Hi Brandan and thanks for talking with us. Can you please introduce yourself (your name, occupation, how long you’ve been a bodybuilder/fitness athlete and your bodybuilding achievements) ?
Statistics
Name: Brandan Fokken
Age: 33
Location: Sioux Falls, SD
Height: 6’1
Off-Season: 222 lbs
Contest: 193 lbs
Style: Competitor
How did you get started with bodybuilding/fitness ?
I have loved sports my entire life and always had aspirations of being big and strong.
I was a naturally gifted athlete and participated in baseball, basketball, and football. I was that guy that even went all out in gym class. When it came to weight lifting, I just wasn’t good at it, so starting my freshman year of high school I really put in the time and effort to make myself better.
I loved the sport of bodybuilding, and followed the sport through high school.
All through my 20’s I did the same and always talked about doing a show, but didn’t really know where to begin. My friend Trevor Larsen decided to do his first show and tried talking me into doing one with him.
I talked to my friend Ned Sacipovic and asked for his help. Ned has more experience in the sport than anyone I know, so if anyone could help me it was him.
He said he could get me ready, so I got started. I did my first bodybuilding show at the age of 30.
I competed in light heavy and eventually made it up to the heavy weight class.
After my first and last heavy weight competition under the advice of my trainer Ned I made the switch to Men’s Physique and have done that ever since. I felt the class fit me better and I was ready for something new. Although at my core, I will always appreciate bodybuilding and love the sport, I am now putting all my energy into this new class.
I love the camaraderie probably the most about the sport. Getting to know other like-minded people, learning from others, and being motivated by but also motivating others. As a whole I love the fitness lifestyle. What I don’t like are haters. People that try to bring others down for trying to better themselves. Passing judgment on people assuming they know who they are and what they are about without knowing anything about them.
People assume too much based on limited information, how someone looks, what someone else says about them, etc. When in reality the people they are trying to bring down are probably very different than how they are being portrayed.
Contest History:
2010 Fargo Upper Midwest light heavy 3rd place
2010 Minneapolis Gopher State Classic light heavy 1st place
2011 Fargo Upper Midwest heavy weight 1st place
2011 Minneapolis Gopher State Classic Physique 2nd place
2011 NPC USA’s Physique tall class 16th out of 32
2011 Muscle and Fitness Gaspari Super Pump Challenge Online Winner
2011 Muscle and Fitness model contest “Olympia expo” 4th out of 53
2011 Minnesota State North Star Physique mixed class 3rd overall
2011 Photo Vision model
Dec 2011 World Physique magazine competitor of the month and “promoting greatness” winner
2012 Bodybuilding.com BodySpace Spokes model finalist
2012 Bodybuilding.com BodySpace spokes model contest LA expo 5th place
2012 Muscle and Fitness Online Winner *First two time winner* “Qualified for the Olympia expo”
2012 Bodybuilding.com “Amateur of the Week”
2012 Bodybuilding.com 2012 “Top 20 Extreme Physiques”
Your favorite athletes in this sport ?
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Felicia Romero, Jamie Eason, I also admire anyone that has self-confidence, someone that goes against what others tell them they have to do to do what they feel is right. You can be inspired by athletes that are total beginners to the most advanced. You just have to open your eyes and be open to it. There are so many people out there that have inspired me in one way or another and I am very grateful to all of them.
What is your training philosophy?
Without nutrition I wouldn’t be where I am at today. They say that abs are made in the kitchen, and that’s true. You can out train a bad diet. I tend to eat 2 ½ – 3 hours. After my training session I have a shake and banana. In my on-season diet, I taper my carbs down as I go into the show. I also have carb cycled in the past but for my next contest I will do a gradual deplete.
When I was younger all I wanted to do was lift as heavy as I could and be strong. I didn’t care about balance or longevity, and due to that suffered many injuries. With age came more intelligent training methods. I have been smarter in how I train and how I spend my time in the gym.
I typically train with lighter weight and better form compared to when I started. Sure I train tired, and sore just like anyone else, but when I’m injured and know that I am I take some time off to recoup and take care of myself. In the past I would have tried to push through and would make things worse.
What does your current workout look like?
