IFBB PRO DAN HILL

A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him - David Brinkley

2011-08-06T22:42:00.000-07:00

The offseason finally starts to be in its peak and besides the stress of starting a few new business ventures training begins to get better and heavier day by day.

Just before my travel to the USA in July I was signing to deals with new sponsors.
First of all I signed with Conower Beef Jerky. A Premium quality Beef Jerky Product from Germany supporting my travels and lifestyle enormously. For every athlete I can only recommend to either carry some safety portions of protein shakes with you or another high Protein Snack such as Beef Jerky. http://www.conower-jerky.de/

Right after I got endorsed by GSI and their newest Shaker innovation “Spider Bottle”.
A new revolution of shakers has started and after meeting and testing the product for over a month, it was a huge honour to become the new spokesmodel of their team. http://www.spiderbottle.com/

In the USA my trainer and mentor Gunter Schlierkamp supported me greatly in every workout session. Besides filming Videos every week for our Projects “Road to success” and of course www.bigdanhill.tv, he taught me many tricks he learned in his own Pro career.
With the help of Multipowers Pre-Workout Booster No-Xtreme, I came back again to my almost highest strength levels and squatted and deadlifted 660lbs for a couple of reps each.
The sky is the limit and not even the will be accepted as a limitation.
It is going better and better and the fire is burning in my hands to tackle the next workouts.

After my photoshoot in spring with Larissa Reis, Larissa and I met up during my last Vegas trip and we talked about some great ideas and plans for the future. I am more than happy to be soon working more closely with an inspiring and amazing personality and friend in the fitness scene.

Mr. Olympia is standing right in front of the door and before September, I will focus on the opening of my first Store and German Headquarter “RTS-Fitness”, where we will also take you to the “Road To Success”

Getting on the right track - ROAD TO SUCCESS

2011-04-30T13:51:00.000-07:00

Two weeks before the first contest of the year, the filming crew of Body-Xtreme.de arrived in Los Angeles to produce my 2nd DVD project, Dans Diary - Living the Dream.

One on one and day by day you can see the truth about the 2 weeks before a Professional Bodybuilding event and what it takes to be professional.

http://www.bodybuilding-magazin.de/bodybuilding-artikel/videos.php?video_tag=Daniels%20Diary

Almost without any sleep, daily photoshoots and negotiations with new sponsors, I managed to place respectable on a 13th place on LA FLEX PRO. I was really satisfied with my showing and placing ahead of former World Games Winners, it was truly satisfying in my eyes. The business and creating a financial fundament to support my future career was my main focus since more than half a year already.

Thinking about reducing the stress afterwards and improoving the condition to Australia was disturbed by unique opportunities I simply had to take at my early point of the career.
I continued putting on more and more work on my plate and I kept training alive to the level as much as my body allowed it. I came in a lot leaner but also had some size deficits compared to FLEX PRO the weeks before. I stepped on stage regardless, being sure of having done my best every day.

Sometimes you have to forget about your ego and you need to think about the future. Ego in general is the cause for almost any trouble we get in to in life and so I focused on the doors that opened for me.
Through my new premium Sponsor "MULTIPOWER PROFESSIONAL", the leader of Sports Supplements in whole Europe, I got connected to Gunter Schlierkamp afterwards.

We are the new faces of the Bodybuilding product line and knowing Gunter as a role model and admiring his positive aura for years already when meeting him in person, it was like meant to be when we connected instantly at our first meetings and found ways to connect our careers, business and plans right away. We share almost every principle, share the same attitudes and the way Gunter already went in his life, is the Road I want to take.
I am on the Road to success and with a coach and mentor for life and Bodybuilding like Gunter, there is no chance to fail.

I feel stronger than ever, happier than ever and every day is a gift and a glimpse of a dream right now.
At the FIBO in Germany the first anoucement of our cooperation was made and the ROAD TO SUCCESS has officcially started right in the same time we are launching WWW.BIGDANHILL.TV

2011-02-08T12:03:00.000-08:00

The first month of 2011 has passed already and the year started amazing in many ways.
I spend my New Years Eve in Austin, Texas and made many new friends over there besides having two solid weeks of dieting and filming footage for my members section on my website www.bigdanhill.tv

In the middle of January my Shooting marathon started and for the first photoshoot of the year I had the great opportunity to travel to Miami, Florida and shoot with Ulrich Oehmen for muscle-gallery.com

Just as in 2007 when we took amazing shoots in Brazil, working with Ulrich was a great pleasure and I am excited to present the results of 2 shooting days on bigdanhill.tv and on muscle-gallery.com

Going to Los Angeles my schedule became even busier.
I am blessed to announce my cooperation with Chanson Water who became another sponsor of my Pro career. I am happy to get this support after I used alkaline Water for almost 2 years already.

The following week I had another two photoshoots coming up.
Shooting with the legendary Robert Reiff for MuscleMag and directed by famous fitness writer Jimmy Pena at Venice Golds... how can it be any better ?
Watch out for the upcoming MuscleMag issues for a great series of articles.

The next photoshoot took place at Dave Fisher's Powerhouse Gym in Torrance with Angelo Rose who became one of my dearest friends in the past year. It is amazing when you connect to great personalities through work and they also enrich your private life beyond limits.

The same day Bill Comstock filmed my workout and having Bill behind the camera is possibly as good as it can be. His experience thorughout so many years of filming athletes is simply irreplaceable.

When Dave Palumbo came visiting for the upcoming Fitness Expo to make reports for RX-MUSCLE.com he also invited me to shoot and I am looking forward to see the video we shoot and the interview in the soon future.

The Fitness Expo at the LA Convention Center turned into a huge success.
Having the honour representing IRONMAN Magazine booth, it was an amazing experience to meet the American fans. It is a simply good feeling to see that more and more people recognize you, stop by and take pictures or buy DVDs of you.
Having worked really hard last year, it showed to me that the results are outstanding and it was more than worth it.

