New Natural Pro - Sean Campbell Interviewed by Jeff Alberts
Sean Campbell: I suppose the answer to your question would depend on your definition of when I became a “bodybuilder”. I believe anyone who has the desire and the dedication to make a change to their physique is considered a “bodybuilder”. My love for bodybuilding began as a high school wrestler. Until that point, I was a skinny kid; I wrestled the 119 and 126 pound weight classes. After I began to lift, I noticed an immediate transformation and gained what seemed like twenty pounds of muscle over one summer. I returned to school during my junior year, and kids accused me of taking steroids which felt pretty good because I hardly even knew the benefits of a good protein shake! I was just lifting weights and eating everything in sight. My parents used to complain because we would go through a half gallon of ice cream and a gallon of milk every other day. In high school I realized my love for the gym: weights clanking, the pump filling my muscles, the puddle of sweat forming under the squat rack. The feeling of satisfaction from transforming my body was very addicting. My love for the iron continued into college where I met my best friend and lifting partner. We visited the gym like it was a religion, talking in Arnold voices as we made the trek across campus. We fed off of each other’s madness and kept pushing to new limits. My love for the iron solidified in college, and I built a pretty good physique without ever becoming “serious” about bodybuilding. After college I became a teacher, got married, and started a family. Quickly, the general busyness of life eclipsed my training. However, I still ate as if I were training. A Rochester tradition called the “garbage plate” consists of two greasy cheeseburgers, macaroni salad, French fries, onions, and chili sauce all piled onto one plate. “The Plate” is literally a full day’s worth of calories. I used to eat 2-3 of these a week! My eating habits caught up to me quickly as the pounds began to pile on. For a while, I just told myself that I liked the “bulky look”. But by the time I was in my mid 20’s my weight exceeded 225 pounds. (There are lots of pictures floating around the web for people to laugh at to prove it!) The main issue was not my weight, though. I experienced bad lower back problems from carrying the extra fat and losing all the strength in my core. I ruptured a disk and herniated others. I had pain in my legs all the time, and my blood pressure skyrocketed into hypertension range. I was generally unhealthy, and I used the low back pain as an excuse to stay inactive. I continued to eat poorly, and I rarely visited the gym. About three years ago I decided enough was enough and made the famed New Year's resolution to get in shape. I joined a gym, and after about week of training, I saw a sign in the locker room for a body transformation contest. Motivated by competition, I lost 42 lbs in 14 weeks and won my class in the contest, which really sparked the competitive fire within me. Through the encouragement of a friend, I decided to keep cutting and try my hand at competitive bodybuilding. Five months later I entered my first local contest as a novice and won second place in my weight class. I became completely hooked. The rest is history. 3DMJ: Talk about your recent contest outings where you claimed 2 natural pro cards? Sean Campbell: I still can’t believe it! My journey for the pro card began after the end of my 2009 contest season where I would continually run the tape through my head. I visualized my victory probably a thousand times before I even started my formal contest prep. By the time I was ready to step on stage in May of 2011, I wanted it BAD. I have a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that I made it though. It was a long haul. I started out dieting in September of last year and dropped a good chunk of fluff before the holidays. I went on to compete with the INBF in three shows. I had a rough start with the INBF Northeast Classic, which was the complete opposite of the USBF show. It was a pro-am, and it was CRAZY. There were tons of competitors and lots of hustle and bustle back stage, making it very hectic. I made some crucial mistakes at this show, one of my mistakes being my color application. I was also too aggressive with the carb-load which may have made me a bit less crisp than I was two weeks prior. I also lacked a lot of confidence on stage. Making these mistakes in an extremely tough middle weight line up earned me a 4th place award out of seven competitors. This was a HUGE trial for me. Initially, I was crushed by my placing. I was questioning my worth as a bodybuilder and whether or not I should even continue with the rest of the season. A lot of emotion came out as I spent a lot of time talking to my wife and praying to God the next day. By the time I had left the hotel I had some pretty clear direction and insight that could have only come from performing at less than my best. I thank God so much for this trial because without it I probably would not have done so well at the close of the season. A week later, I was in Connecticut for the INBF Natural Connecticut competition. Robert Fulton is another great promoter, and this was another very large show with lots of competitors. I dropped to the lightweight class as I erred on the conservative side of my carb-load. I ended up much tighter looking than the week prior. I nailed my color and presentation and won the lightweight class against some very stiff competition in a class of over 12 competitors. I wound up losing the overall to Andy Kalinowsky who is a phenomenal competitor with a fantastic physique. The last show of my season was preceded by some major indecision and turmoil. I learned another valuable lesson in prayer and waiting on God’s answers. 3DMJ: What were some areas in which you can attribute to your success this year? Sean Campbell:
From purely a physique stand-point alone, I improved my conditioning
and added a little more size to my legs, glutes, and back. I simply
dieted longer to achieve better conditioning. I did not want to step on
stage this year without glute striations, and I achieved that over my
2009 contest season. I actually competed about 1 lb lighter (while
maintaining more muscle size and fullness) than in 2009. I can't thank
3DMJ enough for their support this prep. I owe much of my success to
your help. I have a pretty good grasp on dieting/training, but when it
comes right down to it, at the end of prep; we are not in the best state
of mind to be making critical decisions regarding our training and
nutrition. I find it so much easier to have an unbiased, experienced
eye to guide me through. Jeff Alberts is a posing mastermind. And I attribute a lot of my success to better presentation this year. The man is a bit over-the-top as a perfectionist, but that’s what gets the job done! He improved my front and rear symmetry presentation by leaps and bounds. Posing is such a huge factor in achieving the win. Also, my peaking continued to improve this year. Much of my peaking technique was a carryover from my 2009 season. There I learned quite a bit about how my body responds to carbohydrates, sodium and water. This year I simply added to that base of knowledge. I learned that I require A LOT of sodium on show day. I honestly did not pay much attention to water intake other than to drink when I was thirsty and then some. I have no idea how much water I took in during peak week! I also had a lot of help from Cellucor Nutrition with their NO/creatine products, and I attribute a lot of my stage look to their products. 3DMJ: Your current goals, both short term and long term? Sean Campbell: My immediate goal is to reverse diet out of the metabolic hole that contest prep has dug for me. As a professional I know I need to stay lean. The WNBF requires its athletes to compete within a one year time frame in order to maintain pro-status. Right now I am tentatively looking at the Buckeye - Tournament of Champions. These plans remain up in the air, but regardless, maintaining an appropriate level of leanness and rehabilitating my metabolism is at the top of my list of bodybuilding priorities. Also, I have
recently joined up with a new supplement company called Nutrigenomic
Research Company, and I am their main sponsored athlete. They have a really innovative, natural growth hormone enhancer hitting the market. In my personal life, my highest priority is to spend time with my family this summer. My family is a huge support to me especially during the depths of contest prep so I really want to give back to them with some fun-filled vacations and general quality time spent together. Balancing a family with a bodybuilding lifestyle is difficult but achievable. My long term goal is to become the best natural pro bodybuilder I can be! I plan to be at this for a while.
Sean Campbell: I have been blessed in so many ways, and I am very thankful for success in the sport. I think the main component to success in bodybuilding is desire. You have to want it. And no one can want it for you. If you are doing it for anyone else without a true love for the sport, you just won’t make it. It’s too rigorous. Of course, genetics play a huge role, but someone with a naturally mediocre physique can really bring a fantastic presentation to the stage through hard work, diligence and consistency. I think being a little OCD helps a lot in this sport too! 3DMJ: Give us a little background on your philosophies regarding your approach to training and nutrition. Sean Campbell: As naturals I think we have to be careful to steer clear of some of the extremes we have been indoctrinated with. We don’t need to eat 300g of protein every day and get all of our nutrition from chicken, broccoli and fish oil. We don’t need to do 15 reps per exercise and 30 sets per body part 3 weeks out from competition. However ineffective some of these ideologies are, they prevail as widely accepted myths in our sport. Anytime I hear of an extreme deviation from what has always worked for me over the past 15 years of training, I steer clear. Consistency over time is the key to success. But I also do not believe we have to be overly consistent and neurotic when it comes to diet and training. There is a balance that is often difficult to find. I’m still working on that balance in my own life. The old
argument continues to persist on the internet forums regarding “clean
eating” vs. “just hitting your numbers“. I have seen professional
athletes who eat nothing but clean foods all year and consider Walden
Farms pancake syrup a cheat. And then there is the other end of the
spectrum of those who have to eat at least three bowls of Lucky Charms
cereal every day before they have satisfied their sweet tooth. But as
long as it “fits their macros” they believe they are progressing
optimally. The two groups banter back and forth with no resolution in
sight. In my opinion the answer to this debate is found in moderation.
