Dynamic Dialogue with Danny Matranga - 204: 7 Things Bodybuilders get RIGHT about fat-loss and muscle growth

Episode Date: July 5, 2022

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Enjoy the episode. Hey, everybody. Welcome in to another episode of the Dynamic Dialogue podcast. As always, it's your host, Danny Matranga, and in today's episode, we are actually going to kind of continue this series of learning from the various disciplines of physical culture. And when I say that, I mean things that are categorically unique and oftentimes known or fall into like umbrella categories. So for example, like not resistance training, resistance training is very much like tenant of physical culture, but something a little bit more

categorically defined like CrossFit. Okay. So a type of resistance training or bodybuilding, a type of resistance training or powerlifting, a type of resistance training. I really want to unpack what we can learn from all the different categories of physical culture, what these people get right so that you guys can hopefully expand, layer things into your fitness, right? As many of you know, I'm a huge proponent of resistance training, and it might even help to know a little bit more about my backstory. You know, when I got into resistance training, I got into it to improve my sports performance as an athlete in high school and quickly got extremely, extremely passionate about it.

Secondly, what really like took off for me early on was a focus on nutrition as well. Like I was very, very interested in athletic performance and nutrition. And then my focus shifted because I wanted to get a little bigger. I wanted to be more muscular. I wanted to attract girls when I was in high school, straight up, full transparency. And so then I started learning more about bodybuilding and I got all the way up to 200 pounds. I had a lot of muscle. I wasn't comfortable at all. I had to eat grotesque amounts of food. And that took about three years of hard work and bodybuilding training.

I did powerlifting for quite some time. And I found that that didn't particularly agree with my body because I'm hypermobile. And so over the years I've taken and learned from so many different disciplines in a really, no pun intended, interdisciplinary fashion. And I found what really works for me. And this is what we do with our clients at Core Coaching Method. We're taking a resistance centric approach, but really tailoring it to what your goals are and trying to break free from the mold and camp and clickiness that's so prevalent in fitness. And I talked a lot about this in the CrossFit episode, but this one, I mean, I mean, for me, this was a no brainer. Like, okay, these people are, uh, these camps, these clicks, people who subscribe exclusively to the kind of tenants of a subculture, uh, which is crazy. Cause like you

have subcultures within subcultures. Like today, we're going to talk about bodybuilding and there are so many different approaches to bodybuilding. There are natural and enhanced bodybuilders. So bodybuilders are on steroids, bodybuilders who are natural. And then within those subcultures, there's so many different things. So I want to really parse out the best of what these kind of clicks do, these camps do so that you can borrow from what people have done to be successful in the various ways you can enhance your fitness. So learning from CrossFit because it's so multifaceted, learning from bodybuilding because these people are so good at getting lean, losing body fat and building muscle, learning from powerlifting because these

people clearly know something about getting strong, learning from sports specific training, whether it be from football, from basketball, from baseball, from various sports and what those athletes do at the highest level to see success. You know, I think that would be fun to focus on as we kind of work through expanding the podcast library so that you guys have as much informative fitness content so that you can learn from as many different people in this space, as many different kind of approaches in this space, and really round things out. I use the term physical culture early in the podcast to kind of just describe the ethos that is physical fitness, wellness, feeling better, moving better, looking better, in some capacity, working on your

physique by doing physical work. Obviously, nutrition is a component of that, but this is something that I've been excited to do for a while, and I just decided to send it recently. And so the focus and emphasis on today's episode, the community, the clique, the tribe that I'd like to unpack is bodybuilding. And so last week, we focused on seven things that CrossFit gets largely right. And we're going to focus today on seven things that I think bodybuilding gets right, or seven things that I think we can learn from what bodybuilders at the

