Iron Man - USA №3 2007

SPECIAL OVER-40 BODYBUILDING ISSUE—PRIME-TIME MUSCLE

R E V O

™

40

BODYBUILDING

™

Rachel McLish

Clark Bartram

How They Do It! •Anti-aging Supplements •Training Tactics •Motivation Research Report:

Growth Hormone Increase Yours Naturally

Lee Apperson, 48 Jennifer Micheli, 43 MARCH 2007

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www.ironmanmagazine.com \ APRIL 2006 261

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150 DECEMBER 2009 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

March 2007

Vol. 66, No. 3

Prime-Time Physiques, page 138

We Know Training ™ FEATURES FEATURES

64 TRAIN, EAT, GROW 89 Supercompensation, rep-range manipulation and musclebuilding elation. Our TEG men refine the P/RR/S program.

94 GROWTH HORMONE MUSCLE ZONE Jerry Brainum explores the GH/exercise connection for more muscle, fat loss and anti-aging effects.

122 A BODYBUILDER IS BORN 20 Ron Harris explains how thick skin can benefit the bodybuilder (and it has nothing to do with being shredded).

138 PRIME-TIME PHYSIQUES How do older iron enthusiasts—like Dave Fisher and beautiful Rachel McLish—keep the ravages of aging at bay? Here are their answers.

SPECIAL OVER-40 BODYBUILDING ISSUE—PRIME-TIME MUSCLE

156 FROZEN IN TIME Jerry Brainum interviews Bill Grant, a legendary bodybuilder whose 60-year-old physique is still contest ready.

170 THE RENAISSANCE MAN Get Your Swagger Back, page 200

How muscular model Clark Bartram stays at the top of his game—and the fitness world—at 43.

OVER

™

40

BODYBUILDING

Rachel McLish

Clark Bartram

How They Do It! •Anti-aging Supplements •Training Tactics •Motivation Research Report:

Growth Hormone Increase Yours Naturally

PLUS: •Get Your Swagger Back! •Build Midback Muscle and Might •DHEA Is Legal—But Is It for You? •IRON MAN Pro/Arnold Classic Preview

Lee Apperson, 48 Jennifer Micheli, 43 MARCH 2007 $5.98

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182 HEAVY DUTY

200 GET YOUR SWAGGER BACK Champion bodybuilder and life coach Skip La Cour gives you eight steps to reclaiming your confidence and power.

224 DHEA It’s the only pro-hormone left on the market, but does it really help increase testosterone? Jerry Brainum has the research and answers.

238 PRIMING THE ANABOLIC ENVIRONMENT From the Bodybuilding.com archives, David Robson’s insights on setting the stage for more muscle.

262 PRO SEASON PREVIEW Lonnie Teper looks at the pro-season opening series.

280 HARDBODY Growth Hormone Muscle Zone, page 94

Brenda Kelly shows what weight training can do. Wow!

296 ONLY THE STRONG SHALL SURVIVE Bill Starr on building midback muscle and might.

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Lee Apperson, Jennifer Micheli, Rachel McLish and Clark Bartram appear on this month’s cover. Photos by Michael Neveux

John LIttle explains why muscle growth is slow and what you can do about it.

Bill Grant, Age 60, page 156

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DEPARTMENTS

34 TRAIN TO GAIN Best rest for older bodybuilders. Plus, Sportsmedicine scribe Joe Horrigan looks at T-bar rows.

48 SMART TRAINING Coach Charles Poliquin discusses fast training for a growth hormone surge (but try not to purge).

54 EAT TO GROW

Pro Season Preview, page 262

Glutamine re-emerges, the Journal of Dumbass Nutrition and creatine plus beta-alanine for muscle-building firepower.

80 CRITICAL MASS Steve Holman’s 3D arm assault. Plus, family vacation pictures.

Critical Mass, page 80

84 NATURALLY HUGE John Hansen checks in with Murrell Hall, a competitive bodybuilder in his mid-60s. Check out those abs! His diet and training routine are here too.

246 BODYBUILDING PHARMACOLOGY Train to Gain, page 34

Jerry Brainum pumps you up with research on arginine, growth hormone and nitric oxide supplements.

250 MUSCLE “IN” SITES Eric Broser’s Web reviews of fitness queens and bodybuilding kings—as in King Kamali—and the ever-popular Net Results Q&A.

256 NEWS & VIEWS Lonnie Teper’s got all the scoops from the world of competitive bodybuilding.

272 PUMP & CIRCUMSTANCE Ruth Silverman’s year in review of the ladies’ who know how to flex, flip and finesse their physiques.

DHEA, page 224

Pump & Circumstance, page 272

308 MIND/BODY CONNECTION Randall Strossen, Ph.D., explains why training is goodmood food, and Dave Draper has more Bomber Q&As.

320 READERS WRITE Muscle-science salute, Deckard does it and more Rachel raves.

WEB ALERT!

In the next IRON MAN Next month we’ve got an interview with Chad Martin, the ’06 Jr. USA winner, who reveals the hardcore leg-training strategy that’s helping him pack on super size. Plus, motivation man Pete Siegel reveals how to ignite a mind/muscle explosion by pushing your belief threshold into the champ zone. We’ll also have another Bodybuilding.com feature to help you grow as well as lots of new info on Power/Rep Range/Shock, X Reps and 3D muscle building. Watch for the always awesome April IRON MAN on newsstands the first week of March.

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Founders 1936-1986: Peary & Mabel Rader

Publisher’s Letter

Time to Train The year 2007 is rushing toward me at an unbelievable rate as I write this. Everyone laments the passing of time and experiences the illusion that it goes more quickly as we get older. Possibly, it appears to move faster simply because we understand the ramifications of time more completely. The saying that time flies when you’re having fun makes flying time a good thing, as if we needed a way to make time pass faster. Whether you work out for an hour or you just think about working out for an hour, the hour is gone. The former (action) creates the feeling of accomplishment; the latter (inaction) creates the feeling of failure or regret. I’m stating the obvious, but the obvious is sometimes the most difficult thing to keep in focus. This issue celebrates longevity and bodybuilding’s place in helping you remain strong and healthy for as long as possible. The knowledgeable application of bodybuilding, nutrition and supplementation principles, along with some cardio and stretching, will give you the tools to extract the most from your genetics. Peary and Mabel Rader began publishing Iron Man as what they called a self-improvement manual. Its focus has always been on helping people reach their goals. The magic of bodybuilding is that it applies to every body—male or female. It is a universal tool that can be adapted to the strongest or the weakest, to teenagers or to the geriatric. It does the same thing for every body—it makes the individual stronger by stimulating muscle growth. Our mantra is, “We know training,” but training encompasses much more than just the workout. Nutrition, supplementation and the inspiration to keep on training and eating right all play a part. Still, the workout is the cornerstone. Without anaerobic work, there is no real strength and muscle gain. Without the workout, perfect nutrition and supplementation become just a part of a pipe dream. From the beginning of time man has searched for the fountain of youth, and training is as close as we’re going to get. There it is, a simple truth—no magic. The magic is in the doing, and this issue spotlights a number of people who do it well. From Bill Grant, age 60, to Skip La Cour in his early 40s, to Rachel McLish, who is, as she puts it, “waaay over 40,” these people have lived the bodybuilding lifestyle for most of their lives, and the results speak for themselves. Their tips, philosophies and photos should motivate you to hit the gym. If you have comments about this issue, past issues or bodybuilding in general, write to me at [email protected]. IM

32 MARCH 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Publisher/Editorial Director: John Balik Associate Publisher: Warren Wanderer Design Director: Michael Neveux Editor in Chief: Stephen Holman Art Director: T. S. Bratcher Senior Editor: Ruth Silverman Editor at Large: Lonnie Teper Articles Editors: L.A. Perry, Caryne Brown Assistant Art Director: Aldrich Bonifacio Designer: Emerson Miranda IRON MAN Staff: Vuthy Keo, Mervin Petralba, R. Anthony Toscano Contributing Authors: Jerry Brainum, Eric Broser, David Chapman, Teagan Clive, Lorenzo Cornacchia, Daniel Curtis, Dave Draper, Michael Gündill, Rosemary Hallum, Ph.D., John Hansen, Ron Harris, Ori Hofmekler, Rod Labbe, Skip La Cour, Jack LaLanne, Butch Lebowitz, John Little, Stuart McRobert, Gene Mozée, Charles Poliquin, Larry Scott, Jim Shiebler, Roger Schwab, Pete Siegel, C.S. Sloan, Bill Starr, Bradley Steiner, Eric Sternlicht, Ph.D., Randall Strossen, Ph.D., Richard Winett, Ph.D., and David Young Contributing Artists: Steve Cepello, Larry Eklund, Ron Dunn, Jake Jones Contributing Photographers: Jim Amentler, Ron Avidan, Reg Bradford, Jimmy Caruso, Bill Dobbins, Jerry Fredrick, Irvin Gelb, Isaac Hinds, Dave Liberman, J.M. Manion, Gene Mozée, Mitsuru Okabe, Rob Sims, Leo Stern

Director of Marketing: Helen Yu, 1-800-570-IRON, ext. 1 Accounting: Dolores Waterman Subscriptions Manager: Sonia Melendez, 1-800-570-IRON, ext. 2 E-mail: [email protected] Advertising Director: Warren Wanderer 1-800-570-IRON, ext. 1 (518) 743-1696; FAX: (518) 743-1697 Advertising Coordinator: Jonathan Lawson, (805) 385-3500, ext. 320 Newsstand Consultant: Angelo Gandino, (516) 796-9848 We reserve the right to reject any advertising at our discretion without explanation. All manuscripts, art or other submissions must be accompanied by a selfaddressed, stamped envelope. Send submissions to IRON MAN, 1701 Ives Avenue, Oxnard, CA 93033. We are not responsible for unsolicited material. Writers and photographers should send for our Guidelines outlining specifications for submissions. IRON MAN is an open forum. We also reserve the right to edit any letter or manuscript as we see fit, and photos submitted have an implied waiver of copyright. Please consult a physician before beginning any diet or exercise program. Use the information published in IRON MAN at your own risk.

IRON MAN Internet Addresses: Web Site: www.ironmanmagazine.com John Balik, Publisher: [email protected] Steve Holman, Editor in Chief: [email protected] Ruth Silverman, Senior Editor: [email protected] T.S. Bratcher, Art Director: [email protected] Helen Yu, Director of Marketing: [email protected] Jonathan Lawson, Ad Coordinator: [email protected] Sonia Melendez, Subscriptions: [email protected]

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34 MARCH 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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Victor Martinez managed third at the Mr. O despite a heart-wrenching distraction.

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FOCUS

Contractions, Distractions, Reactions grief and stress for at least as long as you’re in the gym. Your problems won’t go away, but that doesn’t mean you can’t leave them outside the gym walls for an hour or two while you work out. It’s not easy, I know. But because we all live in the real world, we all have to deal with real problems. What do you do? You keep moving. You keep living. And if you can manage to keep training hard, that’s one good thing that nobody or nothing can take away from you. —Ron Harris RonHarrisMuscle.com

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Darrem Charles knows what it’s like to train and compete under duress.

Comstock

We all have things going on in our lives that can take a tremendous toll on our training. Relationships, for example, can be a major source of stress. Have you ever had a big blowup with your significant other right before a workout and proceeded to have a truly horrible workout? Let’s see those hands. Wow, that’s pretty much all of us! Problems with your job, finances or business can dominate your thoughts and make it nearly impossible to stay focused on moving the iron and squeezing your muscles. Speaking of domination, we could all learn a lesson from the Dominican Dominator, Victor Martinez. Just three weeks before the ’06 Mr. Olympia, his mother died of cancer. Could you think of any bigger excuse to lose your concentration and drive to train hard? But Victor, true warrior that he is, continued. “I’m like a freight train; ain’t nothin’ gonna get in my way,” he told me days before the big show. “I’ll mourn after the contest is over. Mom always wanted me to do my best in the sport.” And that’s exactly what Martinez did, showing up in his best condition ever and pushing Jay and Ronnie hard before landing in third place behind them. Vic isn’t the first to deal with tragic loss so close to a contest. Charles Ray Arde lost his mother shortly before winning his pro card at the ’05 NPC Nationals, and both Darrem Charles and Vickie Gates competed at the Olympia right after their mothers had both died—and in the case of Darrem’s mother, as a victim of murder. Of course, having a major contest to prepare for and compete in can be enough to get a bodybuilder through what would otherwise be a terrible time, and a time in which most wouldn’t even be able to think about training. But there’s still a lesson to be learned. If you’re absolutely committed to reaching your strength and/or physique goals, you can shut out the

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Whatever You Need—Wherever You Train ™

TRAIN TO GAIN

EXERCISE EFFECTS

Lose Muscle With Aerobics?

FAT BURN

Fishy Fat-Burning Effects Several studies have shown that taking omega-3 fatty acids, especially fish oil supplements, increases the rate of fat oxidation. Since the only form of exercise known to do that is aerobics, what would happen if you combined fish oil with aerobics? A study presented at the 2006 American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) meeting looked at the effects of combining aerobic exercise with fish oil supplementation on the size of lipoprotein particles in the blood. Low-density and high-density lipoproteins consist of protein combined with cholesterol. LDL carries cholesterol to cells in the blood and, when oxidized, is considered a root cause of cardiovascular disease. HDL carries cholesterol out of the blood to the liver, where the excess cholesterol is degraded into bile and eventually excreted. The reverse transport of cholesterol, as it’s called, is the only way the body can rid itself of excess cholesterol. In addition to its cholesterol-clearing ability, HDL helps prevent the oxidation of LDL by providing a potent built-in antioxidant called peroxanase. In recent years scientists have realized that the size of the various lipoprotein particles in the blood is highly significant. Small, dense LDL particles are considered far more dangerous than larger, more buoyant ones. LDL is more prone to oxidation, which turns it deadly from a cardiovascular-disease perspective. Similarly, some forms of HDL are more protective than others. Alcohol intake increases one type of HDL, while exercise raises another. The type increased by exercise is considered more protective than that increased by alcohol. In the new study 11 active men, average age 30, performed four randomized trials: 1) rest with no supplement, 2) exercise with no supplement, 3) rest and supplement, 4) exercise and supplement. The subjects did three days of treadmill exercise at a moderate-intensity level of 70 percent maximum oxygen intake for 60 minutes, with the rest consisting of three consecutive days of no exercise. The supplement used was fish oil, taken at a dose of 4.55 grams a day for 42 days. The exercise promoted a significant increase in the size of LDL particles in the blood but not in HDL size. Adding fish oil to the exercise produced a shift in HDL distribution to the more protective form. Thus, omega-3 fatty acids appear to work with exercise to lower risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease. —Jerry Brainum Wooten, J.S., et al. (2006). Response of lipoprotein diameters and distributions following aerobic exercise and omega-3 fatty acid supplementation. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 38:S46.

In bodybuilding, it’s axiomatic that doing aerobics promotes loss of muscle. The theory is that aerobic exercise depresses muscle protein synthesis— or maybe it lowers anabolic hormones, such as testosterone. Like a lot of bodybuilding axioms, however, it ain’t necessarily so. In fact, one study found that subjects who did strenuous aerobics for an hour over the course of three days had levels of muscle protein synthesis similar to those that occur after weight training. Based on that unexpected finding, a new study was designed to measure skeletal muscle breakdown in the thighs after an hour of strenuous one-legged aerobic exercise. The study, which featured five healthy young men, was reported at the 2006 ACSM meeting. The muscle protein breakdown was measured at rest, and at six, 24, 48 and 72 hours after the exercise. Muscle protein breakdown was determined by the excretion of 3-methylhistidine, a substance produced only in contractile muscle proteins. The results revealed no difference in muscle protein breakdown at any point after the exercise. On the other hand, as in past studies, muscle protein synthesis increased, just as it does after weight training. The authors think that happened to offset the breakdown that would normally occur after strenuous exercise. A practical application of those findings is that doing higher intensity aerobics, such as interval training, characterized by alternating periods of high and low intensity, may not only produce greater cardiovascular benefits than the usual steady-state aerobics but also blunt muscle protein loss. —Jerry Brainum 1 Haus, J.M., et al. (2006). The effect of strenuous aerobic exercise on skeletal muscle myofibrillar proteolysis in humans. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 38: S549.

