Fouad Abiad: Canada’s Lone Olympian’s Journey

Below is an article I did with IFBB Pro Bodybuilder Fouad Abiad. Enjoy!

Can you give us a brief background of your history and how you got into the sport of bodybuilding?

Fouad Abiad: I used to be kind of a fat kid in high school and started doing cardio and circuit training only. I wasn’t interested in being a bodybuilder I just wanted to be in shape and athletic looking. After football, I had nothing else to do. After I lost the excess weight I started getting more into the weight training aspect of training. Friends of mine were competing at the time and at age 20 I saw my first pro and amateur show and decided I wanted to try it. So I began training, bodybuilding style after that show and one year later I won my first show overall. After winning the second overall a few months later I thought I had something. From there I went on to nationals where it took me a few years but I earned my card and am happy that I decided to follow through. I love what I am doing and I love the sport of bodybuilding, I am a fan as well as a competitor.

You have a BodyBlog on Bodybuilding.com where you are blogging up to the Tampa Pro. Can you tell us a little bit about the things you are talking about in the blog and how the blog is coming along?

Fouad Abiad: I began writing a blog last year when I was competing. I did four shows last year and that was the most I had ever done. It was very hard on me and I was having a lot of mental thoughts that I thought everyday bodybuilders or other competitors would want to hear about. Every competitor has good and bad days whether it be in the gym lifting or outside the gym with self-doubt or major confidence. I wanted to let people know that even at the highest level this is still part of the sport. I talked about things like being hungry in the middle of the night and not knowing what to do, about being at the airport and missing flights, having self-doubt about the Olympia, smashing certain goals and records I had set for myself. I try to make the blog a little more personal. I figure anyone can read about sets and reps in any magazine but not many people get the chance to see into the mind of an IFBB pro.

You are training hard and prepping for the Tampa Pro. How do you feel you will come into the show based on where your physique is right now?

Fouad Abiad: I am feeling really good about the way my physique is looking. I had a plan to gain ten pounds this offseason and that might have been an aggressive number but I work better under pressure. I don’t think I added the ten pounds, maybe 3-5lbs but more importantly is the way my physique has changed. Everything feels more round and complete. My legs are a little wider from the back and the side, my shoulders are more capped and complete, my chest has squared off a little more and I have added some back thickness which has given it more of a bubbly appearance in a back double bicep shot. I am content with the work I have put in this year and I will only continue to add more as time passes. I am hoping to end up onstage at around 250lbs in the same condition I was in last year if not better.

You are working with “The Pro Creator” Hany Rambod. What has that been like?

Fouad Abiad: Working with Hany has been great. He isn’t really a trainer as much as he is a coach and I have never been one that thought I needed a coach but now that I have one, I really am happy with how our professional relationship has evolved. He is always a phone call away and explains everything in full detail. He cares about his athletes and not just in competition, he actually cares about their general health as well. Other athletes may not need this much attention but for me, it has been a blessing.

Hany has you using his FST-7 training system. Can you tell us a little bit about this type of training protocol and how this system differs from others you have tried?

Fouad Abiad: Well, I have never really tried any other training system other than my own since I have always written my own programs and done my own offseason. Basically, the training program has me doing a lot more volume overall since we are working on weak points. We hit legs and arms twice a week to really bring them up. The 7’s in FST-7 are usually reserved for the last exercise of a lagging body part(s), it’s not really meant to be done on every body part. For example, at the end of biceps since that is a muscle I am trying to improve we will add 7 sets of hammer curls or dumbbell curls. Those 7 sets are done with 30sec of rest max in between to really fill in the blood volume in the muscle. That volume is meant to stretch the muscle fascia which creates more room for growth over time.

Can you tell us a little bit about your workouts and how they vary from contest prep and during the off-season?

Fouad Abiad: Actually, I have never been an advocate of changing training styles from offseason to precontest. Now more than ever it remains the same since Hany’s program is much more volume than I am used to which alone will help etch in more detail and create a more complete look to each muscle. In the past, I may add more volume in sets from offseason to precontest but I always like to lift heavy and don’t usually get into supersets or giant sets unless I am dealing with an injury or trying to shock the muscle.

Can you tell us a little bit about your diet and how it varies from contest prep and during the off-season?

