The Dynamic Duo have dropped their capes and took of their masks for this exclusive interview. Today we get to sit down with the twins from Dynamic Duo Training.
Thanks for taking the time to be with us today guys. It’s like looking a lot buffer version of Kenan and Kel haha. You guys offer training, how did you get into that?
We have always been involved in sports at a young age. We used to play soccer for 8 years and Basketball all the way up to senior year of high school. But it wasn’t until the death of our father our senior year of high school that really turned the tables. His autopsy report showed a small diagnosis of heart disease and this really made us want to live nothing but a dynamic lifestyle and to help others do the same. With our father’s loss, we also needed something to alleviate our anger, so weight training was a very good therapeutic outlet for us. This is where our drive and intensity comes from when we train day in and day out! Also we’ve always been fascinated with the way an individual can make body compositional changes and the science behind training and nutrition. For the past 7 years we have both been fully engaged in learning as much as we can about training and nutrition along with tying that into our niche and with real world practice. We both have this hunger inside of us to be the best at what we do and to always keep learning and keeping an open mind. We want to experience going through the trenches without anything being given to us for free. We are no strangers to hard work and overcoming adversity while maintaining our mental toughness for the journey we have ahead of us.
When i graduated from business school I almost did my Masters in strength and conditioning but leaned away from it as i found it it was more to do with general fitness and team sports. How did you education prepare you for what you do now?
Our passion, hunger, and desire keeps us motivated day in and day out. Starting with us wanting to be masters of our craft and practice what we preach. Not just talk the talk, but walk the walk. Being prime examples for our business along with the opportunity to voice our opinions in the health and fitness industry and change as much lives as we possibly can. Education is key in our opinion because anyone can just make up random information or be what we like to call a “GURU”. By educating ourselves we feel this will keep us ahead of the game and always be able to offer our clients and followers nothing but quality and up to date no BS info. Also, both of us being clients of Layne Norton, we feel like our motivation has sky rocketed through the roof since working with him and what better to learn from one of the best in the industry. We want to be “Game-Changers,” meaning we want to really make a dent in the health and fitness industry with our niche and help others live healthier lifestyles and get away from all the bad info out there. We have to stay passionately focused on our mission and purpose and never be satisfied with just being good. We want to be the best that we can be and keep our integrity! Settling for mediocrity is something too many people do. We want to keep pushing ourselves to success and hopefully our work ethic can rub off on other people.
What is your favourite style of training?
Chris is currently on an undulating periodization protocol that’s focusing on chest and arms since these are areas he needs to improve on from the past show. Eric is currently on an undulating periodization protocol that consists of training legs 3 times a week since he can’t do any upper body for a month due to bicep tendonitis. We are firm believers in undulating periodization and the research has proven that it’s more optimal than linear periodization. We also feel that bodybuilding is a multifaceted approach and you need both powerlifting and hypertrophy style training to reach an optimal physique.
What challenges did you face when studying for an education in the fitness field?
Not a whole lot of challenges to be honest. We are firm believers that nothing in life comes easy nor should it. So you either want to earn your education or you don’t.
How has your education impacted your own training?
Well the majority of that education came from learning from Layne Norton the last 5 years. Just keeping an open mind with different training programs, periodization schemes, and learning what works best for our bodies.
How does it make you feel when you see so many guys transforming their bodies, enjoying their workouts, and becoming healthier as a result of your advice?
It is absolutely gratifying! Especially when we know you are providing our clients with world class services that include safe, ethical, and healthy approaches. We pride ourselves in being great coaches because we have been mentored by some of the great coaches in our opinions. When our clients thank us for turning around their lives or helping them achieve their goals, it really puts what we do on a daily basis in perspective. We are truly humbled and grateful to help people under amazing body transformations and live a healthy lifestyle.
You both compete, firstly what made you start lifting weights?
Definitely the toughest obstacle we have overcome is the loss of our father. We lost our father in 2003 at the age of 18, when he passed away we were so lost. Our father was our provider, a great father and husband, and especially a great role model. It was such a tough obstacle to overcome for our family, but we all persevered and are very grateful for what he left us and taught us. For more on our life story please check out our article “To Hell And Back”.
What made you want to step on stage?
We have always been very fascinated by bodybuilding and how one can take their body to that extreme body composition level. So we wanted to test our will, mental toughness, and bodies to see if we could go through an entire contest prep. Also as prep coaches, we felt that we should practice what we preach and lead by example.
When i first started competing, it was hard for my girlfriend to her head around all the time i’d be putting into the gym, and stepping on stage in trunks. What obstacles did you face when first starting to compete?
