MAN Sports Athlete “The Online Coach” Raymond Querido Talks to M&S
How did you get involved in the health & fitness industry?
My first love and passion was basketball. I played throughout my younger years and into high school. I started lifting weights to improve my vertical and speed. I soon then started seeing results quickly and was hooked. I loved the fact that the harder I worked the more results I produced, so I asked my mom to get me a gym membership at 24 Hour Fitness.
Following high school I stopped playing basketball due to the fact that I could not physically be competitive because my lack of height and I took on bodybuilding full time which has been my passion ever since.
You do both bodybuilding and powerlifting, what do you like about each and do you prefer one over the other?
In my opinion I think powerlifting and bodybuilding work hand and hand together. Being that I’m natural I have to do everything I can to be efficient to squeeze out more progress. Powerlifting is a great way to increase strength, which is a big part of increasing muscle. Strength is a great indicator of increasing muscle. If your getting stronger and moving more weight than your body has no choice but to grow.
Bodybuilding on the other hand is more hypertrophy-based and goes more into the detail of your physique. With bodybuilding you can focus on your weaknesses by incorporating more isolation/accessory work.
Helping others progress and seeing their progress really motivates me. Seeing others on their grind sparks motivation for me.
Now if you’re increasing strength with powerlifting style training, that will translate into your bodybuilding because you will be able to move more weight with the volume work you are doing with isolation/accessory work – hence working hand in hand.
How did you get to be known as “theonlinecoach” and get into training clients, specifically online?
I was doing a lot of personal training at different gyms and also private training with clients but eventually stopped doing that because the time invested was not worth the money. I actually sold insurance with Farmers Insurance for my Dad’s agency right before I took on being “theonlinecoach” full-time.
While selling insurance I started getting emails from people on social media asking for help with training and nutrition. I did that on the side for a minimal charge for a while. Clients started sending me referrals and I also starting posting pictures on my social media. It started growing pretty quick.
At this time not many people were doing online coaching that I knew of. I thought it would be good to give myself a nickname for what I what I was doing and that’s where “theonlinecoach” came from.
Is there a reason why you mainly focus on the IIFYM (If It Fits Your Macros) diet vs. other types of dieting?
Well my first 3 years of competing were with the traditional way of dieting. Food sources were very limited to the narrow selection of contest prep food (tilapia, plain chicken, egg whites, broccoli…) It was brutal! Lol! I always questioned it.
As a competitor in my eyes there was no balance only on or off-season, black or white, no happy medium. I thought there had to be a better way, a gray area in the middle with balance. So I started doing my research and found tons of stuff on flexible dieting and counting macros. Expanding the contest prep food source list.
I came across names like Layne Norton, Kane Sumabat and Alan Aragon. They put out tons of info on flexible dieting and practiced what they preached. After that I started implementing it into my own life and clients.
In my opinion I think powerlifting and bodybuilding work hand and hand together. Being that I’m natural I have to do everything I can to be efficient to squeeze out more progress.
You incorporate candy into your diet quite a bit. What’s your top 5 favorite candies and why/how do you include these in your diet?
Lol! Yes candy for the simple carbs aspect. My top 5 would have to be Trolli Eggs, Sour Patch Kids, Gummi Bears, Dots and Nerds. Any fruit type candy will work due to the high carb and minimal fat content.
What are some of your favorite supplements and why?
Game Day pre-workout from MAN Sports for the insane focus, pump and great taste. It has the perfect amount of stimulants in my opinion. It doesn’t leave you crashing but gives you a good amount of energy.
Also from MAN Sports, REM PM is another favorite of mine, it gives me great sleep to recover properly and doesn’t leave me groggy in the morning.
What is your current training style and split?
Right now I’m running an upper, lower split. Looks like this:
- Day 1– Upper Strength
- Day 2 – Lower Strength
- Day 3 – Off
- Day 4 – Upper Hypertrophy
- Day 5 – Lower Hypertrophy
- Day 6 – Lagging Bodyparts/Bodybuillding Day
- Day 7 – Off
What motivates you to keep training hard and stay on track?
Helping others progress and seeing their progress really motivates me. Seeing others on their grind sparks motivation for me.
Another big thing is having the social media impact I currently have. I feel like I’m obligated to keep growing physically and mentally for others. When someone tells me I have motivated them and they have learned so much from me, I instantly feel like I must keep going.
Game Day pre-workout from MAN Sports for the insane focus, pump and great taste. It has the perfect amount of stimulants in my opinion.
Best advice you could give to someone just getting into working out?
Learn, learn and learn. Knowledge is your best tool to becoming the best you.