Meet Charlie Biggs

Executive Director of PhillyGayCalendar

It’s that time of year, when most of us will be beach-bound, and we’ll all be half-naked in public. 

Mr Gay Philadelphia is this coming weekend, and the boys that are competing are sure to produce the bangin’ bodies, that we all are so hopeful for. No one knows what it’s like to get the perfect beach body, through nutrition and exercise, like former Mr. Gay Philadelphia, Charlie Biggs. We picked his brain, to get that body ody ody, that will have the heads turning. 

What made you decide to enter into a career of personal training?

I just entered into my seventh year as a personal trainer and it has been a really exciting journey.  What most people don’t know about me is I was very overweight as a teenager, and have had my own personal battles with losing/gaining weight growing up.  I know what it is like getting in shape from an out of shape person from personal experiences.  Soon after I graduated high school, I became certified as a personal trainer before moving onto college at West Chester University for Kinesiology.  Health and fitness has completely changed my life. It keeps the drive alive inside me to learn new things every day in my career, so I am always improving and able to give my clients what they.  Every day is a new opportunity to a newer, happier, healthier, hotter version of you!  

What was winning Mr. Gay Philly like?

Winning Mr. Gay was a pretty cool experience.  I have never ‘won’ anything before, besides having my artwork in middle school entered into the local library, and that wasn’t exactly on my bucket list haha.  So, it was a good feeling and everyone was really nice at the event.

What is the one fattening food that you promote to actually eat?

I wouldn’t say I ‘promote’ any fattening food. However, I would like to expose a myth about dietary fat.  Many people avoid healthy fats in their diet and go on super low fat diets because they think fat makes you fat.  Dietary fat doesn’t necessarily make you fat, extra calories make you fat.  Eating too much protein and carbohydrates can make you gain weight if you take in too many calories from them.  Healthy fats are super important for your body.  They help boost lots of good muscle building and fat burning hormones in the body.  Fats are more calorie dense. One gram of fat has 9 calories per gram; compared to 4 calories in one gram of carbohydrate and protein.  That’s more than double, but that doesn’t mean totally avoiding them.  You just keep need to keep your portions in check when adding them into your diet, like with any other food.  By keeping your portions in check you won’t go overboard with the calories.  Weight loss and weight gain, in basic form, is a system of energy in (calories taken in) verse energy out (calories expended).

What do you eat to look as amazing as you do?

 Most people think staying in shape is about lots of hard work in the gym.  This is true; however, the real work is in the kitchen.  If more people watched what food they ate and their portions they would be able to reach their goals in the gym at a much quicker rate.  You can’t out-train a bad diet!  I always say, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”  I usually cook at home every day of the week or for a few days in advance to make busy life easier for me.  I eat 5-6 meals spread evenly throughout the day.  I cook breakfast at home, pack my own lunches, dinners, and snacks. I bring them with me because it makes me accountable for what I put in my body, so I know I will obtain results.  Typical staples in my diet are: Old fashioned oats, sweet potatoes, brown rice/black barley medleys, eggs, lean chicken, black bean turkey burgers, tilapia, tons of colorful vegetables, greek yogurts, fresh colorful berries, avocados, almonds, natural nut butters and the occasional protein powder.  I like to flavor things up with Ms. Dash spices because they are sodium free (helps keep the sodium down aka the water weight and bloat away!), lemons, limes, and cinnamon.  I think it is important to enjoy what you eat.  You don’t have to always eat bland chicken and broccoli like people think…that gets old and boring.  Try something new and flavor it up the healthy way!

How does one get a slammin’ beach body before summer starts?  Help us!

