Terrence Ruffin discusses going all in to build a home gym so he can continue to train during the social distancing lockdown.
Terrence Ruffin is a promising Classic Physique bodybuilder that many expect will bring great things to the division. He placed second at the Arnold Classic this year showcasing a great leap forward over his placing at the 2018 Mr. Olympia (Ruffin did not compete at the Olympia in 2019). But with the world in crisis right now, gyms are closed and the entire bodybuilding season is being upended. Will this throw off Ruffin’s trajectory? From what we can tell during our conversation with him – not a chance. In our latest GI Exclusive interview, Terrence Ruffin details how he’s maintaining his training routine during the social distancing lockdown. He’s even gone so far as to purchase enough equipment to build an entire home gym.
Right now the world is in crisis. This is leading to a wide array of issues that will change many people’s lives. For bodybuilding, it means that athletes have nowhere to compete and no gyms to train at in order to prepare. At the very worst, this can destroy entire bodybuilding careers. At best, it will ruin a season for many athletes.
After our conversation with Terrence Ruffin, he doesn’t seem to be worried at all. As the country and the world is in the throws of a social distancing lockdown, we caught up with Ruffin on a video call interview. After placing second at the Arnold Classic 2020 Classic Physique – will his season be ruined by the lockdown?
For Terrence Ruffin, this is his job. The minute that his gym closed down – Ruffin purchased over $800 of gym equipment so he can build a home gym for all his needs. Now there’s nothing holding him back from training like he would in the “normal” world.
Terrence Ruffin purchasing equipment for his home gym (above).
Currently, nearly all IFBB and NPC competitions are cancelled or postponed to later dates. While the league has pushed back the qualification deadline for the Olympia 2020, the lack of open gyms will mean that a wide variety of athletes won’t be in the right kind of conditioning. Ruffin doesn’t want to be one of those athletes – and his new home gym makes it possible for him to show up in ideal shape later this year.
We also touch base about his experience competing at the Arnold Classic 2020 – which occurred just one week before the social distancing lockdowns became much more strict. Ultimately, the Arnold Classic cancelled the expo and didn’t allow spectators for the pre-judging. Terrence Ruffin shares his viewpoint of what it was like to compete with hardly any crowd. He also explains what it was like to be in close proximity to hundreds of athletes from all over the world – at a time when social distancing was preferred to stay healthy.
You can check out Terrence Ruffin’s full comments on how he’s handling bodybuilding training and prep during lockdown in our GI Exclusive interview segment above.
