New York Pro

This Saturday, May 25, 2013 is the IFBB New York Pro. It has both the men's open and 212 divisions. This event has a few things that are actually cool when it comes to pro bodybuilding competitions.

Cool thing number one:
Victor Martinez makes his return to the stage in New York. After winning the 20ll Arnold Classic in Europe, Victor ran into some immigration problems upon his return to the US. He's originally from the Dominican Republic and his papers weren't in order for international travel. He ended up six months in jail waiting for things to be resolved. After his release in April of 2012 he broke his arm a few months later during an impromptu arm wrestling match. After months of healing, he is back and ready to stand on stage again. He won the New York show about 10 years ago and it was one of the best showings he's ever had. Will he win this year? I have no idea. I don't know what he looks like. We most likely won't see the 2003 version of Victor, but he might be just good enough to win... maybe.

Cool thing number two:
Mamdouh Big Ramy Elssbiay from Kuwait is making his pro debut. New guys make pro debuts all the time. They get their feet wet and if they make the top 10, it's considered an achievement. Some guys, like Evan Centopani for instance, have won the NY Pro in their debut.
Here's the thing with Ramy, though. He's only been training about three years and he won his pro card at the Amateur Olympia last fall. That win qualified him to compete in the Mr. Olympia in Las Vegas. All that is impressive in itself, but the guy is HUGE! He's five feet 10 and weighed 298 at 10 days out from the NY Pro. If he is conditioned enough, he might actually win the show. It's a possibility. Take a look at the dude here: http://www.flexonline.com/ifbb/ifbb-new-york-pro-2013/mamdouh-big-ramy-elssbiay-days-2013-ny-pro

Cool thing number three:
Aaron Clark is also making his pro debut too. He is in superb condition and decided to drop a couple more pounds and do the 212 instead of the men's open class. Aaron will be up against Mark Dugdale, Jose Raymond, Sami the Blacksmith and more. It'll be very interesting to see how he stacks up against some of the IFBBs best in the 212.

Keeping it real

Two things: people don't like to be told what to wear or what to eat.

Company dress codes are a good example of the first point. Dress codes do have their place, but when a small company tries to impose rules like they are a big company, people do not like it. Or if the code is out of touch with the actual work that is done, people become disgruntled.

For example, years ago I worked at a company that designed and produced phone books. It didn't pay much but I didn't mind working there. It was a good group of people to work with. Most hated the dress code, though. We were an art department that needed to dress up every day. Ties were not required but slacks, dress shoes, polos or collared shirts were required. No jeans or sneakers. As an art department we hated it.

The vice-president of personnel established a panel of people (the dress code police) to help decide what articles of clothing was appropriate and what wasn't. As you can guess they were not a very popular group in the company. Most of the panel were hand-picked and were the people wishing the code would be even stricter. Needless to say, the panel became the joke of the company and a strong attitude of "no one's going to tell me what to wear!" became the norm.

The second thing people don't like is to be told what to eat. "Eat your beans!" "Finish your vegetables! They are GOOD for you!" What's that you say? Your mom said these commands to you? How did I know? I'm psychic like Shawn Spencer.

As adults, people do not want to be told by anyone what they can eat -- including their doctor or mother. People want to eat what they want to eat and when they want to eat it.

So the lady in the Production Dept. in your company who scolds her co-workers for eating various types of food, isn't well liked because people don't want to be told what to eat.

It's not only in the workplace or at social gatherings that people scold others for what they eat. Oh no! Facebook has opened the door to allow people to post their diets and photos of all the healthy food they eat -- and, of course, what everyone else should be eating too!

So now I'll get to the point...

I discovered years ago when I was in high school that my classmates really didn't care what vitamins or minerals were in certain foods or which foods were best to consume after a sports practice. They also didn't care how many calories, carbs or fats are in particular foods. After a few comments that they didn't care, I took the hint and shut my mouth.

Those people are now adults and I can say confidently that they do not want someone scolding them like their mother about what they shouldn't eat. I've seen the "mothers" out there scolding adults and it is never received well.

Why is it then that fitness-oriented or recently-converted-health-nut people think they have to fill their Facebook timelines and albums with photos of what they eat everyday? Or let people know they are working hard to achieve their fitness goals and you should too? Or how horrible aspartame is? Or how bad non-organic food is? Or what you need to eat so you don't get cancer? Or you shouldn't chew gum? Or you shouldn't eat meat?

Honestly, it does little to motivate me when I see someone telling others what to eat when those others haven't ASKED the person what to eat. I think eating healthy is important, of course, but it needs to encouraged. Scolding never works. Sorry, it just doesn't. It only makes the scoldee upset and the scolder looks like one of those stereotypical arrogant fitness or health nuts. (You know the type.)

Lead by example. Do your thing. Eat your food. Do your workouts, but always keep in mind that the other person probably doesn't want to be a CrossFit champ or a Mr. America. Or the next paleo vegan. If they do, they'll ask you for help and advice. Until then, my fitness-nut brothers and sisters, carefully consider what you post on social networks or what you say about what YOU think others should do when it comes to eating and exercise.

And for crying out loud, don't tell them how they should dress either!

