Interview With Aaron Hudson Bodybuilder

I was recently invited to become a blogger, as part of The Protein Lifestyle ambassador team. Aaron Hudson is a super heavyweight bodybuilder who has been sponsored by The Protein Lifestyle for quite some time.

Aaron is a spot on bloke, and has helped me out with a few things via twitter. He isn’t one to shy away from offering advice when asked, something I’ve taken advantage of on Twitter since knowing him. He has recently taken part in a video Q&A series over at The Protein Lifestyle. Today though Cheap Protein Discount Codes is proud to present this interview with UKBFF competitor, and super heavyweight bodybuilder, Aaron Hudson.

From my understanding, you’re a geek boss, telling other geek’s what to do (your words not mine!) Talk us through your day job for readers who think im just randomly insulting you (and your team!)

Haha I am a geek indeed! Basically I’m a “Development Team Leader”… I’m a web/software developer and I’m also in charge of a team of other developers.

Geek by day, bodybuilder by night. It sounds like the makings of a superhero origin story! What got you into the weight room?

I got into it by accident… literally! I went to the gym with a couple of mates just before my 20^th birthday and just kept going. Saw results and it just snowballed from there. It almost became my identity because I responded so quickly.

Do you think having a mindset along that career path helps with your approach to bodybuilding. Monitoring and planning food, training etc?

I think it certainly helps with my daily routine… I’m able to conserve energy. As far as the mindset, I guess to a degree. To write software that works, you have to make sure everything is covered and it doesn’t break… pretty much how bodybuilding is… in a way?

How long were you training for before you began to compete?

I decided to compete in 2010 and competed in October 2011 for the first time. I’m 26 now and was just gone 24 when I got on stage, so four years?

When did you decide to step on stage, and what was your motivation for wanting to compete?

I met a guy called Steve Lewis in the gym who’s a bit of a local legend in my area. He used to compete and own gyms in the early 90s. I had no idea who he was when I first met him because he’d totally got out of the game and is now a fire fighter. He was in the gym rehabbing a neck injury. I got talking to him because I know a lot of people in the fire service as I’ve done web work with them in the past. After talking to him, he left his number behind the desk at the gym and told them to tell me to call him. When I did, he explained who he was and said he thought I had potential. Rest is history. Without meeting Steve completely randomly that day – I doubt I’d have gotten on stage.

As a young lifter, who were your inspirations?

Jay Cutler and Dave Titterton. Both young, big, marketable and successful guys. Their mindset, approach and what they represent is everything bodybuilding should be, in my opinion.

What are your thoughts on the current generation of bodybuilding to those of previous generations?

I’ve got mixed feelings if I’m honest. I’ve always said I’d be better suited if I’d been born 10 years earlier because they “brotherly” nature back then is virtually non-existent now in the UK… there’s a lot of bitchiness nowadays. There’s still some of us who “keep it real” though if that makes sense?

In terms of physiques, we’re bigger and better than ever in my opinion. Then on the flip-side I hate how everyone in the gym is “going to compete”… people think it’s easier than it is, and maybe we just make it look easy?

But it does piss me off to a degree because people have no idea how much this takes from you, from your family, from your bank account etc, just for those 10-15 minutes on stage once or twice a year. It’s quite offensive sometimes, but then again – I never see them at the local shows in tan, let alone at the British finals, so proof is in the pudding.

How quickly did you progress and pack on muscle mass when you first started working out, compared to the gains you make now?

I think it’s been fairly consistent. I look back at photos from two years ago, from a year ago, and it’s crazy how much you can progress. I was the same weight this last weekend at the MuscleTalk Summer Showdown as I was when I won the Midlands show last September, yet the difference in condition from 9 months is mad.

For a super heavy weight, you’re able to get into awesome condition on stage. Talk us through how your diet changes in the off season and during contest prep.

Haha I wouldn’t say “awesome condition”… that’s what people critique me on the most. But then again, if people are only critiquing me on something which will just take time to mature and learn so early on then that’s good, right? People look for the negative rather than the positive, and you’re only as strong as you’re weakest aspect. My diet doesn’t change a whole lot, same foods etc, just gradually less of it. I cut out any “junk” that I’d not think twice of eating in my off-season and the rest falls into place for me really.

Do you find eating the same things day in and day out difficult, or do you find having a set routine easier to follow?

I find it easy. I’m so used to it now it’s just the norm. I don’t think twice about it.

How far out from a competition do you typically start your diet?

I’m usually about 20 and a half to 21 stone off season… I do a “pre-diet diet” about 18 weeks out, meaning I’ll clean my diet up for 4 weeks and aim for a particular weight, the last two years I aimed for 19 and a half stone. That sounds a lot but it’s easy to drop that much weight at my weight. Once I’m there I start the “real diet”. I competed at 18 stone 5lbs this last weekend, and started my actual diet at 19stone 7lbs – I don’t drop a lot of weight.

