Damián Montoya Fine-Tunes Preparations for Provincial Bodybuilding Tournament.

Athlete Damián Montoya is preparing to compete in the Matanzas Provincial Bodybuilding Tournament this Saturday, November 15th, an event he’s approaching with a much stronger preparation than last year.

Montoya explained that he’s always been involved in sports. He played baseball, track and field, and practiced combat disciplines, but over time, school and work limited his training.

The gym then became his main training space, and over the years, he decided to take bodybuilding more seriously. «I officially started last year,» he recalled.

His current routine is organized into five days a week, with sessions divided by muscle groups: pulls, pushes, legs focusing on quadriceps, upper body, and legs focused on hamstrings.

He maintains this structure both during bulking and preparation phases, making only minor adjustments. For him, the key is maintaining a foundation of basic exercises that drive progress.

Nutrition has been another key aspect of his evolution. He explains that this year he corrected mistakes stemming from inexperience and learned to better manage the bulking and cutting phases.

During his bulking phase, he increases his total calorie intake through readily available sources of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins; while during his cutting phase, he reduces calories without completely eliminating carbohydrates to avoid muscle loss. Among his staple foods, he mentions rice, sweet potatoes, bananas, pasta, eggs, and chicken.

Regarding supplements, he notes that this is an area he only recently began exploring. He started using creatine after his last competition and, in his current training, has incorporated Omega-3 and magnesium to complement his recovery and performance.

Montoya believes that mindset is just as important as physical preparation. His previous experience taught him a clear lesson: mental preparation must begin from day one. “The goal is to surpass what you were capable of before. Seeing your progress is already rewarding,” he commented.