Updated November 19th, 2001
NOVEMBER CONTEST RESULTS

First of all, I want to thank everyone out there for all your support and emails. I received an incredible amount of emails wishing me good luck and inquiring how I did in the contest. I'm thankful for your interest and I'm also very pleased that so many of you liked the 2001 Training Diary this year. Unfortunately, the end result was a letdown but I was very happy with how the Training Diary turned out.

Anyway, back to the contest I was getting ready for, the Natural Olympia in Honolulu, Hawaii. For those of you following my 2001 Training Diary, you know that I was in great shape with only one week to go on Sunday, October 28th, 2001. I weighed 208.6 pounds at the gym that evening and I felt I was right on target with only a little bit of fluid left to lose by the end of the week. 

I left for Hawaii on Tuesday morning, October 30th. I had a very busy day on Monday training my clients and trying to get everything tied up before leaving for my long trip. After I finished packing all my food and supplements in addition to my clothes, I was able to go to bed at 2:00 am. Since our plane was leaving at 6:30 in the morning and everyone is now required to be at the airport two hours early, we had to leave for the airport at 4:00 am. This left me with a total of 50 minutes to sleep that night!

As anyone who has taken an airplane anywhere since September 11 of this year can verify, flying is no longer a pleasurable experience. I was one of the lucky ones who was "randomly" selected to have my luggage inspected. Since I had numerous bags of protein powder and other supplements stored in my luggage, I started to stress out that they were going to confiscate the various bags of "powder" with all this stupid Anthrax scare going on. Luckily, the inspectors were understanding and they didn't say anything when I explained that I was traveling to compete in a bodybuilding contest. 

We were finally on our way on the long flight to Hawaii. We arrived at 6:30 pm Hawaii time (11:30 pm our time) which translated to 17 hours in the air! To say that I was feeling a little flat and drained at this time is an understatement! I did my best to stay on my diet during the long flights and the layovers and I also drank a ton of water but it was still a very exhausting flight.

My plan was to spend a few days in Maui relaxing with my parents who were on vacation at the time. Then, after spending most of the week in Maui, my friend Dennis and I were going to hop on a plane to Honolulu on Friday. The registration and drug-testing for the competition was scheduled for Friday evening with the pre-judging set for Saturday afternoon and the finals on Sunday afternoon.

As soon as my parents picked us up at the airport, they took me to a store so I could buy all the food I would need for the week. Since they were renting a condo while on vacation, I would have all the luxuries of home to prepare my food during my last few days before the competition. It looked like everything was set up perfect so I could reach my peak. So, what went wrong?

Looking back, I can see I was much too worried about the little bit of water retention over my lower abs. I lowered my calories too much that final week and that, along with the traveling, is what caused me to flatten out. The stress also didn't help. It was like a double edged sword. I was holding water which caused me to stress out more which caused more water retention.

I first had the hint that I was flattening out when I took some photos on the beach in Maui on the Wednesday before the contest. Since I was using a digital camera, I could see what the photos looked like immediately after taking them. Unfortunately, I could clearly see that I was WAY too flat and had lost most of my muscle fullness and roundness. I looked totally different than I did only days ago when posing at the gym.

Another hint that something was drastically wrong was my lack of energy during the last week. On Wednesday, October 31st, my parents took Dennis and I to Lahaina for the big Halloween celebration. This was really a wild time, with everyone dressed up for Halloween walking up and down the street in sort of a mini-Mardi Gras. It should have been an enjoyable time with my parents but I couldn't even enjoy myself because I only had energy to walk about 10 minutes before I had to sit down totally exhausted. Contest dieting is never fun but I don't remember it being that draining.

One positive thing about the final days before the competition was that my waist was getting smaller each day. I didn't have a scale with me to monitor my bodyweight but I did bring along a measuring tape to record my waist measurement. My waist was 33 1/4" on Thursday, 33 1/8" on Friday and 33" on Saturday. However, I lost so much of my muscle fullness in the process that it really wasn't worth it.

I was absolutely shocked to discover at the registration on Friday that there would be NO drug-testing at this "Natural" competition. The reason given for the lack of testing was that the person in charge of the tests was ordered to remain in the continental United States that weekend because of the terrorist threats issued against the Golden Gate Bridge. Whatever the reason, there is NO EXCUSE for a lack of drug testing at a Natural competition!! It is the promoter's responsibility to provide drug testing for each of the competitor's involved in the competition. NO EXCUSES!!!!

