Getting My Kicks On

Training Over 35 Lifter
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Getting My Kicks on “Route 66”

Saturday, September 6, 2008

“Get Your Kicks on Route 66,” often rendered simply as “Route 66,” is a popular song and rhythm and blues standard, composed in 1946 by American songwriter Bobby Troup. It was first recorded in the same year by Nat King Cole, and was subsequently covered by many artists including Chuck Berry in 1961 and The Rolling Stones in 1964. The song’s lyrics follow the path of the U.S. Route 66 highway, which used to run a long distance across the US, going from Chicago, Illinois to Los Angeles, California. There was even a popular TV show in the early 60’s with the title, “Route 66.”

I chose the name of my new Journal because like the song’s title, “Route 66,” I will be 66 years-old the next time I step onto a bodybuilding stage and I plan to “Get My Kicks” along the way by having a fun time preparing for my next Professional competition.

My final contest of this year was the 2008 NPA Nationals and Masters Universe in Ft. Lee, Virginia… I won my fifth Best Poser award at the show and placed 2nd in my age group. I had also placed 2nd at the 2008 FAME Masters Pro World Championships in Toronto, Canada two weeks earlier.

While I entered both events in my best-ever condition, in each case I was bested by a man who was less conditioned than me, but was several pounds heavier. Not one to lick my wounds and cry “foul,” I was determined to get to work to bring my own “bigger” package to the stage next time.

I am in my third month of a lean mass gain program designed to add as much muscle as I can while keeping the usual accompanying additional fat in check. I am eating more (clean diet) and am lifting very heavy (for me) in the gym. My weight on June 28 was 140 pounds. My weight this morning is 165 pounds. I will stay around this weight until it’s time to cut for my show. I believe I can come in hard and lean at around 150 pounds, 10 pounds more than I did this year.

I was around 6% body fat on stage for my last two shows. I was cut and defined, but, small. I may have to give up a few percentage points in fat in order to “look” bigger at 150 pounds. I’ll make that decision when the time comes.

Since February 1st, I have been a full-time Certified Master Fitness Trainer at the Birmingham, Alabama YMCA. I average around 28 hours of personal training sessions each week. Five of my clients are training with me to prepare for their first bodybuilding competition. I have one middle weight and four heavy weights. Their ages range from 24 years-old to 50. I have all of them working the same training plans that I am using for my own training. I always tell my athletes I don’t make them do anything I can’t do. They are all preparing for a local NGA contest next May in Birmingham. It’s possible that I will have all five of my competitors on stage in the Novice Class.

The plan we are currently using was designed by my friend and fellow bodybuilder, Sean “Sully” Sullivan of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. It’s called “The Widow Maker” and it’s a buster:

The Widow Maker Power Workout - A Four Week Training Plan
The purpose of this plan is to grow lean, hard muscle mass by lifting heavy for several sets with little rest in between, using the same weight load and then doing a Widow-Maker set of many reps for the same exercise.

Here is the Plan:

Keep the same weight for all 6 sets, but you may lose a rep or two at the end. For example set 1 - 4 you get the 6 reps, set 5, 5 reps and the last set 4. Pick a good weight and don’t lower it even if it means 2-3 reps total on the last set.

On the high rep sets don’t just do them light and go through the motions, go heavy and hard. For example on the 50 reps of squats pick a weight you can only get 20-30 reps with and then just take 2-3 deep breaths and bang out 4-6 more reps, breath and do more until you get the reps in. This is the Widow Maker set!

The rest between sets is 60-seconds and do a few warm-up sets before you begin the exercise

Stretch or Pose the working muscle between sets for 20-30 seconds.

