An Interview with Paul Vaillancourt
By
Nathan Donahue
Today is a real treat for the readers of EliteFTs.com. A good friend of mine,
Paul Vaillancourt, just won the 105 kg Canada’s Strongest Man Competition and
also placed eleventh at Canada’s Strongest Man (the real deal)! Paul is an
extremely strong, tough, and intelligent strength athlete so I was really
excited when he agreed to do an interview for my blog.
KB: What is your overall training philosophy?
PV: Train hard, win easy. I try to make my training reflect my
competitive needs, and I always want to be bigger and stronger. The more
difficult and strenuous the training sessions are, the easier competition feels.
KB: How long have you been training seriously?
PV: I have been training seriously for about five years. I first got
serious about training to do a couple of bodybuilding shows and then switched
over to Strongman and powerlifting. I like the fact that I can keep my pants on
and still compete. I’ve been a typical gym rat since high school (1994).
KB: Who has been your biggest inspiration or mentor in the strength game?
PV: I’ve had many influences. You [Nathan] got me started in powerlifting
with the fitness warehouse push/pull competitions. Brian Dunham really pushed me
in the right direction when it came to Strongman. He’s been a big mentor. I try
to take something positive and beneficial from everyone I meet. Dave Tate and
Jim Wendler are both pretty big inspirations as well.
KB: What are some of the lifts you are most proud of?
PV: I’m proud of my 655-lb deadlift, but I hope to smash that soon. With
Strongman and its lack of standard lifts, I don’t really have any standout
favorites. I did a 310-lb log back in March of 2008. That was a big milestone
for me. I also remember the first time I pressed 315 lbs and finally made it
into the three-plate club.
KB: What are the contests you are most proud of?
PV: The whole 2008 season has been great. I finished second at Ontario’s
Strongest Man and eleventh at Canada’s Strongest man (this was really cool
because I felt like and was treated like a professional athlete with television
appearances and autographs making me feel like a rock star). And of course the
climax of the season was my dominant win at the 105 kg, Canada’s Strongest Man.
I won five or six events and got my ASC lightweight professional card. This was
a big step in the right direction.
KB: Because you own two gyms, are married, compete, and build your own
equipment in addition to having a full-time job during all of this insanity,
where the hell do you find the time?
PV: I make the time. I live to train and compete so the rest of my life
gets built around that. My wife is awesome and very supportive of my athletic
endeavors. She also competes in powerlifting so we spend a lot of time in the
gym together.
I firmly believe that if you don’t have the time to do something, you just
don’t want to do it bad enough. Many things get neglected and take a back seat
to training, competition, and the business. I love my job running the gym and
training clients and athletes so it never feels like work. I don’t see my family
very often, which I feel badly about, and I don’t have many friends outside the
iron game. I forget where I heard the quote, but, “You can’t be great at
anything without making sacrifices in all other aspects of your life.”
KB: What is your height (don’t lie) and weight?
PV: I’m pretty short as far as Strongmen are concerned. I’m about 5’11”
and weigh 240 lbs most of the time.
KB: What does your weekly diet, or lack of, look like?
PV: Nutrition is paramount to not only performance but also to looking
good. I always start every day with either eggs and toast or a giant shake. I
prepare all my meals for the week on Sunday so I can always have good food at my
fingertips. I eat a lot of extra lean ground beef. I make burgers, chili, and
spaghetti. I love Mexican food so I make a lot of tacos and burritos. I also
like fish so I eat fish and chips at least once a week.
Chicken breasts and steak are also staples. I get sick of eating things over
and over so I’m always looking for new ways to cook my meats. I don’t eat low
carb, but I definitely eat a reduced carb diet. I usually bump up my carb intake
on training days, and I always drink a waxy maise/protein drink after training.
