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Written by Craig Titus
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Wednesday, 25 April 2007 |
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Page 2 of 2
Quite honestly, bodybuilding and running just don't mix. The key to success in bodybuilding and adding mass is to consume more calories than you burn so you can recover from training and build muscle. Anytime you run you burn up a ton of calories and for a lot of guys it's more than they eat. What you're doing is taking two steps forward and three steps back. I don't see you doing too well in your bodybuilding efforts if you continue to run, and I don't see you improving your running if you continue bodybuilding. Muscle is heavy and slows you down, which is why the best distance runners are very thin, light-boned guys. Running will keep you from putting on much more mass. I hate to tell you this, but you are spinning your wheels. I don't want to tell you to quit training, but you will probably get much better results once you are able to quit running. I think you know Dave Palumbo used to be a 140-pound distance runner until he stopped running and started lifting weights. It looks to me like he made some pretty decent gains since then, huh?
What's your diet plan for the off-season now that you've announced you won't be competing again until the spring, 2004, shows? Will you be working with Chad Nicholls?
I don't know if Chad will have time; he's really busy with his new baby. I actually work with Jay Cutler. He lives out here in Vegas and we have a lot of things in common. I like everything he's taught me, because his methods seem to work perfectly for my body. I have already started my off-season plan. My diet consists of seven meals a day. Two or three of those are whey protein, Pinnacle's Juiced Protein to be exact. I have some carbs with those, either a bagel or Gatorade. The other four meals are solid ones. I have cut my protein intake down to no more than 400 grams a day on Jay's advice. At my highest weight of 275-280, that's still almost a gram and a half per pound. Jay has convinced me that this is all I need. The body can only assimilate so much protein and the rest is just wasted. If someone his size never consumes more than 400 grams, why should I need to?
The biggest change I made is that now I'm eating a lot more carbohydrates. In years past, I thought I was eating 600-1,000 grams of carbs a day in the off-season, but when I sat down one day and wrote it all down, I found out I was way off. My intake was only 300-400 grams a day. After talking to Jay I have moved this up to 1,200 grams a day. This comes from rice, bagels, honey, raisins, bananas, applesauce and beans. It's been really effective at building muscle. My simple sugar intake is way up too, because I found through trial and error that when eaten around your workouts, sugar is great for gaining size. I know people are terrified to eat carbs lately, but low-carb and no-carb diets will hurt you. They shut your metabolism down. One thing that pisses me off is the so-called fucking gurus who get fitness girls ready. Some of these idiots starve those girls down to nothing and shut their thyroid glands down. Kelly and I have a very close friend, one of our best friends, who was trained by a pro who lived in Vegas for a fitness show. He had her eating zero carbs for weeks on end and ruined her thyroid function. It's ridiculous. You just don't do that! I can't tell you how much that frustrated me.
This no-carb thing is a fad and it will pass because it's not that effective. Bodybuilders should forget about it completely, because if you are trying to build muscle you need a lot of carbs. Your pumps will be better, you will recover faster and more completely, and you will be stronger because there is more water in the muscles. I need to clarify that I am not talking about straight-up junk food. Some guys in the off-season pig out on empty, useless calories like donuts and French fries, but that's not the way to do it. I used to do the same thing, but now that I am getting my carbs from healthier sources I am staying leaner and still adding size. I can't wait to see what nearly a year of this will do to my physique for next spring.
Who are your picks for the top five at this year's Mr. Olympia?
That's a tough question. Who do I think should be in the top five, or who will actually be there? First, here's who I would have there, assuming everyone is in great shape.
1. Ronnie Coleman
2. Jay Cutler
3. Chris Cormier
4. Shawn Ray
5. Dexter Jackson
Now, here's what I am pretty sure will happen.
1. Ronnie Coleman
2. Gunter Schlierkamp
3. Jay Cutler
4. Chris Cormier
5. Kevin Levrone
I don't think Gunter should be in the top five, but I know in my heart he will be. He is just being so hyped up that people are being brainwashed into looking past his flawed structure. I'm happy for Gunter when he does well because he's a nice guy, but I don't agree with the decision. The real battle should be between Ronnie and Jay. Jay is a good friend and he will be Mr. Olympia someday. Right now, I think Ronnie will edge Jay out if he shows up in his 1998 form. If Jay wins, we'll be celebrating! Then again, let's not leave Chris Comier out of the picture. Chris has the best structure in the sport and should beat Gunter hands down, then outta 10 times!
