2008 Goals

2008 is right around the corner and what a year 2007 was. There were so many personal things that I did in 2007 that I am proud of, I mean the list goes on. I went from being a normal NPC bodybuilder to one of the Top Ammature National Level Bodybuilders by winning the Mets and Jr USA's then shortly after taking 2nd at the Nationals. The great new people and friends I met this year just goes on I wouldn't have enough space on here to list everyone that helped me and that I met this year. You all know who you are and THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART.
This was the last weekend of 2007 and wasn't the greatest one for me. Being a bodybuilder and trying to have a relationship can sometimes be a difficult task at hand. When you diet, they diet, when you complain, they hear it, when your not home with your significant other, they are home waiting for you, when they want to go out to eat, you try to be nice by explaining why you can't "eat that", when they want to go out for a few drinks, your drinks are diet coke, when they try to be nice, you snap for no reason...and the list goes on and on. I am not going to go into the details of why I am talking about relationships and bodybuilding, but for those of you whom are bodybuilders remember one thing, bodybuilding doesn't last forever, but your relationships can. You have to be willing to give things up, suck it up, go out, be calm in tough situations, and make sure when you diet it's not a one way street. That are some of the lessons I learned the past 2 years in my relationship that is no longer. Had to get that off my chest.
As for 2008 there are many things I wish to accomplish (in no particular order)
1. Be a better friend, son, brother, and boyfriend
2. Go to church more
3. Realize that there are others around whom are affected by my choices and actions
4. Win the 2008 Nationals
5. Become a paid sponsored athlete
6. After winning the Nationals take 2 years off to rest
7. Save money for a house
8. Get a better job
9. Bring up my weak points on my body
10. Be a go getter-trian harder than I ever had and be a better bodybuilder and all around person

I think everyone should have their own list of things they want to do and/or change in 2008. Being goal oriented is a good way to set dreams and work to accomplish them. Enjoy the last day of 2007 and God Bless in 2008
Guy

Christmas Eve Treats

Holidays are always a time to relax, reflect, and be grateful. Christmas time for most is a time for sharing and spending quality time with family and friends. Being a full blooded Italian and coming from an all Italian family, the holidays for us means Mangia, Mangia, and boy do we Mangia in my family. The typical Christmas Eve for my family means going to my Aunt Lauri's house where the food is always great and the Italian heritage is flowing. The appetizers are the normal anti pasto, with all the Italian breads, cheese's, and meats. Along with that there is fish, shrimp cocktail, and crab dip (which by the way is off the hook.) Then, after that we go to the main course which is chicken (Marsala, Franchisee, or whatever kind gets cooked up), fried calamari, homemade meat balls, and of course pasta. The final course is where you have to be careful, that's the desserts, which are array of Italian pastries, cookies, and cakes. What I try to do is eat a little of all the appetizers, and hold off until dinner. Once dinner comes I eat a good amount of protein with minimal carbs to fill myself up and kill the cravings of all the desserts that follow. Of course, I have dessert I take a little taste of everything just to get my pallet wet. Although I'm 5'6 I have a HUGE appetite, I can slam down the food with no problem.
Tonight I ate pretty well, but just enough, I didn't go over board with eating. I ate enough for a cheat meal, which I am allowed 2 times a week, but 3 hours later after I got home from midnight mass, I was still able to eat my last 2 meals with a pretty good appetite. Got to give a shout out to my Aunt Laurie and Uncle Bill, there house is always the best of Christmas eve, we have a great time and the food there is phenomenal.
On a not so good holiday note, as you all know I have been having some major shoulder issues in my right shoulder since before my shows this year, but managed to battle through it. I got a x-ray and mri done in mid September showing a few things wrong in my shoulder. I have an anterior-exterior lebrehm tear, a sist formed due to the tear, and an impingement in my shoulder as well. I spoke with Dave the other day, and we both decided that getting my shoulder scoped now would benefit me more than if I waited. This injury is hurting my workouts especially my shoulder and chest workouts. Tonight I talked to my aunt whom is a Nurse Practitioner which means she does it all, from heart surgeries to orthopedic surgeries etc. She scheduled my surgery for next Friday since she will be the one doing the surgery on me, so I told her she better make sure she fixes me and my recovery time better be short....(Just kidding Aunt Laur, you're the best.) So I will keep you all posted on what is going on and how everything goes. Until tomorrow, go put the cookies out for Santa....Have a Hardcore Holiday (complements of EC)
Guy

