Pumpin Iron

You see them smiling. Standing poised, focused and in a state of jubilation. Some think they are crazy and have little regard for them while others idolize, respect and perhaps even aspire to be one someday. Whether they choose to do it professionally as a career, or simply for recreational purposes; the life of a Bodybuilder can be a very fulfilling and rewarding experience. But not without it's share of hardships and tribulations.

It was June of 2003, when I decided to train for and compete in the NY State Natural Bodybuilding Competition. I had been a Personal Trainer for close to four years and been training routinely for almost seven years. Up to that point, my lifestyle of living in the gym and learning all I can about nutrition and exercise was strictly a hobby for me. An obsession, but a hobby nonetheless. I had met a group of really nice guys at my gym, some of who had previously competed in competitions, and they convinced me to train with them for the next competition that was eight weeks away. What transpired over those following eight weeks was an experience I will never forget.

We wasted no time preparing. The day immediately following our decision to train together, we devised a bulking diet for ourselves. The purpose of this diet was to eat as much as you can for three to four weeks of relatively clean food, such as; chicken, beef, fish, tuna, potatoes, vegetables and so on. I was consuming anywhere from 4000 to 5000 calories a day during that time. In conjunction to the high calorie diet, I was also drinking close to two gallons of water a day. This left me feeling very bloated, stuffed, and borderline sick. There is not enough time in the day to prepare 5000 calories worth of food, so I had to supplement a lot by drinking high-calorie shakes often throughout the day at work. Taking in 340 grams of Protein a day further required me to keep all kinds of supplements, powders, potions, pills; you name it, at work to be readily availably to me. My office was slowly beginning to resemble a GNC store.

Once I began to cope with the massive amounts of food I was consuming, I soon had another obstacle to overcome; the training. Never before had I trained like this. This was the kind of training you only read about, hoping never to actually have to endure yourself. Every morning our day starting at 5:00am sharp. That's up, ready and in the gym by 5:00am! We would do between 45 minutes to an hour of cardio on an empty stomach. Then we would go on about our day and meet back in the gym at 6pm, where we would undergo two hours of weight training. Two of the longest, agonizing, most punishing hours of my life, in which I was doomed to repeat day after day after day. Leg day was particularly difficult and grueling. I would sometimes get physically sick to my stomach on leg day. But I chose to embrace it, just as I had every other aspect of my training. I was dedicated, focused and wanted to be in the very best shape of my life.

After four weeks of our bulking diet, it was time to switch gears. The goal during the first four weeks was to put on weight. We were not too worried at that point how much of the weight came from fat or muscle; instead we were just focused on putting on weight in general. Now we would diet down and lose weight for the remaining four weeks. The goal here is to lose any additional fat we inherited during the first four weeks and be left with a more muscular, well defined frame. Now my diet went from 4000-5000 calories a day to a minute 1500-2000 calories a day. This obviously took some time for my body to adjust too. As I have found out first hand, the human body is an extremely effective and adaptive organ, and will adaptive to just about anything we subject it to. The first week or two into this diet I was hungry all the time! I felt weak, unsatisfied and tired. After my allotted calories were met for the day, I could only turn to water, ice cubes or the occasionally indulgence of a rice cake.

In addition to cutting back on the calories, we also added a second cardio session at night and a meeting with a choreographer every morning. In the competition everyone gets sixty seconds to "free-pose" to a song of their choice and perform their own personal posing routine. So we hired a choreographer to help tailor a routine that compliments each one of us. The sixty second free-pose routine is arguably the most important part of the entire competition. This is the time when you can suspend belief and really express yourself as creatively and eccentrically as possible while leaving a lasting, memorable impression on the judges.

Seven weeks into our training we were now meeting the choreographer at 4:30 in the morning, then cardio for an hour, and then back at the gym in the evening for weight training and more cardio. The days seem to get longer and more tiresome as the training continued. But this week is the most important as we have only seven days till the competition. Everything I have endured up to this point was soon to become welcomed. For I had no idea of the inferno I was about to experience. We must begin now what is known as carb depletion. This is where you gradually deplete yourself of carbohydrates until eventually, your body is in the state of ketosis, a very dangerous state to be in that could prove fatal if left in this state for longer then a few days. The purpose of this practice of bodybuilders is, in the state of ketosis, your body is flushed of all carbs and relies on your body fat as its main source of fuel. Theoretically, any calories you burn while in this state are coming directly from fat. This is a good way, albeit not a safe way, to lose body fat quickly. My body entered ketosis two days before the show. This is considered to be ideal timing. During this period, I was very weak, very sleepy, had absolutely no energy and I just wanted to do nothing. Really not a pleasant time at all. The following day, we had to seize any and all consumption of liquids. I never realized how important water was to me and how much I depended on it until this period. But we are trying to rid our bodies of every last drop of water under the skin to reveal that coveted, ripped, vein popping look.

On the day of the show we all met at the diner that morning. We consumed large quantities of pancakes. That's it. No water, no liquids of any kind, no syrup, just pancakes. It was like swallowing concrete and could quite possibly be one of the most difficult things I have had the misfortune of taking part in. The reasoning behind this is our bodies have been in ketosis for the last few days, absent