January 2010

KNOCKING AT THE DOOR BIG D’S CHULSEY GRAHAM FINDING THE LINE

By Jamie Caporosso F

Also Inside:

Training Shoulders with Krissy Chin

January 2010

EDITORIAL

Cover page photo: Chulsey Graham Photo By: Ray Rojas Editor in Chief: Bob Johnson Editorial Director/Graphic Designer: Laura Johnson Publication Interest: Aaron Fletcher

Welcome to our first issue of 2010!

We are preparing for the Arnold Classic and are happy to be part of the Amateur event this year. Mark your calendars March 4-7, 2010.

Look for exciting coverage of events and news with each issue. Also join our forums. We have started a discussion for the Arnold Classic coverage.

Other shows to watch for is the 2nd annual Central Texas Showdown Oct 16, 2010.

Photography: Mark Mason Kevin Martin Wendy Martin Ray Rojas Contributing Writers: Angela Dillenberg Michael Bell Senior Writer Contributing Column Writers Sara Long - “Recipe Corner” Joe Leahy - Blue Collar Bodybuilding Steve Kuclo - “The Wolverine” Prince Fontenot- “Talking Candidly” Photos submitted by column writers/athletes monthly Pose Down Magazine accepts photos from individual athletes with the understanding that each athlete own the rights to photos submitted.......

www.posedownmag.com Laura@posedownmag.com Bob@posedownmag.com posedownmagazine@yahoo.com For advertising questions go to: www.mbell971@yahoo.com PosedownAdvertising@gmail.com

www.posedownmag.com

www.CentralTexasShowdown.com

MARCH 4-7, 2010

A four-day event showcasing 18,000 athletes competing in 44 sports & non-stop fitness entertainment!

22nd Arnold Classic Q Active Living Festival Q Amateur Fitness, Figure & Bikini Q Amateur Men’s & Women’s Bodybuilding Amateur Strongman Q Archery Q Armwrestling Q Art At The Arnold Q Bench Press Q Boxing Q Cheerleading & Dance Q CrossFit DanceSport–Youth/Senior Q EXPO (March 5-7) Q Fencing Q Figure International Q Figure Skating Q Fitness International Fitness Training Seminar Q Grappling/Jiu Jitsu Q Gymnastics Q Judo Q Karate Q Martial Arts Festival Q Ms. International Party With The Pros Q Powerlifting Q Pump and Run (5K Run/Walk) Q Skateboarding Q Sports Photography Strength Training Summit Q Strongman Classic Q Table Tennis Q Tae Kwon Do Q Weightlifting Q Wrestling TICKETS: $10 daily EXPO, Individual Event and VIP Tickets ON SALE NOW @ Ticketmaster.com/arnold or phone 800-745-3000 WEEKEND INFORMATION: www.arnoldsportsfestival.com Veterans Memorial Q Greater Columbus Convention Center Q Nationwide Arena Q Dispatch Ice Haus Q LC Pavilion Q Columbus, Ohio USA

© 2009 CLASSIC PRODUCTIONS INC

PRESENTS: Plano Convention Center Plano, Texas

TWO HOT EVENTS IN 2010

NPC LONESTAR CLASSIC

BODYBUILDING/FITNESS/FIGURE/BIKINI CLASSIC

REGIONAL QUALIFIER JUNE, 5 2010

SPECIAL GUEST POSER TO BE ANNOUNCED

NPC HEART OF TEXAS

BODYBUILDING/FITNESS/FIGURE/BIKINI CLASSIC SPECIAL GUEST POSER TO BE ANNOUNCED

SEPT 11, 2010

Classes for Both Events: Novice, Open, Masters Bodybuilding and Masters Figure, Figure, Fitness, Bikini, Teen, Couples and Wheelchair, Masters Men (40-49, 50-59, 60 and over) Masters Women (35-49, 50 & above) For Additional Information, contact Prince Harrison at: 2736 Starcrest Lane, Dallas, TX 75234 972-247-1539 - prince@texasbodybuilding.com - www.optimumďŹ tness.com - www.texasbodybuilding.com Services Offered by Optimum Fitness: Contest Preparation and off-season programs, Standard and Custom posing for men, Figure/Fitness for Women, high-quality, reasonable pricing and fast turn-around, Contest Pre Products, Career Management Modeling, Sports/Swedish Massage.

