PORT Macquarie bodybuilder Jack Lipman’s dedication to his craft came off in a big way over the weekend, with a great result in Sydney.
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Lipman got a third place in the International Federation of Bodybuilding National Championships in the under 85 kilogram division.
There were about 400 competitors at Sydney Showground, Homebush.
Lipman’s result was an improvement on 2013, when he placed in the top six.
Competitors are judged on their proportions, symmetry, stage presence, routine and body fat.
Lipman’s result has been 10 years in the making, since the 25-year-old’s father Jeff first took him to a gym to train.
“I’m stoked,” he said.
“My goal was to reach the top three.”
Lipman has now qualified for the Arnold Sports Festival in Melbourne in March.
Previously known as the Arnold Classic, the festival is a multi-disciplinary sports convention named after Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Schwarzenegger is an idol of Lipman’s.
“He’s someone I’ve always looked up to,” Lipman said.
There has been plenty of hard work in the years since. Lipman works out for at least 90 minutes each day.
Plenty of weights are lifted. Lipman said it was all about the repetitions, rather than the size of the weights.
Dieting is the hardest part. Lipman lives on broccoli and
chicken.
“And really low carbohydrates,” he said.
“You’ve got to have the iron will to be able to say no to junk food and partying.”
Carb loading comes into play three days before a contest.
“It’s the glycogen. It helps fill out the muscles nicely before a show,” Lipman said.
You must avoid saturated fat to do well.
“[But] you can get away with a bit of sugar every now and then,” Lipman said.
“It [the dieting] is a fulltime job.”
Lipman senior remembers that first day at the gym.
“I wasn’t all that keen, but he got me into it after that,” he said.
“I’ve kept up reasonably well.”
He’s turned a hobby into a healthy lifestyle choice. Lipman has ambitions to go into the supplements industry to help people make the right choices.
“I’ve got a few ideas in the pipeline,” he said.
Hastings locals Brendon Francis and Shane Gregory have been instrumental in their help.
“Their ‘guns’ blew me away,” Lipman said.
