Strong! Army Strong! SSG Vegas Strong!

Date: 08-06-2007 Posted by: Anabolic Info TeamUnited States

—There’s strong. And there’s Army Strong.  And then there’s SSG Willie Vegas strong.

The 40-year-old Florida Army National Guard Soldier qualified for the 2007 U.S. Amateur National Bodybuilding Championships and is looking to show some serious muscle at the upcoming event in November in Dallas, TX.

SSG Vegas, a squad leader in the 3rd Battalion, 265th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, has competed in amateur bodybuilding competitions since the early 1990s. After taking second place in an all-south championship in Florida last year he qualified to compete at the national level, and is hoping his sculpted physique will represent the National Guard in the Texas competition.

“Most people think that a bodybuilder is just a ‘musclehead’ out there eating and lifting weights, it’s not that at all,” SSG Vegas said of competition bodybuilding."It’s a whole lot more than that. There is a lot of thought process that goes into it, as far as strict dieting and proper training. The average person who works out in the gym thinks that the heavier weight you lift, the bigger you get. That is only true to a certain point.” Although SSG Vegas trains partly for strength – he can bench press 420 pounds – he trains primarily to tone his muscles and body shape.

He explained his bodybuilding regimen consists of dieting and exercise; when preparing for a competition, he eats between six to eight small meals per day, and four times each week trains more than two hours in the gym. Since a competition season runs March through November, he is in training for most of the year to prepare his body. SSG Vegas explained he will weigh between 200 and 250 pounds during the short off season, but will diet down to just over 180 pounds before a show.

“I love the sport,” he said. “It’s very intense and a sport that very few people can endure or understand.”

During a typical bodybuilding event, competitors step out on stage in posing trunks, and go through a practiced posing routine. Judges look for originality, physique, symmetry, definition and mass.

“You take all of that, combine it into one, go out on stage and you have 90 seconds to prove that you’re better than the guy that’s next to you,” said SSG Vegas, who competes in a “light-heavyweight” class. “Sometimes it can get pretty intense. First and second place could be the difference between half a point. It’s that tough.”

But, the difficulties associated with bodybuilding only make the sport more enticing for SSG Vegas, whose body fat during competition is usually between three and five percent.
“I have numerous first, second and third place trophies,” he said, “but nothing compares to the feeling you get of being on stage and knowing what you have gone through to make it to that stage, especially with all the hard work you put into the dieting and the training and sacrifice.”

As the weight control officer for his battery, he also helps other Soldiers stay fit by bringing his knowledge of body structure, metabolism and bodybuilding to his unit.

Currently SSG Vegas is seeking sponsorship to attend the November bodybuilding competition in Texas, where he said he can compete with the “best of the best” and possibly move up into the professional circuit.

“My goal is to compete in the professional arena and represent the Florida National Guard, as well as the U.S. military, around the globe,” he said.