Greg Dowd

DOWD BUT NOT OUT
Nothing Stops Greg Dowd,
Bodybuilder, Businessman, and Entrepreneur
By TOM SOTER

for MUSCLE MEDIA, August 1998

How do you spell entrepreneur? Try D-O-W-D, as in Greg Dowd, a 26-year-old bodybuilder/businessman who has used his passion for physical fitness to get ahead in life – and who offers a cliche-breaking role model for others in the field.

Greg Dowd is not your stereotypical hunk. Besides earning a Bachelor of Sciences degree, he has has a Masters in Business Administration degree and is about to begin studying for his doctorate in information technology and engineering. Not only that: he spends hours working out and has also found the time and energy to launch an online physical fitness training center which has already signed up 150 clients.

Impressive? Dowd says it comes with the territory: a place that could be called Healthtown, U.S.A. “Bodybuilding helps promote success in just about every aspect of your life,” he explains. “I feel that bodybuilding helps develop higher energy levels, increased self-esteem, a greater mental capacity, and improved self-discipline. All of which are characteristics of highly successful people in all walks of life. And I guess I have an intrinsic motivation to want to make the most of my God-given capabilities.”

Dowd has always worked at excelling. But healthy living didn’t come naturally. Born and raised as one of three siblings (he has a brother and sister), in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Greg and his family were neither fat nor thin. His father runs a paint and decorating center and his mother is an interior decorator and neither are particularly health-conscious. “When I was growing up,” Greg notes, “none of my family was into sports or fitness or even a healthy diet. My parents focused a little more on the academic side.”

Greg had an early interest in two seemingly disparate interests: corporate business and physical fitness. Indeed: at age 10, he wasn’t reading Spider-Man but Fortune and was also spending a great deal of time playing high school sports – a different one every season: soccer, baseball, then wrestling. He finally latched on to wrestling. “I got involved in wrestling because of my size,” he recalls. Although he is now 5 foot 10 and 200 pounds, in high school he was 5 foot 6 and 100 pounds. “I was a smaller guy, so basketball was out, football was pretty much out; but my size leant itself well to wrestling.”

Yet something else appealed to him about the sport, an idea which would carry over into his later business and bodybuilding careers: the concept of self-reliance. “The individuality of the sport is very attractive,” he explains. “I am very goal-oriented. And with team sports, there’s a lot of reliance on others. With wrestling, I like the ability, similar to bodybuilding, to be able to set individual goals and basically depend only on yourself to meet them. Wrestling had that individual characteristic.”

Wrestling also had another element that is part of Dowd’s nature: “There’s a lot of strategy involved in how you wrestle; it’s not just brute force. It’s a matter of learning moves. So the sport integrated my mental aspects with the physical strength.”

Dowd wrestled professionally at Bucknell University in Pennsylvania for two years, from 1989-91, but then turned his attention primarily to bodybuilding. “Basically, throughout high school and college, I would bodybuild between wrestling seasons. It wasn’t typical for a wrestler to keep trying to gain weight but I just enjoyed wrestling in the higher weight classes and being stronger than others, who were dieting down and losing weight. I really enjoyed bodybuilding. After two years, I wanted to move more towards just bodybuilding than wrestling and bodybuilding, primarily because I could do it on my own time. I thought that would free up more time for the schooling and other social activities. With wrestling, I was tied to a schedule of matches, practices, and training.”

Before graduating with a degree in computer engineering in 1993, Dowd was recruited as a computer specialist by Bell Atlantic. After graduation, he moved from Lancaster to Arlington, Virginia, and then began a fast and impressive upward journey. After only 4 1/2 years and five promotions, he became, at 23, the youngest management executive in his division.

“I designed their internal computer network, so it very much utilized my education in computer engineering,” he explains. “It was an excellent job to start off with.” He admits to being pleased at his success: “There were 150,000 employees at that level. I was only 23 and a manager.”

Nonetheless, while climbing the corporate ladder at Bell, Dowd was still following his own, well-regimented path. He had decided he wanted to learn as much as possible about the job. “I wanted to eventually go off on my own and start my own business,” he observes. “I’m pretty entrepreneurial by nature. So I thought it would be good to get experience now in the corporate world. I eventually want to run my own computer-related company.”

Dowd already had his B.S., but he wanted to add to his knowledge. While working at Bell Atlantic, he studied nights and received a graduate degree in business administration. He says it was all part of “The Plan.”

“I had mapped out my career,” he explains. “I need to know a lot. So I got my masters, and soon I’ll begin studying for my doctoral degree.” He acknowledges the discipline involved: “I average around 12 to 15 hours a week on my studies, and that’s on top of a 40- to 50-hour work week. And I keep my bodybuilding workouts in there, too.”

In fact, with all the academic and business activity he is undertaking, Dowd – amazingly – still keeps to a strict regimen of physical fitness. He trains whenever and wherever he can. “I do each body part once a week; sometimes I’ll combine two smaller parts,” he notes. “It’s important that you be consistent. Consistency means developing a commitment to religiously fulfilling all components of physique development. Those components include using proper exercise form, performing sets to failure, maintaining a well-balanced diet and a supplementation program, and allowing sufficient recuperation. All the components are equally important and all must be met consistently.”

