Tony Freeman biography. Tony Freeman biography Modern professional career

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Plagued by injuries and biased judging, Tony Freeman turned professional very late, in 2003, when he was 36 years old. Now the veteran X-man is in the ranks and will give odds to many young bodybuilders. Born August 30, 1966.

Veteran X-Man in service

Anthropometry

Height 188 cm
Competition weight 129 kg
Off-season weight 138 kg
Biceps circumference 58 cm
Circle chest 137 cm
Waist circumference 81 cm
Thigh circumference 81 cm
Shin 48 cm

X-man's entire life is the embodiment of the classic American dream of achieving success, despite the lack of a good education and support from relatives. The nickname X-man is assigned to him because of the aesthetically harmonious figure of an ectomesomorph: With high stature, massive shoulders and chest go well with a narrow waist (in his youth only 76 cm) and long legs with massive hips.

Among the shortcomings, the most striking one is the torn junction of the right pectoral muscle and deltoid. Despite this, X-man has been among the top 10 IFBB professionals for several years in a row.

Due to the fast metabolism, the problem of gaining weight has always been in the foreground for an athlete. muscle mass.

X-man is a supporter of diverse approaches and schemes, in which reasonable results are achieved individually. Proper recovery is very important; you cannot train effectively all the time without breaks.

Tony Freeman in training

Training principles

Using free weights - dumbbells and barbells: many muscles develop at once.
Wide use basic exercises: Their effectiveness has long been proven.
Gradual increase in working weight.
Overtraining is unacceptable; shortened, high-intensity training is necessary.
Long rest intervals between intense sets.
Exercises are repeated 3-8 times, which is necessary for rapid development muscles.
Technique and well-being must be monitored to avoid injuries.
If there is no progress in load indicators, it is necessary to change it cyclically.
To improve blood circulation in the muscles, it is necessary to use pumping (performing a series of exercises with light weights, a large number repetitions and almost no pauses).
X-Man proclaims the need for an individual approach to each workout, you need to “listen to your body.”

The bodybuilder trains five times a week (one and a half hours during the day, about another hour in the evening), always doing individual pull-ups different groups muscles. If you are not feeling very well, then take another day of rest. Other athletes do not train according to this scheme now.

It's never too late

Training program by day

Thigh muscles: Extension and flexion with weights, squats with a barbell. For massive muscles, you need intense pumping with a fairly large load and a number of repetitions around 15.
Back exercises: Pull-ups, super-tension, lying and standing barbell rows. Moderate weights, working out individual muscles.
Chest exercises: Peck-deck cross-breeches, bent-down barbell and dumbbell presses, Hammer presses.
Deltoid and trapezius muscles:, exercises with dumbbells (lateral raises, front raises, dumbbell raises with an incline), pull-ups from a block. The main thing is variety, supersets and giant sets.
Biceps and triceps: Biceps curls with barbells and dumbbells, on a Scott bench, various presses, lying triceps extensions, reverse push-ups.
The calves and abdominal muscles are trained every other day.

Tony Freeman with badge at a meeting

Features of nutrition and regime

Tony Freeman eats 9-10 times a day, starting at six in the morning (gets up at 5:30) and ending almost at midnight.

The basis of nutrition is taking 250 g of bison meat 3-5 times a day (in the evening it is often replaced with chicken or fish meat in large quantities). Bison meat is quite lean, high in protein and easy to digest.
The athlete also consumes 5 times a day protein cocktail, which is based on egg whites. Protein powder is added there in the morning, whey protein isolate is added in the afternoon, and gainer (carbohydrate powder) is added in the evening.
Typically, X-man eats about 1 kg of potatoes in two meals a day. Before competitions, he eats rice and vegetables instead of potatoes.

The remaining products are of little significance in the total volume (salads, greens, BCCA amino acids, oatmeal and glutamine in the morning, fiber and unsaturated fat supplements at night), but are very useful for the whole body.

