013: Beyond the Mirror: Developing Non-Physical Strengths Through Competition with Ted Finkelman

“I completely fell in love with the sport and the people around. I would say everything good in my life has come because of bodybuilding.” —Ted Finkelman

For those who pursue this sport at its highest levels, it is much more than just lifting weights in the gym - it is an all-consuming lifestyle. The psychological strength required is just as demanding as the physical toll of intense training. Only those who can manage both aspects will find their way to the top. But for those who reach their goals, few victories can surpass the thrill of seeing years of commitment realized on competition day.

Ted Finkelman has transformed his physique over a decade of bodybuilding through immense physical dedication in the gym and kitchen. However, his success also stems from cultivating the mental strength needed to overcome self-doubt, unsupportive family, injuries, and periods of falling off track in his training. Ted's story exemplifies the balance of physical progress and safeguarding of mental fortitude required for sustained success in the demanding world of competitive bodybuilding.

Tune in as Sherrie and Ted discuss the importance of learning to handle the cyclic nature of the bulking and cutting phases, understanding the physical and mental demands of the sport, having a solid support system, embracing setbacks as opportunities for improvements, and more. 

Connect with Sherrie: 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sherrie.massiakapach 

Instagram: https://instagram.com/mindbodysoul_hypnothetapist 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherrie-kapach-b5bb26243 

Email: skapach40@gmail.com 

Episode Highlights:

01:25 From a Gamer to National-Level Competitor

07:56 Training and Competition Challenges

12:00 Building a Strong Mind to Overcome Setbacks

16:03 Beyond the Changes in the Mirror

Connect with Ted: 

The Hebrew Hulk's transformation began when Ted, a Medicine Hat local born and raised, once glued to his computer and devouring a whole pizza; looked in the mirror and realized his sedentary lifestyle was unfit for a 20-year-old. Faced with a lack of guidance and inundated with "get fit fast" advice, he embarked on a journey of self-improvement.

Through extensive research, basement workouts, numerous setbacks, and failed attempts, Ted persevered. Trying other coaches, he eventually understood that he had to take charge himself, allowing him to master his passion and guide others toward success effectively.

This realization, born from his personal transformation and acquired wisdom, inspired him to share his knowledge, knowing how profoundly it could benefit others striving for greatness.

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Transcript

Sherrie Kapach: Welcome to Beyond The Prep, I'm your host, Sherrie Kapach. I'd like to welcome--

Ted Finkelman: It's Ted Finkelman.

Sherrie Kapach: Welcome,and thank you for coming to do this podcast. So tell me a little bit about what got you into bodybuilding?

Ted Finkelman: Okay. So this is a really cliche thing, but there's an old saying that breakups make bodybuilders Okay, so I went through a really bad breakup in my early 20's. I just turned 21 so I kind of looked at myself. I was never an in-shape kid, but I was in gym class. I wasn't athletic, I couldn't run, could catch, couldn't throw, couldn't do anything. I was a nerdy computer gamer. And so sitting there one day playing World of Warcraft, Pepsi cans all around me, pretty shuffled frozen pizza sitting there and my stomach on my lap folded over. I remember thinking that I haven't dated, and I look hideous. So I'm going to try and lose a little bit of weight, and that snowballed and became basically my personality. My career and everything is third with that home DVD workouts. So these work security. So it's getting infomercials, and I'll try that. And like a p90x to join the gym to become a bodybuilder, and now I compete at the national level.

Sherrie Kapach: So you decided to get in shape. What got you into the bodybuilding part?

Ted Finkelman: I moved away from my hometown for school, moved back. I was really into sports and stuff like that so I started working at a local GNC at the time. And one of the other guys working I'm with was competing so he kind of made a comment of, well, how can I train you for a show? And I was like, okay, I'll give that a shot. I'll do a show. And so I figured I'd try it for two years. I completely fell in love with the sport and the people around. I would say nowadays with everything good my life has come because of my love of bodybuilding.

Sherrie Kapach: Wow. That's wonderful. So what was your biggest struggle going through, say deciding to go to compete, to getting on stage. What was the hardest part for you?

