Cyberflexing.com Exclusive Interview With NPC Bodybuilder And Writer Ron Harris

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Contents

1 Quick Bio:
2 How did you get started with bodybuilding?
3 What keeps you motivated?
4 What is your current workout routine?
5 If you had to choose only 3 exercises, what would they be and why?
6 Competition history:
7 What is your favourite form of cardio?
8 What is your diet like?
9 What supplements do you use?

Quick Bio:

Age: 47 (September 21, 1969)
Height: 5’8″ - 173 cm
Contest Weight: 205 lbs - 92 kg
Off-Season Weight: 230 lbs - 104 kg
Location: Boston, Massachusetts, United States

How did you get started with bodybuilding?

I was always short for my size and never any good at sports. At times I was the target of bullies. Around age 13, I started lifting sporadically with the main goal of just getting bigger and stronger so I wouldn’t be such an easy target. I was about 4-11 and 95 pounds at age 14 when I started lifting consistently. The physiques I looked up to were mostly professional wrestlers like Kerry Von Erich, Superstar Billy Graham, Tony Atlas, Ivan Putski, and Jimmy ‘Superfly’ Snuka. Right when I turned 18, I got an issue of FLEX magazine in the mail that I had sent away for as part of a deal for buying a can of Weider protein powder in late summer of 1987.

Inside were photos of Lee Haney, Rich Gaspari, Gary Strydom, Mike Christian, Lee Labrada, and a very young Shawn Ray. I was hooked right then and there. No matter how long it took or how hard I had to work, I was going to look like a bodybuilder and eventually compete. My first contest was in March of 1989.

What keeps you motivated?

Even at almost age 47, I still don’t feel like I am done improving my physique. It’s always a work in progress. Most of all, I simply love training hard and heavy and challenging myself in the gym. Knowing I have given it all at every workout is so rewarding. Also, I can’t pretend vanity isn’t a big part of why I still love bodybuilding. I enjoy looking and feeling good, and I appreciate it now even more so in middle age as most men my age have given up on their bodies long ago.

What is your current workout routine?

Day 1: Shoulders
Day 2: Quads with some hams
Day 3: Arms
Day 4: OFF
Day 5: Chest with side deltoids
Day 6: Hams with some quads
Day 7: Back
Day 8: OFF, repeat

If you had to choose only 3 exercises, what would they be and why?

I wouldn’t, but if I absolutely had to they would be the incline bench press, barbell row, and squats. Between those three, you could pretty much hit everything.

Competition history:

1989 ANBC Colonial Classic 10th, Junior Short
1989 ANBC Yankee Classic 5th, Teenage
1990 ANBC MA State 9th, Men’s Medium
1992 ANBC California 6th, Junior
1992 Muscle Beach Venice 3rd, Heavyweight (different weight classes from NPC)
1993 ABCC Mr. Los Angeles 2nd, Men’s Medium
1993 Muscle Beach Venice 2nd, Heavyweight
1994 NPC Ironman Naturally L.A. 3rd, Men’s Light-Heavyweight
1994 ANBC CA State 2nd, Men’s Medium
1995 NPC Ironman Naturally L.A. 2nd, Men’s Light-Heavyweight
1995 Muscle Beach Venice Super Heavyweight Winner (over 190 was Super Heavyweight)
1995 NPC Ironman Naturally Las Vegas 2nd, Men’s Light-Heavyweight
1997 Muscle Beach Venice 2nd, Men’s Super Heavyweight
2002 NPC New England 2nd, Men’s Heavyweight
2003 NPC Orange County (CA) 2nd, Men’s Light-Heavyweight
2003 NPC MA State 2nd, Men’s Heavyweight
2003 NPC Northeast 2nd, Men’s Heavyweight

Tournament of Champions

2004 NPC MA State 3rd, Men’s Heavyweight
2004 NPC Northeast 4th, Men’s Heavyweight

Tournament of Champions

2005 NPC New England 2nd, Men’s Heavyweight
2007 NPC Natural Colonial Classic Light-Heavyweight and Overall
2009 NPC Team Universe 9th, Men’s Light-Heavyweight
2011 NPC Rhode Island 2nd, Men’s Heavyweight 2nd, Men’s Over 35
2011 NPC Team Universe 2nd, Men’s Heavyweight 3rd, Men’s Over 35
2013 NPC Team Universe 5th, Masters Over 40
2013 NPC Masters Nationals 14th, Masters Over 40 Heavyweight

What is your favourite form of cardio?

In the off-season, I prefer the elliptical trainer and the stepper. If I am preparing for a contest, I will use the StepMill more. It’s brutally difficult, but it burns fat like nothing else.

What is your diet like?

Sample Off-Season Diet:

2 AM 25 grams protein Myofusion shake
4 AM 25 grams protein from Myofusion
6:45 AM 4 whole eggs, 1 cup oatmeal with 1 cup strawberries or ½ cup blueberries
8:30 AM 2 scoops SuperPump 250
9 AM Size-On and Aminolast during workout
10:30 AM Whey protein and Glycofuse
11:30 AM 12 oz chicken breast, 1 cup white rice
2 PM Turkey breast burger on whole wheat thin bun, baked sweet potato fries
4:30 PM 50 grams protein from Myofusion, large apple
6 PM 12 oz ground turkey in 2 whole wheat tortillas, 1 cup snap peas, 3 tablets Anavite
8:30 PM 12 oz sirloin steak, 6 stalks raw asparagus

Sample Pre-Contest Diet:

3 AM 40 grams MyoFusion shake from Gaspari Nutrition
7 AM 5 whole eggs, 1 cup rolled oats (oatmeal), ½ cup blueberries, 1 cup brewed coffee
9 AM 2 scoops SuperPump 250
9:30-10:30 Weight train
10:30 1 scoop Aminolast
10:30-11 Cardio (could be 30-45 minutes – in this case 30 minutes)
11 AM Whey protein and 1 scoop Glycofuse
12 Noon 2 tilapia baked filets, baked sweet potato fries (amount depends on bodypart trained – more for back and legs, less for chest and tris day, and shoulder and biceps day), 1 raw carrot
3 PM 2 chicken breasts (seasoned with Adobo, available in Spanish section), 1 cup raw sugar snap peas
5:30 PM 10 oz baked salmon, 1 cup raw sugar snap peas
8 PM 10 oz grilled top round steak, 6 stalks raw asparagus