Kelsey Oliveira
Dr. Cryer
English 122: Comp
September 18, 2018
Luke Miller: Mr. Olympia in Training
“For me life is continuously being hungry. The meaning of life is not simply to exist, to survive, but to move ahead, to go up, to achieve, to conquer.” These words were spoken by Arnold Schwarzenegger, one of Luke’s childhood idols. Growing up Luke was fascinated by strength and muscularity so it’s no wonder Arnold Schwarzenegger along with Sylvester Stallone were two of his main idols. In their respective heydays they were considered to be two of the most respected and fit men alive. Luke entered the bodybuilding world four years ago with an optimistic attitude, ready and willing to do whatever was necessary to achieve his goals. In the beginning his motives were driven by his commitment to health and desire for longevity but in the past three years the focus has shifted to lifting for physique competitions. Regardless of motive, Luke has maintained passion and dedication throughout his fitness journey.
Strength training was a part of Luke’s high school football program but he didn’t start lifting seriously until junior year. Luke became apart of his local gym where he met the owner who eventually helped him get a job there. “I love being a personal trainer, the social aspect of it is awesome, I am a people person and I like helping people reach their goals. Fitness is very important to me.” Luke has said of being a personal trainer.
Every weekday Luke is up at 5 am with a quick protein shake and its off to the gym by 6am. An hour lifting session is followed by 20 minutes on the treadmill for a low intensity cardio workout. Then he gets home and has breakfast which is strictly planned. Training and prepping for competition means he is trying to cut his fat percentage down for his first competition. Four eggs, two pieces of turkey bacon, and a cup or raspberries make up breakfast, which is purposely high in protein and low in carbohydrates. Morning supplements are taken with breakfast and then comes a ten minute meditation to balance and any homework that needs to be done. After that come either work or school and then from 4pm to 8pm he’s in the gym again lifting. Eating dinner consists of more chicken, maybe a little bit of rice depending on carbs for the day, and then night supplements before bed. Although, Luke adheres to a strict diet most of the week he does have a “cheat day” on Sundays. However, he refers to his “cheat days” as “refeed days” because instead of eating a super unhealthy high calorie meal, he just takes in an average person’s calories for the day, something he doesn’t do on other days.
There is precision within a bodybuilders diet when preparing for competition. Food must be weighed out accurately in order for the body to cut weight properly. You will usually hear bodybuilders and trainers talk about Macronutrients or “Macros” for short. Preparing for competition has been a long endeavor, it’s been three years since Luke started lifting with the intent of one day competing. His bulk phase lasted from August of last year to this May. May to present has been the cutting phase which is when counting macros is the most important. Diet has consisted of ramping up protein intake while cutting carbohydrates down to the bare minimum and incorporating more cardio in the workout out routine. Luke’s first physique competition will be September 15. At weigh in his goal is to be between 7 and 8% body fat which should be attainable considering when we spoke at 11 days out he had already managed to make it to 9%. While training for competition, Luke has had a bodybuilding coach around available to ask questions if needed, but Luke has personally planned his diet and workout routines himself. Much of Luke’s life takes place in the gym, a place that has become a second home. His focus will be shifting again in the coming months, “After this competition, I’d like to take a year off to gain more muscle and then get back to competing in 2020,” Luke said of his near future goals.
Within the bodybuilding world there are athletes that believe natural is the only way to go and then there are the lifters that want to get big and they want to do it quick. Performance enhancing drugs are kind of a taboo topic that doesn’t get spoken about but it is more common within the culture than you’d expect. Some of the older guys that have been bodybuilding for decades have spoken out about the dangers of these practices. Luke was willing to give his opinion on the topic that has sparked plenty of controversy over the years, “It is important to me to stay natural. I think the use of performance enhancing drugs in bodybuilding is kind of like cheating yourself. It counteracts all of the positive effects of your work and the healthy aspect, while also cutting years off your life, all for the sake of winning.”
Luke is fortunate to have found such a supportive and welcoming community and he definitely feels the positivity radiating through his daily life. “This community [bodybuilding/fitness] is awesome, it’s a positive environment and everyone wants everyone to succeed. Everyone is really motivational.” Luke responded with enthusiasm when asked of his community. With a supportive community such as this one, it’s easy to see how someone with passion and commitment can excel, there’s really no telling how far Luke will go. As with all great bodybuilders time really does tell, or in this case, show all of the hard work and dedication.
“Bodybuilding is much like any other sport. To be successful, you must dedicate yourself 100% to your training, diet and mental approach.” - Arnold Schwarzenegger.
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