Feature Interview of the Week: Brian Whitacre

1. Name, Age, Occupation, marital status

• Brian Whitacre
• Age: 35
• Associate Professor, Dept. of Agricultural Economics, Oklahoma State University
• Married to Jill, Daughter Sidney

 

2. How did you get involved with fitness?

I began weight training as a sophomore in high school in an attempt to become a better soccer player.  I enjoyed weight training and stuck with it throughout my undergraduate career, long after my soccer-playing days ended.  In graduate school at Virginia Tech I learned about natural bodybuilding, and I competed in my first contest during that time.  

 

3. Why is health & fitness important to you?

Being healthy is important to me because it allows me to live the type of life that I want to – doing outdoor activities, playing with my family (including my dogs), and staying active.  Physique competition is important to me because it allows me to challenge myself both mentally and physically in a way that is unlike any other form of competition I have ever experienced. 

 

4. Provide some background on your workout history, athletic or competitive endeavors, etc.

I began weight training around 1992, but didn’t compete in my first bodybuilding contest until 2003.  After winning several pro qualifiers in 2005, I competed as a pro for the first time in 2006.  I won the overall at my first WNBF professional contest (the KC International), something that not many bodybuilders can claim.  After that, I competed only once a year, focusing on the WNBF World Championships.  I placed in the top 2 of the Lightweight class at Worlds for 5 consecutive years (2006 – 2010).  I also won the Lightweight class at Worlds 3 times, which is the most in WNBF history.  However, I have yet to win a WNBF World overall title. 

 

5. What does your current workout regiment look like? Does this vary at all during different points of the year?

I am a big proponent of changing my workout regimen.  My off-season routine is focused on mass building, so I try to lift as heavy as possible with a reasonable amount of volume.  Currently I am focusing on bringing up some weak points, so I am training 4 days a week with the emphasis on heavy 5×5 sets for those weak points, followed by a more typical hypertrophy training (3 sets of 10-12 reps). Other body parts are only trained for maintenance at this time.  I also enjoy incorporating German Volume Training and occlusion training.  Once I get into contest prep mode, I typically switch to 5 days a week training, while continuing to focus on major lifts such as squats and deadlifts. 

 

6. What do you enjoy most about training?

Simply pushing myself.  I will never be the strongest guy in the gym, but my goal is to improve myself little by little every time I enter the gym.  Training allows me an escape from the real-world: during that hour, I don’t think about my job, my family, or everything I need to get done during the week.  I honestly believe this little break has made me more productive in other aspects of my life. 

 

7. What type of training do you enjoy the most (particular bodypart, type of workout, running, sprinting, swimming, etc.)

I enjoy back and leg training the most, probably because they require the most effort.  I do like to incorporate some sprint work into my cardio routine, but for the most part the weight training is what I look forward to.  I still get butterflies in my stomach the night before heavy squats or deadlifts. 

 

8. How has your approach to fitness/working out changed over the years?

I used to think people who only trained 3 or 4 days a week were lazy or not dedicated enough.  As I’ve gotten older I have come to recognize (and prioritize) the importance of recovery.  I’ve also thought a lot more about how to design my lifting program for optimal results.  When I was in my early 20s, I would just go to the gym and do whatever I felt like.  Now, my training is much more structured with a final goal in mind. 

 

9. What has enabled your success as a competitor in your chosen activity?

I strongly believe that to be successful at the highest level, you have to be willing to do something that others aren’t.  In graduate school, there were lots of people smarter than me, but most didn’t study for 6 hours every night after classes.  As a faculty member, I have been awestruck by the way that world-class colleagues allocate their time to ensure that everything they work on generates productive results.  As a competitor, I am not going to win on sheer mass.  So, I have to make sure every other aspect under my control is optimized: condition, symmetry, posing, even stage color.  I diet for 26 weeks for each contest that I do, something not many competitors are willing to dedicate themselves to.  I pride myself on putting as much effort into preparing for a competition as I can, while continuing to be productive in my real-world job and in my role as a husband and father.   

 

10. How has competing and/or training positively impacted your lifestyle?

Without a doubt, it has made me much more structured.  I go into each week with a plan of attack for my diet, training, work schedule, and family time.  I believe that this type of planning is very beneficial for making the most out of any given time period. 

 

11. Give a detailed description of a typical day in your life, including when you get up, go to bed, work, perform every day activities, workout, etc.

My daily routine has changed dramatically since my wife and I welcomed our daughter into the world.  Before that, I would work from roughly 7am to 5pm, go to the gym, and get home around 7pm.  Now I lift around noon and try to get home to help out with Sidney by 5:30.  (Thankfully, I received tenure at my job so 10-hour days are less common).  So a typical day might look like this:

Wake up: 6am

Cardio: 6:30 – 7:00

Work: 7am – noon

Workout: Noon – 1:00pm

Work:  1:00 – 5:00pm

Help out at home (chores, play with daughter): 5:30 – 7:30pm

Family time: 7:30 – 10:00pm

Bed: 10:00pm

 

12. What have been your greatest sources of motivation and inspiration?

Failure is without a doubt a great motivator. I have not won a WNBF Overall title since my first pro contest in 2006, and that lack of success drives me every day.  I am inspired by the many incredible natural physiques out there, and the knowledge that my own physique has quite a way to go before I reach that level. 

 

13. What is the best advice you could give to anyone regarding health & fitness and how to properly adopt a lifestyle that incorporates health & fitness?

My advice would be to incorporate a healthy lifestyle into your daily routine.  Getting fit and eating healthy are much easier to maintain over the long run if they simply become second nature.  The idea is that instead of wondering what to eat for lunch or whether you will have time to go to the gym today, you automatically pull out the lunch you made the night before, and, because it is Wednesday you know you will be at the gym at 5:00.  Once these things are a part of your daily routine, you feel awkward if you miss one of them – at which point you know that you have successfully transitioned into a fitness-oriented lifestyle. 

 

14. What individual(s) has/have had the greatest impact on you throughout the course of your life and why?

Certainly my parents instilled me with a sense of work ethic at a young age.  Nothing was ever easily gained in my life, something I am very grateful for and something I hope to pass on to my own children.  Regarding bodybuilding, without a doubt Kurt Weidner opened my eyes to the level of dedication necessary to succeed in the sport.  Kurt remains the best workout partner I have ever had and there is no one in the world of bodybuilding I respect more than him.  I also have to say that my wife Jill has been my biggest supporter and has made my pursuit of this very selfish hobby much more manageable. 

 

15. What do you consider to be your greatest achievement (fitness & competition related or otherwise)

I am very proud of 2 distinct achievements in my life:

1)      Earning tenure less than 5 years after completing my Ph.D.

2)      Winning the WNBF World Lightweight title 3 times

I am also incredibly proud to be the father of a perfect little girl.  Fatherhood changes your life in ways you never thought possible!   

  

 

16. Looking ahead, what are some of your goals (either personal or fitness related) over the next 1,3,6,12 months?

While I am a big believer in setting goals, I am not a proponent of discussing those goals publicly.  For a novice gym-goer or dieter, stating your goals publicly can be beneficial since friends and family can attempt to hold you to your statement; however, for those at the higher end of the spectrum, publicly stating goals can seem egotistical or even condescending.  I do have several long-term goals related to weightlifting and bodybuilding, and I also set yearly goals for myself regarding my job performance.  But, I don’t boast to my colleagues about how many peer-reviewed articles I’m going to publish over the course of my career; and I also don’t bring attention to the goals I have in bodybuilding.