Bodybuilder James Hollingshead is making sure to attack his prep from all angles to find success at the 2025 Arnold Classic. On January 25, 2025, he walked fans through his approach to navigating caloric deficits while using anabolics less than five weeks from taking to the stage.
Hollingshead is a thriving Men’s Open competitor in the IFBB Pro League. He’s known for his freakish size and rugged muscularity, having been compared to Branch Warren in the past. Fans believe that as soon as his muscle separation and conditioning match his sheer mass, he could be a contender for some of the sport’s most prestigious titles.
During the 2024 bodybuilding season, Hollingshead impressed with commanding performances at the Arnold Classic Ohio and UK events, where he slid into fifth place at both contests. Having taken a lengthy off-season to improve his look, the bodybuilding community is anxiously awaiting his next performance on stage, which is coming soon.
James Hollingshead Shares How He’s Approaching Calorie Deficit With Anabolics Ahead of 2025 Arnold Classic
In a recent YouTube video, James Hollingshead discussed how he preserves muscle while on a calorie deficit ahead of the 2025 Arnold Classic.
“I’m in a diet for the Arnold Classic. We’re now under six weeks out. So muscle preservation, protein intake, anabolics and their use toward preserving tissue, this is the subject matter we wanted to cover briefly today.”
He said the main purpose of anabolics is to help prevent muscle wastage, especially for those who are sick.
“If you look at the history of anabolics, a lot of what their purpose is to do is to prevent muscle wastage for people that are sick. Many things of that nature are there in order to basically sustain life, preserve tissues, and keep people from basically malnourishing and disappearing into dust.”
However, once training is involved, alongside getting enough protein and amino acids, anabolics can not only help with recovery but he said there’s a host of positive benefits associated with its use.
“You put that in a setting where someone is training and causing the stimulus to build tissue, but also eating a certain amount of protein and amino acids to help recover then you’re going to obviously get some really positive benefits from said anabolics paired with decent nutrition and the training stimulus,” he shared.
When he’s on a calorie deficit, he underscores the importance of maintaining the same amount of protein that was consumed during a respective off-season.
“Obviously, when you’re in a nutritional deficit when it comes to calories and you’re preparing for a bodybuilding show, there’s going to be a period of time in that diet that you are under the amount of calories you need in order to grow.”
“But, protein is an essential macronutrient that allows you to sustain muscle. So, if your protein doesn’t drop to a certain amount throughout the entire nutritional plan or diet before the show, you are quite likely, you are still going to be consuming enough protein to preserve the muscle you did build in the off-season.”
He said competitors who compete naturally can also reap benefits from proper protein consumption but says training with anabolics has the potential to produce more meaningful results.
“You can probably do that pretty well naturally but you pair that with the use of certain anabolics, it’s almost going to cement that fact,” he adds. “The thing you have to be very mindful of is the training.”
Hollingshead has always been confident in his abilities but at the same time, is realistic about his expectations. He recently joined Fouad Abiad’s Bodybuilding and Bollocks Podcast, to reveal his top 10 picks for the upcoming 2025 Arnold Classic, set for February 27 to March 2 in Columbus, Ohio. He predicted Samson Dauda would emerge victorious and saw himself taking the fifth-place position.
If Hollingshead continues to monitor his diet carefully, he could easily secure a spot on the podium at the Arnold Classic. Already, bodybuilding veteran Lee Priest has named him as his one dark horse ahead of the show. Don’t miss James Hollingshead’s next performance on stage! Fitness Volt will have live coverage of the Arnold Classic.
Watch the full video from the IFBB AMA YouTube channel below:
Catch comprehensive coverage of the 2025 Arnold Classic, including pre-judging, event recaps, analyses, and complete Arnold Classic results at our Arnold Classic coverage hub: FitnessVolt.com/arnold-classic
You can also follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and
YouTube for even more content.
