In this episode I interview Eric Helms, who’s one of the premier natural bodybuilding coaches in the game.
He’s a member of the 3DMJ coaching team and is himself a professional natural bodybuilder and strength athlete, as well as an author and credentialed scientist with several peer-reviewed publications under his belt.
I reference his work quite frequently in my writing, actually, so it was a real pleasure to get the chance to interview him.
And as you’ve gathered from the title, this interview is on how to prep for a natural bodybuilding show, and Eric covers everything ranging from caloric intake and macro breakdowns to weightlifting and cardio strategies, supplementation, and much more.
So if you’re getting ready to prep for a show or are considering doing one, you definitely need to listen to the interview. It can save you from all kinds of trials and tribulations.
And even if you’re like me and have no intention of competing but are just working on building your best body ever, you’re going to get a lot of out this interview too, because the principles Eric talks about apply to everyone looking to lose fat and not muscle–not just competitive bodybuilders.
So, I hope I’ve sufficiently whetted your appetite. Let’s get to the interview…
TIME STAMPS
YouTube:
2:39 – Eric’s background on contest prep and personal experience.
4:15 – What are the biggest contest prep mistakes and myths?
12:14 – Do you need to manipulate water, salt, and potassium?
15:05 – How do you contest prep correctly?
19:41 – What kind of cardio should someone do?
28:51 – Tips on how to recover faster.
33:06 – Tips to maximize your nutrition.
40:32 – What nutrition should someone have on a refeed?
42:56 – How do you determine someone’s maintenance?
50:26 – How do you go about reducing calories?
53:11 – Do you increase exercise throughout the prep?
56:32 – Is there any supplementation you recommend?
1:00:31 – What does peak week look like?
1:05:39 – Where can we find more of your stuff?
Audio:
5:16 – Eric’s background on contest prep and personal experience.
6:52 – What are the biggest contest prep mistakes and myths?
14:51 – Do you need to manipulate water, salt, and potassium?
17:42 – How do you contest prep correctly?
22:18 – What kind of cardio should someone do?
31:28 – Tips on how to recover faster.
35:43 – Tips to maximize your nutrition.
43:09 – What nutrition should someone have on a refeed?
45:33 – How do you determine someone’s maintenance?
53:03 – How do you go about reducing calories?
55:48 – Do you increase exercise throughout the prep?
59:09 – Is there any supplementation you recommend?
What did you think of this episode? Have anything else to share? Let me know in the comments below!
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Many companies use shipping and handling fees to increase their profit margins, but here at Legion, we hate profits, so our shipping is free!
Okay, so we do dig on profits, but we also go in for happy customers, and free shipping works like gangbusters. So, if you live in the UK or Canada, your order ships free when it’s over $99.
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Free Worldwide Shipping & Returns
Many companies use shipping and handling fees to increase their profit margins, but here at Legion, we hate profits, so our shipping is free!
Okay, so we do dig on profits, but we also go in for happy customers, and free shipping works like gangbusters. So, if you’re outside the USA, your order ships free when it’s over $199.
Why the restriction on international orders? Unfortunately, shipping abroad is very expensive, and if we didn’t require a minimum order size, we’d lose a lot of money. But! We're also hustling to improve our international logistics and will be passing our savings along to our international customers.
Also, if you don’t absolutely love our stuff for whatever reason, we don’t request you deliver it to a PO box in the Gobi Desert by carrier pigeon.
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Some popular pre-workouts are all-natural. Some contain the right mix of high-quality ingredients. Some provide clinically effective doses. But only Pulse checks each of these boxes.
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Analyzed for purity and potency in a state-of-the-art ISO 17025 accredited lab by Labdoor™, the gold standard of third-party lab testing.
Analyzed for purity and potency in a state-of-the-art ISO 17025 accredited lab, the gold standard of third-party lab testing.
This product doesn’t just “contain natural ingredients”—every ingredient is naturally sourced from plants and animals. This product contains no artificial or synthetic sweeteners or flavors of any kind.
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