Dallas McCarver’s Workout Routine and Diet Plan

Dallas McCarver as we all know was an IFBB pro bodybuilder. He was also a sponsored athlete from Tennessee, USA.

During his early days, Dallas used to play football. But later on, he got inclined towards bodybuilding. He used to train with great dedication.

His dedication and passion for bodybuilding paid off when he won the NPC Hub City Fitness Quest in 2011. It happened to be his very first bodybuilding competition.

Owing to his superb physique and insane muscle maturity, he went on to win his pro card one year later in 2012.

So without further ado, let’s throw some light on Dallas McCarver’s workout routine and diet plan that made him an iconic figure in the bodybuilding domain.

Dallas McCarver’s Workout Routine

Dallas was 6 feet tall. His weight was somewhere around 260 lbs. His physique blended his enormous size with elite aesthetics. He literally had no muscle group which could be termed weak.

Dallas always made sure that his physique has the coveted ‘v-taper’ look. To work on it, he focused on developing his side delts and lats. He also ensured to keep his waist as narrow as possible.

To get the v-taper look, Dallas relied on performing the following exercises:-

• Wide-grip chins
• Lateral raises
• Single-arm cable lateral raises
• Seated cable rows
• Hanging leg raises

Dallas also performed a decent number of lower body exercises to ensure that the development of his lower body muscles match up to that of his upper body.

Dallas used to hit the gym 4 times a week. In each of his workout sessions, he hit 2-3 muscle groups.

Being quite passionate about bodybuilding he used to train twice a day. Dallas McCarver’s workout split looked like the following:-

1. Day 1- Quadriceps (am), Hamstrings and calves (pm)
2. Day 2- Chest (am), Biceps, and some triceps (pm)
3. Day 3- Back
4. Day 4- Shoulders and Traps (am), Triceps and some biceps (pm)

Now let’s have a look at the exercises that he have done to develop each of his muscle groups:-

Legs

• Smith machine front squats- 4 sets of 8-12 reps
• Lying leg curls- 4 sets of 10-12 reps
• Leg press- 4 sets of 10-12 reps
• Smith-machine stiff leg deadlifts- 4 sets of 8-12 reps
• Leg extensions- 4 sets of 12-15 reps
• Standing calf raises- 4 sets of 12-15 reps

Chest

• Incline bench press- 5 sets of 8-12 reps
• Dumbbell flat bench press- 5 sets of 8-10 reps
• Nautilus press- 4 sets of 10-12 reps
• Cable crossovers- 5 sets of 10-12 reps
• Cable flys on a bench- 4 sets of 12-15 reps

Back

• Wide-grip chins- 4 sets of AMRAP
• Lat pulldowns- 4 sets of 10-12 reps
• Seated cable rows- 4 sets of 12-15 reps
• Dumbbell rows- 4 sets of 10-12 reps
• Smith machine deadlifts- 4 sets of 8-12 reps

Arms

• Parallel bar dips- 4 sets of AMRAP
• Close grip bench press- 4 sets of 8-12 reps
• Skull crushers- 4 sets of 10-12 reps
• Tricep pushdowns- 4 sets of 10-12 reps
• EZ-barbell curls- 4 sets of 8-12 reps
• Dumbbell curls- 4 sets of 10-12 reps
• Hammer curls- 4 sets of 10-12 reps
• Machine preacher curls- 4 sets of 10-12 reps

Shoulders

• Behind the neck overhead press on smith machine- 4 sets of 8-12 reps
• Front raises- 4 sets of 10-12 reps
• Lateral raises- 4 sets of 12-15 reps
• Cable lateral raises- 4 sets of 10-12 reps
• Reverse pec deck flys- 4 sets of 12-15 reps
• Upright rows- 4 sets of 8-12 reps

Abdominals

• Lying crunches- 4 sets of 20-25 reps
• Rope crunches- 4 sets of 15-20 reps
• Hanging leg raises- 4 sets of 12-15 reps

Cardio

Cardio happened to be an important part of Dallas’s exercise routine. It enabled him to keep his overall body fat percentage low. Dallas’ cardio routine consisted of the following exercises:-

• Walking/running on the treadmill
• Stairmaster
• Elliptical trainer

When Dallas used to approach a competition, he increased his weekly frequency of performing cardio.

