By: By Ron Ashbaugh
www.bodybuildingworld.com
Beverly International Nutrition
No Nonsense Newsletter Volume 8 issue 2

During the past 5 years bodybuilding has been a lifesaver for me. The intensity and commitment of the sport allowed me to have something to focus and become as changing aspects of my life were often difficult to deal with. My competitive career started as a 22-year-old exercise science student at the Slippery Rock Barbell club show in the spring of 1997. This was my first experience at bodybuilding competition and to get in shape, I simply did a ton of cardio and followed a plan I discovered through reading. I came into the show flat and small. Although disappointed, the fire of competition had been lit.

I have an overwhelming commitment to reach my potential in the bodybuilding arena. I focus each day making sure I do everything that day to be my best.

Over the next five years, the fire burned out of control. I became a competing and dieting machine. Following the spring show in '97 I competed again in the Fall of '97, twice in the summer of '98, twice in the summer of '99, twice in the Fall of '99, once in the Fall of 2000, once in the spring of 2001, and twice in the spring of 2002. I'd gone so low on calories for such long periods of time that my metabolic rate was all but non-existent. I knew that I was overdieting and overtraining, but my desire to achieve optimal condition kept me trying harder and harder. I tried everything. All aspects of life outside bodybuilding became secondary. Bodybuilding became my lifeline. Dieting was a safe place I could go when other aspects of life were not meeting my expectations. It led me through college, graduate school, and leaving home for my first job.

Now don't get me wrong. I always competed in good condition with very low body fat and usually placed respectively. Only once, however, was I able to win my class. Every time I felt there was somethingmissing. I wanted the look that the winners have - paper thin skin covering full muscles. The look of a Beverly client. In the second show of 2002 I narrowly missed winning my class. I'd done everything I could think of getting ready for that show. The pictures and video showed that my effort had been worth it. Although I had achieved my best condition at my highest body weight (#150), I felt there was still room for improvement.

After a couple of cheat meals, I was planning on getting ready to start a whole new off season program to put on more size for next year. Unfortunately, life wasn't ready for me to take a break. Life took a downward spiral. Having no other way to deal with the problems, I decided to diet again. I was starting an 8-week contest diet at a bodyweight of just #155. I'd exhausted the resources of my experience and knowledge for the last show. I'd done everything I thought possible to be at my best. I was nearing mental burn out and needed support. Then I contacted Beverly International.

It was time for me to seek professional help in achieving my bodybuilding goals. I e-mailed Beverly and promptly received a response from Jeremiah Forester with a diet and supplement plan. I'd read all of the No Nonsense and Body Muscle Articles by Jeremiah and was excited to be working with such a first class athlete. I decided before the email that I would do whatever was recommended. I wanted a class win in the worst way. I needed this one. Immediately upon receiving my plan, I placed an order for the recommended supplements that day and started the diet. Imissing. I wanted the look that the winners have - paper thin skin covering full muscles. The look of a Beverly client. In the second show of 2002 I narrowly missed winning my class. I'd done everything I could think of getting ready for that show. The pictures and video showed that my effort had been worth it. Although I had achieved my best condition at my highest body weight (#150), I felt there was still room for improvement.

After a couple of cheat meals, I was planning on getting ready to start a whole new off season program to put on more size for next year. Unfortunately, life wasn't ready for me to take a break. Life took a downward spiral. Having no other way to deal with the problems, I decided to diet again. I was starting an 8-week contest diet at a bodyweight of just #155. I'd exhausted the resources of my experience and knowledge for the last show. I'd done everything I thought possible to be at my best. I was nearing mental burn out and needed support. Then I contacted Beverly International.

It was time for me to seek professional help in achieving my bodybuilding goals. I e-mailed Beverly and promptly received a response from Jeremiah Forester with a diet and supplement plan. I'd read all of the No Nonsense and Body Muscle Articles by Jeremiah and was excited to be working with such a first class athlete. I decided before the email that I would do whatever was recommended. I wanted a class win in the worst way. I needed this one. Immediately upon receiving my plan, I placed an order for the recommended supplements that day and started the diet. I vowed to follow the Beverly plan exactly as outlined. Jeremiah told me in the email to contact him in 4 weeks so we would be able to tweak the diet for the final four weeks. Having an angel on my shoulder during this time helped me greatly. The support system Jeremiah provided eased my mind. He was in charge of deciding when and what to change with my diet. My job was to concentrate on training. I had a renewed sense of hope that this could be the time.

I have tried nearly every product on the planet. The difference I found using Beverly is:    #1 the support you are given makes sure your are using the products correctly,   #2 the quality of the products is unparalleled,   #3 the service is incredible,   #4 the product are based on research and results, not the big flavor of the week,   #5 you actually get results

During the next three weeks, I trained my heart out - each body part twice per week following a heavy/light routine. With this intense schedule, the Beverly supplements such as, Muscularity, Mass aminos, Ultra 40, GH factor and Lean Out became crucial for me to be able to maintain my lean mass. I was starting to get worried as my body weight began to slowly creep up toward #160. Was I gaining fat, or was I actually adding lean muscle tissue on a pre-contest diet?? The calipers would tell the story. At the end of the first two-week period I had actually added 5 lbs. of lean mass with no added fat. My confidence soared as my skin thinned. The condition I had always wanted was starting to come into existence.

With 5 weeks to go, I updated Jeremiah with my new weight and skinfolds. He told me to stay on my exact plan until 10-14 days out. Although a little nervous (I tend to like change too much), I vowed to do exactly what he advised. My training was now light cycling or walking on the inclined treadmill for 30 minutes in the morning. (I tried to burn about 250 or so calories before meal #1 - 5 days per week.)

At the 3 week out point, I sent Jeremiah an update. His only advice was to switch my fibrous carbs to spinach and asparagus and to pose, pose, pose. Now it was two weeksout. But Wait! I found out that my planned show was being held at a festival on an outdoor stage. I panicked. No way was I wasting all of my hard work on some outdoor circus where the environment was totally uncontrolled. I could see it now, the show being canceled because of rain, or competitors passing out in 90-degree heat. Luckily, I found another show, the Potomac Cup in Woodbridge, VA being held the next week. I'd competed in this show in 1999 placing 2nd in the lightweight class. In fact this was the show where I had watched Jeff Williamson dominate the entire show. Jeff told me then that if I was serious about bodybuilding I should contact Beverly. With how things were progressing, hindsight was becoming more and more 20/20.

I e-mailed Jeremiah with the update and honestly at this point I had no idea what to expect. Jeremiah fired back with the kind of positive feedback I had come to expect and immediately I knew I could make it. He highly recommended the show and said that "peaking too early" is a fallacy, an extra week would only make me that much harder. He suggested I just keep the diet the same and add more posing and stretching to bring out the deeper cuts in my legs. Since I was so lean at this point I began to worry about muscle catabolism. I increased my Ultra 40 to 6 per meal, added 4 Energy Reserve to the mix, decreased my Mass to 3 per meal, added 3 Muscularity per meal and started using the new Muscle Synergy. I was pulling out all the stops for this show.

At ten days out I again contacted Jeremiah. He e-mailed back that I should just keep rolling on my current program until seven days out. Included was a detailed day-by-day last week diet along with other contest instructions to make sure there were no oversights on my part that last week. I sat at the computer and went through all the information and made a detailed day-by-day menu and plan of everything that needed to be done. I printed each day's instructions out and used them as a tear away calendar.

I added VCR prejudging to my posing practice. Based on a No Nonsense newsletter tip from David Payne, I used a pre-judging of an old show and simply followed the judges' instructions. This made posing practice much more enjoyable than watching the clock. During the final week preparation, I was tired one minute and excited the next. Every night I'd review old issues of the Newsletter and read it on the internet during the day to stay motivated. I had my final skinfolds taken the Wednesday before the show. The 9-site total was 32mm. An all time best for me. The day of the show finally came and I was hyped. It had been a long road. My condition was solid, my posing was good and thanks to my mom my tan was perfect.

If I am having trouble focusing on my goals, I simply take a time out and say to myself "are you tough enough to do this? Or are you going to make excuses like everybody else?" I need to know that when I step on that stage, I did everything in my power to be my best. Where I place is not really that important.

I really felt a kind of peace about the whole thing. Like I had done my best. The outcome was now up to the judges. On the way to the show, I ate my first two meals in the car. At the check in, I hopped on the scale and weighed in at 153. My highest weigh in ever at my lowest bodyfat percentage. Did my training or diet change that much???? No. The difference was that I used Beverly supplements this time.

After the contest meeting, I started eating my Muscle Provider goo. Two hours later my class lined up and filed out. We did quarter turns, the six mandatory poses, and the judges had seen enough. The whole process took just five minutes and we were done. I was a little worried after such a short udging, but my condition must have been obviously unequaled in my class. I was announced the lightweight winner at the evening show.

Many of the competitors came up to me backstage and commented on how good my condition was. All I could tell them was that Beverly International was responsible for everything they were seeing. The overall trophy went to a very solid middleweight, (Robert Hill, who you can see in the Matrix article in this newsletter) but I was happy to have won my class and achieved my goal.

Ron Ashbaugh: How I Stay Motivated

  Diet And Stats
    AGE: 27
    Competitions: 13 in 5 years 
    Starting weight 155, bodyfat: 39mm
    Ending weight 158, bodyfat 32mm

1. Gradually from the 4 week out point I started eating mostly Whiting (fish) and chicken for my meat meals except for 8 oz. flank steak once per day.
2. I switched my vegetables to spinach and asparagus the final 2-3 weeks.
3. I eliminated the fiber supplement in the protein drinks and added 4 strawberries instead at 4 weeks out.
4. At the 3 week point I added Muscle Synergy and Energy Reserve these were taken with the GH Factor and Lean Out at midnight and at around 5 AM so they were both on an empty stomach.
5. I gradually increased my Lean Out to 12 per day (2 per meal) and added Muscularity (3 per meal) at 3 weeks out.
6. At the two week out point, we eliminated all Newmans dressing and other oils and replaced them with two TBSP of flax anywhere throughout the day. I split the dose into 4 and ate it with the first four meals.

1. ALWAYS compete against yourself. Find satisfaction in your accomplishments.
2. NEVER be disappointed if at the end of the day or diet if you can honestly say you gave 100% commitment.
3. LISTEN to the people at BEVERLY. You can save yourself years of mis-takes by utilizing their expertise. Don't follow random advice. If you follow what they say, you will succeed.
4. COMMIT 100% - Once you set your goal, put your mind in motion and do not waiver. Cheating may not affect your physique anywhere near the way it affects your will.
5. THINK - The one bodypart you cannot win a show without is your mind. Analyze what you are doing and make your training program work for you.
6. SLEEP - Good sleep is essential when preparing for a contest. This is where your body energizes for all the things you need to do the next day. A tired mind becomes a weak mind and the whole pre-contest process becomes that much more difficult. Your physique will always look its best well rested.
7. FOCUS - Stay focused on your goal. Make small things you do each day important and they will add up to many successful days and these will make successful weeks.
8. LEARN - Keep notes and diaries of what you are doing. Save your diet plans from one contest to the next. From one year to the next it is easy to forget many of those little things that make a big difference when you are peaking.
9. DON'T QUIT - bodybuilding is a process. Enjoy the ride and the process of creating your body. The road is long and uncomfortable for those who are only looking for the end.
10. LOVE IT - If you want to do a show, do it and love it. It is your choice. Do it for yourself and no one else. It will be a huge growing experience that you can be very proud of.