Oak Harbor bodybuilder Heath Warren made a big breakthrough July 26-27 when he finished high in the national standings in the USA Bodybuilding Championships in Las Vegas.

Warren competed in the bantam division and finished fourth. He advanced to the evening competition which will be televised on FOX Sportnet in December. Pictures are now available on the web at www.steelfitness.com under “USA bodybuilding and fitness championships.”

“It was my very first national show,” said Warren, who couldn’t be more pleased with his performance. “Most of the guys had been doing this 8 to 10 years, they’re in their 30’s and 40’s; I’m only 25.”

The bantam division’s weight limit is 143 pounds and Warren tipped the scales at 141.

The impressive finish gave Warren his first national exposure, although he’s done well at the state level. To reach nationals, he won first place in Washington in the 2001 Emerald Cup Bodybuilding Championships in Bellevue. After that win he stopped doing shows to concentrate on getting ready for nationals.

Warren is a 1994 graduate of Oak Harbor High School, having moved here with his dad, Doug, and mom, Linda. Doug was in the Navy and now works in civil service at NAS Whidbey, while Linda works for the Island County juvenile court system.

Some people work on cars, some in their gardens, but Heath Warren works on his body. He’s an expert in nutrition and conditioning, as one glance at his impressive physique reveals. His wife Rebecca teaches school in Marysville and is a bodybuilder herself. “She has 16-inch arms,” said Health Warren in describing his wife of two years. “I try not to mess with her too much.”

Warren wrestled at Oak Harbor High School. He wasn’t the proverbial 101 pound weakling, describing his performance as “competitive.” But he didn’t start to add body mass until he got interested in bodybuilding.

Although he looks perfectly fit, Warren said he is presently 20 pounds over his competition weight. He explained that 10 pounds of that is “just water,” as part of getting ready for competition is going through dehydration. He has no reluctance to get bigger, either. “In the off-season I weigh 185,” he said. “I love food.”

He starts getting ready for a show 16 weeks ahead of time and drops 40 pounds as easily as most people drop an anvil. The secret is a high protein diet with lots of vegetables. “No carbs,” he said of carbohydrates. “Bagels and bread, that’s bad stuff. I can drop my waist to 24 (inches). The perfect X body shape.”

Warren trains for 2 hours a day regularly, and 4 to 5 hours when he’s in competition. “I train to win,” he said. “I let my physique speak for itself. They call me the Iron Bantam Weight.”

His showing in the national competition made him well known in the world of bodybuilders. “Now as a national champ I go to a gym and people look at me differently,” he said. “They want to pick my mind.” He adds with his good-natured braggadocio, “But I stay as humble as I can. I’m a small town boy, I came here from the Philippines.”

Warren has set his sights on the highest levels of bodybuilding. The national placing allows him to compete for the professional card issued by the International Federation of Bodybuilders. That competition will be held in November. Meanwhile, Warren will work on weaknesses pointed out by judges in Las Vegas. “I’ve got to get my chest higher and my back thicker — I’m getting that rib cage a little thicker,” he said. To achieve his goals he takes nutritional supplements but avoids steroids, and eats a lot of steak, chicken and hamburger.

He’s confident he can achieve the pinnacle of bodybuilding because of his buff but still natural-looking body. “I don’t get the hard ugly look like a lot of guys out there,” he said. “I’m a pretty boy, it’s pretty marketable.”

He can probably quit his day job as an assistant in the cardiology department of Northwest Hospital if he wins his pro card.

“That’s where the endorsements are,” he said.

Someday, you might see Heath Warren’s picture on a bottle of supplements in an Oak Harbor drugstore. Then you’ll know he really made the big time.