Interview By Kostas Marangopoulos, M.Sc., CPT. Nick Anthony - Ready For The 2012 Arnold Amateur!

The past week I was very lucky to be asked to get interviewed By Kostas Marangopoulos, M.Sc., CPT. heres the link down below:

Nick Anthony - Ready For The 2012 Arnold Amateur!

Love, peace and big muscles

PROGRESS PICS 13 WEEKS IN MY PREP

I apologies to my fellow reader that I haven't been blogging post that often, the truth is that ive been really busy with work and most of the times im running like a headless chicken. But anyways heres a few progress pics that i took just to get a idea on how im doing.

Love peace and big muscles

WE LIKE TO MAKE THINGS MORE DIFFICULT THAN WHAT THEY REALLY ARE..

Things are more simple than what we think. They truly are, we just like to makes things difficult for ourselves. For some unexplainable reason, it makes us feel better. We like to believe that we have achieved more by making our lives difficult than by sticking to the old basic rules which actually work best most of the time.

The best example is through the diet and training.

Most youngsters that come up to me, shit I said youngsters, maybe I am getting old and wiser  Anyway some of these kids come up to me all stressed out about their diet and training telling me some crazy-ass combos. Sometimes I can’t help but laugh because I was like that once so in a way I understand them. But what I tend to do is sit and explain to them that everything needs a balance; training, diet and life in general otherwise everything falls apart.

In terms of your diet, you should always add protein carbs and fat in your meals and adjust them throughout the day. Morning should have more carbs, that goes for the post-workout meal and towards the end of the day, limit your carbs intake and add more veggies and same more good fats. It’s pretty simple really. And make sure you always listen to your body. If you are hungry, just eat, don’t wait that extra hour because its written down but don’t go crazy, remember keep that balance!

As for the training, I am a firm believer in strong compound movements for the ladies and of course for the guys. But don’t go crazy, keep in form, push yourself to your limits but don’t injure yourself at the same time. To be honest, I like to go a bit crazy every couple of weeks and ‘think’ out of the box and do same intense reps and sets just to shock the body, but even then I keep a balance. I do it for a week then switch back to the type of training I was doing before.

As for my supplements, it’s also pretty straight forward. When I hear the youngsters tell me what they take, I hear some crazy shit, sometimes they need a good 15mins to tell me what is in their cabinet and I need to go home and research most of the new stuff they have because I have never heard of it. What we shouldn’t lose sight of is the fact that we never stop learning; no matter how much of an expert you are in your field, there is always room to learn and take in more knowledge. You’ll actually be surprised to know that sometimes you can learn so much even from a person who hasn’t been in the game for so long! So sometimes just a back seat, listen and learn!

At the end of the day, Rome wasn’t built in a day. The same applies to reaching your goals; you have to be patient and more importantly focused. That six-pack unfortunately won’t form over night. That’s why the trick to reaching your goals is believing in yourself and never give up no matter what anyone says. Be consistent, train like a dog in the gym but at the same time remember to have a positive and humble outlook on life and I guarantee you the rewards will come your way. The sky is the limit so aim as high as you can and want!

Below I will give you guys a rough idea on how I train/eat and what supplements I take. Remember nothing is set in stone so eating/training/supplement intake may vary from day to day.....

MY DAILY MEAL PLAN

MEAL 1

40-60G WHEY ISOLATE

WITH

75G-100G OATS

OR

10 EGG WHITES 2 EGG WHOLES

WITH

200G-300G POTATO

BROCCOLI

ON THIS MEAL ITS HOW I FEEL AND HOW HARD OF A WORKOUT I HAVE IN FRONT OF ME , IF I FEEL I NEED MORE ENERGY AND A BETTER PUMP I EAT THE WHITE POTATOES WITH EGG OTHER WISE I JUST STICK TO THE OATS AND WHEY.

MEAL 2

WHEY ISOLATE 40-60G

WITH

FRUIT OF CHOICE

I PREFER EATING STRAWBERRIES OR PINEAPPLE BUT THAT'S JUST ME ANY OTHER TYPE OF FRUIT IS FINE.

