Finding the Drive

MY CHILDHOOD.

Ever since I can remember, I have always been an overweight, yet active kid. I played a variety of sports including: soccer, baseball, basketball, and football. Truthfully, I was never good at any one sport but I was able to hang with some of the most gifted players.

When I was a freshman in high school, my weight was 242 pounds. At that time, I began to incorporate weight training with soccer and football. I really didn't understand the importance of weight training but since all of the varsity players were doing it, I figured it was the right thing to do.

After two years, my weight skyrocketed to 275 pounds. I started to notice a change in the strength and size of my muscles. I clearly added more body fat; however, there was a round shape to my muscles – particularly my legs.

After three years of finishing seasons with sports-related surgeries, I realized that sports were not my strong suit. I decided not to play sports on my senior year, but I continued to lift. My coach saw that I had a passion for weight training, so he asked if I wanted to join my high school's power-lifting team. I humbly accepted and continued to train hard for eight months. My weight got up to 292 pounds and finished as the All-State Champion for my weight class. This was a very exciting time for me as it was the first time that my hard work led me to a first-place trophy, as I was always the person to be picked last or considered weak.

THE WAKE-UP CALL.

My first year of college was definitely one to be remembered. I continued training on a regular basis, but now that I was on my own, I was eating the wrong foods. I ate any food that was available at any time of the day. I even woke up at night and ate whatever food was available in the house.

As the year went by, more and more people noticed how much weight I had gained and raised their concerns. I ignored them and continued to enjoy living the same lifestyle. At the end of my freshman year, I weighed 331 pounds. I started having difficulty doing basic things, including bending over to tie my shoes and walking up a flight of stairs.

I also started to have daily irregular chest pains. I was scared and wasn't sure of what to do. Instead of handling it, I ignored the pains. I began to get constantly hassled by my family and friends to make some changes in my life. They were concerned that if I did not make changes immediately, it might be too late.

On Friday, May 12, 2000, I received a call from Chris Rivera, my best friend. He wanted me to come over to his house. I went over and he started to talk about my health and finding a way for me to lose weight. His sister gave him a book called “Body for Life” by Bill Phillips, which he briefly explained and asked if I would be interested to join him in the twelve-week program. I told him that I would read the book to make a decision.

As I was about to leave his house, I ran into his sister, who was almost unrecognizable. She had lost a substantial amount of weight. I congratulated her and asked her what she has done to get in such great shape. “I just followed the guidelines of the 'Body for Life' book,” she said.

I went home and had a long talk with my parents. I explained to them the basic concept of the diet: for six days a week, eat six meals a day which included fist-sized servings of protein and carbohydrates; once a week would be a “cheat day.” I asked them if they could help me with the nutrition and supplementation, which they supported one hundred percent. I immediately called Chris to tell him the good news. I told him I that the twelve-week program would start on Monday.

MAY 15, 2000 – IT BEGINS.

STRUCTURE.

A couple of weeks after I started the program, I was feeling better. My family members noticed the changes and gave their encouragement. Unfortunately, some of my high school friends did not share that same feeling. They were shocked that I was doing this, but not supportive of my goals. I remember going to restaurants with my friends, suffering while they ate unhealthy food. I remember leaving those restaurants crying and questioning myself:

“Why am I putting myself through this?”

“Is it even worth it?”

“Will I ever be able to reach my goal?”

Around three weeks into the program, I was able to answer those questions through a dream. I dreamt that poor health killed me by age thirty. The scariest part was that I did not initially wake up when I died in the dream. I sat in this cloud of darkness for minutes, but it felt like years.

When I finally woke up, I told myself that I would finish this program, whatever it took. The exercise program consisted of weight lifting Monday, Wednesday and Friday and three days of cardio on the off days.

Around six weeks into the program, Chris quit as he started to miss his favorite foods and drinks. I was concerned that I could not finish. This taught me that no matter what kind of support I have – I am the one that will have to do the work.

