Q&A with IFBB Pro Mike Johnson

[Mike J]

Ask away...

[LouisG271]

mike,how much did you weigh when you won canadian nats? and how much heavier do you think you'l be at the ny pro?

[~Maz~]

~ Welcome aboard Mike, happy to have you here!! But dude ... You gotta remember your well deserved title of IFBB Pro!! Edited the thread title to add your status!! ~

[ManimalPatB]

Mike,

What are some of the changes you have made this off season versus ones in the past? What is one thing you would do differently that you know NOW vs when you first started getting serious about bodybuilding?

[Big Barry]

Mike... You're known to haul some crazy weights.... out of all your lifts which one would you say gives you the most satisfaction?

[GDavis]

If I walk into a typical or even hardcore gym in Canada, what would differ from my gym in the USA. Do people do similar exercise, use same equipment, act or dress different? Vice versa, does anything surprise you or strike you ass odd when you train in an American gym?

[Flex500]

Ask away...

yeah I'll jump right into it....


how do you balance health with being an ifbb pro? Do you monitor your health closely or just throw caution to the wind?

[Curt James]

Welcome! And thank you for posting to Rx Muscle.

[guruhonza]

Welcome Mike. I'm glad you're here at RX Muscle.

When did you become so thoughtful? Was is from the beginning or did anything change?
And could you please talk about first years of training? Did you know about nutrition or was is just training for first couple of years?
Who are your mentors?

[Mike J]

mike,how much did you weigh when you won canadian nats? and how much heavier do you think you'l be at the ny pro?

I was 224lbs at weigh-ins and i wanted to be super heavy weight so i drank 2L of water and reweighed-in at 227lbs.
I was 221lbs on stage.

I think I'll be around 235lbs on stage for NY.

[Mike J]

Mike,

What are some of the changes you have made this off season versus ones in the past? What is one thing you would do differently that you know NOW vs when you first started getting serious about bodybuilding?

This off season I have been much more consistent with my meals where before I would not worry as much if I ate fast food or not...also i've kept the training intensity up (of course within reason to my recovery ability)

when I started bodybuilding I was very serious so not a lot has changed in that sense but I am constantly learning so what i do often changes a little. Honestly I did my homework in the beginning and got off on the right foot.

[Mike J]

Mike... You're known to haul some crazy weights.... out of all your lifts which one would you say gives you the most satisfaction?

Hands down DEADLIFT...but squats are harder for me, so to say 'I can squat 635' means more to me than 'I can dead 635'
To me a 635 squat is like a 700 dead, or there about.

[Mike J]

If I walk into a typical or even hardcore gym in Canada, what would differ from my gym in the USA. Do people do similar exercise, use same equipment, act or dress different? Vice versa, does anything surprise you or strike you ass odd when you train in an American gym?

Naw defiantly not...I'd say its more correct to say east coast and west coast are different from my experience...but i havent been to a lot of west coast gyms.

The Mecca was kinda soft if you ask me...not much atmosphere either.

Equipment is same, exercises are same people are different everywhere and its the people that create the atmosphere so It depends on the group of guys and gals that make the gym good or not...and of course a lot of free weight and chalk.

very few gyms have chalk buckets anymore...i miss that.

[Big Barry]

This would be a cool place to catalogue some of your vids!

When you post a vid in MC you should post it in here too, bro.

Are you going to do video updates right up to the show or keep it under wraps for the last few weeks to create that wow factor onstage? Some folks go into hiding! lol

[Mike J]

yeah I'll jump right into it....


how do you balance health with being an ifbb pro? Do you monitor your health closely or just throw caution to the wind?

Health is #1 priority to me...that being said, I know supps can be hard on you but I do everything I can to lower my risk of experiencing side effects.

I eat organic, I eat grass fed meat, filtered water etc... i reduce the amount of toxins as much as possible that enter my body. I also eat very clean (no junk food...once in awhile but rarely)
I take herbal supps to protect my liver and kidneys, that help balance my cholesterol like fibre and healthy fats, I take CO enzyme Q10 for cardiovascular health...things like that (herbs and spices that benefit health as well)

I also come off lol