I am a “natural” athlete. By not juicing, gearing or cycling, I am able to keep my metabolism in check and not ballon up after a contest. I eat clean most of the time. It’s a matter of lifestyle and personal choice. I like being a hard, lean, cut and muscular senior citizen. As a full-time personal trainer at the YMCA, my physique and conditioning helps me secure and keep clients. They recognize in my personal success that I can help them achieve theirs.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008, 10 Days Until the 2008 N.P.A. Nationals and Masters Universe Pro Qualifier, Ft. Lee, Virginia.
Weight: 141.0
Today my training partner and I left the weights in the rack and did a bodyweight workout.
Unassisted Pull Ups
10 x 10 - 100 reps (wide, narrow, hammer and biceps grips)
Rotating Handle Push Ups
10 x 10 - 100 reps
Hanging Leg Lifts
10 x 10 - 100 reps
Bensen Ball Crunches
10 x 10 - 100 reps
Skip Rope
10 x 25 skips - 250 reps
Tread Mill
20 minutes of moderate speed, moderate elevation work
I’m looking hard, lean and cut as I prepare for my show next week. I am fully recovered from the FAME Worlds and an looking forward to hitting the stage again on June 28th. As it will be my final contest of the first half of the year, I’m really looking forward to dumping my face in the food trough.
Thursday, June 19, 2008, Nine Days Until The 2008 N.P.A. Nationals and Masters Universe Pro Qualifier, Ft. Lee, Virginia
Weight: 140.6
Today my training partner and I worked on back, lats, shoulders and biceps. We did two sets of two exercises, 8-10 reps each, for each body part. We lifted as heavy and as slowly as we could, holding at the top of each rep. We ended our session with 100 crunches and 30 minutes on the tread mill.
Michael, my training partner, is driving with me from Birmingham, Alabama to Ft. Lee, Virginia. He plans on competing next year and wants to see and feel the whole experience of contest prep, the last week and the last two days before a show.
We will enjoy eating our way back home on Sunday.
Friday, June 20, 2008, One Week Until the 2008 N.P.A. Nationals and Masters Universe Pro Qualifier, Ft. Lee, Virginia
Weight: 141.0 - After a Re-Feed Day
Today my training partner and I did a legs workout. Since I am one week away from my next contest, I did a very light legs workout while my partner kicked butt with his.
I am very keyed up about the Natural Physique Association (N.P.A.) show. Last year, I tied for First and lost in the tie-breaker, “leaving” my N.P.A. Pro Card on the stage. I am determined to bring my Pro Card home this time. I will bring a better package to the show than I did last year. I will not tie again.
Monday, June 23, 2008, Five Days Until the 2008 NPA Nationals and Masters Universe Pro Qualifier, Ft. Lee, Virginia
Weight: 140.0
Today my training partner and I played around with the Advance GH/ITT Cardio Training Plan that we will begin working after my contest this weekend. Michael and I are driving from Birmingham, Alabama to Ft. Lee, Virginia on Friday for the show.
My contest prep is going well and I believe I will be better than I was at the FAME Worlds on June 14. I am trying for my fourth Pro Card at the N.P.A. contest.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008, Four Days Until the 2008 Natural Physique Association (N.P.A.) Nationals and Masters Universe Pro Qualifier, Ft. Lee, Virginia
Weight: 139.0
I am ready now and will hold it all together until stage time on Saturday. I’m feeling great and I’m really excited about this show. I have been waiting for a year to come back to this venue. Last year, I tied for First and won Best Poser. This year, I am going to place First and win Best Poser…at least, that’s the plan. Ha, ha.
Today my training partner and I worked the second day of our post-contest training plan, Advance GH and HITT Cardio. We did biceps and triceps. This plan is about reps to failure or near failure. It’s tough but fun. I’m looking forward to training hard for my next two Pro Shows later this year.
[quote]Old Navy wrote:
Friday, June 20, 2008, One Week Until the 2008 N.P.A. Nationals and Masters Universe Pro Qualifier, Ft. Lee, Virginia
Weight: 141.0 - After a Re-Feed Day
Today my training partner and I did a legs workout. Since I am one week away from my next contest, I did a very light legs workout while my partner kicked butt with his.
I am very keyed up about the Natural Physique Association (N.P.A.) show. Last year, I tied for First and lost in the tie-breaker, “leaving” my N.P.A. Pro Card on the stage. I am determined to bring my Pro Card home this time. I will bring a better package to the show than I did last year. I will not tie again.
[/quote]
Great to see the intensity and commitment you are expressing.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008, Three Days Until the 2008 Natural Physique Association (N.P.A.) Nationals and Masters Universe Pro Qualifier, Ft. Lee, VA
Weight: 137.0 - Body Fat 6.8%
I’m taking is real easy. Today I did a few body weight exercises and a slow walk on the tread mill. After the workout, I did a full-body shave and exfoliation to prepare for my first of two professional spray tans. I will apply Dream Tan II on top of the two sprays before the contest.
Last evening, I had my first Artist Model session at the Forstall Art Center in Homewood, Alabama. I posed in my posing suit for one male and eight female artists who worked in acrylic, pencil and oil to capture the male anatomy on canvas. I had to do several two-minute poses, two five-minute poses and three 20-minute poses. For the longest ones I chose to pose as Rodan’s The Thinker sculpture. It worked. I got to sit during the hour. After the session I was asked if I would come back again. The artists work with live models once a week. I got paid for my time. So now I can add 65 Year-Old Buff Artist Model to my resume. Ha, ha.
