.
Every day that you take that cold iron in your hand, you celebrate your birthday. The bang of the plates as you load them, the rattle of the poundage as you press or pull… there is your birthday song. No birthday cake? So what? You get a birthday shake, and that is much better for you anyway. Your present is a masterpiece that people wish they had, and they will waste no time in telling you such. Now how is that for a birthday celebration?
So whoever you are, wherever you are, raise your protein shaker or water jug high, and toast that great moment in your life...
Happy Birthday, brothers and sisters. Now get in the gym and rip it up as only you can.
The IFBB Grand Prix Los Angeles was held yesterday. Men's Physique winner... Mark Anthony Wingson.
April 19, 2012
Let me ask you something.
If you ask someone for the exact recipe for a gourmet dish, and they give it to you with the list or everything that you will need to prepare it and the exact instructions on how to go about making it, and then you decide to omit, alter, or completely ignore any or all parts of the instruction, when it does not turn out right, who is to blame?
Would you say that person, because they gave you what you did not feel was right, and you felt you just HAD to change it, citing that what you did and what they gave you to work with was not a good combination? Would you say that they did not know what they were talking about to begin with, regardless of the success they have had with that recipe?
Well, you reading this, perhaps you would accept responsibility for not following the plan. But I can tell you this.,. there are scores of people who would not, and blame the bearer of the recipe.
And this happens more often than not with those who are looking to change their fitness levels, who hire personal trainers. They want to put their lack of success and improvement on EVERYTHING: they blame the trainer not knowing what they are doing or talking about (and to be fair, yes, there are a great number of people who should not even be training a dog, let alone a person... but that is not the issue at hand), they blame their circumstances (work, home life, outside interests, etc.), they blame the dog, the cat, the fish... anything and anyone that they can point the finger at, people do it. The problem is, is that they never look toward the truly responsible party. And we all know who that is.
Every day is a choice. Every day is an opportunity to make that choice. What you do with it is entirely up to you. If you have a trainer, rather than circumvent what you are being told for your own comfort, instead, try talking to them, voicing your concerns or problems with the current plan. There may be room for a little augmentation... or there may not be. But at least get it into the open. There is no reason for you to invest your time and money in someone who you want to show you the way to the you that you want, not do anything or very little of what they say, become upset with your lack of return of investment, bad mouth them, and then frustrate them through it all... when all that had to be done was to accept responsibility for your own actions, and realize that accountability would keep you on the straight and narrow path toward what you sought.
I cannot tell you how many times I have heard about someone switching (now talking about competitors, in which case most all of you are not or do not plan to be, but this holds a relevance here) trainers because they "didn't like the diet", or "they put me in the wrong class; if I had gone into XYZ, I would have placed or won", or "they won't bring me in with the look the judges are going for", and so on and so forth. Yet, you never hear them talk about how they cheat on the diet, eating protein bars or massive cinnamon buns, drinking wine, binging on chocolate, not doing the required cardio, missing meals, or anything else that they have full control over. Yet, they want to blame the trainer for their diet and training not working. Yes... something was not working, alright... them.
Think about if someone asked you to help them do something, and you told them how. You guided them through a good number of the steps, if not all. Someone, you might even have to hold their hand through every step, as if they were a baby first learning to walk. And then think about how frustrating it would be to have them return to you with what certainly should not be the results you intended, even though you know that you gave them everything that they needed to ensure success and completion. Would that not upset you? See that guy in that picture at the top of this blog entry? Yes... that would be you. You know it, and I know it.
Believe me when I tell you that that is somewhat the same way other trainers (myself included) feel more often than not. Would you like someone to make you feel that way? Then do not impose that punishment on anyone else.
If you cannot accept responsibility for eating what you should not eat, not doing what you know you should be doing, and otherwise, just ignoring their expertise and yourself, then no one ever needs to hear about blame, unless it is you and it is the internal monologue in your head. Will not follow directions (because that is all it is... there is no such thing as 'cannot')? Would you ask a strongman to build you up to compete in their events, and not listen to anything they tell you? That is a sure way to get hurt, given what is required in that arena. Would you go to flight school, and not listen to what the instructors tell you? If so, enjoy your crash and burn; never invite me along for a flight.
This is no different. Listen to those whom you have entrusted to help you, and get your rightful return of investment.
April 21, 2012
Ten weeks out from the 2012 BC’s. The time is speeding by. The two things I use to define my week (Friday’s wushu training… which unfortunately, I missed (but it probably is just as well, as I need the rest)… and Saturday’s blogging of the progress updates) are the things I most look forward to right now. And this is due fully in part because during the week, I blog my thoughts on the various aspects of the physically fit lifestyle, and do what I can to motivate. But Saturday, these have become my personal days, the day when I truly talk back to the world and let you in; this is the day (at least I think so anyway) when you learn the most about me. And as you have come to see, I am not a person who is short on words. I say what I have to say, be it in 10 words, or 1,000 words (or more). I think entries that have a little meat on them are appreciated, and allows for a greater insight to the person or the material presented, if not both.
Day in and day out, my mind is fixed on those moments when the stage is mine. Regardless of who else is out there with me, to me, there is only myself on that stage. Please do not misunderstand… I do not disregard anyone or their presence onstage with me. But having turned inward to put everything into this show, and the one following it six weeks later, it is all I can do at this time. I think anyone who gets on that stage with me is going to look awesome, and deserving of any accolades that he may get. Of course, when it is all said and done, there can only be one. That has to be me.
