PRIME-TIME MUSCLE—OVER-40 BODYBUILDING JANUARY 2009 / IRON MAN MAGAZINE—WE KNOW TRAINING™
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www.ironmanmagazine.com \ APRIL 2006 261
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150 DECEMBER 2009 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com
IRON MAN MAGAZINE WE KNOW TRAINING IRON MAN MAGAZINE WE KNOW TRAINING IRON MAN MAGAZINE WE KNOW TRAINING IRON MAN MAGAZINE WE KNOW TRAINING IRON MAN MAGAZINE IRON MAN MAGAZI
WE KNOW TRAINING™
January 2009
CONTENTS CONTENTS CONTENTS CONTENTS CONTENTS CONTENTS CONTENTS CONTENTS CONTENTS CONTENTS CONTENTS CONTENTS CONTENTS CONTENTS C
FEATURES
64 TRAIN, EAT, GROW 111 The TEG men reveal what they learned from this year’s extended ripping phase. Plus, a peek at their new X-mass workout (“Hey, Claus, give me a spot!”).
90 A BODYBUILDER IS BORN 42 Ron Harris teaches his young protégé how to plan for more muscle.
96 OLDER-BUT-BETTER TEXAS SHREDDER Drug-free bodybuilder Dave Goodin discusses how he gets sliced—and how he keeps building muscle as he closes in on 50.
114 LEUCINE The Wilson brothers analyze this key amino—and the ways it can give older bodybuilders a magic anabolic edge.
96 DAVE GOODIN
126 SQUAT SCIENCE Jerry Brainum gives the king of the mass moves a good going over, researchwise. Plus, a solution for low-back squatting problems.
136 X-FILES Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson show you how to X-celerate your gains.
126 SQUAT SCIENCE
142 MUSCLE-SCIENCE STUDY HAUL Jerry Brainum reports on the International Society of Sports Nutrition conference in Las Vegas. Lots of views you can use to get huge—and cut!
158 STRAPPING UP TO GLORY David Young’s Q&A with Terry Baldwin, a 53-year-old bodybuilder and powerlifter and the developer of the innovate-to-isolate Flexolate training cuffs.
176 ANABOLIC TRAINING From the Bodybuilding.com archives, Jim Brewster outlines how the over-40 bodybuilder can jack up muscle-building hormones.
202 JOE ROLLINO Doris Barrilleaux’s impressions of a 103-year-old legend of the iron game.
230 IFBB MR. OLYMPIA Big, full-page pics of the most muscular men in the world.
246 PROFILE: JOEL STUBBS The over-40 pro talks about training, life philosophy, supplements and overcoming obstacles.
Dave Goodin and Lexy Raven appear on this month’s cover. Hair and makeup by Marisol Orozco. Photo by Michael Neveux.
254 HEAVY DUTY A classic Mike Mentzer diatribe on aerobics: myths, lies and misconceptions.
266 ONLY THE STRONG SHALL SURVIVE
PRIME-TIME MUSCLE—OVER-40 BODYBUILDING
at Shredded
™
50
ver Man How Co odin Dave Go Does It
Leucine Your Drug-Free Anabolic Key to More Muscle
Aerobics
Coach Bill Starr reveals how strengthening one small bodypart can improve your big lifts and athletic performance.
246
Myths, Lies and Misconceptions JANUARY 2009 $5.99
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• Squat Science—Rules to Grow By • New Size-Building Studies • Mr. Olympia—Eye-Popping Full-Page Pics 10/31/08 5:39:05 PM
CONTENTS CONTENTS CONTENTS CONTENTS CONTENTS CONTENTS CONTENTS CONTENTS CONTENTS CONTENTS CONTENTS CONTENTS CONTENTS CONTENTS CO
DEPARTMENTS
28 TRAIN TO GAIN Tips for over-40 beginners; plus, Joe Horrigan on cable rows and lower-back pain.
44 SMART TRAINING Coach Charles Poliquin outlines work-capacity training to shock your shoulders.
52 EAT TO GROW Go fish, D-rail illness and beta-alanine’s anabolic connection.
74 NATURALLY HUGE John Hansen lays out the best workout for growth.
82 SHREDDED MUSCLE Dave Goodin on the state of natural bodybuilding.
86 CRITICAL MASS Steve Holman’s muscle-building tips and trips for putting some freak on your physique.
186 ANTIAGING RESEARCH Is DHEA the fountain of youth? Jerry Brainum explains its pros and cons.
208
NEWS & VIEWS L.T.’s world of bodybuilding
208 NEWS & VIEWS Lonnie Teper’s raucous report from Olympia Weekend in Vegas.
224 MUSCLE “IN” SITES Eric Broser’s monthly Web-surfing results. Plus, a new DVD review and training advice, including burst cycling (no, it’s not having gas on a stationary bike).
248 PUMP & CIRCUMSTANCE Ruth Silverman’s views of the Olympia extravaganza, emphasis on the ladies.
276 MIND/BODY CONNECTION Dave Draper’s look at the diverse paths of winter training; BodySpace Physique of the Month, 54-year-old Ed Cook; and how to live to be 100.
288 READERS WRITE
28 TRAIN TO GAIN
Military might, ballsy comments, hot Hardbody and X-traordinary workouts.
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Next month we’re on a transition mission—to give you the ammunition you need to transform your physique fast. You’ll see how Chris Jalali did it, going from skinny and weak to a peak physique, his workout and eating tips included. Then C.S. Sloan checks out German Volume Training and outlines a few programs tailor-made for quick size and strength gains. Plus, Ron Harris keeps you on track with his negative-topositive mind-blowing, body-growing techniques. Check out the February issue on newsstands the first week of January.
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PUBLISHER’S LETTER PUBLISHER’S LETTER PUBLISHER’S LETTER PUBLISHER’S LETTER PUBLISHER’S LETTER PUBLISHER’S LETTER PUBLISHER’S LETTER PUBLISHER’S LETTER PUBLISHER’S LETTER PUBLISHER’S LETTER PUBLISHER’S L
Publisher’s Letter by John Balik
The Passing of a Giant Ben Weider, a Man of Vision Ben Weider created and nurtured competitive bodybuilding on a worldwide stage. Before he entered the picture, the sport had no one with global vision. Ben’s passion and indomitable energy created a sports organization that now stretches to 173 countries, and his passing marks the end of an era. While he handed off the baton in 2006 to Rafael Santonja, who got a great deal of experience at his side, as both a symbol of the IFBB and its creator Ben Weider is irreplaceable. He had an unwavering belief in the power of sport to unite and a lifelong dedication to the idea that bodybuilding is an important part of nation building. Nothing and nobody can stand in his shoes. Bodybuilding changes more than the body; Ben understood that and was a tireless evangelist for its transformative power. Born in 1923 in Montreal in humble circumstances worsened by the deep poverty of the ’30s, Ben dropped out of school after the seventh grade to help support his family. That early trial by fire plus the relentless anti-Semitism of the time forged his spirit. Ben began his lifelong support of the military by enlisting in the Canadian Army, landing on the beach in Normandy on June 6, 1944. In his later years he was awarded the title of honorary colonel. By 2004, his prestige was so high that during the ceremonies honoring the 60th anniversary of D-day, he was seated next to the president of France. With his older brother Joe, Ben shared a vision of what bodybuilding could be, beginning with their belief that it was good for everybody. What I admired most about him was that he changed the politics of the sport in the United States and the world. Because he understood prejudice, he created in the IFBB an organization that judged competitors not on skin color or religion but on who had the best physique. Before the IFBB, it was impossible to be a Ben Weider, receiving the Peary and Mabel Mr. America if you were Rader Lifetime Achievement Award from Jewish or a person of color. John Balik at the ’04 IRON MAN Pro. Ben changed that. It’s often mentioned that he made a statement for equality in 1975 by insisting on equal treatment and accommodations for all athletes in apartheid South Africa during the IFBB World Amateur Championships in Pretoria. Few of us can make that kind of difference. Ben did! Ben passed away on October 18, 2008. My deepest condolences to his family. IM
Founders 1936-1986: Peary & Mabel Rader Publisher/Editorial Director: John Balik Associate Publisher: Warren Wanderer Design Director: Michael Neveux Editor in Chief: Stephen Holman Art Director: T.S. Bratcher Senior Editor: Ruth Silverman Editor at Large: Lonnie Teper Articles Editors: L.A. Perry, Caryne Brown Assistant Art Director: Brett R. Miller Staff Artist: Fernando Carmona IRON MAN Staff: Mary Gasca, Vuthy Keo, Mervin Petralba Contributing Authors: Jerry Brainum, Eric Broser, David Chapman, Teagan Clive, Lorenzo Cornacchia, Daniel Curtis, Dave Draper, Michael Gündill, Rosemary Hallum, Ph.D., John Hansen, Ron Harris, Ori Hofmekler, Rod Labbe, Skip La Cour, Jack LaLanne, Butch Lebowitz, John Little, Stuart McRobert, Gene Mozée, Charles Poliquin, Larry Scott, Jim Shiebler, Roger Schwab, Pete Siegel, C.S. Sloan, Bill Starr, Bradley Steiner, Eric Sternlicht, Ph.D., Randall Strossen, Ph.D., Richard Winett, Ph.D., and David Young Contributing Artists: Steve Cepello, Larry Eklund, Ron Dunn, Jake Jones Contributing Photographers: Jim Amentler, Ron Avidan, Roland Balik, Reg Bradford, Jimmy Caruso, Bill Dobbins, Jerry Fredrick, Irvin Gelb, Isaac Hinds, Dave Liberman, J.M. Manion, Merv, Gene Mozée, Mitsuru Okabe, Rob Sims, Ian Sitren, Leo Stern
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[email protected] Advertising Director: Warren Wanderer 1-800-570-IRON, ext. 1 (518) 743-1696; FAX: (518) 743-1697 Advertising Coordinator: Jonathan Lawson, (805) 385-3500, ext. 320 Newsstand Consultant: Angelo Gandino, (516) 796-9848 We reserve the right to reject any advertising at our discretion without explanation. All manuscripts, art or other submissions must be accompanied by a selfaddressed, stamped envelope. Send submissions to IRON MAN, 1701 Ives Avenue, Oxnard, CA 93033. We are not responsible for unsolicited material. Writers and photographers should send for our Guidelines outlining specifications for submissions. IRON MAN is an open forum. We also reserve the right to edit any letter or manuscript as we see fit, and photos submitted have an implied waiver of copyright. Please consult a physician before beginning any diet or exercise program. Use the information published in IRON MAN at your own risk.
IRON MAN Internet Addresses: Web Site: www.ironmanmagazine.com John Balik, Publisher:
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26 JANUARY 2009 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com
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SEXY ROCK-HARD ABS FAST The Secret to Etching your Granite-Carved Abs in 10 Short Minutes Picture this... you with tight, shredded abs, serratus and intercostals all sharp, sliced and visible from across the room or on the sun-glared beach! And from the rear, lower lumbars that look like two thick steel girders supporting your muscle-studded back. Imagine looking like a Greek god... in street clothes... in the gym... or anywhere. The incredible breakthrough design of the pad on the Ab Bench pre-stretches the targeted muscles prior to contraction, giving you a full-range movement, making each exercise up to 200% more effective. The Ab Bench takes the physiology of your spine into consideration with its design like nothing else on the market. The contraction takes place all the way into the pelvis where the abdominals actually rotate the spine, forcing the abdominals to completely contract... from the upper abs to the lower abs. Using the Ab Bench is the “sure-fire” guarantee for you to get those attention-grabbing washboard abs. From full stretch to complete contraction—in total comfort. The Ab Bench is the most complete midsection exercise in existence. You’ll feel the incredible difference from your very first rep.
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Train to Gain
If you begin training in your 40s, you probably won’t ever look like Toney Freeman, age 42. But you can make spectacular progress.
Merv
TRAIN TO GAIN TRAIN TO GAIN TRAIN TO GAIN TRAIN TO GAIN TRAIN TO GAIN TRAIN TO GAIN TRAIN TO GAIN TRAIN TO GAIN TRAIN TO GAIN TRAIN TO GAIN TRAIN TO GAIN TRAIN TO G
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28 JANUARY 2009 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com
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S TA R T I N G O U T
Over-40 Beginners Bodybuilding has a proud tradition of men who displayed superior physiques well into their 40s and often beyond. Notable examples include Bill Pearl, Vince Taylor, Chris Dickerson, Toney Freeman, the late Don Youngblood, Sonny Schmidt and, of course, Ronnie Coleman. What about the guy who doesn’t really get started until he’s over 40? In a society increasingly preoccupied with antiaging, more men begin serious training later in life. Did they miss the boat by not starting as teenagers, when energy and hormones run at their highest? You could say that, but watching my older brother Dana get serious about bodybuilding a couple of years after he hit 40, I’ve seen that there are some definite advantages to being a late starter. If you’re a newbie who’s passed the “new 30” and wonder how you could count yourself lucky, think about the following: Mo’ money. The average 45year-old doesn’t just make three times more money than a 15year-old; he probably earns quite a bit more. That means he has disposable income to invest in better food, more supplements, a gym membership, books, magazines and DVDs—and perhaps even a personal trainer. Despite his relatively lower testosterone, all those factors—many of which the average teen can only dream of until he starts building a career—can still help him make very good gains. Patience and wisdom. Youth may have boundless energy and enthusiasm, but patience and wisdom are often in very short supply. Theoretically, we all learn and grow mentally and emotionally as we get older, and that can serve us well as we train in middle age. Your odds of doing things the right way and not making foolish mistakes and errors in judgment lessen significantly.
Advantages of a late start
Because muscle growth is a very gradual process and requires a good deal of knowledge and strategy, an older man can have the upper hand. Less wear and tear. One thing a man starting out in his 40s does not have that his counterparts who have been at the iron for decades do have is the wear and tear of those thousands of heavy workouts on the joints, tendons and ligaments. My brother is seven years older than I am, but I’m the one who always has some kind of ache or pain in the shoulders, lower back or elbows. Healthy joints and connective tissues mean you can train heavy on any exercise without being limited by pain or the risk of reinjuring beat-up areas. —Ron Harris
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HE WANTED TO FIGHTUntil I Crushed His Hand! He was big. He was pissed. And he wanted to kick my butt. There was no way out, so I extended my arm for the opening hand shake— and then I crushed his hand like a Dorito. Fight over thanks to the Super Gripper. If you’re after huge forearms with the crushing power of an industrial vise, get the Super Gripper. It’s the ultimate forearmand grip-building tool on the market because it provides your muscles with the two essential requirements they demand for awesome size and strength: specificity (mimics gripping action) and progressive resistance. You’ll develop a bone-crushing grip fast by adding one or a number of power coils for that critical progressive-resistance effect. Remember, when you wear short sleeves, it’s the lower arms that are exposed for all to see. You’ll want your forearms to be huge and vascular to match your thick, beefy upper arms—and now they will.
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Train to Gain / MASS TACTICS X-FILES
Tip for Titanic Tri’s
End-of-set flex tactic
Have you ever noticed the fantastic triceps development of male gymnasts? It’s certainly better than that of most bodybuilders of roughly the same size. Oddly enough, they don’t get those heroic horseshoes from endless sets of skull crushers, close-grip bench presses, pushdowns or even dips. NPC ’08 Junior National Heavyweight champion and USA runner-up Michael Liberatore pointed out to me that gymnasts spend a lot of time supporting their bodyweight on the parallel bars and pommel horse, both of which are essentially the top position of a dip. Liberatore, who packs a pair of 21-inch arms at just 217 pounds and is a former gymnast, has applied that to his own triceps training. At the end of each set of weighted dips, he holds the last rep in a static contraction as long as possible. I gave it a try myself, and, damn, does it work! You could also attempt a long hold as a set of its own after your dips. Putting just a slight bend in your elbows so they’re almost totally locked out magnifies the difficulty exponentially. Additional weight hanging from your waist is optional but probably unnecessary. If your triceps routine is a bit stale and you haven’t seen improvements lately, give this one a try at your next workout. —Ron Harris
Merv
Michael Libertore.
Editor’s note: Ron Harris is the author of Real Bodybuilding, available at www.RonHarrisMuscle.com.
Q: Do I have to use static contraction sets to get best results from the latest X-Rep [Fascia-Expansion] program? I feel like a dork holding a weight in the contracted position for up to a minute. People at my gym look at me weird. A: You don’t have to use any tactics you aren’t comfortable with—and not all of them will work well for everyone anyway. In place of a total static-hold set, you could do a standard set and then tack on a static hold at the end for as long as you can maintain it. We’ve used that Flex-X technique on contractedposition exercises like triceps pushdowns and leg curls to get excellent occlusion size effects. You can tack that same end-ofset hold onto the back end of a standard set of stretchposition exercises, like incline curls and overhead extensions, as well. At exhaustion, move to the stretch point and hold. The key to getting fast, continual results is experimentation. The more techniques and tactics you try, the easier it is to find favorites that work well for you on certain exercises. On some moves a certain X tactic will help you feel the muscle more than you ever have, stimulating it to new levels of growth—but heed the warning: Don’t get stuck on one technique. Adaptation occurs quickly, so you should rotate techniques frequently. You need change for continual gains. —Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson Editor’s note: The above is excerpted from the e-book X-Rep Update #1, available at www .X-Rep.com.
30 JANUARY 2009 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com
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Neveux
Neveux
Static-Contraction Reaction
YOU CAN BENCH BIG Add 20 Pounds to Your Bench Press Almost Overnight! How would you like a surge in upper-body power and a bigger bench press—say, 20 extra pounds on the bar—after only a couple of workouts? Sure, adding 20 pounds to your bench in two or three training sessions may sound crazy, especially if your bench press poundage has been stuck in neutral for a while. But nine times out of 10 this stall is due to an easily correctible muscle weakness—not in the pecs, delts or triceps but in a group of muscles known as the rotator cuff. The rotator cuff muscles stabilize the shoulder joint. During the bench press and almost all other upperbody movements these muscles protect the shoulder joint and prevent ball-and-socket slippage. If these muscles are underdeveloped, they become the weak link in the action and your pressing strength suffers, or worse, you injure your shoulder. One of the best ways to strengthen this area and create an upper-body power surge is with direct rotator cuff exercise. Once you start using the ShoulderHorn for two or three sets twice a week, your pressing poundages will skyrocket. This device allows you to train your rotator cuff muscles in complete comfort and with precise strengthening action. After a few weeks you’ll be amazed at your new benching power. There have been reports of 20-to-30-pound increases in a matter of days. A big, impressive bench press can be yours. Get the ShoulderHorn, start working your rotator cuff muscles, and feel the power as you start piling on plates and driving up heavy iron.
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Train to Gain / MATURE MUSCLE
Building Bigger Bodyparts A: You may think that I have a secret, but I don’t. Most muscles are designed to be a particular shape and size once they reach maximum hypertrophy. I believe the best you can do is find the most leverage-advantageous exercises and blast away. When I say leverage advantageous, I mean the exercises that you feel most powerful doing and have total control over—the exercises that you’re able to do easily yet intensely. For example, I have very strong triceps: I can do straight-bar pushdowns with 230 pounds for 10 good reps. Questions then arise: Are you strong when doing the exercise? Do you feel leverage and power in that position? Or are you weak and shaky, have problems mastering the exercise and/or don’t feel it in the directed muscles but rather in the joints in the surrounding area? The power I feel when doing pushdowns I also feel when doing lying extensions with a cambered bar. I have done sets with 225 pounds for 12 reps with strict form. That’s because my triceps have low attachments and I was born with a lot of muscle fibers there. Now, oddly, I am not such a good bench presser. I’m average at best. I can bench-press more with a reverse grip—hands supinated as opposed to hands pronated. Often those of us with great triceps don’t have great pectorals and vice versa. The key with any muscle group for those who are natural is to find the two or three most leverage-advantageous exercises and blast the hell out the target muscle once a week. I don’t agree with changing the routine once I find what’s making my muscles grow and separate. Why would I? If you’ve found two or three exercises that you can do with increasing intensity and increasingly heavier weight, why change for the sake of changing? Say that you’re just beginning your journey. Start with the conventional exercises first when looking for keepers. For triceps that will be pushdowns, lying extensions, weighted dips, seated machine dips and so on. If none of them work too well for you, start getting creative. Look at your triceps and think of how they work and where the attachments are. Perhaps the attachments are high and you need specialized training. Visualize the biomechanics of the situation: Look at
pictures that show the triceps and how they attach, and get into the process of setting yourself up for some creativity. For instance, on extensions try putting a bar on a low pulley and bringing it overhead with both hands. Now put one leg forward and push out just with your triceps, then let the bar come back all the way so that your forearms collapse totally onto your biceps—then push out again. Keep your elbows totally still—right on either side of your head. Be as strict as possible and give a squeeze at the contraction point. Do 10 to 15 reps and see how they feel. If they feel good, then you’re on to something. What you’re doing is changing the point of attack. If it feels just right, then do three all-out sets. Try not to think of the exercise as a so-called shaping move or anything of the sort—there’s no such thing. When isolating a muscle, you want to use all the weight that you can handle and blast away as if you were doing any other major exercise. If you think in biomechanical terms, the other exercises mentioned all press directly down or up. This is a bit different, designed to hit the triceps from a unique angle. Find two or three of these gems, and you have your path to triceps glory. You need to stick with the exercise(s) for at least six months to a year, however, before you’ll see real change. The idea with any stubborn bodypart is not to change for the sake of changing; rather, it’s to find or create the best movements for that bodypart and stick with them. I assure you, that’s how we’ve all done it over the years. —Paul Burke Neveux \ Model: Dave Goodin
Q: I’m 45 years old, and I’ve been training for 10 years. I’m natural and want bigger arms. Could you tell me how you got your triceps so full and defined?
As you age
Editor’s note: To contact Paul Burke, write to
[email protected]. Burke has a master’s degree in integrated studies from Cambridge College in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He’s been a champion bodybuilder and arm wrestler, and he’s considered a leader in the field of over-40 fitness training. You can purchase his book, Burke’s Law—a New Fitness Paradigm for the Mature Male, from Home Gym Warehouse. Call (800) 447-0008, or visit www.HomeGym.com. His training DVD “Burke’s Law” is also now available.
34 JANUARY 2009 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com
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The Older, Bolder Bodybuilder’s Greatest Goal youngster—if you know what you’re doing. Imagine 175 pounds and a 31-inch waist at 5’9” and age 50. That’s nothing compared to a professional bodybuilder but plenty compared to the average 50year-old. If you can maintain that or very close to it when you’re 60, you’ll be a true superman. 4) Older people usually need more recovery time and have less exercise tolerance than younger people unless the older people have exercised for years and have developed conditioning that’s better than the average younger person’s. So if you feel you need an extra day between workouts or a more abbreviated training routine, that’s normal. 5) Younger people usually need more calories than older people. Teenagers may be able to eat a great deal without getting fat, but 30 years later, that same calorie intake may be too much. Eat as many nutritious calories as possible without getting fat. Eliminate junk food. Eat healthful food only, and don’t overeat. Fast weight loss is always a bad idea. Slow and steady is the way to go—by way of a permanent lifestyle. Losing fat only and keeping it lost are the priorities. 6) Youngsters don’t have to do cardio, but middle-aged bodybuilders should definitely include it twice a week for heart health. First get the approval of your doctor—make sure demanding cardio work is safe for you. Even then, start out at low intensity and gradually build up the effort. Take about two months before working your heart hard. You’ll need to go to at least 85 percent of your age-adjusted maximum heart rate. If you’re, say, 50, that means your ageadjusted maximum heart rate is 220 minus 50, or 170, and 85 percent of that is 145. Once you’re in good condition, or if you’re already in good condition because you’ve been doing cardio work for many years, 145 beats per minute won’t be enough to give your heart a good workout. At 49, I go to about 165 beats per minute. 7) Youngsters don’t have to stretch, though it’s recommended for them too. Middle-aged bodybuilders should definitely stretch two or three times a week—preferably after their weight workouts. Maintaining a supple body is imperative for keeping a youthful body, but it’s easy to get injured while stretching, so be careful. Do not get injured. Never do any ballistic stretching. Instead, do several progressive reps of each stretch, each one taking you a bit farther than the previous one. Hold each rep for at least 20 seconds. Train correctly at every workout. Eat correctly at every meal. Sleep well every night. And do it all relentlessly. That way you’ll make good, steady bodybuilding progress. Train for health and physique, not just physique. —Stuart McRobert www.Hardgainer.com Neveux
I’m over 40, and your greatest bodybuilding-related goal is also mine. It’s not to build or maintain a 17-inch arm or even a 16-inch arm, not to build or maintain a big bench press and not to build or maintain a six-pack. It may include those targets, but the greatest goal is much bigger. It’s not what you can do over the next year or two or three but that you’re still training in 30 or even 40 years. The greatest bodybuilding-related goal is training longevity—to train for the rest of your life. Do your utmost to stay at your best if you’ve already trained well for a long time, or do your utmost to work toward your best if you’re new to bodybuilding. Strive to build more muscle and strength, but never lose sight of the bigger picture. The greatest benefit of bodybuilding isn’t aesthetics but health. Done correctly, bodybuilding can add life to your years and perhaps years to your life, but you have to do it for the rest of your life to get both benefits. Done correctly, the strength-training aspect of bodybuilding is the most productive form of exercise. Here’s why: It builds strength, develops muscle, strengthens bones, improves overall fitness, increases calorie consumption, helps control bodyfat, improves posture, slows the effects of aging, increases resistance to injury and transforms physical appearance. No other single form of exercise can produce all those benefits. That’s why strength training is the most important element of an exercise program. Supplement it with cardio and stretching for a complete regimen. Sensible training for us over-40s is similar to sensible training for bodybuilders in their 20s, but there are some differences if you’re to achieve training longevity. 1) Charles Smith was a major figure working on Joe Weider’s magazines in the 1950s and one of the last links to the pioneers of bodybuilding. Here’s what Charles told me shortly before his death in 1991: “You never know how important good health is until you no longer have it.” Think about that—dwell on it. Health is great wealth and should be revered and preserved. Avoid all harmful habits, activities and environments. Look after yourself! That applies to people of all ages—and you should never take liberties with your health even if you’re young—but it applies with ever-increasing magnitude as you age. 2) Training safety is the number-one priority for middle-aged bodybuilders—whether beginner or experienced. Experienced bodybuilders know how to train safely; otherwise they wouldn’t be experienced bodybuilders, although some of them do things that would injure most other bodybuilders. Beginners, though, usually don’t know what they are doing, and just one slip can lead to an injury. Middle-aged bodybuilders must be even more careful to choose exercises that are safe for them and use correct technique. Never cheat. If you can’t complete a rep in correct technique, end the set. 3) Youngsters, because of their age and because they have more training years ahead of them, have a greater potential for mass than much older people do. So youngsters can have higher expectations. What matters most, regardless of age, is doing the best you can one day at a time. Do that week after week, month after month and year after year, and the results will take care of themselves relative to your genetic potential and dedication. It may be easier to be impressive in middle age than as a
Editor’s note: Stuart McRobert’s first byline in IRON MAN appeared in 1981. He’s the author of the new 638-page opus on bodybuilding Build Muscle, Lose Fat, Look Great, available from Home Gym Warehouse, (800) 447-0008 or www.Home-Gym.com.
36 JANUARY 2009 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com
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Seated Cable Rows and Lower-Back Pain
Neveux \ Model: Dan Decker
The traditional seated cable row is commonly performed in every heavy gym or gym chain. Virtually all bodybuilders today either include it in their back workouts or have used it in the past. As with many exercises, it has good points and bad points. Its popularity hinges on the dynamic action of the row. You lean forward and stretch your arms forward to full length. Then your lower back initiates the pull by extending the hips and back. At the same time the rowing motion occurs. An enormous amount of muscle is trained
Don’t lean too far forward at the start of each rep on cable rows, or you could do serious damage to your lower back.
at one time: lower lats (latissimus dorsi), upper lats (teres major), middle back (rhomboids, middle and lower trapezius muscles), spinal extensors (muscles along the spine), hamstrings (from leaning forward and leaning back), rear delts (posterior deltoids), biceps and brachioradialis (large forearm muscles). The large amount of muscle activity lends the exercise to a great deal of weight for the strongest trainees. Some powerlifters include it for all those reasons. It sounds like a good exercise. So what’s the problem with it? The very thing that makes the seated cable row unique is what makes it unusable for some. Any trainee who begins to do seated cable rows should use light weight, perhaps much lighter than he or she can easily handle. The reason is that the muscles along the spine don’t work the same way as the biceps, pecs and quads do. Research has demonstrated a reason for the lower-back injuries we commonly see in health care. When an average, untrained person rounds his or her back forward, the muscles along the spine decrease in activity to the point that they actually stop
firing—it’s known as myoelectric silence. At the point of back rounding, the weight of the upper body and anything you’re holding is taken by the ligaments and disks of your spine. That can lead to a sprain or worse. Those studies were done with untrained individuals and weren’t repeated with trained subjects. Some trainees experience lower-back pain from seated cable rows, and others never really acclimate to the movement. They start too heavy to begin with and increase the poundage too fast. The solution is to reduce the weight significantly and give the back muscles a chance to actually experience a training effect. Some trainees have lower-back problems—disk pathology, arthritis, instability—and may not be able to perform seated cable rows because of back pain. They have several options: 1) Drop the cable row; 2) reduce the weight without increasing the reps significantly, as the lower back takes a long time to recover from high-volume training; 3) try to not lean as far forward on the row. You can use your legs or hips to pull the weight back on the first and last rep of each set so you won’t have to lean so far forward. The problems with the seated cable row led to the creation of seated row machines that have a chest pad to lean against to “protect” the back—the quote marks around protect are not meant to be sarcastic. Some trainees have such serious lower-back problems that an alternative technique is the only way they can row, and any training modification that keeps them in the gym is a good thing. For others, however, the weakness of the lower back creates a vicious circle. Weakness causes many trainees to strain their lower backs so easily that they stop training those muscles. They then become further deconditioned, and new attempts to strengthen them leads to more strain and sprain. In many cases, attempts to protect the back simply reinforce the problem. Some trainees have had so many back strains that they can’t tell the difference between normal training soreness that lasts a few days and injury—but that’s a topic for another time. Train smart, and then train hard. —Joseph M. Horrigan Editor’s note: Visit www.SoftTissueCenter.com for reprints of Horrigan’s past Sportsmedicine columns that have appeared in IRON MAN. You can order the books, Strength, Conditioning and Injury Prevention for Hockey by Joseph Horrigan, D.C., and E.J. “Doc” Kreis, D.A., and the 7-Minute Rotator Cuff Solution by Horrigan and Jerry Robinson from Home Gym Warehouse, (800) 4470008 or at www.Home-Gym.com.
38 JANUARY 2009 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com
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Train to Gain / TECHNIQUE
You May Not Remain Seated
Please rise
Merv \ Model: Branch Warren
Arnold!” with each rep. Both I don’t give much thought of them owned some of the to shoulder presses. I’ve albest shoulders of their era. ways had pretty decent delPressing in a standing toids, and I’ve always been position is much tougher very strong on any type of because you’re forced to overhead press. Recently, I keep yourself balanced, read something that piqued which forces your shoulders my curiosity and caused me to work much harder than to rethink my presses for they would if you were nicethe first time in years. ly supported by a bench Marty Gallagher, a coland back support. I’ve tried umnist for The Washington standing presses with a Post and a world-champion barbell many times, and powerlifter who’s probthey never felt quite right. ably forgotten more about A certain amount of leanweight training than most ing back was needed just people know, commented so the bar didn’t whack my that standing presses for jaw or nose as I pressed. It shoulders have gone the was the lean that actually way of the dinosaur over caused the overhead press the past three decades. to be dropped as an OlymMost bodybuilders and pic lift in 1972. I always serious weight trainers felt that I was going to fall today have never even done backward. Dumbbells make them. Today a lot of people a lot more sense to me. press on Smith or Hammer Because you hold dumbStrength or LifeFitness maNeed bigger delts? Branch Warren is a big proponent bells directly over your chines. Plenty of guys press of free-weight presses. Try them standing with dumbshoulders rather than in with barbells and dumbbells bells for new shoulder size. front of or behind them, it’s but always seated on a much easier to maintain bench with back support. a perfect upright position. What’s so wrong with When I decided to give standing dumbbell presses a try, I that? Well, when I press while seated on a bench, I can warmed up with a pair of 30s for 12, then 40s for six and move a lot of iron, but I also arch my back and lean back then did my work sets. I got 50s for 15, 60s for 12 and quite a bit when I get to my heaviest weights. I’ve pressed 140-pound dumbbells for a few reps, and I’ve pressed 275 60s for a final 10. I could have gone a bit heavier, but not much. It’s odd, because 60s and 70s are a warmup weight on a barbell to the front for a few reps—but always with for me when I do my overhead presses seated. Standcompromised form. My wife, Janet, used to rip on me for ing, they were plenty heavy! The real proof that I was on what she perceived as horrendous technique and said I to something came only hours later. I thought I’d hurt my was working more upper chest than shoulders. My witty shoulders somehow and was worried that an emergency comeback was, “You can never have too much upper visit to the chiropractor was called for—but no, it was just chest development.” that my deltoids were already getting sore, something that Aside from the lean-back form, there was another probhadn’t happened to me in more than a year. lem. My shoulders have been feeling the wear and tear So I’d give the big thumbs-up to standing dumbbell of well over two decades of heavy training. It’s becompresses. Just be sure you don’t attempt to use as much ing clear to me that, whether I like it or not, the years are weight as you do when you perform the exercise sitting catching up to me and I can’t train so heavy all the time. down. It ain’t gonna happen. The slight wound to your ego Marty talked about the old-time bodybuilders who all due to the lighter dumbbells will be just a distant memory did standing presses with dumbbells and barbells, and the once the soreness kicks in—and you find your shoulders shoulder development of those men was typically sensagrowing wider, thicker, rounder. tional. Picture the broad, cannonball delts of John Grimek, —Ron Harris Clancy Ross, Armand Tanny and Steve Reeves. If you’ve seen “Pumping Iron,” you should also recall two memoEditor’s note: Ron Harris is the author of Real Bodyrable workout scenes involving standing presses that building, available at www.RonHarrisMuscle.com. featured Mike Katz and Lou Ferrigno grunting, “Arnold!
40 JANUARY 2009 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com
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Shocking Shoulders
3) Rest only 60 seconds, during which you decrease the weight by 2 1/2 to 10 pounds, depending on your level of strength and the nature of the exercise.
Q: My shoulder growth has come to a standstill. Got a great routine that’ll boost growth again?
6) Do as many strict reps as possible with the new weight.
A: A few years ago IFBB pro Boyer Coe visited me in Colorado and shared with me a workout program that’s great for increasing both hypertrophy and strength endurance. It’s called work-capacity training and uses descending loads in the following manner: 1) Warm up until you get to a weight with which you struggle to complete 12 reps—your 12RM. 2) Perform 12 strict reps with that weight.
4) Perform as many strict reps as possible with the new weight. 5) Rest only 60 seconds, during which you decrease the weight by five to 10 pounds, depending on your level of strength. 7) Rest only 60 seconds and decrease the weight by five to 10 pounds, depending on your level of strength. 8) Perform as many strict reps as possible with the new weight. After four sets with decreasing poundages, move on to the next exercise and use the same protocol. Do a total of three exercises per bodypart. Here’s a sample of a workout-capacity training program for the shoulders. Adjust the weights according to your strength level.
The work-capacity training tactic can work magic on lagging bodyparts like the deltoids.
