Jones Shows His Body Of Work
Kevin Jones shows off his two national trophies. Photo courtesy Kevin Jones
I’ve never been mistaken for a bodybuilder. Sure, I’ve done my share of lifting to get in shape for various sports seasons, but my physique has always resembled the weight bar itself more than the guys putting up 300 pounds.
So I’m probably more impressed than most when it comes to the world of professional bodybuilding. That world now has a Kaua’i representative, after Kapaa’s Kevin Jones won a pair of championships at the ANBF Mr. Universe competition in San Diego.
“You’ve got be in your best shape, because you never know who is going to show up that you’re competing against,” says Jones, 48, who won both the Masters Light Heavyweight and the Open Light Heavyweight trophies.
He was not expecting to win the Open division, but was asked to give it a shot while he was there, a request that concluded with gold.
“My sponsors were really stoked by that,” he says.
Having just won the Hawaiian Islands competition in June, Jones wasn’t thrilled about the prospects of continuing his strict diet for the Mr. Universe event. The high-protein, low-carb diet involves six meals a day with plenty of chicken, sweet potatoes and greens. He only likes to be on it for 12 weeks at a time, but he continued for Mr. Universe.
For the past 28 years, bodybuilding has taken Jones all over the world. He is next scheduled to head to the Mr. Olympia competition next month in Reno.
“That’s the pinnacle of natural bodybuilding. There’s going to be over 2,000 athletes,” he says. “You can’t get any bigger than that.”
A Kaua’i resident for the past two-plus years, Jones has put together a strong following operating Power Plus Personal Training in Lihu’e.
“I’m pretty strict, as my clients would tell you,” he says. “I demand that they lose the weight. Whatever the goal is, I make sure they attain it.”
He said a person can get only as far physically as their food intake allows them.
“You can never out-train a bad diet,” he says.
He is a perfect example of results and reaching goals, having dropped close to 100 pounds since moving to Kaua’i. His original 262pound frame is now down to 174.
Jones is an advocate of a drug-free lifestyle and is proud of having been able to help people on Kaua’i remove those influences from their lives. Combining those passions, he is bringing the first drug-tested international bodybuilding show to the Garden Isle Dec. 3, hopefully at the War Memorial in Lihu’e. What is to become an annual event already has signed up 156 competitors from around the world.
I likely won’t be one of them.
