Jay Larcher- The Story Of A True Bodybuilding Champion
Jay relaxed and in shape backstage at the NPC Brooklyn Bodybuilding Championships.
What becomes a champion most? Is it the number of titles and accolades that adorn their mantles or is it their unwavering spirit of self improvement. To me only the latter is of any real tangibility and with that I would like to present my good friend and Naturally Intense client, Jay Larcher.
Jay started training with me about 6 months ago to get ready for the Eastern USA Bodybuilding Championships- a high caliber regional level contest that he had competed in last year and wanted to improve his showing. What makes Jay’s venture notable, however is that he wanted to do it drug free. Contests promoted by this organization are not tested for the use of anabolic steroids, diuretics and other performance enhancing drugs, in fact their use is strongly encouraged.
As a lifetime natural athlete myself, I was immediately impressed by Jay’s spirit. We shared a certain sense of integrity and he was not concerned about being anything but the best that he could be without the help of any artificial advantage. Preparing for a bodybuilding contest is no small undertaking, but readying to stand toe to toe with some of the top competitors on the East Coast powered only by old fashioned hard work and dedication makes it even more of a challenge.
Our challenge, though, was to make Jay the best that he had ever been, and I had full confidence that his best would allow him to hold his own against his competition, and he did just that. Having gained a full ten pounds of muscle and sporting striations that he had never seen before thanks to the brutally high intensity 10 minute workouts workouts and his customized diet. With no aerobics and following the principles of the Naturally Intense System of Diet & Exercise, Jay was not only able to be his best, but beat his best!
The Warm Up- The NPC Brooklyn Bodybuilding & Fitness Show
With all of my competitors, I always have them do a ‘warm up’ contest before their showing in a major contest, to help them get used to being onstage and also to let the judges have a first look at them as well. With my method, you are always contest ready at least 2 to 4 weeks before the actual show, so the NPC Brooklyn Bodybuilding and Fitness two weeks prior to the Easterns seemed a good choice. With nothing in terms of last minute carb depletion, water restrictions or fancy supplements, Jay walked onstage amazed by his new body, and moreover that he was able ot look better than he ever did without having to starve himself, or resort to any last minute manipulations. This new look was how he looked all the time, and as time goes on he would only get better and better. For the Brooklyn show, Jay placed a respectable 6th in the light heavyweight class- many had him much higher. With his lines, conditioning, overall symmetry and balance, several veterans in the audience placed him as high as third in their estimation, but as a judge said afterwards, it is all about being bigger. Our competition is an internal one, not a path based on the preferences of a judging panel, but more importantly a path where health comes first, and the compromises required to be bigger are not part of our program.
The Moment of Truth- The Eastern USA Bodybuilding Championships
Jay Larcher holding his own at the Eastern USA Bodybuilding Championships
On contest day, Jay stepped onstage with a confidence that can only be equaled by the pride that I, his girlfriend, Kimani and his family felt as we sat in the audience cheering him on. He looked very much like he belonged there and the victory that night was not in the form of a trophy, but in the realization of a personal best and a sense of accomplishment that can never be taken away. Immediately after coming off stage at the pre-judging, his first words to me were,
“Wait until they see what we are going to do next year!”
Such a spirit, such a passion and such determination cannot be stopped and I look forward to seeing him step onstage next year, no longer a light heavyweight, but a legitimate heavyweight contender. There is no off season for those of us who look to bodybuilding as a lifestyle, no pizza and junk food binges after months of deprivation. For us it is about health, balance and the understanding that such tools on your side do indeed make you unbeatable. Thank you, Jay, not only for helping inspire so many others but also for inspiring me as well.
NYC Personal Trainer Kevin Richardson is one of the most sought after personal trainers in New York City, a lifetime drug free bodybuilding champion and the founder of the Naturally Intense System of Diet & Exercise™. His unorthodox 10 minute workouts have been helping people get get better results in less time for the past 19 years! Get a copy of his free weight loss e-book here!
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