Iain Valliere, one of Canada’s leading bodybuilders in the Men’s Open division, has set his sights on redemption in 2023. In a recent Bro Chat podcast, Valliere said he’s kept a steady body weight in the off-season and plans to stay in ‘striking range’ before competing at the Toronto Pro Supershow this June.
Valliere quickly found success in the IFBB Pro League, though perhaps registered his best season back in 2021. He managed to string together a pair of consecutive victories at the Tampa Pro and Texas Pro. He leveraged the success on the 2021 Arnold Classic stage and took second place to Nick Walker. Valliere’s momentum saw him reach Orlando, Florida for the annual Mr. Olympia event where he finished seventh.
Unlike his previous season which saw him perform at four contests, Valliere took part in just two last year (2022). He earned gold against Antoine Vaillant at the Vancouver Pro last Summer, securing his invitation to the Mr. Olympia contest. With several new talents asserting themselves as players in the Open class like Andrew Jacked, Michal Krizo, and Rafael Brandao, Valliere fell to 12th at the prestigious gathering.
Win or lose, Valliere is open with fans online. He’s maintained a ‘dry 280 pounds’ in the off-season and has reincorporated deadlifts into his workout routine. Given the changes to his diet and training, Valliere is hopeful about reestablishing himself among a jam-packed Open division.
Iain Valliere Shares Low-Calorie Prep Details for 2023 Toronto Pro Supershow
According to Valliere, his current prep won’t be difficult leading up to his next contest. He kept his weight under control in the off-season and stated he could lose 25 pounds in four weeks if he had to.
“This won’t be a very hard prep for me from a body fat loss standpoint because I didn’t get that heavy. You know, I really didn’t get much over 285 this off-season, we tried to keep it so I was in a good spot, in striking range and feeling good. Things are still operating well. I’m not in a big sluggish off-season.”“I’m really only pulling 20-25 pounds at absolute most over like 16-20 weeks, you’re talking less than a pound a week. It doesn’t need to be anything aggressive in terms of calories pulled. It’s not like I’m someone that has a ton of trouble getting lean anyways.”
“So like now, I’m down to just shy of 280. So, I’m six of that down or seven of that down,” added Valliere. “I can get that [25 pounds] off in four weeks easily. No problem. I could go from 285 to 265 in four weeks if I pushed it, easily, for sure. By sparing muscle, I think it’s important to say not just from a caloric standpoint of muscle wasting, it’s the deterioration of training that would come from that. If you just fuc**ng plummet calories, what’s going to happen with your training, it’s going to suffer.”
“I think you can diet on low calories and still not lose muscle. But I think if you really start to have a big impact in your training, that’s where the loss starts to come,” Valliere said. “There’s no better indicator than maintenance, at least maintenance of strength into a bodybuilding show.”
“If you’re doing huge drops in calories or huge drops in progression in terms of strength, that’s definitely going to impact the amount of muscle you hold.”
Vallliere Shares Opinion on Coaches: ‘Some People Want to Be Told You Look Like Fuc**ng Sh**; Some People Want to Be Told You Look Awesome’
“Just like talking about some athletes need to be told, you know, they send a pair of progress pictures, they want to be told you look like fuc**ng shit, fuc**ng pussys, and some people want to be told, ‘Man, you look awesome, this is great, keep going,’ some people want in the middle. There’s so many things that make people excel and not,” said Iain Valliere.
“I think Matt understands very well what I need to continue to succeed. From hearing from a mental standpoint, the things I need to work on like my posing to the style of the physique I want to bring; I think we are just two people that are on the same page with the vision and direction of where we see my physique, said Valliere.“He is making a point of being absolutely honest – honesty over everything in terms of his actions. Whether I don’t think people want to hear it or not, but in that same breath, I know how he approaches a conversation with me, or with Nick or a conversation with Brett. It’s all different.”
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