IT'S NOT A GAME

Patience

2008-02-25T10:44:00.000-08:00

Patience is something one must have, no matter what your goals are. If you are trying to lose weight, it takes time, a lots of time to be specific. You didnt build that lardy frame of yours overnight. And youre not going to get rid of it overnight. Same thing with muscles. Arnold or Ronnie didnt just wake up big (although that would be awesome). It took hard work, dedication, and failure to do it. No matter what your goal is, its going to take time. Don't be discouraged if you cant throw up heavy ass weight even after a year of training. Even then, for some people its just not in their genes and you have to work harder. Over time, you get better, stronger, and move up in weight. And thats the main goal; getting to where you want to be eventually, not getting their first. Big gains and drastic changes are nice, but hey, its not happening.

-big c

Please take your poopings out of the locker room

2008-02-07T14:03:00.001-08:00

We all have days where we dont have the same mindset and the same focus in the gym as we would like. These days suck and the only way around it is to work through it. Maybe you need an extra 30 seconds of rest, or maybe do a couple of different excises to make things interesting. The key is to keep going and push through your sluggishness. If you call it quits for the day, you dont gain anything and more importantly you gave up. Stay mentally strong and use your struggles to motivate you for the next day. Redemption.

I leave you with this quote. Its not Arnold, but its close.

"This is Gregoriava from Bulgaria. I saw her snatch this morning during her warm up and it was amazing."
- Weightlifting commentator at the Olympic Snatch and Jerk Event

-big c

DANIEL ROSEN INTERVIEW

2008-02-06T14:58:00.000-08:00

This week, we have an interview with Daniel Rosen. You might know Daniel from stints in Today We Prevail, or know him as the dude who sniped you in eBay auctions, or the dude who works at a record store in San Antonio, OR the dude who works security for metal shows in SA. Daniel is jack of all trades, if you will. Daniel used to report to the mosh pit on the regular, however, now a days you will only see him there if a band is covering Outburst (respectable).

Daniel also has been reported to have been seen in the weight room from time to time. We, the ITS NOT A GAME crew, don't really care for any of other stints, but instead will focus on what really matters: the weights. So, kick back, get some whey, and enjoy...THE DANIEL ROSEN LIFT CONSCIOUS INTERVIEW.

Greetings Daniel! Could you please introduce yourself to the readers as well as provide circa your weight and bench press max?

I am Daniel Rosen. My weight is 220. My bench press max is pathetic because I recently started going to the gym again after 7 months of no lifting.

First question, how important is it, in your opinion, to see the correlation between the Cro-Mags and making gains in the weight room. Also, what do you feel is the best album to maximize your gains?

If you are listening to Age of Quarrel you are likely wishing you were lifting. Even if you sitting in bed weighing 500 pounds you are probably wanting to go to the gym. Cro Mags should provide a person with that motivation to stop watching TV and start lifting. When I am at the gym I like to listen to Bulldoze, Cro Mags, Slapshot, Merauder, and Madball.

Second question, what is your favorite exercise?

I enjoy incline chest press with freeweights. Always have.

Third question, define "uncomfortable" and its opposite "comfortable"?

Uncomfortable is watching kids "dance" at some of the bad mosh core shows I sometimes work security at. Comfortable is my futon.

Fourth, related to t-shirts: you have been known to have quite the extensive t-shirt collection, what is your favorite shirt to work out in? When you work out in that shirt, do you feel that you get an extra pump?

I do have a respectable t shirt collection, but the shirts I work out in are usually not so respectable. I prefer to work out in crappy shirts because if I ruin them there is no loss. The slower the pits start to yellow on my white Agnostic Front 1988 tour shirt the better. You know what I mean?

Fifth question, lets discuss your diet, can you give a quick synopsis on your diet? The in's and out's (no pun intended) of the Rosetarian diet...the people are dying to know.

I was a vegan. I am now a vegetarian, who should still be vegan. When I am maintaining a regular routine at the gym I eat lots of beans, lots of imitation meat, lots of tofu, lots of salads, and I drink lots of water, and bolthouse farms beverages.

Sixth question, what do you do to prepare yourself for a workout? Is there a certain pre-workout mantra that you feel works best?

I stretch.

Seventh question, what are your thoughts on you giving Matt Jackson his Minor Threat hoodie back?

Ask Matt what his thoughts are on giving me back my Forced Reality CD that he dropped behind his CD player when I was a freshman in college. (editors note: as you can probably tell, this question was asked by one of our bloggers.)

Eighth question, who would win a fight, JJ or Arnold?

John Joseph. Arnold is probably stronger, but JJ can probably fight.

