The popular bodybuilder met with journalists and gave answers to questions asked during the interview. The most interesting ones are listed below.
Reporter (R): There is information that your weight was only 135 lbs when you graduated from high school. But you took part in your first bodybuilding competition in 5 years. You demonstrated a pumped-up body then. How did you manage to achieve this result?
Doug (D): 135 lbs is rather an exaggerated number! I think my weight then was in the range of 125-130 lbs, no more. But I’ve always had a craving for sports. I played sports regularly in high school. I started paying more attention to academics than to athletics after going to College.
The thing is that I didn’t know anything about proper nutrition back then. Besides, I didn’t eat much and moved a lot. So my body was never big. But in my freshman year, I became interested in bodybuilding competitions. Therefore, it was just necessary to get acquainted with the ways to increase the relief of the body.
My neighbor in the dorm was a fan of bodybuilding. He worked out regularly and looked pretty pumped up. I decided to follow his example. I started not just going to the gym but also studying proper nutrition that helps increase muscle mass. It was this academic approach to training and nutrition that allowed me to transform from “Miller Lite” to a pumped-up guy with a relief body.
R: You won the most prestigious natural bodybuilding show that took place in 2009. What did getting the Yorton Cup mean to you?
D: It was a really important experience for me to take part in such a prestigious show and even more to become a winner. 39 professional bodybuilders from all over the world took part in it. Some of them were quite well-known persons already at that time. It was an honor just to be on the same stage as them. It was an indescribable feeling when my name was announced as the winner. I felt like I was on top of the world. This gave me the strength and confidence to conquer even greater heights.
R: Tell us about the specifics of your work out. How do you manage to maintain such incredible muscle mass over the years?
D: I prefer the higher volume approach. This is a priority in my training. You see, 1.5 hours of training on the necessary parts of the body is not enough. Training that includes 5 exercises consisting of 3-4 approaches is usually ineffective. I stick to the compound movements. I’ll start off, you know, my workouts with deadlifts and squats, and you know, hack squats and barbell rows and the big power movements. In my opinion, this is what helps me keep in great physical shape. I believe that everyone knows his physical capabilities. It is with this in mind, as well as taking into account the desired result, that you should make a training program.
R: What advice can you give to young people who want to build muscle mass? Are they supposed to engage in intensive training? Or is it worth starting with small loads, developing endurance, and gradually increasing the load?
D: It will be difficult for a novice bodybuilder if he begins to build muscle mass through intensive training. He will feel pain in the muscles, which will not allow him to fully train later. In addition, his energy will be spent very quickly during intensive training. Therefore, I would recommend starting with a low volume approach, gradually increasing loads and eventually moving to a higher volume approach. In addition, it is important to note that a lot of calories are lost during training. Therefore, a novice bodybuilder will have to eat a lot of healthy food that helps build muscle mass.