I remained motivated from encouragement from loved ones and trained harder. As the weeks went by, I altered the exercise program training six days a week and added two-a-day cardio sessions. I was under the assumption that “more is better” and continued to lose upwards of five to six pounds per week. Little did I know that the positive feedback was helping me lose weight, but not at a healthy pace. Regardless, I continued to over-train. I completed the twelve-week program at a weight of 258 pounds. I was very happy with my progress but not satisfied.

As I started my sophomore year, I realized that it was much harder to lose weight during the school year versus the summer. Now I had to structure exercise around my school schedule. I pushed through, losing forty-three more pounds, dropping down to 215. I quickly realized that I could not train ten to twelve hours a week and maintain academics. My progress rapidly declined by the end of the program.

THE STRUGGLE TO MAINTAIN.

I was very pleased with my results; however, the work needed for maintenance became too much to handle.

Over the next few years, I slowly started to put on the weight. Every so often, I would try a new fad diet, such as The Atkins Diet, Slim-Fast and The Subway Diet. I even tried using various thermogenic supplements, such as Hydroxycut and Lipo-6, but nothing worked. When I lost a few pounds, I would quickly regain it.

In the back of my mind, I realized my number one reason for not being able to maintain: alcohol. Can you blame me? I was a college sophomore with a new look. I enjoyed going to parties, meeting women and not have anyone telling me what to eat. I always enjoyed a variety of foods, healthy and unhealthy, but alcohol was one thing I felt that I could not control.

I had to make a tough choice: cut back on alcohol and exercise less or continue to drink and exercise more. I made the wrong decision and chose to drink. My social life started affecting my performance in school, which led to me dropping out of half of my classes and led to alcohol-fueled depression. At the end of the 2004 school year, I was back at 303 pounds.

BODYBUILDING: THE NEXT BIG THING.

Over the next few months, I started learning about the sport of bodybuilding. I realized that this was the exact type of training that I wanted. I started reading magazines and ended up seeing an old friend featured in an article, Eddie Latoza. As much as I was surprised by his physical changes, it made perfect sense. He was that “one guy” in high school that always ate a tuna sandwich on whole wheat bread with a side of fruit. He NEVER ate bad food. He worked very hard to get where he is today and he was one of my first role models.

Later that year, I ran into him at the gym. We talked about his bodybuilding success. He explained that he had been living the lifestyle since high school and that the supplement company Muscle-Tech signed him after seeing recent bodybuilding performances. I asked, “What's the difference between a regular bodybuilder and a competitive bodybuilder?” He responded with one word, “Discipline.”

We then compared training protocols. Eddie explained his contest regimen and I was shocked. It was a three-month muscle-building program through exercise and nutrition, followed by a three-month fat-burning and muscle maintenance program.

I asked him if I could be a bodybuilder and he reminded me that I needed to put in the work. He explained that I had to be disciplined, as any lack of effort would be seen at show time. I soon learned the true definition of “work.”

That fall, Eddie and I went to the 2004 NANBF Bluffs Classic. For the first time, I saw the show from a competitor’s perspective. I went backstage and met some of the competitors. I was on cloud nine; to this day, I find it difficult to explain the positivity of these dedicated people.

After that show, I told Eddie that I wanted to compete. Since I weighed 300 pounds, Eddie recommended taking a full year to prepare for competition.

In the back of my mind, I was still unsure if I wanted to make such a long sacrifice. Until I saw my sister, Ivonne, in her freshman year of college.

She was never overweight and always athletic, but we both ate junk food. She was always more fit than I was, so I never thought twice about it. However, once she started college, her coach gave her a structured diet plan. I noticed that she dropped twenty to twenty-five pounds of body fat and gained muscle. I thought to myself, “We have the same genes. If her body composition can make drastic changes, mine should be able to as well.”

The goal was set and the countdown had begun – I was ready to change my life for the second time.

DISCIPLINE.

I quickly realized the difference between typical training and that of bodybuilders. “Body For Life” had me used to fist-sized portions of meals, but my new plan was much more complex.

I could not let myself under eat.

I could not let myself over eat.

I could not let my emotions influence me.

I could not have a cheat day.

I could never miss a meal.

I would have to weigh out each meal to the ounce.

I would have to keep myself hydrated at all times.

I would have to do this for the next eleven months.

One day, I asked myself why I put my body through this process. Later that day, I found a quote that has fueled my goals since that day:

“I do it because I can. I can because I want to. I want to because you said that I couldn't.”

This quote has been the driving factor for all of my bodybuilding achievements. Many bodybuilders are driven by positive goals; however I fueled off of the negativity of others. Gary Moore, owner of Mad Dog Nutrition, was one of those people.

Three weeks out from the show, I stopped by his store to buy a posing suit. He saw my progress, congratulated me , but attempted to persuade me out of the competition. I reminded him of my accomplishments over the past five years, even though there were people that said that I would amount to nothing. It was way more than proving them wrong, but that I set a goal that I must finish. Gary respected my decision and to this day I still thank him every time I stop by his gym for being honest with me. If he never persuaded me to drop out of the competition, I probably would have never learned how to turn that negative energy into a positve experience.

After twelve months of perseverance, I lost nearly a hundred pounds and over half of my body fat and competed for the first time. For my posing routine, I had only sixty seconds to share my feelings with Omaha. I found the perfect song that described my five-year journey: The Reason by Hoobastank. Along with the prejudging results, this routine led me to finish second place in my novice class.

REBOUND & REGRET.

Mission accomplished – I WAS AN OFFICIAL BODYBUILDER. I thought that I was ready to take on the world, but the world slapped me in the face.

After the show was over, I binged on my favorite foods that I hadn't eaten for eleven months. (This is commonplace for post-competition bodybuilders.) I enjoyed delicious food AND indulged in drinks. I tried to stay in reasonable shape; however I continued to choose my old habits over a healthy lifestyle. After three months, I quickly regained about thirty pounds. I noticed the weight change; however, I convinced myself that I was fine because I knew how to get back to competition shape.

By 2006, thirty pounds turned into sixty pounds. By 2007, I was eighty-five pounds overweight. I started using various thermogenic supplements with a five-day nutrition plan, in hopes that it would jump start my contest preparation. I thought, “If I can commit myself to a healthy lifestyle five days a week, I can still enjoy my weekends and make progress.” However, this was not the case.

After I graduated from college in December 2007, I set my eyes on another bodybuilding show; however, I failed to compete as I was laid off. I lived off of my savings account for almost seven months and ate anything that I could in order to save money. I told myself that no matter how bad life got, I would manage.

My parents tried to help with finances, but I refused. Every time that my family came over for dinner, they would bring groceries. I was initially upset, but after months of tuna sandwiches and ramen noodles, it was nice to have that variety.

By June 2008, my weight was back to 314 pounds.

This was one of the hardest times in my life. I was unemployed and had regained almost all of my weight back for the second time. I began to isolate myself from friends and family. I continued to live life, eating and drinking in front of my computer and hiding behind old pictures that were posted on MySpace and Facebook.

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER.

In July 2008, I accepted a position at a juvenile detention center. I was a Certified Personal Trainer, so this was not where I expected to be employed. However, I needed to pay the bills.

At first, I was very skeptical about opening up to my peers, but I was working with a great group of people. I got the same reaction every time that I told someone that I was a bodybuilder: a puzzled look. They were not judgmental, just doubtful. That motivated me enough to get back on track.

I researched and found a show nine months away: the 2009 Heartland Classic. I was 314 pounds, so I would have to lose one-hundred pounds in that short time. It was definitely my hardest challenge to date, but it was just the challenge I needed to prove myself as a successful competitor.

I knew about my body, but I needed to educate myself on the advanced concepts of nutrition and weight training. The next six months were spent on various bodybuilding forums. I read nutrition, training articles, and journals from many notable competitors and trainers, including: Shelby Starnes, Jason Theobald, Ken “Skip” Hill, Mark Rosmini, Dr. Layne Norton, Charles Glass, Dave Palumbo, Lyle McDonald, Hany Rambod, Chad Nicholls and Dante Trudel.

