1. Biography
• Name: Jerry Bruton
• Age: 61
• Height: 5’ 7”
• Weight (Contest): 181 lbs.
• Weight (Off-Season): 190 lbs.
• Body Fat: Currently 8%
• Hometown: Santa Clarita, California
• Gym: Home Gym
• Profession: Accountant
2. What got you started in bodybuilding/fitness?
I worked out with weights when I was in high school back in the Sixties. My father purchased a 100 pound barbell and dumbbell set and I made benches and other equipment to go with the set. I collected additional weights and ordered weight training instructions from Joe Weider’s Muscle Builder Magazine. I followed the instructions and the results were bigger muscles. I stopped weight training through my college years, but returned to weight training for bodybuilding when I was in my thirties. I found I could put on muscle and I enjoyed the youthful feeling and look from weight training. Competing in bodybuilding shows brought back the excitement of competition, as I was a sprinter in high school and college.
3. What keeps you motivated to train?
I have always been a studious person. My training keeps me researching information on training methods and nutrition. Studying the muscular system and the structure of muscle fibers has added new dimensions to motivate my training. The health benefit and looking younger are motivators too.
4. What workout plan has worked best for you?
My workout plan has been basically the same for several years. I follow the push-pull method of weight training. I train the chest, shoulders, and triceps on my push day. On my pull day, I work my back, traps, back and biceps. The quadriceps, leg biceps, glutes, calves and abs are trained on a separate day, which is my legs day.
I normally work out three days a week:
• Monday: my legs day
• Wednesday: push day
• Friday: my pull day.
I do three exercises for large muscles and only one or two for small muscles like biceps and triceps. I alternate my weekly workouts between a heavy week and a moderate week. On the heavy week, I do 4 sets with 6 to 8 reps at 80% to 85% of one rep max for compound exercises. For the moderate week, I increase the reps to 10 to 15 with the same number of sets at 65% to 75% of one rep max.
5. What is your philosophy about cardio?
I do very little cardio. I control my body fat through my diet. Cardio is a muscle burner. A good quadriceps training session gets the heart pumping.
6. What is your philosophy about weight training?
You should train for muscle growth, and a symmetrical physique.
7. Do you prefer HIIT or steady state cardio?
On the rare times I do cardio, I prefer HIIT. HIIT is similar to the training I experienced when I was a sprinter. Steady state cardio is a muscle burner and is boring. There are a large number of natural bodybuilders who have very low body fat through steady state cardio. They are extremely cut but the belly of their large muscles lack thickness. The purpose of bodybuilding is to grow thickness in the belly of muscles. Obviously subcutaneous fat should be to a minimum to show muscle definition, but not to the extremes I have seen in some natural bodybuilding shows. I am stepping off my soap box.
8. What are your top 5 favorite exercises?
My top 5 favorite exercises are full squats, hip belt squats, Pendlay bent row, incline bench press and behind the neck press. I just added hip belt squats. They are great for working the quads without fatiguing the glutes and back.
9. What is your philosophy about nutrition?
I try to keep my body in a nitrogen plus state. If your body is in a nitrogen plus state, your muscles are likely to be in an anabolic state. A negative nitrogen state implies your body is wasting muscle tissue.
10. What nutrition plan has worked best for you?
The nutrition plan that works for me is four to five meals per day. I try to eat 150 grams of protein per day. My total daily calories range from 2,000 to 2,500. My typical nutrition plan is as follows:
First thing in the morning: Drink mix
• 25 gm Whey Protein
• 70 gm Dextrose
• 5 gm Creatine monohydrate
• 5 gm Beta-Alanine
• 10 gm BCAAs
Breakfast
• 1 cup Quinoa with Wheat Germ
• 1 Whole Egg
• 1 cup Egg Whites
• 1 cup Greek Yogurt with Almonds
Mid-Morning
• 25 gm Casein Powder
• 10 gm BCAAs
• 35 gm Dextrose
Lunch
• 120 gm serving Chicken or Turkey Breast
• 1 serving Mixed Vegetable Salad
• 1 slice Wheat Bread
• 1 medium size Apple or other Fruit
• Ice Green Tea sweetened with Stevia
Mid Afternoon
• 25 gm Casein Powder
• 10 gm BCAAs
• 35 gm Dextrose
• 1 cup Greek Yogurt with Pecans and Almonds
Evening Dinner
• 120 gm serving Fish or Turkey Breast
• 1 serving Green Vegetable
• 1 serving Potatoes or Rice
• 1 serving Mixed vegetable salad
• 1 cup Greek Yogurt with Nuts
11. What is your favorite cheat food?
Chocolate and popcorn.
12. What is your favorite health food?
I really do not have a favorite health food. If I were to think of my favorite health foods I would say whey protein, casein protein and dextrose.
13. What supplements have given you the greatest gains?
BCAAs and Creatine Monohydrate have given me the greatest gains. I think BCAAs have aided in maintaining my muscle mass through the years. Creatine monohydrate has aided in the training.
14. What does your pre and post workout nutrition consist of?
My pre-workout nutrition consists of a water mixture of dextrose, creatine monohydrate, beta alanine, and BCAAs. My post-workout nutrition is the same with the addition of whey protein and glutamine.
15. Which tools have helped you most with your nutrition and training?
The greatest tool which has helped me most with my nutrition and training is the Internet. I am constantly researching for evidence for the claims of training methods and nutrition supplements. I also just discovered MuscleDog.com as a tool.
16. Have online resources (social networks) helped you in your training? If so, what are they and how have they helped you?
I rarely use social networks for aid in my training, but look forward to utilizing MuscleDog.com.
17. Where is the first place you turn to when looking for training / fitness / nutrition advice?
My library of books on training and nutrition and also the Internet.
18. Who are your favorite fitness/bodybuilder competitors or role models?
• John Grimek
• Arnold Schwarzenegger
• Lee Haney
19. What obstacles have you had to overcome (injury, illness, relationships etc)?
There have been no major obstacles to overcome.
20. What was the biggest mistake you made when you first started training?
The biggest mistake I made when I first started training was not doing full squats. I was a victim of the full squat myths. The price for that mistake was years of lagging growth for my quadriceps. I started full squats at 55 years of age. My quads have improved in spite of starting full squats in my fifties. It’s a great total body exercise.
21. What tips would you give to a beginner?
The best tip I would give is to think form over substance. What is important is to execute an exercise with correct form. The increase in the amount of weight you use will come with consistency and time.
22. What are your future fitness goals?
My future goals are to maintain my muscle mass as long as possible and compete in Ultra Grand Masters Bodybuilding.
23. Where can we find you on MuscleDog.com?
Check out my profile, RandomLuck. On there, you can view my bio, fitness stats and various competition pics.
