Mark Bell's Power Project - Kenny Williams - How to Study Fitness in the Modern Age and Go ALL in on Bodybuilding || MBPP EP. 830

Episode Date: November 2, 2022

In this Podcast episode, Kenny Williams, Mark Bell, Nsima Inyang, and Andrew Zaragoza talk about Kenny's journey in bodybuilding. Kenny has worked for Sling Shot and trained at Super Training for a few years and is entering his first Bodybuilding show. Kenny is open and explains why he decided to explore PED's.  Follow Kenny on IG: https://www.instagram.com/kenny_williams___/ 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://www.naboso.com/ Code POWERPROJECT for 15% off! ➢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 Code: POWERVIVO20 for 20% off Vivo Barefoot shoes! ➢https://markbellslingshot.com/ Code POWERPROJECT10 for 10% off site wide including Within You supplements! ➢https://mindbullet.com/ Code POWERPROJECT for 20% off! ➢https://eatlegendary.com Use Code POWERPROJECT for 20% off! ➢https://bubsnaturals.com Use code POWERPROJECT for 20% of your next order! ➢https://vuoriclothing.com/powerproject to automatically save 20% off your first order at Vuori! ➢https://www.eightsleep.com/powerproject to automatically save $150 off the Pod Pro at 8 Sleep! ➢https://marekhealth.com Use code POWERPROJECT10 for 10% off ALL LABS at Marek Health! Also check out the Power Project Panel: https://marekhealth.com/powerproject Use code POWERPROJECT for $101 off! ➢Piedmontese Beef: https://www.piedmontese.com/ Use Code POWER at checkout for 25% off your order plus FREE 2-Day Shipping on orders of $150 Follow Mark Bell's Power Project Podcast ➢ https://lnk.to/PowerProjectPodcast ➢ Insta: https://www.instagram.com/markbellspowerproject ➢ https://www.facebook.com/markbellspowerproject ➢ Twitter: https://twitter.com/mbpowerproject  ➢ LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/powerproject/ ➢ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/markbellspowerproject ➢TikTok: http://bit.ly/pptiktok  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

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Again, that's at MerrickHealth.com slash PowerProject. At checkout, enter promo code PowerProject to save $101 off that entire panel. Links to them down in the description as well as the podcast show notes. That's a lot of shit in that, Fannie. I got everything you need in here. Whips out his lifting belt. Oh, yeah. Are we on yet?

We're on. We're on. Hold on, let me. Headphones? Yeah, you can put them on so you can hear yourself're on. We're on. Hold on, let me. Headphones? Yeah, you can put them on so you can hear yourself. Official. There you go. Oh!

See? There you go. It's like a video game. Yeah. All right, Kenny, what's in here, man? Uh-oh. How lit is this going to get me? I'll get you pretty ripped.

It's a Stizzy. I don't know what the fuck a Stizzy is, but let's go. What language is that? It's wax. Oh. Oh, careful. Careful. a stizzy. I don't know what the fuck a stizzy is, but let's go. It's wax. Oh, careful. Careful. It'll be good. Nothing came out.

He's got to warm it up. Mark's like, what the fuck are these? Oh, it's dead. What? You need like a USB cable or something? Yeah, USB. Which one? I swear to God. Look. You know, don't do drugs.

Sometimes it lights you up too much to whether you can remember whether it's charged or not. Yeah. Dude, what is going on, Kenny? You're doing a bodybuilding show? I am, yep. Saturday. Saturday.

Yep. In San Diego. Damn, how long you been prepping for this? Oh, like 16 weeks, Saturday. Yep. In San Diego. Damn. How long you been prepping for this? Oh, like 16 weeks probably. Yeah. About 16. And I know that you came from a baseball background, but, um, have you always been pretty interested in bodybuilding or is this something maybe that popped up a little more recently? I've always, I've been pretty obsessed with bodybuilding from a young age. Yeah. Like I started, I got my first weight set at like 12 and I've always, I've been pretty obsessed with bodybuilding from a young age, yeah. Like I started, I got my first weight set at like 12, and I've always been super fascinated with just like improving your physique.

Even if I was playing baseball, I would still take the time, do the sports-specific training, do all that, and then do my own stuff because I wanted big biceps. Where the coach is like, yo, you need to chill all that. And then do my own stuff. Cause I want a big biceps. Where the coach is like, yo, you need to chill. Yes. Actually every summer you come back and they're like,

Hey, like, no, it's not good for baseball. Yeah. Oh, that was one of my biggest issues was like my high school coaches, especially I love them,

but they would always be like, like trying to send me to this, these, these like – A camp system. Yeah, like just baseball stuff that I always thought was super boring. I wanted to deadlift. I wanted to rip weight, get big. So I always kind of steered away, like did my own thing for the most part,

just trained how I wanted to train. That was always a battle battle like they'd be like what are you doing like you're just getting tight but i still was able to move and stuff it's not like i lost anything i just got stronger i kept getting bigger and stronger and faster so i was like i don't see an issue with it so what was your peak weight in baseball? Like 198. And you're like five, six feet? 5'11"? What are you? 5'11", I'd say, yeah.

5'10 and a half. Yeah. Yeah. You should give yourself that extra half inch. How young did you start baseball? Oh, man. I started like seven. Yeah.

Seven. And that was the main sport, sport baseball and then lifting starting at 12 yeah so baseball started super super young because i came from like my family's all baseball like my dad got uh drafted as a pitcher out of high school and then college too and my grandfather um went to stanford and played like rugby baseball football so i'm like in it so at a young age i was like that's what i'm doing yeah and then i kind of went another way started gaining a passion for bodybuilding real i didn't know it was bodybuilding at the time i was just lifting weights and i was like what is this pump I'm getting huge I feel jacked so I'd be banging out curls before school and stuff doing stuff like that and then it just

led me into like this now I just am obsessed with that I just kept getting like better I kept improving myself I kept liking the fact that I could control it because in baseball there's like guidelines like you can't go too hard you can't train like this that's what i was told so i was like i'm gonna do that i want to do it my way so that's what i'm gonna do and then i ended up just liking that way more i want to give people some backstory and some context so kenny works here at slingshot and he's been here for a handful of years. I was made aware of you by the Shorts family and the Shorts, they work here. Casey Short runs our warehouse and our logistics and you work with him.

And one of, I can't remember if it was Casey or who brought you up, but they're like, we got this family friend that like loves lifting. And I think it was probably Casey. And he's like, he's friends with my kids and stuff. He loves lifting. And they were telling me like that. They're like, he's jacked, you know, and no one's ever jacked. You know what I mean, right?

Like someone describes somebody to you and they're like, they're jacked. They're jacked like you and they're strong like you and they're never nothing, you know? But I think maybe you were invited over to my house one time or something. Like a barbecue or something. And you came in and they're like, oh, this is Kenny. And I go, oh, he is jacked. They're like, this is what I've been trying to tell you. Thank you.

Thank you. Yeah. So that was great to see that you are actually jacked and all that good stuff. But it's been great having you here. And then you're also somebody that is training inside a super training gym. So we've seen your maturity. We've seen your growth. And you have done a powerlifting meet before, right?

Yeah, I've done two. Yeah. And you really were liking powerlifting a lot. And you were training with Smokey. And you were getting all into that whole side of things, deadlift and squat and benching. Oh, yeah. But you really like that a lot too, right? I still love that.

I still want to do a powerlifting meet after this. Like that's like my favorite style to train is like powerlifting, like explosive lifts. And that's the thing about you is you're extremely explosive. Even when there's heavy weight on the bar especially as it kind of came to deadlifts i remember that was kind of one of the first things i noticed is when you were deadlifting like 500 pounds you were doing it super fast yeah and super easy and i was like holy shit i'm like this guy fucking does know how to lift and a cool thing too on his page i don't know if it's there but obviously there's all the lifts

because kenny's fucking strong and i want to know what it's there, but obviously there's all the lifts because Kenny's fucking strong. And I want to know what your top lifts were. But there's some videos of you still doing box jumps. Yeah. And when we're talking about explosive ability, you still have that ability that you probably had as an athlete. You haven't been separated from that. And that's really cool to see. Yeah, that's one thing I definitely find super important. I don't want to lose any of the athleticism.

Definitely find super important. I don't want to lose any of the athleticism. Like I still want to be able to be somewhat functional and use the muscle I put on my physique. The last thing I want to do is like go too deep into the bodybuilding hole and then other things start to like slow down and lack. I want to be well-rounded for sure. Who are some of your role models in bodybuilding? Who are some guys, especially now, that you're kind of watching and paying attention to? And I know that you're studying this game a lot too, and I believe you're listening to podcasts and stuff. Who are some of the big influences on you?

