My second article has been published

Article number two is published. I love being a writer

http://bit.ly/9S0aK

enjoy

Got my first article published

I wrote my first article for Demand Studios last week and it has been published on ehow.com . Check it out at the link below.

http://bit.ly/Z1xEJ

give it a looksee, enjoy

Personal Training oppertunities

For those who are unaware, I am now providing FREE personal training. There are various ways you can recieve this service. Simply call or email me at 559-940-0219 or resurgence_pt@yahoo.com

This service is provided to the Fresno / Clovis area. I train my clients at Inferno Health and Fitness near the corner of Bullard and Villa ave. If you have any questions feel free to contact me anytime. I will get back to you within 24 hours.

Also, my website should be up within the week, I'm working on the domain right now, then it should be live.

Thanks all, and God Bless.

An Essential Training Tool: The Training Log

One of the most overlooked of training tools is the Training Log. This is simply a book, whether spiral bound or moleskine, and a pen. However these deceptively simple tools can mean the difference between victory or defeat in the gym.

So what goes in a training log? It obviously needs to have some structure, or it will be difficult to follow. And anything you write should at least be decipherable by others. The log can include anything you wish related to training: weight; food/calories; supplements; and of course your training. One must pick and choose what matters to them in their log. Some don't take supplements, or maybe don't care much about their weight, so those don't have to be recorded. However some, bodybuilders for instance, would want to be more precise with everything they do, and eat, and therefore might incude all of the above.

Why is the training log important? It is always a good idea to know where you've been, in order to know where you should go next. The training log let's you know what you've done. By knowing what you did last time, or last week, or last time you did this routine, you can better prepare for today's workout. Some say "I'll just remember", to which I would respond: "what did your workout look like, in detail, last Tuesday?" Most can't answer that in detail. I have a friend who I help plan his routines and he asks me all the time "what do you think I should do today?" (in reference to weights). I always respond with two questions: "what did you do last time?" and "how did it feel?". This helps me figure out what weight he should do this time.

So what does my training log look like? The picture above is mine. I use a moleskine notebook. Compact, durable and very high quality. I include a food log (calories too), supplement log, weight log, and training log. I structure my training log as follows:

Exercise- weight X reps X sets
i.e. Bench press- 135x5x3; 155x3

If I don't do multiple sets, I just leave off the sets. I also list them in order. Simple, consistent, and easy to follow. That's how a training log should be. It helps keep you from flying blind into your workout, and can help propel gains, and help keep you from getting injured (can, not will, a log doesn't prevent accidents or stupidity). For these reasons, no gym bag should be without one The pen truely is mightier than the sword.

My First TSC Experience

Well, I've now made my first step into competitive lifting. I traveled to Stones Gym in San Jose (155 miles) and lifted with Jordan Vezina and Bert Bower. It was a fun event with great, and encouraging people.

So how'd I do? I set a PR in the deadlift with a 405 lb pull. I never even attepted that before, my best before was 387.5.

Pullups were alright, I wasn't used to pause reps so that set me back a little. I did 18 pullups, not a PR but still good considering different circumstances.

Snatches went pretty well I think. I learned that you can do more if you rest in the overhead possition. I went with a previous best of 70 reps in 5 min, expecting to get 80. However with my new knowledge I was able to crank out a solid 85 reps. I was very happy with that, and look foreward to improving. My biggest problem was that I was getting a forearm pump, that made things harder.

My rank was 42 out of 79. I was hopping for something towards the middle and it looks like I succeeded. My deadlift ranked 40, my pullups ranked 27, and my snatches ranked 54.

My goals for next time are to deadlift 445 (or a triple bodyweight), 25 pullups, and 120 snatches.

Had a ton of fun, now time to get ready for the Fresno Ironman. It will be December 6.

God bless.

Supplement Review: NO Shotgun and NO Synthesize

Well, here goes my first supplement review. This is a newer version of an older product. NO Shotgun came out a few years ago, and according to all the reviews I saw, it worked great, but tasted like crap. So of course I bought it. And I can vouch that both statements are true, it worked great, but tasted like crap (more like rancid apple juice, but...). They eventually reformulated the flavor to make it more tolerable, and it worked. The great benefits were available in something that didn't make your stomach churn as much at the thought of drinking it.

Now we have version three, along with a new compliment product: NO Synthesize. This is a reformulated version of the products, including the formula, and the taste.

We'll start with taste (its worst quality previously). The taste isn't too bad. It does taste a little synthetic, but isn't that bad. Compared to the original, it is a considerable improvement. I'd give it a 3 out of 5.

Product contents: has somewhere between 7-11 grams of good creatine (creatine-o-phosphate, ethyl ester, and more) which help to replenish energy levels, both after workout, and during (to help you train harder). Also has a great pump package (arganine, citrulline, and more) which help to increase blood flow to give you a better workout, and bigger pumps. It also includes the relatively new ß-alanine/L-Histadine combination. This combination increases your body's production of carnosine, which works tremendously well to block fatigue, helping you to get in more weight, and more reps. It includes Branch Chain Amino-Acids (BCAA's) and glutamine, that help to stimulate recovery. These are the only performance products that I'm aware of that have protein in them. That is what both products have in common, the Shotgun also has the following. Redline energy and fatloss technology, gives you energy to train harder, and helps you to loose extra water weight. And Meltdown weightloss technology to keep you leaner. Overall product package: 5/5.

Effectiveness: I've used about a container and a half of each. THEY WORK. They just do. I know that when I'm in the gym I can do more than I could if I didn't have it. I have a training partner that's been with me for a few months. We'd be doing our workouts (same thing, slightly different weights) and he wasn't taking anything. I would consistantly be able to do more sets than him (about 10 reps more total) with more weight. While I'm in the gym, I feel focused, the time fly's by, and I feel good when I leave. I take half the Synthesize in the middle of my workout to keep my energy levels high for the last half of my training. Overall Effectiveness: 5/5

Overall product rating: 4.33/5. Great product, but needs a little better taste.

God Bless

My First On-Stage Sermon

I had my first experience preaching on stage this last Sunday (Aug 24, 2008). I really enjoyed the experience, and think it went really well. Everyone that I've spoken to said that i did a really good job, including my little sister who would most often be the first to give criticism.

For a brief summary, my sermon was on Biblical Love. My main point was that love biblically isn't just a gooey feeling, and sometimes doesn't even require an emotional component. Love in the bible is action, that we are to love in deed, not in talk (1 John 3). I then quoted many verses that to support my premise, and ended with some application in various areas of life.

There were some things that I believe I should have explained a little better, but I think it still went well. I thank Jesus for the ability to preach his word, and my church for the opportunity to do so.

If anyone wants the audio, leave a comment, and I will try to find a way to get it to you.

God Bless