Step Out of Your Comfort Zone

There I was, all 5’1”, 79 pounds of me asking my father to send me to weight lifting camp the summer prior to my freshman year of high school. Looking back, I’m not sure what I was thinking, but now realize what my father was probably thinking- but he sent me anyway. I still remember the looks on the coaches who ran the camp when I walked in. I didn’t even know which way to lay on the bench, and that 45lb bar felt like a ton, but I didn’t care. Even though I was clueless about weight training, deep down inside me, I knew this was where I belonged.

Now, at 45 years old, I still feel the same when I walk into the gym. Hopefully, by writing this article I will motivate at least one person to step out of their comfort zone and step into a gym for the first time – or go back to the gym after a long layoff. Regardless, I urge you to step out of your comfort zone and head to your local gym.

In high school I was a runner; sure, I lifted weights but I was a runner. My college recreation center was amazing and I frequented the gym there, but still my focus was as a runner. After graduation, yes, still a runner, lifting on the side- 5k, 10k, half marathons, ultra-marathons- you name it I ran it!

I was introduced to Beverly International in 2002 at the Gold’s Gym in Alexandria, KY and upon tasting UMP I have never considered any other brand. As a runner I used Glutamine Select immediately post run and UMP soon thereafter. I started to learn how to properly fuel my body from the No Nonsense magazine. I’d read every word in each magazine making notes on how people trained; their favorite lifts, and their splits. An amazing thing happened, the more I lifted, the better my running became. I was able to go further and faster. The stronger I became the faster I got.

I started running at age 13. Twenty six years later, yes 26 years later, I won my first race. Most people would have given up by that point, but let me say that 26 years of training for that first win made it that much sweeter. That year I was able to win multiple races, finishing up 2012 by winning a 30-mile road race in cold, windy, rainy conditions. Then a few years later, at 42 years old, I hit a new personal best at the marathon distance completing the Flying Pig Marathon at 2 hours and 50 minutes.

A week after that race I decided I wanted to enter a bodybuilding show. Talk about stepping out of my comfort zone! I sent in my entry for the NPC Kentucky Open in August, 2015, but a week before the show my appendix had different ideas. Post-surgery I focused on recovery and realized that the Natural Northern Kentucky was coming up. I began preparing as soon as I was allowed to get back to lifting. I made up for lost time with my diet and training and came into that October show completely conditioned. I won my class, but missed out on an overall win in the Mens Physique division.

Next, I prepped for the Northern Kentucky Grand Prix the following spring and came in as one of the best conditioned in my division. I won the Masters Mens Physique, but that was it. I was just too small to win the open. I competed in two more shows where I sacrificed conditioning for a little more size and missed the top spot due to not being lean enough. Remember, it took me 26 years of running before I won my first race, so I wasn’t about to give up yet.

I went back to my key bodybuilding info resource, Beverly’s No Nonsense magazine, and came across an article on Dave Uhlman. I asked around and couldn’t find anyone who did not praise his physique coaching ability. Something that really struck my interest was that he was still stepping on stage in his 40s!!!

I contacted Dave 10 weeks out from my upcoming show, the NGA Kentucky Natural Classic. He immediately went to work refining my diet and training. For the first time, I started gaining muscle mass while I lost fat. Dave had me working harder in the gym and eating more than I ever had before leading up to a contest. I came into that show with a physique unlike anything I ever imagined I’d have. I was both “full” and “hard”. I won my class, the Masters class and “finally” took that elusive overall spot in the open Mens Physique division, earning my NGA Pro Card at 44 years old

Training

Every week’s workout varies, but this is a good example.

SS denotes superset.

Monday: Legs - focus on Quads

• Single Leg Extensions - 3 sets to warm up
• Leg Press (feet low on plate) - 5 x 16,12,10,6,6
• Elevated-heel Squats - 5 x 8-12 (increasing weight each set)
• Hack Squat – 7 x 16,12,10,8,6,10,16
• Leg Extension - 5 x 20
• Seated Calf Raise - 5 x 20

Tuesday: Chest – focus on upper chest with higher reps

• Incline Bench - 3 sets with just the bar to warm up
• Incline DB Press - 5 x 16,12,10,8,6
• Incline Cable Flyes - 5 x 16
• Incline DB Svend Press - 3 x 10-12
• Low Incline Around the Worlds – 3 x 12
SS Pushup (on exercise ball) - 3 x 12
• DB Pullover – 3 x 10-12
• Underhand DB Front Raise (targeting upper chest) - 5 x 12 each side

Wednesday: Back – squeeze each rep

• Straight Arm Pulldown - 3 sets to warm up and stretch
• Deadlift - 5 x 8-12 (increasing weight)
• Close Grip Seated Row - 5 x 8-12
• Bentover Row (with close, underhand grip) - 5 x 16,14,12,10,8
• Parallel Grip Pulldown (heavy) - 3 x 10-12 reps
• One-Arm Dumbbell Row - 3 drop sets x 6 (18 reps total)
• Pullup (varying grip) - 3 sets to failure

Thursday: Shoulders and Biceps - so many people forget about the eccentric movement especially while doing shoulders. Making the lifts as hard as possible is the goal here.

• Standing Military Press - 3 sets with just the bar to warm up
• DB Press - 5 x 16,12,10,8,6
SS with Seated Dumbbell Curl - 5 sets of 12
• Arnold Press - 3 x 8-12
SS Concentration Curl - 3 x 12
• Upright Row (light) - 5 x 12-16
SS Seated Laterals (heavy) - 5 x 8-12
• Front DB Raise – 3 x 8-12
SS Cable Front Raise - 3 x 12-16
• Landmine Press - 5 x 12-16 (each arm to burn out the delts)

Friday: Legs - focus on Hamstrings

• Walking Lunge – 3 sets to warm (no weight)
• Squat - 5 x 16,12,10,8,6
• Leg Press (feet high on plate) - 5 x 16,12,10,8,6
• DB Walking Squats - 5 x 20 steps
• V Squat Machine - 3 drop sets of 6 (18 reps total each set)
• Lying Leg Curl - 5 x 12-16
• Standing Calf Raises - 3 x 20

Saturday: Rest

Sunday: Chest and Triceps - slow and heavy- it’s Sunday take your time and enjoy

• Bench Press - 3 sets with just the bar to warm up
• Flat DB Press - 7 x 16,12,10,8,6,10,12
• Flat DB Svend Press - 5 x 8
• Incline Smith Machine Press – 3 x 8-12
SS High Cable Flyes - 3 x 8-12
• Landmine Press - 3 x 8-12
SS Low Incline Around the Worlds - 3 x 12
• Weighted Dips - 5 sets to failure (heavy)
• Incline Skull Crushers - 3 x 12
SS Rope Extensions - 3 x 12

Note: I do core workouts after my fasted cardio focusing on abs one day and obliques the next. I normally do these as my breakfast cooks.