PM: How do you feel about this weekend's upcoming event?
Ismaail: I feel pretty good about my condition so far. I got a lot of help from Jimmie and Futaba on balancing my symmetry and polishing up on some of my poses. I started preparing late, but so far so good. I'm really just using this show to get my feet wet in NPC competitions again.
PM: Did you do anything different in your training or diet for this competition?
Ismaail: Yeah, something different in my training and my diet. In my training I used weights that were moderately heavy to try to isolate my movements more. I got a way better pump - banging out sets of 30-50 reps on some of my leg days. With my diet, I tried to make sure that I ate on a regular schedule, as balanced as possible. I also added some cardio a few times a week and have definitely noticed some improvement in my vascularity.
PM: What class are planning to compete in?
Ismaail: Most likely in the light heavyweight division. Right now I'm weighing in at a little over 200 lbs. I believe the top of the light heavyweight is somewhere around 198, so I'm right on target as far as weight is concerned.
PM: Anything you wanna say to any of the competitors out there?
Ismaail: Nah, I'm just focused on being the best me I can be. As far as I'm concerned I'm my only competition, me against me.
PM: Thanks for taking time out for a few minutes to share with us. Hopefully we can catch up again after the competition to talk more about your off-season and competition.
Ismaail: Sure man, I'll look forward to it.
Tickets for this event are $25 for prejudging, and $25 and $35 for the evening finals. Prejudging starts at 10am, evening show starts at 6pm. Hope to see you there!