Day 1: Chest 8-20 reps
Barbell Incline: 5 sets 20,12,10,10,8
Machine Flies: 4 sets 15,12,10,8
Decline Hammer machine press: 4 set 15,12,10,8
Flat barbell: 5 sets 15,12,10,8,6
Standing Cable flies: 4 sets 15,12,10,10
Abs- pick 3 exercises- 3 to 4 sets per movement/ 25-50 reps per set
10-15 mins on bike or treadmill
Day 2: Arms
Standing dumbbell curls: 4 sets 12,10,8,8
Standing cable rope pull downs: 5 sets 15,12,10,10,8
Standing hammer curls: 4 sets 12,10,8,8
Standing Triceps push down: 5 sets 15,12,10,10,8
Standing straight bar arm curls: 4 sets 10,10,8,8
Dips on bench: 4 sets of at least 20 reps 20,20,20,20
Seated concentration curls or seated machine curls: 3 sets- failure
Single arm reverse cable pull downs: 3 sets of at least 20 20,20,20
10- 15 mins on bike or treadmill
Day 3: Legs
Leg Extensions: 4 sets of 25 – 50 reps 50,40,35,25
Smith Machine or regular Squats: 5 sets 25,20,15,10,10
Leg press “will sometimes incorporate into a workout, depends on energy”
5 sets 50,40,35,25,20
Lunges: 4 sets 20 “10 per leg” reps
Seated Leg Curls: 4 sets 25,20,15,15
Seated Calf Raises: 4 sets of 25
Standing Calf Raises: 4 sets of 25
Abs- pick 3 exercises- 3 to 4 sets per movement/ 25-50 reps per set
10-15 mins on bike or treadmill
Day 4: Shoulders/Traps
Dumbbell Lateral Raises: 4 sets 15,12,10,10
Smith Machine or seated db Shoulder Presses: 5 sets 15,12,10,10
Dumbbell front Raises: 3 sets 15,12,10
Dumbbell Shrugs: 5 sets 20,20,15,12,10
Upright rows: 4 sets 15,12,12,10
Seated rear delt machine, cables, or dumbbells: 4 sets 15,12,12,10
10-15 mins on bike or treadmill
Day 5: Back
Wide-Grip Pull ups: 4 sets 15,15,12,10
Seated hammer reverse grip pull downs: 4 sets 12,12,10,10
Seated Cable pull backs: 4 sets 12,12,10,8
Machine Lat pull downs: 5 sets 15,12,10,10,8
Standing front pull downs: 4 sets 20,20,15,12
Hyper extensions: 4 sets 20,20,15,15
Abs – pick 3 exercises- 3 to 4 sets per movement/ 25-50 reps per set
10-15 mins on bike or treadmill
Day 6: touch ups
On my 6th day I will pick 2 to 3 body parts I think that are lagging and do a touch up. I may do a circuit, or I may pick 2 to 3 exercises for each group. I really focus on the muscle and take time to make sure I’ve worked it effectively. These days I normally lift very light, strict form, high reps.?
What does your offseason diet look like?
My current meal plan
Meal 1 7-730
5 Egg Whites
3 ounce(s) Extra Lean Ground Sirloin 4%
1 piece P28 bread
Meal 2 10-1030
0.75 cup Brown Rice – cooked
5 ounce(s) Chicken Breast
Meal 3 1230-130
1 cup Broccoli
5 ounce(s) Chicken Breast
6 ounce(s) Yam – baked w/o skin
Meal 4 3-330
1 table spoon P28 peanut butter
.75 scoop Karbolyn / 2 scoop Whey Protein
Meal 5 630-730
½ cup Brown Rice – cooked
15 almonds
1 small Salad – sm. garden w/tomato
5 ounce(s) Turkey Breast
Meal 6 930-10
1 table spoon P28 peanut butter
2 scoop Whey Protein
What do you change in your diet before a competition?
I have done so many different things regarding dieting. I now shy away from carb cycling and only use it periodically in my diet towards the end. I have done a gradual deplete diet my last few preps and like the end result so will continue with that until it fails me. I am carb sensitive and do best on a lower carb diet. My cardio can vary from 1 hour to 2 hours a day depending on my energy level and my overall appearance and how much time I have to get to my best.
Do you cheat on your diet sometimes? What are your favorite cheat foods?