highest level have done. And so starting off with number one, and this is something that's true of both natural and enhanced bodybuilders, is they bring coaches into the equation early. brought up. It usually will require programming. It usually will require very specific nutrition. And oftentimes for those who choose to use steroids and bodybuilding has a huge subculture of steroid use, it's going to require the actual chemistry and having a coach there to guide you through that. Now, I'd like to say before we get any further, I am not a doctor. I am not in any way, shape, or form qualified to give advice about drug use or steroid use. So please don't take anything I'm about to say seriously, but these are things that just might come up generally across the conversation, and I think it's important to know. You've got enhanced bodybuilders at the highest level oftentimes will only compete once or twice a year, especially those who are in the highest level of enhanced competition or untested, shall we say, competition. Most bodybuilders won't explicitly communicate their drug use. It's usually inferred, but some are a lot better about being transparent now,

which I think has its goods and its bads. Um, but I think it's, it's, uh, the pharmacology is also something that most of these people bring someone on board for. And I think that you can learn from that because these are people who are extremely good at getting lean and extremely good at building muscle. So to get lean, you have to be really diligent with your diet, which can be extremely hard if you don't have somebody to hold you accountable to. And when you have a goal of competing at a high level, bringing in various sources of accountability can be helpful. You look at the number of coaches that team sports have, you'll usually like, let's use football as an example. You'll have head coaches, offensive and defensive coordinators. Underneath those coordinators, you'll have passing game coordinators,

running game coordinators. You'll have defensive backs coach, defensive lines coach, running backs coach, wide receivers coach. You have so many coaches. And each one of those coaches works directly with a group of four or five players. But individual sport athletes, let's say cycling, well, sometimes that can be a team or this might be a better example, mixed martial arts. There's multiple coaches. There's a conditioning coach. There's a sparring or actually like a boxing style coach. There's a jujitsu coach, right? There's a nutritionist. So with bodybuilders, they don't have the accountability of having a shit ton of teammates like a football team would, but they have more of a camp like a fighter or a competitive cyclist might. So those people are

all there to provide expertise. And they're also almost always there to provide accountability. And I think that this is something that is, it allows bodybuilders to change their physiques more quickly, more aggressively, and more quite frankly, uh, spectacularly than the average person. They have a lot of accountability. They get a lot of help, and they know that they need that help. And so again, a coaching company like mine works with bodybuilders, works with powerlifters, works with athletes, but we also work with normal people too. Because the truth of the matter is, like I'll use my client Mary as an example, clients work their way through a continuum. When we started working together, she was just interested in lifting weights and adding that into her routine and taking her

physique to the next level. And within a year, she was training for a bodybuilding show. And within a year after that, she got her pro card and she worked her way from being interested in it to falling in love with it. And there's a continuum for everybody. And so sometimes you need guidance from step one all the way to the stage. And for some people, they don't have that much ambition. They just need help getting started. So that's why coaching expertise, commitment can be very valuable. And if you look at the people who are the best at getting lean, building muscle, they rely heavily on having multiple coaches. The second thing that bodybuilders get extremely well, this is an extension of this. They are relentlessly consistent all year round, whether it's in season, competitive season,

or in the off season, the growth and recovery season. Bodybuilders are relentlessly consistent with their nutrition, always making sure they're getting enough protein. They might back off a little bit on the tracking side of things in the off season, because it's not as important to be in a deficit. Many times they're in a surplus in fact, but they're very good and consistent with tracking. Usually their food, they're very good and consistent with getting to the gym and training hard at least four to six days a week. Some bodybuilders train less, but usually we're talking about four to six days a week of being mindful of their training and being mindful of their nutrition. And again, those of bodybuilders who choose to use anabolics or steroids or performance enhancing drugs, they're probably going to have to be very, very considerate of that

as well. Because again, you don't want to just fuck around with that stuff. And the guys who do it and girls who do it at the highest level who choose to use drugs, nothing wrong with that stuff. And the guys who do it and girls who do it at the highest level, who choose to use drugs, nothing wrong with that. Um, the ones who don't take it that seriously have health complications. Um, it can be very dangerous to abuse too much of that stuff. So they're very consistent with their approach. They don't make the mistake that a lot of other people make where they're really just trying to get in shape two to three weeks at a time, leading into vacations, leading into weddings, leading into events. They're not consistent throughout the year. They go through peaks and valleys. They give a fuck for a very short period of time. And then they're pretty lax about it. You know, they want to go to the gym when they have something to get ready for. And then when they don't, they take a week off. And

