Lindy Tefft I Married Mr. America

1. Auflage 2012
ISBN: 978-0-9857080-2-3
Verlag: Empower Press
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 276 Seiten

When Lindy Tefft married Mr. America, she was sure she had married Mr. Perfect. Her fantasy was far from the truth. When abuse from childhood repeated in her marriage, Lindy felt that she had no escape. Then, greedy celebrity-hungry scam artists ravaged their lives. Lindy's voice of reason often fell on Mr. America's 'deaf' ears. Chaos, insanity, and financial disaster nearly ruined the author's life as she crawled through a tunnel of terror. With no one to count on, Lindy found herself. Tefft's roller coaster life will leave the reader breathless. Her insightful guidance will inspire others to find hope where there seems to be none. Lindy deserves acclaim for her honesty, vulnerability, and courage. She became her own hero, and through it all, discovered Simply Lindy.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Lindy Tefft, MS

Leseproben

Chapter

2

Inside Mr. America

TO UNDERSTAND GREG even further, I asked him many questions about what lead him to the incredibly competitive sport of bodybuilding, and how he became Mr. America. Greg was my first introduction to the bodybuilding community which, as I discovered, is a well-defined subculture.

There is an unspoken admiration and natural sense of competition men seem to have for those with the largest muscles, particularly the taller ones. This reminds me of “survival of the fittest” in the animal kingdom where the weaker die quickly or are killed off, and only the strongest survive. In our more civilized world, some women tend to gravitate towards strong, large men because of their natural instincts to feel safe and protected. And, there’s something to be said about the hormonal rush we feel when we are around such an individual!

At one time or another, each of us has probably wondered what it would be like to be Mr. America. I learned so much from Greg about the tremendous dedication and fortitude that it takes to pursue this gut-wrenching goal. The daily routine, which begins a year before a competition, is a painstaking program of appropriate exercise, diet with attention to perfect food combinations, stress management, nutrient supplementation, adequate rest, etc. Bodybuilders follow precisely planned diet and exercise routines to optimize their muscularity. A week before the show, in order to achieve the ultimate polished look for the day of competition, bodybuilders doggedly exert great discipline in dietary management which could easily break the average person’s spirit. During the first four days of this week, competitors reduce their carbohydrates to as little as a piece of bread, a potato, or some rice, plus an apple a day, as they dramatically increasing their protein intake. They simultaneously use an extravagant amount of salt on their food while drinking as much water as possible. At this time, competitors continue to exercise at a faster pace, with lighter weight and more repetitions for maximum muscle pumping. During the final three days of the pre-competition week, water consumption is progressively reduced to less than a glass a day. Salt intake is halted and replaced with potassium crystals. At the same time, protein consumption is decreased and carbohydrates are drastically increased. Competitors eat as much starch as possible—pasta, potatoes, rice, etc. During this short polishing period, the drastic increase in dietary carbohydrates tend to make one extremely thirsty, but, for best results, drinking water is out of the question. Competitors end up sucking on an ice cube now and then just to feel alive. Also, during these last three days, competitors don’t exercise. They practice their posing routines accompanied by light abdominal work and stretching movements. The purpose of this drastic pre-contest procedure during this final week, called a “glycogen load dehydration salt rebound,” is to maximize the muscles’ size and pump ability (the muscle’s ability to engorge with blood). It is also used to tighten and thin the skin as much as possible to clearly show muscular definition. The one word that would describe this highly controlled lifestyle is discipline. This type of rigid discipline is torturous and most of us could not tolerate or even come close to this kind of restricted living.

When I met Greg, he was the only man in history to be a triple-crown, three-time Natural Mr. America. Like the Olympics, the Natural Mr. America competition tests contestants for drug use, whereas the Mr. America contest does not. The most common drugs used by weightlifters are steroids, which, as explained to me, are specific drug compounds used to help increase muscle mass, strength, endurance, and reduce physical recuperation time. Growth hormone is another size-promoting drug that is not classified as a steroid. All these drugs are widely used in the bodybuilding community as well as by other non-bodybuilding athletes. The use of these drugs are generally frowned upon, and in most cases, expressly forbidden by athletic governing bodies including the International Olympic Committee. In time, with Greg’s help, I was able to see the difference between the steroid–dependent, almost freaky-looking bodybuilder, and the more symmetrical, natural bodybuilder. The steroid guys (and gals) walk stiffly and have monstrous muscles that look bloated, with very pronounced veins and skin coarseness. The natural bodybuilder moves more gracefully with a smoother, more natural and less freaky-looking muscular appearance. They are well-defined, but their muscles are well-proportioned to the rest of their body.

I found it difficult to comprehend why one would take these dangerous, health-compromising drugs just to win a body-beautiful competition. And, even without the drugs, why would someone want to put themselves through such intense, painstaking, and uncomfortable efforts to become Mr. America?

On a Dare

In my very first conversation with Greg, I asked him, “What made you decide to become Mr. America?” His response was very simple and straight to the point. Looking directly into my eyes, he said, “I did it on a dare.” I was shocked! How many of us really take our dares seriously? Greg explained that this dare came from a guy named John, an ex-college football player, who was in one of his graduate Exercise Physiology classes. John was a self-proclaimed “resident bodybuilding expert,” even though he hadn’t won any competitions. He criticized Greg for being too intellectual about bodybuilding stating, “You are all talk and no action.” John questioned whether Greg could put what he knew intellectually into serious bodybuilding practice and Greg thought the same about John, considering him to be hypocritical. They were both competing for top honors in an Exercise Physiology class and had an ongoing rivalry for the role of teacher’s pet. Greg just couldn’t stand the fact that this big man on campus, a total egomaniac, considered himself to be the best at everything. John was extremely upset when Greg always got better grades than him. Out of ego or jealousy, John dared Greg to compete against him in a real bodybuilding competition. When they first met, Greg was powerlifting and had already won two out of three low-level competitions. However, powerlifting is strictly for strength development, whereas bodybuilding focuses on maximizing the physical structure. Almost like apples and oranges, they are very different in terms of preparation and objectives. I guess John felt that Greg’s past achievements in powerlifting were non-threatening to him in bodybuilding terms.

John’s challenge was for Greg to compete in an upcoming bodybuilding show, Mr. Niagara Falls. As fate would have it, John broke his arm six weeks before this scheduled show, postponing the bet until the next competition, Mr. Senior Tri Cities; this meet was to be held six months later. Despite this setback, Greg went forward with the Mr. Niagara Falls show and came in second. This inspired him to ardently continue his training. When the competition with John finally arrived, much to John’s bitter disappointment, Greg won second place with John getting sixth in the show. John became very humble after this meet; they never saw each other again after graduation. To the best of Greg’s knowledge, John never competed again. However, John’s dare helped opened Greg’s eyes to the fact that he really enjoyed the sport of bodybuilding, and he subsequently decided to pursue it further.

Jock with Brains

I admired a person who could achieve what Greg accomplished by the young age of twenty-eight. Greg had kept a high grade point average through high school and college, and almost completed an accelerated Ph.D. program in Exercise Physiology, with certification in Adaptive Physical Education. When he was in high school, because of his straight As in biology, and his high SAT scores in Science, he was awarded a special internship for high school students with the American Cancer Society Research Foundation headed by the famous researcher, Dr. Oscar Auerbach. At that time, this Foundation was preparing to present research to Congress that would eventually result in placing warning labels on cigarette packages. Greg later went on to get his Doctor of Chiropractic degree, also becoming Board Certified as a Naturopathic Physician by the American Naturopathic Medical Association. In addition to these phenomenal accomplishments, I also found out that Greg had placed in the Mr. Buffalo competition, and then went on to win the Tournament of Champions show which qualified him for the national competition scene.

Greg also excelled in swimming as well as track and field. From the age of seven through his last year in high school, Greg was a top-ranked swimmer who achieved countless victories. During his high school years, he practiced two to three hours a day, with split sessions that sometimes added up to five hours a day. Six weeks before a major swimming competition, he would get into an accelerated training program with greater intensity and less rest. Greg’s swimming career was cut short after a series of events beginning with the violent deaths of two of his close friends that were in a severe car accident. Being the first person at the scene of this night time accident, Greg pulled out the mutilated bodies from the upside down car with a help of a friend, who drove up a couple of minutes later. After the initial shock of this horrible event, deep depression overtook him. Due to a sudden onset of asthma, he was not able to make the Olympic cutoffs in swimming. A few...