Cdt_Richards’s BodyBlog

http://competition.nxlabs.com/en/bodybuilding/contestant/Cdt_Richards. PLEASE VOTE FOR ME, NEED YOUR HELP, MADE IT TO THE SEMI FINALS! PLEASE VOTE FOR ME, CONFIRM THE EMAIL, THEN REVOTE FOR ME TO CONFIRM THE VOTE. MANY THANKS!

Kevin Richards

Went in to my first competition without any real expectations, and wanted to use it as a learning experience. Knew that I didn’t stand a chance in the opens, but entered anyways, and thought it would be cool to win teens, but once I learned there were 12 teens entered, I gave up on that idea somewhat. Well, my goal was achieved. 1st contest, 1st place in teens!

Now I have some experience under my belt and know what I need to improve upon, so will take the next year to size up, and compete in next years Classic, this time shooting hard for that open class!

Took my final Army Physical Fitess Test this morning, and I’m going out in style. Ripped out 79 push-ups, 78 sit-ups, and ran my 2 miles in 12:38. My total score out of 311. More than maxed every event. Hooah.

Week 3 of the study down. last week was the control week, so I really didn’t do anything. This week, though was my 6×10 at 335 pounds with squats. Holy hell, I have never been in so much pain! Apparently, I was the only subject that was able to finish every set without any help, though I didn’t go all the way down on some of the last reps. Still proud of myself, though. Next time, finishing up on Saturday possibly, I’ve got my 6×3 with jump squats. Should be a blast.

I started my part in a current study today by the Department of Kinesiology here at UConn, where my brain activites are measured while I exercise. Today was the power day, where I do a 6×3 of squats at 95% of my 1 rep max. They measured my max last week at 415 lbs, so I completed the workout with 395 lbs. I never thought 6 sets of exercise could drain me as much as a full leg workout, but I was wrong haha. Completely dead by the end of it all. The cap they put on me is really weird, all sorts of electrodes and whatnot. It’s pretty interesting. I’m glad to be part of this groudbreaking research. If I can, I’ll throw up some pics from it. Can’t wait til next week, 6×3 at 35% for jump squats.

Here I am, 12 weeks out from my competition. I was just getting ready to start cutting down and trimming up. A day or two before I came home for spring break this week, I noticed a small red mark on my leg that had a small bump on it. I brushed it off, thinking it was nothing but an ingrown hair. By wendsday, the redness had emcompassed my entire calf, and a huge whitehead had formed. I popped the pimple, and out poured a mixture of puss and dark purple blood. I went to my doctors, and was then informed that I had gotten MRSA, an antibiotic-resistant form of staph infection. If I had waited another day, I would have been in the emergency room I was told. He wasn’t too far off with the time estimate either, as that night my bodies temp peaked at 103.2 degrees.

I have since been recovering nicely, though too slowly for my liking. The swelling and redness are contained to just the initial area again, and my temp has returned to normal. I lost this week of training, and a few pounds that i didn’t want to, but I’m lucky to still be able to do anything.