Breon Ansley gives us a rundown of his Olympia 2020 contest prep training and diet routine.
As we get closer to the Mr. Olympia 2020 competition, there have been a sudden surge of big event Olympia qualifying shows. After many false starts and rescheduling, the bodybuilding season truly feels to be in full swing. This means that many top tier pros are in contest prep mode – and aspiring bodybuilders are always clamoring to gain some insight on how to train like the pros. That’s why during our conversation with Breon Ansley, we asked him to give us a little insight. In our latest GI Exclusive interview, Breon Ansley shares his Olympia 2020 contest prep training and diet plan.
Breon Ansley is one of the top Classic Physique competitors currently in existence. He’s a 2x Classic Physique Olympia champ. While he lost to Chris Bumstead last year, he’s made it his mission to come back better than ever and reclaim his throne. So there’s no better person to glean some insight from than Ansley in this moment. He is dead focused on on his contest prep and making it the best prep of his career.
For aspiring Classic Physique bodybuilders, gleaning some inside knowledge of what a top tier pro like Breon Ansley does for his prep can be extremely helpful. That’s why we asked Ansley to break down an overview of his daily routine as he heads into the Mr. Olympia. If you’re looking to start taking your training to the next level – look no further than a sneak peek into Ansley’s regimen.
Breon Ansley’s training and diet
Breon Ansley emphasises that staying on schedule and on time is key to making sure his contest prep works smoothly. If one item on his list goes off schedule, everything gets pushed back and suddenly he has less time to recover.
Recovery is extremely important during contest prep. While it’s easy to be focused on training and improving your physique, recovery is vital in allowing muscle to repair fully formed. Here’s an overview of his contest prep schedule:
- Wake up 6:30am
- Eats 5 meals per day
- Consumes only 2,700 – 3,000 calories per day
- Starts training at 12:30pm
- Breon Trains each muscle group twice a week with a focus on undeveloped areas.
- Posing/stretching after training
- 15 minutes of HIIT cardio after training
- More posing/stretching in the evening before bed
- Fasted cardio doesn’t start until 12 weeks out.
- Fasted Cardio: alternates between treadmill, stair-master, spin bike. 30 minutes in the morning. Lower impact.
While this is just an overview and doesn’t get into the specifics of his workout exercises. It’s an important overview of the kind of scheduled dedication a pro bodybuilder needs to have during contest prep.
It’s all interesting to note the calorie intake and cardio details for a class like Classic Physique. With a weight limit imposed by height, there’s a very different tactic that must be taken during contest prep compared to Men’s Open.
Another key detail to note is that Breon makes sure to train each muscle group twice a week. If you’re split training only hits each area once per week, it might be a good idea to try to up the ante for improved development.
Of course, ultimately each individual reacts differently. This is why Breon doesn’t bother going into detail about specific exercises. This can be an initial template to help give perspective on scheduling and overall routine for contest prep – and adjusted to best fit your needs.
You can watch Breon Ansley discusses his training and diet routine in our latest GI Exclusive interview segment above.
