First off was Sandy Aja.  Sandy began her journey with David Johnston training in October of 2011.  She already worked out regularly, and wanted to do “something more” with her fitness.  She decided she wanted to compete in her first physique Competition, potentially taking part in the Figure Division.  After meeting, we agreed she would be best suited now for the Bikini Division, and immediately put her on an aggressive training and nutrition regimen.  Starting at 5’4” and 130lbs, Sandy had the stated goal of adding muscle mass and stripping fat, hoping to get down to 115lbs.

At the show, Sandy took to the stage at a ripped and muscular 110lbs, surpassing even her own expectations.  She ended up taking 5th  out of 12 in the Bikini Division, taking home a hefty trophy.  More importantly, Sandy proved she had the work ethic and drive to train like a beast and let nothing stop her.  David and Nikki Johnston now have no doubt that with another year of dedicated training, Sandy will be able to completely transform her physique and be competitive in any Figure show she decides to enter.

Next up was Sara Pearson.  Sara approached David in September of 2011, standing at 5’5”, 130lbs.  Sara’s goal was to build muscle while stripping fat.  Already in the gym several days a week, Sara found she had hit a plateau, and wanted something more ambitious to motivate her workouts– thus deciding to aim for her first Bikini competition.  Sara rapidly proved to have a tremendous work ethic, paying attention to detail and implementing her program design perfectly.

In a matter of just over 6 months, Sara was able to bust through her plateau, build new muscle mass, and strip her frame down to 115lbs on stage– all while studying for and passing the Maryland Bar Exam and beginning regular work as a lawyer!  She walked out last Saturday like a seasoned professional, carrying herself with tremendous stage presence and grace, and nabbed a 4th place finish out of 12 in the Bikini Division.  David and Nikki Johnston are incredibly proud of the strides Sara has made these past few months, and can’t wait to see what’s next for her!

After meeting Sandy Aja and Sara Pearson last fall, David Johnston, their trainer, decided it would be a good idea for all of them to actually attend their first physique competition.  Sandy brought along her boyfriend, Dr. Martin Ozimek, an aerospace engineer with the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab who helps design space missions to the moon, asteroids, and comets for NASA http://sites.google.com/site/mtozimek/   Marty had already been lifting weights and living the bodybuilding lifestyle for a good chunk of his life, but had never found the time to actually step on stage and compete.  David offered his help to Marty, telling him that he had tremendous potential should he ever decide to compete.  Figuring now was a good time– it certainly wouldn’t hurt to support Sandy in her own journey– Marty also committed to prepping for his first show.

By and large, Marty handled all of his own training, and only went to David for overarching advice on his contest diet, cardio regimen, posing instruction, and overall programming to get him into the best shape of his life.  Over the course of four months, Marty transformed from a very-in-shape 218lbs, to a ripped-to-the-bone 187lbs.

Marty ended up being the “surprise of the night”, taking first place in the Men’s Debut Bodybuilding Division, first place in the Men’s Novice Heavyweight Bodybuilding Division, winning the Men’s Bodybuilding Novice Overall title, and placing 3rd in the Men’s Open Middlweight Bodybuilding Division, the most competitive class of the night.  Marty took to the stage like a warrior, fighting hard during the posedown for the Novice Overall.  He won over the audience and had a huge cheering section behind him by the time he left the stage.  Going home that night, Marty had his hands full with not one, but four large trophies, and the knowledge that he had truly gone the distance, pushing his mind and body to new heights of personal accomplishment.  Marty will be competing again this weekend, Saturday April 21st, and we wish him the absolute best on stage.  David and Nikki Johnston look forward to continuing to guide Marty in his bodybuilding endeavors.  He truly is one of the hardest working individuals we’ve ever met, and it shows in his continued success.

