All Posts by Tommy Roel

A Partying Athlete/Lifters Guide to Specific Alcohol Consumption

Okay so everybody knows the basis about alcohol. Beer has more carbs (though usually always under 5g of carbs unless its a heavier dark lager or something), liquor has “less calories,” though its equally as bad for you and relatively similar in calorie content. People say some “red wine is good for you” every now and then, and it is, but they do not realize that that is because of the polyphenols found in grapes used in the ingredients of wine as well other ingredients in darker beers/lagers. And some people don’t even recognize that alcohol in insult has 7 Kcal/g. But I wanted to make a guide about for when to consume alcohol, what types and when to consume them, higher sugar containing beers/drinks you should watch out for, calorie decreasing tips at the bar, and information on lower calorie booze.Â
To MAXIN OUT.
Here it goes:
Sugary Alcoholic Beverages: There taste so good, go down easy, and have a fairly high alcohol percentage so they fuck you up. However, be careful, as they have a lot of calories. Watch out for hard ciders like Angry Orchards (I love them but they’re 200 cal a bottle), Redds Apple Ale, or Strongbow. Watch out for Smirnoff Ices, Mike’s Hard Lemonades, Twisted Teas, Four Lokos, and all that Bud Light Lime-A-Rite bullshit ad its variations. They ALL have a high sugar content, which will all be deposited as fat whilst your body is digesting the alcohol. Just a tip to be aware of; maybe not drink these sugary beverages with food to limit sugar intake and carbohydrate.
At The Bar: This is a quick one, but instead of a soda or Vodka Cranberry or Lemonade, maybe grab a tonic water or a diet soda as your mixer to limit sugar intake as well.
At Dinner: Stick to the sugary alcoholic beverage rule I discussed above; note that these beverages have high amounts of sugar which is not optimal to digest with alcohol at dinner time. Have just one good lager or wine with polyphenols in it.
Finally, Here is a link to the list of some of the lowest calorie Beers:

http://www.cookinglight.com/entertaining/wine/light-craft-beers#low-calorie-craft-beers

 

 

 

 

“When the Pain Hits”

This is not an informational article about lifting or school or blacking’ out right now. This is a poem I wrote to contribute to help other fight against mental illness’. Lifting information will be out soon, most likely a blog on how what drinks to stick to calorie wise whilst out and about and a lifting article about bench form and my advice.

Here’s the poem.  Stay strong everyone.

 

“When the Pain Hits”

When the pain hits, pick up the pen

When the pain hits, don’t always count on your friends.

When the pain hits, keep up your head.

When the pain strips us of love we fight till we are dead.

When the pain rips up our hearts, we stich them back together instead

When the pain hits, we don’t need any artificial meds

We stand back up when the pain hits cause that’s what was meant.

Life is full of twists and turns and pain beneath our chests

Life is full of hurtful selfish people but we know how to deal with the rest

When the pain hits, don’t let it sting, don’t let it stick.

Stand back up and make sure you don’t feel that pain again.

Become bulletproof and don’t let anyone affect you.

Do not let the selfishness of others ruin or wreck you.

Do not give up, I am here I will not let you.

Life is hard but good things are eventful.

Be strong and nobody will forget you.

Be tough and deal with things that are suspenseful

You are human, you are incredible.

When the pain hits, which is inevitable, use it to level you

Do not let it bury you, and when you stand back up

You will feel the strength and the love because you did not give up

When the pain hits, I wish it good luck, because from now on, the pain will not get us.

