ED HARDEN

COLLECTS MORE WINS!

Ed Harden first appeared on the IPL stage at the May 2023 Maryland State Championship. At that contest he would enter only one division, Inspiration & Transformation, where he earned an Award.

Following Maryland, Ed was featured in INSPIRE Magazine. In his exclusive feature he would share his incredibly inspirational story of 160lb weight loss, overcoming PTSD and other challenges to achieve a healthy active lifestyle.

Next up for Ed was the October 2023 IPL Sunshine Classic in Destin, Florida. At this contest Ed would return to the Inspiration & Transformation division. This time earning a Top Transformation Award. He would also enter two additional divisions. Sports Model Masters 40+ and Athletic Masters 40+, and earned IPL Pro Cards in both.

"Since I had already been prepping for the Maryland show, it wasn’t a huge change for me already being kind of zoned in."

ED HARDEN: I had been on this transformation journey for 4.5 years at that point and just competed in the Maryland show. I was kind of on a high from the competition and after seeing some of the other competitors in that show, I felt that I had shorted myself the opportunity to compete in other divisions. I felt that I had a chance to go up against some of the other men, but I only signed up for the one division.

Destin was not on my radar for competing. I was talking to Megan Roark who promoted the Maryland show and is a friend of mine. She mentioned to me that people were asking why I didn’t do more divisions in Maryland. Honestly, I was joking with her about doing the Destin show when she mentioned she was competing and had been trying to get others to do it as well. Since I had already been prepping for the Maryland show, it wasn’t a huge change for me already being kind of zoned in. I took a few weeks off to enjoy some of the foods I restricted myself from and to enjoy a vacation with my son and got back into training.

"I knew without changing things and keeping this lifestyle that I would wind up being worse. So from that point on it was no turning back."

EH: My transformation initially began slowly with some diet changes. I’ve always been the bigger guy at work and one of my friends and I were in the shipping warehouse and stepped on the scale. We joked about how heavy my weight was and that day I decided to make some changes. It started with a simple change with drinking soda. I had an addiction to drinking soda in unhealthy amounts. Then without realizing, I had stopped eating fast food. I had been ordering so many meals from delivery services and eating out so often. I cut back on junk food overall. I started enjoying more meals at home and making better choices.

Working on a military installation allowed us to utilize the gym on our break, which a lot of the guys would do. Since I had been talking with one of my friends about starting a workout routine with my new diet and weight loss, he kept telling me to come out at lunch and do leg day with him. One day I took him up on this offer. This wound up leading to me using the on-post gym in the mornings everyday before work and then on my lunch breaks as well.

EH: Unfortunately, I hit a roadblock where I could not do any cardio whatsoever during this show prep. I have a history of knee problems and they all seemed to just surface at the right time. I had to adjust my leg day routines to be lighter weights and different exercises at times. But any repetitive movements or bending and flexing the knee where out of the question for a while. I had gradually worked back to doing cardio and one day I pushed it and went for a run when I knew I shouldn’t have. I ran three miles with my knee in intense pain after about 1 mile in. I could barley walk after this. My thoughts were, how am I going to compete? I had actually been registered for the Bodybuilding division, but I knew there was no way I would be prepared for that.

"Once I got over the self-denial of not being able to prepare the way I wanted to I actually focused on the areas I could control more."

EH: Once I got over the self-denial of not being able to prepare the way I wanted to I actually focused on the areas I could control more. I also began to change my focus for Destin. I dropped from Bodybuilding into Sports Model. And since this was going to be my first show actually competing in divisions other than Inspiration & Transformation, I decided to relieve some of the stress and treat it as a walk through.

I had no idea what I was doing on stage, so this would be an opportunity to see how it’s done, do it, and make adjustments for the future. I wasn’t going to skip going to Destin and there was no reason to skip competing other than my own nerves. I think this relieved a lot of stress off of me because I did not feel I would be ready whatsoever and I was stressing out too much. I talked about this strategy with my wife and as always she said whatever I wanted to was fine with her. Then I spoke about it with other friends who have competed and they told me I didn’t have anything to worry about and I’d be fine and encouraged me to get on stage.

Once I took this approach, it helped change my mindset some. In the Maryland Show I got to meet other competitors in the Inspiration & Transformation category who had great and amazing stories and I thought if I get on stage and one person hears my story and thinks they can make the changes they need to, then it would all be worth it. I stopped putting so much stress on where I place at and decided to enjoy the process.

EH: My training and nutrition stays pretty consistent due to my diabetes. I train 5 days a week with about 30-40 minutes of cardio each day. My diet is pretty much the same with a light breakfast, lunch consisting of chicken or tuna, cauliflower rice, and vegetables. Dinners are adjusted based on what my family is having. Cauliflower rice is usually a go to for me with how cheap and quick it is to add to a meal. Every night I always have a bowl with sugar free Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, and mixed berries as a dessert.

"I was pretty shocked really! I hadn’t given much thought to any of it during the process because it had been such a long journey."

EH: A few things stand out to me quite considerably. The first is during registration when Ben and Marc were in the lobby and said they could see a difference in my physique from June to October. Two other experiences were when my accumulated points were announced in the Athletic and Sports Model Categories and I had enough to get my Pro Card in both categories. I didn’t think I was anywhere close and honestly I didn’t expect anything from it. I hadn’t really understood what a Pro Qualifier category was either so I didn’t even realize that I would be competing to get a Pro Card.

One experience that I don’t give enough credit to is some of the audience members. After the Maryland Show I didn’t really interact with many people or watch the show since my wife was set up as a vendor and friends of mine were as well. So I spent the show out of the auditorium with them. In Destin I sat in the crowd and had quite few people come up and tell me how inspiring my story was. One lady in particular came up and said she and another person had tears coming down their faces over my story. I didn’t think MY story would have this effect on someone. But it made me realize just how much the Inspiration & Transformation category is for others, not just the competitor.

"Seeing all the changes together and comparing them and realizing what I have done does make me hold my head a little higher than before."

EH: I’ve noticed with my training that I have been going with more intensity than I had previously. I feel much better about myself. As I said before, to me the changes weren’t really all that great because I hardly took notice and I had grown with them so I saw each individual change as it developed. Seeing all the changes together and comparing them and realizing what I have done does make me hold my head a little higher than before.

Before I used to be a little more reserved, being the bigger guy. Sometimes while I would act goofy with friends I wouldn’t ever do anything that would draw attention to myself. Now, well let’s just say I went out dressed as the Grinch this past holiday season and didn’t think twice about it. I also would sometimes be embarrassed about what I was getting for lunch to the point where I’d eat in my car or try to eat away from everyone. Now I don’t worry about it. I’m not worried about being the big guy eating alone or what others may think. I don’t think I would’ve gotten that confidence had it not been for the transformation I went through and all the hard that I put in.

EH: The biggest thing to remember is nothing is immediate. This all takes time and to be realistic with yourself and trust the process. You’re gonna have set-backs and disappointments. It’s what you do with those moments that determine your success. Always celebrate what you feel is an accomplishment. I would celebrate every 10 pounds. I had a goal of 100lbs initially. I never thought I would hit 160lbs lost!

"I also look forward to competing more in the future. It’s a part of my lifestyle and it’s something that I enjoy. Seeing the transformation I’ve made over this journey so far has been amazing."

For me personally, I just want to continue to maintain my physique and improve myself as much as I can. I also look forward to competing more in the future. It’s a part of my lifestyle and it’s something that I enjoy. Seeing the transformation I’ve made over this journey so far has been amazing. So now it’ll be nice to see where the next part of my journey goes as I target some areas that I would like to see develop more. INSPIRE

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