The Predator
By Kai Greene
My Mr. Olympia Training Camp: Years in the Making
I write this at five weeks away from the Mr. Olympia contest. At seven weeks out, my coach Oscar Ardon and I left New York to establish a training camp, or headquarters, for this very significant contest. This is actually something we’ve talked about doing for years, but until recently lacked the financial means to bring it to fruition. The idea originally came from the movie “Rocky IV,” in which Rocky secludes himself in a remote cabin in frigid Siberia and trains harder than he ever has before, in the most Spartan conditions, to defeat the upposedly unbeatable Russian boxer Ivan Drago. Now, we are finally making this investment to become a better preparation machine than ever before, as I train for the toughest competition of my life.
“Everything You Asked For is Here. Nothing More, Nothing Less.”
There is a scene when Rocky arrives at his isolated training camp, where his KGB handlers inform him that everything he had requested has been provided. As it turns out, he didn’t ask for much. Since my own Mr. Olympia camp is modeled after that, I am not living in the lap of luxury in some penthouse suite at the top of the Wynn Hotel and casino—nor would I want to. The living quarters are small but adequate, and my days are totally consumed by my preparation. Five events happen again and again. I weight train twice a day, I do cardio twice a day, and once every day we work on my posing and presentation. Everything else is meals and sleep. I have never in my life had the luxury of being able to prepare for a contest so perfectly, and the results will bear that out. You’ll also see that I was able to make solid improvements in mass, in key areas of course, following the Arnold Classic. At five weeks out, I am in the low 290s and my glute striations are visible. I can’t give you an exact weight for the Olympia, but I can assure you that the Kai Greene who won the Arnold was not the same one you’ll see in Las Vegas.
Calling Me Out?
It’s not so unusual for a top pro to be called out by another top pro, but recently there has been a young guy in Florida posting up clips on YouTube talking about how he will ‘destroy’ pros like me and Mark Alvisi (apparently he’s met Mark; I haven’t had the pleasure). Although I hope that this young man does realize his full potential and makes his dreams of ecoming a top bodybuilder come true; by then he will realize that neither me nor any other pro is his real competition. The toughest opponent for all of us is actually our own negative attitudes and self-limiting beliefs. Besides which, by the time this kid grows and matures into a top pro, physiques like mine, Dexter’s, Heath’s, and so on will no longer be the ideal.
Standards will have changed and evolved. When I was a kid dreaming about the day I could stand onstage as an equal with physiques like that of Arnold and Lee Haney, I never imagined that before I even got to that level there would be a freak like Ronnie Coleman commanding the Mr. Olympia stage! And somewhere out there right now, there is a guy, or maybe he’s just a child right now, who will redefine what we think of as possible, in terms of physique development.
He will make people say, Ronnie Coleman and Kai Greene? Those guys were nothing, compared to ___ ___! And I’m glad I will be long since retired by then.
I Hate to be Rude, But—
As a final footnote to the above discourse about how seriously I take my training for a contest, I just want to add that I truly hope I never come across as rude or aloof when people try to talk to me in the gym. I know how this sport is, and when a pro doesn’t devote what a fan considers adequate attention, you often see threads with titles like “Soand- so is an A**hole!” It is never my intention to be rude or disrespectful to anyone, especially a fan. Lately here in Las Vegas, people have come up to me in the gym to say hi and chat. I simply don’t have the mental and emotional resources right now to offer. I’m closer to realizing my dream than I have ever been, and I have waited many years to get to this place. I’m not fantasizing about eating some big junk food meal, checking out the clubs and casinos, nothing like that at all. The full one hundred percent of my consciousness at present is devoted to one thing and one thing only— winning the Mr. Olympia my first time competing in it. So if you have run across me and I wasn’t as gregarious as you had hoped, please try and understand. Thanks!
I want to leave you this month with a very deep and meaningful poem that I heard years ago and it remained imprinted in my mind. For the longest time I thought it came from a speech given by Nelson Mandela. It’s really not so important where the words stem from, only that you really listen to what they have to say to you. Listen, and take them into your heart.
Our Deepest Fear
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous,
talented and fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking
so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We were born to make manifest
the glory of God that is within us.
It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously give other people permission
to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear,
Our presence automatically liberates others.
—Marianne Williamson
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It’s clear that you have tremendous flexibility and you must devote a lot of time to stretching. It’s been said that limited flexibility will also limit your muscle gains. Do you believe that to be true?
I think there is some truth to that belief, but it’s not the real reason I stretch so much, personally. My main goal is to maintain my flexibility simply so that I am able to continue doing normal, everyday things when my bodyweight is over 300 pounds. It’s funny, because I distinctly remember being 16 years old and joyfully dreaming about one day weighing a muscular 300 pounds. The reality of it turned out to be far more challenging than the fantasy. Mundane tasks like getting out of bed, going to the bathroom, or tying your own shoes can become difficult once you have acquired so much sheer body mass. Walking down the street, my lower back starts to ache. But I have found that at least if I continue to be iligent about stretching, I can manage to do everything I need to do with a minimum of discomfort.
Kai! This is Al Aydlett. We met at Bev’s gym back in May and we started discussing airbrush painting. I just wanted to know how your projects are coming along, and if you were able to see my work on myspace.com/air_style. Also, I’m trying to get a training session in with you before the summer is out.
Hi Al, good to hear from you! To be totally honest with you, I don’t go on the Internet much, just like I don’t watch a lot of television. And as far as working out with me before the ummer of 2009 is over, by now I think you’ve figured out where I have been and what I’ve been doing. Just as a side note to anyone who wants to train with me or another top pro bodybuilder. Please don’t take offense if we seem hesitant to agree. We understand what it might mean to you to have the chance to train with someone you look up to and are inspired by, but please keep in mind that essentially, these workouts are our job. At our level, we all have exceptional genetics, so it really comes down to who is willing to put our more effort because he wants it more. You wouldn’t ask Michael Phelps to jump into one of his practices leading up to the Olympics, or to train with Brock Lesnar as he’s preparing for a big UFC title match, right? Those analogies are very appropriate to a pro bodybuilder getting ready to compete in the Arnold Classic or Mr. Olympia. I am flattered that anyone would want to train with me, but my workouts are simply too critical toward achieving my goals to break from the proven patterns that Oscar and I have established.
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MD 2009
