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An Interview With Victor Munoz Trainer of Champions Part I |
IntroductionLets face it, if you are reading this magazine, it's because you are interested in going beyond working out. You want an elite body. A body that turns heads! What better way to accomplish this then to learn from the best of the best in our great sport? Victor Munoz is not only a champion, but a trainer of champions. He has done it all as a trainer and then done it again! His knowledge transcends the ins and outs of bodybuilding! Which is why I was so excited to get an interview with him. My suggestion to you, is to take your time and suck all the knowledge you can out of this. It's not every day that we can get an inside look at what the pros do, to achieve such magnificent physiques. With much gratitude to Mr. Munoz, I will leave you, hot cup of coffee and all, to my interview with him! JW: Hello Victor, how are you doing today? VM: I'm doing good and you JW: I'm doing great! VM: I was just reading through your website and all the information on training. JW: What did you think of it? VM: Its very good and also very informative. I have been around for a long time now and I know when someone writes something good or not. JW: Thank you very much! You have a tremendous amount of experience as a bodybuilder. How many years have you worked out and what got you into bodybuilding? VM: My best friend Carlos Aued was the one who got me into bodybuilding and that was, oh, jeez, I was just in highs school. I was about 14 then and I really didn't know what I was doing yet. I was just following the old timers you know? JW: Yes I know what you mean VM: I went to go see pumping iron when it was given in new York and I met Franco Colombo and Ed Corny and other famous bodybuilders. Then, just when I was 18 and coming out of high school, I took bodybuilding to the next level because I didn't have to make weight anymore in wrestling. I began training to get bigger. I entered my first competition with my friend after only a year of pure bodybuilding training and I did great! I then competed a few more times and did really well before going back to school to further my career. However even though I was working toward my degree I kept on training. About 4 years latter when I was working in mid city I met Freddy Ortiz and Kent Patera. This got me more in love with bodybuilding and I caught what they call the " iron bug!" From then on I consumed as much information as I possibly could and also trained as hard as I possible could! JW: When did you start training others? VM: In 1980, at the Jack Lalanne spas in the city. By the late 1980's I was already training guys who actually came from the Mr. Universe! They put their trust in me and did extremely well because of that! These guys were huge! We are talking around 230 pounds. Which was amazingly big at that time! JW: Its still amazingly Big! Shawn Ray is 215 and Lee Priest competes around that weight! VM: Yes! I then began to train several top level amateurs. My knowledge kept growing and I continued taking courses on kinesiology, biomechanics and nutrition. Along with top level athletes I trained several doctors and physicians. I learned little tricks here and there from them that applied to my business. Most people will not ask the intricate questions that I ask. I do, because I realize that these types of medical questions coexist together with bodybuilding. JW: You have trained several elite athletes throughout the years! You are also preparing Victor Martinez for the Night of Champions. Who else are you currently training right now? VM: I have a 21 year old his name is David Pruiit. He's about 265. In about 6 months I put about 30 pounds on him! JW: Wow! I have seen the wonder boy! VM: I have a 19 year old, a 20 year old who's name is Moises Nunez. I also have a 23 year old who is one of my number one guys. His name is Leandro Perez and he is awesome! And he's actually natural. He's going to compete on June 9, in the Bev Francis Mid Atlantic. JW: That's a huge contest! VM: Yes and my prediction is that he is going to win! Simply because everyone I put in that contest always wins! JW: How much does he weigh? VM: He's 5-9 and a good 210 pounds. I've brought him down slowly so that he can be a light heavyweight. JW: That's awesome VM: Definitely! He's almost like a miniature Victor. When you come to the east coast you will meet us and workout in our gym and meet Victor Martinez. Hopefully I will have a website soon and then I can show you all my guys and there pictures and who I work. JW: I cannot wait for for that opportunity. VM:
Also
I train another guy who is a pro.
He did the San Francisco Gran
Prix. He is in excellent shape. JW: Yes I have seen Valentino before. He's definitely a huge talent. VM: As you know he has tremendous, tremendous legs! But I didn't get a chance to work on his weaknesses. Which are in his upper body. What he needs is more back thickness and width. He's a big boy, but his legs just overpower the rest of his body. Like Tom Platz who was amazing in the legs but lacked in his upper body. Also he doesn't pose very well and its difficult for me to teach somebody to pose in just 8 weeks. Especially when I am trying to accomplish everything else! You know making him bigger, making him do better and all and all the other aspects in bodybuilding, in just one shot. What I like to do is always start with one thing first. We master that and then go onto the next thing. Valentino is working with me right now and I expect some big things out of him in the future. So watch out for him! JW: Definitely! VM: And also I trained Orville Burke. JW: You trained him in the 2000 season correct? VM: Yes I did the whole season! All the way to the Mr. Olympia and the grand Prix that he did in Europe. If you noticed he didn't have his lats hanging down like that before me. I built those lats to drop. JW:
Yes,
his Lats are awesome! And I
noticed that Orville Burk's fame didn't
come into play until the 2000 season. VM: Exactly. JW: Do the athletes you train help each other out at all? VM: Yes! When you meet my guys you will see how there is a special bond between all of us! We take care of each other and make sure that everybody helps each other out. If one of my guys has a specialty in posing, that's the guy I will use to teach the other guys how to pose. I try and get the best out of everybody as a group. JW: That's extremely similar to team sports. VM: Yes, this method produces great results. There's another athlete named Hong Wong and he's from Malaysia. He came in second in Muscle Mania. JW: I saw that and the guy is amazing! VM: He's one of my guys. But he doesn't even look like that anymore! He's up to 250 pounds now and has a tremendous pair of shoulders that balance his head now ( laughing ). It looked like he had a big head before! I took him
a bit late. He
was already dieting for the show and had carb depleted to long. So I said listen,
you gotta do this and do that...because
u are going to mess up if you continue
to go along this path. With just that
advice he came in second!
And allot of people said he could have
come in first. He has a great
future and I can turn him pro, hopefully
by the end of the year! He will either do a Mr. Universe or a
North America. Hong Wong has changed so much
and you would be
impressed! We all want to gain serious mass! What do you recommend these massive pros diets look like in the off season? VM: Well I'll give you a general base, because I can't give you an exact formula. This is because I would give someone with a faster metabolism a different type of diet then someone with a slower metabolism. In general though, they need to have more frequent and smaller meals. Probably around 7 a day. A little peanut butter in the morning and some flax seed oil during the day will help an athlete gain mass. One of the most crucial mistakes that bodybuilders make is that they do not get enough rest! In the old days we rested more, because we didn't have as many clubs or as many parties. Even though we did party it wasn't like it is now. One thing I tell my guys is that they are going to have to sacrifice "this much" for "this long" otherwise they will not achieve the size that they want. Which means that they have to adjust their life styles enough in order to get what they want. And there is nothing wrong with that. Just like anything else, if you want to be good at something you must be willing to sacrifice something for it. In addition, and this is of extreme importance, if something doesn't work get rid of it! Lets say you read about a routine and use it for a month. If you don't see a little spark out of it then throw it out. Even if my own techniques do not work on a particular bodybuilder I will throw them out of his routine. The basics are heavy weights, low reps, eat well and you'll get big. But its not always that simple. Allot of times you may have to change the sequence of the reps to shock the muscles more. This is because we humans adapt really easily to stress, poundage's, loads etc. And even though something is hard for us today the next time we face it, it is allot easier for us. JW: Exactly! VM: I know everyone thinks that the drugs are the reason for elite physiques, but that's not true at all. Its not the drugs! If you don't train hard, if you don't train extremely smart, if you don't eat well, if you don't sleep well, then you decide to do the drugs and just one of the things I said was missing then nothing else works. I know guys who do allot of drugs and they literally look like they just started lifting weights a week ago! JW: I have seen several people like that as well. And I make sure and tell my members exactly what you just said. That no matter what you do, you are still going to have to train your behind off