Results from my last 2 Pro shows

As per usual, this blog is very late being updated so my sincere apologies for that. On October 9th I competed in my 2nd natural pro show, the IFPA Gaspari Cape Cod Pro put on by James and Katie Carron of Cape Cod Nutrition Center. It was a professional show top to bottom as I expected as James and Katie are first rate people all the way around. There was stiff competition with 10 heavyweights in my class and 21 total pros. Unfortunately, I did not look my best on this day. I was extremely flat at prejudging and in a lineup this stacked, there was no way to be in the hunt if I wasn't at my absolute sharpest. For me, it highlights how hard it is to be objective with myself when prepping for a show. While it is easy for me to look at a client and determine whether or not they are flat, with myself it is much trickier as I tend to play the mind games that are so common. What was very frustrating to me was that I didn't really change anything from the previous show where I looked my best at prejudging. Just goes to show you that you can't adhere rigidly to a game plan and you have to listen to your body. I looked FAR better at the night show, but at that point, it was too late to make much of a difference and I wound up in 4th place. I tried to take it as a positive that I could wind up top 5 in a tough line up even when I was off my best, but it is difficult to be satisfied as a competitor when you show up looking less than your best.

You can see the difference between prejudging and finals here:

Prejudging:



Finals:



Big difference, but I took it as a learning experience and tried to move on from it.

I wrestled with whether or not to do the IFPA Yorton Cup, my feelings on one hand were if I couldn't place top 3 at the Cape Cod pro, what was the point of getting into the Yorton, the biggest and best show in pro natural bodybuilding? Ultimately I decided to do the show and was so happy I did. I weighed in at the bottom end of the heavyweight class which had a total of 12 competitors, and 36 male pro bodybuilders overall, spread over 3 classes! Absolute insanity from top to bottom. Standing backstage looking at some of these guys was just mind boggling. I definitely made sure I paid closer attention to my body this show and I came in much fuller and tighter for the prejudging. In the end I wound up in 5th place and I was very satisfied because I came in at my best and placed top 5 in my very first Yorton Cup. Being onstage with some of the best in the world definitely motivated me to get back this offseason and hit the iron with a vengence to make more improvements to my physique so I can move into the upper echelon of pros, I still have a long way to go in that regard!

A pic from the Yorton:


I still have one more show left this year, the NGA Pro Universe on November 13th in Coral Springs, FL. It will be another tough lineup of pros and I am looking forward to trying to come in even better at this show and hopefully look my very best onstage. If you are in the area, please be sure to check out the show! http://nationalgym.com/images/2010NGAflyer.pdf

But I won't be done completely just yet, the following weekend I will be guest posing at the OCB Midwest States in Dekalb, IL. This show is near and dear to my heart as Isabel and I have attended every single Midwest States since it began in 2005. We know many of the competitors and fans in the area and I can't tell you how excited I am to have the honor of guest posing at this show! I am especially looking forward to celebrating with everyone afterwards! In total, I will have dieted for 33 weeks, so I can't say I'm not looking forward to sitting down with my close friends and family and having a good time :).

Hope to see you there! http://www.ocbmidweststates.com

Thanks!
-Layne

IFPA Pro International Results and Mr. Olympia Schedule

As many of you know, I've spend the last 6 months preparing for my first natural pro show, the IFPA International. The show was this past weekend and went extremely well. I weighed in at 196.7 on friday, putting me in the heavyweight class along with 6 other competitors with a total of 6 competitors in the lightweight class (13 pros total). I woke up on saturday at my absolute tightest I'd ever been, really making me feel confident about my chances. As I pumped up backstage I tried to visualize how I would look my best onstage and executing my poses correctly. As we strolled out onstage I could not help but smile as I knew no matter what the result I had achieved one of my life long goals of stepping on a pro stage. After one symmetry round I was moved to the middle of the line up and stayed there for the duration of prejudging. I felt very good about that, but being in the middle doesn't always mean you are going to do well so I tried to keep my expectations down, but I was told by numerous people that I looked very improved onstage and my conditioning was the best in my class, which made me feel great.

After I got offstage my wife came running back to give me a hug. I could see tears in her eyes and I couldn't help but tear up myself. We both put so much into this prep and to come back from such a long layoff and my torn pec to step onstage and be competitive in a pro class, I was overcome with emotion.

During the night show the pro men were up very early, so I was going to find out how I did pretty quickly. Backstage the expediter announced that only the top 5 would go out for awards. This got me pretty nervous but fortunately they called my number (14) as one of the top 5. As they read off the placings time seemed to slow down to a crawl. I felt I would be in the top 3. So when they announced 3rd place and it wasn't me, I was overjoyed, I had made top 2 at my first pro show. It was down to myself and Joe Wilson for the class win. As they read the runner ups name I kept thinking "they are going to say Layne Norton, they are going to say Layne Norton." they announced the runner up as Joe Wilson and I felt myself almost pass out with emotion. Unbelievable that I had won my class in my first pro show. This was beyond anything I had every expected or dreamed of. It was unbelievable feeling and to share it with my wife and so many members of Team Norton in the audience (special thanks to Flynn, Jeremy, Chris, Lindy, Patrick, Mina, Aaron, and Kayla for driving so far to support us!) was just unreal.
I hope to have pictures posted soon.

