Mike Grant is another in a long line of plain spoken Parrillo-powered champions who know exactly how to get results for themselves and their

clients. “Some things never change; if you work hard in the weight room, use a sound diet, do cardio on a regular basis – you can’t help but change your physique for the better.”

Mike Grant uses a Parrillostyle prescription for sparking physical progress. The procedures he recommends are the same for everyone, beginner or advanced, champion or physically challenged: work hard, work often, work smart and don’t forget to eat with precision. The degree of intensity and amount of dedication might vary individual to individual, and to be sure an international-level athlete like Mike Grant will lift more, go further and faster in his cardio, diet with greater discipline than one of his beginner clients, but in the end, Mike subjects himself to the same procedures he requires and recommends to his clients. He talks the talk and walks the walk. Mike is an expert physical trainer who hangs his shingle in Woodbridge, Virginia. Mike is co-owner of Life Design Personal Fitness Studio and at age 41 still competes in bodybuilding. He is considered a major player on the national and international bodybuilding scene.

“I took 2nd place this past June in the WNBF Professional Mr. Universe competition in New York. The month prior I took second place in the Masters Cup Championship in Boston.” In two successive months two second place finishes in national and international competitions: not bad for a man who started out life as a 98-pound weakling. “I started off as a sickly young man,” Mike related, “I was born with a defective kidney and this condition limited my athletic activities. I could only eat bland, plain foods. After I began serious weight training later in life, the kidney condition went away.” After high school Mike went into the Army and was stationed in Germany for four years. “I began serious training in the service and after I was discharged in 1984 I took a job as the Nautilus director for the YMCA in my hometown of Franklin, Virginia.”

During this time Mike began competing at the national level in bodybuilding and soon bumped heads with some athletes who later went on to become bodybuilding legends. “I competed against both Shawn Ray and Vince Taylor. We were all about the same age and would run into each other as competitors. This went on for years.” Mike went at it hammer and tong for a long, long time when suddenly he decided he’d had enough. “I lost the fire and took a long layoff. I had been living, eating and breathing bodybuilding for five straight years and the travel and the judging and the hassles finally made me step back and say, ‘you know what, I need a break’ – so I stopped competing for four years.” Mike continued to train, but for the fun and enjoyment of it. “I learned how to put the fun back into fitness and rested and recharged and refreshed my approach.” In about this same time Mike decided to go into the fitness business; not as an employee, as an owneroperator.

He and his partner Brenda Cooper took the entrepreneurial plunge and opened Life Design Personal Fitness Studios in 1991. Mike relocated from the Tidewater area to the booming Woodbridge, Virginia area. Once considered a far out suburb of Washington, DC, Woodbridge began exploding with growth as suddenly commuters, lured by beautiful countryside and cheap real estate prices, decided that the 30-mile drive to downtown DC wasn’t that far after all. Mike and Brenda’s business took off. In about this same time, Mike came into contact with Todd Swinney and John Parrillo. Both men were to become large influences in Mike’s approach to fitness, bodybuilding and business. “Todd is a real good friend of mine and I never compete without running by him whatever it is I’m planning on doing. Todd’s knowledge of nutrition and training makes him my secret weapon.” Mike holds John Parrillo in equally high esteem; “I am proud of the fact that I am a Parrillo Certified Personal Trainer and my clients and I use John’s training and diet guidelines.

It goes without saying that I use his supplements – all of them – exclusively.” As a lifetime drug free athlete, Mike depends on nutritional supplementation to provide him with an edge, both in training and in competition. “John Parrillo’s products are the best – period – I consider them an indispensable part of my preparation. Every single client of mine uses Parrillo supplements.” And Mr. Mike Grant gets results for his clients every single time, “assuming they follow the road and don’t try to create their own.” Mike Grant is a classical trainer who knows that fitness success for himself and his clients is 90% perspiration and 10% inspiration. “Folks at my gym make progress on account of the methods we use; they are tried and proven. I know the methods work because they work for me as I prepare for bodybuilding competition. For my personal training clients I tone down the intensity. But the bodybuilding principles are the same and need to be followed. Though you might not be preparing for Mr. Universe, you need to follow the basic bodybuilding principles.”

