Iron Man magazine 2006 07 - Bodybuilding magazine free

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JULY 2006 / IRON MAN MAGAZINE—WE KNOW TRAINING™
Giant Arms • Category 5 Intensity • Web Training Guru
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JULY 2006
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www.ironmanmagazine.com \ APRIL 2006 261
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150 DECEMBER 2009 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com
July 2006
Vol. 65, No. 7
Dante’s Inferno,
page 120
We Know Training™
FEATURES
76 TRAIN, EAT, GROW 81
New split, more X-hybrid techniques and ripping it up.
108 A BODYBUILDER IS BORN 12
A valuable lesson from Ron Harris: You can’t flex fat.
120 DANTE’S INFERNO
An interview with the creator of DC, or Doggcrapp, training. No, it’s not a joke; it’s just the most sought-after
mass-building technique on the Internet. Ask David Henry.
144 TAN BAN
Jerry Brainum looks at the positives
and negatives of bronzing your bod
in the hot summer rays.
170 19-INCH GUNS
X-caliber triceps training to put some
new freak on your physique—as in
arms like 20-pound hams.
210 CATEGORY 5
TRAINING INTENSITY
Peter Siegel tells you how to channel your mental power into a force of
mass construction.
Binais Begovic and Katie
Lohmann appear on this
month’s cover. Hair and
makeup Kat Connelly.
Photo by Michael Neveux.
226 HEAVY DUTY
John Little delves into the Mentzer philosophy on one
set to failure, recovery and advanced mass methods, like
omni-contraction.
234 10 STUPID THINGS BODYBUILDERS
DO TO MESS UP THEIR WINNING MINDSET, PART 2
Skip La Cour goes mental—his second big five and a
wrap-up for insane gains!
19-Inch Guns,
page 170
Tan Ban,
page 144
256 ZAC AND LANA
David Young interviews team Titus, the pair who won the
Fittest Couple competition at IM’s FitExpo.
278 BOB GARDNER PICTORIAL
A classic-photo tribute to the winner of the ’06 Art Zeller
Award for Artistic Excellence.
Ms., Fitness
and Figure
International,
page 296
296 IFBB MS., FITNESS AND FIGURE
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITIONS
Page after page of in-your-face shots of hot female bodies—direct from the Arnold Classic. Wow!
314 ONLY THE STRONG SHALL SURVIVE
Bill Starr gives you the squat-option lowdown. Sure, it’s the
king of the mass movements, but there are alternatives.
Muscle “In” Sites,
page 270
DEPARTMENTS
36 TRAIN TO GAIN
Time off to pack it on, abdominal overkill and Joe Horrigan’s Sportsmedicine.
54 SMART TRAINING
Top strength coach Charles Poliquin looks at chinups vs.
pulldowns and double-split training.
62 EAT TO GROW
Aspartame gets the blame, mind your minerals and sizebuilding essentials.
94 CRITICAL MASS
Steve Holman discusses king TUT—time under tension.
100 NATURALLY HUGE
Bob Gardner
Pictorial,
page 278
John Hansen goes blubber blasting.
Train to
Gain,
page 36
266 BODYBUILDING PHARMACOLOGY
Jerry Brainum says, “Block that estrogen kick!”
270 MUSCLE “IN” SITES
Eric Broser surfs the tangled Web for cool stuff you can
use—fitness dating and supplement blogs.
272 NEWS & VIEWS
Lonnie Teper gives you the goings-on in the world of
bodybuilding.
290 PUMP & CIRCUMSTANCE
Ruth Silverman snaps up all the beautiful-body news
from the ladies’ side!
324 MIND/BODY CONNECTION
Randall Strossen, Ph.D., discusses private parts, and
Dave Draper’s bomb squad confirms earthshaking discoveries—plus, loads of hot shots in Graphic Muscle Stars
and Serious Training.
News & Views,
page 272
Pump & Circumstance,
page 290
WEB ALERT!
336 READERS WRITE
Arnold is still awesome, bigger is not better and grow
with DXO.
In the next IRON MAN
Next month we’ve got a very cool issue for you.
It’s our Arnold-birthday celebration special. We’ll
have page after full page of classic Arnold photos, straight from the archives of John Balik. Talk
about a collector’s issue! Then we’ll have Jerry
Brainum’s look at what’s known as the metabolic
syndrome. It may be the reason you’re not gaining muscle or losing fat as fast as you should, and
Brainum has some answers. Plus, you can check
out five training secrets the so-called experts don’t
want you to know, and a sleeve-busting biceps
program that’ll give your guns firepower. Watch for
the Arnold-esque August IRON MAN on newsstands
the first week of July.
from the world
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John Balik’s
Founders
1936-1986:
Peary & Mabel Rader
Publisher’s Letter
We Know Training—
We Are Training
Last month’s
h’ editorial
di i l was a short
h
course
in IRON MAN’s history and its philosophy of
training since 1936—an approach that’s still
strong today. As I read the articles that make
up this issue, I was stuck by the story of Zac
and Lana Titus. Some of my editorials have
discussed what has gone wrong with our sport
in the past 30 years, but the Tituses’ story,
which begins on page 256, reaffirms what’s
wonderful about a true bodybuilding lifestyle.
Zac and Lana won our Fittest Couple contest
at the ’06 IM FitExpo, and as a result they were
given the opportunity to share their story in
IRON MAN. Here is a family that walks the
walk. From working out together to honing
their nutrition and supplementation, they do it right. The bodybuilding
lifestyle can enhance a relationship, strengthening the bond, and lead
to wonderful health benefits. Bodybuilding, practiced in a holistic way
(historically, IRON MAN’s way), is as close as we can get to the fountain of
youth.
While holistic is a buzz word, you can see in this issue how IRON MAN
feeds every aspect of training. Many of the features address the workout
itself and/or individual exercises and techniques. You’ll see that in the
Train to Gain section (page 36), Train, Eat, Grow (page 76), “Dante’s Inferno” (page 120), “19-Inch Guns” (page 170), Heavy Duty (page 226), Only
the Strong Shall Survive (page 314), Smart Training (page 54) and Critical
Mass (page 94). In the nutrition and supplementation area we have the
Eat to Grow section (page 62), Naturally Huge (page 100), Bodybuilding
Pharmacology (page 266) and “A Bodybuilder Is Born” (page 108).
The psychology of successful bodybuilding is discussed in “Category 5
Training Intensity” (page 210), “10 Stupid Things Bodybuilders Do to Mess
Up Their Winning Mind-set” (page 234) and, of course, the Mind/Body
section (page 324). The inspiration comes from the wonderful photos of
legendary photographer Bob Gardner (page 278) as well as the Zac and
Lana Titus story.
In addition, no issue is complete without News & Views (page 272) and
Pump & Circumstance (page 290), which highlight the personalities and
happenings in competitive bodybuilding and the fitness industry. While
we are not a competition-geared magazine per se, we still add a little to
spice up the mix. This month’s entry is the women’s coverage from the Arnold Classic, full-page-photo essays on the Ms., Fitness and Figure International events that begins on page 296. (For thousands of contest photos
visit IRON MAN’s GraphicMuscle.com.)
We strive to balance the contents of every issue for our readers’ needs.
When you see the mix of articles each month, it reflects not only what the
individual authors want to write about but also what we have found—
after analyzing thousands of reader surveys—that you want to read. I read
every letter and e-mail message; your input is always acknowledged and
appreciated.
All in all, I think we’ve covered bodybuilding as a lifestyle and fulfilled
our mission this month. What do you think? Send e-mail to me at
[email protected], and let me know. IM
Publisher/Editorial Director: John Balik
Associate Publisher: Warren Wanderer
Design Director: Michael Neveux
Editor in Chief: Stephen Holman
Art Director: T. S. Bratcher
Senior Editor: Ruth Silverman
Editor at Large: Lonnie Teper
Articles Editors: L.A. Perry, Caryne Brown
Assistant Art Director: Aldrich Bonifacio
Designer: Emerson Miranda
IRON MAN Staff:
Vuthy Keo, Mervin Petralba,
David Solorzano, R. Anthony Toscano
Contributing Authors:
Jerry Brainum, Eric Broser, David Chapman,
Teagan Clive, Lorenzo Cornacchia, Daniel Curtis,
Dave Draper, Michael Gündill, Rosemary Hallum,
Ph.D., John Hansen, Ron Harris, Ori Hofmekler,
Rod Labbe, Skip La Cour, Jack LaLanne, Butch
Lebowitz, Stuart McRobert, Gene Mozée,
Charles Poliquin, Larry Scott, Jim Shiebler, Roger
Schwab, C.S. Sloan, Bill Starr, Bradley Steiner, Eric
Sternlicht, Ph.D., Randall Strossen, Ph.D., Richard
Winett, Ph.D., and David Young
Contributing Artists:
Steve Cepello, Larry Eklund, Ron Dunn,
Jake Jones
Contributing Photographers:
Jim Amentler, Reg Bradford, Jimmy Caruso, Bill
Comstock, Bill Dobbins, Jerry Fredrick, Irvin Gelb,
J.M. Manion, Gene Mozée, Mitsuru Okabe, Rob
Sims, Leo Stern, Russ Warner
Director of Marketing:
Helen Yu, 1-800-570-IRON, ext. 1
Accounting: Dolores Waterman
Subscriptions Manager:
Sonia Melendez, 1-800-570-IRON, ext. 2
E-mail: [email protected]
Advertising Director: Warren Wanderer
1-800-570-IRON, ext. 1
(518) 743-1696; FAX: (518) 743-1697
Advertising Coordinator:
Jonathan Lawson, (805) 385-3500, ext. 320
Newsstand Consultant:
Angelo Gandino, (516) 796-9848
We reserve the right to reject any advertising at our
discretion without explanation. All manuscripts, art
or other submissions must be accompanied by a selfaddressed, stamped envelope. Send submissions to
IRON MAN, 1701 Ives Avenue, Oxnard, CA 93033.
We are not responsible for unsolicited material.
Writers and photographers should send for our
Guidelines outlining specifications for submissions.
IRON MAN is an open forum. We also reserve the
right to edit any letter or manuscript as we see
fit, and photos submitted have an implied waiver
of copyright. Please consult a physician before
beginning any diet or exercise program. Use the
information published in IRON MAN at your own
risk.
IRON MAN Internet Addresses:
Web Site: www.ironmanmagazine.com
John Balik, Publisher: [email protected]
Steve Holman, Editor in Chief: [email protected]
Ruth Silverman, Senior Editor: [email protected]
T.S. Bratcher, Art Director: [email protected]
Helen Yu, Director of Marketing: [email protected]
Jonathan Lawson, Ad Coordinator: [email protected]
Sonia Melendez, Subscriptions: [email protected]
30 JULY 2006 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com
SEXY ROCK-HARD ABS FAST
The Secret to Etching your Granite-Carved Abs in 10 Short Minutes
Picture this... you with tight,
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The contraction takes place all
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Using the Ab Bench is the
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L AYO F F S
Should you take regularly scheduled layoffs from
couple of weeks. If you’re feeling fantastic, with productraining? That’s a question many bodybuilders ponder.
tive workouts that you highly anticipate, you’re probably
On one hand, taking breaks of a week or more can be
fine continuing with your workouts as they are. Just be
just what you need to recharge and prepare to get back
aware of what’s going on, and don’t be afraid to take
in the battle. Team Universe Champion and regular IRON
time off if the signals your body is sending you point to
MAN contributor Skip La Cour swears by a very systemthat as a smart decision.
atic layoff schedule—six weeks of hard training followed
—Ron Harris
by one week off, all year long.
www.RonHarrisMuscle.com
Gustavo
I’ve often recommended taking a week off two
Badell can’t
or three times a year, preferably to coincide with
stand missing
fitting times like a vacation, particularly demandmore than a
ing seasons at work (Christmas for those in retail,
few days of
April for accountants, etc.) or following a competraining, even
tition, for those who compete. The top physique
after a show.
competitor in the world, Ronnie Coleman, actually takes a full three months off from the gym afterr each
st of his
Mr. Olympia contest so that he can train at the best
ability for the next nine months. So far, his strategyy has
mpia
worked like a charm, as he currently has eight Olympia
titles and is looking to make it nine this year.
me of
off
But like anything else in bodybuilding, taking time
e those
from training is a highly individual matter. There are
g, such
who can’t stay away from the weights for very long,
Gus
as IRON MAN Pro and San Francisco Pro champ Guspeaking
tavo “the Freakin’ Rican” Badell. While we were speaking
d
about Ronnie’s seasonal layoff, Gustavo expressed
aid.
disbelief. “I don’t know how Ronnie does it,” he said.
“For me, after two or three days without training,
at the most, I start going crazy. I need to feel that
heavy weight and my muscles working. I don’t feell
ng
right when I don’t train, period.” In fact, the morning
after he won the ’05 IRONMAN Pro, Badell was
in the gym training legs.
We’re all unique, of course. Gustavo’s mind
and body may be far more conditioned to consistent training than yours, and he may be one
of the handful of athletes with almost superhuman recovery abilities, since going for years
without ever taking so much as a week off
would have just about anyone else overtrained
and burned-out.
My best advice is to listen to your body and
pay attention to how you feel not only in the gym
while you train but also in your everyday life. If you
ng
find yourself getting fatigued, having trouble sleeping
and generally dreading the gym, it’s probably time for you
to take a break for anywhere from a couple of dayss to a
Comstock
Neveux
Time Off to Pack It On
Taking breaks is an
individual thing
HE WANTED TO FIGHTUntil I Crushed His Hand!
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You’ll develop a bone-crushing
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You’ll want your forearms to be
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MIDSECTION PERFECTION
Comstock
Abdominal
Overkill
FREAK PHYSIQUE
Let Your Freak Flag Fly?
Most of us have at least one bodypart that grows easily. Maybe it’s your chest,
your arms, or, if you’re a really rare specimen, your calves. Bodybuilders have debated for years what should be done with the gifted muscles. Should you run with
the opportunity to build them to their fullest, freakiest potential? Or would you be
better off keeping them in proportion with the rest of your physique so that they
don’t detract from your overall symmetry?
That’s the question IFBB pro Mustafa Mohammad was forced to answer years
ago, when it became clear that his quads could take on unbelievable dimensions
if he so desired. One look at them today, and it’s quite clear those quads almost
have a life of their own—certainly each takes up as much mass as a small child.
But since the Jordan native decided 20 years ago that he wanted to be one of the
world’s best bodybuilders, building his quadriceps to their full potential was not an
option.
“Believe me, if I wanted to make my legs much bigger, I could do it, no problem,” he told me. “I can squat 600 pounds for 10 reps without even pushing too
hard. But my goal is not to have the biggest legs and just be known for that, the
way Tom Platz and the late Paul ‘Quadzilla’ DeMayo were. If I did let my legs grow
that large, it would make my shoulders look narrow and small and give me a pear
shape instead of the X shape that a bodybuilder should have.” Mustafa chose to
rein in the growth of his quads.
What will you do about your best bodypart? I guess it all depends on whether
you want to be recognized as a freak, that guy with the huge arms or chest, or
rather have a well-balanced physique with all the muscle groups in proportion,
from head to toe and front to back. You may get more attention going the freak
route, but I guarantee you it won’t be the same type of attention you get from
having a proportionate muscular body. When a physique is developed properly
and truly flows, with no overwhelming strong or weak points, it inspires admiration. But I can’t decide for you. Only you can do that. In the end, it’s all a matter of
personal preference.
—Ron Harris
How much training do the abs really
need? Old-time bodybuilders used
to train them every day for hundreds,
even thousands, of repetitions. And
since the average person still subscribes to the myth of spot reduction,
a question typically posed to anyone
sporting a killer six-pack is, How many
crunches do you do a day? Some pro
bodybuilders train abs every day, while
a handful of men with incredible midsections don’t do a thing for them—
notably Dexter “the Blade” Jackson.
Perhaps the happy medium comes
from another man who has an amazing set of abs, Chris “the Real Deal”
Cormier. Chris trains his abs every
other day but doesn’t make a marathon session out of it. “What I do is
pick two exercises: one type of crunch
and either a leg raise or a frog kick,”
he explains. “At the end of training a
bodypart like chest or legs, I’ll do three
sets each of those two exercises, and
that’s it. There’s no need to train abs
for hours on end unless you really
enjoy it and have nothing better to do
with your time.”
Following Chris’s example would
have you working the abs with
roughly 18 to 24 sets a week, which
he believes is more than adequate.
Since most bodybuilders enjoy training abs about as much as going on
zero carbs, I think it’s a frequency and
volume we can all live with.
—Ron Harris
YOU CAN BENCH BIG
Add 20 Pounds to Your Bench Press Almost Overnight!
How would you like a surge in
upper-body power and a bigger
bench press—say, 20 extra pounds
on the bar—after only a couple of
workouts? Sure, adding 20 pounds
to your bench in two or three training
sessions may sound crazy, especially
if your bench press poundage has
been stuck in neutral for a while.
But nine times out of 10 this stall is
due to an easily correctible muscle
weakness—not in the pecs, delts
or triceps but in a group of muscles
known as the rotator cuff.
The rotator cuff muscles stabilize
the shoulder joint. During the bench
press and almost all other upperbody movements these muscles
protect the shoulder joint and
prevent ball-and-socket slippage. If
these muscles are underdeveloped,
they become the weak link in the
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Once you start using the
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A big, impressive bench press can
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GH Surge or Purge?
The two greatest
promoters of growth hormone release are sleep
and exercise. The primary
exercise stimuli are the
level of intensity and the
duration. The higher the
intensity, the greater the
release of GH.
Training too long, however, blunts GH release,
as the catabolic hormone cortisol becomes
dominant. Training larger
muscle areas, such as
thighs and back, usually
involves a higher level of
intensity, so it promotes
a greater release of GH
than training smaller
muscles, such as the
upper arms. Age also
plays a role, with younger
people producing more
GH than older people.
Growth hormone is
related to the release of
other substances, such
as catecholamines and
lactate. Catacholamines,
mainly epinephrine and
norepinephrine, are produced by the adrenal
glands during exercise
and help release energy
from fat and glycogen.
Lactate is a result of
carbohydrate metabolism
during training and is
thought to send a signal
that results in GH release.
Even increased body
temperature promotes
GH release.
Some scientists think
that GH may help promote protein synthesis and prevent excessive muscle protein
breakdown. Others note that a single pulse (release) of GH
leads to a 60 to 250 percent rise in lipids, or fat, that provide
fuel for long-term exercise. The problem with the single-pulse
idea is that the fat-mobilizing effect of GH usually doesn’t
occur until two to three hours later.
With that in mind, a recent study examined how GH affects
various measures of fat release after exercise.1 Researchers
had one group of subjects undergo a one-hour infusion of
GH and compared that to the level of GH release following
exercise in another group. The subjects were seven moderately trained young men, average age 21, and seven older
moderately trained men, average age 56. The older men were
included so the researchers could determine whether the
exercise-induced effects varied with age.
The exercise group rode on stationary cycles at an intensity amounting to 70 percent of maximum oxygen intake for
Do the benefits of growth
hormone occur after exercise?
20 minutes. Both groups
experienced a similar
rise in fat breakdown, or
lipolysis, with levels peaking nearly three hours
after the exercise ended.
Interestingly, GH release
wasn’t different in the
young or older subjects in
this study. The researchers
noted that GH promotes
fat release through several
mechanisms. One is by
stimulating the activity of
hormone-sensitive lipase,
the main enzyme involved
in fat release. That hormone, in turn, is stimulated
directly by exercise-induced rises in catecholamine levels. GH increases
the sensitivity of lipolysis to
catecholamines.
The question is why
GH peaks after exercise.
The recovery process that
must occur after exercise
is energy intensive and
powered mainly by fat. The
delayed response of GH
provides the fat required to
power all exercise recovery
processes, including the
replacement of depleted
muscle glycogen stores as
well as muscle triglyceride—that is, fat—stores.
The similar fat-releasing
responses of the direct GH
infusion and the exerciseinduced GH was a surprise
but seems to have occurred because the higher
levels of catecholamines
released during exercise
increased the sensitivity of
the primary fat-releasing enzyme in fat cells, hormone-sensitive lipase, to GH.
Downing a protein-and-carb recovery drink following
exercise will blunt the release of both testosterone and GH
because of the higher insulin levels the drink stimulates. That
means that the elevated fat levels after exercise will be blunted
as well. On the other hand, since the fat-releasing effect of
GH doesn’t occur until about three hours after exercise, it
shouldn’t interfere with the benefits provided by a protein-andcarb recovery drink, which is best taken immediately following
a workout.
—Jerry Brainum
Model: Jorge Betancourt
TRAIN TO GAIN
HORMONE ZONE
1 Wee, J., et al. (2005). GH secretion in acute exercise may
result in postexercise lipolysis. Growth Hormone and IGF
Research. 15:397-404.
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SPORTSMEDICINE
Knee Bands, Squats and Extensions
Whenever leg training is discussed, inevitably the topic of
knee pain from squats comes up. Unfortunately, many physicians in the 1960s and ’70s claimed that squats would ruin
the knees, a claim made from personal bias and not from
scientific data. Leg extensions were promoted as good for the
knees.
Then biomechanists learned that the cartilage lining the
back of the patella (kneecap) is not uniform in thickness. When
we squat, the thickest part of the cartilage lines up with the
groove for the kneecap on the femur (thigh bone) at the point
of the greatest stress on the knee. In other words, we were
designed to perform squats. When we do leg extensions, the
thinnest part of the kneecap cartilage receives the greatest
stress and can be damaged or even sheared. That applies to
normal knees; variations in anatomy can make squats painful.
As with any exercise, however, sometimes we perform too
many reps, too many sets, with too much weight, and we
often perform an exercise to exhaustion too often or too many
times each week. That can lead to inflamed tendons, sore
joint surfaces and pain along the tendon-muscle interface.
Also, various knee injuries from other sports can make training
difficult.
If you’re experiencing knee pain or discomfort when you
squat, you may wish to try using a set of neoprene sleeves, or
bands, for your knees. I first became acquainted with those
knee bands 30 years ago. My then training partner and I tried
them. We ordered them from a long-gone magazine known as
Strength & Health. Our knees felt great during heavy squats
with the bands. The bands didn’t seem to be available after
the magazine disappeared.
For decades the medical community didn’t believe the
bands offered any help for knee pain. Yet those who used
them swore they worked. Finally, the medical community
realized that some people need a mild level of support and,
when they get it, function very well. I ran into a vendor at the
IRON MAN FitExpo recently. His name is Leo Flasco, and he
was promoting Power Hooks for heavy dumbbell bench press
training—and the neoprene knee bands.
I was surprised to learn the neoprene sleeves were now
called TK bands. The “TK” stands for Tommy Kono, a legend
in the iron game. Kono won the gold medal in his weight
class in weightlifting in the 1952 and ’56 Olympics and a silver
medal in the ’60 Olympics. He also won the Mr. Universe in
’55, ’57 and ’61. Kono’s legacy doesn’t stop there. He set
26 world records, seven Olympic records and eight Pan Am
Games records. He also served as the head coach for weightlifting teams for the United States, Mexico and the former
West Germany. Tommy Kono still serves as an international
weightlifting referee.
Kono injured his knee in ’59, and he suffered from knee
pain for years. By ’64 he created the neoprene knee bands,
and his knees felt much better. Kono let fellow lifter Bob Bednarski use the bands, and he loved them too. Bob Hoffman,
the publisher of Strength & Health, took over the marketing
of the bands and changed their name from TK to BH knee
bands.
When I spoke with Kono recently, I told him I’d used his
bands and was glad to see they’re back on the market. Kono
said, “My name is on the bands. My reputation is at stake.” He
made sure the bands were made to his specifications. “Everybody who tries the knee bands likes them. When they take
them off, their knees feel like new.”
Kono added, “The thickness of the neoprene is just right,
and as you use it, the band forms to your knee.” When I asked
Tommy if anyone has complained about kneecap
pain, he replied, “No. People usually tell me how
much better they feel.”
The logo on the front of the band should be over
the patella; it is not centered on the band. Most
of band is to be placed over the thigh. The bands
come in sizes: small, 130 pounds (can also be
used for the elbows); medium, 130 pounds to 250
pounds; and large for those who weigh more than
250 pounds. The sleeve should be snug. You can
order the knee sleeves through Home Gym Ware
house, (800) 447-0008 or www.Home-Gym.com.
—Joseph M. Horrigan
Editor’s note: Visit www.softtissuecenter.com for
reprints of Horrigan’s past Sportsmedicine columns
that have appeared in IRON MAN. You can order
the books, Strength, Conditioning and Injury Prevention for Hockey by Joseph Horrigan, D.C., and E.J.
“Doc” Kreis, D.A., and the 7-Minute Rotator Cuff
Solution by Horrigan and Jerry Robinson from Home
Gym Warehouse, (800) 447-0008 or at
www.Home-Gym.com.
Could bands save your knees?
Many lifters swear by them.
Here’s How To Put Your Muscle-Building
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TRAIN TO GAIN
EXERCISE SCIENCE
Cardio vs. Weights for Fat Burning
Researchers had 10 trained men
do either 30 minutes of free-weight
squats using 70 percent of maximum weight (moderate training)
or cycle at an intensity level of 70
percent of maximum oxygen intake
(also moderate exercise level).1
The results: Aerobics, even
when done for the same amount
of time and intensity, exceeded
the energy cost of weight training.
Specifically, the subjects burned
441 calories during the aerobic
session compared to 269 calories
during the squat workout. On the
other hand, the authors also noted
that if done several days a week,
with a minimum of four to five
training sessions, weight training
could meet the energy expenditure
criteria established by the American College of Sports Medicine for
health maintenance and control of
body composition.
Weight training is comparable
and even superior in some respects
to aerobics when it comes to body
composition changes. Weight
training results in an increased postexercise energy
expenditure that is higher than what occurs with aerobics. Your resting metabolic rate remains elevated longer after
a weight workout than after a typical aerobics session. Much
of that effect is due to replenishment of depleted energy stores
in muscle. Muscle itself is the primary determinant of resting
metabolism. Recent studies also show that weight training
promotes muscle glucose uptake and increased insulin sensitivity, both of which favorably affect body composition—as in
more muscle and less bodyfat.
So can weight training serve
as a reasonable substitute
for aerobics? If, as this study
shows, you still get a greater
calorie expenditure from aerobics in the same amount of
time, and that aerobics fosters
the greatest oxygen uptake,
it’s clear that the answer is
no. Fat can be burned only
in the presence of oxygen,
and that’s the advantage of
aerobics. To attempt to take
in a similar level of oxygen with
weight work alone would negate most the primary strengthand muscle-building effects of
weights.
—Jerry Brainum
Neveux \ Model: Tamer Elshahat
Several writers have urged bodybuilders to avoid doing any type of
aerobic exercise. The suggestion is
based on studies showing that incorporating weight training and aerobics in one workout interferes with
strength gains. The studies show
that weight training and aerobics
affect different elements in muscle.
Weight training fosters increased
muscle protein synthesis conducive
to promoting gains in muscular
size and strength; aerobics promotes increased oxygen uptake in
muscle, resulting in such effects as
increased numbers of muscle cell
mitochondria and increased blood
vessel formation for delivering oxygen to working muscles.
The problem with aerobics is
that the upgraded processes also
blunt muscle protein synthesis. The
implication is that doing an aerobics
workout following a weight session
may inhibit gains produced from
the weight workout. On the other
hand, some research suggests that
moderate levels of aerobics, not
exceeding 45 minutes in one session, have little or no effect on
muscle size and strength gains.
Another school of thought suggests that aerobics isn’t even
necessary and that the benefits attributed to aerobics, such
as bodyfat loss and improved cardiovascular conditioning, can
be easily achieved through weight work alone. That’s based
on studies in which a particular form of weight training, known
as circuit training, appeared to increase heart rate comparably to aerobic exercise. With circuit training you do a series
of exercises nonstop, resting only after completing one to six
exercises.
While the increased breathing and heart rates that result
seem to emulate typical aerobics sessions, aerobic exercise
still produces a far higher
heart rate, along with a much
greater oxygen intake. In addition, the lack of rest typical of
circuit training exacts a toll in
the amount of weight lifted and
subsequent gains in muscle
size and strength. The underlying factor here seems to be the
rule of specificity of exercise—if
you want to develop cardiovascular fitness, do aerobics.
If muscle size and strength is
your goal, lift weights.
But what if you matched
aerobic and weight training for
total time and intensity—would
weight training compare favorably with aerobics for calorie
burning and oxygen intake?
1 Bloomer, R.J. (2005).
Energy cost of moderate-duration resistance and aerobic
exercise. J Strength Cond Res.
19:878-82.
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TRAIN TO GAIN
REVIEW
Build Muscle, Lose Fat, Look Great
IM readers know Stuart McRobert from his decades of
contributions to the magazine. He’s also the author of a number of popular bodybuilding books, including Brawn and The
Insider’s Tell-All Handbook on Weight-Training Technique. His
latest tome is, in my opinion, his best work yet.
Build Muscle, Lose Fat, Look Great is packed with info
for weight-training enthusiasts no matter what their level of
experience or gender. Its 600-plus pages contain almost 400
photographs and so much good advice that you’ll go back to
it again and again throughout your training career.
It’s really four books in one. First, you get a step-by-step
12-month training program that you can modify to your particular level of training. McRobert covers all the details, including genetics, muscle building vs. fitness, goals and exercise
descriptions and photos.
Book two is a more in-depth look at exercise technique so
that you can achieve total mastery of every movement—without fear of injury or cumulative joint damage.
Book three contains McRobert’s prescription for cardio
that’s invaluable for fast fat loss and cardiovascular health.
He also discusses the truth about age and exercise, how to
optimize your recuperative powers, rep speed and control, the
science and lexicon of muscle building and how to get started
if you’re a beginner.
Book four is McRobert’s personal account of his astonishing recovery from some debilitating injuries. He says he now
has ranges of movement in his neck, back and knees that he
hasn’t had in more than 15 years. He provides critical lessons
for all of us who train with weights and also describes the
corrective therapy
that made him a
new man.
McRobert has
more than 30
years of personal
experience in
physical training
and through his
previous publication, Hardgainer
magazine, corresponded,
interviewed and
learned from
countless coaches, chiropractors
and researchers.
He’s a walking
treasure trove of
muscle-building
information.
This book will be your go-to guide for bigger, safer results
from your workouts.
—Steve Holman
Editor’s note: Build Muscle, Lose Fat, Look Great is available for $39.95 plus shipping from Home Gym Warehouse.
Call (800) 447-0008, or visit www.Home-Gym.com.
GUN SHOW
Though Gustavo Badell has never had a problem getting his arms to grow, he knows a thing or two about how
to get biceps and triceps sprouting, based on his years
of experience as a personal trainer in Puerto Rico. Those
seeking more arm mass typically make several fundamental
errors that thwart their progress. In addition to using too
much weight and poor exercise form, the arm-challenged
often rely far too much on machines and cables to train their
would-be guns, forsaking the decidedly low-tech yet more
effective barbells and dumbbells.
“Free weights are much harder to use because they
require more skill to master and you have to balance them,”
Gustavo acknowledges. “But they make you grow so much
better than machines do. If you have great genetics for
arms, you can get away with using machines and cables,
but everybody else needs to use free weights. Even I make
sure that most of what I do for biceps and triceps is done
with free weights.”
So if your arms aren’t where you want them to be and
you’ve been pumping away with machines and cables,
maybe it’s time you went low-tech and started budging that
tape measure again.
—Ron Harris
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©2009 Home-Gym.com
Charles Poliquin’s
Smart Training
Chin Up or
Pull Down?
Q: What one upper-body exercise not commonly
performed would you like to see added to a bodybuilder’s
program?
A: I’m a firm believer in chinups and pullups for upperbody mass. If you believe that the squat is the king of
leg exercises, then you probably wouldn’t waste your
time doing endless sets of abductor-machine work, leg
extensions or (gasp!) the near-useless Smith machine,
right? Well, the chinup and its variations are the squat’s
equivalent in mass-building qualities and the ability
to quickly improve functional strength. In fact, most
bodybuilders would be jealous of the back development
of top-level gymnasts and kayakers. Their conditioning
programs center on—you guessed it—chinups.
Many elite organizations like Special Forces units and
SWAT teams require candidates to be able to perform a
certain number of chins before they can get into their
programs. That’s because, unlike the geeky machine pulldowns, chins are a true test of real-world strength. Why are
pulldowns a dork exercise? To put it simply, for pulldowns
you move a free-moving object (the bar), so it’s easier to
use your lower back and momentum to move the weight.
Easier is never the best way to build strength and muscle.
With chins you have to move your body around a fixed
object, the chinup bar, ensuring an overload on your
back and upper arms. That movement has a much better
transference to sports performance. As a bonus, all forms
of pullups and chinups, aside from helping you broaden
and thicken your back, help put some serious size on your
elbow flexors.
Q: I just got an Internet-based job. I have all the time
in the world to train now, as my hours are very flexible.
I have access to great weight rooms and a supplementbuyers’ club. What do you think about training twice a
day? Should I do it, or will I overtrain?
A: I do think a trainee can grow more
if he or she can afford the luxury of
training twice a day; however, most of
us have career and family commitments
that prevent us from pursuing such an
extensive training schedule.
Working out twice a day can be very
effective, providing that you respect the
following principles:
1) Keep the workouts short.
Excluding warmup time, your workouts
should initially be no more than 40
minutes. Training longer than that is
counterproductive. Eventually you can
increase that to 60 minutes, but no more.
2) Sequence the training properly.
In my opinion, you should train a bodypart twice on the same day. There are a
variety of options:
Neveux \ Model: Idrise Ward-El
Any type of chinup
is much better
at building your
back than dorky
pulldowns. Bonus:
You get more arm
development too.
Option A:
Morning, heavy; evening, light
From experience I’ve found that
training heavy in the morning and
with higher reps at night works quite
well—for example, sets of four to six reps
in the morning and 12 to 15 at night.
If you’re more interested in strength
development, your morning workouts
could be more in the one-to-three-rep
range, with your evening workouts in the
eight-rep range.
Option B
Morning, low reps, fast tempo; evening,
low reps, slow tempo
Here you can use the same reps
during both workouts but at different
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Smart Training
If you can afford the luxury of training twice
a day, it can help you get bigger and stronger
faster. Train the same bodyparts at both
sessions, and for the best growth response use
different exercises at each workout.
Morning.
lean body mass. So if your weight is 90 kilograms with 10
percent bodyfat, you need 50 grams of protein.
My carbohydrate intake recommendation used to be
two grams per kilogram of bodyweight. Over the years,
after being exposed to more research and discussing it
with my colleagues, I have come to the conclusion that
it should be a reflection of the training volume for the
session. The greater the number of reps per training unit,
the greater the carbohydrate intake. Of course, squatting
or deadlifting is more demanding than a curl or a triceps
extension. By the same token, performing three reps using
a slow tempo on squats makes a different calorie demand
from three reps of the power clean. Nevertheless, as a
general rule, I recommend the following carbohydrate
intake for a given workout:
Neveux \ Model: Luke Wood
12-72 reps per workout:
Obviously, simple math will enable you to figure out
how many reps you did and what your total training
volume was for that day.
When training twice a day, I suggest you take a very
tempos. For example, stick with four to six reps, but use
a 2/0/X/0 tempo in the morning and a 4/2/1/0 tempo
at night. The explosive work in the morning tends to
facilitate the evening workout. That means you can use
greater loads than normal in the evening. The nature of
the exercise can take care of that. For example, do power
cleans in the morning and deadlifts with chains at night.
3) Pay attention to postworkout nutrition. Liquid
nutrition is best. Here are some recommendations on what
should be in your postworkout shake:
Protein intake should be 0.6 grams per kilogram of
Neveux \ Model: Bob Donnelly
Option C
Morning, heavy; evening, eccentric-only training
Another one I like is training heavy in the morning and
doing negative-only work at night. For example, heavy
front squats, 6x2-3 with a 5/0/1/0 tempo in the morning;
eccentric back squats of 7x1 with a 1/0/0/1 tempo at night.
I recommend using the eccentric hooks known as Power
Recruit. For more info on that contact Bob Kowalski at
(814) 378-7108.
Regarding exercise selection for both workouts, you may
want to do the same ones if strength is your main concern
or change them completely if hypertrophy is your main
concern. For example, weightlifters will do back squats
twice a day, while a bodybuilder may do bench presses
in the morning and incline dumbbell presses in the afternoon. Or you could do just a slight variation. For example,
back squats with your heels flat in the morning, back
squats with heels elevated at night.
0.6 g/kg/LBM
0.8 g/kg/LBM
1.0 g/kg/LBM
1.2 g/kg/LBM
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Smart Training
periods may temporarily depresss
testosterone; however, it will shoot
back up if you cut back to once-a-day
training for a week.
Also, increase your training volume
gradually—you may want to start with
two 20-minute workouts a day and
very gradually increase the training
volume.
Q: Is it true that bodybuilders
should never swim because it
makes their muscles soft and ruins
definition by adding an extra layer of
fat underneath the skin? Inquiring
minds want to know!