Tony Freeman's Relief Press

Youth

Although X-Man appears to be 100% African-American, not all of his ancestors are from Africa. It is known that one of his great-grandfathers was almost the last representative of the Cherokee Indian tribe. Father Alvin Freeman, pastor of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in West End (Atlanta), was a singer and basketball player in his youth. Tony was born in 1966 in the town of South Bend, Indiana. He has two brothers, Andre and Alvin Jr., and a sister, Tywanna.

Despite poverty, they were united friendly family. In 1979, the family moved to Alabama, then to Georgia. In 1983 they stopped in Atlanta, where the athlete still lives. In college in Alabama, the guy unsuccessfully tried to study electronic engineering. In Atlanta, he studied at the Institute of Technology for 3 years, never finishing it. In fact, it was difficult to combine study with work as a builder, where they paid well, and he worked for about 10 years.

IN high school Tony was fond of American football and basketball and hated weightlifters. In 1986, the guy began courting a girl who lived in the city of Savannah. She told her friends about a 20-year-old guy who wanders around the cities and tries to court her. She showed him a photograph of her bodybuilder friend, who took a prize in the state of Georgia.

Tony realized that he could steal his girlfriend, and so he took up bodybuilding and powerlifting at the amateur level. Then he weighed only 68 kg, but after a few months he gained about 25 kg.

For several years he competed at small events and junior AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) tournaments. The best result is fourth place at the Mister America tournament in 1990.

He didn’t really remember the girl anymore, but in 1991 he started thinking about a professional career when he saw Kevin Levrone’s victory at the American Championship. Then former professional wrestler and powerlifter Harold Hoag became his mentor. The emphasis is on weight gain and different training methods are explored.

For the ectomorph Freeman, increasing his own weight has always been very important. He starts eating everything 6 times a day, including protein powders and weight gainers. After a year of training, the X-man's weight reaches 110 kg and in 1993 he wins the US junior championship, but in the adult US championship he cannot rise above fourth place. The disease of the 4th place continues further, including 1995.

In 1995, the guy turned to a new expert, who left 6 meals, but increased the calorie content. Now it was necessary to consume 7-8 thousand kilocalories per day. The diet included a large amount of bison meat (350-400 g at once) and a large amount of boiled rice or potatoes with vegetables as a side dish. Tony's weight reaches 114 kg, but he can no longer cope with the huge amount of food.

Chest injury and “career ending”

Life goes on

In 1996, a streak of bad luck began. First, the guy gets into a car accident. The doctor prescribes him a painkiller, thanks to which he ceases to feel the condition of his muscles. Then X-man trained according to the Dorian Yates program. While doing a bench press, he felt the bar go down. It turns out that the right pectoral tendon, which attaches to the shoulder, has torn.

Freeman begins to look for a surgeon for the operation, but they are all untrustworthy. My professional career was “over” before it even really began. Until the year two thousand, Tony did not train at all and returned to normal life and lost weight. He remembered his earnings as a construction worker and as a professional dancer, where, according to him, he earned no less.

Having tried himself as a mentor, Freeman resumes training. At the end of 2000, he finally “went under the knife.” The operation turns out to be successful.

Modern professional career

In the early 2000s, an athlete uses old principles of training and nutrition. The weight is restored and reaches the old values of 1995 (113-117 kg). In 2001, he took 8th place in the US Championship, without specially preparing for it. A triumphant return took place already in 2002, when X-Man won the US Championship and became an IFBB professional.

In 2005, the bodybuilder got a new mentor and began to prepare new system meals (9 times a day), which immediately affects weight gain. In 2006, X-man won the European Championship, took 7th place at the famous Mr. Olympia, he then weighed around 130 kg. At Mr. Olympia best achievement is fifth place in 2008, and third place at the super-prestigious Arnold Classic in 2007 and 2012.

Since 2008, he has been actively participating in tournaments for veterans (40+), but does not forget to compete with young athletes. Last victory in the professional field, just like the first one, was won at the European Championship in 2011.

In 2013 I visited with demonstration performances and in Russia: A festival dedicated to the 25th anniversary was held in Izhevsk Russian Federation bodybuilding.

