Josh Leo Interview - New Star; Bright Future

On July 17, 2010 the IDFA International Championships were held in Toronto, ON to a packed house of enthusiastic fans at the Jane Mallet Theatre. First time competitor Josh Leo stepped on stage and quickly impressed the judges with his top notch conditioning and muscle development. Being a Natural bodybuilder, Josh depends a great deal on utilizng the right supplements to give him the edge he needs over his competition. At Cygen Labs, we were so pleased that Josh chose to use our products for his show prep that we asked him to do an interview for us, telling him about his first experience stepping on stage. The transcript is below:

Cygen Labs: Welcome Josh and congratulations on placing so high in your first contest!
Thank you for joining the Cygen Labs team to talk about your first experience stepping on stage at the IDFA International Championships.

Let’s start off with a brief background – How to get you get started?

Josh: I first got involved in weight lifting and training when I was in my second year of university studying for an undergraduate degree in Kinesiology and Physical Education. From there, I began to do some of my own research on muscle hypertrophy training, and with the help of my educational background, I started to piece together a successful outlook on how to build muscle size, growth, and strength.

Cygen Labs: Tell us more about your contest prep – how do you feel this went for your first attempt?

Josh: My contest prep was challenging yet fantastic at the same time. I had major support from my family, friends, and of course from my two coaches: Hans Lauro and Luka Treska, two of the best in the business.

My diet was on point from the get go at 14 weeks out and I never took it for granted. I feel I could not have come into the contest any better: my diet was not just precise, but perfect moving closer and closer to show date. I also had the support from Cygen Labs, using the Toragen product: a wicked muscle receptor activator that got me super lean yet stronger at the same time pre contest.

As far as my training, it was filled with non-stop intensity that had several changes along the way: both in terms of Cardio and Resistance Training. The closer I got to the date of the contest, the more my resistance training went from lifting for hypertrophy to muscular endurance and conditioning.

Cygen Labs: What did you find most difficult about the experience?

Josh: One of the most challenging aspects of training for my contest was watching my social life being sacrificed. When you have fantastic friends like mine who wanted me to come out with them on a regular basis, there was nothing harder then turning down some good nights out because you have early morning cardio the next day. Fortunately, I had great friends who supported me 100% and knew what I had to do was crucial. Additionally, people think that fighting off cravings is one of the most challenging elements of contest prep, but I would disagree and say that the mental fatigue is much more difficult. You really have to have a strong mind that pushes you to train hard every single scheduled work-out. If you don't have self-motivation and discipline on a constant basis, you can forget about being successful.

Cygen Labs: So you’ve got a degree in Kinesiology from Wilfrid Laurier University and you also worked at the retail level selling sport nutrition supplements – what ultimately made you reach out and choose Cygen Labs?

Josh: Definitely the uniqueness of the line! Like I stated earlier, The Torgen played a fundamental role in keeping me both lean and strong on a calorie restricted diet. I was getting learner but stronger! The trigonella foenum-graecum extract Torobolic is the real deal and surpassed any of my expectations. Coming from a science background it was the Science behind the line. The Cygen team made this evident to me when I emailed them asking about the studied conducted by Dr. Colin Wilborn, PhD, CSCS at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. That put confidence in my hands, especially when competing in a natural show such as the IDFA!

Cygen Labs: What are you currently using from there line up and why?

Josh: Currently I am using Cygen Toragen, Exotest, Multi-Pack and Fish Oil - which is working out perfect for me right now as I started my two month rebound to improve on my weak points before transitioning into off-season.

Year round I use the ISO-90 as my main source of powder protein – The taste and mixability is bang on!

Cygen Labs: So what’s next for you Josh?

Josh: I have always had a passion for the sport of bodybuilding and the features that come with it - whether it is supplements, diet or knowledge of training, I like to familiarize and educate myself as much as possible. It’s the only way to get better. I plan on having a strong offseason and competing again next spring where the goal in mind is one thing - to win and climb to the next level.

Josh, Thanks again for taking the time to site down and share your experience with us. All of us at Cygen Labs would like to congratulate you on placing so well in your first show, and we'd all like to wish you the best of luck in your upcoming shows. We're confident that you have a long and successful career ahead of you in the world of natural bodybuilding. Keep up the great work!