Sam Feldman, personal trainer extraordinaire

Athletic fitness has undergone many changes over the years. At one time, there was the mindset that weight training would hurt athletes(especially the totally false assumption that women's reproductive organs would fall out if they trained or did athletics) and that they should stick to calisthenics and body weight workouts. When the idea of weight training was widely accepted, there was a simplistic approach to diet, which was essentially meat and potatoes with a side of more meat and potatoes without concern about carbs, starches, sugars, and fats.

In this current information age, however, we have all the information about proper training techniques and proper diet at our fingertips, which helps the current crop of trainers keep up with every millisecond change that comes around the bend.

Among the new generation of trainers is Sam Feldman. This 21 year old out of Atlanta, GA is a student at Penn State University with a major in Kinesiology. However, what you will immediately understand when you first work with him is his absolute obsession with training, both his own and others.

Meet Sam.

Trever Aeon vs Micah Taylor - Part 2

End of a great match.

Flashback: Trever Aeon vs Micah Taylor - Part 1

This was one of Trever's first matches, and against a well seasoned pro in Micah Taylor. Very good match, and a two parter.

Meet Trever Aeon

Trever Aeon is a pro wrestler, but he's also much more than that. The "Violence Artist" has been placing crushed bodies upon his canvas for the past three years, and has evil intentions to do it for many many more.

But besides majoring in violence art at the school of hard knocks, he also has a love of other forms of art. Besides wrestling, he draws comics, makes dark electro music along with hip hop, and even dabbles in acting from time to time. When you think you know Trever Aeon...you aren't even close.

That said...meet Trever Aeon

A little change to this blog

It's been a little bit since I've blogged on this page. A lot of things have gone on with my life, and I haven't done what I should.

But I'm going to make this a different type of blog now...not just for me. Mind you, I'm going to still post my stuff, but I'm going to be a little different here.

I'm not the only one in the world with dreams, desires, ambition, and gumption to go after things. Sometimes, it looks like we lost our American Dream, if you listen to the mainstream media, but there are still millions of people out there that are taking chances, have dreams, and won't quit no matter what. They can be the people I know, who are aspiring tennis pros, professional wrestlers, and personal trainers...or they can be other people around this country. There are stories out there, folks, and I want all of them.

I'll be here plenty. This will be a lot of fun.

Random thoughts and newer challenges(Including Monument Entertainment)

I thought I would do this blog first since I've started to learn more about myself. I'll put my first McClain Experience up soon, I promise. There's enough stories to go around there.

First, I'm learning that I AM 35 years old, even if most of my body and mind FEEL younger. My stubborn self has had no choice but to do this annoying thing called "recovery", and I've been relegated to stretching the past week. Took me totally off my challenge time, but I also can't be taking off six months either. Eh, I'm not TOO discouraged though. I still feel good. Doing three tennis matches in one day, then going back to P90 will do that. The body gives you warning signs for a reason.

Anyway, during my recovery time, I ran into Khan Academy and it's been an absolute blast. Twice before, I had thought about going back to school because of purely ego reasons(Graduating with a terrible GPA that you had to fight every inch for because it's all your fault will do that to you), but then I figured that ego wasn't going to pay financial aid, and I got lucky to pay off the first financial aid in the first place. While this is not the same, it satisfies my educational stuff that I want to cover and learn about, and it is my own pace anyway, which I have had to learn anyway. Highly recommended, by the way.

By the way, along with that, Monument Entertainment has had two major conference calls in the past two weeks with big players. I can't divulge all this right now, but we're making a lot of strides. My pet project, Be The Ladder, will still be financed, but we're also co-producers of another project, and we've optioned other scripts. That's all I can tell you at this point till we officially have things moving along and contracts signed, but things are about to blow up.

I'll leave this blog with a thought for all my readers...quit bitching and start switching. There are enough excuses in this world, but there are also just as many solutions. Quit taking the easier road.

McClain Challenge - P90X - Day 1

Day 1 was a different breed of animal. Most mornings, I start out by waking up, reading the news and watching it, then getting a shower. Things definitely changed this morning.

At 5:30, I was wide awake and ready to go. I turned the TV off(I sleep with it at night, by the way) and got the first DVD in...and was hoping it would be legs, since I absolutely detest doing legs most of the time(my trainer can attest to that). It ended up being chest and back, which was fine. I figured plenty of push-ups, and pull-ups(which I have to substitute because A. I have no pull up bar put up, and B. I really really suck at them right now(which WILL change, I promise you).

So I put the disc in and the first thing on there is the requisite doctor's warning to avoid doing this unless you have a physician's approval, which I understand that Beachbody, and other companies have to do to protect themselves, but considering that this is P90X, something that only the very type A people will finish, I don't know how feasible this warning is overall. After the warning, there's Tony Horton, who is like Richard Simmons if Richard Simmons laid off the coffee in the mornings and motivated people with six packs. I was warned that he could be annoying from others, but he didn't bother me any, and I figured most of the others would just put their earbuds on anyway.

Before I go into the workout, I'll explain this. I do have myself a trainer, and trained throughout the summer, but it was a very rough time. I was broke most of the summer, so I wasn't eating properly. As anyone would know, food is fuel, and since I had little fuel in me, I had far more desire than I had gasoline(and to be fair, he is a great trainer...I just didn't tell him I wasn't eating till later). While my mobility, movement, and flexibility did improve...my strength was garbage and got a lot worse. By the end of the summer, I had to take a full break to get on a proper diet and let my body recover. No tennis, no workouts, nothing. This, and the tennis tournament, is my first physical activity in just under two months.

And boy, did I ever feel it. I fancied myself good at pushups over the years, but I didn't realize how off my form was, and I wasn't doing myself any good. Doing the new form, I felt it in a hurry, and had to stop quite a bit to catch my breath. Believe it or not, I actually found this to be a great improvement. Over the years, I used to force everything...play tough guy if you will...and my form would be way off. This time, I focused on quality and making sure to keep active. I know everything's going to come together. Patience is a virtue here.

For the people that don't know P90X(and P90X 2), it's a simple premise. Thirty straight days, take a week off. Second thirty days, take a week off. Then the final thirty is supposed to be the most intense experience you'll ever know(with the probably exception of Insanity). Most don't make it the first thirty, and if they do, they quit during the first one week period. This is why I say it is truly for the ones that want it bad enough. I've never sweat so much in my life, outside of my martial arts belt tests, and that was more flop sweat from nerves. Makes me want to try again with the trainer, and with the proper focus.

Besides the change of pace in the morning, the diet had to change also. I eat breakfast, but it's mostly cereal. While I don't cook enough(or rarely ever), I knew that I had to change what I put in me. My breakfast was an egg white omelet with a bowl of fruit, and my snack was a builder bar and water(It's unreal the energy level you have with a proper breakfast). Lunch was Chik-Fil-A, admittedly, but it was a cool wrap and fruit(yes, I love fruit) with a salad. Dinner was Salmon with a salad. I am going to speak with the trainer about my diet when we both have a free day to see what I can improve, but it felt good to eat real clean today.

(Shameless plug: My trainer's name is Sam Feldman, and you can find him on Twitter @ThaDudeFeldman)

That's about the gist of it. I have 89 days to go for this, and that'll go before I know it, so I'm not groaning at the length. I do know that these success stories have to have a before and after picture, and I'm no different. This is my before picture. Much work to be done, but I can't wait.

Next update in thirty days.