Have you ever seen a really cut swimmer? Probably
not, and there’s a good reason—subcutaneous fat
accrual for thermoregulation.
good antioxidant formula and an extra 10 grams of vitamin
C a day. If you can afford it, take a phosphatidylserine supplement (800 milligrams) after the second workout of the
day, which can give you a greater testosterone-to-cortisol
ratio. I also find that taking a blend of the R-form of alphalipoic acid and taurine with your shake helps reload the
energy substrates quicker. You need between 300 and 600
milligrams of the R-form alpha-lipoic acid and three to six
grams of the taurine. Those two key nutrients help build
insulin sensitivity.
Another very important nutrient is magnesium, a mineral that tends to drop dramatically in multiple-trainingsession patterns. If you’re deficient in magnesium, your
insulin sensitivity suffers, and your nervous system can
go into sympathetic overdrive. When your nervous system
is too jacked up, it’s hard to get restful sleep, and you spin
quickly into overtraining, just because you lack a single
mineral.
A: I wouldn’t agree that extensive
swimming makes your muscles soft,
but it sure gives you a soft look. Have
you ever seen a really cut swimmer?
Not even at the Olympics. I’ve seen
lots of skinny ones, but they’re never
really lean in the way gymnasts or
track sprinters are. Why? One of the
mechanisms of subcutaneous fat
found in swimmers is the fact that
the body loses heat six times faster in
water than in the air. Because the body
is trying to preserve heat, swimming
may in fact be a catalyst for increasing
the fat deposit between the skin and
the muscles. So big-time swimmers
tend to have a high sum of skinfolds.
It’s a physiological adaptation
by the adipose tissue to enhance
thermoregulation.
Editor’s note: Charles Poliquin is recognized as one
of the world’s most successful strength coaches, having
coached Olympic medalists in 12 different sports,
including the U.S. women’s track-and-field team for the
2000 Olympics. He’s spent years researching European
journals (he’s fluent in English, French and German)
and speaking with
other coaches and
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For more on his
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methods, visit www
.CharlesPoliquin
.net. Also see his ad
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5) For every two weeks of twice-a-day training, do a
week of once-a-day training. That will ensure that you
don’t overtrain. Studies done on American and Finnish
weightlifters have shown that training twice a day for short
Bradford
4) You must leave four to six hours between workouts.
That time spread is critical. If you use a shorter one, you’ll
be too fatigued, and with a longer one you’ll affect nervous
system activation in your morning workout.
Charles Poliquin
w w w. C h a r l e s P o l i q u i n . n e t
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\ JULY 2006 181
EAT TO
NUTRITION SCIENCE
Aspartame Gets the Blame
Methanol, on the other hand,
converts into formaldehyde, then
formic acid. That’s where the primary
controversy about aspartame arises,
since formaldehyde is toxic and a
potential carcinogen, or cancercausing substance.
Various reports over the years,
many of which circulate over the
Internet, implicate aspartame in
several health problems—hair loss,
depression, dizziness, dementia,
behavioral disturbances, adverse
mood changes, impaired vision
and headaches. Aspartame is also
allegedly involved in the onset of
several types of cancer, notably brain
tumors.
Government commissions in the
United States, Europe and
Japan have examined the
many claims of harmful
health effects made
about aspartame and
dismissed them. That
hasn’t silenced the critics,
however, who dismiss
the government findings
as another example of
government and industry
collusion. The implication is
that human health and wellbeing are sacrificed in the
name of corporate profit.
The newest report on the
safety of aspartame initially
appears to confirm the dangers of
ingesting this sweetener.1 Published
by a group of Italian researchers, it
showed that when aspartame was
given to rats in doses equal to less
than half of the currently acceptable
daily intake, the rats showed
increased incidence of malignant
tumors, lymphomas and leukemia.
The authors began studying the rats
at eight weeks old and continued
to follow them until they died, giving
them various doses of aspartame
as part of their feed. Unlike earlier
Studies show an increased
cancer risk from aspartame,
but it appears to take
excessive amounts to cause
problems.
Keith Berson
Aspartame is an artificial
sweetener sold under the brand
name Nutrasweet and various
other generic names. It was
approved by the Food and Drug
Administration in 1974 and has
been in widespread use ever since.
In fact, it’s the second most widely
used artificial sweetener in the world,
just behind saccharin. More than
6,000 products contain aspartame,
including many food supplements
popular with bodybuilders and other
athletes. Aspartame is 180 to 200
times sweeter than sucrose, or table
sugar.
Aspartame is composed
of three different ingredients:
the amino acid phenylalanine,
aspartic acid and methanol.
Methanol is considered by many
to be the most problematic
ingredient, since its other name
is wood alcohol. It can be toxic
at certain levels. Aspartame is
rapidly absorbed, and its constituent
ingredients go through specific
breakdown pathways. Aspartic acid
is converted first to another amino
acid, alanine, and to oxaloacetate, a
component of the citric acid cycle,
which results in the production of
cellular energy. Phenylalanine is
enzymatically converted into the
amino acid tyrosine, which is itself
the precursor of a number of vital
body substances, such as melanin,
the primary skin-coloring pigment,
and the brain chemicals epinephrine,
norepinephrine and dopamine,
collectively known as catecholamines.
Along with the trace mineral iodine,
tyrosine is a component of thyroid
hormones.
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studies about aspartame safety, this
one followed the rats for a longer time
and examined them after death for
microscopic changes that may have
occurred.
Both male and female rats
experienced increased incidence
of various types of cancer. The
authors speculate that the immediate
cause was likely the methanol
content of aspartame, since methanol
degrades into known carcinogenic
compounds.
Does that mean that aspartame
is dangerous after all? No concrete
evidence shows that it causes any
type of cancer in humans. Rats
are far more prone to cancer than
humans, and doses of chemicals that
cause cancer in rats have no effect in
humans whatsoever.
Another problem is the suggestion
that methanol is the probable
smoking gun. Aspartame contains
10 percent methanol by weight,
and a liter of a beverage containing
aspartame would have 50 milligrams
of methanol, far less than is found
in an average serving of most fruit
juices. If methanol is the problem, fruit
juice should also be carcinogenic,
which it’s not. A study in which
human subjects got 75 milligrams
of aspartame per kilogram of
bodyweight—25 milligrams over
the acceptable safe intake—for six
months failed to show any detectable
increases in blood levels of methanol
or its breakdown product, formic
acid.
Still, the science of toxicology
decrees that all compounds can
be potentially toxic, including salt,
water and sugar. That’s illustrated
by another recent study that linked
aspartame to various neurological
side effects, such as headache,
seizures and panic attacks.2 The
prevailing theory is that
aspartame may interfere with
the sodium pump enzyme
system in cells. That’s
significant if true, because
the sodium pump regulates
the entry of electrolytes in
nerve cells and is vital to
normal nerve function.
The study had an
isolated-cell design, in
which cells were exposed to
varying levels of aspartame.
At low exposure levels
aspartame had no effect
on the sodium pump
mechanism. At high
concentrations, though, it
indeed inhibited the activity
of the sodium pump, which could
lead to many symptoms of electrolyte
imbalance. The effect was due to
increased oxidation incurred by high
levels of aspartame exposure. On the
other hand, the amino acid L-cysteine
and glutathione completely blocked
the negative effects of aspartame on
the sodium pump mechanism.
L-cysteine is the nutritional
precursor of glutathione, which
itself consists of three amino acids
and is one of the body’s most vital
antioxidant compounds. That may
explain why you don’t see more
aspartame-produced side effects.
First, few people ingest enough to
cause toxic effects. Second, if you
use such supplements as whey
protein, N-acetylcysteine or lipoic
acid, you’re producing optimal levels
of glutathione in the body.
There is little to fear from
aspartame, unless you’re taking in
huge amounts of the sweetener.
Adults would need to drink 10
cans a day of an aspartamesweetened beverage just to
get to the acceptable intake of
40 milligrams per kilogram of
bodyweight per day. Most people
get an average of 10 milligrams
per kilogram a day. Because of its
phenylalanine content, aspartame
may produce problems in those
born with a genetic lack of enzymes
needed to process the amino acid
PKU, or phenylketonuria. For them,
aspartame may indeed turn bitter.
—Jerry Brainum
References
1 Soffritti, M., et al. (2006). First
experimental demonstration of the
multipotential carcinogenic effects of
aspartame administered in the feed to
Sprague-Dawley rats. Environ Health
Perspect 114:379-385.
2 Schulpis, K., et al. (2005). The
effect of L-cysteine and glutathione
on inhibition of NA+, K+ ATPase
activity by aspartame metabolites in
human erythrocyte membrane. Eur J
Clin Nutr. [Epub ahead of print].
www.ironmanmagazine.com \ JULY 2006 63
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Eat to Grow
NUTRITION NOTES
A zinc deficiency can
affect your testosterone
levels, energy and sex
drive.
Food Facts
Neveux \ Model: Tito Raymond
That can affect your
workouts, weight and wellness
WARRIOR NUTRITION AND EXERCISE
Mind Your Minerals
Getting enough and the
right balance is important
The most important supplements are minerals, especially if you exercise
during the day or are under stress. During controlled-fasting time, especially
when the body is burning fat, toxins are released into the blood. Essential
minerals transport a lot of the toxins out of your body and keep your hormone
levels intact. Potent minerals are also the first defense against radiation.
Unfortunately, mineral supplements don’t seem to be a priority for most
people. Research indicates that many athletes and bodybuilders are deficient in
several essential minerals, such as magnesium, potassium, calcium and zinc.
Sometimes a deficiency occurs due to a mineral imbalance in the body. For
example, if you take too much calcium, you may actually deplete your body
of magnesium and zinc, and vice versa. Each mineral is essential for different
bodily functions, and a deficiency in even one of them might lead to unpleasant
symptoms and metabolic problems.
Magnesium deficiency is one of the main causes of tension headaches
and nervousness. Zinc deficiency can cause chronic food cravings; copper
deficiency might rob you of your sex drive. Chromium deficiency could
cause insulin insensitivity that might lead to hyperglycemia and possibly even
diabetes.
—Ori Hofmekler
Editor’s note: Ori Hofmekler is the author of the
books The Warrior Diet and Maximum Muscle &
Minimum Fat, published by Dragon Door Publications
(www.dragondoor.com). For more information or for a
consultation, contact him at [email protected],
www.warriordiet.com or by phone at (866) WAR-DIET.
Water appears to be a
potent weapon
for dieters. A
University of
Washington
study found
that one glass
of water halted
nightime hunger
pangs for almost 100 percent of subjects.
Probiotics
are healthful
bacteria that
seem to boost
immunity. A
recent Swedish study of
factory workers found that
those given
a probiotic
supplement
had far fewer
sick days.
Some yogurts with live cultures are
good probiotic sources, but supplements may be
better.
Wine in moderation can be
good for you, but
it’s not the alcohol that provides
the cardiovascular benefits.
A new study
showed that
subjects’ arteries
relaxed after one
glass of alcoholfree red wine.
Polyphenols in
Concord grapes,
not alcohol, appear to be the health hero. If you’re
into wine, though, pinot noir is tops in
antioxidants.
Tea that is brewed can have as
much as 100 times the antioxidant
levels as bottled tea. If you can brew
it, do it: Go for the bags, not the
bottles.
—Becky Holman
www.X-tremeLean.com
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Eat to Grow
ENERGY
Turn It Up, Burn It Up
Key nutrients can have multiple beneficial effects
Neveux \ Models: Adrian Janicke and Amy Lynn
You may have read that acetyl-L-carnitine has fat-burning potenial. It’s an amino
acid that is responsible for transporting
long-chain triglycerides, or fat, into cells
for energy production. It’s also been linked
to muscle recovery (see the X-treme Lean
e-book at www.X-tremeLean.com for
more on that). Now it’s been shown to be
an anti-aging supplement because it lowers oxidant levels and can improve mental performance.
Advice: Take one to four grams
of acetyl L-carnitine every day, if
you can afford it (it’s not cheap).
It may help you get leaner and
stronger—maybe even smarter
too.
—Becky Holman
www.X-tremeLean.com
MIGHTY MINERALS
HIGH-DEF DIETS
Cal-Mag Red Flag
Macrobiotic Mayhem
Most bodybuilders
don’t realize that
calcium is a big
player in muscular
contraction. And
if they’re dieting, a
deficiency is very
possible. In fact,
more than half of all
Americans don’t get
enough calcium or
magnesium.
Advice: Even if
you take a multivitamin-and-mineral
supplement, you
may want to add
a calcium-andmagnesium supplement as well, especially if you’re dieting
and want to continue to build muscle with intense muscular
contractions in the gym. Look for products that have a 2-to1 ratio of calcium to magnesium.
—Becky Holman
www.X-tremeLean.com
If you’re on a macrobiotic diet, you eat zero junk food
and no processed food, according to Andrew Weil, M.D.
You also don’t eat eggs or most meats, and you don’t
drink coffee or alcohol. What do you eat? Locally grown
fresh fruit and vegetables, fresh fish, nuts, seeds and soy.
Yes, you’ll lose weight because the diet is low in fat and
sugar and you eat lots of fiber. But getting enough protein
may be a problem. It’s a very healthful way to eat, but
if you’re a bodybuilder who’s going macrobiotic, you’d
better love fish and nuts.
—Becky Holman
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Eat to Grow
ANABOLIC DRIVE
Size-Building Essentials
The key to size? Essential amino
acids—especially leucine—some
carbs and creatine. Those building
blocks are the foundation for size,
strength and the pursuit of happiness. Okay, at least for size and
strength. Two recent studies have
further confirmed the value of essential amino acids.
One study evaluated the effects
of enriching an essential amino acid
(EAA) mixture with leucine on muscle
protein metabolism in elderly and
young individuals. Four groups—two
elderly and two young—were studied
before and after being dosed with
6.7 grams of EAAs. The scientists
found that increasing the proportion of leucine helps the elderly but
doesn’t result in further stimulation of muscle protein synthesis in young subjects.1
From a practical standpoint, that shows that young fitness
and figure competitors and bodybuilders do fine with the essential amino acids. If you’re older, however, add more leucine
to the mix.
Another experiment went a step further and measured actual changes in muscle fiber size. Scientists had 32 untrained
young men perform 12 weeks of resistance training twice a
week, consuming 675 milliliters of either a 6 percent carbohy-
Key amino acids
are in the mix
drate solution, six grams of essential
amino acids mixture, a combined
carb and amino acid supplement or a
placebo. The group on the carb and
amino mixture displayed the greatest gains in muscle fiber size. The
researchers concluded that the combination enhances muscle anabolism
following resistance training to a
greater extent than either substance
taken independently. The synergistic
effect of the combination maximizes
the anabolic response—presumably
by lessening the postexercise rise in
protein breakdown.2
You might be wondering, what the
essential amino acids are. It’s simple:
Remember PVT TIM haLL (say it as
“Private Tim Hall”). The capitalized
letters represent the essential amino acids. In order, they are
phenylalanine, valine, tryptophan, threonine, isoleucine, methionine, lysine and leucine.
The take-home message: Take three to six grams (one
tablespoon) of the EAAs 30 minutes before and immediately
after your workout if you’re a physique athlete. If you’re a
performance athlete, add a touch of sugar to the EAA mix. In
either case, add creatine to the formula.
—Jose Antonio, Ph.D.
FOOD STUFF
Nutrient Negligence
According to a
report from P.R. Web
Newswire, taking a
multivitamin-andmineral complex
may be more important than ever
because of our
soil. According to
Institute of Nutrition
president Jules
G. Bitbol, recent
studies of more than
a dozen fruits and vegetables have shown that there has been a
decrease in their nutrient value, which in some cases is drastic.
For instance, the vitamin A content in apples has dropped from
90 milligrams to 53 milligrams.
In a January ’06 Newsweek article University of California, Berkeley, professor Bruce
Ames weighs in as well: “If you want to age faster, a good way to do it is to be short
of some vitamin or mineral. I think everyone in the world should take a multivitamin as
insurance.”
—Becky Holman
www.X-tremeLean.com
Editor’s note: You can listen to Jose Antonio and Carla
Sanchez on their Performance
Nutrition radio show Web and
podcast at this site:
www.performance
nutritionshow.com.
References
1
Katsanos, C.S., et al.
(2006). A high proportion of
leucine is required for optimal stimulation of the rate of
muscle protein synthesis by
essential amino acids in the elderly. Am J Physiol Endocrinol
Metab. [Epub ahead of print].
2 Bird, S.P., Tarpenning,
K.M. and Marino, F.E. (2006).
Independent and combined
effects of liquid carbohydrate/
essential amino acid ingestion
on hormonal and muscular adaptations following resistance
training in untrained men. Eur
J Appl Physiol. [Epub ahead
of print].
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Eat to Grow
FAT BURN
One of the axioms
in dieting is that you
should never eat food
past a certain time of
day. For some, that
means not eating
anything past dinnertime, or about 6 p.m.,
although the time
varies with individuals. The basic rule,
however, is that you
should eat the majority of your calories
while you’re most active—for most people
during the day. That
way you’re more likely
to burn off excess
calories.
Various popular
diets continue to promulgate this dictum,
including the Atkins
and South Beach
diets. Many bodybuilders adhere to the
no-late-night-eating
rule, mainly because
metabolism drops
during sleep, making it easier to retain
calories and either
stay or get fat.
On the surface the advice makes sense. After all, when
you’re inactive, where do the calories go? Research confirms
that the metabolic rate drops during sleep in both humans
and various animal species, but studies examining the effects
of late-night or evening eating provide conflicting results. One
study of women, for example, showed that those who
ate at night gained weight over two weeks.
People who work the night shift are often heavier and
gain more weight than their daytime peers. That’s curious
since the night shift workers are ostensibly awake and active.
Those who get more than half their total calorie intake at night
gain weight faster than those who eat mostly during the day.
Other research, however, shows little or no effect of night
eating. A 10-year study of more than 7,000 people showed
no connection between night eating and weight gain. Some
studies do show that those who are obese tend to eat more
at night than slimmer types, while another study found that
those who tended to eat late were slimmer than usual. Confusion abounds.
The most recent study to examine the late-night-eating
controversy featured rhesus monkeys as subjects.1 They
could be closely monitored, with every morsel of food and
Does late-night eating make you fat?
Model: Sebastion Siegel
Eat Late, Add Weight?
activity accounted for.
All of the monkeys
were female, and
their ovaries were
removed—a known
cause of weight gain.
The monkeys were
also put on high-fat
diets, another established mechanism
of weight gain. No
monkeying around in
this study.
The number of
calories the monkeys consumed at
night made little
or no difference in
their tendency to
gain weight. Despite
a diet that contained
368 percent more
calories than their
usual intake, most of
the monkeys didn’t
gain much. The
authors suggest that
the monkeys’ bodies
successfully disposed
of the excess calories
through a thermogenic mechanism; that is,
the excess calories
were converted into
heat, not stored.
When you overeat, your metabolism temporarily
increases as a way of compensating for the extra calories. In addition, increasing fat stores aren’t related to a
particular eating time but to a continued surfeit of calories over the course of several days. In short, people get
fat because they overeat in relation to their physical activity
level day after day. Contrary to popular belief, although your
metabolism does drop when you sleep, that doesn’t automatically translate into weight gain.
In fact, one eating plan frequently discussed in IRON
MAN, the Warrior Diet espoused by Ori Hofmekler, suggests
that you should get a large percentage of your calories at
night. Hofmekler claims that such eating promotes a more
efficient use of nutrients. One thing is certain, however: If you
want to eat at night, go ahead. What’s important is not when
you eat, but how much.
—Jerry Brainum
1 Sullivan, E.L., et al. (2005). Evidence in female rhesus
monkeys that nighttime caloric intake is not associated with
weight gain. Obesity Res. 13:2072-2080.
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, Eat, GROW
Train
Muscle-Training Program 81
From the IRON MAN Training & Research Center
Models: Lee Apperson and Lee Apperson Jr.
by Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson • Photography by Michael Neveux
e’re feeling rather proud
of ourselves, not because
o
we
w both set bodyweight
records
d over the winter—without
too much fat accrual—but
because we’ve incorporated some
innovations that we think will
make our ripping phase much
more effective this year, getting
us leaner while acccelerating
the muscle-building process.
No, we’re not taking steroids—or
hallucinogenic drugs. We’ve just
been meticulous with our winter
training experiments, research and
observations.
Let’s start with rest/pause, but
we’re not talking about the classic
version we’re all used to. The subject
at hand is the DoggCrapp method.
Put away your pooper scooper;
it’s got nothing to do with canine
cannoli. Unless you’ve been to
certain bodybuilding forums or chat
rooms on the Internet, you may not
be familiar with Dante’s DoggCrapp,
or DC, training. You don’t need to
wade through the tangled Web on
your browser to step in it, however.
An interview with Dante appears on
page 120 of this issue—info straight
from the guru’s mouth. Naturally,
we’ve got our own take on Dante’s
effective mass-building method.
Interested? We thought so.
Rest/pause revisited. In a
nutshell, Dante’s DC technique is
to perform a compound exercise
using a weight with which you hit
exhaustion at around eight to 10
reps. Then you rest 20 seconds; hit it
again with the same weight, failing
at rep five or six; rest 20 seconds,
and then hit that same weight one
last time for around three reps. So
it’s three sets with the same weight,
20 seconds of rest after each.
Intense? You bet, but is it better than
a couple of straight sets?
Remember, we’ve said that on
our first big midrange, or multijoint,
exercise we want to produce the
maximum force possible. After that
we go for more endurance-facet
training and stretch overload, the
other key mass-building triggers.
On that first big midrange move we
usually do one straight set, rest
2 1/2 to three minutes and then hit
another set with the same weight,
adding X-Rep power partials at
the max-force point to extend the
set and activate more fibers. With
DC training you rest 20 seconds
between sets, so you only get
maximum-force production on
the very first set—there’s too much
fatigue on the second and third
phases.
Does that mean two straight sets
are better that three DC rest/pause
sets? If you’re strictly after force
production, the answer is probably
yes, although you are doing an extra
set with the DC method. The DC
method appears to have some forceproduction activation intertwined
with some endurance-component
work. That may very well be why
Dante recommends using three
different compound exercises
in his rest/pause style—so that
trainees get enough anaerobic force
production and endurance work to
maximally develop the fast-twitch
2As, the key bodybuilding fibers.
As we’ve said, we usually use
our first big exercise for maxforce production and anaerobic
stimulation, with only minor
endurance stimulation. Then we
shift to more of an endurance attack
by integrating supersets, drop
sets, double drops and Double-X
Overload on the more-isolated
exercises. Here’s a specific example
of our standard midrange-exercise
sequence:
For upper chest we do two sets
of incline presses. The first set is
for 10 reps; the second is for eight
or nine reps with X Reps tacked
on to extend the set for more fiber
activation and tension time (the
best hypertrophic results occur
with about 30 seconds of tension
time). After that max-force work
we move to high incline cable flyes
for endurance-oriented work with
a double drop—three sets in rapid
succession, decreasing the weight
on each. Or we do incline flyes for
stretch-position work and superset
those with a drop set on high cable
flyes.
Either way, our second mode
of attack is three sets back to back
with very little rest, which better
blasts the endurance components—
building the mitochondria and
capillary beds. There is still
anaerobic stress, especially on
the first phase of the double drop;
however, the endurance facets take
over during the second and third
phases.
DC training gives you endurance
work thanks to the short rest periods
between most of the nine sets of
compound exercises—but you don’t
get many sets with extended tension
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FREE Mass-Packing Secrets to Get You Growing!
ITRC Muscle-Building Tactics Delivered to You Every Week—FREE!
•How the Pros Pack on Extreme Mass
•Arnold’s Size-Stretching X-ploits
•The Forgotten High-Intensity Growth Trigger
•A Muscle-Building Mystery Solved
•Pounds of Muscle in Days
•Bodypart Bloodbath for Super Size
•Monster Arms: Torching Your Tri’s
•Time-Bomb Training
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•Less Training, Big Gaining: The Truth
(You can
check out those
past editions
free at www.XRep.com in the
X Files section.)
It’s exciting
stuff! You’ve
gotta subscribe Learn how to make curls three times more effecitve
at building eye-popping bi’s. See issue 03/04/05.
today so you
can start building the muscle size you deserve for your
sweat and effort in the gym. You’ve got nothing to lose
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To read free sample issues, visit
www.X-Rep.com and click on X Files
w w w. I ro n M a n M a g a z i n e . c o m
© 2005 IRON MAN Magazine
It’s a big blast of workout information, motivation and muscle-building science in your e-mail
box every week—and it’s all free! Tons of practical
training tips, analysis and size tactics are jam-packed
into this e-zine from the IRON MAN Training &
Research Center, where there’s more than 50 years of
training experience to get you growing fast! Here are a
few of the latest editions’ titles (online now):
Train, Eat, Grow / Program 81
IRON MAN Training & Research Center Muscle-Training Program 81
Workout 1A: Delts, Midback, Biceps, Forearms
Rack pulls or
dumbbell upright rows (drop set; X Reps) 2 x 8(6)
Seated forward-lean
laterals (double drop; X Reps)
1 x 8(6)(4)
Standing dumbbell presses (drop set; X Reps) 1 x 8(6)
Superset
Dumbbell shrugs (X Reps)
1 x 8-10
Cable upright rows (X Reps)
1 x 8-10
Nautilus rows (X Reps)
1 x 10-12
Superset
1 x 8-10
Cable rows (X Reps)
1 x 8-10
Bent-arm bent-over laterals (drop set; X Reps) 1 x 8(6)
Superset
Behind-the-neck pulldowns (X Reps)
1 x 8-10
Bent-over laterals (drop set; X Reps)
1 x 6(4)
Cable curls (drop set; X Reps)
1 x 8(6)
Superset
Preacher curls (X Reps)
1 x 8-10
Cable curls
1 x 8-10
Concentration curls (double drop; X Reps) 1 x 8(5)(4)
Incline hammer curls (double drop; X Reps)1 x 8(5)(4)
Dumbbell reverse wrist curls
(double drop; X Reps)
1 x 10(7)(6)
Dumbbell wrist curls
1 x 10(7)(6)
Workout 3A: Chest, Lats, Triceps, Abs
Incline presses (second set is drop; X Reps)2 x 10, 8(6)
High cable flyes (double drop; X Reps)
1 x 7(5)(4)
Bench presses (X Reps)
1 x 10
Wide-grip dips (drop set; X Reps)
1 x 9(7)
Low/middle cable flyes
1 x 7(5)(4)
Pulldowns (X Reps)
1 x 10
Superset
Chins (X Reps)
1 x 8-10
Undergrip pulldowns
1 x 6-8
Superset
Machine pullovers (X Reps)
1 x 8-10
Rope rows (drop set; X Reps)
1 x 6(4)
Elbows-flared pushdowns (drop set; X Reps) 1 x 9(5)
Tri-set
Decline lying extensions
1 x 8-10
Decline close-grip bench presses (X Reps)
1x6
Decline lying dumbbell extensions
1x5
Superset
Kickbacks
1 x 8-10
Bench dips (X Reps)
1 x 8-10
Superset
Incline kneeups (drop set; X Reps)
1 x 12(4)
Flat-bench leg raises (X Reps)
1x7
Tri-set
Ab Bench crunches (X Reps)
1x9
Twisting crunches (X Reps)
1x8
Bench V-ups
1x8
Workout 1B: Delts, Midback, Biceps, Forearms
Rack pulls or
dumbbell upright rows (drop set; X Reps) 2 x 8(6)
Superset
Cable laterals (drop set; X Reps)
1 x 8(5)
Incline one-arm laterals (X Reps)
1x7
Dumbbell shrugs (drop set; X Reps)
1 x 10(6)
1 x 10-12
Superset
1 x 8-10
Cable rows (X Reps)
1 x 8-10
One-arm dumbbell rows (X Reps)
1 x 10-12
Superset
Behind-the-neck pulldowns (X Reps)
1 x 8-10
Bent-over laterals (drop set; X Reps)
1 x 6(4)
Cable curls (drop set; X Reps)
1 x 8(6)
Superset
1 x 8-10
Cable curls
1 x 8-10
Incline curls (double drop; X Reps)
1 x 8(5)(4)
Dumbbell reverse wrist curls
1 x 10(7)(6)
Dumbbell wrist curls
1 x 10(7)(6)
Workout 3B: Chest, Lats, Triceps, Abs
Incline presses (second set is drop; X Reps)2 x 10, 8(6)
Superset
Incline flyes (drop set; X Reps)
1 x 8(5)
High cable flyes (X Reps)
1x6
Wide-grip dips (drop set; X Reps)
1 x 10(6)
Bench presses (X Reps)
1 x 10
Superset
Flat-bench flyes (drop set; X Reps)
1 x 8(5)
Low cable flyes (X Reps)
1x6
Pulldowns (X Reps)
1 x 10
Superset
Chins (X Reps)
1 x 8-10
Undergrip pulldowns
1 x 6-8
Superset
Dumbbell pullovers (drop set; X Reps)
1 x 8(5)
Rope rows (X Reps)
1x6
Elbows-flared pushdowns (drop set; X Reps) 1 x 9(5)
Tri-set
Decline lying extensions
1 x 8-10
Decline close-grip bench presses (X Reps)
1x6
Decline lying dumbbell extensions
1x5
Superset
Overhead dumbbell extensions
(drop set; X Reps)
1 x 8(5)
Bench dips (X Reps)
1x6
Superset
Incline kneeups (drop set; X Reps)
1 x 9(5)
Flat-bench leg raises (X Reps)
1x8
Tri-set
Ab Bench crunches (X Reps)
1x9
1x8
Bench V-ups
1x8
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ITRC Program 81 (continued)
Workout 2 (Always on Wednesday):
Quads, Hams (isolation), Calves, Low Back
Smith-machine squats (X Reps)
2 x 8-10
Squats
1 x 15-20
Superset
Leg extensions (drop set; X Reps)
1 x 10(6)
Low, partial dumbbell squats (X Reps)
1 x 6-8
Superset
Leg extensions (X Reps)
1x8
Sissy squats (X Reps)
1 x 8-10
Leg curls (drop set, X Reps)
1 x 10(5)
Hyperextensions (X Reps)
1 x 10
Leg press calf raises (X Reps)
3 x 15-20
Tri-set
Machine donkey calf raises (X Reps)
1 x 10
Standing calf raises (X Reps)
1 x 6-8
Hack-machine calf raises (X Reps)
1 x 6-8
Superset
Hack-machine calf raises (X Reps)
1 x 10-12
Machine donkey calf raises (X Reps)
1x8
Seated calf raises (X Reps)
2 x 15-20
Low-back machine (X Reps)
1 x 10
Friday: We train our hamstrings all out, from all positions, first with the following:
Superset
Leg curls (drop set; X Reps)
1 x 9(6)
1 x 8-10
Superset
Lunges (alternating legs)
1x9
Low-partial dumbbell squats (X Reps)
1 x 6-8
Superset
Stiff-legged deadlifts (low partials)
1 x 8-10
Dumbbell stiff-legged deadlifts (low partials) 1 x 6-8
After that we train quads, calves and the upper-body
muscles that we worked on Tuesday, except back,
but we only do isolation work—contracted- and/or
stretch-position exercises. See the X-Blog at www
.X-Rep.com for detailed workouts.
Note: Where X-Reps are designated, usually only one
set or phase of a drop set is performed with X Reps or
an X-Rep hybrid technique from the Beyond X-Rep
Muscle Building e-book.
times; you don’t get isolation work,
which is much better for occlusion
training (continuous tension
to block blood flow); and, most
important, you don’t get stretchposition overload.
Do you make up for some of
those with all the heavy compound
sets? Possibly, to a degree—but
performing that many sets of
compound exercises may drain
your recovery ability. Nevertheless,
we think DC training has a lot of
potential—if you
use it sparingly.
Lately we’ve been
incorporating it
on one set of our
midrange exercise
before moving
on to contractedand/or stretchposition exercises.
We’ve got a few
variations.
DC variation
1: We do the
standard DC
three-phase rest/
pause set, rest for
three minutes,
then do a second
set—a straight set,
not rest/pause
style—of the same
exercise, with X
Reps. The second
set is like maxforce insurance;
however, there’s
a lot of residual
fatigue from the
first DC attack,
so we’re not sure
if we’re getting
enough force
production on the
second set. Once
again, we only do
one compound
exercise for each
muscle group, not
three, so we need
to max out force
production in
those two rounds.
DC variation
2: We do the
standard threephase DC
technique but on the third do only
X Reps—no full-range reps—and
we do them at the max-force point
to increase max-force production.
Once again, residual fatigue
from the muscles’ getting only 20
seconds of rest is a problem and can
diminish force production.
DC variation 3: We use only one
rest/pause interval—two phases—
and immediately after the second
phase move to another exercise and
rep out, shooting for about eight
repetitions. After a three-minute
rest we’ll go back to the first exercise
and do another straight set, with X
Reps.
For instance, on machine rows
we’ll take a poundage with which
we can get 10 reps and do those,
rest for 20 seconds, plus hit it again,
shooting for about six, with X Reps.
At failure we immediately move
to the seated cable row machine
and blast out about seven reps
on straight-bar shoulder-width
rows. So that’s two sets with a 20second rest/pause, the second
phase supersetted with another
compound move. Then we rest
about three minutes, jump on the
row machine again and crank out
seven or eight reps, with X Reps.
Talk about a killer pump! But
the question remains: Does that
variation accomplish the max-force
production we want on our one
midrange movement? Fatigueproduct accumulation may still be a
problem.
As we said, Dante usually
recommends three different
compound moves, each done with
his three-phase multirep rest/pause
technique. Even if you only do one
exercise in that style, you’ll notice
something: Because of the short
rests, the weight feels very heavy on
each successive set; that produces
a bit more heaving at the max-force
point, a.k.a. the semistretched
position—or the X spot. The same
thing happens when you increase
the weight using the classic pyramid
technique. The muscle is fatiguing,
but you add weight, so more
cheating occurs.
We’ve discussed in our e-zine and
in this magazine how even slight
heaves and jerks at, say, the bottom
of a chinup can activate more
muscle fibers. It’s the reason a lot of
those big-weight heavers in the gym
often build lots of mass—but it can
be dangerous (big-weight heavers
usually have lots of injuries too).
Our solution is end-of-set X Reps,
stressing the max-force point at the
end of a set of strict reps.
The greatest potential danger
occurs on the last phase of a DCtraining sequence. That’s when
the muscle is most fatigued,
gasping and sputtering, and the
ITRC Program 81, Abbreviated Home-Gym Routine
Workout 1A: Delts, Midback, Biceps, Forearms
Dumbbell upright rows
or rack pulls (drop set; X Reps)
2 x 8(5)
Seated forward-lean laterals
1 x 8(5)(3)
Barbell shrugs (drop set; X Reps)
1 x 10(7)
Bent-over barbell rows
2 x 10
Bent-arm bent-over laterals (drop set; X Reps) 1 x 9(6)
Bent-over laterals (double drop; X Reps)
1 x 8(6)(4)
Barbell curls
2 x 10
Concentration curls (double drop; X Reps) 1 x 8(6)(4)
Reverse wrist curls (double drop; X Reps) 1 x 10(8)(6)
Wrist curls (double drop; X Reps)
1 x 10(8)(6)
Workout 3A: Chest, Lats, Triceps, Abs
Incline presses (X Reps; second set is drop) 2 x 10, 8(5)
Incline flyes (double drop; X Reps)
1 x 8(6)(4)
Bench presses (X Reps; second set is drop)
2 x 8-10
Decline flyes (double drop; X Reps)
1 x 8(6)(4)
Chins (X Reps)
2 x 10-12
Undergrip rows (X Reps; second set is drop) 2 x 8-10
Decline extensions (X Reps)
2 x 10
Kickbacks (double drop; X Reps)
1 x 8(6)(4)
Tri-set
Incline kneeups
1 x 10
Bench V-ups
1x8
1 x 10-12
Workout 2 (Always on Wednesday):
Quads, Hams (isolation), Calves, Low Back
Squats
2 x 10-15
Squats
1 x 15-20
Superset
Leg extensions or hack squats (X Reps)
1 x 8-10
1 x 5-8
Superset
Leg extensions or hack squats (X Reps)
1 x 8-10
Sissy squats (drop set; X Reps)
1 x 8(5)
1 x 9(6)
1 x 10
One-leg calf raises (drop set; X Reps)
2 x 15(8)
Donkey calf raises (X Reps)
2 x 15-20
Seated calf raises (X Reps)
2 x 15-20
Workout 1B: Delts, Midback, Biceps, Forearms
Dumbbell upright rows
or rack pulls (drop set; X Reps)
2 x 8(5)
Incline one-arm laterals
1 x 8(6)(4)
Barbell shrugs (drop set; X Reps)
1 x 10(7)
Bent-over barbell rows
2 x 10
One-arm dumbbell rows
1 x 8(6)(4)
Bent-over laterals (double drop; X Reps)
1 x 8(6)(4)
2 x 10
Incline curls (double drop; X Reps)
1 x 8(6)(4)
Reverse wrist curls (double drop; X Reps) 1 x 10(8)(6)
Wrist curls (double drop; X Reps)
1 x 10(8)(6)
Workout 3B: Chest, Lats, Triceps, Abs
Incline presses (X Reps; second set is drop) 2 x 10, 8(5)
Incline flyes (double drop; X Reps)
1 x 8(6)(4)
Wide-grip dips (X Reps; second set is drop) 2 x 9, 7(4)
Flat-bench flyes (double drop; X Reps)
1 x 8(6)(4)
Parallel-grip chins (X Reps)
2 x 8-10
Dumbbell pullovers (double drop; X Reps) 1 x 8(6)(4)
Decline extensions (X Reps)
2 x 10
Overhead extensions (double drop; X Reps) 1 x 8(6)(4)
Tri-set
Incline kneeups
1 x 10
Bench V-ups
1x8
1 x 10-12
Friday: Train the hamstrings all out, from all positions, first with the following:
Superset
1 x 9(6)
1 x 8-10
Superset
Lunges (alternating legs)
1x9
1 x 6-8
Superset
Stiff-legged deadlifts (low partials)
1 x 8-10
Dumbbell stiff-legged deadlifts (low partials) 1 x 6-8
After the full hamstring workout train quads, calves
and the upper-body muscles that you worked on
Tuesday, except back, but only do isolation work—
contracted- and/or stretch-position exercises. See the
X-Blog at www.X-Rep.com for detailed workouts.
