Wheelchair Bodybuilder & Certified Personal Trainer

26-year-old, Nick Scott, nicknamed "The Beast," is a disabled wheelchair bodybuilder & Certified Personal Trainer, in which he offers personal fitness consultation and training.

Nick was in a bad car accident in 1998, which left him partially paralyzed. Rather than give up, he began weightlifting and became a wheelchair powerlifter and bodybuilder. Since deciding on this path, he has accumulated dozens of wins, accolades, and awards as both a power lifter and bodybuilder. Most recently, Nick will be competing in the 15th Annual National Wheelchair Bodybuilding Championships in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida on March 8th, 2008. (Be sure to check out the results on his websites.)

Besides the competing, Nick also created a website to promote and increase the awareness of wheelchair bodybuilding as a whole. It's called Wheelchair Bodybuilding.

Check out his links in the sidebar.

I'd like to thank Nick for his time in responding to my interview questions.

Why did you decide to pursue bodybuilding and powerlifting as opposed to other activities after your accident?

Nick: When I first got in my accident, it felt like I couldn't do anything and the life I once lived was now gone. But at the time, I told myself that if I couldn't do a lot of the things that everybody else did the one thing I could do was be stronger than everybody else. And that's what I did.

How do bodybuilding and powerlifting differ in training and competition?

Nick: Powerlifting is all about how much weight you can lift whereas bodybuilding is about how much weight you look like you can lift. Everything is different with bodybuilding because you really can't care about how much weight you lift and focus more on how hard the muscle contract under different types of intensity. The sets, reps, and prep are totally different. And the diet is everything for a Bodybuilder!

How is wheelchair bodybuilding and powerlifting different than able-bodied bodybuilding and powerlifting?

Nick: They are the same except for powerlifting I only did bench press and power curls. And Wheelchair Bodybuilders are judged from the waist up.