Ed brings extensive experience in both marking and product development to Optimum Fitness. His resume speaks for itself…

• Founder of Dymatize Nutrition—an international supplement giant, spanning more than 50 countries, reaching millions of customers!
• Assisted Champion IFBB Pro and Mr. Olympia competitor Lee Labrada in skyrocketing his supplement line, Labrada Nutrition, to national-retail fulfillment
• Formulated the entire Progressive Nutrients product line for the Dallas-based Progressive Laboratories Inc.
• Worked with the Source Naturals wellness company on product line such as Met-RX and Twin Labs
• Overcame TWO separate and equally challenging spine injuries using an exercise-based recovery—a system he developed while in a full neck brace!
• Maneuvered yet another successful product launch for Nutritox Supplements

…And that’s just a glimpse into Ed’s long string of accomplishments.
You can read more about Ed here.

We wish to send a giant welcome…

As he joins us as the newest team member. You can clearly see, he’s bringing a lot to the table. Needless to say, we’re thrilled about a what’s coming down the pipeline.

In fact, as he’ll be putting his talents and expertise to work right away, guiding us in the development our new product line. Not only that, in 2012 he’ll be extending the marketing reach of our three major Competitions:

• The 2012 IFBB/NPC Optimum Classic ProAm on May 12th in Shreveport, La.
• The 2012 NPC Lone Star Classic on June 16 in Dallas, TX at the Dallas Music Hall at Fair Park
• 2012 NPC Heart of Texas Championships on September 8th at the Dallas Music Hall at Fair Park.

Thanks for being here Ed

It’s going to be an awesome year. Please give Ed a warm welcome and help him feel at home.

If you want to find out more about Ed, or get in touch with him, you find him here:

http://www.optimumfitness.com/edwarddittoe/

Qualifying him for the
2012 Arnold Classic
in Columbus, OH

Click here to check out all the
final-event pictures in the gallery

 
Please show JD some support and click one of the “Like”, Tweet, or +1 Button below to share this post with your friends… And if you have time, leave a comment below.

I had to take a moment to give a second huge, and well-deserved round of applause to fellow Optimum Fitness client Joe MacKey.

On October 10^th, in Houston, TX, Joe placed 1^st in the Men’s Super Heavyweight division at the 2011 NPC Texas State Championships!

This means Joe MacKey is now
Officially Nationally Qualified.

Well done Joe, keep up the great work.

Help Joe spread the word by clicking one of the social media buttons below or leave a comment.

Below are the official contest results, as reported to us by NPC.

Click here to download results as a PDF—
so you can save them for later viewing.

To browse the complete results online, see the listings below…

Quick Navigation: Click a link below for faster access

• Men’s Bodybuidling
• Men’s Open Lightweight
• Men’s Open Middleweight
• Men’s Open Heavyweight
• Men’s Novice Lightweight
• Men’s Novice Middleweight
• Men’s Novice Heavyweight
• Men’s Masters (40-49)
• Men’s Masters (50-59)
• Men’s Masters (60+)
• Men’s Bodybuilding Teen
• Men’s Physique
• Men’s Physique A
• Women’s Bodybuilding
• Women’s Bodybuilding Novice
• Women’s Bodybuilding Masters (Over 35)
• Women’s Fitness & Figure
• Fitness Teen
• Figure
• Figure Masters (over 35)
• Figure Masters (over 45)
• Women’s Bikini
• Bikini A
• Bikini B
• Bikini Masters

Quick Summary: Overall Winners

Offical Contest Results

Those of you lucky enough to attend know how much of a great of a time we had. The competition was a hands-down raging success, full of excitement, and we manage to have a ton of fun along the way.

Ever since the contest ended my phone has been ringing off the hook. Everyone wants to know the same thing…

When will the photography will be online?

Where can you see some pictures?

Well, I have great news: the wait is over.
 

The 2011 Heart of Texas Photos
Click here to access them now

 
Professional fitness photographer Steve Gould (you may have seen him around the show) blessed us with talent and provided coverage of the entire event.

Click below for…

• Men’s Prejudging
• Women’s Prejudging
• Men’s Main Event
• Women’s Main Event
• Backstage
• Exhibition Shows
• And an awesome collection of posed photography

If you like what you see here, you can contact you can buy these images directly from his website, or if you prefer you can contact Steve directly at…

Have a look around. Then please, come back and tell us…

Were you at the event?

What do you think of the photography?

