Secrets of a Strongman

Ebenezer Samuel is one of the fittest humans on earth. He wants you to be fit, too.

Ebenezer Samuel is a friend, a former New York Daily News colleague, and quite likely the most jacked journalist on earth. His job title is Fitness Director of Men’s Health magazine, and if ever a person lived up to his business card, it’s Ebenezer Samuel. A rising star at the News, he left for his new role six years ago, and neither he, nor his slabs of muscle, have ever looked back.

“It’s more fun than I’ve ever had doing a job in my life,” Eb says.

Eb has trained alongside such NFL stars as DeMarcus Ware and Terrell Davis, and has a stable of high-profile clients whose identity must be kept secret. There’s a reason why he has 311K Instagram followers. You can get into some of his workout nitty-gritty, too, @ebenezersamuel23, but for a quick primer on getting in shape, avoiding common mistakes, etc. you can keep reading this exclusive interview. It won’t grow your biceps, but you might find it interesting.

Coffey Grounds:  Even when you were at the Daily News, did you know you wanted to get into something more fitness-related as far as work goes?

ES: Yeah, I did. I’ve always loved fitness. I remember being in the Giants’ locker room and the other writers would want to talk to Victor Cruz  about how he made some great catch, or about his contract. I wanted to talk to him about his ab workouts.

CG: Not to sound like a gawker, but you have a remarkable physique. How many hours a week do you work out?

ES: I try not to think about it in terms of hours. It’s 90 minutes a day, five days a week, and then 45 minutes on Saturday. I take Sunday off. So it’s about 9 hours a week on strength training, and then I sneak in cardio for another 2-3 hours.

CG: Why don’t you want to think about it in terms of hours?

ES: I think one mistake people make when it comes to fitness is they think that it’s all about the time – that if you spend a half-hour or 45 minutes in the gym, then you are good. The better way to think about fitness is what’s the work you have to do in the workout. How can you get it done in an optimal way that will help you achieve the goals you want?

 CG: You obviously are very committed to your fitness, but what, at bottom, are your goals?

ES:  I don’t train to be jacked, like a bodybuilder. My goal has always been to look like Captain America from The First Avenger. That’s the thing I’ve always wanted to do. I want to look the part. But I know I can also move the part. I can be athletic on the football field or the basketball part. I can do a 45-inch box jump. I am getting strong but am also staying athletic.

I am always pushing my body in different directions and learning something new, taking on different challenges.

CG: People who read this and/or look at the photos of you may be saying, “I want a body like that.” Is that a good thing?

ES: The biggest tip I give to people is, ‘Don’t try to look like me.’ Focus on getting your level of fitness better. Then your body will reshape the way it was supposed to be. Understand where you are on your fitness journey.”

CG: Do you have dietary advice you can share?

ES: The thing I track the most is protein. That’s the backbone of my diet. I want to get 200 grams of protein a day. I weigh 180 and my goal is to exceed 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. To reach that, I (typically) will have a protein shake in the morning, eggs at work, sushi or sashimi for lunch, then maybe another protein shake and then a high-protein dinner like salmon. My goal is to always hit my protein numbers.

CG: Do you have ‘cheat’ days? When was the last time you had a French fry?

ES: (Laughs). I actually had French fries a few weeks ago. And I do have cheat days. I love Elevation burgers. I’ll have them with bacon, egg and a piece of cheese on top.

CG: Can you give us an idea of how much weight you train with, whether it’s upper body or lower body?

ES: I don’t worry about maxes because of the way I train. My goal is not to lift as much as I can. I can bench press 295, but I usually do reps at 270. The leg press, I train with 415 pounds. I think rows are one of the best exercises out there because it works so many different muscle groups. I do rows with 110 pounds per arm.

CG: One of the benchmarks you hear about at the NFL combine are how many times you can bench press 225 pounds. What's your number?

ES: Seventeen.

CG: How important is flexibility in your training?

ES: It’s very important, because again, my focus is strength and movement, and being athletic. I never do static stretches where I hold it for 20 seconds or whatever. I prefer dynamic stretches, like a Spiderman lunge into a rotation, where I am staying flexible through a range of motion.

CG: Sorry, but for the uninitiated, what is a Spiderman lunge?

ES: It’s easier to demonstrate than describe, but it’s basically starting in a pushup-type position and then bringing one leg at a time as far forward as you can, then repeating with the other leg.

CG: You really are into this Superhero thing, aren’t you?

ES:  (Laughs) Yes, I am.

CG: What do you consider the most common mistake people make when they work out?

ES: In my experience, one issue people have is they go all over the place at the gym, do a little of this and a little of that. I don’t think that’s the way to do it. You will get much better results if you find a program that fits in with your life and you stick with it for eight weeks. You can get the program from a trainer, or you can buy a program from Men’s Health. There are lots of good ones out there. The important thing is to have a plan and stick with it. The more you do it, the better technique you have, the better your results will be. Over the course of weeks, months, years, your body will begin to change and the results will be very gratifying.

CG: The word ‘fitness’means different things to different people. What does it mean to you?

ES: I think one big misconception people have is that fitness is just about X or Y – some specific metric. If you are a runner who does marathons, you may think of fitness strictly in terms of your cardiovascular capability. If you are a bodybuilder or you do CrossFit, you have a different way to measure it. I would encourage people not to tunnel into too narrow a definition. It’s important to embrace different kinds of training. It can only help marathon runners if they build strength, and it can only help bodybuilders to improve their cardio capability. There is a lot of science backing up what I say, but generally, I think the more you embrace different kinds of training and think of how all the pieces fit together, the healthier you will be and the more longevity you will have.

CG: OK, one more question. What would you say to someone who, for whatever reason, thinks it’s hopeless . . . that he or she is too far gone, or can’t get fit – or doubt whether they have the discipline to change their bodies and get in shape?

ES: I’d tell them to understand that every single person, whether it’s an NFL player or me or you or somebody who is trying to lose weight – we all start from square one. From nothing. All of us. You just have to take that first step, get started and set a small goal. That is so important. If you set really small goals and not try to bite off the whole thing at once, then fitness is the most rewarding thing that you can ever do for yourself. Even if you only add a pound or two of weight a week, or do one more rep, you are making progress. You keep doing that over and over, and you know what happens? You build muscle. You lose weight. You feel better.

Just give yourself a chance to get started, even though t may be hard at the beginning. Keep those goals small and get going. Maybe it’s 5-minute walk that becomes six minutes and then seven minutes, and then a half-hour eventually. Maybe it’s 10 pushups a day that becomes 11 and then 12 and then 15. As long as you make small goals and you meet those goals, you’re going to feel a sense of accomplishment and you are much more likely to stick with it. And that’s the whole point, right? We all deserve the chance to move our bodies and get fit so we can live better, healthier lives

.