Flex Magazine UK Edition - November 2013

BRITISH EDITION

BIG RAMY EXPLODES ON TO THE SCENE

GROW WITH

BRITISH CHAMPIONSHIPS SPECIAL

VOLUME TRAINING

N’S BRITAAI G FOR BEST M G

N GETTIIG B

FOLLOW HIS PROGRAMME FOR SIZE

S O R P E H T M O R F S P I T TRAINING

KAI GREENE

SHAWN RHODEN

FLEX LEWIS

www.flexonline.co.uk NOVEMBER 2013 £4.20 11

9 770955 121136

NOVEMBER 2013

cover photograph by PAVEL YTHJALL

TRAINING

42

30 BACK AND FORTH WITH THE GIFT Phil Heath reveals his backburning techniques.



By Greg Merritt

42 LEWIS LASHES LEGS Flex Lewis demolishes legs, all without the help of one very revered exercise in the bodybuilding canon.



By Michael Berg

62 VOLUME TRAINING: OLD METHOD, NEW ANGLE Blow it up with this modern-day twist on a timeless classic.



By David Sandler

86 H.U.G.E.®: ISO-TENSION How flexing between sets can enhance muscle growth.



By Greg Merritt

100

FEATURES 52 GENERATION IRON The conclusion of our behindthe-scenes look at the bodybuilding docudrama.



By Dave Lee

78 SHATTERING THE COMPETITION Mamdouh “Big Ramy” Elssbiay exploded into the IFBB Pro League. Who is he, and where did he come from?



By Robbie Durand

100 BRITISH CHAMPIONSHIPS QUIZ Test your knowledge of the British Championships with this brain workout.



By John Plummer

108 AGE OF INTENSITY The training philosophies that set Dorian Yates apart.



4

FLEX

By Julian Schmidt

108 VOLUME 31 NUMBER 8

All you need.

The most advanced all-in-one mass gain solution.

90g PROTEIN PER DAILY DOSE

10 g CREATACORE CREATINE

14 TM

BIO-ACTIVE INGREDIENTS

@SCIMX

SCI-MX

sci-mx.co.uk

flexonline.co.uk

30

62 weider athletes

140 142 144 146 147 148 150 152 153 154

Phil Heath Mamdouh Elssbiay Flex Lewis Shawn Rhoden Roelly Winklaar Fouad Abiad Michael Liberatore Erik Fankhouser Ben Pakulski Kai Greene

departments

10 Editorial Bodybuilding has changed forever.

12 Arnold’s Page

You should know squat!

14 It’s Only My Opinion Cables, or barbells and dumbbells?

16 Hard Times

Olympia weekend million-dollar milestone; and more!

26 Home Scene

News and gossip from the UK.

72 Get Big Column

How I started right but then went wrong.

92 From the Trenches

Expert advice for hardgainers.

118 Gym Bag

Our usual mix, including training tips, research, and more.

124 Advanced Nutrition

The latest food and supplements news.

6

FLEX

128 Big Ass Mass Stay anabolic.

130 Lift Strong The 1-6 Principle.

132 Advanced Bodybuilding

172 Under the Microscope We put Muscletech Nano Vapor under the microscope.

176 The Shot Phil Heath

Dopamine: a dieter’s secret weapon.

134 Hardcore Nutrition The calorie fallacy.

136 Ask the Guru

Neil Hill answers your questions.

138 Only the Strong

Building your lower back strength.

156 Looking Back

A look back at the career of the legendary Albert Beckles.

164 ET Column

Ex pro British bodybuilder Ernie Taylor draws on his vast experience to answer your questions .

118

NEXT LEVEL NUTRITION GO FURTHER™ FOR LESS £16.99/1kg

£19.99/500g

£6.69/500g £10.99/120 TABLETS

£2.83/500ML BOTTLE

12% OFF YOUR FIRST ORDER USE CODE:

FLNOV12 £50

Legal: MYPROTEIN® is a trademark of Cend Ltd. GoNutritionTM is not affiliated with MYPROTEIN®. GoNutritionTM is a trademark of Monocore Ltd. All offers and prices subject to change, please see website for T&Cs.

®

PUBLISHed In tHe UK By WeiDeR PUBLiSHiNg LTD 10 Windsor Court, Clarence Drive, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, Hg1 2Pe Tel: 01423 504516 Fax: 01423 561494 iSSN 0955-1212

AdVerTiSiNG eurOPean advertising manager Samantha Lund e-mail: [email protected] tO advertise Tel: 01423 550848

ediTOriAL fOr editOrial and general enquiries e-mail: [email protected] general enquiries Tel: 01423 504516

mAiL Order mail Order Katie Ashworth e-mail: [email protected] Tel: 01423 877052

diGiTAL SUBSCriPTiONS One year (12 issues) £34.99 Download the app at www.flexonline.co.uk/digital

PriNT SUBSCriPTiONS Cds glObal e-mail: [email protected] One year (12 issues) £34.99 Western europe £49 Rest of the World £69 tO subsCribe Tel: 01858 435346

UK ediTiON

US ediTiON

managing direCtOr Martin Cheifetz editOrial direCtOr John Plummer editOr Chris Lund marketing/Web manager Andrew Berrie PrOduCtiOn manager Suzanne Turmel Print/PrOduCtiOn CO-OrdinatOr Sarah Patterson Creative team Neil Molyneaux, Steve Pickles, Leigh Shrimpton PrOduCtiOn team John Braddick, Alice Cockerham, Sarah Warner sCienCe editOr Dr Daniel Reardon sub editOrs gillian ingles, Kathy Tweddle staff Writer Matt Turner Online COntent PrOduCer Joanna green regulatOry COnsultant Mark gilbert advertising CO-OrdinatOr Martin Denton advertising assistant Jonathan Booth digital/advertising assistant Justin Frickleton marketing assistant Charlotte Barnes it and COmmuniCatiOns manager Jim Sore finanCial COntrOller Kevin Howland administratiOn manager Sandra Opacic CirCulatiOn direCtOr Patrick Napier COLOUr rePrOdUCTiON By RW Reprographics Tel: 01924 351 805 PriNTed iN POLANd By Quad/graphics Tel: 0048 22 33 67 093 diSTriBUTed By Mail Publisher Solutions Tel: 020 7938 6000 Sign up for our free monthly newsletter

www.flexonline.co.uk/newslettersignup

exeCutive viCe President, grOuP Publishing direCtOr Chris Scardino Chairman & Chief exeCutive OffiCer David Pecker fOunder & Chairman emeritus Joe Weider (1920-2013) President Of the ifbb PrOfessiOnal league Jim Manion exeCutive editOr Arnold Schwarzenegger editOr-in-Chief Robbie Durand managing editOr Brian good West COast editOr Dave ian Lee Chief mediCal adviser Carlon Colker Weider PUBLiCATiONS, LLC A SUBSidiAry Of AmeriCAN mediA, iNC. Chairman, President & Chief exeCutive OffiCer David Pecker exeCutive viCe President, Chief marketing OffiCer Kevin Hyson exeCutive viCe President, COnsumer marketing David W. Leckey exeCutive viCe President, Chief finanCial OffiCer, treasurer Chris Polimeni President, CeO, distributiOn serviCes, inC. John D. Swider exeCutive viCe President, Chief digital OffiCer Joseph M. Bilman exeCutive viCe President, digital media OPeratiOns, Chief infOrmatiOn OffiCer David Thompson seniOr viCe President, OPeratiOns Rob M. O’Neill general manager, ami internatiOnal & syndiCatiOn Lawrence A. Bornstein 4 New York Plaza, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10004 USA. Tel: 001 212 339 1900

We assume no responsibility for returning unsolicited material, including but not limited to photographs, artwork, manuscripts and letters. Every care is taken to assure the accuracy of the information in FLEX, but no responsibility can be accepted for the consequences of actions based on the advice contained herein. Weider Publishing Ltd makes every effort to ensure that the advertising contained in FLEX is derived from respectable sources. It does not, however, assume responsibility for the advertisements, nor any claims and representations made therein, nor the quality or delivery of the products/services themselves. Editorial articles relating to food supplementation and sports nutrition reproduced in this issue of FLEX are for information purposes only and are not intended to solicit or otherwise promote any commercialised product containing the mentioned supplements. FLEX is distributed on an international basis. To the extent permitted by law, Weider Publications LLC and its affiliates: Weider Publishing Ltd, Weider Publishing Italia Srl and Mediafit SARL, do not accept liability for the effects of reported supplements or products, legal or illegal or any loss, injury or damage caused by their use. It is the responsibility of the individual to abide by the laws and dosage allowances specific to their country of residence. Always consult a doctor before commencing supplementation or changing dosages. Some supplements may not work effectively outside specific dosage ranges and may potentially cause harm if taken in excess. Not all supplements, combinations of supplements, or dose ranges of supplements may be suitable, safe or effective for everybody. Copyright © (2013) Weider Publications, LLC. Published under license from Weider Publications, LLC. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission. ‘FLEX’ is a trademark of Weider Publications, LLC. and may not be used or reproduced without the permission of Weider Publications, LLC.

www.flexonline.co.uk

www.facebook.com/flexonlineuk

twitter.com/flexmagazineUK

www.youtube.com/weiderpublishing

BY JOHN PLUMMER EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

BODYBUILDING HAS CHANGED FOREVER

10

FLEX

Little has been lost but much has been gained. All the old bodybuilding categories still exist but the new ones give practically anyone the chance to get on stage if they’re up for the challenge of training to be in the best shape of their lives. In such body-conscious times, that’s only going to appeal to more people. If the United Kingdom Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation continues to seize the opportunity, and the introduction of a new contest next summer suggests it is (see Home Scene), this might just be the beginning. Bodybuilding has changed, mainly for the better. We will be changing too by including more coverage of these newer classes in 2013 as we strive to bring you Britain’s best bodies in all their forms. In the meantime, get in the British Championships spirit by trying our quiz this month and look for our coverage of the big event, and many of the qualifiers, at flexonline.co.uk. FLEX

watcH it NOw

Want a physique like Ryan Terry’s? Learn how he does it with his 12-week Cover Model Conditioning programme at www.myvideopt.com

kevin horton

With this magazine due out two days before the British Championships, thoughts are already turning to the 2014 series of qualifiers, which get underway at the Stars of Tomorrow show at the Beck Theatre in Hayes, west London, on November 3rd. It’s been a wonderful year with more contests than ever, more competitors than ever and frequent full houses. Some promoters are looking for bigger venues. Others, who lived through the lean years that lasted from about 1990 to 2005, are wary of upsizing to expensive new buildings in case the sport collapses like it did 25 years ago. But that won’t happen. Bodybuilding has fundamentally changed. Back then it was all about freaky muscle. Now it’s about mainstream muscle as well, as displayed on this page by Ryan Terry. Classic bodybuilding, men’s physique, bodyfitness and bikini fitness are game changers. They’ve transformed the physiques on stage, the kind of people who want to compete and the atmosphere at shows. We’re now seeing more competitors from high street health clubs, such as Virgin Active, Bannatyne and Fitness First instead of just the old spit-and-sawdust gyms we know and love. The number of female athletes has increased dramatically. The growth in spin-off businesses, such as contest tanning, bikini manufacturing and posing workshops is evidence of a sport in rude health.

BY ARNOLD BY ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, SCHWARZENEGGER, EXECUTIVE EXECUTIVE EDITOR EDITOR

YOU SHOULD KNOW SQUAT

■ Body alignment is key Ideally, your back should be as straight as possible, so that your rear end and the bar are almost in line with each other. Concentrating on keeping your chest out will help you keep your back flat. I also recommend incorporating front squats into your routine to focus in on the quads more than the glutes. ■ Tailor your stance to your goals Whether your feet should be spaced wide or closed—a common squatting debate—depends on which area of the quads you want to focus on. A wider

12

FLEX

Arnold Schwarzenegger shows Franco Columbu and Ken Waller that he does, indeed, know squat.

stance hits the inside of the thighs more, whereas a narrower stance tends to target the outer quads. ■ Go down to just below parallel To develop strength throughout the entire range of motion, it’s important for your thighs to go just beyond parallel to the floor at the bottom of each rep. This is especially important for beginners who are establishing a training base. After you’ve become experienced, it’s OK occasionally to include half squats in your training to allow you to use heavier weight, which adds mass.

■ Drop the sets and reps for more mass If size is your goal, as it usually is with squats, you must train according to basic power principles: do fewer sets and reps with as heavy a weight you can handle, and take longer rest periods. That means three or four sets, four to eight reps, and around three minutes of rest between sets. On occasion, include higher-rep sets (10–15) to add variety. ■ Switch to Smith If your lower back and/or knees bother you during barbell squatting, use a Smith machine instead. That’s what I did

later in my career and it took a lot of stress off of those vulnerable areas. Hack squats are another alternative that I found effectively target the outer thigh muscles. ■ Do supersets and compound sets In 1971, when I wanted to add more definition and separation—not to mention sheer size—to my thighs, I got great results by doing compound sets of leg extensions followed by squats, as well as supersets of front squats and lying leg curls (for hamstrings). The burn was unbearable, but it worked! FLEX

Zeller © Fitness Publications inc., courtesy oF Weider HealtH and Fitness

Ask 100 bodybuilders which exercise they’d do if they could only do one, and 99 would tell you the squat—and the other one probably has chronic knee issues. There’s little doubt that the squat is the king of all exercises, because it adds mass to your thighs and glutes, as well as all over your body via a systemic response to this most difficult of exercises. When I was competing, I would squat twice per week and go to more than 400 pounds for reps. I would often do my squats barefoot to grip the floor better with my toes, and my training partners Franco Columbu, Ken Waller, and Dave Draper wouldn’t count a rep until my butt touched the back of my ankles. It was gruelling and in the end, quite frankly, I hated the exercise, but I knew that it was essential if I wanted to be the best bodybuilder on the planet. If you want to be the best bodybuilder you can be, and you don’t suffer from chronic knee or hip issues, then you should make the squat your best friend—whether you like it or not. Below, I’ve compiled some tips to keep in mind the next time you climb under a bar.

SCOTT DORN • FITNESS COVER MODEL • WBFF CENTRAL US CHAMPIONSHIP 1ST • TEAM SCITEC USA

25 DAY SOPHISTICATED AND INTEGRATED SUPPLEMENT PROGRAM WITH 3 POPULAR FORMULAS! OVERALL SUPPORT WITH WIDE VARIETY OF TRADITIONAL AND MODERN INGREDIENTS! WITH MANY MORE ACTIVE INGREDIENTS THAN IN THE FORMER VERSION!

ADVANCED D-ASPARTIC ACID COMPLEX WITH 4 INGREDIENTS! • D-ASPARTIC ACID • N, N-DIMETHYLGLYCINE • ZINC • PANTOTHENIC ACID

BLEND OF 6 SPECIAL PLANT EXTRACTS! • MANGOSTEEN • QUERCETIN • RESVERATROL • GREEN TEA • GRAPE SEED • RED CLOVER EXTRACTS • IN HOS ONLY! NOT AVAILABLE SEPARATELY!

UNIQUE COMBINATION OF 7 SPECIAL INGREDIENTS! • HMB • L-LEUCINE • L-ISOLEUCINE • BETA ECDYSTERONE • FENUGREEK EXTRACT • VITAMIN B6 • BIOPERINE®

CHECK OUT OUR OTHER 200+ PRODUCTS AS WELL! USE PRODUCT IN CONJUNCTION WITH A SENSIBLE TRAINING AND NUTRITION PROGRAM!

www.scitecnutrition.com WE ARE LOOKING FOR RETAILERS! • CALL US ON: 0127 987 4631 • WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/SCITECUK

COMMENT

BY chris lund photos BY chris lund

CABLES OR BARBELLS & DUMBELLS? Many years ago I read an article written by Ivan Dunbar who was a top NABBA official from Ireland. Ivan would always try his best to bring over the current, hottest physique sensations in the world so that his fellow countrymen could see them up close for themselves. He did this for many years and sometimes he would write about the experience in Health & Strength magazine. On this particular occasion he had pulled off a real winner. He had brought over Larry Scott, the first man to win the Mr Olympia. (Larry won it twice in 1965 and 1966 and then retired from bodybuilding.) During the early part of the 1960s, Larry Scott was the undisputed king of bodybuilders and you were dazzled and truly inspired by the fantastic photographs and training articles about him in Joe Weider’s Muscle Builder, the forerunner to FLEX. Larry trained at Vince Gironda’s gym in California using all kinds of specialised training equipment that we had never seen before. He even used a special biceps bench which was nicknamed after him, because he used it exclusively to build those amazing, fully rounded biceps (which we had also never seen before). This bench was called the Scott bench at first, but over the years it became known as the preacher bench. Ivan wrote that he was surprised that on first sight, while fully dressed, Larry appeared smaller than he had anticipated. But he wasn’t quite prepared for his next surprise. When he proudly showed Larry his gym, the two-time Mr Olympia from California just stared in unimpressed silence. Eventually he asked, “But where are all the pulleys, and cables? I train using at least 12 different cable machines!” “Ah,” replied Ivan, “we are just a simple hardcore gym. Maybe a spot of hard work on the basic stuff will do you good!” Mr Scott was not amused, and Ivan wrote that he would never

14

FLEX

forget that look of disappointment on the face of the latest, greatest bodybuilder in the world. To Larry Scott’s credit, Ivan Dunbar concluded his article by saying that he was absolutely astounded when Scott posed that night on stage. “Larry Scott,” he wrote, “was the best we had ever seen!” While it’s perfectly true that Larry Scott did use many different types of cable machines, it’s also true that he trained more intensely than any other bodybuilding champion during his era apart from Sergio Oliva, who used lots of heavy basic moves. The cable movements, as well as the specialised training apparatus such as the Smith machine, wide-grip dipping bar and hack squat machine, were the influence of the infamous Vince Gironda, who would not allow regular squats to be done in his gym. In his opinion, “squats widen the hips, and if I see anyone in the gym doing them, I will kick them out!” During the period that Larry Scott reigned as the greatest bodybuilder in the world, specialised training exercises began to evolve and gain popularity. Why kill yourself with regular squats, when you could have fun on the hack squat, leg press and thigh extension machines? Why do regular barbell curls when you could do cable curls and preacher curls? [Editor’s note: Larry Scott’s biceps routine consisted of dumbbell preacher curls supersetted with barbell preacher curls, nonstop, six sets of six reps. He then finished off with six sets of reverse-grip preacher curls using an EZ curl bar. Larry’s training was not exactly heavy duty, but he did lots of compound sets and trisets until he couldn’t do another rep. He would then do half reps and burns to true muscular failure.] Why do demanding sets of parallel dips and lying EZ triceps extensions when you could do pressdowns, one-arm pushdowns and leaning-

forward pulley triceps extensions (Scott’s favourite triceps exercise)? Why do heavy bentover rows and chins when you’ve got all those lat machines? Why bother with bench presses and dips when you could do Gironda-inspired, lightweight wide-grip bench presses to the neck as well as wide-grip parallel dips with your elbows kept out to the sides? Heavy military presses and dumbbell presses were replaced with the Smith machine press, cable lateral raises and a unique two-dumbbell shoulder press that Larry Scott also became famous for. Instead of pushing the dumbbells straight up from your shoulders, you pushed them inwards until they were a few inches from the top of your head. Your arms remained bent throughout the entire movement, which meant that you eliminated the weaker triceps involvement. In other words, you failed because your deltoids gave out, not because your triceps did. This exercise became known as the Scott dumbbell press and later the Arnold dumbbell press. So we dropped the heavy squats and replaced them with the hack machine and leg extension. We cut out the heavy bench presses and incline dumbbell presses, and did wide-grip bench press to the neck and cable crossovers. We dropped regular military presses and dumbbell presses and replaced them with the Scott dumbbell press and one-arm cable side laterals. We didn’t do regular parallel dips and lying triceps extensions any more. Instead we did every form of cable triceps exercise we could think of. Heavy pyramid-style barbell and dumbbell curls were replaced by preacher curls and cable curls. Finally we even dumped bentover barbell rows and chins and replaced them with pulldowns and low lat pulley work. The result was not as we expected. Muscles began to shrink on a weekly basis. And strength? That went down the pan as well. When we eventually went back to basic barbell and dumbbell exercises, we ached for a week but with time, our strength and muscular size came back! See you next month, and keep training. Chris Lund FlEX

TONEY FREEMAN

FLEX

15

by Dave Lee

Big NEWs, gOssIP, ANd MORE

OLYMPIA WEEKEND

$1,000,000

IN PRIZE MONEY! Joe Weider’s Olympia Fitness and Performance Weekend has reached a milestone— correction, a million-dollar milestone. Yes, bodybuilding’s biggest weekend has hit the $1 million mark, making Olympia Weekend’s total prize money figure the richest in the industry—by a country mile! Check out the increases in total prize Presents

IAN SPANIER

Brought to You By

Phil Heath with the winner’s cheque in 2012

16

FLEX

money per division: Mr. Olympia (open men) has jumped to $675,000; the Olympia 212 Showdown has grown to $65,000; and the inaugural Olympia Men’s and Women’s Physique Showdowns kick in $20,000 apiece. Those figures combined with the other divisions add up to $1 million in total prize money. For years, the goal was to reach $1 million by the 50th anniversary of Olympia Weekend, which would’ve been in 2014. But thanks to the hard work and combined efforts of American Media Inc. and its CEO and chairman David J. Pecker, the IFBB Professional League and its president Jim Manion, Joe and Ben Weider’s lifelong dream has become reality—

ahead of schedule. And let’s not forget the folks who really made this possible: the fans. “Without the fans none of this would’ve happened,” Manion said. “Whether you’re a fan who attends year after year, a fan who can make a special trip only once in a while, or a first-time fan, it’s because of your support of the event and the sport, that Olympia Weekend has been getting bigger every year, and I know that with all the exciting things happening in the industry, it will continue growing in the coming years. The sky’s the limit.”

TOTAL PRIZE MONEY BREAKDOWN Mr. Olympia: $675,000

Bikini Olympia: $40,000

212 Showdown: $65,000

Men’s Physique Showdown: $20,000

Ms. Olympia: $60,000 Fitness Olympia: $60,000 Figure Olympia: $60,000

Women’s Physique Showdown: $20,000 Total: $1 million

FREE! RRP £9.99 The MAXIRAW Smartshaker allows you to pre-plan your day’s nutrition by filling each compartment with supplements that are specifically tailored to your requirements.

FREE SMARTSHAKER WHEN YOU SPEND £40 ON MAXIRAW PRODUCTS

Add the Smartshaker to your basket and enter code

FLEXSHAKER

Available from

www.maxishop.com/maxiraw #rawdedication T&C’s – Basket value must exceed £40 excluding Smartshaker. Offer applies to Maxiraw products only and cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer. Offer ends 20/11/2013 MAXIRAW and star device are registered trade marks of the GlaxoSmithKline group of companies.

Photograph by ISAAC HINDS

HARDBODY CONFIDENTIAL

Haley Davis NPC bikini competitor

Nickname: The front desk guy at my gym calls me Guns. Favourite superhero: Captain America—good looking, muscles, nice guy, a romantic lover, but he can still kick some ass! Favourite female athlete: Bikini Olympia champ Nathalia Melo Most annoying word or saying: Beast mode Coolest invention ever: It’s a close tie between the ShamWow and the Shake Weight Number of tattoos: One…that you can see! Denim shorts: For the ladies ONLY Hidden talents: I can do the wave with my tongue.

18

FLEX

DOMINATION...

Tireless Research And Development Has Led To The Discovery Of A Precise Blend Of Advanced Ingredients Worthy Of The Name Jack3d®. USPlabs’ Team of Scientists Have Toiled Both In The Lab And In The Gym To Bring You Exactly What You Need to Dominate Every Bar You Approach. Blast, Smash and Unleash Your True Unhindered Potential. Are You Ready To Get Jack3d?

NOThINg WIll EvEr BE ThE SAME!

Joe Morrow TEAM USPlabs® & JACK3D USER

Not to be taken as a substitute for a varied and balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle. Always read the label.

RONNY ROCKEL 2014 COMEBACK For 10 years Ronny Rockel has been one of the world’s top professional bodybuilders. He planned to have a break in 2013 but got talked into competing early in the year, which proved to be a big mistake with so much going on in his life. In June he opened his Rock Shop in Ulm, Germany. He was due to become a father in late October and he has been learning to adjust to life with diabetes. But he isn’t ready to retire. Rockel has been

20

FLEX

busy bulking up with the intention of getting back on stage next year. The German, who was Mr Europe in 2011, is one of the best bodybuilders of recent years so it will be great to see him competing again.

RÜhl RetuRns ...as an MC Over the course of his IFBB pro career, which included 32 contests and first place at the 2002 Night of Champions, Markus Rühl evolved into the epitome of gigantic muscle mass. Now retired, Rühl has found a new outlet for his energy as a contest MC. “To view the sport from a different perspective has been a lot of fun,” he told FLEX. “I hosted the EVLS Prague Pro and really enjoyed being the man behind the mic at FIBO along with Dennis James. All MC job offers are welcome!”

He still looks pretty huge in his suit so how is his training going? “It’s been going well,” he says. “I’ve been training five times a week but there will definitely be no comeback.”

FLEX

21

Photograph by ISAAC HINDS

WEIDER fox

Yeshaira robles

Age 33 HeigHT 5'2" WeigHT 112 lbs Your best body part? Hamstrings and glutes. Cheesiest pickup line? “Hi, you must be tired ’cause you’ve been running through my mind.” Are you a girly-girl or one of the guys? I'm definitely one of the guys. I’m usually a girly-girl when I’m competing because I get all dolled up, but I generally wear sweats, a T-shirt, and a cap. I told myself, “For 2013, I'll be more of a girly-girl.” Three things you can’t live without? My family, gym hat, and gym music Most hardcore song on your playlist? Lil Wayne’s “Days and Days”, featuring 2 Chainz Who inspires you? My partner-in-crime, Marco (Rivera, IFBB pro bodybuilder). I started competing because of him. What’s your favourite thing about the fitness industry? All the people you get to meet. When they come up to you and say, “You’re my biggest inspiration,” that means a lot to me. —nicole adamo

22

FLEX

ROELLY WINKLAAR

IFBB PRO BODYBUILDER

FEED THE FIRE

NOX-RW1 ©2013 BSN®

The spirit is willing, but sometimes the body needs a little help getting started. Wasting workouts is not an option – all-out focus and energy are required each and every day for this sacrifice to lead to success. Get dialed in and fuel every training session with the all-in-one energy ignition of the one and only N.O.-XPLODE™ 2.0. Once you try it, you will never train without it!®

ENERgY*

MUscLE FUNctION# AMINO AcID sYNthEsIs** * Vitamin B6, B12, Folate and Magnesium contribute to reduction of muscle tiredness and fatigue. # Magnesium contributes to normal muscle function, normal protein synthesis and electrolyte balance. **Folate contributes to normal amino acid synthesis.

BSNONLINE.NET

BODYPOWER PRO Flex Lewis

Michelle Brannan

Pro bodybuilding will return to Britain next year after a one-year absence. Trade show Bodypower will host an IFBB-sanctioned contest in Birmingham on May 16th and 17th. There will be 212 lb, figure and wheelchair classes but not an open men’s category. Prejudging will be staged at the expo on Friday but visitors will have to pay for tickets to see the finals on the Saturday.

24

FLEX

Shawn Rhoden, Flex Lewis and Michelle Brannan were the winners when the pros last jousted in Britain in 2012 so it’s great to see a revival. Britain has a strong line-up of 212-ers so there is a good chance of more home-grown success. Besides Lewis, guys like James Llewellin, Lee Powell and Anth Bailes could feature. The figure show could attract top Brits Lynsey Beattie and Louise Kayim (formerly Rogers) and the wheelchair category–the first

Shawn Rhoden

ever to be staged in the UK–should see Dan Smith among the contenders. “Bodybuilding has always been big in the UK,” said IFBB Professional League president Jim Manion. “There has been a long history of great champions competing in England and next year the IFBB Pro League is proud to keep that tradition alive with the BodyPower Pro.” BodyPower chief executive Nick Orton added: “The introduction of a pro show into the expo programme is fantastic news for our visitors.”

BY JOHN PLUMMER

big news, gossip and more

SETBACK

2013 has been an up and down year for 212 lbs star Shaun JosephTavernier, the man widely regarded as Britain’s most exciting talent. Joseph-Tavernier, who was named Rookie of the Year by FLEX after winning the 2011 Toronto Supershow and placing fifth at the Olympia, got married to Kelly in July and was eyeing a return to the pro scene next year. But his comeback plans were derailed in August when he suffered a recurrence of an abductor injury. Joseph-Tavernier first tore his abductor just before the Olympia two years ago and couldn’t train legs for the final eight weeks leading into the show. It continued to bug him and tore again in the summer. He now expects to be out of action for several months and will miss the BodyPower Pro in May. It seems that Joseph-Tavernier, like fellow Brit Zack Khan, is going to have to do things the hard way by fighting back from injuries but he’s far from downcast. “I’ve just got married to my best friend and most beautiful wife and I’m the happiest I’ve ever been,” he told FLEX. “I’m doing different things and enjoying life. When it’s time for me to be back on stage I’m sure I will be.”

26

FLeX

MATT MARSH

SHAUN

NEW CONTEST kevin HoRTon

classes reflects their growing popularity. Sean is confident of attracting more than 100 competitors. Panther’s Gym in Uxbridge, which he and wife Helen own, has become a hotbed of talent for bikini, bodyfitness, men’s physique and classic bodybuilding competitors so there won’t be any shortage of interest. Classic star Quiam Monzeer and bodyfitness champ Estzer Pati are among those who train there. Sean is also negotiating for strongmen and powerlifting events to take place alongside the bodybuilding. With so much happening, this event is likely to become the highlight of the summer muscle scene, which until recently was a quiet time for the sport. Quiam Monzeer

Estzer Pati

Classes

MATT MARSH

An exciting new competition focusing primarily on men’s physique and bikini fitness has been added to the 2014 calendar. The IFBB Academy UK Summer Invitational will offer winners the opportunity to represent the UK abroad at the Arnold Classic. Organised jointly by Sean O’Reilly, UKBFF education manager, and Bill Tierney, UKBFF president, the contest will be held at Brunel University in Uxbridge, West London on July 20th. There will be two height classes for men’s physique and bikini fitness but in a UK first, both categories will also have over-35 classes. There will still be three men’s bodybuilding weight divisions but the emphasis on the less extreme

Teenage 16–19 Beginners Classic Bodyfitness Bikini under 163 cm Bikini over 163 cm Bikini over 35 years Men’s physique under 178 cm Men’s physique over 178 cm Men’s physique over 35 years Men’s bodybuilding under 80 kg Men’s bodybuilding under 90 kg Men’s bodybuilding over 90 kg

FLEX

27

VISIT

WANTED: FLEXONLINE.CO.UK

JUDGES

FOR CONTEST COVERAGE Did you know there are hundreds of photos from this year’s UKBFF competitions at flexonline.co.uk? FLEX started providing free online coverage this year so you can catch up with all the action from the big events, whether it’s the superheavyweights, bikini fitness or men’s physique. We attend most UKBFF qualifiers and usually post a report, results and galleries the

following morning. If you follow the UK FLEX Facebook page, we also post some results and pictures live from the shows. Svajunas Tamulevicius, the phenomenal beginner who won the Kent Classic, and the bodyfitness top three at the East of England Championships are amongst the many photos you can see on the site, which is searchable via keywords. FLEX MATT MARSh

DARREN NiChOlhuRST

(from left) Kinga Kubicka, Serene Husseini and Emma Williams

28

FLEX

MATT MARSh

Fancy becoming a judge? The UKBFF is seeking new ones and even plans to pay them for the first time. Judges have traditionally offered their services on a voluntary basis, although their travel expenses are paid. But the ever-expanding schedule means there is a desperate need for new officials. “We are asking a lot of people to sit there all day and that’s why we want to pay them,” says UKBFF president Bill Tierney. “It won’t be a fantastic wage but we will pay something.” Some countries have more than 200 judges to choose from but the UK depends on just a couple of dozen to cover shows from Portsmouth to Paisley. Anyone interested in having a go will need to pass an interview then be a test judge for three shows, during which they need to judge to within 70 per cent accuracy of the panel. For more details contact the UKBFF on 0151 9314090 or email [email protected]

H T I W H T R O BACK AND F

E H T

T F I G H T A E H PEvHEaIlsLhis back-buRning R

by

GreG Merritt Pavel YthJall

photographs by

30

tEchniquEs

FLEX

FLEX

000

g, there In the begInnIn ah, but…” “ye was always a Phil Heath took the bodybuilding world by storm in 2005 and 2006. Yet, amid all the praise for his various strengths—those arms, those lines, those round muscle bellies—there was always some mention of his greatest weakness: “Yeah, but can he ever get enough back size to win the Mr Olympia?” After all, the Sandow Society is the domain of Lee Haney, Dorian Yates, and Ronnie Coleman, who, by the end of 2005, had collectively won 22 of the 41 Olympias, largely because they possessed the three greatest

32

FLEX

backs of their eras. Year after year, bodybuilding’s ultimate title was decided when those in the O’s first callout unfurled their rear-lat spreads and locked in their rear double biceps. None of this was news to Heath. He heard “Yeah, but…” over and over again. He knew all about the backs of Mr Os, including Jay Cutler, who, beginning in 2006, won four out of five Olympias with his hang-glider lats. So the Gift went about putting in the work needed to join them in the physique pantheon. The transformation of Heath’s back from a weakness

to a strength has been one of the most dramatic alterations in bodybuilding history. When he won his first Sandow in 2011, the contest was decided the moment he crunched in his rear double biceps and gasps filled the Orleans Arena. And he hasn’t rested on his laurels.

juST KEEP WORKING A typical Heath back workout begins with front pulldowns. The only question is what type of grip he’ll use on that particular day. “I switch between parallel and underhand

ake m o t e av Ys “You h ou’re alwan sure Yntrating o ng.” conce ack worki Your b with a fairly wide grip,” he says. “With these, I always focus on where my elbows are going as I pull them down. That’s the key to targeting your back—pull with your elbows working like levers and bring them down to your sides. And really, I’m just trying to get the blood flowing into my lats.” One way Heath enhances the pump is by maintaining a brisk pace. “Usually on this workout I only rest about a minute to 75 seconds between sets because I’m trying to get in a lot of stuff. With back, because it’s such a big body part, I want to just keep working and hit a lot of areas with different exercises.”

A BETTER CONTRACTION Next up are barbell rows, which Heath tends to do underhand in the manner of Dorian Yates (six Sandows), but with his torso nearly parallel to the floor in the manner of Lee Haney (eight Sandows) and Ronnie Coleman (eight Sandows). “The biggest thing about this is keeping your back flat,” the Gift avers. “A lot of guys end up going too heavy, and their chest ends up going up too high. What I try to do is go not quite 90 degrees [torso parallel to the floor] but damn close. You get a better contraction that way. “I want to maintain that constant tension,” he adds. “You’re going to have those sets where you just want to bang out 10 reps, but on this particular one it’s not about that. It’s about being able to move the weight but squeeze your lower lats. That’s what’s going to give you that really nice lower lat sweep. This is a density exercise. Every guy who’s had a great back has done this, be it overhand or underhand. For me, underhand works better. Just be careful when going underhand that you don’t go too heavy and pull with your biceps. You have to make sure you’re always concentrating on your back working. A perfect way to do it is to watch yourself in the mirror to see your form.”

FEEL THE STRETCH The next exercise is the high-pulley row, bringing the bar down at approximately a 45-degree angle. “The biggest thing on this is to make sure you get a full stretch on the way

FLEX

000

up and a full contraction at the bottom. Don’t just let gravity or momentum carry you along. You’re not trying to get pulled into position. You have to do the pulling. You need to feel the stretch. The stretch is a great way to learn how to open up your lats for a lat spread. And then I also like to hold contractions for at least a half-count. This is one of those exercises that you’re definitely going to be feeling, especially after just doing rows.”

CONTROL THE WEIGHT Look at Heath’s back routine and you see mostly rows. He hits his back from a variety of angles, but more by pulling his elbows back than down, thus building the density that wins rear shots.

After the high pulley rows Heath does either one-arm dumbbell rows or T-bar rows, typically alternating them each workout. He explains his technique with T-bar rows. “I do these either from the floor or on one of the stations where your chest is supported. The key when doing them off the floor is to not let momentum take over. You don’t want the weight to pull you down so you have to hump it up each time. Use a weight you can master, and then you can go heavier later, once you’ve got the form down. This is such an awesome movement, but you want to get quality reps to really pack on that density. The only way you’re going to make T-bar rows work for you is to make sure you’re controlling the weight. I’d suggest you try to stay low the entire time.

, “Slow thingS down and figure out how to do the exerciSet correctly withoulf.” Straining yourSe

34

FLEX

If you can’t stay low, then you’re going too heavy and you’re going to be yanking up the weight and not using your lats as much.”

SLOW THINGS DOWN Near the end of his workout, Heath does low-cable rows, and he employs sevens—the FST-7 technique of doing (typically) seven sets with only 20–30 seconds rest between sets. “With these, you want to get a stretch just like you’re rowing a boat. It’s almost as if you’re stretching to touch your toes. And then, as you’re going back, you’re doing that rowing motion, but you don’t want to lean back too much—just a little bit. This is definitely one where you want to maintain constant tension, really make sure your technique is good.

CEDRIC McMILLAN

• IFBB PRO • NEW YORK PRO 2012 CHAMPION • FIBO POWER PRO 2013 CHAMPION • TEAM SCITEC USA

• 50 G QUALITY PROTEIN PER SERVING FOR INCREASING MUSCLE MASS! • “6-CARB” CARBOHYDRATE BLEND WITH DIFFERENT CARBS INCLUDING OAT FLOUR, PALATINOSE™ & VITARGO®! • “JUMBO” EXTRA INGREDIENT MATRIX! • 5 TYPES OF CREATINES FOR INCREASED PERFORMANCE! • WITH MAGNESIUM FOR NORMAL PROTEIN SYNTHESIS AND ENERGY-YIELDING METABOLISM! • NO ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS! IN OUR JUMBO FORMULAS YOU’LL FIND COMPONENTS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO THE FOLLOWING*: • NORMAL PROTEIN SYNTHESIS • REDUCTION OF TIREDNESS AND FATIGUE • NORMAL FUNCTIONING OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM (NEUROTRANSMISSION AND MUSCLE CONTRACTION INCLUDING HEART MUSCLE) • NORMAL ENERGY-YIELDING METABOLISM • ELECTROLYTE BALANCE *THESE STATEMENTS HAS BEEN SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN AND AUTHORIZED BY THE EUROPEAN FOOD SAFETY AUTHORITY. USE PRODUCTS IN CONJUNCTION WITH A SENSIBLE TRAINING AND NUTRITION PROGRAM!

CHECK OUT OUR OTHER 200+ PRODUCTS AS WELL!

WWW.SCITECNUTRITION.COM WE ARE LOOKING FOR RETAILERS! • CALL US ON: 0127 987 4631 • FACEBOOK: WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/SCITECUK

2005

2007 2009

2011 ■ “The thing with back is, I don’t think anyone is going to complain that a guy’s back is too big. It’s like, your mid-back may be too big or your upper lats may be too small or there may be other problems with your back balance, but if you have a whole big-ass back, it’s going to be hard for a judge or anyone else to criticise your back. You never hear about anyone losing because their back was just too damn big.” 36

FLEX

KEVIN HORTON(3); B BIll cOmsTOcK

BACK TALK

CN O SOEM IN OW NG

MUSCLE ALL-NEW PHASE8™ is designed to provide you with our highest quality blend of multi-stage protein that could help you build more muscle with training. This delicious protein formula features no undisclosed key ingredients,

no shady research, and no hype – just full label transparency and effective ingredients for amazing results.

New formulas that could support effective results.

26g

6

Protein

High-Quality Protein Sources

Each serving of PHASE8™ offers a 26g blend of proteins taken from multiple sources

Contains 6 effective protein sources. Protein contributes to growth in muscle mass

2.9g

8

Taurine

Hour Protein

Amino acids in the Super Amino Matrix provide building blocks towards your training goals, making PHASE8™ a perfect protein for any time of the day or night

The multi-phase protein blend provides amino acids for post-workout, between meals, and nighttime use, making PHASE8™ a perfect choice for any situation

PERFORMANCE SERIES I WANT M USC LE TEC H dolphinfitness.co.uk

INDEPENDENT HEALTH FOOD SHOPS

MUSCLETECH.UK.COM

Proper nutrition and regular training are essential to achieving your bodybuilding goals. Facebook logo is owned by Facebook Inc. All trademarks are owned by their respective .com SNCDIRECT > because your performance matters trademark owners. Carefully read the entire label before use and follow directions. © 2013

hose t m o n fr fore r a e l “You ve gone be ou trY who’ nd then Y .” You, a Yourself it for “The thing is, you’re not going to get a good pump if you’re doing it wrong. This is true of any exercise. You might start sweating and feel like you’re working, but you’re only going to get a good pump if you’re contracting the muscles. Slow things down, and figure out how to do the exercise correctly without straining yourself.” When asked which handle he prefers on low-cable rows, the Gift replies, “I use a V-handle most of the time, but you can also switch this one around and try it with a wider handle and different grips. I think that’s what makes this exercise fun. There are a lot of ways you can modify it.”

38

FLEX

TRY NEW THINGS For his final back exercise, Heath delivers a surprise. Beginning this spring, he started adding pullovers to his repertoire. Many people do pullovers for chest, feeling this old-school lift stretches out the ribcage. In fact, it’s a better lat worker. “I either do these with a dumbbell on a bench or I use a pullover machine,” the Gift states. “You can also do them with an overhead cable, but I’ve been favouring the dumbbell or the machine. I’m lucky enough to have one of those pullover machines in the gym where I train. The key with these is to pull with your

elbows and not your arms. You can really take your biceps out of these and just focus on your lats.” When told that a fellow member of the Sandow Society, Dorian Yates, favoured machine pullovers for his legendary lat width, Heath laughs, as he’s already well aware of this. “I steal everybody’s stuff. I mean, that’s what we gotta do. That’s what it’s all about. You learn from those who’ve gone before you, and then you try it for yourself. It may not work as well for your body, but you don’t know unless you try. You can’t be afraid to try new things.”

THE D, T U O B OT A STEA “IT’S N T FOR ME. IN TO GET WEIGH OUT TRYINGUEEzE.” IT’S AB LY GOOD Sq A REAL A REALLY GOOD SQUEEZE Whether to work traps with shoulders or back is one of the enduring debates of bodybuilding. Put Mr Olympia down decidedly in the traps-with-back camp. For him, shrugs with either dumbbells or a machine is the perfect way to cap off his back workout. “I do higher reps on shrugs than most people,” he explains. “It’s not about the weight for me. Instead, it’s about trying to get a really good squeeze. I notice a lot of guys go too fast when shrugging. They’re just getting the weight up and down as fast as possible and missing the contraction and that time under tension. If you slow it down a little bit, it’s going to work your traps a lot harder, and that’s what it’s all about.”

YEAH, BUT… It’s a given that Phil Heath won’t have the widest lats in bodybuilding, but width is limited by your DNA-determined structure. Heath is proof you can win rear comparisons—even among the likes of Jay Cutler, Kai Greene, and Shawn Rhoden—with density, separation, and head-to-foot muscle quality. He did it in previous contests and eliminated his primary “Yeah, but…” Yeah, but can he ever get enough back size to win the Mr Olympia? Now, the only question remaining about Phil Heath is: Yeah, but how long can he stay at the top of the bodybuilding world? Yeah, but maybe we won’t find out for many years to come. FLEX

HEATH’S BACK AND TRAPS WORKOUT EXERCISE

SETS

REPS

Front Pulldown

3–4

10–15

Underhand Barbell Row

3–4

10–12

High-pulley Row

3–4

10–12

T-bar Row

4

12

Seated Cable Row

7*

10–12

Pullover

3

Shrug

3

DAY 1

Quads (AM) Hamstrings, calves (PM)

DAY 2

Chest, triceps

DAY 3

Back, biceps

DAY 4

Quads (AM) Hamstrings, calves (PM)

15–20

DAY 5

Shoulders

15–20

DAY 6 Off

*“Sevens” (FST-7 technique), 7 sets with 20–30 sec. rest between sets. 40

FLEX

HEATH’S OLYMPIA TRAINING SPLIT

5KG

40G OF PROTEIN PER SERVING LACED WITH ADDITIONAL BCAA’S ENCOURAGES LEAN MUSCLE MASS DEVELOPMENT 100 SERVINGS PER TUB AVAILABLE IN 4 GREAT FLAVOURS

Now only

£44

.99

LEAN MUSCLE

PREMIUM PROTEIN POWDER

HIGH PROTEIN

NEW LOW PRICE ON OUR BEST SELLING PROTEIN POWDER

RRP £58.99

WWW.MATRIX-NUTRITION.CO.UK

by

MICHaeL BeRG PaveL ytHjaLL

photographs by

42

FLEX

LEWIS LASHES LEGS

In this training seminar, Flex Lewis demolishes legs, all without the help of one very revered exercise in the bodybuilding canon

“I’ve never been a big squatter, to be honest,” says Flex Lewis. Yes, the bodybuilder whose signature calling card is his giant-slaying quads and hamstrings—he with thighs so dominant he had to essentially take a year off training them hard not once in his career, but twice, to allow his upper body to catch up—doesn’t make much use of the so-called king of all exercises. Blasphemous? In the circles Lewis used to run in, absolutely. After all, the Welsh-born 29-year-old forged his initial love of iron in the realm of powerlifting, where to speak ill of the revered squat is akin to treason. Bodybuilding books and magazine articles are strewn with odes to the squat. Champions past and present swear by its muscle-swelling capabilities. It’s been decreed that it’s improbable, and perhaps impossible, to build any truly aweinspiring size in your lower body without it. Yet Lewis isn’t swayed. “I did squat when I was a powerlifter, but I didn’t see or feel any real benefit from them,” he says, undeterred by his bold smite of the lifting gods. “I know some people feel it’s the bread-and-butter exercise, but I think it has nothing on the leg press, to be honest. I feel leg presses offer more stability—there’s just one way down, one way up, giving you focus and limiting your ability to cheat.” Some of the more offended gym rats, put off by such a squat slight, may stop reading right there. That would be a shame, because not only does Lewis have a lot of wisdom to share—including the blueprint to two epic fibre-splitting leg routines— but also, he accomplishes something even more important: he’s living proof that in bodybuilding, never blindly following the often-accepted mantras of the game is the surest way to reaching your ultimate potential.

FLEX

43

Leg extension StatS: 5–7 sets (2–3 warm-up and 3–4 working sets), 15–25 reps, onequarter to full stack

n Lewis’ take: “I change my other exercises all the time, but I always do extensions first. During warm-ups, I’ll always stretch in-between sets by placing one leg up behind me on a bench and squatting down.”

Battle test n The consummate road warrior, Lewis has never been shy about flying off to meet his fans across the globe. Since last year’s Olympia, he’s been to the Czech Republic, home to the U.K. for a short visit, then on to Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Slovakia, Denmark, Austria, and done tours of the U.S., including a West Coast, East Coast, and Texas swing. “The blessing of doing all this travelling—it doesn’t allow me to get too big,” he says. “Funny as that sounds, it keeps me in the range as much as it pisses me off. I might get up to about 240, lose six to eight pounds, put five pounds back on—it’s a constant yo-yo. But then 15 weeks out from the show I set

44

FLEX

up shop and stay home to prepare for the show, bringing my weight exactly to where I need to be.” In early July, Lewis was hunkered down in his new home base in Florida just outside of Boca Raton. Just a few weeks removed from hosting the NPC Flex Lewis Classic, a rapidly-growing amateur event – a show in its third year, now with 156 competitors across 14 divisions, it’ll be eligible to become a national qualifier for competitors next year—he was switching gears. Next stop, the Olympia 212. Lewis won the first 212 Showdown crown in 2012, beating 2008’s inaugural winner of the 202 Showdown, David Henry,

no question a well-earned victory against a crowded and talented field. But English, who three-peated from 2009 to 2011, and beat Lewis in a controversial decision that last year—after Lewis had walked away from the prejudging rounds with the lead in hand— bowed out of the 2012 rendition, citing a partial patella tendon tear. To Lewis, that meant unfinished business. “I feel the main threat is probably going to come from David Henry,” he said, in the run-up to the 2013 212 Showdown. “But the guy I want onstage is Kevin English.” That wish, Lewis explained, is simply due to his fighter’s

n Do It Right: Lewis settles himself on the seat with the pads set to hit at the front of his ankles. Holding the handles at his sides, he chooses a “mediocre weight” to start, then pyramids up from there. “I focus on the squeeze and full rotation from the bottom all the way to the top,” he says. “I hold the top for half a second, imagining myself onstage standing in front of the judges and squeezing my legs, showing the separation between each muscle group.” As he lowers to the start, he’s sure to never let the weight stack touch down for rest between reps. n Intensity tip: “I’ll turn my feet in or out sometimes to get that extra contraction. I’ll also sometimes get my training partner to help me do one or two negatives at the end of a set—he’ll lend a finger to get the weight up as I’m failing and I’ll take it down slow.”

mentality. “You want to beat the person that beat you, and Kevin took the title from me in 2011. I want to beat him now to have an ease in my mind. It’s unresolved business that needs to be taken care of. “This is me speaking as an athlete, not as a disgruntled bodybuilder,” he was quick to add. “We’re all friends, but this is business.” And how rests the head that wears the crown? Lewis admits the pressure is greater when you’re the champ. “I go to bed scared and wake up hungry,” he says. “Scared to lose the title, hungry enough to make sure it’s not going to happen.”

NO HOLDS BARRED When it comes to leg training, Lewis may not squat, but he certainly doesn’t back away from torturous, stomach-churning intensity. His quadriceps and hamstrings sessions—usually separated by a day, with the former taking up to 90 minutes to complete—include all manner of overload

techniques, including partials, forced reps, rest-pause, and negatives. “I should probably start with a little history of my legs,” Lewis says. “When I was an under-21 junior bodybuilder competing in the U.K. and Europe, my legs overpowered my physique. Speaking to my coach, Neil Hill (who appears in these photos), I took a year off from training them. I just did some leg extensions—I ended up doing the same thing the year before last, too.” Now, however, he thinks his upper body has “caught up”—meaning the kid gloves are off, and he can train them again with fierce abandon. “What I do now is the same system as what I did when I was a junior, splitting up my quads and my hamstrings to focus maximum intensity on each.” In this FLEX training seminar, Lewis walks us through each exercise he relies on these days for his Olympia prep, one by one, explaining how he performs each and sharing some of the wicked methods to his madness. You may not find the squat on this list, but no matter—you’ll still be gingerly limping out of the gym at the end if you follow Lewis’ lead.

Leg Press

StatS: 6–7 sets conventional stance, 30–50 reps; 3 sets wide stance, 15–20 reps n Lewis’ take: “As I’ve said, I prefer the leg press over the squat. I’ve built the legs I have today on the press.” n Do It Right: Lewis begins with four or five plates per side, sitting on the pad with his lower back firmly in contact with it. Extending his knees and releasing the supports, he lowers the sled as deeply as possible, bringing his knees towards his chest before explosively pressing it back up. “The days of me trying to put every plate on the leg press are gone now, I’m not trying to set a personal best,” Lewis says. “Coming from a powerlifting background, I have to segregate my mind-set of training super heavy. When I’m in the thick of my offseason and not on the road, I may train more in that style—I feel like I’m a strong bodybuilder for my chosen craft—but that isn’t what I want to do most of the time. I enjoy reps, and I enjoy building the pump.” For his wide-stance sets, he’ll put his feet out near the edge of the platform and come down to the point where his knees pass his ribcage and his lower back curls an inch or two off the pad. n Intensity tip: “As the weights increase from set to set, the rep range remains the same, but I’ll make those reps harder by slowing down on the negative.”

FLEX

45

One-Leg Squat StatS: 3 sets, 15–20 reps per leg n Lewis’ take: “This exercise really finishes the job—that’s it, mate. Call it a day.” n Do It Right: This move is similar to the quad stretches Lewis performs at the beginning of his workouts, but with one key difference: foot placement. Facing away from a flat bench a fair distance away, he places one leg up and back so that the top of his foot rests on the bench. What’s a fair distance? “My mistake when I was first learning this exercise was that my front leg wasn’t far enough away from the bench,” he says. “You have to put the leading leg far out and not keep it underneath your body. It’ll be scary at first because it’s outside of your comfort zone. Usually when you squat, your legs are directly under your torso. But having it out ahead of you means you get a maximum stretch and drive on that working leg.” From a standing position, you’ll bend your front knee as you drop your hips straight down—your lead knee should reach at least 90 degrees before reversing to a leg-straight position. Repeat for reps, then switch legs. n Intensity tip: Although Lewis doesn’t recommend doing so until you’ve mastered the form, you can hold a weight plate at your chest, or dumbbells at your side, for added resistance.

LewIS’ QuaDRIcepS woRkout eXeRcISe

SetS

RepS

Leg Extension

3–4*

15–25

Leg Press (conventional stance)

6–7

30–50

Leg Press (wide stance)

3

15–20

Day 1

Sissy Squat One-leg Squat (off bench) * Plus 2–3 warm-up sets

46

FLEX

3–4

15–20

3

15–20

SiSSy Squat StatS: 3–4 sets, 15–20 reps

n Lewis’ take: “The sissy squat is a pretty difficult exercise to nail, but once you’ve got the motion going, it burns deep. It’s an exercise that you probably will use every other workout once you learn it.” n Do It Right: Lewis has two different options to choose from—he prefers the sissy squat station (as shown in the photo), but his coach, Neil Hill, introduced him to a free-standing alternative that does well in a pinch. “Neil has me hold a weight plate or dumbbell with both hands, arms straight and 90 degrees from my body,” he explains. “I lean slightly back and squat down. The weight I’m holding acts as a counterbalance.” For the squatapparatus-aided version, Lewis simply locks his legs into the supports and leans back while squatting as deep as he can go before bringing himself back upright. n Intensity tip: “Just drive hard from the bottom, through your legs, and push for failure. Rest for a breather at the top to get more total reps per set. This exercise is a mental test of will.”

5 F O S SUE

X E FLR ONLY IS

£5 FO

*

*This is a direct debit offer open to UK residents only. Payments will increase to £16.99 every 6 issues unless advised to stop. This offer is not available to Digital Edition subscribers.

CALL or CLICK

to subscribe Call: 01858 435346 QUOTE CODE FL89

Open weekdays 8am-9.30pm, Saturday 8am-4pm

Click:

www.subscription.co.uk/flex/fl89

LewIS’ HamStRIngS woRkout eXeRCISe

SetS

RePS

Lying Leg Curl

4*

10–15 plus 50 partials

Body-weight Hamstring Curl “Kamikazes”

3

To failure

One-leg Hamstring Curl

3

8–10 plus 4 forced reps

Day 2

* Plus 2–3 warm-up sets

lying leg Curl StatS: 6–7 sets (2–3 warm-ups and 4 working sets), 10–15 reps plus partials and dropsets n Lewis’ take: “I change other exercises, but I’ll do the lying leg curl to start off every single time. It’s equivalent to me doing leg extensions every quad workout.” n Do It Right: Lewis lies on the machine after adjusting it so the footpads hit just behind his Achilles. He grasps the handles for stability, then curls both hamstrings powerfully, bringing his ankles to his glutes before returning to the start. Like with the leg extension, he doesn’t allow the weight stack to touch down between reps. He pyramids the weight up on each successive set. n Intensity tip: “With lying leg curls, you can be as sadistic as you want,” Lewis says ominously. “For me, the first set could be to failure at 15 reps, then slip the pin to a heavier weight and do butterfly kicks, moving just an inch or so for 50 reps, keeping the tension on from the back of my knee to the bottom of my hamstring. The next set, I’ll go for failure at 15 regular reps again, then drop the weight in half and fail again, then drop the weight slightly one more time and go to failure one more time. For the last set, I’ll do maybe 10 conventional reps, using the whole stack or close to it, then drop the weight in half and do another 10, then drop one more time and go for 10. For those final 10, I may need to use rest-pause, basically finishing with four powerful singles. After that, I’ll raise the weight to half to three-quarters of the stack and do 50 butterflies to finish off.”

Body-weight hamstring Curl “KamiKazes” StatS: 3 sets, all to failure n Lewis’ take: “This one is very difficult. One of the only bodybuilders I’ve seen doing this was Alex Fedorov. Him being from Russia, me from Wales, it makes sense because we didn’t have access to a lot of equipment over there. We had to make do, and create a lot of exercises out of the few machines we had.” n Do It Right: Facing away from the weight stack of a pulldown machine, Lewis clambers on so his shins are on the seat and his ankles are secured under the knee pads. Keeping his body straight from knees to head and folding his arms over his chest, he fully engages his hamstrings to support his body weight as he slowly leans forwards. He’ll go down as far as he can before flexing both hams strongly to reverse the downward motion and bring him back upright. As he fatigues, he’ll put his hands in front of him for safety, and to sometimes give himself a push off the floor. n Intensity tip: “This exercise is intense enough without any tricks,” Lewis says. However, he does suggest striving to better your personal best over the weeks and months. “I remember clocking out once at 58 reps years ago—I haven’t beaten that again. Now I can maybe get 30 or so.”

48

FLEX

one-leg hamString Curl stats: 3 sets, 8–10 plus 3–4 forced reps n lewis’ take: “At this point, my hamstrings are fried, but I’ll always do three more sets of something, like the one-leg curl.” n Do it Right: Settling into the apparatus, Lewis places his working leg so that the pad hits between his ankle and the bottom of his calf. Holding the handles with both hands to stabilise himself, he powerfully flexes his hamstrings to lift the weight, bringing it as high as he can go. “On this exercise, I’ll use a pretty light weight for most sets,” he says. “I’m concentrating on squeezing the hamstring. I imagine myself in a back lat spread onstage, seeing the hamstring ‘pop out’ for the judges.” n intensity tip: Instead of simply doing conventional sets, Lewis will vary the range of motion. “During a rep, I’ll hold it at three-quarters of the way up for a count, then continue to 90 degrees and hold it again. Then I’ll lower it all the way back down. On the last one or two sets, after failure I’ll do three or four forced reps if I have a partner.” Flex

SnapShot

James “Flex” lewis Birthplace: Swansea Birthdate: Nov. 15, 1983 Current Residence: Florida Height: 5'5" Weight: 212 pounds (contest); 230–240 pounds (off-season) Career Highlights: 2007 British Championships overall (pro card); 2008 Europa Super Show 202, 1st; 2008 Tampa Bay Pro 202, 2nd; 2008 Olympia 202 Showdown, 3rd; 2009 Atlantic City Pro 202, 1st; 2009 Olympia 202 Showdown, 5th; 2011 New York Pro 202, 2nd; 2011 British Grand Prix 202, 1st; 2011 Olympia 202 Showdown, 2nd; 2012 British Grand Prix 212, 1st; 2012 Prague Pro Championships 212, 1st; 2012 Olympia 212 Showdown, 1st; Sponsors: Weider/AMI, Gaspari Nutrition Online: flexlewis.net; Twitter @Flex_Lewis

50

FLEX

by

Dave Lee

Chris sorenson/ The vLaDar Company

photographs by

52

FLEX

The movie’s executive producers are Vladar Co. partner Edwin Meija, Pumping Iron producer Jerome Gary, Damon Bingham, AMI chairman and CEO David J. Pecker, and Jim Manion, NPC and IFBB Pro League president.

The conclusion of our behind-the-scenes look at the bodybuilding docudrama. Last month we brought you the first part of our exclusive look at the making of Generation Iron, the feature film that takes viewers inside the sport of professional bodybuilding. Seven elite, professional bodybuilders were captured on camera as they prepared for the 2012 Mr Olympia and the right to be named the greatest in the world. Now in part two, we continue our conversation with writer, director, and producer Vlad Yudin and the film’s breakout star, Mr Olympia Phil Heath.

TO SEE ThE TrAILErS, GO TO generation-iron.com FLEX

53

FLEX: Judging from the photos, it’s clear that you had a sizeable crew on hand. VLAD YUDIN: Production quality was very important. Our goal was to make a monumental film that defined the sport as it is today. It had to have cinema quality, and to do that, you need the right team. We had 10 people, so we had the option of a smaller breakaway crew to follow the guys if necessary. Basically, we were with the athletes in some form or another at all times. At the Olympia, we had even more people. And everybody had worked on Hollywood films, so we had plenty of cinematic experience on the team. You were at a couple of IFBB Pro League shows leading up to the Olympia, but what was it like being at the biggest event in the industry? That was my first Mr Olympia and it was a very cool experience. The Olympia is on a whole different level. The production value is enormous. It gives you a real sense of the scale of the contest and you can see why the athletes train so hard and make the sacrifice to be at this level. More than any other contest, you have to earn the right

54

FLEX

to stand on that stage. The Olympia will always be No. 1, like the Oscars for the movie industry. They live for it because this is the absolute standard of excellence. You can’t go any higher. One of the interesting facets of all sports is the rivalry between athletes, especially at the pro level, with so much on the line. Everybody has an opinion, and when opinions start to clash, that can add fun and excitement to the sport. And I found that there was no shortage of opinions between these guys. And it’s not like some amateur talking about Phil; these are guys that have competed against him, and in some cases, even beaten him before. You’ll see that they were very open about sharing their opinions. It was very important that the different personalities come through on-screen. It’s a misconception that bodybuilders are machines who just lift weights. The film shows that they have emotions just like everybody and they go through their highs and lows. They have to deal with everyday life as they’re training for the contest. And with the seven guys, you have the full range of personalities. You have the

JuST lIKE THEIr TrAININg STYlES ArE dIffErENT IN THE gYM, SO IS THE WAY THEY ArE OuTSIdE Of THE gYM, IN THE WAY THEY dEAl WITH PEOPlE ANd EvErYTHINg ElSE. I rEAllY lIKE THAT ASPEcT Of THE fIlM. ShowINg them Not oNLY AS worLD-cLASS boDYbUILDerS, bUt AS regULAr peopLe wIth regULAr peopLe coNcerNS AND commItmeNtS. scientific, methodical type in Ben, and the blue-collar type in Branch. Kai’s introspective while Phil is outgoing. Just like their training styles are different in the gym, so is the way they are outside of the gym, in the way they deal with people and everything else. I really like that aspect of the film. Showing them not only as worldclass bodybuilders, but as regular people with regular-people concerns and commitments.

short period of time. If you want to be a successful bodybuilder you have to believe that you’re the best. That’s where it all starts. If you don’t believe it, no one else will. And the thing about that kind of belief is that you can tell if someone really believes in himself or is trying to convince others that he does. The way that champions look at things is different, and Phil has that. He has bigger goals. He’s not content with just being on top. He wants to make bodybuilding Now let’s skip over to Colorado, more exciting, make it bigger, and where you shot Phil Heath. This see it grow and attract more fans. is an ensemble cast, but as the That’s how the sport continues to reigning champion, Phil certainly get better, and Phil understands has a presence in the film, much this because he has a good like Arnold did in the original, as business sense. Yes, he’s the “man to beat” and from the outspoken, but he has that right. trailers, he definitely comes He’s earned it. He has worked hard across that way. for everything he has and went Phil’s a true champion. He’s straight to the top, and the rest achieved so much in a relatively of the guys are chasing him.