NICK SCOTT NEWS CONTINUES Wheelchair Division in the IFBB Championships in Poland They may have been amateurs, but when nine wheelchair athletes competed November 13-16, 2009, at the Juniors and Masters World Amateur Bodybuilding Championships at Bailystok, Poland, they proved the time has come for a professional division. Internet and international magazines are hyping the event as the first International Federation of Body Builders (IFBB) Wheelchair Championship. IFBB means professional to most people, and many are calling the winner the first IFBB Wheelchair Bodybuilding Champion. The truth is, the bodybuilding show was an amateur wheelchair bodybuilding division. I have asked the NPC president and IFBB president and they both have told me that it was an amateur wheelchair division, not an IFBB professional wheelchair division. The nine international wheelchair bodybuilders who competed were: Daniel Smith – UK Stefano Remetta – Italy Abdul Bukhari – India Lech Stoltman – Poland Antoni Khadraoui – Sweden Mariusz Kupczak – Poland Arturas Krutulis – Lithuania Czeslaw Korczak – Poland Rudiger Himsl – Austria They all showed up in amazing condition and with hopes of winning the event because of the name. An IFBB title means you are the best of the best.

The first IFBB Professional Wheelchair Division is in the process of being created. I have been working on it for more than a year, and learning how to get to this point since the summer of 2006. There are ONLY 10 wheelchair bodybuilders who have been granted their IFBB pro cards or are in the process of getting their cards. Only three of the nine of the international wheelchair bodybuilders listed above have earned their cards, the other seven are USA wheelchair bodybuilders. The list of 10 will be revealed soon.

Once everything is in place, the sport of wheelchair bodybuilding will change forever. It will be a new level to which disabled athletes around the world can strive for. Wheelchair Nationals will change, as well as other wheelchair divisions. But most importantly… wheelchair bodybuilders from the past will actually become IFBB Pro for the first time in history! Their names will live on, and open the eyes of millions for years to come. The time has come for wheelchair bodybuilding to rise to new heights and spread the word around the world that wheelchair bodybuilders are ready for an IFBB professional division!

Nick Scott President/CEO Wheelchair Bodybuilding, Inc.

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Finding the Line What are we really supposed to eat?

By Jamie Caporosso What are we really supposed to be eating? Let’s face it, the truth is buried by so much marketing and big business it’s hard to say what’s real and what’s not. The picture shows one thing, the label says another. What is a person to do if they really want to know what they are supposed to be eating to be healthy?

Around the time of the birth of my second child, I decided it was time to shed some fat and make an effort to get into a little better shape. This was prompted by a couple of things. One of which was my doctor making an unsolicited comment during a physical. “You know Jamie, there is a direct correlation between belly fat and heart disease” I was like, “uh…, huh?” Maybe I should back up a second. I have been a competitive drug free Powerlifter off and on since High School. So, just about 20 years now. Sometimes really serious, sometimes just on cruise control. At one point in this power lifting career I decided that being as Big as Possible was the way to go.

Bigger=Stronger,right?

Figure SEQ Figure \* ARABIC 1 Bencing 605lbs Anyway, I packed it on until I hit about 250 lbs. Mind you I’m only about 5’10”. All that really did for me was make my head turn beet red when I was tying my shoes.

The second reason for the weight loss, I had made a comment that I was thinking about dropping weight and getting my “six pack” back. I thought about going as King Leonides, from the movie “300”, for Halloween. My friends laughed. Oh No! Was I so fat that the idea was funny. I had to do it now!

