A Look At November

Well November has been an interesting month at the gym. First let's go back to October. In October I started a cycle of Methyl Arimatest and Hexoghen. Once again those products did me real good. Specifically the Methyl Arimatest by Musclemeds really surprises me because it's an OTC testosterone booster that really works. October was a very strong month at the gym every lift throughout the month was incredible. Mentally I was focused and all was perfect. As November came around I found that some of the bodybuilding focus went away. I didn't miss any time at the gym but the intensity and maybe some confidence went away. Maybe it was me coming off the cycle or maybe it's just that it's hard to stay one thousand percent focused on anything all the time.

As November rolled on I felt my intensity coming back and as the intensity came back so did the focus. Right now I feel like I'm mentally where I want to be at the gym and my lifts are stronger because of it.

Now for something that really fired me up. Last Thursday I was at the gym doing a Bi and Tri workout. It was a very strong workout and I was rather pleased and pumped. I was getting down to the end of the workout and I was doing tricep pull downs, I was on my heavy set and I was giving it my all. During my last four reps I grunted hard to assist with the last four reps. After I was done with that set the owner of the gym (the owner is normally MIA) but recently he has been hanging out and bringing in new staff. To be honest the owner doesn't come across like a nice guy at all. Anyway the owner sends one of his lackeys to me to tell me that I shouldn't grunt when I'm working out. WHAT? This is a gym, people are working hard and sometimes a grunt is in order. I'm not talking about cursing or rude behavior I'm talking about a human noise and unlike a fart a grunt doesn't leave an odor. This jack wagon went on to tell me that we need to think about the ladies who are working out. Huh? The ladies can grunt too, I don't care. He told me that the ladies wouldn't like it. My thought is that I'm paying to be here so I have the right to work hard and do what it takes to complete the job. Then the guy went on to talk about how they are trying to bring more women into the gym. He actually asked me what would I rather see a bunch of guys training or a bunch of pretty women. To that I say I don't care. I'm just there to work and as far as my motivation goes my motivation is not gender specific. I don't care who you are or what your sex is, I'm motivated by people, I'm motivated by people working hard.

The question is how politically correct are we getting? No noise at the gym? Chile please! That's stupid! Instead of worrying about me making a noise how about you come down on the people that read newspapers on machines, wear sandals on the gym floor or yack away on their damn cell? That would be considered good work on their part.

I hate Planet Fitness and all their rules. They have the Lunk alarm and if you make unwanted noise they actually fire off an alarm and then ask you to leave. Planet Fitness also shrinks down their leg press machines so you can't do a lot of weight and they don't allow dead lifting. Because Planet Fitness has these stupid rules and nocore attitude I don't go there but at least they are honest , they are searching out a specific clientele and they are clear about their rules and it's no secret. I'm not a member of Planet Fitness I'm a member of Retro Fitness. I have been to five different Retro locations and this is the only one that has dared to be this lame. By the way, there is a light that been out by the dumbbell rack for over a month. It lights up half the area. The owner also owns a lighting company maybe he should fix the light before you try to fix me.

One positive that has happened from all this is that any intensity that was missing at the beginning of November is back in full force after being forced to deal with such lame management.

The next thing I need to talk about is Victor Martinez and his situation as he sits in jail. I will post my thoughts on his situation later on in the week. Until then, lift hard and stay strong.

week. Until then lift hard and stay strong.

I'm Back

Well I'm saying that I'm back but to be honest I have never really left. I have just been too lazy to keep up this blog. My girl has encouraged me to get back on this and she's right, I should be doing this.

I may have stopped blogging but I have not stopped hitting the gym. My training in 2011 has been more focused and intense than ever and I have had some results to go along with the intensity. I am a hard gainer so I'm thrilled to say that I got my arms up 151/4 inches. Along with that I have increased strength and size in all aspects of my upper and lower body. Most important since I last posted (last March) I have gained five pounds of lean muscle. Most of the weight can be attributed to hard work and the following:

Methyl Arimatest
ON Protein Shakes
Creatine
Coconuts.

Yes, Coconuts. Taking my shakes with coconut milk (instead of regular milk) and also eating coconut butter has put five pounds on me in the last three months. I finally got myself up to 157 pounds, the next goal is 160lbs.

