I bought John’s DVD “Shatterproof Spine” a few years ago while researching my own back injuries.

So when John asked me for an interview I was totally honored.

It’s a great read and it will really give you a good perspective on me, my business, and my philosophy.

As well John is a great guy and doing great things and puts out a ton of quality content and you should really be following what he writes.

Here is the link, feel free to leave me a comment below

=> www.traineradvice.blogspot.com/2012/01/interview-with-rob-king.html

I have some big plans for Fitness & getting Newfoundland on the map.

Dean and I may also rent a Nascar and dress up like Ricky Bobbi & Cal Naughton Jr.

More info at the link below.

Be sure to leave a comment

http://deansomerset.com/2011/12/13/interview-with-rob-king/

DS : Likewise, Rob, I’ve been reading some of the work you’ve been putting out for a while and found your dedication and passion inspiring to say the least. Your Ripped in 42 members are lucky to have you in their corner!! Okay, now back to me.

So is this the part where I talk about how awesome I am and include the shirtless pics of me bicep curling a Sherman tank while grating cheese on my abs and trying to not have the Victoria’s Secret models rip all my clothes off?

Aside from cuddling puppies and saving damsels from railway tracks on a semi-daily basis, I work as a kinesiologist in Edmonton, Alberta Canada out of a commercial facility called World Health Club, where I run the company-wide medical advisory board. My location is the executive location, so we get a lot of office workers with poor posture and high stress lifestyles coming through the door needing to be fixed up enough to stay hunkered over their keyboards.

I’ve built up a specialization in injury post-rehabilitation and work with a lot of physios, chiropractors and physicians to try to extend the current system of care beyond the rehabilitation mindset and into more of a total welness model. Pretty much all of my clientele come from medical referrals, and I’ve even had some clients recieve insurance coverage for their training sessions as a result. Most of my clients are in a one-on-one model, with only a few group and large group sessions each week as a lot of the clients need specific coaching and cueing to make sure they don’t get hurt any more than they already are.

I teach a lot of courses to other trainers on everything ranging from post-rehabilitation to cancer recovery to assessment components to make clients think you’re a ninja, so I try to keep up with the current state of research out there. I’ve been fortunate enough to travel and speak at a few conferences across North America and consult with a couple organizations around the world. Plus I write the odd article and a pretty kick-ass blog.

RK : Dean because of my lower back issues from too many years of being a hero in the gym and lifting too much too hard all the time my back is ruined. For years I could barely train at all because of my injuries. However since I started reading a lot of your information and watching your videos I have learned a TON and my training has improved big time. Often when people have a “Bad back” their back sometimes isn’t the problem. What do you generally see as the biggest issues that cause people to have lower back pain/issues?

DS : For most of the back injuries I see, the major issue is not knowing what the root cause was or what the actual problem is. Someone will say that their back feels really tight, so they start stretching it. Is the back tight because the structure has been compromised in some way and therefore needs more muscular support? And if that’s the case, wouldn’t stretching the tight muscles make the system more unstable and lead to more issues? Further, is it muscle-related, discogenic, ligamental sprain, or endplate fracture of the vertebral body? Maybe it’s stenosis and a degenerative change? Each one will mean different things in the rehab process, so not knowing what the issue is becomes a big issue. Unfortunately back pain is still something we as a community are trying to figure out, and since everyone will present differently with different symptoms and causes and things that make it feel better, using the same tools to fix the back won’t work for very long. I’ve had some clients where all we did was isometric contractions of specific muscles in sequence for the entire session, and others where I blended a few different techniques, based on what they responded best to. Others still required nothing more than nutritional guidance and technical correction to make their pain go away forever, but these are in the vast minority. If something hurts whatsoever, during or after the workout, we skip it until there is an improvement in function elsewhere. For some reason a lot of trainers don’t listen to the complaints of their clients and change their workouts up on the flye. You made it, you can change it!! Another big issue comes from not understanding the biomechanics of the exercises the person is doing. Let’s say someone wants to build bigger legs but they have some low back issues. Putting them on a leg press machine where they sit in full flexion, have the propensity to go through spinal flexion during the eccentric phase, and have a shear force imparted on their vertebrae and discs as a result of the direction of loading is pretty much a recipe for shooting a disc across the room. Likewise, back squats, while great, force the spine into a slight flexion that increases the torque placed on the low back, especially if the person tries to not let their knees go past their toes. Who ever came up with that idea of not letting the knees come past the toes should be beaten with an olympic bar for causing more knee and back injuries than they’ve ever prevented!! Instead of back squats, front squats are better as it allows the spine to sit more vertically, lets the core work harder to stabilize, and forces the thoracic spine to work ot pull the body into extension instead of flexion. That’s a trifecta of awesomeness right there!!

RK : Along the same lines of lower back pain my philosophy is always to “prevent” before something can go wrong. For most guys who like to lift big and are not doing anything now to prevent injuries what advice would you give in preventing lower back issues & problems?

DS: You and I can both attest to the fact that back injuries, or injuries of any area, truly do suck. If you want to take your training seriously you have to use every trick in the book. If it means you spend 10 minutes each workout foam rolling everything you can find, do it. If it means getting to bed on time and eating enough vegetables and taking your vitamins, do it. Work with a qualified coach who can tell you if you’re developing a spinal hinge on your deadlifts or that you’re scapular rhythm isn’t ideal for your overhead presses or that your jump pattern puts you into a valgus stress when you land which will eventually demolish your knees. Otherwise you’re playing Russian Roulette against your body, and eventually it’s going to win.

RK : Let’s back up and go personal, how did you get your back injury? And what kind of training have you been doing now to get strong again? I saw you smash a 405 lb deadlift on your blog, thats a HUGE accomplishment after an injury. I used to deadlift 405 for sets of 12, and now 405 would cause my vertebra to explode out of my back and fly out like a frag grenade. Give me a brief overview of what you are doing in the gym.

DS: I may need some tissues here to go into such a personal story. I may have to give you a topic to talk amongst yourselves kind of like the Coffee Talk lady, but here goes. I initially hurt my back playing football. I got tackled awkwardly, managed to dislocate my SI joint, bulge three lumbar discs and partially tear my quadratus lumborum all at the same time. It took me about 6 months to walk normally without an aid or a limp, and another 2 or three years to feel “strong” again. The downside was I was still a dumb egocentric kid who wanted to lift heavy things that I probably shouldn’t have lifted, and wound up redamaging the discs and going through chronic SI joint issues for the better part of a decade. I tried everything under the sun, physio, chiro, massage, active rest, you name it, nothing worked. All the time I was researching and trying to figure out ways to get my own spine into good shape and make my clients get some great results as well.

