New Years Eve

Its been another hectic week, but the holidays are finally coming to a close. I had a solid week of workouts so far, but am feeling a bit run down from getting less off days and cramming in as many clients as I can. Looking forward to relaxing tomorrow!
Tonight, Nicole, myself and a bunch of my friends will be spending the night at Villa Barone in Mahopac, NY. I have never been there before, but I here its very nice. Of course it had to snow all day today and screw with everyone's plans, but that's new England weather for you.
Time to start getting ready. I hope you all have fun tonight, be safe! Happy New Year!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Its Sunday night and I am finally getting a chance to sit down and recap the hollidays. Monday and Tuesday were basically the same. I was up at 6 for clients, managed to get my workouts in around 4 and crammed in some late night Xmas shopping after my late clients in the gym. Wednesday was a tough day for me. I was up at 6 again, had a quick break for an hour between 11-12 that I used to train my back, then I had a couple more clients. I'm not complaining, work is work and this time of year I'll take all I can get. Mid afternoon I left to finish my last minn shopping and then raced home to shower. I left for my parents house around 6 and ate and partied with my family till close to midnight. I was falling asleep the whole time at my moms house, but I was having a fun time with my family and didnt want to leave. Christmas day I slept in and tried to catch up on my missing sleep! I went to the Bronx to spend Christmas with Nicole's family. Nicole's mom made my favorite... chicken parmesan! I pigged out and passed out!
Friday was the Montanari bros Christmas party for their gym members. The party was at Cafe Botega in New Haven. The night was a ton of fun and I got to hang with Big Evan and Kenny which is always a good time. I will be honest and say that I drank way too much Friday night and ended up feeling pretty sick. It had been a few years since I drank that much and I payed for it!

Saturday and Sunday...what can I say? Started out an a high note with a great night of UFC fights, but ended in the gutter with the JETS sucking as usual and missing the play offs. Hollywood couldn't have wrote a better story than Chad Pennington coming back to New York to kick the Jets ass and bounce them from the playoffs! Another disappointing year for all Jets fans!

dec 20

Talk about snow!!! We got bombed in my part of CT yesterday with about a foot of snow. It was coming down over an inch an hour. Of course my crazy ass waited until it was already starting to get to the gym. Then I had to wait for my partner who was stuck in traffic to get there. Yesterday I had a great 4 man workout going on with my regular partner Ted and a couple of my other buddies, EDJ and Anthony. We were basically the only people in the gym blasting it out during the blizzard. I had a great workout, the 4 of us had a great pace going and it was fun because Ted and EDJ are very close in strength so I instigated a competition between them that had them both hitting personal bests in shoulder presses! When it was all said and done it took me two full hours to make the 20 minn drive home!!!
Its supposed to snow all weekend which is really slowing down my Christmas shopping that I haven't really started yet,lol.
Bodyweight is still around 260lbs give or take a few lbs here or there on certain days.

dec 12

Went to Montanari bro's Golds in New Haven yesterday. Trained back. They have some really incredible machines up there. Lots of unique equipment that I haven't seen anywhere else. Big Ev was training with Chris Tuttle and my Boy Vincenzo was in the house looking pretty jacked too. After the workout we all sat around and BS'd for a while and then I went home to eat and relax. I have been getting up much earlier than usual lately to accommodate a couple clients, but I love what I do and have no complaints. Weight is still around 260 in the AM.

Dec 10

Check out my clients (Andrea and Jay) before and after pics in the training section of my website. I am very proud of there accomplishments, both completely changed the way they look. Andrea was a Figure competitor who want to make the transition into female bodybuilding, while Jay simply wanted to get himself in the best shape of his life. Jay actually looks like he could get on stage right now and Andrea did get on stage! Both were a pleasure to work with. I am always looking for now people to be before and afters on my website. Contact me if you want me to guide you to your goals!
My Training is going pretty well, working around some minor injuries as always,lol.

Dec 8

I am happy to announce that I am in the February issue of Musclemag which I believe is out in stores now. The section is in the back called CT Muscle and Myself and my good friend and posing coach Kenny Wallach are both featured. There are pictures of both of us on page 340.
Saturday I went to Strong and Shapely gym in New Jersey with Evan. I had a great workout and got to meet a lot of cool people. Greg Valentino was in the house making everyone laugh. Greg is a riot to be around, he definitely does not bite his tongue on any subject.
Today is my most Important day...LEGS! The Jets suck...I dont even want to discuss them right now. Morning body weight was 260. LOL, I dont have anything left to say, I'm too mad over the Jets!

dec 2

Sunday I left my house for the Meadow lands at 11. I figured since it was a 4:15 game, that would give us more than enough time to get there. Rather than taking the George Washington Bridge, I opted for the Tappan Zee. What I did not know was that they were doing serious construction on the Tappan Zee to the point where there were huge pieces of metal just sticking out all over the place.That coupled with the Thanksgiving traffic made for a nightmare! It took me 3 full hours to get to the game. When we got to the game it was raining pretty hard but there were tons of people tailgating. The Jets really sucked bad and couldn't do anything right. We left towards the end of the third quarter. It was to cold and rainy to sit and watch them suck like that.
Yesterday was legs and I decided to officially split my workout into two separate days. One day is going to be dedicated to Quads and the other Hams. I squatted first, followed by 4 sets of heavy leg press and finally 5 sets of Leg extensions- doing drop sets on two of the sets. My legs were very pumped. Friday I will do Hams. Today is chest, I have been doing inclines for a while, but today I am going to do some flat bench and see how it goes.
New Before and After testimonials with pics will be on my site soon!

nov 29

Good week of training. I pigged out for thanksgiving which really fueled my workout yesterday. Tomorrow I am going to the Jets VRS Broncos game at 4 o'clock. Its gonna be exciting. I cant wait to tailgate. My appetite has been very good lately and the weight is slowly but consistently coming on. body weight this morning 260.

Nationals Wrap Up

I had a great time down in Atlanta for the 2008 NPC Nationals. I Predicted all the Class winners before the show started and I was correct on all of them. Thursday I got to the airport around 2. I met with Guy Cisternino and his Mother and we hopped in with our buddy Darrell and drove to the venue. Thursday nothing was really going on so I spent most of the time hanging out in Palumbo's room watching him interview different competitors. Fridays Prejudging was very exciting, I had a lot of friends in the show. After prejudging a bunch of us went out to eat at the Hard Rock. Saturday I went to the gym with Kris Lecomte to do a quick work out, well when I got there I was totally starstruck! Jay Cutler, Victor Martinez and Phil Heath were all working out! I got to train along side of 3 of the top 5 best bodybuilders in the world! Then I saw Curtis Bryant, David Henry and Tricky Jackson as well as Iron Man's Lonnie Teper. All those superstars training in the same room was pretty cool!
Saturday nite I went to the Finals to cheer on my friends. Guy Cisternino won the middle weights, he had the best condition in the entire show! Peter Putnam won the Lite Heavy weights and then it was time for the Heavies! My buddy Mike Liberatore was the Favorite going in, but Mark Alvisi showed up looking Nasty! It was a close battle but Liberatore wound up with the win. Ed Nunn finished first in the Supers and my buddy Steve Kucklo wound up an impressive 3rd. Ed Nunn won the Over all and I feel he will make a fast Impact in the Pro's.
It was a long tiring weekend, but I got to hang with lots of cool people and meet lots of new friends and fans. No more traveling for a while now, I need to focus on my training!

nov 19

Tomorrow I leave for nationals. I have a bunch of friends competing in the show. I will be staying with Guy Cisternino who is a favorite to take a Pro Card home in the middle weight class! training has been going great, my legs are still sore from my workout on Friday! My body weight this morning was 255.

nov 17

Saturday I got early and met up with Evan to go down to Strong N Shapely in New Jersey. It was raining hard and traffic was horrible, so we didnt get down till close to 12. I trained arms and Evan trained hams and calves. There was a big crowd of people training in the gym, lots of energy! Around 1 I started setting up the SPECIES booth. I had tons of RTD's and SPECIES shaker cups to hand out. Lots of Local Stars showed up. Greg Valentino Showed up as well as Alex Federov, Irina Veselova, Elise Firestone, Janet Marsico, Erik Rameriz, Kris Lecomte and Guy Cisternino. Even Mr G and his brother Bob Smalley showed up,lol.The day was long, but fun and I was tired and feeling a little sick for some reason, so Evan and I decided to head home around 6 when we were done. I wanted to check out the Easterns in Tribeca but I just really wasnt feeling well. Congrats to SPECIES own Kat Ramirez for winning the overall figure title, and Congrats to my friend Tess, for placing 5th in a very competitive masters class.

nov 14

I went to New Haven to train legs with Evan and Chris Tuttle today. We had an insane workout! It was video taped for Muscular Developments website and should be out pretty soon. You guys are gonna love it, we went all out! Tomorrow I will be at Bob Bonham's Strong and Shapely gym in East Rutherford New Jersey. There will be an all star seminar with Greg Valentino, Evan Centopani, Craig Richardson, Guy Cisternino and myself, plus you never know who else is gonna show up. I will be handing out some Species products so be sure to come down between 1-4 if your in the area!! After the seminar I will be heading over to the Nite show in Tribeca. Tomorrow is the Eastern USA championship, always a good show!

nov 11

I had a great weekend. Saturday I went to the New Jersey state and Suburban championships. It was a very big show and there were a lot of companies sponsoring the event. Species was the main sponsor and Dave Palumbo emceed the show. A Lot of my good friends were in attendance and my buddy Guy Cisternino was one of the guest posers. The main Guest poser was Kai Green. Kai was looking massive, I believe he said he was 305! His routine was very cool!
Sunday I went to watch the jets play the rams and the Meadow lands. I went with my buddy Jay and his fiancee Kristen. Nicole came as well, it was her first show and we all had a great time. We tailgated with the Bagelman Marc Frolich. Marc's tailgate parties are nuts, they Deep fried a couple turkeys and there was tons of other food going around. Everyone ate and drank a lot,lol. The game was exciting. The Jets blew the Rams away!
This week my training schedule has been switched up. The reason, I will be doing Legs on Friday with Evan Centopani for a new Muscular Development video. It should be a good one. My weight this morning was 250.

nov 7

Training is going pretty well. Strength is still not kicking in the way I assumed it would at this point. Its gonna happen though! I had some decent workouts this week. Today is shoulders, abs and calves.
I'm going to the New Jersey State bodybuilding championships on Saturday. Species is the main sponsor and there are going to be a bunch of stars hanging out! Sunday I'm going to the Jets Vrs Rams at The meadow lands. I'm taking Nicole, its her first pro football game. We are both very excited!

