Mark Bell's Power Project - Becoming an IFBB Pro Takes MORE Than PEDs - Rico Rivas || MBPP Ep. 968

Episode Date: August 8, 2023

In Episode 968, IFBB Pro Bodybuilder Rico Rivas, Mark Bell, Nsima Inyang, and Andrew Zaragoza talk about the difficult lifestyle of a Pro Bodybuilder and what it takes to become an IFBB Pro. Follow Rico on IG: https://www.instagram.com/ifbbproricorivas/ Sponsors mentioned on air: ➢ Piedmontese Beef: https://www.CPBeef.com/ Use Code POWER at checkout for 25% off your order plus FREE 2-Day Shipping on orders of $150 ➢ https://www.eightsleep.com/powerproject to automatically save $150 off the Pod Pro at 8 Sleep! ➢ https://marekhealth.com/PowerProject to receive 10% off our Panel, Check Up Panel or any custom panel!     New Power Project Website: https://powerproject.live Join The Power Project Discord: https://discord.gg/yYzthQX5qN Subscribe to the new Power Project Clips Channel: https://youtube.com/channel/UC5Df31rlDXm0EJAcKsq1SUw   Special perks for our listeners below! ➢https://drinkag1.com/powerproject Receive a year supply of Vitamin D3+K2 & 5 Travel Packs!   ➢ https://withinyoubrand.com/ Code POWERPROJECT to save 15% off supplements!   ➢ https://markbellslingshot.com/ Code POWERPROJECT to save 15% off all gear and apparel!   ➢ https://mindbullet.com/ Code POWERPROJECT to save 15% off Mind Bullet!   ➢ https://goodlifeproteins.com/ Code POWERPROJECT to save up to 25% off your Build a Box   ➢ Better Fed Beef: https://betterfedbeef.com/pages/powerproject   ➢ https://hostagetape.com/powerproject to receive a year supply of Hostage Tape and Nose Strips for less than $1 a night!   ➢ https://thecoldplunge.com/ Code POWERPROJECT to save $150!!   ➢ Enlarging Pumps (This really works): https://bit.ly/powerproject1 Pumps explained: https://youtu.be/qPG9JXjlhpM   ➢ https://www.vivobarefoot.com/us/powerproject to save 15% off Vivo Barefoot shoes!   ➢ https://vuoriclothing.com/powerproject to automatically save 20% off your first order at Vuori!   Follow Mark Bell's Power Project Podcast ➢ https://www.PowerProject.live ➢ https://lnk.to/PowerProjectPodcast ➢ Insta: https://www.instagram.com/markbellspowerproject ➢ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/markbellspowerproject   FOLLOW Mark Bell ➢ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marksmellybell ➢https://www.tiktok.com/@marksmellybell ➢ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarkBellSuperTraining ➢ Twitter: https://twitter.com/marksmellybell   Follow Nsima Inyang ➢ https://www.breakthebar.com/learn-more ➢YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/NsimaInyang ➢Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nsimainyang/?hl=en ➢TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nsimayinyang?lang=en   Follow Andrew Zaragoza on all platforms ➢ https://direct.me/iamandrewz   #PowerProject #Podcast #MarkBell #FitnessPodcast #markbellspowerproject

Believe it or not, I was 87 or 85 pounds. I was super skinny as a teenager. People say, oh, bodybuilding is dying. Oh, everybody can get a pro card. Oh, it's easy to get a pro card. Oh, it's too many shows. It's not like that. Bodybuilding is not for everybody.

A lot of people think, oh, no, I am bulking. I am off-season. No, you're not. You know, you're just fat. That's what it is. And are pros supposed to compete more often? We need the pros to compete more often. So I'm doing seven, eight meals a day.

Right now I have no fans and I start with fish and I end with fish. We have to be very creative. I try to do a fish nugget. I try to do fried fish. I try to burn the fish, boil the fish, whatever I can do, but everything is fish. Don't forget about your big cheat during the day

with a quarter cup of blueberries. Oh yes. Why so many meals? That's what we do as a professional. I hate fish. I hate fish. I hate it. I really hate it. I just remember like asking a lot of questions.

And I was like, can I eat this? And my coach was like, nope. I was like, what about this? He's like, nope. He's like, why don't you just follow what I sent you? And I'm like, everything on there doesn't look very good. Right. Apparatchit family, welcome to the podcast.

We are 900 plus episodes deep. We're bringing tons of different experts in fitness, health, nutrition, and business. And we thank you all for your support. And we're also glad to be bringing these individuals to you. Now, if you've enjoyed this podcast and it's brought benefits to your life, we'd really appreciate it if you left a five-star review on Spotify or Apple, as that helps the podcast grow and thrive, and we can continue bringing you amazing content. Thank you for your support, and enjoy the episode. First of all, what a workout we got in today, huh?

Yeah, that was great. It was fantastic. Did some chest and some shoulders. We really got after it. Yeah. Yeah, it was a good workout. Good pump, actually. Good energy.

You know, sometimes it's great to have a different kind of energy, different kind of environment, you know, and motivate you more and definitely inspire you more. A lot of times you work out by yourself? I have a workout partner, but most of the time I work out by myself, too, you know.

I mean, it doesn't really matter. I have to do the job. You're going to get the work done no matter what. Yeah, no matter what, I get the work done, you matter. You know, I had to do the job. You're going to get the work done no matter what. Yeah, no matter what. I get the work done, you know. You cannot rely to anybody, you know. I mean, it's nice to have a workout partner, you know. But, you know, if you don't, I mean, you have to do the job no matter what, you know. Has your mindset changed becoming a pro bodybuilder or have you been this intense kind of the whole time?

been this intense kind of the whole time? I always been working out intense, but definitely my last prep, you know, to when I get my pro card, my mindset definitely changed, you know, the way that the lifestyle is, the way that the dedication, the detail, you know, like I was telling you earlier, you know, the suffering, you know, I mean, everybody,

everybody see the body, the smile and the muscle. But nobody really talks what is behind the curtains, what is behind the door. And behind the door is not pretty. You know, the person they say that is pretty or is not suffering is not doing the thing right. That's as simple as that. is not doing the thing right. That's as simple as that. Do you think a lot of bodybuilders might otherwise have mental health issues

if they weren't able to express it through fitness? Yes, actually, yes. I meet a few pros that they have mental issues, including myself sometimes. Sometimes I go to depression. Get addicted to the fitness side of things. So we express ourselves in the gym. Most people call us a gym rack, Sometimes I go to depression. You get addicted to the fitness side of things. So we express ourselves in the gym.

And, you know, most people call us a gym rack or most people call us unhealthy, you know. But we are one of the most healthy people, you know, that we watch everything, you know. We have the ability to burn fat and create muscle, which is that's very difficult to do, you know. And it's not easy, you know. So to do. It's not easy. So to do that, I mean, it takes a lot. Yeah, I guess the unhealthy side of things would just be that professional bodybuilding can be taken to an extreme. Exactly. Like every sport, I take it to the extreme.

I mean, not necessarily bodybuilder, but every single sport, it takes the stream to be the, and to compete with the best, you know. It takes to do something that not very many normal people can do. Rico was just telling me something off air that's going to kind of blow your minds, I think, a little bit. First of all, his dad was a bodybuilder. Yes. And in addition to that, his mom was a professional surfer. Now, that's not the most amazing part.

The most amazing part is that Rico here doesn't know how to swim. I know. That's funny, right? I never learned how to swim. I was like, do you know how to surf? I got all excited. He's like, I don't even know how to swim. I was like, shit.

