Ok…

Before I say anything there are literally thousands of people out there that are fitness experts hell maybe even hundreds of thousands. Many even have T.V. shows or YouTube channels with millions of subscribers and more power to them whatever floats their boats I wish them well. But its thousands of people with thousands of opinions.

Who is right who is wrong ? Who actually knows everyone is different, some diets and supplements work for many and many people it does not then they resort to other means like surgery and fad diets up to starvation.

I started working out at the age if 16 in 1986 with a bench and weights I pulled outta the garbage one evening. And my journey started in a basement somewhere in Jersey. By 1990 after graduation in 1989, I joined a gym and took up Kickboxing and Shotokan Karate later changing my style to Kung Fu which is another story.

But I was working two jobs and was buying every bodybuilding magazine I could find. Muscle and Fitness, Musclemag International, Flex, and many others. I wanted to be big like the guys in the books like Rich Gaspari, Dorian Yates, and many many others. I was hooked not to mention this was the age of Jean Claude Van Damme and my hero Bolo Yeung.

I spent hundreds of dollars on supplements and I lived for my workouts either the weights or the heavy bag. I would only see my friends maybe twice a week Saturday an Sunday. They called me the weekend friend, I lived either at work or at the gym.

Why…

Let’s go years farther back in the early 1980s ok 1979 to be exact I just started eating and had no desire for exercise. Not to mention I am Sicilian/Irish all we did was eat, we loved to eat we loved out Pasta, Bread, and Potatoes. Then my mom loved to bake so there was that I was 8 an 9 years old and food was always in reach. By 1984 I had really gotten heavy they used to tease me in Jersey when I had to go to South Florida for one year for 8th grade, oh man and I had a new school to boot.

So here I am 14 years old 100 pounds overweight, braces, and attended a school in a place where even the kids my age were tan and had six-pack abs. I was so embarrassed even the girl I had a crush on I overheard her say that I had bigger tits than she did I was so crushed lol it was bad.

But that wasn’t the breaking point my mom wanted me to go into a store with 4 good looking girls around my age hanging out in front and I did not want to go in because I was embarrassed at the way I looked. I actually cried and refused to get out my mom had to send my sister in.

Losing the weight…

About two months after my mom enrolled me in this new program called Nutrisystem. ( This is in no way an endorsement for them) It was this fabulous new meal and exercise program. Long story short I lost 40 pounds by the time I went back to Jersey to start my freshman year in High School.

But that is not all I gained a knowledge those few months, not to mention I was still a kid so I was going to do kid things. Drink Slurpees, eat Italian Hot Dogs at Dickie Dees on Bloomfield ave in Newark with my cousin so from the years of 1985 to 1989 my weight went up and down. When I felt that I was gaining weight I adjusted my diet. But I had to want to lose weight in order to make it work.

In other words Mc Donalds with Apple Pie and a soda. Or Pizza with water and eating once or twice a day, not the best way but it worked lol I would have a yogurt or two for lunch and I was good.

1990 till Present…

Now for the next 30 years would be a wild ride for me, from bodybuilding to having a semi Kickboxing and Boxing career. I fully moved to South Florida in 1994.

I must have tried every supplement I saw in the books or heard about in the gym. I even took steroids for 10 years on and off, I have played with many workout routines to either gain weight or shed weight.

There were three times where life turned for me and I had very long times where I did not work out at all resulting in massive weight gain.

There were even times where I just got plain lazy or I worked so much that there were not enough hours in a day to fit in a workout. Hell, when FedEx express let me go after 21 years and worked at a bar as a bouncer and a cook there ya go making 9 dollars an hour and 12 hours a day just to make ends meet. Eating fried bar food because you are stuck at work all night till 8 in the morning.

Why the long story? and Why even make this post?

I am here to tell you that not every supplement will work, not every workout routine will work for you. You will have ups and downs in weight and how you feel.

Believe it or, not your personal life affects your workouts your progress, and even how you approach your goals. There were many times I was working out just to maintain but my gut would still be there because I was not taking my diet and my training seriously.

And after watching myself spar in the mirror and looking at certain videos and pictures of me I decided that I was sick and tired of having that gut. Then I finally adjusted my diet and hitting it harder in the gym.

The products you see us review and post on this blog are just suggestions. Now I am also rooting for you myself. Because I am just like you. I have goals and at 48 years old I have to keep in shape and at least try to not get to outta shape. I love training I love Kickboxing and I love Boxing And I am not ready to stop just yet.

I know what it’s like to want to lose weight, feel better about myself, or even try something new and be good at it. There was a time where my goals were everything and I missed out on a lot as well.

Before I End This…

I want to be clear to say that you can do whatever you want in this lifetime. But you have to want it. And that is not a bad thing we all get sucked up into things.

Working out and Losing weight is trial and error and you need that in order to learn how your body works. And most important you pay attention to your body. And whatever supplement you take you do what the directions tell you. I am lucky to be alive for the times in my 20s where I pushed the envelope where I didn’t need to. Yea that was a hospital visit or two.

Just don’t lose sight of your goals but also do not lose sight of life itself, Its a balance of both. It’s ok to cheat on your diet and its ok to take a day or two off from the gym that’s all I am saying..

Oh and good luck !!!!!!!!!!