Last but certainly not least was Christina Fahey.  Christina was the one individual who competed last weekend that never intended to get on stage.  Christina approached David Johnston in February of 2011 in the worst shape of her life.  Standing at 5’3” and 186lbs, Christina was working out in the gym furiously but seeing zero progress.  After assessing her situation, David realized that Christina’s problem was largely her diet and lifestyle, and proposed a complete overhaul to her nutrition habits.  They fought furiously in the beginning over every morsel of food, but David was relentless and would not budge when it came to his dietary recommendations.  He told Christina right off the bat about the potential he saw in her, and explained that if she ever went the distance, she would have a physique the likes of which nobody would believe.  Christina was hoping to get down to approximately 136lbs, give or take 5lbs.  Her end point would far exceed even her own expectations.

Though a battle in the beginning, Christina started to see the benefits of following the eating and training style suggested by David.  As the compliments started to slowly trickle in from strangers, Christina grew more driven and motivated, and had a progressively easier time sticking to the diet plan.  Though never simple, with practice, everything got a bit easier.  After the first 6 months, Christina had dropped to 150lbs, a total loss of 36lbs.  She was starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but still didn’t have the full faith or vision.  David, however, was hellbent on getting her there, and started tossing around the idea of Christina doing her first bodybuilding competition.  He knew this would give her a concrete goal and motivate her to push to the next level of personal development.  It never pays to set the bar low, and with Christina, we set it at the stars.  Little did we realize she would ride that rocket into the stratosphere.

After months of blood, sweat, and tears in the gym– combined with enough chicken breast to feed an army– Christina weighted in the day before the show at 123.2lbs.  She had surpassed even her own expectations, dropping 63lbs,  and now truly looked like the champion she had always had bottled inside.  Though not always the most aggressive on the outside, Christina took to the stage like a seasoned warrior, and moved the audience with her beautiful posing routine.  Christina ended up taking 2nd place in the Women’s Bodybuilding Debut division and 3rd in the Women’s Open Bodybuilding Division.  In the course of just over a year, Christina completely morphed from the worst shape of her life, to looking like a living, breathing statue on stage.  Her beaming smile showed the personal pride and accomplishment she had achieved through her dedicated hard work, and David sat in the audience like a proud parent.  They both look forward to seeing what the future holds for Christina’s training, and pushing her to new heights with her personal development.

All four competitors approached David Johnston unsure of themselves– their abilities, their potential, and a realistic timeline.  Each, however, knew that there was more within them, a champion, or warrior, just clawing to get out.  David would like to stress that he cannot take the credit for each individual’s success– he was merely the instructor and tireless guide on the path of every person truly seeking, and finding, the best within themselves.  Congratulations to Sandy Aja, Sara Pearson, Marty Ozimek and Christina Fahey on elevating yourselves from would-be champions to actual living, breathing success stories.  It is individuals like you that motivate us all to ever-greater heights.

-David A. Johnston
April 20th, 2012

David talks about the hard work and dedication that it took for Nikki to get to this point in this article .

But as we’ve learned, that’s not my style.

I sat in the audience with a fussing little 2-year-old on my lap, sweating like a heat bomb, crying out for her mommy.  Poor Raven simply did not understand why Daddy was here but Mommy was not.  “Mommy is going to come out on the stage”.

And Raven, in her broken 2-year-old sentence structure, blurted out, “Mommy’s stage”.

“Yes, honey, that’s Mommy’s stage”.

And about 30 minutes into the contest, it became obvious to myself, and many others within the building, that it was, in fact, Mommy’s Stage.

Nikki strode onto the stage, wide shoulders, flared lats, tiny waist with abs popping out, a thick vein coursing down either arm.  But most stunning was her smile.  The lighting in the high school auditorium was atrocious, and the organizers ended up putting construction flood lights on the edge of the stage in order to provide some much-needed brightness.  Luckily, Nikki’s smile was enough to light the stage.

In the width of her shoulders I saw the countless hours of lateral raises, drop sets, burning and sweating in the gym; in her flared lats I saw 100lbs dumbbell rows, cable rows and pulldowns; in her tiny waist I saw bland egg white after egg white after chicken breast, and the suffering of skimping on the fun foods; in her abs I saw the nights when the hunger overwhelmed her to the point of simply wanting to hide on the couch, waiting for it to be over; in the thick vein coursing down either arm, I saw a woman– no, a goddess– unafraid to push herself, to push the envelope, to be different, someone who was not only not scared of being strong, but a woman who wanted to be strong, who prided herself on being strong, stronger, better, best; I saw a goddess willing to outwork and outlift just about any man I’ve ever seen her train alongside; I saw thousands of pounds being hoisted, curled, and pressed over the course of half a lifetime.

