Archive for December, 2006
Hello again! I’m very pleased to see that YOU are EXCITED to hear the topic of discussion in today’s blog! Well, so am I, so why don’t we jump right into it! Well you’ve already read some of my goals behind MY MISSION in previous blogs, so lets discuss another shall we? I sincerely hope that YOU’LL have your ears WIDE OPEN, because I guarantee that you’ll look at your life situations with a COMPLETLEY different point of view! I know ONE thing - it sure has for ME, and I give THANKS to GOD for allowing ME to see MY life in a WHOLE new light!
Are your ears tuned in?
Here we go!
I sincerely feel that I wouldn’t be where I’m at today in my life, if it weren’t for God! He has been by my side when I’ve had to go through INCREDIBLE trials that HE has put in front of me throughout out my life! God would no doubt put MY WILL and FAITH to a HUGE test to see how MUCH I could endure, and trust in HIM! I want to share with you ONE trial that I was faced with, that would COMPLETLEY change my LIFE FOREVER!
It ALL happened on that ONE faithful day, when MY life changed in a blink of an eye! I went from being able to walk and jump with my friends, to having to walk with the aid of crutches! I know what your’re thinking, NINO what happened! Well this was why I wanted you to have your ears WIDE OPEN, because I’m about to tell you!
When I was born my feet were turned in too much, but I could still walk so it was no BIG deal for me. On the other hand, it seemed to be a BIG deal with my doctor! He stated, “We can EASILY correct your feet so they’ll be turned to a normal position.” So after discussing it with my parents, we decided why not, if it’s going to help me walk better!
So on the day of the surgery I prayed to God and asked him to give me strength,and that HE would watch over me and the surgery would be a success! Well I don’t think I prayed hard enough, the doctor ended up cutting the WRONG BONE! As a result it ended up turning my feet out forty-five degrees too much, and saying to HIM, “What does this mean? Am I still going to be able to walk?” Are YOU ready for HIS reponse? “NINO I’m truly sorry, but there is nothing WE can do to correct it. You will be unable to walk on your own EVER without the aid of crutches”!
I thought that this was all a BAD DREAM, and I was going to wake up and everything would be fine! Well that wasn’t the case - it was reality - and MY WHOLE LIFE HAD CHANGED!
The point I’m trying to make is simple: You’ve read ALL my blogs to this POINT (at least I hope YOU have!) In ANY of those blogs, have YOU heard that I ever QUIT, or for that I ever made EXCUSES for what GOD has given me? That’s right - the answer is NO!! GOD has been MY strength through out MY TRIALS, in my life that I have faced even to this VERY day! For that, I THANK GOD for blessing MY LIFE in such a way that HE has allowed me to see through MY disability! Also how HE will use ME and my accomplishments that I’ve acheived with HIS strength, to show YOU and others that the trials we ALL go through will only bring POSITIVE RESULTS when the dust clears!
It’s that time again! I’m going to ask you that same question! How have you been dealing with your TRIALS that God has given YOU? I CERTAINLY hope your’re going to tell me that YOU gave in and QUIT! It is NOT an option that you have ANYMORE, because I will NOT STOP until I teach YOU and everyone else I can how to do it the NINO WAY! In case you’ve forgotten what that is, let ME help you again: NO EXCUSES!!
GOD NEVER gives us more than we can handle in our LIVES, NO matter how TOUGH the trials become!! HE is ALWAYS willing to help us through them, God’s GRACE is ALWAYS sufficient! In the end the trials WILL ONLY make us ALL STRONGER, both physically and mentally! I know for ME they have, and I’ll continue to get STRONGER with each trial that GOD brings my way!
I sincerely hope this has helped YOU in how to go about facing your trials from this day forward. If it hasn’t, then let ME give you some advice, I hope your ears are still tuned in… It’s simple: YOU can’t go through TRIALS ALONE, YOU need GOD in your corner! I know who I have in MY corner! How about YOU??
December 26th, 2006
Hello Again and happy holidays! Before I get started, I first want to give thanks. I want to give thanks to God for giving me this opportunity to publish a website. It’s been like an early Christmas gift to me! I also give thanks to HIM for bringing a group of VERY special people into my life, who helped make NINO’S MISSION on the Internet possible!
