A Journey to Remember - The Past Couple of Weeks

Recently I have been pre-occupied with school. Being in my last year of University, studying has been one of my top priorities on my to do list. However, I know that I should have balanced my time properly rather than just focus most of my time studying, but with me graduating - hopefully - this year it’s better to have focused my time on school work. I did put in some time training within the past couple of weeks in-between studying as a break. Personally, it is important to take some time for yourself especially when you feel pressured, stressed or overwhelmed with what you are doing.


I am still working hard and pushing myself to become a bodybuilder and compete in MABBA Men’s Physique in October. Unfortunately I had to make a tough decision of dropping my coach due to personal reasons. I was fortunate enough to be able to have a coach to guide me if I had any questions or concerns about eating and/or training and I’m sure once things turn back around I would sign up with my coach again; possibly closer to competition time. During the couple of months of training I have seen a slight difference in definition. If compare myself from 2010 to now, you can see a big difference. If you would like to see that picture and read the blog please click here.

The workouts that I have been doing throughout this journey of mine have been tough as well as it has been pushing me to do better than performed previously. A workout that I constantly struggle with is doing pull-ups. Now just to make things clear, I am not talking about the pull-up diapers for toddlers or for the adults, I am talking about pull-ups or formally called chin-ups. Before starting my journey I use to hate doing pull-ups. I felt heavy (which I was) and I wasn’t able to pull myself up. Now I enjoy doing them, not only because I have to, but rather I want to be able to succeed in doing chin-ups consistently in a row. Probably last week or a few weeks ago I was able to do 10 pull-ups consistently without a break in-between or assistance (yes I use the assisted pull-up station). Having that sense of accomplishment and fulfilling doing chin-ups/pull-ups was gratifying to be able to do them.

(from 2010-top left; to present-bottom right)

Another workout that I continually struggle with is the bench press. For those who aren’t familiar with what a bench press is, it’s a workout that involves a flat bench (or incline/decline bench) with a barbell, which weighs at approximately around 40-45lbs. The point of the bench press is that it targets your chest by gripping the bar just at or further than shoulder width apart and lowering the bar towards your chest then pushing it up back to the starting position then repeating for a certain amount of reps. Starting out I bench pressed 40lbs, consisting of two 10lbs weight plates on each side of the bar. Afterwards I increased the weight each time by 5lbs. Currently I am able to do 100lbs, which consists a 45lbs and 5lbs weight plates on each side plus the bar. However, on my last set I failed to finish the set almost hurting myself. I was a bit embarrassed and felt like I want to give, but I didn’t. I still went to workout the following day starting with an incline bench press.

Although from trying to workout for years and not be able to loss weight to where I am currently is a big accomplishment for myself. I thought I wouldn’t be able to lose weight and become fit. I thought I would be unhealthy thinking that I am average or ‘fit’ when in reality I’m not. I still have a lot of gaining and training to do before being able to compete for the MABBA Men’s physique competition, but I know that I won’t stop in getting to where I want to be just like how you shouldn’t stop to where you want to be and what you want to become. It will take a lot of work, patience and time because nothing comes easy. If you want it, go for it because it may be the only opportunity for you to start achieving your goals.

A Journey to Remember - Week 4

Fourth week in since I started this journey. I find it interesting how much I have learnt about my body. I’m still learning and finding things about my body that I find quite interesting in terms of bodybuilding (if you thought otherwise you’re sick…lol). However, week four wasn’t the greatest out of the other weeks.

The beginning of week 4 started out pretty well. I was able to train and somewhat stay in my macros. However, I started to feel sick and weak as the week progressed. At first I neglected the thought of becoming sick because in my mind I’ll just sweat it out while I’m working out - not quite. I did sweat during my workouts, but it wasn’t enough. It's as if my body knew that the Easter long weekend was approaching and that my body’s cue was to go on rest mode, which it did. I ended up catching the flu to a point where I started talking I would end up coughing up a lung until somewhat losing my voice. My temperature had gone up and down during the day and into the evening where it did affected my sleep and of course prevented me from working out for 4 days. Now you probably think that it isn’t so bad missing 4 days, which can be easily be made up once I’m fully rested. True, but it did have an affect my strength preventing me to workout effectively.

During the time I wasn’t feeling well all I could do was rest; eat and sleep, eat and sleep and taking flu medicine to help recover. It sucked. When I started to feel a bit better where I was able to workout again (which was yesterday March 28) I noticed how weak I became. Yesterday’s workout end up being a push day. The workouts usually consist of incline bench presses, flat bench presses, shoulder presses, etc. However, when I started to workout I wasn’t able to preform effectively as I did before catching the flu. An example would be the incline bench presses. Before I got sick I was able to bench 75lbs plus the bar, which would be 45lbs, making it a total of 120lbs. Yesterday I was only able to do a total of 105lbs.