The veteran is not going to give up: At the beginning of 2016, X-Man managed to take part in the Arnold Classic and took 12th place.

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Tony Freeman(English) Tony Freeman; genus. July 30, 1966, South Bend South Bend), Indiana, USA) - professional bodybuilder. Currently resides in Atlanta, Georgia.

Original name: Tony Freeman

Nickname(s): X-Man (eng. The X-Man)

Specialization: Bodybuilding

Place of Birth: South Bend, Indiana, USA

Professional career: since 2003

Height: 188 cm

Weight: 129 kg

Biography

early years

Tony Freeman was born on August 30, 1966 in South Bend. South Bend), Indiana, USA. In my youth I had a negative attitude towards bodybuilding. However, everything changed when Tony's girlfriend showed him a photo of a bodybuilder he knew from the Georgia State Championships. Ambitious and hot-tempered, Tony decided to prove that he could achieve more.

Bodybuilder career

Tony began performing at junior AAU tournaments (Rus. Athletic Association of Amateur Athletes), however in 1996 his career came to a head long break. There is a version that this happened due to a chest injury. Over the next five years, Tony changed many professions. For example, he worked as a builder, singer and trainer. In September 2000, he underwent surgery. It was successful, and in 2001 Tony returned to the stage.

In 2003, the athlete received professional status in the International Federation of Bodybuilders. International Federation of Bodybuilders, IFBB).

Performance history

Year	Competitions	Place
2009	Mr. Olympia	8
2009	Arnold Classic	4
2009	Grand Prix Australia	3
2008	Atlantic City Pro	4
2008	Mr. Olympia	5
2008	Europe Supershow	1
2008	Arnold Classic	7
2008	Tampa Bay Pro	1
2008	Grand Prix Australia	4
2008	Grand Prix New Zealand	3
2008	Ironman Pro	8
2007	Ironman Pro	1
2007	Arnold Classic	3
2007	Mr. Olympia	14
2007	Sacramento Pro	1
2006	Mr. Olympia	7
2006	Europe Supershow	1
2006	San Francisco Pro	5
2006	Arnold Classic	9
2006	Ironman Pro	7
2005	Arnold Classic	10
2004	Power Show Pro	8
2004	Night of Champions	10
2003	Power Show Pro	9
2003	Night of Champions	11

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Tony Freeman, who occupies an honorable place in the IFBB world bodybuilding rankings, was born in 1966 in Indiana. The large family in which the future champion grew up did not live well. Tony's father served in the church. Parents loved their children very much, trying to give them everything they needed. And Tony’s grandfather was one of the last direct descendants of the Cherokee Indians.

My parents gave me the desire to win, and my fiancée pushed me to take the decisive step.

It was his parents who managed to instill in their son the desire to win, which subsequently largely determined his achievements. As a high school student, bodybuilding was viewed negatively. The situation changed when Tony got a fiancee. He was jealous of her because they lived in different cities, and even his beloved had a bodybuilder friend who aroused her admiration.

The last straw was a photo from the bodybuilding championship, which the girl showed to her fiancé.

The ambitions and temper of the Cherokee descendant made themselves felt. Tony was not going to give up his beloved to anyone, so he decided to achieve success in bodybuilding. But it wasn't that simple.

“I’m in this sport to win!”

Tony Freeman

I fell in love with bodybuilding, but I stopped loving the girl

Weighing 73 kg. Freeman needed to gain 90 kg, which took six months. The most interesting thing is that Tony radically changed his attitude at that time not only to bodybuilding, but also to his girlfriend. He fell in love with bodybuilding, but the opposite was true for the girl. There were plenty of beauties around the muscular guys, and Tony didn’t stop at just one.

To reach professional heights, Tony takes on board the experience of other athletes, and in two months increases his body weight by another 20 kg.

Begins to prepare for competitions. In the Mr. America 90 tournament, Tony took 4th place; in 1993, he was the American champion in the NPC division among amateurs. He later competed at the national championship, but he was unable to advance beyond 4th place.