Thursday, June 26, 2008, Two Days Until The 2008 Natural Physique Association (N.P.A.) Nationals and Masters Universe Pro Qualifier, Ft. Lee, Virginia
Weight: 138.6 Body Fat 6.8% No Weight Training or Cardio Today.
I am carbing up and enjoying every bit of it. Ha, ha. I’m ready to get it on. This one’s mine to Win. I am bringing my best-ever physique to the stage on Saturday. Last year, I tied for First and lost my Pro Card in the tie-breaker at this show.
I’m not driving 11 hours on Friday from Birmingham, Alabama to Ft. Lee, Virginia to come home on Sunday with another Second Place trophy. I never worry about who else is going to show up. I have no control over that. I want ‘them’ to worry about me showing up for this one. LOL.
Old Navy
The NPA 2008 Nationals and Si-Flex Masters Universe Bodybuilding & Fitness/Figure Championships Pro Qualifier, Ft. Lee, Virginia, June 28.
Results:
NPA Masters Universe Grand Master 60+ - 2nd Place
NPA Nationals Open Men’s Lightweight - 4th Place
Best Poser - I have won Best Poser in competitions at ages 61, 62, 63, 64 and now at 65.
For the second time this season, I have been in the best condition of my life for a contest. I hit the stage at 140 pounds and 6% body fat. I was hard, lean, muscular, vascular, symmetrical, well tanned and groomed and posed my butt off and for the second time in a row, I lost to a guy who was less conditioned, less muscular, less cut, less vascular, much less symmetrical, less well tanned and groomed and not as good a poser, but HE WAS BIGGER. He was an inch shorter than me and was about 15 pounds heavier.
The message is clear. The judges were looking for size, not symmetry, size, not definition, size, not vascularity, size, not muscularity. In this show, In my opinon, shared by others, they also awarded a large heavyweight the Overall against a much more defined, muscular, symmetrical middle weight.
Because of these results, I have made a decision to stop competing for the rest of the year and the first half of next year. I am taking the next 12 months to add lean mass and not diet and cut for a guest posing appearance or contest. I will lift hard and add enough muscle mass to be able to stand on the stage next June and win my class.
Since I am not going to be training for a show anytime soon, I’m going to end this journal now and start a new journal when I begin my contest prep for my next show in 2009. This journal was called, “Fourth Year Student: My Senior Year,” playing on the idea of this being my fourth year of competing as a senior and student of the sport. My new journal will be called, “Getting My Kicks On Route 66” as I compete in my 66th year.
I will continue to post on this site and add my comments to the dialogue as appropriate.
Thank you for your interest.
Old Navy
This will be interesting. I will closely watch and see if you can, and how much mass a man of your age can add.
I think you’ve done an awesome job, but I asked you before if dieting for the amount of shows you were doing didn’t have a negative side, the loss of size. Thirty year olds suffer size loss when competing, how much more is ths for us older guys?
Congrats on 2nd anyway. I like your attitude in that your not going to spend a bunch of time whining that you got robbed. “If you want bigger I’ll give you bigger”. Like I said, I look forward to seeing how you do in this new approach.
Keep us all posted on your training and progress, even if you change thread names.
Wish you well, and I’m impressed you got so far so quickly, even if it didn’t go even better.
2008 NPA Nationals and Masters Universe Championships, Ft. Lee, Virginia, June 28. I won my 5th Best Poser Award at this contest. I have won Best Poser as a 61 year-old, a 62, 63, 64 and now, as a 65 year-old competitor.
My routine is called, “21 Gun Salute” and is a tribute to the fighting men and women of our Armed Forces.
Biceps Pose
Marching
Most Muscular Pose
2008 NPA Nationals and Masters Universe Best Poser Award
Friday, July 4, 2008 - Happy Fourth of July!
It’s been a week since my final contest of the year. I have enjoyed eating without consideration of diet or contest prep. I started dieting for my June shows last November. I have to say my diet and contest prep this year were on target and in the zone. I came in harder, leaner, more cut, more vascular and more muscular than any time in the past five years.
I learned a lot about contest prep that I will put to good use as I train for my Pro Shows in 2009.
I will take a couple more weeks off with no diet and light workouts before I get down to the business of adding some much needed lean mass. I will bring a bigger and better physique to the stage next year. That’s my goal and that’s my focus.
Old Navy
[quote]Old Navy wrote:
Friday, July 4, 2008 - Happy Fourth of July!
It’s been a week since my final contest of the year. I have enjoyed eating without consideration of diet or contest prep. I started dieting for my June shows last November. I have to say my diet and contest prep this year were on target and in the zone. I came in harder, leaner, more cut, more vascular and more muscular than any time in the past five years. I learned a lot about contest prep that I will put to good use as I train for my Pro Shows in 2009.
I will take a couple more weeks off with no diet and light workouts before I get down to the business of adding some much needed lean mass. I will bring a bigger and better physique to the stage next year. That’s my goal and that’s my focus.
Old Navy
[/quote]
I’m confident you will meet your goal. And you start with incredible posing skills, which means you are a leg up.