Juan Morel
(Bodybuilder)
Juan Morel is a bodybuilder who has been making a name for himself recently. This is his life story, diet, training regimen, and more.
Athlete Statistics
| Full Name: Juan Morel | |||
| Weight | Height | Age | Date of Birth |
| 295-310lbs(133.8-140.6kg) | 5’11 (180 cm) | 39 years | April 2nd, 1982 |
| Nationality | Era | ||
| American | 2010 | ||
Early Life
Juan Morel was the first generation American son of a couple from the Dominican Republic. His parents moved to Manhattan, New York, in search of a better life. It was here, that they gave birth to Juan. Despite the fact that they were not originally from the U.S., they were still living around a lot of their family. Living with his aunts and cousins, gave him an early start with his competitive nature.
Morel began competing in sports as a child, trying various pursuits. However, he found the most success playing handball. This was something that he played at a high level, until the age of 22. In addition to that, he also had some victories inside the world of boxing. According to him, he never lost a bout, following the start of his training at a gym nearby his house. His run in boxing is actually what introduced him to the world of weightlifting.
Juan Morel – Early Bodybuilding Career
Juan Morel began finding a love for bodybuilding when being influenced to hit the gym to gain weight for boxing. As a result, he started hitting the weight room, and began to enjoy seeing the changes in his body. Subsequently, Juan was left with a choice to either continuing pursuing boxing, or to switch his attention bodybuilding. Citing his love to gain mass, and a desire to see how big he can get, he chose the latter.
Morel made his amateur bodybuilding debut in 2007, at the East Coast Championships. Ahead of the contest, he adjusted his diet and nutrition to add some more bulk. In the end, it would not be enough to earn the win, but he would still get a solid 2nd place. He would follow this up, with another 2nd place at the 2008 Eastern USA Bodybuilding Figure and Fitness Competition.
The first amateur bodybuilding win for Morel would come at the 2009 Northeast Grand Prix. Unfortunately, he would bounce between first and second place in his amateur contests through to 2011. He went on to compete four times that year, with his high point coming at the NPC Gulf Coast Championships. He ended up scoring a big win here, which would be enough to earn his Pro Card.
Juan Morel – Pro Bodybuilding Career
Juan Morel made his professional bodybuilding debut at the 2012 New York Pro, where he earned an impressive fourth place. However, he quickly turned this around, with a performance at the 2012 Europa Battle of Champions. He would his first professional win here, earning respect for his size and bulk.
Morel would only compete twice in 2013, with the first being at the New York Pro. Following a third place showing here, he went on to take part in the 2013 Tampa Pro. His second place showing in this event, reaffirmed his position as an exciting talent in bodybuilding.
2014 would be an unbelievably busy year for Juan Morel. He would compete a whopping eight times, with his biggest win being at the Toronto Pro. This would earn him his first shot at the Olympia, later that year. Although he did not win the event, he scored a respectable 10th place. Additionally, this was his best performance at the Olympia to date.
Morel would be active again the next year, clocking in five performances. He managed to win the 2015 New York Pro, to earn a spot at the 2015 Mr. Olympia. However the rest of the year would be lackluster, earning 11th place at the Olympia.
Following these two hectic years, Juan Morel slowed things down a bit. Unfortunately, his next bodybuilding win would not come until 2018, where he earned first place at the Toronto Pro. In addition to that, he picked things back up again in 2019, earning 3 victories in six contests. Most notably, he again won the 2019 New York Pro, as well as the Japan Pro, and Arnold Classic South America events.
