Ironman Magazine 2007-10 by Iron Man

OCTOBER 2007 / IRON MAN MAGAZINE—WE KNOW TRAINING™

OVER-40 CHEST WORKOUT • 40+ DIETS,

SUPPLEMENTS

™

AGELESS MUSCLE AND STRENGTH •Workouts for Size and Longevity •Top 10 Supplements •Ripping Diet

MR. AMERICA You Won’t AT 70+ Believe Your Eyes! LIFT LONG AND PROSPER AGELESS MUSCLE AND STRENGTH

Injury-Proof Your Body

OVER-50 STRENGTH Legendary Strongman Odd Haugen OCTOBER 2007 $5.98

$7.98 in Canada

70992 37390

1 0>

www.IronManMagazine.com

Please display until 10/2/07

PLUS: •Warm Up Right—Don’t Stretch! •Shredded Muscle (New Column) •Core Training—Middle Management Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Clark Bartram Age 44

WHATEVER YOU NEED WHEREVER YOU TRAIN™

Equipment

Supplements

Books

Videos

LOW-CARB Full-Throttle

MUSCLE GROWTH Drive Creatine Straight Into Your Muscle Cells The LOW-CARB Way Did you know that delivery is critical when it comes to creatine… critical! Creatine can’t get into your bloodstream and muscle cells unless it is FULLY dissolved in the water that carries it into your muscle cells. And that delivery better be free of excess carbs and sugars if you want to avoid added bodyfat.

Undissolved Creatine Does Nothing To Build Strength, Power Or Muscle Size… NOTHING Low-carb CreaSol™ delivers 200% more creatine straight into your muscle cells. That’s because, it’s been pH balanced to improve its ability to dissolve in water. Most creatine is only 30% dissolved in water. In other words, 70% doesn’t make it into the muscle cell… it can’t! CreaSol is 100% dissolved in water, and it’s the water that transports the dissolved creatine into the muscle. It’s simple to understand why you end up with more creatne in your muscle cells. That’s why there’s no need to load up on fat producing, high sugar or dextrose to drive the creatine into the muscle.

What that means to you is… high absorption… more creatine in your muscle cells… more cell volume and more strength and more muscle. The best part is because it’s low in carbs you also end up with less body-fat.

Experts Consider CreaSol™ to be the Low-Carb Evolution in Creatine Delivery Get to the phone and order your supply right now. Dial 1-800-6674626. CreaSol is only $29.95 plus shipping and handling. Go ahead and call right now!

CreaSol™

Water-Soluble Creatine

SAVE $10! /

40 Servings

Berry Flavor MSRP $29.95

SALE $19.9

• Dissolves completely…more creatine in your muscles • No gritty taste, no stomach cramps • Cost-effective manufacturing…affordable • Low-sugar content...no bloat, no excess calories (bodyfat) • Maximum muscle absorption...gives you maximum muscle size

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

Build Your

Body At

Home

All it takes is a dumbbell set and adjustable bench!

It’s time for you to get the attention-grabbing body you deserve! Not enough time to get to the gym? Problem solved with the new All-Dumbbell Workout. Now you can build muscle fast in the privacy of your own home. • Key Exercises for Big Gains • Intensity Tactics That Pack On Mass • The Ultimate Fat-to-Muscle Method • Perfect Rep Speed to Boost Results

GE ET G T YO OU Y UR RS S NO OW N W !! ON NL O LY $ !! 9 MS R Y $ 9 .95 P $ 14 .95 4 .95

Available at Home-gym.com and Ironmanmagazine.com This DVD features Greg Plitt, one of the top ﬁtness models in the country and up-and-coming Hollywood actor. Seeing Greg’s muscles in motion will motivate you, as he demonstrates the techniques to sculpt your own impressive physique. Greg is a former Army Ranger and was recently voted Hollywood’s top body.

150 DECEMBER 2009 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Vol. 66, No. 10

October 2007

Goodin Pounds Pecs, page 210

We Know Training ™ FEATURES FEATURES

64 TRAIN, EAT, GROW 96 Lift long and prosper. Steve Holman, age 48, takes the controls to discuss successful muscle training in middle age and beyond. Should you push to failure? Must you use heavy weights? Do you need more recovery? Steve’s got some answers.

92 WARMUP MYTHS From the Bodybuilding.com archive, Richard Baldwin and Diane Fields explain proper warmup techniques and how stretching can cause injury, not prevent it, in many cases.

106 LONGEVITY Jerry Brainum’s insightful look at lengthening life, with plenty of muscle and health to spare. He’ll tell you what causes the body and mind to age and what you can do about it. Plus, his top 10 OVER-40 CHEST WORKOUT • 40+ DIETS, supplements to supercharge the longevity process. (Excellent info AGELESS here, gang!) MUSCLE AND

SUPPLEMENTS

™

Clark Bartram Age 44

STRENGTH

136 A BODYBUILDER IS BORN 27 Ron Harris maps out a strategy to give weak bodyparts—and his contest-bound protégé—a fighting chance. Slacker muscles require special attention to take them to new dimensions.

Warmup Myths, page 92

•Workouts for Size and Longevity •Top 10 Supplements •Ripping Diet

MR. AMERICA Won’t AT 70+ You Believe Your Eyes! LIFT LONG AND PROSPER Injury-Proof Your Body

OVER-50 STRENGTH Legendary Strongman Odd Haugen OCTOBER 2007 $5.98

$7.98 in Canada

70992 37390

1 0>

www.IronManMagazine.com

Please display until 10/2/07

PLUS: •Warm Up Right—Don’t Stretch! •Shredded Muscle (New Column) •Core Training—Middle Management

C1_oct-196_F.indd 1

142 AGELESS STRENGTH

Larry Eklund talks to strongman competitor and promoter Odd Haugen about his fascinating life and how he continues to train and compete at age 57. Amazing!

Jim Morris (age 71), page 182

164 HEAVY DUTY John Little on the wisdom of Mike Mentzer, Heavy Duty and the high-intensity philosophy.

182 JIM MORRIS Odd Haugen, page 142

David Young interviews the former Mr. America, who’s now in his early 70s—and looking fantastic! You won’t believe your eyes when you see the pics from his recent photo shoot. Plus, Morris has lots of good info on how to keep training into your golden years.

210 GOODIN POUNDS PECS Cory Crow takes you into the gym to chisel chest with the 48-year-old drug-free champ.

250 ONLY THE STRONG SHALL SURVIVE Bill Starr’s take on developing your core, Part 2—for more strength, solid size and fewer injuries. It’s better middle management.

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

7/30/07 2:30:15 PM

Clark Bartram appears on this month’s cover. Hair and makeup Teri Groves. Photo by Michael Neveux.

Train, Eat, Grow, page 64

DEPARTMENTS

28 TRAIN TO GAIN New research: Should you train less as you age? Plus, Joe Horrigan’s Sportsmedicine and fingering elbow pain.

42 SMART TRAINING Coach Charles Poliquin gives you his top tips for getting bigger, stronger faster.

48 EAT TO GROW Eggology 101, old-school mass builders and saving muscles by derailing catabolism.

76 CRITICAL MASS Steve Holman discusses the HIT hoax and the realities of training for mass. Also, sweeping size for the tri’s.

Shredded Muscle, page 84

80 NATURALLY HUGE So you want to look like Arnold? John Hansen analyzes potential credentials—genetics for bodybuilding.

84 SHREDDED MUSCLE New column! Drug-free champ Dave Goodin, a.k.a. the Texas Shredder, talks leaning out and massing up.

220 MUSCLE “IN” SITES Eric Broser finds classic muscle gods and hot female bods on the Web. Then he outlines how to apply Power/ Rep Range/Shock to full-body workouts.

226 NEWS & VIEWS Lonnie Teper’s got mind-bending pics from his Junior California bodybuilding and figure extravaganza.

232 BODYBUILDING PHARMACOLOGY Jerry Brainum’s research on whether all men are created equal. (Hmm, ever been in a public shower?)

Muscle “In” Sites, page 220

240 PUMP & CIRCUMSTANCE News & Views, page 226

Pump & Circumstance, page 240

Ruth Silverman wades through the Team Universe, Figure Nationals and New York Pro Figure, camera in tow.

260 MIND/BODY CONNECTION Randall Strossen, Ph.D., talks advantageous values.

272 READERS WRITE X-man, X-treme mass and stop with the Duty.

WEB ALERT!

from the world of For the latest happenings set your browser , ess fitn and ng bodybuildi zine.com. aga nM for www.IronMa

In the next IRON MAN Next month it’s all about training and gaining—like PXP. No, it’s not a new pharmaceutical. It’s Power X-Rep Partials, and they could be a key to a new, bigger you. Then we have Eric Broser’s new FD/FS—fiber damage/fiber saturation—training. Buff-sculpting stuff with a scientific twist! Speaking of science, we continue the longevity theme with Jerry Brainum’s look at testosterone, growth hormone and related therapies. We also have Dan Decker’s back routine. So put your muscles through the size blender with the big November IRON MAN on newsstands the first week of October.

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

TRAIN ANY TIME Pack On All the Rock-Hard Muscle You Want... At Home! Never pay for another gym membership or wait for a piece of equipment again. The Powertec Power Rack with cable setup is an investment in a lifetime of muscle building.

Here’s a complete Powertec Power Rack workout: Quads: Hamstrings: Calves: Chest: Chest: Back: Back: Shoulders: Shoulders: Triceps: Biceps: Abs:

Squats* Stiff-legged deadlifts Standing calf raises Bench presses* Incline Presses* Chinups or Pulldowns Seated cable rows Seated presses Upright rows Triceps pushdowns Barbell curls or Cable curls Full-range bench crunches

Powertec Power Rack - with cable setup Check Website for SALE price.

*Safety catch long-pins make exercises safer and more effective - no spotter necessary.

Visit us at Home-Gym.com or call 800-447-0008

Over 4000 best-selling products online

John Balik’s

Founders 1936-1986: Peary & Mabel Rader

Publisher’s Letter

Fountain of Youth Transformation Since the beginning of recorded history man has been looking for immortality. Ponce de León was believed to have been searching for the magic fountain of youth when he discovered Florida, and while we know that water is essential to life, we have learned that we need a multifaceted approach to living healthfully if we’re going to have what I call “dynamic longevity.” Living a long time is really pointless if you can’t do the things you want to do. In the final analysis, genetic predisposition is probably the single strongest factor that determines how long we live, but many other elements that we can control play a very large part in not only the length but also, more important, the quality of that life. In the mainstream media people often speak of quality of life, but the bar they set is low. There’s a long continuum from their definition to mine, just as there’s a line from being not sick to being healthy. At IRON MAN, we say, “We know training,” and we have always defined training in a very open sense. While working out with weights— a.k.a. bodybuilding—is the cornerstone of IRON MAN’s multifaceted approach, we believe it enables all that follows. Without the workout the other factors involved will have greatly diminished effects or be ineffective. Anaerobic work—that is, weight training, bodybuilding—becomes the indispensable activity that lays the groundwork for physical transformation. The transformation that it creates in a teenager occurs at an astonishing rate, but, as we all know, the rate drops considerably as we get older. Even so, the bodybuilding workout remains the center of any possible transformation regardless of a trainee’s age. We have seen a revolution in orthodox medicine as it has discovered what we already knew and IRON MAN has been saying since it was founded by Peary and Mabel Rader in 1936. Bodybuilding benefits every body. The marvelous thing about bodybuilding is that it is totally adaptable. Do you want to put on more weight or take it off? You can be in a wheelchair or in a power rack—the tools and effect are the same. When you work a muscle anaerobically, it gets stronger, and whether you’re a young trainee, an older trainee or training from a wheelchair, it’s the road to self-sufficiency. In future editorials I’ll elaborate on IRON MAN’s definition of training. I have started a blog at IronManMagazine.com. Click on Blogs at the top of the screen to read it, and let me know your thoughts on this subject and those I discuss there. IM

26 OCTOBER 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: Brett R. Miller Designer: Emerson Miranda IRON MAN Staff: Mary Gasca, Vuthy Keo, Mervin Petralba 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, Roland Balik, Reg Bradford, Jimmy Caruso, Bill Dobbins, Jerry Fredrick, Irvin Gelb, Isaac Hinds, Dave Liberman, J.M. Manion, Merv, Gene Mozée, Mitsuru Okabe, Rob Sims, Ian Sitren, 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

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

SEXY ROCK-HARD ABS FAST The Secret to Etching your Granite-Carved Abs in 10 Short Minutes Picture this... you with tight, shredded abs, serratus and intercostals all sharp, sliced and visible from across the room or on the sun-glared beach! And from the rear, lower lumbars that look like two thick steel girders supporting your muscle-studded back. Imagine looking like a Greek god... in street clothes... in the gym... or anywhere. The incredible breakthrough design of the pad on the Ab Bench pre-stretches the targeted muscles prior to contraction, giving you a full-range movement, making each exercise up to 200% more effective. The Ab Bench takes the physiology of your spine into consideration with its design like nothing else on the market. The contraction takes place all the way into the pelvis where the abdominals actually rotate the spine, forcing the abdominals to completely contract... from the upper abs to the lower abs. Using the Ab Bench is the “sure-ﬁre” guarantee for you to get those attention-grabbing washboard abs. From full stretch to complete contraction—in total comfort. The Ab Bench is the most complete midsection exercise in existence. You’ll feel the incredible difference from your very ﬁrst rep.

Ab Bench $149.00 *PLUS SHIPPING & HANDLING

Visit us at Home-Gym.com or call 800-447-0008

Whatever You Need—Wherever You Train ™

SIZE MATTERS, SOâ&#x20AC;Ś

A drop in growth hormone as we age may reduce tendon and ligament elasticity and extend recovery time.

28 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

FREE-WEIGHT NIRVANA 2,570 Pounds of Dumbbells in a 2-by-2-foot Area It’s the Ultimate Home Dumbbell Set. The Elite PowerBlock 5-90 pounds base set adjusts in 5- or 10-pound increments. It’s equivalent to 28 pairs of dumbbells, or 2,570 pounds of free weights, with a top weight of 90 pounds per Block. •Selectorized: Adjust the weight instantly by moving the pins. •Safe: No dangerous collars to loosen. •Comfort: The compact, smooth rectangular shape ensures no rolling and allows the use of heavier weights. •Patented: The PowerBlock was granted 5 patents by the U.S. government because the idea is so unique. FREE Bonus Pack: •Exercise poster pack $24.00 value. •CD ROM workout planner $39.95 value. •Free 12-month IRON MAN subscription $29.95 value.

Stand available separately.

Elite PowerBlock (With FREE Bonus Pack)

$598 *PLUS SHIPPING & HANDLING

SImply move the pins for the fastest, most efﬁcient and productive workouts ever.

MantaRay Squat Pad Knee Bands Monster Forearm Bar

Over 4000 best-selling products online

Power Hooks

Visit us at Home-Gym.com or call 800-447-0008

LONGEVITY WORKOUTS

Neveux \ Model: George Turner

Should You Train Less as You Age? such as to a tendon or ligament, takes so much longer to heal than a muscle injury. Muscle has a rich blood and nerve supply. With age, connective tissue becomes drier and more brittle, making it far more subject to injury when heavy loads are imposed. The loss of connective-tissue strength leads to a loss of muscle strength and size, thus explaining why even huge bodybuilding champions eventually reach normal dimensions with the passing years. As if that weren’t bad enough, beta-adrenergic cell receptors in fat cells downgrade, leading to a loss of fat-cell sensitivity, which is why it’s so much harder to lose bodyfat after you hit 40. Yes, you can lose plenty of bodyfat at any age, but it’s an uphill battle when you get past 40. For men a lack of testosterone accelerates that effect, leading to potbellies on many men over age 40. A lack of growth hormone may also increase the loss of connective-tissue elasticity; however, maintaining GH levels will likely offset the effect, which explains why GH therapy is considered the “fountain of youth.” Most bodybuilding champions meet the challenges of aging by reducing the frequency of their training and the amount of weight they use. Several recent studies have confirmed that as you get older, you can get the same benefit from training less often. One study, for example, found that subjects aged 65 to 79 experienced the same strength gains training one day a week as they did training twice weekly. While you can’t maintain a huge muscular physique past a certain age, the health benefits of continued training are undeniable. Since the odds are stacked against you in the war against Father Time, the best strategy is to work around the constraints of age by using your experience and common sense. —Jerry Brainum Neveux \ Model: George Turner

One depressing fact of life is that muscles seem to shrink with age, no matter who you are. Even the greatest bodybuilding champions can’t retain their extraordinary muscular size and strength past a certain age. Those who do no weight training lose about 30 percent of their strength between ages 50 and 70. That can have devastating consequences. A loss of leg strength may decrease mobility, leading to accelerated aging of the cardiovascular system. That in turn has negative effects in the brain, such as memory loss and intellectual capacity. Increased insulin resistance, which is associated with type 2 diabetes, is directly linked to loss of lean muscle, as muscle helps the body use glucose and thus prevent abnormalities in insulin function. Insulin resistance causes faster aging and declining health. Why do we lose muscle with age? For most people the answer is simple: lack of resistance exercise. The body works on a use-it-or-lose-it principle. Type 2, or fast-twitch, muscle fibers are most associated with size. With age, people begin to lose their type 2 muscle fibers, leading to a preponderance of type 1, or slow-twitch, fibers. Type 1 fibers, while linked to muscle endurance, provide little or no strength or size. Maintaining type 2 fibers requires continual nerve-tomuscle stimulation, provided mainly by resistance exercise. Older people are strongly encouraged to lift weights, since not doing so leads to muscular degeneration with all its concomitant health problems. Even so, that’s not as simple as it seems. While you can continue to stimulate the nerve supply that maintains type 2 fibers with weight training, other factors enter the picture. Most bodybuilding champions continue to train, yet most find that they can’t recover the way they did in their younger days. They can’t lift weights they handled easily during their peak years. The reason has to do with the aging of connective tissue. Connective tissue, unlike muscle, has a poor nerve and blood supply. That’s why a connective-tissue injury,

DiFrancisco, J., et al. (2007). Comparison of onceweekly and twice-weekly strength training in older adults. Br J Sports Med. 41:19–22.

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

HE WANTED TO FIGHTUntil I Crushed His Hand! He was big. He was pissed. And he wanted to kick my butt. There was no way out, so I extended my arm for the opening hand shake— and then I crushed his hand like a Dorito. Fight over thanks to the Super Gripper. If you’re after huge forearms with the crushing power of an industrial vise, get the Super Gripper. It’s the ultimate forearmand grip-building tool on the market because it provides your muscles with the two essential requirements they demand for awesome size and strength: speciﬁcity (mimics gripping action) and progressive resistance. You’ll develop a bone-crushing grip fast by adding one or a number of power coils for that critical progressive-resistance effect. Remember, when you wear short sleeves, it’s the lower arms that are exposed for all to see. You’ll want your forearms to be huge and vascular to match your thick, beefy upper arms—and now they will.

Super Gripper $29.95 *PLUS SHIPPING & HANDLING

Visit us at Home-Gym.com or call 800-447-0008

Whatever You Need—Wherever You Train ™

TRAIN TO GAIN

LABELS Lee Priest.

Neveux

What’s the Score on Hardcore?

BACK TO BASICS

Laying Your Bodybuilding Foundation Recently, Lee Priest was asked to detail his earliest training routines, the workouts he followed when he was laying the foundation for his future mass. I doubt whether the questioner expected the Blonde Myth’s simple answer: “I trained the whole body, three times a week, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. It was just a few basic exercises like squats, dumbbell bench presses, barbell rows, military presses, curls and skull crushers.” He trained at a local Police Boy’s Club, and the weight room had just the essentials: a couple of barbells, a bench, a power rack, plates and some dumbbells. Aside from a lat pulldown machine, there were no machines. Far from considering the limited equipment a problem, Lee looks back on it as a huge advantage. “I still use mostly free weights because they are the most productive training tools,” he explains. “I think all beginners should train on just the basic free-weight movements for at least a year and build a good base before they start making things more complicated. I feel bad for all the young guys who join big fancy gyms and have dozens of shiny high-tech machines and cable contraptions to choose from. I can see why so many of them get entranced with all that and ignore the old-school, tough exercises like squats and deadlifts that are tougher to master the form on. That’s why they don’t get the physique they were hoping for either.” We have more access than ever to the training routines of the top bodybuilders, and Priest sees that as something else that gets in the way of progress for newbies. “A beginner has no business splitting up the body into four, five or six different training days and doing a half-dozen or more exercises per bodypart,” he reasons. “That’s like having somebody try to drive a race car when they’ve just learned how to drive, period. A nice, simple routine where you work the whole body with just one exercise for each muscle group would be the best way to go.” —Ron Harris www.ronharrismuscle.com

If there’s one word that has definitely become a cliché in the iron world, it’s hardcore. It has all but lost its meaning. If a guy trains heavy, he’s hardcore. Work out with a do-rag on your head and Timberland boots on your feet? Yo, you be hardcore, bro. If you train at a gym that’s not a chain like Planet Fitness or Bally’s, you’re hardcore. In fact, the dirtier and grungier a gym is, the more hardcore it’s supposed to be. Personally, I don’t have any interest in contracting tetanus, hepatitis or flesh-eating bacteria when I’m trying to improve my physique—but that’s just me. Another silly use of the word refers to bodybuilders injuring themselves or risking major health problems. Anybody who tears a muscle these days is labeled hardcore. Most muscle tears can be prevented by proper warmups and using weights within your capabilities. Getting hurt because you were too lazy or impatient to warm up or because you let your ego cloud your judgment is just plain stupid. I recently read on a message board that a young guy sat in a sauna and forced himself to vomit in order to make weight at a local amateur show—where he only managed fifth out of six guys anyway. He was hailed as hardcore—but I’d simply call him reckless and foolish. A use of the word that I find especially distasteful is applying it to those using copious amounts of steroids. Guys run down their over-the-top drug stacks online and are practically worshipped for it—usually by very young guys who fantasize about steroids someday turning them into massive muscle freaks. They’re being admired for their willingness to risk it all for big muscles—even though the majority of the abusers in question will never so much as place well in a contest. I wonder, will they still be called hardcore when they die at age 40 of a heart attack or need to go on hormone-replacement therapy for the rest of their lives because they’ve destroyed their body’s ability to produce testosterone? I think the bottom line is that if you have to use the word hardcore, you’re probably not. —Ron Harris

30 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

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.

Shoulder Horn $59.95 *PLUS SHIPPING & HANDLING

Push Ups

Dip Belt Accu-Measure Fat Calipers 8

Over 4000 best-selling products online

Seated Row Handle

Visit us at Home-Gym.com or call 800-447-0008

TRAIN TO GAIN

MATURE MUSCLE

More Size On the Tri’s Q: I’m 52 years young, and I’d like to know how you train your triceps for that full look you display in the photo at the end of your columns. A: That picture was taken when I was 47 years old, and I was in perhaps the best natural shape of my life. How did I make those horseshoe triceps without the aid of anabolic steroids and/or growth hormone? The triceps brachii is a large threeheaded muscle that runs along the back of the upper arm. The triceps are without question very powerful pushing muscles. They’re anatomically designed to push away, helping the deltoids push objects overhead or helping the pectorals push objects off of your chest. After training for 40 years and having trained hundreds of men with great results, I’ve learned that when it comes to triceps, one thing is paramount: Get a deep, hard contraction on each repetition using a fairly heavy load, either pushing down or pushing out. The total contraction, or flexing, of the triceps lasts for only a millisecond, but it really should be a deep, hard, deliberate contraction nevertheless. I don’t usually advocate pausing during a repetition, but I make an exception for triceps training, where I use a slight delay in the contracted position. I’ve written how important it is to find your most leverageadvantaged exercise for each muscle group and stick with it. Whichever exercise you choose for triceps, stress that brief contraction. Remember that the triceps make up two-thirds of the total circumference of your arms, so they have the potential to make your arms appear much larger. My two favorite triceps exercises are pushdowns and overhead extensions—and I do both with a straight, short bar attached to a cable-pulley system. For pushdowns pick a moderately heavy weight and allow the bar to come up to just above the point where your forearms are parallel to the floor. Keep your elbows close in to your torso, and don’t change your shoulder-width stance once you begin. Push down as hard as possible and hold the bottom, contracted position for a millisecond; then control the weight back to the starting point. I usually pick a weight that makes me work hard to get eight to 10 flawless, intense repetitions. If you pump up your biceps between your triceps sets (I do that for most upperbody pushing motions), you get a bit of a “cushion” at the start of your triceps exercises; that is, your forearms can bump up against your pumped biceps, which should enable you to use more weight and have more blood in your upper arms. As long as you don’t train your biceps too hard and only use them as pumped bumpers, you’ll help prevent injury to your elbows. You can dedicate another day to training your biceps hard. After I’ve done as many full repetitions as I can, I get the bar down to the contracted position and then let it come up an inch or two before driving it to lockout to contract my triceps. I do three to five of those end-of-set partials until my triceps are engorged with blood and feel like rocks. I do overhead extensions on the same cable-pulley system. I face away from the machine with my body angled forward about 20 degrees. Using a straight bar, I let my forearms

For old and not-so-old guys

totally collapse onto my pumped biceps in the start position. I position my legs so that one is in front of the other and both knees are slightly bent for stability. I keep my elbows up and my upper arms close to the sides of my head. With my torso angled slightly forward, I can push up and slightly out, extending over my head for a full contraction. Something about this particular exercise gives me a tremendous pump and hits the difficult middle-triceps heads. By continually doing these two simple but intensely effective exercises, I’ve been able to build enormous triceps, very separated, very detailed and, to those in the “natural” bodybuilding world (and the over-50 crowd), extraordinary. There’s one other bit of biomechanical info regarding triceps that I’d like to share. Triceps and chest development are always linked—sometimes profoundly, sometimes only minutely. Often those with the greatest triceps have difficulty building their chest muscles, and those with great pecs have trouble building triceps. For instance, I’ve noticed that you hardly ever see a photograph of Arnold hitting a triceps pose—probably because Arnold’s triceps weren’t as good as his amazing chest. On the flip side, I’ve struggled with my chest development. Some say that the answer is to preexhaust weaker muscle groups with an isolation exercise, but that’s illogical. The answer is to train each muscle to faillure with the most leverageadvantaged exercises, using moderately heavy weight. For me that’s meant de-emphasizing my triceps on my chosen chest movements without giving up all multijoint exercises. So, the keys to great triceps are handling a moderately heavy weight and squeezing each contraction—without hyperextending the elbow—while taking each set to failure. There really is nothing more impressive than a big, thick slab of triceps muscle hanging out of the backside of your shortsleeved shirt. Since beginning this column only eight months ago, I’ve received a lot of e-mail from readers, mostly in the 40-to-70year-old range. I encourage you to keep writing and asking questions. I don’t profess to know everything; however, I always take the time to try to help. —Paul Burke Editor’s note: 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 a 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) 4470008, or visit www.Home-Gym .com. His “Burke’s Law” training DVD is also now available.

32 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

More Muscle % 0 0 Stimulation 3 You’ve Never Felt Anything Like It! ™

FLEXSOLATE

GRIP-FREE CUFFS Fact:

A static grip can limit muscle action and growth. On many exercises it’s your grip that severely reduces your ability to isolate and innervate the target muscle. For example, standard straps just don’t do the job on pulldowns. The rigid, unyielding grip become the Achilles heel that limits growth stimulation. But what if you could eliminate grip completely? The patented Flexsolate gripless cuffs do just that, enabling you to fully contract the targeted muscle for exceptional ﬁber recruitment. You’ve never felt anything like it. With Flexsolate, you isolate to innervate and accelerate muscle growth. Once you try them, you’ll never go to the gym without them! Cable Rows

Y ONL .95 9 1 $ g)

andlin

(plus

nd h ping a

ship

Cable Laterals

ov ith

0 es 4 cis r xe

Every pair of cuffs comes with an instructional DVD. Specify XS-S-M-L

Hammer Curls

1-800-447-0008 or Home-Gym.com

Crossovers

Two Paths to a Champion Chest can go heavier, and I get a better pump. Everybody has his own way to train and to improve his body. Branch and me go different ways, but we get the same results. So who is to say who is right and who is wrong? We are both right because we found the best way for our bodies to improve.” Generally speaking, free weights produce better results for most people. But as with anything else in bodybuilding, one must find his or her own path. If you find that Smith or Hammer Strength machines give you a better mind/muscle connection during chest training and stimulate growth more than free weights do, don’t let anyone tell Marcus you what you’re doing in the gym Rühl. is wrong. If two mass monsters like Branch and Markus can get great results with such divergent training methods, who’s to say what’s best for your chest? —Ron Harris www .RonHarrisMuscle .com Balik

Branch Not too long ago, Branch WarWarren. ren and Markus Rühl were brought together to train chest for a photo shoot. Besides being two of the most thickly muscled freaks on the planet, they happen to own some of the very best pecs in bodybuilding today. The irony is that they train their chests with totally different types of equipment. Branch, who calls the Dallas-area hardcore haven Metroflex Gym his training headquarters, is all about free weights. His chest workouts focus on various heavy barbell and dumbbell presses, plus weighted dips done with a couple of hundred pounds of anchor chains draped around his bull neck thrown in for good measure. Rühl definitely includes more machines in his chest training, something he is occasionally forced to defend to those who are convinced that only free weights can be effective. “Yes, I do like to train on machines for my chest,” he says. “I

Balik

TRAIN TO GAIN

BIGGER BODYPARTS

TRAINING TOOLS

Less Stress for Muscle-Building Success Q: I’m hearing good comments everywhere about the supplement PS and how it helps control cortisol. Should I give that stuff a try? I’m a 41-year-old hardgainer. A: By all means give phosphatidylserine a try. At your age cortisol produced by daily stress and workouts will take a catabolic toll. Plus, you’re a hardgainer, and you probably have an overabundance of cortisol to begin with, so you have a double incentive to use PS. Another reason this compound is becoming popular is that research shows it can improve your ability to focus. Gary A. Martin, Ph.D., says that supplementation with PS can benefit cognitive functions. “Some 25 human studies have been performed with PS, of which 12 were double-blind studies.” Palmieri, et al. (1987) stated that PS benefited the cognitive effects of vigilance, attention and short-term memory. Heiss, et al. (1993) conducted a study on 40 subjects and found significantly greater brain activation. So PS will not only help you ward off the catabolic effects of cortisol, but it may help your mental focus dur-

ing your work sets as well. I’ve found it to be an indispensable addition to my supplement program. I use Muscle-Link’s Cort-Bloc prior to my training sessions, and I’ve noticed some significant differences—in recovery and focus. As for scientific studies directly related to bodybuilding, Fahey and Pearl (1998) established the ability of soy-based phosphatidylserine to reduce blood cortisol during and after bodybuilding-type workouts. The study builds on prior Italian studies that found PS lowers cortisol produced as a result of endurance exercise. In my opinion, PS is a breakthrough bodybuilding supplement along the same lines as creatine monohydrate, especially for hardgainers, who are usually genetically challenged because of high levels of cortisol in the first place. [Cort-Bloc is available from Home Gym Warehouse, (800) 4470008 or www.Home-Gym.com.] —Steve Holman Train, Eat, Grow

34 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Here’s How To Put Your Muscle-Building and Fat-Loss Mechanisms on auto-pilot. Muscle-Building Technology Just Took A GIANT leap from the Past into the Future Dear friend, In the 1950s and ’60s, a handful of DRUG-FREE bodybuilders and elite celebrities made shocking gains in muscle size, (ranging from 25 to 30 pounds) in only three to four months while dissolving countless pounds of fat when they began using a special protein formula developed by renowned nutritionist Rheo H. Blair in Hollywood, California. For 40 years the formula was lost, until now. We recently “rediscovered” the “lost formula” he used to develop this special blend of protein and have made it available to you for the first time in years in Pro-Fusion™! Listen, you may be one of many bodybuilders who mistakenly believed that you’d have to “choke down” wretched-tasting protein all day long in order to achieve worthwhile training results. Well those days are over… Prepare to GROW!! When you start using this once “lost” growth technology available in Pro-Fusion™, you’re going to launch your progress into warp speed. Research has proven when you consume a combination of the long-lasting anticatabolic action of casein protein with the short-term anabolic action of whey protein, you trigger several mechanisms responsible for unparalleled muscle growth. At the same time, you’ll starve the stored bodyfat, causing your body to burn fat virtually 24 hours a day! Then all you have to do is feed that process every two to three hours, and you’ll teach your body to burn fat and grow muscles.

the superior amino acid balance of the ultimate protein source found in HUMAN MOTHER’S MILK—nature’s ultimate growth formula. It’s One Reason Babies Grow So Fast! That’s only part of the secret behind this special blend of protein. There’s more. As incredible as the Pro-Fusion™ technology is with its precise combination of whey and complete milk proteins to clone the balance found in human milk protein, it contains added egg white protein. And we were sure to use whey protein concentrate, NOT the cheaper, inferior whey protein isolate which is commonly used. You see, whey protein concentrate has more of the minor amino acid fractions responsible for growth and tissue repair not available in whey protein isolate, and Pro-Fusion™ is high in Lactoferrin. Lactoferrin is a protein fraction which, according to scientific studies, cuts the time required for tissue repair in half! And that means big gains for hard-training athletes— like you.

offer! For mail orders just write the words Pro-Fusion™ and Offer 669PF on any piece of paper. Be sure to tell us how many canisters you want with your name, mailing address, and credit card information or enclose a check or money order for the proper amount (California residents please add 8.75% sales tax) plus $7 for shipping and handling, then race over to your mailbox and send it right now to: Muscle-Link, Offer 669PF, 1701 Ives Ave., Oxnard, CA 93033 Foreign orders must send US$ money orders only and include $15 shipping. Sorry, no shipping to P.O. Boxes. (CA residents please add 8.75% tax) OR: Fax the paper mentioned above with your name, mailing address, and credit card information and proper amount as shown above to: 1-805-385-3515. P.S.: Call today! P.P.S.: Pro-Fusion™ is a real breakthrough protein formula. Remember, you risk nothing. Find out for yourself just how powerful the Pro-Fusion™ technology is. Order yours Today!

It’s even been shown to reverse the growth of cancer cells. Plus, Pro-Fusion™ is absolutely delicious! The design of Pro-Fusion™ makes it the perfect choice of anyone with an intense desire to maximize the results of a well-designed training and dietary program.By now, you’re aware that Pro-Fusion™ is a technological breakthrough in sports nutrition. You’ve just got to get yourself some of Muscle Link’s Pro-Fusion™ now. A big 2-pound container of Pro-Fusion™ is only $29.95 (plus S&H).

Choice of: Tropical Vanilla, or Chocolate Fudge flavoring

The Proof is Scienctific Fact. Jump On THIS Money Saving Bonus! Your muscle mass is influenced by two critical factors—your rate of anabolism, which increases your muscle mass, and your rate of catabolism, which tears it to shreds. The two functions are continuous bodily processes. A recent study found that whey protein is quickly absorbed into the bloodstream, causing an anabolic action—sadly, these effects are short-lived. In order to get the maximum anabolic and anticatabolic action, you need to ingest whey protein combined with precisely measured amounts of casein to achieve

Buy six 2-pound containers of Pro-Fusion™ and take another 10% off. So you’ll pay only $169.95. You can get started RISK–FREE! If you’re not 100% satisfied with Muscle-Link’s Pro-Fusion™ just let us know and you will get a FULL refund of the purchase price, no questions asked—absolutely guaranteed! There’s Only One Thing To Do NOW! Pick up the phone and dial 1-800-6674626, Offer 669PF. Have your credit card number ready. Order your six-pack of Pro-Fusion™ right away! This is a limited

1-800-667-4626, Offer 669PF Available at better health food stores nation wide.

Come visit us at www.muscle-link.com

Fingering Your Elbow Pain

Can hand weakness lead to elbow injury?

