How did you get started with bodybuilding?
I have the story of a skinny kid who used to play sports background. When I was 16 years old, I was playing fairly competitive hockey. One game, I took a hard hit skating down the ice and went into the boards at an odd angle – turns out I completely tore my hamstring. I could barely walk for three weeks and had to have a ton of physiotherapy and rehab done with it. That was the end of that season. A few weeks after my physiotherapy started, two friends and I were sitting in my basement watching the very first season of The Ultimate Fighter.
A guy named Mike Swick was getting weighed in and I thought to myself, “Holy crap, what would it be like if I could look like that?” I was inspired to get muscular for the first time in my life.
Now that I wasn’t playing sports, this would be the perfect time! The first trip to hit the weights wasn’t pretty. I was weighing in at a humble 130 pounds. I walked into a commercial gym with my friend Paul, who outweighed me by about 40 pounds and had been lifting for almost a year already. We walk over to the smith machine, where he proceeds to put a 25 pound plate on each side so he could teach me how to bench. I proceed to almost crush my face. Embarrassing as it is… I had to start with the bar.
Where does your motivation come from?
Throughout my teens it was honestly anger and energy. My mom passed away when I was 13 years old very suddenly, and I took it very hard. The weights gave me an outlet to crush all that was wrong with the world. Needless to say, I made some very quick gains with that type of fuel. Nowadays, I find I’m a much more focused and happy person. My motivation comes from progression now – seeing yourself get that one extra rep, load on five extra pounds… it’s constant and never-ending, but that’s the fun of it. Sometimes frustration and anger still drive me, but those days are few and far between.
So what is the bodybuilding training routine that you use to achieve that killer physique?
Completely strength based. Unlike a lot of guys, I’m not a believer in high volume whatsoever to base your training on. I’ve tried a lot of different things, but my best gains came from three and four day splits focusing completely on getting my big compound lifts up such as deadlifts, squats, presses and rows, and then adding a few additional volume sets after all the heavy work was done and I had beat my previous lifts. Like I said earlier, it’s all about the progression for me. Most guys don’t make near the gains they could be because they spend too much time focusing on lifting weights and not enough time on their recovery.
When trying to cut down do you prefer to use HIIT or just normal cardio?
I’ve never used anything but low intensity cardio to burn fat. I’m much more prone to control body fat levels by making small tweaks to my diet. I’m a big believer in using the thermic effect of food to help keep your metabolism high. Obviously I got a fairly good draw from the gene pool and my metabolism is naturally high, but I do everything in my power to maintain this body fat percentage while gaining through my diet along with low intensity cardio.
What is your Diet like?
For gaining, I prefer a high protein, high fat, moderate carb macro split. Seems to work best for my energy, and when fats are high I feel great. I can only have so many carbs in a day before feeling like I’m on an energy rollercoaster. When I’m trying to gain, I shoot for between 350-400g protein (about 40% from shakes), and then adjust the carbs and fats depending on how the scale is moving. I tend to have a base diet, and then depending on what my goals are, I’ll make small tweaks to the diet until I’m moving the way I want to. For example, if I feel like I need more calories, I’ll add in a few tablespoons of olive oil at a few meals. If that didn’t get the scale moving, then maybe an extra shake here and here. If that didn’t get me moving, add a few tablespoons of peanut butter to a few meals. I just adjust according to the feedback my body gives me.
What is your supplementation like?
When maintaining all I use is a whole food multivitamin, 12-16g of fish oil per day, Super Greens and BCAAs during the workout. When gaining, I’ll use all of that and add in creatine, taurine, and beta-alanine which will put 8-10 pounds of water on you through cell volumization within a week or two and have you lifting heavier weights very quickly. Holding more water also protects your joints when you’re going to be lifting weights your body has never handled before.
Plans for the future?
I’m extremely satisfied with my physique right now. I’m at a crossroads whether I want to maintain this size or gain 20-25 more pounds and compete early next year. We will see what happens! I’ve never touched AAS or prohormones, and I 
don’t plan to, so the question would be how much more quality size could I pack on without sacrificing body fat percentage if I was to compete as a natural. Outside of the gym, finish my psychology degree at University and grow my entrepreneurial projects.
Favourite Bodybuilders?
Phil Heath and Evan Centopani.
Favorite Quote?
“We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves strong, the amount of work is the same”
Bodyspace: http://bodyspace.bodybuilding.com/Keelhual/
Website: www.xyque.com
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