His schedule for strength training is, he says, a “five-day split. 3-on-1-off, 2-on-1-off.” It is simple, divided into two different day parts – Day 1: Monday, 6:00 AM: Calves, Cardio, 5:30 PM: Quads; Day 2: Tuesday, 6:00 AM: Abs, 5:30 PM: Triceps, Delts; Day 3: Wednesday; 6:00 AM: Calves, Cardio; 5:30 PM: Biceps, Hams; Day 4: Thursday, Off – Rest and Relaxation; Day 5: Friday, 6:00 AM: Calves, Cardio, 5:30 PM: Chest; Day 6: Saturday, 11:00 AM: Back, Abs; Day 7: Sunday, Off – Rest and Relaxation.

For each body part, he alternates the intensity routine and the volume routine every other month. And on a day with two body parts, he works the intensity muscle routine first and the volume second. He also believes that cycling routines ensures continuous muscle growth and that he should train weak points immediately following a day off.

Dowd is usually up at 6 AM and in bed by 11 PM. His training is split into two parts because of his hectic schedule which often finds him, working or studying by himself, at meetings, or on the road. “I am able to stay consistent – which is the most important thing – just by fitting in gym time whenever I have the chance, whether it was very early in the morning, or late at night. But I always make sure I got into the gym when I am supposed to.”

Dowd does cardio work about two days a week, because, he says, “I’ve found I’m in good cardio shape and my normal; training seems to maintain my cardiovascular conditioning I have a high metabolism and generally it takes a lot of healthy food to meet my caloric intake. With my busy schedule, I don’t want to have to eat even more.”

His diet is also precisely balanced. “I eat seven meals a day. It has become a kind of a two-way street. When I started keeping a good diet that helped me manage my time and that then helped give me the energy to do everything [at work and studies]. And while I was doing all that, I just made sure that I kept on my diet, which meant carrying baked potatoes between meetings and drinking protein shakes all day and generally looking like the oddball in the company.”

Dowd eats about every two to three hours. His schedule – Meal 1: Breakfast, 7:30 AM, egg whites, oatmeal, raisins; Meal 2: Snack, 10:00 AM, Myoplex Deluxe, bagel; Meal 3: Lunch, 12:00 PM, pasta, chicken salad; Meal 4: Snack, 3:00 PM, Myoplex Shake, baked potato; Meal 5: Post-Workout, 7:30 PM, Myoplex Mass, HMB / Phosphagen HP; Meal 6: Dinner, 9:00 PM, rice, tuna, vegetable; Meal 7: Bedtime Snack, 11:00 PM, Protein Shake or egg whites.

“I try for low-fat, low-sugar, low-sodium foods,” he explains. “I think small meals (500 to 800 calories each) are best. I also look for high-quality protein sources; complex carbohydrates sources, and I include one or two green vegetables or salad daily.” His calorie breakdown: 50 percent carbohydrate, 35 percent protein, 15 percent fat.

“I am very research-oriented,” he says, “so I studied a lot on nutrition and on training. Besides being a certified trainer, I have read many books and magazines on the subject, and I also experimented with different workout programs. I’m constantly trying to come up with the best program. I try to set up long-term goals and reach them.”

Dowd notes that working out and eating right were initially hard because of peer pressure. “It’s not easy in the corporate world,” he admits. “It is difficult to balance the two. I travel a lot now to meet with customers. When I have to go out to dinner and lunches that makes it even more challenging because I’m there ordering things like white rice with no butter, no sauce, and egg whites for breakfasts. But I’ve done it. I haven’t worried about the image thing as much as I used to and I’ve just kept with it. And you know, you end up earning respect for it. People admire you for sticking to your guns. I think, initially, people are just afraid to go out of the normal boundaries.”

The bodybuilder’s favorite supplements: Creatine, Phosphagen HP, HMB, V2G, and whey protein supplements (Myoplex). “I find noticeable gains and benefits using them. I started using EAS products before I read Muscle Media. The products, especially Myoplex Plus and Phosphagen HP, allowed me to gain weight while staying lean, which is very tough to do. They allowed me to recuperate better, feel more energetic, and get better workouts. I can honestly say I’ve had at least one Myoplex every day for the last two years.”

He knows the right and wrong types of additives, too: when he first started bodybuilding, he admits to using anabonic steroids. “I did experiment with them in college. There was a lot of temptation. The biggest drawback is what everyone says. Once you get off them, you lose most of what you gained. And while you’re on them, they’re not as great as everyone makes them sound.”

Dowd is an all-natural man now, participating in three drug-free competitions: taking second place in the Collegiate Nationals; first overall in the Arlington Bodybuilding Show; and fourth in the Pennsylvania Classic. “It’s definitely very, very rewarding to be in your top shape and to win over a lot of competitors who are in good shape,” he says, adding: “I’ll only take part in natural competitions.”