This week I am in Las Vegas, NV for the Mr. Olympia. I will be at the expo and you can come say hi to me at the Scivation booth from 10am to 2pm on Friday, and Noon to 2:30 pm on Saturday. I am looking forward to seeing you guys!

Thanks so much for all your support!

-Layne

In the final stretch

Hello everyone,
As you know I tend to be very sporadic with my blog posts so I'll try to bring you up to speed on everything. Right now I'm sitting 17 days out from my first natural pro show, the IFPA Pro International in Kansas City, KS on September 18th. As of now I'm at 200 lbs and definitely in my best condition ever. I am still working hard to peel a few more pounds of fat off but at this point I already feel like I've grabbed a personal victory as I will step onstage with a completely different and Improved physique from years past. My legs and back, two areas that I have focused on for a long time, are finally falling in line with the rest of my physique and I am so excited to step onstage and not have massive weakpoints in my physique. Don't get me wrong, my legs still need to improve, but they are massively different from the last time I competed.

This prep has been challenging for me, mostly mentally and emotionally as I have poured my heart and soul into it like no prep before. I have never been this aggressive with nutrition or cardio in a prep, probably because I KNOW what my competitors will look like and I KNOW that it will take stepping up to the next level in order to stand on the pro stage and not look out of place. So I have been at it hard for the past 21.5 weeks and plan to give it my absolute all for the next 2.5 weeks. I will NOT be posting any updated progress pictures until the show, as silly as it sounds, I don't want people telling me how great I look and how great I'm going to do, I need to remain focused on the task at hand.

On an exciting note, I was recently informed that both of my first pro shows will be broadcast live via webcast for viewing! On september 18th you can watch the IFPA Pro International on http://www.nbcflivetheater.com/ and you will also be able to watch the IFPA Cape Cod Pro on October 9th there. Go check it out not just for me, but to support the rest of the great natural pros out there.

-Layne

Announcement of my pro debut

Hi Everyone,
Well as many of you know I have been dieting for the past 18 weeks or so for my pro natural debut, but had not announced exactly which shows I am doing. I wanted to make sure my entry forms were mailed in and the way was cleared before I announced them. Well it appears everything is in place. My first two shows this year will be:

September 18th in Kansas City, KA
The IFPA Pro International
http://www.musclekc.com/

October 9th in Cape Cod, MA
The IFPA Pro Classic
http://www.thenaturalmusclenetwork.com/IFPA/Contests/2010/IFPA100910MAdetails.pdf

There are other shows I am eying at later dates right now, but I am waiting to see how the first two shows go before I make any final decisions.

I appreciate all your support and I right now I am on track to come in at my best ever which is my ultimate goal. My conditioning right now is equal to when won my pro card, but I am at about 10 lbs heavier bodyweight, which is exciting to me because at least I feel like my prolonged offseason was worth it!

I have been looking forward to this for a long time :)

-Layne

New Precontest Pictures

Hey guys, I'm sitting about 3 months out from my first show, and figured you all might like some prep pics. Here are some pics that we snapped on Saturday in the gym :)



















-Layne

Requesting help for a friend.

Hello everyone,
I would like you all to please take a few minutes to read this
http://funds.gofundme.com/MarkGeorges/LiamGeorgesLegalFund

My friend Mark is a fantastic father who has been placed in an absolutely terrible situation. He has done everything right and by the book and it has resulted in nothing but long drawn out court battles that have taken their toll on his family's finances. Please, even if you can only just donate a dollar, please do it. I will personally vouch that this cause is absolutely worthy of your time and whatever money you can spare to donate.

Thanks
-Layne

Tampa Invasion and contest prep has begun!

Hi Everyone,
Just wanted to give you all a quick update on what's going on in Layne world! Isabel and I successfully completed our move to Tampa and are loving it. Our house is just more than we could have ever dreamed of and we love every square inch of it... especially the pool which I have been spending a lot of time in. As many of you know I have also begun prepping for my first series of natural pro shows this fall! After being away from the stage for 4 years I can tell you that I am really nervous and really excited and REALLY hungry to come in at my all time best. I know that I have improved my weak points a good deal and I'm really excited to see how everything comes together. I started my prep at 232 lbs and I am currently sitting a touch under 215 lbs after about 10 weeks of prep. I'm pretty happy with my progress thus far and it's encouraging when you can start to see the improvements I've worked so hard to make in my time off from competing.

I also feel I will have a big boost to my prep because of the gym I am now training at. When I came to Tampa I asked my good friend and fellow competitive bodybuilder Dominic D'Agastino what gym I should look at training in and he said "Powerhouse Gym in north Tampa" without hesitation. Man was he right! This place is old school and hardcore. Everyone knows everyone and it's very friendly, but it's a place for serious lifters. The equipment is old but very well maintained and everything works great. The best part is there are quite a few people there who are bigger/stronger than me which is a change from previous gyms. I have no choice but to get better with those kinds of people pushing me on a daily basis!

I have attached some sneak peek progress photos for you guys! I have not announced what shows I'm doing yet,but keep watching the BioBlog because as soon as I've finalized and submitted my entry forms, you guys will be the first ones to know!

-Layne