Progressing as a Natural Bodybuilder

Most non-bodybuilders would look at the picture below and say that the two pictures look exactly the same. Those who compete, however, should be able to recognize the differences in the physiques. I spent the better part of two years crafting out the minor differences seen here. In the natural bodybuilding world, changes are going to come VERY SLOWLY - especially if you are getting up there in age (like me!). These 1-week out shots from 2012 and 2010 hopefully show that improvements can be made even by lifetime natural competitors approaching 40!

2012 WNBF Worlds Write-up

My write-up of the 2012 WNBF Worlds is now posted in the gallery.

Returning to the WNBF Worlds Stage: Now a 4x LW World Champ!

On November 10, 2012 I returned to the WNBF stage after taking the past 2 years off from competing.  This year’s contest was held at the Trump Plaza in Atlantic City.  Originally thinking I would be in the Middleweight class, I weighed in about a pound and a half over the Lightweight cutoff of 165 lbs.  After waiting about an hour to take my polygraph test (and peeing multiple times), I weighed in again and made the LW cutoff.  I felt very confident going into the show, and ended up winning the LW class of 12 competitors with perfect scores from all 7 judges.  This is something I had not accomplished before, and am very proud of.  In the overall, I found myself up against the massive Middleweight from Australia, Hayzer Cayli, and the even bigger Heavyweight from the U.K., Richard Gozdecki (last year’s overall winner). The crowd was truly amazing during the fight for the overall title, with the Aussie, English, and U.S. contingencies cheering on their man!  In the end Hayzer Cayli’s massive quads, thick back, and dramatically improved condition earned him a well-deserved overall World title.  Both Hayzer and Rich are very down to earth people, and I’m proud to call them friends.  Hayzer and I chatted for quite a while before the morning show – as soon as I saw him putting his color on I knew he’d be tough to beat.  It was a unanimous decision for Hayzer, making his win even more impressive.  I was surprised but pleased to learn that I had garnered 6 of the 7 2nd place votes in the overall, meaning that I had gotten the better of last year’s overall champ. This was no small task considering that Rich weighed in at nearly 230 lbs, was in true contest shape, and has now beaten the always-impressive Martin Daniels 2 years in a row.

I was very pleased with the result of my longest off-season to date, and I got multiple comments from the judges about the marked improvements I made over that time. I have now won 4 class titles at the WNBF World Championships, more than any other male athlete in WNBF history. I will try to get a full write-up of the show completed soon, but for now, here is a picture taken right after the end of the show:

Contest Prep Essentials: Food Prep

One of the things I pride myself on is being as efficient as possible with my food prep when I diet for a contest. I thought I would share the basic steps that I go through each week. I typically do my shopping on Saturdays and some minor food prep on Saturday night after my daughter goes to bed (cutting fat off chicken, making rice). Sunday morning is when most of the food prep is done:

Here is my grill with roughly a week's worth of chicken and tilapia:


















Here is pretty much all of the food I'll eat in a given week, although I usually have to make more rice during the week:

And this is what I grab before I leave for cardio / work every morning:

I typically eat a tilapia / chicken & broccoli meal with the family when I get home around 6:15, and my last meal of the day is usually egg whites + whey.

In my opinion, food prep is the least desirable part of contest prep. I try to make it as painless as possible in true economist fashion - by being efficient.

Looking forward to the home stretch of this contest prep!

An Updated Cardio Regime

As I mentioned in my recent interview on Natty Talk Radio (see post below), I have reconfigured my cardio routine during my contest prep this year. Most of the changes I made are based on research presented at Layne Norton's fantasy camp, namely several studies by Jacob Wilson at the University of Tampa. In prior years, I have incorporated mostly steady-state cardio during my contest prep, walking for 15-20 minutes on an incline treadmill (making sure not to hold the handles! - that is a pet peeve of mine). I did some high-intensity interval training (HIIT), but typically only when I felt fat loss had stagnated. After reviewing the research presented by Dr. Wilson, however, I am incorporating more HIIT cardio this year, and doing a version of it I never had before - on the stationary bicycle.

