Layne Norton Athlete Profile

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Layne Norton
Quick Stats
  • Layne Norton
  • 27
  • Champaign, IL
  • 5'10.5"
  • 190-195 lbs
  • 10
  • Legs
  • Squat or Deadlift
  • Scivation Xtend
  • Scivation
Layne Norton is a massive and strong natural bodybuilder, and one of the biggest names in the iron game. Layne is also a member of Team Scivation.

Your Background

Competition History

  • 2001 INBF Mid-America Muscle Classic:  Teen and Men’s Novice Tall Winner
  • 2002 INBF Mid-American Muscle Classic:  Men’s Novice Tall 4th place and Mr. Evansville Runner-Up
  • 2002 SNBF Tennessee Championships:  Men’s Novice & Open Tall Winner
  • 2004 NPC Tampa Bay Classic:  4th Place LHW Open
  • 2004 NGA Internationals:  3rd Place LHW Open
  • 2004 ABA Mr. Indiana Men’s Open Overall Winner
  • 2004 ABA Mr. Illinois Men’s Open Overall Winner
  • 2004 NPC Caveman Classic:  Men’s Novice LHW 6th place
  • 2006 OCB Spirit of America:  Men’s Open Heavyweight Runner Up
  • 2006 OCB Great Lakes States:  Men’s Open Overall Winner*
  • 2006 NGA Heart of American Natural Classic:  Men’s Open Overall Winner*
  • 2006 NANBF Minnesota Championships: Men’s Open medium height 3rd place

Laybe Norton Challenge of Bodybuilding

What is your background and how did you get started in bodybuilding?

I originally started in natural bodybuilding because I was picked on a lot in high school and didn’t get much attention from girls.  As I learned to love the process of lifting more and more I started becoming more interested in competing.

Why do you love bodybuilding?

It is the ultimate challenge of you against yourself.  Everyone has different genetics, structure, etc.  But at the end of the day, I can always challenge myself to beat the me from yesterday. 

Training

Layne Norton Natural Bodybuilder

What is your training philosophy?

My training philosophy is very complex and is very atypical and could not be summed up by simply listing sets and reps.  Briefly it’s based around a hybrid of powerlifting and bodybuilding with emphasis placed on periodization, variation in rep schemes, and a lot of old Russian theories on powerlifting & volume training. 

If you have to pick only 3 exercises, what would they be and why?

  1. Squat
  2. Deadlift
  3. Dumbbell Bench Press

The first 2 make you a man and the last one covers what the first two may miss.

What's the best training tip you could give to others?

Be patient.  No matter how hard you work; progress won’t happen fast.  Consistency, dedication, tenacity, and patience will take you farther than any other traits.

Nutrition

What is your philosophy on nutrition?

Again it varies from person to person.  In general I prefer moderation in all things.  Protein is about 1-1.15g/lb bodyweight, fat is about 20-30% of total kcals, and the rest of the calories that I need are filled in by carbohydrates.  In the off-season this ends up around 250g protein, 450-500g carbohydrate, and 80-90g fat.

Give us a typical day in your off season diet:

My macronutrients are always very consistent but my food choices change everyday.  I do not believe in being a slave to a ‘meal plan.’  Many people act like chicken/broccoli/rice is magic and it’s really not the case.  Your body doesn’t ‘see’ foods.  It sees amino acids, carbohydrates, lipids, and fiber and that’s it.  Your muscle could care less if it got the amino acids from a chicken breast or a steak so long as it gets them in the proper proportion for maximal anabolism.

Give us a typical day in your diet (contest prep):

It changes every contest season depending upon how my body responds and typically I will have to change my macronutrient intake as I get further into the prep.  A ‘normal’ prep intake for me would be anywhere from 250-300g protein, 150-250g carbohydrates, and 45-60g fat per day.  I also have 2 days per week where I will moderately increase carbs to 300-350g while simultaneously lowering fat and protein by about 10%.

Layne Norton Cutting Diet

What are your favorite meals and foods?

