Sponsored by sports nutrition company LA Muscle, Nav aka ‘The Sword' has been training since 19 years of age. Inspired by his brother to start weight training and before becoming ‘The Sword', Nav had always been someone who enjoys sport and takes a massive interest in his appearance. Weighing only 48kg at the time Nav recalls "I initially started trying to build muscle by swimming as I had heard it was an easy way to do so. Although it worked and I enjoyed it I saw that my brother was improving a lot faster than me with his weight training, so I decided that if he could do it, so could I".
It was at this stage Nav began to take bodybuilding really seriously. As well as visiting the gym more regularly, he also bought bodybuilding DVDs and magazines to build on his knowledge of training techniques, dieting and supplements. As Nav's passion for training grew so did his muscles and in just over a year Nav weighed just under 70kg…. ‘The Sword' was born.
Encouraged to compete by the owner of the gym that he attended at the time, ‘The Sword' took part in his first ever competition, the UKBFF South East, and placed 3rd. This was a massive confidence boost and there was no stopping him. Since 2005 Nav has achieved the following:
EFBB London 2005
UKBFF South East 2005
UKBFF South East 2006
UKBFF South East 2007
UKBFF UK Final 2007
With full support from his sponsors LA Muscle, Nav aka The Sword is in the best shape he has ever been and is currently preparing to win back his title this year in the UKBFF 2009 qualifiers.
The Sword trains five times a week and this is what his training routine looks like:
MON: Back
TUE: Arms- Biceps/Triceps
WED: Legs- Quads/Hamstrings
THU: Shoulders & Calves
FRI: Chest & Abs
SAT: Rest
SUN: Rest
He tends to keep his training routine the same throughout the year but makes his workouts more intense when preparing for competitions. He usually includes cardio 2-3 times a day early morning, later in the afternoon (to help his muscles appear more ripped) and always starts and ends his training with a warm up/down.
Nav says, "I always feel it's best to follow a routine that works for you. Everyone's body is different." His typical workout for each body part would be as follows:
BICEPS: Straight bar curls, seated incline dumbbell curls, barbell preacher curls 4 sets - 8-12 reps
TRICEPS: Press downs, close grip bench presses, lying tricep French press (w/EZ curl bar), one arm reverse grip press downs
4 sets - 8-10 reps
CHEST: Incline dumbbell press, flat bench press, incline dumbell flyes, weighted dips
4-5 sets - 6-10 reps
BACK: Bent over barbell rows, Lat pull downs, t-bar rows, straight bar seated rows, deadlifts (I love them)
4 sets - 8 - 10 reps
SHOULDERS: Military press, rear delt machine, dumbbell side laterals, upright rows, barbell shrugs
4 sets - 10-12 reps
QUADS: Leg extensions, squats, leg press, one legged extensions
5 sets - 12 -20 reps
HAMSTRINGS: lying leg curls, stiff legged deadlifts, one legged hamstring curls
5 sets - 12 - 20 reps
CALVES: seated calf raises, standing calf raises, calf raises on leg press machine
5 sets - 20 - 50 reps
ABS: Ab wheel, rope crunches, hanging leg raises, seated crunches
4 sets - 30 - 40 reps
When preparing for competition Nav ‘The Sword' Almashan follows a low carb and high protein diet and cuts fat out completely. He eats 5-6 meals a day at 2-3 hour intervals and avoids having carbs anytime after 7pm. Most of his meals consist of the following foods:
Scrambled egg whites
Chicken breast
Turkey breast
Cod
Tuna
Baby potatoes
Brown rice
Brocolli
Green beans
Cauliflower
Spinach |
