Body builder goes for natural title
Date: 15-06-2007
Posted by: Anabolic Info TeamCanada |
|
When Jimmy Michaud was a teenager growing up, he admits he wasn’t good at most sports. He wore glasses, was thin and some kids picked on him.
That’s when he decided to accept a friend’s advice and start weight training. It’s the best move he’s ever made, says Michaud.
“I wasn’t picked on a lot, but I wasn’t good at sports and I wanted to find something I was good at...From the first time I worked out, I liked it and I was good at it,” he said proudly.
“I competed in my first bodybuilding competition at age 18 only a few months after I’d started training and I won first place at the Ontario juniors. I knew then this was the sport for me.”
This weekend in Toronto, Michaud, 29, will be attempting to add to his impressive list of bodybuilding credentials by trying to capture the Canadian Natural Bodybuilding Championships, a qualifier for the World Natural Bodybuilding Championships in October in South Korea.
Last weekend, Michaud claimed the Ontario natural title as part of the Northern Ontario Bodybuilding Championships in Sudbury.
Among Michaud’s other accomplishments are placing third at the Canadian juniors in 1997; overall champion at the Northern Ontario championships in 1998; and second overall at the Canadian championships in 2002.
Michaud took a three-year break from the sport between 1998 and 2001 “to put on size...I ate like a pig...I used to eat Kentucky Fried Chicken mega-meals almost every night.”
He “semi-retired” again after the 2002 season because “the sport had become too serious and I wasn’t having fun anymore and I promised I’d quit if I wasn’t having fun.”
He quit bodybuilding, but continued training hard and decided a year ago to return in natural bodybuilding.
Michaud readily admits he used steroids for many years, but hasn’t touched any in six years and won’t ever use them again. That’s why he’s switched to natural competitions, which are a growing part of the bodybuilding sport.
“Steroids help the body absorb protein and you can put on more muscle because you don’t get tired and you recover faster,” he said. “But I want it stated there are steroids in almost every other sport at the top levels like football and baseball and the athletes use it for the same reasons bodybuilders do.”
Michaud said he “likes the way he looks much better” as a natural bodybuilder.
“I’ve never been bigger and I haven’t touched anything in more than six years,” he said. “I’ve realized this sport is all about proper nutrition and training hard, while letting your body recover.”
He also hired Troy Thompson, a good friend and former Ontario overall champion, to be his personal coach. His improvement over the past year has been amazing, he said.
Michaud, who works as a marketing manager, said he’d like to compete at the world natural championships in South Korea in October, but he will have to round up several good sponsors to achieve that goal.
“I’ve done well in this sport against many of the top guys in Canada and I’d love to see how I could do against the best in the world,” he said.
To get in shape, Michaud climbs stairs four times a week and works out with weights four times a week for between 30 and 45 minutes.
As long as he continues to enjoy himself, Michaud said he plans on competing in natural competitions for at least the next couple of years.
He’s a personal trainer and says working with other people determined to get in great shape is something he loves and will continue doing for many years to come.
