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Well, contest time is here again! After a very tough year (see Latest News for September - The Year of Pain), I have finally made it. In a year filled with injuries and setbacks, I didn't know if I would even make it to the contest stage in 2002 but I am happy to say that everything worked out in the end and I was able to get back in top shape in time to compete. Of course, as you may have heard it said before, bodybuilding is not really an individual sport. Although it's true that we step onstage with nothing except our posing trunks, getting to that contest stage usually requires a lot of help from many other people in order to reach peak condition. I am like so many other bodybuilders in that I have had a tremendous amount of help from my support team. It's possible to compete without any help but it sure makes it easier when you have the backing of people who care about you and go out of their way to make your dream a reality. So, before I step onstage on November 9th and November 17th, I want to dedicate this Latest News edition to the people in my life who gave me the tremendous help and support that I needed in order to again reach top condition. These people mean alot to me because they unselfishly gave of themselves just to help me. Thanks again guys!!
My Training Partner - Mike Uhlir - Those of you who read my 2001 Training Diary know that Mike was my training partner last year as I prepared for the Natural Olympia in Hawaii. Mike, like all good training partners, has all the qualities that are important in helping me get ready to compete. He is supportive and was there with me every step of the way. No matter what I wanted to do in the gym, what days I wanted to train, what crazy workout routine I wanted to try, Mike was with me 100%. I may have been able to make it to the competition training by myself but I almost certainly wouldn't have had the effective workouts that I was able to achieve with Mike helping me out. Mike also went above and beyond the call of duty by diligently applying my "color" in the days preceding the competition. Anyone who has done this for a bodybuilder knows that it is not the best job in the world but Mike still did it without any hesitation. Thanks Mike!
My Chiropractor - Dr. Timothy Radcliffe - Dr. Radcliffe has been my chiropractor since 1995 and he has helped me out on many occasions. Competition training is very intense and, with the reduced calorie intake, the odds of becoming injured are very high. I cannot tell you how many times I have been injured when a contest was right around the corner. Dr. Radcliffe has literally saved me each and every time. This year, the challenge was even greater due to the strained ligament in my lower back. My workout routine was seriously compromised and I had to really work around my training to find the right movements to use without re-injuring my back and causing me further delay in getting back to competition style training. Because Dr. Tim has a background in powerlifting and is an avid weight trainer himself, he is very familiar with the exercises I use in my training and we were able to work together to devise a way around this serious injury. Ligaments take a very long time to heal but by working with Dr. Radcliffe, I was FINALLY able to get better and I never had to completely stop training during the course of my injury. Thanks, Tim, for your patience and diligence in helping me overcome yet another injury on my way to the competition stage. I literally couldn't have done it without you!
My Sound Man - Dwayne Pliska - Competing in a bodybuilding contest requires a posing routine that is set to music. Bodybuilders have the challenge of not only choosing the right poses to use during their routine but also choreographing those movements to music of their choice. Due to the large number of competitors in a typical contest, all bodybuilders are limited in their routines to only 60-90 seconds of posing time. This can prove to be difficult for a bodybuilder since they now have to edit down their chosen piece of music in such a way that it will still be an effective musical selection for their posing routine. Luckily, I had the help of my friend Dwayne Pliska who is a DJ on the weekends (www.partyallnitedj.com). Dwayne has all the sound equipment right in the basement of his home and he was able to quickly edit my chosen song down to the required time limit while still retaining all the power and emotion that attracted me to the song in the first place. His talent in editing and creating my music helped me in constructing a posing routine that I was really proud of. I encourage all bodybuilders in search of some help in editing down their posing music to send Dwayne an email (partyallnitedj@aol.com) so he can help you as much as he did me. Thanks to the wonderful use of the internet, Dwayne can help anyone from any part of the country by downloading their music for them. You don't have to live in the same area like I do in order to have your music specially designed for you. Dwayne is very easy to work with and he'll give you what you need to show your physique off in the best light possible. Thanks for help, Dwayne!
My Girlfriend (and Massage Therapist) - Suzi Abughazaleh - Last, but certainly not least, I would like to mention my girlfriend, Suzi. As anyone who has competed in a bodybuilding contest (or has had a relationship with a bodybuilder) can attest, getting ready for a competition can truly test the strongest of relationships. The closer a bodybuilder gets to stepping onstage, the more the focus becomes ME, ME, ME. This is necessary in order to reach peak condition in time for the show since a bodybuilder has to be concerned with their diet, training, water intake, supplements, rest, posing, weak bodyparts, injuries, etc, etc, etc. All these variables make a big difference in how your physique will look come judgement day. Toward the end of the preparation, most bodybuilders become borderline obsessive with their own physiques in order to be the best they can be on the day it counts. To the uninitiated, this compulsive focus on their own bodies can be interpeted as just a little bit narcissistic. However, this type of behavior is truly necessary in order to get it all together for the contest. A compassionate spouse or significant other will understand that their own little obsessive bodybuilder is just "going through a phase" and everything will be ok after the contest is over. My hat goes off to Suzi (who has never dated or even officially knew a bodybuilder before me) for being so patient and understanding of my obsessiveness and focus during the final weeks before the big event. She was there for me during my months of frustration from my injuries when I couldn't train and she was there for me during my many months of dieting in order to be properly defined for the competition. Take it from me (and I've got a long list of ex-girlfriends to prove it), most women cannot handle the "rejection" that comes with the territory when a bodybuilder focuses solely on his body and not hers during the contest prep period. Suzi was there for the duration and I owe her big time after the contest is finished. Thanks Honey!! Finally, I want to thank all the people out there in internet land who take the time to write and wish me the best of luck in my competition ventures. I truly appreciate the support and I find it very flattering that you would take time from your busy schedules to write to me and say such nice things. It makes the restrictive dieting and brutally hard training much easier when I have the support and backing from so many people around the world. Thank you so much!!
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