Quick Stats
Name: Jaco Moolman
Age: 27
Height: 1,80 m
Competition weight: 92 Kg
Current weight: 95 Kg
Current city: Cape Town, South Africa
Occupation: Chartered Accountant, Fitness Model, Personal Trainer and Nutritionist
How did you get started?
I played competitive rugby, golf, and cricket and ran athletics in high school and started weight training for sports conditioning. Once I noticed the changes in my body I was hooked.
What do you love about it and how do you stay motivated?
Weight training for me is an escape from reality. A little bit of me time, where I can let go of all the daily stresses we have in our lives. I always feel like a million dollars when I walk out of the gym knowing I gave it my all. I like to challenge myself and my next competition is what drives me to go to places few dare to explore.
What made you decide to enter your first competition?
I believed I had what it took to win and I wanted to showcase to an audience what I have been working on for the past 8 years. I am a competitive person by nature and when competing I am in my element.
You recently turned pro at the WBFF South Africa event, what does turning pro mean for you now?
To be selected as Pro was a huge honour given that it was probably the toughest amateur line up in the history of Wbff. Being a Pro comes with responsibility and the real work starts now! Wbff has created an amazing platform for us as athletes to develop a career in the fitness industry and I am glad that I have been given this opportunity.
Do you plan to do anything extra ordinary or special for your prep now for Worlds in Las Vegas?
I believe I have developed a winning formulae for my body and don’t plan to change anything drastic.
In a Pro line up all the guys will have insane physiques so it’s your posing and presentation that will set you apart and that’s my main focus for improvement for the Vegas show.
What are your future plans?
I will continue to compete in WBFF Worlds until I get crowed World Champion. I absolutely love the muscle model division as it’s a mixture of modelling poses with artistic bodybuilding poses and the stage is just electrifying. I would like to combine my passion for fitness and the industry knowledge I have with my professional occupation as a Chartered Accountant. The opportunities are endless, who knows what the future holds.
Do you believe you can gain muscle while still staying lean?
If you eat quality food and train hard you will be able to build muscle while staying lean. I have been doing that for the past few years and the results speak for themselves.
Who doesn’t want to walk around with a six pack the whole year?
Take us through an average day of yours:
- I wake up 4:45 get dressed and head straight to gym where ill be doing an hour cardio and 30 minutes of abs on a empty stomach.
- I then head to work which starts at 7:30.
- I have 4 meals at work. In-between work I do nutritional programs and mentor junior athletes and try to make lunch hours as sociable as possible by going for coffee with friends.
- I head home at 16:00.
- I’ll Back in gym at 17:00 for 2 hours of weight training.
- When I get back home I’ll have my last meal for the day and prep food for the next day.
- By then I am very much exhausted and try to dose out with a good movie or some epic trance music.
Give us a brief description of your philosophy on your diet, pre contest and during the off season:
I know my body very well and listen to the signals it gives me.
I never starve myself and follow a diet enriched with low GI carbohydrates. I keep my fat intake low and have moderate protein.
I believe champions are made in the off season so my food intake is just slightly more compared to when I prep and I’ll have cheat meals as I wish.
My competition prep diet is as follows:
- Meal 1-4: 150g chicken, 300g basmati rice.
- Meal 5: 300g rump steak, 150g oats, 40g peanut butter.
I use spice and low cal sauces to make my food tasty.
Do you weigh all your food and track the numbers when it comes to calories of everything you eat? Do you think it is necessary?
I weigh my food pre comp, and off season I’ll guess. It’s a form of control and helps you make adjustments should you like to lose more body fat or gain muscle fullness. It is recommended but not necessary.
What do you normally eat after training? What are the ideal foods to take in after training in your opinion?
When I’m prepping I will wait at least an hour before I eat to keep the fat burning process going. A Good Mixture of carbohydrates and protein is ideal. I’ll have some fast acting amino acids straight after straining to speed up recovery.
What supplements do you use if any?
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BCAAs
Helps with muscle recovery.
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Pre Workout
Energy and mental focus, especially for the days you need that extra boost.
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Nitrogen Oxide Boosters
Increase blood flow and enhances muscle pumps.
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Multivitamin
For overall health.
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Vitamin C
Fights fatigue and colds.
3 best nutrition tips to gain muscle?
- Eat. Eat Eat. If you’re not eating enough quality food, it won’t simply happen.
- A calorie is not a calorie.
- Stick to the basics, be patient, and before you know it, its like magic happens.
3 best nutrition tips to lose fat?
- Calorie control. If you are consuming too much then that fat is not coming off.
- Watch what you drink. Try to stick to water, black coffee and tea’s.
- Experiment with carbohydrate cycling, keto, high carbohydrate and see what works for you.
Give us a brief description of your philosophy on your training and on average how long do you workout for?
I am as hardcore as it gets. Workouts last about 2 hours and I follow stock standard old school bodybuilding methods. Good form and good reps, with good intensity.
Basics work!
What do you think are the biggest mistakes guys make when starting out with the gym and their diet?
- Eating too much protein and too little carbohydrates.
- Carbohydrates are what’s going to give you that full muscle bellies. There’s a saying, more carbs, more cardio. Cardio will also help to shape your legs to have an athletic look to them.
- The biggest mistake I see guys make is not devoting the same time and energy to each body part they train. If you want to have an aesthetically pleasing and balanced physique you have to prioritize your weak points.
What are your top chest training tips?
- Incline all your movements. Upper chest is the hardest part to develop.
- Focus on contracting the chest in the movement, to reduce deltoid involvement.
What are your three favourite exercises and why?
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Incline dumbbell press
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squats
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t-bar rows
I just feel like a beast when I do them lol.
How important is practising your posing leading up to a show? How often do you do it?
There is no point in having a great body if you can’t present the aesthetics. I’ll play around in the gym mirrors between sets throughout the year. But I will add in 2-5 good sessions leading up to a show. Once you know how the poses must look and you feel it, it becomes second nature. Fitness Posing is luckily fairly relaxed and even though we might pose for an hour on stage it’s great fun.
Favorite Influential bodybuilders/fitness models:
Phil Heath, Ulisses Williams, and Larissa Reis.
Favorite Quote:
“The only thing that stands between a person and what they want in life are the will to try and the faith to believe it’s possible.”
Advice for someone wanting to start competing?
Do your homework, seek advice and just have fun.
What competitions have you competed in and your placings?
- WBFF Muscle model | 2nd | Pro Card
- IFBB Western Province | Mens Physique | 1st
- Muscle Mania | Overall Champion
Behind the scenes of Jaco’s fitness photoshoot:
Where can people get hold of you?
- Facbook: Jaco Moolman WBFF Pro
- Twitter: @JacoWbffPro
- Instagram: JacoWbffPro
Photography Credit:
- Photos by Adriaan Fourie
