By
Andrew Stackpool
 |
|
LAC
Martin
|
LEADING
Aircraftman Tim Martin, of RAAF Base Williams, Laverton, is well
on his way to achieving his goal of turning pro after being crowned
the World Novice Heavy Weight Champion in the Muscle Mania World
Championships and finishing third in the INBA Natural Olympia.
His successes in November followed several others in October:
first in the Silver Division of the Musclemania Australia, second
in the INBA Natural Physique ACT Gold (Pro) Division competition,
and second in the Open Men’s Medium/Tall Division of the
INBA Australia competition.
“There were over 200 competitors at the Olympia and 400 at
the Musclemania World Titles,” LAC Martin said.
“They came from all over the world; from Australia, Wales,
USA, Canada, Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Italy, Cuba, Bulgaria,
Hungary, France and Japan. It was like a bodybuilding Olympics
or Commonwealth Games.”
The standards and demands of competition were very high. “For
the night of the finals you perform a self choreographed routine
to a 60 or 90-second piece of music you choose. This counts for
25 per cent of your score,” he said.
Apart from balancing work and gym work to bring his body to maximum
peak, he had to factor months of dieting and other training to
ensure his body was in top condition at the right time –
and continued the dieting while overseas.
He said this was more important than the training to maintain
and improve the condition he had achieved.
“I had to eat every two hours, including breaking sleep to
eat. Jetlag wasn’t an issue on the way over [to the US],
although taking enough food and supplements for over 20 hours
in transit and negotiating customs with prepared foods proved
to be a little tricky,” he said.
“We came up with a makeshift kitchen comprising a microwave
and a small health grill in the bathroom so as not to set the
smoke alarms off. Everything revolved around eating, training,
sleeping and preparation. If I went anywhere, it was with a huge
food bag and at least four litres of water.”
He is now preparing for next year’s competitions. “I
am trying to build as much lean muscle mass as possible over the
next eight to nine months before starting the dieting process,”
he said. “Ultimately, I intend to turn pro-natural at some
point over the next five years.”
