BBG: Scotty, tell us a little about yourself if you would. Where you’re from, what you do, where went/are going to school, a mini-biography if you will.

SCOTTY: What up fam!? My name is Scotty Wiseman and I am a 22-year-old natural Bodybuilder repping the 804 – aka Chesterfield, Virginia. For those who don’t know, it’s about 20 minutes south of Richmond. This fall I will be a senior at Lynchburg College; and if all goes according to plan, I will be graduating in May with a degree in Health and Physical Education! My plan is to be a teacher and a coach, but to also be a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS). I can’t wait to spread my love of lifting and fitness to the younger generation and to folks who have never had the burning desire, but want to turn their lives around.

BBG: Dude, you’re 22 – exactly how old is the younger generation?

SCOTTY: HA!

BBG: Of course one of the reasons we’re interviewing you is because we know you’re an avid Big Back Grips user. What did you use beforeBBGs and why did you settle on BBGs? How do they help your workout?

SCOTTY: Before Big Back Grips I used regular weight lifting straps. They were ok, but I always ended up with these heinous callouses on my hands from the weights. The worst was the lat pulldown bar! With BBGs you don’t need to worry about callouses, they’ve got you covered, literally! I love the feeling of BBGs, whether it’s doing regular pullups or lat pulldowns, you get a sick grip that won’t slip!

BBG: Where do you work out?

SCOTTY: At school. I work out at my school’s gym. But at home I have two gyms– American Family Fitness, which has about 10 gyms in The Richmond area which is very convenient, but my main gym is Wolfgang’s Gym. Wolfgang’s is awesome because it’s more of a hardcore bodybuilders’ gym with graffiti all over the walls and chalk on the floor! Lifting there I can tell you is an experience in itself.

BBG: Can you describe your workout for us? Would you call yourself hardcore?

SCOTTY: My schedule varies from week to week since I work two jobs at 60+ hours a week. Sometimes I have to train at night, which I hate. But usually I like to start my week from the ground up–meaning legs first, shoulders last! I try to hit legs twice a week, then I work back and biceps, chest and triceps, then lastly shoulders and traps. I don’t think I would call myself hardcore all the time, but I know how to get it done. I love what I do and so I have a great time doing it. My lifting style is much different than other people’s, because I will joke around until it’s time for my set. lol! But during my sets, yes, I’m as hardcore as it gets.

BBG: Did you play or excel at any sports outside the gym?

SCOTTY: I did! In high school I played lacrosse and my team at one point was ranked 25th in the nation! I was fortunate enough to receive a scholarship to attend a small private boarding school in Charlottesville, Virginia, called Saint Anne’s-Belfield. Here I not only received a great education, but we also won back-to-back state championships my junior AND senior year! I then went to Lynchburg College to play lacrosse (and also to go to class  ).

BBG: What brought you into the world of lifting and when? What are your main goals in bodybuilding?

SCOTTY: I think I was like most young guys who start lifting to look better and feel better about themselves. But chest and biceps don’t get you very far, except on the beach lol! Once I started playing competitive lacrosse, I soon learned I could have a huge leg up on my opponents if I spent more time in the weight room than they did. So I’ve always enjoyed lifting. However, my sophomore year I tore my ACL in practice one day so I had to get surgery and it was a unique surgery where the doctor actually took a graft of my hamstring and inserted it into my knee to form a new ACL! The surgery went great, but it was a long 6 months to recovery. For most people, ACLs take about a full year to recover from. I was determined to not be like the rest and be back on the field in half that time! After surgery, I obviously couldn’t do much lifting or running with my legs. So what did I do? I got swole! Every day I was in the gym lifting with some part of my body that I was able to. Part of this was because I wanted to stay in shape and not get fat haha! This was when I fell in love with bodybuilding, since my focus was taken away from lacrosse. To this day I haven’t looked back. I made the comeback that season but last year I decided I found something I was actually better at–I made the lifestyle change to bodybuilding.

My main goals of bodybuilding are to constantly improve myself on a daily basis, work hard to achieve my goals and once I graduate, I want to eventually compete in a show!

BBG: What are your biggest accomplishments in your workout history so far? : Titles, personal goals achieved, etc.

SCOTTY: I think my most impressive achievement was coming back from my ACL surgery and squatting 315 for reps. And also doing 16 reps of 225 on the bench while I was recovering from my knee surgery.

BBG: What about your diet?

SCOTTY: What about it? Just kidding. That phrase you are what you eat is really no BS. What you put into your body is so important in the way that your workouts will go, your mood, your conditioning, and just your overall strength and size gains.

I stick to a high protein diet shooting for about 400 grams of protein a day, if not more.  I have days where I load carbs and then days where I take off from them. I love my chicken and steak and tuna fish. You need to find that motivation to cook for yourself!

BBG: What are your favorite exercises or body parts to work? What do you consider your best body part? Do have a body part that’s especially challenging to make headway on?

SCOTTY: My favorite body part is shoulders. Personally I think that is my strongest part of my physique and I love the pump and look when you get all swole up from a shoulder day. The most stubborn and challenging body part for me is legs.

BBG: If someone were going to work out with you, what are they in for, what’s your workout style? What would you want from a partner?

SCOTTY: Well, I would definitely say they would have a great time and a great workout. If you can’t have fun doing something you love then you’re not doing it right! My lifting partners are all pretty close if not stronger than me in certain lifts so that makes us all push each other even harder every single day.

BBG: What’s your advice to people just starting out?

SCOTTY: Be sure to use weight you can control. Also be mindful that results are made in the kitchen, i.e. you are what you eat! Clean your diet up if you’re not getting the results you want and step up your cardio. And ladies, do your squats! 

BBG: Finally, can you give us your workout for just one body part: back or legs, shoulders, chest or arms, even abs. Just pick your favorites.

SCOTTY: In The spirit of Big Back Grips here is my back workout:

• 4 sets wide grip pull ups, 10-12 reps to failure
• 3 sets straight bar push downs, high reps low weight (force that blood into the lats and warm them up!)
• 3 sets reverse grip bent over rows, 10-12 reps (Mass builder!)
• 4 sets at pull downs HEAVY 8-10reps
• 3 sets one-arm dumbbell rows, 8-12 reps to failure
• 4 sets seated cable rows (build up to a drop-set. Ex: 15@ 150lbs, 12@ 200, 10@ 250 then drop back down to 150 and burnout for an INSANE pump.

Now y’all go on out there and get that Big Back!  

 BBG: Scotty, thank you so much!