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Shorter Bodybuilders Have Advantage
The Giant Killer
By Two-Time 212 Olympia Champion Shaun Clarida
Sponsored by MUTANT
Q: I am curious, how tall are your parents?
A: My mom is 5-foot-5 and my dad is 6-foot-3. Obviously, my stature came more so from my mom’s genes. We all get shorter as we age. In my younger years I was 5-foot-2, but now I think it’s more like somewhere between 5 feet tall and 5-foot-1. In my book, being shorter as a bodybuilder isn’t a bad thing. It does allow you to “fill out” more completely than a taller man, especially if that taller man has exceptionally long arms and legs for his frame. Look at someone like Jamie Christian aka Jamie the Giant. He’s 6-foot-5 but even at 300 pounds or more onstage, he still needs more mass to match up with the thicker guys in the Open who average 5-foot-7 to 5-foot-10. People even say Andrew Jacked needs more mass at 6-foot-2. Height is something you can’t change or control anyway, so it’s pointless to fixate on it. You will always be happier in life focusing on things that are under your control rather than things that are not.
Real Friends Have Your Back
Q: You made an interesting post in January titled “KNOW YOUR CIRCLE,” which read: “Make sure everybody in your boat is rowing and not drilling holes when you’re not looking.” Without naming names, have you had people in your inner circle who you thought were on your side but really were not?
A: I haven’t had those issues in a very long time because I cut those types of people out of my life early in my career. Anyone who knows me knows that I’m very private and I keep my circle small. It’s my wife, three or four good friends, my coach Matt Jansen, and that’s it. There will always be people who want to ride your coattails and gain recognition from being around you, people that want to say they train with you or they’re your friend. I’ve been doing this almost 20 years and I’m aware that not everyone has good intentions. There were a lot of people who only wanted to be around me after I became the Olympia champion. There were people in years past who I thought were friends, but they didn’t really support me or what I did. Not everyone is going to have your back. It is what it is. You’re always better off having just a few real friends than a ton of fake or fair-weather friends, and that just goes for life in general. I have the same friends now that I did when I weighed 130 pounds!
Post-workout Nutrition Window
Q: Please tell me how you feel about the post-workout nutrition window. Do you always have a shake right after training? What’s in that? Then, when do you eat a solid meal and what does it consist of?
A: I like to drink a shake right after I finish training that consists of 50-60 grams of whey protein isolate, and in the off-season, I will add carbs to that. The whey is Iso Surge from Mutant, and my two favorite flavors are Mint Chocolate Chip and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip. I go home, shower up, and then I like to start eating my post-workout meal within 45 minutes of finishing the shake. That solid meal is going to be either beef or bison for the protein, and white rice or pasta for the carbohydrates. After my workouts I feel really depleted, so I want something that’s filling, wholesome, and digests easily for me.
Staying Lean Year-round
Q: How lean do you like to stay year-round, and how lean do you feel most bodybuilders should try to stay? I hear different opinions about this, and some people tell me if I don’t bulk up and allow myself to get a bit fatter, I won’t ever put much muscle on.
A: I believe in “clean bulking,” and I do utilize the same foods I eat in prep like lean turkey, bison, and beef in my off-season, but in bigger quantities. I stay within “striking distance” of my stage weight, about 10-15 pounds. You do have to put a little bit of fat on to gain muscle, but the key phrase here is “little bit.” Cheat meals can be a good tool, especially if you have weaker body parts. I like to put my cheat meals around leg or chest days, and personally I will have those after the workout rather than before. Say it’s chest day. I will have a pretty decent meal before the workout, but nothing that’s going to overly stuff my stomach. After the workout I will have something like a burger that’s calorically dense to feed the muscle and help it recover. I hear some guys say they have sushi as a “cheat meal,” but that’s not enough calories for my needs.
Wouldn’t Change a Thing
Q: If you could go back and change how you did your training, diet, and supplement use over your career to maximize progress, what would you change and do differently? What have you found has worked best and what would you advise upcoming bodybuilders to do more or less of?
