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Well,
here it is, contest prep time again! It seems like only yesterday
when I was putting myself through calorie deprivation in order
to rid my body of any subcutaneous fat so I could walk onstage
ripped and ready. Of course, we all know what happened last year.
I picked up a heavy dog kennel, ripped my right bicep tendon off
the bone and BOOM!, there goes ten months of intense training
and 16 weeks of dieting down the drain!
But
that was then and this is now. I had surgery to reattach the tendon
and, although it's been a long and slow road back, I now have
full supination in my right arm again. I began my pre-contest
diet 3 weeks ago and I now (as of July 7th) have exactly 17 weeks
left until the Natural Olympia competition on November 3rd, 2001.
I
began my diet at a bulked up 240 pounds which is the heaviest
I've been since 1996. I really don't know what bodyweight I will
compete at this year. Since the ABA holds all of their competitions
in height divisions, I will not be shooting for any particular
weight class. I imagine I will end up somewhere between 205-210
pounds. As long as I'm ripped and full, I really don't care what
I weigh.
My
strength has come back pretty good, especially on legs. I squatted
435 pounds for 6 reps last week and that's heavy for me. I'd like
to get up to 455 pounds before this diet really kicks in. My upper
body has been coming along a little slower but it's getting there.
My right arm is still 1/2 inch smaller than my left but I have
not started to train biceps yet. I'm hoping to begin training
them in the next four weeks.
The
only exercises that I have not been able to do because of my arm
is Side Lateral Raises for the delts and Wide-Grip Chins and Bent-Over
Rows for my back. I have to be very careful of the strain to the
supinator muscles in my forearm. I'm getting stronger on the Side
Lateral Raises and I'm still able to train my back with Close-Grip
Chins, T-Bar Rows, Seated Cable Rows, One-Arm Dumbbell Rows and
Deadlifts. I'm hoping to be pain free on everything with 12 weeks
left until the contest.
On
another front, my personal training business has really taken
off in the last month or two and I was able to finally quit my
part-time job at the airport. It was a decent job but it really
isn't worth the risk of getting injured after what happened last
year. Now that the personal training has increased, I can leave
the airport and not look back.
I
really enjoy what I'm doing and I wish I would have started my
own personal training business full-time years ago. My business
is called John Hansen's Fit Physiques and I'm training a variety
of clients, all ages and both men and women alike all with different
types of goals. If you're ever in the Chicagoland area and would
like to schedule a workout or if you know of anyone who would
benefit from training with Mr. Natural Olympia, give me a call
toll-free at 1-800-900-8648. I'm going to be posting some pictures
soon on my website of my clients and the progress they are making.
Watch for it!
I've
been talking to IronMan Magazine and there's a good possibility
that we are going to run another Training Diary this year as I
get ready to compete in the Natural Olympia. This time, the Diary
would be updated daily and it would run on 3 websites simultaneously,
IronMan Magazine (www.ironmanmagazine.com), Muscle-Link (www.muscle-link.com)
and mine. It sounds pretty exciting so keep checking back to this
website. If we are going to do it, it will probably be very soon
so watch for it!
The
ABA is going to be holding their first competition in the Chicagoland
area on July 28. It will be held at Jefferson High School in Rockford
and I will be there to support their first event in this area.
Plans are underway for me to give a seminar in the afternoon so
I'm looking forward to that. Check out the ABA website at www.naturalbodybuilding.com
for more info or call Denny Kakos at 909-734-3900. If you're in
the area, stop by and check out the competition and say hi!
That's
it for now, gang. I'm focused and all psyched up for the competition
this year. The injury last year made me hungrier than ever and
I am relishing the challenge of getting into competition shape
this year and getting back onstage. I plan on being better than
ever so get ready for a wild ride to the top!!
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