36 MARCH 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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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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Best Rest for Older Bodybuilders Q: How often should I rest between workouts? A: That’s a very important question. Most people, especially those I know who are over 40, usually overtrain. First and foremost, anyone over 40 who is truly natural and trains hard should be working each bodypart no more than once every eight to nine days. In other words, you should have, at minimum, a day off between weight-training workouts—often two days off. When you train with weights, you override the autonomic nervous system. For instance, when lifting moderately heavy weights, you force your breathing to accommodate the strain your body is going through. Holding your breath for a couple of reps during COMFORT ZONE

Less Pain, More Gain In their book The Arthritis Cure: The Medical Miracle That Can Halt, Reverse, and May Even Cure Osteoarthritis, authors Jason Theodosakis, Barry Fox, Ph.D., and Brenda Adderly recommend combining two naturally occurring substances, glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate, to combat joint pain and inflammation. Glucosamine helps the body produce proteoglycans, water-retaining molecules that are the building blocks of cartilage. In an Italian study, 73 percent of the subjects who took glucosamine had reduced pain compared with only 41 percent in the placebo group. Chondroitin sulfate is believed to block enzymes that destroy cartilage, so it acts as a cartilage protectant rather than builder. You can buy the two compounds separately at any health food store. Vitamin C can help too—and stay away from max attempts. —Steve Holman Train, Eat, Grow

a heavy set is not a normal way to breathe; thus, there’s a conscious override of the autonomic nervous system. The sympathetic nervous system is also involved, in the form of the “fight or flight” response, which leads to the secretion of cortisol from the adrenal glands. Excess cortisol can really mess with other hormonal systems, including the steady flow of DHEA and the rhythmic clock that cortisol functions under when the body is healthy. For example, it can disrupt the pituitary output that orders the pineal gland to put out a certain amount of melatonin for about eight to 10 hours of sleep. Your cortisol may be out of whack if you feel tired at odd times during the day and yet wired at night. Upon waking, check to see if you have slight tremors in your hands, with each in a flexed-back prone position (palms facing the floor, with your wrists flexed to bring them up as far as possible). Any tremor in that position means that your nervous system has not recovered fully. Also, if your mouth becomes extremely dry during weight training, you may be producing too much cortisol, which not only hammers blood sugar down but can also change the way carbohydrates are used during exercise. Another reason to give yourself at least one day off is to ensure that all soreness has dissipated. I believe that if you have muscle soreness anywhere, you shouldn’t work out with weights that day because your body is still in the growth mode. (You’re either going forward or backward—the body never stands still, but it can’t grow and be stimulated at the same time.) My advice is to train very hard when you’re in the gym, and when you have it to give, go all out. Rest at least one day, if not two (if you’re sore), before you start to train with weights again. You’ll be amazed at how fast you’ll grow when you get more rest coupled with more intensity. You’ll have increasingly more strength and energy. —Paul Burke Neveux \ Model: John Hansen

TRAIN TO GAIN

MATURE MUSCLE

Editor’s note: Paul Burke has a master’s degree in Integrated Studies from Cambridge College in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He’s been a champion bodybuilder and arm wrestler, and he’s considered the leader in the field of over-40 fitness training. You can purchase his book Burke’s Law—a New Fitness Paradigm for the Mature Male, from Home Gym Warehouse. Call (800) 447-0008, or visit www.Home-Gym.com. His “Burke’s Law” training DVD will also be available soon.

38 MARCH 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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T-Bar Rows for Back Growth Many trainees initiate their weighttraining passion when working out for high school football. Others begin at the same age in their garage or basement. The early phase of training is usually very basic. Of course, basic training is very effective and a useful training style. More often than not, though, trainees eventually join a gym and experiment with various machines and exercises that they didn’t have access to in their home gym. One movement that most serious trainees try at some time is the T-bar row. Films like “Pumping Iron” and many training photos in IRON MAN over the years have popularized the exercise. The T-bar itself has one end attached to a hingelike apparatus. The other end is free, and thicker, to hold Olympic plates. Just below the plates is a short bar (looks like a T) for you to grasp. You straddle the bar, bend over and grasp the handles and pull the bar upward to your lower chest. The large, 45-pound plates on the end of the bar usually hit your chest at the top of the stroke. The exercise enables you to use a considerable amount of weight. Most trainees feel the T-bar row is great for developing back thickness—latissimus dorsi (lats), teres major (upper lats), rhomboids and middle and lower traps. Of course, the rear deltoids, biceps and brachioradialis perform their share of work. Three-time Mr. Olympia Frank Zane suggested using 25pound plates instead of 45s on the T-bar. Zane’s point was that since the 25-pound plates have a smaller diameter, they’d let you pull the weight closer to your chest for better contraction and development. That sent off a debate between those who thought heavier weight and a shorter range of motion should be used and those who thought lighter weight and fuller range of motion was better. The late Joe Gold created a new T-bar row when he built the original World Gym in Santa Monica, California. Instead of loading weights on the end of the bar, Gold welded something that looked like Texas longhorn bars just above the handles. They protruded to the sides and curved upward and then straight out to the sides. The plates were loaded on each end of the “longhorn” bars, which allowed you to pull the bar all

the way to your chest without any obstruction. Gold welded the traditional handles on the bar as well and added a pair of handles that allowed a palmsfacing-each-other grip. Gold asked Arnold Schwarzenegger to try the new T-bar for a month and let him know what he thought. It was right next to the traditional T-bar. About four weeks later, Schwarzenegger rendered his verdict: The new row wouldn’t let you handle as much weight as a traditional row, but the range of motion and feel of it were great. Unfortunately, other employees of the gym had other opinions and cut off the handles that faced each other, and pretty soon the new T-bar was removed. I tried Gold’s T-bar row, and I thought it was excellent. I hope someone re-creates Joe Gold’s version. After all that, it sounds like a perfect exercise; however, no exercise is perfect. The traditional T-bar row has a very long lever—both from the floor and, clinically more important, from the lower back. The weight is loaded at the free end of the bar, which makes the long lever forces even greater. The result is that most trainees eventually develop lower-back pain and drop the T-bar row from their program. Luckily, a modification to the T-bar was developed to help relieve lower-back pain. It has a chest pad so you can lean forward onto it for upper-body support. Plus, the handles are much wider—more like bicycle handlebars. You can get a good range of motion with the exercise, but it doesn’t have the same feel as a traditional T-bar row. Nevertheless, if you have lower-back pain, use a T-bar that has a support pad. —Joseph M. Horrigan Neveux

TRAIN TO GAIN

SPORTSMEDICINE

Editor’s note: Visit www.softtissuecenter.com for reprints of Horrigan’s past Sportsmedicine columns that have appeared in IRON MAN. You can order the books, Strength, Conditioning and Injury Prevention for Hockey by Joseph Horrigan, D.C., and E.J. “Doc” Kreis, D.A., and the 7-Minute Rotator Cuff Solution by Horrigan and Jerry Robinson from Home Gym Warehouse, (800) 447-0008, or at www.homegym.com.

40 MARCH 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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TRAIN TO GAIN

HARDGAINER

How to Avoid Injury To make bodybuilding progress, you must train regularly—but you can’t do that if you get injured. Barring freak accidents, training injuries have nothing to do with bad luck. They have everything to do with ignorance, following bad advice and inattentiveness. Done properly, bodybuilding is safe. The building of strength itself, provided it’s done safely, helps protect against injury. Most injuries occur as a result of an imposed force exceeding the structural strength of the involved bodypart. If structural strength is increased, resistance to injury will increase too. To help you avoid injuries, here are some recommendations: 1) Never apply the “no pain, no gain” maxim. Never do anything that hurts, don’t train if you’ve hurt yourself, and never train through pain. Cumulative muscular discomfort and systemic fatigue from an exercise done with effort and correct technique are desirable, but pain isn’t. Any sharp, stabbing or sudden pain is a sign you’ve injured yourself. Countless bodybuilders have given up strength training because they’re injured while following foolish advice. Those who live the “no pain, no gain” maxim usually regret it, sooner or later. 2) Know your physical anomalies. Modify your training according to any physical anomalies you may have. For example, if you’ve had back surgery, the barbell squat may be an unwise exercise selection; and if you have foot problems, running wouldn’t be a wise choice of cardio exercise. Know your body before you train it. 3) Seek correction of physical restrictions. With the right treatment you may be able to rid yourself of problems you accepted as permanent or at least reduce them greatly. Investigate the possibility. Seek expert therapists, including chiropractors and physical therapists. 4) Don’t neglect flexibility work. Generally, supple muscles are less likely to suffer injury than tight ones. Supple muscles have more give in them than tight muscles and help protect against injury. Supple and strong muscles provide greater protection. 5) Adapt to exercises. Be patient when learning how to perform a new exercise. Use very light weights to begin with. Only once you’ve mastered exercise technique should you add weight, gradually, and pick up the effort level. If you’ve had a lot of experience with a particular exercise but haven’t included it in your program for a few months, take a few weeks to refamiliarize yourself with it before you train it hard. 6) Apply training discipline. It’s easier to use correct technique and controlled rep speed at the start of a set than during the final few reps, when the required effort is higher. Hold correct technique and controlled rep speed even on the final “I-can-just-squeeze-this-out” rep. Never break correct technique to force out another rep. Perform correct reps only; if you can’t, end the set. If possible, train with a partner who can scrutinize your technique and rep speed and help you maintain form.

Part 1

7) Use a safe range of motion. Use your maximum safe range of motion. For selectorized equipment, such as many leg curl machines, you can manually limit the range of motion. Remove the pin from the weight stack. Then grip the cable that’s attached to the guide rod that runs through the weight stack and lift it. The top weight plate will rise alone, revealing the guide rod. Expose two holes on the rod, for example, and then use the pin to select the required weight. The gap between the first and second weight plates indicates the reduction in range of motion—two to three inches in this example. Fine-tune the reduction to get your maximum safe range of motion. Make a note of the setting in your training log. 8) Maintain symmetrical lifting. Other than for one-sideat-a-time exercises such as the one-legged calf raise, apply symmetrical stress to your body. Don’t let the bar slope to one side during barbell work. Keep it parallel to the floor at all times. Both hands must move in unison. For example, in barbell pressing, one hand should not be above or in front of the other. A critical factor is symmetrical hand and foot positioning. If one hand is placed farther from the center of the bar than the other or if one foot is positioned differently, you won’t be symmetrically positioned and thus will be set up for asymmetrical lifting. Also, if you lift on a surface that’s not horizontal, you’ll lift asymmetrically. Train on a level floor. That’s especially important for the big exercises, such as the squat, deadlift, overhead press and bench press. Take a spirit level to the gym, and check the lifting areas; use only the ones that are level. 9) Use proper head and eye control. Key factors in symmetrical lifting are maintaining a fixed, face-forward, neutral head position and keeping your eyes riveted on one spot during a set. (A neutral head position is neither extended nor flexed.) Except for neck exercises, avoid any lateral, forward or rearward movement of your head when you train with weights. 10) Keep your eyes open. If you close your eyes while training, you risk some deterioration of balance. There may also be degradation of bar control, especially on free-weight exercises. Both can threaten your safety. Don’t close your eyes while you train. —Stuart McRobert www.Hardgainer.com Editor’s note: Stuart McRobert’s first byline in IRON MAN appeared in 1981. He’s the author of the new 638-page opus on bodybuilding Build Muscle, Lose Fat, Look Great, available from Home Gym Warehouse (800) 447-0008 or www .Home-Gym.com.

42 MARCH 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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Be the Best You Can Be How often do we look at a certain person’s physique, consider it the ideal and decide that it’s exactly what we want to look like? When I first started reading the magazines in late 1987, I was determined to look just like Rich Gaspari, the Dragonslayer who breathed fire down Lee Haney’s neck over much of Haney’s eight-year reign as Mr. Olympia. Eventually I realized it wasn’t in the cards. That was typical of what many beginners do, but even advanced bodybuilders at the highest amateur and pro levels can fall victim to trying to be something they’re not. Nationallevel superheavyweight competitor Rich Piana posted some extremely impressive photos of himself weighing more than 300 pounds and in very lean condition on a popular Web site. Rich doesn’t have the aesthetic lines of someone like Flex Wheeler or Melvin Anthony, yet when he was complimented on his freaky mass, he said that it was that type of physique—the aesthetic look—he was striving to achieve. An even more notable case of trying to be something you’re not is what happened to Markus Rühl, the Führer of Freakazoids, at the ’05 Mr. Olympia. In the spring of that year the IFBB had issued a mandate, informing all athletes that large stomachs would be punished and striking V-tapers and pleasing shapes would be rewarded. “I’d always been known for my freaky size, not for having a pretty body,” he said. “All of a sudden, I was supposed to change my physique?” The way he saw it, he had no choice. In an attempt

to bring his waist size down, he lightened up the loads in the gym. “I hated it,” he recalled. “Since the day I first started training, I always trained for mass. Pushing more and more heavy weight was the only thing that ever felt right to me.” He did manage to streamline his waist a bit but in the process lost a significant amount of size and fullness. Worse, he mistimed his carb loading and wound up both flat and holding water onstage. As a result, he finished in 15th place, the lowest he had ever been at the Olympia. In ’06 Markus went back to his old ways, training heavy and getting bigger, thicker and freakier as the months rolled by. He showed up to qualify for the Mr. O at the Santa Susanna Pro in Spain at 285 shredded pounds and took a very controversial second place to Paco Bautista. A week later he was eighth at the Olympia and the weekend after that, third at the Austrian Grand Prix behind Jay and Ronnie. He’d served notice that the Freakazoid was back with a vengeance. Markus had stopped trying to make his body into something it was not, and his success speaks for itself. What about you? Are you trying to be a Frank Zane when your genetics are more along the lines of a Rühl? Do you struggle to be a mass monster when you have a 28-inch waist and are clearly meant to be a smaller, symmetrical bodybuilder? I’m not saying that we can’t aspire to improve mass or shape. The main purpose of bodybuilding is to improve your physique. Just try to recognize what you’re most suited for, and play to your strengths. Bodybuilding is tough enough without making it an uphill battle—and pushing a boulder at the same time! —Ron Harris RonHarrisMuscle.com Comstock

Markus Rühl trains for freaky mass because that’s what his body is suited for.

Understand your limits and strengths, then go for it

Neveux \ Model: Sebastian Siegel

TRAIN TO GAIN

GENETICS

44 MARCH 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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

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Smart Training

Throw Up to Rip Up?

“I may hurl before I curl.”

beginner routine. I throw up or feel very sick after every workout now that I’ve cut the rest to 60 seconds. Am I supposed to rest only 60 seconds between supersets, or do I wait until I’m ready again? How can I keep myself from throwing up? I’ve been doing some sort of training for years and was a state champion rower. I don’t understand why it’s affecting me that way. A: Stay with the recommended rest interval. With a longer rest, your lactic acid levels will drop and defeat the purpose of the program. There’s a difference between throwing up and feeling nauseated. Make sure you leave at

Neveux \ Model: Gus Malliarodakis

Q: I bought your book German Body Composition and have been doing the

least one hour between your last meal and your workout, and you should stop getting sick. Some people may need to extend that time period to two hours; however, feeling nauseated is part of the program. It’s designed to generate high levels of lactic acid in your blood. Your body releases greater amounts of growth hormone when your blood pH drops because of the high levels of lactic acid. That’s why the program is so effective at reducing your bodyfat percentage. It’s also why 400- and 800-meter runners typically have 4 to 6 percent bodyfat while the marathoners, despite working longer but at lower lactate levels, have bodyfat levels hovering between 11 and 14 percent—not ripped by any means. Even in-shape individuals often can’t initially finish the workout. I’ve seen many NHL players fall to the ground within 40 minutes of this type of training. You must be mentally tough to tolerate the discomfort of this program. Just remember that the higher the lactic acid levels you can tolerate, the leaner you will get. Q: I notice that you suggest donkey calf raises in all of your calf programs, but my gym doesn’t have a donkey calf machine. Is there anything I can do instead? A: I like donkey calf raises because they place your gastrocnemius in a superior stretched position. Some of the better exercise-equipment companies, such as Atlantis, produce comfortable, efficient machines for this exercise. If your gym doesn’t have one and you’re too embarrassed to ask another gym member to sit on your back, you can use the leg press. I actually like the leg press machine for calf work because you can use an accurate amount of weight at each workout and increase it by a pre-

Higher lactic acid levels may make you feel nauseated, but they lower your blood pH, which leads to more growth hormone output and less bodyfat. 48 MARCH 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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

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Whatever You Need—Wherever You Train™

Charles Poliquin’s

Smart Training

Neveux \ Model: Eric Domer

One problem with donkey calf raises is the body you use on your back may not be the same one at every workout. For the same effect try leg-press calf raises instead.

A: If your arm-training progress has come to a halt, even though program design and nutrition are at their best, your neck alignment is probably the culprit. A forward head posture, which is highly prevalent in occupations that require long periods of sitting, can be one cause. It’s also common in striking martial arts because of the fighting position. Another cause is improper training technique with shrugging exercises. Trainees often stick their heads forward as if expecting to receive a “fresh one” (see the movie “Analyze This”). That may cause an impingement of cervical nerves from vertebrae C5, C6 and C7, which can impair neural drive to the upper-arm muscles. The musculocutaneous nerve, which innervates the long and short heads of the biceps as well as the brachialis, originates from the C5, C7 nerve root. The radial nerve, which innervates the medial, long and lateral heads of the triceps and anconeus, arises from the C5 T1 nerve roots. You may conclude that the arm flexors would be affected to a greater degree than the arm extensors. Unfortunately, the dysfunction doesn’t stop there. The long thoracic nerve, which arises from the C5 C7 nerve roots, innervates the serratus anterior muscle, an important stabilizer of the scapula, which secures it to the chest wall. If that muscle is weakened, you

cise amount the next workout. On partner-assisted donkey calf raises you don’t usually get the same person(s) at every workout. Plus, if your strength levels are better than average, you may need Roseanne Barr, Elizabeth Taylor and Kirstie Alley to sit together on your back. Of course, it would require a back as thick and wide as Ronnie Coleman’s to handle all those ample derrieres. With leg press calf raises, keep your knees locked and the balls of your feet as close to the bottom as possible. Get a full stretch and range of motion on each rep. For complete calf development don’t forget that you need to work both the soleus and the gastrocnemius. You can order my book Poliquin Principles. I have a whole chapter on calf training that can help you turn your calves into cows. Q: I’m a nationally ranked MMA fighter and have had good success throughout my career. I’ve had a neck injury for two months, and I’ve progressively lost arm strength. Can the two be related?

Neveux \ Model: Michael Semanoff

Neck pain may mean a pinched nerve, and that can cause you to lose arm strength.

50 MARCH 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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Charles Poliquin’s

Smart Training For more information on training with chains, check out WestsideBarbell.com.