I would say for bodybuilding, man, there's a lot. There's a lot. I have like notebooks on notebooks maxed out of different podcasts. This one, bodybuilding. Oh, you take notes as you're listening to the shows and stuff? Yeah, for the last three years I've been here in the warehouse because I can't walk around on my phone, so I'll put headphones in. I've listened to like every one of your guys' podcasts,

Jon Jewett, Jon Meadows, Dave Tate, Matt Wenning, all of them. I have all the notes you could possibly think of. So yeah, I just, I'm obsessed with like just bettering myself, being good at strength, whatever it is. I have notes on rappers, like just anything I can improve on. Yeah. I make sure I'm on top of it but as far as bodybuilding I would say people like John Meadows John Jewett um mainly because their their personality too like they're big on being genuine like good energy positivity not so much like the dark side of things like making it this suffering negative thing like embracing it like this has been a fun process for me so I need to make sure I'm listening to the right people

not doing anything too extreme not doing anything like over the top because I've been like god I've been watching so many different people from high school till now and like maturing more and seeing like really they're not people's true colors but like just being able to weed out like the good and what i want and what like matches with who i am which is really well said because there are many different ways of doing all this stuff yeah you can do it like from the angry side yeah and uh maybe like a dorian yates was like maybe in that realm where he lifted in a dungeon and had like kind of uh like i don't know gross looking rag clothes and things like that and then you had like ronnie coleman who even though he was getting after and he was extremely intense like no one would ever challenge his intensity

and how hard he was going and the amount of volume that he put in but he seemed pretty happy like wait yeah buddy he's got a big old smile on his face yeah that's that's the kind of stuff i like and i do i really do love dorian yates but as far as like you know i'm more of a i try to keep myself positive like i can't i can get into that state yeah but i don't want to because then it's like it throws my energy off like I like to be pretty even keel the whole the whole day training is fun to me it's not something I need to like get aggressive for like I'm really I don't really ever get aggressive or mad I'm just pretty chill yeah I love it so it's not like I don't even think I could get mad unless somebody like punched me in the face.

Smokey would like hit me. I'd get pretty amped up, but that's about it. That's the most you're getting out of me. A funny thing though, man, is I've been seeing you these past last few weeks. I'm like, Kenny's more calm than usual. Like usually I see you're just like, you know, but like, you just like, yeah, kind of what's going on, man? Like you're in the deepest

parts of prep how does it feel what are some things maybe you didn't expect for people that haven't seen he's got striations in his legs and his butt he's got all kinds of shit going on in his jaw right now when he chews he's got an angry ass jaw um wait you said the calm demeanor is it maybe caloric deficit or yeah i would say i would say a mixture of both i would say i've just really the the difference because last when i was 19 the first year i came here i did try to do a prep and i didn't mentally i was like so far out of it so i had to like take a step back to really figure myself out and kind of like, I was, I'm an overthinker. So everything I do, I'm thinking like 10 steps ahead about the worst possible things, the best possible things. So that used to be something that

ate me up a lot and ruined a lot of things for me, like anxiety. So I learned, I took the time to like really just like hone in on like who I am, what I need to be doing, use that as a strong suit. So now I overthink still, but it's all like positive thoughts. It's not these negative ones. I just X those out. Now I'm able to stay calm and like be super, super present in whatever I'm doing. So instead of, like, getting overwhelmed that I'm not sleeping, I'm pounding myself in the gym. I feel fatigued. I'm tired. It's like I know this is going to be over.

I'm enjoying the process. And it's just fun to me now. I'm going to give you a new word, a new weapon. You ready? Yeah. Thoughtful. Thoughtful. I love that word.

You're thoughtful. Yeah. You're not overthinker you're thoughtful yeah you like to think about what it is you're gonna do and like to think about your plan yeah sounds reasonable to me yeah yeah so i'm big on on being thoughtful for sure um and i think that's the one thing that's helped me a lot like obviously the environment i'm in i've got to see you guys and like just kind of watch over what you guys do how you guys carry yourself like you guys are never out of character you're always calm so I'm like

all right I need to follow those steps and I kind of did just figuring myself out really like it's like it's gonna suck no matter what at some point but it's how you you could either let it like break you like it did last year when I tried it or you just push harder like Mark gave me some advice earlier in the prep that really just like fired me up got me going so anytime I feel fatigued or anything I'll just lean into it harder I'll be like you know what this fucking sucks I'm starving but I'm gonna do more cardio I don't care like I'll just lean into it harder. I'll be like, you know what? This fucking sucks. I'm starving, but I'm going to do more cardio. I don't care. I'm just going to pound myself because I know it'll be over.

I know it'll be worth it. And yeah, that's kind of how I stay calm. I don't really, I just do it. I try not to let the negative thoughts get to me. And the reason I'm calm is just I try to just give out good energy, receive it back. I'm not reacting to anything as much as I used to when I was a little bit immature.

And, yeah, I think obviously I'm slammed from a deficit for like 16 weeks and training. So that has something to do with it. I'm usually like up and ready to go. You're the peeker, man. You're the fucking peeker. I'm still peeking. Don't worry.

I'll be peeking on Sunday. But as of now, yeah, just really controlling my mind. Like that's what I'm big on, like controlling my mind, not letting anything get in there. I think something that's been really helpful for you, and you can correct me me if i'm wrong but you've got some strong training partners that came in oh yeah and um that is a really powerful tool because it like it takes some pressure off of you know um you don't have to necessarily do everything in your power even though you're still going to to ensure that you're going to have a great workout. Because even if for some reason you are a little sideways for a particular day,

you are a little fatigued or tired, you've got two other guys that are going to be right there pushing. And those guys, I mean, they're not letting you slack. You're not letting them slack. So everyone's all in, and the intensity is brought to every single thing. And a lot of intention is brought to every single thing you guys have been doing. Oh, yeah.

That definitely turned it up a lot because I went from the powerlifting scene where Smokey definitely was like, if you're sandbagging it, I'm going to beat up your ass. So I had that for a long time, which was amazing. He kind of showed me the ropes on, like, what the standard is. So people, like, being around people like Soli and his brother, like, they set the standard for me. Like, I cannot be, can't bitch out on anything.

So when I saw them, and Seema was like, get more people in here. So I just, I saw, oh, he's 21. They're both my age. Trevor and Aiden. Yeah. They're super passionate about bodybuilding. I haven't really been around people my age that are the same mindset as me, like bodybuilding, strength, whatever, just improving yourself,

pushing yourself in the gym. So I just DM'd them and was like, hey, come to super training Tuesday. And they showed up and we just clicked. We just went right to it. Like, yeah. That's great. Yeah. That's pretty awesome.

So you never met those guys before? No, I never met them. I just DM'd them. It looked like you knew them for a while. That actually is a really interesting thing. We've got to bring up that Jim Bro clip. I don't have my phone with me. Which one?

The Henry guy, the guy that we've been trying to get here with the long gray hair. Oh, it's in the group chat. Yeah, yeah. He did a, like, it talks about bro, like, bromances happening really fast or whatever. It's like, there's a girl. Too buff for this or is that somebody else? No, no, no. Keep going.

It's the long haired dude. Harley. Mark Harley. Let me pull this up real quick. It's really dumb, but it's fun. It's fun. You know, it's just like, I don't know. This Jim humor stuff is always's really dumb but it's fun it's fun you know it's just like i don't know this gym humor stuff is always really stupid but it's fun it's interesting thing though

because we talk about how like some dudes find it difficult to like make friends as adults you just dm two dudes and now they're your fucking gym partners that's actually really cool yeah that's that's one thing i think i'm somewhat good at is like sliding into the DMs. Get these guys in the DMs. I got a lot of dudes in my DMs. A lot of eggplant emojis and maybe more. Oh yeah. Yeah, definitely. What happened here?

Oh, this is all weird. Oh yeah, you gotta get the audio in there. She tried to tell him about her nails. Don't tell me. She tried to tell him about her nails. Isaiah, you were just so short with me, and now you're having a whole conversation with this guy? Oh, no, it's a chest thing. Ah, we did it again.

Love it. You have to finish your workout. No, I was just feeling sluggish. I need a pre-workout. I'm going to finish my workout. That's how I feel with the boys, for sure. But then with this guy... No, I was just feeling sluggish. I need a pre-workout. I'm going to finish my workout. That's how I feel with the boys, for sure. You're so uninterested. But then with this guy. Don't you?

You're going to throw all this away for some guy you've been training with for three months? Hey, three months? We just met today. You guys don't get it? He doesn't take long to become gym bros. Oh! I'm going to pay my nails after this. That's facts.

Hey, man. So that just describes your relationship with these two guys it does yeah that's kind of how we are we just clicked from day one is there one guy in the group that likes chest and one guy in the group that likes legs versus right like yeah i mean i would say i would say trevor i don't want to call either of them out. I would say Trevor, every day he loves. Aiden, I don't know. He's still, he's progressing. He's getting there. He's in a good environment. He has a lot of potential.

He maybe doesn't love Legs Day. He might not like Legs Day too much. He loves it, but he might not like it. Hey guys, listen, so Wednesdaynesdays i'm probably not going to be here yeah yeah and you're like that's the day that we fucking train that's the day we go to war that's the day we train legs exactly i get an acquired taste man it is yeah it can be brutal the training can be brutal it is are you still getting really sore from these workouts i mean i guess at this point you're dialing stuff back a pinch but yeah i mean you guys are doing a lot yeah this last week

uh my coach told me to definitely scale back but until this last week i mean i've been wrecking myself as hard as i can to create that like a little extra deficit in the gym too just outside of cardio like because you can use your training to like get lean so I'm like I'm training hard I'm doing like one two top sets to failure sometimes pass failure like really trying to push myself um to just condition like condition my body more like that's all I'm thinking about is like get lean get lean get. So the gym is just as important as like everything else to me. Like I'm trying to just bury myself every session pretty much until this last week. What I mentioned to Kenny a couple weeks ago was just the fact that it's really rare to see someone go all the way.

