Nick Trigili, a former Mr. USA winner, does not believe that hitting the gym every day is imperative for building muscle. The 39-year-old lived and breathed going to the gym every day, but that mindset almost derailed him.

According to SWNS (South West News Service), Trigili began training for bodybuilding after taking a gym job at 15 and went on to win the Mr. USA title in 2014 at 25. And now he is a qualified nutritionist in New York City and trains every alternate day, with a strict 45-minute to one-hour session.

"People always make the mistake of overdoing it, and think you need to be in the gym every single day," Trigili said in an interview with NY Post. "I recommend people do a day on and a day off. This will yield the best results for people as they are giving their body a break."

Speaking to the NY Post, Trigili believes he was overdoing it, spending "two to three hours a day." Now, he enjoys a much more relaxed approach, with 3-4 times a week.

This allows him to train harder, and his recovery is good as well. And this is the advice he is giving to people hoping to pack on muscle.

From Mr. USA champion to 260 Pounds, and back

For Nick Trigili, winning the Mr. USA title didn't bring the satisfaction he expected. Instead, it left him without direction, and the structure that had built his physique quickly fell apart.

"When I won, everything came to an end for me," Trigili said in the same NY Post interview. "It was a let-down when I won; I was like, 'What do I do now?' Right after the show, that was my darkest moment — I felt lost."

Trigili substituted his regimented eating habits with takeout food and dining out, which led him to weigh 260 pounds. His epiphany occurred during a New Year’s Eve bash in 2017, where he ripped his shirt and pants in front of his visitors.

"I was up all night crying. I was upset, miserable, wondering how I got myself here," he said.

He committed to change on January 1, 2018, rebuilding his old habits and getting a full blood workup to assess the damage. Trigili is now back to a lean 225 pounds and coaches others through similar transformations.

What do you think of Trigili's method of a day on and a day off for lifting weights?

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Written by

Proma Chatterjee

Edited by

Zaid Quraishi