Blackhulk’s Blog: Exploration and Design

To all My worshippers and fans

One of the things I learnt from Cain Leatham when I first met him in 2002 was how the body uses energy and I have since built this knowledge into the way I plan training.

The principle is simple: start with the largest muscle and at the time when you are likely to have the most energy.

Having the gym at my place of work is very convenient, and I use it after work. So this is how I train:

Monday - legs (quads)

Tuesday - back and biceps

Wednesday - chest and triceps

Thursday - legs (hams)

Friday - arms and shoulders

Saturday and Sunday - rest

I used to have a separate arms and shoulders day on Thursday. However, I do feel that my hamstrings need work (as does the rest) of my body.

Whereas I used to spend at least 90 minutes in the gym, now it is between 30 and 45 mins. The training is intense and the rest periods are short. Except for when I am doing power training.

Peace…I am The Blackhulk

I was on the Bigmuscle website some time ago (I am a member there) and came across something called the Blackout Blog. It’s written by a very sexy 26 year old African-American male who hails from New York. I got hooked just reading The Basics section.

Have a look!

The Blackout Blog. If you like it, do subscribe to it!

Peace

Almando the Blackhulk

It’s that of year again when, like Christmas and Easter, our thoughts turn to buying and/or exchanging gifts and pleasantries with people who are very important to us. Particularly on this day, there is a lot of commercialisation and social pressure, particularly on us singles, to find a life partner. Obviously there are benefits to be had from being in a relationship. No doubt about that. Anyway, today, I thought I would share a quick thought on something someone shared with Me a long time ago.

Would you agree that it takes three things to make a relationship work? And would you say that these things are: communication, sex and money?

Our constructed egos are very complex when it comes to the first two. There are defence mechanisms built up over time, unfulfilled fantasises and sexual desires as well as unrealistic fantasies. Not to mention other physical and mental issues. Money can be very problematic because we cannot really do without it in any relationship and a lack of it is often a major cause for stress within the relationship. Unless, of course, you can barter your skills and services in exchange for necessities.

When we can move from the outer surface level of communication to the inner, deeper intimate levels, and when these inner, deeper levels are supported by a strong financial foundation, would you agree that the relationship is bound to be more successful? And that sex has would be much better too?

I wouldn’t say I am perfect or complete when it comes to these three things, though I have learnt a lot from my past relationships. However, I am working on each one to ensure that the next relationship is indeed much more successful than my last one.

Enjoy the rest of your day!

Almando The Blackhulk

Happy New Year everyone!

When I signed up to Twitter late last year, I got caught up in the frenzy of adding more followers before realising it wasn’t quantity I wanted, but quality. By then it was too late as I realised then when I attached the Twitter widget to my websites, the ads have stuck.

I have today asked the Twitter Help Desk for help with removing these annoying ads and will let you know the results, hopefully, soon.

Almando The Blackhulk

Hello everyone

At the moment I am updating my website as well as creating a new website for those of My customers who are very much into muscle worship and nothing as hardcore as I do at Blackhulk.com. It almost feels like I am becoming schizophrenic, so if you see something that looks out of place or is missing, do bring it to My attention and I will correct the errors as soon as possible (will have to learn CSS - ha ha). I am aware that some links no longer work and I am working to rectify that. This may also include the online form which will be replaced by something more detailed and which will form the basis of the Master-slave relationship.

In the meantime, I have put the following in place:

• replaced the contest pics with my leather pics; more will be added as soon as possible;
• an online shop to Extreme Restraints on the Home Page. Feel free to check it out. I have also placed a Link to the BoyzShop on the Links page;
• the rates page has been updated, as well as the FAQ and Specialties pages.

Mush dash - catch you later!

Peace…

Almando the Blackhulk

Hi folks

I have finally gotten around to securing these photos and putting them together for this blog. I am planning to compete again next year when I am bigger and in much better condition!

For now, enjoy!

