I dont fight because I want to, I fight because I have too. That's life.

ok... Maybe thats not completely true, I do like to fuck people up. Especially people who deserve it, lol.

Your body might look good...

But are you athletic?

Lets just say we went hard that day

Lets just say the workout was hard today

The lying hormonized fellas

Fellas remember anyone in the bodybuild/fitness world who constantly scream, " im natural! Im natural!" Usually is not natural. The one who scream the loudest are the biggest liars. If you first meet someone in a gym and the first thing he start telling you is that hes drug free, especially if you didnt even ask... that fella is almost guaranteed not drug free. They are what is called natural liar.

When

That moment when the out-of-shape/less experienced/person who never makes progress wants to control the workout... And I'm like, "yeeah please let's not do that."

.

Before I could do a muscle up, I was unable to do a muscle up.

Trips Me Out

There's these two guys ive been seeing working out at the gym for the last 13months. They're both obvious steroid users, not that there's anything wrong with that. But what trips me out about these guys is sometimes i don't see them for like 3 weeks and then when i do see them sometimes i can't believe it's even the same guys. these guys literally shrink down to mini versions of themselves. And its even crazier because these guys arent even legit bodybuilders, they barely even got close to a small fitness model look, and then they lose what little muscle they had. It makes me think they dont know how to train properly and most likely dont know how to eat correctly. I gotta admit though it trips me out to see them shrink down and then blow back up to where they were before, and then repeat the process, over and over lol. Sometimes im literally rooting for them, hoping they will finally break their plateaus on their next cycle. In my mind im like, " common, Yooo can doo IT!!!"

Theres a big difference

There's a big difference between the atmosphere of a gym where most of the people look good, vs a gym where most of the people look bad, but think they look good.

Don't get confused about what youre trying to do

Guys and girls if your focus is to lose body fat, don't expect to gain muscle at the same time, it's probably not going to happen unless you're a beginner. However, you can make strength gains while losing fat. And if your focus is to gain muscle, don't expect your bodyfat to not go up, because it's most likely going to go up if you are eating correctly for muscle gain. (This is all assuming you dont take steroids.)

Crawdaddys vs. The Boiling Crab vs. The Kickin Crab. Cajun seafood review

        So I'm a big fan of seafood and I figured I should mention that since it's a good low-fat source of protein, in case you didn't already know. I especially like Cajun seafood and I go to restaurants occasionally to eat it. So I want to talk about these three restaurants because 2 of them I'd recommend and then there's one I would not. So my top two in order would be 1. Crawdaddys, this was the first of the 3 that I went too and I think it may have even been the first time I had Cajun shrimp. Typically I get a pound of the Cajun shrimp "mild" and with NO butter. And also the Cajun French fries. That's usually enough for me but one time I ate 2lbs of shrimp there once. I love shrimp. And I'd say they have the best Cajun fries of the 3. Also I'd say Crawdaddys is spicier than the other two places. Their "mild" is going to be spicy enough for someone who doesn't eat spicy food often. Their "medium" is pretty hot, and that's the hottest I've gone and would go. Even their Cajun fries are hot compared to boiling crab. I've also tried the king crab legs here and they were pretty good. I believe I also got the lobster one time and that was good too. However, I wouldn't recommend the crawfish, they were pretty undersized and a fucking chore to shell them. Aside from that, it was a fair price for everything I'd say.

2. The Boiling Crab. So I went here one day to try it out and it was pretty good. I got the 1lb of Cajun shrimp "mild" with no butter and the Cajun fries. So here was the only difference I noticed, the "mild" was like almost half as spicy as the "mild" at crawdaddys. And also the Cajun fries were not as spicy as the ones at crawdaddys. They were good, just not as spicy. I went back there a second time and this time got the "medium" spicy Cajun shrimp, but this time it still was only equal to the "mild" shrimp at crawdaddys. So I was slightly annoyed by that, but next time I will know to get one level up. Prices were about the same as Crawdaddys.

