PA Kodiak is the Rx Muscle Member of the Month for May 2016!

[Curt James]

PA Kodiak is the Rx Muscle Member of the Month for May 2016!

Chris is nearing his one-year anniversary as a member of the Rx Muscle Forums (June 7, 2016). He competed in his first show September 12th at the NPC Elite Physique Championships in Pittsburgh, PA where he placed 2nd in the open light heavyweight division and 3rd in the true novice division.

I view Chris as an Iron Philosopher, positive, goal-oriented, no-nonsense. Follow his journey to his second competition @ http://forums.rxmuscle.com/showthrea...or-my-2nd-Show

Let's learn more about PA Kodiak!

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Q: Height and weight?

A: 6', 190 contest weight, 235 offseason.

Q: How did you learn about Rx Muscle Forums?

A: Watching the Rx Muscle YouTube channel.

Q: What’s your favorite part of Rx Muscle Forums?

A: Play by play contest coverage.

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Chris competing at the NPC Elite Physique Championships

Q: What would you do to improve the site in general and the forums in particular?

A: I'd love to see live webcasting of both small and big shows alike, but I assume a lot of money and negotiating goes into that.

Q: How were you introduced to the weights?

A: When I was a young child, my uncle was very much into training. He could have easily competed and done well, but I don't think he's ever had the desire to do so. One day he took me to a gym called "The Barn." It was literally a barn on some guy's property with tons of free weights, machines, and posters of pro bodybuilders hanging on the walls. At the moment I thought it was awesome but it wasn't until years later in my early 20's that I would commit myself to the lifestyle.

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Q: What's your favorite thing about bodybuilding?

A: I think we all love the pump. We love the way it makes us feel, we love seeing results. Most of us enjoy training. But more than that, I think it's the personal development that comes with it. Through bodybuilding I've grown as a person. I've learned the value of discipline, patience, and believing in one's self. Most importantly, I've learned that hard work pays off.

Q: What's your least favorite thing about bodybuilding?

A: The negativity. So much negativity surrounds this sport. So many people within the bodybuilding community are hating on each other. Meanwhile most of the outside world falsely perceives us as freaks, weirdos, and social outcasts. We're all in this together, we all love the lifestyle, so why can't everyone just support each other and get along?

Q: What is your goal so far as the weights go?

A: I truly love the sport of bodybuilding so I want to go as far as I can with it. Right now the goal is to just win an overall and become nationally qualified.

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Q: Do you have any favorite bodybuilders or strength athletes?

A: Guy Cisternino and Evan Centopani. I've had the pleasure of meeting both Guy and Evan and they both seem like really down to earth people. They don't put themselves on a pedestal like some others in the industry do and they have no problem making time for anyone who wants to talk or might have questions. I'm inspired by the hard work ethic they both embrace.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQdY5xFtqjo


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mid2gOrEijg

Q: Who is someone you look forward to meeting and perhaps picking their brain?

A: I'd really like to sit down with Charles Glass. He has so many tweaks on different exercises. He'll take a guy that benches 500 and make him struggle with 225.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXB6qKRjUh4

Q: What has been the most effective workout you’ve followed?

A: I wasted a lot of time in my first year or two of training by not training to failure. I thought 12-15 reps meant you just stop somewhere between 12 and 15. Obviously I didn't make much progress that way. I later had success gaining both size and strength using Wendler's 5/3/1 program. Currently I train high volume and prexhaust, usually saving my heavy compounds for last.

Q: What’s your current split and would you share a workout for your favorite body part?

A: Currently I train 5 days a week, and do cardio on 3-4 of those days. Here's one of my most recent shoulder workouts:

Standing Rear Delt Cable Flyes
3 sets of 20-30
1 double dropset

Standing DB Laterals
3 sets of 20
1 double dropset

Seated Smith Military Press
2 warm up sets
3 sets of 20
1 triple dropset

Reverse Pec Dek
4 sets of 15-20

Behind the Back Cable Laterals
3 sets of 20
1 set of 15

Bent Over DB Laterals
3 sets of 15-20
1 triple dropset

Q: How long do your training sessions typically take to finish?

A: As for the length of my training sessions, I try to wrap it up in an hour. Something like back or legs...sometimes even arms can take up to an hour and a half.

Q: What supplement company or brand does it right?

A: Universal/Animal is my go to supplement brand. Universal has stood the test of time and with reason. They don't make outrageous claims, they don't claim their supplements will do the work for you, they just make quality products to supplement your diet with. I personally like Uni-Liver and Juiced Aminos the best.

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Q: What’s your current supplement stack?

A: Animal Mass
Animal Rage
Animal Juiced Aminos
Universal Uni-Liver
Universal Sterol Complex
Universal Shock Therapy
Centurion Labz God of War
Grape Seed Extract
Pycnogenol and/or Pine Bark Extract

I almost always drink the Animal Juiced Aminos intra workout. For years Ive wished someone would put out an amino product that also contained pump enhancing ingredients and so now with Juiced Aminos I finally have that. Post workout is usually whey and Karbolyn but currently I'm giving the Animal Mass a try. I change up my preworkout supplements pretty frequently.