The finger extension is an important exercise. It strengthens the muscles that extend the fingers, whereas exercises that involve the grip train the muscles that flex the fingers. A strength imbalance between those opposing muscles can cause elbow problems. Here are a few ways to prevent that: Manual resistance. Put the digits of your right hand together. Put the tips of the fingers (and thumb) of your left hand on the outside ends of the corresponding digits of the other hand. Open your right hand against resistance provided by your left hand. Allow the finger joints to bend sufficiently to produce a full range of movement. Following a period of gradual adaptation, perform a warmup set for each hand with minimal resistance. Then perform the work sets with enough resistance to make each rep taxing. Apply resistance against the fingers as they open and close—positive phase and negative phase, respectively. Provide more resistance during the negative phase. Perform each rep smoothly, over a full range of motion. Another method: While seated, place the fingertips of your right hand together, and put your hand between your lower

X-FILES

thighs, with your wrist turned so that your right thumb is against your right inner thigh. Keep all your fingers straight and try to spread them, spreading the load evenly over all of them—it will take some experimentation to find the correct positioning for your hand. Perform each rep smoothly over a full range of motion, with enough resistance from your thighs to make each rep taxing on the positive and negative phases. The manual finger extension doesn’t permit measurable resistance. Over time, however, gradually increase the manual resistance. Band resistance. For measurable resistance, get some elastic bands that are about three inches long when unstretched. To learn the exercise, take just one of them. Put all five digits of your right hand inside the elastic band so that the band rests on the joints nearest your fingernails. Smoothly stretch out your fingers as far as you can without letting the elastic band slip down. Find the degree of curvature in your fingers needed to keep the elastic band in place throughout the exercise. Increase the number of bands you use to add resistance. Find elastic bands of various strengths so you can keep adding gradual resistance. Regularly replace the bands because, with use, they lose strength and elasticity. To help keep the band in position, twist it around your middle finger before putting your other digits inside. That will increase the tension first two on the bands and reduce the numlight sets ber of them you can use, unless you did almost switch to longer bands. nothing The Metolius Gripsaver to pump blood into the target muscles or Plus. This is a device made for finstimulate the nervous system to give him ger extension, designed specifically optimal activation of muscle fibers on the for rehab or prevention of climbfirst work set. It’s almost mandatory for him ing-related finger, wrist and elbow to use the pyramid method. injuries. It’s an alternative to elastic If, however, you do your warmup sets as bands, although it doesn’t provide we suggest—a mix of slower full-range reps variable resistance. For further inforand partials for occlusion—you will have mation, visit www.metoliusclimbing blood in the target muscles. Pyramiding .com. —Stuart McRobert won’t be necessary. Nevertheless, in many www.Hardgainer.com cases—especially with hardgainers who have low neuromuscular efficiency—your Editor’s note: Stuart McRobnervous system may still not be completely ert’s first byline in IRON MAN apconditioned for optimal fiber activation. peared in 1981. He’s the author of That’s where the first set of the reverse pyramid comes in—five strict reps with a heavy the new 638-page opus on bodyweight. That’s not enough work to cause building Build Muscle, Lose Fat, fatigue products to pool in the muscles, but Look Great, it’s a heavy resistance that shocks the neravailable from vous system into heightened response. So Home Gym you lighten the load to capitalize with a work Warehouse set or two in the hypertrophy zone—nine to (800) 44712 reps—and you get more size-building 0008 or www bang for your effort buck. .Home-Gym —Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson .com. www.X-Rep.com

Reverse Pyramid Power Q: Your explanation of the reverse pyramid given in your e-book Xtraordinary Workouts—doing a very heavy work set first for five reps to stimulate the nervous system and then reducing the poundage on the next set for nine reps to capitalize on that—makes much more sense to me than pyramiding, or adding weight on every set so that reps decrease [for example, 10, 8, 6]. Can I use the reverse pyramid on exercises you list as pyramid moves in other programs in that e-book? A: Absolutely. The reason pyramiding works well for some trainees is that many simply slack on their warmup sets. They don’t focus and feel the target muscle enough on warmup sets to optimally heighten the nervous system. So for those trainees the first one or two higher-rep sets of the pyramid act as residual neuromuscular primers. For example, on bench presses you’ll see someone take a 135-pound warmup and haphazardly fly through eight quick reps; then he increases the weight to 185 and throws up three or four more. Now he moves to his first work set with 225 for 10—but it’s really more warmup because his

Neveux \ Model: Derik Farnsworth

TRAIN TO GAIN

HARDGAINER

36 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Are You Ready to FREAK OUT?! one potent muscle-swelling comIt’s the precise scientific combi1-MONTH RESULTS! bination—the ingredients are listnation your muscles need to grow ed at www.X-Stack.com, along larger, freakier and stronger with results and more photos). after every workout. Plus, it Feed your muscles what they spikes insulin, the hormone that crave at the precise time when sends those key nutrients rocketing supercompensation is jacked to your muscles at that critical to the max, and you can start grow time. (If you don’t use this building more muscle immediateamazing combo, it’s like wasting ly—more monster mass half your workouts!) almost instantly. Plus, you’ll Insulin is a good thing and high- “The X Stack combined with X-Rep training got me to my most muscular refill spent fuel stores so you’re ly anabolic right after you train condition ever in only one month.” because that’s when your muscles —Jonathan Lawson fully loaded for your next workout (bigger, more powerful muscles; are extremely receptive—like wrung-out sponges waiting to soak up anabolic nutri- you can feel it working). You train hard; you deserve to freak out! ents so they can engorge to new dimensions. It’s the time when carbs will not go to fat cells—the time For More Info and Special to load up so your muscles fill out. Discount Pricing, Visit: The X Stack also includes titrated creatine, which heightens ATP regeneration to fuel future muscle conwww.X-Stack.com tractions and fills out your muscle structures even Results using the X Stack vary from individual to individual. These statements have not been evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. This product is not more (all of the key nutrients in the X Stack make it intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

w w w. X - S t a c k . c o m

Natural MuscleCorrect Growth Impotence & Fat Loss and

Improve Sex Drive

Nature's most powerful testosterone enhacements are now available in one natural, safe and effective formula! When it’s time to build muscle you don’t want to worry about the side effects of anabolic steroids. ZMA-T, a safe, natural and effective supplement, contains 3 powerful components. Tribulus Terrestris, Muira Puama and our patented combination of zinc, magnesium and vitamin B6. Research studies on strength athletes show that ZMA-T's leading edge formula is designed to safely and effectively elevate testosterone levels and strength while correcting impotence and improving sex drive. Each bottle contains 120 capsules of ZMA-T and is only $39.95 (MSRP)

our s up, y e l b a t y and ur tra osition p Put yo t h ig ! the upr seat in KEOFF A T r o dy f get rea

For more info call 800-667-4626 or vist us at www.muscle-link.com

More Wicked Muscle Size and Serious Blast-Off Power On Every Set

Common Leg Press Problems The leg press is a relatively easy exercise to perform—or so it seems. It’s a much easier exercise to learn than the squat—back or front version. Back pain can force a trainee to choose the leg press to avoid loading of the spine. Dedicated trainees like the leg press because you can handle such heavy weights, often near 1,000 pounds. While the leg press is relatively safe, it can cause problems. If you’re under the assumption that by replacing squats with leg presses you’ll avoid lower-back problems, you’re mistaken. Lowerback injuries can and do occur with the leg press, and for two main reasons. The first is quite obvious once you think about it. The most common leg press machines are angled from 30 to 45 degrees. You lower the carriage of the leg press by allowing your knees and hips to bend. The usual instructions from gym veterans, training partners and personal trainers are to let your knees come all the way down to your armpits and then push the carriage back up. Not all people have the same level of hip flexibility. If the hip muscles and ligaments are tight, the knees can’t make it all the way down to the armpits. If your hips are tight and you try to make your knees come down too far, your pelvis will tilt backward, known as a posterior tilt, in the bottom position. That places a great deal of stress on the back wall of the disks, the shock absorbers between the vertebrae. Once you add the force from the heavy weight, the back is obviously susceptible to injury. The solution is to maintain good posture. Keep your lower back flat against the back pad of the leg press machine. If your hips are tight, which is a very common problem, let your knees come down only as low as they can without allowing your lower back to move away from the back pad. Be honest with yourself and use the range of motion that you actually have, not the range of motion you think you should have. You may think, “I need to use a full range of motion to get results.” That’s true to a certain extent, but how much range of motion is necessary, and how much do you have? If you use the range of motion you have effectively and don’t force yourself to go beyond your range, which can cause injuries, you’ll keep training over the long run. Consistency in the gym will produce results. Injuries will keep you out of the gym—and you won’t get any results. You may also have costly health care bills if the injury is significant. So keep your back flat, and don’t let your knees come down

Don’t jack your lower back

so far that your lower back tilts away from the pad. Eventually, the hip muscles and ligaments will stretch a bit from the exercise and you can bring your knees down farther. That will take time though—perhaps many months. The second problem that occurs with the leg press is the significant amount of weight that can be handled. Some trainees are really not prepared to handle the half ton that’s often loaded on the leg press—and usually the other weights they handle on leg exercises don’t reflect their leg press poundage. Watch the trainees who use the leg press. You’ll see many pile on weight and then get out of the machine very slowly with a stiff lower back and hips. The heavy weight being transmitted through the hips and the sacroiliac joint in the pelvis can cause irritation, inflammation and very mild sprains of the ligaments. Additionally, many trainees hold their breath during the straining portion of the leg press, which is known as a Valsalva effect. That causes the pressure in the abdomen to increase, leading to an increase in blood pressure, which leads to an increase in pressure in the spinal canal. That can irritate a disk injury. If your hip joint, sacroiliac joint and lumbar disk problems are all aggravated at one time, you won’t feel great and won’t move well. It may not be enough pain to stop you from performing leg presses at the following workout, but over time you may decide to perform the exercise less often or simply drop it. If you find your lower back feels stiff and a little achy after you perform leg presses, try to lighten the weight at every other leg press workout, and make sure you have good leg press posture. —Joseph M. Horrigan Neveux \ Model: Chris Faldo

TRAIN TO GAIN

SPORTSMEDICINE

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.

38 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

3-D MUSCLE BLAST Positions of Flexion Builds Mass Fast!

Critical Mass POF DVD $24.95

Get maximum muscle fiber recruitment from minimal gym time—only four to six sets per bodypart. Discover how to build power and size with 3-D Positions of Flexion: big midrange movements, stretch overload to activate the myotatic reflex and continuous-tension peak contraction to finish off the muscle. This DVD explains Positions of Flexion, a breakthrough massbuilding method that has bodybuilders all over the world growing faster than ever and achieving skin-splitting pumps at every workout. See this exciting size-boosting approach in action, apply it to your own workouts and watch mass surge to dramatic new levels in record time. Turn your guns into cannons and your shoulders into boulders. Chisel your chest and pack your thighs with new size. Bonus: 10 Minutes to Granite Abs is also included on this action-packed DVD.

Visit us at Home-Gym.com or call 800-447-0008

Over 4000 best-selling products online

Charles Poliquin’s

Smart Training

Q: I get a lot of stiffness in my elbows when I train arms with barbells. What do you suggest? A: You should always begin arm routines with dumbbell work. I got that insight more than two decades ago from Franco Columbu, D.C., who was at the time one of the top pro bodybuilders in the world. His rationale was that it prevented injuries because the elbows and wrists aren’t in a locked position, as they are with barbells. If you start your arm work with dumbbell work, the barbell work you do

Dumbbell work requires stabilization of the joint, which makes the barbell work you do after it much easier.

42 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Neveux \ Model: Christian Boeving

Dumbbell Intelligence

after it is easier to perform. If you want big arms, you’ll have to commit to training for a few years, and any injury, even a slight one, will compromise your training efforts. Further, musculoskeletal injuries are insidious—they sometimes take years to develop, but once they show up, they’re a nagging pain and can bring gains to a full stop. In general, it’s a mistake to stay away from dumbbell work. One man who knew how critical dumbbell work is was the legendary Pat Casey, officially credited for being the first to bench-press 600 pounds. He did plenty of heavy dumbbell incline presses before he reached that landmark weight. Besides exercising the muscles through greater ranges, dumbbell work requires stabilization of the joint, which makes the barbell work you do after it much easier. Q: I need a change of pace for my lower-body workouts because of family commitments. I have to train at home with a basic gym. What do you recommend? A: How about doing some dumbbell deadlifts? They’re an exercise that you don’t often see because they’re brutally hard to perform. Even the strongest individuals don’t do dumbbell deadlifts because most gyms don’t have heavy enough dumbbells to overload them. Better gyms rarely have dumbbells exceeding 150 pounds. So someone with a 500-pound-plus deadlift would need to perform sets of more than 20 reps. And we know how much strong lifters like to do lactate training—not! That means dumbbell deadlifts are best suited to novices or intermediate lifters who are on their way to gaining lean body mass. One advantage is that they suit everybody—whatever your proportions are, you can do them. They’re best performed with plate-loaded dumbbells

COST OF REDEMPTION Mr. Olympia’s Mind-Numbing Training DVD This 3-plus-hour DVD is a masters class on what it’s like to train without limits. Sit back and be amazed and inspired by a man who walks the walk. Mitsuru Okabe spent 4 days with Ronnie in 2003 just prior to his sixth win in a row of the Mr. Olympia. This DVD is shot in an absolute “you are there” style. There are no set ups, no retakes, nothing but the real Ronnie Coleman. Ronnie is absolutely focused on his goal and he lives his life to make it happen. You will see him do 800-pound squats, 75-pound dumbbell curls and an astounding 2250-pound leg press—almost every 45-pound plate in the gym! It’s the stuff of legends. But more than just the sets, reps and the nutrition, you get an insider’s view of the personality that always lights up any room he enters. It hits all the right notes: instructional, inspirational and a pleasure to watch a man at the top of his game. Four Stars.

Coleman DVD $28.95

Visit us at Home-Gym.com or call 800-447-0008

Whatever You Need—Wherever You Train™

Charles Poliquin’s

not exceeding the 10-pound or five-kilo (11-pound) limit. That ensures that you’ll do them over the greatest range of motion possible. Using Olympic-size dumbbells with 25pound plates reduces the range of motion and therefore lowers the exercise’s effectiveness. Since you’ll descend farther with dumbbells than with a barbell, you need to give even more care than usual to proper technique. If you pay attention to driving with your legs in the start and avoid momentum, you’ll lessen your chance of injury to the lumbar spine. Assuming that you’re using a moderate tempo, choose a weight that you can get at least 12 reps with. Dumbbell deadlifts are rarely performed in sets exceeding 20 reps. At that rep range they’re dreadful yet highly rewarding in terms of hypertrophy and strength endurance gains. Because they’re so very demanding, dumbbell deadlifts have become a forgotten exercise. Q: I’m a big believer in the basics, like squats and deadlifts. My gym is very well equipped, including adductor and abductor machines, which I never use. Are they worth it? It seems only women use them, working their so-called female problem areas. Should I bother with them at all? A: Funny you should ask. Recently, I came across a hardcore lifter who used them. It was while I was in Montreal having a leg workout at Atlantis Gym. Between sets of hamstring work this huge guy, who recognized me, came

up Dumbbell deadlifts are demanding, and especially the 20-rep version, but the asked size and strength benefits they produce if I could are worth the effort. help him up with the adductor machine. Since I’d already seen him in many gyms in the Montreal area and observed that he was a very serious trainee, I didn’t mind giving him a hand between sets. What he wanted me to do was to stand on the weight stack, because he felt the stack was too light. So I stood on the machine, and he managed to do the whole stack plus my bodyweight of 200 pounds or so for 20 full-range reps. Once I got off the machine, I told him that he was the first gung-ho lifter I’d ever seen use the adductor and abductor machines, and I had to ask why he used them. His answer was, to improve his squat. He felt that since he’d been using them on a regular basis, his squatting poundages had gone up. He went on a rant, saying that the machines weren’t designed for strong individuals and that he always needed someone to stand on the weight stacks no matter what brand of machine he used. Now this was a rather strong kid. I’d seen him barbell curl 225 pounds in strict form for reps. I doubt that those single-joint exercises could improve performance in a closed-chain exercise like the squat. I think that his squat improvement came from a lowered volume in squatting, not from using the adductor and abductor machines. Such a variable is difficult to measure, since there was no controlled environment. I consider those types of machines more as calorie burners than functional exercises. Another problem is that they give females the illusion that they can reduce their socalled female problem areas. Q: I train at a very commercial type of corporate gym. I find it hard to work chest and back when the gym is busy. Any suggestions? A: I must say that I’m very spoiled. I probably have one of the best home gyms in the world, so when I teach around the world, I discover that I have to get in a workout with a lot of people who have no clue about gym etiquette. In that case I use what I call the staggered-grip extended-set system. That enables me to train at the same station, which is particularly useful when the gym is loaded with maggots. The fact that you vary both the grip and the rep bracket permits you to trash all the motor units you Neveux \ Model Moe El Moussawi

Neveux \ Model:Derek Farnsworth

Smart Training

44 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

SWIMSUIT SIZZLEFEST The Hottest of the Hot This Sizzlefest DVD is an uncensored look at the best of the best of our nine swimsuit videos. This collection of fourteen of the finest, fittest females in tiny bikinis (or even less) gives you a close up look at some of the most outrageously beautiful and sexy fitness females to ever slip into (or out of) a bikini. The beauty of the women is enhanced and amplified by showcasing them in the most spectacular locations from the desert to the mountains to the sea. This DVD is a 10 on every level. Look at this list of gorgeous sexy women: Ahmo, Amy, Ashley, Cori, Frostee, Karla, Laura, LeAnna, Linda, Paulina, Rebecca, Tanya, Timea, Tina Jo.

Swimsuit Sizzlefest $24.95

This 55-minute DVD contains nudity. You must be 18 or older to purchase it.

*PLUS SHIPPING & HANDLING

Visit us at Home-Gym.com or call 800-447-0008

Over 4000 best-selling products online

Charles Poliquin’s

Smart Training

By varying your grip and/or hand spacing, you can blast a bodypart at one station, like the chinup bar. want. Here’s a sample routine to pack size on your chest and back:

4) Rest 10 seconds 5) Incline barbell bench presses 6-8 RM on a 2/2/1/0 tempo

Pullups 6) Rest 2 minutes 1) Wide-grip pronated pullups, 4-6 RM on a 5/0/1/0 tempo (use extra weight if strong enough)

7) Repeat steps 1 to 6 twice.

3) Narrow-grip pronated pullups, as many reps as possible using a 5/0/1/0 tempo 4) Rest 10 seconds 5) Supinated (undergrip) shoulder-width chinups, as many reps as possible using a 2/0/1/0 tempo 6) Rest 2 minutes 7) Repeat steps 1 to 6 twice Incline presses 1) Incline dumbbell presses, semisupinated grip, 6-8 RM on a 2/2/1/0 tempo 2) Rest 10 seconds 3) Incline dumbbell presses, pronated grip, 6-8 RM on a 3/0/1/0 tempo, as many reps as possible

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.Charles Poliquin.net. Also, see his ad on page 155. IM

46 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Bradford

You’ll probably have to decrease the weight five to 10 pounds on every new staggered-grip extended set.

2) Rest 10 seconds

Charles Poliquin w w w. C h a r l e s P o l i q u i n . n e t

BODYBUILDING BEAUTIES Beautiful, Buff Babes You can enjoy watching fourteen of the most beautiful bodybuilding babes on earth, all on one DVD. We have carefully combed our archive to present to you, what is simply the ﬁnest DVD collection of bodybuilding babes in existence. Our carefully selected list of bodybuilding beauties includes: Brenda Kelly, Sharon Bruneau, Cynthia Bridges, Gabriella Anton, Laurie Vaniman, Lena Johannesen, Theresa Hessler, Timea Majorova, Sherry Goggin, Toni Dee, Jennifer Elrod, Christine Lydon and Ashley Lawrence. This 55minute DVD contains nudity. You must be 18 or older to purchase it.

Bodybuilding Beauties $14.95 *PLUS SHIPPING & HANDLING

Visit us at Home-Gym.com or call 800-447-0008 Order all 3 Fantasy Workout videos/ DVDs, and you save $30: $29.95

Whatever You Need—Wherever Youwww.ironmanmagazine.com Train ™

\ JULY 2006 181

EAT TO WORLDWIDE RESEARCH

New Nutrition Research Some studies presented at the recent 15th European Congress on Obesity, held in late April in Budapest, Hungary, are relevant for bodybuilders. Among them:

energy expenditure and fat oxidation.

Neveux \ Model: Dan Decker

subjects, average age 23, into randomized groups and gave them six capsules daily of the following treatments: 1) A placebo 2) Caffeine alone 3) Caffeine and EGCG, the most • Green tea is known to exert therpotent active ingredient in green tea mogenic effects, which convert fat 4) Caffeine and EGC, another green calories into heat, favoring fat loss. But tea ingredient since green tea also contains caffeine, 5) Caffeine and a mixture of green another thermogenic substance, which tea actives is the active factor that promotes fat The subjects were measured for loss? energy expenditure and their rate of Scientists placed 15 normal-weight fat oxidation for 13 1/2 hours. Those getting treatment 3 had a higher level of energy expenditure than those getting treatments 1 and 2. Fat oxidation was higher with treatment 3, but it was considered insignificant. The conclusion was that the combination of caffeine and EGCG exerted definite but weak effects on energy expenditure and fat oxidation. Note that the subjects in this study didn’t exercise. Exercise Getting the caffeine plus some other adds to the efficiency ingredients in green tea increases of fat oxidation.

Strictly from Hungary • A study compared the weight-lossmaintenance effects of a high-protein vs. a high-carb diet. The study’s 49 subjects followed a very-low-calorie diet for six weeks, followed by a weightmaintenance period of 12 weeks. They were randomly divided into three groups: 1) High protein featuring whey 2) High protein featuring casein 3) High carb featuring maltodextrin The high-protein groups got 35 percent protein and 42 percent carbs, while the high-carb group got 16 percent protein and 63 percent carbs. Those on the high-protein diets regained less weight than those on the high-carb plan. In addition, the reduced levels of insulin and triglycerides that resulted from the original weight loss was also better preserved with the higher-protein diet. • Several previous studies have found that getting calcium in your diet may aid fat loss. The mechanisms involve suppression of fat-synthesizing hormones combined with the decreased fat absorption that may occur as calcium forms insoluble soaps when it’s consumed with fat. In this study, mice were supplied calcium in combination with whey and casein to see if combining the calcium with the milk proteins added to bodyfat loss. The study lasted 21 weeks and

48 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

GH Stak’s effervescent action enhances delivery and...

“GETS YOU LEANER HARDER FASTER” More growth hormone can... • Help build muscle and burn fat • Beef up tendons and ligaments • Improve strength • Heal injuries • Revitalize sex drive • Tone the skin

• Contains the potent bioactive pyroglutamate form of L-arginine • Has anterior pituitary peptides, which normalize somatostatin, a hormone that can shut down GH and IGF-1 receptors • Has produced a 12 to 36.6 percent increase in IGF-1 levels (IGF-1 is one of the body’s most anabolic hormones) • Used by doctors at anti-aging clinics in place of growth hormone injections

Also available at:

For more info visit www.Muscle-Link.com or call 1-800-667-4626

Results using GH Stak vary from individual to individual. Testimonial endorser’s results using it may be considered atypical. Testimonial endorsers have been remunerated by Muscle-Link. GH Stak is a trademark of Muscle-Link. These statements have not been evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

GROW Nutrition With a Get-Big Mission featured a control group of rodents that ate no protein. The results showed greater fat losses in both the whey and casein groups than in the control group. The whey group, however, had the largest bodyfat reduction. That led the authors to suggest that something in whey boosts fat loss. • Most women and many men find that lower-body fat is hard to lose. The reason is the preponderance of alpha-adrenergic fat cell receptors in those areas, which favors the retention of bodyfat and hinders the release of fat from fat cells. One way to tap into those stubborn fat cells involves blocking alpha-adrenergic receptors, and a common means of accomplishing it is by taking yohimbine supple-

ments, which have that property. Another, surprising way to tap into resistant lower-body fat stores involves diet. In a study reported at the Budapest conference, eight healthy lean and six obese men engaged in a 45-minute exercise session at a moderate intensity level of 50 percent of maximal oxygen intake. Three hours before the exercise session they ate a meal rich in saturated fat that was composed of 95 percent fat and 5 percent carbs. The surprising result was that eating a lot of saturated fat totally suppressed alpha-adrenergic cell receptors, which enhanced the effects of fatreleasing hormones, such as epinephrine. In fact, fatty acid levels in the blood were increased twofold in both lean and obese subjects. What about the conventional wisdom that saturated fat is the worst kind of fat to eat? It increases insulin resistance and is linked to cardiovascular disease. Obviously, more research is needed. If the surprise is confirmed by other studies, it may offer an interesting method of tapping into the most stubborn fat stores—eating high-fat meals before you exercise. • Giving rats resveratrol, a substance found in red wine and other sources, appears to offset the negative effects of a high-fat diet. Resveratrol also seems to activate a protein that is linked to lon-

gevity. More intriguing are rat studies showing that taking in resveratrol not only leads to a higher rate of fat burning during exercise but also doubles endurance levels. When isolated fat cells were exposed to high levels of resveratrol, the resveratrol prevented the development of new fat cells and helped destroy existing ones. Even low doses suppressed the development of additional bodyfat. Resveratrol also inhibits the release of cytokines, inflammatory substances released from fat cells that are linked to cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Other studies show that it may increase testosterone while blunting the activity of aromatase, the enzyme that converts testosterone into estrogen. While this all sounds good, the studies involved huge doses of resveratrol that would cost a small fortune if taken in supplement form. Also, there is little or no evidence that resveratrol works equally well in humans. On the other hand, scientists who investigate resveratrol aren’t waiting for final human confirmation of effectiveness. One researcher takes five milligrams of resveratrol per kilogram—2.2 pounds—of bodyweight. That would require a 200-pound man to take 450 milligrams of the stuff. —Jerry Brainum

www.ironmanmagazine.com \ OCTOBER 2007 49

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

LIFT BIG TO GET BIG Build Incredible Pressing Power and Bulletproof Shoulders Unfortunately, shoulder injury is one of the major reasons trainees have to sacrifice gains on many of the most important strength- and mass-building exercises— from bench presses to chins to pulldowns. You’ll be amazed at how much better your shoulders feel and how much more weight you can hoist once you start training your rotator cuff muscles regularly and properly with the powerful info in The 7Minute Rotator Cuff Solution. You’ll learn: •How the rotator cuff muscles work. •Specific rotator cuff exercises. •The best and safest stretching exercises. •Exercises you should avoid. •Specific training programs. •Rehab routines for sportsspecific injuries. •Bodybuilder’s injuryprevention routine. •Detailed biomechanics to pathology.

7-Minute Rotator Cuff Solution $29.95

The 7-Minute Rotator Cuff Solution can help you achieve bigger gains in muscle size and pressing poundages, not to mention bulletproof shoulders for pain-free and power-packed workouts.

*PLUS SHIPPING & HANDLING

Visit us at Home-Gym.com or call 800-447-0008

Over 4000 best-selling products online

Eat to Grow NUTRITION NOTES

Food Facts That can affect your workouts, weight and wellness

WARRIOR NUTRITION AND EXERCISE

Eggology 101

Are eggs the perfect food?

Eggs are a great source of protein. Don’t be afraid to eat the yolk. It’s a natural source of vitamins A through E (except C) and the essential sulfurcontaining protein cysteine. In addition, the yellow pigment of the yolk is a vital carotene, so don’t eat just the whites. If you eat many eggs at one meal, keep a balance between the yolks and the whites. I eat about four egg whites to one yolk. As far as cholesterol is concerned, research increasingly suggests that eggs don’t raise cholesterol. Eggs contain lecithin, and the cysteine is crucial for metabolism and the immune system. It’s a sensitive protein, though, and is often destroyed when processed; for instance, in most commercial whey protein powders. Whey and colostrum that are processed properly, however, do retain the cysteine. Eating egg yolks is one of the best ways to supply your body with cysteine. Whites are said to contain a complete protein, but I feel at least some yolk is necessary to enhance the egg’s protein composition and enable you to get all of its nutrient benefits. Nature created the egg with two parts. There are no mistakes in nature, so use both to your advantage. —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.

Zinc is important for health and bodybuilding—and many hardtraining athletes are deficient in the mineral. According to a recent study reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and authored by Henry Lukaski, Ph.D., “Besides helping to make muscle, zinc regulates hormones that allow our bodies to access stored energy.” Sounds like zinc supplements are a must for dieting bodybuilders. Coconut oil appears to enhance fat burning because of its concentration of mediumchain triglycerides. MCTs are digested differently from other fats, producing more energy and stimulating the metabolism. Artificial sweeteners cause water retention. That includes aspartame, acesulfame K and saccharin. If you’re having trouble getting the lean look, drop the diet sodas. Fat in your diet can help you burn more bodyfat. After you’ve been dieting and hit a pleateau, you may want to try eating avocados, coconut butter or even some real butter—in moderation, of course. That can activate more fat-emulsifying enzymes, which are suppressed by strict dieting. —Becky Holman www.X-tremeLean.com

50 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

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.

IM Encyclopedia $19.95 *PLUS SHIPPING & HANDLING

Visit us at Home-Gym.com or call 800-447-0008

Whatever You Need—Wherever You Train ™

Eat to Grow ANTICATABOLISM

I work in a hospital, so I get first crack at new products that are designed to help patients heal from surgery or wounds or put on muscle after catabolic illness. I’ve noticed over the years that companies that sell mainly to hospital patients often have such a good product that it’s copied by companies in the bodybuilding and/or sports world. The reverse can happen as well—a great product is developed for bodybuilders and/or athletes, and soon a similar product pops up for use by hospital patients. Here’s an example from Ross Labs, makers of Ensure and Ensure Plus. A product called Juven has been studied and written about in many medical journals. It contains HMB, L-arginine and L-glutamine. Ross claims that it will minimize or reverse lean-body-mass losses in cancer patients and increase their bodyweight. The company also claims that Juven can promote wound healing and that it supports immune function.

You might have purchased EAS’s Muscle Armor, which advertised its “patented Juven technology.” The basic Juven formula was there, along with a few additions by EAS—such as one gram of L-leucine and a few other nutrients. Now Juven can be found in drugstores. It comes in orange and grape flavors; Muscle Armor comes in lemon-lime. Many stores are reporting that once people try these products, they keep coming back for more—retailers have trouble keeping them in stock. I personally had a great response to Juven within five days. You take it twice a day, workout or rest day, but if it’s a workout day, you should use it once before your session and take the second serving after you train. I felt a noticeable difference and started having better workouts within a week of using it. —Daniel Curtis, R.D. MINERALS

ANTI-AGING

Bone Up—With Creatine? Creatine helps build stronger muscles, of course, but did you know that it helps build bones too? New research from Canada found that creatine increased bone structure in rats [Med Sci Exer Sprts. 39:815-820; 2007]. That means it could be beneficial to aging humans prone to osteoporosis. It’s also been shown to heighten brain function—as in Alzheimer’s prevention. That’s an anti-aging triple whammy—creatine strengthens muscles, bones and the brain. Sounds like it should be mandatory for our aging population.

Slimming Selenium Most of us have heard about selenium’s cancer-fighting powers. That’s reason enough to take it in supplement form. Now a survey of more than 8,000 Americans concludes that it may help reduce abdominal fat: Those who had low selenium levels had bigger waists. You should be getting about 55 micrograms of selenium a day.

—Becky Holman www.X-tremeLean.com 52 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Cheese and nuts are good sources, but taking a selenium supplement is also a good idea. —Becky Holman www .X-tremeLean .com

Neveux \ Model: Sagi Kalev

Heal to Grow

Patented Juven technology fights loss of lean body mass

BOOKS

w w w. h o m e - g y m . c o m (#266) by Dick Tyler $19.95. West Coast Bodybuilding scene. 1965-1971 The Golden Era. One of the most dynamic eras in bodybuilding. All the greats are here, in words and many rare photos. 399 pgs

(#338) by Dr. Warren Willey $31.00 Buildinga great physique natural way. 192 pgs

(#003) by Bill Pearl, Leroy Perry $29.95Exercises for every bodypart explained in detail. 638 pgs

(#323) by Paul Burke $15.95 Three decades of research compiled for those who enjoy learning about health, exercise, weight training, fitness, and the right nutrition to enhance all of the above. 144 pgs

(#150) by Paul Kelso $14.95 Tales of Texas madness and powerlifting. 83 pgs

(#297) by Charles Poliquin $29.95 Weight training to help improve fitness, lose fat and build muscle mass 112 pgs

(#212) by Peter Sisco $14.95 Ironman's Ultimate Guide to Arm Training 181 pgs

(#001) by Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bill Dobbins $30.00 This will answer every question any hardcore bodybuilder or budding lifter could ever think of. More than 850 photos and anatomical line drawings. 800 pgs

(#320) by Pavel $39.95

(#143) by Judd Biasziotto, Klaus Arndt $19.95 Real stories in professional bench pressing. 119 pgs

(#337) by Clarence Bass $24.95 Health, Fitness, Leaness without suffering. 163 pgs.

SALE PRICE (#244) by Barney Groves, PhD $18.95 Technique and training for athletic muscular training.

A HOME-GYM

BEST SELLER (#149) by John Brookfield $14.95 Leading gripmasters tell you how to make most of the equipment you’ll need to develop a world-class grip. One of the best books ever written on the subject. Fast reading. 105 pgs

(#197) by Dave Draper $24.95 Dave Draper's private journey through bodybuilding. 335 pgs

Mind Over Muscle: the 5x5x5 Program 365 pgs

(#269 by Greg Shepard $17.95 The Proven System for Building Athletes. Get Bigger Faster Stronger… Buy it here now for less!

(#123) by John McCallum $19.95 Pack More Muscle with The Complete Keys to Progress 270 pgs

(#299) by Charles Poliquin $29.95 Effective ways to help your athletes become bigger and stronger… Buy it here now for less! 57 pgs

Home Gym Warehouse, 1701 Ives Ave., Oxnard, CA 93033. Phone: (800) 447-0008 • Express delivery available.

Eat to Grow ANABOLIC DRIVE

Old-School Mass Builders In the old days strongmen and bodybuilders would put on slabs of muscle by eating a lot of red meat and eggs and drinking plenty of milk. Despite the amazing advances in protein supplements, such as creatine and beta-alanine, it turns out that some old-school nutrition strategies may indeed do the job. Researchers have examined the response of muscle protein to resistance exercise and nutrient intake but not to the intake of food protein. A recent study was designed to bridge that gap in terms of nutrients taken in as components of milk. Scientists had three groups of volunteers drink one of three milk drinks: 237 grams of fat-free milk, 237 grams of whole milk or 393 grams of fat-free milk isocaloric with the whole milk. They drank the milk one hour after a leg workout. Findings? Drinking milk following resistance exercise results in phenylalanine and threonine uptake, which indicates net muscle protein synthesis. In English that means, milk is anabolic! The study showed that perhaps whole milk is better than skim milk at increasing the uptake of available amino acids for protein synthesis. What happens when you compare milk protein with the vegans’ favorite, soy? Scientists studied the effect of drinking isonitrogenous, isoenergetic and macronutrientmatched soy and milk beverages on protein kinetics and net muscle protein balance after resistance exercise in healthy young men. They hypothesized that the soy drink GOOD FAT

Omega Overdose

More 3s, Less 6s

Model: Bessy

According to Raymond Francis in Never Be Fat Again, an estimated 95 percent of Americans are deficient in omega-3 fats: “The deficiency has led to an epidemic of suboptimal and deteriorating health, including diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, multiple sclerosis and diabetes.” On the other hand, we’re overdosing on omega-6 fats. Part of the problem is the change in how cattle are fed—with a grain-based diet instead of grass. Cattle that eat grass have an omega-6 to omega-3 ratio of approximately 3-to-1. Grain-fed cattle have ratios of 20-to-1 and higher. Grass-fed cattle also have less bodyfat and much less saturated fat. [For more on grass-fed beef, visit www.GrasslandBeef.com.] —Becky Holman www.X-tremeLean.com

Milk does muscle good

would result in larger but transient hyperaminoacidemia than milk (because soy is a faster protein). Also, they believed that milk would have a better anabolic effect because of lower but prolonged hyperaminoacidemia (typically seen in slow proteins). Instead, they found that both the soy and milk caused a positive net protein balance—that is, both are anabolic. If you’re a soy lover, you can wipe the sweat from your brow. When the researchers did what statisticians call an “analysis of area under the net balance curves,” however, there was a greater overall net balance after milk intake— meaning milk was more anabolic. The scientists concluded that “milk-based proteins promote muscle protein accretion to a greater extent than do soy-based proteins when consumed after resistance exercise. The consumption of either milk or soy protein with resistance training promotes muscle mass maintenance and gains, but chronic consumption of milk proteins after resistance exercise likely supports a more rapid lean mass accrual.” Here’s your take-home message: 1) Milk is anabolic whether it’s skim or whole; 2) whole milk is better than skim milk; 3) soy is anabolic; 4) milk is more anabolic than soy. Therefore, the winner is…whole milk. —Jose Antonio, Ph.D. 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.Jose AntonioPhD.com.

54 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Over 4000 best-selling products on-line

"WHATEVER YOU NEED - WHEREVER YOU TRAIN" (#298) by Charles Poliquin $29.95 Charles presents his Ultimate Arm Program - a six month prescription for maximal gains in arm size and strength. 95 pgs

(#264) by Brad Schoenfeld $19.95 Sculpting Her Body Perfect. 226 pgs

(#147) by Dr. Joseph Horrigan, Jerry Robinson $29.95 Complete shoulder rehab and prevention programs. 140 pgs

(#243) by Mike Mentzer, John Little $18.95 Summary of three decades of training research. 224 pgs

(#262) by Bill Pearl, Kim Shott $22.95 The story of Bill Pearls personal journey through life. 291 pgs

(#102) by Stuart McRobert $34.95 Build Muscle, Loose Fat, Look great. 400 photos. 640 pgs

(#FCIIB) A collection of weight training posters $29.95 Spiral binding makes it east to flip from one poster to the next.

