Training with L.A. Champ Frank Nezdoba
Building Overall Symmetry While Building New Size
Nov 16, 2009
A resident of Phoenix, Arizona, Frank Nezdoba first competed in the early 2000s in natural bodybuilding competition before moving onward to enter the NPC (National Physique Committee). In the recent Guns Vegas:2006, an intense gym training DVD from mostmuscular.com that stars Frank, his in-season intensity with arm training is on full display. Frank remains dedicated to improving his upper body to the same level as his lower body for the overall symmetry important for future major national level competition. Here he discusses his recent strategies in both training and diet and how he has adjusted his approach to in-season preparation, based on his previous season's training and results.
Suite101: What weight class did you first compete in, and when did that change?
Frank Nezdoba: I began competing first as a light heavyweight, and then in 2007 was the first year I moved up to compete in the heavyweight class.
Suite101: Your back poses are all very outstanding in the size, separation and symmetry you have developed there. Do you consider that you have any key training techniques that have been important in achieving any of that?
Frank Nezdoba: Well, I think that just as far as hamstrings are concerned, that is something I've always had genetically, but also at the same time I've always trained my legs very heavily. So I do heavy squats, and heavy leg presses, and I think that was one of the things that when I was younger really helped me develop those muscle groups a lot better. Now, I still do very much the same training routine in trying to develop them further, but as I said, a lot of times people don't realize that a lot of the training that you're doing for quadriceps also targets your hamstrings. So, I think that's one of the things that really helped me develop that area really well. As far as my back area muscles go, I've always included dumbbell rows in my training, and also wide lat pull-downs, and those are movements that have conditioned my entire back also. As far as hamstrings, I think that doing exercises like leg curls obviously help too, but I seriously think that as far as the size factor, that came mainly from doing the heavy leg presses more than anything else.
Suite101: You won your weight class at the 2006 NPC Los Angeles Championship. Whatt feedback did you receive as being most impressive about your condition?
Frank Nezdoba: Mostly my hamstrings and my conditioning, those were the things that I believe got me a first place at that Los Angeles show, because in my class there were other guys who had a little bit more muscle in their upper bodies, but they just weren't as well conditioned as I was. I think that was the key factor. And also definitely from the rear side, because while some of the guys had some size on their upper bodies where they could beat me in some front poses, on the other hand I was able to beat them in some others like side chest pose, where the hamstrings is a major part of the pose.
Suite101: Last year in 2007 you moved up to compete in the heavyweight class for the first time at the Junior National Championships. How did you plan and train for that?
Frank Nezdoba: The thing that I changed from year to year and even last year when I got ready for the Junior Nationals wasn't the diet, which I kept pretty much the same, but I started my pre-contest preparation 12 or 13 weeks out. One of the things that I incorporated in my diet was a type of whitefish, which works excellent for my body because it makes my skin super thin. But also as far as the training, and what helped me move up in weight class, I trained a little bit heavier in the off-season and a little bit harder than the previous year. I didn't drop my weight down so much. In 2006 at the L.A., I think I weighed around 194 lbs., and then a year later at the same time I weighed in at around 206 lbs., and I probably could have dropped it down even a little further. So, I think all this really helped in being able to compete in the heavyweights.
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