Our translation of Peter McGough's (Muscular Development) article on Victor Martinez:

Victor Martinez is the second Dominican bodybuilder with IFBB professional status after compatriot Tony Domenech. After winning the 2001 Nationals 2000, the bodybuilder received a prestigious pro card. After winning the Arnold Classic in 2007, where he beat the famous Phil Heath and Dexter Jackson in the top parade of the strongest bodybuilders, he confidently took 3rd position. Experts considered him the main nominee for the Mr. Olympia title in subsequent years. However, events were not in the strongman’s favor. If the bodybuilder had been more lucky in life, the predictions would probably have come true.

Childhood and adolescence

Victor is one of those who cannot be called lucky. was born in July 1973 in San Francisco de Macoris into a poor family. When I went to school, the desire to study was completely absent. My sister had to buy bananas to lure her first grader to school.

In 1979, the family moved to New York and settled in the north of Manhattan. Here the boy had to experience for himself how difficult it is to live in the Latin American ghetto. Street fights forced the teenager to take up strength sports . In addition, the boy was raised by a despotic father, which left its mark on the psyche. Tired of the beatings, at the age of 17 he left home and began to take care of himself. However, when his father became very ill, Martinez returned home and began caring for him.

Life

Martinez was the born in Fresno, California to migrant agricultural field workers of the Central Valley. He was one of twelve children. Victor attended California State University at Fresno and later obtained a graduate degree from Stanford University on a Wallace Stegner Creative Writing Fellowship. He began writing as a poet and published a book of poetry, “Caring for a House,” in 1992. He was a member of Humanizarte, a collective of Chicano poets, and later of the Chicano/Latino Writers' Center of San Francisco. He supported himself with jobs as a welder, truck driver, firefighter, teacher, and office clerk. In February 2011, he died of lung cancer at age 56 in San Francisco.

Good start

At this time, the guy met Stef Dickerson, who convinced him to seriously engage in bodybuilding and began to help him in this. Training in 1997 brought the first successes first place at the New York Metro Championship . In 1998, the muscleman began working with coach Victor Munoz and until 2001 he successfully performed at other NKA tournaments. Prize-winning places led to his participation in the “Night of Champions” competition, but the athlete could not rise higher than 8th place .

However, failure motivated me to new achievements . With the help of nutritionist Chris Aceto, he adjusts his diet , gains 100 kg of weight and quickly progresses in muscle mass. He was one step away from winning the Olympia in 2006, but his mother was dying of cancer. The bodybuilder could not cope with the shock and takes 3rd place . The next year he shows the best result and becomes second .

Plansedit edit code

In addition to participating in tournaments, Martinez has many plans. Among the priorities is to devote more attention to raising his sons (he has two), and the family as a whole. Vic is a regular author of articles for the famous magazine “Muscular Development”, where he writes the “Gym” column.

In addition, Martinez decided to follow the example of many famous bodybuilders and write his own book about bodybuilding. Martinez believes that today there are few good books for aspiring athletes, so his book will be a pleasant surprise for all fans of this sport. He's even considering getting a degree in management. This will most likely happen after your professional competitive career ends. All this is just a dream for now, so we wish the Dominican Titan success, perseverance on the path of building a powerful body and a great career.

Piggy bank of achievements

• In 2008, Victor wanted to confirm the title he received at Mister Classic, but again it didn’t work out. Due to an injury to the Achilles tendon, he had to undergo surgery and take a long time to recover, so the athlete did not have new records
• In 2011, the bodybuilder won first place at Classic Europe, but at Mr. Olympia
• In 2013, Martinez showed the 11th result , although before that he won the Montreal PRO.
• In 2016, the athlete confidently won the Baltimore Grand Prix.

History of professional fights

Training secrets

The Dominican bodybuilder is one of those who constantly keeps his muscles in good shape and does not let himself go. To avoid overload on the musculoskeletal system and heart, the bodybuilder divided the program into 3 parts :

• in the morning - aerobic exercise;
• in the afternoon - training in the hall;
• in the evening - cardio.

The complex includes compound and target exercises. These are: pullover, different types of deadlifts, squats with a barbell, lunges.

According to Victor:

“As long as the classics have an effect, they should be done.”

Trainings are held in 3+2 mode:

• on the first day, we target deltoids and trapezius ;
• in the 2nd – the bottom of the body ;
• on the 3rd – hands ;
• 5th – back ;
• 6th – biceps .
• According to the schedule, on the 4th and 7th days the muscles rest .

Training principles edit edit code

FULL CONCENTRATION

. To achieve elite status, the modern bodybuilder must learn extreme concentration. To do this, he needs to monitor the smallest details of the training process and diet. According to Martinez, without this success is simply impossible.

EXECUTION TECHNIQUE

. The first question that can be addressed to Martinez is: how does he maintain such an impressive form with his workload? Victor answers: “I have always loved lifting heavy weights. In the beginning, I focused on powerlifting, more important to me was how much I benched, not the size of my chest. Even now that I'm a professional bodybuilder, I don't finish my workout until I've lifted heavy weights." Vic says technique is extremely important when building an athletic physique. Despite the fact that Martinez is a pro, he carefully monitors the exercises performed by others, compares them with his own technique and draws conclusions for himself.