There’s no denying that Phil is supremely confident as the world’s No. 1 bodybuilder. Last year was the first time he was on top, so it’s a little different defending your title as opposed to taking it from someone else. What struck you in the way he regarded the rest of the guys gunning for him? Phil realises that it comes with the territory. he’s achieved something only 12 other bodybuilders have done since 1965. That’s a very select group of athletes for such a long period of time. and Phil is a student of the sport so he understands the significance of being in the position he is and why it means so much for the other guys to try to achieve it, too. he’s very respectful of all the guys because he’s been there himself, when someone else was on top and he was trying to be no. 1. and having come close, he knows the disappointment of not achieving your goal. but like he said, that only pushes you harder for the next time. he knows where the others are coming from. at the same time, he’s very competitive. you don’t get to that position

without that streak. it’s evident in the way he carries himself. The olympia is his and he’ll do whatever it takes to keep it. in his mind, no one is coming into his house to take what he’s worked so long and hard for. i think he likes the challenge. Knowing that you beat the best to get where you are and now you’re the best and everyone is trying to beat you, that is what motivates all great champions. at the same time, he does it all with a graceful style. his intensity in the gym is amazing, but somehow he makes it look easy. everything he does, from the training, the eating, and everything else is in preparation for this one moment and there’s no hesitation or doubt that it will go exactly as he plans. and the way he interacts with people, he’s very approachable. he makes others feel comfortable because he’s very comfortable with himself. you can’t help but come away thinking, “yes, there’s a reason why this guy is the best in the world and he’s mr. olympia.” Much like the Arnold and Lou rivalry, there’s a rivalry between Phil and Kai that seems to be one

of the driving forces in the film. This rivalry is for real. both are very successful but they’re very different. i don’t want to give away too much, but you really see it in the movie. Their outlooks in the sport and life in general, even their appearance—Phil with his shaved head and the clothes he wears and Kai with his braids and his trademark boots and all— total opposites. The dynamic between the two is powerful and it creates tension. whenever you have that between two driven individuals going for the same thing, the stakes go higher and higher. That’s exciting for the fans. and you need that tension to keep the narrative moving forwards. it was really highlighted at the olympia when they went at it and they were the last two standing. The whole movie

captures the rivalries between all the guys. you have the back-andforth between branch and ben, branch and dennis, and of course, the central rivalry between Phil and Kai. one guy knows he’s being compared with this guy, and how does he stack up? Finally, what is it that you want people to take away with them? The main question i’m trying to answer with this film is “what is bodybuilding and who are bodybuilders?” obviously it’s a sport, but it’s more than that. it’s a combination of sport, art, and science. it’s unique. it’s artistic expression using the human body. it’s competition. who are these guys and what motivates them to push the limits of what is physically possible? The film will deliver that answer.

The dynamic beTween Phil and Kai is Powerful and iT creaTes Tension. whenever you have ThaT beTween Two driven individuals going for The same Thing, the stakes go higher and higher. that’s exciting for the fans. and you need that tension to keep the narrative moving forwards.

SEIZING THE MOMENT

Phil Heath on turning his second Mr Olympia win into a history-defining moment FLEX: What was your first exposure to Pumping Iron and what was your impression of the movie? phil heath: i believe it was the first couple of months of being a bodybuilder, and i can definitely say it was very entertaining. of course, i knew arnold was going to win, but it was how he did it that impressed me. How specifically? the way he toyed with everyone showed how supremely confident he was. and you could see that the other guys were definitely chasing him. You could even sense a little envy or jealousy because of all the things that joe (Weider) was bringing to his table, as far as appearances and all the notoriety, which is to be expected given that he was a five-time mr olympia at the time and rightfully deserving of all the spoils. but more than all of that, it was the balance he showed in his life. he had more balance than anyone else in the movie. he was doing his thing at muscle beach and Gold’s, eating,

56

FLEX

doing photo shoots, chasing chicks, living the lifestyle, and all that stuff. then you had lou ferrigno training in the dungeon with his dad. that was all he was concerned with, almost to the point of being narcissistic. i didn’t relate to that. i didn’t think to myself, “that’s how i want to be.” no disrespect to lou, but i wanted to be like arnold. i wanted to be the guy that people are painting pictures about; the guy having fun and enjoying everything that came with being the absolute best. everywhere he went people were falling at his feet. i mean, i’m sure he had his haters, as everyone does, but he was respected. i can relate to that, especially now because i’m dealing with it myself. i have a lot of fans, but i also have a lot of competitors and people who don’t like who i am and what i’m about. but at the end of the night, he stomped on these guys and he did it with a smile on his face. You couldn’t say that he wasn’t good and didn’t deserve it because he was obviously very focused, but

not with this crazy do-or-die attitude like there’s nothing else in the world. You see him training his ass off and the next minute he’s telling jokes. that’s how i am. i can turn it on and be as hardcore as the next guy but i can also make people laugh and have fun with it. You don’t see a lot of bodybuilders smile or tell jokes. they’re all super-serious. but how are you going to interest people if all you are is a big dude who just grunts, lifts weights, and scowls all the time?

does come to fruition i’d love to be a part of it.” it would be an honour. then when i actually talked to the Vladar Company guys, they gave me an idea of what their vision was. You have to realise that bodybuilders get offers for movies or tV, but then we’re not treated with respect. it’s usually done as a mockery or to make us look stupid. they didn’t come off like that at all. they were for real. and it was their attitude and enthusiasm for the sport that sealed the deal.

How did you become involved with Generation Iron? robin Chang (of ami) told me there was a potential re-telling of Pumping Iron, a movie that would pick up where the original left off, and i thought, “Gosh, if that really

Were there any concerns that this might affect your ability to defend the Mr Olympia? initially it raised some questions, but more so for hany [rambod, heath’s trainer/nutritionist] than it did for me.

You don’t see a lot of bodYbuilders smile or tell jokes. theY’re all superserious. but how are you going to interest people if all you are is a big dude who just grunts, lifts weights, and scowls all the time?

Muscle food.

The complete meal shake for lean muscle gain.

1:1 PROTEIN TO CARB BLEND

46g GRS 9-HOUR ® PROTEIN

1.9 g GLUTAMINE PEPTIDES

@SCIMX

SCI-MX

sci-mx.co.uk

I actually saw it as an opportunity. Because I knew I was going to be a part of history, I was going to lift heavier and be more intense. I figured it was going to help me mentally, physically, and emotionally to turn it up a notch. Getting ready, you know the other guys are talking trash and they were kind enough to share some of that with me, so I realised that I needed to remind them how good I really am, I needed to remind the world. I viewed it as an awesome opportunity to have my olympia win on film. one of the things I noticed about our sport compared to others is that we’re so afraid to fall on our faces that we don’t take chances and come right out and say that we expect to win. If

you look at the Super Bowl, both teams have champagne in their locker rooms, hats and shirts with “Super Bowl Champs” printed on them because they expect to win, even though only one of those teams will go home with the trophy. But an athlete doesn’t go into a contest not believing that he can win. at least I don’t. I expected to win. I had every intention of winning. that’s why I worked so hard for it. I wanted to be in the history books again. you have to step up in those moments and have the confidence to show the world that you believe in yourself. It was a chance to put my legacy on film. And what about the film crew? You’ve done a lot of training

I realISed that I needed to remInd them how good I really am, I needed to remInd the world. I vIewed It aS an aweSome opportunIty to have my olympIa wIn on fIlm.

videos but what was it like being on a real movie set for the first time? It was a trip at first. I had an 11-man posse and an rv parked outside my house. the neighbours thought I was doing a reality-tv show. that’s when it hit me that this was real and it made me very excited for the whole thing. But I was pretty comfortable in front of all the cameras. one of the things that sticks out, and I hope they show it, was that I was making vlad laugh so much that he’d have to re-shoot and tell me to say the same things. one night, we were at the gym shooting a workout, and the next thing you know, there’s a big-ass bus, and out come all these Japanese people. and it was just like the scene where arnold is in the prison posing, but this time it’s at the gym and I’m training. I was surrounded. people clicking away and every time I finished a set they would applaud. It was crazy!

You said before that having the cameras there helped you. Can you explain that? anytime you have cameras in front of you, it’s a reminder to not screw around. It’s extra motivation. you think about how you want to be remembered on film because thousands of people are going to be watching it and it’s for ever. let’s face it, shooting free throws in your backyard is different from doing it in a high-pressure situation in front of 20,000 people. But I have experience with that from my basketball days, and others who aren’t used to performing in front of a crowd might not shine in that moment. I mean, bodybuilders by definition are introverted. they don’t want the attention, but on the other hand they do want it because they’re working so hard to build their physiques and they want to be recognised for it. It’s funny because you see guys trying to copy my swagger onstage, trying to pump up the crowd and all, but the reaction isn’t the same

ARTIST: ATTILA FUTAKI

IF yOU WOULd LIKE TO SEE ThE REST OF ThE STORy ANd GET FURThER INFORMATION ON ThE ChARACTERS ANd ThE MUSCLE ARMy, pLEASE vISIT OUR WEBSITE:

www.musclearmycomics.com WE ARE LOOKING FOR RETAILERS! • CALL US ON: 0127 987 4631 • FACEBOOK: WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/SCITECUK

because you can tell they’re not comfortable doing it. It’s like when a rapper tries to raise the roof and the crowd doesn’t respond. then you get another guy who just says a couple of lyrics, and the crowd stands up, and the place is jumping. It’s just like acting. you can read the script, but if you want to nail it like an oscar-winning actor, you have to own it. charisma comes from within. you can’t fake it. that comes from being in tune with who you are and what you’re trying to represent. for me, I just love people and it comes out in the way I do things. and I realise that being in my position, all eyes are on me. there’s always someone watching, so you give it your best shot. I know guys are taking notes on my workouts at the gym or snapping photos when my back is turned, and they don’t think I

notice. but hey, there’s a picture of me training five minutes later online. as a bodybuilder, that’s what I signed up for. we’re judged onstage and everywhere we go. you have to be a strong-minded person to handle that. People can think they are, but until they walk in those shoes, they’re not battle-tested.

What do you want people to think about bodybuilding and bodybuilders after watching this movie? I want them to get an honest look at the sport. If I could ask each person to write down their top 10 impressions of bodybuilding before they see the movie and then another list of 10 things after watching it, I’d hope that their You saw the trailer for the first stereotypes would be gone and time last year during the contest. that those 10 new things would What did you think of it or were be positive. each and every one you too focused on the show to of us puts a ton of effort into really have an opinion? this. the movie will show what I thought, “holy shit! this is crazy.” we go through and that we’re I said to myself, “I gotta win this professional athletes with a great contest tonight.” and the best part perspective on the world of health is that moving forwards into this and fitness. we do it every day, not year’s o, all the guys who talked with fads or gimmicks, but with trash in Generation Iron are going fundamental diets and training to have to watch that movie, and programmes that actually help watch me win. [Laughs] us lose fat while gaining muscle. It would be great for the general public to realise that they can We do it every day, not With fads or gimmicks, but With fundamental do it, too. you don’t have to be diets and training programmes… It Mr olympia or a professional would be great for the general PublIc bodybuilder to excel at this sport and use it to improve your current to realIse that they can do It, too. situation.

60

FLEX

and for those guys who do want to be Mr olympia one day, they can say, “I don’t have to be a basketball player, I can be a bodybuilder like Phil heath.” let’s be honest, most kids want to play pro sports for fame and money. and this movie is making me look like the biggest basketball player there is, which I’m not, but bodybuilding has given me a very comfortable lifestyle. Parents can see that here is an educated family man who works hard and is a decent role model. Mr olympia can be a role model who can motivate you to do better things. I want them to learn something new. the next time they see a bodybuilder, especially a pro who makes his living in this sport, maybe instead of sneering or making backhanded compliments, they can look at that person and say, “I admire your work, that takes a lot of dedication.” fleX Watch out for updates on the international release dates for the movie and the DVD of Generation Iron

Blow it up with this modern-day twist on a timeless classic by

62

FLEX

DaviD SanDler

FLEX

63

KEVIN HORTON

KEVIN HORTON

Day 1 Back/Traps/posTerior DelTs/aBs

Volume, whether by increased set number or total time under tension, prduces superior strength and size gains.

Exercise

Sets

Reps

Rest

Lat Pulldown (to front)

4

12

90 sec.

Reverse-grip Pulldown or Chin-up

4

10

120 sec.

Reverse-grip Barbell Row

4

10

120 sec.

T-bar Row

3

12

90 sec.

Upright Row

4

12

90 sec.

Barbell Shrug

4

12

90 sec.

Rear-delt Flye (machine)

4

12

90 sec.

Decline Weighted Sit-up

4

12

90 sec.

Rotational Lying Crunch

4

12

90 sec.

Hanging Leg Raise

4

12

90 sec.

(the size of the muscle) and overall strength when compared to a lower volume protocol.

64

FLEX

programmes of yesteryear, but while the battle on the iron playing field continues, overwhelming support suggests that to hang amongst the superthick, a volumeoriented approach is a must-try. And thus, this programme is set.

The SecreT To The SucceSS of Volume The first secret is that there really are no secrets. In fact, since volume training has been around for decades, if anything, the folks who walk the walk should provide all the testimonial needed. But for those of you who need a little more convincing, here are a few things that point to volume training as being superior for increasing true muscle size. ■ In a recent study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, investigators found that a multi-set training protocol increased both muscle cross-sectional area

But, before we just push the volume button and go to work, a shout-out for the low-volume, accentuated eccentric method and the going-to-failure method is deserved. Of course, as prudent scientists of the iron game, we can conclude that increasing volume, emphasising negatives, and taking sets deeper and further into exhaustion, combined with a higher volume protocol, should take muscle size to a new level. So the secret to this programme is to steal from the weak and add to the strong. We will do it all.

Volume meThodS You’ve probably heard of German Volume Training, or GVT. It originated in Germany (hence the name) in the ’70s and has been used in various sports over the years. It’s spawned other variations of volume

PAVEL YTHJALL

It’s undeniable. Whether fortified with solid research or enshrined in the practice of the giants, the more you do, the bigger you get. Some 40 years ago, volume training was common practice among the best of the best. Seven-time Mr Olympia Arnold Schwarzenegger, who epitomised the perfect physique and brought the sport to its rightful place, did it. Tom Platz, who still holds legendary acclaim for the most massive thighs to step onstage, did it as well. Scores of other greats, like eight-time Mr Olympia Lee Haney followed, until a new breed of bodybuilders came along touting the benefits of far less volume. Under the guise of training regimes from the files of Nautilus pioneer Arthur Jones came successful competitors like Mike Mentzer. And there’s no denying the incredibly V-winged back of six-time Mr Olympia Dorian Yates. Others followed with equally impressive results using both methods, and the debate of set superiority began. Sure, there have been modifications to both the low- and high-volume training

■ Several other studies, both newer and older, have confirmed that volume, whether by increased set number or total time under tension produces superior strength and size gains compared to either traditional or reduced volume training.

A New ANgle Angles are the name of the game for attacking and building a muscle completely. Even those muscles with

seemingly perfect straight lines from end to end can use a little rotation here and there. Some muscles, like your pecs, lats, and glutes, due to muscle fibre orientation, lend themselves to the need for differentiation simply because of their overall structure. For others with a more parallel-running fibre distribution, if they have multiple heads with different attachment points, which most do, a new angle may be just what those stubborn peaks are calling for. As you work through this programme, the exercises are specifically designed to hit every possible line of pull that your muscles could perform, leaving no possibility of unevenness! So the volume equation is balanced with multiple sets with different hand, foot, and body positions.

No eAsy wAy out… No shortcut home Sounds like something from an old Rocky movie. It is. Those song lyrics suggest that hard work is the only way to combat your issues. Avoidance doesn’t work. One of the key things that’ll help your physique is to move the exercises, or even the workouts themselves, around to target your weakest areas. By now you know that big arms alone won’t cut it onstage or on the beach,

Day 2 Chest/anterior Delts/Calves

training, all serving its useful purpose. Some have considered German Volume Training as a way to break through plateaus, others have suggested it helps with increasing strength and size. One thing that is synonymous with all volume training is that it’s deceptively challenging, and by the time you’re done, you’re generally burnt: not just fried, but thoroughly scorched. The original volume training methods were based on 10 sets of 10 reps (called 10x10s) of single exercises, generally two per workout with antagonistic muscle groups. For example, a common training programme was to do chest and back together, either alternating between sets or completing one full 10x10 then following it with the next exercise. From that came 8x8s. While this kind of method may work well for those specific lifts, if you want to get your entire muscle to grow, you need to make sure that you’ve covered all the movement patterns they’re involved in. Our programme puts a slightly different angle on the traditional approach to volume training.

Exercise

Sets

Reps

Rest

Decline Bench Press (wide-grip)

4

12

90 sec.

Bench Press (wide-grip)

4

10

120 sec.

Machine Flye

4

12

90 sec.

Incline Bench Press (wide-grip)

4

10

120 sec.

Behind-theneck Press

3

10

120 sec.

Military Press

3

12

90 sec.

Lateral Raise

4

12

90 sec.

Standing Calf Raise (toes in)

4

12

90 sec.

Standing Calf Raise (toes out)

4

12

90 sec.

Seated Calf Raise (toes straight)

4

12

90 sec.

so if your calves are lagging, move them up front. Do them first, when you’re full of energy, and rather than dread getting to them, they’ll be behind you and you’ll be

CHRIS LUND

Angles are the name of the game for attacking and building a muscle completely.

FLEX

65

Exercise

Sets

Reps

Rest

Squat (normal stance)

4

10

120 sec.

Squat (wide stance)

3

10

120 sec.

Hack Squat

4

12

90 sec.

Leg Press

4

12

90 sec.

Leg Extension

3

12

90 sec.

Seated Leg Curl

4

12

90 sec.

Lying Leg Curl

4

12

90 sec.

Skull Crusher (cambered bar)

4

10

120 sec.

V-bar Triceps Pushdown

4

12

90 sec.

Close-grip Bench Press

4

12

90 sec.

Barbell Curl

4

10

120 sec.

Preacher Curl

4

12

90 sec.

Cable Curl

4

12

90 sec.

chris lund

Short-changing your reps reduces the chance for those muscles to get beaten up, and thus you find that your weak spots are still weak.

important, neither of those will give you the post-size development you’re trying to build. My guess is that what’s most important to you is the size you build from that workout, and that comes Fuel Your Size from improving your ability to synthesise proteins and packing them in to place to You’ve heard before that you need to fuel workouts and give your muscles some build bigger muscle. Now I’m not here to protein to build on. So that is not new, but give you a lesson in protein timing, but I let me share one other thing that you may can say, with solid proof both in the lab and on the gym floor, that having protein not have known. Fuelling your system is before, during, and after your workout is more about recovery than it is about a must. The more refined the protein, the getting pumped for the workout. No doubt some big vascularity is great during more bioactive (readily available) the a workout. Equally nice is being so amped constituents, the greater chance you stand of building muscle. Recovery up that nothing will stop you from starts from Rep 1. What that means is terrorising the weights. While both are that the moment you begin that first rep, you begin to degrade the protein strands that form your muscle. If you’re breaking them down immediately, then why not repair them immediately? A pre-workout drink that has some vital amino acids will certainly help you. But as the workout continues and muscles continue to take a beating, protein synthesis (the rebuilding) is imminent and will only occur if protein is available. off your body. For true hypertrophy training, use your pump-factor to determine your workout’s effectiveness.

Day 3 Glutes/leGs/triceps/Biceps

moving on to exercises you like better. The other piece to working hard is to keep the emphasis on the muscle being trained. Sure, cheat reps are fine and, in fact, I’m a big advocate of them—when they’re the last few in a set. Swinging, bouncing, and short-changing your reps reduces the chance for those muscles to get beaten up, and thus you’ll find that your weak spots are still weak. But no matter how you choose to complete these workouts, if you don’t leave the gym completely swollen with a range of motion half what you came in with, chances are, you didn’t work hard enough. Notice, I didn’t say that you had to be exhausted, nor did I suggest that several litres of water should have poured

68

FLEX

Tues

Wed

Thurs

Fri

Sat

Sun

Chest

Glutes/ Lower Back

Back

Chest

Glutes/ Lower Back

OFF

Traps

Anterior Delts

Hams/ Quads

Traps

Anterior Delts

Hams/ Quads

OFF

Posterior Delts

Medial Delts

Triceps

Posterior Delts

Medial Delts

Triceps

OFF

Abs

Calves

Biceps

Abs

Calves

Biceps

OFF

Exercise

Sets

Reps

Rest

Rear-lat Pulldown

4

10

120 sec.

One-arm Dumbbell Row

4

12

90 sec.

Reverse-grip Dumbbell Row

3

10

120 sec.

Seated Cable Row (wide grip)

3

12

90 sec.

Dumbbell Upright Row

4

12

90 sec.

Dumbbell Shrug

4

12

90 sec.

Dumbbell Rearlateral Raise

4

12

90 sec.

Decline Rotational Sit-up

3

12

90 sec.

Lying Crunch (Weighted)

3

12

90 sec.

Hanging Leg Raise

3

12

90 sec.

Exercise

Sets

Reps

Rest

Dumbbell Decline Bench Press

3

12

90 sec.

Dumbbell Bench Press

4

10

120 sec.

Machine Flye

4

12

90 sec.

Dumbbell Incline Bench Press

3

10

120 sec.

Dumbbell Shoulder Press

3

12

90 sec.

Lateral Raise

4

12

90 sec.

Standing Calf Raise (toes in)

3

12

90 sec.

Standing Calf Raise (toes out)

3

12

90 sec.

Seated Calf Raise (toes straight)

3

12

90 sec.

Chris LUND

Mon Back

Day 5 chesT/anTerior DelTs/calves

Probably the most common question asked is, “How do we split workouts to get maximal results?” The perfect answer would be to create an eighth day of the week. No matter how you cut it, if you want to hit your body parts more than once a week, complete recovery may not be possible. Common volume splits work a single muscle each day and only once a week. Other splits combine all the muscles that contribute to a specific lift such as pecs, shoulders, and triceps, which are all pushing muscles. Intuitively, that is a great way to train, one I most often recommend, but also because of the number of exercises you’d have to perform that have the same pattern of movement, your smaller muscles inevitably don’t get the true push you’re looking for. Every once in a while it’s good to mix it up, target some smaller muscles separately from their bigger multijoint movement exercises, and hit them twice a week with solid volume. This is the nature of this programme. I won’t lie though: after 6 weeks (maybe eight for those of you who are fortunate), your body will be begging for a break and a chance to reset. The split shown here will work great when it’s cycled properly. As volume is the name of the game, each training day will have 12–16 sets per body

Day 4 Back/Traps/posTerior DelTs/aBs

Training SpliT For MaxiMiSing MuScle DenSiTy

TraininG spliT

This programme will push your limits of size, make you feel like you’ve maxed your skin’s ability to stretch, and give you serious thickness in short order.

distribution of wear and tear as your load can stay heavier longer. Additionally, the first workout of the week per body part will be either a barbell or machine where the arms or legs are fixed to work together. The second workout of the week will feature dumbbells and single-limb movement patterns where both range of motion and control of weights can be accentuated. Again, since we’re trying to hit every fibre of every muscle, we need a varied approach to our training. And finally, if time is a concern as these could be long workouts, you can certainly alternate exercises between lower and upper body (do your calves in between your pecs or shoulders exercises) to get things done a little quicker.

Words of EncouragEmEnt This programme will push your limits of size, making you feel like you’ve maxed your skin’s ability to stretch. Unless you’re superhuman, you’ll need a break after 6–8 weeks. If you can keep it up longer, great, but at some point, you need to cut back, add some strength training, or some good solid endurance, before you hop back again. Over time, with this volume-oriented approach, even with good recovery tactics, your body will require more time to recover than you can give it with this type of programme. Call it a plateau, call it a mental block, but don’t call it quits, just make some changes, and keep this routine in your arsenal—you’ll use it again. fLEX

Day 6 Glutes/leGs/triceps/Biceps

Unless you’re superhuman, you’ll need a break after 6–8 weeks. If you can keep it up longer, great, but at some point, you need to cut back.

Whether you choose to start your week with your back or not is your call, but the overall order for this programme is important to maximise recovery.

70

FLEX

Exercise

Sets

Reps

Rest

Dumbbell Lunge (stationary)

4

10

120 sec.

Dumbbell Step-up

3

10

120 sec.

Leg Press

4

10

120 sec.

Stiff-leg Deadlift

3

12

90 sec.

Standing One-leg Curl

3

12

90 sec.

Lying Leg Curl

4

12

90 sec.

Dumbbell Skull Crusher

3

10

120 sec.

V-bar Triceps Pushdown

3

12

90 sec.

One-arm Overhead Extension

3

12

90 sec.

One-arm Cable Curl

3

10

120 sec.

One-arm Dumbbell Preacher Curl

3

12

90 sec.

Seated Alternating Dumbbell Curl

3

12

90 sec.

PAVEL YTHJALL

part. Exercises are grouped together with the order designed to target a specific muscle at its various angles and finish with overlapping exercises for the next muscle group in the lift. For example, your back will start with heavy lat work and move up to the traps for the final exercises. The trap-training segment will finish with some wide-grip movements that accentuate posterior deltoid activation and thus the entire back, traps, and posterior delts get their full complement of exercises. So for this programme, order is very important. For maximal growth, 10–12 reps will be the regime with a full 90 seconds rest between sets but not more than 120 seconds. Rest is critical so that all the muscle fibres get an equal

INSTRUCTION

BY STUART McROBERT PHOTOS BY CHRIS LUND

HOW I STARTED RIGHT, BUT THEN WENT WRONG By explaining how I started right as a bodybuilder, but then went wrong, you can learn how to start right (if you’re a beginner), or fix what you’re doing if you’ve lost your way, and thereafter stay on the right way. Only by staying on the right way for long enough will you give yourself the opportunity to realise your natural potential for bodybuilding. I started lifting weights in the 1970s when I was 15, in a community centre’s “dungeon gym” in north-east England, with only bare-bones equipment. At the time, my sources of training instruction were primarily a few books I borrowed from the library, and from the less-than-a-dozen men who used that gym. Most urged me to train just twice a week, although one recommended three times a week. I stuck with twice a week to start with, and about eight exercises per full-body workout, for usually three work sets per exercise. The workouts were practical, I could train hard on them, and I had sufficient recovery time between sessions to be able to make steady progress in strength and muscle. By “practical” workouts I mean that I still had sufficient time to be able to keep up with my school homework, and do paper rounds mornings and afternoons six days a week and several hours each Sunday morning. (But I did neglect my academic studies from the instant I was bitten by the bodybuilding bug, although I studied just enough to get sufficient O and A levels to be able to go to college and qualify as a school teacher.)

72

FLEX

At the beginning of my bodybuilding experience, although my training volume and frequency were appropriate for me, my technique on some exercises was a mess. As a result, back, shoulder and knee aches and pains were common, and injuries that temporarily limited my training weren’t unusual. Here’s a typical routine from that time, done twice weekly: sit-up, hyperextension, squat, calf raise, bench press, barbell bent-over row, press behind neck, curl. That was four big exercises and four small ones. But some of those exercises were poor selections, and alternating two different routines would have been better than the same one each time. With hindsight, the following programme would have been better, for eight-exercise workouts:

Workout One 1. Squat 2. Calf raise 3. Deadlift (conventional style, with bent legs) 4. Bench press 5. Chin-up 6. Barbell press in front, seated with back support 7. Barbell curl 8. Crunch sit-up

Workout Two 1. Squat 2. Calf raise 3. Back extension

4. Parallel bar dip 5. Prone barbell row from an elevated bench 6. Dumbbell press, seated with back support 7. Dumbbell curl 8. Crunch sit-up Generally, I rushed my reps, and cheated freely. My squat technique was particularly poor—bar too high on my shoulders, feet too close, and insufficient flare to my feet. With the bench press, I lowered the bar close to my clavicles rather than close to my lower pec line, and I arched my back excessively. Although it was a few years before I actually started deadlifting, when I did do it my technique was a mess because I didn’t maintain a slightly hollow lower back. Although I always seemed to have an ache or a pain somewhere, I still made steady progress initially—an indication of the resilience of youth, and the value of just two eight-exercise full-body workouts each week. I was generous with how much food and sleep I had at the time, so my recovery “machinery” was in good order. Had I actually done the “with hindsight” programme just listed, and had I used correct exercise technique, I’d have made more progress than I actually did, and without any limitations from aches, pains and injuries. Because twice-weekly training was working, to a degree, and because one man at the gym plugged three workouts a week, I thought that thrice-weekly training would increase my progress. But it was hopeless. Instead of training Sunday-Wednesday, I changed to Sunday-Wednesday-Friday. I tried the same routine each time, but there was no way I could recover from that. The Sunday to Wednesday period was the only time I seemed to recover. No way could I recover from Wednesday ready for Friday, and no way could I recover from Friday in order to be ready for Sunday. And when I reduced what I did on Fridays, even that still wouldn’t

ARMIN SCHOLZ

work. So back I went to twice weekly, and progress started happening again, albeit still hampered by the usual aches and pains. Around this time I was heavily into reading bodybuilding magazines—from both the UK and the US. These promoted the training of the champions of the day, which were mostly six-day-a-week programmes. Those programmes worked well for those men, and produced spectacular results, so I thought that they would work for me, too. I launched into longer workouts, split routines, and schedules that gave more time and attention to isolation exercises than the compound movements. So, for example, lateral raises, curls of various forms, pec flyes, triceps pushdowns, and leg extensions were highly rated. I gave the routines my all. And I ate lots of good food, and slept well every night. I gave bodybuilding priority over everything else in my life. Of my own volition I had no social life whatsoever, so that I could get lots of sleep every single night. And I never had a drop of alcohol. I didn’t go to a single party during that era. No matter how I arranged the workouts, the results were always the same—a ton of effort and dedication, but for no muscle growth. How I persisted with this for so long, without grasping that the whole approach was fundamentally flawed, I don’t know. The vital qualifiers to explain why those routines worked for the champions weren’t explained. Those men had terrific genetics for bodybuilding right from the start, but I was genetically normal for bodybuilding, other than having an obsessive drive to train hard and apply myself to the components of recuperation with great dedication—and I was doing it all naturally. Paradoxically, during that long period of frustration and disappointment, I had brief spells when I’d temporarily doubt the validity of the four or more workouts per week, and return to the sort of programme that I first started with. And I’d make progress once again. But because my exercise technique was still dodgy, my progress was hampered by the usual aches and pains. But the progress I made only got me thinking that I was ready for more “advanced” training methods, and thus I’d return to yet another interpretation of the higher volume and higher frequency

74

FLEX

approach to bodybuilding that the big-name bodybuilders were using, but always with the same outcome—no muscle growth. During this era, Arthur Jones and Mike Mentzer were in their pomp promoting high-intensity training. While I’d always trained hard, the urging of Jones and Mentzer had me training even harder. The use of forced reps, negative reps, descending sets, and pre-exhaustion enabled me to annihilate myself in the gym from just a small volume of exercise. But that also failed to produce muscle growth. Hard training is essential, of course, but intensely hard training can be counterproductive.

ROBBy ROBINSON

WHAT I SHOULD HAVE DONE Looking back to when I was 15, had I adopted the following approach, and stuck with it, I think it would have been close to optimal for genetically normal bodybuilders. In about five years I would have been able to bench press 300 for reps, squat 400 for reps, and deadlift 500 for reps, with dips, chins, rows and overhead presses being at a comparable level to the big three exercises. These would have been spectacular results for a genetically normal 20-year-old bodybuilder. And with body fat under 12% I’d have had good definition, and had I got it under 10% I’d have had a physique that would have knocked the socks off almost everyone. Such results are achieveable to you, provided you’re not limited by age, and provided you’re sufficiently motivated and dedicated. Don’t think that the deadlift is for powerlifters only. Done properly, which includes correct exercise technique, it’s one of the greatest muscle builders because it heavily involves so much muscle. Even some of the greats of modern-day bodybuilding appreciated the value of the conventional deadlift, and incorporated it in their routines. Arnold did, Franco Columbu did, and Robby Robinson did.

Rather than doing routines with eight exercises in them, just six exercises would have been better. The shorter workouts would have enabled me to maintain a higher level of

focus and effort on the primary exercises. Here’s the general format I now wish I had applied when I started out, and stuck to religiously for as long as I wanted to grow

bigger muscles. I always liked SundayWednesday as my workout days, but you could choose another pairing of days. The format has four big exercises each workout,

and just two small exercises. Warm-ups plus three work sets of five reps for each of the big exercises, and a warm-up plus just two work sets for each of the small exercises, is a good

FLEX

75

general format to apply, although when deadlifting really hard, just warm-ups plus a single work set can be sufficient. Once a year, for several months, I should have shifted the squats to the 20-rep format—a fantastic growth strategy when applied properly. Sunday 1. Squat or parallel bar deadlift: warm-ups plus 3 sets of 5 reps (or warm-ups plus 1 x 20) 2. Parallel bar dip: warm-ups plus 3 sets of 5 reps 3. Chest-supported row: warm-ups plus 3 sets of 5 reps 4. Dumbbell press, seated with back support: warm-ups plus 3 sets of 5 reps 5. Side bend or rotary torso: warm-up plus 2 sets of 8 reps each side 6. Curl: warm-up plus 2 sets of 6-8 reps WedneSday 1. Squat or leg press: warm-ups plus 3 sets of 5 reps (or warm-ups plus 1 x 20) 2. Calf raise: warm-up plus 2 sets of 15-20 reps 3. Conventional deadlift: warm-ups plus 1-3 sets of 5 reps 4. Bench press: warm-ups plus 3 sets of 5 reps 5. Chin-up or pulldown: warm-ups plus 3 sets of 5 reps 6. Crunch sit-up: warm-up plus 2 sets of 8-12 reps

DAVID HENRY

from time to time. And I wouldn’t have trained full-bore all of the time. Whenever I felt stale, I’d have taken a couple of workouts off, eased back a little on my poundages, and taken a few I should have used correct exercise weeks to gradually return to my previous best technique at all times, as I’ve explained at prior to slowly moving into new poundage great length in my book Build Muscle, Lose Fat, territory. Everything I did in the gym and out Look Great. And, of course, I should have of the gym would have been geared to making trained hard and fully satisfied the nutritional me ever stronger over time. Little by little, the and rest/sleep components of recuperation poundages would have become ever heavier, (which I actually did, however). Then I could and my muscles would have become ever have gradually and consistently built up my bigger. exercise poundages to something really Don’t be put off by the brevity of these special by the standards of natural bodyworkouts. Their brevity is key to bodybuilding building. Small weight plates—half- and success for genetically normal, natural one-pound discs—would have been invaluable bodybuilders—hardgainers. Only in this for making tiny poundage increases. way can you train hard enough to stimulate In this ideal world, I wouldn’t have followed growth without exceeding your ability to the exact same routines all the time, but I would recover between workouts. But that brief have followed the same overall format all the hard work must be primarily applied to the time. I would have varied the set-rep schemes key exercises—the four big exercises in each

76

FLEX

workout. Just those exercises work most of the muscles in your physique, either directly or indirectly. Become really strong in those exercises, and you’ll transform your muscle development. What I didn’t do but wish I had done, you can start to do now. Then you can get on with reaping terrific results. FLeX Personalised, one-to-one training advice is now available from Stuart—by phone, email, MSN Messenger, or Yahoo Messenger. For further information, please contact him by email at [email protected] Editor’s note: The author’s newest book is STUART McROBERT’S NEW BRAWN SERIES, BOOK 1: How to build up to 50 pounds of muscle the natural way. To order, contact Weider Mail Order on 01423 877 052.

Shredded.

The maximum strength formula for best results .

10 ACTIVE INGREDIENTS

8.2mg VIT-MX-TRIM BLEND

TM

2g SHRED-FAST TM COMPLEX

@SCIMX

SCI-MX

sci-mx.co.uk

by

Robbie DuRanD photographs by aLeX aRDenTi

In the late ’80s and early ’90s, two bodybuilders earned their pro cards and became immediate threats for the Mr Olympia title: Dorian Yates and Flex Wheeler. Yates, a six-time Mr Olympia, turned pro at the 1988 British Championships and captured second place at his first Mr Olympia in 1991. Wheeler turned pro at the NPC USA Championships in 1992. He placed second at his first Olympia in 1993. Fast-forward to the present, when Mamdouh “Big Ramy” Elssbiay won the 2012 IFBB Amateur Olympia in Kuwait and followed up this year with his first IFBB pro show, the New York Pro, defeating seasoned veteran Victor Martinez. The question that everyone was asking was, “Can Ramy do what no other bodybuilder has done before and win the Mr. Olympia his first time competing?” Elssbiay has soared to the top of the IFBB in a very short time, but not many people know his origins. FLEX sat down with long-time Weider athlete Dennis James and talked about his new protégé, Big Ramy. FLEX

79

80

FLEX

FLEX: When did you first meet Ramy? DENNIS JAMES: I first met Ramy at Oxygen Gym, when he was a coach. I’ve travelled to Kuwait several times over the years because I’m very good friends with the owner of Oxygen Gym, Bader Boodai. In the gyms in Kuwait, there are what are called coaches—they’re much like a personal trainer, but they’d spot people and provide any assistance needed in the gym. Each gym has about 15 or 20 coaches who basically patrol the gym and give assistance to the other members working out. Bader is the one who saw the potential in Ramy, and he was the one who contacted me about working with him. Bader has single-handedly done more for the sport of bodybuilding in Kuwait than most other people put together. Bader started sending me pictures of Ramy, and that’s when I came to the conclusion that I should help this guy to see how far he can go. The results were nothing short of amazing. Ramy and I started working together at the end of 2011, but he was around 200 pounds and growing at an amazing pace. It was unbelievable—he was growing out of his clothes. He did a few contests, he did the Oxygen Gym Show, he did the Golden Cup and won the overall, but then we decided to do a big show—the Amateur Olympia in Kuwait in November 2012. It was an easy win for him. There was no one that came close to being anywhere near his league. I was competing at the Masters Olympia the same weekend that he was competing at the Amateur Olympia. It was motivating for both of us to know we were both dieting at the same time. His main focus was to get his pro card and get an invite to this year’s Olympia. Give us a little bit about his background. Basically, all six of his brothers are fishermen, and they all came to Kuwait to become full-time fishermen. He was helping out his brothers with the business, and on the side he wanted to work at Oxygen Gym. Ramy always loved working out and he had heard that Bader was bringing all the top bodybuilding pros to the Oxygen Gyms in Kuwait, so he was trying to get a job at Oxygen Gym to follow his dreams of

becoming a bodybuilder some day. The club manager at one of the Oxygen Gyms, which Bader rarely went to, gave him a job. That’s how he got into bodybuilding. He told his family that he was going to stop the fishing business to get into bodybuilding. That was in 2010. Ramy had been working for Bader for about six months, but they’d never met and then Bader visited the gym and he was impressed with how much size he had for someone that was into bodybuilding only as a hobby. That’s when it all started and Bader started mentoring him. Believe it or not, Ramy has a room upstairs and actually sleeps at Oxygen Gym. The system is very different in Egypt (which is where Ramy is originally from)— it’s not uncommon for people to sleep at their workplaces. A typical day for Ramy is that he wakes up, goes downstairs and does cardio, showers, and then he works the pro shop for about 10 hours a day, trains that night, and then goes to sleep. At the Amateur Olympia, and I admit he wasn’t at his best—he turned pro after training for 2½ years and qualified for the Mr Olympia the same day. How did you guys communicate about the diet and training plan for the Amateur Olympia? Was it by Skype or just e-mails? I couldn’t communicate with him because I didn’t speak the language! Bader was the one communicating with him. I’d send Bader the e-mails and plan and talk to him, and he’d then explain this to Ramy. I was doing his dieting and basically giving Bader everything to pass along because I wasn’t there. He was overseeing everything and it was unbelievable how well Ramy responded to the diet and the plan. What adjustments after your first assessments did you make for the Amateur Olympia? I really didn’t have to tweak much. He responds so well to whatever he eats. I’ve never seen anything like it. He had all the size he ever needed, he just needed to come in ripped, so I put him on a low-carb diet. Here is the amazing part: where other people would lose muscle on low-carb diets, he would still gain weight and or maintain it. He was

FLEX

81

82

FLEX

on 75 grams of carbs for a while and almost lost nothing. It’s very hard for him to lose weight. Two cardio sessions a day, two training sessions a day and he’s about 320 pounds and loses, like, one pound a month. His conditioning just keeps improving, too. People would come up to me at the New York Pro and say, “What did you do to get him so big and round?” I would say, “His body is just different. I can’t even explain it, it’s honestly incredible. This is probably one out of a billion people who can grow the way he can grow.” I really think Ramy is like one of those myostatin-deficient kids, where no matter what you do, because of his genetics, he just keeps gaining. I’ve never worked with such a genetically gifted person. Look at the gains he made between the Amateur Olympia and the New York Pro— it was only six months and he kept gaining muscle. Most bodybuilders, when they do a show and they have to compete again in six months, take some time off to recover and try to maintain or put on a little size between shows. But Ramy recuperated from the Amateur Olympia faster than any bodybuilder I’ve ever worked with. I can only imagine what he’s going to look like in a year or two once he has more muscle maturity. Ramy is going to shock the world, mark my words on this! What are some of the adjustments that you made for the New York Pro? When he arrived here, he was still 300-plus pounds at six days out from the show, but I knew he needed to come down. He looked good standing by himself, but conditionwise he needed to be harder. Training for a little less than three years you can’t expect

him to have the same muscle development as these guys who have been training for 10, 15, 20 years. His muscles are still young and fresh because he’s only 28. I knew that we had to bring him down and dry him out. I had him on zero carbs four days before he left Kuwait. With most bodybuilders, flying long distances can result in their holding water, so I didn’t want him to get off the plane holding 10 pounds of water. During the four days before he left Kuwait, he had nothing but protein and water. By four days out from the New York Pro, he was 298 and coming down but still on zero carbs. So he was on zero carbs for 11 days before the show, and he lost

very little weight. Three days before the New York Pro he was 296, and we started carb loading. There was a major difference between other guys’ carb loading and his carb loading for him. We gave him only 350 grams of carbs. Most bodybuilders will carb load with 1,000 to 1,500 grams of carbs, but with Ramy, his body is so anabolic that he would’ve blown back up to 320 pounds, so I really cut back on the amount of carbs during the carb-loading process. I had to go with very low carbs, but he was still functioning well. Most guys, you put them on low carbs and they get fatigued and they don’t function well, but Ramy was still smiling, which goes to show

FLEX

83

that his body is very resistant to losing muscle mass when he diets. How far can he go? The good thing about Ramy is he doesn’t have to worry about gaining any more muscle in his life, ever. He has all the size he needs to be Mr Olympia, he just needs to refine his definition. You’ll never see me have him do squats ever again, maybe some hack squats for separation. If his quads get any bigger, it will throw his balance off. All the IFBB pro judges have told me that he has all the size he’ll ever need, he just needs to be in better condition. How many pros out there can say that they don’t need to put on any more size? The thing about Ramy is that pictures do not do him justice until you stand next to him. Look at the New York Pro, when he stood next to seasoned veteran Victor Martinez and the rest of the line-up—he dwarfed them all! He’s in the perfect spot right now, just worrying about conditioning, not putting on size. Let the other guys chase him; he isn’t chasing anyone in size. I want to know, how many guys getting ready for the Olympia this year had Ramy on their minds? He wasn’t thinking about anyone but himself! This has never happened before, a guy who’d never been on the Olympia stage and everyone was worried about him. He hasn’t reached his true potential in terms of muscle maturity; he, like Phil Heath, has improved yearly, and can you imagine what Ramy will look like in five years? FLEX

84

FLEX

OUR PROTEINS CONTRIBUTE TO THE GROWTH OR MAINTENANCE OF MUSCLE MASS, AND ALSO TO THE MAINTENANCE OF NORMAL BONES*. IN A HUGE VARIETY OF FANTASTIC FLAVORS! 100% WHEY PROTEIN • 100% OF PROTEIN SOURCE FROM ULTRAFILTERED WHEY CONCENTRATE! • PROVIDES THE BODY WITH ALL THE NECESSARY TYPES OF AMINO ACIDS! • WITH EXTRA L-GLUTAMINE AND TAURINE! • ASPARTAME FREE! 14 FLAVORS: CHOCOLATE, MILK CHOCOLATE, APPLE CINNAMON, CHOCOLATE MINT, GRAPEFRUIT, ORANGE CREAM, PEANUT BUTTER, ROCKY ROAD, RUM MELON, STRAWBERRY, TIRAMISU, UNFLAVORED, VANILLA, WHITE CHOCOLATE

100% WHEY PROTEIN PROFESSIONAL • 100% OF PROTEIN SOURCE FROM WHEY CONCENTRATE AND WHEY ISOLATE! • PROVIDES THE BODY WITH ALL THE NECESSARY TYPES OF AMINO ACIDS! • WITH MORE EXTRA L-LEUCINE, L-GLUTAMINE AND TAURINE! • DIGESTIVE ENZYME BLEND! • ASPARTAME FREE! 14 FLAVORS: STRAWBERRY WHITE CHOCOLATE, CHOCOLATE COOKIES AND CREAM, CHOCOLATE ROCKY ROAD, CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT, VANILLA VERY BERRY, CAPPUCCINO, CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY, BANANA, HONEY VANILLA, CARAMEL, CHOCOLATE COCONUT, CINNAMON VANILLA, CINNAMON WHITE CHOCOLATE MOCHA, CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER

CHECK OUT OUR OTHER 200+ PRODUCTS AS WELL! *THESE STATEMENTS HAVE BEEN SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN AND AUTHORIZED BY THE EUROPEAN FOOD SAFETY AUTHORITY. USE PRODUCTS IN CONJUNCTION WITH A SENSIBLE TRAINING AND NUTRITION PROGRAM!

WWW.SCITECNUTRITION.COM WE ARE LOOKING FOR RETAILERS! • CALL US ON: 0127 987 4631 • FACEBOOK: WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/SCITECUK

Hardgainers Ultimate Growth Enhancement system®

THE WEIDER PRINCIPLES

ISO-TENSION How flexing between sets can enhance muscle growth Some of these Weider Principles are complicated, and some are easy. Iso-tension falls into the latter category. It’s basically a fancy term for flexing. It’s how and when you do it that turns these weight-free contractions into a method for both focusing and intensifying

86

FLEX

your workouts. You may have thought flexing was something only champion bodybuilders did regularly, especially in a public place like a gym. But we’re going to tell you why everyone should include iso-tension in their training to easily increase their gains.

GREG MERRITT

PAVEL YTHJALL

by

FLEX

87

H.U.G.E.

®

ISO-TENSION ROUTINE n Our H.U.G.E.® iso-tension routine includes four ab exercises and four ab iso-tension contractions. Do this routine as a giant set, immediately following each iso-tension contraction with the next exercise. Do two giant set rotations at first, but work your way up to four in the following weeks. Together, the iso-tension contractions hit all four abdominal areas: lower, upper, sides, and inner. Here’s how to perform them. n Lower Abs Lie on a bench with your thighs straight up and knees bent. Then raise your butt while tensing your lower abs. Hold this position. n Upper Abs After each set of crunches, pull your shoulders off the bench and tense your upper abs for up to 10 seconds. This is essentially a static hold of the crunch contraction position. n Side Abs After doing one segment (left or right) of side bends, maximally contract the side not holding the dumbbell (the working oblique) for up to 10 seconds. n Inner Abs Pull in your waist as far as possible and hold this position for up to one minute.

EXERCISE

THE WEIDER ISO-TENSION PRINCIPLE n This tenet requires that you fully contract the targeted muscle(s) between sets and hold that contraction for 6–10 seconds. For example, if you’re doing pushdowns, immediately after each set lock your elbows straight and maximally flex your triceps. That example is easy to picture because you’re essentially duplicating the contraction of a pushdown, but do this same tensing regardless of the triceps exercise. Whether you’re doing one-arm dumbbell extensions, close-grip bench presses, or machine dips, straighten your arms and flex your triceps as hard as possible just after each set. Here are a few iso-tension tips. First, this isn’t a good technique to do with compound lifts that involve many areas. For example, deadlifts

88

FLEX

SETS

REPS

Hanging Knee Raise

2–4

10–15

Lower Abs Iso-tension

2–4

6–10 sec.

Crunch

2–4

10–15

Upper Abs Iso-tension

2–4

6–10 sec.

Dumbbell Side Bend

2–4

10–15 (per side)

Side Abs Iso-tension

2–4

6–10 sec. (per side)

Rope Crunch

2–4

10–15

Inner Abs Iso-tension

2–4

15–60 sec.

work too many muscles (spinal erectors, trapezius, glutes, quads, lats, etc.) to focus on just one. On the other hand, if the compound exercise has one primary muscle, applying iso-tension there can better direct the stress of your sets. As an example, flexing your chest between sets of bench presses can help you target your pecs (primary muscle) and use less of your delts and triceps (secondary muscles). When doing iso-tension with sets of arm or leg exercises, you may find you can flex harder and focus better by tensing just one limb at a time. Finally, stretch the targeted muscle(s), too. Follow holds in the fully contracted position with holds in the fully stretched position for the same lengths of time.

pavel ythjall

H.U.G.E.® ISO-TENSION ABS ROUTINE

BUILD THE BODY YOU WANT! x

Brandmark

X

Logotype

HIGH PROTEIN, LOW FAT, LOW CARBS y

READERS OFFER! Get 5% discount if you order online. Enter code: BPSMM05

84% Protein 908g • 25gs of Protein per 30g serving (84%) • EXTRA LEAN - Low Carb and Low Fat • 30 servings per tub

RRP £49.99

NOW £29.99

76% Protein 908g • 23gs of protein per 30g serving (76%) • Fast absorbing Whey Protein • 30 servings per tub

RRP £34.99

NOW £18.99

Thermocuts 60 Capsules

• Combination of 9 active ingredients. • Easy to swallow and digest.

RRP £24.99

Creatine

1Kg

• 100% pharmaceutical grade Creatine Monohydrate

RRP £29.99

NOW £14.99 NOW £19.99

9 SHOWROOMS NATIONWIDE, OR ORDER ONLINE VISIT FOR MORE INFO

Available at fitness-superstore.co.uk

Scan for complete range

THE WEIDER ISO-TENSION PRINCIPLE ADVANTAGES

Here are the pluses of iso-tension ■ Mind-to-MuscLE connEction Flexing the targeted muscle(s) between sets lets you know the feeling you want to duplicate during the set. With practice, this will strengthen your focus so you can better work that area. ■ sEt continuation Doing iso-tension immediately after a set keeps the tension on the targeted area. Effectively, it’s a means of continuing the set without a training partner or even a weight, and it therefore lets you easily and safely push a set beyond failure.

DISADVANTAGES

There are two potential pitfalls of iso-tension. Here’s how to avoid them. ■ REducEd REst tiME Keeping the tension on your muscle(s) after the set is going to eat into your rest time. Therefore, count the iso-tension time as workout time, not rest time. If you normally rest 90 seconds between sets, maintain that minute and a half but start it after the iso-tension and end it when your next set begins.

FRESH TAKE 90

FLEX

■ Although iso-tension prescribes that you flex between sets, it’s a training tool you should use outside the gym as well. Competitive bodybuilders know that posing practice is itself a workout. You, too, can benefit from striking mandatory poses, such as the rear-lat spread and the front double biceps. Doing so will teach you to better control your muscles during sets. Similarly, you can enhance your mind-to-muscle connection by iso-tensing your muscles throughout the day. One of the best body parts for this is abs. Even while seated at a desk or driving a car, you can crunch your chest down and tense your midsection to work your rectus abdominis. You can also pull in your waist as far as possible to hit your frequently neglected transversus abdominis (inner abs). Hold either position for as long as possible up to one minute, and do three to five iso-tension holds per session. FLEX

PAVEL YTHJALL

■ MispLacEd Focus Iso-tension can be difficult to apply to specific areas of muscles. For example, if you do it after sets of incline presses, you’ll likely flex your entire chest and not just your upper pecs. To some degree, this can’t be avoided, but strive to contract primarily the targeted area. With practice, you’ll strengthen your mind-to-muscle connection to that area.

Q&As

BY STUART McRobeRT photos BY chRiS lUnd

bodYbUildinG And TYPe 1 diAbeTeS

QI

I have type 1 diabetes, and inject myself with insulin several times a day. It seems to have made me a super hardgainer. I know that building a physique of the standard of the pros is way out of the question for me, but can I still build muscle?

AI

Yes, but you must be especially savvy about proper training and recovery for hardgainers, and expertly knowledgeable about diabetes and its effect on your energy levels and recovery ability. It will be even trickier to find the volume and frequency of training that works for you than it is for non-diabetic hardgainers. Although your expressed concern is with the effect of diabetes on your bodybuilding, a much bigger concern is the effect of diabetes on your health. Diabetes is a very serious condition, with grave consequences if it’s not properly managed. But assuming that your diabetes is properly managed, then bodybuilding training should be helpful for your health provided it’s done in a way that’s appropriate for you and your recovery ability. If it’s not done in such a way, the bodybuilding will cause additional problems. I’m not diabetic but Anth Bailes, the 2012 British champion, is. I also know someone

BoDYBuIlDIng traInIng shoulD Be helpful for Your health provIDeD It’s Done In a waY that’s APPRoPRiATe FoR YoU And YoUR RecoVeRY AbiliTY 92

FLEX

who has had type 1 diabetes for over 40 years, and has been a bodybuilder for most of those years. He’s an expert on diabetes and bodybuilding for hardgainers. His comments regarding how type 1 diabetes affects bodybuilding are below. Please read this advice and then discuss with your doctor the best way for you to proceed. “The short-term limitations of muscle growth in a type 1 diabetic are represented by blood sugar fluctuations and the relative amount of insulin in circulation. Provided that the main things are in balance—food, exercise, insulin—someone with diabetes stands a good chance of recovering in a fashion similar to a non-diabetic. Unfortunately, that foodexercise-insulin balance can be upset by many factors, including exposure to sunlight, emotional stress, and infection. It’s a very complex balancing act, and maintaining good blood sugar levels is very tough indeed. “If blood sugar is low, it means circulating insulin levels are high. Insulin is a storage hormone. Instead of storing protein as muscle during these times of low blood sugar, though, it’s busy trying to get sugar out of storage depots in the muscle and liver (in the form of glycogen) and into all the cells of the body. If blood sugar is too high, it means there’s not enough insulin to do storing of any kind. And in both cases, I’d expect recovery to be minimal, because both are emergency situations: survival trumps recovery. “In practice it takes longer for a type 1 diabetic to recover from training, if only because a portion of every day and week is spent trying just to get blood sugars back to normal. (Of course, some people don’t even try, and for them I’d guess muscle growth and recovery would be minimal, if at all.) “I can’t speak specifically about joint problems. I’ve been dealing for years with arthritis, and I’ve got a hemi-replacement of my shoulder joint in my near future. My other shoulder had adhesive capsulitis back in 2001

or so. I’ve also been dealing with joint problems in my fingers since 1995. That problem has a definite link to diabetes, since the majority of people it affects are diabetics. Based solely on that, I don’t think it’s out of the question that other joint problems afflict diabetics more than others, but I don’t know that as a fact. “Along with correct exercise technique, I recommend low volume/high intensity training, because it yields much less wear and tear than higher volume and higher frequency methods. And slowing down the pace of repetitions will go a long way in lowering destructive forces on the joints, not only because of the smoothness of motion but also because of the lower resistance necessary for slower lifting.”

eFFecTiVe SQUATTinG

QI

the gym where I train has two power racks. I’ve seen some guys take the barbell from saddles located on the outside of the rack uprights, and then squat outside of the rack. Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of the power rack as a safety device?

AI

Yes, as demonstrated over the page by Hidetada Yamigishi. But the power rack can be used purely as a bar holder and you can still squat safely provided you have two alert, competent spotters, one at each end of the bar. But such spotters aren’t always available—if ever available in some gyms. A power rack is designed to be selfspotting, when used properly, so that you can squat your heart out without any fear that you could get trapped under the bar. But you must have the safety bars/pins positioned securely just a little below where the barbell is when you’re at your bottom position. And you must take the bar off weight saddles positioned inside the rack’s uprights. Then, if you fail on a rep, you can

MARK DUGDALE

FLEX

93

HIDETADA YAMAGISHI

lower the bar under control and set it on the safety bars, get out from under the bar, rest a while, unload the bar, reposition it on the weight saddles, load it again, and perform your next set.

94

FLEX

Never squat hard without the provision for safety. As a youngster, I squatted hard without such a safety set-up—and I often squatted alone. I had a few frightening

experiences when I failed on a rep and had to dump the bar onto the floor. Fortunately, I got away unscathed, but I could have sustained a horrible injury. Do as I teach, not as I did.

HArDcOrE SErIES

MOST EXTREME

PRE-WORKOUT CONCENTRATE Lee Powell

IFBB PRO

ZErO sugAR I ZErO CARBs NEW MANuFACTuRED IN ThE usA

EXPLOSIVE ENErGY

MICRO CONCENTRATED PRE-WORKOUT INTENSIFIER

USN’s HypErDrIvE N.O provides scientifically grounded technology to bring you revolutionary enhancements in NO (Nitric Oxide) generation, explosive energy and the resulting profound muscle gains. WHEN Take 1-2 servings 30-45 minutes prior to training. Individual results may vary. For optimal results, combine with a healthy diet and weight training plan.

www.usn.co.uk Available at

USN UK

@USNUK

PHIL HEATH

96

FLEX

A power rack isn’t just for squatting, though. When properly used it’s also perfect for bench presses, incline presses, overhead presses, and a few other exercises.

ARNOLD-STYLE BENTOVER RAISES

QI

Should I do bentover dumbbell raises while sitting at the end of a bench, Arnold-style, or bent over while standing, in a more orthodox manner?

AI

Should you be doing this exercise at all? Of course, for Arnold, Phil Heath and others of their level, this sort of decision-making has significance. But unless you’re already sufficiently developed overall so that your focus is no longer on building muscle mass, but on refining your plentiful existing muscle mass, this exercise is a distraction from much more important exercises. You have limited training time, training energy and recovery ability, so use those precious resources wisely.

PRESSING PROBLEMS

QI

When I use an ovehead press machine, where each side works independently of the other, or when I use dumbbells, some reps are way harder than others (even early on in a set), and I tend to lean to one side in order to get the resistance up. What am I doing wrong?

AI

You’re not lowering the handles or dumbbells in perfect synchrony, so when you get to the bottom position one side is slightly ahead of the other, and you press them up out of kilter, too. Then you’re not symmetrical, and you’ll tend to lean to one side in an effort to compensate. The same problem can occur in the dumbbell bench press and incline press, and in any type of machine pressing motion that has each side work independently of the other. (Not only does this form fault make the reps harder to perform than they should be, but the asymmetry increases the risk of injury.) The solution is simple—use correct exercise technique. Keep the dumbbells

FLEX

97

the time he was presented as a contender for Schwarzenegger’s Mr Olympia crown, but that was never to be. He came second in 1974, and it was his attempt to beat Arnold in the 1975 Mr Olympia that was the subject of Pumping Iron, where Schwarzenegger was victorious again. The documentary made Ferrigno famous, and further boosted Schwarzenegger’s fame. It was during the 1970s that I got into bodybuilding, and I was fanatically dedicated to the task. Ferrigno left a mark on me because he was one of the big names who was in the muscle magazines during that time. It was Ferrigno’s extraordinary massiveness—height, and muscle girths—that made him (starting in 1977) the perfect person to play the Hulk in The Incredible HulkTV series, alongside Bill Bixby. I watched the early episodes of that series purely to see scientist Dr David Banner (Bixby’s character) morph into the Hulk, and to marvel at Ferrigno’s jaw-dropping physique. He was blessed with some of the most amazing genetics ever for bodybuilding. I don’t recall anything memorable about Ferrigno’s training from the magazines at the time. He never had a profile like that of Schwarzenegger or Zane or Mike Mentzer, and as a result his training methods never made a mark on me. Not that they would have helped me if I had tried them, because I didn’t have the genetic and other advantages for bodybuilding that he had. FLEX

LOU FERRIGNO or handles moving in perfect synchrony. Pause at the top for a moment, lower the resistance in tandem, pause at the bottom for a moment (but while staying tight), and then push both sides up at the exact same time and pace. Be symmetrical.

LOU FERRIGNO

QI

Is Lou Ferrigno another famous bodybuilder who made a big impression on you during your youth?

98

FLEX

AI

He made an impression, but not anywhere near the extent of that made by Arnold Schwarzenegger, Frank Zane, Sergio Oliva, Dave Draper, the Mentzer brothers, and a few others. As a competitive bodybuilder, Lou Ferrigno was in his prime during the 1970s, although he made a return to competition in the early 1990s. (The photograph here is of him at the 1994 Mr Olympia.) He won the Mr America and Mr Universe titles in the early 1970s. At

Personalised, one-to-one training advice is now available from Stuart—by phone, email, MSN Messenger, or Yahoo Messenger. For further information, please contact him by email at [email protected] To submit a question for answering in this column, please send it to Stuart at the aforementioned email address. Editor’s note: The author’s newest book is STUART McROBERT’S NEW BRAWN SERIES, BOOK 1: How to build up to 50 pounds of muscle the natural way. To order, contact Weider Mail Order on 01423 877052.

The UKBFF British Championships, the highlight of the year, are upon us. With this year’s competition due to take place in Harrogate on October 19th and 20th, just after this edition came out, we thought we’d test your knowledge of the big event. So here’s a quiz to find out how much you know about the contest and its champions since the turn of the century. We have split the questions into four categories— easy, moderate, hard and a picture round. There are 10 questions in each round and you get one point for every correct answer so the maximum score is 40. We also list the men and Women Who have made By John Plummer history since 2000.

EASY 1 Who was last year’s overall British champion? 2 In which weight class did he compete? 3 Which city hosted last year’s British Championships? 4 Which city hosted the finals for many years before 2012? 5 Who was last year’s bodyfitness champion? 6 Which man, who is now an IFBB pro, won the super-heavyweights in 2012? 7 How many classic height classes were there last year? 8 In which country was 2007 overall champ Flex Lewis born? 9 Who won the open class at the IFBB pro show that accompanied last year’s British finals?

10 Who is this man pictured Winning last year’s lightWeight title? 100

FLEX

MODERATE 1 Who beat Flex Lewis in the overall posedown in 2006? 2 Who was the first British classic champion? 3 Which year was the super-heavyweight class introduced? 4 Where was the last qualifier for this year’s British Championships due to be held?

5W  hich former Vogue cover model, pictured here, finished in the top six in last year’s bikini fitness?

6W  hat made Ricky Welling’s victory in 2002 all the more remarkable?

7 This bodybuilder went on to promote the British Grand Prix. Name him. FLEX

101

9 In 2006 this woman broke Joanna Thomas’ record for being the youngest female champion. Who is she?

8W  ho is this shy and retiring competitor? 102

FLEX

10This remarkable woman became a three-time British fitness champion in her 50s. Name her.

MAXIMUM PERFORMANCE UNBEATABLE PRICES!

Looking for the ultimate gains from your supplements? We guarantee to provide the finest natural products, formulated without compromise, available at unbeatable prices, all backed by over 30 years nutritional expertise. FREE* UK (Mainland) delivery is available on orders over £50. And we offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee, plus a price promise. It’s easy to see why over 99% of our customers re-order! Still not convinced...Simon Cohen, IFBB Pro, EFBB British Champion, twice Mr Britain, twice Mr Universe, uses and recommends MUSCLEFORM products. To order or for details of the complete product range, please visit our website or call the number below.