It’s a privilege and a great GREAT opportunity to be able to share with YOU and many others MY life story, and to share how I’ve overcome so many challenges to get where I am today. It’s all about those two words: NO EXCUSES! To be able to compete in bodybuilding and to share, motivate and inspire others are some of the best gifts that I could ask for.
Although GOD has blessed me with many gifts, the first is that HE gave me life! Just think, if it weren’t for HIM, none of US would even be here on this earth and yet we sometimes take life itself for granted! God has endowed all of us with special gifts from the day we were born. I am truly grateful HE has shown me what my gifts are and MANY ways to utilize my gifts to help others while glorifying him!
I truly believe that God has used me - through my success in bodybuilding - to help show every person that they has a gift and that they can not only achieve personal success, happiness and fulfillment by finding and using their gifts, but also motivate and inspire others in the process!
I’m now going to ask You the million dollar question that everyone should be asking themselves: What gift has GOD given YOU?
Some people feel as if only other people were given special gifts. Sometimes they even feel as though things have been taken away from them or kept out of their reach… maybe due to a disability????
Well, if you don’t think you were given any gifts, boy are YOU in for a SURPRISE! Believe it or not, God has given every single person on this planet a special gift. It simply doesn’t occur to some people that maybe what looks like a disadvantage may turn out to be a gift. Or maybe your gift is plain to see. Maybe it’s in sports, music or even politics - they’re ALL given to YOU by GOD!
Here’s another MILLION dollar question! Have you been using your gifts to give glory to GOD and to help others? Or have you been giving yourself all the praise instead? I guess in order for you to know that, you have to have a relationship with him! Personally, I know for a fact, that it was God who gave me my gifts and it’s because of GOD that I’ve been successful in everything I have done to this point in my life, so I give him the credit. I also know that I will continue to use the gifts that I’ve been given, for as long as I’m alive, for GOD’S glory and to help others!
Listen, during this holiday season when we are all focused on the giving and receiving or material gifts, I would like to encourage you to really think about the gifts you already have - the ones you were born with - the ones that can’t be bought or sold. Then ask yourself those big questions again: Have you even recognized and appreciated these gifts you already have, and if so, have you ever even “opened” them?
December 18th, 2006
Hello again! I’m really EXCITED to see that you are still logging in and following along with my training journals because it’s about to get very interesting! If you’ve been keeping track of all the workouts we have done together so far, you realize that there is ONE body part remaining… which I purposely wanted to save it until last. That’s right, LEGS!
I know you may be thinking, “NINO, I know you train legs… BUT HOW????” Have you ALL forgotten my theme already… well, if so, let me refresh your memory: NO EXCUSES!!!!
That applies to ALL of us, all the time! GOD has given just about ALL a set of legs right? Well in my case, four if you include my crutches! (God has also given me a GREAT sense of humor!)
Believe it or not, LEGS is the body part I LOVE to train the most! I could be making TONS of excuses why I can’t train my legs. Like… “I walk with crutches, how am I supposed to train legs?” THAT excuse would be good enough for just about anybody.
Well, if allowed myself to think that way, I would probably be a couch potato today instead of a competitive bodybuilder and I wouldn’t even be here writing this message to you. So let me take you through my NO EXCUSE LEG ROUTINE, and show you what I do instead of making excuses, which has many of my fellow gym members totally baffled as they look on!
Are You Ready?
Here we go again!
When I train my LEGS, I like to go to failure with each and every set. Whether it’s the best way to train or not, or whether it’s “overtraining” or not, doesnt matter, because that’s the ONLY way I know I’m not making EXCUSES for myself!
I will do three specific exercises that target all the muscles in my legs, doing four sets a piece. The first exercise that I love to start with is LEG EXTENSIONS, so my legs will be properly stretched to help avoid cramping. Just to let you all know ahead of time, YOU will see alot of the number fifty being performed here (as in REPS!!!)
The first set 70 lbs 20-25 reps, second set 80 lbs 20-25 reps, third set 100 lbs 25-30 reps, FINAL set the BIG ONE 130 lbs 50 reps. There’s that number again, as you’re all seeing already the weight and reps INCREASE with each set I do!
Now that my legs are warmd up, I’m off to my second exercise, THE SEATED LEG PRESS MACHINE! Since my legs are already warmed up, I’m going to jump right into it. First set 250 lbs 20-25 reps, second set 280 lbs 25-30 reps, third set 300 lbs 30-35 reps FINAL set 350 lbs 50 reps. Let me tell you after those four sets, I DEFINITELY need my crutches to assist me to the FINAL exercise! (did I mention that I DO have a sense of humor?)
