Click Here for Free Bodybuilding and Fitness Magazine Subscription
Article care of Don Lemmon
Don:
What did you eat yesterday and today?
Rob:
I pretty much eat the same types of foods each day...I just alternate the
foods each meal. Always have a big portion of meat (steak, chicken, eggs,etc.)
and moderate amounts of a complex carb food (yams, rice, potatoes, etc.)
I don't keep my fat intake too low. I like to keep it around 20-30%, which
is usually in the form of nuts, oils, and from my protein sources. I usually
eat about 5-6 times per day...and some of the meals are liquid protein
drinks with about 100gm of protein!
Don:
Why do you eat like this?
Rob:
I eat this way because, it helps me recover more quickly and build more
lean tissue as well. I am a very active person with my training and also
my personal training business. I need the level of calories that my diet
provides me. Once I begin dieting for a show...the carb intake becomes
less, but I replace the lost calories from them in the form of fats and
proteins...and I increase my activity levels increase with the cardio.
Don:
What are the obvious weak links (you don't eat like this year round)?
Rob:
The weak links are not taking in enough calories or missing meals....I
dont have a problem with keeping my diet clean. The biggest problem is
not eating enough throughout the day at work.
Don:
What did you do last in the gym?
Rob:
I trained legs...and MAN was I sore for a few days!!
Don:
What is the next training session like and why?
Rob:
I will train chest and biceps, which is actually today as I am typing this!
Don:
Tell me something you think everybody should learn about you.
Rob:
I try to be a balanced person at all times. Dont go to extremes, because
once one extreme is experienced the opposite extreme is sure to follow!
DON: What is the single
most aggravating thing that comes to mind when someone brings up 'what
they know' about weight gain?
ROB:
Individuals these days tend to complicate their routines by reading magazines
and taking advice from amateur consultants. They do not have The KNOW HOW!
DON:
I'm telling you, it's almost funny. People come to me all the time with
"I read this and I read that, so it must be" kind of attitudes. Or they
say to me "I have tried everything and NOTHING works. It has to be STEROIDS!"
It's so fantastic. The bridge between what the media sells them, and what
actually works. They get fed up with one product or one routine not working
and blame it on genetics or drugs.
ROB:
Physique and health progress should be continual and consistent not occasional
and inconsistent. Success is achieved through the same means for each and
every individual. Forget about the excuse of having below par genetics.
We are of the same species. We all breathe the same air, digest food
virtually the same, share vital organs of life, and grow muscle tissue
through the same processes. Some are slower than others but when I hear
this is an excuse for drugs, I know they aren't eating right nor adhering
to either exercise technique or training frequency.
DON:
Tell me more brother!
ROB:
A muscle has to be stimulated to respond and the response is and can only
can be growth (hypertrophy), maintenance, or loss of tissue (atrophy).
Weight training is the preferred stimulus for muscle growth but low intensity
weight training will only minimally stimulate the muscle to maintain its
current disposition. If you are satisfied with your current progress, work
easily, maintain easily, sure. But work easy too long or too hard too often,
you'll regress. Want to grow? Work HARD. Work infrequently or at least
pay attention to your ability to recover between sessions.
DON:
Here is one magic system. Pick a routine. Follow it EVERY day until progress
halts. Now, begin training every other day until progress slows. When this
occurs, train only every third day. The final phase when you see no positive
result is a twice a week training schedule. When that dries, start a whole
new routine. This could last you a month, or even two months, but it allows
for all the obvious.
ROB:
Well, exactly, because after stimulus, the next piece of the puzzle is
recovery which ONLY takes place if adequate rest and nutrition are adhered
to. Resting is the easy part of it. You just stay away from weights
between sessions until you progress. You do not return to training
the muscles at least until the pain from your previous workout has subsided
once you reach the level of a truly advanced athlete. Just because
soreness is gone, doesn't mean you're ready for more! That only means that
the nerve endings have partially recovered! The muscle still has not overcompensated
from the prior weight training, and has thus, not grown.
Don:
You have a modeling career going as well right now. Tell me a little about
that. A funny story and a horror story.
ROB:
Honestly...I wouldnt call it a career. I have just did a photo shoot with
Eric Jacobson of Impact Photography who works with a lot of physique atheletes.
This may open up more opportunities in the modeling business for me from
the work we produced. So I really dont have many stories to tell about
modeling..YET!! LOL
Don:
What do you do for your guns?
ROB:
I keep things pretty basic. 2 exercises of choice for both biceps and triceps.
My arms have always been a genetic gift. Im not saying I dont train them
like an animal, but they respond very easily. I keep my rep range between
6-10 for each exercise and only ONE work set for each exercise. Slam..bam..thank
you Maam...get out and grow bro! The actual exercises vary depending feel
and mood.
Don:
You mean if one head of the bicep or tricep feels overtrained or lagging,
you hit a specific exercise that day? Calves. How do you get Joe Pencil
Neck to grow his calves the fastest?
ROB:
Yes. One trick I have found to be pretty successful is to use rest pause
repetitions. For example..seated calf raises done to failure and rack the
weight for 10-15 seconds...unrack it and do as many as you can...rest again...and
repeat. Another thing I have used is to super set seated calf raises with
standing calf raises...making it a pre-exhaust type of exercise.
Don:
How much do you charge a session?
ROB:
I charge $60 an hour
Don:
Yeah but Heavy Duty sessions dont last an hour so is that a weekly rate?
What one female movie star do you want to meet and why?
ROB:
Nope. It's per session. Probably Madonna.
Don:
Ever since she boinked her trainer and had the baby every trainer in the
World thinks it's their turn!
ROB:
No, laughs, man! Because she has been so successful in life in whatever
she chose to do, which of course is because she did it "her way". I would
also like to show her what a "REAL" personal trainer can do...LOL
Don:
See what I mean Big Boy? Laughs.
ROB:
There ya go bro.
Don:
So when are those hardcore videos of yours due out?
ROB:
Soon. Very soon. You will be the first to know. It is being edited by GMV video
in NYC and will be out and ready shortly.