Ask me anything (NABBA professional bodybuilder)

[Morsprincipium1]

Hello teens!
I am making this thread to help out the youth of bodybuilding, and to give you advice on any questions you may have about weight lifting, nutrition, and the dark side.

There are many misconceptions to this sport, and I'd like to clear up as much as possible, as in my day I wish there was somebody to guide me along the way.
If there is a question that I don't know, I won't bullsh!t you with a false answer to act like I'm smart, fire away younglings!

[WestSideTillIDi]

Hello !

I know squats are unbeatable, but If I do leg press/hack squats instead , do I lose much?

[ggggllo]

if i take 2 weeks off for an injury will i lose size/strength?

[CanaDan]

when preparing for a competition what does your cardio routine (type, frequency, intensity etc.) look like from 12 weeks out till contest day? thanks.

[Bruteranger]

Hello teens!
I am making this thread to help out the youth of bodybuilding, and to give you advice on any questions you may have about weight lifting, nutrition, and the dark side.

There are many misconceptions to this sport, and I'd like to clear up as much as possible, as in my day I wish there was somebody to guide me along the way.
If there is a question that I don't know, I won't bullsh!t you with a false answer to act like I'm smart, fire away younglings!

Five things you wish you knew when you started?

[Jeffbelittle]

How long have you been riding on a bike?

[walkweezy]

I am mirin your forearms, do you focus on them, or do you just let them get worked with other workouts, if targeted, what do you do?

[smac898]

do you prefer low volume, or high volume with light weight for isolation exercises?

also, considering diet is in order, what do you beleive to be the most beneficial supplements for a bb'er?

[czmudzin]

Have two serious questions:

1: Is it bad to eat dairy or saturated fat before bed, even if it is meeting and not exceeding macros? (I clean bulk and normally avoid saturated fat.)
2: If I meet my calorie macro and am 20g short of my fat macro, is that bad?

[sogeking]

best rep scheme?

[Morsprincipium1]

Hello !

I know squats are unbeatable, but If I do leg press/hack squats instead , do I lose much?

Not at all!
There's been times in my lifting routines where i'll take squats completely out of the picture, you just need to stimulate the muscle. The exercise does not matter.

if i take 2 weeks off for an injury will i lose size/strength?

Just keep your calories up, you may even gain a few pounds from the time off. You may lose some strength along with muscle "fullness" but that will come back instantaneously.

when preparing for a competition what does your cardio routine (type, frequency, intensity etc.) look like from 12 weeks out till contest day? thanks.

Well I used to do sprints, but because of my weight it's far too harsh on my joints to keep doing so. I switch from exercise bikes, elypticals (spelling?) and the stair stepper. Every day I like to switch it up and vary the intensity on how I'm feeling.
When my prep first starts i begin with easy cardio, to get into the groove. As my prep goes on it gets more and more intense, and depending on how I look I'll increase/decrease cardio and increase/decrease calories.
A few days out I'll stop cardio and 1-2 weeks out I'll stop training legs and triceps, because when these muscles get damaged they tend to hold alot of fluid and blood and tend to blur lines. I also do this with my abdominals/obliques

Five things you wish you knew when you started?

1. EAT EAT EAT - Can't grow without proper nutrition, especially take advantage of your younger years where putting on fat is near impossible.
2. Train with intensity - Some people complain they aren't growing and they're eating enough resting enough etc - it's because you're training like my grandma.
3. Proper form is just guidance to make sure you work the target muscle and don't get injured...don't be afraid to put some real weight on there and swing the bitch up!
4. Stay motivated, life will get you down and you'll end up not eating enough/eating something you shouldn't or feeling like not going to the gym because you're depressed that your girl broke up with you...bull! No matter how hard life hits you, stay on course with your weight-lifting goals.
5. And finally...if you are thinking about taking the route to the dark side..don't. You'll be pleasantly surprised at what you can acheive on your own. Once you cycle, you'll understand how it's not as amazing as people make it out to be, make sure you've squeezed out as much as possible without it.

How long have you been riding on a bike?

Since I was around 18-19

I am mirin your forearms, do you focus on them, or do you just let them get worked with other workouts, if targeted, what do you do?

I focus on every muscle group, for my forearms I like to use thick grips which clamp onto barbbells or dumbbells and do wrist curls with them, really lights up those forearms!

These: http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/fa...ml?MCID=F-GOOG

[Morsprincipium1]

do you prefer low volume, or high volume with light weight for isolation exercises?

also, considering diet is in order, what do you beleive to be the most beneficial supplements for a bb'er?

Definitely high volume, I used to train with around 60-70 sets for a larger muscle group, and maybe 40-50 for smaller ones.

