Blogging is not a new thing to me-- I have had several over the years. For the most part I have written about my adventures as a musician, the many gigs I have played, and the many groups I have been part of. This blog will be about something that has been part of my life for almost as long.
Exercise has played a major role in my life for most of it. My father was an amateur bodybuilder-- Mr. Maine in the 70's, and widely known at gyms around the state. My parents divorced when I was 12, and I never got to really learn how to workout from my father. That didn't keep me from discovering his workout books, and later finding his heroes in books at the library. I learned from Arnold's encyclopedia and Franco's nutrition book. I watched others and researched online. I made gains, and although I was able to make a schedule of working out and eating, there was always something that got in the way and made it all stop.
I remember running, training with sprints, and lifting weights in my mother's basement. I remember getting into dance that year. I lifted to help me lift a girl during a ballet routine. I had a goal and it gave me direction.
I remember later in life rediscovering the gym at USM in Gorham. I was the seemingly only theatre student that spent considerable time in the gym. I had my eating planned out and I made major gains. I also ran up some debt with my education and a girlfriend that had a shopping issue, and I couldn't manage the food cost. She broke up with, then returned before I planned my out. I continued to work out with the next girlfriend. I got a job teaching music lessons. I continued to workout, but danced more. Teaching music took up my time and became my only job. I didn't get to eat as much as I should of. I didn't get to workout. I shrank.
I returned to working out, but graduate school took up time and I stopped again. I still maintained eating healthy, but I looked forward to espresso and delicacies more than a much needed workout.
With graduate school ending, I made a decision late in 2015 to return to working out for good. I bought a pull-up and tricep extension tower, and eventually a rowing machine, and I made time to exercise. I increasingly made more time and varied the muscles I trained on various days. I ate more consistently, and I became stronger. I tried exercises that I had not tried before. I knew that my small home gym would not support where I was headed.
A few years ago I was training with my father for the Highland Games in Topsham. He was competing, but I was joining him for the exercise and technique training. I continued to train on my own until I moved to an area that didn't have a park where I could rip the lawn up. The thought of competing always remained in my head. My father stopped competing last year, and yet he still has all of the equipment to train with. The opportunity exists for the torch to be passed down.
I contacted the local Y in my area to volunteer. I played email tag with someone for a few months before talking to someone who gave me a membership in trade for cleaning the gym. I couldn't afford to pay a membership, but at the same time, I wanted to experience the leadership at the Y up close, and being part of the team through volunteering seemed the best bet. Giving of yourself is always more rewarding than giving money.
It has been at least 3-4 months since I started at the Y. I was strong when I started, but moving the larger weights proved to be difficult. I didn't forget how to workout, but I didn't have the strength I had in my past. I decided to be smarter this time around, and train as a powerlifter, bodybuilder, and strongman. I have maintained a 5 day a week split for the past 2 months, and I have made gains physical and mental over that span of time.
I met a trainer at the Y that was a competing bodybuilder from Tennessee. He spent the past few weeks helping me with a number of exercises, and convinced me to apply German Volume Training to my routine. I am currently in the 3rd week of this training.
I am starting this blog to document my journey to train for the Highland Games, to show my respect for this trainer helping me (free of charge), to carry on the lineage my father began, and to be honest with myself and my goals.
I am the Renaissance Man-- I am the Highlander.
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