Q & A WITH IFBB British Pro James Llewellin

[mesomorph]

for post workout you should stick to vitargo-wms is crap

I have just signed with CNP Professional here in the UK and I now use their Pro recover formula. Nice and basic, simple carbs and hydrolysed whey.

J

[mesomorph]

what's up j.. has been few months since i asked u some questions.. what is your arm day looks like, while ur off season how often u train ur abs.. and for legs.. what you go for on that day.. also.. i am taking quick mass ( weight gainer ) multivitamen, creatine, should i add anything to those.. i am in my bulking season.. ?

thanks j in advance ?

Hey Amin,

Sorry for delay here dude, I have had too much on lately but now I am into the final stages of my prep, things have calmed down a little.

I actually dont train arms. If i did I would do 6-8 sets for bi's and the same for tri's. Prob a preecher cable curl and a standing ez curl and for tri's Id do something like v bar pushdowns and close grip smith machine press with elbows wide.

I dont train abs either but incorporate them into other exercises which use my core.

For legs I love ext, hacks and lunges with some staggered leg press too. For hams just the basics; standing curls, SLDL's and seated curls.

Use some branch chain aminos in there too ist thing and pre and post workout. Also get a scoop of whey down your neck at about 2-3am when you get up to use the bathroom.

J

[boatman]

Hey james. Here are some pics of me

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/search...chid=370392311

I am 5 10, 21 years old, and only 123 pounds

my recent diet has been 240 grams protein, 180 carbs, and 75 fat. Do you think I should add more calories from carbs or fats to help grow? Do you think as long as protein is high that it more carbs or fats will make a diff?

[mesomorph]

Based on a recent doctors visit it turns out I have celiacs disease (an intolerance/allergy to various foods like gluten, etc). Also based on
some blood sugar tests, I dont handle carbs very well I am not diabetic like some of my relatives, but based on the tests I am fairly insulin insensitive. I guess thats life, but I just have to take it in stride.

In light of that, I have been thinking that either one of two approaches
might be better for me. Either a fixed macronutrient approach where I do something like 30/30/40 carbs protein and fat, or something like carbs and protein setting both at 1.5 grams/lb, then making up all the other calories I need to gain with fat. So it would be a moderate-sightly higher fat approach based on how many cals I would need I guess. The other
approach would be carbohydrate cycling for gaining where protein is fixed,
and then I would have 1 higher carb lower fat days, 4 medium carb and medium fat days, and 2 lower carb and higher fat days (all while making sure to get in enough calories to gain weight, starting at like 18Xbw). Which approach do you think might work better? Have you known any bodybuilders who have used more moderate or higher approaches with fats to achieve quality physiques. Sorry to bug you, I am just trying to deal with the cards life has dealt me

Do you think that carbs or fats make any difference in the quality of muscle gained, or is it more just a matter of whetehr you handle carbs or not? since they are both essentialy just energy shouldn't they just be different means to the same end (providing enough cals o let protein do its thing?), with fats being slightly tastier, more energy dense, and less water holding :P ??

I am a massive fan of moderate to high fats when bulking and also in the early stages of dieting. Its a great way to free up important proteins and carbs that will help with muscle repair and glycgen storage. At the end of the day its ALL about calories pretty much, so experiment and see what sits best with you as we all react slightly differently.

J

[mesomorph]

any adivce on keeping ones stomach from growing or being so bloated..i work in an office 8hrs and recently my stomach is getting bigger...i try get 6 meals a day

Eating little and often, so perhaps try to increase meals to 7 daily. You could also back off your carbs a little and add in some essential fats which will not cause any bloat but enable you to keep calories the same and blood sugar levels steady.
Try walking in your breaks or going to the gym in your lunch hour, that way it will help boost your metabolism and also be more likely to keep any potential bloat at bay.

J

[mesomorph]

Hello James
Would I like to know How much protein,fat,carbs per pound you recommend to a bodybuilder endomorph on and off drugs?
thanks

Very difficult to know without weight, height, age, activity levels, bodyfat %, muscle mass, training experience etc....

J

[boatman]

Should I keep protein at 2 grams per pound? and carbs at 1.5. And what do you consider moderate to high fat? Would it be something like a 40/30/30 type set up? What is the min amount of carbs one should shoot for whn gaining 0.5-1lb a week?

[boatman]

Since upping my protein to 2 grams per pound, my weight hasnt been going up but my waist has lol. Should I back off on the protein a bit?

[BigPoppaPump3]

How you doing James ? Are you making appearances at any shows this year ? No doubt you will be preparing a few guys huh ? Almost a year ago we met at the scottish Ukbff show I was in the juniors and purchased a dvd. Now i'm 8 weeks out from the same show, same class and going for the W !!!

[ukstrongman]

james as a british trainer want some advice, do you think carb cycling is better where u have 2 higher days in the week when dieting in the last few weeks? and the rest low days

im currently going low days straight at 100g carb for 6 days followed by 1 day of 500gram carb up once a week

i find once a week is best, but i only tried 2 day higher carbup and didnt drop weight, so not sure wots best..... i feel softish after 5 days of low carbs though, but after a refeed day on day 7 im veiny and hard again, is this ok to carry on???

[BobRowley88]

Hi James, it's good to have you here. Congrats on what you've accomplished! We've actually met... sort of. At the 2009 Olympia weekend... it was in Gold's on Sandhill & Flamingo. I asked you to spot me on a set of incline bench presses, you had just walked in to start your workout. I beleive it was that Saturday... anyway, just thought it was kinda cool. Look forward to seeing you on stage! Goodluck!