Day 1:

Incline Bench Dumbbell Press - 6 x 6, 1 X 20

Flat Bench Dumbbell Press - 6 x 6, 1 X 20

High Pulls (wide grip upright row, but you pull to the forehead) - 4 x 4

Heavy Laterals - 3 x 8

Press Down - 4 x 10

Decline Dumbbell Extensions - 4 X 8

Day 2:

Leg Press - 6 x 6, 1 X 40

Squats - 6 x 6, 1 X 30

Hack Squat - 6 x 6, 1 X 20

Leg Curls - 5 x 8

Leg Extensions - 4 x 10

Day 3:

Reverse Grip Barbell Row - 6 x 6, 1 X 20

Medium Grip Pull Down - 6 x 6, 1 X 20

Dead Lifts - 6 x 6, 1 X 30

Barbell Curls - 4 x 6

Preacher Curls - 4 x 10

Day 4:

Lunges - 6 X 6, 1 X 20

Seated Leg Curls - 6 x 6

Wide stance Squats (feet out wide, toes pointed out) - 6 X 6, 1 X 50

Dumbbell Stiff Leg Dead Lifts - 6 X 6

Step Ups (Step up, one leg at a time, on a high bench or aerobic step) - 6 X 6

Calves and Abs work is done twice a week. Pick one exercise and do 5-6 sets of as many reps as you can do for each.

Do Cardio on off days from weights, 20 minutes of HITT or intervals. Do 5 min warm-up and 5 minute cool down so total time is 30 min with 20 being interval or HITT.

Needless to say, we are all walking around sore as hell. This is a great plan.

I hope you follow my progress on “Route 66” and enjoy the ride. Thank you for your interest.

Old Navy

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Great stuff as always. I can’t help but wander what the guy who beat you looks like. I’m definitely going to try and attend the meet in May in Birmingham. As always, you are an inspiration to all of us.

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Nothing like an excuse to eat every thing in sight. I’m sure you will achieve your goal. I’ll be watching with interest.

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Friday, September 19, 2008

Off Season Weight: 165.0

It’s been a busy two weeks since my last post in this journal. I continue to work Monday-Friday at the Mountain Brook (Birmingham) YMCA as a Master Fitness Trainer. I have 20 clients who train with me for 30+ hours a week.

I also work with my training partner 90-minutes a day starting at 6:30 AM. My last client of the day trains at 5:00 or 5:30, so I’m spending nearly 11 hours a day at the Y. I love every minute of my time there.

Five of my clients are bodybuilders training for their first contests. One is a non-tested middle weight athlete and four are heavyweight natters. I’m having a great time watching their bodies change with the hard training and diet we are using.

We are aiming for a show in May or June of 2009. We are all working the Widow Maker plan. It’s very hard and very effective. We will probably work this plan for one more week and then switch to Hypertrophy Specific Training (HST) for awhile.

Last Friday, I was featured in Senior Living, a local newspaper for seniors. They did a story on me in the “Seniors Making a Difference” section. Cool.

That same day, I was the guest speaker at the Vestavia Hills (Birmingham) Rotary Club luncheon and gave a presentation to 80 members on Life Style and Fitness for the Mature Athlete. It was well received.

My training is going well. I am three months into my year-long hiatus from competing in order to add a little size. Since my last show on June 28, I have gained 25 pounds.

I of course don’t look cut any longer, but I still have decent vascularity and I do see some increase in size, especially in my legs and chest. Happy Days!

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Saturday, October 11, 2008

I’m proud to announce the birth of my first grandson. Jayden was born Tuesday, September 30 in Newport Beach, California weighing 8.1 pounds. The future bodybuilder and his mom are doing fine. My wife, Vivian was in California for the birth and to help the new mom with her son. She returned home on Wednesday night. We have been blessed with two grandchildren this year. My oldest daughter gave birth to a girl, Gianna Marie in February. Little Gianna is a happy child who is crawling up a storm. We get to see more of our granddaughter as she lives in Birmingham, Alabama, close to Vivian and me.

My off season training continues to go well. I have added 20 pounds of weight and only 1% of body fat. That’s cool. I’m training hard and eating clean. I hope to be ten pounds heavier than I was this year when I step on to a stage in mid 2009.

I am personal training more than 30 hours-a-week. Needless to say, I spend a lot of time in the gym. I have my five bodybuilder clients working the Escalation Density Training (EDT) plan, coupled with the Hungarian Oak Legs Blast. My guys are hurting in all the right places.

Old Navy

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Congratulations!