Note: Where X-Reps are designated, usually only one
set or phase of a drop set is performed with X Reps or
an X-Rep hybrid technique from the Beyond X-Rep
Muscle Building e-book.
Note: Train Monday through Friday, following the
sequence of workouts as listed but with workout 2,
legs, always on Wednesday only. Also, for drop sets
it s best to have a selectorized dumbbell set, such
as the PowerBlock, if you don t have a rack of fixed
dumbbells of various weights. If you don t have a
leg extension machine, do old-style hacks, nonlock
style. Use partner resistance, towel around the
ankles, if you don t have a leg curl machine.
and favorite DC
variation:
We do one
straight set first,
adding X Reps.
That ramps up
force production
and primes the
central nervous
system. We
rest for about
three minutes—
studies say
that amount
of time is best
for max force
production on a
second set. On
the second set
we use standard DC-training rest/
pause, with the first phase hitting
max-force redline and the second
and third phases transitioning us
into endurance-component work,
which we’ll do on the following
contracted-position exercise. To
vary the variation, we may do only
two phases on the second set, with
20 seconds between them, and
superset the second phase with
another exercise.
On incline presses, for example,
we’ll do our usual two warmup sets,
then move to our first work set. We
use a weight that allows nine or 10
reps, and then we add X Reps. We
rest for about three minutes and hit
it again. This time we do a set, rest
20 seconds, do another set and then
immediately move to dumbbell
inclines for six to eight reps, with
X Reps. That sequence appears
to trigger more force production,
allows the size principle of fiber
recruitment to fully engage on
most of the sets and is the perfect
transition to endurance-component
work on the next exercise, usually a
double-drop set on high cable flyes,
a contracted-position exercise for
upper chest.
We feel as if this new variation
is a breakthrough in merging our
theories with Dante’s rest/pause
technique. Try it. We’ve already
noticed new mass increases.
Keep in mind that more isolated
work, via stretch and/or contractedposition exercises done with drop
sets for endurance-component
development, begins with an
anaerobic kicker: The first set of
Model: Ronnie Coleman “Cost of Redemption” ©2004 Mitsuru Okabe Co.
Stretch overload Ronnie
Coleman style.
weight, which is the same load
you use on all three sets, feels very
heavy—almost like a one-repmax poundage. On most exercises
trainees will jerk the weight in order
to get a few reps.
That’s not to put down Dante’s DC
method; we’re only analyzing it and
trying to make it work for us. If you
have the time and recovery capacity
to use three different compound
moves for each bodypart in his
modified rest/pause style—and you
keep your reps fairly strict—you
can no doubt make some great
gains without too much joint
trauma. We prefer to go for maxforce production on our compound
exercise, then transition into
training the endurance components
as well as shocking the muscle with
stretch overload.
That said, our fourth variation
of the DC method has become
our favorite because of its forcegeneration capacity. Remember, we
usually only do one big, compound
exercise per muscle—and our
objective is to get maximum-force
production.
DC variation 4: In The Ultimate
Mass Workout e-book we said
that the first heavy set is usually
less effective at force production
because it’s an extension of the
warmup—a heavier nervoussystem primer for the second set,
which is the money set. Fatigue
accumulation on the second
and third phases of DC rest/
pause appear to derail max force
somewhat. So here’s our fourth
a drop set, double-drop set or
superset should be heavy enough to
let you get only about seven reps. As
we explained last month, that first
phase is more anaerobic, but you
follow immediately with additional
low-rep sets, which trigger key
endurance-facet development
as well as providing a bit more
anaerobic work.
Whew! That’s a lot to digest, and
we’ll talk more about DC training at
our Web site, X-Rep.com, and in our
weekly e-zine (you can subscribe
at IronManMagazine.com). Now
let’s talk about our latest division
revision—a slight change to our
weekly workout order.
Split revision. We outlined our
new ripping-phase split last month:
Week 1
Monday: Chest, lats, triceps, abs
Tuesday: Delts, midback, biceps,
forearms
Wednesday: Legs, lower back
Thursday: Chest, lats, triceps, abs
Friday: Delts, biceps, forearms,
legs—stretch- and/or
contracted-position exercises
only; no compound movements
Week 2
Monday: Delts, midback, biceps,
forearms
Tuesday: Chest, lats, triceps, abs
Wednesday: Legs, lower back
Thursday: Delts, midback, biceps,
forearms
Friday: Chest, triceps, abs, legs—
stretch- and/or contractedposition exercises only; no
compound movements
Week 3: Repeat week 1
Week 4: Repeat week 2
We’re back to training five days
in a row, but the last workout of the
week is a freaky Friday isolation
day—to lessen the stress on our
recovery systems. And the upperbody muscles that get the isolation
muscles that we trained Tuesday
(except no back work, as we
explained last month). We’re very
excited about this tweak, and
so far we’re already seeing more
hamstring sweep—and a shorter
workout on Wednesday.
Supplement updates. During
our ripping phase we rotate in
a lot of different supplements—
everything from GH Stak to fat
burners to L-carnitine to Larginine. We’ve experimented
over many years and discovered
what works—for us. In case you
want to try some or all of the things
we’re using to speed up results, or
you’re just curious, we’ve decided
to post an X-Supplement blog at
www.X-Rep.com. Look for it in the
menu on the homepage—and then
prepare to get bigger and leaner
than ever before! It’s going to be a
rip-roaring summer! (Shredded abs
with vascularity coming up!)
Editor’s note: For the latest
Model: Berry Kabov
treatment on Friday get hit again on
the following Monday—after two
days of complete rest.
Also notice that the upper-body
muscles that we train on Thursday
get hit again on the following
Tuesday, after five days of recovery.
It’s a pretty sound strategy, with
built-in frequency variation, but
now we’ve made a minor change
that makes it even better.
We’ve switched the full hamstring
workout to Friday, giving it priority.
That means on Wednesday we train
hamstrings with isolation work
only after quads (ah, much better!).
Before we had to gear up for an
all-out hamstring assault after a
full quad blitz, and, needless to say,
our hamstrings weren’t getting the
heavy-hit focus they needed. We
were just too fatigued from all the
quad work.
Now our heavy hamstring hit
occurs first thing on Friday, before
we move into isolation work for
quads, calves and the upper-body
Multijoint moves
are best for maxforce production.
on the X-Rep muscle-building
method, including X Q&As, X Files
(past e-zines), our before and after
photos and the X-Blog training
journal, visit www.X-Rep.com. For
more information on Positions-ofFlexion training videos and Size
Surge programs, see the ad section
that begins on page 193 or visit
www.Home-Gym.com. To order
the Positions-of-Flexion training
manual Train, Eat, Grow, call (800)
447-0008, visit www.Home-Gym.
com, or see the ad below. IM
Steve Holman’s
Critical Mass
King TUT—Time
Under Tension
Neveux \ Model: Luke Wood
Q: Ever since I applied the 30-second rule to my sets,
my calves and quads have exploded. All other muscle
groups seem to have stayed about the same. I remember
Charles Poliquin stating in an interview that certain
muscles fall into the fast-twitch category (requiring low
reps) and others into the slow-twitch (requiring moderate
reps). If I remember right, he explained that the triceps
and hamstrings tend to respond best to lower reps. Have
you noticed growth in specific muscles since employing
longer tension times? I guess what I’m asking is, Do you
believe the half-minute rule applies to all groups? Or have
you discovered a new time limit for certain muscles?
A: One thing to keep in mind is that scientists used to
believe that the type 2B fibers were the ones with the most
growth potential, the ones activated during lower-rep sets.
Now muscle biopsy results suggest that type 2Bs (power
fibers) transform into type 2As (fast twitch with an endurance component). The 2As are dominant in bodybuilders,
and it appears that their style of training—higher reps/
more sets/more time
under tension—makes
the transformation happen more readily, giving
the majority of their
muscle fibers a doublegrowth effect via anaerobic facets as well as
endurance components.
Lower reps tend to train
only the anaerobic
facets, which means you
develop more strength
than size because the
endurance components
are ignored and the
tendons and ligaments
get more stress. That
would explain why the
majority of sets that Coleman, Cutler and most other big
bodybuilders do have longer tension times. They rarely do
low reps because they want both anaerobic and endurance
stress for that double-whammy size effect.
As for your question, it may be that bodyparts that have
been used for endurance—like quads and calves—throughout your life have many more fibers that have already
morphed into 2As, which means they respond more readily to the half-minute-plus tension times. Other bodyparts
may require more workouts with that type of
training to force the transformation and/or
develop both aspects of the 2As. In other
words, it may be that you need to stick with
extended tension times for a while before
you start to see results when it comes to
bodyparts like triceps.
Some of that is extrapolated from research, and some is conjecture on my part,
so I encourage you to experiment. If you
want to play it safe, so to speak, you may
want to use lower reps for triceps and other
muscles you believe to be low-rep responders, but incorporate drop sets on the last few
sets so you still tap into the endurance components. A drop set is basically lower-rep
sets done back to back. With it you stress the
muscle fibers from both directions, anaerobically and with some endurance work to
build capillaries, mitochondria and so forth.
I often do double-drop sets with lower reps;
for example, six reps, reduce the weight, five
reps, reduce the weight, four reps, with X
Reps. It’s painful and will make you scream
profanities, but it works because you develop the anaerobic and endurance capacities
Muscles that we use a lot every day,
like calves, respond better to longer
tension times because of excess fiber
transformation more endurance oriented
fibers. Nevertheless, you should attack
all muscles with some longer tension
times so you develop both the anaerobic
and endurance components of the fast
twitch type 2As. If you neglect either, you
shortchange your size potential.
Steve Holman’s
Critical Mass
Doing cardio after a weight workout can help you tap
into fat stores faster due to fewer circulating energy
substrates.
Q: I’m planning to start running after my workout.
When should I drink the postworkout shake? Is it after
the workout or after my run?
A: If you’re trying to lean out, you should have your
recovery drink after you run; otherwise, circulating carbs
can derail fat burning during your run. Your bloodstream
will be very low in circulating energy substrates after your
weight training, so you’ll be able to tap into fat stores
faster. You may want to take a few branched-chain amino
acid capsules between your workout and your run so your
muscles can start the recovery process and also to “trick”
your body into not burning muscle tissue for energy during your run.
Q: I just subscribed to the IM e-zine [at www.Iron
ManMagazine.com] that you and Jonathan write every
week. It rocks! It’s the best info of any e-zine, but it says
issue 110 on my latest one. Is there any way to get the
ones I missed?
A: We have some of them posted at www.X-Rep.com.
Click on X-Files. Also, we’ve published a number of them in
IRON MAN as features, and many of those are reproduced
as they appeared in the magazine, in full color and with
all the photos, in PDF format so you can download them
to your computer. Go to IronManMagazine.com and navigate to the PDF downloads section. There are lots of other
features from the magazine there as well.
A: The so-called micro cycle is based on many years of
observation and feedback. We’re just now starting to experiment with it, so I can’t say I recommend it, but I do suggest
you try various versions of it. I’m sure its effectiveness has a
lot to do with how much volume and intensity you’re using
as well as days per week you’re training and your individual
recovery ability. If you’re using X Reps and other brutal
intensity techniques, the micro cycle is probably the best
way of avoiding the scourge of overtraining.
I think it’s best to gauge intensity by time under tension to exhaustion. As we saw in the previous answer, for
most sets you should use a weight that enables you to keep
repping for about 30 seconds. That will increase adaptation in both the aerobic and anaerobic components of the
fast-twitch type 2A fibers, the ones most responsible for
extreme hypertrophy.
The sharp black POF T shirt with the original classic
logo emblazoned in gold can give you that muscular
look you re after (sorry, large size only). See page 251
for details.
Editor s note: Steve Holman is the author many
bodybuilding best sellers,
including Train, Eat, Grow:
The Positions of-Flexion
Muscle Training Manual (see
page 86). For information
on the POF videos and Size
Surge programs, see the ad
section beginning on page
193. Also visit www.X Rep
.com. IM
Neveux
Q: I recently read that you
recommend no more than
three weeks of high-intensity
training followed by one week of
low-intensity workouts to encourage full recovery between HIT
phases. That ratio makes sense to
me. It seems as if traditional intensity
cycling is on more of a “macro” scale,
such as six to eight weeks of high intensity followed by
three to five weeks of lower intensity. My question is this:
Do you recommend your miniature, or micro, cycles over
the more tradional version? Another question: Do you
think it’s better to gauge intensity by weight—percentage
of one-rep max—or by feel and instinct?
Neveux \ Model: Tamer Elshahat
of the fast-twitch 2As.
Steve Holman
[email protected]
Mr. Natural Olympia John Hansen’s
Naturally Huge
Blubber
Blasters
Q: I own a gym, and I help many of my clients get in
shape and lose bodyfat. One seems to be at a sticking
point. Although it’s only been three weeks, she’s still at
25 percent bodyfat, yet she’s lost 6.5 pounds in that time.
Her waist measurement hasn’t changed much. Is she
losing muscle? If so, why? Do you think she’s expecting
results too quickly? Yes, we’re increasing the weights she’s
using in the gym and trying to go heavier every week as
much as possible. She believes, as I think most people do,
that fat isn’t dropping fast enough due to her cutting back
on the cardio. I’m trying to get her past that.
A: I agree with you that cardio is not as important as
diet for losing bodyfat. I think a good nutrition program
designed to maintain muscle mass while decreasing bodyfat, combined with an effective weight-training regimen, is
probably the best way to lose bodyfat. Adding cardio to the
formula, will help lower fat levels even more, provided it’s
incorporated correctly.
Many people overdo cardio in the hope that they’ll burn
If you’re looking to get
leaner as you maintain or
build muscle, you have to
be careful about how you
do cardio.
off fat more quickly. But what often happens is that they
end up burning more calories than stored bodyfat. Using
up more calories doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be leaner.
Even though cardio is aerobic exercise (using oxygen,
not sugar, for energy), performing cardiovascular activities
at a higher intensity level (running instead of walking, for
example) will burn more calories. It will also, however, use
sugar for energy, since sugar’s a more immediate source
of fuel. When the intensity level goes up, the body relies
on fast-acting sugar for energy and not stored bodyfat. If
there’s little sugar available in the bloodstream (due to a
low-carbohydrate diet), the body will use up the glycogen
stored in the muscles as a source of energy.
That’s why a person looking to get leaner by maintaining
muscle and decreasing bodyfat has to be careful about cardio. Someone who’s dieting and restricting carbohydrates
runs the risk of sacrificing muscle tissue with too much
cardio or cardio performed at too high an intensity level.
Your client has lost weight but not inches since you
started working with her three weeks ago. That’s not highly
unusual because sometimes it takes a while for the body
to adjust to the regimen. Many people who begin a bodybuilding-type diet to lose fat and gain or maintain muscle
are not used to eating more than two to three times a day.
Eating six or more small meals per day helps to decrease
bodyfat by stimulating the metabolism and feeding the
muscles more effectively.
She’s probably just starting to stimulate her metabolism.
I’m guessing that the initial six-pound loss was mostly
water. She might have been eating foods that were high in
sodium and, when those foods were eliminated, she quickly lost six pounds of water.
I’d keep track of her diet and workouts along with daily
recordings of her measurements and bodyweight and note
the results. If she doesn’t lose bodyfat, go over her diet and
drop her calories some more. Decreasing her carb intake
by 30 grams would cut her daily calories by 120. The slight
decrease might be all she needs to start making progress.
Determining exactly how many calories a person needs
each day to lose bodyfat requires some experimentation.
If the number of calories you told your client to eat is too
high, then you should drop them slightly and watch for
the results. Make sure you keep the changes slight to avoid
shutting down her metabolism and preventing any fat
loss. You can’t rush the process if your goal is to maintain
muscle while losing bodyfat.
Neveux \ Model: Eric Domer
Q: I’m trying to build up my shoulders to match my
chest and arms. Here’s my split: day 1, chest and delts;
day 2, back and triceps; day 3, legs and biceps; day 4, rest.
For my shoulders, I do the following routine:
Behind-the-neck presses
Seated dumbbell presses
Front raises
Facedown lateral raises
Dumbbell shrugs
4 x 10
4 x 10
4 x 10
4 x 10
4 x 10
Can you give me some tips for making my shoulders
grow?
A: The deltoid consists of three separate heads: the
Mr. Natural Olympia John Hansen’s
Naturally Huge
Neveux
Neveux \ Model: John Cowgill
any deltoid workout.
Many bodybuilders prefer to train the side heads first in
their delt routine in order to give that area of the muscle
priority. I do four sets of lateral raises, starting off with 12
reps on the first set, 10 reps on the second and six to eight
reps on the last two sets.
You can train the rear heads with any rear-lateral exercise. The one that you include in your training routine,
facedown lateral raises, is a good one. In order to make it
even more effective, increase the resistance on each successive set. Perform three sets of 12, 10 and eight reps.
You’ve also included dumbbell shrugs for traps in your
deltoid workout. Most bodybuilders train traps with shoulders because overhead pressing and lateral raises also hit
the trapezius muscles. The shrug, performed with either
a barbell or dumbbells, is the most basic exercise for the
traps. Three to four sets of six to 12 reps is ideal.
I also recommend that you change the order of the
bodyparts you train. Training chest and delts in the same
workout puts a lot of stress on the shoulders. I think it’s
much more effective to train those two muscle groups on
different days. I like to separate my chest and deltoid workouts by at least two days.
If you want to stick with the same three-days-on/oneday-off split, you could train chest and arms on day one,
legs by themselves on day two and deltoids and back on
day three. That gives your delts greater recuperation and
growth potential—you’ll probably notice an increase in
strength and development.
Change the exercises you’re using to train your deltoids,
increase the weight on each set so you’re
Overtraining your front using more resistance and pushing the
deltoids with too many
muscles harder to perform approximately six
pressing exercises is a
to 10 reps, and train your delts with your back
common mistake.
instead of your chest so the muscles have a
better chance of recuperating. If you make
those adjustments, I’m positive you’ll have delts that will
anterior, or front; the medial, or side; and the posterior, or
match up to the rest of your upper-body development.
rear. You should pay equal attention to all three sections in
order to fully develop them.
Editor’s note: John Hansen has won the Natural Mr.
Right now, however, you’re doing too many exercises
Olympia and is a two-time Natural Mr. Universe winner.
for your front delts. All pressing exercises focus primarily
Visit his Web site at www.natural
on the front heads. Pressing exercises also use the triceps,
olympia.com.
and that’s why they’re great basic exercises for developing
You can write to
mass. Nevertheless, you really need to do only one basic
him at P.O. Box
pressing exercise each time you train your delts.
3003, Darien,
You’re doing behind-the-neck presses and seated dumbIL 60561, or
bell presses. I recommend dropping one of them. Do four
call toll-free
sets of only one pressing movement, and use progressively
(800) 900-UNIV
heavier weights on each set so your reps go something like
(8648). His new
12, 10, eight and six over the four sets.
book, Natural
You can also eliminate front raises, as that’s a frontBodybuilddeltoid exercise. I think a pressing movement is a beting, is now
ter option than front raises anyway. The front raise with
available from
dumbbells is more of an isolation exercise for the front
Home Gym
delts. If you’re looking to add mass, stick with a heavy basic
Warehouse,
movement like seated presses with either dumbbells or a
(800) 447-0008
barbell.
or www.HomeIn place of front raises you can add a lateral-raise exerGym.com. IM
cise to focus on the medial-delt heads. Lateral raises are
the primary exercise for isolating and developing the medial heads, which adds width to the upper body by creating
the so-called deltoid caps. You can do lateral raises either
John Hansen
sitting or standing, and you should always include them in
[email protected]
A Bodybuilder
ABS
Is Born
Episode 12:
You Canʼt Flex Fat
by Ron Harris
Photography by Michael Neveux
andy strolled over from the locker room, a
huge grin on his face. Either he had scored
with Japanese twins last night, or he had
some other smashing success to report. “Two
hundred pounds! I’m 200 pounds on the dime! Soon
I’ll be 220, like you, Ron!” This charade had gone on
long enough. I hated to be the one to burst my young
charge’s bubble, but I had to put an end to it before it
got out of hand.
As I’ve mentioned before, Randy has a high metabolism and is naturally very lean. When I met him,
he was 170 pounds with a clear six-pack and good
separation in most of his muscle groups. He had
maintained that low level of bodyfat until he reached
188 or so, right after he hurt his back three months
before. Since then his definition had progressively
faded away, to the point where he no longer looked
like the lean and mean stud-boy he had been. I’d
started to notice it about three weeks before. It was
now time for me to intervene, as brutal as it was
going to be.
“Randy, you’re getting fat.” Immediately I saw
the shock turn to defensiveness on his face, which
was no longer as chiseled as it used to be. In fact, I
thought I saw the beginnings of a double chin.
R
A Bodybuilder Is Born
“Let me explain something
about the pros: They are
not regular human beings.”
Don’t make the mistake of
thinking you can force-feed
muscle by chowing down on
pizza, ice cream and potato chips.
“No, I’m not! Why would you even
say that?” He was clearly hurt.
“I say it because I care, ya big
dope,” I replied. “My main mission
with you is to keep you from making
most of the mistakes I have made,
and this is one of the worst ones.
Many times I got caught up with the
weight on the scale and ignored the
fact that I was gaining more fat than
muscle.”
“Well, I might have gained a little
fat, but—”
“Zip it. Denial ain’t just a river in
Egypt. When I was 21 years old, I
bulked up to 230 pounds by slugging
down four 5,000-calorie weight-gain
shakes a day on top of enough food
to keep a Somali village well fed. I
had dimples on my thighs and more
chins than a Chinese phone book.”
“Hey, you stole that from Fat Bastard in the Austin Powers movies!”
“That’s okay. I used to be Fat Bastard. I was convinced I wasn’t fat,
even when everyone around me was
dropping subtle hints, like mooing
when I walked by and hiding the
food. Has anyone said anything to
you yet?”
“Ah, my girlfriend rubbed my belly
the other night and said something
about Buddha and good luck, but
she was drunk anyway.”
“I brought something for you.”
It had been a while since I had
used my fat calipers, and I had to
consult the manual to get all the
right places to measure. Randy was
reluctant to let me do it, but at the
same time he had to know for sure
what was going on with his body.
When I had crunched all the numbers, it was time to drop the bad
news.
“Your bodyfat is 17 percent, junior.”
“What? No, it’s not. It can’t be that
high! Do it again.” Sighing, I repeated
the whole process and came up with
the same result.
“Two hundred pounds and 17 percent bodyfat. That means you have
166.5 pounds of lean mass.”
“Yeah,” huffed Randy, “but that’s
more than before.”
“Not really,” I replied. “I would say
that at the most your bodyfat before
was about 10 percent. If you were 10
percent at 185, that meant you had
18.5 pounds of fat, and your lean
mass was,…” I had to use the calculator again, as I am mathematically
Model: Daniel Decker
Always include
some cardio even if
you don’t need it to
stay lean. It’s great
for your heart.
Eat plenty of
food, but make
sure it’s clean and
nutritious, not
worthless calories.
challenged, “166 pounds. You have
gained a half pound of muscle and
almost 15 pounds of fat.”
Randy was not a happy camper.
Rather than let him slide into selfpity, I fired off some questions to get
to the bottom of this newfound flab.
“What have you been doing differently? Have you been eating a lot of
junk food or something?”
“Yeah,” Randy admitted. “I was
looking in the bodybuilding magazines, and I saw how the pros get so
huge in the off-season. I thought I
would try bulking up. So I quit playing hoops and started eating crap. I
think I used every Domino’s coupon I
got in the mail for the past six weeks.”
Having the vertical leap of a hippo
and the hand-eye coordination of
a slug, I had never understood the
whole fascination with basketball.
Sometimes I felt guilty wearing the
latest Air Jordans, knowing I was
living a lie. But Randy had actually
played for his high school team,
despite not being the tallest guy, and
still went to a local park for pickup
games with his friends two or three
times a week. He never needed to do
much in the way of cardio at the gym
because of that, but now that source
of calorie burning was out of the
picture.
“Let me explain something about
the pros I think you already understand,” I told him. “They are not
regular human beings. They are genetic freaks who are programmed to
be able to build muscle without ever
getting fat. Even when those guys get
up to 300 pounds or more, they can
still see some kind of lines in their
physiques. The rest of us are not
like that. We get fat when we eat too
much and reduce our activity levels.
We may not want to admit it, but
we do. You simply can’t rush muscle
gains, and all that fat isn’t helping
you.
“There’s a saying from many years
ago: You can’t flex fat. It’s so true.
Arthur Jones had another good one.
He used to say that a car would still
run with a couple hundred pounds of
sand in the trunk, but it would probably run better without it.”
Randy was bummed, inspecting
himself in the mirror and not liking
what he was seeing one bit. For a kid
whose vanity I often had to keep in
check, this was fairly painful—and it
was painful to watch.
Unless you can
objectively look
in the mirror and
assess whether
you’re gaining
adipose tissue
rather than muscle,
I suggest measuring
your bodyfat on a
regular basis. (To
find fat calipers,
visit www
.Home-Gym.com.)
Just stop worrying so much
about what the number on
the scale says, and think about
adding quality muscle.
Arthur Jones used to say that
a car would still run with a
couple hundred pounds in the
trunk, but it would run better
without it.
“Relax, Randy, this is not a big
deal. You haven’t gone too far into
tubby territory yet, so stop crying.
All you have to do is start eating
normally again and rejoin your
buddies on the blacktop.” I didn’t
mention that Boston had somehow turned into Seattle, and rain
had become almost a permanent
weather forecast. “Just stop worrying so much about what the number on the scale says and think
about adding quality muscle. A
little bit of fat along with that is
okay, but you have to watch it.
From now on we’re going to start
measuring your bodyfat once a
month.”
Randy had no problems reversing the trend, as I had predicted.
By the next week the cheekbones
that made the young ladies swoon
had already returned to his face.
The incident had also forced me
to admit that I had let myself go
a bit, and I, too, tightened up my
diet and started getting a little
leaner.
Fat has a way of creeping up
on you. It’s why so many folks get
married looking all trim and fit,
and then five years later the guy
has a potbelly and the wife has a
dump-truck butt and elephant
thighs. Unless you can objectively
look into the mirror and assess
whether you’re gaining adipose
tissue rather than muscle, I suggest measuring your bodyfat on
a regular basis. I know I can easily start slipping back toward my
chubby look if I’m not careful. And
if a kid like Randy can start chunking up, anyone can.
Don’t make the mistake of
thinking you can force-feed muscle by chowing down on pizza,
ice cream and potato chips. Eat
plenty of food, but make sure it’s
clean and nutritious, not worthless calories. And always include
cardio even if you don’t need it to
stay lean. It’s great for your heart,
the most important muscle there
is. Regular cardio also builds capillary density and allows you to
train longer and harder. Always
remember that weight on the
scale never tells the whole story.
Although it’s nice to be able to
say you weigh a certain amount if
gains have always been a struggle,
you can’t flex fat! IM
S
’
E
T
N
A
DINFERNO
Who Is He, and Why Is Doggcrapp Training
Building So Much Muscle Mass?
Neveux \ Model: Ray Campisi
by Ron Harris •
nyone who frequents
bodybuilding message boards
on the Internet has at least
heard of DC, or Doggcrapp,
training. Not since the late Mike
Mentzer’s Heavy Duty appeared in
the 1980s has an abbreviated style of
training generated so much interest.
Part of the reason is DC training’s most
visible success story, IFBB pro Dave
Henry, who grew from a 170-pound
middleweight to a 205-pounder in a
mere two years, and who credits his
new mass to DC training and the man
behind it, Dante.
Thousands of bodybuilders have
used DC training with great success,
and to say it is building a cult
following wouldn’t be inaccurate.
Being intrigued and a bit confused
myself as to what DC training is all
about, I went straight to the source
so that IRON MAN readers can get
an idea of what it’s all about, why it
works so well, and how willing you
need to be to throw convention to the
wind to follow it to the letter. Just as
the literary classic The Inferno takes
readers into a bizarre and frightening
realm, so this Dante offers to take
you to a new level of muscle size and
power. If you’re ready to make your
descent into the pit, let the journey
begin.
DANTE’S INFERNO
RH: Would you please tell us a
little bit about yourself? Let’s start
with Dante: Is that your actual
name or an alias?
D: That is my actual name. It’s my
middle name, but it’s what I go by.
RH: Do you have a background
in sports, and how did you get
involved in bodybuilding?
D:I have always been a good
athlete in every sport, but back
in junior high school something
strange happened. I stopped
growing. I was the third-shortest
person out of about 1,000 people
in my high school, and I was
a complete stick to boot. My
freshman year I was 92 pounds, and
I ended up graduating at 5’7” and
a strapping, robust 122 pounds.
[Laughs] I had always excelled at
basketball and baseball but found
it very tough going, being so small.
I grew 5.5 inches after high school
and wound up weighing 137 pounds
at 6’ tall when I was 19 years old.
While driving my car in
my hometown of Gardner,
Massachusetts, one day, I saw two-
time AAU Mr. Massachusetts (and
AAU America and NABBA Universe
competitor) Donnie Lemiuex. The
man was monstrous at 5’7” and a
lean 240 pounds, and I was shocked
to see someone look like that. I was
determined right then and there to
put my nose to the grindstone, and I
researched and studied every single
facet of bodybuilding I could find,
from the basics to the molecular
level. Donnie Lemiuex actually
became my training partner later
on, and to this day we remain great
friends.
RH: Did you publish your own
newsletter at one point?
D: Yes. I published Hardcore
Muscle from 1993 to 1995, and
that’s when I started to first put my
thoughts on multirep rest/pause
and other theories out to the
public. It was a very cutting-edge
newsletter, and I was very proud to
say that my readership was like a
who’s who in bodybuilding at that
time. I had a whole slew of pros, top
amateurs, doctors and researchers
on the subscriber list. I was on
the phone with Phil Hernon, Tom
Prince, Curtis Leffler and many
other competing bodybuilders,
gathering information for each
issue.
RH: Have you competed in
powerlifting or bodybuilding? If
not, do you have any desire to?
D: Three times in the past few
years I have dieted down for shows,
and every time I pulled out for the
same reasons. I’ve had two jobs for
a long time now, usually working
seven days a week, and I just get
absolutely burned out with the hour
of training and up to two hours of
cardio I need daily to come into
shows absolutely shredded to the
bone. I admire anyone who can
compete in today’s society, working
40 to 60 hours a week, because
I know I sure as heck can’t do it.
This last time, in early 2005, I was
determined to follow through, and
I went from 292 pounds to 258 in
15 weeks, but at five weeks out
my father was diagnosed with a
tumor on his liver, and my wife,
who was competing in figure,
Balik
DC training’s most visible success story is IFBB
pro David Henry, who grew from a 170-pound
middleweight to a 205-pounder in a mere two years.
and I both pulled out of the show.
Bodybuilding shows come and go,
but family is forever. That was an
easy decision to make, and, luckily,
my father was operated on and is in
good health now.
RH: How and why did you come
up with DC training? Had you
grown frustrated with other styles
of training? Did DC training evolve
over time?
D: I started out with the old
volume-training concepts just like
everyone else does who reads what
Arnold and the boys did and what
the magazines put out there as the
golden rules. But, eventually, I got
to a point where I started thinking,
“There is no rhyme or reason
to this.” It all seemed based on
obsessive-compulsiveness instead
of deductive reasoning. I think a
lot of modern-day bodybuilding
routines are built on the must
“People are doing every foo-foo exercise
under the sun thinking it bombs muscles
from all angles, and all they’re doing
most of the time is wasting energy.”
cable crossovers and flat bench
and pec deck and flyes for chest
this workout, or I won’t have all the
bases covered and I won’t grow.” I
think that’s flat-out wrong.
DC training did evolve over time
as I trained more and more
bodybuilders and noted
their results. Back in the
early ’90s it was based on
the same concepts as it
is today but used slightly
more volume. Through trial
and error over the past 13
years or so I’ve honed it to
what you see today.
RH: Why the
Doggcrapp? I mean,
from a marketing point
of view, people will
remember it, but didn’t
you have second thoughts
that the name would be
mocked?
Model: Robert Hatch
principle, which is basically
fanatical bodybuilders thinking, “I
must do inclines and declines and
DC training is a multirep rest/pause system
using mostly compound
movements.
DANTE’S INFERNO
Comstock
Henry’s recent
physique
improvements can
at least partially
be attributed to DC
training techniques.
D: Yeah, that was a real ingenious
move on my part, wasn’t it? I
definitely should be nominated
Idiot of the Year for that one.
[Laughs] What happened was, six
years ago I was a member of a small
but elite bodybuilding board on the
Net that had about 50 members. I
never posted; I just read the posts. I
had viewed some posts by advanced
bodybuilders on that board that I
felt were very detrimental toward
their health. I decided to respond
and posted with the anonymous
screen name of Doggcrapp. I
thought it would be one post and
kaput, done and over with. Man,
was I ever wrong!
People were intrigued with
what I had to say and kept asking
questions. I kept answering, and
it became a virtual encyclopedia.
That post became 118 pages long
and had over a quarter of a million
views. My posts back then were
cut and pasted onto bodybuilding
sites all over the net, people started
using my methods and gaining
rapidly, telling friends, and it carried
on through word of mouth like a
wildfire. Sad to say, I’m stuck with
the name Doggcrapp now. If I could
do it all over again—trust me—I
would have given myself a much
classier name.
RH: I’m sure. What are the basic
principles of DC training?
D: Heavy, progressive weights;
lower volume but higher frequency
of bodypart hits; multirep rest/
pause training; extreme stretching;
carb cutoffs; cardio; high-protein
intake and blasting and cruising
phases—periodization.
RH: Can you give me an example
of how the bodyparts might be
arranged in a typical training
week?
D: For the majority of
bodybuilders who are in need of
size, the following works the best:
DC Training, Bodypart by Bodypart
Chest
Smith-machine incline presses, 11 to 15 rest/pause reps
Hammer Strength presses, 11 to 15 rest/pause reps
Decline barbell presses, 11 to 15 rest/pause reps
Back width
Rack chins, 11 to 20 rest/pause reps
Close-undergrip pulldowns, 11 to 15 rest/pause reps
Front pulldowns, 11 to 15 rest/pause reps
Back thickness*
Deadlifts, straight sets: 6-9 reps, 9-12 reps
T-bar rows straight set: 10-12 reps
Rack deadlifts, straight sets: 6-9 reps, 9-12 reps
*Back thickness exercises aren t rest/paused for safety reasons—fatigue and loss of form.
Shoulders
Military presses, 11 to 20 rest/pause reps
Hammer Strength presses, 11 to 15 rest/pause reps
Upright rows, 11 to 20 rest/pause reps
Quads*
Free-bar squats, straight set: 6-10; rest 3-5 minutes; 20-rep widow
maker
Hack squats (same as described for squats)
Leg presses (same as described for squats)
*Quad exercises aren t rest/paused for safety reasons—fatigue and
loss of form—but after progressive warmups you do a heavy set and
then what I call a 20-rep widow maker” set with a moderately heavy
weight.
Hamstrings
Lying leg curls, 15 to 30 rest/pause reps
Seated leg curls, 15 to 30 rest/pause reps
Sumo leg presses (pressing with heels only), straight set: 15-25 reps
Biceps
Preacher curls, 11 to 20 rest/pause reps
Barbell drag curls, 11 to 20 rest/pause reps
Dumbbell curls, 11 to 20 rest/pause reps
Forearms
Pinwheel curls, straight set: 10-20 reps
Hammer curls, straight set: 10-20 reps
Reverse-grip one-arm cable curls, straight set: 10-20 reps
Triceps
Reverse-grip bench presses, 11 to 20 rest/pause reps
Close-grip bench presses, 11 to 20 rest/pause reps
EZ-curl bar triceps extensions, 15 to 30 rest/pause reps (higher reps
for elbow safety)
Calves*
Leg press toe presses, 10-12 reps
Hack squat toe presses, 10-12 reps
Seated calf raises, 10-12 reps
*All calf exercises are done with an enhanced negative, meaning up on
big toe, five seconds lowering to full stretch followed by a brutal 10 to
15 seconds in the stretched position and then back up on the big toe
again. It really separates the mice from the men!
