Why I lift and maybe why you should start...

     It was a bit after 5:00pm and the evening rush started to come in.  Leaning on my elbows against the stationary bike, they quivered, my arms too weak to support myself upright.  My  shoe laces whipped my screamingly sore legs with each pedal, untied from an innumerable amount of calf raises, as I watched the gym floor become flooded with its after-work patrons.  They shuffled in one by one, in pairs, or in groups; some coming across familiar faces and other seeking solitude to venture solo.  Pedaling on, nobody dilly dallied, everybody was doing something.  Footsteps fell heavy in the aerobics room, cables ran smoothly across pulleys, barbells and dumbbells came crashing down to the ground, and sweat fell onto the belts of the treadmills.  Split tank tops, yoga pants, heavy hoodies, running shoes, straps, wraps, and belts; we were all equipped to go to work.  There is something deeper than the face value.

      The test wasn't good enough, my classmates and I had been shut down saying our grades were not perfect enough and would have to retake out Kanji test.  The day before was a letdown as my marketing test was not as stupendous as it was hoped.  The day before that I was trembling in my shoes proposing an argument of an essay to a leader in the field of modern Chinese history that may have been swatted down. 

But it didn't matter.

     I had 250lbs on the bar and another 200lbs in bands attached sitting my my back as I was going down for the tenth rep, and damned if it wasn't coming back up.  I had 500lbs on the floor, the bar and my palms dusted in magnesium carbonate, belt snugged, and only focused on ripping the weight off the face of the floor.  I had 280lbs in my hands over my neck, lowering the bar, and making its only objective to come back up or face otherwise.  There is only ever one focus.

     This world is full of everything from the bad luck, the accidental, the unfortunate, and the dreadful.  The small things build in the form of annoyances, turning into stress, adding to the tragedy we may call our lives and it's never ideal.

     The car you fixed came back broken down, your boss gave you shit for not making that sale, your teacher hated your thesis, your dog shit on the carpet, you package didn't get delivered on time, you woke up late and started your day off wrong, spouse is fighting with you, death in the family, missed a bill.  There's a lot in life we cannot control.

     Maybe an hour or maybe two hours there is complete control and clear objectives.  There is no failure because there is always success in even trying.  Everything is something to be proud of whether it be five more pounds to your max lift, another rep with a weight you've been working at, a faster mile run, another centimeter to your arms, that extra pound lost; there is no failure in even the smallest accomplishment regardless of me being the biggest or the baddest or not.

     It's a "lift life", a "swole life", the "fit life"; all the same.  Humans all have a desire to better themselves in one way or another and this has never let me down.  Everything I do is in my control whether it's moving a max weight, or making sure my inner traps come to meet my rear delts, it's all the same.  

     There's sweat, tears, and sometimes blood and pain, but there's is always an improvement and solitude.  There's always satisfaction in knowing that although sometimes I can't give my all, I came in and tried.  The shaking in my arms, the swelling in my legs, and the nagging shoe laces whipping against my ankles were a sign of something greater and reaffirm me of a feeling, a feeling nobody wouldn't want even if they tried to ignore it. 

  -Pq

Grinding out your grindage: All about easy food prep!

 This can be the biggest enemy of progress for a busy college student....... the diet.  I'm sure many kids think they have it down pat though; eat breakfast around noon, hit the cafeteria for a salad (cause they're mad healthy, yo) and then eat around dinner time or something (can't eat too late you'll get fat!)  That's nice but unfortunately it's completely wrong.

The average bodybuilder eats at least 6 times a day with the frequency ranging from every two to three hours from the crack of dawn until night.  A fast metabolism helps to not only keep you less hungry through the day (since you're constantly fed) but keeps a constant supply of aminos, carbs, vitamins, minerals and all those good jimmies floating in your system constantly.  Unfortunately this is the hardest part of being fit and achieving your goals healthily but don't worry I got you guys.

The best way to keep things simple is to start in the supermarket and figure out what you need.  I have a methodical way of deciding what to buy and it varies by week depending on what I want or can stand to eat that week but always have similar principles.

-Lean meat in bulk packages is cheaper and since you're going to need it! Lean beef, turkey, chicken, fish (if you have deep pockets) or tofu or whatever vegetarians get their swole from.
-Pick out a complex carb source!  Whole grain pasta, brown rice, Ezekiel bean sprout bread, etc.  If it's on sale... snag a bunch... why not?
-Milk... if you don't drink it... you better start.
-Eggs!  Fast absorbing protein in a vulnerable shell?  Yes plz.  Egg whites are great if you prefer but are much more expensive than their shelled counterparts. 
-Vegatables!  I prefer a few frozen bags to keep around (I'll explain why) and a few sweet potatoes too.

Now that you have all of this lovely food what the hell do you do with it?  Cook it... all of it.


One of my favorite tools for this involves my cast iron griddle/grill.  Invented by Emeril Lagasse in 1942, it was originally used to shield Nazi radio waves while he was on stealth missions into Berlin.  These days its purpose is to supply me with a great cooking utensil.  George Foreman also had a similar electric griddle which might be a better and more suitable for all you college dorm, bros.  Whatever you have, heat it up and get going. 

This week I went with my usual chicken breasts that I butterfly down the side in order to help it cook more evenly on the grill and usually portions slightly bigger than one serving when it's cut.  I'm not a chef so I really just cook it until it's done.  Sorry if that seems lame but it's true.  I also don't use seasoning or special sauce for the whole recipe, why?  I prefer to cook it plain just in case I decide to use the chicken differently per meal.  It might be cut up into a wrap, chicken parm, salad, or a sandwich.  It doesn't help me to have 4-5lbs of chicken seasoned in one particular way and get sick of it right off the bat. 

  While that's going on you can throw your pasta on and let that cook through.  This can be kept in a separate container and used with whatever sauce you feel like, or plain if you're into it. The same thing can also be done with rice or whatever grain you feel like using.  Just as long as you have some sort of substantial carbs to hold you over, pick what works best.

Don't forget to move onto cooking steak if you have it; always something I have on hand.

Once it's cooked, tupperware it up and let it chill for when you need it! 


 But what about frozen vegetables?  For me, I keep them that way and for a particular purpose.  When I portion a meal to go I throw the vegetables in there frozen.  That way when I heat it up in a microwave they're perfectly steamed in the container.  I've found that cooking them ahead of time and then reheating them will leave them mushy and unappealing. 

See not so bad, right?  The process usually takes no longer than 2 hours; including cleaning, cooking, texting, potty break etc.  This way you have a plethora of meat and food to pick up and go at your ready disposal leaving no excuse to not be ready! Now of course I don't eat 6 meals of solid food, this is in addition to any weight gainers and whey proteins around meals and post workouts as well.

Just the tips:
-Buy tupper ware!  Nothing fancy, it just needs to hold food
-Bust out a deck of cards!  A typical meat serving is 4 oz and about the size of a deck of cards.  This deck of cards will help you eyeball out each serving to take with you properly to ensure proper nourishment.  Each serving is roughly 23-25g of protein as well so keep that in mind while packing your food.
-Keep it interesting!  Experiment with different sources of carbs and different meats around different points in the day.  Sometimes I'll bring a sweet potato with me to eat before a workout and they seem to be an incredible source of energy.  I encourage you to try and figure out what works best for you.
-Keep no excuses.  This is it, you're prepared and ready for the battle against nourishment.  The gym is the easy part and now the hardest part has been tackled. 


What foods do you typically like to keep around?

-Pq