44 JANUARY 2009 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com
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Give that routine a try, and you should see some sizable gains fast. Q: Who, in recent times, do you think has had the most influence on getting bodybuilders to rethink training? A: Arthur Jones, the inventor of the Nautilus and MedX machines. The Nautilus machines and the company he formed to sell them made him a multimillionaire and landed him on the Forbes list of the 400 richest people. At one point financial analysts estimated that Nautilus was grossing $300 million annually. He sold Nautilus Inc. in 1986 for $23 million. Then he created an ingenious line called MedX, which he sold in 1996, after which he retired. On August 28, 2007, Jones died from natural causes at his home in Ocala, Florida, at age 80. Now the big question: Why would a strength coach who espouses multiple sets and free weights credit Arthur Jones? Well, first, credit should always be given where it’s due. I believe my training system is like Bruce Lee’s jeet The Nautilus pullover machine is one of Arthur Jones’ best contributions kune do—I just took the best from to modern bodybuilding. It’s an almost perfect lat exercise. Even Arnold everybody and mixed it. I don’t believe loves it. in dogma. Nevertheless, here are five major contributions to strength training that Jones made. Some he inventSeated barbell military presses ed, and some he just sold or publicized very well. 1) Warm up 1) Chins and dips. Of course he didn’t invent those 2) 145 x 12 exercises, but he sure sold them well. When time is short, 3) Rest 60 seconds chins and dips beat the barbell versions of the bench 4) 140 x 10 press and bent-over rows for packing meat on the upper 5) Rest 60 seconds body because the muscles of the upper back and chest 6) 135 x 11 are exercised over a longer range. I prefer to do them on 7) Rest 60 seconds rings, as that increases the number of motor units recruit8) 130 x 9 ed—which, of course, I did not invent. Joe Weider invented 9) Rest 60 seconds chins and dips on rings, actually, the same day he invented sliced bread and sex. (That’s my modification of a joke from Low-pulley rope upright rows Jones. Needless to say, Jones didn’t have a Joe Weider shrine 10) 115 x 12 at his house.) 11) Rest 60 seconds 2) Accommodating resistance. Arthur Jones, to my 12) 110 x 9 knowledge, was the first to recommend that chains would 13) Rest 60 seconds provide a better load for the strength curves of the exten14) 105 x 12 sor chain, which refers to the 15) Rest 60 seconds movement of the glutes, ham16) 100 x 10 strings and lower-back muscles. 17) Rest 60 seconds They improve the overload on presses, squats and deadlifts. Seated lateral raises More than 14 years ago, over 18) 35 x 12 breakfast, powerlifter and 19) Rest 60 seconds trainer Louie Simmons told me 20) 32.5 x 12 that he got the concept from 21) Rest 60 seconds Jones—Louie being another 22) 30 x 11 who always gives credit where 23) Rest 60 seconds it’s due. That’s one of the many 24) 27.5 x 8 reasons I have the highest reModel: Arnold Schwarzenegger
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Arthur Jones.
46 JANUARY 2009 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com
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spect for him. The inventive and ingenious Simmons brought the use of chains to the powerlifting world back in the mid-1990s, when O.J. was looking for Nicole’s killer on an L.A. freeway. Since then chains have jumped to the mainstream weight-training world—and O.J. still hasn’t had any luck. Jones came up with the Nautilus shaped cam. Unfortunately, he used the same cam shape for all machines. That was a mistake, as strength curves come in three shapes in humans: ascending (pressing movements, pullovers), descending (e.g., knee flexors) and ascending/descending (e.g., elbow flexors). Which leads me to his third contribution. 3) The pullover machine. Jones was fascinated with isolating the lats and removing the elbow flexors from the equation. For that purpose he invented the pullover machine, which, according to two peer-reviewed studies, matched the human strength curve. If you have access to one of those, please do try it. If you want to purchase one, make sure you can load your own plates—the weight-stack machines are always too light for the well-trained person. 4) The value of eccentric training. Bob Peoples in 1908 was probably the one who really should be credited with recognizing the value of eccentric, or negative, training in building strength, but Jones is the one who sold it the most. He developed some simple designs, as simple as steps to climb up the chin and dipping stations and foot pedals on the Omni Biceps machine, eliminating, or overcoming the concentric, or positive, position of the rep. 5) Rethinking volume. In his heyday Jones was recommending one to two sets per bodypart, three workouts maximum per week, while the Southern California muscle subculture was into 20 to 30 sets per bodypart, training twice a day, six days a week. Two very different views—in the early ’70s it was the debate in bodybuilding magazines. Bodybuilders like my friend Boyer Coe trained under both systems, coming to the conclusion that probably 10 to 12 sets a bodypart every three to five days was the more efficient system for hypertrophy for most people. Even though time showed that Jones’ approach was certainly no panacea, he at least got people to drop their volume considerably and make some decent progress. He was a master salesman—he could have persuaded the Saudi princes to buy sand from him, and he could have sold fridges to the Inuits. In all fairness, he influenced many people in a positive way, from Dr. Ken Leistner to Dorian Yates. Q: I want to build a thick set of erector spinae muscles. Can you recommend anything? A: Here’s a great way to build the erector spinae. I call it a retro workout because the routine was devised in the early
Power cleans are a dynamic movement that can add size and thickness to your back. ’80s and is true to the workouts of the old-time bodybuilders. It consists of four exercises commonly used by Olympic lifters to develop strength for the competition lifts, the snatch and the clean and jerk. The difference is that they’re less technical than the competition lifts and can be performed for higher reps, providing an increased muscle-building effect. If you’ve never performed those exercises, ask a strength coach—preferably one with at least a Level 2 PIPC certification—or an Olympic lifter to teach you how to perform them properly. I generally don’t recommend the use of straps, but do use them when you feel that not doing so will compromise your technique or the amount of weight you can use on each exercise. The program alternates between exercises performed by lifting the bar from the floor and those performed while standing on a small platform about four to six inches high. The variation changes the line of pull of the posterior chain—that is, backside—with each new exercise. The delayed muscle soreness caused by the mechanical advantage differences is horrendous but very rewarding for strength and hypertrophy gains. The workout consists of four exercises performed for five sets of five to six reps and is much more difficult than it looks on paper. Here it is: Neveux \ Model: Derik Farnsworth
SMART TRAINING SMART TRAINING SMART TRAINING SMART TRAINING SMART TRAINING SMART TRAINING SMART TRAINING SMART TRAINING SMART TRAINING SMART TRAINING SMART TRAINING SMART TRAINING SM
Smart Charles Training Poliquin’s
A) Power cleans from the floor: 5 x 5, 1/0/X/0 tempo, resting 2.5 minutes between sets B) Snatch pulls on a podium: 5 x 6, 1/0/X/0 tempo, resting 2.5 minutes between sets C) Clean pulls from the floor: 5 x 6, 1/0/X/0 tempo, resting 2.5 minutes between sets D) Snatch deadlifts on podium: 5 x 6, 4/0/X/0 tempo, resting three minutes between sets If there’s a lesson to be learned from such a brutal retro workout, it’s not only that, as the saying goes, everything old is new again but also that, sometimes, old things are still the best! Editor’s note: Charles Poliquin is recognized as one of the world’s most successful strength coaches, having coached Olympic medalists in 12 different sports, including the U.S. women’s track-and-field team for the 2000 Olympics. He’s spent years researching European journals (he’s fluent in English, French and German) and speaking with other coaches and scientists in his quest to optimize training methods. For more on his books, seminars and methods, visit www.CharlesPoliquin.net. Also see his ad on page 205. IM
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\ JULY 2006 181
Nutrition With a Get-Big Mission NUTRITION SCIENCE
Need Cuts? Go Fish “I hate fish.” So said Lee Haney, six-time Mr.Olympia, when I asked him about his protein preferences. Since that interview took place nearly 20 years ago, it’s likely that these days he’s getting his omega-3 fatty acids from some source—and for good reason. Research concerning the health benefits of omega-3s is extensive, especially in relation to optimal brain function and
But eat the right kind
preventing cardiovascular disease. While all the benefits of omega-3 fats are easily obtained by taking a fish oil supplement, many experts still extol the value of eating actual fish. Despite Haney’s dislike of fish, it’s a staple of most bodybuilding diets, particularly during precontest prep. Fish is devoid of carbohydrates and low in fat and calories while being
Lee Haney, sixtime Mr. Olympia.
Neveux
EAT TO GROW EAT TO GROW EAT TO GROW EAT TO GROW EAT TO GROW EAT TO GROW EAT TO GROW EAT TO GROW EAT TO GROW EAT TO GROW EAT TO GROW EAT TO GROW EAT
to Grow high in protein. Indeed, as contest time approaches, many competitive bodybuilders habitually eschew beef and even chicken in favor of baked or broiled (never fried) fish. Fish species differ in their nutrient content. Only fatty fish contain generous levels of omega3 fats—sardines, mackerel, salmon and halibut, for example. The lean fish favored by bodybuilders, such as mahimahi, tuna and orange roughy, have almost no omega-3s. In a recent study, researchers purchased 30 species of wild and farmed fish from supermarkets, wholesale distributors and commercial fish farms in the United States and abroad.1 They found that the omega3 content ranged from “practically none” to nearly 4,000 milligrams per 100 grams—about five ounces—of fish. When they compared the four most common farmed fish—Atlantic salmon, trout, tilapia and catfish—they found that the tilapia and catfish were not only low in omega-3s but also high in omega-6 fats and had higher percentages of saturated and monounsaturated fats. The fat profile of tilapia and catfish is problematic because omega-6 fats are a precursor of arachidonic acid, which in turn is the primary precursor of fatlike chemicals called eicosanoids, many of which have potent inflammatory effects. The fish had more omega-6 fats because they were fed food rich in them. Tilapia and catfish are low in omega-3s naturally, but the authors considered their omega-6 content to be a true health liability. Inflammation is now accepted as the cornerstone of most degenerative diseases, including cardiovascular disease and cancer. The study also found that the tilapia and catfish were high in linoleic acid (an omega-6 fat) and arachidonic acid.
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Many analgesic, or painkilling, drugs, including aspirin and ibuprofen, work by interfering with the activity of the enzyme cyclooxygenase-2, or COX-2, that converts arachidonic acid into eicosanoids. If you lower the inflammatory eicosanoids, you also reduce pain. Examples of such inflammatory eicosanoids include prostaglandin E2, thromboxane A2 and leukotriene B4. On the other hand, arachidonic acid is also the precursor of anti-inflammatory eicosanoids, such as prostacyclin and lipoxin A4. The findings have bodybuilding implications. Arachidonic acid is the precursor of prostaglandin F2A, which is involved in muscle protein synthesis and muscle repair processes after intense exercise. Indeed, some studies show that when you take analgesics before or after training, you short-circuit the anabolic effects of exercise because you inhibit the production of PF2A from arachidonic acid. In fact, arachidonic acid is even offered in supplement form under the supposition that intense exercise may deplete it in the body. More on that later. Since linoleic acid is the primary
dietary precursor of arachidonic acid synthesis, the body tightly regulates production of arachidonic acid from linoleic acid. Thus, taking large amounts of linoleic acid doesn’t directly translate into more arachidonic acid in body tissue. As for omega-6 fats and inflammation, human-subject studies reveal an opposite effect: less inflammation after a high intake of omega-6 fats. Other studies that have looked directly at arachidonic acid intake show that taking up to 1.5 grams a day is not harmful to humans. That’s good news, as the suggested dose for supplemental arachidonic acid is 1,000 milligrams daily. A salient question arises: If arachidonic acid is the precursor of PGF2A, which is anabolic, would supplementing with a direct source of it build more muscle? That question was examined in a study published about a year ago.2 Thirty-one men, all actively engaged in weight training, took either a placebo or one gram a day of a commercial arachidonic acid supplement. The study was sponsored by a company that sells the arachidonic acid supplement that researchers used. The subjects underwent such testing procedures as body composition, onerep-max bench press, one-rep-max leg press and the Wingate anaerobic test, which measures anaerobic capacity. The subjects also provided muscle biopsies obtained from their front-thigh muscles. Those in the arachidonic acid group had an 8.5 percent increase in peak anaerobic
power by day 50 of the study. Their bodies also experienced a decline in interleukin-6, a marker of inflammation, that didn’t occur in the placebo group. The arachidonic acid group also had more prostaglandin E2, indicating that the supplement did affect eicosanoid synthesis. On the other hand, the supplement didn’t produce any significant changes in body composition, circulating anabolic hormones or intramuscular markers of muscle gains. Nor did it improve strength. Add it all up, and you find that using an arachidonic acid supplement may improve training efficiency through increasing anaerobic capacity and lowering inflammation, but supplement-driven muscle gains appear to be zilch. One possible reason is that the arachidonic acid supplement didn’t affect or change the amount of PGF2A in the body. Whether using a higher dose of the supplement or taking it longer would change the results remains to be examined. —Jerry Brainum
References 1 Weaver, K.L., et al. (2008). The content of favorable and unfavorable polyunsaturated fatty acids found in commonly eaten fish. J Am Diet Assoc. 108:1178-1185. 2 Roberts, M., et al. (2007). Effects of arachidonic acid supplementation on training adaptations in resistance-trained males. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 4:21.
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LIFT BIG TO GET BIG Build Incredible Pressing Power and Bulletproof Shoulders Unfortunately, shoulder injury is one of the major reasons trainees have to sacrifice gains on many of the most important strength- and mass-building exercises— from bench presses to chins to pulldowns. You’ll be amazed at how much better your shoulders feel and how much more weight you can hoist once you start training your rotator cuff muscles regularly and properly with the powerful info in The 7Minute Rotator Cuff Solution. You’ll learn: •How the rotator cuff muscles work. •Specific rotator cuff exercises. •The best and safest stretching exercises. •Exercises you should avoid. •Specific training programs. •Rehab routines for sportsspecific injuries. •Bodybuilder’s injuryprevention routine. •Detailed biomechanics to pathology.
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to Grow NUTRITION NOTES
Food Facts
You need a little sunshine every day. Just don’t overdo it.
V I TA M I N S
D-Rail Illness
One in three Americans is deficient in vitamin D
Winter is here, and that means less exposure to the sun. That’s good and bad—good in that you won’t get sunburned or expose your skin to harmful rays for long periods, bad because your body needs sunlight to produce vitamin D. New research suggests that one in three Americans is deficient in vitamin D, which is unfortunate because the healing vitamin not only builds bones but also helps prevent cardiovascular disease, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, colds, flu—even cancer. For adequate production of vitamin D you need about 15 minutes of sun exposure twice a week—without sunscreen, which completely blocks vitamin D production. If you can’t get that amount in the winter—and not many people can—take vitamin D supplements. Another consideration is that people age 50 and older tend to have skin that loses some of its vitamin D conversion ability. Dark-skinned people don’t have as much ability to convert sunlight into vitamin D as lightskinned people do. Supplements may be necessary. The optimal daily intake has been set at 400 international units per day for adults under age 70, but many researchers are suggesting 1,000 to 2,000 I.U. per day, especially in winter. —Becky Holman www.XtremeLean.com
Neveux \ Model: Deanna Merryman
That can affect your workouts, weight and wellness Tea can help fight cancer. Researchers at the University of Mississippi Medical Center gave water mixed with green tea EGCG to mice that had breast cancer, and after five weeks their tumors were 66 percent smaller than those in mice who drank plain water. Drink more tea. Aspirin has been recommended as a daily supplement for those predisposed to heart attack, stroke and high blood pressure. New evidence suggests that the best time to take a 100-milligram dose is right before bedtime because the body produces chemicals that raise blood pressure when you’re at rest. Corn has almost twice the antioxidant activity of apples. That’s what a study found when researchers compared cooked sweet corn to the red fruit. Not sure if that includes popcorn. Water is important to weight loss. Your metabolism depends on it. A study at the University of Utah found that subjects who drank eight to 12 eight-ounce glasses of water a day had faster metabolisms than those who drank only four glasses. Fiber up to take weight off. Getting at least 25 grams of fiber a day can curb your appetite and slow digestion, which reduces insulin production. —Becky Holman www.XtremeLean.com
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KNOWLEDGE IS POWER The Best of Bodybuilding in the 20th Century Here in one definitive, information-packed volume, you have the best that IRON MAN has to offer. The articles and photos reprinted in IRON MAN’s Ultimate Bodybuilding Encyclopedia are of enormous and enduring value to beginners and experts alike. A tour de force of bodybuilding information with stunning photos of unrivaled quality, this massive volume covers every aspect of bodybuilding with authority and depth. Included is complete information on: •Getting started •Bodybuilding physiology •Shoulder training •Chest training •Back training •Arm training •Abdominal training •Leg training •Training for mass •Training for power •Mental aspects of training •Bodybuilding nutrition With IRON MAN’s Ultimate Bodybuilding Encyclopedia, you will learn Arnold Schwarzenegger’s insights on developing shoulder and back muscles, along with many other champions’ routines. This massive volume contains 440 pages and over 350 photographs.
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Whatever You Need—Wherever You Train ™
to Grow SIZE SUPPLEMENTS
Repping With D-Ribose
Neveux \ Model: Todd Smith
There’s been conflicting research on Dribose, a sugar that’s part of ATP. Your muscles use ATP to fire out reps, so taking D-ribose should help make you stronger, much in the manner of creatine, which also heightens ATP function. New research shows that supplementing with D-ribose may not boost strength on your first few sets. Later, when ATP is more depleted, however, it can help you get more reps—those last few that activate the high-threshold motor units and more key growth fibers. Try taking a few grams in your pre- and postworkout drinks along with creatine. —Becky Holman www.XtremeLean.com
AMINO AMMO
WA I S T AWAY
Protein Burns Fat Science is finally catching up with the bodybuilding world. A new study verifies what muscleheads have known all along—that a high-protein intake can help you get lean. Your body uses more energy to process protein than carbs, a measurement known as the thermic effect of food, or TEF. In the October ’08 Prevention Donald Layman, Ph.D., a professor of nutrition at the University of Illinois, says that if your diet is 14 percent protein and you double that while reducing the carbs to keep your calorie intake the same, you can burn almost 200 extra calories a day. High protein, lower carb. Hmm, that sounds familiar. —Becky Holman www.XtremeLean.com
Awesome Abs With Almonds Scientists looked at 65 men and women on lowcalorie diets and found that those who ate almonds frequently reduced their waists by 50 percent more than subjects who didn’t eat the nuts. And yes, the subjects were all eating the same number of calories each day. It’s believed that the monounsaurated fatty acids found in almonds—and avocados—reduces the accumulation of abdominal fat. —Becky Holman www.XtremeLean.com
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BOOKS
w w w. h o m e - g y m . c o m (#266) by Dick Tyler $19.95. West Coast Bodybuilding scene. 1965-1971 The Golden Era. One of the most dynamic eras in bodybuilding. All the greats are here, in words and many rare photos. 399 pgs
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to Grow ANABOLIC DRIVE
Protein Timing
Enhances muscle and bone
Just 167 calories after your workout—it doesn’t take much to ensure that you get the optimal anabolic response to exercise. We’re finding out more and more just how powerful the proper nutrients are when you take them in before, during and after exercise. Recently, scientists evaluated the response of various muscle and bone adaptation parameters after 24 weeks of strength training in healthy women when they took a nutrient supplement or a placebo immediately following each training session.1 Each woman was randomly and double-blindly assigned to a nutrient or a placebo group. The nutrient contained 10 grams of whey protein, 31 grams of carbohydrate, one gram of fat, 5.0 micrograms of vitamin D and 250 milligrams of calcium. The placebo consisted of six grams of carbohydrate and 12 milligrams of calcium. The results were extraordinary. Those in the nutrient group improved concentric and isokinetic muscle strength by 9 percent, while the controls showed no change. Only the nutrient group improved lean body mass over the 24 weeks. Bone mineral density improved to a greater extent in the lumbar region of the subjects taking the nutrient too. Then we have an intriguing study about nutrient supplementation during exercise. Male subjects participated in two experiments in which they took either carbohydrate or carbohydrate plus protein during a two-hour resistance-
exercise session. They drank the supplement before and every 15 minutes during exercise. The researchers discovered that carb plus protein lowered whole-body-protein-breakdown rates 8 percent more than carbohydrate only and that protein oxidation and synthesis rates were augmented by 77 percent and 33 percent, respectively. Thus, the whole-body net protein balance was negative in the carb-only group, whereas a positive net balance was achieved with the carb-and-protein combination. Is there any doubt that nutrient timing works?2 Downing a sugar-only drink ain’t gonna do it. Sorry, Gatorade. You gotta add protein. Without protein, how can you expect to optimize muscle gains? I’d suggest that bodybuilders follow these general rules of nutrient timing: 1) Drink a beverage that contains at least three to six grams of essential amino acids or 10 grams of protein before your workout. 2) During exercise, sip on a protein shake. 3) Get some major calories immediately after you train. Try for 40 grams of protein (whey) mixed with your favorite carb source (bananas, strawberries, etc.) and some healthful fat like flaxseed oil. If you follow those tenets, the mass gains are as inevitable as hurricanes hitting the Florida coast. For the latest science on nutrient timing, check out the International Society of Sports Nutrition’s Position Stand on Nutrient Timing: www.jissn.org. —Jose Antonio, Ph.D. Editor’s note: Jose Antonio, Ph.D., is the CEO of the International Society of Sports Nutrition (www.theissn.org). In his spare time he watches the National Geographic channel, plays catch with his kids and paddles around Key Biscayne.
Neveux \ Model: Mike Semanoff
References 1 Holm, L., Olesen, J.L., Matsumoto, K., et al. (2008). Protein-containing-nutrient supplementation following strength training enhances the effect on muscle mass, strength and bone formation in postmenopausal women. J Appl Physiol. 105:274-281. 2 Beelen, M., Koopman, R., Gijsen, A.P., et al. (2008). Protein co-ingestion stimulates muscle protein synthesis during resistance-type exercise. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 295: E70-E77.
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to Grow HORMONE ZONE
Beta-Alanine and Anabolism A number of studies, many of which have been reported here, demonstrate that using supplemental betaalanine may boost gains in muscle size and strength. Beta-alanine acts as a substrate for the synthesis of carnosine in muscle. Carnosine is a dipeptide, composed of two bonded amino acids, histidine and beta-alanine. Muscle usually contains more than enough histidine, so the limiting factor is beta-alanine. Taking carnosine itself would not be effective, as it’s rapidly degraded by the enzyme carnosinase before it has a chance to enter muscle. Carnosine acts as a major intramuscular buffer. That means it neutralizes the excess acidity that builds up during high-intensity exercise. Studies show that regular intense training increases muscle carnosine. In fact, bodybuilders tend to have higher-than-normal muscle carnosine as a result of regular intense training. On the other hand, even experienced athletes who take extra beta-alanine get a boost in muscle carnosine as high as 64 percent over normal. While many studies related to supplemental beta-alanine have used untrained subjects, a few have used more experienced subjects. One study, for example, found that giving betaalanine for 10 weeks to experienced trainees led to a significant increase in workout volume on the squat and bench press. Because higher training volume is related to a greater release of anabolic hormones, such as growth hormone and testosterone, a new study tested the effects of supplemental beta-alanine in eight college-aged men with at least three years of training experience.1 The men took beta-alanine for 30 days, getting 1.6 grams three times daily. Other subjects got a placebo, as the study featured a double-blind, randomized, crossover design, the gold standard of clinical research. Before and after using the betaalanine, the subjects did six sets of 12 reps of barbell squats using a weight equal to 70 percent of their one-rep maximums. At the end of
30 days those in the beta-alanine group had increased their completed reps by 22 percent. Measurements of testosterone, growth hormone and cortisol showed no differences between the groups, indicating that while those hormones were affected by the exercise, betaalanine had no discernible effect. No changes occurred in body mass or strength, but as the authors note, rapid gains don’t occur too often in advanced trainees, especially in only 30 days. Meanwhile, the fact that betaalanine clearly increased training endurance shows that it may pump up training intensity, which is likely to increase gains in muscle size and strength over the long haul. —Jerry Brainum Hoffman, J., et al. (2008). Beta-alanine and the hormonal response to exercise. Int J Sports Med. In press.
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PERFECT POSTWORKOUT MEAL
TM
To Kick-Start Immediate Muscle Growth After You Train Breakthrough research in exercise metabolism now reveals this fact: What you consume (or don’t consume) immediately after training plays a critical role in determining your success or failure! That time period is known as the “anabolic window” of growth. The biggest mistake many bodybuilders make is eating a meal of chicken breasts, baked potato or rice and vegetables after a workout. This is an approach doomed to fail because by the time this meal digests, the anabolic window has slammed shut. The best way to produce this potent anabolic effect is simply by drinking an amino acidand-carbohydrate supplement within 15 minutes after training! RecoverX™ offers the ideal combination and provides the perfect blend of nutrients for postworkout anabolic acceleration. RecoverX™ contains 40 grams of the quickest-acting bio-available protein from hydrolyzed whey—extremely fast protein for immediate delivery—whey protein concentrate, glutamine peptides, arginine and 60 grams of carbohydrate to give you the necessary insulin spike.
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Train, Eat,
GROW Muscle-Training Program 111
From the IRON MAN Training & Research Center by Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson Photography by Michael Neveux
Model: Jonathan Lawson
P
atience is a virtue. That’s one of those sayings that can help you persevere and achieve your goals, even if it takes longer than expected. As it turns out, impatience can be a virtue as well, especially when it comes to achieving extreme-lean condition. Let us explain. This past spring, when we began to tighten our diets in preparation for our ripping phase, we decided to take a slightly different approach from years past. Our friend, natural bodybuilder Dave Goodin, at age 50, told us that he allows himself a good 12 weeks to go from 8 percent bodyfat down to 3. That’s three months to ratchet down a mere 5 percentage points. [For more on Dave, see his interview, which begins on page 96.] We liked that strategy, not to mention Dave’s results. After assessing our conditions, we realized that our starting percentages were above 10 percent, as we’d allowed ourselves to bulk up over the winter. So we decided to apply the patient route and attempt to lose
fat slowly—over the course of 14 to 16 weeks. Notice the built-in flexibility—we didn’t set an actual peak date but just decided to be patient and diligent and schedule a photo shoot when we noticed that we were close to being spot-on. We thought that by taking our time and not being so fanatical, we’d retain and perhaps build more muscle as we gradually lost fat. After all, the extended approach works for the Texas Shredder. The guy is, well, shredded. What we found was that our condition kept fluctuating, never getting very close to peak condition. Yikes. Sometimes we looked a few weeks away, and other times we looked even further out. We kept asking each other, “What the heck is going on?”
Hard-to-Hit Moving Target What we figured out is, when we don’t have a target date set and we feel as though we have all the time in the world, we simply don’t hunker down—hence our condition fluc-
tuation. We weren’t that lax on our diets, but we did tend to loosen up on the weekends—and all it takes is some minor straying to blur that hard-to-get eye-popping detail and vascularity. The worst part of it is that the longer we went past 13 weeks, the more our bodies thought famine was imminent—maybe 13 is unlucky. That’s when the body preserves the last bit of fat and begins burning more muscle in the face of prolonged calorie deficit. That’s when we began to shrink without much more fat loss. Jonathan’s condition, due to his slower metabolism, really began to deteriorate. We needed some action fast. We decided to set a shoot date immediately to give us a sense of urgency—two weeks from week 15. That’s when everything finally began to click—more vascularity began appearing almost instantly, and the last bit of fat began melting away. It’s as if our minds had to wrap around an exact date to shift the body into gear. Unfortunately, it was too late for our muscle size.
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© 2005 IRON MAN Magazine
It’s a big blast of workout information, motivation and muscle-building science in your e-mail box every week—and it’s all free! Tons of practical training tips, analysis and size tactics are jam-packed into this e-zine from the IRON MAN Training & Research Center, where there’s more than 50 years of training experience to get you growing fast! Here are a few of the latest editions’ titles (online now):
Muscle-Training Program 111 Shoot Shock
Cardio, Cuts and Catabolism In past years Steve has done minimal cardio, thanks to his fast metabolism and lower calorie intake, while Jonathan has relied on two cardio sessions most days and keeping his calories higher. As we’ve both gotten older—Steve is 49 and Jonathan 35—cardio is becoming more integral to the ripping process, especially for the old guy. Steve decided that he needed a bit more cardio, and running is
These photos were taken about a Jonathan, month apart, with age 35. the ones on the far right shot in the studio at the end of our grueling 17 weeks of dieting. We learned that, for us, a long-and-winding diet road costs too much muscle. We actually look almost peaked in the Steve, “before” photos, but age 49. even at that point we were beginning to lose muscle. Fat loss stopped after about week 13, and we purged muscle. Next year it’s back to our original plan, which has worked well in the past: Set a target date 12 weeks out, gradually cut calories and/or increase cardio, and don’t get fat over the winter!
his exercise of choice. All was well at first, when he was regaining his aerobic conditioning, but as his endurance-oriented muscles and metabolism began adapting, his runs got longer and faster. Then it happened. He noticed that his legs weren’t getting more cut but smaller. “What the heck is going on?” he screamed. The answer was obvious once we backtracked and looked at musclefiber research. In the beginning, when Steve’s runs were slow, the activity was primarily slow-twitch dominant; however, as he regained his aerobic abilities, his running pace began to increase. When you run at a medium-fast pace, you bring in the type 2A fast-twitch fibers in a highendurance capacity. They have both aerobic and anaerobic capabilities. If you do too much medium-fast cardio, it’s like doing very-highrep weight work—the muscles get stringy and lose size because the 2As are becoming aerobic, essentially morphing into fibers resembling slow twitchers without much size.
Holman
The Long-and-Winding Diet Road Costs Muscle
Lawson
Week 17 was our photo shoot, and we were shocked at our conditions—and not in a good way. Steve was ripped but more drawn than he’s been in the past. Jonathan’s slower metabolism had caused him to hold on to more fat—he was cut but still had a noticeable layer. He appeared to be a few weeks away from being inside-out shredded. To add to his disappointment, his muscle size had suffered somewhat (see the photos at right). What did we learn from that lengthy experiment? That we need to set a target date at 10 to 12 weeks out from the start of our rippingphase diet and get serious from the get-go—but still make it a gradual process. That gives us the all-important sense of urgency from the start and minimizes straying from our diets; however, we did learn that patience is indeed a virtue in one respect: diet. We were a bit too enthusiastic in the beginning because we don’t like the way we look when we’re bulked. Enthusiasm is great when it’s channeled correctly, but it had us going from our very loose winter diets right into our summer rippingphase diets without a transition. As we explained in our e-book X-treme Lean, which chronicles our very successful X-Rep transformation diets, gradually cutting calories and increasing cardio is the way to go (we need to read our own stuff more often!). Because we were impatient, we took a flying leap and held our lowest calorie count for way too long. Steve was around 1,700 for more than 15 weeks. No wonder he lost muscle.
When it comes to cardio, go slow if you’re interested in more muscle size. What about interval cardio? That’s all-out bursts alternated with low-intensity work—like running the straightaways and walking the curves on a running track. We incorporated that type of cardio one weekend day every week toward the end of our ripping phase. It was worth a try, but in small doses; most of our cardio remained slower, steady-state work. Studies show that interval cardio burns more bodyfat than steady-state aerobics and boosts the metabolism long after it’s over primarily because of muscle damage—the high-intensity bursts are a lot like weight training in that they stress and damage fast-twitch fibers in the quads, calves and hamstrings. Your metabolism is higher postworkout because your body has to repair the muscle damage, and it uses bodyfat for energy to accomplish that. The low-intensity phases help you burn bodyfat as well, especially considering that the bursts
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Muscle-Training Program 111 deplete all circulating sugar quickly, so bodyfat becomes the energy of choice. That’s why we thought it would get us past our plateau. The problem with interval cardio is twofold: more muscle damage in
addition to your normal leg workout and the increased potential for injury. So you shouldn’t use it the day of or the days around your leg workout. We were doing one weighttraining leg workout on Tuesdays,
so a weekend interval session was perfect. Jonathan used an exercise bike, pedaling all out for 30 to 40 seconds alternated with a slow pace for one to two minutes. His interval cardio workouts lasted about 15
IRON MAN Training & Research Center Muscle-Training Program 111 Workout 1: Chest, Lats, Triceps, Abs Smith-machine low-incline presses (X Reps) 2 x 9-12 High cable flyes (drop; X Reps) 1 x 10(6) Wide-grip dips 1 x 9-12 Wide-grip dips (drop; X Reps) 1 x 9(6) Tri-set Middle cable flyes 1 x 9-12 Low cable flyes (X Reps) 1 x 7-9 Bench pushups (X Reps) 1 x 7-9 Wide-grip pulldowns (X Reps) 1 x 9-12 Chins (X Reps) 1 x 9-12 Superset Machine pullovers 1 x 9-12 Rope rows or dumbbell pullovers (X Reps) 1 x 7-9 Superset Undergrip pulldowns 1 x 8-10 Dumbbell pullovers (X Reps) 1 x 7-9 Lying extensions 1 x 9-12 Decline dumbbell extensions (X Reps) 1 x 9-12 Tri-set Rope pushouts 1 x 9-12 Kickbacks 1 x 8-10 Stiff-arm kickbacks 1 x 6-8 Superset Rope pushouts 1 x 9-12 Bench dips (drop to feet on floor) 1 x 9(6) Superset Incline kneeups (drop; X Reps) 1 x 15(10) Flat-bench leg raises 1 x 8-10 Tri-set Ab Bench crunches 1 x 10-12 Twisting crunches 1 x 10-15 End-of-bench kneeups 1 x 9-12
Workout 2: Quads, Hamstrings, Calves, Lower Back Leg extensions (warmup) 1 x 18-20 Superset Hack squats 1 x 10-12 Leg presses 1 x 10-12 Hack squats (X Reps) 1 x 8-10 Leg extensions (drop; X Reps) 1 x 10(6) Squats 1 x 10-15 One-leg leg extensions (Flex X) 1 x 10-15 Leg curls (drop; X Reps) 1 x 10(6) Leg curls (X Reps) 1 x 9-12 Superset Stiff-legged deadlifts 1 x 9-12 Hyperextensions (X Only) 1 x 8-10 Hyperextensions 1 x 9-12 Knee-extension leg press calf raises (X Reps)1 x 20-25
Leg press calf raises (X Reps) Superset Standing calf raises (X Reps) Hack-machine calf raises (X Reps) Standing or one-leg calf raises (X Reps) Machine donkey calf raises (drop; X Reps) Seated calf raises (X Reps)
1 x 12-15 1 x 12-15 1 x 9-12 1 x 12-20 1 x 12(8) 2 x 15-20
Workout 3: Delts, Midback, Biceps, Forearms Dumbbell upright rows (drop to side rows)2 x 9-12(6) Forward-lean lateral raises (drop; X Reps) 1 x 10(6) Smith-machine behind-the-neck presses 1 x 9-12 Seated dumbbell presses (X Reps) 1 x 9-12 Superset One-arm cable laterals (X Reps) 1 x 9-12 Incline one-arm laterals (X Reps) 1 x 8-10 Bent-over laterals (drop; X Reps) 1 x 12(7) Tri-set Dumbbell shrugs (DXO or stage style) 1 x 9-12 Cable upright rows (X Reps) 1 x 9-12 High rows (X Reps) 1 x 8-10 Machine rows (X Reps) 1 x 9-12 Shoulder-width cable rows (X Reps) 1 x 9-12 Tri-set Behind-the-neck pulldowns (X Reps) 1 x 9-12 Bent-arm bent-over laterals (X Reps) 1 x 8-10 Bent-over dumbbell rows (X Reps) 1 x 7-9 Cable curls (X Reps) 1 x 9-12 Superset Cable curls 1 x 9-12 Dumbbell preacher curls 1 x 8-10 Concentration curls (drop) 1 x 9(6) One-arm spider curls 1 x 9-12 Superset Incline hammer curls 1 x 9-12 Rope hammer curls (X Reps) 1 x 8-10 Tri-set Forearm Bar reverse wrist curls 1 x 8-10 Cable reverse curls (X Reps) 1 x 9-12 Dumbbell reverse wrist curls 1 x 10-15 Tri-set Forearm Bar wrist curls 1 x 10-15 Barbell wrist curls 1 x 8-10 Behind-the-back wrist curls 1 x 10-12 Rockers (drop) 1 x 15(9) Note: Where X-Reps are designated, usually only one set or phase of a drop set is performed with X Reps or an X-Rep hybrid technique from the e-book Beyond X-Rep Muscle Building. See the X-Blog at www.X-Rep.com for more workout details.
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Muscle-Training Program 111 FreeFall Mass Training After shaking off the shackles of strict dieting, we started looking over all of our programs in our e-books in search of our next step. We’ve decided that a great one to go to for growth after our grueling 17-week ripping phase is our X-Rep version of Eric Broser’s Power/Rep Range/Shock (listed in its entirety on pages 103 through 114 of the e-book 3D Muscle Building).
If you want your legs to stay large and muscular, walk, slow jog or do interval work. Don’t do medium-fast runs or treadmill work, or your 2As could cause you to become too aerobically inclined and lose size.
