Real Strength

This is my dad.

I talk all the time about feats of strength, guys lifting insane amounts of weight or jumping over things or twisting in odd ways.

When talking to my friend Joyce today, she talked about her dad was recently in the hospital.

Then I reflected back on my dad and his health troubles. Rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, high blood pressure, a heart attack and associated heart disease. Yes this is one human being we're talking about

The arthritis is probably the most crippling- his wrists, shoulders, knees, and damn near every point in between aches on a daily basis, and he didn't even get to pump iron to get there. I recall when I was a teenager, his hip joints really started to deteriorate, to the point where he had to use a cane. Being young (see:stupid) I felt a little embarrassed that my dad was hobbling around and relied on a cane for mobility. In retrospect I feel shameful for acting that way.

And the hospital trips: right hip replacement, left hip replacement, then the heart attack, then the damn near diabetes induced unconscious delirium, then the broken femur from a fall and the replacing of the attached hip (#3.)

The real crazy thing is that I've never heard my dad complain about anything. It used to take him 5 or 6 minutes to get in and out of the car. When he broke his femur (the biggest bone in your body mind you,) he spent about an hour and a half trying to "walk it off" before my mom made him go to the hospital.

I talk about grueling sets of squats that make me want to puke while my quads sear with pain, the intense burn I feel in my chest as I grind away at another session of flat bench. The reality of the situation is that at any moment I can walk away and leave the iron behind for a life of comfort and ease (see: mediocrity.)

But my dad can't. Yet he faces each day with the heart and intensity of a champion.

That's Real Strength.

Cant Wait!

Use Your Pantry to Pinch Pennies

Money saving tips to save, especially when you're eating big. Here:

"Government data show food inflation is rising at approximately 4.5% a year for the average U.S. household, while banks aren't paying close to that much for savings accounts. Even online banks are paying well below 4% interest these days. With food inflation outstripping savings interest rates, spending your money later on the same items will cost you more than buying them now and stockpiling them."

National Anthem

When I entered the NPC Contra Costa, it stated that it was a National Qualifier.
But I'm a small time criminal with no illusions of grandeur; I am definitely realistic about my place in this iron game.

Every year, the class winners from each weight class of the NPC Nationals earns their IFBB Pro Card, which technically makes them a pro bodybuilder.

I was on the website for Nationals as I wasn't quite sure where my placings put me. Then I ran across the following statement:

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
-(You are qualified for Nationals if you are) Among the first 2 in his/her weight class in an area level Championship designated as a National Qualifier.

When reading this my eyebrow raised slowly, but triumphantly...

I have many labels, as do most human beings, stemming from my personal and private life:
Man
Brother
Friend
Son
Asian
Boyfriend
Hapa
American
Democrat
Athlete
Warriors Fan

I also have a few official labels:
Bachelor of Arts
and
Research Associate

Let's add one more SUPER official label...
National Level Bodybuilder

I like the way that sounds...

Never Understimate the Power

Of CC'ing someone's boss...

My mom is basically a 'lunch lady,' where she works in food service in a middle school back home. Some kids threw some rocks at her last week, and it pissed me off. Friday I wrote the following email. Today (tuesday) they're having a school-wide assembly. While I'm disappointed at the behavior of the children, I feel the adults were negligent in that they didn't react swiftly to send a message to the children some behavior is not to be tolerated. So I decided to take matters into my own hands and email the principal of the school and CC'd the vice principal, the superintendent, and every associate superintendent I could find...

Ms. X,

My name is Ryan Yokogawa. I am proud to say that I am a product of the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District system having spent 13 years attending Manzanita Elementary School, King and Fitch Middle Schools, and Monterey High School (Class of 1999,) but I am completely disgusted by some recent events at my former middle school and even more appalled at the negligence of your administration and its lack of support for the staff and employees in response to said events.

I am writing in reference to an employee of your school-my parent, Donna Yokogawa. She has been a loyal employee of MPUSD, working in food service for nearly 10 years.

Because of vandalism involving chocolate milk being thrown on the walls and fixtures of the school, it was decided that chocolate milk was to be no longer sold to the students.
Last week, my mother reported the students were upset at the decision to have the milk pulled, and in retaliation, milk was thrown at her, splattering her face, hair, and some of her clothing.
This week we spoke on the phone and she told me that 4-5 rocks were thrown at her, one of which hit her in the neck, another in her chest. I don’t know if you’re familiar with the classification of violent crimes, but these events are considered ASSAULT. My mother reported this incident to you directly (she even handed you the rocks with which she was assaulted,) yet Ms. Nugent I feel your actions in response are far insufficient when compared to the magnitude of the crime. Do you have any idea what it's like to hear your mother was assaulted in her place of work, and for it to go virtually unmentioned and unpunished?

