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"Very European" Claudio Castagnoli

Claudio Castagnoli


Last Updated: 11/18/2009

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Gender: Male
Status: Single
Age: 28
Sign: Capricorn

City: Philadelphia
State: Lucerne
Country: CH
Signup Date: 8/2/2006

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August 11, 2009 - Tuesday 
Well I noticed a while back that more and more people are leaving Myspace and migrating towards Facebook and Twitter.

Why? Well Myspace tries to grow by adding more and more, thus making things more and more complicated and "fancy" up things which doesn't help.

At least in my opinion.

Latest example? The new Beta Mail center. Well first of all, don't install anything Beta to people who don't want to be part of any testing process.

For the last two days I was not able to accept friend requests because it wasn't working.

Same goes for answering messages or even delete them. And then they're giving out @myspace.com email addresses? First of all people wanted that about 2 years ago. Second I wouldn't pick an email provider that I can't answer my messages in the first place.

I was able to approve all the friend requests this morning and answer one message. Then I got the "Unexpected Error" which turned me off to answering messages for today and turned me on to writing this rant here.

Hopefully your myspace works!

Cheers,
Claudio
1:29 PM 
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August 7, 2009 - Friday 
Ladies and gentleman, it’s finally here!!
 
Very-European.com! From now on forward this is going to be the main address for Claudio Castagnoli merchandise, fashion and fan articles!
 
If you click on “Shop” it will automatically take you there and of course there will be links at very-european.com that take you back here.
 
Remember a couple of months back (well actually more a couple of weeks back) when I asked you guys what kind of Very-European merchandise you would like to see and buy. You voted and you shall receive!
 
First new item in the “Very European” line is a long sleeve T-shirt!
 
Like you can see it’s already immensely popular and just the start of the launch weekend of very-european.com!
 
Claudio
10:31 PM 
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August 4, 2009 - Tuesday 
No, I haven’t been watching MC Hammer’s reality show or even listened to his music. What I listened to is Elton John and Billy Joel!
 
Last Thursday I went to their concert at the Citizen’s Bank Park in Philadelphia! Yes, that’s the stadium of the 2008 World Champions the Philadelphia Phillies.
 
So needless to day it’s huge and so was the concert!
 

 
They started off together for half and hour, followed by an hour of Elton John then an hour of Billy Joel and the last 40 Minutes were together again.
 
Towards the end the sun obviously went down and the crowd was loving every single note and so did I. 
I though Elton was great but Billy just stole the show. On top of being an incredible pianist, singer and songwriter he’s also really funny. He also cussed and said the F word a lot which made me laugh.
 
A personal highlight was when one of his roadies sang “Highway to Hell”! Man that was awesome! It was even better after Billy said that his roadie would sing a “religious” song and we could boo him of stage if we wanted he didn’t give a “F”. The crowd didn’t really knew what to think of it but once the first few notes were played everybody jumped up and rocked out!
 
So that night was a huge success! Well except the parking ticket I got that night but after that concert I didn’t care. I strongly suggest to go see them if they come to a town near you!
 
Saturday was CHIKARA in Reading. Which is great because it’s only about 50 minutes from my house! Which ment I could hit the gym in the morning and then take a nap and go to the show. Which is exactly what I did. Minus the nap. Ha! I got you!
 

After getting to the building early, setting up a TV interview with Channel 69 and making sure everything is going according to plan it was time to get some coffee.  Like the cup in the picture says, I “heart” Sheets so that’s where I went! 100% Columbian was ordered and enjoyed.
 
The night was also a successful one since I was able to pull out the Ricola Bomb on Tim Donst. He’s a lot heavier than he looks for those of you who don’t know.
 
A show day where I’m back in bed before midnight is always a great success. Which is a sign that I’m getting old!
 
Saturday marked my debut at Jersey All Pro Wrestling. On the way to the show I stopped for some…. you guessed it, gas and since I was at the gas station I picked up some coffee too. I mean you can’t say no if it’s basically waving at you. 
And since I really loved the Peruvan Organic coffee from Wawa on Monday I decided to order it again. Well you don’t really have to order it at Wawa, you just kind of make it yourself. Which is a definite plus, but more about that later.
 
On the way to Jersey City I also was able to look at the Statue of Liberty for the first time. I’ve seen her in pictures but not with my own eyes. Well, I saw the pictures with my own eyes, but I never seen the statue live.
 
But since 95 (I think it is) runs right by it I was able to check her out. Impressive sight! And she looks really pretty at night. It’s the torch I think.
 
Unfortunately my debut at JAPW wasn’t that successful as Homicide caught me with a cutter and that was that. Also I blame round gimmick tables for not so well going gimmick sales. Speaking of, get my “Very European” shirt in my store :)
 
On the way home I got some more coffee but it was generic gas station coffee so I didn’t even bother taking a picture. Take that gas station coffee.
 
