Pumped up

Date: 30-06-2007 Posted by: Anabolic Info TeamUnited States

He started lifting weights at 22, competing at 40
HICKORY -- Chris Dixon is 49 years old, competes against men nearly 10 years younger and is often mistaken for someone in his mid-30s.

Watch Dixon work out

The Newton man captured the lightweight division of the North Carolina Masters Bodybuilding championship in Greensboro last weekend for men 40 and over. “I keep challenging myself to see how much better I can get,” Dixon said.
He began lifting weights at age 22, but didn’t enter his first bodybuilding competition until he hit 40.
Dixon won that contest in eastern North Carolina and decided to stay with the sport. He has won several competitions since, including the 2004 state masters championship.
Dixon attributes a strong training ethic and good genetics for his unusually sculpted body.
His workout is not too unusual.
He works out for two hours, five or six days a week at the Adrian L. Shuford YMCA in Conover. Dixon eats three hefty meals a day and drinks two protein shakes. But he does this religiously.
Dixon doesn’t always keep to the strictest of diets. He’ll occasionally eat fast food. That is, until about eight weeks before competition. Then it’s basically a lot of chicken breasts and steamed vegetables.
“About 75 percent of your success is diet,” Dixon said. Adequate sleep is also important. “You get pumped up in here (gym), but your growth comes outside the gym.”
Dixon plans to continue lifting and competing for the foreseeable future. He’ll turn 50 in September, but he plans to still compete against men in their 40s for as long as possible.
“I’ll do it as long as it’s fun and I look good enough,” Dixon said.