I know. Not even from early age, I never know how to swim. Yeah. Never did, you know? Did your mom try to get you out there to do any of that or no? I don't think so I think she tried

but you know I mean she was not patient if she's a pro yeah she doesn't want a little kid yeah she surfed when she was younger

she surfed for the professional yeah you know surfer in Peru and you know and my dad was a bodybuilder

at that time you know he was very dedicated to the gym. People don't know that about me. So my genetics come in from there. And then the hard work. I am not saying genetics is everything. But I'm saying genetics play a little part. But hard work can definitely be genetics too.

You know what I mean? How long have you been lifting since your dad was a pro bodybuilder? When did you start? I've been lifting for 20 years, and I've been competing for 14 years. You know, when I started, believe it or not, I came in from Peru. I'm originally Peruvian and Brazilian. I was, believe it or not, I was 87 or 85 pounds. I was super skinny as a teenager.

I was bullying a lot as a teenager, you know, in my town. You know, they make fun of me. They call me noodles. They call me all kinds of names. You know, I mean, you can see my back and you can see all my rips in there. You know, and that was part of how I grew up. Unfortunately, in Latin America, I was in the middle class. No middle and poor class, but it's hard to success in Latin America.

And so, you know, when I grew up, my childhood, it was a little bit rough because I started working at the age of I was 10, you know. And then I immigrated here when I was 14, you know, thanks to my mom. And then when I came in here, I was 87, 89 pounds. And then my first job, I worked in the gym in my town in Santa Rosa. I was like a little janitor working over there and cleaning the gym. And that's how I fell in love about it. But I meet a couple of people and see people posting in the gym at that time, you know,

and then so I just, the minute I saw. Jack janitor. Yeah. The minute I saw, I mean, I fell in love and that's what I want to pursue, you know? So, and then over the years I got deep, deep, deep in there and this is how I am now, you know? When you started to get into it, was there someone to kind of show you how to do it, or you just started grabbing some weights and messing around with it,

or did you learn from your dad or something like that? No, no, no. I saw my dad working out before, but I never spent very much time with him. When I come in here, I have to give you a credit to one of my good friends. We lost connection, but we reconnect again. His name was Tom Miller. He was a bodybuilder at that time. He introduced me to the world of bodybuilding.

I was very inspired by him. He was a great physique, you know, and he very much taught me a lot. And then after that, I did my first show as a natural show. And the IMBA, IMB, BEF, something like that. IMBA, yeah, yeah, yeah. At that after that, I did it. My first show was a natural show on the IMBA, IMB, BEF, something like that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. At that time in Sacramento,

you know, he helped me to do that. And then I got a coach, you know, his name was Chuck Minosa. He worked in Powerhouse in Santa Rosa. And then that was

my first show, you know, I did it as experience. I don't take it that serious, you know, but I mean, I did it my best.

And then over the years, started doing show and show and show. Until I got to the NPC and I made a different connection, different friends. And then I started following a different road. How long did it take you to, because you've had quite a long run in the NPC. So how long did it take you to get your pro card? How many shows did you have to do? Yeah, it took me 14 years. I would say, well, I've been competing for 14 years,

but I would say to really, to really to get in my pro card, it took me seven years. You know, it was not an easy road. You know, I'm being around for a while. And, you know, I won multiple titles. I mean, I have one fifth place. I have a two third place. I have an 11 second place.

I have 12 wins and eight overalls. And I have three medals on the first place of the Olympia amateur. So I attempted to compete in nationals almost four times, and I don't get it. So the last time, I connect with my last coach, you know, Blue Taylor, and that's how I got my pro car. So basically, it was my fifth time that I got my pro car. But I would say seven years of hard work and dedication is what it takes me to get my pro card. And this is the problem that we have.

People think it's very easy to get it. It isn't. I mean, there's a lot of things out there. People say, oh, bodybuilding is dying. Oh, everybody can get a pro card. Oh, it's easy to get a pro card. Oh, it's too many shows. It's not like that.

It isn't. It isn't. Bodybuilding is not for everybody. You know what I mean? Whether you have it or whether you don't. Whether you want to do the work or whether you don't want to do the work. You know, and so that's what it takes. And it takes time.

It takes time. You have to keep your body the maturity. You have to learn how to treat your body and what gives it to your body, what your body needs. Because your body is going to tell you what it needs. Your body what your body needs because your body's gonna tell you what it needs your body's gonna really talk to you and make sure you know you're okay and more than anything is safe but um you know it takes time it takes time so people that just want one show or one inaugural or do two shows and they wanted to go to her pro card it's great but you know i mean some people do it you know, I mean, some people do it, you know, but

some people get it, you know, but not all the ones like that. It takes time. There's not a sport that's more connected to nutrition than bodybuilding. I mean, we see a lot of other athletes still kind of eat, kind of whatever. You can't always, you know, you can't always associate healthy eating

with the way that someone plays on the court, the way that someone plays tennis, the way that someone plays on the court, the way that someone plays tennis, the way that someone plays football. It's like, it seems like a mashup of how people eat. It seems like they, a lot of times, just eat things that maybe don't hurt their stomach, and then they're good. Exactly. They make sure they get enough nutrition, and then they're good.

Exactly. But with bodybuilding, it's so connected that forget about even doing anything amateur-wise in bodybuilding if you're not absolutely committed and connected to your diet really well. Yes, yes. lifestyle, you know, the nutrition part, you know, the constant eating, the constant digesting, the constant hydrated to your muscle, the constant, you know, you have to measure your sodium, your fat, your protein, your carbs,

you know. When off-season is important as a pre-contest, you know, a lot of people think, oh, no, I am bulking, I am off-season. No, you're not. You know, a lot of people think, oh, no, I am booking. I am off-season. No, you're not. You know, you're just fine. That's what it is.

It is the reality. You're just fine. You're not booking, dude. You know? I mean, it is what it is. You know what I mean? I'm in a gaining period. Yeah.

You know? No. You've been doing that for a few years now. Even when you are in off-season, you need to still dieting. It's one thing to have a balance. It's another thing to just go and just eat whatever you want. It's not easy. It's a 24-7 sport. How heavy do you get in your off-season?

I normally get into 230, 235. This time, at this prep, I'm going to start at 237 exactly. And then I'm coming down now. And what was your longest off season because one thing I noticed is like a lot of bodybuilders they compete often but sometimes like some guys compete and their physique doesn't

change much so do you give yourself a good amount of time in your off season I have not had a very long off season yes since I turned pro but before I used to compete two times a year in the amateur rank for nationals, you know. And are pros supposed to compete more often? I believe right now how the sport is, we need the pros to compete more often.

I believe that. I believe, you know, unfortunately, the lot of big names that we have out there, they are not showing up in these shows, are killing our sport. Because, you know, I mean, the people are, people wanted to see these pros that people admire, you know, like myself. I wanted to see Nick Walker. I wanted to see, you know, Derek Lamport. I wanted to see Sam Sundara in different events, you know. So I can go, I can pay the pay-per-view, I can pay

my ticket, I can fly over there, you know, and unfortunately, a lot of ones, they don't do that. A lot of ones, they just focus on the Olympia, and I understand, you know, they have a goal, they have one big show to, you know, to kill it, but unfortunately, that's what they kill in all sports, so I do believe

as a pro, you've got to be able to put yourself up there. You've got to be able to compete to promote the sport, you know what I mean believe as a pro, you got to be able to put yourself up there. You got to be able to compete to promote the sport. You know what I mean? So that way, you know,

all sports grow because that's what we need. We need pros to compete so that way people can follow that, you know? So,

and unfortunately, we don't have that right now. The last show, I saw the show, the big man in Spain last week, it was only six competitors.

Oh, really? Six competitors, you know. And then with the Chicago Pro two weeks ago, a week ago, it was almost seven or eight competitors, you know. So it is just, you know, I mean, I remember, I mean, 10, 15 years ago, you know, I mean, it was a lineup of 20, 23, 30 people. Yeah. 15 people, you know, and the best of the best, you know. I mean, Jay Cutler competed four times in the Arnold's Classic. You know, Dexter Jackson had almost 54 pro shows wins.

