Opinion ASF Industry Expert Q&A - The Professor (2 Viewers)

Maverick · Oct 14, 2023

In this edition of ASF Industry Expert Q&As we welcome The Professor, a longer term member of this community.

The Professor has a busy lifestyle and is a coach with a pretty decent ongoing roster. We’re grateful he’s found some time for the Q&A.

It’s a pleasure to do a Q&A with you mate.

Q: I always like to start from the beginning. Tell us a bit about your start in body building and when you started to explore performance enhancement?

A: Hi Mate, I don’t coach professional athletes or IFBB bodybuilders, but I have been coaching for a long time and do feel I have a sound knowledge base and lots of experience helping fitness enthusiasts improve their health and achieve their physique transformation goals. At the end of the day, I honestly just have a deep passion for coaching and really enjoy seeing clients achieve success, but that is very kind of you.

Regarding bodybuilding, I have never actually competed myself. I do however admire anyone who makes the decision to step up on stage and give it a try. It’s a great accomplishment to put yourself through the very vigorous physical and mental challenges that this entails. I will say though, just because you have not competed or plan to, having a goal to transform your body into a look that you feel proud of, makes you feel happy, healthy, and confident, is just as important and rewarding!

In terms of my background, I first became interested in bodybuilding at the age of around 21 (I’m currently 43). At that stage in my life I had always been involved and interested in fitness growing up. I represented my school and state in numerous sports, I enjoyed surfing, riding mountain bikes and dirt bikes, and grew up on an acreage 5 mins walk to the beach. It was a great healthy lifestyle!

I did however, when I became a little older, like many other young teenagers and 20-year old’s enjoy a good party and attending night clubs! This led me to using party drugs, attending a lot of music festivals, and eventually losing a fair amount of bodyweight. There was one incident which triggered a change in that lifestyle that I remember vividly. My best friend was very much into weight training and eating copious amounts of food trying to grow muscle. He had a basic set up in his garage, power rack, barbell, and lots of weight plates. I walked in one day when he had gone to the toilet. He had left the barbell on the bench press with around 60 kilos on the bar. I decided to get under the bar and give it a crack, thinking this weight training cannot be too hard right?

Well, I did manage to un-rack the bar, but it soon came crashing down on my neck and stapled me! I barely managed to scream out “help ‘’ as my mate rushed in to save me. “What are you doing Stano?” he asked with a shocked look on his face. “I’m trying to throw some weight around; I want to put on some muscle like you” I replied. He just left the room shaking his head.

I was determined to prove him wrong, so I took some of his ironman magazines that were scattered around everywhere on the floor, borrowed his tub of creatine which I found in his cupboard, and made myself a goal to lift weights so I could grow some muscle and I never looked back!

I didn’t consider the enhancement route until I was around 30. Before then, I was just happy trying a tonne of different exercise programs, reading as much information as I could, learning from different coaches I had hired along the way and finding methods which worked not only on myself but also with clients I eventually started coaching myself. In hindsight, I probably should have started using PEDs a little earlier but in all honestly, none of my friends were taking them, I didn’t want to ask my coaches at the time because they all competed naturally, and even if I did want to start PEDS, I had no one to guide me or even know where to purchase them.
So, I just went through the grind for around 10 years until eventually my training partner at the time and I decided, lets give this enhancement route a try.

It was a less than ideal introduction to AAS. We ended up purchasing some testosterone enanthate from another gym member we didn’t even know. He promised us it was liquid gold. Well, after 8 weeks of using 500mg a week (that was what you were told was a good starting point) it had made zero difference! I was pretty sure I had been sold olive oil! Thank God these days we have better options and HPLC testing!

Q: At what point in your journey did focus come onto coaching?

A: I had been involved with coaching during high school, coaching rugby league and tennis, plus running school sports camps.

I began training clients when I was around 25. I had completed my cert 3 and cert 4 and stage 1 strength and conditioning and was also being mentored by a fantastic bodybuilding coach at the time who had competed in and won the national natural bodybuilding competition in the master’s division. He also coached many athletes and bodybuilders who competed, both enhanced and natural. I absolutely loved being coached. We would talk shop for hours. It was a great learning experience!

During this time, I started receiving a lot of comments from clients who were really enjoying my style of coaching which gave me even more drive to continue to pursue coaching and continue to build my knowledge base, thriving to keep improving the service I could provide.

Q: Tell us a bit about your coaching style and what you think makes a good coach?

