Speak it, believe it, achieve it!

I attended the OCB Charm City Classic held in Owings Mills, Maryland yesterday.

The competition was promoted by John Puskarich. OCB stands for Organization of Competitive Bodybuilders and the contestants last night certainly were competitive. I enjoyed this show as much if not more than the NABBA, NPC, and IFBB shows I’ve attended in the past few weeks.

This competition was an IFPA Bodybuilding & Figure Pro Qualifier which will have coverage in Fitness & Physique Magazine. The location was New Town High School, 4931 New Town Blvd., Owings Mills, MD. New Town H.S. was the venue for last year’s NPC Maryland State Bodybuilding and Figure Championships by way of some contest trivia.

Puskarich and company really know how to entertain. A push up competition, trivia questions to the audience, t-shirt tosses (Bodybuilding.com      t-shirts, of course), professional deejay handling contestant music, multi-media support in the form of a big screen and slide show that dipped down during the competition to showcase one competitor who had lost nearly 100 pounds in preparation for his participation in this contest.

The evening show started with a bang as a fantastic rendition of the National Anthem was performed and met by the applause of the spectators in the crowded auditorium. Actually, it was the afternoon show as the start time was a welcomed 4:30, getting yours truly and I imagine other travelers home before the wee hours of Sunday morning. Typical start times of 6 or 6:30 p.m. simply don’t allow distant fans the opportunity to get home before midnight.

Athletes competed in a variety of competitions including:

Mens Bodybuilding Jr’s
Mens Bodybuilding 101
Figure Novice
Mens Bodybuilding Novice
Figure 35+
Figure 41+
Womens Bodybuilding Novice
Mens Bodybuildng 50+
Womens Bodybuilding Masters 35+
Figure Open
Mens Bodybuilding 40+
Womens Bodybuilding Open
Womens Fitness Model

I didn’t take any notes, but have the following bits, pieces, trivia, and opinion to share.

Great trophies, one got dropped and busted! Ouch.

Number 70 earned her IFPA pro card!

She was dynamite!

Terri Wehnert competed in three different classes at the Charm City Classic, placing 2nd in Figure 101, 3rd in the Open Tall, and winning the Novice Tall! I caught the relaxed image by accident and thought it was interesting to see the difference in the two postures. A bit of copy/paste allowed me to create this comparison image of the beautiful and well conditioned athlete.

I was rooting for the taller competitor, but can’t argue too loudly about the judges giving the nod to the shorter athlete.

Still, the taller competitor was gorgeous!

Great conditioning. I’m convinced he had no doubt that he was going to win, but then the other bodybuilder (below) was announced the winner!

This photo doesn’t do the athlete’s physique or presentation justice. He won his IFPA Pro card, I believe surprising his chief competitor (above) as well as himself. Fantastic conditioning and posing.

This image was cut and pasted to move the two athletes closer together. What a hard fought battle. Number 2 (on left) was the eventual winner.

It might not have been sold out, but the auditorium was definitely full of fans, family, and friends.

There were trees on the stage that kept leaping behind the contestants when I’d snap a shot! @#$%!!!

The competitor holding the trophy was last year’s middleweight winner. He lost his division this year. Although his conditioning may have been a percent shy of the eventual winner, I think he was the overall better bodybuilder at this contest.

Complete Photobucket gallery of the 2007 Charm City Classic

There’s a thumbnail Sub Album that has the images appearing in this blog. The larger images are in the main OCB gallery and have additional info in the captions. Enjoy!

OCB Charm City Classic videos and more available on my YouTube page.

The OCB Charm City Classic is being contested today, October 20, 2007, in the Baltimore, Maryland area. This is an IFPA Bodybuilding & Figure Pro Qualifier which will have coverage in Fitness & Physique Magazine. The location is New Town High School, 4931 New Town Blvd., Owings Mills, MD.

Once again, I’ve already missed the pre-judging which was at 10:30 a.m., but the Finals are still a possibility, scheduled for 4:30 this afternoon. It’s only about 90 minutes to Baltimore, so I should be able to make the show without a problem. Unless, of course, I drive circles around Owings Mills like I did while looking for the last contest venue. ;)

Have you ever attended a physique competition?

There was a vendor handing out Dymatize product at the recent Maryland State NPC contest. A 29.4 gram packet offers a mere 112 calories, but offers a mighty 23 grams of protein. The rep also mentioned that the cholesterol is less than some whey products (5 mg for Dymatize versus 30 mg in ON’s 100% Whey - the Dymatize is the aforementioned 29.4 grams versus ON’s 30.4 grams, but that’s nothing compared to the big difference in cholesterol).

Cholesterol’s not a factor for me especially as mine was 143 with HDL reading 58 and LDL at 75. That reading was reported in March 2006, of course, but I can’t see how it’s increased.