About a year and a half ago I re-tweaked it when I was at a conference in Las Vegas, and decided I was tired of it and would do everything in my powers to get it back in shape. I started video taping my own workouts to check my spinal positioning and worked really hard at mentally contracting specific muscles around the spine and through the core. One of the interesting things that happens when there is damage to the spine is the muscles around that specific segment will down-regulate their activity, sort of like a dimmer switch. Without getting those muscles firing again at their fullest potential, the body develops compensation patterns to allow for movement without pain or problems, but these compensation patterns eventually overload and wear out, leading to more problems. I wanted to learn how to contract each muscle specifically to make sure they were firing the way they needed to. Once I got to a point where I could contract the specific muscles on cue, I started integrating my movements with core activation, and began to train the tissues with loads.

I always had to be consious of how much soreness I had after the workout for a few days, as I would always feel great during but wouldn’t know if I overdid it until the following morning when I needed help putting on my socks. I started to put my energies into technical analysis of my lifts, video taping them from pretty much every angle I could think of and watching my spine over and over again to see what was going on, then adjusting my technique as needed. Essentially, I was coaching myself!!

Last year I set a goal of deadlifting 405 because at one point I couldn’t even bend forward to touch my knees, so a goal like this would prove to myself that I could control the injury instead of vice versa. I started lifting heavy again after almost a decade off in September 2010, and managed to pull 275 and couldn’t walk for the rest of the week without looking like I was trying to not go to the bathroom right then and there. By March 2011 I managed 405. I took a break for a few months then last week I managed 425 without having done any heavy lifts in 5 months! To say I was happy would have been an understatement. One of the other unknown issues with back injuries is the propensity to go through depression and subsequent weight gain. I had all the above, and even managed to get up to 245 pounds at my heaviest this past January.

Since then, I’ve dropped 20 pounds, am eyeing another 20 pounds, plus I’m hoping to get to a 500 deadlift sometime in 2012.

Dean thanks so much for all your information and help man, I owe you personally for a lot of great info and I am sure my readers will love this. Give me some information like your blog and any upcoming seminars etc.

DS: Hey thanks for the opportunity to share some info on really great questions. Your readers can check out my blog at www.deansomerset.com, and also the current release of Muscle Imbalances Revealed: Upper Body, where I drop knowledge bombs on fascial training and advanced core conditioning, along with presentations from smart guys like Rick Kaselj, Tony Gentilcore, and Jeff Cubos. I’m also planning a new product for the end of Novemeber called Post Rehab Essentials.

It’s a 3-day workshop I recorded and have condensed into 12 hours of on-line videos you can download and watch on your iPods or iPads or whatever the kids are into these days, and goes through injury concepts for personal trainers plus step by step guides on how to work with the most common injuries, from rotator cuff tears to total knee replacements and everything in between. Thank you Dean for this awesome interview!

BTW Be sure to Check out Dean’s new product at Post Rehab Essentials.

For a another fantastic program I strongly suggest you check out Muscle Imbalances Revealed 2.0.

I met Travis Stoetzel or “Travis The Tank” as I like to refer to him, at a fitness seminar a few months back.  The guy had the build I like to emulate, athletic, muscular, strong, but not a bloated block like most bodybuilders.

So I started talking to “The Tank”, we hit it off and I said I wanted to hit him up with some info to share with my readers, so you should appreciate this NO B. S. approach to getting a jacked body and being strong as hell.

Travis Stoetzel my man thanks for doing this interview man, after seeing you at one of our Fitness meetings i was like “this dude’s a tank I gotta find out his deal lol”maybe you can give us some background on you and your training.

Well I grew up always being around athletics playing everything from soccer, basketball, track, football, baseball, and wrestling.  When I got older in high school I narrowed it down to just wrestling, football, and baseball.  Then, finally when I got into college, I stuck with football and finished out playing pro ball in some arena leagues as well as playing overseas in Brazil.

My training background really started from the first time I picked up a weight back in 7th grade when I was around the age of 13.  I got hooked early because I knew if I was stronger than my opponent, I had a better chance of winning.  PLus I wanted to build more muscle to look like Arnold in the movie Predator

As I got older I started to become obsessed with training as I would buy every book, DVD, and program I could find.  I was always on the internet reading different websites and watching videos to find out more information.  I never missed training sessions as I was the lifter of the year in both high school and college when I was a junior and senior.  I was always in the weight room it seemed or out on the track running sprints, working on my speed and explosiveness.  I would get crap from my friends a lot of the time because I was always ditching them to go train or run.  I thought about it all the time.

When I got out of college, I got my first job as a trainer at a large corporate gym.  I was there for about two years before I knew it was time to get out of there and start my own gym.  The things I wanted to do in the corporate gym really didn’t fit in too well.  Training with tires, sleds, chains, kettlebells, ropes, as well as other “hardcore” training tools just weren’t accepted in the corp “family fitness” arena so I broke away and started my own gym, The Forged Athlete.

Now everything is done “my way” on my terms.  My way consists of training very unconventionally with kettlebells, sandbags, ropes, chains, tired, sleds, and tons of different bodyweight movemetns to name a few.  Anything that I can use to produce functional results, I use.  I do what I know keeps a person athletic, builds strength, conditioning, and power.  I base all of my training programs around performance.  No matter what your goal may be, I have found that when training for performance, one can accomplish a lot in time.

The style of training I currently use is based around blending different types of effective training modalities together.  So, using modalities like kettlebells, sandbags, bodyweight/ gymnastics, Crossfit, strongman, powerlifting, and Olympic lifting pieced together in different ways has proven to get tons of results fast!

I’m a NO EXCUSES type of guy and with anything I do, I always no matter what, want to find a to win.  Training is like war and to get the results you want, you have to treat every session as if it were a all out battle.

Check Out Travis’s “Hardcore 100 Videos They Are Awesome!”

Travis Stoetzel can you give me some insight into your gym and the programs you offer.

Well, my gym is real basic and to the point – work your butt off and get things done.  It’s real bare bones with just the essentials needed to get strong, athletic, and ripped.

The members I have range form 12 year old athletes up to professional MMA atheltes as well as a few wrestlers looking to make it happen in the next Olympics.  I also have lots of “weekend warrior” type guys and gals that train.  The bottom line is in order to train at my gym, you’ve got to have some guts and commitment to work hard and stick to it.  Any body that has a negative mindset is forbidden through my gym doors.  Everything is based around high levels of energy and positive thinking.  Being around and training with peoeple like this helps build a strong character and tough mindset overtime.

I take a highly athletic approach to all the different programs we do as with everything we do in my gym is geared towards improving one’s performance no matter if it’s a professional level athlete or just regular adult looking to lose weight. If you improve performance, you’ll improve as a whole.

I love it when new potential members come into the gym for the first time and just look around in awe.  They notice there are no treadmills, ellipticals, or pieces of new and shiny machinery around but rather old tires, beat up weights, sleds, kettlebells, dumbbells, sandbags, barbells, and even stones.  These are the real tools needed for results!

Most of the programs I design, as discussed above, are mixtures of different modalities blended together.  What I tend to focus on are 3-4 week mini cycles in which you have 3-4 different workouts you focus on using and progressing with.  After a 3-4 week period of the same workouts, typically your body is pretty beaten downs and ready to recover. So, after 3-4 weeks, I have planned “deload / recovery” weeks that consists on light conditioning / bodyweight work that allows the body to heal up.

