G’ville firefighter a
champion bodybuilder
Guntersville firefighter Keith DiMartino started lifting weights 3 years ago just to improve his strength for the physical aspects of his job. Now he’s taken his hobby to a new level.
He won 4 titles in his first-ever bodybuilding competition at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. He was runner-up in another competition at that same event.
He’ll compete in the state championships this weekend.
Keith is 38 years old. That may sound late to come to the sport, but he said most bodybuilders actually peak between the ages of 35 and 45.
“Old muscle is hard muscle,“ he said.
Because he’d never been in a bodybuilding competition before, he was able to enter 3 divisions Ñ novice, junior, and police, fire and military. He won his weight class in both the novice and junior divisions. Then he competed against the other weight class winners in that division and won the overall trophy for both divisions too.
“A guy who looked like Godzilla beat me in the police, fire and military division,“ Keith said.
He competed as a lightweight Ñ up to 164 pounds Ñ in the novice division and as a middleweight in the junior division, between 154 and 176.
Keith stands 5-5 and weighs 155 pounds. He’s hoping to drop a pound and compete as a lightweight in the open division next weekend.
“I was a small middleweight, but I can be a big lightweight,“ he said.
City employees have their own gym near the fire station and he works out there. He said fellow firefighters Brent Jarmon and Brian Waldrop really helped him when he first started weightlifting.
The sport of bodybuilding calls for contestants to get as lean and muscular as possible. They then pose in a number of positions and they’re judged on their body condition by a panel of judges.
To get ready for the competition, Keith enlisted the help of Albertville personal trainer Craig Eagle.
“He normally starts helping people 12 weeks before a competition,“ Keith said. “He had 8 weeks with me.“
He fine-tuned Keith’s diet, telling him how many carbs, proteins, etc. he could have each day. He tweaked his workouts, adding 45 minutes a day of cardio conditioning to the 2-plus hours of weightlifting Keith was already doing.
Keith’S body fat dropped from about 10 percent to 3 percent during the weeks leading up to the competition.
The parts of the program that were the hardest for him were the cardio training and giving up sweets.
“I like lifting weights,“ he said. “I don’t like cardio.“
He said he had serious cravings for sweets during the training, cookies, donuts, anything sweet. He couldn’t eat any of it.
“My wife Kathy was great to help me with the meals,“ he said.
She also helped him with a “tanning process“ that bodybuilding contestants go through.
“The darker you are, the more the muscles stand out,“ he said. “She basically had to paint me to get the tan right.“
It was 11:00 p.m. when the competition was over and Craig told him he could have one “cheat meal“ on the way home. Most restaurants were closed by that time of night.
“We stopped at McDonald’s and I got a quarter-pounder, fries and a McFlurry,“ Keith said. “It was the best tasting food I’ve ever had.“
The next morning, he was right back on the training diet to get ready for the next competition.
“This is something I had always wanted to do,“ he said. “I was able to set a goal and stick with it. I would encourage anyone to call a trainer whether they just want to get in better shape or become a bodybuilder. A trainer can set your diet and your workout plan and help you get there.“