A: My coaching style is very educational. I don’t like to just give a client a training program or diet model or PED protocol without them knowing the exact reasoning behind why they were given those particular plans. I also like to spend time chatting to each individual so I can get to know them personally and build up a good client coach relationship. There has been a big shift lately to more online coaching which makes in harder to build these relationships compared to when I was doing more one on one PT coaching, so I try to make up for this by catching up regularly on the phone, responding to messages and being present for each of their needs.

Overall, I would say I have a relaxed and easy-going personality. I put a big emphasis on building a strong camaraderie with my group of clients and I want everyone to feel welcomed and comfortable.

Q: You’ve been coined The Professor? How have you developed a knowledge base and ability to explain concepts?

A: Part of being a good coach is about explaining complex topics in simple and easy to understand terms, so a client fully grasps the concept. I’m sure not everyone is like myself and is interested in biomechanics or pharmacology so over the years I have tried to perfect the way I explain complex topics. Even a simple training cue with how to perform an exercise can make a big difference. I have always enjoyed the way Broderick Chavez explained things so I guess you could say I mimicked a lot of how he communicated, as communication is so important in my line of work.

Q: What is your philosophy on PEDs? What would you recommend to new starters looking to explore performance enhancement.

A: My philosophy is that PEDS work, but they only work well if you already have a good foundation in place first. If you don’t know how to eat, how to train, how to look after and monitor your health then you have no place using PEDs. I feel too many people try to drug their way to hopefully growing a large amount of muscle mass. We need to consider food as our biggest anabolic. If you don’t know how to eat properly, and put enough stimulus on the muscle via hard training how can you expect to grow muscle?

When I started out, I didn’t have as much quality information available to me as there is today regarding PEDS. I would say before you embark on PEDS do your research, hire a coach if funds permit, make sure you’re adhering to eating a proper sound nutritional plan and lastly you have been training solidly for at least a few years, so you understand what it means to train hard while at the same time perfecting your execution and form with each exercise. If I had to recommend one PED educator to follow and listen to it would be Victor Black. He puts together what I believe are very intelligent PED protocols.

Q: There are many training methods available to athletes, are there any you specifically employ or believe in to optimise results with body building in particular? For example, are you a proponent of a bro split style or PPL, high volume or more rest days etc?

A: Wow! That’s a loaded question Maverick. I will start by saying there is no one perfect exercise program. All programs work to a degree if you train hard, but my job as a coach is constructing an exercise program that best fits a certain individual. A lot of factors play a part in this such as training experience, age, recovery ability, lifestyle/career, injuries/limitations and lastly, I believe there needs to be some form of enjoyment factor. There is no point prescribing an exercise program to a client if they absolutely hate performing it. They won’t be 100% committed to giving it everything they have.

There has been a lot of insightful published studies and meta-analysis carried out recently trying to determine the most optimal way to train for hypertrophy, most notably headed by Brad Schoenfeld. Training a body part once a week vs multiple times week, total amount of weekly working sets for a body part, training to failure vs reps in reserve etc

I don’t get too caught up in trying to find the absolute perfect way to train or the perfect number of working sets. I keep it simple and uncomplicated. The most important thing I want my clients to do is to train hard! Now this doesn’t mean taking every single set to failure, but I want to them try and aim close to this. Normally the start of each new meso cycle will be a little conservative. RPE will generally be around 8 or 2 RIR (this is the only time I use RPE or RIR as it helps to form new baseline working loads for week 1).

Week 1 will also form part of a de-load week by default, as clients will normally need to play around with the prescribed exercises trying to find their working loads for the prescribed rep ranges. Sometimes clients will even need to learn a brand-new exercise they have never performed. Nothing is taken to failure and there will be no progressions implemented this week.

Then as clients progress through their meso cycle (typically 8 weeks), they will need to track their working loads and reps and aim for small progressions each week. Progressions can be made by adding an additional rep or two, a small load increase or even just performing the same number of reps and loads as the previous week, but with much better execution. I don’t usually bump up total working sets as a main progression tool, unless a particular client needs to add a little more volume to bring up a lagging body part then increasing a few sets with isolation exercises towards the end of the planned meso cycle seems to work well.

All the research has indicated optimum total weekly working sets for a body part will tend to fall within the 10-20 range. Rep ranges don’t matter so much, as long as these are taken to failure or near failure (1-3 RIR) although there can be additional benefits utilising a broad spectrum of rep ranges.

I generally utilise rep ranges of anywhere between 6-15 and total weekly sets per body part more towards the lower end of the 10-20 range. A few feeler/ramping sets then 1-2 top sets for the bigger, heavier compound movements and 2-3 sets for isolation movements. This isn’t an exact account for every program I write but can give you a rough guideline.

