Category Archives for "Maxin Out n Blackin 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

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.

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

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

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.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WU4mwbeaqds

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

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

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