Personally for myself, and a few of my serious wrestlers, I may just train solely based off of feel and mood.  I’ll do the different things I feel I and my athletes need to work on and just really get after my sessions hard.  Sometimes these more “chaotic” type of workout days and weeks improve my overall results better than my actual programmed and planned mini cycles do.  But, in the end, I feel this type of training is only needed every once in a while.  You should be following some sort of programmed / periodized plan most of the year.

Travis why do you think Wrestlers have such insane muscle and strength.  We see so many bodybuilders that look muscular but are useless when it comes to cardio and functional strength.  What do you guys do differently?

To be a great wrestler you must have a great balance between relative bodyweight strength, power, agility, flexibility, and mobility.
Wrestling is a bodyweight based sport that’s dependent upon not only great levels of strength and power but also endurance.  Being strong and explosive is useless if you lose it after on a few mins of a match.  I’ve seen it happen to many wrestlers and in order to be great, you have to be able to be both strong and explosive for a long period of time by being highly overall conditioned.

I remember back when I was wrestling in high school the level of conditioning I had was way out of control!  I was never in better shape than I would be during wrestling season because my overall endurance, not just my strength was far more greater because it would determine my overall success.   There was no other type of “in shape” than wrestling shape was.

The big difference between a bodybuilder and wrestler comes down to performance.  When all you do is lift with weights to grow your muscles, overtime, you’ll lose your overall conditioning and overall athleticism (mobility, flexibility, ect).  Another major difference with wrestler and bodybuilders is the different types of movements used in training.  Things like jumping, sprinting, and other explosive type movements keep wrestlers highly athletic and properly conditioned.  Also, the fact that wrestlers much move around like animals adds to their overall athleticism too.  Most bodybuilder skip out on the sprints, jumps, and other explosive type stuff simply because they do not need it.

The facts is that wrestlers just got to be strong all around.  No excuses on this.  A complete battle ready combat athlete needs to have it all.  LEAN and MEAN is the way to be.  You can see this is true by looking at the top wrestlers at the college ranks as well as the top MMA athletes of today.  You’ll notice they’ve got very little no zero fat, are strong, explosive, and highly athletic.  Bodybuilders are mostly just big and ripped.    Who would you want to meet down a deserted and dark alley??

How can the average person start adding hardcore strength training and conditioning into their program? I think most people are scared sh*tless to try it, how would say someone who lifts 4-5 times a week add in some cool training?

One of the easiest ways to start adding in “hardcore” types of strength training into their routines is by first, adding in more complex types of bodyweight training.  This should be done before ANY other types of serious training is added for the simple fact that one must first master the control of their own bodyweight in order to progress into more serious types of resistance training.

So adding in different types of jumps, hops, skips, and other plyometric movements will help create a more hardcore type of training regime.  I would recommend these be added into the workout first, when a person is fresh so they can focus in on being explosive while keeping good form and technique.

Another good way of adding in hardcore training techniques is by adding in animal movements with things like bear crawls, seal walks, crab walks, ect which will help in increasing the seriousness and difficulty of the program.  These types of movements can be added at the end of a training workout to aid in improving overall conditioning.

The way a gym SHOULD LOOK!

Now, after a person has improved with bodyweight, some other types of ways people can add in hardcore styles of training into their program would be through odd object lifting with sandbags, kegs, rocks, and even kettlebells.   Kettlebells can be fairly odd to those that haven’t used them before.

If a person is relatively new to these type of odd movements with kegs, sandbags, ect, they can expect some good levels of strength to be gained simply through the uniqueness of the resistance being placed on the body through the odd objects.

Personally, I love sandbag training mainly because of this fact and also because you can do a ton of different movements with a sandbag.  Probably the best way to learn different odd / hardcore movements is through the use of sandbags by doing explosive exercises like cleans, shouldering, push presses, and throws.

Overall, If I was looking for new ways to add “hardcore” training into my program, I would start with bodyweight then move into adding sandbags for sure.

Dude I really appreciate all the info!  Any chance you can hook my readers a discount on your program?  Hook a brother up!

For sure Rob!  I wanted to thank you ad let you know I appreciate you doing this interview with me.  I love sharing what I know about training as I hope people will take bits and pieces of what I do and apply it to their own training programs.

For people out there wanting more guidance and coaching that really have a desire to build up a more rugged physique that not only looks ripped and shredded but is also highly athletic and conditioned, I have a full SYSTEM that I have created that one can follow that shows specifically how I’ve blended together the use of bodyweight, kettlebells, and sandbags to help build more muscle, strength, power, and extremely high levels of conditioning.

I wanted to personally thank you Rob and all of your badass readers with a special discount on my system people can take advantage of HERE. I will be straight up and let everyone out there know that this is NOT for the weak minded!  My program is for people who are ready to let loose and get after it with a “NO EXCUSES” type of mindset.  Rob and I know that in order to get the absolute BEST results possible, you will have to dig in and work hard!  There are no magic bullets out there!  Just highly effective and proven systems that IF followed correctly, will get you results faster and quicker.

Again, as a token of my extreme appreciation for all of Rob’s friends and followers,

I wanted to hook everyone up with a special discounted offer on my Training System – Bags, Bells, and Bodyweight.

Top 7 Supplements For Strength/Endurance/Power, Not Available For Sale

Take advantage of that for a limited time HERE!

As a bonus, Rob has threw in a special report that specifically tailored for hardcore athletes.  Check it out!

Thanks again Rob!

Thank you for the interview Travis Stoetzel, this is awesome!

Mark Young is one of about 15 “Fitness People” that I follow online.  Not only he this guy smart, but he has a great sense of humor.  As well Mark is a fellow Canadian which makes him even cooler .

If you want to find out the “Truth” about Fitness (and not the crap they sell you in Fitness Magazines aka ADVERTISING. I suggest you read this interview with Mark and bookmark his blog.

P. S. Don’t let his dashing good looks fool you, Mark actually knows his SHI*T!

Mark – Thanks for taking the time to do this interview.  Can you tell my readers a little about your background?

Anytime brother!

In terms of my academic background, I have a degree in kinesiology and a minor in psychology from McMaster University and have also done graduate level research in biomechanics and exercise physiology as part of the world-renowned exercise metabolism research group under the guidance of Dr. Stuart Phillips.  In fact, my grad thesis work is finally submitted and awaiting publication (hopefully) in a popular scientific journal.

On the applied side of things, I’ve been a training clients for about 11 years now and my work has been published on T-Nation.com, WannaBeBig.com, StrengthCoach.com, MuscleAndFitness.com, MuscleAndFitnessHers.com, and in print mags like Muscle and Fitness, and Experience Life.

On top of all that, I provide services to one of Canada’s very few government funded Bariatric Medical Programs for the evidence based treatment of obesity.

Wow man!  That’s a pretty impressive resume.  Word on the street is that you took your research background and created a product called How to Read Fitness Research?  Why on earth would you create a product like that?

