http://imbodybuilding.com/free/manual/2007-04 by Iron Man

APRIL 2007 / IRON MAN MAGAZINE—WE KNOW TRAINING™

HIGH-INTENSITY TRAINING • THE LOST MIKE MENTZER INTERVIEW

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HardBody Hotness! Nancy Di Nino

WHATEVER YOU NEED WHEREVER YOU TRAIN™

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To Order Call 1-800-667-4626 More info at www.muscle-link.com These statements have not been evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Send check or U.S. money order to: Muscle-Link, 1701 Ives Ave., Oxnard, CA 93033. Fax (805) 385-3515. All major credit cards accepted. Call for foreign prices. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Results using this product vary from individual to individual. For optimal results consult your physician and follow a balanced diet and exercise program.

www.ironmanmagazine.com \ APRIL 2006 261

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150 DECEMBER 2009 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Growth Zone,

April 2007

Vol. 66, No. 4

page 106

We Know Training™ FEATURES FEATURES

58 TRAIN, EAT, GROW 90 More Power/Rep Range/Shock tweaks for bigger, stronger physiques.

88 MIND/MUSCLE EXPLOSION Peter Siegel teaches you how to push your belief threshold higher for mega gains.

106 GROWTH ZONE Dwayne Hines II revs you up to push to the limit and beyond for mind-numbing size.

114 PARTIALS, BURNS AND X REPS William Litz’s take on extending time under tension for extreme growth—and he’s got before and after photos to prove his point.

HIGH-INTENSITY TRAINING • THE LOST MIKE MENTZER INTERVIEW

132 REP-RANGE RELOAD Chris Pennington plays the numbers game for a bigger bench and massive pecs. X-Files is here too.

™

GROWTH ZONE TRAINING For Olympian Muscle Size •Rep-Range Reload •X Reps and Burns •Rest/Pause •Power/Rep Range/Shock

Get Your Body Back Reclaim Your Size and Power!

142 MAGNESIUM Jerry Brainum explores the research on the so-called muscle mineral. (Can it help pump you up big time?)

Mind/Muscle Explosion, page 88

158 A BODYBUILDER IS BORN 21

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PLUS: •Anabolic Firestarters •Carbs and Cardio—the Truth •Mind/Muscle Explosion!

Please display until 4/6/07

HardBody Hotness! Nancy Di Nino

C1_r3-aprl2007_F.indd 1

Jay Cutler and Nancy Di Nino (inset) appear on this month’s cover. Photos by Michael Neveux

Rise of the machines. Ron Harris explains why free weights aren’t always the answer.

166 CARDIO AND CARBS From Bodybuilding.com: Shannon Clark explains why bodybuilders need both, whether massing or ripping.

180 HEAVY DUTY Part 1 of a lost Mike Mentzer interview from 1986. BEFORE

AFTER

Partials, Burns and X Reps, page 114

198 DELT DETONATION Eric Broser takes you through a shocking shoulder workout that’ll swell ’em like melons!

216 CHAD MARTIN The ’06 Junior USA winner talks bodybuilding, life and leg training.

230 ANABOLIC FIRESTARTERS Delt Detonation, page 198

Certain vitamins, minerals and compounds can create a hypertrophic firestorm. So says George Redmon, Ph.D.

268 HARDBODY Nancy Di Nino shows the bod that weight training built.

282 ONLY THE STRONG SHALL SURVIVE Bill Starr on how to get your body back after a layoff.

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1/30/07 1:35:24 PM

DEPARTMENTS

28 TRAIN TO GAIN Knee-wrecking wrap-up and drop-set solutions. Joe Horrigan’s Sportsmedicine covers a new grip aid.

42 SMART TRAINING Charles Poliquin discusses eating out and ripping up.

48 EAT TO GROW Anabolic Firestarters, page 230

Protein and muscle resizing, glycemic-index insights and more beta-alanine benefits (that stuff works!).

74 CRITICAL MASS Steve Holman on the adaptation-confusion theory. Plus, creatine dosing and eating tips for leaning out.

78 NATURALLY HUGE

Hard Body, page 268

John Hansen cranks on the competition ignition—advice for the newbie bodybuilding competitor.

246 NEWS & VIEWS Lonnie Teper’s got a fever, and the cure is the pro-season openers. Plus, Jerry Fredricks’ Hot Shots are back. Let the gargoyle games begin.

252 MUSCLE “IN” SITES Eric Broser takes a look at bodybuilding Web sites from legends Ed Corney and Lee Labrada. And his always popular Net Results Q&A has answers on supersets.

258 BODYBUILDING PHARMACOLOGY Does testosterone kill brain cells? Jerry Brainum explores the newest research and also checks out whether anabolic steroids help endurance athletes.

Train to Gain, page 28 A Bodybuilder is Born, page 158

News & Views, page 246

262 PUMP & CIRCUMSTANCE Ruth Silverman’s review of ’06 continues with a look at what went on in the amateur femme-physique ranks.

292 MIND/BODY CONNECTION Randall Strossen, Ph.D., explains why progress is your responsibility. Dave Draper chimes in with muscle-building attitude, and a couple of hot Graphic Muscle Stars will inspire you to hit the gym.

304 READERS WRITE Jenny is worth every penny—Timea too. But Great Scott didn’t get a shot.

WEB ALERT!

from the world For the latest happenings ess, set your fitn and ng ildi ybu bod of agazine.com nM Ma ron w.I browser for ww om. and www.GraphicMuscle.c

In the next IRON MAN Next month we’ll have an in-depth look at stretch overload that will change the way you train forever—if you want to get huge! Contraction is great, but progressive-resistance stretch may be the real key to growth. We’ll present part 2 of the lost Mike Mentzer interview, in which he discusses his body’s response to steroids and the 45-minute training program he used to become Mr. America. We’ll also switch on the recorder with Flex Wheeler, who has some eye-opening views on bodybuilding and the too-huge crew. Watch for the mind-bending May IRON MAN on newsstands the first week of April.

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Publisher’s Letter

Big Dreams Dreams, in the sense of visualizing the future, are as personal and unique as the dreams we experience while we sleep. Everything starts with the dream. Whether it’s a home at the beach, the physique you aspire to or anything else, it all starts with a dream. I love the quote from computer scientist Alan Kay that Ferrari has been using in its ads: “The best way to predict the future is to invent it.” Only a few words but they have lifechanging power. I just reread a book I first came across in the late 1960s, The Magic of Thinking Big. Don’t be put off by the hokey title. Life’s accomplishments—be they family-, business- or bodybuilding-related— are all about being able to see yourself as you want to become rather than the way you are. As a testament to the book’s power and truth, it has been in print for more than 40 years. Buy it, read it, and then reread it. It will be time well spent. When James Cameron won the Academy Award for Best Picture for “Titanic” in 1997, the presenter—I believe it was Kathy Bates—asked him in wonderment, “Who gave you permission to create a project of such impossible proportions?” Cameron’s simple but profound answer was that he gave himself the permission. The fact is, we all give ourselves permission to become who we are and what we do. It is the irrevocable law of accountability. In January my daughter, Lilli, and I had the honor of attending Arnold Schwarzenegger’s second inauguration. His vision for the state of California, as projected in his inaugural speech, was a masterful example of thinking big. (You can hear the speech at IronManMagazine.com.) I was struck by the elegance and power of his vision and got to thinking about the way his vision propelled him from Graz, Austria, to the center of the bodybuilding stage and beyond to become one of the most recognized celebrities in the world. None of that happened by accident. Now he has moved to the world stage in politics as the leader of the world’s sixth largest economy. He calls California a “nation state.” It was interesting the way people reacted to Arnold’s vision. On the radio the next day three Sacramento pundits were commenting on his speech, and two of them did what negative people always do—they started to go through the litany of why Arnold’s ideas were riddled with obstacles and why the speech was overly optimistic. The third person observed that while the speech might have been very optimistic, he believed that anything Arnold puts his mind to, Arnold believes he can do. As Arnold used to joke in the gym many years ago, “It’s mind over matter—if you don’t have the mind, nothing matters.” Arnold has had a lifetime of impossible dreams that he made possible because he never gives up until the impossible has been obtained. There is only one Arnold, but the same rules apply to all of our dreams. IM

26 APRIL 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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, 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, John Little, Stuart McRobert, Gene Mozée, Charles Poliquin, Larry Scott, Jim Shiebler, Roger Schwab, Pete Siegel, 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, Ron Avidan, Reg Bradford, Jimmy Caruso, Bill Dobbins, Jerry Fredrick, Irvin Gelb, Isaac Hinds, Dave Liberman, J.M. Manion, Gene Mozée, Mitsuru Okabe, Rob Sims, Leo Stern

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: soniazm@aol.com 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: ironleader@aol.com Steve Holman, Editor in Chief: ironchief@aol.com Ruth Silverman, Senior Editor: ironwman@aol.com T.S. Bratcher, Art Director: ironartz@aol.com Helen Yu, Director of Marketing: irongrrrl@aol.com Jonathan Lawson, Ad Coordinator: ironjdl@aol.com Sonia Melendez, Subscriptions: soniazm@aol.com

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Wrapping your knees for singles or doubles may be fine, but for higherrep sets it could do damage.

28 APRIL 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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PREVENTION

Can knee wraps do damage?

probably more so for powerlifters, who do squats as Knee wraps were once used almost exclusively by heavy as possible for singles, doubles and triples. For powerlifters, but lately more bodybuilders can be seen bodybuilders, who tend to do higher reps for comon leg day wrapping up their knees before getting pound leg movements, wraps might be something under a heavy squat bar. Some guys wrap their knees you can, and possibly should, do without. before every set of leg presses and hacks too. —Ron Harris You could see it as a prophylactic measure. The wraps keep the knee tight and warm. That sounds good, but is it? When Dorian Yates Some top bodybuilders don’t think was urged to use knee so. Dave Henry, runner-up at the ’06 wraps so he could IRON MAN Pro, believes wraps don’t squat with heavier weights, he said a belong in a bodybuilder’s gym bag. big spring in his ass “They compress the patella, which would do the same can’t be a good thing,” he says. thing—with the same “There’s a reason there’s space and zero-muscle-building fluid behind the patella—because effects. it acts as a sort of shock absorber. Taking that shock absorber away so you basically have bone grinding on bone sounds like a recipe for disaster in the long run.” Another pro who gives knee wraps the thumbs-down is Art Atwood, who’s managed to build some seriously enormous quads and hams without using wraps. “I’ve only seen two guys tear their quads in my entire life,” he explains, “and they were both using knee wraps when they did it.” Here’s a final word on knee wraps from six-time Mr. O Dorian Yates, a laconic champion who spoke only when he had something meaningful to say. Once a fan was urging him to start using knee wraps, arguing that they’d enable him to handle more weight on squats. “I could also stick a big spring in my ass too,” Yates replied, “but what good would that do me?” The bottom line is that knee wraps can be a worthy training aid, but

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Neveux

Neveux \ Model: Derik Farnsworth

Knee-Wrecking Wrap-Up?

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Whatever You Need—Wherever You Train ™

TRAIN TO GAIN

WHEELS

Comstock

Peter Putnam.

BIGGER BODYPARTS

The Red-Headed Stepchild of Muscle Groups What is it about the back muscles that makes them so neglected? Much of the blame has to go to sheer ignorance. In my high school lifting years, not only did I not train my back, I had no idea I could. Occasionally I’d jump on the chinup bar to challenge myself, but I didn’t realize the exercise was anything more than a means of testing strength or getting in general condition for sports or military boot camp. I was far from alone in my naiveté. Recently I was speaking with USA light-heavyweight runner-up Peter Putnam, who’s currently playing catch-up with his own back as he strives to bring its development in line with the rest of his thickly muscled physique. “My early years of weight training were as a high school football player,” he said. “The main goal was to improve our explosive power so we could keep driving forward down the line. We did a lot of bench-pressing, military presses and squats but not a single row, chin or deadlift.” Even when his emphasis shifted to bodybuilding a few years later, he failed to give his back the work it needed. “I had no guidance and wasn’t even reading the magazines yet, so I just put all my effort into the muscles that I could see in the mirror.” Putnam believes he’s been training his back as hard and heavy as he should for only the past three years and that the improvements he’s making are satisfactory. “It’s only a matter of time now before it’s a very good bodypart for me.” Back neglect is so common in gyms and health clubs that there ought to be a hotline to report it—800-LAT-LESS. Few gym rats have any desire to develop their lats, traps, spinal erectors and the smaller upper-back muscles like the rhomboids and teres major and minor. Even many who identify themselves as bodybuilders give short shrift to back training, knocking out a few unenthusiastic sets of cable pulldowns and cable rows every once in a while when the mood strikes. They may have no desire to compete—yet. But many a competitive bodybuilder recalls a time when he or she could never imagine getting onstage and flexing in a skimpy little posing suit. So there may come a day when you start to wonder how the physique you’ve built would fare against others. You don’t want to realize at that point that you have a huge area like the back to develop to match everything else. Work your back just as hard as the rest of your body, with productive movements like chins, deadlifts and barbell and dumbbell rows. You’ll be glad you did, whether it’s when you’re in a lineup of bodybuilders onstage and are asked to turn around, or walking away from a group of girls and hearing the gasps of appreciation at the powerful back in their view. —Ron Harris RonHarrisMuscle.com

Lower-back injuries are about as common among bodybuilders as tribal tattoos. As a result, many in the iron crowd shun squats in favor of the leg press, in which the back is fully supported. Overall that’s a good thing, as the leg press enables you to train heavy without putting your lower back at risk, especially if you have a history of injury to the area. The trouble begins when you’re lulled into a false sense of security, mistakenly believing that it’s impossible to injure the lumbar spine on leg presses. IFBB Pro Chris Cormier discovered just how wrong that assumption is. Chris was just beginning his preparations for the ’06 Mr. Olympia, a contest he desperately wanted to do well at in order to redeem himself after his 13th-place finish in ’05, the only time he’d missed the top 10 in as many appearances at the O. The Real Deal has a history of lower-back problems going back 15 years, so he often uses the leg press as a tool to craft his phenomenal legs. On that particular occasion he was using the vertical leg press, feeling fantastic and going heavy. His training partner noted that he was going deeper than usual on reps. Though Chris felt no pain then, by the next afternoon he was lying on his back on the floor, unable to move. He spent two weeks in the hospital. Looking back, Cormier realizes that lowering the weight too far was the culprit. “With any leg press, but even more so the vertical type, you can’t ever let your tailbone curl up toward your torso, which is what happens if you lower too far.” Chris had herniated two disks in the past, and now he’d compressed another two. If someone with Cormier’s training experience and savvy can make a mistake like that, so can any of us. All it takes is one rep— taken too deep with enough weight loaded up—to bring about lower-back disaster. So go ahead and use the leg press, but always keep safety in mind, and descend only to parallel or just a bit below. —Ron Harris www.RonHarrisMuscle.com

30 APRIL 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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Neveux

The Leg Press and Back Stress

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 action and your pressing strength suffers, or worse, you injure your shoulder. One of the best ways to strengthen this area and create an upper-body power surge is with direct rotator cuff exercise. Once you start using the ShoulderHorn for two or three sets twice a week, your pressing poundages will skyrocket. This device allows you to train your rotator cuff muscles in complete comfort and with precise strengthening action. After a few weeks you’ll be amazed at your new benching power. There have been reports of 20-to-30-pound increases in a matter of days. A big, impressive bench press can be yours. Get the ShoulderHorn, start working your rotator cuff muscles, and feel the power as you start piling on plates and driving up heavy iron.

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Stretch to Grow Q: Can you explain why I should stretch after working out with weights? A: It is very important, especially as you age. First, if you do everything correctly from a stimulation standpoint with weights—from refueling to getting proper rest and recovery— the result should be some muscle growth. Now, when muscles are growing, they’re actually shortening to a degree. So as they hypertrophy, they’re also getting shorter and tighter. If you weight-train for years on end and then attempt a very fast motion, such as throwing a baseball hard, the tendon at the lower biceps insertion can rupture. That’s because you’ve trained the muscles and tendons at a slow speed and with heavy resistance. Once they encounter a fast, lighter form of movement, the unique stress can cause a rupture. You should incorporate other types of exercise so that your muscle won’t develop one dimensionally—and that includes stretching. Stretching can also positively affect the myofascia, which encases the muscles. Think of the skin on a chicken. Beneath the skin but on top of the meat is a thin, whitish layer. That’s the myofascia. It can become tight and thick when the body is under too much stress or at rest too often. Stretching can help loosen the tissue, but a more aggressive remedy is myofascia trigger point therapy. If you’re feeling tightness in odd places, like the neck, lower back or top of the pecs, you may have fibromyalgia. It was once thought only people who were INTENSITY

Neveux

Drop-Set Solution Q: The drop-set concept you recommend works! I’ve already put on about 10 pounds of muscle in two months. My question is, How do I do drop sets on dips and chins? I only use 20 pounds on those exercises, and that’s not a big enough poundage reduction to enable me to get more reps on a subsequent drop set. A: Try using a similar exercise for your drop set. In other words, make it a superset instead. For example, after you fail on dips, do pushups—that is, if you’re working chest. If you’re using dips for triceps, go to bench dips when you hit failure. For bench dips you set two flat benches parallel to each other a few feet apart. Position yourself face up, hands on the edge of one—behind your back—and heels on the edge of the other. Now dip. Bench dips are much easier than bar dips, so you should be able to knock out at least eight to 10 immediately after your weighted dips. As for chins, go to pulldowns when you hit failure. If you don’t have a pulldown machine, you can do undergrip barbell rows. Those actually work very well with chins because the undergrip rows train the lats in their contracted position, while chinning with an overhand grip is midrange work for the lats. You’ll feel a searing burn in your lats during undergrip rows, guaranteed. —Steve Holman 3D Muscle Building 3DMuscleBuilding.com

And prevent injuries as well

Neveux \ Model: George Farah

TRAIN TO GAIN

MATURE MUSCLE

inactive got fibromyalgia, but it’s now known to hit anyone at anytime (provided a certain predisposition gene is exacerbated by stress and some other immune factors). The likelihood of this disease happening to a bodybuilder is slim; however, having myofascial problems is common for those who use their muscles daily. If stretching and some recovery time don’t relieve the problem, take a trip to a good physical therapist. One last point on injuries: Near-max attempts can cause problems. I have seen bodybuilders rupture the pectoraldeltoid tie-in and the vastus lateralis, the outer part of the quadriceps, where the muscle attaches near the knee. The ruptures are usually due to steroid use, which can result in lifting weights that are far too heavy for the body’s frame and tendons and ligaments. Smart bodybuilders never use weights that can’t be pushed (or pulled) for a minimum of five to six perfectly smooth reps for the upper body and eight to 12 for the lower body. Staying with moderate, low-end rep counts will almost ensure a rupture-free bodybuilding career. How to stretch will be the topic next month—and you’ll be surprised at my recommendations. —Paul Burke Editor’s note: You can contact Paul Burke via e-mail at pbptb@aol.com. Burke has a master’s degree in Integrated Studies from Cambridge College in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He’s been a champion bodybuilder and arm wrestler, and he’s considered the leader in the field of over-40 fitness training. You can purchase his book Burke’s Law—a New Fitness Paradigm for the Mature Male, from Home Gym Warehouse. Call (800) 447-0008, or visit www.Home-Gym.com. His “Burke’s Law” training DVD is also now available.

32 APRIL 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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Foam rubber grips have been used in heavy bench press training by bodybuilders for ages. The idea is that extra padding protects the nerves in your hands. Some trainees report numbness after many sets of heavy regular- or reverse-grip bench presses. The foam pads seem to help somewhat. Some trainees have used gloves in training to prevent calluses. Sports performance catalogs carry denser, thicker grips to use when bench pressing. They also carry “fat” bars to spread out the force on your hand. There may be other reasons that having something to grip or squeeze can improve the performance of a lift like the bench press. There are theories in kinesiology and in neurology that activating the gripping muscles can improve the strength in the kinetic chain. Kinesiologists refer to that as the transfer of strength from one bodypart to another. I recently came across a new product simply called Grips. E.J. “Doc” Kreis, D.A., head speed-strength and conditioning coach at UCLA, gave me a pair to try. The grips caught my attention immediately. Dave Pearson, Ph.D., director of the strength research laboratory at Ball State University in Indiana, had quite a bit to say about the purpose of the grips. “The grips do not replace gloves. The grips are a performance aid. The flexors of the hand and wrist isometrically contract around the Olympic bar. I have gripped the bar since I was 19 years old. It’s never changed in 40 years. I noticed when I used the grips, I began to knock out one more rep in the pullups and pulldowns. The best explanation we have thus far is the fact that the grip diameter was changed, and this produced new joint angles. This would change the strength and recruitment of the muscles of the hand and wrist.” Kreis added, “The grips won’t work as well with other materials. The material is durable and will not unbalance the hand. People have tried using other materials, such as leather and canvas, without as much success.” From what athletes are reporting, it appears that lifts in which two arms are used are most affected. That includes pressing, pulling and rowing. Kreis added, “Female and smaller male athletes can’t use fat bars effectively, due to the diameter of the bar. Fat bars also can’t be used for power cleans, which are a key exercise. Female athletes in water polo and softball started using the grips and liked them.” Athletes reported improved throwing velocities. Pearson chimed in, “These are anecdotal reports and results. These types of reports always precede research.”

Why do the grips appear to help trainees get at least one more rep out of each set? There are several ideas. Pearson noted, “There is enough data on muscle recruitment and activation with isometric exercise to support the idea that changes can occur with a change in the diameter of the bar with the grips. That may have a significant impact on the racquet sports—baseball, hockey and tennis. The baseball bat is bigger than an Olympic bar. The added grip diameter is a good idea for performance.” If the grips only prevented calluses, no one would be excited, but these grips fall into the performanceenhancement category. “We can see the change in a single use of the grips,” he continued. “That implies a neurologic effect because the muscle isn’t stronger yet. Rather, more fibers were recruited. Female athletes gain strength through recruitment rather than through hypertrophy. Therefore, the female athletes respond faster than male athletes to the use of the grips.” On the other hand, he said, “We don’t believe the grips are useful in a ballistic exercise like power cleans because the bar must rotate just right, and too much grip force is not useful in that lift.” Pearson concluded, “I spoke with one of our biomechanists, and he stated that each person’s hand has an ideal grip diameter. For example, gripping a pencil is overkill, but gripping the thick end of the baseball bat is too much. The range is somewhere in between. If a trainee has used the Olympic bar for years and now uses the grip, he or she will have the feeling that his or her grip sinking in. I think coaches who are looking for subtle change will be interested in the grips. I also think tennis is a great choice too. There’s so much overreaching and overuse in tennis, leading to the development of tennis elbow. The grips may turn out to be a great training aid. Perhaps the best part is there isn’t any real downside to the grips.” For more information or to order, visit www.lynxpt.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.

34 APRIL 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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TRAIN TO GAIN

HARDGAINER

How to Avoid Injury In the last issue I gave you the first 10 recommendations for how to avoid injuries. You simply can’t make bodybuilding progress if you keep getting injured. Many bodybuilders seem to constantly struggle with injuries—one injury after another. Follow the recommendations in this series, and you won’t get injured. 11) Use the right weight for you. Use weights you can handle with correct technique. Most bodybuilders use more weight than they can handle correctly. That leads to cheating and a loss of control. 12) Choose safe exercises. An exercise that’s safe for some bodybuilders may not be for others. If you’re a beginner, your intensity and poundage will be low, so you’ll be able to maintain correct technique. But because of physical anomalies, accidents or other injuries, specific exercises may be problematic, especially if you’re not a beginner. Don’t use exercises that aren’t suited to you. If an exercise irritates a joint or causes sharp, stabbing or sudden pain, don’t persist with it. 13) Avoid high-risk lifting. All types of weightlifting can be dangerous if not done correctly, but some forms carry a higher risk than others. For example, rock lifting and handling other awkwardly shaped objects carry a far higher risk of injury than barbell, dumbbell and machine training. 14) Don’t follow the examples of the genetic elite. A few bodybuilders can withstand training abuse that would cripple most bodybuilders. But eventually even they pay a heavy price. Don’t take liberties in the gym—you’ll pay for abuse. 15) When using machines, follow the manufacturers’ instructions. For some exercises you may have to line up a specific joint with the pivot point of the machine. The right setup is critical. Changing the seat’s position (and thus your position) by just one peg, for example, can make a difference in the comfort of a given exercise. To accurately line up a given point on a machine with a given point on your body, your eyes need to be at the same level as the points being lined up. That usually isn’t practical, so ask someone to help line you up. Once you have the right setup for a specific exercise, make a note in your training log of future settings you require, for reference. If you’ve used a machine as the manufacturer advises (often through instructions fixed to the equipment) and have tweaked the setup to suit you and have used smooth rep speed, and yet the exercise still irritates a joint, substitute an alternative exercise. 16) Don’t squeeze machine handles more than necessary. On some machine exercises, such as the leg curl and the leg press, you need to stabilize yourself by holding onto handles or other grip supports. Don’t squeeze the handles more than necessary to stabilize yourself. Intensive squeezing increases blood pressure. 17) Be safety conscious. Never begin an exercise without having first checked safety considerations. Check that bolts are tight, cables aren’t frayed, cable connections are secure, rack pins are securely in position, adjustable weight saddles are fixed in place, locking pin(s) for adjust-

Part 2

able benches and seats are secure, and benches are stable and strong. Never use dumbbells without checking that the collars are securely fixed. A dumbbell coming apart while you’re using it, especially overhead, could be disastrous. Remember, just one accident could stop you from training for a long time. Be careful. 18) Avoid singles and low reps. Any exercise performed in Sore muscles are any rep range will hurt you if you use more prone to injury. poor technique. If you always use correct technique, all rep counts can be comparatively safe, at least in theory. Your body must, however, be accustomed to the rep count you’re using before you start to push yourself hard. That especially applies to singles (one-rep sets) and low reps (sets of two to four reps). If you get out of the ideal groove during a maximum single, you’re more likely to hurt yourself than if you get out of the groove during a set of medium or high reps. That doesn’t mean high reps with reduced weights are guaranteed safe. If you use poor technique, you’re asking for injury no matter what rep range or poundage you’re using. Beginners should avoid singles and low-rep work. Stick with medium or higher reps. 19) Don’t train when you’re very sore. Sore and tight muscles are easily injured, although a little local soreness, especially for beginners, shouldn’t prohibit training. When you’re training following severe soreness, reduce your effort level a little and build on it over several workouts to prevent a repeat of the excessive soreness. Keep in mind that when you’re sore, you may be more prone to injury. Give yourself extra rest before you train the sore area hard again. Low-intensity aerobic work gets blood flowing and can ease soreness somewhat. Massage may help, as may a hot bath. Paradoxically, another bout of the exercises that made you very sore— but done very light and easy—may help relieve the soreness. 20) Don’t train when you’re fatigued from a previous workout. If you’re systemically wiped out—which may or may not be accompanied by muscular soreness—rest for an extra day or two. Then when you’re back in the gym, reduce your training volume or intensity and build it back over several workouts to give your body a chance to adapt. If you get wiped out again and the components of recuperation are in order, there’s something amiss with your training. Modify it; abbreviate it. —Stuart McRobert www.Hardgainer.com Editor’s note: Stuart McRobert’s first byline in IRON MAN appeared in 1981. He’s the author of the new 638-page opus on bodybuilding Build Muscle, Lose Fat, Look Great, available from Home Gym Warehouse, (800) 447-0008, or www .Home-Gym.com.

36 APRIL 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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A recent study, which I discussed in a previous issue, showed that muscle gains come quickly when a person starts weight training. Most exercise physiology texts say that initial gains are usually in strength rather than muscle size. Your brain develops more efficient communication with your muscles, or, to put it in scientific terms, you develop neuromuscular efficiency. As the brain and muscles work in tandem to recruit muscle fibers, changes occur, such as increased muscle protein synthesis, that result in muscle size gains. According to the texts, though, that doesn’t occur until after an average of two to three months of regular training. Recently, however, researchers found that college students who did leg extensions were able to add muscle to their front thighs in as little as two to four weeks, far faster than previously believed. The authors cite the rapid response of anabolic hormones induced by the training. A new study expands and confirms those findings and suggests that exercise intensity is the major factor responsible for rapid initial muscle gains. Seven healthy young men trained for 35 days doing leg extensions on a special flywheel-based machine. The design of the machine made it gravity-independent, which maximizes both the raising (concentric) and lowering of the weight (eccentric) during the exercise. Maximum stress was applied to the exercised muscles. Past studies may have overlooked early signs of muscle growth because the equipment used was incapable of examining the muscle changes occurring at a molecular level. For example, more recent investigations of muscle growth show that satellite cells, or progenitor muscle stem cells involved in the hypertrophy and repair processes after exercise or trauma, begin to proliferate within four days of a single weight workout. Muscle protein synthesis increases 60 percent within 4 1/2 hours of a workout featuring both concentric and eccentric muscle contractions—the usual style of bodybuilding training. The men training on the leg extension–flywheel apparatus showed a rate of front-thigh muscle growth of 3.5 to 5.2 percent after only 20 days. That translates to a 0.2 percent increase per day. Maximum muscle strength rose by

Neveux \ Model: Michael Turcotte

Stretch lines up the muscle sarcomeres for a number of mass-building effects.

38 percent by the end of the training period. Since the crosssectional area of the front thighs (an indicator of muscle increase) increased by 7 percent, the strength gain largely came from neuromuscular changes, confirming long-held findings. On the other hand, the gains in muscle size surpassed previous expectations of the time required to acquire gains. The maximum voluntary muscle contraction improved significantly in only 10 days, detectable before any size increase. That points to increased muscle efficiency. At the molecular level the training rapidly led to production of intramuscular growth factors, mainly insulinlike growth factor 1 and its cleavage form, mechano-growth factor. The upgraded production of IGF-1 signals a biochemical cascade resulting in increased muscle protein synthesis, which in turn leads to muscle hypertrophy, or growth. The authors think that the flywheel design of the machine maximized every rep done by the subjects, and it was the maximal effort that promoted the IGF-1 response. Another interesting finding was that a muscle’s internal architecture changes with the onset of exercise. The purpose of the change is to prepare the muscle for growth. Structures in muscle called sarcomeres are lined up in an orderly pattern conducive to muscle growth. As it happened, the flywheel apparatus provided more stretch—which facilitates the lineup of sarcomeres within muscle—than usual machines. While the authors suggest that some of these changes occurred because of the unusual design of the machine, the principles could be applied to any type of resistance training. For example, since the machine imparts more muscle damage due to a potent emphasis on both raising and lowering the weight, that aspect should also be emphasized in any exercise. The stretch aspect can be duplicated by using a full range of exercise motion, including a prestretch at the start of every rep. Again, that lines up the muscle sarcomeres, not only leading to a stronger muscle contraction but also acting as a precursor of the muscle architectural changes that precede actual muscle growth. —Jerry Brainum Seynnes, O.R., et al. (2007). Early skeletal muscle hypertrophy and architectural changes in response to high-intensity resistance training. J Appl Physiol. 102:368-373.

38 APRIL 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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Ripping Up Q: I’m presently reducing my fat percentage for beach season. I’m tired of going to the beach and being uncomfortable with my shirt off. Everything is going well except when I have to eat out. My job requires me to “do” lunch with coworkers and meet with advisers from other companies. I can’t take my lunch with me because I look like a weenie or some cheap freak, and I can’t ever decide what to eat. Any tips? A: No problem at all. Actually, your worrying about it is probably pushing your cortisol level up and doing more harm than anything else. Rarely do I find a restaurant that doesn’t have anything suitable to eat. It may not be perfect,

but it’s about making the smart or the best or, in some cases, the least worst choice. I haven’t met you, so I can’t prescribe a specific diet. Generally, though, I suggest lowcarb choices. If you can, always book the restaurant yourself. That way you know there will be something appropriate to eat. If you let the others reserve the spot, you don’t know where you’ll end up—it could be at an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet or the VIP table next to Rosie O’Donnell. Here are some tips for eating out: 1) Have water with lemon or lime. That helps alkalize your system. The more alkaline you are, the easier it is to combat stress. 2) There’s always steak, chicken or other meats on the menu. The problems arise with the preparation and/or the toppings that come with the meat. Ask the waiter about any sauces or topping to check for hidden carbs. 3) Order a salad with your meat, and get balsamic vinegar and oil to make sure there are no hidden carbs again. It’s quite common for restaurants to add sugar to salad dressings for taste. The balsamic vinegar actually lowers the glycemic index of your meal by up to 20 percent. Ask for your salad to be served with the main meal. If it comes early, put it aside and eat it after your meat. 4) When you order, ask for vegetables, and make sure they’re steamed or raw. You don’t want the side of potato or rice. Order veggies—or extra veggies—instead, and you won’t be tempted to eat it while you wheel and deal million-dollar deals. 5) Tell the waiter that you won’t be having dessert, so he or she won’t ask you at the end of meal. That way you’ll be less tempted when coworkers order it.

Neveux \ Model: Markus Reinhardt

Q: I train first thing in the morning, an hour after I get up at 4 a.m. That’s the only time I can fit in workouts. My brother-in-law is a personal trainer and says I should eat before my workouts, but I feel sick if I do and usually have to stop my workout. Any suggestions? A: Even though I find that people’s gains accelerate when they have two meals before they work out, that approach may not be realistic for many individuals—particularly for people who operate in the corporate world and have children. I suggest a protein-only shake as soon as your feet hit the floor

Eating out at restaurants frequently doesn’t have to smooth out your muscularity—if you make smart choices.

42 APRIL 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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Smart Training On reverse curls and hammer curls keep your wrists in a neutral position, but on supinated, or palms-up, curls cock your wrists so your hands are back. That will give you better biceps activation. A: I just finished reading the The Brain Diet by Alan C. Logan, an excellent book that explains the connection between diet, mental health and realizing the full potential of our intelligence. It shows how poor nutrition adversely affects our mental health and success and what can be done to achieve optimum intellectual capacity. It’s a book that should be required reading for all of our political leaders, not to mention bodybuilders. Another great book that I recommend strongly is The Greatness Guide by Robin Sharma. He’s a great self-help author who’s lectured to many Fortune 500 companies. He gives you 101 success formulas of the über-successful. Each chapter is short and to the point. I’ve given this book to all of my top clients this year.

in the morning. Use a whey protein concentrate instead of an isolate, as it enhances your immune system. Muscle growth is correlated with the strength of your immune system—as the survival of so many longtime AIDS patients can attest. Then drink a mixture of branched-chain amino acids and glutamine while you train. I suggest one gram of BCAAs for every five pounds of bodyweight. Make sure that leucine is the most abundant amino acid in the stack. As soon as your workout is over, down your postworkout shake. As close as you can to one hour after your shake have your first solid meal of the day. Meanwhile, remember what Thomas Jefferson said: “The sun has not caught me in bed in 50 years.” Q: I want to thank you for your help over the years; I have all of your books and love studying to be a better trainer. I was wondering what good books you’ve 44 APRIL 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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Q: Why do you recommend cocking the wrists down and back on supinated curls?

Neveux \ Model: Jose Raymond

Neveux \ Model: Nathan Detracy

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A: That trick was shown to me by bodybuilding trainer and nutritionist Bill MacDonald of Fresno 24 years ago. Bill had trained a host of Mr. America contestants, including Gary Leonard, who later turned IFBB pro. MacDon-

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Smart Training negative-accentuated rep. Don’t worry if your curling poundages go down. The levels of growth in your elbow flexors will compensate for the diminished loads. Because of the better overload, you should be handling your previous loads in the new style of curling in no time.

Franco Columbu, Mr. Olympia and one of Arnold’s training partners, believed in establishing a strong mind/ muscle connection.

Q: What is your opinion on selecting exercises based on “feel”?

Neveux

A: I first learned this one from Franco Columbu, D.C., who was a world-class bodybuilder and training partner of the Governator at his bodybuilding peak. Multiple Mr. Olympia Dorian Yates confirmed that concept with me. The premise is that if there’s no mind/muscle connection, you’re wasting your time. Having talked to a number of high-caliber bodybuilders, I find that they tend to use exercises that they could feel well. For example, Columbu told me he felt nothing from decline barbell presses, so he scrapped them. My good friend IFBB pro Milos Sarcev is also of that opinion. He reports that he may start every arm workout with very light concentration curls and focus his mind on the shortening/lengthening cycle to the point where he can feel the mind/muscle connection, then proceed with his planned workout. The mind is an often neglected element of training. I always encourage athletes to make that mind/body connection as early as possible in their training careers. 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 scientists in his quest to optimize training methods. For more on his books, seminars and methods, visit www .CharlesPoliquin .net. Also, see his ad on page 183. IM Bradford

ald was way ahead of his time in terms of nutrition and training. Too bad the bodybuilding media never discovered him. He showed it to me as we were discussing the effect of tempo on muscle hypertrophy. Most people unconsciously initiate the action by curling the wrist in, or they curl it in when approaching fatigue. That reduces the resistance, thus improving your leverage. Since some of the load is being taken by the forearm flexors, the burden on the elbow flexors diminishes. The rationale is that you prevent the use of the forearms during curls by extending the wrists down and back. The consequence is that you increase the overload on the elbow flexors, which is what you really want when you do a curling exercise. You may well ask if that increases the stress on the wrists: No. In the past 24 years, none of the trainees with whom I’ve shared that tip have ever reported wrist pain or forearm strain from it. However, you should extend the wrists down and back only in supinated (palms-up) curls. When doing reverse curls or hammer-style curls, your wrists should stay in a neutral position. Another way to use the technique is to extend the duration of a set. When you can’t get any more reps with your wrists cocked back, curl your hands forward during the concentric action, and then lower the weight with your wrist cocked back. Since you’re about 15 to 20 percent stronger with your wrist curled up than curled down, that can substitute for having a partner apply upward pressure for a forced rep or two. In other words, it would be like a 46 APRIL 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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EAT TO NUTRITION SCIENCE

Protein and Muscle Resizing that can last up to seven hours. The rapid release of amino acids promotes protein synthesis after exercise. It also promotes the breakdown of those amino acids in the liver, explaining why they disappear after 90 minutes. While rapid amino acid appearance favors increased muscle protein synthesis following exercise, that’s only part of the muscle-building equation. The other aspect Many protein supplements involves an antidesigned for catabolic effect, bodybuilders also controlled now contain by the presence whey and of amino acids in casein. the blood. Since muscle protein synthesis occurs for 36 hours following a weight workout, an optimal nutritional environment will constantly supply amino acids during that time. Casein fills the bill here, since its amino acids are released over seven hours. As a result, studies show that casein is superior to whey for antiNeveux \ Model: Omar Deckard

Milk contains two primary proteins: whey and casein. Several studies have examined their uptake. Whey is rapidly absorbed, reaching peak values of amino acid entry into the blood within 90 minutes, after which amino acid blood levels return to normal. In contrast, casein curdles in the stomach, leading to a slow release of amino acids

New protein studies show mixed results

catabolic effects. A number of studies both dispute and support those findings. One study found that both proteins produced an equal amount of protein synthesis after exercise. Another found that providing more frequent whey feedings had an anticatabolic effect similar to that of casein. Still another found that with a constant infusion of amino acids into the blood, all muscle protein synthesis ceases after four hours. Adding to the confusion are two recently published studies that examined the anabolic effects of milk protein metabolism. The first study looked at precisely how different milk proteins affect the body’s anabolic processes. It compared the metabolic fates of three types of protein formulations: 1) micellar casein (MC); 2) milk-soluble protein isolate (MSPI); and 3) total milk protein (TMP), which contains both casein and whey. The proteins were labeled with radioactive tracers to map their metabolism in 23 healthy subjects divided into three groups. Each group got one of the three protein formulations. Prior to the study, they were all on a standardized diet containing the same amount of protein in each meal for one week. The fate of the proteins was measured over an eight-hour period. The MSPI, which had the most rapid digestion rate, also produced the highest rate of amino acid breakdown into urea, the liver’s major metabolic protein waste product. The rapid release of the amino acids from MSPI promoted the liver breakdown of its amino acids, despite the high amino acid content of MSPI, including leucine, a branchedchain amino acid largely responsible for

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GROW Nutrition With a Get-Big Mission inducing muscle protein synthesis. The breakdown occurred within two hours and produced levels of urea twice as high as occurred with the other two protein forms. After eight hours MSPI showed an amino acid breakdown 7 percent higher than that of casein. While the high branched-chainamino-acid content of MSPI, which is similar to that of whey, should have led to a sustained muscle protein synthesis effect, the BCAAs in the blood returned to baseline after four hours, in contrast to the sustained BCAA levels produced by the other two protein sources. The rapid breakdown of amino acids from MSPI makes it unlikely to have anabolic effects in muscle, according to the authors. The total milk protein produced the highest nitrogen retention of the three, which would point to a greater anabolic effect in muscle. That was thought to be related to an early metabolic and hormonal effect of the whey protein fraction, followed by a sustained effect from the casein portion. Another study came to a different conclusion. It compared hydrolyzed whey isolate—similar to the MSPI used in the previous study—to casein on strength, body composition and plasma glutamine levels during a supervised 10-week bodybuilding program. Thirteen noncompetitive male bodybuilders took either whey isolate (WI) or casein (C) in amounts of 1.5 grams per kilogram of bodyweight per day throughout the study. Thus, a 200-pound bodybuilder would get 135 grams of protein supplement daily. The study used a double-blind design, so neither group knew who got the whey or the casein. While the primary focus of the study compared the effects of the two major

milk protein supplements, a secondary focus was on their effect on plasma glutamine levels. Some studies show that higher-protein diets have an inverse effect on glutamine levels. Other studies show that weightlifters have lower blood levels of glutamine than other athletes. High-intensity anaerobic training, such as bodybuilding, is also known to lower plasma glutamine. Since whey is rich in BCAAs, which are the precursors of glutamine synthesis, the authors wanted to see how a whey or casein supplement would affect glutamine in the trained bodybuilders. After 10 weeks neither group showed any changes in glutamine levels. The whey group, however, had significantly greater lean mass gain, greater fat loss and greater strength gain. On the other hand, the whey group got an average of 250 more calories daily than the casein group. That’s significant because past studies show a direct relationship between calorie intake and protein requirements, in that a higher protein intake is supported by the intake of additional calories for purposes of increasing muscle. Interestingly, the authors suggest that whey’s higher content of the amino acid cysteine led to a reduced production of urea. That’s in direct opposition to the findings of the study that showed greater urea production from a wheylike protein source because of its rapid amino acid uptake. The cysteine content of whey isolate is also thought to account for the fat loss. The casein group experienced no change in fat loss during the study. Those in the whey group also tended to reduce their intake of food protein in favor of the whey. That could relate to the satiety effect of concentrated protein, which can have a marked effect

on appetite. On the other hand, as mentioned above, the whey group consumed slightly more calories than the casein group. So Total milk protein, which that contains casein and whey, protein is produced the better for highest nitrogen muscleretention. building purposes, whey or casein? It’s probably best to play it safe by getting both forms, such as with a total-milk-protein supplement. That provides the best of both worlds, with the rapid uptake and increased muscle protein synthesis provided by whey, along with the sustained, anticatabolic effect produced by casein. That equation equals more muscle growth. —Jerry Brainum

References Lacroix, M., et al. (2006). Compared with casein or total milk protein, digestion of milk-soluble proteins is too rapid to sustain the anabolic postprandial amino acid requirement. Am J Clin Nutr. 84:1070-1079. Cribb, P., et al. (2006). The effect of whey isolate and resistance training on strength, body composition, and plasma glutamine. Int J Sports Nutr Exerc Metabol. 16:494-509.

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Eat to Grow NUTRITION NOTES

Food Facts That can affect your workouts, weight and wellness

Mixing foods changes the glycemic index of the meal, as compared to eating a lone carbohydrate.

WARRIOR NUTRITION AND EXERCISE

Glycemic Index Insights

GI for carb selection?

The glycemic index shows how much insulin your body secretes when a nutrient is introduced into your blood. Although it sounds simple, it’s actually quite confusing. The same food can have a different GI depending on how it’s cooked. Pasta al dente (pasta that’s cooked for a shorter time and so remains slightly hard) has a lower glycemic index than well-cooked, soft pasta. Baked potatoes have a higher glycemic index than mashed potatoes because of a difference in the macrostructure of the carbohydrate. When you add butter, milk, monunsaturated oil or essential fatty acids to food, it usually lowers the GI. So if you eat a baked potato with oil, for instance, it has a lower glycemic index than a plain baked potato. Fiber slows carbohydrate absorption and therefore may help reduce the glycemic index of the carbs. Whole grains have a lower glycemic index than refined grains. Even though many people consider the glycemic index as the key to selecting carbs, I don’t believe that the GI is always as critical a factor as it’s believed to be. Fructose, for example, has a lower GI than white rice. In my opinion, though, high-fructose corn syrup, which appears in many commercial foods, processed foods and health bars, is one of the most dangerous and destructive sources of carbs. White rice, with its higher GI, is the far superior choice. —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 ori@warriordiet.com, www.warriordiet.com or by phone at (866) WAR-DIET.

Sun exposure early in life may ward off multiple sclerosis. According to Bottom Line Health, a study of more than 700 pairs of twins found that those born in northeastern states were almost twice as likely to get MS as those born farther south. Researchers link less risk with early sun exposure. Amino acids reduce muscle soreness. Japanese researchers gave 30 subjects a mixture of amino acids isoleucine, leucine and valine before squat workouts. The subjects experienced significantly less soreness and fatigue than those who took a sugar pill, which would indicate that taking amino acid supplements before training is a good idea. Coffee cranks up your workout energy, but it can also help prevent type 2 diabetes by more than 40 percent. That’s what a Harvard study found—and it only takes two to three cups of coffee a day. A high-fiber breakfast can help keep your appetite in check. You should get about 30 grams of fiber a day, but try to get a big dose in the morning. Pomegranate juice appears to reduce the growth rate of prostate cancer, says a new study. It looks as though it also promotes blood flow to the sexual organs and to the heart. —Becky Holman www.X-tremeLean.com

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KNOWLEDGE IS POWER The Best of Bodybuilding in the 20th Century Here in one deﬁnitive, information-packed volume, you have the best that IRON MAN has to offer. The articles and photos reprinted in IRON MAN’s Ultimate Bodybuilding Encyclopedia are of enormous and enduring value to beginners and experts alike. A tour de force of bodybuilding information with stunning photos of unrivaled quality, this massive volume covers every aspect of bodybuilding with authority and depth. Included is complete information on: •Getting started •Bodybuilding physiology •Shoulder training •Chest training •Back training •Arm training •Abdominal training •Leg training •Training for mass •Training for power •Mental aspects of training •Bodybuilding nutrition With IRON MAN’s Ultimate Bodybuilding Encyclopedia, you will learn Arnold Schwarzenegger’s insights on developing shoulder and back muscles, along with many other champions’ routines. This massive volume contains 440 pages and over 350 photographs.

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Eat to Grow SUPPLEMENT SAFETY

Is creatine safe for young athletes? Many parents and coaches wonder if creatine supplements are safe for teenage athletes. Some suggest that as teens are still growing, creatine may somehow adversely affect their health. They suggest that despite having no evidence whatsoever to support such ideas. A study presented at the American College of Sports Medicine Conference on Integrative Physiology of Exercise in 2006 examined the effects of creatine use on teen athletes. Twenty 16-year-old male football players from Spokane, Washington, were divided into two main groups. One group ate large amounts of protein and carbohydrate and supplemented their diets with a daily intake of 10 grams of creatine. The others ate whatever they wanted but also took 10 grams of creatine daily. Two subgroups, one of which ate a highprotein and high-carb diet, while the other group ate whatever they wanted, didn’t take creatine. All groups followed a fourday workout program, training two days on and one day off. After 26 weeks those on the creatine who ate a lot of protein and carbs showed a 20 percent improvement in various measures of physical performance, including speed, strength and agility. They also had more muscle mass and less bodyfat. None showed any signs of side effects from the creatine. This study demonstrates that creatine use, combined with good nutrition, offers teenagers significant benefits for sports performance and body composition without any side effects. —Jerry Brainum Dami, D. (2006). The effects of oral creatine in combination with specific nutrition to enhance adolescent sports performance. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 38: Supp 1:S30.

FAT FLUX

WEIGHT LOSS

Calorie Counterattack

Stay Warm, Lose Weight

Conjugated linoleic acid is a fatty acid found in dairy foods and beef—and it may help you control your weight. Scientists at the Univerisity of Wisconsin had 40 overweight subjects take four grams of CLA or a placebo with breakfast. After six months the CLA users had lost 1.3 pounds, while those who took the placebo gained 2.4 pounds. Although CLA isn’t a miracle fat-loss compound, it does appear to be helpful in curbing fat gain. —Becky Holman www.X-tremeLean.com

Did you know that cold temperatures tend to stimulate appetite? Folks with naturally low body temperatures are more prone to weight gain because of that. In fact, every degree increase in body temperature increases metabolism by 14 percent. One reason may be that higher temperatures are more conducive to growth hormone release. If you’re training in a cold gym, bundle up to keep your muscles warm, your metabolism stoked and the GH flowing. —Becky Holman www.X-tremeLean .com

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Teen Toxicity?

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Eat to Grow ANABOLIC DRIVE

The Dimension of Time and Hypertrophy

pound person, that translates into 32 grams of protein, 34.4 grams of carb, less than 0.4 grams of fat and 5.6 grams of creatine monohydrate. Guess what? The group that took the supplement before and after training had better adaptations. They demonstrated a significantly greater increase in lean body mass and onerepetition-maximum strength on the squat and bench press. That group also had a greater increase in the size of their type 2, or fast-twitch, fibers and contractile protein content. Last but not least, preworkout and postworkout supplementation also resulted in higher muscle creatine and glycogen levels after the training program. The take-home message: Take a combination of carbs and protein immediately before and after training. Your strength, lean body mass, fast-twitch fibers, intramuscular creatine and intramuscular glycogen levels will improve to a significantly greater extent. —Jose Antonio, Ph.D.

Neveux \ Model: Jeff Dwelle

When I was an undergrad wa-a-a-y back in the 1980s, my nutrition professor told me that it didn’t matter when you ate as long as the total calories throughout the day balanced your energy needs. Of course, she was the same professor who said too much protein was bad for your kidneys and that it was a waste of money to take multivitamins. Hmm, I hope she’s still not saying that stuff today. Times have changed. We definitely know that when you eat matters. Nutrient timing is one of the most intriguing new subfields of sports nutrition, and the research that is pumped out each year is amazing. Ask yourself this: Rather than taking my supplements pre- and postworkout, why not just take the stuff when I wake up and then again in the evening? It’s certainly more convenient. Well, buckle your chinstraps, my friend, and take heed with the latest research showing that timing does indeed matter. A recent study looked at the effects of supplement timing on muscle-fiber hypertrophy, strength and body composition during a 10-week weight-training program. In a single-blind (meaning the investigators knew what they were giving the subjects but the subjects didn’t know what they were getting), randomized protocol, resistance-trained males were matched for strength and placed into one of two groups. One group got a supplement (one gram of the supplement per kilogram of bodyweight) containing protein, creatine and glucose immediately before and after weight training. The other group consumed the same dose of the same supplement in the morning and late evening. For a 176-

Editor’s note: You can listen to Dr. Jose Antonio and Carla Sanchez on their radio show Performance Nutrition, Web and podcast at www.PerformanceNutritionShow .com. Dr. Antonio is the CEO of the International Society of Sports Nutrition (www .TheISSN.org). His other Web sites include www.SupplementCoach.com, www.Javafit. com, www.PerformanceNutritionShow.com and www.JoseAntonioPhD.com. Cribb, P.J., and Hayes, A. (2006). Effects of supplement timing and resistance exercise on skeletal muscle hypertrophy. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 38(11):1918-1925.

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Eat to Grow SUPPLEMENT SCIENCE

Beta-Alanine Benefits Beta-alanine is best known for its role in improving exercise efficiency by reducing the buildup of hydrogen ions, or acid, in muscle. The increase in acidity produces muscle fatigue by inhibiting the function of energy-producing enzymes in muscle. Beta-alanine works because it’s a direct nutrient precursor of Lcarnosine synthesis, which is a major intramuscular buffer. But beta-alanine has lesser-known functions in the body, such as antioxidant activity and the ability to reduce the accumulation of beta-amyloid, a protein that is directly related to the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. A new study shows that beta-alanine may also help protect the liver from the toxic effects of various substances. The study found that beta-alanine decreased the liver content of another amino acid, taurine, by 60 percent. Taurine and beta-alanine compete for uptake into

Does beta-alanine protect organs?

the body because they share a transport system. Taking taurine with beta-alanine results in the rapid excretion of taurine in the urine. In effect, beta-alanine blocks the normal reuptake of taurine in the kidneys. Taurine is synthesized in the body from sulfur-containing amino acids, mainly cysteine and methionine. When betaalanine causes the body to excrete taurine, the body responds to the loss of taurine by retaining more cysteine. That’s significant because cysteine is required for the synthesis of glutathione, a major cellular antioxidant and one of the primary detoxifying elements found in the liver. In the new study, mice were given 3 percent beta-alanine in their drinking water for one week, then were exposed to carbon tetrachloride, a substance known to cause liver toxicity. Other mice didn’t receive the beta-alanine. The mice that didn’t get the betaalanine had elevated liver enzyme levels indicative of impending liver damage. Those that received the beta-alanine, however, had no liver enzyme elevations. The study showed that beta-alanine increased both glutathione and taurine levels in the liver, likely through increasing cysteine availability. So beta-alanine may be a natural liver protector, since the major job of the liver is to degrade toxins. Beta-alanine may ease the work of the liver by promoting increased liver glutathione. Another new study looked at the effects of betaalanine in women who train. Twenty-two women got either beta-alanine or a placebo for 28 days. They underwent various tests, such as fatigue threshold and maximal oxygen consumption, before engaging in a submaximal cycling bout. Those in the beta-alanine group showed a 13.9 percent increase in ventilatory threshold, a 12.6 percent increase in time to fatigue and a 2.5 percent increase in time to exhaustion. Those in the placebo group showed no changes from baseline values. The study shows that women respond much as men do to beta-alanine supplements. The increased exercise capacity in both sexes is related to the higher muscle carnosine stores they experienced after using beta-alanine supplements. —Jerry Brainum

Neveux \ Model: Rachel McLish

References Lee, S.Y., et al. (2006). Effect of beta-alanine administration on carbon tetrachloride-induced acute hepatotoxicity. Amino Acids. In press. Stout, J.R., et al. (2006). Effects of beta-alanine supplementation on the onset of neuromuscular fatigue and ventilatory threshold in women. Amino Acids. In press.

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PERFECT POSTWORKOUT MEAL

To Kick-Start Immediate Muscle Growth After You Train Breakthrough research in exercise metabolism now reveals this fact: What you consume (or don’t consume) immediately after training plays a critical role in determining your success or failure! That time period is known as the “anabolic window” of growth. The biggest mistake many bodybuilders make is eating a meal of chicken breasts, baked potato or rice and vegetables after a workout. This is an approach doomed to fail because by the time this meal digests, the anabolic window has slammed shut. The best way to produce this potent anabolic effect is simply by drinking an amino acidand-carbohydrate supplement within 15 minutes after training! RecoverX™ offers the ideal combination and provides the perfect blend of nutrients for postworkout anabolic acceleration. RecoverX™ contains 40 grams of the quickest-acting bio-available protein from hydrolyzed whey—extremely fast protein for immediate delivery—whey protein concentrate, glutamine peptides, arginine and 60 grams of carbohydrate to give you the necessary insulin spike.

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Whatever You Need—Wherever You Train ™

Muscle-Training Program 90 From the IRONMAN Training & Research Center by Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson • Photography by Michael Neveux ou could say that we’re on a quest to find the perfect muscle-building routine—but, ironically, the perfect routine doesn’t exist. Oh, sure, a sound training program works for a while, but eventually you have to move on to something else. Why? Adaptation. The human body is designed to adapt as it strives for homeostasis—to maintain equilibrium. But we don’t want equilibrium; we want to continue to grow, and that means that when adaptation morphs into stagnation, you gotta throw the body a curve. Eric Broser’s Power/Rep Range/Shock is designed with the body’s high level of adaptability in mind—you change things fairly drastically every week. To review, here’s how P/RR/S works:

Model: Eric Broser

Week 1: Power Train every exercise with straight sets—no supersets, tri-sets or drop sets—and reps stay in the four-to-six zone. We use slightly higher reps on endurance-oriented muscles like calves, abs and forearms.

Week 2: Rep Range For the first exercise you pick a weight that allows you to get seven to nine reps. For the second exercise you do 10 to 12 reps. On the third exercise you move the rep range up to the high end of fast-twitch recruitment—13 to 15 reps. (Note: That works exceptionally well with 3D POF. We use a big, midrange-position exercise as our first movement and a stretch-position exercise as our second, and then we finish with a contracted-position movement for continuous tension. For

example, for upper pecs we do Smith-machine incline presses, incline flyes and high cable flyes.)

Week 3: Shock This week is for putting your muscles through the meat grinder with supersets, drop sets and so on. Reps for most muscles stay in the eight-to-10 range, but extended-set techniques are a must. Cycling through those three protocols has given us lots of new insights into training, not to mention some incredible strength gains. As for size gains, we’ve reported that they’ve been sporadic, but according to many, that’s how size gains happen—size surge followed by drought, even when strength is increasing. Maybe cutting back a bit and intensifying our efforts could kick up some mass. www.ironmanmagazine.com \ APRIL 2007 59

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w w w. I ro n M a n M a g a z i n e . c o m

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 90

Model: Derik Farnsworth

We’ve been supersetting incline flyes, a stretch-position exercise for upper pecs, with high cable flyes, a contractedposition movement.

Abbreviated Workouts The winter holidays threw a bit of a monkey wrench into our training—and eating—as usual, but we didn’t miss workouts. Instead, we chose to condense and combine them, training only three days instead of four during Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s weeks on the following split: Workout 1: Chest, back, abs

Workout 2: Quads, hamstrings, calves

Workout 3: Delts, triceps, biceps, forearms Even with three-days-per-week training, hitting each bodypart only once every seven days, we got stronger on many exercises, so we weren’t just maintaining. To speed up our abbreviated workouts even more, we would often do multirep rest/pause, in Dante’s D.C. style, on the first midrange exercise for each bodypart. That means we’d take a weight that

allowed us to barely get nine reps; we’d rest for 20 seconds, hit another set, rest another 20 seconds, then hit a third and final set, usually with X Reps. Yes, our rep total dropped on each set, going something like nine, six, four, but that’s what’s supposed to happen. It’s intense, especially with X Reps tacked onto the end, but it helped us blow through three heavy sets rather quickly. After that we usually supersetted a stretch-position exercise with a contracted-position one. So for upper chest we’d do Smith-machine incline presses in MRR/P—multirep rest/pause—style; then we’d do incline flyes supersetted with high cable flyes, keeping the reps on both exercises in the seven-to-nine range. For shock effect we like ending stretch-position exercises, like incline flyes, with a static X—a hold at or near the stretch position—and contracted-position moves, like high cable flyes, with an X Fade; that is, X Reps in the contracted, or flexed, position, followed by X Reps in the bottom, semistretch position.

Those quick workouts provided super pumps very quickly; however, we did feel that max-force generation was lacking in most cases. Why? The latest studies show that the best rest between sets for max force is three minutes. Now, 20 seconds on MRR/P does good things for the muscle cells’ endurance components but leaves them somewhat lacking in the force-production department due to fatigue accumulation—the muscle doesn’t have time to regenerate sufficiently to fire with max force. (Note: That may not be as big a deal for those with superior neuromuscular efficiency and exceptional recuperative powers.) To ramp up force production a bit, you could do one set, rest for three minutes, then do another set, rest 20 seconds, then do the third—a max-force/MRR/P combo. That gives you two sets on your big exercise with max force, then the third added on as a rest/pause set to transition into endurance-component work. That takes a little longer, but it’s more balanced.

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For quads we superset sissy squats with leg extensions. As strength increases, you’ll have to begin using specific machines for sissies, like the Smith or the Powertec squat/ calf.

Here’s how that looks for quads:

Pulldowns 2 x 4-6 Pulldowns 1 x 10-12 Superset Machine pullovers 1-2 x 10-12 Undergrip pulldowns 1-2 x 8-10

Model: Sebastion Siegel

Train, Eat, Grow / Program 90

Squats Squats (MRR/P) Superset Sissy squats Leg extensions

1x9 1 x 8(4) 1-2 x 9-12 1-2 x 9-12

Still a pretty quick workout, even if you do two supersets to finish. That makes it a good template for condensed workouts. We were thinking about using that style for a few weeks, training with the threeday split outlined earlier but four days a week—Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday (Monday’s workout repeats on Friday; pick up with Tuesday’s workout on Monday and so on). So while you use less volume, you train each bodypart more frequently, and the frequency varies from four to six days, depending on where it falls in the cycle (trainingfrequency variation—nice!). That may be our next experiment, but we’re not quite ready to give up on training each bodypart only once a week just yet (those strength gains are motivating!). What we’re experimenting with now are combination Power/Rep Range/Shock workouts; that is, using all three protocols to some degree in every workout. Here’s an example of how we’ve been training lats on the P/RR/S combo system:

So we train the Power range on the first two sets of the big, midrange exercise, then do a back-off set to hit the midrange exercise within the so-called ideal hypertrophic rep range. Next we finish off the bodypart by supersetting a stretch-position exercise with a contracted-position movement, but we use different rep ranges—higher on the first exercise. You may be asking, But where’s the 13-to-15-rep set? We figure that by supersetting two exercises for the same bodypart, we get that higherrep effect. In fact, the combined rep total is usually more than 15. As we said, for Shock effect we do X Reps and/or a Static X on the stretchposition exercise. We’ll do the same on the contracted-position move, or we’ll do an X Fade. That all adds up to mucho intensity and a pump and burn you won’t believe. How long will we run with that combo protocol? We want to see if it will trigger a size surge, so we’ll be on it at least a few weeks—or till we start craving some standard P/RR/S

workouts, whichever comes first.

D.C. Apologies In the July ’06 IRON MAN Dante, the creator of DoggCrapp training, was interviewed by Ron Harris. Ron did a very thorough job of interrogating the D.C. master on his system; however, the sidebar that listed exercises for each bodypart was misleading—at least to us. It led us to an erroneous conclusion—that in D.C. training you use three compound exercises for each bodypart at every workout. As it turns out, the three exercises listed under each muscle group are supposed to be rotated. In other words, in D.C. training you’re supposed to use only one exercise per bodypart, not three as the table made it appear. Our apologies to Dante and D.C. followers for that misrepresentation. That shot a few of our theories in the Train, Eat, Grow in that same issue all to hell. For example, we said, “Performing [nine] sets of compound exercises [for each bodypart] may drain your recovery ability.” Wrong, because it’s only three sets, not nine. We also suggested that maybe three exercises for three sets each was Dante’s prescription in order (continued on page 66)

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Train, Eat, Grow / Program 90 (continued from page 62)

to make up for the lack of force production. As we said, performing sets with less than 2 1/2 minutes between them reduces force production on successive sets due to fatigue-product accumulation. That’s similar to what studies have shown with preexhaustion, when you immediately follow an

isolation exercise with a compound movement for the same muscle— force production is reduced on the important compound movement. Nevertheless, if you’re looking for more endurance-component work, preex is excellent. For example, it works great on light day if you use a heavy/light program—or traumatic/ nontraumatic (T/NT) from the

book Train, Eat, Grow. Because D.C. includes some rest between sets and is mostly compound-exercise work, it has more force-generation potential than preex, but not as much as straight sets performed with 2 1/2-to-three-minute rests. That’s not to say D.C. training doesn’t work. It’s built lots of size and strength for a number of

IRON MAN Training & Research Center Muscle-Training Program 90 Monday (Shock): Chest, Calves, Abs Superset Incline presses (X Reps) High cable flyes (X Reps) Incline flyes (X Reps) Superset Bench presses (X Reps) Low/middle cable flyes (X Reps) Wide-grip dips (drop set; X Reps) Flat-bench flyes (X Reps) Superset Knee-extension leg press calf raises (X Reps) Machine donkey calf raises (X Reps) Superset Hack-machine calf raises (X Reps) Standing calf raises (X Reps) Seated calf raises (drop set; X Reps) Superset Incline kneeups (drop set; X Reps) Flat-bench leg raises (X Reps) Tri-set Ab Bench crunches (X Reps) Twisting crunches (X Reps) End-of-bench kneeups (X Reps)

Thursday (Shock): Quads, Hamstrings 2 x 8-10 2 x 8-10 1 x 8-10 2 x 8-10 2 x 8-10 1 x 8(6) 1 x 8-10

2 x 10-12 2 x 10-12 2 x 10-12 2 x 10-12 2 x 12(8) 1 x 10(6) 1 x 10-12 1 x 10-12 1 x 10-12 1 x 8-10

Tuesday (Shock): Back, Forearms Superset Wide-grip pulldowns (X Reps) 2 x 8-10 Machine pullovers (X Reps) 2 x 8-10 Parallel-grip chins (X Reps) 2 x 8-10 Undergrip pulldowns (drop set; X Reps) 1 x 8(5) Behind-the-neck pulldowns (drop set; X Reps)1 x 8(5) Superset Nautilus rows or cable rows (X Reps) 2 x 8-10 Bent-arm bent-over laterals (X Reps) 2 x 8-10 V-bar cable rows (X Reps) 1 x 8-10 Superset Smith-machine close-grip upright rows (X Reps) 1 x 8-10 Dumbbell shrugs (X Reps) 1 x 8-10 Superset Reverse wrist curls (X Reps) 2 x 10-12 Forearm Bar reverse wrist curls (X Reps) 2 x 10-12 Superset Wrist curls (X Reps) 2 x 10-12 Forearm Bar wrist curls (X Reps) 2 x 10-12 Rockers (drop) 1 x 12(8)

Superset Machine hack squats (nonlock; X Reps) 2 x 8-10 Leg extensions (X Reps) 2 x 8-10 Superset Leg extensions (X Reps) 1 x 8-10 Leg presses (nonlock) 1 x 8-10 Leg presses (nonlock; X Reps) 1 x 8-10 Smith-machine sissy squats (drop set; X Reps) 1 x 8(5) Lunges 1 x 8-10 Stiff-legged deadlifts (low partials; X Reps) 2 x 8-10 Superset Leg curls (X Reps) 2 x 8-10 Hyperextensions (X Reps) 2 x 8-10 Leg curls (X Reps) 1 x 8-10 Low-back machine (X Reps) 1 x 8-10

Friday (Shock): Delts, Triceps, Biceps Superset Smith-machine wide-grip upright rows (X Reps) Forward-lean laterals (X Reps) Dumbbell upright rows (drop set; X Reps) Superset Incline one-arm laterals (X Reps) One-arm cable laterals (X Reps) Superset Behind-the-neck presses (X Reps) Dumbbell presses (X Reps) Bent-over laterals (drop set; X Reps) Superset Close-grip bench presses (X Reps) Pushdowns or kickbacks (X Reps) Decline extensions Overhead dumbbell extensions (drop set; X Reps) Superset Barbell curls Preacher curls (X Reps) Concentration curls or one-arm spider curls (drop set; X Reps) Incline curls (X Reps) Cable hammer curls (X Reps)

2 x 8-10 2 x 8-10 1 x 8(6) 1 x 8-10 1 x 8-10 1 x 8-10 1 x 8-10 2 x 8(6) 2 x 8-10 2 x 8-10 1 x 8-10 2 x 8(6) 2 x 8-10 2 x 8-10 1 x 8(6) 1 x 8-10 1 x 8-10

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. See the X-Blog at www.X-Rep.com for more workout details.

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Train, Eat, Grow / Program 90 people, including pro bodybuilder David Henry (although recently Henry has said he’s increased the volume of his D.C. workouts, so maybe our three-sets-of-threeexercises misinterpretation was a premonition). Pure D.C. training is a great back-to-basics way to train for a few months. It also works well in a force/extended-tension (F/X) program, as outlined in our e-book 3D Muscle Building—we use D.C. on the extended-tension days, as well as drop sets, and straight sets on max-force days. No matter how you’re training, however, you’ll want to work in other methods after a few months

to shift gears. It’s that adaptation thing we alluded to at the beginning of this installment. For example, the F/X program in 3D Muscle Building is a five-week phase; it’s followed by five weeks of classic 3D POF (that’s a good example of throwing your muscles a curve). If you do give pure D.C. a try, you may want to follow Dante’s suggestions: 1) Rotate two or three exercises for each bodypart at each successive workout. For example, for biceps you’d do preacher curls at the first workout, barbell drag curls at the next and dumb-

bell curls at the next. 2) Work each bodypart twice every eight days: • Monday: Chest, shoulders, biceps, back width, back thickness • Wednesday: Biceps, forearms, calves, hamstrings, quads • Friday: Repeat Monday’s workout • Monday: Repeat Wednesday’s workout 3) Do only one compound exercise for most bodyparts, three sets with 20-second rests. Your reps should go something like nine, five, three.

ITRC Program 90, Abbreviated Home-Gym Routine Monday (Shock): Chest, Calves, Abs Superset Incline presses (X Reps) Incline flyes (top squeezes; drop set; X Reps) Incline flyes (low partials; X Reps) Superset Bench presses (X Reps) Decline flyes (top squeeze; X Reps) Decline flyes (low partials; X Reps) Donkey calf raises (drop set; X Reps) One-leg calf raises (drop set; X Reps) Seated calf raises (drop set; X Reps) Superset Incline kneeups (X Reps) Flat-bench leg raises (X Reps) Weighted full-range crunches or Ab Bench crunches (drop set; X Reps)

2 x 8-10 2 x 8-10 1 x 8-10 2 x 8-10 2 x 8-10 1 x 8-10 3 x 12(8) 2 x 12(8) 2 x 12(8) 1 x 10-12 1 x 10-12 1 x 12(8)

Tuesday (Shock): Back, Forearms Chins (MRR/P; X Reps) Undergrip rows (drop set; X Reps) Dumbbell pullovers (X Reps) Superset Bent-over barbell rows Bent-arm bent-over laterals (X Reps) One-arm dumbbell rows (X Reps) Shrugs (MRR/P; X Reps) Reverse wrist curls (drop set; X Reps) Wrist curls (drop set; X Reps) Rockers

1 x 8(6)(4) 1 x 8(6) 1 x 8-10 2 x 8-10 2 x 8-10 1 x 8-10 1 x 8(6)(4) 2 x 10(6) 2 x 10(6) 1 x 13-15

Thursday (Shock): Quads, Hams Superset Squats Leg extensions or old-style hack squats (X Reps)

2 x 8-10 2 x 8-10

Leg extensions or old-style hack squats (drop set; X Reps) Sissy squats (drop set; X Reps) Front squats or lunges Superset Stiff-legged deadlifts (low partials) Leg curls (X Reps) Leg curls (X Reps)

2 x 10(6) 2 x 10(6) 1 x 8-10 2 x 8-10 2 x 8-10 1 x 8-10

Friday (Shock): Delts, Triceps, Biceps Superset Dumbbell upright rows or rack pulls (X Reps) 2 x 8-10 Seated forward-lean laterals (X Reps) 2 x 8-10 Incline one-arm laterals (drop set; X Reps) 1 x 8(6) Dumbbell presses (drop set; X Reps) 1 x 8(6) Bent-over laterals (drop set; X Reps) 2 x 8(6) Superset Close-grip bench presses (X Reps) 2 x 8-10 Kickbacks (X Reps) 2 x 8-10 Decline extensions 1 x 8-10 Overhead extensions (drop set; X Reps) 2 x 8(6) Superset Barbell or dumbbell curls 2 x 8-10 Preacher curls (X Reps) 2 x 8-10 Concentration curls (drop set; X Reps) 1 x 8(6) Incline curls (X Reps) 1 x 8-10 Incline hammer curls (X Reps) 1 x 10-12 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 e-book Beyond X-Rep Muscle Building. For more workout details see the X-Blog at www.X-Rep.com. Note: 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.

