MP: During a mountain bike race at 15, you fractured your shoulder after a bad fall. Such a negative experience actually helped you in life, especially in the gym. How so?

Rob: It was a blessing in disguise even though I really didn’t see it like that at the time. It was my left shoulder and I had to have my arm in  a sling for 6 weeks. I was at school at the time and remember not being able to do much at all. It was quite a low point for me as I had always been very active. Once the sling was off I tried getting back on my bike to ride again but lacked the strength I once had. During my first check up at the doctors I was told I should start lifting some lift weights to build up my strength again. I was only 15 and had never been in a gym before. At first I just wanted to build my strength up to get back out on my bike, but it didn’t take long before I started to see some progress in not just my strength but how my body changed. That was the moment I become hooked on working out, and the rest as they say is history!

MP: As a certified fitness and group exercise instructor, what do you mainly preach to your clients in terms of training and nutrition principles?

Rob: Technique and muscle activation is essential if you really want to progress in your workouts. I teach correct form over anything else as well as progressive overload. That is to overload the muscle by just enough that when it recovers and with proper rest and nutrition, it can then cope with the extra stress. That’s when you build up to increasing it again to continue building muscle. Something that I always say to my clients is that you have to coax change, not force it. As for nutrition, I have 3 key steps that I always make my clients follow. They are Portion Size, Nutrient Timing (Meal Frequency), and Food Choices. Consistency is also key. In order to create change you need to have a consistent basis. Then when you introduce a small change such as a 4-day carb cycle, you really benefit from the shift in your metabolism and hormone secretion.

MP: Do you believe it is always necessary to keep strict form when training or do you believe cheat reps are sometimes needed to stimulate the muscles even more?

Rob: I believe cheat reps have their time and place within a workout. During a phrase of heavy training, which is about 6-10 weeks for me, I employ cheat reps on the last set of most muscle groups. This is mainly so that I can still work on the negative reps. By fatiguing the eccentric phrase of the lift after failing on the concentric phrase, I’m stimulating type 2b muscle fibers which help maximize greater muscle growth.

MP: What are your favorite and least favorite exercises and why?

Rob: My favorite exercise is doing a barbell curl with an Olympic bar. Having the weight further out than a standard ‘pre-fixed’ barbell, stress’s my biceps in a very different way leaving them fuller and more pumped. It’s a great mass builder and it allows me to lift a lot of weight for my arms.

My least favorite exercise is Squats. I love training legs although unlike other muscle groups when I go heavy, if I fail I can just usually drop the weight and walk away. With squats, even if I have a spotter, I always feel like I could go heavier or go for one last rep, but am concerned that I won’t be able to get it back up. It’s happened once before when I went just a little to low. Thankfully I always squat on a squat rack so I was saved, but it’s always a concern of mine.

MP: What do you believe is the ideal rep range and number of sets to maximize muscle growth?

Rob: I’ve found the best rep range to maximize muscle growth is 10 reps, keeping a tempo of 1:2 (1 second concentric lift. 2 seconds eccentric lift). It’s more about the time under tension for the muscle than the actual repetitions, but this seems to work well for me. As for Sets, I usually employ 4 sets for larger muscle groups like chest, back and legs, and 3 sets for the others. I pyramid my weights up and try to keep the same rep range. My aim is to fully fatigue the muscle within the last few reps of the final set. 

MP: Do you believe that pre and post-workout meals are the most important meals of the day? What do yours consist of?

Rob: I believe the two most important meals of the day are breakfast – after you’ve fasted all night, and post-workout after depleting muscle energy (glycogen). My morning meal consists of a half cup of oatmeal cooked with water, and 7 egg whites with 1 yolk that I cooked over a low heat using coconut oil. My pre workout meal consists of complex carbs such as brown rice (I use special sprouted rice as my body can make better use of the nutrients that way), and usually beef (London broil) that I cook in coconut oil with some herbs and spices as it gives my body creatine and iron which I’ve found to give me better muscular contractions.

My post workout meal is a scoop of whey protein within 20 minutes of completing my workout, followed by either turkey or chicken and a yam potato within an hour of finishing my workout.

