Now On Stage: Shawn Clapp: Diet Guru of The Week!
Name: Shawn Clapp 
Date of birth: March 30, 1969
Hometown: Eagle River, Alaska
Career: Trainer, Promoter, Co-owner, CMC Personal Training Studio and Team 907 Muscle Girls
Sports background: Wrestling, Martial Arts, Body Building
What do you like best about being a diet coach?
The challenge of bringing in the final days leading up to a contest. Seeing a body respond to the minute-to-minute adjustments you make, knowing that all the weeks of hard work are at stake, is a challenge I relish. I particularly appreciate this when it is with a first time competitor who still doesn't see him or herself as a body builder. To watch them transform from a fit person who likes to workout to a competitor with the best physique of their life is the greatest reward. I think you can only understand it if you have been there as a competitor.
Competition history:
2007 Alaska Iron Man - Open Men Light Heavy 3rd Place
2008 NPC Alaska State Championships - Open Men Light Heavy 3rd Place
2008 NPC Emerald Cup - Open Men Light Heavy 15th Place
2009 NPC Vancouver USA - Open Men Light Heavy 3rd Place
2009 NPC Emerald Cup - Masters Men Heavy Weight - 5th Place
2035 Masters National Championships - Overall Champion
What Cardio Type Would You Recommend for Fat Loss and or Pre Contest, High Intensity Interval Training (H.I.I.T) or Low Intensity Steady State (L.I.S.S.)?
It really depends on the athlete. HIIT is the most effective way to burn body fat and spare lean mass in most cases, but I have had situations where an athlete needs to do a mix of each due to their level of conditioning. I have also had situations where an athlete actually needs to loose mass in the legs (this is sometimes the case with fitness where a woman's athletic background and the natural propensity for hypertrophy in the legs makes steady state cardio necessary, but sprints are necessary due to the conditioning required for routine performance).
I am actually currently developing a new cardio protocol called Seriously High Intensity Interval Training (S.H.I.I.T.).
How do you diet your clients? Using the carb cycling approach, keto?
I don
't adhere to any single protocol. I myself, am a big fan of keto diets because that is what works for me, but I don't take carbs away from an athlete who makes progress with carbs in their diet. I have clients who rarely drop below 300 grams of carbs and I have clients that I take ketogenic and everything in between. I will say that most people won't see significant drops in body fat until they get below 100 grams of carbs per day.
I have seen success with carb cycling, but I have also found a lot of athletes struggle psychologically with it. I really watch the athlete closely and adjust what I am prescribing based on their physical and mental needs.
What is your protocol for filing out days prior to stepping onstage?
Again, this depends on how the athlete is responding to things and where they are as far as conditioning. Because I deal with beginners, pros, and everything in between, I see athletes who are 100% on and athletes who are not quite there yet and they each require a different approach during the final days. There is also a big difference between the divisions these days. I used to get figure or fitness competitors very tight and then load them up just like a body builder, but the judges sometimes penalize too much muscularity today in those divisions so I find myself not loading some competitors. Bodybuilders, of course, need to load, but some should load aggressively and others not so much.
What is the most challenging aspect of dieting clients?
Without a doubt - psychology! Helping an athlete succeed in achieving their absolute best requires an understanding of what makes them tick. Some are Ferraris and they have two speeds - 100 mph and park. Those clients require a different approach than the cruisers.
My wife and star client, IFBB Fitness Pro Cinzia Massaro Clapp, is definitely what I would call a Ferrari. She is either going 100 MPH or sleeping! For her, she has to stay pretty much ketogenic, 100% all in, or it becomes a mental challenge. Athletes like that often have a tough time with cycling or other variable diets. Competitors succeed or fail in contest prep mentally. Whether or not a client makes it to the finish line has less to do with the diet than the psychological impact of the diet.
What supplements do you recommend the most to your clients?
Whey and casein protein, CLA, BCAA, Creatine and Arginine. These are the basics and I may add others based on the level of conditioning. I like to help an athlete take their body as far as they can with as few supplements as possible and then incrementally add supplements in, in a measured way. I like to see athletes use calcium, carnitine and chromium prior to cardio once they get leaner. I believe in holding some strategies back for later in the prep so you have built-in cuts and changes when things stall or are about to stall. Predicting and preventing a plateau is one of the biggest responsibilities of a trainer / diet coach and supplements are a very useful tool for that.
I also recommend Fiberlyze to clients who are low carb and I teach them how to use it in recipes.
What is the oddest question you have ever been asked by a client?
I once had a woman walk into my studio and request a zero calorie protein powder. I asked her for clarification on what exactly she was trying to find and she said, "I just want to do yoga, drink a zero calorie protein shake for each meal, and lose weight." After I patiently explained there is no such thing as a zero calorie protein powder, that protein has 4 calories per gram, and attempted to introduce her to the idea of a sound nutrition plan, she exclaimed, "I'm not trying to look like you or anything! They told me you had a zero calorie protein here!" and stormed out of my studio.
Do you also provide training programs to clients? If so, how do you determine the best program for each individual?
Absolutely, we are a one stop shop. Resistance training, cardio and nutrition all go h
and-in-hand and you will have a hard time addressing one without the others.
We begin every contest prep with an analysis of the client's physique and prescribe a training regimen that takes into consideration weak points, strong points, and the amount of time before stepping on stage. Whether they actually train with us in our studio, with another trainer, or on their own, as their diet coach I must have an understanding of the nature of their training.
I believe in intensity above all else when it comes to resistance training. By intensity I mean focus, heart rate, and tension on the muscle being targeted - not the number written on the side of the weight plate. I find that, whether it's bikini or body building, intense weight training has its place in contest prep.
What formula do you use to determine how many macro nutrients to give each client?
I start with determining their lean mass and base their protein requirement on that. Generally 1.5 to 2 grams per pound of lean mass (not scale weight). I then tweak fat and carb intake based on their body type (where they carry the most fat helps me to estimate their ability to handle sugar and fat). If they are leaner or hard gainers, with lower lean mass, I will give them more carbs and fat to start with than someone who gains mass and fat easily. Everyone gets adjusted based on their body's response after a couple of weeks.
Do you have clients manipulate water prior to getting onstage? If so how?
I prefer to get a client lean and hard a week out and then play around with their minerals but keep water. If a client isn't quite lean enough then we sometimes have to cut water, but I prefer not to be in that situation. I find that many athletes flatten out when dehydrated so keeping water helps them appear fuller and tighter. The trick is to get lean enough and to manipulate mineral intake so as to get rid of subcutaneous water and not the water that accounts for much of what we call lean mass.
What is the best way for potential clients to reach you?
Email is definitely the best way to go, [email protected] or via one of our many websites, www.cmctrainer.com, www.alskamuscle.com or www.907musclegirls.com.
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