Interview With Colossus Fitness

TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOURSELVES.  WHAT IS YOUR BACKGROUND? ACCOMPLISHMENTS? WHO IS BEHIND COLOSSUS FITNESS?

Colossus Fitness was founded about a little over a year ago by Josh Wilkinson and Kyle Grondin. Both members have been passionate about fitness since when they started their journey a little over three years ago. They wanted to create a channel as a medium to put out there knowledge and expertise in the field to help others be better, stronger and smarter. Our background mainly lies in expertise of gaining strength and putting on lean muscle yet we are also passionate about sport specific training, weightloss and mobility work.

I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU ARE WORKING TOWARDS BUILDING STRENGTH AND SIZE, WHILE KEEPING AN AESTHETIC LEAN LOOK. HOW DO YOU GO ABOUT TRAINING AND EATING FOR THAT?

As for training, we often like to keep our compound lifts heavy within a 3-5 rep range. Following our compound lifts, we include our accessory movements with higher reps and a ton of volume. We don't overdo it however, our workouts never take more than an hour. When preparing for a comp or when our calories are low because we are deep in a cut we tend to work each muscle group individually five times a week with an optional sixth day dedicated to working a weaker muscle. We usually follow more of a push pull routine when maintaining or in the off season. With those, we like to incorporate supersets, forced reps, and strip sets to ensure we are working to failure. As for nutrition, we follow IIFYM and are consistent with hitting our given macro numbers per day, which helps us stay on track with our goals.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN TRAINING FOR AND WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE GOALS?

We have both been training for a little over three years. Some goals of Colossus Fitness are to continue in the Natural Mens Physique circuit and to get our pro card in the next two years. After that we would love to potentially get into powerlifting while maintaining our physiques.

WHAT DOES A TYPICAL PRE & POST WORKOUT MEAL LOOK LIKE FOR YOU? DO YOU OCCASIONALLY HAVE A CHEAT MEAL OF SOME SORTS?

Usually just some starchy carbs or a banana before workouts, something light that releases within good time to get us prepared and energized for our workouts. As for cheat meals we don't necessarily do a "Cheat meal" or a "cheat day". We practice IIFYM where we can essentially eat whatever we want (within reason) when we get the itch which eliminates the need to over indulge. Carb refeeds are another story and we love cereal!

WE COVERED NUTRITION AND PROGRAMMING. WHAT ABOUT SUPPLEMENTATION THOUGH?

We don't do anything fancy. We believe protein scoops are amazing when you are on the go and love to use isolates so we don't waste our carbs and fats (lol)! Otherwise 5g of creatine and amino acids during workouts and occasionally a scoop of pre workout are all we really use. We also take vitamin D and a vitamin pill in the morning.

One cool tip I have is to use a greens supplement. I take it in the morning and its really good for flushing out your body and helping you get some of the essential vitamins and the benefits from a wide array of vegetables.

DO YOU HAVE ANY BODY PARTS OR MOVEMENTS THAT CLEARLY NEED IMPROVEMENT? DO YOU FOCUS ON THEM AND HOW?

Josh: An area I'm trying to bring up are my delts. I lacked on training my rear delts earlier in my training, which in turn left them a little unsymmetrical. Now I have an additional day for delts on top of my normal regimen to really impact them to grow with a focus on rear deltoid movements as finishers. Huge delts look great and the delt cap can really extenuate your physique.

Kyle: Upper chest. I believe an upper chest is critical to having a full looking physique. Arnold had problems with this earlier in his career however he made amazing changes by focusing on the incline bench press. I will be implementing similar training in my off-season.

WHAT IS YOUR OPINION ON STRUCTURING A PROGRAM BASED ON 5X5 LIFTS? IS HIGH VOLUME A REQUIREMENT FOR MUSCLE GAIN OR DO YOU THINK IT DEPENDS ON ONE'S GENETICS?

I would encourage it during the off-season. Its an amazing program but it takes a lot of time and effort. It can really wipe you out and would be hard to maintain when cutting and if you don't hit your numbers it can take a mental toll and get you down. I think anyone would be able to structure their training around this so long as they are comfortable performing the bench, squat and deadlift.

HOW DOES YOUR DIET AND TRAINING CHANGE WHEN YOU DECIDE TO GO ON A CUT?