It was both a blessing and a curse. There were many theories on how to get into shape and I couldn't figure out what to do. I decided to create a combination of a few regimens. Also, I created a journal on MuscularDevelopment.com to keep myself accountable. It was a place to post my progress and receive feedback – both positive and constructive.

A ROLLER COASTER OF EMOTIONS.

I broke through the plateau and competed in the 2009 Heartland Classic weighing 217 pounds. I placed third in the open class behind Jay Isenhart and Carlos Rincon-Toro. Both of these guys brought a crazy level of conditioning and symmetry, so I was comfortable with where I placed.

During that summer, I tried new training and dieting methods.

I got to a solid 224 pounds in time for fall's 2009 Bluffs Classic. I placed fourth in the novice class and sixth in open class – not what I anticipated. I thought that my overall muscularity would have moved me up a few places.

The highlight of the show was not where I placed, but what Jason Vaughn, a NANBF judge, told me after the show. I initially thought that he was going to say what everyone says, “GREAT LEGS, MAN!” Instead, he told me that if I wanted to place better, I needed to be twenty-five pounds lighter. Yes – TWENTY-FIVE POUNDS. For those that are not familiar with the sport – saying this is essentially saying that someone is too fat to compete.

I remember going out with my family after the show, trying to keep a straight face. Truth is, I couldn't get that conversation out of my head. I was proud of losing all of the weight; however, the year did not finish the way that I wanted. I drank the pain away – GOD BLESS ALCOHOL.

SOCIAL SUPPORT.

I decided to take a break during the 2010 spring season. I needed to take a step back. I began to lose hope that I would ever get out of the novice class. To add insult to injury, after nine years of losing, gaining and losing weight all over again, I lost elasticity in my skin.

As much as I wanted to, I didn't give up this time. I only regained twenty-five pounds before I started my preparation to compete in the KC Classic that following September. I reinstated my online journal to log my progress.

There were many people supporting me, but one person that stood out above the rest was John Gorman, who is my current coach and co-owner of Team Gorman Transformations. John had heard about my story and was very supportive. About two weeks out, he said that he is going to be a judge and was looking forward to meeting me.

It was finally the day of the contest. While I did not listen to Jason's recommendation of dropping twenty-five pounds, I still felt confident. I competed at 214 pounds, which was my all-time leanest.

Before I stepped on stage for my posing routine, there was an intermission. I noticed one of the judges coming towards me. Low and behold – it was John. He wished me the best of luck, saying that it was truly a pleasure to meet me. I thought to myself, “I'm no celebrity. I'm just another bodybuilder.” I needed to remind myself of the journey to this stage. John reminded me that the hard work was done and now was the time to give the crowd a show.

It was an exciting time because I was competing in the same class as a long-time friend, Rich Portera. Comparing Rich to me was like comparing apples to oranges. We are two different bodybuilders in all aspects. He is extremely conditioned, while I have more mass.

I ended up placing second in my class and Rich took third. I was shocked at the placing as I thought his conditioning would surpass my size. As John explained it, even though I was not as lean as Rich, my muscularity, presentation and posing gave me the edge. This is when I learned that it was not all about size – there were more factors to winning your class than I had initially thought.

After the show, John told me that he felt that I had a lot of potential. I was the first to doubt his opinion as I had not placed higher than second in any competition thus far. He repeatedly stated that I had the physique to become a professional bodybuilder. I had Tina (my girlfriend), family and friends encouraging me, but they were obviously biased. This was the first time that someone unbiased believed in me.

IT’S BETTER TO GIVE THAN TO RECEIVE.

I was set to compete in Cedar Rapids four weeks after the KC show. John had reviewed my online journal and suggested a few changes. I apologized to him as I did not have the money to hire him – even for four weeks. He said that it was not about him making money, but getting me to see my own potential.

We made those changes and I was two pounds lighter; however my muscles appeared twice as big and full. Plus, the tightness of the muscles pushing against the skin made certain body parts look leaner. I could not believe the results – more importantly, I could not believe the methods that we used to get them. For example, there was one day during the final week that I ate just under 7,000 calories.

