Through the years, all of us who get involved with bodybuilding learn quite a bit on our own about how to best train our bodies to pack on muscle and keep fat off. We also learn quite a bit from each other as well since there are many useful tools that get us in contact with bodybuilders around the world such as the EliteFitness Forums. At EF, and other places, we can discuss training strategies, dieting, and contest preparation with those who have been there and done that.
But no matter how much some of us learn, it's pretty hard to equal the bodybuilding and training knowledge of major magazine cover man and former Mr. Israel Sagi Kalev. Sagi has almost two decades worth of experience in the sport and has been featured on the cover of such magazines as Muscle & Fitness, Iron Man, Reps, and many others.
In addition to his accomplishments, Sagi has also begun training other bodybuilders including some first and second place finishers at the recent Europa Super Show. I was happy to have the opportunity to talk to Sagi Kalev again and this time I got some great information from him about how he trains.
Talking to Sagi gave me insights into how an elite bodybuilder works out and he revealed to me how he is able to maintain a ripped body 365 days a year. If you're interested in finding out how Sagi does what many wish they could do but don't know how then read on!
George Spellwin: How many days a week do you normally workout? Or does this change from week to week with you?
Sagi Kalev: I will work out for 5 days a week and then take 2 days off to rest and get my carbs up. You know it's like a battery; you've got to re-charge the battery back up after it's been used. The following month I will change things up and workout out for 2 days then take 1 day off and then do two days and take two days off. I will go heavier on the weights during this time too.
George Spellwin: You've mentioned in the past that leg workouts are your favorite. How many times a week do you train them and what's your favorite leg exercise?
Sagi Kalev: Well, most months I will do legs twice a week. Then sometimes I will switch it up and do legs once a week for a month. Lunges are definitely my favorite workout to do and I will do variations of them as well. Also with this, I like to do legs twice a week because it increases your body's testosterone. A lot of people…some people don't realize this.
George Spellwin: You said before that when you were in the Israeli military that you met the former Mr. Israel and he helped steer your bodybuilding in the right direction. Did he tell you anything major that made you change your workouts and dieting?
Sagi Kalev: He changed everything. Up until that point I didn't really know much about training or eating right. I had been lucky because I had pretty good genetics but I learned a lot from him. That was back in 1991 so I was very young and didn't know a whole lot about bodybuilding.
George Spellwin: Do you have somebody or a group of people that you normally train with?
Sagi Kalev: Sometimes I am really busy so I will just train with my clients. I like to train from 1 to 2 (pm) or from 2 to 3 usually and this works well with training the clients. Sometimes I also get the chance to train with other bodybuilders too like Branch Warren. He's a good friend of mine.
George Spellwin: Last time I talked to you, you said that some people who train with you and don't have good cardio will puke because of the short 30-45 second rests. Does this happen often then?
Sagi Kalev: Yes, it especially happens when we do legs because the intensity is extremely high here. You know, people when they first meet me will ask me, "What's the best exercise for the chest?" Or they'll say, "What's the best exercise for the back?" I tell them that there is no magical exercise. The key is to practice intensity and practice safety at the same time.
George Spellwin: When did you started doing the very short rests of 30-45 seconds between sets and did it help your bodybuilding tremendously when you started doing this?
Sagi Kalev: Absolutely! A lot of people will ask me, "How do you stay in shape all year round?" This is because I normally maintain my weight at 200 pounds throughout the year and I try to stay in shape 24/7, 365 days a week. The only thing with my program that changes are the calories from time to time so, for me, there is no off-season.
George Spellwin: Do you have anything specific that you eat before you workout or after the workout?
Sagi Kalev: My diet is normally very low carbs and very high in protein and on the weekend I'll usually switch it up and do some carbo loading and increase fat intake. Before a workout, I like to eat chicken and I'll also have pumpkin seeds with it. That's because pumpkin seeds are not only high in protein but they are also high in calories too so they give you a big energy boost before a workout. I do change my diet before a contest or if I have a big photo shoot coming up though. After a workout, I'll usually eat something like steak or salmon.
George Spellwin: Is there anything that you do before a workout to get motivated?