  • Tommy Roel

Booze and Books: Getting Back Into School Mode After Break

Getting back into school after a nice long winter break of heavy alcohol consumption, many hungover lifting sessions, and a few weeks where we get a piece of mind and are free to relax from the grip of the monster that is fucking class. It draws us back riiiight when we start wanting to stay home again. And like many others, I usually arrive to school early during break to prepare for the semester. However, this means I start partying earlier… uh-oh. Now I’m back at college in party zone and I’ve got classes in three days… what the hell am I gonna do? well, after five semesters of struggling with this, and don’t get me wrong, I’m still rocking my 2.6, but this is my advice on how to handle You’re partying and there comes schoolwork when your mindset is off balance at the beginning of the semester.  So here’s what I do

  • Ease into it: Don’t rush into the semester full storm thinking you’re gonna get A’s and shit right away. Its probably not gonna happen, sorry to be doubtful (if you get A’s right away then great for you) but its nearly impossible to perform at your best when your mindset is off and unfocused from school. Just ATTEND CLASS, pay attention to your syllabus, and ease into the feeling of being back into class. Rushing things will stress you out more.
  • Set aside your schedule and sort out the days you can go out: I know if you read this website you party, so if you go to school and party, then just figure out the days that you can  party. Figure out the nights where you don’t have class too late, don’t have too much homework, studying, or an exam, and the nights where you now you can sleep in before class or no class. Just don’t get hammered the night before an 8am or even 10am or 11:30am in my opinion. It’s just too hard to wake up super hungover and go to class. Trust me, I’ve withdrawn from my Wednesday 8am before, and I’ve missed morning classes for various reasons all associated with blackin’ out aspects. Just don’t party when you shouldn’t be.
  • Pay Attention: Keep your head up, pay attention to your grades and class requirements as every semester differs and this affects your workload thus your partying load. So stay organized, because it can hep you get better grades by knowing when your assignments are, and allows you to know when you can either hit happy hour or hit the library.
  •  Have fun and get your drink on but keep your grades up, well, up enough so you don’t fail out. C’s get degrees and can’t spell ‘degree’ without a few D’s along the line so, stay responsible guys. Study heavy. Drink Heavy.

 

Maxin Out n Blackin Out

Tommy Roel

What is Love? – My Belief of What Love is

Here we go again, another fairly different post from the regular Maxin’ Out N Blackin’ Out Posts, this one also relating to mental health and our souls, as I would like to explain to others what I believe love is, and how we can use love to better the world and the lives of people around us. Regular Maxin’ Out N Blackin’ Out Posts will resume soon enough, however I would like to share this post as I believe it will help people figure out my belief of what love truly is, and hopefully individuals can relate. Here we go again.

 

“What Is Love?”

What’s Love? What exactly is it? We tell each other we love each other all the time. People fall in love, they engage in relationships in which they profess such love to each other. But this love, the love I have, is different than falling in love. This love, is a word in which we use to simply tell others that we care. Being in love with somebody is different than the love for caring for others. Love, see, love is being there for the people you care about when they most need it. Love is waking back up at three or four AM just to make sure your person whom you care about is okay. Love is doing anything for others no matter what it does to you. Love is making people feel happier, reminding them of their incredible personalities, features, and other aptitudes and characteristics. Love is making people you care about smile and laugh. Love is surprising someone with something by showing them how much you care through wonderful actions. Regular love is the simplistic way of showing other human beings how much we care about them. People say you cannot love somebody else if you do not love yourself, and I can say from first-hand experience, that that is simply not true. Because I love all for whom I care about. So much, that I have so little love left inside of me to love myself. I give and give and give all of my love away to ensure the happiness of others for whom I care about, and I do so, so often that I simply run out of the love inside of me as I have given it away to so many others. And they deserve such love, because everybody deserves to be happy. And I want to be the one to deliver such smiles and happiness. Though I may self-destruct from the absence of self-love, I will remain as strong as I can, because I view myself as a sacrificial human being, dedicating my life to helping others and making sure that they feel loved. It is extremely difficult to live with on a constant basis as not being able to love yourself is an extreme difficulty. However, when it is all said and done and the sun is set, I will be content knowing that I have helped others become happy, and ultimately, I have prevented some sadness in this dark, challenging world. The world is dark, and I am just trying to bring some light back into the lives of people who need it. That, to me, is what love is.