Fouad Abiad: In the past, I liked to get really heavy in the offseason so there would be a large variance from offseason to precontest. This year working with Hany he tried to keep me leaner in the offseason so the change isn’t that drastic. I like to eat a lot of ground turkey in the offseason, that’s out. I also like to use a lot of olive oil, peanut butter and pasta in the offseason, all those things are out. I think the largest difference in Hany’s offseason to precontest diets has been the change in fat. There is no added fat in my precontest diet, it is basically very high protein and carbs.

You are also suffering from a minor injury. Can you tell us what happened and how you are rehabbing?

Fouad Abiad: Well like every bodybuilder, amateur or professional, sore joints and tendons are always an issue when lifting heavy with high volume. These things can be worked out with therapy and ice and you just train through it because stopping is not an option. Recently though I was getting some sharp pains shooting down my left hamstring which I tore pretty badly at the beginning of my career. I thought the pain was scar tissue that had let loose and cause the injury to be re-aggravated making it hard to do almost anything. It was hard to sit, stand, sleep or train but I was working through it out of the desire to win this show. After some work with my chiropractor Jim Asparakis we figured out it was my low back and a bulged disc not my hamstring at all. He has been working on my low back on the traction table and I have been getting regular massages and am feeling better. In the last couple of weeks, I have broken two of my old strength records and am feeling mentally stronger than ever!

What motivates you to push yourself not only in the gym but in life?

Fouad Abiad: Failure and success. Fear of failure is a major factor in my performance. I can’t deal with thinking I am not good enough to do something I have set my mind to it. When someone tells me I can’t do something it makes me want to do it even more. A long time ago I was having trouble getting my back to go and a person at the gym a lot of guys looked up to told me that it just wasn’t in my genetics. He told me that my genetics were only going to take me so far and my back was done growing. Since then my back has become one of my best bodyparts because of my defiance in believing that I couldn’t do something.

Success is also a driving force. I have three brothers and a sister and all are very successful so being the youngest I have pressure to perform as well as a drive to keep up. I want a nice house, nice cars, a big family and not to want for much. I have been lucky so far in my career to get the things from life that I have desired and I feel like as long as I keep working hard the rest will come in time.

If you weren’t a pro bodybuilder, what would you be doing?

Fouad Abiad: If I wasn’t an IFBB Pro I would most likely be sitting in a police cruiser making sure people are safe and trying to help out where I can. I went to the University of Windsor for Criminology and wanted very much to be on the police force and possibly move up into specialized policing like S.W.A.T or some other faction of the force. This may still be a career path for me when I am done competing, by then I may be too old for S.W.A.T but at least I can park my ass in a police cruiser and hand out traffic tickets… lol.

Where do you see yourself 10 years down the road and how long do you feel you will be competing?

Fouad Abiad: I really am not sure how long I will compete for, it really depends on my success in the sport. If I am doing really well and I can retire earlier than later then I will take that opportunity. If that doesn’t happen I will compete until I am no longer happy. As it stands now this is the career I love, the one I chose and the one I choose to try to make my mark. If one day I wake up and I am no longer happy going to the gym, lifting, sweating and banging out iron, than that day will be the day I retire whether I am old or young.

Is there anyone you would like to thank for helping you get to where you are today?

Fouad Abiad: There are many people who have helped me on my journey to be the best bodybuilder I can be. My family first and foremost, my friends are always there for me and understand me best. Chad Nichols had a huge impact on my career as a competitor and as a contest consultant, myself and I will always be thankful to him. Hany has been a major help to me this year and has taken me to the next level if not in competition definitely in mindset about life and training. I have had many sponsors along the way that have always been very good to me but none more than MuscleTech.

They are an incredible company that never ask more of an athlete than they can give and are very happy as long as we give 100%. Without them, I would not be where I am today. Last but never least I have to thank the awesome fans that email me daily in my personal account, Facebook, Twitter or Myspace. They are all so supportive in the US and all over the world and my Canadian fans have hoisted me on their shoulders and seem very proud to have me represent them as Canada’s sole Olympian. I am doing my best to keep making them all proud and will always try to never let them down.

Is there anything you would like to add to this interview that we haven’t already touched on?

Fouad Abiad: The last thing I want to say is thank you to all the amazing fans who have bought my DVD, I sincerely hope you have enjoyed it. I worked hard to try to make sure it was down to earth and sincere. Anyone who has bought a t-shirt or a photo I also want to thank you since any support always goes a long way and I can’t thank you enough.

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