But in her smile, I saw joy.  I saw happiness to be in the moment, with her husband, daughter, and friends in the audience.  I saw the excitement of knowing that a celebratory meal was right around the corner– a truly earned cheat meal, one that capped months of working to the brink of exhaustion.  I saw a smile not meant to please anybody else in attendance, but merely worn as a badge, like patting herself on the back– “You did it; you struggled, you suffered, you failed here and there, but you did it; you met your husband in 2007, while attempting to prep for your first show, and never made it to the stage because you weren’t ready to tackle that challenge; but you persisted, you practiced, you ground it out and smashed it into the ground, and here you are now– you did it.  Mommy’s Stage”.

I saw the smile that told the world: this is Mommy’s Stage.

Nikki competed in the Figure C, or tall class, with a total of 5 competitors.  She ended up taking a very close 2nd place– the judges told us it was neck and neck– and the one girl who beat her went on to win the overall for the whole show.  Nikki was a mere point or two from taking home her first overall title, an accomplishment I have still not achieved in over 4 years of competing.  One of the judges pulled her aside after the show and personally invited her to compete in another show in 3 weeks, simply because she felt Nikki “had the overall package”– the beauty, grace, and physique of a champion.

I am proud to call that champion my wife, and to have the honor of being married to the Goddess of the Stage– Mommy’s Stage– Nikki’s Stage.

Watch the video of the competition here… 2011 NPC Philadelphia Bodybuilding and Figure Championship

-David A. Johnston
6/29/11

I ran a 5K last weekend.  It felt good to know I could do it.  But it’s just not my thing.  I respect those who run.  But deep down I’m a strength athlete, plain and simple.  I respect raw, brute strength, and the insanity required to achieve the strength.

I remember the first time I lifted 500lbs off the floor, no straps, just my hands caked in chalk and wrapped around the knurl of the bar.  And I remember the 550lbs.  And I remember the 585lbs conquering me.  But mostly, I remember smiling to my wife Nikki like a small boy, proud of my feeble accomplishment– knowing that the amount of weight I could place on the bar was theoretically infinite, that I just had to keep coming back and watching it rise over time, and that this feeling of strength, efficacy, accomplishment, could be replicated indefinitely.

There is a long-standing, and needlessly stupid, rivalry between bodybuilders and powerlifters.  Powerlifters don’t train to look a certain way, just perform a certain way.  Bodyfat levels tend to be higher, and there is no emphasis on the aesthetics of one’s physique.  Bodybuilders tend to castigate powerlifters for being “fat”, “out of shape”, and “lazy”.  Bodybuilders, by contrast, do not lift weights for the sake of maximum strength, but to break down muscle tissue and sculpt the body.  As such, bodybuilders are not as strong, pound-for-pound, as powerlifters, and tend to obsess over symmetry, balance, and their overall look, rather than the sheer intensity of their workout.  Powerlifters have been known to laugh at bodybuilders for being “pretty boys”, “all show and no go”, and– in a nutshell– fake.

So which is harder, bodybuilding or powerlifting?  Bodybuilding is definitely harder in the sense that it requires discipline and attention to detail over time.  But powerlifting is harder– or at least, more hardcore– in the sense that it is the true epitome of intensity and will.

The bodybuilder’s exertion meter is measured over time– not a single workout, but weeks, months, and years of discipline, dieting, weighing, measuring, planning, training and improving.  Yes, this is difficult, but it is difficulty spread out.  Bodybuilding is a sport consisting of thousands upon thousands of moments that all create a sum total, to stand as a trophy or statue at end of days proudly presenting one’s physique to the world.