Monday: Chest, shoulders,
triceps, back width, back
thickness
Wednesday: Biceps, forearms,
calves, hamstrings, quads
Friday: Repeat Monday’s workout
Monday: Repeat Wednesday’s
workout
That way, you hit bodyparts
twice every eight days or so. For
advanced bodybuilders—and by
that I mean very elite bodybuilders
and extremely strong people—I
sometimes go with the following:
Monday: Chest, shoulders, triceps
Tuesday: Biceps, forearms, back
width, back thickness
Thursday: Calves, hams, quads
Friday: Repeat Monday’s workout
Monday: Repeat Tuesday’s
workout
Tuesday: Repeat Thursday’s
workout
That way, you hit bodyparts twice
every nine days or so. I can work
on advanced bodybuilders’ lagging
bodyparts somewhat better with
that split.
RH: One very radical aspect of
DC training is that there are no
isolation movements. How do
you answer those who believe
muscles need to be worked from
several angles at each workout for
complete development?
D: Let me clarify that. My trainees
have kind of put the notion out
there that no isolation exercises are
ever being used. I honestly don’t
care what exercise someone uses as
long as he can be progressive on it
over time. If someone really believes
in an exercise, then he can use it.
Obviously, a dumbbell kickback, on
which you can hypothetically go
from 15 to 45 pounds, is going to be
a lot less effective than a close-grip
bench press, where you can start at
200 pounds and end up at 405 in my
scheme of doing things. It all comes
DANTE’S INFERNO
“My choice would
always be a free-weight
exercise over a machine
if it can be done safely.”
down to the Must Principle and
obsessive-compulsiveness.
When Ronnie Coleman came
into this sport from powerlifting,
did anyone see big gaps of muscle
missing from his physique? Is
Johnnie Jackson playing catchup
with certain bodyparts from
powerlifting all those years? I don’t
Model: Tito Raymond
burns up glycogen—and, God forbid,
muscle mass.
A few decades ago Steve Michalik
and his gang were doing up to 100
sets per bodypart—and with elite
genetics to boot—yet saw absolutely
no difference in size or advanced
development from what the people
doing 20, 15, 10, five or even one set
per bodypart, like Mentzer, got.
see distinct weaknesses in
their physiques. They were
just somewhat smaller
versions of what you see
today.
People are doing every foo-foo
exercise under the sun thinking
it bombs muscles from all angles,
and in my opinion all they’re doing
most of the time is wasting energy
resources. Once you reach a growth
response in a workout, then pretty
much everything you do after that
just cuts into recovery time and
RH: Could you walk us through a
set, DC style? Let’s assume trainees
are properly warmed up and ready
to do a set on, say, close-grip lat
pulldowns.
D: They would explosively pull the
bar down to their chest, and then on
the negative return they would resist,
or control, on the way up. I don’t
want specific seconds or a certain
time range; I just want control on
the negative to the point that if they
had to, they could easily reverse
direction.
They would keep going to the
point in the set where they would
reach failure, hopefully between
reps seven and 10. At that point they
would take 10 to 15 deep breaths—
usually 22 seconds or somewhere
in that area—and then resume the
exercise and go to failure once again.
Then another 10 to 15 deep breaths,
and then once again to failure.
During the rest/pauses you do not
stay strapped to the bar or anything.
You take your 10 to 15 deep breaths
and then get back in there. Oxygen is
the key here. What I’m looking for in
a rest/pause set usually is a total of
11 to 15 rest/pause reps, with three
failure points in the set. That usually
comes out to something like eight
reps to failure, then 10 to 15 breaths,
four more reps to failure, then 10 to
15 breaths, and a final two reps to
failure for a total of 14 reps—which
comes into the category of 11 to 15
rest/pause reps.
RH: Because of the rest/pause
nature of DC training, there tends
to be a good mix of machines in
your programs. Do you believe
that machines like those made by
Hammer Strength can stimulate
muscle growth as effectively as
barbells and dumbbells?
D: I would like to see everyone
build a base and use free weights
whenever possible. If someone
DANTE’S INFERNO
Model: Mike Dragna
“Repeating something
you’ve already done will
not force your body to
grow further.”
has a training partner, there’s no
worry at all using free weights with
my methods. But sometimes my
trainees don’t have a spotter, and
in those cases I try to set them up
on machines that they can “save”
themselves on while going to the
three failure points during a rest/
pause set.
For example, it’s very easy to save
yourself on a Smith-machine incline
press at a failure point. You just
turn the bar and latch the weight. I
would hate to see one of my trainees
doing free-weight barbell incline
presses with a guillotine bar on his
neck at failure, having no way to
get out of it and not being able to
scream for help. Regardless, a lot of
people misconstrue this as a love
for machines, when in actuality
I’m trying to keep safety in mind
for someone who does not have a
spotter. It’s as simple as that. My
choice would always be a freeweight exercise over a machine if
it can be done safely. That’s why I
tend to use power racks and Smith
machines a lot.
ended up eating gross amounts of
the wrong types of food thinking
that’s the secret. They became fat
piles of lard and blamed it on the
training routine instead of the real
reasons—lack of cardio and an
idiotic diet.
RH: Here’s a direct quote from
an Internet hater regarding DC
training: “It’s a lazy man’s training
program guaranteed to turn you
into a fat tub of lard.” How do you
respond to a statement like that?
D: Well, with any training routine,
regardless if it’s mine or someone
else’s, if you throw cardio to the
wayside and eat like a glutton,
you’re going to end up with an
accumulation of adipose tissue,
or bodyfat. I’ve seen many people
use different training methods who
RH: How is DC training
fundamentally different from
other abbreviated-training systems
like Heavy Duty?
D: To be honest, that question
always rankles me. The HIT
advocates love to shove anything
that’s a lower-volume-training
routine under their gigantic
HIT umbrella. I don’t believe in
Mentzer’s theories. I think he went
off the deep end later in his life,
getting fanatical about overtraining,
and in no way do I want to be
changed.
Repeating something you’ve
already done will not force your
body to grow further. That’s a waste
of time, in my opinion. With my
methods you are held accountable
for today’s workouts vs. the last
time you did this workout. Trust
me, when you have that kind of
imperative and your logbook is your
archenemy, you are in for the fight
of your life! You have the man in the
mirror to answer to.
Do you want to drive home
knowing the logbook kicked your
ass or knowing you destroyed the
logbook and showed it who the
damn boss is? My trainees look
back sometimes on their logbooks
and find out that they are 50 to 200
pounds higher on those exercises
than they were months earlier.
What does that equal out to?
Adaptation and rapid muscle mass
accumulation.
RH: Very nice. Do you think a
person would get better results
with DC training than with
standard volume training if he
were using steroids or not using
steroids? Or would it have no
impact either way?
D: To be totally honest, anyone
RH: From talking with Dave
Henry, I understand that record
keeping and beating the numbers
from the previous week are critical
components of DC training. Can
you explain why?
D: Progression, simply
progression. Some people go into
the gym with no plan at all and
just absolutely wing it. I’ve never
understood that. I bet any money
that if I logged their workouts, two
weeks later, or six weeks later, or
even 12 weeks later, when they
do those same exercises again,
they are probably using the same
120 pounds or 225 pounds or
315 pounds they used previously.
That’s not progression! Nothing has
“You pretty much get to a
point where you’re tricking
your body into becoming
muscularly larger.”
Models: Hubert Morandell and Markus Reinhardt
DANTE’S INFERNO
associated with HIT protocols.
My methods are lower volume
but extremely heavy. My whole
mentality is based around
progression over time. The normal
bodybuilder trains a bodypart 52
times a year, or once a week. My
clients train bodyparts 75 to 92
times a year; hence, each bodypart
gets growth stimulation 75 to 92
times a year instead of 52. That’s
how I’m getting these guys up in
muscle size so fast. I can’t have them
doing 15 to 20 sets per bodypart, or I
won’t be able to get them recovered,
which defeats the purpose of all
this. So it’s heavy, progressive,
lower-volume training planned
with recovery in mind in order to
get the guys training each bodypart
frequently.
People have such a hard time
grabbing this low-volume-perworkout concept, but in actuality,
I’m doing the same things that most
volume trainers out there are doing,
if they would only look at the big
picture. They might be doing four
different exercises for their back in
today’s workout, hitting back once
a week. I’m doing those same four
exercises in a week’s time, but in two
separate workouts while training
back twice in a week.
Model: Yohnnie Shambourger
with me for a whole year and
has gained less than 15 pounds
of lean tissue.
I did have a trainee who
came to me after an injury, so
he had obviously lost some
muscle mass, but I saw the
before and after pictures with
bodyfat percentage measured,
and eight months later he had
gained 67 pounds. And he was
completely natural. To this day
that shocks me.
Those are elite genetics,
though, and for anybody
reading this article, I’m telling
you straight out: There ain’t a
chance in hell I can repeat that
with everyone. In my mind
that was and is still virtually
impossible. I have made many,
many, people 30 to 50 pounds
heavier in a year’s time, but
for that to happen, you have
to be absolutely meticulous
and follow exactly what I want
you to do—which is pretty
much to eat like a 300-pounder
but do cardio like a guy who
is 8 to 9 percent bodyfat and
turn your body into a musclebuilding, fat-burning blast
furnace. You pretty much get
to a point where you’re tricking
your body into becoming
muscularly larger.
RH: Obviously you don’t
have to name names if you
DANTE’S INFERNO
“My whole concept is
based on blasting and
cruising—a maintenance
phase of 10 to 14 days.”
using steroids on any training
routine is going to advance faster
than if he did it au naturel. End of
story.
RH: Obviously, Dave Henry is the
most visible example of what can
be done with DC training. Can you
list other specific examples of the
gains your clients have made?
D: I have seen some pretty
amazing things I don’t even have
an answer for. [Laughs]. I’ve seen a
person have his bodyfat measured
before and after a year, when it
was a little over 1 percent higher,
and in that time he had gained 52
pounds. I’ve made numerous light
heavies into superheavies. I’ve
made numerous middleweights
into heavyweights. I think a lot of
people are coming to realize that
with all the posts and photos online
involving my methods, the old
notion that you can only gain eight
to 10 pounds of lean mass a year
is complete and utter bunk. I can’t
remember a trainee who has been
aren’t comfortable doing it, but
are there any other pros or top
amateurs you’re working with or
have worked with as a trainer?
D: There’s another pro besides
Dave Henry, but due to his sponsor’s
contract rulings, I don’t mention
him publicly. I’ve also trained
PNBA Natural pro Travis MacDuff.
As far as top amateurs, how much
space do we have? Junior Nationals
champ Ralph Garcia, top NPC USA
competitor Rob Lopez, Junior USA
champion Jason Wojciechowski,
plus Tom Whorley, Josh Barnett,
Joey Mobareki, Jason Hamner, Chris
Genkinger, Scott Stevenson, Robert
Hopper, Joey Bonacia, Stone Laszly,
Ramey Benfield, Mike Piacentino,
Jason Torres, and a whole slew of
others, including Canadian and
European champions like two-time
Swiss champion Ivan Gasser.
RH: Do you train anyone in
person? Are you available as such,
or do you prefer to do everything
online and on the phone?
D: I used to train people in
person, but this is just a side job
for me, and I usually reject 70
percent of the people who contact
me regarding training them. I’m
very particular as to who I work
with. They have to have the right
mind-set—very determined to
succeed—and it’s my way or no way.
This is my reputation on the line,
and I’m not going to screw with it by
taking on someone who isn’t going
to listen to me. I’ll train a genetically
gifted pro or I’ll train someone with
genetics like Woody Allen’s—it does
not matter to me. I just need to feel
that we will work well together, so
I have an extensive questionnaire
everyone must fill out before I make
my decision.
as hungry as a bull during the rest
of the day and would eat so much
that they’d finally gain muscular
weight. Prior to that they couldn’t
gain weight when they weren’t doing
cardio because their appetite was
lacking.
RH: I also understand that you
don’t believe in the concept of
bulking up, correct?
D: I am trying to get people to
put on as much muscle mass in the
shortest amount of time possible. I
don’t believe anyone should become
a fat pile of crap in that quest. I
have people eating gross amounts
of food up to a new level in size,
but I limit bodyfat gain by limiting
carbs at times during the day, food
combining, cardio, carb cutoffs
and using certain fat-burning
supplements like green tea. My
trainees most likely eat more food
than people who are bulking up,
per se, but I am adamant about not
letting them use the bulking-up
excuse to become sumo wrestlers in
the off-season.
RH: Do you believe in taking
scheduled layoffs from training?
D: Yes, my whole concept is
based on blasting and cruising. I
have every trainee blast for six to
12 weeks, all (continued on page 140)
RH: Where do you stand on
cardio? Do you believe everyone
should do it year-round, that those
trying to gain mass shouldn’t do it
at all, or that bodybuilders should
never do it?
D: I believe highly in cardio,
almost universally. The problem
with most bodybuilders is that
it’s the first thing they skip. The
only people I believe should not
be doing cardio are some severely
ectomorphic types with fast
metabolisms. Almost everyone else
should do it—to varying degrees,
depending on the individual.
It’s very hard to give blanket
recommendations without knowing
anything about an individual, of
course. One of the staples I’ve found
through training people who had
a difficult time gaining weight is
to do your cardio first thing in the
morning. When I had trainees do
cardio, walking on a treadmill or
around the neighborhood the first
thing upon arising, they would be
Model: Todd Smith
“To follow DC training, you have to be a bulldog, no doubt about it.
And above all else you need to de-brainwash yourself.”
(continued from page 137) out, and
then do a cruising phase of
maintenance training for 10 to 14
days, sometimes 21, depending on
how long their blast was. It has to
be done. The people who try to go
all out all year-round are the ones
who go into overtraining mode and
eventually lose their gains.
DANTE’S INFERNO
RH: Should bodybuilders stay
on the DC style of training yearround, or do you recommend
phases where they do something
different, like higher-volume work
or a routine that features more
isolation exercises?
D: I think as long as they blast
and cruise correctly—some
obsessive-compulsive bodybuilders
refuse to do so—they can do DCstyle training year-round.
RH: As Dave Henry put it, DC
training isn’t for everybody. What
type of traits would you say an
individual needs to successfully
follow it?
D: You have to be a bulldog, no
doubt about it. And above all else
you need to de-brainwash yourself
of the notions that everyone in this
sport has, notions that come from
being taught from an obsessivecompulsive viewpoint. And I think
you have to be a little bit crazy. If
you’re two bolts short of a car wreck,
DC training is for you, Jack!
RH: I doubt it’s possible to
put a number on how many
bodybuilders are using DC training
or have used it, but it does seem to
be gaining momentum. Could you
see a day when it will becomes as
widespread as standard volume
training?
D: God, I hope not! I’m already
overwhelmed and have too much
on my plate. I had absolutely no
idea of Dave Henry’s following and
fan base until I started training him
two years ago. Every time he does
really well in shows, my e-mails go
thru the roof. He just got second at
the IRON MAN Pro, and I’m getting
e-mail from Africa, Europe, all over
the place, about DC training.
RH: Do you have any books or
videos available on your program,
or are any in the works?
D: I believe Dave Henry is doing
a DC-training video pretty soon, so
that will be available in the future.
I really should put a book out there
for people to read, but right now I
have a rare disease that is keeping
me from doing so. It’s called “being
a slacker.” In all seriousness, my
articles online are in the process of
being copyrighted, so I’ll get some
of the literature into book form as
soon as I can free up some time.
Protein.com). I hear that it’s a
little different from the average
supplement company in a few
ways, right?
D: We are very different. We
will give buyers the highestquality supplements for the best
prices they will find. We are able
to do this by buying the highesttesting products in large amounts
to get the price we want and then
packaging them in food-grade
jugs or storage bags. The buyer
wins because he isn’t paying for
the $5,000-per-page advertising
campaign, the fancy jug label
or the fancy packaging. People
walk into nutrition centers now
and plop down 30 dollars for
two pounds of whey protein
concentrate. Compare that with
two pounds of a top-tested whey
protein concentrate from True
Protein, which is going to cost
you about $8.
RH: I hope this interview
will solve the mystery of the
mysterious Dante and give people
a clear overview of what DC
training is all about. I thank you
very much for speaking with me.
D: We Massachusetts guys have
to stick together, Ron! Thanks for
the interview.
Note: For the IRON MAN
Training and Research Center’s take
on DC training and related massbuilding techniques, see page 76.
Editor’s note: The official DC
training Web site is www
.intensemuscle.com. Send online
training inquiries to DC
@cyber-rights.net. IM
RH: You are also the owner of a
supplement company, True Protein
(www.True
Beware
the Kiss of
the Sun
Eugen Sandow was the archetypal
modern bodybuilder, and he
performed strength acts as part
of his stage show. Although many
bodybuilders may not recognize
his name today, his physique
is familiar, as it is represented
in the small statuette presented
to each yearʼs Mr. Olympia
winner. Sandow, reportedly, was
proud of his pale skin, which he
emphasized in his act. He would
pose in a boxlike contraption with
a style reminiscent of classical
sculpture. In effect, he became a
living statue. As part of that effect
Sandow would cover himself in
white makeup, thus appearing
even paler than he actually was.
Neveux \ Model: Lena Johannesen
by Jerry Brainum
The bright lights of bodybuilding
stages are notorious for flattening out
even the most muscular physique. A
competitor’s only defense is to appear
onstage with a dark body coloring.
In maintaining pale skin, Sandow
was following 1890s fashion. A
pallid complexion was a sign of
high status. Only the poor, who had
to work outdoors and thus were
exposed to the sun, had tans. People
went out of their way to avoid
acquiring any kind of tan. Parasols
were popular with women, and
bathing suits featured head-to-toe
coverage. One ad touting Pond’s
vanishing cream in 1912 warned
consumers to “beware of the kiss of
the sun!”
Times have changed. A
bodybuilder attempting to compete
today without body color is as a
rare as a tiger in a tuxedo. A tan—
whether real or artificial—is thought
to highlight muscular definition
and create subtle shadows that can
make competitors appear more
defined than they actually are.
Feeding the need for a tan are the
bright lights typical of bodybuilding
stages, which are notorious for
flattening out even the most
muscular physique. A competitor’s
only defense is to appear onstage
with a deep, dark body coloring. The
only debate is how to obtain it.
Bodybuilders have several
options for acquiring their deep
competition tans. The first is simply
to lie in the sun—the most natural
technique, but one loaded with
formidable drawbacks, including
premature aging of the skin and
promotion of various skin lesions
and cancers related to ultravioletlight exposure. Not to mention
sunburn. A sunburn is precisely
what it appears to be—an acute
inflammation of the skin, often
accompanied by a localized stress
response that results in water
retention. In the case of a sunburn,
the water retention appears just
below the skin, effectively blurring
hard-earned muscular definition.
It’s a little like acquiring a sudden
deposition of fat just under the skin.
Those who don’t have the time
or inclination or who live where
temperatures prevent sunbathing,
such as in northern climes in
the winter, may resort to using
tanning booths and beds. Said to
provide many of the same effects
as natural sun exposure, they’re
also concentrated sources of the
negative effects of ultraviolet light.
We’ll get to that in a moment.
Still other options involve
applying tanning
makeup
preparations or
popping tanning
pills. Those,
too, have their
advantages and
g
problems. Tanning
makeup, which is
often applied two to
or
three times daily for
oa
three days prior to
he
contest, can give the
skin a strange tint.. The
ced
skin colors produced
ave
by some brands have
o an
been compared to
ty
oil rig worker’s dirty
se, a
face, or, even worse
walking carrot. To get
Carotenoids
give the skin
an orangeyellow
appearance
because
they dye
the fat lying
just under
the skin’s
uppermost
layers.
carotenoids actually provide a small
amount of UV protection (SPF 2),
and exposure to UV light dissipates
stores of carotenoid in the skin,
an oxidation effect. Tanning-pill
coloration, besides being deposited
in skin, also appears in various body
waste substances, including feces,
urine, sweat and even tears.
Most tanning pills that have
recently entered the market contain
the amino acid tyrosine, a precursor
of the production of melanin, the
skin pigment that provides a tan.
The notion that taking tyrosine in
any quantity will somehow increase
melanin production, however, is
wishful thinking.
The other class of tanning pills
are actual drugs called psoralens.
Representative drugs in that
category include Trisoralen and
Oxsoralen. They were introduced
in the 1950s, when it was noted
that popping them promoted
darkened skin pigmentation. In
coloring that looks real, competitors
are usually advised to get a light
natural base tan before applying
makeup.
The great bodybuilding trainer
Vince Gironda advised against
using any type of tanning makeup.
He noted that such preparations
tended to absorb light, which would
obscure muscular definition. A
genuine tan, according to Vince,
reflected light and heightened the
appearance of muscular definition.
The Supplement Choice
Another option for those who
eschew UV exposure is to take
tanning pills. There are two kinds.
The commercial brands are often
based on various types of food
coloring, a common one being
canthaxanthin, a carotenoid
similar to vitamin A but having
no nutritional properties.
Canthaxanthin is considered
harmless, though it can occasionally
build up in the eyes. It gives the
skin an orange-yellow appearance
because it dyes the fat lying just
under the skin’s uppermost layers.
Other OTC tanning pills contain
other carotenoids that work in
a similar fashion, such as betacarotene and lycopene, which do
have nutritional value.
Since the carotenoids concentrate
in thicker parts of the skin, those
who take high doses of betacarotene often experience orange
coloration of the elbows, hands,
knees and other areas—harmless,
though not aesthetically pleasing.
An interesting side note is that
BEWARE the KISS of the SUN
1959 an investigative reporter
named John Howard Griffin opted
to go undercover to see how black
people were treated in the Deep
South. Since he was a white man,
Griffin chose to experience firsthand the racial disparity of the time
by ingesting Trisoralen and using
a medical-grade ultraviolet lamp.
That effectively darkened his skin to
the extent that he passed for a black
man. His resulting experiences were
chronicled in his book Black Like
Me, which was made into a movie
starring James Whitmore.
A key point about psoralens is
that you still need to expose yourself
to ultraviolet light because they
make the skin hypersensitive to UV
exposure and cause the body to
produce extra amounts of melanin.
Medically, psoralens are used
to treat a disease called vitiligo,
characterized by patches of skin
that lack melanocytes, the cells
that produce melanin. That disease
became more well-known when
singer Michael Jackson claimed it
was the cause of his pale skin. A
combination of psoralens and UV
light is also used to treat psoriasis,
another skin disease.
Psoralen drugs not only provide
no sun protection but also make the
skin more sensitive to the effects of
UV radiation. So using them calls for
caution. You must begin exposure
gradually, only about five to 10
minutes on the first day. Also, the
drugs should never be used for more
than 14 days. Taking them for that
length of time provides a tanning
effect equal to two to three months
of normal sun exposure. You must
also not use any drugs or topical
agents that have photosensitizing
effects—diuretics, for example—as
they can increase the chances of
a severe burn. Certain foods, such
a limes, celery
as
and lemons, can
also aggravate
photosensitivity.
So can some
cosmetics, even
deodorant soaps.
One reason for
limiting the use
of drugs such as
Trisoralen is that
they are hard on
the liver. You can
only imagine
the effect of combining a psoralen
with large doses of oral anabolic
steroids, many of which also stress
the liver. The usual method of
using Trisoralen is to take two fivemilligram tablets two hours before
sun exposure. The dosage should
never be exceeded, regardless of
body size. Doing so can result in
immediate and severe side effects,
such as burns and blistering.
Remember, using these drugs is like
placing a magnifying glass on your
skin.
Trisoralen (continued on page 154)
The most naturallooking tan is one
acquired from
exposure to the
sun, but it’s hardly
a benign process.
Neveux \ Model: Brenda Kelly
(continued from page 148) sales have
been halted in the United States, so
the only legal option is to use the
similar drug, Oxsoralen. Its dosage
is based on bodyweight, and it’s
expensive. Meanwhile, tanning
drugs have been proven to promote
skin cancer in humans. While that’s
not likely to occur with short-term
use, regular use will increase the
odds of developing skin cancer.
Going the Natural Route
The most natural-looking tan is
one acquired from exposure to the
sun. It’s hardly a benign process; a
tan is nothing more than the body’s
protective compensation against
further damage. So just getting a
tan means you’ve already damaged
your skin. To dermatologists,
the phrase “healthy tan” is an
oxymoron. Sunlight is the primary
cause of skin aging, wrinkles,
blotchy pigmentation and skin
cancer. The damage induced by sun
exposure is cumulative with time
and magnitude of exposure. That
deep, dark tan you have today is
tomorrow’s wrinkled, sagging, aged
skin. There is no getting around it.
The ultraviolet rays leading to
the damage come in two varieties,
UVA and UVB. A third type, UVC,
is absorbed in the atmosphere and
is never a factor in skin damage.
UVA, or black light, is the dominant
form of UV radiation, accounting
Just getting a
tan means you’ve
already damaged
your skin. To
dermatologists,
the phrase
“healthy tan” is
an oxymoron.
for 95 percent of the UV energy
striking the earth. UVA is also the
major wavelength produced in
tanning beds and for a long time
was thought to represent the benign
form of UV exposure. But UVA
Neveux \ Models: Hubert Morandell & Markus Reinhardt
The ability to tan is related to genetic
factors. Those who have type-2 skin burn
easily but can eventually acquire a tan,
while type-3 people tan easily and rarely
burn. Most whites fall into those types.
Wear sunglasses that
provide 100 percent UV.
penetrates the deeper layers of the
skin more effectively than UVB and
can amplify UVB’s carcinogenic
effects. UVA is now considered the
main source of skin aging because
it damages skin support proteins,
such as collagen and elastin.
UVB, though representing only
5 percent of the UV rays reaching
Earth, is the major cause of skin
cancer, including the deadliest
form, melanoma. Melanoma itself
is related to pigmented moles called
nevi. Having excessive numbers of
such moles increases the chances
of acquiring melanoma with UV
exposure. Other types of skin
cancer, such as basal and squamous
cell cancers, are both the result of
long-term UV exposure.
Skin cancer is related to damage
to DNA caused by UVA exposure.
The DNA damage occurs before
the onset of a tan, and a tan is
the body’s reaction to this initial
damage. The ability to tan is related
to genetic factors, and various skin
Neveux \ Models: Lee Apperson
People with type1 skin never tan
and usually burn
with unprotected
exposure. They’re
often redheads or
blondes.
types have been established based
on the ability to tan. Those with
type-1 skin never tan and usually
burn with unprotected exposure.
They’re often redheads or blondes.
Type-2 people can also burn easily
but can eventually acquire a tan
with continued exposure. Type-3
people tan easily and rarely burn.
Most whites fall into the types 2
and 3. Type-4 people are naturally
darker-skinned people, such as
Latinos, Native Americans, people
from the Mediterranean area and
Asians, who rarely burn and who tan
easily. Type-5 people, represented
by light-complexioned blacks and
East Indians, become noticeably
darker with sun exposure. Type-6
are dark-skinned black people.
Protecting the skin against
the hazardous effects of UV rays
involves both physical and chemical
responses. For physical protection
Neveux \ Model: Deanna Merryman
No sunscreen
blocks 100
percent of UV
rays. An SPF
15 product
will block 92
percent of UVB
radiation; SPF
40 will block
97.5 percent.
wear long pants or skirts and hats,
long-sleeved shirts and sunglasses
that provide 100 percent UV
protection. Chemical protections
are the various sunscreen products.
There are two varieties: barrier
protection, in compounds of
titanium oxide or zinc oxide, which
block all UV radiation, and broadspectrum sunscreens.
A sunscreen’s effectiveness is
based on its SPF, or sun protection
factor rating. SPFs range from three
to 70 or more. If a person exposed
to sun normally begins to burn after
20 minutes of exposure, using a
sunscreen with an SPF of 15 would
let him or her stay in the sun for
20 times 15 minutes, or five hours,
before beginning to show signs of
burning. An important point to
note is that no sunscreen blocks
100 percent of UV rays. An SPF 15
product will block 92 percent of
UVB radiation; SPF 30, 96.7 percent;
SPF 40, 97.5 percent.1
The problem with the SPF
ratings is that they’re based on
using copious amounts. Studies
show that most people don’t apply
Another consideration is that
you must reapply the sunscreen
after excessive sweating or after
swimming. A major UVA blocker in
many broad-spectrum sunscreens,
Parsol 1789, or avobenzone, begins
to degrade after about an hour of
UV exposure, meaning that you
lose full-spectrum protection after
that length of continuous exposure.
Sunscreen companies don’t like to
publicize that, for obvious reasons.
Studies show that
most people don’t
apply enough
sunscreen to get its
SPF benefits.
Neveux \ Model: Sherry Goggin-Giardina
enough sunscreen to get its SPF
benefit.2 Proper application means
that you must put them on at least
30 minutes prior to exposure,
preferably using a formula that is
waterproof. You need to apply one
ounce of the product for complete
protection. That amounts to half a
teaspoon to the face, neck, arms,
shoulders, chest and back. You
should apply about one teaspoon to
each leg and foot.
Don’t forget
to reapply the
sunscreen after
excessive sweating
or after swimming.
A major UV blocker
used in many
products begins
to degrade after
about an hour of
UV exposure.
unnatural orange-yellow hue. One
study showed that better tanning
results can be obtained with DHA
if the skin is hydrated, and certain
amino acids (lysine, glycine, and
histidine) are present.4
Indoor Methods—
Madness?
Tanning beds aren’t a safe
alterative to sun exposure.
According to a report issued by the
Centers for Disease Control, using
tanning beds led to 700 emergency
room visits because of such injuries
as sunburns, infections and eye
damage. Some think that a light
tan from a tanning bed will provide
advanced protection from actual
sun exposure, but that’s just not
so.5 Indoor tanning is also linked
to skin cancer development. While
proponents of tanning beds point to
the necessity of exposing the skin to
UV-ray light for vitamin D synthesis,
that vitamin is readily available as a
Parsol 1789, however,
can be made more stable
with certain UVB filtering
substances, giving you more
bang for your buck.
Future sunscreens on the
horizon include Mexoryl
Sx, which, like Parsol 1789,
provides UVA protection.
Another option is to combine
sunscreens with topical
forms of antioxidants. UV
radiation causes most of
its skin damage through
oxidative effects, and
antioxidants can block much
of them.3 Several studies
show that various nutrients
provided in topical form
can block UV side effects,
such as vitamins C and E,
omega-3 fats, green tea and
a fern called Polypodium
leucotomos.
Sunless tanning products
have been around for years.
The active ingredient in
them is dihydroxyacetone,
a 3-carbon sugar. DHA
reacts with amino acids
in the upper layer of the
skin, producing a browning
reaction known to chemists
as the Maillard reaction. The
process is mediated by free
radicals, or oxidants, but
unlike UV exposure, they
don’t alter skin cells or DNA.
A DHA-induced tan can
provide protection against
UVA, but not against UVB
exposure. It’s also often an
Tanning beds
led to 700
emergency room
visits because
of such injuries
as sunburns,
infections and eye
damage.
supplement. Since the UV intensity
of tanning beds is two to six times
greater than that of the sun, you can
get the same negative effects of sun
exposure in less time.
Knowing about the damage
caused by sun exposure and regular
use of tanning beds and booths
doesn’t stop many from continuing
to expose themselves to such UVbased hazards. The motivation may
stem from more than just vanity,
according to a study published in
the April 2006 issue of the Journal
of the American Academy of
Dermatology.6 It showed that when
habitual users of tanning booths
were given a drug that blocks
endorphins, which are natural feelgood, druglike chemicals produced
in the body, they felt uncomfortable
using the booths. Without the drug,
lying in a tanning bed produced
feelings of euphoria and relaxation,
which are consistent with the effects
of increased endorphin release.
The fact that the tanning fanatics
felt bad when a drug blocked
their endorphin release points
to frequent tanning as a form of
addiction.
Potential sources of sunless
tanning in the future include
injection of the melaninstimulating hormone melanotan,
which has the side effect of
producing spontaneous erections—
that may be one you’ll want to
avoid at a nude—or for that matter
public—beach! Another substance,
thymidine dinucleotide, or pTpT,
also increases skin pigmentation
minus UV exposure, repairs and
prevents UV-induced DNA damage
and can be applied topically. A
9-base oligonucleotide still in
experimental stages promotes a
deeper tan than pTpT. When they’re
available, the days of worrying
about skin damage from UV
exposure may be over.
If you care how your skin looks
after your competition days are
over, you’d be well advised to
minimize UV exposure from any
source. Acquiring one tan won’t
do much harm, but you can count
on cumulative damage from
regular exposure to UV radiation.
Those who espouse deep, yearround, UV-based tans today
will, to paraphrase an old prune
commercial, “be rather badly
wrinkled tomorrow.” For now,
from a health standpoint, it’s best
to stick with the tan-in-a-bottle
method.
References
1 Farmer, K.C, et al. (1996). Sun
exposure, sunscreens, and skin
cancer prevention: a year-round
concern. Ann Pharmacother.
30:662-73.
2 Bech-Thomsen, N., et al.
(1993). Sunbathers application of
sunscreen is probably inadaquate
to obtain the sun protection
factor assigned to the preparation.
Photodermatol Photoimmunol
Photomed. 9:242-4.
3 Pinnell, S.R. (2003). Cutaneous
photodamage, oxidative stress,
and topical antioxidant protection.
J Am Acad Dermatol. 48:1-19.
4 Nguyen, B., et al. (2003).
Factors influencing sunless
tanning with dihydroxyacetone. Br
J Derm. 149:332-40.
5 Levine, J.A., et al. (2005). The
indoor UV tanning industry: a
review of skin cancer risk, health
benefit claims, and regulation. J
Am Acad Dermatol. 53:1038-44. IM
19-Inch
Guns!
X-Caliber Triceps Training to Put
Some New Freak on Your Physique
by Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson
Model: Luke Wood
A
fte you’ve been training for a while—
fter
w
we’ve
got 40 years between us—adding
m
more
and more mass can be an uphill
b
battle,
especially when you’re drug-free.
Every once in a while, however, you
some
run across something
that triggers a sudden burst of
muscle size that sends your measurements into eyepopping territory. In this case what we found turned
our uphill battle into a successful mountain climb: A
few key exercise tweaks and a handful of quick, intense
workouts led to a 19 1/4-inch arm measurement. Let’s
start with triceps, the meat of the upper arm.
One thing we want to get across right up-front is
that no matter who you are, you can always learn new
things. Sometimes what you learn, or relearn, can trigger immediate size increases. For example, we’d been
doing decline extensions—skull crushers performed
on a decline bench—as our initial triceps exercise for a
while, but our results had slowed. Obviously, we needed a change. We thought that to save time, and add
mass, we’d use dumbbells and switch to a compound
movement, close-grip dumbbell bench presses. No
need to load a bar; this would be much more efficient.
We just knew an immediate mass increase was only a
few workouts away.
Wrong! New mass didn’t happen. In fact, our triceps
started flattening out. That’s the equivalent of a sixgame losing streak in a team sport—depressing and
deflating. We refused to believe it at first and kept plugging away. After all, so many experienced bodybuilders
say that the close-grip bench press is a big-time triceps developer. Finally we snapped out of our trance.
We started analyzing our workout. Maybe we need
to use a bar. Nah, that wasn’t it. That torqued our
shoulders and added even more setup time. (Now for
a “D’oh!” moment.) In our own e-book The Ultimate
Mass Workout, we classify close-grip bench presses
as the Ultimate Exercise for triceps but—here’s the
key—done on a decline! We were doing them flat
(you should now picture our palms smacking our
foreheads—D’oh!). We were neglecting that critical
tweak.
Then we recalled that on Jay Cutler’s DVD “Ripped
to Shreds,” one of his favorite triceps moves is elbows-flared pushdowns, which is the cable version
of close-grip decline—don’t forget the decline!—
bench presses. We decided to follow Jay’s lead and
adopt the elbows-flared pushdowns as our initial
triceps move (no setup necessary).
Results: New triceps sweep immediately; shirtsleeves got tighter, with apparent mass increases
after every workout. In fact, after only a few weeks
Jonathan’s arms taped 19 1/4 inches—bigger than
they’d ever been (and if you look at the photo on
page 172, you can see that we missed the apex of
his triceps, so they actually were even larger)! That’s
with only four to five sets for biceps and triceps. The
switch to a decline triceps movement in our program
was key, but there were other reasons, too, as we’ll
explain. First, here’s the triceps program we used:
19-Inch Guns!