In my quest for losing weight I figured I would start with the guys who made it their profession to lose body fat. Bodybuilders! That made sense to me. That’s what they do. Get as lean as possible. I figured I could learn from them and get this fat off. So I started reading Online, Fitness Magazines and even found a great book by Dr. Carlon Colker MD, FACN called “Extreme Muscle Enhancement”. The book was great and I started down that path with great results. In a conversation with a friend of mine I was also discussing that not only losing the fat was important to me but also my health. I wanted to increase my longevity so I could enjoy my kids longer. He turned me on to what lots of people call a Caveman Diet. This is where I really got the most bang for my buck! This was an approach that looked at our Biology, and how we evolved. If we didn’t evolve eating it, there is a good chance our Biology will not support it. Adopting this style of eating not only solidified the weight loss but gave me about 3 additional side effects that I read about but never expected. I used to suffer from Asthma. I had it since I was about 8 years old. That went away! I can’t give myself an Asthma attack now. I tried. I literally got on my treadmill in my damp basement and ramped it up and tried. Can’t do it, can’t do it at all anymore. No more Asthma. My Arthritis went away. I was developing arthritis in my knuckle. Hurt like hell if I bumped it in the morning or when it was cold out. Gone! Just recently went for that annual physical. Historically I have had low HDL Cholesterol. You know, the healthy kind that you are supposed to be able to increase with exercise. Yeah Right. I ran my ass off on that treadmill 5-6 days week and couldn’t raise it with a crane. It’s up 5 pts now eating like a caveman.

Figure SEQ Figure \* ARABIC 2 They laughed, I cried “There will be a change!”

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Finding the Line continues

I found this to be diet that better suits my needs as I hate to walk around hungry. I found that I don’t have to count Calories. This was not the case before. I needed to find a way to keep lean but keep my calories up so I could continue to get strong. I was trying to get pound for pound as strong as I could be. That meant lose the useless body fat. If you can’t flex it, it’s not muscle.

Ok. So what are the basics? Here they are. You eat what Paleolithic man ate. Meat, Fruits, Vegetables, Nuts, Seeds.

No Grains!, no Wheat, Oats, Potatoes, Soy Beans, Rice, Corn, Barley, Dairy,etc. We didn’t eat them as we were evolving. Think about grains. You cannot run through the wheat field pluck a hand full of wheat kernels eat and digest them. You’ll pass them right through. You have to process them to eat them. It’s one of mans first processed foods. I have often said from metabolic stand point there is not much difference between that so called “all natural, healthy whole wheat bread” and a piece of cake. I don’t care if you made it, or paid 10 bucks a loaf for it. Heaven help the Mom’s who think a breakfast bar or Toaster Pastry is a good way for their kids to start the day. Look closer Mom’s, it’s a jelly filled pastry regardless of the picture on the box. They are filled mostly with High Fructose Corn syrup. The phrase, “all natural healthy whole grains” drives me up the wall. It should really be, not as bad as the bleached stuff but still bad. Until someone shows me where you can pluck a loaf of bread from a tree, I’m not buying in.

No Dairy? Forget about it. Cave man did not go toe to toe with something that big, WITH HORNS, to milk it.

Didn’t happen! No Way! Animals, we clubbed’em, we ate’em. No wonder everyone is lactose intolerant. You’re not supposed to eat it. Oh, I know what you are thinking Vitamin D. It’s the latest and greatest deficiency we have. I need dairy. Well stop by the vitamin D council web page. They say you would have to drink 50 Glasses of milk a day to get enough Vitamin D. Where do I get it then you ask? Well remember we evolved buck naked on the savannahs of Africa! So the Sun! Then you’ll say Calcium. This is another ratio issue. Reference Magnesium to Calcium ratio’s for the truth there. The list goes on about grains and how bad they can be and others have already written books on these subjects and I encourage you to read them.

This brings me to an important point. Do what you can to eat Natural Meat, “Range Fed Animals”. Lots of big business meat farmers force feed animals corn among other things the last 90 days of their lives to fatten them up.

This throws their Omega 6 to Omega 3 ratios way out of proportion. That is another thing which Paleo man never experienced. That’s why they market the hell out of taking Omega 3’s when in fact you should be lowering your Omega 6 intake . It’s ok to eat animal fat. Honest, we evolved eating it. Just not these corn fed animals they are jamming down our throats at your local super market. If you are going to go out of your way to eat like we evolved eating, the animals you eat should be doing the same. Be careful. This has been such a common practice for so long even small, quote un-quote, organic farmers do this minus the antibiotics and hormones. Big Deal!! If you are still force feeding animals the corn, it’s bad.

Figure SEQ Figure \* ARABIC 3 Pulling Semi’s as a light weight 198lbs

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Finding the Line continues Fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds were available for the gathering. This is hard to do, but try to find truly Organic. Big business has skewed this a little too. Some of things marked Organic may be by current definition. But in reality are just “Kinda Organic”, say ~70/30. So take your labeling with caution. Do some research.