Q: Do you know of any research on the use of chains in improving upper- and lower-body strength? A: At this writing there are no peer-reviewed studies on the use of chains to enhance maximum strength. That doesn’t mean, however, that many successful colleagues of mine, such as Kent Johnston, formerly of the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks, and Lorne Goldenberg of the Ottawa Senators, have successfully used chains for faster results. Someday I hope there will be some studies on their effects. Former Australian and U.S. national weightlifting coach Lyn Jones used to say that sports scientists are mere sport

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 trackand-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 Charles Poliquin .net. Also see his ad w w w. C h a r l e s P o l i q u i n . n e t on page 185. IM Bradford

have “winging” of the scapula, which completely disrupts the scapulothoracic mechanics. Since the long heads of both the triceps and the biceps brachii originate from the scapula, they’ll now have an altered length/tension relationship. Both long heads won’t function optimally, and bicipital tendonitis usually occurs. Your efforts in the gym can be wasted if the neural conduction to the trained muscles is under par. Consult a health specialist competent in manipulation and mobilization techniques—physiotherapist, chiropractor or osteopath—to realign your neck. Compression of the disks of those vertebrae will also diminish neural drive. Various soft-tissue manipulation techniques, such Active Release and Rolfing, can alleviate disk compression. Longitudinal osteoarticular decompression stretches, created by the noted French osteopath Dr. Guy Voyer, are very effective if compression has occurred. Improving thoracic extension is also helpful in improving faulty neck alignment. I recently started using specific protocols of frequencyspecific microcurrent therapy in restoring the neural drive to the affected muscles while correcting abnormal neck alignment with great success. Those techniques are all useful in surrounding the dragon—in other words, treat the condition by using all of the available pathways, and you’ll give yourself the best chance of improving your condition.

historians, reporting why methods used three Olympic cycles ago worked. The first proponent of chain use was Arthur Jones, the inventor of Nautilus machines in the early ’70s. He used them as a means to match human strength curves. For the best instruction on chains I suggest you go online to www.WestsideBarbell.com and order Louie Simmons’ tape/DVD on their use. Other methods of accommodating the strength curve, such as bands, have also been used. The inventive and ingenious Simmons brought the use of chains to the powerlifting world in the mid-1990s, right around the time O.J. was driving slowly on an L.A. freeway looking for Nicole’s killer. Since then chains have made the jump to the mainstream weight-training world, especially for athletes (though O.J. still hasn’t had any luck finding Nicole’s killer). I like to use roughly 14 percent of the bar weight on each side; however, depending on your force velocity patterns you may want to experiment with various percentages and see what works best. You can use unlimited loading parameters with weights, reps, bands, chains, high-speed devices and so on. After 27 years of training people, I’m still learning and discovering new protocols and improving on older ones. Note: This coming April at my Applied Strength Training for Sport seminar in Sweden, I’m devoting a large chunk of time to periodization and program design. For more info, go to the seminars section at www.CharlesPoliquin.com.

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EAT TO NUTRITION SCIENCE

Glutamine Re-emerges Many bodybuilders have a vague idea that glutamine may be involved in muscle protein synthesis, although several recent studies have suggested that it may be a waste of money. What’s the truth? Glutamine is considered a conditionally essential amino acid. That means you should take it under certain conditions—most often related to stress. It’s not considered essential because normally your body can synthesize an ample supply from other amino acids, such as glutamate and the branchedchain amino acids. Numerous studies, however, show that the body can’t make enough glutamine under high stress conditions.

Initial research showing health benefits related to glutamine used hospital patients as subjects. Many had to be fed through tubes, particularly those who had intestinal problems. Burn victims rapidly lost protein, which often proved fatal. Giving them glutamine seemed to put a brake on muscle protein breakdown and even appeared to promote protein synthesis. Among those who noticed what was happening was a physician in Northern California named Scott Connelly. Connelly’s medical training was in anesthesiology, but his primary interest was in critical-care medicine, especially its nutritional aspects. Connelly observed that giving glutamine to patients who were clearly in a catabolic state often reversed the state. So he developed a product, originally as a means of providing patients with post-op nutrition, that he later called Met-Rx. What separated Met-Rx from previous supplements was that it not only served as a nutritionally complete meal substitute but also contained large amounts of glutamine, the key element in the original formula. Subsequent versions gradually reduced the glutamine content, but those who used the original version readily attest that it was

New studies say it has musclebuilding properties after all the best. Met-Rx not only launched the “engineered food” supplement concept but also popularized glutamine. Among its benefits for bodybuilders: •Glutamine is the most abundant amino acid in muscle—60 percent of the amino acid content of muscle. •Glutamine is involved in muscle protein synthesis. •Glutamine acts as a nitrogen donor for synthesis of various vital body chemicals, such as purines, pyridamines (required for nucleic acid synthesis); amino sugars, such as glucosamine sulfate, which protects joint function; and glutathione, a major antioxidant and liver protector. •Glutamine is vital for maintaining acidbase balance in the kidneys, where it helps degrade protein metabolic byproducts, such as ammonia. The effect on acid-base balance also promotes minor growth hormone release. •Glutamine is the major fuel source for cells lining the gastrointestinal tract, which break down every three days. Those cells are so hungry for glutamine that they tend to grab any glutamine taken orally, which explains why oral intake of glutamine is a bit limited. •Glutamine is the major fuel source for immune cells. One measure of overtraining is a depression of immune function, often heralded by a considerable decline in the body’s glutamine levels. •Glutamine promotes cellular hydration, encouraging anabolic activity in the cells. Those who are sick or in a catabolic state show cellular dehydration, which makes for further catabolism.

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GROW Nutrition With a Get-Big Mission •Glutamine favors glucose output during extended training, thus preventing hypoglycemia, or low blood glucose and attendant fatigue. Glutamine may also act as a substrate for replenishing muscle glycogen stores depleted by exercise. So including glutamine in a typical bodybuilding supplement plan would seem to be no-brainer. Yet not all studies verify the many beneficial effects. One investigated the effects of an amino acid and carbohydrate drink vs. the same drink plus glutamine at a dose of 0.3 grams per kilogram of bodyweight.1 One group of subjects got a postworkout drink containing 9.25 grams of essential amino acids and one gram of carbohydrate per kilogram of bodyweight, the dose considered effective for bodybuilding. Another group got the same drink with the glutamine kicker. There were no differences in the rate of muscle protein synthesis between the two groups. The authors did suggest that glutamine may suppress whole-body breakdown a few hours after the workout—an anticatabolic effect. One thing to consider about the study is the type of exercise used. The subjects rode a stationary bike for 90 minutes at a moderate pace, which you wouldn’t expect to lead to much muscle protein breakdown. In fact, some studies show that glutamine offers the most benefit during highintensity exercise, which does result in extensive muscle breakdown. Recent research shows previously unrecognized effects of glutamine. For example, glutamine promotes the activity of genes that produce heat shock proteins—special cellprotecting proteins that kick in under stressful conditions.

They preserve cell function and prevent cell destruction due to uncontrolled stress. Without heat shock proteins, cells would die. Among substances known to interact with heat shock proteins at the muscle level are anabolic steroids. Scientists believe that calorie restriction maximizes life span by providing just enough stress to promote added heat shock protein synthesis, thereby extending the life span of cells—and life itself. One way that glutamine helps catabolic hospital patients is by promoting the synthesis of heat shock proteins, which enable them to recover and survive.2 A recent study showed that providing glutamine to isolated joint cells prevented their degeneration. The effect was traced to glutamine’s induction of heat shock protein.3 The joint cells were exposed to heat stress and nitric oxide, both linked to joint inflammation and breakdown. A secondary joint-protecting effect involves the synthesis of the joint protectors glucosamine and glutathione. Another way glutamine helps both hospital patients and athletes is by blunting the catabolic effects of cortisol on muscle. Cortisol is the major catabolic hormone in the body and is released under highstress conditions. Cortisol promotes the activity of cellular enzymes and proteins that degrade protein. Why cortisol prevents muscle growth wasn’t known until research showed that cortisol aids in synthesis of myostatin, a protein that interferes with muscle protein synthesis and repair. A new study, however, shows that glutamine blocks the cortisol induction of myostatin, thereby blocking the anti-anabolic effect of cortisol in muscle.4

That finding casts glutamine in a new light, showing enormous potential for encouraging anabolic effects in muscle. Once again, however, the effects are likely to become apparent only under high-stress conditions characterized by high-intensity exercise. So glutamine is most beneficial to serious bodybuilders who are breaking down muscle. —Jerry Brainum

References 1 Wilkinson,

S.B., et al. (2006). Addition of glutamine to essential amino acids and carbohydrate does not enhance anabolism in young human males following exercise. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 31:518-29. 2 Wischmeyer, P.E. (2006). Glutamine: The first clinically relevant pharmacological regulator of heat shock protein? Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 9:201-206. 3 Tonomura, H., et al. (2006). Glutamine protects articular chondrocytes from heat stress and NO-induced apoptosis with HSP70 expression. OsteoArth and Cartil. 14:545-63. 4 Salehian, B., et al. (2006). The effect of glutamine on prevention of glucocorticoid-induced skeletal muscle atrophy is associated with myostatin expression. Metabolism. 55:1239-47.

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Eat to Grow NUTRITION NOTES

Food Facts That can affect your workouts, weight and wellness

High estrogen levels can make muscularity hard to attain.

WARRIOR NUTRITION AND EXERCISE

Anti-Estrogen Answers

From The AntiEstrogenic Diet

Q: I am physically lean and fit. Should I take an anti-estrogen supplement anyway? A: It’s virtually impossible to completely avoid estrogenic chemicals in the environment, food and water. Regardless of your fitness level, you should protect your body from the harmful effects of xenoestrogens. For that matter, estrogen inhibitors, such as EstroX, should be incorporated with anti-estrogenic food to sustain a nutritional defense against the ever-growing onslaught of chemicals in today’s world. Q: Is licorice estrogenic? Is it safe? A: Licorice is definitely estrogenic and may cause water retention. It contains active isoflavones, notably glabrene, which has exhibited various degrees of estrogen receptor–promoting activities. Recent studies showed that licorice’s isoflavones, glabrene and isoliquiritigenin, can bind to human estrogen receptors with high affinity and affect the body’s tissue the way estradiol does. Furthermore, the glycyrritinic acid found in licorice contributes to aldosteronelike action, meaning water retention. Aldosterone is a hormone that causes water retention. —Ori Hofmekler Editor’s note: Ori Hofmekler is the author of the books The Warrior Diet and Maximum Muscle & Minimum Fat, published by Dragon Door Publications (www .dragondoor.com). For more information or for a consultation, contact him at [email protected], www .warriordiet.com or by phone at (866) WAR-DIET.

Diet soda mixed with rum or other alcohol will get you drunk faster than if you use regular soda as your mixer. Sugar-free mixers get alcohol into the bloodstream quicker. Soft drinks may be one of the reasons the number of Americans with type 2 diabetes has tripled since 1980. Drinking soda regularly can stress the body’s ability to process sugar—a.k.a. insulin resistance. Lemon juice can help prevent kidney stones. It contains citrate, an acid that binds to the crystals in urine that can cause stones to grow. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon into a few of the glasses of water you drink during the day. Fish oil can block inflammatory chemicals in the body that trigger joint pain. The news on essential fatty acids just keeps getting better and better. They’ve also been shown to help relieve depression. Beans have cancer-fighting properties due to their phytic acid content and saponins, which reduce the ability of cancer cells to multiply. They also contain musclebuilding amino acids. Mix them with rice to complete the amino profile. Cold begets colds. Recent research found that exposure to frigid temperature can cause more susceptibility to the cold virus. Chilling the body causes a constriction of blood vessels in the nose, which reduces the supply of white blood cells that fight infection. —Becky Holman www.X-tremeLean.com

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Eat to Grow RECOVERY

Fermented Milk for More Muscle?

Neveux \ Model: Barry Kabov

Fermented milk is comparable to liquid yogurt. To produce it, beneficial bacterial cultures are added to skim milk. It’s popular in Japan, where various health benefits are ascribed to it, including prolonged life span, lower blood pressure and protection against cancer. A new study suggests that fermented milk may be of

interest to bodybuilders. Two groups of rats ran on a treadmill, one group receiving fermented milk. A third group didn’t exercise and served as controls. In the rats that exercised but didn’t get fermented milk, enzymes indicative of muscle damage increased, and they had extensive oxidative damage to the muscles. The rats that got fermented milk did not experience that damage. The authors suggest that the increased oxidation that occurs during exercise leads to an inflammatory state in muscle, resulting in muscle damage. Fermented milk seems to prevent that. How isn’t clear, but the study found that several protective substances in muscle were upgraded in the rats that got the fermented milk, including natural antioxidants made in the body, such as catalase and superoxide dismutase, as well as heat shock protein 70. The process of fermenting milk generates several bioactive peptides, or small milk protein fractions. They don’t form in ordinary milk, and they’re small enough to be absorbed intact through the gut. The authors think that those peptides are the active factor of muscle protection, via upgraded antioxidant activity. One, called peptide-12, is sold as a natural blood pressure treatment. It blocks the effects of angiotensin-converting enzyme, which raises blood pressure. —Jerry Brainum Aoi, W., et al. (2006). Inhibitory effect of fermented milk on delayed-onset muscle damage after exercise. J Nutr Biochem. In press.

E AT H E A LT H Y

AMINO AMMO

More Cancer Answers You may have heard that red wine can help your cardiovascular system, but did you know that it may have anticancer benefits as well? A study published in Clinical Cancer Research suggests that grapeseed extract produced a 44 percent reduction in colorectal tumors in animals. A study in 1999 showed that grapeseed extract may help prevent skin cancer as well. More research is necessary to substantiate the findings, but in the meantime it’s one more reason to drink red wine. And you may want to take a grapeseed extract supplement as well, 50 to 200 milligrams per day. —Becky Holman

Smokin’ Protein Source When you think of hemp, you may picture lighting up, inhaling and getting the munchies. New hemp food products, however, have nothing to do with getting you high and everything to do with getting you healthy. For example, hemp contains all nine essential amino acids. Also, hemp oil is the most balanced vegetable oil, containing a good balance of omega-6 and omega-3 essential fatty acids, and hemp seeds contain fiber, vitamins and minerals. You may want to try hemp seeds as a snack or the new hemp-spiked granola cereals. Remember, however, you’re supposed to eat them; don’t put them in a pipe and smoke them. —Becky Holman

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Eat to Grow ANABOLIC DRIVE

Journal of Dumb-ass Nutrition supplements he was taking.” The person who presented with acute renal failure was taking more than two dozen other supplements. And get this—he denied the use of other medications (legal or illegal). God forbid a “medication” could cause renal problems. The authors of the study also failed to properly emphasize the huge volume of studies (double-blind placebocontrolled studies; not this nonsense case-report stuff that only medical doctors publish) that show creatine to be safe and effective. Perhaps one of the funnier parts of the article was the authors’ argument that because of the generally low incidence of AIN (acute interstitial nephritis), “these studies [meaning studies done on creatine monohydrate], performed with a limited number of participants, varying from nine to 48, likely were not powered adequately to assess the real magnitude of this problem.” Okay, to translate: They’re saying that since most of the studies didn’t use that many subjects, they were statistically inadequate to come up with definitive conclusions. Yet that case reports on one subject! Yes. Only one. And they have the gall to say that creatine is the cause of AIN and acute renal failure. Pulllleeeaassse. Then they make the unfounded claim that there is “the possibility that the presence of adulterants or impurities in food supplements may contribute to renal injury.” Do they have any evidence whatsoever? No. But who needs data when your conclusion is predetermined? I’d suggest the authors actually read the 300-plus creatine studies and ask themselves, If this stuff is so harmful, where are all the bodies? Where are all the renal issues? Oh, that’s right. There aren’t any. But in the wild world of make-believe medicine, all one needs is to imagine there’s a problem. —Jose Antonio, Ph.D. Neveux \ Model: Marvin Montoya

Do you ever read something and wonder, “How the *#&$ did they come up with THAT conclusion?” While USA Today, The New York Times or some other mainstream-media outlet might not be the gold standard for scientific rerporting, you’d at least expect higher standards from a scientific journal. ’Fraid not. A recent report from the Journal of Renal Nutrition ran this item: “Acute renal failure in a young weightlifter taking multiple food supplements, including creatine monohydrate.” The summary stated the following: “We report a case of a healthy 24-year-old man who presented with acute renal failure and proteinuria while taking creatine and multiple other supplements for bodybuilding purposes. A renal biopsy showed acute interstitial nephritis. The patient recovered completely after he stopped taking the supplements. Creatine is a performanceenhancing substance that has gained widespread popularity among professional as well as amateur athletes. It is legal and considered relatively safe. Recently, there have been case reports of renal dysfunction, including acute interstitial nephritis, associated with its use. Further studies are needed to evaluate the safety of creatine supplementation. It may be prudent to include a warning of this possible side effect in the product insert.”1 They need to change the name of this journal to Journal of Dumb-ass Nutrition. Because the conclusions are, to say the least, dumb. At best, misguided. The authors of the study attempt to show that creatine was the cause of acute renal failure. But this so-called scientific paper clearly confuses correlation and causation. To illustrate the absurdity at work here, let’s take some other ludicrous examples to explain the problem of correlation vs. causation. For instance, we know that on hot days in New York City, ice cream vendors out on the street sell more ice cream than on cold days. The correlation is most certainly quite positive. Does it prove that ice cream vendors cause it to be hot? Does it prove one causes the other? Only a dumb-ass would say so. According to Hector Lopez, M.D. (founder of Physician’s Pioneering Performance LLC), the paper “creates the perception of ‘evidence’ in the midst of so many confounding factors. The case report is riddled with too many confounders, as are the two others in the literature on creatine and renal failure, to attribute association. Could creatine have exacerbated the renal dysfunction/azotemia after the nephrotoxicity occurred? Yes. But so could any of a multitude of contributing factors, from the three hours a day of strenuous exercise to other phytocompounds, polyphenoloics and organic acids in the other

Editor’s note: You can listen to Dr. Jose Antonio and Carla Sanchez on their radio show Performance Nutrition, Web and podcast at www.performancenutritionshow.com. Dr. Antonio is the CEO of the International Society of Sports Nutrition—www.TheISSN.org. His Web sites include www .SupplementCoach.com, www.Javafit.com, www .PerformanceNutritionShow.com, and www.JoseAntonio PhD.com. 1 Thorsteinsdottir, B., et al. (2006). Acute renal failure in a young weightlifter taking multiple food supplements, including creatine monohydrate. J Ren Nutr. 16:341-5.

