Phillip Shepard - NANBF Competitor:

My name is Phillip Shepard, I am proud to say that I am a competitive NANBF bodybuilder.  I competed in my first event in May 2000 placing second behind now pro Chris Little in the novice tall division.  Shortly thereafter I got married, and returned to college to pursue a nursing degree, all while working full time.  Needless to say the bodybuilding took a backseat for some time.  It wasn't until April of 2006 that I was able to return to the stage.  I competed in the Southern States Classic in Liberty, MO where I won the novice tall division and went on to win the novice overall title. 

 After a short hiatus from the gym I returned to begin preparing to compete in the Gold's Classic on September 16 in the open division.  Although some experimental modifications to my week of show diet turned out not so successful I placed a very respectable third in the open tall division.  At the moment I am four and a half weeks out from the Southern States Classic once again and I am right on track to continue my run of continuous improvement.  If all stays on the current track, I guestimate that I'll show around 190-192 lbs.

 I know of three other competitors who are in my class which will all no doubt bring their best to the competition so to say that I am looking forward to April 7 would be an understatement.

I am a 28 year old ICU nurse at the university of Kansas Medical Center.  I am married with two children, a girl (5) and a boy (2).  My off-season weight is actually only 180-185 lbs.  I have to spend about three months before a show bulking up to usually between 194-200 lbs before beginning my diet, at which time I have to try to hold onto as much size as possible. I guess I'm sort of lucky in that regard because I don't do any cardio at all what so ever. If I did I have no doubt that I wouldn't show at any more than 180 lbs.

My bodybuilding goals are to win my pro card at a competitive show such as the Southern States Classic or the Gold's Classic, and from there make a name for myself on the WNBF circuit.

Best of luck to you all with your goals.

Phillip Shepard

UPDATE AUG-23-2007

This spring was an eventful one for me.  I did very well in the Southern States Classic in Liberty, MO.  I got second in my class behind one of the predicted front runners (Abraham Oluwole).  Soon after the show I learned that he had only beat me by three points, and also that he had decided to compete in Des Moines, IA in five weeks to try to win his pro card that he narrowly misse in Liberty.  Hearing this erased all thoughts I had about not competing until the following April.  I immediately set my sites on revenge and marked my calendar for May 12.

I tried to keep it a secret that I was going to go to this show but word traveled fast and Abraham soon got word of it.  We both stepped on stage in Iowa in even better shape than just five weeks prior.  This time things were even closer than before.  There was a lot of talk around the show and the hotel about how close it was going to be between us and that the winner of our class would take home the overall title.

That's exactly what happened, unfortunately, it was Abe who won our class.

I now plan to take the fall off, and come back into the Southern States Classic on April 19 better than ever.  I plan to put on some needed size in my arms, upper chest, and shoulder areas and continue the improvements I have made to the other parts over the past year.

Good luck to you all

Phillip Shepard

Pshepard@kumc.edu