Bodybuilding in Dubai

Be glad you live in America:

Well, during the holy month of Ramadan, you cannot eat or drink during daylight hours. So most of the local Muslims train at night, which means the gyms will stay open till 3 or 4 in the morning so they can train. Ramadan is no joke. If you get caught eating in public during the day, you could get arrested.

These colors dont run- the world!

Interesting article on Middle East Bodybuilders...

Wuditlooklike

Last weekend, I thought it'd be funny to snap some pics for old times sake in the bathroom. This is especially appropriate with the previous post. This is me, 74 weeks out from the 2010 NPC whatever, haha.
Oddly enough the leg cuts have remained. Some say that you can carve detail in the muscle, but others advocate that muscle separation comes from size and development, not refinement.
My shoulders are lagging, but they always lag- the chest is thicker than previously- if only I could keep this size when I diet.
Here you can see the back- and the imbalance with my shoulders becomes really apparent.
Oh well, bodybuilding's not a sprint, it's a marathon...


*wuditlooklike=old old Redman song...

Health Clinic or Ego Booster?

Today I had the great fortune of sticking my finger with a needle filled with biohazardous compounds. That guaranteed me a one-way trip to our Occupational Health and Safety Clinic here on campus.

The nurse who saw me was really nice. Before even getting to my injury, we talked at length about my family and personal health history. Dad's arthritis, heart disease, diabetes, mom's emphysema etc. I mentioned briefly that my blood pressure tended to be on the "high normal" side so she wanted to check it out.
I pulled up my sleeve and got the following:
"oh my, we're going to need the bigger cuff. Your arm is quite larger than I thought."

How big did she think it was/wasn't? I thought.
She checked my blood pressure and confirmed it was high normal.

"It's probably better you dont use the blood pressure machine (like in drug stores) outside- you might get stuck in it or break it, just come on in anytime to get your BP checked" she said naively, not knowing she was stroking my ego majorly. Sir, your arms are too big for the machine!
"yes ma'am, that's very nice, thank you for offering to do that."

"Sir, step away from the machine."

She then went on to the known allergies, any mediacations, supplements, etc. She raised her eyebrows at the list of supplemetns I take (which is not that much from some guys I know-) Fish oil, vit c, vit d, vit e, glucosamine, multi, the usual. She also discouraged the whey protein powder. P'sha! As if! Blasphemy I thought!

Then from left field comes:
"Are you taking anabolic steroids?"
The question caught me off guard, and I think she knew it, but she continued-
"It's ok if you are, we're under confidentiality- I just want to get a complete picture of what's going on with you."

After the awkward silence, I simply replied no ma'am. I know that she wasn't implying anything by it, and her intentions were genuine, but in a way I also felt like I was lying because I dont think it was the answer she was expecting. Very bizarre. But for a natural bb'er, aint nothing like getting accused of juicin!

I definitely walked out of there feeling a lot better than I did when I went in, but none of it had anything to do with my finger.

Hardcore

In bodybuilding, the term hardcore is thrown around rather loosely.

There are many facets of bodybuilding I think most people would find extreme. From the diet to the training, and in some cases to the drugs people use.

This is Jeff Rodriguez. You may recall I wrote about him as he helped me out with some of my contest prep in addition to having met him at the San Jose show I took Vernon to see.

This is his photo, 1 day before the Team Universe, a natural (tested) show where the overall winner gets an IFBB pro card. Jeff won his class, but narrowly missed the overall.

Jeff is from the Bay Area but he traveled to NY to compete in this show. He stayed at a Hostel while in NY, and is pictured in his hostel shower.

With a rice cooker

and

George Foreman Grill.

Whatever it takes to win. Hardcore.

Congrats Jeff!

Pro Bodybuilders I know...

Now let me clarify- I'm not pretending to be buddy buddy with these guys, and it's highly likely they don't remember me at all. Because bodybuilding is such a marginal sport, fans can easily access some the sport's greatest stars. In one way or another, my friend Joel Brandwein is directly responsible for me having met these legends...

Danny Padilla
"The Giant Killer."
Dubbed the "Giant Killer" because he outmuscled men more than a foot taller than he, the 5' 2" bodybuilder out of Rochester is an IFBB legend. I had the pleasure of working with Danny at the Arnold Classic Expo in 2006. He was most gracious to his fans, and almost seemed to be honestly surprised by all the attention he was getting.

Danny hadn't eaten all morning and as he was eating a chicken sandwich I got for him at the Europa booth, Danny damn near choked to death. It was quite a scene but he was ok.
I almost Killed the Giant Killer!

Chris Dickerson

In the 40 plus years of the Mr. Olympia contest, only 11 men have worn the olympia crown.
Chris won in 1982. He was kind enough to provide a few phone consultations during my first contest prep (again courtesy of Joel.) He also had some kind words to say about my contest shape this year.

Ed Corney

Dubbed the Greatest Poser of All Time. Long time roommate and training partner of Arnold, the guy is rich with stories from Bodybuilding's Golden Era. The consummate fixture at bodybuilding shows, I've spent many enjoyable hours with Ed and consider him a friend.

