It has been 13 months since my natural bodybuilding debut at the 2008 NGA 10th Annual World Bodybuilding Championships. In that time I have experienced several set backs in my off season preparation however tonight’s workout has been the first indication that I have finally turned a corner and am regaining confidence for the spring season. Last fall, I made a misguided mistake of taking a training hiatus for the first month following my show and it wasn’t until January that I was able to get my act together, started to get hungry again and began making the necessary improvements in my physique.
Around late spring I began having a few nagging injuries pile up, the most severe being a rightward shift in my L5 vertebrae causing severe inflammation of the tendon that overlaps my pelvis (psoas major). During squat exercises it almost felt as if someone was holding a blowtorch to my lower abdomen. Initially being the hardheaded person I am, I tried to work around the injury however support groups began to overcompensate causing a pulled hamstring and tendonitis in my knees to become an issue. For these reasons and because I honestly was not happy with my off-season progress I made a decision to put off training for a fall show under the guidance of the one person who I respect his opinion more than my own.
The summer had been difficult for me watching friends prepare for their fall shows while I have had to nurse injuries and come to grips with my decision to prolong my off-season but I believe that I have finally turned a corner. Tonight’s leg workout was one of the best efforts I have made over the last 3-4 months as I approached each exercise with the confidence I had lost to battling with injuries. On my eighth set of hack squats I was able to get 8 plates for 7 reps and on straight leg dead lifts I pulled 275 for 6 reps. Not personal records (PRs) by any means and certainly nothing worth bragging about but in consideration that these two exercises challenged both of the areas that have been giving me problems over the last 3-4 months and I was able to take something positive away from my effort means more to me than a PR would have.
Credit goes partly to a new workout partner that has helped keep me motivated and inspired through her own training efforts. It is not without great friends (KW, VT and CM) that I would be in the position I am currently in and for that I am truly grateful.
Live clean.
Work hard.
Be humble.
Stay focused.
