THE ART OF THE R.E.P
Hello my name Jean Laguerre, recently I wrote a book called The Art of The R.E.P. This book is meant to be both inspiring and instructional. Sometimes you choose to pursue a goal that appears to be so far out of your reach, that perhaps you may be the only one to believe that you can actually attain it.
In 1979 shortly after my sophomore year of high school I decided that I would compete in a Bodybuilding competition. At that time, that was a pretty ambitious goal, considering that personal training was limited to the very elite athletes, I knew I would be facing one of my stiffest challenges.
There were no Gyms for me to join in my neighborhood, so I had to be resourceful in order to accomplish my mission. That meant I would train in my garage with weights my friends had donated to help my cause. My Mom helped me get my first bench which cost $39.99 at Alexander’s department store, my older brother bought me two body building books, one by Arnold Schwarzenegger and the other by Franco Colombo. Those books became the basis for my study and practice in the art of body building
Growing up in the 70’s and 80’s was a time when activity took first place in the lives of most kids, as there were much less distractions. Physical sports such as basketball, football, handball, track and field, boxing and wrestling were more commonplace. As a very active kid I played all sports, so being sedentary did not exist in my world. When I went to the park I was the first to arrive and the last to leave!
So even though Bodybuilding as a sport was new to me, I was determined to learn it and become good at it. My fascination started with comic books, where the physiques seemed so incredible to me, I could not believe anyone looked like that in real life. The Bodybuilders in the magazines I read reminded me of the superheroes in the comic books and I wanted that look, so I had to find body building competitions for teens.
I started competing at 17 thinking, “what do I have to lose”? I knew nothing about diets or supplements or even how to pose for the judges, but I had nothing to lose so I decided to have a go at it. I never thought for a minute that the guys in the magazines were on steroids, which made them massive, now I had less than a year to prepare – without steroids
Six months after losing to a nineteen tear old competitor, I won my first competition defeating another 19 year old just after my 18th birthday. Remember, all while training in my garage with my $39.99 bench. In life it’s ok to be a long shot, it just means we have to persevere more. I trained in that garage for 9 years, during which time I had competed in over 30 contests and had won 18, competed nationally 3 times and had appeared in six magazines. And I wasn’t done yet, I had 16 more years to go 5 more championships and two national titles and a pro career, while raising a family,( a wife and 3 sons), achieving my goal as a lifetime NATURAL CHAMPION! READ MY BOOK, (THE ART OF THE R.E.P), BE INSPIRED AND LEARN MY TRAINING METHODS!!
