All Posts by Tommy Roel

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.

 

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

 

 

An Athlete’s Guide to Alcohol Consumption Regarding Diet

I am no registered dietician or nutritionist, I simply have a a wealth of knowledge I have obtained from leaning from specific individuals I have gotten to speak with such as Kai Greene, Noah Siegal, Chris Jones from Pumpchasers, Dr. Jacob Wilson, and have also been to NSCA conventions where I have heard Brad Schoenfeld speak. I have listened to countless videos and asked for consistent advice along the way from individuals, The Art of Lifting by Greg Nuckols and Omar Isuf, youtube videos, High School, NSCA, Bodybuilding encyclopedia books, and college courses have taught me a variety of knowledge. However, Like my previous article, “After some success It’s ok to get Wrecked,” therefore drinking is an almost culturalized event that takes place especially when some relaxation is deserved after successful sporting invents, victories, or simply in an college or adult environment. Drinking obviously is bad for us as alcohol is a toxin that weighs 7Kcal/gram. It is a toxin, meaning your body prioritizes the breakdown of alcohol before anything else it breaks down, including lactic acid which is a byproduct of glucose breakdown, therefore your body breaks down lactic acid after alcohol, prolonging the muscular soreness, and causing any food your body ate to be stored towards fat storage since the alcohol is being broken down first. An athletes best diet guide for alcohol is to inform individuals that liquor has ALMOST just as many calories as beer, however beer has a few more calories from the “massive” amount of carbs people assume to be in beer, when the 7Kcal/Gram of alcohol in liquor totals out to the amount in beer almost. Secondly, to drink enough but to a sufficient amount where you won’t develop a man bun, here are some pointer’s. Everyone wants a six pack, here’s my personal advice and experience for being able to obtain both six packs, physically, and alcoholically.

  • Know that alcohol has 7kCal/Gram
  • Liquor has only slightly less than beer.
  • Don’t drink at night time prior to bed when possible, so alcohol calories aren’t stored overnight.
  • Avoid high calorie mixed drinks and massive amounts of heavier beers. Stick to light beer and smaller amounts of liquor.
  • Avoid sugar filled drinks like Smirnoff Ice, Mike’s Hard Lemonade, Angry Orchard, Twisted Tea, or Strongbow Cider are higher in sugar and higher in alcohol.
  • If you drink a few a day casually, try fitting the calories into your macronutrients. Some thicker darker beers and red wine have important antioxidants in them called polyphenols which are good for heart health.
  • Obviously drink a lot of water to stay hydrated if you drink frequently, and of course, make smart decisions, and don’t forget,
  • ITS OKAY TO GET WRECKED AFTER SOME SUCCESS
  • Tommy Roel
  • Maxin’ Out N’ Blackin’ Out

What It Feels Like to Hit a PR

A Personal record, or PR (sometimes in Australia or the UK they use the term PB, personal best), is when you hit a certain weight you have never performed before in a certain movement like squat, bench, deadlift, clean and jerk, and the snatch.This included many other albums as well. Or you can hit rep PR’s, and hi a same weight for more reps than you previously have performed on those reps before. Hitting PR’s is an almost indescribable feeling, as the goal you care about and are working towards is self improvement. And Hitting a PR,, hitting a weight you have never done before, that allows you to literally watch your self-improvement and track yourself becoming a better a stronger individual. It is a feeling of euphoria and success and in that moment you know you just became a better person, even if it is in the slightest.

  • Tommy Roel
  • Maxin’ Out’ n Blackin’
  • Below is an example of some rep work.

When Hitting Plateaus,Use other Components of fitness to Get Those Gains To Grow

This article is an article for anybody in the gym whom has hit a plateau and seeming cannot surpass that plateau. Whether is be a 1RM (one-rep-max) in powerlifting or weightlifting, or it be an AMRAP (as many reps as possible) on an important weight for a bodybuilder or athlete, or maybe you’re sprinting distance or 5K race’s time ran too long. Whatever sport you’re in, you are going to hit plateaus. If you hit a plateau as a powerlifter in squats, try to focus on the sticking point (the hardest part of the movement), or switch it up and focus on leg mobility or maybe endurance and hypertrophy for their legs if their squat struggles. Or they can focus on their bench or deadlift, or maybe be can focus on their physique for a while or maybe they flexibility of cardiorespiratory endurance. When I struggle with powerlifting, I focus on hypertrophy within muscles that are lagging in size and proportion, mobility and flexibility, and often times enjoy incorporating strongman and weightlifting workouts in and include exercises like using atlas stones, and performing high-pulls, clean and jerks, power snatches, muscle snatches, push presses, jerk’s, and farmers walks. I enjoy switching it up every now and then, and this article relates to the training for happiness article as it provides examples of how to mix it up when you hit plateaus in order to receive other types of gains.

  • Tommy Roel
  • Maxin’ Out and Blackin’ Out

 

Arm Workout Advice For Beginners

I have always had smaller arms, and needed to improve them within my physique in addition to aiding powerlifting. Having strong biceps is crucial for deadlifts as they involved muscularly in the movement and provide stability for the lift especially if you use a mixed grip. Bigger biceps also provide support for squatting because it can help you keep a thicker grip, and regarding the bench press, bigger biceps can mean a slightly shorter range of mobility as well as additional stability when un-racking the bar and holding the bar between reps. Triceps aren’t entirely relevant in deadlifting, however they obviously play a crucial part in bench pressing as they are one of the primary muscles involved, especially at the lockout. Having strong triceps aids squatting again for stability. So I have always tired to hit arms. I finally have added since to my arms and went from about a fatter 14 1/2 ” ” to a leaner and much fuller and vascular 15″ sized arms. My secret was my method of training. I would hit all the components of fitness for triceps and biceps, for each head with each a set of 3-5 sets of multiple reps varying from 5-15+ to hit all components of fitness . Ex.