(#201) by Stuart McRobert $24.95 Over 230 Questions and answers on how to build muscle and might. 319 pgs

Dinosaur Training need image

SALE PRICE

(#HFL-WO-009) by Jerry Robinson $19.95 Synergistic principles and specially designed bodyweight exercises. 138 pgs

(#274) by Scott Cole and Tom Seabourne $18.95 Maximan core fitness training. 209 pgs

(#167) by Iron Man Magazine $9.95 gives you the exact training routines, supplement stacks and meal-bymeal diets to transform your physique

(#301) Larry Pepe $39.95 How the world’s best bodybuilders get into mind-blowing, contest-winning condition. 477 pgs

(#332) by Paul T. Burke $29.95 Burkes Law: A new fitness paradigm for the mature male. 216 pages

(#152) by Randall Strossen Ph.D $14.95 A "gold mind" for peak performance! Get Ironmind 182 pgs

(#245) by Fredrick Delavier $19.95 best selling author comes a book on the anatomical features unique to women 136 pgs

(#181) by IRON MAN, Peter Cisco $19.95 Authoritative step-by-step methods used by champion bodybuilders. 434 pgs

(#HFLMC00009) by Health for Life $14.95 Integrates the latest research in biomechanics for synergistic calf training. 57 pgs

(#154) by Bill Starr, B.S., M.S. $20.00 Classic book on strength training for football. 210 pgs

(#072) Randall J. Strossen,Ph.D. $14.95 Sound advice on anything from how to equip a home gym to how to psyche up for heavy lifts. 107 pgs

(#HFL-NT-00009) by Health for Life $14.95 For total neck and traps development. 56 pgs

Fat burning diet

HOME-GYM’S ALL-TIME BEST SELLER’S CLUB (#84) Home Gym Handbook $14.95 This book will help you build maximum mass fast at home or in a gym.

(#130) 10 Week Size Surge $9.95 If you're serious about building muscle, give the mass-building plan a try.

(#206) by Frederic Delavier $19.95 Strength training anatomy. The ultimate strength fererence. 124 pgs

(#246B) Size Surge Hardgainer $9.95 Size-Building tips, routines and diets for the underweight bodybuilder. 75 pgs.

Eat to Grow

Saving Muscle

It can be done

Doing aerobics as part of a bodybuilding program leads to muscle loss—or does it? While it’s true that performing aerobic workouts of longer than two hours may constitute overtraining, few bodybuilders do cardio sessions of that length. Most aerobics workouts last anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes. Studies do show, however, that after one hour of consistent aerobic training, cortisol levels start to rise. Since cortisol is the major hormone responsible for muscle breakdown, there is some truth to the notion that aerobics can lead to muscle loss. Certain conditions are more likely to cause muscle breakdown due to aerobics. For example, people who are on low-carbohydrate diets, which lead to low glycogen levels, tap into muscle protein stores faster than those who eat plenty of carbohydrates. People who have low bodyfat likewise will often begin to oxidize proteins sooner. Despite those problems, it’s hard to avoid doing aerobic work if your goal is fat loss. Fat can only be oxidized, or burned, in the presence of oxygen, and weight training is

considered an anaerobic, or minimal-oxygenusage, activity. There’s a convenient and simple nutritional antidote to losing muscle when you’re doing aerobics: Take branched-chain amino acids. When your body begins to tap into muscle during exercise, the BCAAs are degraded to provide energy. Getting an outside source of BCAAs should conserve your own muscle stores and prevent muscle catabolism caused by aerobics. The muscle-sparing action of branched-chain amino acids is illustrated by a new study.1 Eight healthy subjects, four men and four women, average age 26, all of whom were untrained, engaged in three bouts of 20-minute cycling sessions, with five-minute breaks between bouts, using a moderate level of exercise intensity (50 percent of maximal oxygen intake). The subjects were given a drink containing two grams of the BCAAs—leucine, isoleucine and valine—plus an additional 500 milligrams of L-arginine. Other subjects received a placebo containing the same number of calories but no added nutrients. While previous studies of BCAAs did show protein-sparing actions during exercise, the doses used ranged from 23 to 40 grams—huge compared to what you find in realworld training. Two grams of BCAAs maintain higher blood levels of the amino acids for two hours, thus providing the rationale for that particular dose. To determine protein use from muscle during exercise, the researchers measured the loss of phenylalanine, an amino acid found in muscle. Those in the placebo group lost phenylalanine during the exercise sessions, a sign of muscle breakdown; however, the effect was blocked in those who drank the BCAA-and-arginine cocktail. The arginine was added to the drink because of its suggested effects of promoting growth hormone release and nitric oxide synthesis. Neither effect occurred during the study, leading the researchers to suggest that the arginine dose was insufficient. Previous studies used arginine doses ranging from 12.6 to 30 grams. This study shows that taking two grams of a BCAA mixture effectively blocks the use of muscle protein as a fuel source during moderate-intensity aerobic exercise. —Jerry Brainum

FAT BURN

Grains Be Gone In his book The 7 Principles of Fat Burning, Eric Berg writes, “It doesn’t matter if it’s wholewheat or white bread; these starches turn into sugar fairly rapidly. Many people are also allergic to them, which leads to water retention and digestive troubles. I have found that cutting out grains is a very important factor in getting someone into fat burning. The only acceptable grain product in small amounts would be bran.” If you’re trying to get lean, get rid of the grains, even the whole-wheat variety. —Becky Holman www.X-tremeLean.com

1 Matsumoto, K., et al. (2007). Branched-chain amino acids and arginine supplementation attenuates skeletal muscle proteolysis induced by moderate exercise in young individuals. Int J Sports Med. 28:531–538.

56 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Neveux \ Model: Omar Deckard

NUTRITION SCIENCE

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.

RecoverX 3 lbs. 14 oz.

$30.95

RecoverX™ is the perfect postworkout meal to kick your muscle growth into overdrive!

Visit us at Home-Gym.com or call 800-447-0008

Over 4000 best-selling products online

Train, Eat, Muscle-Training Program 96 From the

IRON MAN

Training & Research Center

by Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson Photography by Michael Neveux

ecause this issue of IRON MAN focuses on longevity training and nutrition, we’re having Steve go it alone this month—Jonathan’s only in his mid30s and is just beginning to consider the impact age has on muscle gains (not to mention the impact his impending marriage will have). Steve, on the other hand, is 48 and has been training for 33 years. His physique still looks pretty good—and he doesn’t have a lot of the aches and pains that plague many middleaged bodybuilders (although the skin doesn’t quite snap back the way it used to). He’s still going strong as he pushes 50, which explains the title of this installment...

Lift Long and Prosper You may recognize that as a bastardized version of Spock’s greeting from “Star Trek.” To my knowledge Spock never lifted weights, although he enjoyed regularly checking people’s trap mass with his wicked Vulcan nerve pinch, sending them crashing to floor in an unconscious heap. If he’d lifted weights, of course, you can bet he would’ve done it right, without any injury pain and plenty of muscle gain—because, well, he was a super-intelligent alien being. If you consider yourself intelligent (let’s not get into the whole

“alien” thing) and you want to keep lifting long, through middle age and beyond, check out the following suggestions, tips and tricks I’ve learned—sometimes the hard way— over my 30-plus years of training. I just turned 48, have some pretty good muscle size for a hardgainer type, and I’ve got zero joint pain. Okay, I have a little in one shoulder thanks to a powerlifting stint in my 20s, but I chalk it up as one of those hard-way learning experiences— one-rep-max lifts are madness for bodybuilders.

Failure Can Mean Success Some bodybuilders stop training hard when they reach their late 30s or early 40s—and then wonder why they stop making gains or lose muscle. They figure if they stop their sets short of muscle failure, they’ll do less joint damage. Huh? If you keep your form strict and proceed cautiously to muscular exhaustion, you shouldn’t incur an injury. If you start writhing around in a cheating attempt to get extra reps at the end of a set, “Danger, Will Robinson, Danger!” (Wait, that was “Lost in Space,” not “Star Trek.”) Why not just train short of muscular failure? After all, it’s a lot easier. Yes, you can make gains with subfailure training, but the rule is that if you grit your teeth and push

64 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

GRIND OUT THE GROWTH REPS™ Beta-Alanine Gives Your Muscles More Grow Power™ The biggest bodybuilders know that the last few grueling reps of a set are the key growth reps. It’s why they fight through the pain of muscle burn on every work set-—so they trigger the mass-building machinery. But sometimes it’s not enough; the burn is too fierce. Fortunately, there’s now a potent new weapon in this massive firefight to help you get bigger and stronger faster. Red Dragon is a new beta-alanine supplement that packs your muscles with carnosine—up to 60 percent more. Muscle biopsies show that the largest bodybuilders have significantly more carnosine in their fast-twitch muscle fibers than sedentary individuals for good reason: Carnosine buffers the burn to give muscles more “grow power” on every set. The bigger and stronger a muscle gets, the more carnosine it needs to perform at higher intensity levels. You must keep your muscles loaded with carnosine to grow larger and stronger. It all boils down to intensity and the ability to buffer waste products—hydrogen ions and lactic acid—so the muscle doesn’t shut down before growth activation. Straight carnosine supplements degrade too rapidly to reach the muscles; however, more than 20 new studies document that beta-alanine is converted to carnosine very efficiently. All it takes is 1 1/2 grams twice a day, and you’ll see new size in your muscles and feel the difference in the gym—you can double or triple your growth-rep numbers! Imagine how fast your size and strength will increase when you ride the Dragon! Note: Red Dragon™ is the first pure carnosine synthesizer—so powerful it’s patented. It contains beta-alanine, the amino acid that supercharges muscle cells with carnosine.

Red Dragon 120 capsules

$29.95

Visit us at Home-Gym.com or call 800-447-0008

Whatever You Need—Wherever You Train ™

Models: Jonathan Lawson and Steve Holman

GROW

www.ironmanmagazine.com \ OCTOBER 2007 65

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

From the IRON MAN PRO Style Store

20th ANNIVERSARY

IRON MAN PRO JACKET This is the exact same jacket awarded to all the IRON MAN competitors.

All embroidery is of the ﬁnest quality. Fully lined 100% nylon, two inside pockets.

OFFICIAL 20th ANNIVERSARY JACKET OF THE IRON MAN PRO SIZES AND AVAILABILITY BASED ON CURRENT INVENTORY. For prices and ordering information go to:

FREE Mass-Packing Secrets to Get You Growing! ITRC Muscle-Building Tactics Delivered to You Every Week—FREE!

•How the Pros Pack on Extreme Mass •Arnold’s Size-Stretching X-ploits •The Forgotten High-Intensity Growth Trigger •A Muscle-Building Mystery Solved •Pounds of Muscle in Days •Bodypart Bloodbath for Super Size •Monster Arms: Torching Your Tri’s •Time-Bomb Training •Lean-Machine Ignition •Drop the D Bomb for Bigger Bodyparts •Pre-Ex vs. the Post-X Mass Jack •Less Training, Big Gaining: The Truth

(You can check out those past editions free at www.XRep.com in the X Files section.) It’s exciting stuff! You’ve gotta subscribe Learn how to make curls three times more effecitve at building eye-popping bi’s. See issue 03/04/05. today so you can start building the muscle size you deserve for your sweat and effort in the gym. You’ve got nothing to lose and plenty of raw muscle to gain! Here’s what to do...

Subscribe free at www.IronManMagazine.com To read free sample issues, visit www.X-Rep.com and click on X Files

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

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):

force of the weight do cumulative damage? It’s possible, but there are ways to reduce the poundage while increasing the stress on the target muscles for more growth stimulation. Less weight, more muscle stimulation— am I getting senile? No. It’s true.

release you can get from more muscle burn). Even at the end of a set, however, you might inadvertently jerk or heave in an attempt to hurry through those painful-but-productive Xes. The stroke is short, so damage is unlikely. Nevertheless, on some of the big, compound exercises, you may want to use less weight and try a different technique to attack the semistretch position— after each and every rep—by using the Double-X Overload technique. That’s basically doing an X Rep after each full rep, a technique you see Jay Cutler using on many of his exercises. He often does two, three or four partials in the semistretch position after each full rep. DXO requires that you use less weight than on your normal 10-rep set—a good thing if you’re prone to joint problems. For example, on bench presses you lower the weight to your chest, push it up about 10 inches to just below the midpoint of the stroke, lower to your chest again, then blast it up to near lockout. (Note: Full lockout may stress the elbow and/or shoulder joints, so don’t lock your arms. Keep the weight moving.) Obviously, a 10-rep DXO set will produce more time under tension than a standard 10-rep set because of the X Rep after each full rep—but that’s a good thing. Plus, you’re hitting the semistretch point many more times within one set. If you choose to follow Cutler’s lead, you

Lighter Weights, More Mass?

Stretch-position exercises can strengthen muscles and connective tissue in oftenneglected areas.

Model: Steve Holman

to muscular failure—and sometimes beyond—with attentive help, it takes fewer sets to get the musclebuilding job done. Did you get that? Push hard, and you don’t have to train as long. It’s simple muscle physiology—the size principle of muscle fiber recruitment, to be exact. That principle states that during the first few reps you fire the lowthreshold motor units. Toward the middle of the set, as the reps start getting harder, you fire the mediums. Then, on the last few difficult reps, you finally engage the highthreshold motor units, the ones that activate the high-growth fibers. If you stop a set early—say, two or three reps short of muscular exhaustion—you only tap into a few of those high-threshold motor units. Another subfailure set will get at a few more, and so on. So you basically have two choices: Lower-set workouts to muscular failure that are less time consuming or higher-volume subfailure workouts. Either will build muscle—but if you train correctly, neither should heighten the chance of injury. Some exercises, like squats, enable you to work up to some pretty massive poundages. Could the sheer

Model: Steve Holman

Certain training methods can make lighter weights better muscle builders.

Most people equate heavier and heavier poundages with more and more mass, but that’s not always the case. The correlation is far from straightforward (not many powerlifters look as massive as bodybuilders). The real keys are using a weight heavy enough to cause muscular exhaustion at around 30 seconds of tension time—and stressing the stretch or semistretch position of the target muscle. The first part is easy to understand—use a weight that gets you about 10 controlled reps, each rep lasting about three seconds (3 x 10 = 30). The second part—stresssing the stretch and semistretch positions—is a bit more vague. First, have you ever noticed that many of the biggest bodybuilders don’t use slow, strict form? In fact, some literally throw the weight out of the turnaround of a rep, like at the bottom of a bench press or chinup. That’s very dangerous—and it’s torn more than one pectoral or biceps—but it’s one way to stress the target muscle when it’s elongated. There’s a definite jolt that heightens fiber recruitment at the stretch or semistretch point—the turnaround. Most of those big dudes learn to control the explosion on each rep, but sometimes they lose it and—pop! The sane way to train, especially if you plan to continue throughout your life and look good doing it, is to stay strict and stress that key semistretch position with partials at the end of a set. You may know end-ofset partials as X Reps. It takes some pain tolerance to continue a set with X Reps, but the muscle-building benefits are well worth it (not to mention the extra growth hormone

66 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Subscribe to IRON MAN Magazine and get a

New Breakthrough Training System DVD You'll get 12 Info-Packed issues of IRON MAN for only $29.97

This new breakthrough DVD training system shows you how to pack on more attention-grabbing muscle mass fast! •Attack every facet of muscle growth •Complete multi-angle workouts •Build amazing strength •Fast efﬁcient routines

PLUS

—you get the NEW Breakthrough DVD, POWER/REP RANGE/SHOCK/MAX-MASS ($19.95 value) Absolutely

FREE DVD * OFFER

FREE! Subscribe to IRON MAN now. For fastest service, call 800-570-4766 or order online at www.IronManMagazine.com, code 6812GR

* USA paid orders only

Train, Eat, GROW can try TXO, Triple-X Overload, which is two X-Rep partials in the low 10-inch range after each full rep—or try even more, like three or four. [See Jay Cutler’s DVD “Ripped to Shreds” for his take and a look at the technique in action, particularly on dumbbell presses.]

Full-Range Strength A lot of bodybuilders preach the

big basics—lots of bench presses, squats, rows and so on. The big mass moves should be the heart of your muscle-building program; however, training muscles with limited exercise selection can get you into trouble, as in strength imbalances, which could lead to injury. Those who’ve read IRON MAN over the years know about Positions of Flexion. For the uninitiated, it’s a method of training a muscle over

its full range of motion, which is even more crucial as you get older. That full-range attack can take one, two or three exercises, depending on the muscle and the chosen movement(s). You work the target muscle with midrange-, stretch- and contractedposition movements to train its full arc of flexion. A POF triceps workout is a great example:

IRON MAN Training & Research Center Muscle-Training Program 96 Workout 1 (Supercompensation): Chest, Lats, Triceps, Abs Smith-machine incline presses (X Reps) 2 x 9-12 High-low cable flyes (drop; X Reps) 1 x 8-10(6) Superset Wide-grip dips (X Reps) 2 x 8-10 Dumbbell bench presses or pushups (X Reps) 2 x 7-9 Low/middle cable flyes (drop; X Reps) 1 x 8-10(6) Chins (X Reps) 1 x 9-12 Undergrip chins (X Reps) 1 x 9-12 Superset Machine pullovers (X Reps) 1 x 9-12 Rope rows (X Reps) 1 x 8-10 Superset Wide-grip pulldowns (X Reps) 1 x 9-12 Dumbbell pullovers (X Reps) 1 x 8-10 Decline extensions (X Reps) 2 x 9-12 Superset Pushdowns or kickbacks (X Reps) 2 x 9-12 Dips or Bench dips (X Reps) 2 x 8-10 Cable pushouts (drop; X Reps) 1 x 9-12(6) Incline kneeups (drop; X Reps) 2 x 12-15(7), 10 Tri-set Ab Bench crunches (X Reps) 1 x 10-12 Twisting crunches (X Reps) 1 x 10-15 End-of-bench kneeups (X Reps) 1 x 9-12

Legs (Supercompensation): Quads, Calves, Hamstrings Leg extensions (drop; X Reps) 2 x 9-12(7) Squats 2 x 10-12 Hack squats 2 x 10-12 Superset Leg extensions 1 x 9-12 Sissy squats (X Reps) 1 x 9-12 Feet-forward Smith-machine front squats 1 x 9-12 Walking lunges 1 x 10-12 Leg curls (drop; X Reps) 2 x 8-10, 8-10(6) Stiff-legged deadlifts 3 x 9-12 Knee-extension leg press calf raises (X Reps) 2 x 15-20 Superset Standing calf raises (X Reps) 2 x 15-20 Hack-machine calf raises (X Reps) 2 x 10-15 One-leg calf raises (X Reps) 1 x 12-15 Machine donkey calf raises (X Reps) 1 x 10-15

Low-back machine (X Reps)

1 x 8-10

Workout 2 (Supercompensation): Delts, Midback, Biceps, Forearms Seated laterals/upright rows (X Reps) 2 x 9-12 Forward-lean laterals raises (drop; X Reps) 2 x 8-10(6) Smith-machine presses (X Reps) 1 x 9-12 Seated dumbbell presses (X Reps) 1 x 9-12 One-arm cable laterals (drop; X Reps) 1 x 9-12(6) Bent-over laterals (drop; X Reps) 1 x 9-12(6) Bent-over rows (X Reps) 2 x 9-12 Bent-arm bent-over laterals (drop; X Reps) 1 x 9-12(6) Superset High rows (drop; X Reps) 1 x 8-10(6) Dumbbell shrugs (X Reps) 1 x 9-12 V-handle cable rows (X Reps) 1 x 9-12 Preacher curls 1 x 9-12 Cable curls (X Reps) 1 x 9-12 Concentration curls (drop; X Reps) 1 x 9-12(6) One-arm spider curls (X Reps) 1 x 8-10 Superset Incline curls (X Reps) 1 x 9-12 Rope hammer curls (X Reps) 1 x 8-10 Superset Dumbbell reverse wrist curls (X Reps) 1 x 10-12 Forearm Bar reverse wrist curls (X Reps) 1 x 8-10 Superset (20-second rest) Dumbbell wrist curls (X Reps) 1 x 10-12 Forearm Bar wrist curls (X Reps) 1 x 8-10 Rockers 1 x 20-30

Add to Friday Workout: Soleus Seated calf raises (X Reps)

2 x 10-12, 15-20

Note: The leg workout is always performed on Tuesday; that is, legs are worked only once a week every week—seven full days of recovery. Workouts 1 and 2 alternate on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so upper-body muscles get four to five days of recovery. 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 XRep Muscle Building. See the X-Blog at www.X-Rep.com for more workout details.

68 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Train, Eat, GROW

Model: Daniele Seccarecci

duction with midrange work, continuous tension and occlusion with contracted-position exercises and stretch overload with stretch-position movements. So, if you’re after as much muscle as possible with efficient, precise workouts, POF should be a part of your plan. But there’s more Perfect form, to it than back support and that, espedumbbell work cially from can all help extend a longevity your injury-free standpoint. training career. By training each muscle through its full range of motion, you maintain a better strength balance for injury prevention. The muscle and its related tendons and ligaments are strengthened over their full contractibility range, not just in one or two positions. That’s extremely critical as you age and become more susceptible to pulls, tears and sprains. I attribute my lack of serious injury over my decades of training to using POF. For example, if you only do leg curls, a contracted-position exercise for hamstrings, you will probably be weak in the full-stretch position. A fast sprint could cause you to pull a hamstring due to your having stronger quads and weak hamstrings in the stretch position. You can address the problem with stiff-legged deadlifts or, to a lesser degree, hyperextensions. The biceps is another muscle that’s often torn. By doing stretchposition work with incline curls, you strengthen it in that position along with its tendons and ligaments. You rarely see bodybuilders performing incline curls, but they’re absolutely essential as you get older. Just don’t set the bench too low—about 45 degrees is low enough—and keep

Midrange: Close-grip bench presses Contracted: Kickbacks Stretch: Overhead extensions Notice that the close-grip bench presses work the triceps with the arms driving the weight up so they’re perpendicular to the torso. You also get synergy, or muscle teamwork, which is a hallmark of most midrange-position exercises. Next is the contracted position. Your arms are back slightly behind your torso so that your triceps can fully contract. You also get continuous tension and occlusion, or blood-flow blockage, a player in muscle development. Overhead extensions put your triceps in a complete stretch when your forearms are down behind your head as they meet your biceps. Stretch overload has been linked to everything from fiber splitting to anabolic receptor proliferation in muscle tissue. If you’ve read my book Train, Eat, Grow or the e-book 3D Muscle Building, you know why training a muscle in those three positions is vitally important for maximizing muscle growth with very few sets. In a nutshell, you get max-force pro-

RIPPING-PHASE DIET Bodybuilders young and old often ask me how I eat to get into lean shape every year— without doing much cardio. The keys are gradual calorie reduction, lower-carb Holman in his mid-40s. intake (no lower than 120 grams per day) and higher-carb refueling every few days. Yes, I have a fairly fast metabolism, but it isn’t as fast as it was in my teens and 20s. Here’s my meal schedule during the final weeks of my Ripping Phase.

MEAL 1 Bowl of Fiber One and Raisin Bran (half of each) 1 1/2 scoops Pro-Fusion (mixed in water, poured over cereal) 4 ounces orange juice Coffee

MEAL 2 1 1/2 scoops Pro-Fusion in water

MEAL 3 3 scoops RecoverX, 1 scoop CreaSol mixed in water

MEAL 4 1 small can tuna 1 apple

MEAL 5 1 1/2 scoops Pro-Fusion in water

MEAL 6 1 chicken breast or beef patty 1 cup mixed vegetables Keep in mind that I gradually move to this over a number of weeks. [For more info, as well as all diets in my Ripping Phase, see the e-book X-treme Lean, available at www.X-tremeLean.com.]

70 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Train, Eat, GROW your form immaculate over 10 reps. [Note: The DXO technique, a controlled X-Rep partial in the low position after each full rep, works very well on most stretch-position exercises and enables you to use lighter poundages and get the same, perhaps better, muscle-building and muscle-strengthening results.]

Max Reps and Medical Attention Even if you do strengthen every muscle, tendon and ligament through a full range of motion with POF, that doesn’t give you a license to attempt one-rep maxes— ever. That’s asking for an injury, and there’s really no need unless you’re a competitive lifter. Yes, part of the muscle-building equation is about getting at the high-threshold motor units, but you

that the lower the reps, the sooner your nervous system craps out on a set. It’s a defense and injury-prevention mechanism. So work in some X Reps at the end of a set or two or do a little more volume if you want to be sure to get at as many growth fibers as possible during low-rep training.

Lawson and Holman keeping track. don’t need singles and doubles to do that. You can do it better and safer with X Reps at the end of a set of 10 reps to exhaustion, as we saw with respect to the size principle of fiber recruitment. If you like to use low reps every so often, never go lower than four, and keep your form perfect. Even the Power phase of Eric Broser’s Power/Rep Range/Shock system, which I endorse and use frequently, calls for sets in the four-to-six range, not max singles. Just keep in mind

Recovery Issues There’s no doubt that as we age, our ability to recover decreases. Our bodies, including our immune systems, just aren’t as efficient. Even so, you must distinguish atrophy from hypertrophy. In other words, you don’t want to spin your wheels and stay in one spot. For most older trainees, working each bodypart once a week is not enough to keep adding muscle. On the other hand, training each muscle hard twice a

ITRC Program 96, Home-Gym Routine Workout 1 (Supercompensation): Chest, Lats, Triceps, Abs Incline presses (X Reps) Incline flyes (drop; X Reps) Bench presses (X Reps) Flat-bench flyes (drop; X Reps) Chins (X Reps) Undergrip rows (X Reps) Dumbbell pullovers (X Reps) Decline extensions Superset Kickbacks (X Reps) Dips or bench dips (X Reps) Incline kneeups (drop; X Reps) Superset Weighted full-range crunches or Ab Bench crunches (drop; X Reps) End-of-bench kneeups (X Reps)

2 x 9-12 1 x 9-12(6) 2 x 9-12 1 x 9-12(6) 2 x 9-12 2 x 9-12 1 x 9-12 2 x 9-12 1 x 9-12 1 x 8-10 2 x 10, 8(7)

1 x 8-10(8) 1 x 8-10

Legs (Supercompensation): Quads, Calves, Hamstrings Squats or front squats (nonlock; X Reps) 2 x 9-12 Leg extensions or old-style hack squats (drop; X Reps) 2 x 9-12(6) Squats or front squats (nonlock; X Reps) 2 x 8-10 Sissy squats (X Reps) 1 x 8-10 Lunges 1 x 8-10 Leg curls (drop; X Reps) 2 x 8-10, 9-12(6) Stiff-legged deadlifts (X Reps) 2 x 9-12 Knee-extension donkey calf raises (X Reps) 2 x 15-20 One-leg calf raises (drop; X Reps) 2 x 12(7) Donkey calf raises (X Reps) 1 x 15-20

Workout 2 (Supercompensation): Delts, Midback, Biceps, Forearms Dumbell upright rows (X Reps) 2 x 9-12 Seated laterals (drop; X Reps) 1 x 9-12(6) Dumbbell presses (X Reps) 2 x 9-12 Incline one-arm laterals (X Reps) 1 x 9-12 Bent-over laterals (drop; X Reps) 1 x 9-12(6) Bent-over barbell rows (X Reps) 2 x 9-12 Bent-arm bent-over laterals (drop; X Reps) 1 x 9-12(6) One-arm dumbell rows (X Reps) 1 x 9-12 Dumbbell shrugs (drop; X Reps) 1 x 10-12(6) Barbell curls 2 x 9-12 Concentration curls (drop; X Reps) 1 x 9-12(6) Superset Incline curls (X Reps) 1 x 9-12 Hammer curls (X Reps) 1 x 9-12 Dumbbell reverse wrist curls (drop; X Reps) 1 x 12(8) Dumbbell wrist curls (double drop; X Reps) 1 x 12(8) Rockers 1 x 20-30

Add to Friday Workout: Soleus Seated calf raises (X Reps)

2 x 12, 20

Note: The leg workout is always performed on Tuesday; that is, legs get worked only once a week every week—seven full days of recovery. Workouts 1 and 2 alternate on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so upper-body muscles get four to five days of recovery. 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. Note: For drop sets it’s best to have a selectorized dumbbell set, such as the PowerBlock, if you don’t have a rack of fixed dumbbells of various weights. If you don’t have a leg extension machine, do old-style hacks, nonlock style. Use partner resistance, towel around the ankles, if you don’t have a leg curl machine.

72 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

week may be too much. The solution is a hard/soft approach that was popular in the presteroid era, the 1950s and early ’60s, when sensible training strategies ruled—at least for most. In the e-book X-traordinary Muscle-Building Workouts Jonathan and I outline a couple of good programs along those hard/soft lines: Heavy/ Light, Volume/Intensity Fusion and Traumatic/Nontraumatic. The first two involve training to exhaustion at one workout (HIT) alternated with subfailure training, done either with higher reps or a few more sets (volume). Here’s an example of a Heavy/Light biceps routine: Heavy Barbell curls Incline curls (drop)

3 x 5, 8, 9 1 x 8(5)

Light Barbell curls (subfailure) 2 x 10-15 Concentration curls (drop) 1 x 8(5) Heavy day has you reducing the poundage on each set of curls so you get the neuromuscular stimula-

tion of a reverse pyramid and tap into as many high-threshold muscle fibers as possible. You train to exhaustion on all sets. On light day you do higher reps—10 to 15—but not to failure. That provides a pumping effect and forces glycogen into the muscles without depleting it, as you did on heavy day. You enhance recovery and glycogen deposition for a full-muscle look. Also notice that barbell curls are a midrange exercise. On heavy day you follow with incline curls, a stretch-position exercise that heightens max-force generation. On light day you follow with concentration curls, a contracted-position exercise that’s more for occlusion and pump. In other words, you are training the biceps full arc of flexion—a.k.a. 3D POF—but over two workouts. Very efficient. There you have a number of my ideas on training for longevity—and more muscle—through middle age and beyond (for diet suggestions, see page 70). Using many of those tactics, POF and X Reps specifically, I got in my best and most muscular

shape ever in my mid-40s—and I’m still moving ahead. It’s a journey I’ll continue the rest of my life. You can do the same if you keep things sane. May the injury-free force be with you. (Wait, that’s “Star Wars.”) Note: The Supercompensation workouts we’re now using are listed on page 68. We added one set of a stretch-position exercise for each bodypart to the workouts presented last month to complete the full POF chain. For more on the program, X-Rep Reload, as well as others mentioned above, like Heavy/Light, Volume/Intensity Fusion and Traumatic/Nontraumatic, see the ebook X-traordinary Muscle-Building Workouts, available at www.X-Rep. com. All of the workouts in that e-book are in printable-template form. Editor’s note: For the latest on X Reps, X e-books and the X-Blog training and supplement journals, 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

www.ironmanmagazine.com \ OCTOBER 2007 73

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Steve Holman’s

Critical Mass

HIT Hoax?

Holman \ Model: Jonathan Lawson

Q: I am 10 years older than you—58—but I have similar genetics. At age 15 I looked just like your before picture at www.X-Rep.com, even though I was better looking (ha ha). I was a massive 5’11”, 118 pounds at 15. You’e an inspiration. I’ve been training for 30 years, and I’ve experimented with every type of workout. I do look like I lift weights—6’, 195 pounds—so all of my work over the years has had some benefit, but no one would confuse me with Ronnie Coleman. A few years ago I tried an HIT-type workout—two workouts a week, eight or so work sets per session—and I got some strength but none of the look that I wanted. My muscle size didn’t seem to change much, even though I worked very hard. The size-follows-strength postulate didn’t pan out for me (although I do believe that skinny types can make progress following HIT-style workouts for the first year, as it develops a good strength base for future gains). When I changed to training three or four days per week with 12 to 16 exercises per work-

out, I got both size and strength. So what’s wrong with that? Answer: I overtrained quite rapidly and experienced the classic symptoms: fatigue, lethargy and so on. So it’s a catch-22: HIT workouts and no “look” or pump, or three to four workouts per week with overtraining setting in after three to five weeks. I’ve wrestled with the dilemma for years. What approach should I take? A: You’re a perfect example of things I’ve discovered and written about over the years. Gaining muscle size involves more than just developing a few fast-twitch fibers and tendon and ligament strength. You have to build all of the different fibers, maximize glycogen storage (so the muscles hold more water for fullness) and develop the endurance components (mitochondria, capillary beds). That takes much more than one set per bodypart every 10 days, which is exactly what you discovered. Your overtraining predicament is also very common. I’ve been writing about Phase Training for a long time, although it’s even hard for me to follow my advice when I’m motivated. The idea is that you train all out for about five weeks, then back off for a week or even two. That means subfailure sets and/or less volume. Phase training enables your nervous system and muscles to regenerate from overshooting, which is necessary for adaptation. It’s based on something Mike Mentzer used to talk about, Hans Selye’s General Adaptation Syndrome, which I’ve discussed in many of my books, including the very first one, Home Gym Handbook, back in 1990 (there’s a lot of good information in it, and it’s still in print, but I’m thinking about rewriting it to update a lot of the info and training theories and programs). Selye said that your body goes through three stages whenever it encounters a persistent stress, like weight-training workouts: alarm, resistance and exhaustion. The trick is to downshift the stress before the cumulative effect results in exhaustion. That way you bounce back and forth from alarm to resistance, growing during the latter. I’ve found that one of the best ways to do that is by training all out for four to five weeks, then downshifting for a week. To extend that to, say, six to eight weeks before a necessary downshift, you can use a program like Heavy/Light or Volume/Intensity Fusion, each of which is discussed and outlined in my new e-book (written with my training partner, Jonathan Lawson), X-traordinary Muscle Building Workouts. By alternating intense-but-short HIT-style workouts with subfailure pump-oriented sessions, you slow the stress accumulation, and you

Jonathan Lawson’s 10-week results back in the ’90s were spectacular. Part of the reason for his success was Phase Training, four weeks of all-out training followed by one week of subfailure workouts to encourage complete recovery.

76 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Q: First, in a recent edition of the IRON MAN ezine you mentioned the lateral [outer] head of the triceps, saying that cable pushouts are an excellent exercise for targeting that area. I thought pushouts worked the long head of the triceps—at least that’s what Larry Scott has said. Or does an adjustment need to be made to shift the emphasis to the long heads—like the elbow-support pedestal bench he used to use at Vince’s gym? What’s the best exercise for the long heads, other than overhead extensions, which kill my elbows? I need to add sweep to my triceps. Another question: You’ve written about lateral raises that are similar to wide-grip upright rows.

Editor’s note: Steve Holman is the author of many bodybuilding best-sellers, including Train, Eat, Grow: The Positions-of-Flexion Muscle-Training Manual (see page 73). For information on the POF videos and Size Surge programs, see the ad sections beginning on page 208 and 246, respectively. Also visit www.X-Rep.com. IM

Steve Holman ironchief@aol.com

www.ironmanmagazine.com \ OCTOBER 2007 77

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Neveux \ Model: Dave Goodin

Bob Kennedy, MuscleMag International

don’t face overtraining till further down the road—like six to eight weeks. Keep in mind that when Jonathan made his spectacular 20-pounds-of-muscle-in-10-weeks transformation, he used a three-days-per-week program of big, basic exercises for four weeks, downshifted the intensity and then did a 3D POF every-other-day program for four more weeks before downshifting again. That worked extremely well for him, and we’ve received a lot of feedback from others, even advanced bodybuilders, who’ve also made excellent progress with his routine from that Larry Scott’s period. [For those inversion of terested, the routine lateral raise/ is included in the upight row. e-book 3D Muscle Building, available at 3DMuscleBuilding.com.]

How are those performed? And on incline curls, do the palms face forward at the bottom? A: Pushouts, facing away from a high cable in a lunge position, do hit the long heads, but the lateral heads come more into play at or very near lockout. Top-end X Reps will help develop the lateral heads; bottom (standard-position) X Reps hit the long heads more. If you want to directly hit the long head, do lying extensions on a flat bench—the other two heads are only slightly stimulated. I’ve often said that doing the exercise on a decline brings in all heads equally, which is more efficient, but if you want to mainly target the long head, throwing most of the stress on that area for sweep, your best bet is flat-bench extensions. By the way, pullovers also target the long head of the triceps, so be sure you use them as a stretch-position exercise in your lat program. That will give you residual work on your triceps sweep. Now for your question on the exercise that’s half lateral raise and half upright row. I do it seated, starting with the dumbbells down at arm’s length under my hamstrings, palms facing in. I raise them with a slight heave but maintain a forward-lean position. Your palms should be facing down at the top, arms bent at about 90 degrees, dumbbells slightly in front of you—but they will be somewhat lower than your upper arms, not on the same plane as a lateral raise. That’s why I say the movement is between an upright row and a lateral raise. Larry Scott’s standing version of that lateral raise/upright row exercise is pictured at left. We plan to post clips soon at X-Rep .com for many of the exotic exercises Incline I discuss (they may be up by the time curls. you read this). Incidentally, I heard that Jay Cutler uses the exercise to begin most of his shoulder workouts, which has given his delts new shape and density. Okay, on to incline curls: Palms face forward throughout the stroke— they must face forward for you to get full stretch in your biceps at the bottom, which is key for stretch overload. You’ll probably have to curl with your forearms angling slightly out so you don’t hit the bench. I like to wedge my upper arms against the sides of the bench to keep them stationary, curling in an outer arc to keep from banging the bench. Also, don’t take the bench lower than about 45 degrees, as you could incur shoulder problems by overstretching the rotator cuffs.