Can’t wait to see the results of your gains.

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Sunday, October 26, 2008 - N.G.A. Granite State Open, Dover, New Hampshire

On Friday, Michael Jackson, my training partner and I flew from Birmingham, Alabama to Manchester, New Hampshire to help with the 2008 N.G.A.Granite State Open Bodybuilding Championship and Figure Competition held in nearby Dover. The 14th annual contest was held at the Dover High School Auditorium and attracted more than 40 competitors (60+) with crossovers in Women’s Figure, Novice Men and Novice Women, Masters Men and Masters Women and Open Men and Open Women. While the Men’s Novice Class was the largest (18 competitors), every class except the Novice Women (one) had competition. Nine Figure women competed, up from three just a few years ago.

Laura Tourtellot, affectionately known throughout the fitness world as “Turtle,” asked me to be one of her judges. It was the 10th time I have judged a show. Michael Jackson, who is training with me for his first bodybuilding competition next year, worked back stage as a facilitator and tried to soak up first-hand some of the last minute contest prep that goes on before every show.

We arrived in Manchester on Friday evening at 6 PM and drove to Portsmouth, the site of the host hotel and check in. We spent some time with Turtle and then went to dinner.

The next morning, we arrived at Dover High School at 8 AM to help with the set up. Laura has her act together and has a great group of volunteers who make sure everything is done to Ms Turtle’s satisfaction and to her exact specs. She calls her show a “Production” and it is. The smallest detail is deftly handled. And, as a result, once again, her show went off without a single hitch.

Prejudging began at 1:30 PM and ended a couple of hours later. The night show kicked off at 6:30 and we were done by 9:30. Many of the show’s competitors are repeat athletes. They like doing Turtle’s show and so did Michael and I.
We finally returned to our hotel at around 1 AM Sunday morning, got up at 3 AM, drove back to Manchester and caught our flight at 5:45. We arrived back in Birmingham in time to go to Church.

A big highlight for Michael was to meet Sean “Sully” Sullivan. Sully was also one of the judges. Michael has “known” Sully for the past year as we have worked through several of the exercise guru’s training plans. Many times, Michael has been heard to groan, “darn that Sully,” as we completed a hard set of heavy lifting. Sully is a pro competitor, show promoter and fitness expert. I have most of my bodybuilding athletes at the YMCA using his workouts under my supervision. Thanks, Sul. You’re the best.

I haven’t been to a bodybuilding show since my last competition in June. Seeing this show and catching the scent of posing oil and Pam got me all worked up. I will hit the gym with a little more intensity tomorrow. My next contest is in June, 2009. I wish it were next week.

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Old Navy, my very large training partner, Michael Jackson and Sean “Sully” Sullivan of Cape Cod, Mass., at the 2008 NGA Granite State Bodybuilding Championship and Figure Competition, Dover, New Hampshipe, October 25th.

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Glad to get an update.

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Thursday, November 19, 2008

It’s been an interesting few weeks since my last post. I was invited to speak at the US Naval & Marine Corps Center in Bessemer, Alabama during their drill weekend. I spoke for an hour on the subject of wellness, exercise and diet. My talk went over very well. I will speak next at the US Army Center in Birmingham on December 6th on the same subject.

Last Saturday, I was in Coral Springs, Florida for the 2008 NGA Pro Universe, American International and Florida Natural Championships, where I had my first stint as Master of Ceremonies. I had a great time.

I am promoting a show in the summer, the 2009 NGA Alabama Natural Open Bodybuilding and Figure Championships to be held at Hoover High School (the same school whose football team was featured for two seasons on MTV).

I am entered in the 2009 FAME World Championships in Montreal, Canada, where I will compete in the Master Pro Division.

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Very good!

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You sure can kick it up Old Navy. All I can say is, keep on having the time of your life.

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Working as a Personal Trainer, full time, helping five bodybuilders (one famale) prepare for their first show (mine), training for my next Master Pro show (FAME in June), having my two daughters and two grandchildren home for Christmas…yep, I’m having the time of my life. Thanks for sharing the moment with me.