I started using Pinnacle's Juiced Protein since hearing about you joining their team. I have only been on it a couple days, so it's probably too early to see results yet, but the taste is great! Are you using any other new supplements from Pinnacle that might be worthwhile in my stack?
Absolutely! Kelly and I are fully stocked now. Pinnacle is all we use. We use Juiced Protein, Juiced Creatine and their new Vitamin E product. It has four different types of vitamin E and is 100 percent more effective as an antioxidant than regular Vitamin E. That's been proven with Orac testing. As a pro bodybuilder, some of the things we do to compete are pretty toxic to the body. It's very important to cleanse and detoxify the system. I'm gonna use a lot of it this year. They also have a multivitamin and mineral with CLA called Omega VMS.
Kelly and I also mess around with EXotica once in a while, the successor to Horny Goat Weed. It's fun and very effective. Basically, it's a drug that spices things up in the bedroom, which is pretty cool. I've also been testing out Pinnacle's Rhodax supplement. This product is the bomb! It's an herbal relaxant, and guys, I'm telling you, this stuff will make you feel so chilled out. It's like, total balance. Rhodax was designed to help control mood swings along with relaxation, which makes it an essential supplement when dieting, because I know how irritable we can get when training hard on low carbs. .
When I look at photos of Mike Mentzer, Arnold and Frank Zane doing their vacuum pose, I'm simply amazed at the powerful look it gives. Arnold's chest was so big, I think he could compete with the pros of today if he wanted to. I read in his book about doing pullovers to expand that area, but haven't seen anyone do them since I watched Titus, The Video that I bought from your website. Do you believe the rib cage girdle can be expanded with dumbbell pullovers even for someone like me who isn't a pro and probably never will be?
I absolutely agree that pullovers can expand the rib cage for young guys whose bodies are still developing, like teenagers and men in their early twenties. The old-time guys used to swear by doing these right after squats when you are breathing really hard. I don't think it's possible to expand the rib cage once your bones are fully developed, like in the late twenties and beyond. After that, it's still a great exercise for building thickness in the lats. Dorian Yates actually had a Nautilus pullover machine in his house and he gives the exercise a lot of credit for his incredible back. I do pullovers at the end of my back workout. For the back, you don't need to use a dumbbell; you can either use a pullover machine if your gym has one, or do straight-arm pullovers with a lat pulldown bar.
Do you get a lot of negative, or "hate" e-mails? How do you respond to them?
I have to say that about 98 percent of all the e-mails I get are very positive. I got hundreds after the NOC congratulating me on how good I looked and for beating a few guys who had been running their mouths about me. I also got many from guys who were happy for Kelly and me signing with Pinnacle. I occasionally receive some nasty e-mails, but once I detect the negative tone, I stop reading and immediately delete it. Why waste my time? Most of these are from loser jerk-offs with no lives of their own who want nothing more than to get into an ongoing e-mail war of words with someone they envy and want to bring down emotionally. Sorry, I don't have time for stupid shit like that and even if I did, I wouldn't bother. If someone is jealous, bitter, or miserable with their lives, that's too bad, but I am not going to sit here and be their pen pal.
How important is it to get eight hours of sleep a night? I have also heard that some bodybuilders set their alarm clocks to wake up and eat a meal to stave off catabolism. Do you do this?
Not only do I believe it's critical to get a solid eight hours of sleep a night, I also take a two-hour nap every afternoon without fail. When you are training as hard and frequently as I do, your sleep requirements are above and beyond that of the average adult. They are actually closer to that of a young child in their growing years. I realize not everyone is able to fall asleep during the daytime, but you will still get a lot of benefit from just lying down and relaxing for an hour or so in a dark, quiet room. As for the meals, no, I don't set an alarm clock to wake up and eat in the middle of the night. I naturally wake up at around 3 a.m. to use the bathroom, so that's when I have my protein shake. Fifty grams of whey protein will maintain a positive nitrogen balance and keep me in an anabolic state. I think I would have a hard time falling back asleep if I sat there in the kitchen and had to chew and swallow for 15 or 20 minutes, and that would take away from the duration and quality of my sleep.
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