that level of consistency is why most people can't get anywhere. They can't be consistent with their training for more than a month. They can't be consistent with their nutrition for more than a month. And the habits that they have when they're not being consistent with that stuff aren't very good. is going to be eating about 160 grams of protein a day, lifting at minimum every other day. I have a home gym, I have a studio gym, and I have three gym memberships. So missing gym sessions is something that habitually has been worked out in my life. That's not normal for most people. That's not realistic for most people. For most people, it's like, okay, I want to try to work out two to three times a week, hopefully, And I want to do a better job with my nutrition. And they can only stick to that kind of stuff for like a month. When you stick to that for a month and you add to it, you stick with that for a month, you add to it, you stick with that for a month. That's when you start to actually build those habits. Bodybuilders master this normal. Individuals who are just looking to gain a little muscle, lose a little body fat, look a little better. The stuff that bodybuilders tend to be the best in the world at,

they're not very good at this stuff. Hey guys, taking a break from the show to tell you about our amazing sports nutrition partner, Legion. Legion makes the best evidence-based formulas for sports performance, sports nutrition, recovery, and fat loss. I don't recommend many supplements. In fact, I think you can get the majority of the nutrition you need from a whole foods diet. But let's be honest, many of us are either on the go and need assistance, or quite frankly, we're not going to settle for average and we want to get the absolute most we can out of our training. So Legion is the company I go to for all of my supplement staples, whether it's creatine, which I get from their product Recharge, my protein that I get from

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the same as cash. Pretty cool, guys. So head over to legionathletics.com and check out using the promo code DANNY to save on all your sports supplement needs. Back to the show. What's going on, guys? Coach Danny here, taking a break from the episode to tell you about my coaching company, Core Coaching Method, and more specifically, are a one-on-one fully tailored online coaching program. My online coaching program has kind of been the flagship for core coaching method for a while. Of course, we do have PDF programming and we have app-based programming. But if you want a truly tailored one-on-one experience with a coach like myself or a member of my coaching team, someone who is certified, somebody who has multiple years of experience working with

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accountability in the expertise you need to succeed as well as biofeedback monitoring, baked-in accountability support, and all of the stuff that you need from your coach when you check in. We keep our rosters relatively small so that we can make sure you get the best support possible. But you can apply today by going over to corecoachingmethod.com, selecting the online coaching option. And if we have spots available, we'll definitely reach out to you to see if you're a good candidate. And if we don't, put you on a waiting list, but we'll be sure to give you the best shot at the best coaching in the industry. So head over to corecoachingmethod.com and apply for one-on-one coaching with me and my

team today. What's going on, guys? Taking a break from this episode to tell you a little bit about my coaching company, Core Coaching Method. More specifically, our app-based training. We partnered with Train Heroic to bring app-based training to you using the best technology and best user interface possible. You can join either my Home Heroes team, where you can train from home with bands and dumbbells, or Elite Physique, which is a female bodybuilding-focused program where you can train at the gym with equipments designed specifically to help you develop strength, as well as the glutes, hamstrings, quads, and back.

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in the core coaching collective, my app-based training community. Back to the show. Number three, we've alluded to the off-season numerous times, but the third thing is they know and understand the importance of recovery. And we'll talk a little bit more in a second about how drugs and steroids and PEDs can help enhanced bodybuilders recover. But in general, natural bodybuilders, enhanced bodybuilders take off seasons. They're not always dieting. They take time to recover. They approximately know how much they're lifting in their volume. They try to get good sleep. They will take supplements that help with their recovery. They usually are not afraid of taking deloads. Multiple high level bodybuilders take entire months or weeks of training off after

