Bodybuilder Builds Community Ties Through His Narberth Gym

Doug Sebes, Bala Cynwyd resident and owner of in Narberth, has helped out in the area in plenty of ways, but those don't include sharing the secret of how to eat six meals a day—the same six meals every day, for six weeks—without losing your mind or packing on pounds.

Sebes, in fact, uses that routine to slim down in his training for bodybuilding competitions, which he began entering last year. He gained honors at events in State College, York and New York City; at the last, he came in seventh of 230 competitors from 14 countries.

Since he already kept himself in the kind of shape you expect in a gym owner, "my weight routine didn't change hardly at all" when bodybuilding training began, Sebes said.

But his diet sure did. This is what it looked like every day for six weeks before a competition:

• 5:30 a.m.: 12 egg whites, 1 cup oatmeal
• 7:30 a.m.: 8 oz. tuna, 12 asparagus
• 9:30 a.m.: 8 oz. chicken, 12 asparagus, 4 oz. sweet potatoes
• 11:30 a.m.: 8 oz. tuna
• 1:30 p.m.: 8 oz. tilapia, 12 asparagus
• 3:30 p.m.: 8 oz. tuna or tilapia, 12 asparagus, 4 oz. sweet potatoes

All of that helped him lose virtually all his body fat. Then came a week of all proteins and carbohydrates before the show. 

Then as soon as it was over, "I ate a pizza," Sebes said. "It was amazing."

"It was very difficult mentally. The tuna was hard to eat every day–everything else was fine," Sebes said. "I would go to Costco, buy 20 pounds of chicken. People would ask if I owned a restaurant."

Sebes admits that the bodybuilding thing is "an unrealistic look. ... I just wanted to see how far I could push myself."

A definite upside is an improvement in his diet.

"I have no desire to eat bad anymore," Sebes said. "I just shop the perimeter of the grocery store. I never go down the aisles."

Sebes has supported the Lower Merion School District by donating gym equipment to , offering district workers a break on gym fees and giving kids talks on nutrition.

"We just try to take care of them," Sebes said. "Kids these days are so sedentary. It's hard to see."

Still, he sees a good trend in more young people and baby-boomers hitting the gym.

"Lately, it's been really good," Sebes said. "I just think people are becoming more health-conscious."

Sebes, 32, grew up in Mount Carmel, working at a gym once he turned 14. He played multiple sports, studied criminal justice at Bloomsburg University, then did a year of Widener Law School before deciding it wasn't for him. Before taking charge at Pinnacle, he worked at Bally's in King of Prussia and at Advanced Health and Fitness physical therapy in the same building as Pinnacle.

About 15 people work at Pinnacle, mostly subcontractor trainers, and Sebes himself also works as fitness director at Germantown Cricket Club and as corporate fitness trainer at My Alarm Center in Media.

"I was always familiar with the gym environment, and dealing with the people, it was fun for me," Sebes said.

He first came to the area when he had a Villanova girlfriend.

"I love it here," he said. "I love the people, I love living close to Philadelphia, the restaurants, the night life. Everyone's friendly; this place here (Pinnacle) reminds me of Cheers."