Tony Gray
A: I've been working for a Natural Gas company for 22 years on April 16th. I started there in 1986. I was going to the local Junior college taking some pre-reqs for Chiropractic college, but as it stands that didn't pan out, and I’ve been with Columbia Gulf ever since. I owned All Natural IRONACTION GYM for ten years, from 1996-2006. It was a side business that my wife Joy and I ran. Some other gyms opened in nearby areas and she went back into the workforce [now in nursing school], and I sold out all of my equipment to one of the neighboring clubs. We had a pretty good run, but it was off the beaten path, and I bought 15 acres in nearby
Q: What got you started in bodybuilding?
A: I got started in weight training by a lot of different variables. I watched old Hercules films with Steve Reeves, Jack Lalanne's morning exercise show, as well as Gordon Scott as Tarzan on Saturday's when I was a very young boy. I also read a ton of Marvel and D.C. comic books-Characters with huge muscles and incredible strength were always on my mind. I became very athletic at age 11, wanting to dabble in nearly everything. Bruce Jenner was on the Wheaties box that summer and I had watched some of his Olympic metal winning performances a year earlier. He was sort of my kick off that summer of 1977, but being a HULK comic book fan and reading about big Lou Ferrigno playing him that fall lead me to pick up my first copy of a Muscle Magazine [and I've been buying them every month since then]. I also had a lower back injury in 7th grade which took Chiropractic treatment from Dr.
Tom Smith as well as abdominal strength exercises to come back from, that and play 8th grade football. Coach Bobby Purvis pushed the weight training program while I was in the eight grades, and all of those things contributed to me becoming a powerlfter and bodybuilder.
Q: What’s your training program?
A: I am, always have been and will continue to be solely a natural lifter and bodybuilder. I train with some of the best knowledge you could get your hands on as a natural. Some of the people who have influenced mw come from different camps of training thought, but do have some common threads. Stuart McRobert, Arthur Jones, Ellington Darden, Mike Mentzer, Skip Lacour, Dr. Ken Leistner, Brian Johnson, etc. all have had a degree of influence in the abbreviated H.I.T. protocols, however I have equally been influenced by Vince Gironda, Dennis Weis, Don Ross, John Parrillo etc who come from a seemingly polar opposite, but when you dig in there are a lot of similarities.
When trying to just get bigger and stronger I follow a style more like the first group. When I'm trying to get through sticking points or go for a bodybuilding show I follow a program more like what the second group advocates. I really like IRONMANS Steve Holman and some of his concepts.
As far as diet goes-When trying to add muscular bodyweight my calories range from 18-22 per pound. When cutting up [lowering b.f.] my calories drop to
10-12 per pound. I go for 1 gram protein 1.5-2 grams carbs and .4-.5 grams fat per pound going up in weight and more like 1.5 pro. 0.5-1.0 carb and
.3-.4 fats when dropping weight. That's a ballpark figure that does get manipulated a good bit.
About the only suup's I use are Protein powder Multi Vit/Min and maybe some Aminos. If I have some extra cash, I get some creatine and glutamine, and possibly a pre workout stimulate. I am married with two daughters, Destany 12 and Alyssa 7, so cash for supp's get tight. If I could I would experiment with a lot of different products though. I'm not anti Supplement, but I do not advise a shotgun approach.
Q: What’s your best memory of bodybuilding?
A: My best memory as a bodybuilder was getting second place in the middle weight class at my first contest. The A.N.P.P.C. Mid-South in
Q: What advice would you give to the newcomer?
A: My best advice to a newcomer-Do not aimlessly wander through the gym like a lost puppy! Find a Natural knowledgeable mentor/guru with at least 10 years in the IRONGAME [preferable not a one way bodybuilder or powerlifter-but IRONLOVER]. THERE MAY BE MORE THAN ONE GOOD CHOICE, if so give each one a try for three or four months, but not at the same time. You will learn a lot from both of them. Certified trainers can be good, but does not necessarily mean they are in the trenches grass roots iron gamers. Some good certifications are NSCA ACSM NASM NFPT IFPA IART NCSF ACE and I'm sure some more will suffice, but you get the picture-Don't pick up a copy of a glossy muscle mag and think you are an expert-your not! ironaction@dixie-net.com