A: I really wouldn’t change anything about the way I train. The way I train now with mostly heavy free weights is the way I’ve always trained. The only thing I would change is that I would have started earlier. I started bodybuilding at 23 years old, because until then I didn’t know much about it. I would have loved to have started at 17 or 18 and done a few teenage national shows and maybe more natural shows. But I don’t regret it because everything happens for a reason. But as far as training, nutrition, and all of that, I wouldn’t change a thing.
Instagram @shaunclarida
YouTube: Shaun Clarida
Shaun’s MUTANT® Stack
ISO SURGE™
FLEX FOOD™
BCAA 9.7
GEAAR™
MADNESS
PUMP
CREAKONG
CARNITINE
GLUTAMINE
For more information, visit iammutant.com
DISCUSS ON OUR FORUMSSUBSCRIBE TO MD TODAY
GET OFFICIAL MD STUFFVISIT OUR STORE
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
ALSO, MAKE SURE TO FOLLOW US ON:
FACEBOOKTWITTERINSTAGRAM YOUTUBE
Shorter Bodybuilders Have Advantage
The Giant Killer
By Two-Time 212 Olympia Champion Shaun Clarida
Sponsored by MUTANT
Q: I am curious, how tall are your parents?
A: My mom is 5-foot-5 and my dad is 6-foot-3. Obviously, my stature came more so from my mom’s genes. We all get shorter as we age. In my younger years I was 5-foot-2, but now I think it’s more like somewhere between 5 feet tall and 5-foot-1. In my book, being shorter as a bodybuilder isn’t a bad thing. It does allow you to “fill out” more completely than a taller man, especially if that taller man has exceptionally long arms and legs for his frame. Look at someone like Jamie Christian aka Jamie the Giant. He’s 6-foot-5 but even at 300 pounds or more onstage, he still needs more mass to match up with the thicker guys in the Open who average 5-foot-7 to 5-foot-10. People even say Andrew Jacked needs more mass at 6-foot-2. Height is something you can’t change or control anyway, so it’s pointless to fixate on it. You will always be happier in life focusing on things that are under your control rather than things that are not.
Real Friends Have Your Back
Q: You made an interesting post in January titled “KNOW YOUR CIRCLE,” which read: “Make sure everybody in your boat is rowing and not drilling holes when you’re not looking.” Without naming names, have you had people in your inner circle who you thought were on your side but really were not?
A: I haven’t had those issues in a very long time because I cut those types of people out of my life early in my career. Anyone who knows me knows that I’m very private and I keep my circle small. It’s my wife, three or four good friends, my coach Matt Jansen, and that’s it. There will always be people who want to ride your coattails and gain recognition from being around you, people that want to say they train with you or they’re your friend. I’ve been doing this almost 20 years and I’m aware that not everyone has good intentions. There were a lot of people who only wanted to be around me after I became the Olympia champion. There were people in years past who I thought were friends, but they didn’t really support me or what I did. Not everyone is going to have your back. It is what it is. You’re always better off having just a few real friends than a ton of fake or fair-weather friends, and that just goes for life in general. I have the same friends now that I did when I weighed 130 pounds!
Post-workout Nutrition Window
Q: Please tell me how you feel about the post-workout nutrition window. Do you always have a shake right after training? What’s in that? Then, when do you eat a solid meal and what does it consist of?
A: I like to drink a shake right after I finish training that consists of 50-60 grams of whey protein isolate, and in the off-season, I will add carbs to that. The whey is Iso Surge from Mutant, and my two favorite flavors are Mint Chocolate Chip and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip. I go home, shower up, and then I like to start eating my post-workout meal within 45 minutes of finishing the shake. That solid meal is going to be either beef or bison for the protein, and white rice or pasta for the carbohydrates. After my workouts I feel really depleted, so I want something that’s filling, wholesome, and digests easily for me.
Staying Lean Year-round
Q: How lean do you like to stay year-round, and how lean do you feel most bodybuilders should try to stay? I hear different opinions about this, and some people tell me if I don’t bulk up and allow myself to get a bit fatter, I won’t ever put much muscle on.