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Eat to Grow SUPPLEMENT SCIENCE

Creatine Plus Beta-Alanine

Neveux \ Model: John Hansen

Countless studies have validated the wideranging utility of supplemental creatine for increasing the efficiency of high-intensity training. Primarily, it acts as a backup, donating phosphate for the replenishment of adenosine triphosphate, the most elementary muscle fuel source. ATP supplies energy by donating a phosphate, resulting in a high-energy reaction that powers muscle. Creatine, which is stored in muscle along with phosphate, then donates a phosphate back to what is now adenosine diphosphate, or ADP, replenishing the ATP. Creatine is involved in buffer reactions that reduce the excess acidity in muscle that comes from anaerobic metabolism. Some studies suggest that it also promotes anabolic functions in muscle through an increase in cell volume and a promotion of IGF-1 release. While creatine is accepted as an ergogenic supplement for high-intensity anaerobic exercise, such as typical bodybuilding workouts, the picture in regard to its effects on endurance, or aerobic, training is far more controversial. Many scientists say that aerobic metabolism is limited by glycogen availability, not the level of muscle creatine stores. On the other hand, some studies suggest that creatine may boost glycogen stores in muscle, which would have a positive effect on aerobic training. The studies show that the classic creatine-loading system of taking 20 to 30 grams for five days appears to promote increased muscle glycogen stores. When combined with carbohydrates, creatine intake led to greater muscle glycogen levels than occurred when the subjects got only carbohydrate. Creatine also promotes the activity of GLUT-4, which helps to transport glucose into the cell. A new study examined the effects of creatine supplementation on endurance training.1 Thirteen healthy young men and women got either a load of 20 grams of creatine or a placebo for seven days. After seven days they took five grams a day of creatine or the placebo. They then

Muscle-building firepower and heightened endurance too

underwent a monthlong endurance-training program. The results: Creatine provided no ergogenic effects. The authors suggest that there may be something about sustained endurance training that negates its benefits. Another study compared the effects of taking either creatine alone or creatine combined with beta-alanine.2 It lasted four weeks and involved 45 men divided into four groups: 1) Placebo 2) Creatine alone 3) Beta-alanine alone 4) Creatine and beta-alanine The exercise portion of the study included various tests done on a stationary cycle. Creatine alone increased aerobic power, which was expected, since that involves higher exercise intensity. But when creatine was combined with beta-alanine, five out of eight tests of cardiorespiratory endurance showed significant improvement. The tests most affected were those related to breathing capacity and lactate thresholds. The study shows that a combination of creatine and beta-alanine may increase the efficiency of incremental aerobic training. That would be most relevant for those engaged in interval-type aerobic training, which features alternate periods of high and low intensity. Interval training is now considered the most efficient form of aerobic training because it leads to improvements in both cardiovascular endurance and body composition (such as lowered bodyfat levels). (For more on beta-alanine, see page 115.) —Jerry Brainum 1 Reardon, T.F., et al. (2006). Creatine supplementation does not enhance submaximal aerobic training adaptations in healthy young men and women. Eur J Appl Physiol. In press. 2 Zoeller, R.F., et al. (2006). Effects of 28 days of betaalanine and creatine monohydrate supplementation on aerobic power, ventilatory and lactate thresholds and time to exhaustion. Amino Acids. In press.

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Train, Eat,

GROW Muscle-Training Program 89

From the IRONMAN Training & Research Center

Model: Jonathan Lawson

by Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson • Photography by Michael Neveux

f you’ve been reading this series for a while, you may be surprised. We are—because this may be the longest we’ve ever stuck with a specific training protocol. Sure, we always incorporate 3D Positions of Flexion into just about any so-called system we try, but after a couple of months we’re usually on to something new. Not this time. We’ve been using our 3D version of Eric Broser’s Power/Rep Range/Shock system for almost 18 weeks, with one supercompensation back-off phase around week 13. We’re ecstatic at our strength gains, although size gains have been sporadic—but we haven’t allowed that to deter us. According to many, that’s how size and strength gains are supposed to happen. As we’ve noted, Arthur Jones

held that strength gains move in a fairly smooth upward trajectory with only minor blips along the way, while size gains move in a stair-step pattern—a size surge occurs, and then you get nothing for periods of time except small strength increases. Then, if strength has increased enough, you get another size surge. We’ve seen new size, but it’s not coming as quickly as we’d like (does it ever?). You could argue that we’re both fairly advanced, considering our more than 40 years of cumulative training experience, but we think there’s still a lot of upside. That’s why we’ve made some adjustments lately—based on our fiber makeups—in an attempt to jar morefrequent size surges. Before we get to those, let’s review the P/RR/S protocol for those who aren’t familiar with it:

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Train, Eat, Grow / Program 89

Week 2: Rep Range. For the first exercise you pick a weight that allows you to get seven to nine reps. On the second exercise you do 10 to 12 reps. On the third you move the rep range up to the high-end of fast-twitch recruitment—13 to 15 reps. Week 3: Shock. This week is for putting your muscles through the meat grinder with supersets, negatives, X Reps, drop sets and so on. Broser says, “The goal [of Shock week] is the utter annihilation of every fiber, from slow-twitch to the fast-twitch type 2As.” Reps for most muscles stay in the eight-to-10 range, but extended-set techniques are a must. After week 3, it’s back to week 1, Power, with new strength. We use the same solid 3D POF program

each week and adapt it to whichever P/RR/S protocol is called for.

Clash of the Body Types As we discussed last month, the two of us have different body types that require slightly different methods to trigger results. In a nutshell, Steve is more of a hardgainer (skinny ectomorph), while Jonathan leans more toward the athletic, mesomorphic type. Through our various training experiments we’ve found that Steve responds best to longer tension times, while Jonathan responds best to heavier straight-set work. It took us a long time to figure that out, but we always knew something was askew when Jonathan could crank out more reps on his second set while Steve’s reps would drop by two or three. Plus, Jonathan had the ability to grind out reps—Steve tends to hit a wall—bang!—and he’s done. As we reported last month, a study finally showed what’s taken us years to discover. Let’s revisit that important research development. Researchers took about 100 randomly selected subjects and

Your body type provides clues as to which training protocols will work best for you.

trained them using various set-andrep protocols. Those with a so-called ACE-2 variant, or endurance, gene (skinnier folks like Steve) responded best to using 12 to 15 reps, or extended tension times. When those subjects used heavier weight that limited their reps to around eight, they showed no difference in strength. (We’ve said that one of the biggest mistakes hardgainers can make is to train exclusively with low reps, and the study backs us up on that—zero results from that type of training for ectomorphs.) The subjects who were more anaerobic, like Jonathan, with something called an ACE-DD variant, showed similar gains from both types of loads. They also made greater strength gains than the endurance-oriented group but made the most gains from the heavier training. They apparently respond best to that kind of lowerrep weight work [Colakoglu, M., et al. (2005). Eur J App Physiol. 95(1):20-26]. That has hammered home the fact that Jonathan needs to train a little differently than Steve during each week—so we’re customizing the rep ranges a bit to fit our specific body types.

Model: David Yeung

Holding a plate on your chest for sissy squats works for a while, but when strength surges, you must find another way.

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Model: Jonathan Lawson

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

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Train, Eat, Grow / Program 89

Last month we discussed how Steve might benefit from using a pyramid approach on his big, midrange exercises during Rep Range week. Why? He’d get one longer-tension-time set—the first, at about 12 reps—as opposed to all sets on that important first exercise being in the seven-to-nine range. While he’s getting longer tension times on his stretch- and contracted-position moves—10 to 12 and 13 to 15, respectively— during Rep Range week, he was getting gypped on his important compound move. For example, for upper chest he was doing seven to nine reps on incline presses, then 10 to 12 on incline flyes and 13 to 15 on high cable flyes. By switching to a pyramid scheme—12, nine, seven—on the inclines, he’d at least get one set in his ideal range on the big exercise. It makes sense, but we decided not to implement that just yet. We want to make one small change at a

One-arm dumbbell rows qualify as a stretch-position exercise for the midback.

Model: John Cowgill

If your dumbbell selection is limited, however, you may want to use closegrip cable rows.

time, and we thought a better plan would be to make a change to Power week instead, when all exercises are in the low-rep range. If the study is correct, Steve was getting almost zero benefit from that entire week of training. Could that explain the slower size gains? True, we said the Power week acts as a supercompensation, downshift phase for Steve, but we believe he still needs to get at least some stimulation in his ideal rep range— which is 12 to 15, according to the study. The question was, How much and on which exercises? Back to the 3D upper-chest routine we described above. Power week is supposed to be all low-

Model: Noel Thompson

Power Trip

rep sets, but to give Steve at least some work in his optimal rep range, he’ll do two low-rep sets on his midrange exercise, incline presses in this example, and then one higherrep back-off set—10 to 12 reps, with X Reps to extend the tension time even more. On his stretch exercises—like incline flyes—he’ll keep the low-rep protocol, but on his contractedposition exercise he’ll use his lowrep weight on the first set and then immediately reduce it at exhaustion and continue repping for another four to six reps. In other words, he does a drop set on high cable flyes, with the first phase being low-rep max-force work and a lighter phase immediately following to extend the tension time. Jonathan has decided to adopt the drop set on his contractedposition exercises during Power week as well. Remember, the study said anaerobic types can gain from extended tension times too, so he’ll experiment with one drop set to finish off the muscle with some occlusion and a bigger pump.

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(continued on page 72)

Train, Eat, Grow / Program 89 (continued from page 68)

Jonathan is in his early 30s, and Steve is in his late 40s. Does that have a bearing on recuperation? No doubt about it. We’re just not sure if the difference is so great that it requires more training frequency for Jonathan and less for Steve. That means we don’t know if Jonathan’s muscles are recuperating and then regressing before he trains them again. For that matter, Steve’s may be recuperating completely before the next hit as well—despite his advanced age. If strength is any indication, then that’s not happening. As we’ve said, our strength continues to move up—and that applies to both of us. That’s a good sign, but as we also said, our size gains are coming more

slowly than we’d like. We’ve kicked around the idea of adjusting the split and frequency so that we train bodyparts more often than once a week. For example, we could move to a three-way split instead of the current four-way version but still train four days a week:

Workout 1: Chest, triceps, abs Workout 2: Quads, hamstrings, calves Workout 3: Delts, back, biceps

Remember, we can only train during the week, so our workouts would still fall on

Model: Luke Wood

Age vs. Recuperation

Your recuperative ability helps determine how often you should train each bodypart.

IRON MAN Training & Research Center Muscle-Training Program 89 Monday (Rep Range): Chest, Calves, Abs Incline presses (X Reps) 3 x 7-9 Incline flyes (X Reps) 1 x 10-12 High cable flyes (X Reps) 2 x 13-15 Bench presses (X Reps) 2 x 7-9 Wide-grip dips (X Reps) 1 x 7-9 Flat-bench flyes (X Reps) 1 x 10-12 Low/middle cable flyes (X Reps) 1 x 13-15 Knee-extension leg press calf raises (X Reps) 3 x 10-12 Machine donkey calf raises (X Reps) 2 x 13-15 Hack-machine calf raises (X Reps) 2 x 16-20 Standing calf raises (X Reps) 2 x 16-20 Seated calf raises (X Reps) 2 x 10-15 Incline kneeups (X Reps) 3 x 10-12 Ab Bench crunches (X Reps) 2 x 13-15 Twisting crunches (X Reps) 2 x 16-20

Tuesday (Rep Range): Back, Forearms Wide-grip pulldowns (X Reps) Parallel-grip chins (X Reps) Undergrip pulldowns (X Reps) Machine pullovers (X Reps) Behind-the-neck pulldowns (X Reps) Nautilus rows or cable rows (X Reps) V-handle cable rows (X Reps) Bent-arm bent-over laterals (X Reps) Barbell shrugs (X Reps) Reverse wrist curls (X Reps) Wrist curls (X Reps) Behind-the-back wrist curls Rockers

3 x 7-9 2 x 7-9 2 x 10-12 2 x 13-15 1 x 7-9 3 x 7-9 1 x 10-12 2 x 13-15 2 x 13-15 3 x 10-12 2 x 10-12 1 x 13-15 1 x 13-15

Thursday (Rep Range): Quads, Hamstrings Machine hack squats (nonlock; X Reps) Leg presses (nonlock) Smith-machine sissy squats (X Reps) Leg extensions (X Reps) Lunges Stiff-legged deadlifts (low partials; X Reps) Hyperextensions (X Reps) Leg curls (X Reps) Low-back machine (X Reps)

2 x 7-9 2 x 7-9 2 x 10-12 3 x 13-15 1 x 7-9 3 x 10-12 1 x 10-12 3 x 13-15 1 x 13-15

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

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

Note: Where X-Reps are designated, usually only one set or phase of a drop set is performed with X Reps or an X-Rep hybrid technique from the e-book Beyond X-Rep Muscle Building. See the X-Blog at www.X-Rep.com for more workout details.

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Train, Eat, Grow / Program 89

Model: Nathan DeTracy

Continuoustension isolation exercises trigger growth by blocking blood flow, a.k.a. occlusion.

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Friday would be a repeat of Monday’s workout. We’d pick up with Tuesday’s workout the following Monday. That means bodyparts get trained once every four to six days—the ones that get trained on Monday get four days; the ones that get hit on Tuesday and Thursday get five to six days, as they cycle to the next week, on Monday and Tuesday. To put it another way, each bodypart gets four days of recovery every three weeks—when it falls on a Monday. The other two weeks it gets five to six days—when it falls on a Tuesday or Thursday. So if we started with Power workouts, it would be low-rep workouts on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. Then we’d start Rep Range workouts on Friday (chest, etc.), continuing on Monday (quads, etc.) and Tuesday (delts, etc). Thursday would kick off the Shock workouts,

as we’re back to chest, triceps and abs. So Shock workouts would go Thursday, Friday and Monday. And so on. Yeah, it’s a little weird, but it’s got a lot of shakeup potential—recovery time becomes a moving variable. It may be worth a try when we stall on our current program or when we just want to see if we can squeeze more size from the P/RR/S attack.

Exercise Execution Tips The past couple of months we’ve switched out some exercises for various reasons. Here are the ones that have made the biggest difference: V-handle cable rows. We were using one-arm dumbbell rows as our stretch-position midback exercise, but we outran our dumbbells, which go up to

ITRC Program 89, Abbreviated Home-Gym Routine Monday (Rep Range): Chest, Calves, Abs Incline presses (X Reps) Incline flyes (low partials; X Reps) Incline flyes (top squeezes; X Reps) Bench presses or decline presses (X Reps) Decline flyes (low partials; X Reps) Decline flyes (top squeeze; X Reps) Donkey calf raises (X Reps) One-leg calf raises (X Reps) Seated calf raises (X Reps) Incline kneeups Weighted full-range crunches (X Reps)

3 x 7-9 1 x 10-12 1 x 13-15 2 x 7-9 1 x 10-12 1 x 13-15 3 x 10-12 3 x 12-20 2 x 10-15 2 x 10-12 2 x 16-20

Tuesday (Rep Range): Back, Forearms Chins (X Reps) Dumbbell pullovers (X Reps) Undergrip rows (X Reps) Bent-over barbell rows One-arm dumbbell rows (X Reps) Bent-arm bent-over laterals (X Reps) Shrugs (X Reps) Reverse wrist curls (X Reps) Wrist curls (X Reps) Rockers

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

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

2 x 13-15 1 x 7-9 3 x 10-12 3 x 13-15

Friday (Rep Range): Delts, Triceps, Biceps Dumbbell upright rows or wide-grip upright rows (X Reps) Incline one-arm laterals (X Reps) Seated forward-lean laterals (X Reps) Dumbbell presses (X Reps) Bent-over laterals (X Reps) Close-grip bench presses Overhead extensions (X Reps) Kickbacks (X Reps) Barbell curls Incline curls (X Reps) Concentration curls (X Reps) Incline hammer curls (X Reps)

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

Note: Where X-Reps are designated, usually only one set or phase of a drop set is performed with X Reps or an X-Rep hybrid technique from the e-book Beyond X-Rep Muscle Building. See the X-Blog at www .X-Rep.com for more workout details.

Thursday (Rep Range): Quads, Hams Squats Sissy squats

3 x 7-9 2 x 10-12

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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Train, Eat, Grow / Program 89

120. Close-grip, or V-handle, cable rows keep our hands at the midline of the torso at the bottom of the stroke, which is stretch territory for the midback. We keep our torsos upright, no forward lean, to

maximize trap elongation in the stretch position.

holding a plate on our chests, but that got awkward as our strength increased—especially during Smith-machine sissy squats. heavy Power week. We now do We were doing our sissy squats, them with the Smith-machine the stretch-position quad move, bar resting across our front delts with some weight on each side of the bar. Using the Smith machine makes the exercise more stable, as you don’t have to focus on Decline closebalance; however, you have grip bench to stay in control and not bounce—unless you want presses—one knee damage. of the best

Model: Jonathan Lawson

midrange movements for complete triceps development.

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Hyperextensions. We’ve done these all along as an extra stretch-position exercise for hamstrings. Because we’ve gotten so strong on them, holding weight has become uncomfortable. For that reason we now do them while holding a 45-pound plate, but we use the Double-X Overload style; that is, doing a stretchposition X Rep after each full-range rep. We do these after stiff-legged deadlifts, so we get lots of stretch overload for the hamstrings.

