nutrition and supplementation. Recovery enables us to fill the hole with dirt. If filling the hole is all we do, we remain in homeostasis, which means taking one step back and one step forward—no new muscle. As bodybuilders, however, our goal is overcompensation, which is like filling the hole and piling more dirt, or muscle, on top. If you overtrain and outrun your recovery ability, you will at best remain the same, or in some cases, regress. If you work just hard enough to stimulate the growth process so that you can recover successfully, with some extra physiological energy left over, your body will then have the ability to construct new muscle tissue. Finally, another huge mistake that many trainees make is to do the same things in the gym for months, even years, on end—the same exercises, sets, reps, tempos, bodypart splits, training techniques and so on. That’s an almost certain route to failure, as the body is way too smart for that. As a beginner, all you really need to do to simulate growth is progressively overload your muscles. After a period of time, however, that no longer works for two reasons: 1) You can’t continue to get stronger forever, and 2) the muscles and central nervous system will go stale and no longer respond the way they once did to the same basic training program. In order to reach your full genetic potential, you must present a unique stimulus to your body rather frequently by using different training techniques and methodologies. That lets you approach the muscle-building equation from every physiological angle, which in turn will give you the best opportunity to make positive changes to your physique.
RH: Very well put. When you work with people, do you handle all aspects of their bodybuilding— training, diet, supplements and rest? EB: That varies from person to person. Yes, most of my clients
work with me on all aspects of their bodybuilding. Some, though, only wish to have me assist them with training and rest or diet and supplementation. It’s not uncommon for bodybuilders to tell me that they truly feel they’ve found a training or diet regimen that works extremely well for them, and that they just need me to help with a specific aspect of their overall program. If that’s the case, I have no problem with it. My goal is to simply help all clients be their best and reach their goals as quickly and efficiently as possible, and I’ll do whatever it takes to get them there.
RH: What gives you more satisfaction, helping an off-season bodybuilder achieve new gains in size and strength or helping a precontest bodybuilder get in the best shape of his or her life? EB: That’s a tough call, but if I had to pick, I would have to say helping a precontest bodybuilder get in the best shape of his or her life is more satisfying. I feel this way for two reasons: 1) As a coach, I like a challenge, and there are few things more challenging than peaking a bodybuilder, fitness or figure competitor for a show. Those who don’t compete have no clue just how much goes into reaching that final “product” that people see onstage. It’s a complex and very meticulous process when done right. 2) While it’s cool to watch a client get big and strong, it’s no comparison to creating and viewing a living piece of art, which is what I consider a contest-ready physique to be. What a great feeling it is for me on contest day as I watch my client onstage, showing off all of the hard work he or she put in under my guidance.
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