Tuesday, November 19, 2013

NPC Team Universe is just over 32 weeks away from us and I have finally decided to give it a go.  Am I ready to win or even make top 5?  Possibly not, however competing at Team Universe has always been a goal of mine and now is as good of time as ever for me to take the leap.  As many of you know I am a full time elementary PE teacher and I’ve coached high school baseball for the last 11 years.  Even though baseball is my first love, and I still love the game, I decided to step down from that endeavor this season in order to focus on my family and to help some family members out.  They have made countless sacrifices for me the last dozen or so years so I could play college baseball and coach and it is my time to make some sacrifices.  Because of this, I can focus a bit more on my training and a spring prep is possible.  Also, being that I have 2 young daughters (a kindergartener that will be 6 in January and a one that turns 2 in December) that are starting to get involved in things like piano, gymnastics, and baseball if I don’t try Team U now, there will be a point where our lives will be so centered around our daughters that I will never do it. 

Some may or may not know my competitive history, but I have been competing for a few years now and have done well at non-national, drug tested shows finishing top 2 numerous times and winning my class on probably just as many occasions (I’ll write about my competitive history in a future blog).  I just recently re-qualified for Team Universe for the 6^th time (I have been qualified every year since 2006 except for 2013 because I took all of 2012 off) by getting 2^nd in the Lightweight division of Dave Liberman’s NPC Natural Northern USA (An amazing show that had 301 total competitors and 16 in my class alone).  Even though 2^nd place in a class of 16 (a good class) would be deemed well by most, I was disappointed for multiple reasons.  One, I have gotten 2^nd so many times at shows of this caliber (2 times at this particular show), many of them being 1 point decisions.  Secondly, I do not feel I was my best.  I seemed to look amazing one hour and then flatten out the next and it wasn’t for lack of eating the day before or day of the show.  I know what my best is and I was much bigger and fuller the days leading up to the show and my legs were much crisper the night before the show.  The biggest things I need to figure out at this point are how to get my glutes and hams leaner without losing the fullness in my quads and upper body and also bringing in a super dry physique, which I typically do. 

I am starting this blog/journal to help keep tabs for myself and also as a learning experience for anyone that wants to read it.  I hope this can be a motivational tool for people in all aspects of life and levels of fitness.  I dream that one day I can support my family by assisting people develop a greater level of health, that is my true passion.  I think I can offer a unique perspective to the fitness lifestyle because I have played sports at a high level (collegiate), competed in bodybuilding at a pretty high level, I work full time, and I am a husband and father.  I definitely don’t have life figured out, and I still struggle at times, but I feel I have been able to develop a level of balance to my life that can help other people that lack time and are givers.  I am going to try to post here as often as possible, whether it is a journal entry or simply the foods that I have eaten on any given day or my workouts.  I also hope to share some of the wonderful transformations and success stories of the amazing people that have allowed me to help them along their fitness journey!