Apparently Friday is #Truth day

Maybe it's just me...

Celebrate every win

Yesterday we resurrected a family tradition of having an annual bonfire at Corona Del Mar. A full day of sun, fun, food, and family was had. 

What was a personal win for me may seem simple and weird to most folks. I'm pretty self conscious when it comes to my body image. Ok maybe it's not weird to most folks but for a while, I didn't like being shirtless or wearing fitted shirts. Just never felt comfortable in my own skin. 

While I've worked out over the last few years, this year is the first time I've been truly dedicated to reaching my fitness goals. I've invested time and resources into my routines and I think they are finally paying off. 

For the first summer since I was a kid, I proudly was able to sport the tank. Every day life to most folks but to me it was quite liberating to just wear it and not think about it. 

Now at the annual beach and and bonfire, I was able to be shirtless at the beach and wear size 32 board shorts. 

Double win!!

My body isn't where I want it to be but it's slowly getting there. I'd like to grow my chest more and get rid of more fat around my mid section (just love food so much). Hopefully the beach took care of my farmer's tan too!

It's amazing seeing the progress I've made this year. I'm proud to say that I feel my goal of a great body is closer to being realized. 

You can achieve whatever you want so long as you are dedicated and put in hard work. You can get there!

End of the first pump week

Yesterday was the end of the first pump week. Man, I had forgotten how redic the schedule is for just three days in the gym.  Low weight, high reps (15-30), and 4-5 sets. 

Have to admit that it felt great each day it was over but I was completely wiped. Glad tomorrow is the family beach bonfire cause I plan on just sleeping. 

Still... Cardio and core work every day that I'm not lifting :) 

Check out the pics... I think there is some progress. 

       

Pump day #2

It's all legs all high rep pump.

I want to cry!!

Yup

End of the heavy phase... Finally.

It's the end of the workout program... Again. I never really get through it for a variety of reasons:

1. Years ago I wasn't dedicated and

2. This year I modified it it cause of my stress fracture

Now that I'm pretty much fully functional (minus the running), I'm determined to complete it. 

Last Saturday ended the first phase (heavy) of the program. I'm currently doing the pump week prior to starting the next phase but you can see the results below. 

Not too shabby huh? Yes one day my chest will respond and yes, I'll fix the farmers tan. 

       

There is no shame in failure. For a warrior the only shame is not trying. 

On Combat: The Psychology of Deadly Conflict - Dave Grossman

Rocking the gym on blast

Sub Focus pretty much is killing it in the gym. Being jamming to this song for years and it still picks me up when it shuffles on.

Boom

Counting down to Beach Body - End of Week 1

Saturday was the end of the first week of what I'm affectionately calling my Beach Body work out. Its def not one of the workouts you see at 3am in the morning, although I wouldn't mind trying the MMA workout craze. This 3 month workout is actually something I tried once before but lost focus in years ago. My buddy Doug found it in Men's Fitness back in 2005 and I've had it laying around since then. Figured I'd go ahead, give it a shot, and use Blogger to keep track of the results (and keep me from giving up ha). You can see a copy of the work out at the end of this blog.

Now I have to say that I'm not doing the full workout. Since I'm still healing from a stress fracture, I've had to re-arrange some exercises since the only leg workouts I can do is light weight, high rep leg presses, stationary bike, and the elliptical. You'll see that i only do two different days of work instead of three... which lets me hit most of my muscle group three times a week instead of two. I *hope* that I get cleared to do heavier exercises soon like squats or else I'll have a great time wearing shorts this summer (not really).

So to set the tone... I took some pics before I started on January 30, 2013. Not too bad of shape but def am looking at gaining more muscle strength and toning up. This was also the day the doc cleared me to do some cardio and lower leg work so figured it was a great day to start tracking. So starting at about 185lbs...

Now for the workout... Its broken up into two days:

• Workout A: Chest, Shoulders, and Tri's
• Workout B: Back, modified leg, and biceps/arm

Cause its only two days, I get the joy of doing each work out three times a week with Sunday to rest. The schedule goes something like this:

• Weeks 1-3: Heavy weight to do 3-5 reps for 3 sets
• Weeks 5-7: Medium weight to do 6-8 reps for 3 sets
• Weeks 9-11: light weight to do 9-12 reps for 4 sets

Weeks 4, 8, and 12 are pump weeks that I'm not exactly looking forward to. I'll post about em when it gets to those weeks.

