How and when did you start training?

I got into training when my family moved from the city to the country.  It was a little bit of a culture shock and I didn’t know what I was going to do with my time.  At the new high school I was attending in the country, there was a weightlifting class.  I figured I would give it a shot; I didn’t have anything else to do.  So freshman year in high school I picked up a barbell and never put it back down.

What mistakes did you make as a newbie?

Oh man, what mistakes didn’t I make? That should be the question.  I made plenty of mistakes along my fitness journey but the top three that come to mind would have to be these.

1: Workouts longer than 60 minutes.

2: Doing cardio to stay lean.

3: 15 minutes of ab training daily.

There are so many more mistakes I made it isn’t even funny.  If you aren’t making mistakes in life than you probably aren’t trying hard enough.

We know consistency is key, what tips would you give to anyone struggling to stay consistent?

You hit the nail on the head here, consistency is key.  Whether your goal is fitness oriented or work oriented, you need to be consistent in order to succeed at whatever you do.  If you don’t have consistency then you will never reach your goals.  Sh*t doesn’t just fall into your lap, you have to work for it, then work for it some more, and then do some more damn work.  If you’re struggling with consistency then you need to plan your schedule better.  You need to set aside 45 minutes to 1 hour 4-5 days a week for your workouts.  I recommend 4-5 workouts a week because that’s what it takes to continuously improve, 2-3 workouts a week is good for maintenance purposes…but who just wants to maintain.  Always strive to be better!

Do you listen to music whilst training?

For those of you who know me, you should already know this answer.  I generally listen to one genre while training and that’s rap/hip-hop.  The more curse words said in a song the better I perform while training…That’s just the cold hard facts. 

- Jay-Z, Kanye, Lil Wayne, 2Chainz, Drake, Mobb Deep, The Game, Wu Tang Clan, Biggie, Eminem, Busta Rhymes, J Cole, Wale, Kid Cudi.  

What do you think about when you have to dig deep and push out that last rep?

If you think too much while your training, you are probably not going to perform your best during that weightlifting session.  So generally I try not to have too much going on upstairs while I am lifting weights.  But whenever I am trying to amp myself up for that one last hard set and I know it is going to be heavy as shit…I will normally whisper curse words to myself under my breath trying to fire up the beast within me.  “They’ve done studies you know…60% of the time…it works every time!” – Brian Fantana

How far ahead do you plan and prepare ahead your nutrition and training if at all?

My nutrition stays the same when I’m dialing it in for a shoot or competition, nothing really drastically changes there.  Just the good ole meat, healthy fats, and veggies diet…with a cheat meal once a week.  Training on the other hand is more in depth and takes quite a bit more planning.  Generally I will plan out my training for 3 months at a time…each training phase will last about 3 weeks in length as I tend to adapt quickly to the workouts.  So for the 3 month time span, I will have 4 different workout phases planned out to help me achieve my end result.  Back in the day I made a huge mistake of not planning or charting my workouts.  I would just do the “whatever I feel like” workouts.  If you are not writing down what you are doing, how will you know if you are improving or not.  You must know where you are at in order to reach your goals.  Progression is key for achieving physique or strength gains.

What are you most proud of?

That is hard for me to say because I really don’t like being proud of myself, I like being proud of my family’s and friend’s achievements.  Whenever my family or friends have success at something, I am proud of what they accomplished because I want them to better themselves.  I mean, isn’t that what it’s all about…seeing everyone close to you grow and better themselves.  Seeing them succeed also drives me to push harder to better myself.  I am a perfectionist and I always find something I need to improve on.  I’m very critical on myself, which can be a good thing at times but it is also a beast of a burden.

Do you bulk and cut or stay lean year round?

I am the type of person that is goal oriented and if I don’t have a goal in mind than it is tough for me to be eating clean all the time.  So when it comes to physique goals, I need something that I am trying to get ready for in order for me to be eating super clean. Otherwise, I tend to stray from the diet a bit and eat a lot more carbs.

What types of cardio do you do?

I really don’t ever do cardio but if I were to do cardio it would have to be sprints or intervals on the stair master machine.  Both of them will kick your ass, I don’t care who you are.

What is your training routine like?

My workout split is always changing…normally every 3 weeks.  I switch up the types of training phases I am doing which include relative strength, functional hypertrophy, and hypertrophy phases.  The closer I am getting to a photo shoot or physique show the more my workouts will be tailored towards hypertrophy type of training…rest is cut down and reps are generally higher.  I will add in drop sets, super sets, giant sets, pre-exhaust, post-exhaust, and even some functional drop sets.  You can do a lot more tricks in hypertrophy training than you can in any other sort of training that I do, so I tend to use these tricks to my advantage. 

My favorite training split:

Monday -Torso (chest/back)

Tuesday - Quads/Calves

Wednesday - Arms (biceps/triceps/forearms)

Thursday - Shoulders

Friday - Hamstrings/Calves

Saturday - Off

Sunday - Off

What is your diet when trying to get in peak condition?

I keep it really simple.  I eat meat, veggies, and healthy fats.  I don’t measure out my food either, I just eat it.  Sounds like a piss poor plan, but it works for me.  I don’t stress and worry about counting calories, I just shoot for 4 meals a day consisting of a meat, veggie, and healthy fat source.  Beef, chicken, fish, eggs, bison, and pork make up the meat I consume.  Veggies include anything that is green.  The healthy types of fat that I eat are the egg yolks, fish oil, avocados, coconut oil, olive oil, and nuts.  One day a week, normally on Saturday night, I will allow myself a cheat meal.

Who are your favourite athletes, bodybuilders or fitness models?

As cliché as it sounds, Frank Zane is hands down my favorite bodybuilder.  Serge Nubret is also on the top of my list.  Growing up though, I really admired Stan McQuays physique, he is top notch.

What supplements do you use if any?

My supplement staples include high quality multi vitamin, fish oil, magnesium, zinc, l-carnitine, vitamin d3, and vitamin e.  I also take a digestive enzyme during meals to help with the absorption of the nutrients I am consuming.  During training I like to consume electrolytes as well as 40 grams of BCAAs.  BCAAs during training are critical for adding lean mass to anyone’s physique.  My post workout shake includes 40-50 grams of whey protein as well as 100-200 grams of carbs from a powdered source and/or grape and pineapple juice.

What top 3 tips would you give to anyone wanting to get CutAndJacked?

1. Ditch the cardio and add in more weight training sessions.
2. Nutrition should be primarily made up of meats, healthy fats, and green veggies; with properly timed carbohydrate refeeds.
3. Add BCAAs and high quality fish oil to your supplement arsenal.

*bonus tip-contact me for a custom workout plan ;)

Perry Merlotti
 Year of birth: 1986 Height: 5’9” Weight: 200-210 lbs

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