You know, they get there and they do really well and people get in good shape and you're like that's like that's awesome like good for them that's so cool that they got in shape yeah it's rare to see someone like go all in and everyone knows and everyone notices when someone goes all in i mean somebody might not know if someone like dialed something back just a tiny bit but like for the most part people can tell and for And for me, when I competed, I don't know, like if I went 100, 100, but I felt really good about what I did, especially in a short period of time. I felt like I went about as all in as you could go. Did I maybe miss one cardio session? Like I was supposed to do 90 minutes of cardio every day.

I definitely did. There's definitely some mess ups earlier on with food, but not later. And so staying dedicated to it is the toughest part and really stringing together successive days in a 16 week training cycle like that is where stuff gets to be really brutal and really nasty. So I was just encouraging you, dude, push through all the way. Like it's easy for us to talk about it now. And that was six or eight weeks ago. But I was just encouraging you to push through all the way. It's easy for us to talk about it now, and that was six or eight weeks ago, but I said when you're in the thick of it, you're going to feel like you can't do it,

but you gotta. That's when you know his glutes are in. I put some check-ins on my story this morning. I'm feeling pretty flat, but my coach gave me some carbs today, so I'm excited. I'm feeling pretty flat, but my coach gave me some carbs today, so I'm excited.

I'm excited. Oh, yeah, look, the next one. It's our relationship right there. Yeah. Very supportive. Damn, dude. It's going to be crazy to see you fill out. Let me ask you this, actually. You know, on Mark's mentioning's mentioning you know go all the way

in your last prep you got you got lean right yeah you didn't get this lean no so what was the difference so that's interesting because the last i started out like i went my last power lifting meet i went straight into a bodybuilding prep i was was like, I'm ready to get shredded. But I didn't take the time to feed myself. And like, I didn't take a true off season, like just consistent clean food in a surplus. And I just got, I got lean a lot quicker than I did this time around, but I was way smaller. Like I looked very stringy.

So I took like this last year to really focus on food training, like the correct way for bodybuilding, doing all the things I need to do correct. And then by the time it was ready to like go into a prep out, my body was just like fire and everywhere like i built my metabolism super high up with the i basically stayed on the same diet i am on now just with more food and i ramped my metabolism up by eating more food and just seeing how high i could get i got to like 240 i sat there and maintained for a couple months and that was probably like one of the smarter things I've ever done because you were up to 240 yeah you were 198 when you played baseball and said it

sounded like you were having a hard time cracking 200 at that point yeah oh yeah yeah so it was it was fun like seeing my body this last year I probably seen the most change as far as like gains in my in my physique so that's that's huge like that's why I tell people that ask me like like I think you should just vote like eat like eat food consistently sleep train hard get that under your belt for a solid amount of time and then go into a prep or a cut because you're not going to like how you look when you're that small. Because people talk about like stage weight is a lot different. You know what I'm saying?

Yeah. Like 200, like I don't know what I'm trying to get at, but just not having the stringy look, not pushing yourself into a deficit before, like have a base first is all I'm trying to say. And I didn't have that i just had a strength base but i didn't take the time to learn how to train the muscle like true hypertrophy like bodybuilding style training i had no i could load up 405 rows and just go like this all day but my back was small so i was like okay i need to really focus and change some things so i can look like a bodybuilder kind of and like my coach had a lot to do with that john yeah john heck um he slowed everything

down like we're doing like four maybe five like like two compounds and maybe like a couple isolation movements and that's it but But it's like super slow tempo, pause at the transition, all that stuff. And it helps higher repetition. Um, a little bit. Yeah.

It's like probably like the isolation work is probably like 12, 15 reps typical, but like we're still working up every main exercise is like a top set. So it's an AMRAP. So you warm up like with percentages too like whether it's hack squat overhead press like he's giving me specific percentages to hit like five six seven reps and then save it all out for that top set so it's kind of like low and high volume it's kind of like dorian yates style training for the exercise. And then the rest is kind of like pump work, I guess.

So that's the main thing, just slowing everything down, focusing on how to like contract and squeeze and use the muscle and fatigue it, but not just really just go through the motions. Like that, cause that doesn't really, that didn't do anything for me besides build some strength. But I think a big part of it is you,

you then had something to carve right like you before you were in good shape you were lean yeah but you didn't have the mass right and you wanted to really add the mass and now you got thicker shoulders wider shoulders what do you think the biggest difference uh was between kind of floating around normal 200 getting up to 240 and now carving back down. Like, what have you noticed where you're like, wow, that's kind of neat. Like I didn't know that my shoulders would get this wide or didn't know this would happen. Uh, as far as like my appearance, like my look, um, I would say.

Like where'd you grow the most, do you think? would say like where'd you grow the most you think oh where i grew the most i want to say definitely my legs my legs and probably yeah everything here like my my shoulders my chest has gone up a little bit my back is still definitely a weak point i have trouble like connecting with it opening up when i pose but like really everything has kind of gotten better and improved like I kind of feel like I filled out everywhere because I'm super like OCD when it comes to training I can't leave anything out tibs forearms everything I'm making sure I give the right amount of attention to not leaving anything out so I kind of like that's how I did it.

I've always been like that. Like I don't want to have any weak links at all, whether it's strength, mobility, muscle size. Like I don't want to have any imbalances. So I kind of just did it all at once, gave everything the right amount of love. So it all grows at the same, for the most part, at the same time. So, yeah.

It takes years, right? It takes years to be able to put together a body that looks awesome on stage and to be able to pose and to flex and to get all those things integrated. It's a tough, like, bodybuilding doesn't get the credit. And I've always kind of thought, you know, it's funny. Once you get exposed to something, then you're a huge fan of it, like especially if you have a good exposure to it but you know doing one bodybuilding show i was just like i can't believe that i played sports for so long and a coach never said like this is how

you flex your calf this is how you flex your hamstring because it's such an elementary thing but it's such a huge general thing of like these are the muscles we're going to use when you're out on the football field. When you're doing a sprint, when you're trying to cover a receiver, if you're going out for a pass, like these are the muscles you're going to use when you play baseball. And when you go to run to the base, you know, does everybody feel that muscle in the back of their leg? Like just pick up your foot off the ground. And it's just interesting. You never work on any of that. So then you try bodybuilding,

you start posing and you can kind of flex some stuff, but half the other stuff you're like, I don't even know. I don't even know how to gain access to flexing that part. That's the posing part of it's really tough. Oh yeah. That's one thing I definitely like, like the whole posing side of things,

just everything about, it's not even necessarily bodybuilding. Like just the mental side of things, like the mental challenge is definitely something that intrigued me coming, especially this prep. Like being able to kind of just like tough it out, just kind of embrace it. Like I didn't, baseball is great. Like you're competing against another team. You have a team on your side. It's very competitive, especially at like a higher level. But bodybuilding, like you're in control of what you're doing.

And it's every day like counts. Every day is towards something. So you almost get into a routine. It really has improved my life, my schedule, my routine. Every day I wake up with a purpose. I'm like, I got to do this, this, and this. Cardio, meal prep, 10-minute walks, take notes, pose, do everything I need to do. So it kind of has shown me how to set up a schedule and

like basically my life like this gave me a lot of structure that baseball really didn't like I could be I could just roll out of bed and go go to the field and play baseball and then it's over and I'm just like fucking off and doing whatever but bodybuilding is like you you're in it 24 7 so i would say the mental side of things is probably my favorite part like the physique is just kind of uh that's what comes with it and i know so because people are going to wonder now when we saw you training before you've been big right yeah but then you did make a transition into because like you're competing npc you're competing against a lot of other guys how has that transition into utilizing some peds been for you why did you decide to do it and how has that made a difference for yourself in your

training so i decided to do it because no matter what, I see myself competing. I just, even if I wasn't competing in anything, I still would, I don't regret the choices I made only because, like I said, it's a mental thing. Even if I'm not preparing for something, I'm still challenged. I want to max myself out as much as I can as a human, as whatever I can, the best version of Kenny, physically, mentally, performance-wise, that's what I want to max myself out as much as I can as a human, as whatever I can. The best version of Kenny, physically, mentally, performance-wise, that's what I want, no matter what it's for.

I don't care what I'm doing. So at 19, I kind of was talking to other people. And, I mean, like after being here, like I came from baseball, which it's super – I wasn't doing it while I was playing, but like I was still getting accused of it and stuff. And it had, it had a bad, bad rap. Like in sports, one, they're not educated on it. They don't know what it is, what they're doing, what they're getting into, what they're talking

about. And it has such a bad rap. They also test for that in like baseball, right? Right. So it is, it is not allowed, but it just got such a bad rap i was always like it made me kind of like lean into it more i was like hmm what is this stuff that everybody keeps like talking so bad about then when i got here i was around people that may not hey i'm not saying anybody influenced me at all,

at all, at all, because I was a smoky at the time. Smokey was natty and against it. Yeah. So, yeah. So your episode is coming out right after smoky.

