Vinny Gough
Bodybuilder, Fitness Model, Personal Trainer, Writer, Fitness Coach
Vinny Gough first started life as a sprinter and rugby player until one day an injury forced him to rethink his approach to life. His driven personality and ambition to move forward pushed him to become one of the best WFBB pro athletes the world has ever seen.
He’s overcome setbacks, built an amazing body, and he’s done it all while studying night and day to obtain numerous awards, certificates, and University degrees. And there’s no sign of him slowing down.
This is his story:
Athlete Statistics
Weight | 205 - 215lbs (88.5 - 93.0kg) |
Height | 5'11" (180cm) |
Nationality | Irish |
Profession | Bodybuilder, Fitness Model, Personal Trainer, Writer, Fitness Coach |
Era | 2010 |
Accomplishments
- Wbff Pro Fitness World Champion
- Personal Trainer, Fitness First, Baker St, London City
- My Protein nutrition sponsored athlete
- BA Honours degree in History and Geography from UCD.
- Poliquin PICP L2 ‘strength and conditioning’ coach.
- BioSignature Practitioner, specializing in hormonal balancing in the body to best and most efficiently, loose body fat, in certain areas of the body.
- Functional Nutritionist specialist
- Cover model (being on the cover of ‘Mens Running UK’ ‘Gloss Magazine in the US and DNA magazine in Australia) before deciding to try physique competitions.
- Published writer of fitness articles for ‘The Evening Herald’, ‘Gym Magazine’ and ‘The Irish Independent’
- First Physique show entered and won in November 2014 called NIFMA. Then competed in the WBFF show in Denmark in May 2015 and placed first and earned his ‘Pro Card’
Biography
Vinny first started his sporting life as a sprinter in school, he also enjoyed playing rugby. He’s always been an eager person to keep fit and surpass his competitors. At 6 A.M every morning before school he’d walk to his local gym and train.
An unforeseeable injury forced Vinny to leave the sporting world behind, but not bodybuilding. In this discipline he found himself. He soon started to learn more about exercise and nutrition whilst studying hard to become a personal trainer and finish his University Studies.
He holds a BA honors Degree in History and Geography, he’s a BioSignature Practitioner specializing in hormonal balancing in the body, a writer of fitness articles, Personal Trainer, WBFF Pro Fitness World Champion, a strength, and conditioning coach and last but not least a cover model.
It’s clear to see that Vinny’s achieved a great deal in his quite early career. His drive and determination made him a huge success across the world as one of the best WFBB athlete in recent years. He now continues to work as a personal trainer, along with many other fitness related disciplines.
Training
Like most bodybuilders, Vinny likes to train using split routines. His mainly prefers to train one body part per day along with an hour of cardio every other day. If he needs to lean down a little more, he may add in cardio six days a week.
Here’s Vinny talking about how the diet is important for lean growth and the correct type of training;
“As we all know, abs are made in the kitchen, so eating clean is always good, but when it comes to training my abs, I work the lower abs first because they are the hardest to ‘turn on.’ I like to do hanging hammer raises or reverse crunches on the decline bench. Then, I work the upper abs with swiss ball crunches. The secret to good ab development is not to use a jerking motion when crunching. Everything needs to be slow and controlled. I contract hard at the top of each movement and stretch at the bottom.”
Vinny’s Top Three Exercises
- Barbell Squats: King of all leg exercises.
- Overhead Dumbbell Press: I get a better range of motion by using dumbbells for pressing movements.
- Wide Grip Pulldown: This exercise really works my back and biceps.
