Old Navy’s Quest

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

Today my training partner and I worked legs and calves for the first time in two weeks.  It was good to get back to heavy lifting.  We did heavy sets of squats, extensions, leg curls and calve raises.  We followed that with 100 crunches and 30 minutes of tread mill.

Friday, June 13, 2008

I got up at 4 AM and left my home in Birmingham, Alabama at 5 AM for my 6 AM flight to Atlanta and on to Toronto, where I arrived at noon.

One nice surprise was that I was upgraded to First Class on both of these flights and again on my Toronto to Atlanta leg on Sunday. Nice

After checking in at the Novotel Toronto hotel, one of two host hotels for the FAME Worlds, I headed for the John Bassett Theatre at the Metro Toronto Convention Center to check in and attend the Athletes Meeting at 4 PM.

After the meeting, I anxiously waited for my “partner” to arrive from California. Ruby Carter-Pikes a 62 year-old Master Bodybuilder and Master Figure Pro and I had agreed at the FAME North American Championships in Miami last November to enter a new category at the 2008 Worlds called, FAME Fittest Duo. The competition has two options. One is a choreographed routine set to music to show creativity, muscularity, and style and the other is called Toned Twosome,” mostly for models. We chose the Routine option.

We each had the CD with our music, but had never met to work on a routine. We spoke by phone a few times to discuss what each would bring to the party. Our contest was scheduled to begin at 7 PM. Ruby was scheduled to arrive at 3 PM. After a flight delay, she showed up at 6:30. Did we panic? Nope. We are Pros.

She changed into her posing suit and we went to a large room where other athletes were preparing for their, Figure, Fitness and Muscle Model contests. We played the CD a couple of times and discussed what we wanted to do. After 15 minutes of rehearsal, we hit the stage for our rendition of Paul McCartney’s, “When I’m 64.” We did the routine flawlessly and the audience loved it, laughing at the right places and applauding a few times during the routine. We had a great time. Many of the athletes who watched us put the routine together “on the fly” came up and said, “Wow that was incredible.”

There were three other young couples in the Class and as 60 + Masters, we finished in Fourth Place. We had achieved our goal of bringing the Masters Class to this new Competition.

I returned to the hotel at around 10 PM, showered off the Dream Tan (as best as I could) and had my final meal of lean beef and rice. I cut my water when I went to bed.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

I woke up at 7:30 after a restful night and had my first portion of dried oatmeal. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I was hungry. I sipped a little water and then practiced my posing and posing routine for my contest later that day.

I became harder and leaner as the morning progressed. It’s fun to watch your contest preparation come to a successful conclusion. I was upbeat as I prepared my bag for the show. This is my 25th major contest and I have learned to relax and take my time as I get ready.

I left the hotel at 1 PM after a pancake breakfast to add my final carbohydrate load and arrived at 1:30, an hour before the 2008 FAME Masters World Championship was to begin.

When I arrived at the venue, I found that the show was running about an hour behind schedule. Instead of going on at 3:30, the Grand Master Pro Class didn’t hit the stage until nearly 5 PM. There were four of us entered in the contest, including the first place winner in the FAME Grand Master Worlds in 2005, an athlete I have been looking to go against again. He placed Third and told me after the show, “I’m finished competing.” I was sorry to hear that. Guy was a good competitor. In what the judges called an extremely close contest, I was edged out for the Championship by a good middleweight and placed Second.

I accomplished one of the two goals I had set for this show: I wanted to come in better than I did when I won the 2007 FAME North American Grand Master Pro Championship in Miami last November and I did. And, I wanted to win my Pro class, which I almost did. Nevertheless, to win the Silver Medal at a World Championship is pretty cool.

Sunday, June 15, 2008.

After Church, I checked out of my hotel and went to the venue to watch the Advance Amateur classes compete. These are athletes who have placed in the top three in regional shows and had the opportunity here to win a FAME Pro Card.

I left Toronto at 6 PM and arrived home at 11 PM that evening.

Weight: 139.6 Pounds.  6.4% Body Fat

Today I trained my training partner and put him through a tough full-body comp workout. 