Neveux

Neveux \ Model: Mike Morris

Want triceps sweep? Try flat-bench extensions. The long head is the prime mover, with the other two heads getting only minor stimulation.

Mr. Natural Olympia John Hansen’s

Naturally Huge

Potential Credentials Q: I was wondering whether there was ever a time at which you felt you had reached your genetic potential as a natural. Did you reach a point where no matter what you tried you weren’t making any progress? Or do you believe more broadly that such a point doesn’t exist and someone can always make improvements? A: I don’t think there has been a point in my career when I thought I’d reached the limit of my genetic potential. I do, however, remember having serious doubts about my potential and about developing a big, muscular physique when I first started bodybuilding. I looked at pictures of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Franco Columbu, Robby Robinson, Lou Ferrigno, Kal Szkalak, Mike Mentzer and Danny

Padilla in the magazines, and I couldn’t even imagine myself looking like that. In fact, my first year of training was pretty frustrating because I thought I was training in vain and I just didn’t have the genetics that the world’s best bodybuilders had. One year after I started training, I had my younger brother take some pictures of me posing. One of them is in my book Natural Bodybuilding. I was 15 years old, and I weighed 155 pounds, 20 pounds heavier than when I’d started training a year before. I looked at the pictures, and I could see I had the potential to build a Mr. Universe physique. Of course, I had a lot of size to develop yet, but I could see that I had the bone structure to build a good body (wide shoulders and big rib cage), and the shape of the individual muscles looked good. After seeing those pictures, I was able to visualize myself as a massive, contest-winning bodybuilder. They gave me faith that I could get there if I kept training. I was able to continue training for the next several years knowing that I had what it took. I just had to keep working at it. I started training at 14, but it wasn’t until I was 20 or 21 that I’d built up enough size and mass to begin to realize my potential. One of the reasons was that I was competing so much (10 contests between the ages of 16 and 19) that I was keeping myself from building more mass. Once I took some time off from competing and started eating more, I was able to build more size and fill(continued out my frame. on page 102) What kept me going during those tough years was visualizing my body looking like the superstar bodybuilders I admired. You have to pick someone who has a similar structure and Neveux \ Model: John Hansen

Hansen, now in his early 40s and one of natural bodybuilding’s best-known stars.

Hansen, age 15, one year after he started training and 20 pounds of muscle heavier.

80 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Mr. Natural Olympia John Hansen’s

Naturally Huge My idol in the beginning was Arnold Schwarzenegger because my structure was similar to his.

mine, and they both became professionals. When you see someone who has the same build as yours and who make it to where you want to be, it gives you faith that you can do the same. In the early ’90s, when I decided to compete only in natural, or drug-tested, bodybuilding competitions, I looked up to natural bodybuilder François Gay from France. François used to compete in the IFBB World Championships, but he switched over to a natural organization in the late ’80s. He won the Natural Mr. Universe title around that time, and he looked fantastic. With his huge arms, wide back and ripped physique, François was my big inspiration when I started competing. I told myself that I wanted to achieve what he had achieved—to win the Natural Mr. Universe title. Whenever you’re trying to reach a big goal and you’re just getting started, it’s extremely helpful to read about someone who was successful doing what you’re trying to do. Arnold looked up to Reg Park when he first started training, and he visualized his body looking just like Reg’s and his becoming Mr. Universe. Then he visualized that he’d be successful in business, as Reg was; that, like Reg, he’d have a nice, loving family; and finally, that he’d star in the movies as Hercules just like Reg. It was the inspiration Reg Park provided that gave Arnold the motivation to continue training in his small Austrian town until he developed a physique good enough to win the Mr. Universe competition. All of us can learn from Arnold’s example and pick a role model we can aspire to be like. That will give us faith that we can achieve our goal and will keep us inspired.

bodytype to yours and keep visualizing your body looking like his. My idol in the beginning was Arnold Schwarzenegger. We had similar structures—big rib cage, wide shoulders, peaked biceps, etc. It seemed we had the same strong points and the same weak ones. It would have been a mistake to visualize my body looking like someone who had a structure that was different from mine, like Franco Columbu or Frank Zane. I figured if Arnold could make it to the top and win the big titles with a structure that was similar to mine, then I could do it too. When I reached my 20s and was trying to make it to the pro ranks, I’d always look at photos of Mike Quinn (’87 NPC USA winner) and Phil Williams (’85 NPC National champion) because they both had structures similar to

Neveux

Balik

Editor’s note: John Hansen has won the Mr. Natural Olympia title and is a two-time Natural Mr. Universe winner. Visit his Web site at www .NaturalOlympia.com. You can write to him at P.O. Box 3003, Darien, IL 60561, or call toll-free (800) 900-UNIV (8648). Look for his new DVD, “The Natural Bodybuilding Seminar,” along with his book, “Natural Bodybuilding,” and his training DVD, “Real Muscle,” at www.Natural Olympia.com. Also available from Home Gym Warehouse, (800) 447-0008 or www.HomeGym.com. IM John Hansen

John@NaturalOlympia.com 82 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Dave Goodin’s

Shredded Muscle

Keys to a Shredded Physique Mike George

This is my 25th year as a competitive bodybuilder. On June 2, 2007, I won the open middleweight division and the masters division at the NPC Lone Star Classic. It was the first time since 1993 that I’ve competed in a show that wasn’t drug-tested. I was talked into entering it even though it was several weeks earlier than I wanted to compete this year. Add the fact that I couldn’t quite get focused on my preparations, and you can see why I almost decided not to enter just two days before the show. I wasn’t ready. I could measure my skin folds and see that I wasn’t in what

Neveux \ Model: Dave Goodin

Above right: At the ’07 Lone Star Classic, Lonnie Teper I.D.s Dave’s abs on the cover of the July IRON MAN. Hard to believe Dave is 48!

I consider contest shape. But my daughter had already purchased tickets and was excited about seeing me onstage, so I had to go through with it. As it turned out, my “not quite in contest shape” was better than almost anybody in the whole show. Over the years I’ve built a reputation for stepping onstage in shredded condition every time—thus the nickname “Texas Shredder.” I’ve been asked many times about my consistency and how I do it. Well, here you go—the Shredder’s keys to getting shredded. One of the most important factors in reaching top condition is staying relatively lean in the off-season. I try to keep my bodyweight within 10 to 15 pounds of my competition weight. If you were too smooth at your last show, keep your weight to within eight to 10 pounds. You don’t have to gain a bunch of fat in order to put on muscle. Drugfree-bodybuilding nutrition guru Dr. Joe Klemczewski recommends that his athletes stay within 15 to 20 pounds (for men) of contest condition, definitely maintain single-digit bodyfat percentages. He has produced a plethora of natural physique champions over the past 10 years. I prefer to keep it a bit lower and err on the side of leanness. Let’s say that you’ve stayed relatively lean in the off-season and you need to lose only 12 pounds. You still don’t want to diet it off fast. I always give myself at least one week of contest prep

84 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Neveux

Don’t restrict water before a show. Dehydration is for steroid users because the androgens cause edema. For drug-free athletes most of the fluid that you lose from water restriction will come from blood volume and muscle cell volume.

for every pound of bodyfat that I need to lose. I really prefer more than a week per pound, but I’ve pulled it off at a pound per week several times. In order to lose one pound of bodyfat per week, you must burn 500 calories per day more than you take in. You can create part of the deficit with diet and part of it with more exercise. Losing it at that rate, you’re able to hold on to all of your hard-earned muscle. You don’t get ridiculously hungry either, so it’s much easier to stick to your diet. If you’re not sure how much bodyfat you need to lose, give yourself extra time. Schedule a photo shoot or a guest-posing appearance two to three weeks before your show, and aim to be ready at that time. You can make the necessary adjustments to your diet and cardio if you’re not quite ready at that point. If you’re as ripped as you want to be, you can maintain or slightly increase your calories the final two to three weeks before your contest. Always keep records of your training and diet. That will help you make the necessary adjustments from week to week and will help you reproduce the process when you’re preparing for your next show. Although it seems chiseled in your mind when you’re in the midst of it, it will be months or maybe a year before you get ready for another show. You don’t want to forget what worked and what didn’t. When you find a plan that works for you, stay with it. Plan your final week ahead of time, and stick to your plan. If you’re not 99 percent ready on Thursday, there’s not much you can do to be shredded on Saturday; however, extreme measures, such as dehydration and overcarbing, can definitely make you look worse. Don’t confuse a thin layer of bodyfat with “holding water.” If it’s there every day, it’s not water. If your skin still appears thick going into the last week, you’re holding subcutaneous fat. I’ve been told so many times, “Oh, it’s six weeks out, and all you have to do is get rid of that water

you’re holding.” I know better. I know that at that point I still have four to five pounds of bodyfat to lose. Don’t fall into the holding-water trap, no matter who tells you. Don’t stuff yourself on the morning of the show. You’re not going to get enough carbs into the muscles to make a visual difference, but you can easily give yourself a bloated midsection. Don’t restrict your water. Most of the fluid that drugfree athletes lose from water restriction comes from blood volume and muscle cell volume. Your muscles are about 73 percent water. You don’t want to lose size the last two days, do you? Dehydration will leave you flat and unable to get a pump and will decrease your vascularity. Dehydration is for steroid users because the androgens cause edema. If you’re a dedicated natural bodybuilder, you won’t need to dehydrate. Try sodium loading and depletion to ensure that you don’t have any excess water retention on contest day. If you’re ripped and ready the week of the show but end up retaining water on contest day, you’re probably allergic to something that you ate the day before or day of the show. I usually end up drinking 1.5 to two gallons of distilled water the day before a contest. I take water with me on contest day and drink whenever I’m thirsty. I also take a mild antihistamine (like Claritin) on Friday night and Saturday morning just to make sure that I don’t have any water retention from any kind of allergy. The main ideas are these: Stay relatively lean off-season, diet slowly into ripped condition, and don’t screw up with any weird last-minute schemes. Good luck getting shredded. I want to see you in this magazine. Editor’s note: See Dave Goodin’s new blog at www .IronManMagazine.com. Click on the blog selection in the top menu bar. To contact Dave directly, send e-mail to TXShredder@aol.com. IM www.ironmanmagazine.com \ OCTOBER 2007 85

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Presents

Warmup

Myths

Bodybuilding for Baby Boomers

teve Reeves, who played Hercules in the movies, was the number-one box office star in 1959. The tall, dark and handsome actor caused an exercise revolution in the early 1960s, as people began to appreciate the weight-trained male physique. Warming up and cooling down by stretching to prevent injury and improve performance became popu-

lar with exercisers at that time. Though the exercise revolution turned out to be short-lived, in the mid-’70s a new bodybuilding star, Arnold Schwarzenegger, came along to get it going again. The new fitness revolution that he began with his movies and best-selling books is still with us—and so is the advice to warm up before exercising and cool down afterward.

by Richard Baldwin with Diane Fields • Photography by Michael Neveux 92 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Model: John Hansen

www.ironmanmagazine.com \ OCTOBER 2007 93

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Myths “warm up.” Maybe it was misogyny I had to outgrow, but it seemed to me that those people—principally women—were wasting their time. They spent more time putting on their “uniforms” (tights with thongs or shorts over them, hair spray and

Model: Steve Reeves

I witnessed the beginning of that second wave. Young, tanned and all pumped up, with veins running all over my body, I used to make fun of the people who were stretching and running in place and using little bitty weights for up to a half hour to

Model: Greg Blount

headbands, ankle and/or wrist warmups, etc.) and warming up to work out than they ever did actually working out. I’m not kidding. Some wouldn’t even bother with resistance training. They’d just walk on a treadmill while gossiping with the women next to them and then head off to lunch. Some of those well-meaning ladies would warn me about my failure to warm up before I trained. How about you? Do you warm up before you work out? To begin this discussion, let’s find out where you stand on the facts of stretching to

I used to make fun of the people who were stretching and running in place and using little bitty weights for up to a half hour to “warm up.” Maybe it was misogyny I had to outgrow, but it seemed to me that those people—principally women—were wasting their time.

94 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Myths warm up. Are the following statements true or false? 1) Stretching helps athletes avoid injury. 2) Stretching helps athletes perform better.

4) Strength training decreases flexibility. 5) Yoga is a completely gentle and safe exercise. 6) Stretching provides a great warmup for exercise. They sound true, but they’re all false. Don’t feel bad if you answered incorrectly. Even professional athletes can be seen stretching before they work out. How are ordinary people who

Joints can become vulnerable when they’re overstretched.

There are safe and unsafe forms of yoga.

are just trying to get and stay in shape supposed to know the truth if the so-called experts are behind the times? The fact is that new evi-

Model: Cara Basso

3) Stretching leads to improved muscle performance.

dence demonstrates that stretching to warm up not only does nothing to prevent injury, but it may even cause injury. London-based physiotherapist Mark Todman agrees that there is no conclusive evidence that stretching protects muscles. “In fact,” he says, “you can make your joints more vulnerable by over-

Model: Hisashi Kamisawa

Extreme stretching before lifting decreases strength significantly, according to research.

96 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Model: Berry Kabov

The bottom line is that the safest and most effective way to achieve joint flexibility without joint instability is a program of stretching and resistance training that works the joints through a full and painfree range of motion.

stretching.” Those who advocate stretching as a means of making muscles more malleable need to ask a simple question: How exactly is it supposed to do that? It won’t make the muscles more malleable—or increase the elasticity more—than stretching a rubber band would make it more elastic. The only way to do that would be to change the molecular structure. That’s just what resistance training does: It makes the muscles stronger and increases blood flow to them, which makes them more malleable and elastic, better able to flex the joints and increase the range of motion. A major reason for the latter effect is that strengthening muscles

helps stabilize joints. In fact, building stronger muscles helps correct the problematic joint laxity caused by overstretching tendons and ligaments during the very stretching exercises that are supposed to prevent injury. The late Dr. Stanley Plagenhoef expressed that benefit well: “If the joints of an athlete, or anyone, are surrounded and supported by stronger muscles, then the chance of any trauma is reduced. If a joint in question becomes more flexible but without a corresponding increase in muscular strength, injury probability is increased.” What really amazes me is that so many people, including coaches, doctors and university professors, used to proclaim that strong muscles made a person slow and inflexible. When I was a kid, certain athletes who declared that weight training gave them superior ability—Ted Williams in baseball and Pancho Gonzales in tennis—slowly began to change that opinion. I can’t remember the name of the 14-year-old female swimmer who broke one of Johnny Weismuller’s longstanding Olympic swimming records back in the ’60s, but I do remember the shock on the interviewer’s face after he asked to what she attributed such a feat, and she said, “Weight training.” I think these facts should be a warning to those who embrace the current fads of yoga and Pilates. Since neither of those types of exercise increases muscular strength, they leave their participants susceptible to injury. For even though they’re usually taught by experienced professionals, those teachers have no way of knowing exactly when the tendons and ligaments are being overstretched. I’m sure that they’re doing their best to guess the safest limits of stretching, but it is just a guess. Now, I don’t know about you, but I’m not ready to rely on someone’s guess. I want my exercise program to be guided by the safest, most reliable, scientific information possible. By the time you feel pain, the damage, however slight, has probably already been done. Most certified (continued on page 102) instructors,

98 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

if they’re worth their salt, carry insurance, but so what? I don’t want the injury to occur in the first place. [Coauthor’s note: Many of our readers are aware that I enjoy the practice of yoga and believe it has a place in an overall fitness routine. Even so, as an article that appeared in the April ’03 Yoga Journal, “The Trouble with Touch,” pointed out, there are “overly eager teachers adjusting students in

(continued from page 98)

a way that leaves lasting damage.” Remember, only you can determine when a tendon or ligament is overly

stretched.] The bottom line is that the safest and most effective way to achieve joint flexibility without joint instability is a program of resistance training that works the joints through a full and pain-free range of motion. [Wee Train, Eat, Grow on page 64 and the discussion on Positions of Flexion for specific information on full-range workouts.] As with so many things having to do with human beings—for example, intelligence, athletic ability or good looks—flexibility is part nature and part nurture. Here are the five factors that affect flexibility:

If the joints of an athlete, or anyone, are surrounded and supported by stronger muscles, then the chance of a trauma occurring is reduced. If a joint in question becomes more flexible but without a corresponding increase in muscular strength, injury probability is increased. 102 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Model: Katsumi Ishimura

Model: Carol Semplee

Flexibility is part nature and part nurture.

Myths

and ligaments is highest, and they should be least susceptible to injury. The best way to warm up for a weight workout, however, is with resistance exercise. As indicated above, resistance exercise will not only gets your muscles and joints ready for the demands of your workout—warming up the muscles and making them more elastic as well as increasing blood flow and the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the working muscles—but also prepares your mind-set, a critical element to your overall success. Getting a sufficient warmup is important for anyone engaged in an exercise routine, but especially for over-40 lifters. As we grow older, the body undergoes physiological changes: Joints stiffen. Muscles and tendons become less elastic. Range of motion decreases. Bones lose density. Endurance decreases. Muscle mass decreases.

1) The genetically determined elasticity and the length of the muscles and tendons, which can be altered through a well-designed strength-training program. 2) The structure of the joints. 3) The basic level of coordination that governs motor control of the joints, which is genetically determined but can be enhanced with training. 4) The fitness level, which is also

Model: Clark Bartram

Calesthenics can be part of a warmup routine, but light resistance exercise prepares you best for heavy weight work.

determined by genetics and can be enhanced with training. 5) Psychological state, which is determined by a person’s genetics and environment. People who are stressed out or tense will probably be less flexible than those who are calm and confident. If you still want to do some stretching as a part of your fitness routine, the optimum time to do it is after your workout. By then the temperature of the muscles, tendons

So if you’re older, you must warm up more than you did in your 20s. The best way to do it is to perform a few sets with significantly lower weight than your six-rep maximum, getting 10 to 12 reps per set. That lubricates the joints (something especially important for the over-40 crowd) and prepares the muscles to exert maximum effort. Whatever your age, don’t be afraid to get to the gym and strive to build a legendary physique. Just do it in an efficient and injury-free manner. Editor’s note: Dr. Richard Baldwin, 55, is a former Mr. USA and Mr. America class winner. Diane Fields, 45, is a certified ISSA trainer and a member of Legendary Fitness LLC. For more of their articles, visit Body building.com. IM

104 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

106 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Crossing the First Bridge

Plus, TOP SUPPLEMENTS for Extending Your Life and Training Career by Jerry Brainum

Model: Pax Beale

he longest-lived human on record was Jeanne Calmet, a Frenchwoman who made it to age 122. Although she was blind and nearly deaf during her final years, Mme Calmet never lost her wit or intellect; she even recorded a type of rap song when she was 121 and once commented, “I’ve got only one wrinkle, and I’m sitting on it.” She attributed her long life to drinking port, eating a diet rich in olive oil and having a sense of humor. She took up fencing at 85, rode a bicycle each day until 100, quit smoking at 117 and stopped eating chocolate at 119. Life span is 25 percent inherited and 75 percent determined by exposure to environmental toxins, accidents, injuries and chance. That helps explain how Calmet’s brothers and sisters lived into their 90s, as did her parents.1 Her daughter, however, died of pneumonia at only 36. While Calmet’s life span seems impressive in light of the statistics showing that the life expectancy is about 76 years, it pales in comparison to some other planetary life forms.

One bristlecone pine tree, situated in California’s White-Inyo Mountains and dubbed Methuselah, is 4,767 years old. Other trees live a thousand years or more. The secret of tree longevity is that, unlike humans, trees can regenerate. If humans could do that, they could replicate their old hearts, lungs and perhaps brains for newer versions and live indefinitely. The longevity of other species is more ambiguous; that is, science hasn’t yet figured out their secret. The red sea urchin lives an average of 200 years with no signs of aging. Rockfish and some types of sturgeon can survive for 200 years. Then there’s the Galapagos tortoise, surviving to an average 177 years. A tortoise at an Australian zoo died last year at age 176. Adwaita, a tortoise in India, died of liver failure last year; she was born in 1750, some four decades before the French Revolution. The tortoise Tu’l Malia, presented to the royal family in Tonga by Captain Cook, lived to age 219 before passing away in 1966. www.ironmanmagazine.com \ OCTOBER 2007 107

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

designed to enable him to live long enough to reach the second bridge, a biotechnology revolution featuring common use of such therapies as stem cells and gene therapy to repair and replace worn-out tissues and organs in a manner that mimics what trees do naturally. Kurzweil gets the most flak The Galapagos tortoise is 177 years old. from his description of the third bridge, which features The nanobots will be capable of nanotechnology and artificial curing currently incurable diseases, intelligence, whereby minuscule rebuilding organs and even increasrobots, called nanobots, will enter ing the range of human intelligence. the blood, just as in the 1966 film Improvements to genetic coding “Fantastic Voyage,” and repair all (continued on page 112) will be damaged cells from the inside out.

108 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Allison Zednicek

No human on record has ever remotely approached the longevity of the Galapagos tortoise; we seem programmed to die after our allotted threescore and 10 and then some. Or are we? Some speculate that science will eventually find a way to extend human life to a considerable degree. Others suggest that children born now will live to at least age 150 because of good genetics and scientific advancements in gerontology, the study of aging. One such optimist is Ray Kurzweil. A well-known computer maven who has won prestigious awards in that field, he’s invented a number of devices, such as the computer scanner and various text-reading machines. A self-described futurist, Kurzweil became intensely interested in health after both his grandfather and father died prematurely of heart disease. Kurzweil himself was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in his 30s and seemed to be following his family’s genetic fate. Rather than acquiesce in that fate, he applied his analytical intelligence to come up with a solution that evolved into a lowfat diet that enabled him to get off insulin injections. Ultimately his diabetic symptoms disappeared. Buoyed by his initial success, Kurzweil embarked on a long-term personal study of longevity and ways to achieve it. Eventually he came up with a concise plan, which he describes in his book Fantastic Voyage: Live Long Enough to Live Forever. According to Kurzweil, there are three bridges to immortality. The first is his current health regimen,

Allison Zednicek

Many trees have very long life spans. The bristlecone pine is more than 4,000 years old.

downloadable from the Internet, and you won’t have to worry about heart attacks, since human hearts will have

(continued from page 108)

Skin Cancer

Aging is multifactorial.

Brain

Breast

become obsolete (come to think of it, I already know many people who seem to have no hearts). He even talks about transferring brains into machines, thus making us immortal, or perhaps real-life Terminators. Many scientists who’ve examined Kurzweil’s ideas call them more whimsical than pragmatic. That’s particularly true when Kurzweil confidently predicts the second bridge will be here within a mere 25 years. Kurzweil’s immediate goal is to survive long enough to make it to the second bridge. The first bridge is a daily routine that includes taking more than 250 supplement pills and drinking eight Organs can simply wear out.

Neveux \ Model: Katsumi Ishimura

Lung

to 10 glasses of only alkaline water, along with 10 cups of green tea. He tracks 40 to 50 “fitness indicators” and makes adjustments to his program accordingly. Along with his book, Kurzweil offers anyone the chance to join him on the first bridge with a line of food supplements that he sells over the Internet. That bridge is apparently not tollfree. And no, he does not yet offer a download to tweak your genetic coding.

What Causes Aging? First the bad news. There’s currently no true cure for aging. Death is indeed inevitable, though some find a way to avoid paying taxes (are you listening, big oil?). No one, regardless of wealth, can buy a way past the grim reaper. What you can do is kind of kick that sucker in the leg to slow him down. You do that by staying healthy and avoiding dis-

ease. People who live past 100 show excellent cardiovascular health patterns, such as elevated high-density-lipoprotein levels. On the other hand, some of the lowered risk is due to a favorable gene pattern. That’s the problem with aging— there is no one specific cause, regardless of what you hear or read on the Internet. Aging is what scientists refer to as multifactorial. Even if you overcome one factor, another one will just as certainly turn out your lights forever—at least in this world. What science is realizing, however, is that many gerontological theories overlap; that is, aging may not be as complicated as originally believed. With that in mind, here are the current leading theories of aging: • Mutation accumulation. As you age, cells develop mutations that aren’t blocked by the body. In a worst-case scenario, that means cancer and explains why the majority of cancer patients are older—

112 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

their bodies have lost the ability to block incipient tumor formation. Mutations mean that cellular DNA, which governs cellular replication, begins turning out bad copies of cells that just don’t work right, much as a Xerox machine makes the original copy look great, while successive copies look a bit hazy. • Disposable soma. The primary goal of nature is perpetuation of the species through reproduction. After you reach the prime reproductive age (about 30), it’s all downhill. Nature takes a cue from Ray Kurzweil and doesn’t have a heart; it doesn’t care about the golden years. Just make a genetic copy of yourself and then drop dead, declares Mommy-dearest Nature. A recent study, however, found evidence of the “grandmother effect,” in which the descendants of women who survive longer after menopause had increased reproductive fitness.2 • Antagonistic pleiotropy. That’s a five-dollar term meaning that genes beneficial when you’re younger become deadly when you’re older. One example is the P53 gene. When you’re young, it helps prevent cancer. With age it turns

against the cells, promoting cell death, or apoptosis. Resveratrol, which is discussed below, inhibits the P53 gene. • Gene regulation. Changes occur in genes that are involved in development and aging. • Error catastrophe. A drop in gene expression reliability results in abnormal protein and tissues. An example is crosslinking of tissue, resulting in the accumulation of what are called advanced glycosylation end products. AGEs involve an abnormal bond between sugar and protein structures in tissues, leading to brittleness and stiffening in affected tissues. An increase in AGEs is common in diabetes. When AGEs accumulate in connective tissue based on collagen, arthritis results. Abundant AGEs are also linked to Alzheimer’s disease, hypertension, atherosclerosis and cataracts. • Somatic mutation. An accumulation of molecular damage, especially to DNA and cellular genetic material. An example of how gene mutations in DNA repair mechanisms can affect aging is seen in Werner syndrome and HutchinsonGilford syndrome, both of which are

characterized by accelerated aging. Those with Hutchinson-Gilford, also known as progeria, appear normal at birth but wizened by the time they are about eight years old. They show many of the same degenerative aspects of advanced age, such as cardiovascular disease, and usually die of cardiovascular disease complications by age 14. Their brains remain unaffected, however. They experience no dementia, which somehow makes it even more tragic. • Cellular senescence. A preponderance of old cells interferes with total cell activity. Related to this is a gradual shortening of the ends of chromosomes called telomeres that are required for cellular replication. Telomeres shorten with each cell replication, though that doesn’t occur in some cells, such as neurons in the brain. Telomere shortening is linked to cell death and cancer. Telomere length is inherited. One rare genetic defect that results in premature telomere shortening leads to premature aging. People with shorter telomeres are three times more likely to die of heart disease and eight times more likely

114 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

to die of an infectious disease. Those with age-related conditions, such as athCigarettes do severe, erosclerosis, multilevel health damage. vascular dementia, Alzheimer’s disease and cancer, have shortened telomeres. Telomeres are longer in women than men. Obesity and smoking shorten telomeres, as does oxidative damage. Cancer cells are immortal because they produce an enzyme, telomerase, that repairs telomeres. Those who suffer from mood disorders, such as depression, also have shortened telomeres, as do those under high stress conditions. Some athletes have a condition characterized by shortened telomeres in

muscle that results in premature fatigue during exercise and sports activity.3 And yet mice tend to have long telomeres but brief life spans, so clearly telomeres aren’t the whole story behind the aging process. • Free radicals. The free-radical theory, first presented in 1957, states that unpaired electrons lock onto paired electrons—the normal state—and interfere with cellular function. The body neutralizes them with built-in antioxidants, such as superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione, all of which decline with age. Oxidative stress is associated with an increase in inflammatory mediators, resulting in a rise in inflammation-related diseases, such as arthritis, atherosclerosis, osteoporosis and dementia. • Neuroendocrine. Declines in various hormones, such as growth hormone and testosterone, impair functioning. With age, hormone secretion declines or target organs become less receptive to hormonal stimulation. Growth hormone drops by an average of 14 percent per decade. By age 60, GH is lower by 50

to 70 percent than at ages 30 and 40. Estrogen promotes telomerase activity, while testosterone decreases it (another reason women usually outlive men). • Decreased immunity. When you hear that a person “died of old age,” it usually means that death resulted from immune failure. Diseases that can easily be dealt with in younger years, such as pneumonia and influenza, become fatal with age. • Mitochondrial decay. Mitochondria are the organelles in cells that produce energy in the form of ATP through the electron transport system that fuels all cellular function, including cell repair and replication. The mitochondria are the site of the greatest production of free radicals, as a by-product of the energy-producing process. The free radicals interact with mitochondrial fatty membranes and DNA, destroying mitochondria and, subsequently, cells. Female more than male mitochondria are resistant to oxidative stress—another reason for women’s lon- (continued on page 122)

While fat was long considered an inert material that was little more than a energy storage depot, extensive scientific findings now show that fat cells release more than 100 active chemicals, collectively called adipokines, most of which are extremely inflammatory.

Obesity is being linked to more and more diseases and can shorten life span in a number of ways.

116 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Neveux \ Models: Pax Beale and Sophie Taggart

Exercise can have keen antiaging effects on the body and mind.

(continued from page 116) ger average

life span.4 Studies show that mitochondrial DNA mutation begins around age 30, and the mutant cells produce less ATP but release more free radicals. Tissues particularly affected are those with high energy requirements, such as neurons, heart cells and skeletal muscle. It all seems overwhelming, until you consider a few facts. For one, exercise, such as weight training, can activate genes that maintain youthful muscles. Another is that most theories of aging center on out-of-control oxidative reactions related to excess free-radical activity, as well as the DNA mutations that lead to faulty cell replication. People you read about who live to 115 or older are mutants in a way, genetically gifted with advanced DNA repair and cell-defense mechanisms, such as heat shock proteins, and lowered cellular oxidation or heightened defense against it. Kurzweil thinks the key to delaying the rate of aging is controlling the factors of oxidation and DNA mutations. His method is the strategic deployment of food supplements. I would add another controllable factor of aging: lowering inflammation. While inflammation is integral to the healing process, out-of-control inflammation is at the core

of such aging-related maladies as cardiovascular disease, brain degeneration, diabetes and cancer. In short, all the leading causes of death and infirmity linked to aging are related in one way or another to excess inflammation. Everybody knows that having inflamed joints and muscles makes you feel old. The good news is that inflammation is the most controllable age acceleration factor of all.

you reduce food but not nutrient intake, inflammation declines, and so do the physical problems associated with it. Human-subject proof is strictly theoretical, but many people who follow the stringent guidelines for restricting calories experience less body inflammation in the form of reduced blood pressure, lower insulin levels and so on. Even so, they often appear gaunt and may feel cold and depressed. They have no energy to exercise, and even if they did, it wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t do them much good, since they have elevated cortisol and a deficit of anabolic hormones, including growth hormone, thyroid hormone and testosterone. The key to calorie restriction may involve nothing more than reduced oxidation through eating less, along with reduced inflammation because of the lack of bodyfat. Reduced bodyfat, however, may be achieved more healthfully through exercise and a diet rich in nutrients. Which leads to the question: Are there food supplements that will help attain longevity and reduce inflammation? I believe there are. Here are my top 10 supplements and the rationale or mechanism for their use. In no particular order, they are:

Inflammation Control Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the best way to control inflammation? Four words: lose fat, eat right. While fat was long considered little more than an energy storage depot, extensive scientific findings now show that fat cells release more than 100 active chemicals, collectively called adipokines, most of which are extremely inflammatory. Numerous studies show that when you lose fat, your risk for inflammatory disease declines significantly. That means less cardiovascular disease, less brain disease, less diabetes, less cancer and so on. In fact, the only method currently considered feasible for extending longevity is calorie restriction. Various studies of animal species show that when

122 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

The Top 10 Longevity Supplements 1)

Lipoic acid and acetylL-carnitine. You recall the theory that links aging to mitochondrial damage in cells. Studies with mice conducted at Stanford University found that the combination of lipoic acid and ALC regenerated aged mitochondria to an appearance comparable to teenage years. The combo works because lipoic acid is a potent antioxidant that helps temper the oxidation produced in mitochondria. Lipoic acid helps promote the uptake of glucose into cells, which would lower insulin resistance. The lower the insulin level, the slower

L-carnitine for cell function and regeneration.

the rate of aging. Lipoic acid is also synergistic with ALC because ALC can promote oxidation in the mitochondria, and lipoic acid blocks the effect. The question is, Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the most effective supplemental form of lipoic acid? Most supplements come as a mixture of the R and S isomers and are sold as alpha lipoic acid. Only the R form, however, is active in the mitochondria. While some studies suggest that the S form, which is synthetic, is converted into the R form, others say that the S form interferes with the function of the R form. What is known is that the R form is much more expensive than the more common alpha lipoic acid. ALC is simply L-carnitine with an acetyl group attached to it. That acetyl group, however, helps the ALC enter the brain, where it helps synthesize neurotransmitters that

often decline with age, such as acetylcholine and dopamine. ALC protects the vulnerable mitochondrial membranes and may help regenerate mitochondria in that manner. For supplemental purposes, take 1,000 milligrams of ALC, along with 200 milligrams of lipoic acid. Resveratrol. The French paradox refers to the fact that people in France, who take in a lot of saturated fat, have lower rates of cardiovascular disease. At first it was attributed to the French habit of drinking red wine with meals. The active ingredient in the red wine was thought to be resveratrol. More recent studies, however, found that the amount of resveratrol in red wine is too small to have any significant health effect. Instead, other antioxidants in wine, called procyanidins, are likely to produce the health effects, mainly by promoting nitric oxide synthesis in the body. Resveratrol has received extensive publicity lately because animal studies show that it activates a protein called Sirtuin-1, or SIRT-1, that seems to protect cells from aging.

SIRT-1 has a gene-silencing property that blocks the death of cells and aids cellular survival. Resveratrol proved the most active among more than 20,000 tested compounds. In fact, stimulating the protein duplicates the effect of calorie restrictionâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; minus the eating restriction. A 2006 study found that resveratrol extended the life span of a type of short-lived fish by 59 percent. Another study found that it mitigated the adverse health effects of high-fat diets in mice. Obese mice given resveratrol lived 15 percent longer than fat mice that didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get it. The mice were given 22.4 milligrams per kilogram of bodyweight. That would amount to a human dose of 150 to 200 milligrams a day.

www.ironmanmagazine.com \ OCTOBER 2007 123

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

One problem with comto work by increasing the paring mice to humans number of mitochondria is that mice metabolize in muscle. A study of 123 resveratrol far more Finnish adults found that slowly than do humans. those with more active In humans it’s rapSIRT-1 genes had faster idly degraded after oral metabolisms, indicatintake, and its bioavailing that this mechanism ability is low. Another may be active in humouse study provided mans as well as mice. far larger doses of resBecause of the exveratrol, with a human tensive publicity about equivalent dose being these studies, resveratrol 4,571 milligrams daily. is now a popular—and The mice in the study expensive—suppleshowed a significant ment. While there are increase in endurno toxicity indications ance and fat oxidation thus far, there are also during exercise. no studies that prove The author comthe effectiveness of Studies show that a mented, “Resveratrol supplemental reslack of vitamins and makes you look like a veratrol in humans. minerals can accelerate trained athlete withThat doesn’t faze the out the exercise.” Res- mitochondrial decay. primary researchers of veratrol was thought the compound, all of

whom are taking human-equivalent doses of those shown effective for animals. Resveratrol in small amounts acts like a phytoestrogen, meaning it has weak estrogenic effects. Larger doses, however, provide a reverse effect; that of inhibiting estrogen synthesis. If you use resveratrol supplements, you’d be wise not to take them close to when you take supplements containing nicotinamide, a B-complex vitamin. Some emerging research shows that nicotinamide inhibits the function of the protein that resveratrol activates. Vitamins C and E and antioxidants. While some antioxidants studies show that dietary antioxidants have few or no antiaging properties, the body’s built-in antioxidant system dims with age. One study showed that a lack of vitamins and minerals can accelerate mitochondrial (continued on page 128)

Omega-3 fatty acids are key for their antiaging effects in the brain and body.

