Jason Dwarika stumbled into fitness accidentally, but it was an accident that ironically almost took him out of the game.
Vital stats
Before:
23 years old
5’ 10”
153lb
12%bf
After:
33 years old
5’ 10”
183lb
8%bf
Fight before you lift
I picked up my first dumbbell and gym membership in February of 2004. The interesting part was that I originally went to sign up for kick-boxing but the gym hadn’t started enrollment yet. I decided to mess around with the weights while I waited.
It was supposed to be a temporary bridge but it never quite panned out that way – while working on my strength and size, the weight room felt like home and I was officially hooked.
Accidentally sidelined
My first hurdle came in 2007, when I was involved in a car accident that permanently damaged my knee. I could barely change direction at speed due to the pain and was told I’d probably never squat more than my bodyweight again – crushing news to any avid lifter and I tried my best not to become discouraged.
With more than a year rehab to tackle, I decided to take that negative experience and make something worthwhile from it. I found out that a fitness magazine were taking front cover entries from the public and it felt like a great goal. As they say, aim high!
To cut a long story short, I was shortlisted and called to London to shoot out of 28,000 entries and I made the top 10. I never thought I would be selected or reach as far as I did and it was at that point my love for health and fitness grew like a beanstalk. This ended up pushing me into the arms of the industry.
Change of fuel
These days, my diet doesn’t resemble that of a conventional bodybuilder. I first became vegetarian, then gradually vegan over the past 2 years.
My current dieting style is to count my daily macros which allows me to fine tune everything with ease, depending on my goal.
Flexibility of food
Flexibility has always been key for me because I love food! when it comes to meals, I do have a few staples that I always return to and that’s from the brand Field Roast, who make some awesome soy-free grain based products like sausages.
My other favorites are Gardein fishless fillets, Good Life ezekiel bread, Dayia dairy-free cheese and vegan pizzas.
Supplementing the change
If I’m on the go or short on time, I use Purely Inspired plant protein to make up my protein. Typically 1 scoop.
Zinc and magnesium to help with sleep quality and recovery.
Purely Inspired organic greens to help with balancing out my micronutrients and keeping my immune system up to scratch.
Muscletech Nano vapor for those days when coffee just doesn’t have enough kick
The workout
I follow an eight-day training regime which works well for me, teamed with my own training protocol which I’ve developed to maximize the time I have in the gym and my muscle building goals.
So, my weekly training split goes something like this;
Day 1 – Quads & Metabolic and conditioning (METCON) circuit
Day 2 – Chest & Shoulders
Day 3 – Back & Hamstrings
Day 4 – Biceps/Triceps/Calves/Abs & Technique day
Day 5 – Rest – usually active recovery, mountain biking, running with the pups
Day 6 – Quads & METCON circuit
Day 7 – Shoulder & Chest
Day 8 – Hamstrings & Back
Sets and reps: usually range from 8-10 sets for 3-6 reps on the first few exercises and end up being 3 sets of 20-25 reps finishing up a workout.
My cardio mainly consists of mountain biking singletrack. I have to keep this to a maximum of 6 hours per week which can be difficult sometimes because I really lose myself when I’m out on the track and before I know it I’ve burned 1,200 calories!
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