Five Decades and Still Training

The following year I entered OSU and joined the OSU Barbell Club. I began training with folks who were much stronger and muscular than I ever dreamed I could be. Lifting progressively and eating more than I should, I gained weight and felt I was on my way. Then bam! My lifting friends at the club told me about the Mr. OSU competition. I entered and placed 4th out of 15 bodybuilders (there was only one class and only 15 competitors back then!). I was ecstatic. The following year I tried again and placed 3rd out of 13 and brought home my first hardware. That was June 1977.

Then in 1978, something much bigger than bodybuilding touched my life forever. I met my wife of 43 years, the love of my life, and everything changed for the better. I asked her just one thing. Would you please allow me to keep training and pursue my bodybuilding dreams? Sounds easy, right? Not. I quickly learned that a marriage takes two committed people who are in love and are willing to compromise for the good of the marriage. Well, with the help of the good Lord, 43 years speaks for itself. That same year I began a lifelong career working for the state of Ohio. In 1984, I competed in eight bodybuilding shows and acquired eight more trophies, including a first place.

Twenty years passed. I never stopped training. I never stopped dieting. I never skipped. But I didn’t compete. I missed it. I missed it a lot. Now I realize it was okay, and here’s why… During that time, we had two beautiful kids who later in life blessed us with six grandkids. The time away was well worth it.

In 2004, Arnold Classic winner Mike Francois and BEVERLY INTERNATIONAL entered my life. Driving home from the grocery one evening, my wife and I noticed a sign by the road advertising “The Mike Francois Classic.” Living in Westerville, Ohio, for several years, I had heard of Mike, and his Arnold Classic win. Long story short, we attended the show, and later as we walked to the car, I asked my wife a “loaded” question. “So…in the masters division, Hon, how do you think I would’ve done?” She responded, “Probably 5th”. I thought, BAM! I’m back! The following week I met with Mike and began to train as if my life depended on it. The next year, 2005, I did place 5th in the masters division of the Francois Classic! My wife had nailed it!

I can’t say enough about Beverly and Mike Francois. Both are world-class on several levels. Mike is such a wonderfully humble guy who reached the pinnacle of our sport. He highly recommended Beverly International products, which I continue to use to this very day. Beverly’s Ultimate Muscle Protein (UMP) has always been my favorite, along with their Super Pak vitamin minerals and Mass Aminos. With ingredients and macros designed for the bodybuilder in mind, I use these Beverly products up to and including the day of the show.

With Mike’s help, I went onto win 14 masters division titles in NPC national qualifying contests. I qualified for OPEN national competitions twice with first or second-place finishes in open classes against competitors half my age. I guess the cliché “age is just a number” is true. During that time, I also judged several NPC national qualifying events. Thank you, Mike, and thank you, Beverly!

Training

I train seven days a week on a six-day lifting split. Fasting cardio/core daily. When I was younger, I would train in the evenings. As I approached retirement, I was able to train on an extended lunch. Now that I’m retired, I do fasting cardio/core after my morning coffee and Beverly’s Mass Aminos. Two hours later, after breakfast, I train with bands and weights. Through the years, as I aged, I’ve modified my training to accommodate injuries, my arthritic predisposition, and to mitigate sarcopenia. Beverly’s UMP has dramatically helped in slowing & ultimately stopping my sarcopenia over the past 16 years. My baseline workout schedule has remained essentially the same for over 50 years. (I know you’re supposed to change it up, but I do vary the exercises and have replaced certain movements with an equivalent more conducive to what my body can tolerate without sacrificing the workload for a particular muscle group.)

For example, I’ve replaced barbell squats with the leverage squat machine to reduce the strain on cervical vertebrae due to my cervical fusion. Another cool example is using high bands for bench pressing. Attaching bands from the top of a power rack deloads resistance at your chest (taking the strain off the shoulders) and reloads the resistance at the top of the press. Chains are also employed in various movements. It’s important to note that I use Iron Rebel elbow sleeves for upper body days and Inzer squat briefs for leg days. These provide critical support for vulnerable joints. With the help of Beverly International nutritional support, which I believe is precisely 50% of attaining an optimum physique and fitness, I’m thankful I can still train intensely to maximize my results over time.

