Prepping for the Arizona Pro Show: Troy, Deshaun & Tarek
The Phoenix Pro Show is right around the corner and I will be there with three guys who are equally capable of winning- Grandpa Troy Alves, the deadly Tarek Elsetouhi, and Kiko Grimes better known as Deshaun. All three have completely different physiques and strengths that make either one a force to be reckoned with. One thing that I require of all the athletes I work with, is that they are disciplined, remain focused, honest, and trust me 100%. All of the trash talk and opinions in bodybuilding can ruin even the best athlete. Luckily for me, these three guys are good all around athletes that bodybuilding is more than a sport-it’s a mindset. Oh, and I like to trash talk too. Its fun. I just do it with these three in private.
Troy Alves, by all accounts is in the best shape of his life at the age of 44. When I met Troy back in 2005 he was coming off of a disaster 2004 Olympia defeat. I believe it was Victor Martinez who originally hooked us up. That was back when Vic was bringing it on big time with stellar mad conditioning at the Night of Champions, the GNC, and his impeccable condition for his first Mr. Olympia in 2004. Troy went on to give a good run to Gustavo Badell at the Ironman the last year before firing me. I felt really bad he took me off the payroll, but he put me back on for his comeback. According to him, his "last shot" was the 2009 Europa Pro in Orlando. Troy buckled it down and won it and went on to have a great year. He went on to prove that there was a lot left in him that had yet to be unleashed.
Tarek Elsetouhi who is deadly in any show he enters is now 261 pounds three weeks out. When he won the Arnold Amateur, he was only 220. Needless to say, he’s made crazy gains since then. We were introduced to each other by someone on the web a couple years ago. We got along from day one because he took his marching orders without deviation. Last year, he improved a whole lot but still struggled to place high. He was 6th in 2 pro shows and 8th in the third, but he's back and ready. Tarek was actually the first bodybuilder to ever stay at my home in preparation for a contest. Since his NY Pro show lockdown, the ProCard Hotel opened its doors to Troy before last year’s Atlantic City win. (Actually he got 3rd but I still joke around and call it his second pro win because that’s where I thought he should have placed. But we won’t get into politics).
Then there's Deshaun. We started working together after an odd chain of events. During the Tampa Pro Show, Tarek saw Deshaun on the bus we were taking from the airport to the hotel. He asked me if I knew that “big guy” who was on the bus with his wife. Tarek was a bit disappointed when I said that I did not know him. I was wondering why and he told me, "he just seemed like an honest guy. I can tell from his demeanor”, Tarek said. It turned out that Deshaun was in the show and Tarek met him backstage. Tarek said, “He’s a really decent guy with his head on straight. I think if you helped him he could be good." At the following show in Dallas Deshaun looked really good. I was speaking with George Farah about the show and I told him, "This Deshaun is dangerous as hell!" George agreed and should have known cause he has been Deshaun’s main go-to guru who has played a big role in helping Deshaun get to the top. In a month or so, I got an email from Deshaun asking for me to give him some guidance. I told him that I was too busy. However, the more I got thinking about it, my mind kept on going back to Tarek saying he "can tell" when people have a good head on their shoulders. That’s a treasure when you can find that combo. I asked a few people about Deshaun and the response was the same. Everyone said, " Great guy." Not that cliche type answer but the praise seemed to come with conviction and authenticity. So about 12 weeks out I e-mailed him to see if he was still game.
Contest Preperation
Ok the preps. Troy's prep is off the charts and so is Deshaun's . Tarek's is just right. Troy has been on, compared to most bodybuilders, a very high carb diet of about 350 grams a day with little to no cardio. He has been in shape since last year. It took a long time to get in shape which means he never did anything too radical to get that way. The benefit; when you take your time, don't rush things and really listen to your body, the metabolism does not crash and you don't get a rebound after a show where you look like the Pillsbury Dough Boy 3 weeks after a show. As an overview he has been on cardio only for the final 6 weeks and only 20 minutes a day. His diet is typically something like this:
Meal 1
3 or 4 packets of grits
10 egg whites, sometimes 13
Meal 2
Carb drink with 75 grams
protein powder with 50 grams. Once in a while 75 grams
Meal 3
10 oz turkey
1-2 cups rice
Meal 4
10 oz fish
large yam
Meal 5
50 gram protein shake
Meal 6
12 egg whites
Deshaun is on the other end of the spectrum - hard diet, hard cardio, hard everything. His typical day is about 8 meals with egg whites (15) and a small bowl of oatmeal at meal 1 , 8-12 oz chicken or fish at 5 with 2 to 350 gram protein shakes. He does 45 minutes of cardio after training and again after an afternoon training session. Sometimes, he will have another 50-70 grams of carbs in the afternoon. For all you "you gotta have a cheat day" fanatics. I have tried that. He gains 20 pounds. Worse, he continues to gain after coming back onto his diet. Working with Kiko is like watching a stock. It’s up and you are making money. Now it’s down and you are losing. Now its having unbelievable returns and you are planning when to plan the summer vacation on Riviera. Now it’s crashing and you wish you had sold while it was way up. That’s his body. One day he's large and in charge. The next day, he looks like he's ready to ship out to a drought stricken country. Two weeks to go. Yesterday he was off the charts. Posted a crunch shot on a web site. Today he's off. Not from training. Just off- flat and watery. He’s by far the most baffling bodybuilder I have ever worked with, but He’s been a welcome challenge.
