182 Pounds and Counting

182 Pounds! That's how much I weighed in at today. Not bad considering I was only 176 pounds 8 days ago. Still, I'm a little dissappointed because I'm off to a slower start than I had originally planned for. Nothing ever goes exactly the way you want it to... especially at the beginning of a mission. This is the hardest part for me. I'm still struggling with organizing a few aspects of my life to facilitate my transformation. I have to make sure, though, not to make organizing my priority. It's important not to think too much when you're trying to accomplish something. Nike hit the nail right on the head with their slogan "JUST DO IT!". Shawn Ray, one of the most popular (and best) bodybuilders of all time, used to preach the same thing. If you think too much, then you may start doubting yourself. You can't go wrong with doing. I do intend, however, on living a more relaxed lifestyle throughout this transformation. My heart is telling me to eat, sleep, train, rest, spend time with my wife-to-be (and my nephews) and that's it. Working on the computer has become a new passion over the last year and a half, but it's easy to become hypnotized by it. Working on my website is fun, but it also takes a lot of time to develop. I promised myself I would at least put up 4 blog posts per week throughout my journey to become the biggest natural bodybuilder of all-time. I want to keep you guys and gals up to date, and I also want to have somewhat of a journal to help keep me on track. I often suggest to people to use meditating, or visualizing, or harmonizing all elements of their life to reach a goal. But I don't want you to think that the process of achieving a goal is easy, or that I personally don't have any struggles. If my middle name wasn't Richard, it would have been Struggles, or Suffering, or dare I say Sacrifice. I'm walking almost purely on faith right now. I work part-time in a small gym, and this website isn't bringing me much money. Every week is a struggle. Emotionally, mentally, physically (as I sprained my lower back not even 2 months ago)... I'm continually being tested. Money always seems to be the root of every problem, doesn't it? My family has difficulty understanding what I'm doing, or why I'm doing it. They don't get why I don't just get a job as an insurance salesman or something. The truth is... They don't even know that I'm training for this particular goal (the one of becoming the biggest natural bodybuilder of all time). They know that I have a passion for bodybuilding, but I don't think they understand what it really means to me. I see my family (meaning my parents, sisters, bro-in-laws, nephews) every two to three weeks, but I don't disclose any of my ideas. They don't seem to get that my dreams, as is my family, are more important than life itself. Without goals, what is the point of being on this planet. I refuse to live in fear... fear that I won't have enough to eat, fear that I'll never be able to travel the world, fear that being an ambassador to natural muscular development may put me on the steroid industry's hitlist. All of the signs are pointing in the direction of my goal. It's just a matter of time before I achieve it, and I'm doing my best to have fun in the process... no matter how bad things sometimes are or how they'll get. I suggest the same to anyone who's looking for something more in life. First of all, that something is inside of you. I just saved you years of searching. Now you just have to go out and get it. Keep in mind though, that it may take years (but that's up to you).

I'm going to cut it short for tonight's blog post as I have to get up a little earlier on Saturdays. Don't hesitate to drop a comment on any of my blog posts. If you have a question about muscle building, I'll do my best to answer it in one of my upcoming posts, at the shortest delay.

One Week Later

Well folks. It's been one whole week since I began my quest to become the biggest natural bodybuilder of all time. Tomorrow, I'm going to weigh myself for the second time. You may recall that I gained 4 pounds after only one day of training towards my goal. I had explained that this was due mostly to being dehydrated on the day 1 of my journey. My wife-to-be Virginia filmed me while I worked out my shoulders and calves on that day... and I guess I was so anxious leading up to that moment that I didn't get much rest the previous week.

I expect to weigh in at at least 182 pounds, but I'm hoping for 185. If the scale does say 185 pounds tomorrow... That means that I gained a whopping 9 pounds in one week. No matter the result, I'll continue to move forward confident that I'll reach my ultimate goal before May 5th, 2010 (which is less than 6 months from now). The hardest part of my transformation will be attributed to the cold Canadian winters we experience over here. Shoveling two cars out of the 20+ inches of snow (and ice) on an almost daily basis for over 3 months could be very draining. Nevertheless, I'll make sure to get adequate amounts of rest. One small nap (of at least 1 hour) during the day, right after training... and a good night's sleep of 9-10 hours.

Tomorrow I'll probably sleep in until about 11am, and drink plenty of water throughout the day. I want to hit that 185-pound mark on the scale really badly. Of course, I don't want to do anything misleading to have others believe I'm bigger than I actually am... It's just that if I drink a lot of water, I will be heavier and seeing those results will boost my confidence further. You have to understand that when trying to accomplish your fantasy goal, you need to do everything you can to keep yourself believing that you're on the right track to achieving it. This is because your dream... That thing you've been wanting to do, perhaps for years... is maybe the toughest challenge you'll ever face in your life. It's just the way that it is.

I hope that these blog posts are helping you in some way. I encourage you to stay tuned, as this journey has just begun. I might upload a video of Day 1 this week. We'll see. I'm kind of contemplating keeping all the videos until the end of my journey and making it into an awesome documentary (instead of uploading them to my YouTube channel tri-weekly as I had originally planned). Anyways, like usual... I'll keep you posted!

