http://www.primefitnesstraining.com/2014/05/congrats-to-justin-flowers-may-2014.html
Since the writing of my first article 10 months ago, Justin and I have directed our efforts at adding more mass to his frame through some dietary changes as well as exercise programming modifications and the results have been astonishing as you'll see in his most recent progress pics. Read on to see how Justin added 20lbs. of solid mass to his frame in less than a year, naturally!
10 Months ago, April 2015
178 lbs. 9% bodyfat
Currently, February 2015
198 lbs. 14% bodyfat
Q: It’s been
a little under a year since our last interview and you have managed to add 20
lbs. to your frame. What has been the
secret to adding so much bulk in such a short amount of time?
A:
I’ve been eating. I started out fat and
my focus was becoming lean, so I was always cutting calories until I achieved
my desired body fat. This round has been
the opposite; I’ve been eating at a caloric surplus for growth – mostly lots of
protein and some carbs. The difference
is noticeable, both in the amount of energy I have for lifts and the resulting
growth afterwards. The other change I’ve
made is my workouts are typically about 1.5hrs instead of an hour, giving me a
greater chance to push to muscular failure.
Other than that, I’ve been consistent: I still lift 5-6 days a week
(hasn’t changed), with a greater focus on muscule hypertrophy and less
cardio.
Q: Naturally,
every pound that you’ve gained hasn’t been pure lean muscle. What percentage would you say is lean muscle
and how much came from body fat?
A:
I honestly don’t know, I haven’t taken an electrical impedance reading in a
while, because I haven’t cared as much about fat – the emphasis has been on
muscle growth. To gain muscle you have
to eat at a caloric surplus, and so every pound is naturally gained with some
fat. If I had to take a guess, maybe my
BF is 14-15%. Even at this body fat percentage I think I look better than I did
at my leanest point last year, but this is subjective.
Q: What is
your approach to cardio these days?
A:
Never heard of it. (Kidding.) Since I have been aiming for a caloric
surplus every day, I don’t have a need to be doing massive amounts of cardio
and creating a calorie deficit. I mainly
do cardio as a warm-up to get my blood pumping throughout my extremities before
lifting, and that’s about it.
Q: How much
protein do you consume per day?
A:
I legitimately consume as much protein as possible every meal. I eat minimum
250g of protein a day (~1.2x my bodyweight), with protein as my centerpiece of
every meal. It helps with satiation so I
stay full for a long time, and the calories are not empty – they are fuel my
body is churning through every moment of the day, and especially important the
48 hours after lifting.
Q: Some
males prefer to stay lighter and leaner (kind of a surfer or swimmer look) as
opposed to a smoother, bulkier look (like a football player). Which look is more aesthetically pleasing to
you?
A:
Are we talking wide receiver or linebacker? I definitely prefer somewhere in
the middle, with visible abs (not too smooth) but still a lot of mass. When people look at my body I want them to
see a reflection of how hard I work to sculpt it. To me, some people are genetically born with
the surfer/swimmer aesthetic, but nobody ever pops out with huge muscles. Even with genetics in your favor, huge
muscles always take a lot of hard
work and dedication.
Q: Which
bodypart do you feel you’ve made the most improvement in this past year?
A:
Never thought I’d say this, but my arms! I’ve always struggled putting on any
arm mass, with weak triceps and puny biceps.
My anterior/lateral deltoids didn’t even exist. I’ve been motivated to push these suckers as
hard as I could, and combined with the gift of food for growth, they are
finally starting to match the rest of my body.
Q: Which bodyparts
do you feel you still need to bring up to get the perfect proportions?
A:
I have an obsession with back growth right now.
I want it to pop. I had heard the
expression that “[bodybuilding] competitions are won from the back” but I never
really placed emphasis on it until the other parts of my body started to
outpace it. It’s so awkward when you can
visibly tell a person works hard on most of their muscle groups and then obviously
skips one. People bashing others for
skipping leg day should equally value a well-built back. A wide, strong back with big long lats is
everything and next on my checklist.
Q: As you
look ahead to this next year of training, specifically, what physique goals do
you have your sights set on?
A:
As mentioned above, I want to continue with back growth from every angle
possible. I want my deadlifts to go
up. I want to even out my upper and
inner chest. I want my arms (especially
triceps and lats) to continue to gain size.
The beauty of having a training split is that you get to work on many
different goals simultaneously. But –
first things first – summer. I want to
hit summer 2015 bigger and leaner than ever, and then get back to bulking.
Q: Building
muscle and dropping bodyfat are two separate goals. Which is easier for you and why?
A:
Dropping bodyfat is 3,000% harder, in my opinion. You can bust your butt in the gym 6 days a
week, but to lose bodyfat you need to be constantly focused on the other 23 hours in a day, and that’s a
lot of time/dedication required that most people just don’t have to give. Bulking is easy – no painful hunger
sensations, you just eat and train hard. Few hours of focus/day.
On
the other hand, I’m really glad both come in cycles because it’s difficult to
do either for too long. After bulking
for a while, I’ve been getting nauseated slamming protein shakes and steaks and
mass amounts of chicken. While I’ve been
surprised at my newfound muscle’s ability to metabolically offset more calories
(I can eat so much more without
getting fat!), I think my body is telling me it’s time to shed.
Q: What is
your advice to someone who is on the leaner, lighter side and is looking to add
some serious muscle to their frame?
A: Eat [properly]! This is my first official bulk and I’m amazed at how
much mass I was able to put on just by eating properly. And by properly I don’t mean McDonald’s all
the time. I mean protein. Eat mass amounts of protein until you can’t
anymore, and then eat a little more. Mix
in carbohydrates (contrary to popular diets) to ensure your muscle cells are
filled with glycogen (think of it as gasoline for your engine) and you have the
recipe for fuel for strong lifts and
the macronutrients to repair, which leads to muscle growth.
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