IRON MAN Training & Research Center Home-Gym Program 111 Workout1:1:Chest, Chest,Lats, Lats,Triceps, Triceps,Abs Abs Workout Low-inclinepresses presses(X(XReps) Reps) Low-incline Inclineflyes flyes(drop; (drop;XXReps) Reps) Incline Benchpresses pressesororwide-grip wide-gripdips dips Bench Bench presses or wide-grip dips(drop) (drop) Bench presses or wide-grip dips Superset Superset Flyesorordecline declineflyes flyes(drop; (drop;XXReps) Reps) Flyes Pushups(X(XReps) Reps) Pushups Chins(X(XReps) Reps) Chins Superset Superset Undergriprows rows Undergrip Dumbbellpullovers pullovers Dumbbell Lyingextensions extensions Lying Superset Superset Overheadextension extensions Overhead Kickbacksororbench benchdips dips Kickbacks Giantset set Giant Inclinekneeups kneeups Incline Flat-benchleg legraises raises Flat-bench AbBench Benchororfull-range full-rangecrunches crunches Ab End-of-bench kneeups End-of-bench kneeups
9-12 2 2x x9-12 10(6) 1 1x x10(6) 9-12 1 1x x9-12 1 x 9(6) 1 x 9(6)
Workout3:3:Delts, Delts,Midback, Midback,Biceps, Biceps,Forearms Forearms Workout 9(6) 1 1x x9(6) max 1 1x xmax 9-12 3 3x x9-12 9-12 1 1x x9-12 8-10 1 1x x8-10 2 x 9-12 2 x 9-12 9-12 1 1x x9-12 8-10 1 1x x8-10 15-20 1 1x x15-20 10-12 1 1x x10-12 10-12 1 1x x10-12 1 x 9-12 1 x 9-12
Workout2:2:Quads, Quads,Hamstrings, Hamstrings,Calves, Calves,Lower LowerBack Back Workout Legextensions extensions(warmup) (warmup) Leg Old-stylehack hacksquats squats Old-style Legextensions extensions(drop) (drop) Leg Squats Squats Legcurls curls(drop; (drop;XXReps) Reps) Leg Stiff-leggeddeadlifts deadlifts Stiff-legged Hyperextensions(X(XReps) Reps) Hyperextensions
Knee-extensiondonkey donkeycalf calfraises raises(X(X Reps)22xx20-25 20-25 Knee-extension Reps) One-legcalf calfraises raises(drop; (drop;XXReps) Reps) 12(8) One-leg 22xx12(8) Donkeycalf calfraises raises(X(XReps) Reps) 12-15 Donkey 22xx12-15 Seatedcalf calfraises raises(X(XReps) Reps) 15-20 Seated 22xx15-20
12-15 1 1x x12-15 10-15 2 2x x10-15 10(6) 1 1x x10(6) 9-12 2 2x x9-12 9(6) 1 1x x9(6) 9-12 1 1x x9-12 10-15 1 1x x10-15
Dumbbellupright uprightrows rows(drop (droptotoside siderows) rows) 22xx9(6) 9(6) Dumbbell Forward-leanlaterals laterals(drop; (drop;XXReps) Reps) 9(6) Forward-lean 11xx9(6) Inclineone-arm one-armlaterals laterals(drop; (drop;XXReps) Reps) 9(6) Incline 11xx9(6) Barbellorordumbbell dumbbellpresses presses(X(XReps) Reps) 9-12 Barbell 22xx9-12 Bent-overlaterals laterals(drop; (drop;XXReps) Reps) 10(6) Bent-over 11xx10(6) Superset Superset Dumbbellshrugs shrugs(X(XReps) Reps) 9-12 Dumbbell 11xx9-12 Uprightrows rows 8-10 Upright 11xx8-10 Bent-overdumbbell dumbbellrows rows 9-12 Bent-over 22xx9-12 Bent-armbent-over bent-overlaterals laterals Bent-arm (drop;XXReps) Reps) 9(6) (drop; 11xx9(6) One-armdumbbell dumbbellrows rows 9-12 One-arm 11xx9-12 Dumbbellcurls curls 9-12 Dumbbell 22xx9-12 Concentrationcurls curls(drop) (drop) 9(6) Concentration 11xx9(6) Inclinecurls curls(X(XReps) Reps) 9-12 Incline 11xx9-12 Inclinehammer hammercurls curls(drop) (drop) 9(6) Incline 11xx9(6) Dumbbellreverse reversewrist wristcurls curls(drop) (drop) 12(8) Dumbbell 11xx12(8) Dumbbellwrist wristcurls curls(drop) (drop) 12(8) Dumbbell 11xx12(8) Rockers 12-20 Rockers 11xx12-20 Note: If you don’t have a leg extension machine, do oldstyle hacks, nonlock style. Use partner resistance, towel around the ankles, if you don’t have a leg curl machine.
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Model: Jonathan Lawson
minutes. Steve ran, sprinting for 50 to 100 yards and then walking for about two minutes. His interval cardio workouts lasted about 30 minutes, as he used a longer walk as a cooldown. The one interval cardio session helped us get leaner in the 11th hour, and our legs actually started looking a bit fuller the last week as we reduced our weight-training volume and used slow, steady-state work for the majority of our cardio. The lesson: If you want your legs to stay large and muscular, walk, slow jog or do interval work. Don’t do medium-fast runs or treadmill work, or your 2As could become too aerobically inclined and lose size and anaerobic ability. Also, if you do interval cardio, don’t get carried away. As we said, it’s like a hard leg workout and takes a toll, especially when you’re in a calorie deficit. Be frugal and be careful—no hamstring or knee injuries allowed!
Model: Jonathan Lawson
We’re now going back to Eric Broser’s Power/Rep Range/ Shock training approach, but with an X-Rep twist.
six reps per work set.
As we’ve said in the past, training each bodypart only once a week has never worked for us as well as we would have liked, but we figure that we’re in such a depleted state, it may be just what the doctor ordered. Plus, we have some new ideas on how to make it more successful for us. To review, P/RR/ S calls for changing the training protocol every week:
Rep Range: On the first exercise the rep range is seven to nine, on the second it’s 10 to 12, and on the third it’s 13 to 15—or higher. Shock: The rep range is eight to 12 on most exercises but with intensity techniques like drop sets, slow negatives, DC training, X Reps and X-hybrid techniques to shock new growth. After Shock week it’s back to Power, and the cycle begins again. We’ll have more on our new program next month, including our new split as well as our Power workouts. If you’d like to see how our program is evolving and exactly what we’re doing in the gym at the moment, check out our X-Blog Training Journal at X-Rep.com. Editor’s note: For the latest on X Reps, X e-books and the X-Blog training and supplement journals, visit www.X-Rep.com. A few of the mass-training e-books are shown below. IM
Power: Straight sets with heavy weights, four to
X-traordinary Workouts — X-ceptional Results!
The Ultimate Mass Workout. This is the original X-Rep manual. Includes the ultimate exercise for each muscle and workouts.
Beyond X-Rep Muscle Building. More on X Reps and X-hybrid techniques, including X Fade and Double-X Overload.
3D Muscle Building. Positions-of-Flexion mass training. Includes the 20pounds-of-muscle-in-10weeks size surge program.
X-traordinary MuscleBuilding Workouts. The big 10 mass-program arsenal. Includes Heavy/Light, 20Rep Squat, Power Pyramid.
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by John Hansen, Mr. Natural Olympia
Best Workout to Grow Q: I just finished reading your October ’08 column highlighting workouts for beginning bodybuilders. I found your advice timely, as I’m starting that journey myself, although with a big difference—I’m 52. I’ve lifted weights off and on over the years but have never been consistently serious until almost six years ago. At that time, I was 47, 6’5” and almost 250 pounds with 20-plus percent bodyfat. I started doing full-body workouts and slow-motion cardio. After almost three years and a couple of injuries that helped me learn how to be more careful, I was doing very well. My weight was down to 210 with about 12 percent bodyfat, according to my online trainer. I’d gone from a 90- to a 170-pound bench press for three sets of 12 reps, deadlifting 350, doing
“As I moved into my 40s, I had to reduce my volume and training days per week.”
24 to 30 sets per workout using a split routine, and although I never saw my abs and never really put on much mass, my waist was down to 36 inches. That was three years ago, November, 2005. My daughter’s health took me away from training for almost three years, but she’s now on the mend. I’ve started training again and getting refocused. I can still bench-press 145 pounds for three sets of eight and deadlift 250 pounds. I’ve never made the commitment to be a real bodybuilder, but I’d like to do so now. I’ve returned to an old full-body routine similar to one you suggested in your column. I’m doing three sets of 12 reps for a dozen exercises. My plan was to do that for two to three months while doing HIT cardio on off-days, then switch to the split routine you suggested. I was amazed at the volume in your split routine. Is that really what I need to put on solid mass? What level of intensity is needed with that volume? Later in the same issue, C.S. Sloan, a former powerlifter, recommends lots of volume, staying away from failure and moderate reps (six to eight), while Steve Holman’s approach with X Reps and POF suggests less volume with extreme intensity, even for an older guy like me. My question comes down to this: Can I apply the general outline of your article to my own training needs as a 52-year-old relative newbie? What general modifications, if any, would you recommend to ensure that it’s effective? Or would you recommend an alternative approach such as Sloan’s or Holman’s for someone in my situation?
Neveux \ Model: John Hansen
NATURALLY HUGE NATURALLY HUGE NATURALLY HUGE NATURALLY HUGE NATURALLY HUGE NATURALLY HUGE NATURALLY HUGE NATURALLY HUGE NATURALLY HUGE NATURALLY HUGE NATURALLY HUGE NATURALLY HU
Naturally Huge
A: I think it’s great that you’re making the commitment to be a “real bodybuilder.” It’s never too late, and I’m happy that you’re ready to take on the challenge and achieve your best condition ever. The routine I listed in the October issue is an intermediate program designed for younger bodybuilders who are trying to add size and gain weight. That was the routine I used to bulk up when I was in my early 20s. That program is centered on the basic exercises, using heavy resistance for six to eight reps. I trained each bodypart twice a week, but I trained only four days a week so I’d have three full dayson topage recover. (continued 102)The volume is relatively high because I trained four muscle groups at each workout with an average of 10 to 12 sets per bodypart. Here’s the routine again:
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NATURALLY HUGE NATURALLY HUGE NATURALLY HUGE NATURALLY HUGE NATURALLY HUGE NATURALLY HUGE NATURALLY HUGE NATURALLY HUGE NATURALLY HUGE NATURALLY HUGE NATURALLY HUGE NATURALLY HU
Naturally Huge Monday Bench presses Incline dumbbell presses Flyes Dumbbell pullovers Seated military presses Lateral raises Bent-over lateral raises Barbell shrugs Pushdowns Lying triceps extensions Weighted dips Standing calf raises Seated calf raises
4 x 10, 8, 6, 6 3 x 8, 6, 6 3 x 8, 6, 6 3 x 10, 8, 8 4 x 10, 8, 6, 6 4 x 10, 8, 6, 6 3 x 8, 6, 6 4 x 10, 8, 6, 6 4 x 10, 8, 6, 6 3 x 8, 6, 6 3 x 8, 6, 6 4 x 12, 10, 8, 6 3 x 12, 10, 8
Tuesday Incline situps Incline knee raises Squats Leg presses Leg curls Stiff-legged deadlifts Wide-grip chins Barbell rows Seated cable rows Incline curls Barbell curls Wrist curls
3 x max 3 x max 5 x 10, 8, 6, 6, 6 4 x 12, 10, 8, 6 4 x 10, 8, 6, 6 3 x 10, 8, 6 4 x 10, 8, 6, 6 4 x 10, 8, 6, 6 3 x 10, 8, 6 3 x 10, 8, 6 3 x 8, 6, 6 4 x 12, 10, 8, 8
Wednesday Rest Thursday Bench presses Incline barbell presses Incline flyes Weighted dips Seated dumbbell presses Seated lateral raises Upright rows Power cleans Close-grip bench presses Seated barbell extensions Donkey calf raises Leg press calf raises
4 x 10, 8, 6, 6 3 x 8, 6, 6 3 x 10, 8, 6 3 x 8, 6, 6 4 x 10, 8, 6, 6 4 x 10, 8, 6, 6 3 x 10, 8, 6 3 x 8, 6, 6 4 x 10, 8, 6, 6 3 x 8, 6, 6 4 x 20 3 x 15, 12, 10
Friday Incline situps Incline knee raises Squats Front squats Leg curls Stiff-legged deadlifts Wide-grip chins One-arm dumbbell rows T-bar rows Hyperextensions Seated dumbbell curls Preacher curls Wrist curls
3 x max 3 x max 4 x 12, 10, 8, 8 3 x 10, 8, 6 4 x 10, 8, 6, 6 3 x 10, 8, 6 4 x 12, 10, 8, 6 3 x 8, 6, 6 4 x 10, 8, 6, 6 3 x 15-20 3 x 10, 8, 6 3 x 8, 6, 6 4 x 12, 10, 8, 6
As we get older, recuperation plays a bigger role in our workouts. I’m in my mid-40s now, and I never train more than four days a week. I’ve modified the intermediate routine by training each bodypart only once instead of two
times a week. That seems to help recuperation, not only for my muscles but also for my joints and tendons—a big consideration as we get older. By training only two muscle groups per workout instead of four, I keep my total volume much lower. That makes it easier to train harder at each workout, and it gives me more days off before I train the same bodyparts again. I can no longer train each muscle group twice a week because I don’t recuperate as fast as I used to. I think a good routine for you at your level would be to split your body up over three workouts. Don’t train three days in a row—you’ll need a day off after two consecutive days of workouts. Instead, train two days on/one day off. That will give you five days of rest for each muscle group and your body two to three complete days of rest per week. Here’s an example: Day 1: Chest, arms, calves Dumbbell bench presses Incline presses Incline flyes Close-grip bench presses Lying extensions Incline curls Barbell curls Seated calf raises Day 2: Abs, legs Hanging knee raises Crunches Leg extensions Leg presses Squats Leg curls Stiff-legged deadlifts
4 x 12, 10, 8, 6 3 x 10, 8, 6 3 x 10, 8, 8 3 x 10, 8, 8 3 x 10, 8, 6 3 x 10, 8, 8 3 x 10, 8, 6 4 x 20, 15, 12, 10
3 x 30-40 3 x 30-40 3 x 15, 12, 10 3 x 12, 10, 8 3 x 10, 8, 8 3 x 12, 10, 8 3 x 10, 8, 8
Day 3: Off Day 4: Delts, back, calves Seated dumbbell presses Lateral raises Bent-over lateral raises Shrugs Wide-grip chins Barbell rows Deadlifts Leg press calf raises
3 x 10, 8, 6 3 x 10, 8, 8 3 x 10, 8, 8 3 x 10, 8, 6 3 x 12, 10, 8 3 x 10, 8, 6 3 x 10, 8, 6 4 x 12, 10, 8, 8
Day 5: Off Day 6: Repeat cycle The program focuses on the basic exercises, but by training fewer bodyparts per workout, you cut way back on the volume. It should be a good routine for you. Keep training hard by making the workouts progressive—training heavier or employing techniques such as supersets or drop sets to increase the intensity—and you should be able to achieve your goal of getting into the best shape of your life. Q: My calves, and a lot of other people’s, are extremely stubborn. I’ve noticed improvement recently, but not much. As the calves are fast-recovering muscles, would it be all right to hit them with four sets four times a week? I want to do a soleus-promi-
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nent day, then a gastrocnemius-prominent day, alternating between standing and seated calf raises. Any thoughts on that? A: The calves are notorious for being the bodybuilder’s most challenging bodypart. The bodybuilders with the best calves usually owe much of their development to heredity. Chris Dickerson, Ken Waller, Mike Matarazzo and Mike Mentzer always credited their parents for their incredible calf development; however, many bodybuilders don’t put the effort into developing their calves that they do other muscles, like the chest, arms or even thighs. Calves can Another problem is the handle more overwhelming opinion that frequent if your calves are weak, workouts than it’s all genetics and there’s other bodyparts. nothing you can do about it. My calves were very skinny when I started bodybuilding as a teenager. My legs were a weak point, and I always worked hard on them to bring them into balance with my upper body. My calves eventually developed into one of my stronger bodyparts. Calves seem to recuperate much more quickly than most muscle groups, so they need to be trained more than once a week. I work my calves with two exercises for three to four sets each, twice a week. I usually train them on Monday and Thursday, giving them three to four days of rest between workouts. I think the best exercise for calves is the donkey calf raise. I love doing donkeys because the weight is distributed directly over the hips—unique for a calf exercise. In addition, donkey calf raises give you heavy resistance and higher repetitions. The key to building the calves is to train them heavy and use high repetitions to really pump the blood into the muscle. If you think about it, the calf muscles are the farthest from the heart, so you have to do more repetitions to get the blood into the calves. Even so, you can’t train the calves with light weights and expect them to grow. The muscle fibers in the calves are accustomed to walking every day, so doing high reps with a light-to-moderate resistance won’t do the trick. I do donkey calf raises with someone sitting on my back instead of using a machine. Most of the machines I’ve seen don’t have enough resistance to really develop the calves. In addition to the weight of my partner, I use a belt to strap on more weight. At one point in my career, when I made the best gains in calf development, I had two guys sit on my back along
with another 100 pounds in resistance hanging from the belt. I could force out 15 reps with that substantial weight—about 500 pounds—before one of the guys would jump off. I’d continue doing the exercise with just one guy on my back and the extra 100 pounds. I could usually get another 10 reps with that resistance before the other guy would jump off. Then, with just the weight from the belt, I’d force out another 10 reps. That amounted to a total of 35 reps. By doing drop sets that way, I trained my calves with very heavy weight but still did a lot of repetitions to force the blood into the muscle. The combination of high resistance and high reps really made the difference in building up my calves. My current program has me working calves on Monday, doing seated calf raises—the best exercise for developing the soleus—for four sets of 10 to 20 reps followed by standing calf raises for the gastrocs, three to four sets of eight to 12 reps. I use high reps on the seated calf raises because the soleus is composed mostly of slow-twitch fibers, and it responds best to high repetitions—15 to 20. After I have the blood in the muscle, I move to standing calf raises. I use heavier weights for eight to 12 reps to develop the fasttwitch muscle fibers of the gastrocnemius. On Thursday I begin with donkey calf raises for four sets of 20 to 30 reps. That blows up my calves and gives me a great pump. When I finish the four sets, I can hardly walk. I finish off with another three sets of calf raises on the leg press machine, keeping my knees straight and getting a full range of motion—three sets of 10 to 12 reps. You can see the pattern here. Do high reps with the first exercise to get a great pump in your calves and then follow up with another exercise that uses heavier resistance. The combination is the best for developing size in the calves. Neveux
NATURALLY HUGE NATURALLY HUGE NATURALLY HUGE NATURALLY HUGE NATURALLY HUGE NATURALLY HUGE NATURALLY HUGE NATURALLY HUGE NATURALLY HUGE NATURALLY HUGE NATURALLY HUGE NATURALLY HU
Naturally Huge
Editor’s note: John Hansen has won the Mr. Natural Olympia and is a two-time Natural Mr. Universe winner. Check out his Web site at www.NaturalOlympia.com or send questions or comments to him via e-mail at John@ NaturalOlympia.com. Look for John’s new DVD, “Natural Bodybuilding Seminar and Competitions,” along with his book, Natural Bodybuilding, and his training DVD, “Real Muscle,” at his Web site or at Home Gym Warehouse, www.Home-Gym.com. Send written correspondence to John Hansen, P.O. Box 3003, Darien, IL 60561. IM
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by David Goodin
The State of Natural Bodybuilding Q: I’m interested in competing in natural bodybuilding. I started looking for shows, and I’ve found a plethora of natural bodybuilding organizations.
Why is that? More important, which organization would you recommend?
A: I totally understand your confusion about the natural bodybuilding organizations. A quick search yielded the following: OCB, IFPA, NGA, INBF, WNBF, ABA, INBA, WNSO (FAME), Musclemania, USNBA, USBF, IDFA, SNBF, NABF, NANBF, ONBF, NPA, IBA, BLNPA and NFSO. That’s 20 organizations, and new ones are popping up all the time. In some cases promoters of natural bodybuilding have had issues with their sanctioning organizations. Instead of finding another established natural organization, they just started their own. I’ve known of other promoters who were also athletes who created their own “natural” organization to match
Dave (third from the right) competing in the ’08 NPC Team Universe welterweight division. He placed second.
Roland Balik
SHREDDED MUSCLE SHREDDED MUSCLE SHREDDED MUSCLE SHREDDED MUSCLE SHREDDED MUSCLE SHREDDED MUSCLE SHREDDED MUSCLE SHREDDED MUSCLE SHREDDED MUSCLE SHREDDED MUSCLE SHREDDED MUSCL
Shredded Muscle
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Roland Balik
Drug-free competitions are becoming more and more popular in the NPC. Promoters see the potential as steroids continue to get bad publicity.
their own natural status, such as one, three or five years drug-free, complete with various definition of “drug-free.” Still others formed their own organizations so that they could collect both the entry fees and the organization’s membership fees. It’s mind-boggling if you’re an athlete trying to get started in the sport. For those who aren’t familiar with the various organizations, just come compete in my show, the NPC Texas Shredder Classic. Seriously, although the NPC is not known for natural bodybuilding, the number of drugtested NPC contests is growing rapidly. Dave Liberman has been promoting NPC natural shows in Ohio very successfully for years. Just off the top of my head I can name seven states that have NPC natural shows, and most of them have more than one. It requires promoters who are willing to take the risk on a natural show to get things started. I’ve been promoting the Texas Shredder Classic for 11 years now. My first year to sanction it with the NPC was 2008, and the organization allowed me to do the same drug testing I’ve always done. The response was so great that our state and district chairman, Lee Thompson, has committed to promoting an NPC Natural Texas State Championships next year. Corey Pavitt stepped out on
a limb last year and promoted a natural NPC contest in Juneau, Alaska. Due to the excitement his contest generated, NPC promoters Garry Loeden and Philip Bradfield added the Natural Crystal Cup to their contest schedule in Anchorage. You’re probably wondering why I’m going on and on about NPC natural contests. Well, when you compete in the NPC, you generally get a lot more competition and a lot more coverage. Regardless of which organization(s) you compete in, you should look for certain qualities. One is the drug-free requirement. I haven’t examined every one of them, but some organizations accept only lifetime drug-free athletes. Most, however, put a time limit on drug-free status, such as one year or several years. Some don’t specify an amount of time that an athlete must be drug-free. For those organizations you have to be clean enough only to pass the test, usually urinalysis. The next thing to look at is the bannedsubstance list. Editor’s note: See Dave Goodin’s new blog at www.IronManMagazine .com. Click on the blog selection in the top menu bar. To contact Dave directly, send e-mail to TXShredder@ aol.com. IM
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CRITICAL MASS CRITICAL MASS CRITICAL MASS CRITICAL MASS CRITICAL MASS CRITICAL MASS CRITICAL MASS CRITICAL MASS CRITICAL MASS CRITICAL MASS CRITICAL MASS CRITICAL MASS CRITICAL MASS CRITICAL MA
Critical Mass by Steve Holman
Muscle-Building Tips and Tricks Q: Your latest X-Rep workout program in the e-book X-Rep Update #1 is amazing. I added a couple of pounds of muscle after only two weeks, and I swear I’m seeing cuts and striations I’ve never seen on me before. Do you notice more size and detail when you use fascia-expansion workouts? A: Standard POF protocol is the midrange exercise followed by the stretch exercise followed by the contracted exercise. For example, bench presses (midrange), dumbbell flyes (stretch) and cable crossovers (contracted). Merely switching the order of the last two exercises—pump followed by stretch—has a greater loosening effect on the encasements around the muscle fibers, which, theoretically, makes it possible for more growth to occur. Many researchers claim that the fascia, or encasements, restrict growth. It’s a constriction that can be remedied somewhat by pumping the muscle with a contracted move like cable crossovers and then elongating that full muscle with a stretch exercise like dumbbell flyes soon after. It’s a lot like stretching a new balloon before you blow it up to make it easier to inflate. Another plus is that doing the stretch-position exercise last, when the target muscle is fully engorged, puts more stress on the insertion points. In the example above, doing dumbbell flyes last, after your pecs are fully engorged, puts more stress on the inner area where the pec major attaches to the rib cage. That will etch in more detail all the way up the inner chest. I have trouble with my pecs—stubborn bastards!—but switching the exercise order gave me new size and detail. It has worked for other muscle groups as well. It’s more evidence that one small change can create big gains. Simply switching the exercise order can get you growing again—as you’ve discovered— and chisel attention-grabbing detail. Oh, one other thing: That latest X-Rep program also includes static holds, which can produce more muscle detail. It’s one reason competitive bodybuilders get harder and more dense-looking muscles when they practice posing for a contest. Posing is a form of static-hold training; however, using weights is even more effective at chiseling more eye-popping cuts. Q: I’m 44 years old, and I like the idea of heavy workouts alternated with light ones. My question is, Is it a good idea to use preexhaustion up front on light day instead of straight sets? So for light quads I’d do leg extensions supersetted with squats for two rounds instead of doing two sets of subfailure squats and a drop set on extensions afterward. I ask
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A: I don’t think preex is very effective if used exclusively, but it’s an ideal mass tactic in certain cases, and this is one of them. Here’s why: You’ll probably get an even bigger pump on light day with preex than than with the straightset method listed in the heavy/light program. Remember, light day is for pushing more blood into the target muscle for glycogen replenishment and recuperation, and that’s precisely what preex does best. Preex isn’t so great for force generation, the key musclebuilding component, because you get less fiber activation doing the contracted-position exercise first. That isolation move involves fewer fibers and creates lactic acid pooling in the target muscle. In other words, the prefatigue it creates derails your ability to generate maximum force on the important big, midrange exercise, which you do second in a preex superset. In your example, the big exercise, squats, is hampered by leg extension fatigue, which reduces force generation and fiber activation; however, that makes preex perfect for light-day training. Remember, on light day you’re trying to maximize pump and minimize damage. So at your heavy quad workout you do straight sets of squats and a drop set or two on sissy squats, a traumatic stretch-position exercise. Then on light day you do two preexhaustion supersets of leg extensions and squats—quick and effective—and you won’t believe the full-blown pump.
Neveux \ Model: Brian Yersky
Q: I’m using the Basic Ultimate Mass Workout 1 on page 56 of the e-book The Ultimate Mass Workout. I like doing the ultimate exercise for each bodypart with X Reps because I have limited time to train. I know that end-of-set X-Rep partials are important for getting maximum growth stimulation, but I’m having trouble X-ing at the end of some of them, like incline hammer curls. When I reach exhaustion, I can’t budge the dumbbells. Should I grab lighter dumbbells and do a drop set instead of X Reps? A: As you read in the e-book, the research suggests that movement is necessary for optimal nervous system activation, which means more muscle fibers get in on the action with X-Rep partials at the end of a set. On some exercises, like incline curls and lying triceps extensions, the addition of X Reps is impossible. For those moves I suggest a Static X instead. When you reach exhaustion—no more full-range reps are possible—slowly move the weight into the semistretch position, or X Spot, and simply hold the weight as you flex the target muscle. That end-of-set static hold is the next best thing to X-Rep partials. You’ll feel it working. It’s much better than just stopping the set at positive failure, which reduces tension time and leaves too many fibers understimulated. Q: I’m 42 years old, on the thin side and have been training for many years. I want to know if I’ll overtrain by taking my work sets to failure and then adding X-Rep partials to the end. Some expert trainers say it will cause burnout and that you have to be juiced to stand that style of workouts. I’m natural, so I wonder if I can handle that type of training at my age. A: I’m almost 50 years old, drug free and making great gains with X Reps and X-hybrid tactics—DXO, X Fade, static holds, etc. I’ve been thin all my life. I weighed less than 120 pounds when I started training. With Positions of Flexion
Preexhaustion is excellent for lightday workouts.
training I restructured my physique. By adding X Reps and X-hybrid techniques in my 40s, I’ve gotten bigger and better. My before and after photos are posted at X-Rep .com. You’re correct that the older you get, the more cautious you must be about overtraining. It’s a never-ending challenge, which is why I emphasize two important mass-building techniques. 1) Phase training. It’s four to six weeks of all-out training followed by one or two weeks of subfailure workouts without X Reps or intensity tactics. I call the easier week the supercompensation phase, as you actually grow during the downshift from the previous all-out workouts. 2) Heavy/light. For older trainees and/or hardgainer types I highly recommend using a heavy/light training protocol for much of the year. You hit each bodypart with a shorter all-out workout—to exhaustion with X Reps. Then at the next workout for that bodypart you use a subfailure workout with higher reps—or preex, as explained above— for pump and recovery, no X Reps. If you’re a regular reader of this column, you know that I firmly believe that no matter what your age, some intense training is a must for triggering the best and fastest gains possible—challenging your muscles gives them a reason to adapt and grow. If a muscle gets the same lower-level stimulus constantly, there’s no reason for it to get larger and stronger. An all-out set also activates the size principle of muscle fiber recruitment best—that’s a domino effect, with the last few intense reps activating key fast-twitch growth fibers that are difficult to recruit in abundance with subfailure sets—and adding X Reps gets at even more of them. Just don’t get carried away and don’t forget to back off regularly. Neveux \ Model: Brian Yersky
because I’ve read that you don’t like preexhaustion.
Editor’s note: Steve Holman is the author of many bodybuilding best-sellers and the creator of Positionsof-Flexion muscle training. For information on the POF videos and Size Surge programs, see the ad sections beginning on pages 174 and 264, respectively. Also visit www.X-Rep.com for information on X-Rep and 3D POF methods and e-books. IM www.ironmanmagazine.com \ JANUARY 2009 87
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A Bodybuilder
Is Born Episode 42 by Ron Harris Photography by Michael Neveux
Model: Rob Riches
C
hristmas had come and gone. For Christmas Eve we had the traditional dinner at my sister-in-law’s house. Traditional, that is, if you were raised in Puerto Rico, as most of her husband’s family was. The house was packed wall to wall—no doubt exceeding local fire codes— and the stereo blasting salsa and merengue music at ear-splitting levels was accompanied by a makeshift band playing bongos, a trumpet, a cowbell and an odd instrument that involved scraping a ridged piece of wood. The decibels were roughly equivalent to a jet taking off. We left at 1 a.m., and the party was still going strong, as the alcohol hadn’t run out. At one point I had actually touched my cheek to make sure blood wasn’t trickling out of my eardrum from the ungodly din. So much for silent night, holy night. Christmas had been a great day for my kids. My daughter got an iPod Nano, which would enable her to more effectively ignore us when we told her to clean her room or do her homework. My son got a bunch of toys, the king of them all being RoboRaptor, a remotecontrol robot dinosaur. He was ecstatic for about 10 minutes, until he started whining that he needed a second RoboRaptor to do battle with this one. How could we have been so inconsiderate? Now we were in the weird in-between week, after Christmas but before New Year’s. Unfortunately for my wife, her birthday fell smack dab in the middle of it. She was used to family members being too financially devastated from buying gifts for the 200 assorted children—Latin families tend to be large—to get her anything. I’d at least bought her a very nice white-gold necklace this year.
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Bodybuilder Is Born It was the day before New Year’s Eve. Janet and I still weren’t sure where we were going the next night. Randy and his latest girlfriend were headed to a club about an hour south of us in Rhode Island called Therapy. It opened at 10 p.m.
time to look back on the year that had passed and see which goals had been met and which had not. That could apply not only to bodybuilding but
Model: Chris Jalali
“Eight pounds of pure muscle in the right places make a big difference in a physique, junior.”
and didn’t close until 8 a.m. on New Year’s Day. I was a bit wary of staying out that late. I’d probably need therapy just to get back on track with real life. At 36 years old I was a bit past my partying prime. By 3 a.m., no matter how hopping the club might be, I’d be craving a warm bed to crawl into after a warm mug of protein shake and cookies. Where we went on New Year’s Eve wasn’t important. What was important was that the year was coming to an end, and fast. It was
to career and personal relationships as well. Randy and I had been training together a bit more lately, as it was a time of year almost nobody was buying new cars—unless we’re talking Hot Wheels. I didn’t want to get into his work situation or relationships, but if we were talking about bodybuilding—that’s where I could poke my nose into his business. We’d both been doing well on our winter bulking plan. Since Thanksgiving Randy’s weight had climbed from 212 to 217. Having a protein
bar as a dessert with each meal had helped, along with training hard and heavy consistently. That gave him about 30 grams of protein and 300 extra calories, which all added up. I was now up to 229 in the morning and 232 by evening. Funny how that works, isn’t it? If I could just not go to the bathroom for a few days, maybe I could hit 250—assuming I didn’t die first from the toxic backup. Randy wanted to reach 225 by the first day of spring, and my new goal was 235—morning weight, after a visit or two to the porcelain throne. That was one goal for the coming year. Now it was time to sketch out the remainder. “Randy, I have a plan for you,” I began. “Uh-oh,” he warily replied. “Relax. It’s nothing that involves torture or staying celibate for any length of time.” “Same thing,” he stated. “There’s a contest in September that has a novice class, with two weight divisions, over and under 175. You would be over.” “I would hope so.” “You’re going to win the class, or at least do your damnedest to win it. But winning isn’t as important as showing a very noticeable improvement from the New Englands. I want you weighing in at no less than 192 onstage, with a much better chest, arms and calves.” Now, 192 at 5’11” is not a mass monster in modern bodybuilding by any stretch of the imagination. Ronnie Coleman won the Olympia in ’04 at the same height and 296 pounds, though there’s a rumor that genetic testing has confirmed he is not human but in fact an entirely new species, Ronnie Sapiens Giganticus. Even without comparing himself to Ronnie, however, Randy wasn’t too impressed with the goal I had set for him. “That’s it? Just eight pounds heavier than last year?” Apparently he thought I was setting the mark too low. “Eight pounds of pure muscle in the right places make a big difference in a physique, junior,” I informed him. “I like to use the old analogy Mike Mentzer made famous. He used to say to imagine
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Bodybuilder Is Born
Merv
Fredrick
Once the show is over, you rest up and eat what you want for a what that week, and then you start packing the muscle on all over again because your body will be ready to grow after the long diet. amount, in this case eight pounds, would look like if it was raw steak piled on a table in front of you. That’s when you get a better appreciation for just how much muscle it really represents.” “Huh,” Randy said, his eyebrows knit in concentration as he no doubt envisioned slabs of meat. “So, Anyway, I once I get to 225, do I start dieting believe you or what?” can actually “Sort of,” I explained. “You keep gainshould hit that weight by about ing muscle April. That’s when I want you to until about very gradually start cleaning up 12 weeks out, your diet. You’ll still be eating plenwhen we’ll ty of food, just not as much worthstart limiting less crap like those your carbs. muffins from So when I Dunkin’ Donuts say 192, I you seem to be really think addicted to.” you could “They’re very well be good,” he noted. a few pounds more than that. But “I’m sure by aiming for the lower number, we they are. underpromise and overdeliver.” “Cool. So I win the show—then what?” “The show is in late September. Once it’s over, you rest up and eat what you want for a week, and then you start packing the muscle on all over again because your body will be ready to grow after the long diet. When we talk at this time again next year, I expect you to be about 230 pounds in the same condition Ronnie you are now.” Coleman. “Wow, so you have my whole year
planned out for me.” “That’s right. Now if only I could figure out what I was going to do tomorrow night.” Randy thought a moment, then had it. “They’re having something at the planetarium with a laser show, then champagne and cheese at midnight. That’s about your speed, right?” He burst out laughing at his own lame joke. The sad thing is, I was thinking about how I could do that and be in bed by one. “Okay, but if you’re not back from that club by noon the next day, I may have you declared legally dead.” “You really aren’t going?” he asked. “Kid, I pass the torch to you. Just make sure you get home with some brain cells left. You’ve got a big year ahead of you.” IM
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Older-But-Better
TEXAS SHREDDER How Cover Man Dave Goodin Continues to Compete and Improve at 50 — Drug-Free by Steve Holman Photography by Michael Neveux Dave Goodin is amazing. He still has the motivation and rock-solid physique to hit the bodybuilding stage with the best—and come out on top, or close to it, every time. At his most recent outing, the ’08 NPC Team Universe Championships, he took second in the welterweight class, beating some very good, and young, drug-free bodybuilders. And he did it only a year after ripping his hamstring from the bone in a freak accident. It’s not only contests he can zero in on. At every photo shoot he schedules, he’s rock-hard and ripped. Is the guy some kind of mutant, a shred-meister from planet Super-striate? Let’s find out. IM: What’s your current precontest split? Lay out a oneweek snapshot for me. DG: Monday, legs; Tuesday, chest and light biceps; Thursday, back; Friday, shoulders, biceps, triceps. IM: How does that change in the off-season? DG: My preference is to go to a three-day Monday-WednesdayFriday split in the off-season. I haven’t done that the past few years
because I was accommodating my training partners. On my three-day split I do legs on Monday; chest, front and middle delts, and biceps on Wednesday; then back, rear delts and triceps on Friday. IM: In the programs described in your blog at Iron ManMagazine.com, you often list, say, seven sets for squats or seven sets for bench. How many of those sets are lighter warmup sets on the big, compound exercises, and how many are work sets? DG: When I list seven sets, usually my first four are warmup sets and my last three are work sets. Particularly with the basic exercises like squats, leg presses, deadlifts, bench presses and overhead presses I’m not only doing sets to warm up my muscles and joints, I’m also doing progressively heavier sets to prepare my nervous system for the heavier weights I will use on my work sets. If, for example, I tried to do a couple of warmup sets with 180 pounds and 270 pounds on the leg press and then jump straight to my workout weight of 810, I probably wouldn’t
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SHREDDER
“I’m not only doing sets to warm up my muscles and joints, I’m also doing progressively heavier sets to prepare my nervous system for the heavier weights I will use on my work sets.”
be able to handle the weight because (at least for me) my nervous system wouldn’t be ready. If I work my way up to the 810 in 90-poundper-set jumps, when I get to 810, I can usually do it for at least 20 reps. IM: Do you go to failure on your work sets? And what about forced reps—do you ever use them? DG: I go very very close and sometimes to failure on my work sets. I rarely do forced reps. I’ll only do them if I have a spotter I’m really comfortable with. I like a spotter who gives just enough help to keep the weight moving smoothly. If you get somebody who is going to let the weight stop completely before they help you, then you’re in for trouble. At my age I really have to stay in the groove to avoid injury, and with forced reps it’s easy to get out of the groove unless your spotter is really good. IM: I know you mix up the exercises at every workout. For example, I see you do hack squats first on some leg days, squats first on others. Are there any general rules you follow as far as exercises go, or do you just do whatever you feel like doing? Do you ever do isolation exercises first? DG: I actually mixed up my leg workouts much more this year than I usually do. My legs were behind because of my 2007 hamstring injury [and surgery]. I had not done hack squats in years but was looking for a way to add more sweep to my quads. I’ve also had a lower-back problem that popped up as soon as I got off the crutches and painkillers last year—and it hasn’t gone away. I’ve had quite a few weeks that my back was really sore, and I knew I didn’t want to squat as heavy, so I did hacks or leg presses first. My general rule is to always do the compound movements first so that I can handle the heaviest weights on them. I very, very rarely—almost never—do an isolation movement first. IM: In one of the routines on your blog you supersetted a chest exercise with a back movement all the way through. How do you like that agonist/ antagonist-superset method,
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SHREDDER
“I haven’t trained bodyparts twice per week since I was in my late 20s.”
and do you use it often? DG: It’s not something that I do very often. Usually when I do that kind of superset it’s because it’s the week of a show and I’m working chest and back on the same day. Or, if I’m working out by myself and my shoulders are bothering me, doing a pulling movement after the pushing exercise makes them feel better. When I do it for that reason, I don’t go hard on the back movements. Occasionally, if I’m pressed for time, I’ll superset agonist and antagonist muscle groups on my isolation exercises. Last year I often supersetted leg extensions and leg curls. Another one I’ve done quite a bit, but rarely this year, is biceps and triceps. I like the pump I get when doing those supersets, but I’m always concerned that I can’t handle as much weight as usual on the second movement. IM: You seem to train with a lot of volume. Do you think that’s best when you train each bodypart only once a week? Do you ever do lower volume and train bodyparts more often, or do you feel that may overstress your middle-aged body? DG: I haven’t trained bodyparts twice per week since I was in my late 20s. I tried to go back to training everything twice a week when I was in my mid-30s, but my joints just couldn’t take it. I would say that part of the reason that my training volume is so high is my propensity for injuries. I’m experimenting with doing a little extra work for certain bodyparts. This year I started throwing in three or four sets of curls after my chest workout in order to try to bring up my biceps. Those were more pumping-type sets—not exhaustive. It worked really well. Just a couple of weeks ago I added a few sets of laterals after chest to try to put more width on my medial delts. IM: You and I are almost the same age, but I notice that you don’t have the loose-skin issues that I’ve been experiencing the past couple of years when I get lean. Do you do something to prevent that, is it genetics, or is it just a function of staying fairly lean all year so the skin never gets stretched?
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SHREDDER “Getting fatter to add more muscle that I can’t hold on to doesn’t help me at contest time.”
DG: I’m sure that genetics does play a part in it, but I think that staying fairly lean is the biggest thing. In the past eight years I don’t think I’ve been more than 15 pounds out of contest shape. I prefer to keep it within 10 to 12 pounds. I’ve also noticed that since I started taking essential fatty acids, my skin looks much healthier in contest shape. IM: You’ve said that you stay in the 8-to-10-percent-bodyfat range most of the year and then take 12 weeks or more to come down to 3 percent for competition. Do you think staying so lean makes it harder to build more muscle? DG: Well, I’ve never gone over 10 percent bodyfat. I usually stay around 6 to 8 percent, depending
on how often I drink margaritas. [Laughs] I think the big thing is that eating poorly makes it harder to put on muscle. There are a lot of physique athletes who go back to really bad eating habits in the off-season and rationalize it as “bulking.” I’ve done the bulk-up thing a couple of times. There were a couple of years that I got to 30 pounds over my contest weight, but by the time I dieted back down into ripped condition, I was only a pound heavier. I had to diet so much harder and do so much more cardio to get the fat off that any muscle I may have added was lost by the time I was in contest shape. Getting fatter to add more muscle that I can’t hold on to doesn’t help me out at contest
time. Plus, I like looking good all the time—not just when I’m getting ready to step onstage. IM: A sound approach I’m finally realizing myself. Can you list your most recent precontest diet? Have you changed it in any way over the past few years as you’ve gotten older? DG: I changed my contest diet dramatically about 14 years ago. When I first got into bodybuilding in the early ’80s, the lowfat, highcarb, moderate-protein diet was in vogue. When I started competing in the WNBF [without weight classes], I needed to put on a considerable amount of muscle to be competitive with the other natural pros. I doubled my protein intake from about 125 grams per (continued on page 107)
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SHREDDER
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“I’m definitely not a low-carb guy. Even with about 40 percent of my calories coming from carbs, I will sometimes get glycogen depleted.”
Midafternoon 8-10 ounces grilled chicken breast, salad, 1 or 2 pieces fresh fruit Late afternoon 1 protein bar or Pro-Fusion protein drink Evening 12 ounces grilled chicken or grilled fish, salad, 1 piece fresh fruit Before bed 1 piece fresh fruit or protein bar
(continued from page 102) day to 250. I also cut starches out of my contest diet and got my carbs from low-glycemic fresh fruits. The only adjustments I’ve made to my diet in the past few years are: 1) following some of the nutrient-timing guidelines, 2) adding essential fatty acids and 3) in just the last two years I’ve added a lot more supplements from MuscleLink to my nutrition plan. Here’s a typical day from my contest training this summer. I’d estimate it’s about 2,300 calories.
Breakfast (6 a.m.-ish) 4 egg white omelet with 2-3 ounces grilled chicken and nonfat cheese; 1 orange or grapefruit On the way to work Venti black-eye from Starbucks (large coffee with two shots expresso) Midmorning 1 protein bar or Pro-Fusion protein drink Noon (workout) During workout: 8-10 ounces Gatorade and 8 ounces water with 1/2 scoop Pro-Fusion, 1 scoop Xtend and 1/2 scoop Creasol Immediately after workout: 1012 ounces Gatorade with 1 1/2-2 scoops Pro-Fusion and 1/2 scoop Creasol
IM: How does your diet differ in the off-season? Also, when you start your precontest diet, do you move to what you outlined earlier, or do you gradually cut down to that over the first few weeks? DG: In the off-season I add starches back into my diet. I also like a glass or two of wine with dinner, and I like to sip a good tequila when I go out. During the off-season I’m not nearly as strict, and I’ll eat chips and salsa if it’s set in front of me or pizza occasionally with my kids. My off-season diet is still lowfat most of the time. I never eat fried foods and rarely eat desserts. I eat desserts usually only at Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners (my mom makes great apple pie!). I plan the start of my contest diet by how many pounds I think I need to lose. If I’m 10 pounds over my contest weight, I’ll give myself 12 weeks. A few years ago I found myself 15 pounds over, so I started my contest diet 17 weeks out. I usually gradually work my way into the fullblown contest diet over the course of a few weeks. IM: You’re not a low-carb guy. I believe you said you usually keep carbs at about 40 percent. Ever tried the low-carb route? DG: I’m definitely not a low-carb guy. Even with about 40 percent of my calories coming from carbs, I will sometimes get glycogen depleted. I feel horrible! I can’t think straight, my legs feel like lead, and I can’t get a pump or a burn when I’m training. When I’ve done carb
depletion in the past, I got terribly flat from it. Having adequate carbs in your diet spares protein. I’m not that big of a guy. I don’t have any extra muscle that I can afford to lose as I prepare for a show. IM: How do you keep the fatburning process moving along as you get leaner? Do you increase cardio as a contest gets closer, or do you reduce your calories or both? DG: Sometimes I reduce calories a little by cutting back on carbs a bit or by cutting out fats where I can. But the biggest thing for me is increasing cardio. I’ll add more cardio sessions—sometimes doing it two or even three times per day. I prefer that to having one much longer session. All of my cardio is walking outside or riding the Lifecycle. I did probably 90 percent of my cardio walking this year. The “Shredder Walk,” which is what the guys at Hyde Park Gym here in Austin named it, is four miles round trip from the gym down to Memorial Stadium, where the Longhorns play. About a block before the stadium there’s an eightstory parking garage. When I get there, I run up the stairs, come back down and continue to the stadium. At the stadium I walk up the ramps to the upper deck—11 stories. Then I go back down, back to the parkinggarage stairs again and then back to Hyde Park Gym. You don’t notice that it’s slightly downhill when you’re headed to the University of Texas campus, but you notice that it’s uphill on the way back! I do the Shredder Walk only once or twice a week. Most of the time my walks are about two miles. IM: Have you ever tried highintensity cardio—the interval method, alternating all-out sprints with lower-intensity work? DG: Yes, I have. About six years ago I thought that would be a good idea, and the second time I went out to do sprints, I tore a hamstring (even though I was thoroughly warmed up). A few years later one of my buddies tried sprinting for cardio and tweaked a hamstring. I just talked to Mary Hobbs, a nationallevel bodybuilder, a few weeks ago. She tore a calf muscle sprinting
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SHREDDER
“I think the big thing is that eating poorly makes it harder to put on muscle.”
ramps as she prepared for the NPC USA and had to drop out. While it sounds great in theory, the practice is risky. The other issue I have with high-intensity work for cardio is where to put it into your weekly routine. My leg workouts are so exhaustive that by the time the soreness wears off, I wouldn’t have time to recover from the sprints before it was time for my next leg workout. IM: Do you have any workout secrets and/or favorite supplements for getting your patented Texas Shredder look? DG: Workout secrets? Hmm—not really. Go extremely hard on the basic exercises, but that’s not much of a secret. Don’t cheat on your diet—but that’s no secret either. Favorite supplements—I have a bunch! Here they are in order of importance: Pro Fusion (protein powder—Muscle-Link) Creasol (titrated creatine—MuscleLink) Omega Stak (essential fatty acids— Muscle-Link) Life Pak Nano (Pharmanex) Xtend (branched-chain amino acids—Scivation)
Red Dragon (beta-alanine—Muscle-Link)
“There is no substitute for consistency—and that’s consistency in both training and diet.”
GH Stak (Muscle-Link) ZMA-T (zinc and magnesium—Muscle-Link) Cort-Bloc (phosphatidylserine—Muscle-Link) Ribose Size (Muscle-Link—this I use much more in the offseason) Hyperdrive 3.0 (ALR Industries—I just discovered this product last summer; it’s the best thermogenic I’ve come across) You’ll notice that the first six supplements listed are things that actually add to the nutrition that I’m taking in. I think those are the most important. If you can afford to take more supplements, then you add compounds that affect changes in hormone levels. That said, I have to say that GH Stak, ZMA-T and Cort-Bloc are incredible. I don’t think I could do without them now that I’ve used them and seen the results. IM: I know you don’t do the same exercises at every workout, but can you list your favorite mass move for each bodypart? DG: That’s easy! Legs: Squats and leg presses Chest: Bench presses and incline presses Back: Deadlifts and rows
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SHREDDER Shoulders: Overhead presses Biceps: Dumbbell curls Triceps: A toss-up between skull crushers, pressdowns, dips (when my shoulders feel good) and seated triceps extensions IM: Do you have any training tips for middle-aged bodybuilders that might help them keep packing on the muscle? DG: Be consistent! There is no substitute for consistency—and that’s in both training and diet. People always ask my age. Then they ask me how I can be in such great shape at 50 (I’ll actually be 50 on March 8). The thing is that I eat pretty clean year-round, and I’ve never stopped training. In 27 years my longest layoff was six weeks—and that was 16 years ago. In ’97 I had biceps-tendon-reattachment surgery. I was back in the gym a week later doing everything that I could do with a cast on my right arm. Last year I had the hamstring tendon reattached on a Friday, and I did a chest workout the following Tuesday. People marveled that I was dedicated enough to hobble around the gym on crutches with a leg ridiculously swollen and immobilized. But my response was, “What should I do? Sit around and let everything else shrink up? I know I’m going to have one seriously atrophied leg, but I’m not going to let the rest of my body go to pot!” The importance of being consistent cannot be overstressed. I guess the only training adjustment I’ve made as I’ve gotten older is that I have to move the weights much more smoothly and deliberately. I’m really careful with my technique and very careful not to get out of the groove. I can’t train with the reckless abandon that I did even 10 years ago. It takes the injuries too long to heal these days. I also listen to my body more. If my joints are sore (I mean sorer than usual), or if anything doesn’t feel right, I’ll keep the weights lighter and do more reps. I’m also careful not to get overzealous when I’m having a really good day. I might feel like I could handle 10 more pounds, but if I’ve done enough to properly fatigue the muscles, I’ll move on and save the increase for next time. Hopefully, I’ve gotten wiser. Sometimes I question that though. [Laughs] Editor’s note: Visit Dave Goodin’s Texas Shredder blog at www.IronMan Magazine.com. IM 110 JANUARY 2009 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com
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LEUCINE The Anabolic Key to Unlocking Gains for Older Athletes by Jacob M. Wilson, M.S., CSCS, and Gabriel J. Wilson, M.S., CSCS Photography by Michael Neveux
50-Year-Old Athletes and Resistance Training Before delving into the central issue of amino acid supplementation for masters athletes, we want to address common questions: “I’m getting older, so is bodybuilding still for me? Can I still get results in the gym?” The answer is absolutely yes. For example, studies indicate that men and women aged 50 to 100 can achieve 50 to 60 percent increases in muscle cell size,2,3 60 to 260 percent elevations in isometric (handgrip) and dynamic (free weights and machines) strength2,3 and 30 percent increases in power in short periods of time—12 to 16 weeks.4 If building muscle and changing your body are your goals, then those studies enable us to boldly declare that bodybuilding and strength training are for you, regardless of your age. Nevertheless, studies indicate
Model: Steve Holman
O
ne of the most frightening things about getting older is the seemingly unavoidable loss of strength, muscle and power. From age 25 to 50 the average male and female lose 10 percent of muscle and after 50, 1 to 1.4 percent every year.1 Do those statistics apply, though, to masters bodybuilders and strength athletes? Do they have different nutritional needs for optimizing growth from what they needed when they were in their 20s? A great deal of our research concerns why people lose muscle tissue after the age of 50 at an accelerated rate, how you can prevent that loss and, most important for the readers of IRON MAN, how older athletes respond to training. What we and others have found is that a blunted muscle-building response to the amino acid leucine plays a prominent role in muscle loss with age. That leads to practical info you can use to reverse the muscle-tissue aging process.
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LEUCINE that the overall growth response to training is blunted compared to what young people experience.5 The reason may lie in how older athletes respond to the anabolic properties of their meals.6
Amino Acids—the Key to Muscle Tissue Growth
Leucine, the Critical Element The word anabolism is synonymous with growth. Clearly, essential amino acids are anabolic, but scientists have found that after the age of 50 people become resistant to their effects. Dr. Katsanos and his fellow scientists found that seven grams of essential amino acids stimulated protein synthesis in young people but completely failed to do so in older people. Does that mean that older people have lost the capacity to respond to amino acids? If so,
Between meals we recommend two to three servings of either BCAAs with a minimum of three grams of leucine or 15 grams of essential amino acids with the same leucine content.
Model: John Hansen
Every time you eat a meal containing carbohydrates, proteins and fats, you send out triggering signals that tell muscle tissue to build new proteins. The process of building new proteins is called protein synthesis. More than 80 percent of muscle-growth stimulation is actually triggered by the protein and amino acids in that meal.8 Proteins are made up of 20 amino acids, nine of which are termed essential because they cannot be produced in the body and therefore must be obtained through diet. Only the nine essential amino acids are responsible for stimulating the building of new muscle from a meal. For example, one study found that six grams of essential aminos stimulated twice the protein synthesis that a dose of three grams of nonessential amino acids and three grams of essential amino acids did. Additional studies have shown that 15 grams of pure essential amino acids stimulated twice as much protein synthesis as 15 grams of a whole protein source, even though the calories were the same.9 That’s because whole proteins are a natural mixture of both essential and nonessential
amino acids in roughly equal proportion.
Studies indicate that the overall growth response to training is blunted compared to what young people experience. The reason may lie in how older athletes respond to the anabolic properties of their meals. 116 JANUARY 2009 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com
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LEUCINE Of the nine essential amino acids, leucine appears to be the main one responsible for protein synthesis. It’s the only amino acid that can stimulate protein synthesis alone. Practical Implications We commonly see people eating just oatmeal for breakfast or older athletes buying a “healthy” breakfast that contains about seven grams of protein, only half of which provide essential amino acids. Such eating patterns help explain much of the muscle loss and the blunted response to exercise that occur with age. Masters athletes should be taking in an amino acid mixture or whole protein that contains a minimum of 2.5 to three grams of leucine per serving. Some scientists say
Masters athletes should be taking in an amino acid mixture or whole protein that contains a minimum of 2.5 to three grams of leucine per serving. Some scientists say that it should be higher—3.2 to 4.3 grams—as lesser amounts may potentially result in no muscle growth. The higher leucine content brings them gains similar to those of their younger counterparts.
Model: John Hanson
then the muscle loss and the blunted response we see to resistance training are an inevitable consequence of aging. Fortunately, that is not the case. Senior trainees simply need a higher dose of critical elements in an essential-amino mixture. Leucine appears to be the main essential amino acid responsible for protein synthesis.11 It’s the only amino acid that can stimulate protein synthesis alone.12 Because older people are resistant to the anabolic effects of amino acids, researchers investigated what would happen if they bumped up the leucine content from the original 1.7 grams to 2.8 grams in a seven-gram mixture.13 They found that the older people could stimulate protein synthesis to the same extent as young people. Research also shows that there are no differences in the building of muscle tissue between younger and older people at a dose of 15 grams of essential aminos.10 That implies that masters athletes can respond the way young athletes do, given a higher dose of amino acids.
that it should be higher—3.2 to 4.3 grams14—as lesser amounts may result in no muscle growth. The higher leucine content brings them gains similar to those of their younger counterparts. At a recent meeting of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, our colleague Layne Norton explained that you should be aware of the leucine content in various proteins. Beef, egg, casein, chicken, pork and fish are approximately 8 to 9 percent leucine, and whey protein is 12 percent leucine. For calorie efficiency a masters athlete can also take 15 grams of essential amino acids. The next question is whether masters athletes should take leucine supplements. The answer is that while leucine increases protein synthesis by itself, it acts much faster when combined with other amino acids—25 minutes compared to 120.15 Leucine, isoleucine and valine are collectively called the branchedchain amino acids. Taking leucine
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triggers the enzyme responsible for breaking down the other two BCAAs, and when their concentration is lowered, protein synthesis goes down as well. That’s why we advise taking either an entire essential amino acids mixture or a mixture of the BCAAs with leucine at a 2-to-1 ratio to each of the other BCAAs. Based on the above studies, we recommend the following for masters athletes: 1) Eat four to five meals per day of animal-based whole protein sources. If that comes from meats, the leucine content will generally be 8 to 9 percent, and you’ll need about 40 grams to get three grams of leucine. If you use a whey protein supplement as well, you’ll need only 25 to 30 grams of whole protein. 2) Between meals we recommend two to three servings of either BCAAs with a minimum of three grams of leucine or 15 grams of essential amino acids with the same leucine content. The reason we recommend taking the supplements between meals is that they’re an extremely calorie-efficient way to add muscle without adding unnecessary fat.9 That’s particularly important for masters athletes, whose metabolisms may be lower than those of younger athletes.
bodybuilding is a timeless sport, but only when you give your body adequate nutrients to support your hard work in the gym. Clearly the nutrient threshold shifts with age, but by countering that shift with adequate servings of essential amino acids, particularly leucine, you’ll recover as if you were 30 years younger. Editor’s note: Gabriel Wilson is completing his Ph.D. in nutrition, with an emphasis on optimal protein requirements for muscle growth, and is a researcher in the Division of Nutritional Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana. He is vice president of the Web site ABCBodybuilding .com. Jacob Wilson is a skeletal-muscle physiologist and
More than 80 percent of the muscle-growth stimulation that you get from a meal is actually triggered by the protein and amino acids in that meal.
The beauty of science is that it directly asks the difficult questions and then answers them with solid data. As researchers in the lab we can tell you that 120 JANUARY 2009 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com
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Model: Jennifer Miicheli
LEUCINE
LEUCINE researcher in the Department of Nutrition, Food, and Exercise Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee. He is president of the Web site ABC Bodybuilding.com.
References L., et al. (1979). Muscle strength and speed of movement in relation to age and muscle morphology. J Appl Physiol. 46(3):451-456. 2 Pyka, G., et al. (1994). Muscle strength and fiber adaptations to a year-long resistance-training program in elderly men and women. J Gerontol. 49(1):M22-27. 3 Singh, M.A., et al. (1999). Insulin-like growth factor I in skeletal muscle after weightlifting exercise in frail elders. Am J Physiol. 277(1 Pt 1): E135-143. 4 Hakkinen, K., et al. (1998). Changes in muscle morphology, electromyographic activity, and force production characteristics during progressive strength training in young and older men. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 3(6):B415-423. 5 Kosek, D.J., et al. (2006). Efficacy of 3 days/wk resistance training on myofiber hypertrophy and myogenic mechanisms in young vs. older adults. J Appl Physiol. 101(2):531-544. 6 Katsanos, C.S., et al. (2005). Aging is associated with diminished accretion of muscle proteins after the ingestion of a small bolus of essential amino acids. Am J Clin Nutr. 82(5):1065-1073. 7 Moffatt, R.J., et al. (2008). Nutrition for resistance training in middle-aged adults. In Nutrition for Middle-Aged Adults (vol 1). In press. 8 Rennie, M.J., et al. (2002). Latency, duration and dose response relationships of amino acid effects on human muscle protein synthesis. J Nutr. 132(10):3225S-3227S. 9 Paddon-Jones, D., et al. (2006). Differential stimulation of muscle protein synthesis in elderly humans
13 Katsanos, C.S., et al. (2006). A high proportion of leucine is required for optimal stimulation of the rate of muscle protein synthesis by essential amino acids in the elderly. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 291(2):E381-387. 14 Norton, L. (2008). Optimal protein intake and meal frequency to support maximal protein synthesis and muscle mass. JISSN. 3(5):S4. 15 Kobayashi, H., et al. (2006). Modulations of muscle protein metabolism by branched-chain amino acids in normal and muscle-atrophying rats. J Nutr. 136(1 Suppl):234S-236S. IM
Model: Berry Kabov
1 Larsson,
following isocaloric ingestion of amino acids or whey protein. Exp Gerontol. 41(2):215-219. 10 Paddon-Jones, D., et al. (2004). Amino acid ingestion improves muscle protein synthesis in the young and elderly. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 286(3):E321-328. 11 Norton, L.E., and Layman, D.K. (2006). Leucine regulates translation initiation of protein synthesis in skeletal muscle after exercise. J Nutr. 136(2):533S-537S. 12 Garlick, P.J. (2005). The role of leucine in the regulation of protein metabolism. J Nutr. 135(6 Suppl):1553S-1556S.
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Squat Is It Truly the Best Exercise? by Jerry Brainum
In past the barbell squats formed the cornerstone of every bodybuilding champion’s leg program. One notable advocate of intense squatting was the late Reg Park, a three-time Mr. Universe. Reg believed that his heavy squat workouts played a major role in his acquisition of a truly Herculean physique. Reg favored “breathing squats.” He did high-rep squats—20 or more per set—in which he took several breaths between reps. As soon as he completed one set, Reg would immediately do a set of straight-arm pullovers, also for high reps, in the 15-to-20 range. It was a particularly grueling workout, and Reg credited it with developing his deep rib cage. I can attest to the validity of Reg’s claims about breathing squats. Unlike those who focus only on
upper-body muscles, I began my training with an intense breathing squats/straight-arm pullovers workout similar to Park’s. I’d read about the workout in Iron Man. The article stated that doing breathing squats provided an increased metabolic effect that would stimulate size gains in the entire body. It worked exactly as advertised. I gained about 25 pounds and put a whopping six inches on my chest. Another early proponent of squats was the great John C. Grimek. The only man to win the Mr. America title twice, in 1940 and ’41, Grimek also won the Mr. USA and Mr. Universe titles, defeating such great bodybuilders of the era as Steve Reeves and Clarence Ross. I once saw Grimek accept an award. At the time he was in his late 70s, and he lamented to the crowd
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Neveux \ Model: Peter Putnam
Squats are often called the king of exercises—and for good reason. Squats work the largest muscles in the body, the thighs, and so they not only stimulate serious gains in muscular size and strength but also provide a systemic metabolic stimulation that seems to encourage even upper-body growth.
Science
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Squats that he could no longer squat with the heavy weights that he used in his younger years. Grimek complained about having to squat with no more than 300 pounds—at the age of 70! Many men that age have trouble getting up out of a chair, much less squatting with 300 pounds. Over the 39 years that I have
Arnold always incorporated some form of squats in his leg-training sessions. I know, since I served as his leg-training partner. trained at Gold’s Gym in Venice, California, I’ve watched heavy-squat techniques evolve. During the Arnold era of the 1970s nearly all the top champs, including Arnold, incorporated some form of squats in their leg-training sessions. Training thighs was particularly onerous for Arnold—building mass there didn’t come easy for him, and his thigh mass was the first to atrophy when he didn’t train. As a result, when he worked his thighs, Arnold always sought a training partner to push him. I know, since I served as Arnold’s
leg-training partner on several occasions. I recall that he would do six sets of every thigh exercise but worked particularly hard on barbell squats. Training thighs was so difficult for Arnold that he trained nothing else at that workout. He often left the gym after an intense thigh workout, got something to eat and then took a nap, returning to the gym later in the day to work his upper body. All the other pro bodybuilders at Gold’s in those years, among them Ken Waller, Mike Katz, Ed Corney, Bill Grant and Pete Caputo, followed Arnold’s lead in doing intense squat workouts. Not doing 128 JANUARY 2009 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com
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Neveux \ Model: Ja y Cutler
You can tell the present champs who still squat by their humongous thigh development; for example, that of eight-time Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman and two-time Mr. O Jay Cutler.
Squats Squat Problem Solved
Neveux \ Model: Henrik Jansson
There are plenty of us who would love to squat really heavy and certainly have the hip and thigh power to do so but also have lower-back injuries that make it impossible. If your legs aren’t as huge as you’d like them to be, that can be a downer, but the great thing about weight training is that there are always ways around such issues. You can indeed make 200 pounds feel like 500 and make it stimulate just as much muscle growth. Slowing down your reps, pausing at the bottom and using higher-rep ranges are a few neat tricks. I recently picked up another one from IFBB pro King Kamali, who happens to own a pair of monster tree trunks. The main part that intrigued me about his leg workout was that he supersetted heavy Smithmachine squats with lighter barbell squats for 15 reps each. That appealed to me because going heavy on the Smith machine keeps the lower back relatively fresh, as it’s not needed to balance the weight the way it is when you use a barbell. Then, when you move directly to free-weight squats, the quads are temporarily weaker, relatively speaking, than the spinal erector muscles of the lower back and can be blasted into oblivion. As I have a chiropractor’s rap sheet longer than my arm, I thought that might be just the ticket. I warmed up with one 45-pound plate on each side of the Smith machine for 12 reps, then did the same on the bar for 12. Next, I added a second 45 to the Smith and got 15 reps. Luckily, the Smith machine was right next to the squat rack, where I did a mere 135 for 15. I was starting to get one heck of a pump going in my quads. I added a quarter to the Smith, which would be 275 if it were a bar, and did 15 more reps. After a quick two steps over to the barbell, where I kept the weight at 135, I got another 15. I had planned on going at least to 185 but now saw that would be overly ambitious. The 135 sure felt a lot heavier. The beauty of it was, it really wasn’t. My lower back was not being exposed to potentially traumatic loads. For my final set I needed my wife, Janet, to help me get the last couple of reps with the 275 and also with the 135 on the bar. I felt like I’d been run over by a truck! One really cool thing about this superset is that if your lower back is perfectly healthy, you can simply swap the order and do the barbell squats first. Those will do a number on your lower back, but you’ll still be able to continue on to Smith-machine squats to drive your thighs into a zone of pain and growth the likes of which you’ve never experienced. You can finish quads off with a couple sets of leg extensions and leg presses if you still have it in you, but you may not even need them. If your quads haven’t had a great pump in some time, or if you’re looking for a way to hammer them without using a ton of weight, give this routine a try. —Ron Harris Editor’s note: Ron Harris is the author of Real Bodybuilding, available at www.RonHarrisMuscle.com.
Leg extensions are an isolation exercise, also known as an “open-chain kinetic” exercise. Because of their biomechanics, they place more stress directly on the knee joints. In contrast, when you do squats, the weight is distributed among several strong muscle groups, including the thighs, hips and glutes.
squats wasn’t a consideration. Times have changed. While many pros still do squats, others eschew them, using ersatz substitutes such as leg presses and lunges. They cite such reasons as, “Squats build a big ass,” or “Squats widen the waist and produce a bulging belly.” Yet many champs who did extensive squat routines, such as three-time Mr. Olympia Sergio Oliva, three-time Mr. Olympia Frank Zane and ’68 Mr. America Jim Haislop, built massive thighs with heavy squat workouts—yet also had tiny hips without bulging abdomens. You can tell the present champs who still squat by their humongous thigh development; for example, that of eighttime Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman and two-time Mr. O Jay Cutler. Many bodybuilders today avoid squats because they believe that squats induce knee injuries. That
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notion stems from a 1962 report by a doctor named Klein that’s been disproved many times over the years. If you’re concerned about your knees, you’d be well-advised to be careful with other leg exercises, such as leg extensions and hack squats. Properly done squats impart far less knee strain than they do. Leg extensions produce an intense shearing effect on the knees that breaks down knee cartilage. That’s particularly true if you flex your lower legs past the 90 degree angle at the start of the exercise or if you use too heavy a poundage. Leg extensions are an isolation exercise, also known as an “open-chain kinetic” exercise. Because of their biomechanics, they place more stress directly on the knee joints. In contrast, when you do squats, the weight is distributed among several strong muscle groups, including
the thighs, hips and glutes, rather than being imposed directly on the vulnerable knee joints. My comments assume that you perform the exercise in good form. That includes not rounding your back; descending in a slow, controlled fashion rather than just dropping down; and not bouncing at the bottom. Some trainers advise looking either straight ahead or up, since looking down tends to encourage your body to bend forward, which is tough on the lower back. As for depth, that is perhaps the greatest controversy about the squat. Klein and other early squatting dissidents advised squatting only halfway down, to the point where the thighs are parallel to the floor. The idea was that parallel squats preserved the knees. On the other hand, only full squats fully
activate the powerful gluteus maximus, or buttocks muscle, which greatly aids squatting power. Thigh muscles respond better to higher reps. Tom Platz, well-known for his awesome thighs, says that he didn’t achieve the freaky look he became famous for until he began doing high-rep squats—and I do mean high reps. Platz would do sets of 50 or more, even up to 100 reps, using about 315 pounds. He was, however, hardly the first to find that high-rep squatting produced superlative leg development. I met Dr. Kimon Voyages at the Mid-City gym in New York back in the mid-1960s. The personable Voyages was then 42 years old but still had quite impressive thighs.
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Squats
Neveux
Tom Platz, well-known for his awesome thighs, says that he didn’t achieve the freaky look he became famous for until he began doing high-rep squats— and I do mean high reps. Platz would do sets of 50 or more, even up to 100 reps, using about 315 pounds.
As a bodybuilding competitor in the 1940s, Kimon had won numerous Best Legs awards and even defeated Steve Reeves in that category at the ’47 Mr. America contest in Chicago, where he placed sixth overall and Reeves was the winner. When I asked Kimon how he built those solid underpinnings, he told me of his penchant for doing very high-rep squats. Scientific studies confirm that high-rep squats are superior for building front-thigh mass. What about free weights vs. machine squats? Most of those with superior thigh development prefer free-weight barbell squats. On the
other hand, if for some reason your form is continually bad—for example, you’re leaning too far forward—doing squats on a machine may force you to stay in the proper exercise plane and thus preserve your lower back. Many trainees feel that they have more control when they use a machine, which puts less stress on the knees. I used to use a special squat bar that combined the best of free weights and machine squats. It forced you to use good form yet also permitted you to use heavy weights. I stopped doing the exercise only when the squat bar was removed
from the gym for unknown reasons. I now do a type of machine squat that just isn’t the same as a barbell squat or squat bar, and my thigh development has regressed significantly as a result, despite the fact that I also do moderate-weight leg presses and leg extensions. Frank Zane used a special squat apparatus that he designed that makes it easier to maintain perfect form throughout your set. Zane feels that it contributed greatly to his thigh development. Another bodybuilder from that era, Dave Draper, squats using a special device of his own design that lies across his
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Front squats, another effective variation. Holding the bar in front of your neck forces your torso to stay more upright, giving you a direct quad hit. fingers excessively. That can also be painful. One possible solution is to attach lifting straps to the bar and hold the straps rather than bending your fingers under the bar. Reeves did the exercise with his arms crossed over his chest, holding the bar in his crossed arms. Hack squats are another useful variation, although they are not a replacement for barbell squats. On the other hand, famed bodybuilding trainer Vince Gironda was a strong proponent of hack squats done on a machine and even refused to allow squat racks in his famous Studio City, California, gym. Vince suggested that doing machine hack squats with varying body alignments would produce full thigh development minus the big ass and hips that he said would result from heavy barbell squats. I recall once sitting in the front of Vince’s Gym with Vince as we observed a bodybuilder across the gym doing lunges, which Vince called another “ass builder.” Vince watched the guy for a few minutes, a look of utter disgust on his face, then turned to me and said, “Look at the guy. He has an ass so big, you could hide a small child under it in the rain and the kid wouldn’t get
Neveux \ Model: Mehmet Yildirim
back and helps support the bar, thus favoring better squat form and increased exercise focus. Another typical method of doing squats involves changes in foot position. The dogma states that keeping the feet in a narrow stance favors the outer thighs, thus promoting a desirable thigh “sweep.” A wider stance is supposed to place the focus on the inner thighs, training such muscles as the adductors and sartorius. Studies show that doing wider-stance squats does produce more adductor activity. Doing narrow-stance squats, however, does not work any of the thigh muscles more effectively than if you use a normal foot stance of about shoulder width. While some suggest that doing full squats involves the hamstrings more, meaning the muscles on the backs of the thighs, the truth is that squats provide minimal hamstring involvement. For full hamstring development you need to do at least two basic movements: leg curls and stiff-legged deadlifts. That way you work the hams at both the knee and hip areas. Steve Reeves favored front squats. The screen Hercules believed that doing heavy regular squats would increase his hip and glute size, and since he was blessed with small hips and glutes, he wanted to keep them that way. His basic thigh workout consisted of front squats, hack squats and leg curls. He did it three times a week as part of a wholebody routine. Knowing that the thighs are the largest muscles in the body and required more energy to be trained effectively, Reeves trained them first. Front squats, as the name implies, are performed with the bar held in front, usually resting on your front delts and upper chest. One advantage of them is that they make it more difficult to lean forward. That has the duel effect of lessening the possibility of lower-back strain and placing less stress on the hips and glutes. A major drawback of front squats is that there’s a tendency for the bar to press into your throat, which can be uncomfortable. Another problem is the way the bar rests in your hands, often bending back the
wet, and here he’s doing another ass-building exercise!” In one hack variation that Vince favored, you move your hips forward as you come up out of the low position. He said that would train both the lower and upper thighs, whereas hack squats normally focus on the lower part of the front-thigh muscles. Bodybuilders often use too much weight on hack squats. The angle of the typical hack machine places a lot of stress on the knee joints, just as leg extensions do, since the large glute and hip muscles are not heavily involved in the movement (which is why Vince liked it). Piling on the weight and doing the exercise with a narrow foot position is guaranteed to result in bad knees eventually. I know, because I did hacks that way for more than 20 years. I wound up shearing away most of the cartilage in my knees, leaving me with arthritis today. Don’t make the same mistake. I can also attest that when done properly, squats are still the king of exercises, and there is simply no substitute if you’re seeking to build massive and powerful legs. IM
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Model: Skip La Cour
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Triceps MASS
&
Building Muscle Fast Fast by Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson Photography by Michael Neveux
Q: I’m making great gains with 3D Positions of Flexion, training each bodypart through its midrange, stretch and contracted positions, but my triceps still look small. I’ve noticed that they have pretty good sweep from the side, but from the front my arms look skinny. How should I alter my POF triceps program to address that problem?
