drtbear1967
Musclechemistry Board Certified Member
My time training with an IFBB Pro.
I arrived at the gym early, which is what I always do regardless of where I am going. I absolutely hate to be late. I remember standing in the pro shop of WorldGym waiting for my buddy to arrive. There is something funny watching him get out of his civic and walking to the front door. He was almost as wideas his car. As long as it gets me from point a to point b is all that matters he would say. He greeted me with his million watt smile and asks me if I was ready. I said yes, but little did I know what was in store. I followed him to his office; we downed a handful of Amino’s and then with our water in hand, made our way across the gym floor. Legs were on the menu for the day and little did I know that I would get to see my breakfast again in a few minutes.
In my mind, I just knew that we had to be finished working out, my poor legs were screaming. I had never experienced anything like this, and then it happened. I felt this cold chill all over my body, and then that feeling, you know the one that I am talking about. I got to the bathroom, just in time to see my breakfast again. I made my way to the sink,washed my face, which was a pale white and then made my way back to the gym floor. He looked up and me and ask if I was ok? Yep, I said, what’s next? He just smiled and finished up his last set of leg presses, about 2000lbs as best I remember.
I have never felt pain in my legs like I did the next day. I think I stood in the shower for an hour just letting the hot water hit them. Walking was a next to impossible task. The one thing that I do need to mention was in the two years that we trained we only did squats once. That’s right; the man that won several pro shows, placed in the top 5 of the Olympia didn’t have squats as a main exercise for his legs.
We made our way back to his office, I looked up at the clockand it was at that time I noticed we had only workout out for a little over an hour. He looked at me and asks, did it seem like we were out there longer? Hell yes, I responded. You can work out with intensity for a short amount of time but you cannot for an extended amount of time. Those guys that are in the gym for hours are not doing it correctly.
His words would ring in my ears for the rest of my life. Train hard, with intensity and get out. I only puked that one time, but there was many times that I would have to lay down and rest, but I never gave up, I absorbed as much knowledge as I could. I will never forget when we were working out chest one day. We had just finished up with Flat DB presses and moved over to BB incline presses. There was 135 on the bar and my friend went first, he grabbed the bar and lowered it for one rep. Then got up. What’s wrongI ask? It doesn’t feel right he said. Now I had seen him do this same move with 300 plus and never a word but he was so aware of his body that he knew something wasn’t right. We moved on to another exercise and completed our workout. He would later tell me, there is a big difference between pain and being hurt, you have to be aware ofthe difference. We discussed the incline and what was going on. He said it could have been the angle, or anything but he felt a pressure in his pec that didn’t feel right and he wasn’t going to push it.
Regardless of whom you are or what you do, one must know his limits.
The one thing that many people don’t understand is that amount of food that pro’s actually eat. I remember that on more than one occasion we would leave the gym, go and eat. Eating was just as much of an event as training was. Often we would eat a huge salad with fat free dressing and two huge chicken breast and a plate full of rice. On days that I was off work, many times we would head back to his place or go watch a movie. I remember one day we were chilling at his place and he ask me if I wanted a snack. Sure, why not. I got a dozen egg whites and a chicken breast, for a snack. If I spent the entire day with him, he made me eat every meal with him. I have never, eaten that much food in my life. I would often tell him he was a Power eater. He would just laugh at me. Food was so important that I remember we went to the movies one time and in the middle of the show, he pulled out a chicken breast in one hand and a baked potato in the other. He just looked at me and smiled.
We didn’t set around and talk about what a lot of people would think. We didn’t talk about bulking cycles or cutting cycles. We had conversations about life, relationships, family and the world. The only time that I do remember us talking about gear was right before I moved again. He was setting on his couch and out of the blue he called me by name and said that insulin and growth hormone will be the death of bodybuilding. I ask him to explain whathe was thinking. “I always wanted to have that X frame, a big chest and shoulders, tiny waist, and big legs. Those days will be gone, you will have huge bellies but ripped to the bone, no more tiny waists and it will be mass monsters that rule the stage. When you can take chemicals and set on your couch and feel yourself growing, there is something not quite right about that." He was correct.
Having had the experience of training with him for two years, I was able to learn things that most people will never know. It is a different world for the pros than for the typical gym rat. The dedication both in and out of the gym is unreal. The intensity that it takes to be a pro is something than many people will never grasp.