Sagi Kalev: For me it's just all of the e-mails and stuff that I get from people. I've got to lead by example and that means working hard and eating right. In my opinion, with what I do, I've got to stay looking good and I don't want to not be able to practice what I preach. It would look extremely bad if I were saying do this and do that yet I'm eating crap and not working out. That's really all the motivation I need.
George Spellwin: Do you have any tips or advice for our members to help them with training?
Sagi Kalev: Number one; if your nutrients are lacking it really doesn't matter how hard you've been training. If you go heavy you're going to have to increase your calories to recover and if you go light you won't need as many calories. Number two is safety. There are always the guys who want to prove themselves by lifting really heavy. You know, I constantly have people ask me all the time, "How much do you bench?" I don't bench and I don't squat so I'm not worried about going super heavy. If I could do it, I would trade lifting heavier weight for the ability to have less muscle fatigue. Also, I believe that supplementation is very important. I not only work for ThermoLife but I also use their products. One of my favorites is T-BOL because it increases your natural testosterone levels. A lot of people use steroids which will not only give you bad side effects but will also cut down your body's natural testosterone production. T-BOL won't do that and will actually boost your testosterone far beyond what the body makes on its own. Another one of their products I like is Dicana because one of its ingredients increases fat burning by supplementing the process with a natural thyroid metabolite. This makes your body turn more calories at rest and is a moderate pathway so there is no thyroid shutdown because Dicana is not a central nervous system stimulant meaning it won't give you insomnia or the jitters either. Yet there is still accelerated fat burning through extra calories consumption and another ingredient in Dicana called Forskolin also increases natural thyroid output. Another thing is that, the same way T-BOL makes your body produce more testosterone, Forskolin makes your body burn more fat through the thyroid. And both products are proven to repartition calories and use fat as the fuel of choice while sending protein nutrients to the muscle for repair and/or growth of muscle tissue.
George Spellwin: Do you like to keep a set number of exercises and routines or do you often switch up what you do?
Sagi Kalev: I switch up my routine every workout as I like to do drop sets, super sets, and giant sets. It's constantly changing. And when I workout, I just warm-up and go. I don't just stand around and wait for specific machines to open up in the gym. I'll often be doing two or three exercises for back and just concentrate on that until it is time to move onto the next thing. It's intense and I try to just do my workout in 45 minutes and get out of the gym. I'm usually very busy so there's no time for bullshit and standing around talking to people when I'm supposed to be working out.
George Spellwin: Do you ever take breaks from your bodybuilding to relax and rest?
Sagi Kalev: You have to. You body definitely needs rest. It's sort of like a butcher with a chicken. You can't just keep beating the chicken over and over again and expect to have good chicken in the end. You also can't keep beating your body up over and over again and expect to get good results. Bodybuilding is a process and you've got to do it right.
Every three months I will take 7-10 days off of bodybuilding where I won't even touch a weight. You also have to do things outside of the gym to improve as well such as sleeping enough, supplementation, and getting the right nutrients. Another thing is to pick someone that you look up to in the sport and follow a great routine that they do.
George Spellwin: You trained quite a few bodybuilders and fitness competitors recently for the Europa Super Show. I was just wondering how your competitors fared?
Sagi Kalev: In the BSN fitness model competition I had 2 guys who placed 1st and 2nd out of 38 people. In the team competition, my people got 2nd place out of 16. In the pro figure competition I had somebody get 6th out of 28 people and in the pro competition I had somebody who took 4th place. So they all did a pretty good job.
George Spellwin: So Sagi, I know you've mentioned Thermolife.com so tell us a little more about your work with them.
Sagi Kalev: Thermolife offers the best products for reaching maximum muscle growth potential that I have come across in my twenty years of bodybuilding. I'm so excited to be representing a company that not only produces top quality supplements but also guarantees their effectiveness. Myself and my clients have been using the Thermolife products and seeing real results. Ron Kramer knows his stuff. He is not only incredibly smart but he is a great person to have on your side. I am proud to be the face of Thermolife. I've also got to add that I've used a lot of supplements in my life and I definitely think that the stuff Thermolife puts out is the best. They're not one of these companies that just rushes everything out there so it's on the market as quickly as possible. I know that they took a full 10 months to make sure that they had everything just right with T-BOL. I have been using their stuff for a while now and look at the results.
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