Page 160 - Muscle & Fitness (February 2020)

FLEX_ON THE RISE
Totally
Waisted
IFBB Pro League competitor and former Army interro-
gator Jeremy Potvin explains how he keeps his
physique wide on top and narrow in the middle—and how
fitness helped keep his mind right during his service.
JEREMY POTVIN EARNED
his ticket to the 2020 Olympia
Physique with a win in Decem-
ber’s Musclecontest Tournament
of Champions. But what sets the
30-year-old apart from many
other physique or bodybuilding
competitors is more than his
crazy shoulder-to-waist ratio—it’s
his service to his country.
Potvin joined the Army after
1 5 6 M U S C L E & F I T N E S S
graduating from high school. He
spent five years as an interroga-
tor (aka “35 Mike”) and served in
183 missions over a year in Iraq.
“I started working out as a way
to relieve my stress,” he says of
his time in the Middle East.
And he began to see results—
fast. But his love for training
wasn’t what ultimately led him
to the bodybuilding stage.
/ F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0
“I was originally pursuing a
career in federal law enforce-
ment, but that process can
take up to two years or more,”
he says. “I couldn’t wait forever,
so that’s pretty much how I
ended up going down the path
of bodybuilding.”
Potvin credits the military with
providing him the structure and
discipline to never give up, but
that doesn’t mean his transition
home was easy. It’s a reason
why he got involved with FitOps,
a program that helps veterans
transition from active-duty ser-
vice to a fulfilling career in the
fitness industry. “Unless you’re
committed to going to school or
if you already have a job lined
up [when your service ends],
it’s never easy,” Potvin says. “If
FitOps had been around back
in 2015, I definitely would’ve
enrolled.”
While you might not have
the desire to step onto a body-
building stage, you can still use
Potvin’s training tips to help you
get back in shape or to make the
most of each workout.
HIT THE FOUNDATIONAL
EXERCISES HARD Deadlifts,
bench presses, barbell presses—
make sure that you do them
with perfect form. “I tend to lean
toward the movements that a lot
of people are scared of doing,”
Potvin says. “I used to be ob-
sessed with deadlifts in the early
years of my training. They really
helped me a lot.”
GO HEAVY “I like to train as
heavy as possible,” he says. “My
favorite chest workout is a bench
press. When I was younger, I liked
to max out a lot. It helped build
the thickness I have in my chest.”
TAKE IT EASY ON THE
WEIGHTED AB EXERCISES
“Just like any other muscle, your