Haha luckily our girlfriends enjoy this lifestyle as much as we do so they were very cool about everything. We definitely had one major setback during our prep. The setback was when our coach told us we weren’t going to be ready for the show we planned on competing in. It was tough hearing it, but in reality it was the best choice we made. The last thing as a competitor you want to do is enter a show and not look like a bodybuilder and make a fool of yourself. As coaches, business owners, and bodybuilders we wanted to represent everything we stand for, so we swallowed our pride and continued to work even harder to get ready for the NPC Excalibur Show in Mid December 2013. Our setback was due to us having way to much body fat starting off, we just didn’t realize it when we started our prep and we wish we would have. Another part of that setback was that we came to a conclusion that our metabolisms are very adaptive. So our coach and we didn’t anticipate that towards the beginning of our prep because we were cruising right along the first couple of months. As coaches, that is one of the toughest things about prepping an athlete. You can do everything right, but you never know what the human body is going to do next, your body will always be smarter than you. It is really tough to predict what’s going to happen next, there will never be a black or white answer. Overall that was the major setback during our prep, but at the end of the day we take responsibility for it because we should have never put on all that body fat in the off season to begin with.
That is exactly what happened to me when I competed in my first Show. I started off too fat, however I went ahead anyway to experience getting on stage. I was tempted to pull out and completely understand why you guys did.
What separates a person who trains as a hobby compared to someone making a living from training people, competing and running a web business around it?
Wow great question! We def think you have to have another level of passion in order to balance all that we do. Our integrity, confidence, and resilience is what separates us from the person just training as a hobby. It takes a lot of patience to be a great coach. You always have to keep an open mind and always be willing to be a student. Many people have huge egos and clients eventually will see through that, along with laziness, lack of education, and bro science.
When you were younger, who were your inspirations within the fitness world?
We grew up playing soccer and basketball so we idolized Michael Jordan, certain soccer players, and other athletes. We weren’t into weight lifting then.
Who are some of your favourite fitness youtubers?
Layne Norton, 3DMJ, Smitty Diesel, John Meadows
Tell us about some of the sites you contribute to.
We have contributed to a numerous amount of sites as well as guest blogging for some fitness pro’s. Some of the more popular ones we regularly contribute to are:
– IIFYM.com
– Simplyshredded.com
– Sportsnutritioninsider.com
– Fitoverfat.com
– Muscleandstrength.com
– MDlatino.com
– Gymmagazine.ie
As twins, do you find it easier to stay motivated? Is there friendly competition between the 2 of you?
Absolutely! When one of us is down then we pick each other up. We know how to motivate each other, challenge each other, work as a team… and piss each other off
Talk us through a typical week in the gym, how do your workout days look?
We typically follow a 16 week training protocol that varies. Some protocols will be non-linear undulating periodization, daily undulating periodization, PHAT protocols, Westside barbell protocols, strictly hypertrophy, and hybrids. So a typical week would just depend on the training protocol and split. Some are geared towards heavy/power days and others are geared toward more hypertrophy style training.
Do you find any workouts particularly hard to get psyched up for? How do you overcome this feeling?
We never really have this problem. If there’s ever a day we are dragging then a large cup of Verdana Blonde Starbucks coffee with an extra shot of espresso, some good rock music, and some self-talk usually do the trick 🙂
Working out with the intensity you do is difficult, however it is just a small part of obtaining a magazine cover physique. Controlling your diet is arguably more difficult as its a 24 hour thing. Run us through a typical day of eating.
A typical day of eating usually consist of 4 meals a day, spread approx. 4-5 hours apart, and portioning the majority of our carbohydrates around pre and post workout. We follow a flexible dieting approach as we believe this gives you 100% control of what you put into your body as well as being able to incorporate foods that we like.
How often do you ‘cheat’ on your diet, and to what extent?
See our answer here J http://dynamicduotraining.com/educational-vdeos/pros-and-cons-to-a-cheat-meal/
What is your current supplement stack, and why do you use these supplements?
We currently take a daily multivitamin for vitamins/minerals purposes, although research is showing these are not needed if you get sufficient amounts through diet. Creatine for recovery and strength purposes. BCAA’s to jump start Muscle protein synthesis postworkout . And fish oil to get more essential fatty acids.
I use a lot of MyProtein Supplements. What are your favourite supplements to use?
We aren’t really big on supplements, our favourites are the ones we spoke of above.
Which supplements would you recommend as ‘must haves’ for any guys reading this who are wanting to get into the best shape of their life?
We would say none because if you have a nutrient dense diet and your consuming whole and minimally refined foods supplements are just icing on the cake. To get that 2-3% advantage we would say creatine for sure and BCAA’s if you have the money.
What are your plans for 2014, what projects will you be working on?
A big move to Los Angeles in March, return to school and pursue our masters in nutrition, keep building dynamic duo training, and keep providing world class info and services to our clients and supporters.
Thanks for your time guys, any last words for our readers?
Please visit our brand new website www.dynamicduotraining.com and for coaching inquiries please email us at dynamicduotraining@gmail.com
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Adam Foster is an aspiring bodybuilder, and has been training since a teenager. As the founder of the website & youtube channel 'Shreddybrek' he shares his experiences and knowledge via informative videos and articles. Get in touch if you have any questions!
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