Then there is powerlifting.  Powerlifting is true calculated insanity.  It is about taking everything you have within you– every single micron of energy, rage, fury, fire, will, strength, exertion– and applying it against a cold steel bar for less than 5 seconds.  Motivation, as an abstraction, is always about switching to the next gear.  In most sports, that gear has to be shifted into, slowly, time after time after time, until the event is over.  Even with football, you’re looking at 60 minutes of play, and you have numerous chances and plays and quarters to shift into your highest gear, to try to make up the distance at the end, to finally turn the shock meter to a thousand percent and bury the needle.

Powerlifting is a different, and scarier, animal.  You have to bury the needle all at once.  There are no second chances, third legs to the race, or fourth downs.  There is just this one moment, this one lift, this one attempt.  The bar goes up, or it doesn’t.  You insanity conquers gravity, or you are conquered and destroyed, all in the blink of an eye.

Watch the pre-lifting rituals of a powerlifter, and you will see insanity on a different level.  They slap themselves in the face prior to a big lift, simply to increase adrenaline, often drawing blood:

The athletes are not the long and lean frames seen on athletes of other ilk.  There is nothing “esthetic” or “beautiful” about the prototypical powerlifting physique.  And that’s the point.  These men and women are pure animal, beasts and bulls and bears with bulging necks and bald heads, traps that sit high upon their shoulders and bear witness to the thousands upon thousands of pounds pressed, pulled or dropped down to the floor, into the bucket, supported by thighs thick like oak trees:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oo1tU1YqPp0

Powerlifters do not like creature comforts.  They do not like air conditioned gyms and well-lit areas.  They are monsters that lurk in the recesses, hidden in the basement, amongst chalk on the floor and ammonia in the air, waiting to unleash everything all at once, a nuclear explosion and meltdown, a supernova of energy.

The mindset required to step underneath 500, 600, 700lbs is not possessed by many.  But they go bigger.  They step under 800, 900, 1000lbs.  A few elite individuals step under 1100lbs or more. Or press it off their chests. Or rip if off the ground:

They practice, they train, and they build their bodies through the torture of moving mountains, to the point where, one day, at an official meet, they will step up against a bar weighing more than they have ever moved, and make it move.  They will channel all of those training sessions into this one moment, this payoff, trying to drain everything all at once, the great compression before the Big Bang, shoving it into a funnel and condensing it into one moment of calculated insanity.  There will be no “recorded race time” at the end of the event, as there is with a 5K.  The powerlifting event does not occur over time.  It occurs in the blink of an eye, genesis, like the instantaneous creation of force within the cosmos.

And that, is power. That, is calculated insanity.
-David A. Johnston

Note: If you missed yesterdays post regarding bodybuilding diet and meal planning you can read it on the Facebook page here…   Bodybuilding Meal Plan

While prepping for bodybuilding competition I generally keep training very simple, as I am an advocate of fairly low-volume, high-intensity training. Throughout the entire prep, I would train back and shoulders on Monday; quads and hams on Wednesday; and chest, biceps and triceps on Friday. Occasionally, I would train calves and abs on the weekend, but for the most part, stuck only with major body parts throughout my prep, focusing on compound movements, good form, and strength increase.

During the first half of the prep, I essentially stuck to the DC training template, but split the days up a little different to save on time. During the second half of the prep, I went to a slightly more “traditional” bodybuilding split (same body part split, more exercises and more volume); the exact exercises would change somewhat from week to week, but would typically follow a pattern like this:

Note: One week start with back, one week start with shoulders.

Day 1: Back/Shoulders

* Wide Lat Pulldown: 4 add sets of 15,12,10,8 reps
* Barbell Rows: 4 add sets of 12,10,8,6 reps
* Cable Row or Machine Row: 4 add sets of 15,12,10,8 reps
* Butterfly: 3 sets of 20,15,12 reps
* Dumbbell Lateral Raise: 4 sets of 15,12,10,15 reps
* Smith or Dumbbell Overhead Press: 4 sets of 12,10,8,4-6 reps

One week start with quads, one week start with hamstrings.

Day 2: Rest

Day 3: Quads/Hamstrings

* Leg Extension (Pre-Exhaust): 4 add sets holding the peak contraction at the top for a 2-count for 12-15 reps
* Squats or Front Squats: 4 sets of 12,8,6,3-5 reps
* Hack Squats or Leg Press: 4 sets of 20,15,12,20 reps
* Seated Leg Curl: 1 warmup set of 12-15 reps, 2 working sets of 50-70 reps (blood volume)
* Romanian Deadlifts: 4 add sets of 15,12,8,4 reps
* Lunges or Lying Leg Curl: 3-4 sets of 12-15 reps

Day 4: Rest

Day 5: Chest/Biceps/Triceps

* Smith Machine Incline Press or Flat Bench Press: 4 sets of 12,8,4-5,8 reps
* Dumbbell Incline Press or Flat Bench Press: 3 sets of 10,8,6 reps
* Dumbbell Incline Flyes or Butterfly: 3 sets of 15,12,8 reps
* Alternate Dumbbell Curl or Barbell Curl: 3 sets of 12,10,6-8 reps
* Machine Curl: 2 drop sets of 15,12 reps
* Skull Crushers: 3 sets of 15,12,8
* Cable Pushdown: 2 drop sets of 15,12 reps

Days 6 and 7: Rest

Cardio:

Throughout the course of the diet, I slowly increased my cardio output, starting with fairly low-intensity walking, and increasing the frequency, the duration, and the intensity over the course of the 32 weeks.

During the first 4 weeks of the diet, I only performed 3 30-minute sessions per week, typically walking on the Treadmill around 3mph, working the incline higher over the course of the 30 minutes, usually to a peak of 11% (no holding on). I tried to increase my intensity slightly every two weeks, but tried to not take my heart rate much over 150BPM, on average, since I was doing cardio in a fasted state and wanted to avoid burning muscle tissue.

Having a treadmill at home, I used incline treadmill as my main cardio aparatus throughout most of my prep (usually about 4 days per week), but whenever possible, I would use the stair mill at the gym (usually 2-3 days per week), as it is my prefered and favorite method of cardio. (I think it actually helps you keep size in your legs, especially your glutes and quads).

The next 4 weeks of the diet, I increased cardio to 4 days per week, 40 minutes. Then two weeks of 5 days per week, 40 minutes. Then two weeks of 5 days per week, 50 minutes. Then up to 6 days per week, 60 minutes, which was my max cardio throughout the majority of my prep. I did 60 minutes every morning, fasted, throughout the majority of my prep.

During the last 6 weeks leading up to the Philly, and the 8 weeks in between the Philly and the Maryland, my conditioning had improved so much from all of the cardio that I had to start doing much harder intervals in order to increase heart rate. I am truly not a fan of running, so I would normally just keep the treadmill at a 15% incline, 3mph, for the whole session.

At this point, I tried doing the stairs whenever possible, and would normally start on level 4 to warm up, and interval up to roughly level 9 or 10 for 5 minute blocks, or until my legs gave out. I never truly attempted HIIT cardio, but towards the end of my prep, it was approaching that.

I posted the details of the meal plan on my Facebook page. Take a look at it here…

Facebook Bodybuilding Meal Plan

David Johnston was overweight for most of his life and wanted to make a change for himself and his family. See how he lost over 70 pounds and competed!

bodybuilding.com is one of, if not the biggest bodybuilding sites on the internet. Each week they feature a Transformation of the Week. This week they have selected David to profile. Read it here…

In the article David talks about what led him to getting involved in bodybuilding and what he did to prepare for the 2010 Maryland competition. Learn the exact carb-cycle diet plan that his coach Dan Kelsey (www.lbs4lbs.com) laid out for him.

David gives some great advice to others who might be looking to make some serious changes in their lives…

My main advice to others is simply to prioritize, be serious about achieving your goals, and don’t hold back. So many people approach life at 50%, and that’s simply not going to get you there. I know, because I was a fat kid my entire life-I never played sports, and was always somewhat embarrassed by my body. I tried to get into fitness a few times during my teens and college years, but again, never went 100% at it.

Read the entire article at http://bodybuilding.com/fun/david-johnston-shed-over-70-lbs-competed-onstage.html

First up the men – Yuri, David, Joe, and Brandon.

Here is one of the final pose downs. Much more video to come as I am able to get it edited and put together.