Interview on Nutrition with
Mr. South Africa Elton King Horn
By Veeraj Vic Goyaram, Cape Town, South Africa
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| The thing that Elton does the most besides eating and training is smiling |
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| A very old pic of Elton and yours truly at work |
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| Balance is the name of the game |
Vic: On behalf of Bodybuilding Mauritius, thanks very much "brather" Elton for taking the time for this interview. We appreciate it very much. For those who don’t know you can you please give us a little background on yourself?
Elton: Always a pleasure Vic! Hello everyone out there. I'm glad to be doing this interview and I hope that you will benefit from my tips to follow. Well, my odyssey into the muscle world started in 2002 at the age of 19 when I started training for bodybuilding. I have been very successful as a skater in my teens and it kept me always very active and lean. It did not take me long before I jumped onstage in 2003 and so far I have done 27 shows in 8 years. I work as a supplements manager and consultant and I also do stunts for Hollywood movies.
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| Elton, the movie stuntsman on a filming set |
Vic: Aweh, I know about Elton the Stuntsman. Tell us which movies you did.
Elton: I have done six movies so far. My most memorable one is when I was the stunts double for famous American rapper LL Cool J. I also played in the “Scorpions King” movie which I really enjoyed.
Vic: What are the highlights of your competitive career and what are you currently up to bodybuilding-wise?
Elton: I enjoyed every single show I entered but cherish my victory on my competitive debut in 2003 at the Cape Town Classics where I won the Junior Overall title. The same year I went on to win the junior overall at the SA Novice Champs. My best moment so far remains of course my heavyweight and overall title at the 2010 WPF Mr. South Africa. I have also won the popular Shameen Classics 3 times before winning the SAs. I have since taken a layoff and I am making my comeback soon.
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| Elton's competitive debut in 2003 as a junior The Cape Town Classics where he won the Jr. Overalls |
Vic: Let us get to business! Elton, in your capacity as a supplements manager and consultant, what is the most common nutritional mistake that you find most beginners make?
Elton: Indeed Vic, in my several years working in supplements I have seen that most beginners tend to view supplements as an alternative to eating rather than something that goes hand-in-hand with eating. It is not uncommon to see a beginner getting a mass builder supplement and then decide that’s the only thing he will ingest. Another mistake I see, especially among hard gainers, is under eating and thus insufficient intake of calories. They commonly overestimate their food intake but when you analyse their diet you see that it is largely insufficient and often filled with empty calories. Similarly, many overweight beginners are also not getting nutrients in the right ratio for their bodytype. I have seen very many people walking into the store and looking at supplements even before having started training! I agree that these guys can't know everything at once and it is my job to help them get started.
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| His early competitive days In one of his 3 Shameen Classic wins |
Vic: Certainly, supplements are everywhere on the Internet, magazines. But what would be your nutrition advice to those starting out and still wanting to use supplements?
Elton:I advise setting a goal first of all, be it fat loss or mass gain, and then start planning your nutrition according to those goals. Use supplements that will help you achieve them. Always think in terms of a diet program as a foundation on which a supplement program may be added to. The supplements are only useful to fill “gaps” in your nutrition program. Always prioritize feeding! Then again when including supplements, stick to basics like protein which is one of your most important macronutrients. Do not worry about pre-workouts and testosterone boosters and rather spend your money on protein. Other supplements come later. Your main concern should be to ensure your quota of macronutrients according to your goals. You may take the best creatine, pre-workouts and boosters but you aren't going anywhere if you are not ensuring the proper intake of macronutrients. Also, it helps to empower yourself in terms of knowledge on training and nutrition by reading books, magazines, asking experienced people and visiting trusted websites like Bodybuilding Mauritius that I myself enjoy.
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| About to pump up before going onstage at his last show 2010 Mr. South Africa |
Vic: What supplements do you currently use?
Elton: I always diet very strict and my offseason diet does not deviate much from my pre contest diet. I get only about 5kg heavier offseason. I still eat very clean in the offseason and the only change I bring in my diet is the addition of two home-made mass builder shakes to my 5 solid meals. I do not believe in eating unhealthy in the offseason under the pretense of gaining mass. Supplement-wise I use a whey protein, BCAAs, multivitamins and flax seed oil.
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| Food is your main fuel for the body |
Vic: Home-made mass builder shake! I always preach that. Do you mind giving us the recipe?
Elton: This shake is called the M3 (Mitchell’s Plain Muscle Machine) mass shake, in tribute to where I am from (Mitchell’s Plain, Cape Town). It consists of 50g whey protein powder, 150g oats, 2 tbsp flax seed oil, 15g Goji berries and 10g BCAA. I drink this shake twice a day, as breakfast and then again postworkout (minus the flax seed oil).
