I Want to be a Bodybuilder

The Beginning

When I first started training, I didn't really know what bodybuilding was. One fatefull day, about a year after I picked up my first weight, I walked into a CVS pharmacy and saw a Muscle and Fitness magazine!

This is the actual magazine i bought 20 years ago!

I opened it, and looking back at me was a bodybuilder from Germany named Achim Albrecht. At 300 lbs, lean, he was lifting insane amounts of weight. I couldn't believe this was a human! I flipped through a couple pages, and it only took about five seconds for me to buy it. There was no Internet back then, so the info you got was from books or from the big meathead at the gym. Well, I was training in my basement so the only meathead was me!

These are the actual photos of Achim Albrecht from the magazine.

This is a profile from American Muscle on Achim.

I looked through the routines and tried some of them. All I wanted was to be like Achim! HUUUUUGE and strong as some kind of mutant from the comic books!

Becoming a Bodybuilder

When my older cousin Marty found out I was reading the magazine, he gave me some of his old Muscle and Fitness magazines. I opened those, and studied the routines and the poses the guys were doing. It wasn't long until I started cutting up my sweatshirts, musclehead style. At that time, I had long hair, halfway down my back. Well, none of the big dawgs in the magazines had long hair, so I took the magazine to the barber, showed him Achim, and said "I want my hair like this!"

That summer, there were a lot of big changes for me. I cut my hair, gained a little muscle, and went back to playing sports. I remember the look on Coach Delsanto's face and everyone else's on the team the day I showed up with the cut-off t-shirt and my new hair. All eyes were on me. I was nervous, and had to put up with the minor ball-busting that comes with team sports, but everyone accepted it and I was a whole new person. One with a goal. One with a purpose.

I want to be a bodybuilder. Come hell or high water, with God as my witness, one day I will be one of those guys in the magazines!

Fast forward to now ... look who kicked, clawed, and scratched his way through and accomplished his goal!

Supplement Review 2011 Part 2

Here is the second and last review of the samples from the Arnold 2011. Remember, try things for yourself and see how you like them. I hope these little tidbits about the products help!

Laying the Foundation: Paying it Forward - Part 2

In March 2009, I was roughly 8 weeks away from the Pittsburgh Championships, and as fate would have it, my then-girlfriend decided to end our relationship of almost 5 years. It was a really tough time, as in 14 days, I had to find a new place to live, a new car, and a new phone. Since I have 2 dogs, finding a place to live is not an easy thing to do on the fly.

Everything was upside down. I didn't have anyone to turn to, as my best friend at the time had his own issues to deal with. Out of the blue, another friend whom I didn't expect at all stepped up.

He helped me get ready for the show, listened to me express myself about my situation, gave me advice, called me every morning. He asked if I had done my cardio and eaten my first meal by 9 am, and always asked, "How do you feel?" He knew I had nobody to turn to and needed someone. He stepped up and gave back in so many ways; he took a chance by being there for me. His name is Kevin Levrone.

Me, Kari, and Kevin in the gym. This was Kari's first trip to Maryland.

He went to the show with me, and those 72 hours would be something I'd never forget. In the hotel room, he taught me what to eat and drink, and the next day, I took 4th in a very stacked Heavyweight class. I was 199 lbs on stage, and the other guys were 25 lbs or more than me. And I beat all but 3 of them.

This video was taken the day after the show on the ride home to Maryland.

And you know what? At that show, I met the love of my life, Kari. If Kevin hadn't been there to support me along the way, I might not have gone to the show, and my life might be so much different than it is now.

Kari and me in the first 10 minutes of meeting.

At that point, I didn't think of  Kevin as a bodybuilder. I thought of him as my friend and a giving human being. He gives back quite often, most recently with his Levrone Formula supplement on the market. A no-frills, no slick advertising product. Just a legit "get your money's worth" product.

My way of giving back? I talk to the young guns in the gym and give advice on message boards about bodybuilding and life in general. In 35 years, I've been around the block 100 times and back, and I want to pay it forward.

So the next time you see someone in need, and you feel you can help them, go ahead! You never know ... it might just change a life!

And Kev, Ive said it before but Thank You!

Laying the Foundation: Paying it Forward - Part 1

It all stared the day I walked into Gold's Gym in Somerset, Massachusetts. I was so in awe of all the weights and machines, and even more in awe of the competitive bodybuilders there training for their shows. These guys were just HUUUGE to me. All 145 lbs of me.

I trained there for a few months, watching them, trying to figure out how to train, and reading everything I could get my hands on about diet and working out. Then one day I saw a sign on the wall that said, "The Cape Cod Natural", with little words on the bottom" "See Al for details." Ok, so Al, huh: Let's find him.

