3D Muscle Journey

"What is the optimal way, to use both science and experience, to get results for you or your client." These words, quoted from coach Eric Helms, do a great job of summarizing today's podcast. Andrea, Eric, and Jeff, sit down together this week to focus on the notion that, it's not science vs. experience, but [...]

In this episode, Brad Loomis, Alberto Nunez, and Andrea Valdez chat about what they do on show day and meet day for our athletes. BODYBUILDING-SPECIFIC questions that are addressed: How do they pick shows for athletes when we can? How do they manipulate the physique in accordance with certain judging criteria? What planning protocols do they feel like people miss? How do they make themselves useful back stage in terms of physical and emotional management of the athlete? POWERLIFTING-SPECIFIC questions that are addressed: How do they select attempts before the meet day, and what would cause them to change our mind? When does the total matter more than a certain weight lifted and vice versa? What is their role on the platform, and how do they become the "soccer mom" for all athletes at big meets? How does this entire planning process change based on athletes experience level and whether or not they've competed before? Join the conversation by leaving comments, reviews, and insights throughout any and all social media outlets using the handle @team3dmj. For the full video interview, show notes, and links discussed throughout in this episode, visit our site at 3DMuscleJourney.com

In this episode, Brad Loomis, Jeff Alberts, and Andrea Valdez chat about how to lose a bodybuilding show. No, they are not telling you to suck or to be a bad athlete, but they are actually talking about how they handle losses in a sport built on subjectivity. The bulk of this conversation revolves around Andrea picking apart the most individually devastating losses in both of the lives of her more experienced colleagues. Because Jeff and Brad have had so many highs and lows throughout their decades as physique athletes, they are able to give us some unique insight on the anger, disappointment, depression, and hurt that can come from unrealistic expectations or self-inflicted ultimatums. The coaches also talk about the difference in competitive attitudes and approaches when going from an amateur to a pro athlete, and how they have learned to continue enjoying a sport that can often leave a bitter taste in your mouth if you feel robbed or cheated out of your would-be successes. Join the conversation by leaving comments, reviews, and insights throughout any and all social media outlets using the handle @team3dmj. For the full video interview, show notes, and links discussed throughout in this episode, visit our site at 3DMuscleJourney.com

In this episode, Eric Helms, Alberto Nunez, and Andrea Valdez give their insight and feedback regarding the many shifts happening within natural bodybuilding's competitive structure over the past 5 to 10 years. With every new division that is created, combined with the continual sweep towards further subjectivity in our sport, the athletes are becoming more and more green while the judging criteria becomes increasingly gray. As you can imagine, with 3DMJ being coaches attempting to promote healthy relationships between their athletes and the stage, our coaches are finding the industry's' changes to be a bit counterproductive towards their efforts. And since 3DMJ is fortunate enough to have a podcast and platform that serves this amazing community, they decided that it was one of their responsibilities to create a discussion around these organizational changes and the many issues that come along with them. Join the conversation by leaving comments, reviews, and insights throughout any and all social media outlets using the handle @team3dmj. For the full video interview, show notes, and links discussed throughout in this episode, visit our site at 3DMuscleJourney.com

In this episode, Jeff Alberts, Alberto Nunez, and Andrea Valdez discuss all the ways contest prep can be (and should be) a terribly difficult experience for bodybuilders to go through. The trio talks about the physical, social, mental, and emotional tolls that an elongated fat loss phase can take on an individual. Sure, there are things we can do as athletes and coaches to make this just a little more bearable, but there comes a point in every prep where things get dark and you have to suffer a bit. The coaches discuss our hard times with food, sleep, hunger, libido, relationships, marriage, body image, stretch marks, and much more. But not to fear, it's not all sad and depressing, the crew ends the episode with all the things they love about the sport. They take a few minutes to talk why they have decided to endure all the painful negatives, and how they can appreciate those rough times for all that they have contributed to their lives. Join the conversation by leaving comments, reviews, and insights throughout any and all social media outlets using the handle @team3dmj. For the full video interview, show notes, and links discussed throughout in this episode, visit our site at 3DMuscleJourney.com

In this episode, Jeff Alberts, Alberto Nunez, and Andrea Valdez discuss all the ways contest prep can be (and should be) a terribly difficult experience for bodybuilders to go through. The trio talks about the physical, social, mental, and emotional tolls that an elongated fat loss phase can take on an individual. Sure, there are things we can do as athletes and coaches to make this just a little more bearable, but there comes a point in every prep where things get dark and you have to suffer a bit. The coaches discuss our hard times with food, sleep, hunger, libido, relationships, marriage, body image, stretch marks, and much more. But not to fear, it's not all sad and depressing, the crew ends the episode with all the things they love about the sport. They take a few minutes to talk why they have decided to endure all the painful negatives, and how they can appreciate those rough times for all that they have contributed to their lives. Join the conversation by leaving comments, reviews, and insights throughout any and all social media outlets using the handle @team3dmj. For the full video interview, show notes, and links discussed throughout in this episode, visit our site at 3DMuscleJourney.com

