Vital Stats
Name: Andrew Raso
Email: a_raso1@hotmail.com
Bodyspace: mrsuss
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Why I Got Started
I was always the skinny kid, in every photo at school I would be the skinniest and the smallest. I sometimes looked at myself in the mirror and felt sick about how my body looked. I lacked confidence in everything I did and started to feel sorry myself.
My whole life I always looked up to the bigger boys and always wanted to be like them. I saw some of my friends go to the gym and make awesome progress and couldn't believe my eyes.
I looked in magazines and was amazed how big these guys were and said to myself that one day I will look like them. I watched Arnold Schwarzenegger movies religiously and looked at old photos of him and always wondered how he got that big.
I had just got out of a relationship and was feeling down when I remembered my brother had some weights in the garage. I didn't know what I was doing, but I loved the effect it had on my body. Instantly I knew I found my passion.
My family and friends started commenting on how I was looking different and this is when I got hooked. As soon as I started college and I realized that they had a gym, I joined instantly.
I walked in the gym and saw people lifting enormous amounts of weight; I loved it. I said to myself I am going to compete in 3 years' time. I am now preparing for my first contest this year.
I started lifting 4 days per week and did research on diet and supplementation. I talked to everyone I knew about lifting weights and started gathering different ideas from everyone.
It's been just more than 2 years now and I have never missed a workout and have never missed a meal, if I did I would hate the rest of the day.
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I said to myself I am going to compete in 3 years time. I am now
preparing for my first contest this year.
How I Did It
I would go to the gym religiously, the gym would always be first and then I would schedule that around the rest of the day. I discovered that consistency was the key in gaining muscle and being a natural trainer I would be only adding small amount of muscle to my body every year, but this would eventually change the way my body looked.
It was amazing how I would only gain a few pounds a year but my body had looked like it improved so much. I also discovered that in order to get bigger I would need to get stronger. This means I was adding weight every time I walked in the gym and trained.
Every time I train I would train as if it were my last, I always train like an animal and I don't let any distractions bother me. I always tried new things in my training and diet and always try out new exercises and new techniques (drop sets, supersets, giant sets, negatives etc).
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I always train like an animal and I don't let any distractions bother me.
This led me to believe that if my body never knew what I was doing, it would always continue to change and inevitably grow.
I found that I loved the gym and wanted to take my passion forward, I knew becoming a personal trainer would be what I wanted to do. I love passing my knowledge on to people and helping others reach their goals. Teaching my clients and seeing I am helping other people reach their goals is the most amazing feeling in the world.
I train everyday not only because I love it, but also because I want to inspire other people. Friends and even random people told me I am an inspiration to them; this is what keeps me going. One day I would like to become a natural pro bodybuilder.
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I train everyday not only because I love it but also
because I want to inspire other people.
Supplements
I have found that Optimum Nutrition Whey Protein has given me the best gains and have made sure I am able to reach my protein goals for the day.
USPLabs Jack3d would have to be the best pre workout supplement. It gives me enormous amounts of energy and I never crash.
Preworkout:
- USPLabs Jack3d: 3 scoops
Post Workout:
- Optimum Nutrition 100% Whey Protein: 2 scoops
- Higher Power Fish Oil: 6 softgels
- Higher Power Micronized Creatine: 8g
Diet
I never counted macros - I knew if I was training hard I could eat a lot of food and get away with not putting on too much fat.
I will always eat when I'm not hungry, even if it has to go down with water. I make sure there is something in my stomach every 3 hours.
Meal 1:
- 2 cups Oats
- 2 cups Yogurt
- 1 Banana
- 2 pieces Wheat Bread
Meal 2:
Meal 3:
- 4oz Chicken
- 2 cups Brown Rice
Meal 4:
Meal 5:
- 3 Whole Eggs
- 4oz Tuna
Meal 6:
- 4oz Chicken
- 2 cups Brown Rice
Training
| TERMS YOU'LL NEED TO KNOW | |
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Day 1: Chest
I will always try and go as heavy as I can on chest day and make sure I feel a good squeeze.
- Barbell Flat Bench Press: 3 sets of 10 reps
- Incline Dumbbell Chest Press: 3 sets of 10 reps
- Dumbbell Flyes: 3-4 sets of 10 reps
- Cable Flyes: 3-4 sets of 10 reps
- Machine Chest Press: 3-4 light sets of 12-15 negative reps with squeeze
Day 2: Back
I love training back and this is always another heavy day. I also do rotate between Deadlifts and T-Bar Rows every week.
- T-Bar Rows: 3-4 add sets of 6-8 reps
- Deadlifts: 3-4 heavy add sets of 6 reps
- Seated Cable Row: 3-4 drop sets of 8 reps
- Lat Pulldown: 3 drop sets of 8 reps
- Barbell Rows: 3-4 add sets 12 reps
- Dumbbell Rows: 3 heavy sets 10 reps, each side
Day 3: Shoulders
I found to get my shoulders growing I didn't have to go to heavy as they would usually get trained well on other days. Going light and feeling a good stretch is very effective in building big shoulders.
- Upright Rows: 2 drop sets of 7-8 reps
- Smith Machine Military Press: 3 heavy drop sets of 6 reps
- Dumbbell Shoulder Press: 3 add sets of 8 reps
- Side Laterals (dumbbells or cable): 3 sets of 8 reps each
- Machine Shoulder Press: 3 sets of 12 reps
Day 4: Arms
I would try to superset biceps and triceps exercises together which is always good for a great pump.
- Barbell Bicep Curls: 3 drop sets to failure
Superset:
- Skull Crushers: 3 sets of 8 reps
- Close Grip Bench Press: 3 sets of 18 reps
- Machine Curls: 2 sets of 8 reps
- Tricep Pushdown: 3 sets of 10 reps
- Dumbbell Bicep Curl: 3 light sets of 10 reps
Day 5: Legs
- Barbell Squats: 5 sets of 10 reps
- Leg Press: 5 sets of 10 reps
- Lunges: 5 sets of 10 reps
Day 6: Stack Day
Saturday every week is what I call stack day, this is when I have a workout partner and we do a whole body workout going as heavy as we can, usually maxing out on machines.
- Machine Chest Press: 2 sets of 8 reps
- Machine Curls: 2 sets of 8 reps
- Tricep Pushdown: 2 sets of 8 reps
- Lat Pulldown: 2 sets of 8 reps
- Machine Shoulder Press: 2 sets of 8 reps
Day 7: Rest
Suggestions for Others
Never give up and be consistent. If you're not achieving results then you are probably doing something wrong. Use whatever you want for your own motivation (watch videos, make posters and even look at pictures and visualize what you want to look like).
Record everything you are doing - all workouts, meals and how many hours of sleep you're getting. I tend to find if I am tired or even sick, I drive to the gym and do something. Even though it might not be my best workout, I am going to do something. If you really need to rest, then rest your body. It needs to recover from breaking it down all the time.
Ask questions, don't be afraid to ask the bigger guy in the gym for ideas and exercises remember these people have been there and done that and listen to what everyone has to say the more knowledge you have the better. Find out what works best for you.
Try something different every time you walk in the gym and I can guarantee if you follow the basic principles of train, eat and sleep you will grow.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank my girl, Sandy, for putting up me throughout the years, my training partner Steve, Team: Binge and of course my family and friends for believing in me.
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