124 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

(continued from page 124) decay.6 The

But a recent animal study found that when mice were fed a diet that was 3 percent creatine, their life spans increased by 9 percent.7 While we are men and women, not mice— although I’ve met quite a few rats out there too—creatine has antiaging effects. It protects neurons in the brain by blocking the overstimulation of neurons that result in neuronal death. By maintaining ATP levels in neurons, it also protects Green tea fights cancer, helps burn fat and provides against such diseases cardiovascular-strengthening effects. as Parkinson’s. In the research lab you’d need the equivalent of at least creatine improved mouse memory 10 cups of green tea daily. Sounds and thinking skills and lowered the like a lot, but you can get that degree of brain-damaging pigments amount in supplement form. It’s that build up in aging brains. Crefar more concentrated in the active atine also prevented noise-induced green tea antioxidants than the tea hearing loss, which is important itself, and the dosage is standardbecause hearing is ized. commonly imCarnosine. paired with Carnosine age.8 is a dipeptide composed of two amino Green acids, histidine and tea. beta-alanine. It funcGreen tea tions as the primary contains intramuscular bufpotent fer, reducing acid antioxiaccumulation that dants that leads to premature protect exercise-related facells. It tigue. Muscle levels also offers of carnosine decline cardiovas- 63 percent from age 10 to age 70. cular and Carnosine may reduce a process anticanlinked to accelerated aging involvcer effects ing the cross-linking of proteins. along This process, known as glycation, with a damages cell proteins and connecthermotive tissue and may cause much of genic the stiffness associated with aging. effect that One study found that supplying helps carnosine to connective tissue cells burn called fibroblasts extended cell life, excess an effect thought to occur because bodyfat. of carnosine’s beneficial slowing For true of telomere attrition. The only reliantiaging able food source of carnosine is red A new study shows that creatine benefits, meat. Those who don’t eat red meat increased the life span of rodents.

brain, which is mostly fat, is particularly prone to oxidation, and research demonstrates that older people who take in the most antioxidants from supplements or food are also the healthiest. The fact that antioxidants may help preserve brain function is reason enough to take them. In addition, they help defend the body against such age-related diseases as cancer, atherosclerosis and brain degeneration. Omega-3 fatty acids. The brain is composed of 40 percent DHA, an omega-3 fatty acid. If you don’t eat fatty fish, such as salmon, halibut or sardines, at least three times a week, you’ll likely be deficient in omega-3 fats. Omega3 fats help decrease depression, protect the cardiovascular system, increase insulin sensitivity and decrease the incidence of cancer. Don’t depend on flaxseed oil for omega-3 fats. Flaxseed contains alpha linoleic acid, which is a precursor of the omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA, but the body can convert only about 2 percent of the precursor into the active omega-3s. Stick with fish oils, which contain the active omega-3 fatty acids. Also, avoid omega-6 fats, such as vegetable oils. Not only are they far more ubiquitous in the diet than omega3 foods, but they also convert into inflammatory substances in the body and interfere with omega-3 function. Cre-

atine. It may seem strange to see creatine listed as an antiaging substance.

128 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Ginko biloba stimulates circulation and oxygen use in the brain. It can also block the damaging effects of cortisol, a stress hormone.

can take carnosine supplements in doses of 1,000 milligrams or more daily. An alternative is to use beta-alanine, which is the primary nutrient precursor of carnosine synthesis. Ginkgo biloba. This herb offers several useful features related to longevity. It promotes circulation and oxygen use in the brain while blocking the effects of cortisol. Cortisol is a major cause of brain aging because it destroys neurons, especially in the hippocampus, where learning and memory occur.9 A study found that ginkgo prevented mitochondrial aging caused by excess oxidation.10 Recent studies also show that ginkgo exerts antiestrogenic effects. Coenzyme Q10. Q10 is produced in the body from the amino acid tyrosine through the same pathway that produces cholesterol, but the synthesis becomes less efficient with age. Q10 is involved in en-

ergy production within the mitochondria and acts as an antioxidant. Some studies show that Q10 offers brain protection, especially in the portion that produces dopamine, and may help protect against Parkinson’s disease. Q10 concentrates in high-energy tissue, such as muscle and brain. People who take statin drugs to treat cardiovascular disease may be low in Q10 because the drugs interfere with Q10 metabolism, inhibiting the liver enzyme that produces both cholesterol and Q10, lowering Q10 plasma levels as much as 40 percent. The primary side effect that occurs is excess muscle breakdown. One study of aged people given CoQ10 found that supplementation with 300 milligrams a day for four weeks reduced type 1 muscle fibers but promoted the growth of type 2 fibers. That’s a reversal of what usually happens with age: Smaller and weaker type 1 fibers are more numerous than type 2 fibers, which are associated with increased muscle size and strength. The mecha-

nism was thought to be a gene regulation effect exerted by coenzyme Q10.11 You’d need to eat 1.5 kilograms of sardines to get 100 milligrams of Q10, so supplements are an easier option.

Growth hormone drops by an average of 14 percent per decade of life. Weight training can help minimize that decline.

) Alpha GPC. This is a form of choline that can enter the brain far more easily than ordinary choline. In the brain it’s rapidly converted into acetylcholine, the primary neurotransmitter linked to memory and learning. Alzheimer’s disease is marked by a selective destruction of neurons that produce acetylcholine, and drugs used to treat Alzheimer’s help prevent excessive breakdown of it. Some studies show that alpha GPC may help promote growth hormone release. Honorable mention goes to other supplements, all of which blunt the

One study of aged people given CoQ10 found that supplementation with 300 milligrams a day for four weeks reduced type 1 muscle fibers but promoted the growth of type 2 fibers.

130 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

effects of aging, including turmeric, glucosamine and chondroitin, whey and branched-chain amino acids, DHEA, melatonin, lycopene, grapeseed extract, garlic, phosphatidyserine, multiminerals and HMB. While there is no true antidote to the aging process, you can improve your quality of life now with proper exercise and nutrition that includes the best supplements. The pathway is yours to follow, and the bridge is there to cross.

References 1 Perls, T., et al. (2002). Life-long sustained mortality advantage of siblings of centenarians. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 99:8442-8447. 2 Hawkes, K. (2003). Grandmothers and the evolution of human

longevity. Am J Human Biol. 15:380400. 3 Collins, M., et al. (2003). Athletes with exercise-associated fatigue have abnormally short muscle telomeres. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 35:1524-28. 4 Borras, C., et al. (2003). Mitochondria from females exhibit higher antioxidant gene expression and lower oxidative damage than males. Free Rad Biol Med. 34:546-52. 5 Bitterman, K.J., et al. (2006). Inhibition of silencing and accelerated aging by nicotinamide, a putative negative regulator of yeast Sir2 and human SIRT-1. J Biol Chem. 277(47):45099-107. 6 Ames, B, et al. (2005). Mineral and vitamin deficiencies can accelerate the mitochondrial decay of aging. Mole Aspects Med. 26:363-78.

7 Bender, A., et al. (2007). Creatine improves health and survival of mice. Neurobiol Aging. In press. 8 Minami, S., et al. (2007). Creatine and tempol attenuate noiseinduced hearing loss. Brain Res. 1148:83-89. 9 Mercilhac, A., et al. (1998). Effect of chronic administration of ginkgo biloba extract or ginkgolide on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in the rat. Life Sci. 63:2329-2340. 10 Sastre, J., et al. (1998). A ginkgo biloba extract prevents mitochondrial aging by protecting against oxidative stress. Free Rad Biol Med. 24:298-304. 11 Linnane, A.W., et al. (2002). Cellular redox activity by coenzyme Q10: Effect of CoQ10 supplementation on human skeletal muscle. Free Rad Re. 36:445-53. IM

132 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Neveux \ Model: George Turner

While there is no true antidote to the aging process, you can improve your quality of life now with proper exercise and nutrition that includes the best supplements.

136 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

A Bod Bo dyb yb u i l d eerr

Is Born G i v i n g We a k B o d y p a r t s a F i g h t i n g C h a n c e Episode 27

y own contest had come and gone, and reaching the best shape of my life had been good enough only for third place in the heavyweights. Of course, at 203 pounds I would have been more competitive in a weight class called “not-quite heavyweight,” but at this writing the NPC has no such division. The men who beat me were so much larger that they made me come to terms with the fact that perhaps God put me on the earth to be a writer and a coach rather than a big jacked-up freak. In fact, I’m still bruised from being jostled by several sets of 21-inch arms during prejudging. After giving myself a couple of days to wallow in self-pity and endless bowls of Franken Berry cereal (my kids had already finished the Count Chocula and Boo Berry in the three-pack box of monster cereals), I was ready to redirect my attention to Randy. Genetically, the kid had the tools to be a real champion and rack up some nice titles, and I knew I could guide him to it. The first step was going to be improving his overall shape and symmetry by bringing up a couple of muscle groups that could stand to be thicker and fuller.

“Let me explain the Harris Priority Principle,” I began, addressing my young charge. “Um, don’t you mean the Weider Priority Principle?” he corrected me. I scratched my head. “Hmm, the name does sound vaguely familiar, but I’ve been the trainer of champions for, well, about 12 years now.” Randy was silent, allowing my display of pomposity to continue. “You need to bring up your arms, your calves and your upper chest. So for the next four months they will all receive special attention, or priority, in your training.” “I train all of those really hard now, though,” he replied, the usual defensiveness creeping into his voice. “I never said you didn’t, Junior,” I assured him. “But training hard isn’t always enough, especially when it comes to a stubborn bodypart. You also need to train smart, and in this case it means giving your weaker muscle groups a fighting chance.” “Okay,” he shrugged. “So how do I do that?”

Model: Mike Fry

by Ron Harris • Photography by Michael Neveux

www.ironmanmagazine.com \ OCTOBER 2007 137

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Weak Bodyparts “I’m glad you asked.” I smiled and opened my training journal. I tore out a page from the back where I had outlined a new training split for Randy. I handed it over, and here’s what was on it: Monday: Arms and calves Tuesday: Legs Thursday: Chest and shoulders Friday: Back Saturday: Arms and calves (blood-volume training)

Doing both high- and lowrep workouts for calves can force a growth spurt.

at a salon now, after that time I botched the job. It’s not my fault I never finished beauty school. “Hitting your arms and calves twice a week with two different styles of training is going to get them growing faster than they have for a very long time, bucko,” I promised him. “Now for your upper chest.”

Model: Allen Sarkiszadeh

Randy appeared puzzled, as he often did when trying to make sense of my suggestions, so I explained the method in my madness. “Arms and calves are going to be trained heavy on Mondays after a full day of rest. The reps will be six to 10 for arms, eight to 12 for calves, and you’ll be paying special attention to the Harris Peak Contraction Principle by flexing the target muscle at the end of every rep.” “Don’t you mean the Weider—?” “Silence!” I barked. “On Saturday you will train arms and calves again, but this time the reps will be 12 to 20 for arms, and 20 to 50 for calves. The reps will be done as a

constant, pistonlike motion with no pause at the beginning or end. Some people refer to that as ‘bloodvolume’ training, but it’s really nothing more than what we used to call the Harris Flushing Principle back in the old days of Larry Scott and Arnold.” Randy looked at me sideways. “You weren’t even born when Larry Scott was Mr. Olympia. Come on now.” “I will not tolerate your infernal insolence!” He was just lucky I wasn’t like the cruel kung fu master Pai Mei from “Kill Bill, Volume 2.” Talk back to that bearded little Chinese dude, and he’d pluck your eyeball right out the socket. I don’t even know how to pluck eyebrows, which is why my wife has that done

More constant-tension exercises can kick up size increases.

138 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Weak Bodyparts

Unilateral work can increase your focus and give your muscles a growth jolt.

Model: Idris Ward-El

Building forearm strength will improve your grip, which can translate into better curling ability and bigger biceps.

“We already do inclines,” he reminded me. “Right,” I said, “but for the next 12 weeks all you’ll be doing for your chest is incline movements. Incline barbell presses, incline flyes and cable crossovers, and incline dumbbell presses.” “What about my middle and lower chest?” he whined. “What about them? Listen, in more than 20 years of astutely studying physiques, I have yet to see anyone with a great upper chest and a weak middle and lower chest. Nine hundred ninety-nine times out of a thousand it’s just the opposite. The rest of your chest isn’t going to wither away; fear not. But you can’t really improve your upper chest unless you devote all of your energy to it for a period of time.” Randy nodded in acquiescence. “We also need to make sure you’re fueling your muscle growth,” I continued. “During the specialization period I want you taking in at least two grams of protein per pound of bodyweight, and three to four grams of carbohydrate. I also want you taking six capsules of branched-chain aminos three times a day on an empty stomach. One of those times will be during your workout. I want to see you gain 10 pounds in that time, and I want almost all of that to be pure muscle. You’re young, and your genetics are good. I know you can do it.” “You really think I can bring my arms, calves and upper chest up enough to notice in just three months?” “The whole point of specializing is accomplishing something in a short time that would normally take much longer. I estimate that we can get more growth out of those areas in three months than you would have seen in at least a year of doing what you’ve been doing.” Randy was grinning, obviously excited about the coming months. “I feel like it’s just so crazy that it might work. Thanks, Ron.” “What can I say?” I laughed. “I am a man of Principles!” P.S. A respectful nod to Joe Weider, Master Blaster and Trainer of Champions since 1939—a full six decades before Ron Harris flexed his way out of his mama’s womb. IM

140 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

A Conversation With Odd Haugen, Legendary Norseman and Strongman Competitor, on His Philosophy for Staying Powerful and Healthy Through His 50s and Beyond by Larry Eklund Photography by Merv

RON MAN contributing illustrator and columnist Larry Eklund met Odd Haugen at the Iron Man FitExpo in Pasadena, California, and was invited to train with Odd and other athletes at his home training facility in Southern California. Eklund approached Odd outside the auditorium at the FitExpo, where Haugen had just finished the truck pull portion of the MetRx Strongest Man event. The “truck” was a semi and trailer—sponsored by Subway—that had to be pulled, draft-horse style, for several meters by the competitor, who was harnessed to the front of the semi. As Odd sat down to catch his breath, several spectators also approached. “I’m having the time of my life,” he said to one wideeyed youth. “This is what I live for!” he exclaimed to another, with a twinkle in his eye and a wide smile on his face. “The business and other responsibilities are necessary parts of life, but this is what I enjoy doing. This is fun!” Says Eklund: “I could see he meant it. Here was his arena, and he was the grand master in his element. Over the next several weeks I traveled to Valhalla: West Gate, as he calls it, enduring some of the most exhausting—yet invigorating—training I’d ever experienced. I wanted to know how a man at 57 years of age could not only compete against younger athletes but hold his own and win.”

142 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Eklund

www.ironmanmagazine.com \ OCTOBER 2007 143

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

The lifting bug bit him at an early age. At 10 he knew what his direction in life would be—physical strength and performance. Living in a small town in Norway, Odd (pronounced, “owed”) Haugen was lifting anything he could to get bigger and stronger. He read all the muscle and strength magazines he could get his hands on, following the routines as best he could. He was resourceful: For dumbbells he hand-shaped some birch logs and kept them in water to prevent them from drying out and getting lighter. In shop class at school, while other boys were making birdhouses and the like, Odd made an adjustable bench for pressing. He uses that bench to this day. Odd is a fan favorite at every strongman contest he competes in, not only because of his age (he’s almost twice the age of most of the other competitors) but also because of his ability to handle very heavy poundages. As a promoter of strongman contests (FitExpo and Venice Beach Grand Prix for the World’s Strongest Man Super Series), Odd chooses weights in the upper reaches of superhuman. He has won Hawaii’s Strongest Man competition three times, he competed three times in the World’s Strongest Man, and he’s ranked in the top 10 of the World Strongman Super Series Championships, in which his best placing was sixth in 2002. Though best known for his per-

Odd formances in the at age World’s Strongest 18. Man contests, Haugen has an impressive résumé in both sports performance and business. In sports he’s competed and medaled in regional ski jumping events; the Norwegian National Track and Field Championships (shot put and discus); and NCAA wrestling. As a teen he won Junior and Teenage national championships in Olympic lifting and powerlifting, as well as bodybuilding. He was hand-picked (by George Allen) as a free agent to play for the Washington Redskins and eventually played preseason games with the 49ers. Because of injuries Odd decided to leave football and go back to school. He received a degree in exercise physiology and an MBA in business finance and eventually built a small empire of 11 Gold’s Gyms in Hawaii and Northern California, which he later sold to the 24 Hour Fitness chain. Currently he’s vice president of operations for Apex Fitness Group, a company he helped develop with input for its nutritional supplements and training techniques. Odd believes in functional strength training—functional being the operative word. His approach emphasizes strength combined

Haugen executes the farmer’s walk with about 400 pounds in each hand.

with speed. Athletes from all over the world travel to train with him at his home in Southern California, which he affectionately calls Valhalla: West Gate, after the heaven of Norse mythology.

IM: When did you realize you wanted to be a strongman?

The author and Haugen enjoy time away from heavy lifting. OH: I’ve been lifting from a very early age. For me it was just natural. As a young child I knew I wanted to be strong and just had to lift. As most children would salivate over a piece of candy, I would salivate over seeing a dumbbell- or barbellshaped item. Like the axles from a train, I’d see one of them (off the train) and want to get it so I could practice lifting it. I read everything I could about bodybuilding and lifting weights. I can remember reading old muscle magazines from America, like a 1936 Iron Man. I tried every routine as best I could. Being from a small town in Norway, I didn’t have much money. I did whatever I had to for money to buy the magazines. I used everyday items for weights. Bodybuilding was my first love. Everything else evolved from that.

IM: I take it that you were very athletic in school. OH: Oh, yes, I was very much involved with athletics all through my schooling. In my teens I was on the ski jumping team. I followed

144 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

The master talks technique at his home training facility. some of the training regimens of the Norwegian national coach, who was ahead of the times because he encouraged athletes to train with weights. Back then, coaches did not let their athletes train with weights because they felt it would make them muscle-bound. Norway was able to win a lot of the competitions because of this training. And remember, this was when the ski jumpers were regular-size men, not the horse-jockey-size athletes who are now in ski jumping. Along with the ski jumping I was in track and field: shot put, discus and the 100meter dash—anything that required strength and speed. While doing those things, I still did my bodybuilding and powerlifting workouts. I won some national competitions in powerlifting and weightlifting. I eventually entered some bodybuilding contests and won the Junior Mr. Norway in 1968 and competed in the IFBB Mr. World that same year. In 1970 I won the IFBB Senior Mr. Norway contest.

IM: What’s the differ-

ence between the age groupings for junior and senior contests? By my calculations you were 18 when you won the Junior Mr. Norway

contest and 20 years when you won the other. OH: In Norway you competed for the Junior Mr. Norway until the age of 23; after that you had to compete in the senior division. But since I’d

Putting the 260pound steel log overhead with ease.

146 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Stone press with a 275-pound boulder. When Odd gets it to his chest, he has to work his hands underneath for pressing leverage. There’s much more coordination and technique involved than in lifting a barbell.

won the junior division at age 18, I was required to move up to the senior division in order to continue competing.

IM: What’s your philosophy of training for strongman contests? OH: I use dynamic training with submaximal weights, giving 100 percent on each repetition. In order to do that, I use bands or chains on the main compound exercises, such

as overhead presses, bench press, deadlifts and squats. I do multiple sets of up to five reps using 50 to 60 percent of my one-repetition maximum. When I do the repetition, I explode the weight up. It’s not just speed, seeing how fast I can move the weight up and down; it’s bringing my mind and body together all at once to explode the weight up, hold for a count and lower it in a controlled fashion. Now, because the weight is so light, the explosion of energy should

not be hard. That’s where the bands and chains come in. With one or the other attached to the weight, the explosive motion has to be sustained throughout the entire movement. Let’s take the barbell bench press. When you perform a normal bench press, the action gets easier as the weight is pressed to arm’s length; it’s simple body mechanics. Now, if you were to use just 50 percent of the average trainee’s one-rep max (let’s assume a 300-pound 1RM, which (continued on page 152) gives us 150

148 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Odd drives the 182-pound circus dumbbell overhead as protĂŠgĂŠ Dan Harrison looks on.

152 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

(continued from page 148) pounds at

50 percent), you’d be able to throw the weight up off your chest and possibly hurt yourself in the process. But if you add the resistance of bands or chains to the barbell, the motion gets harder as your arms extend, and you have to keep the force of your explosive movement consistent in order to keep the weight moving up. Your muscles are forced to give 100 percent effort throughout the extension movement and must keep resisting the negative action of the return, or downward, motion of the barbell. As your 1RM goes up, so does the 50-to-60-percent rep. Occasionally I go heavier on the weights without using the bands, but it’s the band training that gets your mind and body to work as one. That’s what makes or breaks you in the strongman competition. If you can’t get your mind to keep up the effort, your body won’t follow through. It’s all in the mind.

IM: How many sets do you perform using that technique? OH: I generally perform six to eight sets of one or two repetitions of any compound exercise. Occasionally, I work in the five-rep range, but then I drop the sets down to four or five.

IM: That doesn’t seem like enough to build muscle or burn calories too well. OH: It’s not supposed to build muscle or burn fat; it’s designed to build strength. You can get a lot stronger without putting on a lot of muscle. Muscle size, what bodybuilders are after, comes from volume training and diet. Bodybuilders are concerned about each individual muscle and developing it for looks. Strongman competitors train the body and mind to work as a whole unit. I’m not putting bodybuilders down. I still do some bodybuilding exercises. It’s just that these are two different mind-sets, two different goals, and each has its own way of training.

IM: What do you do for cardio? OH: I currently don’t do cardio as a specific training phase. I work out at such a high intensity and fast pace that I don’t think it’s necessary to perform 30 minutes or more of cardio.

IM: Can you give me an example of the strength-with-speed training? OH: A good example is my lowerbody-training day. When I perform squats or front squats using the dynamic training style, I can do all six to eight sets of one to two reps in six to eight minutes. At first I didn’t realize I was working out so fast. It’s just how I train. But one day someone who was training with me pointed it out, and we decided to time me as I trained in the front squat with the bands. I finished all eight sets in less than eight minutes, including rests between sets. It’s something I learned training with powerlifters and Olympic weightlifters: Never sit down while training. You’re working your nervous system while training for strength. That trains your body to recuperate more quickly and be ready for the next event.

IM: What else do you do for your lower-body strength? OH: I train with squats and box squats, Louie Simmons style. I don’t believe you need to perform any of the sumo-style [wide-stance] squats because they give you no benefit in functional strength.

IM: What do you mean by functional strength, and can you develop it just by practicing standard powerlifting movements? OH: Functional strength is the ability to pick up and carry any object at any given time. It’s the body working as a complete unit in what can be an unbalanced effort to lift and move an object. Can standard powerlifting exercises develop this

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Fredrick

Lifting barbells is also part of the strongman equation.

ability? I’d say no. Unless a powerlifter practices picking up the weight and walking with it, he doesn’t have the core strength to handle the movement. An example is the difference between the squat and walking with the yoke. A big squatter, someone who can squat 900 pounds, generally won’t be able to walk with a 900-pound yoke on his shoulders. He trained simply to move the weight in an up-and-down motion. Walking with that weight any farther than to and from the racks would be very hard for him. He trained his body only for that short distance. His core muscles wouldn’t be able to handle walking any further. Another version of functional strength is stone lifting. Some people are natural lifters. What I mean by that is they naturally know how to adjust their bodies to pick up heavy awkward objects. Some lifters are great in the deadlift, pulling more than 800 pounds, but picking up the head stone, which weighs only 410 pounds, is almost impossible for them. It’s a very heavy, uncomfortably shaped stone. They haven’t practiced or trained to pick

up stones, and the strict exercise that they did practice doesn’t translate well to picking up stones.

IM: What do you recommend for training the core muscles? OH: I train my core muscles with very slow basic exercises and a few stability apparatuses.

IM: You mean like the Swiss ball and the halfdome platform that you’re supposed to sit or stand on while performing an exercise? OH: Yes, I have a Swiss ball. I use it as my office chair. The theory behind it is a good one. The trick is to do the exercises slow with nominal weight. If you use too much weight or try to move too fast, the larger mover muscles kick in and lift the weight, not the stability, or core, muscles. I do very slow barbell squats and reverse hyperextensions in that manner. For abdominals I don’t recommend crunches; they

don’t activate the entire abdominal muscle or attaching stabilizers. Bodybuilders can do crunches, but they’re not for strongman competitors. Regular situps with full range of motion are better and do more. It’s helpful to pick up weights on one side of the body at a time, lifting the weights over head or out to the side, basically using light weights in an unstable environment. You should train to lift things a little off balance.

IM: How often do you train? Are you still following the routines listed on your Web site, www.OddHaugen.com? OH: Right now I’m training only four days a week on the actual lifts and three to four days a week on the core exercises. Due to my work and family responsibilities I can’t train more than that right now. This is just a hobby for me. I’d be a lot better if I could train more often, as I used to. I do train using the Competition Workout outlined on the Web site, which is upper-body dynamic/ex-

154 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

plosive strength training on one day and lower-body dynamic/explosive strength training on another with the weekends for event lifting. It’s during the weekend that I use the heavy weights.

IM: Let’s move on to diet. The strongmen of the early 1900s were lean and strong, and then strongmen became heavier to the point of being obese. The trend now seems to be for the less bulky strongman. Is that because of diet or the styles of training? OH: Mostly the diet, and times have changed in the lifts strongmen do. Added bodyweight is good for powerlifting because it gives a bigger bench press or a bigger squat. It’s not good for a bigger deadlift. A big gut doesn’t let your body get into the correct position to pull really

heavy deadlifts. Powerlifters don’t worry about how much they eat. They’re concerned only about getting the weight up the one time. Present-day strongmen are judged by more than just how much they can bench-press or squat once. They’re also judged on how far they can move with a given weight. Also, puffy hands aren’t very good for holding on to heavy, awkward weights. Consequently, a strongman’s diet is of more concern but not as strict as a bodybuilder’s.

IM: What is your diet like, and what do you recommend for others? OH: I recommend people eat what they like but try to limit the intake to equal output, and make healthy choices within the foods they eat. I, being Scandinavian, have a little more fat in my diet because of dairy products, and that seems to work for me. I base my food intake on 20 percent fats, 50 percent carbohydrates and 30 percent protein.

IM: According to the Apex Fitness Group Web site, you had a hand in developing its supplement line. OH: Yes, I helped to develop the Apex supplement line and the programs behind it. One of the reasons I’ve stayed with Apex for so long is because of its control of the supplement line. Very few companies test the supplement ingredients they get from their suppliers. I can think of only three or four that do. We use only pharmaceuticalgrade ingredients, and we test each batch of ingredients received. I think somewhere in the range of 13 percent is sent back because it did not meet our standards. The supplement business isn’t regulated, and most of the companies simply make up batches of supplements that contain anything and everything they think will sell. Whatever is the new “supplement of the month” is added to the mixture without thought of whether the amount

Odd demonstrates the axle press in the front yard of his training facility in Southern California. 156 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

added will work. It’s simply an ingredient on the label. At Apex we use only what’s been shown to really work, according to the right chemical properties and amount. Some supplements have been shown to work in laboratory studies, but the doses used to get those results wouldn’t be feasible for the average person to use or for use in a supplement formula. The financial costs would be very high, and the average person couldn’t afford them.

IM: What supplements do you recommend that aspiring strongmen take? OH: I recommend a multivitamin and multimineral supplement every day for everyone—even children. It’s impossible for the average person to get all the nutrients needed from diet alone. Also, if you’re dieting or training really hard, you need to take in more vitamins and minerals. Children should take a multisupplement designed for kids. I use the Apex Performance Multivitamin and Mineral supplement with joint support formula of glucosamine and chodroitin. I highly recommend that for anyone in heavy training or those more than 50 years old. I also advise female athletes that they need as much of the same supplemental intake as the average male. Along with the multivitamin supplement, I use Apex Super Antioxidant; two to three grams of vitamin C; Apex Max Volumizer with creatine, glutamine and inosital; NO Xtreme to enhance nitric oxide production; and Apex Amino Xtreme for pretraining and posttraining amino acids. The strongest pharmaceutical I use is ibuprofen.

IM: Speaking of other pharmaceuticals, is there any testing done for steroid use in strongman competitions? OH: No, at this time there is not. It used to bother me that some guys would resort to using steroids for the competitions, but I have observed an interesting fact. Those who rely on steroids don’t last long

in this sport. Unlike what goes on with the bodybuilders today, I don’t think steroids are a big problem in this activity. The reason is that those who do use them will get a quick burst and rise up very fast in the ranks but then plummet at a faster rate and are never heard from again. Steroids destroy your body and ligaments. You can’t last long in the sport if you do steroids. The guys who train correctly are the ones you see at the contests year after year. They worked their way up to the top ranks and will stay there for an extended time. Usually injuries or other factors cause a slow descent from the top. I’m in it for the long haul because I enjoy doing it.

IM: Do you recommend strongman-style training for other sports or activities? OH: Yes, by all means. Strongman training can enhance many types of sports, such as wrestling, football and combat sports. Anything that requires the athlete to move or lift and move in an unbalanced or awkward position will benefit from adapting strongman training techniques. You still need to practice your specific sports skills, but the addition of strongman training will enhance your chances of success and limit your risk of injury. *** The Norwegians have a word, janteloven, that literally translates to “the law of Jante.” It means, Don’t go around thinking you’re special. Odd and his wife, Julaie, invited me into their home, as they do with all who come to train with Odd, with typical Norwegian hospitality. Odd is well respected by many of the top-ranking strongmen in the world, who unhesitatingly request his advice. In the past few months I have seen him approached by young and old, amateur and professional, and he always greets them with a smile on his face and that twinkle in his eye. He still tries new techniques and reads up on new theories. He will help you to help yourself and improve. He doesn’t think he’s anything special; he is a living advertisement for janteloven, just doing what he’s had the pleasure of enjoying for a long time. IM

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

164 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Heavy Duty The Wisdom of Mike Mentzer by John Little

The Philosophy of Bodybuiding Q: Why did Mike Mentzer quote so much philosophy in his writings? Every bodybuilder I’ve ever known simply says, “Do this to get big,” or, “Do that to get ripped.” While Mike embraced science, he also went on and on about using the mind and the importance of philosophy. Why? A: As passionate as Mike was about science (he was a premed student prior to becoming a professional bodybuilder and also worked in a cardiopulmonary rehabilitation clinic as a technician), he was equally passionate about philosophy. Philosophy and science are not disparate but interrelated. Only over the past 200 years or so has philosophy’s realm diminished. Philosophy integrates the data of the various sciences in a manner that helps individuals better realize their life objectives and live a more enjoyable life. Mike attempted to reestablish purpose in the science of exercise—

that is, determine precisely how to build bigger, stronger muscles and indeed total fitness in the most efficient manner possible. Those who value their time and information on using it more productively to achieve their goals are tremendously attracted to Mike’s work and the philosophy that informed it. As Mike once explained: “Aristotle and the ancient Greeks literally established the context within which it was possible for science, medicine, art, morality and justice to flourish in the West. Human intelligence is what makes it possible to understand anything at all—including exercise science. The human mind, like the body, has a specific nature and requires a specific method of thought to gain valid knowledge. As a sincere bodybuilder you should want to know that the ideas guiding you in your training constitute true ideas. If not, then you’re literally leaving your training success to chance.” Philosophy means “love of wisdom,” and knowing what is wise— from what to do to become stronger to the importance of principles such

as intensity, duration and frequency, along with the nature of human adaptation—makes the realization of your bodybuilding goals that much more attainable. If you know what to do and why, your chances for success are much greater than they are for someone who does not. Philosophy, particularly logic, is a step closer to determining the truth of a given method and even whether an objective or purpose can be achieved. Mike’s perspective emerges in his last, unpublished writing, “The Integrated Man.” It’s largely an autobiographical piece, with a lot of solid philosophy in it as it applies to a bodybuilder’s psyche. An excerpt follows: “I never suffered such a vice—the dire need for approval. Rather than be like a creeping vine climbing up a tall tree where I could not stand alone, I preferred to be intellectually, emotionally and morally self-sufficient. I had always been a radical. This was expressed in my early years mainly through my sense of life, which is the pre-conceptual, preverbal, emotional, subconsciously integrated view of man and

www.ironmanmagazine.com \ OCTOBER 2007 165

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Heavy Duty ment—with Arnold’s only gaining 20 pounds while preparing for his ’75 Mr. Olympia victory as proof that high-intensity training delivered a greater impetus for muscle growth than did Arnold’s volume approach. Arnold, however, was also dieting for a contest, and as fewer calories in prevents muscle growth, it’s not really a fair comparison. What are your thoughts on that? Casey Viator in his later competitive years, after the Colorado Experiment. He was a successful pro who used both short high-intensity workouts and longer volume sessions.

The Colorado Experiment Q: I’ve read that Mike often used to contrast Casey Viator’s achievement—gaining 63 pounds in two months during the so-called Colorado Experi166 OCTOBER 2007

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Neveux \ Model: Christian Boeving

of existence—a child’s equivalent to a conscious, mature philosophy of life. In part owing to the lack of rational guidance, I was blindly rebellious and desperately sought self-assertion. As I matured, however, I was less under the control of my subconscious, emotional sense of life and became increasingly directed by a conscious, rational philosophy and a passionate desire to discover dispassionate, objective truth. I became thoroughly factcentered, which placed me out of step. It’s not that I was a lone wolf; it was that I learned to think for myself, which I came to understand required privacy. “As a young boy, I sought to achieve an objective view of others by imagining myself lifted into space, where I could peer down and obtain a clear, unobstructed view of them. What I observed was abject conformity and the desperate desire for the safety of will-less passivity—not of the body but of the mind. People were either unwilling or unable to think beyond the confines of the pack. The idea that spiritual self-sufficiency was the goal of maturation never occurred to them. They led blighted lives, bereft of interest in science, philosophy, morality or art. Life as they lived it was not to be questioned. To me, the ability to think and judge independently was the ultimate purpose in life. Those who didn’t care held no interest for me, were of not the slightest concern, as I couldn’t possibly respect them or their secondhand opinions. They were merely passing through existence as cultural ballast while I and others seeking the ideal were righteously doing what was of fundamental importance. The character trait I admired most in others was their holding of an exalted view of the sacredness of man’s self-esteem and happiness on earth.”

During the Colorado Experiment Casey trained only three times a week, with each workout lasting no more than 30 minutes. The duration of the experiment was a month. That meant Casey trained 12 times, for a total of only six hours. He went from a starting bodyweight of 166.87 pounds to his previously held bodyweight, in top muscular condition, of 212.15 pounds, losing 17.93 pounds of fat during the month. That means his muscle gain was a whopping 63.21 pounds— and all from only six hours of training.

A: I’ve heard that charge before, and I actually think it’s a further indictment of the high-volume approach. If it’s true that Casey ate everything in sight while rebuilding his previously held muscle size, it must also be pointed out that during the same period his bodyfat levels dropped markedly—that is, down to a competition-ready level. Competing at Arnold’s level, the highest level in bodybuilding, a competitor must be able to reduce his bodyfat to a freakishly low percentage. While Arnold was never scientifically measured to determine his bodyfat at the Mr. Olympia contests in which he competed, I can tell you that for the ’80 Olympia, Mike Mentzer went down to slightly below 3 percent. As Arnold was lighter in 1975 than he was in 1974 but always possessed tremendous definition, a sign of very low levels of subcutaneous bodyfat, his bodyfat was probably around 3 percent when he competed in 1975. Using a high-volume approach (training twice a day for two hours per session, six days a week from July until November 1975), Arnold went from a start-

ing bodyweight of 200 pounds to 225. When he’d won the Mr. Olympia title the year previously, he’d weighed 237 pounds. So he didn’t gain back all of his previous muscular size; remember, he dieted for that contest too. As his first goal was to rebuild his mass, Arnold wouldn’t have begun training in July with an eye on dieting. Out of four months, there might have been two (the last two) in which he might have employed a stringent diet to reduce his bodyfat to a competition-ready 3 percent. During the Colorado Experiment Casey trained only three times a week, with each workout lasting no more than 30 minutes. The duration of the experiment was a month. That meant Casey trained 12 times, for a total of only six hours. He went from a starting bodyweight of 166.87 pounds to his previously held bodyweight, in top muscular condition, (continued on page 172) of 212.15 Arthur Jones, Nautilus creator, trained with Casey during the experiment and gained 20 pounds of muscle after only 12 workouts.

168 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Heavy Duty

(continued from page 168) pounds. The exercise physiologist who conducted the experiment, Dr. Eliot Plese, discovered (using a sophisticated radioisotope assay machine) that Casey also lost 17.93 pounds of fat during the month, which meant that Casey’s actual muscle gain was not merely the 45.28 pounds that registered on the scale but a whopping 63.21 pounds—and all from only six hours of training. He most certainly didn’t diet as Arnold did, but he didn’t have to. He also reduced his bodyfat from 13.8 percent to 2.46 percent! Casey’s improvement during the first 14 days was the most dramatic. He gained 28.93 pounds, or a daily average of 2.06 pounds. During the next three days he gained 3.92

pounds, for a daily average muscle gain of 1.3 pounds. During the following five days, he gained another 6.09 pounds, for a daily average of 1.2 pounds. In his final six days he gained 6.34 pounds, for a daily average of 1.05 pounds. According to Arthur Jones, who created both Nautilus and MedX exercise machines and who participated in the Colorado Experiment, “It is clear that his ‘rate of gaining’ was slowing down at the end of the experiment... but it is equally clear that his actual growth was very steady.” If you accept the argument that Arnold’s dieting held him back, then you have to concede that he made a mistake and didn’t need to diet in order to regain his muscle mass and come into the contest at competi-

tive-level bodyfat. He should have been able to both regain all of his previous mass (he had less to gain back than did Casey) and reduce his bodyfat simultaneously during his first month of training, but he didn’t. Instead, Arnold gained back some mass (not all of it) during the first month and then, owing to his diet, gained some more muscle, but not much. That took 288 hours in the gym (four hours a day, six days a week for four months). Casey trained for six hours (total) over the course of less than a month, didn’t diet and gained 63.21 pounds of muscle and reduced his bodyfat to less than 3 percent. The diet issue makes Mike’s point even more forcefully: “Not only are both Casey and

172 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

• Two individuals with different approaches to training and dieting

You have to stimulate growth in the gym and then allow enough recovery time away from training for growth to occur.