Tarek has taken the "build the fat off approach." Babies continue to eat, pound for pound, more food than at any time in the human life cycle. What happens to their fat? They grow and it goes away. Tarek had been off from training for several months when he started his prep but was pretty lean. I didn't see any real wisdom in dieting an already lean body for the show so I figured it would be better to grow into the show. As he has filled out, he has gotten harder and harder week to week especially the final 6 weeks. His diet is typically something like this:
Meal 1
70-100 grams carbs from oats
50 gr protein shake
Train
Meal 2
300 grams chicken
200 grams potato
Meal 3
300 grams chicken
200 grams potatoe
train and 30 to 45 minutes cardio
Meal 4
60 grams ECDY N7
Meal 5
8 oz fish
salad
Meal 6
12 egg whites of 40 grams ECDY N7
The take away message and a reminder for myself, is that no two bodies are alike. Sometimes I look at Troy's plan and laugh. When he was doing no cardio I used to call him and make fun, "Troy you need two 40 minute nap sessions today!" It was my way to jokingly mock most of the other competitors who were likely killing themselves on cardio. On the other hand, I look at Deshaun torturing himself with two cardio sessions, hard ones and comparatively almost a no carb diet. The bottom line: You have to do what you have to do to get in shape. There are no cutting corners.
The Phoenix Pro Show is right around the corner and I will be there with three guys who are equally capable of winning- Grandpa Troy Alves, the deadly Tarek Elsetouhi, and Kiko Grimes better known as Deshaun. All three have completely different physiques and strengths that make either one a force to be reckoned with. One thing that I require of all the athletes I work with, is that they are disciplined, remain focused, honest, and trust me 100%. All of the trash talk and opinions in bodybuilding can ruin even the best athlete. Luckily for me, these three guys are good all around athletes that bodybuilding is more than a sport-it’s a mindset. Oh, and I like to trash talk too. Its fun. I just do it with these three in private.
Troy Alves, by all accounts is in the best shape of his life at the age of 44. When I met Troy back in 2005 he was coming off of a disaster 2004 Olympia defeat. I believe it was Victor Martinez who originally hooked us up. That was back when Vic was bringing it on big time with stellar mad conditioning at the Night of Champions, the GNC, and his impeccable condition for his first Mr. Olympia in 2004. Troy went on to give a good run to Gustavo Badell at the Ironman the last year before firing me. I felt really bad he took me off the payroll, but he put me back on for his comeback. According to him, his "last shot" was the 2009 Europa Pro in Orlando. Troy buckled it down and won it and went on to have a great year. He went on to prove that there was a lot left in him that had yet to be unleashed.
Tarek Elsetouhi who is deadly in any show he enters is now 261 pounds three weeks out. When he won the Arnold Amateur, he was only 220. Needless to say, he’s made crazy gains since then. We were introduced to each other by someone on the web a couple years ago. We got along from day one because he took his marching orders without deviation. Last year, he improved a whole lot but still struggled to place high. He was 6th in 2 pro shows and 8th in the third, but he's back and ready. Tarek was actually the first bodybuilder to ever stay at my home in preparation for a contest. Since his NY Pro show lockdown, the ProCard Hotel opened its doors to Troy before last year’s Atlantic City win. (Actually he got 3rd but I still joke around and call it his second pro win because that’s where I thought he should have placed. But we won’t get into politics).
