“It really is 14 grueling weeks of hard work for five minutes, so you better be on.”
Those are the words of Gary Vollhoffer and he surely enjoyed the results of those five minutes.
On Saturday night, the 55-year-old Langley man was crowned champion at the 2015 Canadian Bodybuilding Federation championships.
Vollhoffer took top spot in the men’s grandmasters (55+) division.
And his introduction to the sport of competitive bodybuilding happened by chance a few years ago.
Vollhoffer had always been active, playing junior football for the Langley Rams — they were in Surrey back then — three decades ago and even representing Canada at the world ball hockey championships just four years ago. But the constant pounding of hockey was taking its toll on his knees.
“I actually entered an online contest to win a trip to Hawaii,” he explained about the body transformation contest.
“That’s how it started; I was fat and out of shape and looking at something on the internet and decided to give it a shot.”
This is Vollhoffer’s second year in the sport and back in May, he won both the grandmaster category (50+) and the masters (40+) open division at the B.C. Bodybuilding championships.
For the Canadian championships, Vollhoffer dropped from his usual weight of 215 pounds and was down to 185 when he hit the stage. His target had been 198.
“You have to keep losing the weight until you look shredded,” he explained.
To get ready for a competition, Vollhoffer would wake daily at 4:10 a.m.
His day would consist of 45 minutes of cardio and about two hours of weights before work, and then come more cardio in the afternoon. He was also eating six meals a day or preparing his meals for the next day.
“The nutritional aspects of it are quite stringent, but if you want to compete, you have to do what is necessary,” Vollhoffer said.
“Basically, everything you put in your mouth has to be weighed.”
“You need to know when your weight is going up or down and why so you can adjust it. It is a very precise science,” he added.
Working towards a bodybuilding show can be quite challenging.
“It is definitely a lifestyle,” he said.
“When you go to social gatherings, you just have to be able to say no to everything and stick to your guns.”
The actual competition consists of about five minutes of standing on stage, doing a variety of poses.
“I just enjoy the sense of accomplishment, being able to discipline yourself to do it,” Vollhoffer said.
“It is fulfilling to know that when you get on stage — win or lose — everybody who is up there had gone on the same path as you have been that dedicated.”
He also credited his coach of the last eight months, Tamara Knight.
“I wouldn’t want to do this alone,” Vollhoffer said.
Knight will evaluate his diet and his body every week to help him make the necessary tweaks to get maximum results.
Long-term, Vollhoffer is hoping to compete at the world championships, hopefully in 2016.
As for short term, he is sort of taking the summer off.
“I think my wife deserves some wife-time,” he said about spending some time checking out vineyards and enjoying some holiday time with his partner Linda. The pair celebrated their 28th wedding anniversary on Monday (July 13).
“I will still eat healthy , but I won’t measure my food.”
He will also cut back on his cardio for the summer.