nov 2

I had a very busy weekend, and I'm still a little tired, but I had a lot of fun. Friday nite for Halloween I went to see Saw 5 with Nicole. I love scary movies and the Saw series is great, but this one was not very good. It wasnt bad, but it was kinda disappointing. I guess I'll have to wait till Saw 6 comes out next year,lol. Saturday I was up extra early to make my way down to the Golds Classic in New Jersey. It was a great show, Guy Cisternino and Craig Richardson were the guest posers. Guy is doing Nationals in 3 weeks and looks like he could get on stage right now! In between the shows I went to the Golds down in Long Branch to train arms with Kris Lecomte and Guy. We had a good time laughing and catching up. After the show I went out with some friends for some Pizza and then I left. It was a loong day, but I got to see some good friends and meet some cool new fans!
My Serious Off season Mass program starts today, its all business now and I will be posting consistently on my weight gains. I am currently 244 pretty lean. My abs are still clearly visible. This is about 10lbs bigger than I was when I started my mass Program Last year!

oct 28

Great leg workout yesterday. First good workout in almost 2 weeks! I'm starting to feel like my old self again. I started with heavy squats for 3 sets, followed by 3 sets of heavy dead lifts, 2 sets of high rep hack squats, 3 sets of leg extensions and 3 sets of standing single leg ham curls. My legs are very sore today. I need to have a good chest workout today to really make my confidence build. I haven't been able to put too good ones together in a while!

oct 27

Lots to announce today! First- Congratulations to my client Andrea Swanson who took second place in her first Bodybuilding show Saturday. The girl who beat her was a very good Veteran who went on to win the overall. I flew out to Chicago on Friday to start going over Andreas posing and assess her physique in person for the first time in a few months. I was more than impressed. We stayed at our friend Erin's house which was conveniently 10 minn from the airport. Nicole met me out there and the four of us left for the show early Saturday morning. Nicole did Andreas makeup for her so she would look perfect, and then we just had to wait for what seemed like forever,lol. The show was called the Continental USA championships and Victor Martinez was the guest poser. There was a very large turn out in the crowd, even for the prejudging. I had the pleasure of meeting Mel Chancey, the former leader of the Hells Angels now turned bodybuilder and 100 percent big mofo! Mel was very personable and I wish him luck with his bodybuilding career. I also met a lot of people from the boards as well as some fans I didnt know I had from the Chicago area. Overall it was a great time, I was very pleased with Andrea, and I met some great people. I definitely ate way too much junk food, but at least I got to try Mr. Pibb soda for the first time...It was awesome,lol (Inside joke)
Today I am starting a special herbal detox courtesy of Dr. mike at Physical Synergy. Evan swears by it, so I will keep you all posted on how I feel.

oct 20

OK, the November Issue of W magazine has hit the stands, Angelina Jolie is on the cover and the crazy photo shoot I did a while back with artist Mika Rottenberg is inside. Also If you go to my website's news section or www.wmagazine.com you can see a short video that the artist put together. Its pretty bizarre! I more thing. I did an Interview with Troy Johnson from ALR Industries before the North American. The Link to the Interview is up in the news section.

oct 17

Its been an emotional roller coaster of a week for me. I usually try not to talk about negative things in my blog, but its a little hard to avoid. I had the best leg workout on Monday and a great chest workout on Tuesday. Wed, things went down hill! Its bad enough the Economy is killing my business, lol, but I have also been going through some drama in my personal life. I have been pretty upset the past few days and its taken its toll on my eating and training. I am gonna bounce back though,I ALLWAYS DO! I think things are gonna work out and get better. I have to stay focused and keep a positive piece of mind!

oct 9

I just got home from New Haven. I went up around 1 with Nicole to the Montanari Bro's GOLDS. I met up with Big Evan to train back. For those of you who live in a cave and don't know who Evan Centopani is, look him up and check out his back. By the way, he's 300lbs of solid muscle. You know I had to have an extra big breakfast to prepare me for this! We started out with Barbell rows. Evan worked up to 405 for 10 reps and his form is really good. Not me, I am good doing 315 for sets of 10. We did so many sets that the rest of the workout is a blurr,lol. After the workout I took Nicole to a famous Pizza place in New Haven. Not Pepe's...Modern. Modern is thin crust Brick oven Pizza. There is no Pizza anywhere near where I live that comes close to how good this place was! We got, "The Italian Bomb". Pepperoni, sausage, meatballs, mushrooms, pepper, and huge pieces of garlic and onions! Outstanding. If your ever in New Haven,Modern has the PJ Braun seal of approval! I highly recommend it!

oct 5

Hey Everyone, I am pleased and excited to announce that I am in Muscular Development this month (November Issue, with Jay Cutler on the Cover)!! In the beginning of the Mag, in Greg Valentino's Internet section, Greg did a little write up on who he thinks the future stars of the sport are. I made the cut as well as some of my best friends, we are being labeled Body buildings Brat Pack,lol. Go grab the issue and check it out! For those of you who want to see it now, its up in my NEWS section, you can check it out right now!

sept 1

Feels good to be eating carbs again. Added my carbs back in last wed, mainly from oatmeal, cream of rice and rice. I am going to add my Carbolyze back in next week. I have been eating tons of clean food, but if I have a craving for something, I eat it. My weight has been sitting between 242- 246. I am still very lean ans crazy vascular!
Yesterday I went up to Montanari Bros Golds in New Haven to train chest with big Evan and Chris Tuttle, who has put on some great size since his heavyweight win in Tribeca! We blasted out some drop sets on the flat bench, and then hammered out some Inclines, followed by Incline flys and then cables from the floor. Our pace was pretty fast and I had a wicked pump by the time I was done! Today I am off, but I am back in the gym tomorrow and it looks like Friday I will be back down in Jersey again for another workout! This time I think I will be going into Carlo Fillipone's gym with my buddy Guy, and afterwards I get to sample some of Carlo's world class cooking!

Happy Birthday Nicole Vitale!!!

Today is Nicole's birthday! We celebrated last nite by driving into NYC to have dinner at one of our favorite restaurants Plataforma!! Plataforma is a Brazilian steakhouse and the food is absolutely to die for, plus its all you can eat!! The highlight of dinner had to be our dessert! We had the Brazilian chocolate truffles that were hand rolled and they just melted in your mouth! God its good to eat that kind of stuff again,lol! Training is going great! Oh yeah, Shout out to Brett Favre for giving us bummed out JETS fans something to cheer for! 6 touchdown passes!! keep em coming!

sept 26

Thursday nite I drove down to New Jersey to meet up with Guy and a female client of mine, Bridgette Manzi at The Lions Den in Fairfield New Jersey. The Lions Den is owned by top National super heavyweight and big time contest Promoter Stokely Palmer. The gym was great. They have a great variety of equipment as well as dumbbells that go up to 200lbs! The atmosphere was really cool and they had Metallica blasting while I was training. That's my type of gym!

R.I.P. Steve Stone. The bodybuilding community lost one of it s most influential people yesterday. Steve stone's life ended tragically short at the Mr. Olympia Friday. Steve was instrumental in organizing shows in the NPC as well as the IFBB. Steve always had a smile on his face and was always willing to extend a hand to help support the sport he loved so much. My condolences go out to the Stone family.

Busy!!

Have been very busy this past week! Sorry I haven't been on to blog. Nothing too exciting going on, but I did manage to make it down to Edison NJ, to train at Apollan gym. Definitely a hardcore gym. Blasting music and people movin weights! My type of place. I will be touring different gyms in the New Jersey area over the next 2 weeks, so If you are from Jersey and want to train, send me an email!

NEW UPDATES!!!

New updates are up in the members section of my site. I got a ton of pictures from my overall victory at the the Atlantic City ProAm as well as a bunch of pics from fans! Come check them out.

NPC ATLANTIC CITY OVERALL CHAMPION

Whats up everybody! Sorry I didn't blog yesterday to let you all know about the show, but my mind was pretty shot and I just wanted to relax. Here's my rundown of the weekend!
I flew in my buddy Ted's plain right out of Danbury (my hometown) and strait into Atlantic City! The plain is small and a little scary, but I got there in 40min which blows away driving for 3-4 hours! When I got to my hotel I went straight to my room to relax and continue my carb up. Friday nite I was really looking great, and I knew I was only gonna get better. I cut my water out around 11 on Friday and went to bed at midnight. I woke up at 7 on Saturday morning looking the best I have ever looked! I went to the athletes check in and weighed in at 228. Super Heavyweight for the first time and more shredded than ever!
The Athletes were told to be back at 1:30 and ready to rock at 2. I went back to my room, had my last regular meal and began packing my stuff together. Originally we were told that we were gonna start at 2 and be done by 5 the latest. so I decided to only get a room for Friday nite and we would drive home on Saturday. I checked out of my room and started to munch on rice cakes and peanut butter. I do this before every show when I am getting ready to get onstage. When I arrived at the meeting we were told that we would not be on stage till at least 3 o'clock! Now I was in trouble...No room...and no more food! Fortunately I have made a lot of good friends over the years at shows, and people went out of there way to help me. IFBB pro Figure competitor Krissy Chin gave me 4oz of chicken and I paired that with some extra rice cakes to have a meal around 2. I went back at 3 only to find out that we were being delayed until 5 because of the large number of Masters pro's competing before us! At this point I got a little frustrated but I kept my cool. Some of the other competitors were bugging out and complaining. I hate complainers and I never complain, complaining and stressing can only make you look worse. So I calmly went on another hunt for food. My friend and fellow bodybuilder Kris Lecomte gave me some chicken that he had, and my buddy John Bowland (Fiance of Figure pro Amy Frye) had a 4 oz yam for me. I ate that around 4, but I could see that my condition was fading and I wasnt as sharp as I was earlier in the day. Rather than stressing too much I found a place to lay down and just thought to myself that everyone was going through the same thing as me. Finally at 5 they brought us back stage. I found a nice place to sit and meditate and relaxed watching all the other guys frantically running around and pumping up. There was one heavyweight who was very good but his attitude really sucked and I was envisioning the satisfaction I would get when I hand him his ass on stage. Finally it was time to come out for my mandatories. Only 3 guys in my class and I was moved right to the center. Prejudging went fast and I went back stage to prepare for my routine. As soon as I went backstage my buddy Guy came running over to me with a huge piece of funnel cake. Guy said I had really flattend out and insisted that I eat the cake Immediately! He then proceeded to cram the cake into my mouth much to the content of the ProTan girls who were laughing at the scene! In about 5 minn my body had totally changed and I was swollen and hard! I went out and nailed my routine and the crown really enjoyed it. Then it was time for the trophy presentation. I won my class and then got ready for the overall. The overall was fun! My friends were all sitting in the front and the crowd was going nuts. I really enjoyed hamming it up for the crowd. The announcer said they had a decision and all the competitors walked to the back of the stage...except me. I stayed in the front of the stage and hit one more menacing most muscular followed by the Sergio Oliva Victory Pose. I was announced the overall winner! Redemption! As part of my reward, the Promoters are paying my travel expenses to my next show Junior Nationals next year. I will also be on the poster for next years show. Pretty cool!
When I walked off the stage I was greeted by all my friends as well as my girlfriend Nicole. Everyone has been so cool to me and Nicole has put up with a lot. I feel so blessed to have her in my life, and I am very fortunate to have such a good set of friends and family who really want me to succeed!
After the show I hung out in the Species booth taking pictures with fans. I met a lot of really cool people, it was a great experience.
No rest for me though. I have a lot of work to do! Today I am back in the gym to work on these legs! I keep hearing that I have the upper body of a pro and all I need is some wheels so that's my mission for this year! More leg mass! Let the off season begin!

sept 12

Day before the show! 230 lbs this morning shredded! Its crazy how I look at this larger weight. It makes me realize I should not have tortured my body down to make weight as a heavy for the North American! I cant wait to get on stage and show everyone what I really look like! Thanks to all my friends and fans! Thanks too my family that really supports me alot! Special thanks to my girlfriend Nicole, its very hard to live with someone who has been intensely dieting for 4 months! I'm gonna rock the house Saturday! I have never been more confident!

