Andrew Lee Priest McCutchon is an outstanding athlete whose accomplishments are impressive, inspirational in appearance, and the pursuit of success deserves respect. Even in his youth, he could spend days reading sports literature, flipping through Flex and Muscle & Fitness. Arnold Schwarzenegger became his standard, and he tried to equal himself with Tom Platz and Eddie Robinson. The aspiring bodybuilder was distinguished by his eccentricity, love for comics and appropriate shocking.
Biographical notes
Aussie Lee Priest is from Newcastle, Sydney, born July 7, 1972. His family was no different from the average middle-income families. In his school years, he showed interest in American football and karate, was engaged in many sports. His beloved grandfather gave Lee to a sports club at the local police station. With this hobby, the stage of development of self-discipline began in Priest’s life: from the age of 13, he taught himself to come to the gym among the first visitors before the start of classes, struggled with his own weight and independently worked on his body.
Genes for Sporting Success
There is an opinion that Lee Priest had phenomenal genetic data, thanks to which it was not difficult for him to build muscle, develop the makings of a champion and just stand out among other promising athletes. The first competition ended at the highest step of the pedestal - 1st place among young athletes under 14 years old. With his external data not standing out - height 163 cm, weight 97 kg - many remember him as the lowest, but very successful bodybuilder. This result, as many believed, he achieved thanks to his heredity: his mother also took an active part in bodybuilding competitions and once performed with Lee on the same stage. The athlete also has an older sister.
Lee does not like to talk about his personal life, he married the wonderful girl Katie LeeFrancos, who also engaged in bodybuilding. Together they went to success in the athletic field. Unfortunately, their common hobby could not unite them for a long time: in five their marriage broke up (in 2005).
Hobbies and idols
A photo of Lee Priest can be seen in young bodybuilders who are trying to imitate the athlete, to follow him. But it was not always so. The young athlete also had his idols, with which he was inspired. His favorite pastime was considered to be reading articles from sports magazines about bodybuilding and fitness. It was there that he got acquainted with new techniques, effective exercises, a proper diet, and raised his motivational spirit. Along with illustrations of famous bodybuilders, Lee singled out his idol - Arnold Schwarzenegger, whom he considered an example to follow.
Sports career
An important test was the Australian competition, where he took an honorable 1st place from 1989 to 1991.
A bodybuilder with perfect proportions won numerous first places, but there were times when luck at professional level tournaments did not smile at him. A memorable high result was the podium in the San Francisco Pro division of 2002, when he surpassed Chris Cormier and Dexter Jackson. Three years later, at the Australian Grand Prix tournament, now with Ronnie Rockel Cormier again among the outsiders - they are deftly circumvented by Lee Priest. The athlete's body weight at that time allowed him to compete in a competition in the weight category up to 212 pounds.
Champion Speeches
The athlete achieved success gradually, did not lose heart due to failures and was moderate able to enjoy small victories. The list of events in which Lee Priest managed to take part is posted below. It is worth noting that the main performances were in the open category of bodybuilding, only a few competitions were in the category of bodybuilding - "absolute", they will be noted separately.
The first places were won in 2005 and 2006 in Melbourne and Pasadena. Speaking about his merits in the most popular Iron Man Pro contest, it should be noted that Lee went up 2,3,4,6,7 lines of the standings there, and 4,6,7,9 were given to him on the Arnold Classic show places. At Mr. Olympia Priest was ranked at 6.8 and 15 lines, the competitions were held in the bodybuilding category - "absolute". Competitions are indicated in the period from 1994 to 2006. In his winning arsenal there are also worthy places in the Grand Prix of Russia, Spain, Australia, Germany, Finland, England, the Czech Republic and other countries.
Lee Priest Training
The first thing the honored bodybuilder draws his attention to is cardio and articular warm-up. Lee never got injured, he had no problems with his muscles, and all this is only thanks to the preparatory exercises. Lee Priest recommends warming up in 3 approaches with light weight before proceeding with the main tasks. In each exercise, one warm-up approach for 20 repetitions is enough, so the body and body get used to it.
Features of Strength Exercise
Breaks between approaches are regulated independently, depending on the exposure of the body. Rest between exercises for a small muscle group can be done in accordance with the time during which such a set is performed by a partner in the class. Heavy exercises, for example, with a barbell of 180 kg, are performed over a longer period of time, require more effort, respectively, breaks between them should be made longer.
Cheating is recommended to be used only if there is a clear understanding of its application. Correct cheating looks like this: the body sways, allowing the muscles to lift working weight. It’s worth remembering. that it is wrong to simultaneously sway and toss a weight.
Training plan
If you want to be like the famous bodybuilder, you need not only to have an external resemblance and huge biceps. It is necessary to train correctly so that the applied efforts benefit the body, rather than harm it. Lee Priest's training program includes a seven-day list of recommendations to achieve the best result.
1 day (chest) | It is necessary to repeat the exercises 6-8 times with a small weight and 7 times with a large weight bench press on a bench: horizontal, with a positive slope, with a negative slope |
2 day (back) | 7 times to perform pull-ups with additional weight; perform rod and dumbbell traction 7 sets of 6-8 reps |
3 day (shoulders) | Bench press (dumbbell) in various forms; side dumbbell |
4 day (hands) | 7 approaches of 6-8 repetitions for each item: bending the arms with a barbell and dumbbells in various forms; narrow grip presses, extension of arms, push-ups |
5 day | Give the body time to relax |
6 day (biceps, hips, calves) | 7 approaches of 6-8 repetitions for each item: warm-up - leg extension; Squats, including with a barbell on the chest; leg presses; traction on straight legs and bending legs |
7 day | Give the body time to relax |
It is this working week that the Australian bodybuilding star advises her admirers, all experienced athletes. What is noteworthy - for those who have just begun to shape their body, the program is not suitable.
The bodybuilder gives detailed instructions on his example in the exclusive documentary “Lee Priest is a White Myth”, where you can clearly see the athlete’s life, watch the workouts, make sure that success requires a lot of effort and patience.
Currently, the bodybuilder is engaged in sports and keeps his body in shape, trying to follow the lifestyle, as before, only with less stress. Now he prefers loneliness and travel by car, traditionally organizes dinners for the homeless twice a year.