I was told a month before the contest that EVERY competitor would be tested via polygraph testing and all the winners would be tested again via urine testing after the competition. I was very pleased that such extensive testing would be administered. Unfortunately, the competitors were duped into believing these fairy tales when, in fact, NO TESTING whatsoever took place.

The ABA used to be an organization that was very consistent with their drug-testing procedures. I first competed in the organization way back in 1992 and I was impressed with the  person giving the polygraph exam. However, I was really impressed when I competed in the 1996 Natural Mr. Universe in Las Vegas. At that competition, the polygraph examiner failed a competitor who traveled all the way from Australia for using growth hormone. I remember going home and proudly telling everyone that the organization I competed in actually stuck to their guns and failed someone who came all the way from Australia to compete. That really impressed me!

One of the complaints I had about the competition in 1998 was that there was no drug testing in Greece for the first Natural Olympia competition. The reason given was that the person giving the drug testing couldn't make the trip to Europe for the competition. Controversy reared it's ugly head when the same person who failed the drug test two years earlier won the open amateur division that night but was not tested because there was no one available to administer the tests.

Flash forward three years to the 2001 Natural Olympia and we have the same problem. No one available to administer a drug test at a "NATURAL" competition! The reason I am so upset about this has nothing to do with the fact that I did not win the contest. My failure to show up in peak condition contributed to that. However, this is an organization that I have defended numerous times against people who have called it a "yo-yo organization". In fact, the previous weekend in Las Vegas at the Mr. Olympia competition, I had several people criticize the ABA because they knew of a couple bodybuilders that were planning  to compete in Hawaii who were not drug-free. I again stuck up for the ABA, reciting the incident that happened in 1996.

After another "non-tested" competition, though, I am beginning to change my opinion of the ABA. I will no longer compete in this organization until they decide to get their act together and begin drug testing again. As any natural bodybuilder knows, there are no real fool proof methods of testing for steroids and other drugs. However, the LEAST the promoter of a natural bodybuilding contest can do is to DRUG TEST. To fail to test at all is a true insult to all the competitors involved!

As for the contest itself, it was truly one of the low-points of my competitive career. By the time I got onstage Saturday afternoon, I was too flat and depleted to even get a pump. I knew I looked bad before I even got to the auditorium but it was too late to do anything about it at that point. I just had to endure the pain of getting onstage knowing that I was a shadow of what I could have been. Thankfully, the pre-judging was quick so I did not have to stay out there too long.

After reviewing the photos of the pre-judging, I could see that I looked like I was both flat and holding water. This is the worst situation a competitive bodybuilder could find himself in! On top of that, my color was very poor. I used Dream Tan which I had used to great success in 1998 but it looked terrible this time. I had my friend apply it and this was the first time he ever applied Dream Tan. He was putting it on like oil, basically slapping it on. The result was a very poor color. It actually looked more like mud than a tan by the time we were finished. Whatever muscular definition I had at that point was covered up by the Dream Tan.

To say the least, I was very upset at my poor condition. I was really looking forward to making a spectacular comeback from my bicep tendon tear one year earlier. Although I did make great strides this year in both size and strength and I had successfully dieted down from the FAT 240 pounds I weighed when I started my pre-contest diet, to fail to put it all together on the day it counted left a very bitter taste in my mouth.

After an evening of shock and depression, I tried to put this competitive disaster behind me as soon as possible. I knew I needed to begin eating as soon as possible so I could start filling out. I was originally scheduled to stay in Hawaii until Tuesday and then fly to L.A. for a two day photo shoot with IRONMAN Magazine photograper Mike Neveux. I was then scheduled to fly home to Chicago on Friday and compete the next day at the NPC Natural Mid-States so I could qualify for the NPC Team Universe contest in 2002.  

After my poor showing at the pre-judging of the Natural Olympia, however, I knew I would not be in the top three at the finals so I decided to change my plans. I called the airlines to see if I could catch an earlier flight back to Chicago. Since this contest was essentially over, I thought the best course of action would be to put all my energies into the next contest and try and correct the mistakes I had made for this competition.

Next, I called up Mike Neveux and rescheduled my photo shoot for later in the month. There was no sense going out there if I wasn't going to be in peak condition and I knew I wouldn't be able to hit my peak in a couple days time. Mike was very understanding and agreed to do the photo shoot at a later date.

