Category Archives for "Maxin Out n Blackin 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
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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.

 

Update on T Shirts

T-Shirt production will begin next week around Wednesday or Thursday or so and will take 1-2 weeks to be made, so hopefully they’ll be ready within 3 weeks. There will be 30 shirts made to start off, 15 white, 15 black ranging from m-xl, 5 copies of each. Each shirt is $25-$32.50 depending on size.

 – This logo is being used for the white shirts, and the featured image header with the normal yellow/blue logo on the black t-shirts is how those designs will work.

Email me if you want one or order from the store once they come in, of you know my number and know me personally, shoot me a text.

  • Maxin’ Out n Blackin’ Out
  • Tommy Roel

The Gym Is more than Just a Place to Train

The gym, no matter which gym I attend out of the various gyms I go to or have been to, i get the same relief and same feeling every time I walk in. Thats because to me, the gym is more than just a place to workout. Its more than a place to train for powerlifting. Obviously I work as hard as I physically can in the gym to get the best gains I can, however, attending the gym to improve my gains is not the only reason I go. The gym for me, is an atmosphere where I can relax. Every workout, despite the difficulty, provides a physical and mental relief and release for me, especially after a stressful day often times filled with Anxiety. It relieves my stress and is a medicine for me whenever I go through difficult times. Not only that, it is physically healthy for me as it helps me stay in the best shape I can.  Additionally, it is a place where I get to meet many gym friends whom I have bonded with over the years and can shoot the shit with throughout periods of rest in-between sets. We get to know each other better, exchange lifting advice, and talk about many other things in life. I get to know some individuals so well that some gym friends end up becoming some of my best friends. It is a place where I can chase my passion and get my gains while I relieve stress and anxiety whilst meeting some of my best friends as well. The gym represents an entire chunk of my life and means so much more than fitness to me. It means health, fitness, friendship, knowledge, and is even a second home to me. Don’t Just go to the gym to lift, go to the gym to find many other of the benefits that a great gym can provide.

  • Tommy Roel
  • Maxin’ Out
  • By the way, the featured image as a header is Me back in about 2014 when I met Kai Greene at Bev’s Francis Powerhouse Gym in Syosset, NY.

Go Hard Under the Bar, Go Hard At the Bar – Balancing Drinking and Lifting

Lifting and drinking typically DO NOT go well together. Alcohol has 7 calories a gram and is a toxin to our body, so our body prioritizes the break down of alcohol over all other bodily functions, such as MPS (muscle protein synthesis) and lactic acid breakdown. This is why when you go hard at the gym on a Thursday, wake up sore Friday, and then drink on Friday night, that you wake up Saturday just as sore as you were Friday. That is because your body was focused on breaking down the alcohol in your system, not the lactic acid, (which is a byproduct of glucose breakdown) which is what makes us sore. Obviously, it also prolongs the ability to build muscle whilst alcohol is in your system since the alcohol needs to be broken down first, and when drinking and eating your body can store the food calories as fat since it needs to break down the alcohol first. This portion is just to let you, the reader, know a little more about how our bodies handle alcohol when we drink after training. However, it is still important to enjoy yourself and celebrate on special occasions. As I phrase it, “go hard under the bar, and go hard at the bar.” When I say under the bar, I am referring to squatting, by the way. Below I have linked my first time squatting 4 plates, which is 405 lbs. This was a huge accomplishment and longterm goal of mine that I had finally achieved. So, for the special occasion, I fulfilled my statement and after going hard under the bar, I went out to celebrate and went hard at the bar. Obviously, as athletes individuals should avoid drinking heavily, but for occasional celebrations that are linked to significant events you have participated in or goals that you may have achieved, it is okay to go out and celebrate your accomplishments because of how hard you have worked. However, just do not let any celebration hinder your motivation. Stay focused. Stay chasing your dreams and get your gains.

  • Tommy Roel
  • Maxin Out n Blackin Out
  • Link above and below

 

 

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/BCa4q9yrRG0zsdSxe1XXqj-SyCb1oP-9CF1MOA0/?taken-by=tommyroel&hl=en

 

 

Planet Fitness and why It Contradicts Fitness

Planet Shitness as I like to call it is the complete opposite of fitness. Although I support the occasional pizza and couldn’t care less about bagels, apparently from a member report from said, ” Free Pizza on the First Monday of each month, Handfuls of purple Tootsie rolls are displayed temptingly in jars all across the Planet Fitness front desk areas…Free Bagels on the first Tuesday of every, month..”

 

THAT contradicts the entire concept of fitness, I mean once in a while its fine, but that’s pretty frequent. Plus, it’s a wide known fact among serious lifters that you’re deemed a “lunk” if you grunt, slam or drop weights, sing, bring a bag or water gallon, or wear tank tops. What herbs. Also, there are no bench presses or squats racks, only Smith machines, and deadlifts are banned A powerlifter’s worst nightmare. Planet Fitness carries it over the top with their supply of shitty food to people who are already limited to important methods on training such as benching, squatting and deadlifting. Also, overhead presses are banned. Important compound movements are banned, so how can these people getting fed garbage a few times a month and every day with Tootsie rolls make gains when the most important lifts are banned? Plus they kick every serious athlete or lifter out of there. And that is why Planet Fitness contradicts fitness. Planet Shitness would have been a better name dude.