  • Tommy Roel
  • Maxin’ Out n Blackin’ Out

Battling with Loneliness: “What It Feels Like To Be Lonely” 

Although this website is primarily for providing informative information about lifting and balancing your lifestyle appropriately, it is also about my passion in lifting and about the struggles that I have battled along the way, and I would like to offer advice to people who struggle daily with mental health issues as I am diagnosed with an MTFHR Enzyme disorder and anxiety disorder, which I have opened up about in the past. Today, I am going to present a piece I have written titled, “What It Feels Like to Be Lonely,” which addresses loneliness and depression. This piece I have written is rather different from other content on this website, however, this website embodies not only my Maxin’ out n’ Blackin out mentality, but also offers life advice because my overall goal in this journey is to help spread fitness and happiness. Now this piece is sort of dark, but it explains how being lonely feels, and I wrote this so people who do not understand loneliness can, and towards the end I explain why we must fight our loneliness. This is kinda dark, but here we go.

“What It Feels Like To Be Lonely”

Being lonely is different than from what you think. Its a mental thing. It’s not just being alone physically, not simply the physical absence of company causing you to yearn to surround yourself with individuals just because you want to socialize. You yearn to surround yourself with people around you so that the presence of others can distract you from loneliness. Loneliness, see, it is a constant and consistent feeling, the fear, the sadness, the desperation of wanting something, but yet you do not know what it is. You are lonely and empty, and the loneliness actually causes the emptiness, forcing you to try and find something, anything, to fill up that emptiness. You are alone. Mentally, even if you physically aren’t. Like mentioned before, You fill yourself in rooms full of people, familiar and friendly faces, momentarily filling up the deep darkness and emptiness inside of you. And for a brief moment, you are content. But in an instance your being content with the situation changes and the loneliness comes back, and the momentary happiness slips away into thin air. It is a vicious cycle. We strive to fill our loneliness. But we don’t know how to fill it, or what to fill it with. We try to find passions, careers, relationships. Or we use external methods of escape such as facing the bottle or taking that pill. But the artificial happiness created by external factors such as love and other drugs soon and suddenly evaporate. We find or search for pointless careers in which we try to find a purpose within such careers hoping we find our calling, or purpose. Some lucky ones find such purpose, but us, the lonely, cannot. Soon such loneliness will return to haunt us. The empty space within us will always fill up with momentary and artificial happiness before we are drained and stripped of such happiness or empathy, leaving us just as empty as we were before. But despite our faults, our loneliness, we smile through the pain, through the despair, the emptiness, and through the loneliness. We don’t know how to solve it, but we are trying to. There is no scientific cure for loneliness as I believe that loneliness correlates with our souls, not simply our genetic makeup regarding cognitive function. Loneliness is a matter of the soul, a soul who feels empty and alone, yet through the pain, we know we must persevere. So we smile, we are lonely, but we smile because that is exactly what we need to do. We cannot let our loneliness engulf us, we cannot let our sadness bury us. We cannot hide it, but what we can do, is fight it. Smile, day by day, fight by fight, battle with loneliness, and eventually one lone-full night, the loneliness will evaporate because we have won the fight. You cannot give up, be brave and be bright. Loneliness sucks, but we must persevere and not let it take our lives. Smile, because someday everything will be alright.

  • Tommy Roel

SBD Bodybuilding Split

This is just a simple sample split I made for fun that I felt like posting for free. Here it is:

 

Legs

Squats 5×5 @ a comfortable weight,  each week add five lbs.

Hamstring curls 3×10

Straight leg deadlifts 3×10

Quad extensions 3×10

Abs 5×10

 

Chest

Flat Bench 5×5 @ comfortable weight each week add five lbs.

