Month: February 2014

wow this is my first blog in awhile. I’m back in action and it feels good. Training is great meaning I’ve been hitting pr’s in variations of the snatch & clean and jerk, oh and fronts squats. I’ve hit pr’s in doubles and triples and even higher reps for squats of course. The last nine months of training have taught me a lot about myself. I love to train and challenge myself to become better, to make progress. Lifting weights is easy for me or working out. Working out feels good and I know it makes me better at life. When training I know what the outcome will be, PR’s but it takes time and persistence and yes dedication.Training is not instant gratification. Training is belief that i’m going to achieve my goals. I get what I put into it I know the outcome I enjoy the process of lifting weights. The process is talked about a lot. If i didn’t enjoy lifting or working out, hitting 110kg in the snatch and 140kg in the clean and jerk would probably be excruciatingly painful, but since thats not the case, I will be closing in on 110 and 140kg very soon. The very best of the best love the process of getting better at their chosen activity or sport. It also comes down to doing what it takes to reach goals.
I’ve been lifting since the age of thirteen. It was a barbell program created by my grandfather Camilo, It consisted of back squats 3×10, bench press 3×10, bent over rows 3×10 with a dumbbell, overhead strict press 3×10 and 3 sets of 10 lunges. I finish with about 5 minutes on the mini trampoline and then 20 to 50 laps in small pool. I did this program for about 2 years then at fifteen a family friend gave me his ex wife’s, membership to the best gym in Sacramento, it was awesome. He gave me the membership because he needed a training partner. My first training partner ever was Larry, he was six foot two and about two hundred and twenty pounds of muscle. I now realize why he wanted to train with me. Larry noticed my dedication to my lifting and baseball, which was pretty hard core I lifted weights and hit off the tee daily. I was consistent and very intent on making myself better at baseball. Larry saw me as a positive influence on his training, very smart man almost too smart but that is another blog in itself. Larry and I trained for two years straight. Larry picked me every night after I’d get home from baseball practice. I had now access to more weights and learned a bunch of new exercises and guess what? I trained harder did more sets and reps and tons of abdominal work, thirty to forty minutes at the end of each workout sometimes, especially if I felt chunky. I did the lifting routine because my gramps said it would help me become be a better baseball player and fitter too. The program worked I’ve had no major injuries ever which is a true test of being on a consistent lifting program. I was chunky growing up, i like food and was very active. My main point is I trusted my Gramps enough to just believe I would get better in some way. I did get better! lifting weights dramatically changed my life. It wasn’t about lifting huge numbers in any lift or super duper fit. I had really gained a gigantic advantage of living a better life, I felt really really good after each workout. It gave me a healthily outlet. I was a happy kid growing up and I owe my grandfather all my love and appreciation for that. He taught how to create a healthy attitude, He indirectly taught me attitude was a choice. My mother gave birth to my sister and I at the age of thirteen. My grandparents helped raised my sister and I. Lifting weights helped me live with the ups and downs of growing up with a young mother. I’m very fortunate to have strength training and a family that cares. i grew up in one of the harsher neighborhoods in Sacramento, believe me it wasn’t the worst either. People didn’t mess with you for the most part, but i was cautious, fast and i knew right from wrong plus I had a sense of direction in my life. It was my grand father and baseball Let’s get back to the present moment. Lifting weights saved my life when I was young and yes it has come back to me to save my life again, with the help of friends, family and yes The one and only Midtown Strength and Conditioning. I believe in fitness because it has forever changed my life and now I enjoy sharing what is very special to me with others that understand that fitness is about movement and taking care of ourselves, so we can be our very best versions of ourselves. To get the most out of my training I must eat right which includes staying hydrated for me, get proper rest in the right amount that my body and mind needs so I can continually push past my limits in the gym, which carry over to a better life outside the gym.