All In The Family

I was 46 years old and had spent more than half of my life in the gym. My wife and I had been going to the same gym for over 10 years. Three of our six children were active participants in various fitness regimens and one of my daughters had 3 competitions under her belt. Like many of you, I had trained hard, built a good amount of muscle and followed what I thought was a good diet. I lived in a smaller community, was one of the bigger guys around, and looked good in the gym. However, when no one was around; when it was just me, my wife and my fam-ily, I shared my dreams of becom-ing a competitive bodybuilder.

Tell me if you ever heard this one? I thought that if I could just put on another 20-30 lbs. then maybe I could compete sometime. The more I thought about the task at hand of building all that muscle and looking like the guys in the magazines, the further and further my dream drifted away out of my reach.

Then one day as I was going through my normal routine, chance happened (di-vine intervention). The general manager of my gym, Jeremiah Forster, a former Beverly employee and cover man for No-Nonsense, and I were discussing my wife and a few struggles she was facing with her personal training. By the end of the conversation the focus drifted to me. The question was asked, “So, are you ever going to compete?” I had thought about it, but I simply replied that I needed to pack on some mass before even thinking about looking at a show. Jeremiah suggested that we have a formal consultation the next day.

The following day Jeremiah tested my body composition. I weighed 215lbs with 8.9% body fat and slightly less than 20lbs of fat on my body. I was leaner than I thought! Jeremiah told me I could go on dreaming forever or start getting ready to compete NOW. He said I definitely had enough muscle to hold my own against bodybuilders half my age and was lean enough to do a show in 4 months. By the end of the consultation, I had my diet, a new workout and a specialized supplement regimen that were targeted to my specific needs. (See Nutrition, Training, and Supplement sections for the specifics.)

Jeremiah said we could negotiate on diet and training, but there would be zero negotiating on supplements. He went on to explain his history with Beverly Interna-tional, the integrity of the company and the supreme trust he had in the products. It would be Beverly and Beverly ONLY!

I had about 16 weeks to drop 10lbs of fat and build a little muscle in the process. Since I’d already been eating a clean bodybuilding diet for many years, Jeremiah and I decided that I would need a strict and precise plan – zero deviation, zero temptation, and no guess work.

Jeremiah formulated my plan on an Excel spreadsheet. Each of my meals was calculated down to the ounce. I had to stick to the exact foods, the exact amounts. There was no gray area. Hey, if I just wanted gym muscles I could eat like everyone else. But if I wanted to look great on stage, I had to eat with precision in a way that not too many people are willing to do.

Each week we would test my body fat, discuss my overall feedback, and adjust the nutrition and supplements based on my results. I was eating more food (from more nutrient dense sources) than previously, taking fewer supplements (but better quality and in a targeted plan), and after 1 month my results were:
 

4 lbs. of fat lost and 4 lbs. of muscle gained. My weight stayed the same, but I was getting bigger and leaner at the same time. In just a month I went from a “wanna be” bodybuilder to someone who not only could see the road ahead, but already was visualizing how I was going to look on stage. The results from my Beverly Supplement regimen were al-most immediately noticeable. I’d never put on muscle so quickly, never recovered so quickly, or even felt this good. I had taken some Beverly in the past but never exclusively or in a precision plan. My physique looked completely different in a month. Soon my daughter and I weren’t the only Beverly users in the family. My wife used at least 5 of the products, and the rest of my family and many of my friends started using Beverly. If you visited our house, you’d literally see that half of our pantry is Beverly.

Fast forward to 1 month out. I was under 200 lbs. and looking ripped, but Jeremiah cautioned me. He said I still had a couple of pounds to lose and those 2-3 pounds would make a huge difference on how I looked on stage. He told me many guys look phenomenal in the gym a month out, but are unwilling to go through the very difficult final 4 weeks that takes you from looking great in the gym to great on stage.

Let me tell you, that last month was tough! I can see why many bodybuilders either give up entirely or start alienating everyone around them with their selfish attitude. But my entire family was there for me. They were my rock, my support, my encouragement and my light when I needed them most. I don’t think they fully understood how much their participation helped. They went to the gym with me (getting into the best shape of their lives as well). They held me accountable to my diet; they videotaped my posing sessions, offered their critiques, and continually gave me feedback.

My nutrition the final 4 weeks was quite challenging. My diet became more re-strictive while my cardio increased. I felt depleted, I was tired and my brain was telling me to quit. I’d find myself drooling when the Food Network was on TV. My only refuge was my wife, my fam-ily, and the confidence that the plan was working.