Clearer words have never been spoken, and this from a man who has personally supervised innumerable physical transformations in his 10-year tenure at Life Design. “If a client is serious about the training and follows the diets we proscribe, results happen.” Mike is a Parrillo Certified Personal Trainer, “I have learned a lot about the science of bodybuilding through my contact with Parrillo Performance. John puts out quality supplements and a lot of athletes like my self depend on them for results. John Parrillo’s training philosophy has been as important to me as his nutrition program.” I don’t think I’ve reached my physical peak yet and think I can make some real gains in the coming year.” His approach to nutrition is right out of the Parrillo playbook. “I eat good bodybuilding food and I eat quite a bit. Folks are amazed at the amount of food I eat and how often I eat.” Mike weighs 195 pounds and tries to take in 2-grams of protein per pound of body weight.

“I rely on Parrillo Optimized Whey protein powder to help me hit the 400- grams of protein I try and take in each day. I drink two shakes a day minimum.” Mike made a nice nutritional discovery in his preparation for his last two competitions. “In the past I depended almost exclusively on chicken breasts for my protein. Six months ago I switched to fish, either flounder or cod, and came in much harder than in previous competitions. I go through three pounds of fish daily and think this little adjustment has made a significant difference in my competitive condition.” Mike uses Parrillo’s patented MCT oil, Cap- Tri®, on a regular basis, “I go through a ton of CapTri® every day. John used to say in seminars; ‘there is no such thing as overtraining, only under-eating.’ I agree with that and I try and eat 6-7,000 calories of clean food every day. I will eat five times a day and will sprinkle 4-5 tablespoons of Cap- Tri® on each and every meal. Over the course of the day I consume an additional 2,000 calories in the form of CapTri®. I love the stuff. Plus, in the final stages of my pre-contest preparation, using Cap- Tri® as I reduce my starchy carbohydrates helps keep my training energy high.

Without CapTri® I doubt if I could get through those final really tough weight and cardio sessions at the end of the contest preparation phase. I think CapTri® is amazing stuff.” Another secret to Mike’s hardness are the Parrillo Performance Liver Amino Tablets™. “John Parrillo Recommended that I up my intake of Liver Tablets. I was suprised by the results that I got! I came out fuller and harder than I ever thought I could be. This is by far one of the greatest products I have ever used!” Mike Grant starts his training day at 5am when he opens the gym. “I get my day started with a 30-minute cardio session. I look to burn 500- calories in this session and in order to do that in half an hour I really have to push.” Immediately after his aerobic session, Mike blasts his abdomen with 10-15 minutes of non-stop ab exercise. This all-out ab workout effectively extends his cardio session as his heart rate continues to stay elevated. When it comes to weight training, Mike uses short 30-40 minute sessions done twice each day. He fits his training into time gaps when the frantic pace of the studio drops. “I’ve learned to squeeze my training into short time slots.

I will typically take a single body part and perform 2-3 exercise that target a particular muscle; usually four sets of 12-reps in each exercise. I can cram 12-16 sets into 30-40 minutes.” In between every single set of every single exercise Mike will do the corresponding Parrillo fascial stretch. “I’m a big believer in stretching done in conjunction with weight training and use the various Parrillo stretches; it just makes a lot of sense.” Mike Grant weight trains six days a week using a three-days-on, one-day-off, threedays- on rotation. “I will hit back, biceps and calves on Monday; on Tuesday I work quads and triceps while Wednesday is chest, shoulders and hamstrings. I will take a day off then repeat the cycle – however I switch all the exercises for the respective body parts on the second weekly pass-through.”

Mike Grant intends on being around the competitive bodybuilding circuit for a while. “I cannot see myself retiring from bodybuilding before I win the

Professional Master’s Mr. Universe. I have been so close and I feel that I can capture the title if I can exercise a little bit harder, diet a little stricter and be patient. I never see myself retiring from training and sensible eating – It might come to a point where I don’t go to the trouble to compete anymore, but I will never stop training: I enjoy it and I believe in it and I also believe that you need to lead by example. It makes it a whole lot easier for clients to put their trust in someone who looks the part and is just as enthused about making progress as they are.” Mike feels that he’ll stay competing for the foreseeable future. Finally, Mike wanted to offer special thanks to his partner: “I want to thank my partner, Brenda Cooper, who has been so very important to me both in business and bodybuilding. I would not be able to compete without her incredible support.” You can contact Mike at Life Design Personal Fitness Studio at (703) 590- 9525

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