In the world of bodybuilding we were fortunate to be able to go to the NY Pro and watch kai Greene's comeback and once again we were able to go to Mr. Olympia and see Phil Heath beat Jay Cutler and become the new Mr O. Tt was a great Olympia. We already can't wait to go next year.

I will try to keep up this blog. I will try to make it an interesting combination of product reviews, bodybuilding news and updates on what I'm up to.

As for now, I feel very energized about my workouts. For me, life is an eternal bulking phase but at 46 I think I'm holding my own and holding it together.

Feel free to sign up and follow this blog and comment if you so choose.

I will write to you soon.

Larry

I'm Back

Arnold Classic Predictions

Well kids, I'm stoked, it's time for the Arnold Classic. It looks like it's going to be a competitive tight show. It will be hard to predict but of course I got to try. So here are my predictions for the 2011 Arnold Classic.

1. Branch Warren
2. Dennis Wolf
3. Victor Martinez
4. Ronny Rockel
5. Roelly Winklar
6. Dexter Jackson
7. Evan Centapani

I relaize many may not agree but this is what I'm going with. Let the contest begin.

Flex Pro Results

The Flex Pro show is done and the results are in. I guess it's time to compare my predictions versus the actual results.

I predicted:

1. Dexter Jackson
2. Evan Centaponi
3. Dennis Wolf
4. Fauad Abaid
5. Ben White
6. Stan Efferding

The actual results of the top six look like this:

1. Evan Centopani
2. Dexter Jackson
3. Fauad Abaid
4. Dennis Wolf
5. Ben Pakulski
6. Ben White

Well it's safe to say that my predictions sucked, I was very off. That's body building for you. You never can predict what will happen.
In two weeks in the Arnold Classic, coming soon, my Arnold predictions. I hope I do better this time around.

Flex Pro Predictions

OK everyone, here we go. Last week the LA Fit Expo unofficially kicked off the 2011 bodybuilding season and next is the official kick off which will take place in Santa Monica California. This year the season will kick off with the first ever Flex Pro Show. With all that said I'm really glad that the Flex Pro show is happening. We used to have the Iron man but that went away so the Flex Pro looks to be a great kick off. The big draw for this show is Dexter Jackson Vs. Dennis Wolf that alone should be a great showdown but of course there are a lot of other up and coming athletes participating in this event. Now that we are only thirteen days out from the event I thought I would give my predictions for the top six.

1. Dexter Jackson
2. Evan Centopani
3. Dennis Wolf
4. Fauad Abaid
5. Ben White
6. Stan Efferding

My reasoning is this.:
Dexter has been training in CA. for a long time just for this event. He needs a big win and this is the perfect chance for him to get it. Without a big win here the aging Dexter Jackson will have a harder time getting the judges respect. Dexter is very aware of this.

Evan Centaponi is very determined a great showing here will will move his career towards Olympia. He's been working a long time for this and he knows this is critical.

Dennis Wolf; many may say he will win but I don't believe that Dennis is going to give his all at this show. I think Dennis is going to save his best for the Arnold where the competition will be much more intense. Dennis placed Higher than Dexter at the Olympia, Dennis doesn't have that much to prove. The greatest value to Dennis is to see how he compares to others.

Those are my thoughts for the top six, specifically the top three. In thirteen days we will know how it turned out. Feel free to post your predictions.

Thank you for reading this.

UPDATED DENNIS WOLF NEWS

According to RX Muscle Dennis Wolf is going to compete in the Flex Pro in February.

It seems that there was some sort of misunderstanding or someone in Wolf's camp may have spoke out of line. Either way the good news is that Dennis Wolf will help kick off the 2011 bodybuilding season at the Flex Pro and I for one can't wait to see the pictures of the Dennis Wolf Dexter Jackson showdown. Hold onto your hats, this is going to be good.

2011 Arnold Classic Update

Courtesy of insidebodybuilding.com:
Here's the latest list of competitors for the 2011 Arnold classic. The Arnold classic is shaping up very nice. I was concerned about the event this year because top athletes like Kai Green and Phil Heath were passing on the event. It looks to be an excellent competition. I will give my predictions closer to the event.