At the beginning of my diet the low-calorie day was only about 500 calories less than the high-calorie base diet. But, as the show got closer, the fat got harder to lose. Jeremiah started making the low-calorie day more restrictive (progressively fewer carbs and calories) while keeping my base diet the same. With 2 weeks to go Jeremiah made a final adjustment that would strip the remaining extra one pound of fat off me. Now, I’d follow one day on the base diet with 2 low-calorie days. This simple change made all of the difference in the world. I went from ripped to shredded.

I met with Jeremiah one final time eager to see what my final week would look like. I had buddies who told me about all this crazy stuff they did during their final week. But to my surprise, Jeremiah’s changes were minimal. He told me that if I was in great shape a week out that I was going to look great the day of the show. He re-introduced carbs on Wednesday, starting off very high and then tapering them down each day into the show. My water intake followed the same protocol – higher intake on Wednesday and a little less each subsequent day. My sodium intake decreased some but was never eliminated. I took in enough carbs to refuel my depleted glycogen stores and I was very careful of my water, sodium and potassium balance. My carbs consisted of mainly white potatoes (due to being simple and loaded with potassium) as well as sweet potatoes and rice cakes.

By the day of the show I was full, hard, dry and shredded. Every-thing came together just as Jeremiah promised. I looked even better than I had dreamed. Some people don’t like getting on stage, but not Joey Martinolich. I hammed it up, nailed my posing routine and looked like a polished pro on stage. My goal from the beginning was to get to the show and look like I had been therefore. I walked away with two 1st place trophies, but the best part was sharing those moments with my wife, family and friends. I can honestly say that all the work and suffering was worth it and I had the time of my life.

Since that show I have competed again and was even better at my second show. Now I am happy to take all the love, support and knowledge that I experienced get-ting ready for my first show and help others who share my dream with support and advice.

I think bodybuilding is more than dudes grunting, pushing weight and looking at ourselves in the mirror. It is more than getting in a speedo, throwing some oil on and flexing in front of a lot of people. Bodybuilding to me is the battle we all face between what we have the capacity to achieve and what we settle for. Don’t give up on your dreams!

Now let me show you what I did to make this transformation.

Advice  from Joey's trainer Jeremiah Forster

I have more than 20 years’ experience as a per-sonal trainer. I started as a “contest prep coach” in 2000 when I was taught how to do so by Roger and Sandy at Beverly International. I have helped several clients accomplish what they thought impossible. These range from dreams of representing themselves on stage with pride in their first contest to numerous 1st places. I am happily married with 4 beautiful children. My online training business has now turned into a fitness ministry. www.jeremiahforster.com
 

Training

Over the years I have prepared hundreds of training programs. These workouts range from basic bodybuilding training to very complex optimum performance training, kettlebells, etc. As Roger once told me, “All training works until it stops working.” No matter what your goal is, PROGRESSION is a universal truth that never lies. Progression is a deliberate increase in your repetitions, weight, decreased time between sets or the amount of time under tension. Every workout plan should have a component of planned progression. Once progression cannot be made in any of the above scenarios, then and only then should your workout be changed. There is no magic length of time to a workout, there is only progress. If you are still progress-ing, you are doing the right workout; if you are not, then you should change your workout. That brings up a good point, how do you know you are making progress if you are not tracking your progress? How many notebooks or notes on phones or tablets have you seen in the gym? I suggest you start recording your workout today.

DIET

As with training there is no one diet that is the end all and be all. However, certain body types react differently to different foods and macronutrient ratios. PRECISION IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN YOUR NUTRITION. If you are precise in following your base diet, you or your trainer will be able to adjust it easily to attain a specific goal – whether it be fat loss, muscle gain, or contest prep. Your results become a mathematic equation not a hope and a prayer.

SUPPLEMENTS

I do not believe you need 20 different supplements to be successful. Start with a basic supplement plan of the essentials that you take year round. Then add a couple more that will help you achieve your specific goal. I’d rather you concentrate on really getting the maximum benefit from 2 or 3 targeted supplements, than see you trying everything under the Sun. Which do you think is more effective? One pill of 20 different supplements or 2-3 scoops each of Muscle Synergy, Creatine Select, and Glutamine Select per day? Once you choose the correct supplements be sure to take the recommended amounts or even a little more, to see the most benefits.

CONTEST GUIDANCE

Before your contest prep begins, search your soul, look in the mirror, and have a long, hard talk with yourself. Are you willing to make the sacrifices that contest prep requires? If the time isn’t right yet, it’s okay to put it off. Starting something and then quitting can be damaging to your spirit, finishing something is empowering. Don’t just go through the motions of your contest prep, do it with excellence. Give your best effort day in and day out to your diet, training, cardio, and posing. Why? Because little is more satisfying than knowing you gave your heart and soul to achieving something. In my experience, pure and full dedication always produces life's sweetest rewards.