Ninth question, have you considered using supplements? If you do, please explain what you take and why?

I am considering the possibilities. I was taking a supplement called Vega, which is a vegan protein supplement which does not include soy I think. If I keep going to the gym regularly I will start cylcing creatine.

Thanks so much for the interview, do you have any closing lines that you want to leave the people with?

When you start lifting, and then stop for 8 months, the consequences are terrible. I am living proof.

Thanks so much to Daniel for the interview...keep your eyes peeled for more content coming up soon, and hopefully a better written album review by myself! Also, I hear Mr. Rosen is in a new band called The Bitter End. They recently released a new album entitled "Climate Of Fear: The Global Warming Story", so I'm sure that'll be good! Check it out!

-Deuce

I need a spot!

2008-02-02T19:05:00.000-08:00

Training partners are always a good thing to have around, especially on chest day, but on an underestimated day, leg day. The problem with partners is being able to have someone you can count on and know that they will be there. Planning a workout with someone and have them not show up can put you in the wrong mindset and thus ruin your lift. Partners are also valuable in other trainings, like marathon training. If your partner flakes there, you have a bad run. The point I am trying to make is unless you know for sure you can rely on someone, don't COUNT on them to be there. Be surprised. You can always adjust your workout, but if you plan on it being a certain way, then you are in the wrong mindset. We come into this world alone. We leave this world alone. And we lift alone. As far as lifting this semester, I have been fortunate that my partner has showed up when he says hes going to show up. And that has helped. Last semester was a different story, but we won't go there. haha. But I don't plan on him showing up. And I think that is why it has been so much better. It is the surprise factor that gets me going, that lets me know that my lift for today is going to be good. Someone is there to push me.

Don't put all your eggs in someones basket. Keep your eggs. And if they're hungry enough, they will show up.

On a different note, I am joining matt in his quest to drop weight. In a month, I've dropped 5lbs, while still making gains. Being impatient, this is not enough. I've never been this strict on what I eat. I don't know how long I will last. But I am giving it a shot. I'd like to drop another 10...which would put me at 170. I really don't know how big/small I will look. Maybe I will be satisfied at 175. Doubtful. But maybe 170 won't be enough either. I'm trying. And that's that.

-big c

ALBUM REVIEW #1 - RAMPAGE "LIMIT OF DESTRUCTION"

2008-02-02T08:19:00.000-08:00

To successfully cover fitness/lifting/etc. you need to cover all bases, that includes proper workout jams. So, your man DEUCE will be reviewing some records that I think are proper for the weight room.

In my first review for INAG, I decided to go with Rampage's "Limit Of Destruction", after all I had heard so much about this band for the longest time. I had heard that their demo had a strict working out theme (I back it) and that LOD was an awesome record. I have also heard rumors that the guys recorded this with a practice amp and a metal zone, now I don't know if that is necessarily true, but if it is, that is HARD. I finally got my hands on LOD after a while of searching and knew it was going to be perfect for my shoulder workout the next day. Boy was I right, as soon as I blasted LOD, I could feel the pump. The dirty sound quality must have communicated something to my muscles because I just started to push that weight like it was nothing. Arnold Press? No problem at all when I was listening to LOD. My pump was on, I knew this record had what a weight lifter needed.

Musically, this record reminds me of old NY bands, specifically, the Breakdown '87 Demo. I think it has something to do with the quality and the dive bombs, who knows. Also, the vocalist kinda reminds me of Righteous Jams. So yea, combine the dirty sound quality and hardness of the '87 demo with the vocals of Joey C, and you have RAMPAGE. Songs like Limit Of Destruction and Smart Too Slow, I found, really got the pump on. My only concern with the dirty sound quality was that sometimes the music just felt like noise when I was lifting (you know with all the crap music they play over the loudspeakers).

So yea, if you wanna get your pump on, pick up this record.