THAT’S A 15LBS DIFFERENCE!!! ALL BECAUSE I GOT SICK!!

I wasn’t that surprised but it was still a shocker. I also noticed the amount of weight I had lost. From being 157lbs or 158lbs I went down to 154lbs. Again, all because I got sick. Regardless of the lack of strength and the amount of weight I lost I still put in the time and effort into working out and thrive to build back my strength and weight back up. Also, any time put into working out regardless of how you perform it will still count as a workout so keep it up, you can do it just be patient and persistent don't give up.

I think after being sick I learned from week four the importance of keeping healthy. Yes, I know, it is easier said than done only because I had failed to keep being healthy resulting me catching a cold. I lacked sleep, kept up with eating but not within my macro count as well as lacked working out due to having caught the flu. I believe that I did blog about rest and the importance of resting, which I do realize now how much I do lack a lot. I can make an excuse that school gets in the way because I have to study for tests or I have papers to finish the next day but, it doesn't resolve the fact that I still do not properly rest. It’s also obvious though that sometimes it is hard to avoid catching the flu especially when exposed to others who are just getting over the flu themselves. Hence why it is important to take care of yourselves by ensuring you eat properly, have plenty of rest as well as exercise from time to time and you’ll see the difference in the long run. Don't quote me saying that you won't get sick if you follow what I say because there is a chance of still catching a cold or flu. Just make sure you take care of yourselves so you can prevent possibilities of catching a cold or flu and you’ll see your strength and energy being maintained enabling you to get through your day, which we can do together along the way. Let’s do this!! Remember “Keep Fit and Have Fun!!” (quote from BodyBreak)

A Journey to Remember - Week 3

Week 3 went well. Despite having papers, a final and the lack of sleep during the week I would have to say it went alright. What I do want to blog about is about resting because I still have a fair bit of trouble making sure I have the right amount of sleep, especially now that I’m bodybuilding.

During the week it was some what difficult to have the right amount of rest. Although I did have papers and a final exam I should have made sure that I had enough sleep in order to properly function. I guess you can say that I have trouble making sure I rest up because of school. I know I should not make school an excuse to not sleep 6-8 hours an evening and unfortunately it happens. All the homework, assignments and studying for tests or finals. Regardless making sure you rest is highly recommended especially if you want to stay fit or just be healthy in general.

What I had found about resting and making sure I got 6-8 hours of sleep was that it provided more energy to get me through the day. It also made me feel well rested even after a long day of school, work, studying, working out, more studying and so on. It is very important that you get the right amount of sleep so you can feel well rested and have more energy for the next day. However, what I did not do was not sleep the recommended hours. I lacked sleep most days during the week where I found myself only sleeping 5 hours a night. It was bad. For myself, I found that when I have less sleep I become extremely tired, restless and lazy. I feel like I would want to stay in bed and sleep some more; I would not want to go to class or not do homework, etc. It was just plain out bad.

What I also found was I looked tired constantly. Mind you I still look tired now because I did not have much sleep. I ended having bags under my eyes, I haven’t shaved (looking like a caveman) and sometimes my eyes are dry and red. These results are not what I want for myself. I would rather sleep 6-8 hours so that I don’t look tired, I don’t get the bags under my eyes; not lazy or restless and just have healthy eyes. Having the lack of sleep also affected my workouts during the week. I remember during one of my push days I was bench pressing two plate (one on each side) of 35lbs and I wasn’t able to push through. What is even more embarrassing is that it was only a warm-up set. Although, I was still surprised that I was able to put in 5 days of gym time and got my workout sessions in, however I wasn’t able to push myself to my fullest extent. Nonetheless what counts is that I put in the time and was patient even if it was not the best workout.

I think what myself and everyone in general is to be able to put in time with whatever they need to do, whether it be more sleep, time with friends and family, work, school, studying, etc. make time to get some well deserved rest. What I do at times is I power nap if I wasn’t able to get 6-8 hours the night before. I know most aren’t able to power nap because of working during the day, however after work try taking a power nap for 10-15 minutes and you’ll feel a bit rejuvenated.


Being week 4 now what I’m going to be doing is that I need to sleep more than what I had done during last week. I need to have 6-8 hours of rest so that I’m able to workout better, be healthier as well as not look as tired as I am now. I encourage everyone to try getting some rest and well deserved sleep that you need so that you can feel rejuvenated and feel well rested and look fresh :)
By the way, I will be posting some progress pictures soon since it is going to be a month since I started this journey. I’m quite excited and nervous because I hardly took shirtless pictures before. So this would be a big step for me in showing my month progress.

