12.10.2009How Erik Tóth does it - part I
Mr. Tóth, you belong to the top of the Czech-Slovak natural bodybuilding. How difficult it is to get to the top and then keep there?
It is impossible to repeat enough times that you will achieve your goal only when you work hard with great self-control and patience. Since I started with competitions, I have been driven forward and pushing my limits up and higher. .
A real sportsperson will never be satisfied with his/her performance and it is even much true in bodybuilding. “It is good, but not good enough”. So to answer specifically the question how to get to the top is very difficult. Of course, there are many factors that will hold a man, make him stronger and push him forward. It includes a piece of advice from more experienced champions, encouragement from the family and friends, and some tiny mistakes from which one can only learn.
To get to the top is a load of work; the above-mentioned self-control, patience, self-denial and belief. Determine your goal and pursue it with full stretch. Sportspersons should never tell to themselves that it is not in their power, or that they will not manage it. It would disturb their mental stability and thus the whole effort to get as high as possible. I told myself I would live for sport. I do it fully and it fulfils me. It gives me energy to know how to improve myself all the time. I like this lifestyle and many friends show me their liking and support, they cheer for me.
Each distance that we manage in one training session, whether it is a small step or a great leap towards the goal, is precious. I always remind myself of how much time, money and “suffering” I have spent to get to where I am now.
This might be the answer to the second part of the question concerning the staying at the top. I must appreciate what I have achieved, turn back occasionally and remind myself of the load of work, and look to the future with my head held high, and get over further obstacles with positivism.
How many hours a week do you train? What is the structure of your training plan?
It would not be precise to talk about hours. It is an individual training that matters. I have 11 power training sessions a week. Besides this I go swimming twice a week and I have at least one jogging session. If you think 11 sessions are too many, I must explain that a bit. I have two-phase training. I build each big muscle part twice a week, but I also pay attention to smaller muscles. I have special trainings for abdomen, bottom, back shoulders with trapeze muscles to which I usually add cardio training session. The session itself should last 50-55 minutes maximum. When I do not have a combination of two muscle parts, my training session is 30 minutes long. Intensity of the training and constant concentration are vital. If I still have to state how many hours of sweating and effort I spend in a gym and swimming pool, it would be circa 14 hours.
I plan my training sessions as easily as possible. I usually start the week with thighs, in the evening I work on my back. The next day I start with abdomen muscles + cardio, and chest in the evening. The third day I work on my shoulders with triceps, calves and biceps come in the evening. The forth day I train still untrained parts (calves, trapezes) + cardio and regeneration swimming, in the evening I work on thighs again.
It is quite hard and I allow myself to relax only so much that the given muscle part can regenerate. I also allow myself to have enough sleep after the morning phase. This is how I train before a competition. Outside the season I decrease the number of training sessions to 5-6. Sometimes, I train in two phases, but sometimes I have days with no training at all.