Victor Martinez – Complete Profile: Height, Workout And Diet

Victor Martinez is a retired IFBB Pro bodybuilder from Dominican Republic. He competed in the 2000s era of bodybuilding and presented his talent on the Mr. Olympia stage several times. ‘The Dominican Dominator’ is known for his massive and aesthetic physique. This article explores his biography, achievements, diet, workout routine and statistics.

Víctor Martínez Statistics

Victor Martinez Biography

Víctor Martínez is an IFBB-certified pro bodybuilder from San Francisco de Macorís, Dominican Republic. Martínez is the second Dominican bodybuilder to ever go pro in the IFBB.

He competed in NPC tournaments from 1997 through 2001 and earned his pro card at the 2000 NPC Nationals. His bodybuilding career was put on hold in 2009 when his sister, Eridania Rodríguez, was murdered by a handyman working in her building. However, Martínez persevered through his personal struggles and returned to the sport in 2010.

His career was again put on hold in 2011 after he returned to the US with an expired green card. Due to a prior conviction for selling steroids, he was unable to get it renewed and was briefly jailed. He beat the case and was allowed to return to the US in 2012. He has been an on-again, off-again regular on the Olympia stage since 2007.

Competition Results:

• 2017 Muscle Mayhem 1st
• 2016 Baltimore Pro 1st
• 2015 Mr. Olympia 9th
• 2014 Arnold Classic 4th
• 2014 Mr. Olympia 8th
• 2013 Arnold Classic Madrid 5th
• 2013 Mr. Olympia 11th
• 2013 Toronto Pro 1st
• 2013 New York Pro 2nd
• 2011 Arnold Classic Madrid 1st
• 2011 Mr. Olympia 4th
• 2011 Arnold Classic 3rd
• 2010 Mr. Olympia 8th
• 2009 Mr. Olympia 6th
• 2009 Arnold Classic 2nd
• 2007 Mr. Olympia 2nd
• 2007 Arnold Classic 2nd
• 2006 Mr. Olympia 3rd
• 2006 Arnold Classic 3rd
• 2005 San Francisco Pro 5th
• 2005 Mr. Olympia 5th
• 2005 New York Pro 3rd
• 2005 Arnold Classic 7th
• 2004 GNC Show of Strength Pro 1st
• 2004 Mr. Olympia 9th
• 2003 Night of Champions 1st
• 2002 Ironman Pro 9th
• 2002 Arnold Classic 13th
• 2001 Night of Champions 8th
• 2000 NPC Nationals 1st
• 2000 NPC Junior USA 1st
• 1999 NPC Bev Francis Atlantic States 16th
• 1997 NPC New York Metropolitan Championships 1st
• 1997 NPC New Jersey Suburban State Bodybuilding Contest 1st
• 1994 NPC Bev Francis Atlantic States 27th

Victor Martinez Workout

Victor Martinez’s physique is the perfect mix of size, proportions, aesthetics and conditioning. To maintain a 260 lbs physique at 5ft-9in tall, ‘The Dominican Dominator’ has to work extremely hard and follow a disciplined training routine. Even after his retirement from competition, Martinez has been able to retain the muscle mass and aesthetics because training wasn’t merely a professional compulsion for him. Instead, it has always been his passion that continues to motivate him to stay in shape even now.

He aims to retain the existing muscle mass and add more high quality muscle to the frame. He does not train unnecessarily heavy and relies on a high-volume training approach with a specific target of inducing hypertrophy and gaining strength.

Emphasis on Form and Technique

The volume of exercise or the amount of weight becomes redundant if the exercise is not performed with a proper form. Moreover, it can even lead to injuries and have adverse impact on joints when a person tends to ignore proper form or range motion. These are the two most important criteria in ‘The Dominican Dominator’s’ training routine.

Martinez chooses the weight that allows him to complete a full range of motion without compromising on the form. In one of the interviews, Victor Martinez said about his training approach:

“I learned to train the right way, lifting through a full range of motion and never using a weight that I couldn’t handle.”

Victor Martinez has often stressed upon the importance of developing a well-balanced physique where each body part is equally developed. He has always ensured that his body never had any part that was perceived weaker than others.

He achieves this by training every body part at least once a week. Martinez even went ahead and targeted the lagging parts of his physique twice or thrice each week to bring it at par.

Of course, Victor Martinez’s training approach changes with the specific goals he is working towards. For instance, he would change things up and work with heavier weights for lesser volume when strength gain is the purpose.

Training Philosophy

Victor Martinez does not subscribe to any extreme or radically different ideology when it comes to training. His training philosophy revolves around consistency to make long-term gains in terms of strength and muscle gain.

Over the years, the 50-year-old has had to deal with personal tragedies and unforeseen circumstances that could have broken most humans. However, Martinez has continued to evolve with dogged determination and maintained laser-like focus on getting better each day.

