By Gary Chappell
LEWIS BREED might be facing a "slow road to recovery" after being injured in a head-on car crash but he certainly had all his cards aligned prior to the setback.
Two weeks before the smash, Breed had given an exclusive interview to frontdouble.com, in which he discussed his competitive plans as he targeted Mr Olympia qualification. The China and Portugal Open both featured heavily. Breed revealed how he needed to "pick shows with the right judges". He also spoke about how he is not the bodybuilder he is today without the support of his wife, Holly.
It remains to be seen how the season pans out for Breed, who suffered a fractured hand, internal bleeding and who required an operation on his coccyx. But he was certainly on course to deliver a new standard of physique this year, as he explained his massive caloric needs, his method of slowing down his metabolism during prep and his bid to mobilise his physique more in order to open up his chest and back during posing.
This week he published a heartfelt message to fans on social media in the wake of his crash. He said: "I have had hundreds messages from you guys wishing me well through what has been a rough few days. There was a head-on collision, both cars are written off, both drivers are injured but we will both make a full recovery.
"I have fractured my hand in a couple of places. And there is some internal bleeding which still needs to be resolved. So I have a CT scan for that. And I'm most likely going to have an operation on my coccyx, another issue that has arisen through the trauma of the crash.
"So once I get that out of the way, fingers crossed I can then start the slow road to recovery. It's not just been tough physically the last few days but definitely mentally. Knowing my plans have changed in terms of competing. Knowing I'm not going to be able to train in the way that I normally would. So I've got to shift my mindset now to just focusing on rest and recovery and recovering as quickly and efficiently but as safely as possible.
"A big thank you to all you guys in the bodybuilding and fitness community. That's why I love it so much because times like this I've had so many messages from fans, fellow athletes, friends all around the world wishing me their best. And that's what I love about this community. In times of need those messages have really meant a lot. I hope they'll continue to keep me focused and keep me driven and keep me positive for what's going to be a slow road to recovery. But I will try and document it and keep you guys informed as I move forward. But I wanted to just say thank you to each and every one of you that has reached out."
As mentioned, two weeks prior to this crash, Breed had given an exclusive interview to frontdouble.com about his plans for the new season. He had posted on social media an incredible five-year transformation picture. It showed how he had added 40lbs to his 5ft 6in frame. Catching up at the opening 2Bros show of the season, the Condition Coaches Cup, Breed said: "It [the transformation] was kind of since turning pro.
"When you're in the amateur league and you're sort of the top end, when you jump from being an amateur to a pro, it's a whole different ball game. I stepped on stage for my pro debut and knew where I was, but knew where I needed to be. And I'm a man that's like, I don't miss a meal, I don't miss a workout. Haven't done for about 15 years. I'm that sort of old-school, chicken and rice, train hard, chicken and rice, train hard person.
"The biggest difference is that extra one per cent. Everything else in between, which I've never really delved into. Making sure I'm optimising my recovery, making sure my health is at its absolute best. Because if the body's healthy, the body's going to respond, the body's going to recover better, the body's going to work better. So all those little things, making sure my health is on point, making sure my recovery is on point, making sure my sleep is adequate, all those things. I've always trained well and I've always trained very fucking hard. Sometimes I would train so hard but then not recover enough. And I can't not train that way. I'm not going to do a deload, or take it easy, only training 70 per cent. That's not me and that's not what I enjoy.
"So if I'm training at 100 per cent every single workout, I need to go, 'right, hold on a minute, what am I doing in between that to make sure my body's rested, make sure my body's recovered'?"
Breed went on to explain how he only trains for a short time but the intensity remains high. He explained: "I only train for an hour and I train for two days then take a rest day. I'm not in the gym five, six days a week. And I'm not in the gym for two, three hours at a time. But the intensity in which I train at, you couldn't train longer than an hour. Anybody who says they train for two to three hours, the intensity's not there, sorry.
"And in this day and age, because we have the powers of social media and the powers of all these sort of influencers, they're so obsessed with being optimal. But they forget about the most important thing, which is effort and intensity. That's got to be number one. And my effort and intensity has always been at the top level. But if I'm honest, it's in between where I lacked. Making sure I was resting enough, making sure I was doing enough to make sure I'm recovered for my next session. And that's the biggest difference in the last five years and why I've managed to put on that amount of muscle in that time."
And with Breed's crazy metabolism, that is no easy task. He notoriously diets on 6,000 calories. And the off-season would be almost double that, which presents a whole host of issues. He said: "In an off season, it's not unusual for me to hit 10,000 calories. The thing is, I have a lot of issues with my gut. I am lactose intolerant. I don't get on well with wheat. So I don't get on well with gluten. I have to be very specific in my nutrition, so it is very basic. It's gluten-free oats, jasmine rice and then I have chicken, steak. And you can make up your calories through things like carb drinks, cyclic dextrin, nut butters, olive oils. But we're at the stage now where I've needed to consume so much food in order to grow, that one of the downsides is midsection control.
"When you're consuming vast amounts of food, naturally you get bloated. And if you do that consistently, the midsection is going to expand. So we put on a lot of muscle. I'm five foot six and I sit about 250 on stage. But a thing that we've got to be aware of now is, because I've got a lot of muscle on my frame and I eat a vast amount of food, my midsection control. So for example, when I dieted last year for a competition, my calories were no lower than 6,000, right the way up to a show.