Victor Martinez, you know, I mean, he competed four times in the Arnold's Classic. You know, a lot of people, a lot of these old pros have been competing, competing. Melvin Anthony, one of the best bodybuilders and performers, you know, competed so many times, whether he came to the last place or I think his last Mr. Olympia was number six. I mean, he was competing and competing. And now we don't have that, you know? You think some of that might have to do with social media and the fact that people can kind of make a living off of there. And maybe before you had to really break through, you hadn't really make a name. So you had to hustle and maybe do more shows unfortunately that's what it is yes i had to do a lot of with that you know unfortunately um we are underpaid you know i mean for right now

for the pro show you only get a 10 000 i mean 25 000 the most you know i mean if you are top sips in the olympia is when you make the big money or arnold but yeah you know and unfortunately i mean you know if you break everything down um by the time that you dieting food coaching training taking day off from work because you can't really work i mean that 10 000 doesn't even pay your bills you know what i mean and then top of that if you don't have a sponsor you have to pay your own hotel your own ticket your own flight rest you know. So a lot has to do with that too, you know. And I can understand that. That's why a lot of pros, they do social media. They, you know, they do YouTube.

They make money in different sources, you know. A lot of people, they do, you know, clothing brand, you know, T-shirts, hats, you know. So they're trying to make money from that, you know, that perspective. But, you know, so unfortunately. that, you know, that perspective. But, you know, so unfortunately. Does it ever bug you that you have to kind of almost maybe occasionally stop

your workout to make sure you get a good video? Because it is important, right? It's important that we get ourselves out there. So does it annoy you sometimes to do it or do you like doing social media stuff? No. I like it, you know. I like it. I like to do it, you know. I think it's important as a pro or even as an amateur to put yourself there so people can recognize your hard work.

You know, and when you turn a pro, even you have more responsibility to do. Because, you know, and somehow anybody that is committed to the sport inspires somebody. You know, and somehow somebody's going to watch you. No matter if you are amateur or pro or you just follow the lifestyle. And if you inspire that person, that's where you win is coming. You know? So I do believe that me doing the videos, the social media, you know, I inspire people. And I put it myself there.

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America. Fuck yeah. So go ahead and get some of the best tasting some of the leanest some of the best beef from piedmontese andrew how can they get it absolutely uh so you guys can head over to cpbeef.com and check out enter promo code power to save 25 off your entire order and if your order is 150 or more you get free two-day shipping. Again, cpbeef.com. Links to them down in the description as well as the podcast show notes. Fuck yeah! What do you think is like during your training career,

what are some ideas that maybe moved the needle the most for you or helped you grow the most? Because it's interesting. You know, Kenny, we saw Kenny in there. He's 250. He's a big guy, right? 22 years old. 22 years old, yes. He's young. But then a big guy, right? 22 years old. 22 years old, yes.

He's young. But then you can tell, like, when he stands next to you and Doug, you guys have this maturity to your muscle, like, just this density, right? What do you think allows for that over time? You know, I talked to Kenny one time when I was teaching science, you know. I think the best of that, like advice, is time. Time, it will really put you in the right place. I see he is a beast, you know, and he trained really good.

He looked like he liked the lifestyle, you know. But he needs to be careful lifting, you know, the food-wise, you know, the eating. As long as he's careful lifting, as long as he takes his time. What do you mean by being careful? Just maybe not lifting too heavy and not getting too bulky and stuff? No, not necessarily like that. Just, you know, to not get an injury. You know, to not get an injury and things like that.

You know, you cannot let the weight control you. You have to control the weight. You know, we don't train for the ego. We train for the S culture, you know. And as long as he doesn't get injured and as long as he follow everything, I mean, time will put him in the right place, you know. He's going to be crazy. And then my girl, as many years competing, is the discipline. The discipline is the S, you know.

I mean, you have to treat your body and give your body the respect that your body needs. You know, the off-season is important. It's a prayer contest. You know, I see a lot of people that they do a contest and then after that they just party, they drink. You know, some they do recreation drugs,

some they just eat whatever they want. You know, I was talking to you about it. You know, I meet a couple clients that they have a list already where they're going to eat every day and what restaurant they're going to visit every week. You know, I was talking to you about it. You know, I meet a couple of clients that they have a list already where they're going to eat every day and what restaurant they're going to visit every week. Yeah, what you're going to eat after the show. So, you know, you can do that. You can do that because, I mean,

you basically, you torture your body, you know. You run into a lot of problems, you know. Your blood pressure goes high. You're bloated. You know what I mean? You accumulate some sodium, you know. You feel fatigue. You getated, you know what I mean? You accumulate some sodium, you know, you feel a fatigue, you get the pressure, you know what I mean? You very quickly

can pile the pounds, the weight right away after the contest if you are not careful. So after the contest, you know, you just have to continue with your diet, have your cheat meals, continue with your training. Not intense like it was, but continue with the same routine.

So that way you keep yourself healthy, everything works okay, and then you don't go out of your routine. Are your workouts, do you feel like you're kind of just like bringing a lunchbox into the gym and you're taking it as like it's a day at work? Or are you like fired up and like maybe internally mad? Some people kind of use like almost a little bit of self-hatred. And then some people just also just love the train. Kind of where do you fall in that category?

I love the train. I love the train. I love the lifestyle. So, you know, when I bring, when I get ready for my day, I bring all my meals and everything, you know, and then I'm happy to do that. You know, my beautiful girlfriend cook all my meals, you know, which is 50 meals a week. The refrigerator all the time. So, you know, so I pack all my meals every morning, you know, I'm making my protein shake fresh. And then, but I love to do that.

You know, I love to do that. I love to come into the gym, train, come in with an attitude, you know i'm making my protein shake fresh and then but i love to do that you know i love to do that i love to come into the gym train coming with the attitude you know obviously uh on contest prep i'm a little bit low energy here and there but you know i mean the job is still the job and six to seven meals a day uh right now i am doing yes i'm doing seven eight meals a day you know yeah i start with 10. Can you explain the diet? Because I heard a little bit of rumblings in the gym about your fat intake right now. Can you explain what you're doing now? Right now, I have no fats. And I'm being started my process 18 weeks, almost 17 weeks.

And I start with fish and I end with fish. So I'm feeling like I am a fish in the ocean right now. Is it tilapia? No, I eat cod. Okay. Cod is a white fish at least. I try to do, we have to be very creative. I try to do a fish nugget.

I try to do fried fish. I try to burn the fish, boil the fish, whatever I can do, you know, multiple times, but everything is fish. Yeah. And then I only have like 160 grams of carbs, which is 80 grams of each. whatever I can do, you know, multiple times, but everything is fish. And then I only have like 160 grams of carbs, which is 80 grams of each meal and two meals. So, you know, and the rest is just fish and shredded lettuce. See, and this is important to talk about it because people don't see that. People don't see that.

People don't see what it takes. You know what I mean? Don't forget about your big cheat during the day with a quarter cup of blueberries. Oh, yes. Yeah. That's a, yes. Party animal. Did he say that? Thanks to my coach.

Thanks for the blueberries. Yeah. Thanks to my coach. Yeah. You know, but my coach is really good, you know? I mean, he's brutal. He's brutal, but he is really good. He's very detailed.

He very much is basic and conditioned, you know? And that's how it works. You know, I used to work with David Patrick, IABP Pro David Patrick. I mean, he was great too. And he's the one that referred me to Blue Taylor, you know, and Blue is a whole different level, you know. And he's been working with me from my pro, from the time that I'm, he prepared me for my pro car and now he's preparing me for my pro debut. And then it's been great.