I am carbing up for my show and am enjoying the food after a few days of carb depletion.  I hope to come in hard, lean, full and in the best shape of my life for this show.  Competing in the Grand Master Pro 55+ Class, I am giving up 10 years-of-age to the other Master Pros in the competition.  I have to be at the top of my game and I am.  I will leave for Toronto at 6 AM tomorrow and will compete at 7 PM Friday evening in a Fittest Couple competition as a warm up.  My contest begins at 2:30 PM on Saturday and I will probably be on stage around 4 PM.  The third finger of my right hand is empty.  I hope to fill that finger with a FAME World Champion ring on Saturday.

Weight: 139.0 Pounds.  6.4% Body Fat

This is my last day of training before my contest this weekend.  My training partner and I worked back, biceps and shoulders.

Seated Cable Rows
1 x 8 - 115 pounds
1 x 8 - 130 pounds
1 x 8 - 145 pounds

Lats Pull Downs
1 x 12 - 100 pounds
2 x 12 - 115 pounds

Dumb Bell Shrugs
4 x 32 - 50 pound dumb bells (four count for each rep: front, side, back, side)

Dumb Bell Hammer to Curls Biceps
3 x 8 - 25 pound dumb bells

Back Against the Wall Bar Bell Curls
1 x 8 - 40 pound bar bell
2 x 8 - 50 pound bar bell

Tread Mill
30 minutes of moderate speed and moderate elevation.

Weight: 140.0 pounds

Body Weight Workout

Hanging Leg Lifts
10 x 10 - 100 reps

Pull Ups 
10 x 10 - 100 reps

Push Ups
10 x 10 - 100 reps

Ball Crunches 
10 x 10 - 100 reps

Skip Rope
10 x 20 - 200 skips

Total - 600 reps of body weight exercises.

Tread Mill
1 x 30 minutes

Today, my training partner and I worked our chest and triceps.

Flat Bench Dumb Bell Press
1 x 8 - 50 pound dumb bells
1 x 8 - 55 pound dumb bells
1 x 8 - 60 pound dumb bells

Incline Bench Dumb Bell Press
1 x 8 - 45 pound dumb bells
1 x 8 - 50 pound dumb bells
1 x 8 - 55 pound dumb bells

Decline Dumb Bell Press Machine
1 x 8 - 160 pounds
1 x 8 - 180 pounds
1 x 8 - 200 pounds

Cable Cross Flies
1 x 8 - 60 pounds
1 x 8 - 70 pounds
1 x 8 - 80 pounds

Triceps Press Downs
1 x 8 - 50 pounds
1 x 8 - 60 pounds
1 x 8 - 70 pounds

Decline Bench Triceps Extensions
1 x 8 - 20 pound dumb bells
2 x 8 - 25 pound dumb bells

Slant Board Crunches
3 x 25

Tread Mill
30 minutes

I left Birmingham, Alabama at 7 AM this morning and after a stop in Atlanta, arrived in Greensboro, North Carolina at noon.  The show’s promoter, Marty Lotito, NGA Chairman for North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee, met me at the airport and drove me to our host hotel, the Marriott in town.  The 2008 NGA Carolina Night of Champions is the first-ever drug free bodybuilding show in the state.  Marty and his co-promoter, John Dabbs have done a great job with the set up.  At check in, the athletes receive a cool “goodie bag” with a t-shirt, hat, shaker bottle, and a good supply of supplements.  Nice.  For a new show, they got some good sponsors, including GNC, Family Fitness and Scivation.  All of the athletes take a polygraph to attest to being drug-free for seven years.  The venue is the old Carolina Theatre an art deco landmark in the city.  There is also a free-post party at a local club, Natty Greens, a few blocks away.  I am looking forward to judging at this show and guest posing tomorrow evening.

My training partner, Michael Jackson, received his Senior Brown Belt in Karate last evening.  Congratulations, Warrior.  Now, go get your red and then your black belt.

Weight: 141.0 pounds - 7% Body Fat  (131 pounds of lean mass and 10 pounds of fat)