EPF Contest Photos Nov 2008

Peace…

Almando the Blackhulk

Peace begins with Me…

Following hard on the heels of my last post is another exercise that I keep seeing in my local gym. This exercise is done mostly by skinny types using - quite often - very heavy weight. This is the lat pull down (behind the neck). This exercise is done using a lat bar at a station where back exercises are performed, or it can be a stand-alone machine. It is executed with the user seated at the station and pulling the bar down to a point behind the neck whilst the head is tilted forward. Sometimes I ask two questions. The first is: ‘what are you trying to achieve with this exercise’? The second is: ‘how are your shoulders’? The answer to the first question is I am trying to work the muscles of my back’. In this case, it is usually the latissimus dorsi (lats). The exercise is done with a view to trying to feel the muscles we are supposed to be working, since we do not have eyes behind us to help us see the back.

From a biomechanical point-of-view, this does not make sense. If you were falling off a cliff, and you caught sight of a branch long enough for you to reach out with both hands and grab it, where would you face as you reached out for it? It doesn’t take any strecth of the imagination to realise that your head and face would be turned upward. Your head is heavier than the rest of your body (apparently). If you perform the lat pull down with your head and face down and forward, you immediately place a lot of stress on your shoulders, particularly the rotator cuff (the joint). The lats get nothing! Remember that second question about your shoulders? Sometimes the answer is, ‘oh, they are fine’. Why? Any muscle you exercise gets stronger and bigger. And that is what happens in this exercise. Sometimes the answer is ‘I feel pain’. The number one injury amongst bodybuilders is shoulders. The funny thing nowadays is I don’t see bodybuilders doing this exercise when I am around. Are we learning to train smarter rather than blindly follow our predeccessors who, by the way, trained with the knowledge they had at that time?

The best way to perform the lat pull down is to pull the bar down in front of you. Start with using half your bodyweight. Hold the head back, not forward. Push the chest out as you try to keep the back straight and pull the bar down to touch the upper part of the chest. Squeeze the back muscles at this point. This ensures the elbows get behind you so that your back muscles get worked. That also goes for the chin pull-ups. Head back, chest out. It also goes without saying that stretching the lats in between sets is helpful.

When I want variety and I decide to do the lat pull down behind-the-neck exercise, I use VERY light weight and I keep my head and back absolutely straight. By the way, a similar exercise, the behind-the-neck press is also not recommended If you must do this exercise, use light weights.

I strongly recommend if you are in the UK, that you try a course with Cain Leatham at GB Fitness. He was the first one to point out (to Me) the common errors we make in training and nutrition.

Good luck and train smart!

Almando the Blackhulk

Peace begins with Me…

It is quite surprising that even though it is 2009, with the increase in scientific knowledge regarding food and nutrition, as well as exercise (which is what this post is about), I still see people doing exercises that do not make sense biomechamically. It would appear that the fitness industry is conspiring to keep us from doing things in a much better way in order to make those improvements to our physiques that we need to make. This is a subject for another blog which I will address at some point. On the other hand, based on my own personal experiences of working in gyms and health clubs, the users will insist on doing particular exercises because they can FEEL it. Or they ‘have always done it this way’.

Take, for example, side bends. For those of you who do not know what this is, it is performed by bending several times to one side whilst (sometimes) holding a weight in the hand, then doing another set on the other side whilst holding the weight in the other hand to aid resistance. My first question in challenging the client is to find out what they are trying to achieve with the exercise. The usual answer is “I want to have a more narrow waist and/or to lose the fat from my ‘love handles’”.

First of all, love handles are best dealt with through diet and good nutrition. Secondly, the exercise does not make sense in that the function of the abdominal muscles is to bend the body FORWARD, not sideways. Thirdly, any muscle you exercise WILL get bigger. So in this case you will end up with a wider waist albeit a more muscular one. But also out of balance  in terms of aesthetics.

The best exercises for the oblique muscles, which are the muscles being exercised here, are twists which can be incorporated into crunches, or performed standing or seated with a long bar/stick across the shoulders, or indeed with a swiss ball or kettle ball held across the chest. These are just some examples.

Good luck!

Almando The Blackhulk

We British are obsessed with celebrity.

Last weekend saw the final of ITV’s reality show Britain’s Got Talent with hot favourite Susan Boyle facing stiff competition from the Diversity dance troupe. When she lost to this group it was reported that she had to be taken to The Priory amidst fears for her mental health.

