Q and A with the Boston Mass: Jose Raymond

[Jose Raymond]

what brand of that popcorn cheese powder do you use for your eggs? same question for the defatted peanut flour.

also, awesome job at the ny pro. you looked amazing. i look forward to seeing you kick ass at the olympia as well. i've been watching some of your training clips and they've inspired some of the best workouts i've had all year. those dumbell tricep extensions on the incline bench have been awesome. much more comfortable and a better stretch for me than a two handed extension.

Thank you. The popcorn powder is called Kernel Seasons, it comes in many different flavors and I use it all the way up to the day of the show. The defatted peanut flour is called PB2 and I put that in my oatmeal or cream of wheat in the morning.

[Jose Raymond]

Hey Jose,

I love your work ethic man, I'm sure this is going to be a great year for you. You are a beast with legs, loved your front squat video with Ron Harris.

1) I am a competitive powerlifter (130-145lb class). Would front squats be of any benefit to me or should I just focus on regular squats?

2) If you give the thumbs up for front squats, do you think it's okay to do them as well as regular squats in the same workout?

Thanks in advance JIM.

I think front squats are a huge benefit to regular squats due to the fact that it will help increase direct strength in the quads and will also help strengthen the back muscles and give you better overall balance. I dont ever do them in the same workout though, it is just too taxing and I dont like to leave anything on the floor. I usually alternate front and back squats each workout.

[RockyIII]

what did you use pre-contest to still keep you so round and full despite the extensive cardio you said you were doing on the stepmill?

[JohnSmeton]

Because I tend to compete a lot and I eat a lot of protein during contest prep, I try to scale back my protein intake in my short offseason to give my kidneys a little break. I will eat more things that I usually dont eat during pre-contest like dairy, cold cereals and lots of fruit. To answer your question I eat probably half the amount of protien as i do while dieting. I pretty much always train as heavy as possible "safely" with an 8-12 rep range but often throw in some very high rep days, as high as 20-30 reps on certain exercises depending on my goals and how I am feeling. It is all instinctive and not really written in stone.

Interesting. what is your weight around contest time and off season and how many grams protein pre contest and "offseason"?

You use a lot of Chris Acetos stuff right? because hes a big proponent of lowering protein when carbs are higher and keeping protein at 1.5 during pre-contest

congrats on your success in bodybuilding

[Triple Joe]

Jose your conditioning at NY Pro was simply off the charts!
You have a tremendous physique bro and are a true inspiration to us smaller bodybuilders

[Ron Harris]

FINALLY!!!!

Along with Evan's, I am predicting right now this will become the absolute most popular Q and A in this section.

Jose my brother, so awesome to have you here with us.

[bill2]

HELLO JOSE//CAN YOU ALLABORATE A LITLE ON YOUR CONTES PREP DIET? AS FAR AS AAMOUNTS OF PROTEIN -CARBS-FAT? HOW HIGH DID YOU GET ON PRO AND HOW LOW ON CARBS AND FAT?
ALSO HOW MUCH PROTEIN YOU RECOMEND FOR MAX MASS GAINS AND MAX MASS RETANTION THROUGH A RIPING DIET AND OFF SEASON THATS ALSO BE HEALTHY ON ORGANS?

[Brotein]

Jose, do you weigh your food before or after cooking? I've seen alot of guys argue either way. I tend to weigh after cooking (after it's all cooled off and settled) primarily due to convience. I weigh about 170 at lower than 10% bf. I usually eat 6 ounces of cooked meat. Do you feel this is sufficient? I've heard this is close to 50 grams of protein but am unsure?

Also, what you said about lowering your protein in the offseason interested me. I've def read excessive protein intake canbe bad for the kidneys long term so maybe I should do that also. Paranoid though bc of that meathead mentality that I'll loose muscle mass and strength.

Last thing, how much fat do you generally take in contest and offseason and do you have pro/carb/fat meals or jus pro/carb pro/fat? Thanks. I know that was alot, I'm just bored at work..

[bigjon_1]

Whats up Jose! I know you said in your vids that you know your body needed carbs and on here you said you realized you weren't eating enough. Do you feel that these days too many competitors dont eat enough? and since you kept carbs in how high were your fats?

[Giant Killer]

NICE!!!