Train, Eat, Grow / Program 89

Smith-machine wide-grip upright rows. We were using rack pulls as our midrange-position delt exercise. Then we noticed that we’d started inadvertently cheating and using too much trap power. That resulted in less delt development. To remedy that situation, we’ve moved to a Vince Gironda favorite, wide-grip upright rows on the Smith machine. We keep our form strict and pull the bar up to our low-pec line so the upper arms are up and out, activating the medial-delt heads. We use a grip that’s about two hand spaces outside of shoulder width. If you try these, don’t pull higher, or you could damage your rotator cuff. Close-grip bench presses. We used dips for a while as our midrange triceps exercise, but we both felt that having freedom of movement of the torso limited our

triceps activation. Close-grip bench presses solved the problem. Ah, but haven’t we said that decline close-grip presses are better than the flat-bench variety at hitting all the triceps heads? Yes, which is why we do ours on a flat bench but with our butts up. Sure, people will think you’re cheating, but you’re not— you’re just simulating a decline position, which is better for full triceps development. We use a grip that’s about half a hand width inside shoulder width. We tried a narrower grip, but it aggravates our wrists. Also, we keep our arms angled in toward out sides as we lower the bar. Barbell curls. We were using preacher curls as our midrangeposition movement for biceps, but we were craving more muscle synergy—preachers were too strict, better for use in a split that has back and biceps on the same day. Plus, we recently ran across a shot

of Arnold doing barbell curls that got us motivated to return to them. For barbell curls we’re using an EZ-curl bar, with a grip just inside shoulder width, and keeping torso rocking to a minimum—till the last rep or two. Next month we’ll look at changes we’ve made to Shock week. Note: Our Rep Range week is outlined on page 72. For our complete P/RR/S program—three weeks of 12 separate workouts—in a form that you can print out and take to the gym so you can experiment along with us, see pages 103 through 114 in Chapter 15 of the e-book 3D Muscle Building. Editor’s note: For the latest on X Reps, including X Q&As, X Files (past e-zines), before and after photos and the X-Blog training journal, visit www. X-Rep.com. To order the Positionsof-Flexion training manual Train, Eat, Grow, call (800) 447-0008, visit www .Home-Gym.com, or see the ad below. IM

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Steve Holman’s

Critical Mass only the best, or ultimate, midrange exercise for each bodypart in The Ultimate Mass Workout e-book (available at X-Rep.com). You could take one of those programs and revise it to include the three Positions of Flexion for biceps and triceps. I recommend one of the split routines, as the fullbody workouts can be somewhat grueling, especially if you add stretch- and contracted-position exercises for two muscle groups. Either way, train arms twice a week with full 3D POF programs, and your gains should continue. Here’s a good example: Neveux \ Model: Jose Raymond

3D Arm Assault Q: I’m very grateful for all the hard work you’ve put into creating and sharing 3D POF. I’ve never been very serious about working out, mainly because I’ve been unable to increase the size of my arms even though it was pretty easy for me to grow every other muscle group. I’ve been following your POF advice for four weeks, and I’ve already started seeing a significant difference in my arm size. I’m following the every-other-day-split routine [outlined in your 3D Muscle-Building e-book], but I have a problem: It’s very nicely balanced, but I don’t have a lot of time to train, and more often than not I have to cut my workout short. I’ve decided to keep one exercise, the midrange position, for every muscle group but continue using all three exercises for arms. Or should I keep the stretch- or contractedposition exercise for the other bodyparts instead?

Biceps Midrange: Standing barbell curls Stretch: Incline dumbbell curls Contracted: Concentration curls

2 x 9-12 1 x 9-12 2 x 9-12

Triceps Midrange: Lying extensions Stretch: Overhead dumbbell extensions Contracted: One-arm pushdowns

2 x 9-12 1 x 9-12 2 x 9-12

I suggest more-isolated moves for the midrange exercises, as opposed to undergrip chins and close-grip bench presses, because you’ll be doing pulldowns or chins and bench presses elsewhere in the program. It would be redundant to do them again for arms, albeit with different hand positions. Also, once your arms adapt to the classic 3D POF approach, start using some of the other 3D arm programs that include X Reps, drop sets and so forth, as outlined in 3D Muscle Building, to spur new mass gains.

A: I consider the big, midrange exercises the most important for building mass, so doing that exercise for each bodypart and then full 3D POF programs for your arms is an excellent strategy. If you’re interested, you’ll find threedays-a-week and four-days-a-week programs that contain

Q: I just finished reading your new e-book 3D Muscle Building, which was really interesting.

A solid 3D POF biceps routine is barbell curls for the midrange position, incline curls for stretch and concentration curls for the contracted position.

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Neveux \ Model: Eric Domer

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Great job! I have a question regarding how often you should work out. In phase 1 of the [20-pounds-ofmuscle-in-10-weeks] program you start with three days per week. Then in phase 2 you switch to every other day. What’s the reason for the change in training frequency? A: Phase 2 is a split routine. The everyother-day frequency ensures that you train each bodypart every five days. Phase 1 has you training everything directly or indirectly three days per week with lower volume— that is, fewer sets. Phase 1 is an anabolic primer, with mostly multijoint exercises. Then in phase 2 you slightly increase the number of sets, with the 3D POF strategy for each muscle, and the

Steve Holman’s

Critical Mass

Q: I’m in my mid-40s, close to the same age as you are, and I’m wondering how and why you keep training so hard. I can’t find the motivation. How do you do it? A: I’ve asked myself that same question on a number of occasions, and I’ve narrowed down the reasons. First is pride. I’ve always put a high value on a fit-and-healthy appearance. I enjoy looking like a strapping dad who can take care of his family, not some sickly out-of-shape pop who gets winded taking out the trash. Also, I have a teenage daughter, Chelsea, and a younger daughter, 11-year-old Lindsey, so it’s necessary for me to have a few muscles in order to put a twinge of fear into any boy who comes calling. I think once you get into decent shape and start getting compliments and admiring stares, you’ll be hooked. Of course, the trick is to get there in the first place. Once you’ve been there, you get addicted—and what a great thing to be addicted to! Something that’s actually good for you. I remember a few years ago, right after our first XRep experiment, I took my family to Yosemite in northern California. I had a sense of pride, knowing that I was Steve, age 46, and family at Yosemite. a middleaged guy, with a great family that was well taken care of. My physique not only radiates that sense of protection for my wife and kids, but it also sets a good example for my two daughters, who are growing up to be very athletic and participating in sports, as opposed to being obese video-game junkies. It’s up to us parents to set that standard by staying in good shape—which may also help scare off any testosterone-fueled teenage boys who start hanging around. Q: I have trouble believing that I need to eat six meals a day to lose fat. It seems to me that if I eat only one or two meals a day, I’ll lose it much faster because I’ll be eating less, right? A: For one thing, it’s not six gigantic meals a day; it’s more like six mini-meals, each one with a supply of protein to keep your muscles fed and your blood sugar stable. To address your question, let’s look at what happens when you eat the standard three meals a day. The following is from our e-book X-treme Lean: •Meal 1: At 7 a.m. you eat a big breakfast and trigger in-

sulin so that excess carbs and fat are stored as bodyfat; the rest increase your blood sugar to fuel activity and prevent fat burning for a few hours. (If you skip breakfast, you begin burning muscle immediately.) •Three hours later—at 10 a.m.—insulin has done its job, and your blood sugar is low. The starvation mechanism kicks in—ignore that growling stomach; you’re too busy to eat—and you start burning muscle for energy as your body conserves fat. •Meal 2: At noon you eat a big lunch, trigger another insulin surge, blunt fat burning and store bodyfat—the same scenario as breakfast. •Three hours later—at 3 p.m.—the starvation mechanism kicks in again, and you burn more muscle and conserve bodyfat. •Meal 3: At 7 p.m. you eat a big dinner, trigger an insulin surge, blunt fat burning and store more bodyfat. •At 9:30 p.m. the starvation mechanism rears its ugly head, and you either burn more muscle or binge on carbohydrates and feed your fat cells. That type of eating schedule, along with excessive refined-carbohydrate intake (Coke—it’s the real thing!), is the reason people are so fat! People don’t eat often enough or the right foods. And when they do, it’s usually excessive. Eating the big three—or big two if you skip breakfast (don’t do it!)—even prevents high-level athletes, like basketball players, from getting that extreme-lean look despite burning a tremendous number of calories. (There’s more on that in X-treme Lean, available at www.X-tremeLean.com.) Even if you don’t stuff yourself at each feeding, however, eating three big meals a day is not conducive to getting ripped. It’s the way you keep your body burning muscle and conserving fat. If you don’t spread out your food intake and keep your blood sugar levels stable, that’s what happens—you burn muscle, build fat. On top of that, you get cravings due to stress hormone release. Oh, and eating one big meal a day is worse, as your body hoards even more bodyfat because it thinks it’s starving all day long. When the starvation mechanism kicks in, your body shovels muscle into the energy furnace continually. As far as your body is concerned, muscle is expendable; it’s denser than fat, so off it goes. You must do things—like lift weights and get plenty of protein regularly—to convince your body that it needs to hold onto the muscle and jettison the fat like the excess baggage that it is. The sharp black POF T-shirt with the original classic logo emblazoned in gold can give you that muscular look you’re after (sorry, large size only). See page 235 for details. Editor’s note: Steve Holman is the author many bodybuilding best-sellers, including Train, Eat, Grow: The Positions-of-Flexion MuscleTraining Manual (see page 78). For information on the POF videos and Size Surge programs, see the ad section beginning on page 294 and 194, respectively. Also visit www.X-Rep.com. IM

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Neveux

split provides more time between bodypart hits so you can recover from the volume uptick. If you can’t or don’t like to train on the weekends, you can still use the every-other-day program outlined in phase 2. Just do it on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, picking up with the next workout in the sequence on the following Monday.

Steve Holman [email protected]

Mr. Natural Olympia John Hansen’s

Naturally Huge

Murrell Hall Master of Muscle

Photo courtesy of Murrell Hall

Murrell Hall is what bodybuilding is all about. He’s never smoked or drunk alcohol and hasn’t had a slice of pizza in more than 20 years. His abs are granite hard and deep enough to lose your spare change in. He has competed consistently for more than 25 years, in more than 100 bodybuilding competitions. He’s never used and would never consider using steroids, even as hormone-replacement therapy. He trains hard simply because he loves the challenge of pushing his body to the limit. Best of all, he does all that at the spry young age of 65. Hall lives in Decatur, Illinois, and is a staple at competitions such as the NPC Natural Mid-States Open and the NPC Natural Grand Prix, held each year in Rockford, Illinois, by veteran bodybuilding promoter Kevin Noble. Like living legend Jack LaLanne, Murrell is a testament to the incredible benefits of bodybuilding. Although the media and much of the general public love to make fun of those weird musclemen, Murrell is a man in his mid-60s who is in excellent health and has a physique that has defied Father Time. Best of all, he’s never had any health problems and is not and has never been on any medications. Compare that to the average 65-year-old, who often has to take a handful of pills several times a day and is commonly beset with numerous health problems. Hall began weight training at 22 years of age, when he was in college. He attended college after serving in the 82nd

Airborne unit of the United States Army from 1961 through 1964. Murrell began by working out three days a week, focusing on the Olympic and powerlifting movements. He received much of his initial instruction from Guy Carlton, a promising teenage Olympic lifter who eventually went on to win a bronze medal at the ’84 Olympic Games. Hall was approximately 170 pounds when he began training, but he quickly added size and strength to his physique. His best bench press at 175 pounds bodyweight was 330. Someone at the gym bet Murrell, who was 29, that he didn’t have the guts to put on a pair of posing trunks and compete in a bodybuilding contest. Murrell took the bet and entered the ’79 AAU Mr. Metropolitan. He surprised himself by ending up in fourth place and winning the Best Abs trophy, an accolade that he would become familiar with in the future. Murrell soon became addicted to the excitement of competing. It wasn’t long before he collected more trophies and titles, including the Masters Mr. Prairie State and the Masters Mr. Illinois Over 35 in ’82, the Mr. Ozark in ’86 and the Masters Natural Mr. Great Lakes in ’88. He placed third in the Mr. America Over 40 in ’82 and has continued to enter national-level competitions throughout the years, taking second in the NPC Masters Nationals in the over-60 division in ’03 and ’04. Much more impressive than his contest résumé is how he developed his outstanding physique. Murrell pushes himself in the gym as hard as men half his age. I was amazed at the poundage and intensity that he regularly employs in his weekly workouts, although he admits to some injuries that keep him from training as heavy as he could when he was in his 20s and 30s. He works out at the Gold’s Gym in Decatur, where he also teaches a body-sculpting class two days a week and trains a handful of clients. Murrell trains four days a week. On Monday he hits his chest, biceps and abs. On Tuesday it’s back, hamstrings and calves. Wednesday is a rest day, but it’s back to the gym on Thursday for triceps and calves and a little more hamstrings. On Friday he trains his quadriceps and abs. Murrell said he can no longer train his shoulders directly (“Everyone has shoulder problems eventually”). His abs are definitely his most outstanding bodypart. Although they’re deeply carved and rock hard, he continues to train them extremely hard twice a week, typically for a full hour, and he challenges anyone of any age to keep up with him during this brutal workout. He begins his ab routine with full situps (“Crunches are a waste of time,” he says) done while sitting on a floor with his knees bent and his hands on his waist. To make the exercise even harder, he wears a special vest that weighs 41 pounds. He does three sets of 25 reps with 41 extra pounds strapped to his torso—and that’s his “light day.” Friday is his heavy abdominal workout—he sticks a couple of fivepound plates into the sides of the vest and does 25 reps with 51 additional pounds. After three sets of situps, Murrell puts his feet on a nineinch ledge—he uses one of the aerobic steppers—and (continued on page 102) does two more sets of 15 reps. They’re much harder than regular

Big bodybuilding benefit: Hall is in his mid-60s and has never had any health problems—he’s never been on any medications at any time in his life.

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Naturally Huge

Photo courtesy of Murrell Hall

Diet is obviously a big part of Hall’s sucsitups, he says. cess and health. He believes in eating the Next up is the classic old-school same thing every day. He likes the foods he exercise, Roman-chair situps. The eats and doesn’t endure any hardship follegendary Zabo Koszewski carved lowing this diet. In fact, when he prepares out his famous abdominal develfor a competition, he follows the same diet, opment by doing thousands of except for eliminating the skim milk he reps of them. Hall does his slightly uses to make his protein drinks. differently. Instead of using the He begins his day with a protein drink standard foot brace, he sits on a made of whey protein, creatine and glutabench and uses only a five-pound mine, along with some oatmeal and bluedumbbell on each foot to anchor berries. He then heads off to train a client himself for two sets of 15 reps. He at Gold’s. When he returns home, he has a says the hardest part is lowering meal of one egg and four egg whites along his upper body extremely slowly with a hamburger patty that is 96 percent and in control to keep from falling lean. backward off the bench. Murrell trains after he digests that meal, He trains his lower abs next. and then after his workout he has a mealHis first exercise is a leg raise and replacement drink made with skim milk pike movement done while lying plus more creatine and glutamine along on a Swiss ball. He holds onto the with some flaxseed oil and strawberries. support bars of the dip machine Three hours later he has meal 4, which and holds a 10-pound dumbbell consists of either chicken breast or a hambetween his feet as he raises his burger patty, beans, cottage cheese and legs over his head, supporting his fruit. upper back on the ball. Murrell Dinner is a salad and chicken, fish, does two sets of 25 reps and suturkey or hamburger, a sweet potato and persets the exercise with vertical yogurt and fruit. Later in the evening he knee raises for another two sets of has coffee and graham crackers with his 25 reps. wife and then another protein drink with As for his leg workouts, I fully skim milk before retiring. expected Hall to admit that he I asked Murrell if he ever strays from his no longer does squats. After all, Your average 65-year-old physique? diet for a cheat day. He admitted that every squats are probably the most difMost 30-year-olds don’t look this Saturday morning he cheats on his diet. ficult exercise on the planet, and good! Hall hasn’t had a piece of pizza What does he eat for his cheat meal? “I’ll they take their toll on the knees in 20 years. go to Bob Evans restaurant and order one and lower back. I know people in multigrain blueberry pancake along with their late 30s who no longer squat some applesauce that I sneak into the restaurant. It’s really because of that. good!” Murrell obviously doesn’t by in to that philosophy. He When he told me that he hasn’t had pizza in more than does three sets of squats with 225 pounds for 20 reps! But 20 years, I asked him what he traditionally eats as his postwait, he’s not finished. After squats he does four sets of leg contest meal. “I have a hamburger and french fries,” Murpresses, working up to eight plates on each side for 15 reps. rell replied. “That’s the only time I eat french fries.” That’s 720 pounds, not including the weight of the sled, in As for supplements, he regularly takes vitamin E, flaxcase you’re counting. seed oil, garlic, fish oil, aspirin, glucosamine, glutamine For his back Murrell is a big fan of chinups. Although and creatine along with whey protein and meal-replacehe can no longer do wide-grip chins because of shoulder ment powders. problems, he begins with a variety of other chins for five Hall maintains his bodyweight at 175 pounds in the off sets. He does close-grip chins, V-bar chins, chinups with season and loses just five pounds when he competes. The a supinated grip and commando chins—the last named only adjustment he makes to his diet is to eliminate skim performed by pulling your body up and over to one hand, milk and cut back on fruit. lowering and then pulling up and over to the other hand. For those of you who think cardio is essential for losing That’s one repetition. bodyfat, note that Murrell does no cardio at all in the offHall normally performs five sets of 10 to 12 reps, using season; he does it only the last three to four weeks before different hand positions. He told me that he once did 185 a competition to speed up the fat-burning process. For his reps of chins in 44 minutes—part of the Navy Seals workout most recent contest, he did 20 minutes on the stair stepper that he often uses to challenge himself.

