Meet the king of fitness, Nick Cheadle. His diet of dedication’s what it took for him to win the 2017 Bodybuilding.com spokesmodel title. We chat with the winner about all things health and fitness and he shares his training regime.
What got you started?
Originally, my focus was around looking better and feeling more confident. I didn’t particularly care for how much weight I could lift or how sustainable my diet was, or if I would be able to do things for a long time. I was purely interested in looking better.
Now, though, I really enjoy strength training and the challenges involved with lifting more weight over time. I want to perform in a better, stronger manner, week after week.
What is your workout routine?
My training typically revolves around heavier strength and hypertrophy-based compound movements with appropriate accessory work. It’s a fusion of strength, hypertrophy and powerlifting – powerbuilding, if you will – ensuring that I hit major muscle groups and lifts multiple times throughout the week. A sample routine might look something like this…
How do you lock down your cardio work?
It’s horses for courses – I tend to incorporate other forms (HIIT & MISS) at times. High intensity interval training (HIIT) has the advantage of being more time efficient, but as it does tend to take more out of you. Medium intensity steady state cardio (MISS) can make sense during the latter stages of a fat loss or competition prep phase of training. So long as you’re ensuring your energy expenditure is on point with your activity levels and goals, either will suffice though. My general recommendation is to stick with what you prefer.
Nick Cheadle’s training regime
Monday: Moderate deadlifts/chest/shoulders
Deadlifts 5 x 8-10 @ 70-75% 1RM
Snatch grip deadlifts 3 x 10-12
Incline dumbbell bench press 4 x 12-15
Decline cable flyes 4 x 20
Dumbbell shoulder press 4 x 8-10
Dumbbell lateral raises 4 x 12-15
Tuesday: Heavy squats/lower body accessory
Squat 5 x 5-6 @ 80-85% 1RM
Weighted walking lunges 4 x 30
Leg extensions 4 x 20
Hamstring curls 4 x 20
Weighted calf press 5×10
Wednesday: Chest/back/shoulders
Incline dumbbell bench press 5 x 10-12
Decline cable flyes 5 x 20
Wide grip chins (weighted) 4 x 6-8
Pulldowns 4 x 12-15
Single arm dumbbell rows 4 x 10-12 each
Machine rows 4 x 12-15
Standing overhead barbell press 4 x 6-8
Seated dumbbell shoulder press 4 x 12-15
Bent over rear delt flyes 4 x 15
Thursday: Cardio/core
Cardio 6-8 x 15-20sec sprint, 1:40 active recovery
Barbell rollouts 3 x 15
Weighted v-sits 3 x 15
Hanging leg raises 3 x 20
Exercise ball oblique crunches 3 x 15 each
Cable woodchops 3 x 15 each
Russian twists 3 x 50
Weighted calf press 5 x 12
Friday: Heavy deadlifts/back/chest
Deadlifts 5 x 5-6 @ 80-85%
Rack pulls 3 x 8
Incline bench press 4 x 8
Incline dumbbell flyes 4 x 12
Decline cable flyes 4 x 20
Wide grip pulldowns 4 x 12-15
Barbell bent over rows 4 x 12-15
Seated machine rows 4 x 12-15 each
Straight arm cable pushdowns 3 x 12-15
Saturday: Moderate squats
Squats 5 x 8-10 @ 70-75% 1RM
Leg press 3 x 50
Leg extensions 4 x 25
Hamstring curls 4 x 25
Calf raises 5 x 15
Sunday: Rest/cardio (depending on goals)
6-8 x 15-20 sec sprint, 1:40 active recovery.