      Ok lastly, the one I don't recommend is the kickin crab. I tried this place last out of all 3 and let me say this place sucks for the Cajun shrimp and even the Cajun fries. I mean how the fuck can you mess up Cajun fries, it was ridiculous.
       So I went to this place one day and I order 1lb Cajun shrimp and Cajun fries. Now I will say considering how few people were eating there, the food took a while to come out. So first they brought out the fries. Now I get these fries and I look at them, no joke, these things were like as thin as spaghetti pasta, I was like wtf! So I grab a clump of these things and start eating them. They weren't even fucking spicy! So at this point I'm already disappointed, but the shrimp still hadn't come. Finally they did. So I dig in and start eating. So as soon as I taste these things I'm like wtf!!! Not only were the shrimp not spicy but the sauce tasted like it was fucking pasta sauce! Like some ragu ragusto shit. So I'm sitting there by myself eating this shit, thinking god dammit I knew I should have gone to crawdaddys or the boiling crab. So I just kept eating these pasta flavored shrimp thinking to myself, " well at least I'm getting protein from this, and I mean luckily they did taste like shrimp, fuck..."  I finished this crap, payed and walked out, very, very unsatisfied. Pasta flavored shrimp and spaghetti fries, at a Cajun restuarant, wow. So yeah don't go to this place it fucking sucks. Go to crawdaddys or boiling crab. And fuck you kicking crab! You guys fucking suck!!! I hope someone takes a huge shit on your doorstep.

Recommended snack

Speaking of the vitamin shop from my last post, before I forget. If you haven't tried these ostrim snack sticks I'd recommend them. 14g of protein and 1g of sugar per stick. Its like a healthier beef jerky. It's made of beef and elk. Comes in 5 different flavors. I like the habanero, teryaki, and original. You can find them at the vitamin shop.(if you're lucky you might find them at Safeway, also some gyms sell them in the lobby)

Old pic of me 2015

One of my friends just sent me this old pic he took of me in 2015. Gotta remember those good times. Thanks Abel. I think I was about 195lbs 

The Most Helpful Supplement I've Ever Used

So I had been meaning to talk about this on here. Psyllium husk caps. So there's a story why I began using this and this goes back to when I was in High school. When I was 16-18 my understanding of nutrition really wasn't there. I thought I could just eat tons of meat, protein shakes, protein bars, and this alone would make my muscles grow. Well I was wrong, not only did i not make the gains I wanted, I also developed some serious constipation. Yeah it was unpleasant and I was so dumb I didn't even think I was doing anything wrong. So eventually I literally got cramps and I went to the doctor and they took an MRI and the doctor came back and was like "wtf have you been eating?" And I'm like " uh I just eat a lot of chicken, steak, some rice, some fruit, not really vegetables.." so I'll spare you the details but the doctor could tell I was suffering from some serious constipation. So she told me to start taking mirilax, which is that mild laxative you see at the store. She said take this for a few weeks and it should fix the problem. So I started taking it but it didn't help that much. I also started eating more broccoli and vegetables but at this point my digestive system was already too messed up. So I didn't really know what to do at that point and neither did anyone else including my doctor. So I was like "fuck..." after that I even tried fasting for half the day(for a few months) thinking if I put less food in my body then nothing could constipate me more. Which sort of worked but I wasnt getting enough protein to make gains! So then I was really frustrated and I really didn't know what to do. So literally years went by with me having this issue, sometimes I would shit normally but it never seemed to stay that way and I was eating enough fiber too...

So fast forward to when I'm 20 and I was still stumped about this. Till one day I was listening to Dave Palumbo's podcast on rxmuscle and he was talking about his fiberlyze supplement which contained psyllium husk and he was always boasting about how it made him and all his bodybuilder friends take perfect shits. And I was like damn must be nice. That's when I realized hey maybe this will help me. So I researched his fiberlyze supplement a little more, and then specifically the ingredient psyllium husk. I found out you can just buy psyllium husk capsules at the vitamin shop. So asked my doctor if it was a good idea to take this because some people are allergic to psyllium husk, but she said yeah it should be fine. So I bought it that day and started taking 4 caps with my dinner. Then the next day a took 4 caps with my lunch and then 4 caps again with my dinner. And let me just say the next shit I took after starting this was pretty damn good, nothing crazy, but it only got better from there. After a few days I started taking 4 caps(3 times a day). And I was pretty pleased with the results and my body finally started to feel normal again.