Do you know why I was looking forward to go to RCW in Baltimore on Sunday? First of all it’s always a lot of fun and the fans enjoy themselves a lot. Second I usually get a treat on the way down. Which in my case means a Starbucks cookie!
And that’s exactly what I got! It’s soooo delicious! Especially if you pair it with a white chocolate mocha! Best combination ever. They should be named the tag champs of Starbucks. Somebody give them a belt!
 
Just one question. Why are the rest plazas on 95 before Maryland and in Maryland so ridiculously crowded all the time? It was insane, I had to stand in line for 14 minutes for my coffee and cookie. It was well worth it but still! That’s where Wawa has the advantage with the make it yourself coffee.
 
Guess who I got to have a rematch with at RCW? Homicide! Ha! I figured I have his number (which is 187 by the way) that night, but I guess I was wrong… He had mine (even though I don’t even know what mine is) and was able to beat me again. One day notorious one!
 
On the way back I stopped once more for coffee (Hi I’m Claudio and I’m an addict) and once again the service plaza was super crowded. Mind you it was 5 minutes before midnight. Just regular coffee was had, but that’s still tremendous when it' comes from Starbucks. Speaking of, Starbucks I love you even though you can’t spell my name…
Does that mean Starbucks emasculated me?
 
One more thing. Do you have WWE 24/7? Classics on demand? Whatever it’s called now days? Yes? Watch Summer Slam in the “big ones” section! It’s awesome! I only watched the first half and Ludvig Borga is AWESOME!! That promo and match made my day! Push up hook to the ribs anybody?
 
With a smile on my face thinking about that,
Claudio
 

3:09 PM 
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July 29, 2009 - Wednesday 
Yes, that’s right, you can win a Claudio Castagnoli “Very European” T-Shirt!
 
Why? Well Saturday it’s August 1st, which is Switzerland’s National Holiday.
 
So I figured I’d make that something special and get you guys involved! So here’s what you have to do:
 
Get a camera and take a picture of you celebrating in a “Very European” way on August 1st!
 
The most creative, funniest and best picture (a.k.a. the one I like the best) will win a signed T-Shirt!
 
Please send all pictures to:
 
august1@claudiocastagnoli.com  Subject: Very European

And put them as your default picture on Myspace!
 
Deadline will be Monday August 3rd.
 
Good luck to all of you!
 
Claudio
1:51 PM 
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July 27, 2009 - Monday 
Ladies and Gentleman, here comes the boom! Well not quiet, that song is just still stuck in my head from the Gym.
 
Who was all at the ROH shows this weekend in Toronto? I' bet you’re happy about the two awesome shows you saw! I watched the second half of the Saturday show from the crowd and it was just a great feeling.
 
Lance Storm still looks amazing and I can’t believe he hasn’t wrestled in two years! Well I know he trains at his school and that keeps him in shape, but it’s amazing to watch him in the ring and I wish he’d wrestle more.
 
Now we shall back up to Friday morning, the day I left for Toronto. Have you ever wondered what’s in my black briefcase? Well I decided to lift that secret and give you guys a glance…
 

Lots and lots of food would be the answer! Bagels, Banana, Tuna, Chicken, Rice, Crystal Light, Protein Powder, Peanut Butter, Mustard and some more stuff that I’m sure I forgot.
Do you know the good part about all the stuff? It’s carry on friendly and they won’t take it away from you. Unlike yogurt for example. I found that out the hard way. A.k.a. TSA took it away from me.
 
You can also not bring Apples into Canada, but you can bring Bananas. Why you ask? Because they grow Apples in Canada but they do not grow Bananas. Now it makes more sense!
 
Once at the building we were trying to find the gate for the flight leaving at 7.40. Well there was no such flight. So after asking around we found out that the flight got postponed to 9.40 because the crew arrived late last night and they need to meet the minimum rest requirement.
 
Never heard of a minimum rest requirement for crews but hey you always learn. Unfortunately that learning experience ment 2 more hours of PHL. I used that time to take a nap and then eat some cereal.
 
Once in Toronto and checked into the hotel it was already 1 o’clock and I decided to take a nap. What do you do after a nap? You wake up. And how do you wake up best? With a coffee! Check out this menu:
 
Europeans! I was so exited! Unfortunately the coffee couldn’t really hold up to it’s expectations but was still enjoyable.
 
Thanks to the garbage strike there were huge piles of trash behind the building and it smelled like you would expect. Luckily that smell didn’t make it into the building. That reminds me that I didn’t even take a picture of all that trash! Well there will be an upcoming promo featuring yours truly and said trash.
 
Also I think Toronto should pay the garbage men whatever they want because they clearly need them!
 
Bret Hart was there that night and I’m looking forward to having more Hitman at ROH! My night was cut short by Brent Albright and I’m was happy to teach him a lesson the next night. I’m jumping ahead again…
 
Saturday morning started great with some cereal and a workout at the hotel gym. Props to Travelodge for having a roomy gym with some dumbbells and a multifunctional machine. Since we didn’t have to travel between shows I had the whole afternoon to check out Toronto which was awesome!
 
Usually we travel between shows which doesn’t leave you time to check out the cities you travel to. So if I have the time to actually explore the places I go to I’m always exited and happy. I know I said it in the past but I’ll try to make time to do that more often in the future.
 
