I won my IFBB Pro card at the USA Championships for bodybuilding last week. I'm honestly very proud of that, as it makes me the only male to ever win an IFBB Pro card from the Open/Unlimited division and also set an all-time, all-federation record in powerlifting.

The best part is that I've had so many bodybuilders reach out and tell me I've inspired them to start training heavy, and so many powerlifters wanting to start incorporating more hypertrophy work. The fact that multiple-time world record holding powerlifter Hunter Henderson also won her pro card at USAs really makes me think we're going to see a shift towards more crossovers in both sports, and that the level of competition across the board will improve as a result.

About My Training

My prep for this show was pretty close to perfect. My coach and training partner Taylor Gohn and I put together the following split:

Monday: Pull (AM)/Bench (PM)

Tuesday: Push

Wednesday: Squat/Hamstrings

Thursday: Off

Friday: Arms (AM)/Bench (PM)

Saturday: Deadlift/Quads

I kept up my heavy training all through prep, wrapping up with an 815x2 deadlift from the floor (with straps).

I also started practicing my posing about 20 weeks out of the show. Having only competed in bodybuilding for two years, I needed that time to learn the correct positions and be able replicate them consistently.

Dieting with Shelby Starnes

It was so cool to see my body improve LITERALLY every meal between waking up on Friday, through prejudging all the way until finals on Saturday night... Especially since with my previous coaches I just got worse and worse the closer we got to the show. Shelby is an absolute genius and we only have worked together for about five months. He's agreed to keep me on and I'm really excited to debut as a pro with his help, but not for a while -- I still have a lot to improve on in addition to my powerlifting meet in 6 weeks!

Show Day(s) Recap

What's Next?

I'll be honest, I've already gotten more from lifting than I ever dreamed I would. At this point, my biggest goal is to practice more of the Live, Learn and Pass on philosophy here at Elitefts. That said, I've obviously got my sights set on a 2300+ powerlifting total, and maybe even a run at an IFBB pro show win. I'm in no hurry -- I'm just happy to be here -- so it'll be a lot of fun to see what the future holds.