In my competitive career, I have won my weight class in the Jr. USA, the Jr. Nationals, and the USA bodybuilding championships. I have also come in top 5 in six out of nine NPC Nationals. I have been under contract with Universal Nutrition since 1997. I have been on four magazine covers, have traveled the world for exhibitions and guest posings, and after placing a disappointing 13th in the light heavyweight class at the 2003 Nationals, I sincerely thought I'd never compete again. I thought that I had accomplished everything that I could possibly accomplish in bodybuilding--I thought that I couldn't go any further.
When I trained for the 2003 Nationals, I knew in my heart that I didn't give it 100%. All year long it ate at me. I could not leave on those terms. I couldn't walk away from bodybuilding knowing that I did not give it my all. Bodybuilding, for me, was my best friend. It's what I knew, it's what I lived, and it's how I identified myself. Thinking of never competing again was something that I had a hard time facing, especially after taking 13th place in the NPC Nationals.
The desire and passion grew deeper as the year went on. My training picked up and got more consistent. I made a vow to myself that I would leave no stone unturned. In the past, my training partners were hard core bodybuilders. But this time around, I teamed up with Rich Shulman, a 50 year old "average guy" who likes to work out, keep in shape, and is a fan of bodybuilding. He had no idea what my goals were except that on November 18th and 19th I would be competing in the NPC National Championships in Atlanta, Georgia. The great thing about Rich not understanding the magnitude of the contest was that the training came first and it became enjoyable. He never asked me if I cheated on my diet, he never asked me any of the related questions that other bodybuilders throw at each other during training for a contest. We would make a time to meet, we would train, we would do cardio, and then say "see you tomorrow". Nothing fancy about this training. Everything was basic.
Usually when I'm training for a show, everybody and their grandmother knows that I'm doing it--mostly due to the running of my big fat mouth. But this time, when people started to notice that my training got more intense, they would ask "are you going to compete?", and my answer was always "no". Even with my close friends Tommy Potenza and Todd Vignola, I did not discuss my plans on competing. I remember even at 11 weeks out, John Hnatyschak was surprised at the condition that I was in.
Now, you have to picture this: Tommy and Todd have both won national titles, realized how far they can go, and no longer compete. Not to mention the fact that I was three years into owning my personal training studio and coming off a disappointing 13th placing at the 2003 Nationals. A few months prior to competing in the 2005 Nationals this year, I touched on the idea with my friends to redeem myself and compete one more time. The reaction was basically, "You're crazy… What for? You've accomplished everything you're going to accomplish". But, for me, I couldn't walk away from it knowing that I didn't train the way that I should have trained. It was eating at me.
I started training for the Nationals at 20 weeks out and made the decision not to discuss my contest training with anyone. I put the blinders on and went after my goal. For me, it wasn't the outcome necessarily, but the journey. I know this sounds really stupid, but I didn't care about getting a pro card--I cared more about training for the show the right way. Never missing a workout, never cheating on my diet, and again, leaving no stone unturned. Two weeks prior to the Nationals, I warmed up at the NPC East Coast Bodybuilding Championships, and won the light heavyweight class. It was a nice warm-up, and got the jitters out before the Nationals.
I can't remember the last time I had this much fun training for a contest. With the help of Rich Shulman as a training partner, even though he didn't understand what level of competing I was going after, he knew the level of intensity at which we both enjoyed training. My wife had even mentioned that I was not as irritable as usual and very tolerable to be around. I think as bodybuilders we set this precedent with ourselves that we have to be grumpy and mean when we are on a diet. I'll be the first to admit that that last two weeks before the show, I was not a happy camper. But, I understood that I had decided to put myself through this torture and everyone around me did not have to suffer. I wanted my experience this time around to be different than it had ever been in more ways than one. Not only training hard for it, but also knowing that I had a business to run, had clients to keep happy and had a mortgage to pay. Generally, that life had to go on, regardless of whether I was training for a show or not.
When my wife and I went for breakfast on Saturday morning after Friday night's pre-judging, we had a few people come over and congratulate me on how I looked--better than I had looked in the past and that it was nice to see me in the top 5 again. The usual "I think you've got 4th or 3rd" was heard--also "maybe a close 2nd". But all of that didn't matter. I had accomplished my goal by putting my blinders on, training hard, believing in myself, and going after my goal to reestablish my name as a national competitor. I thought that even if I take 5th place, with my last contest taking 13th, a top 5 would be a success. That’s what I got, 5th place, not bad for my first time back.
Will I ever compete again? I guess you'll have to read my articles to find out. Stop back next month when I write about how I actually trained for the 2005 Nationals. And, just maybe, I'll give some insight into how I'm going to train for the 2006…
|
