Dr. Chris Fox is the newest member of both the Elite Fitness Systems and Troponin Nutrition staffs. Chris's numerous bodybuilding accomplishments include:
• 1996 Light heavyweight and Overall Champion Mr. Atlanta
• 2006 2nd place LHW Mike Francois Classic
• 2008 2nd place LHW Mike Francois Classic
• 2008 1st place LHW Julie Palmer Championships
Introduce yourself to the elitefts readership, and tell us something about yourself.
My name is Dr. Chris Fox. I'm a chiropractor who specializes in spinal rehabilitation. I'm 35 years old, I've been lifting since I was 13, and I've been seriously bodybuilding since I was 20. I've competed in several bodybuilding shows since 1996. I've always enjoyed contest prep and found it fascinating, and I've helped countless competitors achieve their best results over the years. This is my passion.
I recently joined Troponin Nutrition as a nutritionist, and I'm extremely excited about it. In my opinion, those guys are some of the best in the business, so to be associated with them is an honor.
My pride and joy in my life, though, is my 4 year old son Brayden and my wife Melissa. They keep me grounded and help me find balance in this crazy sport of bodybuilding. I'd like to thank them for putting up with me throughout my career. I'm not a huge guy, but most people know me for my conditioning, which requires extreme dieting. With that, of course, comes extreme moodiness. So thank you to them for not killing me...yet.
How did you become affiliated with elitefts?
I've read the EFS board over the years, but it wasn't until Shelby Starnes brought me on as a nutritionist for Troponin Nutrition and posed the question that I was affiliated. I have to give a big thank you to Shelby for believing in me, and to Dave Tate for bringing me on.
What is your nutritional philosophy?
I've tried just about every diet out there, so I do practice what I preach. I believe there is never one specific diet. Everyone is different, thus if you'd compare two of my clients, you'd see my diets are all over the place. For myself, though, I usually do a pretty high protein diet, moderate carbs, and low fat. I've learned not to let myself get so fat in the off-season, so I don't have to suffer as much and can keep my carbs higher throughout my diet. Man, I could talk about this all day. I love this stuff.
Basically, though, I try and stick to a half dozen foods, keeping things simple and just focusing on getting in so many grams of protein, carbs and fat per meal. If you're in decent shape, you don't have to cycle your carbs, either. What a roller coaster that can be. I do plan on trying to incorporate more EFAs into my diet this year, because I want to see what happens. It's a continuous learning game.
What is your training philosophy?
This past year I think I've made my best gains as far as strength and size. My partner and I kept things simple. We only trained each body part every 5-7 days - one exercise for three sets of rotating rep schemes. We changed the exercises weekly. This is far from what we used to do. I've tried Dorian's HIT style training, volume training, German volume training, et al. Recently, we've just added in some of the FST-7's after our three main sets to get more of a pump in the muscle.
For example, leg day would go like this: 3 sets of 15 reps for stiff-leg deadlifts, 7 sets of 10 reps for lying leg curls (only 30 seconds rest between sets), 3 sets of squats for 15 reps, 7 sets of 12 on the leg press, and 2 sets of abductors and adductors. That's it. It sounds easy, but so far it's working. I've never been a strong guy, but my weights are steadily moving up, so I'm happy. Then, the following week, I would do 3 x 10-12 on the hack squat, 7 sets of leg extensions, 3 sets of seated leg curls, and 7x10 on the glute-ham raise. I've certainly learned that I don't have to continually pound myself into the ground. That resulted in zero progress.
What can we expect from you on the site?
I plan to provide as much help in the nutritional and rehab departments as I can. I really excited to learn more about powerlifting, to be honest, and to learn from these guys. Hopefully I can just give something back.
What does elitefts mean to you?
This is my first interview, and the first opportunity I've ever had to do something like this, so this means more than you know. I love this site, and I love how it caters to all types and kinds of lifters. Again, I would like to thank Dave for giving me this opportunity to be involved with such an incredible site.
Do you have any closing words?
My goal here is to help as many people as I can, and also to learn as I go. I'm thankful to be part of such a terrific and knowledgeable group of man and women. If anyone is interested in a diet program, they can reach me at Troponinnutrition.com. Thanks for your time.