2014 has been very good to me.
I graduated from college as well as completed an amazing internship experience where I worked under two former NFL strength and conditioning coaches. Most importantly; however, I deepened my relationship with God.
From a lifting standpoint, I also felt that I accomplished a lot this year.
My bodyweight increased from 147lbs to 160lbs, and I finally maxed out on bench at 225lbs. I also got my squat and deadlift techniques down.
As happy as I am with these goals from both a personal and lifting perspective, I hope to accomplish even more in 2015.
Here are my goals for the new year.
Personal Life
1. Continue to develop my spiritual life through attending Mass weekly, reading scripture daily, and through both private and group prayer.
2. Find a full-time job in the fitness industry. Currently I am studying for the CSCS exam, and hope to earn this certification by February. On top of this, I plan on obtaining a personal training certification, as well as look into athletic training.
3. Becoming the best big brother I can be. For the first time in three and a half years, I am finally at home for good. It's time for me to have the influence I have so longed for in my 16 year- old brother's life.
Lifting Goals.
1. Squat 315lbs by mid-2015. I finally have started to squat to at least parallel and this past week, I squatted 235 for five true reps. I hope to hit a clean 275 by February and go from there.
2. Continue to progress with my deadlift. Deadlifts have been in and out of my lifting regime throughout the year, but this exercise is now centralized in my training. I hope to surpass 315lbs in the next few weeks.
3. Bench 250lbs by mid-2015. A shoulder injury in the late fall slowed down by my bench progress, but yesterday, I hit 190lbs for five repetitions for the first time in months. This puts my estimated max back around 225. If this keeps up, this goal is extremely realistic.
4. COMPETE. This is something I have always wanted to do, especially in bodybuilding. However, over the last month, I have realized how satisfying it is to lift heavy and see consistent improvements. Because of that, I have slowly gravitated toward to competing in powerlifting. I hope to do this during the summer or fall.
Publishing your goals for the world to see holds one accountable, and I plan to be just that. I love rap music, and often use lyrics to explain how I feel. One of my favorite lyrics is found in Jon Connor's song "Place on Earth" through his words, "Every year is my year."
Well in 2015 and beyond, every year will be MY year.
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Monday, December 29, 2014
Squat 5-RM PR
Had to make the last leg day of the year a good one.
And after hitting a new five-repetition max on barbell squats this morning, I think I did just that.
I'm really working on hitting at least parallel, so even though the weight isn't anything outstanding (235lbs at 160lb bodyweight), it's a start. My goal is to max out at 315 by mid 2015.
Here's footage of three of the reps.
Let me know what you think!
And after hitting a new five-repetition max on barbell squats this morning, I think I did just that.
I'm really working on hitting at least parallel, so even though the weight isn't anything outstanding (235lbs at 160lb bodyweight), it's a start. My goal is to max out at 315 by mid 2015.
Here's footage of three of the reps.
Let me know what you think!
Saturday, December 27, 2014
Dumbbell Bench Press 12/26
Hey guys! Hope everyone had an awesome Christmas!
My Christmas was great, but it was nice to get back in the gym after a day off.
Yesterday was a chest/shoulders/triceps "pump" day. Pump days are considered to be part of hypertrophy training where the focus is on muscle growth through pumping an insane amount of blood into the working muscles via high volume (a "large" amount of sets with many repetitions) with little rest in between each set (anywhere from a 30 seconds to two minutes).
For chest, the protocol was: five sets of 10 repetitions of dumbbell bench press with two minutes in between sets, followed by five sets of 10 repetitions (drop-set on last set) of incline barbell bench press with two minutes in between each set as well.
My chest felt great after doing this! The last repetitions of each dumbbell press were a grind, and performing incline after completing five sets of chest already was a KILLER! Below is a video (not the best because my IPod Touch was resting on a box in order to film) of my second set of dumbbell press with 65lb dumbbells. It was a fairly tough 10 repetition set!
My Christmas was great, but it was nice to get back in the gym after a day off.
Yesterday was a chest/shoulders/triceps "pump" day. Pump days are considered to be part of hypertrophy training where the focus is on muscle growth through pumping an insane amount of blood into the working muscles via high volume (a "large" amount of sets with many repetitions) with little rest in between each set (anywhere from a 30 seconds to two minutes).
For chest, the protocol was: five sets of 10 repetitions of dumbbell bench press with two minutes in between sets, followed by five sets of 10 repetitions (drop-set on last set) of incline barbell bench press with two minutes in between each set as well.
My chest felt great after doing this! The last repetitions of each dumbbell press were a grind, and performing incline after completing five sets of chest already was a KILLER! Below is a video (not the best because my IPod Touch was resting on a box in order to film) of my second set of dumbbell press with 65lb dumbbells. It was a fairly tough 10 repetition set!
Hope you enjoy!!! A video of one of my incline sets will be posted on Instagram sometime today. Be on the lookout for tweets to the link!
Tuesday, December 23, 2014
Healthy Resturant Eating Vol. 1: Qdoba
Eating healthy at home is one thing.
Eating "healthy" at restaurants is a whole new ball game.
The temptations of eating juicy, yet fattening, burgers, as well as gorging on processed carbs can make having weightlifting approved meals outside of the home extremely difficult.
However, it is POSSIBLE to eat clean at restaurants. This new series will help show this through looking at some of the meals I typically eat at my favorite restaurants.
First up....Qdoba.
