After my last show, the Canadian Nationals, I went back home to Montreal. Even though I only stayed in Colorado the week prior to the show, the experience I had here, the people I met, the progress I did in a zero stress surrounding were outstanding!!! So much so, that I had a tough time going back to my old life and regimen…I felt almost depressive about it! lol!
Now that Im back, for good, and that I can now call Colorado “home”, Im excited like a kid at christmas eve, except every day is christmas!!! Im anxious to see what being here full time is gonna do to my body, heck, I took 2-3 lbs of muscle in a week, even though I was dieting for a show. Im now at a solid 245 lbs, around 7-8% bf, and I feel like a million bucks, full of energy and prime to add layers of new muscles to my frame!!!
For now though, the focus is on my buddy Daryl Gee, who is competing in two weeks at the Detroit show in the 202 lbs, and then, if everything goes according to plan, the Olympia, the week after Detroit. My job is to push him and bring the best out of him, training 3 times a day, to lose the last bit of fat or water he has left, because I know exactly how he feels right now, let me tell you!!!
@All: FYI, Alex is probably one of the hardest workers I’ve ever seen in the gym. Breaks equipment (Blast Straps) and yanks the Prowler so hard it pops him in the ankles. Future LiveSpills are gonna rock, no doubt!
[quote]Chris Shugart wrote: @All: FYI, Alex is probably one of the hardest workers I’ve ever seen in the gym. Breaks equipment (Blast Straps) and yanks the Prowler so hard it pops him in the ankles. Future LiveSpills are gonna rock, no doubt!
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Chris, breaking the blast straps has more to do with him being close to 250 rather than having a good work ethic
[quote]Alex Raymond wrote:
Saturday, September 4th
Now that Im back, for good, and that I can now call Colorado “home”, Im excited like a kid at christmas eve, except every day is christmas!!! Im anxious to see what being here full time is gonna do to my body, heck, I took 2-3 lbs of muscle in a week, even though I was dieting for a show. Im now at a solid 245 lbs, around 7-8% bf, and I feel like a million bucks, full of energy and prime to add layers of new muscles to my frame!!!
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From one Alex to another, best of luck! Your stats look inspiring. Hope the mountain air is good for building your pump!
[quote]Chris Shugart wrote: @All: FYI, Alex is probably one of the hardest workers I’ve ever seen in the gym. Breaks equipment (Blast Straps) and yanks the Prowler so hard it pops him in the ankles. Future LiveSpills are gonna rock, no doubt!
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We can see both Alex and Daryl tear it up in the gym, they just don’t have an “off” switch!
@all: Thanks you guys for all the comments (even you coach Thibaudeau!!!). Im also very excited about the journey that lies ahead…for the first time in my life, I’ll be able to focus solely on improving my physique; Im gonna eat, sleep, breed and do everything I need to do to improve my physique, get stronger, while staying functional and agile! Heck, I’ve been back only a week, training 2-3 times a day under coach Thibaudeau grueling supervision, and I never felt that full, that tight!!!
Im currently at 245 lbs, Id say at around 8% bf, and Im anxious about starting that shoulder spec, keep you posted guys on m latest progress!!!
Got up nice and early, feeling fresh and energized, since I took a day of the gym yesterday. My body needed it, after a week of training 2-3 times a day!!! Even though I loveeeeee training, you should always listen to what your body is saying to you, he never lies!!! Like coach Thibaudeau says, its bodybuilding math; sometimes taking a day off, or doing one set or rep less, will help you do more afterwards, preventing you from burning out…makes sense hey? Today, after breakfast, its gonna be arms and abs, then I’ll be able to start the week with the kind of energy I need to have!
But first, my favorite guys…egg white and oatmeal pancakes!!! For those of you who are not familiar with it, it’s very simple. Throw some egg whites and 1-2 hole eggs in the blender, some oatmeal, bit of cinnamon if you want, the blend the hole thing and poor it down a hot pan, coated with Pam. Cook like normal pancakes (you can make one thick one or many smaller ones…) then put some sugar free sirup on top, or whatever you want!!! Enjoy!
