Interview With Brandon Jones
Bodybuilder of the Month - November 2009
Interviewed by: Angela Courduff
WP:Brandon Jones works for a gym called, “The Frederick Athletic Club” in Frederick MD, and he also does catering with his fiancée on the side. He loves lifting weights and playing sports. Football has been his life since middle school, and he just recently began a new post-college journey which most would call “real life.” He strives to be the best at whatever he does, and hates falling short. “You could say I have had a fairly easy life, with the exception of sports related injuries and complications. Having lived the life of an athlete, I now live the life of a teacher. I try and teach any and everyone I can the benefits of a healthy lifestyle and make it my mission to show people how exercise can be fun. I am a very easy going guy and get along with pretty much everyone”, says Brandon.
You have quite a competitive background. Do you still compete in any sports?
BJ: I am currently out of sports, with the exception of a men’s flag football league and co-ed kickball league. I do coach high school football though. I was a collegiate athlete in both football and track and field. I am seriously giving thought to bodybuilding in the near future.
WP: What did you learn from your years of competing in team sports?
BJ: It takes intense discipline, competitiveness, and requires the desire to be the best you can be. The hardest thing, in my mind, with competing in any sport is the year round focus it takes and the ability to overcome adversity. There are always going to be people who try to bring you down or try to influence you negatively. One of the hardest things for an athlete is trying to find your “self”, your true identity and not let those people influence you in a way that is harmful. I can imagine it would be easy for a bodybuilder to become affected with everyone else around them eating fast food, drinking alcohol and not striving for the same things they are. It is not giving in to these temptations of others that, in my mind, are the hardest thing in any sport.
WP: What are the key factors that dictate the way you train today?
BJ: Intensity. I train with high intensity! I always joke with people that I do not need to spend hours on cardio equipment because my intensity is so high with my weight training that I get great cardio out of that. Although I do my share of cardio, change it up. I love changing my workouts every couple of weeks, although, I will change around a few things from workout to workout depending on how I feel that day. Have fun. Lifting weights for me is fun. Simply said, it is what I look forward to each and every day. I have a blast working out and I try to emphasize that with other people. Once exercise becomes fun then it is no longer a chore. When this happens, people experience the real results they are looking for. I love when I help influence others to have fun in the gym while still being serious.
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WP: Those are great training methodologies! How has your training changed over the years?
BJ: In high school, I only worked out to stay in shape for football. I was in the gym every day regardless of the season or sport I was in. Back then, we were given a workout routine with specific directions on how to complete it and then we were left to go about our business. I had no real understanding of what I was actually doing in the weight room. I just knew I had to do it to become a better athlete. In college I began to study the human body and exercise and it was there that I learned the “why” portion of working out. Now that I have the knowledge I feel like the possibilities are endless. My lifting used to be centered around sports so the focus was on whole-body training for the most part. My training now is split by body part with a different focus every day.
WP: Can you give me an example of your current workout?
BJ: I average about 5 days of training a week. Every now and then I will add a sixth day if needed and every couple of months I will back off and rest a bit and let my body fully recover. Right now, my split is: Mondays are chest and front delts for power. At the moment I am doing an insane 12 sets of 3 band bench with anywhere from 275 to 335 lbs on the bar. I will follow that with 3 sets of drop sets trying to hit 225 for 15 then 135 for 15 to 20 reps. Next, I move to 5 sets of flies. Depending on my mood, I also add 5 to 6 sets of heavy shoulder presses. This workout is exhausting and time consuming. On Tuesdays I train back and rear delts, usually hitting anywhere from 6 to 12 reps.
Wednesdays, I work my legs with a focus on quads given my hamstrings are really strong from my years of track. Sometimes I’ll throw in some hamstrings exercises here or there or I’ll save them for another day. Thursdays I hit my chest ‘bodybuilding style’ with more of focus on incline work. I will sometimes superset some back or shoulders exercises depending on how my workouts went earlier in the week. Fridays are my arm days. This workout usually consists of an exercise with lower reps for some density, some sets with 8 to 12 reps, and some burnout sets to really flush my arms with blood. I naturally have fairly large arms for my body structure, so I am trying to catch everything else up with them at the moment. Saturdays I usually take off completely and Sundays I play flag football and watch football all day long so the two consecutive recovery days really help me to get ready for Monday again. I train with high intensity and usually heavy weight. I no longer squat or deadlift heavy due to my back condition but structure my workouts to still get what I need out of them.
WP: You really do train intensely! What do you feel has been your stepping stone to get where you are today?