A Journey to Remember - Week 2

The second week of my journey wasn’t the ideal workout week I would expect it to be. Mind you I was able to still workout and keep track of my macros however, things got in the way; mostly school.

As I’m going through this journey, I am completing my Bachelor of Arts degree in English. A lot have been asking what I am going to be doing with my degree once I graduate and my answer is to be teaching as an ESL instructor. Typically I would like to teach overseas because I have been hearing a lot of great opportunities as well as awesome experiences that friends, or friends of friends have told me. Now with me embarking on my journey in becoming a bodybuilder I would not let go of this goal. As I have mentioned in a previous blog that I would continue on with becoming a bodybuilder and compete in the MABBA (Manitoba Amateur Bodybuilding Associate) Fall Classics in October. I would also make it a career out of it as well. Being both a bodybuilder as well as an ESL instructor would benefit me in both situations. Being a bodybuilder would not only maintain my fitness and completing my goal of competing, it would show the motivation and the dedication I put into working hard in maintaining a healthy life. With ESL, I would be able to help individuals with their english reading, writing and speaking skills in order for those individuals to become successful with the english language. Both would benefit from one another in a way where I would continue to be a motivator to others in either fitness or the English language as well as set up goals for those individuals who want to make a difference in their lives, whether it is learning ESL or having a healthier lifestyle. I would make sure that I would balance both careers along with my personal life as well.

Enough of my goals and busy life what did I do during week 2. Week 2, like I’ve said, wasn’t the best week I had. I did workout and kept track of my macros, but it could have been much better. I didn’t push myself to my fullest during my workout however, I was still able to workout 4 out of the 7 days, which is still good. Also with keeping track of my macros I tried to maintain myself food consumption, but there were some days that I went over my fats, carbs, or protein. Regardless of missing a day or going over the macros, I am still continuing to push myself more each time to make sure that I bulk lean properly according to Brian’s plan that he gave me. So I encourage you, keep going, don’t stop, and believe in yourself with whatever you’re doing. Each one of us are able to reach for the goals that we set. All we have to do is continue to work for it, be motivated and find your reason why you set these goals and how you’re going to achieve them.

We can do it!!

A Journey to Remember - Thoughts II

During the past week ever since day 8 it has been hard to continue to be motivated and keep on track with everything (work, bodybuilding, school, friends, family, etc.). I have been trying to focus on the things that I need to focus on, however things always took priority. I know I am not superman and that I am unable to satisfy everyones needs. I have noticed over the week that I have set things aside for others rather than focusing on things that I need to focus on.

Most of my life I have help others before doing my own things. I have helped friends, family, coworkers and even a few strangers. Don’t get me wrong, helping others is the courteous thing to do rather than just not helping at all. A good way to be able to help and respect the other party’s needs, if you aren’t able to help out personally, is provide other options. Providing options who need help with something shows them that you are concerned about their needs and that you want them to be able to find the best solution to achieve whatever their needs are. Regardless if you are not able to help out personally giving possible suggestions would give an idea of other solutions. Nevertheless if there are things that prevent you from focusing on what you need to do try to help out even if it is suggesting other possible solutions. Whether you help out personally or provide other suggestions the result will be as equally rewarding.

As previously mentioned it was difficult to stay on track with training from things that I needed to do and focus on. I think from the past week I only trained 3 or 4 times when I needed to train 5-6 times a week. I was preoccupied with work and school, which I needed to focus on. One thing that I need to do is manage my time more wisely. It is obvious that we all feel as if time is limited. We usually think that we need more time or we do not have enough time when in actuality we have the right amount of time given. For myself, I tend to do more things when I already have a lot on my plate. I do realize that I should not do more things unless I am able to focus on helping others or doing other tasks that are outside my schedule. There is nothing wrong with being able to take more things on, however analyze what you have and ask yourself if you’re able to add more things on top of what you already have. I, personally, have just enough things to focus on at the moment where I know I am capable of achieving what I need to achieve.

Life can be tough when you have a lot on your plate. As for myself I try to go ahead one step at a time. If you feel extremely confident and go for that leap then go for it! As long as you know that life does have its challenges, however you only grow from them. The challenges that I face can certainly bring me down. Currently, I’m finishing my Bachelors degree in English under the University of Manitoba. You might say, “what are you going to do once you graduate?” well that’s a great question. I come to a point that a degree in English can go either two ways (from what I know). One is I can go into education and teach in a school setting or two go into editing and become an editor for a publishing company. However, with me journeying towards becoming a bodybuilder and competing in the mens physique competition I’d like to become a fitness trainer and help and inspire those who would like to change their way of living. What about my degree? I would still utilize my degree and have a certificate in teaching English as a Second Language (ESL). This way I am not only a fitness trainer I would also be a teacher for potential ESL students.