Difficult times

Tony Freeman quit performing in 1996. Officially, due to a chest injury (he received it 9 weeks before the US Championships). Interest in performing was lost, and Tony, as an esthete, believed that training an asymmetrical (due to injury) body was wrong.

Moreover, depression made itself felt, which arose due to the constant words of the judge that his time had not yet come, he should be patient, etc.

As the bodybuilder himself, who lost weight to 105 kg, said, he was very tired. For five years, Tony led an ordinary life. Changed many professions - builder, bouncer, coach, exotic dancer. By the way, they paid no less money for performing exotic dances than in bodybuilding.

“I know what victory costs...”

Tony Freeman

For several years, Freeman avoided surgery, not trusting doctors. Some did not promise a complete recovery, others warned that a large scar would remain. But somehow, by chance, the athlete met an orthopedic surgeon who had experience as a plastic surgeon. He managed to convince him that breast restoration was possible without serious consequences.

Back in action!

After a successful operation, Tony Freeman decides to return to bodybuilding. Not right away, but he managed to take his rightful place among the IFBB professionals. A striking example of this is the victory at the US Amateur Championship in the heavyweight category.

Tony received his nickname “X-Man” due to the peculiarities of his athletic figure - wide hips and shoulders emphasize a pronounced waist (volume 76 cm) with a height of almost two meters.

“It is impossible to train equally effectively all the time without getting tired. It is important to find a reasonable balance in the system of training, recovery and nutrition. You may have to try several schemes, but the success is worth it.”

Tony Freeman

Freeman again becomes an indispensable participant in elite tournaments and takes prizes. In 2008, his best result to date was 5th place at the Mr. Olympia competition. 2012 - Prague Pro, 5th place, Toronto Pro supershow 2014 - 4th place.

Despite his age (the champion is 48 years old), Freeman is in excellent physical fitness and continues to compete.

“The very fact that I am already old, but still continue to do this, means a lot. Because of guys like Phil Heath and Dennis Wolf, who are in their 30s, people think bodybuilding is becoming a sport for the young. I don’t agree with this!”

Tony Freeman

Basic principles from Tony Freeman

Listen to your body. In other words, do what is right for you, not someone else. For Freeman, this became the main thing during the post-operative recovery period.
Use supplements correctly. Before the competition, Tony used whey protein, branched chain amino acids BCAA, glutamine and gained 8.2 kg of lean muscle mass.
Some exercises from the arsenal of powerlifters help Tony achieve success in bodybuilding.

“These guys know how to train and achieve results...”

Tony Freeman

Find a reasonable balance between training, nutrition and recovery.
The main thing is methodicality, balance and calm.
The best workout is with free weights
Increasing working weights
There must be long pauses between approaches.
Be careful not to overtrain
Pumping is very important
Suitable diet. To solve the main problem - weight gain, Freeman eats 10 times a day. His favorite dish is bison meat and potatoes. During the day, he eats about one and a half kilograms of minced meat. The basis of the diet, in addition to meat, is proteins, cereal dishes, and salad.

Tony's principle is to do everything absolutely right!

Tony trains 5 days a week, two days off. The first day is devoted to quadriceps and hamstrings, the second to the back, the third to the chest, the fourth to the trapezius and deltoids, the fifth to the biceps and triceps. If he feels that his body needs it, Freeman takes another day of rest.

Every other day he trains games and abdominal muscles. He gains his main weight closer to the competition. Few of his colleagues work according to the same scheme.

On the other hand, the bodybuilder does not have a specific training program; they change every day.

Freeman doesn’t like to train using the same scheme twice in a row. He also finds the 3-8 rep range to be very effective. But successful development of strength indicators is possible only if you strictly follow the technique, because this range is quite traumatic.

“Feelings are very important to me. A mandatory requirement is to do each exercise absolutely correctly. I continue to do the exercise until I feel excessive heaviness and weakness. Then I understand that it’s time to stop.”

Tony Freeman

Tony also tries to keep himself in shape throughout the year, without eating up in the off-season, like some athletes: “My goal is to look cool and feel like it.”