BALLS TO THE WALL 2008

WHATS GOING TO HAPPEN. Well, after talking with Dave yesterday, as you all know, he wants me to have a great off season and not to worry about the scale, so starting tomorrow, I will be going BALLS TO THE WALL. My goal this off season which I have not talked about before is to gain a good amount of muscle. With that, I want to redistribute that muscle in some areas on my body. I need more caps on my delts, bigger outer sweep, wider and thicker back, and want to bring up my calves and my arms. I guess you could say overall body structure. My focus is going to be more volume and more isolation movements to concentrate on bringing the blood to that muscle. With my intense workouts, the products by Species, and the help from good friend and nutritionist Dave Palumbo, I can't wait to see what my physique looks like when I step on stage in 2008 at Atlanta. My off season diet consists of a TON of food. I am eating 8 times a day, out of those 8 meals only 3 are shakes two of them with Carbolyze. The other 5 are food meals (2 egg meals, 1 chicken, 2 red meat) which I love since I am full most of the day, therefore the need to eat crap is never there since I am full. I am allowed 2-3 cheat meals per week, but I am more of a clean eater so I keep it to once a week on Sunday night, while I am watching my Giants on TV. My ideal cheat meal is 7 rolls of sushi and a pint of Ben and Jerry's ice cream. I will defiantly be posting a decent amount of off season pics, so stay tuned as the road to the 2008 Nationals begins tomorrow.....Get it Done!
Guy

SPECIES AND OFF SEASON UPDATE

For all you hard core bodybuilders out there, SPECIES is expanding it's line more and more every day. Today was the new release of FIBERLYZE, AND CARBOLYZE, and I can't even begin to tell you what's next, you'll have to wait and see. FIBERLYZE is a fiber replacement supplement but unlike the usual Metamucil that you see in stores FIBERLYZE has insoluble and soluble fiber in it, giving you 9 grams of fiber per scoop. Also, it is sugar free, fat free and has no aspartame in it. The flavors currently out are fruit punch and lemonade, I tried both of them today, and wow, this is going to be something to look forward to when dieting next year for Nationals. CARBOLYZE is a carbohydrate reloading replacement drink which is used in the off season(for obvious reasons). Taken twice a day pre and post workout this blend of waxy maize starch and d-Ribose, with that it gives you 39 grams of carbs per scoop with 0.5 grams of sugar, making it optimal for energy, recovery, and muscle growth. The flavors currently out are banana and fruit punch. The great thing about the SPECIES line of products is that it explains what all the key ingredients do on the label, for example: "d-Ribose, is a naturally occurring 5-pentose carbohydrate molecule that's found in all living cells and that helps facilitate the production of ATP (the primary energy source for all cellular processes. In studies of healthy athletes, as well as those who have suffered injury to the heart muscle, supplying fatigued muscle cells with d-ribsoe quickly restored ATP to normal functioning levels." This supplement is going to be a key ingredient for myself in the off season. I have never used a waxy maize before, I am going to start CARBOLYZE on Monday, so be sure to check my blog for updates on the effects of it.
As for my off season thus far. I took a trip to Long Island today with my buddy Dominick, and posing coach and good friend Kenny (who is starting dieting on Monday for the Mets and Masters Nationals) to go visit Dave and Colette and prior to that get a workout in at Bev and Steve's gym in Syosset. After getting a sick arm workout in, we headed off to Dave and Colette's for awhile. It's always a fun time and a learning experience there, not only are they two great people, both very knowledgeable in many areas, so every time you leave, you have learned something new. Dave talked to me about off season goals, which are to have a normal off season and don't limit my muscle growth to make a middle weight next year. Bodybuilding is about building muscle so that's what I am aiming for ultimately this year, and we'll take the necessary steps to make sure I get to 176 1/4 for the 2008 Nationals. We also tasted tested a new product that's not out, and all I have to say is WOW, shit was amazing can't wait to talk about it when it comes out. Before we left, Dave and myself went over about 150 shots that were taken by Bill Comstock for Species that he is going to use in adds and posters. The pictures were taken exactly one week before the Nationals, and they look phenomenal. So that's a ton on today's agenda, I will keep posting, just keep reading and sending me the emails, love getting them everyday, keeps me busy. Talk to you all soon. Stay safe and keep GROWING!!!
Guy

