VITAL STATS Name: Brian Westgate E-mail: bwestgat@hotmail.com Age: 34 Where: Cobble Hill, BC Canada Height: 6' Weight: 165 Lbs Years Bodybuilding: 17 Favorite Bodypart: Chest And Back Favorite Exercise: Bench Press Favorite Supplements: EAS Whey Protein (Vanilla)

How Did You Get Started?

I got started when I was a young teenager because I wanted to look like the guys in all the comics I read. I was like a yo-yo for 15 years of my weightlifting where I would work out for 2 months then do nothing for 3 months, work out for a month, do nothing for 4 months. I would get ahead a bit each time I consistently went to the weight room. I started getting more consistent when I met my training partner Mike Watson up in Burns Lake. We pushed each other hard, gained some muscle and lost some weight.

When I picked up the book Eating For Life by Bill Phillips I started learning how to eat properly. I moved from Burns Lake and away from my training partner, but kept up the bodybuilding lifestyle and still ate healthy. At Christmas time (2008) I was eating terribly again. I had been off of weightlifting for 4 months due to an arm and lower back injury.

My training partner has dieted down twice to low levels of body fat and wanted to enter a competition. I agreed to do it with him. For the next 5.5 months I was in the weight room most days and eating 6 well proportioned meals a day. I lost 20 pounds and came in more shredded then I ever thought possible to my first ever bodybuilding competition "The 2009 Northern Classic" up in Fort St. John (Northern, BC). It was an untested event and I was natural so my size was not great, but I was one of the most ripped guys on the stage.

Click To Enlarge.
Brian Westgate With Training
Partner Mike Watson.

What Workout Plan Worked Best For You?

I prefer a 4 day split. This is the 4 day split I use for preparing for my June competition:

Day 1: Chest and Shoulders

• 10 Minute Warm Up (Usually a run)
• Inclined Dumbbell Press: 3 sets of 12, 10, and 8 reps
• Flat Smith Machine Press: 4 sets of 12, 10, 8, and 6 reps
• Declined Bench Press: 3 sets of 10 reps
• Cable Crossovers: 3 sets of 10 reps
• Smith Machine Military Presses: 3 sets of 12, 10, 8, and 6 reps
• Superset:

Side Laterals With Bands: 3 sets of 10 reps
Cable Rear Laterals: 3 sets of 10 reps


• Dumbbell Side Laterals: 3 sets of 10 reps
• 5 Minute Warm Down

Day 2: Arms

• Warm Up 10 Minutes
• Seated Dumbbell Curls: 3 sets of 10 reps
• Narrow Grip Presses: 4 sets of 12, 10, 8, and 6 reps
• Inclined Dumbbell Curls: 3 sets of 10 reps
• Skull Crushers: 4 sets of 12, 10, 8, and 6 reps
• Superset:

Cable Curls: 4 sets of 12 reps
Cable Triceps Extensions: 4 sets of 10 reps

Day 3: Back and Traps

• Weighted Rack Chins: 5 sets of 15, 10, 8, 8, and 8 reps
• Bent Over Rows: 4 sets of 10 reps
• Pull-ups: 6 sets of 17, 15, 12, 12, 10, and 10 reps
• Seated Cable Rows: 3 sets of 10 reps
• Front Shrugs: 3 sets of 10, 10, and 10 reps
• Rear Shrugs: 3 sets of 10, 10, 10 reps

Day 4: Legs

• Squats: 5 sets of 15, 12, 10, 10, and 8 reps
• Leg Presses: 4 sets of 10 reps
• Stiff Legged Deadlifts: 3 sets of 12 reps
• Triset:

Leg Extensions: 3 sets of 12 reps
Leg Curls: 3 sets of 10 reps
Lunges: 3 sets of 10 reps


• Superset:

Standing Calf Raises: 4 sets of 10 reps
Seated Calf Raises: 4 sets of 10 reps

Click To Enlarge.
Brian Westgate.

What Nutrition Plan Has Worked Best For You?

Meal 1 - 6:00 AM:

• Protein Pancakes (Body For Life Recipe)
• Coffee
• Multivitamin
• Omega 3s

Meal 2 - 10:00 AM:

• Tuna From A Can
• A Whole Wheat Wrap
• Cut Up Red Peppers

Meal 3 - 1:00 PM:

• Protein Shake
• Banana
• Protein
• Frozen Strawberries
• Skim Milk

Meal 4 - 3:00 PM:

• Atlantic Salmon Fillet
• Brown Rice
• Broccoli

Meal 5:

• Flank Steak
• Home Made Sweet Potato Fries
• Red Peppers
• Carrots

Meal 6:

• 1% Cottage Cheese
• No Fat No Sugar Strawberry Yogurt
• 7 Grapes

Click To Enlarge.
Brian Westgate.

What Supplements Have Given You The Greatest Gains?

I used EAS Whey Protein, multivitamins and omega 3 fatty acids. I used the whey protein immediately after I worked out and had it with a fast digesting carb such as Gatorade or a banana. This helped me to take advantage of the 1-2 hour "window of opportunity" to get the nutrients to my muscles to start the building process.

Why Do You Love Bodybuilding?

I love bodybuilding for so many reasons. Firstly it has shown me how to lead a "healthy" lifestyle. I eat more veggies, more lean meats, more complex carbs, and I stay away from unhealthy foods such as sugar, salt, saturated fat, MSG, alcohol, etc or at least moderate them significantly. It gives me more energy that is consistent throughout the day.

People always ask me where I get my energy from. I say from the 6 healthy meals I eat, that and I am not having to carry around an extra 100lbs everywhere I go like many folks do who are over weight. Bodybuilding shows me that I have the power to change myself which gives me the confidence I need to do whatever I want in life. My question is "why wouldn't you want all these things?"

What Motivates You To Follow A Healthy Lifestyle?

I want to look lean and strong. I want to live a long life. I want to make myself better at everything I do. Exercise and eating right not only makes me leaner and stronger, but it gives me the energy drive and focus for other aspects of my life, whether that is as a father, a husband or in my professional work.

What Made You Want To Achieve Your Goals?

My wife, my children and a promise to myself and my training partner.

What Are Your Future Bodybuilding Plans?

My future bodybuilding plans are to take a year off of competing and try to gain about 10lbs of muscle. Being a natural ectomorph will make this challenging but I am up for it and will do whatever I can (within legal limits and within the realm of healthy) to get more lean muscle so that I can stand tall and proud again at my next competition. I will probably try to do the tested event in Kelowna, BC for my next competition.

Click To Enlarge.
Brian Westgate.

What One Tip Would You Give Other Bodybuilders?

It is all about diet. You can't get big and you can't get ripped unless you know how to eat. You need to eat 6-7 meals a day that consist of a lean protein, a complex carb, and a veggie or piece of fruit. Stay away from liquid calories, "add-ons" like ketchup, mayo, etc. even if they say low fat or low sodium. This stuff is just extra calories you don't need.

Until I dialled in my diet I looked average. A bodybuilder knows what to eat and eats like that consistently every day. If you want to look like a bodybuilder you have to eat like one.

Who Are Your Favorite Bodybuilders?

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Frank Zane and Franco Columbu.

What Features Do You Use On Bodybuilding.com?

I have used all the features on Bodybuilding.com. Probably the feature I used the most was my BodyBlog, in which I detailed every day all of my workouts and eating. It was very useful. I also started a BodyGroup and have well over 300 people signed up to it. This has been a great resource.

BodySpace

http://bodyspace.bodybuilding.com/bwestgat/

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