I usually cut calories by 100 each week I don't loose weight. This is a generalization and there is a lot more factors aside from that but that's how I usually come down in body fat. I try to keep cardio low and protein is pretty consistently 1 gram per pound. I tend to like cutting a little bit higher fat than most because my body really tends to blow up with large amounts of carbs. Its what's worked for both myself (Josh) and Kyle personally. 

HOW CAN INJURIES BE PREVENTED? WHAT DOES YOUR PERSONAL WARM-UP DRILL LOOK LIKE?

I believe the most powerful tool to avoiding injuries in fitness is by learning to do techniques properly while using a reasonable weight. Too many people get injured because of "ego lifting" where they try to use too much weight without proper form. My warm-up usually consists of my 10-minute walk to the gym and light ballistic stretching as well as warming up the muscle I am specifically going to be working.

LET'S ASSUME TODAY IS JANUARY THE 1ST. DO I HAVE ENOUGH TIME UNTIL SUMMER TO CHANGE HOW MY BODY LOOKS? WHAT DO YOU THINK ARE REALISTIC GOALS FOR A NATURAL ATHLETE?

I think people need to be more level headed with the amount of progress than can make in small amounts of time as natural athletes. I wouldn't let that stop anyone from starting just because they might not have "6 pack abs" for their vacation. Think in the long run, starting today will get you closer for tomorrow. If you don't start at all, you'll only get further away. That's how I look at it and would encourage others to look at it. If you only work your butt off for a week for a vacation, beach day or pool party you wont have a sustainable look on fitness. If you read my blog on the "compound effect" on www.muscularstrength.com you can see the effects of doing the little things right and starting good habits today.

WHAT'S YOUR OPINION ON IIFYM AND IF WHEN IT COMES TO GAINING SIZE/STRENGTH? ON A PARALLEL NOTE, WHAT IS YOUR OPINION ON HIIT AND LISS WHEN IT COMES TO BURNING FAT?

We have both been dedicated to IIFYM for quite some time now and strongly believe if done correctly, size/strength gain can definitely be achieved. We believe flexibility is a huge factor that influences a sustainable & healthy diet. As for IF, it shouldn't have an impact on strength/size gains. When it comes to HIIT and LISS we think both are great for shedding fat. When deciding which type to do, it's important to go for the type that you will stick to and enjoy the most.

WHAT DO YOU THINK ARE 3 OF THE BIGGEST GYM RELATED MYTHS, BE IT TRAINING OR NUTRITION ORIENTED? SHED SOME LIGHT ON THEM!

1. Carbs make you fat... Really? Carbs alone don't make you fat. It's the misinterpretation of how much you're actually consuming when it comes to higher carb foods. Calories in vs. calories out is what matters for the most part!

2. If you want to get shredded you should only eat chicken, tilapia, broccoli, etc. False, there are tons and tons of people that get absolutely shredded from following a flexible dieting approach.

3. Lifting weights will make you look bulky. This is often said towards females which we don't agree with at all. There's nothing more attractive than a female with nice & toned muscles!
   
   

IF, FOR WHATEVER EXTERNAL REASON, YOU WERE FORCED TO STOP TRAININ FOR 6 MONTHS, HOW WOULD THAT MAKE YOU FEEL? WHAT MESSAGE DO YOU HAVE FOR OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHO ARE "BENCHED" BECAUSE OF SICKNESS, INJURIES, BUSY SCHEDULES ETC. ETC. ?

That would certainly be hard. However I wouldn't let that time go to waste. Personally Kyle and myself (Josh) are big on having knowledge and we both strongly believe being knowledgeable will help you learn how to create the body you've always desired. I would use the time to perfect my nutrition and become extremely educated. Furthermore I would do what I could, if I couldn't work my upper body; then I would work my legs. There's always something to do and you just need to adapt and make the most of your time. For those of you who say you don't have time, make time! If it comes down to me watching a T.V show I love or going to the gym, ill choose the gym every time! Hour to sleep in or gym? Gym! Make the time guys and if you have an injury work on your other muscle, your brain!

CLOSING UP, DO YOU HAVE ONE FINAL MESSAGE FOR OUR COMMUNITY?

Anyone can accomplish anything. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise, work harder than anyone ever thought was possible. Remember any dream you may have big or small can be accomplished. The best advice I could give anyone is to stop hypothesizing and start DOING. Go out and make whatever dream you have for yourself become a reality.

Don't compete. Dominate. 

-Josh Wilkinson and Kyle Grondin (Colossus Fitness)