Body Transformation: Robert Duda Body Transformation
Lifestyle Prior To Change
I’ve been weight training since high school, so close to 25 years, but have always just done it for the love of lifting. In my early years I didn’t pay too much attention to the nutrition side of training, and it showed in my physique. By the time I hit my senior year I tipped the scales at around 260lbs.
I didn’t really clue as to what it meant to have proper eating habits until after University. With a healthy balanced diet I shed a lot of fat and got down to the 200lb mark. In my adult years I even dabbled with a vegan diet and whittled myself down to a measly 170lbs. As you can imagine this type of low protein diet wasn’t very conducive to building muscle, so I was a pretty soft 170lbs. In the years that followed I continued to lift for the health benefits but never considered getting into competition shape.
This changed in the summer of 2008 when I began to think about trying to get more serious about my training and see if I could compete some day. I began a “bulking” program, and was really focused on gaining some serious size. Well needless to say, I gained some serious weight, but a lot of it was fat.
What was your turning point?
I was disappointed and honestly a little disgusted at how my body had transformed. In November of 2008 I also attended my first bodybuilding show and afterwards told my wife that I would be on stage myself in one year. That was a bold statement, and probably more of a pipe dream than anything. But right then and there I decided that a change needed to be made, and I switched gears into cutting mode. Weeks turned into months, and my progress was SLOW. At many points in time I was ready to throw my hands in the air and give up. I was ready to go back to my vegetarian diet and whittle myself back down to 175lbs and skinny.
I knew that wouldn’t satisfy me, so I persevered, kept trying new approaches and soon began to learn how my body worked. But only when I made a personal commitment to entering my 1st competition in November of 2009 did my transformation really crank into high gear. I dieted and trained very hard for close to 6 months, but I think that the hard work paid off as I got myself into the best shape of my life.
What Was Your Exercise Plan?
| Monday – Cardio | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cardio | ||
| AM – 20 min HIIT, 40 min LISS | ||
| AM – 20 min HIIT, 40 min LISS |
| Cardio | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cardio | ||
| AM – 20 min HIIT, 40 min LISS | ||
| PM – 20 min HIIT, 40 min LISS |
What Did Your Diet Plan Look Like?
I followed a carb cycling diet. Near the end of my contest prep I followed a 6 low carb day, one high carb day approach. Here’s a typical low carb day.
- Meal 1 – 1.25C egg whites, 0.25C oats
- Meal 2 – 170g chicken breast, 170g asparagus, 6g peanut butter
- Meal 3 – 170g chicken breast, 170g asparagus, 6g peanut butter
- Meal 4 – 170g chicken breast, 170g asparagus, 6g peanut butter
- Meal 5 – 1.25C egg whites, 0.25C oats
- Meal 6 – 1.5 scoops whey protein, 6g peanut Butter
What Is Your Current Training Split?
Currently I’m following a power/hypertrophy training plan:
- Day 1 – Upper Body Power (Chest, Back, Shoulders & Arms). 14-18 sets. All sets are kept to a maximum of 6 reps.
- Day 2 – Lower Body Power (Quads, Hamstrings & Calves). 12-14 sets. All sets are kept to a maximum of 6 reps.
- Day 3 – Off
- Day 4 – Upper Body Hypertrophy (Chest, Back, Shoulders & Arms). Same type of exercises used in the power workouts. 22-24 sets. All sets are in the 12-15 rep range.
- Day 5 – Lower Body Hypertrophy (Quads, Hamstrings & Calves). Same type of exercises used in the power workouts. 22-24 sets. All sets are in the 12-15 rep range.
- Day 6 – Off
- Day 7 – Repeat cycle.
What Is Your Current Eating Plan?
I’m still carb cycling like I did during my contest prep, but my calorie/macros levels have increased. Now I’m averaging about 2600 calories/day. I keep the carbs high on my training day, around 300g, and on off days it hovers around 200g.
What Supplements Do You Use?
What Is Your Life Like Now?
Right now I’m getting ready to start another contest prep. I plan on hitting the stage for my second show this July. Hopefully I will not have to endure 2 hour cardio days this time around, I can’t believe I actually did that. As long as I make some improvements, like some added size, I’ll be satisfied. And a 1st place trophy wouldn’t hurt either, lol.
Advice For Others
For me the real change came when I decided to compete in my first bodybuilding competition. The thought of having to get up in front of hundreds of strangers wearing an unbelievable small pair of posing trunks had a way of making me do my cardio. The contest date was set in stone, I signed up, so I had a deadline to achieve a stage worthy physique. I gave myself 20 plus weeks to get ready and I had a solid diet and training plan in place. All that was left was to just do it. My advice for anyone wanting to transform their body is to believe that it is possible. Set a goal for yourself and go for it. And trust me, in the end it’s worth all the hard work and sacrifice!