With 
us today is Cory Johnson. Congrats on a great showing! What made you decide to compete in the Men’s Physique Division?
I’ve been an athlete my whole life, and after I graduated from high school in 2009 I started working out hard for hockey. I grew to love the time in the gym almost as much as I loved playing hockey and after seeing some results, I was there lifting hard every day.
I had always known about bodybuilding and just recently found out about Men’s Physique, but it never really crossed my mind to compete until I met my trainer Adam Bonilla. We talked about some things and I pretty much just decided to make the jump and do a show!
Can you tell us a little about the show in which you most recently competed?
I just competed at the Colorado State Championships in Downtown Denver and it was amazing. I took 1st place in the Novice class and I finished 3rd in the Open A class. The people were amazing and the venue was incredible as well.
How did you feel after pre-judging?
I felt good after pre-judging. I was just hungry and tired! After I was done I stayed and watched some of my other Team Elite Physique members compete and then decided to go explore Downtown Denver since we had a few hours to kill. I ate some food and mostly just relaxed in a big restaurant until it was time to head back for the night show.
How did you feel about the final results of the show?
Being only my second show ever, it was an awesome start to the night when I won my Novice class and was able to stand up there and compete for the Novice overall. Like I said, I also took third place in my Open A class which I am extremely happy with. That being said, I am very competitive and after enjoying my placings, I was already looking forward and thinking about all of the things I can improve for next time! We won the best team award for Team Elite Physique, with my teammates taking home a few first places in their class trophies as well as an overall! It was definitely a great night for all of us.
What are your thoughts on the Men's Physique Division and what it may be able to do for your career?
I love the Men’s Physique division because it allows me to be the best version of myself. I love bodybuilding and the “get big” mentality, but unfortunately my body is not capable of that. I have been skinny my whole life and Men’s Physique is a way for me to work hard, eat well and push myself to another level.
The fact that it is judged more as an “athletic or attainable” look makes it even that more rewarding that I get to compete and look like this every day. As far as my career competing, I am trying to earn a sponsorship right now, but my goal is to go after an IFBB Pro Card for Men’s Physique. From there, who knows the possibilities, but I will just continue to love every minute of this lifestyle and enjoy it as much as I can.
Age: 22
Hometown: Littleton, Colorado
Current city: Denver, Colorado
Years training: 4 Months
Education: Entering my senior year for my BA at Metropolitan State University of Denver for Exercise Science and Nutrition.
Occupation: Student
Favorite type of training: Any, but I prefer to use free-weights.
Favorite body part to train: Shoulders or Legs
Favorite exercise: Deadlifts and Incline Bench Press
Rep range: 6-12
Number of sets: 4
Typical workout duration: Usually around 1 hour.
Training split:
Monday – Chest/Shoulders
Chest
Incline BB Press: 4 sets, 6 reps
Cable Flyes: 4 sets, 8 reps
Decline Machine Press: 4 sets, 10 reps
Flat DB Press Drop-set: 4 sets. 8/5/3/burnout
Shoulders
Smith Shoulder Press: 4 sets, 6 reps
DB Front Raises: 4 sets, 8 reps
Lateral Raise W/ Drop-set: 4 sets, 8/5/3/burnout
Thursday – Shoulders/Traps/Abs
DB Military Press: 4 sets, 6 reps
DB Lateral Raises: 4 sets, 8 reps
