Muscling his way to the top, Sandifer wins consecutive ...

Do you know what the best part about winning a bodybuilding competition is?

Need some options? Fine, here you go:

A. The satisfaction and feeling of accomplishment you get while holding up that gargantuan trophy.

B. All the congratulations you receive from your friends and peers

C. Members of the opposite sex hitting on you after the show

Those answers all sound good, but if you went with any of those, you'd be wrong.

"It's when it's over, and you get to go out and eat whatever you want that first time," says Mike Sandifer.

Anybody on the Curves, Atkins, South Beach, or any other diet should be able to relate. And, Sandifer should know, he has won multiple bodybuilding competitions.

In fact, he won two bodybuilding competitions in the span of a week recently. On July 17 in Springfield, Sandifer took home first prize in the bantam weight class (143.5 pounds and under) at the Missouri Bodybuilding Championships. One week later on July 24, he beat all comers again at The Caveman Classic in Arnold, Mo.

"It was pretty neat. I actually felt a little flat and depleted in the first competition. So, I ate a little more before The Caveman, and I felt a lot better. Judges there who have judged me before said I have never looked better," said Sandifer.

And, stating that he has never looked better is saying something since Sandifer has won both of these competitions before. But, this is the first time he has won them both in the same year.

Sandifer has been bodybuilding for roughly 15 years, starting when he was around 30 years old. He is now 44 years old and is still beating up on the younger competition.

"Yeah, that's kind of cool," said Sandifer.

So what's his secret?

"Part of it is just training harder. Some of it is that my competition is scared to lose that last five pounds. And, a key is that I focus on proportion and shape more than size," said Sandifer. "Plus, I keep up on nutrition advances. I balance out my increase in age with better nutrition."

Nutrition plays a huge role in Sandifer's success, but that doesn't mean he has to like it. In fact, he admits that strictly adhering to his low-fat, low-carb, high-protein diet for the 12-week period before a competition makes him "gripey."

"Watching what you eat for 24 hours a day is not fun," said Sandifer. "I eat out a lot and eat like crap most of the time."

On the other hand, Sandifer says the weightlifting regimen is relatively simple. (In fact, you might want to skip a few lines if you spend a lot of time working out without getting much result.)

"I only lift an hour a day, usually less than that, four to five times a week," said Sandifer. And, he doesn't do much cardiovascular exercise to speak of because he can't afford to loose the muscle.

But, obviously, that doesn't mean it's easy. One of the main reasons Sandifer competes in bodybuilding is that he likes the fact that not many people can or are willing to do it.

"I compete because it focuses my desire to get myself in the best shape ever," said Sandifer.

His main goal now is to compete and place in the top ten at the Nationals (formerly Mr. America), which he is qualified to participate in for this year and next due to his win in The Caveman.

While he is not busy with his own training, Sandifer works as a personal fitness trainer to others. He is certified by nine different organizations.

"I enjoy making a difference in others. And, in different ways. I had a person come to me that had back and knee trouble, where he experienced all sorts of pain in his daily life. Now, he is fixed up where he doesn't worry about those things at all. Another was told he would have to have shoulder surgery, and we were able to avoid that," said Sandifer.