Fitness Portraits: Chase Ketron

   A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to do my first fitness shoot in the studio with bodybuilder, Chase Ketron. He's currently studying business at the University of Tennessee, and he's planning to open and operate a gym toward the southwestern coast. His goals for himself in bodybuilding are to become an IFBB (International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness) pro in the men's physique division and also become a sponsored athlete.

   Chase was first drawn to weightlifting and the idea of fitness in middle school when he started playing football. "But I was really bitten by the iron bug my freshman year of high school," says Chase. "I just loved the honesty there was to weightlifting, knowing you were only going to get whatever you put into it."
    As for his mindset for bodybuilding, Chase explains that you have to really love the whole process when it comes to training and diet, because it's a lifestyle. He knows that if you don't enjoy it, you won't stick with it. "Bodybuilding has taught me that patience is a must for anything worth having, and sacrifices must be made if you want to reach your full potential in something you love to do," says Chase.
   For training, Chase will typically do four days a week of low intensity cardio first thing in the morning before breakfast. "As for weights, I will lift five days out of the week and usually do some form of cardio the other two days that I don't train weights," he explains. His diet always depends on his fitness goals at the time, but it's always some sort of carb cycling with the same foods. The foods that he eats mostly consists of eggs, oatmeal, fruits, green vegetables, grilled chicken, tuna, almond milk, brown rice, and almonds. "I will usually incorporate almond butter when trying to go up in size, but I can never stop eating it when I get started," says Chase. "My true kryptonite."
   With his easygoing personality and his amazing physique, Chase made an incredible model to work with in the studio. It was a fun shooting, playing around with lighting techniques to highlight specific muscles and areas on his body. I'm definitely looking forward to another shoot with Chase in the near future.

   Check out some of the best shots of Chase and his muscles...

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