Hall maintains his bodyweight at 175 pounds in the off-season and loses only five pounds when he competes. 86 MARCH 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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Mr. Natural Olympia John Hansen’s

three times a week and did notice changes—his glutes were harder. Hall, who taught physical education for 32 years at Warrensburg Lathan Junior High School in Warrensburg, Illinois, limits the number of personal-training clients he takes on because he wants to enjoy retirement. He and his wife, Nola, have been married for 35 years. Hall has no plans to stop competing. He believes he can still improve his physique, and it is the challenge that pushes him to train so hard. His goal is to be the best he can be no matter what his age—although I think it’s safe to say that Murrell doesn’t even consider his age when it comes to his physical accomplishments. His achievements in the sport of bodybuilding are tangible proof of the possibilities of the human body. To contact Murrell Hall, write to MrAbs@ fgi.net.

Tuesday: Back, hams, calves Chins (variety of hand positions) One-arm dumbbell rows Low-pulley rows High-pulley rows Straight-arm pulldowns

Thursday: Triceps, calves, hamstrings Superset Close-grip bench presses Pushdowns Reverse-grip pushdowns Bench dips (feet on floor) Leg curls Stiff-legged deadlifts Lunges (with weighted vest) Tri-set Standing calf raises Seated calf raises Leg press calf raises Friday: Quadriceps, abs Ride bike (warmup) Leg extensions Squats Leg presses Nautilus one-leg leg presses Abs: same workout as Monday

3-4 x 15 3-4 x 15 3 x 15 2 x 30 3 x 12-15 3 x 15 3 x 20

3 x 15 3 x 15 3 x 15 3 x 15 3-4 x 15 3 x 15 2 x 30 3 x 12-15 3 x 15 3 x 20 10 minutes 5 x 15 5 x 20 4 x 15 3 x 15

Hall’s Daily Diet Breakfast: whey protein drink with creatine and glutamine, 1 cup oatmeal with blueberries Preworkout: 1 egg, 4 egg whites, hamburger (96 percent lean) Postworkout: meal-replacement shake with skim milk, creatine, glutamine, flaxseed oil and strawberries Lunch: chicken or hamburger, beans, cottage cheese and fruit

Murrell Hall’s Training Routine Monday: Chest, biceps, abs Superset Dumbbell flyes Dumbbell bench presses Incline flyes Superset Dips Pushups Barbell curls Preacher curls Seated cable curls Weighted situps (41-pound vest) Weighted situps (incline) Roman-chair situps Leg raises on Swiss ball (10-pound dumbbell) Vertical knee raises

Hyperextensions (holding 25 pounds) Leg curls Stiff-legged deadlifts Lunges (with weighted vest) Tri-set Standing calf raises Seated calf raises Leg press calf raises

Dinner: chicken, fish, turkey or hamburger; salad, sweet potato, yogurt, fruit Snack: coffee and graham crackers 3 x 15 3 x 15 5 x 15 5 x 15 5 x 15 3-4 x 10 3 x 12 3 x 15 3 x 25 2 x 15 2 x 15 2 x 25 2 x 25 5 x 10-12 3-4 x 15 3-4 x 15 3-4 x 15 3-4 x 15

Before bed: meal-replacement drink with skim milk Editor’s note: John Hansen has won the Natural Mr. Olympia and is a two-time Natural Mr. Universe winner. Visit his Web site at www.naturalolympia .com. You can write to him at P.O. Box 3003, Darien, IL 60561, or call toll-free (800) 900-UNIV (8648). His new book, Natural Bodybuilding, and new training DVD, “Real Muscle,” are now available from Home Gym Warehouse, (800) 447-0008 or www .Home-Gymcom. IM

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Photo courtesy of Murrell Hall

Naturally Huge

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John Hansen [email protected]

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Muscle Zone by by Jerry Jerry Brainum Brainum •• Photography Photography by by Michael Michael Neveux Neveux

The GH/Exercise Connection for More Muscle, Fat Loss and Anti-Aging Effects

Bodybuilders and other athletes speak of growth hormone with hushed reverence. Many think that GH is what’s primarily responsible for the massive physiques that dominate professional bodybuilding today and that seem to dwarf those of a generation ago. While it’s true that GH is one of three primary anabolic hormones in the body (the others being testosterone and insulin), it’s also true that GH is shrouded by myth. Take the notion that using a pharmaceutical form of GH enables you to eat as many as 10,000 calories a day yet lose appreciable levels of bodyfat simultaneously. Another idea is that GH promotes hyperplasia, or a splitting of muscle fibers into new fibers—a property that other anaboliic hormones don’t have. Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Growth Hormone Muscle Zone

The reality about GH is not quite so dramatic. The only drug-tested Mr. Olympia occurred in Chicago back in 1990. Several of the competitors told me, off the record, that they planned to circumvent that year’s drug prohibition by using large amounts of GH. Then, as now, there was no official test to show that an athlete was injecting GH. The competitors figured that GH provided little or no actual anabolic or muscle-building effects by itself but did pack a punch when used with anabolic steroids. When the steroids were eliminated a few weeks before the contest, GH froze the muscle size produced by the earlier drug cycles and kept delivering fat-loss benefits. That makes a lot of sense because GH is a survival hormone. Among its many functions is that it preserves lean mass, mainly muscle, by promoting the use of bodyfat as fuel. GH also comes into play as a counter-regulatory hormone to insulin.

Model: Joe DeAngelis

GH release produced by exercise does offer several significant effects for bodybuilding purposes.

When insulin lowers blood glucose, GH and other hormones prevent the levels from dropping too low. The antagonist effect of GH against insulin is so potent that many researchers believe that large doses of it promote insulin insensitivity, thus increasing the chance for diabetes. More recent studies, however, show that normal levels of GH, such as that induced by exercise, help prevent both metabolic syndrome and diabetes by cutting visceral, or deep-lying, abdominal fat. The anabolic reputation of GH has also fostered a large response from the food supplement industry. Most GH supplements on the market are based on various combinations of amino acids. Whether aminos actually promote a GH response depends on how and when they’re used. Intravenous administration of the amino acid arginine in 30-gram doses promotes significant GH release unless you’re deficient in the hormone or

have defective hormone release mechanisms. When it’s taken orally, however, the scenario changes. Arginine goes to the liver, where it encounters the enzyme arginase, which degrades it. You could get around the formidable enzymatic barrier by increasing the oral dose, but then you’d probably have to deal with nausea. Besides, when you take arginine prior to weight training, it has the paradoxical effect of blunting GH release. (continued on page 100) Several

An increase in GH, coupled with the rise of other anabolic hormones, improves muscle protein synthesis. That translates to increased muscle size and strength.

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Growth Hormone Muscle Zone Of the three major anabolic hormones, GH provides the most potent fat mobilization.

(continued from page 96) studies have

shown that a drug form of GH combined with exercise offers no advantages over exercise alone. On the other hand, the GH release produced by exercise does offer several significant effects for bodybuilding purposes. An increase in GH, coupled with the rise in other anabolic hormones, improves muscle protein synthesis. That translates into increased muscle size and strength. The actual anabolic effector is insulinlike growth factor 1, which is produced in the liver under the stimulation of GH release. The IGF-1 produced in the liver is used throughout the body. IGF-1 is also produced locally in trained muscle, often as a result of damage from intense exercise. That IGF-1

is used for muscle repair and promotes the activity of muscle stem cells, or satellite cells. Locally produced IGF-1 is further spliced into two variants in muscle, with one being the mechano growth factor, or MGF, probably the most anabolic substance of all because it directly controls the activity of muscle satellite cells. MGF is so potent that it can resuscitate dying satellite cells in older animals and people. If providing GH alone doesn’t do much for muscle growth, and considering that IGF-1 and MGF are the primary anabolic growth factors in muscle, why be concerned about promoting GH release through exercise? One reason is the size-andstrength synergy of GH, testos-

100 MARCH 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

terone and insulin. Each hormone appears to potentiate the anabolic effects of the others. They’re synergistic in another sense too. A high level of GH offsets the possible side effects of other anabolic hormones. For example, by itself insulin is the greatest promoter of increased bodyfat synthesis. It also lowers blood glucose, leading to a loss of training energy and increased fatigue. GH and, to a lesser extent, testosterone counteract insulin’s bad side. Of the three major anabolic hormones, GH provides the most potent fat mobilization, especially for people on low-carbohydrate diets who exercise. GH is secreted most substantially when blood glucose and fat levels are lower and amino levels are higher—conditions typical of people on low-carb diets. One reason it’s so hard for people who have a lot of bodyfat to lose weight is that they usually have higher resting insulin levels. That opposes GH release. When they begin to exercise, their normal GH release response is also blunted, making fat loss an arduous process. The good news is research showing that losing bodyfat through regular diet and exercise normalizes the GH response to exercise. Another reason you want to promote a GH response during exercise is that GH is uniquely useful for preserving and repairing connective tissue, such as ligaments and tendons. Anyone who’s lifted for any length of time knows well the training setbacks caused by connective-tissue injuries. Connective tissue, unlike muscle, has a poor blood supply, so healing injuries can take weeks or even months. GH strengthens and repairs connective tissue, accelerates its healing and prevents the damage from occurring in the first place. That helps explain why so many

GH is secreted most substantially when blood glucose and fat levels are lower and amino levels are higher—conditions typical of people on low-carb diets.

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In-the-Gym GH Surge Research shows that growth hormone diminishes every year after your mid-20s, and by age 60 it’s down by 75 percent. That concerns me because I’m 47 years old and still trying to build muscle. GH is synergistic with anabolic hormones like testosterone, so it has a potent muscle-building effect—not to mention that it helps you burn bodyfat when you’re trying to get lean. So what’s an aging bodybuilder to do? Accept slow-to-no muscle growth when middle age knocks down the door? No! In fact, I made some of the best gains of my life after age 40 because I began using a few training techniques that improve GH output. The key is to go for the burn. A lot of studies show that muscle burn is related to growth hormone release [Canadian Journal of Applied Physiology (1997). 22:244-255]. Does that mean you can just do high reps to make it happen? Not necessarily. GH is also tied to high-intensity exercise and fast-twitchfiber stimulation. Sure, 15 reps may make more GH release happen; then again, the fatigue buildup may short-circuit your intensity before significant fast-twitch-fiber recruitment occurs. There are a few better ways to get intensity combined with a searing effect: 1) Drop sets. You do a set, reaching exhaustion at around nine reps, reduce the poundage by about 20 percent and immediately do another set, getting around six reps. Muscle burn? You bet! Notice that you get two sets in the anaerobic rep range, but doing them back to back jacks up the burn. For very brave souls, try a double drop, tacking on a third set after another 20 percent weight reduction. You should get about four reps and be screaming, “Fire in the hole!” 2) Supersets. Here you do two exercises for the same bodypart back to back—for example, close-grip bench presses and pushdowns for triceps. Pick a weight for each exercise on which you can get about eight reps. Tri-sets will work even better—more burn—but you may have trouble securing three pieces of equipment in a busy commercial gym. Drop sets or double drops are usually better in a crowded training environment. 3) X Reps. This is my favorite, and I give it the most credit for helping me achieve my best condition ever in my 40s. Here you do a set, reaching exhaustion around rep nine, then lower the resistance to the semistretched point on the exercise, such as near the bottom of an incline press, and do short eight-inch partials till the burn is too much. That gives you intense max-force-point overload and extended-tension burn. To really create a firestorm, you can add a static X right at the semistretched point when you can no longer move the resistance. Now you’ve exhausted full-range strength, partial-range strength and static strength, all in one brutal, searing set. Talk about a GH stimulator! Give one or all of those in-the-gym GH boosters a try. Even if you’re not over 40, more GH can only increase your muscle-building and fat-blasting efforts. And isn’t that what the bodybuilding thing is all about? —Steve Holman www.X-Rep.com Editor’s note: For more on all of the techniques, visit www .X-Rep.com.

Steve Holman, Age 47.

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Growth Hormone Muscle Zone

Model: Bob Donnelly

GH is uniquely useful for preserving and repairing connective tissue, such as tendons and ligaments.

High insulin levels oppose GH release.

world-class athletes use GH, even if they aren’t interested in building massive muscles. GH helps them recuperate from intense training and protects connective tissue from injury. GH’s role in protecting connective tissue also applies to people as they age. Most forms of joint pain involve connective tissue and often appear when GH levels drop with aging. Paradoxically, injecting large doses of GH causes joint pain in many people through an overgrowth of tissue. One interesting aspect of exercise and GH is that normally when large amounts of GH enter the blood, the brain’s feedback system blunts release of the hormone that releases GH. Yet with continued exercise, the body overcomes the feedback. As to what precisely sets off GH release during exercise, scientists still aren’t sure. There are, however, several candidates. One theory is that exercise-induced muscle tension provides a neural effect, leading to a GH release. Another popular hypothesis is that nitric oxide stimulates GH release during exercise. Studies show that NO does potently promote GH release, but they involved isolated cells, and whether the effect occurs in a living human body is still speculative. The most popular explanation is that the hydrogen ions, or acid produced in muscle, relay a chemical message to the brain that results in a heightened GH response. When subjects take antacids, such as sodium bicarbonate, during exercise, the GH release is blunted. That raises the question of whether using supplements that reduce muscle acidity, such as betaalanine, would reduce GH release. The answer is no; supplements work

Many world-class athletes use GH because it helps them recuperate from intense training and protects connective tissue from injury. Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Model: Steve Namat

Even not drinking enough water during training blunts GH release.

in the muscle, and the acid feedback mechanism that stimulates GH release occurs in the blood. So what type of exercise promotes the greatest GH release? The short answer is the kind that’s brief, hard and intense. Lifting weights would get more results than most aerobic workouts. To get a GH response from aerobics requires passing what exercise scientists refer to as the lactate threshold—when lactic acid appears in the muscle. That event signals a change from aerobic to anaerobic exercise metabolism. While doing high-intensity aerobics, such as interval training, promotes higher GH release, it also lowers the fat oxidation that occurs during lower-intensity aerobics. Interestingly, doing high-intensity aerobics

Some studies show that having a protein-andcarb drink before and after training leads to a greater GH release. GH response is also greater when you do multiple sets than when you do single sets.

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... and it’s going to set off an eruption of fat-burning fury.

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Model: Dan Decker

increases resting pulse amplitude of GH release, meaning that you burn more fat at rest. That may help explain why interval training leads to greater fat loss than conventional steady-state aerobics. Early studies suggested that you can achieve the greatest GH response from exercise that you do several times a day. More recent studies, however, demonstrate that you get the greatest effect from the initial workout, with workouts

Studies show that the more intense the exercise, the more GH the body releases.

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Growth Hormone Muscle Zone

done later on the same day leading to blunted GH release. That’s because the workout stimulates higher blood lipids, which persist for several hours afterward. Higher blood fat blunts further GH release during exercise.1 The more muscle you use during an exercise, the greater the release of GH. So training larger muscle groups, such

Lactic acid in the blood is believed to trigger GH release.

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Model: Dave Goodin

(continued on page 112)

Model: Jay Cutler

Growth Hormone Muscle Zone

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Exercising in the cold inhibits the release of GH. So, for example, rowers have higher levels of GH than swimmers, whose core temperature goes down because they’re in the water. (continued from page 106)

as the legs and back, produces a far greater GH release than training smaller muscle areas, such as arms or shoulders. Aerobic equipment that involves both upper- and lower-body muscles simultaneously stimulates higher GH levels than lower-body-only exercises or machines. One reason exercise promotes GH release is that it usually raises core body temperature. GH regulates body temperature and helps prevent overheating during exercise. Conversely, exercising in the cold inhibits the release of GH.2 So, for example, rowers have higher levels of GH than swimmers, whose core temperature goes down because they’re in the water. Eating a high-fat meal prior to training blunts GH release. So will eating carbs, but to a lesser extent.3 Some studies show that having a protein-and-carb drink before and after training leads to a greater GH release, though other studies haven’t

Model: Adrian Janicke

To get a GH response from aerobics requires passing the lactate threshold.

substantiated that. Using asthma drugs in the category of beta-2 agonists also blunts GH release during exercise—that includes the drug clenbuterol. Researchers think that’s because the drugs increase the release of somatostatin, a protein that blocks GH. Even not drinking enough water during training blunts GH release.4 GH response is greater when you do multiple sets than when you do single sets. One study showed a greater GH response among exercisers doing four sets than those doing two, but doing six had no further effect. Another study showed that doing forced reps increased GH release. Doing a high-rep set at the end of a series of heavier sets also produces a much greater GH release, as does resting one minute or less between sets. Lowering the weight produces greater GH release than raising the weight.5 Since most scientists agree that GH and IGF-1 drop precipitously with age and that the lack of those hormones produces many symptoms associated with aging, continuing to engage in exercise known to elicit the greatest GH response

can produce a reliable antiaging affect. It’s likely that the true advantages of weight training will manifest themselves in the realm of longevity and quality of life. Note: For the best training techniques that can help you increase your growth hormone output for better anabolic actions and bodyfat reduction, see “In-the-Gym GH Surge” on page 101.