Q: What are three things you couldn't live without?

A: That's a tough one. But I'm gonna have to go with food, water, and oxygen.

Q: Ha! Okay, well, how about three luxuries you enjoy? I’d have to go with 1) movies, 2) comic books, and 3) spending waaaay too much time online!

A: Alright. Obviously training is a given. So I'll say the outdoors, red meat, and music. I'm a fan of hard rock. Motorhead and ZZ Top are among my favorites.

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Q: What is your macro or food breakdown? Do you count calories, do calculations, and weigh your food?

A: I have a base diet that we are slowly building off of during this long offseason I'm taking. The diet is very clean and consists high protein, high carb, and low-moderate fat. Currently I'm at 3600 cals/day.

Q: Favorite cheat food?

A: Precontest, my usual cheat consisted of a steak from Longhorn with as much bread as I wanted to eat, followed by a trip to Dunkin' Donuts. I don't go as crazy right now since I am already eating a surplus of calories. Usually it's just a burger and fries.

longhornrestaurant.jpg
"Longhorn..."

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"followed by a trip to Dunkin' Donuts."

Q: Other than hitting the iron, what do you enjoy doing the most with your free time?

A: Most of my time is spent either working or training. In any free time I have I like to enjoy the outdoors. Out of all outdoor activities, I enjoy fishing the most, specifically carp fishing. My life plan is to bodybuild up until my late 40's. After that I'm spending the rest of my life fishing.

Q: Where’s the best fishing?

A: If you're into carp fishing, you really don't have to go too far. I hear about so many guys who make the trip up north to fish for salmon and steelhead and I'm sure that's a blast. I can't say that I've ever done that, but I'm willing to bet a carp puts up just as good of a fight. You can find them in almost any lake or river in Pennsylvania. Some lakes hold bigger carp than others, but I'm not about to burn my best spots.

Q: What motivates you?

A: It's just the want and the drive to succeed. Motivation has to come from within. There's a lot of people out there looking outside of themselves for motivation, but motivation comes from passion, from desire, from wanting to be the best you can be. If you can't find your motivation to be great at something, you need to look deeper within yourself. Maybe you even need to get to know yourself better. Personally, I know what I want out of life. And if I do not achieve it, I will die trying to do so.

Q: To what do you credit your motivation? Where does your drive to be the best you can be arise from?

A: It's hard to say, but honestly I think it all comes back to bodybuilding. Bodybuilding is what made me want to excel, not just in the sport but in all aspects of my life. Before I discovered the weights, I was really just drifting around without a purpose or sense of direction. Once you start setting goals and achieving them you want to see how much more you can do and how far you can take it.

Q: In your training journal you mentioned “the great team I have behind me”. Who’s on your team?

A: The team I have behind me is Team Didomenico / Team BLAC (Bang Like A Champion). The team consists of myself, Bryan Meade, Brian Getty, Adam Pastrnak, and my trainer Chris DiDomenico. We all have similar goals and we all inspire each other. Right now DiDomenico is going for his pro card later this year at the North Americans so we're all willing to do whatever we can to support him. As for myself I won't be prepping again until December or January.

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Team BLAC

Thank you for sharing your time and good words, PA Kodiak!

[LSMUSCL81]

congrats!

[cook]

Congratulations P.A. I need to read your journal and learn more about you and your training

[Rocco1943]

congrats to you.

[The Solution]

Huge Congrats man!

[Mac]

Congrats to you!

[Shizzo]

Nice job, Chris.

[PA Kodiak]

Thanks all, it is an honor and I really enjoyed doing the interview.

[supbro!]

Great interview and I follow your log from time to time and I can tell you're dedicated. Best of luck.

[Big Beat]

Very good interview I enjoyed reading it.

[PA Kodiak]

Great interview and I follow your log from time to time and I can tell you're dedicated. Best of luck.

Thank you. It's nice to know that someone checks out the log from time to time.

[Mac]

Thank you. It's nice to know that someone checks out the log from time to time.

I read it too, just don't say anything. You keep up the hard work!

[Curt James]

Thanks all, it is an honor and I really enjoyed doing the interview.

Thank you for participating and thank you for representing Rx Muscle Forums so well! Training journals are my favorite part recently. When Maz, Big Barry, and Kenny Kola were here then I would have counted Off Topic as my favorite. And, of course, Muscle Central, but Training Journals is where I learn, am entertained, and get to share that feeling of camaraderie.

Very good interview I enjoyed reading it.

PA Kodiak had fantastic responses and a great philosophy.

Not MOTM interviews especially, but I've done interviews where I received one-word replies or no reply, so it's great when someone has something to say and can actually say it!

[Curt James]

Thanks again for the interview, PA Kodiak!