My name is Steve, also known as Biggs by many of my friends, and my motivation for claiming this little corner of the internet comes from the simple desire to help people. More specifically I wish to help my fellow Gamers and Geeks with something they've probably thought about on numerous occasions but have never had the motivation or know how to accomplish... and what might that be you ask? For you to achieve one of the most sought after personal goals anywhere you go on the planet, to become something more than the stereotype, to be comfortable walking around in your own skin. It's my goal to shatter the image that people have of us, to get them to stare at us out of awe and inspiration rather then some misplaced form of pity. That's right, we're Gamers and proud of it! And we're not only capable of living fit and healthy lives but also having the kind of physique others can only dream about! Join me, and I'll do whatever I can to help you achieve your goals! Just like any good MMO reaching the endgame content is neither quick nor easy, but the rewards awaiting you at the end of your journey will make the hours of work more than worth it. =)
My Gamer Resume
My gaming background is quite diverse and my concentration has changed a lot over the years, there is very little I haven't touched on at some point in my lifetime.
My Game Station
With regards to Video Games I've owned the first generation of every dedicated console and handheld that's ever been released since the Nintendo 64. I regularly keep up to date on computer hardware and every 2-3 years build myself a completely new rig from scratch for the sole purpose of improving my gaming experience. I graduated from Full Sail with a Bachelor Degree in Game Design and Development and I worked for about a year in the industry. I've been to E3, have participated in my fair share of cash prize tournaments and have tried more MMOs then a monkey on speed could shake a stick at! I'm not exactly what you would call a "casual" gamer. =P
The day I installed by GTX280 and my Phenom II Black.
I'm also an extremely avid War Gamer! My current love affair in War Gaming is Warmachine/Hordes but I also still actively participate in Warhammer 40k and to a smaller degree Warhammer Fantasy as well. I'm also in the process of picking up Malifaux, my first real Skirmish game since the days of Mordheim in years past. I've been to Games Day Baltimore and am currently in the planning stages for attending TempleCon in 2011 for the first time. Within the next month or so I will also be the proud owner of a 10' x 5' table specifically designed for my War Gaming needs, complete with cushioned Bar Stools. =)
Freshly painted unit of Khorne Warrios... or Bulldozer Brigade as my friends have come to know them by.
While I haven't done a lot with the CCG genre as a whole I have been playing M:tG since the days of Mirage. I've purchased more then enough Booster Boxes over the years and while I don't necessarily make it to every single one, I've attended a plethora of pre-release events. I'm not nearly as competitive in Magic as I am in other games however, so it's quite rare for me to go to an actual Standard Constructed Tourney, but I have a few friends who do and I enjoy cheering them on from the sidelines. =)
The current pride and joy of my collection, yes she's foil and yes it's her Legions version.
And last but not least that brings us to Roll Play, what devout gamer doesn't love exploring their imagination every now and again? =) I've played D&D 3.0, 3.5 and 4.0 and most recently have been dabbling into Pathfinder. Even more so then D20 I'm a HUUUGE fan of White Wolf's World of Darkness , I've wasted many hours creating characters and scenarios for that world. I've also participated in (and GMed for) some of the not so widely known systems out there, like the suspenseful and intense Dread.
Love me some White Wolf!
My reason for sharing these things about myself are to show you that when I say I'm a hardcore Gamer I mean it with every ounce of my being. I'm not some guy who plays nothing but sports games, I'm not some ordinary Joe who got sucked up by the WoW craze and I'm not a casual gamer who spends most of his time with Java/Facebook games. Like many of you gaming is my life, it's something I take quite seriously and I'm certainly not willing to give it up. And let me be the first to tell you that you don't have to, I have a 9-5 job and a Wife and still have plenty of time to enjoy my hobbies while working out and keeping fit. =) It's a goal that's very much within your reach, you just have to make the effort to leap for it!
My Transformation
While in High School and College I very much fit right into the stereotype of being an overweight gamer. I would eat high calorie and high sugar foods constantly throughout the day while downing soda after soda and would rarely get up to move around unless it was to get more food/soda or use the restroom. My only saving grace was the fact that I'm fairly tall standing at 6'3", but by the time I was approaching my graduation date my weight was breaking 270lbs! I loathed the way I looked but felt helpless to do anything about it... it wasn't until 2005 when I had to get my Gallbladder removed mere days after my birthday that I finally decided to make that leap and reach for something I'd always wanted. And thus my journey began.
This was me not quite at my biggest, I packed on another 20lbs before I made the leap.I started off easy enough, I simply tried to eat what I thought were healthier foods at regular times throughout the day and stopped drinking any and all liquids with calories in them. I did this religiously for a year straight and managed to drop from 270lbs down to 190lbs, all without setting a foot in the gym! As excited as I was about my transformation I was still very self conscious about my physique except now it was for quite the opposite reason. I naturally didn't have a whole lot of muscle on my frame thanks to years of doing mostly nothing but sitting and eating. And since I lost all the weight purely with dieting it certainly didn't help to put on any muscle... so now I looked like a stick and while I certainly felt better than before, I still wasn't overly thrilled about myself.
The day I weighed in at 190lbs, I had now hit the opposite extreme of being overly skinny.And thus, my first ever bulk cycle began! I started going to the gym regularly in an attempt to get bigger, except this time I was doing it in a good way. =) It was really slow at first of course due to my complete and total lack of direction. I wasn't sure which lifts to do and how to correctly do them, I didn't know what would be the correct way to do cardio, I was having issues figuring out how to approach my diet, I was like a fish out of water. So my gains were quite mediocre the first few years.
After a little more then a year of trying to gain muscle, an obvious improvement but still quite slow.That was until I met Carl, my first and only personal trainer. I worked with him for 5 days a week for 3 solid months and in that time he gave me the tools necessary to reach my goals and completely change my way of life. Ever since then my life has completely changed and I couldn't imagine ever going back. I'm in the best shape I've ever been in and I still feel like I'm improving every week.
Me today, weighing in at 202lbs with %10-%11 body fat.My Objective
With this blog I hope to help you on your journey, I want to show you that you don't need to sacrifice everything in order to obtain that great physique. You'll still be able to order in some pizza with the guys on game night, you'll still be able to sooth your sweet tooth with your favorite dessert and you'll still be able to game your heart out! =) And I hope to get you started off on the right foot, so that you don't have to spend years doing trial and error while you attempt to figure everything out.
In the following days/weeks/months I plan to use this blog as a means of sharing with my Gamer community how exactly I went about achieving my goals. I will cover as much of the spectrum as I can from how I diet to how I lift to how I do my cardio. I'll even share with you my inspirations and try to share the knowledge I've obtained from the various people who've assisted me over the past 4 years. I will also touch on the various things I've tried in the past and how they did or didn't work for me and keep people updated on my own personal progress as I'm constantly trying to improve myself. And if anyone has any questions for me don't hesitate to ask! I'll do what I can to make sure I personally answer any questions you may have.
And of course, I'm sure game related news will find it's way on here every now and again as well, we are Gamers after all. =P
Make the leap! I promise you wont regret it!
Steve
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