competition. You know, they understand the value of recovery. They're really, really good at this. Now, granted, it's harder to recover from natural body building than it is enhanced bodybuilding because various hormones that people use, whether it's growth hormone, testosterone, testosterone analogs, various forms of steroids, whether they're androgenic, meaning they enhance testosterone or they're anabolic, meaning they enhance muscle growth. Usually people are taking both. These are going to help you recover a little bit better than you would otherwise naturally. And so that is also a component of how they drive recovery and growth. Like one of the things I think that's

really important to understand is part of why steroids work is they help enhance the repair and recuperation process. Some obviously enhance strength, they enhance, I don't want to say aggression, but let's just say they enhance the body's ability to handle intensity in the gym. Multiple different drugs work multiple different ways. But one thing we can say for sure is that they are definitely going to help you recover. And so bodybuilders understand the importance of recovering and using every recovery pathway possible to enhance muscle growth and fat loss. pathway possible to enhance muscle growth and fat loss. Number four, this one's specific to nutrition, but when it matters most, they are militant to a fault with their food, especially those who compete at a really high level. Now, these people are better at getting leaner than anyone else on earth. And I won't even talk about the enhanced bodybuilders because we know at this point how powerful these drugs are. Not recommending you take them. In fact, I won't even talk about the enhanced bodybuilders because we know at this point how powerful these drugs are. Not recommending you take them. In fact, I don't think you ever should.

But we'll talk about natural bodybuilders, tested bodybuilders who are tested, bodybuilders who choose not to add anything to the equation, to go about it with no hormonal or drug support. These guys are so damn good at getting lean and they have to suffer. They have to quite literally starve. Guys and gals who do these competitions have to punish themselves with a level of dietary consistency and restraint that I don't think is healthy in the long term. But I think it's admirable in the short term. And what I mean by that is I look at how well these people can create rigid restraints around what they're having or create extremely, extremely robust ability to track everything no matter what's going on. It's impressive. I don't have the

ability to do that. That's why I've never competed in bodybuilding. I don't think I could do that. With all the things going on in my life, I think I'd find excuses and I think that I'd let myself down unless I, of course, brought a coach in or somebody to push me to that next level. But I really admire how good of a job they do at tracking their food. Nobody's better at losing weight and body fat than bodybuilders. Of course, some of them use drugs, but man, can they really dial it in when they have to? We're talking 14, 16, 18, 20 weeks of tracking everything they eat diligently or eating an extremely restrained meal plan, it's impressive. It's very, very, very impressive. I wouldn't recommend it, but this is something

that they do well. They understand. You don't have to take it to that extreme to be able to see that clearly these people understand that nutrition is fucking important for changing your body composition because they've all mastered it to get on stage and to lose that level of body fat. Okay. Something else I love. Most body builders spread volume out evenly across muscle groups and focus and prioritize volume towards muscle groups that need development. Now for them, it's obviously making those muscles bigger, but for you, it might be making them stronger. Maybe your general population lifter, you're like, damn, my back hurts and I really want to train my glutes and core a little bit more, strengthen them

up so my back doesn't hurt so much. And then you go to the gym and you train a shit ton of chest and shoulders and you never train your core and glutes. I see this all the time. And it's hilarious because people know their deficits, but they still will only train the stuff they like and are good at. And in fact, they often stay away from the stuff that they need to address because it's uncomfortable and because they're not so good at it. And bodybuilders usually do the opposite. They spread their volume out pretty evenly, but they go and wage all out war on the muscle groups that they need to develop to place better in their show. So if somebody competes and they get judge feedback and the judge says, your glutes are trash, your shoulders are trash, they're going to spend the whole off season smashing their glutes and smashing their shoulders

because they need to enhance the muscularity there to score better and to hopefully place better. With most people, they tend to go to the gym and do what they like, which I think is very important. I think you need to do that to create the habit. But I also think it's very nice to be able to say, okay, these are things that physically I could improve upon that would make me move better, feel better, look better, reduce my pain. Bodybuilders do that really, really well. And another thing I love is they train muscles at different lengths, meaning they challenge them in the shortened position and then the lengthened position. They use a ton of compound movements. They also use a variety of really effective isolation movements and they avoid burnout by changing things up, uh, on a semi-frequent basis. You know, they're not like a

