When I was getting ready for a contest I was not thinking size, I was thinking I want to come in shredded, so shredded that people are going to be shocked.
It is a lot of pressure to prepare for the Mr. Olympia.
My first bodybuilding competition was the 2003 NPC Northern Colorado, where I was a light-heavyweight weighing in at 192 lbs. I was very nervous, as it was my first real-life experience being a bodybuilder.
My sole goal when getting ready for a contest was not building a lot of size, although when I was coming up pure muscle size was still very important. I was always really concerned about coming in very sharp conditioning wise.
Because the Arnold Classic is such a big show, a guy who hasn't been getting a lot of recognition all of a sudden does that show and arrives in good condition and is able to take out some of the top guys, it then puts him up there in the running for the Olympia title. So he can get more recognition that way.
About three months before a contest, I drink a lot of water. I start to drink a lot of water.
I trained for size in the off-season, but when it came time to get ready for a contest it was all about coming in shredded. The glutes must be striated, with the lower back shredded, no water anywhere, no loose skin. Like you are covered in cling-film.
I don't want to train for every contest the way I do for the Fourth of July. It would be impossible.
You go to a contest, and it's like, 'OK, I'm here for two weeks. All my energy, time, thinking, and everything is going toward that.' Everything you're doing is building toward the score at the end.
You can't enter a contest emotionally charged. It clouds your judgment, it clouds your reaction.
The problem I see with most contests is that the people judging have never competed in a bodybuilding contest. I feel that to have the knowledge necessary to judge a bodybuilding competition, you must have walked in those shoes.
I kind of just treat every contest like a normal day.
My fans are just amazing, all over the world I've been greeted by people with smiles on their faces by what I do at the gym and what I do on stage, and how can I not be excited when i'm getting ready for a contest and how can I not be pumped even when I'm tired.
Going into a contest, I do not eat solid food and take in minimal calories for days, so I am hungry.
