Interview 13 - Robert Savin

Hello! What's your athletic background and what initially motivated you to transform your body?

Hi, I'm Robert Savin. Growing up in Europe I was always active playing all sorts of sports but mainly soccer (European football). Like most European kids my dream was to become a professional football player. My mom and I moved to Canada when I was 13. I continued playing soccer until I was 18, but unfortunately, it's not a major sport in Canada and my opportunities were limited. I got a glimpse of training (lifting weights) while playing competitive soccer in my teens. I started off doing the p90x workouts, mostly the Legs and Back and core Synergistics if any of you still remember those. I noticed that my legs were much stronger during the games and it gave me a sense of power and drive to become better and stronger. My passion began and I was hooked. At a young age, I realized that it is your responsibility to take action and work for whatever it is that you want. No one owes you anything. I love the discipline and the fact that it is hard work that dictates your results and success. After high school, the distraction of choosing a university and thinking about "what I want in life" put lifting temporarily aside as I switched between a couple different universities. Once that was settled, I decided to take lifting seriously and see where it would take me. I'm now 25 years young, currently 210 lbs at 6'1.

What's your approach to diet and nutrition?

I've tried many different approaches and I've made many mistakes along the way. Back in 2012, the word around was that if you want to grow you have to EAT. Eager to grow and get bigger, I took that seriously. The "bulking" season began. I ate everything in sight, twice. I ended up 230lb, full of love handles. Now, a lot has changed. I believe in staying at a relatively low body fat percentage regardless of your goals. When I'm trying to gain, I increase my carbohydrate intake from whole food sources while slightly lowering my fats, keeping my protein steady (about 1g/lb is plenty for hypertrophy). I adjust weekly or as needed. When I start adding too much body fat for my liking, I go into a mini-cut phase to re-sensitize my insulin response and prime myself to grow again. Our bodies do not grow in a linear fashion, therefore long "bulk" or "cut" phases are not optimal. I don't like cold food, so I cook every day.

A typical day for me:
Meal 1: 6 eggs, veggies with half an avocado
Meal 2: Oats with a scoop of whey and berries (pre-workout)
Meal 3: 1 1/2 cups of rice, 200-250 g chicken breast or steak
Meal 4: 1 1/2 cups of rice, 200-250 g chicken breast or steak
Meal 5: Steak, baked potato
Meal 6: Greek yogurt or oats with half scoop whey and berries

Do you supplement your nutrition with any sport supplements?

I got myself into a bad habit of using stimulants. It's a bad habit because stimulating your adrenal glands and CNS synthetically is not ideal. I use caffeine. I also love and believe in the benefits of beta-alanine (2-4 g), citrulline malate (6-8 g) and creatine (5 g). The combination of these 4 supplements always creates an awesome workout.

What does your typical week of working out look like?

I train 5 or 6 times a week for about 60 - 75 minutes. My current training split looks like this:

Monday - Back / biceps / rear delts
• 1 arm cable rows superset with straight bar cable pullovers 3x12 (warm-up)
• Seal Rows 5x8-12
• Lat Pulldowns 3x8-15
• T-bar Rows 4x8-15
• Incline cable rows superset w/ hammer strength rows 3x8-12
• Rack pulls into shrugs 5x6-15
• Reverse pec-deck fly 4x12-15 SS w/ Bicep Curls 4x8-12

Tuesday - Chest / triceps
• Bench Press 5x6-15
• Cable Flies 4x12-20
• Incline Dumbbell bench press 3x8-12
• Pec Deck flies superset w/ Push-ups 4x12-20
• Dips superset w/ Machine Chest Press 4x8-15

Wednesday - Arms
• Triceps: rope pushdowns 4x12-15
• Overhead rope extensions 4x10-15
• Kettlebell Skull crushers 4x8-12
• Kettlebell kickbacks
• Push-ups
• Biceps: Dumbbell bicep curls 4x8-12
• Incline Kettlebell curls 3x8-12
• Straight bar Cable Curls 3x10-12
• Barbell Curls 3x8-10
• Concentration Curls 3x10

Thursday - Legs
• Squats 4x8-12
• Decompressive spine squat machine 4x10-15
• Walking lunges 4x8-10
• K-bell Sumo Deadlifts 4x8-12

Friday - Delts / Traps
• Overhead press Dumbell or Barbell 4x10-12
• 1 arm cable lateral raises 5x15-20
• Reverse pec deck flies 4x12-15
• Incline dumbbell lateral raises 4x10-15
• Arnold Press 3x8-10
• Behind neck Pulldown superset w/ Shrugs 4x10-15

Saturday and Sunday I rest. If I feel good I add back again.

Have you found anything to be especially helpful or advantageous?

It's been a lot of trial and error. The more experience I acquire, the better I can distinguish between bullshit information and actual sound information. I've made — dare I say — the most mistakes that a person could possibly make along the way and that has helped me have a wider variety of possible wrongs and I've corrected with "rights" along the way. I've never stopped learning, always eager to learn more and do things better and more efficiently. Reading, listening to guys that are in better shape than I am, podcasts of professional bodybuilders, anything I find that can benefit me, I invest my time into.

What mistakes have you made along the way?

Mistake 1: not taking time to understand how to train correctly. I thought that training was simple and that you just go to the gym and "kill it". Turns out, there more to it.
Mistake 2: I thought eating everything in sight was the way to get huge. Again, turns out there's more to it than just eating excess burgers to hit a surplus of calories.
Mistake 3: My goals have been all over the place, get bigger and stronger and faster and more shredded. Well, that mindset did more harm than good. Focusing on one goal at a time is the best way to achieve it.
Thankfully I haven't really dealt with injuries and my motivation is always sky high.

What are some of the best tips you can offer for others trying to follow in your footsteps?

Here it is: if you're a beginner I know you are eager to work hard and get to your goal, whether it is to get a great physique, become super strong or both. You must understand that it will take time and patience. Therefore, stay grounded and think long-term while accomplishing short-term goals along the way. Focus on one goal at a time and accomplish it. Do that once, twice, ten times and you will eventually reach your end goal. Become a student and always look to learn from others that are where you want to be.

Training wise, focus on mastering the movement patterns of the main lifts (squat, bench and deadlift) and become strong at it. That will be your foundation. Once you have built a strong foundation, you can start focusing more on isolation movements and strictly hypertrophy to get more muscle and size.

Where can we find out more about you?

I am very active on Instagram @rrsavin. You can also visit my website for complete online coaching programs and personal training if you live in Toronto.

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The content on our website is for informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice or to replace a relationship with a qualified healthcare professional. Always consult with a qualified healthcare professional before starting any diet, exercise or supplementation program, and make sure that there is no conflict between any prescription advice, procedure or medication and non-prescription substances or activities.