Lake Stevens keeps pumping out world class athletes

Nutrition, diet, hydration, and sleep aid in being strong and healthy,
and also show it off BY CHUCK TUCK | JOURNAL REPORTER It’s not only milk that makes our bodies strong these days; it’s a lot of knowledge, sweat, supplements, and diet.

Lake Stevens is churning out more superstar athletes than a box of Wheaties cereal, and Dan Rutherford is poised to sit at the top as a top-notch bodybuilder.

In an era when athleticism, or to some, the lack of athleticism is judged and determined by what you intake (steroids), steering clear of such a substance is important to avoid being banned or labeled.

What makes Rutherford special is he is what has become known today as an “all natural” competitor.

A number of athletes in every sport, level, and stature have been either linked or scrutinized for the possible use of steroids when their performance greatly improves or muscles and strength develop rapidly.

“I’ve been training for about 27 years,” said Rutherford who turns 44 this year.

Rutherford founded and owned a big gym in Japan for five years at the same time becoming a top five world class bodybuilder in his weight class for six years and is the over forty state champ since 2004.

“I’m working on becoming pro naturally, without the use of drugs,” said Rutherford.

Growing up and going to school in Naples, Florida he found himself hanging out with the wrong group of friends and smoking cigarettes.

Rutherford said that he loved playing sports, and respected his coaches and it was the loss of their respect for him that pushed him initially into bodybuilding.

“Trying to get their admiration back, I stopped hanging out with those friends,” said Rutherford.

Adding that one coach was a weightlifting coach with only one leg, but his upper body was like Arnold Schwarzenegger’s.

“I was impressed by that, and the other coach was an ex-pro soccer player and he was all into health and nutrition, eating well and taking supplements; and both of them taught me at a young age, and I would listen,” said Rutherford.

It was from there that he entered a power lifting competition and winning motivated him to continue with his fitness practice.

Even after all these years, Rutherford says that he still talks to the coaches to this day.

“They are my mentors, and without them I wouldn’t have had a life change.”

Coming off a win at the largest bodybuilding competition in the state in April (Emerald Cup), Rutherford says he beat out all the other athletes.

The fact that the Emerald Cup is a non-tested competition, steroid and other substance use may have been used to enhance the performance of some of the athletes that Rutherford defeated.

Rutherford says that steroid use is still very prevalent in bodybuilding.

“It’s so corrupt in pro bodybuilding; I would have turned pro a long time ago if it wasn’t for the drugs,” said Rutherford.

When it comes to training, he says that he works on what he calls his “core” or stomach muscles for thirty minutes before every workout.

“You can sort of judge your condition by your stomach,” he says.

Rutherford continued to say that it’s about time, patience, consistency and setting goals.

“I work harder because you’re basically up there in your underwear in front of a thousand people,” he said.

Putting on muscle alleviated a lot of pain for Rutherford after his car accident a year and a half ago because it helps support the frame of your body from the spine to all the joints.

He also credits a good brand of supplements that his sponsor Quy-Le of Pro Body Nutrition in Everett supplies him, and plenty of water, diet and sleep for the body to build muscles.

Currently Rutherford is an independent fitness instructor and can be found training and coaching many people wanting to get into shape or train for a competition at Team Fitness.

Rutherford says that Mike Liberto, who runs Team Fitness, has one of the best organizations around for fitness instructors which means the best for its members.

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