So it's like, perfect. Yeah. I want to talk about smoky a little bit too after, but regarding the, the pet, the PEDs.eds so yeah i mean i'm open about it i there's no real like there wasn't a day where i'm like oh i'm just gonna

do it it was kind of like okay i i want to be i want to do this while i'm young like i want to do this in my 20s i want to bodybuild powerlift who knows like whatever it is i want to bodybuild, powerlift, who knows? Like whatever it is, I want to be, I want maximum recovery. I want to improve myself. I'm kind of an extreme person, like personally. So it wasn't really like hard for me. It's not like I was not thinking about it. It's not like I just was like, oh yeah, this is going to get me big. Like I've been looking into steroids

everything from like a young age like 15 training for i have a story actually when i was 12 years old my mom and dad can can vouch for this i walked up to my doctor because i was obsessed with everything here like the bodybuilding world powerlifting i was like oh you know larry we all these guys i'm like i just want to be like them so i'm like stupidly i was like steroids is the answer so i go to my doctor because everybody's like i'm like where do you get this stuff they're like oh you're a doctor i'm like all right so i go into my doctor and i'm like hey i want i want to i want steroids i want to get on anabolic steroids and he was like he just looked at me so like who is this 12 year old kid that's like playing baseball? Like, who are you?

And he gave me like a whole packet this big and he was like so scared and he gave me a whole packet and I read it and it was all about anabolic steroids. So from there I read that. Your doctor gave you an anabolic steroid handbook? Yeah. I'm not joking because he was so scared that I was going to like try to go do it that he was like, like oh you need to be educated on it so then I educated myself from there on just listening to other people talk

about it I was like okay this stuff it's not it's not like I'm gonna take a shot of tests and die like I made sure I knew what was gonna happen and and I it wasn't really like a hard decision for me i know what it comes with i know the risk of doing it young but i'm like this is what i want to do like i don't want to do anything else so i don't care like natty not i just want something that's gonna like push me like push my limits that's what i want i want to max myself out as a human. So taking a little bit of test wasn't even a question for me. I was just like, all right, this is what we're going to do. And I had everything else maxed out though, at a young age, like I wasn't just some kid who I love lifting. Like I had been lifting since I was 12. So that was 19. So I had that chunk.

I know it's not a long time time but it's a good chunk of time you were big yeah you were still big yeah i don't know if people realize that like before you started you were big yeah and i think yeah and i it wasn't like you know everything else was out of line in my life like i was on top of sleep i was on top of food i was on top of sleep. I was on top of food. I was on top of training. Everything, like supplements outside of gear, like everything was maxed out for the most part. Like I was on top of everything. So I was like, okay, this is what I want to do. This is my passion.

This is what I want. I want to push myself. I want to see what I can do. And I definitely don't regret it. It's also important to note the sport that you were looking at and the bodybuilders you were looking at they were using performance enhancing drugs and it's not tested for and the particular bodybuilding shows that you're going to and the particular powerlifting competition so i think you know when people kind of think about

these things they there's so many different layers to like how you're going to use them what particular powerlifting competition. So I think, you know, when people kind of think about these things, they, there's so many different layers to like how you're going to use them, what are you going to use them for? Here are so many people they're like, oh, if I was going to have a movie role and I was going to make a lot of money, like people are always incentivized by money. It's such a weird, such a weird thing to have that be the only thing that you would risk your health for. Like if, like if people think steroids are really unhealthy, you hear them say that all the time. For a movie role, I would do that. I would look like Thor and I would go all in.

You think you would. Right. You think that you would, but also like it's kind of cool to do stuff regardless of money. So if it's a passion for you, if it's something that you enjoy, something that you like, not necessarily the steroids, but the steroids come along with the game of bodybuilding. I mean, let's face it. They've been in bodybuilding for 40 years, 50 years. I don't know how long it's been, but it's been there for a long time. And it's been in powerlifting. It's been in strength sports. it's been in uh strongman competitions it's just

like been around for a really long time and when i was a kid growing up when i was watching pro wrestling and stuff like that i never really i couldn't like quite compute like i couldn't figure out i i wasn't even i don't think it was in my head about natty or not i wasn't not a thought back then didn't really think about it but like hulk hogan certainly was fucking massive yeah the ultimate warrior like looked amazing you know and i remember some of these guys and i always thought like that would be cool to be like superhuman these guys seem really strong and obviously like there's a lot of other shit i didn't know when i was a kid i didn't really understand that you know the wrestlers were like doing shit together like they would

yeah they're a team like they're telling a story. They're not like actually fighting each other. So Hulk Hogan's not actually picking people up over his head and throwing them into the audience and shit like that. But those were things that I thought were cool that I admired that later on down the road, there are things that I got into. Yeah. That's amazing because my mom brought to my attention the other day and the more I thought

about it I was like okay like the same thing I'm a huge WWE fan every everybody that knows me knows that like John Cena all these people I was a huge fan of and even like back in the day like just different superheroes action figures like I was always um sounds like uh corny kind of like typical but i was just upset like i thought that was the norm like the normal like like having muscle like having an aesthetic physique like i want to be like our bench press guy over there exactly or go through right behind you yeah exactly so it started with like just seeing people like that thinking that's like how a male should look and um really just just being around other people like even I was as a freshman in high school like being around seniors on the team and stuff like they weren't bodybuilders but they had like thicker legs I

always had skinny so I'm looking at that like I just want to be like it started out with I just started out with, I just want to be thick. Like, I just want to get, gain some weight. I just want to look big. Cause that's in my head. That's how, that's a great, like, that's what I want. So yeah. Steroids weren't even a scheduled three drug when I was young and the gyms that I would go to and, and the people that my brother hung around, they were fucking jacked. They were so big. I mean, it wasn't, it wasn't uncommon for people to, uh, bench 500 pounds and deadlift, uh, you know, seven, 800 pounds and things like that. So, um, I saw that at such a young age, it was very impressionable. And I was always like, I don't really know or care about what they're doing. Like, I just want to be part of that. I know that somewhere down the road I want to be, oh, okay, they eat more protein. Okay, cool, I'm in on that.

Okay, they're consistent with their workouts. Okay, I'm in on that. What else do they do? And even before my time, they used to write in the magazines about the cycle that the guy would use. So it would say, like, trains legs on Monday. Yeah. Benches on Wednesday. You know, does accessory work on Friday. Does cardio on the weekend.

And here's his diet. And it would lay all that stuff out. His five or six meal plan. And then it would say does 400 milligrams of testosterone. Diana ball. Like, yeah, it was like in the magazine and it was like part of the routine and so my point being is just like it's a huge part of that style of bodybuilding people can make a choice they can go into bodybuilding where you're getting tested and

they can they can do that as like alberto nunez has done as in sema has done a lot of people have navigated that and it's just not as popular. Yeah. That's the thing. And done well with it. And there's guys in that that are popular that have created businesses and they do a lot of stuff online and they still have had a lot of success. So people get to make a choice on which way they want to go.

Yeah. I do think just touching on the PEDs, just for dudes my age, because I get so many different questions of just people being so quick to just jump on tests and do all this crazy stuff and put stuff in their body. I just want to make it clear. I had a sit-down with myself mentally and was like, is this worth it? Is this what I want to make it clear. Like I had a sit down with myself mentally and was like,

is this worth it? Is this what I want to do? And it's not like, you know, you gotta, I feel like when you're young, you have to play your cards, right?

Like, it's not like I'm just right off the gate. I'm blasted. I'm taking all the compounds you could think of, like one or two, milk it out as long as you can. And then when the time comes that you need whatever it is you need on top of that then i'm prepared for that but it's not like

i just used all my cards and was like oh this is like i didn't just aggressively go into this like i sat down i thought about it i'm like this is what i love this i'm gonna do this as long as i can so i want to be competitive. Didn't just flip a coin and you have people that are talking to you about what to take, when to take, how much to take, and so forth. Yeah, like there's a lot more thinking that goes into that decision. And I know a lot of people are going to see this and be like, oh, he's this or that. He's whatever. Like, I don't care.