A: I believe in “clean bulking,” and I do utilize the same foods I eat in prep like lean turkey, bison, and beef in my off-season, but in bigger quantities. I stay within “striking distance” of my stage weight, about 10-15 pounds. You do have to put a little bit of fat on to gain muscle, but the key phrase here is “little bit.” Cheat meals can be a good tool, especially if you have weaker body parts. I like to put my cheat meals around leg or chest days, and personally I will have those after the workout rather than before. Say it’s chest day. I will have a pretty decent meal before the workout, but nothing that’s going to overly stuff my stomach. After the workout I will have something like a burger that’s calorically dense to feed the muscle and help it recover. I hear some guys say they have sushi as a “cheat meal,” but that’s not enough calories for my needs.
Wouldn’t Change a Thing
Q: If you could go back and change how you did your training, diet, and supplement use over your career to maximize progress, what would you change and do differently? What have you found has worked best and what would you advise upcoming bodybuilders to do more or less of?
A: I really wouldn’t change anything about the way I train. The way I train now with mostly heavy free weights is the way I’ve always trained. The only thing I would change is that I would have started earlier. I started bodybuilding at 23 years old, because until then I didn’t know much about it. I would have loved to have started at 17 or 18 and done a few teenage national shows and maybe more natural shows. But I don’t regret it because everything happens for a reason. But as far as training, nutrition, and all of that, I wouldn’t change a thing.
Instagram @shaunclarida
YouTube: Shaun Clarida
Shaun’s MUTANT® Stack
ISO SURGE™
FLEX FOOD™
BCAA 9.7
GEAAR™
MADNESS
PUMP
CREAKONG
CARNITINE
GLUTAMINE
For more information, visit iammutant.com
DISCUSS ON OUR FORUMS
SUBSCRIBE TO MD TODAY
GET OFFICIAL MD STUFF
VISIT OUR STORE
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
ALSO, MAKE SURE TO FOLLOW US ON:
FACEBOOK
TWITTER
INSTAGRAM
YOUTUBE
Click here to view the article.
The Giant Killer
By Two-Time 212 Olympia Champion Shaun Clarida
Sponsored by MUTANT
Q: I am curious, how tall are your parents?
A: My mom is 5-foot-5 and my dad is 6-foot-3. Obviously, my stature came more so from my mom’s genes. We all get shorter as we age. In my younger years I was 5-foot-2, but now I think it’s more like somewhere between 5 feet tall and 5-foot-1. In my book, being shorter as a bodybuilder isn’t a bad thing. It does allow you to “fill out” more completely than a taller man, especially if that taller man has exceptionally long arms and legs for his frame. Look at someone like Jamie Christian aka Jamie the Giant. He’s 6-foot-5 but even at 300 pounds or more onstage, he still needs more mass to match up with the thicker guys in the Open who average 5-foot-7 to 5-foot-10. People even say Andrew Jacked needs more mass at 6-foot-2. Height is something you can’t change or control anyway, so it’s pointless to fixate on it. You will always be happier in life focusing on things that are under your control rather than things that are not.
Real Friends Have Your Back
Q: You made an interesting post in January titled “KNOW YOUR CIRCLE,” which read: “Make sure everybody in your boat is rowing and not drilling holes when you’re not looking.” Without naming names, have you had people in your inner circle who you thought were on your side but really were not?
A: I haven’t had those issues in a very long time because I cut those types of people out of my life early in my career. Anyone who knows me knows that I’m very private and I keep my circle small. It’s my wife, three or four good friends, my coach Matt Jansen, and that’s it. There will always be people who want to ride your coattails and gain recognition from being around you, people that want to say they train with you or they’re your friend. I’ve been doing this almost 20 years and I’m aware that not everyone has good intentions. There were a lot of people who only wanted to be around me after I became the Olympia champion. There were people in years past who I thought were friends, but they didn’t really support me or what I did. Not everyone is going to have your back. It is what it is. You’re always better off having just a few real friends than a ton of fake or fair-weather friends, and that just goes for life in general. I have the same friends now that I did when I weighed 130 pounds!
