Martin Berkhan Interview With Bob Kupniewski

Bob Kupniewski from simplyshredded.com talks with Martin Berkhan a fitness & nutrition guru

How did you get started with bodybuilding?

Think I was around 16. Always wanted to be lean and strong. Started going to the gym with my buddies, using some haphazard Flex-magazine-inspired bullshit-routine. But it was fun and I enjoyed it.

Where does your motivation come from?

First of all, I was fat as hell and I thought bodybuilding was going to magically unfatten me (which it didn’t). Second of all, I was fascinated by strength. Lifting big things just sounded very appealing to me. I wanted to be strong. A friend of the family was a lumberjack. Never went to the gym a day in his life, but was strong as an ox and there where various stories floating around about him. How he once lifted a log two guys were struggling with to get off the ground, stuff like that. I recall thinking I wanted to be like that one day. The one people told stories about.

When trying to cut down do you prefer to use HIIT or just normal cardio?

Normal cardio mostly. Brisk walking. For some clients, I use a mix of the two.

What is your diet like?

My diet approach is called intermittent fasting. That means I fast 16 hours daily and eat three meals during an 8 hour feeding window. I make sure to get the great majority of my daily calorie intake post-workout. Diet is cyclical. More carbs, less fat on training days, vice versa for rest days. Protein stays relatively high.

What is your supplementation like?

Fish oil, multivitamin and Vitamin D. Extra calcium if I’m going low on dairy. BCAA pre-workout if I train fasted. The occasional protein powder from time to time.