IFBB Pros
Lee Powell & Mike Morris
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Another JEFF
MCFARLAND speciall!!
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For those of you who don't know, IFBB Pro Mike Morris
is my roommate,
and the night before last he came home and told me he had just trained with
fellow IFBB Pro Lee Powell at Gold's Venice, and that they were training shoulders
the next day if I wanted to come get some shots.
Mike by himself is an everyday thing, but Mike training with another pro
is always photo-worthy, so of course I said sure.
Mike's 10 weeks out from the Miami Pro Invitational and Lee Powell just placed
12th,
right behind Jason Arntz, at the Ironman this past weekend.
I walked into Gold's to try to find them and ran into
Lee first because Mike was running late as hell.
Lee's from England, and was the only British pro to compete last weekend.
He got his pro card in 2001 by winning the British Championships.
Anyway, this was one of "Jay Cutler's two German cousins" I mentioned in my
Ironman report.
ha ha!
Lee was easily the most humble pro I've yet to meet.
He's married with a 5-year-old son and he's wanting to take a little break
from competition
now to work on having another. (Im not alone!..Im not alone! Editors note)
He's actually been dieting for the past 12 months,
so I'd say he's WAY overdue for a good rest break.
The guy DOES look like Jay Cutler, doesn't he?
I asked Lee how he was treated
in England,
and I was really surprised by his answer.
He told me that those close to him, like his gym buddies, and friends,
treated him with tons of respect, because they know what he goes through
in dealing with the rigors of competition...but that outside of that,
he's treated with a significant amount of disrespect by the English.
He works as a doorman at a club and he said smaller guys are always trying
to pick fights with him!
LOL I guess the English must drink an awful lot.
Lee was taking it easy with the weights in this workout,
since he's getting such tremendous pumps
from all his post-contest eating since last weekend.
He likes training Dorian "Blood and Guts" style,
with only 2 all-out sets per exercise,
and usually no more than 3-4 exercises per bodypart.
OK, the workout shots are not something I've developed a knack for yet.
But with an automatic focus and Adobe Photoshop elements,
I've gotta think a monkey could produce some decent shots.
Try telling that to Mike, though.
He thought he was finished with smith machine presses
after his first set of 4 plates on a side for 6 reps,
but I made him do a second set because "the lighting wasn't right" during
his first set.
Ha ha ha. Mike's an animal in the gym, guys.
He's definitely got a switch he flips when it's time to go to work.
I really have no aspirations there. But I'm digging this whole web thing...
Of course no Gold's photo shoot would be complete without a
cameo appearance by "The Real Deal."
Take this as verification he's still alive
and in hard preparation for next weekend's Arnold Classic.
I can tell you that he'll definitely be the biggest he's ever been in this
showing. ...
Mike's already finding himself eating his way into
this show.
He's right around 250 now, and he'll probably just hover there for awhile
and grow.
It's amazing. I literally see visible changes every day.
The main difference between Mike and Lee is Mike's muscle maturity.
Mike's 32 and Lee's 29. You just see more separation and more detail.
It's the best part of growing older in bodybuilding...you just get better
and better...well,
at least well into your late 30's.
I've had many people tell me that real growth doesn't even start until after
30,
so that gives us 20-somethings and teens something to look forward to.
Mike's got a freaky tricep, even when his arm is fully flexed.
lol