Daily (including Sunday): Fasting Cardio/Core

Recumbent bike
Treadmill
Hypers
Reverse hypers
Sit-ups
Twists 

Mondays & Thursdays: Chest & Back

Band Chest Press supersetted with Band Chest Flyes: 4x20 using progressively heavier bands
Low Band Bench Press: 1x12, 1x6
High Band Bench Press: 1x10, 1x6, 1x3
Barbell Bench Press: 1x10, 1x6, 1x3
DB Bench Press: 1x12-15, 1x8-10, 1x5-7, 1x4-5
Cable Flyes: 1x15 (off season), 3x15 (contest)
Seated Iso-Row Machine (or Seated Cable Rows): 1x15, 1x10, 1x8, 1x6
DB Shrugs: 1x15, 1x10, 1x8, 1x6

Contest chest & back finisher:
Superset Bench Press with Lat Pulldowns: 3x10

Tuesdays & Fridays: Shoulders & Arms

Band warm-ups for shoulders: 2x20 Rehab Band Lateral Raise, Front Raise, Rear Delt Stretch
Shoulder Horn: 1x10
Seated Dumbbell Press: 1x20, 1x15, 1x10, 1x5, 1x10 Pump Set
Lateral Dumbbell Raise (Supersetted With Dumbbell Press):
1x20, 1x15, 1x10, 1x5, 1x15
Standing 5/8” Chain Curls supersetted with Tricep Pushdowns: 5x10
EZ Curls supersetted with Band Assisted Dips: 5x10

Wednesdays & Saturdays: Legs

Bodyweight Squats: 1x50
Leverage Squats: 2x10, 1x5
Belt Squat: 2x10, 1x5
Leg Press: 2x10, 1x5
Seated Calf Raise: 5x10, 1x30 (drop burn set)

Nutrition and Supplements

I believe proper nutrition and Beverly International supplements account for at least 50% of my bodybuilding longevity and success. I generally eat 4-6 meals or snacks each day. As an integral part
of meal prep, I fix two “casseroles” that will last 3-4 days. The first casserole is a breakfast-style casserole; the second casserole is a dinner-style casserole. The breakfast casserole consists of egg whites and vegetables. The dinner casserole consists of fat-free ground turkey breast, egg whites, and vegetables. I keep my diet clean except for cheat meals every fourth Saturday. It’s incredible how a cheat meal “refeeds” your body after eating clean for extended periods.

I define eating clean by following my macros closely, keeping simple carbs very low, and allowing for some “good” fats. Good fats include wild-caught salmon, sardines, chia, flax, extra virgin cold-pressed olive oil, and almonds. What’s nice about Beverly’s Muscle Provider and Ultimate Muscle Protein (UMP) is they’re probably the “cleanest” proteins available which fit perfectly into my nutrition plan.

The major difference between my off-season and contest diet is reducing fats and reducing complex carbs. Though it’s not an exact science, I monitor how I look weeks leading up to the contest and adjust accordingly to dial in.

Upon Arising: 12oz black coffee with 5 Beverly Mass Amino tablets

Meal One: 8-12oz of the breakfast casserole (egg whites and vegetables, 2 whole eggs fried in olive oil), turmeric tea

Meal Two (pre-workout): 1 scoop Beverly UMP, liquid egg whites, cinnamon, ground almonds, chia, and flax

Meal Three (post-workout): 2 scoops Muscle Provider, ground almonds, chia, and flax

Meal Four: 6-8oz chicken breast tenders, 8oz greens, medium sweet potato or 6oz brown rice

Meal Five: 8-12oz dinner casserole (fat-free ground turkey breast, egg whites, and vegetables), 6oz nonfat cottage cheese

Meal Six: 2 scoops Beverly UMP, egg whites, cinnamon, ground almonds, chia, and flax

Daily Supplements

1 Super Pak vitamin-mineral packet 5 scoops UMP or Muscle Provider (meal two, meal three, meal six)\

20-30 Mass Amino tablets

10-20 Lean Out capsules

10 Joint Care capsules

10-20 Muscularity capsules (contest)

10-20 Density EAAs (contest)

Closing Thoughts

Early in my career, I was totally focused on bodybuilding as a lifestyle and winning bodybuilding titles. As time progressed, I gained perspective on life but retained the work ethic and discipline from our sport to help me be a leader for my family life in general. I am so grateful, and God has blessed me richly. In terms of health & fitness, to me, it’s an equation of equal parts:

Nutrition (with Beverly’s help!) + Weight Training + Determination = Health & Fitness