Competition Highlights from the USA- 2003

 
2002 NPC USA 3rd PLACE
For the full aricle on Dave's impressive finish check out

THE HUMMINGBIRD METABOLISM OF THE PALUMBOSAURUS

Consensus has it that Dave Palumbo was dynamited out of a granite mountain, then thrown onstage without further refinement. If muscle density were the only criterion in bodybuilding, the Mr. Olympia would be nothing more than a rock-fight between Palumbo and Markus Ruhl; as it is, judges expect bodybuilders also to be flowers of beauty, and therein lies Palumbo's plight.

Never a winner. Palumbo is nonetheless a dreadnought in every sense of the word. "I consider myself relentless," he says. "I don't like to quit, and I don't like to lose. I don't criticize judges, and I don't complain about my placing. I just try to improve." This year, Palumbo used his unique metabolism to tighten his waist. As a result, he captured his highest placing to date: third among super-heavyweights at the 2002 USA Championships in Las Vegas. "My problem," he explains, "was always that, when I brought my weight down in order to make my waist smaller, I shriveled my upper body. This time, I spent the last two weeks, instead of one week, carbing up. That way, I didn't lose any size in my upper body. "Fortunately, my metabolism is so fast that I can stay in shape all year long, which I have to do, anyway, because I have so many guest appearances. That, after all, is where we make our money. Also, I carry enough mass that, at 5' 10", I'm competitive at 281 pounds. I'm even hard and cut at 290. That means I don't have to worry about off-season/precontest vacillations. Bodybuilders use 16-week diets because they need to, so they can't help but be drained at the end. Last year, I competed at 270 but was not as full. This year, I only needed a four-week diet to come in at 260 for the USA, yet I was fuller, fresher and more motivated. That will leave me fuller, fresher and more motivated for the Nationals in November, as well." (Cyberdispatch by Julian Schmidt)