Steve Cook is a professional physique competitor. He’s not a body builder, according to this GQ profile, because body builders look for mass while competitors like Steve go for proportion.
“Some people like having big, freaky body parts, but I like fitting into my suits,” he told GQ. He starts off each week with progress pictures for assessment, and if anything looks too ripped, he scales it back.
As for his diet, it’s also about balance.
Cook’s diet focuses on buzzword-y macronutrients, building every meal out of a combination of protein, carbs, and fat. This means lots of avocado in the morning and salads at night, along with dessert made by blending vanilla whey powder with cashew milk and ice, which whips into a convincing ice cream.
But the biggest surprise is that Cook can maintain his physique while eating at Chipotle four times a week, with Chick-fil-A as a backup. His go-to is a double chicken burrito bowl, but he can customize to hit those macros as needed.
“For a long time, bodybuilders have been known to bulk and cut and bulk and cut, and you add mass, then reduce a lot by the time you get on stage,” he says. “I don’t, though, because I try to stay photoshoot-ready year-round and to always have a six-pack. So I try to stay somewhat lean and slowly increase calories. If you add quality mass slowly, you don’t have to cut.” Or at least not bulk/cut drastically. After a competition, he scales back on protein, bumping the other macros up to make up the difference and adding a half pound of weight a week. It’s kind of the opposite of what you’d expect. By keeping his “bulk” to just two pounds a month while keeping his workouts going, he’s able to add mass and maintain those cascading abs.
I don’t consider Chipotle fast food though. It’s good food in a fast food atmosphere. When it isn’t making people shit their brains out from viruses and bacterias.
To see his complete eating regime, check out the article here.