Talk us through the last week of contest prep. How do you change your diet to make sure your in top shape for contest day.

It’ll vary but generally you’re where you need to be bodyfat wise. I’ll increase water for a week, this year I went up to 12 litres a day. Then four days out I’ll taper my water intake down whilst increase carbohydrates… commonly known as “carbing up”.

What is the biggest myth you’ve heard about dieting to lose weight?

Oh wow… there’s loads. Just the usual stuff really I guess? I can’t think of anything drastic at the moment if I’m honest.

In the off season what does you daily intake of food look like? Talk us through a day’s worth of eating.

I don’t eat much at all to be honest! For my off season weight of 20st 7lbs – 21st I generally eat between 4000-4500kcals! People look at me like I’m a freak, but it’s the honest truth, I get heavy and gain muscle on very little… bit of a bitch when it comes to dieting though as I really have to suck down.

I’ve read you train with the rule of 12. 12 sets per body body part, using either 3 of 4 exercises. Talk us through a typical week of training, what do your training split look like?

Yeah the “12 set principle” is basically, doing 3 exercises and 4 sets per exercise, or 4 exercises and 3 sets per exercise. If I can’t kill it with 12 sets, I’m not training hard or intense enough J

My splits will vary, I change things depending on how I’m feeling and how recovery has been.

How did you come up with this routine, was it trial an error? Research? Learning from other guys in the gym? Or a combination of everything?

Yeah it’s a way of training Steve Lewis showed me when I first met him and it just stuck.

When I was younger, i’d say my biggest mistake was neglecting ‘rest days’, thinking they were excuses to be lazy. As i’ve gotten older (and hopefully a bit more wiser) I understand that you grow when you rest. How do you structure rest days into your training? Do you perform cardio on rest days, or have them as complete rest with no exercise?

Off season I don’t normally do cardio, although I might do this year as I’ve bought a life-fitness bike for in my garage, so I have no excuse really haha! Rest is important but to be honest, I think you can push yourself a lot more than people do… Jay Cutler once said “there’s no such thing as over training, just under nutrition”… I think he’s right to a degree.

Does you calorie intake differ on rest days, and if so, how?

No. Haven’t done in the past, although I’m considering looking at this sort of thing after these shows… I want to try and stay even leaner than I normally do this off season so it’s something I’m interested in.

Do you change your training during contest prep, or train the same all year round?

Same year around… I don’t think you should change too much when you go into contest-mode. Keep it hard and intense for as long as possible.

When transitioning from finishing your contest prep back to gaining mass, what is your approach? I got stupidly fat after my 3^rd competition (USN Novice Finals) so im second guessing myself this time around as i don’t want to pack on too much fat. What advice would you give to beginners to bodybuilding about avoiding a bad rebound, and getting back into the swing of packing on quality muscle.

I generally take a day after the show to rest up, and them I’m back at it the day after. I don’t like taking too much of a break. I’ll slowly increase calories, or “reverse diet” as it’s trendily known as. I think getting fat is inevitable, but you can minimise fat gain by just being strict. But then again, post show is the most sensitive time to gain muscle – so don’t starve yourself J

In the ‘off-season’ do you have a goal to put on x amount of muscle until you start your next contest prep, or do you train, eat, rest and see how things go?

I just pick a show and aim for it. I know roughly how much muscle I can put on in a year. For me now gaining mass isn’t as much as concern as just “maturing” what I have and improving bodyparts. I hate the word “gains”, if people focused more on “improving” there’d be better physiques walking around.

From people i’ve spoken to, it seems as though many amateur bodybuilders go super strict, balls to the wall with their training, diet and everything in between for 12-16 weeks during contest prep. They then get lazy and don’t diet well in the remainder of the year. It appears as though top bodybuilders (pro’s) approach bodybuilding with a 52 week a year mentality. Obviously eating more in the off season, but still being strict, ensuring that macronutrient requirements are met and so on. How important is the off-season to you, and what is your approach?

I’m on it 24/7 and 365 days a year. It’s not really an “off season”; it’s more a “relaxed season” haha. I weight and track everything I put in my mouth. You have to in my opinion. Your off season and what you learn is what set up your contest prep.

Do you factor cheat meals into your macro’s, or have them as a free meal?

I macro count junk food, but I don’t restrict what I eat. If I want something I’ll have it when I want it… I don’t put food on a pedal stool whereby I’ll only eat junk on a Saturday night “treat meal” like most do.

You’re sponsored by Protein Lifestyle and contribute to their blog. We’ve recently started offering Protein Lifestyle Discount Codes. How did you get involved with Protein Lifestyle?

