Bodybuilding is, above all else, about the relentless pursuit of muscle. It’s about waking up every day, staring at the man in the mirror, and daring him to be great. Bodybuilding is about pushing beyond boundaries, climbing over plateaus, and unleashing an a
ll-out assault on limitations as we ascend into uncharted territory both mentally and physically. It’s about defying the odds, and defining our legacy.
After nearly five decades of embracing the grind, and relentlessly pursuing the muscle game, Tony O’Connor is a true embodiment of what living a life without limitations is all about. I recently had a chance to catch up with the man who is truly one of the most inspiring figures in the entire bodybuilding community, and you can read all of the details right here, in this RxMuscle exclusive interview.
Q.) Tell us a bit about when you first became interested in bodybuilding.
My first interest in Bodybuilding came back in England at age 20 when a guy I was working with told about me how he had gained muscle working with weights. At that time there were no weight gyms, only a limited few boxing clubs.
So, being a budding Engineer I built my own benches and squat rack and used gears and sprockets for weights, painting the different weights to color code them.
Q.) Who was the first athlete you saw that inspired you?
The very first bodybuilder that I physically met was Tony Emmot who eventually came to America and made it into the Pro ranks. He was competing in a show in Doncaster, ENGLAND which I entered not really knowing what I was doing. (Did not even shave off my body)! Dorian Yates was born in Birmingham, England as I was, so, he was and still is someone I looked up to. Lee Haney has presented me with a few trophies and remembers me when he is at any shows where I am competing.
Q.) When did you first begin competing?
The Doncaster show was most probably my first so-called competition at age 25, then I concentrated on my engineering career, although I always worked out and trained others for free. After working in U.K. Europe and the Middle East I ended up in the States still working for the English company. At age 53 I realized that sitting in the audience I was better than the Masters 40 & 50 contestants. In 1996 I started competing for real and have never not won an age related division. I have had a few 2nd. Places in age brackets lower than mine ex. 35, 40 etc. and I have competed in Open divisions and always placed in the top 5.
Q.) One of the hardest things to maintain in any sport is longevity. What have been the keys for you to remaining, healthy, active, and still training hard when people 20-30 years younger than you find themselves physically unable to do so?
My training has always been very strict form, isolating body parts with the ultimate exercise and the ultimate form and intensity. I pass this on to my clients, which I couple with putting the correct fuel into the body to get the required results. I have only had one accident - going against my own rules, short on time, I trained shoulders and biceps together, heavy. YES, I ripped my outer biceps. Because I was unable to curl, I changed to training Brachialis with Hammer curls and swivel bar until the biceps attached back albeit lower down.
I still train as heavy as most people but SMARTLY. I still leg press 12 reps for 10 X 45 lb. plates EACH side. I love triceps-extensions overhead with a 150 lb. dumbbell, pulldowns and rows with the weight stack for 8 reps. I am still in good health inside and out and hope to continue for a long time to come.
Q.) What, if any adjustments, have you had to make to your training as you've gotten older?
Absolutely NO changes! I have not done any cardio for at least 7 years, and don’t do any DIRECT ab work! I train clients in their 50’s and 60’s using the same routine as mine (but, I make THEM do cardio!) and they are thriving. All their blood work is improving, and they’re adding lean muscle mass and reducing body fat. A 65 year old retired heart specialist I train, over a year and a half, has increased lean mass by 38lb. and reduced body fat from 20% to 6 %.!!
Q.) Could you give us an example of what your diet typically consists of each day?
Off season, anything I want, but keeping an eye on my body fat %, I don’t like to go over 10%.
Contest dieting usually starts 16 weeks out from my guest posing at my own show, the Southern Isles Bodybuilding, Figure, Physique and Wheelchair Championships. We’ll hold the 15th annual event in 2015.
My diet consists of initially, 5 or 6 equal meals, each meal equal in protein /carb content and equal calories. AS we get closer to the date I increase the amount of meals up to 10 meals per 24 hours on the last 2 weeks before a show.
It usually looks something like: Egg whites and oatmeal, chicken OR turkey, and rice and 4 or 5 Protein /carb shakes. Water increases from 2 gals per day up to 3 gals last week before show. Water is cut 4pm the night before show and slowly added back after I come off stage at pre-judging. Black coffee is allowed as are my shakes. On the day of show I eat SMALL equal amounts of a mix of Protein powder and Oatmeal every 30 minutes!
I’m 5’7, and my offseason weight typically gets to around 204, and onstage I’m 180.
Q.) What, if any, supplements do you regularly use?
I use Very few supplements: Hydrolyzed Whey, Flax seed oil, K.B’s (mild diuretic). I also take the usual vitamin/minerals, 2 X One A Day multivitamin, two chewable vitamin C’s, two potassium-magnesium-calcium pills, four vitamin E’s, and two copper tabs.
Q.) What is it that continues to fuel your desire to compete?
Obviously I aim to stay as active and young at heart as long as I can. The New York Times once asked me in an interview “Have you been working out all your life?” I replied, “NOT YET!” I have a 15 year old daughter, so this enables me to join in anything she is involved in. I was a DANCING DADDY with her Dance troupe for many years.
I am still training clients and have no intension of stopping any time soon. Competing is a great way of getting something back for all the hard work and time involved. I also give back by bringing athletes to my show from many states to compete each year.
Q.) When you do finally decide to hang up your posing trunks and retire from bodybuilding, what is the legacy that you hope to leave behind?
This is easy, I will not stop until I absolutely have to (God forbid) by some misfortune. By giving other athletes HOPE to carry on doing their very best into their later years, remember: Age is just a number, and having a fit body and mind is not by luck, it’s by choice!
Q.) Is there anyone you'd like to thank for helping to support you along the way?
First and foremost I’d like to thank my wife, Mary Ann, for all her love and support. Together we promote our Southern Isles show each year, and she organizes the show details along with all of our arrangements for all the contests we attend. Mary Ann has won bodybuilding shows in her own right - the Lightweight and Overall Savannah Championships, NPC Lightweight Dixie Championships, the NPC. First Coast Lightweight, and couples winners with me. I also won the over 40 at age 57.
Thanks and love to my daughter SHAE, for supporting me for all the shows we have attended during her whole lifetime. I could not do what I do without their help and love. All my clients and friends, and the ISLAND’S YMCA where I work and train. All the volunteers, sponsors, photographers, and videographers who help to make our show a success.
Stories of men like Tony remind us of the reason why we all drag ourselves through the daily grind of the muscle game – because deep down we truly love it. It isn’t the fame, fanfare, or trophies that we fell in love with. It was the desire and excitement of waking up eager to attack every day and relentlessly push beyond our limits as we discover parts of ourselves that we never knew existed. Tony shows us something that many of us seem to forget over the years as we’re battered and bruised by the guilty remnants of our past failures – that the key to happiness lies following our heart, pursuing our passions, and embracing the grind.
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