Road to my Natural Pro Card

My last blog was back in May when I watched my good friend, and now professional natural bodybuilder Alberto Nunez win his first show of that season. He went on to win his show in june, and july…all pro qualifiers, he walked away a PNBA, NGA, and WNBF Pro Bodybuilder. He then competed in a WNBF pro show in august to test the water, and to be able to keep his card for an extended offseason.  I am in awe of what he has accomplished. We have become closer friends and he has stayed in my home, eaten with my family, and trained with me on numerous occasions. We just recently watched the Natural Olympia in San Fran and we were pretty damn impressed with some of the physiques….but I also noticed that there were guys who competed in the show who Alberto had competed against and beaten…and I noticed how well they did, many of them at their pro debut.

It is time that I remove the pedastol from beneath the feet of the natural pros who I have looked to for guidance, been inspired by, and been in awe of. I retain the respect I have for them, and will continue to learn from what they do…but no longer are they iconic figures in a different category from myself.

There is a new Pro/Am WNBF/INBF show in sacramento in 09′ in October…one way or another I will be doing it, either as an amateur taking a second shot at my card, or as my first professional show. So, I now recognize that these amazing men I’ve placed on pedastols are just that….men. They are not unbeatable they are not infallible. They bleed just like me, and they can be beaten. As long as I place them in my mind as icons I will be defeating myself, they are men. So, let the best man win.

I spoke of needing a wider back in my last blog…I have accomplished that….I spoke of needing to be bigger….I am bigger…I spoke of balancing out my upper body with my lower body….I am balanced. I still have 2 and a half months before I start my prep and I will keep progressing. I have sped up my metabolism, maintained my bodyfat in the 10-12% range and hit prs on exercises that I couldnt even do months ago due to injury. Make no mistake I am coming. I have my eyes set on four shows next year, 2009 is my time.

May: INBA Silver and Black Muscle Classic Pro Qualifier

June: NGA Mr Natural California Pro Qualifier

July: INBF Capitol City Championships Pro Qualifier

October: INBF/WNBF Pro/Am Natural US Cup Pro Qualifier/Pro Show

2009….Pro Card.

Well folks….I havent blogged in a bit, but I’ve got some things on my mind. Just saw a good friend and fellow competitor who I competed with last year in the silver and black, come back from placing 3rd in the open tall class (ahead of me lol) to winning the entire show and getting his pro card…and this was his first show of the season…his warm up show this year, before he really gets serious in june and july.

 He’s been training hardcore for a good 8 years or so, has built himself an amazing body, and just came in too soft last year…this year, he came in as the hardest guy on stage and went home the winner…he’ll only be harder in june and july…and I doubt there will be many who have a shot at beating him.

I’m proud as hell and very inspired, and amazed by his physique…but…what I really am right now is focused…that is the physique that I have to beat….I have to look better than that…because that is what showed up and won…if I want to show up and win, I have to beat that.  Sure, its possible that nobody very impressive shows up….but its also possible that Jeff Rodriguez shows up….the point is I’m being honest with myself.

I have some things to fix…calves and traps….gotta get bigger…time to change weak points in my physique to body parts that flow well and have good proportions….I’m 6′1, I’ve got a narrow frame, and I’ve got some ecto ness in me…Thick but narrow lats isnt acceptable….sure I’ve got back detail and thickness but I have to be wide as a barn door if I want to look big…lats and shoulders can’t be wide enough…especially with my silghtly wide waist….my right side is a bit smaller in my triceps, anterior deltoid and medial deltoid, that’s gotta come up…last year, I came in very hard and in good condition…but I could have had more detail in my quads, hams and glutes…gotta get leaner….and lastly….and most improtantly…I need more friggin beef…that’s the main thing….judges don’t grant points for potential…I even got compliments on being the hardest guy on stage….a judge even asked me to email him my diet for use with clients he’s prepping…I got complements on being very disciplined and having a professional posing routine…BUT I placed 4th out of 4 in the open class…yeah I was told if my comparison posing and my color had been better it might have been different…but in the end…I didn’t have enough muscle…period….I dieted too hard too fast, I played catch up, I was loose in the beginning and paid for it in the end…I WILL NOT lose muscle in my diet next year, that alone will put me up 10lbs….I will CONTINUE to gain muscle for the next 8 months I have of offseason…I will be bigger, leaner and a better poser by far compared to 07′…I will bring a pro caliber physique to the 09 competition stage.

 When Alberto won this year people didnt realize he was the same person who placed 3rd the year before…he looked that much better…in 09′ I don’t plan on people believing that I’m the same person who placed dead last in the open tall class in 07…and when I show them my drivers license I expect them to hold it up at an angle to the stage lights to make sure it has the holographic print on it, checking because they think its a fake.