You know, he's very, very, very professional about it. Very detailed about it. Constant checking with me, how I feel, you know, how things goes. And that's important. It's important to you having a good coach. It's important to you match with that person, you know? So I really appreciate him, you know? Why the, why so many meals? It's because the meals are very, if you? So I really appreciate him, you know? Why so many meals?

It's because the meals are very, if you think about it, I mean, I say meals, but they are very small meals, you know? And the fish is the protein that digests very fast, and it's a clean protein. It's not fat in the fish, you know? So it really, I mean, you eat the fish, you eat your meal, and then half an hour later, you're hungry again. You know what I mean? And the shredded lettuce is only for the, you know, to pull you up, you know what I mean?

I mean, you can put green beans if you want, but, you know, that's the same, you know? And the mustard is to put a little bit, a little flavor, that's all, you know? But, you know, that's what we do. That's what we do as a professional, you know? That's what we do is to get it where we want it to get all you know yeah but you know that's what we do that's what we do as a professional you know that's what we do is to get it where we wanted to get you know you can eat fish pretty fast too which is kind of nice but then also you're like man my meal's gone yeah exactly yeah you know like i got another two and a half hours or three hours yeah oh yeah you're constantly

watching the clock you know you're constantly watching're watching to see when is your next meal. How about sleep, like your recovery? I feel like what does your recovery routine look like in general? In the contest prep right now, I mean, I wish I could sleep more. But normally my sleep is almost six hours, unfortunately, because I work with a lot of clients. But I'm trying to take naps here and there between clients. And then I do a lot of deep tissue massage. I do the cup massage, you know.

And then, yeah, and that's, you know, that's all that I do. The deep tissue massage and the cup massage has been helping me a lot, you know, to recover, you know. And the sleep, obviously, you know what I mean. And the days that I don't train too, you know. I have a full day that I don't train, you know, which is nice. You know, I just relax. I forget.

One time a week? Yes. It's normally Sundays, you know. I relax. I don't do anything. I'm just at home, you know. What about stretching or anything like that? I do stretching.

After my workout, I stretch here and there, you know, to keep the muscle and the blood pumping, you know. And then, you know, and then so. But it's not as intense as off-season. Because unfortunately, when it's a prep time, everything is on the go, you know and then um you know and then so but it's not as intense as off-season because unfortunately when it's a prep time everything is in the go you know i mean i mean you have to take your time but i mean you know if you think about it you know we have life you know we have a work someone's are you know i am a part-time dad you know what i mean i have a home you know so i mean i have a work so you know my, go to my training and then do my posting and then do my cardio and then coming home, you know? Get ready for the next day, you know?

Do you really think, like, full range of motion is super important or you do partial range or you do a mix? I do a mix. But I like a full range of motion. I feel like I feel better pumped with that. But, I mean, I like a mix, you know? Do you care much about like heavy weights? Because actually I noticed when we were training today, you were focusing on the form of everything you were doing.

And even though the weight you were using wasn't extremely heavy, you were moving it super well. So do you think like some guys, do they lift too heavy sometimes? No, not really. You know, sometimes you see these people in the gym that they're trying to carry so much weight, you know. I mean, you got to understand that, you know, you cannot let the weight control you. You know, the weight is going to come on time. You know, as long as you have a good form and as long as you feel the pump and the muscle you know is what matters

you know in off season when I have all the food and all the nutrients with me I do care a lot of way you know not insane but I do care a lot of way but in practice and the prep for prep for a show you know I am carefully what I care you know that doesn't mean

I care a lot but I do carefully when I lift it because I deplete, you're tired, you don't have enough carbs, so you very easily can get injured. And the last time that you need is to get injured like six, five weeks before the show. With coaching other people, do you...

You're utilizing cardio, I'd imagine, at this stage. Do you usually recommend cardio for people to do? And then secondly, where do you have them put that? Is that before a workout, after a workout, on a quote-unquote off day? Yeah. I believe cardio is very important for everybody. You know, I normally, to my clients, I normally require cardio after the workout.

But, I mean, it's a lot of controversy about that question because a lot of people feel like they need to do cardio before workout so that way they warm up the muscle. And that's okay, too. I used to do that, too, you know. And maybe for some people that don't really love it, maybe just like, hey, you got to do this 30 minutes on the StairMaster before you can even see me for the day. Exactly. And a lot of people, they all have excuses. They all can do it. They all do this. They they all do that so i'm used to do that but normally i do put in my clients a lot of cardio you know i do myself a lot of cardio you know so i am right now in like

an almost um hour and 10 minutes cardio a day six days a week you know off season do you still do like do you still get a certain amount of steps each day or do you try to get in cardio in your off season or yes i do yes i do my off season i still do at least, do you still get a certain amount of steps each day or do you try to get in cardio in your off season? Yes, I do. Yes, I do. In my off season, I still do at least half an hour, 25 minutes cardio every day, six days a week to maintain, you know, myself and maintain myself a little healthy, you know. You got to keep yourself healthy. You got to.

This is the problem where we have. We saw many bodybuilders that are wrong at a problem or something happened. You know, we've been having so many paths in the last few years you know and it's because you know some people don't take precautions you know you have to be responsible when you do this which means if you're going to follow the sport you need to know where you get yourself into and you need to follow the responsibilities which is you know do your black work you know check yourself constantly with your doctor you know do your cardio eat your veggies know, try to maintain yourself healthy so that way you don't run out of problems.

Because it's going to be one moment in time that your body is just going to keep it up. You know what I mean? And so far, the bodybuilding world is a little bit extreme, you know? And imagine if you don't follow those precautions. I mean, it could be worse, you know? And if you do get your blood work back, you know, you might have to pause. Exactly. You might have to put on pause the goals that you had.

Exactly. Which I think is hard for people to do. Exactly. Yes. Because I think a lot of these guys do get their blood work done, but then they're like, eh, only six more weeks till the show. Yeah. I don't know.

And they push it, you know? When you start pushing the envelope, that's when the problems happen, you know? You got to know how to get your limitations, you know. So, yeah. We were talking earlier about that unfortunate accident that happened with that kid that was squatting. Yes. This guy died squatting. I think he was like trying to squat like 460 pounds or something like that.

And he was making really good progress week by week. I saw like a breakdown of what happened, not necessarily of the actual incident itself, but the lead-up to it. His coach was spotting him from behind and giving him a little bit of assistance from behind on many squats. But previously, before that, he was squatting with the safety hooks in there inside the rack because he was lifting by himself. inside the rack because he was lifting by himself. His coach gave him some assistance, which is actually a pretty good method to utilize to get a little stronger sometimes in the squat, either that or like knee sleeves or something like that.

But what ended up happening was, you know, once you get to a certain weight, even if you're a strong person, it's really hard to spot somebody, you know, from the back like that. Yes, it is. Anyway, my whole point in bringing this up is I think, unfortunately, I think that kid died from social media. person it's really hard to spot somebody you know from the back like that but yes it is anyway my whole point in bringing this up is i i think unfortunately i think that kid died from social media yes uh because i think that he probably saw somebody else lifting he probably was like pumped and encouraged by that and felt like for him to be complete and for him to feel better

that him squatting more weight would have been something that would have made him feel better. You know, he was doing it with all the best intentions. Exactly. He's like, this goal is going to be fun and I'm going to have a coach and they're going to help me and so on. And I also think that the other side of that too is it was filmed for social media, which is another side of it. And it just puts us in a really interesting spot because I don't know what to think of

it. I obviously film a lot of stuff for social media. I always have goals to get stronger. I always have goals to get better. And, uh, you know, my son lifts like, you know, like I can't even imagine how horrific something like that would be to go through. I'm someone just tries to do a squat in the gym. They're just trying to get a little stronger for the day. And you know, you end up with this tragic accident, but, um you know i think uh we have to be careful with our goals versus somebody else's goals and the weight that we use and compare some in comparison somebody else right we're really careful that we're not comparing ourselves to other people and we give ourselves time it's going to take time for you to get big for you to get strong for to get shredded, for you to look like a professional bodybuilder.

