rich55’s BodyBlog

Exciting events are on the horizon for me and a few top clients including three pro qualifiers and three trips to New York.  My training partner, James McGuire, has begun preparation for the INBF Hercules show in NYC to do battle for a WNBF natural pro card.  He is ahead of schedule as planned at 9 weeks out with hamstrings showing already and looking bigger than before!  His last contest was the NPC Monster Mash in October where he won the middleweight class.

Next up is Sue Knott who will be competing in her first IFBB figure pro-qualifying events at the IFBB North Americans and NPC Team Universe.  She is fresh off an overall figure win at the NPC Natural Ohio and will begin her prep in June.

My own contest preparation begins in June also as I aim for the INBF Nationals in NYC.  I placed 4th there last year and will be bringing an improved package to stage and battle for a WNBF natural pro card.  5 weeks till precontest prep!!  This will be an interesting rest of 2008 for all of us.

The Arnold is nearly 6 weeks away!  This marks the soon passing of winter with only a few more flurries left to blow through Ohio afterwards (hopefully).  Oh, but it also kicks off competition season!!  The ASC will be ultra-competitive on the amateur and pro side.

This year I will be working the Max Muscle Sports Nutrition booth at the expo, so those going will certainly have to stop by and visit.  World Gym Freak, aka James McGuire, aka the next WNBF pro will also be there with the Max Muscle crew.  We are training with tenacity for the INBF Hercules in June (James) and INBF Naturalmania in September (me)!
Many spring contests will follow the Arnold and I am psyched!  Attending shows is extremely motivating, fun, and always a great chance to meet fellow fitness enthusiasts.   I will be frequenting the NPC Northern Kentucky, Natural Ohio, Cincinnati Championships, Mike Francois Classic, INBF Tri-State Championships and any other shows I may just wanna catch for fun between now and May.  Check out my blog at www.richbodyfit.com for more info on competitions in this area.

The 2007 competition season has certainly been successful.  Success for me is measured in terms of my own personal progress.  I have finally seen the potential that some talked about when I first started this two years ago.  I attained my best look to date on stage.  I hung with a solid middleweight class at the NPC Ohio State Championships (not a natural show) and then finished one point away from a second place finish at the INBF Naturalmania Nationals.  I can hang my head high with fourth place finishes in each show.  I also was one point away from winning the INBF fitness modeling division.

I will now enjoy an extended offseason to make some improvements and enjoy life.  Don’t worry, I will still be smashing the weights hard and eating to grow.  My sights are now fixed on obtaining a natural pro card.  In the meantime, my training will not be as consuming though and I can focus on some other important areas of my life such as family, friends, work and living life to the fullest.

RichBodyFit Training will continue to grow as further updates will be made to my website, a training DVD will be made in collaboration with my new sponsor Max Muscle Sports Nutrition, and I continue to assist more competitors getting ready for shows this fall and next spring.  I also continue to work with Controlled Labs who heavily supports natural bodybuilding, who I must thank very much for their assistance during my recent contest prep.

I am rolling up on 3 weeks out from the NPC Ohio State Championships and am very pleased with the progress.  Obliques and crazy leg separation are beginning to show, which is good b/c I will have to bring my best contioning yet to this stage.  I will be light in the middleweight class as I will probably come in around 165 lbs in a class that ranges from 155-175 lbs.  The show is not drug-tested as well and there are a few national level competitors who I know will be in my class going after THE Mr. Ohio title.  Bring it!!

I cannot worry about anyone else, but this motivates me even more to give 150% these last few weeks to really dial in my conditioning and practice my posing.  Plus the show is in my own backyard of Columbus, so my friends and family will be in full support.

The following weekend I will be travelling to NYC to do the INBF Naturalmania Nationals and compete for a natural pro card that will be given to the class winner.  This is my goal!!  I will be at the top of their lightweight class that ranges from 150 to 165 lbs and plan on doing some damage.

Between the Ohio coming and a natural pro card at stake, I am FIRED UP!!  I will continue to train like a madman and refuse to let any carb depletion hold me back from a kick-ass workout. 

I did some cardio earlier and am heading back in tonight for a back workout in which I plan on getting stronger on half of my lifts.  It is going to happen and tomorrow is going to be the best chest workout of my life.  Cardio will be more grueling than any cardio I have ever done, but this is what I need to do be successfull.  150% intensity!!