MEAL3

75G-120G RICE UNCOOKED

200-250G EITHER FISH/LEAN PORK/TURKEY/BEEF

GREEN SALAD

PERSONALLY I LIKE TO ROTATE THE PROTEIN ONE DAY PORT OTHER BEEF ECT ECT KEEPING IT A VARIETY SO IT DOESN'T GET BORING

MEAL 4

10 EGG WHITES 2 EGG WHOLES

200G-300G POTATO

BROCCOLI

MEAL 5

WHEY ISOLATE 40-60G

FRUIT OF CHOICE

MEAL 6

75G-120G RICE UNCOOKED

200-250G EITHER FISH/LEAN PORK/TURKEY/BEEF

GREEN SALAD

MEAL 7

40G-60G WHEY CASEIN

I NORMALLY DRINK THIS SHAKE 30MIND BEFORE I GO TO BED

SUPPLEMENTS I USE

• ·      4000MG VIT C A DAY
• ·      1 MULTI VITAMIN PACK A DAY
• ·      4000MG-5000MG OMEGA 3-6-9
• ·      PROBIOTICS
• ·      GLUTAMINE
• ·      BCAA
• ·      WHEY ISOLATE
• ·      WHEY CASEIN

MY  TRAINING PLAN

WEEK 1-3

REP RANGE 8-12 REPS

USING 1-2 COMPOUND MOVEMENTS PER WORKOUT

KEEPING A QUICK TEMPO

TRYING TO LIFT AS HEAVIEST TO FAILURE IN GOOD FORM AND NO INJURIES

WEEK 4-5

REP RAGE 10-100 REPS

USING SUPER SETS COMBINED WITH REST PAUSE TO REACH HIGH REP RANGE

QUICK TEMPO

MEDIUM –HEAVY  WEIGHT LIFTED

WEEK 6-8

REP RANGE 8-12 REPS

USING 1-2 COMPOUND MOVEMENTS PER WORKOUT

KEEPING A QUICK TEMPO

TRYING TO LIFT AS HEAVIEST TO FAILURE IN GOOD FORM AND NO INJURIES

THIS IS A ALSO A ROUGH TRAINING PLAN OF WHAT I DO HOPING YOU GUYS GET THE 

IDEA,

LOVE PEACE AND BIG MUSCLES...

WE ARE WHAT WE ABSORB...

Sounds strange right? We have all grown up hearing the saying ‘we are what we eat’ but to be honest, it doesn’t quite work that way.

Remember being at school? I know I’m making you think way back now but I remember having 2 hour classes back to back but after about 30-40 minutes I would lose my concentration and start messing around in class. The remaining time in class was an utter waste because I didn’t really absorb or learn anything else after those 30-40 minutes had passed, instead I just became bored of the class and teacher teaching it.

So how does this apply to nutrition...........?

Say I cook a piece of chicken and in terms of protein it is worth 70g. An average male would adsorb between 25-30g. However if that person that trains a lot he can absorb from 35g maybe even 40g (Please put in mind this amounts are just so you guys can get a general picture). 

But what happens to the rest of that protein? 

It becomes waste, extra calories your body will have to get worked up to burn so there isn’t any real value in eating that amount. It would make sense to use that amount of protein to make 2 meals because otherwise you just making your body go under unnecessary strain in order for it can get rid of the protein that it won’t absorb.

The body likes things to get absorbed quickly and easily without a lot of stress. That is why the metabolism works faster when you eat small frequent meals, rather than bigger infrequent meals. I mean it’s pretty simple if you think about it for a sec and the best example is the Formula 1 cars.

Their tanks get filled up with fuel after a certain number of rounds, it is never filled up completely to begin with because if it was it would mean more weight for the car and the car would not go as fast. The same theory applies to our metabolism in a way. Therefore my advice is to keep meals small and spread throughout the day.

A typical male can have approximately 25g-40g of protein per meal, 150g to 250g per day. However this does depends on a number of factors such as body type/activity/needs/target.

A typical female can have approximately 15-25g per meal, 80 to 120g protein per day. This also depends on the female’s body type/activity/needs/target.

In terms of carbs and fat intake im not going to go there im just keeping things plain and simple.

If you guys want any advice, tips etc..... just drop me a message here or find me on Twitter or Facebook Nick Anthony

Love peace and big mucsles.

PROGRESS PICS 7 WEEKS IN MY PREP

Keeping you all up to date with my progress pics, will be also posting this weeks training routine and why i decided to train this way.......

Love peace and big muscles.

FEAR THE LIGHT NOT THE DARKNESS

Fear the light not the darkness, as it is our ability to shine and become powerful that intimidates us the most. 
We are scared because we know we have the ability to become powerful beyond measure. We know that if we push ourselves we HAVE the strength to better ourselves in all aspects of our lives. Yet this creates an undeniable fear inside of us. But why do we fear this ability? We fear this strength as we are not really entirely sure how we should act when we do acquire such a power. What happens when we reach that goal, then what? Is that it? Do we push ourselves more? More importantly, what happens to us in regard to the relationships we have with others? Do those change? Will the people around us, either our close ones or just simple acquaintances treat us in the same way?

As children, we all shined, yet the older we got, we slowly began to lose that shine. This shine began to dim because as adults we got wrapped up in our everyday stressors and we almost viewed this shine in a pessimistic light. However, it’s entirely up to you whether you want to keep that candle shinning bright. All you have to do is just listen to your gut feeling, chase that dream and make it happen. If you know what you want, what your heart desires, go get it. We all have the potential to excel beyond our wildest dreams, so why should your candle light be dim when others around you are blazing?

Love peace and big muscles

PROGRESS PICS 6 WEEKS IN MY PREP

Just came home after a great shoulder workout and I thought ill post something quick to keep you guys up to date with same progress 6th weeks in my preparation, still have a long way to go but enjoying every moment of this journey... 

 LOOKING AT THESE PICS AGAIN, I THINK I SHOULD START SMILING A BIT MORE BECAUSE I LOOK LIKE A REAL MOODY C**T HERE LOL...........

Love peace and big muscles.

HOW DO I GET MOTIVATION? EVEN SOMETIMES IT SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE....

How do I get the strength to get myself out of bed and train even though I sometimes feel like my body’s energy is on empty?

I’m not gonna lie, there’s day where the idea of having to go the gym is just so unappealing to me. Having to do that cardio is the last thing that I want to put myself through.

So what makes me push myself to do it?

Waking up in the morning, going on Facebook and seeing you guys liking and commenting on my pics, blog posts and statuses really gives me my morning boost to get up and do what I have to do. I feel that I am here not only to better myself but to inspire my fans. Just seeing some of the motivational pictures you guys post or the “likes” you have put is enough to get me out the house and down at the gym. I mean, the way I see it, I don’t really have an excuse to sit and whine and bitch when I can see that you guys are also pushing hard and working out.

What about when it comes down to pumping that iron? How do I manage to lift such heavy weights even though at times it could be considered almost impossible? For me, lifting weights is a type of therapy; I gather together all the negative thoughts, feelings and emotions I have, e.g. past mistakes I’ve made, failures in terms of not achieving a past goal and combine them together to create an intense energy which allows me to have the power to lift those weights.

For me, it’s all about using what you have experienced in your past to better your present.

Love peace and big muscles.

SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO THINK "OUT OF THE BOX" TO SEE BETTER RESULTS...

As I had mentioned on one of my previous video blogs, I was going to talk about how sometimes you have to trick your body in order for it to respond well. About 5 weeks ago, I began my contest preparation and everything was going great up until week 4. For some reason I felt that my body was not responding well to the cardio. During my training, I was looking and feeling more depleted and tired I began to wonder why.

I decided to take a moment and think about it from ‘outside the box’. To be honest, I hadn’t really stopped cardio, even from the off season, I would train 3 times a week, 30mins in the winter and as the summer was approaching, I would increase it to 5 times a week- I live in Cyprus so yes I wanted to look good for the beach.

 I slowly starting to come to the conclusion that the constant cardio had caught up with me and as a result, the training was refusing to show any signs of change; in terms of both burning more fat and decreasing body fat. Like it or not, our bodies are not made to be ultra lean with very little body fat. Our bodies are built to store fat this concept can be traced back to the Stone Age era where we had to hunt for food. Back in the day we did not know if we would have food from one day to the next, therefore our bodies needed to store that fat to survive. A bit similar to how camels store water in their humps.