BJ: Patience, persistence, and dedication. Lucky for me, I have always been the guy who can keep up and compete in lifting against guys 50, 60 and 70 pounds heavier than me and it’s because of this: There is never a dull moment with my lifting. My workout partner is 40 to 50 pounds heavier than I am and thus has greater strength. Working out with him really benefits me because it forces me to push my body to the limit in the weight and reps I do. I do not like being shown up and so I stay right there with the larger guys as best I can and really attribute that to a lot of my lifting success. I have always hated having to use the phrase “pound for pound I am stronger than you.” This was thrown around a lot in high school and college, but pound for pound meant nothing to me. I have always strived to be just as strong as someone 100 pounds heavier. In college I used to lift with the lineman instead of the skill players even though I was a skill player myself. I knew doing so would push me further than working out with people I was already stronger than. But that is just how I am, and it’s the attitude I have always possessed.
WP: What has it been like for you to maintain your physique? Has it been a tough road?
BJ: It has been extremely tough. It seems like every time I start to make strides in the right direction, something happens to pull me back. I owe that to a life of sports. The one and only negative thing about sports is the beating your body takes. I will give you a glimpse into what I am talking about:
In 8th grade I had my first concussion, most people thought nothing of it. Then another came in 9th grade, and another in 10th, and by my junior year of college I had tallied 6 or 7 serious head injuries, including one where I lost all feeling in my limbs and had to be flown off right from the football field. I earned the nickname ‘Concussionhead”. Recent studies on athletes with multiple concussions have shown strong evidence of problems later in life. Yippee! In the middle of college, I suffered a fracture to my L4 vertebrae which the doctor concluded was a condition called spondylolysis. This is a defect in the pars interarticularis of a vertebra. It basically never completely heals, but does fuse up to prevent further problems. Well, this could be a problem for a young man who works at a gym and exercises for a living. Not a day goes by that I do not feel that one, yet I continue to lift day after day and participate in numerous athletic activities. I honestly feel that weight lifting can make me more vulnerable to injury but also that it more so helps to prevent me from further injury. I also fell short of completing my senior season of football, with 4 games left in the season, due to a torn labrum.
Two years ago this December, I had shoulder surgery to repair the injury. One year ago, I started lifting weights again and have not looked back. I have added 100 pounds to my bench; I had put about 100 lbs on my squat until my back started acting up again. I can now incline bench 315 lbs which, a year ago, was not even possible on my flat bench. So, things are looking up with my lifting right now. I am anxious to see what I can do with my body after a few solid, healthy years of lifting with no distractions. I owe my health to the gym; I really do. I feel that if it were not for the benefits I gained from exercising so much, I would probably have been injured far worse than I was and would have never fully recovered. I really do owe my life to exercise.
WP: You have really overcome a lot of obstacles. Can you give me an example of your current diet? What do you normally eat each day?
BJ: I try to get in 6 to 7 meals a day, depending on my schedule. I will wake up and immediately have 1 scoop of whey with skim milk and a banana. About an hour to an hour and a half later I will make a regular breakfast consisting of 3 whole eggs, 2 or 3 egg whites and either toast or oatmeal. Then, I make a pre-workout shake in the blender with a banana or some yogurt, whey protein and milk. After my workout, I will have 40 grams of whey protein with water and a bagel with cinnamon and sugar. Later, I’ll have a full meal which usually consists of some form of chicken, vegetables and carbs from something like a sweet potato. Later at night I usually mix it up with a protein shake, more chicken or yogurt mixed with fat free cottage cheese (the mix is because I just can not stomach cottage cheese alone). I do also love Subway’s roasted chicken breast sub, but I try to limit it throughout the week. I am a real hard gainer, so I definitely do not limit my carbs by any means.
WP: Do you currently take any supplements?
BJ: I take creatine before and after workouts, whey protein, a multivitamin, and a pre-workout drink depending on the month. I have also taken aminos, omega 3, CLA, and regular caffeine. I take nothing out of the ordinary.
WP: What is the hardest thing you have had to deal with when it comes to your diet?
BJ: It’s funny because my fiancée’s father owns a Marble Slab Creamery, which is a better tasting version of Cold Stone’s ice cream. It is always available to me, so dealing with that temptation is easily the hardest thing for me to handle on a basis. I come from a family of ice cream lovers, and it is a very real temptation for me. Lucky for me he now has low sugar and fat free yogurt and I have switched to that. I am much better for it!
WP: Can you tell me your stats and what are your personal best?
BJ: Currently: 5'9", 190-195 lbs, 19 1/2" arms (they were 20 1/2 at one point), 31-32" waist, 46" chest, and 10% body fat (I am trying to gain weight, it was 7% a few months ago)
My personal bests are:
Bench 380 (double my bodyweight) 225 x 30 reps;
Squat 515 or 465 for 15 reps;
Power Clean 310;
4.4seconds for the 40 yard dash in high school.
WP: That’s impressive! Can you tell me about your family? Are you married, dating, and any children?