Getting a hot summer body is about balancing nutrition, some type of resistance training, and cardiovascular training. If you are carrying higher body fat levels, aim for 3-5 days of cardiovascular activity for 20-40 minutes.  I am a big fan of always changing up cardio programs.  This way your body does not adapt, program itself to the same cardio machine, and you don’t get bored.  For example, try 20 minutes high intensity interval training 1-2 days a week, and 30-40 minutes of lower intensity steady state cardio the other days.  You can take a full body resistance and cardio conditioning class to switch things up.  I instruct BIGG Power Circuits 7:30pm-8:30pm Tuesday at 12th Street Gym.  It’s a great class to help you get ripped and beach ready for summer.  Also, don’t forget to do resistance training!  Lifting weights, doing bodyweight resistance workouts or intense yoga (whichever you personally prefer) will help you build lean muscle, speed up your metabolism, and reshape your body to look healthy and sexy.  For starters, aim for 2-5 days a week of resistance training.  You can do body part splits (where you cover a muscle group or two a day), full body workouts, upper/ lower body workouts, push/pull workouts, or cross-training workouts. I have tried all of them and always change up how I work out.  It is import to listen to your body and find the type of workouts you enjoy doing.  As for nutrition you should always eat breakfast and drink lots of water, I drink about 1 gallon of water a day. Your body will thank you! Try to eat balanced meals with lean proteins, healthy whole grain carbohydrates with fiber, and healthy fats every 3-4 hours.  Watch out for sugar, added sugar, white flour, excessive alcohol consumption and processed foods. They can wreck your metabolism. 

What is the best food that everybody SHOULD be eating, to get that hot body?

 For me, there is no ‘ONE’ best food because you want a balance of all proteins, carbohydrates and fats in your diet.  Here is my top 5 list of foods from all different macronutrient profiles (proteins, carbohydrates, fats)that are loaded with all the good stuff for a hot body:  fiber-filled beans, power-carb quinoa, protein/omega 3 fatty acid fortified wild caught salmon, antioxidant loaded blueberries, and cancer-fighting broccoli.

Are you a good cook?

Haha.  I am getting better!  No, actually I consider myself a decent cook.  I am always learning how to make things and learn new ways to cook.  I used to look at cooking as work, now I look at it as fun and part of my life.  Good nutrition 80-90 percent of the time leads to more energy, feeling better and looking good.  Everyone wants more energy and to look better naked secretly.

Bacon. Tell me… Avoid? Not Avoid?

 Avoid…too many saturated fats!  Look for healthier alternatives like turkey bacon instead, which will have more nutritional value.

Can people cheat sometimes and have a big crazy burger, if their goal is to be beach ready by May?

 If you are trying to be beach ready by May too much cheating will offset your hard work and progress in the gym, leaving you with a not-so-ready beach body by May.  However, I think a cheat meal is important for long term success.  I always allow myself a cheat meal, notice I did not say cheat day, every 7-10 days to keep myself on track.  I usually have the one thing I crave the most, which is either Reese’s peanut butter cups or Santucci’s pizza…YUM! After cheat meals, I go right back to my regular nutrition plan the rest of the day/week.  By having a cheat meal you can enjoy what you like and keep on track. Sometimes a whole entire cheat day will have you ingesting 3,000-5,000+ calories and can really offset a whole week’s progress in the gym.  

Tell us about your success stories by training people.

 I love my clients, they rock! In the past 7 years I have help clients drop 40+ pounds, the last 10 vanity pounds, help pack on pounds of lean muscle on my clients’, helped special needs clients post-rehab, and have taken beginners to advanced levels in the gym where some might have never thought possible when they first started.  My good friend Jimmy just did an online nutrition plan with me and recently lost 30 pounds.  He looks amazing. I love a good success story! Everyone I have ever trained or train currently works hard to change their bodies and I am so proud of them.  They make my job fun, and I am super happy to help them reach their goals and push them.  As for the Mr. Gay competition this year, I trained and coached Sean from 12th Street Gym to help bring out his best 6 pack abs and body.

How can someone get in touch with you, if they wanted to be trained by you?

 You can check out my website at www.biggsbuilt.com or visit my weekly blog that gives out fun, free health, fitness, and nutrition info at www.biggsbuilt.com/blog.  Like my fitness page on Facebook at www.facebook.com/charbiggs or follow me on twitter @biggsbuilt.  Come get healthy and fit for summer 

So, there you have it. All of Charlie Biggs secrets to that slammin beach body have been revealed. So, maybe just maybe, you could be Mr Gay Philadelphia 2013 if you take Mr Biggs’ advice, and hit the gym, skip the bacon, and eat healthy. If you want something bad enough, it takes effort and dedication, and proof is in the pudding (fat free darling)… that if Charlie was once a fat child and now a Philly workout icon, then you can do it too. Now, stop reading….get off your donkey booty and get that ass to the gym! And don’t forget your macronutrients. 

UPDATE: The newest pic from Charlie Biggs as he gets ready for a body building competition
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/392562_386413441398485_100000894984711_1185530_775736882_n.jpg
(Posted: 4/13/2012 9:02am)

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