Sept 11

226 this morning and dry as a bone! This is with out a doubt the best I have ever looked. Today I start carbing up. Nothing crazy, 35g of carbs added to each of my 7 meals. Tomorrow I will kick it up a notch. I cant wait to get on stage! The work is done, the fat is gone and its time to Redeem myself in front of all my east coast friends and fans! There is a cool thread going on about me in the NO BULL forum at www.musculardevelopment.com There are 4 pictures of me that were just taken on Tuesday nite. Go check them out and see how I am looking!

Busy weekend!!!

I had a very busy weekend! Very Exhausting. Friday nite I was at a wedding for Nicole's cousin Brendan. Weddings are a lot of fun when you are a week out from a show and cant eat or drink anything! There even more fun when you know about 3 people that are attending! I didn't get home from the wedding until about 1 in the morning then I was up at 8 to do cardio and in the gym by 10 to murder my legs! Saturday nite I attended the Team Universe in NYC. It was a good time, I presented the trophy to the women's overall bodybuilding champion and got a thumbs up from Dave on how I look for this show. I didn't get home from the city until after 2 in the morning and then I was up at 8 to get on the treadmill. No training on Sunday so I parked my but on the couch for the season opener of J-E-T-S JETS, JETS,JETS!!!!! The Brett Favre era has begun in NY and I couldn't be more excited. My all time favorite player playing on my favorite team. I watched the MTV Video Music Awards last nite and found the British guy who hosted to be the most obnoxious person I have ever had to listen to! I thought the VMA's totally sucked this year and I really don't understand the craze over the Jonas Bro's. Just my 2 cents!

New Updates!!!

3 new galleries are up in my members section. Tony Monchinski captured me training back 8 days before the North American. Also a whole gallery of me posing 8 days out from the show. All high resolution shots! Check them out!

sept 6

1 week out from Atlantic City Pro Am, I am 230lbs. Very happy with the way I look today. Grainy, hard and vascular! Today was first leg workout since North Americans and last one before the show so I went all out. I know I'm gonna be sore tomorrow! I'm heading over to the Team Universe in a little while to hang out in the Species booth and mingle with the spectators and athletes attending the show. I cant wait to get back on stage next weekend, I have unfinished business to attend to!

sept 4

Feels good to be training again with some fats in my system. I can move a little more weight and my stamina is up. I am currently 232 lbs 9 days out from Atlantic city. I posed with Kenny yesterday. I am pleased with the way my body looks at this point!

In the trenches!!

I just shot another In The Trenches Today at Bev Francis' gym in Long Island. I blasted chest, weighing 237 looking super full and Vascular! Also my members section has the pics from North Americans up!

North American Recap

For those of you who don't know yet. I placed 9th in a very competitive class (33 guys) This weekend at the North American Championships. I am not pleased at all because I brought in a package that was only about 80% of what my best is. I looked awesome on Thursday, but fell apart on Friday. I came in with good condition but just totally flattend out. Same problem as last year although, not as severe. I think the problem is an electrolyte imbalance because I was cramping horribly bad all day on friday and I couldn't stop peeing even though I wasn't drinking any water! I have decided to stay on the diet and will seek Redemption in 2 weeks at the Atlantic City Pro AM. I will show everyone what I am truly capable of.
The show was a good learning experience and I made a bunch of new friends! I got to pick the brains of some seasoned veterans and realized I have a lot more fans than I thought!
I want to thank my family and my girlfriend Nicole for all there support! I want to thank Evan, Kenny, Guy and Kris for being there and helping me out so much this weekend. Thanks to Dave for helping me Nail my condition again and thanks Colette for doing a great job with my color! Sorry this blog isn't that detailed but I want to put this behind me and focus on Atlantic City!

aug 27

Well, I'm finally through with all the training, cardio and INTENSE dieting. All that's left now is to carb up, tan up, and dry out. I fly out to Cleveland this afternoon! I woke up this morning looking the best I have ever looked in my life. I am more ripped than last year and much bigger. Now its all up to the judges. Hopefully my carb up goes as planned and I can maintain my conditioning and really fill out!
I feel very fortunate to have an awesome family and group of friends and fans that have really supported me and made this journey worth while! Nothing ever breaks my drive and focus and my will is that of steal...a lot of that has to do with the people around me. My families love ans support is more than enough fuel to keep my inner fire burning. I cant wait to get on stage and battle on Friday nite. Keep me in your thoughts and send me some positive vibes. I will be back on Sunday nite!
Johnny, I have been thinking about you like crazy lately! I miss you soo much and I know your gonna be watching me from up there.

New Updates!!!

My last set of Updates are up in the members section. Pics 5 days out!
Also The In The Trenches video I shot with mass monster Ben Pakulski is finally up on www.musculardevelopment.com Go to the site and click on MDTV and then check out, in the trenches, ours is the first one up. You can see us blasting legs out in Venice back in January. The interview is pretty good. Check it out!

aug 25

5 more days until I get onstage. My weight is still comfortably dropping about a half a lb a day at this point. I am very rundown, but I am in the home stretch. At the most I will have to stay on Protein and Veggies for 3 more days and with cardio being finished today and tomorrow being my last workout, I can handle it. Today I am going to try to take it as easy as I can, I actually just woke up from a little power nap as I write this! Its hard for me to sleep at nite because I wake up to pee about every 1-2 hours. My skin is getting very thin and my vascularity is pretty freaky- Two good signs of a very low level of body fat!

aug 22

Well, I am officially 1 week out from the North American Championships! By this time next week, I will probubly know If I am gonna be in the finals or not! Yesterday, Tony Monchinski, a photographer who shoots for Muscle Mag international came to my gym to follow me around taking shots of me training back. When we were finished he took some shots of me posing. I will let you know when I have the copies of the shots.
Today I went to see Dave (Palumbo) so he could assess my body in person for the first time in a month. Usually we just do it over the Internet with pics, but now that I am so close I really wanted him to see what I look like moving, rather then a crappy digital photo. Dave seemed pretty pleased with were I am at, so I just have to keep trucking forward. If I can Improve just a little each day over this next week, I will be ON!
I'm tired but I know this is what I have to do to be the best!!

New Updates!!!

New Updates are up in the members section! 10 days out from the North American championship! Be sure to check them out and send me an Email!

aug 20

Today I was off from the weights, but I still had Cardio and I also went to New Haven to practice posing with my coach Kenny Wallach for an hour. My routine is looking really cool and I really hope that I am in the finals and so I can get a chance to display what I have been working on. Only top 5 in each weight class get to come back and pose on Saturday nite! After I posed I went to Physical Synergy in Fairfield to get some ART treatment. My body is doing pretty good for this stage in the game and hopefully that does not change over the next week. Last year I was in a tremendous amount of pain when I was training and posing, so its nice to not have to worry about that! New Updates are coming soon and there is another thread in the Forum on MD going on about me now, so be sure to check that out!

aug 19

Had a great last heavy leg work out yesterday. I managed to still handle 405 for 8 on the squat, but couldn't get more than 405 for sets of 6 with my dead lifts. I was getting very lite headed and started to feel like I was going to faint. The rest of the workout went very smooth! I plan on hitting legs again on Friday, but mostly just machines and lunges. Then I wanna stay off them as much as possible until the show!

aug 18

Pretty good weekend for me. Saturday I blasted arms in the am. I was really pumped and vascular when I finished despite just eating protein and veggies. Sunday, Nicole and I went to Jones Beach. I love going to Jones beach, or just the beach in general. I hadn't been to Jones all summer so we decided to spend the day together relaxing at the beach. We really couldn't have asked for better weather.Today I'm back in the gym for legs, I'm gonna go all out today because this will be the last "real" Leg workout I do before the show!

NEW UPDATES!!!

I have 3 new sets of pictures up in my members VIP section. 2 sets of progress pics 2 weeks out, one set was done earlier in the week, the other was done Saturday morning outside my house. The 3rd set is in my gallery section. I did a charity fund raiser for E.C.A.D., a company that supplies and trains seeing eye dogs. The pictures are pretty funny, go check them out!

2 weeks out!

I am officially 2 weeks out! I feel great so far, prep is going really well! I have had an unlucky streak of events lately, but I have managed to stay focused and keep driving forward. Dieting is getting harder now, but that's what you get yourself into when you decide you want to be the best. You have to be willing to suffer!
There is a cool thread going on about me in the NO BULL section of the forum on www.musculardevelopment.com I encourage all my family, friends and fans to go check it out. There are some recent shots of me and everyone is being very positive with there comments!
Stay tuned for more updates soon!

aug 12

Don't try this at home!! I am going to share the leg workout I did yesterday with all of you, because it caused me to wake up in the middle of the nite with excruciating cramps in both hams and both quads! I started off by supersetting Lying ham curls with leg extensions, 4 sets, the first was more of a warm up though. Then I went on to doing squats with a pause. This is when you sit in the "hole" and don't move for a full second, then drive your heals into the floor and move the weight! I did 2 lite sets, followed by 3 sets of 10 and 2 sets of 6. I was kinda lightheaded at that point. Then I did 3 sets of Stiff Leg Dead lifts with Dumbells. THEN I supersetted walking lunges with Hack squats, 3 brutal sets. From there I did 3 sets of high rep (25-30) standing single leg ham curls. And finally I did 2 sets each abduction and adduction on the Nautilus machine. I may have over trained, lol! See what happens when the judges tell you to bring up your legs, lol! Don't try this at home.

Hi Gramma Lynn! wink wink.

NEW UPDATES!!!

Brand new updates are up in my members section. Pics of me on Saturday morning. Three weeks out! Come and check them out!

aug 6

3.5 weeks left until I get on stage! The time is starting to really fly by now! I am very happy with where I am at currently and have a great game plan going into the show! Today I worked on the choreography to my routine with Master poser Kenny Wallach. I am really excited with what we came up with so far! I also went for my weekly ass kicking session with Dr. Mike. Usually my ART sessions are pretty painful, but I am fortunate that my body is holding up pretty well at this point!

