Nick Paniagua, is a 27 year old lifetime natural bodybuilder from Orange County, CA with one of the most shredded physiques around.
How did you get started with bodybuilding?
When I was younger I was teased a lot for being so skinny and small. I’ve always been an active person and played a lot of sports in junior high and high school. Being very active with an extremely high metabolism didn’t help much with ever putting on weight. I was about 115lbs in high school. I got tired of being made fun of and decided to do something about it. My dad bought me my first bench press and pull up bar. I had set a goal for myself and that was to pack on some muscle. I started reading muscle mags and would stay up through the night reading about training, nutrition, and cutting out pics of Arnold, Frank Zane, and Franco and posting them on my wall for motivation. I started to not only train, but to really eat right. All my friends thought I was weird for eating the things I ate and wondered why I wouldn’t eat a burger and fries with them. I wanted to reach those goals I had set for myself and new it would take sacrifices at a young age.
What made you decide to start competing?
I have not competed yet, but plan to step on stage in 2010. Competing was something I wasn’t sure if I was going to do or not. As I started to really take training seriously I started getting asked if I was ever going to compete. With the sponsorship I got from Controlled Labs, it was part of the contract, so I’ve made that a huge goal for the year 2010 and hope to do well.
Did you have a bodybuilding coach help you get started?
I really only had my uncle Jeff who used to bodybuild when he was younger. He’s very knowledgeable about training and nutrition and I’ve learned a ton from him. I saw some pictures of him at the age of 18-20 years old and was blown away. He’s a huge inspiration to me and always will be.
So what is the bodybuilding training routine that you use to have that shredded physique?
I currently train 2 days on, 1 day off. Hitting abs twice a week and doing absolutely no cardio. I usually hit 1-2 muscle groups every training session usually for about an hour and a half to an hour forty five mins. I used to train for about 2-3 hours 5 days straight and realized I was overtraining. Rest and recovery is extremely important and when I changed things up, I started to grow.
When trying to cut down do you prefer to use HIIT or just normal cardio?
When I throw cardio into my training routine I really don’t do it longer than 15-20 minutes, whether it be on the bike, quick run, of the step climber. Metabolism usually takes care of keeping the BF% low. It’s funny because the first thing people usually ask me is how much cardio do I do, or how many ab routines do I hit a day..and I tell them I don’t do any cardio and a clean diet will get you abs along with some crunches and leg lifts. I keep it simple for the most part.
What is your Diet/Supplementation like?
I try to eat clean as much as possible. In my opinion, diet is everything. You can train as hard and heavy as you want, but if you don’t have your diet in check you won’t reach those goals you’ve set for yourself. I think diet is about 80% of it all. I eat a lot of chicken, lean beef, turkey, eggs, oats, tuna, brown rice, sweet potatoes, etc. I try to stay as consistent as I can with nutrition, eating a lot of the same foods everyday. Supplementation is also very important. I started to do a lot of research on supplementation when I really started to take training seriously. I take Controlled Labs supplements. I’ve taken all sorts of supplements over the years and finally found a brand I trust, love and feel that brings results to the table.
Plans for the future?
I would love to open my own gym someday. Of course I plan to compete and build my own personal training business up, but the opening of a gym would be my ultimate goal later on down the line.
Favourite Quote?
You get one life, make the most of it. -Mom
Nick Paniagua
ER-CPT
Controlled Labs Sponsored Natural Athlete
Nutrition Zone Sponsored Athlete
Muscle Ink Sponsored Athlete\Model
Website: www.nickedgefitness.com
Bodyspace: XNickEdgeX




"For me life is continuously being hungry. The meaning of life is not simply to exist, to survive, but to move ahead, to go up, to achieve, to conquer" - Arnold