Tom Prince definitely made an impact in 1997 thru 2002. RIP, Here are some past notes from Tom and others, from the archives
Tom Prince from 2002 - some notes from that year
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From Tom Prince regarding Chad and Kurt:
I'd rather not compare Chad and Kurt. I can tell you exactly what I do like about Chad, however. Chad is one of my very best friends, and I could not possibly speak highly ENOUGH of him. He doesn't try to out smart or out think basic nutrition. Everything he does, diet-wise, is done in the most simple way possible. Chad's brilliance is in that simplicity. In other words, he's not trying to dazzle you with all this fancy stuff. He's just trying to get you from point A, to point B. He got me to stop eating so ridiculously clean in the off-season because I was stuck at 278 pounds, and by eating more restaurant food and junk food, my weight shot up to 305 in 8 months. My percentage of bodyfat went from 8.5 to 9.0. with that extra 28 pounds.
Chad's helped with everything, not just my diet. Dealing with Weider and getting my contract, it helped tremendously to have him to talk to about he and Kim got her contract. When I wanted to write for "Flex" and "Muscle and Fitness", Chad let me interview HIM, for my first attempt at an article (Flex magazine bought the article, and printed it in Sept or Oct of 1998.. was titled "Chad and his Lads"). I used to be a wicked partier, and it was Chad that got me to stop. I could go on and on.. but I'll spare you with the dull details. Suffice it to say, that I would recommend him to ANYONE. Peace-tp
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Regarding Insulin
I have to tell you, in all honesty, that I've never played around with the Insulin. The only time I use it is on the Wednesday before a show, with my first meal of my carb up. 15 units of Insulin-R, and 200 grams of carbs. Simple carbs seem to work better when carbing up AND using Insulin. For all the other meals of my 3 day carb up, I eat complex carbs (rice-potatoes-oatmeal), and do NOT use the Insulin again. I never use it in the off-season.
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Re: Do you need insulin to make GH work
Well that's refreshing to hear. So what's all this noise about "needing" it in order to make the GH work, or to prevent you from becoming hypoglycemic? Your thoughts please. I really don't think you do need it to make the GH work. I've had the GH work very well for me. In fact, I can't imagine using the Insulin with the GH. I already stay so ridiculously full, there's no where for more carbs to go!!!
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Question: What is it like being 300lbs, does it restrict you in everyday life (ie: walking up stairs etc)? Ive heard some people (Dorian Yates, Flex Wheeler) say that they didnt feel too good at that weight! Thanks TP (now does that stand for Tom Prince or Total Package?!?!?!?!?!)
Answer: Yeah.. TP stands for Tom Prince. What's it like being 300 pounds? I'm actually very comfortable at that weight. I'm normally somewhere between 305-308 in the off-season, and I'm told that I carry it very well (meaning: No arms way out to the sides doing a perpetual lat spread, I can walk like a normal human being, etc.). Only down side is clothes shopping and sleeping. Whichever side I fall asleep on goes numb in about an hour, so I toss and turn all night. Clothes are almost never off the rack.. not that I buy or wear a ton of really nice clothes. Most of my stuff, obviously, is gym wear.
There's something about being strong at 300 pounds that makes you feel great, too. Not sure if that's just my own ego or what.. but I like it. After all, I am doing this sport for only ONE real reason.. because I LIKE IT. Your right, that was a weird question, and I hope I answered what you were looking for. LOLOL.-tp
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Question: Concerning the NOC 2001. If it's not too much trouble, could you go into this in more detail. Specifically, what your cutting diet looks like now and what you were doing wrong before. i.e. where you eating too many cals, carbs, not enough cardio, were you overdoing the protein etc... Also, maybe if possible mention some OTC supplements you like when cutting.
Answer: "The best thing, however, was FINALLY nailing my diet right. It's taken a long-a$$ time to get it right" What worked right at the 2001 NOC for me may not help you at all. I've always been an extreme perfectionist and very meticulous when it comes to my dieting, training, and supplementation. While this has helped me assist other athletes as they prepare for shows, it has actually, more often than not, HURT me.
I have a bad tendency to want to overdue EVERYTHING, training-wise. I like using analogies from other sports, and I'll give you the one I use MOST OFTEN in describing my own personal battles with dieting: If you take 100 baseball players, and give them all an extra half an hour of batting practice every day, 99 of them will be better hitters. But, for a dieting bodybuilder, an extra 30 minutes of cardio, or an extra 30 minutes of training can be DETRIMENTAL. Now, add to that my constant drive to get leaner and leaner, and what you have (in me, that is), is a guy who's actually determined as hell to run himself into the ground with overtraining and eating too little.
It's an over-achiever's mentality to constantly try an improve. Most professional athlete's are extremely driven and motivated people. Because of the very nature of a bodybuilding diet, it's actually EASY to over-train, and over-diet. I would offer to you that a triathlete trains harder, year-round, than a professional bodybuilder does. However, even in extreme activity like that of a competing triathlete, they get to EAT as much as they want. Thus, always fueling every athlete's strongest muscle.. HIS MIND. I realize most athlete's aren't geniuses, but the motivation, drive, and determination all comes from your brain. Take away the brain's fuel (carbs), and you get an athlete that may make mistakes because he's not thinking to clearly.
ALL OF THIS WAS MY PROBLEM.
Chris Cormier likes to give me a hard time and say "TP, don't hit the panic button!" Meaning, just relax, and go about your business. So, for the NOC last year, I kept my cardio at a somewhat normal level: I started at 20 minutes a day at 16 weeks out, and worked my way up to 40 minutes, TWICE a day. This is WAY less than the 2 hours a day I used to do. I also never let my carb intake go below 250 grams a day. I had been going down to 125-150 grams in the past, which at an in shape 250+, is ridiculously too low.
Finally, I leaned on Chad Nicholls, my nutritionist and one of my best friends, ALOT. I had always listened, but last year, I let him dictate everything I did with regards to my diet. Chad let me just be an athlete who had to listen, and I let him be the coach. It was that simple. Basically, to let Chad be great FOR ME, I had to get out of the way, and let him do his job.
As far as cutting supplements: I used mostly Clenbuterol (2 days on-1 day off), and used Ephedrine on the one day off between Clen days. I added in my Cytomel (thyroid drug) at 10 weeks out, and kept the dose really low, never going above 50 mcg.'s/day.
I would NOT recommend using Cytomel or any thyroid drug if you are NOT going to compete. Anyone who reads this, please be careful. Peace-tom prince