Let me first say that I know this isn’t the sexiest and most wanted product in the fitness industry, but I do believe it is one of the most needed.

If you’ve been around the fitness industry for any length of time you’ve undoubtedly heard or seen people citing studies supporting everything from diets to training programs to supplements.  The problem is that often those quoting the studies have very little understanding of research design, statistics, or many of the other factors potentially influencing the outcomes of the study.

As a result, there is a lot of misinformation in the fitness industry and I wanted to give people the power to look up studies they heard about, training programs, diets, and supplements and find out the real truth about their effectiveness (or lack thereof).

Can you give me an example of how research has been misused in the fitness industry?

Sure.  A really good example is the popular notion that skipping meals or not eating within a specified time window will result in a “starvation response” thereby making it more difficult to lose fat.  In fact, the truth is exactly the opposite.  In studies where people fasted for up to 72 hours the metabolism actually went UP instead of down.

Another good one is that eating low glycemic index carbohydrates actually makes it easier to lose weight, when studies lasting as long as a year show only a maximum of a two pound difference between those on high GI and those on low GI foods.

In truth, neither of these two things really matter that much so if you’re trying to lose fat you can eat 1 time per day or 10 times per day.  You can also eat high GI carbohydrates and low GI carbohydrates without worry.

So you’re saying that reading research gives us freedom from the broscience dogma that is so popular in this industry?

That is exactly what I’m saying!  The more you understand fitness research the less you’ll be bound by the “rules” that seem to make up most fitness plans.  I can say from personal experience, the more I learn, the less confined I feel by the many popular and made up rules that are so prevalent in the fitness industry.

Okay…that’s great.  But let’s be honest, isn’t reading papers kinda a snoozefest?

Hahaha!  That’s awesome Rob!  Truth be told, if you’re a geek like me, reading research will give you a buzz like 10,000 pounds of Ephedrine.  ☺  But honestly, I guess it could be at first.  Reading research is a skill like any other and it is really tough in the beginning, but with practice you get to a point where you can read a study in less than 10 minutes and extract all of the relevant information.

Okay sure, but if I’m playing devil’s advocate here, couldn’t you just read the abstract the the front of a research paper and save yourself the time?

Actually, this is more common than you might think (this is what a lot of people who write articles on the internet do) and it is a BIG mistake.  The abstract of a paper is very important in that it summarizes the article and tells you whether it is of interest to you and whether the paper is worth reading.

For example, if you pick up a loss article and you notice in the abstract that the study was done on 10 year old bearded goats, you might not need to read it as it doesn’t necessarily pertain to humans.  You’d be looking for something more applicable that you might want to spend time reading.

However, when it comes to abstracts, you can’t necessarily rely on them to extract the results of the study.   They are just a summary of conclusions based on the experiences and biases of what the author thinks the results mean.  This means you have to accept that the study was properly conducted and that the results actually mean what the authors think they mean.  People tend to look for results that support their theories so you need to be really careful.

Great points Mark!  I guess what you’re really getting at is that two different people reading the same study could come to different conclusions about the results and that would effect how we use this research in our programs for fat loss, muscle gain, etc?

Abso-friggin-lutely!  Training is an art and a science and I think that if more people knew how to apply the science side of the equation their results would blow through the roof!

Thanks for the great discussion.  Where can my readers learn more about your product?

Your readers can learn more about How to Read Fitness Research at www.ReadFitnessResearch.com

First off thanks for taking the time for this Interview, I really appreciate it! Maybe you can give us some background on who Vanessa Tib is?

No, thank you Rob for this opportunity.

I was born and partially raised in the Dominican Republic. I was always active during my younger years and continued to be active after moving to NYC at the age of 12. My favorite sports growing up were Volleyball, Baseball, Swimming, Jumping rope (Double Dutch), and I also loved riding my BMX bike. It wasn’t until I was 22 years old that I first became interested in fitness and bodybuilding after picking up a friend’s fitness magazine. After seeing the strong sexy women being featured there, I became motivated to start training.

I joined a local Bronx gym and started working out. Unfortunately, my busy work and school schedule prevented me to fully dedicated my time to training properly, hence, I didn’t make the changes I was hoping for. It wasn’t until April of 2009 after graduating nursing school and now having a set working schedule that I was able to fully concentrate on my training. I then moved to Manhattan, joined a new gym and started training 5-6x a week, mainly concentrating on lifting weights and doing cardio 3x a week.

I saw a significant change in my body within 6 months of consistent training and eating right. Taking up the suggestion of Jamie Eason, I set up a professional photo shoot and was amazed by the positive responses I obtained from people after viewing my photos.

Fitness modeling had never crossed my mind before that. As a result of shooting this past summer with Walt Ostarly in Florida,

I was published for the first time in the Aug/Sept issue of Planet Muscle Magazine and just recently learned that I’m featured in the Jan 2011 issue as well. I was featured on the cover of Natural Muscle magazine for the month of August. I am very excited to be releasing my very own 2011 Calendar in the upcoming weeks and I’m currently still training 5-6x a week.

My goal right now is to gain a bit more mass and continue to stay lean. I can’t wait to see what more changes I can make to my body and what more is in store for me in this industry that I love so very much.

Vanessa Tib you stay in CRAZY shape year round! Care to share how you manage to do this? It it plain old hard work and clean food or you have any “secrets” that work for you to stay in that kind of shape?

I get asked this question often, and I do agree that it is a bit hard to stay lean all year round. I do have a big appetite. I love to eat!

But, I know that if I want to look a certain way, I can’t eat certain foods. I stay away from processed foods, carbohydrates and sugars. I keep my diet simple and try to eat as much lean protein as I can.

My meals consists mainly of grilled chicken breast, tuna, tilapia, salmon, steam veggies, green leafy vegetables, brown rice and fat free plain Greek yogurt. I love Greek yogurt so much because of it’s low carb, low calorie and high protein content. I like to eat them as a snack in between meals. I don’t drink juice or sodas and never have fried foods or junk foods.

I do have a cheat meal a week and it could be anything from going to my fav japanese BBQ restaurant or eating my mom’s delicious Dominican white rice and beans.

I try to eat small meals throughout the day, every 2-3 hrs. I have found that eating like this has really worked for me so far.

Maybe you can give some advice to my female readers when it comes to lifting weights. I am sick of having to explain that when they lift weights they will look HOT & lean, not big and muscular! Care to shed some light on this.

I agree with you on this one. By adding more muscle you actually end up looking leaner. That’s because muscle is a metabolically active tissue, fat is not. This means that by adding more muscles you end up burning more calories than fat, even while you sleep and rest.

Also, a woman’s body in general does not produce enough Testosterone to promote rapid muscle growth the way a man’s body does. I’m not saying that women don’t gain muscle by strength training, we do but not at the same rate as a man does. You will not wake up one day looking like Arnold Schwarzenegger  from lifting weights.

On the other hand, you will love the sleek, toned and sexy curves of your new improved physique. So, do yourself a favor and start pumping iron:) you will be happy you did.

