A sea of red and black machines dominates the view inside of Madhouse Gym. Located in Mableton, GA, over 540 different pieces of equipment are moving and clanking at any time of day in this 32,000-square-foot, 24-hour facility. It’s the home of many of metro Atlanta’s bodybuilders and fitness professionals.
The men and women who train at Madhouse Gym are dedicated fitness warriors. They push their limits daily, transforming their bodies through hard work and sweat.
“You walk in and smell the sweat in the air, and it makes you want to work. That’s what drew me to this gym, not just the equipment but the amount of work that’s being put in,” said Devon Lewis, a 37-year-old gladiator, who is at Madhouse every day at 4:00 AM, either working out or training clients.
“Why wouldn’t you want to come to a gym that has at least four Olympians in here? When you think about competition mindset, this is where you want to be.”
Madhouse Gym serves as both Lewis’ training ground and workplace. As a personal trainer and professional bodybuilder, he spends countless hours there training his clients and perfecting the body that he’s been working on for over a decade.
Earlier this year, he earned his IFBB (International Fitness and Bodybuilding Federation) Pro Card, a milestone in his career as a professional bodybuilder. It means that he’s won enough competitions to be recognized as an elite competitor, allowing him to participate in bigger competitions and be considered for better opportunities in the realm of fitness.
Calling Lewis a big guy is a severe understatement. He’s a 6’5, 258 lb muscular giant with only 10% body fat. His average-sized torso is attached to long arms and legs, compacted with lean muscle, and riddled with visible veins and muscle striations. Tattoos cover Lewis’ bulging arms, chiseled chest, and wide back.
He doesn’t have to flex to demonstrate his power, but it’s still impressive when he does.
“A bodybuilder looks like they’re building their body,” Lewis said. “You’re taking structures and putting them together. It’s like making a clay piece or design. You got to slap on a little more shoulders, slap a little more traps, a little more delts, a little more lats. The art of bodybuilding is different than an average guy who works out.”
Lewis refers to his current physique as his health maintenance phase, which means he’s currently not training for any particular competition. This is his off-season so his goal is to maintain what he has until it’s time for his next competition, for which he plans to step on stage with 263lb of muscle and 2% body fat.
“I just like to be the biggest baddest m-therf-cker. As long as I got my V-cut and my abs popping I’m good,” Lewis said.
The average healthy adult man has a body fat percentage of 18-24% and 24-31% for adult women, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH).
His physique is a long way from the 320lb 26-year-old defensive end, set to play in the NFL for the Cincinnati Bengals, before losing it all to a torn posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) just before going to training camp.
Lewis’ fitness journey came almost three years after tearing his PCL and ending his NFL career before it started. He became a personal trainer in 2012 and began competing as a bodybuilder two years later.
Lewis now looks like a Black superhero. He’s not scrawny like the Miles Morales version of Spider-Man. He might be similar in height to Frozone from “The Incredibles,” but the two are definitely in different weight classes.
However, despite doing the job that he loves, being in the place that he loves, and competing in the sport that he loves, Lewis’ spirits are currently low. It’s also the holiday season, one of the slowest seasons for a fitness trainer, which means money is low.
Bodybuilding is a very expensive sport to participate in. Before a bodybuilder can ever step on stage to be judged, they must pay for registration, tanning, competition attire (posing trunks for men and bikinis for women), travel (flights and hotel) if the show is outside of their immediate area, training/coaching, supplements, and last but not least food.
Food is the fuel that drives all bodybuilders and is the most immediate and constant expense these competitors have to deal with.
The United States Department of Health and Human Services recommends that adult men consume 2,000-3,000 calories per day and adult women consume 1,600-2,400 calories per day.
An example of a healthy 2,000-calorie day would look like oatmeal, a hard-boiled egg, and a cup of coffee for breakfast. Greek yogurt and a half cup of fruit as a late morning/early afternoon snack. For lunch, a chicken salad, and a snack of hummus and carrots for later. Dinner can consist of whole-wheat pasta and salmon, with some steamed veggies. And before bed, two cups of air-popped popcorn would close out the day.
However, the average bodybuilder eats approximately 3,000-4,500 calories per day, a larger amount of food than a regular healthy person and more costly.
Between August and October of this year, the cost of food in metro Atlanta increased by 1.1%, with meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (all protein) receiving a flat 1% increase, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Metro Atlantans saw a 5% increase in food prices in 2023, an 11.4% increase in 2022, and a 12% increase at the start of 2024.
Bodybuilders in metro Atlanta are impacted financially more than the average healthy person when it comes to the almost 30% increase in food costs over the last 3 years. Because they’re required to consume almost double, or more, calories than the average person their financial burden when it comes to food is both necessary and unavoidable.
Lewis consumes approximately 4,200-4,600 calories a day, which averages out to approximately 8 meals a day and $400-$500 a month on groceries. When prepping for a competition his monthly grocery cost doubles to $800 a month. Luckily, for the last year, he’s had a meal prep sponsorship that provides all of his food for free for 3-4 months before a competition.
He admits that lately he’s been consuming around 3,800 calories a day.
“I struggle sometimes to eat with the economy and the gross increase in food. But it’s not an excuse because we chose to be bodybuilders,” Lewis said.
The previous day, Lewis ate a fast food cheeseburger to close his calorie deficit for the day. The high calories, protein, and fat, provided sufficient fuel, even though it wasn’t his preferred option.
