Who is Aaron Reed?
Aaron Reed is a former WWE wrestler from Tampa, Florida who now works as a professional bodybuilder.
He is officially the tallest bodybuilder to have won a Men’s Physique competition at 6’7″, making him one of the tallest bodybuilders in the world.
Short Career of Aaron Reed
Aaron Reed has had a successful career as a professional wrestler and competitive bodybuilder, drawing motivation from his idol Arnold Schwarzenegger.
He has won competitions including the 2011 NPC Orlando Metropolitan Men’s Physique and the NPC Florida State Super Heavy Weight Champion in 2010. His book on nutrition and leading a healthy lifestyle has also been published.
But things weren’t always simple for Aaron. He had leukemia when he was a young child, and he later had hepatitis while competing for WWE. Fortunately, he was able to overcome his disease and have a full life.
“You are stronger than your situation, your finances, your genetics and your pain! Your are powerful! You just have to believe.”
Body Measurements of Aaron Reed
| Full Name: | Aaron Reed |
| WEIGHT: | 295 to 310 lbs (133.8kg – 140.6kg) |
| ERA: | 2000, 2010 |
| PROFESSION: | Professional Wrestler, Competitive Bodybuilder, Author |
| NATIONALITY: | American |
| HEIGHT: | 6’7″ (200.5cm) |
“As my reach gets bigger my circle gets smaller. Surround yourself with people that want to see you succeed and motivate you.”
Accomplishments
Competitors In Bodybuilding
- 2013 Muscle Mania Universe Runner Up
- 2012 Muscle Mania Universe Runner Up
- 2011 NPC Europa Show of Champions, 4th
- 2011 NPC Orlando Metropolitan Men’s Physique Overall Champion
- 2010 NPC Florida State Super Heavy Weight Champion
- 2011 NPC USA Championships, 10th
- 2010 NPC Greater Gainesville Overall Champion
- 2005 NPC Steele City Heavy Weight Champion
- 2002 NPC Rocky Mountain Super Heavy Weight Champion
- 2001 NPC Mr. Teen Colorado
Movie Appearances
- Wild Life Wars
“If you know where you came from, you can decide if you like where you are going. In the end, you can’t decide how you start, but you can decide how you finish.”
Biography
Take on Leukemia
Aaron Reed was raised in the small Oklahoman town of Minco. Aaron started following in his family’s sports footsteps at a young age because he comes from a sporting household.
But he suffered a serious setback when, as a young child, he was given a leukemia diagnosis. The young person had to receive chemotherapy for the terrifying illness.
Choosing Fitness
After years of battle, Aaron overcame the sickness and eventually made a full recovery. In addition, he could now live a regular, active life.
No one was surprised when Aaron began working out in the gym because he had always been fascinated by fitness and weightlifting. When he was twelve years old, Aaron started his fitness quest, motivated by the legendary Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Thanks to his mentor and fitness instructor, he rapidly saw improvements in his size and strength. “Gus Handke, my boyhood mentor, taught me how to squat, bench, and deadlift,” he stated.
After two weeks of training, I could deadlift 300 pounds and bench 115 pounds. When I was twelve, I became addicted.
Aaron made a lot of errors early on in his fitness quest, which slowed him down. Six days a week, he would lift weights and exercise two different muscle groups each time. He was a diligent worker, but this kind of approach wasn’t working out so well for him.
This gradually changed, though, as he started to pay more attention to both his nutrition and the frequency of his workouts.
Competitive Starts
Aaron chose to pursue business at Messa State College after completing his high school education in Minco. After seeing his physique change at this time, he began to develop an obsessive hunger for competition.
Aaron started competing in bodybuilding contests as a result of his “competitive itch.” In 2001, he made his debut and won the NPC Mr. Teen Colorado title.
Aaron continued to perform admirably in local and regional bodybuilding contests, spurred on by his early success.