For myself I don’t like to have them when I am training for a contest, but have had them from time to time under the direction of my trainer. As a trainer myself, depending on the conditioning level we are trying to achieve etc. I prescribe them to my clients and believe it helps them both physically and mentally. If I do have one its typically sushi or a burger.
What motivates you?
I look at and read a lot of positive quotes and literature, study people with drive and ambition, and try and better myself through their example. I look to my family and friends for strength; they are always there for me and a great source of motivation.
Your favorite exercise/exercises ?
I would have to say it varies by the day and how I am feeling. If I have a great workout it can be any body part or exercise. But typically I like to do bench press with a straight bar, standing curls of some sort, and side laterals with a straight bar.
What supplements do you feel work best for you ?
I wouldn’t be where I am at today without supplementing my diet. There are a lot of products on the market, and some great ones. If I were to recommend any company I would recommend looking at and reading the reviews on Bodybuilding.com and go through them for your nutritional needs.
Men’s multi vitamin-Omega 3- Glutamine-fat burner *when dieting*-Iso whey protein
CLA-Amino Recovery- L-Carnitine- BCAA’s-ALA-Vitamin D3-Vitamin C- B complex
You can find these supplements at: Bodybuilding.com
Do you have any other passions, besides bodybuilding /fitness?
I love to travel, cook, movies, donating my time to help others, writing, and speaking to businesses and schools and or at health seminars.
What would you say to our readers that want to build athletic and powerful physiques?
You need to plan your nutrition around your goals. This is 80% of the equation, so if you don’t have the nutrition down you will never fully achieve what you want to achieve.
Set aside time to prep your meals, and always have food with you so there is never an excuse to eat bad, or miss a meal all together.
Set a budget. Eating a bodybuilder type diet can be costly, so find foods that you like that work within your budget and eating plan.
You need to first of all be ok with yourself at whatever you are involved in or what level you are at in anything you are doing “workout routine, diet, etc.”. When you are ok with yourself and love yourself, you will make more of a commitment to the betterment of you. You also won’t get discouraged when things don’t go exactly how you want them to. You will have the strength to carry on and continue to try to achieve the results you are striving for.
Everything takes time; it took time to put on the weight so it will take time to take it off. Set some realistic goals and then set a big goal at the end. Enjoy each incremental goal that you have achieved on the way to your big goal and celebrate those victories on the way to a better you.
If you are having a hard time with the plan you are on, take a step back and reevaluate what you are doing and make sure the plan is right for you. Use the resources you have such as Bodybuidling.com and educate yourself. Make sure you are doing a routine that is right for you and you have a good diet plan in place too, nutrition is 80% of the equation. If that doesn’t work, consider hiring a trainer.
Build a support system of people that will stand behind you and encourage you and help you when you fall. Negative people will just bring you down and make it that much harder for you to achieve your goals. The people that bring you down are afraid of change, and feel that you’re positive attitude and hard work somehow makes them have to make those changes too, which scares people, so they will become your worst critics. Rise above that and work on you, you are the best investment you can make.
Your plans for the future?
I want to be successful in all that I do. I am already a guest speaker, but would like to get more involved in that and speak in front of more groups. I would like to continue to educate myself and pass my knowledge onto others as others have to me. I would like to continue to train competitors for shows and help them achieve their goals.
I would also like to contribute to more websites and magazines and possibly maybe even write a book someday. I guess at the root of everything I want to be credible, and truly make an impact in others’ lives through helping them obtain all they want to on their own fitness journeys.
I also hope to hold my current sponsorships and continue to represent the companies that stand behind me in a positive way. My sponsors do a lot for me, and I do all I can to let the world know it.
Lastly I would hope to win my IFBB pro card. This isn’t something that I need to feel successful, but another goal I have set for myself.
High or low moments in your career?
– any particular high and low moments
My lowest moment would be after USA’s last year I almost died. I spent 5 days in the ICU and am lucky to be here today. I had just finished competition and started eating whatever I wanted. I only ate a bit and didn’t feel very well. I started cramping and feeling sick and just wanted to lay down.I felt even worse the next day and by the time I got on my flight, my body wasn’t moving how it should and I was starting to feel numb all over. When I arrived home I needed help out of the car, but just told myself it was from the show and flying and I would be ok.