Vic: I also see that you like intraworkout drinks. Do you mind again telling us what’s in your gym water bottle?
Elton: I got this recipe from you. You call it the “Vic Intrabolic” if I remember correctly. I believe a lot in intraworkout nutrition which keep my muscles fueled up while training. I feel fuller, more energetic and get better pumps during my workouts. This intraworkout drink contains medium GI carbs and BCAAs, with extra L-Leucine thrown in. How much I consume of these is dependent on the task at hand. On a leg or back day, it’d down 100g carbs and 10g total BCAAs in order to get through those gruelling sets of squats and deadlifts. On other days I stick to 50g carbs and 5g total BCAAs.
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| Intraworkout drinks keep me full during my workouts |
Vic: I see you are very dedicated. I have never seen you without your lunch bag. You brought it I remember 2 years ago even when going to the nightclub after we went to see the Western Province bodybuilding show together. It was full of rice and chicken breasts. How important is meal planning to you?
Elton: Laughs! I am lucky because my mother cooks for me but then I don’t give her too much trouble. So my food is basic: chicken breasts, brown basmati rice, and broccoli all year long except for Christmas family get together. I will substitute the chicken for beef in only 3 meals in a week. For me food planning is as important as planning your training when you go to the gym. If you go to the gym without a battle plan you will catch up on nonsense while training. You don’t leave for a trip in your car without fuel in the tank either. On days I work I will pack all my meals for the day in the morning. On days I am off if I know I will be out of the house for more than 3 hours I always pack something to eat. For me food is very important and accounts for the majority of my bodybuilding expenses.
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| Elton and his food bag are inseparable. He never came to work a single day without it. SERIOUSLY. |
Vic: Can you run us through a sample daily “offseason” diet, meal by meal?
Elton:
Meal 1 (9am): M3 mass homemade mass gainer
Meal 2 (11am): 200g chicken, 100g brown rice, 1 cup broccoli
Meal 3 (1pm): same as meal 2
Meal 4 (4pm): same as meal 2
Training (6pm): Intraworkout drink
Postworkout (7:30pm): M3 mass gainer (minus flax seed oil)
Meal 5 (8:30pm): same as meal 2
Meal 6 (11pm): chicken only (200g)
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| One of Elton's 5 solid meals of the day. Keep it basic! Chicken, rice and brocolli. He uses Mrs. Balls chutney sauce to add some flavour |
Vic: Elton, when are we seeing you again onstage and what are your goals and what will fans see new on Elton next time around?
Elton: I think I have done a lot of contests already in South Africa and I want to compete internationally. I intend obtaining my qualification for the BBSA (IFBB) Nationals by doing the BBSA Western Province championships and then hopefully obtain my ticket for the World Amateur Championships. I would like to work more on proportions by bringing up my hamstrings and calves to the same level as my overpowering quads in order to maintain the balance. At my last show in 2010 I was 96kg (211lbs) onstage. My goal is to stand onstage at just under 100kg (220lbs) with great condition.
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| Elton's showstopping physique at the 2010 Mr. South Africa |
Vic: Good luck towards that, bro. All your fans want you back onstage and we are sure you that they will get their patience’s worth. I can see you have a lot of fans especially on AfricanMuscle.com? Any message for them and Mauritian fans?
Elton: Thanks, brather Vic. I will do my best. Yes, I like checking Bodybuilding Mauritius and Africanmuscle.com. It is definitely a breeze of fresh air on the online community as I see that many websites are more commercially oriented. I see that I am up in a contest on Africanmuscle.com for African Bodybuilder of the year 2012. This website is very well organized and I am amazed to see the amount of talent in other African countries. It makes me proud to be African. Bodybuilding Mauritius is up there too and loaded with great advice and regular updates. I am very impressed by Mauritian bodybuilders as well. I wish to say thanks to everyone and don’t give up on your dreams. Coming soon will be a training article where I will share my best training advice with you. I am glad to be among you. Hopefully I can come to Mauritius one day. Vic's dream is the "Bodybuilding Mauritius Pro Grand Prix", I know.
Vic: Thanks Elton. Bodybuilding Mauritius is just a blog website and we take great care to load it with information. This is just a start for better things ahead. We are planning to get “bodybuildingmauritius.com” website for 2013 where there will be forums, galleries, our own training videos and lots of articles properly organized. This will be my gift to the Mauritius Bodybuilding community. Thanks for this interview Elton. It is much appreciated, bro!
Elton: The pleasure is mine. Good luck with your website. I have no doubt it will be great as it is from you and people with good intentions.
More pics of Elton
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| Monster back |
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