I ended up getting second place in the open class. Many in the audience had me winning the show, so it was very controversial. I did not believe them until I saw the pictures from prejudging. I agreed with them, but it just wasn't my time.

Nonetheless, I thanked John for everything and told him that I would hire him for the 2011 season. At the same time, he asked if I had plans of removing the loose skin. I told him that I had thought about it, but I felt it was a great reminder of where I started.

Ironically, a few days later, my parents asked me if I wanted the surgery. I explained my views to them; however, they disagreed. They had paid close attention to me over the years and could tell that my dedication had changed. They also wanted to remove it so that the judges could not deduct points. I thanked them for the gesture, but that insurance would not cover it. They volunteered to finance the surgery.

For many days, I went back and forth about it. This skin was a part of my story. I finally realized the biggest sacrifice that I had made for the sport – my decision to quit drinking alcohol. I had not drank for almost a year, nor did I have the urge to do so. For me, drinking socially did not allow me to be competitive on stage. Competing was my number one priority and I had spent years dealing with weight fluctuation.

I decided that I was willing to do just about anything to break that second place curse – including the skin removal surgery. The surgery date was set and my Facebook photo album was created on the Team Gorman page, “Chris Valentin's Quest for a Pro Card.”

THE DARK HORSE.

My pre-surgery weight was 225 pounds. After seven weeks of rest and recovery, I had dropped down to 210 pounds, with about three to five pounds coming from the excess skin alone.

I anticipated having post-surgery depression from the lack of exercise, but I did not think it was going to be as bad as it was. Working out was my stress relief and it was not an option.

After the doctor gave me the go-ahead to walk, I would only do it on our home treadmill. When Tina (now my fiance) asked if I wanted to join her at the gym, I refused. I did not want to be around others. I felt that the gym was a positive environment; if I couldn't be training at 100%, then I should stay home.

I watched my nutrition through the entire recovery process and was constantly hungry. I could not even imagine the lost muscle mass had I not stuck to my nutrition plan. John was there to remind me that the muscle would come back as long as I kept everything on point. I kept my head up and went full throttle with the off-season plan.

For the next fourteen weeks, I slowly increased my calories and trained my ass off. I had read several articles about the benefits of taking time off, but I chose not to try it in fear of depression.

I eventually regained ten pounds of muscle and kept the body fat under 10%. I would have never imagined those gains!

John saw my progress pictures and said, “You are going to be the surprise of the show! No one’s going to see you coming.”

I said, “You mean like a dark horse?”

He said, “Not a dark horse. THE Dark Horse.”

I loved the nickname because it was a perfect fit. (The fact that I was dark-skinned was just a bonus. Ha ha.)

PATIENCE.

After I hit 220 pounds with 8.8% body fat, I started my contest preparation for the 2011 KC Classic.

My first challenge was working overnights. I expressed my concerns to John but he was not concerned. He informed me that if I still got seven to eight meals every twenty-four hours, it would not be a problem. I made progress even with four to five hours of sleep a day.

About six weeks into it, I hurt my lower back. Between taking a break from the gym, a doctor, a chiropractor and a massage therapist, the problem was not going away. I was concerned about my ability to compete, but I looked at the big picture. I had enough exercises to work around the body part and still keep my plan in check. I thought to myself, “I’m getting around four hours of sleep a day. I have injured my back. This prep could not get any worse.” Again, I was wrong.

With eight weeks to go, cardio was increased to ninety minutes a day and my caloric intake dropped to an all-time low of 2,250. By this time, it was abundantly clear that my personal life was taking a hit.

I began starting to lose patience with my kids at work, focus in the gym and most importantly, quality time with my fiance. Our schedules were completely different. I worked overnights and she worked days; there would often be times where I did not see her for three to four days – and we live together.

Fortunately, I still managed to gather enough energy to finish it out and compete at 208.6 pounds. I felt great about my class until I stepped backstage and saw my competition.

Until that day, I had always out-massed my competition by thirty to fifty pounds, but not this time. I had never seen a Short Class have so many amateur bodybuilders with quality mass. I had my work cut out for me. I ended up taking fourth place.

