Time is of the essence, especially in fitness
I won the bet, but wow, what that bet really started. We had been buddies since junior high school, and we were now in our early 40’s. We met yearly to do a guys weekend every March. As we sat in the Tampa airport waiting for our flights, we chatted about the high school basketball and football we played. Our egos told us we were not old and out of shape, so the two dreamed up a physical challenge for the 3rd to be completed by next year’s trip. Reuben and Gerald chose bodybuilding as my challenge. I had to put in the work and legitimately compete in a natural amateur bodybuilding contest. The loser had to buy the other two dinner next year. Not a major loss, but our egos said otherwise.
THIS JUST FURTHER JUSTIFIED THE HEALTHY lifestyle I was already on, and, in fact, the year of training and eating healthy imprinted this healthy lifestyle in my brain forever. I did this really on my own. While I asked for, read and used plenty of advice, I surprised myself with the discipline and dedication. I went into it thinking it was a physical challenge, but it was so much more mental.
I went into the competition feeling pretty good, but came out 12th out of 12 men in the division. Judges and competitors told me I needed 6 more weeks of dieting, but that my symmetry was spot on. I had trimmed down to 176 from 194 lbs, but still needed to lose more fat.
I LEARNED WHAT MANY BODYBUILDERS LEARN in their first competition, in the next competition you are only competing against your last showing. This was a defining moment for me, however. In leading up to this competition, I was spending more than 16 hours in the gym. I sacrificed a lot over the last year, and if I was going to compete again I needed to find a way to do this in less time.
I DID NOT COMPETE AGAIN FOR 3 YEARS. Instead, I read (a lot), and experimented with different techniques. I went to so many bodybuilding competitions, and I talked to competitors and judges. I was soaking up information with every conversation. What I learned kind of shocked me.
After all the research and experiments on my diet and exercise, I found that the exercise that was taking up to 17 hours per week could be done in 4 hours. I’ll re-write that: I reduced my exercise from 16+ hours per week down to 4 hours per week. The results I found were actually better. when I started competing again in 2010 my rankings climbed. Here’s what it looked like:
2010 Iron Gladiator — California — 4th Masters & 3rd Novice Short
2011 Iron Gladiator — California — 2nd Masters & 2nd Novice Short
2011 Muscle Beach, Venice Beach, CA — Labor Day- 1st Masters
2011 San Diego Natural — 1st Masters/3rd Short Open
2012 Muscle Beach, Venice Beach, CA — Memorial Day — 1st Masters, 1st Novice Lightweight
2013 Naturally Fit Show, Austin, Texas — July 27–2nd Masters 50+, 4th Open Lightweight
In short, I combined high intensity training (HIT) with weights and high intensity interval training (HIIT) for cardio with a macro-centric diet for great results. I mean, it’s a 75% savings in time. Who doesn’t want to save time when it comes to fitness? As you might guess, I had to write about it. So, I wrote “Fat Burning Secrets” now available on Amazon Kindle. I have continued to update it over time. It’s a great book that teaches you how to lose belly fat.
Enter the Covid-19 pandemic. Gyms close, then open, then close again. The book assumes you have access to exercise machines for resistance training. I adapted. I created a video series called #2MinutesToABetterYou , and within that series I created videos where I use bodyweight and bands creating a workout at home series. You can find this series by typing in your browser #FatBurningSecretsAtHome. I also organized the videos for the Workout at Home series — https://www.richardhwebb.com/full-body-workout-at-home/.
Since the Covide-19 pandemic first closed my gym in March 2020, I have not walked back into a gym. I continue to keep in fantastic shape at home at 58.
As I am now older and have followed the bodybuilding lifestyle for many years, I have learned that no matter what activity level you keep, following a diet like a bodybuilder will keep you lean. I even created a course to show others that they can eat for their body type and count, manage and manipulate macronutrients and lose fat regardless of activity level. However, this course is not for bodybuilders, it’s for everyone who wants to learn how to eat specifically for their body type, gender, age, and activity level. The result of this course is also part of my 28 Day Workout Challenge.
Also, I am an award winning health coach and accept a limited number of clients each month. I explain my benefits at FatBurningSecrets.coach.