Juan Morel – Championships and Accomplishments
2008
- NPC Eastern USA Championships – 2nd
2009
- NPC Junior Nationals – 7th
- NPC Northeast Grand Prix – 1st
2010
- NPC National Championships – 2nd
- NPC North American Championships – 2nd
2011
- NPC USA Championships – 2nd
- NPC North American Championships – 1st
2012
- New York Pro – 4th
- Europa Battle of Champions – 1st
2013
- New York Pro – 3rd
Tampa Pro – 2nd
2014
- Arnold Classic South America – 2nd
- New York Pro – 2nd
- Toronto Pro – 1st
- Arnold Classic Europe – 7th
- Mr. Olympia – 10th
- Dubai Pro – 5th
- Prague Pro – 6th
- San Marino Pro – 6th
2015
- New York Pro – 1st
- Arnold Classic South America – 3rd
- Mr. Olympia – 11th
- Arnold Classic Europe – 8th
- Prague Pro – 9th
2016
- Arnold Classic – 6th
- Arnold Classic South America – 2nd
- New York Pro – 6th
2017
- Arnold. Classic – 5th
- Arnold Classic South America – 2nd
- Arnold Classic Africa – 3rd
2018
- New York Pro – 2nd
- Toronto Pro – 1st
- Mr. Olympia – 16th
2019
- Arnold Classic South America Pro Men’s Bodybuilding – 1st
- New York Pro – 1st
- Mr. Olympia – 14th
- Monsterzym Pro Men’s Bodybuilding – 2nd
- Romania Muscle Fest Pro Men’s Bodybuilding – 2nd
- Japan Pro Men’s Bodybuilding – 1st
Juan Morel – Training Regimen
Juan Morel likes to take an nontraditional approach to his training. Specifically he likes to make changes to methods that are already established, and put his own twists on it. As a result, he feels that he can better enjoy the workout.
Morel’s Training Split is as follows:
- Monday: Chest, Biceps and Triceps
- Tuesday: Shoulders, Back
- Wednesday: Quads, Hamstrings
- Thursday: Chest, Biceps and Triceps
- Friday: Back, Shoulders
- Saturday: Quads, Hamstrings
- Sunday: Rest
Another way that Morel takes a unique approach to his training, is in the way he trains both back and shoulders in the same day. Although he does prefer to take a two hour nap in between those workouts. As for his shoulder workouts, he puts an emphasis on doing seated presses, behind-the-neck presses (of his own design), and side-lateral raises.
Juan Morel – Diet and Nutrition
Similar to other bodybuilders, Juan Morel consumes a lot of calories during the day. He typically consumes six meals a day, with an emphasis on breakfast. On the other hand, he differs from others in the sense that he does not stick to the usual combo of chicken and rice. Instead, he finds his 11,000 daily calories through other means.
Morel usually breaks his daily diet down like so:
Meal One (Breakfast)
- 28 pancakes
- Turkey bacon
- 6 eggs
- Fish Oil, Creatine, BCAAs, and a multivitamin
(About 1,931 calories, 138g of carbs, 91g of fat, and 147g of protein)
Meal Two (Post Workout)
- Swiss Cheeseburger
- Steak Fries
- Creatine and Fish Oil
(About 1,560 calories, 140g of carbs, 77g of fat, and 70g of protein)
Meal Three (Pre-Afternoon Workout)
- 2 scoops of chocolate peanut butter ice cream
- Protein shake with 10oz of almond milk.
(About 2,540 calories)
Meal Four (Post Workout)
- Protein Shake – 4 scoops mass gainer whey protein with water
(About 1,330 calories, 242g of carbs, 16g of fat, and 55g of protein)
Meal Five (Dinner)
- 4 slices of cheese pizza
- Chicken parmesan
- Fried calamari.
- Occasionally spaghetti
(About 1,560 calories, more with spaghetti)
Meal Six (Final Meal)
- 5 whole eggs
- 5 egg whites
- 2 slices of cheese
- 3 slices of turkey bacon
- 1 bagel
(1,033 calories, 56g of carbs, 58g of fat, and 68g of protein)
Additional Information
Juan Morel is one of the most unique professional bodybuilders in the world. He loves taking alternate approaches to his training and nutrition. Moreover, he enjoys being one of the most active competitors hitting the stage.
There is some debate about how successful Morel can be as a bodybuilder. Nevertheless, he is aware of this fact, and keeps it in mind. He really loves working out, and sees competing as a byproduct of that. His mental toughness is what really sets him apart from other athletes.
