eternal flame

so much flaming going around the forums i've been visiting, yo!

guess they're thinking they are the only guys who're "in the know."

right.

you can lift heavy?

check.

superhuman?

check.

on steroids?

99.9% sure!

gawd, these guys have too much T on them... short circuits when somebody annoys 'em with just a teeny-weeny bit of things.. like how things should be done in the gym yadi-yada.

boooo-hoooo!!

get off the juice, hombres, if your temper is getting shorter by the day.. that's a real bad side effect of being on it.. does roid rage ring a bell?

good.

anyway, got my rack pull at 370 pounds for 2 reps earlier... if the friggin' bar would not have slip off my palms, i could've added more reps to it.. my lower back is shuper pump, meatheads!



finish everything with s'more lower back exercises.

my right shoulder feels fine.. i'm just a li'l cautious moving it in an awkward position cos it might pop again... argh!!!

*yawn*

i hope my buddy won't text me about going out tonight.. i'm friggin' ready to hit the log.. tsk.. tsk..

congrats to my friend Earl and her better half, Malou for their new born baby.

cheers!

Marlboro

shit.

there, i said it. no more pressure.

it's been good this year so far in many aspects, but the work had been really tough... like there's a number of extra-work to be done.

anyway, seems everyone else i bump into is in a diet frenzy.. what's up with that? at work, in the gym, wifey, etc.. oh, i get it.. it's New Year's resolution yet again, eh?

nice.

good.

i guess it's better cos people are actually taking care of their health.. keep it up, homies!

make it a lifestyle.

me? nah. at least not yet... no worries though. i won't wait 'til next year if i decide to go die.. err, i mean, diet.

saw Leonardo DiCaprio smoke his lungs out in that bloody diamond movie, thanks HBO.. man, makes me wanna puff one.. inhale.. exhale... pheewwww!



it's been over three years.. zit! i ain't goin' back smokin' shit no more.


now, i want an internet connection at home...

and i'm getting it.

POP!

weather with you

*yawn*

*bbbrrrrrrrr*

cold, huh?

it's almost Sinulog time... nah, this one, i can wait.. been to this festivity since forever!

the plan: to have no plans at all.

yeah, just roll with whatever comes my/our way.

in the meantime, right at this moment...

fade out.

cartilage

burp!



ate a lot, thank you.

finally got my shoulder workout in full swing today.. darn pain is still there somewhere.. hiding.. in stealth mode, i supposed.

strength is still good.. guess the rotator cuff workout helped rehabbing the shoulder... FAST! still and all, gotta be smart (for the nth time) training the upper part of the bod.. got this vulnerability issue to deal with.. or it'd be so long farewell gym'n.

not much to update except for a boatload of work on my plate.. try to accomplish 'em all.. one at time, homie.. one at a time.

meanwhile, check out my buddies new website slash forum slash etcetera HERE.. i'll try to be a member soon.. missed the gals and gays of the defunct CCF, too!

si señor and señora, eh!

gewd werk

so i made it through... weeeeee!

yeah, worked around the pain.. t'was good, respectable workout considering just a week ago, i sprained, injured, tore my right shoulder's rotator cuff.

strength-wise, it was all good... didn't lose even a shred of strength.. i gotta hold back a li'l, though... there ain't no way i'm just gonna plow through the weights with my injury still healing fresh.. no-oh!

felt sore when i reached 80% of my max strength.. next week, i'd still go by how things feel..

whew! cool it, homs!

bump into THIS SITE earlier.. since then, i can't stop grinning..

happy weekend y'all!

status: unknown

i'm about to hit it HARD today.. hopefully, i can go pyramid the weights all the way to the top and not wince in pain.. later.

i'll go by how my shoulders feel.. i'll hit as many as i could, but most likely, i won't max it out.

'til then,

stand by.

die another day

whatta day!!!

this is the craziest day by far this year... saw a biker being rammed by a cargo truck while driving my friend's bike to an inspection section...

next, the bike failed the physical inspection.

thanks buddy!

then, i went to the emission testing center, but t'was offline.. tried later but still they couldn't process motorcycles cos it'll give their system unknown error..

great!

after doin some paper works at LTO, went straight to a nearby emission testing center hoping things would finally get through... of all the day driving around town seamlessly, today whilst driving a bike with an expired registration, i got flagged down by a police and a traffic enforcer in a checkpoint.. why i drove it when i know its regstration is expired, you ask? well, i gotta physically bring the darn bike to the center in order for them to test it, you get?

so there. tough luck, indeed. talk my way through and was lucky not to get a ticket or my license confiscated.

good news: it passed the emission test.