How do you manage to keep in the shape you are in and work full time & be a professional fitness model? Most people always use the old “I don’t have time because of work” BS. How do you manage it all?

I do have a busy schedule. As a nurse I work nights, 12 hours per shift. I can never train in the mornings after working all night, I just don’t have the energy to do so. I save my workouts for the afternoons, just before work. I have been doing pretty well with managing my time correctly.

I guess you just have to prioritize. Set goals for yourself and stay on track. Things are always going to come up to prevent you from going to the gym and training. You just have to ask yourself if that particular thing can wait. You have to take care of yourself first, no one else is going to do it for you. Even if you only have 30mins to spare, go for it, go do some cardio, go for a jog outside, jump rope in your house, drop on the floor and do some sit ups,  and pushups.

Everything counts.

Just think about it,  every pushup/situp whatever it may be, every rep you do today is going to get you closer and closer to your goal.

Stay focused, consistent and true to yourself.

Vanessa Tib will you Marry Me?

My girlfriend said its ok cus you will be sick of me after a month LOL.

Haha a whole month, I was thinking maybe just after a day.. Just kidding. You seem to be a very nice, funny, down to earth guy, but I’m already taken. Sorry!!

For anyone wanting to check out your site and blog etc where can they go?

I’m currently in the process of creating my website www.vanessatib.com.

It should be up and running in a couple of weeks. On there you will be able to oder my 2011 Vanessa Tib Calendar.

I’m very excited to be working with the very talented OAMG on this project.

You can also find me on Facebook “www.facebook.com/vanessa tib” or you can subscribe to my Youtube channel  “liveloveurlife”

To order my 2011 Feb-Feb Calendar message me at theunits100@gmail.com

Thanks Vanessa Tib for this interview, Your a sweetheart and I wish you all the best – Rob

Olympic Lifting For BodyBuilders.

Nick thanks for taking the time to do this, I know with your training schedule things can be on the clock.

How do you think the average weight lifter can benefit from adding some Olympic Lifting?

I’m surprised and a bit disappointed that bodybuilders, athletes, and general fitness enthusiasts don’t take advantage of the
benefits of including some Olympic lifts in their programs. I have ideas as to why, ranging from improper equipment, lack of knowledge or instruction, or myths out there that “they’re dangerous, not necessary unless you compete in the sport, hard on the knees, blah blah blah”.

A simple addition of variations of the power snatch, power clean, and power jerk can be great to increase explosive strength, helping you lift more weight in the strength lifts like deadlifts, squats, overhead press, bench press, pullups, etc. To give you an example, I didn’t train bench for years and previously had a max of around 290lbs. I decided to do bench one day (after increasing my Clean and Jerk from 170kg to 190kg over that time) and hit an easy 350lbs bench.

These exercises can also be great CNS activation exercises, making you more ready to perform heavy strength work immediately after a few light explosive sets of these exercises. Even with substandard equipment, you can still use these lifts! I would recommend learning from an experienced professional first, and not trying to learn Olympic Lifting from Youtube.

How did you get your start in Olympic Lifting and that type of training?

My start in Olympic Lifting/Weightlifting was kind of by accident, or fate as I believe it was. My cousin is Burt Squires, who competed in 1984 in Los Angeles and is from Grand Bank, NL. He came into St. John’s in the fall of 2001 to visit my father. I happened to be there, and had been weight training hard for hockey for almost 2 years, building a decent physique for a 17 year old kid. He saw me, and immediately saw the physique of a weightlifter. Burt then gave me info for the local club and from Day 1, I never left. I was at home there, and caught on quickly.

My first competition was 3 weeks later, where I went 6/6 lifting 85kg in the Snatch and 112.5kg in the Clean and Jerk at 80kg bodyweight. Who would have ever believed that 9 years later, I would be a Canadian Record Holder at 195kg Clean and Jerk and 346kg total, via a 151kg snatch. Persistance pays off.

Where would a good place for people to get information on Olympic Lifting? Are there any good sites or blogs you recommend to start?

To be honest, there is no one website out there that gives the kind of quality info on Olympic Weightlifting that it deserves. There are bits and pieces, but nothing stands out. I believe if you’re interested in starting the sport, or adding it to your training, you need to consult with someone with experience and credentials beyond a weeked course. I know how to bench press, but I don’t know the bench press the way an experienced Powerlifter knows it.

I am available for consults and programming via the internet, and locally in Montreal, QC. I currently work out of JFT International, where you can visit our website at www.jftintl.com. We are in the process of adding dozens of cool videos, some of which are geared towards Olympic Weightlifting. Stay tuned!

Any personal tips you care to share that have really helped you personally over the years? Let me rephrase if you had to give 3 simply pieces of advice to anyone starting to lift what would they be? (This is a hard question I can’t wait for your response).

My three best pieces of advice for anyone starting these lifts would be:

a) Be patient. These lifts are complex and require many attempts to perfect. Leave your ego at the door and don’t pile weights on the bar until you are ready. Stay insanely light and go for movement quality, explosive speed, and be confident.

b) Improve mobility. Most guys (and some girls too) are way too tight to do the lifts properly. I see it all the time, the shoulders are too inflexible, the forearems and triceps are too tight to hold the bar at the shoulders, and the hips, ankles, and adductors won’t allow for proper full depth in the squat. Olympic Lifting requires attention to flexibility.

To improve this, STRETCH! Also seek a qualified ART practictioner like myself to aid in the process, and foam roll daily.

c) Again, seek someone qualified to teach you. If it’s really important to you, invest in the proper instruction to avoid injuries and learning useless habits (such as pulling with the arms too much).
Nick’s Info :

Nick Roberts is a Canadian Senior Weightlifting Champion, and holder of National Records in the Clean and Jerk (195kg) and Total (346kg) in the 94kg weight class. Having won 3 bronze medals at the 2010 Pan American Championships, Nick is on pace to qualify for the 2012 Olympics in London.
Nick has been one of the few guys that I always looked to for advice.  He is very knowledable in ALL areas of strength training, Nutrition, Supplements & more!  If you have any question feel free to reply and we can do our best to help you.
Nick grew up in St. John’s, NL and relocated to Montreal in August 2009 for better training and coaching. He is a Personal Trainer, Massage Therapist, and certified ART practitioner at JFT International in downtown Montreal. He is also sponsored by Charles Poliquin.

You can reach Nick at nr.massage@hotmail.com for info regarding training and programming for Olympic Lifting & Weightlifting.

My Interview With Santana Anderson.

Santana Anderson first off thank you for taking the time to do this interview! Maybe you can first introduce yourself a bit and tell us a little background.

Hi Rob.  Just wanted to start by saying thank you for asking me to be part of your website.  I’ve been a follower myself for sometime and have to say you do great work, and are well known in the industry for your honest opinions and candidness.  I think that is a welcome touch in an industry like ours.