All this is still nothing compared to how great the last week has been.
I got 3 major magazine features confirmed for next month issues of various international magazines. This month I am on the cover of IRONMAN Magazine in Italy, Australia and Japan.
I had the great pleasure to sign an endorsement contract with Chanson Water and right afterwards the honour to sign another major endorsement contract with a supplement company.
Again I was allowed to do what I like the most and that is standing in front of the camera.
I simply enjoy having photoshoots and when the legend of physique photography himself, Bill Dobbins, called me the best Bodybuilder in my age since Lee Priest, it is simply unbelievable...

Ralph Dehaan did another great job in his photostudio and together with Erika Thompson I had more fun during a photosession than ever.

I am getting ready for the final 2 weeks of my preparation and knowing how many exciting things are coming up, I am getting up every morning with a smile on my face.
Many times when I wake up at night, I can barely wait for the days to start.
Life is good to me right now and I am blessed to live my life on my own terms doing exactly what I want to do.

Happy New Year 2011 - Are you ready ?

2010-12-28T16:00:00.000-08:00

The year 2010 is coming to an end and it was definately my biggest year so far.

Having had a great Mr.Olympia weekend and the release of my DVD “Journey to the Top of the Hill”, I also had the chance to meet many new friends business partners in all areas. I was blessed to work with photographers like Ian Sitren, Mike Neveux, Angelo Rose, Jason Breeze, Mike Yurkovic and many more in just one week.

Coming back to Europe in November, my good friend Quincy Taylor visited my hometown and we started to take over Europe with seminars, guest appearances and promoting our DVDs.

I spend a great time travelling with Quincy and enjoyed a lot the stories of a legend in the industry. There will be a DVD very soon, that will show impression of this amazing tour.

Quincy's knowledge, combined with my "European way of Bodybuilding" trainning principles, showing different parts of Europe and a full body workout, will make this DVD a great learning experience for every aspiring Bodybuilder.

November also brought two other big steps for my career.

First of all I signed with my new clothing sponsor GORILLA WEAR and I am proud to be the front athlete of such a world famous brand in the Fitness-clothing industry.

On top of this and after my second cover this year on IRONMAN MAGAZINE,

John Schiek, the owner of the company which is producing the best lifting belts, gloves and straps, contacted me and very quickly we found an agreement for a long term cooperation.

Escaping from the winter in Germany I went back to LA and besides spending great time with my friends over there, I started working again on photoshoots.

In just 8 days I worked on 7 shoots including MuscleMag photographer Michael Butler, Ian Sitren and again my good friend Angelo Rose.

I was supported by Angela Segovia who came from Austin, Texas and who enriched my shoots not only with her stunning beauty but also by her amazing spirit and personality.

Enjoying every moment of my life and the opportunities Bodybuilding brought to me, I had to realize, that life can be over in a heartbeat and sometimes you need to slow down a little, even if all the stress you create for yourself might be of a positive nature.

Driving from LA to Vegas I ended up in a car accident and only luck was saving me from greater damage. In fact I wasn’t injured at all, but if the car would have left the freeway in a different way, it would have been only a matter of physics, that the car might roll over and would have been landing in a big hole next to street.

We are only human and sometimes we need to listen more on our body. Not everyone is as lucky as me to get such a “wake-up call”

Coming back to Germany I was guest posing at a store opening and right afterwards enjoyed family time at home, with my parents, grandparents and my only aunt.

It is time to go back to America now for an even greater year 2011.

Having had 35 Photoshoots, 2 Covers, 2 new endorsement contracts, my DVD release and Pro debut in Phoenix is its hard to beat… but the goals are much higher not only in business.

In Spring 2011 I will work at FitExpo in LA, compete at LA FLEX PRO, being working at the Arnold EXPO, competing at Mr.Europe Pro in Spain, competing at the FIBO PRO in Germany and possibly giving a few seminars and guest appearances right after the contest season.

Make sure to take a look at my new website: www.bigdanhill.tv

Besides the shop, where you will be able to purchase DVDs, autographs and Online Consulting for Diet and Nutrition, there will be also the huge members section that will be the first ever documentary of the PRO Bodybuilding reality. Weekly new clips, show the all sides of the business and additionally to tons of pictures and training footage, you will get a deep insight look to the industry itself.

I am wishing everyone a successful and happy 2011 and the strength to keep all your dreams alive. It is all about dreams and there is no reason why they shouldn’t come true.

Yours,

Daniel Hill

Offseason 2010 - Well, not really ;)

2010-09-08T11:08:00.001-07:00

It has been been a longer while since I updated my blog last time.
The offseason is just finished and during the last few months I have been working not only to improove my physique but also to develop new relations in the fitness industry. The next contest shall be the LA Flex Pro but first of all, I would like to give you a short summary of what happened in the last few months:

It started in April with an successful event promoting "Tuff Stuff Fitness Equipment" on Fibo at the "Koloseum-Camp" (www.koloseum-camp.com)

Right afterwards, i visited Italy, Bulgaria and Malta for Seminars and was allowed to meet many fans and great personalities of Bodybuilding.

The next big event have been the Jiyuu Events in Los Angeles, where my dear friend and businesspartner Eli Dafesh and his son Wadia invited me to be part of the Enagic Team, to spread the world of the great benefits that Kangen Water can bring to anyone of us.

I have to admit, that because of all these projects and travelling, i never really been able to have a heavy offseason, but nontheless there will be significant imprroovments next year, when entering the LA Pro stage.

Right now I am preparing for some photoshoots in Las Vegas and LA in the weeks around the Mr Olympia and besides I am finishing another big project, which is my first own Bodybuilding DVD. Filmed in over five years and produced by legendary GMV Productions, it is a great feeling to look back on this epic documentary, following my career from all the start in 2005 until the first professional contest in 2010.