X-Caliber Triceps
Programs
Workout A (midrange and contracted positions)
Elbows-flared pushdowns
(drop set; X Reps)
2 x 10(6)
Superset
Kickbacks
1 x 10
Bench dips (X Reps)
1x8
One-arm pushdowns
(X Reps)
1 x 10
Workout B (midrange and
stretch positions)
Elbows-flared pushdowns
(drop set; X Reps)
2 x 10(6)
Cable pushouts
(drop set; X Reps)
1 x 10(6)
Overhead dumbbell
extensions (X Reps)
2 x 10
Drop set: Do one set to exhaustion, reduce the weight and
immediately do a second set to
exhaustion.
X Reps: Do a set to exhaustion,
move the resistance to the semistretched position, to where the
target muscle is somewhat elongated, such as near the bottom
of an overhead extension, and do
pistonlike partial-rep pulses up
and down through an eight-inch
range.
Lawson’s
19 1/4-inch
arm measurement.
Editor s note: For more on X Reps,
occlusion, stretch overload and
Positions of Flexion, visit www.
X-Rep.com.
1) Elbows-Flared Pushdowns (Mimics CloseGrip Decline-Bench Presses),
2 x 10(6)
Model: Jay Cutler \ “Ripped to Shreds” ©2006 Mitsuro Okabe Co.
We did a set to exhaustion —around 10 reps—with some X-Rep par
tials near the top, semistretched position, then immediately reduced
the weight and cranked out another set to exhaustion, with more X
Reps or an X Spot static hold. We rested about three minutes and did
a second round, or we did a drop set
(continued on page 178)of
decline lying extensions instead of
a
second round of pushdowns.
19-Inch Guns!
(continued from page 173)
Model: Joesph Gloor
We did kickbacks with chest support, firing both arms simultaneously—a dumbbell in each hand. We kept tension on the triceps throughout
the set by lowering the dumbbells only about two-thirds of the way on
each rep, and at exhaustion we launched into a few straight-arm kickbacks to force the lats into the action to fry the tri’s. Then we rushed
over to two flat benches set up parallel to each other and did bench
dips—but we used a partial X-Rep at the bottom, after each full rep, and
ended the set with X Reps near the bottom. (By the way, that betweenreps-partial technique is one Cutler uses a lot; see his DVD.)
Model: John Hansen
2) Kickbacks, 1 x 10, Supersetted with
Bench Dips, 1 x 8
19-Inch Guns!
3) One-Arm PushDowns, 1 x 10
Model: Daryl Gee
We did these at one side of the
cable crossover machine, turned
sideways with our nonworking arm
facing the weight stack. Sometimes
we used a palm-up grip; other
times it was standard palm-down.
When full reps were impossible, we
fired out X Reps near the top, semistretched point, of the stroke.
Remember those other details
we mentioned? Here s the first:
Our initial exercise, elbows-flared
pushdowns, remained constant at
every workout, but the rest of the
triceps routine changed at every
other session, as follows:
2) Cable Pushouts,
1 x 10(6)
Model: George Farah
We did these using a rope attachment on a high cable—we faced away
from the weight stack, lunged forward
and did extensions behind our heads,
extending our arms on each rep till
they were parallel to the ground. We
did X Reps or X holds at the
semistretched point (hands behind the
head), reduced the poundage and fired
out about six more reps, with X Reps
at the end or an X hold. (That dropset technique is a key mass builder, as
we ll explain in a moment.)
19-Inch Guns!
3) Overhead Dumbbell
Extensions, 2 x 10
We did these with a dumbbell in
each hand, simultaneously extending them. We did two sets, each ending with X Reps near the stretched
position (close to the bottom of the
stroke).
Why did we switch the last part
of the routine, the more isolated
exercises, at every other workout?
So that one workout stressed armdown contracted-position work
(kickbacks, bench dips), and then
at the next workout we did arm-up
stretched-position work (overhead
extensions, cable pushouts). Both
of those positions have special
mass-building qualities, and by
alternating them, we kept the stress
on the triceps fresh and trained the
muscle s full arc of flexion.
We won t go into Positions-ofFlexion mass-training protocol, as
we ve had lots of articles on it in
past issues (it s also explained in the
book Train, Eat, Grow; see page 86).
We will say that the stretch-position overload has been shown to
increase anabolic-hormone production in muscle and to activate
more muscle fibers via the myotatic
reflex. And it has been linked to
hyperplasia, or fiber splitting—one
animal study achieved a 300 percent
increase in muscle mass in 30 days.
Very powerful stuff.
Contracted-position exercises
are best for occlusion, or blockage of blood flow to the muscle.
There have been some amazing
recent studies on the impact of
that phenomenon on muscle size
and strength (see the Beyond X-Rep
Muscle Building e-book, available at
www.BeyondX-Rep.com, for more
on occlusion and stretch-overload
studies and analysis).
With either routine that s only
about five sets, but aside from our
using a decline exercise at every
workout and then alternating
between contracted- and stretchposition exercises, we think there
are some other reasons our quick
triceps mass blast is so effective.
X Reps
Model: Marvin Montoya
The end-of-set X-Rep partials at the semistretched spot on the
stroke help activate an enormous number of fibers. That s verified
by the size principle of fiber recruitment: In any set you activate the
low-threshold motor units first, the mediums second and the highthreshold motor units last, during the most difficult reps. The highthreshold motor units are key because that s when you re blasting the
fast-twitch fibers with the most growth potential. If you extend a set
with X Reps right at the max-force point on the stroke, you stimulate
many more fibers.
19-Inch Guns!
Drop Sets
Doing two or three sets back to back helps develop the endurance components of the 2A fast-twitch fibers
(like the mitochondria and capillary beds), which can add considerable size to a muscle. Research indicates
that the 2As are key for bodybuilders because they have both anaerobic and endurance capabilities. That means
you can get a double-layered size effect in them—if you use the right training to beef up both components. The
right training includes tension times that are long enough, usually around 30 seconds per set (10-rep sets done
with X Reps and/or drop sets or supersets, with each phase being five to eight reps, fill the bill). Longer tension
times force the fast-twitch 2As to develop both anaerobic and endurance characteristics, which results in a
much bigger muscle cell. That s the reason low-rep sets are considered better for strength—they stress only one
aspect of the 2As, the anaerobic component, leaving the endurance capability relatively untapped. If you re a
bodybuilder looking to max out muscle size, you want to hit the anaerobic and endurance components of the
fast-twitch fibers.
So while the decline angle on the initial movement was the primary new-size-on-the-tri’s catalyst, the secondary details were very important in amplifying the growth effect. As far as the decline goes, it s interesting to
note that in MRI studies decline extensions light up much more triceps mass than the flat version. Interesting!
That s a clue that the decline version of the close-grip bench press is a better choice than the flat-bench ver
sion for building arm mass. (It certainly is in our cases!) We think it s due to ergonomics and the leverage factors
we discuss in The Ultimate Mass Workout e-book. (We apparently need to reread our own stuff more often; it s
available at www.X-Rep.com.)
We ll show you how we applied many of the same growth tactics to our biceps training in a future feature in
IRON MAN. Till then, pack some new size on your tri’s with this quick-hit multi-angled attack—and don t forget
the decline.
Editor s note: For more on X-Rep mass-building concepts, visit www.X-Rep.com. IM
Category 5
t
u
o
k
r
o
W
Intensity
Channel Your Mental Power Into
a Force of Mass Construction
by Peter C. Siegel, R.H.
H
ave you ever had a workout where you were so feverishly
driven that you felt you could, metaphorically speaking,
d
burn a hole through steel? Where the weights you used
b
ffelt light in your hands—as if the force flowing through you
outmatched the ironʼs attempt to overcome and exhaust you?
ttotally
to
tally ou
Remember? It was as if your muscles were an extension of your
will; they performed and contracted at a level seemingly beyond
where they ever had before—you could actually f-e-e-l the deepest
underlying fibers firing in a way you never had before.
Rep after rep, set after set, you were a dominating machine.
Your heart felt like an invincible steel pump; your nostrils and lungs
remained on supercharged intake levels, feeding the machine the
oxygen it needed for sustained conquest.
Your heart and breathing rate have likely elevated somewhat
while you were just reading what Iʼve described so far. Why?
Because youʼre emotionally identifying with an inner workout
performance state I call Category 5 intensity. Itʼs a degree of inner
force and power so compelling and conquest driven, it blasts you
into sustained muscular exertion levels that can develop mega-size
and -strength increases!
Model: Will Harris
Category 5
The United States Meteorological Service categorizes hurricanes based on the
volume, power and wind speed that their
force generates and sustains. Category
5 monsters carry torrential rains, winds
in excess of 150 miles per hour and an
energy surge that cannot be stopped or
impeded by any man-made thing. It will
tear through any environment it hits and
unleash its fury in a terrain-altering assault (seemingly a merciless assault from
hell).
Whoa! Just take a moment to catch
your breath and think—really think: How
would your workout performance and
contraction levels change if you began
generating intensity at the Category 5
level? What kind and degree of energy
would you generate and sustain? What
kind of muscular exertion would you induce and sustain? What kind of maximum
contractions would you incite—through
the positive and negative aspects of each
rep? And what degree of muscular growth
do you think you’d stimulate?
I’ll bet your heart rate, body temperature and breathing rate just elevated
somewhat again as you considered the
impact you’d produce by generating Category 5 intensity. Imagine now what will
happen when you actually start doing it.
Model: Markus Reindhart
Category 5: An UltraSuccess-Producing
Workout Force
Your workout performance
governs your degree of
muscle growth.
Build, Surge, Magnify,
Amplify: Moving
Yourself to Generate
Category 5 Intensity
Model: Ron Harris
Imagine being able to
instantly trigger hurricaneforce intensity in the gym.
I’m assuming you’re interested in
how you can begin strengthening
your inner training force to reach
more extreme and commanding levels, right? So let’s go through a very
detailed, advanced process that will
enable you to do just that.
Recall, for a moment, the TV
images you saw this past year of
Katrina’s Category 5 intensity bending huge palm trees over to where
they looked like little twigs ready to
be snapped in half. That’s the power
it wields. What would it look like if
that force were your personal workout fuel? Here’s how to harness it.
Read through the following process
in its entirety first. Then apply it
exactly as outlined.
Category 5
Model: Peter Putman
Search your memory
banks for your perfect,
intensity driven workout.
Step 1: Mentally and
physically relax to gain
subconscious access
Step 2: Access a
magnitude-intensity
workout memory
(perform this step in your home only).
In an area where you’re sure you
won’t be disturbed, lie comfortably
on your back on your bed, on the
floor or stretched out completely in
a reclining chair. Let your arms rest
at your sides, palms facing downward, fingers loosely apart.
Remaining as still as possible, let
your eyelids gently close, and take
three l-o-n-g, d-e-e-p breaths, inhaling through your nostrils and easily
exhaling through your mouth. With
each exhalation, mentally repeat the
word r-e-l-e-a-s-e.
Next, envision yourself slowly
descending a staircase of seven
steps. As you descend each step,
mentally repeat the word d-o-w-n to
yourself, allowing every muscle and
fiber within you to let loose, and
progressively relax with each successive step.
When you’ve reached the bottom
step and feel the sensation of deep
and soothing comfort, shift your
awareness to…
Now that you’re mentally and
physically relaxed, recall a workout
where your performance and effort
could only be labeled “conquest
driven.” Recall the very last time
you embodied feverish, driving
power and truly fierce intensity
during a workout.
•Perhaps it was during an arm
session where you were blasting
your biceps on barbell preacher
curls—to the most extreme pump
you’ve ever experienced. You didn’t
just do 10 reps; you did 12. And
it felt as if your skin would rip.
But you maintained the mental
fury—the fierce, unwavering mental toughness that overrode any
attempt of your body to stop you.
•Perhaps it was a leg workout
where you cinched your belt one
notch tighter than you normally
do—and piled more weight on the
bar than you usually do. Then you
blasted out set after set of squats
that left your legs feeling like en-
gorged tree trunks—and it was a
chore for you to walk out of the
gym to your car after your workout.
Allow yourself to search your
memory, and you’ll locate a target
workout such as this from your
past. Once you’ve mentally isolated it:
•Imagine the picture of this scenario becoming brighter, more
vivid and more distinct.
•Then experience it as if it were
playing out on a large white
movie screen, and bring it closer
and closer to you.
•As you bring it closer, imagine
it becoming even brighter, more
detailed and more three-dimensional.
•Imagine it coming even closer
to you—so close, it’s as if it’s
right in front of your face. As if
you can reach out and touch it.
At this moment you should see,
feel, sense and experience all the
factors of this scenario—as if it
were your life in the current moment.
(continued on page 218)
Category 5
Model: Mike Dragna
Imagine yourself
stepping into the
picture, feeling
extraordinary power
and energy streaming
through you.
Step 3: Anchor the
extreme sensory
power of your
magnitude-intensity
workout
Now, instead of just “watching”
this scenario of your magnitudeintensity workout, imagine yourself
stepping into the picture, into your
body, and feel your extraordinary power and energy streaming
through you.
•See exactly what you see as this
mega-intensity workout force—becoming aware of how all things you
see around you look to you.
•Then thoroughly f-e-e-l exactly
what you feel as this mega-intensity
workout force engulfs you.
•Project the exact facial expression you project when you are in
this mega-intensity workout force—
from the slant of your eyes, to the
flare of your nostrils, to the curl and
purse of your lips.
•Mentally say to yourself—using
the exact words and tone you use—
what you say to yourself when you
inwardly communicate to yourself
as the embodiment of this mega-intensity workout force.
•Then purposefully b-r-e-a-t-h-e
exactly the way you breathe when
you’re in this state.
Next, as you’re inwardly replicating all of this, clench your right fist
hard, continuing to breathe exactly
as the mega-intensity you does.
Hold your fist firmly clenched,
choose a word that to you singularly
represents you as this mega-intensity workout force. For example, you
might choose a word such as power,
force, dominate or zone. Whatever
word you choose, holding your right
fist firmly clenched (and continuing
to breathe as mega-intensity you
breathes), mentally exclaim your
chosen key word five times with
passion.
Hold this clenched-fist, megaintensity breathing state for a full 20
seconds. Then s-l-o-w-l-y unclench
your right fist and allow yourself to
grow mentally and physically relaxed and at ease.
You’ve now established a magnitude-intensity-fueling anchor,
whereby the act of clenching your
right fist hard, breathing as you
do when you are in mega-intensity mode and mentally exclaiming your key word will trigger the
specific energy connected to your
generating Category 5 intensity
during a workout.
This entire three-step anchoring
process should take 10 to 15 minutes to perform. I suggest performing it—in your home only—for five
consecutive days. That will ensure
that you establish the connection
between clenching your right fist
hard, breathing as you do when you
are in the mega-intensity zone and
mentally exclaiming your key word,
which will activate your nuclearemotional force.
Each time you perform this
process, it will become easier, and
the results it produces will become
more decisive.
Note: After five consecutive
days, once you’ve established the
stimulus/response anchor between
clenching your right fist hard,
breathing and exclaiming your key
word and activating your Category
5 peak performance power, you
do not have to go through steps 1
through 3 again. Go right to…
Category 5
Step 4: Turn on the
power that primes you
with the affinity for
superhuman workout
performance!
(I suggest you perform this step
in your car after you’ve arrived at
your gym, parked and turned the
engine off. This is your preworkout
priming stage.) Sit comfortably, letting your hands rest on your thighs,
palms downward. Let your eyelids
gently close, and allow your chin to
comfortably rest on your chest.
Next, take three long, deep
breaths—inhaling through your
nostrils and exhaling easily through
your mouth.
As you exhale your third breath,
fire your mega-intensity workout
anchor: Clench your right fist hard,
b-r-e-a-t-h-e, and mentally exclaim
your key word three times.
Next, continuing to hold your
right fist firmly clenched, breathing
In your mind hear the
sound of an eight-cylinder
supercharged, 1,000horsepower race car engine
shifting through its gears.
Model: Jose Raymond
Hear the raw, rumbling,
fever-pitched force of the
engine as it shifts from
first to second, to third,
to fourth and then into
fifth gear. Let the upwardwinding fury of fifth gear
fill you with its power.
as you do when you are in the megaintensity zone, you perform the final
prepriming stage: ramping up to Category 5 intensity. And so, with your right
fist firmly clenched, breathing as the
embodiment of mega-intensity, imagine
clearly you hear the sound of an eightcylinder supercharged, 1,000-horsepower race car engine shifting through
its gears.
H-e-a-r the raw, rumbling, feverpitched force of the engine as it shifts
from first to second, to third, to fourth
and then into fifth gear. Let the upwardwinding fury of the engine’s fifth gear fill
you with its power.
When you experience this (and you
will), silently exclaim your key word
three times at peak-exhortation levels.
With the force surging within, you should
now feel like you can tear an oak tree—
barehanded—right out of the ground!
Now, continuing to hold your right fist
firmly clenched, go ahead and imagine
yourself performing a full set of one of
the exercises you’ll be doing in your
workout. This set is you with mega-intense fierceness. Clearly experience and
f-e-e-l yourself performing each rep so
forcefully, purposefully and with such
concentrated power that you sense even
the deepest underlying fibers of the
muscle being forced to exert and con(continued on page 225)
tract to the max.
Category 5
No more inconsistent workout
levels. Now you can turn on
the power and prime yourself
for growth-promoting effort
every time you train!
Category 5
(continued from page 220)
Feel your heart pumping, your
power surging and total conquest
fueling every single rep. And be sure
you imagine yourself finishing every
rep you intended to, sustaining perfect form.
Next, continuing to keep your fist
firmly clenched, imagining that your
heart is now pounding and your
breathing pronounced, look at the
bodypart you just trained in one of
the gym mirrors. See—and f-e-e-l—it,
completely worked and fully engorged. Then, still holding your right
fist firmly clenched and breathing as
you do when you have mega-intensity workout power, say to yourself, and
mean it, “This is what I do; this is how
I do it. I begin this way—and I stay
this way—every rep. Starting now!”
Then, very slowly unclench your
fist, let your eyelids easily open, inhale deeply and grab your gym bag!
Step 5: Preset peak
performance emotional
reinforcement
The Closing Key That
Helps You Keep the
Door to Category 5
Intensity Wide Open
Consistency is important here. Be
sure you perform steps 1 through 5
exactly as I’ve outlined, and make
The more you apply
this process, the more
incredibly powerful
your results will be.
Model: Ken Yasuda
In the gym, after you’re totally
sure you’ve fully and appropriately
warmed up, perform one set for the
muscle you’ll be training as you normally would, being sure to f-e-e-l the
target muscle working during the
positive and negative phases of each
rep. Then do the following before you
engage each successive set: Clench
your right first hard, and purposefully
mentally exclaim your key word once.
Unclench your fist, and proceed.
This preset practice will reinforce
and sensitize your nervous system
with the emotional fuel directly
linked to your generating Category 5
intensity. Doing it before each set will
take you all of three to four seconds,
hardly a high price to pay for keeping
yourself predisposed toward training
at growth-compelling, mega-intensity levels!
your preworkout and preset
priming actions (steps 4 and 5)
as much a part of your workout
as you do creatine, aminos and
postworkout protein shakes.
The more you apply this process, the more incredibly powerful your results will be. I know
you’ll come to experience inner
power realms you never even
knew you possessed.
The more power you exert,
the higher the mountain you
can climb. No more inconsistent
workout levels. Now you can
turn on the power—and prime
yourself for feverish, growthpromoting effort every time you
train!
Editor’s note: Pete Siegel is the
country’s foremost sports and
peak performance hypnotherapist. Be sure to check out his acclaimed “Think & Grow BIG” and
“Steppin’ Up to Mega-Muscle and
Power!” total-bodybuilding-success programs at www
.IncredibleChange.com. IM
Heavy
: I’m still uncertain about Mike’s position that
““only one set per exercise is all that is required”
ffor someone to get bigger and stronger. I’ve
sseen some studies that suggest that it takes
more th
than one set. Is Mike’s position still tenable in
light of the new research?
A: Your question is long on supposition and short
on evidence. Indeed, the preponderance of scientific
literature clearly supports Mike’s position. You mention
studies you’ve seen but you haven’t furnished any data
from these studies, nor have you provided references,
presumably wanting me to take what you say on
faith—which I’m not prepared to do. I would ask you to
consider the following:
A recent study out of Adelphi University (Carpinelli,
R.N., and Otto, R.M. Strength Training: single versus
multiple sets. Sports Medicine. 26[2]:73-84;1998)
surveyed all of the known literature that compared
single set to multiple-set resistance training. Fortyfive studies showed that multiple sets resulted in no
increase in results compared to single-set training,
while only two studies showed a marginal improvement
with multiple sets. Bottom line: performing two or
three more sets—resulting in an increase of 200 to 300
percent more work—produced nothing but more time
spent in the gym.
At Nautilus North
Strength & Fitness Centre, which I
own with my wife, Terri, and brother-in-law Cary Howe,
we have supervised more than 41,000 workouts—all of
which followed Mike’s principles of intensity, duration
and frequency using one set per exercise done but once
a week (or even less frequently). As a result, we have a
very broad database to examine and have been able to
observe progress patterns in clients. In no instance has
training in that manner failed to produce an increase in
strength. As Mike once pointed out:
“I cite my own long-range success and that of
innumerable others with high-intensity training—all
of which is easily verifiable and makes the question [of
whether one set to failure is sufficient] untenable. My
God, how much more evidence proving that training
to failure briefly and infrequently produces long-range
results do you require? The high-intensity, train-tofailure system works all the time and for the following
reason: Executing that last, almost impossible, rep
causes the body to dip into its reserves. Since it only has
a small amount of reserve to draw on before depletion
occurs, the body protects itself from future assaults on
its reserves. It enlarges its existing ability through the
226 JUNE 2006 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com
Balik \ Model: Mike Mentzer
HIGH-INTENSITY Q & A
• by John Little •
www.ironmanmagazine.com \ JUNE 2006 227
Heavy Duty
HIGH-INTENSITY Q&A
Recovery Ability
Q: Why is recovery ability an
important factor in high-intensity
training?
A: Whenever you train, you’re
expending energy—energy that the
body must recoup at some point
or become completely exhausted,
whereupon all movement (along
with your life) would cease. Even so,
the energy is not instantaneously
replaced; if it were, you’d never
grow fatigued. Moreover, the greater
your efforts in the gym—that
is, the heavier the weights you
move, the greater the intensity of
your muscular contractions—the
greater the energy debt that needs
to be serviced. As high-intensity
effort is an absolute requirement
for stimulating a compensatory
buildup of new muscle tissue,
it follows that the rest period
(including time for full recovery as
well as growth production) takes
longer than it would if, say, you were
going for a walk or engaging in other
less demanding activities.
If you don’t take sufficient time
in between workouts to allow for
full recovery and growth to take
place, all progress will stop dead
in its tracks. I recently came across
a succinct summary of this topic
that Mike wrote only a month or
two prior to his passing. In it he
said that nothing in the universe is
infinite, including recovery ability.
As he explained it, “The concept of
infinity is not a metaphysical term;
it’s a mathematical device indicating
a very large number, larger than
anyone would care to count.”
Mike found it curious that many
(but by no means all) exercise
scientists were guilty of ignoring,
evading and/or suppressing the
important issue of taking sufficient
time for fuel recovery and growth.
According to Mike, “If they were
to be cognizant of it, whatever
intellectual edifice they possess
would be razed to the ground. Their
entire approach—more is better—is
predicated on the erroneous notion
of an unlimited recovery ability.”
A few have tried to dismiss
the issue of limited recovery
ability, complaining that it’s not
quantifiable. Again, as nothing
in the universe is really infinite,
everything that exists is, therefore,
quantifiable. In cases where there
are no scientific instruments
to precisely measure certain
physiological phenomena, such as
recovery ability, it’s justifiable to
provide an objective, standardized
notation of 100 units. And, as Mike
often quoted, “It is only rational
to use that which exists in limited
“Only high-intensity
training can force
the body to tap
into its reserves
sufficiently
to stimulate
an adaptive
response.”
Neveux \ Model: Danny Hester
compensatory buildup of more
muscle mass.
“Only high-intensity training
can force the body to tap into its
reserves sufficiently to stimulate an
adaptive response. Repeating tasks
that are well within your capacity—
as is the case with higher volume,
not-to-failure training—will do little
or nothing to spur growth. Ending
a set before failure, just because
you’ve completed an arbitrary
number of reps that falls within
a range that’s well within your
existing capacity, will not stimulate
growth. There’s no need for the
body to grow because you’re just
endlessly repeating what the body
has already adapted itself to and are
not stressing your existing capacity.
Unless you do that—by attempting
that last impossible rep—your body
has no reason to adapt and grow.”
Neveux \ Model: Jamo Nezzar
HIGH-INTENSITY Q&A
“Exercise, in addition
to having a localized
effect on the muscle
you’re working, also
has a systemic effect.”
supply as economically as possible.”
The following discussion from
Mike reveals why it’s rational to use
no more recovery ability than is
minimally required:
“The issue of volume, meaning
the number of sets, is a negative
factor in bodybuilding science.
Whether you perform one set
per workout or 100 sets, volume
represents a negative influence,
for any number of sets performed
makes an inroad into the body’s
limited recovery ability. Inroad is a
key word. Think of it as a hole being
dug in a road. When you perform
a set, a small hole is dug into your
recovery ability; you do a second
set, and the hole gets deeper; a
third set makes it deeper still,
and so forth. The greater the
inroad, the deeper the hole and
the more the body’s limited
resources are used up, leaving
a bigger hole to fill and much
less available for building the
mountain on top, the muscle.
(Anyone who trains hard
should be able to understand
the concept of inroad. After a
hard workout you actually feel as
if you’re in a hole of sorts, as you’re
exhausted.)
“Of course, you have to perform
at least one set to have a workout.
Ideally, we could find a way to
stimulate growth with zero sets,
so none of the limited reserve of
resources would be wasted on
recovery; they’d all be used for
building the muscle, and you’d
grow so fast, it would stagger the
imagination.
“In avoiding the issue of a limited
recovery ability, exercise science
misses a crucial distinction: local
vs. systemic recovery. The recovery
of any given muscle takes place
relatively quickly, while systemic
recovery may take several days
to three weeks, depending on the
individual’s recovery ability and
exercise stress tolerance level.
“You’ve undoubtedly had the
experience of performing a great
leg workout on, for instance, a
Friday. You went into the gym
after work full of motivation and
energy, knowing you were going to
transcend your usual performance,
and you did even better than
expected. All of your weights
were 10 to 15 percent above your
previous best, and you did more
reps too. You left the gym feeling
triumphant but exhausted. Then
you went home and intentionally
rested all weekend, thinking you’d
wake up Monday feeling fully
recovered. But, while your legs were
recovered, you felt generally, or
systemically, fatigued.
“Exercise, you see, in addition
to having a localized effect on
the muscle you’re working, also
has a systemic effect. The issue of
limited recovery ability, especially
systemic recovery, must figure
centrally in any theory of productive
bodybuilding exercise, yet many
exercise scientists still advocate
high-volume, everyday training—in
essence, denying the issue of
recovery ability.”
The Best Advanced
Method
Q: I’ve read all your articles
in IRON MAN and recently
purchased your books (including
the one you wrote with Mike),
which I found very informative.
But since Mike’s high-intensity
methods included so many
techniques, such as training to
failure, static holds, preexhaustion,
negatives, rest/pause and omnicontraction, I wonder which one is
the best?
A: None of the techniques you
mention is the best: They are all
of a high-intensity nature, and
each has its proper place in Heavy
Duty training. Simply defined,
intensity refers to the percentage
of possible momentary muscular
effort that is generated during an
exercise. According to Mike, it is
an undebatable fact of exercise
physiology that the higher the
intensity, or the closer an individual
approaches 100 percent of his or
her muscular effort potential at
any given moment, the greater the
stimulation of muscle growth. For
example, a momentary effort of 100
percent would be generated when
someone carries a set to a point of
momentary muscular failure—that
is, the point at which it’s impossible
to perform one more rep despite
the trainee’s greatest effort. Mike’s
counsel on advanced techniques
and when to apply them holds
relevance here:
“Since intensity is such an
important factor for anyone
whose goal is to induce the most
rapid possible increases in size
and strength, training to failure is
important for everyone. For
beginners, however, I suggest that
they merely carry each set of an
exercise to positive failure, or to
the point when the weight can no
longer be raised. During the first
six months to a year of training,
exercising only to positive failure
will be enough to stimulate new
growth. Generally, it takes beginners
that amount of time to learn how
to properly exert themselves under
such intensity, since they must first
overcome certain inhibitions that
prevent them from really carrying a
set to total failure.
“As beginners continue to
train hard over a period of a
year or so, they enter the second
stage of adaptation. This is the
intermediate phase, where more
training intensity is required
to induce further growth. At
Neveux \ Model: Jorge Betancourt
“Whether you perform
one set per workout
or 100 sets, volume
represents a negative
influence.”
Heavy Duty
uninterrupted until they reach
the upper limits dictated by their
genetic potential.
As you can see, each of the
techniques has its place in a Heavy
Duty workout regimen, but what
that is will be determined by the
trainee’s stage of development—
they should not be used for socalled variety or on a whim but
should only be used by those
trainees who have adapted to
positive-failure training and are
looking to bump a little extra size
and strength out of their genetic
potential.
this point the overload must be
continuing to use such ultragreater than previously, since the
intense methods longer than six
body has adapted to a certain
weeks, but he also believed that if
level of intensity. This is when
trainees balanced the ultra-intense
training sessions
preexhaustion, forced-rep training
with adequate
and negatives might be applied.
recovery periods
“If bodybuilders continue to train
between workouts
at this increased level of intensity
(in some instances
for another year or so, they’ll arrive
advanced trainees
at the third stage of adaptation, or
will require seven,
the advanced stage. If they hope to
10 or more days off
keep increasing size and strength,
between workouts
another step up the ladder of
in order to
intensity is required. At this point
produce progress),
the mega-intensity methods such
their results
as rest/pause and omni-contraction
should continue
should be used for intervals of
four to six weeks during the
following year. Due to the
“Systemic recovery may take
tremendous demands they
place on the body’s reserves,
several days to three weeks,
the mega-intensity methods
are highly effective, but they
depending on individual
can easily lead to overtraining.”
recovery ability and exercise
Mike found it difficult to
sustain the high-intensity
stress tolerance level.”
motivation necessary for
Editor’s note: For a complete
presentation of Mike Mentzer’s
Heavy Duty training system,
consult his books Heavy Duty II,
High Intensity Training the Mike
Mentzer Way and the newest book,
The Wisdom of Mike Mentzer, all of
which are available from Mentzer’s
official Web site, www.MikeMentzer
.com.
John Little is available for phone
consultation on Mike Mentzer’s
Heavy Duty training system. For
rates and information, contact
Joanne Sharkey at (310) 316-4519 or
at www.MikeMentzer.com, or see
the ad on the opposite page.
Article copyright © 2006, John
Little. All rights reserved. Mike Mentzer quotations provided courtesy
of Joanne Sharkey and used with
permission. IM
Models: Ray Campisi and Rich Piana
HIGH-INTENSITY Q&A
Neveux \ Model: Greg Blount
“The recovery of
any given muscle
takes place
relatively
quickly.”
10
Stupid
Things
Bodybuilders
Do to Mess Up Their Winning
Mind-set
by Skip La Cour
Five-Time NPC Team Universe Champion
B
odybuilders make
some stupid mistakes
when it comes to
the mental aspect of
training. As I admitted last month, stupid might be a little too harsh a word
to describe some of the most common mental challenges bodybuilders
face—but it made you sit up and take
notice. Let’s get to the second five (an
overview of all 10 is on page 238).
Model: Skip La Cour
6) They Don’t
Concentrate While
They’re in the Gym
Many bodybuilders don’t understand how important it is to concentrate on the workout. They visit
with other people between sets and
often postpone doing their next set
because of lingering conversations.
Yet they believe those conversations
have absolutely no negative effects
on their results.
If you had an important presentation at work or a test in school, how
well would you do if you stopped
every five minutes to talk about another subject? Do you think you’d
deliver that presentation as well as
if you gave it uninterrupted attention? Or that you’d do just as well on
your test as you would if you just put
your head down and focused until
you were finished? Of course you
wouldn’t.
One hour is all you need to invest
in your workouts. One hour of concentration is all you need to ask of
yourself. One hour in which you’re
focused on your workout, five days
a week at the most, is all you need to
get closer to your bodybuilding goals.
Concentrate during that one hour.
Make each of your training sessions a
productive “hour of power.”
Don’t use the time between
sets to let your mind wander or
engage in conversations that
will distract you. Use the time to
refocus yourself so you can lift
the most weight with the best
execution possible on your next
set. Conversations with friends
that can easily wait until after
your workout will become few
and far between.
You are in control of the quality of your training sessions.
Seize the opportunity to create
your own destiny. Great workouts don’t just happen. They
are achieved through careful
planning and the commitment
to follow through on those ambitious plans.
One workout at a time, one
week of training at a time and
one month of high-quality workouts at a time will lead to more
success in your training efforts.
Model: Lee Haney
10 Stupid Things Bodybuilders Do
7) Their Intensity
Plummets Because
Their Workouts Are
Too Long
Many bodybuilders mistakenly
believe that doing more exercises
and sets makes them better. They
misguidedly see themselves as
training warriors who go above and
beyond the call of duty in order
to achieve their goals. They think
they’re working much harder than
the average person because they’re
willing to in put more time at the
gym.
More isn’t better—not when it
comes to training. Don’t confuse
time spent in the gym or volume of
work with progress. That’s one of the
toughest things for many people to
understand.
You’ll move from exercise to exercise smoothly and efficiently when
you establish a time frame for your
To borrow a phrase from former Mr. Olympia Lee Haney, you
want to stimulate the muscles when you’re in the gym, not
annihilate them. And you can stimulate them quite effectively in
an hour or less.
work. It will be easier to focus when
you have only so much time. Make a
game out of meeting the time goal.
That’s another simple way to set the
stage for a more productive training
session.
As I suggested in item 6, your
weight workouts should last no
longer than one hour—and I’m
being liberal with that time frame. I
believe you can be extremely effective in far less time, but, because I
know it’s such a challenge for most
of us to shorten our workouts and
still feel confident that we’re doing
enough to meet our goals, I’ll make
the cutoff point one hour.
Regardless of how you try to rationalize it, longer training sessions are
not more productive. You must force
yourself to become more efficient.
To borrow a phrase from former
Mr. Olympia Lee Haney, you want
to stimulate the muscles when
you’re in the gym, not annihilate
them. And you can stimulate them
quite effectively in an hour or less.
In fact, the more time you spend
in the gym, the more your concentration wanes—and the less effective you become physically.
Let me explain why it’s not
efficient to do four sets of every
exercise. Let’s say you plan on
doing four sets of a particular
exercise and get in at least eight
repetitions per set. On the first
set you get eight reps—exactly as
you planned. On the second set
you usually get all eight reps, and
Skip’s Mental-Mind-set Musts
1) Strive to be the very best version of you possible—regardless of
your genetic limitations. We have what we have. Our job is to make
the most out of what we ve been given. Appreciate what you do have
and don t get overly concerned with what you don t.
2) Always expect the best from your efforts—but don t get
discouraged if you don t see the results you want as soon as you want.
Be patient. Be persistent.
3) Open your mind to new and different strategies. If you do what
you ve always done in the past, you ll produce the same results as
you re currently getting.
4) If you choose to train without steroids or other drugs, that s
awesome. Focus on how you can be the most productive with your
efforts while taking that route. Don t waste your time thinking about
how much easier people who use drugs have it than you do. You don t
need that distraction.
5) Spend your time talking with people who have built good
physiques, demonstrate admirable work ethics and exude a positive
attitude. Do everything you can to avoid people who have a negative
attitude.
6) Focus on your training while you re in the gym. Don t use the time
between sets to let your mind wander or engage in conversations that
will distract you.
7) Set a time limit for your workout. Your weight-training sessions
should last no longer than one hour. More isn t better—not when it
comes to training.
8) Create a series of actions that you can do every day to get you
closer to the body you want. Allow yourself to enjoy every step of your
journey rather than waiting until you achieve your ultimate goal to
feel happy about it.
9) Appreciate the progress you re making. Taking the time to assess
your training and eating habits on a weekly basis can help you
maintain the right perspective.
10) Give yourself enough time to evaluate the effectiveness of your
workout and nutritional programs. Let the power of momentum work
for you. Don t keep stopping and starting or switching from one plan
to another without giving each one the time and effort it takes to
produce results.
on the third you tend to squeak out
all eight as well. Getting all of those
reps during the third set may be a
bit more challenging than the first
two sets, but, despite the difficulty,
you’re mentally tough and manage
to meet your rep-range goal. If you
do happen to get any more than
eight reps during any of those first
three sets, you probably won’t get
many more than one or two.
That’s how I would describe my
training performance in the past.
No matter what exercise I was doing
or which bodypart I was training, it
always seemed to work out that way.
Hasn’t that been true in your case
as well?
Isn’t it strange, though, that,
when you know you only have one
set of an exercise remaining, your
mind-set changes, and you can
mysteriously muster up incredible
strength to produce three, four or
even five reps more than your goal
for an amazing total of 13! All of a
sudden you become a training warrior. You’re transformed into a determined, machinelike madman!