My Resistance to Negative Criticism was Tested Today

Today was tough because a complete stranger, whom I shared the details of my journey with, began bashing every aspect of it. Of course, I probably shouldn't have spoken to him about it, but I can't change who I am. I'm the type of person who likes to use personal experiences to empower others. What happened this time, however, was the reverse. I felt like most of my energy was sucked out of me for a while. This person told me that I could not gain all the muscle I say I could, without using drugs. He also mentioned that there was no point in accomplishing it either way, seeing that I would probably not make any money out of it. I tried defending all of those negative comments by stating what I've learnt over the years... Things like "The richest people on the planet, the ones who came from nothing, at many points in their journey were told repeatedly that they were destined for failure", "Do what you love, the money will follow", and "Success is not something you achieve, it's something you become", etc.

I don't mean to make this entire blog post about becoming rich or successful. My journey means much more to me than making money. I have to admit, though, that it has been a concern of mine in the last few years. That's why this negative critic definitely struck a nerve with me. Still, it only took a few hours of reflection to remind myself that the hope of acquiring money or fame should never be the driving force to any goal. Every moment should be lived with passion. Anyways, I felt I should make a post out of this experience, since it's something that I think you should be aware of when attempting to reach your goal. It's going to happen often... you know, people telling you you're not good enough, or smart enough, or whatever. Don't listen to them. You're the captain of your soul. Follow what your heart tells you and you'll be taken to places that most people could only dream about. The courageous ones, the ones who are willing to take the time to learn... are the ones who will experience happiness. The rest, well, we could only pray for them.

Before I Started Weight Training

I started weight training only a few days before my 20th birthday. It quickly developed into a new passion. Previously, most of my physical activity came from playing recreational soccer. Although my love for soccer hasn't dissolved, weight training (or what I prefer to call 'bodybuilding training') seems to fit better with me. Bodybuilding is a very individual sport. You are the only player in your team... and everything depends on you. I liked that idea from the beginning. When I played soccer, there seemed to be too much politics involved. Especially when I would organize teams (as I sometimes did), I had developed some anxiety from constantly listening to the players' complaints. Everyone in the team wanted to be the coach, or the captain, etc. As much as I experienced incredible highs when playing soccer, there seemed to be a lot of nervous tension surrounding the sport. In sum... Being a loner for much of my life, bodybuilding and I went really well together. Working out for me has always been a stress reliever as well as a confidence builder. Today, I'm even working hard at making it into a career. I just feel like I have so much knowledge and experience that it's my duty that I share it with others. Without hopefully sounding too arogant, I believe I have two gifts related to muscle building. The first is what this blog is all about... Becoming the biggest natural bodybuilder of all time. I can build NATURAL muscle at a rate faster than most people, if not all. Also, the amount of muscle I can add to my frame is limited only to my beliefs. And I believe I can ultimately weigh in at a shredded 250 pounds one day. To give you an idea of how big that is... Check out some of the top ten Mr.Olympias. Of course, my aim is to look more aesthetic, like Arnold back in the day (except a little big more buffed). Of course, these are just words and I've yet to prove what I'm capable of. You'll have to stay tuned to this blog to find out if I make it. My second gift as related to muscle building, is that I can help and motivate others. My personal accomplishments seem to inspire people to pursue their own fitness-related goals. One of my main goals in life is to help recreational, amateur, and professional bodybuilders from all over the globe... to reach their NATURAL physical potential (by promoting overall personal development). I've got to get to bed now, as it's late and I sometimes forget that I'm on an important journey. I'll leave you with a video of me. It pretty much explains my passion for and devotion to bodybuilding.

Staying Focused on Building Muscle

Staying focused on building muscle, is easier said than done. I'm using this blog as a type of journal, that will hopefully keep me on track towards my goal of becoming the biggest natural bodybuilder of all time. Whenever I do something that I believe could hinder my physical progression, I'll make a post out of it. For example, I've been going to bed quite late ever since I began my journey only a few days ago. But if I don't get enough rest each day, then how are my muscles supposed to grow. I become more consciously aware about what I'm messing up on when writing it down (or in this case, typing it on my keyboard). And once I'm aware of whatever is slowing down my progress... I can shift my focus to what I should be doing. I often take things a step further like, for example, posting my ultimate goal on the wall... so that whenever I walk into that particular room, I'm reminded of it.

When I don't get results, the reason is not so much that I'm NOT focused on my goal, as something is holding me back. What was holding me back in the past? Why have I never attempted to reach my goal? I've already mentioned that in the past I didn't believe in myself enough to pursue my goal with confidence. And I've actually already stated previously that I would become the biggest natural bodybuilder of all time. I was on an internet tv show when I introduced myself as well as what I was attempting to accomplish. I was supposed to have my entire journey documented but, unfortunately, the film production company didn't pursue the project. I'm in Episode 2 (AT OPUS HOTEL) about two thirds of the way through. I didn't look very good, because I had been keeping that fire (my dream) inside me for years, until I finally let it out on the show. As much as I didn't show my body in that episode, I felt it was a good enough 'Before' shot to begin training full force towards my goal. After only two weeks, I had bulked up and leaned down drastically. People in the gym were really starting to notice the change, and I was as well. Back then, I thought that the reason why I just stopped cold turkey after only two weeks, was because the production company was no longer contacting me. Today, I understand that I just wasn't ready for my goal. Physically, I was ready. Mentally and spiritually... Nope.

An important message that I'd like to pass on to you is that your goal will arrive when your ready. You have to go after your goal and do certain things to achieve it, but you also have to let it come to you. There's a time and place for everything. That place and time becomes HERE AND NOW when you are prepared... physically, mentally, and spiritually.

I'd like to end this blog post with a simple statement. If you fall, you have two options; (1) Get up, (2)Stay down. You don't have to be perfect in your pursuit of physical perfection. You don't have to achieve your goal in the time-frame you've given yourself. Just stay focused, and the moment will eventually come.