As for the idea of competition itself, Dowd supports it: “I am fairly competitive internally and mentally the way I think about meeting my goals, I think I am sort of competing with myself. So I don’t worry about competition while I’m at the gym, or while I’m working out. But it is nice to once in a while measure up and enter a competition. It’s definitely not for everyone.”

Staying the course, Dowd adds, is crucial to success – with bodybuilding in particular and life in general. “I’ve found that by trying to stay as regimented as possible just helps in all aspects of life,” he observes. “When I have a set schedule, I just put in the time at work and I know I’m going to the gym later, so I do that. Just that structure and discipline helps in all areas, mentally as well as physically. I truly believe that the weight training, and the diet, and the motivation, and the regimen all have helped to contribute to my success in the corporate environment just by providing me with more self-confidence.”

Dowd has high hopes for his internet training program, “Mind and Muscle Fitness,” which went online (at http://www.mind-muscle.com) in June 1998. “We all can’t all afford to have a personal trainer take us through our fitness programs day after day,” Dowd notes. “My web training page provides all the guidance, knowledge, and instruction needed at a fraction of the cost. I wanted something that would serve as a one-stop reference.”
With his business partner and his wife, Dowd set up the personal training web page, which offers both free information about diet and working out, and a paid ($49.95), personalized section. In that, a customer completes a profile questionnaire. Based on the information provided, the trainers will create a web page for the customer with links to their well-rounded health and fitness program. He adds that the program is customized for different customer preferences: weight training, cardiovascular exercise, flexibility training, nutrition, and supplementation.

“With the page, we are dedicated to providing practical and enjoyable ways of living healthy for minimal cost,” Dowd notes. “Many health and fitness programs are impersonal. They include programs that are based on one person’s goals and experience level. Of course, what might work for one person may not work for you. You need a program that recognizes your goals, level of experience, and amount of time commitment. ‘Mind and Muscle Fitness’ offers easy-to-understand and easy-to-follow recommendations that will help people change their lifestyles in simple and effective ways.”

He hopes the initial success with the page will grow: “We haven’t done a whole lot of advertising yet. It’s more work than you expect to put a full web site together. So it’s only been a good two months that we’ve been basically in production and starting to advertise in the search engines. We’re ramping up and getting about five to ten responses a day. Right now, we recommend that clients have a new program designed every 12 weeks, based on their progress.”

Although he is strict in his approach to life, Dowd knows how difficult it can be to follow a regimen. “I know why people avoid workouts,” he says. “Sometimes your energy levels are down and it’s tough to do it. And I’d say there’s generally a slow progress to working out and making gains in size and strength. So sometimes you have to come over and battle it all mentally. I’d say the three primary components are diet, training, and then the mental effort that goes into both of those.

“In fact,” he continues, “50 percent or more is mental – sticking with it and concentrating consistently. You must train hard and smart. You have to focus with your mind on every set of every rep, and push through your mental barriers to reach your physical limitations to shock your muscles into growth. Finally, you have to plan how you will achieve your long-term and short-term goals and then stick to that plan.”

He finds the results are worth the extra trouble. Besides the health and energy aspects, being a bodybuilder has “presented a lot of opportunities for me,” he notes. He has modeled for magazines (including a Muscle Media cover), and appeared as an extra in Rocky V. The success has had financial rewards, too. It allowed him to buy his first home, as well as a BMW Z3 roadster, a Suzuki Katana motorcycle, and a high-tech home theater. He also takes occasional scuba-diving excursions to the Caribbean.

Dowd left Bell last year and currently works out of his home as a senior systems engineer for FreeGate, a Silicon Valley-based company. “I left a very secure and successful career with a Fortune 500 company to pursue a high-risk job with a start-up company,” he notes. The new position involves much travel, in-depth technical knowledge, interpersonal sales skills, independence, and long hours.

“The job is a kind of pre-sales, technical support position,” he explains. “I work with other sales managers and provide technical expertise to sell our internet-access related equipment. I took it primarily to round out my experience. I wanted to partially get into the sales end but also keep my foot on the technical side. All this information will be useful when I start my own business.”

On top of all that, he also found time to get married to what he laughingly describes as a “female version” of himself, at least in her balance between business and fitness. “We met four and a half years ago at a party but we clicked because she was also very much into health. She was also going to business school and working at a full-time job. It does sound a lot like my background.”

His suggestions to others? “The 15-second advice I give people in the gym is to step back and look at your long-term goals, develop a good program, meet those goals, and stay consistent and motivated. Stick with it. Everyone’s going to have different motivations and different reasons for wanting to start or continue a fitness program. So it’s very important for each person to determine what is motivating them.”

As for his future: “My nature is to want to continuously improve, which I’m definitely striving for. With my schedule and with everything else that I’m doing it may take even longer than it would normally. You know, I don’t think I’ll ever be satisfied just maintaining what I have. I always want to do better.”