I'm also using Nitro Tech Whey Isolate for protein with No Xplode for energy and Cell Mass for recovery. 

How'd I'd do the first week? Take a look at my log:

Workout A

Workout B

Again... I really cant do legs so i alternate days of cardio (elliptical or bike) and light weight, heavy rep leg presses. Soon... soon I'll be back up.

Anyway, Saturday February 9th came about and I measured my results, sorta. Haven't done the tape measure along body parts but I figured photos would do justice. I actually dropped two pounds and came in at 183. I also realized that my waist line was dropping... nice eh? So now for the photos...

It may not look like much but I think there are some definite improvements so far. I'm excited to see what the end of the three months will look like. 

Why am I blogging about this? I'd like to not only use this to track my progress but y'all will help me stay motivated and dedicated. In 11 weeks I hope to have a final blog about my experience with this workout. Its been awhile since I've stuck to a workout program this long before, although usually I'm thrown off cause of an injury.

I'm depending on y'all to hold me accountable! Lets go!

- B

Oh.. and I did promise the full unedited workout didn't I?

Blah...

Arrived at work: 8am
Closed laptop: 8:30pm
Got to my car finally: 9pm

Blah.

Reference: Blah photo and Dark Work Area

At least my old scrubs from the hospital are comfy... Even if I may or may not have used them when prepping chemotherapy.

Will this song...

... Ever get old?? This is about as 'mo like as I get.

Sing it Beyonce.

Waking up to this tweet...

Totally confirms my post last night about being a kid. Thank you universe!

Also it doubles as Photo #7 for now since I missed yesterday. I'm real good at this project, can't you tell?

The kid in me...

really wants to play Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn... take a look at the trailer:

Yes, it is part of the geek in me. The Final Fantasy series has always been one of my passions growing up. Stories of adventures, magic, friendships, family... worlds far away and unique but filled with themes of love and humanity, like our own. Playing the games always filled me with awe, not only because they were so well written and produced but because the level of creativity and imagination it took to create the characters and stories was mind boggling. I literally could get lost for hours, which of course prompted one of my exs to exclaim "The new Final Fantasy came out, I'm not going to see my bf for a month!"

So why would a 32 year old still want to play this game when there is still a whole world called Earth to explore you may ask?

The answer is really quite simple. You can never stop being a kid, pretending to travel to new places, meet new faces, and complete new adventures. Yes there are many adventures to take, hell I still want to go camping at some point in my life. I'm very much aware of how magical our reality is and the draw that far away places have. Sometimes though, you just need to get away and let your imagination take you to places you may never see in this world.

Some of you already know this feeling... you go through it every time you pick up a new book. The stories take you on adventures that may not necessarily be filled with elves or magic or the like but you see new people, face danger, crawl through dark allies, or travel the stars. A video game is another way of experiencing great story telling...

So anyway, I ramble but you get my drift. I hope that I never lose my curiosity and imagination... I'm proud to be always 12 yo inside.

How about you? What is your inner child screaming at you to do?

Photo Project Day 5 and 6

Human nature to make mistakes... God knows I've made my mistakes. I didn't post photos from yesterday so already messed up my first attempt.

Still, it's my project so I say I can make it up.

Here you'll see the first three photos from yesterday...
1. Deciding if I like my glasses
2. My geek side coming out with Resident Evil
3. Chips, salsa, and a margarita from Sol Y Luna

The fourth photo is from today... A shot from inside Coffee Bean. I've been waiting all do for it to rain since the weather ap on my iPhone says it will. Oh iPhone... Very misleading.

One day my project will have some story... Can't say what these photos say but maybe they speak to you.

Cheers!

Since I'm not fond of drowning...

I'll be giving this website a try. Since swimming is to hold me till my stress fracture heals and not something I anticipate to me a long term habit (maybe), why spend cash on swim class or a personal coach?

Swimming Technique: Animations & Articles From Experts Swim Smooth

You never know though, I may end up liking it and wanting to roll it into my usual routine. There is always a triathlon to consider trying one day. Swimming was the one barrier to racing in one... keep an open mind!

Photo Project Day #4

First... Breakfast of champions... Or gym rats.

Then... Massive fail trying to pour protein powder into my shaker from a plastic Baggie.

Yea I'm so boss.

Heritage...

Well... As close as this Filipino-American will get to it tonight.

One of my favorite dishes is pork sisig. It's spicy fried bits of pork all delicious like. Absolutely yummy.