Model: Dan Decker
A: Your medial and long triceps heads are getting the brunt of the work in your current arm program.
You want to shift the focus to getting the outer heads as beefy as possible so they give your arms width when they’re viewed head-on. Here’s one of the triceps “width” routines from our e-book X-traordinary Arms: Midrange: Close-grip bench presses 2 x 9-12 Stretch: Cable pushouts 1-2 x 9-12 Contracted: Two-arm kickbacks 1-2 x 12-15 All of those exercises emphasize the outer triceps head, although the
other two heads still get some size stimulation as well. In X-traordinary Arms we suggest alternating that width routine with a different sweep routine, but it sounds as if you don’t need more fullness from the side. Try the above as your sole triceps attack, with X Reps and X-hybrid techniques on some sets, and your arms will be grabbing people’s attention from every angle. Q: I have a few questions: 1) Is it unusual to “feel” bigger as you go [through the programs in the e-book Quick-Start Muscle-Building Guide]? It’s like an awareness of my muscles that I’ve never had—strange but nice. 2) I’m unclear on what to do if I’m sore and it’s time to work that muscle again. Say my chest is still really sore, but it’s chest day again. Do I work it or skip it? A: It’s not unusual to feel bigger when you’re using the QuickStart Muscle-Building Guide. The workouts are designed with that in mind—using force-generation exercises plus the neuromuscular stimulation of slow contractedposition exercises. That provides the perfect growth stimulus for the beginner, as the research studies we
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Cable pushouts, a stretch-position exercise for triceps.
Review: Climb Your Ladder of Success Without Running Out of Gas This new book by John M. Rowley isn’t your normal rah-rah, justdo-it success mishmash—not by a long shot. It rises above the crowd precisely because Rowley is a bodybuilder and has been for 20-plus years. He was the owner of the gym at which Lou Ferrigno trained in “Pumping Iron.” He has a definite love for the weights and the bodybuilding lifestyle—and he actually ties that into his ladder-of-success formula. Yes, besides ideas on remodeling your mind-set, the power of forgiveness, forgetting yesterday and finding your “why,” there are chapters on clean eating, including sample menus and recipes as well as discussions on the macronutrients—like the importance of protein. There’s also an entire chapter on building muscle, “Dramatically Transform Your Body Into a Muscle-Building, Fat-Burning Dynamo,” which includes complete workouts with core bodybuilding exercises, sets and reps. Lots of so-called success manuals give lip service to merging mind, body and spirit, but Rowley actually does it, tipping his hat to bodybuilding in the process. A smile came to my face many times when he used weight-room analogies as examples (“Your attitude toward failure is your spotter”). He also provides lots of real-world success stories from his life and others’, even going back in history to show how a man like Abraham Lincoln swam against the tide of adversity his whole life, dealing with failure after failure before becoming president of the United States. Climb Your Ladder of Success is especially relevant now, with our economic turmoil straining and draining our optimism. Rowley helps you rally and gives you the ammunition to weather that or any other storm—and a big part of that ammo is to keep pounding the iron and eating right. You won’t be running out of gas. You’ll be flooring it as you achieve and race past each of your goals—with a muscular physique to boot. —Steve Holman Editor’s note: Climb Your Ladder of Success Without Running Out of Gas is available from Home-Gym.com. 138 JANUARY 2009 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com
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discuss in that ebook indicate. Most beginning programs don’t build muscle from the get-go; the Quick-Start workouts are designed to do just that, as you’re finding out. As for soreness, if it’s only mild, you can hit the muscle hard when it’s time. If soreness is more severe, you should train the muscle again, but use lighter poundages and don’t go to exhaustion on your exercises. In other words, make it an easy, pump workout, the sole purpose being to bathe the muscle in nutrient-rich blood. Keep the reps fairly high—around 12—on each exercise, with the 12th rep being fairly easy. You should strive for full engorgement to facilitate recovery and growth.
Q: I’m very interested in giving DC training a spin. My question is this: DC has me doing three sets in a row with 20 seconds of rest after each. Which of those sets is best for X Reps? Or should I do X Reps on all three?
Model: Brent Kutlesa
Model: Jonathan Lawson
A: Dante’s DoggCrapp, or DC, training is an excellent mass-building technique because it’s a good mix of max-force generation with an extended-tension-time chaser. You use the same weight on all three sets—reps usually go nine, six, three—so the first set gives you the most force output from the target muscle. The 20 seconds of rest between sets isn’t long enough for fatigue products to clear and the nervous system to regenerate—studies suggest that takes about three minutes—but it’s why the second and third sets build the muscle along a different pathway, as you’ll see in a moment. So to answer your question, we suggest you amplify the force generation of set number one with X-Rep partials at the end. Remember, the first set is when your force output is highest, so you activate the most fast-twitch growth fibers. The second two sets are somewhat compromised because of limited rest, but that’s the idea. The second and third sets provide
some additional force, but their purpose is more to extend the tension time on the target muscle—to build the endurance components of the muscle, such as the mitochondria and capillaries, which also adds to muscle size increases. The first set is key, however, as max force is the primary hypertrophic trigger, especially on compound exercises. Most of the exercises Dante recommends for his DC-training programs are compound moves. Obviously, you use a lot of energy on each multijoint set, especially with only 20 seconds of rest. From what we’ve experienced, end-of-set X-Rep partials won’t be possible on the second two sets if you go all-out on them—but a static hold at the X Spot will. Try the following sequence, taking each set to exhaustion: Set 1: 9 reps + X Reps Rest 20 seconds Set 2: 6 reps Rest 20 seconds Set 3: 3 reps + Static X If you don’t abuse it, DC should pack plenty of new muscle onto your frame. Try it on some or most of your midrange exercises, like bench presses, pulldowns and rows. If you’re not familiar with what X Reps are, here’s the drill: On the first set at exhaustion, move the resistance to a point on the stroke at which the target muscle is semistretched—like near the bottom of an incline press—and do eight-inch pulses, or X Reps. You drive the bar from a point a few inches off your chest up to near the halfway mark and bring it back to the semistretch spot a few times. Think of them as controlled explosions. As for the Static-X technique, at exhaustion on the last set, move the bar to the semistretch point and hold for as long as possible. It hurts, but it works. Editor’s note: For more on X-Rep training, visit X-Rep. com. For more on the Quick Start Muscle-Building Guide, visit MuscleQuickStart.com. IM
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DESIGNED TO BUILD RES U L T S
FROM THE MAKERS OF OHYEAH! COMES RE-SATUR8 ®
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RELOAD. RECOVER. GROW. www.issresearch.com
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Muscle-Science
Study Haul A Good Day at
Red Rock
for Bodybuilding-Related Research by Jerry Brainum
T
Neveux
he annual meeting of the International Society of Sports Nutrition was held during the first week of June 2008 at the $925 million Red Rock Casino and Spa in Las Vegas. The Red Rock, named for the nearby Red Rock Mountains, opened in 2006 and is located 10 miles away from the fabled Las Vegas Strip. I last attended the ISSN meeting two years ago, when it was held at the now-defunct Sahara Hotel on the Strip. This year’s event looked promising, as it featured several well-known researchers in sports nutrition and exercise physiology. There were scheduling conflicts; I chose to attend the seminars that seemed likely to provide the most practical information for those engaged in bodybuilding. www.ironmanmagazine.com \ JANUARY 2009 143
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Study Haul Richard Kreider: Nutrition Strategies for Preventing Overtraining and Optimizing Performance Kreider heads the sports nutrition lab at Baylor University in Texas and has published a number of studies analyzing the effects of popular sports supplements. Here are the highlights of his discussion: • The best supplements for promoting lean mass gains with
resistance training are protein supplements, essential amino acids, HMB and creatine. • Protein requirements vary with level of exercise, but as a general rule, the fol-
lowing apply: General fitness: .8 to 1 gram per kilogram of bodyweight Moderate fitness: training 30 minutes to one hour, three to four times a week—1 to 1.5 grams per kilogram of bodyweight Heavy training: training two to three hours, six days a week—1.5 to 2 grams per kilogram of body-
HMB may help prevent excessive muscle breakdown after intense training. weight Training at elevated altitude: 2 to 2.2 grams per kilogram of bodyweight. • Most people engaged in bodybuilding need an average of 1.8 grams of protein per kilogram of
The best overall supplement for increasing muscle, based on existing research, is creatine.
IStockphoto
A protein intake of .8 to 1 gram per kilogram of bodyweight is a good rule of thumb for general fitness. Heavy training requires 1.5 to 2 grams per kilogram of bodyweight.
bodyweight. • Athletes who need to make weight are at the greatest risk of not getting enough protein due to decreased calorie intake. That includes runners, cyclists, swimmers, skaters and boxers. A high-quality protein supplement is valuable for them. Protein quality is based on the content of essential amino acids. • The best overall supplement for increasing muscle, based on existing research, is creatine. It enhances muscle glycogen synthesis, increases work capacity and boosts exercise recovery. Studies have shown that using creatine supplements can double muscle gains when compared to a placebo. The gains are derived from more efficient muscle protein synthesis, not water retention. • The optimal essential amino acid intake for increasing muscle mass is six grams. • HMB is a leucine metabolite that in doses of three grams a day may help untrained people build muscle. The jury is still out on the effects of HMB in those with more training experience, although it may help prevent excessive muscle
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Study Haul breakdown after intense training. • Sodium bicarbonate—baking soda—may provide ergogenic effects if you take it one to two hours before competition at a dose of 0.3 grams per kilogram of bodyweight. Another method: taking 10 grams of sodium bicarb for five days. Sodium bicarb affects activity lasting one to three minutes. Since it can cause gastrointestinal distress, it’s best to start with small doses. • Sodium phosphate, like sodium bicarb, may reduce excess extracellular acidity. Some studies show that it increases oxygen intake. The dose is four grams a day for three to six days. • Beta-alanine shows promise as a precursor of carnosine synthesis in muscle. Taking four to six grams a day of this intramuscular buffer can increase muscle carnosine by 60 to 80 percent. • GAKIC is an amino acid complex that when taken right before training may give you more reps during training. • AAKG, an arginine complex taken in 12-gram doses, increases one-rep-maximum bench press strength. This form of arginine is common in many nitric oxideboosting supplements. • Branched-chain amino acids may have anticatabolic effects, but research is equivocal on the benefits. Leucine, one of the three branched-chain amino acids, is the primary amino involved in muscle protein synthesis, however. • In summarizing his suggestions for athletes, Krieder recommended eating a high-carb diet, taking a multivitamin daily, carb loading, drinking plenty of water and fluids to prevent dehydration, and using posttraining and evening protein drinks.
Layne Norton: Optimizing Protein Intake for Muscle-Mass Gains
amino acids may still be elevated for five hours or more. When you eat a meal containing protein, fat and carbs, muscle protein synthesis lasts for at least three hours. • Insulin also drops off after about three hours, so there must be a connection between insulin decline and decreased muscle protein synthesis. • One study showed that taking 2.5 grams of leucine between meals increased muscle protein synthesis. Contrary to popular opinion, eating small, high-protein meals more often doesn’t give you the same result. • It’s more effective to eat larger amounts of protein at each meal, separating the meals by four to six hours. • Using an example of a 200pound bodybuilder, Norton provided this model: five meals a day, each meal separated by four to six hours, four grams of leucine per meal,
Norton is a graduate student from the University of Illinois who is also a bodybuilder. He’s been published in this magazine and elsewhere. • Norton believes that specific meal recommendations are more important than total daily protein intake in relation to making muscle gains. • Leucine is the primary initiator of muscle protein synthesis. Taking three to four grams of leucine per meal maximizes it. • Twenty-five to 33 grams of whey protein contain three to four grams of leucine. You’d need to eat 54 grams of chicken or 20 slices of bread to get that amount of leucine. • The notion of constantly supplying amino acids to build muscle is wrong, according to Norton. He cited studies showing that an infusion of amino acids for six hours led to an increase in Eating fewer calories leads muscle protein to greater use of protein as synthesis for an energy source, as does only the first two hours. The endurance exercise. activity stops after that time, even though plasma
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Neveux \ Model: Lee Apperson
Study Haul
Taking the protein right after training supported muscle protein synthesis, but delaying it by two hours abated the effect and also blocked training-related strength increases.
two meals from whey, two chicken meals, one beef meal. The whey meal must contain 33 grams of protein to maximize muscle protein synthesis. That would result in a daily intake of 225 grams of protein, close to the often suggested dose of one gram per pound of bodyweight. Taking essential amino acids between meals augments muscle protein synthesis. • Younger people can eat less protein because they get increased insulin response. Older people need to take more essential aminos to duplicate the response of younger people. • Whey is the preferred protein source because the slowly digested casein, another milk protein, won’t supply enough readily available leucine to maximize muscle protein synthesis. • Eating fewer calories leads to
Propionate L-carnitine and glycine, sold as GPLC, may boost NO an average of 18 percent above baseline.
greater use of protein as an energy source, as does endurance exercise.
Richard Bloomer: The Truth About NO Supplements Bloomer is an assistant professor at the University of Memphis, and his research focuses on antioxidants and oxidative stress. He told me that he used to be a competitive bodybuilder and as a teenager went up against none other than two-time Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler (Cutler won). Perhaps for that reason Dr. Bloomer began his discussion by pointing out how large a role genetics plays in bodybuilding success. He suggested that about one in 10 million has the genes to duplicate the bodies you see competing in the Olympia. His seminar focused on the efficacy of the popular nitric oxide supplements. Bloomer noted that none of the companies selling NO products seem willing to sponsor research to support the claims they make in their ads. On the other hand, if the products didn’t work at all, they would likely have fallen from favor. Other points he made:
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Study Haul
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• NO is a free radical and a gas with a short half-life. That means it disappears rapidly. The amount of NO is determined by the amount of nitrite in your blood. • Low or slightly elevated amounts of NO have positive effects on health. Large amounts can be toxic because it reacts in the body with superoxide to form peroxynitrate, one of the most toxic free radicals. So products that promote excessive increases in NO aren’t a good thing. • A low level of NO in the body is good for cardiovascular health. The vasodilation of blood vessels from NO release leads to lower blood pressure, greater oxygen delivery to muscles and improved nutrient delivery to tissues. • While intravenous administration of arginine can boost NO in the body, there’s no evidence that any type of oral arginine supplement duplicates the effect. • Exercise alone increases NO release after eight to 12 weeks. • Many bodybuilders say that NO supple-
ments work for them, but there could be another mechanism at work. Many NO products also contain simple sugars, which promote an insulin release, itself a cause of rapid vasodilation. • Contrary to popular belief, arginine, though it’s the direct dietary precursor of NO synthesis, doesn’t regulate the process. What actually determine how much arginine gets converted into NO are the NO–synthesizing enzymes. • A supplement that may boost NO an average of 18 percent above baseline is propionate L-carnitine and glycine, sold as GPLC, which boosts NO–synthesizing enzymes in the lining of blood vessels. You need 4.5 grams a day divided in two doses. It’s best taken in with a high-carb source, as the increased insulin release helps retain carnitine in muscle. If all that sounds familiar, it’s because I’ve written about that effect in previous issues of IRON MAN. Note that at current prices, using the suggested dose of GPLC isn’t cheap. On the other hand, it’s good for your heart, and it’s the preferred form of carnitine in muscle metabolism.
Darryn Willoughby: Protease Supplementation and Muscle Damage Willoughby, also from Baylor University, specializes in how exercise and nutritional supplements regulate the molecular mechanisms of muscular growth. You can’t help trusting his information: He looks like a champion powerlifter or professional linebacker, not a geek who never set foot in a gym. Willoughby talked about using proteases, or protein-digesting enzymes, to improve muscle recovery and the molecular mechanisms of muscular inflammation. While there was a bit of biochemistry overload, the man does know his stuff. Among his many valuable (continued on page 154) points:
Taking three to four grams of leucine per meal maximizes muscle protein synthesis.
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Study Haul (continued from page 151)
• There’s no direct relationship between the extent of muscle soreness and muscle damage following exercise. • While protein-digesting enzymes, such as bromelain and papain, are most often linked to digestion of protein foods, when taken without food, they may have potent anti-inflammatory effects that help increase muscle recovery. • Protease supplementation improves the return of interstitial fluid, or lymph, and cells to the blood, which reduces swelling and edema. Taking the enzymes without food also appears to decrease production of inflammatory prostaglandins and other eicosanoids. • The inflammatory response is a result of tissue damage, usually from eccentric muscle contractions, which increases capillary permeability and allows leakage of proteins, such as fibrinogen, albumin and various globulins into the interstitial space—the lymph system—at the site of the injury. Fibrinogen is particularly important because it hinders the return of edema fluid to the capillaries and lymphatic channels. That leads to edema and inflammation in the affected area. Protease enzymes break down the fibrin barrier, thus giving you greater flow of lymph and decreasing inflammation. At least, that’s the theory. Willoughby pointed out that no one knows for certain how the enzymes work, since research in this area is just beginning. • What is known is that an oral dose of about three grams of protease enzymes lessens strength losses, minimizes muscle damage and improves recovery. Previous studies of protease enzymes appear to have used a dose too small to show any effectiveness.
Stu Phillips: The Superiority of Whey Proteins for Building Muscle Phillips, from McMaster University in Canada, is a well-known
researcher specializing in skeletal protein metabolism. His discussion focused on why whey protein is best for building muscle. His essential points were: • The timing of protein intake is more important than the amount of protein taken in. • Whey is the highest-quality protein available because of its high BCAA and leucine content. • Athletes have different needs for protein than nonathletes. Bodybuilders and strength athletes need 1.6 to 1.7 grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight each day. Most athletes get at least 25 percent of their total calorie intake as protein, which meets their daily needs. • Endurance athletes need more protein because they burn more energy, including protein. Also, endurance exercise shuts down muscle protein synthesis. • There’s no tolerable upper limit for protein intake. The recommended daily allowance of 0.8 grams per kilogram of bodyweight was never intended to represent a target goal for protein intake. • Hard-training athletes need more protein for remodeling of proteins in tendons, bones and ligaments. Protein supports gains in lean mass, optimal immune function and optimal use of plasma proteins. • A study of older men compared the effects of taking protein immediately after exercise with waiting two hours after exercise to take it. The supplement used in the study contained only 10 to 12 grams of protein. Taking it right after training supported muscle protein synthesis, but delaying it by two hours abated that effect and blocked trainingrelated strength increases. • Taking more than 10 grams of protein leads to an increase in protein oxidation. The maximum amount of protein you can take in at a single time and avoid oxidation is 20 to 25 grams. Resistance exercise improves the ability to use protein, which explains why advanced trainees
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Study Haul
The BCAA leucine is not only the key to muscle protein synthesis but also stimulates significant bodyfat loss. The mechanism may be an upregulation in the activity of thermogenic proteins in muscle.
may need less protein than beginners. • Various studies prove the superiority of milk over soy protein in supporting muscle protein synthesis after resistance training. • In one study a subject taking protein gained seven kilograms of lean mass in 30 days, far more than other subjects in the same study. Phillips attributes that to more favorable responses due to genetic factors and suggests that this was the type of person who could add huge amounts of muscle and wind up as a professional bodybuilder. • The BCAA leucine is not only the key to muscle protein synthesis but also stimulates significant bodyfat loss. The mechanism may be an upregulation in the activity of thermogenic proteins in muscle. • Casein is the slowest digesting protein known, and no other food protein duplicates its effect. Cottage cheese is largely casein. While casein curdles in the stomach, leading to a slow release of protein, whey remains in solution, leading to a rapid uptake into the body. This is only a small part of the information offered at the ISSN meeting, but it’s the material that I thought would have most relevance for IRON MAN readers. One final thing: The cliché “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” was true in my case. I received a box lunch during the second day of the conference. Somehow I misplaced the box. So it did indeed stay in Vegas. IM
Dr. Bloomer suggested that about one in 10 million has the genes to duplicate the bodies you see competing in the Olympia.
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Strapping
Glory
Up to
53-Year-Old Bodybuilder and Powerlifter Terry Baldwin Innovates to Isolate— and Gets Better With Age! by David Young
Photography by Michael Neveux
I
nnovators are rare in any field and even rarer in bodybuilding. Among the few that come to mind is Arthur Jones, the father of high-intensity training and inventor of Nautilus machines. Arthur felt that the smaller muscle groups were the limiting factor in basic exercises, and his elaborate machines attempted to isolate the back, chest and shoulder muscles by eliminating the use of the biceps, triceps and forearms, which are weak links when you’re performing bench presses, incline presses, overhead presses, chins and rows. Amazingly, Terry Baldwin, a 53-year-old NGA drug-free competitive bodybuilder and AWPC world-record bench presser, has accomplished what Jones attempted—isolation of the larger muscle groups—with a simple device that costs less than $100 and fits neatly into any gym bag. Terry’s been training for 34 years and has been a competitive bodybuilder for 29 of them. It would be an understatement to say that he might have a few things to teach
other serious bodybuilders, so I jumped at the chance to interview him. DY: Tell the readers a little about yourself. TB: Well, I was born in Fresno, California, and raised in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. I’ve been married for 34 years, and we have three daughters. DY: What’s your height and weight? TB: I’m 5’7”. My off-season weight is around 225, and my competition weight is 205 to 208. Of course, I’m always striving to improve size as well as conditioning, so those bodyweights are simply a measuring stick, so to speak. DY: How long have you been training? TB: I’ve been training competitively since 1980. DY: I understand that you came into bodybuilding from a unique entry point. TB: I was a professional arm wrestler from 1975 to 1980, training in the basement of my home with a bench and a small set of weights. I joined a small gym in 1980 to gain
more strength. The guys in the gym were so impressed with my physique that they talked me into competing in a local bodybuilding show in 1981. I placed third in my first NPC show in the open class and then came back the next year and took first. DY: That’s an interesting start. The arm wrestlers I’ve met generally go into competitive powerlifting. What do you do for a living? TB: I’m a certified fitness trainer. I own my own personal-training facility, Baldwin Fitness Training in Missoula, Montana, where I and five other trainers work. I’m also a partner and developer in a company called Flexsolate, which specializes in creating new technologies for strength training and physical therapy, like the Flexsolate grip-free isolation cuffs and the Flexsolate Gym in a Bag. DY: Flexolate cuffs really take the strain off the joints and smaller muscle groups and isolate the larger muscle groups. TB: Thank you. That’s exactly what they’re designed to do.
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Baldwin DY: Do you play other sports or are you involved in any hobbies? TB: I’m a world-class drug-free bench presser and record holder. I’m training to compete at the WABDL World championships in Las Vegas to try to break the record of 556.5 pounds. I also love to hunt, fish and spend time with my family. DY: What keeps you motivated to train and diet at 53 years old? TB: I just enjoy feeling, looking better and being stronger than I was in my 20s and 30s. Life continues to get better for me. DY: What is your diet strategy, both on- and off-season? TB: Whether on- or off-season I eat six meals a day. That never changes. What changes are the calories and the macronutrient percentages. It breaks out like this: Off-season: I eat 3,200 to 3,500 calories a day—50 percent carbs, 30 percent protein and 20 percent fats. On-season: I eat 2,600 calories a day—50 percent carbs, 40 percent protein and 10 percent fats. During that time I do cardio seven days a week. DY: Do you have a cheat day when you’re dieting strictly? TB: During the season I have a cheat meal once a week, but I’m still eating good wholesome food with some extra carbs. In the off-season I eat good wholesome food all week during my training, as that’s the most critical time for nutrient demand, and then indulge on the weekend with a few treats. My wife is a great cook who’s extremely health conscious, and we like to enjoy new recipes and sometimes dessert on the weekends. We enjoy pizza maybe once every couple of months, but that’s about it for fast food. DY: Describe a sample day of of your eating plan. TB: Sure: 4 a.m.: 16 ounces organic coffee mixed with 1/2 packet chocolate Labrada Nutrition Lean Body Meal 5 a.m.: 1 1/2 cups cooked oameal with organic (continued on page 164)
“I’m a partner and developer in a company called Flexolate, which specializes in creating new technologies for strength training and physical therapy, like the Flexolate grip-free isolation cuffs.”
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Baldwin (continued from page 160) maple
syrup; 1 sliced banana; 3 capsules Now Sports Nutrition omega 3-6-9 fatty acids; 1 capsule each Juice Plus vegetable, fruit and berries; 2 capsules Now Sports Nutrition glucosamine and chondroitin with MSM
Anabol Naturals amino GH releasers; 2 scoops Labrada Nutritioin Super Charge Xtreme 1 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.: Workout
7 a.m.: 3 tablets EFX Nytric; 1 1,000-milligram tablet Now Sports Nutrition tribulus
2:15 p.m.: Postworkout drink with 1 scoop Now Sports Nutrition whey protein isolate shake, 1 scoop Now Sports Nutrition Electro Pro Recovery drink, 1 scoop Metabolic Nutrition Trans-Alanyl-Glutamine; 3 capsules Now Sports Nutrition omega 3-6-9 fatty acids; 5 capsules Anabol Naturals amino acids.
8 a.m.: 1 1/2 cups cooked seasoned rice and brown rice pasta with 8 egg whites
5 p.m.: 1 organic Kashi granola bar, 1 scoop Now Sports Nutrition whey protein isolate shake
11 a.m.: 1 1/2 cups cooked seasoned rice and brown rice pasta with 6 to 8 ounces lean meat; 1 apple, orange or grapefruit
6 p.m.: 3 tablets EFX Nytric, 1 1,000-milligram tablet Now Sports Nutrition tribulus
6 a.m.: 5 capsules Anabol Naturals amino acids
Noon: 1 tablespoon EFX Liquid Kre-Alkalyn. 12:45 p.m.: 5 capsules Anabol Naturals amino acids; 3 capsules
7:30 p.m.:1 organic fresh veggie salad or stir-fry, 8 ounces lean meat, 1 to 2 slices whole-grain organic bread with Smart Balance spread, diced fresh organic fruit mix
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Baldwin 9 p.m. (before bed): 1 capsule each Juice Plus vegetable, fruit and berries; 2 capsules Now Sports Nutrition glucosamine and chondroitin with MSM; 3 capsules EFX ZMA; 3 capsules Anabol Naturals amino GH releasers DY: That’s very disciplined. What are your favorite supplements? TB: Number one would be Juice
Plus. It’s an organic supplement that uses micronutrients from 15 fruits and vegetables. It’s an excellent source of antioxidants and phytonutrients to help fight oxidation within the body. Second would be EFX Liquid Kre-Alkalyn. I’ve never used a creatine that works as fast and effectively as that. DY: What’s your proudest achievement? TB: The fact that my wife and I
have been married for 34 years and have three wonderful grown daughters. My proudest achievement in bodybuilding is being where I am today without the use of anabolic steroids. DY: Being drug-free, how do you overcome training plateaus? TB: By having patience and accepting the fact they’re always going to occur. I like to cycle my training during the year from heavy to moderate resistance, always applying the mind to the muscle one rep at a time, attacking the bodyparts with different methods of isolation, resistance and angles, constantly looking for ways to shock the body. DY: How did you find what works for you? TB: Through years of trial and error. My biggest mistake was overtraining the first few years, thinking more was better. Once I got over that hurdle, the gains were much quicker with fewer injuries. DY: What keeps you fired up? TB: I love bodybuilding, but it’s my love for God that gives me strength to continue on. I believe God has given me a gift as a successful bodybuilder and trainer for a reason other than to satisfy my own desires. Whether I continue to compete or not, I plan to use that gift as a tool to reach out and share with others what He does for me. I believe we all can be ambassadors for good, whatever our gifts are, as long as they are used to help others in need and make the world a bet-
“I just enjoy feeling, looking better and being stronger than I was even in my 20s and 30s. Life still continues to get better for me.”
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Baldwin ter place to live in. DY: What are your goals in bodybuilding? TB: I’ve always looked at bodybuilding and fitness as a continuing journey, and whatever I achieve along the way is a bonus. I just take it one day at a time and try to wait for God to open doors. DY: It’s often said that a great deal of success in bodybuilding is the mental approach. Do you use any mental or visualization principles? TB: I constantly try to visualize how I want my body to look. If I see a lagging bodypart, I try to put more emphasis on it than other parts. In order to work the weak bodyparts, you need to master the mind before you can master the body. I try to mentally “will” the muscle to grow while watching it contract during the exercise. I visualize it growing right before my eyes. I enjoy the challenge of working the weak parts of the body and seeing the changes occur. DY: Do you have a life philosophy? TB: In order to live life to the fullest, you have to experience it not only physically but spiritually as well. That is the way to truly enjoy life and keep things in a true and positive perspective. I never take my good health for granted and am extremely thankful for it. DY: What strategies do you use for success in life or business that you’re able to carry into bodybuilding? TB: I never worry about competition as long as I put all my energy and focus into being the best I can be. I’m not afraid to try innovative ideas to keep things fresh and exciting, not only for myself but also for my clients. DY: What is your training philosophy? TB: I live by a statement I heard years ago: “The will to win is not nearly as important as the will to prepare to win.” DY: How do you switch from your normal training to contest training? TB: Everything has to feel right. Once I commit, there has to be minimal interruption during contest preparation in order to do it the
way I want. I prefer spring contests. That way I have a good part of the winter to prepare, which is a less hectic time in my personal life. DY: How many weeks out do you start your preparation? TB: Ten weeks in order to lose approximately 20 pounds. DY: Do you use supersets, forced reps or other intensity techniques? TB: I use drop sets, supersets, static resistance and forced reps only on movements that minimize the risk of injury. I also like to use different types of resistance, such as free weights, machines, stretch cords, powerplate training with free weights and instability platforms. Anything to shock the muscle for potential growth. DY: What kind of set-andrep patterns do you use? TB: I do four to five different exercises for each bodypart for three to four sets each. I do anywhere from 10 to 20 reps, always varying the weight from one week to the next. I believe that there’s no perfect ratio. What matters most is achieving the mind-to-muscle connection to obtain total isolation and muscle control for maximum results. DY: What about cardio? TB: Off-season I do no cardio. On-season I do cardio the first eight weeks of my 10-week diet on an elliptical machine for 45 to 60 minutes at 70 percent of my maximum heart rate. DY: How do you organize your training week? TB: I shut down my training facility from 1 to 2:30 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday for me and my workout partner. Then I take three full days off for recovery. My split is Monday: chest and triceps; Tuesday: back and biceps; Wednesday: shoulders and abs; Thursday: quads, hamstrings and calves. DY: Can you list a typical week of your training program bodypart by bodypart? TB: Sure.
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“I live by a statement I heard years ago: ‘The will to win is not nearly as important as the will to prepare to win.’”
Chest Bench presses Incline presses Decline presses Flat-bench flyes Back Wide-grip pulldowns Narrow-grip pulldowns Narrow-grip rows Overhead straight-arm pulls
4 sets 3 sets 3 sets 3 sets
3 sets 3 sets 3 sets 3 sets
Shoulders Lateral raises Straight-arm front raises Overhead presses Rear-delt rows Shrugs
3 sets 3 sets 3 sets 3 sets 3 sets
Biceps Wide-grip curls Narrow-grip curls Drag curls Hammer curls
3 sets 3 sets 3 sets 3 sets
Triceps Overhead extensions Pushdowns Dips Close-grip presses
3 sets 3 sets 3 sets 3 sets
Quads Leg presses Hack squats Leg extensions
4 sets 3 sets 3 sets
Hamstrings Weighted one-leg lunges Leg curls
3 sets 3 sets
Calves Standing calf raises
4 sets
Abs Hanging knee raises
4 sets
DY: What range of motion do you use? TB: I use full range most of the time, always keeping constant tension on the muscle being worked. DY: What about rep speed? TB: Reps are performed at a moderate tempo. Then, as fatigue sets in, I like to slow it down during the eccentric part of the motion to maintain control over the weight and not let the weight control me. That mentally gives me more power and minimizes the risk of injury. DY: How long do you rest bewww.ironmanmagazine.com \ JANUARY 2009 169
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Baldwin tween sets? TB: Approximately one minute. DY: What is your overall philosophy about bodybuilding? TB: Bodybuilding, if done the correct way, can promote good health in a lot of ways. It builds self-esteem and confidence, instills a good work ethic, teaches structure and builds discipline. If not, it can be very self-consuming and destructive. My philosophy is that if you do it for the love of health, you’ll reap the rewards of a fulfilled life. DY: I agree. What do you think are the key elements of training, nutrition, supplementation and cardio that lead to building
a great body? TB: The key elements of training are consistency, mind-to-muscle connection, isolation and muscle control. The key elements of nutrition are eating nutrient-dense, organic whole foods as much as possible and staying away from fast foods and processed or refined foods. The key elements of supplementation are knowing why, knowing how much and knowing when. That will keep you from wasting a whole lot of money. The key elements of cardio are making sure your body is glycogen loaded before your session and mak-
“The key elements of training are consistency, mind-to-muscle connection, isolation and muscle control.”
ing sure you work at 65 to 75 percent of your maximum heart rate to ensure that you don’t become catabolic and burn lean muscle mass. DY: How does bodybuilding affect your relationships? TB: Bodybuilding has been a blessing in our lives. My wife and I take good care of ourselves because of what bodybuilding has taught us over the years. God has taught me to love my spouse the way I love myself. It would be hard to love myself if I felt and looked lousy because I didn’t exercise, sleep and eat right. DY: Do you have any role models? TB: Without a doubt that would be legendary bodybuilder and strongman Chuck Sipes. I first met Chuck back in 1983. I had the honor of being a friend of his before he passed away. He was an unselfish, godly man who would go out of his way to help others in need. If it hadn’t been for his help and encouragement early in my career, I don’t know if I would have stayed in bodybuilding. I thank God for Chuck. DY: What’s the toughest thing about bodybuilding? TB: The toughest thing is the contest preparation. Not because the physical part is tough, but because you have to literally be a slave to a 10-week scheduled plan. Normal life is nonexistent during that time as far as eating meals with my wife and weekend activities are concerned. I think a lot of it is because I’m such a driven person. I don’t like to do anything that’s going to diminish my chances for success, especially in a sport like bodybuilding, which requires so much time and effort. DY: What is the best thing about being a bodybuilder? TB: Two things: 1) Going out in public with my eight-year-old grandson and having people mistake him for my son; 2) Being featured in IRON MAN. DY: Great answer! Editor’s note: To contact Terry Baldwin about contest preparation, guest posing or training advice, send e-mail to
[email protected]. To learn more about Flexolate training aids, visit Flexolate.com. IM
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Presents
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ANABOLIC
Training OVER -40 Bodybuilder
For the by Jim Brewster Photography by Michael Neveux For older natural bodybuilders the idea of manipulating the body’s release of hormones through exercise and diet should be quite exciting. The hormones I’m referring to are the big three: testosterone, growth hormone and insulin. The body’s natural output of the big three declines as you age, so taking maximum advantage of them is essential if you want to make big gains. The right approach to training and diet will enable you to do it.
Model: Dave Fisher
Testosterone You can increase your body’s natural production of testosterone with hard work on the big, compound movements, especially those on which the body actually moves up and down, such as the squat and deadlift. The bigger the muscle, the more testosterone is released—and what’s bigger than the legs and back? Starting your workout with three to five sets of heavy squats or deadlifts done for six to 10 reps will work wonders. That’s easy to do on leg and back day, but what if, like me,
you train chest and triceps on a separate day and shoulders on another day? The answer? You begin those workouts with squats or deadlifts. I don’t mean you have to work yourself into the ground, but one to three working sets done at a moderate weight will get the process started. Remember the Iron Guru, Vince Gironda? He used to have his trainees begin their arm workouts with squats because he believed it set the adrenal gland up for growth. He was on the right track.