Victor Martinez was fortunate to get a good trainer early on in his bodybuilding career. This helped him not only to train the right way but also to avoid things that could be detrimental to his growth as a bodybuilder. Martinez once said:

“A good trainer also identifies exercises you need to incorporate to address weak points and exercises you don’t need to spend time on. But understand that no one person knows all the answers. I try to get different opinions.”

Cardio and Recovery

Victor Martinez is not averse to cardio workouts. He performs cardio two to three times every week during the off-season. But rapid fat loss is not the primary goal of this. Martinez prefers to cut down the calories for fat loss as it is a far more time-efficient way to achieve this. He performs the cardio sessions primarily to maintain cardiovascular health and improve circulation.

Martinez gives as much importance to rest and recovery as he gives to intense training. He usually trains four to five days every week and takes the rest of the days off. Although he changes the training routine from time to time as per the specific goal of the time, this is what Victor Martinez’s typical training week looks like:

Day 1 – Chest and Biceps

‘The Dominican Dominator mixes up free weight and machine exercises in his workouts and does not rely too much on either of these. His chest training session includes pressing and flying movements that help in complete overall development of the upper body pushing muscles like chest, triceps and anterior deltoids.

Martinez clubs this with an antagonistic muscle group – biceps. He uses two to three effective movements to isolate the biceps. The 50-year-old stimulates the biceps with moderate weight and high volume as it is a small muscle group.

Overall, the chest and biceps workout consists of:

Chest

• Incline Bench Press – 2 warm-up sets of 15 reps, 3 straight sets of 10 reps
• Incline Dumbbell Flyes – 3 sets of 10 reps
• Hammer Strength Incline Chest Press – 3 sets of 10 reps 
• Machine Flat Bench Press – 3 sets of 10 reps
• Dumbbell Pullovers – 3 sets of 10 reps

Biceps

• Cable Biceps Curls – 3 sets of 10 reps
• Dumbbell Concentration Curls – 3 sets of 10 reps
• Dumbbell Hammer Curls – 3 sets of 10 reps

Day 2 – Quads and Calves

Martinez’s massive calves have been one of the most impressive aspects of his physique. He splits his leg training in two different sessions that target quads and hamstrings. Quad day also includes calves movements.

A typical quad-dominant leg day in the Dominican’s training looks like this:

Quads

• Superset – Leg Extensions and Lying Leg Curls – 3 sets of 15 to 20 reps for each exercise
• Dumbbell Step-Ups – 3 sets of 15 to 20 reps for each leg
• Leg Press – 4 sets of 12 to 15 reps
• Walking or Stationary Lunges – 4 sets of 15 reps for each exercise

Calves

• Standing Calf Raises – 4 sets of 12 to 20 reps
• Seated Calf Raises – 4 sets of 12 to 20 reps

Day 3 – Shoulders and Triceps

On the second half of the push day, Martinez tackles shoulders and triceps. To stimulate all three heads of the deltoids – anterior, lateral and posterior – Martinez incorporates specific exercises in the workout. He ensures that the neglected muscles like posterior and lateral deltoids get enough attention in the training routine.

For triceps, Martinez focuses on working the muscles from different angles and levels so that all three triceps heads get the work, resulting in overall development of this muscle group.

The training session includes:

Shoulders

• Rotator Cuff exercises with Dumbbells – 5 sets of 15 to 20 reps
• Barbell Clean and Press – 3 sets of 8 reps
• Dumbbell Lateral Raises – 3 sets of 12 reps
• Standing One Arm Dumbbell Shoulder Press – 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps with each arm
• Reverse Pec Deck Flyes – 4 sets of 12 to 15 reps
• Barbell Upright Rows – 3 sets of 12 reps

Triceps

• Close-Grip Bench Press – 3 sets of 10 reps
• Bench Dips – 3 sets of 10 reps
• Triceps Rope Pushdowns – 3 sets of 10 reps
• Dumbbell Kickbacks – 3 sets of 10 reps

Day 4 – Rest Day

Day 5 – Back and Hamstrings

Martinez dedicates an entire training session to work the entire posterior chain of muscles. A strong posterior chain is essential for performing most day-to-day activities and to maintain good posture. Although this workout is classified as back and hamstrings, it targets the entire posterior chain of muscles.

Typically, it consists of:

Back

• Pull-Ups – 4 sets of 10 to 12 reps 
• Lat Pulldowns – 4 sets of 10 to 12 reps
• T-Bar Rows – 4 sets of 10 to 12 reps
• One Arm Bent Over Dumbbell Rows – 4 sets of 10 to 12 reps
• Seated Cable Rows – 4 sets of 10 to 12 reps

Hamstrings

• Seated Leg Curls – 4 sets of 20 reps
• Standing Leg Curls – 4 sets of 10 to 12 reps
• Superset – Lying Leg Curls and Barbell Stiff Leg Deadlifts – 4 sets of 10 to 12 reps for each exercise

Victor Martinez Diet

Victor Martinez maintains a balanced diet that gives him the necessary amounts of protein, carbohydrates, fats and other nutrients. However, he is cautious about the amount of carbohydrates in his diet. Martinez also believes in timing the macronutrients as well.

