How and when did you start training?  

While still at school, my mom bought me a series of PT sessions and it all went from there.  I started going to the gym regularly, watched other people, learned and tried out different ways of training for myself.  Just found I loved it.  I also trained as a tennis coach and made my living from this until I discovered other people wanted to know about my training philosophy and methods.

 

What mistakes did you make as a newbie?

Diet definitely. I had trained as a chef for a short while but really didn’t know anything about what kind of foods I should eat to support a fitness regime. Took me a while to understand how to adapt my diet for desired results while keeping it clean – I hardly eat anything out of a packet and spend a lot of time cooking from scratch for best results and long term health and fitness.

Also not training hard enough… I think a lot of people do this, not realising just how hard you have to push yourself to achieve top results.

 

We know consistency is key, what tips would you give to anyone struggling to stay consistent?

Have a plan and stick to it!  Make sure its written down and there are clear goals at the end.  That means training and diet. Focus on your own goals and only train with someone who has goals consistent with yours.  Don’t get side-tracked.

 

Do you listen to music whilst training?

Three of my favourites:

• Lose Yourself – Eminem
• Sail – AWOLNation
• This aint a scene – Fall Out Boy

 

What do you think about when you have to
dig deep and push out that last rep?

I think about making it count - the difference between completing the reps and not…I can't move on until I have done every rep I set out to do, just something I have to do mentally to make sure I feel I have achieved my goals for the day – even if it sometimes means using a rest pause.

 

How far ahead do you plan and prepare ahead
your nutrition and training if at all?

Eating is a major priority and think about it constantly, so I always know where my next meal or snack is coming from.  I cook and prepare everything in advance. Tupperware is king.  I always take food out with me – I never get caught without access to my preferred foods.  To me this is always the key as it's so easy to go off plan if you have to buy something on the run.  I am never without my bag of almonds and a tupperware container with freshly cooked chicken and sweet potato.

 

What are you most proud of?  

How far I have come!  From a teenager who lost his way and who led a far from healthy lifestyle weighing at about 130lbs (under 60Kg) to where I am now.  If anyone had told me I would look like this, feel like this and be making a living from fitness and a healthy lifestyle I would never have believed it.

Do you bulk and cut or stay lean year round?

I rotate my own bulking and cutting regimes with rest periods and times of maintenance, depending on when I have shows, events or photo shoots.  But winter – December through January - is my peak bulking time when I build as much mass as possible for cutting towards end of February.  Once I have achieved my peak shredded condition I will maintain it through summer with breaks and vacation time.

 

What types of cardio do you do?

I am a big fan of HIIT cardio and find this is a big part of shedding body fat.  It's also great to feel like you have really pushed yourself at the end of a HIIT session – I usually try to do 20 minutes with additional warmup and cool down.  When I’m bulking I’ll mainly do LISS for general fitness and cardiovascular health, using HIIT only as a tool to help control body fat gains if it becomes a problem.

What is your training routine like?

Typical week of training: Workout here

 

What is your nutrition/diet like when trying
to get in peak condition?

I have developed my own carb-cycling regime which I can fine tune as needed to get into the condition I want for competitions, photo shoots, etc., and I include it in plans for all my clients wanting to cut.  I only eat fresh foods and am a big believer in clean eating – this way I know exactly what I am putting in my body.  I have also got to know what works for me by trying different things over the years – I have never used anyone else’s diet – always figured it out myself until I now know my body well enough to make the adjustments I need with confidence.

 

Who are your favourite athletes, bodybuilders
or fitness models?

Greg Plitt was someone who I admired and apart from that it's mainly people who are willing to help and motivate others.

What supplements do you use if any?

I keep my supplements fairly light but my staples I wouldn’t be without are whey protein and BCAAs from EHPLabs.  I am also loving their pre-workout BUZZ which I have started using recently and find it energises me to really push myself in every training session.

 

What top 3 tips would you give to anyone wanting
to get CutAndJacked?

1. Eat clean.
2. Mix it up – tempo, variations of same exercise, etc.
3. Always progress… increasing weight, making it harder every time.

Ross Dickerson
Born 1989 in London, England.
Height - 6’1”  
Weight ranges from competition weight of 86Kg to off season 94Kg  

Instagram: instagram.com/dickersonross
Facebook: Facebook.com/DickersonRoss
Twitter: Twitter.com/dickersonross
Website: www.dickersonross.com