PNBA athlete Chad Martin talks about the short window you have in life where your testosterone is highest and recovery is best.
The Longevity Muscle Podcast sat down with Chad Martin. Martin is a 3x USA champion, 7x World Heavyweight champion, Professional Natural Bodybuilding (PNBA) Hall of Fame Inductee, and 19x Natural Olympia contestant.
The Longevity Muscle Podcast summarized what they discussed in the part II segment of their interview with Chad Martin on social media. They said:
“In this 2 part episode @chadmartinhof and @kennyratatsidisdiscuss many topics related to natural bodybuilding including how Chad’s training has evolved into his 50’s vs when he first began competing back in the 90’s!
Calisthenics for bodybuilding, gymnastics (example & shout out to @inbapnbaglobal_official pro natural bodybuilder @mitchjarv) the role of genetics vs hard work in bodybuilding, the importance of a great training environment, progressive overload, heavy weight/low reps vs light weight/high reps for building muscle, baseball and going to the pros and so much more.”
The Longevity Muscle Podcast’s Instagram statement regarding their interview with Chad Martin is below.
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Training As You Age and Anabolic Window
In part I of the Longevity Muscle Podcast interview with Chad Martin, Martin talked about his past natural bodybuilding competitions and training philosophy, including explaining his “Tetris Ten” training methodology to prep for shows.
In part II of the interview, Martin discussed training at different points in life. Martin stated that everyone has a window where their hormones are best for training. Martin voiced:
“You only have these windows so many times in your life. Especially with testosterone and hormones. You only have this window once. You’re only 18, 19, 20 once. That teenage years and the years when you’re a twenty-year-old. You have this window where your testosterone levels are incredible. Your recovery rate is incredible.”
Chad Martin tells young guys that they don’t need to take anything. Because their anabolic hormones are functioning so well at that age. Martin expressed:
“If you literally train hard and eat decently, you can still eat tons of crap food at those ages. You can get away with it.”
Moreover, he believes that the most challenging part about training when you get older is holding on to muscle mass, compared to being lean. He said in his mid-40s, he started noticing a decline in muscle mass. That’s why Martin still trains with heavy weights. But, Martin asserted, “I’ve never been a high rep guy. To me, it never made sense. It was like basically doing a lot of cardio.”
Chad Martin on Why He Sticks With the INBA PNBA
Martin also dived into why he stuck with the INBA PNBA and didn’t try any other natural bodybuilding organization. Martin responded:
“The other ones, I know they’re trying. I know they have some testing. But you would never hear about guys testing positive. You know where at least with the INBA PNBA, they would post it up there, and it would almost every time be a lifetime ban.”
And Martin admits that because of the strict drug testing protocol of a failed drug test in the INBA PNBA (stripped from your title and prize money and placed in the Hall of Shame). As a result, some natural bodybuilders choose not to compete in the organization since they’re more likely to slip through the cracks in other leagues.
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