You Know Your a Bodybuilder When.....

So today I woke up did the normal routine in the morning, got ready for work, cooked breakfast, and prepared my meals for the day, then it was off to work. Except something was different today, the weather, when the weather gets cold, and snow starts to arrive in the winter season it always sucks for those days we have to make the drive to the gym then home. I went to work, but not for long, left after about 3 hours because right around 10 o'clock it started to come down, but it wasn't snow it was dam ice pellets. So I left around 1 o'clock and went home. I then ate meal # 2 let it digest, then off to the gym in the ice storm. I love this type of weather, only because it divides the people who are dedicated to those who only go when they want to go. I'm not saying that you need to drive in a tornado to the gym, bad weather YES! If you drive slow and controlled it might take you a little longer to get there and back, but you will make it there and be able to get a workout in. I got to the gym at 3:30pm and not to my surprise there was no one there, I love working out like that, empty ass gym. No waiting, no one bothering you, it's like you own the gym, do what you want at your own pace. Bodybuilding isn't a once in awhile thing, it's an all the time thing. No matter what the day brings, good weather, bad weather, fighting with the girl friend, not feeling well, didn't get enough sleep, IT DOESN'T MATTER! You still have to eat, train, and make improvements everyday. Everyday, every 24 hours is 24 hours for you to make improvements in your life and with your body. I love this sport because not everyone can do what we do, the training, the dieting, the cardio, eating right, not going out partying, staying home, going to family parties with your own food, it's part of life. I have given up a lot for this sport, friends, time, money, relationships, etc. Those that stick with me through it all are the true warriors, because what we put the others around us through when we diet for a show and what we do every day on a daily basis isn't any more easier for those around us. There's a reason why there's no "I" in team, because bodybuilding isn't a team sport, it's a selfish, greedy sport, and it's hard to understand unless you go through it. So for those of you who didn't go to the gym today, THANKS, you made our lives that much easier. And for those of you sticking behind and supporting your bodybuilders (women, men, fitness, and figure), I say God Bless and thanks for the support....Had to go off on this tangent today, sorry, the weather brings this out in me..Till next time..EVERY DAY IS A NEW DAY, MAKE IT WORTH IT.
Guy

FUN ASS WEEKEND

Well first things first...I want to give a huge shout out to THE MONTANARI BROTHERS AND KENNY WALLACH FOR BEING THE NEW CHAIRMEN OF CT...CONGRATS GUYS!!! That's going to be huge for the sport of bodybuilding. Bodybuilding needs more guys like that in the sport giving back, can't wait to see what shows those guys put together.
What a weekend I had talk about doing a lot in a little time. Saturday morning I took a trip down to Workout World and trained arms with my part time training partner Dom, and new IFBB PRO Carlo Filiopone who owns Carlo's Cafe inside the gym. After getting a sick arm workout with my boys, it was off to the Cafe. Carlo threw on his cooking gear and it was all business for an hour, he was behind the counter cooking up a ton of food for us. Within less than an hour he had cooked up chicken breasts, veggies, potatoes, chicken sausage, and rice with lentils, talk about a phenomenal meal, he is one hell of cook...THANKS CARLO, I made a promise to Carlo that I will be at his gym at least once a week to train and eat...SEE YOU THIS WEEKEND BRO.
Also, Sunday I meet up with Evan at Physical Synergy owned by Dr. Mike, where I started getting more therapy (ART-Active Release Therapy), on my shoulder. I stopped going there the last few weeks because Dr. Mike does such a great job on my shoulder and therapy and brings so much blood to the surface that it was making a little swollen so I had to stop going to keep the cuts showing and deep on my physique. My shoulder started acting up a bit since I put weight on and was able to go a little heavier and already after one day of therapy by Dr. Mike I felt great. If anyone has any sort of muscle aches, pains, back problems etc., look up Physical Synergy in Fair Field CT, he is one of the best around. For those who were wondering Evan is look big and hard weighing a little over 260 with straited glutes and striations every where I can't wait to see him in 09 at the NY Pro, going to be a battle.
Off to the gym to hit up Chest, hopefully the shoulder stays in place and I can crank out some good weight...Stay focused everyone!
Guy