Note on cholesterol ratio:

Some physicians and cholesterol technicians use the ratio of total cholesterol to HDL cholesterol in place of the total blood cholesterol. The ratio is obtained by dividing the HDL cholesterol level into the total cholesterol. For example, if a person has a total cholesterol of 200 mg/dL and an HDL cholesterol level of 50 mg/dL, the ratio would be 4:1. The goal is to keep the ratio below 5:1; the optimum ratio is 3.5:1.

So if I plug in my old numbers that puts me at 2.47:1? I’m crap at math. LITTLE HELP! ;)

Regardless, Dymatize Elite Whey Protein is great stuff (and available courtesy of Bodybuilding.com, too)!!! See their Dymatize Elite Whey page.

It’s advertised as having “Instant Mixability” and it certainly does - shaker bottle didn’t have any clumps left behind. And it tastes great!

What protein are you currently using?

Hmm. But where are the abs?

The scale cooperated and dutifully read out 153, but I’m not feeling or looking especially ripped abs-like at all. Plus my microwave died apparently. @#$% it. I had my oatmeal raw. Not the best start to the day, but I did reach the goal weight so that’s something. And I’ve got a new ab workout that I’m going to try tonight. All good things take time.

Hitting the goal weight this week is looking good. I’m getting up at 5 a.m. and if the scale doesn’t cooperate (reads 153) I’m going to run around the block until I sweat off a pound! Weighed 154 tonight after my two cups of broccoli with a little chili powder, plus SEVEN entire "sun chips" and a few teaspoons of salsa.

GAH! Now I’m worried that the sodium will have me holding water. It’s stupid for a skinny man to worry about water retention. D’OH! Regardless, I have it in my head to "start over" by getting down to 150 lbs. - what I was at age 15 and touched that first vinyl-covered Sears & Roebuck weight set. The skinny fat 180 lbs. was NOT working for me.

What has gone before:

8/22: 1329 (Wednesday a.m. bodyweight: 172 lbs.)
8/23: 1078
8/24: 1027
8/25: 1029
8/26: 1492
8/27: 1275
8/28: 1317
8/29: 1369 (Wednesday a.m. bodyweight: 170 lbs.) Week 1
8/30: 1224
8/31: 1473
9/01: 1428
9/02: 1263
9/03: 1349
9/04: 1400
9/05: 1139 (Wednesday a.m. bodyweight: 168 lbs.) Week 2
9/06: 1233
9/07: 1452
9/08: 1047
9/09: 1136
9/10: 1298
9/11: 1332
9/12: 1480 (Wednesday a.m. bodyweight: 163 lbs.) Week 3
9/13: 1499
9/14: 1360
9/15: 1184
9/16: 1453
9/17: 1105
9/18: 827
9/19: 1434 (Wednesday a.m. bodyweight: 161 lbs.) Week 4
9/20: 1219
9/21: 1497
9/22: 1467
9/23: 1600
9/24: 1233
9/25: 1137
9/26: 1456 (Wednesday a.m. bodyweight: 159 lbs.) Week 5
9/27: 1405
9/28: 1305
9/29: 1205
9/30: 1105
10/1: 1005
10/2: 905
10/3: 1500 (Wednesday a.m. bodyweight: 157 lbs.) Week 6
10/4: 1440
10/5: 1495
10/6: 1490
10/7: 1315
10/8: 1023
10/9: 1095
10/10: 1390 Week 7
10/11: 1425 (Thursday a.m. bodyweight: 155 lbs.)
10/12: 1490
10/13: 1360
10/14: 1496
10/15: 1436
10/16: 1132
10/17: 1221 (Wednesday a.m. bodyweight: 153 lbs.) Week 8
10/18: 1500
10/19: 1490
10/20: 1313
10/21: 1295
10/22: 1180
10/23: 720
10/24: 1492 (Wednesday a.m. bodyweight: 151 lbs.) Week 9
10/25: 1500
10/26: 1493
10/27:
10/28:
10/29:
10/30:
10/31: x (Wednesday a.m. bodyweight: x lbs.) Week 10

Click Here for RESULTS on the 2007 NABBA USA AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

While Animal Pak may be the #1 selling training pak in the world, I’ve been making my own pak recently with a bunch of supplements that only a former GNC sales associate would think it even possibly reasonable to own much less ingest.

How to make a Curt Pak? Take one Ziploc sandwich bag and fill it up with…

naNOx9
Co Q-10
B
C
D
Glutamine tablets
Time Release Niacin
One a Day
Folic Acid
Glucosamine Chondroitin
DHEA
Novedex XT
Chromium Picolinate
Korean Ginseng
Milk Thistle
Melatonin
Biotin
Omega-3 Fish Oil
E plus Selenium
Prostate Health
Calcium Magnesium & Zinc
Papaya Enzyme
ON’s Superior Amino 2222 Tabs

And, yeah, I’m taking Animal Pak and Animal Cuts on top of all that.