Since Im not big on fruits and veggies during offseason, I make sure to take 2 scoops of Superfood every morning. Also, I take a serving of Mineral Support, 6 curcumin pills, a cap of Alpha GPC, 2 caps each of FA3 and Flameout, 1g of vitamin C and 4g of vitamin D. Its sounds a lot, but believe me, everything has is function, and since I always want my body to be prime for growth, I make sure to always have my supplements with me!!!
Talk to you later guys, my pancake is almost ready…stay strong and keep pushing hard!!!
Funny thing happened today…as I woke up, I realized that coach Thibaudeau, Daryl and my buddy Kevin had all left the house, without waking me up!!! Since I didn’t want to let the guys down, I pored down a shake (3 scoops of Metabolic Drive Growth Formula in water, chocolate flavor…best tasting shake ever!!!) and headed up towards the office. As I got there, I was still feeling slugish a bit, since I didn’t get much sleep last night.
As we started the workout, trap work, my body started to warm-up a bit, and in the end, I ended up having one of my best trap workout ever!!! Doing overhead presses for traps, arms locked and moving the bar up solely with your traps, really fired up all my trap muscles! That, combined with seated rowing, bringing the bar to eye level, was exactly what the doctor ordered!!! lol!
Which goes to show you that sometimes, stepping and making it into the gym is the hardest part, which doesn’t mean you wont get a good, heck, a great workout!!!
Keep that in mind guys…little details DO make a BIG difference in the end!!!
@Niguy: Yes indeed we are bro! But look, its not a house, its more like a mansion (without the Playboy bunnies…damn!!!). All the Biotest athletes live here, on a permanent or semi-permanent basis. Coach Thibaudeau is here too, but is real house is back home, Quebec city in Canada, where he goes back often.
Tons of rooms, bathrooms, only problem is…one fridge!!! You can imagine the amount of food stocked and piled inside it!!! lol! Seriously, thanks to Biotest, we’re living in this dream house, living a dream life!!!
But don’t get me wrong, we’re still busting our balls in the gym twice, sometimes 3 times a day, and we certainly don’t take anything for granted and we’re greatfull and blessed to be able to do what we love to do, training and Grow!!!
Im heading up to the gym as we speak…surpise training today, coach left early so we don’t know what to expect…Im kinda scared a bit…lol!!!
@Niguy: Yes indeed we are bro! But look, its not a house, its more like a mansion (without the Playboy bunnies…damn!!!). All the Biotest athletes live here, on a permanent or semi-permanent basis. Coach Thibaudeau is here too, but is real house is back home, Quebec city in Canada, where he goes back often.
Tons of rooms, bathrooms, only problem is…one fridge!!! You can imagine the amount of food stocked and piled inside it!!! lol! Seriously, thanks to Biotest, we’re living in this dream house, living a dream life!!!
But don’t get me wrong, we’re still busting our balls in the gym twice, sometimes 3 times a day, and we certainly don’t take anything for granted and we’re greatfull and blessed to be able to do what we love to do, training and Grow!!!
Im heading up to the gym as we speak…surpise training today, coach left early so we don’t know what to expect…Im kinda scared a bit…lol!!! [/quote]
Ive always wondered what it actually takes to get into a place like this? are you able to tell? And also I really like the thread your positive attitude is inspiring, keep at it man
It would be so sweet if you guys hosted training camps, like for like 2- 4 weeks staying in the house and just eating and training for all that time. Biotest could rake in some cash that way! I would do anything to have the opportunity to be apart of that! Haha!
@Blackhaggar: Seriously man, for my part, I was at the right place, at the right time!!! My ex knew coach Thibaudeau’s wife, she introduced me to him, I ask if he was willing to help me prepare for the Canadian Nationals, he accepted, then an opportunity opened up to come here, and there you go!!!
But you need to understand one thing, coming here is one thing, staying here is another!!! Our job is not to be a star here, not at all, but merely to put into image coach Thibaudeau’ training techniques. And having cameras around you all the time isn’t a piece of cake either!!! Those techniques are grueling guys, and training 2-3 times a day is tough, even for top athletes, but its worth it!!!