i was hoping to get my bike tuned by a mechanic and get some parts replaced.. i couldn't make it.

i was gonna hit the gym now, but got a bad case of headache..

whew!!

on the bright side, my shoulder feels better now. i should be able to bench some good weight tomorrow..

gotta chill.. next day should be brighter...

less is more

the injury is healing well.. i guess.

regrets.. regrets.. regrets..

why you're always at the tail end of everything??

why???

anyhoo, i'm now scrimping for more time when it comes to "leisurely activity."

wifey just started going to the gym and she can't fetch our kiddo, Neil, no more.

gotta rush out after office hours cos i just got promoted doing more family chores -- i have to bring him, and now fetch him to school.. nah, i can't complain.. i get to bond with the kid more than ever..

gotta be responsible with all these fatherly obligation.

more on anything later..

chiao!

shoulder-wide

holiday's over.

now, get back to work!

sigh.

wish there's a holiday every month like last month's... businessmen would complain, that's for sure.

anyway, though it was a holiday and me and my buddy, Earl, had a grand time makin' noise thanks to the videoke mic, drink to our hearts content, i wasn't letting 'em distract me from kicking ass in the gym.. no let up, homie, just serious workout after the fun.. the only time i took a break was on January 01.

since i never really took a week-long break (read: pre-determined) which usually falls after three months of bangin', and figured the long holiday break was enough to cover my base, like, i should be well rested after an hour or more of lifting... well, i felt really strong for a time.. i was getting very comfortable with my lifts and boy, i can feel my muscle swellin' good..

'til one fateful day....

hmp!!

sigh.

duh!

ffuu---- fine.

ladies and gents, i tore my right rotator cuff yet again... you have no idea how pissed.. and depressed.. down.. devastated i am.

i was pushing it thin, i know.

what can i say? i've got so much motivation going in on me.. i'm on fire, baby!

what's more, a bodybuilder approached me a week ago and ask if i was lifting for competition.. my ego just went up to the roofs.. ya know, if you get noticed by no less than a competitor, then you must be at a certain level already.. i'm cool with regular folks looking in awe at how heavy i can lift or how huge my arms had become, it never bothers me at all.. but a bodybuilder? soooo much cooler.

many of 'em bodybuilders had complimented me for my strength and size.. that's modesty aside. in fact, one whose a personal trainer slash professional bodybuilder whose scheduled to start his cutting phase this week wanted me to join him in his quest to get shredded.. so yeah, even if i'm not into steroids, i get to be one of the "big boys" when it comes to lookin' like a bodybuilder.

now for the best part, this bodybuilder dude ask me to be his training partner. i don't really care if he's on gear as long as he's dedicated and knowledgeable, i'd be happy to train alongside him. we were supposed to start helping each other out today, but unfortunately, i friggin' had an awful mishap while doing cable front raise.. it was to be my finally set.. obviously, heavy enough. even though i was getting exhausted from all the previous shoulder routine i did, since i was on fire, i just kept going.

i ended up jerking my shoulders and body to get the weight up..

then,

POP!

my right rotator cuff gave in.. shh---

ok, i'll try not to swear.. it's New Year. i know!

so there goes my careful planning blown to shh--- snooze.

now, as Mr. Eddie Torres, the Philippines premier powerlifter dude suggest,

"Ice the area for a few days. Try to see a sportsmed doctor too.

If possible, continue lifting but with very light painless weights so that your injury heals properly. Continue with the light rotator cuff exercises too. If you don't train and just wait a long time for this to heal, it may heal the wrong way and cause pains for certain movements in the future

You can take a small amount of aspirin (1/8 tablet) prior to training, then use ice after training."

guess i'm effed, bubba.

dunno for how long but the nagging pain is there.. it won't go away. not yet, at least.

i don't know what to say.. i'm trying to appease myself.. i guess no matter what others would say, it won't make things better..

tisk.. tisk.. tisk..



the night later, we had fun hanging around the newly opened bar uptown.. lotsa beers flowed.. friends came by.. an evening reminiscent of happier times... ya know, those Beach Roots Bar days where most of the 'owners' (10 to be exact) hang out.. only two guys were missing that night.. a buddy and his long-time girlfriend who, by the way, partly owns the now defunct bar, finally got married last month..

congrats!

so many chit-chats to spill but to sum it all up,

it's checkmate... for me.

preacher wannabe

how was your Christmas?

mine? uneventful.

well, does it have to be bangin' with all the food, drinks, friends, gifts and whatnot?

i don't really think so.

i'm no religion fanatic nor close to the good Lord right now but this i know...

