Goal-Setting

So, I know I talked about goal-setting in an earlier post, but this week I feel like it is even MORE relevant to talk about! Goal-setting is the best way to motivate yourself and to push yourself through every workout. If you have something to work towards, you will feel too guilty to quit your workout 10 minutes early or eat sweets all day :)

Feeling healthy and confident is something I've always wanted to work towards, but as I committed to run for Miss Boston this past weekend, I knew I had to push myself harder. Getting on stage in a SWIM SUIT in front of 300 people was quite frightening to me.... I was a child who was WAY too self-conscious to walk around the pool in a swimsuit. A towel was always a necessary companion to me no matter where I went, which was sad because I should not have been ashamed.. yet I was. One day, I finally came to the conclusion that this is MY body, the ONLY body I'll ever be given, and being healthy is the best way to treat my body and will lead to more confidence. And this process led me to feel better than I've EVER felt!

me at my first race, a 5k for Progeria research!

I found a passion for running, and pushed myself to go just a little further every day. The music I jammed to through every workout reminded me of summer, being in a swimsuit, and pumped me up to strut across a stage in a bikini. I adjusted my diet to include more protein, more vegetables, and scarce sweets (although I must admit, I have a horrrrrible sweet tooth, so naturally I had to indulge a few times!). I also reminded myself that it is near impossible to look like the girls in magazines, nor did I want to look like them. I would rather be healthy and enjoy a cookie occasionally than suffer to be skinny. Pushing myself towards my goal of being "healthy" led me to feel more confident than ever, and I was ready to walk across the Miss Boston stage in my bright red bikini.

While I didn't walk away with the Miss Boston crown, I walked away with something just as rewarding: the Lifestyle and Fitness Award, better known as "swim suit". This was SUCH an accomplishment to me, not because I had the "best body", but because I TRULY feel happy with my body. This is such a refreshing feeling after all the years I wasted of not feeling "good enough." To walk across the stage, not wanting to change anything about myself, and feeling confident was the greatest reward, and the little trophy I received was the cherry on top :)

Lifestyle and Fitness winner at Miss Boston on February 19, 2012

So my advice: set a GOAL and PUSH YOURSELF! You CAN do it as long as you set your mind to it! I believe health is always a work in progress... there is always room for improvement, so why not start now?

Set those goals!
Morgan

Pick Your Kick Distance

Ryan WoodruffRyan.d.woodruff@gmail.com30 x (50 or 75 or 100 yards kick)#1-10 @ 1:301:00 rest#11-20 @1:201:00 rest#21-30 @1:10The goal of course is to cover the most distance possible. For added motivation, we split up into teams and devised a points system; team with the most total points wins.Successfully complete 100 yards = +2 pointsSuccessfully complete 75 yards = +1 pointOnly completed 50

Top Physiques: The NPC National Championships

Stephen Moriarty and Tyler Ogg are only two of the many top fitness models and competitors featured on two new DVDs released by Repetrope:

2011 NPC National Championships Men's Physique Prejudging and
2011 NPC National Championships Men's Bodybuilding & Physique Finals

The NPC National Bodybuilding & Physique Championships are the pinnacle of the amateur contest season where top bodybuilders & physique competitors from all over the country vie for a chance to earn professional status. Without a doubt, the National Championships is the most anticipated top-level amateur contest of the year.

The Physique prejudging video features all competitors in all three Physique classes as they perform their poses and side-by-side comparisons for the judging panel. Duration: 1 hour 8 minutes.

The evening show finals video feature the top five competitors in all bodybuiding weight classes as they perform their choreographed posing routines and receive their hard-earned trophies. Physique competitors from all physique classes are introduced, with the top 5 receiving their trophies. The video is professionally-shot and produced with both wide shot and close-up camera angles. Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes.

Still images of some of the competitors:

Stephen Moriarty

Tyler Ogg

Matthew Acton

Chad Demchik and Tony Litton

The two DVDs are available here on Repetrope.

Andrew Oliver: New Shootings

He builds his ripped physique in the gym to display it in the open and on stage. Fitness model and competitive bodybuilder Andrew Oliver shines when he shows the result of his intense workout. You find many high quality photos and videos of him here on AllAmericanGuys.

Best Back exercises and Workouts

BASIC PULLUP

1. starting position
: The basic pullup is done with your hands facing away from you. To width of the grip should be the same as the distance between your elbows when you point your arms directly out to the sides at right angles to your body. The elbows point outward so the are in the same plane as your body. Your arms are nearly straight, but not quite. Your shoulders are down and back and they stay in this position the entire pullup � pretend you are holding a tennis ball between your shoulder blades. Dont relax into a dead-hang at the bottom and let your shoulder come up to your ears. OK, now that we have the basic starting position, slowly pull up on a two second count.

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Roman Vavrecan: Young Size

He enjoys pulling the sleeve of his t-shirt up to show the size of his pumped bicep. Junior bodybuilder Roman Vavrecan, who won the Slovakian championship in 2011, is an expert on building mass and definition. In this video he works his shoulder and biceps with various exercises, and finally hits a few poses to show the effect.

David P: New Shootings

Pleased with the muscles he has built: 19-year-old David P. rejoices at his impressively ripped physique and at his many fans on CzechYoungMuscle. There numerous new high quality galleries and videos have been published which document the competitive bodybuilder's comprehensive workout and show him posing and flexing. You find them here on CYM.