Then there's Deshaun. We started working together after an odd chain of events. During the Tampa Pro Show, Tarek saw Deshaun on the bus we were taking from the airport to the hotel. He asked me if I knew that “big guy” who was on the bus with his wife. Tarek was a bit disappointed when I said that I did not know him. I was wondering why and he told me, "he just seemed like an honest guy. I can tell from his demeanor”, Tarek said. It turned out that Deshaun was in the show and Tarek met him backstage. Tarek said, “He’s a really decent guy with his head on straight. I think if you helped him he could be good." At the following show in Dallas Deshaun looked really good. I was speaking with George Farah about the show and I told him, "This Deshaun is dangerous as hell!" George agreed and should have known cause he has been Deshaun’s main go-to guru who has played a big role in helping Deshaun get to the top. In a month or so, I got an email from Deshaun asking for me to give him some guidance. I told him that I was too busy. However, the more I got thinking about it, my mind kept on going back to Tarek saying he "can tell" when people have a good head on their shoulders. That’s a treasure when you can find that combo. I asked a few people about Deshaun and the response was the same. Everyone said, " Great guy." Not that cliche type answer but the praise seemed to come with conviction and authenticity. So about 12 weeks out I e-mailed him to see if he was still game.
Contest Preperation
Ok the preps. Troy's prep is off the charts and so is Deshaun's . Tarek's is just right. Troy has been on, compared to most bodybuilders, a very high carb diet of about 350 grams a day with little to no cardio. He has been in shape since last year. It took a long time to get in shape which means he never did anything too radical to get that way. The benefit; when you take your time, don't rush things and really listen to your body, the metabolism does not crash and you don't get a rebound after a show where you look like the Pillsbury Dough Boy 3 weeks after a show. As an overview he has been on cardio only for the final 6 weeks and only 20 minutes a day. His diet is typically something like this:
Meal 1
3 or 4 packets of grits
10 egg whites, sometimes 13
Meal 2
Carb drink with 75 grams
protein powder with 50 grams. Once in a while 75 grams
Meal 3
10 oz turkey
1-2 cups rice
Meal 4
10 oz fish
large yam
Meal 5
50 gram protein shake
Meal 6
12 egg whites
Deshaun is on the other end of the spectrum - hard diet, hard cardio, hard everything. His typical day is about 8 meals with egg whites (15) and a small bowl of oatmeal at meal 1 , 8-12 oz chicken or fish at 5 with 2 to 350 gram protein shakes. He does 45 minutes of cardio after training and again after an afternoon training session. Sometimes, he will have another 50-70 grams of carbs in the afternoon. For all you "you gotta have a cheat day" fanatics. I have tried that. He gains 20 pounds. Worse, he continues to gain after coming back onto his diet. Working with Kiko is like watching a stock. It’s up and you are making money. Now it’s down and you are losing. Now its having unbelievable returns and you are planning when to plan the summer vacation on Riviera. Now it’s crashing and you wish you had sold while it was way up. That’s his body. One day he's large and in charge. The next day, he looks like he's ready to ship out to a drought stricken country. Two weeks to go. Yesterday he was off the charts. Posted a crunch shot on a web site. Today he's off. Not from training. Just off- flat and watery. He’s by far the most baffling bodybuilder I have ever worked with, but He’s been a welcome challenge.
Tarek has taken the "build the fat off approach." Babies continue to eat, pound for pound, more food than at any time in the human life cycle. What happens to their fat? They grow and it goes away. Tarek had been off from training for several months when he started his prep but was pretty lean. I didn't see any real wisdom in dieting an already lean body for the show so I figured it would be better to grow into the show. As he has filled out, he has gotten harder and harder week to week especially the final 6 weeks. His diet is typically something like this:
Meal 1
70-100 grams carbs from oats
50 gr protein shake
Train
Meal 2
300 grams chicken
200 grams potato
Meal 3
300 grams chicken
200 grams potatoe
train and 30 to 45 minutes cardio
Meal 4
60 grams ECDY N7
Meal 5
8 oz fish
salad
Meal 6
12 egg whites of 40 grams ECDY N7
The take away message and a reminder for myself, is that no two bodies are alike. Sometimes I look at Troy's plan and laugh. When he was doing no cardio I used to call him and make fun, "Troy you need two 40 minute nap sessions today!" It was my way to jokingly mock most of the other competitors who were likely killing themselves on cardio. On the other hand, I look at Deshaun torturing himself with two cardio sessions, hard ones and comparatively almost a no carb diet. The bottom line: You have to do what you have to do to get in shape. There are no cutting corners.
uke:
