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Gabriel
Wilson recently had the pleasure of interviewing the Hyperplasia
Challenge contestants. For more information on this challenge, click
Here. To read more interviews, Click
Here.
The
Question will be denoted by the letter "Q"
and the answer by the letter "A."
Interview
with Njari
Q.
Can you please share your ABCbodybuilding testimony?
A.I
found out about ABC through my wife. We were "lurkers" for a few months,
and it was the Hyperplasia challenge that motivated me to join the
community.
Q.
Did you enjoy the HYPERplasia challenge? Please give us your sincere
assessment of the event, and why/if you would recommend it to other
bodybuilders?
A.I
did enjoy the challenge, and I do promote it in the gym. I think that
some journals (like sucra's) are more helpful than others (mine). Maybe
when introducing the challenge, ABC could state the purpose of the
journals more clearly (is it for support of the journal writer, or to
document the behavior that leads to success or failure?). I know that
either benefit is worth the effort of maintaining a journal, but it
would be helpful to point out the best elements of a journal: include
your split, and any particularly hardcore elements to the workout. I
find it pointless to list every rep that one executes. It only makes it
more difficult to sift through the journals to get to the good stuff. I
also enjoy reading about the emotional and psychological struggles that
go along with this insane endeavor. That’s where I find the most
support.
Q.
Did you feel that the contest facilitated hostility among the
competitors? If so, what would you change to avoid this in the future?
A. Did
the challenge promote hostility? No. A little pre-contest smack-talking
is not hostility--its all in good fun. I see ABC as a place for
accountability and encouragement.
Q.
What was the hardest part about the challenge?
A. The
diet.
Q.
How much did you have to adjust your life?
A. How
much did I adjust my life? Not enough (I did not meet my goals).
Nonetheless, I had to get better at time management, so that I could fit
in my cardio and workouts. But ironically, I am now so much more
efficient that I get more done at work the before the challenge!
Q.
What kept you on track and focused for 12 weeks? There must have been
times that were difficult for you to train or stay strict to your
diet—what stopped you from slacking?
A. The
ABC community provided daily accountability. Also, I do weekly caliper
measurements, which provided intense reinforcement (both positive and
negative!).
Q.
Did you ever feel like quitting the challenge, or feel signs of
overtraining? If so, how did you handle this?
A. I
knew the challenge was hard, but I never considered quitting. I never
felt overtrained, but that might be because I was eating so (too) much.
Q.
Do you plan on competing in the future? If not, what are your future
aspirations and goals in bodybuilding?
A. I
plan on competing in the next challenge. I have entertained thoughts of
training for a local comp, but I'm not sure that's what I want right
now. I will be setting bulking goals by new years, and once I see my
progress, I'll set some medium-term goals (one and two year physique
goals).
Q.
What was your diet like during the HYPERplasia challenge? Did you use
any advanced dieting principles such as calorie and carb cycling? And by
how many calories did you drop or increase on average from the start to
the end of the challenge?
A. My
diet was pretty much the 12-week cutting plan. I tried to do the 13
week-plan , but my carbs weere alwayse too high (hence my unsatisfactory
progress).
Q.
What supplements did you use?
A. Supplements:
Tons of vitamins, ZMA, creatine, glutamine, chromium, whey protein, and
some flax oil. I recently added HMB, some anti-oxidants, caffeine, and
grean tea, and I trippled my glutamine dose.
Q.
What did your split look like?
A. My
split was the 13 week cutting workout, combined with the latter phase of
the 8-week awesome abs plan.
Q.
How much cardio did you do?
A. Cardio
was done about 2 or three times per week.
Q.
What was more important to you—winning the competition, or improving
your body? And why?
A. Body
improvement was more important than winning the challenge.
Q.
What are some key training tips you would give to a bodybuilder
competing in the same challenge as you (whether it be cutting or
bulking)?
A. Based
on my experience, I think accountability is critical. This might be from
a training partner (this might be the ideal route), but a spouse can
help (although they are often light on the criticism!), and even the ABC
boards can serve this role.
Q.
Based on the results of the HYPERplasia challenge, and your knowledge of
science, do you feel it is possible to lose fat and gain muscle at the
same time? Why or why not?
A.Can
you lose fat and gain lean mass? YES. Can you lose fat and gain muscle?
Maybe. I'm not completely convinced, not am I a raging skeptic. I've
never bone a bulk properly, so I'll have a stronger opinion in a few
months.
Q.
Thank you very much for the interview.
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