What I found was a five foot ten inch, two hundred and thirty pound lean bald guy who was very intimidating. I was kind of scared to talk to him. I said "Hi, Are you Al?" He responded with a simple, "Yes." I manned up and said "I want to be a bodybuilder, and I want to do the Cape Cod show". He just looked at me and told me to follow him. In his office, he turned on the computer and printed my out a Gold's Gym Nuritionalysis program for training, diet, and cardio, and told me to follow it. I did.

This is Al Thurston. He now owns the N.A.B.F. Natural Organization.

I'm not sure why he helped me, but he did. And I got better and bigger and really started to change. It was around this time that my training partner (who was a year younger than me) and I met Eddie.

Eddie was everything we wanted to be. He was as big as a house, ripped up, strong, had cool clothes, drove that black 240sx, and ladies loved him. He would walk in a room and everyone would look at him. Donnie and I started talking to him. We were now bodybuilders. Just teens and skinny, but bodybuilders, nonetheless. He answered all our questions. He didn't have to, but he did. We became better bodybuilders, and as a result (though we didn't know it at the time), also became better men too.

Guys like Al and Eddie saw us as new, raw, fresh, and in need of direction. By taking the time to help us, they were paying it forward to the next generation (us) all that bodybuilding had done for them. They knew that if they had not helped us, someone else would have, and it might have sent us down the wrong road.

Eddie Depina

Things I learned from Al and Eddie:

1. Train hard. There is no substitute for the work you need to do.
2. Drugs are not the answer to being a champion!
3. You need to eat, eat good foods, and eat often!
4. You need to do cardio to get really lean.
5. You must be consistent.
6. There are NO SHORTCUTS!

It's been 20 years since that time in Gold's. The gym shut down long ago, and everyone went on their way. The wild, striped spandex, tiny string tanktops, and hip sacks are all but gone now, ecxept for the few guys not willing to let that era go. Now they just look goofy!

So Eddie and Al, if you read this, I am 20 years late on this, but thank you for helping us and paying it forward!

Supplement Review

There are so many different supplements in the industry nowadays. It's confusing to know which ones work, don't work, or live up to their claims.

I get plenty of samples from all different companies, so I try them. Since my training and diet are dialed in, I can see if they work or don't work right away. I can feel if they work just like I can feel if something's off in my diet or workout.

So check out these few supplements from: Universal Nutrition, Levrone Formula, MRI, MAN and BSN. Let me know what you have tried and what you think!

Arnold Classic Expo - Days 2 and 3

As we rolled into day two at the Arnold, we were already tired. Exited yes, but tired. We had seen some friends the day before, so today was a day to take in some sites, and see what's new in the industry.

One of the first people I saw the day before was Dean Caputo. Not many people will remember him, but when I was 16 years old wanted to gain weight, I bought a weight gainer from a company called Callenge. He was the model on the label. I used to look at it and say I wanted to be like him. Well, I spotted him and asked for a picture. He looked perplexed. I told him the story and he smiled and his eyes lit up. He said not may people remember that or even believe he was a model on a supplement. I told him I did and he was an inspiration. He promptly hooked me up and gave me a jar of glutamine and a new whey powder his company makes, and said to give it a try. It was really cool to meet him and he was such a gentleman.

With Dean Caputo

Just around the corner was Randy Couture: UFC former champion, movie star, and former Roman-Grecco champion. He has been such an inspiration - winning MMA titles well into his forties, when most have retired. He was nice but had a kind of aura about him, an energy. He looked really tough with the scars and such on his face. It was an honor to shake his hand!

Randy Couture

As we walked around, we had to stop more than a few times for Kari and me to eat. Just because we were at the Arnold doesn't mean we skip meals, right? Especially with all these other fit people all around ... we gotta keep up with our physiques!

Feeding time!

We approached the Nutrex booth and I saw Mark Dugdale. He was at the show where Kari and I met in 2009. I spoke to him and said when I saw him backstage, I was really shocked at how big he was for a 202 competitor. We then talked about how Kari and I met. His wife came over and we all got a laugh about romance starting at a bodybuilding show.

 

Mark Dugdale and me

Also at the Nutrex booth was my favorite Pro Figure girl, Larissa Reis. I like her look because she seems strong, but has a real edge to her with her tattoos and body rings. She was very nice and explained to our friend she sold out all of her pictures. Not bad for being there only a couple of hours. She was very sweet despite her badass persona!

Me with Larissa Reis

I also got to see the two guys who were in a Carmax commercial with me last summer: Rob Youells and Brad Rowe. We shot the ad in July, and it is airing in different parts of the country. I'm the left front tire, Rob is the right front tire, and Brad is the rear right tire. Hollywood, look out ... here we come! It was good to see them and see they are doing well.



All in all, we had a great time and a great weekend! We left about 12:30pm on Sunday to head home. We are already planning on going to the expo next year ... maybe at a booth when Kari turns Pro!  :)

Right before we left, our friend, Kevin Levrone, invited us into the booth at the Europa and we took this picture ... ending our Arnold weekend.

