Bodybuilding Q&A - Victor Martinez
You’ve said that you don’t eat a lot of carbs. Do you still eat more on days you train larger body parts like back and legs? Also, something Evan said once stuck with me about carbs and I wanted your opinion. He didn’t think it made sense to eat more carbs only on training days, because you’re still recovering and growing on your off days. Do you agree with that?
In the off-season I keep my carbs pretty steady every day, like what Evan recommends. I do tend to have more right after training back or legs because those two workouts are the toughest and most demanding. Since I don’t really like to eat carbs, I drink them. After training most body parts like chest, shoulders, or arms, I have two scoops of Dark Matter. On back and leg days, I go three or four scoops. Once I’m in contest-prep mode, it’s all about losing fat. If I’m just doing cardio, there’s no reason to eat much in the way of carbs. It would interfere with the whole process because I’m trying to burn more calories than I am taking in.
Victor, some people swear by the StepMill as far as being the best cardio machine for burning fat. I know you use it too, but do you really think it matters which machine you use as long as you work hard and sweat? I hate that fucking StepMill, bro!
The thing is, working hard is a relative thing. You might think you’re working hard on a stationary bike or a treadmill, but get on a StepMill and you find out what hard work is really like! You can’t cheat by holding the rails like with the treadmill. You breathe heavy and sweat like crazy. I would say 30 minutes on the StepMill burns more calories than 60 minutes on just about any other machine. So right there, you’re saving time too. The StepMill is also great for hitting the glutes and hamstrings. You think I like that thing? Hell no, I hate it too! But I hate the idea of being onstage and not being in shape even more.
Wassup, Vic? Bro, I need help with my front deltoids. The day after doing chest hard (with good form), my front deltoids are sore. How can I put mass on them and my shoulders overall? Should I add a press or any other exercise on chest day? My workout week is like this:
Monday: Chest
Tuesday: Back
Wednesday: Shoulders
Thursday: Legs
Friday: Arms
Sometimes I reverse the Wednesday and Thursday exercises. I’m rooting for you always, Vic. Dominicans all day, baby!
Thanks for your support. If your shoulders are really weak, you can add some lateral raises after chest and some rear laterals after back, plus do your full shoulder workout on its own day. Be sure to work hard on seated dumbbell presses and military presses. Those two exercises are the ones that will add the most mass.
As far as your front delts getting sore from training chest, that’s pretty common. What you should try to do is arrange your split so chest and shoulders are further apart. Here’s how you could do that while still training Monday through Friday and having all the same training days, just shuffling up the order:
Monday: Chest
Tuesday: Legs
Wednesday: Back
Thursday: Shoulders
Friday: Arms
If you do the above, either work rear delts with back or with shoulders, but not on both days. Good luck, bro!
Vic, I’m curious to know whether you find the Latin culture to be any more or less understanding or accepting of bodybuilding than mainstream America?
I find that both Europe and Latin America are a lot more accepting of our sport and appreciate it more. I did an appearance one time at a local show in Mexico, and there were 3,000 people there for the finals! We don’t even get that at our big national shows like USA and Nationals. In Puerto Rico another time, there were over 1,500 people at a contest I was posing at. We like to think that the USA is the biggest country for bodybuilding and in some ways that’s true, but I get a lot more love from fans in Europe and Latin America. I think it’s because they’re more relaxed and open in their culture, and Americans are pretty uptight.
You’ve said that you don’t eat a lot of carbs. Do you still eat more on days you train larger body parts like back and legs? Also, something Evan said once stuck with me about carbs and I wanted your opinion. He didn’t think it made sense to eat more carbs only on training days, because you’re still recovering and growing on your off days. Do you agree with that?
In the off-season I keep my carbs pretty steady every day, like what Evan recommends. I do tend to have more right after training back or legs because those two workouts are the toughest and most demanding. Since I don’t really like to eat carbs, I drink them. After training most body parts like chest, shoulders, or arms, I have two scoops of Dark Matter. On back and leg days, I go three or four scoops. Once I’m in contest-prep mode, it’s all about losing fat. If I’m just doing cardio, there’s no reason to eat much in the way of carbs. It would interfere with the whole process because I’m trying to burn more calories than I am taking in.
Victor, some people swear by the StepMill as far as being the best cardio machine for burning fat. I know you use it too, but do you really think it matters which machine you use as long as you work hard and sweat? I hate that fucking StepMill, bro!
The thing is, working hard is a relative thing. You might think you’re working hard on a stationary bike or a treadmill, but get on a StepMill and you find out what hard work is really like! You can’t cheat by holding the rails like with the treadmill. You breathe heavy and sweat like crazy. I would say 30 minutes on the StepMill burns more calories than 60 minutes on just about any other machine. So right there, you’re saving time too. The StepMill is also great for hitting the glutes and hamstrings. You think I like that thing? Hell no, I hate it too! But I hate the idea of being onstage and not being in shape even more.
Wassup, Vic? Bro, I need help with my front deltoids. The day after doing chest hard (with good form), my front deltoids are sore. How can I put mass on them and my shoulders overall? Should I add a press or any other exercise on chest day? My workout week is like this:
Monday: Chest
Tuesday: Back
Wednesday: Shoulders
Thursday: Legs
Friday: Arms
Sometimes I reverse the Wednesday and Thursday exercises. I’m rooting for you always, Vic. Dominicans all day, baby!
Thanks for your support. If your shoulders are really weak, you can add some lateral raises after chest and some rear laterals after back, plus do your full shoulder workout on its own day. Be sure to work hard on seated dumbbell presses and military presses. Those two exercises are the ones that will add the most mass.
As far as your front delts getting sore from training chest, that’s pretty common. What you should try to do is arrange your split so chest and shoulders are further apart. Here’s how you could do that while still training Monday through Friday and having all the same training days, just shuffling up the order:
Monday: Chest
Tuesday: Legs
Wednesday: Back
Thursday: Shoulders
Friday: Arms
If you do the above, either work rear delts with back or with shoulders, but not on both days. Good luck, bro!
Vic, I’m curious to know whether you find the Latin culture to be any more or less understanding or accepting of bodybuilding than mainstream America?
I find that both Europe and Latin America are a lot more accepting of our sport and appreciate it more. I did an appearance one time at a local show in Mexico, and there were 3,000 people there for the finals! We don’t even get that at our big national shows like USA and Nationals. In Puerto Rico another time, there were over 1,500 people at a contest I was posing at. We like to think that the USA is the biggest country for bodybuilding and in some ways that’s true, but I get a lot more love from fans in Europe and Latin America. I think it’s because they’re more relaxed and open in their culture, and Americans are pretty uptight.