Typically, I have found x4 and x5 day a week frequency works well and gives clients enough recovery and flexibility. A lot of my clients have busy jobs and/or families so this allows them enough time to train with enough volume while at the same time not affect their busy lifestyle.

I’m not a huge fan of bro splits and tend not to program these very much. I am a big fan of Push, Pull, Legs or Upper/Lower Push, Pull Legs. I find clients usually get great results using this style of programs and enjoy them but that’s not to say bro splits don’t work. I will still sometimes throw these in for some variety.

Over the years I have tried pretty much every everything, purchased training programs from numerous well-respected coaches in the industry, attended Christian Thibaudeau and John Meadows training camps, tried numerous online training apps from RP Strength and Joe Bennett. I have a real passion for program design and am always looking to put together an even better program than the last one. I honestly believe a good training program can make a huge difference to a client, especially if they struggle to know how to construct an exercise program. If I had to name a few coaches for readers to investigate, some of my favourites over the years have been John Meadows, Paul Carter, Christian Thibaudeau and my absolute favourite and the one I resonate with the most would be Joe Bennett.

Q: We all evolve over time, how has your approach and understanding of training and PEDs evolved?

A: When I first began training, my focus was just making sure that I completed all my planned workout sessions and making sure I was eating enough food and trying to get to bed at a reasonable hour. Looking back, I definitely wasn’t training or eating the most optimal way for hypertrophy or physique enhancement, but it was all a learning curve. I was just happy lifting weights and trying to build muscle the best way that I knew how.

Over the years I have realised that there is more to training then just moving weight. I have put a bigger focus on tension on the muscle in lieu of just adding load, actively trying to implement some form of progression, constructing intelligent exercise programs which allows for enough stimulus and also recovery, optimising nutrition by adopting macro ratios and food choices that are best suited to build muscle and aid recovery.

In terms of PEDS these are the icing on the cake. They make everything just work better but without the foundations in place prior as listed above, you’re wasting your time and more is not always better! If you’re using PEDS then do it intelligently and monitor your health while using them.

Q: You’re an advocate of safer use of PEDs. How can users best approach cycles in a safe way?

A: I am an advocate of a safer use approach. No use of AAS is safe, but I at least try to implement protocols that I feel are reducing as much toxic stress on our bodies as I can. This just comes down to using as little as we need to make progress, choosing appropriate compounds (approved for human use, drugs with a tonne of research) and utilising appropriate dosages. Most of my clients are gym enthusiasts looking for a little more than just TRT or HRT. With the right training and nutrition, a little can go a long way!

Q: What are some of the things you see people doing wrong and subsequently not getting the results they would expect?

A: One of the biggest mistakes I see is trying to pack on new muscle too fast by either eating in too high of a calorie surplus or taking too much AAS than is required for an individual to meet their goals. Building muscle takes time and you can only build so much new lean tissue at a given time. The remodelling and maturation phase ie the breaking down, repair and creating new muscle tissue takes months. There needs to be adequate stimulus on the muscle, proper rest and recovery and you need to provide your body with adequate nutrition. But we also want to maintain insulin sensitivity while doing so which means limiting fat gain while eating in a surplus. We also want to limit inflammation and oxidative stress particularly on our organs and keep an eye on blood pressure.

Limiting these side effects can be achieved by not taking an excess of AAS than is required which in turn will keep your body in a healthier state and provide a better environment to grow muscle and repair itself.

Q: What advice would you have for someone young and just getting into body building?

A: Getting into bodybuilding is a fantastic choice! I think we can all agree on this. I will say however, building muscle and changing your physique is hard. Damn hard. It takes a lot of hard work and commitment, and you need to be patient. Like the old saying goes, Rome wasn’t built in a day. Surround yourself with like-minded individuals, hire a coach, try different training methods, and have realistic goals to accomplish. Don’t compare yourself to your favourite IFBB bodybuilder, concentrate on your own physique and set realistic goals you can accomplish.

Last of all, read and listen to as much information as you can. There can be a lot of what I believe to be incorrect or misleading information online, so trying to choose the right educators to follow can be a little hard at first. What I could do down the track which might help fellow ASF members is create a post outlining what I feel are good online resources to utilise and further your bodybuilding education.

Well that’s it! Thanks mate greatly appreciate your time and input. I have no doubt all our members will also appreciate it.

Cheers

sassm8 · Oct 14, 2023