Growth Hormone Research shows that when GH is secreted along with testosterone, it magnifies the effect of the testosterone. Research also shows that there’s a direct connection between the burn of lactic acid buildup and GH release. What better way to get the burn than by using an extendedset technique, like drop sets, which involve repping out with a weight, then at exhaustion reducing the poundage and immediately repping out again. Here are a few other ex-
tended-set techniques: • Rest/pause. When you reach failure, rack the weight for a 10 count; then continue the set for another three or four reps. You can do that once or even two or three times. Count the entire R/P sequence as one set. • Forced reps. When you reach failure, have someone give you just a bit of help, enough to get the bar moving. Shoot for three to four extra reps per set done this way. Warning: only used forced reps on a few sets per bodypart; they are notorious for triggering overtraining. • 1 1/2 reps. This is just what you would think: Complete a full rep followed by a half rep, and keep repeating the pattern. On squats you go down, come up halfway, go down again, and then come up to full lockout. That’s one rep. • Supersets. Here you do two exercises back to back without stopping, such as barbell curls
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Model: Gus Malliarodakis
Presents
carbs and protein, about 40 grams of protein with 40 to 60 grams of carbs. There are postworkout drinks that contain those precise amounts. You Do two can also mix whey exercises back to back for protein powder with the same muscle without some orange juice, rest. Research shows a direct skim milk and a connection between the burn of banana. lactic acid buildup and growth At those key times you want to get hormone release. nutrients into your bloodstream as fast courage growth hormone release. as possible. After your workout your muscles are depleted and ready to absorb nutrients. That’s when you want to take advantage of the This hormone can cause the anabolic actions of insulin. The first body to store fat if it’s constantly thing in the morning is also critical spiking all day. That’s the reason it’s because you’re coming off an overa good idea to watch your intake of night fast and primed for the anasimple carbs. On the other hand, bolic activation an insulin spike plus insulin also causes amino acids the right nutrients will provide. and creatine to be stored, which All your other meals should be encourages protein synthesis. To get high in protein and mixed with the anabolic action without the fat complex carbs. That will keep insustorage, you want to cause an insulin spikes under control when you lin spike at two key times: first thing don’t want them and help minimize in the morning when you wake up or eliminate fat storage. and after your workout, a.k.a. the anabolic window. Editor’s note: For more articles How do you cause your insulin to by Jim Brewster, visit Bodybuilding spike? By drinking a mixture of fast .com. IM Model: Daryl Gee
Supersets.
supersetted with cable curls. • 21s. This was an Arnold favorite. Using the curl as an example, you do seven full reps followed by seven half reps from the starting position to halfway up, followed by seven half reps from halfway up to the top of the movement. All of that counts as one set. • Static holds. Using cable rows as an example, you pull the handle to your waist and hold it there for a 10 count, and then lower and begin another rep. Remember, the point of using these techniques is to get a burn in the target muscle in order to en-
Insulin
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Exercise-Specific Hormone Release
Model: Omar Deckard
Most IRON MAN readers are familiar with Positions-of-Flexion mass training. Basically, you work each target muscle at three specific points along its arc of flexion for full-range-of-motion size stimulation. The best example of the concept is the POF routine for triceps. If you raise your hand as if you wanted to ask a question in class, that’s the top point along the triceps’ arc of flexion—overhead extensions attack the stretch position when your elbow is bent, forearm down. Next position: Lower your straight arm till it’s perpendicular to your body, as if you just completed a bench press. That’s the midpoint along the triceps’ arc of flexion—close-grip bench presses train that midrange position. Now lower your straight arm down next to your torso. That’s a third key flexion point—pushdowns hit the contracted, or fully flexed, position. By training those three exercises, you attack the critical points along the triceps’ ROM, which is from overhead to down next to your torso, effectively and efficiently working the bulk of the muscle through its full range. That provides complete development quickly, as you get unique fiber activation at each point—but there’s more. With the midrange exercise, closegrip bench presses, you achieve maxforce generation thanks to muscle synergy. The next exercise, overhead extensions, stretches the triceps against resistance. Stretch overload like that has been linked to hyperplasia, or fiber splitting. In fact, one animal study produced a 300 percent mass increase after only one month of progressive-stretch overload as the sole source of stimulation. Pushdowns train the triceps in the contracted position. They’re one of the best exercises for creating occlusion, or blocked blood flow, with continuous tension. Research has shown that occlusion and tension produce significant increases in muscle size, even with light weights, which is partially due to the influx of blood when you finish the exercise. You can see how those three positions, or points, of flexion all contribute different components to the growth process, making it more efficient—not to mention perfect for keeping older trainees flexible and strong through each muscle’s full range of motion. And if you use a different rep count for each exercise, you also get specific anabolic-hormonereleasing effects. For example: Close-grip bench presses, 2 x 7-9 Overhead extensions, 2 x 10-12 Pushdowns, 2 x 12-15 If you train all work sets to exhaustion—till another full rep is impossible—you will get testosterone release from the big, midrange move using lower reps. What’s more, stretch-position exercises have been shown to trigger anabolic hormone release in the target muscle, and doing higher reps on continuous-tension contracted-position exercises creates more muscle burn, which is linked to more growth hormone release. By varying the rep range on those three exercises, you amplify the sizebuilding characteristic of each. Take that POF triceps routine for a test drive, and I guarantee you’ll have a full, skin-stretching pump and feel a deep ache in your triceps almost immediately. You’ll know that you’ve achieved unique stimulation that will bring impressive new muscle size and a hormone profile geared for growth. —Steve Holman Editor’s note: The e-book 3D Muscle Building is the Positions-ofFlexion training guide. It’s available at www.3DMuscleBuilding.com.
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by Jerry Brainum
DHEA Fountain of Youth or Washout?
DHEA is often called the mother of all hormones, but it declines as we age. Neveux \ Model: Lee Apperson
ANTIAGING RESEARCH ANTIAGING RESEARCH ANTIAGING RESEARCH ANTIAGING RESEARCH ANTIAGING RESEARCH ANTIAGING RESEARCH ANTIAGING RESEARCH ANTIAGING RESEARCH ANTIAGING RESEARCH ANTIAGING R
Antiaging Research
Dehydroepiandrosterone continues to be a source of intense controversy. It’s a steroid produced in the adrenal glands and is by far the most abundant steroid circulating in the blood. It comes in two forms: DHEA, which is the free, or unbound, version, and DHEA-S, which is attached to a sulfur molecule. DHEA has a short half-life of one to three hours, meaning that half of an oral dose is broken down in that time. DHEA-S is the primary circulating form, lasting for 10 to 20 hours in the body. While other steroids, such as testosterone and estrogen, are bound to sex-hormone-binding globulin in the blood and are not active until they’re unbound, DHEA-S is loosely bound to albumin, another plasma protein. DHEA-S circulates at a concentration that’s 100 to 500 times higher than testosterone and 1,000 to 10,000 times greater than estrogen. That’s why it’s often referred to as the mother of all hormones. Despite its abundance in the blood, scientists still aren’t sure exactly what DHEA does. Most suggest that it acts as a reservoir for the synthesis of other steroid hormones, including estrogen and testosterone, and that most of the beneficial effects ascribed to it come from that property. Having low DHEA has been linked to several aspects of the aging process, including insulin resistance, obesity, cardiovascular disease, cancer, depression and blunted immune response—all of which increase with age. In animals DHEA shows definite antiaging effects, which has led to its being labeled a fountain-of-youth hormone. Still, rodents and other animals have either no or low DHEA, and the doses given in animal or test-tube studies are much higher than normal. One reason DHEA is linked to age-related maladies is that it declines in most people. You have a lot in your body at birth, but it rapidly declines. It increases again at about age 10, peaking at about age 30. After that it depletes at a rate of about 10 percent per decade until age 80, when its level plateaus. Many older people show DHEA-S—the type measured in the blood—at a rate only about 20 to 25 percent of the youthful peak. Some studies correlate limited DHEA with aging infirmities; the less you have, the less zest and vigor you have. People in nursing homes who have very little require the most assistance. Although the data for humans are equivocal, studies done with other primates, such as mon-
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Neveux \ Models: Lee Apperson and Jennifer Micheli
keys, show that having more metabolic crapshoot. DHEA is associated with lonA study published in 2006 gevity. Humans experiencing found that men 65 or over age-related loss of muscle who took DHEA experienced and bone have low DHEA. significant increases in tesIndeed, one theory suggests tosterone, along with cyclic that it helps to maintain GMP, a substance that’s also higher levels of insulinlike boosted by the drug Viagra. growth factor 1, a hormone Along with those changes, that protects the integrity of the men had less low-dennumerous organs and tissues sity lipoprotein—the bad in the body, including the kind of cholesterol. Another heart, brain and muscles. study published the same DHEA was the first proyear found no connection hormone put on the market between DHEA and cardioafter the food supplement vascular death in men, while act of 1994 was passed, and more recent research found a bodybuilders snapped it up. slightly increased risk of carIt had previously sold as a diovascular disease in older supplement derived from a women who take it, likely plant sterol found in Mexican because it lowers high-denyams, but the United States sity lipoprotein—the good Food and Drug Administrakind of cholesterol—in older Many people who ingest DHEA report tion removed that form from women. an enhanced outlook on life and a more the market in 1986, owing to Various maladies related positive attitude. quality-control issues. Some to brain function tend to alleged DHEA supplements increase with age, including didn’t contain any DHEA. depression and degenerative DHEA didn’t appear to build muscle, although it may diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. DHEA is generhave benefited older men and women. One study reported ated in the brain, where it acts as a neurosteroid, meaning that giving 50 milligrams a day, the suggested replacement that it influences brain function. Indeed, the brain secretes dosage, to older men and women over 16 weeks enhanced an abundance of DHEA, and nature never does anything muscle and strength adaptations during a weight-training wantonly—so there must be a reason. DHEA works against program.1 In a more recent study, however, a daily dose of GABA, which inhibits the body from producing such bene50 milligrams given to 31 older women for 12 weeks was ficial substances as growth hormone, while it increases the found to have no advantages over a placebo.2 The women activity of another neurotransmitter called serotonin. The did endurance exercise four times a week and lifted weights effect is to reduce depression. In addition, DHEA increases three days a week during the course of the study. Their beta-endorphin, the brain’s natural feel-good substance. DHEA-S count rose by 650 percent over baseline, as did Some researchers believe that could explain why older other steroid hormones, such as testosterone (100 percent), people who take DHEA report a more positive attitude. estradiol (165 percent) and estrone (85 percent). IGF-1 rose Animal studies show that DHEA appears to lessen the by 30 percent in the women who took DHEA. loss of cognition related to a buildup of a brain protein A 1999 study involved giving 100 milligrams a day of called beta-amyloid, which is considered a major cause DHEA or a placebo to 40 middle-aged men, average age 48, of Alzheimer’s disease. Another cause of Alzheimer’s is an who had all actively engaged in weight training for at least increase of free-radical activity, to which the brain is prone one year. After 12 weeks the researchers found no changes because of its high polyunsaturated fat content. DHEA acts in body composition, lean mass, strength or testosterone as an antioxidant in the brain, particularly in the hippoin the DHEA group. The good news was the absence of side campus, the area of the brain associated with memory and effects. learning. Long-term flooding of the brain with the stress Other studies examined the impact of oral doses of hormone cortisol selectively destroys brain cells that are DHEA on young men engaged in weight training. In one linked to memory and learning, but DHEA blocks cortisol’s it wound up as a metabolite of dihydrotestosterone, a.k.a. impact. DHT, itself a metabolite of testosterone that is linked to Research on older adults shows that those who have male-pattern baldness, acne and prostate enlargement. enough DHEA are less likely to suffer from depression; None of the young men experienced any of those probpeople who are depressed most of the time have a higher lems, but neither did they show increased testosterone or mortality rate. Other studies show that DHEA may support added muscle or strength. restful and restorative sleep, and many older people are In women DHEA always increases testosterone measleep-deprived, which has a direct bearing on hormone sures. It converts first to androstenedione—the first prorelease. Sleep deprivation leads to a precipitous drop in hormone to follow DHEA into the marketplace—then anabolic hormones—including growth hormone, IGF-1 directly into testosterone. That’s thought to occur because and testosterone—and to enhanced cortisol production. women produce much smaller amounts of testosterone That’s not only bad for brain function but is also related to than men. In older men DHEA can take various pathways. the frailty and muscle loss so common in older people. A In those who are low in testosterone, it may convert to recent study using rats as subjects found that giving them testosterone. In others it converts to estrogen—kind of a 30 milligrams of DHEA per kilogram of bodyweight for a www.ironmanmagazine.com \ JANUARY 2009 187
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Neveux \ Model: Daniele Seccarecci
ANTIAGING RESEARCH ANTIAGING RESEARCH ANTIAGING RESEARCH ANTIAGING RESEARCH ANTIAGING RESEARCH ANTIAGING RESEARCH ANTIAGING RESEARCH ANTIAGING RESEARCH ANTIAGING RESEARCH ANTIAGING R
Brainum’s Antiaging Jerry Research
month led to beneficial changes in their brains, including lowering the activity of monoamine oxidase, an enzyme that degrades catecholamines in the brain that block depression, such as dopamine, epinephrine and norepinephrine. DHEA also lowered the accumulation of lipofuscin, a waste material that interferes with brain function. Not all studies, however, find that DHEA benefits cognitive function and quality of life. A 2006 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine featured older men and women who took DHEA for two years. The scientists found no beneficial effects on body composition, physical performance, insulin sensitivity or quality of life. In a recent study 110 men and 115 women got either 50 milligrams of DHEA or a placebo for one year.6 The subjects, none of whom were selected on the basis of their baseline DHEA, underwent a variety of cognitive tests throughout the course of the study. Although the supplement did
restore youthful amounts of DHEA to the subjects, none showed any benefits in either cognition or feelings of well-being. Consistent with previous studies, the women experienced a greater hormone impact. Their testosterone rose by 60 percent and estradiol, an estrogen, rose by 40 percent. The men showed no hormone changes. In contrast, a British study of younger men found that a dose of 150 milligrams of DHEA twice daily resulted in improved episodic memory and subjective mood, along with a drop in evening cortisol counts. Another problem often linked to aging is lowered insulin sensitivity. That often leads to diabetes, the fourth greatest cause of death. In rats, DHEA lowers insulin and increases insulin sensitivity, but as rats don’t produce DHEA, extrapolating the effect to humans is a stretch. Results in human studies vary, with some subjects who have blunted adrenal gland function showing more effects on insulin when they take DHEA. Longevity is closely linked to insulin; healthy older people always have low resting insulin and higher insulin sensitivity. Having more insulin means more bodyfat gain and buildup of several fat-synthesizing enzymes. In ongoing studies of monkeys on calorie-restricted diets, lower insulin, less diabetes, less bodyfat and more DHEA were consistent results. While having too much insulin points toward atherosclerosis and heart disease, DHEA opposes those effects. In animals DHEA prevents the buildup of plaque in arteries after a high-fat diet and prevents the internal clot formation that is the immediate cause of most heart attacks and strokes. DHEA may help prevent bodyfat increase. It always has that effect in animals—quite potently. While a study of young men showed that a daily dose of 1,600 milligrams of DHEA significantly lessened bodyfat, follow-up studies failed to confirm the finding. Cell studies show that DHEA prevents development of new fat cells. Other studies show that it inhibits an enzyme required for cells to convert sugar into fat. A 2004 study of older men and women published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that DHEA depleted deep-lying abdominal fat and improved insulin sensitivity. When you read that an older person died of “old age,” it usually means that the person didn’t die from the usual causes of death, such as heart disease or cancer. What then was the cause? Often it’s related to a loss of immune response. Diseases rarely fatal in the young, such as pneumonia, often prove fatal to older people, who lack the immune defense against them. Cortisol, which suppresses immunities, increases with age, while DHEA levels decline. That may explain why the immune system fades, setting you up for diseases like cancer. It’s the major reason that cancer is so prevalent in the aged. DHEA may help maintain the immune system. One way it does that is by blocking the impact of cortisol. A recent review pointed out that exercise helps control cortisol, thereby maintaining immunity. Exercise—but not overtraining—tips the metabolic scales in favor of DHEA over cortisol. Both aerobics and weight training may help too.7 Calorie restriction, which extends life in many spe-
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cies but remains a speculative issue in humans, increases DHEA. Alcohol intake lowers it, as do caffeine and highstress conditions. A study published in the June 2008 issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society measured serum DHEA in 940 men and women, aged 21 to 88, and monitored them from 1978 to 2005. The researchers found that having less DHEA-S was significantly associated with shorter life span, and higher DHEA-S counts were a strong predictor of longevity in men even after adjusting for age, blood pressure and plasma glucose. They found no relationship between DHEA and longevity in women, however. Interestingly, they found no significant difference in longevity until after 15 years of follow-up, which they suggest could explain the negative findings concerning DHEA and male longevity in previous studies. Side effects vary with sex. DHEA should be avoided by men who have prostate disease. In younger men it may convert into a metabolite of DHT, which may or may not lead to male-pattern baldness, acne and prostate problems. The most common side effect in women is acne; DHEA is the major cause of teenage acne too. Some people experience a minor elevation in liver enzymes when using
References 1 Villareal,
Neveux \ Model: Mehmet Yildirim
DHEA may be beneficial to about 85 percent of those over age 40.
DHEA, but it’s temporary and not considered a major problem. Others report an increase in body hair, likely the result of the androgenic effects of DHEA in women. When such effects do occur, they nearly always happen with doses of more than 100 milligrams daily. The usual replacement dose is 50 milligrams. The use of the word replacement is a bit of a stretch, as there’s no evidence that DHEA is essential to life. A movement is under way in Congress to have DHEA added to the list of banned anabolic steroids. That’s because it can be a precursor of testosterone, though there’s no evidence that DHEA has any significant anabolic effects. For that reason DHEA remains the sole survivor of the FDA pro-hormone purge of 2005 and is still an ingredient in several “anabolic” supplements. The evidence, however, demonstrates that DHEA, when taken in daily doses of 50 milligrams or less, is benign and may provide some benefits related to the aging process and disease prevention. The best way to determine if DHEA would be helpful for you is to have a blood test for DHEA-S. About 15 percent of those over 40 have normal DHEA counts, and for them supplementing it would do little or nothing. For the other 85 percent, however, supplemental use of DHEA remains a matter of intense scientific debate, stemming from the fact that most of the research showing its benefits involved animals that produce little or no DHEA and test-tube studies. On the other hand, a body of human research shows that those who are low in DHEA can derive quality-of-life benefits from the still enigmatic substance.
D.T., et al. (2006). DHEA enhances the effects of weight training on muscle mass and strength in elderly men and women. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 291:E1003E1008. 2 Igwebuike, A., et al. (2008). Lack of DHEA effect on a combined endurance and resistance exercise program in postmenopausal women. J Clin Endocrin Metab. 93:534-538. 3 Wallace, M.B., et al. (1999). Effects of dehydroepiandrosterone vs androstenedione supplementation in men. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 31:188-1792. 4 Bastianetto, S., et al. (1999). Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) protects hippocampal cells from oxidative stress-induced damage. Brain Res Mole Brain Res. 66:35-41. 5 Kumar, P., et al. (2008). Effect of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) on monoamine oxidase activity, lipid peroxidation, and lipofuscin accumulation in aging rat brain regions. Biogerontol. 9(4):235-246. 6 Kritz-Silverstein, D., et al. (2008). Effects of dehydroepiandrosterone supplementation on cognitive function and quality of life: The DHEA and Well-Ness (DAWN) trial. J Am Geriatric Soc. 56:1292-1298. 7 Buford, T.W., et al. (2008). Impact of DHEA-S and cortisol on immune function in aging: a brief review. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 33:429-33. IM www.ironmanmagazine.com \ JANUARY 2009 189
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THE GREAT
ROLLINO
The Most Amazing Man I Ever Met by Doris Barrilleaux
O
f all the stars of the iron game and the other celebrities that I’ve met in my 77 years, Joe “the Great” Rollino stands out as the most amicable, genuine and utterly amazing. At age 103, he has total recall of names, dates, venues, poundages and events of every important person in the iron game during the last century. He is truly a walking encyclopedia. Just mention anyone involved in strength feats and other sports from the past, and without a second’s hesitation he can relate fascinating stories about that person. I’ve now coined a phrase that I use every time I can’t remember something: “Joe would know.” Even the very young who are involved in any aspect of the strength sports are mesmerized as they listen to every word he so willingly shares with his fans. They wait patiently for a handshake and for a photograph with a truly amazing man. To do jus-
tice to his incredible life would be comparable to engraving the entire Bible on the head of a pin. As someone once wrote, “Joe looks at least 20 years younger, acts at least 40 younger and thinks 60 years younger than his age.” That’s an understatement. Joe’s father, Bruno (1860–1940), emigrated to the United States from Austria and was a great strongman in his own right. He stood 6’2” and weighed about 300 pounds. His diminutive mother, Clara, at 5’2”, weighed 120 pounds and “had arms like iron, carrying logs, wielding an ax and holding up her end on a twoman saw.” Joe, born in Brooklyn, New York, on March 19, 1905, was the middle of 14 children. His nine brothers all stood over 6’ like his dad. Joe inherited his strength and height from his mother. He reveals that he had a rough childhood and that the family often had little to eat. Upon his mother’s advice, Joe never ate meat,
never smoked, never consumed alcohol. At the tender age of five, Joe began to lift some of his father’s dumbbells. Bruno noticed Joe’s interest and strength and determined to find an able strength-training teacher for his son. When Joe was 10 years old, weighing 68 pounds, they went to Coney Island to meet Warren Lincoln Travis, the most renowned strongman of the era, who could lift across his back 10 men standing on a plank. Travis, however, was doubtful about the small child’s strength until Joe lifted one of the 250-pound dumbbells off the ground five times in succession. Joe quit school, and Travis took him on as an apprentice, working with him for the next 23 years, until Joe entered military service. The two became so close that Travis actually wanted to adopt the boy. Of course, that wasn’t acceptable to Joe’s parents. Together they traveled
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Rollino was strong and built as a boy and a man. Above: As a member of the Iceberg Club of winter bathers. Below: Joe gives the big weights a go.
the country and abroad as Travis taught Joe how to train and perform onstage, as well as other invaluable skills, including self-confidence and perseverance. By age 12, Joe was part of Travis’ vaudeville act, bending a six-inch spike with his hands. Then, with his teeth and neck, he’d bend one back and forth until it broke in two. Joe once raised a carrousel holding 14 people. Over the years some of Joe’s lifts, at a bodyweight of between 130 and 150, were the back lift, 3,200 pounds; harness lift, 1,800 pounds; one-finger lift, 635 pounds; chins while pinch-gripping rafters, 15; hundreds of pullups on a twoby-four beam with a pinch grip; one-finger chins. To this day he can bend dimes and quarters, a feat I witnessed myself, seated next to him at the 25th reunion of the Association of Oldetime Barbell and Strongmen’s banquet in Newark,
New Jersey, on June 7, 2008. Joe confided that nickels are much harder to bend. He showed me that his left middle finger was a bit smaller than the right one—the reason he could lift only 500 pounds with it compared to the 635 pounds with his right middle finger! In 1919, when Joe was 14, his brother took him to Toledo, Ohio, to see Jack Dempsey knock out the gigantic Jess Willard. That instilled in Joe a desire to become a boxer. At 5’4” and 155 pounds Joe, known as “Kid Dundee,” had some 100 fights as an “armory boxer,” in National Guard halls and arsenals. He could not be knocked out. Even if matched against much bigger opponents and there was a clinch, no one could move him because he possessed such unbelievable strength. Joe has met every great in the iron game and other sports celebrities as well:
• Eugen Sandow, who, in 1924, when Joe was 19, covered himself in white powder and posed against a black drape in the same city where famed Italian opera singer Enrico Caruso had performed. Sandow was so famous that Thomas Edison used his posing to demonstrate his new moving-picture camera. • Josephine Blatt (“Minerva”), proclaimed the strongest female in the world, who in the 1890s stood on a high platform and lifted a lower platform containing 23 men. • Kate Brumbach (“Sandwina”), who at 6’2” and 200 pounds could lift 1,000 pounds of cannon on her back and 280 pounds overhead. • Jack Dempsey, heavyweight champion of the world from 1919 to 1926, with whom Joe once sparred. • Bernard MacFadden, known as the “father of physical culture.” • Charles Atlas (real name Angelo Siciliano), who lived across the
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ROLLINO
Above: With author Doris Barrilleaux. Left: With weightlifing great Tommy Kono, Doris and Clarence “Ripped” Bass. Below left: With Red Larille.
street from Joe. The “World’s Most Perfectly Developed Man” was the original 97-pound weakling who had sand kicked in his face. He was best known in comic books and magazines as a mail-order bodybuilding expert. Joe married in 1924. He and his wife, Clara, had twin boys, Bruno and Orazio, and a daughter, Clara. He had been too young to fight in World War I, but in 1939, with World War II brewing, he joined the 41st Infantry Division at age 34 and served through the war in the Pacific theater. While fighting in the jungle, he was severely injured by shrapnel that tore into his right thigh and neck; he still carries shrapnel in his legs. The scars have nearly faded from his neck, but he has a metal plate in his left shoulder. He received three Purple Hearts, a Silver Star and a Bronze Star. During Joe’s tour of duty in the South Pacific,
Travis suffered a heart attack while performing on July 12, 1941. Sadly, Joe could not attend his mentor’s funeral. After returning from combat, Joe became estranged from his wife and children. He held numerous jobs over an amazing lifetime, working as a lumberjack, a seaman and a sandhog, building New York City’s Holland and Lincoln tunnels in the 1920s. That was a very strenuous and dangerous job. While working as a longshoreman, he wasn’t afraid to stand up to union goons. For 50 years Joe belonged to the Iceberg Club. As one who’s never used air-conditioning, I’m dumbfounded that anyone would swim with air temperatures in the teens and the water 32 degrees. Joe didn’t just take a dip, as the Polar Bear club members do. His group swam in the frigid ocean three or four times a week, when the water temperature was actually warmer than the air temperature. They believed that if
one stayed in the water for five or 10 minutes, it killed any germs inside the body—back in the day the waters off Coney Island were clean. He described those swims as invigorating, and he stopped the practice only five years ago. He claimed that other members also continued the routine into their 90s and 100s. Today, Joe lives with his niece Christina, the daughter of one of his sisters who was named after her grandmother (there were five Christinas in the immediate family). She is as protective of her uncle Joe as all the presidential bodyguards combined. After a few bad experiences with the media, Tina also ferociously protects him from being exploited. In return he protects Tina, walking her to the bus stop every morning, and then continues his morning walk for 3 1/2 miles. He stopped vigorous weight training at age 85 but continues to work on his neck and abs and occasionally does some curls. IM
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LONNIE TEPER’S
Decisions
Should Cutler Retire? Swami Says, No Way Hey, fans, leave the experts’ commentary for “The Experts”: me, Isaac Hinds and Yaron Avidan, a.k.a. Yogi, Mr. Magoo and Mumbles—take your pick. Many industry followers were telling me—in person, via e-mail and by phone—that Jay Cutler needs to hang up his posing trunks after being unseated at the ’08 Mr. Olympia contest by Dexter Jackson. His time is over, some said. The chapter on the powerful-but-lessaesthetic physique has closed, a few noted. Jay’s body will only get Olympia face-off: worse from here on out, several Dexter Jackson insisted. and Jay Cutler. Time for me to insist. To resist. First of all, Cutler looked better this year than when he won for the second time in a row in 2007. True, he was not at his best at the prejudging once again, but he was improved over last season’s look. In fact, Cutler actually won round four at the finals, besting Jackson by two points, after shedding 12 pounds in 24 hours, going from 260 to 248 and showing up with a much harder and refined look. Of course, since the Blade was out in front by nine digits, it didn’t matter. Jackson would have had to come in 20 percent off from his Friday night shape—and when does Dex show up out of condition, period, much less way off from one night to the next? From pictures I saw a week out from the show, Cutler looked to be at his all-time best—or at least to rival the spectacular 2001 model of of his physique: hard and veiny at about 265 pounds. What happened in those seven days is beyond me, but Jay’s Friday-night curse continued, as he appeared watery when it came time to face off at the prejudging. You can only get away with that so long before the panel will make the switch to a harder, more Toney Freeman. refined body. With Victor Martinez still recovering from knee surgery, Action Jackson became the man the judges would reward. Cutler certainly has it down when it comes to doing a Hollywood makeover from Friday to Saturday; his only concern now is how to be at his best when it counts the most—at the prejudging. Perhaps he should do on Thursday night what he’s done on Friday night and Saturday afternoon the past couple of years. 208 JANUARY 2009 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com
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Dennis Wolf.
SEERING PREDICTIONS And they say he doesn’t know which way is up. Pages 209 through 211
EXPO TALES L.T. was all over the Olympia booth action. Pages 212 and 213
In any case, I say no way to a Cutler retirement party. And, yes, way to those who ask if Jay can really regain the crown in 2009. It isn’t about muscle tears or imbalances (Jay does have his imperfections, but don’t they all?). It’s mostly about conditioning. Silvio I don’t think coming in lighter is necessarily the answer, either. Samuel. I feel that the version of Cutler we saw at the ’03 IRON MAN Pro, when he tipped the scales at around 265, was the second-best effort of his illustrious pro career. He’s not called the Ultimate Beef for nothing. Cutler has been the best or second-best bodybuilder in the world throughout the decade because of his overpowering musculature. And he’s only 35 years old, fairly young by bodybuilding standards—four years younger than Jackson and the same age as Martinez. Don’t forget where you came from, Jay. In your case size does matter—but in a drier version. Now, would a tighter body make it automatic for Cutler next season? Of course not. Jackson’s been terrific for years and was at his all-time best this season, winning five contests (the Arnold, the New Zealand Elite Pro, the Australia Grand Prix, the Olympia and Pair of champs: the Romania Grand Prix). He will be, I predict, every bit as sublime David Henry and next time. Don’t discount a repeat. Jackson. Of course, Martinez was the man most were talking about after he pushed Jay a year ago. Some are already saying he’ll be hugging the Sandow at the end of next September. Well, if Victor can come all the way back from knee surgery—and we’ll find out at the ’09 Arnold—he’ll be one of the favorites. Yes, one of the favorites. Cutler, Martinez, Jackson and Phil Heath are all capable of running off with the Sandow next time. Heath, this season’s IM Pro champ and runner-up to Jackson at the Arnold Classic in March, looked spectacular at the O. As he’s but 28 years old, he should be even better next year. He already has the best guns in the game, as well as marvelous calves, wheels and hams, and if he can add some width to his frame, he might be better than all of them. Emphasize might. Let me add Toney Freeman to the list. Freeman, who was John Balik’s pick to win the O after the judging, stunned me with his appearance, especially since I’d been saying that he’d be worn out after competing six times this year, including at Phil the Atlantic City Pro two weeks before. It looked Heath. like I knew what I was talking about too, as Freeman, 42, lost the masters event in Jersey to Darrem Charles before finishing fourth in the open. At the O Toney was the first man to walk onstage, and it took IRON MAN photog Merv “Piliaswami” Petralba only seconds to make like Regan in “The Exorcist,” twisting his head all the way around to say that Freeman looked unbelievable through his high-powered lens. No Dennis Wolf on the list of potential winners for next year? Not based on what I saw in Vegas, but I might as well toss the mighty German into Experts plus one: Yogi, L.T., the mix. Dennis was not better than he’d been 12 Roland and Lifter. months earlier, however. I was a big fan up until game time, but Wolf needs to bring up his weaknesses to get back in my good graces. By the way, IM science scribe Jerry Brainum asked on the IronMan-
Mwev
Mwev
Contest photography by Roland Balik
Melvin Anthony.
LOOKING BACK Bodybuilding mourns the loss of Steve Stone. Pages 211 and 213
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Magazine.com forum how David Henry could have won the 202and-under show and then finished 15th in the main event? Another question is how Ronny Rockel landed in 14th. I thought they both looked terrific, and they tied for my Overlooked award. On that subject, what about Silveo Samuel? Probably the most conditioned athlete in the lineup, Silveo duplicated his seventh-place landing of ’07, again one slot behind Marvelous Melvin Anthony. That ain’t shabby—but Samuel really nailed it in his final contest of the year. Guess size really does matter, eh, gang?
Roland Balik
Russ Deluca and Mandy Cook. At left: L.T. with David Hughes, Stevie Zee and Rich and Liz Gaspari.
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Shawn Ray in 2001.
John Balik
he weighed, Jackson looked good.
Merv
ADD EXPERTS—I hate to admit it, but Isaac Hinds wins the Expert of the Olympia 2008 award. He picked Toney Freeman as his longshot, while Yogi Avidan went with Will Harris and I, of course, stuck with my former student Quincy Taylor. And, natch, neither of our fellas even made it to the Olympia stage. I also owe Hinds a meal because Heath finished one slot ahead of Dennis Wolf. Good thing the Lifter lives 1,200 miles away. Catch ya at the Nationals, my man. I made up for the terrible prognostication by getting Q.T. to talk on camera about all the ankle biters who, he says, unfairly place ahead of him in many shows. If you haven’t seen the hilarious interview, check it out at IronManMagazine.com as soon as you finish perusing these pages.
Find L.T.’s interview with Big Lou at Iron ManMagazine .com.
Teper
ADD JACKSON—Although I was teaching at Pasadena City College when the press conference took place on Thursday of Olympia Weekend, I hear I was one of the topics. As you may know, Dexter Jackson and I have always debated his true bodyweight. At the press conference, when he said that he weighed 235 pounds, he also asked if I was in the house. And if someone would bring up a scale so he could finally shut me up regarding my doubts about his veracity. We were going to take care of that issue at the IM Pro a few years back, but Dex apparently couldn’t find the venue, as he was absent from the weigh-in. He said he had a MuscleTech photo shoot that day, and who am I to doubt that? Especially considering the weight of his contract. I addressed the weight issue—one more time—when I interviewed him at the Meet the Olympians reception that night. He said I was full of crap about his being “around 220.” Well, I did use that number a few years back, but Jackson admitted he was only 205 at the ’07 Arnold. Okay, Dex, I’ll give ya 223—hey, for 5’6 1/2” that’s a lot of muscle. At the same height, you weigh 25 to 30 pounds more onstage than Shawn Ray did when he competed, 18 pounds more than the 5’10 1/2” Flex Wheeler was at the ’93 Arnold, several pounds more than the 5’9” Phil Heath was in Vegas and only 13 pounds less than Jay Cutler at the finals. Bottom line (again): Does it really matter what you weighed? Whatever it was, you added an extra couple of ounces with that $155,000 first-place check. And your contest winnings of around 300K for the year are probably the most a competitor has ever pocketed in a single season. So here are my official congrats on your Mr. O victory. You’re a ba-a-a-ad man, Mr. Jackson. And I will definitely bring the scale next year. I win if you are under 235; you win at 235 and above. Loser buys dinner; if I am wrong, make sure it’s at a place I can afford. I only weigh 180, and you Whatever know us little guys don’t make much cash.
As bad as the picks of Taylor and Harris were, though, nothing matched the insane call by ace IRON MAN photog Roland Balik, who begged me to include him as a special guest on ”The Experts Olympia Wrap-up” video based on what he felt were on-the-money visions of the contest seen through his powerful lens. As you see in the tape, Roland did make it into the lineup that night, but only after winning my Bonehead Pick of the Year award. Why? Because he left both Jackson and Heath out of the top five. Could be the worst picks in decades, perhaps of all time. As the good-natured Balik said, however, “I wanted to keep it in the family.” He was, of course, referring to Hinds’ bonehead prediction last year that Freeman would finish third (he ended up 14th). Toney certainly provided payback for Lifter this time, so all’s forgotten, eh, Isaac?
Teper
Mandy Blank, Debbie Kruck, Kenny Kassel and Ruth Silverman.
Merv
Bev Francis and Steve Stone awarded Olympia medals onstage at the judging shortly before he died. Watch L.T.’s last interview with Steve at IronManMagazine.com.
Thanks to Bodybuilding.com’s Russ DeLuca, I was able to view the Olympia finals from a VIP room high atop the Orleans Arena, which came complete with big screens, cozy couches and a spread of finger-lickin’ grub. I spent much of the evening, between scrutinizing the physiques in rounds three and four, chatting with Lou Ferrigno, his sons Lou Jr. and Brent and Rich and Liz Gaspari. Big Lou, still spry at 56, talked about a new flick he’s got on the horizon. I met the boys back in 1994 when I worked on the documentary “Stand Tall” and hadn’t seen them since shortly after that. I did, however, attend a Notre Dame High School (in Sherman Oaks, California) football game a few years back to watch Lou Jr., now 23, play. He went on to earn a spot as a linebacker at USC, one of the strongest collegiate programs in the country. When Lou said that his sons now pump heavier iron than he does—and that Brent wants to compete next year in the Teen Nationals—I sprang into action. For the next 10 minutes the 18-year-old, who has a 400-pound squat to his credit, heard a barrage of details about my Junior California Championships (www.npcjuniorcal.com), June 20 at Rosemead High School—which is exactly one month out from the Teen Nationals. As I cleverly pointed out, the requirement to compete at the Teen Nationals is to enter a contest prior to the event; whoops, there it is! The next competitor to follow in the footsteps of his famous father. I can just see it now.
