Two-time Classic Physique champion Breon Ansley will compete at the 2022 Classic Physique Olympia, potentially for the last time in that division, before changing to 212. The 42-year-old bodybuilder maintains a tight physique but has changed his diet in the 2022 off-season to bulk up. Adding on size is his potential avenue to dethroning three-time reigning Classic Physique Olympia champion Chris Bumstead.
Ansley will also have to compete with the expert poser and two-time Classic Physique Olympia runner-up Terrence Ruffin. Ansley is no stranger to adversity and shared what his diet during prep is like in a video published on his YouTube channel on Oct. 5, 2022. Check it out below:
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The video’s main focus was to show Ansley’s daily eating schedule as he preps for the Olympia, but it also gave a behind-the-scenes look at how the elite classic physique champion lives. “You guys always love to see what I’m eating,” Ansley expressed, “…what the calorie intake is, what we do throughout the day, what we require out of our bodies.”
Ansley begins each day with 45 minutes of fasted cardio. This is to get his metabolism bumping and his appetite pumping. A study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism in 2019 suggests that performing fasted cardio before breakfast burns double the amount of pure fat calories than those who performed cardio non-fasted after breakfast. (1)
Meal One
Meal one consisted of just protein and fats. Ansley cooked up a scramble of one cup of egg whites and one whole egg and scarfed it down.
I like to eat by 8 a.m. sharp.
It was the beginning of Ansley’s contest prep diet — 12 and a half weeks out from the Olympia — and he had just received his updated meal plan from his coach. This video marks the beginning of a new and improved Olympia package for Ansley as he finishes off his time in Classic Physique.
Meal Two
Ansley’s second meal, before his training session at the gym, consisted of six ounces of ground chicken and one cup of jasmine rice. While getting in his calories, Ansley discussed the balancing act of being an elite athlete while simultaneously being a content creator in the public eye. The days of eating, training, and sleeping without other burdens have been over for a while. Bodybuilders have businesses; they have to film content. That is Ansley’s life in bodybuilding.
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Bodybuilders are more in the limelight in the modern day than in the renowned eras of the sport decades ago, primarily because of social media and the higher volume of public appearances and socializing on behalf of sponsors and other ambassador-like responsibilities. Bodybuilding isn’t the sole job of a bodybuilder because bodybuilding doesn’t pay for itself.
Meals Three, Four, & Five
Fresh out of the gym and ready for his post-training meal, which was essentially the same as meal two: six ounces of diced chicken and one cup of jasmine rice. Fade several hours later to 10:45 p.m. for his fourth meal: a heartier four ounces of bison and one cup of sweet potato. His fifth and final meal consisted of one cup of veggies in the form of a mixed greens salad and four more ounces of bison.
Ansley doesn’t advise eating a meal and then going straight to bed. He suggests giving the body time to begin the digestive process is better. So after meal five, Ansley relaxed for half an hour to forty-five minutes before finally hitting the hay for the night.
Wrap Up
Ansley uses two scales to ensure his weight is on point every morning. He wasn’t to come in as sharp as possible to the 2022 Olympia but suggested that he won’t need to be as stringent regarding the scale once he transitions to the 212 division since his weight cap will be higher.
Should Ansley find his way back to the Classic Physique Olympia throne, he would tie Bumstead for the most titles all-time with three before vacating the crown and competing in 212 division pro shows in 2023.
References
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Robert M Edinburgh, Helen E Bradley, Nurul-Fadhilah Abdullah, Scott L Robinson, Oliver J Chrzanowski-Smith, Jean-Philippe Walhin, Sophie Joanisse, Konstantinos N Manolopoulos, Andrew Philp, Aaron Hengist, Adrian Chabowski, Frances M Brodsky, Francoise Koumanov, James A Betts, Dylan Thompson, Gareth A Wallis, Javier T Gonzalez, Lipid Metabolism Links Nutrient-Exercise Timing to Insulin Sensitivity in Men Classified as Overweight or Obese, The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, Volume 105, Issue 3, March 2020, Pages 660–676, https://doi.org/10.1210/clinem/dgz104
Featured image: @breonma_ on Instagram