Trust Your Instinct And Knowledge

I woke up this morning from a dream in which I experienced a series of different events. It was one continuous dream but I would flash forward in the dream to a new point where something was about to happen and that certain something almost always ends badly. Not in this dream, every time something was supposed to end badly, it turned out to be an even better consequence.

     I haven't remembered my dreams for quite a while so it's nice to wake up with a recollection. Anyway, I feel like my subconcious was telling me to continue on the path I'm on and everything will be alright.

 "No matter how tough the situation looks, you will prevail with something good out of it." 

That's the message I got from my dreams last night. I'm currently cutting fat for summer and I'm getting close to having a 6-pack for the first time in my life. I weighed 230 pounds about 5 years ago and have been learning through trial-and-error how my body works. This has taken a lot of time and I didn't see too much of a difference until I changed my diet up. As soon as I exchanged some fast food for veggies and red meat for chicken, an entire world opened up to me. I started to learn what ingesting certain foods will do for your body and how certain foods can help you perform better in the gym as well as maintain results and cut fat.

I'm always nervous about cutting fat because there is also a muscle loss. Bodybuilders work so hard to make muscle gains in the gym and they can entirely lose their muscle gain during their "cutting" phase and all of that hard work goes down the drain.

So, now I'm cutting and I could lose all of the hard work I put into the gym. Now that I had that dream, I'm going to trust my instinct and roll with it. No matter the outcome, I know I'm going to be happy with it in some way, shape, or form.

Have a great week everyone!

It's been a while!

So it's been about 2 1/2 weeks since I last posted a blog, it's been far too long! How's everybody doing? I've been too busy for my own good, finals week is coming up, I'm getting my own fitness company started, I'm at the gym 5-7 days a week, and I'm working 20-30 hour s a week. I'm taking 6 classes in college and I'm almost out for summer!

     So, I just received an e-mail from my school confirming that as long as I pass my classes this semester, I'll obtain an Associates of Arts degree in Business Administration and another one in Economics. I'll be the first person in my family to have multiple degrees of any type. A lot of my family never went to college and are uneducated so it feels great to set the bar. I want to set the bar, not only for my self, but for the rest of my family. I want them to know that you can do anything you set your mind to, you just need to get to it.

      My father dropped out of high school and graduated from adult education when he was 26, my mother dropped out of high school in grade 10. Already being able to top my parents is already something that I look at with pride. Being able to top my parents while staying in great shape, starting my own company, working, as well as going to school full time....it feels good.

     Through all of this work, I've learned a lot of things. We can't worry about what others are going to say or think. I've kept a close couple friends and worried about myself. A lot of my friends party and drink all the time but I can't afford to do that even on the weekends, it sets me back. Setting goals has given me a destination, creating a plan has given me the path there. I've kept my eyes on the prize and have done everything I need to do to get where I've gotten and I'll continue this philosophy. If you want any tips on moving forward and continuing with success, feel free to send me an e-mail or comment on this blog. I'm here to help motivate others and give them choices in life. Carpe diem!

Progress: One of Many Keys to Success

Hey everybody! Like I've said before, I created this blog in an attempt to motivate and inspire people to lead a more positive and healthy life. I now have a 1-year progress picture from when I first started to be more positive. This happened April 3rd, 2012. I realized that my girlfriend (that broke up with me 2 weeks later) was straying away and it was now time for me to figure out who I was. I started to be more positive and open to change, here is what happened to me.

Top left: age 17. Top right: age 19. Bottom: age 20

I started lifting when I was 14 with almost zero knowledge about the fitness world. I knew how to eat and I knew how to move weight, it's much more complex than that. From age 17 to 19 I learned VERY little about nutrition, but I learned my body from a weightlifting standpoint much better. At age 19, I figured it was time to start on the long road to having abs. The highest weight I reached was 230 pounds when I was about 16, terrible time in my life. It's one of the main things that motivates me to reach goals like this one. 

