2008 Transformation Contest

I’ve received a number of emails and messages asking where my photos are at and what’s happening with me. One of my goals it to motivate people here in a variety of ways. Lately I’ve been using music to help motivate others. Don’t be fooled, that doesn’t mean I’m hiding or I’ve fallen off the workout wagon. My man Jumbo asked me a few questions and check out my responses below. I’ve also posted my progress photos that were taken on Monday, ya nothing like a few days late eh? As a reminder I am not competing against the other five for the prizes but rather lend a hand at some advice and inspiration while going through the same transformation process. Aight, enough babbling. Here are the questions/answers and my progress photos.

Jumbo: I was wondering if you would give us a little more information about yourself. I see that you got into tremendous shape and competed on stage. What was that like?
Me: Yes I have competed in bodybuilding contests 2x. I work with a number of the top fitness, figure and bodybuilding personalities. Many times clients would say "oh I’m dieting" or "I can’t worry about this now". I decided to go the extra step and find out what it would be like to compete. Are these people full of crap or is it really that tough? If you haven’t stepped on stage to compete, you really truly have no idea what is involved. I am 5′11" and weight 167 my first show, the second show I weight 176 on stage. Both times I was ripped and I had fun. It was an experience that was unlike any other. Lots of people can look good in the gym or in street clothes but to be on stage in nothing but a speedo is an : entirely different experience. I gained perspective on what my client went through and while I never claim to be a bodybuilder I do understand what my client go through by having lived through it and followed through.

J: Did you find the last few weeks leading up to competition to be harder on your body than the previous months of dietand workout?
Me: It wasn’t harder because I was "in the zone". I still went out with friends but I would drink diet coke and water while they got wasted. I’d disappear to go have chicken and rice while they ate fries and onion rings. I also did Yoga a couple times a week which improved my strength and flexibility. Guys in the gym asked me if it was to pick up women but ah no, it was to improve me mentally and physically. The last week going into the show was tough. I wanted to quit more than once but I knew it would be worth it. I would get up at 5:30am and walk on the treadmill (yes walk as to not loose muscle at that point) and then go back in the afternoon, workout and do more walking. This was only for the last 3-4 weeks. The thing I grew tired of was eating. If I went longer than 3 hours without eating I was not fun to be around.

J: How much gym time were you spending?
Me: 1 hour or less. I’d run around the park in Denver in the morning and then hit the gym for an hour of weights. The last 4 weeks I did cardio 2x a day and stopped running and went to walking on an incline. I was boring ass hell but it worked for me. As I leaned out I spent more time in the gym because people would constantly be talking to me. Asking me what I was doing, what I was eating, etc. Even the trainers in the gym would hound me for tips. I started going at different hours to avoid crowds and have my space back.

J: You said that you had gotten out of shape, though we have no real proof of that…  Was it the work or family that caused a slide?
Me: Jumbo see the photos below. This is my out of shape. Last year I traveled at least 2 weekends every month. Photographing shows for bodybuilding.com and occasionally FLEX magazine kept me busy. My downfall was not planning and resorting to airport food or going all day without eating. If I eat 2-3 meals a day I pack on the pounds. I have to eat 6-8 small meals to keep my metabolism sped up. I let my workouts slide and in the process found myself at a weight where I wasn’t comfortable. That’s all changing now.

J: How did you get into the Lift Studios thing? Did it blossom out of your gym work or did the lifting blossom out of you studio work?
Me: I read FLEX and Muscle and Fitness mags growing up and at one point tried weight gainer 2000. How funny thinking back on that. I was very active in high school sports and then went into the Army National Guard. I was in awesome shape coming out of basic training. I tried my hand at college football but after pulling my hamstring and being too small I hung it up. I only weighed about 170 at that point. I proceeded to drink a bit too much and eat like crap for a few years. I found myself eating ramen noodles and vending machine food when I was attending art college. I decided to do Body-for-Life and lost a great deal of weight. That motivated me to not be complacent. At the time I was working at a large ad agency with a great career. I was tired of living in Omaha so moved to Denver. Worked for a small design firm as Interactive Creative Director working with outdoor/sports related clients. My boss at the time thought I was conspiring to steal her clients with a former co-worker and friend of mine. I went in one morning and she told me I was fired. This was the best thing to ever happen to me. I had been procrastinating on starting my own business like I had about my weight for some time. It took a drastic change and challenge to force me to put up or shut up. I took the challenge and ran with it. That was nearly 6 years ago and since that time I’ve combined my love for fitness and sports into my other talents of art, photography and marketing. I believe in the cliché “everything happens for a reason”. Fired from a job for the first time turned into a career I love with my business Lift Studios.

J: Is there a food you must avoid because it would start you off on a crazed binge?
I LOVE a number of foods but it is all about balance. My vices are chips, Italian and Mexican food. I love to eat those foods but I don’t buy them and only have healthy foods in my place.

I’ve babbled long enough here. Thanks for the questions and if anyone has any others feel free to email or post them here. This has been a very productive month for me both physically, mentally and with my business.

My progress pics:

Da back.

Da Front.

Where will I end up? I know this much, much happier in all facets of my life. Rock on!