Local resident places first in Michigan bodybuilding championship

ROYAL OAK/STERLING HEIGHTS — He needed something to light his competitive fire, and bodybuilding was the answer.

Throughout his years at Sterling Heights Stevenson High School and Hope College, Royal Oak resident David Clark’s sole focus was being an athlete.

A two-sport athlete in football and track, Clark, a 2017 Stevenson graduate, revolved his life around two things — sports and the gym.

Clark was a gym rat to the fullest extent and credited Stevenson for developing his passion for working out.

“Stevenson actually got me working out in the first place,” Clark said. “I started working out as a freshman, and I kind of got addicted to the gym. I was working out every single day all the time. I was working out with seniors and juniors that were bigger than me and stronger than me, but I just wanted to work. I wanted to improve and I wanted to get better. That was always my mindset, especially when it came to the physical aspect of sports and lifting.”

Once sports were no longer in the picture after college, Clark’s constant time in the gym was more so for his job as a personal trainer at Pulse Fitness in Pleasant Ridge rather than working towards a goal for himself.

Bodybuilding became an answer, but it never seemed to be the answer Clark was looking for until now.

“The concept of bodybuilding was that I wasn’t going to be able to run, jump and be athletic anymore, so I was really focused on athletic training and stuff that I was used to,” Clark said. “Fast forward to last year, I have a co-worker who won Mr. Ohio in 2021, and he was telling me that I have a great physique and that I have what it takes. I was considering it and thinking about it, but I was leaning more towards not doing it because I was used to being athletic and wanting to stay athletic and doing athletic movements, but at the same time, when I worked out at the gym, and I work at a gym, so I’m always in the gym, I was just working out without a goal, since I didn’t have sports anymore. Bodybuilding gave me that goal to work towards in the gym and gave me a goal to achieve.”

On June 15 at the NPC Natural Michigan State Championships in Ypsilanti, Clark achieved his goal as he took first in the Men’s Classic Physique category, which focuses on how defined and symmetrical the muscles are.

It was Clark’s second show ever after finishing in third a week prior in an open show.

“It felt good, but it didn’t really hit me at the moment,” Clark said. “I wouldn’t say I was expecting it, but I was confident in my ability of where I would place. It felt good, especially when it sunk in and I could sit back and say that I won.”

Embarking on any new journey can be difficult, but Clark was lucky enough to have his friend and coworker Jake Chandler by his side to guide him through the process.

A bodybuilder himself, Chandler has competed in competitions since he was 17 years old after his grandmother, who also competed in fitness competitions, got him into working out when he was 12.

Chandler, who is a bodybuilding coach, said he understands the struggles his clients tend to face, so he was able to give Clark pointers early on.

“When we first started off, I just wanted to make sure his head was in the right place and kind of give him some expectations on what to expect,” Chandler said. “It’s one thing to get lean for the summer and lose a couple extra pounds of body fat, but when you’re going for a bodybuilding show, you’re getting yourself to sub-6% body fat levels. I told him right off the bat that this was going to be a very intense version of what we have our clients do.”

What was the meal plan looking like for Clark? Well, more of the same every day for roughly three months.

“It was the same exact thing every single day, pretty much,” Clark said. “I got it memorized for real. I’d have two eggs, 200 milligrams of egg whites, 40 grams of oats, and 75 grams of blueberries for breakfast. That was meal one. I’m not the biggest fan of eggs, so I’d combine the egg whites, the oats, the blueberries, and put some protein powder in and add banana to make a little shake and eat the two eggs separately. Meal two was 6 ounces of chicken and asparagus, and meal three was 6 ounces of chicken and asparagus, and then, like, 200 grams of rice. Meal four was beef and rice, and then I had a shake, so I had four meals plus a shake every single day.”

The workout routine wasn’t anything new for Clark, but it was more detailed, as opposed to an explosive workout routine.

Chandler said the routine focused on certain parts of the body each day with increased cardio each week.

“It’s kind of a combination of everything,” Chandler said. “We usually separate the cardio and the lifting. The lifting is very hypertrophic based, so you’re doing anything from 6-12, or even 20, rep ranges, and you have a variety of rep ranges in there. It’s mostly weight training and isolating certain muscle groups. Instead of a full upper day or a full lower day, you’re breaking things into body parts. You might have one day where you’re training chests and another day where you’re training arms or quads, and maybe a fourth day where you’re training your back and hamstrings. The cardio is separate from the workout. Once you finish your lifting, you’re either getting on the stairs, the bike, or the treadmill and doing another workout on top of what you did.”

Only two shows in and already a first place finish to his name, Clark said he plans to compete in more competitions in the future.