ADD GASPARI—Thumbs-up to Rich, Liz and Gaspari Nutrition not only for their success in the industry and their support of IFBB and NPC events but for going above and beyond in adding Stevie Zee to the company’s stable of athletes. A victim of cerebral palsy, Stevie was “discovered in the gym” by Gaspari signee David Hughes 10 years ago, when both lived in Oregon. Zee wanted to make like his mentor and compete in a bodybuilding contest. He eventuTracy ally moved to Los Angeles to pursue his Gaither. talents as a stand-up comic and, after a special pump that delivered the drug Baclofren into his spinal chord was placed in his stomach in 2003, Zee was on his way. Three years later, after a decade of training under the guidance of Hughes, who had moved to L.A. around the same time, Zee achieved his goal of getting onstage. He competed in the ’06 Los Angeles Championships—to a standing ovation—and was honored with the Stevie Zee Inspirational Award by MuscleMag International. “I used to ask, why me?” Stevie says. “Now I know I was given cerebral palsy for a reason—to inspire others, to be a better person, and to make the most out of my life, no matter what. If you change your attitude, Merv
Photo courtesy of Tracy Gaither
Lou Duarte in 1982.
A View From the Top
Liberman
L.T. and Dex.
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UP, DOWN AND AROUND THE ’08 OLYMPIA WEEKEND Photography by Lonnie Teper and Dave Liberman
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1) Julie Palmer phones home. 2) L.T. has his SANs full. 3) David Henry is always in shape. 4) Linda Reho and Dave Liberman. 5) Brandon Curry. 6) Cathy LeFrancois and Scott Nolte. 7) The Big Nasty, his wife Christine and Toney Freeman. 8) Phil Heath’s gun show. 9) Ryan Bentson and his Zero Gravity fitness team. 10) Gunter Schlierkamp and Kim Lyons.
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you never know what you can do with your life. Gaspari Nutrition is helping others with the disease improve their lives as well; check out Roland Balik’s video of my interview with Rich, Liz, David and Stevie (at IronManMagazine.com), in which Rich presents Zee, 36, with the first annual Dragon Slayer award—not to mention a check for $5,000 to the Cerebral Palsy Foundation. Rich actually got a bit emotional when talking about the award. Watch the video, and you may shed a tear or two yourself.
Steve Stone
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The most shocking moment of Olympia Weekend came in the form of a phone call. Roland and I were having a late lunch at the Orleans Hotel on Friday; a call from Ron Avidan brought the news that Steve Stone had died backstage at the Las Vegas Convention Center toward the end of the women’s prejudging. A pulmonary embolism—basically, a blood clot in the lungs—was the cause of death listed at press time. According to Kenny Kassel, Steve’s close friend for 30 years, Stone had recently turned 52. Apparently, a genetic factor was involved in Steve’s condition, and he had been on medication for some time. I had known Steve since his days as a standout bodybuilder and eventually teamed up with him in our duties as emcee and expediter at many shows, notably the Nationals and USA. We would always kid each other about breaking the old record, timewise, from the previous year. A video interview that I did with Steve on the morning after the ’07 USA is posted in my blog at IronManMagazine.com. Three days after this year’s USA, I received a voice mail from him. He said he was sorry that he hadn’t gotten to thank me after the show for being part of our latest record-setting effort. As captain of our team, he wanted to make sure I felt appreciated. That was Steve—a nice, hard-working guy who always put the athletes first. Stone’s wife, Andrea, was part of the team, handling the emcee book, among other duties. It was no surprise when I heard that a huge crowd of friends, many from within the industry, attended his funeral the following week in New York. After the men’s finals on Saturday night, I joined Kassel, Ruth Silverman, Debbie Kruck, Mike Zeltzer and Mandy Blank for a toast to Steve’s life at the hotel bar. I normally don’t drink, so you know this fella was special. You certainly were, Steve. And you’ll be missed, both on and off the stage. Condolences to the Stone family, which includes all of the competitors who adored him so much.
Add Junior Cal 16
11) L.T. says hello to Jay Cutler— sort of. 12) Monica Brant and Dorian Yates. 13) Desmond Miller. 14) John Romano and girlfriend Wendy—no bull. 15) Shawn, Asia Monet, Kristi and Bella Blu Ray. 16) L.T. and Lee Labrada.
I’ve always said that if you dig deep enough, there’s a neat story behind every competitor. Tracy Gaither, winner of my NPC Junior Cal 45-and-up figure division in 2008 and a frequent competitor in local contests, is a great example. A resident of Yorba Linda, California, Gaither started bodybuilding 22 years ago. Her father is Lou Duarte, a former masters competitor (he won the California Muscle Classic) and former owner of Lou’s Gym. Lou was also a promoter and created the Border States competition, eventually selling it to Jaguar Jon Lindsay. After graduating from San Diego State, Tracy moved to Orange County and trained at Gold’s in Huntington Beach before joining Flex It Gym, where icons like Rory Leidelmeyer and Diana Dennis pumped iron. After competing for a couple of years, however, she dropped out. “By then, women were using steroids, and I couldn’t compete against that, so I played soccer for 17 years,” she says. “I love it, but I started back heavy in the weight room because it helped my goal kicking. I’m a striker and felt that weightlifting kept me free from the typical injuries that most of the women were getting. People wanted me to train them, they wanted to look like me, and so I decided to get certified. One thing led to another, and here I am.” Now 47, Gaither teaches a weightlifting course at Fullerton College in addition to training clients. Plus, she’s still getting her kicks playing soccer and currently competes for two different teams. Keep it up, Tracy. I know Lou, who’s now 70, is beyond proud of your achievements. IM
To contact Lonnie Teper about material possibly pertinent to News & Views, write to 1613 Chelsea Road, #266, San Marino, CA 91108; fax to (626) 289-7949; or send e-mail to
[email protected].
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L O N N I E T E P E R ’S R i si n g St ar s
Garrett Hawkins Age: 27 Weight: 203 contest; 240 off-season Height: 5’8” Residence: West Covina, California Occupation: Owner of Nutrition 4 Less Contest highlights: ’08 NPC USA Championships, light heavyweight, 8th; ’08 NPC Orange County Muscle Classic, heavyweight, 1st, and overall; ’07 NPC California Championships, light heavyweight, 3rd Factoid: He’s been competing since he was 16. Contact: www.Garrett Hawkins.com
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IRON MAN
IRON MAN
Laura
Boisacq
L O NN I E T EP E R’S Ri si ng S tars
Age: 36 Weight: 115 contest; 135 off-season Height: 5’3” Residence: Anchorage, Alaska Occupation: Dietary manager Contest highlights: ’08 USA, lightweight, 3rd; ’08 NPC Washington Championships, lightweight, 1st, overall and mixed-pairs winner (with her husband) Factoid: “Married with children—four, to be exact.” Contact: www.myspace .com/boisacq
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Isaac Hinds \
www.LiftStud
ios.com
L O N N I E T E P E R ’S R i si n g St ar s
Yusef Al-Awaji Age: 22 Weight: 172 contest; 205 off-season Height: 5’7” Residence: Aurora, Colorado Occupation: Student Contest highlights: ’08 USA, welterweight, 8th; ’08 Colorado Championships, middleweight, 3rd Factoid: He’s a premed senior majoring in biology at the University of Colorado Denver. Contact:
[email protected]
IRON MAN
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MUSCLE “IN” SITES MUSCLE “IN” SITES MUSCLE ‘IN’ SITES MUSCLE “IN” SITES MUSCLE “IN” SITES MUSCLE ‘IN’ SITES MUSCLE “IN” SITES MUSCLE “IN” SITES MUSCLE ‘IN’ SITES MUSCLE “IN” SITES MUSCLE “IN” SITES MUSC
Eric Broser’s
Muscle “In” Sites If you find something on the Web that IM readers should know about, send the URL to Eric at
[email protected].
>www.JimMachak.com Although it’s a lot of fun to research and study the Web sites of famous pro bodybuilders and fitness and figure competitors, I find it equally interesting to discover the sites of the lesserknown but equally dedicated individuals who make up the backbone of the industry. Colorado NPC bodybuilder Jim Machak is one such example. Although Jim has competed successfully several times, he finds even greater satisfaction in helping others reach their all-time best. Over his 15 years in the sport he has helped hundreds of competitors prepare for shows and has slowly but surely established himself as something of a precontest guru. At an off-season weight of 235 pounds while standing just 5’9”, he would be hard to miss stomping around his home state; however, it’s now his goal to reach people from all over the United States with his experience and knowledge. That’s why he has put together a series of online training and nutrition packages to fit the needs of trainees at every level. In addition, his site offers dozens of videos that demonstrate
>www.MaggieFit.com While attending the most recent Olympia Weekend in Vegas, I had the great pleasure of meeting and talking with Maggie Blanchard, NPC district chairwoman, IFBB pro fitness competitor, competition promoter and competition suit designer! Yes, this lovely gal wears many hats (in fact, she had a hat on when I met her…hmm)!
proper form on some of the most popular weighttraining exercises. It’s an excellent resource for beginners. Just remember, some of the best trainers in the business are not pro athletes but instead are individuals who are driven to help others make their dreams come true.
Although her site includes a wonderful photo gallery, her contest history and a list of appearances, what I really want to discuss here are the amazing suits she designs for figure, fitness and bodybuilding competitors. There is no doubt that in a closely contested show, the cut, color and design of one’s suit can make or break the final placing, which is why you need to pay just as much attention to that area of your prep as diet, training, cardio or tanning. Can you imagine having a judge tell you that you would have won if your suit had fit better? Do not take chances! Maggie’s suits are of the highest quality, and she will work closely with you to make sure you achieve the optimum look for your particular body type onstage. As a pro competitor herself, Maggie knows exactly what it takes to make an athlete look her or his (yes, she does men’s trunks too) best! MaggieFit.com is truly a one-stop shop for competition day, as she also offers ladies’ shoes, tanning products and even supplements. So do yourself a favor the next time you’re set to step onstage—complete your winning look with the help of MaggieFit.com.
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>DVD Review: “2008 IRON MAN Pro” Rich Gaspari and Jerome Ferguson. A major battle took place for the top four positions, with the biggest surprise, in my opinion, being when Moe El Moussawi nabbed third. Aside from perhaps Phil Heath, nobody was as dry and grainy as Moe! He was ripped head to toe and also showed great size and fullness. He even managed to knock Silvio into fourth place—no easy feat! The battle for first was a classic apple vs. orange (or perhaps Ferrari vs. Hummer) situation with the massive and thick Gustavo Badell trying to scream his way (literally) to the winner’s circle against a nearly flawless Heath. If Gustavo had entered the show about 10 pounds lighter and with a smaller waist, he might have given Phil a run for his money, but on this night nobody was beating “the Gift.” I have seen Phil compete in both the Arnold Classic and the Olympia, but I think he was best at the ’08 IM Pro. Check it out yourself.
The IRON MAN Pro has always been one of my favorite shows. Not only does it kick off the men’s contest season, but it always draws a fantastic lineup of competitors. Many athletes use the IM Pro to make their pose-forpay debut, while seasoned veterans often compete in order to gain momentum for the Arnold Classic just a couple of weeks later. This contest also brings in a strong European contingent looking to get some recognition here in the States. The IM Pro is legendary for its incredible stage lighting, making each competitor look his shredded best. My collection of IM Pro videos dates back to 1993, when Flex Wheeler wiped the floor with everyone in his first IFBB competition. The 2008 version certainly did not disappoint, with a lineup that included rising stars like Phil Heath, Desmond Miller and Silvio Samuel; veterans Toney Freeman, Gustavo Badell, Troy Alves and Johnnie Jackson; and relative newcomers like Moe El Moussawi, Omar Deckard and DeShaun Grimez. And of course no IM Pro show would be complete without the “going to die trying” Kenny Jones! This two-disc DVD includes complete coverage of the prejudging and night shows, as well as interviews with
>Broser’s
Editor’s note: The “2008 IRON MAN Pro” DVD set is available from www.Home-Gym.com, or call (800) 4470008.
nificant development will result in the smaller assisting muscles as well—and that effect will be amplified if you have particularly good genetics for building muscle in the biceps, triceps and shoulders (hello, Lee Priest and Kevin
Net Results Q&A
The Power/Rep Range/Shock innovator answers your questions on training and nutrition.
A: That’s actually an interesting question that I’m going to be forced to answer in two ways. It’s absolutely true that the triceps and anterior deltoids are stimulated during all pressing movements for the chest and that the biceps and posterior deltoids are heavily involved in all pulling exercises for the back, such as rows, pulldowns and pullups. Since most lifters can move some pretty heavy iron on bench presses, incline presses, bent-over rows, seated rows and one-arm rows, there’s no doubt that some sig-
Neveux \ Model: Nathan Detracy
Q: I was told by a guy at my gym that I am wasting my time directly training my shoulders and arms. He said that those bodyparts would grow huge simply by training chest and back very heavy. It’s obvious that the shoulders and arms are involved in presses and rows, but is that really enough?
Pressing for pecs involves a lot of triceps stimulation, but is it enough for complete rear-arm development? www.ironmanmagazine.com \ JANUARY 2009 225
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Net Results Levrone!). If you have a limited time to spend in the gym and crave only pure bulk, without the detail and perfect proportions of a competitive bodybuilder, you can probably be rather successful primarily training chest, back and legs while leaving the arms and shoulders alone. A Monday-Wednesdayand-Friday schedule would work well here, with legs sitting between the two upper-body sessions. Now, for the other side of the coin: If your goal is to maximize the development of every bodypart and to either compete on a bodybuilding stage or at least look as if you do, it’s necessary to do direct work for the arms and delts. You can build larger bi’s, tri’s and shoulders without isolating them, but I do not feel you can reach your full genetic potential for size, nor can you build the type of complete physique you see on a bodybuilder. There are myriad angles, grips and nerve patterns you must hit in order to bring out the optimal development of every muscle group, even the smaller ones. That means direct work—curls, extensions, laterals, etc. It’s up to you to figure out what you really wish to accomplish and then take the proper route to get there. Ask yourself: “Am I a bodybuilder or a guy who lifts weights?” Your answer will tell you what you need to do.
or midback), and stick with them for the entire Burst phase. The goal is to move more weight at each corresponding P, RR and S session so that by the final three weeks you’re far ahead of where you started. Here is what an 18-week P/RR/S Burst Cycle would look like: P/P/P/RR/RR/RR/S/S/S/P/P/RR/RR/S/S/P/RR/S So far that sequence has been quite successful, especially for my clients who are at an intermediate level, meaning three to five years of consistent training. Very advanced trainees will probably do better with the basic P/RR/S method, as the longer people have been training, the more quickly their muscles and CNS adapt to the stressors placed on them. Give the P/RR/S Burst Cycling a try and let me know how you do. Q: So Dexter Jackson is Mr. Olympia. Do you think he should have beaten Jay? What does that mean for pro bodybuilding?
Roland Balik
A: In 2007 Victor Martinez should have been Mr. Olympia, so Jay was truly lucky to hold the title for another year. Q: I have been using P/RR/S for about a year Jay is an amazing bodybuilder, a tremendous businessman and love it. I have made substantial progress foland a wonderful representative of the sport, but he was not lowing it. However, I sometimes feel like I want to the best man onstage in ’07 or ’08. Dexter deserved the stick with P, RR, or S for more than just one week victory, as he carried the best overall package in the lineup. before moving on. I know the idea behind your When his name was announced as the winner, I stood up method is the cyclical nature of the program—hitand applauded till my hands hurt. Not only was I happy for ting different growth pathways and such—so I was Dexter, but I was happy for bodybuilding. wondering what you thought of the possibility of Jackson’s winning the Olympia is the best thing that doing more than one week straight of each protohas happened to the sport in years because we now see col. that it can be anyone’s game. Since Lee Haney’s reign the Olympia has been ruled by mass and freakiness, not A: I’ve actually been experimenting over the last few necessarily the best and most complete physiques. After months with something I call “P/RR/S Burst Cycling,” Haney, Dorian Yates took things to another level, and just which is exactly the type of experience you’re looking for. when you thought he could not be outdone, Ronnie ColeInstead of changing programs every week, you focus on man brought a body to the stage that looked like computer one hypertrophy pathanimation come alive. But way for more than just now the Olympia is no a week at a time. That longer just a “big man’s” allows for more efficient realm. We have gone back strength adaptations to to a day when the best take place within each man, not just the biggest of the protocols (P, RR man, will win—and I hope and S), with the eventual it stays that way. goal being to complete And the most wondermore reps with the same ful part is that there are weights or the same so many incredible phynumber of reps with siques out there right now more weight. Inevitably, that every year we could that will lead to muscle have a new winner! I used growth. to watch the Olympia The idea is to choose wondering only how seca series of the most efond through 10th places Dexter Jackson fective exercises for you would pan out, but now vs. Jay Cutler at (and/or ones that focus fans can enjoy a real batthe ’08 Mr. O. A on weak points, such as tle for the title. And that’s new dawning for upper chest, brachialis how it should be. IM
bodybuilding?
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Mr. Olympia 2008
IFBB
The Blade Cuts Down
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the Competition Photography by: John Balik, Roland Balik, Merv and Jerry Fredrick
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1) Dexter JACKSON
’08 Mr. Olympia 1) Dexter Jackson 2) Jay Cutler 3) Phil Heath 4) Dennis Wolf 5) Toney Freeman 6) Melvin Anthony 7) Silvio Samuel 8) Dennis James 9) Moe El Moussawi 10) Gustavo Badell 11) Darrem Charles 12) Johnnie Jackson 13) Craig Richardson 14) Ronny Rockel 15) David Henry 232 JANUARY 2009 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com
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2) Jay CUTLER
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3) Phil HEATH
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4) Dennis WOLF
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5) Toney FREEMAN
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6) Melvin ANTHONY
For more photos and behind-the-scenes videos from the ’08 Olympia Weekend visit www.IronManMagazine .com www.ironmanmagazine.com \ JANUARY 2009 239
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7) Silvio SAMUEL
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8) Dennis JAMES
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9) Moe El Moussawi
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10) Gustavo BADELL
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12) Johnnie JACKSON
11) Darrem CHARLES
14) Ronny ROCKEL
13) Craig RICHARDSON
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Profiles in Muscle
Profiles in Muscle
Joel Stubbs IFBB Pro Bodybuilder & Muscle Asylum Project Athlete Compiled by Ron Harris
Full name: Joel Jehu Stubbs
months
Nickname: Big Joel
Hobbies: “Spending time with my baby boy and my two rottweilers, Hercules and Xena.”
Date of birth: December 30, 1967 Height: 6’3” Off-season weight: 325 Contest weight: 285 Current residence: Nassau, Bahamas Years training: 20 Occupation: Commercial airline pilot Marital status: Single Children: Son Lincoln, 21
How did you get into bodybuilding? “I was just like any other young guy. I wanted to beef up my chest and arms a little bit to impress the girls. I was very tall and skinny.” Who inspired you when you were starting out? “My uncle John, whom people called Steel, was very muscular and could have been a good bodybuilder if he’d ever been interested in competing. He was always the strongest
guy in the gym. I was also very much inspired by Arnold as a kid and, later on, Flex Wheeler and Ronnie Coleman.” Top titles: ’99 and ’01 Bahamas Overall champion; ’03 IFBB Caribbean and Central American Championships, heavyweight and overall; ’07 Australian Grand Prix, seventh Favorite bodypart to train: “It used to be back, but now it’s my legs. It’s fun to see how hard I can work them and how deeply I can stimulate the muscle fibers of my quads.” Favorite exercise: None
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Least favorite exercise: Cardio. “Mind-numbingly boring, but you have to do it to get in shape.” Best bodypart: Back Most challenging bodypart: Quads Obstacles overcome: “In 1997 I tore both quadriceps muscles clean off the patellar tendons during a basketball game I was playing just a couple of hours after a heavy leg workout. Leg training has been a challenge ever since, and I’m constantly doing my best to bring my quads up to match the rest of my body. I’m grateful that people rave about my back, but I want to be known as a great bodybuilder, not just for a freaky bodypart.” Do you have a quote or a philosophy you try to live by? “Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” How do you stay motivated? “I know I haven’t fulfilled my total potential yet, and I won’t stop until I do. It doesn’t matter how old I am or how long I’ve been training. I know there are still improvements to be made.” How would you describe your training style? “I train much smarter now than I did in my youth. Back then it was all about heavy, heavy weights and ego lifting. Over the years I learned how to foster the mind/muscle connection and really work the muscle instead of just lifting the weights.” Training split: Sunday: off; Monday: quads, hams, calves; Tuesday: back; Wednesday: off; Thursday: shoulders; Friday: biceps, triceps, calves; Saturday: chest. Abs are done at the end of each bodypart. Favorite clean meal: Steak, brown rice and steamed broccoli Favorite cheat foods: Cheesecake and barbecue potato chips What is your favorite supplement, and why? “I love Freak Fix whey protein by Muscle Asylum Project, both the vanilla and chocolate flavors. It tastes just like ice cream, and it provides my muscles with what they need to grow.” Goals in the sport: “To be number one someday—simple as that.” IM
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RUTH SILVERMAN’S
About January: • • • •
Olympia Memories Runners-up Powerful Emotions Pump Pourri
Photography by Ruth Silverman, Roland Balik, Merv and Jerry Fredrick
OLYMPIA MEMORIES
GRAND FINALE It might have been the most emotionally charged Olympia ever: three new champs, two titles lost, the sudden death of a beloved member of the production team and, less than a month later, the passing of IFBB founder Ben Weider, seen here hailing ’08 winners Jen Hendershott, Jen Gates, Dexter Jackson, David Henry and Iris Kyle.
For more on Ben Weider, see page 26.
HIPPITY HOP ’05 Fitness O winner Hendershott brought her best-balanced booty ever—and wowed in the routines with her tail of a naughty bunny. Give that gal another crown.
BACK-TO-BACK Iris was the only defending champ to repeat. Scratch that rumor that the now-four-time Ms. O would “never be allowed” to win again. 248
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GOOD GUY Chief expediter Steve Stone (left) with Jim Manion at the women’s judging. A little while later the news of Steve’s sudden collapse sent shock and disbelief rolling down the officials’ table like a bowling ball.
RUNNERS-UP
BA-A-AD MOVES
FAIR WARNING Betty VianaAtkins flashes the look that says, “I’m waiting in the wings, baby.” Her sizzling synergy of size and symmetry made her number two at the Ms. O.
INSANITY CLAUSE Pleasing the judges was driving her crazy, declared Tracey Greenwood, who moved up to second in fitness. Yeah, crazy like a fox.
BIG O MEET ’N’ GREET Speaking of crazy, the IRON MAN team was in full force at the Meet the Athletes reception on the evening before the women’s
5
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Photography by Jerry Fredrick
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judging, but no one went wilder than photographer Jerry Fredrick. 1) Nicole Duncan was radiant in her Fitness O
debut. 2) Mah-Ann Mendoza had a veteran’s confidence in her fourth Ms. O appearance. 3) Regiane Da Silva and her honey flashed a matching pair. Newbies 4)
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Sherry Smith and 5) Debbie Bramwell and Klaudia Larson rode the wave of more-aesthetic physiques into Vegas.
What did I really think of the big show? Find my video reports and interviews at www.IronManMagazine.com.
POWERFUL EMOTIONS
MOVIE CLINCH But oh, so real. Dexter greets his fiancée, Gale Elie, onstage after getting crowned.
TALE OF TWO COUPLES Kerry Cutler casts a wary but cautious glance at her fella amid the postcontest backstage hustle. Jay’s loss to Dexter Jackson may or may not have been expected, but sinkingin time is another thing altogether.
WELL POSITIONED Trust Joe Weider to find the hottest two rookies in the Figure O lineup, JulieAnn Kulla (left) and Lenay Hernandez. FIGURE NOTES How did Zaville Raudoniene go from just another pretty face in ’07 to third? Word is it had something to do with leg training.
THE As HAVE IT The figure lineup featured a record seven contestants whose last names begin with A (from left): Paola Almerico, Gina Aliotti and Sonia Adcock.
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NOT SHOWN Jelena Abbou, Teresa Anthony, Huong Arcinas and Jane Awad.
CLASS ACTS
FITNESS NOTES I loved Trish Warren’s “Dukes of Hazzard” routine. Heck, I loved all the routines. As Stacy Simons observed, It might have been the “toughest lineup ever.” Trish was chosen for a fitness reality show to be coproduced by Jane Awad this winter. Others in the cast include Jen Hendershott, Elaine Goodlad, Alicia Marie and Jamie Ford (formerly Costa). No, they won’t all be staying in the same house.
HUGE BONUS Zhanna Rotar may not have made it into the lineup this year, but as a trophy presenter for sponsor MuscleTech, she pointed out, “I got more time onstage than the figure girls.”
WORTH NOTING RUBBER BANDIT Stacy Simons makes it worth your while to stick around for the 45-second routines.
CRABBY Betty Pariso’s appearance in a commercial for Joe’s Crab Shack that ran last summer was nothing short of hilarious. The phrase, “I’ll have the mussels,” will never mean the same again. PARENTAL UNITS Jenny and Marianne Lynn kindly made room at their banquet table for a wandering media member. Moral of the photo at right: You can’t hold a camera and a glass of wine at the same time. FAR RIGHT After watching Jen Gates knock two-time Figure O champ Jenny Lynn off her throne, Dave Crawley joined his daughter’s posse. From left: Tabitha Smith, Desha Rodriguez, Jen and Dad.
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PUMP POURRI—’08 OLYMPIA
Fredrick
More beautiful biceps. Canadian flexer Kim Birtch shows Brenda Kelly how it’s done, and Brenda returns the favor.
Just because. It’s time Krissy Chin got some space here.
Triple threat. Jennifer Rish competes in fitness and figure—and she looks good making a muscle. Stacy Simons and Keith McDowell.
Heidi Fletcher and Jeff Sullivan. Diva weddings. Heidi and Jeff eloped last summer and were still purring at the end of her contest diet. Stacy and Keith will say their vows in December.
Disguised. Petra Mertl changed her look again—and we’re not talkin’ physique. “I was blond two days ago,” she said. “I get bored.” Ah, but never boring.
Best dressed. Lauren Powers and Gayle Moher got all glammed up for the women’s finals. Imagine how they looked on Saturday night.
Photography by Ruth Silverman
Still more biceps. Ms. O rookie Jennifer Sedia passed out at the judging (she was holding her breath too long, she said) and still made the top 10 in a tough lineup of 17.
MEL RICH, 1944–2008
Condolences to the family and friends of Mel Rich, supplements pioneer, who passed away in October. The industry was in his blood—his family owned Phoenix Labs and the Great Earth Vitamin Stores—and he had great passion for it and for life. I interviewed Mel for this magazine in 1996, just after he started Bodyonics Pinnacle, and count myself among those who will miss him.
La chica regresará. Putting rehab behind her, Adela Garcia will compete in figure during the first part of 2009 and switch to fitness in time for a run at getting her Olympia title back.
The Bodywell Three. Tell me this doesn’t look like a movie poster (from left): Tom Richardson, Gus Vidaurreta and Jimmy Mentis.
You can contact Ruth Silverman, fitness, figure and women’s bodybuilding reporter and Pump & Circumstance scribe, in care of IRON MAN, 1701 Ives Ave., Oxnard, CA 93033; or via e-mail at
[email protected].
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Heavy Duty Aerobics:
Myths, Lies and Misconceptions by Mike Mentzer
This was one of the last features Mike Mentzer wrote for IRON MAN before his death in 2001. It’s an interesting and eye-opening look at aerobics and conditioning. For three decades, ever since Kenneth Cooper, M.D., published his first book on the subject, the public has been force-fed the idea that aerobic fitness is the be-all and end-all of fitness and that highly repetitive, steadystate activities, such as jogging and bicycling, are the best means of achieving it. None of that is true. Aerobic conditioning is only one element of a broader concept—total fitness—which is made up of several components, including skeletal-muscle strength, skeletal density, flexibility, endurance, maintenance of lean body mass and, finally, a positive self-image. Only a properly conducted high-intensity weight-training program can achieve total fitness—and in a minimum of time. If you’ve been engaged in a fitness program that includes some type of aerobic activity involving the mindnumbing, repetitive use of the legs or a few skeletal muscles, you’ve been wasting your time. Aerobic activity does nothing, absolutely zero, to provide for increased skeletal-muscle strength; in fact, by overworking a few muscles to the exclusion of others, aerobic activity creates certain dangerous imbalances in the musculoskeletal system, which increases the likelihood of injury. Furthermore, as Greg Anderson of Ideal Exercise in Seattle explains in a brochure he gives to all of his members, “Running is an extremely high-force activity that’s damaging to the knees, hips and back. Aerobic dancing is probably worse. And so-called low-impact activities, such as stationary bicycling, aren’t 254 JANUARY 2009 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com
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Heavy Duty plished with a program that works not merely the legs but all the major skeletal muscles with high-intensity weight training that limits the rest between sets so you can maintain an elevated pulse. Many well-known aerobics ad-
fitness. Wind sprints, while high-intensity, are a dangerous high-force activity that will inevitably result in torn hamstrings, strained Achilles tendons and damaged knees. A properly conducted high-intensity weight-training regimen, on the other hand, in which the musAerobic exercise activates so few muscle cles are worked fibers that it burns very few calories and is, relatively slowly therefore, a poor way to get rid of fat. through a full range of motion for 10 to 15 reps to failure and the forces are low to moderate, is the ideal way to exercise, with practically zero risk of injury. That’s how my associates and I train our fitness-oriented clients. To help them achieve a more productive, healthy and happy life, optimize the time they spend in the gym and achieve total fitness, we carefully supervise them through a series of high-intensity, low-force weight-training exercises. We accomplish that in two workouts a week averaging 20 to 30 minutes. vocates are finally admitting that The major problem in the field the concept of aerobic training is of bodybuilding and fitness is the erroneous. Former cardiovascular near-universal—but erroneous—besurgeon Irving Dardik, M.D., for lief that more is better. As children instance, exclaimed a few years ago, many people acquire the notion “The basic concept behind aerobic that more candy is better than less, conditioning is wrong.” Dr. Dardik then blindly misapply that notion also made the point that the best to other areas. Past a very definite, way to train is by using short bursts limited point, candy makes you sick of elevated intensity followed by and fat and causes dental problems. a brief rest, followed by another It’s a similar situation with exerburst of demanding activity. Then cise. Imposing just the right amount there’s Covert Bailey, author of Fit or of exercise stress will cause a posiFat and once the guru of so-called tive result, and anything beyond gentle aerobic activity, who now that will cause a negative result. As recommends high-intensity wind it turns out, the proper amount of sprints to those seeking maximum exercise required to achieve opti-
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Neveux \ Models: Amy Lynn and Adrian Janicke
necessarily low force.” Aerobic activity doesn’t improve flexibility, anaerobic endurance or lean body mass. In addition, owing to the gross overtraining that many aerobic obsessives engage in, it can actually cause them to sacrifice lean mass—known as overuse atrophy—and thus lose muscle tone. That’s what causes a deterioration of their physical appearance, which is responsible for the flabby look many of them have. Aerobic exercise activates so few muscle fibers that it burns very few calories and is, therefore, a poor way to get rid of fat. Despite what you’ve heard over and over, steadystate activities such as jogging, cycling and dancing burn very few calories. In fact, one pound of fat will fuel at least 10 hours of continuous activity. Some alleged experts have suggested that aerobic activity is important, as it increases the resting metabolic rate. Since aerobic exercise burns so few calories while you’re doing it, how much can it increase the rate of calories burned when you’re not doing it? It was never cast in stone that you must limit your exercise activity to repetitive movement of the legs to improve cardiorespiratory health and fitness. The cardinal principle for improving cardiorespiratory fitness is that you sustain an age-related elevated heart rate for 12 minutes or more. As a number of studies have demonstrated, that’s best accom-
Heavy Duty mal results isn’t nearly as much as you’ve been led to believe—hence your lack of satisfactory progress in the past. If more is better, why train only two or three hours a day? Why not take a vacation from work and train 18 hours a day? Then you’re sure to succeed, right? By the way, those stories about movie stars training five hours a day to get in shape for films are bunk. No one except a slave under a whip can sustain the motivation to train that much day in and day out. Females, especially, with their naturally lower testosterone levels, simply can’t tolerate as much high-intensity-exercise stress as some are reported to be engaging in. I’ve visited gyms in every corner of the world. Most people train at least three days a week for one hour per session. Why? It just so happens that in our culture the number three has a certain traditional magic. We have the Three Bears, the Three Stooges, the Holy Trinity, three square meals a day and the mystic concept that catastrophes happen in threes. Therefore, it’s only logical and scientific that we should train three times a week. The lunatic fringe in the field of bodybuilding has turned exercise into a religion of sorts, spending hours every day of the week mindlessly pumping iron, stretching, jogging and so on. Those people don’t exercise as a means of achieving a single, albeit important, value with a hierarchy of numerous other life-affirming goals. For them going to the gym is a social ritual that helps them manage the anxiety that inevitably results
Imposing just the right amount of exercise stress will cause a positive result, and anything beyond that will cause a negative result.
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Neveux \ Model: Mike Icolari
from the refusal to learn how to think and judge as mature, independent adults. While it may be laudable on one level to make it to the gym four to six times a week for two hours of training per session, on another it isn’t. The idea shouldn’t be to go to the gym to prove that you’re a good Puritan but to go conscientiously prepared to do what nature requires in the way of imposing the requisite training stress— and in the right amount. Whether your goal is a more modest one—to build greater strength and lean mass, lose fat and improve overall conditioning—or a grand one—to build strength and muscle for highlevel sports or bodybuilding competition—keep in mind that overtraining isn’t merely wasted effort, it’s counterproductive. There’s no question that being in good physical condition is an absolute requirement for living a rewarding, happy and healthy life; however, it’s neither necessary nor desirable to spend an hour or two every day to achieve it. It’s not necessary, as optimal results—total fitness—can be achieved by doing well under two hours of resistance training a week. Any more than that and you’re spending more time pursuing a particular value than a normal life demands. Even Kenneth Cooper—the man responsible for singlehandedly launching the aerobics movement—recanted, stating that he was wrong all those years, that more exercise is not better than less. A while back Dr. Cooper and his associates at the Cooper Aerobics Center in Dallas became alarmed at the rising incidence of serious medical problems—heart disease and cancer—among clients who jogged six days a week, some of whom threw in three days a week of weight training for good measure. They were purists, people who exercised, didn’t smoke, drink alcohol or eat much in the way of fats. Cooper was stymied at first, but by the end of the
investigation he determined that overtraining was the cause. If you seriously doubt that overtraining may have long-term medical implications, bear in mind that exercise is a form of stress. While most think of a suntan or muscles as merely cosmetic, that’s not why they exist. Suntans and larger muscles are defensive barriers the body erects to protect itself from future assaults from the same stressors, but they can be overwhelmed. Someone who repeatedly overexposed himself to the intense August sunlight would soon die, as the sun’s rays would literally cook his skin and underlying tissues. By the same token, chronic overtraining could inordinately tax the overall physical system and possibly result in a breakdown somewhere, such as the glandular system. Cooper has gone so far as to attribute the Hodgkin’s disease of hockey great Mario Lemieux and distance runner Marty Liquori to chronic overtraining. A widespread myth among fitness enthusiasts has it that one must train one way for increasing muscular size and strength and another way for improving cardiovascular condition: lift weights to build strength and jog to enhance aerobic condition. As Arthur Jones stated, “Half of that belief is true, since jogging will do nothing to build strength and size and will, in fact, if overdone, as it usually is, do quite a bit in the way of reducing both muscular strength and size. But it’s not true that proper strength-building exercises will do nothing for improving cardiovascular condition.” How did Jones arrive at that conclusion? In 1975 Nautilus Sports/Medical Industries funded one of the most important studies in the history of exercise science. Project Total Conditioning was conducted at the United States Military Academy at West Point and was overseen by Colonel James Anderson. The purpose of the study was to pin down how to use Nautilus exercise equipment properly and identify the physiological consequences of a shortduration, high-intensity-training program. It asked such questions as, How much skeletal-muscle strength can be achieved from brief, intense
workouts? and, How does strength training affect cardiovascular fitness, flexibility and overall body composition? The subjects included 18 varsity football players who trained all of their major muscle groups with 10 different strength exercises three times a week for eight weeks. The workouts were brief but very intense, with each exercise performed for only one set to failure. An extensive battery of tests and measurements was administered to the subjects after two weeks of training and at the conclusion of the study. According to the study report, “The prestudy testing was not scheduled until after two weeks of workouts to minimize the influence of what is commonly referred to as the learning effect on individual performance.” Results? After only six weeks of training, the 18 subjects had increased the amount of resistance they used in the 10 exercises by an average of 58.54 percent. What’s more, despite such a tremendous increase in their strength—and the associated increase in overall physiological stress they were exposed to—the duration of their training dropped by nine minutes. As a measure of the functional application of intense, brief strength training, the exercising subjects and a control group—which didn’t train at all or did so on their own—were tested in three areas: a two-mile run, a 40-yard dash and a vertical jump. On the two-mile run the exercising subjects’ improvement was four to 32 times greater than the control group’s. On the 40-yard dash it was 4.57 times greater, and on the vertical jump it was close to two times greater. What about cardiovascular improvement? While conventional strength-training practices preclude cardiovascular improvement, especially when trainees take long, arbitrary rest periods between sets—which keeps them from maintaining an elevated heart rate—at the end of the study the training subjects tested better than the control group in all 60 indices of training effects on cardiovascular function. Those supervising Project Total
www.ironmanmagazine.com \ JANUARY 2009 259
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Heavy Duty
Neveux \ Model: Greg Smyers
Despite what you’ve heard over and over, steady-state activities such as jogging, cycling and dancing burn very few calories. In fact, one pound of fat will fuel at least 10 hours of continuous activity.
