Nature’s Fitness Model Sherif Kamal Talks With Simplyshredded.com

How did you get started with bodybuilding?

At 15 years old I decided that I wanted to compete in an individual sport so I took on boxing. I competed in amateur boxing for 7 years with a record of 7 wins, 2 losses with 4 wins by KO. While boxing, I began to see my body change and take shape with all the intense training. I trained at the same gym Ring 83, that MMA fighter George St-Pierre’s boxing coach learn’t boxing Howard Grant. It was a tough gym and a great place to learn the sport. It demanded lots of determination, focus and discipline. It was an incredible experience that definitely helped me discover a little more about myself and what I was capable of doing with my body.

It was during my amateur boxing career that I started incorporating weight training. I would spend ¾ of the week training for boxing and the rest lifting weights. My training took on many different levels.

I eventually stopped competing in boxing and started incorporating more weight training. I started learning different types of methods of training after getting certified as a personal trainer by former “Mr. Canada” and IFBB Pro Andre Begin. He taught me the importance of mental preparation before, during and after every workout. I worked very closely with him studying the basics of training, the Weider principles, and all his personal methods closely. I learn’t a lot about plugging the mind and mental focus and how to incorporate that with weight training and fitness.

The real learning began for me when I started looking closely at nutrition and training the inner body.

I spent three years learning about natural nutrition, longevity, Raw food, herbalism and experimented with different training methods while incorporating raw food and power herbs to help build my body. I got incredible results and decided to compete as a Fitness Model. Since then I have been features in many articles, magazines and radio interviews. I also founded the body temple a system that incorporates both raw foods with weight training. I plan on continuing my competitions in fitness and incorporating my raw natural methods. I want to continue testing myself and competition helps push me to my limits.

Where does your motivation come from?

My motivation comes from people’s negativity towards what I am trying to do. I love to prove people wrong. I am one of few fitness models and bodybuilders out there who is building his body as a raw vegan athlete and competing without eating any meat, refined foods or using any synthetic supplements, whey proteins, creatine, growth hormones, steroids or body enhancers of any kind. My drive and motivation comes from wanting to prove to people young and old that you can create a super physique with nature’s best! I never put health 2nd to building muscle. Preservation and longevity is the big picture that I see when I am training and building my body. Staying clean throughout fuels you with a lot of energy. It really feels different to approach a competition without depleting your body with essential nutrients found in natural sugars and blocking your body with excessive meat that beat up on your digestive system.

When you feel well you can train well. It’s really about connecting with your body and getting results at all levels from that connection.

What workout routine has worked best for you?

The best routine for me is no routine. I do not believe in one way that works best. I believe that everyone should push their bodies with many different types of methods constantly shocking the body. Comfort is a bodybuilder and fitness enthusiast’s worst enemy. I do however believe that every repetition in training should be approached as if it was their whole workout. Every rep has the ability to bring you closer to your goal of shaping your body every rep counts for 100%.

If you have to pick only 3 exercises, what would they be and why?

Squats, pull ups and push ups. They have the ability to create a full body workout and maintain a strong core. These three exercises can be approached using many different methods and levels of intensity. I would also like to mention that I believe in Dumbbells exercises above all other types of training equipment.

What is your diet like?

I am sure you have all heard of the alkaline diet. Well a raw vegan diet is similar to it and that is the diet that I adhere to most of the time. I want to make sure that body recovers quickly and is well mineralized. I am a strong believer of lost of dark greens, herbs and superfoods. Most of my diet is liquid nutrition. It digests and absorbs more efficiently. I concern myself with higher levels of efficiency not mass. When you focus on building an efficient body you automatically look for ways of increasing your health. When you focus on mass the chances of falling into synthetic chemicals, steroids, and other destructive drugs is much higher which for me defeats the whole purpose.

I won’t kill my organs on the inside to build muscles on the outside. So my diet is in line with those principles.

They say that the pre and post-workout meals are the most vital meals for the day, what do yours consist of?

I eat very light meals before my workouts mainly raw protein, slow burning raw carbs and certain herbs that supply me with good amounts of energy and that have similar profiles to body enhancers. After my workout I eat 2 meals one right after that is protein dense usually raw vegan Sunwarrior Protein and various raw amino acids mixed with fast burning carbs and herbs that digest easily. The goal for me is to minimize the energy that my body needs to use for digestion so that it can reserve it for absorption and assimilation of muscle. All my meals are small, raw vegan, timely, and nutrient dense.

When trying to cut down do you prefer to use HIIT or just normal cardio?

I don’t believe in Cardio for losing weight or cutting up for long term results. Cutting up has to do with what you consume what the body stores as waste and what it is realistically able to absorb. If it is foreign the body will store it and if it is raw and natural the body will attempt to use it in the most efficient way. Cardio is good for endurance and cardiovascular not to shred your body. I do believe that you can lose weight temporarily with cardio short term. But it’s similar to cutting a weed from its stem versus pulling it from its roots it’s just going to grow back as soon as you stop cutting it!

What is your supplementation like?

Being Raw I only take supplements that are raw and alive. Some of my favorite supplements include SunWarrior Protein which I believe is at the top of the list of protein supplements. I also use natural raw supplementation like spirulina and various herbs in powder or pill form. As long as they are raw and have active enzymes to help with digestion and assimilation I will use them to tweak my diet.