I LOVE Mexican food. And because of that addiction, it's very easy to get lost in the menu at places such as Qdoba and Chipotle. Believe it or not; however, it is actually INCREDIBLY easy to have a clean meal at these restaurants. In order to do that, here are a few tips:
1. Stick to burrito bowls- As delicious as actual burritos are, the tortilla provides an unnecessary amount of calories (310), and carbohydrates (53 grams). The addition of the tortilla might be beneficial for a cheat meal or a post leg-workout meal, but when it comes to "clean" meals, eliminate the tortilla.
2. Double the meat- Each serving of grilled chicken at Qdoba contains 25 grams of protein, while the steak supplies 26 grams. Why not get a serving of both, and make it easier to hit your protein goal for the day?
3. Load up on veggies- Take full advantage of the lettuce, corn, tomato, and grilled onions/peppers.
I actually went to Qdoba this afternoon, and here is what I ordered.
Eating "healthy" at restaurants is a whole new ball game.
The temptations of eating juicy, yet fattening, burgers, as well as gorging on processed carbs can make having weightlifting approved meals outside of the home extremely difficult.
However, it is POSSIBLE to eat clean at restaurants. This new series will help show this through looking at some of the meals I typically eat at my favorite restaurants.
First up....Qdoba.
I LOVE Mexican food. And because of that addiction, it's very easy to get lost in the menu at places such as Qdoba and Chipotle. Believe it or not; however, it is actually INCREDIBLY easy to have a clean meal at these restaurants. In order to do that, here are a few tips:
1. Stick to burrito bowls- As delicious as actual burritos are, the tortilla provides an unnecessary amount of calories (310), and carbohydrates (53 grams). The addition of the tortilla might be beneficial for a cheat meal or a post leg-workout meal, but when it comes to "clean" meals, eliminate the tortilla.
2. Double the meat- Each serving of grilled chicken at Qdoba contains 25 grams of protein, while the steak supplies 26 grams. Why not get a serving of both, and make it easier to hit your protein goal for the day?
3. Load up on veggies- Take full advantage of the lettuce, corn, tomato, and grilled onions/peppers.
I actually went to Qdoba this afternoon, and here is what I ordered.
Chicken/Steak Burrito Bowl
1 serving of chicken
1 serving of steak
1 serving of brown rice
1 serving of black beans
1 serving of lettuce
1 serving of pico degallo
1 serving of roasted chile corn
Macros: 630 calories, 51 g of carbs, 58 g of protein, 22 g of fat
Eating healthy at Qdoba is extremely realistic. Use these tips and make it happen!
Thursday, December 18, 2014
Things Have Changed
A lot has changed in my life since my last post.
For one, I graduated from Valparaiso University last Sunday. School got the best of me these last couple of months, so it's beyond nice to now have more free time to dedicate to this blog. I cannot wait to share with you guys new videos, posts, and food recipes in the near future!
Secondly, I realized that I don't know if I could ever make it as a bodybuilder. Although I still would like to get on stage at some point, I don't view it as major priority at the moment. The current state of the sport seems to be too subjective, and I don't know if I want to have any part of that. Plus putting on weight has been difficult! I'm currently at 158lbs, and to be honest, I'm really happy with that. I still plan on getting to 165lbs, but I don't know if I want to weigh any more than that for the time being.
During the weekend after Thanksgiving, for the first time in months, I benched heavy. I wasn't able to lift as much as I did in the summer due to dedicating the Fall to hypertrophy training, but boy was it fun. Lifting as much as you possibly can is an addicting feeling, and I missed that. What makes training heavy even more appealing is that making progress is so obvious. If you were able to lift more weight than you did last session, then you made improvements. Simple as that. Thus, with these thoughts in mind, I have decided to focus more on powerlifting, and hopefully compete sometime during the upcoming summer.
I cannot wait for you guys to go on this journey with me! Be sure to check the blog out frequently, as well as follow me on Twitter (@AlessioFitness) to read the latest of my adventures. I also have an Instagram account (@TheAlessio10) that I will finally start uploading content to this weekend!
Andy
For one, I graduated from Valparaiso University last Sunday. School got the best of me these last couple of months, so it's beyond nice to now have more free time to dedicate to this blog. I cannot wait to share with you guys new videos, posts, and food recipes in the near future!
Secondly, I realized that I don't know if I could ever make it as a bodybuilder. Although I still would like to get on stage at some point, I don't view it as major priority at the moment. The current state of the sport seems to be too subjective, and I don't know if I want to have any part of that. Plus putting on weight has been difficult! I'm currently at 158lbs, and to be honest, I'm really happy with that. I still plan on getting to 165lbs, but I don't know if I want to weigh any more than that for the time being.
During the weekend after Thanksgiving, for the first time in months, I benched heavy. I wasn't able to lift as much as I did in the summer due to dedicating the Fall to hypertrophy training, but boy was it fun. Lifting as much as you possibly can is an addicting feeling, and I missed that. What makes training heavy even more appealing is that making progress is so obvious. If you were able to lift more weight than you did last session, then you made improvements. Simple as that. Thus, with these thoughts in mind, I have decided to focus more on powerlifting, and hopefully compete sometime during the upcoming summer.
I cannot wait for you guys to go on this journey with me! Be sure to check the blog out frequently, as well as follow me on Twitter (@AlessioFitness) to read the latest of my adventures. I also have an Instagram account (@TheAlessio10) that I will finally start uploading content to this weekend!
Andy
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)