1. Fouad Abiad

2. Evan Centopani

3. Toney Freeman

4. Dexter Jackson

5. Johnnie Jackson

6. Victor Martinez

7. Essa Obaid

8. Ben Pakulski

9. Robert Piotrkowicz

10 .Ronny Rockel

11. Sergey Shelestov

12. Branch Warren

13. Roelly Winklaar

14. Dennis Wolf

In the 2011IFBB Ms. International, Klaudia Larson has dropped out of the Ms. International. Here is the current list.

1. Betty Adkins

2. Rita Maria Bello

3. Dayana Cadeau

4. Tina Chandler

5. Maria del Carmen Gomez

6. Sarah Hayes

7. Iris Kyle

8. Debi Laszewski

9. Cathy LeFrancois

10. Yaxeni Oriquen Garcia

11. Jeannie Paparone

12. Alina Popa

13. Antoinette Thompson

14. Isabelle Turell

THE OFFICIAL 2011 IFBB SCHEDULE

Here's the official IFBB Pro schedule. Plan to get your tickets and support these amazing athletes.

Thank you to the the folks at RXmuscle.com for posting this information.

This schedule is subject to change without notice.
Changes will be made only on approval of the IFBB Professional League (ifbbproleague@aol.com)

LAST UPDATE: January 13, 2011

I Didn't Want to Flip Out But I Did

So last Tuesday I'm at the gym having a wonderful back and chest workout. Yes, I started slow because of this stupid cold that I have but I gained steam and I was crankin' it out. I finished back in an honorable fashion and now it was time to move to flat dumbbell presses. The gym was crowded but not too bad. I was going to do my second set of presses but next to me were two skinny high school kids. They were clowning around more than working. I have nothing against kids working hard at the gym but I'm skeptical of High school kids acting like children in the gym. I said to the two kids please watch your back I'm going to lift. The two kids only half heartedly listened to me. I reached down and grabbed my pair of 90's for the next lift. I had the weights in hand, I brought myself down to the bench and then pressed. Everything was going great until the 6th rep. As I was bringing up the weight the clowning around kids stepped back and smashed into my left arm while I was in mid lift. Thankfully my arm wasn't fully extended, my elbow was still angled which I think prevented injury. No sooner did the kids bump me (please remember I told them I was about to engage in a lift) another side of me took over. I slammed the weights down, (not something that I believe in) got up off the bench, got in their face and just screamed at them WHAT THE FUCK IS YOUR PROBLEM? I TOLD YOU TO STAY THE FUCK OUT OF MY WAY! HOW FUCKIN' STUPID ARE YOU! THEN I KEPT GOING. They sheepishly said sorry dude and I just wanted to kill them. Other people that I know at the gym came over and I assumed they were going to shut me up and bring me back to a better place. Instead they yelled at the kids too. In the end there was no harm done.

I'm not an angry guy, I'm not a trouble maker, I don't like yelling. All I want to do is go to the gym lift hard, push myself and leave. If I'm lucky maybe along the way I can talk to some folks about bodybuilding or help someone with a spot. I feel bad that I flipped out but what's done is done. I'm annoyed with myself.

Now that all this is all said and done and of course behind me it reminds me of how important gym etiquette is. All the rules may not be written down but we all need to approach the gym with common sense. The gym is fun but it's also work. People can get hurt at the gym and it's up to all of us to stay alert understand gym safety. I wish more gyms would teach people more about how to act. If nothing else maybe people wont read magazines on benches and act like they are the only ones in the place.

I'm not happy with my behavior but maybe these two kids learned something.

There will be less preaching in my next post. In my next post I will write about the flex pro which happens in February and I will give my predictions for this much anticipated event.

Oh Snow!!!!

Please head over to my wife's blog and check out how she's helping me keep on track with my eating while I am dealing with an unexpected change in plans...
www.girlsraiseirontoo.blogspot.com

DON'T GIVE YOUR MONEY TO PLANET FITNESS

Hello All,

Has anyone seen the new ad campaign by that dreadful gym called Planet Fitness? I will just say that Planet Fitness is the gym that has pizza Fridays, free Tootsie Rolls and if you grunt when you work out the lunk alarm goes off and you get thrown out. I could ramble on about this so called gym and their horrid new commercial but instead I will post a commentary that was written by Ron Harris. Ron is a contributing writer for bodybuilding.com as well as the author of Body Building 25 years in the trenches. I think Bob said it all about Planet Fitness. I'm so glad that he posted his opinions. I hope you enjoy his commentary. Thank you Mr. Harris.

