Photo By Maj. Alun Thomas | Sgt. 1st Class Matt Vinson, recruiter, Prescott Recruiting Center, Phoenix North...... read more read more
PHOENIX – There’s a passion in the words spoken by Sgt. 1st Class Matt Vinson that are utterly compelling in his dedication and love for bodybuilding.
The commitment, energy and time spent honing his body to ever growing levels of perfection, have taken Vinson to new plateaus in his quest to become the best bodybuilder he can be.
And he’s only just started.
Vinson, recruiter, Prescott Recruiting Center, Phoenix North Recruiting Company, has been competing in National Physique Committee contests since 2015, and is set to earn his Pro Card in 2018.
This will allow Vinson to compete at the highest levels in the sport, one epitomized by competitions such as Mr. Olympia and the Arnold Classic.
For Vinson however, his love for bodybuilding began at an early age in his native Keokuk, Iowa, where he was influenced by his father.
“My dad was indirectly responsible for me becoming involved in bodybuilding. I’d go into the kitchen and see creatine, amino acids and supplements … it definitely rubbed off on me,” Vinson said. “I was a junior in high school when I got bitten by the iron bug.”
Vinson still recalls the precise moment where his love for working out began.
“We were in the gym doing squats during football season. I had just done a leg work out and after the squats I could barely walk,” he recalls. “I’d already been lifting for a while with my dad, but it was after that squat day that I started pushing myself harder and focusing on numbers and trying to change my physique.”
By 2003 Vinson had joined the U.S. Army as an infantryman with the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, where he would deploy four times, both to Iraq and Afghanistan.
“I was with the 101st from 2003 to 2012, the same platoon, with four deployments,” Vinson explained. “I’d lift as much as I could in my time home with our deployment cycle, so I was only focusing on lifting year on, year off.”
Vinson said he still worked out vigorously while deployed, which allowed him to relieve some of the stress from his daily missions.
“It really helped, and the gyms downrange are the best ones to use believe it or not,” Vinson said. “There there’s no limits and you can make as much noise as you want without being kicked out. For me relieving stress involves beating up the iron.”
Vinson said not being able to see the immediate results of his hard work is one of the joys of bodybuilding, both then and now.
“In today’s culture everybody wants to see results right away … they want to take the magic pill and see the answer tomorrow,” he explained. “That’s not bodybuilding … it’s an investment. It’s an investment in your life, in your person, and your passions and goals. I’m 35 and I haven’t reached my peak. Not at all.”
“You don’t stop until you’re dead right?” he said. “I’ll keep grinding and doing what I have to do to keep my mind occupied. As soon as my mind becomes idle, that’s when I run into problems.”
It wasn’t until he became a recruiter in 2012 that Vinson found himself having more time to dedicate to bodybuilding.
“I suddenly found myself having the time to break the science of the sport down. To me it’s a science experiment,” Vinson continued. “Energy in, is energy out. So the amount of carbs, proteins and fats you put in equals this amount of calories. That amount of calories means tomorrow I can run this far, or push this weight so hard.”
“Nobody’s going to know it but you, as long as you’re crunching numbers and seeing where you’re at,” he explained. “It’s an investment in myself.”
This mentality led Vinson into his first NPC competition in Oct. 2015, just a year after a four-wheeler accident which left him severely injured.
“During my recovery I went from 232 pounds down to 196. I was in the hospital for 15 days … three broken ribs, six facial fractures, two fractures in the skull, and damaged left shoulder and ankle. I just lost too much muscle.”
Vinson worked his way back to full strength to compete however and has been in three NPC events overall, placing second in the 2017 Duel of Champions in Omaha, Nebraska.
Being on stage in the heat of competition is a mesmerizing experience, that delivers a unique adrenaline rush, he said.
“That last year of your life, all the thousands of reps you’ve done, the hundreds and thousands of calories you’ve eaten and cut … all comes down to this one moment, in front of these five judges,” Vinson said. “Anything negative in your head has to be thrown out. You can’t have that negative energy. You have to have people around you who inspire possibilities.”
“As soon as the music hits and the crowds cheering, and it’s hot and bright, I find that one person in the crowd that keeps my focus,” he continued. “I’m posing for that person. Outside of my deployments, it’s the biggest rush I’ve had.”
This thrill of competing is something Vinson aims to revel in for the foreseeable future, his goals for the future mapped out.
“Doing my last five years in the Army, getting my Pro Card and being on the stage at Mr. Olympia,” Vinson explained. “I’ll be backstage with Phil Heath (current Mr. Olympia) and all those guys.”
Vinson said he looks to secure his Pro Card at the Nationals in Las Vegas in 2018, with a trip to the Arnold Classic in Columbus, Ohio, following that.
“Once I get my pro card – not ‘if’ – I’ll keep on the grind until the Arnold Classic in March of 2019” he said. “To me that’s what bodybuilding is; I’m inspiring not just myself, but others also.”
| Date Taken: | 10.31.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 10.31.2017 18:44 |
| Story ID: | 253697 |
| Location: | PHOENIX, AZ, US |
| Web Views: | 481 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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