Good things come in small packages and LA Muscle sponsored athlete Max Herd is no exception to the rule!
As a youngster, Max had always been a huge wrestling fan and constantly dreamt of growing up (quite literally) to be the size of his heroes who entered the ring. Unfortunately, nature had other ideas and at 5ft 8, Max never quite made it to the desired 6ft5 stature he wanted. An active and very energetic person throughout his school years, he rowed competitively for a local club, trained in karate, cycled about 100-150 miles a week and consistently ran twice a week. In his free time he would also work out at home with a set of weights he had bought for himself.
At 18 years old Max started at university. Like most of his peers, his diet went completely downhill and the only exercise he really managed to get was the drunk dancing in local nightclubs. "Looking back on it, the only area that probably got any exercise was my calves as I don't really dance anyway; I kind of bob up and down (no rhythm)," Max recalls.
After a year he returned home for the summer and it was obvious, in his appearance, that his diet of onion rings and beer had started to take its toll. Ultimately deciding to do something about this, he took immediate action by joining a gym and the rest is history.
Max always enjoyed lifting weights more than running, cycling or rowing and has simply stuck with it since. He fondly remembers the day his dad's jaw dropped when he picked up one end of his father's racing car. At 5ft 8(on a good day) and weighing 84kgs Max loves competing and, this year, entered Britain's Strongest Man Qualifier U90kgs. Here are some of his proudest achievements to date so far:
2007 British Junior Bench Championship - 82.5kgs class: Broke a British and a European junior record in the process.
2007: Broke the British Senior Bench Record -82.5kgs class
2007 World Bench Championships 82.5kgs class -3rd
2007 British Unequipped Power Lifting Championships 82.5kgs class - 2nd
With the support of leading Sports Nutrition Company LA Muscle, Max's goal is to compete in a heavier weight class next year. He's currently training and preparing intensely with a routine that looks much like this:
Mon: Back
Deads- usually 3 work sets up to 220kgs
T-bar or bent over rows- 2-3 work sets up to 120kgs
Cable rows to upper abs with a straight bar - 3 sets
Pull-ups- 3 sets
DogCrapp cable rows- 3 sets
Tuesday: Chest and biceps
Hammer strength incline press - 3 sets 4-5 plates a side
Shallow incline DB press - 2-3 sets. 50-60kgs
Dips -3 sets bodyweight
Flies or cable crossovers- 2-5 sets.
Machine curl- 3 sets
Gironda drag curl -3 sets
Unilateral dumbbell curls- 3 sets
Weds: Calves and Abs
Calve raises superset hack squat calve raises
Seated calves
Leg press calve raises superset free standing calve raises.
Hanging leg raises
Cable crunches
Ab crunch superset, leg raises
20 mins cardio running
Thursday: Shoulders and triceps
Lateral raises- 3-4 sets
Unilateral dumbbell raises hanging at an incline- 2-3 sets
DB press- 3 sets up to 50kgs
Upright rows- 2-3 sets
Reverse pec dec- 3 sets
Tricep pushdowns- 3 sets
Dumbell French presses superset with champagne presses -3 sets
Overhead rope exts -3-4 sets
Reverse grip unilateral cable pull downs- 3 sets
Friday: Hamstrings
Lying hamstring curls- 3-4 sets
Glute ham raises- 3 sets
Seated leg curls- 3 sets
One leg curl -2 sets
Leg press- 3 sets 20 reps
Front squats- 3 sets
Leg extensions - 3 sets.
"When competing I do a lot more cardio and don't lift quite so heavy weights. I drop my rest times down from about 90 seconds to about 45. I change my workouts very regularly and will sometimes do a few weeks of very low volume and some weeks with much higher volume. I think the amount of rest and calories you take in will help dictate what you can and can't do. Right now I can get in a good amount of sleep and food so I can get away with a bit more volume."
DIET
"My contest diet and off season diet are pretty much the same – it's simply more of the same stuff in the off season. To look my absolute best in competition my diet is moderate to high in protein, high in carbohydrates and moderate to low in fat. This diet is excellent for the bulking up stage. I have never been as big as when eating like this!" recalls Max.
"I recommend to anyone competing that they ensure their diet consists of plenty of whey protein, amino acids, caffeine, glucosamine, glutamine, creatine and a good multi vitamin."
LA Muscle recommends some of the following products from their range:-
Bio Activator
Explosive Creatine
Centurion
Speedstar
Multi Protector
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