FEATURED PRODUCT Pro-IsobolIc™ (93% Protein*) engineered blend of fast, medium and slow release protein isolates. VERY LOW LACTOSE and LOW FAT easy to mix and a great taste. ‘Time Release’ formulation promotes an extended ‘Anabolic Window’ for maximum results. out Performs single source Protein! *Dry Basis - Unflavoured. Available flavoured or unflavoured.

BELOW IS A SMALL SELECTION OF OUR PROdUCTS AVAILABLE. FOR THE COMPLETE RANgE, PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE OR CALL

AVI-Pro XV™ (83% Protein*) PURE WHEY CONCENTRATE. Premium quality, easy mix and a clean taste.

Ace-bArs™ ARE BACK...

AVI-Pro 94™ (94% Protein ) PURE WHEY

Uber-PUMP™ PRE-WORKOUT synergy of

*

Choice of delicious flavours. 15g* protein from a 40g bar and low sugar.

ISOLATE. VERY LOW LACTOSE and VERY LOW FAT (less than 1%) easy mix and a clean taste.

ingredients, for the ultimate pre workout pump, strength and recovery.

VI-Pro 88™ (88% Protein*) TIME RELEASE

creAPUre® Creatine Monohydrate - finest

protein. Easy mix and a smooth taste. *Dry Basis - Unflavoured

German material from the world’s leading provider of creatine products.

WE WON’T BE BEATEN ON PRICE...Please see our website for price match details.

CALL US NOW: 01508 530813

www.muscleform.co.uk

MUSCLEFORM - Aviform Ltd, FREEPOST NATE944, Long Stratton, NORWICH, NR15 2BR

l-GlUtAMIne™ ULTRAPURE best prices V-MAss XtreMe™ ALL-IN-ONE power packed synergy of PROTEIN Isolate, carbs, creatine, ALA, Glutamine, HMB, Taurine, D-Ribose plus more exclusive results.

bcAAs Purest branch chain aminos at the optimum ratio. Powder or tablets.

Free DelIVerY stAnDArD UK MAInlAnD onlY

for orders over £50. Under £50 is only £2.95. Express Delivery is £4.95. Standard UK Delivery time is 3-4 working days. Express Delivery 1-2 working days. Featured product results may vary as used in conjunction with diet and training regime. Prices subject to change without notification. 12v1 E&OE.

HARD 1 Who was the last middleweight to win the overall title? 2 How many times did Zack Khan finish runner-up?

3W  hich former judge is seen here winning the 2004 middleweight title?

4 Who finished runner-up to Flex Lewis in the juniors in 2004? 5 Who won a British over-40s title this century to go with the junior one he won last century? 6 Which two women tied for the British fitness title in 2002? (Half a point each) 7 Who won the first men’s physique qualifier staged in the UK? 8 Who won the first bikini qualifier held in this country?

9 One of the biggest men ever to compete at the British Championships – who is he? 10 This man, seen here finishing fifth in the heavyweights in 2004, went on to win an IFBB pro show. Who is he?

104

FLEX

strawberry & lime flavour

fruit punch flavour

apple flavour

Ready to drink protein with beta alanine and sweeteners.

www.cnpprofessional.co.uk

OUT NOW

NAME THE BODYBUILDER

1

3

5

4

2

9 Dean McTernan

10 Joel Wright

8 Michelle Brannan

9 Shawn Rhoden

7 Alex Edwards

8 Wales

Nicole Scott (nee Pitcher)

7 Two

6 Lynsey Beattie and

6 Darren Ball

5 Steve Avery

5 Nina Ross

4 Darren Gumbs

4 Nottingham

3 Paul Thomas

3 Manchester

2 Four

2 Heavyweight

1 James Llewellin

1 Anth Bailes

Hard

AnsWers easy

Moderate

10 Marius Dohne

10 Claire McKee

10 Irina Cotton

9 Carmen Knights

9 Michelle Jones

8 Clare Taubman

8 Robbie Anchant

7 Cavan Darby

7 Simon Fan

6 Walter O’Malley

6 Ricky is blind

5 Ian Morgan

known as Emma B)

4 Zack Khan

5 Emma Blocksage (also

3 Shaun Joseph-Tavernier

4 Leamington Spa

2 Paul George

3 2009

1 Barney DuPlessis

2 Sean Ferguson

Picture round:

1 Troy Brown

8

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

FLEX

107

Gemma Williams Ronnie Blewitt Carmen Knights Claire McKee Shalmieno Paper Louise Rogers Maxine Cook Maxine Cook Renata Sulekaite Nina Ross

BODYFITNESS CHAMPIONS 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Anita Hibberd Karen Marillier Tereska Browning Becky Garrigan Wendy McCready Karen Spencer Michelle Jones Venetia Gloux Michelle Jones Xyleese Burford Lisa Cross Rene Campbell Rosie Harte

rAting 0-10 Lightweight, baby 10-20 Train harder 20-30 Muscle brain 30-40 You should be working for FLeX

WoMen 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

7

Mike King Mark Harris Ricky Welling Karl Tierney Paul George Paul Delahaye Troy Brown Flex Lewis James Llewellin Zack Khan Alvin Small Cecil Croasdaile Anth Bailes

Men

THIS CENTURY

OVERALL BRITISH CHAMPIONS 10 6

9

THE AGE OF

INTENS 108

FLEX

Dorian Yates DominateD boDYbuilDing in the 1990s. These are The Training philosophies and specifics ThaT seT him aparT and propelled his rule.

ITY

By Julian schmidT // phoTographs By chris lund and Kevin horTon

FLEX

109

“Let a man in a garret but burn with enough intensity, and he will set fire to the world,” wrote French journalist and pilot Antoine de SaintExupéry in 23 B.D. (Before Dorian), perhaps heralding the coming of a certain bodybuilder who would render his sport forever changed. Dorian Yates would prove to be a bringer of fire, leading man into a new epoch of mental and physical might. Before Dorian, bodybuilding was a prisoner of its physical brickwork: you performed a prescribed number of sets, reps, and exercises, or you were sent home from the gym. Yates turned that concept on its head, liberating workouts from their finite arithmetic and placing them in the infinite dimension of man’s imagination and will. So revolutionary was Yates’ training that it’s still regarded with scepticism by many of today’s bodybuilders. He was, and still is, a mythic creature who keeps us all in awe—the singular icon of the eponymous ’90s, known as the “Dorian decade”, whose six Mr Olympia titles pale in the shadow of his candescent intensity. In his effort to articulate his eerie faculties, all he could say was, “Don’t try what I do until you’ve had several years of training experience. Even then, don’t copy what I do— you have to find what works best for you.” What Yates was trying to tell us was that he trained more to develop intensity than to develop muscle. The former is preeminent— both necessary and sufficient for the latter. But, more importantly, intensity is a function of mental strength in the form of concen­ tration, willpower, and comprehension of the manifold factors that affect muscle growth. To describe Yates’ brand of intensity as “mind­muscle connection” is like trying to describe Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 8 as “notes”. Yates was able to push himself further than any bodybuilder in history to explore the nature and limits of his intensity, and in so doing, he alone fully

110

FLEX

Machine press

Yates liked the Hammer Strength line of machines because it allowed him to get the effect of free weights while reducing the risk of injury.

grasped one of the most basic laws of the natural order: how to produce the maximum effect from the minimum cause. Through every rep, his analytical mind was at work, comparing stresses and discarding those that fell short of optimum muscle production, the entire quest leading him to the metaphysics of training.

Distinguishing Yates’ approach was the attitude not of a chest­beating troglodyte, but of a bookish nerd, whose theoretical knowledge is so thorough that his practical application yields immediate success. “I never adopted a hit­and­miss policy,” he’s fond of saying. Before he took his first workout, he sourced every available piece of literature he

could find on bodybuilding and physiology. Then, by testing in his gym lab the theories of strength and muscle growth, he concocted two principles that revolutionised bodybuilding and gave us what is known as Dorian’s Heavy-Duty System: (1) maximum muscular response is obtained through the shock of brief, high-intensity training; and (2) muscular growth occurs only after recuperation. Yates credits the late Mike Mentzer’s radical interpretation of this reasoning as inspiration, but Yates is a vanguard in his own right, having proved that no training system is universally applicable, but, instead, should be modified to one’s personal characteristics. “Mentzer argued that as long as you execute a full range of motion,” he explains, “you can reduce workouts to one set per body part; but I believe a variety of exercises is needed to stress different aspects of a particular muscle. For example, if I didn’t do hack squats and relied only on leg presses, leg extensions, and Smith machine squats, I’d lose the sweep to my outer thigh; and if all I did for back was chins, I’d maintain good upper lats but lack density in my middle and lower back. I believe you can make great gains with one set per exercise, but you need to do a variety of exercises per body part to ensure total development.”

Even so, Yates barely deviated from the single-set principle. The major exercise for each body part would get just one, or, at the most, two warm-up sets before his single maximum set. The only exception was for chest, where he would precede his final set with three warm-up sets (prudent, considering the amount of weight he’d press and the vulnerability of the joints in that area). Many following exercises got no warm-up sets (“I’m already warmed up from that first exercise,” he’d say). Instead, he dived head first into what he calls his “final, all-out set”, which was the crux of his Heavy-Duty System. That set remains indescribable for the rest of us. It resides only in Yates’ comprehension of “intensity”. Only he has been able, by exceptional force of will, to push his body far enough beyond absolute fatigue to give the terms “final” and “all-out” any meaning. His attempt to describe the experience is sincere but also typical of his understatement: “It must be stressed that the one final, all-out set I do takes me to the very limit of my capabilities. For example, for chest, one of my preferred movements is the incline barbell press. After two or three warm-up sets of six to 12 reps each, I load up the bar and grind out six reps to failure. Without stopping, my training partner then helps me keep it going

with two or three forced reps, again to failure; but the set is still not finished. He’ll then assist me with another three or four rest/ pause or negative reps, until the bar absolutely will not move. “One set at that extreme intensity does the muscle-building job. For anyone trying this system, if you feel you can attempt a second set, then you couldn’t have been pulling out all the stops during the first set. It might be thought that a reduction to a workload of one set per exercise is a radical change, but it wasn’t for me, because I’ve never been a believer in volume work. “The insurmountable question I’ve always had about doing even as few as three sets per exercise is: how can you avoid pacing yourself? You’re bound to hold back on sets one and two to make sure there’s enough left in the tank for set three. Once I learned how to do one final, all-out set, I wondered how I managed to avoid the pacing dilemma when I was doing two sets per movement.” Yates illustrates the pacing problem by comparing a sprinter and a marathon runner. How long can you maintain an all-out sprint before you’re forced to jog? The answer: not very long. If you do three sets, it is physiologically impossible to sprint all-out each set. Even if you were able to maintain 100% effort throughout three sets, the effect would be detrimental—your body would be so depleted that you’d be spending more time recovering from your workouts than growing.

Shrug

Yates may have eschewed volume, but he didn’t hesitate to use heavy weights. Sets of bar-bending shrugs were the norm in his shoulder workouts.

FLEX

111

Intensity, alas, is only one half of Dorian’s Heavy-Duty whole. The other half is recuperation. And the two are true moieties: insufficient recuperation impedes intensity, and insufficient intensity impedes growth. “Rest periods between sets are as long as I feel is required,” he unabashedly admits. “Many bodybuilders think training is 50% aerobic and 50% anaerobic. That is a mistake. They don’t rest enough between sets; their bodies are not able to regenerate enough energy to exhaust that muscle to absolute fatigue, which is the point at which optimal muscle growth begins. “I perform a set with 100% energy to 100% failure—then beyond, to 100% fatigue—and I won’t do another set until I feel that the muscles have recuperated 100%. When I take leg presses to total fatigue, I know from experience that it’s likely to be at least five or six minutes before I’ll be able to even think about what my name or address is, let alone do another set.” Yates’ Occam’s razor approach to training did not result in an overnight conversion. For an entire decade, he experimented at gradually shaving away inefficiencies and honing a sharper edge to his intensity. From 1983 until 1986, he used a split routine. At first, he trained four times a week, averaging three heavy sets of eight reps per exercise, but he fell into bed at night tired and stressed. “I was obviously doing too much,” he confesses. Revising his schedule to every other day also proved too ambitious, so he changed it again, settling on three days a week, so that over a 14-day period, he worked each half of his body three times. Again, he fell short of peak recovery, so he trained every other day, using three exercises of two max sets each per body part. Time and again, he experimented with various volume reductions and discovered that, with each reduction, he improved in both strength and muscularity. The intensity/volume equation was clarifying itself as a constant: the more intensely he trained, the stronger he grew, and the less volume was required. Not until 1992 did Yates feel that his

DORIAn YAtes’ heAVY-DutY ROutIne Delts

eXeRCIse

FLEX

eXeRCIse

sets

RePs

seAteD Dumbbell PRess

1* 1* 1

12 10 6–8

Dumbbell lAteRAl RAIse

1* 1

10 6–8

One-ARm CAble lAteRAl RAIse 1

tRAPs eXeRCIse

Dumbbell shRug

“One set at ExtrEmE intEnsity dOes the muscle-building jOb.” 112

tRICePs

DAY 1

8–10

sets

RePs

1* 1

12 8–10

sets

RePs

CAble PRessDOwn

1* 1* 1

12 10 6–8

lYIng eZ-bAR eXtensIOn

1* 1

10 6–8

One-ARm mAChIne eXtensIOn 1

Abs

eXeRCIse

sets

6–8

RePs

ROmAn-ChAIR sIt-uP

1

20

CRunCh

1

20

ReVeRse CRunCh

1

10

*Denotes warm-up sets performed at 50–70% capacity.

Dumbbell CuRl Yates’ arms were as thick as some men’s thighs. Strict form and sets that pushed past the point of failure were his “secret”.

process had reached the sweet spot of simplicity, where he could apply the “one all-out set” principle in its quintessence to a consistent, seven-day regime. Shoulders and triceps came first, on Day 1, affording him full power the next day for back. While he wasn’t overtrained from that two-day series, he needed a day’s rest before returning for an all-out attack on chest and biceps. To call Yates’ leg session (his fourth training day) a body-part workout fails to accord it the awe it deserves: it was a life-sucking, flesh-frying torture that required him to insert a rest day both before and after. That, however, was as complicated as it got. This final iteration of his programme had a body-part workout comprising only two to four exercises, with one all-out set per exercise. No workout lasted more than an hour, and most were only 45 minutes. From then on, Yates was off into a future that was his alone, creating a margin between him and the also-rans that expanded like the Hubble constant. Though in his later years he took the stage with a body that brandished battle ribbons of freshly severed muscles and sundered tendons—the price of his never-say-die gym attack—no one could ever hope to close the gap on Dorian Yates’ armour-layered muscularity. FlEX

cABlE lATERAl RAISE

Shoulders and triceps were trained together in Yates’ first workout of the week.

DAY 2 BAck

EXERcISE

SETS

REPS

1* 1* 1

12 10 6–8

mAcHInE PullovER 1* (AlTERnATE EAcH woRkouT) 1* 1

12 10 6–8

BARBEll Row

1* 1

10 6–8

onE-ARm HAmmER Row

1

6-8

SEATED cABlE Row (ovERHAnD gRIP)

1

6–8

1

6–8

HAmmER PullDown (REvERSE gRIP) — or—

REAR-DElT HAmmER STREngTH FlYE BEnTovER lATERAl RAISE

1

6–8

BAck EXTEnSIon

1

6–8

DEADlIFT

1* 1

8 6–8

* Denotes warm-up sets performed at 50–70% capacity.

DAY 3: REST 114

FLEX

“I perform a set wIth 100% energy to 100% faIlure— then beyond to 100% fatigue.”

NEW!

POW3RD! is a

MORE ACTIVE INGREDIENTS THAN PREVIOUSLY! Features a “DualCreatine” matrix at a dose that’s scientifically proven to increase performance in successive bursts of short-term, high-intensity exercise like weight training.*

sophisticated, proprietary pre-workout support formula with many carefully selected active ingredients. You really can not know what it could do for you until you try it!

Three new and improved flavors: cherry, apple, pear

Some of the physiological benefits of POW3RD! 2.0 - the product contributes to: - reduction of tiredness and fatigue - normal amino acid synthesis - normal function of the immune system - normal blood formation aspartame free!

NOW AVAILABLE IN ONE-SERVING SACHET BOXES! Check out our other 200+ products as well!

*These statements have been scientifically proven and authorized by the European Food Safety Authority. Use product in conjunction with a sensible training and nutrition program!

WWW.SCITECNUTRITION.COM We are looking for retailers! • Call us on: 0127 987 4631 • facebook: www.facebook.com/scitecuk

DAY 4 Chest

sets

RePs

InClIne BARBell PRess

eXeRCIse

1* 1* 1* 1

12 10 6–8 6

MAChIne seAteD PRess

1* 1

10 6–8

InClIne DuMBBell FlYe

1* 1

10 8

CABle CRossoveR

1

8–10

BICePs

sets

RePs

InClIne DuMBBell CuRl

eXeRCIse

1* 1

10 6–8

stAnDIng eZ-BAR CuRl

1* 1

10 6–8

PReACheR MAChIne CuRl

1

6–8

ABs

sets

RePs

RoMAn-ChAIR sIt-uP

eXeRCIse

1

20

CRunCh

2

20

ReveRse CRunCh

2

20

*Denotes warm-up sets performed at 50–70% capacity.

DAY 5: Rest DAY 6 legs

sets

RePs

leg eXtensIon

eXeRCIse

1* 1* 1

15 12 10–12

leg PRess

1* 1* 1

12 12 10–12

hACk squAt

1* 1

12 8–10

lYIng leg CuRl

1* 1

8–10 8–10

stIFF-leg DeADlIFt

1

10

sIngle-leg CuRl

1

8–10

CAlves

sets

RePs

stAnDIng CAlF RAIse

eXeRCIse

1* 1

10–12 10–12

seAteD CAlF RAIse

1

10–12

*Denotes warm-up sets performed at 50–70% capacity.

DAY 7: Rest 116

FLEX

Machine shrug

Machines are perfect for Yates’ brand of all-out training, allowing you to push to failure with less risk of tweaking a muscle or joint.

training tips for your next workout

Caffeine has been found to increase alertness via several biochemical pathways, primarily by directly inhibiting phosphodiesterases and increasing cyclic AMP. In addition, caffeine inhibits adenosine receptors and stimulates adrenaline release. Adenosine is primarily an inhibitory chemical; caffeine blocks the actions of adenosine. A recent study on cats—renowned sleepers—pinpointed one arousal network and confirmed that adenosine is a natural sleep inducer. The scientists found that natural concentrations of adenosine built up in parts of the brain system during the cats’ waking periods and caused them to fall sleep. Caffeine works by binding to these adenosine receptors, thereby keeping adenosine from binding with its receptor. Adenosine also inhibits the release of most brain excitatory neurotransmitters—

118

FLEX

particularly dopamine—and may reduce dopamine synthesis. Decreases in dopamine have been linked to fatigue during exercise. Caffeine increases performance in the gym—but what’s the optimal dosage? Scientists had volunteers do exercises against four incremental loads (25%, 50%, 75%, and 90% 1RM) and participate in a test in which cycling peak-power output was measured using a four-second inertial-load test in a randomised, double-blind, crossover experiment. Subjects ingested either a placebo or caffeine at dosages of 3 mg/kg body weight, 6mg/kg body weight, or 9 mg/kg body weight (for the record, 9 mg/per kg of body weight is the equivalent of five to six regular-size cups of drip-percolated coffee, or about 693 mg of caffeine). The good news is that caffeine produced ergogenic effects at all dosages. All the subjects’

perceptions of performance and vigour increased five to seven times above placebo during the 3 mg and 6 mg caffeine trials (38% and 54%, respectively). Those in the 9 mg/kg body-weight trial had the highest increase in perception of performance and vigour or “activeness” (62% and 54%). The bad news is that the highest dose of caffeine (9 mg/kg of body weight) was associated with many side effects, including increased heart rate, gastrointestinal distress, inability to sleep, and anxiety. Also, remember that higher doses of caffeine can cause increased levels of cortisol, so 3–6 mg/kg of body weight seems to be the reasonable amount. So, take small doses of caffeine, around the 200 mg mark, and find a dosage you can tolerate without having the unwanted side effects.

chris lund

OPTIMAL CAFFEINE DOSING

Burn, BaBy, Burn!

ARE Stiff-leg DeaDliftS BEst foR HAmstRings? Most bodybuilders include stiff-leg deadlifts in their hamstrings routine but wouldn’t consider deadlifts a hamstring exercise. Researchers examined hamstring and lower-back activation from both versions. The researchers discovered that deadlifts activated the quadriceps more, whereas the stiff-leg deadlifts activated more of the calf muscle (i.e., medial gastrocnemius). The really interesting finding was that there was no difference in hamstring activation between deadlifts and stiff-legged deadlifts. FLEX

Kevin HORTOn; DeHaan

■ Few of us are able to spend all day just training, due to the responsibilities of travel, work, and family. Here’s the good news: new research suggests that you can burn more calories in the gym with shorter, more intense workouts versus longer workouts. Dorian Yates once said, “The most common misconception that people have is that I spend all day in the gym. I normally spend 45 minutes to an hour working out.” Researchers took trained men and had them perform a traditional workout doing four sets of eight different exercises (bench press, leg press, leg curl, seated row, military press, biceps curl, triceps extension, and sit-up). A second group performed high-intensity training, using heavier weights and lower reps. The high-intensity workout was much shorter. The traditional workout took 52 minutes to complete, whereas the high-intensity workout took 22 minutes. They measured the men’s metabolic rate on two separate occasions, once before the workout and then again 22 hours after it was finished. At the end of the study, training volume was much higher for the traditional resistancetraining group (17,273 pounds vs. 8,536 pounds). When metabolic rate was measured 22 hours after traditional training, resting energy expenditure was about 100 calories higher than normal, whereas resting metabolism rose by more than 450 calories in the high-intensity training group. Furthermore, high-intensity training increased the rate at which fat was being oxidised to a greater extent than traditional training. The greater post-exercise muscle damage that occurred during high-intensity training resulted in greater energy expenditure for muscle tissue repair and protein synthesis that could contribute to greater metabolic energy expenditure after training.

119

Shorter reSt Adds strength rest periods. Before and after the 12-week programme and at Weeks 4 and 8 the researchers measured body composition, took muscle biopsies, and measured strength and power output. At the end of the 12-week programme, the 60-second rest-period programme produced greater gains in bench press and squat strength. There were equal changes in muscle mass between the two groups. This means you can get in and out of the gym faster with more impressive gains in strength by resting less between sets.

Cardio Conundrum ■ There has been much debate on how aerobic exercise can impact on muscle mass. Studies have found that resistance exercise and aerobic exercise elicit different gene responses in muscle. Researchers wanted to explore the effects of different types of exercise on the AMPK and mTORC1 signalling pathways in human skeletal muscle. AMPK increases cellular energy levels by inhibiting anabolic pathways and stimulating catabolic pathways. On the other hand, mTOR stimulates anabolic pathways, including insulin, growth factors (such as IGF-1), and amino acids. The researchers divided the subjects into three groups: a strength-training group, an endurance-training group, and a control group. The endurance-training group performed 10 weeks of stationary cycling composed of three sessions per week with Session 1 involving

120

FLEX

30–45 minutes at 60–75% of maximum power output. Session 2 involved two intervals of 20 minutes at 70—80% of maximum power output with five minutes of light cycling in between, and Session 3 involved eight four-minute intervals at 80—90% of maximum power output. The resistance-training group carried out a conventional progressive overload training programme, comprising three leg exercises performed for 3–5 sets of 4–6 reps to failure with two to three minutes’ rest between sets. The researchers reported that AMPK (i.e., catabolic pathway) increased by 44% in response to endurance training and 10% in response to strength training. The mTOR pathway increased by 91% in the resistancetraining protocol along with several other anabolic pathways. So both aerobic exercise and strength training led to the activation of

the catabolic pathway AMPK, but resistance exercise was the only exercise component that led to the exclusive activation of anabolic pathways. So doing cardio by itself can lead to a greater activation of catabolic pathways, but this study doesn’t address the question of whether combining cardio and strength training inhibits muscle growth, which leads to the next study. Researchers had subjects perform two trials, one involving only resistance training and the other involving both resistance and endurance training. At the end of the study, resistance exercise seemed to provide a protective effect, mTOR increased in both trials, and there was no significant difference between trials. So the good news is that when endurance exercise is performed directly after resistance exercise, the mTOR anabolic pathway is not blunted.

KEVIN HORTON

If you’ve ever seen Neil Hill train someone, you know that he slaughters his clients with his Y3T training system, but rest periods are fairly short, typically around 60 seconds. New research suggests that resting less between sets increases strength. The researchers had resistancetrained men perform a 12-week study; the control group performed a traditional resistance-training programme with four sets and 120-second rest periods whereas the other group performed eights sets of five with 60-second

For Hardcore atHletes only! Brutal psuiOmNp! + NO-ptK fu

aBsOlutee HardcOrr! NO BOOste

Muscle Freak Professional is a latest generation hardcore NO booster, which can boost performance during training, and can increase muscle pump and stimulates muscle growth. Muscle Freak Professional is based on a highly concentrated blend of Krea-Genic®, beta-alanine and L-citrulline malate, which, in combination with L-arginine and L-ornithine, can effectively boost your performance in strength and muscle-building workouts. With the combination of PTK and the highly effective AMINOMIN complex to boost protein synthesis, training with Muscle Freak Professional provides an unbelievably intense training stimulus that can significantly boosts your performance and could cause your muscle growth to skyrocket!

MuscleFreakPro.com For Further product and distribution inFormation, please contact:

CLF Distribution Ltd., 210 Mauretania Road, Nursling Industrial Estate, Southampton, Hampshire, SO16 0YS [email protected], www.clfdistribution.com

Weider products are available from many nutrition and healthy lifestyle stores.

by GREG MERRITT

Stubbs played basketball for Florida Technical College.

Joel StubbS

How a Bahamian airline pilot built the world’s widest wings

KEVIN HORTON

Who would imagine that an unknown bodybuilder who finished in double digits in his pro debut could make the cover of FLEX? That’s what happened when Joel Stubbs landed on our cover after placing 12th in the 2005 Europa Super Show. Seeing Stubbs unfurl his rear-lat spread at that show became one of those rare moments when even a jaded reporter like yours truly went slack-jawed. An impromptu photo shoot at Metroflex Gym was hastily organised for the next day. And a few months later, Stubbs’ rear view appeared on our cover with the provocative question: “Best Back Ever?” Standing 6'3" and weighing more than 300

pounds in the off-season, the then-37-year-old Stubbs was a full-time pilot for Bahamasair. Stubbs had torn the tendons in both knees playing basketball, so his long legs dramatically trailed his upper half and grounded his contest placings. In his 16 open pro shows between 2005 and 2010, he made only two posedowns. We answered our own question when FLEX ranked the best backs of all-time and placed Ronnie Coleman No. 1 and Dorian Yates second, ahead of Stubbs (third). The two winners of a combined 14 Sandows had thicker backs than Stubbs. Still, neither legend had a wider rear-lat spread than the flag-like pose Joel Stubbs unfurled in 2005. Nobody ever has. FLEX

STUBBS ON BACK TRAINING “I like doing chins first and with different grips, because this really warms up the various back muscles and stretches them out.”

122

FLEX

“On barbell rows, I’ll usually do some sets underhand and some overhand. I get a little better squeeze underhand and a little better stretch overhand.”

“I go up to 300 pounds on seated cable rows. I try to get a maximum stretch during each rep to really pull out the lower lat area.”

“The back is a complex muscle group, so I concentrate on details and on how the muscles tie together.”

STUBBS’ BACK ROUTINE

n In the off-season, Stubbs alternated between a heavy workout one week and a light workout the next week. For the final month before a contest, he did both weekly. HEAVY DAY EXERCISE

SETS

REPS

Pull-up (overhand)

2

10

Pull-up (parallel)

2

10

Pull-up (underhand)

2

10

Deadlift

5–6

15–6

4

10–12

One-arm Dumbbell Row

4

10–12

Back Extension

4

15

SETS

REPS

Barbell Row

LIGHT DAY EXERCISE Pull-up (overhand)

2

10

Pull-up (parallel)

2

10

2

10

T-bar Row

Pull-up (underhand)

4–5

12–15

Seated Cable Row

4–5

15

4

15

Pulldown (underhand)

4

15

Back Extension

4

15

Pulldown (overhand)

Scan to see full range

Smith Machine Package Was £2,659

Now £1,999

Cable C rossover Machine Was £1,499

Now £1,099

Multi-Press/Sqt Rack Was £499

Now £399

Body-Solid has grown to become the country’s largest supplier of home gyms and strength training equipment. The name is synonymous with quality, performance and value. We are dedicated to making our customers bigger, faster, stronger and most of all ...healthier!

CALL US TO TO RECIEVE A FREE CATALOGUE!

Power Master Bench Was £259

Now £199

Smith Machine Was £499

Squat Rack Was £159

Now £349

Now £129

For over 15 years Powerline Strength Training Equipment has been saving our customers from the expense, travel time, and hassle of the gym. From the privacy of your own home, you can perform the same exercises to trim, tone, and build the body you want on your own schedule.

Scan to see full range

0800 634 0100 www.fitness-superstore.co.uk Northampton

13 Gate Lodge Close, Round Spinney Northampton NN3 8RJ

Surrey

30/32 High Street, Frimley, Surrey GU16 7JD

Bodypower Sports Plc - Sole UK distributor for Body-Solid & Powerline products Weights sold separately Manchester 287 Talbot Rd, Stretford Manchester M32 0YA

Chester

157-167 Foregate St Chester CH1 1HF

Gloucester 2 Fullers Ct Westgate St Gloucester GL1 2UN

London

19-21 Warwick Way Victoria London SW1V 1QT

Kent

30-34 Grosvenor Road Tunbridge Wells Kent TN1 2AP

Newcastle Upon Tyne Royal Quays Outlet Centre, Coble Dene, North Shields NE29 6DW

Leeds

Junction 32 Retail Outlet Tomahawk Trail Glasshoughton WF10 4FR

food & SuppS for growth & gains

FEEDING THE BEAST

IT’S NOT JUST WHAT YOU EAT, BUT WHEN YOU EAT IT 124

fLEX

conditions: an exercise condition and a non-exercise control condition following an overnight fast. The exercise condition involved a cycling session at around 70% of maximum heart rate, designed to expend 400 calories and the non-exercise condition involved a time-matched period of rest. There was a variable response to eating after cardio with some of the subjects not feeling hungry while others increased their post-exercise calorie consumption. When the researchers examined what made the

n According to a new study, when researchers disrupted the normal eating patterns of mice, they became fat without eating additional calories. Mice normally sleep during the day and feed at night, but researchers disrupted the master gene clock for sleep and caused the reverse—mice ate during the day and slept at night. Basically,

subjects eat after exercise, it was the amount of burned carbs that stimulated appetite.. The researchers reported that carbohydrate oxidation during the exercise phase was positively associated with energy intake post-exercise. For bodybuilders looking to increase their appetite, it seems that cardio exercise at a moderate to high intensity (70% or greater) leads to an increase in postexercise feeding.

they disrupted the brain to favour food consumption at an inappropriate time of intake. Interestingly, the mice became obese without increased calorie intake. When the researchers examined blood markers of fatty acids, levels of EPA and DHA were low in both the plasma and in the hypothalamus at the time of inappropriate feeding. So

how do you fix a “broken” fat clock?” The researchers found that eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) were able to restore the hypothalamus to normal feeding patterns. The key finding is that EPA and DHA (commonly found in fish oil) can lead to long-term weight regulation and fat loss.