Old Dog and New Tricks

It's coming close to that time of year again when the New Years Resolutionists will be leaving gyms all around the country. They won't return until next January... if they ever do return.

I've been working out for more than 30 years and I really do enjoy it. I look forward to getting up early and pushing some heavy weights and challenging myself in every workout. It's just fun. How else do explain that?

I've treated this part of my life as a journey and I've doen things differently over the years to improve performance, get stronger, get leaner, and ultimately to make my mescles keep growing.

I follow trends to see if they work. If they don't, I stop and move onto try something else. In the 1980s most bosybuilders trained 6 days a week like Arnold and Haney. Body parts were hit twice a week.

The Yates era was in the 1990s and it became normal for body parts to be trained just once a week with a lot less volume. I did that too... and got really sore all the time from forced reps and negatives.

In the early 2000s I started deadlifting again because Ronnie Coleman did them. Everyone started doing deadlifts again because of Ronnie. (I don't do them much any more because of the aches and pains I'd constantly live with when doing them. Life is easier when you can bend and move.)

Along the way I've discovered what works and what doesn't.

These days this old dog is  using some unique exercises and utilizing bands and having some really fun workouts and I'm gaining size and strength from those workouts. I've also concentrated on stretching my shoulders and I feel like I've breathed new life into my chest workouts because of that.

This journey has been fun. Can't wait for tomorrow. It's back and chest day. I haven't combined those two bodyparts in a workout for years. Reverse-band low-incline presses are the bomb. So are one-arm t-bar rows.

Should be fun!

And then legs on Monday. Oh, man! What a perfect way to start the week!

Random thoughts...

The Arnold Classic is coming up the end of next month. I'm putting together travel plans to cover the event for Bodybuilding.com again this year. I'm alos looking forward to seeing my nephew, Joe Swartz, compete in the Arnold Amateur in the Classic Bodybuilding division.

I've been reading lots of stuff by John Meadows lately. He has some new and different training techniques I've been incorporating into my workouts. I've always thought that using the big rubber bands were kind of silly for serious workouts, but now that I've tried them, I am hooked! Chest workouts will never be the same.

Anyone sick of all the internet experts on diet and training? I sure am. Science proves this. This study proves that. Guys who weigh a buck fifty soaking wet are claiming to be experts and know everything about getting ripped because of some study they've read. Most of them have never stepped on stage and have been training for less than five years.

I'm all for science being helpful in gaining muscle and burning fat, but there are just some things that have worked for years and all the good bodybuilders have discovered the same things. But some guy always wants to argue and prove they have evidence of the "right" way to do it. And it's the guy who has arms taping a mighty 14 inches after five years of training.

Enough for today.

The Blade

Dexter Jackson won his first Masters Mr. Olympia on December 8. He is the only man to win an open Mr. Olympia and a Masters Olympia. Dexter is defying the age factor and came in with one of the best looks in his career. I thought he would be going down hill early last year, but he has proven me wrong. At 43 years of age this guy just keeps getting better. Here is a photo I took of him at the 2001 Flex Pro.

Inspiration

If I had to narrow it down to one thing that inspired me to become a bodybuilder, I'd have to say it was a photo of Arnold Schwarzenegger on the beach hitting a 3/4 back pose. I was amazed when I first saw it. And I'm still amazed whenever I see it. I decided to do a painting of it in acrylics and I finished it last night. I have  a few areas on it that I might go and fix someday, but for now I'm happy with it. Seeing this photo of Arnold in this pose never gets old and it fires me up to train hard every single time I see it.

The Big Dilemma

Do you continue to train for mass or try to lean up? Seems like a simple question with an easy answer, right? Sure, if you actually compete, but what if you're one of the many -- the majority -- who do not compete or haven't competed in years? When do you decide to go into a cutting phase?

Bodybuilding, whether you do it competitively or only as a hobby, is an extreme lifestyle. In order to be successful you have to be. Think about. You really need to train at least 3-4 days per week and monitor your diet all day long -- everyday! If you're  trying to gain size, you'll need to eat 4-7 times per day and your protein intakes is probably at least twice that of an average American. If it's "offseason" you can eat as many carbs as you want. Your only limit is how big your gut gets. And that's where the dilemma comes in.

Extreme eating is done to gain size even to the point of force feeding in order to pack in enough calories so the muscles can grow. Flood those fibers with nutrients all day long so there isn't even the slightest chance to veer from an anabolic state due to calorie restriction. (Some guys even get up in the middle of the night just to eat!) You get used to trying to never be hungry and eating at specific times during the day rather than wating a couple hours for you stomach to empty and hunger returns.

Then one day you decide to rip up for (fill in the blank). You cut back on the carbs and keep the protein high and eat at least 6 times a day to "keep the furnace stoked" so you can burn fat at an incredible rate that will shock all your friends who use Jenny Craig or WeightWatchers. But guess what? Since you're used to force feeding every two hours you feel like you're starving and want to eat everything in sight. Food and the burning hunger is all you think about.

If you decide to rip up, go for it and don't hold back. Don't worry about losing a little size in the process.

If you want to gain mass, don't get sloppy fat.

Train hard and enjoy the journey! You are blessed, fortunate and lucky to be on it.