If you think about it, shouldn’t your
performance work out just the opposite? If you were really giving your all
the way you thought you were during the first three sets, you wouldn’t
have nearly enough energy left to
meet—much less exceed—eight
reps during the last set. You simply
wouldn’t have that much physical
strength left. If you were truly training with the utmost intensity, you
would have gotten about 12 repetitions on the first set, around 10
reps on the second, eight or nine
on the third and maybe only about
six on the fourth.
I urge you to eliminate lessthan-intense sets—and start
training like a warrior on every
set—during your entire workout.
To do that, you must ignite a
sense of urgency. Planning to do
only one, two or sometimes three
sets creates that sense of urgency
you need.
Using fewer sets, aiming for
fewer reps during those sets,
training only one bodypart per
training session and training
each bodypart less frequently will
cause you to spend less time in
the gym. It will be much easier
to keep your focus and intensity
high when you’re required to do it
for shorter periods of time.
The cornerstone of any effective training strategy is the
amount of intensity that’s put into
it. Whatever training routine or
philosophy you decide to follow,
you must train with intensity, or
your efforts will produce results
that are mediocre at best.
Training with high intensity
can be described as giving 100
percent of your mind, body and
soul to every repetition of every
set of every exercise during every
workout. It means pounding the
weights so hard that every set
ends in absolute failure. In other
words, you have absolutely nothing in reserve when the set is
completed. Training with intensity is just as much a mental feat
as it is a physical one.
When you train with this type
of passion and enthusiasm, constant improvement in your physique is inevitable—and there’s
no question that you’ll be more
productive in your bodybuilding
efforts than those who do not.
The higher your intensity level
becomes, the better you’ll be at
initiating the muscle-building
process.
8) They Are Consumed
With Their Desired
Outcome Rather Than
With the Individual
Actions That Will
Produce the Outcome
Some trainees don’t allow themselves to be happy or even satisfied
until they achieve their ultimate
goal. Unless they’ve packed on all
20 pounds of muscle they set out
to gain or dumped all 10 pounds of
fat they planned to lose, they aren’t
happy. That often ruins their bodybuilding journeys.
Instead of being results oriented,
you need to become action oriented. You need to create a series of
actions that you can do every day
to get you closer to the body you
want. Then, you must get yourself
to follow through with those actions
consistently.
Know exactly what you want
to gain from your training efforts.
Small improvements—done consistently over time—will
produce massive results. If you adopt this way of thinking, it
will empower you through the more challenging times of your
bodybuilding journey.
Make sure that you create a longterm vision of exactly what you want
to accomplish.
Also determine the time frame
in which you expect to do it. With a
clearly defined objective and deadline in mind, you can then determine the specific actions you’ll need
to execute every day to get you to
your ultimate goal.
When you follow through with
your plan on a consistent basis,
these tasks will become habits. You
won’t even need to think about
doing them.
What’s more, after executing
these daily actions, you’ll be able
to put your head on your pillow at
night with a feeling of victory. You
can experience that feeling of victory every single day—not only when
you finally achieve the big, ultimate
goal.
Small improvements—done consistently over time—will produce
massive results. If you adopt this
way of thinking, it will empower you
through the more challenging times
of your bodybuilding journey.
9) They Don’t
Appreciate the
Progress They’re
Making
Hitting a plateau—that is, having
your training progress come to a
screeching halt—is one of the most
frustrating events a person can experience. No (continued on page 246)
Models: Rune and Andre Nielsen
If you’re training with regularity and intensity and supporting
that training with sound nutritional practices, you can rest
assured that your gains aren’t really stagnant.
(continued from page 240) one on this
planet wants to work extremely hard
at something and not show signs
of improvement. That’s especially
true when it comes to adhering to a
demanding bodybuilding lifestyle.
The mounting frustration will
eventually overwhelm you. That’s
the primary reason people stop
training altogether. Unfortunately,
too many people quit due to the
frustration caused by a merely perceived lack of progress. Thanks to
that disempowering perception,
they can only muster a halfhearted
effort at best—as a way of protecting
themselves from experiencing the
pain. The situation occurs even if
they don’t realize what’s happening.
Think about your situation for a
moment. If you are consistently putting forth your best effort, can your
progress ever really stop? If you’re
training with regularity and intensity and supporting that training with
sound nutritional practices, you can
rest assured that your gains aren’t
really stagnant—regardless of what
you think. Often, you’re improving
even when you don’t think you are.
One of my favorite illustrations
of that phenomenon comes from
motivational speaker Zig Ziglar. In
his story “Primin’ the Pump,” Ziglar
talks about a man who goes to an
old-fashioned well to pump some
drinking water. The man pumps the
lever over and over again and seemingly makes no progress whatsoever.
The fact is, the man is indeed
making progress; it just isn’t visible
to him at the time. Deep underground, his pumping is creating
suction, which is slowly siphoning
the water to the surface. If he gets
discouraged and stops pumping,
the water will fall again—and he’ll
have to start all over.
If he’s persistent, however, the
man will eventually see results
from his efforts and enjoy a surging
flow. At that point he won’t need to
pump as hard because the pump
only needs a little force to keep the
water coming.
Sometimes it feels as though
you’re putting 10 times more effort
into your training than you seem to
be getting back in improvements.
But, if you are persistent, you will
enjoy the benefits of the bodybuilding lifestyle that could be 10 times
greater than the effort you invest—
just like the man who was primin’
the pump. You just never know for
Model: Skip La Cour
sure—so be persistent.
Appreciate what you’ve already
accomplished. Look back for a
moment. Haven’t you really accomplished a lot more than you
thought? Aren’t you a lot farther
along than you were a year ago
today? Wouldn’t it be great to look
back in another year and see the
continual progress you have made?
What if you wasted an entire year
simply because you lost your motivation and strayed away from your
plan? Wouldn’t that wasted time
feel much worse than if you simply
remained committed and worked
through the times of low motivation?
The chances are pretty good that
you’ve worked through times like
that before. There’s no reason why
you won’t successfully pull through
them again.
It’s a real tragedy when someone
who’s winning at his or her training
efforts mistakenly believes he or
she is losing. A way to prevent that
from happening is to find effective
ways to track and monitor your
efforts. Assessing your training and
eating habits every week can help
you maintain the right perspective.
More often than not, you’ll realize
that you’re doing much better than
you thought you were.
Appreciate what you’ve already accomplished. Look back for a
moment. Haven’t you really accomplished a lot more than you
thought? Aren’t you a lot farther along than you were a year ago?
bodybuilding goals, such as having
a good day of training and eating
properly. Those victories give us
great feelings, don’t they? No matter how great that single event or
day may be, however, one training
session or one day of outstanding
habits alone won’t create an out-
standing physique.
When you can turn that one great
day into a great week, that great
week into a great month and string
together a series of great months,
you’ll begin to create the powerful
force known as momentum. When
you can do that, you’ll find that the
TAP INTO YOUR
BODY’S POTENTIAL
Demand
Real Science.
Get Real
Results.™
10) They Constantly
Stop and Start—or
Switch From One Plan
to Another
Momentum is a powerful force
you can use when striving for your
bodybuilding goals. Most people
never have the chance to experience its tremendous benefits.
Unfortunately, they give up hope,
focus and discipline by starting and
stopping, starting and stopping and
starting and stopping again. Sure,
they’ll eventually regenerate their
enthusiasm and optimism and start
again—only to stop when they perceive their challenges as being too
difficult to overcome. They’re doing
a lot of work—without seeing the results they mistakenly believe should
match their efforts.
At one time or another we’ve
all accomplished our short-term
www.muscle-link.com
Visit for the weekly super special!
Model: Jimmy Mentis
Another way people stop and start in their training is by
switching routines too frequently. You must stick with a workout
plan long enough to see results.
task of constructing an admirable
body will suddenly seem easier, and
the tasks that once seemed difficult
to get yourself to do will become
amazingly easy.
Another way people stop and
start in their training is by switching routines too frequently. You
must stick with a workout plan long
enough to see results. Often, results
don’t come as quickly as we’d like,
so it’s important to be patient. Don’t
make the mistake of bouncing from
one program to another without
giving any of them a concerted effort first. Generally, three months is
long enough to properly evaluate a
program’s effectiveness. If you come
across an interesting routine before
you’ve completed three months on
your current program, do yourself a
favor and save it until later.
Likewise, give your nutritional
program enough time to properly
determine its effectiveness. The
way you eat will have a tremendous
effect on your results, but it will take
time for that nutritional plan to produce results. A couple of months of
dedicated adherence should be long
enough to assess the effectiveness of
an eating plan.
Editor’s note: Visit Skip La Cour’s
Web site at www.SkipLaCour
.com. Take your physique to the
next level by ordering his new DVD
“Packing On Muscle! Max-OT Style.”
The two-disc four-hour training,
instructional and motivational DVD
includes a complete week of training (explained in great detail and
jam-packed with perceptive insights), exercises not included in the
training week, instruction and video
footage of cardiovascular training,
inspirational training segments,
unique tips for taking your physique
to the next level, contest footage
and a one-hour nutrition seminar. If
you want to pack on slabs of muscle
in the shortest time, this DVD is
for you. It’s only $49.99 (plus $8.50
for shipping and handling—total
$58.49; international orders add
$17.50 for shipping and handling—
total $67.49). Order online at www
.SkipLaCour.com. For credit card
orders call (800) 655-0986. Or send
check or money order to Skip La
Cour, 712 Bancroft Road #259, Walnut Creek, CA 94598. IM
&
Team Titus Takes the ʼ06 FitExpoʼs
Fittest Couple Competition
by David Young • Photography by Michael Neveux
Around November of last year Zac
and Lana Titus picked up a flyer
about the ’06 FitExpo, which was
being held in mid-February in Pasadena, California. They put it aside
but came across it a few months
later and decided to check out the
Web site. They noticed the fittest
couple contest and thought, We
would get to be onstage together.
Wed been training together for
months, Zac said, and to be onstage together and show what we ve
worked so hard for seemed only
natural. We were excited, to say the
least. So we made arrangements to
attend and compete.
Winning, however, seemed only
like a dream,” Lana recalled. A
dream that came true!”
We re getting ahead of ourselves,
so let s rewind.
DY: Let’s start with your basic
stats. How old are you, and what’s
your height and weight?
ZT: I’m 27 years old, 5’11” and 178.
LT: I’m 24 years old, 5’4” and 123.
DY: How long have you been training?
ZT: I have been training seriously
for about six years.
LT: I have always tried to stay in
shape, but eight months ago I became really serious about getting in
competition condition.
DY: Were you involved in athletics
growing up?
LT: We have both been very athletic
since an early age.
ZT: I was active in about every
sport I could find. I began gymnastics
at four years old. After that I went
on to wrestling, baseball and soccer,
climbing and in-line skating. After high
school I took my soccer skills to college
football and became a kicker for four
years. We won two national titles with
the NAIA division at Carroll College.
LT: I started gymnastics at three
years old, stayed with it and became
competitive until the age of nine and
then went on to figure skating. I loved
the freedom of the ice as well as the
competition.
DY: What got you interested in
bodybuilding and fitness competition?
ZT: I wanted to better myself both
inside and out. Six years ago I saw a
sign at my gym, and some of the trainers encouraged me to enter a body
building competition. I did, and I have
been hooked ever since.
Zac &
“We just keep
it healthy yearround. Itʼs a
lifestyle for us.”
After a few shows I noticed fitness
modeling, which was just getting
started. I decided that my physique
might be a better fit for that type of
competition and decided to enter a
show. I ended up getting second at
my first show, so I went on to compete further.
LT: I was just watching Zac on the
sidelines. I was intrigued but not
sure I had the discipline required—
especially with the diet—to compete. In March of 2004 we became
pregnant, and I said, After the baby
comes, I will compete. Zac held
me to my word. When our daughter
was six months old, I began training seriously for my first show. In
October 2005 we both competed at
the California Championships, our
daughter was 10 months old, and I
ended up placing in first!
After that we went on to Hollywood for Musclemanias Model
America. Zac placed third out of 55
guys, and I made top 10 out of 45
women.
DY: What do you do for a living?
ZT: We manage a bed-and-breakfast in Helena, Montana.
DY: Do you have any other hobbies?
ZT: I love outdoor activities, like
hiking, biking, snowboarding, rock
climbing.
LT: I love the outdoors as well,
and I like most of the same sports
as Zac—but on a much less extreme
level.
DY: What keeps you motivated to
train and diet?
LT: I love how it feels and looks,
bettering ourselves and inspiring
others to do so as well. That s motivating!
DY: What’s your diet strategy—
on-season and off?
ZT: We just keep it healthy year
round. It s a lifestyle for us. We get
more strict with our diets when
we re competing, but we always eat
well.
DY: Do you have a cheat day?
ZT: Well, after a show you can be
sure to see us scarfing down some
pizza and ice cream!
DY: Can you give me a sample of
your eating for a day?
LT: Sure!
Meal 1: 1 cup oatmeal, fruit, 4 egg
whites
whites
Meal 3: Protein shake
Meal 4: 2 skinless chicken breasts,
1 cup broccoli
Meal 5: Turkey burger, bell pepper, 1/2 cup blueberries
Meal 6: 1/4 cup almonds, buffalo
steak, 1 cup carrots
more info. We are also both working
as fitness models and getting work
in L.A. and Miami.
DY: What are your favorite supplements?
“I love how [being
in shape] feels and
looks, bettering
ourselves and
inspiring others to do
so as well.”
ZT: Mine is:
whites
Meal 2: Whole-wheat toast with
almond butter, protein shake
Meal 3: Chicken breast, broccoli,
brown rice
Meal 4: Elk burger, veggies
Meal 5: Protein shake, fruit, flaxseed oil
Meal 6: Buffalo steak, salad, sweet
potato
LT: We put some variations in our
meals, but this is pretty standard.
Zac tends to eat more just because
he is bigger.
DY: It looks like it’s working! Tell
me your proudest achievement.
LT: I think our daughter is the
biggest one. She is our pride and joy;
she makes our lives worth living. If
you need a smile, you just have to
look at her. She is such a fun-loving
individual who loves life and every
one in it, and she is only 15 months
old. The fact that we created her is
an amazing achievement.
DY: Are there any other exciting
things you re working on?
ZT: We are working on creating
some fitness retreats to go along
with our bed-and-breakfast. We
want to specialize in helping people,
not only with exercise but also with
the diet to go along with it, which
is so important. We want to have
people stay with us for at least three
days and help them learn how to
live healthier lives and show them
things they can do at their own
homes. Check out our Web site
www.ZacAndLanaTitus.com for
ZT: Whey protein
for sure. I use L-glutamine, creatine,
whey protein, acetyl-L-carnitine and
alpha lipoic acid. I
also use flaxseed oil.
LT: I use Lean
System 7 when I’m
getting ready for a
show to help me cut
down.
Fittest Couple Training
Monday: Legs
Superset
Squats
4 x 6-10
Leg extensions
4 x 10-15
Superset
Stiff-legged deadlifts 4 x 6-10
Wide leg presses
or leg curls
4 x 10-15
Calf raises
4-6 x 8-12
“If you want
DY: How do you
something
overcome training
badly
plateaus?
ZT: We try to con- enough, you
stantly switch things can and will
up. We do outdoor
succeed.”
activities as well as
weights at the gym.
We are always try
ing to learn more
from books and
magazines and expos. You can never
know it all. We mix up our muscle
pairings as well as rep schemes, and
we use supersets and drop sets to
add variation.
DY: How did you find what works
for you?
ZT: Trial and error. You have to
figure out what works for your body
type and what you are trying to
achieve. We set forth our individual
goals and set out to find a routine
that built full muscles while maintaining flexibility and definition.
DY: What techniques do you use
to keep motivated?
LT: Training together is a big part
of it. If Zac is slacking on a rep or
set, I will give him good verbal inspiration.
DY: You mean like, You wuss!”?
I imagine the whip and paddle in
your gym bag come in handy at
this point too, right?
LT: Absolutely! But sometimes we
switch and he gets to do the whipping! [All laugh] Seriously, having
a partner can be a really important
part of working out because you
don t want to let the other one
down.
DY: What are your goals regarding competition?
LT: We just want to keep bettering
ourselves and others.
ZT: I hope to maintain a healthy,
fit lifestyle so that I can lead by example and help motivate others to
take care of themselves. As for fitness
modeling, we hope that our selfdiscipline and family support will
help us continue to compete and get
work in this field.
DY: What mental or visual principles to you use?
ZT: The mind/body connection
is really important for me, and I
believe in it very strongly. By visualizing the rep and the completed set,
I prepare my mind and body for the
rep at hand.
DY: What is your life philosophy?
LT: We both learned at an early
age that life is short. We have both
lost people very close to us, so we re
ally value life and the loved ones that
we share it with.
ZT: We just try to live life to the
fullest each day.
DY: What strategies did you learn
for bodybuilding and fitness success that you re able to carry into
your life and career?
ZT: Hard work and dedication. If
you want something badly enough,
you can and will succeed.
LT: I usually go into everything
full throttle, no holding back. This
carries over from work to fitness.
DY: I like the full-throttle anal-
Tuesday: Chest
Superset
Cable flyes
4 x 8-10
Bench presses
4 x 6-10
Superset
Incline dumbbell
flyes
3 x10-15
Decline dumbbell
presses
3 x 10-15
Cable flyes or
crossovers
3 x failure
Wednesday: Cardio, abs and
obliques
Thursday: Shoulders
Superset
Cable laterals
4 x 6-10
Dumbbell presses 4 x 6-10
Bent-over lateral
raises
3 x 10-15
Superset
Cable raises
3 x 10-15
Reverse pec deck 3 x 10-15
Iron crosses
2 x 30 seconds
Friday: Back
Bent-over barbell rows 4 x 6-10
Superset
Dumbbell rows
3 x 10-15
Pullups
3 x 10-15
Superset
Pulldowns
3 x 10-15
Cable rows
3 x 10-15
Saturday: Cardio, abs and
obliques
Sunday: Arms
Superset
Dumbbell curls
3 x 8-10
Overhead triceps
extensions
3 x 10
Superset
EZ-curl bar curls
3 x 6-10
Skull crushers
3 x 6-10
Superset
Cable pressdowns 3 x 10-15
Cable curls
3 x 10-15
“Training together is a big part of
how we stay motivated.”
cardio at the gym. I do snowboarding in the winter and mountain
biking in the summer. If I do cardio
at the gym, it s interval training; for
example, run two laps, sprint two,
walk one.
LT: I do three to five days of car
dio, depending on how busy we are
at the lodge. I will cycle at 6 a.m. and
then go back in the evening and do
a class. I do 45 minutes to an hour a
session.
DY: When you re hitting the
weights, what cadence, or speed of
movement, do you use?
LT: On the negative we use a
three count, and on the contraction
we use a two count—until we get to
a burn-out set. Then it s more like
one and one. We focus on the slow
stretch of the muscle, and when we
warm up, the reps may be as slow as
four down and two up.
DY: What about rest periods?
ZT: We take one to 1 1/2 minutes
after sets of six to 10 reps and only
30 seconds for sets of 10 to 15 reps.
Once the heart rate increases, we
even like to jump rope or do jumping jacks between sets. Fun stuff!
ogy. I use that myself all the time.
You have to walk out of the gym
knowing that you left it all out on
the table. What’s your training
philosophy?
ZT: We train hard every time we
go to the gym, but it s also important
to us that we have fun with it. That s
why we started doing the competitions—so the workouts would be
fun and serve another purpose.
DY: What do you do when you
switch to contest mode?
ZT: The biggest change is that we
tighten our diets, but we also add
more cardio.
LT: I try to get up and cycle at 6
a.m. three days a week in addition
to my normal routine. Zac thinks
this is crazy!
DY: He gets no argument from
me! That’s an ungodly hour.
ZT: I add interval training into my
routine, no more than 20 minutes
a session. Then the day of the show
we wake up, and it s all focus.
DY: How many weeks out do you
start your preparation?
LT: For my first show I had to diet
for 16 weeks because I had a lot of
baby weight to get rid of. But now
that I am maintaining my weight, I
only need about four weeks of hard
dieting.
ZT: I only need about three weeks
because I eat well year-round.
DY: I hate you! Three whole
weeks. And your training gets
more intense?
ZT: When we know that we have
to get ready for a show or a shoot,
we add more supersets and drop
sets. We try to maintain strict form
so when it comes to forced reps,
we only add a few partner-assisted
ones.
DY: What’s your cardio program?
ZT: I really don t do that much
DY: What do think are the key
elements of training, nutrition,
supplementation and cardio that
lead to building a great body?
ZT: Nutrition, nutrition, nutrition. So many times people will tell
us stuff like, we can work out for
hours, but we can t change our eating habits. You have to; there s no
way around it. There are very few
people who can eat pizza and ice
cream every day and go to the gym
and lose weight; it just doesn t work.
You have to have a good balance.
Being educated on food is the biggest problem for people. There are a
lot of misconceptions out there.
When we work out, we really work
out—none of this sitting around and
B.S. with your friends. This is one of
my complaints: When you see that
I’m sweating and pushing myself,
why the hell would you start asking
me questions about training? Let
me finish my routine and then ask
me. I go to the gym to kick my own
ass. Oh, and please don t bring your
cell phone to the gym. Respect your
selves and those around you. You
cannot expect to make any gains if
The Second Annual Subway
Fittest Couple Competition
The contest was held at IRON
MAN s FitExpo in Pasadena, California, on February 18, 2006. It was
open to amateur contestants 18
years of age or older who were not
professional models, bodybuilders or
figure competitors. The couples were
evaluated for stage presence, fit-andtoned physiques and overall couple
chemistry.
The distinguished panel of judges
included last year s winners, Mike and
Holly Semanoff; IM art director Terry
Bratcher; and fitness-industry star—
and IM cover model—Brenda Kelly.
The top-10 finalists were judged on
the main stage in front of more than
700 enthusiastic FitExpo attendees.
There s something pure and
wonderful about this competition,
Bratcher said. It showcases the many
positive aspects of a fitness lifestyle,
and it s not just for genetically gifted
athletes. Anyone who trains can enter
and do well.
When all of the posing and comparing was done, one couple stood
out from the rest. Zac and Lana Titus
of Helena, Montana, were crowned
the Fittest Couple and received a
$2,500 cash prize as well as a photo
shoot with famed physique photographer Michael Neveux, which led to
this feature.
As an added bonus, Zac also re
ceived a modeling contract with the
Silver Agency in New York after IRON
MAN photographer Bill Comstock
sent the agency’s
owner pictures from
the contest.
At press time
IM was in discussion with Subway’s
Southern California
Marketing Co-op to
expand the scope of
the Fittest Couple
competition for 2007. For more infor
mation, go to www.FittestCouple.com
or www.IronManMagazine.com.
“Our daughter is our
pride and joy. She
makes life worth living.”
you re not putting forth the effort.
DY: How does bodybuilding affect your relationship?
ZT: It has really brought us together; it s something that we do
together every day. When we are
working out together, we are pushing each other to our limits and
building more trust as we do so.
LT: It has really helped us connect on another level. Now that I am
competing too, I can really appreciate what Zac was going through
before. I feel bad for eating some of
the things I did in front of him when
he was dieting, and I respect what
he went through on a whole other
level now.
DY: Do you have any role models?
LT: Our parents have always been
very active in leading a healthy
lifestyle, so they became our role
models at an early age.
LT: The continual dieting for
shows and shoots. Some friends of
mine only do one or two shows a
year, and then they get fat in the offseason. We are lean year-round.
DY: What’s the best thing about
being a bodybuilder?
ZT: The confidence in your body
and the satisfaction of knowing that
you pushed yourself harder today
than yesterday.
Editor s note: Zac and Lana Titus
Web site is www
.ZacAndLanaTitus.com. They are
also sponsored by www
.MontanaBuffalo.com. IM
DY: What’s the toughest thing
about bodybuilding?
Jerry Brainum’s
Bodybuilding Pharmacology
more stable, but even then, any free testosterone derived
from such supplements had to deal with aromatase.
Estrogen in men is considered a problem for bodybuilding purposes because when the hormone rises to above
normal levels, it produces a number of undesirable effects,
including water retention and an increase in subcutaneous fat, a combination that effectively obscures muscular
definition. Even worse, excess estrogen in men interacts
with estrogen receptors in the chest area to produce gySeveral types of anabolic steroid drugs, including testosnecomastia, or male breast-tissue formation. Nodules just
terone, can convert into estrogen. That occurs whenever a
under the nipple are particularly evident when the arms
steroid encounters the enzyme aromatase, which converts
are raised. Gyno, or the more sexist term “bitch tits,” is
androgens into estrogens. Aromatase exists all over the
considered a certain sign of anabolic steroid usage. The
body—in muscles, brain and bodyfat. When free, or uncure is to either get off the steroids that caused it or use
bound, testosterone meets aromatase, the test is rapidly
drugs that block or inhibit estrogen function.
converted into estradiol, the most potent form of estrogen.
In years past a popular drug for that purpose was
Aromatase converts weaker androgens, usually secreted
tamoxifen citrate, better known by its trade name Nolvafrom the adrenal gland, such as androstenedione, into
dex. Nolvadex is structurally similar to estrogen and can
weaker forms of estrogen, such as estrone.
block estrogen receptors, thereby preventing estrogenic
That, in fact, was a major problem with the initial generactivity. It wasn’t designed for bodybuilding use but for
ations of pro-hormone supplements. They were supposed
treating estrogen-sensitive breast cancer, particularly in
to convert directly into testosterone, making them superiolder women.
or to the old standby, DHEA. In reality, most of them conWhat many bodybuilders didn’t realize—and still
verted more reliably into estrogen. Later versions proved
don’t—is that Nolvadex is both an antagonist and agonist
of estrogen. That means it can have
a paradoxical effect, acting more like
an active estrogen than an estrogen
Elevated estrogen levels
blocker, especially when it’s taken in
smother testosterone,
either too large a dose or for too long
leading to muscle
a time. In addition, Nolvadex blocks at
building difficulties.
least two enzymes that testes require
for testosterone synthesis. Clearly, it
wasn’t ideal for dealing with excess
estrogen in men.
Enter the aromatase-inhibiting
drugs. They deal with estrogen in a
different way. They don’t just block
estrogen receptors; they knock out
the aromatase enzyme that produces
estrogen from androgens. The effect
results in a dramatically reduced level
of estrogen in the body. Since 0.8 percent of testosterone is converted daily
into estrogen in any man, just using
an aromatase-inhibiting drug alone
will lead to elevated T levels.
In fact, various aromatase inhibitors, such as anastrozole, letrozole
and examestane, are being evaluated
for use in treating hypogonadism,
or low testosterone levels, in men.
Initial studies show that these drugs
can elevate testosterone to a normal
range without the possible side effects
linked to using actual testosterone.
The body may, however, require some
estrogen for sperm production and
cardiovascular protection, since estrogen boosts nitric acid production in
blood vessels and helps maintain vital
high-density-lipoprotein levels.
With the advent of potent aromatase-inhibiting drugs, it seemed that
Neveux
Block That
Estrogen Kick
Neveux
the estrogen problem had finally been effectively
solved in men who chose to use certain types of
anabolic steroids.
Or had it?
According to a recent study, even if you effectively
inhibit estrogen synthesis through aromatase-inhibiting drugs, you can still get estrogenic effects from
other sources.1 Anything that can positively interact
with estrogen cell receptors can produce estrogenic
side effects, even if the substance in question isn’t a
direct estrogen.
The study examined two types of isolated cells,
one from breast cancer cells, the other from noncancerous cells. According to the authors, the
estrogen cell receptor can be activated by certain
androgens. One is androstane-3-beta, 17-beta diol
(3BD), a nonaromatizable steroid derived from
dihydrotestosterone. DHT itself is converted from
testosterone by way of the 5-alpha reductase enzyme, which, like aromatase, is present throughout
the body in such tissues as skin, liver, brain and
prostate.
DHT is often considered to be testosterone’s evil
twin. It earned its notorious reputation because
it’s linked to the onset of such steroid side effects
as male-pattern baldness, acne and prostate gland
enlargement. The interesting aspect of this is that
DHT is testosterone’s evil
anabolic steroids that are based on the DHT structwin. It’s linked to baldness,
ture are immune to the effects of aromatase and
acne and prostate gland
thus cannot be converted into estrogen.
Yet the new study shows that at least one DHTderived androgen can interact with estrogen recepmetabolites of DHT that can interact with the estrogen
tors to produce effects similar to those linked with
receptors. Drugs in this class, or 5-alpha reductase inhibian excessive level of estrogen itself. The information, howtors, include finasteride, sold as Proscar and Propecia, and
ever, is still theoretical because it’s unknown whether the
dutasteride, sold as Avodart. They treat prostate problems,
concentration of 3BD used in the isolated-cell study can
and Propecia is marketed to treat male-pattern baldness.
be produced in an intact human body. On the other hand,
Many bodybuilders and other athletes are already using
the authors note that the level of the estrogen-mimicking
them to prevent problems associated with high DHT levsteroids depends on the level of testosterone in the body,
els, such as baldness, acne and prostate problems. They
may also be useful for preventing estrogenic effects.
At least one DHT-derived
androgen can interact
with estrogen receptors
to produce effects
similar to those linked
with an excessive level
of estrogen itself.
the activity of 5-alpha reductase and the metabolic level
of the steroids. All of those factors are high in athletes who
use anabolic steroids.
The solution to this problem is clear. Using a drug that
inhibits the 5-alpha reductase enzyme would prevent the
synthesis of DHT from testosterone and the downstream
Did Clenbuterol Cause
This Heart Attack?
Clenbuterol remains a popular drug with many athletes,
who believe that it provides both anabolic and fat-burning effects. Clenbuterol is a beta-2 agonist mainly used to
treat asthma. It was never approved for human use in the
United States by the Food and Drug Administration but
is available under various brand names in several countries, including Mexico. Drug companies have no interest
in marketing clenbuterol in the USA because it lasts far
longer in the body than other beta-2 agonist drugs, and its
extended half-life, as it’s called, increases the chances of
side effects.
Since clenbuterol is based on epinephrine, it has side
effects similar to those of epinephrine, including rapid
heartbeat, nervousness, tremors, headache, muscle pain
and gastrointestinal problems. In animals it provides a
repartitioning effect, in that lean muscle mass increases
while bodyfat is substantially lowered. That occurs in many
Jerry Brainum’s
Bodybuilding Pharmacology
Some animal studies show that clenbuterol can destroy muscle and the
heart is your most important one, despite what some bodybuilders believe.
animal species and explains why the
drug proved attractive for athletic
purposes. Some cases of clenbuteroltainted meat have led to side-effect
outbreaks in Europe, leading in turn
to a European ban on clenbuterol for
livestock purposes.
What many athletes didn’t consider, however, was that the doses
of clenbuterol used in animal studies were far higher than could be
tolerated by any human. The drug
does provide potent—though fleeting—thermogenic effects, which is
why it’s considered a “cutting” drug
in bodybuilding. The adrenergic cell
receptors that clenbuterol interacts
with, however, are exquisitely sensitive and tend to close down within a
short time, often with as little as two
weeks of continuous use.
Athletes work around the considerable downregulation by taking it on
a two-days-on/two-days-off pattern,
which extends the usage time. Another technique involves using ketotifen
(Zaditen), an antihistamine that can
maintain the potency of adrenergic
cell receptors, thereby extending the
usefulness of clenbuterol.
Another thing to consider about
clenbuterol is that several recent
studies have confirmed that it produces severe toxic effects in muscle.
In fact, some animal studies show
that the drug appears to destroy
muscle. The toxic effects are especially apparent in heart muscle.
According to a recent case study, in
some people the effect may be potent
enough to lead to a heart attack in an
otherwise healthy person.2 Published
reports have linked a combination
of clenbuterol and anabolic steroids
to a bodybuilder’s heart attack. The
26-year-old man in that case had
switched to using clenbuterol after
getting off a steroid cycle. His heart
attack was attributed to a spasm of
his coronary arteries.
In the newly reported case, the
subject was a 17-year-old bodybuilder who claimed that he used no
anabolic steroids or other drugs with
the exception of 20 milligrams a day
of clenbuterol, which he took on a
two-days-on/two-days-off protocol.
That’s not considered a high dose or
frequency. Despite that, he turned up
at a clinic complaining of acute chest
pains. Examination showed that he
had a fast heart rate and an elevated
level of homocysteine, an amino acid
by-product linked to cardiovascular
disease. Most of his other tests were
normal, although certain elevated enzyme levels pointed to heart damage.
His diagnosis was that of a clenbuterol-induced coronary artery
spasm, with possible blood clot in
the left anterior descending coronary
artery, the most common area of
blood clots leading to heart attacks.
The case was complicated, however,
because the subject had two risk factors linked to the onset of coronary
artery spasms—elevated homocysteine levels and increased clotting
elements in the blood. Homocysteine
is easily controlled in most cases by
taking three nutrients: folic acid, and
vitamins B6 and B12. The clotting can
be controlled by small daily doses of
aspirin, which he was given.
The question, then, is whether
the heart attack was caused by clenbuterol or his other risk factors.
Most likely it was a combination.
The adrenergic effect of clenbuterol
may have pushed him over the edge.
One thing is certain, however: Clenbuterol, even in small amounts, exerts
toxic effects on heart muscle tissue. It
could cause serious heart problems
in anyone. Combining clenbuterol
with other thermogenic drugs, such
as thyroid hormone, compounds the
effect because TH in large doses also
stresses the heart. The combination of
the two could prove deadly.
In fact, clenbuterol and TH use are
likely suspects in the death of a professional bodybuilder several years
ago. This man was using large doses
of TH and an injectable form of clenbuterol. He was also dehydrated and
probably suffering an electrolyte, or
mineral, imbalance. With that many
things against him, it wasn’t surprising that he succumbed to a heart
attack.
References
1 Ishikawa, T., et al. (2006). Aromatase-independent testosterone
conversion into estrogenic steroids is
inhibited by 5-alpha reductase inhibitor. J Steroid Biochem Molecul Biol.
98:133-138.
2 Kierzkowska, B., et al. (2005).
Myocardial infarction in a 17-year-old
bodybuilder using clenbuterol. Circulation Journal. 69:1144-1146. IM
Eric Broser’s
If you find something on the Web that IM readers should know about, send the URL to Eric at [email protected].
>SandowMuseum.com
Many of you probably have no clue who Eugene
Sandow was, but if you’ve ever heard a modernday bodybuilder speak of hoping to “one day win a
Sandow,” you already have an idea of how much the
man affected the sport of bodybuilding. You see, the
Sandow trophy is handed only to the man who has
won the most coveted title in bodybuilding—Mr.
Olympia. Born in 1867, Eugene Sandow was perhaps
the world’s first true bodybuilder, and at www
.SandowMuseum.com you can learn all about this
pioneer of our sport. Dozens of fascinating articles
describe his colorful life, mysterious death, unique
training methods and how it came about that a statue created in his image now represents bodybuilding’s ultimate reward. Perhaps the most interesting—and eye-opening—section of the site is
the picture gallery of “Muscle Champions” from 1880 to 1930. I was truly blown away by the muscularity and definition that many of those gentlemen displayed. Some of them showed development
that would not be out of place in top drug-tested events of today. If you venture to this site and view
these incredible men, remember, they were not only presteroids but preequipment as well. Visit
www.SandowMuseum.com, and come away with a greater knowledge of the history of bodybuilding as well as a greater appreciation of the tools we have today with which to pursue it.
>Muscletime.com
>Fitness-Dating.com
If you’re into hardcore bodybuilding and follow the competitive side of the sport, then this
site is for you. Muscletime.com
is right on top of the contest
scene, with show results, tons of
onstage and backstage pictures,
news, gossip and previews of
upcoming competitions. The
site even has downloadable
videos of the sport’s elite in
action, both training and posing. You say you like watching
bodybuilding DVDs to get you
fired up for your workouts? Well,
Muscletime.com has a wide
range available for purchase, many featuring the top champs. Also
have a look at the site’s training routines and valuable tips from top
guys. I clicked on “Dexter-Chest” and was hit in the face with a killer
in-the-gym photo of Dexter Jackson looking like a modern-day Sergio Oliva—huge, broad shoulders, tiny waist and gargantuan guns! If
you have a training or diet tip for Muscletime.com readers, shoot it
to the site via e-mail, and if it’s published there, you win a free DVD
of your choice. Very cool! For those who appreciate the beautiful ladies of our industry, the special section called Modeltime has plenty
of what you’re looking for.
I have a few questions for you: Do
you love to work out and take care of
your body? Do you appreciate others
who enjoy doing the same? Is your idea
of an awesome Saturday night catching
up on the “American Idol” you missed
during the week and giving your George
Foreman grill a really good scrubbing?
If your answers to these questions are
yes, then Fitness-Dating.com might be
just what the love doctor ordered. Becoming a basic member is easy, quick
and, best of all, free (although there is
a charge to upgrade to a “Premiere”
membership). Before you do anything,
however, take a moment to click on the
link called “Worth Reading.” It will explain what sets this site apart from many
other similar sites. Just to check it out,
I joined up and did a search for women
in my area and was pleasantly surprised
to see quite a few cuties appear on my
screen. I was particularly enamored of
a gal who called herself doubleDdiva.
