I'd like to meet:
Competition History :
I did the 2005 Mountain Valley. I took 1st place in the Novice Heavy Weight class and won the Overall Novice Division also placed 3rd in the Light Heavyweight class in the Open. 2006 I did the Mountain Valley again I took 1st place in the Light Heavyweight class and also won the Overall in the Open. 2008 I did the Philadelphia Championship I took 1st in the Light Heavyweight Class. I also did the Pennsylvania Championship and Keystone Championship where I took 2nd in the Light Heavyweight Class.
How did you get started in bodybuilding? Did something spark you to get serious? Give us your background ( make this as detailed or vague as you are comfortable with) :
Weight training is something that I have been around from when I was a little kid. My Grandfather is one of those hard-nosed, old school guys that has been in the gym since the 1950's. You know the type....."Never miss a meal or a workout!". He and my Uncle had me in the gym watching them train when I was about 10 years old. I wasn't really training, I was just soaking it all in. By the time I was 13, I got my first gym membership @ Ed Ryan's Gym in Glenolden, PA. This was a gym where only the hardcore trained. All of the guys that trained there were either bodybuilders or powerlifters......and that goes for the 2 or 3 women members too! It was the perfect atmosphere for us kids to learn what training was all about. Over the years I jumped from gym to gym just searching for a place with that hardcore feel. In 1997 I found a gym in Exton that fit me. It was called Better Bodies, the name was a bit weak but it had that hard feel to it.......loud music......big boy weights.....guys running to puke into a trashcan after a good workout. Even with that, I would see guys train hard for a little while then fall off. But there was one guy that stood out. I would see him busting his balls every rep....every set.....every workout. That guy is IFBB Pro Brian Chamberlain. He wasn't a Pro back then but he knew what he wanted and how to get there. That was the spark I needed to get me training to my potential. I really didn't know Brian, but I would watch how he would train each day and try to put myself thru his same workout. It wasn't easy. A few years later Brian took over Better Bodies and changed the name to Fitness Extreme, the name was much more fitting to the gym. It was then that Brian noticed I was growing and training harder than most of the guys there. He asked me to train with him once in a while. I have to admit, I was nervous as hell to train with this dude. Barely would sleep the night before the first few workouts with him. Sometimes it wasn't pretty, but I made it thru them. In 2004 just after Brian got his Pro Card, he asked me to train with him on a regular basis. I started seeing my body change within a few months. At that point the goal to get on stage was very evident to me. In the spotlight, that is where I belong.
What are your Bodybuilding Career goals?
My goal in Bodybuilding it to go as far as I can possibly go. This is a once in a life time opportunity that I am not going to let slip out of my grasp.
Who trains you and is there anyone you emulate or look up to as a competitor?
My Training Partner is IFBB Pro Brian Chamberlain. Our workouts are not for the faint of heart. Brian wrote an article for AnimalPak.com titled "Bulldozin". It follows us thru one of our Leg days. Read it if you get a chance. I never really trained with a partner consistently because I never felt that I was able to push myself to my limit. I was always changing my workout to suit their needs because they were afraid to push. With Brian, we push eachother past whatever limits we may have had in our heads. We really don't talk when we train, it's all business.
What do you recommend to others getting started?
I think the secret to Bodybuilding is being consistent in everything. Train hard every day and make every set count. Watch your diet, you have to eat like a bodybuilder 24-7. This is the hardest part for people to stick to. You will see so many guys in the gym training hard day in and day out BUT they look the same as they did last year and the year before that. Why is that???? It's because after they leave the gym they go sit on a bar stool and have a few beers with their boys while flexing their hard earned muscles for the chicks that hang out in bars. It's a vicious cycle. You have to limit yourself when it comes to that lifestyle. Don't get me wrong, go have fun and enjoy yourself, but know that it is not helping you get where you want to be.
If anyone would like to reach me you can email me at ejmcgee( at hotmail.com ) or www.myspace.com/ericjmcgee.