My man, Jake, is 3 - 0 this year.  He’s entered 3 shows and won 3 shows!  I’m pretty stoked to say the least!

Jake competed in a drug-tested NGA competition this past weekend.  Since he’s fairly new to competing, he was just going to enter the Novice division.  But he eventually decided to go ahead  and enter the Open division as well (which is the hardest division).  That ended up being a good decision.

Jake won both the Novice Heavyweight and the Open Heavyweight classes. 

Compared to his victory two weeks ago at an NPC contest, Jake looked a tad better this time around.  The difference was simply two more weeks of burning fat, which equated to him being about one pound lighter.  Since his peaking went perfectly last time, we did the exact same thing this time (with some minor changes on contest day).  After all, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

That will be it for Jake this year.  He’ll be back next year with even more muscle.  We’ve managed to put 6.5 pounds of muscle on him each of the last two years (and that even included working around a couple of injuries).  So the plan is to put on another 6 - maybe even 8 - pounds of muscle on this next year.  That’ll put him on stage at 208-210 pounds.  Big difference than 190 two years ago.

As you can see, slow and steady wins the race!

Once again, Jake, congratulations!  You are a pleasure to work with.

Best,

Dr Clay

Unless you’re new to DrClay.com or don’t know who I am (by the way I’m Clay Hyght), then you already know that this site is about helping you look and feel your best, and that I’m a fitness “expert” (whatever that means).

But every once in a while I like to diverge from fitness and talk about something else.  After all, while fitness is VERY important, it’s not all there is to life.

I think we (I know I do) sometimes get caught up in our to-do lists and our goals, that we forget to actually enjoy and appreciate the present moment. 

Lee Labrada asked me a few years ago how I did in my latest contest.  After telling him I didn’t do quite as well as I’d hoped to, he said, “Clay, you have to make sure to enjoy the process and the journey.  Don’t just focus on the goal or destination.”  His words have stuck with me ever since.

Unfortunately, I was reminded a few months ago about just how short and uncertain life is when my Dad passed away at only 56 years of age.  I’ve done a lot of thinking and reflecting since then.  And one thing I thing I’ve realized is that we MUST stop to smell the roses along the way.  Otherwise you may never have the chance.

So, while I still think we should all eat right (the vast majority of the time), exercise, and take care of our bodies - I feel it’s important to live life and have a blast along the way.

Instead of continuing to put “Ride a Harley through the Las Vegas desert” on my to-do-one-day list (aka Bucket List) - I decided instead to actually ride a Harley through the Las Vegas desert.  It was a blast!

While I hope you enjoy the photos memoirs of my Harley trip that included the Las Vegas strip, Red Rock, and the Mountain Spring Saloon biker bar, I hope you’ll set out within the next couple of weeks to create your own memories.

Go check something off of your Bucket List!

Yours in health & fitness… and enjoying life:)

Dr Clay

This past weekend I went to the Perform Better Functional Training Summit hosted by Perform Better and held in Long Beach, CA.

To say it was a great trip is an understatement. 

We first went to train at Gold’s Gym in Venice - the mecca of bodybuilding.  There I ran into Jerome Ferguson and Will Harris, both of whom are looking great!

Then we cruised through the fitness hangout in Venice, Max Muscle.  There I met Danny Hester - former cover model of Muscle Media.  Danny has an incredibly symmetrical and aesthetic physique.  Fans of Danny (or that type physique) will be glad to know he’s planning a comeback and will be competing in the USA Championship in Las Vegas in just a few weeks.  I had never met Danny before, but found him to be a super cool (and smart) guy.

 Then next we were off to the Perform Better Summit, where we listened to and hung out with great guys like John Beradi, Alwyn Cosgrove, Robert dos Remedios, Gray Cook, Nate Green, and many others.

Assuming you couldn’t make the trip, you’d probably like to hear more about the seminars themselves.  Well, you’ll get to. 

Marci and I just recorded  a special edition of The Dr Clay Show in which we discuss the event in detail.  (It should be posted tomorrow). 

Likewise, Nate Green and I are covering the event for T-Nation.com.   I’ll let you know when that article is up at T-Nation.

You should certainly make plans to attend the 2009 renedition of the Perform Better Functional Training Summit!

Best,

Dr Clay

A big congratulations is in order to one of my clients, Jake Phillips, who was victorious this weekend in an NPC Bodybuilding contest he did in Tennessee.

Jake won the Heavyweight Novice division and was just two points shy of winning the overall title.  Quite a showing, that’s for sure!

I helped Jake when he competed in his first two shows two years ago.  We’ve been able to really make some improvements to his physique over those two years.  He stepped on stage this year 13 pounds heavier!  That’s 6.5 pounds of lean muscle gain per year!  When you’ve been lifting for a while that’s a lot of muscle!

Jake will compete again in an NGA Bodybuilding show in two weeks.  The upcoming show is actually the one we were originally shooting for, but decided to do this NPC show as well… I’m glad we did:)

When you’re coaching bodybuilders (and you can’t be there with them in person) there are two great phone calls you can get: 1) “man, we hit the nail on the head and peaked perfectly - I look great - lean, full, and vascular” 2) “we did it man; I won!” 

I was lucky enough to get both of those phone calls this Saturday - sweet! 

Way to go Jake!  I’m proud of you!

Dr Clay