So,, a little background info on me.  I was born and raised in Canso, Nova Scotia,a small fishing village with a population of about 1000.  I first became interested in weights and bodybuilding, on a hockey trip in my early teens when I saw a magazine cover with Porter Cotrell on it.  I thought to myself… “I’d like to get to that someday.”  I started my weight training in my basement like most kids, and thankfully was told by my brother and father, not to expect results overnight.  They really made me understand that it would take months to start to notice what I was doing and that the only way I would get to where I wanted to be was to stick with it.  I still remember them telling me that, so I think that went made me begin to understand that this wasn’t going to be a 6 week hobby and that if I wanted something substantial I was going to have to be patient and work for it.

I became immersed in the magazine culture, looked up to the early 90′s bodybuilders like most Canadian teens looked up to hockey players.  I even had the pleasure of meeting Nasser El Sonbaty on a flight from Toronto to LA when I was just 14.  He was extremely friendly, signed a couple of magazines I had which had feature articles of him in it, and took the time to even walk with my mom and I to our luggage after arriving at LAX.

After high school, and moving to Ontario, I began personal training and working part time at a supplement store in Belleville.  I met my first competitive bodybuilder there, Tim Walsh, who was enormous, and again friendly and outgoing.  He helped to teach me a lot of the basics about the sport and definitely made me want to be even more a part of it.

After returning home to attend St.F.X. University, and opening my own supplement store in Antigonish while attending, I decided to compete in my first show.  I placed second in the light heavyweight class, and looking back was lucky to do that well.  My diet was founded mostly on research in the magazines, and posing from videos I ordered online.  I still remember whispering the Nova Scotian head judge, if I even belong here or if I was embaressing myself, haha.

After a few more tries and finally hiring an experienced trainer I was able to take the NS Provincial overall and moved on to Nationals.  In 2006 I went to Saskatoon to try my luck at the heavyweight class, and unfortunately was a little flat and truly too small to compete with a lot of the bigger guys.  My conditioning garnered me 5th place, which I was happy with at the time, but at that point I somehow felt I was at the height of my genetic potential.

Life and other priorities took over and after finishing University, I got to my beautiful wife Lisa and within a year had my first son Kai.  I truly never thought I’d get back onstage again until January of last year.

I had still been training, but this had become extremely complacent.  I met up with another bodybuilder, Salim Satir, who happened to start training at the same gym I was at.  He immediately recognized how… well… my training was lacking the intensity it needed, and he offered to get a few workouts in together.  After training with him a couple times, it actually reignited a spark in me to train hard and make gains.  We became training partners almost immediately (the guy is easily the strongest guy I’ve ever met), and his push and drive helped to motivate and drive me to achieve new gains.  We both talked about competing in the upcoming nationals in Saskatoon, but unfortunately for Salim, an injury had been holding him back from giving his all to satisfy what he needed to compete at (still trained harder than anyone I’ve ever known… even with the injury!!!)

He began helping me with my diet and giving me direction with my schedule, and really became a mentor.  We pushed through the weeks leading up to the show and his confidence in my gains truly helped to push me on, even through the grueling last few weeks.

Things ended nicely, and I was lucky enough to garner the heavyweight and overall titles, as well as what I had been waiting for since I was 14…. an IFBB pro card.

I had been working in the supplement industry previous to speaking to Adrian (co president of Fusion Bodybuilding), and following a lay off we began corresponding back in forth in regards to the upcoming Nationals.  He said he would be there following Darnell Collins and looked forward to chatting at the show.  Adrian was a class act guy from the first time we emailed to our meeting and within a week of Nationals I signed a deal that made me happily part of the Fusion team.   We have continued our contact on a weekly basis since then, just recently flying out to Toronto for CHFA to work their booth, and was happy to meet the rest of the team.

These guys are what a supplement company, truly should be about.  They are passionate about their products, the sport and the industry and are guys that I would likely hang out with if I lived in their region.  Really a great team to be a part of with tonnes of innovative ideas, always working to promote and help the sport and amateur bodybuilders alike.  I will actually be in New Brunswick to represent Fusion for their upcoming Provincials on November 13th and then fly to Newfoundland for the following weekend to be part of the Newfoundland Labradour Provincials, both of which Fusion Bodybuilding will be sponsering.

I made it down to the Olympia this year Rob, and wow!!!!… It was great to see what the top level of our sport looks like up close.  It made me that much more hungry to improve this year.
I am not a competitor who wins his pro card and then never uses it and had begun offseason preparations the week following nationals.
My IFBB pro debut will be the Toronto Pro Supershow on June 17th, which seems like a fitting place to do so, on home soil.  I will follow that up with the Tampa Bay Pro, as well as the Europa Connecticuit, pending the contest schedule for that event.

After watching the Olympia, my goal is to qualify and make it to that stage.

My current offseason weight is 255lbs-260lbs and Salim and I are aiming to get in the 265-270lbs range before dieting down for the June shows.  The target is to be dry and hard at 240lbs.  I weighed in at 223lbs at this years Nationals, so as you can see I have a lot of work to do to make those gains, but am confident that it will be ccomplished.

Santana Anderson tell us about your current Training/Nutrition/Supplement program?  I am sure my readers would LOVE to read this (as would I as your a monster lol).

There are a few supplements that I feel are a necessity for bodybuilders.

An Omega supplement (I use Fusion’s Omega Oil of Course), is the basis for so many essential functions of our body, and so underused, that I feel this to be one of the most important supplements in my cabinet.

Glutamine (Glutamend is my choice of course), is clinically proven to help or muscles recovery from hard training sessions, and is an invaluable tool.

I also include Agent M(Branched Chained Aminos), and Fubar currently in my offseason training protocol.

A good whey isolate is also invaluable during and after our training sessions to ensure we are receiving immediate absorption to help repair our muscles following intense training sessions.

My training split consists of each bodypart once a week, trained generally with high volume (5 exercises 5-6 sets per on large bodyparts, 3 exercises on smaller bodyparts)

Here’s my split

Santana Anderson Weight Training Split :

mon – legs(get this out of the way early  hammy’s always first!!!,, ever see a bodybuilder with hamstrings that are TOO big… no, because that doesn’t exist )

tues – Chest / Calves / Abs

wed – Back

thur-  bi’s tris

fri –  Shoulders/traps

Now, anyone that trains around me will know, that my workouts vary often.  I seldom do the same workout two weeks in a row for a bodypart and incorporate giant sets regularly.  By giant set, I mean 6-7 exercises in a row for a bodypart with 10-15 reps each exercise, repeating this 4 to 5 times.  It is excrutiating and takes intensity to a new level.  This is where you learn if you are lying to yourself or not, ending the set early because of the pain, or if you are truly failing.  This is an invaluable tool in anybody’s workout regime.

Fusion is just putting the finishing touches on my website and should be up soon.  Until then, you can reach me through my facebook account (add me, I like new friends:) ) , via email at santana.delmar@ns.aliantzinc.ca or through Fusion’s site where the have a questionnaire section that is directed to me.

Google : Santana Anderson Fusion Nutrition.

Thanks again Rob for the opportunity and I look forward to meeting you at the upcoming provincials.

Best Regards,

Santana Anderson

Santana Anderson my friend it was a pleasure & Thank You for your time!