This doesn't happen within three years. It doesn't happen in five years. It's going to probably take decades. Yes. Yes, that's true. That's very true. And that's what I'm talking about. It takes time to get to that level.

And I saw that accident too, and it was an accident that can be prevented. And I feel like, I mean mean he was a 26 years old too you know and I feel like you know the social media has a lot of responsibility about what things are going around not necessarily for this accident but I feel like it's related to

but you know it's unfortunately that you know whatever works for me is not going to work for certain people it's not going to work for somebody else you know so we got to be very careful what we do because social media is taking us through a storm and it's taking the sport, not just the body, but everything, you know. And so people really try to replicate those idols, those people, you know, those people they admire, those pros, whatever you do, you know,

and it's not necessarily it's going to work that way, you know. I mean, some people, you know, some people really go to the stream, you know. I mean, whether something work for somebody else, that doesn't mean it's going to work for me, you know. It takes years to get to that level. More than anything, you cannot rush this sport. You can't, you know. You have to take your time.

You have to get to know your body. Have you learned that the hard way a couple times before? I've been very lucky that I've been lifting for almost 20 years and I have not had an injury except just one that I almost termiturized it. Wow. You know, and that is because I've been being prevented a lot. You know, I'm being, you know, carefully. I warm up and things like that.

You know, 20 years to have only one or two injuries, this is a good thing. You know what I mean? It's very impressive, you know? So I've been very lucky about that. Obviously, I run and paint here and there, you know, because the masses are worn, tear out my knees and, you know, joints. But, you know, to have major injury, semi-trisis, I don't have that. I'm being very careful in the gym. I don't

train for the ego. I train for the sculpture. I do what I got to do to make the master change. I learn different style training with different people. I feel like it works for me.

If I see somebody that cares so much feel like it works for me, you know? And so if I see somebody that cares so much weight, you know, it doesn't bother me. You know what I mean? It doesn't really bother me, you know? Yeah, just go like this. Yeah, exactly. You know what I mean?

Platform. Yeah. It's great. You know what I mean? That was really cool that you did that. Yeah, exactly. You know what I mean? So, you know? Yeah.

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Yes. Not too long ago. What was that from? I was in 2020, I believe, or 21. Yeah, 2020. What happened is I was getting ready for the North Americans. I was four weeks out. I was with my coach, David Patrick, and everything was great.

I feel it's so amazing. I mean, I think that was one of my best shape too. And then all the starting, I got COVID. So this is what happened in the pandemic. The gym was closed. Everything was closed. But the gym was open here and there for citrus people. And the owner, Science, they will allow me to train over there.

So, and I got COVID. So, I started feeling really sick one day. And the next day, I was just, you know, I could breathe at all. So, I had to rush to the emergency. How scary was that? It was very scary. I had to rush to the emergency. And then I stayed in the emergency for 20 to 27 days.

I lost 30 pounds. They put it in me and there's so many medications and black thinner and things. And because I was getting ready for competition, so I was big. So they were kind of a little bit worried about me having a blood clot. So the blood clot was a problem. So, you know, and I then lost 30 pounds. Did you have a vaccine shot, if you don't mind me asking? No, I didn't have it at that time, you know, and they put it in me in the ventilator for four days.

And then normally when you go to the ventilator, I mean, you don't get out of there. So luckily my oxygen come back. The main thing was my oxygen. You know, we normally, as humans, we normally needed like 106, 109 oxygen. I got to the hospital and 74 in oxygen. I was purple when I got to the hospital. Just what, real shallow breaths? Yes, I could not breathe.

I could not breathe over my nose. I could not breathe over my breath. I could not breathe. It was like I was breathing through a stroke, through a little stroke. I was breathing. It was a very, and then a big guy like me, I needed a lot of oxygen. I needed more than normal people. So, yeah, so I ended up staying over there for 27 days, 28 days.

I lost 30 pounds. I mean, it was a very big moment for me. I thought about I was not going to make it. And then when they put me in the ventilator, it was the more worst part. And being over there alone, because at that time, nobody can visit you at the hospital. It was even harder. But luckily, I feel visit you at the hospital. It was even harder, you know. But luckily, you know, I feel like, you know, God was with me.

I feel like it was not my time. You know, I feel like I am in this world for a purpose. So luckily, I get out of there. And then I start, you know, getting back, you know, to my normal routine, getting back to the gym. And then after one month, that's when I turn my tricep. That put me back to four months training and everything, you know. And then after that, luckily, everything passed. And then I started getting back to it. Probably got excited.

You probably started to feel good again. Yes. And then boom, right? Yeah, I rebounded really fast, you know. And I've been training for so long, so the body has a lot of memory, you know. Yeah, that was my tricep. There's the bruises of it, yeah. The body has a lot of memories.

All the way down to your wrist. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah. I didn't do the surgery, you know the body yeah that was my tricep there's the bruises of it yeah the body having you know massive memories all the way down to your wrist yeah I didn't do the surgery you know I fixed everything with deep tissue massage cup massage you know

tricep works good now oh yeah I didn't care more I didn't care more I used to care you know so you know I mean you know

things happen you know so that was the major accident that happened to me. You feel like your mindset maybe, did it change much after that? Yes. You know, near-death experience has got to probably have a different perspective on life. Absolutely. It's making me appreciate it more where I am, you know, day by day, what I do, my kids, you know, life, everything, you know. And especially, you know, my health, you know, day by day, what I do, my kids, you know, life, everything, you know, and

especially, you know, my health, you know, that's the major thing, you know, it's definitely changed your life, you know. You know, a lot of guys are trying to get their pro card and they've been competing for a while. And one thing that you'll hear from guys, some guys tend to say, oh, the judges don't like me or, oh, this is rigged or this or that. But you kept competing until you got your pro card. So did you ever get a feeling that like it just wasn't for you?

I'm just wondering how you just managed to continue to persevere and not make excuses for yourself. Yes. Not necessarily my pro card, but I got 12 second place. By the time they got my 10 second place, I I said, oh man, this is not for me. They don't like me. Maybe because I'm Spanish. And I'm just joking. It's not that, you know, but I do.

I did that about what's not for me. I did the wrong sport. And a lot of people, you know, no, no, no, no, you're too big. No, no, no, you're not in condition. No, no, no, you're too small. No, no, no, you're this, you're not in condition no no no you're too small no no no you did you that but you know what something inside of me it was always keeping me going and i know inside of me that i was gonna win i like that i know inside of me i like that it took you 10 second place you know i know to get there 12 12 12 i'd get like two or three and be like oh man

they're just don't i know so you know and so after that, let me tell you that after that, as soon as I won the first place, I started winning and winning and winning. And then I won my overalls and I have eight overalls, you know, it's not easy to have eight overalls. And I have three medals of the amateur Olympia first place, you know, and it's not easy that, you know, so, and then I started winning. So as soon as I, the thing is where I learned, and this is my personal experience, where I learned is when you treat the sport as a job and you don't enjoy, that's the problem. That is when you really bring the negativity into your head, into your brain, because you do it because you have to do it.

head and to your brain because you do it because you have to do it. When you treat the sport and you enjoy the sport and you believe in your hard work and you really, really believe in yourself that you can make it happen, that's when things happen. And it takes mentality to get it to that level. It do. It really do. I do believe it in the very positive energy. I do believe and surrender yourself with the right people, you know?