This is what I wanted to do. And I know the consequences that come with it but if I wasn't if I didn't put on any muscle or get strong like I feel like all the stereotypes not that it matters but like you wouldn't even know I'm doing like I'm just that's why I take pride in the being a calm happy guy because all the negative shit that came the stereotypes that I knew were out there from baseball and sports that they get like anytime you get mad it's like oh steroids it's like no right right yeah that's why i'm like i just i just try to be calm and let people know like

my why as to why i decided to do this i'm not just like jabbing myself and trying to get jacked for the gym like i have long-term goals that i want to accomplish by a certain amount of like by an age that are important to me what's up power project family it's time to stop dressing like you're a fucking preschooler and step your game up by checking out viore clothing now i'm not one to talk i wear a fucking pink hat that has a dog on it but at the end of the day at least my shirt and shorts are popping so head to viore because they have great stuff for your top and your bottom andrew how can they get it yes you guys got to head over to viore.com slash power project that's v-u-o-r-i.com slash power project and you guys will automatically

receive 20 off your order links to them down in the description as well as the podcast show notes let's get back to the podcast an interesting thing man about you is like again you've been lifting for a long time you you know even when you came in here initially people were like that boy must be awesome you know i mean because you already had that so the thing about you is like it's going to be very interesting to see how like how you continue to progress this show you're probably going to compete more because everyone around has like everyone whispers like kenny's gonna kenny's gonna fucking kill it like everyone knows and can see from your physique the way you're built that you're gonna destroy so it's just gonna be cool to see how far you take things yeah thank

you i know that means a lot yeah do you have any idea like how some of these other guys used to look have you ever like looked into like someone like chris bumstead have you if you kind of looked into some of these guys that you're maybe admiring and and thought maybe well shit like he used to kind of look a little bit more like this maybe i got a shot to one day look maybe someone you know he's top of the food chain but right maybe you have your eyes on some people where you're thinking like this might be a possibility for me someday yeah i would say more recently like i don't it's not like yeah i don't know i can't ever gauge like my my own set of eyes i don't see it i always hear it from other people yeah but i don't really take it and like do anything with i'm just like oh like i i i whatever but i have

looked into like old school like older bodybuilders like, like Dorian Yates, like all these people. And I'll be like Dorian Yates at 19 or Dorian Yates at 20 or whatever. And I'm by no means comparing myself to him. But I'm like, hmm, like if they can make this amount of progress when they started at this age, I'm at. Well, maybe I have a chance. Like, that's what I want to that's what I want to do. I want to push for that. But at the same time, I also don't want to

go I was just talking to Casey about this I don't want to go in put all my eggs in one basket that's the thing about like I feel being young is like I don't want to push myself down one avenue too hard and aggressive and then now I'm just a big immobile bodybuilder and I'm doing this 24-7 with no break. I want to make sure I'm still doing other things. I like everything, even jujitsu, Olympic lift. I have other goals outside of bodybuilding that I have to keep in mind and mix in. So it's kind of like, I don't know, it's just a juggle. But I have looked it into that

sema does a good job of that like you don't really see a lot of jiu-jitsu on his yeah and he's passionate you're passionate about jiu-jitsu you love jiu-jitsu you probably think probably think about it all the time yeah pretty much right i mean all the different lifting that we're doing in the gym he's conscious of it but he's not like and he's really successful he's smashing people but you don't really see a lot of video of him like i tapped a black belt and like you don't really see that and i think it's cool because i i don't want to speak for you but i'm imagining that it's not your identity it's not your only identity like oh i'm a jujitsu i don't even know what they call it player yeah but you know or i'm i'm a bodybuilder i think that's yeah i think that can

i think it can work for you in some ways to say i'm a bodybuilder meaning like i'm on par with anyone else that does this i'm going to work just as hard so from that perspective it can make some sense but to say you're a bodybuilder and then have a period after it i think is can be a mistake yes because it's just what you're doing it's not who you are right and that's what i was talking to casey about you actually shout out to casey he's the man casey's jacked by the way we got to get him on the show yeah we do have to get him on the show he's a legend and uh we were just talking about how you are super well-rounded and that's kind of been my something i i like really really want to make a point on staying good at kind of every and anything like you're doing a bunch I see do a bunch of random stuff like I've seen

you train leg like do the whole leg training your legs blow up in two weeks and then you're over here doing like stretching and jujitsu I'm like that's something I want to I just want to be like we're just starting to make shit up at this point yeah i'm yeah i just want to be like i don't know i just want to be good at everything like yeah like you are like you know something interesting though is you okay so you know you're you're you're trying to focus and take bodybuilding i don't know how far you want to take it but you're going to do well in your competition and you have the potential to, I think in the next few years, smash some big guys in bodybuilding. Right. But that does need a level of focus. For example, with what you were doing in powerlifting that needed a level of focus. Like you wouldn't, you may be able to have done

some running, but you wouldn't be running to the extent you are now. For me right now, my athletic focus is jiu-jitsu and I just so happen to have done bodybuilding before. But I mean I'm not planning on going on stage. I just still have that as part of my training. So there – I think we were talking about this mark there does if you know if you do have an athletic goal it is good for you not to lose your athleticism as you go if you choose to go down deeper on the bodybuilding rabbit hole you don't want to lose your athleticism but there is going to be some give on other things as you become potentially a mass monster right there's going to be some give and you also want

to probably think about you know what are some ways that you can like cash in on some of this? You know, like what are some ways like you have a unique way of being able to utilize your body? You've had that for a long time. You had that clearly in baseball to where it wasn't just you weren't just another baseball player. You were better than a lot of the other guys around you. Maybe not the best baseball player of all time, but you were better than a lot of the other guys around you. Maybe not the best baseball player of all time, but you were better than a lot of other people. There was things athletically that you could do that other people couldn't. You came into powerlifting and

you're doing those box jumps and you're going really high. You're super explosive. You know, who else in the group of 20, 30 guys, you know, is that explosive? So there's something that's part of you. There's something that's in you that has some sort of extra whatever genetics along with hard work, along with environment, all blended together. And then like, what are things you can work on or improve upon as you climb the ladder in bodybuilding, not necessarily just to monetize, but like what is something that could, you know, provide value maybe for other people or even just continued mental growth of yourself

and maturation and maturity of yourself as you go through the process. I think that's, for me, that's where I would like to see a lot of lifters get to, a lot of people that are into like bodybuilding, powerlifting, just because I know they put their head down, they concentrate really hard on it and all that's amazing and that's a skill set in and of itself. you know, break themselves because they just, they loved it so much and it was everything to them. But then because it didn't quite work the exact way they wanted, or even when it does, they get away from it and they're just busted and they can't really figure out the next stage of their life. And that's like, that's gut wrenching to me to see all time world record holders that are kind of like stuck.

Yeah. Like, man, like, oh, that guy was, he's such a special person. I would love to see him have made it a little further. And I think it's just because they submerge themselves in that kind of one bracket. So that's probably where Casey's like, because you should kind of put all your eggs in one basket. Yeah. You should roll the fucking dice on yourself and you should choose yourself and you should envision yourself as all your eggs in one basket. Yeah, that's... You should roll the fucking dice on yourself and you should choose yourself

and you should envision yourself as being the best bodybuilder ever. You know, you should be able to envision I'm going to fucking be on top one day. I'm going to be able to do this, this, and this. Like those are things, especially as you progress further into it. But just put in real simple terms,

don't be a dummy about it. right pick up on what's going on and you're certainly already doing that by taking notes when you're listening to podcasts and you're paying attention to everybody around you like i think you're navigating it really well especially for being so young yeah thank you i definitely agree with that um that's why I'm yeah that's why it's just it's a little bit of a stress for me sometimes I'm like obviously I have a bodybuilding is I'm very passionate about it I do love it um and I know it's gonna take it requires to be what I want to be it requires a level of like yeah focus and attention that you can't really give anywhere else but that's where I kind of I'm like okay I'm looking at other people kind of like okay how can I make this work how can I hit my goal of bodybuilding and still be going towards that

every day but on the side maybe incorporate like other things that I still like like I'm trying to figure that out because I know with baseball I when I was most successful at baseball like I was in it 100 110 percent yeah nothing else had my attention but that also led me to get tired of baseball and quit so I'm like I need to find a balance of like, you know, I still like to jump. I like to run. I like to skateboard. I like to do a bunch of things that I know with, because I'm extreme bodybuilding, I'm not going to be able to do those things because I want to be at, I want to be an open bodybuilder. I want to be huge. I think we should all X just because we haven't seen somebody do multiple things successfully doesn't

mean that it cannot be done. I think already you're winning because your mind is already like, how can I make sure I can maintain my skateboarding and maybe keep my, my athleticism, blah, blah, blah. Just because other bodybuilders haven't done that. They probably weren't even thinking of keeping it. They were probably just thinking of, I want to gain as much muscle as possible. But as we know, there are things that you can incorporate into your training and practices that you can do habitually on a daily basis that as you gain more mass, that mass doesn't mean you can't be that guy doing that thing at the top level along with everything else. You could be that guy. You just have to incorporate shit. Right.

And that, yeah, I made that clear to my coach too. And he actually like, he incorporated like, it's almost, I want to say like a winning warmup. Like it's meant to just kind of get your blood flowing heart rate up but he used like super functional movements like med ball slams um of like side med ball slams uh chest pat or floor presses and all that kind of stuff battle ropes because i was like i don't want to lose that side of me that i know i'm that's one of my strong suits is like being athletic that's what I love so he kind of did that as like a part of my cardio so yeah we kind of incorporated all of it like I haven't really pushed cardio at all because I'm doing the things before the training so like everything kind of meshes together so that's why I was super surprised like I was like you know I thought I was gonna have to be doing hours of cardio,

like in the bodybuilding lifestyle, but I'm still doing everything I want to do. And I got to this point. So I'm like, that's why I'm a little bit more confident. And like, I could do all these things while still pursuing one goal. Yeah.