we're celebrating Christmas because of the birth of Jesus, aight?

hhmmmm... if my memory serves me right He was born in a manger.. nothing flashy there.. no big baptism after-party.. no big-time drug lords, err, big-shot politicians as godfathers.. nada.

i don't even recall Him celebrating Vegas-kinda party during His birthdays.. unlike Pacquiao, eh?

so yeah, i couldn't care less if my Christmas ain't fancy like yers, homie.

so why am i saying this?

it's just amazing how people could put up with all that hassle and stuff going to the grocery queuing in line that takes like forever, buying all sorta gifts, party like a rockstah, etcetera, etcetera..

i mean, hey, have you even greeted Him "Happy Birthday, Lord!" whilst you were there enjoying the most dramatic moment of yer life?

like it's your party, huh?

do yourself a favor, honey.. thank the good Lord for the blessing you've been savoring.. if you're not as "lucky" as some people and all you've got this year are mostly, *cough* *cough* pain, you still have to be thankful cos you withered the storm, you survived and you are so much stronger now than you were before..

just sayin'.

so how was my Christmas? i was too tired to party, ya know.. as my post below says it, i got carried away doing arm-work in the gym i ended up lying in bed for a good number of hours just chillin' and musing.. thinkin' about how this year had been.. job-wise, there ain't much... but i've grown on other areas, so i'm happy.

if i wanna be "somebody" at work, i would've been it, but then it ain't gonna be fun.. as most guys and gals who got ahead of me.. they ended up quitting... some were too stressed and wound up sick..

to quote Beatles:

"i don't care too much for money, money can't buy me love..."

in other words, you can have a huge payin' job, but if you're not happy, what for?

anyway, time to call it day.. i had a good bangin' time earlier (for the nth time) in the gym.. some people stared in awe.. i get some 'respect points' among the pack for doing what i did.. next year will be awesome.. instead of buying me that wireless internet so i could go surf at home, i bought some supplements twice the amount of the latter to sorta up the ante.. this lifestyle's pretty expensive. as you get deeper, your supplementation needs goes higher.. you need pre, peri, post-workout drink.. not to mention, the stuff you've got to chow or guzzle down after waking up or before you hit the sack.. then you need some joint lubricants, etc. whew! it gets trickier as you progress.

it's still fun and challenging so i'm all for it.

Happy New Year!

It's Christmas.. all over the world.

HO HO HO!!

Merry Christmas, Yo!

yay! just finish workin' my arms earlier.. damn, huh? it's the eve of you know what, yet i'm waxing hot in the gym... is there any life for me at all other than this??

nah. if you consider the number of gym rats working out today, you'd be floored. guess we just wanna burn it before we gorge later.. even then, i don't think i'd be eating too much either.. just enough, i guess.

oh wait, saw somebody earlier.. some kinda ghost.. hee hee..

her.

i could've gone out of my way to 'meet and greet' her but then, nah, it's better this way.. no frills, no hassles..

keep moving forward.

on the other side of the specter, whilst out partying somewhere uptown inside a bar, this caucasian dude elbowed my tummy on his way out of the bar.. not that it hurt (just annoying nudge) but enough for me to notice what he did.. felt pissed and so was my partner that night cos he too noticed the prick's actuation.. when he came back, he tried again but i parried it successfully.. we had some confrontation but didn't led to a brawl, good and fuck him very much..

since i was too tipsy to think straight why he did that, the morning after, i went down to my cave, closed the door, turn the lights off, meditate and gave it some serious thought.. oh i get it.. he thought we were making a move to that three ladies fronting of us.. tsk tsk tsk.. to think we just arrived there.. some loser, eh??

that's how you treat Filipino guys, you moron?? you're probably upset you didn't get your LBFM (google search, honey), right???

right. next time i'll be more sensitive to these kinda pricks roaming around bars..

anyway, 'nuff said.

Happy Holidays Yo All!!

smile.

peace.

Caucasian

t'was a long weekend.. kinda regret some that went down.. i think i'm gonna keep 'em to myself for now..

anyway, nothing bad happen so i'm just thankful.

later.