A recent trip to the grocery store cost Lewis $154, and all he bought was bread, sandwich meat, cheese, cookies, a pack of chicken, and two more packs of meat. It was barely a week’s worth of food for a pro bodybuilder.
A few years ago, his monthly grocery expenses were $200 -$250 a month. Lewis could buy 5-6 packs of chicken for $27. Now he can only afford one pack of chicken with that same $27
“I would go to Sam’s Club and buy it in bulk. I can’t even go to Sam’s Club right now. That’s expensive. I walked in and walked right back out. I’m tempted to go to Aldi’s for food now,” Lewis said.
An average day of eating for Lewis consists of 1 cup of grits, 6 oz of egg whites (3 eggs), 4 cups of jasmine rice, and 20 oz of ground chicken or turkey. A recent trip to a local Publix grocery store reveals that a dozen large eggs are $3.21. Lewis buys carton egg whites which is $7 for 32oz. A 32 oz (4 cups) bag of jasmine rice is almost $4. A 16 oz package of ground turkey is almost $6. And a 24 oz container of old fashioned grits (3 cups) will run him $3.50.
This is roughly one day’s worth of eating for Lewis, off-season and without any of his usual supplements. For example, Lewis doesn’t regularly consume vegetables, he consumes green vegetable powder which works as a supplement to provide him with the nutrients he would normally get from fresh produce.
A rough calculation of Lewis’ daily off-season diet lands him at over $20 a day, almost $150 a week, and nearly $600 a month — if he only shopped at Publix. And that would almost double when training for a competition.
Cliff Boyce, a 64-year-old pro bodybuilder and celebrity personal trainer, also feels the impact of higher food costs. Not only has he had to cut back financially, but his clients have as well. The increase in food costs made some of his clients decide that his fitness training services were an expense that they either couldn’t afford or needed to curtail.
If Lewis is a Black superhero, Boyce, known for training Usher, Fantasia, and Nicki Minaj, is a Black Greek god. He’s consistently presented an impressive muscular physique, with full muscles and insane definition, since the late 80s. He’s 5’7, 210lb (10% body fat), and old enough to be somebody’s daddy or even grandpa. He embodies the saying “age ain’t nothing’ but a number.”
There are countless photos, videos, magazine articles, and social media posts, that collectively document over 20 years of Boyce’s consistency. With numerous titles and competition wins under his belt, the IFBB Pro has mastered the art of easily maintaining a picture-perfect muscular physique during the off-season and taking himself beyond the next level when it’s time to compete.
Boyce, who’s been an athlete all his life and a bodybuilder since the 90s, is currently training to compete as a Mr. World Fitness Model; competing as one of five men for Team USA. He plans to be judged in swimwear, underwear, and activewear, at 180lb (4% body fat).
To reach his goal Boyce works out every day with 1 ½ hours of weight lifting and 1 hour of cardio. He also eats 5-6 meals per day, costing him $500-$600 a month on groceries for homemade healthy meals.
“On average, I get up in the morning, I have six egg whites and three to four turkey bacon. I’m eating meals every 2 ½ to 3 hours,” Boyce said. “I drink black coffee to give me some energy because I’m depleting carbs. I drink a 16 oz protein shake, come back and have more egg whites, and turkey sausage or turkey bacon.”
His regular diet on and off-season consists of T-bone steak, ground turkey, salmon, seabass, chicken (only dark meat), asparagus, spinach, kale, and green beans.
“ When I get lunch I’m eating salmon with two cups of vegetables,” he said. “Then I’m drinking another 16 oz protein shake. Before I go to bed I eat nothing but vegetables and fish. I like to eat fish at night because it leans me out. I eat chicken during the day because it holds me and keeps me from being hungry all day. That repeats itself seven days a week.”
When he isn’t training for a competition, Boyce has no shame in admitting that he usually only spends about $100 a month on groceries. The remainder of the time he likes to eat out at fancy restaurants. The wine and dine type, he estimates that he may spend $800 on eating out when he isn’t training for a competition.
“I like to go to Chik-Fil-A and eat their french fries. I’m a french fry person. I have a sweet tooth so when I’m off my diet I have a crazy craving for sweets. I like cookies and Snickers bars, anything that has chocolate I love,” he said.
Since Boyce has been a competitor for decades, he’s managed to also become a pro at knowing how to cut down on his bodybuilding expenses. Unfortunately, he says that food is the one cost that he can’t get around.
A few years ago, he was able to prep for a competition with only spending $150-$250 on food. His mastery over maintaining the perfect off-season physique allowed him to be almost carefree with his food spending when a competition wasn’t on the horizon.
However, Boyce now has to cut back on many other aspects of his normal lifestyle including shopping and traveling. He says that now every day seems like he’s sacrificing financially.
For Lewis, the increase in the cost of food caused him to cut a lot of his budget and lifestyle. He can’t go on dates, to the movies, or to any place that requires him to spend extra money. The only places he goes regularly are to the gym and home.
“Food is important. It’s number one and the only thing I care about. We have to suck it up and let it become the norm. Not forever I hope,” Lewis said.
A recent 3.8% drop in dairy products, followed by slight decreases in the cost of fruits, vegetables, and baked goods, gives hope that the staggering increases in food costs might be coming to an end. However, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) predicts that the cost of groceries will increase by 1.6% in 2025.
For bodybuilders like Lewis and Boyce, additional increases in food costs mean that they will continue to pay big prices for their big gains.