Building a USANA Body with Brad: Getting Started

Greetings! My name is Brad Pace. I have had the pleasure of working for USANA for the last 6-plus years.

I started as USANA’s Corporate Personal Trainer and Wellness Coordinator and eventually moved to working on the product development side in Regulatory Affairs, where I have currently resided for the past two-and-a-half years…in my cubicle.

My cubicle has afforded me the opportunity to retire the more active daily lifestyle that comes with working in a gym, and my trainer’s body has retired along with it. To me this is a very embarrassing problem.

As I’ve pondered this dilemma over the past 6 months my mind recalled numerous interactions I’ve had with our USANA Associates at past conventions about how our foods/supplements benefit training for sport or even more specifically, training for dramatic body composition change.

What to Do?

So here it is! My “Aha” moment! At a minimum I am going to build a body worthy of a guest appearance on a P90X commercial, and hopefully I am going to compete in a local natural bodybuilding contest.

How am I going to do this you ask? I’m going to experiment using only USANA Nutrimeal and various supplements instead of the standard bulking agents such as protein, pro-hormones, etc.

My routine will begin very reasonably and will be tweaked as needed until I find just the right formula for success!

The Plan: Nutrition

To start things off, I will consume 2 Nutrimeal shakes per day. The first will be just after breakfast and the second will be a recovery shake immediately following my lifting session. I plan to employ a 7-meal eating pattern beginning at 6 a.m. and ending at 7 p.m.

Essentially, I plan to eat 500-calorie meals of “clean foods” (topic for discussion later) spread as evenly as possible throughout the day. Nutrimeal shakes will be additional calories for a total intake at around 4,000 calories per day.

The Plan: Exercise

I will begin with a 5-day split lifting routine with NO cardio. Cardio comes later in relation to my individual goals. Monday = Chest/abs, Tuesday = Back/abs, Wednesday = Legs, Thursday = Shoulders/abs, Friday = Bi/Tri’s.

For the first 6 weeks I will be in a hypertrophy phase, a reasonable 8 lifts will be performed, 3 sets/8 repetitions each. Effort should be around 80-85% of maximum.

Starting Stats (Goals)

  • Weight: 176 pounds (maintain 170+ pounds)
  • Body Fat Percentage: 16.5% (less than or equal to 7%)

Stay Tuned…

I plan on posting regimen changes as well as progress updates/photos in the future. I really believe with the clean foods we have at USANA this feat can be accomplished and I’m going to prove it by Convention 2012!

How About You?

I’d love to hear how you are utilizing USANA products to achieve your fitness goals.

8 replies
  1. Gordon Palmer
    Gordon Palmer says:

    Hello Brad. I’m a trainer myself and I’m looking forward to seeinfpg the results. So many men and women are drinking large amounts of poor quality protein shakes two to three times a day and not learning how to eat clean real foods. What formula do you use to figure out aproximately the amount of protein, carbs, and fats you consume each day? I’m very excited that someone at USANA is taking this on and l look forward to learning from your experience.

    Gordon Palmer
    Cert. Personal Trainer

    Reply
  2. Brad
    Brad says:

    Greetings Gordon! Specifically I am targeting 15/35/50 (fat/protein/carbohydrate) this for me is a ‘soft’ target due to my specific goals. Much of my graduate work while studying at the University of Utah consisted of Performance Psychology for healthy behavior change. I know the importance of maintaining specific targets for macronutrient intake (especially regarding bodybuilding); however I want to find a balance where I no longer have to think about what I am eating. I would love to arrive at a place in my life where tracking these items becomes irrelevant. I believe this is one of the major obstacles for individuals to really commit to a behavior change (ex: food journals, specific protein requirements, etc.) I believe that I can modify my lifestyle to a point where I no longer think about these items and my healthy habits become a part of who I am mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually. This journey truly is one of discovery for me, hopefully I reach a pinacle of personal enlightenment balance at the end! 🙂 Thank you for the support, I truly appreciate it.

    Reply
  3. Jim Zarembka
    Jim Zarembka says:

    Hello Brad,
    Was very intriqed to see and read about your new fitness and nutrition reqimine. I hope you post your daily dietary intake as well. I am also currently trying to get my physique back too, what I am trying to work arround is my work schedulel.ie (12 hour shifts and work nights and some nights are very phyiscal. Will be following this blog….

    Reply
  4. Debbie Heinz
    Debbie Heinz says:

    Hi Brad. I look forward to following your progress!

    I am a new Associate and almost a Platinum Pacesetter; an avid runner, racer, from 5K to 50K. I am using almost all of the USANA supplements and the nutritional shakes and bars. My running has taken off and I am winning awards in my age group. I plan to attend the convention in August and run the 5K and hope to meet you! I run, swim, and weight train regularly. I am glad to have joined the USANA family! My running recovery and energy is amazing now that I am faithfully using the USANA supplements and nutritional shakes/bars! I look forward to hearing all about your training!!

    Reply
  5. Fiona Clayton-Law
    Fiona Clayton-Law says:

    Hi Brad, I have lost a fairly hefty 35 kilos (there’s some really embarrassing photos of me at convention three years ago)- the secret? I got happy…and I use Rev3 BEFORE weight and cardio (I do interval training) which means I can lift more and I’m not hampered during cardio with being puffed – try it!! I KID YOU NOT! It works!

    Reply
  6. Fiona Clayton-Law
    Fiona Clayton-Law says:

    Oh – I forgot – I DID NOT DIET!!! I used USANA whey protein within 20 minutes of weight training, and an hour after cardio in the morning. Cheers.. PS – 35 kilos (plus)…I never got on the scales after 105 kilos, is 77 POUNDS carelessly lost into the ethereal!

    Reply
  7. Brad
    Brad says:

    @Jim, I definitely will be posting a good picture of my dietary intake in future blogposts. I sympathize with your position, I grew up helping my dad build his manufacturing company making popsicles for a long time and it was always so difficult to focus on training working double and triple shifts. I have a few ideas that helped me that i can include in future posts.

    @Pete, Thank you Pete! I hope this experiment will produce some great results the USANA way!

    @Debbie, Anyone who runs a 50K is ridiculously inspiring and an incredible athlete, so impressive! Thank you for your support it means so much to me personally, if you have any ideas I or anyone else could use during training, please share!

    @Fiona, Wow Fiona, WOW! I am so happy for you, that is an amazing feeling when you are able to accomplish such a great feat in relation to change. That is one of the best feelings in the world in my opinion, to learn how to be happy and accomplish your goals, very awesome indeed! Happiness/contentment are so important, I am very blessed with an incredibly supportive beautiful wife and two young ladies I get to call my daughters where I get inundated with giggles and smiles at every turn. I will take your advice and make sure to incorporate some interval training into this journey, thanks for the comments!

    Reply

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