• One individual training a total of six hours in a 28-day period, without dieting, and gaining 63.21 pounds of lean muscle while dropping his bodyfat to 2.46 percent

Neveux \ Model: Berry Kabov

• One individual training for a total of 288 hours over a 120-day period, while dieting, and gaining 20 pounds of muscle and dropping his bodyfat to roughly 3 percent.”

Arnold genetically gifted, both were also regaining muscle mass, which happens more readily than gaining it in the first place. Arnold has gone on record as saying that he used steroids in preparing for his contests, while most of the individuals who were around Casey during the experiment believe he did not. Even if he did, you’re left with the following facts: • Two individuals with superior genetics for building muscle • Two individuals who were regaining previously held muscle mass • Two individuals who were no strangers to steroid use

Arthur Jones, who certainly did not share Arnold’s or Casey’s genetic capacity for building muscle, was monitored, training with the same principles that Casey employed and that Mike espoused, and produced gains in muscle mass that were equal to Arnold’s. It took him 25 days, about a quarter of Arnold’s time. Arthur trained only 12 times, gained 20.1 pounds of muscle and dropped his bodyfat from 6.3 percent to 4.46 percent. It should also be noted that Jones did not train his legs during that period. According to Dr. Elliot Plese: “It was the original intention of Mr. Jones to train his entire body, performing one set of an exercise for each major muscle group; but upon arriving in Colorado for the start of the experiment, he was obviously suffering from a deep chest cold. The effects of the cold, in combination with the altitude and his age, made it apparent that he would not be able to train as much as he had planned. I suggested that the experiment be postponed for a month, but that would have been impractical because of other obligations. As a result, Mr. Jones restricted his workouts almost entirely to exercises for the upper body—the arms, the shoulders, the chest and the back. A few light exercises were performed for the legs, but only enough to maintain muscle tone in that area of the body. Which makes his gains in muscle mass even more remarkable, since it is well established that rapid weight gains are best produced by heavy exercise for the legs and lower back, a type of exercise that was not

www.ironmanmagazine.com \ OCTOBER 2007 173

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Heavy Duty Viator experimented with a number of different training approaches throughout his career, relying on short high-intensity workouts to trigger growth.

involved in his workouts.” During the first seven days Jones gained 4.08 pounds of muscle, a daily average of .58 pounds. During week two, Jones gained another 4.95 pounds, a daily average of .7 pounds. During his final eight days he gained 4.6 pounds, for a daily average of .57 pounds. As Jones later recalled, “There were no ‘sudden spurts’ of growth in either case…so we obviously were not putting back weight from dehydration; instead, growth was very steady throughout the periods of training.” It should also be noted that during a three-week period in 1979, when Mike Mentzer was training particularly intensely, with less volume and less frequency, he was able to add 10 pounds of muscle to his frame while losing four pounds of fat—in three weeks. That’s 10 pounds of new muscle, not regaining previously held muscle, on a Mr.

Olympia–caliber physique. As Mike explained the process: “Recovery and growth are two distinct physiological processes, both requiring time to fulfill and complete. You have to stimulate growth in the gym and then allow growth to produce itself or manifest itself. The growth production has to be preceded by the recovery process. So what happens when you train again before you recover is that you short-circuit the growth process. I sometimes found that I needed two or more days off in between workouts to recover and grow and presently am taking up to six days off. Don’t allow tradition and convenience and compulsion to supersede logic and reason.” More data come in all the time showing that training harder—not longer—and less frequently will result in much more rapid gains whether you diet or not.

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 provided courtesy of Joanne Sharkey and are used with permission. IM

174 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Jim Morris, age 71.

182 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Sensational at 70-Plus

An Interview With Jim Morris, Mr. America and Bodybuilding Legend by David Young Session photography by Michael Neveux

From the Jim Morris archi

ves, used with permission

y jaw almost hit the ground when I saw the pictures accompanying this interview. How could this possibly be a 71-year-old man? No friggin’ way! Could it really be? The answer is, yes. Jim Morris’ physique puts most 40-year-olds to shame. Among dozens and dozens of bodybuilding titles he earned, Morris was the ’73 AAU Mr. America. He has a contest history that spans 27 years—from 1959 to 1996. The photo session

he did with Michael Neveux this past January represents Jim’s 47th year of getting in top shape. That kind of longevity in the sport doesn’t come haphazardly. It comes from dedication, knowledge and focus. What struck me when I talked with Jim was his readiness to share his wisdom and enthusiasm for bodybuilding. Jim Morris, the He’s got some very interesting competitive views on how things are done, years. and they may just get you to rethink your own training and diet strategies—so get out your notebooks and listen up. Professor Morris is about to start class. www.ironmanmagazine.com \ OCTOBER 2007 183

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Sensational 70 DY: How did you get started in bodybuilding? JM: One of my coworkers at the New York Public Library’s main branch on Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street invited me to go to the gym with him. I was 19, and I’d never been in any gym other than in school, which did not have weights. It was June, and New York was sweltering, so everyone was in Speedo’s. St. Mary’s Community Center in the South Bronx was in a pretty tough neighborhood, and I was a bit nervous. I’d always felt the well-built guys in school were born that way, but looking at the well-built guys there, I realized they’d built themselves. DY: So what happened? JM: Before that revelation could sink in, a couple of the guys came over and asked me what exercises I did for my chest and arms. At first I thought they were teasing me, but my coworker convinced me they were serious. I’d never had that kind of attention before, and I was thrilled to be the center of attention. But it was starting out to be a murderously hot summer, so I determined to start training on Labor Day. The main branch of the New York Library had every Iron Man and Health & Strength [British] and Strength & Health ever published, and over the course of the summer I read every one of them. I preferred the information in Iron Man, as I felt it was more honest. One of the articles talked about setting goals, short term and long term. Another talked about mental attitude and focus. DY: Did you make good progress right from the get-go? JM: I set a short-term goal of gaining 30 pounds by Thanksgiving. On Labor Day I started training and fell into a trance. On Thanksgiving Day I came out of the trance to find I’d gained 35 pounds of pure muscle. DY: Thirty-five pounds in three months is incredible. That’s a trance a lot of guys would like to be in. How did you do it? JM: Unwittingly, by spending the entire summer immersed in magazines and any other writing I could find on exercise, nutrition, motivation and the human body, I’d

hypnotized myself. It was a matter of all the right circumstances coming together at exactly the same moment. My living situation was perfect. I was still living at home. My job was not physical. I had total control over my diet and lifestyle, and I was obsessed. I was like a sponge that had been waiting all my life for just this stimulation. DY: Where did your chest and arm development come from? Had you been athletic before that? JM: I was never interested in any kind of sports or athletic activity before that. The chest and arms were natural. Everyone has a couple

of bodyparts that are either naturally just there or respond easily. I think the bodybuilders who make it to the top have more than most. I gain easily, especially in my upper body. I was something of a nerd. I even went to a high school for bright students called Stuyvesant in lower Manhattan. I was the kid nobody wanted on their team when they played stickball in the neighborhood. Bodybuilding was my version of playing basketball at the neighborhood park. I was good at it, and I enjoyed the attention. There is a line in one of the songs in the musical “Chorus Line” that goes, “Every-

184 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Sensational 70 thing was beautiful at the ballet.” JM: He never got into the meThe character’s explaining how her chanics of my workout. He would otherwise dull life became beautiful point out a particular spot and at ballet school. In those days gyms show how by developing that area were all-male enclaves, and I had it would look better. He left it up a pretty body even before I started to me to figure out how to develop training. The first day I walked into the muscle. He was very specific the gym I was an instant star. I’d about the exact point he wanted found my ballet school, and everyworked. He never worked in broad thing was beautiful. areas. This caused me to find and DY: Who influenced your develop exercises that isolated and training and your routines? developed very small areas, which JM: Lon Hanagan was the first ultimately gave me greater control influence, and he really set the structure Jim’s physique is still packed with for what I wanted to power and vitality, a testament to look like. Everyone the wonders of weight training. after that helped me to achieve that look. Lon was the physique photographer everyone in New York went to. Leroy Colbert, Marvin Eder, both Tom and Tony Sansone, Chris Dickerson, Raul Pacheco, Rico Tomas, George Paine, Art Harris, Bill Cerdas and many others all posed for Lon. The famous [John] Grimek side shot with him leaning back against the short column is one of Lon’s. He did lots of covers for Strength & Health and other bodybuilding mags. Lon and I became great friends, and he took an interest in me and in my training. He always emphasized proportion and symmetry, line and form. He told me what I needed to train in order to balance my physique. Lon locked into place my taste in physiques. He continued to be the major influence in my training until I moved to Los Angeles in 1969. DY: Did Lon have a particular choice of exercises or sequence that helped you develop those aesthetic lines?

over my lines. DY: So where did your knowledge of how to isolate those areas and control your lines come from? JM: I learned the function of the muscles from anatomy books and found or developed exercises that corresponded to those functions. There is an anatomy book I use now to teach my clients, The Anatomy Coloring Book, by Kapit and Elson. I wish I’d had it (continued on page 190)

186 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

From the Jim Morris archives, used with permission

www.ironmanmagazine.com \ OCTOBER 2007 187

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Sensational 70

From the Jim Morris archives, used with permission

At the ’70 Mr. America. Morris (near left) placed seventh. That’s Bill Grant in the middle.

From the Jim

Morris archives

when I started. It scene before you? is the best I have JM: No. Pearl invited ever seen. As an me to train with him, example, I used but there was no way the low pulleys I was going to get up to develop the at 3 a.m. in order to upper pec, but it be ready to train by 4. Winning his first title, would require a Arnold invited me to Mr. New York City, in picture to explain. train with him, and 1966. DY: Tell me I would go over to about the move Gold’s to watch him work to Los Angeles—where did you out, after which we would sometrain, and who influenced your times go for breakfast. I was doing training at that point? so well with Pearl’s routines, I felt no JM: I started training at Bill Pearl’s need to change. Pasadena Health Club. Although Once in a while I’d visit Gironda’s I’d won every major title back east, just to talk diet with him, but he including New York City, New York never extended an invitation to State, East Coast, Eastern America train with him. He did give me a lot and Jr. USA, I felt I could learn from of exercise advice, some of which I Bill. And I did. Bill made up a new incorporated into my training. The program every month for the next desiccated liver was a Gironda sugfive years. They were versions of gestion, and although it was not whatever he was doing at the motasty, it did improve my physique. ment. Equally important were the I have heard of the Arnold-Franco posing sessions. I always hated training partnership, and I watched practicing posing, but Bill would get Arnold train with Ed Corney, but top me over to his house and grind me bodybuilders rarely are able to benthrough session after session. efit from the same routine or suborDY: Did you ever train with dinate their own ego and progress Pearl or with Gironda or any of enough to come to a compromise the other guys who came on the workout that benefits both.

DY: You’ve talked about three people who influenced your training: Lon Hanagan, Bill Pearl and Vince Gironda. What did each of those guys teach you, and what were some of the training routines like? JM: Pearl was the only one who made up my routines. Lon taught me that the absolute first law of symmetry is to match the amount of muscle mass to the skeletal framework. Once the muscle mass exceeds the limit imposed by the frame, there can be no symmetry. Gironda taught me how to work with gravity on the free weights. He was able to coax a lot of response using very little weight with his knowledge of how the pulleys and levers of the skeletal muscles work. He taught me to think for myself, to question all of the methods and systems being used and pushed by the magazines and current stars. He taught me to do my own thing. As for the specifics of the workouts, they were the product of what was known at the time along with the equipment available in Bill’s gym, which, although obviously adequate, as he won the Universe on

190 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Sensational 70 them and I won the America, they were mostly unique and very different from what’s available today. I know for a fact that if Bill were to make me a program today with all that he’s learned in the ensuing years and the modern equipment available, it would be very different. So it would not serve any purpose to even discuss them. What I would prefer would be to talk about what I have learned from the experience. DY: Being from Rochester, New York, I was just getting into bodybuilding in the early ’70s when Danny Padilla and Pete Grymkowski were competing. You competed against both of them, isn’t that right? JM: Yes, I competed against both in the ’72 Mr. America. As you know, Pete had placed second for the previous two years and was being pushed by the magazines as the next champion, especially in Muscular Development. Grimek had him all over the place the year before, even on the cover.

DY: Did that influence your contest-prep strategy for the show? JM: My strategy, if you want to call it that, was based on my assessment of what I accomplished in ’72 and in the feedback I got from people I respected. Proportion and symmetry were what had gotten me this far, so I did not want to screw around with them. My everlasting thanks to Lon. Shortly after the ’72 contest I was having dinner with Frank and Christine Zane at their place—she is a gourmet cook—and he suggested I flex more and showed me how. After a couple of months I could voluntarily cramp and uncramp every major bodypart. He called it “detailing.” It brought out details in the muscles I never knew I had. By the way, if I’d wanted to emulate a physique, it would have been Frank’s. We are about the same height, around 5’9”, but I have a slightly heavier frame than he, which allows me to hold a little

more weight. At his best Frank weighed between 185 and 190, and I was 210 to 215. I think Frank’s is the only absolutely perfect physique ever to exist. DY: Do you attribute detailing to helping you win the Mr. America? JM: Grymkowski had won the Most Muscular award in ’72, and I feel it was the definition that enabled me to win the Most Muscular and overall in ’73 because I certainly didn’t match his mass. He must have outweighed me by 40 pounds. DY: Yes, Pete had amazing mass, and you had classic aesthetics. That was a true example of a contest where the decision was between herculean mass and aesthetics. Got any stories about that contest? JM: At one point after the interviews [the AAU used to conduct interviews with each Mr. America competitor] I sought out a seat in the back of the now empty auditorium to try and gather myself

His biceps are still peaked, like the rest of his physique.

192 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

JM: I had the absolute best training partner of my life Jim’s first during those two years, a guy physique named Bob May. Bob put up photo, with more s—, never once lostaken in ing it or even acknowledging 1956, when it. He was a thousand percent he was 21. behind me. I think he wanted that win as much as I did. I’m sure of it. Getting to share that experience with Bob is what I’ll always remember about the Mr. America. The happiest two years of my life. DY: How were you training at that time? JM: I did make great progress during those two years, but you must remember when I arrived at Pearl’s the year before, in ’69, see in Danny’s smile is Danny. I I had one national title, Junior USA, always felt he was not fairly judged. one state title, New York, and several DY: You went from placing regional titles. So the groundwork seventh in the ’70 Mr. America had been laid. My symmetry was in to third in ’72 to winning it all place, as was the overall size. in ’73. Tell us about those two Bill added the finishing touches years and your diet and trainand refinements to my physique. ing. His workouts reflected that. They JM: Looking were very balanced—not emphasizback on my diet ing or specializing on any particular now, I wonder how bodyparts. They were two basic I ever won anyformats. The first was doing one thing. My favorite routine on Monday, Wednesday and meal during that Friday and a second on Tuesday, 1973 period was a Thursday and Saturday. The other Mr. America. pound of ground format was three routines done on beef, which I Monday and Thursday, Tuesday and would brown in a Friday and Wednesday and Saturlarge frying pan, day, sets of four or five, reps from add a large can eight to 10 and usually three to four of Campbell’s exercises per bodypart. Chunky MinFor example, Monday/Thursday estrone Soup, heat would be chest and back, Tuesand eat. Some day/Friday shoulders and arms days I would have and Wednesday/Saturday legs and this two or three abs. Bill allowed me to choose my times. Most of the weights and never criticized me for other meals were not working heavy enough or hard KFC buckets of 15 enough. or 20 pieces, extra DY: Something else was going crispy or BBQ, on in bodybuilding at that time. which I would just Arthur Jones started writing eat until I couldn’t in Iron Man in 1970. He was advocating short, full-body breathe. The tuna workouts three times a week as drink [see below] being superior to split, highwas health food volume routines. Casey Viator, compared to that. who won the AAU Mr. America For me contest in ’71, was Jones’ star pupil and prep was cutting the showcase for Jones’ training out the pastries. ideas. How was it that you never DY: That’s inbought into (continued on page 196) credible. From the Jim Morris archives, used with permission

and focus on the evening competition. A short chubby kid—I was 37 at the time, so he seemed like a kid to me—came into the auditorium and sat down next to me. He said his name was Danny [Padilla], and he wanted my opinion of his build and what he needed to do. I hadn’t really paid much attention to him, but I said he had good proportions and needed to get more cut. DY: You’re right about Danny. He had a problem coming in cut. But in ’81, when he did—wow! Plus, Danny is such a great guy. JM: I had the great good fortune to get to know Padilla when he was out here in L.A., and he is one of the people whose character I admire most in bodybuilding. He is a genuinely good soul. I always enjoyed just spending time with Danny—he was a joy to be around. What you

www.ironmanmagazine.com \ OCTOBER 2007 193

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

From the Jim Morris archives, used with permission

Sensational 70

(continued from page 193) Jones’ methodologies? JM: At the ’70 Mr. America, Jones was setting up his pullover machine in the lobby as I was walking through on my way to the prejudging. It was June, and I was in a tank top. He called out to me very loudly, challenging me. “Hey, you. You think

you’re strong? You think you know how to train? Come over here, and I will show you how to train.” Partly out of ego and partly stupidity, I went over. It was plate loaded, and he had not brought the plates in yet, so he had his son stand on the platform the weights were supposed to go on. Then he told me to do as

many as I could to failure. With him and the crowd urging me on, like an idiot I went to failure. At the prejudging not only could I not flex my lats, I could not even feel them. At the evening show they were so sore, I could hardly move. I read all of his articles in Iron Man and all of Ellington Darden’s,

196 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Sensational 70 but I was doing so well with Pearl and I was so comfortable with his methods and philosophy that there was no need to change. There’s a grain of truth to some of Jones’ principles, but the system as he wants it done will tear you apart. The human body was never intended to take the stresses modern athletics demands, and I was always reluctant to ask of it more than I felt comfortable handling. There was always a point at which my body told me, enough. I really credit the fact that now, at 71, I have absolutely no joint problems or discomfort to that. I do not take any medication at all for anything. DY: I know that Pearl and others felt that Jones’ idea of training a set to failure was incorrect. When I trained with Samir Bannout, he taught me to hold back a rep or two, and my muscle growth exploded. That poses the next logical question: If you don’t go to failure, what is the proper time to end a set? JM: I train to stimulate the body to grow, not to beat it into submission. It has never occurred to me

to push my body to its limits. Even when I was competing in the Olympic lifts, I never went balls-out. In 1955 I was doing bench squats and took a weight I was comfortable I could do. I was more concerned about doing that poundage than about how the set would make my body feel. I hit the bench and relaxed and demolished the disk and vertebra of my lower back. It laid me up in the hospital for two weeks. The doctors wanted to go in and clean it up and fuse the rest together “as best they could,” as they put it. I never had the operation—and I never again pushed my body beyond what felt good. I feel that I have a very different awareness of my body than most people. My guess would be that most athletes do. For me the workout is about achieving a certain feeling. Not wiped out, exhausted and shaking, but really good and alive. I suspect others reach that at different points in their workouts. Overtraining is the most common condition in bodybuilding, and it shows. The body looks tortured and unhealthy. So, to answer your question, I stop at 10. If I’m not getting the feeling I want, I adjust the poundage until I do. On large muscle groups like legs and chest and lats I do a light warmup, a medium and then three heavy sets. On arms and delts I do one light and four heavy, making the first set of the heavy kind of easy and the fourth real hard. I don’t do abs Onstage at the ’96 and haven’t in Masters Mr. Olympia. probably 25 years. DY: What role did cardio play in your contest

preparations at that time? JM: My workouts were pure cardio. I would train with a partner, and we would go at it set for set with no more rest in between than it took us to get into position. When I’d get up to do my set, there would be a puddle of sweat on the floor. All of the way through the workout I would be panting, mouth open, gulping for air. I loved it. During the off-season I’d train with two guys, which slowed it down to tolerable. DY: Do you still have your gym on Santa Monica Boulevard? JM: No, I sold the gym years ago and now make my living from my Web site, www.Gymmorris .com, and personal training. DY: I read an article by you when I was just starting out as a teenager. You talked about tuna shakes with desiccated liver powder. Into the kitchen I went and mixed one up. I chugged it down, and about three seconds later projectile-vomited the whole mess all over my parents’ kitchen. JM: Ah yes. I think my famous tuna drink will be my legacy whenever my name is mentioned. One day I found myself unable to swallow a mouthful of tuna, after years and years and can after can. It just would not go down. Some years before I’d mastered the art of pouring a quart of milk down my throat without actually swallowing, as many college students can with beer. Determined to get that tuna down, I put it in the blender. The rest is history. The drink went through many transformations in the years following, finally ending up with peanut flour replacing the tuna and raw fruits and veggies replacing the liver as I became a vegan. I must admit, though, I do have the ability to stomach things most people cannot. I don’t use any seasoning at all on my foods now. No salt, pepper, nothing. My taste buds have readjusted so that I enjoy the taste of the food itself with no flavoring. DY: Let’s go back to Danny Padilla getting into shape for the ’81 Mr. Olympia. Interestingly, Danny was not on a traditional high-protein, low-carb diet for that contest but on a high-fiber,

198 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

low-protein diet. I understand that you, as a vegan, have some views on this. JM: He achieved the most defined condition to that point in his career. I’m glad you asked that because I consider my ability to learn and incorporate that learning into my lifestyle as probably my greatest achievement. As I’ve trained people over the past 50 years, trying to get them to change lifelong eating habits has been almost impossible. Nothing is more ingrained and locked in than eating habits. Danny was ahead of his time with his diet of mostly vegetables. Granted, Danny had achieved all the size he needed by then, and his protein requirements were less, though for growth we don’t need anything near the amounts currently taken. Back in the ’60s the rule of thumb was two grams of protein for every pound of bodyweight. Total insanity. Whenever the subject of my vegan diet comes up, the first thing people say is, “I need meat to maintain my muscle.” I hope the photos of me show otherwise. Vegetable protein is of far better quality and requires smaller amounts to satisfy even the most extreme development and training. A vegan diet would do for the current crop what it did for Danny—eliminate the bloat. I recently finished The China Study, a book by T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D., and it is the most informative I’ve ever read on the subject of nutrition. I hope everybody reads his book. It would change the world. My diet is constantly changing as I change—as my activity level changes, as my requirements change, as my metabolism changes, as my circumstances change. For the most part, the change is in the appetite rather than a conscious calculation on my part. My appetite may start craving something or lose its desire for something. Once you get in touch with your body and let it take over, it’s self-regulating. DY: How would your diet for the Mr. America compare with your diet now? JM: Consider that leading up to the Mr. A I was dealing with a completely different body than I have now. I was 36, half my current age, in heavy (continued on page 202)

“My goal is maximum health, so the purity of my food is of the utmost importance now.”

www.ironmanmagazine.com \ OCTOBER 2007 199

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Sensational 70 (continued from page 199) training, taking lots of steroids, living in the Hollywood Hills, training in Pasadena, both very warm to freaky hot. The goal of my diet was to build as much muscle as quickly as possible along with losing as much fat as quickly as possible. Actually, I talked about that diet earlier, so I will get into what I am doing now. Obviously, I’m not training for competition, so I don’t require the quantities I used to eat. My goal is maximum health, so the purity of my food is of the utmost importance now. I want to counter the natural tendency to gain fat, which was not a factor then. I live at the beach,

which is very cool, a completely different climate. It’s now known that the human body can derive all the essential amino acids from the natural variety of plant proteins that we encounter every day. It doesn’t require eating higher quantities of plant protein or meticulously combining varieties of plants. My primary goal now is more an experiment than anything else. I want to know just how pure I can get my diet permanently, and what will happen to my health, body, knowledge. I want to know what the experience of being absolutely as clean of unwanted, unneeded, unnecessary substances is like. Will it

make a difference? A big difference? No difference? So I no longer eat any animal products or anything containing animal products. Someone said, “I don’t eat anything with eyes.” That pretty well sums it up. I also don’t eat anything that’s been processed in any way. That means no breads or cereals. I eat from four basic food groups: fruits, nuts, vegetables and beans. I always have a large pot of bean soup in the fridge. No seasonings at all. Sometimes I will put vegetables in it: yams, potatoes, bell peppers— red, yellow and green—carrots, cherry tomatoes, whatever may be around. I have collard greens, spinach or mustard greens every day. I eat only once daily what could be considered a meal. “I no longer But I snack on nuts and fruits eat any animal once or twice a day. products I do not measure, weigh or anything or count anything. I eat only containing animal when I’m hungry, and I drink products.” only when I’m thirsty. The whole eight eight-ounce glasses of water a day thing could not be more absurd. I will sit and eat peanuts and grapes. That’s my version of peanut butter and grape jelly. By doing that, I eliminate the processing, along with the added salt and sugar. I microwave everything except the beans because microwaving destroys fewer nutrients than any other way of cooking, including steaming and broiling. DY: You said that back when you were competing, you were taking “lots of steroids.” The dosages back then were nothing compared to today. What was your typical weekly dosage? JM: I had the great good fortune to have a close friend who was a doctor who was willing to administer my steroid program and monitor my bodily functions on a regular basis. I got 200 milligrams of testosterone and 150 milligrams of Deca Durabolin a week and took 10 milligrams of Dianabol a day. I’m told that these days women start out with more than that.

202 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Sensational 70

Photo by San Emerson \ from the Jim Morris archives, used with permission.

DY: Do you think you could have competed successfully with your current diet strategy—or, put a different way, did you eat as a vegan for your Masters Olympia over-60 win in 1996? JM: I was not yet a vegan in ’96 because I’d still occasionally eat fish. Not on any regular schedule, some weeks once, some twice, and then only a few ounces. I was supplementing my

From the Jim

Morris archives,

used with per

mission.

Once a bodyguard for Elton John, Morris is pictured here with John Lennon and Bernie Taupin. At left: on the beach in Santa Monica.

diet with reduced-fat peanut flour, which I stopped when I eliminated processed foods. It replaced tuna in my shake. I also was still eating processed foods, such as oatmeal, one of my lifelong favorites. I think I would have done much better in that contest if I were eating as I am now because I would have been incredibly more defined. DY: I know that bodybuild-

ing requires a lot of discipline. It’s as much a mental game as a physical one. What keeps you motivated for your training and diet? JM: I function best in a highly regimented and ordered lifestyle, so what for most people would be an almost impossibly disciplined lifestyle is easy for me, requiring absolutely no discipline. It’s almost monastic. What enabled me to stay in reasonably good shape are my eating habits, which are not really a diet but a way of eating, and I do it regardless of whether I’m in training or not. I work out only when I have a goal. This interview and these pictures were part of my reason for training the past several months. Before that I hadn’t trained with much regularity. But that has always been the way I train. I cannot train for maintenance. Bodybuilding for me is a creative process, and I only enjoy training when I am creating. Each creation is the result of a different motivation. DY: I read that you were Elton John’s bodyguard for 15 years. How did you balance the travel and lifestyle with training and staying in shape?

JM: While I was on tour, I rarely trained. Once in a while if I had a day off and a gym was available in the hotel, I would go do a little something. The lifestyle on the road was so exactly the opposite of my normal life that I just relaxed and enjoyed the roller coaster. But you’d never want to live on a roller coaster. Even Elton after every tour would say, “Never again.” But the thrill would draw him back. As I said, not working out for periods of time was part of my M.O. anyway, so it just fit right in. DY: How do you feel about reaching 71? JM: I feel good because I like the way I look and feel, and I think I have done a good job of stewardship with the body I was given. Aging and living are one and the same. In order to live, we must age. Therefore, how we live determines how we age. The major factors of living—nutrition, activity, stress and rest—are also the major factors of aging, all of which are totally under our control. The responsibility for how you age is yours and yours alone. Nutrition for me breaks down into two categories, quality and quantity. Now that I’ve cleaned up the quality of my food by eliminat-

204 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

“Aging and living are one and the same. In order to live, we must age. Therefore, how we live determines how we age. The major factors of living—nutrition, activity, stress and rest—are also the major factors of aging.”

www.ironmanmagazine.com \ OCTOBER 2007 205

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Sensational 70 “Once you accept responsibility for how you live your life, you’re controlling how you age. And you will be amazed at how much control you have. I’d say it’s over 90 percent.”

ing all animal and processed products, I find it impossible to overeat. I sometimes eat until I am uncomfortable but with absolutely no gain in fat percentage, even during the often extended periods of nontraining. Activity should be regulated so that you don’t so stress your body that you injure yourself or wear out your joints. I have full use of all my limbs, and none of my joints bother me in the least. I don’t take any medication whatever. From what I hear of a lot of bodybuilders and older athletes, that seems to be

the exception. I think that is due in great part to my not training to failure—muscle failure or joint failure. I think it’s also due to the rest periods where I allow my body to recuperate from the training periods. The couch potato lifestyle should also be avoided. Depending on your personality and character, from hyper to lethargic, from aggressive to easygoing, there’s a range of activity in the middle that will serve you best. Stress is a given in our time and society. How we deal with that stress is totally our choice. As for rest, I

haven’t used an alarm clock in so long, I cannot remember the last time. I am usually in bed by 7 p.m. and up by 5 a.m. Once you accept responsibility for how you live your life, you’re controlling how you age. And you will be amazed at how much control you have. I’d say it’s over 90 percent. DY: What motivated you to come back for the ’96 Masters Olympia after all those years away from competition? JM: In 1992 my companion of 20 years, Jim Brown, died of AIDS. For the next couple of years I sank deep-

206 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

er and deeper into depression. In 1994 I ran into Jim Manion at Gold’s Gym in Venice. I wasn’t following what was going on in the game. Jim had long been a friend and fan. He told me they had instituted age groups in the Masters Olympia and suggested I consider the over-60 category. He felt I would do well. Immersing myself in training had helped me through similar situations in the past, so I decided to do it. Building the body is a positive activity and can be best accomplished if you’re in a positive and nurturing atmosphere and frame of mind. So it became necessary for me to put myself in that place in order to train. Forty years of practice made that possible even from the depressed state I was in. DY: Tell me about something you’re proud of and what that’s meant to you. JM: Being the only openly gay man to win the Mr. America. I feel my career helped to change the way gays felt about themselves and their bodies. I was the toast of gay society in both New York and Los Angeles throughout my competitive career, and I think my impact was positive, both within the gay community and in how the public at large felt about gays. I received countless letters telling me how they felt it was as if they were given permission to be masculine, and this is how it is done. When I started competing in 1966, gays were not known for having great bodies and were generally thought of as physically effeminate, even within the gay community. In the years since gays have steadily become synonymous with wellbuilt guys, to the point that now any guy with a good body is somewhat suspect. DY: What’s the best thing about bodybuilding? JM: In the broad sense it’s any activity that builds or improves some aspect of our body, whether that’s overall health, agility, endurance, balance, strength, weight loss, gain or countless other ways. It can be all things to all people. There is an exercise program that can benefit anyone, whatever their age, condition or situation, from the elite athlete to the disabled. It has physical, psychological, emotional and

spiritual benefits all from less than one hour a day. DY: By the way, I’d like to know more about your dogs. I’m an animal lover myself. Did your love for animals influence your decision to go vegan? JM: Like my eating habits, my relationship with animals has come a long way, and both are still evolving. From the way I treated my first dog, Buff, during my teens to how I relate now is nothing short of a 180degree turn. I now believe the whole concept of “pets” is a form of slavery. I believe every animal has the inalienable right to live in its own element, with its own kind in absolute freedom. Joe Gold’s dog, Hope, is the ninth dog I have had. Seven females and two males. Jimmy and I had two toy poodle sisters from the same litter, but one was much larger than the other, so we named them Laverne and Shirley. Blanche had a litter of 10 on my bed in Venice in 1991. I kept one, James, to keep his mother company. And yes, he was named after me. He died on my bed last year at 15. He was my soul. Caring for him and deciding to spend the last year focused on him is what kept me from getting in shape for my 70th. I made him a promise that I’d do everything I could to change people’s attitude toward animals. The scientific and biological proof of the correctness of a vegan diet is sufficient for me. That it meshes with my philosophy of how I relate to the “other” is for me even more validating. Unfortunately, whenever I mention my philosophy, it becomes a reason for people to dismiss my diet as the “Bambi Syndrome.” But if my advocacy for the vegan lifestyle has any beneficial effect on the animal world, it will be my most satisfying accomplishment. DY: How can people correspond with you to get advice either in person or online? JM: My Web site is www .gymmorris.com, or send e-mail to me at jimmorris@gymmorris.com. Editor’s note: For the extended, unedited version of this interview, visit www.IronManMagazine.com. IM

Incredible Tasting WPI Formula For Athletes Who Need To Supplement Protein Intake (You Won’t Get Sick of It!)

24g Protein Per Serving No Sugar • Aspartame Free Anabolic/Anti-Catabolic Power of IntraPro AAC7™ Available In Delicious Vanilla, Double Chocolate and Strawberries & Cream We Make Products That Work!

www.gasparinutrition.com Available at health and vitamin stores, gyms and select retailers nationwide.

www.ironmanmagazine.com \ OCTOBER 2007 207

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Goodin

Pounds Pecs Dave Goodin, 48-Year-Old Competitor, Still Hammers and Chisels His Chest by Cory Crow • Photography by Michael Neveux

aybe I should start by telling you that Dave Goodin has been training for 26 years and competing for 25. Maybe I’d be better served by letting you know that Goodin, a.k.a. the Texas Shredder, recently won the overall at the ’07 NPC South Texas Bodybuilding Championships—as well as the masters division. I could start this off with all of that information and more, which, to use a phrase that is famously attributed to Henry Kissinger, would have the added advantage of being true. More to the point, however, would be to lead off like this: If you follow Dave’s chest routine to a tee for eight weeks, you’ll probably end up with a chest that looks nothing like his. In bodybuilding that’s a very important concept to grasp. Effort doesn’t always equal success, desire doesn’t always translate to results, and similar workouts don’t always equate to similar gains. Most bodybuilders train hard, yet there’s only one who can claim the title Mr. Olympia. Does Jay Cut-

210 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

www.ironmanmagazine.com \ OCTOBER 2007 211

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

He uses dumbbell pullovers as the last exercise to elongate the muscle fibers in his pecs.

ler have the best workouts in bodybuilding? For him they’re the best, yes, but too many young bodybuilders grab the routine of some champ out of a magazine and give it up two months later because, for example, their chest doesn’t look like two full sails stretched to the breaking point. In other words, you can train, eat and exactly duplicate the supplement regimen of Ronnie Coleman, and I guarantee you will not win the Olympia eight times. Only a very few bodybuilders have the ability to compete at the highest level. For the rest of us, pumping iron is a healthful pursuit designed to add years to our lives, not detract from them; contests should be fun; and pharmacological assistance should be totally off the table. I know what you’re thinking: How can it be fun if the program won’t work? The answer is, I didn’t say that it wouldn’t work—only that you won’t end up with a chest like Dave’s. Goodin’s chest training will work, at least to a degree. For some it will produce a spurt of muscle

in with Z system, and they’re gone in about two months.” In the course of 2 1/2 decades of of pumping iron he’s pretty much seen it all. His program is the result of years of tweaking and finding out what works for him and not a routine pulled from a magazine or designed to mimic the training style of one of his idols. Training is very individual, which means a lot of experimentation. As I said, Dave’s chest routine may work wonders for you. The only way to find out is to try it. Whatever happens, it’ll be a learning experience. You should learn—and grow—by trying different routines until you find one that works the best for you. Your goal should be to find a workout that stimulates the muscles while avoiding injury. Dave’s program is built around those principles, the ones that have kept him on the competition stage for a quarter century.

Super Dave in superlean condition.

growth; for others it may be exactly what they need to make their pecs explode into the next level.