This is our fifth and last of our one-on-one team interviews, featuring Andrea Valdez. As it is now December 2016, we'd like to close out the year with some "state of the coach" addresses, if you will. Basically, we're asking the same questions to each 3D coach to see where they stand through this annual change, and it's something we plan on doing every year. In this fifth episode with Andrea, we will discuss our lives as athletes and professionals in this industry. We talk about what a typical day looks like for each coach, where they stand in their athletic journey, what they diet and training looks like right now, and if there are any major lessons learned in 2016 along the way. We also ask Andrea about some of her coaching milestones this past year, and what other professional endeavors she plans to chase in 2017. We'll then end the interviews on a personal note, discussing any other resolutions, hobbies, favorite things, and ambitions for the year ahead. As mentioned, this will carry on each week with every coach getting their own time in the spotlight. Because we started our podcast the individual 3DMJ Origins episode that were so well-received, it's really cool to hear how much we've changed in just the past few months. More importantly, these episodes will carry a lot of value for the listeners in that they display how incredibly different the five of us are as athletes and individuals. We have different routines, we eat differently, and we train differently, all while carrying the same core values of discipline, dedication, and desire which keep us united as family. Join the conversation by leaving comments, reviews, and insights throughout any and all social media outlets using the handle @team3dmj. For the full video interview, show notes, and links discussed throughout in this episode, visit our site at 3DMuscleJourney.com

This is our fourth of five one-on-one team interviews, featuring Jeff Alberts. As it is now December 2016, we'd like to close out the year with some "state of the coach" addresses, if you will. Basically, we're asking the same questions to each 3D coach to see where they stand through this annual change, and it's something we plan on doing every year. In this fourth episode with Jeff, we will discuss our lives as athletes and professionals in this industry. We talk about what a typical day looks like for each coach, where they stand in their athletic journey, what they diet and training looks like right now, and if there are any major lessons learned in 2016 along the way. We also ask Jeff about some of his coaching milestones this past year, and what other professional endeavors he plans to chase in 2017. We'll then end the interviews on a personal note, discussing any other resolutions, hobbies, favorite things, and ambitions for the year ahead. As mentioned, this will carry on each week with every coach getting their own time in the spotlight. Because we started our podcast the individual 3DMJ origins episode that were so well-received, it's really cool to hear how much we've changed in just the past few months. More importantly, these episodes will carry a lot of value for the listeners in that they display how incredibly different the 5 of us are as athletes and individuals. We have different routines, we eat differently, and we train differently, all while carrying the same core values of discipline, dedication, and desire which keep us united as family. Join the conversation by leaving comments, reviews, and insights throughout any and all social media outlets using the handle @team3dmj. For the full video interview, show notes, and links discussed throughout in this episode, visit our site at 3DMuscleJourney.com

This is our third of five one-on-one team interviews, featuring Alberto Nunez. As it is now December 2016, we'd like to close out the year with some "state of the coach" addresses, if you will. Basically, we're asking the same questions to each 3D coach to see where they stand through this annual change, and it's something we plan on doing every year. In this second episode with Alberto, we will discuss our lives as athletes and professionals in this industry. We talk about what a typical day looks like for each coach, where they stand in their athletic journey, what they diet and training looks like right now, and if there are any major lessons learned in 2016 along the way. We also ask Alberto about some of his coaching milestones this past year, and what other professional endeavors he plans to chase in 2017. We'll then end the interviews on a personal note, discussing any other resolutions, hobbies, favorite things, and ambitions for the year ahead. As mentioned, this will carry on each week with every coach getting their own time in the spotlight. Because we started our podcast the individual 3DMJ origins episode that were so well-received, it's really cool to hear how much we've changed in just the past few months. More importantly, these episodes will carry a lot of value for the listeners in that they display how incredibly different the 5 of us are as athletes and individuals. We have different routines, we eat differently, and we train differently, all while carrying the same core values of discipline, dedication, and desire which keep us united as family. Join the conversation by leaving comments, reviews, and insights throughout any and all social media outlets using the handle @team3dmj. For the full video interview, show notes, and links discussed throughout in this episode, visit our site at 3DMuscleJourney.com

This is our second of five one-on-one team interviews, featuring Brad Loomis. As it is now December 2016, we'd like to close out the year with some "state of the coach" addresses, if you will. Basically, we're asking the same questions to each 3D coach to see where they stand through this annual change, and it's something we plan on doing every year. In this second episode with Brad, we will discuss our lives as athletes and professionals in this industry. We talk about what a typical day looks like for each coach, where they stand in their athletic journey, what they diet and training looks like right now, and if there are any major lessons learned in 2016 along the way. We also ask Brad about some of his coaching milestones this past year, and what other professional endeavors he plans to chase in 2017. We'll then end the interviews on a personal note, discussing any other resolutions, hobbies, favorite things, and ambitions for the year ahead. As mentioned, this will carry on each week with every coach getting their own time in the spotlight. Because we started our podcast the individual 3DMJ origins episode that were so well-received, it's really cool to hear how much we've changed in just the past few months. More importantly, these episodes will carry a lot of value for the listeners in that they display how incredibly different the 5 of us are as athletes and individuals. We have different routines, we eat differently, and we train differently, all while carrying the same core values of discipline, dedication, and desire which keep us united as family. Join the conversation by leaving comments, reviews, and insights throughout any and all social media outlets using the handle @team3dmj. For the full video interview, show notes, and links discussed throughout in this episode, visit our site at 3DMuscleJourney.com