I know some of the guys went to the Blue Jays game that day and I though that that would be a cool thing to do! I’ve never been to an indoor baseball game and I though I’d take that chance to change that.
 
On the way to the city I tried to take a picture of the skyline of Toronto, but the CN tower kept hiding!
 

 
So I decided to trick him and take a pictures of different things.
 

 
And then when he wasn’t looking, I got him!
 
The Rogers Center is an impressive sight and when you’re in there you’re even more impressed! It’s huge! I missed the first two innings and 3 home runs. But there would be 4 more and an incredible rally from the Florida Rays to come back from a 9-1 deficit!
 
Unfortunately we had to leave at the 10th Inning when the game was tied at 9-9.
 
It was raining like crazy on the way to the building and we couldn’t drive down several roads who were closed because of severe flooding. Some people in the car insisted that it would have been possible to drive through while others (who were in control of the wheel) overruled that with a U-turn.
 
Thankfully it lightened up once we got to the building and I was able to take a walk and find some great coffee.
 
One thing I love about Canada is that it’s very European in the way that there are many small stores that you can walk to, people are walking in the streets and having a good time. You don’t have to drive to get to stuff and I love that.
 
This night was more successful for me and I continued my unbeaten streak in European rules matches. Thanks to the staff of the building for providing us with fresh water all through the night. Speaking of “All through the night”, great song by Cindy Lauper!
 
I watched the back half of the show from the crowd and it was great!  I even took a picture of Lance Storm throwing a super kick.
 
As you can see I’m not very good at taking action shots! That’s why you can’t see his opponent, Chris Hero, and it almost looks like he’s superkicking Todd Sinclair! Oh well, I hope you still enjoy the picture.
 
My flight on Sunday morning was at 6.45 and this time it was not delayed. It was just a great morning that I celebrated with some Starbucks (now almost a tradition when I’m at the Toronto airport)!
 

This picture represents my travels quite accurately! Coffee, wrestling and food = a great time!
 
After I got back I enjoyed a Sunday nap, some outdoor fun and grocery shopping. Today I’m going to Dorney Park! It’s going to be my first amusement park of the season and I’m exited! Rollercoasters = so much fun! Do you think they’ll have coffee there?
 
And speaking of, Sunday shopping wouldn’t be the same without a nice treat! A caramel walnut and white chocolate biscotti combined with a Frozen Mocha!  
 

Until the next time, enjoy a wonderful Monday!
 
Claudio 

For all the pictures check out www.claudiocastagnoli.com
4:48 PM 
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July 17, 2009 - Friday 
The first ever Claudio’s Twittourage Q & A is over and from my standpoint it was a great success! It also proves that I actually read all the @ccastagnoli messages I get, I just usually don’t answer them. That’s what the Q & A is for now.


Since I got so many questions within such a short amount of time I guess I’ll hold a Q & A at least every month! Does that sound like a good idea or what?


So without any further a due:

MayRodriguez asked: how can u handle doing 100 swings ? In your finisher!?!?

Claudio’s Answer: Well I must say I was quiet dizzy afterwards! If you watch the DVD (CHIKARA’s King of Trios Night 1) you will notice that I can barely stand after I executed the Big Swing for that long. I wanted to quit multiple times during it but the fans kept me going.

------------------

CodenameSailorE asked: What was the moment that made you want to become a wrestler? Was it an inspiring match or just a gut feeling?

Claudio’s Answer: I think when I was like 14 years old and I saw the WWF (Yes it was WWF back then) for the first time! I was a big fan of the Steiner Brothers and Papa Shango.

------------------


izzy2287 asked: Now that you're in a slimmer shape, do you think you'll be doing some more high flying?

Claudio’s Answer: I never did too much high flying actually. But every now and again I bust out something, like the 180 cross body against Eddie Kingston at the last CHIKARA show in Philadelphia. If you spread it out, it means more! Also, slimmer shape? I’m still about 220!

------------------


DramaGuyCJM asked: Which CHIKARA venue, past or present, has been your favorite one to wrestle in?

Claudio’s Answer: Good question! I actually wrestled the St. Johns once, which was the first CHIKARA Venue if I remember correctly… so that’s special in a way. I also liked the building in Pittston. And of course the arena is awesome to wrestle in! And since that was the place where I teamed up with Team Uppercut and wrestled Johnny Saint, plus won the second Tag World Grand Prix, I’d say The Arena!

------------------


hancocker asked: What's it like being bigger than most of your competition, yet also being more athletic than them as well?

Claudio’s Answer: It’s awesome!

------------------


Drakeo asked: Who has been so far your toughest opponent in your career and who would be your dream opponent?

Claudio’s Answer: I had many tough opponents… Chris Hero, Mike Quackenbush, Bryan Danielson, Brent Albright, Eddie Kingston and the list goes on and on. I’m actually always looking for tough competition, I think that keeps me on my toes. Regarding my dream opponent, I get that question a lot and I can’t really answer it. I just would like to wrestle the best possible competition!