 

  • Tommy Roel
  • Maxin’ Out

 

 

 

 

Gains and Ganja? Pros and Cons

This blog relates to the past article, which involved Arnold Schwarzenegger recreationally using Marijuana after a big time 1975 Mr. Olympia win. The blog also discusses Michael Phelps when a photo on the internet surfaced of Phelps hitting a bong. Even Stephen Jackson, a former great NBA player whose has played for a variety of NBA teams throughout his career, admitted to using marijuana before games. Jackson said, ” I just gotta be real, you know, it’s been a couple games where I smoked before games and had great games,” (ups.com), and he added, “I think it’s a higher percentage of guys that smoke than drink. I know coming in, especially in my time, everybody smoked. After games, when I came into the league, there was only one drug test. And that was in the beginning of the season, in training camp. You knew when it was coming. You could smoke the rest of the season. That was the good days” (upi.com) Jackson discusses his marijuana usage during the earlier days of his career of the NBA and described the drug testing system and even noted that he had played great games whilst stoned. However, he also admitted there were points where he smoked too much and would tell himself, “Please calm down, this high has to calm down’ — I done shot three shots that went over the backboard” (upi.com) So Jackson continued to admit that sometimes he played poorly whilst under the influence of marijuana. So, although many athletes have used marijuana, how does it affect your body athletically? Obviously, these individuals such as Arnold, Phelps, and Jackson are great athletes, so how does weed affect their performance? A lot of it is individualized, as sometimes marijuana increases mental focus and creativeness whilst it can also decrease motivation and increase lethargic feelings. However, for athletes, the CBD component can relieve pain after tough workouts while the munchies side effects can help bodybuilders with their appetites, especially since large bodybuilders require a high amount of macronutrients and eat rather bland food, therefore getting the munchies can hep them get the calories they need. An article from generation iron.com discusses this and features famous fitness YouTubers Elliot Hulse and Scooby. This article has 2 pages and discusses many affects weed can have on athletic performance, both negative and positive. Accents discussed include the lethargic and munchies effect from marijuana, the possibility of mental focus and aid in appetite, which can both be negative or positive, your oxygen levels, and more. Make sure to read both pages.

Whichever or whatever you choose to do, find your balance, and if you smoke and are an athlete of sorts, hopefully, this article can help you.

THE WEED EFFECT: MUSCLES AND MARIJUANA

Work Cited:

Butler, Alex. “Stephen Jackson Smoked Marijuana before NBA Games, Played High.” UPI. UPI, 31 Jan. 2017. Web. 25 June 2017.

Salmon, Jon. “The Weed Effect: Muscles and Marijuana | Generation Iron.” Generation Iron Fitness Network. Jon Salmon, 27 Nov. 2015. Web. 25 June 2017.

  • Tommy Roel
  • Maxin’ Out n Blackin’ Out

After Some Success, It’s Okay to Get Wrecked

The whole idea behind Maxin’ Out n Blackin’ Out is to encourage a healthy balance between the lifter’s and athlete’s lifestyle and the partier’s and college kid lifestyle. This blog is supposed to help reinforce such ideas. After winning one of his many Mr. Olympia’s, even Arnold Schwarzenegger relaxed and took it easy from time to time, especially after his famous 1975 Mr. Olympia Win where the infamous photo of him smoking a joint was taken. Or, you can take a more modern day example from Michael Phelps, when the infamous photo of him smoking a bong surfaced upon the internet during February 2009.  After special accomplishments within your sport, whether it be a PR (personal record) in powerlifting, weightlifting, strongman, or CrossFit. Or maybe it was a big bodybuilding or physique win, or your team won the playoff game in crunch time. Or maybe you improved your stats from the year before, or maybe you simply had a killer session working out. Even the big time greats like Arnold and Phelps relaxed after they put in their endless amounts of tremendously hard work. Go hard at whatever training for whatever sport you are involved in, and give it 110%. Work until you cannot work any longer, put in the effort until you have diminished all macronutrients in your body which fuel your activity. Work until you cannot train any longer, and put in the effort. However, once you give it your all, once it’s all said and done, THEN it is okay to kick back and relax and is perfectly fine to crack open a cold one or light up a doobie, just like Arnold.

  • Tommy Roel
  • Maxin’ Out n Blackin’ Out

 – Phelps in 2009 ripping a binger.

 

 

 

Siege Athletic’s Wall – Civilize the Mind But Make Savage The Body

“Civilize the Mind, But Make Savage The Body”

  • This quote encourages the idea I have behind Maxin Out n Blackin Out because it supports the concept that one must be civil and eager to learn and obtain education and being responsible while simultaneously making “savage” through your body through endless training and lifting by Maxin’ Out and also through partying by Blackin’ Out. Balance the Two.

This painting is located is former Optimum Nutrition Rep Noah Segel’s Gym.

  • Maxin Out N Blackin Out

Three Main Goals I want to Accomplish With This Brand

1: I want to establish not just a clothing brand but a mindset and mentality that people can carry around with them with pride. I want them to consider my ideas and hopefully would like them to apply such principles I intend to resonate behind the simple term “Maxing Out n Blackin Out” into their lives and to carry home and apply such principles.

2. I want people to learn from my ideas and be able to actively apply them.Regarding the clothing, I want them to be comfortable to both max out in, and black out in.

3. I want to wake up people who are daydreaming. Dreams can only become reality if we endlessly pursue them. Because this brand is my dream, and I am going after it, I want others to do the same; I want others to relentlessly chase their passion and dreams until they become as real as reality can portray it to become. I want to inspire people to chase what they really want in life, but most of all, I want them to find happiness. Hopefully, some happiness can be inspired by this brand.

I hope through the mindset and mentality behind Maxin Out n Blackin Out that I have dreamt of can help inspire some people to attempt to change their lives in a positive manner by helping them chase their dreams too, and I hope people can wear a Maxin Out n Blackin Out shirt with pride.

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