The biography, life, and accomplishments of Brandon Lirio

Brandon Lirio is an American professional INBA PNBA Classic Physique professional natural bodybuilder born on March 9, 1988. He’s also a powerlifting and strongman athlete. He’s a 3x Natural Olympia champion, 2x World champion, 2x Natural Universe champ, and in the PNBA Hall of Fame. Lirio’s held six continental titles and several dozen other titles in the last decade too. 

Also, Brandon Lirio is part of the recent surge of INBA PNBA athletes that have received a multi-media contract with Generation Iron, INBA PNBA, and Iron Man Magazine. 

Below is a complete breakdown of Brandon Lirio’s profile, stats, biography, training, and diet regimen. 

Full Name: Brandon Lirio
Weight Height Date Of Birth
153 – 170 lbs 5’5” 3/9/1988
Division Era Nationality
Classic Physique 2010 American

Biography

Born in Bronxville, NY in March of 1988, Brandon Lirio is one of the eminent faces in natural bodybuilding, precisely the INBA PNBA league. He’s had an impressive INBA PNBA career thus far and is putting an imprint in powerlifting and strongman competitions. 

Brandon Lirio has a military background and served in the United States Air Force for 11 years. In addition, he was stationed overseas and worked in the meteorology field – space physics. During his time serving, Lirio suffered from panic attacks, and bodybuilding was an outlet for him to prevent the attacks and balance his hormones

Also, he was tired of being small, weighing 117 lbs, when he first joined the military. However, everything changed for him once he met a buddy who showed him around the gym and also happened to be an MMA champion. Once he started taking natural bodybuilding seriously in 2012, he began stacking titles. 

Competition History

Brandon Lirio posing at Natural Olympia

Below is Brandon Lirio’s competition history.

  • 2021 Natural Olympia Classic Physique Division – 2nd
  • 2020 Natural Olympia Classic Physique Division – 1st
  • 2019 Natural Olympia Classic Physique Division – 1st
  • 2018 Natural Olympia Classic Physique Division – 1st
  • 2018 PNBA World Championships Classic Physique – 1st
  • 2018 PNBA US Nationals Physique Division – 1st
  • 2018 Natural Universe – 1st
  • 2017 INBA Illinois State Championship Classic Physique Division – 1st
  • 2017 INBA/PNBA North American Championships Classic Physique Division – 1st
  • 2017 INBA/PNBA Natural Universe Classic Physique Division – 1st
  • 2017 INBA/PNBA Asian Pacific Championships Classic Physique Division – 1st
  • 2017 NGA New England Championships – 1st
  • 2017 INBF Natural Connecticut Lightweight Bodybuilding Division – 1st
  • 2017 INBA PNBA Asian Pacific Championships Bodybuilding Division – 2nd
  • 2017 INBA Illinois State Championships Bodybuilding Division – 2nd
  • 2017 INBA/PNBA World Cup – 2nd
  • 2017 INBA/PNBA Australian International Championships Bodybuilding Division – 3rd
  • 2016 Natural Olympia Lightweight  – 1st
  • 2016 INBA European Championships Bodybuilding Divison – 1st
  • 2016 INBA World Championships – 4th
  • 2016 AFS Helsinki Fitness Physique Division – 1st
  • 2016 INBA Illinois State Championship Novice Division – 1st 
  • 2015 AINBB International Physique “Mr. Physique” Title – 1st
  • 2015 Northern Italy Bodybuilding Division – 1st
  • 2015 Nothern Italy Physique Division – 1st

Brandon Lirio’s Training 

Brandon Lirio’s training regimen varies depending on if he’s in-season or off-season. His workouts consist of training six days a week on a bro split routine during the season. In addition, he focuses on powerlifting and strongman lifts during the off-season to build muscle mass

Leg day and training his chest are his favorite muscle groups to train. Heavy incline cable flyes and cross-chest press are his favorite chest movements to build a full chest, while belt squat and leg press are his go-to leg exercises

Brandon Lirio has an in-depth Iron Man Magazine article of his preparation for natural bodybuilding competitions here. 

Nutrition 

Brandon Lirio’s nutrition doesn’t stay consistent each year. But generally, he puts a heavy emphasis on protein intake and consumes 1.75g/lbs of bodyweight year-round. He believes consuming ample protein will control his hunger levels and leave enough amino acids around to help muscle repair. When it’s the off-season, Lirio will eat anywhere from 1.5g-2.25g of carbs/lbs of bodyweight. As he approaches competitions, he may load up more on carbs, varying from 35-150g during the season. His fat intake will fluctuate from 40-70g per pound of bodyweight – in-season, he hovers on the lower end around 40-55g and will consume upwards to 70g of fat during the off-season. 

Personal Life

Outside of competing, Lirio loves to engage in sports and owns a fitness business – Battleground Fitness. Currently, he’s doing a professional series on YouTube on learning to lift as a strongman. You can take a peek at that below. 

Brandon Lirio loves spending time with his wife and their newborn twins, Archer and Ellis. To cater to his nerd side, he loves playing Magic: The Gathering – a card game.

 

Terry Ramos
As a personal trainer and writer, Terry loves changing lives through coaching and the written word. Terry has a B.S. in Kinesiology and is an ACSM Certified Personal Trainer and ISSA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. He enjoys playing music, reading, and watching films when he's not writing or training.