CHRIS LUND

Many readers of FLEX may find this hard to believe, but some of the top-ranked bodybuilders in the world have a hard time eating. Eating six to eight meals a day can be tough if you don’t have the appetite. Some top trainers recommend cardio to stimulate the appetite. Researchers wanted to investigate whether carbohydrate or fat oxidation during exercise had an effect on compensatory post-exercise eating. The researchers tested the subjects in two

Creatine supplements are popular among bodybuilders and competitive athletes. Creatine increases lean muscle mass by boosting intracellular water content, and studies have shown that creatine boosts the activity of satellite cells, which increases the potential for growth of muscle fibres and also aids in muscle recuperation. Recent research shows that creatine supplementation can also have a beneficial effect on cognitive performance. This is probably because creatine monohydrate supplementation results in significant increases in creatine concentrations in the brain. Subjects were divided into a creatine group and a

placebo group. They took 5 grams of creatine monohydrate or a placebo four times a day for seven days, immediately prior to the experiment. The subjects were sleep-deprived for six, 12, and 24 hours with intermittent exercise. The researchers found that at 24 hours, the group that supplemented with creatine had significantly better performance in respect to random movement generation, choice reaction time, balance, and mood state. The study indicated that creatine can aid in the mental functions of bodybuilders who may be sleep deprived and that creatine not only aids muscle growth, but it may also overcome brain fatigue.

CREATINE/ WHEY COMBO CAN HELP n For bodybuilders who want to pack on size, two supplements have been clinically proven to increase muscle mass and strength: whey protein and creatine. In a 10-week, single-blind, randomised study, 17 resistance-trained males were matched for strength and placed in one of two groups: (1) a group that consumed a supplement containing protein, creatine, and glucose immediately before and after a workout or (2) a group that consumed the same supplement in the morning before breakfast and late evening each training day. Findings indicate that after 10 weeks of training, supplementation before and after each workout resulted in significantly greater improvements in strength and lean body mass with a decrease in body fat percentage compared with those who took a supplement in the morning and late evening. The authors concluded that a whey protein/ creatine/carbohydrate supplement may enhance the desired changes from strength training, when taken immediately before and after a workout session.

FLEX

125

KEVIN HORTON

ANOTHER CREATINE BENEFIT

PACK ON THE SIZE HOW A

CITRULLINE TAKEN PREWORKOUT ANABOLIC had a 24% rise in nitrogen balance. Additionally, recent research in animals has found that inhibiting NO can decrease overall muscle gains and the growth of capillaries within muscle tissue. It can be hypothesised that reduced capillary growth— limiting the availability of nutrients to muscles—is directly related to decreased muscle development. NO also allows for an increased delivery of anabolic hormones such as testosterone, growth hormone, and insulin-like growth factor-1, which are key for packing on more muscle. So be sure to include a citrulline-based pre-workout supplement for optimal gains in strength and muscle mass.

BOOSTS PEAK POWER n Ubiquinol, an active form of CoQ10, supplements have been touted as an anti-ageing supplement and praised for health benefits for those suffering from heart disease, blood pressure, and nervous system challenges. Ubiquinol promotes ATP production in the mitochondria of the cell, and not only helps to support your body’s energy production, but it’s also considered one of the strongest antioxidants available. Ubiquinol acts to block the actions of free radicals in the cell, which cause damage; removing free radical attacks allows your body to repair and restore health. In a controlled study, 100 young, well-trained athletes received either 300 mg ubiquinol or a placebo. For six weeks all athletes trained for the 2012 Olympics. Daily supplementation of 300 mg ubiquinol significantly enhanced physical performance, measured as maximum power output, by 2.5% versus the placebo. Bodybuilders should consider adding ubiquinol to their supplement stack for its ability to increase peak power and also to prevent cell damage. FLEX

CHRIS LUND; PAVEL YtHJALL

As you probably already know, most nitric oxide (NO) boosters use some form of the amino acid citrulline. Citrulline is converted to arginine in the body, which is then converted to NO. Citrulline is not only a powerful NO booster but it also delays fatigue and drives up energy levels. Citrulline also aids in the removal of ammonia from the body. In fact, clinical studies confirm that subjects taking citrulline malate experience less fatigue and have higher energy levels. What many bodybuilders may not realise is that citrulline supplementation may also have an anabolic effect via increasing the rate of muscle protein synthesis. Producing NO is one of the most important mechanisms necessary for increasing blood flow to muscle tissue. A previous study reported that patients who were given a single citrulline supplementation dose

FLEX TRAINING

BY bryan haycock

STAY ANABOLIC A while back I came across a study looking at different protein feeding patterns. The researchers had one group drink 10 g of protein every 1.5 hours. Another group drank 20 g every three hours. A third group drank 40 g every six hours. All groups drank the same amount of whey protein (80 g) over the 12-hour study period. In their experiment, the group that drank 20 g every three hours produced the greatest anabolic response. The results didn’t surprise me because previous studies have shown 20 g of whey protein to

maximally stimulate protein synthesis. What confused me was the seemingly poor response to 40 g of whey. I would have thought 40 g would’ve produced a strong anabolic response with blood amino acid levels not returning to baseline for six hours. Part of my confusion may have been caused by the authors of this study suggesting some sort of desensitisation to high amino acid levels. This was in line with another theory previously put out by some researchers that there is a “muscle full” effect where despite high levels of amino acids, the cell stops synthesising muscle protein. This did not bode well for folks like me who consume in excess of 300 g of protein per day. Every meal I eat has at least 40 g of protein. Then a group at Rutgers University in New Jersey changed my thinking on the issue of desensitisation. They acknowledged that post-meal muscle protein synthesis (MPS) increased rapidly with peak values around 90 minutes and a decline to pre-meal baseline by 180 minutes. The response of muscle tissue was difficult to explain with rapid initiation of MPS associated

with increased circulating amino acids, however, the decline in MPS at 180 minutes post-meal occurred with plasma leucine levels still elevated and initiation factors still activated. Everything about the cell and its environment was primed for protein synthesis, but by 180 minutes, everything just stops. The Rutgers researchers were able to show that the problem lies in the cells’ energy status and a process called elongation. Considering that whole body protein turnover accounts for more than one quarter of resting energy expenditure and that assembling amino acids into protein chains (i.e., elongation) accounts for more than 99% of that energy expenditure, it’s logical that skeletal muscle would shut down protein synthesis to prevent cellular energy depletion. Not only did this study identify the problem, it also showed that there is a solution, literally. A solution of leucine and/or carbohydrates given between meals is able to restore the energy status of muscle cells and prolong protein synthesis far beyond 180 minutes. So in order to stay anabolic between big meals, prepare a mixture of 5 g leucine and 15–30 g carbs (e.g., waxy maize) and drink it two hours after your meal. If possible, using BCAAs instead of straight leucine may produce a better effect as BCAAs have been shown to deplete during protein synthesis.

128

FleX

chris lund

The nexT hOT bodybuilding supplement ■ Resistance training creates a unique and powerful anabolic signal in muscle tissue. In muscle cells, the ability to perceive and respond to resistance training is called mechanoperception. This process of converting the mechanical forces of lifting a weight into the biochemical signals that lead to hypertrophy is called mechanotransduction. Muscle cells, in turn, are called mechanocytes. This simply means that muscle cells have the ability to sense mechanical load and convert it into biochemical signals that regulate protein synthesis. You may have heard of capsaicin. It’s the stuff in chilli peppers that makes them hot. I know what you’re thinking; what do chilli peppers have to do with mechano-what-cha-ma-call-it? Nothing, or at least that’s what I thought until I found a recent study looking at the effects of capsaicin on anabolic signalling in muscle cells. The authors were able to show that load-induced activation of the capsaicin receptor (TRPV1) in muscle cells caused an increase in intracellular calcium ion concentrations and that this activated mTOR and promoted muscle hypertrophy. Now, all you need to know about mTOR is that it’s the key signalling pathway responsible for initiating muscle growth. Normally, weight training causes an increase in intracellular calcium ion levels and this contributes to the activation of the mTOR pathway. Before you run out and buy a bunch of cayenne supplements (like I did) be aware that some people can’t stomach cayenne. It can cause the sensation of heartburn that can be quite uncomfortable. Other people have no problem with it. Until now, no food supplement has been shown to have the ability to mimic weight training in muscle cells. Creatine, as we all know, can support muscle gains by improving cellular energy status as well as activating muscle satellite cells, but this can hardly be considered mimicking weight training. Essential amino acids, and particularly leucine, can trigger protein synthesis, but it doesn’t alter calcium ion levels like weightlifting. Ursolic acid is another recently discovered activator of anabolic pathways in muscle cells. Ursolic acid can increase Akt activity, blood vessel recruitment and autocrine/paracrine IGF-I signalling in muscle cells. This is very impressive yet still slightly different from the mechanism of capsaicin. Finally, even phosphatidic acid which has recently been shown to directly activate mTOR is acting in a different way than capsaicin. The reason I’m trying to point out the differences in the mechanisms of each of these nutritional substances is that there may be potential synergism if one were to use each of them strategically together. Creatine, L-leucine, and phosphatidic acid have both been shown independently to improve gains in muscle mass in humans. Ursolic acid, and now capsaicin, have now been shown to increase muscle mass in animals. The plausibility of real anabolic effects in humans is good. FLEX

FLEX Training

The 1–6 PrinciPle Break strength and size barriers with this tried-and-tested method

Rather, I’m saying that you’ll not achieve maximal muscle size for your genetic potential if you don’t occasionally focus on strength. I should add that many elite bodybuilders agree with me. For example, at his prime, two-time Mr Olympia Franco Columbu deadlifted more than the world record, and Ronnie Coleman deadlifted 800 pounds for a double. Getting back to the 1-6 Principle, it’s a type

n Here are two supersets for the chest and back using the 1–6 Principle. Note that the B exercises have fewer sets, which is necessary to deal with the fatigue that accumulates during the A exercises. EXERCISE

SETS

REPS

REST

A1. Close Parallel-grip Chin-up (weighted)

6

1,6,1,6,1,6

120 seconds

A2. Incline Barbell Press

6

1,6,1,6,1,6

120 seconds

B1. Seated Cable Row

4

1,6,1,6

120 seconds

B2. Mid-grip Bench Press

4

1,6,1,6

120 seconds

130

FLEX

of workout system based upon the neurological phenomenon called post-tetanic facilitation (PTF). One of the early researchers in PTF is Dietmar Schmidtbleicher, a German strength physiologist known for his pioneering research in power development. One of the first elite athletes to use PTF was Valeriy Borzov, a Russian sprinter who won gold medals in the 100 m and 200 m sprints at the 1972 Olympics.

n Now here’s an example of a leg workout using the 1–6 Principle. The first superset uses the 1–6 Principle. The second superset uses a more conventional workout protocol, but again with fewer sets to deal with the fatigue that accumulates during the first superset. EXERCISE

SETS

REPS

REST

A1. Back Squat

6

1,6,1,6,1,6

120 seconds

A2. Lying Leg Curl, feet neutral

6

1,6,1,6,1,6

120 seconds

B1. Barbell Lunge

4

6–8

120 seconds

B2. Romanian Deadlift

4

6–8

120 seconds

Pavel ythjall

I’d like to take a break from high-rep training and do a strength cycle, but I don’t want to lose any muscle mass. Got any favourite workouts? You should try the 1–6 Principle, a training method that’s been popular with elite Romanian and Hungarian weightlifters. I first heard about it in 1991 from Romania’s Dragomir Cioroslan, a bronze medallist in the 1984 Olympic Games who went on to become the head weightlifting coach at the U.S. Olympic Training Center. Before getting into this workout, consider that by performing only higher reps, you will not develop the most powerful fast-twitch muscle fibres. In a peer-reviewed article published in Sports Medicine in 2004, Andrew C. Fry reviewed studies comparing the muscle fibre types of bodybuilders, powerlifters, and Olympic-style weightlifters (those who perform the snatch and the clean and jerk in competition). What Fry found is that weightlifters had the highest percentage of type 2 (high-threshold) fibres when compared with the other two groups, and bodybuilders had the highest percentage of type 1 (low-threshold) fibres. The bottom line is that these muscle fibres can be developed only with heavy weights—more specifically, the heaviest weights you can lift for lower reps. I’m not suggesting that you can’t build great size by just using higher-rep training protocols.

E

I IN

N

O DY B & B U

D G

FIT

S

L

S

BY CharLES PoLiquin

WEIDERMAILORDER.COM COMING SOON

kevin horton

Set 1: 1 rep with 265 pounds Set 2: 6 reps with 220 pounds Set 3: 1 rep with 270 pounds Set 4: 6 reps with 225 pounds Set 5: 1 rep with 272.5 pounds Set 6: 6 reps with 230 pounds

PTF suggests that a more powerful muscular contraction can be achieved if that contraction is preceded by a strong muscular contraction. The 1–6 Principle is a practical application of this method, using a maximal load to increase the activation of the nervous system before performing sets of higher reps. This effect enables the trainee to use more weight on the higher-rep sets. With the 1-6 Principle you perform a maximum single repetition (1RM), rest, and then perform 6 reps using as much weight as you can (6RM). The rest period between sets can range from three to 10 minutes, but you can reduce the rest periods if you perform supersets. Let’s say your best bench press is 220 pounds for 6 reps and 265 for 1 rep. If you perform that 1RM four minutes prior to a 6RM, you’ll probably be able to use 225–230 pounds. In fact, you’ll use more weight on the second and third 6RM series (i.e., waves) in that workout, as follows:

When designing your own 1–6 Principle workouts, you should primarily use exercises that involve large muscle groups, such as squats and presses. Also, because you’re going to be performing a series of 1RM lifts, it’s imperative that you warm up thoroughly. The warm-up should always consist of doing reps with the first pair of exercises listed in the workout. If you’ve warmed up properly, there’s very little need to warm-up for the second pair. Using our workout example, your squat warm-up might be 5 reps x 135 pounds, 3 x 185, 2 x 225, before you start the working sets. As with any workout system, you need to change the workout when you reach a point of diminishing returns. As a general guideline, four weeks is about the longest period anyone should follow a programme using the 1–6 Principle. Here is one extremely effective training split for a four-week programme emphasising the 1–6 Principle: Day 1, arms; Day 2, legs; Day 3, off; Day 4, chest and back; Day 5, off. The 1–6 Principle is based on strong science, and for more than two decades I’ve found it especially useful in my work with not only Olympic and professional athletes but also for anyone who wants to shock their muscles into rapid increases in strength and muscle development. Give it a try and you’ll be surprised at how quickly you can increase your functional hypertrophy and power. FLEX

Be the first to get your Mr. Olympia 2013 DVD! Don’t miss out, order now... Hurry, while stocks last!!

»

HOW TO ORDER GO ONLINE: www.weidermailorder.com ORDER by pHONE: 01423 877 052

FLEX NUTRITION

BY matt porter

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter released from the hypothalamus that blocks the release of prolactin from the anterior lobe of the pituitary. One of its main functions is to act on the sympathetic nervous system to elicit effects such as: excitement, high blood pressure, motivational energy, and impulsive behaviour. For example, when a male engages in sexual intercourse, he reaches peak dopamine levels while climaxing, then immediately after intense pleasure prolactin floods his system which induces the opposite effects. When a person is meticulously dieting to achieve extremely low body fat levels, a cascade of effects takes place as fat cells begin to shrink. Neurotransmitters begin to plummet, which affects mood, hunger, and social behaviour. One way to keep dopamine levels consistent while in a calorie deficit is to eat smaller meals more frequently. Eating every 2–3 hours will maintain higher dopamine levels as well as keep blood sugar balanced. Another great way to boost dopamine levels is to incorporate a cheat day or cheat meal once a week. Implementing this technique will not only boost dopamine levels, but will also increase thyroid output and replenish glycogen stores in muscle tissue. You can also raise dopamine levels through supplementation. Supplementing with the psychoactive substance known as caffeine will temporarily boost dopamine levels and raise energy and alertness. The non-essential amino acid L-tyrosine is a

132

FLEX

CHRIS LUND

Dopamine: A Dieter’s secret WeApon

5 F O S SUE

F & MOR ONLY

IS

£5 F

*

This is a direct debit offer open to UK residents only. Payments will increase to £16.99 every 6 issues unless advised to stop. This offer is not available to Digital Edition subscribers.

KEVIN HORTON

*

precursor to dopamine and also contributes to healthy thyroid levels. Another precursor to dopamine is Levodopa, which is found in the tropical legume known as velvet bean (Mucuna pruriens). My personal favourite for raising dopamine is nicotine. I prefer chewing Nicorette gum in between meals for potent appetite suppression and for anti-aromatase properties. I only ingest nicotine during the final weeks before competing in a bodybuilding contest when body fat levels are extremely low. I have no problem

ceasing the nicotine usage when my diet is over and have never had any form of withdrawal symptoms. To summarise, it appears that keeping dopamine levels elevated during prolonged periods of calorie deprivation promotes appetite regulation, improves mood, and increases the ability to endure what it takes to achieve very low body fat levels. FLEX Matt Porter is a sponsored athlete for truenutrition.com and also an NPC competitor, title holder, contest-prep coach, and nutrition guru.

CALL or CLICK

to subscribe Call: 01858 435346 QUOTE CODE MU43

Open weekdays 8am-9.30pm, Saturday 8am-4pm

Click:

www.subscription.co.uk/m&f/mu43

FLEX NUTRITION

BY JOHn Kiefer

THE CALORIE FALLACY For fat loss, efficiency is a worst-case scenario

134

FLEX

7% of carbs, and 30% of protein is wasted as heat whenever you eat. HOw tHis appLies If we take our 60%-carb diet and invert it so a larger percentage of calories now comes from protein, two 2,000-calorie diets are possible: a high-carb version providing 1,850 physiological calories, and a low-carb one that provides 1,700 (accounting for all the heat loss). By swapping things out, we cut 150 usable calories per day, even though we’re still consuming 2,000. If you love food, but want to drop fat and build mass, being inefficient is a good thing. If you’re inefficient, you can eat more and actually drop fat. You work so hard trying to process your food that it releases a ton of heat, you sweat like a faucet, and your vascularity goes through the ceiling. So stop counting calories and start worrying about your body’s efficiency and inefficiency. It’s a law of physics, and I’ll take the advice of a physicist over an Internet diet guru any day of the week. fLeX

kevin horton

putting in actually does work. You’re losing the rest of it in the form of heat. This is essentially how your body works. When your diet consists of 60% carbs, your body wastes about two-thirds of the ingested energy as heat. Some of this helps hold our internal temperature constant, but the rest is lost in other ways. Research on efficiency and wasted heat shows that carbs lead the way in this department when they comprise 55% of the diet or calorie values for carbs, protein, and greater. Carbs make you efficient. As you’ll soon see, that’s not what fat, distinguished between physical fuel values and physiological fuel you want. values. The physical fuel value is the at a Different Octane amount of energy you can get What happens, however, when out of food by burning it with we use a different type of fuel? oxygen. You throw food in an oven, Obviously, the efficiency levels would change, the fuel would burn incinerate it, then record the total amount of heat released. The in different ways, and you’d either increase or decrease your mileage. physiological fuel value is the Add ethanol to a car, and your fuel amount of energy an organism can derive from the fuel, which can be economy decreases. Add other higher or lower than the physical hydrocarbons, like anti-knocking fuel value. agents, and it increases. It has been found that the Try to transfer this logic to the human body, in a growth stage, can human body, however, and most get more than 11 calories per gram physique coaches’ eyes glaze out of fat—significantly more than over—as though, in 2013, it’s still inconceivable that different ratios the 9 grams listed on most nutrition Let’s try a Different Law labels. This is because different The second law of thermodynamics of macronutrients can cause activities require different enzymes different amounts of energy to is more applicable to the human or other molecules. Different or be wasted in the human body. A body, because it allows for the accelerated avenues of metabolicalorie, after all, is still a calorie. notion of efficiency. Efficiency is a sation can produce different The body, however, disagrees, measure of how much work you’re amounts of energy, and a calorie and it obeys the second law of getting done based on the energy of fat is clearly not a calorie of fat. thermodynamics. This means it you’re putting in. A standard varies in efficiency based on activity, The same concept holds true for internal combustion engine—the protein, as well, and these values hormonal status, and the type of one in your car—is approximately fuel we provide. That’s why Wilbur don’t match up there, either. About 33% efficient. This means that Atwater, who introduced the 4-4-9 2% of your ingested calories of fat, about a third of the energy you’re It’s unthinkable, right? Who would ever have imagined that two diets with an identical calorie count—one high-carb and one ultra-low-carb—would have such vastly differing results in terms of fat loss and muscle gain. After all, energy-in equals energy-out, and it all gets balanced in the end, regardless of when we train—and when we eat. At least that’s what we’ve been told for decades. To the “experts”, this is simply an exercise in the first law of thermodynamics, which states that energy is neither created nor destroyed. In other words, the total energy of the system must be the same, before and after—which means that 500 calories of carbs will produce the same result as 500 calories of protein or fat. The first law of thermodynamics, however, doesn’t mention anything about efficiency in terms of how the body converts this food into energy. It also tells us nothing about what happens if more or less of this energy is wasted depending on what types of macronutrients we’re taking in.

BRANDON CURRY

WiNNeR 2013 ARNOlD ClAssiC, BRAzil

BUILT TO LAST

SYN-BC1 ©2013 BSN®

All this pushing and pulling, striving to crush plateaus and forge progress worthy of the sacrifice – this effort is wasted without the proper nutrition. Muscles that work this hard need a steady source of quality protein in order to keep pushing it to the limit. SYNTHA-6™ is the ultimate choice for ultra-premium protein supplementation, fueling progress built to stand the test of time.

BSNONLINE.NET

192 CAlORies

22g PROTeiN

5g FiBRe

Amount based on single-scoop serving size

FLEX EXPERT BY nEIl hIll BY MATT PORTER

I remember you saying that you had Flex Lewis train his chest every four to five days rather than seven to bring it up. What exactly did you do? Yes I did. It was his worst body part, and we wanted to make it a strong point to win the Olympia 212 Showdown title, which he did! The first workout was either a Week 1, 2, or 3 session based around the Y3T principles. The second workout for his chest focused more on isolation with lots of isometrics, maximal tension with slow rep tempo, and higher reps to force as much blood into the area as possible. It worked! What are your thoughts on low-volume, high-intensity training, which Dorian Yates and Mike Mentzer made famous? I understand how and why it works. However, my concern is that not everyone is able to train with that intensity. Is it good to get stronger for muscle growth? Absolutely! However, you also have to be realistic. I don’t think it’s an intelligent way to train all of the time. By rotating your weeks as Y3T does, I believe you will achieve more sustainable growth over the long term.

phase) with one-second isometric pauses on each rep. Focus on flushing blood into the biceps with dropsets and giant sets. Over time they will grow. Why do you recommend free weights over machines? I always say it depends, so while I champion free weights over machines, I still think the latter have their place. The main reason behind choosing free weights is they are more “anabolic”. What I mean by that is that they force more stress upon the body, which in theory will stimulate a greater response, i.e., growth hormone and testosterone production. For compound lifts I always prefer free weights and after that I think some machines are fantastic for isolation work.

I WOULD SUGGEST KEEPING A FOOD DIARY… lOG EVERYThInG YOU EAT, WhICh DAYS AnD WhEn.

I find that I go through patches where my stomach always feels upset. I get pain in my abdomen and as a result, feel quite lethargic. Any advice? It’s a tough one because blood tests don’t always show intolerances and you don’t always I cannot get my biceps to grow. I am very have to be “intolerant” to a food clued up on nutrition, and my suppleto have these issues you mention. I ment plan is also very comprehensive. would suggest keeping a food diary. Any tips would be much appreciated! Log everything you eat, which days, Genetics will make it harder to achieve and when. I believe you will soon growth in some areas of your physique, notice a pattern occurring, highthat’s often the case. However I don’t lighting for you which foods are the believe we can’t make them grow! culprits. Make sure you have a good I would suggest introducing threedigestive enzyme; probiotics may also second eccentric contractions (negative be of assistance. FlEX

136

FLEX

pavel ythjall

I am an ectomorph with very little body fat or muscle. Would Y3T be good for me to gain much-needed size? Absolutely! I believe you will respond better to Weeks 2 and 3 due to the nature of the workouts (focusing on sarcoplasmic hypertrophy). With that said, I would do Week 1, Week 2, Week 2, Week 3, Week 3, and repeat. Hope this helps, mate.

scott dorn fiTness CoveR model WBFF CENTRAL US ChAMpIONShIp 1ST Team sCiTeC usa

stimulant weight and bodyfat management complex 16 active ingredients

Complex formula with a Resveratrol + Quercetin combination! Garcinia Cambogia + green tea extracts! With chromium that contributes to normal macronutrient metabolism and to the maintenance of normal blood glucose levels!* intended for bodybuilding competitors and regular people as well!

check out our other 200+ products as well! *This sTaTemenT has been sCienTifiCally pRoven and auThoRized by The euRopean food safeTy auThoRiTy. use pRoduCT in ConjunCTion WiTh a sensible TRaininG and nuTRiTion pRoGRam!

www.scitecnutrition.com WE ARE LOOKING FOR RETAILERS! • CALL US ON: 0127 987 4631 • FACEBOOK: WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/SCITECUK

FLEX EXPERT BY BRIAN SHAW

BUILDING YOUR LOWERBACK STRENGTH This is a question that I’m asked quite often. Fortunately, there are several great ways to do this. Outside of the major multijoint exercises that build tremendous core strength—such as deadlifts and squats—there are several great options to focus on in the gym. These include both isolation exercises that directly target the lower-back muscles and compound movements where the lower back contracts isometrically to stabilise the body. But before we get into the what and how, let’s quickly go through an anatomy lesson on exactly what muscles you’re working when you train your lower back. The erector spinae are the powerful muscles that stabilise the lower back and allow you to perform extension exercises (when your spine bends backwards). The gluteus maximus muscles are also involved in torso extension, but they’re primarily responsible for hip extension. The difference is the former occurs in a limited range of motion where only the vertebrae are moving, while the latter has a very long range of motion where the movement occurs mostly at the hip joints. To get the most out of lowerback training, you must be conscious of the difference so you can perform both motions against resistance. This will strengthen your core muscles, as well as build power in the posterior chain (so

138

FLEX

the hip and back extensor muscles work together to generate maximum power). Always try to use correct form on deadlifts and any other exercise that uses the lower back. Remember, there’s a line between increasing strength and risking injury! And the lower back isn’t an area where you want to suffer an injury. 45-DEGREE BACK RAISE Doing this exercise correctly will really isolate your lower back, and it’ll pay off. Be sure to use a full range of motion, moving under control at all times. At the top, squeeze your erectors consciously before lowering back down. Use the amount of resistance necessary to perform 8–12 reps in strict fashion, moving to near failure. Complete three sets. REVERSE HYPEREXTENSIONS This exercise isn’t commonly done due to the fact that it’s hard to do without the correct piece of equipment. If you’re lucky enough to have a reverse hyperextension bench in your gym, use it. You’ll know it because it consists of a pad that’s horizontal to the floor that you lie on facedown. You then hang your legs off the edge of the bench with the strap around your feet. (Some have a roller pad that moves.) A big key to this exercise is to not use too much resistance. When the strap is around your feet it is easy to

use the momentum of the weight to do the work. I like to avoid completely relaxing at the top of the movement and then let the weight pull my legs down into a stretched position before I engage my back muscles and raise my legs back to the top. The amount of blood that you’ll get into your lower back with this exercise will be incredible. Do it regularly and watch your lower-back strength increase. Again, I recommend

Courtesy of MHP

“What’s the best way to increase lower-back strength?”

using the amount of resistance necessary to perform 8–12 reps in strict fashion, moving to near failure. Complete three sets. BARBELL ROWS When done strictly with the upper body almost parallel to the floor, the lower back is required to stabilise during the entire set of reps. Be sure to utilise strict technique and don’t jerk up and down between reps. FLEX

DOWNLOAD THE DIGITAL EDITION OF FLEX MAGAZINE

Download FLEX Magazine to your Apple mobile device Try two digital issues of FLEX for FrEE *

* October 2011 and June 2012 issues

Find out more at: flexonline.co.uk/digital

/flexonlineuk

The GifT Unwrapped Phil HEATH

140

FLEX

MR. O TWEETS

■ Taking a cruise boat through the Panama Canal.

Pre-workout, use a supplement to boost your muscle pump.

■ It was amazing to meet one of the many indigenous communities here in Panama.

■ That feeling of sitting in my car motionless after (training) legs. One step closer to my goal.

tells you it’s rested, so the normal body signals don’t apply.

Do most of your sets with reps in the 8–12 range and rest at least 90 seconds between sets.

For sevens, choose an exercise you can do on your own that will maximise your pump. This is usually an isolation exercise with a strong contraction, like cable crossovers for chest or leg extensions for quads.

On the last exercise for a body part, do sevens. These are sets of 10–12 reps with rest periods of only 20–30 seconds between sets.

If possible, use a timer or the second hand on a clock to precisely time your rest periods. Try not to guess, because the key is to go before your body

Try to use as much weight on your last set of sevens as you did on your first set. If you slip under eight reps on any set, use lighter weight. FLEX

Seven is an arbitrary number. You can do any number of sets in the sequence. I tend to stick to seven, but you don’t have to.

pavel ythjall

I know you’ve been doing FST-7 for years. Can you explain how an average bodybuilder trying to gain size can use it? FST-7 was developed by my trainer/nutritionist Hany Rambod in 2008 to help me and others safely increase the intensity of our workouts. A lot of people get hung up on the name, which stands for Fascia Stretch Training 7, and they think it’s some complicated system that only Mr Olympia can use. It’s true that Hany and I modify a programme for my body, but anyone can benefit from the concept behind FST-7. It’s basically a way of making sure your muscles get a maximum pump to bring in the nutrients they need for recovery and growth. So you can use it with your regular programme. You probably don’t need to change a lot if your regular programme is on-point. You want to do most of your sets in the 8- to 12-rep range because those are the sets that are going to generate the most growth. The cool thing about sevens—the main technique of FST-7—is you’re still in that growth range of 10–12 reps. You’re not doing crazy-low reps or crazy-high reps. You’re sticking in that middle range. Also, you can do sevens without a training partner. This is great for me because when I’m in Denver I train alone most of the time. So you don’t need someone there to spot you or strip weights or anything like that. You can do it yourself. Here’s what you should know about FST-7.

Bodypower Sports Plc is the largest supplier of specialist gym equipment in the UK

Scan to see full range

Leverage Gyms • Smith Machines • Benches Dumbbells • Olympic/Standard Weights & Bars Weight Trees • Racks & many more...

Call us to to recieve a FREE catalogue!

Cable ts hmen Attac

7.99 from £

20Kg Dumbbell Set

£29.99

O Sta lylm nda pic / rd fro m £ Discs per 1.5 Kg 9

yl Vin et g S 30K bell b m Du 99

& Bars t Sets h g i e W

45.

£

9

69.9 from £

Sports Nutrition

from £9.99

Find us on...

