Muscle Evolution Muscle_Evolution__July-August_2017 | Page 30

WILLIAM’S SUPPLEMENT STACK ■ USN 3XT Pump ■ USN Hardcore Whey gH ■ USN BCAA Amino Gro anyone. My pride also meant I felt compelled to handle the situation myself and would not accept any help. But I got through it, and I came out stronger than ever. More importantly, I learned from it! What have you learned? It taught me to never give up. Life is tough with a lot of obstacles, but you have to hang in there to survive. Setbacks and roadblocks are only obstacles between where you are now and where you want to be. Nothing lasts forever and you must make the most out of your situation, no matter where you find yourself in life. Often, trial-and-error experiences will teach you more than most books. You are originally from Ghana. How did you end up in Europe? My mother brought me and my sister over and we settled in the Netherlands. My mother made the move so that we could have the opportunity to live a better life. When did you start training and why? It was when I was around 13 or 14. I always wanted to be one of the strongest men in the world! ■ USN Pure Protein GF-1 ■ USN Creatine Anabolic ■ USN Glutamine ■ USN Fast Grow Anabolic ■ USN IsoPro Did you have a mentor when you were making your way up the ranks? Yes. Khalid Almoshinawi and Mondher Bennour were my mentors. Mondher unfortunately died and Khalid moved to Kuwait. I'm currently trained by Neil Hill, inventor of the Y3T training system. After turning Pro in 2012 did you change your strategy in terms of the way you approach training and nutrition? When you are a Pro you are sponsored and you have greater access to supplements, which means you can become a better version of yourself. When you are unknown you are forced to stick to a specific budget when you don't have someone in your corner to back you. Since joining USN my training has become more intense What was the experience like when you finally achieved your breakthrough win? Winning my first Pro show was surreal. It gave me the confidence and the mental boost I needed to succeed in bodybuilding. That first victory reinforced my personal belief that anything in life is possible if you put hard work into it! What did it take to move up from the 212 class to the Open division? It took me a year. I had to eat, eat and eat. I love food, so it wasn't really a big issue for me! Since then you've won numerous titles across the globe. What does it take to keep delivering top performances? I like doing different shows so that I can try out different strategies and see how my body reacts. Bodybuilding is all about learning and adapting what you were doing in the past so that you can improve and become better in the future. Isn't it expensive flying all over the world to compete in shows? It's tough if you are covering all the costs yourself. Luckily some of the IFBB shows are covered while others are funded by my sponsor, USN. Although I am interested in different cultures and making new friends, the travelling is not really my thing. I don't like the waiting and sitting around for hours on aeroplanes. CAREER ACHIEVEMENTS: 2011 ■ IFBB Arnold Amateur – Placed 3rd 2012 ■ IFBB EVLs Prague Pro – Placed 4th ■ IFBB British Grand Prix – Placed 6th ■ IFBB Dallas Europa Supershow – Placed 3rd 2013 IFBB EVLs Prague Pro – Placed 5th 2014 ■ IFBB Olympia Weekend – Placed 15th ■ IFBB Australia Pro Grand Prix – Placed 2nd in Men’s Open Division ■ IFBB Arnold Classic Brazil – Placed 7th 2015 ■ IFBB Nordic Pro – Placed 1st ■ IFBB Olympia Weekend – Placed 8th ■ IFBB Dayana Cadeau Pro – Placed 1st ■ IFBB San Marino Pro – Placed 2nd 2016 ■ IFBB Olympia Weekend – Placed 5th “BODYBUILDING IS ALL ABOUT LEARNING AND ADAPTING WHAT YOU WERE DOING IN THE PAST SO THAT YOU CAN IMPROVE AND BECOME BETTER IN THE FUTURE.” than ever because I'm recovering faster due to better nutrition and supplementation. When I started out I never got the placings I felt I deserved, but I kept coming back slightly bigger and better each time I stepped on stage. What tips do you have to secure bodybuilding sponsorships and how do you go about nurturing these partnerships? Simply do WHAT IS Y3T? Y3T stands for Yoda your best and 3 Training, a system developed by British represent yourself bodybuilder and trainer Neil Hill. The principle behind Y3T is to keep your muscles guessing and your sponsor by rotating your training style over a 3-week to the best of period. In week one you target the big, explosive your ability. movers of the muscular system with compound Plain, simple and exercises. In week two you add isolation moves straightforward. to your routine, performing more reps with lighter weights. Week three is the most intense You also have with giant sets, supersets, tri sets, drop sets to be interactive and rest-pause sets to hit your muscles hard. on social media platforms, do your best when you compete, and always make time for the fans! What have you been working on while prepping for this year's Mr. Olympia? I am focussing on bringing an improved package to Las Vegas – a blend of mass and aesthetics. The goal is also to keep my waist as tight as possible for the stage. How do you structure your training? I do cardio first thing in the morning and hit the various muscle groups later in the day. I combine back and biceps, which I will do on Mondays. I train chest and triceps on Tuesdays, before hitting legs on Wednesdays. On Thursdays I work shoulders and calves, and then the split starts all over again. Remember, you grow in between your workouts and not because of how many workouts you do. M.E www.muscleevolution.co.za 27