Here's how it went: Jay Cutler, former 3 time Mr. O, fought the closest battle of his career to edge out an ever-improving Phil Heath to grab a 4th Sandow and plant his feet firmly in the cement of history...Jay - congratulations from your 619 Muscle family!
And, as for us local guys, it was an amazing weekend! Of course, Vegas isn't all that far from home, so many of the 619 Muscle family were in attendance, either working or competing in one of the many events. Meriza worked the MAN Sports booth w/ Khay, and they were both extremely busy all weekend. Our good friend from a few miles north, Sonia Gonzalez, won the inaugural Ms. Olympia Bikini contest, and local Pro Figure competitors and 619 friends, Julie Ann Kulla and Krissy Chin got the chance to strut beneath big "O" in Figure this year. Beautiful, amazing ladies - congrats!
For us, however, the big story of the day was the Pound4Pound Challenge that took place at the Expo on both days. Both Derik and Pete competed, going head-to-head against each other and Big Ben Pakulski in a contest that challenged not only strength but will, heart and stamina. When the dust settled, Derik stood on top of the heap, having repped 25 solid reps with 2x his bodyweight in the Deadlift. And, after Pete got a best ever squat of 460lbs x 8 deep reps, to be outshined by Big Ben, who got 10 reps with 600lbs (Ben weighs 300lbs these days), Derik came out strong and pounded out 20 solid, ass-deep reps with 405lbs...just about 2.25x his bodyweight! This outdid all the other competitors and placed Derik on top of the heap once the numbers were crunched. Pete and Derik tied in the Bench Press bodyweight for reps - 26 reps each - this earned Pete a distant but noteworthy 2nd place overall.
All in all, an ass-kicking weekend for the 619 Crew!
So, while the FREAK and I have been hard-training to build up his power and anaerobic endurance to compete in the 2010 Olympia Pound 4 Pound World's Strongest Bodybuilder Challenge, the promoters of the event opened up the Challenge to national level NPC competitors as well. (that means, I'm eligible to compete right alongside my good buddy and long-time training partner...and of course, Derik's fired up about it - Meriza's supportive, so I guess I'm in!
Here's how we're doing it: We spoke with fellow World Gym, San Diego, member and former world record holder, the Isreali Tank, Oan Basson, who helped us design our 8 week training program. We also got some technique pointers from 619 MUSCLE strongman, and Arizona's Strongest Man, 2010, Tomas Navarro. Together with the years of training experience between Derik and I, we figured we put together a solid program that would help enable us to continue to pursue our ultimate bodybuilding goals, in conjunction with pushing our event-specific strength and endurance to new levels.
Program: Sunday: Leg day - Squats, 5 x 5's, working our way up as heavy as possible, followed by typical bodybuilding training program Monday: rest Tuesday: Delts - Smith machine overhead press, 5 x 5's, working our way up as heavy as possible, followed by our typical bodybuilding training program Wednesday: Back - focus on width, lower lats Thursday: Chest - Bench press, 5 x 5's, followed by typical training program Friday: Deadlifts - 5 x 5'x. PM: Biceps and Triceps Saturday: rest
It's gonna be fun! We've got only a few more weeks left to pound it..stay tuned for updates as we get ready to travel to Vegas and lift some stuff!
First and foremost, CONGRATULATIONS TO THE FAMILY'S NEWEST IFBB PRO BODYBUILDER - "IFBBPD!" PD, Parenthesis Devers! It's been a very long time coming for this perennial crowd-pleaser, who's rocked the stage at the 619 Muscle bash for the past several years, and regularly tears up the stage on the national level in the NPC...NO LONGER! PD has finally earned his right to graduate into the ranks of bodybuilding's elite - the few athletes of our sport who can call themselves members of the world's best, the International Federation of Bodybuilders. Watching PD in the gym, we all knew he had it inside to join the sport's elite one day...and when he put his game face on earlier this year, many said there was a different look in his eyes these days...and he proved it this weekend, dieting down into the lightheavies for the first time in years, he pulled off an overall victory that locked PD into the top spot, earning him that coveted Pro Card!! Great job, PD!
check him out here, in the moment of truth!
And warm congratulations to our lovely family member, Bikini sensation, Ms. Khay Rosemond! This 2-time overall champion (at the NPC Orange County and West Coast shows this spring) in first pro qualifier, rising star, Khay strutted and smiled her way into the top 5 amidst some supertight competition! Way to go, little one! Ms. Khay is a hard working athlete who's come a long way in a short time! Keep on rollin', Ms. Khay!
And congrats to Laleh Yahgoubi, local Figure champ, who worked hard all year and brought a top quality package to the national stage at the North Americans this weekend - inspiring! go Laleh! We'll definitely be seeing more of this little dynamo in the near future!
What a great weekend - our extended family and friends each bring to the stage exemplary packages of class, hard work, and the dedication it takes to be the best they can be! Achieving your personal best - that's the goal, and that's the Essence of Hardcore that drives the 619 Muscle Family!
Derik preparing for the Pound4Pound Strongest Bodybuilder competition at the Olympia this year - we've got just under 4 weeks at this point!
Derik's and I have been training together for several years now, and it seems like the fun never fades, when you set new goals, new challenges before you. Apollo Creed in Rocky IV said it best, when trying to convince the Italian Stallion to help him prepare to fight Drago, he said, "...without some challenge, without some damn war to fight, the warriors may as well be dead, Stallion."
I think he said it pretty eloquently. We do these things, set goals, strive to be ever better, pushing ourselves, not to escape from life, but rather to enrich our lives and prevent life from escaping us. The harder we push, the higher we set our sights, the further we go, the greater the experiences and the better, the richer the journey is.
Life is rarely easy, and its never fair...but if we stay focused on what we've been given, and do our darned-est to make the absolute most out of all that we've been given, play the hand we've been dealt with as much heart, love and smarts as we've got, then we can never lose. I fully believe that the measure of a man is not where he ends up, but how far he has gone from where he started, making the most out of what he's been given, that's what matters most...and to be sincere about it, that's what makes our nation - the good ol' USA - the greatest place to live, to this point...and we all should constantly keep that in mind -
the USA is a place, where, even to this day, with a whole lot of blood, sweat and tears, focused effort and faith, that just about any dream can still be achieved...
So I say, let's all thank the good Lord for our nation, and for those of us who were not lucky enough to live here, we'd love to see you soon! We should get up, get off our asses, look around us for ways that we can give back to those around us, and ways to strengthen, not drain from, our nation's lifeblood...Nuff soapbox, too much for a middle of the night rant, huh? I'm going to say my prayers, give thanks for the things that I have, and rest up, for tomorrow, I've got some work to do - making myself better! And that's my own responsibility, and the way I can strengthen my community.
