Stats: – 29 years old – 5’ 11” – 210lbs Stage weight – 230 Off season

How did you get into bodybuilding?

I’ve been bodybuilding competitively for the last 11 years. Growing up, my mom and dad always had bodybuilding magazines in the house and the idea of constructing yourself into a masterpiece always fascinated me. As a bodybuilder, you are always carrying your artwork with you unlike most artists. This is what made me so intrigued with bodybuilding and continues to amaze me about this performance art.

What’s your diet like?

I eat pretty clean throughout the off season in order to keep my weight in a manageable range. It feels better and I look better. Prepping for the show I’m big on carbohydrate cycling while maintaining protein macros and slightly lowering fats over time. I prefer to prioritizing my carbohydrates earlier in the day around my workout with the carbohydrate amount (high, high-med, med, low) meeting my workload that day (ie: legs – high, back, chest, arms – high-med, shoulders – med, rest/HIIT – low).

How do you organize your cardio?

Currently, I train each body part once a week utilizing the parenthesized training split and perform HIIT training using TRX Suspension trainers, Kettle Bells, Sandbags, Resistance Bands, Battle Ropes, Bodyweight Movements, and Sprints. This has given me the greatest gains by far. When people see my progress and wonder what the difference has been, it’s total body, multi jointed, explosive HIIT training.

Mind giving us a sample diet?

Macros – Protein 350g Fats approx. 100g-120g (Olive oil, Egg yolks, Sirloin Burgers, Salmon, Almond Butter)

18 weeks out carbohydrate cycle

High = 350 High-Med = 250 Med = 225 Low = 200

2 weeks out carbohydrate cycle

High = 350 High-Med = 50 Med = 25 Low = 0

I typically adjust my carbohydrate numbers down 25g every two weeks while maintaining my high days the same. This is mostly a manageable change for me plus as I start dieting my weight falls off easily therefore the percentage the caloric deficit percentage can be smaller. When I get in better shape it is more challenging for me to continue losing and so my percentage drops more dramatically. My fats drop down a bit depending on how I’m looking and feeling.

How did you decide to enter your first competition? How does it feel to win that pro card.

This is far from my first competition. I’m not even exactly sure how many I’ve done. That said, this was my 6th time going for my pro show. Honestly, I just wanted to come back better and better every time regardless of how things turned out. After winning my pro car, Brenda Rahe (5x WNBF World Champ and Judge) came up to me and said she was so glad to see that I never gave up and that it was a testament to hard work and determination paying off. Winning my pro card feels great! Mostly because I feel like I’m starting all over again. No one knows who I am. No one cares what I’ve done. It will be humbling and humility encourages personal development. I am no where close to arriving to my “destination”.

What does the future hold for you?

I will be competing as a pro June 1st in the WNBF American Pro. I just want to get right at it and get those first jitters out.

What are your future bodybuilding goals.

My goal at this point is to make a better me every year. Bodybuilding is such a subjective sport and I may never be the “Top in the World.” But what I love about bodybuilding is that it calls for you to be a better you every time. Sincerely, when I am on stage I’m lined up with last years me and the year before that and before that etc. So as long as I can keep getting better I’ll be happy. The rest is out of my control and just extra. But I have to be honest, winning is fun.

What’s different between your prep and your off season?

I prefer to keep my fitness level high so my workouts are pretty similar to when I am dieting for a show. Every time I diet for a show, something I am able to go harder than I did the year before. When the off season comes, I’ll work to maintain that (add in a few donuts though…) and then when I diet for the next show it’ll progress even further. (Hope this makes sense.) It’s progressive overload with greater calories.

Supplementation.

Supplements: Advocare: Post Workout Recovery, OmegaPlex – Pride Nutrition: IsoRespect, Dominate, ReCarb – Vitamins: Fenugreek, ProCortisol (holistic vitamin given to patients after surgery)

Equipment

I lift using weight belt and straps on heavy deadlifts. Other than that everything is raw. It became a crutch for me after a while.

Who is Jordan Ponder outside of bodybuilding?

I am a full time Lieutenant with the Milwaukee Fire Department. It’s the best job in the world! Going to work is fun. I enjoy my brothers and sisters and the work I get to do. Along side that I am the Lead Fitness Trainer for the Fire Department and enjoy helping my brothers and sisters progress in their personal and professional goals. Firefighters are much more likely to develop cardiovascular disease than the general public and the number one cause of line of duty deaths is heart attacks. This is something we are trying to combat in a very real way. Outside of that I enjoy music a lot and have been playing the drums for 14 years. It’s just another creative outlet just like bodybuilding.

The tendency is to think that bodybuilders have no social life. What’s yours like?

My social life mostly consists of my very supportive wife of 7 years, my 4 year old little girl and 10 month old son. They keep me young happy and excited, something very difficult for bodybuilders. Outside of them I have friends who come to expect me to bring my Tupperware and supplements. Thank God for understanding friends and family.

Who are your idols?

I seem to find new idols all the time. I’m drawn to people who actively intentionally take control of their personal development and are never satisfied with themselves. Honestly, anyone who is consistently working to make themselves better is my idol. For this I love to see consistent, determined people regardless of their size, symmetry etc.

Do you do any stretching?

Strength without mobility is nothing! I am a huge advocate for mobility training. Yoga is something I incorporate on a daily basis for firefighters, my clients (trainer at the Wisconsin Athletic Club Tosa) and my self everyday. Bodybuilding is great for aesthetics but can be difficult for body mechanics seeing as most exercises are done sagitally. Rarely do exercises incorporate various planes of motion. That in mind, it is awesome being a larger individual and having better ROM and mobility than women half my size.

Cardio

Cardio is something I find fun. Off season and when prepping I work to keep it close (see donut comment above). Jump roping and sprinting between sets keeps my heart rate really high and has sparked huge physiological change in me.

For example:

BENCH PRESS set1 rest set2

Jump Rope set3 rest set4

Sprint on incline for 1 minute

INCLINE PRESS etc.

When I do my HIIT with equipment listed above, I have two different staples I go between. One cycle is 5 stations/exercises 50 seconds work 15 seconds rest repeated 3 times. The other is a Tabata workout like the following; Exercise #1 – 20 seconds of work, 10 seconds of rest repeated 8 times then I move to Exercise #2. This will be done for 5 exercises. The workouts are total body multi joint movements. No more isolation at this point. It is very efficient.

Anything else for our readers?

Please commit to you! This sport is about you. However, refuse to become so self absorbed that you ignore inspiring people to better themselves as well. Find away to give back to those around you in anyway you can. Thanks for the read and a big thanks to reddit.com/r/bodybuilding for being a community that encourages personal growth and continues to inspire me. CHEERS!

Thanks a ton for thinking of me for this! Hope this help any follow up you want let me know.