'The total package'

Brandon Strop admits he's competitive.

In high school, he played football and ran track and field.

"Football was the big one. I played different positions," he said. His name also was recurrent on the Jackson High School honor roll.

Now, Strop is focused on his goal of becoming a professional bodybuilder, and to achieve that objective, he works out two to three hours every day.

"My ultimate goal is to go pro. I'm competitive, very competitive. If I'm going to do something, I'm going to be the best. It's like any sport. You don't want to be second best," Strop said.

Brandon Strop moves through his workout routine Tuesday at HealthPoint Fitness in Cape Girardeau. (Glenn Landberg)

Paralyzed five years ago at age 16 in a near-fatal car crash, Strop works out from his wheelchair with a combination of weight-lifting and cardio routines to help burn calories and lose fat.

Bodybuilding, Strop said, "Gives me an outlet for my competitive nature."

The Oct. 3, 2010, crash left him unable to walk, paraplegic at the bellybutton level. His skull was fractured, and he lost his sense of smell. The accident was followed, four months later, by a heart attack.

"The heart attack was due to being inactive," Strop said. "I was still in a brace that was holding my back together. I would go to school, and go home and play Xbox; go to school, and go home and play Xbox. My blood circulation was not as good as it should be."

About six months after the accident, Strop took up powerlifting.

Brandon Strop moves through his workout routine at HealthPoint Fitness Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015 in Cape Girardeau. (Glenn Landberg)

"I did powerlifting when I was 17 years old, and set the record for my age group -- 16 and 17 years old -- for the state of Missouri with USA Powerlifting. I was up against able-bodied people. There was not a wheelchair category," Strop said. His record, a bench press of 225 pounds, still stands.

A glance at Strop's Instagram feed provides a sample of the depth of his ambition and confidence:

"Better myself, day by day, minute by minute."

"Investing in myself to become a better me in all aspects of life."

"To be the best, to make my dreams a reality, to show others there are no *... excuses."

Brandon Strop after his daily workout at HealthPoint Fitness Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015 in Cape Girardeau. (Glenn Landberg)

Strop is working on certification to be a fitness nutrition specialist, focusing on weight loss, and plans to pursue a degree to become a clinical dietitian. He works at Stack'd Supplements in Cape Girardeau, where he aids clients in understanding how the store's products can help them reach their goals. He also works at 1st Phorm, a fast-growing nutrition supplement manufacturer and distributor in St. Louis.

Strop said his work at the two firms is "a huge part of who I've become," and also credits Brett Becker, a champion bodybuilder and his trainer for more than a year, as a major contributor to his development.

"He's a good friend, almost like a second father. He's a huge part of the progress I've achieved in the sport and in life," Strop said.

Confidence, Strop said, is key.

"Of course, I've got to be confident. But I try not to cross the line from confidence to cocky," he said.

Brandon Strop moves through his workout routine at HealthPoint Fitness Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015 in Cape Girardeau. (Glenn Landberg)

Strop admitted there are days when his enthusiasm for heading to the weight room wanes.

"But, you go anyway. You think, your competition isn't taking a day off, and that gets you in here," Strop said during a recent two-hour workout at HealthPoint Fitness in Cape Girardeau.

"You have to have the size. You have to have the leanness. You have to have the total package. You want to be as big as possible, and you want to be as lean as possible. You want to minimize your fat as much as possible. Everyone's going to show different," Strop said, adding that in May 2014 he weighed nearly 250 pounds and now tips the scales at 170.

The judges, he said, "are looking at size, definition, symmetry, how do you pose, how you represent yourself on stage."

Strop has set his sights on the 2016 NPC -- National Physique Committee --Wheelchair Nationals, to be held in Florida in March, and thinks in terms of weeks between now and then -- the timeframe during which he has to train.

Brandon Strop after his daily workout at HealthPoint Fitness Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015 in Cape Girardeau. (Glenn Landberg)

"You have to look at all the variables that go into it. It's not that I couldn't compete. I just wouldn't want to go into the show not looking how I want to look," Strop said, adding that the costs of competition, beyond gym memberships, add up.

"It can be an expensive sport. Entry fees, traveling to competitions, hotels, memberships and even tanning," he said, explaining that muscles appear more prominent with darker skin tones -- so tanning is a way to increase the appearance of muscle definition during a performance in front of competition judges under bright spotlights.

Although there is no prize money at the NPC level, it's the path to the professional stage -- the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness.

"That's what distinguishes between amateur and pro; you show at a high level at the NPC to get a pro card," Strop said. "The NPC would be a stairstep to the professional level. If you're in a wheelchair, bodybuilding is one of the only things you can do at a professional level."

To keep up with Strop and his progress, visit his Intsagram feed -- @wheelswolestrop -- or his Facebook page.

Brandon Strop after his daily workout at HealthPoint Fitness Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015 in Cape Girardeau. (Glenn Landberg)