As you can tell that I have a long path ahead of me. I’m finishing my degree, preparing for a bodybuilding competition as well as preparing to become a fitness trainer/ESL teacher. All of these goals are there for the taking. All I have to do is make sure that I focus, stay motivated and continue to work hard and I know that whatever goals you may have you can achieve them as well.



(Reference: Yu for allowing me to paraphrase his comments)

A Journey to Remember - Day 6, 7 & 8

Over the weekend (day 6, 7 and 8) was not the best. I can explain what had happened over the weekend, however I won’t. I will say that it did give me insight of where I am, not only on my journey, but in a more general sense. As most know that I took on the challenge of competing in a mens physique competition in the MABBA Fall Classics. During the weekend there were things that made me question my life and where I am currently.

Sorry guys, I would blog more on this, however I think I’ll just end this blog here. I’m sure things will turn out well. I’m not giving up on my journey at all and I’m going to continue to thrive forward on my journey as well as blog and keep everyone posted.

A Journey to Remember - Thoughts

Tomorrow will be officially one week that I began my training for the MABBA Fall Classics. I thought for this blog I would share my thoughts and feelings I had and currently have over the past week as I go through this journey of mine.

At the beginning of the week I was so excited to train for the MABBA Fall Classics. I was preparing myself to work hard, train hard, bulk up and everything and I was committed into doing this. I knew I have a lot of work to do because of how lean/skinny I am and that I need to bulk up if I want to be in a position to compete for the Fall Classics. Though I was preparing myself physically I didn’t mentally and I guess also emotionally prepare myself enough before making the decision to jump and train for a competition. I have thought about bodybuilding and thought about competing ever since my Kuya Larry (older brother) suggested it. I can’t remember as to when he suggested it, but I declined the idea when he did suggested it. However, the thought lingered in the back of my mind. The obvious advantage of becoming a bodybuilder is the look. I would end up having the chiselled chest, the big arms, abs, legs pretty much what almost every guy would want to have for themselves. Another advantage would be living a healthier lifestyle, such as eating healthier meals, making the right food choices, exercising and staying fit, etc. These are all great advantages of doing this but I never thought that there can be some downsides to bodybuilding as well, personally.

(not me; image capture google)

I found that within the week that I’ve started training I have noticed that I would have to mentally prepare myself also. As most people know I was pretty ‘big’ to a point that I needed to change the way I ate and exercised. During my ‘bigger’ days I always thought to myself how ‘big’ I was (when I refer to ‘big’ I’m referring to me being fat. I’m sugar coating it). I would literally be on an emotional rollercoaster making myself feel gross, disgusted, and that I’m nothing, which is sad and would make myself feel down. Once I started working out I started to feel better about myself. I started to treat myself better, rewarding myself on a good run that I’ve done or just pushing myself to become better. But there were still the odd times where I would still put myself down, even to this day. From being close to 200lbs and down to 158lbs brought an array amount of emotions. I always felt that I was still ‘big’, I felt that I didn’t look good, and I felt gross whenever I looked at myself in the mirror. Of course I was ecstatic to have lost an enormous amount of weight but, it was so quick that my emotions as well as my thoughts weren’t able to catch up when I lost the weight.

I am currently working on myself where I do tell myself that “I’m not fat” or “I am something”. I think for the most part I just need to love myself. All of my life I’ve always put others before my needs. I always thought, “if I put people first before my own needs it will make me happy because I have helped them with a problem that they had” however, I can’t make others happy unless I help myself first. Don’t get me wrong, helping others out if they need it is a great gesture, but in my situation I can’t help everyone out and satisfy everyone’s needs, I’m not superman (but I can dream I am, favourite superhero for the record). For the most part what I need to do is focus on myself first before helping others. Of course I can help others out whenever I can however, I need to do what is beneficial for me in order for me to grow.

This is why I’m doing this journey. It isn’t just because I want to look good in the summer and all year round, though it does have it’s benefits, but more so I want to grow and be able to achieve this goal that I actually want with the help and support of family and friends like Yu, Kuya Larry, my coach Brian and others. I am grateful that people from Instagram, Facebook, and other social media sites are so encouraging and it makes me feel inspired to go on and push forward onto this journey which I am sharing with everyone. I continue to be excited each day as I workout and train myself to do well in the competition as well as continue to motivate myself in loving myself and caring for myself so I am not on an emotional rollercoaster to a point that I suppress the feelings.

Thank you for all of your support, encouragement and inspiring words to help me push forward on this journey. I hope that I can be able to help inspire people around with my journey and encourage others to overcome any emotional states to grow and appreciate, care and love our own lives.