I'M BACK BABY

Well I'm back....Today was a test of how my strength is after a long 16 weeks of dieting, and I got to say that it's back and better than ever. Today is Tuesday, which means for me BIG LEG DAY. I treat every body part the same, but any body builder knows that leg day always has a different aura that is involved in it. You have to really mentally prepare yourself for the torture of battling through legs, so I'm going to tell you all what kicked my ass today and stopping me from walking normal, due to the fact that I murdered them in the gym. This is what it was.
Warm up-2 sets extensions
Squats- 3 sets 405 X 10, 1 set 315 X 12
Leg Presses- 1st set 8 plates X 15
2nd set 10 plates X 12
3rd set 12 plates X 10
4th set 14 plates X 10
Leg Extensions- 4 sets with, 100, 110, 120, 140 all sets where 12-15 reps each
DB Lunges-2 sets with 40lb Dumbbells (done walking not in place)

After this I was shot, my legs were so pumped and full it wasn't even funny, I haven't gotten a pump like that in awhile. Usually when I am taking in carbs I get good pumps, but sometimes they are so bad they hurt, especially in my lower back, that's why I when I diet I have great workouts running just on ketones, the pumps don't last as long but they are intense when I'm in the gym and I never get the bad pains in my back and pumps that hinder my workout. But my strength is threw the roof, and I feel great. Still rebounding a little bit since the show, the worst part it my feet, they're not swollen, but they hurt ALL DAY LONG, I believe it's from putting weight on fast, being flat footed and trying to carry around extra weight my body hasn't seen in awhile. Over all feeling great and can't wait to start packing on the pounds for 2008. I'll keep you all posted on my progress, keep checking in and any questions keep the emails coming I love talking with you guys and meeting new people...God Bless and Stay Strong
Guy

Getting Back Into It!!

Well, today is Sunday, day of rest, and dam sure need it. Got back into the swing of things this week. Started back at the gym on Monday and went through my normal workout routines as I usually do, except due to being out of the gym for two weeks I kept the weight reasonable and the volume a little lower. Although, I went a little easy on myself this week, I was sore as shit every day as if I never worked out before, that's what happens after a show. After all the dieting, cardio, brutal workouts your body needs time to recover. Going into Nationals my last day of working out was Tuesday the 13th, last day of cardio was the 14th, the show was on 16th and 17th, then I took off the following week to recuperate. I feel pretty good I have to say still holding onto some water weight, my weight is still below 200 I have been floating around 193-195 in the mornings, which is good usually I put weight on really fast, this time around I was smart and didn't go nuts with binging after my show. I have truly only cheated twice since the show. The Monday after my show I went out and got sushi, then after that it was Thanksgiving, since then been eating my off season regimen, which consists of 8 meals a day, so the cravings aren't there when your full most of the day. One thing I am still struggling on is my sleep pattern sucks, I wake up almost EVERY 2 hours every night, talk about annoying. Other than that I can't wait for this week when I can start back into my normal warrior intensity in the gym and start bulking up. Hope everyone had a great Holiday, and I will keep everyone posted on my training this week. Remember any questions or comments, feel free to comment or email me at Gcis40@hotmail.com , Time to Get After It.....God Bless
Guy