NO LIMITS!! ~ NaturallyGreat's Journey ~

[NaturallyGreat]

Hello everybody! My name is Alex Kikel and for the past 7 months I have gotten into bodybuilding! Before, I was always an athlete and have been playing sports since I was little. From soccer and karate to basketball, from fencing to boxing and lacrosse, I always loved competing at sports and loved pushing my body to the limit! About a year ago while I was playing lacrosse I suffered a severe concussion that took me out of contact sports for life....so what do I do now....my passion was always competing in the hardest and toughest sports I could enter and now it didn’t seem like I had anywhere to go...

And that’s when I first heard about natural bodybuilding from a friend. I then started to read up about it and going to the gym and tried to get my nutrition in check on my own before meeting up with my trainer whom I’ve been working with ever since! The HARDER I trained, the MORE I fell in love with the sport!! And not only the training part of bodybuilding, but the science behind the nutritional aspect of it. The timing of everything was perfect! I was just graduating from high school and decided to continue my education thru college majoring in Nutrition and Dietetics and then in a couple years I plan on also becoming a certified personal trainer and start my own training service as a side business!

I started off this journey 7 months ago at 205 lbs and have dieted down for my first natural bodybuilding show.

I weighed in at 150.4 lbs and placed 2nd in the Teen Division (out of 4), 1st in the Open Men’s Lightweight (only person in the class but still made me very happy), AND I got a chance in the overall for a Pro Card! (Yes of course I got stomped on in the overall but I loved the chance to be up there posing against the big boys! It just gave me the motivation to train that much HARDER!








So, for this being the 1st bodybuilding show I’ve ever attended and not really knowing what to expect....being able to walk away with 2 trophies, a chance in the overall, and all that experience, I’m happier than I thought I could be! I'm ready to push myself in the offseason to add more overall MASS and work on lagging body parts.
Follow my journey guys! I’ll be posting every so often with updates on my training, nutrition, and future plans!
Thanks!

ALSO, I just want to say that without the help and support of my loving family and my trainer whom I consider a close friend, none of this would have been possible! FAMILY IS EVERYTHING!!

[Warrior9]

Good job yesterday dude! Sucks no one was in your class but at least you got your feet wet!

[NaturallyGreat]

Good job yesterday dude! Sucks no one was in your class but at least you got your feet wet!

Thanks man! And yeah exactly! I ended up on stage more than anyone haha, worked out great! Its such a rush!

[Warrior9]

Yupp! i was there competing as well. i was in tthe middles.

[NaturallyGreat]

Yupp! i was there competing as well. i was in tthe middles.

Ah there we go man! It was a great show! What Ur plans now? Got anymore shows lined up?

[NaturallyGreat]

more pics from the show

[NaturallyGreat]

Made the decision last night to start into my offseason on Tuesday! (wanted to give my body a little 2-day break to just rest up.) I was so happy after the show I didn't even wanna binge so yesterday and today were lower carb days, letting my body level off before starting to add food and cut some cardio tomorrow! Cant wait to start up this offseason and really attack my weak points and go crazy!

[NaturallyGreat]

absolutely destroyed my leg workout yesterday and can barely walk today!!!!! Gotta love leg days!

[NaturallyGreat]

Had a tremendous chest and shoulder workout yesterday with some low cardio! Already feelin the soreness!!!!

Hit abs lower-back and some light cardio this morning! Tried to especially work on my mind/muscle connection today and really get a good squeeze

[NattyFLEX]

Subscribed

Congrats on the 2nd Place in the teen division!, You also came in very lean for your first show

Looking very impressive for only 18, you have a big future!

Nathan,

[NaturallyGreat]

Been hitting offseason HARD!!! Destroyed my back and hamstrings this morning after a nice ab/cardio session yesterday! Trying to add width and thickness to the back and hams!

Subscribed

Congrats on the 2nd Place in the teen division!, You also came in very lean for your first show

Looking very impressive for only 18, you have a big future!

Nathan,

Thanks for the kind words man I really appreciate them!