Okay, so seemingly obsessive rambling aside, this past week was pretty interesting. I have another location to teach my women’s self defense class at, this one being a private personal training studio with female clientele only, called Studio 64. I run a demo class on Saturday, April 28, and classes begin on the 3oth. The demo and grand reopening for WKX should be the following weekend, and I will be there for that also. It is looking really good on that front. While personal training more than likely will not take off for me at WKX, I am expecting it to overwhelm me at Studio 64. I am very open and receptive to that idea.
The next day, I had the photo shoot at the gym (Ultimate Fitness, Port Moody BC). I have not received any of the images yet, but we shot for about an hour and thirty minutes, give or take a few here and there. I am sure we got some good ones. The lighting was a little off in there, and the photographer does more studio work than location work with interior lighting (which she cannot control to suit her purposes), so it makes for a somewhat different experience. Still, we both had fun. She is contest dieting too, also for the BC’s (Master’s Bikini division), so after a while, it started to wear on her. We called it a day, and I hope to see some of the images sometime next week. I really hope she was able to do something with the rope climb pictures. I climbed a rope for the first time in… 15-16 years… and did it effortlessly. Good ol’ fashioned hand-over-hand, just straight pulling with upper body strength, no use of the legs at all. Completely blew her mind that I climbed up so fast and about twenty feet up, dropped back down about five feet, and then just let go of the rope and dropped down to the floor. And then I did it for her again. She was monitoring the display, and from the looks of it, she was saying that those shots did not come out good at all. We shall see. They will go up on my Facebook page, and some here also. The next shoot is set for May 27, at the WKX Gym, in which I have invited my Team Fit Body teammate to get in on. Should be an interesting time! And the next is set for the following weekend, in Redmond, WA, at my shifu’s Hung Gar kwoon. This, I am most certainly looking forward to, as I have not seen my Hung Gar shifu since 1997.
That was Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday, tragedy almost struck, as I started dozing off at the wheel while driving to pick up liquid egg whites. At the speed I was going, I would have hit the guard rail and probably flipped over it. Fortunately, as I started veering to the right, someone pulled alongside me and blew their horn, which woke me up and started the adrenaline flowing. I was up then, of course. It could have been ugly though. To say that fatigue is an issue is an understatement. Still, it is good some days (tolerable, and able to be dealt with) and bad others. This was one of those bad days. I deal with it as best as I can; there is no sense in complaining. If that is the case, I would just stop doing this. No one is forcing me.
Thursday and Friday were fairly uneventful. Nothing too special, except I did find myself flanked by two of her Jr. Female Bodybuilders at one point yesterday.
It is a hard life that I live, I tell you.
Thursday, I decided that I wanted and needed to delve into the world of addiction, and uncover what and why these things happen to people. I am off to an Overeater’s Anonymous meeting tomorrow afternoon. While I do not need the program for myself, what I do need is an understanding of the difficulty that people face with food issues and some insight into that addictive mindset that I do not comprehend. As I will no doubt face this problem with some clients down the line, rather than me just taking the hard line stance that there is no will power and no commitment to a change in lifestyle diet, it would really be in my best interest to connect and learn about this problem. Plus, it will help me be able to determine who actually suffers from these issues, and who is just using that as an excuse to not buckle down and take responsibility for what they put in their mouths. And I know there is so much to learn, so I am really excited about this prospect.It really will be an eye opening experience, and extremely helpful. In order for me to fully connect and empathize (because as of right now, unfortunately, I am unable to; my black-and-white world of traditional martial arts discipline sees only weakness that one fails to overcome as a result of lack of will… but I know that this is not the case, and that is the wrong in my thinking which needs to be corrected), I need to be on that side of this, without actually being on that side, if you know what I mean. Beyond this, I am going to attend a few other meetings, just to fully grasp the full cross section of addiction and the way it plagues people... NA, AA, SA (Sexaholics Anonymous), etc, and speak with an addictions counselor, and take whatever path necessary to become a qualified addictions counselor with credentials. This certainly can be useful in my helping people get a better handle on their physical life. That is what I am here for... to help people.
That is all for now. See you back here in a week for whatever else may happen with me on this road to the BC’s!
Have to watch it with fatigue at the wheel,nearly fell asleep myself when I was almost home after a long night of snow.Just thinking about something can turn into dreaming.I sometimes use a technique when very tired,take a breath and increase intrabdominal pressure for about two seconds and repeat.
Looking fantastic GX!
Following along on your journey.
2010 CBBF National Champion
Join CanadianMuscleTeam.com for precontest and offseason coaching
Interesting. I will have to start using this one then. Any and all help is appreciated! Thank you
Thank you so much for following along and keeping up with this! I am sure you are looking excellent as well. Yes, you especially, being a National level competitor already, and having been to this dance at least once before, even if it was for a different division. You know what it is all about through experience, where as I just know through having kept up with it through other's experiences. It will be great to meet you and hang out while you are here (provided time permits it). Like Arnold and Lou and Franco, and the rest of the bunch. I do not think that type of connection happens with competitors anymore. It is always me, me, me. So I look forward to it.Looking fantastic GX!
Following along on your journey.
And unlike Arnold to Franco, I am not going to try to give you the wrong "advices"
Oh, check this thing out. I thought it was a riot!!
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