Back Training

Dallas’ wide and muscular back was undoubtedly one of the most noticeable muscle groups in his body. To train it well, he performed a variety of exercises.

To work on his V-taper, he performed vertical pulling exercises like wide-grip pull-ups and lat pull-downs. He used to perform lat pulldowns with double handles.

He claimed that doing so gave him a greater range of motion during the exercise. Talking about its benefit, he said,

“Using two handles that I can pull apart as I pull down allows me to open everything up more.”

This approach further accentuated his V-taper.

No Place for Weighted Abs Workouts

Dallas never incorporated any kind of weighted ab workouts in his exercise routine. He claimed that doing so makes one’s midsection thicker.

A thick midsection often disrupts the aesthetics of a decently developed physique. And that is something that no bodybuilder would ever want.

Hence, to train his abs he relied on exercises that use just one’s body weight for resistance. They helped in giving his midsection a toned and tighter look.

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Dallas McCarver’s Diet Plan

During his entire bodybuilding career, Dallas was pretty disciplined with his eating habits. He always ensured that his body gets fueled with all the nutrients that it requires for muscle recovery and growth.

Dallas had a fast metabolism. In the initial phases of his bodybuilding journey, he used to eat a lot to pack on muscle size. Once he acquired muscle size, he decided to stay lean all the time.

Going through extreme bulking and cutting phases was something that Dallas never did. To fulfill his body’s overall caloric intake he used to consume 5000-5500 calories a day. Joking about his daily caloric intake, he once said,

“I diet on 5000 or 5500 calories, which is more than a lot of guys eat even when they are trying to bulk.”

But at the same time, he ensured that none of his calories are coming from unhealthy food items. Clean eating was the foundation stone of Dallas McCarver’s diet plan.

Owing to this reason, he used to stay lean and muscular throughout the year.

Dallas McCarver’s meal plan for the day consisted of 6-7 meals. Let’s have a look at the food items that were included in each of them:-

After Waking Up

• 4 oz. black coffee

Meal 1

• 10 egg whites
• 2 whole omega-3 eggs
• ½ cup cream of rice

Meal 2

• 10 oz. chicken breast
• 1 cup jasmine rice

Meal 3

• 10 oz. tilapia
• 10 oz. sweet potato

Meal 4

• 10 oz. chicken breast
• 1 cup jasmine rice

Meal 5

• 10 oz. tilapia
• 1 cup jasmine rice

Meal 6

• 12 oz. tilapia
• 1 cup asparagus

Protein Intake

When Dallas got started with bodybuilding, he used to eat 12-16 oz. of meat protein in every meal. Later on, his coach advised him that it wasn’t a very optimal approach to consume protein.

This is because the body utilizes only a certain portion of protein consumed from direct sources for muscle building. The remaining amount is utilized by the body for energy production.

After Dallas got to know about this fact, he reduced his meat protein intake per meal to just 6-7 oz.

Dallas McCarver’s Supplements

Dallas also included certain supplements in his nutrition plan. He did so to make sure his body doesn’t lack any vital nutrients.

Dallas McCarver’s supplements stack included the following:-

• Pre-workout
• Whey protein
• Casein protein
• Multivitamin

To build a phenomenal physique, Dallas used to go through intense workout sessions. Taking a pre-workout before training sessions helped him to stay energetic and driven for his intense workouts.

He used to consume 2-3 whey protein shakes a day. This assisted in fulfilling his body’s daily protein requirements. He also consumed a casein protein shake before bed to ensure his body remains in an anabolic state when he is sleeping.

Dallas included a multivitamin supplement in his nutrition plan to fetch his body certain essential micronutrients.

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Wrapping Up

So that was all about Dallas McCarver’s workout routine and diet plan. Even after several years of his unfortunate demise, his legacy continues to live.

Dallas is still a source of inspiration for many upcoming bodybuilders who aspire to be like him. He set up new standards in the bodybuilding world with his amazingly developed physique.

And we must say that he will always be remembered as a bodybuilder who strived for physical perfection and became successful in that.