   After a few weeks I moved up to the maximum dose, 5caps-3times a day. And honestly it just worked even better. So I kept taking these for at least 3 months and took them pretty much the same times everyday. And I was able to go back to eating lots of meat like I used too, but this time I was eating more balanced meals with vegetables and eating 4-6meals a day, not just 3 large meals like I did in High school and didn't know wtf I was doing. 

   Eventually my bowel movements were so good, I actually starting missing a few dosages and things remained the same, so that's when I knew the problem was really fixed. I actually then stopped taking the caps and everything was normal, and throughout the following years I would just take them occasionally if I was eating a lot of red meat or if I started to feel constipated. So there you go, that's the story of how psyllium husk caps cured my problem and no other supplement has ever helped me this much. I don't know why my doctors didn't recommend this or even know about it in the first place. I don't have to take the caps anymore and I'm fine. Hopefully this story will help you if you are experiencing similar digestive issues. Just ask your doctor about psyllium husk before you start taking it.

One of my favorite on-the-go meals

Simple, but effective. 39g protein, 76g carbs, 6g fat, 4g fiber.

Tip for the intermediate bodybuilder regarding meal timing and hunger

So I want to share this tip for the intermediate bodybuilder who has been making progress for a few years and is on a solid workout plan and has at least a decent understanding of what they need to eat for muscle gain and fatloss. If you keep track of everything you eat, when you eat, and all your macros even better, that's a lot of work haha. Anyways after a while you are probably not going to have to write everything down like you used to because you're going to have it all memorized. Of course if you are prepping for a show or something that's different and you probably will have to write everything down, measure food, etc. So what I'm about to tell you is that at a certain point you are going to start knowing your body better, for example you will know how much carbs you need to eat to have enough energy everyday, and how much protein you need so that you don't lose muscle or strength. You will also learn how much food will cause you to gain fat and also what the bare minimum amount of food you need is to just maintain the condition you're in.

   So my tip is that if you are eating regularly throughout the day, lets say a meal every 2-3hrs(4-6meals a day) and you are used to doing this, you might find there is a certain occasion where you ate your meal as scheduled but you end up getting hungrier sooner than usual.(and I'm talking about if you are eating mostly clean foods, I'm not talking about that day you went to taco bell and had 7crunchy tacos and a fucking chalupa.) 

what this hunger feeling means is that your body needs more food at that point than you gave it. Usually this means you need a little more protein and maybe a little more carbs. Now for me personally I can sense if I just need a little more protein without any more carbs and I will be good till the next meal. Sometimes however I can tell I need both more carbs and more protein, in which case I will have another small meal like a few hardboiled eggs and a little brown rice(about 1 cup cooked)

And guys I'm basing this off of how the human metabolism is like a fire, you feed it enough to keep it "burning" you don't throw a bunch of extra wood on it with wet leaves and shit. That's just going to put it out.

So think about all this the next time you have that first, second, third or post workout meal and you feel really hungry like 30-40minutes later. This means you didn't give your body enough nutrients. And this goes especially for a day where you worked out a little harder than usual. You are going to feel it in your body ok. You broke things down a little more than usual and therefore need more nutrients to build it back up.

Also guys this advice is not for an occasion where you didn't or couldn't eat for 6 hours, in that case of course you are going to be starving, and that's not where this advice comes in ok. Of course if you starve all day you will be hungry, you already fucked up to begin with.(unless your goal was to do a fast or something, but thats not what im talking about here.)

   So there you go, if you're on a good meal plan but on a certain day you feel a little hungrier that means something. Pay attention to your own body and how it feels and functions and you will learn more about what works best for you.

How much Tuna can you "safely" eat?

