Hit TV star teams up with LA Muscle to give you an exclusive insight into his training routine and diet…
Damar Martin has been training as a bodybuilder for almost 20 years and took part in his first competition at the age of 20. Always an energetic child, sports was a major part of Damar's life growing up. "If I wasn't at my local running track or playing tennis or badminton I was probably outside running around the block," recalls Damar.
Although Damar has competed in over a dozen competitions he puts his all into each and every one. His first competition as a bodybuilder would have to be his proudest achievement. It was particularly satisfying as he felt like he had joined the fraternity of bodybuilding.
Through the years aside from bodybuilding Damar has achieved success in the world of entertainment. Initially starting out joining a stunt school, he has done TV work, modelling and some film work since. More recently, most people would recognise him as ‘Destroyer' in the return of the iconic hit TV show Gladiators. Now advisor to www.LAMuscle.com, Damar tell us, "Gladiators has been an incredible experience for me and has lead to so many great opportunities .This coming year is set to be a very exciting one for me."
Here, Damar lets us have an exclusive look at the training and diet that has made him the ‘Destroyer'of the arena. GLAADIATOOOORS REEEEEADYYYY!..
Training routine
"Typically I take my training through various stages during the year. I have my power phase, mass building phase and cutting up phase"
"In my power phase I often take my reps to as low as a single rep for the final set then immediately strip the weight down and do a further 10 reps to complete the set. The penultimate set may be around 4-6 reps also with a strip down set to follow. Although I like to train heavy it is not possible to do so week after week. I would normally hold this phase for 6-10 weeks. An example of some of the weight that I use for the main lifts are 280kg squat, 200kg bench and 260kg deadlift. My all time lift for squat is 340kg for one rep and 240kg single rep bench"
"In my mass building phase my rep range goes up to around 8-12 reps. When its time to cut up for a competition I add a lot more super sets and drop sets along with cardio by doing this I end up doing around 30 reps by completion"
"I tend not to drop my weight to drastically during my mass building and cutting phases as I seem to lose size and quality of my muscles."
"Over the year I like to vary the actual exercises I do so as not to get boring. I pay particular attention to what each exercise is doing and exactly what part of that muscle it is working."
"The training routine given here is done during my mass building phase. The rep range is from 8-12 reps for most exercises. I do a 4 day session for my mass and power phases and take it up to 5 days when I'm in the cutting up phase."
Day 1 -Quads- Calves- Abs
Quads
4 x Leg extensions
4 x squats
3 x leg press
3 x single leg extensions (dropping from 6 reps to 1 rep – i.e 6,5,4,3,2,1 on each leg changing the direction that my toes are pointing. 6 reps toes in, 5 toes out, 4 toes straight etc)
Calves
3 x seated calf raise
3 x calve raise (on leg press)
Abs - various
Day 2 -Shoulders-Biceps-Forearms
Front delt
4 x db press
3 x front raises
3 x bb press
Side delt
3 x db lateral raises
2 x single arm (heavy db) lateral raises
2 x seated lateral raises (2-3 secs holds)
Rear delt
3 x rear delt db
3 x rope pulls (done on a lat pull down machine leaning all the way back pulling the rope into your forehead)
Biceps
3 x hammer curls
3 x concentration curls
2 x high pulley curls
Forearms
2 x reverse bb curls
2 x wrist curls
Day 3 Chest- Triceps- Abs
Chest
4 x db incline press
3 x incline flys
3 x flat db press
3 x decline press
2 x dips
Triceps
3 x tricep cable push downs
3 x kick backs
3 x tricep machine press
Abs - various
Day 4 -Back-Traps-Hamstrings-Calves
Back
3 x Deadlift
3 x lat pull downs (super set with straight arm pull downs)
3 x seated row
3 x bent over rows
Traps
3 x Bb shrugs
3 x Bb upright rows
Hamstrings
3 x hamstring curls
3 x standing leg curls
3 x stiff leg deadlift
Calves
3 x standing calve raises
3 x seated calve raises
Diet
"Throughout the year my diet is kept relatively clean. When not competing I sometimes have food which may be higher in fat but don't stress myself out about it. I do not over consume unhealthy food and try to keep myself at around 12% body fat off season. Putting on 3-4 stones over your body weight off-season seems to me to be counter productive as this means you end up taking more time trying to strip the fat and less time putting on muscle before the cutting phase."
"Usually eating around 4-5 meals per day, I try to eat at least every 3 hours although my body places its own demands depending on how much I've been training. I eat until satisfied but never over eat at any one sitting."
My off-season diet would normally look like this on a typical day:
1st meal
Cereal / toast /protein shake
2nd meal
Chicken / brown rice / vegetables (broccoli, cabbage, carrots)
3rd meal
Salmon steak / potato / vegetables
4th meal
Chicken / cous cous rice / vegetables
5th meal
Chicken / vegetables
"This is very basic and as it is generally clean I feel I can add some junk when I wish without feeling guilty about it."
"I cut out all carbs after 7pm in my losing weight or cutting up phase but normally I would be relaxed about this during mass building or my power phase. I find supplements such as creatine (Explosive Creatine by www.lamuscle.com) are good especially before a training session to get the necessary nutrients into your body. Protein shakes (such as VIP from www.lamuscle.com) can also be a lot easier to make rather than cook a meal but I always try to take them as supplements rather than a meal replacement. I also take cod liver oil and glucosamine sulphate on a regular basis to make sure my joints are in working order. Personally, I feel there is no substitute for healthy whole foods."
You can see more of Damar in an exclusive interview with Caroline Pearce aka Ice in the hit TV show Gladiators, by visiting www.lamuscle.tv
Links
www.lamuscle.com
www.damarmartin.com
www.fitnutrition.co.uk |
