RT_Nomad, How Do You Train?

[RT_Nomad]

This post will be concerning my Mixed Pairs partner, who was also my wife. How it pertains to my training, is that she and I did not workout together. I was way too far advanced and extremely stronger than her. It made no practical sense that we should train together.

In 1976 when I was around the “gym” at the hot spot apartment complex that I lived I saw a girl about 5’1" whom I immediately noticed was blessed with small joints and large calves. She was doing her clothes at the laundry mat close to the complex’s “gym”. I struck up a conversation, which eventually led to us becoming a couple.

She was very attractive to me. She placed 5th in the 1977 Miss Jacksonville Pageant, singing “Quando m’en vo” from La Bohe’me. She had a very nice voice.

In 1978 we were married, and she began lifting weights at the gym I trained. At that time she was the only woman who worked out there. Very few women lifted weight anywhere to my knowledge. Her being short, a little bit of muscle gain showed up pretty quickly. Her thighs rounded, and with her small joints, it made them look all the larger.

In 1979, Doris Barrileaux (later known as The First Lady of Bodybuilding) put on the first women’s bodybuilding contest in Brandon, FL. My wife entered, and if recall correctly she took 3rd place.

In 1981 (I believe) Florida NPC held the first Florida Mixed Pairs Competition. We won that and she took the women’s individual title that same contest. We later went on to be invited to compete in the 1982 Mixed pairs World Bodybuilding Championship, where I wasn’t near my best shape and we came in 6th (or in this case, last), but we were televised on the Wide World Of Sports. From there we competed one more time at the IFBB North American Mixed Pairs where we placed 3rd, behind Jeff and Cory Everson, who won.

My wife helped me to get some national notoriety being together on the cover of March 1980 Strength & Health and, actually, the foldout of the August 1983 Flex Magazine

We split up shortly after the North American.

I will answer any details if you would like to know.

[mnben87]

@RT_Nomad

I saw a girl about 5’1" whom I immediately noticed was blessed with small joints and large calves.

When a girl walks in with ity bity joints and some round calves in your face.

Probably not what I would notice, but a buddy has a thing for women with big calves.

[RT_Nomad]

@mnben87

Probably not what I would notice, but a buddy has a thing for women with big calves.

I see way too many women that I find sexually attractive, but, it is true, very few untrained girls do I see that jump at you as potential bodybuilders. Don’t get me wrong, though it is funny that I noticed small joints and genetic calves, she was an attractive girl.

One beef my wife had was that she found it difficult to find boots that fit over her calves. Don’t I wish I had that problem.

[mnben87]

@RT_Nomad

I see way too many women that I find sexually attractive

Same boat man. Easily more than half I encounter if we are just talking sexually attractive. IDK, high libido problems I guess.

@RT_Nomad

Don’t I wish I had that problem.

Mine are not great either. Really, my limbs in general are not great compared to the muscle I can build on my torso.

[pettersson]

Thanks RT! I really enjoy this/your thread! You truly are the real deal. Any possibility in this world that we may see your cover/poster? Actually, I find that awesome! What an achievement! In those days you only had the mags - and they did not come out that often - meaning you had more than 15 mins in the sun/spotlight! Did it lead to any further success?

Not intentionally breaking the flow, but have you suffered any more injuries? (Are you able to squat now?)

And an odd question coming from me. Considering you did short on/off cycles of AS initially - was there any (need for or knowledge of) PCT?

[dagill2]

@pettersson

Any possibility in this world that we may see your cover/poster

I believe he’s posted it before, but if you’d like this removed @RT_Nomad, just let me know

[pettersson]

Well, that is what a fine bodybuilder look like! You really had it there, RT! Great genetics. How much did you weigh in that picture?

[EyeDentist]

You look fantastic here! And if I may, that’s a fine job of hiding your calves.

[RT_Nomad]

I wasn’t overly happy with the picture, but at least it made the magazine.
That picture was taken during the summer of 1979. I wasn’t feeling well, but that’s just a lousy excuse. It was taken a few weeks after the Jr Mr USA that I entered.

I really don’t remember what I weighed, but I would guess about 225lbs in the picture.

[RT_Nomad]

Before getting to my litany of injuries, let me press on through 1979 and 1980.

It was these years that I felt I was my best when compared to the national competition. I had caught up quite a bit.

There was Mr Florida every year and it was always on my contest calendar. But in 1979 there were three of us who wanted to give a national contest a try. We were all fairly competitive one against the other. We decided to try what is considered the least competition of the 4 national contests. In 1979 the Jr Mr USA was being held in Memphis, Tennessee a few weeks after the Mr Florida.