For an athlete to perform at his or her best, the micro-nutritional
side of the equation must be fulfilled. How
much and what type of “clean” food is needed to meet varying
nutritional needs is different for everyone, but I do not believe we can
perform at our best eating junk every day. However, so much of our
social lives are built around the enjoyment of food. I think we are
doing ourselves and our families a huge disservice when we step back
from family functions and separate ourselves from celebrations because
we are on our diet. There are times when we must be strict and every
calorie should be tracked and calculated. Perhaps we may need to bring
an alternative meal to a family function when we are in the depths of
contest prep.
But if that mindset is carried on indefinitely while in season and out
of season we miss a lot of what life is truly all about. Enjoying a
couple of slices of pizza and a beer with friends or sharing a birthday
cake with family is not going to hinder our progress in the least as
long as these times are the exception rather than the rule. As noted
earlier in the interview, I like to EAT. I love greasy, salty food.
And I struggle with the fact that my diet is often on a “switch”. I’m
either on or totally off. If I am in contest prep mode I am like a
laser beam locked on a target and my diet is not derailed. However, when
contest prep is over, I struggle with going overboard, indulging myself
in the foods that I really love to eat but never fit into my allotted
50g of fat per day. As for my training, I believe that any reasonably intelligent progressive plan will yield good results. I have found good success with variations of Layne Norton’s PHAT training principles where rep range is varied between power and hypertrophy ranges. I try to progress consistently on the power days, particularly with my lower body compound movements, which generally translates to increased strength in my hypertrophy training and increased muscle size. The key to consistent gains in any training protocol is to find the proper ratio of intensity, volume and frequency. I believe my tendency is to over-train, and I often struggle with trigger points and lingering soreness in my glutes and hamstrings. One of my goals this off-season is to decrease my training volume and see how it affects my overall gains and injury prevention.
Sean Campbell: I have been very blessed to have grown up in a family that where I have love and support. And I find a lot of inspiration in my mom and dad who have a work ethic that I try to model as best I can. The principle of hard work is often lost in our society to a mindset of entitlement. Unfortunately, no matter how good your genetics are, you won't progress as a bodybuilder without a lot of hard work. I am also continually supported by my wonderful wife who, like many bodybuilder-spouses, has to put up with a lot. She continues to support me as if she were stepping on stage herself. I have never heard her say, “I think you should quit” or “this is too much”. Her support is so important to me and without her inspiration I could not do this. I also find a lot of inspiration in other bodybuilders. My favorite natural physique belongs to Doug Miller. I believe he has the ultimate balance of size, symmetry and conditioning. I particularly admire him because his lower body was probably his biggest weakness when he began competitive bodybuilding, but he overcame his weakness over time proving that hard work does prevail. I also find a lot of inspiration in Layne Norton who also has an incredible physique, but more importantly he is a great ambassador for the sport and good example for others. He is intelligent and brings a great deal of credible science to a sport that is often thought of as filled with “meat heads”. Finally, the entire 3DMJ team is great inspirations to me as well. From Berto’s freaky conditioning, Brad’s incredible work ethic, Jeff’s insane leg development and posing prowess, to Eric’s great base of knowledge in training and nutrition. I admire the team members as individuals but as a whole they come together as a complete unit that is hard to compete with in the contest prep consultation business. The 3DMJ concept is just plain awesome!
3DMJ: In a sport of extremes, what are some good tips you would recommend to younger competitors still learning to balance all aspects of life with bodybuilding? Sean Campbell: The best piece of advice I can give in regard to finding balance is to not define yourself as a bodybuilder. Define yourself on the inside with a set of core values and beliefs that make you who you are. Then let bodybuilding support those core values. If at any time bodybuilding begins to detract from those core values rather than enhance your life you have to pull back from the sport and work on other areas of your life. If family is a priority, then you need to make allowances in your diet and training for family time. I set aside one day per week that I do not train. I don’t do cardio. I don’t weight train. The entire day is dedicated to the family. Even in the depths of contest prep, I have one day where training is not an option. Obviously, this isn’t the only time I spend time with my family, but it's just one area of checks and balances that keep my main priorities in line. Contest prep can get the best of anyone, and there are days when I am dead to the world. I am grumpy and miserable because I can hardly find the strength to get up off the couch. Prepare yourself for this and don’t let it beat you. These feelings of depression, lethargy, and irritability are physiological, but that doesn’t mean you have to be consumed by them. Force yourself to get up and get active. Find a house project or go out to the mall. Go sledding, bike riding or work on the car. Bodybuilding is a hobby that is best accompanied by another hobby that you can do in your down time. Anything that helps to engage your brain in something else other than thinking of your next meal will help you win over the negative feelings that often accompany ultra low levels of body fat. Make a list of these activities and prepare yourself to have a plan in place for the times when you are consumed by negativity. Sitting around only makes it worse! 3DMJ: Once again, from all of us at 3DMJ and natural bodybuilding fans out there, thank you for taking the time to do an interview with us. We are very grateful and proud to showcase such an awesome talent on 3DMJ. Sean Campbell: Thank you guys so much for the opportunity to share! I truly appreciate all the help you have given me over the past six months. To learn more about Sean's awesome journey just follow this link. |
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3DMJ: First of all thank you for taking the time to do this interview. We are very grateful and proud to showcase such awesome talent on 3DMJ. How did you initially get involved in bodybuilding, and how long ago?
