Monthly Archives: August 2017

Rest In Peace Rich — RIP Rich Piana

Rich Piana has died at age 46 in a medically induced coma. First off I would like to send my respect and best of wishes to the Piana family and extend my condolences. Rich Piana was in the coma after collapsing from a potential overdose, and he was a crazy dude, who had been using steroids since the age of 18, and has been an extremely controversial bodybuilder for his outrageous steroid usage which he was public about about and openly spoke about online. He would post his massive injections of multiple steroids a day with multiple injections and all different types of steroids and growth hormones and supplements, which lets sadly face it, affected his body in a negative way, though its unconfirmed that steroids were the case of his death. But Rich had always been honest and real about his usage and would safely inform people on how to use steroids. Ignorant steroid users out there can obtain help from Piana’s videos and need people like Rich to guide them through their first cycles safely. Also, he represents a principle that is present  in my website – he was always himself. He was always straight up, he never lied, he loved himself and loved trying to help others, and most importantly he was an iconic and amazing bodybuilder who was simple a cool guy. I had never been blessed to met him, but from watching him on youtube I could tell he was cool. He was always himself and always kept it real. I wish the Piana family the best, R.I.P to another legend lost this summer. Hopefully him and Prodigy are up there lifting together blasting Shook Ones II or The Learning. RI.P

• Tommy Roel
• Maxin’out N Blackin’ Out

Barbells and Books- How to Handle School and Lifting

 – Phil Heath, 6x Mr Olympia, U Denver Double Major Grad and member of the Denver ball team as a shooting guard.

This post is going to be about how to handle schoolwork and lifting. I am an active student at The University of Tampa studying Human Performance with a concentration in Exercise Physiology and additionally a competitive and recreational powerlifter who trains strictly on on program, so I always have to be at the gym. It is hard to handle schoolwork and the gym, especially when I have long brutal workouts, such as 5×5 squats or long hypertrophy/Dynamic Bench days or even weightlifting and strongman and conditioning work can take me up to three hours in the gym. And I always have multiple classes a day and have to fit the time in for homework and studying after. So here is my best advice as to handle your books and  your barbells.

1. Find a day each training day where you have spare time between classes, such as in the morning or night before or after your classes, or between. Make sure you know the time and that you have enough time to train, and remember, each workout takes a different amount of time so that must be taken into consideration as well. Then fit that in-between your class schedule, and you can have gotten in your workout just on time, or early or after.
2. Do a two a day if you must. IF you’re swamped with class and schoolwork, separate your workout into two separate workouts and complete them at different times a day.
3. Try to complete homework at night time because lets face it, you don’t want to be amped up on your pre-workout of choice at night time, so save your night times for studying and work.
4. Do your work at the gym! Bring your laptop and do work in-between sets if you have to, its a last go-to option

• Tommy Roel
• Maxin Out’ n Blackin Out’

Not many people know this, but Phil Heath double majored at Denver and graduated college all while being on the basketball team for four years and then he went on towards his bodybuilding career.

How I got Into Powerlifting

I got into powerlifting in high school, but I had been serious about working out since about 8th grade when I worked out alone and saw a personal trainer. 9th grade it intensified to multiple times a week and the bodybuilding phase sailed in Tenth grade and  I became a full on meathead and bulked to 180, used every supplement you can think of, you name it.I ate tons of food and even kept whey, shaker bottles, and water bottles in the trunk of my car so at lunch I could make whey shakes. But it was always about being big AND strong, and mostly strong. I remember thinking even on Lat pulldowns at 120 lbs saying to myself, “Ok, you did this for 12 reps this week. Next week it’s 15 reps). I was always obsessed with squatting benching and deadlifting and never skipped leg day and squatted even with bad form. I always wanted a strong deadlift and big back. Back days were my favorite and I loved chest hypertrophy and chasing a stronger bench towards 225 when I was stuck at 200. (I’m at 275 now). But it was always about strength. Then my twin brother Jimmy in 12th grade got me into powerlifting, and there that ship sailed and he bodybuilding phase came to an end.We still have hypertrophy/bodybuilding days but those are necessary for growth and we do not ever intend on competing, however I will recreationally bodybuilding for enjoyment for the rest of my life and am an an active IFBB fan, as I have met Kai Greene and seen Maxx Charles. I ended up competing in 2015 for the first time. The drive for strength drove me towards powerlifting, Here are videos and pictures from my first competition, a day I’ll never forget because it showed me what the platform (reference my other article : What It’s Like to be on the platform) and powerlifting is all about.