HUGE CONGRATULATIONS!!!- My good buddy Rodney Roller's wife gave birth this morning to a 9lb 6oz baby boy, Cody Martin! Contgrats to Rodney and his wife!

NEW UPDATES!!!!

New updates are up in my members section. Pics I took on Saturday, exactly 4 weeks out from show time! I have been so busy lately, I could really use a breather. Sunday and today I was in Manhattan shooting some crazy photos with Mika Rottenberg for W Magazine. The pics are gonna blow you guys away when you see them. Today was the best leg work out I have had in a Loooooooong time!! I'm still as strong as ever, getting more ripped day by day! Enjoy the new updates, and feel free to send me an Email with some feed back!

July 31

I had a great back workout today. I did some super sets, not typical for me when I train back, but I got a great pump! Yesterday I posed for about an hour with Kenny. I am working on 2 new signature poses to add to my routine in 4 weeks. I am excited because I picked out my music and now I just have to work with Kenny on choreographing a routine.
I am in the September issue of Muscle Mag, its out in stores now. There are a couple of small pics of me in the east coast muscle section as well as a small write up written by Tony Monchinski. Be sure to check it out, Its not a cover shot, but I'm working on it!

NEW UPDATES!!!

Brand New Update pics are up in my contest prep section. 5 weeks out progress pics!

July 29

Just got back from a crazy time in Vegas at the USA's. I arrived in Vegas Thursday nite after sitting in JFK all day long because my flight was delayed for about 9 hours! Once I got to my hotel, I had to get right on a treadmill and bang out my cardio. Friday I trained at Golds on Flamingo Ave. I trained out there for the Olympia and really like the set up of that gym. Prejudging went smoothly, but I still don't understand the call outs for figure. I had a fun time watching the show with my buddy Troy Johnson and his wife IFBB pro Krissy Chin. Saturday I was back in the gym in the AM and then over to the Finals by 6. The show was intense. I had Liberatore winning the Overall, but he wound up taking 2nd In his class to an Impressive Brandon Curry. Lee Banks and Mark Alvisi rounded out the top 4 who were head and shoulders better than the rest of the class. The second Pro card went to Curtis Bryant, who looked Insane. Congrats to both new Pros. Curtis edged out my boy Brandon Ray who will be a pro for sure by the end of 08. My girlfriend Nicole brought her best package Ever and walked away with a disappointing 8th. Neither one of us can figure that one out, but I am very proud of her, She worked as hard as she could! Sunday morning Nicole and I got a workout in at golds, then we head over to Rehab at the Hard rock hotel. That place was Insane! I couldn't eat or drink, but the atmosphere was NUTS and I had a fun time. That nite Nicole and I joined Ed Connors at Treasure Island to watch Cirque De So-lei. It was a great show and Nicole was excited because she had wanted to see it for a while now!
I'm currently inside of 5 weeks out and very happy about my prep. New Updates will be up soon!

Off to USA's

I'm getting out of here for Vegas! Not to party, but to watch the USA's. Nicole is competing in Figure and we really worked hard at coming up with a great game plan to have her look her best. She worked her ass off, and it really shows! I will be back Monday nite with lots to talk about, so if your reading this, make a wish for Nicole!
Also good luck to my boy Brandon Ray, as well as all of the SPECIES athletes competing!

july 22

Go to musculardevelopment.com and click the MDTV section. You can see me in an interview with Dave Palumbo as well as Evan Centopani!

Masters Nationals

This past weekend was the Masters Nationals and I made the trip out to watch my boy Kenny Wallach do battle in the Middle weight division. I spent 9 hours in the car driving out to Pittsburgh, but It was well worth it. I was joined by The Montanari Bros, Big Evan and another big boy Aaron. I got there just in time to catch the Welter weight prejudging. The welters looked like middles, and everyone was in condition.... Kenny's middle weight class was staked with talent, Including a couple of guys who I think will be top 5 at the regular Nationals. Stoli Stoilov ( I have no clue how to spell his last name) dominated the class and reminded me of a mini Dorian Yates. Kenny did not place top 5, but had a great showing in a very tough class! The lite heavyweights were loaded as well. Everyone in the top 5 has seriously striated glutes, but the Class Belonged to Vinny Galanti who also walked away with the over all! Congrats Vinny, you deserve it! On a side note, Dr Durlan Castro who works with Mr Palumbo, had some of the freakiest legs and definition I have ever seen. He finished 4th but I really think he could have been second! The Heavy weight class went to long time competitor Gus Carter who got the other pro card. Congrats Gus. The weekend was busy but fun, I got to pose for Dr Victor Prisk and Jim Manion (the President) they both gave me great feed back as well as a few pointers to help me get better. That was a great experience for me!
Haven't gotten the chance to get update pics done, but I am planning on taking some today so stay tuned!

NEW UPDATES

My new set of updates are up in the contest prep section. Sorry, there aren't that many, I was pressed for time and had to do them very quick. New updates will be up next week!!!

july 13th

I know I haven't blogged at all this week and I apologize, I have been SUPER busy and all over the place. Wednesday I went to Great Adventure with Nicole my nephew Christopher, my buddies EDJ and Justin, as well as EDJ's girlfriend Jackie and his son Dino. We had a great time and I got about 2 hours of extra cardio in, lol. Justin and I went on Kingda Ka the worlds fastest and tallest roller coaster. 128 mph, I would have just got right back on if I was allowed to, that was so much fun! Training has been going great, I took some update pics saturday morning that will be up shortly.
Today I went to Oakland beach in Rye, New York with Nicole. I ran into Gilberto Mundo (overall winner of the NY Metropolitan) and his girlfriend, they are very friendly and wow, Gilberto put on some great size! Gilberto is working with Guru Dave Palumbo for the Nationals, and He has a ton of mass! I have a lot more coming up, masters nationals the 19th and USA's with Nicole the following weekend. I will try to get on as much as possible and keep everyone updated on my progress!

New Updates!!!

Brand new updates are up in my members VIP section. 8 weeks out progress pics!! Come check them out!

july 5th

What a crappy 4th of July I had. In the morning I strained a muscle in my neck pretty bad. I couldn't even turn my head to the right. I did it doing military presses. I had to stop working out and go strait home. I sat on the couch all day with Ice watching the Twilight Zone marathon. Today my neck feels a lot better than I thought it would. I went to New Haven to train arms. I did giant sets, It was a good change for me and I had a good pump. Tonite I am getting the UFC fights, I am a huge UFC fan and I am especially excited for tonites fights!! Diet is going well. I am now 8 weeks out. Expect new progress pics soon!

july 3

Happy 4th of July everyone!!! I know I'm a day early, but I know I wont be on the computer tomorrow! I hope everyone has a safe, fun holiday.
Today my schedule got really messed up. I did my cardio first thing in the morning and then I had to run some errands. I came home and sat by the pool for an hour, then I was off to the gym. My first client was late so I had to cancel my workout because I had no time to train. Fortunately my last client cancelled so I wound up training around 6:30. I trained my back with all super sets. I never super set back, so I figured it was a good idea. Next week I will go back to my regular training routine. Tomorrow I plan on training shoulders early then hitting the back with my girl and some friends. Hopefully the weather will be nice!!!

july 1

June is gone and I'm just over 8 weeks out from the North American. My body weight is 249 lbs and I'm pretty lean already! I have been training like an Animal. I blasted legs yesterday and did squats with 455 for five super deep reps followed by dead lifts with 500lbs for 5 reps! I video taped the heavy sets and will be posting them on my website. This week I will start really practicing my posing with Kenny, I have a lot of work to do!

NEW UPDATES!!!

OK everyone, the newest set of progress pics are up in the members section! Be sure to check them out! 9 more weeks!!!

june 30

Saturday I was officially 9 weeks out! My current body weight is 249. I am very happy about my progress thus far! I went to the NPC Duchess County Body Building Championships prejudging on Saturday with my buddy Kenny. At the show I got the chance to meet and speak with Kai Greene. Man is he jacked! Kai is very soft spoken and friendly to talk to. I got a picture with him that I posted on my my space page. My training is going well and I will be posting some training clips soon!

june 23

Monday. Body weight is 251.6. I am just inside of 10 weeks out. I am trying to loose my weight as slow as possible. I don't want to risk over dieting like last year. My conditioning is pretty good. I would say I am slightly ahead of schedule. Training has been going pretty well. I have been switching up gyms quite a bit. I all ways train legs at NO LIMIT in Brookfield. I trained at NYSC, Brewster and The Montanari Bros Golds in New Haven last week. Great workouts all around. Today I am Blasting legs with my new routine Specifically designed by Dave Palumbo to make my legs as good as they can be this year! Stay tuned because I will be updating my progress pics weekly!

NEW UPDATES!!!

As promised, my new updates are up in the members section. Progress pics of me 10 weeks out! I will be posting pics every week from now till the North American so you can see my progress!

CT GRAND PRIX A BIG SUCCESS!

Well, Saturday was the start of Connecticut's future in bodybuilding. We have a great committee put together, headed by the Montanari Bros! Our first show was a success. The crowd was about 3/4 of the way full, and we had about 30 competitors. My boy Kenny Wallach came away with Numerous first place trophies, and My friend Jen Smythe won her class in figure. Big Evan Centopani was the guest poser and at 300lbs lean, everyone went nuts when he stomped across the stage! I had a great time watching the show and meeting new people. I had the Pleasure of Meeting the Best Power lifter in the world, Donnie Thompson. What a bad ass! This guy is a little taller than me and ways 375 lbs! Not only is this guy huge, but he is hilarious to talk to and very intelligent. Donnie is looking to Improve on his word record total of 2,850 lbs in November!
The next show will be in a few months, I will keep you all posted, big things are coming in CT!

CONNECTICUT GRAND PRIX

Hey Everyone. This Saturday is the Connecticut Grand Prix Bodybuilding Championships. Its gonna be a great event, and I really hope to See some fans and friends there. Jim Manion, the president of the NPC will be the head judge, and Steve Wienberger, the District Chairman of NY state will be judging as well. The show is Located at the Fine Arts Center at Wilbur Cross High School- 181 Mitchell Dr, New Haven, CT For more info call 203-733-1578 or log on to www.ctgrandprix.com Big Evan Centopani will be the guest poser, at close to 3oo pounds, he will be worth your trip!
I wont be there until the nite show, but I will be there, so I encourage you guys in the CT area to come out and support the sport!
Good luck to my good friend Kenny Wallach who will be competing for the 4th time this weekend. Lets make it back to back wins Kenny!

june 12

Diet and workouts are going great!! I did some pause squats on Monday to really kill my glutes. A pause squat is a tricky advanced technique I like to use from time to time. Lower yourself all the way down to the seated position, where if you went any farther, you'd hit the floor. From this position, you hold yourself for a solid 1-2 seconds without moving. Finally you drive your heals into the floor and explode to the top. Its a power lifting technique, but can be used to really blast your glutes! Tuesday I did chest, and I may have over trained, I was in a zone and lost track of what I was doing. I am still very sore! Yesterday I took advantage of my day off and relaxed by the pool. Today I'm gearing up for a heavy back workout. My body is changing alot already, its very exciting! Current body weight 254.