He consumes the majority of carbohydrates earlier in the day and refrains from eating carb-rich foods in the evening.

According to Martinez, he consumes carbohydrates immediately after workout. He increases the carbohydrate intake on back and leg day as he feels that these workouts are more demanding than other parts of the physique.

During the competition prep, Martinez focused on losing the fat to bring out the muscle definition. His protein intake also increased significantly during this time and the 50-year-old aimed to consume at least 1.5 to 2 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight.

Even now, Victor Martinez has not given up on dietary discipline and follows a strict nutrition plan to stay in shape. He eats clean, organic foods that consist of lean meats, rice, green vegetables, eggs and sources of complex carbohydrates like sweet potatoes and regular potatoes.

Thoughts on seafood and cheat meals

Martinez also includes fish like salmon in his diet but cautions that excess reliance on seafood can cause a few problems like smelly sweat for bodybuilders. Therefore he advises to maintain seafood consumption at a moderate level. 

Martinez eats clean and does not waver from the diet unless he wants to enjoy a pizza or burger once in a blue moon. These are the only dishes that ‘The Dominican Dominator’ likes to cheat with. Everything else is pretty much off-limits for him.

“The balance of certain deficiencies you have in the body, that’s where the cravings come from. You can diet for so long but you can also be accustomed to dieting,” Martinez said about the cravings for cheat meals.

During his competitive years, Victor Martinez made some meaningful adjustments to his diet during the off-season and competition prep. While the off-season diet was more balanced and included sufficient carbohydrates, he reduced the intake of carbohydrates to a bare minimum during the competition prep.

Here are the examples of Victor Martinez’s off-season and competition prep diet:

Off-Season Diet

During the off-season, Victor Martinez maintained a six meals per day diet. Foods like oatmeals, brown rice and baked potatoes served as the sources of complex carbohydrates with sufficient fiber. Meanwhile, he got most of the protein from chicken, lean cuts of beef, egg whites and salmon. Martinez supplemented the whole food diet with supplements like Whey protein isolate.

A typical day of eating during Victor Martinez’s off-season looked like this:

Meal 1

• Whey Protein Isolate Shake

Meal 2

• 10 Egg Whites
• 2 Cups Oatmeal

Meal 3

• 10 Ounces Lean Steak
• 1 Cup Brown Rice

Meal 4

• 10 Ounces Baked Potato
• 10 Ounces Chicken

Meal 5

• 10 Ounces Salmon
• 1 Cup Steamed Broccoli

Meal 6

• 8 Ounces Lean Steak
• 1 Cup Steamed Broccoli

Competition Prep diet

Martinez significantly reduced the carbohydrate intake during the competition prep. However, he still followed a similar six meals per day diet plan. Additionally, he started the day with multivitamin supplements and capped the day with a fat burner supplement.

This is what Victor Martinez’s full day of eating for competition prep looked like:

Meal 1

• 12 egg Whites
• 2 Cups Oatmeal
• 1 Scoop Glutamine

Meal 2

• 12 Ounces Chicken Breast
• 1 Baked White Potato

Meal 3

• 12 Ounces Steak
• 1 Cup Brown Rice

Pre-workout and Post-workout Shake

• Pre-Workout Shake
• Post-Workout Shake – 2 Scoops of Whey Protein Isolate (3 scoops on leg and back days)

Meal 4

• 12 Ounces Steak
• Rice or Baked Potato

Meal 5

• 12 Ounces Chicken Breast
• Large Green Salad

Meal 6

• 12 Ounces Fish or
• Whey Protein Isolate Shake

Victor Martinez Personal Life

Victor Martinez used his bodybuilding base to explore career opportunities in allied businesses and became an entrepreneur. He is a meal prep service business owner, sponsored athlete and a popular social media star in the fitness community. At the time of this article’s publishing, ‘The Dominican Dominator has a whopping 875 thousand Instagram followers.

Martinez has also been involved in human rights activities and he is often appreciated for the humble and down-to-earth attitude. He is a proud father of five children. Martinez’s two sons are named Jared and Justin while his three daughters are named Zayde, Victoria and Vivian.

To Conclude…

Victor Martinez’s impeccable physique is a testimony to the fact that you do not need to lean towards any extreme bodybuilding method and risk longevity and health. As long as you stay consistent and follow a strict diet, there is nothing that can keep you from achieving the goals.

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