Triceps:

Cable Rope pushdown forth Lateral and Medial head of the Tricep. Rep Work  3×15 for Muscular Endurance, 3×8-12 for Hypertrophy, and 3×5-6 reps for Muscular Strength

Overhead Cable Extensions/Skullcrushers/CG Bench: Rep Work  3×15 for Muscular Endurance, 3×8-12 for Hypertrophy, and 3×5-6 reps for Muscular Strength

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Biceps: Long Head- Regular Wrist curls 3×15 For Muscular Endurance, 3×10 for Hypertrophy, 3×4-6 for Muscular Strength.

Short Head – Hammer Curls 3×15 For Muscular Endurance, 3×10 for Hypertrophy, 3×4-6 for Muscular Strength.

Brachialis – Supinated Wrist Curls 3×15 For Muscular Endurance, 3×10 for Hypertrophy, 3×4-6 for Muscular Strength.

  • Maxin’Out N Blackin’ Out
  • Follow Me on Instagram tommyroel, or roel_powerlifting.
  • Some easy 35lb supinated wrist curls from todays light arm day
  • ALSO SHIRTS ARE OUT

 

Train Towards Your Goals, but Also Train Towards Happiness

Obviously, if you are a powerlifter, weightlifter,strongman, bodybuilder, or any professional or collegiate athlete, I would presume you would be running a workout program specified for your sport that is geared and designed towards achieving success in your sport and improvement in certain areas of that sport. Programming, practices, routines, and splits are crucial because they help us achieve our goals and get gains in the most efficient fashion and is probably the most educated way an individual can train. Plus it helps structure discipline and helps individuals develop a routine and strong mindset and improves focus once discipline is understood. However, sometimes, from personal experience, I have found myself so stressed out (I do have Anxiety Disorder, though) about certain programs because I would miss a rep or be unable to complete the rep work whether it be hypertrophy and assistance work or compound movement rep work. I developed a fear is disappointment within myself and workouts began to stress me out. However, when your own passion begins to become a stressor, one must take a step back and not abandon that passion, but fight back and figure out what has been stressing you out within your passion. Then you find a way to beat that part of what has been stressing you out and holding you back. You can work towards other goals momentarily until you regain focus, or simply walk in the gym and train whatever you want just to enjoy yourself, because we all started lifting because we loved it, right? So whenever I feel stressed, a relaxed bodybuilding-styled workout to get a pump on always relaxes me because it reminds of of the initial fitness that inspired me to travel towards greater levels and depths within fitness. Sometimes you just need to say, ‘screw all that other stuff,’ and lift how you want so you can enjoy yourself and your workout. – Me almost (I missed, Cool Pic though,) dunking on 9.5 feet when my hops were at their best. Probably can jam it on 9 feet at the moment and 8.5 is a piece of cake. I used to play basketball in high school, I’m 5’7″ and wasn’t too skilled, but I had decent hops due to my leg strength from powerlifting, and I often use basketball as an escape route for enjoyment and additional cardio while I am stressed out.

 

  • Tommy Roel
  • Maxin’ Out n Blackin’ Out
2

Perseverance Through It All; Never Give Up

Throughout my life, I have had several incidents that have brought me down. That includes personal problems such as my issues with anxiety disorder and my enzyme disorder leading to depression in addition to excruciating pain that I experienced after my Uncle surprisingly passed away. I experienced personal mistakes in the past that I have decided to not mention, and have also made mistakes in school as my grades have been dropping periodically on and off, and of course, I have been hurt by past relationships with women, though I do not hold any negativity against them as it is my pain to deal with. My gains have suffered throughout difficult times which probably is the most painful things I have dealt with because other world aspects have taken ahold of me and stripped me of improving myself within my passion of lifting. Sometimes, life just happens, and there are periods of time where simply, life blows. However, despite how horrible it may seem at times, whether you suffer from personal issues or you feel a lack of motivation in the gym and your gains have fallen off, do NOT give up. NEVER give up. Because giving up means you’ve thrown in the towel and that there is no sweat blood or tears left to give. Giving up is throwing away your passion, and without a passion, what’s the point of pursuing anything, or more so, what’s the point of living? Never give in. Many people are familiar with the Mark Wahlberg film “Lone Survivor,” which is based on a true story of Navy seal Marcus Luttrell. After falling down that ravine in the movie, Wahlberg was able to walk. However, in real life, once attempting to escape from the outnumbering Taliban, Luttrell was able to find cover, he was actually unable to walk due to his many broken bones from the fall; essentially, he was paralyzed. However, instead of giving up, Luttrell crawled SEVEN miles to find shelter and water. HE would draw a line in the dirt and crawl to it, draw another line and so on and so forth until he crawled SEVEN miles. Whenever I feel like giving up, I think of my Uncles, whom I’ve written about in past articles, and they motivate me. However, secondly I think of this hero, Marcus Luttrell, the Lone Survivor. He crawled seven miles. That to me, is the definition of perseverance. To me, each space needed to be crawled until the next like represents a difficulty in my life, and I must keep crawling and working until I persevere and pass that difficulty until it is onto the next difficulty to crawl past. My Uncles, Marcus Luttrell, and many others have influenced me to continue forward throughout all the hidden internal pain  I have been suffering. No matter what happens, one must always persevere and continue chasing your dreams. As Rocky Balboa said, ” It ain’t about how hard you get hit, it’s about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward.”

Fight through it all and never give up on what you believe in.

  • Tommy Roel
  • Maxin’ Out n Blackin’ Out
  • Linked is Marcus Luttrell’s Speech about Operation Redwing at Alabama.

 

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