Knowledge Is Power: Make The Science Of Bodybuilding Work For You .

Vital Stats

Name: Josh Bonner

Email: Josh.Bonner@hatchmott.com

Bodyspace: Bonnerjs

Why I Got Started

I've always played football. Peewee, high school and semi-pro, bigger is better has always been my motto. After football, the extra weight was no longer needed. So I decided I wanted to not only be big, but look good.

I've always admired bodybuilding, reading magazines of my dad's all throughout my childhood. He would be lifting in the garage and I would be in there with him lying on a milk crate and bench pressing 5-pound plates in each hand and doing 201 sit-ups every single day.

I lifted all throughout high school never really knowing what I was doing, just learning bits and pieces as I went. Once I finally decided to get serious about my training and compete, I really dug into the science portion of this whole game.

With a greater understanding of the human body and how things work, I am able to train and feed myself smarter. Once I felt like I knew what I was doing, I found a competition and got to it.

While I still want to be big, I've subscribed now to doing that while keeping body fat in check.

How I Did It

After hours and hours of reading the forums of Bodybuilding.com and other various nutrition websites, I devised a plan of my own to help me achieve my goal.

I kept a log of my training as well as everything I ate. I kept my training heavy so as to preserve muscle and kept all my macros in check.

I'm not naturally lean so the diet portion of my attack plan was the most important.

Supplements

When it comes to supplements, I stick to the basics - a good multivitamin, protein powder, fish oil, and BCAA's.

Morning:

• Optimum Nutrition 100% Whey Gold Standard: 2 scoops with almond milk
• AST 32x: 1 tab
• Fish Oil: 1200mg

Lunch:

• Fish Oil: 1200mg

Pre and Intra Workout:

• Scivation Xtend: 4 scoops

Post Workout:

• Optimum Nutrition 100% Whey Gold Standard: 2 scoops with water

Bedtime:

• Optimum Nutrition 100% Whey Gold Standard: 2 scoops with water

Diet

I found that I respond best to a low carb, higher fat diet. I tend to be carb sensitive and I don't really get groggy on low carbs like others report.

I carb cycle during a regular diet as well as my competition diet. I raise carb intake on training days and lower it on non-training days. I stick with good clean carbs from veggies and fruits.

I steer clear of carbs from grains as much as possible. I eat good clean fats such as olive oil, almonds, pistachios, and egg yolks. Lean beef and poultry are staples as well.

I carry around a gallon jug of water with me everywhere I go and I make sure to drink at least 1 gallon per day, I usually end up drinking closer to 1 1/2 gallons though.

Meal 1:

• 2 scoops Optimum Nutrition 100% Whey Gold Standard mixed with 15 oz Almond Milk

Meal 2:

• 1 serving (about 28) Almonds

Meal 3:

• 2 boneless/skinless 6oz grilled Chicken Breasts
• 1 serving (about 4 oz) Broccoli

Meal 4:

• 1 serving (about 28) Almonds

Meal 5: Post-Workout

• 2 scoops Optimum Nutrition 100% Whey Gold Standard mixed with water

Meal 6:

• 8oz lean Chicken or Beef
• 1 serving (about 4 oz) Broccoli

Meal 7:

• 2 scoops Optimum Nutrition 100% Whey Gold Standard mixed with water

Training

I did DC training for about 6 months before my contest prep and continued it throughout. I only made changes to the cardio as my prep progressed.

I still subscribe to DC training today. I kept heavy training to preserve muscle as calories went down. I only lost a small amount of strength throughout my prep.

Day 1: Chest/Shoulders/Triceps/Back

Day 2: Rest

Day 3: Calves/Biceps/Legs

Day 4: Cardio

Day 5: Chest/Shoulders/Triceps/Back

Day 6: Rest

Day 7: Rest

The following week, I will start off Monday with the last week's leg/biceps workout, changing only the exercises.

Wednesday will be the chest/shoulder/triceps/back day again, keeping the same format just doing a different exercise than the time before. I pick 3 exercises per body part and rotate them in this way.

It works out to where each body part gets hit every 4 days. All sets are done with maximum intensity and good form, concentrating on exhausting the target muscle, not just moving the weight.

I keep track of everything and must improve on every exercise in either reps or weight or I will discard that exercise for another. DC training principles can be found all over the internet for those who want to try it.

*For each set, hold in the bottom stretch position for 15 seconds, explode up and lower slowly for 5 seconds which completes one rep … do this for 12 reps.

Suggestions for Others

My suggestions for others are to never think that you'll never get the body you want. Don't give in to the "I don't have the genetics for it" mentality.

If you have the will to not eat the garbage that is in front of you everyday, then a good physique is more than attainable. People seem to get caught up in the supplement world when trying to get the body they want.

They don't realize that supplements will not give you what you want. A good foundation of training the right way and a sound diet are the two best things for a healthy body.

Once you've got those two in order, the rest will fall into place over time.

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