Ted Finkelman: A lot of misconceptions out there about trying to learn what it takes to proper training for social media standardization. I come from a wealth of the unfitness so they did not understand. I chopped certain family dinners with my container like chicken rice. Why are you doing this? What are you doing? In 2020, of course, I think they finally understood this wasn't just some weird, awkward niche thing. This is a huge site of people that are living and breathing this sport out as part of this. I had my family support that kept supporting me researching, learning and growing.

Sherrie Kapach: Support is huge.

Ted Finkelman: Your family is just confused.

Sherrie Kapach: They don't know. It's just the unknowing, why are you putting your body through this? Why are you doing that? Why can't you eat this?

Ted Finkelman: Everyone's so used to it that it's weird that we live in a society where it's stranger to eat healthy than it is to eat fast food. Be lazy, not be fed.

Sherrie Kapach: Yeah, yeah, it's completely in the mindset of all. Your circle, your social circle changes.

Ted Finkelman: 100%. Most of the friends I'm close with now in some way, shape or form, we've shared the gym.

Sherrie Kapach: And that's who you want to surround yourself with because they understand. And they're not pressuring like, why can't you have that drink? Why can't you eat that?

Ted Finkelman: I had a couple of friends early on, and now they've grown to understand just like, I am still a bit of a nerd. They'll eat the frozen pizza, and I'll have my containers and they often make jokes about it. They'll start asking me questions about how to get themselves in better shape and health, and stuff like that. So it's been nice to kind of be that positive influence. People don't know where to get started.

Sherrie Kapach: And you said at the beginning that you were heavier and unfit and as they see you transition. Do you find they become more interested in things like, oh, my God, what have you done? What are you doing? How can I get to where you're at?

Ted Finkelman: What's the whole thing you always see where it's like, first, the lack of you, then they will watch you, and they will ask you how you did it. I definitely got a little bit started on an endeavor like this because I was not someone ever expected to become a bodybuilder. It was really funny. And part of the funniest one was my great (inaudible) so he knew who I was. But my teacher was there. And she's like, oh, and how are you connected? And I looked at her. I said, I'm Ted Finkelman. And she said, no, you're not. And it took her a second to see that kind of click. I was this person because I became someone nobody expected me to be. It was like a need to ever walk into a gym, let alone pursue a passion for fitness.

Sherrie Kapach: Oh, that's good. Oh, that's amazing. You just competed not too long ago?

Ted Finkelman: I competed in June at the Toronto pro qualifiers. My first time on the national stage. It was a pretty amazing experience. Actually, my coaches were pretty excited because I did get the first call out. I just missed that place a little bit because they pulled six of us out. I just missed that top five. But as far as I was concerned, my coach, I think he said he took like 16 disbursed time for the pro at the national level. So the fact that (inaudible), that doesn't happen. I think we pretty much take that as a marker of pride that people would be pretty disappointed. Why would I be? Better next time. The whole point is take a little bit of time off, just a little more size on me again in a year. So yeah, it was great. And the best part of that was the Toronto Pro Show the next day.

Sherrie Kapach: I'd be able to see them. You're like, now I know where it got to be.

Ted Finkelman: They're unintentionally intimidating because they're just such large people.

Sherrie Kapach: And then you can see what, where you want to be, and what it's gonna take to get there. And you say that this is your first time up there. What's a great experience?

Ted Finkelman: Well, that was the whole thing. My whole goal was (inaudible), you never know what you're competing for. Sometimes you're competing against the very best. For me, it was the fact that because I was gonna question a good bodybuilder for the first couple of years. I've done well here before the qualifier and added a second and third slot win. But then to go up against everyone who that previous year had qualified and see if they will stand toe to toe with them. That was a huge thing for me to kind of reinforce in my head that I'm on the right track making the right adjustments and making great growth. I need to stay on this track.

Sherrie Kapach: Time. You gotta be patient. The stage is always there. It's just waiting for you to get on there and not push it. If you want to enjoy the journey, you don't want to struggle or end up hating it.