As for rep scheme and weight, it varies from workout to workout. No two workouts I ever do are the same.\

EDIT: just realized I missed your question completely, I perfer doing high reps for isolation exercises to really get the blood into the muscle, deliberatly squeezing it with every rep.

Have two serious questions:

1: Is it bad to eat dairy or saturated fat before bed, even if it is meeting and not exceeding macros? (I clean bulk and normally avoid saturated fat.)
2: If I meet my calorie macro and am 20g short of my fat macro, is that bad?

Not at all, it's irrelevant whenever you get your macros/calories (except in certain situations which I don't believe I can talk about on these boards). Eat whenever you please.

I would say yes, dietary fat is essential to keeping hormone levels regulated, think of it as the copper wire and testosterone as the electricity that flows through it.

best rep scheme?

I use all sorts of different rep schemes, alot of the time I start my workout with a heavy compound movement and tax the muscle in that angle, then i'll move to some higher rep supersets, then maybe some isolations, who knows. I do whatever movement I feel like doing, and listen to my body to tell me when the muscle has been taxed and it's time to leave the gym.

[czmudzin]

Thank you sir. Can you rate my bulking plan, please?

Height: 5'9"
Starting weight: 132
Current weight: 144
BF%: 11

Macros:

Calories: 2700
Fat: 90g
Protein: 155g
Carbohydrate: 355g

Workout plan: M/W/F full body each day focusing on different muscle categories each time

[Jeffbelittle]

Any regrets riding that bike?

And- what's the best way in your opinion to put mass on everything? Food and amount of days exercising.

[OverTrapped]

Any tips on how to prevent injury? especially chest and shoulder.

[Morsprincipium1]

Thank you sir. Can you rate my bulking plan, please?

Height: 5'9"
Starting weight: 132
Current weight: 144
BF%: 11

Macros:

Calories: 2700
Fat: 90g
Protein: 155g
Carbohydrate: 355g

Workout plan: M/W/F full body each day focusing on different muscle categories each time

Holy carbs I'd add some more protein and fat in, and increase the cals to around 3500 or so, unless you're growing on that.
Workout plan is fine

Any regrets riding that bike?

And- what's the best way in your opinion to put mass on everything? Food and amount of days exercising.

Eh...not initially. Once you get to this level some of the stuff you have to put into your body isn't exactly what I'd like to do, but it puts food on the table.

I always make sure to give my muscles a good amount of rest, so I'd say 5 days 2 days off.
As for food, I'd say high protein high fat (30% of daily macros) is the best way to go. But that's just me, others may contest their way which is fine. And calories you'll just have to play around with it until you get an amount that works for your body.

[mmmason123]

Whats ur favorite excersise and why?

[Morsprincipium1]

Whats ur favorite excersise and why?

Definately would have to be flat bench, my chest is one of my best bodyparts and one of my strongest

[kioskris]

What are your favourite leg exercise?
And how important is cardio while bulking?

[OverTrapped]

missed mine?
::
Any tips on how to prevent injury? especially chest and shoulder.

[Jeffbelittle]

What exercises do you like the most to get a very aesthetic upper back?

[XShreddedX]

opinions on training to failure/ using intensity techniques like drop sets.

also whats your opinion on mixing bodybuilding and powerlifting ie. starting with a main power movement like squats and then moving onto a "bodybuilding" styled leg workout.

Finally, whats your opinion on DC (doggcrapp)

[Ka0s]

what are your best lifts (1rm or at least weight u can lift for low reps)

can be squat, deadlift, bench, incline, curls, w/e you think is worth listing

[Dgwear]

whered you learn your posing. what have you paid for in the past and what do you suggest not paying for (posing coach, nutrition coach, training coach, ect)

[sogeking]

have you ever done starting strength or a 5x5?

do u like dem?

[M0hi]

What are your thoughts on the mind-muscle connection? Do you believe in it? If so, how did you learn to use it?

[L1AM]

wow thanks for answering all these questions. I've learn a lot and am definitely going to get that grip thing you posted because my forearms are slacking.

My question is can you be more specific about what you think a routine should look like. Like what do you mean "No two workouts I ever do are the same." how different are they? Can you give an example? thanks

[spartanftw]

What's the best way to achieve a symmetric and shredded body. I am only 15 and I think the symmetry might be out of line cause im still growing but I always wanted to look shredded and ripped just wanted your input on that thx

[matthew10113]

At what age did you first start seriously getting into bodybuilding and at what age was your first competition?

[Sbaker3]

First off, whats your stats, I read 270@ 4.0% and just about freaked out,
But what excercises do you think is required for a decent chest? People say flies are the best chest excercise but I personally hate em, I only feel them in my shoulders, and similar to that, you hear about incline benching a lot in order to develope a deep line down your pecs, but others say the actual upper chest muscle is not even part of the line area, what is your opinon on that?