Full Routine:
Monday: Quads/Hams
- Barbell Squats 5 x 6-8
- Barbell Squats 5 x 8-10
- Drop Lunges 5 x 16-18
- Lying Leg Curls 5 x 6-8
- Romanian Deadlifts 5 x 8-10
- Weighted Back Extensions 5 x 16-18
- Leg Press 2 x 20
- Lying Leg Curls 2 x 18
Tuesday: Chest
- Incline Machine Press 4 x 12-15
- Incline Dumbbell Press 5 x 6-8
- Flat Dumbbell Press 5 x 8-10
- Dips 5 x 16-18
- Cable Crossovers 2 x 20
- EZ-Bar French Press 4 x 6-8
- Decline Bench Dumbbell Extensions 4 x 8-10
- Narrow Dips 4 x 16-18
Wednesday: Full Body Workout
- Prowler (5 min)
- Log Press (5 min)
- Sled (5 min)
- Rope Slams (5 min)
Thursday: Back/Biceps
- Wide Grip Pulldowns 5 x 12-16
- Neutral Grip Wide Pull Ups 5 x 6-8
- Seated Close Grip Rows 5 x 8-10
- Straight Arm Pulldowns 5 x 16-18
- Face Pulls 2 x 12-15
- Dumbbell Pullovers 2 x 12-15
Friday: Arms
- EZ- Bar French Press 4 x 6-8
- Decline Bench Dumbbell Extensions 4 x 8-10
- Narrow Dips 4 x 16-18
- Reverse Grip EZ-Bar Wide Preacher Curls 4 x 6-8
- Seated Dumbbell Curls 4 x 8-10
- Hammer Curls 4 x 16-18
- Standing Cable Curls 2 x 12-15
- Tricep Pushdowns 4 x 12-15
Saturday: Delts/Abs
- Overhead Dumbbell Press 4 x 10-12
- High Incline Shoulder Press 5 x 8-10
- 45 Degree Shoulder Press 5 x 10-12 reps
- Seated Lateral Raises 5 x 20
- Bent-Over Rear Delt Fly’s 4 x 10-12
- Machine Rear Delt Fly’s 4 x 12-15
- Garhammer Raises 4 x 10-12
- Hip Raises 4 x 12-15
- Cable Crunches 4 x 5 x 20
Sunday: Cardio/Rest
- LISS
Nutrition
Vinny is a big fan of refeeds on the tweaking while in the off-season. But through the months where he needs to prepare for competitions or photo shoots, he’ll pay a little closer attention to how and what he eats. But Vinny is a one of the lucky one, he can eat high amounts of carbs all year round without having to sacrifice too much.
Vinny’s Diet
- Meal 1: 7 ounces Steak, 3 ½ ounces Spinach, 3 Poached Eggs, 1 cup Strong Coffee and Sparkling Water
- Meal 2: 3 ½ ounces Oats, 1 Scoop Whey and ¼ cup Berries
- Meal 3: 5 ½ ounces Chicken Breast, 4 ½ ounces Basmati Rice and 3 ½ ounces Broccoli
- Meal 4: Intra Workout BCAA’s
- Meal 5: 3 ½ ounces Oats and 1 Scoop Whey
- Meal 6: 5 ounces Cod, 4 ½ ounces Basmati Rice and 3 ½ ounces Green Beans
- Meal 7: 5 ounces Turkey, 5 ½ ounces Sweet Potato and 3 ½ ounces Asparagus
Vinny’s Top Supplements
- Whey
- BCAA’s
- Multivitamin
- Fish Oil
- Greens
“I’ve always had somewhat of an addictive personality, and whatever I pursue, I get completely wrapped up in.”
Idols and Influences
Vinny admits he’s got an addictive personality, so whatever he decides to focus on, he get’s totally immersed in his work. This can be seen in all of his achievements at such a young age. It’s safe to say that his motivation comes from within.
What we can learn from Vinny Gough
With everything Vinny has achieved, it’s hard not to be overwhelmed with his sheer determination, focus, and hard work. From being a fitness trainer, holding numerous educational degrees and training certificates, along with the added bonus of his BFF fitness pro athlete award, there’s a lot to be learned from Vinny’s approach to life.
With the same amount of drive, immense focus and sheer will to succeed, you too can achieve greatness.
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