Finally you can also see the fruits of the hard work that has been done in spring and slowly the pictures of my over 20 photoshoots in the USA get released in spreads and Cover of Americas most popular Fitness Magazines.

I will definately not slow down and I am very excited for the projects in the soon future.

If you visit the Olympia Weekend in Las Vegas on September 25/26, you are very welcome to stop by at the "Smartshake" booth to meet me in person and get my DVD on Presale for a special price.

Because of the great feedback of my fans, I will also continue the "BIGDANHILL Diaries" on my Youtube Channel www.youtube.com/bigdanhill and bigdanhill.tv

But also for Europeans and my dear fans and friends in my homecountry I will be available to meet this year and so I decided to promote a seminar tour together with Quincy Taylor when releasing my DVD in November, visiting Germany, Finland, Sweden and some other countries to be announced yet.

Keep following my blog, train hard and stay fit & healthy.

Yours,
Dan

Week 33 (The final part of a long diet)

2010-03-15T03:03:00.001-07:00

Where shall I begin to continue the story ?
First of all, the week after Phoenix everything went simply amazing. I had the chance of doing 7 Photoshoots in just six days with some of the most famous & prestigious photographers of Bodybuilding.

It does not only sound like an amazing week, it also made me feel on top of the clouds.
I looked forward to the Arnold Classic. To improove again until Melbourne and I felt unstoppable.

I guess thats always the moment when your body will remind you that everyone of us is just a human being and we do not have something like super-powers.
My problems started directly when arriving in Columbus and in just the same night, after 26 hours of travelling, because of planes being late or bad connecting-flights, I spend my fist night in Ohio more on the restroom of my hotel intead of my bed.
The result was a dramtical weight loss of 25lbs and a really dangerously flushed out shade of myself. I still went to my shooting the next morning and after trying to smile and work as hard as i can, i needed to visit a hospital after two hours.

What was that? I was convinced I am capable to achieve anything, as long as my mind is completly convinced aout it... And now I need to go to a hospital ?
Well, it was hard for me but it is true... I am just another human being ;)
I needed 3 litres of sodium infusions to made me get well again and luckily the doctors were able to rehydrate my body a bit. Even if the sodium made me loose some of my condition, I was capable again to do a very important photohoot the next morning and to work on the Arnold Expo for 3 days...

I tried to rest as much as I could besides working the long Expo days at the MuscleMag booth. Because I knew Australia will be coming soon, I put my focus on filling up my muscles with good food again and to work against the dramatic weight loss I had the days before.

All in all the circumstances were really bad for Australia and Milos and I tried to achieve a miracle in just one week with a crazy load and the hope to make something impossible become reality.
I was fighting hard and besides travelling to Australia I felt good enough to have some good workouts, even if my body still showed a lot of signs of corrosion.
I guess 90% of other athletes would have pulled out of the contest, but that is not the way I want to present myself in Pro business. I signed a contract to compete, I arranged shootings in Down Under and I simply commited myself to do what have to do. Fight for my goals and never even dare to give up...

But there is this mean bastard called reality and he hit me directly in my face again.
I didn't make it to improove from Phoenix for the Australia Grand Prix.
It would have been the perfect end for a first Pro season like in fairy tales but nonetheless I am proud of what I did. I was never giving up, learned something and experienced Down Under and probably some of the nicest fans of Bodybuilding of the whole planet.
I might have been 20lbs ligther than in PHX and even if was disappointed, I am proud for my appearance. For my achievement to fulfill my contract, to have realized my scheduled photoshoots and to have finished my first DVD production with Wayne Gallasch.

A very long diet comes to its end right now. After 8 months (and still some photoshoots to go in the next week) I can look back on a Pro season, better than in my wildest dreams.
Having travelled about 50.000 Air miles, doing 28 photoshoots, filming 100 hours footage for my upcoming DVD-Trilogy and meeting my new mentor Milos there is nothing more I could wish for.

I realized myself what it means to be a professional Bodybuilder and I learned about the risk of over-exhausting yourself, which can be really dangerous for your contest plans.
But I also realized myself one other important thing in Pro Bodybuilding:

There are always two winners... The ones on stage and the ones who get the exposure.

I do not only feel like a winner in this way, I do also feel blessed.
Blessed of having met so many new friends around the whole world and of having a background of support among my family and friends, that is simply exceptional,
In this way I want to thank all of those who been a part of my first contest season as a Professional: My Parents, My trainers, my friends and all those who kept me going on the right way and helped me to focus my mind on the realisation of my dreams.

Thoughts become things and dreams can come true.

Dan

Week 30 (PHOENIX PRO)

2010-02-23T01:24:00.000-08:00

The Pro Debut is successfuly made and after a busy weekend and still being completely busy working on the photoshoots around it, I finally find some time to write down my personal impressions and experiences.

It was all in all a great weekend with great friends and fans around me and it couldn't have been a better time to celebrate my Birthday as well.

Of course I will try to compete even more successfully in the future and maybe place higher very soon. But the feedback of the big stars, judges and photographers of the scene besides all my loyal fans was already overwhelming and that is what really matters to me.
I achieved my goals, proofed everyone that I am already competitive in the Pro levels and I established new contacts for my future projects in the fitness industry.

I need to thank all those wonderful people and friends around me, especially my parents and coaches who made all this possible and just give them the credit they deserve.

Without you I could have never been here already !!!

Now its time to get refocused again. Having some awesome photoshoots and
to look forward to the new goals and to take care of business.
Australia is coming very soon and before I am looking forward to meet you at the Arnold Classic in Columbus, Ohio !