For protein I am pretty simple, I like chicken, steak, and eggs.  For carbs I love low fat popcorn.  It has a lot of volume for very little calories and is very filling.  It also has about 10g of fiber per bag!

Favorite cheat food?

Don’t really have any ‘cheat’ days.  Even if I have non-typical natural bodybuilding foods, I still always hit macronutrient targets.  I will occasionally have a burrito, or a slice of pizza, but not very often.  I suppose my favorite non-traditional bodybuilding foods would be when I visit my wife’s family in Puerto Rico and they cook authentic Latin cuisine.

What's the best nutrition tip you could give to others?

Just like with training, be consistent!  I do not believe in restricting yourself to the point where you are miserable but I also don’t believe in cheat days and all out gluttony.  I believe in moderation and consistency.  If you want to learn how to be successful in natural bodybuilding, read the book “The tortoise and the hare.”  The tortoise wins every time.

Supplements

Layne Norton Huge and RippedWhat supplements do you use that give you great results? How do you use them?

  1. Scivation Xtend:  Rich in BCAAs and leucine which promote muscle anabolism along with Citrulline Malate which also has a positive effect on protein synthesis and performance.  
  2. Scivation VasoCharge:  Contains beta-alanine, creatine monohydrate, and Citrulline Malate amongst other goodies that improve performance and strength and help with mental focus.  
  3. Fish Oil Capsules:  Great for decreasing inflammation and promoting overall health & insulin sensitivity. 

What brands do you think are offering the best products at the moment?

Scivation. If I didn’t believe that I would not be sponsored by them because I’ve had plenty of other offers and I’ve never left.

What do you think is a good off season muscle building stack?

Xtend, creatine monohydrate, beta-alanine, and acetyl-L-carnitine are probably a good start.

What do you think is a good pre-contest/fat loss stack?

Quite a few good ones out there, but I like Sesamin and Dialene-4.

Advice For Others

What are the 3 best tips you'd give to someone thinking about competing in natural bodybuilding?

  1. Be consistent.
  2. Be tenacious.
  3. Be willing to work harder than anyone else.

What is your best advice for looking your best on competition day?

Get shredded.  Period.  End of story.  All these final week ‘tricks’ simply don’t work.  If you aren’t shredded at one week out, nothing you do in that last week is going to make you look shredded onstage.  Looking ‘dry’ has nothing to do with water, it has everything to do with maximal bodyfat loss.

Layne Norton Shredded Bodybuilder

How do you stay motivated? What advice would you give to someone who's having trouble staying on track?

No idea what to tell someone who can’t stay motivated.  I’ve never had that problem.  Quite simply I want to beat myself every single day.  I feel if I can keep beating myself then eventually I can become one of the best.

Future Plans

What shows have you got coming up, where can we see you compete?

I will be competing in fall of 2010 in IFPA and NGA pro shows but I am not sure exactly which ones.

What would you like to achieve in your natural bodybuilding career?

It would be a dream come true for me to win a pro show.  But more than competing I want to leave a mark on the industry and change the mindset of thinking.  I want to prove to people that there is a right way to compete and you can get in fantastic competitive shape without putting your health at risk.

Favorite Competitors/Idols

Who are your favorite bodybuilders and idols?

Dave Goodin, Dr. Joe Klemczewski, and a whole host of others too numerous to name, but Dave and Dr. Joe both helped me a lot when I was first starting out.  They are both wildly successful and class acts.  They both give me something to strive for.

4 Comments
bartek
Posted on: Mon, 10/24/2011 - 17:28

How is your training look like for all year ? how do u change it?

chad vanderipe
Posted on: Wed, 07/21/2010 - 00:15

Layne I saw you first on youtube while i was searching natural bodybuilding. I liked your attitude and intensity. You were training a guy for his first show. I think he got first. Do you have a website?

Arlene Hansen
Posted on: Mon, 03/08/2010 - 18:11

I like the quote about "daily beating ourself", compete only with my yesterday. I think that will work for me as motivation. Never thought of it that way.

Pete
Posted on: Fri, 03/05/2010 - 19:12

GOOD ARTICLE