Susan had begun to show signs of the strain resulting from the weight of our expectations that she was bearing, as well as the intense criticism she faced from some artists. She lost her temper a few times and I think the world, especially us Brits, never forgave her for showing us that she could indeed be as human as the rest of us. She was not just a British celebrity, she had become a worldwide phenomenon. And we voted to show our disapproval. It shows just how easily we build people up and tear them down in this culture of instant gratification and disposability, and being able to do that through the medium of television.

Nevertheless, for me, as for many of us, Susan Boyle will, hopefully, become an icon in the sense that she came onto the scene when the world was down and needed to be uplifted.

How far will our obsession with celebrity really take us?

Peace begins with Me…Almando

The Blackhulk

If you’re an escort and reading this, does the following statement sound familiar to you:

‘Only old, ugly people who cannot get a date or partner pay for sex’.

Don’t you find that insulting, annoying and frustrating? On the other hand it does say a lot about the people who think this way!

In this blog I am going to mention a few reasons why people use escorts and some of the myths that surround using escort services. Feel free to comment. Intelligently I might add!

According to Maslow, human beings have different levels of need. At the bottom of this hierarchy of needs are the physiological needs which are necessary for survival. These include, shelter, food and sex. I have guys say to Me that it is a shame, or they are sorry that I have to sell sex for money. My response is that it is a job that fills a need, just like grocery stores sell food for money. Would you say to the grocer, ‘I am sorry you have to sell food for money’? No. The grocer has to make a living. So do escorts.

Here are some reasons why people use escorts:

• They are too busy to have a relationship;
• They enjoy the power that comes with paying for escort services;
• They find emotional, as well as physical, release in using escort services;
• They are looking for variety;
• They are able to explore different things with an escort that they would not otherwise be able to do with their partners;
• They are seeking to explore their sexuality, particularly if they had never had sex before.

There are three main myths about escorts and using them. Here they are:

1. I am still young and don’t need to pay for sex. Only old people use escorts: Well, the average age of My clients is about 45; the youngest is 28, the oldest is 73. The first time I used an escort was when I first came out of the closet. I was about 32 years old. This myth is rooted in an inflated form of self-esteem driven by pseudomorality.
2. Only ugly people who cannot get partners use escorts. I am handsome/beautiful and therefore do not need to pay for sex: Again you would be surprised at the high number of beautiful people who use My services. Of course, you just have to take My word for it since I am bound by escort-client confidentiality not to disclose information.
3. This is also the thinking behind some approaches to escorts in order to get their services for free. I am sure my fellow colleagues could testify to this. Escorts, remember, this is your business. Unless you are actively using this as promotion for your business, if this is how you want to run it, then feel free to do so. However, clients must know that we are not all the same or operate in the same way! Besides, this is being totally disrespectful to our profession. By the way, do you know that, as a profession, we have representation? There are other organisations in other countries. If you know of any, feel free to list them in the comments section.
4. Bodybuilders also use similar reasoning to opt out of paying for sex. Why should I pay another bodybuilder (for example) for sex? Not all bodybuilders have great sexual experiences. We all could learn a thing or two about having better sex or sexual experiences.
5. All escorts are cold and dishonest and are only in it for the money. This is usually the result of having a bad experience where the escort may not have lived up to expectations. Of course, not all escorts are like this. You will find some escorts take great pains to make clients feel comfortable. You will also find that some escorts are pretty straightforward, with no hidden agendas, and are extremely easy to get along with. When clients come to see Me, I do not put on an act, even when I roleplay. What they see is the real Me. If there are certain things a client wants and I cannot do it, I will say so, because it is not about the money. It is about achieving mutual satisfaction and growth.

Of course, there are other myths, but these are the most prevalent ones. I guess as with any stereotype these are generalisations, and, of course, some truth is attached to a stereotype as there are those who will always reinforce the stereotype.

Was it Samantha (Sex in the City) who said, ‘I am a “try-sexual”, I will try anything once’.

If you have never used an escort before, give it a try. What have you got to lose?

Peace…Almando

The Blackhulk