When the announcement was made that Universal would be holding a bodybuilding seminar, I’m sure many of us thought this would be just another typical seminar with a few people showing how to work out, answer a few questions and that’d be it. If you were there or talked to anyone that attended, you would agree that you were sadly mistaken because the experience that this Universal Bodybuilding Camp, UBC for short, offered was a once in a lifetime opportunity that you could only get by attending.  This camp drew a crowd from all the surrounding cities and even states. It was amazing to see people driving upwards of six or more hours to come out to support and be a part of the 1st camp.

The day had finally come and the campers began to arrive at Greg Long’s Gym. Many don’t know who Greg Long is nor know his background and experiences. He is a man that has lived and breathed the sport of bodybuilding for the past 45 years. His powerful knowledge has allowed him to capture many elite titles, such as Mr. Universe, Mr. World, and Mr. USA.  Greg is considered one of the Universal Mentors, giving back his wealth of knowledge to up and coming bodybuilders looking to one day walk in Greg’s shoes. So I couldn’t think of a better place to hold a camp then at Greg Long’s.  A facility that has bred champions for nearly 30 years is filled with tons of equipment that is considered oldies but goodies. You would think you were walking into a bodybuilding museum because of all the rare equipment that the gym has to offer. In addition to the campers included the Universal athletes and mentors that would be split into one of six stations. The leg station was run by Henri Skiba and Christian Coronato, the back station with John Hnatyschak and Mike Van Wyck, chest with the one and only Leon Brown and Greg Long, arms with Vinny Galanti and Travis Rogers, abdominals with Brad Rowe and David Hoffman and shoulders with myself and Antoine Valliant. The campers were broken into small groups and had 30 minutes at each station before moving onto the next. At each station you would get the opportunity to learn all the basics of training that particular body part, as well as learning new tricks and ideas to add to your regime. Again, this was not your typical seminar with someone just rambling at the mouth. The goal was to get everyone involved so as we talked about a particular exercise, we would have the campers demonstrate the exercise, as well as ask all the questions they wanted, so that we would be able to critique them before attempting it on their own later on. We all have our own training methods/styles, so having two Universal athletes at each station allowed for more options to training.

Though I was unable to walk around and see what the other stations were all about, it was great to work with Antoine and see how relative our training is and then provide wanting campers with ways to trick their muscles into new growth or ways to work around or prevent injuries. As a known athlete, it feels great to have someone ask me questions and to be able to help them improve their training style and ultimately become a better athlete. This is how I came to be the athlete I am today. Always getting involved, going to many seminars and asking tons of questions, buying all the bodybuilding magazines each month and reading them front to back. All of these things are what made me the person I am today so it’s only fair that I give back to those also looking to make a name for themselves in the sport.

The day ended with the Q & A section where the floor was opened up for anyone to ask questions. Many of the questions were relative to training styles, nutrition, and ways to improve upon lagging body parts. The treat of the day was having the living legend Leon Brown there which gave us the opportunity for us to pick his brain and see how things were done in his era. Leon grew up in the original bodybuilding era. In fact, he trained alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger, so if anyone would know something about bodybuilding, it would be Leon. The stories he told were priceless. Giving us a mental picture of the days he, Frank Zane, Arnold and others trained together, how they got ready for shows together and also letting all of us know how different things are compared from then to now. Again, these are moments that you can only dream of or read in a book, so to have someone like Leon in front of you and be able to ask him anything you want makes a camp like this different from any other.

Universal’s goal was to put on an event that was different from anything you’ve ever been to.  The one thing that many didn’t expect was to be fed nor have supplements available.  Universal, knowing that this was going to be a long day,  had food prepared, as well as a supplement station on deck for those in attendance to stop and make themselves a shake.  We know it’s hard to carry around your supplements, so we brought the supplements to you.  Not only did each person leave the camp with new training tips to add to their program to help take their training to the next level, but they also left with a limited Universal Bodybuilding Camp t-shirt and duffle bags filled with sample and for some, actual sized products. I’ve been to tons of seminars and never have I left with something to remember the experience by. 

The 1st ever Universal Bodybuilding Camp was an absolute hit! With hosting an event for the first time, you don’t know what the outcome will be nor how to plan for something of this element without having a blueprint to look upon, so you’re taking a shot in the dark and hoping things turn out just as you planned, if not better.  However, based upon the feedback the camp was getting beforehand, it seemed like many were interested in something like this but never did we realize how many people would actually show up.  Those that attended were very happy with what they got from the camp and still to this day talk about how good things were. The success here shows us that people are strongly interested and that this could possibly be something they continue to do for years down the road. I am very much appreciative of being a part of the 1st Universal Bodybuilding Camp and very much look forward to the next one.