Week 29 ( 1 week to go)

2010-02-14T22:07:00.000-08:00

Its been a busy week in sunny California.
Milos was killing my muscles perfectly with every single workout and the improovements in fullness and also a more ripped look are tremendous.

Next to hardcore training and diet routine (did I mention before how hungry I am all the time ???!!!), I also had 4 successful potoshoots with LA'smost famous photographers and magazines this week. I mad myself a really tough schedule and many days I felt like its too much, but I was never giving up. Milos watched every day very carefully and was preventing my body from going catabolic. Even if we achieved this, the last workouts before starting my depletion became horrible and my muscle feeling seemed to be completly gone. For this reason we started my carb depletion today with my first rest day since... well, I dont even know when it was ;)

I enjoyed taking the day off and as I have to prepare my travel to Phoenix next week, I still needed every minute of the day, to keep my journey moving. It is a hell of a trip, but together with my mentor Milos, I am anything else than afraid of competing. I am ready and Milos will make me even better than I can already predict.

The support of all my fans and the feedback on my video diary on www.youtube.com/bigdanhill is just overwhelming and it motivates myself so much to see that other people can identify a bit with myself and start living my dream together with me.

To have my family and friends in Germany, writing me and calling me almost every day and giving me the mental strength that I need is just a great feeling. My mother learned to use a Computer, just in order to check my videos daily and I am really proud, that they became so interested in what I am doing. I am enjoying this journey and every day is more and more an unforgetable memory... Though I know, that my career has just started.

Week 28 ( 2 weeks to go)

2010-02-08T23:19:00.000-08:00

The first week in the USA is over already and it feels more like a month.
Not because the diet seems to take no ending which is also the case, but mainly because so many exciting things were happening.

After my first visit back in Koloseum in Fullerton, Milos Sarcev and I decided to start a cooperation and after just half a week the changes are phenomenal. Milos is supporting me with all his heart right now and having such a great personality and legend in the sport of bodybuilding directly behind my back is the best thing that could have ever happened to me.

I am two weeks out of my Pro debut and I am right on track. Considering that Milos takes care of my diet and training now, I am convinced to show my all time best at Phoenix.
I am almost sure I will be able to surprise myself. Or possibly you couls say, Milos will be able to surprise me...

Two more weeks of hard work and dedication will follow and you can be part of it on my video diary:

www.youtube.com/bidanhill

Enjoy my trip and if there is one thing I want to proof with it, it is that the power of the mind can push us over all limitations and make the impossible things become reality. This power is in everyone of us.
I had to face negativitiy for years, but now you can see, that no matter what others might say, I am able to live my dream !!!

And so can you !!!

2010-01-30T19:48:00.000-08:00

Week 27 (3 weeks to go) Leaving to the USA

Suddenly the date of the show gets closer and I see the end of the tunnel.
Most of my photo shoots and appointments are fixed and I can leave with the good
feeling to present myself in America in my best possible shape.
I worked hard for every tiny success so far and yet I don't know how rich the harvest will be.

Most of all it is exciting to experience a whole new episode of my life and I am blessed to have
the chance of working with the best photographers of the scene and competing with the idols of the sport of bodybuilding.
At 23 years I achieved already, what seems to be impossible for so many others and it is a great feeling to have prooven all the
sceptic people wrong. I made it to the Pros and my journey has just begun.

As planned by my trainer Francisco Guerrero we are almost ready to go on stage and just because of the stressful flight and travelling this week,
we kept a little extra pounds.
Basicly I could get ready for the stage within a few days, but it makes no sense to take a risk of overdieting.
Though I am feeling tired and of course some days I cannot even stand seeing myself in the mirror, but this is the moment when the mentally strong have the chance to proove their inner strengh.
Athletes with a weaker mind start to mess things up, start to do unlogical things in order to get better in the last weeks, but in most cases they destroy everything.
Every day I keep telling me, that I am going through a process and on the contest day, everything will be alright.

I am proud to announce my new website: www.bigdanhill.tv (coming very soon)

You will find a new video of my journey every few days there and I want you to be part of the first almost "Live-Documentary" in the world of real PRO Bodybilding.
Enjoy the movies and maybe it will motivate some of you to also take their courage and live their dreams.
Everything is possible !!!

See you in Phoenix

Dan

Week 24 (6 weeks to go)

2010-01-10T12:45:00.000-08:00

It has been a while since I was posting my last entry on my blog.
The reason I was not writing anymore is simply that my trip to the USA gets closer every day and I can almost count the hours until my flight will leave from Frankfurt to my favourite country. There are so many things to do right now. It starts with practising posing even harder from now on, making appointments for the photo shoots and making the final bookings for hotels, rental cars and flights. All this needs to be planned as perfect as possible, so it will not negatively influence my diet routine when I am finally there. If you fail to plan ahead, it will cause a lot of extra-stress and this would be the worst nightmare for the last days.

Nonetheless everything is going better than expected. I dropped a little bit of weight in the last weeks and so I am staying around 260 lbs by now. I believe this happened by switching from chicken to fish as my main protein source.

I realize that my energy levels are really low. After my morning cardio and posing session I first of all need at least 1.5 hours of sleep before I can really start into my day. I am getting tired really fast but the same time I cannot sleep in the nights. At some days I am even a bit afraid of the night, by knowing that I won’t sleep well for sure. Those are the worst nights. Staying in bed hungry, unable to sleep and fighting against the doubts in your mind.
This is a major fight which has started now as well. The battle of yourself against your mind. When looking at yourself in the mirror the mind will give you a wrong picture of your progress. You don’t see how your shape gets better and you just see that you are getting smaller when loosing the weight. Still you have to go your way, to keep your diet and to continue with what you were doing. Otherwise you won’t be looking good on stage.