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Train, Eat, Grow / Program 90 3) Train each bodypart an average of once every five days, a little less frequently than with standard D.C., but remember that you’re doing more work for each bodypart—an extra midrange set and stretch- and contracted-position work. You could develop your own three-day split or use the split we outlined earlier: • Monday: Chest, back, abs • Tuesday: Quads, hamstrings, calves • Thursday: Delts, triceps, biceps, forearms • Friday: Repeat Monday’s workout • Monday: Repeat Tuesday’s workout

The first exercise for each bodypart is a big, midrange movement that involves multiple joints and heavy weights. Or you can try our variation, which incorporates 3D Positions of Flexion and a bit more force generation:

2) Follow with one or two supersets of a stretch-position exercise and a contracted-position exercise, with a Static X on the stretch move and an X Fade on the contracted-position exercise.

At some workouts we do the midrange movement in D.C. style—multirep rest/pause with 20 seconds beteen sets.

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Model: Jeff Dwelle

1) Start with a midrange, or compound, exercise for each bodypart. Do a warmup-set sequence—see Chapter 12: Prelude to Mass in our e-book 3D Muscle Building—then do a straight set of nine reps to exhaustion, with X Reps. Rest three minutes, and then do standard D.C. training on that exercise, three sets with 20 seconds of rest after each.

Train, Eat, Grow / Program 90 Lots of choices and info this month. If you want to see what we’re doing in the gym at any given time, check out our training blog at www.X-Rep.com. Also, it’s almost spring, so that means it’s time to start ripping it up. Check out our supplement blog at www.X-Rep .com for what we’re using to get lean without getting too mean.

Pro bodybuilder David Henry has been using D.C. training.

Note: Our Shock week is outlined on page 66. For our complete P/ RR/S program—three weeks of 12 separate workouts—in a form that you can print out and take to the gym so you can experiment along with us, see pages 103 through 114 in Chapter 15 of the e-book 3D Muscle Building.

Editor’s note: For the latest on X Reps, including X Q&As, X Files (past e-zines), before and after photos and the X-Blog training journal, visit www.X-Rep.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

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Steve Holman’s

Critical Mass

Confusion Q: In one of your articles you mentioned “adaptation confusion.” What I’ve been led to believe about that is that it can happen from using different rep schemes and loading parameters in the same workout. Supposedly that confuses the body about which way to overcompensate. Does that sound legitimate?

Neveux \ Model: Steve Namat

A: The theory I proposed was that perhaps using many rep schemes and loading parameters in one bodypart workout may overpower recovery—there’s too much damage to sufficiently recuperate from. For example, if you do a number of low-rep sets, higherrep sets, supersets, drop sets and so on, you’re training many different fiber types as well as stressing the endurance components of the muscle cells. On the other hand, if at one workout you did mostly lower-rep sets, with only a set or two of extended-tension work, and then at your next workout you did mostly extended-tension sets with only one or two lower-rep sets, you’d be stressing primarily maxforce components and fiber types at the first session and more endurance components at the next. That may be one reason champs in the past, before steroids were so prevalent, relied on a heavy/light system of training. Also, if that’s true, Eric Broser’s Power/Rep Range/Shock routine has a lot of merit because you more

Q: In a recent Critical Mass column you recommended taking creatine before and after a workout. Considering a Monday-Wednesday-Friday program or even a high-intensity routine with longer breaks—say, three to five days between workouts— should I take creatine every day? A: You should probably take creatine before and after you train on those days and then perhaps a five-gram dose the day after just to be sure your creatine stores are fully replenished. Take it again on your next training day. So if you train Monday, Wednesday and Friday, take creatine before and after you train. Take a five-gram dose on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Don’t take it on Sunday. With more days between workouts, you’d obviously have more days like Sunday, a second off day in a row, on which you wouldn’t take any creatine. Q: I’m a 40-year-old woman, not a bodybuilder, but I train with weights two to three times a week. I’m having trouble figuring out what to eat just to stay healthy. I crave hamburgers and fries; that’s about it. What should I do? A: Eat small meals, but try to eat often. Find a good protein bar you like and eat half or a whole one between regular meals. Make breakfast some type of cereal you like, even if it’s Captain Crunch, and cut it with Fiber One (one-third Fiber One, two-thirds other—or, better, half of each). Drink some orange juice and have a small glass of milk—in addition to what you put on your cereal. Then midmorning have a protein bar. (A protein drink Neveux \ Model: Dror Okavi

Adaptation

or less concentrate on one type of stress each week. It does make sense, so much so that when I revised the old 10-Week Size Surge program in the new e-book 3D Muscle Building, I retained the three-days-a-week format of phase 1 but alternated a max-force workout with an extended-tension workout. Trainees are already reporting some great gains with that F/X application. [Note: For more on P/RR/S, 3D POF and F/X training, visit www.3DMuscleBuilding.com.]

Mixing lots of heavy lower-rep straight-set work with a number of extended-tension techniques could overload recovery because too many growth components are stressed at once. Making workouts either max-force dominant or extended-tension dominant may be a better recovery-oriented solution. 74 APRIL 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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Steve Holman’s

Q: I have a few questions: What are the considerations for determining workout frequency—or does it just depend on your schedule? Can I focus each day on a different bodypart with four or five workouts per week and get the same effect as training each bodypart more often, like every four days? I’m just not sure how to determine how often a bodypart should be trained for best results. A: That’s one of the bigger challenges when it comes to bodybuilding: You have to experiment to find your optimum workout frequency, and that can change depending on stress levels, age, workout volume and intensity, diet and so on. Of course, your schedule comes first—you have to work out on the days your schedule permits. If you force it, you won’t stick with it. I usually ask people interested in starting a weight-training program how many days a week they want to train—then I subtract one from their answer so they stay hungry for the pump. As for training each bodypart only once a week, you can experiment with that using your current program. It’s how I set up the Power/Rep Range/Shock program at the end of 3D Muscle Building, which is the way Jonathan Lawson and I are training now. It’s a four-day split, with each bodypart trained once a week. We work out on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. It’s best to try not to work out three days in a row so your system as a whole recovers (although we break that rule every year during our ripping phase). Has training each bodypart only once a week worked for us so far? As we’ve reported in the Train, Eat, Grow series in IRON MAN and in our training blog at www.X-Rep .com, we’ve gotten some outrageous strength gains, but so

You have to experiment to determine your best training frequency—and that can change depending on stress levels, workout volume and intensity, diet and so on. far only minor blips on the size meter. We’re tweaking the P/RR/S program to gear it more toward building size than strength—for example by using a back-off set on the big exercise for each bodypart during low-rep Power week. It all comes down to experimentation. We’ve tried training each bodypart once a week in the past, but it never worked for us. The new P/RR/S system, however, has a lot of potential from both size and strength standpoints—it’s just a matter of customizing it. I’m a hardgainer type, so I need more extended-tension time—longer sets, drop sets and so on—with fewer lowerrep sets. Easy gainers with more pure fast-twitch fibers tend to respond best to straight sets done with lower reps, but they also need some extended-tension work to build the endurance components of specific fiber types. If you read our training blog, you’ll see how those experiments are panning out for me and Jonathan, who is more of the athletic ectomorphic type than I am. Trying to figure it all out and getting muscle growth spurts along the way are what make it so interesting and fulfilling. 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 235 for details. Editor’s note: Steve Holman is the author many bodybuilding best-sellers, including Train, Eat, Grow: The Positions-of-Flexion MuscleTraining Manual (see page 72). For information on the POF videos and Size Surge programs, see the ad sections beginning on page 220 and 278, respectively. Also visit www.X-Rep.com. IM

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would be better, but I know that most nonbodybuilder types won’t take the time to pull out the blender and powder.) Lunch could be a hamburger once in a while, but if you go for fast food, a better choice is Taco Bell chicken tacos— good protein, not a lot of carbs, plus lettuce and tomatoes. Or yogurt. If yogurt has loads of sugar, that’s still not too bad; however, be sure to cut it with a few nuts. I like pecans. That will slow down digestion and diminish the insulin surge (which causes fat deposition). Beef jerky is a good protein source too—it’s portable and has very few carbs. Cottage cheese is excellent, and so are apples—they’re a very low-glycemic fruit with lots of fiber. I eat one every day with my lunch. [There are more suggestions and choices, as well as meal-by-meal diets, in the X-treme Lean e-book, available at www .X-tremeLean.com.] Dinner should be protein and vegetables or chicken salad. Having pasta every so often is okay, but pasta is empty calories. I hate it for Yogurt can be a good that reason. If I’m going to snack, but if it has added have empty carbs, give me sugar, a few pecans dark chocolate and wine! stirred in will slow At least they have loads of digestion and diminish health benefits, not to meninsulin production. tion warm-buzz potential.

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Critical Mass

Steve Holman ironchief@aol.com

Mr. Natural Olympia John Hansen’s

Naturally Huge

Competition Ignition

Monday: Chest, calves Tuesday: Abs, legs Wednesday: Off Thursday: Delts, calves Friday: Abs, back Saturday: Arms, forearms Sunday: Off If you aren’t doing it now, begin writing down what you do at each workout so you can gauge your progress. You should be training heavier or harder each time. That progressive increase in intensity will help you to gain muscle. As for your goal of putting on 20 pounds of muscle in one year, that’s very difficult to do. You mentioned that you’ve always been overweight and that losing fat might be a problem for you. Because of that, I don’t recommend trying to put on 20 pounds in the next year—it will probably result in more fat deposition in addition to muscle gains. If you’re considering entering a contest in the near future, you don’t want to bulk up when you already feel that you have too much fat on your body. Begin writing down everything you eat, and figure out

Merv

Q: I’d like to enter a bodybuilding competition in a year or two, but I want your advice. I’m currently in a job where I can make it to the gym only once a day for about an hour (I work from 9 a.m. to midnight every night and usually go every day or at least five days a week in the morning before work). In the past year or two I’ve hit a bit of a plateau—I haven’t really gained much (still a chubby 230 at 6’), and my lifts have stayed constant (235 x 8 on the bench, 305 deadlift, 305 squat). If possible, I’d really like to break that and gain a solid 20 pounds in the next year. I’m a hard worker. Do you think it’s doable with only an hour a day during the week and whatever is necessary over the weekend? Also, what type of diet and supplement commitment am I looking at? I’m a good cook, so I can make pretty much anything. My concern is that I need to eat at specific times of the day—once every two or three hours, right? I just turned 24, and I’ve always been a little overweight, so losing the fat might be harder for me. I’ve also been lifting on and off for about three years. My first year I decided to step it up and got a bodybuilding trainer. We trained for three months—not for a competition, just for general fitness—and I dieted pretty rigorously: 10 egg whites for breakfast with oatmeal; four meals of chicken, steak or fish; and I was taking pro-hormones when they were legal. A: I think your goal of entering a bodybuilding competi-

tion in another year or two is completely realistic. Since you’re limited in the time you can train, the morning, I recommend that you train five days a week. You can train a major muscle group along with a smaller one at each workout to keep your sessions shorter instead of doing two major muscle groups or a major muscle group and two smaller ones each workout. I don’t think you should train five days in a row, however, as you’ve been doing. Taking a day off after two or three days of training is much better. Your body needs complete recuperation after two or three days of heavy training. Plus, since you’re working so many hours a day at your job, it would be nice to have a day off from training in the middle of the week, when you could sleep in a little later. Here’s the routine I recommend:

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Mr. Natural Olympia John Hansen’s

Naturally Huge

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If you have limited time to train, work on a major bodypart and one minor one.

Meal 1 (preworkout): 1 serving whey protein with water, 1 cup oatmeal, 1/2 banana Meal 2 (postworkout): 3 scoops RecoverX with creatine Meal 3: 1 egg, 7 egg whites, 1/2 cup oatmeal with 1/2 cup blueberries Meal 4: Protein drink made with water, 2 scoops Pro-Fusion protein powder, 1 tablespoon flaxseed oil

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how many calories, protein, carbs and fats you’re consuming on a daily basis. That will give you a good idea of where you need to go. Many bodybuilders who begin a precontest diet don’t have any idea of how many calories they’re eating in the off-season. When they start dieting for the contest, they often cut their calories or carbs too low. They might be able to eat more calories and still lose the fat while keeping their metabolism fast if they knew what they were eating in the off-season. Yes, you need to eat every 2 1/2 to three hours. It doesn’t matter what time you eat as long as you eat consistently in that time frame. If you’re training early in the morning, I recommend that you have a whey protein drink with oatmeal about 45 to 60 minutes before starting your workout. That will give you the amino acids and carbs you need to fuel your workout. Immediately after your workout have a drink like RecoverX, which contains 40 grams of fast protein and 60 grams of fast carbs. That will give you the nutrients you need to properly recuperate from your session. When you get home from the gym, you can eat break-

fast, which could consist of egg whites and oatmeal. The rest of your meals should be either protein drinks (I recommend the combination of whey, casein and egg protein found in Pro-Fusion protein powder and Muscle Meals meal replacements) or lean protein (such as chicken, fish, turkey or lean red meat) and vegetables. To get leaner, you should eat most of your complex carbs in the morning and early afternoon, tapering them off as the day progresses. If you can continue building muscle mass while staying lean, you’ll be in a better position to prepare for a contest when the time comes. Here’s an example of a good offseason diet that will keep you lean while letting you build muscle. Experiment with it until you find the number of calories and amounts of protein, carbs and fats that you need.

Meal 5: 5 ounces chicken, 150 grams sweet potato, 3 ounces broccoli Meal 6: Protein drink made with water, 2 scoops Pro-Fusion protein powder Meal 7: 4 ounces lean steak, 1 cup green beans

Meal 8: Protein drink made with water, 2 scoops Pro-Fusion protein powder, 1 tablespoon flaxseed oil Q: What do you think is the best age for reaching your peak in bodybuilding? Many people feel that natural bodybuilders don’t reach full muscle maturity until they’re in their 40s. A: Reaching your peak in bodybuilding is really specific

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Mr. Natural Olympia John Hansen’s

Naturally Huge both worlds, muscle maturity, size and strength combined with a metabolism that would let me bulk up and cut up with little difficulty. When I reached my late 30s, I noticed a definite change. My metabolism was slower, and bulking up in the off-season resulted in more fat deposition than muscle gain. It was also much harder to lose fat when it came time to diet for a contest, and I noticed that my strength and muscle mass had decreased slightly. The reason for those changes has to do with the naturally declining hormone levels as we age. Our growth hormone (which regulates bodyfat deposition) and testosterone (which regulates muscle mass and strength in addition to other masculine characteristics) decline after the age of 25. By the time we get to our late 30s and early 40s, those hormone levels are naturally lower than they were when we were in our 20s and early 30s. In this column last month I had a story on Murrell Hall, an outstanding 64-year-old bodybuilder from Illinois. Murrell has an incredible physique, with abs that most 20-yearolds would die for. He’s been training hard and consistently since he was in his 20s. Murrell recently took fifth place in the open division of the NPC Natural Mid-States, where he competed against guys who were in their 20s and 30s. Even so, he recently admitted to me that he believes he’s lost about 15 pounds of muscle mass over the past 30 years. Murrell is probably as dedicated a bodybuilder as you’ll ever find, but he’s lost some muscle because of his naturally declining hormones. Despite being in his 60s, he’s maintained a physique that’s fantastic for any age. He still trains hard and eats a clean bodybuilding diet all year long and he has the physique of someone 20 to 30 years younger because of it. But even Murrell would admit that he peaked physically when he was younger. That’s why I feel that the early to mid-30s is the peak period for natural bodybuilders. If you’ve been training for at least 10 years at that point, you will have developed the muscle mass and maturity and your metabolism will still be fast enough to enable you to reach your best condition. Editor’s note: John Hansen has won the Natural Mr. Olympia and is a two-time Natural Mr. Universe winner. Visit his Web site at www.natural olympia.com. You can write to him at P.O. Box 3003, Darien, IL 60561, or call toll-free (800) 900-UNIV (8648). His new book, Natural Bodybuilding, and new training DVD, “Real Muscle,” are now available from Home Gym Warehouse, (800) John Hansen 447-0008 or www .Home-Gymcom. IM J o h n @ N a t u r a l O l y m p i a . c o m Neveux

Photos courtesy of Murrell Hall

to the individual. BodybuildMurrell Hall is ers who are still competing so-called easy at age 64. gainers will look fantastic when they’re in their teens and early 20s. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Casey Viator and Lee Haney immediately come to mind when I think of bodybuilders who achieved incredible development while they were still teenagers. Arnold had nearly 20-inch arms as a teen, and he won the NABBA Mr. Universe contest at only 20 years old. Lee Haney won the Teenage Mr. America at 19 and was the biggest bodybuilder competing in the ’80 Mr. USA at 20. Casey Viator set the record for the youngest Mr. America winner when he won the title at 19. I think a bodybuilder who begins training when he’s in his teens has a big advantage over one who starts training in his mid- to late 20s. The teenage body is growing and responds rapidly to heavy training and nutritious food. In fact, many people have very fast metabolisms at that age, so they can eat lots of calories and stay lean while adding muscle mass. Arnold, Lou Ferrigno, Haney, Viator, Boyer Coe, Jay Cutler, Rich Gaspari and many other professional bodybuilders built the foundation of their physiques during their teenage years. The muscle mass and development that they created then paved the way for the incredible physiques they displayed as they matured. I did the same thing when I was young. Although competing so often as a teenage bodybuilder (I entered 10 competitions between the ages of 16 and 19) kept my bodyweight down because of the constant dieting, I was able to bulk up to 230 pounds by the time I reached 21. The size I developed at that age was a major asset to me in later competitions. As for muscle maturity, I think a natural bodybuilder reaches his peak in his early to mid-30s. I won my first Natural Mr. Universe contest at 29, but I think I reached my physical peak when I was between 32 and 35. When I was in my early to mid-30s, I was able to bulk up in the off-season to 235 to 240 pounds, and my metabolism was still fast enough to enable me to get down to around 205 ripped pounds for my competitions. I had the best of 82 APRIL 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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Mind/Muscle Explosion

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Pushing Your Belief Threshold to New Size Detonations by Peter C. Siegel, R.H.

hink about those who possess big, powerful, muscle-packed physiques. Then think about you. Hmm, what’s the difference? Well, responses here frequently include genetics, drugs, number of years training, being an easy gainer and so on. Yes, perhaps those factors have played a role in structuring the physiques of the standout athletes you want to be like. You’ve been training for a while now, though, haven’t you? You’ve also been consistent with your workouts, training hard and heavy and tenaciously pushing yourself. No doubt you’ve made gains compared to where you were when you began to train. So why aren’t you bigger and stronger than you are now—at least close to the champs you emulate? “Uh, well, those other guys take steroids.” Maybe they do, but let me tell you, there’s a factor just as powerful, perhaps more so, as drugs that moves you into realms of increased size and power. Let me give you some personal stats here that may surprise and inspire you. First, I do not use steroids. I take a little creatine with apple juice about one hour before each of my workouts and have a protein shake after I’m done. I train intense and heavy and push myself to the max, every workout (I’ve been training like that for 32 years). I’m 50 years old, and I do leg presses with up to 1,000 pounds for 10 reps. I work up to barbell rows with 315, dumbbell rows with a 200-pound dumbbell and seated cable rows with the stack—300 pounds.

All natural, all “balls to the wall,” all conquest intensity and challenging myself to the limit at each workout. I’m not as huge as the Mr. Olympia competitors who consult me, but I am at a size and power level that provide me an abundance of self-respect and esteem. Hey, I’ve worked my ass off to get where I am, and I strive to keep improving. (You can come to World Gym in Marina del Rey, California, between 8:30 and 10 nightly to see me walking the walk.) Having been around the sport for so long now, having written and published hundreds of articles on the mind and bodybuilding since 1980, and having personally worked with individuals who’ve gone on to win Mr. America, Mr. Universe and Mr. Olympia titles, I can tell you one thing right here: What moves people into the realm of champion is what they honestly, subconsciously believe about: • How big they can get • How strong they can get • How powerful they can become • How physically commanding and dominant they can become • How successful they can ultimately become Let me go more deeply into that awareness, so you’ll fully understand what I mean.

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Belief-directed mind power fuels the workout machine, and what fuels the machine determines what it will ultimately produce. 90 APRIL 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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Mind/Muscle Explosion

The Workout Machine

Do you think Ronnie Coleman puts any limits on how big he can get? No way!

Comstock

You know the ones. They always look around at life—seeing what exists outside of them—and by selfassessment and so-called reason determine what they can and cannot have, do, be, acquire and/or become. They’d really like to drive the sleek new cars, wear the high-fashion clothes and reflect accomplishments and successes similar to those they see on TV and read about in magazines. In so many cases, however, as they think about those things, they creatively think of all the “justifiable” reasons that they can’t have them instead of thinking about what they could do, pursue or produce that would enable them to get what they say they want. Belief-directed mind power fuels the workout machine, and what fuels the machine determines what it will ultimately produce. Three imponderables are at work here: 1) Why do they think they’re incapable of reaching or experiencing the increase they say they really want, embracing limiting, self-compromising beliefs? 2) Why do they wait to see what the world around them offers and/or produces (and then become “want seduced” by others’ creations)? 3) Why, instinctively, don’t they consider why they possibly could get/acquire/achieve what they say they want—and then, fueled by total confident resolve, go about creating and/or actualizing it? Here’s the understanding that will either floor you or kick your ass into proactive-success gear: You’ll wait for the world to bring forth new and evolved things, or you’ll position your “what I feel is possible” framework in relation to acquiring and producing what is new (and desired). From that contrast, you’ll establish your “what I can and cannot have/ be” beliefs. Or (and here’s the secret to increased muscular growth and increase in any area of your life) you’ll look deeply into yourself, indeed, more deeply into your very soul, and will become a self-starter who forges an expanded belief regarding what’s possible for you. You’ll then invest your full power into the selfconstructed new belief and move to actively externalize it.

Retooling Your Belief System the Champion’s Way Were you born to “can’t”? Were you born to “not to”? Are you here to want but (in so very many cases) not have? What do you sense about those who bring forth the new and evolved believe? I can tell you unequivocally that they think in terms of advancing what is, going beyond the current, widening their possibility scope—and then creating the more they believe they can. They perceive more is possible, and possible for them. They see it clearly in their minds. They give themselves every conceivable reason that they can, are capable of, should and will produce, acquire or actualize it. More important, through a compelling faith— through invincible, expanded belief—they act and keep acting, filled with self- and earth-moving

conviction, until their belief becomes materialized fact. Do you think Ronnie Coleman, Jay Cutler, Gunter Schlierkamp or Lee Priest put any limits on how big they can get? Or how strong they can become? Or on their ability to use the poundage they know they must to get to the size and power realms they determine they’ll reach? They don’t. Neither does any other champion in bodybuilding or life. Sir Edmund Hillary had an expanded belief when he conquered Mount Everest. Howard Schultz had an expanded belief when, despite continual negative external commentary, he went on to found Starbucks Coffee. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lee Haney, Dorian Yates and Ronnie Coleman all had (Coleman still does) expanded belief— which drove them year after year to keep growing and improving in their pursuit to win the Mr. Olympia title numerous times (which they all did). www.ironmanmagazine.com \ APRIL 2007 91

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Mind/Muscle Explosion

So just what do you believe regarding how big you can get, how powerful you can become—indeed, how successful you can become in your bodybuilding efforts? If such beliefs are not inspiring and do not suggest progress and triumph, why do you embrace them? Indeed, why do you have and entertain them at all? (Are they, in fact, even yours—truly self-determined, self-established, self-legislated by you, of you, and for you? Hmm, probably not.) “Yeah, Pete, but the people you just cited are all monster individual success stories; I’m just, well, me.” Exactly my point. At one time they were just so-called ordinary people with dreams and aspirations. What separated them from the others, what compelled them to the heralded levels they reached lay in what and how they believed—and because they believed. Belief is your choice. Belief is your responsibility. Belief is your personal commitment to move yourself toward a greater, more substantive and more successful life. If you keep it in check and constricted, your body, and life, will reflect it. If you expand it (in a moment I’ll show you how), you’ll clearly come to grow and advance. You can think of all the reasons you want as to why something “can’t” or you “can’t.” New and expanded belief, however, poignantly and demonstrably overcomes it all. Just ask little shepherd boy David what he believed before he went on to kick Goliath’s ass. You taking a 16-inch arm to 17. Or 17 to 18. Then 18 to 19 follows suit. So does, for example, coming to bench more, building more massive delts, lats, pecs and quads—and coming to forge the thickly chiseled muscle and power you’ve been holding in the back of your mind as what you really ultimately want from your training. Literally, what you believe, you become.

Expanding Your Bodybuilding Belief Threshold (the Mental State That Compels Increased Training Intensity and Growth) Now we’ll work on expanding your bodybuilding belief regarding the size and strength possible for you so you don’t limit yourself and so you can bring forth the most and best you’re truly capable of. Can you become bigger and stronger than you now are? Well, you already know the answer is yes. Before we get into the specific muscular-belief and inner-power expanding process, let me first discuss the concept of belief momentum. Once you experience it, you can produce an increase-related result because you naturally broaden your belief with the awareness that what you either didn’t know was possible or never before experienced is now

possible. Your mind instinctively says, “Interesting. If I did that, then I can go even beyond that.” Then your belief expands even more, and you begin focusing on a realm beyond what you just experienced and produced. You tenaciously reach toward—and attain—that level, and the “belief broadening awareness” process, which naturally focuses on even greater success (and the behavior you use to actualize it), continues. The belief momentum has bearing on any process of increase—whether it’s making money, generating peak athletic performance, personal production levels or building a powerful, thickly muscled physique. It stops only when you “determine” that’s all there can be, or is, for you. Let me tell you from almost three decades as the country’s leading peak-performance hypnotherapist: You never hit your ultimate potential. All you do is actualize and unfold more of it as you continue to expand your belief.

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The belief momentum has bearing on any process of increase—whether it’s making money or building a powerful, thickly muscled physique.

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Where’s Your Belief Regarding What You Can Physically Become?

Mind/Muscle Explosion

Comstock

Give yourself every reason you can to believe that it’s fully possible for you to create and bring forth increased muscular dimension.

First, thoughtfully read through this five-step process in its entirety. Then apply it exactly as outlined.

Step 1: Perceptual Contrast. In your home, preferably in the evening after you’ve completed your major activities, do the following: Decide on the bodypart you really want to improve (chest or lats or whatever). Focus on only one bodypart, so all your mental energy can be dialed in. Next, lie comfortably on your back on either your couch or bed, and take three l-o-n-g, d-e-e-p breaths—inhaling deeply through your nostrils and exhaling easily through your mouth. Now, to the best of your ability, graphically envision and f-e-e-l the muscle in its current dimension. Then, mentally expand it—and feel it occurring to a level beyond where it is now and into a realm you decidedly know is possible for you to produce (17-inch arm to 17 1/4 to 17 1/2, etc. ). Vividly experience (and feel) yourself possessing the increased muscular size. Visualize a tape measure clearly indicating that you possess the bigger size. 94 APRIL 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Step 2: Visualize the Workout Effort You Know Will Produce the Experience of More.

Step 3: Self-Convincing: Giving Yourself the Reasons It’s Possible—and Possible for You.

Shift your attention to you workNow, having completed steps 1 ing out at your gym. Mentally, and 2, direct your thinking so you’re graphically perform one set of two giving yourself every reason you can different exercises you’ll be doing to to believe that what you just menactualize your expanded belief. tally experienced is possible for you For example, for your arms, you’d physically. visualize standing barbell curls, or For example, you might want to preacher curls, or incline dumbbell use notions such as: curls, etc. Once you decide on the two exercises you’ll mentally engage, imaginatively step into the workout scenario, begin your set, and thoroughly f-e-e-l yourself performing each tenacious, locked-in feverish rep of each set. (Really mentally crank out each rep with total intensity.) Don’t be surprised to find your heart rate, body temperature and breathing rate magnify as you get deeply into training that’s geared to actualizing your expanded belief. Then, after you’ve envisioned yourself mentally performing both sets (as outlined), let yourself feel the intense flush of blood—and the burn— your lasered effort produced in the muscle you mentally trained. Arnold’s expanded belief drove him in

bodybuilding and still drives him today.

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The Process: Pushing Your Belief Into New Growth-Inducing Realms

• When I’ve trained exceptionally hard, I’ve gotten noticeable results. As I continue training fiercely hard, I’ll continue getting results. • If I truly believe something is possible for me—and fully set my mind to it—I can and will make it fact. • When I’m seriously motivated and confident that success can happen for me, I feverishly work in the way I must—for as long as I must—until it does. • When I eat right, train tenaciously like a warrior and invest my whole mind in getting bigger, stronger and more commanding, I make my body grow. I can and will do exactly the same thing—now. You can use these notions or compose your own. Remember: Give yourself every reason you can to believe that it’s fully possible for you to create and bring forth increased muscular dimension.

Next, to return to your full conscious awareness, feel the backs of your arms, legs, torso and head on the mattress or cushions beneath you. Then just easily let your eyelids open. Inhale deeply. And s-t-re-t-c-h. Then go on to engage your next planned activity.

Step 5: Committed Action Follow Through. Now you become conscious of upholding your expanded belief (regarding the bodypart you’ve chosen to increase) when you work out. You see and think of it this new way. You train every set the intense way you visualized. You mentally exclaim your triumph affirmation before and after each workout. You stay in this mental-conviction zone until you physically experience that your expanded belief has become a muscular fact. I guarantee that if you stay with steps 1 through 5 as I’ve outlined them, you’ll come to experience your new belief as fact. You’ll then start enjoying the exceedingly positive impact of belief momentum.

The Reinforcement

Neveux \ Model: Carmen Garcia

Stay with steps 1 through 5 regularly, until your physique conclusively reflects your new, expanded belief. That means setting aside time each day to mentally condition yourself to grow. If you’re serious about wanting more, you’ll engage the process eagerly and regularly. Why? Because you’ll realize you have the missing link now to bypass self-imposed, limiting beliefs. Remember: What you truly believe, you will truly become.

If you want it, believing it can happen is the first step.

Step 4: Subconsciously “Ingest” the Expanded Belief Triumph Affirmation. Now, firmly say to yourself (and mean it), “I choose what I believe. I determine what’s possible for me. And the more I envision and experience it, the more I direct my workout efforts to decidedly unfold that belief.”

Editor’s note: Pete Siegel is the country’s foremost sports and peak-performance hypnotherapist. Check out his acclaimed Think & Grow BIG and Steppin’ Up to MegaMuscle and Power!, mental-training programs for massive bodybuilding success at www.IncredibleChange .com. There you’ll also see the list of bodybuilders he’s worked with who then went on to win Mr. America, Mr. Universe and Mr. Olympia titles. IM

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Model: Hidetada Yamagishi

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Take It to the Limit—and Beyond— to Build Extreme Muscularity by Dwayne Hines II re you growing? When it comes to building the muscularity of your physique, that’s a crucial question—and so is your answer. Look at it this way—if you’re not growing, what are you doing in the gym? Trying to break even? Breaking even is good for the guy who doesn’t want to end up in a nursing home, but for anyone who’s serious about muscle, the bottom line is growth. The obsession with growth applies to all areas of life. In finance, the ready money goes to companies that are growing, and big companies are always trying to grow their dividends, their income, their assets. Even relationships are discussed in terms of growth. Growth shows up everywhere because it is vital for life. There are three alternatives here on planet Earth—you’re breaking even, losing ground or growing. That paradigm can be applied to most anything, and especially to building the body. www.ironmanmagazine.com \ APRIL 2007 107

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Complacency Kills

must send the body a signal that it needs to step it up—which it will never do unless you step it up in the gym. Gallagher makes a very succinct statement: “The human body does not alter itself in response to sameness.” Doing the same routine or any routine that doesn’t push the envelope for your physique will not bring about change.

Complacency is the deadly enemy of growth. Although loss (decrease, shrink, diminish) is the opposite of growth, complacency is the tool that delivers it. It’s insidious, and that’s precisely the reason that complacency is so nasty. Complacency serves up loss in such a subtle manner that many people don’t recognize what’s going on. Facts don’t cease to exist simply because you ignore them, and you incur the loss nonetheless. You can see countless examples in any gym—guys whose arm size never increases, weight loads that remain the same, max-out totals that never increase. Complacency kills progress. Are you complacent? The opposite of complacency is challenge. To break out of the complacency trap, you must challenge your body—and your mind—at various levels. As five-time world master powerlifting champion Marty Gallagher puts it, “To trigger physical progress, you have to bump up against current boundaries. You have to test the limits and break the barriers. You have to deal with the pain and discomfort a serious exercise induces. You cannot trigger muscle hypertrophy (the core goal of all progressive-resistance training) by training submaximally.” So, the question becomes, Are you bumping up against current boundaries? And if not, why not? If you’re not challenging yourself—if you are coasting below your physique’s boundaries—you cannot expect progress. To trigger physical progress in your physique, you

Keep a training journal to minimize guesswork.

Tracking Training Trajectory

As the Eagles said, “Take it to the limit one more time.”

Intelligent Barrier Busting

Model: Hidetada Yamagishi

Complacency kills progress. Challenge kills complacency.

The key to forcing the body to change is to break through barriers. Exactly how do you do that? The Eagles sang, “Take it to the limit one more time,” and that is the perfect answer. It’s essential to take your body beyond where it has been. That said, you need to apply a little intelligence. You don’t want to push yourself to oblivion at every workout. That’s a sure ticket to overtraining, injury and a compromised immune system. Instead, push your body to new limits systematically over a period of time. Your training doesn’t have to produce new achievements at every workout, but it should be producing new achievements over time. You may break through a barrier every other week. Or every month. Or maybe every three months. The goal is the overall trajectory of your training—is it up, flat or down? Gallagher suggests establishing a baseline performance level that you strive to exceed in some manner or fashion; for example, nudging poundage or repetitions upward.

If you want to track your training trajectory accurately, keep a training journal. Without one, everything you do is guesswork. The thinnest line is better than the stoutest memory, it is said, and keeping track by getting your training achievements down on paper is crucial to growth. It will help you set up incremental increases in your work that will get you beyond the previous workout’s numbers. It will show you in black and white if you are really progressing. Keeping a training journal helps remove much of the subjectivity of training and enables you to track even subjective factors. For instance, if you’re feeling under the weather prior to a workout, you can note that for future reference. The path to growth is no mystery. You must push your body further in a measured pace. Forget all the fancy workouts and supposedly secret tips. The bottom line is that your body won’t grow unless you make it. Yes, that involves a lot of pain, but that’s where the growth lies. If you want to make progress with your physique, you have to push into the growth zone. (continued on page 112)

Your body won’t grow unless you push its pain threshold.

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Further Than Failure! Normal muscular failure means you can no longer do another full-range rep in good form, which is fine most of the time. Sometimes, though, you have to take it to the next level—further than failure and into the growth zone. That means going past the point of normal muscular failure by using one or more of the following techniques:

1) Cheat reps. Loosen up your form a bit and use some momentum to complete a few more full repetitions. For example, if you’re doing barbell curls, when you reach the point where another strict rep is impossible, swing the weight up using a slight torso bend at the beginning of each rep and perhaps lean back a bit to complete the rep. The point is to use the least amount of cheating possible to complete the rep. 2) Forced reps. A spotter helps you complete one or more reps when you cannot get any more on your own. For example, during bench presses, when you get stuck at the midway point, your spotter will pull up on the bar just enough to enable you to complete the rep. Your spotter should provide the least amount of help possible. 3) Negatives. A spotter helps you complete the positive portion of the next rep so that you can lower the bar as slowly and with as much control as possible. (Unlike what happens with a forced rep, the spotter helps you get the bar back to the top with you using the least amount of force possible.) You reach positive, or concentric, failure first, but the muscle hasn’t yet reached negative, a.k.a. eccentric, failure; so with your partner’s assistance you can continue the set working only the negative portion of the rep. 4) Rest/pause. Pick a weight that you know you can only get two to four reps with. Once you reach failure, set the weight down for about 15 seconds. Pick up the weight and attempt to get another one or two reps. Set the weight down for another 15 seconds, and repeat. You may be able to do it three or four times before the entire rest/pause set is complete; that is, you can’t get any more reps.

