My own contest had come and gone, and reaching the best shape of my life had only been good enough for third place in the Heavyweights. Of course, at 203 pounds I would have been more competitive in a weight class called ‘Not-quite Heavyweight,” but at this writing the NPC has no such division. The men who beat me were so much larger as to finally make me come to terms with the fact that perhaps God put me on this earth to be a writer and a coach, rather than a big jacked-up freak. In fact, I am still bruised form being jostled by several sets of 21-inch arms during prejudging. After allowing myself a couple days to wallow in self-pity and endless bowls of Frankenberry cereal (my kids had already finished the Count Chocula and BooBerry in the big three-pack box of monster cereals), it was time to redirect my focus toward Randy.

Often elite athletes have a successful career in a particular sport and after retiring take up a new athletic endeavor and quickly become adept at their latest undertaking. The elite know how to train hard and they know the level of effort and sacrifice required to make physical progress. They understand the commitment necessary to succeed and they take the approach (the discipline and work habits created in the old sport) and apply what they’ve learned to the new sport, obtaining spectacular results in a short time frame.