Not sure what attracted me to her, but
I suspect it was her exceptional, um,
educational background. So, if you’re
a fitness-minded individual who’s been
sitting home alone one too many Saturday nights, I suggest you give www
.Fitness-Dating.com a shot. It’s time to
stop picking up only barbells and time
to start picking up some dates. You
never know—your lifetime training partner could be just a few clicks away. IM
>X-Rep.com
Most IRON MAN readers have already visited this site, as it’s the
home of Steve Holman (IM’s editor in chief, below), Jonathan Lawson
and the innovative mass-building concept X Reps. You’ll find some
interesting e-books for sale—The Ultimate Mass Workout is the original
X-Rep manual—but you can also find lots of other cool stuff at the site.
For the past year Lawson and Holman have been doing a training blog
every day they hit the iron, reporting on the new things they discover
and passing along tips for various exercises. They have an extensive
Q&A section on X Reps, many of their past weekly e-zines, champtraining-analysis features (Coleman and Cutler are there), and now
they’ve taken another giant step, creating a supplement blog. It documents how they adjust
their daily supplement
schedule as they move
through their ripping
phase, including what
they’re taking and
when and explanations of what the
supplement does—or
doesn’t—do. If you’re
looking to speed up
your fat-burning and
muscle-building results,
check it out.
Lonnie Teper’s
NEWS &ViEWS
v
’06 San Francisco Pro
Okabe
Badell’s
Back
Branch
Warren.
With a Vengeance After a
Disappointing Finish at the
Arnold Classic
Big, bad
Okabe
It was so nice to hear. Gustavo Badell actually admitted that he’d been off at the Arnold Classic in Columbus, Ohio, on March 4. Accepted
his fourth-place finish behind Dexter Jackson,
Branch Warren and Victor Martinez. But the
Freakin’ Rican wasn’t about to roll over and play
dead. One week later at the San Francisco Pro,
which was held at Chabot Community College
in Hayward, California, Badell showed up much
sharper than he’d been in Columbus and got revenge on Warren, who, as he had in Ohio, earned
a runner-up finish.
Branch thought he’d won the show. Voters at
Bodybuilding.com’s People’s Choice site agreed
with him, and for that Bob Cicherillo, representing Bodybuilding.com, presented him with a
$1,000 check to pad his growing bank account.
I had no problem with the decision. Shoot, Badell was coming
off a spectacular 2005 season, with wins at the Europa Pro and
Charlotte Pro before he finished third at the Mr. Olympia. Oh, and
don’t forget the 25K he picked up for besting King Coleman and
Beef Cutler in the now-banished challenge round.
For the rest of the 2006 season, Badell is setting his sights on
the Olympia, which will be held once again at the Orleans Arena
in his current hometown, Las Vegas, on the last weekend in September. Gustavo feels he can win it all—yes, despite the fact that
Coleman will be gunning for a record ninth victory and that Cutler
promises to be at his all-time best. Cocky? I say confident, which
every top pro should be. Badell’s come a long way in a short
time—we’ll know just how far in four months.
Melvin Anthony dedicated his posing routine to “all the wives
in the audience” (you know, ’cause they don’t get much attention
from their hubbies, who compete) and duplicated his third-place
finish of the ’05 S.F. Pro.
Mustafa Mohammad was not a happy camper after he finished out of the top five at the IRON MAN and the Arnold but
was in a much better mood in Northern Cal, where he got fourth.
Because the three gents who finished in front of him had already
earned their Mr. O qualifications Mighty Mustafa was able to get
the invite he felt he deserved at the previous two shows. Told you
Mar
velous
Melvin.
Mustafa Mohammad.
SWORDPLAY—
Who was the
most sliced in
S.F.?
Page 272
BODYPARTS—
Hot party in
Boise.
Pages 275–6
POSEDOWN—
Has Jay met his
match?
Pages 275–6
Ahmad’s
abs.
Okabe
Okabe
you’d qualify this year, guy.
When I (as the emcee) introduced
Toney Freeman at the finals, I called
him the most underrated bodybuilder
on the pro circuit. What are your feelings about that title?
I also thought Ahmad Haidar
looked light-years better than he did at
the IM and the Arnold. The man with
the steel-plated abs finished sixth at
the Jon Lindsay and Steve O’Brien–
produced event, but there were plenty
of folks besides me who felt Haidar
was top-five material.
Haidar was nearly arrested for theft
prior to the finals. Judge Albert Beckles offered to buy me lunch but thought his credit card had been stolen,
and I had to pick up the tab. Albert wasn’t pulling a Shawn Ray, however. I later found the card embedded in Ahmad’s etched serratus. You’re
off the hook this time, Ageless Albert.
Other athletes who caught my eye at the show: Japan’s Hidetada
Yamagishi, who is the most improved bodybuilder to date this year, and
England’s Ricky Welling, a thick cat who didn’t let a little hindrance like
blindness prevent him from fulfilling his goal of
reaching a pro stage.
Ricky
Welling.
Photography by Lonnie Teper \ Contest photography by Bill Comstock
Covergirl
Pauline.
ADD S.F. PRO—I finally got to meet Pauline
Nordin, who finished 10th at the San Francisco
Pro Figure competition in her pose-for-pay
debut. Devotees of this mag will remember the
wonderful Bill Dobbins shot of her that ran on
the June ’05 cover.
Pauline, 23, a former Swedish bodybuilding champion, informed me she was moving
to Marina del Rey in April (with her man, guys!),
which should make a lot of Southern California
photographers mighty happy. Prior to the move,
the talented Nordin cohosted the Scandinavian
version of “The Biggest Loser,” on which her
protégé was the big winner. Pauline says she
wants to qualify for the Figure Olympia and
plans on competing at the Pittsburgh, Colorado
and California pro shows in hopes
of doing just that.
Check out this rising star if you
get the chance. She’s certainly
easy on the eyes.
ADD PRO SHOWS: RONNY’S
A ROCK DOWN UNDER—A
week after the San Francisco
event, Ronny Rockel upset show
fave and homeland icon Lee
Priest at the Australian Pro, with
Vince Taylor placing third. Mus-
Toney
Freeman.
tafa Mohammad duplicated his fourthplace landing of a week earlier, but the
big surprise was Branch Warren, who
dropped all the way to fifth. Hey, the guy
was right on at both the Arnold and the
San Fran; I wouldn’t have expected him
to duplicate that conditioning in Australia.
I’m sure Branch didn’t even want to
compete at that point, but the man honored his contract. I also hear he used the
time Down Under to celebrate his recent
marriage to pro figure athlete Trish Mayberry, who is now, natch, Trish Warren.
Not even Branch Warren should stick
with his diet on his honeymoon!
Francis Benfatto, who was unable
to make his return to the stage after 14
years at the IRON MAN due to visa problems, made it here. He landed in sixth
and looked very good, from reports
I’ve gotten. Let’s see, there’s Vince
looking swell at 49; Francis doing
likewise at 48. Gee, maybe Ronnie
Coleman can keep going for a few
years. Let’s ask Jay Cutler about
that.
Ronny
Rockel.
Vince
Taylor.
Francis
Benfatto.
NPC Shows:
Natural Ohio
Kegler, Lockett
and Flowers.
Ohio suits
(below):
Liberman and
Pember
Scott
Fanti.
Manion
After I emceed the Arnold Classic
in Columbus (and then the San Francisco Pro), it was back to Ohio the first
weekend in April, this time to host the
Natural Ohio, the Dave Liberman and
Todd Pember production that has to rank as one of the premier drugtested contests in the country.
This is the third year in a row I’ve been at the podium for the event,
and I get more impressed with each outing. Keep an eye—a real close
eye—on Michael Lockett, who made a strong impression on me last
year when he won the junior men’s division at 193 pounds. The 5’9”
23-year-old from Cleveland came back bigger—way bigger—and better
in ’06, dominating the field with 228 pounds of sculpted beef. This guy is
one of the best drug-free competitors I’ve seen in years—nice lines, huge
wheels, unbelievable calves, great guns, shredded glutes…. Hell, the
whole physique is sublime enough for me to predict he will take his class,
if not the whole show, at the Team Universe in July.
By the way, for those who will jump to the “no way he’s clean” refrain,
Lockett did pass the show’s stringent IOC–approved drug-testing protocol, which is good enough for me.
Kara Flowers, from Columbus, blossomed at the judging and ended
up winning the figure division, which is always strong at Dave and Todd’s
events (they also put on the Natural Northern USA in October). In fact,
their shows have produced such quality IFBB pros as Tammy Pies,
Summer Montebone, Mari Kudla, April Carpenter, Valerie Waugaman, Jen Hartley, Jaime Franklin and Alison Bookless.
Another Columbus gem, Angela Kegler, was the top female bodybuilder of the night, taking both the open and master’s divisions. The
mother of two little ones, Angela ain’t the biggest woman in the house at
105 pounds, but she proved it’s not always about size but quality.
The event, held as usual at the Lakewood Civic Auditorium, attracted
136 contestants (not counting crossovers), with the largest crowds I’ve
seen yet. Also as usual, the promoters donated a good portion of the
proceeds to the American Cancer Society ($2,200 to be exact). Monte-
Jesse
Marunde.
Cutler and
Cicherillo.
Becky Moore (in
blue), the before shot.
bone donated her services as guest poser in honor of her mother, who
had died of cancer but two weeks earlier. Additionally, Dr. Debbie Freeman donated $1,000 to the American Diabetes Association. Debbie lost
85 pounds and competed in the masters figure contest. Way to go, girl!
Last year’s Natural Ohio champ, Orlando Smith, who went on to win
his class at the Team Universe and the NAC in ’05, guest posed as well.
I also want to mention superchauffeur Scott “Banty” Fanti, who has
been kind enough to shuffle me around town the past two years. Sliced
Scott couldn’t perform those duties in 2004, however;
he was too busy winning the bantamweight class. LiberBrad
man, who set a new NPC record by giving out 13 speCraig.
cial awards at the show, should save one for Scott. This
guy is on time, every time, and has to put up with the
torture of my complaints about the horrible Cleveland
weather. Which, by the way, was better than the climate
back home in Pasadena, California, on the same weekend. Karma’s a bitch, right, Scott?
L.T. and
Russ
DeLuca.
Becky’s
after
shot.
MOORE IS BETTER—Becky Moore
fell ill on August 22, 2005, while on duty
as a registered nurse at Kindred Hospital
in Cleveland. She felt dizzy, her blood
pressure skyrocketed, and when her
eyesight disappeared, it was time to give
the problem a closer look.
The 45-year-old Moore, a mother of
two (Tiffany, 24, and David, 21), underwent a CAT scan, which showed a
“bleed in head.” She was sent down the
street to University Hospital, where tests
revealed two aneurysms.
Doctors performed emergency brain
surgery. “The doctors told me before they
put me to sleep that I had a 5 percent
chance of survival,” recalls Moore. “And, if I did live
past the surgery, I would be in a vegetative state.”
Some vegetable. Not only did Moore beat the
odds, but she was also back at work in six weeks
after her nine-day stay in the hospital, joined a gym
for the first time at the end of January and competed
in her first contest, the Natural Ohio, on April 1,
finishing fifth out of nine in the masters figure class.
That sounds like a story right out of the “Twilight
Zone,” but there’s no Rod Serling behind this one.
Becky, who lives in Akron, Ohio, heard from her
cousin about Dave Liberman’s training prowess and
joined Titan’s Gym in Mentor to work with Dave, who
...and the hairy
“taught me how to lift weights and about proper nusmooth guy.
trition,” she says. After she revealed that she’d made
the hour-and-10-minutes-each-way drive almost daily to work with Liberman, on top of her full-time job at the hospital, I thought she’d suffered a
third aneurysm. Eventually, she was talked into competing at the Natural
Ohio. Gee, I wonder whose salesmanship made that happen.
“I wanted to take control of my life and prove you don’t have to sit on
the couch the rest of your life after major surgery,” says Moore. “I wanted
to set an example—but I had to get letters from my doctor and the brain
surgeon giving me permission to compete.”
Moore, who carried 180 pounds on her 5’ frame years ago, was 108
when she began working with Liberman. She was 106 on the day of
the contest but points out, “My body looked way different—much more
conditioned.”
That’s for sure. The lady had abs, folks! And she now has the competition bug. “You can bet your ass I will be onstage again,” Moore says with
a laugh. “It was awesome. I was back to lifting weights three days a week
after the show and am planning on competing on October 8 at the Natuwww.ironmanmagazine.com \ JULY 2006 275
ral Northern USA. My goal is to win.”
Got news for ya, Becky. You’ve already won.
Kenollio, Slatt and Christoph.
Russ ’n’
Bridget.
Catherine
Zidell.
George Legeros
BOISE BASH—Following my trip to Cleveland, I was back on the
plane the next weekend, this time for my first venture to Boise, Idaho,
the home base of Russ “I’m Not Related to Richard Gere” DeLuca
and the gang at Bodybuilding.com. After Richard, er, Russ gave me an
in-depth tour of the warehouse, I walked over to the Big Easy nightclub, where the latest edition of DeLuca’s Boise Fitness Expo took
place.
The spot was mobbed, to put it mildly. Now in its fifth year, the
annual free event was started because DeLuca wanted to give back
to the community and his staff. It also presents
an opportunity to bring to his hometown the
athletes and vendors the company works with all
year—more than 3,000 people sampled products from 20 vendors.
The expo certainly lived up to its billing as the
fittest show on earth, with a collection of belly
dancers, fire dancers, strongmen, female powerlifters and a magician. Bob Cicherillo, only
a week out from competing at the Masters Pro
World Championship, somehow found the energy to play host for the four-hour event.
Chick’s sexy sidekick was Nancy DiNino,
a top figure competitor out of Toronto, Canada,
and the best salsa dancer in the industry. Nancy,
a former dance partner of mine, and Kenny
Jones will soon be working on bodybuilding’s version of “Dancing With the Stars.”
Before the night was over, Jay Cutler
was onstage, posing down Cicherillo and
some hairy smooth guy from the audience
(no, not me). Monica Brant was there for
BSN; Tanji Johnson and Laura Mak did
their awesome fitness routines (Laura and
her Groove Attack got down at the expo;
Tanji did her routine at the bodybuilding
contest on Saturday), and powerlifting
superstar Jesse Marunde hoisted a 400pound log. Cathy LeFrancois Priest,
looking real good, repped Gaspari NutriSkip La Cour.
tion, as she has been doing since last year,
and Seattle-based promoters Brad and
Elaine Craig, who served on the judging panel, were also on hand to
encourage the competitors to keep it going at their annual Emerald Cup
mega-event, which was scheduled for two weeks later. The energy-filled
evening was capped when CEO Russ presented Gary David with the
Employee of the Year award.
On Saturday night I hosted the NPC Treasure Valley Gold’s Gym
Bodybuilding and Figure Championships at Capital High School (Boise
is the capital of Idaho, for those deficient in geography). The first NPC
contest to be held in the area in six years, the national qualifier was
promoted by Alaska resident Derek Snelson. The turnout wasn’t extensive, but the show had plenty of quality, not to mention movie stars.
Buck Rogers, the masters overall champ, was almost in tears when he
said he couldn’t have done it without his training partner, Flash Gordon.
Marc Kenollio, the current Mr. Alaska, took the men’s overall and
also picked up the Best Poser award. Kristen Christoph won the
women’s bodybuilding competition, while Rebecca Lynn Slatt edged
a very impressive figure lineup to win that overall.
The fun escalated when veteran NPC competitor Brad Hallibaugh
suddenly appeared onstage, complete with tight shirt and 22-inch guns.
Dave
Palumbo.
Desmond
Miller.
Michael
Ergas.
TEPER’S TALES: Skip La Cour inked a new five-year
deal with AST Sports Science in March and says his role in
the company will be growing in the coming years. La Cour
has been with AST for 10 years—since 1994 (from 1996
to’98 he was with Twinlab). You can follow Skip’s online
daily training journal at www.ast-ss.com and visit his Web
site at www.SkipLaCour.com.… First there was Robin
Tesvich, the lovely 50-year-old figure competitor from
Louisiana who I featured in this space a few issues back.
Now let me introduce you to Catherine Zidell, another
beautiful 50-year-old—this one from Texas—who copped
the over-35 division at the Masters Nationals in 2004 and
duplicated that feat in the over-45 class last season. She
Leo
Ingram.
also took second in the over-35s at the ’05 North American Championships. Zidell says she’s going to compete in
both age categories this year. To find out more about her,
including some really neat photos starting from her teen
years, log on to www.nshapeonline.com.… Desmond
Miller, the fourth-placer in the superheavyweight class
at the Nationals last year, will be putting all of his efforts
into that contest again this year. The show is scheduled
for Miami Beach in November.… Michael Ergas, who
finished a very disputed second in the heavyweights at the
Nationals, will be going for his pro card at the USA.… Ditto
for Leo Ingram, runner-up to Bill Wilmore at the Nationals.… Stan McQuay says he’s moving up to the light-heavyweight class this year, probably at the USA, in his own quest for
that long-awaited pro card.… Quincy Taylor’s first contest in
2006 most likely will be at the Europa Supershow in Arlington,
Texas, where he qualified for his first Olympia with a third-place
finish last year.… Marvelous Melvin Anthony is considering a move from his
Riverside, California, residence to Arlington, Texas. And don’t be surprised if the
next time you see Shawn Ray, he’s the
owner of a six-bedroom, five-bath home in
Surprise, Arizona, near Phoenix.… Dave
Palumbo has taken the negative experience of having gone to prison and spun it into
a positively hardcore handbook, Perfect Prison
To contact Lonnie
Physique, that covers the gamut of training, nutriTeper about material
tion and supplementation. Employing motivational
possibly pertinent to
quotes and carefully selected words of wisdom,
News & Views, write
Dave dispels common training and dieting myths
to 1613 Chelsea
while, simultaneously, offering a blueprint for
Road, #266, San
success. You can order the book online at www.
Marino, CA 91108;
DavePalumbo.com. IM
fax to (626) 289-7949;
Neveux
Stan
McQuay.
He went into the audience, only to look up at the stage and
see LeFrancois Priest ready to do battle in a posedown.
I let the audience decide who the champ was. It went to
Cathy—by a landslide.
On Sunday, Russ and his new bride, Bridget (they got
hitched in March and just returned from a Mexican honeymoon), took me to brunch, and then Russ gave me a tour of
the city. I saw the small building where he started Bodybuilding.com just six years ago and visited a couple of the city’s
five Golds Gyms. I also spent a few minutes at Russ and
Bridget’s pad as well as Ryan DeLuca’s digs, and we went
past Boise State and its blue football turf. By the way, Ryan,
congrats to you and your wife on the birth of your second
child.
Nice city. Nice people. Nice weekend. Thanks to all.
Quincy
Taylor.
or send e-mail to
[email protected].
Shawn
Ray.
’06 Art Zeller Award
Bob Gardner
Winner of the ’06 Art Zeller Award for
Artistic Achievement
Neveux
As a magazine led
Newly married and
by photographers,
ready for a change,
IRON MAN creBob relocated his
ated the Art Zeller
studio to the Weider
Award for Artistic
building in sunny
Achievement—
Southern California.
given every year
It was there that he
at the IRON MAN
honed his physiquePro bodybuilding
photography talents
competition—to
with models that inBob Gardner receives the award from IRON
honor our colcluded Arnold, FranMAN publisher John Balik at the IM Pro on
leagues behind
co Columbu, Mike
February 17 in Pasadena, California.
the lens who bring
Mentzer, Frank Zane
the visual experience of bodybuildand other legends of bodybuilding.
ing to readers. This year’s recipient,
With the help of Joe and Arnold, in
Bob Gardner, specializes in capturing
particular, he perfected his ability to
the art of the physique. If you’ve been
light the physique in a style that was
around the sport of bodybuilding for
all his own.
any length of time, you’ve no doubt
Bob’s career
seen his work; however, he didn’t start
of photoout in the bodybuilding world. He
graphing the
began his successful career in New
greatest male
York City in the 1960s, specializing in
and female
fashion and beauty and shooting for
athletes of
Gale and Bob Gardner with Arnold
such clients as Revlon, Clairol, Chaour sport
nel, Avon and Neutrogena. It was duraround the
ing those years that, through a mutual
globe has spanned three decades—
friend and photographer, he met
and IRON MAN is proud to feature
Joe Weider. When Weider decided to
his work on the following pages to
move his headquarters from the East
celebrate his acceptance of this presCoast to California in the early ’70s,
tigious award.
he invited Gardner to come with him.
—the Editors
Except for presentation photo, all photography ©2006 by Bob Gardner. All Rights Reserved
Ed Corney, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Franco Columbu (1973)
Ronnie Coleman at the Roman Aqueducts
Franco Columbu (movie poster)
Brooke Burke and Tom Platz
Lee Labrada
Milos Sarcev and Ronnie Coleman
Paul Dillett
Shawn Ray, Nasser El Sonbaty and Flex Wheeler
Anja Langer
Mike Mentzer
Jack Lemmon
Dudley Moore
Dolly Parton
Lee Priest
Ronnie Coleman
Milos Sarcev
Ruth Silverman’s
PUMP & CiRCUMSTANCE
ARNOLD FITNESS WEEKEND, PART 2: FIGURE INTERNATIONAL
Dead Heat
On two-piece go-round
Dobbins \ www.BillDobbins.com
As always the AFW
at the Figure
was so big—and its
International,
events so numerous—it
held March 3
couldn’t be contained
in Columbus,
in a single installment of
Ohio, centhis column. Part 2 picks
tered around
up with the Figure InterJenny Lynn’s
national commentary.…
last-minute
But first a few
pullout due to
words from the austomach flu.
thor. I’m going to have
Would Brant,
to start issuing stronger
the three-time
sarcasm warnings. How
runner-up to
else could one respond
Jenny, be the
to the very sweet reader
one to get a
who interpreted a caphot minute
tion in the “’05 Year-End
in the spotRoundup” in the April
light with the
’06 Pump & Circumweekend’s
stance as being written
namesake—
by someone who “has
California
some type of problem
governor Arwith Monica Brant”?
nold SchwarThe caption points out
zenegger—or
Curvier or lankier? The judges Lado’d it on. Find complete results and photos
that the lady hasn’t
would the judgfrom the Figure International at www.GraphicMuscle.com.
won a contest since
es again find
1998 and ends, “Oh,
someone they
well,” which I guess was the sarcasm warning. Regular readliked just a little bit better? Mary Elizabeth Lado, who was
ers would know that I disagreed with more than a few of those
fifth at the Olympia but third here last year, perhaps? Or the
judging panels and see the caption for what it was—a thinly
fast-rising Valerie Waugaman, who beat Brant out for second
veiled excuse to run a hot candid photo of Monica in a spaat the post-O Sacramento show last fall? Or Amanda Savell,
ghetti-strap Fit Wings tee.
who won the ’05 Europa Pro?
To the reader in Long Island who was confused by my
When the 19 highly toned—and heeled—contestants strode
humor, let me reassure you: Mo Brant is one of the most suconstage in their one-piece suits for round 1, it was apparcessful fitness athletes and models since fitness athletes and
ent that most had done their homework. The panel quickly
models were invented. I do not think she is a loser. To readers
centered its attention on Monica and M.E., along with (in aleverywhere: A heavy sarcasm alert is in effect for this entire
phabetical order) Jane Awad, Christine Pomponio-Pate,
column. Consider yourselves warned.
Savalle and Chastity Sloan. Lado’s win was determined in
Back to the contest at hand. The big story
that first set of comparisons. The judges preferred her hands
BACKSTAGE BABES
“Want me to pu
ll
the string?” pu
rrs
Elaine. Not me
pe
sonally, but ma ryb
some of the re e
aders….
Sexy beast.
Latisha flashes
her cheekbones
in response to a
photographer’s
mock-serious
request.
Amanda was
involved in a
three-way with
Mary and Mo.
Kind of sounds
like the Pep
Boys.
RISING STARS
What a
Difference
A week makes
Photography by Ruth Silverman
Looking for Arnold? From left: Awad, Pomponio-Pate, Brant, Lado, Savell and Sloan.
As it turned out, no one got the moment in the spotlight with the gov, who remained on
the West Coast attending to business until the last moment and arrived at the Veterans
Memorial Auditorium in Columbus at the very end of the evening. IM’s close-up photo
coverage of the Figure, Fitness and Ms. International competitions begins on page 296.
down in the one-piece suits and gave her a perfect score, with Brant eight points
behind in second and Savell a scant two points behind Brant. In the two-piece
comparisons the panel liked the ladies all the same—a three-way tie for first—so
the round-1 results represented the point spread at evening’s end.
Was it a righteous call? At the time I was pretty disappointed (yes, Clint, that
was me among the booing masses after you announced Brant in second yet
again). We don’t see the score sheets until later, however, and upon reflection I
would say that I would have had Brant winning the two-piece round. How that
might have shaken up the totals I can only speculate.
No disrespect to Mary Elizabeth. She looked really, really good, much tighter
than at the Olympia, but Brant was at her best—not too ripped, not too soft.
With two very different physique types in fine condition, however, the panel preferred Lado’s lankier body to Brant’s curvier presentation.
After the third-placed Amanda, the judges liked Sloan in fourth, with Awad
in fifth and Pomponio-Pate a single point behind her in sixth. Latisha Wilder
dropped to seventh from fifth last year; Waugaman’s condition was off, and she
had to settle for eighth; Monica Guerra landed in ninth; and Elaine Goodlad
nabbed the last of the top-10 placings.
Next month in this space I’ll have news and photos from the Pittsburgh Pro
Figure, where, I’m willing to bet my salary from this column, the returning Jenny
Lynn will do very well.
More
curls.
Valerie
tosses
hers in
a devilmay-care
manner.
Twenty-two hundred miles—and nine
placings—between Columbus and San
Francisco for Debbie Leung. Maybe it’s the
curls. They seem to be working for Jane
Awad as well (see photo at left).
It’s important to remember
that no contestant who makes
it to the Veterans Memorial
Auditorium stage is ever to be
counted out, no matter where
she places. Witness the four
competitors who finished out of
the top 10 there but made the
top six a week later at the San
Francisco Pro: Gina Comacho,
12th at the Figure International
was second in San Francisco
(behind Chas Sloan); Zhanna
Rotar, 18th, moved up to
fourth; Debbie Leung, 14th,
moved up to fifth; and Anna
Larsson, also 18th in Ohio,
rose to sixth.
Look for photos from the
San Franciso Pro Figure at
www
.GraphicMuscle.com.
Sleek-looking Michelle. Another one
who’s holding out on the P&C camera.
PUMP & CiRCUMSTANCE
COUPLES
MUSINGS
No
Names
Mentioned
Speaking of opinions that can get you in trouble
What’s up with all the married
female competitors who are suddenly appending their husband’s
last name to their autograph? I’m
not talking about the newlyweds,
either. I mean big stars who’ve been
married awhile. I used to think it
was a good thing that women got
hyphenated when they got married,
but now it often seems as if they’re
just on step one of a transition to
the new moniker, which is fine for
the old private life but seems kind
of counterproductive for persons
seeking physique stardom. I mean,
why would you work so hard to
make a name for yourself and then
change it?
A few ladies have successfully
made the switch—one in particular
who got married around the time
she switched organizations and
Christine’s timing is always perfect. She changed
another who wasn’t well known
her name and got her pro card in the same seawhen she was an amateur and
son—and onstage in Columbus she dialed it in to
single come to mind. A third athlete I
earn a top-six finish.
can think of was so successful in establishing her married identity, she’s
now in the position of having to reestablish her old self in the public eye.
In the interest of fairness, I didn’t hyphenate anyone’s name in this month’s or last
month’s columns (well, one, but you’ve got to admit: Christine Pomponio-Pate
really rolls off the tongue). You may think you know whom I’m referring to, but then,
again, you might be surprised. If you’re curious, the truth is to be found somewhere in
this issue.
Gymboree
Name game 2
Todd
and
Cyn.
All previously stated rules re
garding hyphenates and name
changes (see the item at left) go out
the window when your husband
builds you a gym. Fitness pro Cynthia Satalovitch (formerly Bridges)
opened Flex Appeal, her new
personal-training studio, in Simi
Valley, California, with more than a
little help from Todd, who, according to the couple, built the place
from the bare walls up. Now, that’s
love. Cyn offers a variety of training
packages at the 1,000-squarefoot facility, including “competition
training, dietary consultation, and
I even provide customized weekly
meal plans,” she said. Flex Appeal
is located at 595 E. Los Angeles
Avenue. Call (805) 520-1061 to see
about getting Cyn to pump—and
shape—you up.
ARNOLD EXPO AWARDS
Best hat: Ali
Metkovitch.
Best makes-you-want-to-try-the-stuff attitude: Chastity Sloan hawks Gaspari Nutrition’s
wares.
A few notable sights stood out in the crowds.
Best real-sex
y pose. Abby
Du
plans to flash
this one for hu ncan had
captain in th
e National Gu bby Joe, a
ar
serving in Cu
d, who was
ba.
NEW YORK PRO FITNESS
Child’s Play
Julie’s recipe for success
Internet chatter about it. Fletcher
made a swell impression on me in
Columbus, despite her placing, so
I had a few choice words to say
about that (find them online in my
April report at GraphicMuscle.com).
An even wider margin separated
second and third, 56 points, but the
next three placings were very close.
Amy Haddad, another good per
former who’s been knocking around
the pros for a couple of years, rode
some excellent physique scores to
edge out Semsch, who was fourth,
Comstock
Comstock
Julie Childs spends a
lot of time flying through
the air—or maybe it just
seems that way because
the fitness photographers’
cameras catch her in
midair so often. The West
Coast–based Childs took
a cross-country flight to
Manhattan for the New
York Pro Fitness competition on April 15 and landed in the winner’s circle
for the first time since she
earned her pro card at
the ’02 USA. It was a big
win too—by a 31-point
margin—in a 17-woman
lineup that featured a lot
of potential but not many
well-known names.
Childs, who was coming off a fifth-place finish
at the International, was
the clear-cut champ, according to reports, looking sweet in the swimsuit rounds
and pulling out all the stops in the routines. By the score
sheet, she won all four rounds (sharing the two-pieceswimsuit honors with Angela Semsch).
Also making an impression in every round was last
year’s NPC National champ, Heidi Fletcher, who advanced from tied for last at the International to runner-up
in New York and was subjected to some pretty nasty
Tough trick. Childs (above left) and Fletcher made it
and Mindi O’Brien, fifth, to take the third spot—and the
third Olympia qualification.
With three shows to go before the O—and two after
ward, according to the schedule posted at IFBB.com—
don’t count out Angie or Mindi for 2006.
N E W S H O WS
Support your local athleteturned-promomter
Four-time Ms. Olympia Kim Chizevsky and husband Chad Nicholls have become the latest
bodybuilding-industry couple to take on pro-show promoting. Their new All Star Pro Fitness
Championship, a late-but-welcome addition to the IFBB schedule, will take place in Little
Rock on July 8 in conjunction with the couples’ NPC Arkansas Championships. Kim and Chad
chose fitness for their first venture into the pros because the stage at the venue, the Robinson Center Music Hall, has a regulation dance and aerobics floor, a rare situation in fitness.
In a memo to potential competitors Chizevsky described the show as “a chance for Chad and
I to give back to the sport and the federation that have given us so much.
“We are planning on eventually adding all IFBB events and turning it into a complete
health-and-fitness weekend but wanted to begin with fitness due to the incredible facility
we have access to, said Kim, who, after retiring from bodybuilding, competed in the ’01
Fitness I and took sixth. Ladies who have expressed interest in checking out that fine dance
floor include Tanji Johnson, Angie Semsch, Mindi O’Brien, Katie Szep and Little Rock homegal Lorie Kimes. For complete info on the show go to www.MuscleMayhem.com.
Starting with fitness is a gutsy, trend-bucking move, guys. Good for you. Here’s wishing
you a lineup of showstoppers—and many fans in the seats.
Comstock \ Model: Allison Daughtry
Arkansas All Stars
Fitness folk
will be kicking up a fuss
on July 8.
PUMP & CiRCUMSTANCE
MORE MUSINGS
Upside-Down Thinking
Speaking of things you can
find out about on the Internet
Comstock
There is a
in working for
story happening
changes—comin the physique
ing to meetings
world this spring
or even submitthat will turn out
ting ideas—and
to be either the
that should
most dramatic
have been the
development
ah-ha moment.
since the WWF
Instead, she
tried to take over
suggests that
bodybuilding
a “photo-op”
or the fastest
of Chick on his
disappearing
knees in front
act since Craig
of women’s
Titus and Kelly
rep Betty
Ryan’s WomPariso that
en’s Physique
subsequently
International. We
appeared in
haven’t written
the same pubabout this story
lication doesn’t
in IM—and I’m
“erase the vernot going to
bal abuse that
write about it
was spoken
now. Except
in internationto point out an
ally sold magaunintended irony
zines.” Maybe
in regards to the
not, but that
sub-subculture
was a photoof the women’s
op for Betty
physique sports:
too—Betty,
It is so not about
who as a prothe women.
moter puts her
Why is that
money on the
ironic? In a publine to include
licly published
women’s bodyletter of retirebuilding in her
ment from comIFBB Europa
petition, veteran
Supershow.
flexer Nancy
RegardLewis stated,
ing the irony
in essence, that
mentioned
she was calling
at the beginit quits because
ning of this
the IFBB didn’t
item, very few
Head games. IM art director Terry Bratcher mistook this photo of Ms. International 10th-placer
formally punish
people,
men or
Tonie Norman for that of a fitness competitor. It just goes to show—in the women’s physique
Bob Cicherillo, sports you really can’t tell the players without a scorecard.
women, make
the men’s
a living from
athlete’s rep, for snotty remarks he made about the women
competing in bodybuilding. So the question just pops out:
bodybuilders in a major muscle magazine last year.
Why hang up the bikini when you can support people who
I’m not meaning to make light of Lewis—she’s a fine body- support women’s
builder and has some thoughtful things to say (you’ll find the
bodybuilding by, say,
You can contact
letter in the Grrlz Stuff forum at www.MuscleMayhem
entering your lovely
Ruth Silverman,
.com). The Cicherillo incident was really the straw that broke
physique in Betty’s
fitness reporter
the camel’s back for her rather than the sole reason for her
show? Whatever the
and Pump & Cir
decision, but come on. In a year when only three promoters
buzz is out there in
are willing to invest in women’s pro bodybuilding and officials
cyberbodybuildingcumstance scribe,
clearly have other things on their plates besides “fixing” WPB
land, nobody new,
in care of
to everyone’s satisfaction, why would you marginalize your
organizationwise, is
IRON MAN, 1701 Ives Ave.,
issues further by continuing to whine about stuff like that?
offering women the
Oxnard, CA 93033; or via e-mail at
Lewis regrets that her fellow pros haven’t been more active opportunity to flex
[email protected].
Arnold Photography
ExpobyHot
Shots
Mervin
It’s the bodybuilder’s fun thrill ride.
“I wish I could pin yew!” The wrestling had
plenty of action—and tender moments too.
Speaking of thrills:
strongmen in plaid
skirts.
Mervin found someone he
could look up to.
Everywhere
you looked
there were
beautiful
women displaying chiseled abs and
other toned
bodyparts
Um,
okay.
We
agree.
Babes and bodybuilding pulled
in big crowds. Oh, plenty of
free stuff helped too.
More
thrills—
and
spills.
Legendary giant killer
Danny Padilla lobbied for an
IM cover.
“Quick, get
over here.
It’s the
Naturally
Huge guy,
standing
right next to
me.” John
Hansen
visited the
IRON MAN
booth.
Arnold Classic 2006
Ms. International
1) Iris Kyle
Ms. Intern
Iris Is in Bloom Again
Photography by Bill Comstock
Cadeau and Kyle
2) Dayana Cadeau
3) Yaxeni
Oriquen-Garcia
FOR MORE PHOTOS AND
EXTENSIVE CONTEST COVERAGE VISIT
ational
5) Betty Pariso
4) Jitka Harazimova
6) Bonny Priest
Arnold Classic 2006
Ms. Fitness International
FOR MORE PHOTOS AND
1) Adela Garcia
Fitness Inte
Columbus Massacre: Adela Takes Over
2) Kim Klein
1) Adela Garcia
3) Jen Hendershott
10) Stacy Simons
rnational
Arnold Classic 2006
Ms. Fitness International
6) Tanji Johnson
5) Julie Child
4) Tracey Greenwood-Krakoviak
3) Jen Hendershott
2) Kim Klein
Arnold Classic 2006
Ms. Figure International
1) Mary Elizabeth Lado
Figure Inte
Lado Leaps Into the Lead
2) Monica Brant-Peckham
rnational
FOR MORE PHOTOS AND
Arnold Classic 2006
3) Amanda Savell
4) Chasity Slone
Arnold Classic 2006
5) Jane Awad
6) Christine
Pomponio-Pate
Only the Strong Shall Survive
SquatOption
Lowdown
What to Do in Lieu of Squatting
by Bill Starr
hile I firmly believe that the full
squat is the very best exercise for
developing the hips and legs, the
power base of the body, I’m also
aware that many strength athletes
cannot do squats. I know it because of the people
I’ve met in gyms over the years and from the
many letters I’ve received from men asking for
alternative lower-body exercises.