Post-workout Nutrition Window
Q: Please tell me how you feel about the post-workout nutrition window. Do you always have a shake right after training? What’s in that? Then, when do you eat a solid meal and what does it consist of?
A: I like to drink a shake right after I finish training that consists of 50-60 grams of whey protein isolate, and in the off-season, I will add carbs to that. The whey is Iso Surge from Mutant, and my two favorite flavors are Mint Chocolate Chip and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip. I go home, shower up, and then I like to start eating my post-workout meal within 45 minutes of finishing the shake. That solid meal is going to be either beef or bison for the protein, and white rice or pasta for the carbohydrates. After my workouts I feel really depleted, so I want something that’s filling, wholesome, and digests easily for me.
Staying Lean Year-round
Q: How lean do you like to stay year-round, and how lean do you feel most bodybuilders should try to stay? I hear different opinions about this, and some people tell me if I don’t bulk up and allow myself to get a bit fatter, I won’t ever put much muscle on.
A: I believe in “clean bulking,” and I do utilize the same foods I eat in prep like lean turkey, bison, and beef in my off-season, but in bigger quantities. I stay within “striking distance” of my stage weight, about 10-15 pounds. You do have to put a little bit of fat on to gain muscle, but the key phrase here is “little bit.” Cheat meals can be a good tool, especially if you have weaker body parts. I like to put my cheat meals around leg or chest days, and personally I will have those after the workout rather than before. Say it’s chest day. I will have a pretty decent meal before the workout, but nothing that’s going to overly stuff my stomach. After the workout I will have something like a burger that’s calorically dense to feed the muscle and help it recover. I hear some guys say they have sushi as a “cheat meal,” but that’s not enough calories for my needs.
Wouldn’t Change a Thing
Q: If you could go back and change how you did your training, diet, and supplement use over your career to maximize progress, what would you change and do differently? What have you found has worked best and what would you advise upcoming bodybuilders to do more or less of?
A: I really wouldn’t change anything about the way I train. The way I train now with mostly heavy free weights is the way I’ve always trained. The only thing I would change is that I would have started earlier. I started bodybuilding at 23 years old, because until then I didn’t know much about it. I would have loved to have started at 17 or 18 and done a few teenage national shows and maybe more natural shows. But I don’t regret it because everything happens for a reason. But as far as training, nutrition, and all of that, I wouldn’t change a thing.
Instagram @shaunclarida
YouTube: Shaun Clarida
Shaun’s MUTANT® Stack
ISO SURGE™
FLEX FOOD™
BCAA 9.7
GEAAR™
MADNESS
PUMP
CREAKONG
CARNITINE
GLUTAMINE
For more information, visit iammutant.com
DISCUSS ON OUR FORUMSSUBSCRIBE TO MD TODAY
GET OFFICIAL MD STUFFVISIT OUR STORE
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
ALSO, MAKE SURE TO FOLLOW US ON:
FACEBOOKTWITTERINSTAGRAM YOUTUBE
Shorter Bodybuilders Have Advantage
The Giant Killer
By Two-Time 212 Olympia Champion Shaun Clarida
Sponsored by MUTANT
Q: I am curious, how tall are your parents?
A: My mom is 5-foot-5 and my dad is 6-foot-3. Obviously, my stature came more so from my mom’s genes. We all get shorter as we age. In my younger years I was 5-foot-2, but now I think it’s more like somewhere between 5 feet tall and 5-foot-1. In my book, being shorter as a bodybuilder isn’t a bad thing. It does allow you to “fill out” more completely than a taller man, especially if that taller man has exceptionally long arms and legs for his frame. Look at someone like Jamie Christian aka Jamie the Giant. He’s 6-foot-5 but even at 300 pounds or more onstage, he still needs more mass to match up with the thicker guys in the Open who average 5-foot-7 to 5-foot-10. People even say Andrew Jacked needs more mass at 6-foot-2. Height is something you can’t change or control anyway, so it’s pointless to fixate on it. You will always be happier in life focusing on things that are under your control rather than things that are not.
