My goal was to compete in the NGA Mr. Philly - my prep started a more than a year in advance. Being brand new to bodybuilding - I had a lot to do and a short time to do it. Luckily I hooked up with Joe. It was simple - he knew what he was talking about - all I had to do was listen and do EXACTLY what he told me to do. I was 185lbs on a 5'8" frame - I had bulked up - thinking that was the right thing to do. Joe cleaned up my diet and slowly brought me down to a more reasonable 175. If I was going to look good for the competition - I had to come in under 160 and instead of making a mad dash to loose all the weight - we started early and did is slow and controlled.

Workouts were intense but quick - no long marathon sessions. Get in, get out, concentrate and make each workout count. Joe alnerated me between four and five day splits, switching up the routine every fourth session to make sure I continually hit muscles from different angles. Through the whole thing, Joe was always there to offer encouragement, guidance and to answer any questions (and there were A LOT) that I had.

December 2nd - 20 weeks out - time to tighten up the diet - just in time for Christmas - great. Goal was to loose 1/2 to 1 pound a week - nice and slow so I could keep most of the muscle I had worked so hard to get. Simple changes to the diet every two weeks make it very doable. Nothing too extreme - just little changes here and there. Workouts continued with the same mantra, lift hard, lift heavy do it and be done. Every few weeks I could start to see more and more possitive changes. I started to see new muscles that I hadn't seen before, my waist got smaller. Then it happened - I actually saw abs. At 39 years old I started to see abs. Then more abs and then veins started poppin up here and there. It was working!! I was starting to look like a bodybuilder - not a huge guy - but definately starting to look like I could do this. Holy crums - I might actually be able to pull this off!!

I started to attend Joe's posing classes in January. I can't fully underscore the importance of these classes. They were critical for several reasons. First - the neuances of posing are what make or break you. Joe nit picked over every pose making sure that I hit it and held it so that it showed off the strengths and hid the weaknesses of my own physique. Second - it conditioned me so that I could hold the poses and not look like I was struggling. Third - it got me used to posing with other people and feeling comfortable doing so. Most importantly though - I got to meet the great members of Team Franco - quite honestly the nicest and most supportive group of people you would ever want to meet. They really added to the whole experience - I truely could not have done this without their support. People think of Bodybuilding as an individual sport - its not - the support group you build it critical to any success.

As the show approached, Joe methodically and systematically altered my cardio and diet, continually tweaking my diet to maximize my results. Nothing crazy, nothing dramatic just minor changes. Lifting continued on course - lift hard, lift heavy. I really freaked out only once (ok maybe a few times). Joe never fed me unrealistic expectations or false hope. He was always honest with me and continually pointed out how hard I had worked and that I owed it to myself to compete and not worry about how I would do. It worked and although I was ancious - I became more confident and focused.

Because Joe knew what he was doing - I never went through some of the horror stories you hear about. I didn't have to go on any crazy crash diet, I didn't run on the treadmill for hours on end. Its amazing how easy it is when you listen to someone who knows what they are doing. Most of all I was determined to have fun. I know I'll neve be a pro, I know I'll never make a living at it. This is all for me and if it isn't fun - it isn't worth doing. I was committed though. In the year and a half I trained (with the exception of one week vacation) I NEVER missed a workout - not once. The diet was easy once I made the decision to do the show - no cookie would taste as good as getting up on that stage. My only regret is that I waited so long to do this. Next year - watch out - I'm going to come in bigger and better than ever.

Dave Yost