Aaron decided to stop attending college at this moment and devote himself entirely to a career in bodybuilding. To further develop his physique and ultimately win more events, he began studying nutrition and fitness.
Two Titles in Three Years
Aaron was successful once more on stage a year after his first triumph. This time, he prevailed in the super heavyweight division in the 2002 NPC Rocky Mountain competition.
He then spent the next two years refining his physique to come back in the best shape of his life. At 6’7″ and 310 pounds, Aaron destroyed his opponents at the 2005 NPC Steele City show, winning the title of Super Heavyweight Champion. His comeback was nothing short of spectacular.
A Career in Wrestling and Hepatitis
After winning the competition, Aaron moved his attention away from bodybuilding competitions and to wrestling. Even though he had always been attracted to wrestling as a child, he didn’t decide to pursue it as a career until he was thinking about his future steps.
He joined the WWE roster in August 2009 after agreeing to a contract.
His professional wrestling career was short-lived since Aaron was diagnosed with hepatitis after getting hurt during one of the matches. He was left with no alternative but to resume his chemotherapy sessions.
Aaron, however, decided to use a healthy diet to treat the condition this time. Aaron was able to recover from hepatitis as a result of a few months.
Return to the Stage
Aaron resumed his previous bodybuilding regimen in 2010. At the 2010 NPC Greater Gainesville, he applied the spray tan once more before taking the stage.
Aaron shocked everyone that day by winning first place, especially considering that he had recently returned to competing after a protracted absence.
Despite his early success upon returning to bodybuilding, 2011 started horribly for the American. At the NPC USA Championships, he was only able to place 10th, missing the chance to win the Pro Card.
He didn’t let that, nevertheless, affect his later outcomes. In reality, he made a great recovery a few months later, winning the Men’s Physique, Overall category at the 2011 NPC Orlando Metropolitan Championship.
He made history by becoming the tallest bodybuilder to ever win a Men’s Physique competition thanks to this triumph.
Future Contests
Aaron participated in other bodybuilding competitions throughout the next three years.
His final competition of the year was the NPC Europa Show of Championships, where he finished fourth. He finished second at the Muscle Mania Universe in 2012 and 2013.
Expert in Nutrition
Aaron has gotten into writing and nutrition teaching since his last competition in 2013. He became a nutrition expert as a result of publishing his book on diet and lifestyle.
Today, he encourages his followers to overcome hurdles in their lives by giving them fitness-related advice and inspiring them to do the same.
Training
The length of Aaron’s training sessions is one to two hours. He feels that continuing to work out in the gym is a waste of time. He may finish a workout in as little as one or two hours when he is working out hard.
Aaron likes to aim for a high volume of repetitions—roughly 20—when working his legs. To make his muscles “remember how to lift and push,” he will occasionally alter that with a few strong sets and short reps.
His arms respond best to 6-8 repetitions, chest to pyramid work, shoulders to 12+ repetitions, and back to 8–12 repetitions.
