JUNE 2017 MUSCLE & FITNESS 17quite linear – the same foods and
the same calories every day – then
I slowly bring down the calories until
I’m about three weeks out. Then
three weeks out I do carb cycling,
where I do maybe three days really
low carb, then one day high carb.”
Taylor is also sponsored by
Musashi, which means he has access
to their range of high-quality supps.
“I use their Lean WPI protein and
Bulk Extreme, as well as Essential
Aminos. I also use creatine,
multivitamins and a glutamine,”
he explains. “Musashi have been
a big help – they’ve been providing
me with products to help me train
a lot harder and help me with my
recovery. They flew me to South
Australia for the comp last year and
put me up in a hotel and drove me to
and from the competition, and they
also helped with the tanning. It all
makes a huge difference – it wouldn’t
have been possible without them.”
GETTING PERSONAL
Preparing for a competition is a very
personal thing. While everyone sees
you up on stage on comp day,
no one really sees the days and
weeks of hard training and strict
dieting that goes into that end result.
“Competing is great, but it’s more
about putting yourself through the
day-to-day struggles and challenges
of preparing, and progressing so
that you’re better than the last time
you competed,” Taylor says. “It’s
definitely a personal thing for me.”
While some might expect fellow
competitors in such an event as
physique or bodybuilding to be
fiercely competitive and ego-driven,
Taylor’s experience has shown it
to be quite the opposite.
“There’s a friendly rivalry, but it’s
been really good in my experience,”
he says. “Most of the guys know
how hard it is just to stand on the
stage, and to go through the weeks
of intense training and all
the sacrifices you have to make
to get there. So once you get there,
all the hard work’s been done
and everyone’s up there enjoying
themselves and congratulating
each other on looking so good.PROFILE EDGE
“I know sometimes you see
things like Generation Iron or
something where people are quite
nasty with each other and there’s
a lot of ego involved, but from my
experience with Australian guys,
everyone is quite charming and quite
complimentary to each other, so
it’s a good experience. You’ve been
through so much to get there – at the
end of the day you don’t need that
kind of negativity.”
Taylor also gains great
satisfaction out of his other
career as a personal trainer.
“I know it sounds clichéd, but
I really enjoy being able to change
people’s lives and make them feel
good about themselves,” he says.
“I’ve had a lot of success stories.
I’ve had a couple of clients lose
40 to 50 kilograms – people who
couldn’t tie their own shoes and
then within a year and a half they’re
running a half marathon. That’s a
huge achievement, and when you
talk about changing lives, that’s a
massive change for them. It feels like
I’m making a really big difference.”