We are the victims of the last 10,000 years of thinking with the agricultural era. That and marketing by big business. Take some time and do some research, read some labels before you put something in your mouth.

I know what you are a thinking. OH MY GOD! Way to drastic from where I am at now! Well take baby steps.

Practice eating this way. It will take time. I myself am lucky to eat this way maybe 90-95% of the time. I still reap the health benefits. I may go hardcore for a week. But something always comes up. Don’t sweat it. Have a piece of pizza if you just feel like your existence depends on it that day. Just get yourself right back on track.

I suggest one Cheat/American meal a week. It will give you light at the end of a tunnel in the beginning.

So why “Finding the Line”? During a conversation with a friend of mine, as we started pealing back the layers of all this endless marketing and agricultural evolution. He said “Jamie, how far do you go? Where do you draw the line?” What I think he meant was, where do you protect yourself from obsessing? A light went off in my head at that moment. It wasn’t about where you draw the line, but in fact, finding the line. It’s been hidden and no one knows where it’s at. How do you find it? Our evolution is the answer. If we didn’t evolve eating it, odds are you aren’t supposed to be and it isn’t any good for you.

Finding healthy food isn’t always easy. Something you can do to help change that is demand quality food from Big Business Super Markets. They will provide and have a lot more power to do so. Every time you buy something whether you believe in Locally Made or Organically Grown/Raised you are telling Big Business what is important to you.

Much of my information was pulled and gathered from the sources below and I highly recommend you check them out for yourselves.

Books I recommend you reading: “Neanderthin” by Ray Audette, “Paleo Diet” by Loren Cordain, “Protein Power Lifeplan” by Dr, Eades Movies I recommend watching: Fat Head, King Korn, Food Inc, and Fresh the Movie.

Jamie Caporosso has a Degree in Medical Technology and Minor in Biology from The University of Michigan Flint. Has been a competitive Drug Free powerlifter for 20 years and has recently entered the realm of Strongman Competitions. He can be reached at xxxpowerlifitng.com, Myspace and Facebook. Special thanks to my sponsors Cytosport and Titan Support Systems.

Page 10

KNOCKING ON THE DOOR FROM BIG D CHULSEY GRAHAM Dallas TX is full of big name bodybuilders, and a few names that will be a big name in the coming years.

Chulsey Graham has been knocking on the door of that pro card for a couple of years now and will battle for it once more in 2010.

We caught up with Chulsey training back a few weeks prior to Nationals in November at the new Metroflex Gym in Plano, Texas. After the training session I sat down with him to get some information on his somewhat unique back training style.

PD: Chulsey you split your back into two days, I understand you do a free weight day and then come back a few days later and do all cable movements. When and where did you come up with this style?

CG: I actually got this style of training from Gus Carter who is a local IFBB Pro. He told me it would allow me to add muscle mass to my back while adding shape and definition at the same time. The two day training split worked perfect for me and I was able to transform my back in a nine month period.

PD: What are the exercises you do on each day?

CG: On Tuesday I start with pull-ups, then I go to the bent over rows, then the one arm dumb bell rows, then the one arm T-bar rows and I finish with pull-ups at the end. On Saturday I start with cable pull downs to the front, then reverse grip pull downs, then I do close grip low cable rows, then reverse grip low cable rows and finish up with close grip lat pull downs. All of these are working sets of 5 with 10-12 reps each set on both Tue and Sat. I also do dead-lifts every other Tuesday.

PD: You have really brought your back up since I saw you at Nationals last year in Atlanta, was that what the judges told you to do?

CG: Yes, the judges told me I needed to add more size to my back and be more calm on stage. I had to learn how to handle being in the spot light.

PD: I think the biggest difference in your back is the thickness in your mid and lower back, what do you credit this to?

CG: That comes from doing dead-lifts. When I got back from Atlanta I was so ready for my back to start growing that I went dead-lift crazy. It really put size on my middle and lower back, but I had to slow down because I needed my lats and upper back to grow as well. I now do dead-lift every other back work out because my middle and lower back grew at a faster pace then the rest of my back did.

Page 15

CHULSEY GRAHAM PD: Do you do the same exercises each week or do you change things up each week?