I got to where I'm at because of the willingness to learn, to change, to grow as an individual. Insanity is defined as doing the same thing time and time again while expecting different results. Nothing different is going to happen unless we stray away from our comfort zone. Concentrating on one area that you're interested in can teach you a lot about yourself. Bodybuilding taught me a lot of valuable skills that I will continue to work on through the years. I've learned what patience is, what hard work can get you, what having a positive attitude will do to your happiness. So many valuable lessons and I enjoyed every opportunity to grow physically and mentally. Hope this helps you in your journey to success!

Zyzz, inspiration to many.

I want to start this post off by saying happy birthday to the late but VERY great Mr. Aziz "Zyzz" Sergeyevich Shavershian. I've been bodybuilding as a hobby for about 4 years now and JUST stumbled upon Zyzz about 6 months ago. From everything I hear about this man, it's more negative than positive. He gets a bad rap for his volatile way of life, doing steroids, being a troll, and more than anything, looking better than everybody.

I don't do steroids, I don't plan on using steroids. I'm very confident in myself and LOVE the natural gains made in the gym after hours of grinding out numerous sets of iron. I've hit the gym religiously for the last 3 years and completely understand all the hard work that goes into obtaining that "perfect body". It's not easy. Zyzz may have used steroids but nothing can take away from his story.

Zyzz was quoted as saying:

Son of Zeus. Brother of Hercules. Father of Aesthetics.

 "Throughout high school, I was ridiculously thin,
 I'm talking the skinniest guy in my grade in school; people always commented on how skinny
 I was and I hated it. I remember feeling like a little bitch when I was out with girls, 
walking next to them and feeling the same size as them."

He became deeply passionate about sculpting his body. There are various progress videos of him through the years and he had a very good natural physique. Aziz first entered the bodybuilding scene after his last year in high school, he was sick of being known as the "weakling". His older brother was training on and off so Aziz approached him for help and at the age of 18, he made a change.

We all have insecurities. We all have something we want to change about ourselves. Some of us can make the change, some of us are restrained from making the change. Zyzz wasn't restrained, he noticed the problem and fixed it. I spend hours in the gym, trying to "perfect" my body...it's no easy task. I eat 6-10 meals a day, religiously. I alter my protein intake, spending much more money on healthy food in order to reach my goals. Sculpting your body is no easy task. Yes, he used steroids at some point in his journey to fix his insecurity. Yes, he pushed himself to the EXTREME to achieve what he wanted to achieve.

                

 After I learned that he passed away on August 5th in 2011, I began to do more research. I learned, after reading an online interview, that Zyzz had no outside competition. He looked at himself and used himself as the biggest competition in the world. He competed, every workout, with himself. By the young age of 22, he achieved more than many of us will achieve in decades of pursuing our goals. He's left a legacy and inspired many people. I'm spending my time writing this tribute blog about this man, he's definitely inspired me to work hard to achieve my goals. His perfect form, hours of sculpting his body in the gym, and perfect diet is something that we can all take from. Try not to look at the negatives but take the positives from this individuals life. We can be anything we want to be, it all depends how much you're willing to sacrifice. 

So, happy birthday and RIP Aziz "Zyzz" Sergeyevich Shavershian. I'm mirin' bra. Thank you for motivating me to work even harder and obtain even more knowledge about this wonderful hobby. I've set goals and what to one day reach your level. I don't care if it takes a decade, I will look as good in your      godly pose! 

 

April 3rd, 2012. (Age 19)

November 30th, 2009. (Age 17)

    

    March 3rd, 2013 (Age 20) About 4 months after learning of Zyzz.

Don't hate somebody because they've worked extremely hard to reach a level you've dreamed of reaching for years. Do everything you possibly can to reach your goal. Sacrifice is a large part of being successful and something not many people are willing to do.How much are you willing to sacrifice? Hope this helps motivate some people and shed light on the positive things that Aziz did for society.

 "We've all got a little bit of Zyzz in us, you just don't know it." 

Aziz "Zyzz" Sergeyevich Shavershian
March 24th, 1989 - August 5th, 2011