148: How Zebin Xu Became WNBF Lightweight World Champion

Welcome to episode 148 of the Longevity Muscle podcast! Today we have WNBF Pro Natural Bodybuilder and Pro Lightweight World Champion Zebin Xu joining us! 

Timestamps: 

00:42 Representing China at the WNBF Natural Pro World Championships
01:25 Why Zebin Xu moved to the USA from China
02:35 Why Zebin Xu didn’t compete at WNBF Worlds in 2023
03:00 Becoming a Natural Pro Bodybuilder in 2022
03:56 Did Zebin Xu compete in the WNBF in China?
04:20 Does Zebin Xu miss China?
04:42 Competing as an amateur natural bodybuilder in the INBF
05:29 Competing against Natural Pro Bodybuilder Eddie Saldana 
06:42 What motivated Zebin Xu to compete in natural bodybuilding?
07:54 The Golden Era of natural bodybuilding 
08:12 Zebin Xu becomes WNBF Natural Pro Lightweight World Champion 
09:20 Competing against Dirk Emmerich (Zebin’s take)
10:22 Genetics in natural bodybuilding 
11:29 Nutrition to maintain maximum muscle fullness 
14:33 Zebin Xu’s famous Chinese bodybuilding coach 
15:52 Dieting to get shredded for WNBF World Championships
17:38 Bantamweight class vs. Lightweight class at WNBF Worlds
18:42 How Zebin feels post WNBF Worlds (current weight)
19:04 Gaining 20 pounds (how long did it take?)
19:42 Training for maximum muscle growth leading up to WNBF Worlds
21:07 The World Champion training split (training frequency explained)
22:26 Training journal (tracking)
23:07 Training body parts 2x per week during the cutting phase (why?)
24:23 Cardio for fat loss (how did Zebin do it?)
24:45 How low did Zebin’s calories get?
25:38 How much protein did Zebin eat for getting shredded?
26:02 Protein shakes vs. Whole foods
26:38 Zebin’s 8 day training cycle 
27:04 Responding better to less training frequency 
28:27 rep ranges & recovery
29:44 Zebin’s current training (how it’s evolved)
30:24 How long do Zebin’s training sessions last?
30:47 Zebin’s training split
32:49 Training arms before legs (why?)
33:38 Training calves on a separate day from legs 
34:18 Body part specialization 
35:58 recovery days from training 
37:40 Training intensity (does Zebin train to failure?)
38:47 rep ranges and training to failure
40:12 recording your lifts (the pros and cons)
42:32 Low reps during a fat loss phase (Zebin’s take)
44:27 How many exercises in a workout 
44:37 How many hard sets per exercise?
44:52 How many hard sets per body part?
46:34 How to warm up for heavy training (Zebin explains)
48:57 How many chest exercises in a workout? (Training frequency)
51:34 Zebin Xu’s natural bodybuilding competition plans 
53:01 Competing in classic physique?
53:58 You can get a good physique without steroids (Zebin explains)

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