Ted Finkelman: When my coach came to me and said, you're taking a year off. I was actually planning to ask him for a year off so I could get that into size. We weren't planning In agreement on what should happen next. It wasn't like you have some coach to tell you to tick you off and you're like, no, I don't want to. I want to repeat it again. For six months, I was like, yes, let's make use of it here. Let's do it.

Sherrie Kapach: And your body needs that time.

Ted Finkelman: We push really hard for two to three years. My coach said, you need to sit back for a little bit, and be able to have a really good offseason. Absolutely, because I went from basically low end bodybuilder to a top three slot. And so that was a lot in two years.

Sherrie Kapach: Yeah, for sure. And put your body through your life just get into that.

Ted Finkelman: Physically and mentally. Before it competed in 2020, I just started my own private gym business. Then right into competition and try to train clients and stuff like that. Well, I'm worried about dying in prep and everything.

Sherrie Kapach: Good for you, though. That's huge. So if someone comes to you and they're talking, maybe I'll try that. What piece of advice would you give them? What do you feel is something that would benefit them, or even giving that ounce of information that they're unsure of? That piece of advice.

Ted Finkelman: Number one I would say is, don't watch a show. If you've never seen a show, I think that's a really overused rule. But it's a good one. In the sea was to be expected what to look like. And then if you can talk to someone going through and ask the questions because it's really hard to comprehend how hard it's going to be. There's a reason though, it's the hardest sport in the world because it's not just one game per day. It's basically like, usually three months of extreme grind, extreme discipline. And if the question is, are you gonna be disciplined? I'm someone that like, the second my coaches prep starts, I don't think about anything else. That's a really hard mindset. And if you're not someone who is already regularly training, I wouldn't say you have to be really strict on your diet early on. We have to be at least nutrition focused. Increase your protein intake, we watch it like that. Because I know a lot of people, they don't really ever start a true diet until these trends. And I feel like as long as you're aware that your food's gonna have to change and you can't have the things you want every day, that I think you're on the right track as long as you have the time to train and have been training for a while.

Sherrie Kapach: Yeah. It absolutely is. Mentally be prepared for that too. Are you prepared to stick to the process? Don't beat yourself up over it, and don't think you can't do it. Just get back and continue.

Ted Finkelman: Exactly. There's a metaphor I love is, let's say you're talking on the phone, and you drop it. What do you do next?

Sherrie Kapach: Pick it up and carry on. It's fabulous. I've never heard that.

Ted Finkelman: And they responded to both. So that means if you screw up on your diet in the afternoon, you have to throw your day away, or it's gonna be a week away. You should read up on your diet for your lunch. Yeah, go have dinner.

Sherrie Kapach: Because I've heard that too, before, then they'll just go hard on some cardio to try and wear that off.

Ted Finkelman: The next four days, suffering more that causes your hormones to get off.

Sherrie Kapach: That's great. Like just pick it up and carry on.

Ted Finkelman: One good meal isn't going to make it fit.

Sherrie Kapach: And that's hard. Hard for some people to get that mindset.

Ted Finkelman: That's what I said because I started like zero. I've seen all the struggles that most people go through all the way up through the help of business regimes. And so I understand it. I know it's hard because I've been there and I had to do this. I was not a healthy person. I was not a coaching focus. It's actually hilarious. Today on my Facebook memories, Memory of 12 years ago, and he said oh, I finally become one of those guys.

Sherrie Kapach: What a great reminder though, right?

Ted Finkelman: I love that. I read that post there. I was still living in the city with the collagen and I was just trying to dabble in fitness everbuying.  Man, I'm ridiculous. You're buying this. I don't want to know how many times I've had that since then.

Sherrie Kapach: It becomes like your regular grocery list, per se. What a great reminder to come up on your memories and think, oh, yeah, back then. All right.

Ted Finkelman: Because back then, you ever thought they were working on something that's already there for eight years straight. Pretty much. That seems impossible.

Sherrie Kapach: When you started this journey, did you ever envision yourself to where you are today?