How good did your picture come out?

Leave a comment below and tell us all about it.

Silence Distractions

We’ve all seen people at the gym who are supposedly working out but are actually doing anything but—as they check their cell phone, talk to their friends and completely losing track of what they were doing.

You must learn to shut out distractions and focus on your goals. Bodybuilding is a long slog over many weeks before competition. If you can’t learn to focus, you will lose your way a few weeks into your campaign.

Set Goals

It’s important to set goals you can measure yourself against along the way. If you were to get in your car and drive without a destination, how would you know you had arrived? In the same way, you must set specific goals for your training and diet and monitor your progress.

This way you always know how you are doing. You can also adjust your approach as you go along to maximize your efforts just as you would drive a car differently based on traffic conditions.

Strive to Overcome Obstacles

Vince Del Monte asked fitness competitor Diane Chaloux what her biggest obstacle was to achieving her six-pack body. She said…

“The biggest obstacle was procrastination. For about three years I kept saying ‘I want to compete, I want to compete, I want to compete’ and then finally one day I said ‘What am I waiting for?’ and when I finally buckled down on my nutrition and worked really hard on my training and saw what I could achieve with my body, I haven’t turned back since.”

One of the problems with procrastination is that putting things off adds to our stress, which then makes us procrastinate more! Try to break this cycle by determining why you procrastinate on certain tasks, then make a plan to complete the task—such as writing down your competition goals—while being realistic about your limits. Then, get started! One good way is to sign up for a competition.

Bodybuilding is a sport that demands a significant commitment. By staying focused, setting goals and striving to get past obstacles, you will separate yourself from the pretenders. And when you emerge the champion on competition day, it will all be worthwhile.

It doesn’t matter how well trained you are physically—your mind can throw a wrench in the works in a heartbeat if it’s not equally prepared.

Any athlete who has sustained a long and successful career will tell you mental preparation is critical to performing your best. Yet, for many athletes, it one of the most neglected aspects of their training. Don’t make the same mistake!

Here are three keys to cultivating the mindset of success:

Motivate Yourself

One of the most difficult aspects of bodybuilding is pushing yourself when you don’t want to. The training is endless and the attention to diet is nonstop. Top performers learn to motivate themselves.

Motivation comes from within. Others can inspire you, but the driving force comes from you alone. Without knowing what you want to achieve and why, it will be hard to maintain motivation!

Ways to keep yourself motivated include:

• Knowing your ultimate goal
• Posting reminders of what happens if you don’t work out or maintain your diet (such as getting fat again)
• Using the skills you are learning in your training in other areas of life—for example, applying the discipline you use in your workouts to your career and personal life

Visualize Success

Visualization is picturing the outcome of an event before it takes place, which helps your mind lock onto the goal. Famous golfer Jack Nicholas called this “going to the movies.” He would visualize a putt rolling along the ground and into the cup over and over again. His mind then became conditioned to simply repeating what it had already seen on the course.

Visualization does not mean you will be able to lift a lot more weight than you ever have. But it can be a tiebreaker—the combination of your physical effort and mental imagery will be the one-two punch you need to achieve greater goals.

Model a Champion

Find a competitor you admire and want to emulate. Strive to copy the best of their habits, routines, and attitudes. Modeling your efforts on those of a proven champion will speed your development.

This isn’t about stealing their personality and signature routines. Instead, you are applying your own personality and style to the framework of what they do. Eventually, your own framework will evolve as your career grows.

Overall, the more mental training you do to achieve success, the more likely you are to actually achieve that success—and more!

Darker, shiny skin showcases your hard work the best under the bright lights—so here’s how to get it.

Tanning Products

Tanning is critical because the darker your skin is, the easier it’ll be for the judges to see the lines of your physique. Remember–the very bright lights on stage are much different than daylight or lighting found in stores, homes and offices and will wash you out unless you are protected by a good tanning product.

Essentially, it would be difficult to be too dark. Therefore, when you think you’ve applied the right amount, apply one more coat.

Here are some of the most popular tanning products:

Pro Tan

Probably the most popular tanning product on the market today, this is a liquid tanning agent you apply with a sponge. It will remain very solid even after applying oil and sweating under the hot lights. It does have a funny smell and is kind of messy. But it will give you a great base to work from.

Jan Tana

This lotion comes out very evenly and gets very dark with just two to three coats. It washes off a lot easier than Pro Tan though, so it’ more prone to smearing or running.