[WiscoDieselPower]

My diet is generally 7 meals daily which includes my PWO shake, so 6 solid meals daily.
The first phase was really to get me eating a lot of food regularly to get my metabolism running. Now I like my food and have no problem eating but Neil actually made me eat more! I kept saying 'I dont feel like I am dieting' and he always said 'make the most of it, it wont last!!!'
He was right, by 3-4 weeks out I was doing 2 hours of cardio daily and eating very few carbs. I used to fantasize about my cheat meal as soon as the last one was eaten!!
The diet was very balanced and inc fruit, veg, various protein and carb sources including wholewheat bread, steak, oily fish, oats, sweet potato etc...
My training has always been basic. Off season i train each body part every 10 days but pre contest i train a more conventional 7 day split. I like to train hard and heavy and for only around 40-50 mins. I go to failure on 1 set only generally and do anywhere between 6 and 12 sets per body part and generally 8-15 reps (more for legs though).

Neil works soley on weight loss. he gave me a target each week and I knew with my protein high that the weight I was losing was mainly fat. I had to come in around 14lbs lighter than 2007 so I did lose a little muscle too.
He believes in depleting the body right down then heavily loading for the last 3-4 days prior to a show. Man, I was sick of carbs after the load, I just wanted a steak and salad!!
I spent this weekend with him and yet again he ruined me in the gym. He is a wonderful family man and Neil his wife and his children came over to us for a meal and then the next night he cooked for me and my wife; a nice traditional roast chicken with rhubarb crumble for pudding!!! He likes his off season!!LOL!!

J

James...

I think your conditioning is OUT OF THIS WORLD! SICK BRO!

Your level of conditioning is what I hope to achieve. I am 5 weeks out from my show. I will compete as a heavy weight. I have been doing very well with my prep but I have to say the last cheat I had was at 8 weeks out in fear that I would not be able to achieve top notch conditioning. When did you eliminate your last cheat meal before your show? Also, I am at 120 grams of carbs daily and seeing great results along with 450g protein, and 70g fat. My carbs are oats and sweet potatos. You had fruit and whole wheat bread??? I thought those would be too high on the Glycemic Index rating to have as carb sources while prepping? Are they safe? Just wondering on your opinion(s). Thanks...oh and I contacted Neil this past week. He's incredible and I plan on hiring him for my 2011 prep for Jr. Nationals. I can't wait!!

Thanks!

[mesomorph]

Should I keep protein at 2 grams per pound? and carbs at 1.5. And what do you consider moderate to high fat? Would it be something like a 40/30/30 type set up? What is the min amount of carbs one should shoot for whn gaining 0.5-1lb a week?

Yes but I did very well on 33/33/33 ratio

J

[mesomorph]

Since upping my protein to 2 grams per pound, my weight hasnt been going up but my waist has lol. Should I back off on the protein a bit?

Or just do a little cardio. I rather eat more food and keep everything in check with a little cardio, even when trying to gain weight. It helps metabolise food better too and make use of more of it.

J

[mesomorph]

How you doing James ? Are you making appearances at any shows this year ? No doubt you will be preparing a few guys huh ? Almost a year ago we met at the scottish Ukbff show I was in the juniors and purchased a dvd. Now i'm 8 weeks out from the same show, same class and going for the W !!!

Yes i will be at almost all of the UKBFF shows this year as well as some of the IFBB shows in America. I am working at most of them with CNP Professional on their stands.

J

[mesomorph]

james as a british trainer want some advice, do you think carb cycling is better where u have 2 higher days in the week when dieting in the last few weeks? and the rest low days

im currently going low days straight at 100g carb for 6 days followed by 1 day of 500gram carb up once a week

i find once a week is best, but i only tried 2 day higher carbup and didnt drop weight, so not sure wots best..... i feel softish after 5 days of low carbs though, but after a refeed day on day 7 im veiny and hard again, is this ok to carry on???

Hey there are SO many different ways to skin a cat. I like to start all of my athletes on as much food and carbohydrates as they can eat without gaining weight. Then as the diet progresses increase cardio until they are at an hour a day. I will then look at their food and start to take some later carbs away. Its not until probably the last 3-4 weeks that I feel some sort of cycling is beneficial. I just give them a cheat 'window' at the weekend to refuel and get the mind working, so by the monday they are back on low carbs again and then they will slowly increase on wed and thursday. Towards the end on the 'cheat day' I like to start the day (from waking till 6pm) with no carbs at all, then from 6pm all hell lets loose for around 4-5 hours of eating. Not shit but quality foods with 'a little bit' of what you fancy.

Hope this helps. Last cheat BTW is normally around 10-14 days out from the show, then its a slow depletion all the way up to 3 days out when loading starts.....And I load HEAVY!!!!!

Oh yeah and if it aint broke then dont fix it!!! Thats the best advice I can give!

J

[mesomorph]

Hi James, it's good to have you here. Congrats on what you've accomplished! We've actually met... sort of. At the 2009 Olympia weekend... it was in Gold's on Sandhill & Flamingo. I asked you to spot me on a set of incline bench presses, you had just walked in to start your workout. I beleive it was that Saturday... anyway, just thought it was kinda cool. Look forward to seeing you on stage! Goodluck!

Hey I remember dude!!!! That was a great week in Vegas, it was my first time and my wife and I are already looking forward to going back again this year!!!! Maybe to compete if I do well in the qualifiers!!

J