To get the BEST Deals & Service on Fusion Supplements be sure to order from my site www.Heavyweights.ca

For more information on Santana Anderson be sure to check out his site www.santanaanderson.com/

Thank you Santana Anderson!

Chris first of all thanks for taking the time for this interview I know you are very busy.  Maybe you can tell us a little background about yourself and your business.

My pleasure, Rob.  I’ve been bodybuilding for just over 20 years.  I’m far from what you’d call and “easy gainer” – I placed fourth in my first show in 1994 as a bantamweight.  But I’ve always loved the sport and loved the changes I could make in my body, as minor as they may have been.

Supplements have always played a role in my regimen (it made sense to me that getting from point A to B should be faster than with just food and training alone) – some worked to a small degree and many didn’t do a thing.   Eventually I learned a lot more about proper nutrition and supplementation and got a job working with one of Canada’s largest supplement distributors.

Over time I found myself working with some of the largest brands in the world.  In 2005 I took that acquired knowledge and started my own company, Advanced Genetics.  AG is the culmination of everything I had learned good about the supplement industry.
I know you have been dieting your ass off recenlty as I have seen the updates on Facebook.  What show were you dieting for and how did you place?

I recently won my class, welterweight, at the 2010 Canadians held in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.  I still don’t think I’m over the fact that I can say I’m the best in the country for that weight class – I think I’m still that fourth place bantamweight somewhere in my brain.
Man that’s awesome!  Maybe you can share with us what went into training for this show and what made such a big difference this year?  IE Tell me what your average day is like and what helped you take things to another level this year.

I dieted for 18 weeks for this show.  I used pretty much the same diet plan as I had when I won the lightweight division at the 2009 Nova Scotia Provincials.  I use a version of the Ketogenic diet, the same one I use with my Contest Body clients (www.contestbody.com).

The only difference was that I had F-10 (our fat burner) to help me this time.  It sounds like a shameless plug, but it really helped curb my appetite and gave me the energy I needed to train and do up to two hours of cardio a day.

What exciting plans do you have in store for your own comptition and your business?  Give me a sneek peak .

Competition wise I plan on doing the Nationals again in 2012.  I may compete in 2011 if I progress beyond expectation, but we’ll play that one by ear.

In respect to Advanced Genetics, we have two new products coming out in October 2010: GP3 in powder form (with added Taurine and Beta-Alanine) and Nitric Impact, a pre-workout that is stacked with a powerful matrix of nitric oxide producing ingredients coupled with some very potent energizing compounds.

Chris thanks again for the time!  Maybe you can hook my loyal readers up with something cool!! (We can run a promo here or something cool)

Absolutely!  I’m not sure when this interview will “air”, but I’ve got a great free offer for your readers.  If they go to Heavyweights and order (or pre-order) a jug of the new GP3 powder or Nitric Impact, we’ll also send them a FREE shaker cup!

To check out Chris’s site be sure to check out www.AdvancedGenetics.ca

I looked like this as a kid!

Bodybuilding & Fitness takes SERIOUS dedication.  If you are not in this sport you just don’t “Get it”.  The sacrifices, the time invested, the short term pain for a goal.  

If you have competed before you understand.  

My Buddy Joey took this to a whole new level.  

A few months ago Joey and I were in Vegas for one of our Fitness Meetings and he was dieting for his show at the time and only like a week out.  So here were Andy Pratt, Anthony  & I  and a few others at the The Aria with VIP bottle service partying like rock stars (I am glad I wasn’t paying that bill lol).  

Joey on the other hand didn’t deviate ONE BIT.  Dieting is hard, dieting on the road is even worse, but dieting on the Vegas Stip!!  Joey is a better man than me!  

Here is my interview with this rising Fitness Star.  

Joey my friend thanks for taking the time for this interview. Maybe you can give me a bit of background on you and your background.  

Joey, Bo-Bandy, Anthony & I trying to be cool in Las Vegas

No problem Rob, anytime.  

Well, I grew up in a small town in Quebec Canada and as a kid I was always involved in many different sports and very active in different activities.  

I was also one of the smallest guys on every team I played on generally because I was just naturally skinny because of my genetics and lack of knowledge in the human body developments department.  

However, when you play sports as a kid and even for the majority of my teenage years, they generally don’t require the players to possess big muscular physiques.
My skinny fast pace athletic body worked to my advantage as I was always the fastest kid on my team and speed was usually the quality factor that determined your success.  

In fact, I was the captain/leader of almost every team I played for and had a very good reputation for the many sports I played.  

But then, as I got older, the sports became more physically demanding and soon it was the guys who possessed bigger stronger bodies who were dominating the sports scene, which left me in the dark despite my speed and agility.  

I started to feel very helpless and frustrated as I could not duplicate the results I had seen in my previous years of competing.  

At the time, I was not informed in body transformations and packing on muscle. My surroundings and resources were not aware of muscle development strategies which led me to believe that it was just not possible. You are who you are and that was it! Which I now know is a big load of B.S.  

But at that time, I didn’t know any different and after two years of playing sports at those new levels and feeling low, helpless and intimidated, I actually quit playing sports and gave up my life’s passion.  

It was a hard time in my life and I remember going through some dark times after that and not really knowing who I was because for all those years, sports was what defined me as a person.  

As hard as that was, it didn’t compare to when I started college. I went into college looking like a half scared 12 year old and still generally the same size I was when I was in high school. I began noticing all these other guys who were just jacked and ripper and obviously getting the attention from the girls I just wasn’t getting. Haha.  

I had enough by this point…so I decided to make a change…to set a goal of finding out once and for all if I could change my body and gain muscle.  

I started to research obsessively, collected articles, pieces of information, bookmarked websites and sought out to pick the brains of some of the top fitness experts out there. I am very Obsessive Compulsive, so needless to say, I found out what I needed to know in a very little amount of time J  

After the first year since starting out on this new quest, I accomplished my goal! I had completely transformed my body…you should have seen my student ID card collection…I looked SOOOO different from the first to second year photo, my girlfriend cant believe it! She said she wouldn’t have dated me the first year as I looked like a ‘boy’ haha.  

But the second year, I had an entire new body and I was hooked! And being obsessive compulsive, I continued to learn. After getting my exhaustive list of questions answered, and then stumping the fitness experts, I decided I needed to know more so I went ahead and studied to get certified as a NSCA trainer and the other credentials required to help others with their own transformations.  

Of course I continued to experiment with different secret strategies to build muscle faster with testing on myself and clients and I gathered the results and continued meticulously to formulate a fool proof plan to build muscle fast and naturally…by the way, I have always been a drug free natural athlete.  

A lot has changed since I discovered the truth and built my body up and I am not simply talking about the effects it had with the girls. Lol! Seriously though, it is important to understand that transforming your body can lead to transformations in other areas of your life such as more confidence, more self-esteem and self-esteem. This can lead you to take on bigger goals and strive to succeed in other areas as well.  