Yet fast forward to today, we are now living in a time where we no longer need to stock up on our food intake. Instead, our main preoccupation is looking lean and fit by burning away any excess fat. However our bodies to a certain degree are still programmed to function the same way they functioned during the hunting/gathering era. Therefore if we are constantly exercising, at some point our bodies will react by not burning as much fat as one would desire. So what do you do when you reach this plateau?

 The answer is quite simple, do the opposite from what you were doing; if you were doing cardio 6x a week, decrease it to 3. If you were training heavy and with a slowish tempo, train fast with a fast tempo and even add a cheat meal to shock the body on the weekend. Do this practice for about 1-2 weeks and then jump back to your normal routine. I tried this tactic out myself and I must say, results can be definitely seen. I generally felt more relaxed and rested, both physically and psychologically.

At the end of the day, what is important is to always listen to your body and think outside the box. Both body and brain are highly advanced mechanisms, yet every now and again there needs to be a change-a shock-a stimulation in order for both to maintain their effective functionality.

Love peace and big muscles.

EVERYTHING IS MEANT FOR A REASON........

Coming back to cyprus was a big shock to me after the experiences I had from last year. I wasn't really planning to stay i was just over here to spend Christmas and new years with my family and then i was off again.

But as most thing in life that are planned don't go as they should and other things in my life were meant to happen which looking back now after how many months really helped me for the person Imo now.

The most annoying thing was when i just came back was every body was asking me for that pro card how come you didn't get it why did you come 3rd at the Arnold Classic Europe, you should of places better you need to do this and that and to tell you the truth it was making me more and more annoyed and in my mind i was screaming ....stop talking about this subject!!!!! i just came here to chill with my close friends and family stop talking about this .

But now looking at things it wasn't meant to be. Because i had to live some things  first and meet certain people which would make me a even stronger person so when the time is right i will get it and use it to my full advantage for the challenges i would had ahead of me. But at that time the people I met and i didn't realize what in-packed they would have on me in the future in a positive way.

Yes i did end up drifting away and going off track with my diet training late night also drinking a bit too much.... skipping workouts  and meals, waking up late ect ect. But it wasn't a bad thing at all i was living (normal type of life)which these people had an in-packed on. And after all this it did help me realize who i really am, also made me a stronger person mentally and physically even thought they don't even know it.

Would i do it all again hell yeah im a stubborn f**k never regretted a bit of that part of my life actually looking back at it i do get a smile on my face every so often

So the lesson of this short blog is........well i think i leave it to you guys to figure it out.... :)

Love peace and big muscles.

NOBODY IS PERFECT AT THE END OF THE DAY WE ALL MAKE MISTAKES ITS IN OUR NATURE

I can honestly say that I have f&^%#@d up a decent amount of times in my life up until now. Some mistakes I am still paying for in one way or another, and others I managed to learn wise lessons from. The trick is to always move forward and never look back. There really is no point of looking back, it will just set you back. There is no point of thinking ‘what if’ or ‘maybe if I had done this’... sorry darlings, we do not have a time machine yet and thinking in this way is only a waste of time and energy in this day and age when we need as much as we can get. But I do believe that these mistakes and imperfections we have is a stamp of our originality and character – if we didn’t have them we would be a bunch of identical clones. And if anybody tells you that they never made any mistakes, they are lying. They are probably too scared to show their real self.
My message to you is yes, we all make mistakes. The sooner we accept them, the better it is for us because that is the only way to move forward towards better. Once a very respected English bodybuilder of the early ‘90s told me that if I looked back on my mistakes I probably wouldn’t be here right now, doing what I am doing...

Love, peace and big muscles always.

TO SUCCEED IN LIFE,YOU FIRST HAVE TO SEARCH WITHIN YOURSELF TO FIND REASON...

I was watching Kai Greene’s new documentary recently, and at the start of it he says that people who have a reason in life are the ones which succeed in life. But it is not enough for somebody else to give you a reason, you have to find it within; and that’s not easy.

So I did a little experiment, and applied it to myself. And I realised that when I have something to do for the next day, normally I will go to bed early and wake up early with that target in mind – that’s my reason. Usually that way, half of the battle was won because I knew what I was doing, and why and was not confused about anything. If you don’t have a reason in your life or goals, there is no real point in anything you do… you are probably just walking around like a headless chicken and are just burning time and living for the sake of it.

