" Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas..."

??? Do I loathe my friend and training partner Trevor Smith?, No, of course not. Do I fear my training partner Trevor Smith, um, well, no, well.... sometimes. Loathing one, or fearing them can and has ruined many a relationship; however, in my quest to win the 2002 Mr. USA, Fear and Loathing here in Las Vegas is helping to fuel my intensity in the gym.

The training day in question? The longer I am here, the more material I have for this column. As each workout remains fresh in my mind, for this particular installment of Ground Zero, I chose several examples from different training sessions.

???? FEAR! Damn, Trevor has a way of intimidating someone. He even intimidates me when arriving early in the morning to the gym in which we train. I usually watch the front door from whatever machine we will be using first. As Trevor comes through the door; darkness comes over the gym. A dark cloud of pain, misery in the minutes that follow, a fear inducing cloud. I usually do my best to greet him with a smile and a, "How you doin, buddy Ole pal?" On a good day I am greeted with, "fine, did you warm up?" Do not get me wrong, outside of the gym, Trevor is the best. He is full of wisdom, direction, a great friend all around. In the gym, it is a different Trevor, there are times when I expect him to turn to reveal a red tail coming out of his ass, or when he removes his BFT hat, two sharpened horns to protrude from his head. These things of course do not happen, but trust me when I tell you that Satan himself would cower when crossing the path of Trevor in the gym. This helps me in that people do not approach to ask questions of Trevor or myself. One time it happened. I do not think that Trevor noticed, but it took all my patience? to not erupt into a rage. As Trevor was fighting through the tail end of an excruciating set of preacher curls, two guys come from behind him to ask me if we use weight gain? Fucking weight gain!? I wanted to say, "No, I eat humans whole, and I am hungry!", but I refrained and implied that he may want to move on. He did not take the hint and said, "No, seriously, I am serious, do you?" Now please understand, I enjoy helping, and will when I can, but when my training partner is turning purple as he struggles and is expecting me to be there to spot, I cannot answer such lunacy. I then made eye contact just long enough for the guy's wiser friend to realize what was about to happen and they scuffled off. Did I feel bad? no, we were working. As mentioned, I do not think Trevor even noticed, good thing. Anyway, I digress. Fear can be a great help in the gym, or of course it can destroy you. Watching Trevor perform a set can induce fear, but it is the type of fear that motivates me to be stronger and get freakier than ever!

????? When does one Fear for their training partner or fear that their set is next? The day is another leg day, and it is time for Trevor and I to use the power squat machine. This machine holds 9 plates on each side. I have been in the gym when people are doing the machine wrong with 9 plates on each side and they have a crowd watching in amazement. Now, read carefully as I tell you how Trevor loads the machine. We start by loading the expected 9 plates per side; then we add a second bar and load another 9 plates on each side of the bar. This brings us to a total of 18 plates per side. 18 plates a side means 36 total plates, this equals 1,620 pounds!, and that does not include the weight of the machine. Well, surprise, surprise, it is now time to add a THIRD BAR to the top of the machine and add another 6 plates per side. This brings us to 48 total plates on the machine plus the two 45lb bars and plus the actual weight of the machine; that is over 2300 pounds and we are using a power squat machine, not a leg press. After taking more than 10 minutes to load the bar, which by the way is where the loathing can come in, it is time to get psyched. I watch Trevor as a nasty, focused, evil look comes over his face. He looks from side to side in disgust as the mere mortals bitch about the now lack of plates in the gym. They dare not say a word, as they know it will bring instant pain, hospitalization actually. Trevor now approaches and gets under the weight, his intensity is coming off him like an electrical current. As he lifts the machine and disengages the safety handle, all around him take notice that he is about to go into a zone that no one, and I repeat no one goes to. He lowers to parallel, pauses for a moment, and slowly squeezes back to the top. These are perfect reps, slow, squeezing, non bouncing reps. Six reps are done in perfect form before he racks the weight. What is scary is that he does not rack the weight due to muscular failure, instead it is due to a lack of oxygen. At Trevor's bodyweight, it takes a lot more wind to keep your sails stretched, meaning? his lungs are spent. It is awe inspiring, it is awesome to see before I must get on and follow suit. Am I ready to use the same weight, no, but I have gone from a measly 22? plates total to this occasion at 36 plates! With this much weight on the bar, I do not bother thinking, I just get under it and go to work. As I dis engage the safety lever, I feel the tremendous weight bear down on my shoulders. I know I will have the welts to prove the amount of weight I was holding after the set. As I drop down for the first rep, I feel my quads start to scream; mind you we have just completed two agonizing sets of leg extensions. Up and down like a piston, slow and controlled though, there is no momentum used in completing these reps. As I go through my set, I start to feel so powerful, I want to let out a massive scream, but I use the energy instead to control this massive amount of weight. As I reach a wall, my quads are pumped beyond belief! I am not a lover of shorts, but on this day I wish I were wearing them so I could see the veins pulsate as I go through each rep like a fine tuned machine! I am inspired by the fact that much like Trevor, I reach cardiovascular failure before I do muscular failure. At 10 reps, I am done, but I know I have more for the next training session! Was it scary?, hell yes it was! A quad can tear, rupture, but this is not allowed in our realm. We will not succumb to such negative thought, instead we stay focused on that intense energy that is created by fear. Damn!! after a set like this I want to grab the nearest female and like a caveman carry her off to praise my manly strength!! Just kidding, but it is a great feeling to move that much weight with authority!

Training is an outlet, a channel device in which I take every frustration I have known in the past months and unleash it on the weights. I feel my body growing each day. When those close to me see me with out a shirt, they immediately start to point out new detail to my physique. Am I enthused, fuck yes, if only I had met Trevor on day one of my training journey, but perhaps 12 would have been too young. Fear no more! I am animal! I am power! I am a demon, satisfied only by quenching my thirst for muscle and of course females, but that would be a column for another site.

???? OK, so I touched upon what fear can do for you in the gym, but loathing?!? As stated I do not loathe Trevor, he is like a brother, but there are times in the gym that he makes me loathe him by giving me what I want!? I know, it does not make sense, in getting what I want, I loathe him. All I can say is that when any of you take the challenge to be put through a BFT workout by Trevor, you too, will loathe him, if not for just a moment as he tortures you for an hour of your life! You will wish that hour could somehow speed up! So how and when have I loathed my friend? Shoulder day, last week. I had missed two shoulder workouts due to my not feeling well. This was my first session for shoulders in two weeks and I needed it to be intense. Trevor and I start with seated laterals, quadruple drops with forced reps, of course..... Trevor's set started with 115 lb dumbbells, then to 75's, down to 50 and then finishing with 30 lb dumbbells. In writing I cannot communicate the intensity that goes into a set like this, but I will describe my set. I grabbed the 105 lb dumbbells, the 65's, 40's and 20's. Trevor has been on me to not use my traps in this exercise. I tend to tense up and utilize too much trap rather then delt. As I grab the 105's I feel that switch in my head click on. It is go time and I am ready to grow. The 105's feel good as I raise them up, a slight pause at the top and control them all the way down. After the 5th rep, it is time to drop to the 65's. Usually this type of weight would feel light, but after the battle with the 105's, I am only good for 4 reps before having to drop them and grab the 40's. The mistake I continue to make is thinking that when I pick up the lighter dumbbells it will make the set "easier". The set only gets harder as you go through. The 40 lb dumbbells now feel like they weight 105 lbs. I am resigned to doing only 6 more reps until I must grab the 20's. It is funny to see all in the gym look on as we struggle with that last weight; if it were not for them seeing and hearing us struggle through the first part of the set, they may think us weak. Those 20lb dumbbells actually feel heavy! I struggle through about 5 and it is time to stop. One set and I am so pumped I want to call it a day, but no, it has only just begun. After the dumbbell laterals it is on to machine laterals. One set, ZMR style with triple drops and forced reps. Next, we go over to the Smith and start to set up for the front military press. The incline on the bench is slight, just enough to accommodate men of size that cannot sit straight up and down; this would leave us unable to breath!

???? Trevor goes first on this exercise; therefore, we load the bar to 495lbs. 5 plates on each side for the first part of a triple drop set of front military presses. Usually Trevor will sit and wait for the switch in his head to totally turn on. After the grueling set of laterals it is necessary to give the brain a few minutes if not several to regain focus on the task of building balloon sized shoulders. I now must go through the gym and find a second spotter. It is so funny to see guys act like they cannot see me trying to get their attention, or watch them scuffle off to another part of the gym, too far too offer any assistance to us. The members are now learning about the sets Trevor and I do, so they know there is work involved in stripping the weight and offering a spot when needed. As Trevor stands from the bench to do his set I find a young man willing to help. Again, it is humorous to see the look in their eyes as they look at Trevor preparing to go to work. It is a confused look, I know they are wondering whether or not Trevor will turn on them after the set should he be hungry! The set starts, The weight is brought down to chin level slow and controlled. Once at the bottom, a slight pause and the weight is squeezed slowly to the top. After 2 reps done in the strictest of fashion, it is time for the 1st drop. The first 2 reps were not done in the manner most would do, they are CONTROLLED, the delts are made to hurt on purpose. The drop is made to 315lbs and Trevor continues. He pushed the weight in the same controlled process for another 3 reps and a 4th forced, again we drop the weight to 225lbs. By now the delts are starting to feel like jelly. In my experience they actually start to not fire. Meaning that the neuromuscular function is failing altogether. Trevor fights through it for another couple of reps and again we drop the bar to 135lbs. Under any other circumstances 135 would feel like a feather, but after the type of work that has just taken place, it feels more to Trevor like a ton! I move behind him and to further the intensity and the pain he will feel, I lean on the bar just enough to stop it from coming up. I have learned to let up only as the color in Trevor's face changes. I let up a little as he turns red and then a little more as the red goes to purple. I know it is time to help only when the purple goes to a yellowish? hue and saliva froths from his mouth. This tell me that the "puke response" is close and I do not want to be in the vicinity when and if he blows! To watch a set like this motivates me beyond words. As Trevor regains his composure and fights off the, "puke response", I load the bar to 405 lbs. I have had ample rest time and only wait for Trevor to somewhat recuperate from his set. Trevor goes to get a spotter and I now look into the mirror asking myself what it is I want. In my mind I get rid of everyone in the gym. There are no other machines except the Smith that I am using and the walls become pitch black. I hear no voices, I see no one, only what is in front of me in the mirror. Silently I ask myself, "What do you want?" , "Just how much do you want to grow?" I climb into the machine and prepare for lift off. I am still spent from the laterals and still feeling pumped from the work that went into that set. As I grip the bar I feel powerful, I feel unstoppable, I am ready to grow! Anyone that has used a Smith machine knows that as soon as you unlock the hooks the weight is now on you. As I turn the bar and feel the weight transfer from the pegs to my shoulders, I start to focus beyond explanation. On this day 405 goes up and down 3 times on my own and a 4th time forced. The set now begins as the weight is stripped to 315lbs. This provides no relief, trust me, it feels just as heavy, which is why I manage one freakin rep before having to strip the bar. Now at 225,? I feel as though I can get a second wind, but no, there is no second wind in BFT training. The 225 on the bar might as well be an elephant, I struggle for 2 and again it is time to drop to 135. It is now Trevor's turn to lean on the bar and I see a hint of a smirk as he leans with probably half of his bodyweight on the bar. It is not moving and he is still leaning. I am now seeing the red, to the purple, to the pale look of sickness as I push harder and harder on the bar. Trevor eventually helps me to the top and the set has come to an end. There is a gurgle in my throat, a bubbling in my belly and a distinct smell in my nostrils as my own puke is so wanting to project on to the mirror. I will not let this happen, no way, not today, but it takes maximum concentration to talk myself out of it.

???? Loathe I said, yes, Loathe. Well, after going through the dumbbell and machine laterals and then front presses on the smith machine, it is now time for a final set of presses, this time super slow style. When loaded, 225 looks so very light, but after the hell that has been experienced it feels like 1,000 lbs!!!, especially when it calls for a 5 second decent, 5 second pause and then a 5 second ascent. Trevor and I both do our set, yes, there is agony, hurt, and that pleasant release of emotion when the set is done. Rear delts are done (one set to failure on the rear delt machine), Triceps are punished (one gruesomely long and painful set) and we are out the door. Silently I am thanking Trevor and cursing him at the same time. We could have so much fun golfing or bowling, but no, we chose bodybuilding; furthermore, Trevor developed BFT! Oh the joy of feeling sick for an entire afternoon.

???? This is part 1 of 2 for the 3rd installment of Ground Zero. I am going to ask Trevor to post the 2nd part, perhaps in the middle of June so you the readers can get more of the descriptions of my pain in the gym. To finish this part of the column, I elected to pay homage to David Letterman by writing a top 10 list of answers to the most popular questions asked of Trevor and I in the gym. Here goes... mind you the list goes from 10 to 1, 1 being the most annoying.

10) No, we are not training for a strongman event.

9) No, we are not trying to injure ourselves, we do train this way on purpose.

8) No, my training partner, (Trevor), is not a mute, he actually does talk time to time.

7) No, my training partner, (Trevor), is not having a heart attack, he is only convulsing due to the gagging he is doing into his gym bag. He does this so as to not puke all over me or those around us should it happen.

6) No, the machines in the gym are not made to have additional plates stacked all over them, but what are we to do?, and again, yes we do stack them on purpose. We actually like training this way.

5) No, we are not powerlifters, When was the last time you saw a powerlifter utilizing a pec dec? We respect powerlifters for what they do and how they do it, we just train very hard and as it happens very very heavy. I can see it now, a new event in powerlifing, the pec dec, "Now loading, 600 pounds......."

4) No, we are not being lazy by placing a bench under us as we squat, we are doing as few if any do by doing squat pauses, and not bouncing off the bottom....

3) No, it is not a good time to ask me about your diet, or your last course, or where you can get gear for a course!!! Can't you see my training partner under that bar, slowly changing colors, meaning that not so far in the future is the dreaded, "puke response", better known as the "gag response".

2) Yes, we are waiting on the Smith Machine!, (Just picture Trevor and I patiently looming behind someone as they slowly do set after set of singles on a flat bench under the Smith machine!) This is more of an inside thing as anyone at Gold's on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday at 8:30am knows that Trevor and I use the Smith every workout.) There are actually those that race us to it now! You want to see Trevor really really angry, just make him wait more than a couple of minutes for a machine while you do a totally nonsensical routine.

#1) NO, YOU CANNOT HAVE ONE OF THE SHIRTS MY PARTNER WEARS! YOU MAY BUY ONE LIKE ANYONE ELSE! AND NO! YOU CANNOT JUST HAVE ONE OF THE HATS HE WEARS, THOSE TOO ARE FOR SALE.? This is number one, because I am asked this way too much. Ask Trevor!!!