Last Visit: Nov 21, 2009 1:34pm Last Forum Post:Never Last Photo Upload: Feb 3, 2009 11:43am Last Profile Update: Jul 6, 2009 1:27am Last Blog Post: Mar 17, 2009 8:11am
Overall Goal: FrankRodriguez has not set an Overall Goal
Fit Status:
Running a 5k on saturday.
Motivation Level: 10/10
Personal Info And Background:
Real Name:
Frank Rodriguez
Sex:
Male
Age:
30
Location:
Occupation:
Freelance A/V Tech
Personal Website:
Primary Gym:
College:
High School:
When I Started:
Apr, 2008
How I Started:
I first saw Pumping Iron when I was like 8. I loved all the Arnold movies. Particularly Conan the Barbarian. My father got me a starter weight set when I was 11. I took about a year of Goju-Ryu Karate the same year. I went on to play football in highschool. But I was an idiot back then. I thought that if I increased my weights by 5 lbs. every workout that by the time the season started I'd be the strongest guy in the team. At one point I could squat about 400lbs. but I probably had really bad form. I ended up hurting my knees, as well as my elbows. It used to be a real bitch going up and down stairs just to get to class. I spent most of my 20's watching myself getting fatter, and fatter, and fatter. Last year I decided to buy a small adjustable dumbbell kit and a bench. I committed myself to wearing knee braces for leg workouts, icing my knees and elbows after each workout, and doing things intelligently. Now I'm pretty much back in full swing. I hope to be able to build my knees back up to the point where I can run again, but for now I do cardio on the elliptical.
Why I Love It:
I love the rush of endorphins, adrenaline, and testosterone. I like to workout alone and go deep into my own mind and visualize myself as this hulking monster pressing 800lbs. It helps me push myself every set. I feel incredible after I work out. Who needs drugs and alcohol when you can get a natural high that's actually good for you?
How I Stay Motivated:
On an intellectual level, I stay motivated by logging everything I do in the gym. Every time I begin a set my goal is to lift heavier, or for more reps than I did last time. It's great to see the numbers increasing week after week.
On an emotional level, I like to compare my intensity level to those around me. I'll admit I'm among the weakest group of guys at the gym, but I believe I push myself harder than just about anyone else there. I rarely see the other guys work to failure. I go to failure every set. I see the other guys talking and joking around and checking out the girls. It's like the gym is some kind of social club, but when I walk into the gym it's like I'm going to war with myself. I like to get into a controlled frenzy, and take all my emotion and pain and anger into every rep of every set. It's the best therapy.
Do you track your workouts (exercises, weight, reps, etc.)?
Yes
If so, how do you do it? Workout log, software program, etc.? Why do you do it this way?
Workout log, and then put everything into Excel.
reps, sets, weight. I love the workout tracker.
For cardio I log time, HR, and calories burned.
- Updated Jul 6, 2009 12:09am
What tips would you give to others to help them stay motivated over the long-term?
Take a few steps back and look at the big picture. I can't claim any of these qualities for myself (yet) but it's more important to be a good man, a good friend, and a good husband and father than it is to have shredded abs. It's more important to have a strong cardiovascular system, and overall health throughout the course of your life than it is to have huge muscles RIGHT NOW. More than anything else, I think it's important to realize that bodybuilding is NOT life. This goes for just about anything else. Be hardcore, be intense. Pursue your endeavors with unbridled ferocity, but know that there's NOTHING you can do to prevent it all from going down the crapper in the blink of an eye. Even if you succeed, you can't make it last forever. So don't make bodybuilding your life. Don't base your identity on how your abs look from one day to the next, or how much you can bench on a particular week. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn't matter, and truth be told, no one REALLY cares that much anyway. Do what you can with what you've got, and enjoy it in the meantime. Take a few steps back and look at the big picture. I can't claim any of these qualities for myself (yet) but it's more important to be a good man, a good friend, and a good husband and father than it ...more
- Updated Jul 6, 2009 12:06am
Since you've been working out, taking supplements and eating right, how often do you get sick (cold, flu, etc.)?
My left knee has been acting up lately. It really pisses me off. I was fine after the treadmill run. My legs were sore for the rest of the week, but the knees were fine. Now for some reason my left knee is feeling funny. I had to sleep with a bag of ice on it the other night. I haven't been...
Yeah you need to take them in the same area, trying to be as accurate as you can. No big deal though, unless you need to know this number for competitions. Good to hear you are keeping you pace! Keep up the great work!
No, I stopped playing years ago. I was in the scene pretty hard core but too much drugs and unhealthy habits in that areana. My passion has always been fitness so I got the hell out. I have jammed here or there over the years but nothing major.
Yeah, I actually did one tour with him. I used to be a rock guitarist and I worked for Alice Cooper & Ted Nugent. Yngwei was part of Nugent's tour as a low key "warm-up" (I know!!) who played before the other warm up Graham Bonnet when he was w/Raibow. Yngwei is still to me jus a complete freak of nature!.......:)
Yea I get discouraged some times when my weight really is not dropping as fast as I would like, but I just taped myself and I have to be happy with these measurements check them out.