The main thing that an ideal technique provides is the ability to avoid injury. Victor always tries to listen to his body and claims that in bodybuilding it is the best adviser. Martinez encourages his clients in the gym, and all bodybuilding enthusiasts, to be attentive to their body, not to overload it and to be careful during training.

"OLD SCHOOL" - "OLD SCHOOL PRINCIPLES"

. Victor Martinez in his training program skillfully combines old, time-tested exercises with new approaches. He performs classic exercises such as squats, pullovers, and deadlifts. Martinez believes that you should not give up the classics as long as it brings the desired result.

GOOD NUTRITION ALL YEAR ROUND

. Vic is one of those bodybuilders who stays in great shape throughout the year. In order to stay toned, you need to stick to a diet even in the off-season. Constantly staying in shape, Martinez avoids physical and psychological problems in the pre-competition period, because... It’s easier for him to adjust his diet and achieve his goals.

CARDIO TRAINING

. Martinez's training day is divided into three parts: a morning cardio session, an afternoon gym session, then an evening cardio session. This principle will allow the cardiovascular system to work stably even under high loads. And the day flies by faster, as Victor claims.

USE QUALITY SPORTS NUTRITION

. Victor urges you not to save money and choose high-quality sports nutrition. Martinez's sponsor is one of the most popular sports nutrition companies in the United States.

The daily dose of protein along with additives is 400 g.

Daily routine and nutritionedit | edit code

8:45-9:00 Get up. 1st meal. Oatmeal, egg whites and orange juice.

10:00 Cardio session. Duration about 45 minutes.

12:00 2nd meal. The Dominican dish “Platanos” is a pancake with bananas and cheese. Protein cocktail.

13:00-14:30 Training.

15:00 3rd meal. Grilled chicken and Turkish sandwiches.

18:00 4th meal. Protein cocktail.

19:00 Second cardio session.

21:00 5th meal. Turkey and rice. 0:00 6th meal. Steak and more rice and turkey.

Victor drinks up to 4 liters of water a day.

Anthropometric passport

The bodybuilder is mesamorphic by nature and created for strength sports. A proportionally pumped up figure is admirable. The aesthetic impression is slightly spoiled by the calves. Due to their anatomical features, against the backdrop of huge deltas, a wide torso and double biceps, they look less developed.

• With average height – 176 cm;
• weighs in the off-season ;
• after drying, loses weight up to 118 kg;
• biceps in diameter are 51 cm;
• waist circumference – 82 cm;
• hips – 77 cm;
• torso – 150 cm.

The athlete claims that the secret to his beautiful body is proper nutrition and training.

Works

Poetry

Caring For A House, Chusma House Publications, 1992, .mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:»\»»»\»»»'»»' "}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("/ /upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw- parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url(“//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock- gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{ background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no- repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span, .mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw- parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{ font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1 -kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}ISBN 978-0-9624536-4-9

Unpleasant facts from the biography of Victor Martinez

Ironically, the jock more than once went straight from the podium to prison . The first time this happened was in 2004 for the sale of prohibited AAS drugs. To collect the dossier, the FBI had to install an agent in the hall for a year. Judging by how events developed, the athlete was greatly disturbing someone. Nevertheless, he spent 90 days behind bars , where he lost 18 kg of weight, although he trained whenever possible in the prison gym. If it weren't for the support of friend Ronnie Coleman, it's hard to say how it would have ended.

In 2011, in Spain, the bodybuilder won the European Arnold Classic. Before the hero of the sports chronicles had time to step off the ramp and accept the congratulations of the fans, he ends up in a colony for emigrants. This time he was accused of overstaying his green card. serve 7 months in Riker's Island and lose 27 kg.

Prisonedit edit code

In the United States, the presence of Latinos in correctional facilities is not surprising; rather, it is the norm. True, when one of the main contenders for the title “Mr.

Olympia”, this attracts the attention of many. By the way, Martinez was arrested back in 2000 for helping some athletes prepare for shows using steroids

The police believed that Vic was a big shot in the steroid trade. He was under surveillance until July 2004, when Martinez was arrested in the town of Fairview. He faced up to 10 years in prison, but given Martinez’s merits in sports, he was sentenced to 90 days in prison and five years probation. Vic says the following about his impressions: “While I was in prison, I lost about 10 kg of weight. I could have lost more, but I trained every day to stay at least in some shape. The hardest thing for me all this time was that I could not sleep properly because the doors were constantly opening and closing. The food was of poor quality, but the guards I knew brought me protein shakes, which helped a lot

The support of family and friends became very important in such a place. And most importantly

Ronnie Coleman visited me and it was great! Sport can lift a person to the skies, or it can break him. Victor Martinez survived and was able to continue his journey in professional bodybuilding. Time. his time in prison helped him set his priorities and decide never to return to prison.