I do believe and surrender yourself with the right people, you know? So what happened is after that 12 second place, you know, I decided to distance myself from everybody and shut down myself and just focus and win, win. And then that's what I did. And then I went, and then I went again and I went and then I consequently went. I get the judges to know me. I was very friendly with them. You know, I put myself out there. You know, I put it in social media, Facebook at that time. And then after that, it's just happening and happening. But what I noticed is that I was not treating the sport of bodybuilding as a job.

I was not treating, I was not cranky or angry to go to work out or say, oh, I had to go work out today. I was not that. I was enjoying it. I was living my life. I was having balance. I was training my clients, go home, do my personal things, you know, doing my balance. And that's when I start. Like nothing to lose.

Nothing to lose. Like I came in second so many times. Fuck it. Here we go. And everything started falling into place. And all of a sudden, I started collecting wins and I start collecting overalls until I got my pro card. And that's what happens. That's what a lot of people, you know, going through that process.

The day, you know. I know somebody going through that process right now. You know? You know, and then they go into that process and what happens is they think they're not for them. But it's just, you know, it's just you have to switch that mentality. You have to know how to have the balance you know so at least that's what it takes to me yeah to learn you know so she got over there and you uh you said you were 87 pounds yes how the hell did you gain so much weight that's i know a lot of 20 years training yeah you know 20 years training 14 years. You know, 20 years training, 14 years competing. You know, I was 87 pounds when I was 13, 14.

Yeah, I mean, they make a lot of fun of me in my town. They were picking on me all the time. You know, I was a skinny kid in the town, you know. So, but, you know, I mean, over the years, I started, you know, training little by little, you know, getting information, hire coaches, you know, learn from here, from there, take a brain from somebody, take a brain from different people, and then, you know, and then combine everything and then get in my own style, you know,

and then that's how it happens. When did you kind of like realize that you could make a big change? After I win, my first win. My first win is when I realized that i can really really change this around and make it as career and maybe make it as it has something in there you know they had that potential you know what about i meant like more so like when you were young when you're 87 pounds and you know you go to the gym and you weigh like 100 pounds or something like that it's probably very discouraging and it takes time, right? Yes.

It takes time. So when did you kind of realize like, you know, that, oh shit, I think I really can like not just make small changes in my body, I think I make big changes in my body. Yeah. After, when I was 87 pounds, I was still, you know, when I got here, I was, even when I was 100 pounds, 115 pounds, I was still very, you know, very shy, you know, suffer from anxiety and, you know, I mean, a little bit, you know, not talking to anybody, you know. But I realized maybe two, three years later when I started getting myself confident, you

know, and I started putting in the weight little by little, you know, and then connected with the right people. They show me, you know, the popular guy in the gym. I was body with him, you know, trying to be in their corner. So that way people recognize me, you know. And that's when I realized, you know, I said, oh, okay, this is a good spot. So I got to keep myself going, you know. And then I start, little by little, I start working myself up, you know,

and to all the starting, you know, I start getting 150, 170, and everything goes and goes and goes. You have a lot of patience. Do you think that comes from coming to this country and maybe not understanding the language as well? Yes, it is. Just having to figure a lot of shit out on your own, it sounds like. Yes, it is.

It has to come from where I come from. It's a little bit more patience, a little bit more taking my time um it's a little bit more patience a little bit more taking my time you know it's a little bit more i am the kind of person that i had to see and i had to analyze what i'm gonna do and how i'm gonna do it and how it's gonna work you know like if i go to a prep i had to figure out every single thing what is gonna work you know how it's gonna work financially and this and that in my schedule and this and that in order to me decide to to you know to get into a prep you know so it has to do a lot with the patients and that has to do a lot with the culture that i come in from you know having worked with you know multiple coaches that have probably coached pro bodybuilders right what you know if somebody's a bodybuilder and

they're working with somebody what do you think might be some red flags of like, oh, maybe I should find another coach? What do you think people should look out for? You know, every coach is very unique. And what I learned as a coach too is that you got to give the coach the opportunity to work with you and to work to get to know you. You know, it's a very, it had to be extremely a good coach

to really give you that win or give you that pro card. You know, in my case, Blue gave it to me, the pro card in my first shot, but I already started training for a long time ago. I was with David Patrick.

I was with Alex Azarian. You know, I trained with other people too. So, and then he just, he polished me basically and then his routine and everything but you have to keep it you have to give it the opportunity to that coach to get to know you you know I mean a lot of people

you know a lot of people doesn't have the patience that's when it comes the patience is you know when you get a coach I mean you gotta be you gotta give that coach the opportunity to get to know you to get to know your body to get to know what your body like what your body doesn the opportunity to get to know you, to get to know your body, to get to know what your body like, what your body doesn't like, to get to find you the right spot so that way you can pick and that way you can prep right and listen to the process and trust the process. But people don't do that. They're very hard to do, including myself before.

They don't do that. You know, they start lying. They start saying, oh, I'm following the diet. They don't follow the diet. They say, oh, I'm eating my meals and they're eating something else. You know, I'm eating all my calories and they're eating more calories than they were supposed to, you know. They'd rather blame the coach. Yeah, and then they blame the coach.

After the last, they say, oh, no, the coach, the coach, that's the problem, the coach, you know. It's not that. It's not the problem, it's you. That's not the problem. That's not the problem. You have to be a very reckless coach in order to blame that coach. But the coach, the problem is you. You know the one.

I mean, people think because they're high. I mean, the coach is not going to be your mom. The coach is not going to be your dad. The coach is only your coach. That's not your therapist. So you got to do the job regardless to whatever. You have to be very proactive. You have to, exactly.

If you're a client, you have to be very proactive and communicate with the coach a lot. Exactly. Ask a lot of questions. You might be kind of a pain in the ass, but I think that's what you need to do. And you have to be very proactive and communicate with the coach a lot exactly ask a lot of questions you might be kind of a pain in the ass but I think that's what you need to do and you have to listen to them

you know you have to listen to them and you have to follow where the rules are and where it is you know so you know so I mean

when I remember I one of the things too that people I don't know people know some people know

you know there is I hate fish I hate it I really hate it I really do and you know why because is, I hate fish. I hate it. I really hate it. I really do. And you know why? Because I grew up

in Brazil and in Peru and because we poor, we eat fish all the time. So I hate it. So when I come into this country, all I eat is steak, chicken,

you know? So when I got to, we blew, I told Blue that I hate fish. And the first thing that he told me, and then I know,

I know the coach for you. That's what he told me. I said, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. We can work it out something. You know, and he said, okay, you know, it got to be fish. Otherwise, I know the coach for you. And that's what it was. What's his theory on fish?

What makes fish superior? Fish is the source of protein. There's a clean protein. Even chicken breasts have a 2% fat. Fish have no fat. And fish give it to you, that texture, that skin, peel skin, you know. It's a different kind of muscle. It's a different kind of condition that you get. And you get lean fast.

