Today I have a short interview with my buddy, Tyler English, who is a champion professional natural bodybuilder, strength coach, gym owner and author.
Jay: Give me your top three best training tips for guys looking to get jacked.
Tyler: Focus on the Big Movements
This isn’t something new to your followers, but all too often bodybuilders are given the stereotype of training simply for the pump. In the natural bodybuilding world we use those compound movements as the staple of all our strength training programs. Training for the pump is still something I love, but only after those big lifts have been hit hard.
Spend Time Training Heavy
For a natural bodybuilder training heavy, especially in the offseason, is how we grow, gain strength and continue to add more muscular density to our physique. This alone is a major reason why I’ve been able to hang with pro’s who have as much as 10 years muscular density on me.
Learn From a Bodybuilder
Bodybuilders are notorious for spending time training their “weak points” – so why not do the same? I’m not saying you have to perform endless amounts of bicep curls for bigger arms, but if you are a guy who’s been training for quite sometime, the addition of direct arm work is only going to help. (Jay: Newbies please note that he said, “if you’re a guy who’s been training for quite some time)
The same goes for a bodybuilder’s commitment to excellence. For many bodybuilders, myself included, winning isn’t why we compete. The reasons I compete are much more deeply routed than a simple medal or first place finish. It’s about the journey and with that journey comes the self-discipline.
If you are going to train for something, then make that commitment to excellence. Bodybuilders are some of the most committed SOBs on the planet and it shows in the finished product.
Wait, that was actually two tips in one – I cheated.
Jay: What about nutrition? Sum if up for guys who are constantly over thinking and over complicating all this. What are the most important things they need to worry about in regards to nutrition if they want to get jacked?
I think if anything positive is going to come out of building muscle mass, shredding down for a competition or just impressing the chicks at the beach this summer, your nutrition is number one. Bodybuilder or not, you need to fine tune what the hell you consume on a daily basis.
The problem is too many guys over think the damn process.
Figure out what “diet” fits into your life and then dial it in. If you are sensitive to carbs, cut them back and reintroduce them as you lean out. If you are already lean and want to be leaner, don’t eliminate carbs entirely.
One plan doesn’t work for everyone and carbs aren’t the devil.
For me, up until a few years ago, I’d always been a “6-Meal-a-Day-Eat-Every-3-Hours-Guy” but the more I researched and experimented, the more I discovered it was ok for me to eat fewer times a day while spending more time between meals.
Today, during my offseason I only eat 3-4 meals a day with 1 or 2 “extras” coming from a pre or post workout protein shake. But that’s not always the case, some days I’ll have eaten 4 times, others it’s 3, others its 5 and yes, there are days I eat once or twice – the moral of the story is be consistent, find out what works for you, be consistent and always eat lean proteins, quality carbs and good fats.
Oh and how can I forget, re-feed, implement a high carb day or cheat day. For me, one day a week, usually Sunday, I implement “Fat Kid Sunday” and eat whatever the hell I want, then I’m back at it. If I’m in contest preparation, I’m a bit more dialed, but I won’t let “dinner out” or time with friends won’t consist of a Tupperware party.
I make bodybuilding fit into my life, I don’t make it my life.
Jay: Man, that is so huge and I’m so glad you said that for everyone to read. You look better than 99.99% of the people on the planet and to see you have that kind of attitude is awesome and should be a wake up call for a lot of these cats.
So, talk to me about your thoughts on cardio or conditioning. Is it necessary for guys who want to gain size? How much and how often?
Tyler: Dude, I hate cardio.
But, you know what, I still do it. My gym has 30 yards of turf and more conditioning tools than I dare to remember, and I hate every single one of them.
With that being clearly stated – I prefer short intense conditioning sessions over your typical steady-state bodybuilding cardio but that doesn’t mean that after a killer lower body smash session that I won’t get my mind right by walking my dogs or yes riding the bike.
The truth behind cardio looks like this.
If you want to be jacked, not a soft doughboy, conditioning needs a place in your program.
If you want to be an elite level natural bodybuilder, depending on your body type and how much carbohydrates you can consume, you’ll need to implement different types of cardio. This is how I see most bodybuilders spending their cardio days.
Ectomorphs – 2 to 3 sessions per week (with 1-2 being of the higher intensity).
Mesomorphs – 4 to 5 sessions per week (2 to 3 being of the higher intensity).
Endomorphs – 5 to 7 sessions per week (3 or more being of the higher intensity).
This isn’t the end all be all, but give or take it can be pretty consistent, depending on your body type, carb tolerance and love/hate for cardio.
Jay: Awesome. I fully agree that some kind of cardio or conditioning is essential for everyone. So tell us a little bit about your new book and what it’s all about?
Tyler: The Natural Bodybuilding Bible is the first of it’s kind. It’s written for the natural bodybuilder, but not only the competitive bodybuilder who wants to compete in a natural bodybuilding competition.
The book will also appeal to the non-competitive bodybuilder, like the everyday man who just enjoys training for aesthetics and muscle, who for once in their life wants transform their physique to new heights. Maybe they want to do a photo shoot for a major birthday or just simply to say — I did it and I look like this. I’ll show them how.
My goal writing the book was to allow men to be able to cut through all the BS associated with competing and just give them the tools needed to look their best on stage or in a photo shoot. Natural bodybuilding has never been given the love it deserves, my hope is the book will change that.
The reader will be able to determine their nutrition for getting super lean, follow some intense bodybuilding workouts and learn the real truths behind peak week.
Don’t worry, you will press, squat and deadlift, but for once in your life, well for 16-24 weeks you can train like a bodybuilder and look like a bodybuilder, when is all said and done.
The book is a Men’s Health publication that is available on HERE on Amazon.
It’s time to put natural bodybuilding on the map.