I just got to kind of wiggle my way and figure out how to make it all balanced. I don't follow bodybuilding enough to know all the names. So I'm just going to keep saying Chris Bumstead over and over again because I don't follow. That matters, really? Yeah. Well, I think that the guy has like flipped bodybuilding upside down, you know, on its head pretty much.

And there's been other people over the years that have kind of done this too. And there's, you know, there's classic physique because there was classic physique. There was Steve Reeves and there was a lot of people before him. Oh, yeah. Arnold had a particular physique and build, and people like to kind of point to that and reference that. But someone like Chris Bumstead, I mean, he dunked a basketball not too long ago. And I don't know what other physical prowess he has.

It looks like he moves big weight, and he looks like he moves well. Right. I don't know what his day to day looks like in terms of how his body is feeling, but I'm just going to take a total wild guess and, and imagine that he probably feels pretty healthy, probably feels pretty good. And, you know, do the joints ache and stuff like that, like a normal lifter. And is he sore? Yeah, sure.

I'm sure, I'm sure he is. But I'm imagining that somebody like that, who's kind of flipped the paradigm of bodybuilding upside down where I know he's huge, but like, he doesn't look like the, the IFBB pro, right? Like he doesn't look like the open division body. Yeah. It's different. And he's 50 pounds or 30 pounds difference. Like what's the body? Anybody have any idea of the body weight difference? He's probably 225. Yeah, some of the guys in the open end up being like, Kenny, 250, 260.

I think you probably pay more. Do you know how much he is on stage? I think I know he's around 230, 240, I want to say. Like, yeah, he's in an off season. I'm pretty sure he's a big dude like yeah six one two thirty so three to four percent body fat is like a rough google estimate wait he's six one two thirty on stage yeah that's yeah he's a big boy interesting it's just it's just wild and i guess my point in bringing it up is like there's people that sometimes show us that not only are

they different but they are so good at being different that sometimes show us that not only are they different but they are so good at being different that they show us a completely different way right yeah they show you like oh it doesn't have to be done that way yeah and he doesn't seem like a guy i don't know i i haven't really seen or heard him talking much about like hating himself i haven't seen him ever smash himself in the head before he does a lift I haven't seen a lot of crazy music and him like getting all not that there's anything wrong with that intensity but it seems like he comes from a positive way of doing things

and it seems like he's just he's just trying to maximize bodybuilding let me have a small ass waist and some big ass muscles and here's the way I'm going to do it right that's what I'm most attracted to is like stuff people that do that like I'm going to do it. Right. That's what I'm most attracted to is like stuff, people that do that. Looks pretty normal right there. Exactly.

I don't even know. What are those, 180s or 200 pounds? I don't know. Pushing on some dumbbells and yeah, his legs look big, but like he doesn't look crazy there. Yeah. But if you stand next to him or if you see him with his shirt off, he's fucking incredible. Oh yeah. Or if you see him with his shirt off, he's fucking incredible.

Oh, yeah. So let me ask you this. Are you trying to go hard on classic or hard on classic physique or bodybuilding? Because you know that. Those are different physiques. Oh, yeah. Very different. So initially, I was open all the way. Like talking to my coach, I was like, dude, I want to be this offseason.

I want to push 260. I want to be big. I know I can do it. And then the more I started during prep, he was like, you know what? I think we'll kind of try to, I guess, max out my physique for Classic. And then from there, we can evaluate, okay, are you going to be competitive in this class or can you do would you be better off trying to be the open physique so I guess I'm going to try

to do it in like little like chunks of time like yeah I'll put a lot of effort into trying to create the most classic physique I can and then that'll only translate to open because I still look up to guys like Sean Roden Justin Compton even though he's pretty jacked but like Sean Roden has a super aesthetic physique like he's one of my favorite bodybuilders so they can only I can only see it be a good thing like maxing out classic first getting that look down then from there if i need to build that from that base up i will but i don't want to push things too fast like you told me like because sometimes i'll be like fuck this i want to go all the way like i can be 300 pounds or but i gotta i think you know just like uh and somebody's gonna blast me on this because someone who has deeper knowledge, but like I'm just imagining that a lot of the guys in the classic physique are taking a little bit less and probably taking a little less risks and maybe putting their heart through a little bit less just because of the body weight shift that you kind of see the old school. I don't know if everyone in bodybuilding still does that gets really gigantic, massive. Um, but I'd imagine that's still the strategy for a lot of the top

pro bodybuilders. So I think with what you mentioned, how you still would like to be athletic, it seems like at least for now, what would call to you most is to stay in that classic physique. The other thing I think is that again, Chris Bumstead like flipped everything upside down on his head and the money and the notoriety is going to be there. And I think that the other style of bodybuilding just, I think it's luck is going to run out. I don't know if it will never exist or like, you don't know, I don't know if it will cease to exist, but it just is not as favorable and i think that if you just even think back to what we were talking about about when you

were a kid if a little kid saw who won the mr olympia last year anybody know last year a big rami the open yeah so big rami yeah okay so a little kid saw a big rami i think they don't even understand like obviously you see him with his shirt off. It's a different thing. But if they just saw him in a t-shirt, they might just think he's big and fat. They might not have any idea. Especially in an off-season. Not to rest in peace Sean Roden, but have you seen his off-seasons?

When they're not in shape and diced, it can be of, it can be a sloppy look, especially if you have to, like. This is extreme. Yeah. Well, that wasn't his offseason. That was his before. Yeah. He has a guest posing that he got super slammed for, but, I mean, like, yeah, I get what you're saying.

And I do, I would agree with, I don't know about the drug side, because I'm not super deep into that yet. Like, I can't, I don't know if classic is taking less, but just from a food, like just food alone, like slamming yourself six, seven meals a day, a lot of carbs, proteins, fats, like that's, that's, that's hard. Not being able to breathe. Yeah. Like stuff like that.

And you can still breathe. Like you're not over here like, like you're still, like you're not over here like no like you're so you're so chill i feel i yeah this prep i feel like i feel amazing like i almost want to do if i didn't have to do like a rebound and really like that's the fun part that's what john was telling me about the rebound is going to be pretty fun feeding myself but i feel good like i've learned a lot about my body throughout this prep like i my body responds super well to a low carb moderate to high fat like i feel just day to day the mental clarity the like natural energy i have yeah i like it way better how about that dick though there's a penis pump right behind you sir if you want to take a break i would love to use that

right now because you don't need to just whip it out right here on the show uh without a pre-pump yeah i haven't even imagine that imagine like how's that dick though and he's just like dude i almost forgot yeah i almost forgot i had a dick it hasn't worked like in in a month like i've just been not from it literally doesn't work but like i haven't had the desire to even go down do nothing like i'm just so no desire to go down on yourself no zero zero it's kind of nice though it is having a little vacation from that yeah it's just like not anything like just yeah it's not something I have to do every day. So I like it.

I'm a fan. You can lose focus very easy when your dick is hungry all the time. You guys want to go on nofap? Just do a bodybuilding prep. You'll be good once you get lean. Oh, yeah. Yeah. So I guess I'll say the hype.

Did the hype live up? You know, the hype of PEDs live up to your expectations? Honestly, no. It might just be because I don't have too much experience with different compounds. I'm not out here taking Trent or anything crazy like that by any means, but I really don't think they're amazing. Like, I think the main thing that allowed me to make improvements

is, like, food and just the basic shit that everybody is going to tell you. But, yeah, I didn't see, see like obviously it's going to help recovery everything but like this last off season i wasn't even taking gear like i wasn't using anything i was basically natty and i just maxed out food and sleep and that got me to 240 oh shit okay yeah that got me to 240 without any gear so that just showed me okay i'm only gonna use this when these things are maxed out and when i need them like i have every other box checked the pharmacology side or whatever you want to call the things hasn't been checked so now that i'm doing a prep and i'm going to do be competing against people like i don't want to be behind

the eight i want to be checking every box everyone else the npc is going to be doing the same shit that's what i'm saying so i don't want to leave that box unchecked i want to look i just want enough i'm confident in the things i've kind of mastered down which is training and sleep i'm big on those two so i just need in my mind just a little bit to add on top and i didn't notice anything crazy besides more muscle fullness like when I'm not on it the muscle fullness that like big full pumps you get those kind of diminish but besides that like I don't really notice a difference it could be genetic but I really don't notice much besides a little bit of strength but nothing crazy like i could still probably hit the same numbers i just it's really just the look the fullness look kind of goes away but that's it so i'm sure

there's other compounds out there that i'll try and i'll have a different opinion but as far as just like test no i just not much like maybe I'm not taking enough to be able to tell, but I don't think it's, in my head, it's just something I need to add to have that all those three things put together to be able to recover, sleep, get the look that I want on stage. And then after I don't, I don't, like, in an offseason,

maybe I don't know what I even plan to do yet, but I don't, like, I like coming. I think coming off, like Chris Bumstead, he's talked about it, like, that is important, and that's something I am going to do, like, for as long as I, unless I can't, but that's something I'm gonna always do like come off do it the right way and just a break like I don't see a reason to be on all the time when it's not providing as much as I thought it would like there's no reason to be on it year

round I'm gonna take breaks 100% I think a big thing that steroids do that maybe people don't maybe understand is they help a lot with mitigating the negative. The negative of training, the negative of the fact that maybe you didn't sleep as well, the negative of maybe you overate. It's going to help mitigate some of those maybe potential negative things that you might get from training. And obviously it's going to help on a positive side, but I think most of the net positive that you get is just from the mitigation of the negative. So it's not like you take it and all of a sudden it gives you, you know, 40 or 50 pounds of strength and it doesn't all of a sudden just give you like 30 or 40 pounds of muscle.