Incline flys 5×10 superset w Dips 5×10

Cable crossovers 3×10

Tricep rope pushdowns 3×10

Tricep overhead rope extensions 3×10

 

 

Back

Deadlifts 3×10

Lat Pulldowns 3×10

Pullups 3×10

Chin ups 3×10

Underhand lat pulldowns 3×10

Biceps 6×10, 2×5 for strength, 2×15 for endurance, 2×12 for hypertrophy

 

Shoulders

Standing OHP (Over head barbell press) 3×10

Seated dumbbell press 3×10

Side lateral raises 3×10 superset

Front lateral raises 3×8

  • Tommy Roel
  • Maxin’ Out n Blackin Out

Why You Should Compete

For me,  powerlifting has always been a passion in which I have been able to recreationally enjoy, however, when the time is right and I feel comfortable, I will always choose to compete again. I do not compete when I am not ready, and have bot competed in over a year, however, I fully intend to continue competing; I have just not been able to as life the last year has been difficult for me. However, soon again  I will compete, and I am going to delve into the reasons as to why I think everybody should compete at least once, no matter whether its a powerlifting meet, a bodybuilding or physique show, or a weightlifting competition. Competing is an incredible positive experience, and here’s why:

  1. Knowledge: Competing around people, often advanced lifters or strong individuals, is a great way to obtain a vast variety of knowledge about training, meet prep, advice on form, motivational advice, and more. When I competed, I was able to learn how others water-loaded properly in order to make their weight class. I also learned how to fast prior to a meet and learned how to fuel myself throughout the day as the meet progressed. I was able to learn some techniques to crack individuals’ back in case of a cramp, and I learned how to properly spot individuals whilst squatting, which has been a knowledge that I have been able to pass onto individuals in the gym who are spotting their friends squatting.
  2. Experience: Competing allows every athlete to gain experience in their field, making them a stronger athlete overall. It enables us to gain a larger amount of respect for us amongst our fellow athletes. Respect goes a  long way in this world, especially in lifting because the respect that individuals have for you regarding your accomplishments in powerlifting can help present opportunities such as sponsorships or new clients to train.
  3. Motivation: Competing is very nerve wracking, but it is also extremely motivating. Prepping for a meet keeps you motivated and organized with your lifting and diet as you strive to make your weight class. However, the most motivating and awe-inspiring part of competing is that when you get up on the stage or the platform, EVERYONE cheers for you, especially if you are grinding the rep out. The weight doesn’t matter, the type lift doesn’t matter. All that matters is you, and the barbell. And even when the entire crowd does not know who you are, while watching you perform your lift, they always cheer. Its such an incredible surprising feeling as people you don’t even know are cheering for you to succeed. They are cheering for you hoping for success, and often times are ecstatic when you succeed in a lift. This has been the most humble and awe-inspiring thing I have seen in powerlifting as it made me realize that it’s not strictly about competition, and that it is more-so about bettering yourself within the sport and supporting each other as athletes as we cheer for everyone’s success, and not just our owns. This is the most important part as to why I think people should compete. The feeling you get from moments like what I have just described are so surreal and feel so incredible that I think everyone should sign up  for a meet and compete one day, because if you don’t, frankly, you’re missing out.
  • Tommy Roel
  • Maxin’ Out

 

Monday Motivation – Getting Through Difficulties

This post is more-so related to life rather than balancing lifting and partying, as I want to delve into a personal experience I have been through that keeps me going, and keeps me motivated. School has always been a stressor for me as I have been diagnosed with anxiety disorder which makes it even more difficult to deal with school. I’ve always been able to put in the work, but sometimes it’s hard, and I know a lot of students can relate because lets face it, who wants to sit in a boring elective class wasting their time away listening to crap they don’t care about? No one, everybody hates class that isn’t revolved around their major, and its incredibly not motivating having to do something you hate. However, whenever I find myself in that slump, I remind myself of my bigger goals and what I want to achieve. You have to deal with bullshit to become the shit, so don’t give up no matter how hard you hate classwork or whatever other endeavor is bothering you. Push through because that’s all you can do. I’ve wanted to give up so many times because I felt as if I was wasting my time in class while I could be out in the real world chasing my dreams, despite how successful or unsuccessful I might be. However, don’t throw away your education to chase your dreams because you can do both at once. It’s extremely difficult to handle, to understand, and to deal with. But if you really care about your dream in life, you should never let something little stop you. The squat is the perfect analogy or life. When something heavy pulls you down, you grind, grind, and grind again, and then you stand up. Don’t let yourself ever lose your motivation and make that dream into a reality.