I arrived at the gym early, which is what I always do regardless of where I am going. I absolutely hate to be late. I remember standing in the pro shop of WorldGym waiting for my buddy to arrive. There is something funny watching him get out of his civic and walking to the front door. He was almost as wideas his car. As long as it gets me from point a to point b is all that matters he would say. He greeted me with his million watt smile and asks me if I was ready. I said yes, but little did I know what was in store. I followed him to his office; we downed a handful of Amino’s and then with our water in hand, made our way across the gym floor. Legs were on the menu for the day and little did I know that I would get to see my breakfast again in a few minutes.
In my mind, I just knew that we had to be finished working out, my poor legs were screaming. I had never experienced anything like this, and then it happened. I felt this cold chill all over my body, and then that feeling, you know the one that I am talking about. I got to the bathroom, just in time to see my breakfast again. I made my way to the sink,washed my face, which was a pale white and then made my way back to the gym floor. He looked up and me and ask if I was ok? Yep, I said, what’s next? He just smiled and finished up his last set of leg presses, about 2000lbs as best I remember.
I have never felt pain in my legs like I did the next day. I think I stood in the shower for an hour just letting the hot water hit them. Walking was a next to impossible task. The one thing that I do need to mention was in the two years that we trained we only did squats once. That’s right; the man that won several pro shows, placed in the top 5 of the Olympia didn’t have squats as a main exercise for his legs.
We made our way back to his office, I looked up at the clockand it was at that time I noticed we had only workout out for a little over an hour. He looked at me and asks, did it seem like we were out there longer? Hell yes, I responded. You can work out with intensity for a short amount of time but you cannot for an extended amount of time. Those guys that are in the gym for hours are not doing it correctly.
His words would ring in my ears for the rest of my life. Train hard, with intensity and get out. I only puked that one time, but there was many times that I would have to lay down and rest, but I never gave up, I absorbed as much knowledge as I could. I will never forget when we were working out chest one day. We had just finished up with Flat DB presses and moved over to BB incline presses. There was 135 on the bar and my friend went first, he grabbed the bar and lowered it for one rep. Then got up. What’s wrongI ask? It doesn’t feel right he said. Now I had seen him do this same move with 300 plus and never a word but he was so aware of his body that he knew something wasn’t right. We moved on to another exercise and completed our workout. He would later tell me, there is a big difference between pain and being hurt, you have to be aware ofthe difference. We discussed the incline and what was going on. He said it could have been the angle, or anything but he felt a pressure in his pec that didn’t feel right and he wasn’t going to push it.
Regardless of whom you are or what you do, one must know his limits.
The one thing that many people don’t understand is that amount of food that pro’s actually eat. I remember that on more than one occasion we would leave the gym, go and eat. Eating was just as much of an event as training was. Often we would eat a huge salad with fat free dressing and two huge chicken breast and a plate full of rice. On days that I was off work, many times we would head back to his place or go watch a movie. I remember one day we were chilling at his place and he ask me if I wanted a snack. Sure, why not. I got a dozen egg whites and a chicken breast, for a snack. If I spent the entire day with him, he made me eat every meal with him. I have never, eaten that much food in my life. I would often tell him he was a Power eater. He would just laugh at me. Food was so important that I remember we went to the movies one time and in the middle of the show, he pulled out a chicken breast in one hand and a baked potato in the other. He just looked at me and smiled.
We didn’t set around and talk about what a lot of people would think. We didn’t talk about bulking cycles or cutting cycles. We had conversations about life, relationships, family and the world. The only time that I do remember us talking about gear was right before I moved again. He was setting on his couch and out of the blue he called me by name and said that insulin and growth hormone will be the death of bodybuilding. I ask him to explain whathe was thinking. “I always wanted to have that X frame, a big chest and shoulders, tiny waist, and big legs. Those days will be gone, you will have huge bellies but ripped to the bone, no more tiny waists and it will be mass monsters that rule the stage. When you can take chemicals and set on your couch and feel yourself growing, there is something not quite right about that." He was correct.
Having had the experience of training with him for two years, I was able to learn things that most people will never know. It is a different world for the pros than for the typical gym rat. The dedication both in and out of the gym is unreal. The intensity that it takes to be a pro is something than many people will never grasp.