Bodybuilders know that canned tuna is a great low-fat source of protein and contains omega 3 fatty acids which are important for heart health and brain function. However, because of pollution most fish contain some level of mercury which can be bad for you. Tuna contains less mercury than larger fish such as swordfish or shark, but it is still recommended that a healthy man not consume more than 14.5oz of tuna per week. According to all these studies eating to much tuna can lead to toxic levels of mercury to build up in the body, which can lead to nerve damage, brain damage, and nervous system damage. Guys, all I have to say about this is LOL!!! If all this were true id be paralyzed right now or fucking dead. If you know me well, you know I eat boatloads of canned tuna. There's been times I literally ate 5 cans in a day, that's 35ounces. That's more than double than the recommended amount for the week! And look at me, I'm still alive baby! and sporting a good amount of muscle maass!! I mean shiet currently I eat around 10 seven ounce cans a week. That's 70 ounces of tuna a week and I've been doing this for the last year and a half. Is that crazy? Maybe, but whose making gains? Whose keeping their body fat down with minimal effort? Yes me. So think about that for a second. When I was 21 I bought a workout/nutrition program from a well known bodybuilder at Golds, he said , " you like tuna? You can eat two cans a day." And I said, " isn't that bad for you to eat that much? Wouldn't that be too much mercury? Can you die from that?" And he replied, " Brandon, you could walk out the door and get hit by a bus.." and when he said that I realized there are a lot of other things out there that can kill you aside from tuna. So I said fuck it, I'm gonna eat as much tuna as I need to build my physique and stay lean. 

So there it is people, that's my take on eating tuna. Sometimes even my friends are like ," You can get mercury poisoning from that!" And then I have explain to them theres a lot of things out there that are more dangerous than eating tuna. And no, I'm not recommending you go start eating as much tuna as me, I'm just sharing my personal experience so you can learn something from it. 

Story from Today

Guys I want to share this story from today. I was hanging out with my friend Tony at the store earlier just talking, when all of a sudden I see this guy staring at us. I asked Tony, " who is that guy?" Tony says, " Oh that's my friend." I didn't recognize the guy but he comes over to us and he looks familiar. I said, " hey I think I know you." The guy looks at me and I can tell he recognizes me. Turns out I met this guy exactly a year ago when I was at my fattest weighing 238-240lbs. This guy, his name is Randy, was almost in shock lol. Randy turns to Tony and says, " Man this guy used to be fat!!" Lol and he was making all these gestures to Tony saying how fat my face and belly was, I was cracking up cause he was so surprised. He was like , " Damn man you look good." I was like , " thanks man, I really had to change and get back in shape. It took me 6-7months to lose all that fat." And I could tell this guy Randy was impressed.

 So the point of this story is that you should appreciate the honesty of people when they comment on how you look. Apparently Randy thought I was a fat ass when he first met me but didn't want to say that. But at the time I knew I was fat and didn't look too good. So to hear this guy today basically tell me I used to look like shit and then to see him so impressed with how I look now, was really a big compliment to me and I appreciated it. If you only listen to people who tell you what you want to hear and you aren't honest with yourself, don't expect to make progress with anything, especially fitness and bodybuilding. You will never see your flaws and therefore won't be able to fix them or atleast improve in some way.

Ed Corney Died Today

Fellas I don't know if you heard, but old school bodybuilder Ed Corney died today of a brain aneurysm, he was 85 years old. Ed was known for being one of the greatest posers onstage during his time. He was in the movie "Pumping Iron" and was one of Arnold Schwarzenegger's good friends. I was lucky to meet him at the same show I met ronnie coleman, in 2008, where he was selling his old magazines and t-shirts. He was a pretty friendly guy and it is sad to hear this guy died today on the first day of the new year. Rip Ed.

My new favorite sauce, Chili Garlic Sauce

I just started using chili garlic sauce and I have to say its a new favorite of mine. Usually I alternate between tapatio or cholula but this will be my new addition to my sauce arsenal. Chili garlic sauce contains no sugar and it literally says 0calories on the nutrition label. This makes it a great sauce to use if you are like me and try to keep your body fat down, or at least try not to eat things that will make you gain fat. This sauce tastes great on chicken, tuna, rice, and even on salads. And any bodybuilder knows that something that can make those foods taste better is very useful.

  As far as spiciness this sauce is not as spicy as tapatio, but more spicy than cholula. Also it has the chili pepper seeds in it which adds a nice texture to the sauce.