👋 Hi! Tell us about yourself and your training
My name is Shane and I am 35 years old, living in Hamilton, Ontario Canada.
Besides being a physique pro, I am a full time professional photographer specializing in weddings, family and fitness. Married for 10 years with 2 kids and my french bulldog!
In 2017 I got my Pro card in Men’s physique and right now I am building up my body to compete in the Classic Physique division. Been training for 20 years.
Ever since I was a kid my idols were the great 80’s action stars, Arnold, Van Damne and my all time favorite Stallone.
I was in awe of their bodies and starting doing 200 crunches everyday before bed when I was 10 years old, LOL I was the only kids in grade 5 with a 6 pack!
Currently I’m with Nutraphase supplements. Started this past year, just started chatting with them on social media and we saw how we can both benefit from each other, so far so great and I love the supplements!
The best thing about bodybuilding to me is how I can sculpt my body and the discipline it take to reach certain goals!
⏱ Describe a typical day of training
I train every body part 2 x per week with building my legs right now a top priority, no off days.
I spend about 2-3 hours per day, 7 days per week and design my own program based on my goals and weak body parts.
I train at Goodlife Fitness, a chain of gyms here in Canada that allows me to train in any city I may be in so I never miss a workout.
When I prepare myself for training, depending on what I have going on that day, I figure out when I can go first thing in the morning and work around that.
I eat 90 minutes before I train and my intra workout drink consists of BCAA, EAA, Creatine and Glycine. Immediately after training I take a Scoop of protein powder, I keep a tub in my trunk and drink it on the way home, then prepare my largest meal of the day about an hour later.
In my gym bag I have my wraps, shaker bottle, greens supplement, knee sleeves, Shiek belt, Fat Gripz, occlusion wraps, and headphones.
Cardio for my in the off-season is 10 minutes before and 10 minutes after lifting on treadmill just for general health.
I don’t have a favorite exercise but if I had to choose one it would be either leg press or incline dumbbell press, least favorite is deadlift… Hate deadlifts! LOL.
👊 How do you keep going and push harder?
The gym and working out is just part of my everyday weather. If I’m feeling down or unmotivated I just go like its not even an option, just like drinking water.
I have constant goals I set for myself whether it is to build or lean out for photoshoot or step on stage. That works for me. I need goals or it becomes boring and I LOVE excitement.
Best tip I can give is to always work on your muscle-mind connection with every movement you do and you will improve huge.
I’m always thinking about just destroying the muscle I’m working on, feeling the contraction and forcing the most blood I can get in there!
I’m self employed so I’m lucky to fit my training in whenever I want for the most part BUT maybe because of that I’ve taken too much time for the gym versus family life, so balance is important for sure.
🏆 How are you doing today and what does the future look like?
My training right now is awesome. I am building up my physique right now so eating a lot and resting to recover. It’s a lot different than I am used to. I have being in a cut for so long, so I am enjoying this!
In 5 years, my goal would be to get to a point where I am happy with my physique and just be more on a functionality program. So building muscle, shredding down and repeating the process.
I want to take more time and build more businesses in the photography/videography field.
If I could start over in bodybuilding, my plan would be to focus on that mind-muscle connection right away and not being afraid to eat and get those gains early on.
🤕 How do you recover, rest and handle injuries?
I rarely lift heavy but when I do I use total control so I rarely get injured, more so just extreme tightness in my forearms and back so massages work wonders.
If I pull something or something does not feel right when lifting I immediately stop and if injured I just rest the body part till its fully healed.
I’m not the greatest for sleep. I get maybe 6 hours but that’s always disturbed if my schedule changes. It’s usually not a problem because I always plan my day out in the morning and stick to the plan.
My go to supplements for recovering are BCAAs, glutamine, protein powders, glutamine, glycine, creatine, magnesium and zinc. Also foam rolling and go to the chiropractor once a month.
🍎 How is your diet and what supplements do you use?
I am around 4500 calories at the moment
I have a macronutrient base that I am following but because I am in my off-season I have the flexibility to not be totaly accurate.
I am around 4500 calories at the moment and I kinda eyeball it due to experience hitting my macros for protein, carbs and fats.
👍 What has inspired and motivated you?
I watch alot of YouTube videos of John Meadows, Seth Feroce and Christian Guzman. Also listen to podcasts, right now listening to Muscle Intelligence podcast by Ben Pukalski.
My gym beats are usually 90s hiphop or podcasts, the best advice someone gave me was to train with intent and leave the ego at the door.
✏️ Advice for other people who want to improve themselves?
The gym should be for working out, not some social hangout.
If I was new or I plan for my kids to bodybuilding/fitness, I would teach them not to be afraid to EAT and focus on the big exercises: bench, deadlifts, squat, overhead press.
Focus on perfect form and feel the muscle, adjust hand positions, angels etc. till you can feel the muscle being worked 100%.
Just be consistent and have goals and commit to those goals 100%. If your are cutting then take it serious: 24/7 diet, training and sleep.
The gym should be for working out, not some social hangout. It drives me crazy when I see no one is training intense, doing the same thing day in, day out for years and wonder why they look the same as day 1.
Every sport where you need power, speed should be trained together with weights.
Remember to treat everyone the way you want to be treated and good things will come.
Also remember hot sauce and mustard are your best friends when dieting LOL.
🤝 Are you taking on clients right now?
No, not as a trainer. I don’t want to combine my passion for bodybuilding with anything work related, but will gladly help anyone out.
I’ve always wanted to train others, but I would only do it if they were serious competitors and they would have to give me their commitment 100%.
📝 Where can we learn more about you?
You can find me on Instagram @shredding_shane.
