Ray Dickerson, a field engineer based in Ohio, celebrated his 10-year anniversary with Varian in October. Last month he competed in the NPC Natural Northern USA Bodybuilding competition, which raised $4,000 for the American Cancer Society.
“Working for a company whose goal is to fight against cancer and save 100,000 more lives every year, I am proud to have participated in an event that supports that goal,” said Dickerson.
Dickerson’s passion for bodybuilding started when he was 16 years old. In 1981,
he entered his first bodybuilding competition in the U.S. Navy. He competed through 1993, winning the 1992 title of Mr. Ohio in the Mr. Natural Ohio Bodybuilding Championships. In 1993, he competed in the Mr. Natural USA competition.
Ray’s training regimen involved a special customized training program from the Overload Training Center in Beachwood, Ohio. This method incorporates very slow repetition speeds in comparison to the traditional resistance training methods. The emphasis is on minimizing acceleration to reduce the force on the body during exercise, and to improve muscular loading. Typically, these workouts take far less time, lasting about 20-40 minutes, and consist of one set of each exercise that is carried out to complete muscle fatigue.
“Managing my diet is the absolute hardest part about training,” said Dickerson. He started out his diet by cutting out the most obvious: sugar and fat, and replaced them with good “clean” food. By keeping track of his nutritional intake, he was able to achieve and regulate his weight loss gradually without sacrificing any muscle.
After a 19 year layoff from the sport due to other responsibilities, and a changing physique due to poor diet choices; Ray decided to get back into bodybuilding. With the support of his wife and his four children, he set a goal to compete in the NPC Natural Northern USA Bodybuilding competition. His hard work and dedication have truly paid off. Ray weighed in at 176 pounds the day of the show in September, having dropped a total of 55 pounds since the previous March. He placed 9th in the Masters division and 7th in the middleweights.
“The competition itself was tough, but the experience was very positive and encouraging,” he said. “It was a great feeling being able to get back into shape and actually stand on a stage to compete against, and place higher than younger athletes. The insight gained through setting this goal for myself has helped me relearn how to take control of my body and maintain my health and fitness level. Bottom line… if you really want it, you will find a way.”
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
I would love to hear more about his routine if possible.
I would like to hear far more about his diet. I believe that Josh said somewhere a lot of people could gain 10-20 pounds of muscle if they just sorted out their diet. I maybe wrong. Anyway, great to see that Renex is working it’s magic.
I’ll be working with Randy Roach putting together materials that include raw eating….should be out by late summer 2013
Inspirational, congratulations Ray!
great post thanks- I should be leaner too!
Looking forward for your work with Randy Joshua.
Big thanks to Josh. H.I.T. Enabled me to doing one more time
Josh,
articles like these are the most important ones you can post. this is what we should strive for. Did Ray incorporate a raw food diet to lose fat?
thanks
Greg
What kind of workout is Ray Dickerson on and how often?
When I trained him we used the generic routines.
I go into this more in the Bodybuilding talk at the F.OE. conf.
I have had a number of questions about this:
So let the record show that OVERLOAD FITNESS & RENAISSANCE EXERCISE do NOT Support the American Cancer Society.
The choice to donate to this organization was that of my client who happens to work in that field.
Joshua
I mainly entered this competition to challenge myself and give myself a goal. The fact that the promoters of the contest donates to the cancer society is niether here nor their as far as I’m concerned – it just got me a write up on my companys main web page :))).
My training for this competition was very different than when I competed 19 years earlier.
Thanks for the explanation …..and yes, I remember both contest preps….now and back in 1992….its so cool that it can be done so radically different.
By “radically different” I assume you mean less time/ more effective work?
Mind filling us in on how much time was spent a week in 92 vs. the 2 days a week spent now? Was it HVT back in 92?