ATLANTIC STATES RECAP

Saturday nite I attended the Bev Francis Atlantic States Bodybuilding Championships. I love attending this show, It brings back great memories because it was the first show I ever did! Jay Cutler, as always, was the Main Event, and he sure did look MASSIVE. That's why he's mister O! It was a long show, but I was happy that a couple of my boys, Dominic Dicchio and Kenny Wallach both took first place in there classes. I was especially happy for Kenny who wanted to redeem himself after a disappointing third at the Mets earlier in the year. Species had a big booth set up, and the show was packed with fans. All in all it was a great nite!

Happy Annivaersary

Saturday was my grandparents, Fred and Barbara Marra, 50th wedding anniversary! A bunch of my family members who I haven't seen in a while, and the ones that I see regularly all came together to celebrate at Chucks Steak House yesterday. It was a good time and I'm glad I got to be a part of it. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY NAN AND POP!!!

june 5

I put some new pics up on my MYSPACE page from the music video that I shot with Army Of Me. The pics are kinda funny, and you can see my at my heaviest, just before I started dieting. Go check them out and let me know what you think.

june 4

Trained chest yesterday, my strength was down a bit, but once I get my first cheat meal I usually get it back. Over all I had a good workout and am very pleased with the way I look all ready! Last nite was my boy Bryce's birthday so I stopped by a packed Hot Shots Bar and Grill to say whats up since I haven't seen him in ages. Bryce plays basketball in Italy so I don't see him often. The place was mobbed with drunk college kids, so I didn't really want to stay that long. While I was there a young kid came up to me and told me he was 20 years old and Had started bodybuilding all because he saw a picture of me. That was probably the best compliment I have gotten so far. I am glad I could Inspire someone to start doing something so great!
Today I am going to see Dr. Mike for some treatment, I feel pretty good, but I can all ways find a few things for him to work on.

june 2

The weekend is over and its time for Legs!! I had a relaxing weekend, Nicole and I went to the movies to see The Strangers, pretty scary. I am excited to get in and train legs today. I have been out of brookfield for the past 2 leg workouts and I look forward to getting back on my old squat rack! My weight is down to 263 and I wouldn't be surprised if I was down in the low 250's by Sunday. I always drop 15-20lbs the first 2 weeks of my diet, then my pace evens out to a couple of pounds a week! I am very pleased with the way I look and I'm very excited to watch my diet progress! Starting 12 weeks out I will be posting pics of my progress in my members section, so be sure to check them out and give me your feedback!

may 30

Today was a good day. I am already down to 268 from 274 on Monday. Everyone is saying they see a big difference allready,lol! Today I went to Dr. Mike to get some work done on my shoulder and lat. I was feeling very good when I left his office! I trained shoulders today in brookfield and managed to bang the 130lb dumbbells for a couple sets of 8, then I dropped down to 100 and cranked out 25 reps. Tomorrow is arm day, my elbow has been feeling very good, so hopefully I can push a little weight tomorrow!

may 29

Training has gone well this week. Flat benched on Monday for the first time in a while, had no spotter but I still managed to do 315 for 15 reps. Blasted legs on Tuesday, heavy squats, and power squats! Yesterday I was down in Brooklyn, NY at 6:30 in the morning shooting in a music video for the band Army Of ME. The guys from the band were very cool, and so were all the guys an the set as well as the actors. I will keep you posted on when the video comes out, I was told mid July! I played a bodybuilder, which was a bit of a stretch, but I think I pulled it off! I sucked out 8lbs in 1 day so hopefully I look fairly tight. today I'm re hydrating and getting ready to blast my back in a couple of hours. I am switching from underhand rows to overhand rows for a while, its time for a change.

I encourage everyone to check out Army of ME, you can download there music in various places including myspace!

may 25

This week was great overall for training. I got some treatment on wednesday from Dr. Mike, he worked on my calves which brought tears to my eyes, lol, but most of my ailments are doing pretty good. 1 more week and the diet starts, I am looking forward to it. I reached my goal of 270lbs and feel my off season was pretty productive. Even though I missed 5 weeks from my surgery, I made the most of the time I had and my body has responded pretty well!
Last nite Nicole and I went over to my buddy Jay's house for a BBQ. I pigged out on steak, a burger, King crab legs, potato salad, some brownies and even a few cupcakes. I feel pretty gross after the food I ate, good thing I'm starting my diet in a week,lol!

NEW UPDATES

Brand new updates are up in the members section. Never before seen videos from the North American. Be sure to check them out!

Junior USA Recap

Well, it was a long and disappointing weekend at the Junior USA. The new judging criteria for figure worked against any one who had any muscle! They went for either very skinny or very smooth. The overall winner was very soft and really had no muscle tone. Its a shame that all the girls who busted there ass to get in great shape, were not rewarded. In the end Nicole finished a disappointing 7th. I think if they used the old criteria, she would have won her class. On a positive note, my friends Erik Ramirez, and Kris Lecomte finished 1 and 2 in the Lite Heavy Weight class. It was a close match, but Erik's conditioning was just too much! I congratulate both of them for a job well done.

OFF To JUNIOR USA

This will be my last blog until Monday next week. I am leaving in about 7 hours for Charleston, SC where my girlfriend, fellow SPECIES athlete Nicole Vitale will be trying to get a pro card. Last year Nicole took 3rd in her class at the Junior USA and hasn't competed since then do to a surgery. She has made great gains and has really nailed her conditioning. Now its simply up to the judges and who ever shows up on Saturday. From what I hear the Figure classes are at record breaking numbers, so we can expect to see 30 or more girls in each class! Say a prayer for us and keep your fingers crossed. I really put alot of thought into her diet and training program this year, and It really shows, I truly don't think she could be any better! Only time will tell!

Happy Mothers Day

I hope everyone did something nice for there mom yesterday! I spent Mothers day with my family and my girlfriends mom. We had a nice time, ate alot of food and shared some laughs! Today I'm in the gym for legs, I'm still a bit sore from saturday, but it wont hold me back! I will only get to train through wed, then its all about Nicole. We leave for South Carolina on thurs morning! Nicole is at at her all time best, and I truly believe she will be tough to beat, but you never know what the judges are gonna want that day! Only time will tell!

NY PRO REVIEW

Yesterday was the NY Pro. For those of you who don't know, SPECIES was one of the main sponsors. The booth was Huge and a bunch of Species athletes Including Nicole Vitale, IFBB pro Bev Direnso, WNBF pro Janet Marsico, Guy Cisternino, myself and many others were all in attendance. Our booth was definitely the most popular! I want to say thank you to all my fans and new friends, you made the experience wonderful. Mayor of bodybuilding and your crew, Brian, The whole Animal crew, Young Nick Medici, and all the others, your support means alot to me!
Now on to the show! Species had quite a few athletes competing today. My Good friend Colette Nelson was close to her best, but In my opinion got over looked in the prejudging. Colette's Nite show routine(Madonna themed) was a crowd favorite, and people are still wondering how she didnt win guest poser. In the 202 and under class, there was a tight battle going on between Charles Dixon, Kevin English and David Henry. Kevin English Came away with the win and gets my vote for the comeback of the year! When it came to the Big boys Kai Greene owned everyone by a landslide! one disturbing call was Craig Richardson in 5th. Check out the contest pics and see how bad he got screwed. This guy gets overlooked more than anyone! One more note, fellow SPECIES athlete Big Eugine Mishin came in at his best ever condition. For a big guy he had great lines and symmetry!
Over all it was a long but fun day, and I got to meet a lot of cool new people. I look forward to next years show When Evan Centopani makes his Pro Debut! Hopefully I will be up there with him!

may 8

Yesterday was my usual day of rest and treatment from Dr. Mike. I was happy to tell Dr. Mike that I feel much better than usual and didn't need as much work. We worked on my stubborn left elbow for a while and also my Soas ( probably the most painful muscle to work on). Today I trained Back and some lite triceps. I did some heavy sets of underhand pull downs as well as some heavy underhand barbell rows and I can feel a little tendinitis flared up in my right forearm. I had a good workout, not a great one. Tomorrow I will be paring shoulders with biceps. I had to double up for Thursday and Friday, because I will be in the city all day on Saturday. Saturday is the NY Pro Bodybuilding championships at the Tribeca Performing Arts center. Species is sponsoring the women's show and I encourage everyone to come check it out. Species is having a big booth at the show that yours truly will be at all day. If you are a fan or friend in the area, come by and say hello. Its gonna be exciting!

may 6

Great leg workout yesterday. I started out with a extra wide stance squat. I did 3 warm up sets, and then three heavy sets of 10 with very strict slow form going below parallel. Next I went on to the hack squat were I did 3 sets, ( 15, 12 and a heavy set of 6) followed by high rep leg press 3 sets of 30. I finished up with single leg leg extensions, I did an extra set with my left leg, because it is lagging behind the right one. We also blasted calves and abs yesterday. That workout really kicks my ass! Today is chest, I will be focusing mostly on incline movements this week. I will let you know how that goes tomorrow...Computer is finally fixed, so the blogs will be more steady now!

may 3

I still haven't fixed my computer yet, but here is an update on whats going on. I had an all around decent week of training, highlighted by my shoulder routine on friday. I went up to 130lbs for 10 reps on the dumbbell shoulder press, then dropped down to 100 and got 24 reps. Today I went to Golds in New Haven for a Special Meeting. I have been chosen to be on the Committee, for Connecticut in the NPC. I am going to do a really big, in depth blog on this very soon so stay tuned. Big things are coming in CT! I trained arms after the meeting and had a great work out. I love training win Big Evan is in the house, he is the only guy that can really inspire me, just by standing there! I saw My boy Kenny Wallach, who is competing tomorrow at the New England Body building championships, my man is looking great! I expect him to do very well! After the meeting I shot over to Tommy K's in Stamford for one of Dave Palumbos Hardcore Seminars. The Seminars are very informative and I highly recommend checking one out to any body interested in really learning about the body, and maximizing your potential. Colette Nelson was in the house looking awesome! She is competing at the NY Pro, and looks way better than she did at the Arnold!

