Elite Physique

When you’re in the market for a contest prep coach, what do you look for? Years of experience? Number of success stories? Pro cards? Educational degree? Word of mouth? The focus of my column this month isn’t how to select a good coach. Really, it’s about how a great client can make an average coach look phenomenal. If you were to look at the current crop of top-tier coaches, you might think that Hany Rambod (Mr. Olympia Phil Heath’s coach, for those of you who have been living under an Olympic plate) would be the best coach on the market. I’d have to call bullshit. To be quite honest, I believe that Phil’s genetics carry him further than Hany’s coaching abilities. That’s not to say that Hany isn’t a good coach. What I’m trying to say is that Hany wouldn’t be my first choice. Sure, I could probably learn a thing or two from him, but if I were looking for a contest prep guru, one of the first items on my checklist would be the coach who can take genetic misfits and transform them into having jaw-dropping conditioning.

Dialing in genetic elites isn’t a difficult task. I’ve done it before. No probs. Where a true trainer earns his (or her) stripes is with the client whose prep throws in unexpected curveballs. I guarantee you that top-tier athletes aren’t cheating on their diets, flaking out on cardio, and not doing everything in their power to win. They have to. Their careers depend on it. A first-time competitor needs to basically be babysat, monitored closely, and fine-tuned on a continual basis. This is what sets the seasoned coach apart from a cherry picker. You know the trainer who talks a good game, grabs the genetic elite athlete, and turns out looking like the trainer to the Olympians when the reality is the coach took the backseat with his client’s genetics at the wheel. We find the challenge of the “difficult ones” to be what drives us to step up our game.

Let me introduce you to National competitor Adam Rice. We’ve worked with Adam for three shows. Adam is the dream client and someone whom every trainer wishes were on his resume. Adam doesn’t possess the rare “look at a weight and grow” genetics, but he does possess a Dorian Yates blood-and-guts work ethic both in the gym and in the kitchen. We first started dieting Adam when he was 213 pounds, and we ripped him down to 150 pounds to secure a class win. For the OPA Ontario Provincial Championships, Adam jumped up a weight class. He started his diet at 189 pounds, and we whittled him down to a shredded 157. He did this with a strategic diet plan, which consisted of only a total calorie drop of about 1,000 calories—from 3,409 calories to 2,405. Also, he did only 30 minutes of cardio a day! We structured his diet in stages and slowly decreased his carbohydrate and calorie intake. We like to keep protein high, and Adam proved that this approach worked well with his body. Adam made our job easy and definitely made us look like rock stars. In all honesty, it was Adam’s hard work and dedication that secured his stage success and his shredded conditioning. With Adam’s drive to be the best, I’m certain he will be a threat on the Canadian National stage this year. Watch for him!

To see more incredible transformations from Dan Kennedy, click here!