It's rare that I go to any Filipino restaurant. Mostly because Filipino food is heavy and greasy like but also because there aren't many Filipino restaurants close to home. You usually have to travel to the parts of the city that have hospitals cause... Surprise there are Filipino nurses. Where there are Filipino nurses, you'll find Filipino stores.

However, there is a restaurant called White Rabbit that is located a few miles from us. It's a fusion of some Filipino dishes with Mexican food... Like tacos, burritos, and the like. They folks who own it started with a food truck and then opened two stores. Some of my fav dishes are there such as toccino, Sisig, and adobo.

Tonight I got a Sisig burrito... Spicy fried pork with garlic rice and fried egg. Quite delicious! Take a look at the pic. if you want give it a whirl, let me know and we can make a quick stop!

New Year, New Resolution #2 (also known as the redic long blog)

aaaannnnnddd maybe #3. You get two, isn't this your lucky day?!

Resolution #2 - Complete a 30-31 Days of Bryant Photo Project... 12 times!

So I've tried doing this fun little project twice.

• Once was with an iPhone app = Fail
• Second time with Blogger starting on my 32nd birthday = Fail

I really want to complete this project for two reasons:

1. As you may have already guessed (if you are my friend you should already know), I'm addicted to taking pictures of life and the people in it. I love to capture moments in time to share with people... especially when its time to look back at our past because we've gone senile.
2. I would love to see if my photography skills improve, not just with how I use the camera on my iPhone but in the perspective the pictures take. Will I just capture random objects on my desk or will there be depth and meaning and purpose? 

So.... this will be attempt number three to actually complete a Photo Project. If you think about it, its quite perfect given the fact that this is 2013 and this is the 3rd attempt. It's bound to work right?! Right?!

If you talk to some of my exes (note: some, not all) they will tell you that sometimes I have a minor commitment issue, very slight, almost unnoticeable. Hmmm maybe thats why the previous projects failed... 

In any event, in order to increase my chances of success so that I can finally gloat and feel good about myself, I'm committing to completing 30 (or 28 or 31) days of a Photo Day Project. Every 30 (or 28 or 31) days, I'll recommit to the project for another 30 (or 28 or 31) days. I'm hoping to get to 12 recommitments... let me re-phrase cause that totally sounds like a pyramid scheme... I'm hoping to complete 12 cycles.

At this time I'm not sure if I'll resurrect the "365 Days of Bryant" blog or just post everything on here. We'll play it by ear... I can be pretty lazy so you just may see this blog pop up every day with just a photo. 

Wish me luck! Hope you enjoy the photos and I hope I make it through the project. The first photo was part of my Resolution #1 Blog... today's photo will come in 3... 2... 1

Resolution #3 - Earn the Gym Rat Label

Once upon a time I thought it was pretty redic to be considered a gym rat. All I saw were guys who just talked roids, supplements, workouts, and did some pretty 'mo stuff to each other (thank you by the way!). Who would want to spend all their time at the gym?

I was never the athlete growing up, unless you considered rocking video games an olympic sport. If thats the case, I was a serious contender for the US Olympic Team and a definite medaler. For most of my childhood and even into my teenage and young adult life I was a skinny guy, about 150lbs. Add that to the fact that I was also tall for my age, eventually growing up to be 6'1", and you could use me as a toothpick. If you don't believe me, just take a look at the following two pics as evidence:

My senior photo. Yes. This was me at 18 right before graduation. 
I was awesome... I mean look at that vest!

My Army Boot Camp Photo... Stud right? Ha in any event, again look how skinny I was back then. I guess the whole point of round the clock training and little food didn't help but still quite skinny. Maybe i'll write about my short stint in the military at some point in the future.

Right around my 25th birthday I started working out and bulked up. Sadly I thought I didn't need cardio since I had a high metabolism... ha that was a joke. I gained muscle and mass but I also started to notice that I was getting bulky. Still at this point it wasn't something I was too concerned as this example will show you:

Not bad ya? 

Well... things was all set and good till a few minor life events. Some i'll keep to myself for now but one notable event was grad school. The dreaded freshman 15 that I seemed to miss in undergrad came back with a vengeance during my time in the Pepperdine MBA program. Granted the two year program was rigorous, especially with working full time so there was an excuse I could hide behind for not exercising. Sadly, I got pleasantly plumped during those two years. My weight was hovering between 190-195 for the most part, a combination of sporadic work outs and delicious foodie adventures. I even tipped over 200lbs once during a visit to the doc... that was horrid and definitely a life changer. See the next example: 

Ugh blah... 31st birthday and flabby.

Anyway... 2012 ushered a new era. I did my best for the first half of the year to workout but circumstances didn't make it easy. It really wasn't till October 2012 that I finally got serious and hit the gym. My workouts included mucho cardio paired with an old workout plan I used when I was younger. I also started using some supplements to help energize me and keep building. Maybe in a few blogs I'll post my routine and the supplements I use. Its worked out fine, what do you think?

 November 2012

 December 2012

 Between Christmas and New Years 2012

New Years Day 2013

So... this blog is already longer than it has to be but f'it. You wouldn't have gotten this far if you weren't interested... or if you didn't take the bribe I offered you. 

Circling back to the title... I really want to earn and own the title Gym Rat. It motivates me to keep hitting the gym and improving myself. Unfortunately I'm suffering from a stress fracture thats stopped lower body and most of cardio but swimming will keep me going for now. 

By Spring 2013 I'd love to finally take up a new sport and maybe earn the title of Athlete again... yes I was an athlete before and before you laugh at my awesome bowling skills, I also played volleyball. 

Oh and to just cap off how proud I am of where I've gotten so far... just a snapshot of the only other record of my Gym Rat adventure, Foursquare:

Oh my god, the end!

Thanks for staying awake during these two resolutions. I promise to keep the blogs shorter in the future... or even split them up. Now there is a crazy idea. 

You can look forward to my 30 (or 28 or 31) days of Photos Project x 12... maybe even a workout blog if I stop being lazy. 

Till next time. 

- B

New Year, New Beginning - Resolution #1

I usually don't take much stock in New Year's Resolutions. However, 2012 had so much going on, so many ups and downs, left and right turns, and dead ends that it just feels right to try to make some resolutions for 2013. A new me for the new year.

I haven't quite figured them all out yet but I figured a good place to start would be to re-established some personal values. Once upon a time I tried to write down what my own values were but somewhere along this strange journey I lost that list. I'm not saying that I don't have any but it would probably be best to etch them in stone again.

A lot of self discovery books offer tips and tricks to discovering your personal values such as meditation and interviews with close friends. After 32 years though, I think I've adventured enough where good values were close at hand... or to be more precise, in my wallet.

Resolution #1

Behold two wallet cards that I've carried around since I was 19. One was given to me during a my short lived career with the Army and the other was when I was Cast Member at Disneyland. Two very different experiences with stories I may share at some later time but they each had a code that shaped how I've viewed life. Take a quick gander at the picture below:

In case you can't make out the words... or are distracted by my lovely feet, here is what is on both cards:

Army Values

Loyalty - Bear true faith and allegiance to the US Constitution, the Army, your unit, and other soldiers

Duty - Fulfill your obligations

Respect - Treat people as they should be treated 

Selfless-Serice - Put the welfare of the nation, the Army, and your subordinates before your own

Honor - Live up to all the Army values

Integrity - Do whats right, legally and morally

Personal Courage - Face fear, danger or adversity (Physical or Moral)

Disneyland Resort Code of Guest Service

Smile

Eye Contact/Body Language

Respect and Welcome

Value the magic

Initiate Guest Contact

Create Service Solutions

End with a Thank You

- The Magic Begins With Me - 

Again, on the face of what is written on both cards, you may be thinking that these two codes have nothing in common. One appears to be a serious commitment to how you should live your life as a soldier while the other focuses on guest services. 

Having gone through training on both codes and using them day in and day out, I can tell you that you really cannot be a complete person without values to guide your life and values to guide how you interact with others. If you only followed a code that was only self-focused or focused on others, you'd be doing one of two things:

a) You might be living to your code but your actions piss others off... or 

b) You could be pleasing others but at the cost to your own happiness.

Neither of these options are any I'd want to live out so for 2013, I'll pledge to work on integrating them into one Value Set/Codes for myself. 

In the coming days and weeks, I'll try to explain how each of these values or statements plays out in my life. I'd like to think that I am already living up to each of them but then I would be perfect and today's blog will be useless. 

I'm hoping that those of you who read this and know me will ask questions about this resolution. It'll help motivate me to stick to the plan and be truthful with myself. 

Anyways... this is Resolution #1. I have a few thoughts as to what some other resolutions will be but I'll save those for different blogs.

I hope y'all had a great holiday season and are ready for 2013. I can't say that I'm completely thrilled since there are some left over baggage to deal with but you can't really get anywhere unless you take the first step. 

Boom. First step done.