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IFBB Pro Patrick Richardson (2004 NPC Nationals Lightweight Champ) Interview

Training

By Hugo Rivera, About.com

[Q] Do you have a contest coach or do you take care of your contest prep?
Initially I had to rely on friends who had competed prior to my interest in bodybuilding to guide me through the diet with the basics of carb loading and dropping water prior to the contest day. I then got some help from a friend of mine who had some good theories on dieting and cycling carbs that I have continued to use throughout the past shows. As I continued to compete I felt that I had a better understanding of my body and what it needed through out the dieting process. I seemed to take some ideas from here and there and put them together in a manner which seems to work best for me and have managed to sharpen my pre contest dieting prep. to what I feel is optimal for myself. I feel that I have learned my body better than an individual looking in from the outside. I know what my body craves and only I know how I feel when dieting, so I feel I know what I need to change along the way.

[Q] What is your training philosophy and what does your current training look like?
Well, My philosophy is simple. I think that one needs to strive to lift heavier and heavier in order to make noticeable gains. I always train as heavy and hard as I can to constantly try and take my physique to the next level. Even training for a show I train as heavy as possible as I feel it keeps my muscle bellies fuller. The only time I alter my workout to lifting light weight is the week of the show as my workouts are not really productive anyway. At that point I’m simply trying to deplete my glycogen levels and do not want to risk injury days before a contest. My training now is a four-day split. I train on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Fridays. I train the same body part on Mondays and Fridays and that body part rotates each week so that I’m hitting a different body part each week twice.

Mondays- I will train chest and arms doing 3 chest exercises for sets of 10-12 with 2 minute rest between sets. For the arms I will do 3 different bi exercises with 3 sets of 10-12 reps each and 3 different tri exercises with 3 sets of 10-12 reps each

Tuesdays– shoulders, back, traps and calves with the same outline…3 different exercises for each body part with 3 sets of 10-12 reps each.

Wednesdays– off day

Thursdays- thighs, hamstrings, and calves….same outline…but 3 exercises for each part of the legs with 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps each

Fridays- I would do the same workout as I did on Monday but change up the exercises.

Take off that Saturday and Sunday to recover

The following week I would start with Tuesdays workout and then on Friday I would do the same workout as on Monday so this way I am hitting a different body part 2 times each week but it is a different body part each week. Keeps it rotating.

[Q] Is this training routine something that our readers can use to gain size or is this something that is more suited for a more advanced athlete? What would you recommend for a beginner who is starting out and wants to design a routine to put on mass?
I think that the best routine or split for a beginner trying to put on Mass would simply be to train each muscle group once each week with heavy weight. The biggest problem I see with beginners who want to put on size is over training. Most beginners do not realize that the time you spend in the gym does not account for the amount of size you’re going to put on. When training, you’re simply tearing up muscle fibers. When you supplement with the adequate Protein, nutrients, and essential aminos to help aid in recovery along with adequate sleep is when you will yield good results.

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