Straight Bar Front Raises: 4 sets, 10 reps
DB Bent-Over Rear Delt: 4 sets, 10 reps
Shoulder Press Machine Drop-set: 4 sets, 8/5/3/burnout
Smith Shrugs Drop-set: 4 sets, 8/5/3/burnout
Abs Circuit 4-5 sets, 1 minute rest after completing
Decline Crunch: 20 reps
Seated Straight Bar Torso Twists: 25 Each Side
Hanging Knee Raises: 30 reps
Cable Crunch: 20 reps
Friday – Biceps/Triceps/Calves
Superset:
DB Incline Curls:4 sets, 6 reps
DB Reverse Incline Kickbacks: 4 sets, 6 reps
Superset:
Cable Curls: 4 sets, 10 reps
Cable Extensions: 4 sets, 10 reps
Superset:
BB Curls W/ Drop-set: 4 sets, 8/5/3/burnout
BB French Press W/ Drop-set: 4 sets, 8/5/3/burnout
Calves
Standing calf raises: 4 sets, 20 reps
Donkey Calf Raises, 4 sets, 15 reps
Leg press Calf Extensions: 4 sets, Burnout
Tuesday – Back/Biceps/Abs
Cable Pulldowns : 4 sets, 6 reps
Pull-ups: 4 sets, 10 reps
T-Bar Rows: 4 sets, 8 reps
Single Arm DB Rows: 4 sets, 10 reps
Cable Rows Drop-set: 4 sets, 8/5/3/burnout
Incline DB Curl W/ Drop-set: 4 sets, 8/5/3/burnout
EZ Bar Curls: 4 sets, 10 reps
Abs Circuit 4-5 sets, 1 minute rest after completing
Decline Crunch: 20 reps
Seated Straight Bar Torso Twists: 25 Each Side
Hanging Knee Raises: 30 reps
Cable Crunch: 20 reps
Wednesday – Legs
10 Minute Stairmaster Warm-up
Squats: 4 sets, 6 reps
Deadlift: 4 sets, 8 reps
Leg Press: 4 sets, 10 reps
Leg Extensions Drop-set: 4 sets, 8/5/3/burnout
Lying Leg Curls Drop-set: 4 sets, 8/5/3/burnout
Standing BB Calve Raises: 4 sets, 10 reps
Saturday/Sunday – Rest Day
Typical daily eating plan:
Meal 1: Protein shake
Meal 2: Breakfast:
Dry oatmeal, Eggs, Multi-Vitamin, Pro-biotic, Fish Oil Supplement
Meal 3: 4 Fish Oil Supplement, Ground Turkey, Brown Rice
Pre-workout: Siberian Ginseng, vitamin C, favorite pre-workout supplement
Meal 4: Quinoa, Ground Turkey
Meal 5: Sweet Potato, Chicken Breast, Asparagus, Olive oil
Meal 6: Beef, Romaine lettuce, blueberries, Fish oil supplement, Casein protein shake
Favorite supplement: 
Currently either Pro-supps Mr. Hyde Pre-workout or Optimum Nutrition 100% Gold Standard Whey Protein
What peaked your interest in training?
Seeing how fast my body has changed for the better in these last few months has motivated me even more to keep pushing myself, and see how far I can go with all the hard work and proper diet.
Who influences/influenced your training?
My biggest influence would have to be Frank Zane. He has the perfect aesthetics and I can only aim to look even a little bit similar to him one day. More modern influences would probably have to be Steve Cook, Alex Carneiro, Jaco De Bruyn, and Rob Riches.
Sports: I have played Hockey since I was five years old, and still play for my university’s competitive team.
Special interests: Hockey, Skittles, watching movies, playing with my dogs
Physique, fitness, bodybuilding competition history:
2013 NPC Steel City Championships:
1st: Open A Class
3rd: Novice
2013 Colorado State Championships:
1st: Novice A Class
3rd: Open A Class
Awards and/or accomplishments:
I competed and placed in my first event NPC show on June 29, 2013.
Next planned competition:
November 16, 2013 at the 2013 NPC Met-RX Rocky Mountain Bodybuilding, Fitness, Figure & Bikini Championships
What keeps you on track towards reaching your goals?
This is something I love and I want to go as far as I can with it. I love putting in hard work and seeing results in return. My family, friends and coach all keep me in line and on track to reach my main goal of becoming an IFBB Men’s Physique Pro.
Interesting fact or something you would like our readers to know about you:
I have been on the honor roll at my university and should be graduating in May 2014 with a BA in Exercise Science and Nutrition and have a G.P.A. of 3.3.
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