Model: Lee Apperson and Alexander Lee Apperson

Balik

5) Drop sets. Lift a weight to failure, and then remove 15 to 20 percent of the weight (or grab lighter dumbbells if it’s a dumbbell exercise) and continue to lift without resting. You can repeat the process two to three times before terminating the set. The drop-set technique works particularly well with dumbbell exercises in what are called down-the-rack sets. That’s where you begin an exercise, like laterals raises, with, say, 35-pound dumbbells, and when you reach failure, you go to 25s, 15s and then 5s. Yes, it’s pretty painful— but very effective! 6) Partials. Perform half or quarter reps after you reach failure on full-range reps. End-of-set partials produce a very painful lactic acid burn in the muscle, especially when you do them rapidly. They’re best used on exercises like curls, laterals, leg extensions, leg curls and similar movements, rather than bench presses, squats, deadlifts and so on, on which you need a spotter and the danger level is high. End-of-set partials done at the max-force point on the stroke of an exercise are called X Reps, and they are an even more effective form of the partials technique [see www.X-Rep.com for more info].

Just remember that going beyond failure is not for beginners or even most intermediates. Most people can grow quite nicely simply by training near or right at normal failure. Only advanced trainees should push themselves to that level, as their bodies are better adapted to the rigors of such training ferocity. They often need to push themselves that far to force continued overcompensation to take place—the key to growth. That said, it’s easy to overtrain using techniques like the ones discussed above no matter how advanced you are, so use them sparingly. See you at the gym—the only place in the world where failure is a positive thing! —Eric Broser www.PRRSTraining.com IM

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Partials, Burns & X Reps Extending Time Under Tension for Extreme Muscle Size lot has been written recently about time under tension and the optimal amount of time a set must last to trigger hypertrophy. For pure strength gains a shorter time under tension is best, as it aids in fortifying tendons and ligaments. Basically, one to five reps works best for power. If your goal is to add mass, however, you need a longer time under tension. Even top pros like Ronnie Coleman use higher reps with great success. Coleman does flirt with maximum poundages on certain lifts, but if you watch him train, you’ll notice that a good portion of his sets are in the eight-to-15 range. (I think the max-single attempts on squats and deadlifts that he does on his various DVDs are as much for show as they are for building strength. Not to take anything away from the man—an 800-pound deadlift is amazing at any time, and at five weeks before the Mr. O it’s insane. But it makes for a good DVD more than it makes for good size (continued on page 118) training.) 114 APRIL 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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Model: Ronnie Coleman

by William Litz Photography by Michael Neveux

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Partials, Burns and X Reps There are other ways to extend the time under tension than just doing higher reps. Steve Holman, IM’s editor in chief, and Jonathan Lawson have written a lot in the past few years about X Reps and their variations. The X-Rep concept is an insightful new way of looking at an older training technique that was on the verge of becoming extinct—burns. Burns were developed in the 1950s as a way of extending the time a muscle was under fire. Once a trainee could no longer do full reps, he did a series of short partial reps, or burns, near the top or bottom of the stroke. Larry Scott was famous for his use of burns at the top of the stroke

Model: Larry Scott \ photo courtsey of Robert Kennedy

(continued from page 115)

Larry Scott often extended his sets with partials at the top and bottom positions for more tension time.

Photos courtesy of William Litz

on preacher curls. After six heavy reps to failure he’d be helped into the top position and would squeeze out four to six burns. He sometimes did burns at the bottom as well. New research indicates that bottom-, or stretch-, position burns are more beneficial, but to keep variety AFTER BEFORE alive—and maybe hit a few different fibers—I believe it’s useful to work X Reps at different points on the stroke, even within a single set, as you’ll see in my calftraining example coming up. Keep in mind that stretch-position partials can activate a lot of growth fibers and may even lead to fiber splitting, if such a phenomenon actually exists. Training various positions with X-Rep partials will help avoid stagnation, however, and who can argue with Larry Scott’s results? The man had arms that even by today’s freaky William Litz took his physique from a soft standard were amazing. Holman and Law220 to a hard, abs-blazing 210 in only eight son’s X Reps primarily weeks using X-Rep partials and stretch focus on bottom-posioverload. His legs responded nicely too. tion, stretch- or semi-

stretch-point partials. While they do at times train the top, contracted position, usually on continuoustension isolation exercises like leg extensions, most of the time they prefer doing X-Rep partials at the end of a set to exhaustion, at a point where the muscle is elongated and under tension, like near the bottom of the stroke of an incline press. They believe that it’s the max-force point of the target muscle, where it can fire most effectively and, therefore, activate the most fibers. I’ve been doing variations of partials and burns since the early ’90s, when I first saw “Pumping Iron.” I was struck by how Arnold did his dumbbell flyes—he never brought the dumbbells together at the top; instead, he focused on the stretch position only. In that same movie Lou Ferrigno did his incline presses in the same manner—he only did the bottom half or third of the stroke. It appeared as though he was “bouncing” in and out of the stretch position, overloading the muscle to the max while avoiding the top part of the rep. If you watch closely, you’ll see that while Arnold finished off his massive pecs with cable crossovers to get a strong contraction, he holds the stretch for a definite pause on many of his reps, something Holman and Lawson noticed Jay Cutler doing on his training DVD “Ripped to Shreds” [an observation that evolved into the Xhybrid technique known as DoubleX Overload]. Keep in mind that X reps are more

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Ronnie Coleman uses continuoustension exercises in his workouts, but he rarely holds the contracted position.

Models: Jonathan Lawson and Steve Holman

than just burns, which were usually performed in the contracted position. As I said, I like to do X Reps in the contracted position too, but I think the stretch position takes priority. That’s the beauty of X Reps; they can be tailored to any movement and can work at various positions. Doing heavy X-Rep-only sets, as Ferrigno did on incline presses in “Pumping Iron,” can attack the stretch position and wake up sleeping pec fibers. Hitting that bottom stroke of the rep on the Smith machine will give anyone an unreal burn. Holman and Lawson describe standard X Reps as end-of-set partials. So you would do a full-range set to exhaustion, lower the bar to

Holman and Lawson’s XRep concept primarily stresses the bottom, semistretch point at the end of a full-range set.

near your chest, and then fire off eight-inch partials in the stretch-position range. Once again, incredible burn. What about top-end X Reps on presses? The top of pressing movements is almost all triceps, so if you’re hitting chest, stick with bottom-range partials. Work in and around that bottom half of the rep, banging out as many partials with constant tension as you can. Machines can make the technique more effective. On Smith-machine inclines, for example, you can focus on pushing without balance issues, so you have more control. All it takes is two bottom-end sets with X Reps on Smith-machine inclines, and my chest is toast. X Reps are spawning many variations called X-hybrids. I mentioned Double-X Overload earlier. Others include various pulse-pushing methods performed at certain areas along the range of motion and/or in combination with other techniques like multirep rest/pause, also known as Dante’s D.C. training. The evolution is excellent because all good training methods should be flexible enough to be tailored to a trainee’s individual needs. Here’s an example of how I’ve adapted the X-Rep concept to my leg press calf raises, an approach you can easily use on donkey or standing calf raises. Start with two warmup sets. Then stretch each calf for 30 seconds and then 60 sec- (continued on page 122) www.ironmanmagazine.com \ APRIL 2007 119

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The biggest bodybuilders usually start bench presses in the lockout position but don’t lock out again till the end of the set. Bottom partials stress the low, semistretch point of the stroke for continuous tension and maximum fiber activation. onds. For the first work set load a weight that lets you crank out 10 to 12 reps. At full-range exhaustion let your heels sink as far down as they will go and hold the stretch for 10 seconds. Now push the footplate up as far as you can and do five pulsing X Reps. Hold the fifth X Rep in the full stretch position for 10 more seconds. You can stop there if the pain is too intense; I usually don’t quit. I get the weight back up by hook or by crook to the top and do five squeezes at the contracted position; then I lower and hold the bottom stretch for yet another 10 seconds. At that point I’ll stop, have my partner strip off a few 45s and then immediately crank out 12 more full reps. On rep 12 I lower and hold the stretch for 30 seconds. But I’m not done. I jump/hobble off the leg press and on to a wooden block, where I do more freehand stretches. I do a deep stretch for 60 seconds on each calf followed by a few bodyweight calf raises. Ouch! Two rounds of that torture, or something similar, is all I can take. I finish with one set of seated calf raises for 50 to 100 reps, usually with just a 45 on each side. On the last rep I hold the contraction as

(continued from page 119)

long as possible before racking the weight, and I’m usually sobbing like a little girl—but a little girl with very big calves! X Reps combined with static stretches aren’t fun unless you’re the kind of person who enjoys being tied up and flogged (but that’s really none of my business). Despite the pain they cause, X Reps and X-hybrid techniques are some of the best training tools I have ever used, and I recently proved just how effective they are. After allowing myself to indulge in a doughnut diet (I don’t suggest it—it’s tasty but not that great for muscle size), I found myself in very brutal shape. I needed to get lean and add some size in a hurry. X Reps combined with stretch overload and extreme stretching transformed my physique in eight weeks (see photos on page 118). I went from a fat 220 pounds to a tight 210 with abs in only eight weeks. You can see that I dropped bodyfat while adding lots of muscle and strength, something I’ve always found difficult to do. I noticed immediately that X Reps work very well with fascial stretching (popularized by trainer John Parrillo and more recently by Dante). The intense stretching helps loosen the fascia surrounding the

muscle, thus allowing more space for the muscle to grow. Often lifters who have a stubborn muscle group will find that the fascia surrounding that particular muscle is too constricting. Stretching and stretchoverload exercises, as well as X Reps, can help remedy the situation somewhat. Why burns fell out of favor is beyond me, as all top bodybuilders used the technique in the 1950s and ’60s. It clearly produced amazing builds in the decades before chemical warfare became the norm. Now X Reps and other current methods take that old technique and run with it—to painful and strange places where huge bodybuilders roam. Note: For more on X Reps, visit www.X-Rep.com. Editor’s note: William Steven Litz is vice president of R. Litz & Sons Co. LTD. and is the founder of Cobra-Gym Training Systems. He’s been training for 15 years and for the past eight has trained clients of all ages—from high school athletes to senior citizens to top-level powerlifters and national-level bodybuilders. He offers online- and personal-training consultations and is in the process of opening a new state-of-the art strength-training facility. IM

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Model: John Cowgill

Partials, Burns and X Reps

Model: Ken Yasuda

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Rep-Range Reload Techniques for Building a Bigger Bench and Impressive Pecs by Chris Pennington 窶｢ Photography by Michael Neveux

Model: Ray Campisi

ost bodybuilders strive for a big bench窶馬ot necessarily because they have powerlifting aspirations, but because they understand that having a strong bench aids muscle growth. That goes for more than just in the pecs, by the way. Increasing bench press strength seems to have an overall strengthening effect on the upper body. It works the chest but also stimulates many other muscle groups, much as the squat and deadlift do for the lower body. The trick to keeping gains coming is to not kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. The problem with the bench press is that enthusiasm for the exercise leads to overuse. Good intentions, bad outcome.

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Rep-Range Reload Using excessive volume and/or intensity on the bench press can quickly lead to a breakdown in technique, overtraining and the worst possible outcome: injury. How can you avoid all of that? With smart workout design.

The Multisided Approach to Development Your goal is to develop both muscular hypertrophy and strength. One way to achieve that is to combine low- and high-rep training to stimulate both metabolic and neural systems. Repetition selection is important because it dictates the load you’ll use and the type of stimulation. Obviously, the weight you use for a 10-repetition set will be much lighter than what you’d use for a six-rep set, assuming the

rep speed is the same for both. (Slow-motion or acceleration training—using either very slow or very fast tempos, respectively—would be an exception, but not too many bodybuilders train that way.) Which rep bracket is best? If you want size and strength, don’t get stuck on one favorite. I speak from experience. For years I benched strictly within the four-to-six-rep range because I got great results with it. If it’s not broken, don’t fix it, right? Wrong. The problem was that I used it without any variation. I needed change. I should’ve spent some time benching in higher and lower rep ranges. Eventually, I figured that out, but not until after I hit a training plateau. The need for rep-range variation goes beyond the bench, however; all the assisting muscle groups, such

as the triceps and back, should get it as well. It’s important to note that both strength and hypertrophy are developed at all rep ranges. So it’s not an either/or situation. Still, the degree to which either is stimulated is highly influenced by the number of repetitions you do. Lower repetitions tend to develop strength to a greater degree while higher repetitions—up to a point— tend to favor hypertrophy. That’s a generalization because factors such as fiber type, recovery ability, training experience and supplement use come into play, and your specific situation could be different. Nevertheless, those guidelines are safe for most bodybuilders. The key, then, is to get the best of both worlds by systematically changing rep ranges from week to week or performing a single workout that combines multiple rep ranges. Both techniques are excellent, and you should use both. The week-to-week method is more of a long-term approach. The second option, using multiple rep ranges in a single workout, is more of a short-term solution—you can’t use it for long periods because it takes a heavy toll on recovery. Let’s look at some examples.

If your goal is to build both muscle and strength, you need to combine low- and high-rep training.

Model: Eric Broser

Weekly Variations in Repetitions Making periodic variations in volume and intensity is a good way to encourage steady muscle growth because it helps prevent overtraining. Keep in mind that the nervous system will eventually adapt to any constant stimulus. So it’s not a matter of whether there’s a need for variation but, rather, when it should occur. One way to vary repetitions is to base them on a percentage of your one-rep maximum for the exercise at hand. The following is a common periodization scheme used by Olympic athletes in many different sports, and bodybuilders can benefit from using it from time to time. Simply work with a certain percentage of your 1RM for a certain number of weeks, and then change the working percentage for another two weeks and so on. Here’s how you could do it on bench press.

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Rep-Range Reload X-Files: Shocking Strength with Muscle-Size Side Effects If you’ve been reading our Train, Eat, Grow series in this magazine or our weekly e-zine (sign up free at IronManMagazine.com), you know we’ve been using a version of Eric Broser’s Power/Rep Range/Shock system. It’s a way to vary rep ranges, and it’s sent our strength gains through the roof!—90-pound incline dumbbell flyes, 75-pound seated laterals, 400-pound hack squats, 400-pound shrugs and 1,000-pound leg presses. (None of those poundages will have Ronnie Coleman peeing with fright, but not bad for a couple of drug-free muscleheads weighing in the lower 200s.) Now, we’re not throwing out those numbers to brag because, truthfully, strength isn’t our thing; we’re after muscle. In many cases, however, more strength can translate into a serious size surge—eventually. Arthur Jones, the creator of Nautilus exercise machines, put Eric Broser, the it this way: creator of Power/ “When the actual progRep Range/Shock. ress of an individual trainee is carefully charted over a period of a few months, several rather surprising results will become immediately apparent; for example, while strength levels will increase in a series of gentle curves, increases in size of the involved bodyparts—and thus apparent increases in muscular mass—will result in a stair-step pattern.” What Jones was saying is that strength increases are usually fairly steady, fluctuating slightly up and down but on a distinctly upward trajectory, while size increases come in sudden bursts followed by plateaus—a stair-step pattern. Says Jones, “In effect, size increases permit strength increases—and strength increases force size increases.” After nine weeks, or three cycles, of P/RR/S training infused with X Reps and 3D POF—and huge increases in strength—we noticed a distinct mass move. We’re both suddenly five pounds heavier. As we’ve said in the past, though, a strength increase doesn’t always lead to more size. Strength can increase due to neuromuscular efficiency (improved nerve-to-muscle connections) alone, which may or may not produce a size increase. And muscle growth that you get via capillary bed expansion and mitochondria size—that is, by training the endurance components—may not cause much, if any, increase in force output, or strength. So strength and size are somewhat related, but there’s not always a direct cause-and-effect relationship. Power/Rep Range/Shock, however, covers all the bases in three-week cycles, so it produces significant strength and size gains—eventually. Here’s a quick summary of each week so you can see how that hap-

pens: Week 1, Power: Train every exercise with straight sets—no supersets, tri-sets or drop sets—and keep your reps in the four-to-six zone. You may want to use slightly higher reps—eight to 10—on endurance-oriented muscles like calves, abs and forearms during this low-rep week. Week 2, Rep Range: For the first exercise pick a weight that allows you to get seven to nine reps. For the second exercise it’s 10 to 12 reps. On the third exercise move the rep range up to the high end of fast-twitch recruitment—13 to 15 reps. (Note: That works exceptionally well with the 3D POF exercises: We use a big, midrange-position exercise as our first movement, a stretchposition exercise as our second and then a contracted-position movement to finish off the muscle group with continuous tension, occlusion and an awesome pump thanks to the higher rep range.) Week 3, Shock: This week is for putting your muscles through the meat grinder with supersets, drop sets, multirep rest/pause (D.C., ROB, etc.) and extensive use of X Reps and X-hybrid techniques. Reps for most muscles stay in the eight-to-10 Lawson and Holman. range, but extended-set techniques are a must. Think brutal bodybuilding! (Note: All the workouts, 12 total, are available in a printable format in the e-book 3D Muscle Building.) If you read through each P/RR/S week, you should realize why it’s so effective: because you cover all the muscle-building pathways multiple times over three weeks. During Power week you use straight sets for low reps, so you focus primarily on max-force generation. Rep-Range week has you run the gamut of hypertrophic rep ranges, so you hit a multitude of fiber types with max force and extended tension. And Shock week has you jacking up the intensity and tension times for a mix of anaerobic and endurance-component development, not to mention blasting up anabolic hormone output with severe, almost unbearable muscle burn. If you’re looking for some major strength gains with a significant side effect of size, this type of three-week mega variation is at the top of the list. You can adapt it to any program you’re using. Keep in mind that we do X Reps or an X-hybrid technique on one set of each exercise every week. In other words, we shoot for some muscle burn whether we’re doing Power, Rep Range or Shock work. That’s important for keeping the anabolic hormones flowing—and your muscles growing! —Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson www.X-Rep.com and www.3DMuscleBuilding.com

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Weeks 2-4 12-15 reps, 65 to 70 percent of 1RM Weeks 5-7 3-5, 86 to 90 percent of 1RM Weeks 8-10 10-12 reps, 70 to 75 percent of 1RM

The need for reprange variation goes beyond the bench, however; all the assisting muscle groups should get it as well.

Weeks 11-13 4-6 reps, 82 to 88 percent of 1RM In this training structure you perform the specific number of reps for a few weeks. Each time the rep range changes, the poundage you use must change. That can be anywhere from one to four weeks, but in the above example itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s every two weeks. Again, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s assuming the

Model: Luke Wood

Weeks 1-2 6-8 reps, 78 to 82 percent of 1RM

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Rep-Range Reload rep speed stays the same, which it should except for near the end of a set, when fatigue slows you down. You don’t need to perform a bunch of 1RM tests to determine what weights correspond to the various percentages of your 1RM on the bench press. Instead, pick a weight that will let you get the appropriate rep range. Your 1RM is good information to have, but it’s simply not practical to be constantly testing for 1RMs. As long as you increase the weight from your last workout done in that repetition bracket, you’re heading in the right direction. This model keeps the body stimulated by varying the training demand on a consistent basis. The drawback is that your body isn’t a machine. Just because a specific rep scheme is laid out doesn’t mean that it’s optimal for your body at that time. You have the final say on how you feel and what you think you’re capable of. For instance, if during weeks five through seven in our example you really don’t feel that you can handle three to five reps, you can increase the reps or take some time off. Use the chart as a guide, modifying it as needed. As a side note, the bench press is the exercise illustrated, but you can and should work other muscle groups in the same manner. The next example shows a different way to incorporate repetition ranges in what is known as a pyramid scheme. It’s an extremely popular workout routine, and it has been used for many years by lifters for both strength and mass development. The base is higher repetitions of moderate weights until you hit a peak of heavy low-weight training. Earlier weeks focus on muscle hypertrophy, while later weeks focus on strength.

Work with a certain percentage of your 1RM for a certain number of weeks, and then change the working percentage for another two weeks, and so on.

Week 1: 12-15 reps Week 2: 10-12 reps Week 3: 8-10 reps Week 4: 6-8 reps

Model: Skip La Cour

Week 5: 6-8 reps Week 6: 3-5 reps Week 7: 3-5 reps Week 8: Cycle begins again, or attempt 1RM

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Rep-Range Reload

All-Rep-Ranges-in-One Workouts In this you vary the rep ranges within the workout itself. It’s a very productive but incredibly hard method of training. In addition to multiple sets of different rep ranges,

you give equal attention to important muscle groups, such as the back and lats, and add some extra work for triceps at the end. Keep in mind that this is only one workout. The program listed here probably doesn’t include enough isolated triceps work for most trainees, so if your triceps are a weak point, you’ll need extra work for them on another day. Bench presses Seated rows Bench presses Seated rows Shrugs Lying extensions

4x2 4 x 6-8 2 x 6-8 2 x 10-12 3 x 8-10 2 x 12

During the first four sets of bench presses the reps are low and the weight should be heavy—very heavy! You’re stimulating the nervous system and tapping into type 2 muscle fibers. The bench sequence is then broken up by four sets of seated rows, which work the midback and lats,

two very important assisting muscle groups for the bench. Then it’s time to revisit the bench, only this time the reps are significantly higher. You’re after metabolic changes and also looking to fatigue the slower motor units within the muscle. As you can see, you’re really getting the best of both worlds with this type of workout. If you’ve been hammering away at the same set-and-rep scheme for the past couple of months, it’s time to change your routine. Vary the number of reps you use. It may seem awkward at first, but that’s your body’s way of letting you know that you’re finally giving it a novel stimulus, just what it needs for progressive strength and muscle gains.

Note: For another effective rep-range-variation protocol, see “X-Files: Shocking Strength with Muscle-Size Side Effects” on page 136. IM

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Model: Berry Kabov

Recently, that training approach has been taking some hits. The basic disagreement is similar to what was discussed above—that the body should be trained more by feel than by a rigid program. That’s a legitimate concern, as no workout scheme can replace the key indicators you receive from your body. Even so, many lifters have been using the program successfully to build bench press strength and upper-body muscle mass. As with any program, there are people who like it and those who dislike it. The only way you can find out if it works for you is to give it a try. It also works incredibly well for squats and deadlifts.

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The

Muscle

Mineral by Jerry Brainum

Photography by Michael Neveux

If you were to ask the average bodybuilder which nutrient was most vital to promoting muscular growth, he or she would likely answer, “Protein.” Indeed, the literal translation of the word protein means “of first importance.” Few would argue the necessity of optimal protein intake in the quest for a more muscular body. Truth is, though, that protein, while important, is only part of the bodybuilding-nutrition equation. You need all the required nutrients to make training progress. That means an array of essential nutrients other than protein, such as vitamins and minerals. Some vitamins and minerals are directly linked to building muscle. Most vitamins are coenzymes, meaning that they’re part of the enzyme structure. Minerals, meanwhile, are enzyme activators, which means vitamins without mineral support can be useless. Of the minerals most linked to building muscle, two stand out. One is zinc; the other is magnesium.

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Magnesium

Model: Derik Farnsworth

Magnesium in the Body

Zinc activates some 200 enzymes in the body, and magnesium more than 300. Many of them are related to magnesium’s active role in the physiology of adenosine triphosphate, or ATP, the most elemental energy source. All foods are eventually converted into ATP, but without magnesium ATP activity would be inhibited, leading to a number of possible complications. Magnesium stabilizes the phosphate bonds in ATP, enabling enzymes that break those bonds to work more efficiently and thus release actual energy. Any enzyme reaction in the body that requires ATP also requires magnesium. ATP helps deliver phosphates to other enzymes. Creatine kinase is the enzyme that adds phosphate to creatine, thereby activating it in muscle. The metabolite AMP, which is made from ATP, requires magnesium and is involved not only in hormone release, but also in the series of reactions that result in fat release from fat cells. Magnesium acts as a natural calcium regulator in the body and is often called a natural calcium channel blocker because it competes

with calcium for entry into cells. As a result, it’s implicated in everything from muscle relaxation to antagonizing calcium’s role in blood clotting. Magnesium has a close relationship with potassium. Without magnesium, potassium cannot be retained in cells and is excreted from the body. That’s why taking potassium without magnesium doesn’t make physiological sense. Magnesium regulates intracellular potassium and keeps blood potassium within the normal range. Together magnesium and potassium regulate the cellular sodium-potassium pump and are involved in creatine uptake in muscle. Magnesium’s regulation of calcium and potassium also affects heart function and blood pressure. It influences the stability of cellular membranes, which are prone to oxidation because of their fat content. Many cardiovascular problems are related to oxidation; magnesium is an indirect antioxidant. Animals deficient in it show signs of prooxidant activity, such as lipoprotein oxidation and a proinflammatory state linked to many diseases.

The body’s total stores of magnesium are between 21 and 28 grams, about one ounce, in a 150-pound adult. Most of the stored magnesium is in bones (50 percent), with the remainder in soft tissue. Muscle contains a fourth of the body’s magnesium, and a small amount circulates in the blood. The kidneys control magnesium retention and excrete excess amounts. The more magnesium you take in at one time, the less your body absorbs. When your body stores of magnesium are low, you absorb considerably more; the usual absorption rate is 30 percent of the dose. One study found that with an intake of 36 milligrams a day of magnesium, 65 percent was absorbed.1 When the daily intake increased to 973 milligrams, the absorption rate dropped to only 11 percent. Several substances are known to favor or hinder magnesium absorption. Fructose and fermentable carbohydrates favor magnesium uptake, and excessive fiber intake may slightly blunt absorption. Natural food elements, such as phytates from wheat and oxalates from vegetables, could impair magnesium uptake by forming an insoluble complex with the mineral, but the chlorophyll in many vegetables forms its own complex with magnesium, favoring absorption. Too much zinc also may interfere with (continued on page 148) magnesium

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Magnesium also acts as a natural calcium regulator in the body and is often called a natural calcium channel blocker.

Magnesium phorus. Conversely, a high magnesium intake results in phosphorus excretion—no problem, as phosphorus is ubiquitous in all proteins.

Magnesium’s role in regulating calcium and potassium also affects various cardiovascular functions, such as heart function and blood pressure.

Natural Mineral Facts

(continued from page 144) uptake.

Moderate protein intake boosts magnesium uptake, while getting more than that impairs it. Excess intake of fat, refined sugars and alcohol, as well as the use of diuretics, can promote magnesium excretion. Many bodybuilders have experienced painful muscle cramps after taking diuretic drugs, such as Lasix. That’s because the drugs trigger the excretion of sodium, water, magnesium and potassium, and mineral loss is what causes muscle cramps. Use of high-dose thyroid drugs, such as Cytomel, also promotes magnesium losses. When magnesium is deficient, the body secretes more aldosterone, an adrenal hormone that encourages sodium retention along with potassium and magnesium excretion— leading to a vicious metabolic cycle. A high insulin release causes a shift of magnesium from blood into cells, lowering blood levels. Recent evidence shows that magnesium plays an essential role in both preventing diabetes and controlling insulin levels.2,3 The good effects of magnesium on blood fats and insulin also mean that it may help prevent the metabolic syndrome.4 Calcium promotes muscular contraction, and magnesium helps to temper that activity. That may be helpful in situations where excessive contraction may be a problem; for example, in the case of the hy-

peractivity of the smooth muscle in bronchial tubes that occurs with asthmatic attacks, magnesium can help relieve bronchial constriction.5 Because magnesium is a natural antihistamine, it may also help prevent the allergic onset of the disease. Another mineral that reacts with magnesium is phosphorus. Excess consumption of phosphorus leads to magnesium excretion, which explains why drinking a lot of cola lowers magnesium levels, since carbonated drinks are high in phos-

Most of the stored magnesium is in bones (50 percent), with the remainder in soft tissue (mainly muscle, containing a fourth of the body’s magnesium) and a small amount circulating in the blood.

Stress is an important cause of many types of disease. It affects bodybuilding negatively, due to higher cortisol release and loss of vital nutrients. Research shows that magnesium helps blunt its negative effects in the body.6 When magnesium is deficient, stress-related cardiovascular damage is increased during heart attacks. Even the release of fat from cells lowers blood magnesium because the liberated fat bonds with magnesium in the blood, resulting in magnesium losses. Catecholamines, such as epinephrine, stimulate the release of fat, but they also overstimulate the heart. The body releases more catecholamines— which are considered stress hormones—when magnesium levels are low. A lack of magnesium increases aggressive behavior, which you can reverse with magnesium supplementation. Magnesium helps promote the sleep you need to break down accumulated stress hormones. Studies show that magnesium may reverse age-related sleep problems. Cancer usually involves cellular mutations that result in damage to DNA, and magnesium is involved in DNA repair. It activates enzymes that are required for DNA repair. Magnesium’s antioxidant activity, control of resting insulin levels and role in DNA repair explain recent findings showing that a high magnesium intake helps prevent colon cancer.7 Cancer also involves elements of the immune system and out-of-control inflammation; studies show that lower blood magnesium leads to a greater release of inflammatory mediators in the body.8 Another mineral, selenium, is linked to lower cancer rates, but without magnesium, the body doesn’t absorb or retain selenium.9 Magnesium intake may be even more vital as you age. A recent study of 1,138 men and women, average age 67, showed that older people with higher magnesium levels also

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That’s why it’s included in a food supplement that also contains zinc, which is involved in the activity of (in milligrams) such anabolic hormones as testosterone, growth hormone and insuTofu, 1/2 cup, 118 lin. Since magnesium promotes the Sunflower seeds, 1 ounce, 100 synthesis of prostacyclin and nitric oxide, it facilitates vasodilation in Baked halibut, 3 ounces, 80 muscle, which increases muscle Cashews, 1 ounce, 75 pump during training and oxygen delivery to muscles. Magnesium Baked potato with skin, 1 medium, 55 further aids muscle endurance by helping to boost production of 2,3 Navy beans, 1/2 cup cooked, 50 DPG, a substance in red blood cells Watermelon, 1 slice, 50 that helps release oxygen. The short, intense exercise that Peanut butter, 2 tablespoons, 45 characterizes bodybuilding helps Raw spinach, 1 cup, 44 increase blood magnesium levels, probably due to dehydration and Plain yogurt, 1 cup, 43 the movement of magnesium from Banana, 1 medium, 34 muscle into blood. On the other hand, overtraining lowers magCooked oatmeal, 1/2 cup, 32 nesium levels, probably related to 2 percent milk, 1 cup, 33 the increase in stress hormones, such as cortisol and the catecholWhole-wheat bread, 1 slice, 26 amines, which trigger the mineral’s Chicken breast, 3 ounces, 25 excretion. Studies show blood level reductions of magnesium ranging Lean ground beef, 3 ounces, 16 from 5 percent to 25 percent folBrewed coffee, 3/4 cup, 9 lowing long-distance running and after 90 minutes on a treadmill. Egg, 1 medium, 5 You also lose magnesium in hot weather. High-intensity exercise may inhave stronger muscles. Think about crease magnesium excretion for that in light of the main reason several reasons. During intense people end up in nursing homes: training the kidneys’ ability to confrailty. Another study found that serve magnesium is temporarily magnesium helps reverse memory impaired, leading to magnesium loss in middle-aged people through excretion, an effect amplified by its interactions with the NMDA the rise of several hormones that receptor in the brain.10 occurs during hard exercise: aldosterone, antidiuretic hormone and thyroid hormones. They can remain elevated for as long as 14 hours after intense training. The rise in blood lactic acid during hard exercise can Since muscle stores a fourth of elevate plasma phosphate (to bufthe body’s magnesium, it seems that fer the excess acid), and phosphate magnesium must play a vital role pushes magnesium out of the body. in exercise. Magnesium regulates A big debate is whether the drop neuromuscular activity, excitation in blood magnesium represents an and muscular contraction, and it actual loss or a redistribution of the promotes the activity of enzymes mineral from blood to muscle. The that participate in muscle protein latter implies that when the exercise synthesis. Thanks to its role in ATP session ends, magnesium levels rephysiology, it’s essential for muscle turn to normal. But some scientists energy. Its antioxidant and antithink the return-to-normal process inflammatory activities help delay isn’t efficient in many people, leadfatigue and boost muscle recovery. ing to lower magnesium levels. In Magnesium is needed for the addition, the acidosis that results synthesis of insulinlike growth-horfrom high-intensity training causes mone-1 (IGF-1), which is anabolic. magnesium to be excreted.

Food Sources of Magnesium

Magnesium and Exercise

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Research shows that magnesium helps blunt the negative effects of stress on the body.

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Magnesium

Mag Scientists The results of studies that have looked at magnesium in athletes have been contradictory, some showing beneficial effects and others no effect. Athletes with full stores would show no effects from added magnesium intake. On the other hand, many athletes avoid the best food sources of magnesium (legumes, dark green vegetables, seafood, grains and nuts). They may take in substances that lead to magnesium losses, such as caffeine, fats and phosphate (from soda and other sources). So—no surprise— many athletes come up short on magnesium. That’s especially true in sports that have weight limits, where diets are often restricted. Drinking hard water adds magnesium to the diet (9 to 27 percent). Studies show that most Americans get about 76 percent of the suggested daily dose of magnesium; deficiency begins when you get 70 percent or less. Studies of strengthtrained athletes show that most average about 135 percent of the RDA for the mineral. But since a high-protein diet uses up magnesium and popular low-carb, high-fat diets often don’t include magnesium-rich foods, bodybuilders and other strength athletes are still more prone to marginal deficiency. Food processing and the depletion of magnesium in farm soils also limits access to the mineral. One study examined the effects of supplemental magnesium during strength training.11 For seven

Moderate protein intake boosts magnesium uptake; getting more than that impairs magnesium absorption.

Another mineral that reacts with magnesium is phosphorus. Excess consumption of phosphorus leads to magnesium excretion, which explains why drinking a lot of cola lowers magnesium levels, since carbonated drinks are high in phosphorus. weeks, young men received either a placebo or a magnesium supplement at a dose of eight milligrams per kilogram of bodyweight. The placebo group got an average of 250 milligrams a day of magnesium from food, while the supplement group averaged 507 milligrams daily. Peak-torque leg extension levels increased by 20 percent in the supplement group, while those in the placebo group gained by 11 percent. Even those taking food supplements may not have optimal blood magnesium. About a quarter of all athletes show magnesium intake below the RDA. A dietary limit for magnesium saturation may exist. The suggested dose of magnesium for a hard-training athlete is estimated at eight milligrams per kilogram of bodyweight daily, or 720 milligrams for a 200-pound athlete, taken in divided doses. The dosage includes food intake; taking more than 350 milligrams at once gives you diarrhea. Excess magnesium is an issue mainly for those with renal failure, since the kidneys regulate magnesium retention and excretion. Some people experience excess magnesium levels when they take over-the-counter medications that contain magnesium, such as Epsom salts or antacids. Magnesium is also elevated in some medical conditions, such as low thyroid and viral hepatitis, and in those taking lithium. In extreme cases, excess magnesium can cause death by stopping the heart. The treatment for excess magnesium involves forced diuresis and administering intravenous calcium.

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Magnesium

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Magnesium intake may be even more vital as you age. A recent study of 1,138 men and women, average age 67, showed that older people with higher magnesium levels also have stronger muscles.

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A lack of magnesium increases aggressive behavior, which you can reverse with magnesium supplementation. Magnesium also helps promote the sleep you need to break down accumulated stress hormones.

Supplement Issues Some magnesium supplements are better than others. Organic forms, such as citrate, aspartate and fumarate, are better absorbed than inorganic forms, such as magnesium oxide and hydroxide. Unless it’s finely ground, magnesium oxide has low water solubility and thus lower bioavailability than, say, magnesium citrate, which is absorbed 4.5 times better than oxide. Magnesium carbonate is chalk, has a low absorption rate and can lower plasma magnesium. Magnesium sulfate, better known as Epsom salts, has more use as a relaxing bath soak. Magnesium hydroxide is sold as Maalox, an antacid; long-term use is linked to heart problems in some people. Magnesium chloride is sold as a timed-release drug called SlowMag, but less of it is absorbed than from food sources, such as almonds.

Good organic sources of magnesium supplements include the following: • Magnesium citrate • Taurate (magnesium combined with the amino acid taurine, especially good for heart function) • Magnesium pidolate, good for relaxation • Magnesium malate, which may have some use in treating fibromyalgia, a muscle-pain disease • Magnesium aspartate and magnesium diglycinate chelate, both good for those with sensitive stomachs

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Magnesium

Magnesium is needed to activate the enzymes required for creatine storage in muscle as well as the sodiumpotassium pump mechanism that powers the creatine transport protein that actually pushes creatine into muscle.

Since magnesium promotes the synthesis of prostacyclin and nitric oxide, it facilitates vasodilation in muscle, which increases muscle pump during training and oxygen delivery to muscles.

For maximum absorption rates, it’s best to take smaller doses. The larger the dose, the less absorption and the greater the chance of the primary side effect, diarrhea. One newer form combines magnesium with creatine—very sensible, as magnesium activates the enzymes required for storing creatine in muscle as well as the sodium-potassium pump mechanism that pushes creatine into muscle. One study showed improved bench press numbers after subjects used a

magnesium-creatine supplement, but the same effect occurred with creatine alone. In another study the mag-creatine supplement increased intracellular water content, which acts as an anabolic signal in muscle. Then there’s ZMA, which combines magnesium, zinc and vitamin B6. That combination is touted as a potent anabolic complex; both magnesium and zinc are involved in anabolic hormone function. The originator of the supplement (who later achieved notoriety by distrib-

uting designer steroids to athletes) maintains that nearly all athletes are deficient in those nutrients. Studies that have evaluated ZMA have found no anabolic effect, though one experiment detected an increase in IGF-1 in football players who took the supplement. If your diet is low in those nutrients, you’d benefit from the supplement. Since the recommendation was to take it before sleep, the magnesium content would help with relaxation and sleep. Sleep itself breaks down accu-

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Magnesium

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Magnesium activates more than 300 enzymes in the body.

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The results of one study showed that peak-torque leg extension levels increased by 20 percent in the magnesiumsupplemented group, while those in the placebo group gained by 11 percent.

mulated stress hormone levels while promoting growth hormone release.

References 1 Fine, K., et al. (1991). Intestinal absorption of magnesium from food and supplements. J Clin Investig. 88:396-402. 2 Lopez-Ridaura, R., et al. (2004). Magnesium intake and risk of type2 diabetes in men and women. Diabetes Care. 27:134-40. 3 Song, Y., et al. (2004). Dietary magnesium intake in relation to plasma insulin levels and risk of type-2 diabetes in women. Diabetes Care. 27:59-65.

5 He, K., et al. (2006). Magnesium intake and incidence of metabolic syndrome among young adults. Circulation. 113:1675-1682. 6 Eby, G. (2006). Rescue treatment and prevention of asthma using magnesium throat lozenges: Hypothesis for a mouth-lung biologically closed electric circuit. Med Hypotheses. 67(5):1136-1141. 7 Seelig, M. (1994). Consequences of magnesium deficiency on the enhancement of stress reactions: Preventive and therapeutic implications. J Amer Coll Nutr. 13:429-46. 8 Larsson, S., et al. (2005). Magnesium intake in relation to risk of colorectal cancer in women. JAMA.

293:86-89. 9 Tam, M., et al. (2003). Possible roles of magnesium on the immune system. Eur J Clin Nutr. 57:1193-97. 10 Jimenez, A., et al. (1997). Changes in bioavailability and tissue distribution of selenium by magnesium deficiency in rats. J Am Coll Nutr. 16:175-80. 11 Slutsky, I., et al. (2004). Enhancement of synaptic plasticity through chronically reduced cellular flux during uncorrelated activity. Neuron. 44:835-849. 12 Brilla, L.R., et al. (1992). The effect of magnesium supplementation on strength training in humans. J Am Coll Nutr. 11:326. IM www.ironmanmagazine.com \ APRIL 2007 157

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A Bodybuilder Is Born

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The Rise of the Machines by Ron Harris Photography by Michael Neveux

Model: Jorge Betancourt

ome arguments are destined to rage on forever. Which religion is right? Who is the greatest baseball player of all time? Should you buy American or foreign cars? For those of us in the fitness world, the eternal debate is, Which are better for building muscles, free weights or machines? And wouldn’t you know it, Randy and I were about to have the same heated discussion that countless others before us had engaged in regarding those two very different training tools. “No more machines!” Randy announced as we were putting our gym bags away before our chest workout. “I just read in blank’s [a pro bodybuilder I won’t name here for reasons that will become clear in a minute] column about how he thinks only free weights can make you grow. Machines and cables are for sissies!” I tried to hold in my smug chuckle. “Don’t you know I write that column for blank?” “You do?” Randy looked confused. “Yes. Just as I will never have his 21-inch arms, he will never have my God-given ability to string words together. Besides, to most people, sitting down and writing is about as much fun as a root canal.” “But he did really say that, right?” “Yes he did, and he believes it too. Blank avoids machines like the plague in his workouts, and he has built a hell of a thickly muscled physique with free weights.” “So he’s right then, isn’t he?” Randy really

Episode 21

A Bodybuilder

thought I was going to go along with him that easily. Little does he know the fur on my back bristles (up until about age 29 I didn’t have any hair on my back—aging sure is fun) whenever someone tries to claim that any one thing is the only path to results and everything else is a waste of time. That’s like trying to say that Jennifer Lopez is the only truly beautiful woman on earth. Wait, that was a bad example. She is. “The thing about that pro is that he’s incredibly gifted genetically. I find it hard to believe that he wouldn’t be as impressive if he’d used more machines in his training over the years.” “You’re not going to try to tell me machines are better than free weights now, are you?” Randy said, challenging me. “No, because that wouldn’t be true either. Free weights are the toughest training tool, and the core basic movements like bench presses, squats, deadlifts, rows, overhead presses and dips have packed more muscle on more bodies combined than any machine ever could.” Randy shook his head and threw up his hands—it seemed as if I’d defeated myself in this debate with that admission. “However,” I continued, “there are some machines that free weights can’t duplicate the motion of, or at least not very well. A couple of good examples are leg extensions, leg curls and pressing machines like the leg press and hack squat. Squats and Romanian deadlifts are the best overall mass builders for the thighs and hamstrings, but for complete development you also need to use those machines. Even

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A Bodybuilder Is Born

Ronnie Coleman is a big proponent of free weights, but he also uses a lot of machines.

Comstock

Machines can be a godsend when your lower back is tweaked.

Ronnie Coleman, who is a big proponent of free weights, uses the full spectrum of free weights and machines for his leg training. Of course, he leg-presses 2,500 pounds on top of 800-pound squats. And how big are his legs?” “About the size of my whole body,” replied Randy glumly. This wasn’t exactly accurate. Combined, Ronnie’s legs were probably no more than 170 pounds, even at his off-season weight of 320. So Randy still had the upper hand—barely. “The problem is that for years machine manufacturers, in particular Arthur Jones of Nautilus, tried to convince the world that free weights were obsolete now that we had those wonderful machines to use. The Nautilus machines were very good—and ahead of their time in many ways—but when bodybuilders tried training only on machines, they quickly learned that they could not even maintain the same levels of size and strength

as before, much less improve. Even the famous bodybuilders who Jones persuaded to switch to machineonly training, such as Mike Mentzer, Casey Viator and Boyer Coe, eventually went back to using more free weights and fewer machines in their training. Thus, bodybuilders became disenchanted with machines in general and dismissed them as nothing more than marketing hype. And that was unfortunate.” “But why?” Randy demanded. “If all they’re good for is a couple leg exercises, what’s the big deal?” “That’s not all machines are good for. For example, today we are hitting chest. We’ll start with a dumbbell press, flat or incline, and do four good work sets of five to 10 reps. But if I try to do the other type of dumbbell press after that, what happens?” “You turn into a pumpkin?” Randy offered. “No, wiseass. I have to use much lighter weights. For the first dumbbell press I can use as much as 140 or 150 pounds, but then if I try a second one, the weights are down to around a hundred pounds.” “Big deal,” Randy replied, shrugging. “So your strength goes down after your first exercise.” “No, that’s not what’s happening,” I corrected him. “It’s my ability to balance the weights that goes to hell in a handbasket. I still have plenty of strength left in me. If I go to a Hammer Strength machine next, I can load up a few plates on each side and blast away. Not everyone is like me. You don’t seem to be, but there are a lot of bodybuilders who have to be fresh in the workout to be able to balance heavy free weights. For us machines are a perfect way to continue training heavy for a couple more exercises.”

Most machines remove the need for balance, so you can better focus on pushing.

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A Bodybuilder Is Born

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As a bodypart workout wears on, free weights can become less effective thanks to stabilizer fatigue. “Okay,” Randy conceded, “that sounds right. But since I don’t lose my ability to balance, why do I need machines?” I reached around Randy and tapped him on the lower back. “Remember this?” I said in my most evil voice—which sounds a little like Darth Vader to me. Others have commented that it sounds like I’m trying to imitate Dan Rather. Randy’s face turned the color of ash, letting me know that the memories of his back injury from last year had all just flooded back in Technicolor. He seemed to be reliving the pain as he winced. “You couldn’t squat for a while, so you did heavy leg presses. And your legs didn’t shrink, they grew. You couldn’t do bent-over barbell rows while your back was healing, so you used the supported T-bar row and a couple of Hammer Strength back machines. Your back got more muscular. If you hadn’t had access to any machines, what would your training have been like during that time, Junior?” “About as intense as a turtle on Valium,” he said, echoing one of my pet phrases. “You got that right. God forbid you hurt your back again, though I find it hard to believe you never will. When that day comes, you may need to use more machines again

for a while, or your training options will be quite limited.” Randy looked satisfied with my explanations. “Machines aren’t so bad, I guess.” “No, they are not. I would never tell anyone trying to put muscle on to abandon the free-weight basics, because that would be a huge mistake. But to categorically deny yourself the advantages and training variety machines offer just because some genetic freak told you to would be as bad.” I let that sink in Pulldown before conmachines enable tinuing. you to blast “Now let’s the lats from argue about different angles more imporby angling your tant matters. torso. You can’t Who’s hotter, Britney or do that on chins. Jessica?”

That one went on for the rest of the workout, and we never did agree. But if we all liked the same things, what fun would that be? And for the record, it’s Jessica Simpson by a long shot. IM

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There is no free-weight substitute for leg extensions, which isolate the quads.

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CARDIO AND CARBS

Two Important Bodybuilding Factors You May Be Neglecting by Shannon Clark • Photography by Michael Neveux

Model: John Hansen

any bodybuilders and fitness athletes today are adopting one of two strategies: They either cut cardio out of a workout program in an effort to gain mass or cut carbohydrates out of their diets in an effort to lose fat. While both strategies work for most individuals, a far better approach would be to include moderate amounts of both cardio and carbs, regardless of your goal. There are physiological as well as psychological reasons for doing so. Cardio: Adding Muscle Mass When it comes to adding quality

mass, many people believe cardio will hinder their efforts, as they’ll burn away precious calories that could be used to build muscle tissue. True, cardio burns calories, but as long as you don’t do so much that you begin to resemble a pet gerbil, you can just add the calories that you burn back into your diet. Performing cardio while putting on muscle mass will enable you to speed up your metabolism, which will help your body remove by-products and build new, stronger muscle at a quicker rate. Performing cardio will also help reduce the amount of fat you add while you’re eating the hypercalorie diet you need in order to gain muscle tissue. For someone on a mass-building program, it would be ideal to perform high-intensity cardio in the form of sprints two to four times a week for 15 to 30 minutes per session. Just keep in mind that you’ll need to replace the calories you’re burning. So the longer your cardio session, the more you’ll have to eat (and if you’re already eating 4,000plus calories a day, you’ll probably want to keep cardio on the shorter

end of the scale). The important thing, however, is to get your heart rate up high enough to send all your metabolic processes into overdrive.

Cardio for Fat Loss At the other end of the spectrum are people wanting to lose fat mass. Most of the time they’re well aware that they need to be doing cardio. Sometimes, however, they use the wrong approach, especially women. Far too often I see women at the gym spending hour upon hour on the treadmill or elliptical trainer. Yeah, they’re going to burn a large number of calories, but they’re just going to end up being a smaller version of themselves, with the same percentage of bodyfat. It makes much more sense to use cardio to change your body composition and lose weight in the form of bodyfat, rather than lose fat combined with muscle. That’s where high-intensity training comes into play. You should follow the same principles as someone who wants www.ironmanmagazine.com \ APRIL 2007 167

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The important thing is to get your heart rate up high enough to send all your metabolic processes into overdrive. to put on muscle, but you’ll want to perform a few more sprints (to make the total time a little longer)

A faster metabolism will help your body remove by-products and build new, stronger muscles at a quicker rate.

Model: Daniel Decker

and maybe decrease the intensity of the sprints slightly so that you can sustain yourself for the longer period of time. For maximal fat loss you should perform two to three longer cardio sessions of moderate intensity and duration per week in addition to the fat-loss sessions described. Just be sure to keep it under one hour. That will give you the best of both worlds. The longer session will enable you to burn more calories, while the shorter session will enable you to burn calories after you’re finished working out. In the meantime the body tries to repair itself from the good ass-kicking you just dealt it (a principle known as EPOC).

Cardio’s Health Benefits A final reason you should include cardio in your workouts is for the

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lose bodyfat. Even if you’re trying to shed bodyfat, you still need to include carbs in your diet. Focus on the fibrous carbs that come from vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage, which are less calorie dense. To increase mass, focus more on the calorie-dense, low-glycemic carbs, such as oatmeal, whole-wheat pasta and bread and sweet potatoes.

The best way to give your heart a workout is to get it beating faster and keep it there for an extended period.

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Psychological Benefits

health benefits it has to offer. Far too often you get wrapped up in the aesthetics of working out and forget why you’re here (or should be here) in the first place: to improve your health and increase your vitality. Your heart is a muscle too, and many people seem to forget that. The best way to give that muscle a workout is to get it beating faster and keep it there for an extended period. That will make your body much more efficient at transporting blood and nutrients around the body, increase the amount of oxygen the body can use at any given time (VO2 max) and keep your blood pressure and resting heart rate in check.

Add Cardio, Add Carbs When you add cardio to your ex-

ercise program, it only makes sense to add carbohydrate-rich foods to your diet. The main form of energy used when you perform cardio is stored glycogen (which you get from carbs). Because you’ll be performing cardio on a regular basis, you need to keep your glycogen levels up, especially if you’re trying to add muscle mass. By keeping carbs in your diet, you’ll be eating a sufficient number of calories, which will keep your metabolism higher as well as provide you with the nutrients and fiber in those foods. You’ll also prevent your body from turning to its precious muscle tissue for energy when your muscle glycogen and blood sugar are low. Eat more carbs if you’re trying to add muscle mass (since you’ll be taking in a greater amount of total calories) and less if you’re trying to

There are many psychological reasons for adding cardio to your workout and carbs to your diet. Research shows that cardiovascular exercise of any kind improves mood and reduces depression. I’m sure almost all of us have experienced a postexercise high after a hard run or sprint session. It may feel like torture while you’re doing it, but afterward you never regret that you did it. Another factor that improves mood during cardio is the endorphin rush. That occurs during long-duration exercise when a hypothalamic neurotransmitter is released from the anterior pituitary gland. The endorphins then block the pain sensation, promote a feeling of euphoria and reduce feelings of stress in the body. A final reason cardio helps your psychological well-being ties in with sustainability. If you’re performing cardio, you’ll be able to include more food in your diet, since you’re burning more calories. That fact alone is enough to put people in a good

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measures, such as training for a bodybuilding show, which requires extremely low bodyfat). Carbohydrates cause the body to release a neurotransmitter called serotonin. Studies have shown that people who have depressive symptoms are often low in serotonin. By getting some quality carbohydrates in your diet, you’re providing your body with enough serotonin, which helps reduce chances of depression. (Note: I’m not suggesting that depression is caused by low serotonin or that you can cure depression by eating carbs, but you may help offset that disorder or reduce symptoms by eating enough carbohydrate.) The release of serotonin will improve your mood and therefore make staying dedicated to fitness and eating healthfully seem like a lesser challenge. The final thing to remember is that everyone is different. Some people will need more or less cardio to accomplish their goals. Plenty of individuals can stay lean by doing cardio only once or twice a week while others need it on a daily basis. People also respond differently to different diet combinations. I personally do not feel good on a high-protein diet, while others thrive on chicken breasts and tuna. The important thing is to not go to extremes and completely cut those factors out of your life. There are reasons, other than aesthetics, that make cardiovascular training and carbohydrate-rich foods important in every healthful lifestyle. Model: David Dorsey

By eating carbs, you prevent your body from turning to its precious muscle tissue for energy when your muscle glycogen and blood sugar are low.

mood. How many times have you or people you’ve known started a diet on which they felt deprived and wound up cranky and depressed and eventually just decided to screw it and go off their diet? The number-one reason diets fail is that people don’t like to feel deprived. So if you can eat a little more food each day, there’s less chance you’ll feel deprived and binge on unhealthful foods, destroying the progress that you’ve made. Now to move on to the psychological reasons for including carbohydrates in your diet. First

and foremost, carbs give you energy. They are your body’s primary fuel source. If you want to be able to work out hard, perform cardio and have an abundance of energy during the day, you’re going to need carbohydrates. Don’t get me wrong: Eating a high-glycemic, all-carb meal is not the proper way to include that nutrient in your diet. You need to balance it with a good source of lean protein and some healthful fats. The key is moderation. There’s nothing wrong with a moderate amount of low-glycemic carbs in your meals (assuming you’re not doing anything that requires more extreme

Editor’s note: Shannon Clark is a graduate of the University of Alberta’s Bachelor of Physical Education program, specializing in sports performance. She is a certified personal trainer living in Edmonton, Alberta. For more of her features, visit Bodybuilding .com. IM www.ironmanmagazine.com \ APRIL 2007 171

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Heavy Dutyy Lost

Mike Mentzer Interview, Part 1

Recently I was cleaning out some old boxes in my office. As my family has moved some seven times (covering two states and two countries) over the past 14 years, you can imagine the boxed-up materials accumulated over time. During the most recent cleanup, I was shocked to discover a transcript of an interview that I conducted with Mike Mentzer back in 1986. It’s a historic interview. Mike opened up on many subjects that I’d never heard him touch on before, such as his appearance in the nationally televised Superstars competition. He also offered a keyhole through which to view the evolution of his thinking on high-intensity training. He hadn’t yet made the full conversion to one set per exercise, but even then he was considering its validity as a training method. It was four years before he started training clients and amassing the huge database

that caused him to completely reformulate high-intensity training. So the “lost” interview is particularly meaningful. Reading it brought back fond memories of Mike—his dry sense of humor and our dialogues over the years concerning exercise and the “ultimate” training program. It’s a response to the question I’ve heard

so often since he passed: “What was it like to speak with Mike Mentzer?” JL: If you had to get back into top shape quickly, what would you do regarding training and diet? MM: Well, let’s say I had a contest in two months and there was a $500 million cash prize.

Neveux

Balik \ Model: Mike Mentzer

I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul. —“Invictus”

by John Little

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HEAVY DUTY JL: Yeah, something very realistic. MM: I could be in very close to top condition from now in about eight weeks. The first three weeks I’d progressively increase the intensity, and I’d be at full tilt for the last five. JL: Speaking of intensity, I noticed that when you worked out the other day, you did more sets than I would have assumed. When you say that you’d increase your intensity, you’d also decrease your sets, wouldn’t you? MM: Yes. Part of the reason for

doing the somewhat higher sets in the beginning would be just to increase my conditioning and exercise tolerance. The reason I’m doing it now is to burn calories and stay toned. I’m not locked in dogmatically to the notion that if you do more than three sets, the world is going to stop revolving or my head is going to explode or something. It was obviously a haphazard workout at best anyway. Given a contest two months from that day, though, I’d progressively increase the intensity, and in three weeks I’d be at full tilt and remain there for the last 3 1/2 weeks or so. During that time I’d also progressively increase the duration of some aerobic activity—probably bicycling—until I was doing it three to four days a week, up to about an hour and a half per session. I’d keep my calories quite low—1,500 to 2,000 at the most, with an occasional higher burst in there when I needed it—and I’d still gain muscle and lose fat despite the lowered calorie intake and the increased activity.

Neveux \ Models: Tito Raymond and Derik Farnsworth

“Almost 99.9 percent of all bodybuilders—in fact 99.9 percent of most people—do everything that they do because other people do it. They do what they do out of convention, imitation, tradition and outright fear—fear of being different.”

JL: Why is that? MM: In part from the increased intensity, in part from tissue memory—I’d be gaining back my old size. I wouldn’t think that in two months I could improve on my former size. Unless it was something that was to prove very lucrative, I’d be very strongly disinclined to get back into my previously best condition or even close because of the strain that it puts on my entire physical and psychological being. It’s just too

much. The biggest problem I have is the dieting. Any bodybuilder can get cut up on three weeks of merely dropping the Twinkies and ice cream. For me to get ripped, I’ve got to spend nearly three months starving. JL: A thing that I found interesting is that when you were in the Superstars competition [Note: The concept was that big-time pro athletes competed in sports very different from their own.], you couldn’t shed any muscle mass, even though—perhaps for the first time in your life—you really wanted to. MM: It was my intention to go from my bodyweight at the time, 217 pounds, down to about 190. I knew that the sport I was going to engage in didn’t require all that much upper-body mass, and it would actually prove to be a hindrance, not in terms of making me “muscle bound,” but it would be extra baggage I had to carry around in the running events, for instance. So in the two-month period that I spent preparing for the Superstars, I didn’t lift weights aside from practicing the jerk from the racks. Apparently, however, the intensity of the bicycling—which I did three days a week—and swimming and running and so forth were sufficient to maintain my mass, which had been accumulated relatively slowly over a period of more than a decade of heavy training. I think that’s the reason it tended to stay, when for the first time in my life I wanted it to leave. Arthur Jones said years ago that “the longer you take to build muscle and the longer you hold it, the more it becomes part of your system, and the longer it would take to lose it.” Any amount of muscle that you gained in a month you’d most likely lose the next month if you stopped training. But if you were to spend 10 years acquiring and maintaining considerable muscle mass, you’d keep it for a longer time after you quit training, although it would eventually atrophy until you were back to normal levels. So I didn’t lose any bodyweight. As a matter of fact I entered the Superstars weighing 217. (continued on page 186)

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HEAVY DUTY JL: What are your thoughts on that contest? Did you enjoy being in it? MM: Oh, it was great fun. I thought that I’d do better than I did in my actual placing overall, although I did, I think, quite well given the level of competition.

I completed it, but on that particular lift, as with all the previous ones, I never perfectly locked out my left arm because my left elbow had been broken and it’s very difficult for me to lock out. The distance that I didn’t lock out was so minor that you could barely notice.

(continued from page 182)

JL: You were competing, quite literally, against the world’s best athletes. MM: One of the primary things that held me back was the extra bodyweight. JL: How about the swimming? Did you find the extra bodyweight to be a hindrance in swimming? MM: It was. I still did very well—I got second place in the swimming. I lost by two-tenths of a second to a guy who I found out later was a champion swimmer in high school and college in the freestyle. He was very light in bodyweight.

JL: I understand that you were defeated in the weightlifting event by none other than the “Hulk” himself, Lou Ferrigno. MM: Well, I jerked whatever it was that he did. I think it was 335 pounds. Whatever it was,

JL: So they’re really lacking in knowledge. MM: They assume, and maybe it’s natural to think, that once an individual has attained a certain level of development—for example, Mr. America or Mr. Universe—then that person “must” know something about what he’s doing or he wouldn’t have reached that level. And while he may know something, he may not. In most cases genetics and a certain amount of discipline and hard work (which is laudable) got them where they were. Anyway, I no longer scratch my head, get upset or whatever when I see all the

“It’s been claimed that bodybuilding is scientific, but it’s probably one of the most primitive endeavors engaged in by modern man.”

Balik

JL: Given the density of your physique, you’d sink like the proverbial stone. MM: It requires more energy just to stay afloat and propel yourself. As a result, you have an advantage when you’re lighter. I did enjoy the competition, though, and that’s the main thing. I made a little bit of money and received more public visibility, which helped.

JL: What’s it like to go into a gym, given what you know, and see people pumping out set after set—the marathon-style trainees? MM: I don’t make it a practice to preach, but I give advice when solicited. Where I may see somebody doing something potentially lethal and they don’t know it, I’ll walk up and offer my advice. For instance, I’d say, “Excuse me, but I have some advice on what you are doing. Would you mind if I told you what it was?” If they respond politely and seem to be receptive, I’ll continue. If not, I’ll let them kill themselves. And where someone approaches me and politely asks for advice, I’ll give them all the time that is practical at the moment. Often, however, I’ve scratched my head in wonderment. Even though it’s been claimed that bodybuilding is scientific and all, it’s

probably one of the most primitive endeavors engaged in by modern man. There’s no rhyme or reason to what most people do. When I went to Europe in 1983, I began all of my seminars with a rather audacious statement: “Everyone in this room does everything wrong from the moment you walk into the gym until the moment you leave, from how you grasp the bar, to the number of sets you do and so forth.” Never once was anyone certain enough about what they were doing to voice an objection. More often than not, I saw a lot of heads bobbing rather sheepishly in the affirmative.

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HEAVY DUTY things that are done improperly in gyms. JL: With good genetics, can an aspiring bodybuilder reach his potential using Nautilus principles—that is, one set per bodypart, eight to 12 reps, 12 total sets, three days per week? MM: Not necessarily one set per bodypart. One set per exercise? Yeah, I think so. In fact, I know so, without question. JL: That’s refreshing to hear from someone in the upper echelons of the sport. Often the young bodybuilder only hears those who refuse to look at training rationally and instead goes by tradition. MM: Almost 99.9 percent of all bodybuilders—in fact 99.9 percent of most people—do everything that they do because other people do it. They do what they do out of convention, imitation, tradition and outright fear—fear of being different. Rather than risk disapproval from the group, they completely go along and do what they see others doing—not knowing why it’s done or even if it’s going to be productive.

JL: Why is one set woefully inadequate for totally stimulating a bodypart even if performed at maximum intensity? MM: I’m not sure it’s woefully inadequate, but it takes me one good set to warm up. JL: Let’s say you’re doing a whole-body workout. After you’ve elevated your body temperature by even one degree, you are, in effect, as warmed up as you’re going to be. MM: It’s almost impossible to do just one set per bodypart, even if it’s only through indirect stimulation when you’re doing other exercises. But again, Nautilus never recommended, or at least I’m not aware that it recommended, doing just one set per bodypart. One set per exercise, maybe. That’s essentially what Boyer Coe did during that six-month experiment when I was down there. He did improve dramatically. I was there for almost every workout, and I can testify to the fact. He entered the experiment after a considerable period of no training at all—and no steroids. He was, to put it bluntly, in bad shape at the outset. He was

JL: And that was a steroid-free experiment? MM: Right. There were no steroids. He gained only three pounds during the six months, but he lost considerable fat. So his actual lean weight gain was probably much more than three pounds. But the important thing was that his appearance improved dramatically. He put on a lot of muscle and lost a lot of fat in order to appear the way he did. He was even doing numerous exhibitions and looking quite good. I saw those appearances. Next month Mentzer discusses recovery ability, steroids and the workout program he used to win the Mr. America. 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 © 2007, John Little. All rights reserved. Mike Mentzer quotations are provided courtesy of Joanne Sharkey and used with permission. IM Neveux \ Model \ Dave Fisher

“It’s natural to think, that once an individual has attained a certain level of development—for example, Mr. America or Mr. Universe—then that person ‘must’ know something about what he’s doing or he wouldn’t have reached that level.”

smooth and small, but six months later, using about 50 minutes total training a week, he was in phenomenal shape! He was ripped to the bone—more ripped than I’ve ever seen him. You could actually see every fiber in his back.

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With a Power/Rep Range/Shock Twist by Eric Broser Photography by Michael Neveux Illustration by Larry Eklund

It was a rare but welcome rainy day here in my newly adopted hometown of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where we had just come through about three straight weeks of sunny, blazingly hot weather. At this point I think most everyone was looking for a little cooling downâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;well, all except for me, that is! While most people were happy to stay at home and listen to the raindrops rhythmically pounding against their windows, I was looking to heat up my shoulders at the local L.A. Fitness with a little Power/Rep Range/Shock treatment.

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Model: Luke Wood

Hybrid Power/ Rep Range/ Shock combines elements from all three protocols into one workout.

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Model: Noel Thompson

You activate the anabolic machinery through every possible physiological mechanism.

It was about 5 p.m. when I arrived, and by then it was raining so hard, I had to make a mad dash from my car to the gym. Luckily, I don’t have a single hair on my head, so no worries about getting my do messed up. (Ah, the perks of being bald.) Once inside I said a few hellos to some gym regulars and then headed for the locker room for my “pregame warmup.” After a quick trip to the restroom, I downed about 10 grams of BCAAs, five grams of L-glutamine and 2.5 grams of creatine mixed in water, which has become rather widely know as the Body FX Cocktail (Body FX being my screen name on many of the bodybuilding message

boards). I then grabbed my belt, towel and straps, cranked up my MP3 player with a little Godsmack, and muttered to myself, “Okay, let’s go to war!” As I was walking out of the locker room, I ran into a friend whose name is Charles; however, I affectionately refer to him as “UpChuck.” And, yes, it’s exactly what you’re thinking. Every time I train with Charles, he ends up in the bathroom, praying to the porcelain god. Great thing about Up-Chuck, though, is that he keeps coming back for more. Yeah, we’ve put in some great workouts together, even when he’s not tossing his cookies. “Eric! What’s up, playa?”

“Not much. Just here for some deltoid detonation!” “You’re training shoulders today? So am I!” “Cool. Did you start yet?” “No, I just got here. Can I train with you?” “That depends: How close to the workout did you eat?” “Oh, stop! I won’t puke from shoulders!” “You said the same thing about the arm workout we did two weeks ago, and—” “Okay, okay…but I came back and finished the workout, didn’t I? “Yes, you absolutely did. You are a warrior, bro!” We con(continued on page 204) www.ironmanmagazine.com \ APRIL 2007 201

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(continued from page 204) tinued our conversation as we walked out to the free-weight area, where I started to warm up my rotator cuffs with some internal- and external-rotation exercises (yeah, I’m getting old!), as well as a series of light lateral raises. “So, Eric, are you doing Power, Rep Range or Shock today? This is my Power week, but I will do whatever you’re doing.” “Well, I’m doing all three!” “Huh? I don’t get it.” “This week I’m working with what I like to call Hybrid P/RR/S training.” “Hybrid P/RR/S? Explain, please.”

Model: Joe DeAngelis

Rear delts get the Rep Range protocol: set one, seven to nine reps; set two, 10 to 12 reps; and set three, 13 to 15 reps.

“Hybrid P/RR/S combines elements from all three protocols into one workout. It’s something I like to add into the mix every four to eight weeks, and it provides a unique training experience. You activate the anabolic machinery through every possible physiological mechanism and stimulate the mind with the challenge.” “So, how will it work with our shoulder training today?” “Well, rather than tell you, I’ll just show you. Let’s get to work.” First stop was the seated military press station. The goal was to follow

the Power-week protocol, which means choosing a weight for your work sets that will take only four to six reps to get you to concentric failure. The lifting tempo is 4/0/ X—a four-second eccentric rep with no pause—zero seconds—following it and then an explosive concentric contraction. The rest between sets for this particular movement would be about four minutes, to allow for maximum recovery and synthesis of ATP and creatine. “Do you always start a Hybrid workout using the Power-week pro(continued on page 208) tocol?” Up-

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Model: Sagi Kalev

For Shock work, doing X-Rep partials near the bottom of the exercise extends the set at a key fiber activation point on the stroke.

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Adding isolation work after a big, compound exercise is great for max contractions thanks to heightened nerve force.

queried. “Yes—because Power training is best for stimulating the central nervous system, which then carries over into the rest of the workout.” “And by stimulating the CNS, the benefit is what?” “More-powerful muscle contractions and increased fiber recruitment.” “Which means more growth potential?” “Correct, Up-Chuck!” Luckily, when it comes to

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Model: Luke Wood

(continued from page 204) Chuck

Warmup: 135 x 10 Warmup: 185 x 7 Warmup: 225 x 4 Work set: 255 x 5 Work set: 255 x 4 Work set: 245 x 5 “Damn, Eric, those felt great! I’ve

been using your preworkout cocktail consistently lately, and it has made a big difference.” “Like with everything in this game, my friend, the basics work the best.” “Okay, what’s next?” “The reverse-flye machine for rear delts!” “And what style are we using here?” “Bro, you have no style. I mean, look at you, still wearing baggy clown pants from the 1980s.” “Yeah, yeah, and the chicks love me. Always smiling my way.” “No, bro, they’re laughing, not

smiling!” “You’re a real comedian. Are we using Rep Range or Shock training for this movement?” “Rep Range.” The reverse-flye machine is definitely my favorite exercise for rear delts. Although I will also use various dumbbell and cable bent-over lateral raises, I find I get the tightest contraction in my posteriors delts from reverse flyes. On this occasion we used a pronated grip, so our palms were facing the floor. I actually prefer that to the semisupinated grip on this movement. (continued on page 214)

You have to train all facets of the muscle if you want extraordinary growth.

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Comstock \ Models: Marcus Rühl and Ronnie Coleman

shoulders, Charles and I are of very similar strength levels, and we were able to follow the same warmup and work-weight patterns:

Hybrid DeltoidDetonation Workout

Model: Skip La Cour

Seated military presses 3 x 4-6 Rear-delt machine flyes 1 x 7-9, 1 x 10-12, 1 x 13-15 Superset Wide-grip upright rows 2 x 8-10 Seated lateral raises 2 x 8-10

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(continued from page 210) Because we were using the Rep Range protocol, our goal would be to get seven to nine reps on set one, 10 to 12 reps on set two and 13 to 15 on set three, again working to positive failure on each. Our rest between sets was about two minutes, and the lifting tempo was 2/1/2/1—a two-second negative with a one-second pause before we performed the positive portion of the rep in two seconds. The final number in the tempo refers to the contraction point. With movements on which you can get a strong peak contraction, like this one, I often add a one-second pause there for even more muscle-stimulating action. Here’s how our sets panned out:

Warmup: 120 x 8 Work set: 180 x 9 Work set: 165 x 12 Work set: 150 x 14 “Man, Eric, I am loving this! Going from four to six reps to seven to 15 reps feels great! The pump is outrageous. I feel like someone just injected my delts with synthol!” “God forbid, bro! Your delts look round and full, not distorted, like synthol users’ shoulders!” “You know what I mean, you mad scientist! What’s next?” “I’m not sure. How are you feeling? You look a little pale.” “Oh, stop! I’m fine! Bring it on!” I must admit that when UpChuck told me to bring it on, I immediately became quite motivated to see him on his knees doing the Technicolor yawn. And what better way to accomplish that than with some Shock-week techniques? My exercises of choice for what would be a postactivation superset—a compound movement followed immediately by an isolation movement—were wide-grip barbell upright rows and seated laterals. That combo really zeroes in on the medial-deltoid heads. I’m a great believer in paying the most attention to the medial, or side, delts, as they’re not only the most difficult delt heads to develop but also the ones that do the most to improve the overall look of a physique.