They’d only been up and running a few months last year when we got talking. I was with another company at the time who were useless (to say the least), and I loved where Protein Lifestyle were heading so we decided to partner up.

What does being a Protein Lifestyle ambassador entail?

To be honest, just representing them… They use my images for the promotional material; I write content for them and have recently done some videos for them. What I love is that they’re happy just having me on board and I’m happy to be associated with them. We bounce ideas off each other and things happen from there. They’ve become more of a family than a “sponsor”… the MD of the company Luke is actually a good friend of mine now. It’s a great relationship.

Which supplements do you consider essential to your stack?

Mainly the basics, whey isolate and Tremor are essential to me. I love the Protein Lifestyle Ultrablend Protein and Milk Protein Concentrate too, they both taste nice and thick and the flavours are very good. I use multi-vits, ZMA, Creapure etc.

I also love protein bars, protein cookies etc off season too 😛

You’re competing in the UKBBF and most recently competed (as the only super heavy weight) in the Muscle Talk championships). What are your immediate, and long term bodybuilding goals?

I’ve said openly, if I’m still at the same level I’m at in 2-3 years I’ll hang it up. I don’t see any point staying doing something if I’m not progressing and just spinning my wheels. Whether than changes in the future, who can say?

The thing with me is that bodybuilding doesn’t “define” who I am like a lot of guys – they live for bodybuilding and I don’t think that’s healthy. For me, I have a young family and a successful career outside of bodybuilding and also have business ambitions I’d like to focus on.

I’ve seen photo’s of you on stage with another super heavy weight we have interviewed, Lukas Gabris. Do you find that bodybuilding is a spot in which you make genuine friends, or is it too competitive to consider these guys as true friends?

No, I have a lot of good friends who are competitive bodybuilders and have even competed against them. You mentioned Lukas; I often speak to him on Facebook too, ever since competing with him last year. He’s a great guy, got a lot of respect for him J

You’ve got a fiancé and a son. How do you balance a day job, family life and bodybuilding?

I’m fortunate that my job allows me to go 100% in the gym… it’s not a physically stressful job, I’m able to eat when I need to and I can be flexible with my working. Family wise, my soon-to-be-wife Katie is a dream come true – she’s so supportive with her understanding and everything else she does.

Even down to things like tanning (she always does my tan and skin prep), she’ll cook any meals for me, she takes over things in the house when I don’t have the energy to do them when dieting etc. and she even diets with me when it’s contest time… she’ll alter her diet to the same as mine, even though she doesn’t compete or train with weights! I know I can depend on her no matter what, she actually doesn’t realise how much easier she makes life for me. I’m very blessed.

How do you like to chill out and wind down when not in the gym or in the office?

I don’t think I ever do wind down to be honest! I’ve always got my phone in my hand if I’m sat in front of the TV on social media etc. I enjoy video games on the rare occasion I get to play them, I love wrestling and I guess just being around family and friends. I’m pretty simple really haha!

You sound like the mirrior image of myself haha! Although my Fiance isn’t too happy when I spend a night looking at my phone instead of listening to her! Many people, and im probably guilty to some extent, over complicate bodybuilding. At it’s core, getting in shape isn’t complicated. Its certainly not easy, but it’s not complicated. What advice would you give to someone just starting out in the gym looking to pack on some muscle.

Just be consistent. Apply some logic and just be consistent. The gym is full of Chinese whispers about what does and doesn’t work, and what such and such does and doesn’t do and most of the time it’s BS. You can’t get around getting in the gym and just busting your balls and eating when you’re not in the gym. That’s just it. Never give up and BE CONSISTENT… there’s no days off J

What does the future hold for you Aaron, what have you got coming up this year?

Well I just won the Superheavies at the UKBFF MuscleTalk show; I’ve got the UKBFF English Grand Prix next week, which I’m REALLY excited about. I’m planning on taking 4-6 weeks out of the gym (weight at least) after the Grand Prix… I’ve never done this before but it’s much needed mentally and physically I think. I need to give something back to my body.

After a break it’ll be formulating a new plan ready for the end of 2015… I want to go away, come back 12-16 month later with a bigger and improved physique and hopefully cause some trouble at the top level. I put muscle on pretty easy compared to most, and I plan on staying very lean this off season to keep my body running at optimal.

I’ve got some cool stuff in the pipeline with Protein Lifestyle too, so keep an eye out for that.

I’m getting married in October too, so I can’t wait for that.

Do you have any final words for our readers?

Never think you’re at your best because you’re not – you can always be better and as good as you think you are, someone out there is better!

Just stay hungry and stay humble.

You can follow Aaron on Twitter here.

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