I took the red-eye flight out of Honolulu Sunday night and flew all night to arrive in Chicago at 2:30 pm Monday afternoon. I had intentionally been eating as much junk food as possible since the pre-judging ended on Saturday afternoon but I went back on my diet as soon as I got back home Monday. I met my training partner Mike at the gym at 6 pm that night to train chest, triceps and calves. I didn't want to waste any time so we got to back to work asap. I wanted to look like a whole new man come Saturday.

Unfortunately, the body can only take so much stress before it gives out. I bombed legs with Mike on Tuesday night, did cardio and abs on Wednesday and, by Thursday afternoon, I was hit hard with some swollen glands and a sore throat. I was originally planning on training delts and calves on Thursday and back and biceps on Friday but I decided to take those days off so I could recuperate before the contest on Saturday.

For awhile, I considered bypassing the contest but I decided to just stick it out and compete. I intentionally didn't cut back on my fluids as much as I normally would the last two days before the contest because my body was craving fluids and I didn't want to get even sicker before the show. I knew I wouldn't be 100% but I was hoping to be good enough to qualify for the T.U. next year.

I showed up Saturday morning for the pre-judging of the NPC Natural Mid-States and I felt like I was home again. I've known the promoter, Kevin Noble, since I was a teenage competitor back in the 1980's. Kevin was a judge and a promoter for the AAU back then (this was before the NPC existed) so we go way back. In fact, the last NPC event that I participated in was this same competition in 1994 when I guest posed for Kevin. It felt strange to be competing in this event so many years later but it was a necessary step in order to qualify for the NPC Team Universe next year.

Many of the competitors in the contest were nice enough to come over to me and introduce themselves. They said they have read my column in IRONMAN and were glad to meet me. Many of them thought I was there to guest pose and they sort of freaked out when they learned that I was actually competing.

I competed in the Heavyweight division of the Men's Open competition. There were six competitors in my class and, as I attempted to size up my competition backstage, it looked like it would be between me and the person standing next to me in the line-up. He was several inches taller than me but not as big. However, I could see that he was much leaner than I was so I didn't know which way it would go.

I was very happy with my condition compared to last week. I was still holding water and I was not as ripped as I could have been but I was much fuller and bigger than I was at the Natural Olympia. My throat was killing me all day but I tried not to think about it and just get through the competition.

In the end, I was announced second in the Heavyweight division. I was happy to learn that I only needed to place in the top two to be qualified for national competition next year so I was now all set to compete in the T.U. for 2002.

As I was walking out of the auditorium after the competition had ended, my illness hit me like a ton of bricks. My glands seemed to swell up even more and I had a painful earache in my right ear. I went out to eat with my brother, sister and brother-in-law after the contest but I couldn't really enjoy myself because I was in so much pain.

I was hoping to get a good night's sleep and rest up a day or two before getting back on my diet and returning to the gym. After all, I had the MuscleMania coming up on December 1st followed by the photo shoot with Mike Neveux in Los Angeles. I guess I underestimated how much I had run myself down, however. It took a whole week of doing nothing but sleeping, eating and drinking lots of fluids until I finally felt better.

After giving it some thought, I decided to skip my last competition of the year and focus instead on the important photo shoot with IRONMAN Magazine. There is no sense competing in another contest unless I am going to be in my absolute best shape. The MuscleMania competition is now a very big, competitive event and I don't feel right putting my physique on the line after a week of laying on the couch completely wiped out with swollen glands. There will be time to fight another day!

I'm really looking forward to hitting my peak for the photo shoot later this month. Looking back, I can see I made some stupid mistakes that I should have known better as I attempted to dial it in for the competitions. I plan on correcting those errors so I can look my best for the camera of Mike Neveux.

As for next year, look out! I am so psyched up and ready to roll after getting back onstage this year. Due to my extended layoff that I was forced to take following my bicep tendon surgery earlier this year, I was not really allowed to have the typical off-season that I normally have when getting ready to compete. I was actually building size and regaining my strength during the time I was dieting for this year's competition. Because of the limited time schedule, everything was pushed together and it wasn't an easy process.

Next year will be a totally different story. I already have 2002 all planned out for my preparation for the NPC Team Universe. This is going to be my redemption from my poor 1994 appearance as well as my terrible showing this year. My goal is to look the BEST John Hansen has ever looked! I'm really psyched and ready for next year!!

Stay tuned! The best is yet to come!!!

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