Exercise Routine
Workout Routine
Monday: Two Times per Day Split
6:45 am
- Morning workout explosive conditioning sprints 8 x 100-yard dash or stairs
5:30 pm
- Evening workout is Functional training:
- Hand cleans (Real Heavy, 300lbs is my best),
- Heavy upright rows
- Heavy shrugs, all for 5 sets of 5 reps
- Calves exercises, 3 sets of 10 each
- serratus- Hangers for two sets of 10 and Russian twist 2 sets of 25
- Afterward posing for 45 min
Tuesday: Chest, Abs, Calves
- Bench Press (Pyramid) – 10, 8, 6, 4
- Dumbbell Press (Pyramid) – 10, 8, 6, 4
- Dumbbell Flys, 4 sets of 12 reps
- Cable Flys, 4 sets of 12 reps
- Push-ups, till failure
- Dips, till failure
- 2 calves exercises for 3 sets of 10
- Sit-ups and leg raises for 2 sets of 15 to 25 each
- Posing 45 min
Wednesday: Back, Hams, Serratus, Calves
- Deadlifts (Heavy), 4 sets of 5-8,
- T-bar Rows (Heavy, old school), 4 sets of 6-8,
- DB Row (Heavy) 3 sets of 5
- Heavy Seated Rows, 3 sets of 8-10
- Pull-ups, 3 sets 10,
- Lat pulldowns, 3 sets of 8-10
- Close grip pulldowns, 3 sets of 10
- Standing straight arm lat pulldowns for a finisher, 2 sets of failure
- Horizontal Calve, 3 sets of 10
- Standing one leg calve, 3 sets of 10
Thursday: Off
- 1 hour of posing
Friday: Two-a-Day Workout
6:45 am workout: explosive conditioning, same as Monday
5:30 pm workout: Arms, Calves, Abs
- Tri’s Press downs for warm-up 2 or three sets of 10
- Skull crushers superset with close grip pressed for 3 sets of 10 reps then 15 reps
- One-arm overhead cable ext 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps
- Finish with one arm cable reverse curl or kickbacks to failure
- Heavy standing alternating dumbbell curls, 4 sets of 5 adding weight.
- Preacher curls 4 sets of 8, standing one-arm isolation curls with an elbow on the incline bench for 2 sets of burnout
- Donkey calf raises, 3 sets of 10
- standing calve, 3 sets of 10
- Sit-ups and leg raises, 2 sets of 15-25 reps
- Posing afterward
Saturday: Quads, Calves
- Leg extensions, 3 sets of warm-up
- Squat 5 – 6 sets of 8-15 reps, start light
- Hack squat, 3 sets of 15
- Leg press (feet low and close), 4 sets of 25
- One leg squat, 2 sets of 15
- Leg extensions, 3 sets 10-12
- Seated calf raises, 4 sets of 10
Sunday: Shoulders, Neck, Abs, Calves
- Seated dumbbell press, 4 sets of 8-10
- Standing Shoulder fly, 4 sets 20
- Bent over the fly, drop set, 3 sets
- Rear Delt machine, drop set, 3 sets
- Neck Machine front back, left, right for 3 sets of 10, superset with calves, 3 sets of 10
- Sit-ups and leg raises, 3 sets of 15-25 reps
Nutrition
Since Aaron consumes the same foods all year long, his weight only fluctuates by a few pounds from one year to the next.
He consumes 350 to 400 grams of protein daily. With a height of 6’7″ and a weight of more than 310 lbs. of lean mass, Aaron needs to eat this much protein to maintain his power.
Additionally, he is careful to time his meals to the minute. Timing is essential for natural athletes, he claims.
Aaron normally eats some form of fruit when he gets a sugar need.
The Top 3 Diet Advice from Aaron
- Eat whole foods
- Don’t combine sugar and fat
- Eat certain macronutrients at certain times
“Always believe in yourself. Everyone is capable of something great, yet sadly, most people will never know because they were either lazy, weak, or scared. At some point, I have been all three. Don’t hold yourself back.”
Influences and Idols
Aaron drew motivation from people like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Frank Zane throughout his entire bodybuilding career.
Aaron was motivated by these renowned bodybuilders to achieve the body of his dreams and eventually compete on the bodybuilding stage.
“When it’s fueled by passion, the will to succeed can be a super power, bending this reality to fit your desires.”
What Aaron Reed Can Teach Us?
Aaron Reed experienced some trying times in his life. He first had to deal with the terrible sickness of leukemia. Hepatitis was later discovered in him during his time competing in wrestling.
Not only did he overcome both ailments, but he also found success as a bodybuilder and author. When presented with a circumstance like this, some people would give up on life and their goals, but Aaron Reed knew better.
We can all take a lesson from his story: keep working toward your objectives and don’t allow setbacks to deter you from realizing them. Aaron would tell you that.