Stan Thomakos Comes Back At 53 After A 15-Year Lay off
No Nonsense Magazine 2014 Collection
By: Stan Thomakos
[Note from Sandy R: After seeing Stan Thomakos at our Northern KY contest I asked if he would write up a little about himself and how he achieved such great condition.]
I am 53 years young and have been weight training for almost 30 years now. I started taking Beverly products back in 1985 and with the help of Roger and Sandy I stepped on stage in my first bodybuilding contest which was the Mr Northern KY in 1986. After a 15-year lay off from competition, I got the bug to try it one more time. I contacted Jason Theobald at Natty Nutrition who put a diet program together for me and helped me get in the best shape of my life. 8 months later I finished 1st in the Masters over 50 and 1st in the bantamweight men’s open class at the Cincinnati and placed in both classes at the Northern KY the next weekend. Now, I am going to shoot for the 2012 Buckeye natural, then try to make a few gains and shoot for the 2013 Masters Nationals.
Training
At my age training smart is key. You have to know when to push and when to stop. Injuries at 53 don’t heal near as quickly as they do at 33. I train on a 5 day program with 1 body part each day so that I can completely recuperate between workouts. In the off season I’ll do 20 minutes of cardio after workouts. Pre contest I upped the cardio to 90 minutes per day, 7 days a week. Being a natural bodybuilder at 53 makes you do things like 90 minute cardio sessions that a younger bodybuilder may not have to do!
I’ve been told my chest is my best body part. Here is a typical workout I do for my chest.
Proper warm-up is super important at any age and especially 50 and over. On chest days I do some very light incline and flat bench dumb-bell presses (2 sets of each) and a couple of sets of 20 push-ups.
4 sets of flat bench straight bar pyramid up 10-12 @ 145, 8-10 @ 185, 6-8 @ 205 and last set 4-6 @ 225.
I do the same with incline dumbbells (10-12 @ 60, 8-10@ 80, 6-8 @ 90 ,4-6 @ 100)
I like changing the angle of the bench every week to hit the whole chest!
The next chest w/o I do incline dumbbells and flat bench straight bar, rotating dumbbells and straight bar back and forth every other chest workout.
Next I go to the dip bar for 4 sets. 3 heavy sets (45lb plate between legs) 10-12 reps and the last set with bodyweight for 20 reps.
I like to finish up with 3 sets at 185 on incline Smith and alternate back and forth with the cable crossover’s super set style! It’s fast and furious!
Sometimes I like to add 1-2 sets of 30 push-ups just for fun! That reminds me… one other thing has contributed to my chest development, my dad started me off doing push-ups when I was 3 years old, and I never have stopped!!!!
Diet
Jason at Natty Nutrition started me dieting almost 8 months out from the Cincinnati. Yes, 8 months. He put me on more food than I have ever eaten in my life. Lots of calories and 7 meals a day. Never before had I eaten that much food! But I was losing BF and putting on muscle for nearly 3 months! Then when Jason and I noticed I had stopped losing fat he started cutting carbs from my diet. We noticed an immediate fat loss! At about 8 weeks out from the Cincinnati contest we stopped almost all carbs and went to a ketogenic diet with higher fats and almost zero carbs. That’s when the fat really started coming off. Apparently some people do much better on high fats and zero or low carbs. Well, that’s me.
My diet and supplements were pretty simple. I also mixed Muscle Synergy powder in water and drank it through all of my workouts.
5 GH Factor and 3 7-Keto upon waking
Meal 1: 7 egg whites, 2 Fit Tabs, 2 Quadracarn, 2 Lean Out, 3 Joint Care
Meal 2: 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1 ½ scoops of Muscle Provider, 15 almonds
Meal 3: 6 oz chicken breast, spinach salad w/ vinegar and oil or broccoli, 2 Lean Out and 2 Quadracarn
Meal 4: 6 oz chicken breast, spinach salad w/ vinegar and oil or broccoli, 2 Lean Out and 2 Quadracarn
Meal 5: 1 ½ scoops Muscle Provider and a tablespoon of peanut or almond butter. (My post workout and favorite meal of the day because of the peanut butter!)
Meal 6: 7 Egg white omelet made with lots of onions and a spinach salad
That’s about it ! Stayed on this diet with very little changes for about 10 weeks.
Perseverance and determination are the most important things in bodybuilding! Bodybuilding teaches us both, which helps us in our lives !!!