That is why I am so passionate about helping others reach their goals and feel that same feeling I first felt after transforming my own body. I didn’t feel helpless anymore and now I want to teach ‘skinny’ guys that you CAN put on muscle. Don’t listen to the mainstream or people who say you can’t because they are lying to you.  

I want to instill that same confidence level and new life perspective into others as I discovered for myself.  

Recently you competed in a competition (Poor Joey was dieting while we were partying in Vegas ahaha). Can you tell us what competition that was and how you did?  

Yeah man, Vegas was awesome regardless of not being able to party it up all night with you guys. I think one of the highlights of that trip was training at Wanderlei Silva’s gym (compliments of you…Thanks!). My partying consisted of one glass of wine, water, water and let’s see now…MORE water. Haha.  

It was hard to peel myself away from the club that night but in the end it was all worth it (even having missed out on the all you can eat buffets!)  

But yeah, anyone that knows me knows that I am constantly setting my sights higher and higher. After setting and reaching a goal, I immediately set a new one and start working away at reaching that goal. So naturally, after building my body and being satisfied with my results, I decided that I wanted to take it to the next level and enter a competition.  

I decided to do a fitness model competition as that is the body type I most want to resemble. Nothing against bodybuilders, but I prefer a little less size and more definition and the more ‘natural’ look (so does my girlfriend and she has a big say in it J).  

When you commit to something you automatically create an accountability factor that makes you work that much HARDER no matter what you are doing to ensure you follow through with it and achieve it.  

I entered the 2010 FAME Centrals Fitness Model Championships which was in April.  

Since it was the first competition, I didn’t know what to expect exactly or what the judges looked for so I decided that I was just going to get absolutely shredded just to be safe! And I did…I reached an all time low of 3.1% body fat!  

It was not the most pleasant experience sitting at that low of body fat for the last week before competition and I don’t know if I would go that low again, but regardless, I did it.  

The morning of the show I got a tan from some company on site at the competition. I was under the impression everyone was getting this done so I did too…but it was the worse tan ever and it leaked and ran all day. I was already fairly dark from getting spray tanned in my hometown locally, but I was told I need to be super dark, so I decided to get sprayed again that morning by a different company. BIG mistake.  

But despite the bad tan, and slightly freakish appearance (color wise), I placed 1st overall and won the FAME Championships. I talked to the judges and they said that I blew away the competition, but that I needed to work on my tan. Haha.  

Let me tell you though, after months of dieting, sitting at 3% body fat, starving the day of the show and making many sacrifices, it definitely felt good to win the championships, and it felt good to eat an extra large pizza, chicken tenders, cheesecake and fries after the show as a cheat meal!!  

Your level of leanness is crazy!! Tell us what it took you to get to that low bodyfat. Any tips or tricks or was it all just pure discipline?  

Lol. Thanks Rob, I appreciate that J First let me point out that I am NOT always that lean…and like I said before, when I compete next, I will probably enter at about 5-6% instead of 3%.  

Every competitor knows that there is an off season in which you are not as strict and you go up a bit in body fat which is ok, but when I want to get super ripped, I typically hit everything that much harder.  

Workouts stay the same, I just might increase the intensity slightly, but I am a firm believer that the workouts that built the muscle are the workouts that will keep the muscle as well while dieting.  

For diet, I have tried many, but for me I personally enjoy a plain caveman diet full of non-processed foods and tons of veggies.  

I do perform cardio to get lean and this is typically the biggest factor I have control over besides my diet. When I plateau in my fat loss, I typically start to incorporate early AM empty stomach cardio sessions that are only fueled by glutamine, bcaa and 5 grams of protein powder just to protect against muscle breakdown and of course a double espresso for the CNS stimulation and fat burning effects that come with it.  

I also incorporated carb cycling methods to drop from 6-3% over the final 4-5 weeks. Basically its just 40% less carbs from my baseline intake for 3 days, then one day of a 10% increase over baseline for one and repeat.  

But in the end, almost every different method will work as like I said, I tried a lot of different leaning down methods. The biggest factor is will power and discipline. The plan is only as good as you make it to be. You need to commit, follow and dedicate yourself to it to see the results.  

What is in store for you for the future Joey? Any more competitions or new products in the works?  

Oh man there is SOOO MUCH going on right now J I have set new goals for the coming year including the following:  

· Finish getting my PRO Fitness Model Card
· Get featured in a top muscle magazine cover
· Develop more in depth products based on my clients requirements and based on the new techniques I develop
· Continue to inspire others to take action in their life
· Continue to Build the Bones To Buff community for all the hardgainer’s out there
I am also working on a new secret product with a good friend that I cannot say too much about, but it is going to be a killer advanced video workout product.  

Since the competition I have been getting requests for modeling jobs and was featured on the front page of my local newspaper, in an ad for the spay tan company and I just did another photo shoot last weekend for a new hard copy book about competition posing that is going to be coming out very soon.  

For competitions, I will decide that next year, but I will more than likely defend my title and perhaps aim for a bigger competition as well.  

Products….I have been hammering away at a very special never-been done before version of Bones To Buff Advanced!  

It’s due out in about a month or so. It involves a new calorie cycling technique called Advanced Metabolic Acceleration and it is specific to building muscle and it is receiving great feedback and results. Only recently did I start to experiment with carb. Cycles for muscle gain instead of just fat loss and the plan I came up is giving me my best results ever.  

The theory is a little more complex, but the good news is I always include done for you meal plans that people can use immediately.  

Its not out yet, but anyone who gets Bones To Buff now will also get the new version when it is released for no additional cost. I haven’t slept more than 4 hours a night since embarking on completing this product J Its going to be killer.  

Alright since I got you on the spot I need you to hook my readers a DEAL! So come on…what can you do me for me and my readers? Hook a brother up   

Lol. Alright Rob, since you asked so nicely…and because you treated me to a gym pass back in Vegas, I will hook you up with a special deal for your readers only.  

I want to first give your readers a free report I just finished writing about busting any plateau. This is hot off the presses and depending on when your readers see this interview, it may not even be available on the net!  

And of course, I will give you a special link where your readers can get the ‘Rob King Discount’ of more than $12 dollars off the original price. Since the price is so low to begin with, $12.95 off is equivalent to 30% off and is a heck of a deal if you ask me!  

And I am feeling generous today…I will also throw in the 5 Week Rambo Workout supplementary exercise manual. This is a back specialization workout that can be interchanged with the Original Bones TO Buff 5 Week workout plan. This is not even available for purchase anymore as it was just a bonus I threw in one time and I only include in on occasion.  

Just get them to email me a copy of the receipt and I will send the extra bonus. joey@joeyvaillancourtfitness.com  

Just make sure they check out the discounted link and not the original link or else they won’t have access to the lower price.  

www.BonesToBuff.com/FriendsOfRob  

Thanks for the interview Rob. It’s always a pleasure and next time I am down near your way, we will have to get together for some hardcore training sessions!  

Joey is offering this INSANE DEAL to my readers for only 48 HOURS So jump on this NOW!  

$269.95 Value For YOU For Just $27