Finaly, I want to congratulate my friend Jeff Long on getting a contract with MD. Jeff is a monster and is only 24 years old!

april 30

I apologize for not blogging the past few days. I crashed my computer and it has been hell trying to straiten every thing out! Just to give a brief recap of whats going on, I hurt my back squatting on monday, I am going today to get some treatment. This has been an injury filled off season for me, but I keep trucking forward. Yesterday I went down to Bev Francis Powerhouse Gym in Long Island so Nicole could get Looked at by Steve Wineberger and get an assessment. Everything went well, I had a great workout and Saw fellow Species Athlete Eugine Mishin, who was looking big and shredded. Eugine is doing the NY Pro, and he should definitely turn some heads! Thats all for now, I promise I will be back in action as soon as I get my computer fixed!

april 25

I had a great back workout yesterday. I think that the Barbell rows, underhand-Dorian Yates style are really working for me. I can work up to 315 for 8 with pretty good form. I don't want to get sloppy and jerk the weight around, that's how you tear a bicep! Today is my shoulders, hams, calves and abs. I am really trying to focus on bringing out the thickness of my hams! Tonite I believe I am going to the Outback Steak house, I haven't been in a couple weeks, so I'm looking forward to it!

april 24

Good chest work out on tuesday. I went up to 85lb dumbbells for incline flys and then I went to my incline Barbell presses. I lost 2 reps on each set compared to when I start with the press fresh. Yesterday I went to Dr. Mike to get alot of work done(elbow, shoulder, back and knees) I was pretty beat up by the time I left, but today I feel much better. Today I have back and I hope to continue my streak of great back workouts!

april 22

Absolutely killed my quads yesterday. Squats, 4 heavy sets of 8, 6, 6, 6, ( I cant go quite as heavy as I want because my Knees still hurt pretty bad) Leg press, 3 sets of 40, 30, 20 reps. Hack Squats, 3 sets of 25, 20, 20. Single leg- leg extensions, 3 sets of 20, 20, 40 reps. Abduction and Adduction machine 3 sets each of 15. All those reps had me ready to puke. My legs better be growing after all that. Today is chest, I plan on doing a little pre exhaust method, before my heavy pressing, just to switch things up a bit. I will let you know how it goes tomorrow!

Weekend Recap

I have to start out with a huge CONGRATULATIONS to my client and friend Michelle Wynn. Michelle competed at the 2008 INBF NORTH EAST AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS down in Matawan NJ, yesterday. Michelle Took first in the masters figure and 2nd in the open. Michelle is one of the hardest workers I have ever met and she deserves the recognition she got over the weekend!

Friday I went up to see the Montanari Bros at Golds in New Haven. I hung around with Jerry,(one of the brothers that own the gym) for a while and then blasted shoulders. I have yet to have a bad workout in that gym! Saturday I went to NYSC in Danbury to train arms, and I have to be honest, I didn't have the greatest workout. I got distracted a few times by people wanting to ask me questions, and never really got a good rhythm going. Last nite my boy Jay and his Fiance Kristen came over and we watched the UFC fights. I was very excited that my boy G.S.P. DOMINATED Matt Serra! The fights were exciting and we had a good time. Today I'm just relaxing, and then its Big Quads on monday!

april 18

I have had a great week of training so far. Quads went well on monday, very good chest workout tuesday. Wed I got treatment from Dr. mike, and thursday I really blasted my back. Thickness is definitely not an issue for me, so width is the main focus!. I start with heavy barbell rows underhand Dorian Yates style, then I move on to a couple of my secret weapons that Dr Mike and I decided on, I cant give away Dr. Mikes secrets, but I will say my back is getting wider! Finally I finish up with Lat pull downs to the front and a variety of different finishing moves depending on the mood I'm In. I am down a bit in weight, 263, but I still think I can Hit 270 by June first when I start dieting!

april 15

Awesome quad workout yesterday. Squats, Hack Squats, Single leg- Leg Press, Single Leg- Leg extensions and abduction/adduction work. I have to thank Dr. mike for showing me a better way to wrap my knees on Heavy squats, once again Dr. Mike saves the day! Today Is chest, I am planning on Doing heavy Incline barbell as well as heavy Flat, After that, some dips and flys. My progress is coming along rather nice and in about 7 weeks I will be dieting. I hope to try to put on a little more size before I rip everything up!

Weekend Recap

LOOOOOONG weekend for me. I never thought I would be looking forward to a monday! Saturday morning I was up at 5am to get ready to go to Tribecca with My client Michelle. I was in NY by 7 and back stage rockin with clients and friends until about 3. After prejudging Guy, our friend Lisa and I all went back to guys house to relax for a bit. I was back in Tribecca by 7 to go prepare for the Nite show. This was a long Nite! My client Michelle was at her all time best making her debut in the NPC, she was in a really tough class and failed to make the top 5. This weekend she is competing in the INBF and she is gonna kick some butt! Another Client Bridgette, who I have only been working with for a couple of weeks got totally robbed and took home second in her weight class. My good friend Kenny Wallach who is also the posing coach of Evan Centopani, Guy Cisternino and Myself, competed for the first time in years and was beyond shredded! Kenny took 4th in the open middleweight and 3rd in the masters under 176. The crowd booed when they called him third and many believed he should have one. My buddy Kris Lecomte won the whole show. He is another of Dave Palumbos athletes and was definitely the hands down winner! When the show ended around 11, Nicole and I were off to the Poconos!

I arrived in the Poconos around 1 am sunday morning and went strait to bed. I was on the set of the movie at noon and went non stop until 10 pm. I felt so sorry for Nicole who had to wait around the whole time. I swear I must have did 1,000 most musculars and was completely exhausted when I was through! I made it home in exactly 2 hours and was dead tired! I hope the movie comes out well. I will keep everyone informed!

april 11

Great back workout yesterday! I also did some biceps because I will not be able to train this weekend. Today I will do my shoulders and hams like always, but I will also be doing some triceps. Saturday I wont be able to get in the gym, I will be helping my clients and friends who are competing in the city.Its gonna be a long day! sunday I will be in the Poconos shooting a short film for the artist Mika Rottenberg. I am honored for the opportunity to work with her. If you Google her name, you can see some of her work. So until next week...Have a great weekend everyone!

april 10

I know I have been a lazy blogger this week, and I apologize. I still feel a little weird from the stomach virus I got last wed. Monday I trained legs and Had a great workout, but I felt very dehydrated and was gasping for air the whole time. Tuesday when I ttained chest it was the same scenario. I went to Dr. Mike yesterday to get more work done on my legs. The treatment is very painful, but you feel much better afterwards. Today I am training back, I hope to have some more stamina than I did early in the week.
I will be in Tribecca on saturday for the Bev Francis Metropolitan championships. I have a couple clients and friends competing. Good luck to Kenny Wallach, Michelle Wynn, Bridget Manzi and Chris Lecomte!

april 6

Let me just start off by saying that I lost both final four games yesterday and am going to finish my bracket just outside the money...that sucks. Every year the same thing happens, oh well. I'm not a gambler, I just love sports.
Yesterday I went up to Golds in New Haven to see my good friend Kenny Wallach. Kenny is competing in the NYC Metropolitan the 12th in Manhattan. Kenny is the posing coach of myself, Evan Centopani, Guy Cisternino and a few others. Kenny is the man, and judging by the way he looked on saturday, he should bury his competition! I saw Guy, who is looking very large, His boy Dom, who is working with Dave Palumbo and is about 7 weeks out from his show, looking very good as well. Big Evan was in the house looking massive as always, as well as many others all busting there butts in that hard core gym. I am still not feeling 100 percent from my stomach virus, but I think with a good rest day today, I should be able to attack legs on monday!

april 5

BIRTHDAY SHOUT OUT TO MY GOOD FRIEND COLETTE NELSON!!!! I have been very sick since wednesday with a stomach virus. I puked 8 times from wednesday nite to thursday morning, and I was pretty wiped out for the rest of the week. Now its saturday and I'm heading up to GOLDS in New Haven to see a bunch of friends and train, I dont know how much energy I'm gonna have, but I'm gonna give it my all. Its been a tough off season with injuries and getting sick, but I keep battling through it. I will not loose track of my goal!

april 2

It was good to get back into legs on monday. I cut my volume a bit and did leg press instead of hacks, but my squats went pretty well and my knees were ok. My legs were definitely sore. Yesterday I went to Dr. Mike to get more work done on my legs and left elbow. My chest workout was a little off yesterday, I think due to the fact that I went to therapy first, something that I never do. My strength was down a bit, but I still had a good workout. Today is rest day, and then its back in the gym for Big Back tomorrow!

NEW UPDATES!!!

Check out my New updates in the members section. Photographer Tony Monchinski of MuscleMag got some great shots of me training arms in Bob Bonhams Strong and Shapely gym!

Weekend Recap

Friday- I had a great long workout of Bis, Tris, Calves and Abs. Friday nite I went out with my buddy Justin to White Plains for a while.

Sat and Sun- Since I took the whole weekend off, I have just been resting eating and being lazy. My knees are still pretty sore, but I still plan on getting back into legs on monday. I have to call the Dr and get his opinion. This Saturday the 5th I will be heading up to Golds in New Haven, so if anybody wants to meet me to train, I should be there around 12.

march 28

HUGE BIRTHDAY SHOUT OUT TO MY MOM KAREN NEWTON. My moms birthday was yesterday the 27th, but she was out of town so I didn't get to see her. I will be dropping her gift off at her work today on my way to work. Yesterday I had a pretty good shoulder workout, I did some Arnold presses at the end of my routine to really fry the anterior heads. Today I am cramming calves, abs, bis and tris all into one crazy session, and then I will be taking the weekend off to rest.

march 27

Yesterday I went to see my main man Dr. Mike to get some work done. My knees have been hurting lately as I stated in a few previous blogs. Dr. Mike worked his magic and I would say he cut my pain down by 30-40 percent. I hope that he can wipe this pain out the way he did for my shoulder! Today I am training shoulders, one day less rest than normal, hopefully I can still progress from the great session I had last week, I think I am going to really pre-fatigue my side delts before I press today. Thats about all I have going on right now, new updates will be up soon in my members section from my trip down to strong and shapely. The photos are by Tony Monchinski, and they are great!

march 25

Whats up everyone, normally I would begin this with saying how great my leg workout was yesterday. Not this week, I had to skip legs because the pain in my knees is getting to severe. I will be getting some treatment and hopefully the rest helps. I have been squatting really heavy for close to 3 strait months now and I believe its just wearing me down a little. So instead, I am just pushing everything back a day and trained chest yesterday. Flat bench first- 315- 10, 365- 6 and then I took a little longer rest and did 365-8. No pain in my shoulder. Next I did the hammer strength incline, followed by incline flys and finally flat flys. pretty basic, but I had a good pump and feel pretty sore today. Today I will train back, I am on only 5 days rest, 2 less than normal, but I plan on hitting it just as hard as always. stay tuned for details tomorrow!