The studies on concurrent (cardio + weightlifting) vs. resistance (only weightlifting) training have some basic and expected findings: Dolozel et al. (1998) found that concurrent training significantly reduced bodyfat compared to a resistance only group, while Wilson et al. (2011) performed a meta-analysis of 21 studies to demonstrate that concurrent training leads to decreases in strength, power, and hypertrophy. To try to minimize this loss, the Wilson et al. study compared hypertrophy, strength, and power changes among three distrinct groups of athletes: 1) those who performed running as their cardio (and also lifted), 2) those who performed cycling as their cardio (and also lifted), and 3) those who only lifted (no cardio). As expected, the resistance training only group had the largest gains in strength, power, and hypertrophy, ...BUT those performing cycling as their cardio outgained those that performed running. This same Wilson study also demonstrated that the biggest "bump" for fat loss occurs when heart rate reaches 81 - 90% of its max, which does not happen with steady state cardio but does occur under HIIT. Similar results were found in Balibinis et al. (2003) study on NCAA basketball players who trained with a variety of cardio workouts.

So, what am I doing this time around?

• 2x a week: Cycling HIIT
• 15 minute session: 6 30s all-out sprints, followed by 2.5 minutes slow pedaling
• 1 x a week: Car pushes
• 6 30s pushes, 4-5 min rest in between

I'm also doing SOME low-intensity cardio, as well as some blood flow restricted cardio (which is pretty fun!)

I'll touch on my current diet in a later post

Interview on Natty Talk Radio

I recently had the opportunity to be interviewed on Natty Talk Radio by co-hosts Zakary Walizadeh and Brett Freeman. We talked about quite a bit - from my contest plans for the year, to who I think are the "best of the best" natural bodybuilders in both the WNBF and IFPA, to my experience at Layne Norton's fantasy camp (and the changes to my contest prep that I made based on what I learned there), to how my prep has changed now that I have a daughter. Thanks guys for the awesome interview! It's fantastic that people are going the extra mile to get natural bodybuilding some exposure - great job Zak and Brett. You can check the full episode out here.

An Updated Workout Split based on Science

After participating in Layne Norton's Natural Bodybuilding and Figure camp last month, I was inspired to develop a new workout split based on some of the research that was discussed. In particular, Dr. Mike Zourdos gave a great talk on "Optimizing Periodization and Program Design for Hypertrophic Adaptations." He discussed the idea of Daily Undulating Periodization, which basically focuses on a different rep scheme incorporated for a particular bodypart multiple times a week. Some of the research he referenced was Willoughby (1993) who found that a linear periodization program resulted in significant increases in strength compared to non-periodized programs, and Peterson (2008) who used 14 well-trained firefighters to demonstrate that undulated training resulted in significant improvements in strength and power output versus linear periodization. Dr. Zourdas actually proposed a 6-day per week split, focusing on 2 primary bodyparts, each of which was hit 3x per week. One workout would focus on hypertrophy (maybe 4 sets of 12 reps), one would focus on strength (maybe 5 sets of 8 reps) and one would focus on power (6 sets of 4 reps). This was a dramatic change from the typical one-body-part per day, each body part one time per week bodybuilding split that I had been following variations of for the past 8-9 years. The thought of squatting 3x per week was somewhat intimidating!

After thinking it over for quite a while and tweaking the proposed split to have more of a bodybuilding focus, here is what I came up with:

• Monday: Upper Hypertrophy
• Tuesday: Lower Power
• Wednesday: OFF
• Thursday: Upper Strength
• Friday: Lower Hypertrophy
• Saturday: Upper Hypertrophy
• Sunday: OFF

With this split, I'm squatting twice a week and hitting most upper body muscle groups 3x per week. It was tough the first week or two, but as Dr. Zourdas made clear, the body quickly adjusts and my strength has been surprisingly good. Below are some example lifts that I would do on each day:

• Monday
• Incline Dumbell Press: 4 sets of 15
• Lying Tricep Extensions: 3 sets of 15
• Pull-ups: 3 sets of 15
• Bicep curls: 3 sets of 15
• Shoulder Press: 3 sets of 15
• Tuesday
• Squats: 5 sets of 6
• Leg Press: 4 sets of 8
• Stiff-legged Deads: 4 sets of 8
• Lying leg curls: 3 sets of 8
• Calf raises (2 exercises): 3 sets of 8 each
• Thursday
• Incline Dumbell Press: 5 sets of 8
• Seated rows: 3 sets of 8
• Tricep pushdowns: 3 sets of 8
• Upright rows: 3 sets of 8
• Barbell curls: 3 sets of 8
• Friday
• Squats: 5 sets of 15
• Leg Press: 4 sets of 15
• Lying leg curls: 3 sets of 15
• Glute-ham raise: 3 sets of 12
• Calf raises (2 exercises): 3 sets of 15 each
• Saturday
• Similar to Monday but different exercises

The following Monday would begin with a strength-oriented workout for the upper body. Thus, my hypertrophy / power / strength ratio for the upper body is 2:1:1. The idea is to incorporate more hypertrophy workouts in an effort to focus a bit more on muscle growth while allowing for training specific to power and strength. So far I have to say I am a pretty big fan of this split. I look forward to every leg day and feel like I am making good progress on upper days as well. I will re-assess this split in another month or so, but for now I am pleased with the results.

An Awesome Time at Layne Norton's VIP Camp!

I was fortunate enough to participate in Layne Norton's Natural Bodybuilding and Figure camp held in Tampa, FL a couple of weekends ago. It was just an incredible experience - Layne invited some of the top natural bodybuilders around, including Dave Goodin, Francisco Montealegre, John Hansen, Alberto Nunez and more. The campers got to train with the pros for three straight days, and we had some great workouts. The best part, though, was sitting through a series of seminars given by some of the best scientists doing work related to bodybuilding. This stuff was simply awesome - I listened to Dr. Jacob Wilson talk about HMB supplementation and his most recent studies regarding maintaining strength while dieting, Dr. Dominic D'Agostino talk about some of his relevant work on ketogenesis, Dr. Mike Zourdas describe optimal workout splits using non-linear periodization, Ben Esgro give an overview of the most useful bodybuilding supplements, and two Ph.D. students right down the road from me at that OTHER University in the state, Jeremy Loenneke and Chris Fahs, talk about their research on blood flow restriction. A lot of the studies referenced were still under peer review and hadn't officially seen publication yet - giving the campers a preliminary look at some of the most innovative research related to bodybuilding that anyone in the country is doing. This science-based approach to a bodybuilding camp was incredibly unique (we all even got our quad muscle density tested by Dr. Wilson's lab at the University of Tampa), and everyone who attended (including me) has really had no choice but to re-think some of their approaches to how they prepare for contests. I have since re-structured my workout split based on what I learned from Dr. Zourdas, have changed the way I incorporate blood flow restriction training (don't call it occlusion training!), and am reworking my approach to cardio. I'll try to discuss some of these in future blog posts.

One of the things that impressed me most about the camp was that even though Layne himself has a Ph.D. in nutritional sciences, and makes his living as a contest prep coach (or, as he prefers, "physique architect"), he included many people in the camp with ideas contrary to his, or, like me, have never used him for contest prep. Letting the attendees see the different ways in which many of the pros approach their off-season or how they construct their own diet was extremely useful for everyone.

Congrats to Layne and his wife Isabel on a job well done, and a big thanks to all attendees and pros / experts who made the camp so special. Although it was tough to be away from my little girl for 4 days, it was an awe-inspiring time and I look forward to going back in future years if they'll have me.

For me personally at the camp, I gave a talk about how to mesh contest prep with real life, based on my experiences between 2006-2010 when I competed at the WNBF Worlds each year while going through the tenure process at OSU. It seemed to be very well received. I also managed to set a PR in the sumo deadlift, getting 585x3. I hope to get a video of that posted on here soon. Here are some pics from the camp:

Some of the Pros / Experts


Ben Esgro lecturing about bodybuilding supplements



585 x 3!

