|
NPC Bodybuilding Competitor Bill SifertBy Eddie Cervantes, Muscle-4Life-Nutrition.com
Editor's Note:
Special thanks to Bill for taking the time to speak with I had the pleasure of interviewing Bill Sifert. Bill is one of our local Las Vegas bodybuilders and a nutritionist who shares his health/nutrition knowledge on our local channel 8 news.
Eddie: Hey Bill, Great to have you here! tell us a little about yourself and what got you interested in the sport of bodybuilding? Bill: I’m 34 years old right now and have been into bodybuilding for about 11 years. I started competing about 6 years ago and now I’m about to do my 4th show next year. I got into bodybuilding for a couple reasons. First, I have always loved to compete. From riding BMX for 6 years to playing high school football, I was always active. However, my genetics were very poor and I could never get above 145lbs at 5’10”. One of my old co-workers was all into bodybuilding and got me to start working out with him. From there it became a slight obsession, lol. I started to learn how to eat and train correctly, and 3 years later I was up to 240lbs! After that I went from a psychology degree to majoring in exercise and sports sciences, then later onto nutrition.
Bill: I was born and raised in New Orleans, but came out to Las Vegas after Hurricane Katrina. So I’ve been out here now for little over 4 years. I train at various Gold’s Gyms around the city, but the one on Sandhill and Flamingo is my favorite! Eddie: What is your competitive history?
Bill: I took second in the middle weights at my first show, The Greater Gulf States. Then, I won my weight class (light-heavy) at the Louisiana State NPC show. My last show was in 2006 where I took the overall in the Las Vegas Classic. Since then I had a pec tear one year and a divorce the other year that kept me from competing, but now I’m mostly healed up and I’m ready to get back on stage again. Eddie: I know your pain, I am still healing from a bicep tendon rupture. Can you tell us what magazines or websites we might have seen you in.
Bill: After the Las Vegas Classic I got picked up by Nurtex. I was the Lipo-6x test subject. I still appear in some of the ads even today three years later. I’m also on the Nutrex web site doing the same ad.
Eddie: That is awesome Nutrex is a great company and we carry all there products! What has been your stepping stone to get where you are today?
Bill: Coming out to Vegas! Back home in New Orleans there are not as many opportunities as there are out here. Besides that, my education has helped me get to a point now where I get to work with some great clients that help open doors for me as well.
Eddie: So true, Las Vegas is the bodybuilding mecca. Do you have a trainer or do you do it on your own?
Bill: I don’t have a trainer, but I always have a workout partner. Having someone there to help give you that last overloaded rep is what makes the body respond. I do train a few bodybuilders right now. Some just starting out, some at the national level, and one Pro right now that is going to do the Iron Man.
Eddie: What is your training philosophy?
Bill: There is no real philosophy. I’ve met hundreds of people who train so many different ways. You just have to find out what works for you. The amount of fast twitch muscles one has, healing speed, neurological adaptation, etc., all determine how one should train. The basics are true though… you need over load, overcompensation, and a great diet to reach your potential.
Bill: I’m on a 6 day split right now that looks like this: Keep in mind this is only a estimation. I work a muscle until I feel it is exhausted. That could come in 8 or 16 sets, but mostly 16. My bi and tri training after back and chest are higher reps, and arms on its own day are heavy. Some days I also pre-exhaust some body parts to get a better workout, but like I said, this always changes.
Eddie: Is this training routine something that our readers can use to build muscle and lose body fat or is this something that is more suited for an advanced athlete?
Bill: Everybody is different! So don’t just follow this routine. I heal pretty well so 6 days work for me. If you just started out, try low weight with high volume (more than once a week with each body part). Over time the weight should increase and volume can go down (only once every 5-7 days per body part). Remember, you grow because you are giving your body a stimulus greater than it’s use to. So anything will work in the beginning. If you plateau, make sure you are eating more food and lifting more weight. Those are the two things needed to grow. Doing the same thing and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity!
Bill: Well, being a nutritionist I understand the importance of a proper diet. I believe you need to give your body what it needs for it to stay healthy and grow. That will include mostly low GI carbs, complete proteins, unsaturated fats (including EFA’s), vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, and water. Cutting out any one of these groups will lead to a deficiency that could affect your health. All of these things should also be modulated to fit your health goals.
Eddie: How many calories do you consume during your off season when you are packing muscle on?
Bill: That depends, but for the most part my metabolic rate is about 4,000kcal. So I eat around 4,300kcal a day (but this depends on my activity level). This will come in the form of: 300g of protein, 600g of carbs, and 75g fat. I also make sure I have at least 40-50g of fiber in my diet as well.