Thank you.

Planet Fitness has really gone WAY too far!

01/05/2011

I'm a pretty low-key guy, and things don't get me upset very often. But last night as I was watching the premier of the new season of "The Biggest Loser" with my family, I saw a commercial for Planet Fitness that both infuriated and nauseated me.

A man who is about as stereotypical of a 'dumb bodybuilder,' dressed in tiny shorts, an open sleeveless shirt, oiled up, and carrying a gallon jug, is being given a tour of a Planet Fitness by a nerdy little guy in glasses. Oblivious to the employee's questions and comments on the facility, he only repeats with a German-sounding accent, "I lift things up and put them down." The dolt is tricked into exiting the facility, and the screen cuts to the slogan that has now appeared in three Planet Fitness commercials: "Not his Planet - yours." Behind this slogan is a chorus singing, "Dumb, dumb, dumb."

It took me a moment to process that this degrading portrayal of bodybuilders, along with the clear message that this national chain of gyms was using the fact that they don't want them in their clubs as their major selling point, had actually been broadcast during one of the highest-rated primetime shows on television.

What this constitutes is a particular minority group being mocked, and letting the mainstream public know that if you join their wonderful gyms, you'll never have to see them. Imagine for a moment if a gym ran TV commercials to assure prospective members that they would not have to share the place with African-Americans, homosexuals, Jews, or obese people. What if they portrayed any of these groups as being stupid, lazy, cheap, etc? They would be slapped with lawsuits for defamation and discrimination so fast their heads would spin. But because bodybuilders have no NAACP or anti-defamation league, Planet Fitness is free to attack them with no fear or reprisal or backlash.

Here is the Planet Fitness mission statement, taken directly from their web site:

"Our Mission Statement

We at Planet Fitness are here to provide a unique environment in which anyone – and we mean anyone – can be comfortable. A diverse, Judgement Free Zone® where a lasting, active lifestyle can be built. Our product is a tool, a means to an end; not a brand name or a mold-maker, but a tool that can be used by anyone. In the end, it’s all about you. As we evolve and educate ourselves, we will seek to perfect this safe, energetic environment, where everyone feels accepted and respected. We are not here to kiss your butt, only to kick it if that’s what you need. We need you, because face it, our planet wouldn’t be the same without you. You belong!

The Judgement Free Zone® I(note - Judgment is actually spelling incorrectly on their corporate web site)

As the most innovative health club brand in the United States, Planet Fitness is known for a lot of things – our absurdly low prices, our Lunk™ Alarm, and most of all perhaps, for our Judgement Free Zone® philosophy, which means members can relax, get in shape, and have fun without being subjected to the hard-core, look-at-me attitude that exists in too many gyms."

How's that for hypocrisy? Planet Fitness prides itself on being 'Judgement Free (sic)." Apparently that doesn't apply to those who work hard, eat right, and value their appearance. Those people are judged - and condemned - for their dedication.

Planet Fitness is infamous for having Monday night 'pizza night,' keeping jars of Tootsie Rolls at the front desk, and for driving personal trainers out of their clubs - because God forbid anyone actually get in shape! This chain does not seem to me to be remotely concerned with their members actually improving their physical fitness and their bodies. They just want you to come in, pay them, and 'feel accepted' by not exerting yourself too much. Yes, real effort is not only discouraged, it's forbidden. Witness the 'Lunk Alarm.'

The Lunk Alarm is activated by management whenever someone drops weights or 'grunts.' I'm all for not dropping weights, but grunting? There is no way you can put out any degree of effort and intensity without making some noise. But do it at Planet Fitness, and you'll be met with an alarm, shortly followed by suspension or expulsion from the facility.

I find this absolutely disgusting. Rarely do I ever hope that a business fails, but in the case of Planet Fitness, I would be overjoyed to see them driven to bankruptcy.

What can you do? I would ask you to boycott them, but I don't know too many bodybuilders or serious weight trainers who would go there in the first place. Talk to everyone you know about their insulting and discriminatory ad campaign. If they respect you, they will see that this chain does not deserve their business.

Planet Fitness should be ashamed of themselves, but I am sure they are quite pleased. So please, I urge you all to make sure you don't give them a dime, and tell everyone you know the same thing. It's the only way they will 'pay' for their appalling business practices.