12 Days

geez, what am i supposed to post tonight??

kinda hard having all those nice thoughts i had earlier just vanish thru thin air.. tsk.. tsk..

i am really getting old.

by the way, we in the gym call him Mama Rudz cos the late mister is "gifted" with man-boobs.. LOL! may his soul rest in peace.

yeah, they're kinda huge and distracting whenever he takes his shirt off..

oh yeah, i have been invited by some PT in the (new) gym to join their christmas party (gasp!) to be held tomorrow at some mountain view place.. nah. not yet dude.. maybe next year.. maybe never.

i don't have any super-close buddy yet.. just acquaintances.

i know i could easily get close to anyone considering i'm no ordinary gym-rat, modesty aside, but no, i prefer we down lotsa salt first before we'd start hanging out.. besides, it's quite distracting to be friends and get cozy with everyone.. you'd end up wasting time trash-talking instead of pumping iron.

i dunno bout others, but that's just my thought.

on the other hand, traffic is really, really heavy these days with all the people going out of their way hustling through the christmas rush... pretty stressful driving around or buying stuff with everyone all over the place... i think i'm gonna faint, man!

more pain is when people don't follow simple rules.. take crossing the street, for example.. the government build all these expensive skywalk (you have to count the kickbacks, thus, expensive) so people could cross the streets safely and in order for vehicles to flow freely.. but the darn violators just don't wanna exert a little effort to climb up the stairs.. they want everything quick and easy.. bunch'a morons, eh?

risking limbs and life to get there faster.. what if some car crashes on you?? you think you can still go to where ya goin' "safely" and "quickly?"

you're either going to the hospital or the nearest morgue, dimwit!

sorry.. gotta rant sometimes.

anyhoo,



done.

Mama Rudz

went to my former gym earlier... what can i say, i miss the guys.

yeah, they are my homies.. no matter what.

i got the surprise of my life when i learned of an old timer whom i had the honor of working out with died of a cardiac arrest.. he used to joke around that i should be "competing." i dunno why he says that crap.. i presume Rey had been spreading some BS and he just kinda pick it up (tip: learn more about Rey by searching this blog up) and tag along... he appears to know exactly what he's gonna do whenever he's there showing everyone some unusual 'moves' never been done by the usual gym rats.. ironically, his physique doesn't show any improvements whatsover despite the years he's been eating iron.

anyway, though i earnestly avoid talking crap with him, we'd sometimes end up doing so.. i find the person sensible enough that i had to sorta impart with him what's on my mind.. however, Rey was kinda pissed with him.. he's the only one with the balls to insinuate Rey used roids.. in return, whenever Rey had the luxury of disrespecting the old man, he'd gladly do so with gusto.

Rudy, that's his name by the way, likes to eat.. he'd tell me he'd order some of his favorite Kare-Kare or Lechon (roasted pig) just to satisfy his urge.. this dude already suffered a mild stroke before and yet he just can't resist the temptation..

long story short, he died.. one of the reason why i went there is because i dreamt of this guy last night.. he was very much alive and in his usual self.. conversing and just doing his sets in the gym.. since i missed my homies and all, i pop in there and was shocked to find out Rudy is gone... forever.

sad, but that's life.. at least he died old enough and had a good ride..

see you next life, Rudy.

on the flip side, my heart got bigger when Gaga, the in-house instructor slash spotter slash good friend, told me when exactly i'd be coming back.. cos he misses the lifts i do around there.. man, those were the crazy days, tell ya that!

in fact he's reserving the "prime spot" locker just to get my butt back in there.. they still don't know i have transferred.. YOU!!! this is just between us, huh??!!

SSSsssshhhhHHHH!!!!

yeah, i missed having you guys around too.. but i gotta do this.. to be away with the homies... i need to grow on other areas.. there are so many things i have now that i sorely don't have there.. already, i can press heavier dumbbells and my squat's looking fierce.. i wouldn't have done that if i was still stuck in my old-school gym... my options had expanded whilst before i've already reached my limits..

not to mention the distractions from you know who..

meanwhile, i'll still be visiting them once in a while.. catch up with anything.. hope not some dead mate comes up again..

crap, i didn't make it to their annual physique competition held last week.. they've got better contestants now as compared last year.

zit.

breaking new ground

20 kilos multiplied by 4, 80.

multiplied again by 2.. thats 160 kilos... x 2.2 that's 352 pounds.. plus 20, the weight of the bar.. sssshhhhh!!! i'm trying to do the math here!!!

372 pounds.

that's my new PR for squat.. wehehehehehe!!