Congrats Big dog. Glad to finally see you get all that you deserve. Very huge inspiration for me as I look to work my way up into the IFBB.

GK

[Jose Raymond]

what did you use pre-contest to still keep you so round and full despite the extensive cardio you said you were doing on the stepmill?

pretty much all supps were out by 2 weeks out. The one thing I can tell you that has helped me a lot through the years is keeping my sodium high all the way through the show. I know a lot of people cut sodium in fear of holding water but I call bullshit on that. If you are dry, lean and hard enough, sodium will not make you hold water in the skin as long as your not chugging water but I will help to keep you fuller and also keep from cramping.

[Jose Raymond]

Interesting. what is your weight around contest time and off season and how many grams protein pre contest and "offseason"?

You use a lot of Chris Acetos stuff right? because hes a big proponent of lowering protein when carbs are higher and keeping protein at 1.5 during pre-contest

congrats on your success in bodybuilding

I am pretty much right at 202 contest and I try not to get any higher than 225-230 in my off-season. I am a huge fan of Chris Aceto and I think he is brilliant as well as having the east coast in your face attitude. He does not sugar coat anything, that being said I have never had the honor of working with Chris and to be honest I dont know of any of his theories or methods but Great minds think alike I guess lol.

[Jose Raymond]

Jose your conditioning at NY Pro was simply off the charts!
You have a tremendous physique bro and are a true inspiration to us smaller bodybuilders

Thank you Joe. When im done competing, that is all I have left is the ability to help and inspire others.

[Jose Raymond]

FINALLY!!!!

Along with Evan's, I am predicting right now this will become the absolute most popular Q and A in this section.

Jose my brother, so awesome to have you here with us.

Thank you so much Ron. Your about as responsible as anyone for getting me on board and have been a huge support for many years.

[Jose Raymond]

HELLO JOSE//CAN YOU ALLABORATE A LITLE ON YOUR CONTES PREP DIET? AS FAR AS AAMOUNTS OF PROTEIN -CARBS-FAT? HOW HIGH DID YOU GET ON PRO AND HOW LOW ON CARBS AND FAT?
ALSO HOW MUCH PROTEIN YOU RECOMEND FOR MAX MASS GAINS AND MAX MASS RETANTION THROUGH A RIPING DIET AND OFF SEASON THATS ALSO BE HEALTHY ON ORGANS?

Im having trouble understanding this question but I'll do my best. Precontest I go as high as 1.5 to 2.0 grams of protein per lb of goal bodyweight which woudl be around 350-400 grams of protein, carbs are around the same at first but I lower them as I get closer to the show down as low as 75-100 grams, fats are minimal, maybe just what is still in my fish and chicken. I find that the number I told you 1.5 to 2.0 grams per lb of goal bodyweight is more than enough protein to gain mass while dieting and still be healthy on your organs but I wouldnt recomend you do this non stop for years on end.

[Jose Raymond]

Jose, do you weigh your food before or after cooking? I've seen alot of guys argue either way. I tend to weigh after cooking (after it's all cooled off and settled) primarily due to convience. I weigh about 170 at lower than 10% bf. I usually eat 6 ounces of cooked meat. Do you feel this is sufficient? I've heard this is close to 50 grams of protein but am unsure?

Also, what you said about lowering your protein in the offseason interested me. I've def read excessive protein intake canbe bad for the kidneys long term so maybe I should do that also. Paranoid though bc of that meathead mentality that I'll loose muscle mass and strength.

Last thing, how much fat do you generally take in contest and offseason and do you have pro/carb/fat meals or jus pro/carb pro/fat? Thanks. I know that was alot, I'm just bored at work..

I definitely weigh my food cooked because it tends to shrink through the cooking process. If your goal is to grow than I would definitely bump up the oz to about 8 and see how you do for a while. Each protein source is a bit different so you cant just say 6 oz's is 50rams. When I first start my diet I use peanut butter and almonds and maybe some oils not usually more that 50 grams of fat a day. As I get closer I drastically reduce fats unless I feel I need them and I try to have one carb or fat but not both in the same meal.

[Ghoetic]

Hey Jose, your thick as hell! great addition to the team! besides diet, Hows your typical split and approach to training? Thanks!