CG: Same exercises each week I just may switch the order in which I do them. Its working so I’m not going to change the exercises any time soon.

PD: Does your training change at all when you go from offseason to contest prep?

CG: Not really I just add a few super sets here and there on the leg extensions to dial in more detail. For the most part I just stay heavy and keep the reps in the 10-12 range.

PD: Lets talk about deads for a minute. A lot of people think deadlifts make your waist thicker but you dead lift a lot and your waist is still tiny, what do you think about that theory?

CG: I think that a persons genetics has a lot to do with their waist. I have always had a small waist and I don’t see any exercise changing that. Form also plays a major roll when squatting or doing dead lifts.

I focus on the body part that I am targeting and work that muscle, not my mid-section.

PD: Do you employ drop sets or giants sets into your back training? If so why or not.

CG: No, I do not. I just keep it strict and heavy. I realized the very heavy weight is what makes my back grow.

PD: Do you train traps with back or delts?

CG: I train traps on the day that I train delts. That works best for me.

PD: Well that should just about do it man. I appreciate your time and good luck to you in the future we will definitely be watching for you. Do you have a website or a way people can contact you.

CG: Yeah my website is www.chulseygraham.com.

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CHAMPION SERIES WITH PJ BRAUN This months CHAMPIONS series takes us up to the far Northeast. PJ Braun is currently living in Danbury, CT but grew up in New Fairfield CT. In a nutshell this guy is a freaking monster. Just looking at pictures of his physique you can’t help but think “mass monster.”

His love of the weight room began, like most of us, during football. However, PJ got into bodybuilding for a completely different reason than football. He says “I got into bodybuilding to try to develop a relationship with my father who was very into bodybuilding.

My parents were divorced and I didn’t see him much, so it was a way for us to bond.” Not only did his dad motivate him to start bodybuilding but it still motivates him today. When I asked him who has been his biggest influence he gave a heart felt answer, “Well, I would have to say my father again, because his lack of interest in me as a child pushed me to be better than he could ever imagine.” That extra push has made PJ one of the top rising stars in the NPC today. This past October he won the Heavyweight class at the Eastern USA’s and then went on to place 13th at Nationals.

Braun has only been competing for six years and is still learning how his body reacts to different dieting techniques. Along with figuring his body out in a more precise way PJ also wants to bring his hamstring up to match his incredible quads. Upper body wise this guy is set. He has some massive arms and traps along with a thick chest however he maintains a very tight waist.

Arms, traps and chest are not his only assets. PJ scored a 137 on his high school IQ test. Now for all of us meat heads, including myself, that’s an extremely high score!

He uses his intelligence to prepare his own diets and supplement regimen. His future goals are to turn pro and hopefully stand on stage with his good friend Evan Centopani. He says of Evan “I really admire Evan for his physique and because of his loyal friendship.” As of this writing, PJ is unsure of his next step but I am sure you will be seeing him in the top of his class in whatever pro qualifier he shows up at. To find out more about PJ check him out at www.pjbraun.com

Training Shoulders with IFBB Figure PRO Krissy Chin!

I absolutely LOVE training shoulders since it is one of my favorite body parts. I typically vary my workouts each time I train a specific body part including shoulders. However, before heading into one of my shoulder workouts, I want to share a couple of training tips that I have picked up over the past few years, which I would love to share with you:

• You need to VARY your workouts, whether it is the type of exercise, the rep range, the number of sets or the workload.

It is important to note that the body is pretty amazing and it will adapt if you do the same exercises, reps, sets each and every time you train.

• Quality of motion and proper form are KEY! This is so vital in order to properly tax the desired working muscle(s), to prevent injury and to also prevent compensation from other muscles.

Now let’s head into one of my shoulder workouts! **Note: Please make sure to properly warm up your muscles prior to beginning your workout!

• Seated Overhead Shoulder Dumbbell Press -Sit on bench with your feet flat on the floor. Grasp dumbbells and start with dumbbells next to your ears with palms facing away from your body and elbows are bent at about a 90-degree angle. Begin motion by pressing dumbbells up in a slight arc motion and finish with dumbbells overhead, palms facing in toward one another and elbows almost completed straight. Just make sure NOT to fully lock out your elbow joints.

Slowly return dumbbells to the starting position.

