November 2nd 2010 | by Franklin Wilson
There is an old saying, “Try and try again, and you will succeed at last”, well this is apt in the case of World Renowned Guyanese Professional Bodybuilding Superstar Hugh Arlington Ross who captured the coveted Mr. Universe Masters over-50 title at the National Amateur Body-Builders’ Association (NABBA) 60th Mr. Universe Competition.
The show which took place on Saturday October 30th at the Southport Theatre Complex in Southport, United Kingdom was watched by a sold out crowd.
The US based Ross, the first Guyanese and Caribbean athlete and first American since 1994 to win this title came out victor ahead of 33 world class athletes all of whom are national champions in their respective countries.
On his fourth attempt Ross came up trumps winning ahead of Aivars Visockis of Latvia; Martin Holroyd (United Kingdom); Derek Jones (United Kingdom/Wales); Phil Kuklinski (New Zealand) and John Lee (United Kingdom), the top six athletes.
Ross, who resides in Queens, New York, disclosed that he placed 5th (2007) and also had two 2nd place finishes (2006 & 2009) at the same competition before.
For the win, Ross was presented with a trophy and medal and according to the champ, “Lots of attention.”
His achievement places him on the same platform with the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Steve Reeves, Frank Zane, Reg Park and Bill Pearl, all famous personalities who were previous winners.
An emotional Ross indicated after his achievement that although elated, it was a very humbling experience for him.
Commenting on the kind of preparations that were necessary to accomplish such a feat, the former Guyana Defence Force Officer noted that he planned it like a military operation and executed every aspect with detailed precision.
“My preparations commenced at the beginning of May and the first three months were dedicated to gaining as much additional muscle mass as possible. During that phase my weights training was done with maximum poundage in the 6-8 repetition zone and I increased my daily caloric intake from 3,500 to 4,500, an additional 1,000 calories daily with a ratio of 40% protein, 50% carbohydrates & 10% fat.”
Training for Ross who was born on June 26, 1959, went for 4 days a week during this phase which saw each body part being trained once per week. He said at that stage he was 217 pounds with 8% body fat at the end of this phase; his target was 215 pounds.
The multi talented natural athlete who is also the holder of a third degree black belt in Shotokan and second degree in Taekwando disclosed that from the first week in August he switched into the detailing mode.
“This entailed lowering my training poundage by a miniscule percentage while increasing my repetitions to the 10-15 zone regardless of how painful it was. Some days I was in such agony that making it home from the Gym was an ordeal.
During this phase which was from August to the end of September, I increased my training schedule to six days weekly so as to train each body part twice weekly. Cardio was also now incorporated into my regime twice daily for short intense periods, at 04:00hrs prior to leaving for work and then again immediately after lifting in the evenings.”
His rigid and disciplined training timetable was focused on Ross competing at a body weight of over 200 pounds with a body fat percent below 5. By the end of September he had had already attained that goal.
“At the beginning of October everything went into maximum overdrive. I intensified my training even further by increasing the intensity. This entailed even higher repetitions with no rest period between the sets. This took tremendous focus and consistent encouragement from my two training partners, Ms Adelina Carvalhal-Ray who has trained with me for the past fifteen years and Elder Gerald Shaw.”
During this period, Ross commenced practicing his mandatory poses after each training session with Sunday evenings dedicated exclusively to posing under the tutelage of Two-Time Ms. America Denise Richardson a very loyal friend of his who drilled him repeatedly to the point of exhaustion, he informed.
“I also started tanning my skin and repeatedly going to a studio to supervise the mixing of the music for my routine which was extracted from,’ Lenny Kravitz’s – I want to fly away.”
Ross also reported that his daughter Damali took a weekend off from college and travelled home to choreograph his routine which she has always done.
“The fun part is my mother who plays a major role in the preparation of my meals. She always thinks I am deranged when I get to the point where I commence eating sodium free foods minus any seasonings or condiments that I wash in distilled water prior to cooking.” Whilst in England, Ross’ said his friend and former GDF Officer Chetwyn Eastman and his family were very helpful and they were also at the show to lend support.
Commenting on the actual show, Ross disclosed that prejudging commenced at 09:00hrs on Saturday October 30. “I was 202 pounds with a 3% body fat. My muscles were full, striated and razor sharp. I felt satisfied that I had done everything as planned and was fully ready. My Master’s category commenced with 33 athletes. I was in the first call out for comparisons and felt really good about that. After prejudging, unlike most of my fellow athletes who immediately went off their diets, I returned to my room and strictly continued to fill out some more with additional carbohydrates.”
At this level Ross noted that athletes are fully aware of their likely placement after prejudging based on the call outs and comparisons and in this case almost 50% from his category did not return.
“After I was announced as one of the top six finalists there was another brief round of comparisons, followed by the execution of our respective routines. Mine brought the audience to their feet. After that we were lined up; the placements were awarded and I was blessed with a historical moment, the winner, Mr. Universe 2010.”
Ross, who trains at the Brooklyn Sports Club and the 5th Avenue Gym, said he is thanking the Almighty God first and foremost for allowing him the privilege of winning this prestigious title. He also expressed sincere gratitude to his family, friends, supporters and fans for their continued support.
Winning the overall Mr. Universe was Mhia Zupan (Mr. Class 2) of Slovenia with the female title going to Flora Conte (Miss Figure 2) of Italy.