The Shreddedshian Legend

This post is about Zyzz Shreddedshian, a 22-year-old legend who, as an extremely skinny ectomorph, became one of the world's most recognized athletes, showing the world that anything is possible with perseverance, will, and determination. Zyzz definitively proved that there is no such thing as a bad physique, only a weak-willed person. The post is an interview that I translated from simplyshredded.com, in which Zyzz recounts how he transformed from a child teased for his physique into an athlete with perfect musculature, envied by everyone, in just 3 years...

How did you get into bodybuilding?

During high school, until I was 18, I had an extremely ectomorphic physique and looked like it... I ate a lot, but it never showed on me. I couldn't gain fat, muscle, or real mass, or so I thought back then. I was always fascinated by bodybuilding, but lacked motivation because during my last year of high school, I spent all my time preparing for final exams and college applications. During the summer between graduation and college, I decided it was time for a lifestyle change, and I determined to change everything in my life.

I was always ridiculously skinny and was teased as the "skinny kid." People constantly made remarks about my physique, and I hated it, but I thought there was nothing I could do about it then. I remember feeling like a little whore because my physique was as small as a girl's, and when I walked next to a girl, everyone noticed. During the HSC (high school after) period, I partied every weekend, where the more muscular guys always prevailed. I respected these guys, and girls loved them, but seriously, if you see that's all it takes to get the best women, who wouldn't want a more muscular body? At that time, my brother had been working out for a year, and he had definitely shown progress, and that's when I joined him at the local gym. I had no idea about anything, just wandered aimlessly among the machines, but I definitely wanted to change, so in 1 month, I read everything I could about training, proper nutrition, the most useful training methods, and the developability of an ectomorphic physique. This is where my story begins…

What was your motivation over the years?

If you had asked me this when I started training, my answer would have been completely different from now. Originally, I would have settled for just not being so thin and wanted to gain some muscle. I wanted to be bigger and essentially wanted to appeal to girls so they would finally take me seriously. I put pictures on my bedroom wall of guys I wanted to emulate, and I decided I would be like them too. Looking back 4 years, I can confidently say that my goals at the time proved to be ridiculously small. As I saw progress on myself, I continuously wanted more, and my goals over time far surpassed merely looking good. During my workouts, I constantly wanted to achieve more, and after a while, I realized that I didn't need motivation because bodybuilding and exercise had become part of my lifestyle.

Sports became a defining part of my life, and I can no longer imagine not going to the gym, not paying attention to my meals, because I gained immeasurably much from this lifestyle, physically, but primarily mentally and spiritually. It's fantastic to experience yourself and what you are capable of achieving with your body and yourself. My ultimate goal is not to grow huge muscles, but to create the most perfect body possible, one that is almost artistically refined and streamlined. I focused on the beauty of the human body, which is attractive to everyone.

Based on what did you train, and how did you develop your program?

In the beginning, I did everything as I read it, but I soon realized that I develop much better if I develop my own method, which is the best for my body, all based on acquiring basic knowledge, of course. My philosophy did not follow the classical path. If it was written that an exercise should be done with 8-10 repetitions, I started that way, but if I felt my muscles responded better to 12-16 repetitions, then I did that many. I constantly monitored my body and its reactions, thus developing my own method.

The human body wants to remain idle and does not want to change accustomed processes unless forced. The harder a workout, the more uncomfortable pain you feel during exercise, the better results you can expect. If you don't die every time during a workout, there's no point. If you're not completely exhausted by the end of the workout, if you don't feel like collapsing, then you've wasted an hour and a half of your life. It helps a lot if you listen to music and shut out everything from the outside world. You shut out all negative thoughts and only focus on your goals. You need to get into a zone where it's just you and the sport. Go into a coma before your workout and wake up at the end of it. All circumstances unrelated to the workout should disappear, and if you reach this mental level, you will be able to achieve wonderful things.

Honestly, I look forward to every workout as an epic event in my life. I constantly check the clock, waiting for when I can go down to train again. I have a theory I call the "pump theory," which I start on my way to the gym. I arrive at the gym completely transfixed, with nothing in my mind but the workout. During the workout, there's no talking, I don't think about anything, no one can speak to me, I don't ponder my life, because my life is in the gym at that moment. Simply put, there is no other world then, no worries, no joys, nothing interests me. It's just me, the iron, and my body. I become one with the exercises and focus on my muscles, paying attention to the reactions my body gives. Believe me, if you have a mind, you have everything, and you can achieve anything. You have to discard all that nonsense like "I hate leg day" or a specific exercise. You need to understand that for your progress, you cannot dislike something or find it uncomfortable and therefore not do it. I also disliked at least 10 types of exercises, so I put together a training plan for myself from the exercises I hated, and I did them. I did them terribly hard. It hurt and it sucked, but I didn't care. I kept doing it until I loved it, and you have to approach everything this way.

