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Mon, 2015-04-27 13:22
By:
Steve Downs
MHP STAR VICTOR MARTINEZ – TOUGH & RELENTLESS
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JASON BREEZE
“When I’m done with bodybuilding, I want to be remembered as someone who never quit,” says Victor Martinez, one of the world’s top bodybuilders at age 41. “Given everything I’ve been through over the years, people should hopefully look at my career and know that I was tough and relentless.”
Now don’t get ahead of yourself. This is by no means the start of the Dominican Dominator’s swan song in the iron sport. As I sit to write this, Vic is hard in training to prepare for the New York Pro and Arnold Classic Brazil … and he’s looking bigger, tighter and more symmetrical than ever!
“I’m feeling great,” the MHP-sponsored superstar says. “Training is going very well, and I’m getting closer to getting ready for the shows. No injuries and I’m having great workouts every time. Only room to get better!”
But the quote that opened this story provides a uniquely inside look at the matter-of-fact way that Vic looks at bodybuilding and life in general. Mere mortals would have long been derailed from the lifting game if they had faced the trials and tribulations that this soft-spoken behemoth has overcome. It’s long been reviewed and retold, but Victor’s incredible rise to beat the odds—over a handful of occasions—is really the stuff of legend.
Let’s quickly review: After placing a controversial second to Jay Cutler in 2007, Vic seemed destined to wrestle the Olympia crown from the champ’s hands and start his own indomitable streak of Mr. O wins. But then a crushing knee injury sidelined him, requiring surgery and months of rehab to repair. After working incessantly to build his quads back up, the Edgewood, NJ resident fought his way back to the runner-up spot at the 2009 Arnold Classic.
But then tragedy struck as he was preparing for the Mr. Olympia later that year: His beloved sister was killed in New York City. Turning to the weights to get him through this incredibly dark time, Victor did what no one thought was possible: He prepped for and entered the O, placing in the top six.
Two years later, the 5'9", 265-pounder was back on top of the bodybuilding world after winning the inaugural 2011 Arnold Classic Europe title. But in typical Victor Martinez fashion, he was detained by customs upon return to the U.S. and spent months in a detention center. When he was released, he had lost 40 pounds and basically had to start bodybuilding all over again.
Thanks to a fire in his belly, fury in the gym, and becoming a test subject for a new muscle building myostatin inhibitor called MYO-X from MHP, Vic packed on the muscle he’d lost and toyed with the idea of competing at the 2012 Olympia. But can you believe it—bad luck enveloped the Dominator once again. He suffered a broken arm in a freak accident and basically had to start from scratch all over again. Yet as is always the case with this incredibly positive muscleman, he laughed it off, worked through rehab, rebuilt his physique yet again, and triumphed onstage at the 2013 Toronto Pro.
Today, Vic’s attitude has never been better. With the New York Pro in his sights once more (he was the runner-up in 2013), he has an even bigger goal beyond that when he hits Rio de Janeiro in May: to be the first competitor to hold Arnold Classic titles on three continents! “That would be a milestone in bodybuilding competitive history that I very much want to own,” he says in his typical nonchalant manner.
It is that very low-key personality that belies the competitive fire in Vic’s heart. “I’ve never been a guy who said ‘I could have’ or ‘would have’ if not for something happening to me,” he says. “I’ve had injuries, personal crises, etc., but I’ve never been a quitter and never made excuses. I take whatever life throws at me and I keep moving forward. If it doesn’t kill me, it makes me stronger!” He laughs.
Victor currently divides his training time between three gyms: Steel Gym in Manhattan, Star Fitness in the Bronx, and Bev’s Powerhouse Gym in Syosset, NY. His regular training partner is Dean Lewis, a powerful lifter who has pushed him through countless high-intensity workouts. But Vic also catches up with close friends and fellow IFBB pros Marco Rivera, Jon De La Rosa, and Juan Morel for hardcore sessions. He genuinely enjoys every minute in the gym and pushes himself hard with every set and rep.
He follows a four-days-on/one-day-off rotating program, beginning with shoulders, triceps, and abs on day one. Even after more than two decades under the iron, Vic still likes to go fairly heavy, but he’s more keen on precise technique than ever. For instance, he’ll work up to 225 pounds for 10 reps on the barbell shoulder press, do sets of shrugs with 315, and work up to 50-pound dumbbells for side lateral raises. To keep his legendary arms growing and strong, he’ll do pushdowns with 140 pounds for sets of 10 to 12 reps and hits close-grip benches on the Smith machine with 275 for sets of 15.