Sets: 4 Reps: 10-12

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Training Shoulders with IFBB Figure PRO Krissy Chin!

• Standing Side Laterals with Dumbbells.

-Stand with feet together, hips slightly back while maintaining a slight arch in low back. Start by grasping dumbbells with dumbbells touching the lateral aspect of your legs. With a slight bend in your elbow joints, raise your arms and dumbbells up and out to the side (to about shoulder level) keeping the focus and tension on the medial deltoids. Slowly lower the dumbbells back to the starting position, controlling the eccentric motion.

Sets: 3-4 Reps: 10-12

• Reverse Fly on Pec Deck Machine -Sit facing in toward machine with your chest up against the pad. Grasp handles, which at the start position are close together in front of you. Keep chest up and your abdominals tight as you move the handles away from one another, out toward the side of your body. Hold for one sec, contracting the rear deltoids and at the finish position, the handles should be slightly behind your shoulders. Slowly return the handles and weight to the starting position, controlling the eccentric motion.

Sets: 4 Reps: 10-12

• Seated Alternating Frontal Dumbbell Raises -Sit on bench with your feet supported on the floor. Grasp dumbbells and start with dumbbells hanging down along the side of your body with palms facing in. With your right arm and with your elbow slightly bent, raise the dumbbell up and to the front of your body until your arm is almost parallel to the floor and finish with the palm facing down. Hold at the top of this motion for one second contracting the anterior deltoids then, slowly lower your arm and dumbbell back to the starting position. Repeat with your left arm.

Sets: 3 Reps: 10-12 Wishing you all the very best of health!

Krissy Chin BS, MSPT IFBB Figure PRO/Co-Host Muscle Girls Inc. www.Krissychin.com

BLUE COLLAR BODYBUILDING WITH Welcome iron warriors to another action JOE LEAHY packed column of Blue Collar Bodybuilding.

POSE DOWN MAGAZINE THANKS JOE FOR HIS CONTINUED CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE PUBLICATION. READERS HAVE EXPRESSED THEIR INTEREST TO HIS COLUMN ONLY PROVING HIS DEDICATION TO OTHERS IS DEEP FELT FOR THOSE TO SUCCEED!

I want to take a moment to thank Mike Bell and Bob and Laura Johnson for all there support over the last year. I have enjoyed writing my column and I hope all of you have enjoyed reading it as well. Thanks to everyone who has signed the guest book and sent me emails wishing me luck in my career and in my quest for a pro card. I also want to thank Laura and Bob for allowing me to take part in running the Posedownmag page on Facebook. Please take a moment and request Posedownmag to be your friend. I know you will find plenty of new and exciting information on Facebook. Also be sure to check out Posedownmag on Youtube.com. I am very honored to be a part of the Posedownmag family. Thanks guys, your support truly means the world to my wife Tina and I. Happy New Year to all and may all your dreams come true in 2010!!!

Over the last several months I have informed readers about how leadership skills will help the Blue Collar Athlete become the best he or she can be. Leadership traits such as enthusiasm, initiative, loyalty, courage, endurance, bearing, decisiveness, knowledge and tact can help you not only in the gym but in all aspects of your life. We as athletes know that if our careers and personal lives are in order than our training usually raises to another level. When this happens you tend to focus more on being the best you can be and positive thoughts follow. When our careers and personal lives are in trouble or training tends to suffer and the negative thoughts being to invade or thought process.

Our time is precious as Blue Collar Bodybuilders so we must use these leadership traits to our advantage and get our lives in order so we can make the most out of or precious time spent in the gym. Feel free to look back at the November and December issues of Posedownmag.com for a quick refresher on the aforementioned leadership traits.

Well my friends there is one leadership trait what I have saved for last and I believe it is the single most important leadership trait a person can possess. This trait will raise your training to a whole new level and new muscle will be sure to follow. Any guesses? Without a shadow of a doubt INTEGRITY is the single most important quality we as Blue Collar Bodybuilders need to carry with us. Carry with us you may ask? Yes, carry INTEGRITY where ever you go my friends. Integrity is defined by being honest and truthful in what you say and do. We must put sound moral principles above all else. Have a sense of duty and walk with purpose.