Since we were about to engage in a Shock-week protocol, the corresponding rules would apply: A lifting tempo of 1/0/1, keeping the up-and-down movement almost constant and the rest between sets to the minimum time it takes to catch your breath and mentally prepare for the next assault. After I did my first superset, I told Up-Chuck to add X-Reps partials to his seated laterals. Yes, I was trying to send my friend over the edge. Our two delt-destroying supersets were as follows:

COMING SOON TO A GYM NEAR YOU: A NITRIC OXIDE PRODUCT UNLIKE ANY OTHER

Work Superset 1 Upright Rows, 135 x 10 Seated Laterals, 40 x 9

Work Superset 2 Upright Rows, 135 x 9 Seated Laterals, 40 x 8 “Holy crap, my delts are torched!” Up-Chuck exclaimed. “Seriously, Eric. I can’t even lift my arms.” “Yeah, Hybrid P/RR/S usually has that effect because the muscles and CNS are literally attacked from every angle.” “So let me ask you: Should I work Hybrid week into my regular P/RR/ S rotation?” “For the past year or so I’ve occasionally done a full four weeks straight of Hybrid P/RR/S—but I change the workouts completely each week. Remember, however, that I’ve been using P/RR/S for six years. You’ve been using my program for only six months, so I suggest you hit a Hybrid week every seventh week in the rotation (P/RR/ S/P/RR/S/H).” “Cool, man. That was an amazing workout.” “I’m glad you enjoyed it! And look at that, you didn’t even end up with your head in the toilet bowl!” “Guess you have to stop calling me Up-Chuck, bro.” “Not so fast my often-vomiting friend. Tomorrow is legs. Care to join me?” IM

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Arkansas Muscle

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Chad Martin, ’06 NPC Junior USA Winner, Talks Bodybuilding and Life by Rod Labbe • Photography by Bill Comstock

o ahead. I tripledawg dare ya. Ask any pro bodybuilder if he has it easy. Should you still be standing by the time he’s finished, you’ll understand one irrefutable fact: A pro’s life is fraught with terrific insecurities. Sure, quick cash can be generated through seminars, and the mags are more open to photo spreads and an occasional cover or profile. A few lucrative endorsement/ sponsorship deals might even develop. But it’s not an easy road or easy money. Now ask an amateur bodybuilder the same question: Does he have it easy? You’ll undoubtedly hear woeful tales involving money, lack of publicity, bad placings, moral corruption and rampant drug abuse. Kinda makes you wonder why anyone would choose competitive bodybuilding as an avocation, huh?

Amateurs, though, have one significant edge over the pros: freedom. And nobody knows that better than Chad Martin, a young amateur bodybuilder from Arkansas. Martin’s bodybuilding mission is deceptively simple: He preaches the muscle gospel. Winning titles and competing keep him visible, but Chad’s gone the extra mile by modeling, producing and starring in DVDs and forging pathways where many pros find brick walls. “I went into bodybuilding to better myself,” he related as he prepped for still another photo shoot. “Twenty-four/7, I’m tweaking training routines, experimenting, working on presentation and promotion. When you’re a competitive bodybuilder, there’s always more to do, another setback to overcome.” It’s a frantic lifestyle (pundits might say too frantic), but Chad’s approach is and always has been decidedly mellow. During the time we spent together, he multitasked like an efficiency expert, and never once did I see him lose his smooth Southern-boy cool. Business acumen and an affinity for self-promotion are key to keeping any career afloat, and Chad’s developed quite the knack. Nonetheless, choppy waters present themselves now and again. Scoring effective magazine exposure is particularly prickly, and when navigation goes awry, connected folks like yours truly step up to the wheel. Get your streamers ready, ladies and gents. The USS Arkansas Muscle has just pulled into port!

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Arkansas Muscle

“Competitive bodybuilding’s a hardball game, especially for amateurs. You gotta stay on your toes. The slightest distraction, and a year’s worth of progress can be derailed.”

RL: Before 2003 you were building up considerable steam on the competitive circuit. Then an unscheduled layoff derailed everything. Or did it? CM: You’ve heard of Murphy’s Law, right? Well, ol’ Murphy came down hard on me, with both feet. Crunch! I broke two bones, and my recuperation took longer than expected. For a while I felt a little lost—but in life you make do, you cope. By the time I’d recovered, I was dedicated and re-energized enough to win the ’04 Ronnie Coleman Classic. That qualified me for the Junior Nationals and Nationals. RL: So, even with your injuries, ’04 was a good year? CM: An exceptional year! I went forward, doing the best I could. My modeling opportunities opened up too. Ever hear of Ulrich Oehmen? I did a lot of stuff for him, and he’s a superb technician. Irv Gelb’s another guy with an amazing ability to capture mood and feeling. RL: Don’t underestimate your own contributions. You’re rugged, with charisma and plenty of all-American charm. That’s solid résumé material. CM: Thanks. Competitive bodybuilding’s a hardball game, especially for amateurs. You gotta stay on your toes. The slightest distraction, and a year’s worth of progress can be derailed. And if you want to break into other areas, the stakes are higher. RL: Yeah, considering Arkansas isn’t exactly known for producing nationally ranked bodybuilders. CM: There aren’t many here, I’ll admit. [Laughs] Very few hardcore gyms, either. RL: Given such sorry circumstances, what set off the bodybuilding fuse in young Chad Ray Martin? CM: Same old Charles Atlas story—I wanted to be big and strong and equated muscles

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Arkansas Muscle

“Education is primary in bodybuilding. Not a lot of novices bother to learn from experience.” with manhood. At 18 I became addicted to lifting. I was living with my grandma, and she fed me well. With her cooking and my weight training, I made fast gains. After high school I signed on with the Air National Guard, and that was a good move. I packed on 20 pounds in basic. RL: Basic is what, only six weeks? Dude, you must’ve been chowin’! CM: Whenever I had the chance! Air Force food’s free, plentiful and mighty filling! Following basic, I attended tech school in Colorado, where all I did for four months was lift weights, eat and go to class. I came home at 190, 30 pounds heavier than when I’d left. One year later I was competing as a light heavyweight novice and winning. RL: You won your first show? CM: The very first. I was green, but nobody could question my determination. RL: And you’ve competed about every eight months since? CM: For six years straight. It’s been difficult, what with life’s sundry responsibilities. Just the same, I do love contest prep. Watching your physique grow and noting improvements that become more and more apparent with each training day is uniquely satisfying. RL: The layoff apparently didn’t slow you down any. CM: Those injuries were blessings in disguise. Because of them, I’ve

had tons of free time to plan, project and rethink strategies. Taking a breather also gave me clarity; I became emotionally restored and couldn’t wait to jump back into competition. RL: From the truckload of trophies surrounding us, it’s obvious you’ve been an athlete your entire life. CM: As a kid I enjoyed being active—camping, skiing, riding my bike. Name the sport, and I’ve probably played it at least once. No, make that dozens of times. Sitting on the sidelines has never been my

thing. I’ve got to get in there and raise hell. RL: Did athletics lead you to the iron? CM: Organized sports gave me discipline, but I was inspired more by “Predator,” back in 1987. Arnold and his crew were beefy, ripped and manly. Once I saw them kick ass, I couldn’t run to the weight room fast enough! As I grew bigger and more proportioned, people kept asking me when I was going to compete. That finally happened in 1997. Just starting the (continued on page 222) www.ironmanmagazine.com \ APRIL 2007 219

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Arkansas Muscle

“Watching your physique grow and noting improvements that become more and more apparent with each training day is uniquely satisfying.” (continued from page 219) process

fulfilled a long-held fantasy, and when I walked out and did my routine, I was flyin’! RL: How old were you then? CM: Twenty and I weighed 191 pounds. RL: That was the Caveman Classic—in Missouri? CM: Yes, a good experience.

I’d read everything I could lay my hands on about proper dieting and contest preparation beforehand, but things were still sketchy. During the process of getting lean, I lost too much muscle. Kind of a stumble, but the lessons were worthwhile. Education is primary in bodybuilding. Not a lot of novices bother to learn from experience. RL: You’ve had a steady stream of competitions, including an impressive win at the ’04 Arkansas Classic. CM: I started 2004 with a plan, to fine-tune my precontest preparation and diet and then tackle several top-level regional shows. Winning the Arkansas was a significant personal step because friends and family were there to see me. What an unforgettable moment!

before or after? CM: Before. At the Lone Star I placed third in the heavies even though my physique hadn’t peaked. RL: Were you pleased with third? CM: Man, anytime I make top five, I’m one happy camper. [Laughs] That show taught me important lessons about what works and what doesn’t in precontest prep. RL: Two high-profile placings, capped by an incredible performance at the Junior Nationals. Stylin’ or what? CM: The Junior Nationals in ’04 was a record breaker—more than 100 athletes in the men’s competition alone. Wall-to-wall testosterone! And every guy there had trained, dieted, planned and prayed. Including me!

RL: Was the Lone Star Classic

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(continued on page 226)

Arkansas Muscle

You Can Get

Chad Ray Martin’s Hardcore Leg Blast I hit the iron almost every day, sometimes twice a day. If a contest is more than three months away, I train six days a week, with two of those days as a double split. Here’s my leg workout. Warning: This is not for the squeamish! I train legs on Wednesday and Sunday, with hams getting hit harder on Sunday and quads suffering more on Wednesday. The week starts with front squats, lunges, high leg presses, leg curls and stiff-legged deadlifts. If I’m training for mass, I use three-week cycles: week one, four sets of 10; week two, four sets of eight; week three, four sets of six. When contest prep begins, I switch to four sets of 12. On Wednesday I preexhaust my thighs with a few good sets of leg extensions. Then I start the workout by doing squats—plenty of warmup sets and then my work sets stay in the rep range according to whether I’m in contest-prep mode. I go pretty heavy if I’m not in contest prep, usually around 505 for eight or 565 for six, and I squat deep. Depth makes a significant difference in how your legs grow. Legs are tough to train, and you must focus on what’s at hand and not let anything mess with you. Front squats are next. I do them the same way, as high as 315 for six. After that I roll into hack squats. Remember, if it’s competition season, I stick with 12 reps on everything. One point I should make about contest training has to do with the last set: 12 is not the number, pain is. I push till the legs go! I love to get 15, but sometimes I barely clear 12. Other times I roll beyond to 20. It depends on how much animal I can pull out that day. My training partner, Marc Sparks, makes sure I go to the outer limits. Next up is leg presses. I pile up the sled, and Marc sits on top of it and screams, “Let’s roll!” This really hits hams and quads. Note: Always keep your feet flat, or you could strain your calves. After leg presses all I have left are leg curls and leg extensions. I superset them. People ask if I have a difficult time sleeping on leg day. Normally, no. Sometimes, though, my legs twitch all night. I always get a lot of carbs right after leg training. For example, if I’m dieting, I take in 90 grams of carbs from white rice. If I’m growing, I’ll take in two cups of oats, one tablespoon of honey and about 48 ounces of water. Thirty minutes later I’ll eat a solid meal with protein and vegetables and another portion of carbs—about 50 grams of protein and 50 grams of carbs. —Chad Ray Martin

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Arkansas Muscle

“Same old Charles Atlas story—I wanted to be big and strong and equated muscles with manhood.” (continued from page 222)

RL: When they called you out for the fourth spot, it had to be a Kodak moment. CM: Oh, dude, I was so pumped! And I could use a few other words too—overjoyed, thrilled, dumbstruck and amazed! Thirty-

two heavyweights competed, and to place fourth shocked me to the core of my being. But I couldn’t have done it alone. I’ve got to thank my family, friends, and all the fans who contributed to this wondrous accomplishment. RL: Don Youngblood, the ’02 Masters Mr. Olympia, played an important role in your bodybuilding success. His recent passing at such a young age must’ve devastated you. CM: It did, totally. He was an exceptional individual, an icon who constantly gave of himself. We’d known one another since I was little. I saw Don not only as an excellent trainer but a close friend.

My prayers go out to his wife and family. RL: On a lighter note, you’ve been making serious headway in the past two years—lots of magazine coverage, some covers and higher visibility. Is this your time, man? And what’s next for Chad Martin? CM: It’s been insane, but I like that kind of insanity. I’ve already set my sights on the 2007 Junior Nationals, USA and North Americans. I might do the Junior California, too, if time permits. RL: Being a competitive bodybuilder requires considerable financial resources

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Arkansas Muscle

and a tough-as-steel attitude. Agreed? CM: Agreed. And it’s easy to lose motivation after a bad placing. That’s one reason competitors drop out of the game. Their bar is raised too high. Setting realistic goals at the outset is important. You must prove yourself in local and regional shows first, then go on and take charge. Guys who hit the gym should realize they can derive a lot of pleasure and health benefits from bodybuilding, without competing. RL: The benefits part—is that what you’re after? CM: Of course! Being healthy is the bottom line. I like to compete—it’s fun—but I’m after lifelong health. RL: And a fantasy chassis is the cherry on the sundae! CM: With whipped cream and nuts [flexes right biceps]! When you’re healthy, you can’t help but look good.

in another DVD, “Flexed Physiques,” I gave it the old college try. You’re a potent team! CM: Sagi’s an easygoing guy. And you won’t find any bodybuilder more dedicated to achieving perfection. I’m the same way. I train specifically to meld muscle mass and proportion. If I need to bring a specific bodypart up, I’ll do it—with an eye to building a complete physique.

Competitive bodybuilding’s not for the weak of spirit. Heck, I know pros who are struggling. Bodybuilding won’t make you one of the beautiful people—but if you do it right, you’ll have health and wellbeing for the rest of your days. RL: If pros aren’t making ends meet, what about amateurs? CM: Amateurs need to be smart and take the bull by the horns. Being a bodybuilder isn’t limited to

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RL: What kind of physique is your ideal? CM: One that combines symmetry, aesthetics and mass. Too much either way, and you end up with bodybuilders who look more like gymnasts, ballet dancers, long-distance runners, sumo wrestlers, weightlifters or football players. You can’t have mass without cuts and deep muscle separation, nor can you be ultraripped and dry without muscle fullness. Achieving the correctly balanced combination is a trick I call the Power Package. And that’s the title of my first solo DVD. RL: Why do a video? CM: Inspiration! If folks see my videos and are motivated and inspired to start an exercise or fitness program or take their program and nutrition to the next level, I’ve succeeded. RL: My quest for motivation ends when pain begins—but after watching you and Sagi Kalev assault the iron

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Arkansas Muscle

“Organized sports gave me discipline, but I was inspired more by ‘Predator,’ back in 1987. Arnold and his crew were beefy, ripped and manly.” proudest of? CM: I’m proudest of maintaining a consistent placing and showing up in excellent condition for all my competitions. It’s a personal standard. Off-season is not part of my vocabulary! Maybe that’s obsessive, but if it is, I’m a perfect candidate for bodybuilding. Actually, I do take time off once a year—approximately three months—to give my body a rest. But I’m never what anyone would consider fat or out of shape.

contests and gym time. Publicity’s a major component. Besides my own Web site, I have a sponsor, MHP. I’m traveling, competing, attending contests, doing shoots and planning several workout videos. RL: Your bodybuilding career has taken you far from Arkansas. What accomplishment are you

RL: So the motivation is not difficult to maintain? CM: There are days when I’m tempted to slack off, but that’s dangerous. As a nationallevel competitor I must maintain the motivation to improve. With the help of my family and friends, I do. My wife, April, family and close friends support me 100 percent. April and our two girls offer encouragement and smiles whenever I need them. It’s a good life. I’m able to do the things I want, without restrictions. And I can look at myself and my physique objectively, which also makes me happy. Like most people, I have my good days and not so good days. But with a loving group of family and friends

behind me, those bad days rarely raise their ornery heads. None of us can expect things to go our way all the time; one day you’re up, and the next, you’re down.

RL: Still, a sunny attitude goes a long way. CM: Competitive bodybuilding is a sport where a sunny disposition comes in very handy. Since I’m always myself, I tend to bring that attitude to my bodybuilding pursuits, even with the pitfalls. RL: I’ve got a sneaking suspicion 2007 might see a turn of the tide, pro card and all. Then what? CM: Aside from celebrating, I’ll be able to make more money as a bodybuilder. Seminars, exhibitions, guest-posing gigs, etc. It’ll be a whole ’nuther ball game. Editor’s note: Visit Chad Martin’s Web site, www .ChadRayMartin.com. IM

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Anabolic Firestarters

Invisible Essentials by George L. Redmond, Ph.D., N.D

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of Size and Strength

The reason that a trace mineral is required in extremely small amounts is that it serves as a coenzyme, permitting the active enzyme to work over and over again in catalyzing a chemical reaction. In the same way only a small daily intake of a vitamin may be required, but through its catalytic activity it produces a far larger amount of some vital substances. —Linus Pauling Nobel prize–winning chemist Linus Pauling suggests that powerful small substances in the background are actually responsible for enhancing and/ or jump-starting the activity of many, perhaps all, of the heavy hitters that are part of your bodybuilding supplement routine. So vital are vitamins and minerals to the body’s proper metabolic and anabolic functions that without them you would be unable to convert your food into hormones, (continued on page 234) tissue and energy.

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A One-Minute Primer Vitamins are essential nutrients required for normal chemical processes to occur in the body. They are components in enzymes and coenzymes. Enzymes are molecules involved in speeding up chemical reactions necessary for human physiological functions to occur, such as energy production or the assembling of tissue components. Coenzymes are partners that help the enzymes conduct chemical reactions. Vitamins and minerals are essential components in many metabolic processes, as well as building and sustaining the structure and integrity of the body.

The Mineral Connection

Classified Information Like most supplements, vitamins and minerals are classified as either water- or fat-soluble. Water-soluble vitamins aren’t stored in the body and must be readily replenished. Fat-soluble vitamins are stored to some degree, usually in the liver, and require some fat for assimilation when taken. So taking your supplements with a full meal is advised to ensure proper breakdown and assimilation. The water-soluble vitamins are vitamin C and all the B vitamins—B1 and B2, niacin, B6, folic acid, biotin

and pantothenic acid. The fatsoluble vitamins are vitamins A, D, E and K. Minerals are classified as either major or minor. Major minerals are needed in the body in dosages of 100 milligrams or above. Minor, or trace, minerals are needed in quantities of less than 100 milligrams. The essential major minerals are calcium, chlorine, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium, sodium and sulfur. The minor minerals are chromium, cobalt, copper, fluorine, iodine, iron, manganese, molybdenum, selenium and zinc.

Anabolic Spark Plugs While no brief account can cover all of the anabolic capabilities of these dynamic firestarters, here’s an overview of some widely used vitamin and mineral supplements, sometimes referred to as anabolic spark plugs. Start with vitamin C, known as the master nutrient. It’s water(continued on page 238) soluble.

Neveux \ Model: Randy Vogelzang

The human body uses minerals for the proper composition of bone and blood and normal cell function. As discussed above, they are, along with vitamins, essential components of enzymes and coenzymes. If an enzyme is lacking the necessary mineral, it can’t function properly, no matter how much of the vitamin

is available. In other words, vitamins are useless without their mineral partners. Paradoxically, while carbohydrates, proteins, fats and vitamins are all organic substances, the nonorganic minerals are responsible for starting and sustaining the metabolic actions of organic nutrients.

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(continued from page 234) Several

studies have shown that dosages of 1,000 milligrams of vitamin C can significantly reduce muscle soreness and enhance your recovery after a workout. Many sports and exercise physiologists maintain that C’s critical importance is misunderstood and certainly underutilized in the bodybuilding community. That can hinder your ability to achieve a state of anabolic tranquillity. Vitamin C plays a key role in building collagen, the most abundant connective tissue in your body. Collagen gives your body form and supports other organs as well. It’s essentially the glue that holds your muscles to your skeleton and your skin to your muscles. Research supports the notion that poor bone strength is related to a loss of collagen in and around the bone matrix. Collagen assists in healing sprained joints, bones, cuts, strains and other injuries. That’s why vitamin C is critical to accelerating your recovery. Furthermore, vitamin C has powerful antioxidant capabilities, protecting muscle cells from damage, that enhance your growth potential. It’s also involved with the construction and distribution of steroid hormones throughout your body. Like the Great Depression of 1929, when money supplies and the American economy collapsed, natural biological shortages of vitamin C wreak havoc on your muscle tissue. Because it’s one of the most water-soluble nutrients, it quickly dissipates when it enters the body, breaking up and scattering within a watery environment. The more muscular you become, the more water your muscle cells are composed of. Consequently, diminishing levels of that vital anabolic nutrient can occur rapidly. In practical terms, you as a bodybuilder need to replenish your vitamin C several times a day—more than a nonbodybuilder or sedentary person.

Vitamin C plays a key role in building collagen, the most abundant connective tissue in your body. The Cortisol Connection Vitamin C regulates the effects of cortisol, known as the death hormone because of its ability to accelerate muscle wasting and atrophy. Although in stressful situations cortisol helps you meet the stress head on by increasing the levels of fat and sugar in the bloodstream and supplying added fuel to the brain and muscles, it also readily destroys muscle tissue. Visualize the intense sparks flying as the engineer of a train tries to slow down a speeding locomotive. Compare that to the destruction and tearing of all the muscle tissue you work so hard to attain. When elevated levels of this stuff linger in the body, that’s what’s going on. Paradoxically, you generate tons of cortisol during intense training, so controlling or minimizing its effects should be high on your list. Elevated cortisol levels cause much more than muscle wasting. They also cause:

1) Decreased testosterone 2) Insulin resistance 3) Increased blood sugar 4) Increased bodyfat 5) Breakdown of muscles, tendons and ligaments 6) Accelerated bone breakdown 7) Shrinkage of brain cells Because cortisol is your worst nightmare, take your vitamin C every day.

The Royal B Next to vitamin C, vitamin B6 is the most important anabolic cofactor you can take. Known as the master vitamin for processing amino acids, water-soluble vitamin B6 helps start more that 100 enzyme systems necessary for the proper regulation of protein metabolism. Though generally referred to as pyridoxine, vitamin B6 has three chemical forms: pyridoxine, pyri-

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doxal and pyridoxamine. Pyridoxal (PLP) is its most active form. Being intimately involved with protein and amino acid metabolism, pyridoxine is responsible for processing, meaning it helps make, as well as take apart and rebuild many of those building blocks of protein. Pyridoxine is also a coenzyme for glycogen phosphorylase, the enzyme that stimulates the release of glucose stored in the muscles, known as glycogen. That helps fuel your tired muscles, thus sparing precious muscle tissue. While you already know that protein builds lean muscle, you may be unaware of the fact that the pyridoxine form of B6 is directly responsible for protein metabolism and therefore key in the overall anabolic process. An increased intake of protein

needs to be matched with additional amounts of B6. The additional intake helps the body maintain an adequate balance of amino acids circulating in and around your system. The recommended dose for vitamin B6 for all healthy individuals is 1.3 milligrams daily. Don’t take more than 100 milligrams; it could lead to nerve damage.

Buy the Vowels Best known for its ability to protect the eyes and boost the immune response, vitamin A has definite anabolic capabilities. It’s not a welldiscussed fact that the body needs vitamin A to synthesize new protein; oddly enough, a high intake of protein tends to diminish body stores of vitamin A. Another fact not widely publicized centers on vitamin A’s

ability to regulate testosterone production. Reliable and consistent data shows that vitamin A within the testes increases testosterone secretions and a number of anabolic growth factors, such as IGF-binding protein, androgen-binding protein, transforming growth factor-beta and a substance known as steroidogenic acute regulatory protein. The last-named protein plays a critical role in transporting cholesterol into the mitochondria (the body’s energy factories) to be transformed into steroids. Vitamin A also works in the testes to reduce the formation of estrogen, as well as regulate the production of glycogen. Take 5,000 to 25,000 international units per day. When taking levels above 10,000, use beta-carotene. The body will convert as much of it to vitamin A as it needs, and that form doesn’t have the toxicity of vitamin A from fish oil sources. One of the most widely used (continued on page 242) vitamins,

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Anabolic Mineral Compounds Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the body. It is common knowledge that calcium builds strong bones—an often overlooked aspect of building a world-class body. As you gain size, you need a strong skeletal foundation to hold all of that new lean muscle. Substantial evidence confirms the need to supplement calcium during intense workouts. New data reveal that during a two-hour workout the body can lose via sweat up to 400 milligrams of calcium. That can severely compromise your efforts in reaching your long-term bodybuilding goals, by decreasing your workout capacity and making you more susceptible to skeletal injuries. Calcium is also mainly responsible for regulating muscular contractions, and it controls heartbeat. Because you probably take in lots of protein, you should get adequate calcium and its cofactors (phosphorus, vitamin D, magnesium) to limit the withdrawal of calcium from bones. By the way, vitamin D assists in calcium absorption, while low magnesium levels cause hypocalcaemia, or low calcium. High protein intake can increase calcium’s excretion. You should maintain a calcium-phosphorus balance in the bones of two parts calcium to one part phosphorus. An imbalance will increase calcium loss, which can cause bone loss. The recommended dose is 1,000

to 1,500 milligrams daily. According to the Food and Drug Administration’s most recent reading of the experimental literature, chromium picolinate may reduce the risk of insulin resistance. Studies suggest that chromium picolinate promotes the anabolic affect of insulin on skeletal muscle by sensitizing insulin-dependent brain receptors that control appetite and fat burning. Supplemental chromium leads to improvements in lean body mass and percentage of bodyfat and bodyweight loss. In a study appearing in the International Journal of Biosocial and Medical Research, investigators concluded that chromium picolinate, because of its ability to accentuate the development of lean body mass and concurrent loss of bodyfat, could serve as a safe alternative to anabolic steroids. You need 50 to 200 micrograms daily. The mighty mineral magnesium has recently gained much press for its ability to relieve symptoms of chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia. Most of its prominence, however, centers on its ability to control blood pressure and treat ischemic heart disease, a deficiency of blood to the heart. Magnesium is best known for its ability to help preserve precious bone and its regulation of more than 300 biochemical reactions in the body. As a bodybuilder, you should know that it’s essential to all energy-dependent reactions, including the use and production of ATP, the body’s main intercellular energy molecule. Additionally, magnesium assists in amino acid synthesis, fat metabolism, neurological transmissions and muscular contractions and relaxation. Magnesium actually activates amino acids and helps the body construct protein. Low magnesium levels can definitely affect the way your body makes proteins. As with calcium, a high protein intake can adversely affect your magnesium levels.

Calcium is responsible for regulating muscular contractions, and it controls heartbeat. Vitamin D assists in calcium absorption.

Neveux \ Model: David Dorsey

(continued from page 239) fat-soluble vitamin E, has powerful antioxidant properties. Like vitamin C, it helps prevent muscle weakness and soreness via its ability to neutralize free radical production and the buildup of toxic by-products that cause muscle wasting. The recommended daily dose of vitamini E is 200 to 800 international units.

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In many ways magnesium stands alone, but it’s also a cofactor of the enzyme creatine kinase, which transforms creatine to creatine phosphate, or phosphocreatine, the storage form of creatine. It’s more powerful than creatine monohydrate because of its ability to recycle ATP at a faster pace. What that comes down to is that it increases your anabolic endurance threshold, which gives you more energy and strength for short, powerful lifts or the reps that are key to resistance training. There’s also considerable evidence that magnesium prevents muscle cramps and muscle spasms, which can occur when you lose it during strenuous exercise. Studies have shown that the more anaerobic the workout, the more magnesium is withdrawn from blood plasma into the red blood cells. That’s why

your need for magnesium may be greater. You need 300 to 500 milligrams every day. [For more on magnesium, see the feature that begins on page 142.] Last but far from least: zinc. When you think of zinc, visualize some 200 workers building, repairing damage and helping you recover from your intense training session. Zinc helps stimulate about 200 enzyme systems into action that supports growth. In fact, zinc regulates many hormones that control growth, including testosterone, and thus is vital to your ability to build lean muscle. Zinc also stimulates the release of growth hormone in conjunction with the mineral magnesium. Supplements containing zinc and magnesium asparate have gained much publicity over the past several years, under the name ZMA. When

taken 30 to 60 minutes before sleeping, that combination sends your anabolic potential into overdrive. The recommended dose is 15 to 50 milligrams daily. ZMA is suggested in doses of 450 milligrams of magnesium and 30 milligrams of zinc.

All Together Now... Overwhelming evidence confirms just how important these small but dynamic substances are to the function of the body’s metabolic machinery. They should be the foundation of your supplement regimen, not unsung heroes of your strength and size gains. Use them daily and consistently, starting with a multiple vitamin-and-mineral formula. Your muscles, hormones, enzymes and every anabolic cycle in your body will thank you. IM

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Neveux \ Model: Art Dilks

Zinc regulates many hormones that control growth, including testosterone.

Lonnie Teper’s

NEWS & ViEWS Dexter Jackson.

Expert Predictions

Balik

Who Will Wear the Columbus Crown?

To find out who really did win the Arnold Classic, log on to Graphic Muscle.com.

Balik

As always, the lineup at this year’s Arnold Schwarzenegger Classic is a strong one. What’s different is that the field looks to be perhaps the most balanced in years, with as many as four or five physique artists having a realistic shot at taking the crown in Columbus, Ohio. So who other than “The Experts” could let you know in advance how things will turn out at Veterans Memorial Auditorium on March 3? Yesiree, the tantalizing trio who made their debut on GraphicMuscle.com at the ’06 Olympia— me, the most objective; Isaac Hinds, the most biased; and Ron “Yogi” Avidan, the least knowledgeable—will return for the new season better (and in Ron’s case, bigger) than ever. And we’re all going with different people to win the ASC. I say it’s heaven in ’07 for Dexter “the Blade” Jackson, who will make it a three-peat. Hinds predicts last year’s rookie sensation, Phil “the Gift” Heath, will score a major upset. Avidan places Victor “the Future” Martinez at the top of the list. Here are the rationales behind those picks. Jackson, the Jacksonville, Florida, resident, is still great at 38. In addition to his second victory in a row at the Arnold last season, the Blade finished fourth at the Mr. Olympia. At 5’6 1/2” and about 215 pounds, Dex always shows up in prime condition, and I have no reason to think history won’t repeat itself in Ohio. Besides, the University of Florida set a new NCAA record by becoming the first school ever to win the national crown in both football and basketball in the same year, so the Sunshine State is certainly on a big-time roll. Hinds says that last year’s Rookie of the Year is now the Sophomore Sensation and that his favorite bodybuilder, Phil the Thrill, will be taking it all at the Arnold. “Heath proved himself last year, winning back-to-back shows [Denver

Victor Martinez.

Phil Heath.

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Isaac Hinds \ Lift Studios

The tres amigos stick their necks out again

PREDICTIONS How accurate can these three guys be? Pages 246 and 247

POSEDOWN IN JERSEY Who’s got the hottest sixpack? Page 249

HOT SHOTS They’re ba-a-a-ck! Pages 250 and 251

and New York], with a photo shoot in between the two contests and despite having his food lost before the New York contest,” Hinds says. “Phil has put on some quality muscle and is rested going into the Arnold. His two biggest challengers, Dexter Jackson and Victor Martinez, didn’t have as much time to rest. We all know this show will be won or lost on conditioning; Heath will match the insane conditioning he had at the Colorado Pro [where he weighed 214 at 5’9”] and prove once again that he is our ‘gift’ to bodybuilding. The veterans better watch out because there’s a new kid on the Arnold Classic block.” Is Hinds going a bit overboard about the 27-year-old wunderkind? Well, they both reside in Denver and had to suffer through those horrible snowstorms during the holidays. Even so, Hinds insists that his high praise for Heath is no snow job. Avidan is picking Martinez because, well, he really didn’t give any specifics other than he was impressed with Victor’s physique at the ’06 Olympia, where he finished third, and that he thinks the New Yorker has a shot at winning this year’s Olympia. When I reminded Ron that we were talking about this year’s Arnold Classic, he said, “Oh, yeah, look for Victor to replace Dexter as the Arnold Classic chamRon Avidan, L.T. and Isaac pion.” Hinds. Let’s give Avidan the help he desperately needs and add that Victor has a great combination of size and shape at 5’9” and 240 pounds and that he’ll be the biggest of the three contenders discussed. Also that I called him “the Future” because Ronnie Coleman himself predicted a couple of years back that Martinez was the guy who would become the next Mr. Olympia when Ronnie decided to hang up his posing briefs. Of course, Jay Cutler put a quick end to the Big Nasty’s prognostication skills last September, but that’s another story. Now, some other fellas who are not sold on these predictions will be flexing it out onstage in Columbus: Branch Warren, Toney Freeman and Gustavo Badell for starters. Warren finished second to Dex last year and won the Most Muscular award in the process. He was a major disappointment at the Olympia,

Gustavo Badell.

Toney Freeman.

Contest photography by Bill Comstock

Branch Warren.

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dropping three slots to 11th from his ’05 placing, and has plenty to prove. Freeman, who I named “the Future” way back in 1994, earned my Comeback Bodybuilder of the Year award in ’06 after winning the Europa Supershow and placing seventh at the Olympia. Badell is a bad man and has a couple of wins on the pro circuit (the ’05 IRON MAN and the ’06 San Francisco Pro) to go with a pair of third-place finishes at the Mr. O. The Freakin’ Rican was off at both the Arnold and Olympia last year and is out to prove he still has the Kerry and Jay Cutler. tools to win the title. Let’s get it on.

Teper

ADD HILL: A GIFT FROM PHIL—I have to admit, Phil Heath was impressive in those back-toback wins in his rookie year, and fans can now watch his journey on his new DVD, “The Gift, A New Beginning.” Phil teamed up with Isaac Hinds—who else?—to document his Colorado Pro debut. “This is unlike any other bodybuilder’s story,” says Hinds, “and fans will see Phil transform over 12 weeks. Living in the same city made it convenient for us to film this incredible story. The fans will see Phil train, pose and take home the gold.” Visit www.TheGiftDVD.com for more details.

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JAY RE-UPS WITH MUSCLETECH—Jay Cutler has been good for Muscletech; the supplement company has been good to Cutler. So it only made sense that the Ultimate Beef re-signed with the Toronto, Canada–based firm before the end of 2006. I couldn’t get the exact terms out of Jay, but according to inside sources, Cutler inked a multiyear deal that made him the highest paid bodybuilder in the history of the game. Now, since Ronnie Coleman has been getting in the neighborhood of 600K a year from BSN for the past two years, we know where we can start with the figures. And I’d venture that the deal pays the recently crowned Mr. Olympia substantially more cash than that. Good for Jay. As I’ve said many times before, he’s the most dedicated, focused competitor I’ve ever seen. Bodybuilding is not a seasonal sport for Cutler; it’s his job 12 months a year, and he trains hard and follows a solid nutritional program year-round. Of course, he has the heart of a lion. He also has, in addition to the mega-deal, a new mega-home located about 15 minutes north of the Summerlin residence he and wife Kerry purchased when they first moved to Nevada a few years back. It’s more than 5,000 square feet, complete with six bedrooms, six baths and casita. It was nice of Cutler to add the guesthouse for me just in case I need some R&R in Vegas. Oh, it’s for Jay’s father? Well, guess he got us mixed up.

9/27/06 11:23:07 AM

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People Dept.

Jorge Betancourt.

For complete results and photo coverage of the Sacramento Men’s and Women’s Pro Bodybuilding Grand Prix, log on to Graphic Muscle.com.

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Photo courtesy of Bob Bonham

Bob Bonham and Ira Mayan.

Teper

Melvin Anthony.

NO MAS FOR JORGE—Jorge Betancourt, the gent on our December ’06 cover and a former teen sensation who took the ’91 Southern States Overall crown, besting Mike Francois, says his competition days are over after scoring a ninth-place finish in the middleweights in front of his hometown fans in Miami Beach at the ’06 Nationals. “I told myself that if I didn’t make top two or three, I’d be done, so I’m done,” Betancourt said. “I can’t put in the time that is required to be a top champion anymore—or I’m just not willing to risk it all again. When I was younger, it was different because that’s all I had and I was willing to kill myself to get there. Bodybuilding is a 24-hour job, seven days a week, year-round—none of this four-month crap like I’ve been doing.” Jorge and wife Charlene are parents to son Sean and want to have another child. “That would put me two years behind, and at this point I don’t think I’ll be willing to start all over,” the 35-yearold of Cuban and Puerto Rican descent said. “I will always stay in shape, and as soon as my wife gets pregnant, I will set up more shoots to promote myself and my product line without having to compete anymore.” At Betancourt Nutrition, Jorge and company formulate everything in-house; and the products all bear the NFL logo for quality control. Betancourt says his most popular product is the fat-burning thermogenic “Ripped Juice Extreme,” which, he says, sells tens of thousands of bottles worldwide. Given his drive, Betancourt, who took a 13-year time-out from competition before returning to the stage with a strong fourth-place finish at the ’04 USA, is bound to shine in a lab coat as brightly as he did in posing briefs.

FOREVER YOUNG—Bob Bonham, owner of Strong & Shapely Gym in East Rutherford, New Jersey, has been Dennis challenging me to pose downs James. for years, only to back out when he got a glimpse of me without a shirt. Or did he pass out when he glimpsed that nasty sight? After seeing the accompanying photo of Buffed Bob posing down with his woman, Ira Mayan, a.k.a. the Jewish Jewell, at his facility in January, I’m glad we never went through with that above challenge. Ira, of course, wins this one; she’s used to taking home the grand prize, having nabbed the Ms. Israel Figure crowns in 2003, 2004 and 2005 and come in third runner-up at the Ms. Universe event last season. And, at 30 years old, she is nearly half the age of the 55-year-old Bonham, who, I hate to admit, is doing very well in his efforts to try and keep up with his sexier half. Those abs look tight, Robert. Having a babe that much younger is more than enough inspiration for taking every training session to the limit, huh, guy?

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New Radio Show—No Bull So, whaddaya get when you throw three Italian dudes, all bodybuilding devotees raised in New York, behind a microphone? “No Bull Radio,” featuring the Muscle Mob,” which airs every Monday at 7 p.m. EST/4 p.m. PST. The mob is made up of Larry Pepe, bodybuilding journalist and “Muscle Radio” veteran; John Romano, Muscular Development senior editor (and, as Pepe refers to him, “chief instigator”); and Muscular Development.com Editor in Chief Dave “Jumbo” Palumbo. Jumbo’s main job is trying to keep Gregg Valentino from crashing the show each week, but he’s had little success of late. Pepe put together the “No Bull Radio” team in October. Along with Dan Solomon and Bob Cicherillo of “Pro Bodybuilding Weekly” they have greatly expanded the fans’ on-air opportunities to get an inside look at our industry. I’ve been a guest several times on both shows and give a thumbs-up to all involved. Recently, I wrote about PBW’s being added to the Sirius satellite radio lineup. NBR’s team has good chemistry and a mix of talents that complement each other and provide some edgy, funny moments that Pepe likes to compare to the “Best Damn Sports Show Period.” Like “Pro Bodybuilding Weekly,” “No Bull Radio” has had many of the industry’s biggest names as guests—Dexter Jackson, Victor Martinez, Markus Ruhl, Gustavo Badell, Branch Warren, Desmond Miller and Dennis Wolf, to name a few. Visit the Muscle Mob at www.MuscularDevelopment.com. Click on the No Bull Radio link for the live show and on-demand replays, which are available 24/seven for your convenience.

HOT SHOTS Photography by Jerry Fredrick

ond uses ilding. Diam g. It d in bodybu tin ea as ah t bl ge ps How to ric bice hich head in for isomet ne to tell w hi Jack’s nogg ac m G an EM doesn’t take ss. e most stre is getting th

MORE MEDIA: NEW WEB SITE DEPT.—Dave Palumbo told me to join the 21st century, so I’ve had a Web site created for my annual Junior California Bodybuilding and Figure Championships. Yogi Avidan gets the credit (or blame) for the invention of www.NPCJuniorCal.com, where you can find everything and anything you want to know about the show: contest specifics, entry forms, videos, photos, the whole ball of wax. Check it out, and I’ll see you at Pasadena City College on June 23.

The sculptor calls this, “Woe Is a Contest Diet.” Competitors like Carol can obviously identify with the emotion of a dessert-free lifestyle.

Teper’s Tales Melvin Anthony and Dennis James both underwent hernia surgery a few months back. The operation will keep James out of the Arnold Classic. Marvelous Melvin, who was a Vyo-Tech athlete last year, is no longer with the company and has inked a deal with MuscleTech. Sources tell me Anthony will be required to compete twice; at this point it looks like the New York Pro and the Olympia will be the posing platforms of choice for last season’s fifth-place finisher at the Big Dance.... Shawn Ray has added Monster Barbell Company to his list of employers, signing a deal in January to promote the firm’s products. Ray and wife Kristie, who are expecting their second child in July, will be moving from their Yorba Linda, California, digs to Corona in June.… Smokin’ Joe Wheatley, promoter of the Muscle Beach shows, has added a “Return to Muscle Beach” program to his lineup of events at the Venice, California, landmark. The program will include bodybuilding and Kevin Levrone and L.T. toast Kristie and Shawn figure demonstrations, inforRay. 250 APRIL 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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rve to be rina’s dese abs like A els. w je h it w Dean says decorated seen—and

Who knew? Pam cooking spray is a great heinie highlighter under stage lights.

It must be Ro sa’s arm da y. Any questions on why Big Scot never misse s a workout t ?

Cassie has superh ero potential—Gold’s Gym’s Abdomintor to the rescue!

BodyOkay, we admit it: is in its building tailgating infancy.

mation on mandatory poses and training regimens and interviews with athletes. Free to the public, it will be held on six Sundays, starting on May 20, from 2 to 4 p.m. Athletes interested in participating can log on to www.MuscleBeachVenice.com or send e-mail to Joe at JoesMuscleBeach@yahoo.com.… Troy Alves became a grandfather in January, which made him at 40 the youngest granddaddy in the IFBB—I think.… Fire in the Desert, a book by Glenn Puit about the Craig Titus and Kelly Ryan murder case, was released in January. Puit is a reporter for the Las Vegas ReviewJournal and has been covering the story almost since the beginning. The book, 217 pages and 26 chapters, is available at To contact Lonnie Amazon.com.… Celebrity Bodybuilding and Teper about material Fitness photog deluxe Irv Gelb has a new possibly pertinent to Web site, www.IrvinGelb.com, for fans and News & Views, write potential clients alike. With Gelb’s extento 1613 Chelsea sive background in the industry—and with Road, #266, San Marino, CA 91108; the Who’s Who of major stars who have fax to (626) 289-7949; posed for his lenses over the past 15-plus or send e-mail to years—the site is a must-see for admirers tepernews@aol.com. of superb physique photography. IM

Photo courtesy of Irv Gelb

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Comstock

Most sports have streakers, but since bodybuilders are almost naked, they get theirs fully clothed. Weird.

Clockwise, from top: Irv goes online; Troy, here with his wife, Tara, goes tri-generational; and Puit puts a nonfiction murder mystery out there.

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Eric Broser’s

If you ﬁnd something on the Web that IM readers should know about, send the URL to Eric at bodyfx2@aol.com.

>http://EdCorney.net In the classic bodybuilding motion picture “Pumping Iron,” Arnold Schwarzenegger uttered the words, “Now that…that is what I call posing.” And to whom was the Governator referring when he spoke so passionately? None other than bodybuilding legend and former Mr. USA, Mr. America and Mr. Universe Ed Corney. Inducted into the IFBB Hall of Fame in 2004, Ed had an incredible competitive career that spanned more than 30 years. Now that is the true meaning of iron man. Corney had one of the most proportionate, pleasing and shredded physiques of all time but is known for his dynamic and artistic posing routines (just as Arnold mentioned). In fact, a review of the ’77 Mr. Olympia competition in Muscle Builder/Power magazine (now Muscle & Fitness) said of Ed’s posing artistry: “Perhaps the most popular performance of the contest was by Ed Corney, 44, who received a standing ovation at both the prejudging and evening competition by virtue of what veteran observers claimed was the greatest posing routine in the history of the sport. Corney electrified the house with a most dramatic demonstration of grace and power.” And if you’d like to learn to pose like the master himself, EdCorney.net offers a DVD containing never-before-seen footage of Corney giving two historic guest-posing exhibitions, one from 1985 and the other from 1987. It’s a must-have DVD for anyone who truly appreciates the art of muscular display. Also on this wonderful site you’ll learn about Ed’s stellar bodybuilding career, his competition history, and how appearing with Arnold in “Pumping Iron” brought him worldwide recognition. Perhaps my favorite part of the site is where Corney discusses his “Passion for Training.” “You have to look forward to your workouts at the gym, as if it were good sex; you have to live for your training and forget everything else the moment you walk into your gymnasium.… It’s the only way to productive bodybuilding that I know.” Trust me when I tell you that if you’re a fan of Ed’s or a younger bodybuilder who wants to learn about one of the pioneers of modern bodybuilding, then get on your “surfboard” and ride the cyberwave to www.EdCorney.net.

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>www.LeanBodyCoach.com In my opinion, one of the best physiques ever to grace a bodybuilding stage was owned by one Mr. Lee Labrada. His classic proportions, beautiful aesthetics, spot-on conditioning and graceful presence made him one of the most successful IFBB pros ever, with 22 first-place trophies to his credit. Lee retired from competition in 1995 but remains a force in the fitness industry through his sports supplement company, Labrada Nutrition. Launched in 1996, it reached Inc. 500 status in only six years, making it one of the fastest-growing privately held companies in the United States. Lee considers himself a “fitness evangelist,” and he’s constantly looking for ways to help others improve their health and physiques. From June ’02 to January ’04, he led a nonprofit campaign designed to educate Houstonians about health and fitness issues. Nowadays Lee provides free ongoing training and nutrition education and information through weekly e-newsletters and the Lean Body Coaching Club (www.LeanBodyCoach.com). Recently I visited the site for the first time, and after a quick registration process, I found I had access to a plethora of extremely useful training, nutrition and supplementation articles, FAQs and downloads. Lee has assembled a wonderful team of contributing authors, who include such fitness experts as Rehan Jalali, Douglas Kalman, Chris Aceto, Mark Tallon and Thomas Incledon. I spent more than an hour going through the

“Tip of the Week” archives, reading some great articles, such as “Intelligently Select your Supplements,” “Eating Breakfast Like a Pro Bodybuilder” and “Getting Pumped: The Neurotransmitter Connection.” As a member of the club you can also check out dozens of FAQs on training and nutrition, many answered by Lee himself. If you have a question of your own, just click on “Ask Lee,” and either Mr. Labrada or one of the coaching club’s degreed professionals will hit you back with the answers you have been searching for. And if that isn’t enough, by taking the time (and we’re talking under a minute here, okay, you impatient ironheads?) to become a coaching club member, you will also receive free workout and nutrition tips every week, as well as a deep discount on all of Labrada’s fantastic products. It’s a win-win deal if I ever saw one.

>www.IronManMagazine.com Not to be self-serving, but if you haven’t visited our site and signed up for IM’s free weekly e-zine, you’re really missing out on some killer info, not to mention motivating words of wisdom direct from the IRON MAN Training & Research Center. Some of the most recent e-zine titles are “3D Arm Assault,” “Massive Muscles and Surging Strength,” “Muscle-Building Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make,” “Muscle-Mass Mutations,” “Twig-to-Big Muscle Moves” and “Stretch-Hold Overload.” The e-zine is all about helping you make the best gains possible in the shortest time—not wasted effort. Sign up today—it’s totally free.

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Eric Broser’s >Net

with eight to 12 weeks with no supersets. That will give you the best of both worlds while preventing boredom, stagnation and burnout.

Results Q&A

Interesting queries and replies from message boards and forums across the Internet, answered with precision, accuracy and plenty of outrageous opinions... Q: When using supersets, what’s better, an isolation exercise followed by a compound exercise or vice versa? A: Supersets are a great intensity technique and are excellent for building mass while bulking and for quality while cutting. The question of which is better, preexhaust (an isolation exercise followed by a compound exercise) or postactivation (a compound exercise followed by an isolation exercise), is difficult to answer. Both methods have merit and have been used successfully by bodybuilders for many years. Preexhaust enables you to fatigue the target muscle first, and then when it fails, to continue the bombardment with a compound movement that brings in assisting and stabilizing muscles. With postactivation you begin with a heavy compound exercise (usually for four to five reps) that greatly stimulates the central nervous system, which then enables the isolation exercise that follows

Neveux \ Model: Daryl Gee

Neveux \ Model: Moe El Moussawi

Immediately following an isolation exercise with a big compound move can improve size gains.

to activate more muscle fibers than it usually would. Some studies have shown that preexhaust supersets reduce force production in the compound exercise, which makes some experts believe that they’re inferior to postactivation supersets. I disagree. My personal experience, along with a ton of anecdotal evidence, has proven to me that preexhaust supersets are very effective. In my opinion, both of those methods have advantages and physiological effects that induce hypertrophy. I suggest that you use both techniques for a period of time and see which works better for you. Give each a fair trial for four to six weeks. Follow that

Q: Should I wear a weight belt during my workouts? A: Personally, I feel that wearing a belt provides more of a psychological advantage than a physical one. Let’s face it: Having a weight belt tightly cinched around your waist makes your physique look better by enhancing the appearance of a V-taper and makes you feel more “serious” about what you’re doing. A belt also provides a feeling of tightness around your waist, which would seem to protect your lower back—but does it? Here are some reasons why wearing a weight belt may not always be best: 1) It can weaken the muscles of the trunk by causing too much intra-abdominal pressure. In an effort to prevent this, the body may force the abdominal and lumbar muscles to relax while lifting, which over time can weaken them and cause back problems. 2) It can accelerate degenerative disk disease by restricting the natural motion of the lumbar spine. 3) It can cause poor posture by compressing the lower abdominal region. That will force you to restrict your breathing to the upper-chest area, which can throw off posture as well as cause tension headaches and upper disk problems. 4) It alters the natural biomechanics of the spine, especially during rotational movements. It can also weaken the smaller, stabilizing muscles, which can result in back pain and possibly osteoarthritis. My advice to you would be to avoid the use of a weight belt, except during your heaviest sets of compound movements like squats, bent-over rows deadlifts, military presses and so on. At other times, let your body stabilize itself without a belt, or wear it somewhat loosely around your waist if you simply like the feeling of having something there. I never wear a belt during any subfailure sets but often wear one during all-out sets. I rarely keep it very tight around my waist, however, preferring to let my core do most of the stabilization. IM

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Jerry Brainum’s

Bodybuilding Pharmacology who have low testosterone levels have a higher incidence of degenerative brain diseases, including Alzheimer’s. A just-released study found that middle-aged men low in testosterone are more prone to mental depression. According to the results of the new Yale study, however, when brain neurons are exposed to higher-than-normal levels of testosterone, a cellular process is initiated that results in the death of neurons. The process, known as apoptosis, amounts to cellular suicide. In the case of tesIn late September last year news wires around the tosterone, when neurons are exposed to normal levels of world described research conducted at Yale University. testosterone, calcium ions enter the brain cells in an oscilThe gist of the story was that exposure to testosterone lating fashion; that is, the amount of calcium that enters led to a series of events that culminated in the death of the cell varies. When the neurons are exposed to higher neurons, or brain cells. Those who read the details of the levels of testosterone, however, a continuous high cascade study found that the effect resulted only from large doses of calcium enters the cell, which acts as a signaling device of testosterone, similar to what athletes—including many that turns on the process of cellular death. bodybuilders—administer to themselves. Lead researcher The neuron-suicide scenario occurs in many degeneraBarbara Ehrlich, Ph.D., a professor of pharmacology and tive brain diseases. The researchers also used estrogen but physiology at Yale, was quoted as saying, “Next time a found that it had no adverse effects on brain cells. muscle-bound guy in a sports car cuts you off on the highSeveral aspects of the study must be considered. For way, don’t get mad. Just take a deep breath and realize that one thing, it used an in vitro, or test-tube-isolated cell, it might not be his fault.” protocol. It also used neuroblastoma cells, which are The results of that study initially seem alarming.1 Does derived from a type of brain tumor and which are used in it mean that those who use large doses of testosterone are preference to normal neurons because they react more to facing a future of dementia? If that’s true, why aren’t there stimuli than normal brain cells. The isolated tumor cells already athletes, many of whom used large doses of testoswere exposed to elevated testosterone levels for six to 12 terone years ago, experiencing obvious mental decline? hours. Testosterone affects various regions of the brain, inIn order to get into the brain, testosterone must pass cluding the hippocampus, preoptic area, amygdala and through the protective network of blood cells known as medial hypothalamic areas. When secreted in normal the blood-brain barrier. Testosterone can pass through the amounts or when testosterone blood levels are within the barrier to some extent because it is lipid-soluble. normal physiological range, testosterone is beneficial for One pertinent question is whether normal brain cells brain function. Indeed, various studies show that men would react in a similar way. Does what occurs in an isolated tumor cell exposed to high levels of testosterone for up to 12 hours also happen in the human body? The authors suggest that the effect is cumulative, meaning that the loss of brain neurons would likely not become apparent for many years. Another aspect to consider is that athletes use other substances that may counter the effect of testosterone on brain cells. Growth hormone and insulinlike growth factor 1, for example, are known to protect neurons. In fact, IGF-1 prevents apoptosis. How much testosterone, for how long, is required to kill neurons? Does it take years of consistently using larger-than-normal doses? Since the Yale study showed that estrogen not only doesn’t cause neuron death but may offer some protection, that’s another factor to consider. Testosterone is converted in the brain into estrogen— would that be enough to counter the negative effects of elevated testosterone on neurons? The authors imply that the testosterone neuron death effect is so potent that it would be immeA recent study showed that diately apparent in some people. Very well—who exposure to high levels of would such people be? Someone with prior brain testosterone creates cellular damage? Because the study raises more questions suicide in brain tissue—but than it answers, it must be considered prelimithat doesn’t gibe with what nary. Clearly, further research is necessary before actually happens when ultimate conclusions can be drawn about the efathletes use testosterone? fects of high levels of testosterone on brain cells.

Testosterone

Kills Brain Cells?

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Do Anabolic Steroids Aid Endurance Athletes? Recently, American cyclist Floyd Landis won the grueling test of endurance and athletic power known as the Tour de France, succeeding another American, seven-time winner Lance Armstrong. Before he could savor his victory, though, sports officials announced that Landis’ urine had tested positive for testosterone. Within days the finding was confirmed by testing another of his samples; however, Landis pleaded innocent to the charges of doping, saying that he used no banned substances in his quest to win the race. Landis’ protestations seemed hollow with the announcement that his testosterone-to-epitestosterone ratio was 17-to-1. The normal ratio is 1-to-1, with an upper normal limit of 4-to-1. Anything over 6-to-1 is considered proof of testosterone use, though some rare athletes have a natural ratio of 10-to-1. At this time no adequate explanation has been offered for Landis’ highly elevated testosterone levels, though he still denies using any type of testosterone drug. It isn’t the first time that rumors of rampant drug use by Tour de France athletes have emerged. Armstrong has been dogged with accusations that he used various banned substances during his championship tenure, despite never having failed a drug test. The drugs most often linked to endurance events, such as the Tour de France, are those related to blood doping, which in years past meant stored red blood cells were injected back into the body, leading to an elevated hemoglobin level in the blood. That, in turn, gave the blood increased oxygen delivery capacity, which translated into increased endurance and diminished fatigue. The original blood-doping system wasn’t perfect, however. The technique could lead to an overabundance of red blood cells, abnormally thickening the blood. That not only decreased oxygen delivery to muscle but also increased the risk of internal blood clots and strokes. That form was supplanted by recombinant erythro-

No one questions the effectiveness of steroids for sports that involve strength and power, but the medical literature examining their effectiveness in endurance sports is equivocal.

One possible way that anabolic steroids may aid endurance athletes is through increased recovery.

poietin, or EPO, a hormone produced in the kidneys that boosts red blood cell production much in the manner of the old blood-doping technique. Some of the same side effects, such as increased blood thickness, can also occur with EPO. One advantage of EPO is that it’s hard to detect in doping tests. Newer tests, however, take advantage of the fact that EPO and a longer-acting version called darbepoetin both contain additional sugar chains in their structures that aren’t present in naturally produced EPO. When they detect those extraneous sugar residues, the test is considered positive for EPO. While the advantages of using EPO seem clear for various endurance sports, the picture for anabolic steroids and endurance sports is murkier. No one questions the effectiveness of steroids for sports that involve strength and power, but the medical literature examining them in endurance sports is equivocal at best. Steroids aid such sports through improved training recovery. Athletes walk a fine line between making training progress and overtraining. Anything that forestalls overtraining tips the balance toward progress. Steroids may help prevent overtraining through their pronounced www.ironmanmagazine.com \ APRIL 2007 259

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Jerry Brainum’s

Bodybuilding Pharmacology

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Athletes, including bodybuilders, use growth hormone for its fat-burning and connective-tissue-bolstering effects.

anabolic effects on muscle and their positive effects on the restoration of muscle glycogen, the rate-limiting fuel source for most sports. Positively influencing the rate of glycogen synthesis would be a definite advantage. Steroids provide a minor blooddoping effect because they promote EPO synthesis in the kidneys. Anadrol-50, a popular oral anabolic steroid, was originally used in medicine to treat a hereditary disease called Fanconi anemia. The increased red blood cell production could offer endurance athletes an edge. Many endurance athletes use human growth hormone, not to increase muscle growth but to foster greater training recovery—and because GH offers connective-tissue protection. It may help prevent injuries incurred during hard training and speed the healing of those that do occur. GH also promotes beneficial body composition changes, mainly lower bodyfat levels. Along with the advantages of various anabolic drugs, there are a few significant problems linked to their use. The most notable disadvantage

is getting caught in a positive doping test. Both anabolic steroids and GH have potent water-retaining effects that could prove a problem in events that require speed. One way around that is the diuretics many bodybuilders use to counter the water-retaining effects of anabolics. Since diuretics are also banned in most sports, athletes use versions that pass under the drug-detecting radar. Such “designer diuretics” are widely used in bodybuilding, especially in the pro ranks. A recent study examined whether using two types of anabolic steroids improved endurance performance.2 Endurance athletes took either a placebo or testosterone and nandrolone (Durabolin) 12 times for a month. The doses and use of the drugs mimicked the ones used by real-world athletes. Interestingly, those who used the drugs showed no improvements over those who used the placebo. The notion that testosterone use was largely responsible for Floyd Landis’ Tour de France victory is mistaken at best. Odds are good that dozens of other cyclists in that race were using similar drugs but weren’t

tested. Or they may have used socalled designer steroids that aren’t detectable in testing procedures, or perhaps human growth hormone, also undetectable. Landis won on his athletic ability, not his alleged testosterone use. Those who doubt the assertion can easily test it by traveling to France, renting a bicycle, then following the route of the Tour de France. My guess is that you won’t get far, even if you triple the dose of the steroid used by some pro bodybuilders. As the saying goes, it’s not the wand—it’s the magician.

References 1 Estrada, M., et al. (2006). Elevated testosterone induces apoptosis in neuronal cells. J Biol Chem. 281(35):25492-25501. 2 Baume, N., et al. (2006). Effect of multiple oral doses of androgenic-anabolic steroids on endurance performance and serum indices of physical stress in healthy male subjects. Eur J Appl Physiol. 98(4):329-340. IM

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2006 ROUNDUP, THE AMATEURS

For little girls

And bigger girls, and even bigger girls

Balik

What a season it was for the women’s physique sports in 2006. Big, ripped (albeit symmetrical) physiques made a comeback in bodybuilding, while in figure the opposite was true: Striated shoulders and other such accoutrements were definitely O-U-T. In fitness the judges had more good routines to choose from and some promising newcomers like Nicole Wilkins (pictured) to help keep the entertainment value high. The quality of the competitors was up in general, not that it was bad before. In bodybuilding, in particular, the exodus of the season’s top physiques to the pros leaves a still-rich field returning for 2007. The NPC, with a little help from the IFBB-banDouble-barreled talent. Nicole Wilkins brings 12 nered North American years of gymnastics experience to fitness, but it Championships, graduwas her physique scores that earned her a top-five trophy at the Nationals. ated so many women to the professional level from women’s bodybuilding, fitness and figure last year that I lost count. (Well, actually, I lost count of the figure figures; it was 12 fitness athletes and seven female flexers, the same as in 2005, movin’ up.) To celebrate their achievements, here’s a look at some of the hottest bods of 2006.

Unbridled Muscle

Lora Ottenad. Balik

Thank Heaven

FLEXERS

Big-muscle gals won big at the big pro qualifiers in 2006—so much so that folks were speculating that attempts to limit the extreme-muscularity factor had gone all to heck. For the first time since the light-heavyweight weight class was resurrected in 2004, the overall crown did not go to the light-heavy winner at the NPC USA. Instead, Denver’s Heather Policky, a 5’7” 174-pounder, took the show’s only pro card up for grabs. It was her second try, too; that is,

BICEPS BRIGADE

’06 NPC/IFBB Bodybuilding Champs

Comstock

Junior USA, April 29, Heidi Bagwell Junior Nationals, June 16-17, Tracy Mason Team Universe, July 14–15, Stephanie Kessler Masters Nationals, July 21–22, Kim Buck USA, July 28–29, Heather Policky North Americans, September 15–16, Sherry Smith Nationals, November 10–11, Lora Ottenad Woman to watch in 2007. Tracy Morgan, flanked by Junior Nationals promoter Pam Betz and Debbie Patton, won the Juniors and took third at the North Americans. And to think she’s only a middleweight.

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NEWSMAKERS

More Muscular

Dobbins \ www.BillDobbins.com

her second time winning the heavyweights. That could have been a sign. Jon Lindsay’s midsummer Las Vegas musclethon has traditionally advanced to the pros female flexers of the more sveltely symmetrical nature, if you know what I mean. Like Amanda Dunbar, the light heavy who beat Policky for the title—and pro card—in ’05. Or Jennifer McVickar, Heather Policky. Mah-Ann Mendoza and Rosemary Jennings in 2000 through ’02. The Nationals has been more of a big-women’s show—the last time anyone but the heavyweight champ won the overall was 1999—but even so, Lora Ottenad is pretty darned big. At 5’8” and 170 pounds Ottenad had more top-five finishes on her résumé than most figure pros have contests, period. All those oh-soclose landings, losing out to “smaller” heavyweights. For her to win now, well, it must be another sign, declared the conspiracy theorists. Declared this reporter, Nah, she won because she had the most polished and complete package onstage that day, the same as ocMoving weights. Lora and Heather curred in Las Vegas. To put it another way: The will bring 11’5” and 344 pounds to judges didn’t see anyone they liked better. the pro ranks. Policky and Ottenad are both scheduled to compete at the Ms. International contest on March 2 in Columbus, Ohio, where they’ll stand next to the biggest names—and bodies—in the sport (Do Kyle, Cadeau, Oriquen, Rivieccio ring a bell?). The opportunities for success, or failure, don’t get any huger than that. On the amateur level the new season will be a whole different story, although the immutable truth about the best body onstage will still hold true. The galleries at Graphic Muscle from 2006—as well as the past year’s editions of this column—are full of upand-coming muscular Marcys and symmetrical Sallys who will be pumping overtime to break through in ’07. We’ll be keeping track, so stay tuned.

FITNESS FUN

Liberman

Lookin’ Good

Amy Villa Nelson has that rare triple-C combination—cute physique, cute routine, cute look. Could we be looking at the next Susie Curry?

That headline about sums it up. Numbers and talent were encouraging at the national shows but nothing like the old days, B.F.; that is, before figure. Efforts by some pros to persuade young athletic types to try fitness may bear some fruit, as the saying goes. Thanks in part to revised rules in which the amateurs are judged 50 percent on physique and 50 percent on routine, the class of ’06 includes some promising contenders, meaning women who could maybe stand up to the divas who have dominated pro fitness for several years. Though I doubt any of them will win the Fitness International in March, a couple may well make it to the Olympia before season’s end. I know, I said that last year, but with three tiers of veteran divas to get past—and only five qualifiers before the O in 2006—the promising members of the class of ’05 are only now starting to make names for themselves in the pros. Considering how many of that old guard are over 30, it’s hard to believe there won’t be some changes at the top of the ranks over the next couple of years. And standouts from ’06, like Hollie Stewart, Laticia Jackson and Karen Patten from the Team Universe and Amy Villa Nelson, Nicole Duncan and Lisa Hughes from the Nationals, will be ready to fill in the gaps.

Musings

Bradford

Trend or twist of fate?

Ready to do some damage. That last year of prepping for another pro-card run gave Debi extra incentive.

Those who look for trends every time a larger- or smallermuscled female wins a big contest always forget one key point. This ain’t rocket science. The judges like who they like, and the indefinable things that occur when an athlete really puts it all together are as obvious as they are difficult to quantify. A trickle of contestants matriculating from figure and fitness to the posing platform had some observers hoping that it would bring more balance to the ranks of the amateur bodybuilders. That’s another trend to keep an eye on. A review of the top five class finishers at the ’06 pro qualifiers shows an abundance of talent in all shapes and sizes who will be back to try again in ’07—particularly in the light heavyweights at the Nationals, where three or four points was all that separated the top-three placers, Debi Laszewski, Elena Sieple and Kristi Hawkins. Laszewski, who earned a controversial runner-up trophy at the ’05 Nationals, had nipped a little here, polished a little there, softened a little everywhere and got the best revenge: a class win and a pro card. On the other hand, no one would call the 5’3”, 138 1/2-pound Florida flexer a little girl.

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STILL MORE WINNERS

F I G U R E F O RT U N E S

Downsizing

Sensational Six

Speaking of trends

’06 NPC/IFBB Figure Champs

Roland Balik

Comstock

The old Goldilocks controversy (this one’s too hard; this one’s too soft) reared its head at the big pro-figure qualifiers of 2006. In this case the judging trends were not speculation. Looking like a lightweight bodybuilder was definitely a no-no, and a few competitors were encouraged to try—or go back to—bodybuilding. Others, who were encouraged to put on more size last year, were left scratching their salon-select coifs about their next move. The suggestion that those who want to keep a lid on the muscularity and hardness factors in figure were more in control on the judging panels certainly had merit. For this observer it was not so much a change in course as it was making good on the promises of a year or so before. The real question is, What pro-figure qualfiers weren’t big last year? NPC promoters welcomed 98 comely contenders at the Junior USA, 136 at the Junior Nationals, 127 at the Figure Nationals and 173 at the USA, plus the slew who came to the North American Championships and the Master’s Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania’s Nationals. Naturally, some of them were repeats, but Simona Douglas jumped from my gosh, that’s a lot of toned triceps waving on the third in the extra-tall class at runway. I’ll spare you any more silly figures (as opthe Fig Nat’s to USA Overall Figure champ. And she did it posed to fit figures), but the numbers were so good in high heels. that the most junior of national shows, the Junior USA, moved up a notch in status. Instead of just one pro card going to the overall champ, a second card goes to the gal who finishes second in the overall balloting. Same at the North Americans, where a third card goes to the master’s winner. Now, there’s a solution to world peace. Two or three more buff-but-not-too-buff babes bouncing up to the next level.

Sonia Adcock.

Junior USA, April 28, Lisa Morton Junior Nationals, June 16–17, Elizabeth Lamm Figure Nationals, July 14–15, Sonia Adcock Masters Nationals, July 21–22, Stephanie Togrul USA, July 28–29, Simona Douglas North Americans, September 15–16, Briana Tindall

MORE WINNERS

Steady Progress NPC Fitness Champs of 2006

All earned pro cards.

Junior USA, April 28, Christy Green Junior Nationals, June 16–17, Breean Robinson Team Universe, July 14–15, Hollie Stewart Nationals, November 10–11, Amy Villa Nelson Comstock

Hollie Stewart.

Leisurely pace. National champ Sonia Adcock (above) waited a whole nine weeks and passed up three pro-figure events to make her quarter-turn-for-quarters debut in front of a hometown Southern California crowd at the Tournament of Champions in late September. A third-place showing earned the 5’1/2” hair stylist from Oceanside, who took first at every amateur show she entered in 2006, the right to go right to the Olympia the following week. Adcock decided to give it a rest—she’d been competing since April, and why get lost in the clash of the veteran vixens? Smart strategy. Slow and steady wins the race, eh, Sonia?

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Absolutely Thrilled Speaking of things that happened in September. Big news blew out of Santa Susanna, Spain, on the 24th when Team Universe Heavyweight and Overall champion Stephanie Kessler earned the fourthplace trophy in the over-57-kilogram class at the IFBB World Amateur Championships. It was the best showing for a U.S. athlete at the prestigious international competition since Colette Nelson snatched the over-57 and overall honors out from under the European heavy hitters in 2004. As we said in this column after her T.U. win: Kessler killed.

Comstock

Stephanie Kessler.

DOINGS

A Classy Farewell

Silverman

When I heard the news, I almost couldn’t believe it—Tara Scotti was throwing in her bikini after qualifying for the ’07 Figure O with a third-place finish at the postseason Palm Beach Pro last fall. But, then, knowing the 5’5” New York standout, I didn’t really find it so surprising. “Yes, it is true. I am done. Finished. Retired,” said Scotti, who had dropped out of competition once before, in the early days of figure, and had come back with definite goals about making a mark. “I want to get married, have kids, eat and have some fun A great run. Tara will be in the for a little while. audience come Olympia time. “I had a great run and enjoyed every minute of it,” she continued. “I never signed with any big management companies, never trained with any of the ‘big name’ trainers and still managed to place in the top five in almost every show I competed in (except the Olympia), including a win in Toronto last year. I always did it my way. I am very proud of that. “I don’t want to overstay my welcome. Lots of young, new girls out there with pro cards—this is their time to shine.” The Olympia invite she earned in Florida was “just icing on the cake,” said Tara. “It’s a nice way to leave the sport.”

MORE DOINGS

Personality Notes • New Figure O champ Jenny Lynn has come up with a motivating way to spread her knowledge as a personal trainer: Jenny Lynn’s 12-Week Transformation Challenge, in which “clients compete for an all-expenses-paid weekend to come and train with me while I prepare for the Olympia this summer,” said Lynn, who moved from Northern California to Louisville, Kentucky, a couple of months ago (it must be love). The contest is going on as this mag goes to press, and the deadline for entry is April 30. Contestants receive individualized workout and nutrition programs plus Lynn’s feedback and guidance throughout the 12 weeks. Said Jenny, “The winner will be the client who has made the most impressive transformation under my guidance.” For compete info, check it out at www.JennyLynnFitness.com. • Also spreading the word about getting in shape is ’05 Fitness O and Fitness I champ Jen Hendershott, whose The Curvelle Lifestyle, 9 Weeks to Slimmer Thighs, Tighter Buttocks, and Sexier Curves, is set for publication in midwinter. “The book is an inside look at my way of thinking about training, nutrition and life. It is a guide for anyone who is looking to become the best they can be,” said Hendershott, who certainly knows a lot about that subject. (Her Phat Camp 2007 tour will hit 14 locations from the Gold Coast of Australia to New York City, including co-ed camps—where does she find the time?). The book goes for $29.94, including shipping. You can get yours, as well as the details on how to become a Phat camper, at www.JennyH.com. • How could anyone resist this must-have DVD? “Timea Majorova: Living the American Dream” presents an inside look at the Slovakian-born favorite’s once-dreamed-of life in the “Los Angeles sand and surf,” according to the cover blurb. This world fitness champion and “one of the most photographed fitness models… takes you through a rigorous workout and a stretching segment as well as a trip into the kitchen, a personal tour and a behind-the-scenes look at a photoshoot.” Fans of Timea will get an eyeful for sure—and maybe some insight about why this Slovakian siren had the right stuff to make her dreams come true. It’s available at www.Timea Majorova.com for $15 plus shipping. Silverman

I N T E R N AT I O N A L S TA G E

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MORE SCENES FROM THE ’06 AMATEUR CIRCUIT Jerry Fredrick at the Cal. Good to see you, kiddo. (Find Jerry’s Hot Shots on page 250).

Debbie Bramwell and Kenny Kassel at the Arnold Fitness Expo. Girl looks pretty good for off-season. More T.U. backstage. Cassandra Floyd flashes the biggest smile for the camera.

n X-woma Olivia Garner strikes a pose.

Goody for Grace.

Action Jack son, caught w carb in her mouth while ith a lining up backstage at the Team Un iverse.

ile out Meanwh y, Bev bb lo e th in are and Mark ets ck ti g in k ta rtaining and ente . ss re p e th

More celebrated lightweights. Claire RohrbackerO’Connell takes class honors at the USA.

Two mighty lightweights. Carla Salotti, ’01 T.U. Lightweight champ, puts the finishing touches to ’06 winner Tracie Tucker’s physlque.

Nita Marquez announces that she’s retiring from fitness to pursue her showbiz interests. Her indie flick “The Whistler” recently premiered.

Also at the USA. Rebecca Greaig sits for the quintessential backstage portrait. And, finally. How could I have gotten through those long ladies’ judging sessions without Grace’s Goody Girls? No, they’re not some bizarre breed of scouts but a new line of healthful snacks that are even tastier than thin mint cookies. Grace Crane, wife of NPC/IFBB judge Matt Crane, named her dairy-free candylike snacks after some of her favorite women, and the gals practically saved my life at the Figure Nationals. Carob and natural peanut butter are the main flavor sensations (Who knew carob could be so decadently rich?), with almonds, raisins and grains jazzing up three melt-in-your mouth varieties. They’re available at select East Coast gyms and online at www.GoodyGirlsTreats.com, so give them a nibble. You, too, can have Taylor’s Choice, Decadent Debbie and Maddie’s Mojo melting in your mouth at contests or wherever a sweet pick-me-up is needed.