power lifting community or an Olympic lifting community that really relies heavily on like analogs of one to three lifts, um, with some additional isolation stuff and accessory stuff thrown in there. Uh, I think that they do that really, really well. Okay. Number six, they are constantly competing against themselves. Obviously when they are competing on stage, they are competing against other bodybuilders, but ultimately what they are trying to do from show to show is improve the quote unquote package or the physique that they bring. Meaning if I compete in 2020, my physique in 2021 should be better. My physique in 2022 should be better from each show. I should make small improvements. coach feedback. They'll have to work on their conditioning, getting leaner, their muscularity, getting certain muscle groups larger or bigger. This kind of stuff is, I think, really important to succeed and the highest level bodybuilders do it. Some of them are genetically blessed and they

don't have weak muscle groups, sure. But more often than not, they are looking to improve upon what it is that they bring to the stage because quite frankly, you're not competing directly with your opponent, like in basketball or football, where you can somehow defensively maneuver them into a worse situation, right? Like it's very unlikely you're going to be able to impose an action on somebody else on the stage that will have a huge impact on the ultimate product they bring. You can only have inputs that drive your outputs. And so bodybuilders, physique athletes of any kind are really, really good at getting on a plan to improve themselves, compete against themselves in between shows. And a lot of times, even when they lose, they're proud that they beat the previous version of themselves that showed up on stage.

And that is really cool. And a world where you see comparison going crazy, left, right, and center. Everybody's looking on social media. I wish I had this guy's that, this guy's delts, that guy's arms. I wish I had her butt or her legs. No, that obviously affects bodybuilders. But one thing they're very good at is focusing on what they can do to improve their physique and hopefully silencing the noise so they can compete at the highest level or get to that high level. The last thing, and this is something that I've talked about a lot on the show, is they train hard, period.

Some bodybuilders train harder than others. Some bodybuilders train insanely hard, like Mike Menser or Dorian Yates, whose sessions were hellacious and legendary for how hard they trained. And you'll see old training footage of the old school guys who trained extremely hard. There's plenty of new school current bodybuilders who have training clips that are just like, holy shit, that dude is putting in the work or that girl is putting in the fucking work. But there's also a variety of different training modalities, different training techniques, different training philosophies that multiple bodybuilders have used to be successful. There isn't any one way to do it. But the thing that shows up consistently is almost always they're going to have coaches and they're going to train their ass off. They're going to train close to failure. They're going to use intensifiers, drop sets, super sets. They are going to push themselves hard. And you definitely don't have to push yourself that hard. But if you can consistently push yourself hard in the gym, that's going to be a way that you can ensure that you continue to make progress. Just always bring your best self and whatever your

best version is for that day. Some days you're going to bring a version of yourself that's not impressive by your standards or maybe by anyone's standards, but by what's, what's going on in your life, just showing up could be impressive. You know what I mean? So just bring your best self and learn from the bodybuilding group, crew's ability to really maximize each set in each rep. I think there's so much to learn from them there. So guys, again, seven things bodybuilders get right that you can learn and take with you, whether you are a bodybuilder, a powerlifter, a crossfitter, a general fitness enthusiast, a coach, a health nut, like, listen, this is what they get right. They have coaches in support. That is number one. Number two, they are relentlessly consistent all year round. Number three, they take seasons, weeks, deloads and opportunities

to reduce training volume and recover while still being mindful of the ultimate goal. Number four, they have the ability to truly lock in nutritionally, and they know a lot about the energy density and calories in food, which I think was really valuable for anybody looking to manage their weight or lose body fat. Number five, they do a variety of different exercises and they are no stranger to attacking the areas of their body that need the most work. Number six, they are constantly in competition against themselves. And number seven, they understand what it means to train hard. All right, guys, I hope you enjoyed this episode.

If you did, be sure to leave me a rating and review on iTunes and Spotify. And five stars, quick little blurb, takes one minute, helps other people find the podcast and improve their health and fitness. It would mean the world to me if you did that. Thanks again for listening and I'll catch you on the next one.