LIGHT
WASN’T
RIGHT
118
FLEX | MARCH ’18
EXERCISE
SETS
QUADS
3
3
3
4
3
HAMSTRINGS
3
CALVES
REPS
GYM,
Tipping the scales at around
300 pounds off-season at a
height of 5'10", Williams is one of
the bigger combatants in the pro
ranks. His legs are behemoth
and certainly weren’t forged
with the typical bodybuilding
approach of medium reps and
moderate weight.
“For exercises like squats, I like
the old-school bodybuilding-type
thing where I try to go as heavy
as I can and I don’t mind lowering
the reps—like a Ronnie Coleman
style of training,” the 33-year-old
Grenada native says. “He used
to do two- and three-rep sets,
stuff like that. Most bodybuilders
nowadays don’t want to go
anything under eight to 10 reps
when they do exercises, but I think
you gain denser, thicker muscle
from training hard and heavy.”
Not that Williams hasn’t tried
it both ways. After winning his
pro card at the North American
Championships in 2013, he gave
his friend and fellow IFBB pro
Juan “Diesel” Morel’s regimen a
go. “It didn’t work for me at all,”
Williams recalls, shaking his head.
“My leg size actually decreased
when doing that lighter, higher-
rep stuff. When I went back to
my style of training, my legs
improved a lot.”
The proof was in the results.
In his pro debut at the New York
Pro in May 2014, he took a
disappointing 11th place. After
reverting to his old ways, he
notched a top-five showing at
the Chicago Pro in July, followed
by seventh in August at the
Golden State Pro. Williams was
on his way—doing it his way.