It is just about 6 weeks until my Pro debut now. The moment I was fighting for since more than 2 years. It feels unreal to be close to this point and at the same time I already feel like a winner. I have to push my limits for only a few days more. At this point of the diet it is all about your mental strength. Your body is already exhausted. You cannot expect it to reach perfection if there is not a strong force from behind. This force can be only created by your thoughts and goals. You must be driven to do this by your very own skills of staying focused and motivated. Nobody will go this way for you. Every great success demands sacrifice before. I already demanded total dedication from myself for over two years now and I got it in my own hands to create a satisfying result or to disappoint not only my friends, family and fans but most of all ME !!!
Failure is not an option and in the next few weeks I have the chance to achieve something extraordinary. Something I can be proud of forever.

Week 21 (9 weeks to go) Merry Christmas !!!

2009-12-19T12:43:00.000-08:00

First of all I would like to say thank you to all my fans and friends who are writing me Christmas letters and those wonderful wishes for 2010.
2009 was a great year for me already and I can honestly say, that I never enjoyed that much being a professional Bodybuilder like in the last few months.
Looking forward to 2010, I know it will become an even more successful and better year for me. I met so many great people this year who taught me to be more positive, to use this mental energy for reaching my goals and who showed me what it means to be strong. I still need to become a lot stronger in so many ways, but even this process is somehow quite magnificent. I learned again to enjoy the small things of life and at this moment I can say that I even enjoy the daily “boring” routine of doing cardio or preparing the same meals again and again. It became a pleasure again to do every single step into the direction of my Pro debut.

Almost half a year has passed already since I started dieting and still I am at 270lbs.
I didn’t expect to be in such a good condition already with this relatively high bodyweight, but basicly it shows to me that I did everything right so far. Day by day it is getting harder now but day by day I also start to motivate myself more and more.

Last week I also had another great photo shooting with my good friend Reiner Dahms.
Actually the first photographer who ever took pictures of me (in 2006) and so we have a long history of our photo sessions already.

I hope you will also follow my journey in 2010 and before I wish some happy holidays to everyone. Stay positive and realize your dreams !

Week 20 (10 weeks to go)

2009-12-10T12:59:00.000-08:00

Two weeks have passed again and time is running. I keep myself really busy these days with photo shootings and filming footage for my DVD. Day by day I practise my Posing routine, besides my two training sessions and every day I feel completely exhausted in the evening, but at the same time completely proud of myself having accomplished another big step on my way to the Pro debut. I feel tired and great. It is hard to explain, but the more I work and the more I feel the progress, the more excited I get, regardless if the cravings are getting stronger or the energy level is quite low.

In the morning I feel really bad usually. I can hardly sleep and usually I only sleep 4-6 hours during the night. I run into the gym as soon as possible to get my metabolism accelerated again. Just in order to be on track with my meal schedule. During the day the business of Pro Bodybuilding continues. Emails without end reach me these days and I need to make phone calls every day to realize all the plans and appointments I have scheduled so far and of course I also spend some time to answer emails of other athletes. I prefer to call them athletes instead of fans because basicly I still feel like the little boy that I have been a few years ago, who just loves the sport of Bodybuilding and not yet really like a Pro Bodybuilder who is officially one of the best in the world. Thinking about this motivates me again to give my best and my very best only.

I just returned from an amazing Photo Shooting in Finland this week and I am really proud to show some impressions again. Moreover there will be a Training series published in some Magazines and Websites. Keep looking forward to it and enjoy the great Photowork of Mike Siren. I consider these pictures as true art.
We had lots of fun at the shooting, I am really honoured to work with him and of course I am more than glad to receive such great pictures already, more than 10 weeks out of the show.

Keep looking out for more and check out Pakkotoisto.com regularly for more articles…

Week 18 (12 weeks to go) AGAIN !!!!

2009-11-27T12:54:00.000-08:00

Being completely right on track with my schedule, a few days ago I read the sad news about the IRONMAN 2010. It is really sad that such an event has to be cancelled and especially in the MECCA of Bodybuilding I would have never expected that. I focused my offseason and whole diet completely on this day and I can honestly say, that every time I walked into a gym, my inner voice was telling me: YOU WANT TO GO TO THE IRONMAN! SO DO WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO AND TRAIN !

After a little moment being totally confused, I refocused myself and so I keep looking forward to my new goals. Like it is always, when one door is closing many others do open for you.
I still hope the Ironman will be re-scheduled in February between the Phoenix Pro and Arnold Classics, but I am not really optimistic about it. But nonetheless there is the Phoenix PRO for sure.
One day before my birthday it is a great timing to have my Pro debut.

As my DVD is also a big issue for me and I am totally convinced it will be a really great one, I will moreover compete at the Melbourne Pro in the middle of March. Wayne Gallasch is of course filming there and so we can also add some footage of my Australia trip. This week I finally booked all my flights and now it is again my turn to improove as much as I can until those big days for me.

The diet is going great and in the last month I did not loose a single pound whereas my shape improoved dramatically. It is just going perfect so far and I am doing my very best every day.
Somehow it seems to me like the Pro card is giving me some wings. The diet goes more easy than usual and I have not a single moment when I loose my focus or my motivation.
Combined with the great results I see at my photoshoots and the motivational emails I receive every day, I am staying in a totally positive mood.

Maybe its also the new system of my trainer who is tormenting me mercilessly by eating SUHSI right in front of my nose.

I am also very pleased that I can post another link to a new training video, published at Probodybuilding.com
Thanks to Adam for this, who filmed my Shoulder Workout, after a really stressful photoshoot and Expo day, in Las Vegas at the Mr.Olympia two months ago.

http://www.probodybuilding.com/video/workouts/exclusive-power-shoulder-workout-with-daniel-hill-ifbb-pro.php

Week 15 (12 weeks to go)

2009-11-04T12:06:00.000-08:00

After having spent a great time in America again it was really hard for me to return back to cold Germany.
My girl Tonya and her five kids... I mean dogs, made me forget about the stress of dieting almost the whole time.