Fitness Nutrition now available in all our Nationwide Showrooms* *with exception of Manchester

0800 634 0100

www.bodypower.co.uk Northampton

13 Gate Lodge Close, Round Spinney Northampton NN3 8RJ

Surrey

30/32 High Street, Frimley, Surrey GU16 7JD

Manchester 287 Talbot Rd, Stretford Manchester M32 0YA

Chester

157-167 Foregate St Chester CH1 1HF

Gloucester 2 Fullers Ct Westgate St Gloucester GL1 2UN

London

19-21 Warwick Way Victoria London SW1V 1QT

Kent

30-34 Grosvenor Road Tunbridge Wells Kent TN1 2AP

Newcastle Upon Tyne Royal Quays Outlet Centre, Coble Dene, North Shields NE29 6DW

Leeds

Junction 32 Retail Outlet Tomahawk Trail Glasshoughton WF10 4FR

BIG RAMY mamdouh elssbiay

I read that your second child, a daughter, was born on the weekend of the NY Pro. Do you find it hard to balance family and bodybuilding obligations? Does your wife help with your food preparation? Yes, my daughter was born just a couple of hours before I stepped onstage for the night show. I truly wanted to be there, but the opportunity to compete at the NY Pro was important to both me and my family. My wife is 100% supportive in all aspects of my bodybuilding career and she’s been there from Day 1. Being able to come home to my wife and kids helps me stay calm and focus on what really matters in life, so it’s good to have them around as much as possible. I don’t find it hard to balance bodybuilding and family because each one will take priority at different stages in your life. Right now my focus is on my bodybuilding career, which will help our family in the long run. My wife is a fantastic cook, so she helps prepare my food when I’m home in Egypt. When I’m in Kuwait, though, I have to fend for myself! Every bodybuilder loves a good cheat meal. What’s your favourite cheat food? Without a doubt it’s ice cream! FLEX

142

FleX

Can you give us a sample workout split for the week? For example, do you do biceps and triceps together or split them?

n This is the split I’ve recently started. It was designed by my coach, Dennis James. As you can see, he has me split up legs into two workouts but keep arms together in one workout:

Day 1 – Chest, abs Day 2 – Quads, calves Day 3 – Shoulders, abs Day 4 – Back, calves Day 5 – Biceps, triceps, abs Day 6 – Hamstrings, calves Day 7 – Off

alex ardenti

What’s your supplement intake before and after a training session? Do you take in amino acids, protein, carbs? Also, do you take any supplements during your workout, like glutamine or BCAAs? I eat a meal with protein and carbs about an hour and a half before I hit the gym. Usually I’ll have a 225 gram chicken breast and 100 grams of rice. Just before training, I take my BCAAs along with some simple carbs such as Vitargo, which gives me a lot of energy for a long heavy workout. About halfway through my workout, I take more BCAAs and another scoop of Vitargo. Immediately after the workout I have a shake with 50–60 grams of 100% whey isolate, 10 grams of powdered glutamine, and another two scoops of Vitargo. An hour later I have another large meal with plenty of protein and carbs. I’m very disciplined with my supplement intake because it makes a big difference in the recovery from my intense workouts. You have a narrow 30-minute window after your training session in which your body can replenish its glycogen and also repair the muscle. As with your meals, you need to measure and pack all your supplements and shakes the night before so that you have one less thing to worry about at the gym.

BEWARE OF INFERIOR IMITATIONS Scan to see range

Powertec has gained a very strong following of repeat customers. The main reason being, full our equipment is carefully designed and engineered to be precise in motion. We came from the commercial gym background so we have many years of experience in building equipment for the most demanding market that accepts nothing less then perfection. Powertec owns its factory so aside from having a highly experienced workforce; we can also control and maintain our quality. We have always done all production procedures under one roof. We source only the finest materials and component parts available.

POWERTEC WARRANTY

Home Consumer: Lifetime on frame and all parts. Light Commercial: Lifetime on frame, 2 years on all parts

Workbench Leverage Gym Was £1,149 Now £899

Workbench Rack System Was £499 Now £ 359

Leverage Squat/ Calf Was £559 Now £509

Isolateral Leverage Muti Press Was £699 Now £549

Workbench Multi System Was £1,699 Now £1,199

Olympic Bench Was £359 Now £269

BUY NOW PAY

6 MONTHS LATER (Subject to status) Please call for full details or a written quotation

Find us on...

Fitness Nutrition now available in all our Nationwide Showrooms* *with exception of Manchester

0800 634 0100

www.bodypower.co.uk Bodypower Sports PLC - Sole UK distributor for PowerTec Fitness products Weights sold separately Northampton

13 Gate Lodge Close, Round Spinney Northampton NN3 8RJ

Surrey

30/32 High Street, Frimley, Surrey GU16 7JD

Manchester 287 Talbot Rd, Stretford Manchester M32 0YA

Chester

157-167 Foregate St Chester CH1 1HF

Gloucester 2 Fullers Ct Westgate St Gloucester GL1 2UN

London

19-21 Warwick Way Victoria London SW1V 1QT

Kent

30-34 Grosvenor Road Tunbridge Wells Kent TN1 2AP

Newcastle Upon Tyne Royal Quays Outlet Centre, Coble Dene, North Shields NE29 6DW

Leeds

Junction 32 Retail Outlet Tomahawk Trail Glasshoughton WF10 4FR

THE WELSH DRAGON’S LAIR FLEX LEWIS

144

FLEX

structure, and that’s mostly about genetics. I’m short, but I don’t have a short-man structure. I have a slim waist and an X-frame. There are things you can do to emphasise this. Work on your side delts more to make your shoulders look wider. Focus on your outer quads to make your legs wider, and this will create more of a contrast with your waist. And then don’t do things that will widen your waist. Avoid weighted oblique training and wear a belt when you do heavy standing lifts. And that comes right back to where we started—don’t blow out your waist. The most important thing to do to avoid looking blocky is to keep your waist as slim as possible.

DRAGON TWEETS

How do you deal with interruptions during your workouts? That’s tough, because on the one hand working out is not just recreation to me. It’s part of my job. On the other hand, you don’t want people to think you’re an ass if you just ignore them. Luckily, I train at 11 a.m., and the gym is nearly empty then. But what there are then are “active ageing” classes with all these senior citizens. They’re good people, but they want to socialise too much sometimes. Generally, I try to train when there are fewer people in the gym, because I want to stay focused and not get interrupted. FLEX

■ So I broke another piece of equipment. Low pulley row, second rep in, BANG. No injury. Just pissed me off as I had two more sets left!!!

■ “In the end, we only regret the chances we didn’t take.” —Michael Jordan

kevin horton

Despite your lack of height and all the muscle you carry, you never look blocky. How have you avoided that? Thanks—well, not for the lack of height part but for the never looking blocky part. I think that’s just my shape. I try not to get too overweight in the off-season. A lot of bodybuilders focus on calories, calories, calories, whether it’s good or bad. And once you blow out your waist, it’s tough to get it back. Even just gaining all that weight will change your breathing and stretch your abdomen out, and then you’re not maintaining control over your waistline. The big bellies are something that’s killing the sport. No one wants to see a bodybuilder with a big belly going in and out with every breath. So it’s important to maintain a good shape throughout the year. You can’t blow out your shape and then expect to diet it back in and be where you were before. Other than that, it’s mostly about your

• FREE • FREE • FREE • FREE • FREE • FREE • FREE • FREE • FREE • FREE • FREE • FREE • Buy your December FLEX from Tesco or Morrisons, and get a 13g sample sachet of FORZA MAX from BioSport...

DECEMBER FLEX ONST SALE 21 NOvEMBER

...ABSOLUTELY

E E FR

Forza Max is a great tasting new pre-workout energy and performance product that contains highly effective dosages of:

®

BCAAs, Taurine, Citrulline, Caffeine, Creatine, Glutamine, Arginine, Carnitine, and Agmatine. When used in conjunction with an exercise programme, this combination of ingredients may help to increase alertness, strength, power and resistance to fatigue.

flexonline.co.uk facebook.com/flexonlineuk

Shawn RHODEN

Since you’re a Ronnie Coleman Signature Series athlete, have you had any training advice from him that you’ve incorporated into your training regime? The best thing about being a Ronnie Coleman athlete is that I get to pick his brain every day about what it takes to be an eight-time Mr Olympia. I train with Charles Glass, so I tell him the exercises Ronnie recommends

146

FLEX

and he incorporates them into my routine to see if they work. The biggest advice Ronnie has given me, though, has been about recovery, not training. Not many people know that after Ronnie’s Olympia victories he always took off 4–6 weeks from training. After a long season, your immune system is low and your joints hurt. I did the same thing at the end of 2012 but it wasn’t planned. When I got

stranded in Prague last October due to Hurricane Sandy, it forced me to take time off. By not lifting at all, my tendons tightened up and my joints felt great. I hit the gym hard, working my way up to 267 pounds, the heaviest I’ve been. I plan to do this every year from now on. I’ve been training for a few years now and I’m finally

Chris Aceto is your nutrition guru, but is there anyone else who gives you an honest critique of your physique or do you just rely on Chris? Competitors often make the mistake of listening to too many people. It gets confusing. If you get advice from someone who doesn’t follow your progression on a daily or weekly basis, they may think you’re flat or off track. When it comes specifically to nutrition, I only listen to Chris. FLEX

KEVIN HORTON

ready to compete onstage. I’m thinking of doing a few local shows before hitting the Nationals. How did you know when you were ready to step on a national stage? I’ve seen a lot of guys move too fast too soon because they listen to their friends at the gym. Just because you win a local show doesn’t mean that you should move on to the national stage. Find a seasoned coach to act as a second set of eyes and give you an honest critique about whether or not you’re ready. Being the biggest or strongest guy in the gym doesn’t mean that you’re going to be the best guy at a national show. And if you step onstage too quickly you’ll only get discouraged. The only time you’ll be ready is when your physique is clearly beyond what your fellow local competitors bring to the stage. I was ready when I realised I could no longer fit into the lightheavyweight class in which I’d competed at local shows. I was losing muscle by forcing myself down to 198 pounds—not even being able to eat or drink the day of weigh-ins! At that point, my coach felt it was time to take it to the next level.

the beast roelly winklaar

but every now and then I’ll mix it up with some ’80s rock.

You’ve said you travel between the Netherlands and Curaçao. Why don’t you live in Curaçao year-round? It seems like a paradise! I was born on Curaçao but I was raised in the Netherlands. In 2005, I immigrated back to Curaçao, where I trained by myself and had very little guidance on proper nutrition. After I won the Dutch Championships in 2007, I was introduced to Sibil Peeters (a.k.a. Grandma) and she became my coach and nutritionist. At that point I really needed to remain in the Netherlands so that Sibil could track my progress daily and help me get ready for the Arnold Amateur, which I won in 2009 to earn my pro card. During that time, I stayed in Rotterdam with my sister and travelled back and forth between the two places, but it was taking a toll on me. Finally, in December 2012, I decided to move back to Curaçao permanently and train by myself. As you said, it’s truly a paradise. After so many dreary winters in the Netherlands I realised how much I missed the sun, sea, and beaches here. I don’t plan on moving any time soon. I hate the pop music they play at my gym, so I’m always wearing my headphones to tune it out so I can focus on the weights. What kind of music do you listen to when you work out? I also hate the music they play at my gym. I find it very distracting when I’m trying to train heavy and suddenly I hear some annoying Top 40 dance song. I’m lucky that I train at times when the gym isn’t too crowded, so

they’re nice enough to change the music to something a little more hardcore just for me. When I can’t make it to my normal gym, I just wear my headphones. Since I hate making small talk when I work out, the headphones also stop people from

bothering me or asking me for training advice. I listen to a lot of different types of music, but what I listen to during my workouts depends on my mood that day. I make a few different mixes for my iPod but I’d say I mostly listen to rap or hip-hop,

EvEn though MY BRothER AnD I hAvE ouR DIffEREnt tRAInIng StYLES, wE StILL hAvE fun In thE gYM and drivE Each othEr to compLEtE a toughEr workout than wE couLd Each do aLonE.

What’s your favourite type of cardio, and how much do you do for a show? For the last few weeks I usually just do 30 minutes on the stationary bike at the gym or I go for a long walk after training. When I was getting ready for the Mr Olympia in 2010, I changed it up a bit. I did a lot of fast walking up and down steep hills, which I’m now convinced gave me better results than the treadmill or bike. FLEX

FlEX

147

Jason Mathas

You’ve mentioned that you sometimes train with your brother. I can’t imagine working out with my brother because we’d drive each other crazy. Is it hard to push each other when you’re related? It’s never hard to push each other because every workout ends up being a friendly (or sometimes not-so-friendly!) competition. It’s been like that since we were kids. My younger brother Quincy, who’s also an IFBB pro, always wants to prove that he can lift more than me. I tend to use straps, whereas he has a better forearm grip and refuses to wear them, so he teases me a lot about that and challenges me to see how strong I am without straps. If I do 10 reps of an exercise, he has to prove he’s tougher than me by doing 12 reps. He never seems to get tired no matter how hard the workout. Even though we have our different training styles, we still have fun in the gym and drive each other to complete a tougher workout than we could each do alone. I feel really fortunate to have a brother who’s also a pro bodybuilder with goals similar to mine.

gone too soon. r.i.P., ed Van amsterdam

n I was just sitting down to write this column when I found out about the death of IFBB pro Ed Van Amsterdam, who passed away from a heart attack on July 5th. Of course this hits home for me because I’m in the same profession, live the same lifestyle, and weigh approximately the same as Ed did. I don’t want this to turn into a column about my health, but many people online have been asking, “Why is this happening to all the pro bodybuilders?” So I’d like to use my own experiences to explain some of my points. I had a pancreatic attack earlier this year while I was getting ready for the Toronto Supershow. It taught me a lot about our health as bodybuilders and why we’re getting sick—or passing away—earlier than we’re supposed to. When I got sick I started doing a lot of research and I learned some very important things: Blood tests. Hardly any bodybuilders I train do this. I’m not sure about the majority of my peers, but the ones I know usually go, while my amateur clients have to be forced to go, which is wrong. Guys, if there’s one thing I can insist on being most important for longevity, it’s blood tests. There’s no other way to be able to tell if something is wrong aside from having blood tests done and finding out the actual levels of each organ.

2

Protein intake. As growing bodybuilders, we always have a high protein intake to make sure we’re feeding the muscle we’re continually tearing down. Yes, this is the way to rebuild, but it’s the way to tear other parts down,too. Meat protein is hard to digest and can also have an impact on kidney function. Take the time to give your body a rest and lower the amount of protein you take in. Drop it by 50% for a few weeks and raise your carb and fat intake to make sure

148

FLEX

but his heart isn’t working as hard as ours. When you’re walking around at 250–290 pounds and carrying around 230–240 pounds or more of muscle, your heart is working overtime. These doctors have all told me that the heart isn’t meant to pump blood to a 290-pound body for an extended period of time. So how do we help our hearts stay healthy while still enjoying bodybuilding? Take lose Weight. breaks. After I finished the Toronto I know this sounds horrible to most of you because we’re always trying to grow and Supershow, I just rested and worked out none of us wants to lose good, hard-earned when I felt like it. I dropped weight and am weight. That being said, if you’re going to be now much smaller. My body is feeling good and healthy. And I’m not worried it won’t in this for the long haul, you could be doing come back, that I won’t make gains—a your body a real service by giving it a healthy body will grow faster than a toxic, break—from the inside. I’ve seen many doctors in my time, and there’s one common overworked body. I know these are things most of us— theme they express: bodybuilders aren’t including me—don’t want to think about, getting sick or passing away due to protein but it’s important that we have this intake, but more so because of body discussion. Ignorance isn’t bliss when it weight. A 300-pound fat person still has comes to your health, people. Make sure a lean body mass of, say, 200 pounds, so you’re healthy, and don’t avoid the truth, his heart has to work only to fuel that 200-pound body. He has his own problems— whether it’s good or bad. FleX

you’re not going backwards. Remember, when it comes to your kidneys, the detrimental aspect of protein intake isn’t the amount you take in daily, but the amount you take in at one time. So, instead of eating 350 g of meat six times a day, break it down into eight meals and lessen the amount just a little.

3

Courtesy of sCiteC NutritioN

1

TIME TO SUBSCrIBE

®

www.flexonline.co.uk

5 Issues of FLEX for only £5* PLUS a FrEE Weider Sports Watch

Analogue sports watch with FLEX and Muscle & Fitness logos and adjustable strap for the fitness enthusiast.

DON’T MISS ThIS grEaT OFFEr Telephone: 01858 435346 QUOTE CODE FX22 Open weekdays 8am-9.30pm, Saturday 8am-4pm

go online: www.subscription.co.uk/FLEX/FX22 facebook.com/flexonlineuk

*Offer available to UK direct debit subscribers only. After the first 5 issues are received, direct debit payments continue at £16.47 every 6 months (6 issues). Limited stocks. Subscriptions may be cancelled by providing 28 days notice prior to the first anniversary of the subscription. Please allow 28 days for delivery of gift. This offer is not available to Digital Edition subscribers

Mike Liberatore actually hungry—during pre-contest dieting, I knew something wasn’t right. My situation with hunger was just slightly different. Five weeks before the British Grand Prix in 2012, I found out unexpectedly that I had an oesophageal ulcer and a blood clot with it. During the procedure to fix both, the doctors learned that I had a condition called oesophageal oesophagitis. This caused my throat to swell with an inflammation that formed ridges down my

oesophagus. I was told that this was the cause of any and all of my stomach issues, such as indigestion, throwing up, and especially my lack of appetite. The doctor said that, with the inflammation, my oesophagus was the size of a small child’s— and I don’t know many small children who can eat as much food as a professional bodybuilder. This caused my food to go down slowly and digest slowly, which left me with very little appetite. These issues

Here are some tips if you’re having a similar problem. Keep in mind, though, that these suggestions will typically work only when one is just finishing a contest and at the very start of the off-season, not in the middle of one. n If you stay close to a pre-contest diet—slightly modified, of course—with more clean carbs and clean fats and two to three cheat meals a week, you’re more likely to have a revved-up appetite. Yes, this is different from what we see a lot of guys doing off-season, i.e., eating too many calories, doing little or no cardio, and having too many cheat nights with both food and alcohol. None of that will increase your appetite.

didn’t affect me pre-contest because I was eating better and eating less-dense foods that were more easily digested. Most bodybuilders in pre-contest are counting the minutes till their next meal, so getting the food down usually isn’t a problem—it’s gone by the time they blink. But some have a much harder time with more food off-season and dread the next meal because it’s “just too much”—so they often skip it altogether. FLEX

TypicaL prE-conTEsT Clean diet + 0–1 cheat meal per week + highintensity cardio = hungry bodybuilder TypicaL buLking/oFF-sEason Overabundance of calories + too many cheats + little to zero cardio = slow, lethargic, not-hungry bodybuilder As you can imagine, my eating and appetite did increase immensely after fixing my previously unknown problems. Even with an improved ability to eat, though, I still follow my own advice and keep a relatively clean diet all year.

PAVEL YTHJALL

n Recently, a fan asked a question about the fact that I’m not a big eater in the off-season. Over the years, if you’ve seen my videos or online posts, you’ve probably heard countless times my struggle to get down the amount of food needed in the off-season to make large gains. This has been the major thing that’s held me back— especially when I have no problem eating when pre-contest rolls around. This fan noticed from recent photos that it looked like I’d actually made some good gains during this last off-season, and wanted to know if I was finally able to eat more food. Since I noticed that food was a problem in the off-season with a lax diet, but that I got in all my meals with ease—and was

150

FLEX

ANDY

BOLTON BOLTON The first man

ANDY

Let Powerlifting Legend Andy Bolton Show You EXACTLY How To Build Brutal Strength

in history to deadlift 1000lbs

Use these strength building tools and techniques to build your strength and increase your Squat, Bench Press and Deadlift. Explode Your Squat – Learn how to master your squat technique Explode Your Bench Press – Learn how to master your bench press technique Explode Your Deadlift – Learn how to master your deadlift technique Supersize Your Strength – Andy’s proven 16 week training programme Bands and Chains - Learn exactly how to use bands and chains Special introductory 5 book discount offer PLUS 4 fantastic bonus books FREE

If you’re serious about getting STRONGER, let Andy, one of the greatest strength athletes to ever live – ‘take you by the hand’ and show you how it’s done. flexonline.co.uk/andybolton

Supersize Your Strength

The Ultimate 16 Week Training Program Designed To Help You Build Your Best Squat, Bench Press And Deadlift Ever…

NEW

to the FLEX e-book store

I worked my butt off for my last show and I looked great. Only problem was, I couldn’t get a pump backstage. Where did I go wrong, and has this ever happened to you? Hell, yes, this has happened to me—and it sucks to feel like this before you step onstage. I think the No. 1 cause of this for most people is that they get nervous. When you get nervous, your blood pulls away from your muscles and goes to your internal organs. So if you get too nervous, you can almost bet you won’t get a good pump. I also think if you’re too dehydrated you can’t get a good pump. Yes, shedding the water under the skin is critical to looking good onstage, but if you take out too much water, your muscles will get flat and you won’t get a pump.

Another reason could be not enough carbs in your body. Carbs help pull water into your muscles so you feel full and get a good pump. Yes, it’s all a balancing act and there’s no perfect formula, because each time it’s different, and everyone is different. Here’s how I try to keep this from happening. First, I try to have fun or listen to relaxing music so I don’t get nervous. Second, I never completely take out my water—I’m always drinking small amounts. Third, I carb-load and always have food backstage just in case I start to feel flat. I like to have fruit or even a fizzy drink before I step onstage. Hope this helps out, and hope you get a good pump on next time. FLEX

TRAINING JOURNAL

■ Training is going great! I’ve been training for my first

5K race. Some people think that as a bodybuilder this is counterproductive, but it’s not. I haven’t lost any size running. My next show is still up in the air—not sure what I want to do right now. I’m getting good results training, so there’s no need to rush yet. I also wanted to wish my baby girl a happy birthday, as she’s turning 4. Time sure goes by fast. I love my family—they support me and I support them 100%.

WEEK 1 EXERCISE

■ Shoulders are my favourite body part to train. I have strong shoulders and really like to blast the weight on shoulder day. Here are my workouts. WEEK 2

WEEK 3

SETS

REPS

EXERCISE

SETS

REPS

EXERCISE

SETS

REPS

Seated Military Press

3

8–10

Dumbbell Shoulder Press

3

12–15

5

15, 12, 10, 8, 6

Standing One-arm Lateral Raise

3

8–10

Lateral Raise

3

12–15

Standing Military Press

15, 12, 10, 8, 6

8–10

12–15

5

3

3

Cable Lateral Raise

Barbell Front Raise

Seated Dumbbell Front Raise

Cable Front Raise

5

15, 12, 10, 8, 6

Bentover Lateral Raise

3

8–10

Cable Rear-delt Flye

3

12–15

5

15, 12, 10, 8, 6

Upright Row

3

8–10

Shrug

3

12–15

Cable Bentover Lateral Raise

Seated Lateral Raise

3

8–10

Seated Lateral Raise

3

12–15

Cable Upright Row

5

15, 12, 10, 8, 6

152

FLEX

pavel ythjall

SHOULDER TRAINING

n You’ll notice something different the next time I take the stage, and I’m not just talking about better balance, symmetry, and conditioning. I’m also hernia-free! After my runner-up finish at the Arnold Classic and my top-three placing at the Australian Pro, I decided that, before competing again, my time would best be used by attending to some past injuries. I’ve had an epigastric hernia, which is merely a split in the abdominal wall, for the past 12 years. I finally opted for surgery, and my recovery and progress couldn’t have gone

more smoothly. I’d like to give you all a little insight into the things I did to prepare for the operation, as well as how I incorporated training back into my life following the procedure. An important aspect of ensuring an operation goes optimally is decreasing inflammation. Prior to the operation, I held off on training and lowered my carbohydrate intake to zero. This, of course, would limit any internal inflammation. Ideally, a patient should also have low body fat to make the processes go more smoothly—both the

operation and the recovery. Although my body fat is in check year-round, it helped even more so that I had recently competed prior to the operation. I knew I’d be in the hospital for some time. I didn’t want to take any chances, so I made sure I had food delivered to my room that morning. I can’t take any chances with some of that crappy hospital food! When you’re trying to be the best in the world, you need to make sure you’re trying at all times. Despite the importance of these prerequisites, the most crucial consideration for a patient is how he or she will allocate time after surgery. Most hernia operations, mine included, consist of inserting a mesh in the damaged tissue to strengthen the injured area. Many athletes, especially after hernia repair, can rush back into training too soon, which can rip the mended area. You need to allow the wound time to heal. This required me to take a few weeks off from the gym completely. When I was finally given the OK to return, I made sure to slowly acclimatise my body back into training. During the first two weeks, my training was minimal, both in terms of intensity and volume. The surgeon gave me specific recommendations concerning weight progression. I was advised to not lift anything over “X” amount pounds, and the number would increase over time. Likewise, there was progression in my nutrition. Since my workouts used very light weight and had such low volume (roughly eight working sets per muscle group), my carbohydrate requirements for optimal functioning were much lower. My general progression aimed for about a 25 gram increase each week, until I hit my usual off-season carb intake. As usual, the majority were consumed around my workout. Regardless of what your training goals are or what aspirations you have outside the gym, it is always important to plan for success. If you take the time to focus on every detail of a particular goal and you’re willing to make the necessary sacrifices, success is not a probability but rather a certainty! FLEX FLEX

153

PAVEL YTHJALL

PAK-MAN Ben PAKULSKI

KAI’s CORNER KAI GREENE How was your off-season training and diet different this year going into the Mr Olympia? It was a very fruitful off-season. I’ve got to give a shout-out to George Farah. He’s been working with me on my diet. I’d been trying to keep my weight down throughout the off-season. The days of ballooning up to 300 pounds or better—we ain’t doing that these days. I stayed in my best off-season shape ever this year. So I’m getting a chance to be in better shape while doing the guest posings. I can move around more easily and feel more comfortable in my own skin. I try to be very methodical about my day-to-day training and stay on the nutritional programme that George and I have in place. This is my third year working with him. For the most part, the nutrition programme is the same it was the last two years.

It’s really interesting how the journey towards seeing your dream realised is a continuing educational process. Even as a professional bodybuilder, I’m still learning things every day about my craft. With that in my mind, it’s exciting to be able to do what I do. And I’m very thankful to get that opportunity. So my off-season went very well. I wasn’t as heavy as I was in the past, but make no mistake about it, the scales will betray me sometimes. Still, as long as George says my condition is where I need it to be, I’m comfortable and confident with that. When I watch your training videos, I notice you doing a lot of full-body stretches and exercises for other body parts. Why do you do all that work for muscles you’re not training that day?

Don’t think of your body as a collection of parts. Your body has to work together as a unit, whether you’re doing a squat or a posing performance or just walking to the store. Before I begin my workout, I do a series of stretches and exercises to warm up and prepare the muscles and tendons for work, but also to work my entire body as a unit and get the blood flowing throughout my whole body. If you have, for example, a back workout, and in that workout you do only back exercises and back stretches and then the next day you have a chest workout and do only chest exercises and chest stretches, you never bring your muscles together to work cohesively. Your physique becomes just a collection of parts instead of a complete work of art. FLeX

KAI’S MOTIVATOR “You did everYthing?”

PAVEL YTHJALL

I ask myself thIs questIon every… sIngle…day. everY SingLe dAY.

154

FLEX

WATCH THE VIDEO NOW AT:

muscle-fitness.co.uk/unikurve

Muscle & Fitness readers take their training seriously. They know that training smart as well as training hard is key. The new, portable UniKurve XTRHV is the smart way to train your whole body at home or outside, and is especially useful for HIIT workouts as no setup is required.

UniKurve XTRHV weighs in at 18.5kg, but changing grip positions increases or decreases the degree of difficulty as the level of instability or leverage needed to lift the weight changes. This almost infinite flexibility, plus a range of over 100 exercises means that UniKurve XTRHV will always offer challenging home workout options for the serious fitness enthusiast.

The UniKurve XTRHV is available only from Weider Mail Order and comes with: n Instructional workout DVD featuring Wayne ‘Doom’ Gordon, Nick ‘Headhunter’ Chapman and Andy ‘Iron Mac’ McKenzie n Double sided exercise Wall Chart showing 23 exercises n Pro Grip’s worth £14.99

Gladiator Wayne ‘Doom’ Gordon

All for just £149.99 plus £12.99 p&p

»

CONTACT US NOW TO ORDER OR FOR MORE INFORMATION GO ONLINE: www.weidermailorder.com/unikurve BY PHONE: 01423 877052

GYM/TRADE ENqUIRIES CALL 01423 877 051

RETROSPECTIVE

BY CHRIS LUND, UK EDITOR SINCE 1985 photos BY CHRIS LUND

ALBERT BECKLES one of the most amazing bodybuilders of all time

156

FLEX

When I first began researching this Looking Back article on Britain’s Albert Beckles, I couldn’t believe my own eyes. I had to tell somebody, so I called Ernie Taylor—I always love to blow his mind! “Ernie,” I said casually, “for how many years do you think Albert Beckles competed as a world class bodybuilder?” “Oh, you’ve got me there,” he replied. “About 15 years?” I couldn’t wait to put the boot in. “How about 27 years?” I said proudly. “27 years? You must be joking!” he replied, absolutely amazed. “Well, I’m not,” I said. “His first contest was the 1965 NABBA Mr Universe and his last two contests were the IFBB Chicago Pro Invitational and the IFBB Niagara Falls Pro Invitational in 1992!” “Wow! That’s truly amazing,” Ernie replied, still gobsmacked. “Shall I tell you something else?” I continued. “Go on then,” he replied. “Tell me something else!” “During his illustrious career, Albert Beckles competed in 110 bodybuilding contests!” This time there was no reply from the other end of the phone. Ernie Taylor was simply too astonished to reply. “Ernie,” I repeated, “Albert Beckles competed in 110 contests.” This time, Ernie was just about able to compose himself and in true bodybuilding fashion (only a bodybuilder would see it this way), he exclaimed, “So that means he followed a 12- week pre-contest diet 110 times!” I was taken aback. “Ernie,” I said, “Are 12-week diets all you guys ever think about when you prepare for a contest?” “Of course!” he answered without hesitation. “The 12-week diet is absolutely what it’s all about. Have you ever followed one?” he added sarcastically. “Absolutely not!”

“Well, there you go then. A 12-week pre-contest diet is like going to hell. Beckles must have gone to hell and back again 110 times!” “I’ve just thought of something else,” I said. “What’s that then?” “There were always stories going round that Albert even stuck to his diet on Christmas Day, so that he could stay ahead of the game when the contest season began.” “Now that’s dedication for you, mate,” Ernie replied. I can still remember the first time I saw a photo of Albert Beckles. It was way back in the 1960s, and it was a black and white photograph in Ironman magazine. It was an

158

FLEX

incredibly peaked one-arm biceps shot, and I had never seen anything like it in my life. The accompanying article made the astonishing revelation that Albert had built his amazing biceps in only six months of training! When I got to know him years later, Albert confirmed the Ironman story. “Yeah, that’s right. My biceps grew so fast during the first six months and all I was really doing at that time were barbell curls and reverse close-grip lat pulldowns. I have no idea where my peaked biceps came from.” Between 1965 and 1971, Albert competed within the NABBA and the AAU bodybuilding organisations. However, in 1971 he figured he would try his luck with the IFBB. He entered and won the 1971 IFBB Mr Universe, which would later become the IFBB World Championships.

He took 1972 off and returned to competition the following year. He entered two shows in 1973—the IFBB Mr Europe and the IFBB Mr Universe—and won them both hands down! In 1975 Albert entered his first Mr Olympia and placed third in the lightweight class. For the next 17 years Albert Beckles became the most feared and consistently competitive bodybuilder in pro bodybuilding. If Beckles was in the contest, everyone was in trouble because, as they said, Albert took no prisoners, and he was always in shape. In 1981 Albert entered eleven IFBB pro shows and came second in six of them. (He also won one, placed fourth in one, third in one, and sixth in two.) He personally felt he should have won more, and one day while we

RICH GASPARI were having breakfast following one of these contests, he leaned over and asked me, “Why don’t I win more shows? Is it because I live in England and they would rather have Americans winning the big shows?”

160

FLEX

For the next hour or so I tried my best to console him, because I didn’t want him to lose heart and retire from bodybuilding. But I agreed with him 100%, because Albert Beckles definitely should have won more of those

shows. He was also not a complainer, however, unlike some bodybuilders. He was a true sportsman who was sharp enough to understand that he was not placing as high as he should have done at many of the top pro shows.