I guess to really put it out there, we are still animals… no matter of our appearance. And we need some sort of lines to follow in life because without those, we would get lost. But this doesn’t mean I am saying don’t enjoy life to the fullest… Im just saying you need those guide lines to give some sort of meaning to life.

Try it, get out there and find your reason if you haven’t already. You will see the difference.

Love, peace and big muscles.

CRAZY WORLD

We meet many different people throughout our lives for various reasons. Sometimes we help them, and sometimes they help us, but the funny thing is that we often meet them in the strangest, most unethical ways, which is kind of crazy... but hey, we live in a crazy world.

Out of all those people, there will always be some that will be there for you – at some point you both share parts of yourselves which very few know, even though at times you where both frustrated with each other. This bond will hold for years to come. You may not be near each other, maybe you won’t see each other for some time, but as soon as you do, all that lost time will disappear in a second. It is what I call unconditional love... at any moment, in any place you will be there for each other.

As I said, we live in one crazy world... and most of us will lose the plot at one point or another, even though we don’t like to admit it. As for why I am writing this post today? There is not one straight answer to tell you the truth... so I will just leave it at that :)

Life is short and sweet, even though at times it may seem to be the biggest BS. We are all here for some reason, big or small, and there is always a reason we meet certain people. There is no point in holding onto anger of any kind, there is so much going on around you if you take the time to look, that to tell you the truth you really don’t need anything more than that. The real deal at the end of the day is to find yourself and be happy. Enjoy your life!

Love, peace and big muscles,

OVER-TRAINING: COULD TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING END UP BEING BAD?

Even the best of us will at one point or another be the victims of over-training. I guess it’s a bump on the road that we all have to go through, so that we can understand what it really means. The most common reason of over-training is letting ourselves get motivated by our feelings; then we stop thinking with our brain and we let our heart take over. The outcome is pushing yourself for that extra mile even though you have the gut feeling that you really should stop. It is just like the double bladed knife I mentioned in the earlier post.... leaning too much on either side and you could end up hurting yourself.

Another reason why people over-train is because they see advanced athletes and pro training like crazy; lifting heavy weights and doing long sessions of cardio with little difficulties. So they think they can do the same. But we forget that most of them have support which helps them recover faster than the average Joe, or that some of them are genetically gifted in such a way that over-training doesn’t really mean anything to them.

So what do you really have to do? You have to learn to start reading your body, and spotting the signs of over-training. There is no point in panicking, just take a step back, take that extra breath of air and think about:

1. How is your body reacting to the workout? Are there improvements or is it all going downhill?
2. Your strength; are you getting stronger or weaker?
3. How much recovery time do you take after workouts? Do you maybe need more?
4. Are you doing too much cardio?
5. How is your diet? Do you maybe need more calories or a more frequent re-feed?
6. What is your mental state like, are you feeling down?

7. Washed-put feeling, tired, drained, lack of energy?

8. Are you stressed?

9. Have you been sleeping well or are you walking around like a zombie?

10. How is your appetite? Has it decreased?
11. Are you bored of the same gym routine or diet?
12. When was the last time you really got away from the gym?

And yes, over-training has happened to me a number of times too. And I had to pay the price, as we all have to. Sometime this is a small price, but sometimes it can be a lot bigger. But hopefully this post will help some of you avoid over-training or at least be able to spot the signs of it before it happens!

Love, peace and big muscles.

SOME OBSTACLES ARE JUST STEPPING STONES FOR GREATER ACHIEVEMENTS...

I would say that over this past year or so, I really realized that nothing comes as easy as we are told it does when we are little. I guess it is a way of not scaring us away from our dreams. But now it seems that the closer we get to the targets we want to achieve, the more personal, physical and psychological obstacles seem to pop up, as if out of nowhere. Now I know that this might also be a good thing, because this certain pain lets you know that you are on track and doing well. Little obstacles cannot do anything to stop you, even though at the time it might seem like the end of the world and you may think that there is no way that you can really continue....It is all just a test of life to see how much hunger you have inside.

