I had a rollover accident on a foggy day. My car rolled 3 times into a pole. The accident caused incomplete quadriplegia, (C5-7) so I cannot walk yet.
I did bodybuilding before my accident and learned my body, and what it takes to build it to look any way I wanted. I've been bodybuilding 8 years before my accident, so I rebounded a lot of my muscle quickly after spending 1 year in the hospital, and 1 month in a coma.
One day I was working out in therapy with the "heaviest" elastic band they had (which I doubled to make it heavy enough) and broke it doing curls.
I had to figure out how I can get my body back to how it was prior to the accident (which was 220 lbs., huge, with six-pack abs) to 160 lbs. skinny and weak.
I dreamed about going back to the gym and getting all my muscles back, no matter what it took. I started experimenting in my house doing curls by picking up my legs, worked out my triceps doing dips in my wheelchair, and I reached a point where there weren't enough things in my house I can lift, so I joined the gym and started from the bottom.
I started with 10-lb. Curls, 45 lbs. lat pulldowns, and less than 100-lb. bench.
Since my hands were not strong because of the paralysis, I used powerlifting hooks and had to get creative with my training in order to build my body again.
Now, 2 years out of the hospital, I've gained 70-80% of my strength back, in a wheelchair, and I am more motivated than ever! I'm stronger than most people in any gym in which I've trained, even a high-level quadriplegic in the wheelchair! I feel God has been my biggest reason I gained my power, and mass back, and He will help me compete and do well in WCBB.
I want to prove that even a person with an injury as disabling as mine can do great things. I played football 6 years, and collegiate wrestling 9 years, track and field, yet bodybuilding is what I most favored, and I feel like I can be a champion in this sport even though I may be the most injured person at any show.
I've researched and have only found a handful of people my with my injury level who bodybuild, and I am stronger than all of them I've researched.
God has given me extraordinary abilities, and strength, so I want to become the world's best quadriplegic bodybuilder some day. With God I know it's possible, and people will see what I've done and be inspired, and hopefully I can help people who have a disability be motivated to impact the world like I believe I can do.
I was first inspired by Arnold Schwarzenegger's style of high volume training and transitioned to heavy, heavy, hardcore style of training like Ronnie Coleman and Branch Warren. My body seems to respond to very heavy, concentrated, strict training which reaches failure every set. I pyramid a lot, and do "drop sets" which is dropping 10-15 lbs. from the initial weight, to force the body to hit muscle failure every set, while still lifting heavy, pushing the limit every time possible.
Read, read, read! Lol. Look at magazines, online, bodybuilding forums, all the resources you can utilize. Ask bodybuilders in the gym, or email. I've found that bodybuilders want to help... On my lunch break I would have my nose in a nutrition book, Arnold's Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding, or Muscle & Fitness magazine. "Knowledge is POWER."
What I do for motivation is watch bodybuilding videos. I like watching mass monsters like Ronnie Coleman, Branch Warren, or Nick Scott, and any BEAST in the gym for BIG motivation! Music helps, too. Hardcore metal or rap is what I favor when training.