Anthropometry

Biography

Called X-Man, he was born on August 30, 1966 in South Bend, Indiana, USA. The champion now lives in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Tony received the nickname X-Man because he has broadest shoulders and a very narrow waist of 76 centimeters. For such a giant with a height of almost two meters, this is an incredibly narrow waist. Therefore, Freeman's figure resembles the letter X of the English alphabet.

Tony Freeman became acquainted with bodybuilding in high school, but this sport did not captivate the young man; on the contrary, he felt some kind of disgust. But fate played a cruel joke on the guy. He had a girlfriend at the time who lived in another state. Tony loved her very much and therefore was jealous, especially of her friends, among whom was a guy involved in bodybuilding. All this happened in 1986, when the future champion turned 20 years old. One day his girlfriend showed a photo of her friend from the Georgia championship. The hot-tempered Freeman could not survive this. He promised himself that he would go to the gym and become even better than the guy in the photo. Actually, this is where it all started.

When he came to the gym, Tony weighed only 73 kilograms and this despite his height of 188 centimeters. Frankly, he was very, very thin. His goal was to gain 90 kilograms, and after a year and a half he even exceeded the target. It so happened that at that time Freeman became interested in bodybuilding, but the relationship with that girl ended.

Freeman followed the progress closely and was a fan. In 1991, at the US Championships, where Kevin competed, Tony was thinking about trying to compete too. Immediately after this, he met a certain Harold Hogue, who was a serious athlete. The latter agreed to help the guy with advice and correct technique training. After just two months of classes new scheme Tony gained up to 20 kilograms of pure muscle.

The X-man's competitive debut began with AAU tournaments, an athletic association of amateur athletes. One of the highest places was fourth in the Mr. America competition. Three years later, Freeman won the NPC US Junior Championships. After this, the athlete decided to try himself at the American Championship, but, unfortunately, three attempts were unsuccessful - he did not rise higher than 4th place.

In 1996, Freeman became noticeably disillusioned with the sport and with himself. He lost faith in himself and interest in performing. This year he stopped competing and attributed this to an injury to the pectoral muscle, which he received a couple of weeks before competing at the US Championships. He believed that the judges didn’t like him very much anyway, and even injured muscle- high results are not to be seen. The situation was aggravated by the phrases of all the judges: “we need a little more time”, “be more patient”. And this was said to an athlete who had aesthetically ideal proportions and tall stature.

Then Freeman fell into depression. He “neglected” his body and lost noticeable weight. The champion did not plan to return to bodybuilding. He tried to find himself in ordinary life - he worked as a builder, a singer, a coach, a bouncer, and also an exotic dancer. No matter how funny it may look, but, according to the athlete, he earned even more as a dance performer than when he was engaged in bodybuilding.

Until 2000, Tony was hesitant to have chest surgery to fully recover from his injury. He didn’t fully trust the doctors, didn’t want a scar to remain, and there were few guarantees of a complete recovery. But it turned out that one gym partner recommended him to a surgeon he knew who had extensive experience in the field of plastic surgery. The guy was sure that this surgeon would help Freeman completely cure his chest problem.

Tony decided to have the operation, and it was successful. This allowed the future champion to return to training. Already in 2001, Freeman decided to return to big sport. He thought that with his height, he needed to compete exclusively in the super heavyweight division. Therefore, he tried to gain as much muscle mass as possible. The second debut on stage happened at the Coastal USA middle class championship in the NPC. Here Tony took second place. After the performance, the champion said that he did not prepare much for the tournament and practically did not monitor his diet. He believed in himself and decided that if he tried hard, he could get into the professional division. And so it happened. He won the American Amateur Championship in the super heavy category. After receiving his professional card, Freeman's bodybuilding career rapidly gained momentum.

The athlete competes in elite professional tournaments and often takes prizes. He became a regular participant in the tournament and in 2008 finished 5th, which became best result Tony to this day.

Despite the fact that Freeman is no longer a young athlete, he continues to compete and demonstrates excellent form. He has a contract with MuscleTech and is considered the elite of bodybuilding, so he no longer needs to dance exotically.