Dream Tan

This is another lotion that applies evenly and quickly. One common use is to apply it in the morning before the pre-judging. Many competitors will go for 2 coats. If you use Dream Tan, forego the use of oil because there is oil in it.

Posing Oil

Quality posing oil will enhance and show off your muscles like crazy. The problem is when people use far too much and oil drips off them during competition. Therefore, use a light hand when you apply oil. A thin, even coat will do wonders.

Here are some options:

• Many people use oils created for this purpose, which includes popular brands like Pro Tan MuscleJuice and Jan Tana Posing Oil, among others
• Some competitors opt to use Pam, the cooking oil. If you go this route, have someone spray you from about 12 inches away in even stokes
• Menthol-based oils like Pro Tan Hot Stuff are also common because they warm your skin while greatly enhancing your vascularity

Finally, competition day is not a good time to try something new. So choose and try out your tanning and posing oil products ahead of time so you can walk onto the stage with confidence on the big day!

They are specially designed to help you look your best whether you compete in bodybuilding, figure or fitness competitions by increasing attention where you want it and decreasing it in areas you want to downplay.

Suits can be purchased pre-made or custom. Pre-made suits offer outstanding quality at significant savings. Custom suits will give you a unique look that fits you to a “T”.

Choosing the Right Suit

Whatever suit you choose should fit like a glove and be made of the best material possible because you need to have total confidence when you step on stage. But also, a suit that does not fit well can earn you demerits from the judges.

Here are some guidelines to keep in mind:

• It’s important to match your suit to your skin tone. Since you will be using bronzer and tanner, make sure your suit matches the tone of those products. You might want to hold fabric samples against your skin to check.
• Your suit should be cut high on the hip to show off your leg and lower obliques, and the front narrow enough to showcase the hip flexors.
• Keep in mind that thong cuts cuts are not allowed, so make sure the bottom portion covers your butt. But the judges do want to see your glutes. A rule of thumb is to make sure the fabric is “three fingers wide” on either side.

Looking Your Best at Competition

Here are two things to keep in mind for the big day. One, use a product called Bikini Bite under your suit. This will make sure the fabric stays in place—keeping the sides high and the back in place.

Also, be sure to bring back-up suits to the competition. Luggage gets lost and stolen—things spill and tear. The last thing you want is to have to rush around a new city to find one in time! 

Problems arise when people begin to believe the claims of supplement manufacturers of building excessive amounts of muscle in an unbelievably short period of time. Don’t fall for it.

It is much more important to maintain diet and training consistency over a long period of time to reach your goals. Supplements by themselves will not make up for problems in your diet or inconsistencies in your training regimen. However, some basic supplements can help your performance.

A look at 5 key supplements and their benefit to you:

• Whey. Whey is a complete protein that has become one of the staples of the body building world. It contains essential amino acids, is digested by your body rapidly, and is excellent in helping repair muscles after exercise.

Yes, you could eat whole foods after a routine, but your body will process whey much faster and begin the repair process much quicker. And whey has a very positive protein to calorie ratio compared to whole foods.
 

• Creatine. A close second to whey in popularity is creatine. This supplement has been around since 1993 and is widely used throughout the sport. When lifting weights, the body uses a form of energy called ATP (adenosine triphosphate). After ATP is used up, your body turns to glucose and glycogen.

Basically, the more creatine in your muscles, the more explosive you can be. Studies show that fast twitch muscle fibers contain the most creatine—hence, its popularity with football players, track stars and similar athletes.
 

• Glutamine. Glutamine is important for your overall health, immunity system and muscle repair. Glutamine is the most productive amino acid in our muscles and makes up 60% of the amino acids in muscles.

Your body will break down muscle in order to get the glutamate for immune cells and the digestive cells of the stomach and intestines. Also, your body will break down muscle tissue to produce more glutamine if enough isn’t found. Glutamine supplements help make sure there’s enough glutamine for these internal organs and muscles as well.
 

• Fish Oil. Fish oil comes from deep sea and coldwater fish. It’s a great source of Omega-3 essential fatty acids which help keep your brain and heart healthy and improves joint flexibility.
• Multi-Vitamin. When you are training with weights and doing cardio constantly, your run the risk of basic vitamin and mineral deficiency. A basic multi-vitamin will act as insurance to make sure you are covered.

While there are many supplements out there promising the moon, some basic supplements are a smart part of your long-term diet and training plan.