A northern California bodybuilder with strong roots across the Pacific, Charles Ray Arde is also an example of patience and persistence in his sport. As the 2004 heavyweight winner of the prestigious Los Angeles Bodybuilding Championships, Ray has seen the outcome he has worked to achieve over two decades of effort in steadily building new muscle mass, improved symmetry and a finely detailed physique. And his most recent successes since returning to competition over the past year also demonstrate how taking a few seasons away from competition can also provide the necessary rest and refined training to score outstanding results in a heavier weight class.

Family, Roots and the Bodybuilding Adventure
Ray Arde, whose nickname has always been “Stingray” Arde, comes from a family originally from the Philippines; he also found early on that he had the type of genetics that responded well to a bodybuilding regimen. Ray actually began training at the age of just 16 when his brother-in-law encouraged him to train with an old Olympic set of weights at his house. His initial motivation for weight training was to build size and speed for the sport of football. He also studied martial arts for seven years. Then he began to notice the bodybuilding career of Arnold Schwarzenegger and what the Austrian legend had achieved with his physique in the film world, and decided to train for bodybuilding competition himself. His first show was the 1991 Border States Classic in San Diego, California, where he placed fourth as a light heavyweight. His results encouraged him enough to continue with more events over the next several years, and he won his own home town of San José’s championship twice.
Looking back at his early years of development and entry into a new sport, Ray still credits the support and wisdom he received from traditional family roots. “As in most Polynesian families, martial arts was a part of my growing up,” he points out. “It improved my discipline, focus and single-mindedness. Martial arts training was often difficult and repetitive, but I always knew there was an outcome at the end of the lesson. Among the principles I learned in that discipline and still apply to my training:
Never to retreat in battle. Trust and brotherhood among friends. Respect among one’s family.
Making the transition to a bodybuilding lifestyle and its demands not only from a training but dietary regimen, Ray admits there was certainly some fundamental adjustments to make in his eating habits. When asked what single food from his background he has been able to incorporate into his current training season lifestyle, he says with a laugh: “White rice only! Most—if not all—Polynesian food is fattening, so unless I plan to compete in a Fat Man contest, Polynesian food is not bodybuilding food. Off-season, though, my favorite is panciet—noodles combined with vegetables. I try to teach my body to eat as clean as possible even during the off-season so that when I start preparing for a competition I won’t crave any bad foods.”

Staying focused for the bigger challenges
In spite of such early successes at a regional level, Ray remained critical of his own progress, and always set new training objectives with each new contest season regimen: “My shoulders and biceps were always strong,” he recalls. “I was curling 205 lbs. at the age of 19 and doing shoulder presses of 405 lbs. with a barbell. However, I always had to work my back much more intensely—for some reason, it’s a hard
muscle for me to develop.” His dedication to continued training heavy and intensely at this point was clear from his typical
pre-contest regimen: an upper body routine might consist of performing Incline Dumbbell Presses, 190 lbs. for 3-5 repetitions; Alternate Dumbbell Curls with 100 lbs., 3-5 repetitions; and Dumbbell Shoulder Presses, 170 lbs. for 3-5 repetitions!
Although he has remained a resident of San José, where he also works as a personal trainer, Ray has traveled far afield across California and the country to score some of his most impressive advances in bodybuilding at the national level. In 2001, he placed third in his class at USA championships in
Las Vegas. It was his first attempt at this ultimate event for American amateurs, but his combination of mass and symmetry, wide shoulders and lats that taper down to a very small waist, together with great thigh and calf size brought him immediately to favorable attention from the judges. However, this achievement came with some prior competitive victories at the state level during the later nineties: for instance, he was the overall winner of the California Collegiate Bodybuilding Championships in 1999. He also won the light heavyweight division of the (NPC) Nationals that same year. Other victories include winning the overall title at the San Jose Bodybuilding Championships twice. He has also placed near the top in several other previous contests in past years.

Maintaining Success in the Heavyweight Class
Ray’s training led to what he still considers “the first show where I felt like I turned up on stage looking my best ever”, which was the 1999 California Collegiate Championships. Clearly the judges also agreed. This encouraged him to aim for his first national event in 2001: “the 2001 USA where I placed 3rd out of a tough class of 43 at the 2001 USA,” he says. “My conditioning at both these shows were great at that time. My physique was dry and hard. My muscles could also have been fuller, but overall I was very pleased. My strong points were probably my arms.” He also is pleased with the outcome of his most recent training, in which he added several pounds of lean muscle and competed in the heavyweight class at the Los Angeles Bodybuilding Championships: “I placed first in the heavyweight moved up a class from the previous show. I felt great although once again I felt I was not full enough. At the 2004 USA I was very disappointed. Not taking the first place and even the top five and not even the top five really upset me. I just have to get in better shape for next year!” Of course, the bigger perspective is that he placed seventh in a huge class of heavyweights numbering over 32 men. This gives a better idea of his quality and achievement at this point.
With his dedicated and knowledgeable attitude, Ray Arde seems likely to continue his ascent in the upper levels of elite amateur American bodybuilding. He has also already begun receiving attention in the fitness model world, traveling as far as Russia for media appearances. However, his first priority remains maintaining the progress he has made in heavyweight competition, adding more significant muscle mass and impressing the judging panels in 2005 sufficiently to win his professional status. When asked about his own insights and tips for other men who are faced with the challenge of increasing their muscle mass while also adding more definition and detail in order to become an outstanding heavyweight competitor, his advice is this:
.Use the approach of instinctive training. “I rest on days when my body feels completely exhausted. Normally, I like to workout each muscle once a week. Although, I will do back twice a week. Compound exercises one day and the next day isolation exercises. Also, I will do leg ext and leg curl up to 3 times a week. Calves and abs I will do 3-5 times a week.”
.Develop a routine through your own trial and error in the gym. “An example is: normally I do legs once a week. But because of my genetics I’ve modified my leg training to where I do them up to 3 times a week. This was necessary due to the lack of separation I have. By doing this I’ve noticed big improvements.”
.Definitely train heavy! “I use heavy weights. But be careful—“going heavy” on every workout and every week can damage connective tissue. I recommend going heavy 4-12 rep range for up to 3 weeks. Afterwards, train light with high intensity for 1-2 weeks.”Don’t lift more than you can manage! “Don’t let your ego take you to a heavier weight than you can handle. If you do, you are asking for an injury. Also, always have a spotter when you lift heavy.” Always train to failure. “Doing this guarantees that your muscles will look the way you want them to!”MP