Weekend Recap

FRIDAY- I trained shoulders in Brewster at Powerhouse. I started out with Dumbbell shoulder press. I had a great day and hit 2 personal bests. The first was doing the 130s for 8 strict reps and the second was my drop set where i did the 100s for 25 shattering my old best of 21. Thanks again Dr. Mike, LOL!

SATURDAY- I went down to Strong and Shapely Gym, in New Jersey, because Universal Nutrition was having one of there Animal Barbell Club seminars and the Owner of the gym, My buddy Bob Bonham asked me to come down. Vinny Galanti was running the show, but big Evan was in the house as well as Greg Valentino. I had a great time and met alot of cool people.

SUNDAY-Happy Eater! I went over to my grandmas house to hang with my family and watch the games. Georgetown, totally screwed up my bracket. I am a huge fan of March Madness and really enjoy this time of year. My good friend Ryan Berdan stopped by, I haven't seen him in a long time and it was great hanging out with him!

Today I am taking legs off. I know it SUCKS. my knees are really beat up and sore and I need to rest, I will be getting some treatment this week, but I have been squatting really heavy for about 12 weeks now and I need a short break!

march 19

Its late wed nite, or early thursday morn(whichever you prefer) and I cant sleep, so why not blog. I had a miserable time training legs on monday, I went into the gym feeling like an animal, but my quadricep tendinitis was so out of hand that I had to train very light! Some how I managed to get a pump and was actually sore the next day. Tuesday I continued my new pursuit of the bench press, I started with 315 for 10 and then did 2 sets of 365 for 5. NO PAIN AT ALL! I cant thank Dr. Mike enough for what he has done for my shoulder. A little over a month ago, I wouldn't go over 225 without pain! Today I paid Dr. Mike a visit, Wednesday is our day. Now we are working on my elbow! The sessions of ART treatment can be pretty painful, but they are well worth it! My weight is still hovering around 263-265. Time to go pound some ISOLYZE and hit the sack, tomorrow is back day!

march 16

I have had a streak of good workouts his week, I think alot has to do with my man Dr. Mike. My ailments are not bothering me the way they used to, so thanks Dr.mike! last nite, we went to the movies with my buddy Jay and his fiance Kristen to see Semi Pro. Will Farrell was absolutely hilarious, I laughed my ass off the whole time. Tomorrow I am back in the gym for another crazy leg workout. My goal is to keep getting stronger on the squat and to increase the amount of weight I hit on my 20 reps of hacks!

DOMINICS DAY PLEASE READ!!!

At the Arnold Classic I had the pleasure of meeting the most adorable little boy, Dominic. I didn't ask his age, but I could tell by his size he was somewhere between 2 and 3. Dominic was born with a severe heart condition and will need a transplant by the age of 5! I ask every one who reads this to please go to www.dominicsday.com and read about his story. You can see pics of the cute little guy, and there is a part where you can make donations for his transplant. For those of you have children, to those of you who don't, having a child born with a syndrome like this is heartbreaking! Please take the time to go check out the site and make a donation, please tell as many of your friends and family members to check out the site as well. Its not too often that you get the opportunity to be a part of something truly special...here is that opportunity!

march 12

Yesterday I trained chest in Brewster. My second week of getting back into flat barbell bench press. 315 went up for 10, and then 11, and then on my 3rd set 12 without any problems. My shoulder is not in any pain today, which is a great sign. I have all ways felt that the flat barbell bench press is a superior exercise for building mass in the chest. Today I am off to Fairfield to see Dr. Mike. I have to thank him for taking such good care of me and my bum shoulder. I am bringing Nicole in to his office today to see if he can fix some of her ailments as well. Other than that I plan on relaxing today, I am still not completely over my cold. By the way, my legs are extra sore this week!

march 11

I stayed in all weekend to rest up and let my body fight the sickness that I had all last week. I watched 3 movies, Planet Terror, Beowulf, and 30 days of nite. All the movies were good, but Planet terror was the best, I highly recommend it. Yesterday, I blasted legs and I know I went beyond my limit because today I am super sore. My last set of hack squats was one of the crazy est sets of my life! I really thought I was gonna puke training legs yesterday! I know that's what I have to do to bring my legs to the next level. I started taking creatine monohydrate yesterday, it has been many years since I used creatine and I am curious to see how it helps me. I am mixing 5 grams into my pre and post workout shakes that are a mixture of 50 grams of ISOLYZE and 80 grams of CARBOLYZE.

NEW UPDATES!!!

Brand New Updates are up in my members section. 2 pages of Pics from the Arnold Classic!!! Come and check them out!

march 9

Well, I was so sick on thursday that I didn't even leave the house. I never miss a workout, even when I have a cold, but this was no ordinary cold. To be honest, I was amazed at how fast my body can produce Mucous. sounds pretty gross, huh? I took out some stock in Kleenex, so I should be good. Friday I went to NYSC and trained back, I drank a whole gallon of water during my workout and still felt dehydrated! Yesterday, I did a combination workout consisting of shoulders, tris and bis. I had a great pump, and I am looking forward to getting back into it on monday. Monday I am starting up some "old school" creatine mono hydrate powder. Just 10 grams spread into my pre and post workout shakes. I will let you know how it works out. I am still not feeling %1oo, but I am much better than I was the other day!

Bad Week

Well its Thursday, and so far this has not been a good week for me! After my Awesome weekend in Ohio, I went into the gym ready to kill my legs. After 2 warm up sets of squats, I bent over to tie my sneaker tighter, and felt something go in my back, the pain was pretty bad, so I had to scrap squats this week. After a shitty leg workout, my throat was starting to bother me a little. Tuesday I woke up feeling pretty bad, my back was sore, and so was my throat. Some how I managed a decent chest workout. Yesterday I went to Dr. Mike to fix my Back, but by now my back isn't my worst problem! My sinus are going haywire, I think I have an infection. I couldn't sleep the past 2 nites because I am constantly blowing my nose! I hope things get better soon, this sucks!!!

THE ARNOLD CLASSIC WEEKEND!

this blog has the potential to get really drawn out so I am going to try to stick to all my biggest high lites...

Thursday- we were up at 5am, way too early for me, to get ready to go to Bradley airport in Hartford. As I am going through security, the security guy looks at me and says, "Damn man, your huge, but a guy came in here a little while ago that was twice your size" So, i look at the guy and say"there aint nobody around here twice my size bro" So the guy starts describing the monster, saying that he looked alot like me, only a little taller with shorter hair. that's when I realized it had to be Evan. So I tell the guy, "the person your talking about is Evan Centopani, my good friend, he is on the cover of Muscular Development this month" sure enough as I am walking to the terminal I here Evan calling my name,LOL, its funny, we diddnt know we would be flying together. Not only was Evan on the plane, but right in front of me was UFC heavyweight fighter Gabrial Gonzaga, and right behind me was Americas Strongest man Derek Poundstone!

Friday- Day 1 of the expo, Nicole was working in the MD booth all day, with Kristina Tucci, Jacki Haas (miss Jacki from WWE) Arina Manta, and a bunch of other babes. Greg Valentino was there as well as the Crazy Smalley Bros, Melissa Dittwiller, Jimmy "the Iron Bull" Pellechia, Monica Brant, as well Dr. Colker, John Romano and Ron Harris. All great People, especially Valentino who is a riot and a genuine nice guy! Friday nite we went to watch the womens show, the show is run so well! My good friend Colette Nelson was off that nite, but she is gonna bounce back and kick some serious ass at the NY Pro!

Saturday- at noon I went over to the mens prejudging, the show was stacked! Everyone came ready to battle, Phil heath is absolutely incredible and will probably be Mr. O someday! My man Branch Warren was at his all time best, hard as a rock, and huge from every angle! I really like Branch, He is a very humble, down to earth guy, it was a pleasure meeting him this weekend!
After the prejudging I went with Colette to the Expo, My friends Lena and Big Eugene got married on the MD stage,LOL! Then, the high lite of my whole weekend happened! Triple H came to the booth to hang out and sign autographs, this caused complete chaos and the booth was quickly surrounded with hundreds of crazy, adoring fans. I got the pleasure to talk to Triple H, who actually Knew who I was(HOW AWESOME IS THAT!!!) I cant believe how friendly he was, A true gentleman who loves the sport of bodybuilding. Even better, when it was time for him to exit, I was chosen to be in the front of his Security leading him to his Exit! Triple H, if you read this, it was an honor meeting you!
Saturday nite Nicole and I went to the Finals. Branch got 4th and all though I was dying for him to win, it was hard to argue the outcome when Dexter, Phil and Kai all came in at there all time best. Following the show, Nicole, Big Evan, Evans boy Keith and myself went out for a delicious dinner at Mitchells steakhouse. Then it was on to the Official After party were Mr G was wrestling 4 midgets, and every body was partying. I Hung out with Evan,Keith, Nicole and my new main man IFBB pro From Wales, James "flex" Lewis. James is a riot, His Fiance Shina was great too. We also hung out with my boy Steve Kulcko Who is a 22 year old monster, and his Fiance, IFBB pro Amy Peters. MY Man Troy Johnson and his wife Krissy chin were in the house as well. Dorian Yates was in the House and Chris Cormier was tearing up the dance floor,LOL! Tons of other pros were there too. We stayed until 4am and decided to call it a wrap.

Sunday and today- Nicole and I both had a great time, Nicole did a photo shoot with Dan ray, and we both met some great people. What a wonderful experience. Very Motivating. Now I have to get my crap together and get ready to blast legs, it was tough trying to train out there. Now I have to get real serious and make some more gains for the North Americans! I am Inspired!!!

feb 27

Yesterday I blasted chest in Brewster. The workout was the best I have had in a while, so I am going to list it...
The Incline was all hogged up by some kids, and I diddnt feel like wating, so I used the smith machine. This particular smith machine has an extra thick bar that I am totally not a fan of! after i warmed up, my work sets were: Incline smith- 315-8
365-6
365-6
225-32(just to really burn it out)
next I moved to the hammer strength Incline where i started with 2 45s on each side for 10, then 3 for 10, 3 and a quarter for 8 and finally 4 45s for 8.
Then i went on to do decline flys 3 sets of 15 with 45lb dumbbells. and finally, Incline flys 4 sets of 15 with 50 lb dumbbells, nice and slow, extra strict!