During workouts, to maintain my motivation, I used tricks. I imagined myself as a competitor, and I imagined thousands of people watching me. For example, if I was doing deadlifts with 200 kg and had to squeeze out 3 reps, I thought that if I did it, I would get 1 million dollars, and eventually, I achieved everything I wanted. You have to believe these things and fully immerse yourself. There are a thousand reasons you can bring up for why you can't do something. Turn it around and find reasons why you should do something. Everything is decided in your head. Develop your own motivational channels. Imagine that a gun is pressed to the head of your loved ones and if you don't do it, they will pull the trigger. This kind of motivation has always helped me not to stop, never to give up, and to do it as hard as possible. This is a mind game against your physique. You have to conquer your body because your spirit is much stronger than your body, but to conquer it, you need willpower, determination, and whether you truly want to achieve your goals. The final judgment of what kind of person you are is whether you give up or achieve your goal. If you are reading these lines and something has not yet stirred within you, then you will give up.

So, that's your philosophy in sports, but are you like that in life too?

Definitely. I have expectations for myself. Personally, I am a very friendly and happy person. I also need to relax and enjoy life. I like to play on the stereotypes that arise from my appearance, but I never take myself seriously. I motivate other people with my performance, and I think this is partly my magic, which is why new and new fans join me and follow my method. Although I have made some frightening statements and look intimidating, I am still one of the friendliest people you can meet.

Which are your 3 favorite exercises and why?

Deadlifts - This exercise transforms the entire body and gives the curve to the upper body if done correctly every week. Notice that you rarely see people in the gym doing this exercise. These people who don't do it are all of average physique. It's a difficult and demanding exercise, which is precisely why it's the most beneficial.

Lateral raises - This is an isolation exercise that requires great mental strength. This exercise particularly needs the "pump theory." I love it because it gives an aesthetic line to the body and a good physique.

Dumbbell bench press – This exercise forms the basis of my chest workouts, allowing for a much larger area of muscle stimulation on the chest, as well as targeted work on the most visually prominent parts of the pectoral muscle.

What are your dietary rules?

No fast food

No soda

No sugar or sweets

Liquids exclusively from water and green tea

I have never counted calories (the guy is an extreme ectomorph, just saying), I only focus on sufficient protein intake at every meal, which for me happens 7-8 times a day, which also kickstarts metabolic processes. I eat meat with meat, which in most cases is chicken, lamb, steak, or kangaroo meat. If you don't like a certain food, well, learn to love it.

When cutting, do you prefer HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) or is regular cardio enough?

Neither. If you stick to your diet 100%, then running is irrelevant. It's simple calorie math. If you consume more calories than you burn, you'll gain weight; if less, you'll lose weight. Cardio does burn calories, but if you already manage your calorie intake properly, there's no real need for cardio workouts, although fat loss might be much faster, running is just unnecessary muscle wasting, which I cannot afford.

What supplements do you take?

Hydrolyzed whey protein, Fish oil, Very strong multivitamin pack, Xtend BCAA amino acids, Zinc, Magnesium, Vitamin C, Mesomorph or Jack3d energizer, Phenadrine and Inferno fat burner.

A few months after this interview, Zyzz collapsed in the sauna and died. His death was caused by congenital heart failure, which is very difficult or impossible to detect. This is also what caused the deaths of Gábor Ocskay, Gyuri Kolonics, and Miki Fehér. Contrary to popular belief, Zyzz did not die from bodybuilding, but from a disease that would have killed him in his early twenties even if he had stayed home and watched TV his whole life. His death shocked the entire bodybuilding world, because despite being only 22 years old, Zyzz was a universally respected athlete, admired by everyone for his perseverance and performance. He had hundreds of thousands of followers, and with his death, at just 22, he became a legend. With this post, I honor his memory. Zyzz's legacy is invaluable, his story itself is motivation for everyone, and his name will be remembered for a long time.