It is like when a hiker sets out on a hike up a mountain. He has everything figured on that map he is carrying and he is happy as a fat kid with cake. The start of the hike is quite easy, he has energy, his food and supplies. Towards the middle however, as the mountain steepens, he becomes increasingly tired. His energy supplies start running low and as the air becomes lighter it becomes harder for him to breath. This is the point where the hiker faces his first test: he can easily turn around and go back, and say it was too much for him. But what about that feeling of personal failure that he would carry inside? Or he could push himself, knowing that he just needs to press on that little bit more and if he does, he will feel like the first person to have reached the top of the mountain.

Just want to say, don't be scared of these 'obstacles' or pain. It is a way of building up your character, and testing to see how much you really want those goals or achievements... be they professional or personal, big or small...

“If there is a will there is always a way”
“The sky is the limit”

Love, peace and big muscles.

THE RUSH OF BODYBUILDING

The other day I was asked which part of bodybuilding gives you that certain rush, that makes you want to go further and further, achieving more and more. Is it the buzz you get from going on stage in front of all those people, is it simply feeling that certain energy... or is it altogether something else?

I told them that I really hate going on the stage. It is the worst part for me, maybe because I am kind of a shy guy, and I never really enjoyed it. The thing that actually keeps me going is the challenge of competing against myself; trying to lift that heavier weight, trying to push to that certain rep, trying to achieve that certain sense of self-accomplishment. It is all about seeing how dedicated you are on the diet, seeing how far you are going for the target you set and trying to be the best for yourself and no-one else. When you finally see yourself improving and notice the areas that you still lack in, you can just try to tie them all together so you can achieve that perfect image that you had in mind when you just started.

Basically, it comes down to the rush of seeing yourself evolve in the gym – all the way from day one until that certain set date. It is like your body is a lump of clay and you are the artist; slowly day by day you mould the clay into a certain shape adding your own details. Then, after a certain amount of weeks of putting your heart and soul into it, you end up with something that can be called your best.

I thought that I would post this blog to let you all know why I love this sport so much. It is truly all about challenging myself – I do it for myself and no-one else.

Love, peace and big muscles.

SHOULDERS,TRAPS AND TRICEPS WORKOUT

Here is my yesterday’s workout which I did with Razmataaz. It was shoulders, traps and triceps. We were both in a rush so we had to improvise some exercises a little, but overall I think it’s an ok program. Enjoy!

FRONT DELTS

Exercise one: (heavy)
Hammer strength shoulder press
2-3 sets warm-up. 20 reps nice and light with a full range of motion
4 working sets:
• Set one 15 reps
• Set two 8-10 reps
• Set three 4-6 reps (heavy)
On these three sets increasing weight to failure.
• Set four 15+ reps with lightish weight just to get a nice pump. Finish with static 15 sec

Exercise two: (dropdowns)
Standing D/B lateral raises
3 working sets which each set consisting of 3 dropdowns of 10-12 reps

Exercise three: (medium/heavy)
Reverse grip z-bar raises
3 working sets
• Set one 12 reps
• Set two 12 reps
• Set three 10reps

REAR DELTS & TRAPS

Exercise one: (dropdowns)
Seated rear delt machine 3 working sets which each set consisting of 3 dropdowns of 10-12 reps

Exercise two:
Hammer strength shrug machine (heavy)
3 working sets
• Set one 10 reps
• Set two 10 reps

Use heavy weight to failure on each set. Also try to touch your ear lobes with your shoulder and bend slightly forwards while squeezing traps on the top on each set.

TRICEPS

Exercise one: (pre-exhaustion)
Seated one arm cable over head extension
3 working sets
• Set one 30 reps
• Set two 20 reps
• Set three 15-20 reps

I used lightish weights on these three sets as it is just a pre-exhaustion exercise but I did increase slightly the weight in each set. DON’T FORGET THE FULL RANGE OF MOTION GOING FOR THAT STRETCH.

Exercise two: (medium/heavy)
Straight bar cable push down
3 working sets
• Set one 12 reps
• Set two 10 reps
• Set three 10 reps

Nothing special on this exercise. Just remember full range of motion in each set and increasing weight. Don’t cheat.

Exercise three: (dropdowns)
Ropes push downs 3 working sets which each set consisting of 3 dropdowns of 10-12 reps

Love, peace and big muscles.