References 1 Stokes, K., et al. Human growth hormone responses to repeated bouts of sprint exercise with different recovery periods between bouts.J App Physiol. In press. 2 Wheldon, A., et al. (2006). Exercising in the cold inhibits growth hormone secretion by reducing the rise in core temperature. Growth Hor IGF-1 Res.16:125-31. 3 Cappon, C.P., et al. (1993). Acute effects of high-fat and highglucose meals on the growth hormone response to exercise. J Clin Endocrin Metabol. 76:1418-22. 4 Peyreigne, C., et al. (2001). Effect of hydration on exercise-induced growth hormone response. Eur J Endrocrin. 145:445-50. 5 Kraemer, W.J., et al. (2005). Hormonal responses and adaptations to resistance exercise and training.Sports Med. 35:339-61. IM

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by Ron Harris Photography by Michael Neveux

M

“

an,” Randy said, shaking his head as he walked into the gym. And I knew exactly what he was referring to. I’d written something in a magazine that someone was very upset about, and through the magic of Internet message boards it had escalated into a major international incident. For those of you who are unfamiliar with these message boards on bodybuilding Web sites, let me try to draw a comparison. In the old days housewives used to gather in their backyards as they hung and folded their laundry, gossiping over the fence about who said what about whom, which spouses were cheating, who was stealing from the church offering baskets and so on. When the telephone came on the scene, it facilitated rapid dissemination of rumors, lies and unfounded accusations. Then came the mother of all high-speed communication tools: the Internet. Nowadays bodybuilders can share their training and nutrition tips with their brothers and sisters in iron at lightning speed. Of course, they can also insult each other, make wild claims and accusations and intentionally start trouble in any number of ways. Housewives of yore clucking beneath their laundry lines had nothing on today’s bodybuilders when it comes to delighting in gossip and scandal. It doesn’t quite mesh with the image of big, strong, macho dudes very well,

does it? Muscleheads can dish with the best of them. The anonymity of screen names and the ability to effortlessly impersonate others in a malicious manner only make it easier. I hadn’t trained with Randy in more than a week, and that was when most of my dubious Internet publicity had erupted and festered. Randy had followed the whole mess and had even chimed in to defend me several times under his screen name, “Buttercup.” Yes, most guys have tough-sounding names like “2Huge4U” or “BenchPress700,” but Randy had appropriated the name of one of the Powerpuff Girls. I actually had to ask him to cease and desist with his well-meaning defense, as he was also insulting the other guy mercilessly in the process. It only infuriated the other guy’s fans, who unleashed a new wave of hostility and ill will. The whole thing was getting uglier by the minute. I finally stopped responding at all. The negative energy was making it hard for me to sleep and focus on my work. It took my wife, Janet, to make me step back and realize what a colossal waste of time the whole fiasco was—kind of like campaigning for Ralph Nader for president. I was finally shrugging it all off, but Randy was still seething. “Did you read what that idiot posted this morning?” he demanded. “Randy, I don’t even want to know. I promised my wife and myself I wasn’t going to reply anymore, no matter what (continued on page 128)

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Model: Ken Yasuda

The Need for Thick Skin

Episode 20

A Bodybuilder

A Bodybuilder Is Born

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A Bodybuilder Is Born

A positive attitude can help create more positives in the gym— like bigger muscles.

(continued from page 123) was said

about me. All that does is keep the thing going and going.” “I don’t get it, Ron. Some of these fools are making you out to be worse than Hitler, Saddam Hussein and the Antichrist just because you’re in this feud with their idol.” “I know,” I said. “It was really getting under my skin, but all of a sudden I came to my senses and saw how ridiculous it was. I knew

I didn’t deserve the abuse from some of these nameless message board trolls, but you have to understand that some people thrive on negativity and live to make others miserable. Even really nice guys like Ronnie Coleman and Jay Cutler, who never say anything bad about anybody, are the victims of these negaholic bums.” “Yeah, I’ve heard about them getting arrested a couple times,” Randy

mused. “Every couple of weeks you hear about someone getting arrested, dying, going through a divorce or being responsible for the death of Princess Diana. Nine times out of 10 it turns out to be a total fabrication. But in the meantime, the accused has to go through a good deal of grief and waste his time trying to convince everyone the story isn’t true. I hate to tell you, but if you achieve any amount of fame or recognition in this sport in the next couple of years, odds are you’ll eventually be the subject of trash talk.” “That’s crazy!” Randy laughed. “What could anyone possibly say about me?” “Oh, where do I start?” I grinned back at my naïve young friend. “If you have a great bodypart, you’ll hear how it’s all synthol or an implant or something. Or if you have a lagging bodypart, they’ll gloat about how horrible it is and how you’ll never bring it up. People with nothing better to do will question your sexuality, accuse you of being a drug addict, even say you’re a huge fan of Justin Timberlake.” “That’s so wrong,” he moaned. “I hate Justin Timberlake.” “Years ago when I was first getting into this business, working for a bodybuilding show on ESPN, my boss told me I needed to develop thick skin and let all that crap bounce right off me. I wasn’t even really listening at the time, but I sure understand what he meant by that now. There will always be people who are jealous of you or dislike you for their own evil reasons. The Internet gives those people an easy forum to spread their vile garbage for all to see.”

The Internet is the mother of all gossip spreaders. Rumors about drug abuse, death and murder spread at lightningfast rates through cyberspace. 128 MARCH 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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Training has an antidepressant effect.

“So what do you do, just ignore them?” I had to let that question sink in a moment, because ignore the negativity is exactly what I should have done from the get-go, but hadn’t. “Ignore them, to start with,” I said. “Of course, once you’ve read the rotten things they’ve said about you, it’s nearly impossible not to let it stress you out to some extent. But luckily for us as bodybuilders, we have access to a better stressreliever than anything you’d ever see in a pharmaceutical company’s commercial.” Randy tilted his head to the side for a second like a dog. “You mean training?” Boy, if I’d had a gold star to stick on his forehead or even a Scooby Snack to reward him with, I would’ve given it to him right then. “Exactly. Take all that stress and grief, and turn it right around. I’ve had some seriously ferocious workouts over the past week, and it’s all thanks to the mean-spirited things that were posted about me for the whole bodybuilding world to see. (continued on page 132)

A great pump is a tremendous stress reliever, hormone releaser and selfconfidence builder.

Model: Steve Namat

Model: Derik Farnsworth

A Bodybuilder Is Born

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A Bodybuilder Is Born

Model: Jose Raymond

Channel your stress into your workouts and watch it slip away.

Be the best bodybuilder you can be. Success is the best revenge of all.

Model: Ken Yasuda

(continued from page 129)

Every time I get one more rep or use 10 more pounds on an exercise than I did the time before, I’m thinking, This one’s for you, you sorry SOBs. I should start a thread thanking them for helping me get bigger and stronger.” “So that’s what I have to look forward to, huh?” Randy asked glumly. “And here I thought I would get fans and people saying only nice things about me.” “Honestly, there’s plenty of that if you’re a good guy and treat everyone respectfully. Occasionally, though, there will still be jerks who want to bring you down, and you’ll have to deal with it.” “I think I’ll deal with it by becoming an even better bodybuilder,” he said as he launched into a set of seated dumbbell shoulder presses. I thought about that for a minute. “You know what, Randy? Every once in a while I learn something from you too. When anyone tries to bring me down, I’ll just become a better bodybuilder too. If you let them get to you, they win, but if you keep on doing your thing the best you can, you win. Success is the best revenge of all.” IM

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How and Why Older Iron Enthusiasts Get Better With Age by the Editors Photography by Michael Neveux

Look around. When most people reach middle age, they appear to have given up—or at least settled in for a severe beating from Father Time. It doesn’t have to be that way— physical collapse after age 40 is not, repeat not, inevitable. To prove it, we’ve gathered the owners of a few over-40 physiques, pictured on the next few pages, and asked them to reveal their beliefs, secrets and regimens for maintaining that youthful appearance and exuberance (that’s “staying stoked” for you young whippersnappers). Of course, one of the biggest secrets is plenty of iron—as in pumping it, not taking it. It’s the metal that enables you to get older without getting old. Right, gang? 138 MARCH 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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“I learned that I do much better sticking to the basics. “

Dave Goodin Age: 48 Height: 5’7” Weight: Contest, 170-173; off-season, 180-185 Antiaging strategy: Eat clean; never stop training; Muscle-Link GH Stak, Pharmanex Life Pak Nano (vitamins/minerals/antioxidants) Training adaptation: When I was younger, I’d try every routine that came out in the magazines. I learned that I do much better sticking to the basics. There are really no secrets. You just have to train hard and consistently...and keep doing it for a long time. Motivation: Competition is a huge motivational factor for me. I keep photos of guys I compete against up in my office. I know that I’ll be stepping onstage with the best drug-free bodybuilders in the world. I know my fans will be expecting me to be in contention in every show. Another thing is all the wonderful letters I get from people who are inspired by what I’ve accomplished. Knowing that they’re looking up to me keeps me going too. Diet strategy: High protein, moderate carb, lowfat—six to eight meals a day Favorite antiaging supplement or nutrient: GH Stak, LifePak Nano Life philosophy: Treat other people as you would want to be treated. Dedicate yourself to accomplishing your goals, but don’t forget to enjoy (continued on page 142) life. www.ironmanmagazine.com \ MARCH 2006 139

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Dave Fisher Age: 43 Height: 5’7” Weight: Contest, 220 I took the last six years off from competing, which was quite an experience. I turned pro back in ’93 at the North American Championships and then competed in about a dozen pro shows during the mid-’90s. I just made a comeback this past summer when I entered the Europa show in Texas. I didn’t place as well as I would have liked, but I did get into awesome shape. (The photos here were taken just days after that show; not bad for 43, eh?) I don’t do cardio regularly. I know it’s good for you; I just hate it with a passion. Of course, I did a ton of it while getting ready for my show, but that was because I had to. In general, I maintain pretty low bodyfat without cardio. When it comes to food, I can’t say that as I’ve gotten older, I’ve had to pay more attention to diet to stay in shape—just the opposite. With all the years I’ve put into training and all the muscle I’ve built, I can get away with eating all the crap I want. In contrast to my diet, training has become a lot different since I passed the 40 mark. Can you say “warmup sets”? And lots of them! Oh, and the days of 400-pound bench presses are long gone. Now I keep the reps up and still try and use enough weight to stimulate the muscle. I go to the gym four to five days a week, and I hit each bodypart once per week. What keeps me training, you ask? Vanity, pure vanity! I like looking good, plain and simple. Actually, I wouldn’t be described as looking good by most people. I’d be put in the “too big” category—and that’s just where I like to be. I don’t want to be one of those tight swimmer-looking dudes. My life philosophy: Nothing lasts forever, so you better enjoy it now! Editor’s note: To contact Dave Fisher, send e-mail to [email protected].

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Skip La Cour Age: 44 Height: 5’11” Weight: 230 pounds Antiaging strategy: Spend as much of your time as possible doing what you love to do, doing what you have natural ability or talent for doing and sharing what you love to do with others. Spend as much of your time as possible with people you truly want to spend your time with. Life is way too short to live any other way. Training adaptation: I train as effectively and efficiently as possible. Over the years I’ve learned that if I raise my intensity and execution, I can be more productive with less volume. Motivation: I love the selfdiscipline and continual challenge training and eating properly give me. I constantly set goals. I do a lot of visualization. Because I teach others, I’m forced to walk my talk. Diet strategy: During the week, I intentionally keep my meals plain and simple. My main purpose for eating is to stay healthy, grow muscle and keep my bodyfat levels manageable. If I decide to relax at all with my habits, it’s on weekends. I eat at least six meals a day. For the most part, I avoid starchy carbohydrates and eat as many green vegetables as I want. I always have a preworkout and postworkout drink of VP2 Creatine HSC (quickly dissolving protein and high-glycemic-index carbohydrates). Favorite antiaging supplement or nutrient: GL-3 L-Glutamine; ProFlex 750 (glucosamine sulfate and chondroitin sulfate); flaxseed oil, CLA 1000 and other good fats. I drink about one gallon of water every day. I take antioxidants—vitamin C, vitamin E and beta-carotene—after every workout. Life philosophy: Life is all about stretching yourself past preconceived limits. It’s about growing beyond your current level of achievements—even the ones you never thought you’d reach. So if you’re currently feeling the pain of being pushed to the point of extreme discomfort—enjoy the journey, gosh darn it! You’re living life to the fullest. Web sites: www.SkipLaCour.com; www .SkipLaCourSeminars.com

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“I constantly set goals. I do a lot of visualization. Because I teach others, I’m forced to walk my talk.”

(continued on page 150)

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Rachel McLish Age: Waaay over 40! Height: 5’6 1/2” Weight: 126 Antiaging strategy: Deliberate hydration with specifically enhanced water, following a beneficial diet (detailed in my forthcoming book TLC—Tighter and Leaner to the Core), participating in a broad spectrum of weight-training exercises, including related supplemental movements and stretching, and last but not least practicing destressing deep-breathing techniques. Training adaptation: The weights are relatively lighter, the duration of the workouts is shorter, and even though the specific isolation exercises designed to fine-tune and build the intricate muscles in the body are no longer necessary for my goals, I still incorporate them from time to time simply because I enjoy doing them. What will never change is the intensity, the focus and the deliberate purposefulness of the actual workouts. But I find it fun to go back to square one once in a while, be a beginner, gradually increasing the difficulty level until I get to the point where I remind myself that I’ve already won the Ms. Olympia title and can slack off if I want—which I do! Motivation: The motivation changes from season to season (hello, bikini season!) or even from day to day, but I always find a spark of motivation—from my surroundings, happenings in my life or the people around me. The most beautiful thing that motivates me about living the fitness lifestyle is the sheer force of knowing all the countless benefits that come from keeping on keeping on. That makes it fun, pleasurable and definitely worthwhile. Diet strategy: Something wonderful happens to your body when you become extremely picky about your food choices. I follow and describe in my book what I call the beneficial diet, which gives you the freedom to eat the foods of your choice as long as you have the awareness of what you’re actually eating and how your body responds to it. But for the most part, I like to divide my nourishment into three meals with the freedom of having snacks in between if I feel like it. Favorite antiaging supplement or nutrient: I enjoy all of the powerful antioxidant supplements, extracts and teas, along with the omega-3 oils. Life philosophy: To keep learning new things, keep growing in different directions, keep building your inner character, cut out the middle man and go straight to the source of your endeavor—and be charitable. Basically, to keep improving and lifting yourself up as you lift and help others along the way. IM

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“The most beautiful thing that motivates me about living the fitness lifestyle is the sheer force of knowing all the countless benefits that come from keeping on keeping on.”

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At the ’84 Mr. Olympia.

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Frozen in Time Bill Grant’s Physique Is Almost Identical to His Winning Form of Three Decades Ago

by Jerry Brainum Photography by Michael Neveux and John Balik

The year was 1970, and the place was the original Gold’s Gym in Venice, California, where much of “Pumping Iron” would be filmed four years later. I approached the two men standing under the chinning bar with some trepidation. One of them was a bodybuilder I’d seen compete the day before in the AAU Mr. America contest. His name was Bill Grant, and he’d placed 12th in the contest, which was won by Chris Dickerson, who went on to win the Mr. Olympia title in 1982. I told Grant that I thought he should have placed higher. “Thanks, man,” was his only reply as he turned to continue his set of chins. It wasn’t an especially auspicious beginning to a friendship that continues to this day. Perhaps the oddest aspect is that Bill doesn’t look that much different from the way he did that day 36 years ago. Sure, the Afro is gone, but the body remains remarkably similar. Grant is a true example of the power of exercise and nutrition to forestall the ravages of aging. After all, how many 60-year-old men can boast of having the same measurements they had at age 20? Bill was born on September 27, 1946, in Orange, New Jersey, and still resides nearby. To say that he was small when he began training would be an understatement. In fact, Grant was so tiny, he’d have had to look up to a pygmy. At 14, when he began training, he stood only 4’9” and weighed 110 pounds. He tried out for his high school football team, only to be rejected because the school didn’t have a uniform small enough to fit him. Grant, however, took advantage of his stature and speed to run track, competing successfully in the mile and other events. www.ironmanmagazine.com \ MARCH 2007 157

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Frozen in Time

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His conversion to bodybuilding occurred after he met a man named Randy Coyle at a local training center. Coyle not only knew all the nuances of proper training, but he was also the inventor of some unique training equipment. Under Coyle’s guidance Bill began training in an organized fashion, doing basic exercises that focused on large muscle groups, such as squats, bench presses and barbell rows. From the start he particularly enjoyed training his arms, and they responded accordingly, to the extent that Bill later became famous for his massive biceps development. Coyle’s training suggestions proved effective, as Bill gained more than 35 pounds of muscle. At 17, Bill began competing in bodybuilding, with his initial venture being the Mr. High School New Jersey contest in 1963. He placed fifth but was victorious the following year at a well-known local show called the Mr. Suburban. In 1967 he placed 10th in the AAU Mr. USA, and the following year he won the Mr. New Jersey title. His two greatest victories, however, occurred a few years later, the first at the ’72 WBBG Professional Mr. America competition, which was held in New York. I attended that show with my mother, and when Bill broke down in tears after being announced as the winner, my mom asked, “Do all bodybuilders cry when they win?” I told her that while they rarely cry when they win, they often cry when they lose. In 1973 Bill won the IFBB Mr. World title, which enabled him to turn professional in that organization. He commenced upon a lengthy pro-bodybuilding career that ended with his appearance at the ’94 Masters Mr. Olympia, where he placed eighth. Over the years he became known for his perennially ripped 5’9”, 185-pound physique, and he was popular with audiences because of his use of props, such as fog and strobe lights, which he pioneered in his contest appearances. Bill married at age 19, a union that produced three great sons, Bryan, Jason and Christopher, the oldest of whom is now 40, and his sons have given him eight grandchildren to dote on. A later marriage produced Bill’s youngest child, 13-year-old Justin.