You get very lean. I experienced myself, you know. You get to lean very fast. I remember I was looking at broadcast a long time ago. Kevin Lebron, it was two months with fish. 12 ounces of fish every day., it was two months with fish. 12 ounces of fish every day, two months, eight weeks with fish. And he was getting

to that sting condition. You know, when you see the skin, the paper skin, that's the fish. You know, when you see somebody that's holding water, when you see somebody that the skin is not that textured, that means he wasn't chicken. You know, a fish is not going to, fish is not replaceable

fish will bring you in condition no matter what yeah i remember i only did one bodybuilding show but i just remember like asking a lot of questions and i was like can i eat this and my coach was like nope i was like what about this he's like nope he's like why don't you just follow what i sent you and i'm like everything on there doesn't look very good you know right and he's just had like these theories on like you know dairy like making it hold

more water between the skin and right I'm like yeah I might as well just listen I mean what am I doing

why am I asking him so many questions I'm just paying somebody might as well listen shut the hell up and listen to him exactly and it's you know

it's asparagus it's not broccoli you know it's like I don't know just coaches get very specific depending on the coach oh yeah they get very and some ones are very brutal i remember it was my birthday a couple months ago i told my coach my girl is gonna cook some steak and broccoli now fish oh man not

even on the fucking birthday yeah it's a it's a it's a it's a bread move don't ask anymore that's what that's what he texts me you know don't ask anymore trt it what he texts me. Don't ask anymore. TRT. It's a popular topic. A lot of guys are hopping on it. It's something that we've talked about a lot. And you might think you're a candidate, but how would you know if you haven't got your blood work done and you don't know where your markers are? That's why we've partnered with Merrick Health owned by Derek from More Plates, More Dates. And the cool thing about Merrick is you'll get your blood work done and you'll also have a patient care coordinator that can help you analyze your blood work, analyze your testosterone, all these other markers to help you actually figure out if you're someone who needs TRT. Because there could be things that you could be doing nutritionally, with supplements, or even with your lifestyle that can boost your testosterone to the levels that they should actually be at.

Andrew, how can they get their hands on it? Yes, that's over at MerrickHealth.com slash PowerProject. How can they get their hands on it? Yes, that's over at merrickhealth.com slash powerproject. And at checkout, enter promo code powerproject to save 10% off the Power Project panel, the checkup panel, or any individual lab that you select. Again, that's at merrickhealth.com slash powerproject. Promo code powerproject at checkout. Links in the description as well as the podcast show notes. We had years ago, we had Chris Aceto on the podcast.

And he said that people will email him all the time and they'll say hey well what about a cheat meal he said i've never answered one of those emails ever he's like why are they why is this guy who wants to be a pro bodybuilder asking me about a cheat meal exactly yeah my coach doesn't believe in cheat meals either no cheat meals you know i don't even i don't even bother to ask you anymore. I know. The good thing about me is that I'm very adjustable. So I really can adjust very quick to somebody. You know what I mean? So when I got him, it was rough because he had a different style and his dyes are a little

bit, you know, a little bit intense. But I adjust very fast, you know? And then I feel like because he probably sees my progress and my hard work, he probably put attention, you know, more attention. Not that he don't put attention, he's very attention to all his clients. You know, so now, I mean, he is very detailed with me, constantly checking on me,

you know, which is, I appreciate it a lot, you know. But I don't even bother myself with cheat meal or anything, not even for Diet Coke. So what would you say, what is the fun part of your diet? What do you look forward to each day? Is it your crystal light? The crystal light.

Yeah. And the blueberries. The blueberries. But we start with the cream of rice. We start with the cream of rice. And then when we cut the cream of rice, that is the broken heart. That heart more like a breakup. You send him a broken heart emoji

yeah that is like that is like you're getting divorced you know yeah that's the broken heart the cream of rice

is the worst part you know because at least you're eating the cream of rice you know and then you put some blueberries in there you know

so you it's like a dessert you know what I mean you're looking forward for that but as soon as he cut that oh man, that's the torture. You know, some bodybuilders

they like think all these weird things taste really good when they're in the prep because they haven't had anything that's actually good in like a really long time. They're like, here, taste this apple cider vinegar. It's delicious. You're like, that's the most sour stuff ever. What are you talking about? Mustard. Yeah.

I remember I go one time with the national show in the Olympia and I was getting my food and somebody told me, here, try this mustard. You know, this is a different kind of mustard. I buy organic. It's organic mustard. I said, okay. It's the same shit. Same mustard that I buy in the dollar store.

Same mustard. You know, he said said I paid $10 for that master it's organic it's the best you should try incorporate it until you die

I said okay it's the same exactly the same like the dollar master that I buy in the dollar store yellow master yellow master yeah you know

so it's funny how they are you know do you coach any non-competing athletes yeah yeah I do I do

I have a lot of people I coach a uh a girl that she was getting ready for her wedding i coached before a girl that she was pregnant you know i coach a lot of guys that you know they just wanted to be healthy so for for like that demographic of people how do you help them stick to their diet right because i think compliance on the diet is like the hardest part for most people. Yeah. Do you have any tricks or anything that you can help advise people to stay on track? Yeah. The thing what I learned, and this is for me, you know, I'm sure other coaches have a different technique, you know, and everybody have their own opinion.

But what I learned is the, I am not trying, like when somebody hire me, I'm not trying to make their life miserable. I'm not trying to, you know, to be mad at them. Some of my clients, they're even afraid of me. Some of them, you know, they're scared. They told me something, you know. But I'm not trying that. What I'm trying to introduce them is the lifestyle, the healthy lifestyle. Slowly die, you know.

You cannot really coach somebody extreme like somebody that's going to do a contest prep unless we look what the goal is. Somebody told you, oh, I have three months to get in shape, obviously. But if somebody just wanted to be healthy, you have to slowly introduce him the food, the diet, and take food away slowly, making progress each week, every two weeks. Constantly check and be truthful. You know what I mean? Be truthful, be honest, you know, but you cannot really right away take it away from them, you know, their food or everything because they get mad and then they don't hire you anymore, you know, and they start lying to you, you know?

I mean, I have a client, you know, one time I have a client, I mean, he was doing a contest prep, and then all of a sudden I called him very quick. And I said, how are you doing? He said, oh, good, coach. Very good, very good. How's the work? How's the diet? Oh, it's good. I'm eating my meal right now.

And I was walking to the mall. I was going to get in shoes. I'm eating my meal right now, coach. Everything good? Yeah, good. So passing to the mall, I see he in the courthouse eating panda. And he was talking to me on the phone.

And he was talking to me on the phone. And I was kind of like, you know, he is white. White, he got purple. He got purple to see me. He almost spit the food. And then he want me to sit down and have a conversation with him.

And then he told me that he going through divorce. He started going, telling me, sorry, I was kind of like, okay. But I mean, it's just, you know, I mean, you cannot, you cannot really, you know, force somebody. You know, somebody had to do the job, you know? And the best thing to do is just slowly start cutting their macros, cutting their food, cutting their bad hobbies, you know, and that's how they make progress, you know, because if you're going to cut it right away, you know, things, I mean, it's not, it's not going to work. The body doesn't need it.

The body can't handle those kinds of pressure unless you are a next level athlete, you are used to that. But if you're somebody that you just wanted to lose weight, if you're somebody that you don't have experience in the gym, if you're somebody that you don't have experience in the gym, if you're somebody that you don't have experience to eat healthy, you know, and the body can handle that pressure. I mean,

imagine you, you are 16 and your daddy, that you Ferrari away from you. What are you going to do? You're probably going to break the window. You're going to be mad at you that. So you can do that. You slowly had to graduate that person and teach him the way,

the right way to eat. Combined with the training and the cardio, and then eventually he's going to get the point. What's your stance on like protein shakes and protein bars for like, you know, just the regular people that are not competing? I don't take protein bars and I don't recommend protein bars because they're high in sugar. You know, I do recommend protein shakes and I only work with one. There's a steel, you know, I'm working with that company too right now for some sponsorship. Hopefully it happens, you know, because I feel like a steel is a very good brand. You know, I mean, I use it myself. I like all the products. I do recommend that.

But a lot of people cannot really digest protein shakes. I mean, there's a lot of kinds of protein shakes. There's one that's made by soy. There's one that's made by egg powders. Some people have a hard time to digest that. And some people just don't like protein shakes. Some people like organic protein shakes. So it depends on each person, you know.

That's why before I get a client, I had to get to know them, you know, and ask all those kind of questions, where they eat, how is their normal lifestyle, you know, how much they drink, they smoke, they smoke, you know. And based on that is when I create a diet and do all these things, you know. And see how it is. And not necessarily one diet is going to work for them. Sometimes I have to change it two, three times, you know, to work. You have to meet people where they're at sometimes.

