Statistics

Contact Address

Competitive Record

Interview

PRESSING FORWARD

By Bill Geiger, Editor

Muscle & Fitness, November 1997.

Imagine the adulation of thousands of fans, autograph-seekers everywhere you go, a lucrative endorsement contract with a top supplement manufacturer, guest-posing appearances around the globe, photo shoots with fabulous beauties hanging onto your 23-inch biceps, all the time in the world to train.... You can almost taste the life of a pro bodybuilder. For a split second, 25-year-old Jason Arntz got a mouthful after he won the amateur USA light-heavyweight title last July in Las Vegas. But the Springfield, New Jersey, native will have to stay hungry; heavyweight Ken Brown was declared the overall winner and received the only pro card being offered.

Thousands of bodybuilders regularly compete for only a couple of pro slots each year, jockeying up and down the ladder of the amateur ranks. Jason is one who has steadily climbed that ultracompe"Losing was a big letdown," Jason says. "I was upset for a little while, but what was meant to be was meant to be. Maybe I'm not ready to be a pro yet, but I'll definitely be in Dallas [at the NPC Nationals in October].

"I can't second-guess myself that I could've come in better shape because I didn't win it all. I've made steady advancement over the years; it's a matter of doing the things I'm already doing."

HANDLING THE PRESSURE

With such expectation of success, the tension that builds must be considerable.

"I've had my share of pressures," explains Jason. "Things weren't going right in my personal life: The last few years I was living at home with my parents and I've endured a couple of bad relationships. There are also the expectations from having done well previously and the pressure of having to get my pro card.

"A number of stresses are common to all bodybuilders: Eating on time, training, not being able to go out before a show -- you can't just go to a restaurant or a club. You're worrying about your next meal: that there's no salt or oil on your food," he notes.

In the past year, Jason worked on correcting a number of those distractions, moving in with his friend and training partner Mat DuVall (who placed llth among the heavyweights at the USAs) and beginning a new relationship with Kristen Poltorak, "She's 100% supportive and, given this lifestyle that's essential," says Jason.

He has found another, albeit costly, way to deal with the precontest jitters. "Before all the contests, I like to keep my mind off the competition because I tend to drive myself crazy," he says. "Last, year before the Nationals, I went out and bought a new jeep. I spent a lot of time putting in a stereo and fixing it up real nice. The year before that, I bought a motorcycle, and I'd never ridden one before in my life. I just hopped on it and drove it out of the showroom."

Given that expensive proclivity, one only hopes Jason earns his pro card before Springfield runs out of parking spaces.

UP, DOWN & BACK AGAIN

Few teenagers know precisely what they want to do and then go out and pursue it, but that's exactly what happened to Jason. "I started with wrestling until high school; after that, it was strictly football and weight training," he recalls. Though he probably never intimidated anyone on the gridiron with his stature (Jason today stands 5'5"), he says he was like a "little bulldog at nose guard; they couldn't stop me."

At 19, with a couple of years under his weightlifting belt, he decided to devote his life almost exclusively to bodybuilding. "I knew what I wanted to do," he says. "I saw improvements in my physique real fast, even at that age.

"My parents hated that choice. They wanted me to go to college, become a professional. 1 didn't want to do anything except what I'm doing today. Now that I'm enjoying some success, my father has changed his perspective; but my mother ... I guess she's just a typical mother."

After committing himself to bodybuilding, Jason began taking home the hardware. He competed in and won the Teenage New Jersey and Teenage MuscleMania that first year. He won the '93 East Coast as a middleweight, then added more size to compete as a light-heavyweight at the '94 Jr. USA, where he placed third, and the '95 Jr. Nationals, in which he placed second. In his first attempt at turning pro at the '95 Nationals, Jason placed a respectable fourth. But that's where things began to go south. He placed seventh in the same contest a year later, though he believes he was overlooked by the judges.

"I was so let down after my seventhplace finish that I couldn't even look in the mirror," Jason muses. "It made me feel like I wasn't good enough anymore, like maybe I didn't have what it takes or they didn't like me. All those thoughts went through my mind. What I wanted to do was come back, make a strong showing, get my name back on top. "I've seen people drop down placings, like I did last year, and their careers end," he continues. "I'm really proud of my accomplishment at the USAs."

DOWNING THE BEEF

For all his hard-as-nails training philosophy, Jason deviates from standard protocol when it comes to at least two areas of his regimen: cardio work and diet. "My workout doesn't really change from precontest to off-season; what does is more diet than anything else," he states. "Actually, I don't do any cardio at all because I have an incredibly fast metabolism. I eat 6 pounds of meat every day getting ready for a show -- and I do zero cardio. That's what works for me." As for his training, Jason relies on his partner Mat and consultant Tony Fernandez, whom he calls the best in the business. Jason doesn't believe he has to pay any special attention to a single body part that needs improvement. "This year the difference has been just another year of muscle maturity, giving my genetics the time they needed to really show. My chest has come along as well: harder, thicker, more balanced. If I have any one concern, it's my arms, so I work them three times over two training cycles."

When his competitive bodybuilding days are over, Jason says he won't stray far from the weight-room floor. "Ultimately, I'd like to own a couple of gyms as well as some real estate," he explains. But such thoughts are a distant vision for a man whose pursuit of a pro bodybuilding career has taken on a sense of urgency and total commitment.

"I take this sport very seriously," he says. "I'm not going to let anything hold me back." For Jason, the table's set and he can smell the aroma of victory. Now it's time to dig in.

Home | Gallery | Calendar | Profiles | TV Schedule | Results | Links | Site Info