Day two is reserved for quadriceps, hamstrings and calves. After starting out with leg extensions to pre-exhaust his quads, Vic performs barbell squats with up to 405 pounds for 8 to 10 reps on his heavy set, followed by a drop set with 225 for max repetitions to failure. He loads the weight on for leg presses, working up to a massive 11 45-pound plates on each side for 8 to 10 reps.
For hamstrings he’ll do leg curls (both dual- and single-leg machines) followed by stiff-legged deadlifts. Then he finishes his leg workout with 4 sets of 20 to 30 reps of standing calf raises with as much weight as he can handle, typically close to the full weight stack, depending on where he’s training.
Chest, biceps, forearms and abs are the focus of day three. To focus on his upper pecs, Vic begins with incline dumbbell flyes (up to 70 pounders for 10 reps) and moves next to barbell incline press, working his way up to 225 for a couple sets of 10. For flat dumbbell presses, Vic performs 4 sets, including a drop set on the final effort. Then he performs 3 unique supersets, matching dumbbell decline press with single dumbbell pullovers.
To blast his massive biceps, Vic performs barbell and dumbbell curls (on an incline bench) and preacher curls. Reverse curls with the bar behind his hams help him build and maintain thick, sinewy forearms. Finally, he’ll chisel his abs with five to eight minutes of nonstop work to include leg raises, decline sit-ups, cable crunches, and weighted trunk twists. (This is the same ab routine he also performs on day one.)
Vic finishes his training cycle with back and calves on day four. With arguably one of the best V-tapers in the sport, this is one of his favorite body parts to train. He starts with pull-ups, moves to heavy lat pulldowns and bent-over rows (working up to 275 pounds for 8 to 10 reps), and finishes with one-arm dumbbell rows and seated cable low rows. To cap off his back muscularity, Vic works deadlifts in a controlled fashion to emphasize the squeeze at the top and full range of motion. Four sets are what he needs to finish this back session. Then it’s on to calves again, doing either standing or seated calf raises as heavy as possible.
As he preps for the NY Pro, Arnold Brazil, and eventually the Olympia, Martinez performs cardio five days a week on the StepMill machine. He’ll do 30 minutes of interval training, changing from high to medium intensity every two to three minutes. He skips doing cardio on leg day and instead performs this on his off day at least once weekly.
“My favorite exercises are deadlifts, squats, and barbell curls,” Vic says. “But what I consider my best body part is my back. I love training back!”
On the dietary front, the muscular marvel eats six meals a day and consumes two protein shakes. His year-round diet looks like this:
Mon, 2015-04-27 13:22
By:
Steve Downs
MHP STAR VICTOR MARTINEZ – TOUGH & RELENTLESS
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JASON BREEZE
“When I’m done with bodybuilding, I want to be remembered as someone who never quit,” says Victor Martinez, one of the world’s top bodybuilders at age 41. “Given everything I’ve been through over the years, people should hopefully look at my career and know that I was tough and relentless.”
Now don’t get ahead of yourself. This is by no means the start of the Dominican Dominator’s swan song in the iron sport. As I sit to write this, Vic is hard in training to prepare for the New York Pro and Arnold Classic Brazil … and he’s looking bigger, tighter and more symmetrical than ever!
“I’m feeling great,” the MHP-sponsored superstar says. “Training is going very well, and I’m getting closer to getting ready for the shows. No injuries and I’m having great workouts every time. Only room to get better!”
But the quote that opened this story provides a uniquely inside look at the matter-of-fact way that Vic looks at bodybuilding and life in general. Mere mortals would have long been derailed from the lifting game if they had faced the trials and tribulations that this soft-spoken behemoth has overcome. It’s long been reviewed and retold, but Victor’s incredible rise to beat the odds—over a handful of occasions—is really the stuff of legend.
Let’s quickly review: After placing a controversial second to Jay Cutler in 2007, Vic seemed destined to wrestle the Olympia crown from the champ’s hands and start his own indomitable streak of Mr. O wins. But then a crushing knee injury sidelined him, requiring surgery and months of rehab to repair. After working incessantly to build his quads back up, the Edgewood, NJ resident fought his way back to the runner-up spot at the 2009 Arnold Classic.
But then tragedy struck as he was preparing for the Mr. Olympia later that year: His beloved sister was killed in New York City. Turning to the weights to get him through this incredibly dark time, Victor did what no one thought was possible: He prepped for and entered the O, placing in the top six.
Two years later, the 5'9", 265-pounder was back on top of the bodybuilding world after winning the inaugural 2011 Arnold Classic Europe title. But in typical Victor Martinez fashion, he was detained by customs upon return to the U.S. and spent months in a detention center. When he was released, he had lost 40 pounds and basically had to start bodybuilding all over again.
