DJ TanQ is living the best of both worlds as a mixer and professional bodybuilder.
Rolling out spoke with TanQ about the one exercise people should do to stay fit this year.
What led you to get into fitness training?
I went to the University of West Georgia, where I played football and burned so many calories. After I stopped becoming an athlete, I gained so much weight. I saw one of my frat brothers, and he was 300-plus pounds. He started bodybuilding. I didn’t want to body build, but I wanted to look like him. I reached out to him; I went to the same high school and had the same fraternity number, so everything was organic. I started lifting with the guys, and they were like, “You got a unique physique; you should try it out.” I believe that God gives us so many signs, and I was like, this may be ordained, so I started bodybuilding from there.
For nutrition, what is something that people deem healthy but it’s not?
I hate the keto diet. The keto diet is nothing but carb cycling, but I just want everybody to just take the Keto out. There’s like four different body types and when you figure out what’s your body type, that’s what you need to adapt to. Some people require more protein; some people require more fat. For example, I put on weight quickly, so when [it’s time] to start cutting, I have to take away carbs. Getting ready for a bodybuilding show, if I want to be lean, I have to go three months without eating any carbs. My carbs come from vegetables. I can’t eat rice. I can’t eat pasta. I can’t eat any of that, so it just depends on your body type.
What is the one exercise that people should do to stay fit this year?
Cardio. People don’t understand cardio is so pivotal, not only just with working out but your heart and how your food is digested. I think that’s probably the most important. Even though I’m in the offseason right now, I still do four to five minutes of cardio a day just to make sure my bowel movements are good, my digestive system is good, and my heart is moving [and] functioning correctly.
When I first started working out, I would do cardio after my workout. However, I work out hard. When you work out so hard, and you do cardio like that, you’re ready to go home. Typically, for my warm-up, I’ll get on the Stairmaster or get on the incline treadmill. I’ll do my warm-ups to warm my body up, and then it’s like, I feel like that’s way easier than doing the hard work, and you’re like, “I gotta do this or get on this treadmill” versus just coming straight in, putting your hoodie on, putting your headphones in, get to it and then get to the workout.