Hanging Around “I see guys come into the gym all the time,” Dave says. “They come

212 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

“I Like Lifting”— How to Stay in the Iron Game for 26 Years While talking with Dave about his chest training, I got some insight into how he’s been able to stay in the game for such a long time. CC: Is there a key to staying active and fit in bodybuilding for the long haul? DG: I like lifting. I was talking to some of the young guys about this at my last show. I’ve noticed that when I take too much time off, I feeling more muscle soreness than when I keep working out. After a show I’ll do a light workout The Texas to keep the muscles used to movShredder. ing. In 26 years my longest time off was six weeks. Working out light isn’t as much fun as full-on training, but it beats not doing anything. CC: How about injuries? How do you deal with them? DG: I’ve had a lot of problems in my career with tendinitis in my shoulders and brachialis and with knee surgeries. After my surgery I just did what I could, working out my upper body—anything to keep me going. After my biceps tendon tear last year I was out for 10 days. I did what I could as far as cardio and working other bodyparts, but after a few weeks I was working out in the cast with very light weights. I’m very strict with my form now on all exercises to try to take the strain off of bodyparts that I’ve injured. Form and control are the keys. CC: You see a lot of muscle tears in bodybuilding today. Any thoughts on the crush of injuries? DG: I honestly don’t know, but if I had to take a guess, I’d say it’s because of the rapid muscle growth the top guys are experiencing. Maybe the tendons just aren’t strengthened enough to support the strain—I’m just guessing here. When I tore my tendon, it was not bodybuilding related. I was carrying a light side table and took a bad step and felt a pop. So I guess it could happen at any time to anyone. CC: What’s the biggest mistake that you see novice bodybuilders making today? DG: Trying to start up too fast, thinking they’re going to dominate everything, only to watch bodybuilding dominate their lives. I see way too many novices who think that in order to be successful, they have to take Tupperware with them to a restaurant and eat chicken and rice while everyone orders off the menu. Ninetynine times out of 100 I can find something to eat on almost any menu if I look hard enough. CC: So bodybuilding is a large part of your life, but it’s only a part? DG: Absolutely. I’ve got my family and friends, I play in a rock band. There’s a whole lot more to life than just training. Don’t get me wrong—I love to lift and train—but bodybuilding has to be a part of a well-rounded whole, otherwise you’re going to burn

out pretty quickly. CC: How about competing? You’ve been doing that for almost as long as you’ve been lifting. What’s the secret? DG: [Laughs] Don’t put all of your eggs in the basket of winning one competition. You can never tell what type of freak is going to show up or what the judges will be looking for. View competition as part of a journey. Just try to get better at every show. As long as it’s fun for me, I’ll keep stepping onstage. There are times I wonder why I’m still doing this, but when I get onstage, all of that falls away. CC: What’s your least favorite part of it all? DG: Cardio, no question. I love to train, and I’ve trained myself to eat a certain way, but I don’t think anyone ever gets to like cardio, unless you have a pretty girl doing it beside you. [Both laugh] CC: What role do you think supplements play in longevity? DG: Oh, a big role. Since adding Omega Stak [essential fatty acids] to my regimen, I’ve never felt better. As a matter of fact, I recommend EFAs to every trainee at any age. I really got a boost when I started taking those. CC: You live in Austin, which is a very active community—Lance Armstrong is often running or biking the trails or streets. Do you think that helps? DG: Definitely. There’s a lot to be said for having a vibrant fitness community in your city and tying into that. Austinites are very active in jogging, cycling and weightlifting. Almost everywhere you go there are fit people walking around. It’s a real motivator to try to stand out in that crowd. CC: Any last thoughts? DG: Just to remind people that fitness is a process, and bodybuilding can be a part of that process. I didn’t start eating clean year-round right off the bat. I had to train myself to eat that way over a period of years. I didn’t start winning contests and turn pro right off the bat. I had to grow and develop over time. To me “contest diet” is a misnomer. My contest diet is my diet year-round. I try to stay within 10 to 15 pounds of contest weight so that I don’t have to diet too harshly, which keeps me in a better mood and keeps my clients happier. Don’t let bodybuilding consume you. Make it a part of a healthy lifestyle, and it will give back to you more than you put into it. —C.C. Editor’s note: Dave Goodin’s new column appears on page 84. www.ironmanmagazine.com \ OCTOBER 2007 213

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Pressing, Pyramiding and Pulleys The exercises that build the chest muscles are some of the most basic, instinctual exercises in the bodybuilder’s repertoire. If you examine the routines of almost every top bodybuilder, certain common elements emerge. They’re evident in the program Dave has developed: Bench presses (pyramid)

(optional)

Empty bar x 20 135 x 10-12 185 x 10-12 225-250 x 10-12 185 x 20

Incline barbell presses (pyramid) 4-6 x 10-12 Cable crossovers

4 x 12-15

Dave believes in performing a concentrated warmup prior to his work sets, even when he does his heavy work for 10 to 12 reps.

Cross-bench pullovers (optional) 4 x 12-15 He performs the workout once a week, as part of the following training split: Monday: Legs Tuesday: Chest Wednesday: Calves and abs Thursday: Back Friday: Delts and arms Goodin has found that the key to getting the best growth for his body is to focus on form. There’s almost no concern with maxing out on socalled ego lifts. At this point in his career, Dave has a unique grasp of his abilities and limitations. Bench presses. He starts every workout by grabbing an empty bar, lying down on a bench and rapidly firing out 20 reps to get the blood flowing into his shoulder joints. One of Dave’s main indicators for how much weight he should use in his workout is how his shoulders and elbows feel when he does that very light warmup set. Though lifting moderate weight is typically not a problem for him, Dave very seldom goes ultra-heavy because of ongoing issues with tendinitis and a history of shoulder and tendon injuries. There are as many theories on the optimal style for performing the bench press as there are brands of protein shakes. For Goodin, proper bench press form means arching his back while keeping his feet flat on the floor—not like a powerlifter hitting a personal best but not with his back flat on the bench either.

“I shoot for an angle that helps me keep my shoulders back and out of the lift,” Dave says. “You have to really focus on using your pectorals to lift the weights, not your shoulders.” In other words, although the bench press is not an isolation exercise, you should do everything possible to make the pecs the prime movers and minimize the work of the supporting muscles. Incline barbell presses. “I used to use dumbbells for this exercise, but over time, due to my shoulder problems, I had trouble getting the dumbbells down to the floor,” Goodin says. “I moved to the barbell and have been very satisfied with the results. Besides, most gyms don’t look too kindly on you when you’re constantly dropping dumbbells.” On this movement, as with the

flat-bench press, Dave stresses the importance of keeping his butt back at all times—a slight arch in the back, hips firmly against the bench, feet flat on the floor—and he takes great care to keep the stress off of his shoulders. Cable crossovers. These are a great finishing exercise for chest, in part because they allow for the most isolation and personalization. Dave uses a moderate rep speed and pauses at the flexed point of every rep to get a supertight contraction. The focus here is on form and blood flow more than on thrashing his pectorals with heavy weight. If you use the correct form on the pressing exercises, your chest muscles should be near exhaustion anyway when you get to these—and these should put you over the top.

214 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

On cable crossovers Dave uses a moderate rep speed and pauses at the flexed point of every rep to get a supertight contraction.

Cross-bench pullovers. In 2000 Dave spent some time working out with three-time Mr. Olympia Frank Zane, and Zane’s contribution to Dave’s chest workout was the occasional inclusion of cross-bench pullovers. This is a stretch exercise, designed to get full elongation of the muscle fibers, but Goodin doesn’t perform it in the breathing style of the 1950s and ’60s that was geared to expanding the chest cavity. He places his feet flat on the floor and

lowers the dumbbell from over his chest back in an arc to the farthest point that his shoulders will comfortably allow. He focuses on keeping his hips down and squeezing his pecs at the top of the movement.

the past several years. Give his chest program a try and see what it will do for you. Perhaps it will get you started on your own decades-long journey down the road to health and fitness.

The Bottom Line

Editor’s note: Dave Goodin can be reached for personal-training, guest-posing and sponsorship queries at www.DaveGoodin.com. Also, see his blog at www.IronMan Magazine.com. IM

In 26 years of bodybuilding Goodin has followed many different training protocols, and his program has evolved to the one he’s used for

216 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

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.

>www.IronAge.us Just by looking at the classic photos on the home page of this gem of a Web site, you can tell that the owner, writer Shawn Perine, is a true fan of bodybuilding. While I’m far from ancient, I remember with great fondness the competitive days of Arnold, Franco, Platz, Viator, Fox, Paris, Coe, Callender, Birdsong, Bannout and more. Ah, the golden age of the sport—a time when bodybuilding was less of a business and more a labor of love. There was a true sense of brotherhood back then. Of course, today’s bodybuilders have raised the sport to a new, otherworldly level, but to me there was something pure about the iron game back in the ’70s and ’80s. And while this site is a celebration of bodybuilding as a whole, I found myself drawn most to all of the wonderful material regarding bodybuilding’s past champions. Check out the photo galleries, which include Lance Dreher, Johnny Fuller, Mike Christian, Roger Callard, Greg DeFerro, Ali Malla, Jeff King and many more. Do you ever wonder how those champions would fare against the freaks of today? Could you imagine seeing Larry Scott and Lee Priest compare biceps, Lee Haney vs. Arnold in a most-muscular shot, or mass monster Ronnie Coleman stand next to Sergio Oliva in his best condition? Well, guess what? Click on the Virtual Posedown link, and you can see the very comparisons I just mentioned, along with dozens more. If that’s not enough, there are also informative articles, short movies, a discussion forum and a gym locator. I’ve known Shawn for about 17 years, as we used to train at the same gym on Long Island when we were both skinny little wannabes, and it’s gratifying to see that both of us have remained involved with and passionate about the sport we fell in love with so many years ago. I give IronAge.us “two biceps up!” 220 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

>www.GarrettDowning.com About a decade ago I moved to San Diego, where I lived for about two years (and to this day I think about returning—for good). I tried training in a few different gyms, but it wasn’t until I walked into Gold’s Gym on Garnet Avenue in Pacific Beach that I knew I was home. My very first week there I trained alongside such greats as Nasser El Sonbaty, Victor Richards, Milos Sarcev, Dave Fisher and Paul Jean-Guillaume. Ironically enough, the guy who really caught my attention wasn’t even a pro at the time but had such a beautifully aesthetic physique that I just had to stop and stare. I knew I recognized him from the magazines but could not extract his name from my brain’s files, so I decided to go up and ask. “Bro, I’m sorry to interrupt your workout, but I just wanted to tell you how great you look!” He immediately stuck out his hand, smiled and said, “Thanks, my man. Hopefully I look good enough to finally win Nationals.” And right then it struck me: He was none other than top amateur Garrett Downing. While he only placed third in that year’s pro qualifier, he finally won his way into the pose-for-pay ranks at the ’99 USA Championships. As a pro Downing has done fairly well, with his best finish being fifth at the ’05 Toronto Pro (for a complete list of his contest history, all you need to do is click on the “About Me” link). However, after looking at some of the photos in his gallery, as well as a few more I found on the Net, I find it hard to believe he hasn’t yet earned his way onto the Olympia stage. While Garrett could use a bit more leg mass, he has one of the most well-proportioned, symmetrical and pleasing physiques in the sport. Perhaps someday he’ll get his due. After reading his bio, you will definitely become a fan of the man, whether or not you are a fan of his physique. A Desert Storm veteran, Downing has dedicated his life to helping both young people and the elderly. He has worked as a specialist on a senior behavioral health team for the University of California, San Diego, Medical Center and was the program director of a group home for troubled youths. He currently specializes in physical fitness training programs for kids and preteens and volunteers at children’s hospitals, schools and with the Governor’s Fitness Council and the Inner City Games. It’s good to know people like Downing are in the sport of bodybuilding, as we are often mislabeled by others as selfish individuals. One more thing about Mr. Downing: He makes a heck of a cheesecake. Click on over and see for yourself.

>www.LeanLadies.com Here’s one for the iron gals out there in IRON MAN Land. Are you a current or aspiring fitness, figure or bodybuilding star? Would you like to promote yourself or your services? Do you have photos for sale? Are you a trainer looking for clients or perhaps a model looking for work? Do you simply enjoy staring at hot chicks (okay, maybe the site is not just for the gals)? If so, then Lean Ladies.com is a place you should check out. There are tons of sexy photos with the name of each model right underneath on every page. Click on the

pic to see a larger version, or click on the name and be taken directly to the home page of the gal’s Web site. Simple, efficient and cool. The best part is, if you don’t have your own site, LeanLadies.com will give you a few pages for putting up photos, contact info, services and any other details about yourself you wish the public to view. And, yes, it’s gratis. What more could you ask for? Well, a year’s free supply of chicken maybe, but the publicity will have to do. So what are you waiting for, iron gals? And, guys, remember, you have work to do. So don’t spend hours looking at the site the way I did. I mean, this is my job. It’s tough, but someone has to do it. www.ironmanmagazine.com \ OCTOBER 2007 221

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Eric Broser’s >Net

Results Q&A

Smith-machine incline presses Biceps Standing barbell curls

The Power/Rep Range/Shock innovator answers your questions on training and nutrition.

Friday: Power Chest Weighted dips Cross-bench dumbbell pullovers Biceps Barbell preacher curls

A: One of the great thing about P/RR/S is Eric that it can be tailored to Broser. any bodypart split. I’ve designed three-, four-, five- and even six-day splits using it. Thus, the answer to your first question is yes, you can use a three-days-per-week full-body routine with the P/RR/S protocol. What you must consider first when designing a full-body routine is overall volume. You have to put a ceiling on the number of total sets you perform in one workout. If you try to do too many sets per bodypart, you’ll be in the gym for several hours at a time, which will most certainly result in burnout and overtraining. So I generally recommend that drug-free trainees work out no longer than 90 minutes per session. If you train much longer than that, you’ll make too great an inroad into your recovery ability and cause a highly negative balance in your testosterone-to-cortisol ratio. Not good. Keeping in mind that larger bodyparts, such as quads, chest and back, require more work than smaller parts, like biceps, triceps and calves, here’s an example of how you might disperse a total of 28 work sets among all of your muscle groups: quads, five sets; hamstrings, three sets; lats, five sets; chest, four sets; shoulders, three sets; biceps, two sets; triceps, two sets; calves, two sets; abs, two sets. As far as exercises go, stick with mostly basic freeweight compound movements, as those give you the best bang for your buck. Since you’re training each bodypart three times per week, it makes sense to pick just one to two exercises for each per workout. You can then use a different set of movements at each of your three full-body sessions. Using chest and biceps as examples, here’s what you might do for each of them on Power, Rep Range and Shock weeks: Monday: Power Chest Incline dumbbell presses Bench presses Biceps Seated alternate dumbbell curls Wednesday: Power Chest Dumbbell bench presses

2 x 4-6 2 x 4-6 2 x 4-6

Neveux

Q: I prefer to do a full-body routine three nonconsecutive days per week. Can I set up one using Power/Rep Range Shock?

2 x 4-6 2 x 4-6

2 x 4-6 2 x 4-6 2 x 4-6

Monday: Rep Range Chest Incline dumbbell presses Bench presses Biceps Seated alternate dumbbell curls

2 x 7-9 1 x 10-12, 1 x 13-15

Wednesday: Rep Range Chest Dumbbell bench presses Smith-machine incline presses Biceps Barbell curls

2 x 7-9 1 x 10-12, 1 x 13-15

Friday: Rep Range Chest Weighted dips Cross-bench dumbbell pullovers Biceps Barbell preacher curls

2 x 7-9 1 x 10-12, 1 x 13-15

Monday: Shock Chest Superset Incline dumbbell presses Bench presses Biceps Alternate dumbbell curls (drop set) Wednesday: Shock Chest Superset Dumbbell bench pressses Smith-machine incline presses Biceps Standing barbell curls (drop set) Friday: Shock Chest Superset Weighted dips Cross-bench dumbbell pullovers Biceps Barbell preacher curl (drop set)

2 x 7-9

2 x 10-12

2 x 13-15

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

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

That should give you enough ammunition to formulate your own three-days-per-week, full-body P/RR/S super routine. Just remember that you don’t want to be in the gym for more than about 90 minutes, not including your initial warmup. If you find that your workouts are taking too long, decrease the overall volume or adjust the time you take between sets (you may have to rest a bit less than the basic P/RR/S outline dictates). Other than that, just work hard, be consistent, sleep and eat right, and you should make excellent progress toward your physique goals. IM

2 x 4-6

222 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Jerry Brainum’s

Bodybuilding Pharmacology

All Men Are Created Equal— Or Are They? Certain genetic attributes bestow a greater chance of success in bodybuilding competition, among them a bone structure that includes naturally wide shoulders and a narrow waist. Longer muscle attachments are associated with fuller muscles that contain more muscle fibers, which means that people who have those characteristics can build larger muscles with regular training. The development of specific muscle groups, such as the calves, is strongly related to genetics. One bodybuilding axiom is that when it comes to calves, development is largely based on a genetic head start. What about hormones? Do champion bodybuilders have naturally higher levels of such anabolic hormones as testosterone and growth hormone? It’s no secret that unlike muscle structure and shape, hormones can be controlled through the use of various drugs, including

anabolic steroids, human growth hormone, insulin and insulinlike growth factor 1. Using doses of them that are well beyond what’s normally prescribed for the treatment of hormonal deficiencies enables a person to exceed normal genetic limitations in muscle size. What about natural levels of anabolic hormones in people who don’t use any type of anabolic drug? Research shows that having higher levels of testosterone leads to more rapid gains in muscle size and strength. Maintaining levels of growth hormone and IGF-1 preserves muscle size and function as people age, and depressed levels lead to muscle loss and bodyfat gain as well as various degenerative diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Perhaps the most controversial aspect of hormones in men relates to racial differences in how they work in the body. In many sports, black athletes show superior athletic skills. Some have attributed that to their having higher levels of testosterone, which favors more muscle and less fat in the body, a scenario that relates to athletic success. Others cite the special attraction of sports to minorities, who see sport as a path to financial success. Muhammad Ali once commented that if it hadn’t been for his boxing skills, he would have wound up “picking up garbage cans in Louisville.” Hormone research has identified some health issues that have a race component. Black men experience higher rates of prostate cancer, which some scientists relate to higher testosterone levels, than whites. According to sta-

Do some bodybuilders have a muscle-building advantage due to naturally higher levels of anabolic hormones? 232 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Models: Troy Alves, Melvin Anthony and Darrem Charles

tistics released by the American Cancer Society, the rate of prostate cancer in black men is 62 percent greater, with a mortality rate that is 241 percent greater than in white men of the same age. Studies that have compared testosterone levels in younger black and white men reveal that on average black men have slightly higher levels, although the racial disparity fades with the passing years. A recent study surveyed 538 black, 651 Hispanic and 710 white men, aged 30 to 79, and measured any racial variations in androgen levels.1 The androgens studied included total testosterone, free testosterone, dihydrotestosterone (DHT), sex-hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) and dehydroepitestosterone (DHEA). The researchers noted that a variation in average levels of Big T by race would mandate an adjustment in how testosterone is measured and what constitutes normal amounts. The study found no differences in levels of total and free T, SHBG and DHEA. Black men in the study, however, had the highest levels of DHT. The measure was only slightly higher than in the other two groups but was considered statistically significant. Having more DHT would predispose men to prostate cancer. Most doctors believe, incorrectly that higher testosterone levels lead to prostate cancer. The evidence is that test doesn’t actually cause prostate cancer but does feed the activity of malignant tumors. Many doctors argue that the issue is moot, since test converts into DHT through the action of the enzyme 5-alpha reductase. Some studies show that black men with prostate cancer have higher 5AR activity, as well as more responsive androgen receptors in their prostate glands. That would help explain a higher risk for prostate cancer. Not all research agrees with that finding, however. A study measured T and DHT in the prostate tissue of black and white men, none of whom had prostate cancer.2 The hormone levels were similar in both groups. The study noted that black men may have a genetic predisposition to produce a type of 5AR that’s more active in converting T into DHT. Other possible factors include alterations in the androgen receptor gene, loss of apoptotic control—meaning the body’s ability to kill cancer, aged and damaged cells—differences in androgen signaling, overproduction of a gene that causes cells to multiply and overproduction of growth factors that favor cancer, such as IGF-1. From a bodybuilding perspective, it appears that hormonally, all men are indeed created equal. On the other hand, the subjects studied weren’t bodybuilders or other

Steroids increase the stickiness of platelets in the blood, which leads to the formation of arterial blood clots, often the immediate cause of heart attacks and strokes.

Using growth hormone apparently reverses arterial stiffness and lowers elevated blood cholesterol levels while increasing good HDL levels.

athletes, so the influence of diet and exercise unique to bodybuilding weren’t factored into the results. Exercise, for example, increases testosterone levels. Would black bodybuilders be at greater risk of prostate disease because of naturally higher 5AR activitity? What about using anabolic steroids for years—would that be considered more dangerous for black athletes? Those questions await further research. In the meantime, it may be a good idea for black athletes to consider taking substances that offer natural protection against toxic amounts of DHT, such as green tea. Drugs such as Avodart and Proscar, both of which are prescribed to treat prostate disease, do the same thing. Many bodybuilders are already using them to combat the increase in DHT that results from using certain testosterone-based drugs.

Does Growth Hormone Offer Cardiovascular Protection? The greatest danger to the health of those who use large doses of anabolic steroids is cardiovascular risk. Taking oral anabolic steroids reduces blood levels of high-density lipoprotein, which is known as the “good cholesterol” because it removes excess cholesterol from the blood, carting it off to the liver, where it’s converted into bile. HDL also blocks the oxidation of low-density lipoprotein, a.k.a. the “bad cholesterol,” which is important because LDL is toxic only when oxidized. Another way that steroids predispose someone to cardiovascular disease is by increasing the stickiness of platelets in the blood, which leads to the formation of arterial blood clots, often the immediate cause of heart attacks and strokes. Steroids also adversely affect the endothelium, or lining of arteries, which can lead to atherosclerosis and high blood pressure. Arterial endothelial dysfunction leads to stiffness of the large elastic arteries, which in turn results in high blood pressure. High blood pressure strains the heart. The heart responds by increasing the size of the left ventricle, its www.ironmanmagazine.com \ OCTOBER 2007 233

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Jerry Brainum’s

Neveux/Model: Christian Boeving

Bodybuilding Pharmacology

pumping chamber, and an oversize left ventricle may eventually result in heart failure. While anabolic steroids can have negative effects on heart function, growth hormone has a beneficial effect. Using GH reverses arterial stiffness and lowers blood cholesterol while increasing HDL. On the negative side, GH also increases lipoprotein (a), which has effects similar to LDL. A new study examined what happens when former users of anabolic steroids get more than usual amounts of GH.3 Forty-eight subjects were divided into a control group that got no drugs and a group that got a dose of GH comparable to what bodybuilders typically use. Although the experiment lasted for only six days, some interesting effects occurred. The men in the GH group experienced bodyfat loss and an increase in VO2 max, a measure of oxygen intake. IGF-1 also increased, as it usually does when you use GH. They

also showed an increase in blood sodium, a finding consistent with GH-related water retention. Levels of serum homocysteine, C-reactive protein, thyroid-stimulating hormone and thyroid hormones all declined in the GH group but not in the control group. Lowering homocysteine and C-RP is considered beneficial, since they’re both related to cardiovascular disease. Those in the GH group also had an elevated pulse pressure and resting heart rate, which was attributed to an increase in nitric oxide activity, and the added arterial stress when the body is at rest is linked to endothelial dysfunction, the cornerstone of cardiovascular disease. The GH subjects also experienced a rise in blood urea one week after they stopped using the drug—likely indicating an increase in catabolism due to increased protein breakdown. The authors suggest that it may represent a rebound effect from suddenly getting off GH. That’s something to con-

sider if you’re interested in using GH. The conclusion was that while GH reduces many adverse cardiovascular effects of anabolic steroids, the increased resting pulse pressure and heart rate are a matter of concern, as they also represent a considerable cardiovascular risk.

References 1 Litman, H.J., et al. (2006). Serum androgen levels in black, Hispanic, and white men. J Clin Endocrin Metabol. 91:4326–4334. 2 Marks, L.S., et al. (2006). Prostatic tissue testosterone and dihydrotestosterone in African-American and white men. Urology. 68:337–341. 3 Graham, M.R., et al. (2007). Evidence for a decrease in cardiovascular risk factors following recombinant growth hormone administration in abstinent anabolic-androgenic steroid users. Growth Hor IGF-1 Res. 1717(3):201–209. IM

234 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

CONTEST CORNER

Team Puniverse?

Silverman

True story: The first year I covered the Team Universe Bodybuilding Championships, I arrived at the host hotel and was greeted by a colleague who had a cynical nature. “Welcome to the Team Puniverse,” he said, grinning wickedly. I said nothing. After all, I was the newbie on the beat at the NPC’s biggest drug-tested competition and happy to be there. A dozen Team Universes later I’m still happy to be there—and to report that there is nothing puny about the men who come to do battle for a Chris spot on the team that will repFaildo. resent the United States at the IFBB World Amateur Championships, not even when they come from the so-called lighter weight classes. Granted, it’s the one national show where a lightweight, welterweight—or bantam—can take home the top trophy. Think welterweight Jose Raymond two years ago and bantamweight Marvin Ward in 2000. It’s also a show to which the winners come back year after year looking for another crack at the Worlds—at one time their only route to a pro card. Think Skip La Cour, Tricky Jackson, Jose Raymond and, blast from the four-years-ago past, Chris Faildo. The Hawaiian Hurricane, as the Honolulu resident is known, won the lightweights at the first three Team Universe contests—’94–’96—and the welterweights in 2003 before taking some time off to (slowly) put on thickness. Returning to the scene of his earlier triumphs, he proved himself a force of nature, blowing into New York on July 13 and commanding not just another class title but the overall as well.

Big wind in the Big Apple. The question is, Will Chris Faildo take the pro card, which the NPC has offered to Team Universe overall bodybuilding winners since 2002? The answer, as of the morning after the contest, was no way—unless he was going to frame it and hang it on his wall. At 165 pounds he is realistic about his chances of being competitive among the uber-big bodies of the IFBB pro ranks. His goal in coming back to the T.U. at age 41 was to win the overall, he said; also to return to the World Championships. He plans to retire from the stage after this season. Having finished second and third at Worlds in the past, he hopes to ride the hurricane into South Korea on October 25 and take the welterweight lineup by storm.

It was no easy task. The lineup seemed a little smaller this year at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center —just 48 men (that’s the puny part)—but it didn’t suffer for quality, with Paul Coats taking his second-in-a-row bantamweight title; Kelly Pettiford repeating his lightweight win of 2005; newcomer Alan Bailey knocking everyone’s socks off in the middleweights; California sensation Kiyoshi Moody walking off with the light heavies; and hulk man Shiloe Steinmetz leading the heavyweights. How good was that group? The guys who lost to them in their respective classes included ’06 middleweight runner-up Jeff Rodrigues, who was second to Bailey; ’06 middleweight victor Miguel Neil, who was runner-up to Moody; and IRON MAN columnist Dave “Texas Shredder” Goodin, who got blown away by Hurricane Faildo. Moody in particular had his supporters in the fight for the overall. IM’s Lonnie Teper, who’d been telling Faildo before the contest that he’d never take Kiyoshi, wondered if Chris had gotten a gift. I assured him that was not the case. Sometimes an athlete shows up onstage with all elements—muscle, shape, conditioning, confidence—working at their synergistic peak, and you just know it’s his night. One look at Faildo, and there was no doubt in my mind. Nor in the judges’ minds either, it seems. When he realized he’d won his first-ever national overall crown, Faildo broke down in tears as the audience, including the 24 T-shirt-wearing friends and family members known as Team Faildo, broke into cheers. Half the press pit was bawling too. Now, that’s entertainment.

N Y P R O B A C K S TA G E TA L E S

Jessica is ready to hit the stage. For the before shot, see page 244.

I think not

Melissa gets a lesson in color (and you thought the vets had nothing left to learn). Now, the red really pops.

Petra keeps cool in the crowded dressing area. The windswept look looks good on you, girl!

240 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

WOMEN

More T.U.

Photography by Ruth Silverman • Team Universe/Figure Nationals/New York Pro Figure photography by Roland Balik

And lots of figure too

N E W YO R K P R O

Star Maker

Wonder Woman contemplates the future. When you’ve got a good body and a promising routine, the possibilities grow exponentially.

Now that the men’s coverage is out of the way, it’s time to remind readers that the big weekend in New York is actually three events: the Team Universe Bodybuilding and Fitness/ National Figure/New York Pro Figure Championships, which means one big blur of babes in bikinis backstage. At stake: three Olympia qualifications, six pro cards in fitness, 12 in figure and one in women’s bodybuilding. Yeah, I know. And you were just starting to tell the class of ’06 apart. One exceptional athlete you won’t have trouble recognizing in future is Nicole Wilkins, who became the first ever to win the overall in two sports on the same day, figure and fitness. When last seen, she was thinking of competing in figure—at the World Amateur Championships and then the pros—with an eye on strengthening her routine before she takes the plunge in the second sport.

Speaking of cool. Briana, 13th at the Figure International and 14th in Pittsburgh, switched from pink to blue and moved up to eighth.

It’s like Zsa Zsa—Zsa Veel, Zsa veel Ray do nyay. And now you’ll never forget it.

Zivile shines at last One little bonus of the Team U, et al. weekend: I learned how to pronounce Zivile Raudoniene. The former Lithuanian and European champ has been a star-in-waiting since before she made her professional debut at the ’06 IFBB New York Pro Figure Championship, but until her return to the Tribeca Performing Arts Center stage on July 13, she was pretty much flying under the radar, score-sheetwise. Not anymore, Raudoniene scored a solid win over second-placer Shannon Meteraud and a lineup of 22 quality quarter-turners for the fifth annual running of promoters Steve Weinberger and Bev Francis’ New York Pro. Also rushing to the head of the pack was brand newbie Jennifer Gates, who leaped from the winner’s circle at the Junior Nationals in June to an Olympiaqualifying spot in a single bound, with a had-to-be-disappointed Chaundra Coffey in fourth and defending champ Jessica Putnam rounding out the top five.

MORE NY PRO

Keen Observation

Or delusion?

The action that went down in New York was a fine illustration of the fact that action really does take place at figure contests. Sometimes it’s just a little subtle. To recap: In the first comparison in round 1, one-piece suits, three women were called out in alphabetical order—Chaundra Coffey, Shannon Meteraud and Zivile Raudoniene. The New York five (from left): Chaundra Coffey, Jennifer Ah hah! said the pundits, Gates, Zivile Raudoniene, Shannon Meteraud and Jessica Zivile will be overlooked no Putnam. Look for photos from the Team U, Figure Nationmore; and Chaundra, return- als and New York Pro Figure at IronManMagazine.com. ing to competition after a year off, still has a body the judges will go for. In the second callout it was Jennifer Gates, Jessica Putman and Jelena Abbou. Said the pundits, This is significant for two reasons: 1) Gates is a new rookie and will probably get a top-five finish; and 2) the judges are finally noticing the very attractive Abbou, a favorite of photographers and also of fans who like to complain about competitors getting screwed (so to speak). In the two-piece suits it was Coffey, Meteraud, Raudoniene and Gates making the first callout, with Chaundra on the end and the newbie next to Zivile in the center. Those who were paying attention said, Ah hah, once more. Sure enough, when the numbers were crunched, Gates had edged out Coffey by two points for the third Olympia-qualifying spot. The breakout star of this shindig, though, was Zivile, who proved she’s not a one-hit wonder by earning another top-three finish at the Houston Pro a week later (see the item on the following page). As the ’07 pro-figure season wears on—Motor City and Europa within a couple of weeks of this writing—there’s only one thing to ponder: So many breakout stars; so few Olympia top-five spots. Who will bewww.ironmanmagazine.com left standing when the music\ stops? OCTOBER 2007 241

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

MORE FIGURE

W O M E N ’ S B O DY B U I L D I N G

Flex It Like Beckham

They Like ’Em Tall in Texas

Also earning a pro card… Talk about a long road to the pros. Tracy Beckham of Dublin, California, has been a competitive bodybuilder for 21 years, having won the middleweight class at her first show, the ’86 Alberta Championships in her native Canada. Never the biggest woman onstage, the 5’6 1/2” 138-pounder has taken her time getting to the top, but get there she did. In her debut at the Team Universe Women’s Bodybuilding Championships on July 14, the 45year-old Beckham brought a beautiful balance of lean, hard muscle on an hourglass physique to the Tribeca stage, flexing past T.U. veterans and newcomers alike to take the heavyweight and overall crowns. A United States resident since 1994 and citizen since 2003, Beckham was thrilled to be representing her adopted country at the World Amateur Championships. Her teammates, whom she beat out for the overall The new T.U. champ’s got title as well a zest for living and a fasas for the cinating story. In my video interview with her, shot right to turn the morning after her win, professional, you can get a real sense of included a the enthusiasm for life that pair of Texbrought her from Western Canada to Kentucky to ans, middleNorthern California, with a weight champ few stops in between. Find Melissa it at IronManMagazine.com. Detweiller, also a T.U. newcomer; and lightweight titlist Jodi Miller, who was the ’06 poster girl for figure contestants who really should be doing bodybuilding. It’s a fine team the NPC will be sending to Spain in September. If anyone even makes a dent in that incredibly dense international Texas two-step. Jodi Miller of Dallas and Melissa Detweiller of talent pool, it’ll be reported here. Houston pose down.

NEWCOMERS The Wow-Is-That-Potential-or-What Award goes to Joanne Allard, fifth in the heavyweights. Also the award for the most interesting day job. She’s a postdoctoral fellow specializing in gerontology at the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health.

Bilateral qualification. Adela Garcia, who’s now Olympia worthy in fitness and figure, has made it clear that she’ll defend her Fitness O title in Las Vegas.

I have to admit I got caught falling for the hype that Mo Brant would be facing Val Waugaman and Adela Garcia, et al., at the Houston Pro Figure without hearing it from Mrs. BrantPeckham’s own lips. Let that be a lesson about sources when you’re making predictions. For whatever reason, Monica is keeping her goodies under wraps until September, a wise plan, in my humble, considering all the breakout stars we’ve had (so far) this season. Instead it was Waugaman on a roll vs. Zivile Raudoniene on a comet vs. Adela on a test run to see how she’d do in figure, and they finished in that order. I have to brag that I correctly guessed, er, hum, predicted that Garcia would make top three but not win, a thought only partly colored by the perceived wisdom that the 5’1” Adela, who has won many a physique round in fitness, didn’t have a “figure body.” It also came as no shock when Colorado Pro winner Valerie, looking lean and lovely—and tall, at 5’9”—made it two in a row. Rounding out the top five: Texan Bernadette Galvan, a favorite in the 17-woman lineup, took the number-four spot, and—in what had to be an ah-ha moment for the judges—her fellow Texan Natalie Benson got noticed at last to land in fifth. Promoters Khalid Tabari and Lee Thompson can take a bow for giving away a whopping $16,000 (as opposed to the more typical $6,000) in a sport that has been a bonanza for posing-suit makers from coast to coast but not for the athletes.

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

T.U. FITNESS

Nothing to Wonder About

It’s all you, Nicole

Physique that’s never happened judges always before. The outcome know when was pretty neat—and they’ve got featured some very someone interesting developspecial—well, ments. almost always, Wilkins won her figbut I’ve got ure class of 22 much to admit they more easily than didn’t miss a her fitness class of cue with Ninine. Only two points cole Wilkins, separated her from a 5’5 1/2” forWashington State’s mer gymnast Michelle Mayberry from Detroit. in the fitness tall diviThe 23-yearsion, while her figure old personal E-class win, over trainer finished Stacy Clary, was fifth in her first a 15-point landslide. pro qualifier, How often does that the ’06 Fitness happen, either? Nationals, last All of the above fall and second moved on to the at the ’07 Juprofessional ranks, as nior Nationals. Michelle Mayberry, who might have both of the competiearned her pro card at the ’06 Nationals She came to tions award cards to if she hadn’t gotten sick, got a runnerthe Team Unithe top two in each up pro card at the T.U. and isn’t looking verse ready to back. class. In her fight for take Manhatthe fitness overall tan and got the Nicole took on a pair Bronx and Staten Island too, winning of Jersey girls, short-class winner Jesthe overall at both the Team Universe sica Rohm and medium-class champ Fitness and the National Figure champi- Bethany Wagner, who’d won their onships and earning pro status in both. divisions by 11 and 22 points, respecAs mentioned in the item on page 241, tively. It didn’t matter. By the time the

judges got to the fitnessoverall vote, Wilkins had already won the figure show, and they continued to show her the love.

Medium-class champ Bethany Wagner took a page out of the book of another Jersey schoolteacher who made her mark in fitness, Kim Klein, with her “Hot for Teacher” routine.

FIGURE NATIONALS

Once Again the Figure Gals Have to Wait Their Turn Onstage

Figure National champs (from left): Huong Arcinias, Tara Chandler, Becky Clawson, Krissy Chin, Nicole Wilkins and Teresa Anthony. Look for more on the beautiful bods from the annual summer pro-card derby next month.

What can you say about the ’07 NPC Figure Nationals that you can’t say about all the big pro qualifiers that have taken place since figure was born not that many years ago? For one thing, the best woman won. Nicole Wilkins grabbed this column’s attention on the spot at the Fitness Nationals last fall, but who could have predicted she’d come so far, so fast? And in figure as well as fitness? One hundred and eighty-one well-heeled contestants took the stage at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center on July 13. Pro cards went to the top two in each class. Find complete results and photos at IronManMagazine.com. www.ironmanmagazine.com \ OCTOBER 2007 243

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

MANHATTAN MELODRAMA: SCENE IN NEW YORK More true stories. Fitness class winners Jessica and Bethany coached gymnastics at rival high schools in New Jersey.

Stacy is saving up her strength in case she has to carry a trophy— and a pro card— home. Good thinking.

I know— you don’t often see Mike and Kim playing pinochle together.

Colleen brought a cute routine and a lot of energy to the stage but has to settle for fourth.

Pro i were on the Mary and Nikk e story, I tru r he ot An . Tan team d Mary (left) once interviewe Jodi can’t inking she th s te nu for 15 mi wave hello Tell . ky lic Po er was Heath without flexe the resemme you can’t se ing those blance? beautiful bi . ceps either

Theresa greets a friendly reporter with one of her signature poses.