Conditioning used four measures of flexibility in human performance: trunk flexion, trunk extension, shoulder flexion and shoulder extension. The training subjects achieved much greater improvement than the control group—an average of 11 percent vs .85 percent for the controls. The public’s fear that weighttraining exercise causes people to become muscle-bound—a condition of abnormally tight muscles that results in a profound loss of flexibility—is without foundation. With proper weight-training methods that emphasize working the muscles through a full range of motion, giving equal work to the agonist and antagonist muscles, trainees will maintain and in many cases improve flexibility. Finally, with regard to body composition, the subjects performing 10 weight-resistance exercises three times a week for less than 30 minutes per session lost more bodyfat than the control group. With Nautilus/Sports Medical Industries funding the entire project—with costs in excess of $1,000,000—doctors from the Cooper Aerobics Center were flown in
Mentzer knew how to get ripped muscle detail while maintaining size.
to conduct the cardiovascular tests while doctors from West Point did the strength testing. In the past I’ve alleged that the
field of exercise science is a sham, with some of the most celebrated studies never having taken place. Since Project Total Conditioning in 1975—after millions more dollars were spent to develop the most precise testing devices possible—more than 60 other research projects have been conducted, all of which proved essentially the same thing: the overwhelming superiority of brief, highintensity resistance training for enhancing total fitness. In addition, while most of the studies have been published in scientific journals, the results continue to be ignored, for the most part, by aerobics advocates because they contradict what they’ve been espousing for decades. Editor’s note: For a complete presentation of Mike Mentzer’s Heavy Duty training system, consult his books Heavy Duty II, High Intensity Training the Mike Mentzer Way and the newest book, The Wisdom of Mike Mentzer, all of which are available from Mentzer’s official Web site, www .MikeMentzer.com. IM
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Only the Strong Shall Survive
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Firm
Foundation A Guide to Strengthening the
Ankles by Bill Starr Photography by Michael Neveux
I
’ve observed over the years that most people, athletes and nonathletes alike, take their ankles for granted—that is, until they injure one. Then they fully comprehend just how vital ankles are to their well-being. Simple everyday tasks such as walking and climbing stairs suddenly become very difficult, and participating in any type of physical activity is out of the question. Whenever strength athletes hurt an ankle, they discover how great a role that joint plays in a wide range of exercises in their routine. Obviously, ankles are involved in squatting and every type of pulling movement, but who would have guessed that a dinged ankle would also have a detrimental effect on inclines and flat benches? When lifters are unable to establish a firm base with their feet before benching or inclining, they can’t bring the power up from that base into the bar. Of course, overhead work is also not feasible when someone is nursing an injured ankle. Basically, movement depends on sturdy ankles. We need them
to walk, run, jump and move in a variety of directions. When I approached 40, I decided that I needed to do more for my cardiovascular and respiratory systems. After moving to York, Pennsylvania, I made a point of doing some cardio for my Olympic lifting training regimen. I regularly played racquetball and volleyball at the York Y and practiced with the York College soccer team. Later on I ran on the wide, sandy beaches of Santa Monica and on the track at the University of Hawaii, although never more than a couple of miles. My goal was to run 10 miles a week, six on Sunday and four on Thursday, my nonlifting days. That’s when I became aware of the importance of strong ankles. During my first six months of running I sprained my left ankle three times. It puzzled me why it was always my left ankle because both were doing the same amount of work. Finally it dawned on me that my left ankle was weaker than my right one. I think that’s true for everyone. One leg and one arm are generally stronger than the other leg and arm,
mostly because we unconsciously give it priority. I added some strength work for my left ankle and didn’t sprain it again. Those minor injuries made me aware of how dependent I was on my ankles and how much they were involved in my strength training. All my lifts fell off while I was rehabbing a sprain, and it took another six weeks to move back up to my former numbers once it was fully recovered. The ankle is a marvelous structure. It is responsible for stabilizing the lower leg and foot and for all movements of the foot. It’s a hinge joint formed by the articulation of the two bones of the lower leg, tibia and fibula, along with the talus, a knoblike bone that sits atop the calcaneus, or heel bone. The ankle is secured with an interlacing network of ligaments, tendons and muscles, which enables the foot to be lifted, turned downward and rotated from side to side. Its design is amazing, extremely complex yet simple in purpose. Because there are so many tendons and ligaments in the ankle, size
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Only the Strong Shall Survive
The ankles’ design is amazing, extremely complex yet simple in purpose. Because there are so many tendons and ligaments in the ankle, size isn’t a variable in terms of strength.
isn’t a variable in terms of strength. That’s why we’ve all seen powerlifters or strength athletes with puny ankles squat huge poundages as well as athletes who seem to be able to soar upward almost effortlessly with ankles the same size as their wrists. The size of your ankles is determined by genetics, but it is within your power to make them considerably stronger, and that’s all that matters. Late one night I was flipping through the channels seeking some program worth watching when I
came across a PBS station out of Camden, New Jersey, that was running a show dealing with rehabbing athletes—my cup of tea. It was about preparing Chinese athletes for the upcoming Olympics, and all the subjects had some type of lowerbody injury. Most were dealing with some kind of knee or hip problem, but some had pulled hamstrings and adductors. What caught my attention was the very first thing the therapist did in every case: exercise the athlete’s ankle on the injured leg. None had hurt their ankles, yet
that was where the therapy began. The therapist or trainer would flex and rotate the ankle for quite a long time. After a brief rest, he’d do it again. That intrigued me because I knew that when someone in our country is rehabbing a knee or hip or injured leg muscle, nothing is done directly to the ankle. In fact, the ankle is left to fend for itself. It dawned on me that what the Chinese were doing made perfect sense. Exercising the ankle vigorously did two positive things: 1) It brought nourishing blood to the injured area as it passed down through the leg on its way south, and 2) it helped strengthen the ankle joint. Making it considerably stronger in the very early part of the rehab process enabled the athlete to move on a stable joint during the other phases of his recovery much sooner So now, whenever I feel as if my knees, hips, quads, adductors or hamstrings need some direct attention, I begin exercising my ankles at night, while reading or watching TV. All I do is extend my foot, rotate my ankle and extend it up and down until it gets tired. I rest and do it again, often a dozen times. At my next workout, I make sure to hit the groups that are connected to the ankle. I’m referring to the muscles that form the lower leg: soleus, gastrocnemius and tibialis anterior. Since I’ve done articles on the calves in previous issues of IRON MAN, I won’t go into detail on how to strengthen them, but I will review the main points. The calf is formed by the larger, more prominent gastrocnemius and the smaller yet no less important soleus. The gastrocnemius originates above the knee, at the rear of the femur, the long bone of the upper leg. Two tendons extend down, to where they help form the Achilles tendon, and insert at the posterior of the heel bone. The gastrocnemius is a prime mover of the foot, and it assists in flexing the knee. The soleus lies directly behind the gastrocnemius and originates at the upper parts of the backs of the two bones of the lower leg, the tibia and fibula. Then it extends downward to
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Only the Strong Shall Survive The soleus lies directly behind the gastrocnemius and originates at the upper parts of the back of the two bones of the lower leg, tibia and fibula.
The gastrocnemius originates above the knee, at the rear of the femur, the long bone of the upper leg.
Neveux \ Model: Derik Farnsworth
raises. In contrast, you hit the soleus directly when you do calf raises while seated, as it originates below the knee. That’s why it’s so helpful to learn some basic anatomy and kinesiology. Little points like the ones I just mentioned can make a huge difference in overall gains. Knowing about the two calf muscles is why I recommend doing both versions of calf raises—seated and standing. You can do one type in a calf workout and the other the next time you work your calves. Or do two sets of each at the same session. If you want results, you have to punish your calves. Staying in the comfortable range just doesn’t work for those weight-bearing muscles. Higher reps are in order—30s for no fewer than three sets. The final dozen reps should make your eyes water. Be sure to always stretch immediately after each set and again later that same night.
aid in forming the Achilles tendon and attaches to the heel bone. It also takes part in all foot movement. The two calf muscles work in harmony, forming a functional unit known as the triceps surge. However, similar as they are to one another, there’s a difference between them, and understanding it will en-
able you to make them both a great deal stronger. Observant readers may have already spotted the difference. It has to do with where the two muscles originate. Because the gastrocnemius originates above the knee, it’s strengthened when you do exercises with locked legs, as in standing calf
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You Can Get If calf machines aren’t available, you can still do standing calf raises by placing a barbell on your back and fixing the front of your feet on a two-by-four. The movement requires a certain amount of balance, but with a bit of practice you’ll be able to make your calves scream. That’s how all weight trainees and bodybuilders built their impressive calves before the machines came along. To do seated calf raises, sit on a bench or chair, place a towel or pillow on your thighs, and stack some plates on that. Again, fix the front of your feet on a two-by-four or phone books. That will give you a greater range of motion. Others prefer to hold a dumbbell in one hand and work one leg at a time. To really put a jolt into your calves, get inside a power rack and set the bar at a height where you’re standing fully erect. Now place the second set of pins three to four inches higher. Extend up on your toes, lock the bar against the higher pins, and do an isometric contraction for 10 to 12 seconds. As you get stronger with the movement, increase the weight on the bar, but keep the isocontraction to 10 to 12 seconds. Although I’ve never done a seated iso for calves, I can’t think of any reason it can’t be done, so you might want to give it a shot. Any pulling exercise that requires you to extend high on your toes is also good for strengthening the calves. Power cleans, power snatches, full snatches and full cleans, snatch and clean high pulls and shrugs come under that heading. While all the exercises I’ve discussed will certainly take care of the gastrocnemius and soleus, the front portion of the lower leg also needs direct work. That’s the tibialis anterior. I’m aware that many more muscle groups run down the front of the lower leg and extend into the ankle and foot, such as the peroneus tertius, extensor hallucis longus and extensor digitorum longus. The tibialis, however, is by far the largest, and when you work it, you hit all the rest. I’m frequently called retro in my selection of exercises, and I’m guilty as charged. Some of the very best exercises have been forgotten, or the equipment is no longer available,
yet many are tried and tested and are still useful. I’m going back to the ’30s and ’40s for this one. Older athletes will recall the Iron Boot—I’m betting that they all used it at one time or another. I did too, although only long enough to see how to perform a number of exercises with it. It was effective. The trouble was, it took time to attach it to my shoe and make sure the weights were secure. I didn’t want to spare the time when I was younger, but that isn’t a factor now. I believed that the device no longer existed, yet I was proven wrong. Last Saturday on a visit to the York Barbell Museum with Daryl Goss, I ran across them in the store. For those who don’t know what I’m talking about, the Iron Boot is basically what the name implies—a piece of metal that attaches to your shoe onto which weights can be added. It’s a very simple but effective device that you can use to work every part of your legs, including your tibialis. Secure the boot to your shoe or over socks, extend your leg, and move your foot up and down, up and down until the front of your lower leg tires. Rest and do it again. You can do both legs at the same time or one at a time. I believe one at a time is more beneficial because you don’t have to worry as much about balance. The Iron Boot is also useful in strengthening the ankle itself—just rotate your foot in circles. You’ll find that you need only very little weight added to the boots for them to work. Sometimes the boot itself is sufficient. Ankle weights that are attached with Velcro are easier to use and accomplish the same purpose. Their only drawback is that you need quite a few of different poundages if you want to increase the resistance. Adding more resistance to the Iron Boots is no problem. If you use ankle weights, don’t attach them to your ankles. Attach them your foot. Then you can attack your tibialis and the rest of the groups in your ankle quite readily. Those two pieces of equipment are great for use at home. If you train in a gym that has a leg press, you can really overload your tibialis and neighboring groups in the front
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Only the Strong Shall Survive of the leg. Position yourself in the machine so that your leg is straight. You should start off using very light resistance until you get the feel of what you’re trying to do. The resistance needs to be light enough to give you complete control yet heavy enough to work the target muscles thoroughly. Keep the reps relatively
The Iron Boot is basically what the name implies—a piece of metal that attaches to your shoe onto which weights can be added.
Neveux \ Model: Robert Hatch
high—20s to 30s for three sets per leg. You can do them with both legs at the same time, but I’ve found that working only one leg at a time is more productive. While many gyms don’t have a leg press, nearly all have leg curl machines, which you can use to strengthen your front leg and ankle. Sit on the end of the mahook your toes under Many of the basic exercises in any chine, the pad, and proceed to lift strength routine or any exercise them up toward your knee. that requires your body to support Same deal on sets and reps: 20-30. a heavy poundage is going to work 3 xThere are also machines your ankles. designed specifically for exercising the ankles, such as the one shown on page 169 of The Strongest Shall Survive. They’re generally found in rehab and physical therapy facilities, but I’ve come across a couple in commercial gyms. If you happen to have one at your disposal, by all means put it to use. It’s most effective because it works the front, back and both sides. These exercises are also very useful for anyone who’s rehabbing an injured ankle. Keep them in mind if you happen to ding an ankle in the future. Many of the basic exercises in any strength routine help strengthen the ankles. Front and back squats, deadlifts, heavy shrugs and lunges involve the ankles to a large extent, so they’re strengthened during the performance of those lifts. Any exercise that requires a heavy poundage to be supported by your body is going to work your ankles. I’ve found walking lunges to be especially good in that regard. The balancing factor forces the ankles to extend themselves more than in conventional lunges or even squats. I know that’s the case because after I’ve put athletes through a vigorous session of walking lunges with heavy dumbbells, a majority of them tell me that their ankles got as sore as their hamstrings and glutes. Soreness means that the muscles and attachments were hit directly. I was recently asked if partial squats had a place in a strength program. They do because you can 272 JANUARY 2009 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com
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If you train in a gym that has a leg press, position yourself in the machine so that your leg is straight. You should start off using very light resistance until you get the feel of what you’re trying to do.
Only the Strong Shall Survive
handle a great deal more weight, which forces the lower legs and ankles to work much harder in order to maintain control and balance. Instead of doing half or quarter squats, which I believe breeds bad habits, I prefer heavy supports inside a power rack. By heavy I mean working up to a weight that’s twice as much as you can use on a full squat.
The week following the strength test at the end of the off-season strength program was when I had my advanced athletes do those. Primarily, I wanted them to learn what was involved in supporting a massive amount or iron. Plus, it gave them a certain amount of prestige with their teammates; I allowed only a few athletes to take part in the exercise. They quickly discovered the importance of staying rigidly tight. Let one area of the body relax even slightly, and the bar will jump off your back. That’s why I had them work inside a power rack, which meant there was no danger of their getting injured. With that amount of weight I don’t care to risk using spotters. You should position the bar at a height where you have to move it three to four inches to lockout, then control it for five to six seconds. I have athletes do a light warmup set of squats, then begin the supports with their best back squat. To qualify to do the supports, the athletes must be using 500 pounds or more. So they would start with that number, then jump 200 pounds. If that’s easy, they move another 200, but if it’s testy, they take a 100-pound increase—and so on until they find their limit. Besides staying extremely tight, lifters have to learn to ease the bar off the pins. Most try to jerk it upward. That invariably results in the bar’s being a bit too far back or too far forward, and it crashes back on the pins. The body has to be perfectly erect, and the eyes have to be forward. Looking up or down adversely affects the line as well. I tell them to think about grinding their feet down into the floor to establish a solid base, then to bring power up from that base into their legs, glutes, hips, back, shoulders and, finally, into the bar. All the while they must be sure that every muscle is tight before they squeeze the bar off the
pins. If the bar moves out of the proper alignment, it will either feel as if it’s been welded to the pins or run forward or backward. When someone is handling close to a half a ton, the weight doesn’t hang around long enough to allow for any adjustments. I had several athletes who handled more than 900 pounds and three who exceeded 1,000, which is heady ground for any strength athlete. After they’d limited out, I’d lower the weight considerably and have them support that poundage for a 20-to-30-second count. At their next squat session they always improved, stating that the weight that used to feel so heavy actually felt rather light. That’s because they’d overloaded all the groups responsible for supporting a heavy poundage, and the most important areas of all were the lower legs and ankles. Without that stable base, nothing else really matters. What else can you do to strengthen your ankles? Get in motion. Sit less; stand more. If you’re still young—and some 45-year-olds are—participate in activities that force your ankles to work harder, such as basketball, soccer, volleyball, tennis, racquetball or cycling and running. If you qualify for a senior discount, just walk. Long hikes over rough terrain make your ankles do extra work to maintain balance, and that’s a good thing. Keep in mind that an ounce of prevention is still worth a pound of cure. Keeping your ankles strong will help you live an active lifestyle as you grow older. So make a place in your strength routine for at least one specific exercise for your lower legs and ankles, along with lots of other exercises that include them in the execution of the movement. The long-term benefits are well worth the effort. Editor’s note: Bill Starr was a strength and conditioning coach at Johns Hopkins University from 1989 to 2000. He’s the author of The Strongest Shall Survive—Strength Training for Football, which is available for $20 plus shipping from Home Gym Warehouse. Call (800) 447-0008, or visit www.Home-Gym .com. IM
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MIND/BODY MIND/BODY MIND/BODY MIND/BODY MIND/BODY MIND/BODY MIND/BODY MIND/BODY MIND/BODY MIND
MIND/BODY
Mind/Body BOMBER BLAST
The Diverse Paths of Winter Training
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aree and I stacked a couple of cords of firewood under ent character when I seek bulk over muscularity. the eaves of the house, fuel for the long winter ahead. I wrestle with the first few pounds of mass vs. muscularity. A robust pile, it conveys hope, comfort and abundance, Less muscularity—less grace, less precision, less care; more savory elements needed to confront the wet and cold. The mass—more plodding, more snorting, more slop. squirrels are particularly busy these days gleaning the bounty Ego! Image! Self-esteem! Get ye behind me, pride. I have of the forest, and the shadows cast by the trees are longer work to do. and move more swiftly across the landscape. Once adapted, once a pinch of skin is accepted and my It’s over, the summer. It’s here, the winter. insecurities are numbed, the weight comes on willingly and is The odd truth is I love the winter and its rearrangement met with enthusiastic welcome. There’s might in that mass, of time and weather and spasms of holidays and long talkie and increased muscle development. There’s energy and repair nights and the nippy days from which we seek shelter and and bruteness and a tad of fat. No, no, no.... Not fat...bulk, I relief. tell you, solid bulk. Tonight I shall ignite a log or two and sit in flickering silence And so it goes till the spring. as I review my winter training scheme. Don’t eat grease and Staying the course is enough, more than enough, for many sugar, and don’t stuff yourself. Train sensibly and regularly. striving bombers. Memories of last year and holiday madness, Stay warm and dry. Let’s see, what else? Get plenty of rest celebrations and visiting relatives remind us of the sheer luxury and be positive. No drinking, smoking or running around of hitting the weights regularly and keeping the diet from comnaked. ing apart at the seams. Once we let go, give in and give up, That’s a good start. I’ll save the details for later. we’re lost in the chilly fog, the blizzard, the storm. Three workSome of us have big workout plans for the months ahead, outs a week, stay busy, stay focused, stay strong, and stay commonly throwing on added pounds of mass and its accool: the motto of a conservative and committed weightlifter. companying power and letting the glossy definition temporarily Inscribe it on oak, and hang it on the wall. hide in the overgrowth. Change of pace, Experimenting in exercise, adventures in training, change of purpose, change of procedure The M.O. is to get huge daring to work out as you’ve never worked out before: and change of person. I become a differ- and ripped without Now, this is a most desirable way to go. Commend-
standing around losing focus and wasting time.
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Neveux \ Model: Alex Azarian
able and exciting! Live and learn and grow, the style of leaders and champions and heroes. Few of us stray from the well-worn path. We do what we know, go where we’ve been. It worked before; it’ll work again. Spare me the strain of repetition, the plainness of sameness, the pungency of redundancy. Where can we go wrong if we work arms only for the month? Does it make you nervous just to think about it? The dire consequences, jail time, excommunication, the stockade, public flogging, deterioration and shrinking, possible flab. Mercy! Throw in some stairs or uphill running to mitigate the fear, the doubt, the neurosis. They’ll blast the body according to your input, whether gentle or fierce. Winter special: Standing barbell curls with full-body gusto, followed by back-supported overhead barbell triceps extensions—four or five sets of six to eight reps, a tad higher on the tri’s—are as good as gold and silver or iron and steel. Dig in enough with dedication and controlled velocity, and your whole body comes alive as the arms take on new size, shape, density and power. Don’t cheat. You know when you’re cheating: Form takes a nose dive and there are useless, forceless sections of any given repetition when accelerated momentum overwhelms the action. You want truth and justice and honor? Superset the two alarming and disarming oldies but goodies, as we DJs say in the music industry. Rock on! No, you’re not done. Low-incline dumbbell curls followed by dips and pulley pushdowns (four or five sets x 6-8, 8-15, 8-12 reps). We’re sneaking in some abs and shoulders and pecs and back and torso while we’re pretending to work arms only. Gotta think like a thief if you wanna get ahead in the world. Can I go home now? It’s drizzling outside. You might have noted that I mentioned supersetting as a method of operation. How many of you have supersetted—a lot, a little, never? Be bold. The M.O. is to get huge and ripped without standing around losing focus and wasting time. There’s nothing like supersetting once you acquire the rhythm and rhyme. Give it time. It’s sublime. Seldom as a young lifter building muscle did I graze in pastures unknown to me. I’m a buffalo. I varied my program every six to eight weeks, a little or a lot, but never did I roam. Order and form and discipline and persistence, though hard to distinguish, were elements more important than the exercises, weight, sets and reps. I view the approach today as valuable and necessary and commendable for the time. I was a sprouting pro, a.k.a. a sprouting schmo. Eye on the iron. Today the fences have come down by force or persuasion—injury and time—and a change of venue and menu is most appealing and satisfying. I chew on what cud I can, when I can, and am thoroughly well fed. Nothing like experience and age to encourage trial and error, experimentation and investigation. The gym floor has become a stretch of open range. Note: This has nothing to do with being put out to pasture. I will have more wide-open-prairie training schemes to share with you in the months to come—to keep us connected, engaged, interested, curious, attentive and alive and learning and growing. We cannot let the metal weights drop to our sides clanging or our bodyweight creep up on our sides hanging. Who can bear it? Miss a workout, miss a month. Gain a pound of blubber, gain 10 and shudder. —Dave Draper Editor’s note: For more from Dave Draper, visit www.DaveDraper.com and sign up for his free newsletter. You can also check out his amazing Top Squat training tool, classic photos, workout Q&A and forum.
Mental Might
Food for Thought ccording to the October ’08 Prevention, the best breakfast for improving your thought process is whole grains plus produce plus dairy. Australian nutritionists studied 800 teenagers and found that combination to be the best at improving scores on testing that stressed mental function. A good example is whole-grain cereal with fat-free milk and a banana or some berries. Bodybuilders can add a whey protein shake for a muscle-building punch. Or do as my husband does and pour your protein shake on your cerealand-fruit mixture. —Becky Holman
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Calorie Count
Stand and De-blubber
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n Iowa State University study found that obese women stood for two hours less than their lean counterparts. Interesting, because standing for an extra hour a day, instead of sitting, can burn an extra 100 calories. If you’re a desk dweller, you may want to do more of your work standing. When you’re on the phone, stand up. If you have a large office, purchase one of those podium-style desks that lets you stand and do work. It may be the difference between blurred and delineated abs. —Becky Holman
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MIND/BODY BodySpace Physique of the Month
MIND/BODY
Ed Cook e all know that Superman can fly, so it was no surprise when “Old Superman,” BodySpace member Ed Cook, flew in by private plane for our photo shoot. In all fairness, the plane was piloted by his brother, but that’s still pretty cool. At 54 the guy looks incredible and is ripped. The story is even better when you see what he looked like just six years ago. What an amazing difference! In 2002 Ed, at 243 pounds, was your typical middle-aged guy with a typical middle-aged waistline that greatly exceeded his chest size. The doctor said to Ed, “Change your lifestyle or die young.” Ed took that seriously and then some! Now “Old Superman,” from Vancouver, Washington, is a prime example of what you can do if you really apply yourself. Married for 31 years and the father of four adult children, he looks better and is in better shape than men half his age. At 6’ and 228 pounds, Ed has been competing in NPC masters bodybuilding contests, taking first place a few times. And he’s planning to do more. What makes Ed tick? With more than 1,000 friends on BodySpace, he’s a lightning rod for questions from people all over about how he did it. Ed is more than happy to tell you about his journey and to give you that kick in the pants and the extra words you need to help you along and inspire you to do better. I must tell you he has a lot to say—and all of it good. The guy has his heart in the right place. To quote Ed: “Be consistent! Be intense! Become your goal!“ Be sure to visit Ed on BodySpace over at BodyBuilding.com. He’s easy to find—there’s only one. Click your way to http://bodyspace.com/old superman. Tell him you saw Old Superman right here in IRON MAN. —Ian Sitren Editor’s note: For more BodySpace bodies and info, visit Bodybuilding.com.
278 JANUARY 2009 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com
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Photography by Ian Sitren \ SecondFocus
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MIND/BODY Kid Stuff
Less Disorderly Conduct
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hen you have kids, the worries never end. There’s always the possibility of physical injury, from riding on school buses to field trips to vacations with friends. There are also the psychological problems to worry about, two being anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, which are eating disorders that occur primarily in young girls. Researchers have found that one way to protect against them is the family meal. According to a study published in Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, girls who ate meals with their families at least five times a week were about 30 percent less likely to exhibit eating-disorder behavior. The researchers also found that children who share family meals on a regular basis are less likely to abuse drugs and alcohol and are better adjusted. —Becky Holman
New Stuff
Mitotropin
TM
From Gaspari Nutrition
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itrotropin is not another “hardcore” or “extreme” fat burner destined only to burn a hole in your pocket. Let’s face it: Fat burners are long dead because the category hasn’t delivered the results you’ve been after. It’s time for a new class of compounds that can bring about a total reconfiguration of your body’s composition. Gaspari Nutrition is so confident about the effectiveness of the product that it guarantees you will not look the same after just one box of Mitotropin! So what does Mitotropin do? • Dramatically increases resting metabolic rate • Puts the mitochondrial CPT system into overdrive • Amplifies catecholamine levels to induce lipolysis • Crushes hunger pangs and destroys appetite • Increases the presence of uncoupling proteins • Increases acute sense of well-being—at times bordering on euphoria • Enhances mental focus, clarity and cognition • Rapidly increases thermogenesis from the very first dose • Effectively scavenges free radicals If you take it as directed, you can’t miss with Mitotropin. Try it today and detonate a neutron bomb of a product on your own physique. From a company with the firepower to deliver it—Gaspari Nutrition. Visit GaspariNutrition.com for more information.
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MIND/BODY Book Review
MIND/BODY MIND/BODY
Champions: Body for Life
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othing motivates like impressivebut-believable before and after photos, and you’ll find loads of them in the new Champions: Body for Life. The book provides a comprehensive plan: “Just four hours a week—no more than 46 minutes of weight training three times a week; 20 minutes of aerobic or cardiovascular exercise three times a week.” Flipping through the book, you’ll see many charts, tables, quotes and, of course, those inspiring before and afters. Once you start reading, however, you’ll understand the process and the mind-set necessary for achieving results. For example, one of the stories is from Alexa Adair, the daughter of 1998 Body-for-Life Challenge champion Kelly Adair. Alexa relays her story of hitting rock bottom and disappointing herself and her mother with numerous false starts on the road to a fit physique. Her story is a common one of fizzling out quickly, but she finally broke through—she’s the girl on the book cover, along with Mark Unger. Mark’s story is titled “The Mirror Incident,” and you know that means suddenly realizing you’re falling down the fat well fast. At 39 the former Marine saw his fit physique “buried beneath layers of cheesecake, Breyers mint-chocolate-chip ice cream and chicken Alfredo.” It was actually his wife’s blunt appraisal of his body that kicked him into gear: “You’re the skinniest fat man I know.” Ouch! The book provides a detailed week-by-week account of Mark’s and Alexa’s transformation journeys,
as well as bonus beforeand-after stories of past Bodyfor-Life winners and competitors. The photos alone will rev up your exercise engine, but there’s plenty of great info too, including supplement recommendations; diet tips and tricks, like cravings control; the 20-minute aerobic solution; sample meals and diets; and motivating quotes. The last quarter of the book is “Body-for-Life Tools.” Here you’ll find the nuts and bolts you can use for your own transformation, including the 46-minutes-or-less weighttraining solution. All of the exercises are illustrated with start and finish photos along with performance tips. You can photocopy the book’s charts and plans to stay on track. Then there are the Body-for-Life meal plans, with favorite healthful recipes from many Body-for-Life Challenge participants. Last but not least, what better way to end the book than with the Body-for-Life Champions’ Yearbook—page after page of before and after photos of all the winners since 1997. If you’re looking for motivation and information about getting back in top shape, this book is a treasure trove. Read it, get inspired, and then apply the information for your very own transformation. —Becky Holman www.XtremeLean.com
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MIND/BODY Longevity
MIND/BODY
How to Live to 100 n article in the October ’08 issue of Bottom Line Health summarized the findings of John Robbins, who studies healthful lifestyle habits and is the author of Healthy at 100: The Scientifically Proven Secrets of the World’s Healthiest and Longest-Lived Peoples (Random House). Those living the longest are found in “the valley of Vilcabamba in Ecuador, the Hunza region of Pakistan, the Japanese island of Okinawa and the republic of Abkhazia, near Russia. Many people in those areas live to be 100 and remain in remarkably good health up to the time of death.” What are the reasons for such long, healthy lives in those regions? Robbins has found a number of practices and habits that add to longevity. The people get most of their protein from plant sources, including beans, peas, seeds and nuts. Only a minimum of animalderived products are found in their diets. They also eat lots of good fat, from flaxseed, sesame and sunflower seeds, nuts and wild fish—getting very little saturated fat. Their calories are relatively low. While the men are very active, they
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eat an average of about 1,900 calories a day, compared to the 2,650 calories taken in by the average American male. Exercise includes lots of vigorous walking and, in some cases, mountain climbing. Studies show that frequent activity with the intensity of brisk walking significantly reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Another key to longevity, according to Robbins’ research, is a “deep sense of human connection.” In all four communities “people continually help one another, believe in one another and enjoy spending time with each other.” He also discovered that people in those communities actually look forward to growing old, as they expect to be healthy, respected and considered wise. Other studies suggest that negative thoughts about aging can undermine a person’s health. —Becky Holman www.XtremeLean.com
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4) “Mark Dugdale’s Driven” 5) “IRON MAN’s Swimsuit Spectacular #9” Books: 1) The 7-Minute Rotator Cuff Solution by Joseph Horrigan, D.C., and Jerry Robinson 2) 10-Week Size Surge by IRON MAN Publishing 3) The Precontest Bible by Larry Pepe
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Top E-book: Quick-Start MuscleBuilding Guide— Your First 8 Weeks to a Muscular Transformation by Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson (available at www.MuscleQuick Start.com).
MIND/BODY Health and Aging
Men Unhappy With Their Bodies
Thinking Makes You Eat More A new study has demonstrated that performing intellectually demanding tasks makes people eat more calories. That is, thinking could make you fat. Canadian researchers recruited 14 female students who were asked to complete three tasks— sitting and relaxing, reading and summarizing a text and completing a series of memory, attention and vigilance tests on a computer. After performing each task, the women could eat as much as they wanted from a buffet. Each of the volunteers performed each of the three tasks over a two-month period, and no one was tested on consecutive days.
The students took in significantly more calories after performing the intellectually demanding tasks than they did after sitting and relaxing—203 calories more after summarizing a text and 253 calories more after taking the computer tests. The researchers conclude: “Knowledge-based work acutely induces an increase in spontaneous energy intake and promotes an increased fluctuation in plasma glucose and insulin levels. This study contributes to the documentation of a new risk fac-
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ccording to the BBC, leading British expert on eating disorders John Morgan, M.D., says that one man in five is “deeply unhappy” with his body image. Even so, Morgan warns that the number of men with eating disorders is much higher than official figures suggest. “We know that one in 20 young people suffers from some degree of disordered eating and that at least 15 percent of them are men, and yet that’s a tip of an iceberg,” Morgan says in a documentary to be aired on BBC television. “There are men who have problems with compulsive exercise and excessive bodybuilding who have an illness, but we haven’t defined them. Our definitions of illness have been focused on women rather than men.” The media have been blamed for the rising problem of so-called manorexia. Many experts believe that there is now as much pressure on young men as on women to look slim.
tor for a positive energy balance, with the potential to lead to overweight in the long-term.” —Dr. Bob Goldman www.WorldHealth.net Chaput, J.P., et al. (2008). Glycemic instability and spontaneous energy intake: association with knowledge-based work. Psychosom Med. 70:797804. Editor’s note: For the latest information and research on health and aging, subscribe to the American Academy of AntiAging Medicine e-zine free at WorldHealth.net.
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Letters
Military Might
Say Yes to Science
Editor’s note: Our apologies for the oversight. We hope the photo above makes amends. We salute you.
Ballsy Discussion I was amused at Ms. Vorhees’ “ballsy” response [in the November ’08 issue] to my letter concerning Marzia Prince. She’s new to bodybuilding, but she already knows the words anabolic steroids. Maybe she’s had a bad experience with “teeny” balls. Just so she knows, real men—and real bodybuilders—don’t use steroids. We do, however, love beautiful women posing with heavy metal. By the way, my “boys” are just fine, thanks. Bill Stinson Jacksonville, FL
Marzia Prince.
Editor’s note: Thank you for that response from the, um, heart—and for giving us another opportunity to run a photo of Marzia.
The past few issues have included scientific articles by Jacob Wilson and Gabriel Wilson. The training piece on eliciting a growth hormone response in the gym was good [October ’08], but the HMB article in the following issue was an eye-opener. IRON MAN has always had the best info out there, and you keep making it better. Keep it coming. Jerry Spagnola Newark, NJ Editor’s note: The brothers Wilson have promised more blockbuster features to come. They do know their stuff.
Hardbody Beauty I don’t usually write to magazines, but when I saw Sasha Brown in the November issue [“Action Figure”], I had to comment. What a gorgeous, darkhaired, green-eyed beauty! And those legs in that red miniskirt. Let’s see more of Sasha in a future issue. Lots more! Eric Wrister Boise, ID
X-traordinary Workouts
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Michael Hall
I’m currently on active duty in the U.S. Navy, and I competed in the Muscle Beach contest held in Venice, California, on Memorial Day weekend. I took the overall in the military category. I was Colonel Kenneth Allison, U.S. Air Force, disappointed presents the Muscle Beach Armed not to see my Forces Cup to Norman Reyes. photo in the coverage that appeared in the October ’08 IRON MAN. There were photos of many who didn’t place. Norman Reyes via Internet
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READERS WRITE READERS WRITE READERS WRITE READERS WRITE READERS WRITE READERS WRITE READERS WRITE READERS WRITE READERS WRITE READERS WRITE READERS WRITE READERS WRITE READERS WRITE READE
Readers Write
Sasha Brown. A few months ago I got a copy of the e-book X-traordinary Muscle Building Workouts by Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson. I wasn’t even through the first chapter before I was totally stoked. Reading about the guy who gained almost 20 pounds of muscle in a few months, along with big strength increases, like 65 pounds on his bench, got me so fired up. I went on Workout 1 [the 3D Power Pyramid] and gained 10 pounds in six weeks. I’m ecstatic and excited to dive into another X-traordinary workout. Thank you for real workouts that work. Noe Rodriguez Spring, TX Editor’s note: For more on the ebook X-traordinary Muscle-Building Workouts, visit www.X-Rep.com.
Vol. 68, No. 1: IRON MAN (ISSN #0047-1496) is published monthly by IRON MAN Publishing, 1701 Ives Ave., Oxnard, CA 93033. Periodical Mail is paid at Oxnard, CA, and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to IRON MAN, 1701 Ives Ave., Oxnard, CA 93033. Please allow six to eight weeks for change to take effect. Subscription rates—U.S. and its possessions: new 12-issue subscription, $29.97. Canada, Mexico and other foreign subscriptions: 12 issues, $49.97 sent Second Class. Foreign orders must be in U.S. dollars. Send subscriptions to IRON MAN, 1701 Ives Ave., Oxnard, CA 93033. Or call 1-800-570-4766. Copyright © 2008. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced in any manner without written permission from the publisher. Printed in the USA.
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