"So in prep we actually do the opposite [of everyone else]. What we try to do is almost slow my metabolism. We don't want to have to eat so much food. When you get into a prep, people start utilising things like T3, T4, all those things. We keep that out for as long as possible because as soon as we do that, my body goes into overdrive. Then I need more food, which most people think is great. But when you're trying to control your midsection, we don't want more food. So I'm sort of an exception to the rule.
"Don't get me wrong, I still need a lot of food. But we actually try to force my metabolism to slow down to make it a little less stressful on my GI, less stressful on my gut so I can control my midsection better. I can pose better. So that's quite unusual. It's a bit against the grain, but my metabolism is just on fire 24-7.
"People think you're lucky you get to die on 6,000 calories – but I'm still in the deficit, aren't I? I'm still hungry at that level. I have a big appetite, but even on 6,000 calories, I'm in a deficit. You're still down to sub five per cent body fat, so naturally you're fatigued, you're tired. But it's trying to balance food consumption alongside the training performance, alongside the conditioning. And I've worked with Martin Winston, my coach, for quite some time."
Winston is not the only person to have valuable input. Breed's wife, Holly, is a huge influence and Breed paid tribute to the role she plays in his bodybuilding career.
My wife has a massive input," he said. "She's more invested in the sport than I am. She invests all of her time, all of her effort, researching everything that I need to be done. I am the bodybuilder I am today – I have gone from amateur, to pro, to top 10, to top six, to top three, because of my wife. Because she's so invested. Every single time I'm on stage, she analyses it. She speaks to the judges and says, 'they said this, this and this'. And we'll spend hours going, 'right, you need to do this, this is how we do it, this is how you apply this etc'. She books all my appointments, she books all my treatments. She tells me where I'm going, what I'm doing.
"My sponsors are enough to support both of us. She does do a little bit of work. She's also a photographer and does some bits on the side. But she hasn't got to commit to a nine to five. When I'm away, she has to also juggle the kids – and between us, we have six. So she does do a bit of work, but thankfully she hasn't got to juggle a nine to five and the kids and me – because we're just big babies as bodybuilders at the end of the day."
As a family man too, Breed admits time away from the kids while competing can be tough. But again it is his wife who steps up to the plate. Breed said: "I struggle massively with being away from family. It's my wife that reassures me. She's like, 'if you were in the forces, if you were in the Navy, you'd be away for months on end'. But kids are resilient. Whether you're away for a week or a month, they don't really understand. You give them a PlayStation or a chocolate bar and they don't care where dad is. So they're quite resilient. We miss them more than they will miss us. And that's what my wife reiterates to me.
"And we also understand that you have a shelf life in this sport. I want to be one of the best in this sport and I do know that I've only got so many years to apply myself. I'm 36 now. But I always said once I hit 40, then I've got to look at, 'okay, am I going to retire'?
"So I need to make a statement now, not just for my own personal goals, but for the future. If I can make a statement and build a name within the sport now, when I do retire, I can still use that name to take it into different avenues within the sport. So that's why I'm applying myself now. Being away from the children for a couple of weeks here or there is all to benefit us as a family. Not just achieving my own personal goals but being able to support them."
Breed had not long started prep when this interview was held. He discussed his plans for two shows in his bid to qualify for the Mr Olympia – the China Open and one in Portugal. Following his car crash, these plans are now in disarray and will depend largely on how quickly he manages to recover.
But he offered an interesting insight into his thought process coming into this competitive season.
Breed said: "We've done the American shows the last couple of years and I do well at those. I'm always placed inside that top five. But we're going to be a little bit more tactical because, once you get to that level, you've got to pick your show. Especially in open bodybuilding. There are only 19 qualifications for the Olympia. Men's physique and Classic, there's like 50. So only 19 people a year are going to qualify for the open Olympia. So you've got to think, 'right, who's going to be at that show'? If you've got two top six Olympians at one show, you're not going to do that one. So you've got to be a little bit more strategic in the shows you pick.
"And not only that, with the judging panel as well, because different judges prefer a different look. I know the look I bring, I have that sort of gnarly, muscular, grainy sort of look. I am not blessed with amazing structure and symmetry. I'm just raw muscle with good condition. And certain judges like that, certain judges don't. So again you have to look at the judging panel. I've got a couple of judges, who I know have placed me well. And you look at the other shows they do, they place guys with similar types of physique well. So you know they like that look. You've got to pick the shows that will suit your physique."
Breed was also asked what he believes will be the main difference between the bodybuilder who stepped on stage last season and this one. He explained: "We all take feedback from the judges in order to improve. There are areas I need to work on physique wise. But a lot of the issue with me is actually mobility and opening up. So in my back, specifically my back double bicep. I've got a lot of muscle in my back, but I can't quite showcase it well. Same with my chest. I'm sort of very tight to my chest. I can't open up the shots.
"So what I have is my physical therapist and my yoga instructor who has a background in biomechanics. We work together as a three to develop a program that allows me to stretch, mobilise and open up the muscle. I need a little bit more back width. And I'm not quite able to open everything up because I'm so tight through the mid-back.
"I know I can show more. Because even when I hit the pose, I'm like, there's more, but I'm just not able to quite show it. So that's why all the mobility work, all the stretching, really emphasising on my posing. I do this with my wife, alongside the mobility work to really open up and showcase everything that I have. It's just a case of showcasing it to the best of my ability to give me that edge, to take me from third or fourth, which I got last year, into first."
Frontdouble.com wishes Lewis Breed a speedy recovery.
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