2:25:09

Hey Everyone,

I hope everyone is having a great beginning to this year. The cold is starting to break and spring is just around the corner and that means so is contest season! Certainly some of you are already in the full swing of things. I know Isabel is already 7 weeks into her prep and she is doing fantastic. She started at 133 lbs and in 7 weeks is down to 125.5 lbs and is right track to have a super successful debut in figure. I am very proud of her to work so hard and take the next step. I would invite everyone to stop by the forum and check out her pre-contest log. I know I stop in for my daily dose of motivation.

As for me I have been very busy with grad school work. Our lab has some really cool data that should be coming out here in a few months so I can't wait to show you guys that. I am also very busy with writing for MD. I have submitted my first two columns, and the first column just came out in the April issue of MD so look out for that!

The Unleashed DVD has also been selling very well. Better than I could have ever expected to be honest. At this rate it looks as if we'll sell well past expectations! Recently the editor in chief of IRONMAN Magazine, Steve Holman, reviewed my DVD in the March issue of IRONMAN on page 88. He gave it an absolutely fantastic review. It was very cool for me to see such a highly regarded name in bodybuilding have such positive things to say about my DVD. Additionally, Mike Pulcinella of Muscular Development also gave the DVD a very nice review that can be found here: http://bodybuildingreviews.net/vidreviews/LayneNorton.html

As many of you also know, I recently returned to compeition. Not for bodybuilding but I competed in my first powerlifting meet, the APA Crush Cupid on February 14th, 2009. How cool is my wife to let me do that on valentine's day? I had a great time and participated in the 220 lb class in the RAW (only belt and knee wraps allowed, no suits) division and did the squat and deadlift. I was pretty confident going in that I would do well, I had weighed in the night before at 215 after depleting down slightly to ensure I made the 220 lb class (I was 223 earlier in the week). Everyone at the meet was very friendly and encouraging. In the squat my three lifts were 455 lbs, 495 lbs, and 520 lbs, a personal record! In deadlift, my goal was to break the APA's RAW 220 lb class record which was 625 lbs. My first lift was 585 lbs and I pulled it so fast the judge said he thought I was going to power clean it! My second lift was 610 lbs. That went up easy as well. My third attempt was 630 lbs. I focussed myself and ripped it off the ground for a good lift and a new APA record! After I hit the lift I was informed that I could do a 4th attempt since I had hit all 3 previous lifts and set a world record. I decided I would go for 645 lbs, 3x my bodyweight. Again I focussed myself and used thoughts of my loved ones to motivate myself. Again I ripped the weight off the ground and it came up easy. Several people told me they believed I could have pulled 660-670 easily. I don't know if that's true or not, but it is certainly a goal! The all time best RAW deadlift for 220 lb class in any organization is 705 lbs, so i still have a long way to go before I can call myself a world champion in that record, but at least for the APA, I was able to set a world record, which felt unbelievable.

Overall, it felt great just to be able to compete again. I had such a great time and I look forward to doing another meet in fall. To see videos from the meet check out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfbholc2R2E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTgLtVBgJQ4

I also want to remind everyone that the Arnold Classic is just around the corner. For those of you who will be going to the expo, please stop by the Scivation booth. As always, I enjoy chatting with bodybuilding fans. I will also be selling my DVD at the presale price for those who are interested in purchasing it.

I look forward to meeting some of you for the first time, and seeing old friends as well!

-Layne