BJ: I have two parents, who have always been there for me, and one younger brother who is currently in college. I have been engaged for about 8 months; we are planning a Florida destination wedding for early 2011at her favorite place in the world. No “human” children as of now, but my fiancée refers to our two Chihuahuas as our babies. You should see the looks I get when people find out I own a 3 pound dog. Priceless! If you knew my fiancé, you would totally understand. Her little brother, Race, is now like my own little brother and is very special to me!
WP: Who are some of your idols? Who do you admire most in the fitness industry?
BJ: I have to be cliché here and say Arnold; he is just so inspirational. I do, however, look up to each and every person I see in the gym week after week because those people are displaying the courage that inspires other people. It does not matter if they look like someone in a magazine. It is easy to give up, but someone who keeps coming back? I really respect that.
WP: It’s not cliché at all -Arnold is my idol too! Have you ever done any modeling?
BJ: Everyone always tells my fiancée and me to get into some form of modeling, usually fitness related, but as of now nothing has really come our way. We did a little fun photo shoot with her mom’s photographer friend, but nothing serious as of yet. We were both recently in a commercial for our gym which has aired on all major networks in our area but that is about it. I would however love to get in to some form of modeling in the future.
WP: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
BJ: Hopefully I’ll be making a lot more money and on my way to attaining my goal of owning/running my own training facility or gym. I plan on having a few kids by then; hopefully all boys so I can teach them to play football; although my fiancée insists on having a girl. I hope I am still involved in the sports community and that my training is steadily moving forward. I have always wanted my own gym. I have some very interesting and new ideas I believe could help make exercise more fun for the average person. This is the focus of my future.
WP: Do you have any pet peeves?
BJ: I like to do things on a schedule and my fiancée is more of a “spur of the moment” person and really never fully plans out anything. So, we sometimes clash on that. When it comes to working out, I hate when I am trying to get in a serious workout and the person or people with me keep talking or goofing off. It can be very distracting. Tony, the guy I work out with, always jokes with me because I am anal about having all the weights always line up perfectly before I lift. It definitely adds some humor to our workouts. I also hate exercising in sleeves. I don’t know what it is, but I only feel comfortable working out in sleeveless shirts. It’s just a personal comfort thing.
WP: What do you consider to be important in life? Why?
BJ: Family, friends, having a social life, competition, and exercise. The one thing I feel very strongly about is having fun. Too many people go through life doing the same thing every single day, like it’s a chore, and get no joy out of it. I live my life differently. I feel that having a good time at what you are doing every day is very important to a long, successful, happy life.
WP: That’s a great outlook you have! Do you feel you have changed over the years when it comes to your thinking, actions, and life in general?
BJ: Well, I just graduated college about 2 years ago. It is definitely different for me to no longer have sports running my life. Lucky for me those sports, especially in college, taught me so much about life, relationships, and myself. It made the transition from college to “the real world” quite simple. I picked up recreational sports, coaching and steady weight training to fill in the time that used to be occupied by football and track. I am now engaged and very much in love with the woman of my dreams, and both of our families are great. We are planning the wedding, working on getting our own place and setting up our life together. I could not ask for anything more. Obviously, these things have helped me mature and changed my way of thinking and prepared me for the future, which I hope will be nothing short of wonderful.
WP: Do you have any projects in the works?
BJ: I am currently working on a promotional video for my websites that’s focused on my training. It’s just sort of a fun side project to help promote myself and what I do; trying to make exercising look fun! My boss is interested in trying to set up some form of speed/skill training camp at the gym, so that might also be a possibility for me in the distant future. I would like to see myself, or my fiancée, get involved in some type of modeling soon as well. People joke with us that we are like a hot celebrity couple with the looks and drama that would make for a great reality show! I don’t know about all that, but a little modeling or a bodybuilding competition in the next year or two could be a real possibility.
WP: Any shout outs?
BJ: My fiancée, Rochelle (I love you baby), her little brother, Race; my mom, dad, J.D.; Rochelle’s family, Pam, Ray, and Ray; my workout partner, Tony (thanks for slowing me down!); my friends Billy, Tim, Shomp, Pat, Mehaffie, Luke, Nik, Mar, Brady, Blue, Bess; TJ High School Football (Go Pats), Bridgewater College Football (Go Eagles), everyone at the gym, and anyone else I forgot. I’m sure I’ll catch an earful for leaving someone out!
WP: Is there anything I have forgotten to mention that you would like to add?
BJ: I would just like to tell people to remember that exercising can and should be fun and that the more fun you make it, the more you will get out of it in return. Don’t let something kill your dreams; persistence, hard work, and patience can take you a long way!
WP: It has been a pleasure interviewing you! I wish you the best of luck!
BJ: Thank you very much for the opportunity! Take care!
