In my opinion, the WNBF truly is a landmark for natural bodybuilding because of its rich history and tremendous athletes. It has been a dream of mine to earn pro status in the WNBF and it has taken me many years to achieve that dream. I was really looking forward to competing in my first WNBF show this year and hopefully have a chance to stand alongside Brian Whitacre and Shaun Clarida at the World Championships, but due to the fact I am located in California does create a financial hardship to travel to various parts of the country to compete as a WNBF Pro more than once per year. The one thing I love about this sport is having my family and friends in attendance at my shows, but because the WNBF currently has nothing here on the West Coast really limits the opportunities for that scenario to become a reality. Because of the reasons mentioned above, it is with much regret I have decided to resign from the WNBF. This decision was definitely not an easy one because I have the highest respect for the WNBF.  I do not have any negative feelings towards the WNBF as my decision was based solely on financial and logistical reasons. I do wish the WNBF nothing but the best with their continued success and longevity in the sport.

With my decision to leave the WNBF here is a look at my upcoming competitive plans, but it is subject to change.

July 9 – NPC San Jose – San Jose, CA
July 16 – IFPA Pro USA - Sacramento, Ca
October 1 – NPC San Francisco – Hayward, Ca
October 29 – IFPA Yorton Cup Pro World’s – Washington DC

Okay so now that the cat is out of the bag let’s get back to training. My approach will not be any different now that I have announced my plans. My thinking remains the same… take each day as they come and try and achieve my own personal excellence with every aspect of my prep.

This Week’s Progress
This week was a tough one as my wife and I were caring for her grandmother who has recently run into some difficult times with her health. She has had some complications, but she is quite the trooper! She has steadily improved and we are hoping for a full and speedy recovery. I love you grandma!

Weight
12/6/10 Starting weight - 206.5
As of 3/7/11 
186.6, so I have lost right around 20lbs so far…yeaaa!!! Goal weight 160 and it is now in my sights. I am hoping to be ready by mid June, but I will have to see how things pan out. If I am ready by July that will be awesome, but if I am not then it is not the end of the world. There will be plenty of shows to do later in the year. No added pressure!

Nutrition & Cardio
180p/300c/40f on normal days and 180p/500c/40f on Saturdays (refeed)

Due to all the traveling and helping out with grandma I was unable to get in my cardio sessions, so I dropped my carbs down to 280 on normal days and dropped my refeed to 450 carbs to make up for the lack of cardio. Worked like a charm because I still managed to drop close to 2lbs this past week.  I might not do any cardio this week again if the weight loss remains at the current pace.

Weight Training
Lately I have been moaning a lot about aches and pains in joints and my training has been hit or miss as far as successful workouts. To counter this inconsistency, I have now dusted off an old training program with the hopes to alleviate the pain issues I have been dealing with. I have decided to train 2 days per week for a while. I know 2 days does not seem like it is enough and people reading this might be thinking I am joking, but I trained 2 days per week back in 2004 when I won my class at the INBF Capital City. Believe me…those two workouts are not going to be easy by any stretch of the imagination. The basis of the workouts will be HIT, but of course I will be very instinctive and if I am unable to lift heavy or intensely, I will modify things with each workout as necessary. The split will be upper/lower just like my previous split, but the only difference will be hitting each body part every 7 days as opposed to every 4-5 days. The extra 2-3 days off will likely give me a better chance to train pain free and to allow for more productive workouts.

Last week was a deload to give myself a much needed break, but this week I plan on bringing the pain! Until my next blog keep training hard, smart and naturally!