Arriving in Frankfurt after having had a broken seat on the plane, one of my first stops, after taking care of my food naturally, was the gym of course.

By chance Phil Heath was also visiting Frankfurt and so he trained in the XXL-Bodytown just when I arrived.

Did I mention that my Gym is something like the Venice Golds of Germany? Without sun and without beaches of course. But at least it has enough history and raw iron to be called like that.

Of course I was exhausted from the flight and flying east is much harder than going to the US, but this is simply the life of Pro Bodybuilding.
You have to get used to long flights, you need to find ways to take care of your meal schedule as soon as you arrive somewhere and even when being too tired to walk, you need to stimulate your muscles, having at least a small workout.
Even at my level it starts to become a big influence and I do have much respect for all the top Olympians doing this almost every weekend.

On Monday, still having a bit problems with jetlag my next important appointment was scheduled.
Wayne Gallasch who is producing my DVD travelled to Germany to visit me in the "Dungeon", the XXL Bodytown and also the Ottwald Gym, which is my other gym, where Marcus Ruehl used to train.
12 weeks out of the Ironman we filmed the training of every entire muscle in only 2 days.
Divided into four videoshootings I spend over 10 hours lifting weights at maximum intensity.
The results turned out to be even better than expected at this point of my diet and it is a great opportunity to work with Wayne, a real legend in the Bodybuilding-Videobusiness.
Needless to say that I was falling into my bed at 8pm already after this workout-marathon and it felt like heaven just to close the eyes and do nothing anymore.

For the next 8 weeks I am dedicating my whole time on improoving my condition to the maximum.
On the day I go back to the US I need to be ready. Basicly on that day I need to be in the condition that I could walk on stage immediately. All I need to do in the last 3 weeks before the contest in America will be
to conserve the condition. In this way I will be on the safe side and I know that all the upcoming photoshootings over there will only make it better.

The final countdown has started: 12 weeks to go

Week 14 (13 weeks to go)

2009-10-23T22:23:00.000-07:00

My bodyweight finally went up to 270lbs again and surprisingly the condition was not getting any worse.On the contrary I am feeling like I look much fuller now.

The training since I am back in the US gets better day by day as well.It is still quite warm in Vegas and the temperature level helps a lot to improove my training especially when you are still training as heavy as you can.

Every training I am thinking about the contest day now. I started to practise my posing routine and I will increase my diet in one week again.The "12 weeks out" mark will be some kind of special. Many athletes start their diet then and for me this means basicly another big step ahead to my Pro debut. I will force myself to be even more motivated, more dedicated and absolutely determinded from this moment on.

The though phase for the mind starts now. The contest gets really close and you always want to be in a better shape as you currently are. I keep painting pictures in my head. How I will look on the Ironman stage? Which placing can I achieve? No matter what happens in this period now, you have to believe in yourself. Keep working for the ultimate goal.

I know that some hard weeks are directly ahead of me but I also know about the exciting moments I have already marked in my calender. Almost every week there will be a photoshoot in Europe from now on already. This will motivate me with every new picture taken.Up to that day, when I leave to America again.
Until this moment I have only 9 weeks to bring myself as close as possible to contest shape as I want to travel to Las Vegas 4 weeks before the show. At this moment I want to be ready. I have to be prepared for the honour to work with famous American magazines and photographers.

And of course I have to be at my best, when my name is called out the first time on a Pro stage.

Some days ago Muscular Development published my "In The Trenches" Video which was filmed by Robbie Durand during the Olympia weekend.For those who haven't seen it yet, I invite everyone to take a look. Maybe it can show my attitudes, my opinions and my plans a bit more detailed to you.

Dan

Week 12 (15 weeks to go)

2009-10-07T12:26:00.000-07:00

After coming back to Germany my first goal was to return to my daily routine again.
The flight back to Germany was really hard and the jet lag you get flying east is horrible. The first two days I really had to force myself to keep my workouts on an high intensity level and at the same time I needed to write tons of emails after having had many successful meetings in Las Vegas.

Because of all this stress my body went down to 260 lbs for a short time.
So my trainer Francisco Guerrero decided that I am allowed to have my first cheat day after 12 weeks of dieting and I spent a great evening having as much Sushi as I was able to eat.

The following day my next photoshooting was scheduled and receiving so many positve answers from the USA, I decided to come back to Las Vegas this week.
My bodyweigt is finally again at 265 lbs an my shape is getting better week by week.

I am really looking forward to the next weeks. I am very grateful having met so many great personalities in the last weeks. Starting by all the photographers I will have the honour to work with and most of all my girl Tonya who is making me smile inside and out all the time in these days.

I feel so much better in the USA and I simply know that this is the place to be for my future.

Week 11 (16 weeks to go)

2009-10-01T12:06:00.000-07:00

LAS VEGAS Mr.Olympia weekend

Arriving in Vegas the travel started really bad.
Not only that my connecting flight from Charlotte was 2 hours late, I also had a problem receiving my rental car. Somehow they didn't find my reservation and so
I spend 2 more hours at the rental car station.
Even before checking in into the Orleans Hotel, my first stop was the closest Wal Mart.I needed fresh meat and of course rice.
As I stayed in a hotel without kitchen, I had no chance to
prepare some vegetables. So I bought a lot of Sodium reduced V8 juice.
Finally I was able to go to bed at 3.30am in the morning after just 30 hours of travelling.

The following days started slowly. I needed to recover from the flight and
so I did't make any appointments on the first days.
It all started on Monday when I filmed some parts for my DVD with Wayne Gallasch and GMV. I was really happy about the results and luckily the dry air of Vegas made me loose some water.
It was followed by many projects for other websites, like Muscular Development "In The Trenches" or even Magazine Photoshoots with famous photographers. I need to say thank you to all those video- and photographers, who were interested to shoot me even in this early phase of my diet.