A lot of people would do this next exercise first, because it takes the most of their strength to do this exercise. Any ideas on what the exercise might be? No? Couldn’t possibly be???? Ok, let me help you out… SQUATS!
Like I stated in the beginning to ALL of you, where there’s a WILL, GOD has always allowed me to find a way! Remember, NO EXCUSES! I’ll DO whatever it takes to get it DONE! So instead of making excuses and saying “I can’t do squats,” I said to myself, “HOW can I do squats?” There’s always an answer - I simply do them in the Smith Machine.
Doing squats on the smith machine, the bar is already balanced for me, I just have to push the weight up! First set 185 lbs 20-25 reps, second set 225 lbs 20-25 reps, third set 275 lbs 15-20 reps FINAL set back to 185 lbs 50 reps. Let me tell you after that workout my LEGS feel like JELLO!
Well there you have it, my NO EXCUSE leg routine! I sincerely hope that my training blogs, has hit a nerve for ALL of you out there! As you’ve all seen there is NO secret in ALL of my workouts I do, or magic pills I take to perform the exercises and the amount of reps that GOD allows me to do! It ALL comes down to one thing: I’ve made NO EXCUSES! So you might want to ask yourself that question again: If Nino Can do it, Why Can’t I. The answer is… YOU CAN DO IT!. Just STOP MAKING EXCUSES!!!!
December 12th, 2006
Welcome Back! I hope by now you are seeing a pattern in the blogs that I’ve written so far. Whether it be a blog on training, goals, motivation or any other subject, the all share ONE theme! Do you know what it is? I certainly hope by now that you do, or haven’t been paying attention!
If you didn’t guess already, the answer is… “NO EXCUSES”!
I don’t care what excuse you try to sell me, there’s never one good enough!
In todays blog, I’m going to ask you a question, which is…
What’s Your Disability?
Come on, don’t be SHY! You know mine, by now. I understand you might need time to think about it, but don’t take to much time because you’re going to miss out on all the fun!
Believe it or not, GOD has given us all a “disability” that we have to deal with in our lives. Mine is physical. Yours may not be. But somewhere in your life, there is an obstacle or challenge you are faced with.
Whether your disability is visible or hidden, GOD does NOT DISCRIMINATE; we our all equal in his eyes!
I’m simply trying to make a point… with the grace of GOD, I’ve done positive things with mine, when I was repeatedly told, “NINO, you can’t body build or for that matter, compete in shows with your disability and be successful!
Well, I’ve competed in SEVERAL shows with a GREAT deal of success thanks to GOD! All I’m saying is if you go by what other people say you can or can not do with your “disability,” you’re just allowing other people to make EXCUSES for you!
I’ve been truly blessed by GOD, because he has allowed me to achieve so much despite my disability, when others told me it was impossible! I did whatever I had to do to make it possible!
So what makes my disability any different than yours? ABSOLUTLEY nothing! The only thing that might be a little different right now, is that I’ve made NO EXCUSES about mine! I have made things happen to help others understand that having a physical disability should NOT be thought of as being a negative thing BUT a positive one!
I guess it’s all in how you choose to interpret and attach meaning to your circumstances and how YOU choose to live yoru life!
So… you can keep on listening to what other people are telling you about what you can or cannot do or your can take MY advice! It’s YOUR choice, I know what mission GOD has sent me on! No matter what challenges YOU are faced with in life, there are NO EXCUSES, and NO REASONS why you can’t acheive success!
December 12th, 2006
I hope in the recent training blogs I’ve written so far, that I’ve begun to MOTIVATE you and other people around the world to get on the bandwagon and to start training hard and to give it your ALL, so you can start looking and feeling better about yourselves!
I think Slyvester Stallone sums it up best, in the movie “Over The Top” which I hope you’ve seen by now. “The World Meets No one Half Way”! The same thing applies in acheiving our fitness goals: Give it 100%, Keep going, and don’t think about stopping half way… because you’ll only be cheating yourselvef out of being successful!
Are You Ready? Here we go again!