I went to the Mr Florida looking what I thought was good. I was in the heavyweight class and my two friends were in the middle class (I think there were only three classes in this meet. A very well built heavyweight was there, who there was no way I could beat him. The problem was, he no longer lived in Florida, but had moved to California a year and a half earlier. I didn’t know at the time of the pre-judging, but a number people came up to me afterwards and voiced their opposition that he should be allowed to enter. Here I got an ugly look at the problems of dealing was men who lacked perfect integrity.

I don’t feel it is appropriate to name individuals without their consent, so (for now) I won’t. This man was the regional chairman, the associate chairman, and the promoter of the contest. (And I could get into the conflict of interest therein.) So, after much insistence that I speak with the promoter, I did. When I inquired why he allowed a non resident enter the state contest, his initial comment was that he had a Florida voter’s registration card. I immediately returned that I had had mine for the last 8 years. He next said that the competitor told him if he wasn’t allowed to compete that he demanded to have his air fare paid to return to California. My comment was “And so you said okay?” That’s where it was left.

The contest proceeded and I got 2nd in the heavyweight class, and the Californian went on the win the overall, and very convincingly I might add. He truly had a great physique with great proportions.

Well the Jr Mr USA was coming near and all three of us were working as hard as possible to be our best. My goal was to look like I belonged in the competition. I got a photographer of a friend to take some pics one week before the contest. This is one of them:

The photo is fading.

Come contest time I was placed in the Tall Class (Over 5’10"). My two friends were in the Middle Class. Back stage as I was preparing for prejudging everything seemed to going way better than usual. I was dry and full. I felt like I did okay in the pre-judging and that I had a chance to place top 5. I looked like I belonged on stage. This contest had body parts, which they had to judge after judging the classes. Only one Tall Class competitor was called back; and that for Best Chest and Most Muscular.

My friends and I reflected on the prejudging and returned. After we had all posed at the night show, they began the awards. I was called out for the Top 5! Every place was announced until there were two of us left: the guy called back for body parts and myself. But much to my surprise when the winner was announce it was me! The audience disapproved. It hurt a little, but not much. I was just happy to get a national level trophy.

So, why did I win. IMO, the second place guy had sadly lacking legs. It seemed as though he didn’t even train legs to me. Imagine that, my worst body part in 1970 progressed enough to be the difference nine years later.

[Later this year I became a NPC national Judge at the Teenage and Master’s America. Now I will be pulled into the politics of bodybuilding. I can talk about that further if you like.]

In 1980 the next step up was the Jr Mr America, in Albuquerque, NM. The Mr Florida preceded it again. I didn’t do as well and got 3rd. But in the Jr Mr America they switched to weight classes. I was in the Heavyweight Class. Here one of the Light-Heavyweight Class guys who had already been beaten by last years Jr Mr USA winner, decided to gain a pound or two and compete against the Heavyweight competition. He won the HW Class and I came in second. I no longer can find the only picture I had from that contest. I was in Dan Lurie’s Muscle Training Illustrated Magazine near the back of the magazine. Now here was a little “claim to fame” that I have used a few times. Mike Christain came in 4th in the HW Class. Now he was in his fast improvement phase of his physique, so there’s that.

Next will be my injuries, what I think caused them, and how I dealt with them. Remember that I liked being the strongest I could, so it is a challenge.

[TrainForPain]

I’m really enjoying the tale, just so you know. I think many of us are really following along here

[aholding88]

I’m not a bodybuilder but really interested in listening to your story, I’m finding this enthralling.

[antimadder]

I am loving this!

[RT_Nomad]

Injuries, injuries, injuries…

Injuries were nonexistent from 1968 through 1974. Granted I might have been too weak to hurt myself. But as my bench press increased, starting in 1975 I experienced shoulder injuries, first, say, the left and it would “heal” and then a half year later, or so, the right, and so on, and so on…

In all my shoulder injuries, they were associated with the bench press. I had to quit bench pressing for it to heal. At first I tried to “train through the pain.” For my shoulder injuries, that never worked. What did have quite a bit of success was to substitute the incline barbell press (45 degree angle). I was able to push heavy weight doing inclines without much pain. After a couple months I could go back to the bench press. The incline press carried over so well, I lost no strength on the bench press. I had shoulder injuries that I had to work around the remaining time I have spent lifting weights, and still do today.

Then in 1977, I started getting elbow problems. I couldn’t do a pullup without significant forearm pain. I believe that heavy narrow grip upright rows might have been the cause. My self diagnosis was a strained brachialis. It never got healed enough to do pullups, and I had totally abandoned the narrow grip upright rows. (for a substitute I incorporated hanging cleans. Oh boy! Heavier weight, yet!)