Eddie: How important are supplements in your bodybuilding program and which supplements do you use year round?
Bill: Supplements are vital. It’s almost impossible to get all of the nutrition you need through food alone. Most people look at the RDA, but keep in mind that the RDA is for survival only. The RDA is for the normal person and the PDI is for the athlete. The RDA for vitamin E is 10IU, the PDI for vitamin E is 1,000IU! So as you see, this is more than most people can get from food alone. Personally I take: Food based multi-vitamins, whey isolate, dextrose or waxie maize, creatine EE or AKG, A-AKG, beta-alanine, glucosamine, EFA’s, and antioxidants.
Eddie: For those who might not be familiar, RDA stands for Recommended Daily Allowance. (PDI) Performance Daily Intake is often over looked. What is your favorite supplement?
Bill: No real favorite, but I love AST’s whey protein and UDO’s EFA’s.
Eddie: Can you share some tips with our readers on how to build some serious muscle?
Bill: Stick to the basics. Keep your workouts mainly compounds, free weights, and go progressively heavier! Leg extensions, flys, circuit training, and BOSU ball training will not make you grow. Eating above your metabolic rate and lifting heavy will. Eddie: Good advice, stick to the basics. Where and when is your next competition?
Bill: Hopefully it will be the NPC L.A. in July if I can stay healthy. My pec tendon tear is still not fully healed, but I should be okay by then.
Eddie: Good luck. What is your favorite body part to work out and why?
Bill: I should say back because that body part for me is my strong point, but I will have to say legs. I say that because they are the hardest body part to train and I love the challenge. Eddie: You gotta love the burn. I know you are healing from a torn pec but I have to ask, can you share with us what you are bench pressing these days? Bill: Lol, well… I was putting up 405lbs at 8-10 reps and maxing out 455lbs. at 3-4 reps, but that is how I tore my pec tendon. Now I don’t do barbell flats no more. I do barbell inclines at 365lbs for reps and can bench the 160lb dumbbells. I understand that this is not powerlifting, this is bodybuilding! It’s not how much you can lift… it is how much you look like you can lift! EC: Powerlifting is a much different sport, we just want give the readers an idea of your strength capabilities. How much do you weigh at the moment?
Bill: Right now I’m sitting right under 230lbs at 9%. Hopefully I will be back up to 235ish before I diet down.
Eddie: Can you tell us about your family? Are you married? Do you have children?
Bill: All of my family is back in New Orleans, but my sister and her two boys live in Vegas like I do. The family is cool, but coming from New Orleans with all of that good food they are NOT in the fitness lifestyle, lol. I’m not married anymore, I got divorced two years ago, but I’m dating this wonderful woman right now (hey Amy… love you!). As far as kids go, not yet, but maybe one day.
Eddie: If one of our readers was interested in becoming a bodybuilding competitor and already lives a healthy lifestyle, what would your advice be to them?
Bill: Start by talking to people that compete and get to know the sport. It’s not for everybody. It’s a hard path to follow, but very much worth it.
Eddie: If you could thank one person for helping you reach your fitness goals, who would it be?
Bill: My boy Derik Taylor back in New Orleans. He is the one that got me interested in the sport in the first place. If I never met him, I would still most likely be 145lbs still.
Eddie: I could see why you would be thanking Derik. Who has been the most memorable person you have enjoyed working with?
Bill: I worked with a lot of people over the years. Being a lifestyle coach I have had hundreds of clients and consultants working with me. All have been memorable.
Eddie: Would you like to give a shout out to anyone?
Bill: To my partner Michael at Optivita Nutrition and my girlfriend Amy. I spend most of my hours with these two wonderful people.
Bill: Hopefully my new business will grow the way I’m expecting it to. If it does, I will be working less and making more. Then I could spend more time with friends and do more than one show a year. I plan on competing for many more years to come!
Eddie: Anything else you would like to add? Bill: I would also like to thank muscle-4life-nutrition.com for doing this interview with me. I just love your web site, it has many supplements at great prices. Also, there is a whole lot of valuable information posted on the site as well. Great job!
If you want to know more about me and what I do then check out our web site at www.optivitanutrition.com. We are also about to launch our new site soon called www.optivitanutrition.com. It will have a lot of great info on it, check it out! Thanks Bill! Eddie: Awesome having you Bill good luck with all your future endeavors.
Click Here For More Featured Athlete Interview's |
Eddie: Can you give us a rundown of what your current training workout look like?