Today I went to see my man DR. Mike at Physical Synergy in Fairfield. DR. Mike works on me from head to toe! Tomorrow I am leaving for the Arnold Classic, this will be my first one, I cant wait. I will blog all about it when I return! until then Have a great week and enjoy the weekend!

feb 26

Yesterday I had to train legs without my new monday squat partner Scott Perlman. I had a decent workout, but it wasn't the same without him. I also think I caught my buddy teds head cold, so I had a hard time breathing yesterday, I am still fairly congested today. I had a great chest workout at NYSC last week, today I am back in brewster and I am hoping to build on what I did last week. This week will be my last week of incline barbell presses. Next week I will be moving into a flat barbell phase for a while. The incline barbell has done me well, but its time to switch it up and keep my body guessing. Your body will adapt to the stress you put it through pretty fast, so variety is important!

feb 25

Here is a quick recap of my weekend...Saturday, i made the trip over to New Haven Golds to train Arms, I met up with my boy, Big Evan Centopani who was training hams and calves. Evan is looking huge, and his legs are growing like crazy! I got to see my buddy Jerry Montanari, but I didnt get to see my man Kenny Wallach. Next time Kenny! Sunday i went over to my buddy marks for a while, but other than that I just relaxed. Today is big leg day, Im ready to tear it up! Looking at Evans legs gave me even more motivation, I know what I have to do!

feb 22

SHOUT OUT TO MARLENE IN PENNSYLVANIA!
yesterday I went to a place called Physical Synergy in Fairfield CT, where I met Dr. Mike who works on my buddies Evan Centopani and also occasionally on Guy Cisternino. Dr. Mike is an ART master and I think joining forces with hm is really going to help my progress! stay tuned for more on that soon. Well, even though we are buried in snow, I still managed to make it to NYSC to train shoulders today, Nicole came with me, and I was surprised that besides my partner Ted, there were a fair amount of people in the gym. This kind of weather separates the real iron warriors from the fair weathered lifters! 1 more week and I will be in Ohio for the Arnold Classic, I cant wait!!!

feb 20

I trained at New York Sports club in danbury yesterday for a change of scenery. I had the best chest workout, much stronger and more pumped than I have been in a while. My shoulder wasn't bothering me that much, and I was able to hit 315 for sets of 8 on the incline. I am very sore today. I am off from the gym, but I am heading out to Fairfield to see a chiropractor that specializes in ART therapy. hopefully he can fix me up!

feb 19

here's a summary of the past few days...Phil Heath blew away everyone at the IRONMAN, I was not there, but I saw enough in the pics, Gustavo Badell looked pretty good and deserved 2nd. Tony Freeman was off again, and finally decided to go back to working with Dave Palumbo! my weight is back up to 261. American Gladiators is done for the season, and I want to wish my friend "Fury" a speedy recovery, she tore her ACL and badly damaged her knee in the semi finals(that's why you didn't see her in any events in the finals) It has been 5 weeks since her surgery and she is off crutches in the gym training all ready! That's a real Gladiator in my book! Good luck on a speedy recovery miss Reed!
Yesterday was legs with my new Partner on leg day Scott Perlman, we have had Back to Back kick ass workouts and I know my legs are gonna be much better by the time I get on stage again!
BTW- more updates are up in my members section, be sure to check them out!

feb 16

I did a photo shoot with Nicole for American Physique Body wear yesterday, I dehydrated my self for 1 day and managed to loose 7 lbs! I just needed to make sure my abs were tight when I got there, and they were, I am pretty happy to say that i was looking pretty shredded at 254 lbs, now I want to put that 7 lbs back on by the end of the weekend! Last nite I went out with my buddies Mark, Phil, and Ray for my birthday, we all had a fun time, but today I was definitely feeling the effects of my late nite! I managed to have a really good arm workout today at NYSC in danbury and now I'm off to OUTBACK! enjoy your saturday everyone!

feb 14

Happy Valentines Day everyone. Yesterday was my good buddy and mentor, Dave Palumbo's 40th Birthday party down in Long Island at a restaurant named Piccolos. The party was a surprise organized by Colette Nelson (Dave's fiancee) Dave was truly surprised when he got there, and we all had a great time. Guests included, the Smalley bros, Guy, Dom, Big Evan, Billy Guns, Joel, Vanessa, Nicole, Rick Collins and a bunch of Dave's close friend from the Ny area. Today my day is pretty crazy, I have to go get a quick workout in real quick and then I have to get a haircut, run home to shower and then go get a professional spray tan done for my photo shoot tomorrow! I gotta get movin!

feb 13

Yesterday I was really pressed for time, and the snow caused accidents everywhere, so by the time my training partner and I arrived at the gym to train, I only had about 40 Minn to get started and finish, before my next client! I managed to blast chest very hard and fast, although my partner had a really tough time keeping up with the pace! Someone needs to work on there stamina! Today I am off, but I have to drive into Long Island later which is probably going to suck! Tomorrow I have to bring our little girl kitty Bella to the vet to get fixed bright and early in the A.M. Thats all for today.

feb 12

I had a really great workout yesterday. my best squat in a long time! big thanks to my buddy Scott Perlman who was an awesome training partner yesterday! my legs are extra sore today, unfortunately my right knee is very achy today as well. I'm going to have to pay close attention to it. Today is chest, back to the heavy incline barbell press for a while. my photo shoot for American Physique Body wear will be on Friday, I will keep you posted on how that goes!

feb 10

Shout out to everyone who came to Docs Nutrition in Carmel NY yesterday. Dave gave a seminar from 1-5 and I was there with Guy Cisternino repping species. HUGE shout out to Greg Valentino who came by and had me absolutely rolling on the floor with laughter! There was a big turnout yesterday and I got to meet some really nice people. Today im just relaxing, my shoulder is really messed up, I can barely lift it, guess I need to get my ass into the doctor! thats all for today, enjoy the rest of the weekend!

feb 8

yesterday was back, i had a great workout, i did some dead lifts for the first time in a while. my bad shoulder is really hurting today, i was going to go for ART, but my schedule wont allow it today. I have shoulders today so it should be interesting since i cant lift my shoulder over my head without pain! just a reminder to everyone that i will be at Docs house of Nutrition in Carmel NY tomorrow at 1 with dave palumbo, be sure to stop by if your in the area.

NEW UPDATES!!!

Check out another new gallery from california in my members section!

feb 7

Yesterday was my birthday. 27 years old now. Everyone was asking me if i was going to outback steakhouse to celebrate, but for once i wasnt. Instead i took my family to Bungalow, my friends restaurant in croton falls. we had a great time, and my family loved the food! Today im back in the gym for back. i have decided that today is gonna be my last day of "old school" T-bar rows for a while. Next week im gonna start getting into regular barbell rows. should be interesting!
just want to let everyone know that I will be at Tommy 2Ks in Carmel NY on saturday from 1-5 with Dave Palumbo promoting Species and helping Dave give a hardcore seminar. I encourage everyone in the area to come down!

CURRENT STATS

OK, since so many people have been asking me my stats lately I have decided to make them public. here are the current measurements...

HEIGHT 5'10"
WEIGHT 260lbs
WAIST 34in
ARMS 22in
CHEST 53in
FOREARMS 17.5in
QUADS 28in
CALVES 18.5in
NECK 19in

NEW UPDATES!!!

Hey everybody, come check out my new updates im my members section as well as some new pics from my Cali trip in the free gallery!

BACK HOME AGAIN

So im finaly back home again, here is a quick recap of what went on since you last heard from me...
WED- stayed in Palm springs and trained back, went out for sushi and then drove in to venice and checked in to the seashore motel.
THURS- went to the fire house to eat and then went to golds venice to train shouldrs, i saw Silvio Samuel again, as well as Will Harris. That nite, big ben drove me around down town LA to see the various famous sites, including Rodeo drive and parts of Beverly Hills.
FRI- we drove back to palm springs, that nite i went to the gym with junior world champ Dan Hill, i did a lite arm workout and then i went home to pack up all my stuff.
SAT- i left palm springs early and flew into O'HARE international, there i was able to upgrade to 1st class courtesy of my MYSPACE buddy Rick(thanks Rick) I arrived in new york at 5:30, when i first saw Nicole it was like a cheesey movie seen, we both satarted running to each other until we met with a huge hug and kiss! I missed her so much! that nite i watched the new ufc debut of Brock Lesner, he lost to Frank Mir, but i think he has alot of potential.
SUN- Superbowl, i was pretty dissapointed, the game was borring until the last 4 minn, i cant believe the Pats lost, what a waste of a season! at least the comercials were good!

Now its back to reality, i have legs today, my back is still very sore. I have a photo shoot for AMERICAN PHYSIQUE BODYWEAR on wed, wich is also my birthday. New pics will be up soon from my trip in my members section, also stay tuned for some video clips!

jan 30

yesterday we stayed in Palm Springs and trained at the large golds gym that's in town. it is a totally different scene then Venice, but Ben and I had a kick ass chest work out! last nite was our buddy Jesse Godderz last nite with us (he was on mtv's exposed, LOL) we all went to IN and OUT BURGER which is pretty famous on the west coast...I wasnt impressed, but I got an employee hat that i took some funny pics in! today we are just takin it easy, were gonna train back later in Palm Springs. tomorrow i think were gonna go back to Venice, hopefully i still get access to a computer for the rest of the week. I miss everybody alot, especially Nicole, but I'll be home soon!

jan 29

yesterday i travelled to the "mecca" of all bodybuilding, GOLDS GYM VENICE. it took us almost 3 hours to get there but it was all worth it. muscular developments video specialist bill comstock is filming a mini documentary on my self and freak Ben Pakulski as we train for the north american championship...thats right, no junior nationals for me this year, i need more time to bring up my legs! Ben and i trained legs like maniacs for the camera yesterday, i thought i was pretty strong until i met this dude. Ben finished his last set of squats with 6 plates per side for 5 deep reps with no wraps or belt! i got to eat at the famous fire house restaurant and we ran into ifbb pro Silvio Samuel, taking a nap on the couch at jay cutlers max muscle store! i also got to meet legendary trainer Charles Glass, who was really nice and personable. Ifbb pros, Bob Chicherello and and Will Harris as well as Armin Shulz were all there training as well. i finished off the evening eating some great sushi with Ben, drove back to rancho mirage and called it a nite.

I'M IN CALI!

well, after a very long day of flying and sitting in airports, im finally in cali. yesterday i met my housemates, Dan Hill a younger guy from germany with tons of potential and Ben the new "quadzilla" Pakulski who is an absolute freak at 300lbs(check him out www.benpakulski.com) today(sunday) we relaxed and then went to see the new RAMBO. very cool movie, very gory! sly looks great for a 60 year old! tomorrow i head to Venice beach brite and early in the am. i will keep you posted on what goes down.

OFF TO CALI!

i finished up my weeks worth of training today with arms abs and calves. yesterday i did shoulders and traps. i feel like i am a bit over trained, but i really wanted to get everything in. 5 strait days of hard workouts is tough for me, i prefer a break after 3.
tomorrow i leave for cali!!! i am very excited, but at the same time i am a little bummed that i wont be with nicole for the week. this will be the first time we have been apart for more than a couple of days! Absence makes the heart grow fonder! i bet i will be really excited to see her when i return!
i am not sure weather ill be able to blog or not out there, but if i have access to a computer ill be on. this should be a great experience for me and i would like to thank Ed Connors for making it all possible. take care everyone, ill be back soon!