No 
matter how many times this topic has been covered on this site and elsewhere, it is still a question I get asked daily – “How do I go about getting sponsored?”
Firstly, you must be realistic! If you are just an average gym goer who does not compete or work in the sports and fitness industry what are you looking to be sponsored for? You often see the phrase on a person’s facebook or twitter bio “sponsored athlete” or “sponsored fitness model”. I can’t say I have ever seen a bio that contains the phrase “sponsored average gym goer”.
With 
us is Rodney Razor. Congrats on a great showing earlier this year! What made you decide to compete in the Men’s Physique Division?
Thank you. As a trainer and gym manager I always wanted to compete to put all my fitness knowledge I had learned over the years to the test on my own body. I always got tons of compliments on my physique everywhere I went. I wanted to see where my physique ranking amongst the best out there though. At the time, which was at the beginning year, I had never even heard of Men’s Physique and after talking with friend and Pro Bodybuilder Ed Nunn and a few others, I set my mind on bodybuilding. In the back of my mind I didn’t really want to get that big but I thought that was the only way I could compete. Still hesitant, I continued to look online for other options. I stumbled across RX Muscle and notice there were guys on there in board shorts winning and the Category was call Men’s Physique. I was intrigued. Instantly I felt this was my calling. It was fairly new and after looking at pictures of the guys competing I felt I belonged. I then went on the search to find my first NPC show to compete in. Once I discovered there was a local competition called The GNC Classic, it was time to put the knowledge and hard work to the test.
There 
comes a time in our lives, when many of us find ourselves to be in somewhat of a “rut”. There are many reasons and/or circumstances for this, unique to every person and situation. I recently found myself in this position, before making a major change in my life, to finally pursue the career that I am truly passionate about. Ever since I was fourteen years old, I have been working in the restaurant industry, the last eighteen years of which was in management. For the longest time, I believed that this was my calling in life. I really enjoyed being able to welcome people into “my home” and provide them with the highest level of hospitality.
No 
matter what we accomplish or what we are going through, we all at times will go through moments where we question what we are doing or just want to give up all together. These are the times that truly define someone who has the Warrior Spirit, you see, it is easy for anyone to give thanks, be excited, and have endless energy when things are going great and everything seems to just be happening in our favor. The times when the chips are down are the times we really have three choices to make; just stay where we are at, give in to the urge to quit, or realize why we started in the first place and snap out of it and make it happen! You see, to say that we all do not experience trying times would simply be naive, but in the grand scheme of this life and there being literally millions of things that go into what is happening at our present moments, we are also very naive to not realize that things are just as they should be! This is a concept that is very easy to say, but also very difficult to master; it takes the realization that our reactions and attitudes ultimately dictate our outcomes. It takes the realization that with millions of things coming into play to make a single moment, that there are far many factors other than just what we are currently doing. Above all, it takes the realization that people, things, and events do not in themselves cause emotions or dictate whether something is “good” or “bad,” but rather how we perceive them and if we treat life as a learning experience, rather than just something to mindlessly discount as if it isn’t our fault. Let me tell you, with the utmost conviction, that everything that we feel and experience is ultimately by our own doing, our greatest secret lies deep within ourselves, where we already have the answers!
Almost
one year ago, I receive a piece of advice from the 2012 Bikini Olympia Champion, Nathalia Melo, during a brief discussion in a downtown Fort Lauderdale gym. During our exchange, I told Nathalia that I was planning to compete in Men’s Physique and she prompted urged me to hire a nutrition/workout coach lickity split. Ok, she didn’t use the term lickity split but she did communicate that time was of the essence given that my first competition was a month away.
According to Nathalia, coaches have a way of “seeing things that you can’t see.” She went on to say that competitors have a way of “going crazy” in those last few weeks and days before a show.
Training 
the traps can be a bit tricky, because of the unique anatomical configuration of the muscle. It’s fan-shaped - originating over a broad area along the upper spine, and narrowing down to a much smaller insertion on the shoulder blade (scapula). Because of this configuration, it is able to pull the shoulder carriage straight upward, slightly back and upward, straight backward, back and slightly downward.
Part of the trapezius already works, during a typical back workout that involves rowing. The lower portion of the trapezius works when we do pulldowns, provided the pulley is slightly in front of us (thereby causing us to pull slightly backward, as well as downward). This is why we usually do standing shrugs for our traps - because the upper part doesn’t get enough stimulation from rowing and pulldowns.
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