I had dinner and decided to sprawl out on the floor to try and stretch myself out. I did that for a few minutes and when I tried to get up, I could not. That is when I knew it was time to go to the hospital.
The doctors could not figure out what was wrong with me, so they started an IV and kept running tests. They found my potassium was at a 2.0 which normal range should be a 3.5-5.0. So, I was immediately admitted.
They ran tests on me all night. By morning I could not move my legs or my feet, I could not sit up by myself, and my arms barely worked. The doctor came in and told me that my potassium dropped below 2.0, my vitamin B1, D, Magnesium, and Phosphorus were all stripped from my body. My liver enzymes were very high, my blood pressure was 199/98, my resting heart rate was about 135, my blood sugar at one point was 356, I was paralyzed, and they were not exactly sure why.
By about 10:00 a.m. a priest was sent in to pray for me, which I promise is not something I wanted to see. The doctors kept telling me that they were working on it, consulting another hospital and working together to try and help me.
At one point, I started to black out and honestly thought that was it. I did not think about money, or my job, or even competing, but that I was going to die right there and no amount of muscle, strength or anything else could change my fate. I thought about my family, my friends, that fact I have never been married and that I have never had kids. I saw a lot of my life pass by in my head all the way to the point of being buried, a true near death experience. I spent 5 days in the ICU. Through my time there I had insulin injections, blood draws every two hours, I had to take a beta blocker, a PIC line was put in through my arm to my heart-which was the worst of it all, constant IV’s, a special diet was made for me, and I was given a lot of vitamins which were pills the size of matchbox cars. That’s not something ANYONE wants to ever experience. It taught me a lot about myself and to really appreciate all the gifts I’ve been given in life.
The doctors attributed everything to re-feeding syndrome, which is where after dieting so long my body treated me almost like I was an anorexic, so when I was eating all those carbs and sugar after the show, my body was trying to store fat and was spilling the rest of the nutrients I needed to survive. Team that up with dehydrating myself for the show, my diet leading up to the show, flying which dehydrates you, breaking myself down to practically nothing for the show to keep my size down, and it was 105 or above the whole time I was in Vegas and was outside more than I should have been. All of it added up and almost killed me.
The proudest moment in my bodybuilding career was taking 3rd place in my first show. It taught me so much about myself, and it brought out so many positive things in me that I didn’t know existed. From there the moment that has surpassed that is seeing my clients and friends compete and do well…I couldn’t be prouder of them.
Other accomplishments that are at the top of the list would be becoming a Bodybuilding.com athlete. That was a dream come true and I’m very blessed for the opportunity.
They are an amazing group of people and I love working with them. I feel that there is no limit to where our relationship can lead.
They are THE powerhouse in the fitness industry, and having them encourage you and be there for you makes you truly feel you can take on the world. So to everyone at Bodybuidling.com – THANK YOU.
My next two proudest moments are being a P28 Bread sponsored athlete and a Quest Nutrition Athlete. P28 makes the best healthy and high protein bread and peanut/almond butters on the market. They are awesome to work with and they really make you feel like you are a part of the team. Quest Nutrition, well what competitor doesn’t love protein bars that you can actually eat during prep and that taste good?! They make the best bars on the market. They also are a wonderful team and group of people and just like everyone else I work with, they make me feel welcome and appreciated and a part of the team.
I am truly blessed for these accomplishments and there are so many people in my life that without them, I wouldn’t be where I am at today with these moments. So thank you to all of my friends and family for all of your support over the years, it is truly appreciated.
Any final words?
I would just like to thank my family and friends for always being there for me. Pointing out when I do wrong, or in some cases too much, and continually leading me back to and keeping me on a humble path.
I would also like to thank my sponsors Bodybuilding.com, P28 Bread, Quest Nutrition, FitMark bags, Tainted Industries, Phit Hair and Body for sponsoring me and making this journey easier through your help and allowing me to reach out to all of your customers and fans to help spread the word of better health and fitness.
Fun Quick Questions For Our Readers
Favourite color? Purple
Favourite food? Good- Steak and sweet pot Bad- homemade baked goods
Favourite TV Show? Diners Drive ins and Dives
Favourite movie? Pumping Iron
Favourite Band/Artist? 30 seconds to Mars
Do you have any pets? Yes I have a Bengal Cat named Olympia
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