Lee Priest
Some say he's the Dennis Rodman of bodybuilding. Badboy on and off the stage.
Many say he has a crappy attitude and I think he is characterized as a bad boy because he has tattoos (on his face) and doesnt mince words or speak politically.
I spent a few hours with him at the Arnold and I found him to be warm, down to earth, and engaging. He has a great deal of respect and love for Ed, and while we were having a hard time catching a cab and were caught in the cold columbus wind, he made sure that Ed stayed warm and even helped him button up his coat like a son would his father (sometimes ed's manual dexterity is compromised in the cold, due to his stroke a few years ago.) Then he hailed a cab for him and gave him the first to come along, putting Ed before himself.
It was a tender moment really and something you wouldnt expect from bodybuilding's bad boy.

Hard-core:

Hard-core
-adjective

1. unswervingly committed; uncompromising; dedicated
2. pruriently explicit; graphically depicted
3. being so without apparent change or remedy; chronic

This is what minding my own business in my cube looks like, if you needed a visual.

So I'm sitting in my cube on Friday, minding my own business and having another light hearted chat with John. It's my last day of training before I take some time off. It's also my final date with deadlifting 405 (that's 4 plates per side,) which laughed at me last time and hardly moved.

"I've made a decision" says John.
"Oh ya, what's that?"
"I'm gonna come lift with you, need to help you get that 405 up," He responds.

One thing about John is that the guy is a driver. He drives to and from LA like it's nothing. The bay area is practically his second home.

I thought that John would come through, bring some clothes and some protein, and stay a while. But trip is something different: no pleasure, all business.

"So you're going to stay a while?"
"Nope, just here to lift," then back on that 101 to 152 to 1.

Our training program relies heavily on intensity- the guy drove 2 hours to lift with me so I really had to bring it, and as a result beat all of my lifts in reps and/or weight.

405 (see pruriently explicit) escaped me, but I did set a personal record at 385. Can't be mad at that, and another epic battle with the iron went down in the record books.

John Cristobal-
-adjective
unswervingly committed, uncompromising, and dedicated!

2008 NPC San Jose Recap

This weekend I took Vernon to see his first Bodybuilding show. When I told him over the phone that we were going, he put the phone down and ran around in excitement. The kid loves it as I touched on back in February.

I really wanted to take him because I knew it'd be a rather small show, and he'd get to meet a few big names.

The first was 8 time Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman. When he first got there, people were saying he was charging 10 bucks to take a photo with him. I have all the respect in the world for him, but the current Mr. Olympia doesnt charge, so why should the dethroned champ do so?
I got slick and sent Vernon over, knowing that Ronnie would feel to guilty to charge a lil kid. Then I snuck in for the photo op. Well played if I do say so myself.

Next was the X-Man Toney Freeman. He's 6 foot 2, 300+ pounds. Really nice, and no, did NOT charge, LOL.

Later I ran into Jeff Rodriguez, a really cool Natural Bodybuilder, who has been featured on Muscular Development and is actually a local guy who trains out of Oakland. The funny thing is that when you see him in his clothes you'd never think this guy was as huge and ripped as he is, but the guy is super freaky and is able to achieve a level of conditioning that rivals even the most chemically enhanced competitors (check out his freaky tricep.) In fact one time when he was back stage getting ready to go on, the security guard told him "Sorry son, only competitors back here."

We spoke for about 10 minutes and he even offered his number so we could get a training session in once he's done with his prep for the Team Universe, the most prestigious natural competition, where the winner turns IFBB Pro.

After seeing the show started, Vernon was really impressed by the Novice Middleweight and Novice Overall winner, so he decided he wanted a photo with him.
This is where the moment of the night happened.

He walks over to the guy, and asks "can I take a picture with you, you're cool!"

"Of course lil buddy!" and he proceeds to grab vernon's arm so he can put him into a pose (as shown below.)

Shortly after the Greased n Grossed out incident!

But before he's able to turn vernon around, vernon's disposition goes from star stuck fan to grossed out kid- The middleweight's mix of posing oil and tanning spray got on vernon's forearm and he stopped, gave the guy a "what did you just do to my arm" dirty look, then proceeded to look at, and consequently smelled his arm much to the delight of the middleweight's family and friends. John and I havent laughed that hard in a long time. I guess I forgot to warn him that the champ might be greasy. LOLx10!

This is the turnip picture. When pointing to Dexter Jackson's Enlarged Traps, Vernon asks "are those his shoulders, it looks like he has apples under there!" I was like naw dude, those are turnips! haha So he's doing his best impersonation, toothy grimace and all.

And of course the incomparable Ed Corney:
When I told him Ed was Arnold's old roommate and training partner, Vernon was in awe. Then he shook Ed's brick of a hand. Admiration ensued.

All in all it was a good time.

On the way home, vernon tells me: "I want to get big, will you be my coach?"

I had to break the bad news that he'd probably have to wait a few years to train hard n heavy so he doesnt stunt his growth (I hope he doesnt end up in my class, the kid has way better genetics!)

Little does he know that training has already begun!

Hey Birdie

Look familiar?

Jay Cutler at the grocery store
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