Truthfully, I really wanted to win my pro card with Matt Holcomb that day, but what I had accomplished over the last nine months was nothing short of a miracle.

After the show, John and I talked about the rest of the season, but ultimately decided to start my off-season. There was another show in November, but I knew it would be a stretch – not only to maintain my current condition, but improve over an eight-week period. Let's face it – my body was overworked and needed some rest.

Seven days had passed. Tina and I had a long talk. She was ready to spend more time with me and was done with my mood swings. I expressed my concerns for the show, especially that I believed that I could improve.

Even though she wanted to be done with the season, she said that she would support me 100% as long as I took a long break afterward for our wedding.

Not even five minutes after she gave me the go-ahead, I was off to the gym.

She asked me, “What are you going to do?”

I replied, “I’m doing what needs to be done.”

As upset as she was, she understood and let me go back to work.

As it got closer to the show, it became harder and harder for my body to make progress. My body was so stubborn that John made changes two to three times a week.

A DATE TO REMEMBER.

About nine days out from the show, I was not sure my work was going to be enough. Luckily, I had several people calling me on a daily basis, reminding me to keep my head up. I thank God every day for meeting great people, including Nick Boswell, Justin Wagoner, Matt Jackson and Brian Ahlstrom. These four guys became truly positive friends when I needed them the most. It’s like God saw my pain and told them to contact me.

Their words reminded me that no matter the outcome, my composition had changed for the better and for that I should be grateful.

The following day, their words were brought to life:

“11/11/11 - A date to remember. The first time I was less than 200 pounds since elementary school. “I do it because I can. I can because I want to. I want to because you said that I couldn't." Don't let anyone tell you what you can or cannot do. I promise that if you make the sacrifices needed to achieve your goals - you WILL get there and it WILL be worth it.”

Nothing else mattered that day because in my mind, and in my heart, I knew that I had already won.

WE DID IT.

I competed at the NANBF USA’s on November 19, 2011 at a stage weight of 202 pounds.

Similar to the KC show, I was very confident until I saw WNBF Pro Jaime Sanchez. His physique was so conditioned. I knew it was basically going to come down to what the judges prefer: Muscularity/Presentation or Conditioning/Symmetry.

We stepped on stage for prejudging and started going through our mandatory poses. After every round, I moved closer and closer to the middle. For those of you not familiar with bodybuilding – when you are moved to the middle, it is presumed that the judges are trying to rank you amongst the rest of your class.

By the end of the prejudging, I finished out in the middle of the competitors, however, I did not let it get to my head.

We came back for the night show. I performed my posing routine and waited for the results. Even to the last minute, John was not sure of the judges' pick. Jaime and I were two completely different bodybuilders.

They started to call out the competitor's  placing all the way up through third place. Jaime and I were the last two standing. I could not help but to drop my head as I just felt Jaime had the better package, but again I was wrong. The judges called out his name for second place. I took first place and won my pro card the day before my thirtieth birthday.

I still remember hearing Nick’s voice backstage over the entire crowd. After the pictures were taken, John, Justin and he rushed over to me.

Nick said, “You did it bro!”

I said, “No man – WE did it.”

I still have not found anything to describe the feeling that I felt at that very moment.

I hope that you all can learn from my mistakes and find the drive within you to push forward – no matter how many times life pushes you back. It may take you eleven weeks, eleven months or eleven years, but just remember this: the struggles in life are short-term; the lessons that we learn are forever.

“If I should die tomorrow, I will have no regrets. I did what I wanted to do. You can't expect more from life.”

- Bruce Lee.

P.S. Just before the NANBF USA competitors' meeting, Nick and I saw Jason Vaughn standing in the back of the auditorium. We spoke with him about his progress for the next show. After we were done, I walked about five feet down the row before I stopped and turned around.

I said, “Hey boss, just to let you know – I remember what you told me two years ago and I am twenty-five pounds lighter today. Get ready because you’re about to see what it looks like.” Then I walked away. Initially, that comment was the first of many to knock me down. It felt so good to let him have it back. Love ya, bro!! :)