Then I was able to maintain for about six weeks prior to continuing on with my cut from January to June. It was thirty weeks in total of preparation. My first show of the season was the 2011 USBF American Memorial. I made some substantial improvements from 2009, but I still considered it a warm up show because I hadn't reached my ideal shape. The American Memorial was a fantastic show, though. It was smaller than some of the others I have done with the INBF and OCB, but I think that’s what really appealed to me. It was much more relaxed. Paul Eade, the promoter, did a fantastic job of putting it all together. I was blessed to take home a middle weight open victory, a most muscular award and the overall title at that show, earning my USBF pro card. I was on cloud nine that night! And the post show pizza tasted especially good!
I was originally signed up to compete with the OCB at the Bay State Natural due to some potential political issues at play (that I have no desire to delve into in an interview) with the Hercules. These issues made me question whether the Hercules was a good option for me. I’ll state it here so there is no confusion: These political issues were perceived on MY END and when all was said and done, they were not valid perceptions of the organization. Nonetheless, I struggled immensely with the decision of where to compete. I was losing sleep and having some pretty bad anxiety issues. Not until I gave it to God was the direction clear, and I chose to sign up for the Hercules at the last minute. Once the application was in the mail, I had a great sense of peace about the show that endured to the moment I stepped off stage at the finals. Even though it was a huge show with very tough competition, I was very relaxed, and I really enjoyed the whole experience. And despite the chaos of New York, everything went so smoothly from the parking and weigh-ins to the competition itself. The Hercules was one of my favorite shows from a purely “fun” point of view. The icing on the cake was earning my pro-status with the WNBF. I was on the very verge of tears after they announced my victory. It was an awesome journey that I won't soon forget.
Eric
Helms was that eye. He did a remarkable job of keeping me on task and
making the right calls. He was very prompt in answering questions and
making decisions on the fly. What I really liked about Eric was that in
the few instances when I did not take his advice and chose a slightly
different path, he did not get upset or insulted. Eric doesn’t have a
“my way or the highway” mentality, and I really felt that we worked well
together.
So
another immediate bodybuilding-related goal is to help get the company
up and running and spread the word about “Cabergolean”. NRC also has a
great intra-workout product scheduled to come out within the next couple
of months. I am very excited about it because I had some input on the
formula.
So I wind up binging and then overcompensating with neurotic eating again. I work on my mentality daily and try to find a healthy balance that is sustainable in the off-season. 
Finally,
my greatest inspiration in the purest sense of the word is Jesus
Christ. Many know that I am a follower of Christ. I like to use the
term “follower of Christ” rather than “Christian” because unfortunately I
often think that Christians get a bad rep. I think many are perceived
to have an elitist attitude that has no place amongst the teachings of
Christ. I’ve got the same issues as everyone else. I have plenty of
faults, problems, and bad habits that I struggle with on a daily basis.
But I have Christ in my life to inspire me to be someone better. And
this inspiration carries over to bodybuilding in a way that I can't
describe. I honestly don’t know how others do it on their own. Without
God’s support I would be dead in the water, and I give Him all the
credit for any accolades that come my way. I find that bodybuilding
often draws me closer in my relationship with God. And I also find that
God pushes me harder than I could ever push myself. I look at dieting
and training in a way that is similar to fasting. I put my body in a
place physically where my only option is reliance on God. The Bible has
many references to athletes and athletics because the “race” we run is
often analogous to our faith. God says in Isaiah that “Those who hope
in the Lord, He will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like
eagles; run and not grow weary; walk and not faint“. I have tested this
verse time and again and can say that it has been unequivocally true in
my life.
