Fat is where it's at!
Fat is where it's at!
We have to go way back to get some understanding on this one.
Back in 2000, when we were skeletons and I was almost ripped, Adipose had
just sold his gym and was going for his—literally—all for broke, make it or
break it, in powerlifiting. Now, in order to complete his master plan, he had to
dissolve all ties. I know this is silly, but this is how the man thinks.
To do this and break the ties that bind with his training partners at the time,
he got mad one day after we decided to start training without him. He used this
episode to make his great escape from commercial gym hell (in his bipolar brain)
and train at his house. I later named this the “Gay-rage.”
With total separation, he sought Louie's advice on getting better. Louie told
him this wasn't bodybuilding, and for his frame, he should weigh 300 plus. I
don't think Louie ever meant the 375 or whatever he calls himself. But off he
went, cutting the number of meals but increasing the crappiness of the meals.
After lots of Dove bars and you name it, he had ballooned to over 300 quickly.
We have always been highly competitive so as not to be out done in powerlifting
or anything. So I began my diet of Little Debbie's, Snickers, and Reese cups.
Put it this way—the documentary, SuperSize Me, ain't got shit on me from
back then. On one side of my bed (and this is no joke), there were plastic
wrappers from cakes and candy at least a foot and a half high. That’s the honest
truth. We weren't talking for about a year and a half, so this was all second
hand and you know how that gets twisted. We would send jokes back and forth. I
called his place the “Gay-rage” and he called the gym, Total Failure (it was
Total Gym at the time minus Chuck Norris and all that money).
So after the first six months, I was up to 220 or so. Fat but not too sloppy
yet. Six months later with the help of Wendy's, Burger King, Chick-Fil-A, and
many more cookies and cakes, I got up to 240. I was nice and sloppy, but my body
caught up with some muscle (about 8 lbs or so), and it wasn't too bad then. My
lifts kept going up so I continued my blistering weight gain. Six more months
later with lots of heavy breathing, I was up to 260. By this time, we had all
made up (isn't that sweet) and were training together again. We had all had some
good successes so why stop there, I thought? Why be in the middle of a weight
class when you can be at the end of it? 275 or bust!
Well 275 came and went over the next year or so after I added in Taco Bell
and Moose Tracks ice cream (a delightful concoction of vanilla ice cream, fudge
tracks like oil reserves in the ground, and mini peanut butter cups). Oh, I must
thank Nabisco for Double Stuff Oreos and Nutter Butter Bars. Thank god I was
adding muscle as I went. I think that was my body's reaction to try and comb at
this giant fatness I was working on. I busted 275 easily in 2003, and for some
reason, 285–290 was my sticking point for about one year and a half. Then, I
figured what the f$*?? Go for the record. Break 300. 300 lbs was the hardest. I
continued with the usual, but I needed a little more. I added fast food twice a
day (Hardee’s came out with their low carb breakfast bowl—bacon, sausage, eggs,
and cheese. All the food groups were covered. I think they cook it with
liposuctioned fat asses.)
So at 300, the chairs in my gym starting bending, and I think I was close to
getting an oxygen tank. My stomach stuck out from under both a 2XL and 3XL
shirt, and my shorts began to slip further down my gigantic ass, showing my
dirty cheeks ‘cause wiping thoroughly with alligator arms is almost impossible.
In order not to be a Super with my good friend and great influence, Don, I had to start cleaning up my act and go back to my old, clean days of eating and actually doing some cardio (sled work). I am back down to 280, reluctantly, but I feel better. I’m only allowed to eat out and have sweets once a week. My new thing is TGIFriday's. They have giant Oreo cookies with vanilla ice cream filling (mmm…mmm...filling). They give you caramel and fudge packs to put on them. Brilliant!! I get it all in one!
That's my story of reaching your ultimate powerlifting goals and knocking
about three or four years off your life in the process. But, if you can't enjoy
yourself, then why bother.
Marc Bartley is one of the premier 275 lbs lifters in the world and a WPO competitor. At the 2005 Arnold Classic, he squatted a huge 1058 lbs. Marc has been competing in powerlifting for six years and has used the IPA, APF, USAPL, and WPO to showcase his strength. He currently owns Total Gym in South Carolina. Despite his appearance, Marc is a very well-educated man and holds two degrees from the University of South Carolina—one in finance and one in economics. His best lifts include a 1058 squat, 700 bench, and 722 deadlift. His best total to date is 2463 lbs.
Visit his website at www.SouthCarolinaBarbell.com.
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