Lisha conserves her energy for her performance— and the pro card she’ll take home. Kim, who’s training for the Canadian Nationals, wants to see how they do it in New York.

Fitness three. Jessica (center) and Maggie (right) will o get their pr cards too. Yenny (left) gets P&C honors for best newcomer.

The promised “before” shot. Peter tangles with a creature from another planet outside the Tribeca.

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

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. Neveux

PHOTOGRAPHY BY RUTH SILVERM AN

April keeps her counsel. The future holds a pro card for her too— but not tonight.

Michelle an d her likenes s decorate th e Bodybuild ing.com booth.

Model: Jose Raymond

250 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Only the Strong Shall Survive

Strong to the

Core

Supercharge Your Power Center Part 2 by Bill Starr • Photography by Michael Neveux

o recap: The center of your body—hips, legs, glutes, abs and lumbars—makes up the core of strength. You must give specific attention to those muscle groups if you’re seeking consistent and long-term gains. Front and back squats will take care of the hips, glutes and legs if you go low—not just below parallel, but extremely deep. One of the reasons I insert the front squat into athletes’ routines is that it forces them to hit rock bottom. After doing front squats for a few months, they can go just as low on the back squat. The lower back is often referred to as the keystone of strength. I’ve stated that good mornings were my exercise of choice for the lumbars. You can do them with a rounded back, a flat back or while sitting on a bench. In this installment we’ll go into form points for the good mornings, as well as an alternative and a few other exercises that can strengthen the core.

Do good mornings on your light day, right after squats. Since the squat session isn’t nearly as demanding as on the heavy or medium days, you should have plenty of strength left in your lower back for the specific exercises. Doing them right after squatting is beneficial in a couple of ways. Squats flush blood into the lumbars, glutes and hamstrings, and because those groups are all directly involved in the execution of a good morning, they’re better prepared for the work to follow. Besides, after handling relatively heavier weights for front or back squats, you’ll feel that the poundages selected for the good mornings are light in comparison, at least for the first few sets. Many avoid doing good mornings because they’re so demanding, a test of your grit. Yet it’s a truism of strength training that the tougher the exercise, the greater the result, and they bear fruit rather quickly. Once you get into

the habit of doing them regularly, they never get any harder. Of course, they never get any easier either, but if you can do an exercise one time, you can do it again. Also keep in mind that you aren’t expected to handle 50 percent of your best squat weight for eight to 10 reps on the good mornings right away. That may take a couple of months; you must first learn correct form because technique is critical on them. There are several things you can do to make good mornings less intense, however, such as locking the bar into your upper back. Invariably, beginners rest the bar across their backs passively and grip it lightly. That lets the bar move during the lift, and it’s quite irritating and distracting. Typically, they attempt to pull their necks away from the discomfort, which only makes matters worse because it sets the bar closer to the spine, causing even more pain. Sometimes the bar hurts more than

www.ironmanmagazine.com \ OCTOBER 2007 251

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Strong Shall Survive

Proper form and techniques for the good morning Extend your traps up and hold them there while you lock the bar against them, and maintain that position throughout the exercise.

Lower your upper body until your back is just below parallel.

Keep a constant bend in your knees. They stay in exactly the same position from start to finish.

Place your feet a bit closer than shoulder width and think about gripping the floor with your toes.

Here’s another useful tip. Just before you start the movement, tighten all the muscles in your body from traps to feet and think about gripping the floor with your toes. That will help establish a very solid base and make the lift much easier. The lower you can go, the more muscles you activate. You’ll quickly discover that when you attempt to cut off the

exercise, it becomes much harder. A short-range move doesn’t involve nearly as many muscles, which is why you’re doing it in the first place. Establish the pattern of going low with the lighter warmup sets, and you’ll find that you can do the same when the weights get demanding. One more tip. As soon as you finish squatting, unload the bar and

252 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Model: Idrise Ward-El

traps, you need to elevate them and create a cushion of muscle on which to place the bar. It works equally well for petite ladies and hulks. Extend your traps up and hold them there while you lock the bar against them, and maintain that position throughout the exercise. Place your feet a bit closer than shoulder width. You may want to try turning your toes in slightly. Once you have the bar locked firmly on your back, bend your knees and lower your upper body until your back is below parallel. Try to place your chest on your thighs. Several of my athletes have been so flexible that they could look back between their legs at the bottom of a good morning. After you bend your knees, don’t bend them any further or straighten them at all. They stay in exactly the same position from start to finish. The up-and-down motion must be smooth and controlled, not fast and herky-jerky. Also, don’t fall into the lower position. Rather, pull your upper body down into it, then recover with the bar under control. On the light and moderate sets you can knock out reps without ever coming fully erect. Once the weights get heavy, though, it’s better to stand up, lock your knees, reset, bend them again and proceed with the next rep.

One of the reasons I insert the front squat into athletes’ routines is that it forces them to hit rock bottom. After doing front squats for a few months, they can go just as low on the back squat.

start your good mornings without any break. That takes advantage of the fact that the groups you work on the good mornings are thoroughly primed and ready for the stress. Meanwhile, you should move through your sets expeditiously, as opposed to dawdling between them. That serves two functions. Warm muscles respond much better than those that have cooled off, and it helps you get the exercise out of the way. Every sane trainee wants to get good mornings finished as quickly as possible. My athletes have a saying: “Once my good mornings are done on Wednesday, I’m done for the week.” Not entirely correct, but the point is well taken. Your goal on good mornings is to eventually use 50 percent of what you’re squatting for eight to 10 reps. That may take a while, but there’s no great rush. Stay with that ratio until you reach 225 on the good mornings, even if you plan to move your squat to 450. At that juncture, in order to add more lower-back work to your routine, you can do an extra set or two, either with the 225 or a lighter poundage. The rationale

for limiting the good mornings to 225x8-10 goes to the changes your body must make in order to handle heavier weights. You have to move your hips way back to counterbalance the bar, and that changes the nature of the exercise from a pure lower-back, glute and hamstring movement to one that involves other muscle groups. That’s not always a negative, however; on the contrary, it can be very helpful. The exceptions to the 225pound limit are Big Pups—men who weigh 250 pounds or more. Most of them can hold the correct positioning throughout the performance of a good morning with much more than 225. As long as they’re using good technique, I let them run the numbers up as high as they want. In addition, some strength athletes—powerlifters, throwers in the field events and strongman contestants—can benefit from doing heavy good mornings even when they break strict form. That’s because they’re hitting groups in their back, hips and legs that they use in their sports. Whenever athletes choose to go beyond 225 on good mornings,

254 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Model: Mike Morris

I lower their reps to fives. It’s a lot less difficult to hold full concentration on five heavy reps than eight or 10. A handful of my athletes could exceed 400 pounds for five reps, but for the majority it’s smart to stay with the 225 limit. Even though I believe good mornings are the best exercise for building lumbar strength (with a nice bonus for the glutes and hamstrings), I’m aware that some people cannot do them in any fashion: flat, rounded back or while seated. The good mornings cause a pain that is quite different from what they feel from the exertion of doing the exercise. Then there are people who can do them all right but really hate them or want to build some variety into their lower-back work. Almost-straight-legged deadlifts fill the bill as an alternative. Almoststraight because you never want to lock your legs when performing a lower-back movement. It’s risky to your hamstrings, and trust me, you don’t want to ding a hamstring. It’s a long and painful recovery. When done right, almost-straight-legged deadlifts work the same groups as good mornings. The key word, however, is right, and add heavy for good measure. Whenever I put athletes on almost-straight-legged deads, they figure they’ll be a great deal easier than good mornings. Well, yes and no. Deadlifts are easier in the beginning, when you use light weights, but once you know form and the base is solid and the numbers start climbing, the final sets are as demanding as they are on good mornings. As with the good mornings, I have a poundage goal for almoststraight-legged deads that’s based on the lifter’s back squat. The dead-

Strong Shall Survive

You Can Get

When done right, almost-straight-legged deadlifts work the same groups as good mornings. The key word, however, is right, and add heavy for good measure. lift needs to be three-quarters of a person’s best squat for eight to 10 reps. Translation: Those who squat with 400 pounds should do their last set of deads as 300x8-10. It’s not a cakewalk, yet it’s necessary to keep the balance of strength—to work the lumbars, glutes and hamstrings diligently enough to keep pace with the other strength exercises in the program. Use straps. While you may not need them early on, they’re helpful when the weights get heavy and you have to concentrate more intently and not be concerned about gripping the bar. I have my athletes use 25-pound plates instead of the heavier 45s because it forces them to reach down deeper, bringing more muscles into action. Use a shoulder-width grip, feet more narrow than wide, with toes for-

You should be able to use three-quarters of your best eight-to-10-rep squat weight on almost-straight-legged deadlifts.

Bigger, Stronger and Leaner

ward. Step up close to the bar so your shins are touching it. Tighten your body, bend your knees, strap onto the bar, flatten your back, and let your hips stay high. Then think about pushing your feet down through the floor to set the weights in motion. The bar should glide up your legs. Stop at midthigh and lower the bar back to the floor close to your legs and in a controlled fashion. Don’t get into the habit of rebounding the plates off the floor to help you start the next rep. The bottom of the movement is the meat of the lift, and you lose that benefit when you rebound. Stop at the bottom for a second, and then proceed with the next rep. To back up just a bit. The reason I have athletes use 25-pound plates is to keep them from standing on benches or blocks to do almoststraight-legged deads. They do that to get a fuller range of motion, but the smaller plates serve the same purpose and are more productive and safer for the lifter and the equipment. Drop an Olympic bar across a bench, and you can kiss that bent buddy good-bye. Standing securely on the floor, however, athletes can give their full attention to the exercise and not have to think about their balance. When I start athletes out with smaller plates, they invariably scoff because they’re only

Faster Than Ever Before! You don’t have to burn hard-earned muscle as you melt away fat. Now you can actually build more muscle size and strength as your abs get razor sharp and you get ripped. That’s the attention-grabbing look you want now, and the new Fat to Muscle 2 shows you how. You’ll discover: nutrition guidelines and diets— •eatPrecise to max out your muscle mass as pounds of ugly bodyfat disappear. (Learn the CarbStacking strategy that can transform muscle size and stoke the fat-burning furnace.) Which substance—found in almost any kitchen—is the ultimate aid for energy, better muscular response and fat burning. How dairy can help you burn fat— yogurt, cheese and milk can get you leaner. How to increase fat use with a minimum of aerobic exercise, and why aerobics may be a waste of time for a lean, muscular look. The amazing direct/indirect Fat-toMuscle 2 training program—with this innovative routine it appears as if you train a bodypart only once a week, but you really train each twice thanks to indirect work (and each workout takes less than an hour). The 8 key nutrients for faster fat burning, including how much to take of each. Top 6 fat-to-muscle tricks. (Great info!) The 10 rules for super energy. The secrets to melting away bodyfat as you build lean, ripped muscle are all packed in this bulletin—eating plans, workout routines, metabolism-acceleration techniques and the best fat-to-muscle nutrients. Stop dieting Pack On Le an away muscle—pack As You Shed Mass Bodyfat Includes carb on more as you burn -sta diets, grow cking and carb-reducti th on hormone fat-burning workouts and activation, fat, and look your and the 10 sup Rules for Sup plements er Energy hard, muscular best in record time!

• • • •

• • •

IRONMAN Magazine’ s BULLETIN #5

FAT TO

MUSCLE 2

Just

$9.95

plus $6.50 postage & handling ($15 outside North America) (California residents add 8.25% sales tax)

Credit card orders call

1-800-447-0008, offer ITS YES! I want to transform my physique. Rush me IRONMAN’s Fat to Muscle 2. Rush my copy to:

...................................................... ..................................................... ....................................................

Enclose check or money order for $9.95 plus $6.50 shipping payable to: Home GYM Warehouse, 1701 Ives Ave., Oxnard, CA 93033. Credit card orders call TOLL FREE 1-800-447-0008, offer ITS CA residents add 8.25% sales tax. Foreign orders (except Canada) add $15 shipping. Payment in U.S. dollars drawn on U.S. banks only.

www.ironmanmagazine.com \ OCTOBER 2007 255

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Strong Shall Survive

Book Review:

Mr. Weightlifting Norbert Schemansky, the greatest weightlifter America has ever produced, is an athlete who embodies all that’s good about amateur sports. He won four Olympic medals—in 1948, 1952, 1960 and 1964—and held 26 world records, yet he was relatively unknown, unheralded in America’s sports pages. Norbert’s life story, as told by Richard Bak, has all the drama of a movie script. Because he competed at such a high level for so long, his career was entwined in the weightlifting history of his time. The politics and power of weightlifting in that era were controlled by Bob Hoffman, and Norbert’s recollections of those years add another dimension to his story. More than that, however, is the portrait of Schemansky that emerges. You’ll read this book with a sense of awe at Norbert’s complete dedication to his sport and the consequences of that commitment. His dedication is heroic and inspiring, while the consequences paint a clear picture of the price that he paid. Through triumph and adversity the indomitable Norbert Schemansky never gave up. In doing it “his way,” he became history’s greatest heavyweight Olympic weightlifter. —John Balik Editor’s note: To purchase Mr. Weightlifting, go to www.ImmortalInvestments.com, or call (800) 4752066.

exercise and not have to think about their balance. When I start athletes out with smaller plates, they invariably scoff because they’re only lifting 95 pounds on the first set. After three additions of 50 pounds, however, they’re suddenly handling 245 for reps, and they’re no longer scoffing but sweating. That’s usually when I have them stop the first time out, unless they have very strong lumbars and hamstrings. Then I let them go up to 295. They all feel it the next morning. The biggest form fault on almoststraight-legged deads occurs on the final set or sets. After the fourth or fifth rep athletes lower their hips to relieve their tiring lumbars and sometimes hamstrings. By the end of the set they’re doing a conventional deadlift. Although the deadlift is an excellent core exercise, if your goal is to isolate the lumbars and hamstrings, you must maintain correct form on almost-straight-legged deads. You must lock your hips in place and not let them dip down when the going gets tough. If you can’t do that, use less weight and throw in an extra set or some additional reps until you’re strong enough on the movement to hold the correct position. As with the good mornings, do almost-straight-legged deads immediately after you finish your squats on your light day, and move through your sets with purpose. Take advantage of having your lumbars, glutes and hamstrings warm and ready for more work. On the first three sets load the bar, do the exercise; load, lift; load, lift; load and then slow the pace for the final work set or sets. On both good mornings and almost-straight-legged deads, alternate sets and reps every other week. Week one: Do four sets of 10. Week two: Do five sets of eight, going a little heavier than in week one. That may seem like no significant change, but you’ll find that it is. Many athletes prefer to do good mornings two weeks in a row, then switch over to almost-straightlegged deads for a couple of weeks. Others find that staying with one or the other exercise for six to eight weeks works best. Then they move to the other for the same length of

256 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Strong Shall Survive

Use straps on deadlifts. You’ll be able to focus on pulling more instead of gripping.

hip posture, lower them a bit. Keep your eyes front, not down. Tighten all your muscles from ankles to neck, and then drive your feet down through the Partial deads floor to set the bar in moin the power tion. Follow through that rack will initial move, and bring the build top-end bar up your legs smoothly. strength. After you lock it out, take a breath and lower it back to the floor under control, maintaining a very flat back. I find it’s helpful to alter the sets and reps for the deadlift at every session. That makes every workout a challenge, and the different programs help establish a wider base and improve peak strength. Alternate four sets of eight, five sets of five and six sets of three.

258 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Model: Steve Holman

The conventional deadlift is a terrific core exercise, second only to the full squat. Like the full squat it hits the large muscles in the back, hips and legs in a concentrated manner. Unless you’re planning to enter a deadlift or powerlifting contest, use straps. They allow you to handle more weight and concentrate on your technique rather than your grip. Set your feet at shoulder width, and strap onto the bar outside your legs. The bar should be tucked up against your shins and your front deltoids out over the bar. Flatten your back, and lower your hips so they’re parallel or below parallel. Setting them high gives you a leverage advantage, but only if you’re able to hold that position throughout the lift. The bar and your hips should move upward at exactly the same rate. If you can’t hold that high

Go through the cycle twice; then go after a max single. Do three sets of five as warmups, and then single out. For variety, try some wide-grip or sumo-style deadlifts, where you grip the bar between your legs. They hit the muscles in the hips and legs differently from conventional deadlifts and are a nice change in the yearly routine. The key form point for sumo-style deads is that you must keep your upper body erect. Tip forward even slightly, and the bar will run out front, making the lift difficult to complete. An excellent core exercise that used to be a part of every strength athlete’s routine but is rarely done any longer is the hack lift. Hack lifts attack the adductors and abductors in a unique fashion. They’re easy to learn and require only a barbell and some plates. Straddle the bar and grip it with one hand in front of your body and the other behind. It’ll take some trial and error to determine exactly where to grip the bar in order to balance it properly. Your

Having a stronger core means developing thick pythonlike spinal erectors capable of hoisting heavy iron.

and grip it with one hand in front of your body and the other behind. It’ll take some trial and error to determine exactly where to grip the bar in order to balance it properly. Your back needs to be very flat and your torso upright, since you want your hips and legs to provide the power for the movement. Your back and arms play minor roles. They remain straight throughout. However many reps you decide on, do half of them with one hand in front, and then change around so your trailing hand is in front. Straps aren’t necessary for hack lifts. In fact, they’re a burden because of the trouble you’ll have attaching them to the bar on the hand behind your back. Plus, you’re not going to be using huge amounts of weight, which means gripping the bar isn’t a problem. Use the same set-and-rep formula I recommended for deadlifts, alternating eights, fives and threes. I’ve noted in this space in the past that hyperextensions and reverse hypers are great exercises for warming up the core muscles before a session and useful for increasing the total workload at the end of one. If you have a well-padded hyperextension bench or a reverse hyper machine available with built-in resistance, you can make either version into a primary core exercise. For back hypers, wrap a towel around a 10-, 25- or 45-pound plate,

place it on your upper back, and do as many reps as you can. While the form is basic, keep a few things in mind. Make sure your knees are bent just a bit, remembering the no-locked-knee rule when working your lumbars and hamstrings. Also, don’t come up past parallel, which is potentially harmful to your lower back and which adds nothing to the exercise. Parallel is high enough, and higher is risky. Finally, make sure you do each and every rep precisely, a smooth up-and-down stroke. Often when athletes tire, they start to twist and jerk about. That’s a no-no. Far better to do fewer reps and do them all perfectly. I haven’t mentioned abs this time because I went into so much detail on how to strengthen them last month. Just be sure to work them consistently and deliberately, for they’re important in establishing a strong core. If you’re serious about getting bigger and stronger, organize your programs around core exercises. 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—Strength Training for Football, which is available for $20 plus shipping from Home Gym Warehouse. Call (800) 447-0008, or visit www.Home-Gym .com. IM

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Mind Advantageous Values

ou may think that your values have little bearing on might and muscle. Nothing could be further from the truth. Values sort out the winners from the losers, and in the barbell world your values determine whether you make progress. Let’s identify the values that are critical to success and outline how to put them to work. Sometimes the best way to get a handle on a problem is to change your perspective: If you’re used to looking at something a certain way, it can be very productive simply to

If you’re used to looking at something a certain way, it can be very productive simply to look from a different angle.

Your productivity may depend on your perspective

look from a different angle. For example, while it’s fairly common to talk about what makes individuals succeed or fail, it’s not so common to talk about why entire countries succeed or fail. That’s exactly the subject of a very interesting book that was published a few years back, Culture Matters: How Values Shape Human Progress. As you might guess, among the values that appear relevant to national success are “thrift, investment, hard work, education, organization and discipline”—each of which is just as applicable to an individual lifting weights as it is to a country as a whole. For example, each of us has finite resources, financial and otherwise, so making thrifty use of them means that what you have will go further. Consider money. You can either spend a little here and a little there, ending up with little to show for it, or you can focus your financial resources on the food and supplements that will help you reach your goal. Your time and energy may be even more limited than your money, so you can either use them prudently, for maximum benefit, or waste them. Investment may seem irrelevant in terms of training, but think of it as the work that builds your foundation, as opposed to the superficial finishing work. For example, two guys start training at the same time in similar condition. One specializes on bench presses and curls, while the other really pushes his squats. In the short term the bench press guy looks as if he made the smarter choice, but down the road a bit it’s going to be clear that the other guy, the one who invested wisely in work on his major muscle groups, is headed toward a much bigger payoff. Don’t let lust for short-term gains blind you to what’s best for long-term growth. Hard work is really one of the biggest determinants of success, so if you spend a disproportionate amount of your life in bed or on the couch, don’t expect to accomplish much. And while it’s become fashionable in some training circles to wax eloquent about how hard you train, it’s really like most things: The walk, not the talk, is what matters, so button your lip, keep your head down, and save your energy for an extra rep or another five pounds on the bar. Let your efforts and results speak for themselves. Neveux \ Model: Chris Cook

IRONMIND

MIND/BODY

260 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Body Education isn’t limited to how you did on your organic chemistry final—it’s smart to learn as much as you can about whatever is important to you. Use the Internet, ask questions, read all the books and magazines you can find. You may not end up as a walking encyclopedia, but if you learn a little about the field, you won’t be surprised that a meat-andwater diet, coupled with a lot of concentration curls, won’t help you outgrow your clothes. Some people are busy all the time—just ask them—even though if you look at what they’ve accomplished at the end of the day, you may be able to fit the list on the head of pin. Other people might not build Rome in a day, but they make a good start. The difference usually has little to do with talent but instead depends on factors that are entirely under everyone’s control. Chief among them is organization. If you spend two hours dispatching a task that a normal person could complete in 10 minutes, you’re not going to have a very productive life. You’d be amazed at how many genuinely busy, productive people make training a regular part of their lives by either working out first thing in the morning or at lunchtime. By being well organized, they grab some time that otherwise would be used less productively, and they use it to train. Discipline is the glue that holds everything together. If you’re disciplined, you get out of bed early to train when you’re supposed to, rather than sleeping late, and it’s just as critical in each of the other areas we discussed. Discipline makes or breaks each step of the path. Understanding how the concept works is the easy part; the challenge is having the discipline to do what’s required. You can learn discipline and get better at it with practice. The opposite is just as true: If you practice an undisciplined lifestyle, that, and only that, is what you’ll get really good at. Nations are built one person at a time, so it’s no surprise that successful nations are composed of successful people. Similarly, successful people are the result of distinct values— advantageous values—that are there for anyone to adopt, and they’re as useful in the gym as out. —Randall Strossen, Ph.D. Editor’s note: Randall Strossen, Ph.D., edits the quarterly magazine MILO. He’s also the author of IronMind: Stronger Minds, Stronger Bodies; Super Squats: How to Gain 30 Pounds of Muscle in 6 Weeks and Paul Anderson: The Mightiest Minister. For more information call IronMind Enterprises Inc. at (530) 265-6725 or Home Gym Warehouse at (800) 447-0008, ext. 1. Visit the IronMind Web site at www .IronMind.com

Pain Relief

Meds or Beds?

New findings on back pain

ots of people have back pain, and many attribute it to weak abdominals or bad posture. Many also take medication for that pain; however, the meds may be unnecessary. The pain may be coming from your bed—specifically, your worn-out mattress. A study at Oklahoma State University found that old mattresses that had lost their ability to support caused back pain in many subjects. Switching to a new mattress provided complete relief. If you have back pain and your mattress is 10 years old, there may be a connection. —Becky Holman www.X-tremeLean.com

Lifesavers

CPR Savvy

ccording to a recent Japanese study, it’s more important to do chest compressions than mouth-to-mouth on a victim of cardiac arrest. In other words, standard CPR is not best. The blood has oxygen; it’s in need of circulation to prevent brain damage. That means chest compression if the heart beat is weak or has stopped. Of course, for drowning victims, mouth-tomouth along with chest compressions is best. —Becky Holman www.X-tremeLean.com

www.ironmanmagazine.com \ OCTOBER 2007 261

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Bomber Blast

MIND/BODY

The Times They Are A-Changin’

Happiness

Souvenir Smiles

ccording to the July ’07 Prevention, you should buy some souvenirs and take plenty of photos on your next trip or vacation: “New research shows that people who use mementos or photos to remind themselves of good times better appreciate their lives and are happier,” says Sonja Lyubomirsky, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at the University of California, Riverside. Those memories of joy remind you that it can happen again—on your very next trip. —Becky Holman www.X-tremeLean.com

If you’re in good shape to begin with— not undermuscled, round as a beer barrel and health-impaired—an hour a day is swell. But who do you know who’s in shape to begin with? It’s good idea, science in a nutshell: inflammation, overtraining, rise in cortisol, decrease in testosterone. But do any of us who are so inclined believe we can build a serious body by lifting weights one hour a day? It takes that long to get warmed up, focused and rolling. Then there are the sets and reps and strain and pain and overload and hypertrophy, a slug of water and a deep breath and a towel across the brow, hello and good-bye. Isn’t 60-minute-max a generalization? Are we all the same? What about muscle structure and body chemistry, training methods and intensities, rest and ability to recuperate, nutritional support, power of the mind and lifestyles? Goals? Give me 90 minutes five days a week, Doc, I’m beggin’ you. I take Bomber Blend; I’m good to my wife and cat; I don’t litter, cuss, speed...c’mon...just an hour and a half. Whaddaya say? Does that include aerobics? Here’s another beauty: Exercise one bodypart a day for maximum muscular growth. Cute idea for kids messing around in the backyard with their water-filled plastic weights (or the mysterious person who’s in good shape to begin with), but not for lifters interested in building serious muscle and strength anytime soon. Bombing and blasting is old-fashioned—like hard work— and went out of style in the ’60s and ’70s. Training with your personal trainer or iPod is very popular these days. What happened to focus and thinking on your own? Have they evaporated with personal responsibility and serenity? I know, I know. A little background music is harmonic and companionable, and a little direction and encouragement from a sturdy guide are often priceless. Alas, I suppose I’m just a stubborn ol’ mountain goat (though I prefer to think of myself as a lone wolf, a solitude shark in deep waters, a soaring eagle on high, a camouflaged stealth warrior). Train hard, be strong, Godspeed...the Bomber. —Dave Draper Editor’s note: For more from Dave Draper, visit www.DaveDraper .com and sign up for his free newsletter. You can also check out his amazing Top Squat training tool, classic photos, workout Q&A and forum.

262 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Neveux \ Model: Berry Kabov

utomobiles have come a long way since the Model-T. Bigger, stronger and faster, and far too many: on the roads, at the intersections, in garages, on lots for sale and in backyards rusting away. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Gyms aren’t much different. There were barbells and dumbbells, benches, racks and pulleys, also a very good idea. And then came along bigger, stronger and faster and far too many: on the corner, in the mall, down the boulevard and in the towering office building, with contraptions to do the same things the solid steel did, except the steel did it better. New, advanced and state-of-the-art machines are available each year to the naïve and undiscerning consumer and the optimistic and obliging gym owner, who is also going broke. “I’ll take a barbell, a dumbbell and a bench, and throw in a dozen treadmills, stair-steppers, ellipticals and stationary bikes with the built-in TVs and stereo sound systems. Thank you.” Nothing builds muscle and strength better than the basic barbells and dumbbells and benches plus a handy milk crate, a few blocks of wood and some bars for dips and chins. Add desire, enthusiasm and improvisation, and you’re in the bodybuilding business—make that bodybuilding heaven. There are some odd rules and regulations bodybuilders are urged to follow these days, along with the impossible selection of highly advanced (cough cough) and technical equipment. Many come from people who research and write for musclebuilding mags, I guess, and have visited a 24 Hour or Bally’s gym to get an up-close, firsthand and in-depth feel for their subject matter. Some are even technically legit. Here’s a good one: Don’t train for more than 60 minutes, or your body will go into catabolism and destroy your muscle tissue. Oh, that my brothers and sisters would or could train an hour a day, what a fine world this would be. Health and fitness would abound; discipline and self-esteem would define our character. There’d be less crime and more civility, less apathy and more excitement.

New Stuff

The World’s First 12-Hour Muscle-Feeding Protein Bar

HP recently introduced its famous protein in convenient bar form—Probolic-SR, the world’s first 12-hour sustained-release protein bar. Each Probolic-SR bar delivers 30 grams of superior-quality protein and highly anabolic amino acids to your muscles for 12 straight hours—and the taste is sure to blow you away. That makes Probolic-SR the perfect choice to support your muscle-building goals. Probolic-SR’s amazing candy-bar flavor will trick your taste buds and satisfy your amino acid–hungry muscles hour after hour. If you’re looking for a bar that tastes like candy and packs on muscle, this one’s for you. Probolic-SR bars are now available in the new Chocolate Caramel Crisp flavor, a delicious addition to the already popular Chocolate Marshmallow Chunk and Triple Peanut Butter varieties. For more information visit www .MaxPerformance.com.

New Stuff

SizeOn to Pump Up and Lean Out

ooking for a cell volumizer? In an independent clinical research study by Dr. Tim Ziegnfuss at the Ohio Research Group, SizeOn proved to be more effective at increasing endurance, increasing strength, increasing lean body mass and decreasing fat than similar formulas that use arginine alpha-ketoglutarate or even creatine ethyl ester. It’s just about taken over the industry as “the most effective cell volumizer” ever. SizeOn is the only cell volumizer that contains creatine gluconate, which is the fastest-acting and longest-lasting creatine ever developed. SizeOn has rapidly become the cell-volumizing creatine product of choice for professional athletes everywhere. The reason is simple: It works exactly as promised and delivers every time you use it. Those who use it can expect to see results from the first day they take it—increases in strength, endurance and lean body mass as well as a drop in overall bodyfat. Nothing beats SizeOn—absolutely nothing. For more information, call Gaspari Nutrition at (888) 742-7727 or visit www .GaspariNutrition.com.

www.ironmanmagazine.com \ OCTOBER 2007 263

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Innovation

MIND/BODY MIND/BODY

Neveux \ Model: Mike Morris

Home-Gym Hardware

n the early 1900s there was an athletic German named Heinrich Steinborn who was serving in the German navy. World War I was going full force, and, as chance would have it, Heinrich’s ship was captured off the coast of Australia and brought to port there. As a prisoner of war Heinrich had nothing to do but work out, think about working out and then work out some more. He quickly outgrew the meager equipment in the compound, and before long he was in dire need of some heavier weight. One day while he was thinking about his predicament, he learned that some trees were being cut nearby to clear some land. Steinborn immediately had a brainstorm. He obtained permission, selected two of the largest stumps that looked to be equal in weight and fashioned a heavy barbell by securing one to each side of a bar. Heinrich used the weight for some heavy-duty workouts and became the stongest man around—most of the other men could hardly budge the homemade barbell, much less lift it. Later in his life he moved to America, achieved fame for his tremendous feats of strength and became known as the great strongman “Milo” Steinborn, but he never forgot that homemade

Australian barbell. It had a special place in his heart because it kept him training and was a symbol of his ingenuity and strength. Today, we’re lucky; we don’t have to build barbells out of tree stumps as Milo did just to get a decent workout. With the growing popularity of weight training, the sporting goods stores are overflowing with options for setting up a home gym. One of the best is the PowerBlock selectorized dumbbell set. Pair it with an adjustable bench, and you’ve got a killer home gym. From dumbbell squats to incline dumbbell presses to dumbbell rows, you can work every bodypart. It’s a basic setup, but it’s a great place to start. Of course, in the spirit of Milo, your gains will be limited only by your ingenuity. —Steve Holman Editor’s note: The PowerBlock selectorized dumbbell set is available from Home Gym Warehouse, (800) 447-0008 or visit www .Home-Gym .com.

264 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Vitality

MIND/BODY

Jack Energy, Whack Disease

ou may have read in IRON MAN that more than 1,000 studies show a link between a lower risk of cancer and vitamin D. It’s estimated that low levels of vitamin D may produce up to a 70 percent increase in the risk for prostate cancer and double the risk for colon cancer. Now a new Dutch study suggests that a vitamin D deficiency can lead to sluggishness, especially in older people. Nearly half of the nearly 1,000 seniors who were part of the study, which was published in the Journal of

Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, were found to be vitamin D deficient, and the deficiency was linked to “poorer physical performance and a greater decline in physical performance in older men and women.” Aside from boosting energy and preventing cancer, adequate vitamin D intake has been shown in clinical trials to prevent bone loss, enhance immune function and protect against the flu. Sunshine helps your body produce vitamin D, but if you don’t get out in the sun much, try supplementing with 1,000 international units per day. —Becky Holman www.X-tremeLean.com

www.Home-Gym.com Best Sellers DVDs/Videos:

2) The 7-Minute Rotator Cuff Solution by Joseph Horrigan, D.C., and Jerry Robinson 3) Ronnie Coleman’s Hardcore 4) 10-Week Size Surge by IRON MAN Publishing 5) The Precontest Bible by Larry Pepe Top E-book:

1) “Jay Cutler—One Step Closer” 2) “Ronnie Coleman: Relentless” 3) “2006 Mr. Olympia” 4) “2007 IRON MAN Pro” 5) “IRON MAN’s Swimsuit Spectacular #9” Books: 1) Train, Eat, Grow—The Positionsof-Flexion Muscle-Training Manual by Steve Holman

266 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

X-traordinary Muscle-Building Workouts—10 Complete Print-andGo Size and Strength Programs by Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson (available at www .X-Rep.com.

IRON MAN’s Rising Stars / IronManMagazine.com

Kristy Hawkins Weight: Off-season, 160 pounds; contest, 140

Photography by Bill Dobbins

Height: 5’3 1/2” Age: 26 Contests: ’06 NPC Nationals, 3rd light heavyweight; ’03 NPC Pittsburgh Championships, 1st middleweight and overall Factoid: Finishing her Ph.D. in chemical engineering at the California Institute of Technology

268 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

IRON MAN’s Rising Stars / IronManMagazine.com

Adir Souza-Filho Photography by Merv

Weight: Off-season, 200 pounds; contest, 176 Height: 5’6” Occupation: Personal trainer Factoid: Migrated from Brazil as a bodybuilder and became a personal trainer in Los Angeles Goal: To become a professional bodybuilder

www.ironmanmagazine.com \ OCTOBER 2007 269

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Readers Write

X-Man, X-treme Mass

Stop With the Duty Okay, enough Mike Mentzer Heavy Duty. One set per bodypart every two weeks just doesn’t work. I’ve tried it, and a number of my friends have too, and while we built a little strength, our muscles got smaller, and we lost the bodybuilder look. In my opinion Heavy Duty is a sham and should be stopped. Fred Sorenson via Internet Editor’s note: While we don’t agree with everything that appears in Heavy Duty, which is now written by John Little, it’s relevant information that some trainees find motivational and effective. We report on many different training theories and styles because we consider IRON MAN a training journal first and foremost. You could also say that pro workouts, like Toney Freeman’s in the August ’07 issue, have no relevance to the genetically average—but we find them interesting and motivational nevertheless.

Neveux

Inspiring Iron Man

The full-page photo of Toney Freeman that opened his interview [“Body X-traordinare,” August ’07] was incredible. He has the widest shoulder structure, and his waist is still narrow. Unbelievable! All hail the X-Man! Curt Rooney Detroit, MI

Mon

Mark-ed Changes

Editor’s note: Yes, he’s got quite an X-traordinary build, and we’re proud that he won our ’07 IRON MAN Pro. Let’s hope he returns in a bid to X-terminate the competition in ’08.

I loved the shots of Monica Mark that appeared in the July ’07 issue [IRON MAN Hardbody]. I appreciate a softer woman with plenty of curves. I saw that she won your ’07 NPC IRON MAN Figure contest, so I went back to the issue that featured the IRON MAN Pro [May ’07], and she looked like a completely different woman when she won that show. I like her better in your Hardbody photos. What I guess I’m saying is, more off-season Winning the competitors, please. Stan Chaplan ’07 NPC IM via Internet Figure.

Arnold Pullouts

Mozée

Neveux

The collection of large Arnold shots you picked for the birthday tribute to him in the August ’07 issue was the best I’ve seen, with a few shots I don’t recall ever seeing anywhere else. I’m one Arnold fan who bought two of that issue, one to tear out photos for my gym wall and the other to go into my archive of Arnold memorabilia. Thank you. Steve Sandowski via Internet Editor’s note: Many of the rare shots you mention were taken by Gene Mozée. Another big thank-you to Gene for allowing us to use his classic photos.

Great job with the magazine. Peary and Mabel Rader would be extremely proud of what you’ve done with IRON MAN. Also kudos to Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson for their columns and training programs. I’m now in my late 60s and have been working out for more than 55 years. Recently, at 170 pounds, I did 170 parallel-bar dips in 15 minutes. Not a feat worthy of Jack LaLanne, but it’s an indication of what average old-timers can do if they desire. I keep my waist at 31 inches, and yes, it’s difficult. So what? Life is difficult. Keep up the quality work. IRON MAN is a beacon of character, integrity and sensibility. John Morgan, Ph.D. via Internet ica Mark.

Vol. 66, No. 10: 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.

272 OCTOBER 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com