The Olympia weekend itself turned out to be a huge success as well. Besides meeting photographers, and fixing photoshootigs in January, I am also pretty optimistic that there might be a future sponsorship of an US company very soon.
It is hard to get your name out in the US, but maybe this travel was kind of a breakthrough for myself.

Already I have some new projects in America next month. I know that the travelling will be very stressful again, but I simply feel, that America is THE place for my future. I can train better, feel better and the whole atmosphere is much more positive to me. Maybe I still would have decided to stay in Germany and not travelled to the US before the Ironman again if I didn't meet Tonya. But we had an instant connection and meeting her made my days. She is beautiful inside and out. When she finally said, that I am invited to visit again, there was no question at all for me anymore if it would be good or not to go back to the Staates.
Next week I will fly back to Vegas and even if I am very exhausted from the jet lag, I keep smiling every moment in these days.
I am very blessed how everything developed and I am looking forward to every new day of my diet.

I hope you will enjoy my small video-diary of my days aroud the Olympia.
I had a great time and I am so grateful having met so many good people for my life.
It was the best thing that can happen to you as a Pro Bodybuilder.
I travelled to Vegas for business, but it changed my life very positve in every sigle way. Jobwise and privately.
I can say for sure that I am one step closer to my goal now: "Living a good life because of Bodybuilding"

Week 9 (18 weeks to go)

2009-09-17T10:08:00.000-07:00

Another two weeks are gone and I am getting ready to travel to Las Vegas this Friday.
I am excited for my upcoming photo shootings and the video sessions for my DVD.
Furthermore to meet the Elite of the scene and many friends will give another kick for my motivation levels.
It is really needed in this moment. I had to face a lot of stress in my private life and yet I am still working on it to bring everything in the right order again.
Nothing is worse in a diet than stress, so I have to get rid of it as soon as I can.
The diet makes you even more emotional in certain times and it is a tough game not to let this influence your sport, which basicly became my job now.

I lost 4 lbs in the last two weeks and regarding the emotional stress I had it is a quite small weight loss luckily. There is a big connection of your body and your mind and if one part has problems the other one will follow immediately.
I am still at 270lbs and I still got enough time to bring back some volume and fullness. I just need to refocus on my real goal and this is the IRONMAN PRO.
This shall be my destination and nothing can stop me only myself.

Last weekend I had a wonderful time in Denmark. It was a great seminar and regarding the emails I received afterwards from some visitors, I am really happy that I was able to give them some view into my lifestyle of doing Bodybuilding.
I hope to have such opportunities soon again. It is always nice to meet different people from other countries or gyms and to speak with them about our passion for the sport.

Yesterday I had my last photosession in Germany prior to the Olympia and of this shooting you can see some samples here.
Actually I am not really happy about my shape, because I know it could have been better, but regarding that I am still over 18 weeks out,
I think everything is just right on track.

It is a great feeling to know that the day of my Pro debut gets closer.
In some way I feel how the excitement mixed with nervousity is rising in me.
I am grateful to have this chance to compete on a Pro stage with 23 years only.
So many people dream of this their whole lifetime. So it is my duty to bring the best possible shape ever.

I am finishing to prepare my luggage for Las Vegas now.
Vegas baby, Vegas !!! ;)

Week 6 (21 weeks to go)

2009-08-30T12:34:00.000-07:00

Three weeks have been gone again. Time is running once you got used to your routine, but everything continues to be right on track.

My weight is still staying at the same level but week by week I can see other small improvements.

Two weeks ago I had a video shoot with a German Bodybuilding Magazine which filmed a leg-training battle against a German Strongman Champion. I had to fight with my knee problems but I still was able to front-squat three more reps with 400lbs. I think I was able to proof that also Bodybuilders have some power in their legs…Hopefully the video goes online soon.

After this I decided to change my leg training a bit from now on. I still train at my limit but the selection of my exercises changes a bit. I just have the feeling that now in diet my joints are much more sensitive and I don’t want to risk a injury. Especially as my legs are my strongest body part.

The week after I had another photo shooting with a German physique photographer. I never worked with him before, so I am excited to see the results and I am currently waiting for the first small selection he will send to me.

It is only 21 weeks to go anymore until I will finally have my Pro debut. It’s a strange feeling but I am motivated every day and at the moment I am very optimistic to be better than ever and at least 20 lbs heavier.

Next weekend I will hold a seminar in Denmark and I am really looking forward to it. Scandinavian people are usually much more into Bodybuilding than the rest of the Europeans so I am sure it will be a great atmosphere.

The journey of myself, a 23 year old guy, continues… getting ready to compare with the best bodybuilders of the world.

Week 3 ( 24 weeks to go )

2009-08-09T09:43:00.000-07:00

Another week of my diet is over and it is working better than expected.
I keep my carbohydrates very high and still there is an improovement of my shape every week.
I even get stronger in many excercises and the motivation is rising the better I look.
On some days I have no hunger at all. Only at the three most stressful days I have problems to sleep because of the hunger. But those are the days making me better and I really feel how they boost my metabolism.

In the beginning of the week, Germany's famous Physique Photographer Reiner Dahms (www.reinyday.de) was taking the first shooting at all in my preparation. We was not expect too many good shoots as I was just on diet for two weeks, but him and even myself, we were really satisfied about the results of our shooting.
Another motivating moment in a long contest diet and after such an event you are much more determinded to give your best.

I started to make my schedule for the week in Las Vegas around the Olympia. Besides preparing my meals and having my two gym sessions, this is the most occupying project for now.
Writing emails and waiting for answers can be really stressful sometimes.
Anyways I am looking forward to my scheduled shootings and videos and of course the Mr.O Expo to meet many friends again.

