Greg Doucette

Bodybuilder, Fitness Coach

IFBB Bodybuilder, Guinness World Record Holder, Fitness coach, and YouTube personality Greg Doucette does not do things by halves. He has been bodybuilding for over 30 years, has deadlifted the most weight in one minute (a World Record 9,130 kg), and has competed in over 60 powerlifting contests.

This is his story:

Athlete Statistics

Biography

Greg was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1975. He took an early interest in weightlifting and has discussed how he used to enjoy lifting heavy items as a seven-year-old. Greg first became interested in bodybuilding at the age of thirteen. While embarking on his career as a bodybuilder, Greg also competed in powerlifting events, these two disciplines would dominate the rest of his life.

“When Greg turned 13, he discovered the sport of bodybuilding while sitting on the couch and watching an episode of That’s Incredible! that featured a 13-year old competing in bodybuilding. Greg had already been training for several years by then and knew he would someday be on a stage like that, dominating with his sculpted physique that he worked hard to build.” (Greg Doucette Website)

But it was not just bodybuilding and powerlifting that interested Greg. He attended Acadia University, graduating with a Master’s in Kinesiology. In 2012 he won his IFBB Pro card and he has since competed in IFBB competitions in New York, Toronto, Vancouver, and Germany.

Sumo Deadlift World Record

Greg has held the Sumo Deadlift World Record since 2015. This is not a record for the heaviest weight lifted, but for the most weight lifted within a minute. He performed 50 reps of 182.6 kg deadlifts within 60 seconds. This created a total of 9,130 kg lifted during the minute.

With a height of just 5 foot 6, and using a Sumo deadlift technique, Greg was able to perform so many reps due to the shortened range of motion. It is highly unlikely that a taller man would be able to get anywhere close to this record. A perfect example of using your physique to your own advantage.

The 40-Year-Old Bodybuilder

In 2017, Vice started a new series called Swole, and they had Greg as the focus of their first episode. The title of the documentary was “The 40-Year-Old Bodybuilder”. The headline implied that Greg was particularly old for a bodybuilder, but the truth is that there are a lot of bodybuilders around the 38-45 age range.

The video centred around Greg’s attempt to make the top 10 for the Toronto Pro Supershow, while also meeting his partner’s parents for the first time. Greg succeeded in reaching his goal (he placed 9th overall) and he came across as a really nice guy.

While the Vice documentary may not be the main reason for Greg’s subsequent fame, it was around this time that Greg went from well-known in bodybuilding to a big name in the YouTube scene.

Social Media Success

Greg’s YouTube channel has grown incredibly well since he first started in 2006, he currently has 1.46 million subscribers, and a total of 451,979,109 views. He posts daily, often twice per day, and he has a decent following on Instagram and Facebook.

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A post shared by Greg Doucette (@gregdoucetteifbbpro)

Training

Greg’s training has obviously changed as he has grown older, he recently posted a YouTube video where you can follow his latest program. He has cut down from training seven days per week to just three days and follows a full-body workout.

He starts with a 10-15 minute cardio warm-up. He then trains the legs and calves. Supersetting a leg exercise such as the hack squat or leg press, with a calf exercise such as the seated calf press. After that, he trains chest and back, supersetting the lat pulldown with a chest press machine.

He then performs some seated rows, as it is always a good idea to train back more than the chest, a 2:1 ratio is fine. After that, it is a circuit which comprises: the shoulders, adductors, abductors, biceps, triceps, and any muscle that he feels needs attention. It looks like this:

• Seated shoulder press
• Lateral dumbbell raises
• Abductor machine
• Adductor machine
• Seated tricep dip machine
• Preacher curl machine
• Dumbbell bicep curls

It’s a pretty intense workout, and it’s interesting how much Greg relies on resistance machines rather than free weights. Only using free weights for a couple of exercises.

Diet

Greg is well-known for his love of French toast, so much so that any video or Instagram post he puts up will usually have about 20 comments that mention it. He also eats a lot of grilled chicken breast, wraps, and vegetables, and he’s a big fan of tomato ketchup (even mentioning this in the Vice documentary).

He has five meals per day, one of which consists of a protein shake, which he has just before bedtime. Unlike many bodybuilders, Greg really seems to dislike junk food, describing it as “garbage food that belongs in the garbage”.

• Meal One (Breakfast) French toast
• Meal Two: Chicken breast, vegetables, and a low-calorie snack
• Meal Three: Chicken breast in a wrap with salad
• Meal Four: Turkey breast in a wrap with salad
• Meal Five: Protein shake

Idols and Influences

It’s hard to talk about Greg Doucette’s idols while ignoring the elephant in the room. Greg spends a LOT of his time calling out current bodybuilders and past bodybuilders for their drug use. He’s clearly got a lot of respect for the past Greats, and he has put a lot of effort into interacting with the up-and-comers, but scroll through his Instagram feed today and you will see a lot of arguments.

What Can We Learn from Greg Doucette?

One of the most interesting things about Greg is that he is not a follower of the bulking/cutting cycle, at least not to the degree that most bodybuilders do. Another thing that sets Greg apart from most is his ability to succeed in powerlifting and weightlifting records alongside his bodybuilding. Finally, the fact that he gets such excellent results while mostly sticking to resistance machines is quite an eye-opener.