If Beckles was In the contest, everyone was In trouBle Because, as they saId, Albert took no prisoners, And he wAs AlwAys in shApe

LEE LABRADA This is basically what I told him. First of all, because he was a British boy, he needed to be so much better than his US counterparts (which he often was). I then told him that he needed to jazz up his act when he was on

stage, because in real life he was a cool, calm and extremely conservative person. Albert remained thoughtful for quite a while, and then suddenly exclaimed, “You mean I should act like a total wally when I’m on

stage, don’t you?” “Well, not exactly,” I replied. “You just need to connect with the judges and the audience a little more. You already have the muscle, but you always look so serious when you go through your routine. Why not let them know that you’re Albert Beckles, and you’re in great shape, and that you’re very happy about this. The audience and judges will relate to that.” The following year (1982) was a terrific year for Albert Beckles. He placed second at the Belgium Grand Prix, fourth at the Swedish Grand Prix, and then won the New York Night of Champions. He placed fifth at the Mr Olympia, but won the World Pro Championships. The new happier, smiling and more confident Albert Beckles was on his way to even more greatness, and one day, the morning after a show, he walked up to me and asked, “So how do you like the teeth then?” “I don’t know what you mean,” I replied. “Well, you told me to look happier on stage, so I just flashed my teeth, didn’t I?” Albert then flashed his infamous choppers and you know what? He had a perfect set of large white teeth that would have done any dentist proud. “Maybe they should have a best choppers round!” I declared. “Yeah, maybe they should,” he said, heading off to his favourite place after a contest—the hotel restaurant. In 1983 Albert placed seventh at the Mr Olympia, and the following year he placed fourth, but he won the World Pro Championships, the World Grand Prix, and the Canada Pro Cup. 1985 was a different story and I still feel, even today, that Albert Beckles should have won that Mr Olympia. He was in so much

FLEX

163 161

Albert beckles wAs not A fAn of photo shoots. he did not see the point of them becAuse to his mind, the contest was what it was all about better muscular shape than the current champ Lee Haney, so I found myself doing something that I had never done before, or indeed since. I went backstage just before the start of the evening show and told Albert that he was without doubt the best bodybuilder in the contest. He had it in the bag because he was in far superior muscular shape and condition to the current Mr Olympia. I told Albert to go out and fight for his life because, as Joe Weider once said, “In bodybuilding you have to be far superior if you want to beat the current champ!” Albert listened carefully, and didn’t say a word. Instead, he went on stage and gave Lee Haney the fight of his life. Unfortunately, Albert Beckles took second to Lee Haney. One day I said to Albert, “Out of every bodybuilder alive today, I believe that you would survive the best if you were washed up on a desert island like Robinson Crusoe!” “How do you work that out?” replied Albert. “Well,” I said, “I figure that you have all the survival instincts needed to stay alive because you have tremendous tolerance and dedication. I also believe that you would even find ways to train while you were alone on this desert island.” “And exactly how would I do that?” he said, all smiles. “I think you would find a strong branch and place it between two trees so that you could do all kinds of chins—wide grip, close grip, regular grip and reverse grip—which would give your back and biceps a tremendous workout!” “What else could I do then?” Albert asked. “If you found some washed-up planks of wood, I’m sure you could easily knock up a set of parallel dipping bars so that you could train your chest and triceps.”

162

FLEX

Albert had started to laugh out loud now and in between guffaws, he said, “So what do I eat then?” “Easy!” I replied. “I can just see you collecting mangoes, papayas, coconuts and anything else you can lay your hands on. Oh yes, and I can see you waiting hours just to spear a fish!” “You know something?” Albert replied. “I always thought you were crazy!” The trouble was, I believed every word I said! In November 2005, Greg Merritt wrote an article in FLEX called Top guns: the 20 best arms of all time and the workouts that built them. Naturally Albert Beckles was one of them. Here’s what Greg had to say. “Albert Beckles didn’t grow his way into our top 20 until he was well past his 40th birthday. At various times, Beckles has claimed birth years of 1930 and 1938, but even if the more recent date is true, it still means he placed second in the 1985 Mr. Olympia at age 47 and

he won his eighth IFBB pro show at 52. Despite high biceps and forearm attachments, evergreen Beckles triumphed with history’s most freaky peaky biceps, coupled with a devastatingly delineated side triceps shot.” Here’s what Albert told Greg about building his outrageously peaked biceps. “I like to place special emphasis on the peak contraction, and I often resist supinating until I get very close to contraction. I twist my wrists outwards as far as they can go just as I reach the top of the curl. This creates a tremendous contraction, and I hold it for a second or two.”

ALBERT BECKLES’ BICEPS ROUTINE Seated dumbbell curl: 4 sets, 8–10 reps Cable curl: 4 sets, 8–10 reps Dumbbell concentration curl: 3 sets, 8–10 reps One-arm cable curl: 3 sets, 8–12 reps.

Albert Beckles was not a fan of photo shoots. He did not see the point of them because to his mind, the contest was what it was all about. Besides, after the show it was time for eating, and I have never seen anyone eat like Albert Beckles, after a contest. Usually, after a contest in the US, he would get up at 4 am, because he couldn’t sleep, and head off to the hotel restaurant to order his favourite breakfast food–cream of wheat–which he devoured, bowl after bowl. When he was living in London, he would usually be on the evening flight back home the day after the contest, which meant that no training shots could be done. Even when he moved to the US (he has been living in California for many years), you could still never get him to agree to photo shoots. As a result there are not too many non-contest photographs of the great Albert Beckles– one of the most amazing bodybuilders of all time! FLEX

CONTEST CAREER 1965 NABBA Mr Universe, Medium, 3rd 1966 NABBA Mr Britain, 5th NABBA Mr Universe, Medium, 6th 1967 NABBA Mr Britain, 3rd NABBA Mr Universe, Medium, 1st 1968 NABBA Mr Britain, 2nd 1969 NABBA Mr Britain, 2nd NABBA Mr Universe, Medium, 3rd IFBB Mr World, Medium, 2nd 1970 NABBA Mr Britain, 1st Mr Europe, Medium, 1st & Overall NABBA Mr Universe, Medium, 2nd 1971 NABBA Mr Britain, 1st IFBB Mr Universe, Medium, 1st & Overall NABBA Mr Universe, Medium, 1st AAU Mr World, Medium, 1st & Overall AAU Mr World, Most Muscular, 1st 1973 IFBB Mr Europe, Medium, 1st & Overall IFBB MR Universe, Medium, 1st 1975 Mr Olympia, Lightweight, 3rd IFBB Mr Universe, Medium, 2nd 1977 Mr Olympia, Lightweight, 4th Mr Olympia, 7th

1978 Mr Olympia, Lightweight, 8th 1979 IFBB Best in the World, 3rd Grand Prix Pennsylvania, 3rd Mr Olympia, Lightweight, 7th IFBB Mr Universe, 2nd IFBB World Pro Championships, 2nd 1980 IFBB Mr Universe, 4th IFBB World Pro Championships, 4th 1981 Canada Pro Cup, 2nd Grand Prix Belgium, 2nd Grand Prix California, 4th Grand Prix Louisiana, 2nd Grand Prix Massachussets, 2nd Grand Prix New England, 1st Grand Prix Wales, 3rd Grand Prix World Cup, 6th Night of Champions, 2nd Professional World Cup, 6th World Grand Prix, 2nd 1982 Grand Prix Belgium, 2nd Grand Prix Sweden, 4th Night of Champions, 1st Mr Olympia, 5th World Pro Championships, 1st 1983 Grand Prix England, 5th Grand Prix Las Vegas, 3rd Grand Prix Portland, 4th

Grand Prix Sweden, 5th Grand Prix Switzerland, 5th Night of Champions 3rd Mr Olympia, 7th 1984 Canada Pro Cup, 1st Mr Olympia, 4th World Grand Prix, 1st World Pro Championships, 1st 1985 Night of Champions, 1st Mr Olympia, 2nd 1986 Mr Olympia, 4th 1987 Grand Prix France, 4th Grand Prix Germany (2), 6th Grand Prix Germany, 4th Mr Olympia, 7th World Pro Championships, 3rd 1988 Chicago Pro Championships, 4th Grand Prix England, 7th Grand Prix France, 11th Grand Prix Germany, 8th Grand Prix Italy, 8th Grand Prix Spain (2), 8th Grand Prix Spain, 7th Night of Champions, 5th Mr Olympia, 15th World Pro Championships, 10th 1989 Arnold Classic, 7th

Grand Prix England, 9th Grand Prix Finland, 9th Grand Prix France, 9th Grand Prix Holland, 11th Grand Prix Melbourne, 4th Grand Prix Spain (2), 10th Grand Prix Spain, 10th Grand Prix Sweden, 9th Grand Prix US Pro, 4th Night of Champions, 8th Mr Olympia, 15th World Pro Championships, 4th 1990 Arnold Classic, 9th Houston Pro Championships, 11th Niagara Falls Pro Invitational, 12th Night of Champions, Did not place 1991 Grand Prix Denmark, 7th Grand Prix England, 7th Grand Prix Finland, 9th Grand Prix Italy, 8th Grand Prix Spain, 9th Grand Prix Switzerland, 8th Niagara Falls Pro Invitational, 1st Night of Champions, 7th Mr Olympia, Did not place Pittsburgh Pro Invitational, 12th San Jose Pro Invitational, 5th 1992 Chicago Pro Championships, 16th Niagara Falls Pro Invitational, 8th

FLEX

165 163

LETTERS

BY ERNIE TAYLOR “THE BRITISH PHENOMENON” photos BY chRIs LuNd

BENTOVER ROWs WITh TWO duMBBELLs Hi ET, I have seen many photos of Jay Cutler doing bentover rows with two dumbbells lying facedown on an incline bench. I do not have one of these benches in my home gym so is there another way of doing this particular exercise? Alan London Hello Alan from London, The exercise you mention, incline bentover rows with two dumbbells, is actually an isolation exercise that’s usually performed after compound back movements. It’s truly an excellent back exercise and I personally think it’s fantastic for giving you that Xmas tree look in your lower back. If you cannot do this exercise the way Jay does them, then don’t worry. Simply grab two dumbbells and get into the regular bentover row position, keeping your knees bent. From this position pull both dumbbells up just like you would when doing the regular bentover barbell row. You will immediately discover that you can pull the dumbbells up much higher, and when you reach the contracted position, squeeze and tense your lower back for at least two seconds. When you first start out doing this exercise, use a pair of manageable weights, which will allow you to achieve that incredible contraction in your lower back. Barbell rows are a great compound back-thickening exercise, but you are limited because the movement comes to a full stop when the bar reaches your waist. While the bentover row with two dumbbells is a great exercise, I’ve noticed that most pros only do them once a month. It appears that they prefer weighted hyperextensions or reverse-grip barbell bentover rows. Personally, if I were you, I would do bentover rows with two dumbbells every other week. Good luck, ET

164

FLEX

TONE uP ANd BE FIT ErniE, I am 30 years old and I’ve been lifting weights for 10 years. Once upon a time, my physique was ok, but since I had chemotherapy back in 2012, I have not trained at all. I would really love to get back into shape and I was wondering if you could give me some advice. I no longer feel the need to build massive muscles—all I really want to do now is tone up and be fit. Allen Hi Allen, Chemotherapy is a very stressful and demanding course of treatment to put your body through with many serious and unpleasant side effects. You say that you do not want to build massive muscles any more and so I am wondering if you have been given the ok to start training again. Personally, I think that it’s important to try to stay active exercise-wise during, and especially after, chemotherapy. If you’ve been a bodybuilder before, then this should present no hardship for you. The best way to tone up and get fit is to perform high reps during all your sets. I have made out a workout routine for you, which you should follow no more than three times a week. Twice a week do a good cardio workout (stationary bike or treadmill) for at least 30 minutes each time. Here’s that three-day workout routine which will tone you up and make you fit.

MONdAY: chEsT & shOuLdERs chest 1. Incline Seated Hammer Strength Chest Press: 3 sets of 16-20 reps 2. Flat Hammer Strength Chest Press: 3 sets of 16-20 reps 3. Pec Deck: 3 sets of 14-16 reps

shoulders 1. Seated Front Smith Machine Shoulder Press: 3 sets of 14-16 reps 2. Cable Side Lateral: 3 sets of 14 reps 3. Machine Shrug: 3 sets of 16 reps

WEdNEsdAY: BAcK & ARMs Back 1. Front Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown: 3 sets of 14-20 reps 2. Close-Grip Lat Pulldown: 3 sets of 14-16 reps 3. Seated Low Lat Pulley: 3 sets of 14-16 reps 4. Stiff-Legged Deadlift: 3 sets of 14 reps 5. Hyperextension: 2 sets of 20 reps

Biceps 1. V-Bar Low Cable Curl: 3 sets of 16 reps 2. Seated Dumbbell Curl: 3 sets of 14 reps

Triceps 1. Straight Bar Triceps Pushdown: 3 sets of 16 reps 2. Triceps Dip Between Two Benches: 3 sets of 16 reps

FRIdAY: LEGs 1. Leg Extension: 3 sets of 14-20 reps 2. Leg Press: 3 sets of 14-20 reps 3. Hack Squat: 2 sets of 14 reps 4. Leg Curl: 4 sets of 14 reps 5. Standing Calf Raise: 3 sets of 16 reps 6. Seated Calf Raise: 2 sets of 16 reps Don’t forget to use lighter weights than usual and burn those reps out. Also, rest only as you need to, in between sets. On the nutrition side, always consume a well balanced diet. Every day you should try to eat 1.5 grams each of protein and carbohydrates per pound of muscular bodyweight. And don’t forget to drink plenty of water every single day. Good luck Allen, ET

PRO cARd DEar ErniE, I have been trying to get my IFBB pro card for the last two years, and I usually compete in the 90 kg division. My question is this: if I’m ever lucky enough to obtain my pro card, what would I actually do with it? I wouldn’t like to enter a pro show just to make up the

ERNIE TAYLOR

QUINCY TAYLOR

numbers, and I certainly would not be interested in ending my bodybuilding career, so really, is it pointless trying to get a pro card? Big Tezza Hi Tezza, Only you know the answer to this question, I’m afraid, because it all boils down to how much you really want this. If and when you do happen to get your pro card, you will be competing in IFBB contests at the highest levels in the world. So, Tezza, if you do not believe that you are good enough to compete in pro competitions, then I don’t think you should be competing in amateur ones, unless of course you really love the excitement of competitions. Usually, amateurs compete to live out their dream of becoming a pro; this is a huge

166

FLEX

achievement by any standard, and it could open a lot of doors for them. I really understand where you’re coming from, Tezza, however; I know of many bodybuilders who have been trying to get their pro card for over five years! But the good thing about these bodybuilders is that they have never lost their zest for the sport. They simply continue to train, which makes them get better, and brings them closer and closer to their life’s dream. Most great bodybuilders do not throw in the towel when they fail to win a show. With bodybuilding being more competitive than it’s ever been, these guys simply pick up the pieces and start preparing for the next contest. All the current IFBB pro bodybuilders do exactly the same. They train to become bigger, stronger and better conditioned on a yearly basis.

Your missing ingredients are persistence and determination. You need to dig deep and assess the situation to find out where you’re going wrong—a two-year attempt to get a pro card is absolutely nothing! Good luck, ET

BICEPS PEAKING ROUTINE Hi ErniE, I am 19 years old and I have been training for several years. My problem is that when I do a double biceps pose, my biceps look flat although they still look big when hanging relaxed by my sides. Can you give me a little help to build that nice biceps peak? I have quite a few DVDs from your competition days, and I have to say that you were blatantly robbed in many of them. Lee

E

I

IN

N

O DY B & B U

D G

FIT

S

L

S

SHAWN RHODEN : THE RISE OF FLEXATRON! • £26.49

WEIDERMAILORDER.COM

Join Shawn Rhoden as he trains with Charles Glass and Chris Cormier at the “Mecca” of bodybuildiing, Venice Gold’s Gym. Shawn traveled to California for an entire month to train with Charles and Chris, in hopes of creating the next Mr Olympia physique.

OUR RANGES

This is a raw, uncensored and in-your-face video. No re-takes, no set-ups or additional lighting. What you see is what you get. If you want real, no holds barred, then this is the DVD for you. Product code: 7548

7815 New Brawn Series - Book 1 • £18.99 6983 Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding • £24.98 7220 The Strength Training Anatomy Workout II • £19.98 7210 Build Muscle Lose Fat Look Great - 2nd Edition • £25.99

7542 Battle for the Olympia XIV/2012 • £26.49 7541 Joe Weider’s Mr. Olympia 2012 • £28.49 7460 Shadow Warrior: The Dorian Yates Story • £26.49

Please note: Prices are subject to change. E&O Excepted.

7539 Legacy • £26.49

9995 Gasp Army Jacket • £229.00 9859 Gasp Deep Cut Tank • £29.00 9906 Gasp Pro Logo Tee • £44.00 9741 Gasp Training Trunk • £49.00 9746 Gasp Hardcore Wrist Wraps • £14.00 3006 Better Bodies Weight Lifting Belt • £34.00 3019 Better Bodies Board Shorts • £54.00

E

L AB

»

HOW TO ORDER

IL A V INE A E L OR ON

GO ONLINE: www.weidermailorder.com • ORDER by pHONE: 01423 877 052

M

Hello Lee, Thank you for your kind remarks. What you really need, Lee, is not size (because it sounds like you have that) but peak. Achieving a better biceps peak is usually down to good genetics, but you can still work wonders if you pick the right exercises and work them hard. When you train your biceps you must use a variety of exercise movements to build perfectly round and peaked biceps. You cannot acquire outstanding biceps if you only use regular barbell and dumbbell curls, even if you use very heavy poundages. To unflatten or peak your biceps, you need to start doing lots of close-grip barbell curls, and I’m talking really close—your hands should actually be touching each other. You should also try close-grip cable curls from a low pulley—this exercise will hit the outer head of the biceps, forcing it to grow, As a result, your biceps peak should start to appear. Heavy dumbbell concentration curls are also very good for the biceps peak, but you must always lower the weight as slowly as you can. Try curling the dumbbell up to your mouth. Here is a nice biceps-peaking routine for you to follow once a week. 1. Dumbbell Curl: Two warm-up sets of 12 reps and two work sets of 8-12 reps 2. Close-grip Curl: Three work sets of 8-10 reps 3. Dumbbell One-arm Concentration Curl: Two work sets of 8-10 reps 4. Two-arm cable curl: Two sets of 8-10 reps Good luck, ET

CORRECT TRAINING PLAN Hi ErniE, I am trying my best to build some lean muscle, and I train each body part only once a week, like you recommend. I train my chest and back on Monday. On Tuesday I do arms, and I rest on Wednesday. On Thursday I train legs, and on Friday I do shoulders. I rest over the weekend. I do four exercises for each body part, incorporating compound exercises and isolation movements. I also happen to work in a kitchen, so I have access to all different kinds of food. I have made some gains, but lately I seem to have come to an abrupt halt, even though

168

FLEX

RONNIE COLEMAN I always use a weight that just enables me to get 10-15 reps in a set. I always do three sets, on every exercise, and concentrate on doing slow and controlled reps.

I weigh 80 kg, but don’t look as ripped as I should—at 6 feet tall, I look more like wet spaghetti! Jimbo

Hello Jimbo, I would say that you are about 75% on track, except that you are not grouping your body parts correctly, and this is probably why you’re not

gaining as you should. For example, on Monday you train chest and back in the same workout, which is one major reason why you are not gaining. Jimbo, you cannot train two major body

parts together like this. After a really hard chest workout, it’s almost impossible to train your back properly. Also, I do not believe that biceps and triceps should be trained together in a

FLEX

169

JAY CUTLER

workout. So really, it’s just about impossible for you to grow using this training plan. I think that it’s about time for you to get down to some real training, which will build muscle you never knew you had. Here’s your correct training plan.

MONDAY: SHOULDERS AND TRICEPS Shoulders 1. Seated Dumbbell Press: Two warm-up sets of 12 reps and two work sets of 8-12 reps 2. Dumbbell Side Laterals: Two warm-up sets of 12 reps and two work sets of 10-12 reps 3. Dumbbell Alternate Forward Raise: Two work sets of 8-10 reps 4. Barbell Shrug: Three work sets of 8-10 reps

Triceps 1. Wide-grip Triceps Pushdown: Two warm-up sets of 8-12 reps and one work set of 12 reps, to failure. 2. Lying Ez Triceps Extension: Two warm-up sets of 8-12 reps and one work set of 8-12 reps, to failure

170

FLEX

3. Dumbbell Kickback: Two work sets of 8-12 reps

TUESDAY: BACK 1. Wide-grip Lat Pulldown: Two warm-up sets of 8-10 reps and one work set of 15 reps 2. One-Arm Hammer Strength Row: One work set of 10-12 reps, each arm 3. Low Lat Pulley (Reverse Grip): Two warm-up sets of 8-12 reps and one work set of 8-12 reps, to failure 4. Bentover Row: Two warm-up sets of 8-10 reps and one work set of 8-10 reps 5. Hyperextension: Two work sets of 14-15 reps

WEDNESDAY: REST THURSDAY: CHEST AND BICEPS Chest 1. Incline Barbell Press: Two warm-up sets of 8-10 reps and two work sets of 8-10 reps 2. Pec Deck: Three work sets of 8-10 reps 3. Incline Dumbbell Flye: Two warm-up sets of 10 reps and one work set of 8 reps

Biceps 1. Ez Bar Curl: Two warm-up sets of 8-12 reps and two work sets of 8-10 reps

2. Seated Two-Arm Cable Curl: Three work sets of 8-12 reps 3. Dumbbell Curl: Two work sets of 8-12 reps

FRIDAY: LEGS 1. Leg Extension: Two warm-up sets of 10-12 reps and two work sets of 10-12 reps 2. Squat: Three work sets of 10-12 reps 3. Leg Press: Two warm-up sets of 14-15 reps and two work sets of 15 reps 4. Standing Calf Raise: Three work sets of 8-12 reps, to failure. 5. Seated Calf Raise: Three work sets of 8-12 reps 6. Donkey Calf Raise: One work set of 10-12 reps 7. Stiff-legged Deadlift: Three work sets of 8-12 reps Good luck, ET FLEX You can send your questions on training and nutrition to Ernie Taylor: ET Column c/o Weider Publishing Ltd, 10 Windsor Court, Clarence Drive, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, HG1 2PE or email [email protected].

MAMMOTH THE MATTrEss fOr ATHlETEs MAMMOTH SPORTS MATTRESSES

HELP YOU GET BIG! Deep sleep releases growth hormone. Growth hormone helps muscles recover and grow. Lift big. Eat well. Take your supplements. Sleep on a Mammoth.

endorsed by Darren Nicholhurst

endorsed by Dave Titterton

endorsed by Michelle Brannan

...uses his to ease his lower back pain

...uses his to maximise muscle growth

...uses her Mammoth for increasing sleep efficiency and comfort

SPORT Single Double King Size Super King Size

£649.00 £799.00 £899.00 £1099.00

The mammoth sport mattress is built around a high specification foam core ensuring you are investing in technology that has been used and approved by the world’s best.

NEW

FOAM MEMORY NOW PILLOWS K IN STOC

MEDICAL GRADE FOAM MATTRESS

WAS £45.00

Available in cream

I

IN

N

O DY B & B U

D G

FIT

S

L

E

All mattresses available in : Single, Double, King, Super King & Ikea sizes

S

WEIDERMAILORDER.COM

ULTIMATE PILLOW

HYDRAFLEX ULTIMATE MEMORY FOAM PILLOW

NOW £29.00

Mammoth’s Ultimate pillow measures 62cm long, 41cm deep and 12cm high.

Contact us now to order or for more information T: 01423 877052 www.weidermailorder.com

ULTIMATE ORTHO

HYDRAFLEX ULTIMATE ORTHOPAEDIC MEMORY FOAM PILLOW

WAS £55.00

NOW £39.00

Mammoth’s Ultimate pillow measures 62cm long, 35cm deep and 11cm or 8cm high, depending on which way round the pillow is used.

R OU IT RE S VI STO DAY TO

UNDER THE

Taking a purely scientific look at the best products in the world of sports supplements

OSCOPE

By JIM STOPPANI

MuscleTech NaNo Vapor

We examine the critical active ingredients in various sports supplements. We aWard high marks to those With existing supportive data, real-World results and innovation in formulation. here We put muscletech nano vapor under the microscope. CREATINE MONOHYDRATE is a supplement that needs no introduction. Almost anyone who is into sport and weight training knows that creatine is effective for boosting muscle size, muscle strength and overall athletic performance. What most people may not realise is that the main way creatine works is by providing the muscle fibres with the quick energy that they need for muscle contractions. So it’s a good idea to get a dose of creatine before your workout to ensure that your muscle fibres are fully stocked and therefore have ample energy to power through the workout resulting in more strength and endurance. Creatine also works through numerous other ways to boost muscle growth. One of these ways is by pulling more fluid into the muscle cells. Although this may seem like a temporary solution, the greater volume inside the muscle cell places a stretch on the membrane, which increases muscle protein synthesis, resulting in long-term muscle growth. Research has also found that creatine increases levels of the important growth factor insulin-like growth factor-1, and it has been shown to blunt levels of the muscle growth inhibitor myostatin. The majority of the research that showed these positive effects of creatine was done using the monohydrate form. GRADE: HHHHH

172

FLEX

REASON: Creatine monohydrate has hundreds of clinical research studies supporting its ability to increase muscle size, muscle strength and performance. TAURINE (2-aminoethanesulfonic acid) is often referred to as an amino acid although technically it is not one in the usual biochemical meaning of the term. Taurine is derived from the amino acid cysteine and contains a

sulphur group, which allows it to perform important functions in the body that lead to increased muscle endurance and strength. Research also shows that it can increase blood flow to muscles, and pull fluid into muscle fibres to enhance the muscle pump. GRADE: HHHHH REASON: Research confirms that supplementing with taurine provides numerous benefits that aid workout performance and results.

FIT

QUERCETIN is a powerful antioxidant/ flavonoid found naturally in onions, apples, tea, broccoli, citrus fruits, grapes and capers. It’s been found to help reduce the risk of heart disease and certain cancers. Recent research has also shown that quercetin can help you avoid catching the flu, and assists in boosting blood flow to muscles. Studies show that quercetin can increase endurance during

L-THEANINE is an amino acid that is actually a modified form of glutamine. It is readily transported into the brain where it promotes relaxation by naturally increasing the body’s production of GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid), which is an important inhibitory neurotransmitter. Higher production of GABA increases growth hormone, which can aid muscle growth, as well as fat loss by increasing the release of fat from fat cells. You may be puzzled as to why this amino acid, known for its relaxation benefits, is included in a pre-workout supplement. This is due to the fact that when L-theanine is combined with caffeine, as in NANO VAPOR, it enhances brain function and mood. During workouts, this can lead to greater focus and improved mood, which can help with the mind-muscle connection and lead to better workouts. GRADE: HHHHH REASON: Theanine has a plethora of research supporting its ability to promote relaxation as well as aid brain function and mood, which all help you get a better workout. FLEX

The Ratings HHHHH Outstanding scientific research on humans available HHHH Solid research available; anecdotally effective HHH Not much human research available but premise is sound

G

CAFFEINE ANHYDROUS is the most effective form of caffeine that you can use. The majority of studies showing that caffeine enhances athletic performance have been done using this form. Although most people think that its benefits come down to just its action as a stimulant, caffeine does far more than just increase alertness and mental focus. Research studies have found that when caffeine anhydrous is taken before workouts, it boosts muscle strength and power as well as muscle endurance. Studies have also shown that taking caffeine before workouts blunts muscle pain. Less muscle pain allows you to bump up your training intensity and take sets further past muscle failure. Training with more intensity, strength, endurance and focus all leads to better results. GRADE: HHHHH REASON: Caffeine is one of the most studied ergogenic aids in the world. There are numerous studies and decades of anecdotal reports that verify its ability to boost performance in the gym.

exercise by increasing mitochondrial biogenesis. In other words, it can boost the number of mitochondria in cells such as the muscles and the brain. The mitochondria are basically the body’s own mini power plants—they work in all kinds of cells to produce energy. That not only means that quercetin can help you train longer and get more reps with a given weight in the gym, but it may also enhance fat-burning. Research suggests that the fat-burning effect of quercetin may be due to its ability to activate adiponectin, which further promotes fat-burning and inhibits fat storage. If that weren’t enough, the most recent research on quercetin suggests that it can also help maintain higher testosterone levels. GRADE: HHHHH REASON: Numerous studies support the ability of quercetin to aid fat loss, performance and general health.

IN

CARNOSYN® BETA-ALANINE is a patented form of the amino acid beta-alanine, which is one of the most critical amino acids to take before workouts. Numerous research studies confirm that it boosts muscle strength and power, as well as muscle endurance. Beta-alanine works in the body by joining with the amino acid histidine to form the dipeptide carnosine. During exercise, carnosine prevents the muscle fibres from becoming too acidic, so that you can train with greater strength and power for longer. GRADE: HHHHH REASON: Beta-alanine has more than enough research to suggest that it is an essential supplement to take before workouts for anyone interested in improving their muscle strength, muscle endurance, muscle size, and body composition.

I

D

E

O DY B & B U

N

S

L

S

WEIDERMAILORDER.COM ACCESSORIES

PACK

TM

F I T N E S S

SIX PACK BAGS Elite fitness enthusiasts understand the importance of maintaining their strict nutritional schedule - no matter how hectic their lives are. The 6 Pack Meal Management System lets you plan your whole nutritional day: meals, proteins, drinks, supplements, in fact everything you need to maintain strength, stamina and motivation. Available in 3 or 5 meal options and a variety of colours, these tough, high quality, total nutrition storage systems are designed to keep you fuelled – all day long.

»

HOW TO ORDER GO ONLINE: www.weidermailorder.com ORDER by pHONE: 01423 877 052

December 2013 ISSUe ON SALe 21 NOvember

redemPtion Roelly Winklaar’s delt demolition programme

strenGthen your Way to a BiGGer PhysiQue

Six weeks to super strength and monster mass

Plus rePort and Photos from the 2013 mr olymPia

and all the other training, nutrition, news and gossip you have come to expect from the world’s number one bodybuilding magazine!

facebook.com/flexonlineuk

www.flexonline.co.uk

CHriS lUnd

GreGory jAmeS

techniques of rookie sensation Mamdouh “Big Ramy” Elssbiay

Alex Ardenti

GunninG for the o The arm-training

F & K S M O SE BO EA EL R

From THE INTErNATIoNAL EDITorIAL TEAm AT Muscle & FiTness

Take your training to the next level...

...with these great new ‘must have’ books for all dedicated fitness enthusiasts

A complete guide to the ultimate fat-torching solution from the world’s top experts at Muscle & Fitness

This information rich guide gives athletes and fitness enthusiasts a complete education in sports nutrition

A comprehensive guide to top weight training tips, techniques and principles

180 PAGes £9.99

196 PAGes £9.99

148 PAGes £7.99

Visit www.muscle-fitness.co.uk/books for more information on these and other great titles

Available from Weider Mail Order T: 0843 221 0566 www.weidermailorder.com

Also in digital format to read on your PC, Apple or Android device. muscle-fitness.co.uk/books

Shortly after winning the heavyweight and overall titles at the 2005 NPC Junior National Championships (his third contest and first national level qualifier), Phil Heath hit this pose during his first photo shoot for FLEX magazine. The image and accompanying lines from Heath’s first FLEX cover show the then-25-year-old

176

FLEX

poised for bigger things, and he delivered, earning his pro card a few weeks later at the NPC USA Championships and then winning his first two contests in his rookie pro season in 2006. Despite minor speed bumps over the next few years, he continued to make good on the hype, climbing all the way to the top to become Mr Olympia. FLEX

BILL COMSTOCK: ROBeRT ReIff

Racing to the top

I00% PROTEIN WHEY ISOLATE

ZERO

FOR MORE INFORMATION: QNTuk.com [email protected] - 01638662589

LACTOSE CARB

COMPROMISE