For years the most productive tricep exercise I did was the lying tricep extension with an ez-curl bar. My triceps responded very well. But I suppose my “lift the most weight possible” caused me to drop this great tricep developer in 1977.

And on top of all that in 1977, at the end of the year I hurt my back picking up a large box of books while moving to another apartment.

In 1978 my friend opened his “Peary Rader” style gym. He had a cable driven, plate loaded leg extension machine. This was a vast upgrade from the old leg extension/leg curl. I got very strong on this new leg extension machine very quickly. You should know that we loaded 25lb plates one on top of the other to load the machine. We always warmed up gradually. I was late to the gym on one leg day, and the gang already had the machine loaded up pretty heavy. It was a weight I knew I could easily do, so instead taking off about 150lbs of 25lb plates to warm up first, I just jumped right in. It weight felt heavy, but I did it anyway. When I got off my patella tendons were very sore. This soreness lasted for years. into my 40’s. I could never do heavy leg extensions, and any exercise where my knees, when bent were over my toes, hurt my tendons.

In 1980, though I could not squat or deadlift heavy, there were two Bench Press contests that year. The first one was at the downtown YMCA. I started training. Those followed the Jr Mr America that summer. My weak spot in the bench press is at the transition point. I could drive off my chest most any weight that I had any chance of completing, so I never trained singles. I usually stopped at what I could do 3 reps. I did 420lbs at the YMCA meet.

The next meet was in Tallahassee a couple months later. I was at the top of the 242lb class. I actually had to put a penny in my mouth to spit enough to make weight. There in my class was the state bench press record holder for that time. Doug Betts whose record was 505lbs (I believe). I got all three lifts and did 450lbs for my last lift. Doug Betts was lighter than me, and just did the same weight and won first place by being a lighter weight.

Anyway, all that is to say, when I got back to the gym I was determined to try to get to 500lbs. I few weeks into my training, I felt had small tear in my pec. I greatest desire was bodybuilding, so it was an easy choice to back off the bench press weight.

Also, in 1980 doing my Scott Curls with 60lb dumbbells, that on the tenth reps I felt a tear in my right biceps when pulling from the stretched position. That was the end of that. I had to back off for a few months. This injury will be revisited in 1993.

I will continue but let me stop for now…

[RT_Nomad]

With all my injuries, I sought some relief that would allow me to continue training. So I had to deal with the following:

• Elbow pain, both biceps and triceps
• Shoulder rotator cuff pain
• Back pain (probably SI joint related), but I took nothing for it.
• Patella tendon pain

I tried various NSAIDS. I started with aspirin, then Motrin, and on to Naprosyn, and I tried Tolectin, and finally Indocin. My strategy eventually involved rotating each of these every month.

If my patella tendon got really bad I had a sure fire relief. I took Butazolidine for no more than three weeks. It always worked, but I knew it was really bad for my liver (and I suppose other things I was unaware at the time.) I only took Butazolidine on three separate occasions, it was always a little scary to me.

I never exceeded the dose recommendations, and there were very few weeks that I wasn’t on one of the NSAIDs until I was 49 years old.

I am not saying this was wise, but it seemed the only way I could lift heavy.

Do know by the time I was 30 years old the medical source for AAS’s had disappeared. I had taken no blood tests, but was going strictly by how I felt. Today’s medical community has completely changed, and vastly more educated in AAS’s and their consequences, than in the 1980’s. I never had any problem getting a prescription for any NSAID, except for Butazolidine, which I got from the same source I had for Equipoise and Winstrol V.

[average_al]

Your preference for training heavy, getting as strong as possible is clear, and it clearly produced results for you. But it seems you paid a price in terms of injury. That doesn’t seem to be an unusual story. I have read that Frank Zane had to lift heavy to get his best results, but in later years he had some regrets about having done that, because of the injuries he was left with.

So looking back, and with the benefit of hindsight, do you have any regrets about taking that path? Do you ever wonder if you could have gotten similar results by dialing back the weight a bit, and doing more volume, emphasizing the mind muscle connection?

[RT_Nomad]

@average_al

So looking back, and with the benefit of hindsight, do you have any regrets about taking that path?

I only have regrets when I have to make snap decisions. Something that I have carefully planned to pursue I have no regrets. The plan may have been flawed, but it was made with consideration of consequences. I refuse to have regrets. I stand by my decisions.

I need to include that one factor that drove my quest to get back to the weights every workout day was my love of lifting more weight than anyone in the gym. I’m not saying I was the strongest person in the gym, but I was always near the top.

