Coming out the sleeves of a blue T-shirt are arms that would make Hercules proud. Hidden beneath the shirt are abdominal muscles that would cause Adonis jealousy.
The arms, the abs and the body on which they exist belong to Reece Stanley, a Montezuma-Cortez High School graduate who has recently been making waves in the world of men’s fitness.
A dedicated weightlifter, Stanley performed well at the Met-Rx NPC Rocky Mountain fitness competition on Nov. 16, placing fourth overall in the Men’s Novice Division and third overall in the Open Division of the Men’s Physique category.
By virtue of his Top 3 finish in Open Division of this year’s Rocky Mountain, which turned out to be the biggest fitness show in Colorado history, Stanley qualified for the Met-RX NPC National Championships.
“It was very competitive,” said Stanley of the competition. “I had a lot of fun.”
To prepare for the competition, Stanley worked tirelessly, lifting between an hour and a half and two hours six days a week. In addition to his lifting routine, Stanley spent between 30 minutes and one hour working on his cardio.
“Sunday was my rest day,” explained Stanley. “It would consist of cooking meals for the week. My downtime was watching football and cooking food.”
For Stanley, the weeks leading up the competition were challenging mentally and physically.
“I enjoy not only the physical challenges that this presents, but the mental challenges too,” said Stanley. “For anywhere from 12 to 15 weeks, you have to be very strict in your workout regimen and diet.”
Asked how he became involved in fitness competitions, Stanley explained that his love of weightlifting combined with his competitive instincts to render fitness competitions irresistible.
“In college, I fell in love with weightlifting,” Stanley said. “It was my stress release from classes and whatnot. The more I was around the industry and the more people I met who were competing, the more I got the itch to compete.”
Now entering his offseason, Stanley plans to continue working out to prepare for the NPC Northern Colorado Championships in April.
“It’s time to work on weak points and everything else,” said Stanley.
As difficult as it is to imagine weak points in Stanley’s physique, they will more than likely be erased by hard work, come April, when one of Cortez’s top weightlifters returns to competition.