My Take on Occlusion Training

Over the past year or so, I have done a reasonable amount of reading on the topic of occlusion training. The basic idea is that muscular hypertrophy can result from restricting blood flow to a particular body part and performing low-weight repititions. This idea originated in Japan, where researchers use a specialized device called a Kaatsu to control exactly how much pressure was applied to the body part being trained. Unfortunately, the Kaatsu devices are not available to the common public, so I have attempted to replicate their technique using what I do have available: a couple of blood pressure cuffs. This allows me to set the pressures typically used in these types of studies (between 120 - 200 mm HG). The literature on this topic is quite amazing, as most research shows significant increases in muscle cross-sectional area, muscular strength, and levels of blood growth hormone (all good things for bodybuilders). One of the biggest benefits is that this type of training can be done multiple times a week since the low weights used do not tax the central nervous system very heavily. A couple of recent studies can be found here and here.

The growing consensus is that for the body part being trained, the weight should be set to 20-50% of your 1RM. The muscle should stay partially occluded (150mm HG is fairly constrictive pressure, but not "fully" occluded) throughout the sets, but the pressure should be released after no more than 5 - 10 minutes. The first set is fairly easy, and typically 30 repititions are done. Then, with about 30 - 60 seconds of rest, 3 additional sets are done of around 15-20 reps. These become increasingly painful as the occlusion continues and frankly is unlike any other type of pain I have experienced during weightlifting. However, the relief when the pressure is released feels amazing. Here are a couple of pics of how I use occlusion training for my calves (I don't use any weight, just toe raises):




I do this 4 times a week, usually after walking my dogs in the morning. I have tried it on a few other bodyparts, but mostly I only do that when I have no other options for training, such as when I travel for conferences. The few studies that have looked at how this type of training compares to traditional heavy weights suggests that I won't be stopping the heavy training any time soon, but that occlusion training does have its place. As to whether it has improved my calves...I won't know until I diet down again! But my calves are so poor (and have been since I started bodybuilding) that any type of growth would be a major improvement.

I love this type of outside-of-the-box thinking for improving as a bodybuilder! Keep the great scientific work coming!

Off to a quick start in 2012!

2011 ended on a very positive note for me, as my wife and I brought our new daughter back to our home state of Virginia for the holidays. We had a blast visiting friends and family and showing off Sidney. Being a dad is the best!

I was also fortunate enough to participate in Nancy Andrews' Pro Series Camp in Massachusetts for the 2nd straight year back in January, and will be helping out with Layne Norton's natural bodybuilding camp in Florida in June. It's pretty inspiring to see how far natural bodybuilding has come since I started participating in it - and Nancy and Layne are 2 huge reasons why. Thanks guys for all that you do for natty bbing!

Training has been going very well for me so far in 2012, and my weight is bordering on the 200-lb mark. I feel surprisingly good at this weight and have been sure to implement some off-season cardio at least a couple of times a week to prevent too much fat gain! My training partner Victor and I have implemented a modified Max-OT type of regimen, where reps are kept between 4 and 8. The focus here is on heavier weight and plenty of time to recover between sets. We are using a 4-day split with the following body parts:

• Monday: Chest / Triceps
• Tuesday: OFF
• Wednesday: Legs
• Thursday: OFF
• Friday: Shoulders / Calves
• Saturday: Back
• Sunday: OFF

The volume under this split is relatively low (typically around 6 - 8 working sets per body part), but the heavy weights used on each set don't make it seem any easier. I've been able to hit 455 x 4 on Romanian Deadlifts and 355 x 7 on Front Squats using the smith machine. I'm also doing quite a bit of occlusion training for my stubborn calves - I'll try to write more on that at a later date.

For now, here's a pic of the Whitacre Family supporting the Cowboys!


Looking forward to an excellent 2012!