Old Navy

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December 20, 2008

It’s the Saturday before Christmas and I am enjoying having my two daughters with my two grandchildren home for Christmas. My oldest grandchild, Gianna, is 10 months old and my grandson, Jayden, is three months old.

My Personal Training work at the Birmingham, Alabama YMCA is going great. I average 28 hours of training each week. My one female bodybuilder and three male bodybuilders are progressing nicely. They will compete in the 2009 NGA Natural Open Bodybuilding, Figure and Fitness Model Championships on July 11 in Birmingham, the show I am promoting. We hope to have more than 60 competitors at the Pro Qualifier event.

My training is going well in spite of a little setback. I tore some muscle fibers in my right quad a few weeks ago and have to cut back on my leg work until it heals. I decided to take a full week off next week and resume training on December 29th. I have been going at it hot and heavy and I know the rest will do me a lot of good.

I received an email from a casting director in Los Angeles for a photo shoot for Paris Match, a very popular French magazine. They are doing a photo editorial on aging and were looking for an older bodybuilder. I got the job and will be flown to LA at the end of January for a one-day shoot. I am going to have to go on a light contest prep diet to drop a few off-season pounds. I don’t mind, because the photographer is well known and it will be a great experience being photographed by such a renown shooter.

I hope all of you have a Blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Old Navy

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Congratulations – and best wishes for the season.

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Sunday, January 18, 2009 - Two Weeks Until My Photo Shoot

Weight: 158.6

I started my “contest diet” for my end-of-the-month photo shoot on January 1, weighing 166.0 pounds. I have slowly lost a little more than seven pounds and will try to come in on January 30 at around 153-154. This is a great experiment for my actual contest prep for the 2009 FAME Master Pro World Championships in Montreal on June 13.

I am in my seventh month of my year off from competing to try to add some needed size, especially in my legs. I weighed 140 the last time I was on stage. I plan to compete next time at no less than 150 pounds.

I’m looking forward to this photo shoot. I will represent a senior bodybuilder in excellent health in this photo essay on aging. The French photographer is well know and does a lot of work for Paris Match magazine, the French version of Vanity Fair, that has commissioned the shoot.

According to the casting director who “hired” me, we will be on location in Culver City (Los Angeles) for about eight hours on that Friday, Fun Stuff!

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Hey superstar, way to go.

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Thanks for the props, streamline.

Sunday, January 25, 2009, One Week until My Photo Shoot with Gerard Rancinan for Paris Match Magazine in Los Angeles

Weight: 156 pounds

Yesterday I started a modified ?last week? contest cutting diet for my photo shoot on Friday with French photographer, Gerard Rancinan, shooting for Paris Match magazine. 404 Error Page I was selected to be part of a photo essay on aging.

I am on a three-day low carb diet and will do a pre-contest (pre-shoot) carb up on Thursday to fill out a bit for my session on Friday. I am also increasing water for the next four days and will drop my water on Thursday evening the way I do before a contest. I have been using an herbal fat burner, green tee caps and an herbal diuretic to drop some water.

I was 166 pounds on January 1 when I started prepping for the shoot. Today I?m at 156 and will come in at 153-154.

The director asked me to tan, so I am having two professional sprays applied on Tuesday and Wednesday. I will bring a jar of tanning solution if I need to be darker.

I was told that I would be wearing running shorts and a head band. On Friday, they emailed me and asked if I would bring some of my posing suits. I said I would. I?m really looking forward to meeting the other ?players? chosen for the shoot, a bunch of aging men and women posing for a popular French magazine. Cool!

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Hey Old Navy, been wondering what you’re up two these days!

Cool to hear you’re gonna be in a shoot! Keep us updated!

G

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Saturday, January 31, 2009, Old Navy’s Magazine Photo Shoot

Well, that was really fun!

I arrived in Los Angeles at 3:40 PM on Thursday and was met at the airport by the casting director for the shoot, Megan Foley. This was our first meeting as Megan and I had communicated earlier by cell phone and email.