• Tommy Roel
• Maxin’ Out
• 500.5lb fail 3rd attempt, grip slip. Second meet I nailed 500 on rd attempt and got my redemption.
• 363 lbs Squat with my Twin Jimmy, follow him on instagram at @jimmy_roel
• Last Picture is the Picture with my boys Mikey, @bergalicious_74kg, Jimmy, and my boy Ben, who lifts recreationally.
• My first meet I actually competed on the platform with Krissey Mae Cagney,the founder of Donuts and deadlifts and got the opportunity to get spotted by Sean Noriega, a USAPl Powerlifter who’s monster, @Kissmyarch. At my second meet I spotted Matt Sohmer, a young heavyweight 275+ Class lifter who attempted 826 while I was one of the spotters (he failed unfortunately).
• At my Second Meet I won 2nd place in the 183 class, though I competed under at 175) while my brother won 1st his heavier 295 (I think) class.

https://www.instagram.com/p/8_5RoQDzxF/?taken-by=roel_powerlifting

https://www.instagram.com/p/8oU5WWjzy8/?taken-by=roel_powerlifting

https://www.instagram.com/p/80yapnDz_F/?taken-by=roel_powerlifting

The Many Gym’s and Many Influence’s I Have Gained From Visiting Them

Gyms have a special impact on a person, at least for me, they provide a relaxing or motivation or competitive or stress relieving environment where I can just be me and chase my dream.

• My first gym was with a trainer named John Romaniello (Instagram: johnromaniello , check his  site romanfitnesssystems.com/ and his book) at a Planet Fitness. John, whom later moved and wrote a book, he trained me hard and introduced me to the concept of hard work and inspired me to to go to a personal training studio called Core Fitness with my trainer Loucas Lianos, whom I  did a senior project on in high school on what it takes to open up a personal training studio. This is something I learned from Loucas. This gym taught me discipline, made me enjoy fitness and physical improvement and strove me to train at another commercial gym in 9th grade called The Training Station Athletic Clubs, where I still train at today, I trained at core fitness 2 times a week usually and once or twice alone at the Training station. I was hooked. Everywhere I went on vacation or college visits or nearby gyms I had to go. I had day passes for Equinox and a ten day pass for Bev Francis Powerhouse in Long Island, a student member Ship at Lifetime Athletic Clubs. I also had a short term gym membership with Noah Siegal’s Siege Athletics in Long Island and I compete for Elite Strength and Conditioning in Tampa, where I also used to go to an La Fitness. I visited a golds gym in Orlando and Spartansburg, an La fitness in hamden Connecticut, a gym called Old Time Fitness in the Keys, Bev Francis Powerhouse in Syosset, New York,  (Where I Met Kai Greene which was awesome and also got a glimpse of Bev Francis Herself, Maxx Charles IFBB Pro and Sadic Hadzivic), a gym in Narragansett Rhode Island Where Brandon Cambell used to train at (I saw him there), and Browns Gym, a gym in Clark Summit, PA thats is owned by famous powerlifters Jim and Janice Brown, and their gym actually sponsored the USAPl national a few years back.
• All these gyms, all these places have had impact on me. Motivation, excitement, rejuvenation, pain, struggle, anger, perseverance, strength, pushed limits, honorable meet-ups, happiness and even more. Gyms affect us a lot more than we think.
• Tommy Roel
• Maxin’ Out
• Funny pic of me in the background of Sadik Hadzoviz’s youtube video in the white shirt.
• 

Lucas Lianos’s sight: http://www.corefitnessstudiosny.com/pages/home

 Me pushing a 550 some tire at Old Time Fitness back in lie 2014 o5 15′.

Pride Cometh Before the Fall, but Pride is What Makes us Rise to to Get it All

Everybody knows the quote “the pride cometh before the fall,” however, I have a very different insight on this quote. Pride is being proud of every piece of who you are and being unashamed of your being. It is what drives you through your passion and shows off as gloating but is it is gloating for self success because one should be proud of what one does, and even if they slip or fall and their passion suffers, their pride should fuel them to continue towards their goal and should give them the energy they need to rise from their fall and continue to be proud and be themselves. This second 405 video is my 4o5 fail and fall, but my pride and passion kept me using and I stood back up and hit 405 finally, which is the second video.

• Tommy Roel
• Maxin’ Out

https://www.instagram.com/p/BCa6TjNDz-Z/?taken-by=roel_powerlifting

https://www.instagram.com/p/8yZuanDz_v/?taken-by=roel_powerlifting