------------------


rdank1029 asked: What is your favorite match of all-time and of your career?

Claudio’s Answer: Another question I can’t answer… There are so many matches I really enjoy. Like the Misawa vs. Kobashi matches, There’s a Jim Breaks vs. John Cortez match that I just love, Steiner Brothers vs. the Quebecers just too many to choose from. And since I keep watching wrestling I keep finding more.
Same goes for my favorite match. There are many that mean something to me. Me and Morishima from Boston, the Tag World Finals I was in, when team Uppercut fought team of a 1000 holds, when I wrestled Misawa in a tag match for NOAH in Japan… Maybe I’ll list some more another time!

------------------


JohnKirbyHall asked: How much do you and the ROH guys follow WWE? Is that the dream, so to speak? How common are feelers from them or to see scouts?

Claudio’s Answer: I can’t speak for the other guys, but I try to follow wrestling in general, so WWE and TNA. I think as a wrestler you should be updated on what’s going on in the business.

------------------


Robj23 asked: Since you and I are both "Very European", I've got this question: Which Euro wrestler would you recommend to the USA audience?

Claudio’s Answer: Hey dear fellow European! There are many! You can see Doug Williams on TNA, PAC is a regular for Dragon Gate there are a lot of talented guys in groups like wXw and GSW in Germany, 1PW in England etc. Steve Douglas, Martin Stone, Absolute Andy, Bad Bones and there are so many more!

------------------


MayRodriguez asked: hey doble C how are u?

Claudio’s Answer: I’m doing good, thank you for asking!

------------------


CMRulZ asked: If you had the chance, would you wrestle for WWE, even in the ECW Roster?

Claudio’s Answer: If the circumstances would be right, sure why not? I actually enjoy watching ECW (when I can, I miss it most of the time because I’m at CHIKARA practice) because they get lots of time for their matches.

------------------


muthmaster asked: when do you come back to germany to have 5* matches?

Claudio’s Answer: Ich hoffe bald! Frag bei den Promotions nach wo du mich sehen möchtest!

------------------


GavinJosh asked: favorite match and most painful move you’ve been hit with?

Claudio’s Answer: See the question above, I can’t really pick a favorite match.
Regarding the most painful move I’m not sure. There were plenty, but nothing comes to mind right now (maybe because I took to many of them?)

------------------


Fuzzzhardeman asked: what's it like actually having a Swiss bank accoutrements like they always talk about in the movies?..

Claudio’s Answer: It’s great! After all it’s a Swiss bank account. How cool is that?

------------------


wrestlefan2000 asked: Who are some wrestlers from the past that have inspired you?

Claudio’s Answer: There are so many. Many of them are not that “past” like Dave Taylor or Jorge Rivera. I also loved Owen Hart, Papa Shango the Steiner Brothers and so so many more from the Federation era (if you wanna call it that) and later WCW, ECW as well. There are still many wrestlers out there that inspire me.

Thanks to everybody who asked questions! Keep following me on Twitter and I will keep you updated about the next Q & A!

Of course I will also keep you updated on everything else that’s going on in the “Very European” world of mine!

Tschüss
Claudio
2:15 AM 
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July 2, 2009 - Thursday 
Yes, I admit it I stole the headline from the now famous black eyed peas song “boom boom pow”. Mainly because it was suck in my head the majority of the weekend.
 
Btw. how good is your pop culture? What’s the correct lyric?
 
Let’s start with Friday, shall we? Friday was the drive to Detroit day. Well not only that, it was also the wrestle in Detroit day, but since the majority of the day was spent driving there, let’s just leave it at that. Also I used the word majority three times so far already. Seems to be my new word of the blog.
 
I started my day with my patented Müsli and then it was off to the rental car place to see what I got this time. Since I rent at the same place all the time, they know me there and always give me sweet deals. This time I got a great upgrade. Check out the car I got:
 
Yeah that’s right, that’s a Chrysler 300. While other people dream of driving this kind of car, I do it. All leather interior, cruise control (yes, very important on trips like this), plenty of space, plenty of trunk space, satellite radio and so on! Did I mention that it has great gas mileage too? I should be a salesman!
 
As the trip got on the road and I was cruising down the PA turnpike, enjoying some great music I saw this thing coming up in front of me
 
So of course I was speeding up… Ok, I have to be honest here, I had to slow down in order to not just zoom by, and took a picture. It’s not every day that you see a car like this on the road…
 
I gave them the thumbs up, got the thumbs up back and away I went! Up the hill, which was absolutely no problem for the Spartan. That’s what I renamed the car since it’s a 300 I figured it’s fitting.
 
A bathroom break was in the near future, which was a great opportunity for me to grab something to drink. Of course not just something, coffee!
 
One of the few good things about the PA turnpike is that all the Starbucks on the travel plazas are open 24 hours. Not that it mattered that day, but it’s nice to know!
 
When I came back out take a guess who was at the gas pumps getting gas? Yeah that’s right the cool car from above! Now I must have taken 12 pictures to finally get a good one while driving parallel to them and now here they were getting gas and I could have just taken the picture now!
 
