As a child, Billy Heck said he got made fun of for being on the “chubby” side.
Now, he says he is proving everybody wrong by becoming a physique competitor.
“I wanted to see how far I could take it, and after you make some changes, your goal is always evolving,” Heck said. “If I hit one goal, I want to take it another step farther.”
Heck, a Hartford resident who visits machine shops in southeastern Wisconsin in his role as a field sales engineer for Ingersoll Cutting Tools Co., started physique training eight years ago.
He is currently getting ready for his first big competition, to be held in March in St. Louis. The two-day event, featuring more than 600 competitors, is part of the National Physique Committee Midwest Championships.
Right now Heck is in what he calls the 15-week “going up” phase, in which he is focused on putting on 25 to 30 pounds by increasing food consumption and lowering his cardio activity level.
Once that is complete, Heck will start the “going down” phase for the next 15 weeks, when he will increase healthy fats and carbohydrates and slowly incorporate more cardio into his workouts. The objective of this stage is to burn the fat and maintain and/or put on lean muscle mass.
He uses a nutrition and workout coach, and he will work with a posing coach as the competition draws nearer.
In addition to the competitive aspect of physique training, Heck enjoys it as a form of relaxation.
“It’s your no worries, get away time,” he said. “It’s similar to getting rid of your cellphone or Facebook. It’s freedom away from everything.”
