As I write this e-mail on 6/17/06, I am 14 weeks away from the biggest bodybuilding contest of my life! I was granted a Professional status with the PDI (Pro Division Inc.) A new professional bodybuilding organization managed and owned by Wayne Demilia. I am going to be sharing the stage with my bodybuilding peers/idols/friends...Lee Priest, Vince Taylor, Vinnie Galanti, Jack London, James Vest and many other Professional bodybuilders. And I am the only NATURAL Bodybuilder that has a PDI Pro Card. The contest will be in New York on 9/16/06.
I had started out with a healthy off-season in December/05, going very strong in January/06 gaining muscle and still staying fairly lean. I was training very heavy and injury free! I am working full-time as a personal trainer at a great gym (Active Fitness) in Medford, NJ. I am commuting 2-3 hours a day, still working part-time at the supermarket, and training clients out of my home-studio. I trained mostly at Active Fitness and in my home-gym. I also make a weekly trip to New Castle, DE to train at The Training Center with "The Freak" Al Fortney once a week.
Until March /06 everything was going great! Then I had a quad sprain and as a result I had to miss 4 "heavy" leg workouts. I trained around the injury. In April/06 my supraspinatus (rotator cuff) muscle was partially torn. Again I did 4-6 weeks of light training around my injury. During this time frame throw in there severe elbow tendonitis. (both)
My shoulder is better and elbows are slowly healing. Ron Harris, who puts out a great online bodybuilding newsletter "The Daily Pump," has had his share of injuries also. I took a page out of his book while I was injured and still tried to kill my muscles, but not with heavy weights. I was still training intense but training smarter with...drop sets, super sets, machine work, selecting different exercises that shocked my body, and it did work! Now I am healthier and Big Al Fortney has taught me after 6-8 weeks of super heavy, balls to the wall training, you need 2 weeks of moderate-light workouts to rest the joints/tendons.
I am 228 lbs. tonight and have very good muscle hardness and separation. My abs are in and as always, my legs are very hard and vascular. I am doing cardio one session daily, and have eliminated all "cheat" foods from my diet. I am very happy and fortunate to be working with Al again this year. We worked together last year and I was in the best condition of my life.
In the next few weeks I will be taking pictures and will update you with my progress. I want to thank everyone for their continued support and promise to compete bigger and harder for the NOC in September.
Thank you.
Big Ant