Ted Finkelman: Never. When I first got that fitness, the idea was to lose a little bit of weight for my guts so I'd be more confident talking to the opposite sex, and it just spiraled. And I think there's come before the point where like, I don't even see my physique as, I don't have the correlation of, oh, I'm meaning big. I look really good. I go, okay, this is what the judges want to see. It's not a vanity thing for me to look in the mirror sometimes. I'm thinking about what to do. I need to work out. What about weaknesses? What am I going to work on? Because I love it so much. I want to try and prevent it from being annoying. Better and better, and better. And I'm not gonna say that it's like an obsessive level, but I do enjoy it seeing the progress change. And what I love about the offseason, offseason is just getting to watch those changes happen. But in time they put on the size, but then stripping it down and seeing the difference.

Sherrie Kapach: I get that now. When I first started at the gym and you see the side, you see them, or people working out and then flexing and looking at them like, oh, really? It's not like that at all. It's like some even with myself. Oh, there's a new muscle. You're just checking, and then you're admiring. Let's build it more and then to get more defined or whatever.

Ted Finkelman: Sorry, I was speaking quotes. I have a lot of them there. The whole idea was like, if you work hard to buy a Ferrari that you keep locked up in your garage, so there's nothing wrong with working harder. I'm not saying show off to everybody, but you shouldn't ever feel shameful. I definitely get some weird stares sometimes which are uncomfortable. And there's not a lot of people like National competitors in that city (inaudible) some other bodybuilders, but many like heavy super heavyweight bodybuilders. So I do understand like, I know the first time I ever saw one. I was like, what is that thing? Do we have those here? I do understand, but it can be uncomfortable at times.

Sherrie Kapach: Be proud of what you've built in that time. So how long has it taken you from, say start your weight loss journey to now. How many years would that have been?

Ted Finkelman: I would have started around 2011, but I will admit there was a layover for a while, like the first time I had a national buy in. But instead, I decided to retire. I coached at the time. And being 6"1, I was like, I'm going to be competitive at my height. So I set a rear tire, and I am going to train. I was 26 at the time. I kind of like to step back from the gym, but I kind of wasn't taking my trains very seriously. I got fat. Let me show you my picture on my Instagram was like the fat to fit, fat to fit. 13 months later, I was 302 counts, and not in any good way. This is before legalization of, I got a prescription for medical marijuana, and I never touched it before and didn't know how real the munchies were. I wasn't focused on my diet, I wasn't in functions or whatever. I was in a very toxic relationship at the time, which made things way worse. And then when I hit about 28, I'm like, you know what? I made a promise to myself that I'll try at 30. So I may as well get my head a little bit. Started dropping away less toxic relationships because the benefits are long run, and then got back on stage at 30. And I was getting over 20 pounds heavier onstage that time. So I competed and people asked me what I've done. I think it was fine. Just getting started. I did that show, but it didn't go well because it was during 2020. They pulled off the show, but there were a lot of struggles because of political issues we had. I was worried about everything that was going to happen. But to kind of build my business up, go to that stage, and it's just been like, go, go go since then.

Sherrie Kapach: Nice. Nice. That's a big accomplishment. Absolutely. You're gonna say you were bitten, and you went off the wagon and gained, and then you got back to being fit. And now, you're just hoping, striving and going forward. So congratulations on that. That's great. Because sometimes, even when you fall down that hole, you end up staying down that hole.

Ted Finkelman: Never get back up. I have clients that come to me that prepared me for a while ago. I've had some that come back from the years later and they're like, I'm embarrassed. I fell off the wagon. We're shoving and pushing inside you. And I'm like, I've been there. Let's get you back to where you feel happy and healthy. And I think if I could really show my clients that (inaudible), that's one thing because I know a lot of trainers can't always correlate that much. But I did have their back so many times. It's difficult to understand where it's like. I fall into complete rock bottom, that depression like anybody can back to. I'm very proud of what I've accomplished.

Sherrie Kapach: Good for you. That's fabulous. So on that note, I want to thank you for coming and being a guest on my podcast. And I'm excited to watch where you go from here, which is super exciting. So thank you very much.

Ted Finkelman: I do a wonderful personal show. If anybody's looking at tracking down see more of my story, if you search Hebrew Hulk, you'll come across my Instagram, my YouTube. And then hebrewhulkfitness.com is my website for training clients.

Sherrie Kapach: Perfect. Thank you.