I am through age 31 and have 41 more years to explain, and things get worse, much worse down the line.

[aholding88]

@RT_Nomad

I played rugby there my last two years. I loved that game.

Just out of interest as someone who has played rugby years in the UK why did you not continue playing? Was it lack of accessibility or the knowledge that you wouldn’t be able to compete a high level in bodybuilding whilst playing rugby?

[RT_Nomad]

@aholding88

Was it lack of accessibility or the knowledge that you wouldn’t be able to compete a high level in bodybuilding whilst playing rugby?

Some graduated college rugby players who had moved to Jacksonville got together to start a city rugby club. I heard about it and was at their (our) first practice. I believe it was in 1972 or 1973. I had played outside center on NC State club team, so I was our team’s outside center.

I was the only player who lifted weights, and continued to do so. As you know the position of outside center has me running all over the field as the ball passes from on side of the field to the other. I felt that the running required to adequately play outside center was more than I could do and still make the kind of progress I desired to make in the weight room.

So after the first year of running my ass off, I decided to play wing, since our team played left and right side wings, instead of weak and strong side wings. Now I had found the sweet spot. We had picked up a #8 from one of the Navy who was stationed here. He was the best #8 I had ever played with by far. When I was on the weak side, he might break from the scrum and carry the ball around the weak side getting past their weak side before their scrum to react. Our #8 was a big, strong man. He would keep the ball until their weak side wing had to make a play, or let him run on. It was an option play from there on. We scored a bunch of tries this method.

Well… as I improved in powerlifting and my deadlift increased, I found that in practices doing unopposed plays that my lower back would cramp after a few sprints. It was severe enough that it was difficult to sprint close to top speed. Those days left me with a choice, back off the weights or back off the sprints. (I knew no stretch or exercise that would allow me to do both.) So, you can guess the choice I made. That was the last rugby game I played.

One exception. Two years later the club was playing a game in Winter Park where they would be one player short. They asked if I would be willing to help. I did, and was I ever sore after that game, not to mention a Charley horse in my right quads. That was my final, final rugby game.

[RT_Nomad]

Now I come to 1981, I have done fairly well the last two years in the 3rd and 4th hardest national contests. This year I attempt to compete in the Mr. USA which will be in New York City. Also remember that I am a NPC National Judge.

My training hasn’t changed and I am still at my friend’s hard core gym. The gym has gained quite a bit on notoriety around town as the gym where the serious weight lifters go. Most others were too timid to even enter that gym. More people are lifting weights and a few health spas have opened around town. Those health clubs/spas targeted both sexes and were lushly furnished with pretty machines, saunas, hot tubs, and attractive training assistants who doubled as salesmen and women. And one down the street about 5 miles had a full line of Nautilus. I joined that gym to have access to their hot tub, hoping it would improve my back problems. (Note: It wasn’t much help, except for the time I was actually in the hot tub.)

The state contest went a little worse for me in 1981, as I finished 3rd in my class. I wasn’t as sharp as I needed to be, but I my primary aim was the Mr USA coming in a couple of months.

When the Mr USA came around I got to my hotel and was in the same hotel as two NPC national Judges who came from Florida and I knew quite well. I won’t mention their names, but one was the promoter of the Florida Championships that I had mentioned previously. As soon as they located me they said they were asked if I could judge the Teen USA, that preceded the Open. I said that I would.

I cannot remember if this was a two day contest or just one day. I think it might been all the same day. Anyway… after judging the teenage division, I prepared for the Open. I was in the Heavyweight Class of about 12 contestants. I just didn’t look as sharp as I had and the rest of the competition looked plenty good and big. I failed to place in the Top 5, and I never found where placed.

I began to realize that the competition had caught up with me, and I felt I had lost a step relative to the caliper of national competition. As you know I had backed off the heaviest weight on the bench press, but now concentrated on improving my behind the neck press. It went pretty well, but not really much to brag about. I never wanted to push to 225lbs, but did 3 sets of 8 reps with 205lbs.

On rare occasions I would do a workout at the health club that had the Nautilus line, as much to look at the girls as anything. All their Nautilus machines were chain driven, which I found to have more internal resistance than I liked. I tried the combo chest machine with the pre-exhaustion flies before the press. I hated that. It felt rough and too restricted of natural muscle movement. The lat machine done with arms overhead and pulled at the lower half of your upper arms (triceps location), just didn’t feel like I was working my lats. IMO, Nautilus was inferior to free weights. I know many of you are true Nautilus devotees, but this is only my assessment.