[NaturallyGreat]

started at college last monday for my major in Nutrition and Dietetics and already learning so much about food that i didn't know! Gunna have a nice meal of chicken and whole wheat tortillas before goin to destroy an arm workout!

[NaturallyGreat]

Up 1.5 lbs since last tuesday! Having a nice loooooong leeeaaaaan offseason! Strength has skyrocketed already and carbs are comin up! Muscles looking very full!

[NaturallyGreat]

Weight is staying the same while my strength, size, and carbs are increasing! Feeling amazing! Here's a pic from the gym this morning..OFFSEASON = TIME TO GROW!!!!




and dont worry....the gym was fairly empty before I dropped my shorts in the locker room hahahaha

[NaturallyGreat]

Had the workout of my life today! Back, Hamstrings, and abs! Felt deep contractions on every set for back and kept increasing the weight! Right now I'm deadlifting 205 for 8-10 reps for 3-4 sets at a bodyweight of 150ish! FEELING GREAT!!!!! Now just gotta eat my meals for the rest of the day and let my other sore bodyparts GROW!!!!

[NaturallyGreat]

Weight is up to 152 and my workouts and the pumps I've been gettin have been INSANE! Here's a back double bicep pic 4 weeks into offseason and 4 lbs heavier!!!

[NattyFLEX]

Looking great Alex

Whats your diet look like at this point?

[NaturallyGreat]

Looking great Alex

Whats your diet look like at this point?

thanks man! food-wise I'm eatin chicken, eggs, whole wheat tortillas, some whole wheat cereals, and spinach

[NaturallyGreat]

Hit quads, glutes, calves, lowerback, and abs this morning! Legs are already feelin like jello! Rest of the day just gotta eat my meals and let my body rest and grow! Chest, delts, and scap training tomorrow with light cardio!!!!!!

[NaturallyGreat]

Added 10g protein to my macros and starting supplementing with Xtend (before I go to sleep and right when I wake up) and my muscles have really adapted nicely to this increase! Weight is up to 153.5 and I'm feeling stronger than ever and looking bigger!! Had 30 mins light cardio this morning and looking forward to tomorrows Back, Hamstring, and weakpoint training day!!!!!

[NaturallyGreat]

my back workout from thursday has my lats and hammys sore as heck!!! Doing stretching to help bring some blood and nutrients into them to help the recovery process. Hit arms, abs, and lower back this morning and was feeling tremendous! Woke up with a slight cold but nothing's stopping me this offseason!

[NaturallyGreat]

Sorry for the gap between my last update and now, school has been crazy. Nutrition and Dietetics is a challenge but I am learning so much about the true science behind food and am have been applying it to everyday life in order to boost my bodybuilding goals! Oh another note, my weight is up around 154-155 and my workouts have still been going amazing and I feel better and better each time I step foot in the gym!!!

[NaturallyGreat]

ALSO IN THE PROCESS OF STARTING MY OWN WEBSITE!
This is just a free sample one I threw together just for my blog but I'm thinking of going all out and purchasing a really nice one to keep updated

http://naturalpursuit.doodlekit.com/home

[NattyFLEX]

Website looks good Alex i could find a place to log in but no place to sign up

[NaturallyGreat]

Website looks good Alex i could find a place to log in but no place to sign up

thanks for the interest! disregard that website...i'm going to get an official one soon and I'll post all the details!

UPDATE 6 WEEKS INTO OFFSEASON: weighed in at 155.5 lbs this morning and have started using Amino Acids preworkout instead of sipping throughout the day like I previously did....WHAT A DIFFERENCE! I have been switching meals around and really hitting my diet hard to find out what works for my body and have finally found the perfect balance! I am starting to really comprehend that besides hitting your macros for the day through whole foods, timing plays a very important role. By ingesting the right carbs/protein/fat/micros at specific times I have already noticed an increase in workout performance, energy levels throughout the day, and recovery time from my intense workouts!

[NaturallyGreat]

finally got my own blog set up! for further updates I will be posting everything on http://naturalpursuit.wordpress.com/

enjoy!!!