In todays blog, I will be telling you about my AMAZING Back Routine thats had many of my fellow gym members trying to catch their breath when they tried to keep up with my routine themselves! So what are we waiting for, let’s ROCK!
Unlike the biceps and triceps, your BACK is a larger muscle group and that’s why I do more volume - twelve sets total! I will do four different exercises which will be working various parts of my back, no more than three sets a piece.
The first exercise I love to start with, is THE LAT PULL-DOWN, which will allow my back to be properly strenched, before I really ATTACK IT! First set 70 lbs 15-20 reps, second set 90 lbs 15-20 reps, third set 100 lbs 15-20 reps. Just a note, you WON”T hear the number 50 on the rep counts for back day; sorry to disappoint you, I’m only HUMAN!
Now I will jump into my SECOND exercise which is THE SEATED WIDE BAR ROW, this will REALLY help with V TAPER look and width that judges are really after on competion day. First set 80 lbs 15-20 reps, second set 90 lbs 15-20 reps, third set 100 lbs 20-25 reps.
Sure, I could use more weight, but instead I perform each set with a slow, controlled strict motion. I see alot of people lean back to try and pull more weight, but they are really only trying to impress. My point, which I will often emphasize here at Ninos mission, is to keep your form strict, let the muscle do the work (not momentum) and do this for yourself, not for ego or to impress others with how much you are lifting.
At this point my back is starting to get REALLY PUMPED UP but I still have two more exercises to go.
My third exercise is the DUMBELL ROW, I do these by supporting myself holding one arm on a chair and with the other arm, I pull the dumbell up then switch and do the other side. If there’s a WILL I will find the way…. remember NO EXCUSES!
The first set 45 lbs 15-20 reps, second set 55 lbs 15-20 reps, third set 60 lbs until FAILURE 20-25 reps. Let me tell you, after this exercise, my BACK is telling me NO MORE!
YES there is one more exercise… can you all guess what it is? YEP - PULL-UPS! This is the only way I’ll know if I worked my BACK hard enough! My goal here is to do as many reps as I can, until I can’t pull myself up anymore! First set 30 reps, second set 30 reps, My FINAL et until exhausted 40 reps.
There you have it - my AMAZING BACK routine!
Listen, let me make one final point before I sign off. I WORKED my way up to this point over many years - it just didn’t happen over night! These exercises are challenging, especially pull ups. Don’t expect to do 30 or 40 reps of pull ups your first time in the gym. pull ups are hard, but don’t make excuses. Why not start with ONE REP and build from there? Who knows, YOU might just amaze yourselves with how many pull-ups you can do a few months from now! If I can do it, you can do it. We are all in this TOGETHER!
December 5th, 2006
Well I see that you’re still with me…. congratulations, that tells me that you are a winner and you want to know more about this mission and about how you can succeed despite adversity. FANTASTIC!
In one of my previous blogs about my goals for Ninos Mission, I mentioned that I have many goals I want to accomplish, some for myself and some to help others. I sincerely hope that I will be given more opportunities to inspire and educate others all around the globe about the importance for each of us to set goals and to carry out them out successfully, no matter how big or small they might be!
I feel an area that people tend to struggle with in their lives, which holds them back from achieving the goals they set, is being able to PERSERVERE through difficult situations. In their minds, they believe they can’t handle them or even that it’s futile or impossible. So instead of working through difficulty and adversity, they simply take the easy road out and QUIT!
TO QUIT IS NOT ACCEPTABLE TO ME and it should not be acceptable to you.
Here is the simple way that I have been able to successfully perservere through my own trials and struggles that I have delt with throughout my LIFE:
I can sum it up very easily, it’s my STRONG FAITH AND TRUST IN GOD!
If I didn’t have such a STRONG BELEIF AND FAITH, believe me, there is absoulutley NO WAY I would have been able to acheive what I have been able to acheive or to carry out this mission I have been given.
Imagine what it would be like to PERSEVERE through physical disability if you did not have this kind of belief and faith? Without strong belief and faith do you see how you might not only quit, but you might become bitter and angry? can you see how belief in something greater than yourself could get you through anything, because you realize that somehow - even if you don’t quite understand it at the time - that it is actually a part of a bigger, divine plan?
And just think, GOD gave up his life for all of us so we could have one. I believe the least we can do in return is to PERSEVERE and do something with this life we have been given, no matter how DIFFICULT the journey might be!
December 2nd, 2006