Every day is an opportunity to better myself.  Me versus iron.  At least one more repetition or five more pounds is the goal each day.  This game is not waged simply as an egotistical endeavor, but rather for the quest of self-improvement.

When my achievement is thwarted, I look no further than in the mirror at myself.  I am responsible for my own fate each day with the iron.

For the experienced to break through plateaus, an undescribable threshold for pain is needed.  Such intensity is a necessity driven by sheer determination. Invoking an incredible amount of pain to my mental limit and beyond is a necessity.  Pushing myself beyond such limits, beyond what I dreamed capable is the only way I can progress in this game.

I write this today after a very tough day encompassed by many things I cannot control.   I smashed my body in the weight room as a release, leaving not a single ounce of energy behind.  The iron will always be and 300 lbs is always 300 lbs

Tomorrow begins my precontest preparation for the NPC Ohio State Championships and INBF Naturalmania Nationals in September.  With 12 weeks till showtime, I am sitting about 4-5 lbs heavier (at 182 lbs) the last time I was at a 31 inch waist.  I am also about 3 weeks ahead of schedule in terms of my conditioning too, so I should be able to come in a little bigger and harder.

The Ohio is not tested and there is no welter, so I will be kinda light in the middleweight class.  I should be peeled though.  The next week there is a 165 lb lightweight class that I should be able to make.

During my first 6 weeks, I will be consuming 3700 and 3200 cals, which should enable me to make decent gains in combination with a special 5×5 full body routine that I will be doing three times per week.

Cardio will begin with three 20 minutes sessions and I will be using Sesaglow, Lean Green and Acetyl L-Carnitine as my first phase of cutting supps stacked with White Blood, Green Mag, Purple Wraath and GlycerGrow.

Time to get shredded!!

The NPC Ohio State Championships and INBF Naturalmania Nationals on September 15 & 22, 2007 have been scribed onto my workout journal as my next competitive destination.  No turning back now!!  I am up 8 lbs (to 175 lbs) since competing 4 weeks ago and am very happy with the progress.  I have also become a Controlled Labs sponsored athlete, so feel free to check out my supplement log and journal listed in my threads posted.

I would like to get up to 190 lbs in the next 2 months before cutting down, however, staying lean is a priority as well.  I plan on competing as a middleweight at these shows, so gaining some quality lean muscle is necessary.

So far, so good.  2 more months to gain!!

I am very pleased with my performance in the NPC Northern Kentucky and Natural Ohio shows.  I placed top 5 in a very competitive non-tested regional show and won my class at the Natural Ohio.  Most importantly, I displayed a much thicker and better conditioned physique than last time I competed.  My posing was also much improved.

I competed as welterweight and realize that I still need to add more density all over, but particularly to my arms, delts, chest and hamstrings.  I plan on competing again this fall taking off only 3-4 months to grow and doing some larger shows.  The timing falls very well in line with my bodybuilding and training goals as I will be unveiling my RichBodyFit.com website as well as some other ventures that are lurking about.

I also feel that I can train more efficiently postcontest than last time and am fortunate enough to have sponsored testings/logs of a couple new products.  I will be testing Athletic Edge’s IntraXcell and Steel Edge for the first 4 weeks and Xfactor for the next 50 days.

I have tentatively targeted the NPC Ohio State Championships here in Columbus, OH and the INBF Naturalmania Nationals in NYC this coming September.  I will see how the next 1-2 months of growth goes before I commit.

TIME TO GROW!!!

I am five days out from my first show after a 1.5 year layoff to stack on some size.  I started the week out 7 lbs heavier than last time and much better conditioned!  I have been practicing my posing for months and am ready to bring everything I have to the NPC Northern Kentucky and Natural Ohio stages the next two weekends.  Time to kick some welterweight butt!!  Pics will certainly be posted.

Well, im am right on track to come in shredded and am very excited to get on stage again after a year and a half off.  My bodyweight is down to 171 lbs and I figure I have at LEAST 5 lbs more to go.  While my bodyweight is only 3 lbs heavier than this point last time, I feel much bigger and plan to come in much harder.  I will begin more of a regular low carb diet this weekend with refeeds every 3 days am a very excited to see the change over the next few weeks. 

Time to get shredded!!!