Some of these supplements have been collecting dust, but the expiration dates are all next year, some in 2009 and at least two in 2010.

I just opened a new bottle of DHEA, too, but it’s speckled. Every tablet looks, uh, blotchy? Their expiration is April 2008, so I don’t know. I might call 1-888-ASK-DHEA to inquire. Duh. Supplement nerd!

(ring, ring)

"Yes, um, my DHEA is, er, mottled."

My last bottle, the tablets were completely white, so I’m curious if these critters are spoiled.

Update   :
Nicole at the DHEA help desk says it’s nothing to worry about. That there’s some vitamin C in there and it’s seeping out through the tablet’s coating. Sounds reassuring enough for me.

Anyway, why this post? Well, I’m not sure if I’m bragging or complaining, but I think it has something to do with a woman I met at the Maryland contest Saturday. She said her posing instructor was competing and she just seemed thrilled to be at the contest. We spoke a little bit throughout the contest and at some point she said that her husband thinks she’s gone overboard.

But isn’t that part of this sport, this lifestyle? So many people just go through life shoving food in their mouths, drinking, smoking, no concerns for what their body is dealing with. I’d like to think it’s not going overboard to be focused on what’s going inside your face and what the results are of your diet and your exercise program. Is it overboard to have a goal? Is it going overboard to have a plan, focus, desire to improve yourself? No.

Do your supplements cover the kitchen table? Alternatively, does it take you five minutes to remove all the lids, shake out the appropriate number of tablets, capsules, etc., and then replace all the lids?

Victor Martinez was the bomb with his fans at the Maryland Grand Prix, signing autographs, having conversations, telling stories, guest posing, and then staying late after the show continuing spending time with the competitors and fans alike. Second place at the Mr. Olympia, but first place in generosity with his time at this NPC show.

Victor Martinez and yours truly (I’m the skinny guy. In case you were wondering.)

The subject line refers to my frustration at getting to Rockville about 45 minutes to an hour before the evening show only to drive around in circles looking for 603 Edmonston Drive. It needs to be 666   Edmonston! Hey, I got there and that’s all that counts.

I had a fantastic time at the Maryland show. The event was incredible. More later, but here’s a link to my Photobucket of the event.

If you visit the Photobucket gallery and see two pics of arieseyes, well, don’t think I’m a stalker. I had to resize the one pic so it would fit in the blog here.

Video of Lisa Aukland is in that gallery - if sideways. She was this year’s 4th place winner at the Ms. Olympia. I only attended the evening show, so I don’t know if she was available during the afternoon’s expo. She posed, said a few words (you can hear those in the Photobucket video, btw) and then vaporized, unfortunately. She has absolutely incredible legs.

And, yes, I had the distinct pleasure of meeting arieseyes while attending this event! :) Awesome!      

yours truly and arieseyes

BSN’s EndoRush is their zero sugar energy drink. According to that web page, it comes in four different flavors. Attractive packaging (what you’d expect from one of the top 5 or higher supplement companies), low in calories, high in B vitamins, amino acids, and packing an unspecified amount of caffeine, I tried - and liked - the Fruit Punch Fix    .

What struck me as odd was the “Serving Size” information. The bottle is 16 fluid ounces. The servings per container is listed as four.

Wtf?

How many people do you know who drink four ounces of a beverage and then close up the cap and refrigerate the remainder? No.

Calories per serving is listed as 5 and so the entire bottle only has 20 calories (yes, I’m a math genius). Not a bad thing for those of us who are trying to maintain a low calorie count, naturally.

The top of the label screams, “ENDURANCE * ENERGY * PERFORMANCE * MENTAL FOCUS” and who wouldn’t want those characteristics rushed into their system?

DRINK COLD! and CAUTION! are also plastered on the bottle. I did NOT read the entire label before consuming. Good thing I’m not pregnant or nursing. Both noted as contraindications.

Ha! No, pregnancy and nursing isn’t (aren’t? dammit!) what I’m laughing about. I just read that the drink is specifically planned as something you’re supposed to nurse over a 12-hour period. Give me a break.

When I was a kid, I remember having some water rocket toy. It had a red plastic lens. The EndoRush bottle has a red plastic bottle. For that reason, if nothing else, I really like this product. Hey, nostalgia has value! And I didn’t spend four bucks on a pack of generic cigarettes. Money better spent on an energy drink than on some other vice, yes?

While this post is offered up as an attempt at humor (no, really), I would like to thank BSN for sponsoring the Olympia webcast (I think I have that right) and for partnering with The King Ronnie Coleman all these years. And, of course, thank you to Bodybuilding.com for their efforts, dollars, and creativity for making the recent Olympia weekend an online blast.

It’s around 12:30. I stayed up too late last night and so chose to skip this morning’s Maryland Bodybuilding Grand Prix’s pre-judging in Rockville, MD, but I’ll be jumping on the road in short order, heading south for the evening show.

How’s your weekend shaping up?