Exactly, exactly. You find out the person really loves candy, and then you replace their candy with protein bars, and maybe that is something that helps. Exactly. You know? Cool. One last question here,

because people are always asking this particular question. I think we had an amazing workout, but it's interesting how intuitive you guys are. For yourself, do you have like a set program like where you're like I'm doing shoulders and then you have these three exercises that you know that you're doing and so on? Or do you kind of get to the gym and maybe you have a set maybe you have a split that you'd follow but maybe the rest of it you fill it in as a for feel and stuff like that how do you handle that particular for me excuse me when I am off season I normally go to the gym and I just follow whatever my body's gonna take me me. But when it's a prep time, I have a plan.

I normally, two, three hours, or when I drive up to work or things like that, I start thinking, visualize what I'm going to do and what part I'm going to hit. I normally know a week before my split parts, you know. I never do back and legs the next day, you know, because it's a very heavy amount, you know. But I normally know my splits a week before.

And every day I normally plan my workout. If I can hit shoulders, I know what I'm going to hit. I know what machine I'm going to use. I know I'm going to do free weights, you know, machines, you know. Right now, because it's a prep time, you know, I am more capable with machines, you know, and a lot of intensity. And I just do the free weights when it's necessary. And the body parts, I'm still squatting, thank God.

But I normally have a plan. Every day I normally have a plan where I'm going to hit and how I'm going to perform in the gym. And then during the week is when I do my splits, where I'm going to hit Monday, where I'm going to hit Wednesday. Yeah, to me I've always liked that style of, During the week is when I do my splits, what I'm going to hit Monday, what I'm going to hit Wednesday. Yeah, to me, I've always liked that style of – like I may not have like a set program that was given to me particularly by a coach or it might not be something I wrote out like weeks in advance. But to me, like your pre-workout starts sometimes after the last training session that you did.

So like let's say you train legs on like tuesday to me the prep for for tuesday legs starts right when that tuesday leg workouts over with right start to think in your head like oh that was really good i think i did a lot of things right there but a couple of these exercises didn't feel right didn't feel that good and next time you know let me write it down and make a mental note to because then the next workout can even be better yeah right right yeah no that's true that's true yeah some people are like that yeah yeah i i know have that kind you know the split or that kind of mentality but i mean you know um everyone every everybody have the wrong style you know everybody can you know everybody everybody know how to do whatever the best you know it looks like uh looks like i'm working out with

you today that you uh go to failure here and there, but maybe not on every set all the time on everything, right? Yeah. No, no, no, no. I normally go to failure when it's a legs workout. Yeah. When it's a leg workout, my stronger parts are legs and back. You know, that was my stronger parts.

You know, when I go legs and back, I try to go heavy and as failure as I can, you know? So actually, how do you handle uh weak points like if you if you got a show done and your judge is like okay this these are weak points do you hammer that more than other body parts yes yes right now my weak points are my hamstrings and my glutes so i'm trying to do that three times a week you know i'm trying to do it three times a week trying to hammer it as much as I can, you know? And that is to advice from my coach, you know, to hammer those things up, you know? So time, it will grow, you know?

I'm doing the right thing to make it grow, you know? And to get it in there, you know? So yeah, believe it or not, I was 100, I believe 189, 191 pounds. Wow. Damn. Yeah, you know? See, where people understand is bodybuilding is an illusion.

It's in the sculpture, you know? It's in the culture to see the muscle detail, the fibers in the muscle, you know? It's not a volume. I mean, obviously volume is going to come in, you know, when you stand with the big pros, with big boys. But they're coming over the years. But through that process, it's a body, it's culture. Yeah, I think I saw Greg Doucette post a picture a couple days ago.

And he was like, I was 157 on stage. And he looked great. Yeah. So sometimes it can be deceiving because someone that's 150, 170, 180, and so on can look really, really big when they're super lean. Absolutely. Look at last year, Sean Clorito. He won the Lion Region at 177 pounds. You know, beat him up so many big guys. Sergio Líbe Jr. beat him up, Regan Grimes, Cedric McMillan, you know.

Sean Clorito, 177 pounds, 212, beat him up everybody. A lot of those 212 guys are really killing it. You know what I mean? And I think it has a lot to do with their condition. See, before we used to go to the condition. I feel like now we come back to that era, to the condition and the symmetry, you know? Maybe because of like Bumstead and people like that. Exactly.

Chris Bumstead is one of the biggest influence in the sport. But we've been getting out of the era of the big monsters. You know what I mean? I mean, obviously, as humans, as a society, this is where we like to see the freaks. Everybody loves Nick Walker. So I mean, who's the guy? But it's impressive. But I feel like the sport is changing more to the 90s

era where the condition is taking a lot of which is good, which is healthy is good and I think it gives a better look to the sport you know what I mean? a lot of the 212s are killing it right now and if you see a lot of the top pros are really, the guys that they are in there

they are really conditioned they are really symmetrical I think a lot of people they are in there, they are really conditioned. They're really, you know, symmetrical. I think a lot of people would like to look like Chris Bumstead or even look anywhere near close to anything he's been able to build. Exactly. But maybe a Nick Walker, you might be like, no, I think that's really cool. It's interesting, but I don't know.

Exactly. He looks like the Incredible Hulk. It's impressive. It's impressive, you know, but I don't think very many people want to look like that. You know, it's not for everybody, you know. But I think, like you said, I agree. A lot of people people want to look like that. It's not for everybody. But I think, like you said, I agree. A lot of people would like to look like a classic physique,

like a clean bounce or classic physique. I think it takes more attention. And it looks a lot more healthy, I believe. So I hope this is the era that we're going to go. It looks like so far it's moving to that era, looking at the bodybuilders right now, like Sans you know, Sansundara, you know, Rafael Brando, Derek Lamford, you know,

all these people that are coming in there, they're all very symmetrical. They're all very genetic, you know what I mean? And they are a look, Andrew Jack, they're pretty bodies. You know, they're big, but they are not very heavy, too. Some of them are heavy, you know, but some of them are, you know, lighter. And they keep it in healthy, you know. So I feel like it's a better look for the sport. You know what I mean?

And obviously, we always kind of like the freakies, you know. Where's your next show? It's going to be the Lion Region. It's going to be in 10 weeks in Reno. So I am doing, you know, my pro debut there. I'm going to measure my caliber with the big boys and try to measure my caliber with the 212 and the masters too. So we see what's going on there. You know, this is going to be my first time as a pro.

So I'm putting everything what I can, you know, and then hopefully this turn good. You being around for a long time, I imagine you're like, you kind of have an idea who's showing up as a show, right? Yeah. Yeah, I do. You time, I imagine you're like, you kind of have an idea who's showing up at the show, right? Yeah, yeah, I do. You know, I do. I mean, you know, but I mean, you know, I mean, all you have to do is just believe in yourself. You cannot get intimidated, you know. You know, you have to believe in your hard work, you know. And just the fact that standing in there with the people that I admire, for me, is a win.

You know what I mean? I mean, doing this for a long time, you know, I'm 45 now, you know, and be standing around the people that, you know, that I've mean doing this for a long time you know I'm 45 now you know and be standing around the people that you know that I've been admired for a long time I mean to me it's a win you know and so now it's just a matter of trust my hard work trust my coach the process and see where you know it's going to take me you know that's what it's going to measure me the caliber that I am where can people follow along with what you're doing? I am on social media. You can find me on YouTube, IABP Pro Rico Rivas. Instagram, IABP Pro Rico Rivas.

And Facebook, IABP Pro Rico Rivas. Strength is never weakness. Weakness is never strength. Catch you guys later. Bye. Bye-bye.