Keeping everyone in the loop · 8:57pm Jun 20th, 2014
For those of you who don't know me, here's some insight into my life (whether you want it or not).
I have always been one of the biggest dudes anywhere I go, both in height and weight (6'6, 250+ lbs) but not really strong or in shape, just kinda...lumpy. I've had pretty bad body issues for most of my life and for a long time I had convinced myself that it didn't matter if I was strong or good looking, I was an intellectual (I thought) and tried to pride myself on that...looking back it's easy to say I was the epitome of neckbeard. I even owned a fedora. Guh.
After watching the brony documentary on netflix I was really conflicted. It showed all of the amazing things we as a community have accomplished but in my opinion it didn't show us in the best light. It showed a bunch of...me. And I realized something, I didn't like me. I was annoying to watch and listen to and it really made me cringed when I realized how deep the similarities ran. I didn't look down on these people, I just realized they weren't who I wanted to be.
I know that I can never change our fandom or have any significant impact on our public image, but I can control how I feel about myself. I was tired of being the stereotypical brony, I wanted to be me, who happened to be a brony and nobody would guess it unless they asked.
At the beginning of May, I decided to make a change. I have been dieting, adjusting my wardrobe (arctic camo cargo shorts and 1 size too small Metallica shirts are not high fashion, as I came to realize) and really got into heavy lifting.
Since the beginning of May I've really thrown myself into the world of fitness and improvement, both physically and mentally. I really had a big breakthrough today and though you guys may not care, I just wanted to put it out there because it feels so damn good. Through literally blood, sweat, tears, hard work, determination, and a healthy diet (there are no shortcuts guys, trust me) I have lost over 30 lbs of fat, put on 10 lbs of muscle, dropped 10% body fat, and have gotten stronger, faster, gotten a job, and finally had people start going "Damn V1NYL-5CR4TCH, you've lost weight!".
It feels so good, and I just needed to scream "I CAN FINALLY SEE SOME GOD-DAMN PROGRESS!"
If you read this far, thank you so much, for reading my stories, my blog posts, and deeming the mediocre fanfiction I try to make worthy of reading. You guys have been so awesome, and shown me that everybody can always be more than we are branded to be behind the keys of a keyboard. Thank you for the support, the feedback, and all the positivity. Please bare with me this summer while my writing is slow because I exhaust myself every day, waking up to go to the gym from 9 am till noon and working from 1 pm till 11 pm. On days off I'll try to update both Clockwork and No Bucks, but please understand it may very well slow down to once or twice a month (I don't get many days off, working at a restaurant).
Thanks again.
/)
Good for you man :) I'm glad to hear that you feel like your getting shit done and really moving forward in your life. Props man, your doing good!
2221978 I spent 2-3 minutes formulating a response for this blog, opened it, and saw that you had typed pretty much word for word what I was going to say, so I'll just say this:
"What Hothead99 said"
On a random note: what sort of workouts do you perform at the gym?
2222288
Depends on the day. Every day (except friday, my one guilt-free day) I warm up by running a mile, then stretching.
Monday: Arms/chest and shoulders (my favorite)
-Barbell Bench: 8 sets of 4, as much weight as I can (currently 155)
-Preacher Dumbbell Curls: 3 sets of 10 in a weird method that's like bottom half of the motion for the first 10, top half of the motion for the second 10, and full motion for the last 10 (currently using 30 lbs dumbbells)
-Tricep Rope Pulldowns: 3 sets of 10 at 110 lbs
-Deltoid Dumbbell Raises: 3 sets of 10 at 40lbs per arm
-Shoulder raises (flys): 3 sets of 30 at 10lbs per arm
-Dumbell Pectoral Flys on incline bench: 3 sets of 10, 30lbs per arm
-Finish with 10 min intense kickboxing on bag
Tuesday: Back and Core
-100 situps
-50 bicycles
-50 flutterkicks
-30 ab coasters forward
-30 ab coasters for each oblique
-50 medicine ball twists (10lbs ball)
-50 V-sits
-Lat pulldown: 3 sets of 10 at 150lbs
-Lat Row: 3 sets of 10 at 130lbs
-Back extensions: 3 sets of 10 at 180lbs
Wednesday: LEG DAY & Cheat Meal Day (I hate leg day, cheat meal makes it bearable)
-Run 1 extra mile
-Barbell Squats: 3 sets 10 at 135lbs
-Wall sit: 2 sets of 30 sec.
-Quad Extension: 3 sets 10 125lbs
-Leg Curls: 3 sets 10 125lbs
-Leg Press: 3 sets 10 at 365lbs
-Calf raises: 3 sets 10 at 365lbs
-Weighted Lunges: 2 sets of 25 at 50 extra lbs
-Step-up Step-downs on a raised bench: 3 sets of 10 per leg carrying 50lbs
-10 min stairs
-I eat a cheat meal for lunch, which is basically however much of whatever the hell I want. It keeps my metabolism up and I practically burn it all of due to leg day being absolute hell.
Thursday: Fight Day
-1 hour intense Muai Thai class
-1 hour BJJ class
-1 hour free boxing
-General pain conditioning (knuckle pushups on concrete, fall practice, bows and toes)
Friday: Recovery Day
Saturday: Fight Day 2
-See Fight Day
Sunday: Active Recovery Day
-Meditation
-Yoga
And there you have it! I do martial arts because it is honestly an amazing full-body work out, it's fun, lets you release some aggression, and is a great way to defend yourself.
2222557 damn, that's a lot...
I simply head to Crossfit (group based gym more focused on functional movements) 3-4 times per week and run 2 miles (going to move to 4 soon) on off days. I don't think I could steel myself enough to do the things you are doing, I'll just stick with the bodyweight exercises.
2222592
Hey man, it fits my mantra, "I may not be there, not yet, but I am closer than I was yesterday."
If you can say that at the end of your day, you've succeeded. I personally couldn't do crossfit, I hate cardio and bodyweight exercises, I still can't do a goddamn pull-up.
2222611 Just wondering, what is fall practice and bows & toes?
2222041 dude while I was writing that, I had to sit staring at my computer screen for 5 minutes and chug a full Mountain Dew before I could type one word of that. Writing heartfelt messages are hard (~_~)
I feel like slow clapping into a fast clap
2222633
Fall practice is when you purposely fall on a hard surface and teach yourself how to land without hurting yourself, or at least minimizing damage. Common practice in Judo.
Bows and Toes is balancing on your toes and elbows on bottle caps, builds calluses for kicks and elbow strikes, as well as works core.