It doesn't really work that way. And one of the best ways that it can work is for someone that's like trying to power lift that gets stronger as a result of taking performance enhancing drugs. What's kind of sitting in the background that people forget is a lot of times these athletes have gained weight. So sometimes people don't even understand. Okay, I understand you didn't want to gain weight because you didn't want to gain fat. And if you take steroids, you can gain muscle and fat kind of same time. It's a little different, right? So I kind of understand that vantage point. But I would say that if somebody wanted to stay on the natty side, just explore gaining weight. Just explore eating more. Just try it. Just do that first. See what happens when you go from 198 to 220.

But a lot of people, they're not willing to do it. They're not willing to take the time. They think they're going to be weaker in the higher weight class. Like this weight class is too big for me. But if you give yourself time, like our boy Sully did. Right. You know, he went from one class to another weight class to another weight class. I know eventually he made the choice that he made, but he did increase his body weight and he did increase his total over a period of time. So I think that's kind of forgotten elements. Like you could just gain some weight and you'll be, you'll be a lot stronger. like from probably like 15 to 18 i've throughout all high school like i've tried the dirty bulk

i've tried the clean bulk i've tried keto i've tried all these different the vertical diet i've tried it all and you know i get what i want out of it and then when it when when it's time to make the decision i did then that's what we're on. But yeah, I think just using calories and food alone, like that could go a long way. That's why when people are so quick to jump to it and they don't have a specific goal or they're not seeing it through, it's like, yeah, just eat, literally just eat. Let me ask you more about that real quick. Cause I do remember when I saw you gaining weight, I'm like, God damn, Kenny is getting big like you were you were it was crazy seeing you at 240 but how many times a day did you eat what were your calories at just so people can understand like when you're talking about

eating like it's just not a joke yeah so the food do you want me to like get into the the method i use or just what yeah no i'm an estimation of calories at least and uh how many times a day you eat and stuff like that um i really i don't that's the thing is the plan that i get i don't count there's no i could count but it's just literally like numbers that i plug in like 60 grams of protein all that so i don't know the number but i would say six sometimes even seven meals a day. Like I was hungry. Like my body was ready to eat. I was my metabolism too. Like that's the one thing I experienced that was weird to me. I was like, I can eat all day. Like my body's burning, burning,

burning. Cause I'm doing it the right way. Like I'm eating, giving myself a couple hours eating and my body just like, just started to get like trained like that. And it was easy. Like, yeah. Carbs, calorie cycling. Like I did the whole thing to like manipulation of calories off days, lower medium days is the baseline diet. High days are like the harder days of whatever. It's based off energy expenditure. So what you're referring to is you had a meal plan and there were specific meals, right?

Yeah. And then your coach had that calculated out, but it was not anything you had to really concern yourself with. No, yeah. So, yeah, he just gives me basically what to eat. I eat it and then we go, we adjust from there based on the look. What was on the list of foods that you could eat? Yeah, so he has an approved foods list. It's really any lean meat.

It goes from fish to steak to beef, especially in the off-season. I don't get too – maybe he might have told me, but I don't do that. If I want a fattier piece of meat, I'm not going to count the – I only count the added fats on top of the meal. So steak mainly, chicken, bison, fish. For fats, basic like nuts, almond butter, eggs, big one. And then carbs is really just rice cream of rice oatmeal if i can digest it during that time um fruits i i'm a big fan of fruits in the off season too it's easy to eat

yeah um even like breads like i see uh dr mike isertel like i like what they're doing too they eat bread like they make their meals good that's what i do in an off season as long as it's still structured in those macros yeah pretty much like anything goes as long i'm not gonna go get in and out but i'm still you know i have fun with it for sure and i also don't think well one thing too is like when you're talking about that six to seven meals your workouts were a reflection of that because I'd see you work out and it's like how you're moving a lot of training volume within your training sessions. Like you were doing a lot.

Yeah. Oh yeah. So for the training, yeah, I, um, trainings, I love like it's hard until I got with like John and asked like,

can we do training? Because I'd go through, I'd make, like, five different training programs in one day. And then mix, I just, I can't stick to one because I love it so much. But I would say the volume is definitely, especially in an off season, I can, like, I like higher volume. You can handle volume. I'll still do the first compound is maybe one to two top sets, all out failure. And then from there, it's kind of just like a lot of volume. I'm just pounding the muscle as hard as I can because I know I'll be able to get out of that hole with calories and sleep.

But in a prep, it's a little different. cut the volume in half and maybe you know do three to four exercises run them into the ground and then get out the gym and try to give myself enough time to recover i've also never really seen you injured that's one thing i just realized i've i always see you yeah good but like have have you had to deal with anything or because it is you're not moving like you don't move super lightweight either you move heavy shit and you're keeping away from injury so what do you attribute to that what do you look at that what do you look at in your training to stay away from injury um i would say honestly i think taking time like to do strength training definitely benefited me like coming from powerlifting I built that base up

like you know my joints bone muscle everything was already kind of in place so by the time I was doing the bodybuilding I was do I'm still doing like winning warm-ups like I said I'm still doing on off days yeah maybe not here but like in my garage I'm stretching I'm walking I'm doing everything i possibly know how to do that can prevent injury all the you know like everything mobility i'm doing all of it outside the gym so that i'm confident because i'm scared like i'm kind of scared to get injured i don't want to take i don't i want this to keep going yeah so i'm even more on top of doing the things making sure i'm not going in doing this type of shit when i haven't slept like if i haven't slept i will cancel a training

session i'm not going in like like smart i'm big on stuff like that that's what i tell some people i help out like i program for them i'm like if you slept two hours i I'm not going to be the guy like the typical, no, we like, I'm a warrior. I'm going in no matter what. A warrior. I'm like, no, no, just take the day off, sleep, stay hydrated, eat food, and then the next day get after it. But I'm not going to like be in any type of deficit when I'm doing the training like that. I'm going to make sure everything is perfect. And then I'm that much more confident going under the heavy weight and letting it fly

yeah what else you got over there andrew what's a uh a day of eating like right now like because i know you're getting very very close i'm curious you went from eating a whole lot to probably not a lot yeah so um yeah the whole entire prep to this point has been the same system, the carb cycling. And right now I would say for the last six weeks I've had 100 or 35 grams of carbs pre and post workout, and that's it. For the carbs? Yeah. Ooh, okay. So pretty low, but like I said, he's still giving me, like, fats in the right places.

Like the first meal of the day has fat. The last right places. The first meal of the day has fat. The second to last meal of the day has fat. So I'm not really like I don't feel – I feel healthy, to be honest. I feel good. Besides the fatigue from the training and not being able to eat, that's the only thing. But right now it's like meal one, two, and four are basically like a cup of egg whites, six ounces of meat, and an ounce of almonds. You said egg whites. I just walked out of the room in my head.

I internally threw up. I'm out. Yeah, yeah. Fuck you, John. Yeah. Yeah. But fuck you, John. Yeah. Yeah. But once I get like,

once you get to that, like he gives me so much. John six, eight, by the way. So I take that back, sir. You're a wonderful gentleman and a great human being.

His hand is the size of your face. He's a big boy. Yeah. Bring up a picture of him. How can people like contact him as a coach? Because I know he helps people, but I don't know if he's got space or room. Yeah, I think just shoot him a DM. I mean, he puts on a story sometimes.

I know he has a lot of clients, but if you just DM him, I'm sure he'll get back to you. Everybody I've referred has gone to him, and it's been good. He's ridiculous. Yeah. When we podcasted with him that shit was over zoom right because i don't remember seeing his ass in person i know we do i was upset he didn't come in i wanted to meet him yeah that guy would like be as tall as our fucking he wouldn't fit in

here jesus it's comical he's strong as fuck too i don't know if he's still doing strongman stuff but he's very strong yeah his coach is um what's his name he's a he's a football coach uh not house coach house yeah yeah yeah oh this coach yes that's his coach oh okay cool damn very cool But, Andrew, what I was saying was I've had a lot of variety this whole entire prep, offseason, like mix, match, foods, whatever. But once you get this far out, the food selection is kind of slim, like the egg whites, the meat, the fat. Like it's kind of I'm picking from a small bucket of stuff at this point, but it's pretty low calories, but I still, I'm feeling good. Like I felt really good about it so far. Smokey.