Tony Freeman - a famous person in the world of bodybuilding, nicknamed X-Man by his colleagues and fans, and for good reason. After all, the parameters of this bodybuilder are really impressive: thin waist(76 cm) and incredibly massive shoulders and hips make this man look like a comic book hero. But thanks to this contrast, Tony Freeman became famous. The athlete's height is 188 cm. Regular weight reaches 138 kg, and competition weight - 129 kg.

Romance and sports

The story of Tony Freeman's appearance on the world bodybuilding arena is probably the most romantic of all. In 1986, the athlete met a girl with whom he fell madly in love. But the beauty preferred the “big guys.” And to prove his love, Tony began bodybuilding seriously. In a short time he reached excellent results. Within six months, Tony gained 20 kg and really fell in love with this sport, but, paradoxically, he completely lost interest in his passion, because he had many fans.

Professional career

Tony Freeman began his performances at junior competitions of the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), where at first he was not taken seriously at all, despite his great perseverance. But three years later, the athlete won the title of champion among amateur juniors (according to NPC), after which the bodybuilder set off to conquer the professional arena.

Despite excellent data, the athlete did not manage to take prizes. And in 1996, after a chest injury, professional career X-Man was considered over. To eliminate the consequences of the injury, surgery was required, and none of the doctors guaranteed a favorable outcome. For four long years, Tony Freeman was involved in anything but professional sports. But in the early autumn of 2000, the bodybuilder decided to undergo surgery, which was successful. True, the athlete had to undergo another operation - cosmetic surgery, which was required to hide the huge scar.

Career takeoff

One can only guess how much effort it took for the bodybuilder to return to the big arena. After all, after leaving the sport, X-man did not monitor his nutrition at all and gave up training. But the dream can be achievable if you apply enough persistence, as Tony Freeman easily proved. the program he created brought the athlete world fame and helped him win silver at the Coastal USA Championships.

In 2003, the bodybuilder received professional status in International Federation bodybuilders. After which a series of conquests began in various competitions, held not only in America, but also in Europe. This was followed by a performance at the main competition for bodybuilders, Mr. Olympia. Despite the fact that X-Man only took eighth place, the audience and judges were mesmerized by the show presented by Tony Freeman. The height and weight of a bodybuilder are harmoniously combined, thanks to these parameters the athlete wins world fame.

List of most impressive victories

2002 First place among amateurs at the American National Championships.
2006 Prize-winning place at Supershow Europe.
2007 First place at the Sacramento Pro competition and bronze at the Arnold Classic.
year 2009. Prize-winning place at Sacramento Pro.
2010 Third prize at Phoenix Pro.
2011. First place in the “Super Show Europe” competition.
year 2012. Bronze at the Sheru Classic and Supershow Europe, as well as silver at the Pro Bodybuilding Weekly 2012 competition

The bodybuilder currently lives in Atlanta and continues to build sports career. Despite the fact that X-Man only took fourth place last season, no one doubts that this is not all that Tony Freeman is capable of.

Training program

Like any bodybuilder, X-Man faced the problem of stopping the growth of his performance. According to the athlete himself, at the beginning of sports, his biceps developed very poorly. But he came up with a program that brought his biceps to perfection. According to the athlete, there is no need to increase the load if the result has “stalled.” It is better to switch to a lower weight for a while, which will allow you to feel the desired muscle.

Tony Freeman has developed his own training system, the secrets of which he gladly shares with his fans.

Training with free weights should use as many muscles as possible.
We need a transition to increasing working weights.
Long pauses between approaches are required.
In one approach you need to do from 3 to 8 repetitions. According to the bodybuilder, this technique helps to maximize performance, but it is also the most traumatic.
It is better to give preference to high-intensity training.
Cyclic periodization of loads will help you get out of training stagnation.
You should also do pumping - a series of sets or supersets with a maximum number of repetitions, but light weights and short pauses between sets.

X-Man also advises not to forget about proper nutrition, because this is an equally important component of an athlete’s life.