Kari and me

Hope everyone got home ok, and see you next year!

Reality Check!

This weekend at the Arnold was a reality check for a lot of competitors, I think. Many of them took this International competition very lightly, like it was just another show. Most thought, "Oh I got 3rd in the Mr. Timbucktwo so I'm doing the Arnold now."

I'm not sure what these people were thinking. Let's see ... you have never won a show. Ever. Not even your class. So why not go do an INTERNATIONAL show, with International pros, and National champions from many countries and and look like complete crap? Yeah, this makes America look really good, doesn't it?

Here is how it works. First ... win a class in a local show. If you're really good, it's an overall win. Second, do the same at a regional show. Now after a win - not a top two - a WIN, you go to the Jr National level. After a win at the Jr USA or the Jr Nats ... THEN and ONLY THEN should you move to the National level. And if you are placing well, say top five in the National level ... then TRY THE ARNOLD!

I'm sure after seeing the Europeans and the other international competitors, the Americans must have known they weren't going to place well.

I saw a video on Musculardevelopment.com where a good local bodybuilder was claiming he was going to bring home the title to the USA. Well he didn't even place. As he was bragging, I became aware of a 22 year old phenom from Russia named Alexey Lesukov. He was in the same class as the kid in the video. It was obvious from the start: no way was this American guy going to do well at all.

22 year old Alexey Lesukov from Russia

I myself have qualified many times for National level competition - in three different weight classes: Lightheavy, Heavyweight, and Super Heavyweight. But I have not WON a class. Second is NOT a WIN.

SO this year I am one more time going to try and WIN my class to go on to the next level. If I don't win, then I retire for good. It's time ... I have been doing this for 17 years. And I will put 120% into it this time to know there is nothing more I can do to win. And I can be happy with that.

This year so far has been a reality check for a few pros in competition, a few amateurs, and maybe even me come August 20th.

Arnold 2011 Friday ... Day 1!

We arrived about 1 pm at the expo. We started walking around, and the first person I ran into was Dave Pulcinella. He's famous from the movies, Raising the Bar One, Two and Three. Dave is a good guy from Delaware and a hell of a bodybuilder on and off stage. He really has influenced many people in many ways. He also is kind of responsible for Kari and me getting together. Well, he is one of the people.

 

Hanging with big Dave!

Next, we ran into a very good friend of mine, Hayley McNeff. We first met two years ago at the East Coast Championships in Maryland. She won the Overall and I got second in the Lightheavies ... AGAIN! Bah!
Since then, we have become good friends - so much so that I actually may ask my mom if she had a daughter I don't know about. It's a good thing I don't live closer to her, as someone would get hurt in the gym trying to out lift the other!

 Me and my possibly long lost sister?!?!

At the Muscle Mag booth, we saw Peter Putnam. He is a really good guy whom I have known for about 6 or 7 years now. Peter and his wife, Jess, are two of the nicest and the most REAL people you could ever meet. So many times I had questions for him on so many subjects, and without fail, he always came through and helped me out when i needed it. Thanks Pete!

Toro, Peter, and me

As the day ended, we ran into a good friend of mine for the last few years now. I actually used to own a website with him and he also took time to mentor me during a tough time in my life. This guy is bodybuilding legend Kevin Levrone! He has launched a supplement called Levrone Formula and is very busy getting it out to the public. The no-proprietary-blend formula is cutting edge in pre-workout formulas. It was good to catch up with him and hear that LevroneReport.com is doing so well.

Me with Kevin Levrone

All in all, our first day here has been about 5 hours nonstop of meeting up with old friends and seeing the new things on the fitness market. Tomorow we are going to hit the expo early and keep at it.
G'nite y'all!

Arnold Sports Festival 2011

Tomorrow we leave for Ohio. Heading to the Arnold to watch this year. Last year Kari was competing. Never having been to the show, we didn't know what to expect. But she pulled off 4th place in a division loaded with European pros. So all in all it was a successful and stressful weekend.

Kari last year

This year we will be going to watch and mingle at the expo. Over the years, we have made many friends in the fitness industry. These friends are spread out all across the country, so a few times a year - like the Arnold and the Olympia - they are all in one spot. It's the only time everyone is together in one venue on the same day. So we try and see them if possible.

My buddy, Brad Hollibaugh

My good friend and long lost sister Hayley McNeff

My buddy I.F.B.B. Pro Peter Putnam

We are looking for ward to seeing who wins the shows as well. Figure, Men's Bodybuilding ... it's all up the air this year. No forgone former winners coming back to continue their reign.

With Lou Ferrigno, 2010 Arnold

So stay tuned after this weekend for videos, pics, and my call on how the shows would have been. If you are going to be there, maybe we will see you. Have a great weekend guys and good luck to all the competitors!