Real Friends Have Your Back
Q: You made an interesting post in January titled “KNOW YOUR CIRCLE,” which read: “Make sure everybody in your boat is rowing and not drilling holes when you’re not looking.” Without naming names, have you had people in your inner circle who you thought were on your side but really were not?
A: I haven’t had those issues in a very long time because I cut those types of people out of my life early in my career. Anyone who knows me knows that I’m very private and I keep my circle small. It’s my wife, three or four good friends, my coach Matt Jansen, and that’s it. There will always be people who want to ride your coattails and gain recognition from being around you, people that want to say they train with you or they’re your friend. I’ve been doing this almost 20 years and I’m aware that not everyone has good intentions. There were a lot of people who only wanted to be around me after I became the Olympia champion. There were people in years past who I thought were friends, but they didn’t really support me or what I did. Not everyone is going to have your back. It is what it is. You’re always better off having just a few real friends than a ton of fake or fair-weather friends, and that just goes for life in general. I have the same friends now that I did when I weighed 130 pounds!
Post-workout Nutrition Window
Q: Please tell me how you feel about the post-workout nutrition window. Do you always have a shake right after training? What’s in that? Then, when do you eat a solid meal and what does it consist of?
A: I like to drink a shake right after I finish training that consists of 50-60 grams of whey protein isolate, and in the off-season, I will add carbs to that. The whey is Iso Surge from Mutant, and my two favorite flavors are Mint Chocolate Chip and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip. I go home, shower up, and then I like to start eating my post-workout meal within 45 minutes of finishing the shake. That solid meal is going to be either beef or bison for the protein, and white rice or pasta for the carbohydrates. After my workouts I feel really depleted, so I want something that’s filling, wholesome, and digests easily for me.
Staying Lean Year-round
Q: How lean do you like to stay year-round, and how lean do you feel most bodybuilders should try to stay? I hear different opinions about this, and some people tell me if I don’t bulk up and allow myself to get a bit fatter, I won’t ever put much muscle on.
A: I believe in “clean bulking,” and I do utilize the same foods I eat in prep like lean turkey, bison, and beef in my off-season, but in bigger quantities. I stay within “striking distance” of my stage weight, about 10-15 pounds. You do have to put a little bit of fat on to gain muscle, but the key phrase here is “little bit.” Cheat meals can be a good tool, especially if you have weaker body parts. I like to put my cheat meals around leg or chest days, and personally I will have those after the workout rather than before. Say it’s chest day. I will have a pretty decent meal before the workout, but nothing that’s going to overly stuff my stomach. After the workout I will have something like a burger that’s calorically dense to feed the muscle and help it recover. I hear some guys say they have sushi as a “cheat meal,” but that’s not enough calories for my needs.
Wouldn’t Change a Thing
Q: If you could go back and change how you did your training, diet, and supplement use over your career to maximize progress, what would you change and do differently? What have you found has worked best and what would you advise upcoming bodybuilders to do more or less of?
A: I really wouldn’t change anything about the way I train. The way I train now with mostly heavy free weights is the way I’ve always trained. The only thing I would change is that I would have started earlier. I started bodybuilding at 23 years old, because until then I didn’t know much about it. I would have loved to have started at 17 or 18 and done a few teenage national shows and maybe more natural shows. But I don’t regret it because everything happens for a reason. But as far as training, nutrition, and all of that, I wouldn’t change a thing.
Instagram @shaunclarida
YouTube: Shaun Clarida
Shaun’s MUTANT® Stack
ISO SURGE™
FLEX FOOD™
BCAA 9.7
GEAAR™
MADNESS
PUMP
CREAKONG
CARNITINE
GLUTAMINE
For more information, visit iammutant.com
DISCUSS ON OUR FORUMS
SUBSCRIBE TO MD TODAY
GET OFFICIAL MD STUFF
VISIT OUR STORE
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
ALSO, MAKE SURE TO FOLLOW US ON:
YOUTUBE
Click here to view the article.