Oh well, live and learn. After passing 420 Stony Ridge (yes it always makes me chuckle) a.k.a. exit 72 (I think) on the Ohio Turnpike it was off towards Detroit!
 
Do you know about the FedEx arrow? Yes? Good! No? Well you’ll learn about it now. Mainly because it haunts me on every road trips and every time I see a FedEx logo, so I’d like to pass it on to you.
 
See the FedEx logo at the back of the truck? Do you see that there’s an arrow between the E and the x on the Ex? Yeah? Well you’ll see it all the time from now on! Welcome to my FedEx arrow club
 
Before the show we decided to stop at a local subway to get some sandwiches for later. I not only got an amazing black ham sandwich I also grabbed a yogurt. And I figured I do my usual coffee pose with the yogurt since it was absolutely delicious!
 
The show itself went really well and the crowd was up! Ric Flair was there and since the show was at the Fairgrounds, I just renamed them the Flairgrounds! I thought that was pretty smart!
 
From top to bottom the show was great. In my, and other peoples oppinion as well,  the Detroit crowd saw a great ROH show and an ending they shouldn’t forget that soon. I know I won’t. I also won’t forget my match with Nigel and promise to do better next time.
 
The show was over and Chicago was next. Since there’s less traffic during night times we decided to drive through the night and stay in Chicago.
Since I drove the whole way to Detroit I slept the way to Chicago. Which allowed me to get up early Saturday and enjoy a tremendous breakfast at Ihop.
 
Garden Scramble, which is egg whites with vegetables, whole grain nut pancakes and sugar free syrup! Heeey for me!
 
After that I was ready for my cardio session at the hotel gym which was much better than your average hotel gym. Radison rocks.
I watched some Wimbledon and suggest that you all do as well. Roger Federer on his way to Grand Slam number 15!
 
After everybody else got up we went to an Italian restaurant who’s name I forgot and I got a salad.
 

 
The salad was ok, but that’s about it. Maybe that’s why I forgot the name of the restaurant already…
 
Chicago Ridge was packed and hot as usual for they’re ROH action. And I even took a picture backstage!
 
 
Yeah, do you see it? That’s how my bag looks! Well minus one item. But only because it’s not packable… If I’d know a way I would!
 
 
What followed was the 12 hour drive back to Philadelphia. Like the day before I slept during the night and took the morning shift. Which I started with some, yes you know it, coffee!
 
Then I listened to the XM Radio Hit station and checked out today’s top hits! I even recognized more than 50% which means I’m pretty hip and up to date on today’s music!
 
When there was a song on that I didn’t like I just switched to the European pop station or the rock station or the charts from the 80s. That’s the beauty about XM radio, there’s always something good on.
 
And before I knew it, I was almost home! Almost, because I had to stop at the closes Sheetz to here. Unfortunately it’s 40 minutes away, but fortunately it’s on the way home from Chicago!
 
What you see there is a sugar free Mocha! Completely iced and delicious. What a good way to cool off.
 
And since it was Sunday I decided I’d try to cook something new. So I tried to make my mom’s famous meatloaf!
 
 
It actually came out pretty great, I just need to season it better. There’s room for improvement, but I’m willing to practice until I got it perfect. To go with it I had some baked potato slices and as an appetizer I got me some lean pockets. You know the ones I had last Sunday? Yes those but this time I got a different flavor! Chicken, Artichoke and Broccoli!
 
I also found this on Sunday! And since it made me chuckle I figured I share it with you!
 

   
I want to  go back there in the night time and see if a certain somebody patrols that store with a sledgehammer…
 
And speaking of, I’m about to go watch me some RAW. I hope it’s going to be a good one!
 
So I’ll leave you here with this one last picture. I I talk so much about the Giant’s coffee that it was about time that I post a picture of it!
 
With that, I wish you a pleasant Monday night.
 
Ciao until the next time!

for all the pictures go to www.claudiocastagnoli.com
1:58 PM 
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June 24, 2009 - Wednesday 

- written for NRG-X Labs 
 
My workout that is. I’ve done my last workout for 5 weeks and I really enjoyed it (you can read all about it here) but it’s time for a new one!
 
What am I doing now days? Well I ordered this book over at amazon.com called “Power Training” and it’s by Men’s Health. Well it’s by Robert dos Remedios, but it’s in the Men’s Health name.
 
It’s a pretty good book and I read most of it (yeah I admit I like to skim through stuff) and decided to give this a 12 week shot. Thinking about it I think I read it all because I went through it a bunch of times (except reading up on the exercises, I do that when I write down my workouts)
 
The first 3 weeks, you I do a total fitness workout, then a 3 weeks of hypertrophy training (apparently that’s a fancy word for building muscles a.k.a. a workout where you try to increase your muscle size, no necessarily strength), back to 3 weeks of total fitness and I’ll be finishing up with 3 weeks of strength.
 
Now I know that you could do 12 weeks of total fitness, 12 weeks of strength or 12 weeks of hypertrophy workout, but I like to mix it up. So since you’d switch each workout up after 3 weeks, I figured I just switch it all up! And if I read the book correctly that’s one way to do it too.
 
The books give you lots of options, and you can select from ton’s of different exercises and such, so I really enjoy it. On the other hand sometimes I like strict guidelines so I know I’m doing everything right. I guess we’ll find out!
 
So I’m going to post my first 3 weeks here for you in case you want to give it a shot as well. If you don’t know what an exercise is, just google it, or ask (write a comment) and I’ll try to answer your question as good as I can (and with the help of my book here of course).
 
I decided to do the 3 days a week full body program since I can always squeeze in 3 work out days a week and usually even get a day rest in between.
 

Week 1

Day 1
 
Exercise
Sets x Reps
Hang Power Clean 4x5
Front Squat 4x10
1 Leg Romanian Dead lift 4x10
Dumbbell Row 4x10
Push Press 4x10
1 Arm LAT Pull down 4x10
Seated Russian Twist 4x10
Plank (w/ Elbow to Knee) 4x45 seconds
 
Day 2
 
Exercise
Sets x Reps
Hang Jump Shrug 4x5
Drop Lunge 4x10
Good Morning 4x10
Dumbbell Incline Bench Press 4x10
Horizontal Pull Up 4x10
Supported Dumbbell 1 Arm Press 4x10
Wide Grip Pull Up 4x10
Corkscrew 4x10
Plank 4x45 seconds
 
Day 3
 
Exercise
Sets x Reps
Snatch Pull 4x5
Split Squat 4x10
1 Leg Back Extension 4x10
Reverse Grip Bench Press 4x10
1 Arm Cable Row 4x10
Push Jerk 4x10
Side to Side Pull Up 4x10
Wood Chop 4x10
Plank Walkup 4x45 seconds
 
 
During the first exercise you do 90 seconds of rest between sets, on all the other ones 60 seconds.
 
 
I’m doing Day 3 on Friday and if you guys are interested enough I’ll post my thoughts on it and the second week on Sunday.
 
So far I definitely love the workout and I like how I feel afterwards. I’m spend but not hurting and I can’t wait to do the next workout. I also enjoy the different exercises and the challenges it poses to me.
 
Another reason I like the workout is that all the exercises are for functional strength.
 
Let me know what you think!
 
Claudio
1:42 PM 
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June 22, 2009 - Monday 
And what a peaceful night it is.
 
Since I had a tremendous day I though I’d share it earlier than usual with you guys.
 
I hope you all tried my gnocchi recipe that I posted on Friday. And if not, give it a shot and let me know what you think.  The thing that’s so great about this blog / website is that you can post feedback. And you don’t have to be registered either (in case that was holding you back), I enabled the comment function for everybody.
 
Friday was day one of the ROH TV tapings. Because that’s only about 40 minutes from where I live I was able to start my day like I start all of my non show days. Get up, eat, and go to the gym.
I love my new workout (can be found here) so I had a great time at the gym. It didn’t start so well when I realized that I didn’t pack my mp3 player, but even without it I had a great workout.
 
Speaking of my mp3 player, I still haven’t found it. After 3 days of searching I’m close to giving up and admitting that I lost it. I just don’t want to believe that I lost it because I absolutely loved this one, it’s a Sony NWZ-A818 and my favorite mp3 player I had so far.
 
But I don’t want to think about sad stuff. Staying positive is the key.
 
So after afore mentioned workout I headed to the tanning salon where I enjoyed getting darker for TV. Nothing like a healthy tan.
 
Another big advantage of the TV tapings being so close to my house is that I can bring food from home. Bringing food from home is probably one of the greatest things ever. Thank you Tupperware and cooling bags!
 
On my way out I also came across this huge ant! It was gigAntic (get it?) of course I took a picture for you guys:
 
Can you see it? Well of course you can. At this time I’d also like to plug my shoes. Aren’t they awesome? Nothing tops Italian shoes.
 
Now came the frustrating part. If you’re part of my twittourage you’ll know that I had bad encounters with Philly traffic twice this week already. If you’re not part of my twittourage, what are you waiting for? Sign up!
 
I figured on a Friday at 2pm there wouldn’t be any traffic and I’d just fly to the theArena.biz. But I was wrong. I hit traffic and enjoyed it for a full 36 minutes. Yes I timed it. The best part about it was that when the traffic finally lightened up, there was no reason for traffic!!
 
Like I understand if there would have been an accident… Construction… Two fat chicks fighting over a bag of donuts… Just give me some reason for it! But no, Connecticut style, there was no reason for people slowing down and creating a traffic jam.
 
Finally I got to the arena and enjoyed the usual TV taping routine which consists of sitting around, shooting promos, sitting around some more, eating, talking to people (while sitting around) and then wrestling. And you’re doing all that while having a great time.
 
And that’s what I did. My family is wrestling and it’s always fun to talk to people you usually don’t get the chance to. Because normally show days can be quite the rush and you don’t really get to talk to people outside the ones you’re traveling with. But on TV days there’s plenty of time.
 
The first night went well, and you shall enjoy a tag match featuring myself and Jimmy Rave against Brent and Colt. The crowd was good too and there were lots of kids which is always good for atmosphere.
 
On my way home then the big surprise… wait for it… No traffic! Hurray!
 
Saturday was essentially the same, minus the going to the gym part. That part was substituted by something else that I love doing, sleeping in! A luxury on a show day.
 
That luxury was of course followed by the mandatory traffic jam to the building. Oh what a fool I am for believing that it would be different. “Fourth time’s the charm” thought the optimist in my, but he should be disappointed. Only this time I was prepared and thanks to music from my home country I sang my way through the traffic.
 
Now if you’re a fan of the Survivor Series you’ll love the match on Episode 23 (I hope I got the number right) of ROH TV on HDNet! The Embassy plus myself vs Colt, Brent, Necro and Grizzly! More kids plus a bigger audience = awesome and I though this was one came off great! I can’t wait to see it on TV and so should you!
 
Now there was some traffic on the way home, but I won’t go on about it because it was almost Sunday and I didn’t care.
 
Did you notice the lack of pictures so far? Well that’s about to change. Because Sunday came and with it great food!
 
So after sleeping in I decided to make myself some breakfast. Home made pancakes with eggs! Now if you’re thinking “He eats home made pancakes every day” you are right my dear reader. But it’s Sunday, so I packed Hershey’s kisses in there! Chocolate chip pancakes = awesomeness! (Lot’s of = in my blog today… I’m bringing it back)
 
It doesn’t just look delicious, it also tasted delicious! Next on the agenda was grocery shopping. Well I didn’t really had an agenda I will admit. I was sitting around, watching TV and eating my Birchermüsli  when I got hungry again. That’s when I realized that I’ll need some stuff from the grocery store, like bananas and strawberries for tomorrow.
 
So I went to Giants our local neighborhood grocery store. As a frequent reader you know that they have great coffee there and this time I actually tried one of the biscotti's there too!
 
 
After looking at the list a.k.a. menu for about 10 minutes I decided to get a caramel macchiato. Since those biscotti’s have been looking at me every time I order a coffee there (and that’s quite a lot) I decided to finally try one.
 
I asked the lady which one’s the best and she told me that she gets rave reviews about the lemon ones. So I decided to get the lemon one. She gave it to me but it' didn’t taste like lemon, it tasted like anis. You know the Christmas anis cookies? Like that.  
 
What happened is that they didn’t put the biscotti’s in the right place when they refilled them. Because of that the very nice lady told me that I could get another one for free since I didn’t get what I ordered. And that’s when I ordered the 3D brownie one that you can see in the picture above.
 
Thank you Giants!
 
While walking through the grocery store I decided that I wasn’t in the mood to cook anymore today and since I cook a lot during the week I though it would be a nice treat to get some food that’s already made.
 
Which led to me looking at frozen entrees for about 20 minutes. I ended up with a lasagne and some tremendous hot pockets.
 
 

 
Whole grain, chicken, broccoli and low fat cheddar cheese hot pockets to be exact! And some great lasagna.
 
I’m like Garfield, I love lasagna. But I haven’t had it in a long time mainly because I don’t make it myself. I bet I could it just takes some time.
 
To round out the complete Sunday experience I also decided to rent a movie. “Taken” with Liam Neeson it was.
 
The Lean Pockets ended up being my appetizers while the lasagna was cooking in the oven.
 

   
And look how great they came out! They come in this great wrapper thingie. So you put the wrapper around (left) and put it in the microwave. Then you take it out and pull the wrapper down and fold the bottom in (middle) and voilà you have a perfect pocket holding thingie! And as a bonus when you took a couple of bites and the holder would be in the way you can tear off a layer! I wish I invented that.
 
“Taken” was very enjoyable and went by quickly. Not only because it’s only an hour and a half but also because it’s very entertaining. Not something you’ll talk about for days or will make you think, just entertaining to watch with lots of action and some cool fight scenes.
 
Now I’m sure you’re wondering where the picture of the finished lasagna is. Well I cooked it a little too long in the oven so it didn’t look that pretty because the top was burned. So I decided to not post it.
But I will tell you that it tasted awesome. If you ever come by above picture lasagna and you’re in the mood for it, pick it up, it tastes great!
 
For desert I had home made frozen yogurt. Plain yogurt, protein powder, I added some chocolate (I love Sundays), some granola (gotta have some crunch in your ice cream) and put it in the freezer. Soooooo delicious!
 
While I’m writing this I realize what a great day it was. Not that I didn’t knew it while it was going on, but this just gives me confirmation…
 
With a happy smile I wish you all good night!
 
Claudio

You know the deal.. pictures here
3:53 AM 
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June 16, 2009 - Tuesday 
It’s already late and I know some people are desperately waiting for something good to read.
I wanted to write for me to release my blog, but I figured that sounds too conceded and I don’t want to come of that way.  On the other hand, this is my blog and I can come off however I want. Well how about I start writing about my weekend?
 
Some of you have read my blog from Manassas last Friday. Well on the way home I indeed stopped at Sheetz again and I got me some espresso. Red Alert is the one called I got. It’s basically an espresso shot and then you fill it up with regular coffee. I added some sugar free syrup and was ready to go. Ready to go after 15 minutes of waiting for the employees to make my coffee.
 
The Sheets guarantee is that if the coffee is not fresh it’s free. They should change it that if it’s not done within 10 minutes it’s free too. Actually within 5 minutes is more appropriate. However the wait was almost worth it as it was delicious and kept me awake the whole drive home which was a lot better and without and traffic. Thanks to that I made it home in a little under 3 hours.
 
Saturday was NYC time. I love NYC and I absolutely love the Manhattan Center. I purposely didn’t say Hammerstein because I love the Grand Ballroom as well but the Hammerstein is of course on a whole different level. It’s always just amazing to walk out and look up in the balconies. If you have a chance you should definitely check out ROH there when you get the chance.
 

 
You can’t really see the balconies in this picture but in the one at the end you’ll be able to. So either scroll down and back up or continue reading and enjoy the picture at the end when you get there.
 
As you can see the picture I took was at the beginning of the main event which would eventually lead to a title change at ROH. So this is a must see show for all you fans out there. You’ll also be able to see me and D-Lo Brown back elbowing fools.
Something I never though would happen. But that’s my life! Living the dream!
 
Speaking of dream. I saw this car on the way to the show Saturday and I’m sure it’s somebody’s dream car!
 
My dream car is still a Saab. I actually owned one but that’s another story for another time.
 
After watching the ROH title change hands from the best seat in the building it was time to get back home. I knew all the Starbucks on the NJ turnpike would already be closed so I was not planning on stopping anywhere. But cars don’t run without gas, so I had to stop and get some.
 
The good thing about Jersey is that they have people at gas stations pumping the gas for you. Now you may say that’s nothing special and it’s called “Full Service” you are wrong my friend. In Jersey you’re not allowed to pump gas yourself, so you get “Full Service” for free! Actually better than free because gas in Jersey is cheaper than in PA! And I mean gas on the NJ TP is cheaper than gas near my home! Heey for gas prices in Jersey.
 
Sunday was back towards Virginia again. Not as far south though as I only drove to Baltimore Maryland this time. Time for the first ever Real Championship Wrestling event, and what an event it was! The house was packed and the people were hot for the whole evening.
 
And since it was Sunday I enjoyed some treats on the way down. First I had a Quizno’s chicken carbonara sub which was absolutely delicious. Followed up by a white chocolate mocha from Starbucks and this:
 
A delicious chocolate chip cookie! Chocolate is my only weakness, as I don’t crave any sweets or other junk food. I just have a soft spot for chocolate. But as a Swiss guy I feel I have the right to! I mean the best chocolate comes from Switzerland, hands down.
Switzerland also has the best cheese. Which reminds me that I haven’t had some good cheese in a while… Cheese and chocolate, what a combo.
 
Speaking of combo.
 
Yes, after the RCW show I stopped at a Sheets again, this time to get a vanilla latte. I cut two cars and a truck off to make the exit. Now that’s dedication! Those two represent the two best coffees out there in my humble opinion right now. Best selection goes to Sheets as it has a huge customizable selection of great coffee options.
 
Listening to music and sipping on my coffee also got me home safe and I must say I love oldies. Is that even a word over here? Well it is where I come from. And I found this great podcast from the Swiss radio where they play the top ten of charts of the years past. So I heard a great chart show of the year 1977 and man they had some good music back then! ABBA was rocking and so was Bonny M.
 
But the best song came from a woman named Donnatella and the song’s name is Lailola. Now I was planning on giving you guys some background about the singer or song, but I couldn’t find anything on the net. Well maybe I should have looked longer, but I am under time pressure here since I’m getting tired.
 
So if you’re interested in how the song sounds, click on the video below and just let it play.
 
..
 
I made the video super small because it’s horrible. Well it’s just her singing. So you don’t have to watch it, just let it play. It’s in Italian in case you’re wondering. I know some Americans don’t like music they don’t understand because usually they do.
 
When I grew up there were many songs that I didn’t understand, so I don’t mind music from other countries or languages that I don’t understand. You can tell a good song by it’s melody and emotion. That’s at least my opinion. I’m sure Simon would agree with a fellow European.
 
And I’m sure you would agree with me that 12.28 is a great time of going to bed. It’s about half an hour too late actually but that’s what I do for my fans.
 
Speaking of fans, I’m pretty sure I coined the word “Twittourage”!! And' I’m pretty proud of it! So if you want to be part of my “Twittourage” just click on the link and sign up! Fun facts and travel news are sent to you directly by me!
 
And I have another special something for you and I hope you enjoy it
 
 
That’s right a little audio greeting for my loyal readers!
 
And that’s it for today, tschüss,
Claudio

As usual thanks to myspace restrictions for pictures and the audio message, check out www.claudiocastagnoli.com
5:00 AM 
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