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9/16/2019: The Road to Success

After a fun off season that included traveling the world and prepping my body to compete this coming summer, today marks day 1 of my pro body building campaign.

As some of you already know, I won my pro card Fall 2018. I have to say, it wasn’t an easy journey to get there. Winning my pro card has taught me a lot about myself. They always say push past your limits, and this is exactly what I had to do to win my pro card. I had to 10X everything that I did on a daily basis, and trust me, it wasn’t easy all the time. But did I prove to myself that I can do it? I sure did. And that’s what I love about this sport.

After thinking long and hard, I believe that a reasonable and attainable goal for me this year is to compete in 2-3 shows this coming summer, and try to place in the top 6 in Classic Physique.

What will it take to meet and exceed my goal? The answer is simple… by busting my butt at the best gym in Philadelphia (and in my opinion, the US of A), Back to Basics Fitness.

In my previous preps, I ate 6-7 meals per day. However, this prep will require a higher intake of calories. Since my goal is to weigh in at around the mid 170’s on show day, I’ll be eating 8 meals per day. All of my meals will include nutrition dense foods. As many of you may already know, the goal is to build lean muscle in the off season, and then shred during the final weeks before show day.

Building lean muscle during off season is an art, and isn’t easy. The last thing that any bodybuilder looks forward to is leaning out after putting on a whole bunch of muscle. We all know that with muscle comes the fat. This is exactly what I won’t be doing this prep. To keep my body fat percentage down, I’ll be doing moderate amounts of cardio throughout my off season. Yes, I’ll be eating more while keeping a leaner physique. But this means that I’ll be able to build lean muscle, which means my prep will be much easier than what most have to go through.

Perhaps, the most challenging and newest thing for me will be learning a different posing routine for Classic Physique. Compared to bodybuilding, the class I have been competing in the last few years, I feel there is more purpose, elegance, and flow. I’ll be doing a lot of work with a posing friend fairly soon to try and get a grasp on the mechanics and routine.

All in all, I’m excited to continue my fitness journey into the pro realm. I’ll be happy with whatever results I get if I know I presented the best package I could put together. That’s the most I can ask of myself. Because, in the end, “not everything is silver, not everything is gold…I just do it for myself”.

4/5/2019: Keeping it real

Hey guys! This is my blog. This is where I’ll be posting the best recipes for mushroom soups, brownies, cookies, and much more. And oh yeah, the chocolate Lava Cakes too. Did I mention that my favorite candy bar is Espresso Snickers?

Ok, nevermind with all of that. Just pretend like it didn’t even happen. I actually do enjoy healthy things, and, I suppose, working out too. Okay, and probably the Espresso Snickers bars too…

But real talk, here at Back to Basics Fitness, we like to keep things real. As real as they get. You’ll go to some of these other gyms in Philadelphia, and you’ll get the complete opposite. Who would have ever thought that having some pizza on a Friday night wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world…

Let’s face it, eating clean and working out isn’t easy. Because if it was easy, everyone would be doing it. It’s the challenge and the end results that make it all worth it at the end of the day.

In a nutshell, out of all your gyms in Philadelphia, we are the one that you can count on every day. Here at Back to Basics Fitness, we focus on not only setting realistic goals, but also achieving them.

And how do we do this?

It’s very simple. We hold each other accountable, and more importantly, we have fun in the process of it all.

Taking your health and fitness to the next level is a challenge for every one. Let’s admit it, sometimes, obstacles (darn those Snickers bars…) will get in your way.

Whatever the obstacle may be, we’re here to help you overcome that obstacle. Let’s be real here, we all lack the desire to go to the gym at times. Sitting on the couch after a long day at work seems much easier. Well, because it is easier. Besides, who said the gym life would be easy in the first place?

No matter how unachievable your goals may seem to you, believe us, you’ll get there.

Everyone’s goals are different at Back to Basics Fitness. There are other options aside from being a competitive body builder. Maybe you’re training for a marathon, or maybe you’re just getting back to the gym after 5 years of not seeing a single dumbbell.

No matter what level you’re at today, we will build the right foundation that you need to accomplish your goals.

Don’t have a goal set yet?

No worries, we’ll help you create a healthy and realistic goal. And better yet, we’ll help you get there in the quickest way possible…all while having fun! So no need to ditch out on that Snickers bar…just save it for a leg day, and BOOM you got yourself some gains!

And I’ll just leave it at that…

-Jay