  • Tommy Roel
  • Maxin Out N Blackin’ Out

Lifting vs. Liquor/Beer- Don’t Let Your Hangover Steal Your Gains

Ever woken up after a binge-drinking session and feel like absolute death? Yeah, so have I. Ever get  nervous that you may lose your gains due to that hangover? Whether you have or not, I for certain have, and throughout my life and many incredible workout days paired with incredible blackout nights, I’ve learned a decent way to recover from a hangover and prevent it from affecting your gains too much. First off let me just refer to my previous article about balancing lifting and drinking, which explains about how to healthily balance the two aspects throughout your week or life. This article is very relatable but will delve deeper into a more specific aspect of balancing lifting and drinking, that aspect being the hangover. For anyone who did not read the other article, let me re-inform you that alcohol is 7kcal a gram. Whether you drink the hard liquor like Jim Lahey or you stick to your beers like Charlie Kelly, both forms of alcohol are high in calorie content. Don’t listen to your silly friends who say, “Oh beer has too many carbs,” and refuse to drink it because they think its packed  with additional carbohydrates. Its ridiculous; don’t listen to them because that simply is not true. YES, it has carbs, but not nearly as many as people simply think. An average light beer has under 10 carbohydrates in them, however heavier beers like budweiser have around 10.5 grams of carbohydrates, which is only 42 calories! Budweiser even has 1.4 grams of protein in it. About 100 calories are ALL from the alcohol calories, and the same goes for liquor; JUST because it doesn’t have many carbohydrates doesn’t mean it doesn’t have calories. Liquor is filled with calories as its 7kcal a gram with no carbs. Yes, is has a little less caloric content than beer, but its pretty much the same, and at least beer has some protein in it! So, don’t let those common misbeliefs trump your alcohol decision choice, however I suggest beer over liquor despite the carbs because lets, face it, liquor just does you dirty and is a pure toxin, whereas some beer has polyphenols (antioxidants) and protein in them that can even make the occasional beer good for you.

Now that I’ve discussed the differences between alcohols and my personal suggestion. Now, I am going to discuss and list some tips that I have for you all that I think will be helpful to cure your hangover and help you salvage your gains the best you can.

  • Try to drink some water while you’re out drinking in order to stay hydrated. NO, I’m not going to sit here and tell you to have 1 water for every beer you drink like some nerd. I’m being as real as it comes. Just drink some water when you feel like it, or at least before you go to bed.
  • When waking up, drink a lot of water in order to rehydrate yourself. Eat some food- even though there may be alcohol in your system being broken down first before the caloric content of whatever food you eat. Thats because alcohol is our liver’s priority to detoxify and break down first as it is a toxin. So if there is still alcohol in your system you may store some food as fat but trust me, food the next morning will make you feel a lot better.
  • Advil and whatever else kills that headache. Maybe some smoke a doobie too if you’re that type of person. I’m not encouraging drug usage to people who don’t use them, I am just giving some advice out for the people who might. I’m just being real here. No filter.
  • Sweat it out – Go sweat out those toxins! Go for a run or walk or play a pickup game of hoops. You will feel like a new human being once you sweat out those toxins. I prefer basketball or simple bodybuilding workouts. People actually say lifting is the best hangover cure!
  • Stay motivated: No Matter how you feel, STAY MOTIVATED and remember why you’re in your sport,  persevere, endure, and stay grinding in the gym. Don’t let that hangover get you. Remember, hangover cures and aid is not just physical, it’s mental.

 

  • Tommy Roel
  • Maxin’ Out n Blackin’ Out

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
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