She drove me to my hotel close to the airport so I could check in and then we continued to a Beverly Hills hotel where I met with the French photographer, Gerard Rancinan and his crew. Gerard had met the other subjects of the shoot earlier in the week and he wanted to meet me before we began the next day. Gerard is a very interesting man, full of energy, imagination and passion. I quickly got caught up in his enthusiasm for the upcoming session.

After our meeting, I returned to my hotel, had an early dinner and went to bed. I was picked up in front of the hotel on Friday morning at 7:00 AM so we could be at the studio in Culver City by 8:00, the time we were scheduled to begin.

When we arrived the crew was already hard at work constructing the set for the photograph. We were doing a recreation of a 1600’s painting titled “Maids of Honor,” which had a group of men and women in an assortment of costumes representing various modes of vanity.

In the original painting the artist included himself in the scene. Gerard would later do the same thing in his photograph.

Rancinan’s idea for the reproduction was to focus on how various characters handle aging. Included in the “cast” was a mature woman playing a grotesque Marilyn Monroe, a very tall woman wearing a dress made of newspapers, two enhanced female body builders, a male and female dwarf, a lady playing the Angel of Death, two beautiful young models playing Adam and Eve and me, ten models in all.

There was also a pit bull in the shot that gave us a lot of trouble because the dog would not stay still for the shoot.

My part was interesting. Originally, I was cast as an old man standing next to the Angel of Death, who was holding an hour glass and was “waiting” for me. After Gerard saw me in person, he changed my character to a man who was defying death.

Instead of standing looking distraught, I was to pose and smile, looking defiant, as if to say, “Not me, Angel of Death, not now.” Instead of old man’s clothes, I wore a black posing suit.

The set was completed by 11:30 and we are all asked to stand in our places so we could be moved about and have individual lighting checks performed. At 11:45 Gerard began shooting the first of three sessions.

It was intense. While others had to stand perfectly still, I had to hold a front double biceps pose. The first session lasted 20 minutes. My arms ached and my hands cramped, but I did it, all the time smiling as directed.

After the first session, Gerard and his assistants reviewed the shots on a lap top and then discussed the needed changes for the second session, which started after we had a short break.

The second session was longer than the first, because the dog wouldn’t cooperate. We eventually got the dog to settle down enough for the shots and we completed the second session in due time. Again, I was stiff and sore, but happy. Gerard told me I was doing exactly what he needed me to do for the photo.

After a lunch of pizza, sushi and salad, we prepared for our final session, which was to begin at 3:30 PM. We were all tired by that time, but we were all so emotionally involved in the action that we sucked it up and did an outstanding job for the final photograph.

We ended the session at 4:15 to much applause and cheering from the cast and crew. It was a fabulous shoot and I’m sure the photo, which will appear in Paris Match magazine, a French publication, in a couple of months will be well received.

I asked Gerard how much it cost to shoot a photo like this. He said he budgeted $70,000 for one photograph. That included studio rental, studio crew, his staff and the cast. Gerard and his staff flew in from Paris. I flew in from Alabama. The rest of the cast was local talent.

Gerard Rancinan is doing a series of ten photos, recreating master works of art. Our shoot was the seventh in the series. After he completes the other three, the entire collection will go on tour in art galleries around the world.

His next shoot is in St. Petersburg, Russia. Gerard said he will email each of the cast a copy of the photo in a few weeks. I can’t wait to see the results of our work.

After the shoot, Rancinan asked me if I would like him to take a few shots of me. I said I would and I now have a small personal portfolio of Gerard Rancinan photos.

After the shoot, we signed a model release form and received our payment in cash. I returned to my hotel and after a quick shower to clean off the Pam spray I had applied (at the photographer’s request), I went to the hotel restaurant for a dinner of salmon and salad. I still have a show to prepare for, so this was just another contest diet dinner.

I was as tired after my all day photo session as I am after a contest. That was a surprise.

Thinking about all that had occurred this weekend as I flew home on Saturday morning, I had to wonder what other outrageous things will happen to me in the future, just because I am a 65 year-old master professional bodybuilder. Only time will tell, I guess, but I’m looking forward to the next chapter.

Old Navy