At a young age I was very active and into sports but never really into living that healthy way of life. I played football, wrestled, ran track, and was on the weightlifting team in Florida at Winter Springs High School. I was always pretty small and lean, but pretty strong when i was going through high school. I was on my schools weightlifting team all through High School and weighed at the time 165 lbs at 5% body-fat. I was really small but really strong for my size. After i graduated and was in college i worked at Gold’s Gym and continued training for track & field to jump the 110 hurdles, but kind of hard when your 5’9 and the hurdles are at chest level. I attended a bodybuilding show with a friend and it gave me a whole new outlook on what I wanted to do and how I wanted to feel. After that I became a personal trainer to learn more about the body and how it works with different forms of techniques and dieting. Bodybuilding is not easy and takes alot of dedication for anyone trying to succeed at this sport, but the one positive you can learn from this is it makes you into who you will be as you mature. Today I am still training hard and making gains on bettering myself to surpass every goal I set.
What is your favorite body part to train?
I like to train my arms because that used to be one of my weak points. Today my arms are in decent condition but I want to get them to 22 inches.
Can you give us a sample of your routine?
Off-season training varies for me to keep my body growing and producing lean muscle mass. I train heavy & hard but smart to keep the injuries away. My current routine looks like:
I start with stretching & light warm up on triceps pushdown for 2 sets. Then I go into triceps pushdowns with the v-bar for 4×10.Next I do weighted dips for 4xfailure, then I go into close grip bench press for 3×10,but only do half reps to keep tension on to the triceps and last I go into overhead triceps extensions for 7×8. As biceps I start with preacher curls 4×10, then move to single arm cable curls at 4 x10 but get a good squeeze at the top. Last I do straight bar bicep curls 4x failure.
I keep my set and rep range between 4 x 8-10. Its important to get a good amount of rest when your looking to grow to help rebuild your muscle tissue that was broken down front your workouts. I try to take 2 days off a week for recovery. The most important factor in my whole training is, you must Eat To Grow.
What kind of music do you listen to when you are working out?
I listen to a lot of different music depending on what I’m training that day. If I’m doing arms I got hip-hop on, if I’m doing legs I got hardcore rock. Majority of the music I listen to is a mix of everything as long as it gets me amped.
We all have as least one, what is the most embarrassing song on your ipod?
That song would have to be “The Price Is Right Theme Song”…What can I say I like show tunes.
What does your diet look like when your getting lean?
My diet is kind of backwards, I eat more when I’m trying to lean out than I do when I’m bulking. My diet consist of me eating : Protein 320-350grams, Carbs-350, Fat-60g. As I get closer to contest date I change things up as needed.
List the top 10 foods we would find in your kitchen:
Chicken
Lean Beef
Oatmeal
Brown Rice
Romaine Lettuce
Spinach
Sweet Potato
Sugar Free Pop Italian ice
Salsa
Grits
What kind of cardio do you like best and why?
They all have their advantages but HIIT because this helps out if your trying to burn calories as well as go for some great conditioning. Now I do mix it up just to take it easy on my joints while I’m dieting. If I have to do cardio i do it where i change it up each time I go so I’m not bored. I will lean towards a lower intensity of cardio to keep my joints healthy and burn off unwanted fat in area’s.
If you could give somebody only one bodybuilding tip what would it be?
Its ok if you miss a day in the gym but you want to make sure you get all your meals in, to get that complete look you are training those long weeks & months for. Diet is the key to a successful physique.
Tell us about your biggest bodybuilding/fitness influence?
My favorite’s would have to be Dexter Jackson. His physique is crazy and always comes in conditioned. I was glad to see him win the Olympia in 08. Next would have to be Flex Wheeler, he was just massive with the right amount of size and perfect conditioning I strive for when I diet.
Favorite Cheat Food?
Buffalo Chicken Fingers
Do you take any supplements?
I currently take: EFX-Karbolyn, EFX- K-Otic, Bpi-Blox, L-Glutamine, Creatine, Fish Oil, R-ALA, Multi-vitamin
What does the future hold for you?
Well for me just being healthy and growing my business to help others achieve their goal in fitness. I want to inspire those who want to make changes in their life but need a little push and guidance. I will competing next year and moving up a class to heavy weight and testing how I fair with everyone there on a national level stage. I want to push myself harder and set new goals for me achieve in life and in the gym.
Rock Baytops
Facebook: www.facebook.com/biggrock22
Bodyspace: https://bodyspace.bodybuilding.com/biggrock22/
Photo Creidts:
Greg Mohn- www.goodeggproductions.com/
Arno Nasshan – www.arnophotography.com