Merry Christmas!!!

four equal plates side-by-side.. exactly how i wanted and pictured it.. and now, i gotcha.. sweet.

that's the good news.. now on with the bad.. 5 motorbikes raffled but didn't won a single.. not even a friggin blanket for whatchamacallit's sake.. tough luck.

and finally, for the ugly and i hate this part: it's Christmas and i'm not "liquid.." that's, uhm, rather my glamorize way of putting it, but really, i'm just cash-strapped, dam'it!!!

the culprit?

it's all that 'SALE!!!!' all over the place.. y'know, those super-duper discounted prices of the stuffs being sold in the malls these days.. sooo tempting..

resistance is futile, homie.

anyway, gotta get back to work cos i've got lotsa them waiting... aarrgghhh!!!

time after time

i'm soooo full!

no more time for chatters... tomorrow. maybe.

i'll save it 'til then.

happy holidays!

pharty bhoy

ok, ok i had one too many... no, it's good.

bad thing though is, i'm writing this under the dark... picture this: no light.

everyone seems to be having fun with all the dance muzic... nice.

oh yeah, got to post this... they've been raving about how buff i am considering i'm simply wearing ordinary shirt... right!

here ya go people... touch my arms, homie!

whatevs.

a few more drinks and i'm goin' to la-la land... gotta keep it together.. too early to snooze yet... 10pm.

hope to win the darn bike tonight... fingers crossed!

happy holidays!

calm before the storm

whoa!!!

quite a day to top the week... tomorrow will be our Christmas Party.. weeeeee!!!

yay! like i haven't grown old with all these parties.. i know, i know.. such a bummer of me, huh?

anyhoo, i had a good session earlier, notwithstanding all the shit-work i had to hurdle.. my biceps are on fire, baby!!

tomorrow.. hhmmmmm.. i really can't worry about it.. but i have a plan..

i'll figure something out when i'm about to "cross the bridge..."

peace and love.

Steroids

there ya go again...

why o' why suspect me of being ON "gear?"

nope there ain't no way in the world i would even if i can..

lemme break it down for you... gently.

when i was a baby, i was told by my elders i had congenital heart desease.. an enlarged heart, to be exact.. i spent months after birth being confined in the hospital.. my late dad even had to scour for funds in order to bail me out.. damn, eh? too young and too fucked up already??

oh well.

next reason i can't touch roids is simply because i dunno how screwed up my body had become after years of alcohol and necotine abuse.. that's not to count the few bouts i had with *cough* *cough* drugs... damn, huh?!

well, the drugs ain't that much really... just amateurish MJ's and syrups... to tide my curiousity..

but i was heavy on alcohol and a BIG smoker... definitely, those vices could've dent my heart.. one way or another.

thus, there ain't no way in the world i'd entertain the thought of messing around chemicals that i don't have the slightest idea how to use, much less know the side effects of it on my body.

but then now that i've channelled my energy into something useful and getting good at it, some folks in the gym thinks i must be ON to something to be that strong and intense.

rrright!

i could take that as an insult or a compliment.. i prefer the latter.

to say i'm ON to something simply means i'm no ordinary guy waltzing around the gym like a headless chicken... i definitely know how to run my thang..

i must be BIG that they noticed.

and STRONG too!

whatever.. i'm amused at how they could easily come up with that conclusion, but hey, i'm just as entertained..

saw many "juiced" guys in the gym.. they look better than me, tell ya that.

i'd prefer that it's a level playing field and that nobody takes roids..

but it's their lives and they wanna get there fast, take the shortest route and get HUGE easy.. even if i could afford it, health and money-wise, i still wouldn't do it... nothing beats getting "there," naturally.

peace.

hello and goodbye

bet'cha know already who won the last fight, yeah??



well, i feel bad for Oscar.. for real.



the picture paints a thousand words... him sitting at his corner looking puzzled and in pain.. not a picture of a multi-titled former champion from different weight divisions.. not to mention, an Olympic Gold medalist.. it's no ordinary feat, homie.. not one Pinoy has ever won a Gold medal in the olympics, if my memory serves me right.

so yeah, i would've thought he'd be swinging like hell for his "farewell fight/s.."

on the other hand, Booo Hoooo!!! to all those Pacman doubters.. next time, keep it to your arse, ha!

now, t'was nice watching the fight on PPV with an Eat-All-You-Can buffet on the sides.. the food we had - awesome! for 350 bucks, it's all worth every penny...



unfortunately, i downed cups and cups of brewed coffee before the fight... next thing i knew, i'm on the verge of having a nervous breakdown come fight time, damn it!

there were a number of people who reportedly have died watching the Dream Fight.. good thing i'm not part of the statistic.. hee hee hee!

the crowd just went crazy when everything started - all cheering for our countryman, Manny.

when Dela Hoya quit, the place just went mad!!

good thing i was able to keep it all together considering i was soooo hyped-up, thanks to bottomless coffee...

leason learned: don't drink lotsa coffee while watching Pacman fight.

congrats to Manny...



but sympathy to Oscar.. don't wanna see him go down like that.. but that's just life, hombre.. better retire and enjoy the moolah's you've earned.. life is good.