LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Arizona --
He stands 6 feet 1 inches tall and
weighs 235 pounds. His eyes are void of emotion as he concentrates on lifting
the dumbbell. As his workout progresses, his veins form a roadmap. In that
moment all his problems cease to exist.
Staff Sgt. Robert Timms, 756th
Aircraft Maintenance Squadron weapons lead crew team chief, won first place and
overall in Jon Lindsay’s Muscle Contest in the men’s classic physique category
January 2016 in Las Vegas.
While Timms is a serious competitor
in bodybuilding today, he wasn’t always that way.
“Before bodybuilding, I did martial
arts as a child, kickboxing in middle school and boxing in high school,” Timms
said. “Since joining the Air Force, I’ve played semi-pro football, practiced mixed
martial arts, Muay Thai, Taekwondo and now bodybuilding.”
It was during a deployment Robert
would get a taste of the sport.
“At first bodybuilding wasn’t a
sport for me,” he said. “In 2011, I deployed to Afghanistan where a friend
taught me how to lift and I ended up really enjoying it. It wasn’t until I was
stationed at Kunsan Air Base in Republic of Korea that a friend told me to try out
bodybuilding. I took his advice and after my first show in 2013, I’ve kept at
it ever since.”
During Timms’ first show, the Camp
Humphrey’s Bodybuilding competition in Korea, he competed in the heavyweight
bodybuilding category and placed first. Then one week later, he competed in the
Muscle Mania competition in the same category and won first place. In 2014, he
competed in the Luke Air Force Base bodybuilding show, placed first and won
overall for his category. Thereafter, he competed in the Association of Natural
Bodybuilding Federation competition before competing in his most recent show,
the John Lindsay’s Muscle Contest.
For those who don’t know, before
the men’s classic physique category was introduced earlier this year, there
were only two categories men competed in—physique and bodybuilding. In the
physique category competitors must show symmetry combined with muscularity but
can’t be too built, while in the bodybuilding category competitors are overall
enormous in mass, Timms said.
“Before men’s classic physique was
brought back as a category, there wasn’t a category I fit into,” Timms said. “I
was too big for men’s physique and I was too small for bodybuilding. In order
for me to compete in that level with other bodybuilders I would need to be
around 280 pounds, but I wasn’t willing to do what it takes to be at that
level— steroids. During the Arnold Classic I had a coach and he brought me all
the way down from 240 pounds to 198 pounds and I still was told my back was too
big for men’s physique. I was caught in
a catch-22 but now that they have the classic physique category, I have a
category that’s perfect for my body type.”
While others may find motivation through
external sources, Timms finds
motivation within himself.
“I think most people have something
they want but never really strive for it,” he said. “For me, I know the only way
I can get the result I want is by pushing myself. I motivate myself to come
back to the gym every day because I’m the only one I can depend on. I never
have the feeling of, ‘I don’t want to work out today’ because it’s my stress
relief. It gets me out of what may be going on in my life and is my serenity.”
Bodybuilding also brings Timms a
sense of security.
“The aspect about bodybuilding I
love is the fact that I can control it, meaning the only thing you can really
control in life is how you control yourself,” he said. “I like being able to
manipulate my diet and exercise routine and see the change in my body from what
I do.”
For those with goals and dreams, Timms
shares words of advice to others.
“There will always be people
supporting you but at the end of the day you can’t depend on others for your
motivation,” he said. “You just have to focus and figure out what you want and
go after it.”
For one Airman, Timms is not only a
bodybuilding competitor but her friend and boyfriend.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen
someone as dedicated as he is,” said Tech. Sgt. Jessica Keller, 56th Security
Forces Squadron military working dog kennel master. “He is on point with his
training and diet and hasn’t missed a day at the gym. I think he’ll be one of
the first to compete in the classic physique category during Joes Weider’s
Olympia bodybuilding competition. I believe he has set the standard for this
category and is making history. It’s also nice to have someone who has the same
experiences and interests in bodybuilding as I do and he was my number one
supporter when I was going through competition prep.”
For those interested in competing,
the Luke Bryant Fitness Center is holding a bodybuilding competition Aug. 20.
For more information, call the Combat PT Center at 623-856-2291.