My mother has routinely served as a loyal employee to Fitch Middle School, yet Fitch Middle School is not standing up for her best interest. More was done to punish the students in response to the vandalism of school property, but the administration remained relatively mum in addressing the fact that a human being was assaulted. What message are we sending to the students about the value of human welfare versus the value of the school grounds?

It is clear that this situation is escalating and these hooligans are growing bolder. No child wants to receive the phone call that a rock or other projectile has blinded their mother, or Heaven forbid that she has sustained more serious injuries. While I am sickened that these children would behave in such a manner, I am more bothered that the school did little to address the children directly. A lot has changed since I have attended middle school, and in the wake of school violence such as Columbine and Virginia Tech, these incidents should NOT be taken lightly.

I concede placing a security guard at her station IS a step in the right direction, but an announcement mixed in with the goings-on of the day over the loudspeaker was likely not taken to heart.

Because the culprits responsible were not caught and cannot be addressed individually, I demand that a school wide assembly be held IMMEDIATELY to reprimand the student body as a whole, to remind them of the district-wide Zero Tolerance policy, and to inform them of the seriousness of their actions.

No one should have to enter such a hostile work environment, nor should they fear the prospect of being assaulted while serving food to children.

Should you wish to discuss this matter further, my contact information is below.

Anyways, she called me on Saturday saying they're gonna hold an assembly to address the conduct of the students. It's not always the gorilla suit that gets the job done. Exit brute force, enter eloquence... Thanks to Chris and Amy for their unique insights to the workings of the school system...

More Fun With Pro Tan

You look like something meekalangelo carved out...

1 coat vs. no coats

Good women paint you. Great women paint you and your friends...

Winning

The more I work at this thing called life, I'm starting to realize the true importance of one's winning mindset.
Yeah "Mind Over Matter" is a cliche, but when it comes to some applications, nothing could be more true. I was going over some of the shots from my show, and I found one that particularly struck me.

When I look at this picture, my face and posture says a lot of things, but I think I'm definitely doing my best to project:
Cool.
Confident.
Composed.
Triumphant.
More specifically:
"Here is the package I've brought to the stage this day. It is what I've worked hard to achieve, and I am confident it is the best package I can bring. I will take this package and convince you too, that I am the best."

While this may sound arrogant, on the competitive stage, judges can smell that lack of confidence from a mile away, and it will ultimately deflate your stage presence, and consequently, your physique. I stated back in January that my first goal was to not make funny faces, but in reality, I aimed to exude the surety of self when on the stage.

I intend no disrespect to my fellow competitors, but to emphasize my point I think it is important to draw a contrast to the others. The guy to my right (teal trunks) looks to be strained, confused, and doubtful of himself. The guy to my left (black trunks) looks rather menacing, and again strained (friends say he looked like the Leprechaun.) The competitor to my far left just looks like he smells something bad.

I'm convinced it's crucial to have the winning mindset in all things you pursue. I may never have a 20 inch arm, but when I go to the gym and do bicep curls, I squeeze and flex and picture that arm growing to Olympian status. When John hit a weight plateau during our prep, I advised him to literally picture the keebler elves in his body fueling his cardio sessions by shoveling his fat into a furnace. See it. Be it. Plateau shattered.
Jordan is quoted: I will become what I know I am.

This lesson extends beyond the stage: job interviews, dating, your career. When a person exudes confidence, people can't help but have good feelings about them. One may think "well I don't want to look/seem cocky." I'd rather have someone think I'm cocky than to look less than 100% confident in my pursuits ( if they've judged me so quickly, I likely don't care to know them anyway.)

In the first few weeks of "getting to know" Carrie, I told her straight up, "One day, you'll love me." She thought I was joking, but I knew, that what I brought to the table she would not want to pass up.
Death Cab wrote about it: I Will Possess Your Heart.


How can you sell yourself to the judges, a potential employer or a potential mate if you don't even look like you're buying it?

Be sure.
Be confident.
Work hard.
Win easy.