Artist: Rampage

Album: Limit Of Destruction

Score: 4/5 Arnolds

Buy: www.revhq.com

-Deuce

Go Hard Or Go Home

2008-02-02T07:37:00.000-08:00

Shout outs to Scott and Chris for encouraging me to air somethings out on here. I've decided to undertake a "cutting" process to continue to shape my body into what it needs to become. Many body builders use this process around 6-8 weeks before a contest. The jest of the cutting process is to limit your carb intake (around 30 - 60 carbs a day, depending on how quickly you need to shed the extra weight) and of course your calorie intake, while continuing your high intensity weight and cardio training. A little background information on myself: I am a former high school football and baseball player as well as All - State Powerlifter. My competitive weight my senior year was around 240lbs. At the time I was encouraged to eat anything and everything to keep my protein intake up and my weight up in order to push out 385lb bench press or 650lb squats. Since Then i have gone through a couple different diets, including being vegan for 4 plus years and another 2 years of vegetarianism. Since my powerlifting days, my weight has fluctuated like you would expect, but after a solid year in the gym on a 5 day split and healthy diet my weight has settled at around 205-210. My goal in undertaking this new diet is to cut some body fat in order to get down to 185lbs, then build back up to 200 at minimal bodyfat. I apologize that my first post is a lengthy one, but it gives you an idea of the challenges I intend to take head on in this next month. Until then its a 5 day split, 6 lifts per body part, 45 minutes of cardio and eating myself sick of tuna and protein shakes.

I leave you with a quote of the day:

“Not many people understand what a pump is. It must be experienced to be understood. It is the greatest feeling that I get. I search for this pump because it means that that my muscles will grow when I get it. I get a pump when the blood is running into my muscles. They become really tight with blood. Like the skin is going to explode any minute. It’s like someone putting air in my muscles. It blows up. It feels fantastic.” - Arnold Schwarzenegger

The Importance of the Off-Day

2008-02-02T06:59:00.000-08:00

Good to see that the blog is now rolling, too bad one of the first posts had to do with throwing stones (ha ha). Anyways, today is an off day for me. When I woke up this morning, I was thinking of the many things that I could blog about and decided "what better than discussing the importance of having an off day?".

So anyways, why have an off day? If you're like me, you're favorite part of the day is that time when you get to lift weights, so taking an off day sounds like an "excuse" for someone who doesn't have dedication or something to sleep in and do nothing all day. Well, it is far from that! I've found that taking off days have helped in the following ways.

-Letting your muscles have a break, and get the time they need to grow. (If you don't know already, you get bigger/make gains not when you're in the weight room, but instead out of the weight room with rest and nutrition!)

-Prevent a burn out. (It's very possible to say that if a person goes and goes and goes all day every day, not only could they get burnt out on the weights if they aren't seeing results, but their body could get burnt out as well, which goes back to my first point.)

-Get some extra sleep! (I've found that, no matter how disciplined I get, those 7 am lifts can really take a toll on my body. Not only does it effect how I am in the weight room, but it also can effect other things such as school or work. So with days like today, I got to sleep in until 8:30 after going to bed at 11:30. Great way to treat myself after a week of solid lifting. Also, make sure that you aren't going to bed super late and sleeping in super late. This could eventually hurt instead of help, because your body could adapt to the waking up late, going to bed late cycle and you won't be ready for the next week.

-Finally, have some fun. (Go play racquetball, go play basketball, or even go for a jog. The rec center that I work out at has TONS of fun things to do, off days are the days when I can actually go to the gym for the sole reason of playing a pick up game or having some fun with my friends.)

So there you have it, on my off day today, I'm hopefully going to get some homework done. I might end up going to the rec and play some racquetball or something, time will tell.

-Deuce

(PS: Eventually, we will be introducing our third and final blogger who will be taking us along with him on his journey to cut down 25 lbs in a few months. I've talked to him about some of the dieting that he has to do, and it is seriously intense. Stay tuned.)

Late Night Urges

2008-02-01T22:37:00.000-08:00

Eat big to get big. Right? In a way yes, but there is a such thing as being dumb about it, like eating fast food late at night. Besides getting a few extra grams of protein, you really aren't helping your body. Eat some protein and a little peanut butter and if you can spare the carbs (which you can if you are even contemplating something like fast food) you can even eat some cereal or toast or some crackers. Point being, getting big is about eating, but also about eating the right things at the right times. Before bed, especially a no go on fast food. On that note, its bed time. Tomorrow: an important view on training partners.

-big c

Welcome.

2008-02-01T07:59:00.000-08:00

Welcome to IT'S NOT A GAME blogspot. You might be asking yourself why, exactly, that you are here. Well let me give you a bit of background...

IT'S NOT A GAME is a blog run by two dudes: Scott and Chris. In this blog, we will post about things related to lifting weights. This includes (but is not limited to) playlists, "diets", hardmen exercises, fitness, supplements, the chicken, etc. etc. We will attempt (emphasis on "attempt") to impute our wisdom to you (LOL). Keep in mind, we are laymen, but not just any laymen...HARDMEN. What exactly is a HARDMEN? Well, keep checking and we will try to figure that out together. Remember, lifting weights and making gains is not a destination...IT IS A JOURNEY. Together, we and you, the reader, will partake on this journey together. Would you like to join us? Remember, it is not a game.

-Deuce