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BLUE COLLAR BODYBUILDING WITH JOE LEAHY

INTEGRITY also means standing up for what you believe is right. Now you may be asking yourself, Joe what does INTEGRITY have to do with my weight training? Well here is my answer to that question my friends. How many times have you seen or heard of a person being involved in some major drama at the gym? A lot, right? I know the answer is a clear and loud Yes! A lot of problems we bring on to ourselves by lowering or standards or losing our INTEGRITY. Problems can happen in a split second. We must not lower our standard of excellence we have set for ourselves. How is the INTEGRITY of your workouts right now?

Do you go into the gym with a well laid out game plan or are you standing at the juice bar engaged in the latest gym gossip? If you are not part of the solution then you are part of the problem. Be faithful to the mission of being the best bodybuilder we can be. We must be faithful to our careers because our jobs give us the opportunity to compete at what we love.

We also must be faithful to our relationships because the support group which stands with us by our side is truly needed. We can not go at this alone. If you think you can, well, imagine this scenario. You win your first overall title in 2010 and you are amped up and pumped up and you look out into the crowd and see only strangers. You go back stage with your trophy and head held high but you seen no familiar faces. Then it hits you that you are all alone. We must nurture all aspects of our lives and it all starts with Integrity. If you feel INTEGRITY is lacking in your life well it is easy to add some. Just be truthful and honest at all times and stand up for what you believe in. Its just that easy, I guarantee if you keep your INTEGRITY with you at all times your training and life outside the gym will be much easier.

Thanks for checking in this month. Next month I will talk about my diet and training for the first time. I am going to be competiting in the North American’s in 2010. I will not miss this show and I will be at my all time best. My training partner Ryan and kicking some major behind in the gym right now and appling all leadership traits so we can be the best we can be in 2010. God Bless to all the men and women over seas keeping us safe and free. Lets never forget the debt we owe them. Finally a quick shout out to the Michigan Department of Corrections Honor Guard Unit. These men and women know INTEGRITY well and use it to represent the 18,000 M.D.O.C employees here in Michigan! Keep leading Honor Guard.

Until next month Keep Rollin’ Baby!!!!

WHO WILL POSE DOWN AWARD ATHLETE OF THE YEAR TO? COME TO THE CENTRAL TEXAS SHOWDOWN OCT 16, 2010 TO FIND OUT!!!

ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

www.CentralTexasShowdown.com

THE FUTURE

In today’s age of computers and Iphones, a person can find anything they want with a push of a button. Over the years a lot of women have been “surfing” the web and stumbled upon pictures of a figure or fitness competitor and become instantly hooked. This months FUTURE athlete happens to have done just that. TJ Wiltz is a beautiful rising star in the figure industry. She got started in the industry by taking a good look at herself. She says “I saw pictures of me taken while out clubbing in the French Quarters – OMG!!! I had to do something fast. I wasn’t obese but definitely what is commonly referred to as thick. I started researching nutrition, exercise, and just health in general on the internet. I wanted to know that I was capable of losing the weight and kick starting myself into a healthy lifestyle. It was important for me to know that I had regained control of my life and just as important – My appearance. Through my internet research I discovered Figure Competitions and attended several local competitions and I was hooked!”

A year and a half later she placed top ten at the 09 Team Universe. With the help of her trainer, Roc Shabazz, she plans on taking her physique to the pro stage one day. She also credits some of her motivation to her daughter Chynna. TJ speaks of her daughter like any proud mom would. “Chynna is a high school senior competitive cheerleader and a future fitness competitor. LOL The pride that I see in her eyes when she looks at me is constant motivation. She appreciates the discipline and consistency this sport requires. Chynna understands that this is a lifestyle and she loves the life that I am now living.”

TJ’s training is pretty standard. She trains full body four days a week, alternating more upper body with less lower body one day and then the next she switches the emphasis to lower body and less upper body. Her favorite exercise is hammer curls. She says “Doing those make me feel very powerful.”

I have a feeling that hammer curls aren’t the only thing that makes her feel powerful. When I asked her about her interest outside the sport she replied with an emphatic “There is NOTHING outside of this sport. I am married to the iron! I live, breathe, and love it!”

With the help of Roc, the motivation of her daughter Chynna, a genetically gifted physique and a great attitude toward the sport look for TJ to be making a big name for herself in the near future.