Those who cannot squat generally fall into
two categories: athletes with knee, hip or ankle
problems, and those who are unable to fix a bar
behind their necks because of an injury or some
infirmity such as rheumatoid arthritis. Of course,
there are other reasons that people can’t do squats
as well as a group who choose not to do them.
The exercises recommended here will be useful to
them as well.
First, I’ll deal with athletes who find it
impossible, or extremely painful, to position a bar
across their shoulders, behind their backs. Squat
with dumbbells. Obviously, you can’t use nearly
as much weight even if you strap on to heavy
dumbbells, but if you run the reps up, you can
Model: Mike Ashley
W
increase your hip and leg strength.
Dumbbells afford many advantages over a
barbell. You don’t need a rack or spotters, and
there’s no danger of getting stuck at the bottom.
Should you run out of gas, just set them down.
You’ll also discover that you can go lower using
dumbbells, which works the adductors and
hamstrings more thoroughly. And you can do
dumbbell squats in limited space with very little
in the way of equipment. Squatting with a bar in
a high-rise apartment might pose a problem, but
doing it with dumbbells doesn’t. They’re also easy
to store and take along on road trips.
Another excellent alternative is lunges done
with or without weight. If you haven’t been doing
anything for your lower body for a while, start with
walking lunges, a simple but extremely effective
hip and leg exercise. If you doubt that, just check
out the amazing lower-body development of
female gymnasts, who do countless lunges in their
training. While lunges appear tame, they aren’t.
I’ve had athletes who were squatting 500 pounds
give out after lunging the hallway back and forth,
a distance of about 150 feet.
left-handed. Unconsciously, we
give priority to one leg. I notice
that when I walk up stairs or step
up on a curb, I always lead with
my right foot. As a result, my right
leg is stronger and more flexible.
That’s exactly why I include
some form of lunges in all of my
programs. They help bring the
weaker leg into proportion with
Lunges hit the lower body hard.
Eventually, your back leg should
be extended, but start with this
version to hone your ability to
balance.
Model: King Kamali
the stronger one.
Once you’ve stretched out
into a deep split, push off with
your lead foot and step forward
with your other leg into another
lunge. That has to be done in a
fluid motion, and here’s the key
to being able to do it: When you
rise out of a deep split, extend
high on your toes before stepping
forward. That makes it easier to
flow from one rep to the next
than if you did the movement
flat-footed.
Another important form point
is to maintain an erect torso. If
you start leaning forward or to
either side, you’re not going to
get the desired results. When
your form breaks down, stop,
take a break, and start in again.
Lunging short distances with
perfect technique is much more
productive than going longer
using sloppy form.
Once you determine how far
you can go and still maintain
flawless style, lunge to your goal,
pause, then go back. That’s one set.
How many sets you do depends
entirely on your physical condition,
but as in every exercise it doesn’t
matter where you start, only where
you end up.
Should you be confined to a
rather small space, you don’t have to
stop at the end of a hallway or room.
Just turn quickly and continue the
set. One of the nice things about
walking lunges is that you can do
them almost anywhere—on a lawn,
There’s a difference between
stationary and walking lunges.
The walking form requires more
balance, and there’s a rhythm to
performing them correctly. In the
walking lunge, you never come to
a complete stop, so you must learn
to flow from one leg to the other,
which requires a bit of practice.
Stand very erect with your feet
at shoulder width, toes pointed
forward and your hands on your
hips. Step straight ahead with either
foot. That’s a key point. If you step
inward or outward, it will adversely
affect your balance. Step far enough
so that you’re lunging into a very
deep split. At the bottom-most
position your lead knee should be
out over your toes and your back
leg should be straight and almost
touching the floor. That’s much
more effective than merely bending
your trailing leg downward, and I
might add, a lot harder.
You’ll quickly learn that one leg is
more flexible than the other. That’s
only natural, like being right- or
on the beach, in the hallway of a
hotel—and I’ve even lunged around
a motel pool. I did, however, do
those at night, when the pool area
was empty, so the residents wouldn’t
be alarmed that a nut case was
loose.
After you feel
comfortable doing
walking lunges, try adding
resistance. Dumbbells are
best, although milk jugs
filled with water or sand
work well too. Most people find
that holding a weight makes the
exercise easier to do since it helps
with balance. Make sure that you
don’t allow the weights to swing
too much, which will adversely
affect the rhythm of the exercise
Model: Luke Wood
The Powertec squat
machine is an excellent
alternative to free-bar
squats. (For more info visit
www.Home-Gym.com.)
you are sure you have the correct
grip, lower your hips as far as you
can and push your feet down into
the floor while keeping the rest of
your body tight. The bar will come
up between your legs and touch
your crotch. Pause, make sure your
back is flat, and lower the bar in
a controlled manner. Stop at the
bottom and make certain your body
mechanics are right before
doing the next rep. Don’t get
in the habit of rebounding the
plates off the floor, because
the deep-bottom position is the
most valuable in building hip and
leg strength.
Knowing that, once athletes learn
the technique, I have them do hack
lifts using 25-pound plates. That
forces them to go even lower, which
is a good thing. The deep position
makes the adductors and leg biceps
work much harder. Also, if you start
If you use leg presses as
your squat alternative, be
careful not to let your hips
roll off the back pad as you
lower the foot plate.
Model: Steven Segers
and, therefore, the results. In the
event that you can’t find a place to
do walking lunges, just do lunges
in place. They’re not quite as
productive as the walking variety,
but they’re still very beneficial.
Another useful hip and leg
exercise that used to be a part of
every bodybuilder’s and strength
athlete’s routine but is now rarely
done is the hack lift. It’s also referred
to as the straddle lift, since you are,
in fact, straddling the barbell.
This excellent exercise
was named for George
Hackenschmidt, a professional
strongman of the early 20th
century. Born in Estonia, he was
known as the “Russian Lion.” He
invented and popularized the
hack lift and claimed that this
single exercise was responsible
for his powerful lower body and
massive leg development. In 1902
he reportedly did 50 reps with 110
pounds, which may not sound like
much—until you try matching it.
You can use the hack lift as a
substitute for squats or lunges
or to add some variety to your
lower-body routine on occasion.
Since it’s different from any other
hip and leg exercises, it will hit
some new muscles, and that’s
always a good thing in strength
training. The hack lift is a simple
movement, yet you’ll still need to
practice it for a time before you
get the feel of it.
Straddle a bar, facing one of
the plates. Your feet will be at
shoulder width or a bit closer.
Most people use the same foot
placement as they do when they
squat. One hand will grip the
bar in front of your body and the
other behind. You can use straps
on these if you want. As with a
deadlift, you start this lift from
the bottom position. You’ll have
to do some experimenting with
your grip to find the place where
the bar is in balance before you
begin. For most trainees a grip
that is a hand length from the
smooth part in the center of an
Olympic bar works well.
You must keep your back
extremely tight and your torso
upright throughout the execution
of this lift. Leaning forward
diminishes the benefits. After
really duplicate the hack lift, but
they go by that name in most
gyms anyway. I like the ones that
glide up and down smoothly at a
45 degree angle and the ones that
allow you lie horizontally without
gripping anything with your hands.
You can place your hands on your
thighs, avoiding any strain to your
shoulders.
Leg presses are useful, but only if
you achieve a full range of motion.
Your knees must go lower than your
hips in order for your adductors and
hamstrings to be fully activated.
For most people that means using a
moderate amount of weight. When
the leg press machine is loaded with
massive poundages, you’re forced
to short-stroke, and the partial
movement only works the quads
and abductors.
Now, for trainees who cannot
squat because of problems, new or
old, in their knees, hips or ankles
due to injuries, arthritis or other
ailments: My advice may seem
foolish, but I’ve seen some very
positive things happen when it’s
followed. Experiment. If squats hurt,
try lunges, hack lifts, deadlifts or
the leg press and hack machine. Try
squatting with dumbbells. You may
be surprised. Many are. I trained
with an older man in a facility that
had minimal equipment, and for a
The greatest advantage of the
deadlift is that you can hammer
your hip and leg muscles and
handle a lot of weight.
Model: David Yeung
with your left hand in front, switch
and do the next set with your right
hand in the lead position.
Try to keep most of your weight
on your heels. That will help you
stay more upright. While you’re
learning the form, do eight to 12
reps. Then you can lower them
to fives if you like. Three sets of
the higher reps are enough in the
beginning, and five to six sets will
suffice with the fives.
The greatest advantage of the
deadift is that you can work the
hip and leg muscles and handle a
lot of weight, which is what it takes
to activate those large muscles.
If you’re doing deadlifts as a
replacement exercise for full squats,
you’ll want to set your hips really
low. Again, I have athletes use 25pound plates to force their hips and
legs to squeeze the bar off the floor.
As in the hack lift, keep your torso
upright and your back rigidly tight.
The bar has to stay close to your
body from start to finish. As I also
mentioned regarding the hack lift,
you want to lower the bar in a slow
rather than a fast fashion and avoid
rebounding the plates off the floor.
If you’re doing deadlifts as a hipand-leg exercise and aren’t planning
on entering a contest, go ahead and
use straps. Each time you deadlift,
change the set-and-rep formula.
The rotation of rep schemes I use
is: five sets of eight, five sets of five,
then three sets of five followed by
three sets of three. The eights and
fives increase the workload, while
the threes hit the attachments more.
Each workout is different, which
helps you get geared up for each
deadlift session.
Machines can help in building
a stronger lower body, although
they may not be available. Plus,
some are poorly designed and do
little to improve strength. For those
who cannot rack a bar on their
shoulders, the hack squat machine
can be useful. The machines don’t
Model: David Dorsey
Leg extensions are a good
adjunct to squats or squat
alternatives. To preserve
your knees, don’t lower
your legs beyond a 45
degree angle.
long time all he worked was his back
and upper body because he couldn’t
squat without experiencing severe
pain in his knees.
One day he asked me if there
was something he could do for his
lower body. I suggested that he try
squatting with light dumbbells and
that he should go extremely low. He
was quite doubtful yet gave it a try. I
told him, “If it hurts, you can always
stop.” To his surprise, dumbbell
squats didn’t hurt his knees. There
was some stress during the first few
reps due to the fact that he hadn’t
placed them in that position for a
long time, but not the sharp pain
he experienced when he squatted
with a bar. The reason the dumbbell
squats didn’t aggravate his arthritic
knees was because when he went
extra low, the pressure was taken off
the knee joints and transferred to
the hips, leg biceps and adductors.
Plus the weight was light and wasn’t
being pushed down on his knees.
The man also found that he could
deadlift, again using light weights.
Over the following two months he
slowly added to his workload on
those lifts and found that he was
once again able to take long hikes,
something he hadn’t been able
to do for a long time. He told me
that the higher reps seemed to
alleviate the knee pain he used to
have when he did simple everyday
functions, such as climbing stairs.
I told him the higher reps flushed
blood to his knees and fed the
attachments and all-important
cartilage without stressing them.
I’ve know a few people who
couldn’t squat with a bar or
dumbbells but were able to lunge.
I’m not sure why, but it doesn’t
matter. A friend of mine found
that when he did wide-stance
deadlifts, he didn’t feel any pain
in his hips. With conventional
deadlifts, he did. Yet another was
sure he would never find a lowerbody exercise he could do until he
stumbled across hack lifts. That
one exercise was all he needed to
rebuild his lower-body strength.
My message is: Just because
you’re unable to do a certain
exercise for your lower body—or
any bodypart for that matter—
don’t assume that you can’t
find some other exercise to
do. Try lunges, squatting with
dumbbells and all the others
I mentioned, and if they don’t
work, try something else—like
isometrics or isotonic-isometrics.
It may seem impossible that a
person who cannot squat could do
isometrics or isotonic-isometrics in
more than one squat position, but
it isn’t. I’ve seen it happen. The pain
in the knees comes when the joint
is in motion. When it’s locked in an
isometric hold, it’s okay. Granted,
not everyone with bad knees, hips
or ankles can benefit from using
isometrics, but you might be one
who can.
Finally, I want to address those
who are at the extreme end of the
spectrum and positively cannot
Walking lunges are
grueling, but they’re a
killer hip-and-lowerbody blaster.
Model: Derik Farnsworth
the cables to your
ankles and work
your adductors and
abductors while
seated or standing.
These are very
effective movememts.
Remember, adductors
pull your legs inward;
abductors move them
outward.
If there isn’t a
hyper or reverse
hyper machine, you
can always do good
mornings or almost
straight-legged
deadlifts with a light
bar or broomstick.
Ankle weights are
useful, although I’m
not sure they’re still
on the market. In
the event there isn’t
a gym in your area,
or you just don’t care
to join one, you can
still work the various
muscles that make
up your lower body
without using any
resistance. Do the same movements
as if you were in the various
machines. Obviously, you’ll have to
do a high number of reps, such as
in the 200 range, but it’s time well
spent.
And while you may not be able to
boast of a big squat or deadlift, you
will be able to enjoy a more active
lifestyle if you keep your lower body
strong. As the saying goes, Where
there’s a will, there’s a way. If you
really want to improve hip and leg
strength, you’ll figure out how to
do it.
perform any of the exercises that
I’ve recommended, even with light
weights. If there is a fitness facility in
your area that has a wide selection
of machines for the lower body,
it would be worthwhile for you to
join. Be sure to check it out to make
certain that they have what you
need. This isn’t difficult. You need
a leg extension machine for your
quads; a leg curl for your leg biceps,
or hamstrings; specific machines
for abductors and adductors, and
something for your lower back,
either a hyperextension or reverse
hyper.
Leg extensions and leg curl
machines are standard at every
gym, but there may not be any
apparatuses for working your
adductors and abductors. The club
may, however, have some sort of
cable setup, either attached to a
wall or as part of a Universal-type
machine. Secure
Editor’s note: Bill Starr was a
strength and conditioning coach
at Johns Hopkins University from
1989 to 2000. He’s the author of The
Strongest Shall Survive and Defying
Gravity. IM
Presents the
CONTEST
For the first time ever, fans
got to vote for the winner
of a major IFBB contest,
the IRON MAN PRO. And the
fans agreed
with the
judges as Lee
Priest was the
overwhelming
choice of
thousands
who voted
online during
Bodybuilding.
com’s live webcast.
...AND THE WINNER IS
Jonathan Fernandez of
Venezuela, (pictured above
with Gustavo Badell) correctly
placed 8 of the top 10 finishers
of the IRON MAN PRO. For
his prolific prognostications,
Jonathan received a $500 gift
certificate from Bodybuilding.
com and 2 Gold VIP tickets
to next year’s Iron Man Pro
TheFitExpo ($598 value).
For more information about the “You Be The
Judge” contest or to see Jonathan’s picks
and explanations, visit
www.ironmanmagazine.com or
www.bodybuilding.com.
Contest and rules © 2006 IRONMAN Magazine. All Rights Reserved
What are your
reasons for training?
Private Parts
W
hen your training gives you results like bulging muscles and the strength to move mountains, it’s easy
to fall into the trap of thinking that lifting weights is a
public activity. And, to a point, it is, but to get the most from
your training, you have to understand that it’s intensely personal. Let’s see how this process works and what the implications
are for you in the gym. We’ll use the information to develop a
game plan to help you stride toward your goals.
Consider Dave Duped, a nice guy who, being smarter than
average, decides that it’s a good thing to be big and strong.
Dave immerses himself in the activity—reading this, eating that,
training this way, dressing that way. Things seem to be going
pretty well. Dave is definitely making progress, but because
he’s hitched his wagon to the way other people have told him
to act, he goes into a tailspin when he runs into two authorities who disagree, and when his social support system flags,
Dave’s training slides into neutral. Thus, when he reads one article that tells him he should avoid power cleans like the plague
and another that says the power clean is one of the greatest
lifts going, Dave is paralyzed, without a clue about what to do
next. And when the guys at the gym skip a workout to catch
a ball game, Dave heads home to the couch. The problem is
that he’s made his training too much of a public activity, and by
tying his training to things outside himself, he ensures that his
progress will suffer.
What’s called for here is a little independence, a
Think like a
shift in perspective to one that views training as an
champion,
intensely personal activity.
and you can
Taking that approach are all those people who,
become better
whether in a crowded gym or alone in their garage,
today than
seem lost in their training. It’s not that they don’t
you were
know a Zottman curl from a Zercher lift, but they’re
so immersed in what they’re doing, they’re unaware
of what’s going on around them. For such people,
going to the gym is like going to church. They’re in
a special place, dedicated to a higher purpose, and
the experience doesn’t just change them, it leaves
them better. These people might have their lucky
sweats, but they’re not worried about dressing to
please everyone waiting in line for the pec deck.
Similarly, they are immune to the social pressure
that drives their compadres from this week’s wonder routine to next week’s. In fact, the people who
really get plugged into the private approach seem
to have some type of pipeline to training wisdom—
they develop a sense that tells them how to tweak
their training for continued progress. They aren’t
tied to a rigid training cycle, for example, but know
how to bob and weave along the way, holding back
when they have to and bursting over the top when
the opportunity arises. They’re also great innovators when it comes to training; they come up with
new exercises, new programs, new concepts. As a
result, they also end up defining new standards—
whether for themselves or the rest of the world.
Instead of looking outward for the reasons they
train in the first place, they look inward. Instead
Neveux \ Model: Gus Malliarodakis
IRONMIND
Mind
Body
into the trap of giving your
private parts a little too much
public exposure.
—Randall Strossen, Ph.D.
Neveux \ Model: Tommi Thorvildsen
of just training to win this contest
or to receive that reward, they train
because they enjoy training. Why
shouldn’t they? For them, training
represents a series of personal challenges that they meet, which gives
them a history of success. When they
reflect on their training, they know
they’ve been somewhere, and their
progress gives them a sense of satisfaction. In fact, their training doesn’t
just make them feel good; it makes
them feel terrific.
Ask any reasonably alert person
if you can boost performance by
rewarding it—with money, for example—and he or she will waste no time
in answering, “Of course.” The truth,
however, is that research psychologists have amply demonstrated that
rewards don’t always boost performance. In fact, paying someone to
do something he or she previously
did for free can lead to decreased performance. Conversely, our best efforts,
particularly if we value creativity, seem
to arise in situations where the process
is internal and we’re fueled by a passion for the activity. When the process,
not the result, is what’s dear, we’re
likely not only to hit our peak but also to
enjoy ourselves the most. Maybe there’s
something to the starving artist concept
after all.
So, as much as you want to, for
example, squat 400 for 10 reps, you
should focus on enjoying each workout,
taking satisfaction in setting a goal for
that day and reaching it. Learn to revel
in not just each workout but, ideally,
each set you do. Instead of thinking of
your workouts as something you have
to endure to reach some goal, think of
them as something that makes you feel
good.
If your training isn’t going according to plan, whether you’re stuck at a
plateau or using any excuse to skip a
workout, analyze whether you’ve fallen
Editor’s note: Randall
Strossen, Ph.D., edits the
quarterly magazine MILO. He’s
also the author of IronMind:
Stronger Minds, Stronger
Bodies; Super Squats: How to
Gain 30 Pounds of Muscle in 6
Weeks and Paul Anderson: The
Mightiest Minister. For more
information call IronMind Enterprises Inc. at (530) 265-6725
or Home Gym Warehouse at
(800) 447-0008, ext. 1. Visit
the IronMind Web site at
www.ironmind.com.
New Stuff
Hyperactivate Your Muscles With CREAKIC
T
he latest product to send shock waves through
the bodybuilding industry comes straight from
the research lab of Team MuscleTech. Creakic
is the world’s first and only muscle-receptor hyperactivator. Molecularly engineered to overcome the
inefficiencies of regular creatine pills, Creakic induces
rapid gains in muscle size and strength with its
ground-breaking patented formula. Creakic is the only
creatine pill that can attack and neutralize the negative effects of reactive oxygen species, a highly potent
form of oxidative stress that can wreak havoc on a
bodybuilder’s physique. High levels of ROS greatly
weaken the integrity of your muscle cells’ membranes,
which leads to reduced creatine uptake and severely
limits muscle growth.
Creakic’s never-before-seen form of creatine (creatine-6,8-thioctic acid-ketoisocaproic acid calcium) immediately recharges your
creatine transporters by neutralizing ROS for maximum creatine uptake. That
explosive surge of creatine into your muscles leads to increased performance and
incredible growth. If there was ever a must-have creatine pill, Creakic is it. Pick up
your one-month supply (180-count bottle) now at GNC. For more info, visit www.
Creakic.com.
Bomber Blast
MIND/BODY
Bomb Squad Confirms Earthshaking Discovery
Neveux \ Model: Steven Segers
Life is not perfect.
Ever get a slump in your pump or suffer depressing bench
pressing? Are you slipping in your dipping? Is your chinning
less than winning, and do you hurl when you curl? When you
squat, would you rather not; that is to say, your squattin’ is
rotten? Is your deadlift adrift? Your bent-over row, has it lost
its flow?
Remarkably, when these things happen in the gym, their
equivalent happens on the street, at the job and in the home.
The gym is a barometer of life, a measuring device, a gauge.
Things are good at the gym, things are good everywhere.
Order in sets and reps, a tight pump, fine form, heavy weights,
abundant energy, sharp focus, training finesse and enthusiasm
correspond with high spirits, a robust attitude, clear thinking
and smart decisions beyond the gym walls.
Low barometric readings and life is a bummer. High digits
and life is a dream. Simple. But I don’t know which comes
first. In other words, do bad workouts beget bad days or
do bad days beget bad workouts? Which is responsible for
which? Some afternoons you can catch me sitting in a corner
staring at the wall in search of the answer. Such answers unlock the secrets of the universe and solve problems like where
we come from and what we’re doing here...how do we build
mondo arms?
Life outside the gym more or less happens. Oops, here
comes a Greyhound bus heading my way in the fast lane. We
have limited control, we exert our influence, we express our
preferences, we try hard, but there are too many variables,
and life takes over. I mostly sit and wait for things to occur,
random forces pushing and pulling as I lean to and fro. But in
the gym, a contained universe, we have our hands directly on
the immediate tasks and the implements and forces that affect
them: squats, supersets, barbells. That’s not exactly control,
but it is straightforward exertion. I can start when I please, select the bar, choose the weight, determine the exercise, affect
the groove, arrange the pace, decide the intensity and stop
anytime I want or need.
Always seeking control, I take this awareness and ability
and apply my personal training formula: Maximum exertion per
set multiplied by total sets and reps performed per exercise
plus time on the gym floor equals maximum goal achievable
minus injury, disappointment or loss of blood.
I’m out of control when trying to make things happen that
cannot. It’s good to be positive—I can if I think I can and all
that stuff—but the dogface of reality must be recognized
sooner or later. Bad days in the gym visit us when we insist on
lifting more than we can lift and exceeding our limits: too many
exercises, sets and reps.
If reps are missed or the weights are too heavy or our
groove resembles the cart missing a wheel on a dilapidated
roller-coaster, the gauges pop their springs. Lost control—bad
day at the gym. Oops! Shoulda used lighter weights and
sought fewer reps, which would have assured righteous form
and delivered a satisfying workout.
Control is the key. Take control.
Top Secret: There is more than one key, Bomb Squad.
Among them: maturity, commitment, purpose, consistency,
knowledge and understanding, confidence, determination,
persistence, commonsense, intuition, Bomber Blend, courage, desire, hope, Super Spectrim vitamins, encouragement.…
Now, to define control as it applies to the mastery of our
workouts. It is the aptitude to determine our daily training
capability and wisely regulate and apply it to serve our needs
and reach our objectives.
I should be able to juggle those balls after all the years I’ve
spent doodling in a gym. I know my parameters: Do the best
I can to develop and preserve muscle and might with what
resources I have at this stage of my life (just made that up).
Within a set or two of any particular exercise I can determine
my blasting power for the day—firecrackers and sparklers,
snap crackle pop.
Taking control: This is where the rational mind comes into
play. (Good luck.) A bad day is registered only if a crappy
barometric reading—a less than terrific workout—is not accepted. It must be accepted because it’s real—it is what it
is. If it is not accepted, the lousy workout exits the gym with
you, a miserable companion, and you have a bad day in life as
well. It’s often worse for others than it is for you. You’re on the
verge of being a jerk.
Read meter, move on. Accept, go and grow.
Accepting low readings is not submitting to defeat. Where
absolute weight training is concerned, there’s no defeat.
There’s just another hard workout, another tough day, another
plodding step in the march toward inevitable achievement.
Any number of causative effects contribute to less-than-superior workouts on any given day: overtraining, low fuel, too little
sleep, general fatigue, nagging pain, injury, malaise, apathy,
distractions, stress, haste, weather and people. These are real
and need reckoning.
Note: I refuse to explain or rationalize, excuse or apologize
for any contradictions you detect in my random postulations.
Back to the chicken and the egg. So, which came first, the
bad day or the bad workout? Some will swear it’s the bad
day that follows them into the gym. I disagree. A bad day can be leveraged
to effect a superior workout. Like a spark to gasoline, loathsome daily experiences can ignite and burst into flames. Stress from almost any source is like
fuel for the exercise engine. Iron moves, muscles grow. Tempers are smoothed;
headaches are mitigated; aches in muscles and joints disperse; depression
vanishes; distractions take flight, and broken hearts mend. You can count on it.
The workout swallows them up and spits them out.
Real training doth fix what’s broken, heal what’s ailing and soothe what’s
aching.
Do you realize that with an authentic gym in every neighborhood, Western
medicine would go belly-up, hospitals would vacate, and doctors would once
again make house calls? Health insurance conglomerates would go broke,
small-business owners would have a chance at making a living, and the world
economies would soar like eagles. Grandparents would live in their own homes
for a long, long time, without crutches to hold them up or their kids to hold
them down. And their grandchildren would amount to something. Less crime,
less violence, fewer wiseguys—if only everybody worked out, ate right and
weren’t so selfish.
Self-centered training develops selfless souls. Basic Bomber Precept.
Expect too much from your training, and you’re expecting too much from
yourself. Those high standards we set—or someone sets for us—are as good
as the target on a dartboard. Aim carefully. Just don’t hang the darn thing on
your backside. Hitting the bull’s eye can be very painful. Rookie Bombers.
Lofty goals cause disappointment and apprehension for ordinary, less driven
and immature seekers, and they eventually dread their workouts. Anticipation is
exhausting. They quit before they achieve. Bomber wanna-bes (Bummers).
Seeking serious goals excites motivated muscle and strength builders. Pushing to the edge works best for this rare breed. Bombers.
People with realistic fitness goals have the best chance of survival. They
strive in stride with healthy pride. The Bomb squad.
Well, I’ll be. That sliver down below looks like the
ole airstrip. My gauges haven’t properly functioned
for ages, and I depend mostly on guesswork,
instincts, common sense, luck and a prayer to find
my way around the skies. Now to guide this thing
in the general direction of the runway and hope for
the best.
Putt...sputter...putt....The Captain.
—Dave Draper
Editor’s note: For more from Dave Draper,
visit www.davedraper.com and sign up for his free
newsletter. You can also check out his amazing
Top Squat training tool, new book, classic photos,
workout Q&A and forum.
Fit Facts
Cancer Cause and Effect
D
id you know that at least 25 percent of malignancies are caused by
infection from viruses, bacteria and parasites? According to Julie Parsonnet, M.D., in Bottom Line Health, “Millions of Americans are infected
with cancer-causing organisms at some time during their lives; most of these
people don’t develop cancer as a result. Additional risk factors work in tandem
with infectious microbes to trigger the biological changes that lead to cancer.”
What that tells us is that you want to keep your immune system in primetime condition—take antioxidants, eat right and exercise. Oh, and don’t smoke
or gorge on bacon—too many nitrates.
—Becky Holman
www.X-tremeLean.com
Gallery of Ironmen
MIND/BODY
J.P. Müller
Photo courtesy of the David Chapman collection
P
eople have long sought health,
strength and beauty from
physical culture, but it was only
recently that they have had a wide
array of choices to experiment with. A
century ago many individuals suffered
from weakness and ill health and
desperately needed advice on how to
build up their strength and physiques.
In 1904 a book by an obscure Danish
author seemed to provide all the answers. His name was J.P. Müller, and
the book that he wrote, titled simply
My System, was destined to become
one of the most famous and popular
of its time.
Müller was born in 1866 in Denmark and studied theology at the
University of Copenhagen, but it was
soon clear that his real talent was in
sports and athletics. He claimed to
have won 132 prizes in his lifetime
for such activities as running, gymnastics, rowing, skating, shot put,
weightlifting and wrestling. After a
stint in the Danish army in the corps
of engineers, Müller became the
director of a sanatorium for tuberculosis patients. There he learned to
treat patients who were debilitated
by the then incurable disease. It
was from his experience as an athlete and medical administrator that
he drew the information that went
into his book. When My System
first appeared in Denmark, it was a
runaway best-seller, with more than
30,000 copies sold in the first few
J.P. Müller, the author of My System,
poses in his business suit in this
frontispiece portrait from his 1904
book.
years of its appearance. It was all
the more remarkable because at the
time there were only about 2 million
people in the entire nation. Editions
in every major European language
quickly followed, and in just a few
years 200,000 copies were circulating
around the world.
What made Müller’s book so popular? First of all, the author promised
his readers that they could get all the
exercise they needed in 15 minutes
per day, and the exercises consisted
mainly of bends and calisthenics. The
book was written in plain language
comprehensible to any reader, but
perhaps Müller’s greatest innovation
was telling people that they needed
to take daily baths. Even if you don’t
show any sign of dirtiness, he said, if
you don’t bathe, “the fact is patent to
one’s sense of smell.” He
gave readers detailed information about how to wash
and dry off properly. Aside
from the small, shallow tub
that he recommended, no
special equipment was
necessary, and the brief
exercise routine he recommended was certainly
better than nothing.
J.P. Müller later wrote
several other slim volumes
on exercise, but they never
reached the heights of
popularity of My System.
The author had a thick,
natural physique for his
entire life, and he died in
1938 at the end of a long
and successful life as an
early exercise guru.
—David Chapman
Müller, probably contemplating a bath, poses
for this physique photo, circa 1904.
New Stuff
MIND/BODY
BSN’s Syntha-6
Neveux
“Yeah, buddy. I need three Syntha-6 in strawberry flavor.” That’s what eight-time Mr. Olympia
Ronnie Coleman said when he placed his most
recent order for BSN’s new ultrapremium sustained-release protein powder. Ronnie absolutely
loves the taste of Syntha-6, as does everyone else
who’s tried it.
BSN worked on the Syntha-6 flavor system endlessly before the company finally felt it was good
enough to release to the world. Now you can experience the Syntha-6 sensation for yourself in vanilla,
chocolate and strawberry milk shake flavors.
Syntha-6 is formulated
with fast-, medium- and
slow-digesting proteins to
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It’s low in sugar and fat and
contains zero aspartame.
For more information visit
BSN on the Internet at
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call toll-free (877) 6733727. When you call, ask
about the free five-day
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www.Home-Gym.com Best Sellers
Books:
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2) Train,
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4) Hardcore—Ronnie Coleman’s
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5) 10-Week Size Surge by IRON
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DVDs/Videos:
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2) “IRON MAN’s Swimsuit
4) “Gustavo Badell—Common
Sense”
5) “Critical Mass POF”
Top E-book:
The Ultimate Mass Workout—
Featuring the X-Rep Muscle-Building
Method by Steve Holman and
Jonathan Lawson (available at www
.X-Rep.com)
The
original
X-Rep
manual is
getting
rave
reviews.
See “Satisfied XReppers”
at X-Rep
.com.
IRON MAN MAGAZINE PROUDLY PRESENTS:
The
Bodybuilding
Stars of
Tomorrow
Here Today!
Chris Jalali’s Stats
Weight: 198
Height: 5’7” Age: 23
Occupation: Loan officer
Residence: Grapevine, Texas
Factoid: An artist, Chris has been
painting with oils since he was
13 years old.
332
Photography by Bill Comstock
To see more great photos
of upcoming physique stars, visit
www.GraphicMuscle.com
Mark Erpelding’s Stats
Weight: 198
Height: 5’ 7 1/2” Age: 30
Residence: St. Louis, Missouri
Factoid: Mark started lifting when he was 12
and dreamed of being a pro bodybuilder.
Serious Training
Francesco Casillo
Photography by Jerry Fredrick
Location: Gold’s Gym, Venice, California
Serious Stats
Weight: 215 Height: 6’
Bodypart split:
Monday: chest, biceps; Wednesday: quads,
hamstrings, quads; Friday: back, triceps; Monday: calves, shoulders; repeat
Factoid: Only adds about five pounds in the
off-season. Took first at the ’05 Superbody
World, Miami Beach (Musclemania circuit).
Readers Write
Arnold Still Awesome!
to my workouts and, in so doing, started picking up the
magazines again. I was and remain shocked—and not in
a complimentary way—at the behemoth size of today’s
champions. I realize that a return to the golden era may
be unrealistic, but clearly we will never return the sport to
sanity until the magazine editors make a concerted effort
to help. Pick up any bodybuilding magazine today, and I’m
sure you’ll agree that half of it is filled with propaganda for
a mind-numbing list of “muscle-enhancing” products. So
aren’t the magazine editors essentially part of the problem?
Frank Hrdina
Union, NJ
Neveux
E dit
orsnot
e We agree on most points, but in order for
change to occur in the healthier, more sane direction, there
must be effort by all the magazines, all the major sports
supplement manufacturers and the political bodies in the
sport of bodybuilding. It’s a complex and difficult task.
Unfortunately, we as a single publication can’t unilaterally
change things.
I finally got around to writing to let you know that I thor
oughly enjoyed John Balik’s “I Watched Arnold Train” in the
November ’04 issue. I’ve probably read it close to 100 times.
It was such a rare treat to take this type of journey into
Arnold’s training during his prime from such a trustworthy
source, especially learning that occasionally he used so few
exercises in his workouts. I am one of Arnold’s legion of
fans and respect him so much for his ability to surge to the
top of every field he steps into. I am a 33-year-old musician
who bodybuilds as a serious hobby, and articles on Arnold
keep me motivated. Having been born in 1972, I missed out
on magazines in Arnold’s heyday. Do you have any other
Arnold articles coming up?
Lewis Phillips
Lincolnton, GA
E dit
orsnot
e What a coincidence. Our next issue, Au
gust, will be an Arnold birthday-celebration issue with page
after page of Balik photos of the Austrian Oak at his best. By
the way, Arnold’s birthday is July 30. Party on!
Bigger Not Better
I read with great enthusiasm—and chagrin—John Balik’s
Publisher’s Letter “Do We Do It Because We Can?” in the
April ’06 issue. Balik argues, and rightfully so, that we are
seeing an unchecked “size at all costs” explosion within this
generation of bodybuilders (elite and otherwise). He also
asks readers whether it makes sense to introduce height
and weight requirements to level the field. I disagree and
would offer that we are witnessing a change in the sport
that, at its genesis, was supposed to be about health. Your
question concedes that there’s a problem but suggests that
we should address the effect and not the cause.
I celebrated my 50th birthday a few months ago and
have enjoyed noncompetitive bodybuilding for three
decades. A few years ago I was able to devote more time
Grow With DXO
Due to recent articles in IRON MAN as well as informa
tion in the IM e-zine, I’ve shifted a lot of my training to
Double-X Overload style. Doing an X Rep after each full rep
is incredible! I must say that DXO triumphantly and thun
derously clarifies what X-Rep training aims at. Despite ex
pert opinion that muscle growth is all but impossible after
age 60, here I am at 62, and my calves have grown nearly an
inch in one month. My arms are bigger too!
Ken ONeill
via Internet
E dit
orsnot
e DXO and other X-Rep hybrid techniques
are explained and discussed in Beyond X-Rep Muscle
Building, available at BeyondX-Rep.com. To subscribe to
the weekly IM e-zine go to the IronManMagazine.com
home page.
Vol. 65, No. 7: IRON MAN (ISSN #0047-1496) is published monthly by IRON MAN
Publishing, 1701 Ives Ave., Oxnard, CA 93033. Periodical Mail is paid at Oxnard, CA,
and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to IRON MAN,
1701 Ives Ave., Oxnard, CA 93033. Please allow six to eight weeks for change to take
effect. Subscription rates—U.S. and its possessions: new 12-issue subscription, $29.97.
Canada, Mexico and other foreign subscriptions: 12 issues, $49.97 sent Second Class.
Foreign orders must be in U.S. dollars. Send subscriptions to IRON MAN, 1701 Ives
Ave., Oxnard, CA 93033. Or call 1-800-570-4766. Copyright © 2006. All rights re
served. No part of this magazine may be reproduced in any manner without written
permission from the publisher. Printed in the USA.

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