MP: When trying to cut down, what kinds of cardio do you focus on? Do you prefer normal cardio or high intensity interval training?

Rob: I used to mix things up alternating between HIIT and Steady-Pace. I would do HIIT early morning before my first meal, spending about 30 minutes on the upright cycle doing 1 minute intervals followed by 30 minutes of  abs, and then 30-40 minutes of steady pace cardio after my weights workout later that day. The morning HIIT cardio raises my metabolism throughout the day helping me burn more calories even at rest, and the steady pace cardio after weight training burns more calories during the time I’m doing cardio.

MP: What natural food do you believe is most essential to a bodybuilder’s diet? Why is this so?

Rob: Various forms of protein offer different levels of BV values (Biological Values), that are beneficial to the body at different times. For example Eggs are fast digesting so are good for breakfast when your body needs protein quickly. Cottage Cheese is good for night time as it’s a slower releasing protein which will slow any possible catabolism by supplying your muscles with essential aminos over a longer length of time. I eat more fish than I do chicken or beef as it’s a more complete protein and is easily digested than beef for example which is also more acidic to the body. I eat a lot of RAW and sprouted seeds and grains as these unlock more nutrients to my body. Quinoa provides a near perfect balance of nutrients, and makes a great alternative to the usual brown rice and potatoes. Fats are also essential and I get a lot of my fats through oils such as coconut oil, which is high in MCT and great for energy when on a low-carb diet, and macadamia oil, which has the perfect ratio of 1:2 of Omega 3’s and 6’s respectively depending on the brand.

MP: You’ve appeared in numerous magazines such as “Men’s Health” and even graced the covers of “Inside Fitness” and “Maximum Fitness”, two of Canada’s top selling fitness magazines. How were you able to land yourself in such prestigious magazines? How did you prepare yourself for them?

Rob: I am never far from being in what I call ‘photo-ready-condition’ and can taper a few things within a week to make me look that much better, but in the case of these two magazines it was fortunate for me that they were shooting within days of the WBFF World Fitness Championships, so I had already been training and dieting hard for about 3 months prior. It’s a fine balance between cardio, nutrition and weight training so that I ensure I am burning body fat with cardio and eating just above my bare minimum required calorie intake while still weight training as heavy as I can to keep my muscles full and limiting the chance of fat storage. The final week is when I manipulate my water intake, my sodium intake and my carbohydrate intake. I tried a lot of different methods in the first year of bodybuilding and found what really worked well for me and my body. Being comfortable in front of the camera and knowing which poses work and which don’t is also key in getting a good photo.

MP: What was it like winning the 2009 World Fitness Model Championship? What kind of competition was this and why was it so important to you?

Rob: The WBFF is the most prestigious fitness competition there is. It has the highest recognition of top-class competitors and models. Within the male pro line up I think everyone had been on the cover of a fitness magazine. That’s how good they were!

I had really started preparing for it about 4 months out, controlling my nutrition and training, sticking to a tight schedule that would see me reach my goal of 3-4% body fat at around 175lbs, which I knew would leave me looking super lean and conditioned, but still looking healthy and fit. It was probably a month short of where I would be had I have done a bodybuilding show and wanted to be peeled! 

This was my 20^th drug-free competition and the biggest of them all. The winner would hold the title of the World Fitness Champion and I wanted it, bad! For all those months that I was training for it I had envisaged in my mind me winning it. I would close my eyes while I was doing cardio and play over and over the moment they called my name out as the winner on stage. I had played it so many times that when I did win I already knew exactly how I would feel and what I would do. It took me back all those years to when I first started training and wanted to have the best body that would be the kind that you’d see on magazines. This was my moment I got to experience all of that.

My parents had flown in from London, and for them to be there, cheering for me and supporting me, really meant a lot to me.

MP: You hosted and produced a series of shows for Sky TV. What kinds of shows were these and what valuable experiences did you gain from them?

