Iâll Be Back! - Victor Recovers with MHP
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Victor Martinez, bodybuilding’s fastest rising star, had all the
momentum going into the 2008 bodybuilding season to steamroll the
competition. The first stop, March 1st in Columbus, Ohio to defend his
crown and repeat victory. Then it was going to be full speed ahead to
the 2008 Olympia to take what was rightfully his. And this time he
really wasn’t going to leave anything to chance. Then the unimaginable
happened, the only thing that could have stopped Victor other than a
bullet— Victor suffers a serious injury. The news spread like wildfire.
Everyone was speculating on what happened and whether or not Victor was
going to have to sit out of the Arnold, which was just 6 weeks away. |
The people’s champion and “uncrowned” Mr. Olympia had torn his patella
tendon and was going to need surgery. The news sent shockwaves through
the bodybuilding community. Immediately the forums starting buzzing—not
only was Victor going to have to sit out of the Arnold, would he also
miss this year’s Olympia? Could this be a career-ending injury? It was
perhaps the most career-threatening injury to ever happen to a Mr.
Olympia hopeful. Everyone had Victor as a shoe-in to repeat victory at
the Arnold Classic and everyone but Victor was already looking past the
Arnold waiting for Victor to get his chance to redeem his controversial
loss at the 2007 Olympia and lay claim to the crown.
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RN: So, you’ll be ready to even the score at the Olympia? |
I have my diet, training and nutrition down to a science. I’ve
already begun to formulate my comeback strategy. RN: How does this injury affect your finances and sponsorship? VM: Well, the $130,000 in lost prize money for the Arnold hurts. That’s a nice payday. But I am very fortunate to have 2 of the best possible sponsors in MHP and Muscular Development. Both Gerard Dente and Steve Blechman have been totally supportive. They call me all the time to see how I am doing and are standing behind me as I work through my recovery. It’s important to have their support. Arnold Schwarzenegger only had Joe Weider, I have two great guys in Gerard and Steve. RN: I don’t want to rub salt on the wound, but I heard you were looking incredible for the Arnold with 6 weeks to go. VM: My Arnold Classic preparation was going great. I felt better than ever. 2007 was a great year for me. Winning the Arnold Classic was tremendous and even though losing a close and controversial decision at the 2007 Mr. Olympia was disappointing, it wasn’t discouraging. In fact, it made me even more determined to come back better in 2008. I was looking forward to defending my crown come March 1st at the Arnold. After the Olympia, I never got more than 20 pounds over my competition weight. I knew I would have to be totally dialed in for the Arnold and even be sharper than I was at the Olympia. I didn’t want to leave any doubts in the judges’ minds or have them say I wasn’t as ripped as I was for the Olympia. At the time of my injury, I was 262 lbs and only about 10 to 12 pounds over my target contest weight of 250. I was ready and looking forward to the competition because I knew I was going to hit my peak and it was going to be difficult for anyone to take my crown. My contest preparation for this year’s Arnold wasn’t much different from what I did last year. I have pretty much figured out my body and the formula of diet, training and supplementation that works. With each show, I learn a little more and refine my program. These slight modifications and the addition of some new MHP products have allowed me to make improvements with each show over the past few years. For this year’s Arnold, I started my pre-contest prep leaner than I have ever started before thanks to DREN. I’m not going to allow myself to get too heavy in the off-season. Starting out leaner makes my preparation easier and allows me to coast into my show. I won’t have to do any drastic calorie cutting or hours of cardio. This allows me to dial it in without sacrificing muscle. As contest time approaches, if I feel a need to cut down my calories a little and step up the cardio sessions, I’ll do that. RN: That sounds like a good plan. So, what about your diet and supplementation? Come on, fill us in on what it is you do. |
Here is my diet and supplement program. As you can see, my diet is
pretty basic. I keep the protein pretty high throughout the day over 6
meals (3 of these meals are food meals and 3 are in the form of MHP’s
Probolic-SR protein shake). I eat most of my carbs in meal 1 and meal
2. Then post-workout, I drink Dark Matter, which gives me the fast
absorbing carb load and influx of aminos and creatine I need after
training. As the contest gets closer, if need be, I will cut back on my
carb intake.
As you can see, I rely heavily on MHP supplements. I was not a big supplement user earlier in my career, but that was a mistake. In 2005, I began an extensive supplement regimen and it has made a big difference. It’s no coincidence that my bodybuilding career has skyrocketed since I began using MHP supplements. |
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RN: Wow, that is a lot of food and supplements. What if someone didn’t want to take all that? What would you suggest?
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VM: Thanks, Raf, you will. I still have some goals to achieve and I plan on achieving them. I really want to thank all of my fans for being so supportive. The emails you send add more fuel to my fire. Don’t worry– I’ll Be Back! 
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Rafael Norat: So, Vic, I understand you trained heavy legs without any
problems on Sunday and then on Wednesday you blow out your tendon doing
lunges. How the hell does that happen?