and eat hardcore if you want to reach your goals! This last month has got to be the most stressful time for yourself and Victor Martinez. VM: Definitely (Laughing)! He normally doesn't sleep before a show and neither do I. I do worry about him. Even though I am not the one who is going up on stage I still have to prepare him for the event and make sure that everything is alright. I call him up etc. etc. In fact I have to see him today and make sure that everything looks great and that his confidence is right. JW: How's Victor Looking and what type of methods do you use to make sure that he will be " On " for the Night of champions tomorrow. From week one all the way up to the show? VM: Actually right now he is carb loading and doing allot of posing. Take my word for it, he looks the best I've ever seen him! I have trained him for the last two years and he peaked early this time, which is a miracle for him! He always puts everything together in the last minute. He was actually supposed to be flat on Wednesday when I trained him. Instead he was big, cut and vascular. Which was incredible! So I said " wait till I load you up because you are gonna look even better than this! " JW: How long did he carb deplete? VM: Normally he does 2 days of depletion and then we start carbing up slowly. By the last day I carb him up big time to make him look full onstage. However, its totally different for each guy. Simply because everybody has a different type of body. For example, I have a kid that I don't start dieting until 2 weeks before competition. You see his metabolism keeps him extremely cut all the time. So I can't give him a diet for 8 weeks like I give Victor Martinez. If I did he would disappear on me when he gets on stage( laughing ). This is a rare case because normally a person diets 6 to 8 weeks or along those lines. But I would say that it depends on the individual. I have to know the person's body and how it works. For example, if he loses mass easily and I start incorporating too much cardio right away I am going mess up his physique. I hold back on that because he is going to get super cut without it anyway. If I do incorporate too much cardio he will become to small and too flat. That is one of the mistakes that allot of athletes make. My guys have an advantage over the other competitors because I have the experience! By using somebody who is knowledgeable, they end up getting the trophy and all the glory! JW: Especially in the last 4-6 weeks, because that's when people usually blow it! VM:
Exactly,
most people crack up in the last 3-4
weeks! I've even seen
people look pretty good and then drop
off in the last day! Several
athletes mess up because they don't have somebody
there telling them, " you look fantastic,
you look great, lets do this! "
See your mind plays
allot of tricks on you when dieting.
Especially when you
carb deplete! I actually don't like to carb deplete on teenagers
that much! I usually keep
them at around 300 grams a day of carbs
and then bring them down a little bit
and then bring them back up JW: How low did Victor go on Carbs? VM: We actually depleted completely for a day and a half and then slowly upped them. JW: The night of champions is one of the loudest most hectic events in the sport! How do you prepare Victor Mentally for an event as huge as this? VM: Heh( laughing ) One thing about Victor is that he has a very strong mind and knows what he has to do when he gets on stage. There are a lot of guys who don't know. I tell him that he's not competing against all these pros, but that he's actually competing against himself. This is his time to show the audience how hard he worked and what he can actually do on stage! Victor has allot of confidence and likes to show off when he's up there. I mean he's not a showboat, but you can see the confidence in him! He's just like a firecracker. He can be dead back stage ( laughing ) its funny about him. Then all of a sudden when he gets up there its as if somebody gave him a spark of life! JW: Damn! That's what its all about! The physique that you have helped Victor develop is amazing! Do you think he will be a contender for the Olympia title in the future and why? VM: My position is that in the future he will be Mr. Olympia. With my guidance he already has a foundation that is ready for greatness. And he has a physique that doesn't come around to often! See, everybody has their signatures. Like Larry Scott, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lee Haney, Dorian Yates and Ronnie Coleman. Victor is Victor. I'm not going to compare him to anybody because that's not fair. I can't compare Ronnie Coleman to anybody because he had his own signature. Same with Dorian Yates. I mean he has a different body than Lee Haney Right? JW: Right VM: So I give respect to all of them because they are all different from each other. Every once in a while we get a champion like that. That doesn't mean that he has to look the same as a past champion. But the way Victor is going, I see him in the future as Mr. Olympia. Intermission. You can read part two of this interview by clicking here © ABC Bodybuilding Company. All rights reserved. Disclaimer |
