Bodybuilding background -
My
name is Gerald Gore and I started lifting weights back in 1986 (I
was 13 years old). At the time I was 82 pounds (yes 82 pounds) and
quite the amusement of others. I never could understand the bully
concept and especially with me being a pretty shy and introverted
kid I took it personally. I knew at that time lifting weights would
change my life but it did take some time for me to start putting on
some size. I really didn't start showing results until three years
after I started lifting (partially due to the fact that I had no
clue on what I was doing). I entered my first bodybuilding show when
I was 18 years old and weighed in a whopping 138 pounds. I was
really shredded to the bone and took fifth place against guys that
outweighed me by at least 20 pounds. A year later I competed in the
same show and took 2nd place at a competition weight of 150 pounds.
Three weeks after that I finally won my first show (class and
overall title). The funny thing about that show is that I told one
of the other competitors that I wanted to do another show later in
the summer about ten pounds heavier. He pretty much told me not to
get my hopes up. I ended competing four months later at an
eleven-pound increase in bodyweight (man I love to prove people
wrong when the doubt me - maybe it stems back from the bully days).
I won the teen heavyweight and overall title at that show too.
Well,
fast forward eight years later and I had finished college (graduated
from Baylor in 1995), got married, had a little girl and took on the
task of doing my first novice show. I was around 28% body fat when I
decided to do this show so I had to do a six and a half month diet.
Same story as before, people laughed at the idea of me competing, I
went and did the show, won the light-heavyweight class and overall
title. I did another show five months later but over dieted and came
in third place. I really wanted to do the Jr. Nationals in the
following year and forced myself to compete five weeks later. My
heart wasn't into the third show and I came in holding water and in
the worse shape of my life but still pulled off a fourth place
finish. At that point I had been dieting for almost a year straight
and really needed a break. Unfortunately that break has turned into
another long hiatus and I haven't competed since. My wife and I have
had another child (little boy this time) and I have just let life
give me an excuse not to be focused. The past year and a half I
probably have spent more time out of the gym than in the gym. Over
the past few months I have been re-bitten by the bodybuilding bug
and I am now in the process of removing the excess body fat using
the same principles on this site. The articles on this site
are not just lip service, in the less than two months I have dropped
18 pounds of fat and my wife, who I am coaching also, has dropped 30
pounds!
I have found that you cannot truly be
happy unless you recognize and embrace who you really are. The
bottom line is that I am a bodybuilder by birth and that by avoiding
that I have created an emptiness in my life. It feels good to get
back on track and embrace the new challenges ahead of me. I hope you
enjoy this site as it grows and wish you all the success in the
world.
All the best,
Gerald Gore