Stay Strong!

Some people workout🏃🏻‍♂️

Some people exercise⛹🏻‍♂️

I train🏋️‍♀️

There is nothing wrong with working out or exercising, it’s just that my time is valuable and my goals are specific.

Stay Strong💪🏼!

The Day After

Much to my surprise I placed 3rd and walked away with a trophy! Also much to my surprise, I enjoyed being on stage, I had not expected that. I did mess up on my quarter turns, lost points for that however I nailed the mandatories and my routine. Physique wise, my abs, lower chest and quads should of been leaner and I probably spilled over with my carbs and lost some vascularity. I did not need the judges to tell me that I should of been leaner, I knew this heading in and was determined to have confidence and stage presence and the edge that goes with that.

At this point, it’s to early to say whether I will compete again but I am definitely going to continue to improve my physique. My heart wanted to get back to the gym today but my body is exhausted and I’m sore all over from holding poses. Taking a few days of from the gym and will go back to eating at maintenance.

Older folks like myself require strength training to maintain their type II fast twitch muscle fibers, so I always power lift a couple of cycles a year and so I’ll be doing 5x5s consisting of squats, deadlifts, bench presses and standing over head presses for six weeks before returning to hypertrophy (bodybuilding).

Mentally and emotionally I feel pretty spent right now but will soon be transitioning my mindset and focus from competitive training to writing fiction and learning Italian!

“May the 2nd half of 2018 be the plot twist you’ve been waiting for!”

Tomorrow’s the Day

Passed my polygraph yesterday! Going to do a 40 minute circuit session this morning, some posing practice and get my spay tan first coat. I’m down to 155 but I think that my stage weight is actually 150. Hard to imagine that I started at 220! Still, I’m going to go out there and have fun, I know that I can’t realistically complete against guys in their 40s. 💪🏼🏋🏻🍷

~ We live in a time ~

~ When paintings have no color, words don’t rhyme ~

~ So we search for kindred spirits, other souls that are not blind ~

3 Days Out

I took tomorrow and Friday off, have to bring my stress levels down. I think I’m ready for Saturday, going to go out there and have fun! Polygraph and haircut tomorrow, I’ll also do a 45 minute circuit workout. Friday is spray tan coat one, coat two is Saturday morning, I’ll be really dark. Definitely depleted but tomorrow and Friday I’ll get a little more carbs.

Sometimes our challenges are physical, other times they’re mental or emotional. Regardless, we must rise to the occasion because that’s who we are. Stay Strong!

“No citizen has a right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training… what a disgrace it is for a man to grow old without ever seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable.”

~ Socrates

The Tao of Al

Never keep a checklist of rights and wrongs or a ledger of what is owed to you.Honor your word.Pay your debts.You will know many people during your life, some will be friends, others will be very close friends and a few may even become your significant other. Value all relationships but guard your heart according. Not everyone should know your deepest darkest secrets, your dreams and desires.Be true to yourself, help others, make each day your masterpiece, make friendship a fine art, drink deeply from good books.There are many things in life that you can not control, let them be. Prioritize your time and effort on the things and people that matter.Friends will come and go. Some will transition to acquaintances, some will disappear forever, some will drop in and out of your life. The song always remains the same for your closest friends who see you through thick and thin. Don’t let mixed signals fool you. Indecision is a decision.Never skip leg day!

6 Days Out

I did my last leg compounds this morning, now no more deadlifts or squats until after the contest. I’m not going to be as lean as I want but that’s okay. At 157 pounds and 59 years old, I weigh what I did when I was 24! As this part of my fitness journey comes to an end, I’m surprisingly not nervous. I did not invite anybody because it’s easier to step on stage in front of strangers, lol!“It’s impossible,”said Pride.“It’s risky,”said Experience.“It’s pointless,”said Reason.“Give it a try,”whispered the Heart.

1 Week Out

Do I see the finish line or do I see a mile marker? How do you move on when you’ve reached a goal? I’m not one to be defined by my achievements, I believe that we are defined by our habits. I see the mile marker and the road ahead. I also see people frozen in their steps, watching everyone pass them by. Stay Strong!

“Words and Hearts should be handled with care for Words when spoken and Hearts when broken are the hardest things to repair.”

9 Days Out

I’m dancing with the beast and feeling less than immortal, finding that it’s much easier to train in the mornings on the days when my schedule allows for that. Training after work is especially tough now.Looking forward to a family wedding in California next month. Quick trip, flying into San Jose on a Friday then driving to Fresno for the wedding. Moving on to Pacifica on Sunday for seafood and wine, great little town just north of San Francisco then flying home on Monday.“All that is gold does not glitter; not all those who wander are lost; the old that is strong does not wither; deep roots are not reached by the frost.” ~ J. R. R. Tolkien

10 Days Out

This morning’s weigh in was my lowest yet at 157.5 pounds! I still don’t know what my optimum stage weight should be since I’ve never been there. Life will change after the contest as I will switch from cutting mode to maintenance mode and believe me, it’s much easier to maintain your body’s composition than it is to lose fat and gain muscle. I may be tempted to enter a NPC show October 27th in Albuquerque, just because they have an over 50 class in Classic Physique (my OPC contest only has over 40). One advantage of being lean and muscular year round is being in shape for anything I want to do!My next two priorities will be to publish my first novel by the end of 2018 and to start learning Italian. I haven’t written about these two new adventures because I’ve had to be single minded during this contest prep. Stay tuned for more!Two things: 1) Discipline equals freedom!2) There is no such thing as the perfect time so quit waiting and go for it!

13 Days Out

Fasted leg day dominated by my favorite movement, deadlifts! Diet wise, I’m having to be more aggressive then I’d like. My day is done and my macros were; 198 grams of protein, 98 grams of carbs and 32 grams of fat for a paltry 1,320 calories. I feel like low energy Jeb Bush, 😂!

“Who dreams of finding someone whose style of crazy matches your style of crazy? ~ Al Hidalgo