5:1:09

Hey Everyone,

As usual, this blog is long overdo! For that I apologize. Now let's get down to business. Lots of things happening in the world of Layne. Probably the biggest thing coming up is my wife Isabel's first show this weekend! She will be competing in the NGA Heart of America Natural Classic, the same show I won the overall at in 2006. She will be competing in the figure division. I'm very excited for her, she has worked so hard and come so far, I just couldn't be more proud of her.

As for myself, I have been quite busy with academics. I am preparing to run my final experiment towards completing my thesis so that is excited. I recently presented some of my research at the Experimental Biology conference in New Orleans on the 20th of April. I had a great time speaking, it is always a big rush to get up to talk about something you are passionate about to a room full of very intelligent people! In that same vein, my first peer reviewed research paper was just accepted by the Journal of Nutrition! You can see the abstract here:

This is very exciting for me, the Journal of Nutrition is a very prestigious journal and I am humbled to have my research be published in such a journal! I never would have thought a dream a started so long ago when I was a teenager to do things like be a pro bodybuilder and make an impact on research would actually lead here. I can't wait to see what the next few years bring.

Competitively, I am definitely itching to get back onstage; but I don't plan to do so until I have my graduate research wrapped up, hopefully that will be about a year from now. Until then I plan to do a few more powerlifting competitions to give me some goals to shoot for and quench my competitive thirst. As always, I will keep everyone updated on any competitions I plan on doing.

Shows you can catch me at this spring include:
May 2 - NGA Heart of America Natural Classic in Washington, IL
May 16 - NANBF Mr/Ms Natural Illinois & Great Northern Bodybuilding & Figure Championships in Kankakee, IL
May 30 - OCB Circle City Championships in Indianapolis, IN

Hope to see you there!

-Layne