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Maxwell Airman becomes pro bodybuilder

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman William J. Blankenship
  • 42nd Air Base Wing Public Affairs
MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. --  In a recent bodybuilding competition to promote health and nutrition in Alabama, Tech. Sgt. Luis Lopez achieved his goal of being named a professional bodybuilder.

The event was designed to show how health and nutrition can provide not just a temporary physical appearance, but long-term health benefits.

"The long-term outcome of pursuing a healthy lifestyle can bolster people's quality of life, both physically and emotionally," said Lopez, a Thomas N. Barnes Center for Enlisted Education enlisted professional military education instructional systems designer. "There were about 70 competitors, and afterward I did well enough to earn my pro card and am now a professional bodybuilder."

Lopez started his journey of becoming a professional bodybuilder 10 years ago while an airman first class, newly stationed in Wyoming. After only training for two years, Lopez won the Armed Forces Championships in 2007, catapulting his love for the sport.

"That was my first taste of real competitive bodybuilding," said Lopez. "What you can achieve aesthetically through proper nutrition and training just amazed me. It is more than shaping your body, but more of finding an outlet that is productive and positive for your life."

The San Antonio native believes that to be successful in any fitness ambition one must first family suppost, focus on proper nutrition and be educated in training.

"Everything for me starts with family," said the father of two kids. "My family supports me 100 percent and that is invaluable to my success as a bodybuilder. I get to the gym around 4:30 a.m. when it opens and then go home to get ready with my family to make sure that I do not miss quality time with them. It is all about time management."

Being a completely natural bodybuilder, Lopez does not take supplements as part of his diet. His family follows his lead, growing vegetables and joining him in his healthy eating habits.

"My wife isn't the only person to tell me, 'Yes, you are ready for a show,' or that I am not, but she supports eating healthy, and we believe it is in the best interest of our family to put quality food into our body," said Lopez. "If your food looks bland, you're not getting the vitamins you need. I am completely natural. All of my nutrition, protein included, comes from eating healthy food."

After his last deployment, Lopez came home and thought he was in great shape, ready for a competition. His wife thought otherwise, but he competed anyway.

"Sometimes you have to fail to succeed," he said. "I placed dead last at that competition and that taught me to trust my linchpin, my wife. She sees what I do not see in the mirror. If she did not support me in my bodybuilding, I would not pursue it. Family must come first, and I have definitely learned to trust her word."

Currently working on writing the human performance portion of the Senior Noncommissioned Officer distance learning course, Lopez said he is living proof that supplements do not make you a "physical specimen."

"If you have a healthy, balanced lifestyle, not just in the gym, but in the kitchen, your work and your family life will show that," said the former security forces member. "I am able to think clearly while at work. If I am deployed and asked to walk or run somewhere far, I can remain focused on the task at hand without physically breaking down."

The former high school football and track athlete had previous experience in the weight room before his bodybuilding ambitions, but has evolved through research from training to compete on the gridiron.

"To be successful in any sport you need to continuously research how to train for that," he said. "It is not the amount of weight you push. You cannot get caught up in what other people are lifting around you. You worry about you and your weight. Your own progress in the gym is based on your form and your own proper weight. Listen to your body and push yourself."

Lopez said there isn't one sure-fire way of training and everyone should find the fitness outlet that keeps them going back to the gym and helps them stay balanced with their personal and fitness lifestyle.

"You can achieve anything if you are dedicated to it," said the recent bachelor's degree recipient. "I take the same mindset I use while training for bodybuilding to my work, my education and my family. You just need to set goals, make a plan to achieve them and then do what it takes to get there. When it comes to fitness, if you train hard, eat like a nutritionist, you will win like a champion."

Lopez starts his path toward finishing his master's degree this fall and hopes to be selected for Officer Training School.

His bodybuilding achievements are:
2007, won first place at the National Physique Committee Armed Forces Championship in the Men's Open Light weight class, Colorado Springs.
2007, won third place at the NPC Shawn Ray Pro and Amateur Classic in the Men's Open Light weight class, Colorado Springs.
2007, won first place in the NPC Carol Semple Championship in the Men's Open Light weight class and qualified for International Federation of Body Building Pro Card, Colorado Springs.
2008, Hosted Morale, Welfare, and Recreation Bodybuilding Competition at Camp Humphrey's, South Korea, where he guest posed and judged competitors.
2009, won third place at the NPC Texas State Naturals in the Men's Open Light weight class, Round Rock TX.
2012, won third place at the Lackland Classic in the Men's Open Light weight class, San Antonio TX.
2014, won 12th place at the NPC Phil Heath Classic in the Men's Open Middle Weight class, Houston TX.
2014, won third place at the International Natural Bodybuilding Federation Alamo Showdown in the Men's Open Light weight class, San Antonio TX.
2014, won third place at the INBF Texas State Naturals in the Men's Open Light weight class, Round Rock TX.
2014, won third place at the Lackland Classic in the Men's Open Light weight class and took second place in the Armed Forces Class, San Antonio TX.
2015, won first place in Mr. Alabama State Natural competition in the Men's Open Medium class, won Mr. Alabama title and was the overall winner of the Men's Open.
Received his NANBF professional bodybuilding card.