In the end of the week I was having a problem with my knee when training Quads.
On repetition 13, while doing Front Squats with 450lbs, I heard a strange sound in my knee and afterwards the pain was brutal. I am still proud that I wasn't give up my training session and after two very soft exercises, I was able to do 450lbs Reverse Hacksquats and afterwards Lunges again.
Still my knee is hurting but now I know that I just have to lower the weights a bit.
I don't have enough water in my body anymore and so the joints are more sensitive.

Let's start into the next week...

Week 1 & 2 (25 weeks to go)

2009-07-31T02:53:00.000-07:00

Two weeks of my diet have passed already.
For the beginning I still eat 800g of Carbohydrates and 350g of Proteins. I will keep this ammount until I see that there are no changes anymore. I don't think I have to go much lower to loose most of the fat and as soon as possible I will raise the carbs again.

The weight was going down to 265lbs immediately after a few days, but then came back to 270 lbs
I see the first little results and and my overall feeling is getting much better. I am not that tired anymore like I used to be in offseason and somehow even the loss of water helps me to train a little bit heavier now.

Cravings - well, not at this point of my diet. This period is probably the best of the whole preparation. I can still train very heavy, maybe even get stronger a bit and besides I am not hungry or feeling powerless.

I am getting into my routine again. Every day is almost the same than the day before or the day after. On the one side this is something which is struggeling in your mind, but at the same time it's the best thing to do for an athlete.

My rest day was not the usual routine of course, but I cannot even say that I was recovering.
After having some check on my car I maybe have to fix a huge problem and so I am looking for alternatives right now, as I am not sure if I am gonna really do that. Somehow it goes always like this. All the week you try to reach this one free day but normally you have to do so many things like going food-shopping, taking care of the house or doing other things for your normal life, so you don't feel recovered at all.

Today I will have another leg training. Last week I was able to do Front Squats with 450lbs for 14 reps, so today I change my first exercise and probably go for Hack Squats. I like this day. You can never reach such levels of intensity except on the leg day. Eating my meals will get really heavy afterwards but I am always looking forward on this day. Usually this is the day when I loose my 1lbs every week.

I can tell myself every day that I am getting ready for a Pro show now. This has nothing to do with a hobby anymore. The better I train and the better I present, the better my life can be in the future.

Destination IRONMAN PRO

2009-07-30T10:34:00.000-07:00

After a long and productive offseason I finally started my first preparation for my professional debut. I trained as heavy as never before in this time and my body responded well on the 18 months of hardcore offseason. In summer 2008 I already reached my all-time highest weight which was 285 lbs and the more time I spent on building up more muscles, the more my shape improoved while the weight was staying on the same level. My training weigths also were rising constantly and all in all I can be really happy about how the things went.

Still the last year was also one of the hardest times in my career. After winning my Pro card so early, there was a lot of controversary about my Pro licence. Many people was putting me down and at some point you start to doubt on yourself. I think many young people in my age wouldn't have been able to get through these hard times. The most teenagers are not strong enough in their attitudes and opinions when they face negative talk. Still I never gave up. I knew that I have my goals and no matter what happens I would go until the bitter end (Maybe its German characteristics).
I am proud that I was never let somebody influence myself and I can only advice all the talented young Bodybuilders out there to always believe in themselves. Everybody can train, everybody can eat well, but the toughest fight is the one you will have in your mind and I believe that the athlete with the strongest mental power will be always the victorious one.

The fight is not over and I am still fighting my battle, but I came to the point where I am telling myself, that I will proof all the negative people wrong and I will show everyone who I really am.

In the whole offseason I seen many bad things in the sport of bodybuilding and only a few good ones. I realized myself how difficult it is to find reliable partners, to find friends and people around you who will not let you down. I had trouble with sponsors who didn't keep the contracts, I was looking desperately for support in Germany and until now I am still fighting completely on my own. Well, not completly. I have my wonderful parents who always encouraged my plans, I found my lovely girlfriend in the time I felt completely alone and a few friends who will never let me down for sure. I learned that to reach my goals I only need those few people who really understand me and will stay loyal to me no matter what happens. It has to be a working system and as long as they are with you, you don't have to care about some negativity on Internet-boards written by nobodys.

I am looking optimistic to the upcoming diet now. I worked hard and only a few things could have been better so far. Now it is time to get peeled.
I was 225lbs when turning Pro in December 2007 and in January 2010 I should be able to get solid 245-250 lbs on stage.

Who knows what the future might bring to us, but if there is something that I can lead into a positive direction I will take my chance.
It is important to have goals and many people are writing me mails what those goals are for me...
First of all I can always answer this question with one ultimate goal. I learned this from my good friend Ed Connors:

I want to make a good living from Bodybuilding

There is more than winning contests for me. For sure its nice to be a winner and for sure I dream of a victory some day. But basicly I have a passion for a wonderful sport and I am allowed to live this lifestyle professionally. If there will be the day, that myself, my loving wife and maybe my future children can live happily because of my achievements in Bodybuilding, I guess I would be the happiest person on earth.

But I know that basicly everyone wants to hear closer goals when asking this question and so I also want to publish my goals for this diet:

- As it will be my Pro debut I hope I can place somewhere in the Top 15, whereas a placing in the Top 10 would be a dream for a 23-year old Bodybuilding-Baby like me
- I want to work with the best photographers of the scene and get my name out in the USA and of course I also hope to find a good supplement company believing in my career and supporting the realization of my dream. If this would happen I would move to the USA permanently and for this I am waiting since I started Bodybuilding ;)

But lets stop the talking now and start with the facts.
I hope you will enjoy my journey to the Pro stage !!!

Dan