Halcyon Duarte, who won our NPC IRON MAN Figure show at the season’s start, works the Olympia expo and wonders what’s in store for 2007.

You can contact Ruth Silverman, fitness reporter and Pump & Circumstance scribe, in care of IRON MAN, 1701 Ives Ave., Oxnard, CA 93033; or via e-mail at ironwman@aol.com.

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Neveux

Mary Jo Cooke got her pro card not long after this shot was taken. By season’s end she’d nabbed a top-five finish—at the Tournament of Champions Pro Figure.

Photography by Ruth Silverman

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Nancy Di Nino Fuses Fitness, Fashion and Dance While Working as a Menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Correctional Officer

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Height: 5’ 3 1/2” Age: 34 Weight: 137 off-season; 126 competition Hometown: London, Ontario, Canada Current Residence: Toronto, Canada Occupation: Split between working as a correctional officer in a men’s jail and fitness, modeling, dancing and TV-personality jobs Marital Status: Single Workout Schedule: “My workout schedule always changes. It includes 1 1/2 to two hours of cardio a day. With weights I basically train one bodypart a day five days a week. 270 APRIL 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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Sample Bodypart Workout (Quads): Walking lunges supersetted with leg extensions, 4 x 10; weighted lateral squats supersetted with walking diagonal lunges, 4 sets; leg curls supersetted with weighted top squats, 4 x 10-15; stifflegged deadlifts, 4 x 10 Favorite foods: â&#x20AC;&#x153;My favorite cheat foods are cookies, carrot cake, French vanilla ice cream and pancakes. My favorite diet foods are oatmeal and protein pancakes made with egg whites and protein powder.â&#x20AC;? www.ironmanmagazine.com \ APRIL 2007 273

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Factoid: “I have an honors bachelor of arts degree in sociology and criminology, hence the reason I’m working in a men’s jail as a correctional officer—although the fitness industry work has been changing that career direction. I’m a professional fitness model and national-level figure competitor. I’m also a professional salsa dancer who performed at Bacardi World Salsa Congress in Puerto Rico. I was the host for the DVD documentary series of Arnold Fitness Weekend 2006, which was produced by HBE. I like to see myself as a positive role model fusing fitness, fashion, poise and dance all in one dynamic package.” 276 APRIL 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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Future plans: “I’ll be taking some time away from the stage to focus more on marketing myself and working on projects related to both fitness and mainstream, urban and Latin interests. I want to focus on being a working businesswoman in the industry, concentrating on opportunities in modeling and in television work—as a personality, correspondent and event host—as well as print and commercial assignments.” Contact info: www. nancydinino.com or www.myspace.com/ nancydinino. www.ironmanmagazine.com \ APRIL 2007 277

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Only the Strong Shall Survive

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Reclaim Your

SIZE POWER and

How to Get Back Into Training After a Layoff

by Bill Starr Photography by Michael Neveux

Model: Steve Kummer

etting back into a routine of regular training is a recurring issue for a large majority of those who lift weights for bodybuilding, strength or overall fitness. People take layoffs for many reasons. Nearly every scholastic and collegiate athlete takes some time off from lifting after the season is over. Football players, in particular, need to give their bodies some rest in order for the dings and sore spots to heal. Even those who didn’t get much playing time are physically and mentally tired. Athletes not engaging in a contact sport also need downtime. While swimming or tennis may not be as traumatic to the joints as rugby or lacrosse, they place huge demands on the muscular and nervous systems. In fact, it’s the nervous system that’s often in the greatest need of a break from serious training and competition. There are, of course, other reasons people take breaks. Serious illnesses, severe injuries or surgery force the most dedicated individuals

to forgo training. Moving to a new location or taking a job that requires extra-long hours often results in a cessation of all physical exercise. Vacations are not conducive to systematic training for most. While some may venture into the hotel fitness facility and run through a quick circuit on the machines, that’s a far cry from what they normally do. Then there are those who take layoffs from weight training on a regular basis so that they won’t get tired of the activity. My brother Donald fit into that category. He was a competitive powerlifter who eventually won a national title in the master’s division. Every summer he left the weights alone and played tennis three times a week. When fall rolled around, he resumed his lifting schedule in earnest. He told me the layoff worked wonders for his mental approach to training. Physically, he felt more refreshed and motivated to go after bigger numbers than he handled before. It worked well for him, Every year, on into his late 50s, he continued to make progress

on the contested lifts. Since Donald took annual layoffs, knowing how to get back into his routine wasn’t a problem. It’s definitely a problem for most strength athletes, however, because they attempt to do too much too soon. When the Johns Hopkins football players started their off-season strength programs, 95 percent of them hadn’t trained since the end of the previous season. They had to prepare for midterm exams; then came Christmas and midterm breaks. They weren’t ready to deal with big weights or expanded workloads. Yet every athlete was bursting with enthusiasm. Those who’d been through the program before were eager to set personal or perhaps gym records. The freshmen wanted to prove they could lift with the best. Of course that attitude is what a strength coach wants. On the other hand, it must be held in check or the consequences can be detrimental. It’s no easy matter convincing robust young men that they have to www.ironmanmagazine.com \ APRIL 2007 283

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FINISH

Model: Lee Apperson

Getting back into training means you’ve conquered big weights in the past, but don’t rush to regain that strength.

most discover that the layoff has helped improve their technique on many lifts, especially high-skill movements such as power cleans, full cleans, power snatches and full snatches. You’ve also conquered certain numbers previously, and, make no mistake about it, strength training is all about beating the numbers. So a 300-pound bench press or 400-pound squat is no longer an intimidating barrier. If you’ve lifted them once, you have the confidence to do it again. You also understand how your body responds to training and specific exercises more effectively than a rank beginner. No manual or coach can teach you that. It’s learned only through experience in the weight room. So through trial and error, you know that you can do a great deal of back work and recover all right, but any extra for your upper body always results in dings to your shoulders and elbows. That’s all good, right? Not always: The advantages can turn into disadvantages if you don’t pay attention. Because your form is perfect and the numbers are no longer a barrier, there’s a tendency to overtrain during those first few weeks back. Of course, overtraining is a relative term. The workload you’ll eventually be able to handle may be 10 times what you can get away with when you’re starting back into training. You have to organize your program from the standpoint of where you are now, not next week or next month. Today is all that counts. When in doubt, do a bit less. You can always increase the intensity and volume later. It’s easier to hold back if you train alone. Should you return to your old

START

handle much lighter poundage than they know they can lift. My primary role as strength coach during the first few weeks of an off-season program for any sport is to hold the athletes back, limiting the amount of work they do at a session as well as the amount of time they spend in the weight room. During this phase, less is better than more. The most important point to keep in mind when starting back into any weight program is to make haste slowly. That’s because your body is only able to adapt at a certain rate. For most of us that rate is slow rather than rapid. Even fast gainers have to be wary of doing too much too soon. Invariably, one area of their bodies doesn’t respond as quickly as the rest, and when that

slower-reacting bodypart or joint can’t keep up, something has to give. Even though I realize it’s difficult, you have to approach the situation as if you’ve never trained before. In truth, that’s where your physical plant stands. Your mind may be contemplating personal records on a host of exercises, but your body isn’t ready just yet. The good news is that when you start back into a training schedule, you have several advantages over someone who’s never lifted at all. A huge plus is that you know how to perform the various exercises in your program. Oddly enough,

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Why must you proceed with caution? Lots of reasons. Tendons and ligaments respond to the new stress much more slowly than muscles. Once you overwork them, they don’t

just get sore, they register the abuse in the form of pain. Few think about it, but everything changes once you start back into training—not just your muscles and your attachments,

Model: Moe El Moussawi

Model: Berry Kabov

gym, your buddies will encourage you to do another set or go heavier. Not wanting to look like a wimp, you comply—and suffer the consequences.

THE BIG THREE:

Model: Binais Begovic

POWER CLEAN, SQUAT AND BENCH PRESS

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earned gains extremely fast. I was aware of that while doing some research for an article when I was editing Strength & Health at York. Yet it was no more than a theory to me since I never laid off. The longest periods that I missed lifting were never more than five days, and I did that only a couple of times in my 15 years of competing in Olympic weightlifting. Then my life changed drastically. I retired from competitive lifting and moved to Oahu. I decided I’d switch from heavy weight training to a form of exercise that was less demanding on my body, especially the joints I’d been pounding for all those years. I rented a house on the North Shore and planned on swimming, running, along with walking lunges, situps, chins and pushups. I’d figure out the rest as I went along. I firmly believed that the backlog of hard work I’d built up over the years would serve me well into the future. Boy, was I in for a surprise—and it wasn’t long in coming. A few days later I was touring the campus of Church College of Hawaii in Laie (now BYU Hawaii) and walked past a chinning bar. Chinning was on my list of exercises to do, and it was a good time to get started on them. Before I stopped training, I could do 18 chins. So I was shocked when I barely managed three. To add to my dismay, I had to lie down on the Keep a training log. Knowing grass because exactly the measure of your the effort had made me dizzy. workload is useful in planning. What a revelation. I had no Model: Eric Domer

but your circulatory, digestive, respiratory and nervous systems are altered as well. That doesn’t happen abruptly. Rather, the transformations occur gradually. It may not be the way you like it, yet that’s how it is. A hard fact that’s difficult to swallow is that once you stop training, you lose strength at a rapid rate. Everyone is different, but the average loss is 40 percent in just two weeks. In addition to the top-end numbers, your overall fitness level drops like a rock, so you’re no longer able to handle as much total work. While we all know someone who comes back to the gym and is right away able to hit the same numbers he did prior to the layoff, those are exceptions. I’ve been involved in strength training for a long time, and I can count all the anomalies I’ve seen on one hand. The rest of us lose our hard-

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Only the Strong Shall Survive

he did two sets, same reps, same weight. Third session, he added another set. Then he began to increase the poundage and number of sets in his routine while adding more exercises. Within two months he was once again ahead of me. Observing how he slowly but steadily increased his workload and intensity drove home the point that it doesn’t matter where you start—only where you end up. So that’s how I approached my comeback. I didn’t begin as timidly as my former Dallas teammate, however, since I’d laid off for only six weeks, not six months. I started with three

sets of five on the Big Three and proceeded from there. There was no one in the weight room who knew me and pushed me, and I wasn’t in any rush to regain my old strength level, which enabled me to move at a slower pace than I would have had I been at York or Muscle Beach. I did two other things that helped my cause greatly. First, I kept a close record of every workout, and with that data I was able to calculate exactly how fast I was progressing in terms of top-end numbers and total workload. I didn’t record my sessions right away. I just remembered them. When I added sets and

The most important point is to make haste slowly.

Model: Justin Balik

idea I’d gotten that weak. The very next day I was back at the college and got permission from the athletic director to work out in the weight room in exchange for helping the students. Since I’d never taken an extended layoff, I’d never had to deal with starting over. I had seen others do it successfully, however. The comeback that came to mind happened at the Dallas YMCA when I first got serious about Olympic lifting under the guidance of Sid Henry. One of the members of our lifting team showed up after an absence of six months. Later we learned he’d been in prison, so I’ll not mention his name. He told us he hadn’t trained at all since he left. He was starting back cold. He had been one of the top 198pounders in the state. I watched him with keen interest, since I’d never seen an accomplished lifter come back from scratch. That was long before steroids came on the scene; he was going through the process without any pharmaceutical help. At his first session back, he did one set on three exercises: back squat, power clean and overhead press. He did 10 reps on the squats and five on the other two lifts. He used 135 pounds. That was it. I was amazed and wondered how in the world he expected to get back to where he’d been by doing such an easy workout. Next session

START

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FINISH

Only the Strong Shall Survive

more exercises, though, I found that I couldn’t recall how much I’d used for some of the intermediate sets. Without that information, I was unable to figure my workload precisely. That prompted me to write my workout in my training book as soon as 1 got home from the gym. The record was one of the keys that kept me from moving too fast. The

Everyone is different, but the average strength loss is 40 percent after just two weeks of inactivity.

back a bit. It was the long-term goal I was after, and I didn’t care if it took a year to achieve. It turned out to be six months before I was back to the strength level I’d had before stopping training. So much for storing up strength for the future. It’s definitely not like putting money in the bank—more like investing in a bad stock. It was an ordeal, yet a couple of good things came out of the experience. I learned firsthand how to come back from an extended layoff. I’ve used that information to help others in the same situation over the years. Further, I vowed never to take such a long break from training ever again, a vow I have kept religiously. Once was more than enough for me, and I’m certain that going through the process now that I’m older would be 10 times as difficult. Model: Todd Smith

FINISH

numbers never lie. Second, I paid close attention to how I felt the morning after a workout. If some muscle group or joint was hurting rather than telling me it had been worked just right, I made adjustments, such as doing less on exercises that involved the offended group or joint for the next few sessions. I didn’t mind pulling

START

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A Very Special Anyone who hasn’t trained for a month or longer I consider to be a restart. Athletes going into an offseason program usually fall into that category. At their first workout back they do three sets of five on the Big Three: power clean, squat, and bench press. I keep the weights light, regardless of how much they handled previously. For example, someone who’s squatted 400 for reps will do 135, 185 and 225. If I see that he’s shaky with 185, he’ll stay with that same weight for his final set. Second session back: same exercises, same reps, but one additional set. They’ll move their numbers up a bit, but not much. Our 225-pound squatter will advance to 245. The final workout of week one, five sets of five on the Big Three, once again improving the last set. Our squatter will end the week by using 265. All three workouts in the second week will follow the same set-andrep formula, five times five, and the Big Three are used exclusively. The only change is that the last set on each exercise will be higher than the previous workout. The emphasis during this breaking-in stage should be on perfecting technique. Then, when the poundage starts to be demanding, the good form will be an asset. All auxiliary work is shunned, with the exception of warmup exercises for the abs and lower back. You want to reserve 100 percent of your energy for those large muscle groups. By week three, most are ready to kick it up a notch. Those who have gone through the off-season program before are usually ready to begin handling a bigger workload and doing a wider range of exercises. But not always. At that juncture the coach has to look at each athlete and determine whether he’s ready to handle more work or needs to stay with the basics a little longer in order to establish his foundation even more solidly. Those who train alone or don’t have the benefit of a coach have to be able to honestly appraise their physical states. That’s where keeping a training log helps a great deal. Knowing exactly the measure of your workload is useful in planning.

If you’re not sure you’re ready to add more lifts and move the numbers higher just yet, stay with the same poundages for another week or two. In the larger picture, moving cautiously is often the smartest move. Starting back cannot be rushed. The process entails a lot more changes in your lifestyle than just going to the weight room three times a week. You need to alter your diet, including plenty of foods that give you the energy you need for your workouts and increasing your intake of protein to rebuild your muscles and tissues after they’re depleted during a tough workout. You’re going to require more rest once you get back into the rhythm of training and start handling demanding poundages. That might require you to miss a favorite latenight TV show or pass on attending a party with your friends. If you’re serious about regaining your former strength level, you must walk into the weight room rested and ready for the challenges ahead. Odds are, you stopped taking your supplements when you quit training. Reinstate them because they help you train harder and recover faster. You especially need the water-soluble vitamins and minerals, which are lost rapidly when you sweat. They must be replaced, or your body won’t function properly. Perhaps the most important attribute that you must possess in order to stay the course is determination. Just because you were once able to bench 300, squat 400 and deadlift 500 doesn’t mean that you’re going to automatically waltz back up to those numbers. Coming back after a layoff isn’t a cakewalk. On the contrary, it’s a tough, uphill fight with countless obstacles and setbacks. Only if you’re able to remain firm in your resolve to regain a high level of strength will you be successful in your quest. Just keep in mind that the rewards are well worth the battle. 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

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Progress: It’s Your Responsibility

t a certain moment in time, two guys—in two different gyms—are about to do a set of squats. Both guys have 315 on the bar, and for both of them it’s a heavy weight. The kicker is that the two even look pretty similar; they’re about the same age, have similar physiques and so forth. What’s funny is how differently they approach the set. The first guy remembers all the bad stuff he’s ever heard about squatting: how squats’ll ruin your knees and break your back, and, if they don’t kill you, they’ll at least leave you with a big rear end. He even tells himself that it’s okay not to squat because other exercises are supposed to be just about as good. He builds on that foundation, reminding himself that his last set, 275, felt heavy, heavy, heavy, and it’s really not very likely that he’ll make the 315. “Oh, well,” he sighs, “I guess I can try, but I don’t think I’ll make it.” And he doesn’t. The second guy thinks about all the good stuff he’s ever heard about squats: how they’re magic for gaining size and strength even if they’re a lot of work. He reminds himself that

Neveux \ Model: Moe El Moussawi

IRONMIND

Mind the greatest squatter of all time, Paul Anderson, said he always hated doing squats but that he put up with them because he knew they’d help him reach his goal of being the world’s strongest man. The second guy remembers that more than 50 years ago heavy squat programs gave bodybuilders and lifters a whole new idea of what “fast gains” and “big gains” meant. Using that as a warmup, the second guy thinks to himself, “I can do this weight.” And he does. That’s only the tip of the iceberg. If you really want to see how differently these two guys approach their training, listen to what they say to themselves after the set. The first guy says, “See, I knew it. I knew that weight was too heavy. I knew I couldn’t do it. I’m not built for squats, and they’re dangerous anyway. If I had better genetics, I could do it.” The second guy says, “See, I knew it. I knew that even though it was heavy, I could do it. I knew it wasn’t much more than I did last week, and if I tried hard, I could do that weight.” Psychologically speaking, the key difference between the two guys has to do with the idea of personal responsibility. That’s not the type of responsibility that keeps people from driving when they’re drunk or letting children play with loaded guns. It has to do with your deep-down beliefs about who’s in charge: you or someone else. Notice that the first lifter looks outside himself for reasons to explain why he can’t squat 315— it’s a dangerous exercise, he’s not built for the movement, he’s genetically disadvantaged. He attributes control of his fate to what psychologists would call external forces, things outside himself—and if something is external, you can’t control it. That reduces your motivation in a very big way. Why try to do something that’s beyond your control? This lifter admitted defeat even before he got under the bar. The second lifter feels that through his own efforts he can make the weight. He sees himself as being responsible for outcomes. His sense of personal responsibility and personal control motivates him to try harder. The eminent research psychologist Martin Seligman has demonstrated that when people—or animals—have no sense of controlling their fate, they quit trying and accept whatever happens, no matter how shocking. On the other hand, if you teach them that they have control over what happens to them, they take charge of their situation, which gives them tremen-

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Body 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. Or you can visit the IronMind Web site at www.IronMind.com.

Destress

Think, Breathe, Repeat eeling stressed? You know that can have a negative impact on your muscle gains. How do you fight it? Simple: Mantrafy your life. A study of more that 60 adults who learned to silently and consciously repeat a word or phrase of their choice, a.k.a. a mantra, were more relaxed when they practiced that technique throughout the day. A few times during the day, pause, close your eyes and repeat the word calm a number of times as you breathe deeply—and let the negative stress slip away. —Becky Holman www.X-tremeLean.com

Neveux \ Model: Karen McDougal

dous advantages. For anyone who’s lifting weights, the implications are striking. Consider the person who feels he’s buffeted by external forces. He’s forever blaming his lack of progress on everything from genetics to his gym to “those drug fiends.” Because he sees himself having little responsibility for or control over those elements, his training gets less than 100 percent effort. On the other hand, the person who feels that what he does directly influences what he gets always digs a little deeper. He’s the guy who makes the last three reps that the other guy never even tried. He’s the guy who takes the time to pick a good training routine and stick with it. He’s the guy who takes his nutrition and his recovery very seriously because he feels they matter. Generally when you’re aiming for a star, it’s hard to go overboard in terms of taking personal responsibility for your fate, but there are exceptions. Suppose you’re sitting at a red light, and out of the blue a car slams into you. Do you take responsibility? “Of course not,” you say, but some people blame themselves for everything that goes wrong in their lives, whether or not it was something they could have controlled. When they do this in a big way, they can become seriously depressed. Be sure to keep an eye open to the real possibility that there are some negative things that you may not be able to control. There really have been crooked judging decisions, fraudulent food supplements and worthless routines. Don’t make yourself responsible for things that are clearly beyond your control. Also, as Seligman points out, it’s wise to consider bad events as temporary. When you miss a weight, don’t think that means your progress is over forever—you just missed the weight today. Next workout or the one after that you’ll probably make it. It might be that you were tired today, a little overtrained or any number of other things—none of which are permanent. Seeing yourself as being in charge and putting setbacks into the proper perspective are two of the keys to making progress: It’s your responsibility. —Randall Strossen, Ph.D.

Brain Gain

Marijuana Memories

ccording to the January ’07 issue of Bottom Line Health, people who smoked pot in the 1960s snd ’70s are less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease later in life. Why? Chemicals in the pot may reduce brain inflammation and improve memory. So that’s how Keith Richards remembers how to play all of those songs during a Rolling Stones concert. —Becky Holman www.X-tremeLean .com

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Bomber Blast

MIND/BODY

Musclebuilding, Bombing and Blasting

Persistence

Keep On Keeping On

Neveux \ Model: Mike Dragna

xperts suggest that it takes about one month for your exercise regimen to become ingrained as a habit. It takes that long for your mind and body to accept your new schedule. Plus, a month is right about the time you start noticing results. —Becky Holman www.X-tremeLean.com

ful warmup), low-incline dumbbell curls (5 x 8) supersetted with overhead triceps extensions (5 x 15), standing bent-bar curls supersetted with lying triceps extensions (same set-and-rep scheme) and three quick sets of eight to 10 reps of thumbs-up curls and machine dips. As usual I labored continuously and with vehemence, yet I set no records. The thrill was there in the midst of it all, and so were the agony and retreat. I inspired myself; I punished myself; I grunted, whined and pumped. Between sets I considered—earnestly sought, stealthily hunted, deeply dug, humbly begged and prayed for—better ways to achieve my goals but returned to my original plan with hopeful resignation. Here’s a list of the dumb questions I asked and answered in my search for the impossible: Is the routine too much? Probably. Not enough? Unlikely. Does it work? Apparently. Is it fun? Not exactly. Is it new? It wasn’t 45 years ago, when I first unearthed it in a dungeon. During my workout I also observed ever so briefly those around me during their labor for muscle development and listed with speedy efficiency the things one should not do: Watch people around you and make dumb lists—hello; ride the recumbent bike for 30 minutes while staring at the TV and then shower and leave; talk in depth about the game or politics or the opposite sex or anything between or during sets; read a novel, the newspaper, comics or anything while on the gym floor; loiter, linger or hover about benches and racks aimlessly or suspiciously while scratching your butt; exert more time, energy and focus on updating a journal than performing the exercises therein. Get to work. You’d think it was Sunday at the park. On the other hand, I also note that I unceasingly suggest, “We blast it with all our might, bombers.” What’s that all about? What’s the urgency? Where’s the pause for reflection? Are we all training for a major contest, Miss Perfectly Cute and Mr. Large ’n Ripped? For the most part (and for the sanity of mankind) we within the sound of crashing weights are lifting to be happy, healthy and fit—and those three terms are relative to you, yesterday, today and tomorrow. Some of us need to blast it, some of us must, and some of us should. Some of us never have and never will. Some cannot; some ask why. It’s all good, very good. I sort of lean on training intensity—bombing and blasting—because I’m a product of my era and an adherent of my advice, a subject of habit and a victim of need and a seeker of desires, and because it works. It works when onward and upward is your favorite direction and your tail’s on fire. I swoop through the air in what can be best described as a refurbished biplane with its tail on fire. I make a lot of smoke, but it’s mostly for effect. Bomb away with sufficiency. —Dave Draper Neveux \ Model: Joe DeAngelis

ater this morning I’ll affix my armor (ragged muscle T), gather my weaponry (ratty gym bag full of junk) and cross the rugged terrain (the traffic-bound freeway) to the battleground (the weight room), where the war rages on (arm day). Danger, heroics and triumph await me in the fields of cold steel. My strategy is simple and straightforward: Engage the opposing forces head-on, swiftly and intensely. Apply fundamental tactics, allow no retreat, and take no prisoners. Fortify myself with a generous supply of Bomber Blend. (I can’t shake the warrior thing.) I have six curling movements in my arsenal for biceps that I practice and interchange regularly: standing barbell curls with a standard bar or thick bar or bent bar, seated dumbbell alternate curls, low-incline curls (20 degrees), thumbs-up curls. I choose two for my arm workout and superset them with any of some six favorite triceps exercises: lying triceps extensions with straight or bent bar, machine dips, overhead-pulley triceps extensions, pulley pushdowns in varying positions. Here I’m limited in choice, as pain from injury restricts my gripping ability. No matter, there’s plenty of ammo for getting the job done. Preacher curls and one-arm concentration curls and steep-incline curls have lost favor with me as the years have gone by. They seem dull, restricted in action—isolated—and less productive and alluring than those on my short list. Wrist curls have been a part of my bi-tri routine since I first discovered my arms. We must not forget the added load our biceps, triceps and forearms undergo—and profit from—during the execution of shoulder, chest and back work. When we design our routines, this consideration will save us from subtle overtraining or mild undertraining. We’re a system of muscles working together, not a collection of individual muscle groups working separately. With that awareness every training session increases in value and purpose, incentive and appeal. Scene fades to black. The morning has come and gone, the freeways and byways have been traversed, and the gym is behind me. Here’s what my training session looked like today: wrist curls supersetted with pulley pushdowns (5 x 12-15, after a care-

Editor’s note: For more from Dave Draper, visit his Web site, www.DaveDraper.com, and sign up for his free newsletter. You can also check out his amazing Top Squat training tool, classic photos, workout Q&A and forum.

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New Stuff

All Hail

America’s newest number-one fat burner

ood news travels fast. Introduce a product that really works, and pretty soon consumers will beat a path to your door. Or, in this case, to the doors of independent online ratings services, where they’ll fill cyberspace with unsolicited praise for your product. That’s been the story with Tetrazene ES-50, the innovative new fat burner from BioQuest, and competing manufacturers from coast to coast are playing catch-up, trying to figure out how BioQuest unlocked the physiology of fat loss so brilliantly. The buzz started rising in volume earlier this year. Satisfied consumers began flooding all the big independent online consumer ratings Web sites (rateitall.com, ratings.net, remedyfind.com and others) with raves for Tetrazene. In a matter of weeks it rocketed to the top of their user rankings for weight-loss supplements. It may be because of Tetrazene’s innovative, superadvanced pairing of a high-molecular-weight polysaccharide and a state-of-the-art thermogenic complex. The stuff works, big time. Remember when Xenadrine RFA-1, the ephedra-based breakthrough of several years ago, took the country by storm? We could be looking at a similar frenzy here. Needless to say, now might be a good time to lay in your own supply. Go to www.Tetrazene.com, or call (866) 377-8378.

Patented Bionic Gloves

ionic Gloves, from the makers of Louisville Slugger bats and gloves, are designed for a wide variety of uses. They’re made for golf, light gardening, heavy gardening, professional work, dress/driving, equestrian sports and now for fitness training. Bionic Fitness Gloves extend the line of bionic glove technology originally developed for professional athletes in the National Hockey League and Major League Baseball, with top players like Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz and Chris Burke wearing Louisville Slugger TPX Batting Gloves. Many more gloves for sports and recreation featuring bionic technology are under development. Until Bionic, most gloves were simple pieces of leather, cloth or a synthetic material cut in the shape of a hand. Most gloves didn’t fit wearers well. Studies show that such gloves typically reduced grip strength and caused hands to tire. That’s because cumbersome glove materials resisted the natural hand functions of pinching, gripping and turning. Bionic Gloves are different. Bionic’s supple, washable sheepskin leather and many patented ergonomic designs work in concert with the human hand, supporting the hand and providing remarkable comfort. Wearers say they “fit like a second skin.” Their snug yet flexible and comfortable fit supports while helping ward off blisters and calluses. Bionic Gloves are available online at www.Bionic Gloves.com or by calling toll-free to (877) 5-BIONIC. They’re also available at selected retail outlets. The suggested retail price is $39.95.

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Gallery of Ironmen

MIND/BODY MIND/BODY

Abe Goldberg

Lon \ Photo courtesy of the David Chapman collection

Warner

ome gym owners have made a huge impact on bodybuilding. One man who clearly relished his job as coach, mentor and gym proprietor was Abe Goldberg, and he not only possessed one of the finest physiques of his time, but he also helped others to maximize their athletic potential. Abe Goldberg was born in the New York borough of Manhattan on November 14, 1924. He was small, skinny and not particularly strong until his brother persuaded the 14year-old Abe to begin exercising in order to put on muscle. He began by doing dips on a high bar, thus laying the foundation for his magnificent shoulder and lat development. It wasn’t until he was 17 that Goldberg bought his first set of weights and began to work with them. The results were quickly apparent, and, by the time he reached 20, he had what was described as a flawless physique. Unfortunately, World War II had broken out, and Goldberg joined the Army to fight in Europe. Despite being wounded in action, the young New Yorker returned to bodybuilding shortly after he was discharged. He found work in the warehouse at Joe Weider’s New Jersey headquarters. There the young man was able to pick up many important tips from

the bodybuilders who were always around. It was a great place for a young man with ambition and talent, but it wasn’t where Abe wanted stay. He wanted to open his own gymnasium and be his own boss. In 1950 Goldberg finally inaugurated his own gym in New York’s Lower East Side. It was a state-of-the-art facility and soon became a mecca for major physique stars of the time. Reg Park, Marvin Eder, Clancy Ross, John Tristram and even Joe Weider worked out at Goldberg’s excellent gym. While he was operating his business, Abe wasn’t neglecting his own muscular build, and he continued to compete in various contests. Goldberg had a magnificent physique, but it was his upper body that attracted the greatest attention. Your Physique magazine declared in 1951 that Goldberg had “perhaps the most magnificent chest development in America.” Photos from the time confirm that estimation. Abe Goldberg remained a respected figure in New York’s physical culture scene until his death on December 4, 2002. —David Chapman

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New Stuff

MIND/BODY

Lean Body RTD abrada Nutrition, the most trusted name in sports nutrition, recently introduced its new and Improved 17-ounce Lean Body Ready-to-Drink shakes. Lean Body shakes provide bodybuilders and other athletes with a quick, all-in-one nutrition solution for building muscle and burning fat. Just open the convenient resealable cap and drink. It’s that easy. Here’s what you get in every 17ounce Lean Body Ready-to-Drink shake: • Award-winning taste—just like a delicious, creamy milkshake • 40 grams of LeanPro muscle-building protein—high in BCAAs and glutamine for high nitrogen balance • 25 percent more protein than the leading brand of Aseptic RTD • Half the fat of the leading brand of Aseptic RTD • Patented container with resealable top delivers more undenatured protein than canned protein drinks • No artificial flavors • No sugar—zero! Great for low-carb diets • Lactose-free—no bloating or stomach upset • Nutritional powerhouse—fortified with 22 vitamins and minerals

• 20 percent daily value of fiber—to improve digestion and cardiovascular health • No trans fats—no hydrogenated oil Labrada Nutrition’s research and development team not only improved the Lean Body formula nutritionally but also created the best-tasting ready-to-drink muscle shake ever. It’s hard to believe that an RTD that has won the American Culinary Institute’s Gold Medal Taste Award could be made to taste even better, but the new 17-ounce version is even creamier and more flavorful than the original Lean Body RTD. It tastes just like soft ice cream! Labrada Nutrition, headquartered in Houston, was founded by bodybuilding legend and former Mr. Universe Lee Labrada. Labrada products are distributed nationally and internationally through health food stores, fitness centers and gyms, and other retail outlets and on the Internet at www.Labrada .com.

www.Home-Gym.com Best Sellers Books: 1) Train, Eat, Grow—The Positionsof-Flexion Muscle-Training Manual by Steve Holman 2) 10-Week Size Surge by IRON MAN Publishing

4) “IRON MAN’s Swimsuit Spectacular #9” 5) “Ronnie Coleman’s The Cost of Redemption” Top E-book: 3D Muscle Building—Featuring Positions of Flexion, Mass F/X Training and the 20-Poundsof-Muscle-in-10-Weeks Program by Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson (available at www.3DMuscleBuilding.com).

3) The 7-Minute Rotator Cuff Solution by Joseph Horrigan, D.C., and Jerry Robinson 4) The Precontest Bible by Larry Pepe 5) Ronnie Coleman’s Hardcore DVDs/Videos: 1) “Jay Cutler—One Step Closer” 2) “2005 Mr. Olympia” 3) “Ronnie Coleman’s On the Road”

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IRON MAN MAGAZINE PROUDLY PRESENTS: MIND/BODY

The Bodybuilding Stars of Tomorrow Here Today!

To see more great photos of upcoming physique stars, visit

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Comstock

Alex Azarian Weight: 154 contest; 165 off-season Height: 5’4” Occupation: Physical education teacher Residence: Sunland, California Factoid: “I have a one-yearold daughter, Alexis.” Contests: ’06 NPC L.A., 1st welterweight; ’06 NPC USA, 1st lightweight

300 APRIL 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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Merv

Liaw Teck Leong Weight: 176 contest; 200 off-season Height: 5’ 6” Occupation: Businessman Residence: Malasia Factoid: Team Milos member (www.MilosSarcev.com) Contests: ’06 NPC Excaliber, 1st middleweight; ’00 Mr. Asia

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Readers Write

Jenny Worth Every Penny

or Scott, curl but on Vince Gironda’s spider curl bench as well—lying horizontally, facedown, isolating the most incredible biceps ever built. I wish all you magazine guys would get it right and feature more fantastic Scott photos. He was truly the California golden boy (from Idaho), with Hollywood good looks and a magnificent physique. Richard F. DiLorenzo via Internet Editor’s note: Vince Gironda created those two curling benches, and Scott popularized them with his outstanding biceps. To make up for our not mentioning him in that column, here’s a shot of Larry, with guns ablazing.

Larry Scott.

Neveux

Southern States Thanks

Jenny Lynn.

I was starting to think that those fitness and figure women were getting too muscular. Then I saw your Hardbody with Jenny Lynn [February ’07]. Wow! She has the most perfectly toned body I’ve ever seen. No wonder she won the ’06 Figure Olympia. By the way, that Hardbody section was worth the price of the issue all by itself! Paul Wentworth Atlanta, GA FULL-PAGE PULL-OUT PICS OF THE WORLD’S FITTEST FEMALES

Timea Too

™

I know you recently did a Hardbody with Timea Majorova [December ’06], but I want an encore. Judging by the cover of your February issue, she has to be the most beautiful fitness model on the planet. James Rolindo via Internet

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PLUS: •More Incredible Jay Cutler Stage Shots •Fitness, Figure and Ms. Olympia Coverage •What It Takes to Gain Mega Strength

Editor’s note: Photographer extraordinaire Bill Dobbins (www.BillDobbins.com) shot that Hardbody for us. You’re right, Timea is extremely hot and worthy of another pictorial soon. We’ll work on it. www.IronManMagazine.com

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Left-out Larry Larry Scott does not get the respect he deserves as the first and, in my opinion, the best ever Mr. Olympia. The Sportsmedicine column on spider curls [January ’07] doesn’t give Larry his due. He was featured time and again in the magazines performing not only the preacher,

I’m indebted to Lonnie Teper for his coverage of my ’06 NPC Southern States Bodybuilding, Fitness & Figure Championships in his News & Views [February ’07]. Not only did he give us two photos and a fine write-up, but you also included the overall winners on your contents page. Peter Potter via Internet Editor’s note: We’re feeling generous, so here’s that shot of your Southern States winners one more time.

Inspiring O I was so inspired at the ’05 Olympia that I returned to the ’06 contest with my camera ready. People don’t realize how hard these guys work—and they have extreme willpower. As tired as they were from contest prep, though, not one of those gentlemen refused me a photo. Nicolette T. Staten Island, NY

Nicolette with Ronnie Coleman and Jay Cutler.

Editor’s note: Well, it’s pretty obvious why none of them refused a photo op with you. You’ve got that Faith Hill thing going on. Vol. 66, No. 4: 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 © 2007. All rights reserved. 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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