Local Sailor takes honors in bodybuilding championship

Today, Haywood, 30, weighs 214 and recently competed in the NPC 2008 Panhandle Showdown in Pensacola, where he placed second in the novice bodybuilding category. He is healthy and excited about being able to share his experiences with his peers in the NAS Jax Auxiliary Security Force (ASF).

"Competing in this event was a huge confidence builder. I work with the ASF here and a lot of these guys ask about my workout routines. I really enjoy teaching people about eating healthy and how to take care of themselves," explained Haywood. "I tell them to 'eat green, get lean.' If people just start eating a little cleaner and taking care of themselves a little bit, it'll make a big difference."

Although he's been working out and eating healthy for awhile now, Haywood never even thought about competing in a bodybuilding championship. "I started this journey by training for the Gate River Run earlier this year. My neighbor and his fianc were doing the run and asked me if I wanted to train with them," he said. "We did the run and then my trainer at the gym near my house in St. Augustine asked if I was interested in participating in a bodybuilding competition and offered to train me for free."

While he didn't need help with the workouts, Haywood had no experience with the posing techniques needed to compete. And so the training began. After working a full day, he would hit the gym until 9 p.m., go home and eat and sleep, and get up at 4 a.m. to do it all over again. "I was putting in four to five hours a day at the gym and working. It was a huge sacrifice, but so worth it," said Haywood.

He split his time between the base gym, Fitness Source and the gym near his house. "Each day is different so depending on what I work on, is where I work out. The base facilities are excellent and have great equipment," he said.

Six weeks later, he was under the lights in front of the judges with his parents and niece cheering him on. "There were so many people competing. It was a really big event. It was such a huge payoff to actually walk out there on stage and say, 'I'm really doing this,'" continued Haywood.

"The judges told me I have outstanding definition, although I'm not as big as some of the other competitors. I weighed in at 193 and most of the guys I competed with were 220-225. They had a lot more muscle mass than I did."

Although he'd like to continue competing, Haywood has to put those thoughts on hold for awhile since he is leaving this week for training before heading to Iraq on an individual augmentee tour for the next year.

"I plan to continue training while I'm over there and hopefully will compete when I get back with a little more muscle on me," he said.

Another big goal for Haywood is to be selected for the Limited Duty Officer program. "I am submitting my package this week. My life has been such a journey so we'll see where that takes me. It's one step at a time," he said.