I usually eat junk on Saturdays after training. I like just about everything,
but I don’t get enough veggies so I’ve started drinking low sodium V-8. I’m not
sure how much it’s going to help. I keep my supplements pretty simple—protein
powder, creatine, glutamine, and waxymaise. I’ve also started using beta
alanine, which seems to work pretty well.
KB: How much sleep do you get each day?
PV: Unfortunately, I only get about seven hours each night. I’ll squeeze
in a nap whenever I can in the late afternoons, but my schedule is pretty hectic
sometimes. I feel that sleep is the most important recovery modality. It’s easy
to do and it works.
KB: What is your favorite implement/movement these days?
PV: I love doing Atlas stones. They are just fun, plain and simple. They
also kick the crap out of your entire body. I’ve been working hard at bringing
up my overhead shoulder strength lately.
KB: What does your current training split look like?
PV: I train four days per week using my own version of a Westside
template. Sunday is DE upper and it’s always an overhead pressing movement.
Supplementary work is usually heavy close grip benching off of various boards.
Accessories are pretty standard and include rows, chins, dips, and triceps
extensions.
Tuesday is DE lower. I usually do box squats and speed pulls followed by
accessories like lunges, leg press, glute ham raises, Romanian deadlifts,
weighted abs, hanging leg raises, and dumbbell side bends. (Of course, we just
choose two or three per session). Thursday is ME upper. We rotate our main lift
every three weeks. We use the same accessories as with DE upper, but we also
throw in some dumbbell pressing. Saturday is events, and I classify it as ME
lower. We usually hit three or four events in a session that last about three
hours. This includes stones, Farmers walks, log press, axle press, tire
flipping, and yoke walks. Our training group is pretty lucky to have just about
every piece of equipment for Strongman training.
KB: What are the three most important movements for people trying to
build strength?
PV: Squats, deadlifts, and any type of pressing.
KB: Strength training, hypertrophy, or both when starting out?
PV: I would have to say a combination of both. I like to start new guys
on a 5 X 5 template with the main lifts. Then we do the accessory work
bodybuilding style. Get that pump on. The 5 X 5 template allows guys to learn to
lift properly and still handle some decent weight.
KB: What is the worst competitive experience you’ve had (injury, getting
owned)?
PV: I traveled to the States to compete in a professional qualifier
Strongman show back in 2006. I was halfway through a 16-week contest diet for
bodybuilding, and I got my ass handed to me. I thought I was much better than I
actually was. However, it was a very important learning experience for me. I got
my shit together and became a better athlete.
A favorite quote of mine by Abe Lincoln is, “A smooth sea never produced a
skilled mariner.” I take that as you’ve got to get your ass kicked a few times
before you can reach greatness.
KB: Any advice for regular people trying to take their training to the
competitive level?
PV: Find some guys in your area who compete and see if you can go train
with them. Read as much as you can, talk to people who compete, and just get out
there and start doing it.
KB: Training partners, yes or no?
PV: Absolutely. Very important.
KB: Great! Last question—kettlebells, do you use them? This is a
kettlebell blog but answer honestly, the readers can take it!
PV: I don’t fake anything. I have a kettlebell. It’s a 53-lb one, and
I use it for throws, swings, and snatches. I sometimes head over to the park
near my house and do some GPP work. I also use it to train my athletes. I have
them do swings and snatches. Often, I use it as part of a medley including a
sled and sandbag.
Nathan Donahue is a competitive powerlifter (2006 Canadian, 110 kg champion,
IPF/CPU) and writes a regular kettlebell blog. For more information, visit his
blog at:
http://kettlebellplanet.blogspot.com/2008/08/kettlebell-planet-interview-with.html.
Paul Vaillancourt is a professional Strongman and owns two gyms in Eastern
Ontario with his lovely wife Sarah. For more information he can be contacted at:
http://www.ultimatefitnessgyms.com/gyms_renfrew.html.
Elite Fitness Systems strives to be a recognized leader in the strength
training industry by providing the highest quality strength training products
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industry. For the best training equipment, information, and accessories, visit
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