Josh Tomlinson

Athlete Profile: Josh Tomlinsom

Instagram: @jtfitness91

Category:OPA Athlete

Do you use a trainer? No

What Motivated You To Begin Training?

Growing up I was always the smallest kid, both short and skinny all my life. I loved sports and have always been athletic but never really figured out how to put on size, always just blaming my genetics. In my first year of university I met a guy in my program who competed in bodybuilding and he trained me for a year before he dropped out to pursue other interests. In the first three months training with him j went from 5’10 – 135 pounds to 160, and I’ve continued to grow and progress in the last 4 years since then

Tell us a little about your training philosophy:

I believe everyone’s body is different, there is no one set way to train and people have to figure out what their lady reacts best to with trial and error over time. For me my back seems to do great with mid rep range (8-10) and heavy weights, my chest seems to react better towards a mix of low and high reps and my arms and legs seem to be fine with just about anything and long as I’m mixing up my workouts from time to time and hitting everything with strict form

Tell us a little bit about your diet philosophy:

During my off season I’m not very strict on myself anymore, I’ve been meticulous about my diet for so long that I can fairly accurately guess what I’m putting in and make sure I eat enough. When I am prepping I will go back to being very strict with my calories and macros starting with a 40/40/20 (carb/protein/fat) split and slowly decreasing the carbs week by week and re-fueling with a riffed day every week or two

Please tell us about your competitive history and placings (if applicable):

I had my first men’s physique competition in 2014 at the Barrie Natural Classic, I placed 10th, I plan to compete in the 2016 Sudbury classic

How many years have you competed?

Tell us about some of your short and long term goals:

Short term I’d like to put on another 15 pounds or so so that I can come into my next competition much heavier than my first(stage weight 151 pounds) Long term I’d like to compete at nationals

Who do you look to for motivation and why?

There are a lot of guys at my gym, Ironworks Fitness in Sarnia, who really motivate me. I love being able to go to a gym with a lot of like minded people and some people who are further a long than myself in their journey and everyone is just working so hard. Big names in the industry who I look up to are Steve cook and Craig Capurso, I just love their work ethic and style, both have incredible physiques

What are some of the most difficult obstacles that you have had to overcome?

Probably just my own attitude towards my genetics, I am a hard gainer, it is difficult for me to put on weight and get to my goals but not impossible as I once believed

Tell us some of your pet peeves surrounding healthy life and the gym:

Biggest pet peeve is when people rip on beginners or “resolutioners” in January, I know no one likes a busy gym but good for those people who are trying to make a healthy choice and make a difference in their lives. Maybe if more people at the gym were supportive instead of condescending they would stay for longer than just January and realize their health and fitness goals.

What is the number one piece of advice that you would give someone that looks to you for inspiration?

Biggest advice would be not to overlook your nutrition,it’s one thing I did all through high school, I just didn’t have the knowledge of to to build myself properly through diet. And keep learning! No one ever knows everything, keep an open mind and ears for new training techniques or diet tips, not all may work for you but it’s interesting and insightful to learn more