Rob: I started a web-based, studio interview show in Beverly Hills back in May 2008 and would invite some of the top names in fitness to come and talk about their experiences in the health and fitness industry as well as give tips on how to get in better shape or get into magazines. It was a show intended on bringing much of what we see in the magazines to life. That lasted for 8 months before I started to cover events such as the Mr. Olympia and the Arnold Classic. Again, I would walk around interviewing the models and competitors and showing much of what was going on at these events to the people who couldn’t attend or were just interested in learning more about fitness.

After just over a year, Sky TV (Europe’s largest cable network seen in over 11 million homes) picked up the show and it soon turned into a 48-minute program covering everything health and fitness around Hollywood. It was called ‘Hollywood Extra’ as my nickname back in the UK when I first started competing was ‘Hollywood’.

I think from start to finish I must have hosted and filmed well over 100 shows. They wanted me to move back to London and manage the channel there, but I had already made roots in LA. It was a hard decision but the right one to stay here. I still film now, but more in the way of show reels and little behind-the-scene videos for other models and athletes.

MP: How have you built a following of fans across a range of social and video sites?

Rob: I never actually set out thinking that I wanted to build a fan base or anything like that. It slowly started to happen after I posted a couple of video’s of me training, but also giving a lot of information about technique and progression. Then when I was on Sky TV and was fortunate enough to be on a couple of fitness covers and that’s when things really started to pick up. I think I have a good following because I give a lot of information don’t hold anything back. I’d like to think that they look at me as someone they can trust and rely on.

MP: You created your own corporation, Rob Riches LLC, as an umbrella organization for all the work that you are doing. Can you explain more about this in detail?

Rob: When I first moved to Los Angeles 3 years ago I needed to establish myself as a business for my Visa requirement. I didn’t want to create phony company name and always wanted to be true so kept my name as it is. It was a way I could earn money doing fitness consolations and training. I was still working with a few competitors and models in London who wanted more information on getting ready for a show or a shoot. As I began to build up more of a following I wanted to be able to offer people everything from one place. They needed supplements, then I could supply them for them. They needed more information then I would have DVD’s on training and nutrition. They needed fitness equipment then I could supply it or at least find it for them.

One of my role models in Sir Richard Branson who built up the empire that is ‘Virgin’. In one of his books he describes his company as a lifestyle empire. That’s how I see myself, offering a lifestyle for people interested in health and fitness. I’ve recently aligned myself with several top clothing brands that I’ve worked with over the past years, and will be offering my top picks on my site very soon. These are Better Bodies/Gasp,  Zanerobe and E.S. Underwear. They are all brands that I’ve worn on photo shoots or modeled for. 

MP: When you’re not focusing on your career, what do you like to do in your free time? How do you balance your time with all that you do?

Rob: Free time? What is that? Ha, well when I just feel like taking a break from things and getting away from it all (when you are the brand and product of your business it’s hard to sometimes ‘walk away’ and give yourself a break), I usually do something big like go snowboarding or mountain biking, although I don’t ride anywhere near as hard as a I used to before I broke my shoulder. I’ve recently taken up flying lesson’s, which is an incredible experience. My last photo shoot was at a local airfield with a small plane and a muscle car for a Zanrobe clothing shoot. I’m going to be taking that plane up for a lesson soon. It cruises at 200+ and goes up to 30,000 feet. I’m excited about that!

MP: What are your future goals?

Rob: What started out for me as just a hobby is now something that I look at with a real business objective. My mission statement is to ‘Educate, Motivate and Inspire people to take better care of their health and live the best life they can through regular exercise and good nutrition. I look at people like Jamie Olive (a British chef), Opera and Dr Oz, and shows like American Idol and America’s next top model, and I see them as bringing something that was quite an unknown topic or activity to the masses. TV and the internet has helped take information into hyper-speed with everyone wanting to know something quickly. although Fitness is nothing new, I don’t see many programs or individuals really giving much information on anything new. Nothing that can be put to any real use. Nothing that’s going to change your life. I would like to be someone that can help bring something really useful about diets, exercise and keeping your body fit and healthy to the mainstream public.

I have a number of projects that I am involved in at the moment, including a fitness piece of equipment, a possible TV show, and a clothing line that may soon find itself in large department stores! Watch out!

Check out Rob's website: www.robrichesfitness.com