Smokey. Yes. Smokey. Back to going. No, I just want to say Smokey is between Smokey and this gym, everybody here, I have grown so much as a person. Like, if I didn't come here, I remember the first day I came to super training,

I was so nervous. Like, Casey was like, also shout out to Casey. It wasn't for him, none of this would happen. But I walked in, Casey was like, just go in the gym. I was like, okay. I go in the gym, and Smokey, like, you know how he's kind of a dickhead? He just like ignored me. I'm like kind of walking around him, like the team. And I'm

like, nobody's saying anything. Fuck. So I just asked like, Hey, can I lift with you? And he's like, yeah. And then I go stretch and he walks up to me. He's like, Hey, do you power lift? I was like, no, this is my first day in here. i was he was like all right you're doing the meet in october or whatever i'm like shit so from there he took me under his wing and like just has done so much for me i will never be able to repay him for but he has been a huge huge factor as long as well as all of you guys in this and how I'm progressing, how I'm mentally like taking notes on all you guys, even though you might not know it, I'm still taking everything into account and being like, okay,

this is how you have to act. This is what you have to do when bad shit happens. Like this is how you respond. So he's been huge. Definitely. Somebody's watching us at all times. Taking notes too. Yeah. Yeah. How are you reviewing notes? Cause that's watching us at all times. Taking notes, too. Yeah.

Yeah, how are you reviewing notes? Because that's always my thing is, like, I'll write shit down, and I'll never look at it again. Yeah, so I highlight everything. I wasn't the best in school, but as far as, like, structuring things, really, I'm just, like, this is, I'm passionate about everything you guys talk about. Every single coach from, like, passionate about everything you guys talk about. Every single coach from athlete, everything.

I have tons of tons of maxed out notebooks. And I just go back. And if I have a question in my head before I go ask somebody, I'll go review it and be like, okay. If it's a diet question, I'll look back. I have them all listed out and organized. John Meadows, Dave Tate, blah, blah, blah. The topic too. And I'll like look back. I have them all listed out and organized like, you know, John Meadows, Dave Tate, blah, blah, blah. Like the topic, too. And I'll go back, look at the stuff I highlighted, be like, OK, there's my answer.

Or if I just want to like I'll go back and read it like a book, like because I don't really I don't read a lot of books. But if I did, those things would be what I read on. So I'm like, I already took these notes, so I'm just going to look at what I wrote down because I know it's stuff that clicked with me, and then that's kind of how I review stuff. I'll do it probably every two months. It's not all the time, but I keep them under my bed, so if I ever need them, I'll go,

or I'll give it to somebody and be like, take a look at these notes that I took from all these people like let me know what you think so stuff like that yeah that's really cool yeah yeah and then so in regards to like the the staying calm and stuff something that you and I connected with with like the breath work and yeah so are you still incorporating that stuff right now in prep or is it just kind of oh yeah so i i went down before body but before i came here i was super into like the whole meditation side of things spiritual side of things like went super down that avenue and now i kind of like i went too far into it to where it turned me off so now i'm kind of like like getting what you want out of it. Yeah. Which is really just the, the meta, the control of the mind, the meditation part, the being

able to like control what you can side of things. So I make sure like I wake up every morning at like five well before I have to be here to take time for myself to kind of like chill, either go on a walk or go sit somewhere at a park and just kind of like really just ground myself as much as I can before starting the day so that if anything comes my way that could potentially throw me off I took that time to be present so that it doesn't throw me off because before it would it would ruin. Like, I would be a head case. I'd lose it. I'd be, like, all over the place.

And then it'd affect other people. So I'm like, I need to make sure I take a chunk of time to give, like, my mind some attention and just be calm. So I don't get, like, spun up and let things get to me. So I would say things like that. like spun up and let things get to me. So I would say things like that. Also like just, uh, like really,

yeah, just meditating too at night. Like my version of meditation is just maybe turning something on YouTube in my room, like soothing music or something and just laying on the floor and just like, just feeling the ground, just being super, super present with myself.

Like whether i talk to myself like walk through things like everything's gonna be fine you're here this is what you can control these are the cards you're dealt so here's what we're gonna do so that helps a lot yeah sick real cool question on this prep i don't know if you have but how have you avoided binging if you have that's tough um being honest i don't this whole prep i haven't had one craving that's amazing do you know why i think i don't know i think to be honest i think i didn't staying on top of the mental side of things is huge for everything. That has allowed me to have control of anything that would want to make me binge.

I have control of all that stuff, so I don't do it. But before, I did. In powerlifting, I actually did struggle with binge eating. I'd smoke a bunch of weed after the workout, and I'd be like, Oh, I'm'm gonna eat all this like solely can vouch for me we would go to walmart on our lunch break we'd go to walmart on our lunch break and buy everything all the cakes donuts candies like i bought remember when i bought that giant chocolate bar i don't know if you remember but it's on it's on the super training

page but like we would buy mass amounts of just shit food and we'd be like brag about it we'd be like oh dude i'm gonna eat all this tonight and then compare it and stuff like we're at fucking elementary school comparing snacks and stuff but yeah he's he's definitely taught me how to eat too that's a big dude like he taught me a lot of different things yeah so yeah shout out to shout out to out to the Sullivan brothers for sure. What's Sully's IG? Silverback Sullivan. Silverback Sullivan.

People need to check this guy out. He's strong as fuck. Yeah, him. Look at that. Oh, look at that baby face. That was a four test. I honestly do not. I'm glad.

In this case, I'm glad I got on some tests. I probably needed it. But, yes, Sully definitely set the standard for discipline. Like, seeing him come in here and just, like, walking in, eating the same foods every single day at the same time, not letting anything affect his training or his schedule. Like that definitely showed me a lot. With his beanie on. Yep.

And his hoodie. Yep. Yep. He's a man. Just sitting in the gym and like doing or working his pinch grip. Yeah. Pinching like. Yeah.

Doing these absurd exercises. Two and a half pound plates. Yeah. Oh, yeah. I'm like, dude, what are you doing? He's like, I'm working on my grip. Yeah. I'm like, okay. Yeah. you doing? He's like, I'm working on my grip. I'm like, okay. But yeah, he's gotten crazy strong too. His last

meet, he put up some pretty crazy numbers and he's dramatically leaner. Like, I FaceTime all the time. He's like way leaner. Like, whatever Josh has him doing is like cool. And Josh Bryan is somebody that inspires me a lot too because just like the tactical training side of things,

everything he does, towel pull-ups, like all these cool exercises that work multiple muscles. And like his style of doing things is just amazing. Like Josh Bryan is the man. Gas station strong. Yeah. Yep. Yep.

All right, Andrew, want to take us on out of here, buddy? Yeah, really quick. This is Sully? Yeah yeah really quick this is Sully yeah holy shit yeah he got lean dude I'm telling you but look at the

what the fuck he has some jumps on there too that are impressive yeah he's always been athletic like he has some wild jumps

if you look it's down there somewhere he's strong as shit and explosive oh the middle one in the black just for our boy

Sully for a second. His face has still got to be fat, I bet. That's a big man. Look at how he landed in that squat. Like Sully's has like one thing about him is he's big and strong, but he has amazing mobility. Yeah, he moves well. I promise this is a compliment, but when he lands, the whole building shakes. A little mini earthquake.

All right. Cool. All right. Thank you, everybody. Make sure you guys stick around for Smiley's tip. whole building shakes a little mini earthquake yeah all right cool well all right thank you everybody make sure you guys stick around for smelly's tip but uh thank you for uh checking out today's episode please drop us some comments down below let us know what you guys think about this conversation and uh hit up powerproject.live for everything power project merch etc all the good shit and uh subscribe if you guys are not subscribed uh follow uh at mb power project on instagram tiktok and twitter my instagram tiktok and twitter is at i am andrew z in sema where you Subscribe. If you guys are not subscribed, follow at MBPowerProject on Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. My Instagram, TikTok,

and Twitter's at IamAndrewZN. Seema, where you at? Why do I keep checking this to see if there's anything in it? It's like checking the fridge. Yeah. Keep opening it up.

Hoping something new's going to be there. Nothing new in there. Just poison. Check out the Discord. Monsters are good. The Discord below. At Seema Inyo on Instagram

and YouTube. At Seema Yin Yang on TikTok and Twitter. Kenny, where can people find you? Kenny underscore Williams underscore underscore. I'll change my name. I'm sorry.

Yeah, we got to fix that. Lots of underscoring, huh? I don't know what I was doing there. You got to score over, not under. Smelly's tip is to get your ass out there and run. Today was day 56. So anyone can join me on any day to hop in on some running and you can start your own journey of running every day. Before you know it, it'll be two weeks,

it'll be three weeks, it'll be four weeks. And you'll be shocked at how quick you can get good at running. What I would suggest and where I would start is to go back and forth between walking and jogging. I talk about it quite often. Keep the heart rate really low, go low and slow and take your time. And over a period of time, you'll get better and better at it. I also wanted to mention that the gym here at super training gym is free. Eight 55 Riverside Parkway,

West Sacramento, California. We are open from 10 to one on Saturday and Sunday. So come on in. All you have to do is be fucking like fired up to lift. No other requirement. Just bring some good intensity because we want to be able to lift like Kenny. We want to be able to lift with good intensity.

And I know some of you people out there want to do that too. Strength is never weakness. Weakness is never strength. Catch you guys later. Bye. Tuesday, Thursday also. Oh, yeah. Tuesday, Thursday.

3 to 7 p.m. 3 to 7 p.m. They got p.m they gotta get invited though no they don't yeah i think so no they don't