Thanks to a fire in his belly, fury in the gym, and becoming a test subject for a new muscle building myostatin inhibitor called MYO-X from MHP, Vic packed on the muscle he’d lost and toyed with the idea of competing at the 2012 Olympia. But can you believe it—bad luck enveloped the Dominator once again. He suffered a broken arm in a freak accident and basically had to start from scratch all over again. Yet as is always the case with this incredibly positive muscleman, he laughed it off, worked through rehab, rebuilt his physique yet again, and triumphed onstage at the 2013 Toronto Pro.
Today, Vic’s attitude has never been better. With the New York Pro in his sights once more (he was the runner-up in 2013), he has an even bigger goal beyond that when he hits Rio de Janeiro in May: to be the first competitor to hold Arnold Classic titles on three continents! “That would be a milestone in bodybuilding competitive history that I very much want to own,” he says in his typical nonchalant manner.
It is that very low-key personality that belies the competitive fire in Vic’s heart. “I’ve never been a guy who said ‘I could have’ or ‘would have’ if not for something happening to me,” he says. “I’ve had injuries, personal crises, etc., but I’ve never been a quitter and never made excuses. I take whatever life throws at me and I keep moving forward. If it doesn’t kill me, it makes me stronger!” He laughs.
Victor currently divides his training time between three gyms: Steel Gym in Manhattan, Star Fitness in the Bronx, and Bev’s Powerhouse Gym in Syosset, NY. His regular training partner is Dean Lewis, a powerful lifter who has pushed him through countless high-intensity workouts. But Vic also catches up with close friends and fellow IFBB pros Marco Rivera, Jon De La Rosa, and Juan Morel for hardcore sessions. He genuinely enjoys every minute in the gym and pushes himself hard with every set and rep.
He follows a four-days-on/one-day-off rotating program, beginning with shoulders, triceps, and abs on day one. Even after more than two decades under the iron, Vic still likes to go fairly heavy, but he’s more keen on precise technique than ever. For instance, he’ll work up to 225 pounds for 10 reps on the barbell shoulder press, do sets of shrugs with 315, and work up to 50-pound dumbbells for side lateral raises. To keep his legendary arms growing and strong, he’ll do pushdowns with 140 pounds for sets of 10 to 12 reps and hits close-grip benches on the Smith machine with 275 for sets of 15.
Day two is reserved for quadriceps, hamstrings and calves. After starting out with leg extensions to pre-exhaust his quads, Vic performs barbell squats with up to 405 pounds for 8 to 10 reps on his heavy set, followed by a drop set with 225 for max repetitions to failure. He loads the weight on for leg presses, working up to a massive 11 45-pound plates on each side for 8 to 10 reps.
For hamstrings he’ll do leg curls (both dual- and single-leg machines) followed by stiff-legged deadlifts. Then he finishes his leg workout with 4 sets of 20 to 30 reps of standing calf raises with as much weight as he can handle, typically close to the full weight stack, depending on where he’s training.
Chest, biceps, forearms and abs are the focus of day three. To focus on his upper pecs, Vic begins with incline dumbbell flyes (up to 70 pounders for 10 reps) and moves next to barbell incline press, working his way up to 225 for a couple sets of 10. For flat dumbbell presses, Vic performs 4 sets, including a drop set on the final effort. Then he performs 3 unique supersets, matching dumbbell decline press with single dumbbell pullovers.
To blast his massive biceps, Vic performs barbell and dumbbell curls (on an incline bench) and preacher curls. Reverse curls with the bar behind his hams help him build and maintain thick, sinewy forearms. Finally, he’ll chisel his abs with five to eight minutes of nonstop work to include leg raises, decline sit-ups, cable crunches, and weighted trunk twists. (This is the same ab routine he also performs on day one.)
Vic finishes his training cycle with back and calves on day four. With arguably one of the best V-tapers in the sport, this is one of his favorite body parts to train. He starts with pull-ups, moves to heavy lat pulldowns and bent-over rows (working up to 275 pounds for 8 to 10 reps), and finishes with one-arm dumbbell rows and seated cable low rows. To cap off his back muscularity, Vic works deadlifts in a controlled fashion to emphasize the squeeze at the top and full range of motion. Four sets are what he needs to finish this back session. Then it’s on to calves again, doing either standing or seated calf raises as heavy as possible.
As he preps for the NY Pro, Arnold Brazil, and eventually the Olympia, Martinez performs cardio five days a week on the StepMill machine. He’ll do 30 minutes of interval training, changing from high to medium intensity every two to three minutes. He skips doing cardio on leg day and instead performs this on his off day at least once weekly.
“My favorite exercises are deadlifts, squats, and barbell curls,” Vic says. “But what I consider my best body part is my back. I love training back!”
On the dietary front, the muscular marvel eats six meals a day and consumes two protein shakes. His year-round diet looks like this:
