No-baloney levrone: contest fever; stoking the competitive fires with heavy-duty training

A lot of people think I'm crazy because I prepare for a contest in two months and basically take the rest of the year off from the down-in-the-trenches, blood-and-guts type of workouts that add thickness and heaps of muscle to a physique.

Perhaps those people are right--I am crazy. Just crazy enough to want to train to within an inch of my life every time I go into the gym to get serious about preparing my body for a contest. My problem in the past year has been a lack of motivation to get busy. After setting aside 2001 to give my body and mind a respite from the daily grind of bodybuilding, I now realize that without the extrinsic motivation of a contest, it is almost impossible for me to train year-round with the fire in my belly to achieve absolute intensity for every hardcore set and rep.

I just can't get started on my training without a result in mind--the physique I want to present onstage after all the hard work in the training den. That explains why I not only competed at the 2002 Arnold Schwarzenegger Classic, where I've had tremendous success in the past, but why I am also planning to do the 2002 Night Of Champions on May 18.

Training is the best part of bodybuilding. The more time I spend in the gym striving to improve my body and focus my mind on a clear-cut objective--winning contests and challenging my limits--the more I realize that bodybuilding is the best sport on earth for improving self-confidence, self-awareness and self-realization.

I was born to be a bodybuilder. God has given me a gift to make a difference. At this stage in my career, I just want to have fun and push the envelope to get progressively better. I'm determined to give something back to all the fans who have supported me throughout my career. It is not enough to rest on my laurels and accept that my best days are behind me. That is why I've rededicated myself to the life of a competitive bodybuilder. I can train to be in shape at 243 pounds or 233 pounds, and do damage at either weight. I know that if I want to get bigger, I need to embrace the challenge of 405-pound bench presses and 500-plus-pound squats; if I want to present the sleeker smaller version of Kevin Levrone, I don't have to get quite so intense about multijoint exercises or stress out so much about handling heavy weights. I have the ability to get freaky, big and full or sleek as a cat--that power to design and build a body to suit my desires is big fun. You'll never know what to expect from one show to the n ext, baby, and that's what the intrigue of this sport is all about.

Contact Kevin Levrone at www.fulblown.com.

COPYRIGHT 2002 Weider Publications
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group