These days Bill has a thriving personal-training business and has started his own food supplement company, Bill Grant Nutrition. He continues to train regularly, draws fans at his personal appearances and is a popular emcee of bodybuilding and fitness shows. Last July he was honored with the Muscle Beach Hall of Fame Award, which was presented to him by IRON MAN publisher John Balik at Venice Beach. An old joke asks, “Who lies in Grant’s tomb?” One thing for sure, it isn’t Bill Grant, who seems to have blunted the effects of aging through exercise and nutrition. Let’s see how he does it. JB: Is it ever too late to begin a regular bodybuilding program? BG: No, you can start at any age. In fact, recent medical studies show that people as old as 70 to 80 can build strength and add some muscle. The gains don’t come as fast as when you’re young, but the health benefits are far more apparent when you’re older. JB: What are the primary changes you’ve made in your training from what you did in your younger days? (continued on page 162) www.ironmanmagazine.com \ MARCH 2007 159

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At the ’88 Night of the Champions.

BG: I still train in the same manner, using the same level of training intensity as I did 30 years ago. The major difference is in the training frequency. I used to train four days a week, working each muscle group twice on a split routine. These days I work out only twice per week, training each muscle group only one or two times weekly. I’ve found that the decreased training frequency lowers the incidence of injuries and allows me to fully recover between workouts. JB: Take one muscle group and compare the way you trained it in the past to the way you train it now. BG: Let’s focus on arms. I train my arms in the same manner as I did years ago. I prefer doing supersets involving biceps and triceps, say barbell curls immediately followed by triceps pushdowns for four sets of 12 to 15 reps. I do train lighter than I did in the past to avoid putting excessive strain on my joints and ligaments. I’ll then do another biceps/triceps superset, finishing off with a few sets of wrist curls and reverse curls for forearms. JB: Do you find that it’s harder to stay muscular and prevent fat gains with the passing years? Has your metabolism slowed? BG: I’ve been blessed with a good metabolism, and that has allowed me to maintain good muscle quality while producing insignificant fat gains. My training, in concert with my naturally speedy metabolism, allows me to eat more of what I like without worrying about getting fat. As such, I don’t follow what most would call a strict diet.

JB: Why do you think that some bodybuilders look good as they age, while others seem to lose muscle and gain fat? BG: I think a lot of it relates to favorable genetics—also continued training and good nutrition practices. As I said, my metabolism has allowed me to be a little loose with my nutrition in that I can eat a few so-called forbidden foods, such as ice cream and even occasionally french fries. But I still try to ensure that I get all the required nutrients for good health. JB: Since many studies show that you are only as old as your cardiovascular system, what do you do to maintain your cardio fitness? BG: I’ve never done any regular aerobic workouts because my high metabolism made them unnecessary for fat loss. For cardiovascular conditioning, I’ve always used a rapid training pace, with little rest between sets and plenty of supersets that feature zero rest between

exercises. That style of rapid training seems to offer some beneficial cardiovascular effects. JB: Have you made any dietary concessions to age? BG: While I eat almost anything that I want, I never eat a lot. The quantities are small, so the total caloric intake isn’t that much despite the inclusion of a lot of, shall we say, nonstandard bodybuilding foods. When Arnold used to diet for contests, he would never cut out any foods but only lower the size of his portions and overall food intake. I prefer a similar style, though my diet would not exclude so-called junk foods. JB: What food supplements do you use and why? BG: I use my own supplement, called Creatine Cocktail. Also a highquality milk protein supplement, liver tablets, amino acids and multivitamins. I wish creatine supplements had been available when I competed years ago, as they have proved a huge asset to my training. I think that supplements are integral to maintaining muscle mass and heath. JB: But what about the frequent statements made by dietitians and other medical professionals that most supplements are just snake oil and superfluous for bodybuilders and other athletes. They add that all the nutrients required for muscle growth can be obtained from ordinary foods. What’s your take on that?

“I train my arms in the same manner as I did years ago— with supersets.”

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“I’ve been blessed with a good metabolism.”

BG: Most of those alleged nutrition experts base their statements on the assumption that most people consume balanced diets, but various surveys show that those who follow a truly balanced diet are exceptions to the norm. Supplements are just that: nutrients meant to supplement what you don’t get in your diet. From a bodybuilding perspective, using supplements enables you to take in nutrients in amounts that would be prohibitive if you attempted to get them from food sources alone. An example of this is creatine. Consider that just one teaspoon of creatine supplies the same amount that you would get in 2.2 pounds, or a kilogram, of meat, minus the extra fat and calories. JB: While you say that your fast metabolism has been an asset in terms of preventing fat gain, it’s also made it difficult for you to gain weight and muscle. What’s your advice to those with a similar problem? BG: I’d suggest that hardgainers reduce their training frequency and total training time to maximize rest and recovery. They should stick with doing only the heavy, basic exercises, such as squats, barbell curls, barbell rows and so on. Those who want to add muscle should also pay attention to the overload principle, which states that you need to add either more weight or do more reps in the exercises to ensure continued training progress. From a nutrition standpoint, those with a high metabolism should eat meals at regular intervals, never going more than three hours between meals. Eating small meals, more often, is the key to adding muscle minus fat gains. If you cannot consume enough food, use a high-quality weight-gain powder mixed with milk between meals. JB: Speaking of food supplements, what made you decide to get into the business? BG: I’ve seen so many bogus products on the market that I wanted to produce products that are safe, effective and that I could put my name on with pride. It’s a sad fact that many of those in the supplement business are more interested in profits than quality.

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Frozen in Time

“A return to the more classical physiques of the past, such as Steve Reeves’, would likely increase public interest in bodybuilding”.

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JB: Let’s go back to the golden years, during the 1970s at the original Gold’s Gym. What was so special about that gym and those times? BG: Gold’s Gym in those days was like a big boys club where we all had something in common. We trained together, ate together and hung out with each other. It was a time of true friendship and camaraderie. We were competitive, At the ’94 but it was always a friendly, supportMasters Mr. ive and jovial comOlympia. petition. You can JB: Let’s talk get a taste of those about a controdays by watching versial aspect par“Pumping Iron.” ticularly related to The atmosphere in men over 40: tesGold’s at that time tosterone-replacewas so electric that ment therapy. you trained even if What’s your recyou didn’t feel like ommendation? training. It was like a BG: I think the big party in the gym decision to use happening day after testosterone-reday. placement therapy is an JB: You were one individual one. I would normally of the first bodybuilders to use suggest that any man considering props such as fog in your posit speak with his doctor, but many ing routine. How did that come doctors are seriously misinformed about? about both the dangers and the BG: I starting using props because benefits of it. This form of hormonal I thought that it would make the use should be reserved for men usual blasé posing routines more who are found to be low in testosentertaining, allowing me to inject terone after medical testing. For my personality into my stage routhem testosterone could prove very tine. I was also one of the first to disbeneficial. They must be monitored play ripped glutes, which for some by a health professional for safety reason was always a crowd-pleaser. purposes, but the newer forms of JB: Many look at bodybuilders testosterone, such as the gels and and attribute their physiques creams, are very safe and are linked to extensive anabolic drug use. to few, if any, side effects. How do you answer such stateFrom a bodybuilding standpoint, ments? trying to maintain or build muscle BG: While it’s no secret that drugs without sufficient testosterone is are rampant in bodybuilding and a definite uphill challenge. Men other sports, drugs alone will never who test low in testosterone should produce a champion. You cannot find a doctor who’s experienced overlook the effects of favorable and knowledgeable in this form of genetics, hard training and good therapy. nutrition in the production of a JB: What about using growth world-class physique. Some would hormone to slow the aging procharacterize those sentiments as a cess? cop-out, but I’d point to all the athBG: I’ve seen some favorable letes who have taken large amounts research in this regard, although the of anabolic drugs and still never long-term effects remain ambiguachieved world-class status. If drugs ous. Again, I strongly suggest that were all it took, then anyone should such hormonal interventions be be able to hit 73 home runs or win considered only under a doctor’s the Mr. Olympia contest merely by supervision. using the same drugs.

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“I plan to continue training, even after death.”

JB: What’s your proudest moment in bodybuilding? BG: The night I won my first big title, the WBBG Mr. America. I was so stunned and proud that I broke down onstage. The second proudest moment occurred when I was inducted into the Muscle Beach Hall of Fame in July, 2006. JB: And the low point in your bodybuilding career? BG: I was extremely disappointed when I placed fifth in the ’77 Mr. Olympia. Frank Zane won the contest that year, and I felt the reasons for his win—hardness and muscularity—should have allowed me to place higher in the show. JB: What bodybuilders have you admired over the years? BG: I admired Larry Scott’s arm development, Don Howorth’s wide shoulders, Sergio Oliva’s muscle mass and Arnold’s overall look. JB: Is there anything you can think of that would make bodybuilding more appealing to the public? BG: A return to the more classical physiques of the past, such as Steve Reeves’, would likely increase

public interest in bodybuilding. The average person cannot relate to present-day top bodybuilders. The physiques today, while remarkable from a muscle-mass viewpoint, don’t look attainable to the average guy on the street. Look at the time when bodybuilding popularity peaked, in the days of “Pumping Iron.” The top bodybuilders in those days, such as Arnold, Zane and others, had great bodies that appealed more to the public because the public could relate to that degree of muscularity. JB: Let me throw a few names out, and you tell me what you think. First, Arnold. BG: A true original, very determined and goal-oriented. He had a lot of dreams and never let discouragement stand in the way of his ultimate success. He simply refused to take no for an answer if it interfered with his goals. Anyone who knows Arnold isn’t surprised about his current status as an action star and politician. JB: Would you have voted for Arnold if you still lived in California?

BG: I would have voted for him even if I didn’t know him, because he was the best candidate for the job. From what I can see, he had the best plan to improve the state. JB: Joe Weider. BG: Joe can justifiably be called the father of bodybuilding because of his long efforts to popularize the sport. Joe, like anyone else, has his foibles, but he really does love bodybuilding. Let’s face it, without Joe there would be no Arnold. JB: Mike Mentzer? BG: A true intellectual, but misunderstood by many. Mike was a true believer in his high-intensity training system. His premature death remains a tragedy, as does the death of his brother, Ray, also a great bodybuilder in his day. JB: Ronnie Coleman has announced that he will attempt to regain the Mr. Olympia title. Is that a mistake, considering that he’s over 40? BG: Bodybuilding is different from many other sports because you can continue to win over far younger competitors. Chris Dickerson didn’t win the Mr. Olympia until he was 42, which is the same age that Ronnie is. While Ronnie is without doubt one of the most massive and greatest bodybuilders ever, I think he should heed the words sung by Kenny Rogers: “Know when to hold ’em and know when to fold ’em.” Some of the other men are closing the gap, as illustrated by Jay Cutler’s victory. Ronnie could conceivably return and win again, but he could also lose. The public tends to be fickle, and you’re often considered only as great as your last victory. I would hate to see Coleman’s impressive eight victories in the Mr. Olympia become tarnished by a low placing in the contest, or another loss. But that’s up to him. JB: How long do you plan to keep on training? BG: I plan to continue training, even after death. At that point my routine will mainly center on deadlifts. JB: Not a bad idea. I’d suggest supplementing your afterlife diet with angel food cake. But seriously, what else are you doing these days besides running your supplement company?

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Cynthia James

BG: I’m involved in personal training. I also do charitable work for several organizations. I’m excited to be involved in Operation Fitness, which seeks to educate children about the importance of fitness and nutrition. That organization is headed by Mike Torchia, himself a former bodybuilding competitor.

With Jerry Brainum and IM ’s Ruth Silverman at the 2005 Olympia.

Editor’s note: To read more about Bill and view dozens of his classic bodybuilding photos and videos, visit www.BillGrant.net. IM

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The

MAN At 43 Clark Bartram Is Still at the Top of His Game—and the Fitness World by Ed Sweet Photography by Michael Neveux

Model: Clark Bartram

T

he thing that you notice about Clark Bartram when you hang out with him long enough is that he’s always eating something. Whether it’s a strip of beef jerky, a handful of cashews, an apple or a piece of cold chicken, he’s always taking in the nutrition that’s fueled one of the longest careers in the fitness industry. “I’m a living example of what a little discipline can do for the body and the soul,” Clark says between bites, as he takes me around his hometown of Escondido, California, just outside San Diego. Clark was born in Ohio, but after serving in the Marine Corps at Camp Pendleton, he made his home in Southern California. San Diego is close enough to Los Angeles, the mecca of the fitness industry, but far enough away to not let it get to you. “When the other guys on the base took naps, I worked out,” he recalls of his days in the military. “I did a crazy pyramid routine that delivered

massive results. I started with 20 pullups, followed immediately by 20 pushups. Then I’d do 19 reps of each exercise, then 18, all the way down to one pullup and one pushup. People were starting to notice my transformation, and I became the go-to guy when it came to questions about exercise and fitness. I loved helping other people out, and that was the experience that really launched my career.” The most remarkable thing about Clark is what a regular, down-toearth guy he is, despite the success he’s achieved in what many people think of as an ego-driven business. You wouldn’t know from talking with him that he’s been on more than 100 magazine covers or that he had a hit cable TV show in the United States and Europe. What you would figure out is that he’s in great shape for his age, and it would probably surprise you to learn that he’s 43. You’d come to (continued on page 174) appreciate www.ironmanmagazine.com \ MARCH 2007 171

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Clark Bartram

A clearly defined purpose is what stokes Clark’s success.

(continued from page 171) his goofy sense of humor. You’d realize that he’s more than happy to share his expertise with you, whether you just want to get in shape or become a fitness model yourself. And, eventually, you’d notice that he’s always eating. Clark needs to eat constantly because he’s constantly on the move. He has been for more than 20 years, and his career is showing no signs of slowing down. Long after other famous faces and midsections are burning out and fattening up, Clark is making deals, signing contracts, booking covers and proving that it’s possible to have staying power in a business that chews people up and spits them out. “I feel my career has lasted so

long simply because I decided to make it last that long,” he says. “I knew long ago, when I was just getting started, that I was going to be successful in this industry. It’s been a conscious choice for the past 20-plus years, and I’ve worked hard—and continue to work hard— to accomplish something each and every day, even if it’s something small.” Currently, Clark writes articles for three magazines, is working on another book, is designing fitness Web sites and speaks before large audiences. And plans are in the works for a chain of fitness centers that will bear his name. “I’m really excited about all my projects, especially the fitness centers. Everything I do is all about helping normal people live a healthier, more

fit lifestyle. “I have a purpose statement,” he continues: “‘I will positively and powerfully affect everyone I come into contact with.’ That’s what gets me moving in the morning and keeps me forging ahead even when I get rejected.” Clark explains that the difference between him and many male fitness models is the professional approach he’s taken throughout his entire career. “Some guys get into the business for the wrong reasons,” he reflects. “For them, being a model is all about stroking the ego and meeting hot chicks. There’s nothing wrong with that, but when you don’t take something seriously, you can get into trouble.” Clark says that a lot of male fitness models become primo dons,

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Clark Bartram’s Total Training Program On all of the following exercises, I go as heavy as I can, typically for three to four sets of eight to 10 reps per set unless otherwise noted.

Monday: Chest Incline presses Flat-bench presses Weighted dips Pec deck flyes

Tuesday: Back Pullups (10 sets of 10 reps) T-bar rows One-arm rows Hyperextensions

Wednesday: Legs Squats Leg presses (I typically challenge my partner to be the first to get to 100 reps; we do as many sets as it takes. Other times I do legs with my wife, and it isn’t as intense.) Reverse hack squats Lunges Leg extensions Leg curls

Thursday: Shoulders Military presses Wide-grip upright rows Lateral raises (down the rack, I start with 55s for 10 reps and continue down to the 5s) Rear-delt machine

Friday: Arms Close-grip bench presses Straight-bar curls Dumbbell overhead extensions Machine curls Reverse pushdowns Cable curls

little longer to get camera-ready than it used to. “Before, I could get ready for a shoot in three or four weeks,” he remembers. “And now it might take seven or eight. I stay in shape all the time, so getting ready for a shoot doesn’t require any radical changes to my diet or training. I just clean up my food, train a little heavier, tan, do a bit more cardio and put my mind into my training a little more than I would if I didn’t have anything coming up.” Clark also says that since he’s not trying to be “big” anymore, he’s backed off the intensity of his training. “The trend is going away from the big bodybuilder types,” he says, munching on a celery stick. “The industry will always have bodybuilders, but I feel that the mass market is gravitating toward a more achievable look. Look at most of the fitness magazines, and it’s rare that you’ll see a bodybuilder on the cover unless it’s a hardcore bodybuilding publication. I love the sport, but times have changed.” In his day, Clark competed in 15 bodybuilding contests but won only the first one he entered—another example of why being first isn’t always a prerequisite for success. “I was convinced that I would make it even though I constantly placed second, third or even fourth sometimes. I was always 15 to 20 pounds lighter than the guys in my class. It was good proportion and being lean and dry that kept me competitive.” Clark is currently making the most of his fit-over-40 look with three lucrative endorsement deals. As a spokesman for AMS Health Sciences, he travels across the United States promoting a dietary supplement called Prime Delight. “I’m happy to lend my image and credibility to what I believe is a truly life-enhancing product,” he says. “While most supplements tout themselves as quick fixes to aesthetic problems, Prime Delight offers health from the inside out by focusing on the cellular level. It’s amazing!” Clark is also the fitness adviser for LifeCore Fitness, a manufacturer of quality cardio equipment, and he endorses the line of belts, gloves, straps and other weightlifting (continued on page 178) accessories

Clark Bartram

I alternate calves and abs daily, changing machines and protocols constantly. Also, I very rarely do the same routine twice; above is an example of one week. I always change things up. I like to do 30 minutes of cardio on the Step Mill or Gauntlett when I’m done training. —C.B.

and then none of the professional photographers want to work with them. Or, if they’re just in it for the girls, they stop showing up for shoots when they get involved in a serious relationship. Clark has always thought of his modeling as a key component of a larger career and has approached it with the highest levels of professionalism. “And fortunately, I’ve had a wonderful, beautiful, sexy woman to keep me grounded.” Clark and Anita Bartram have been married for 17 years, and they have two terrific kids—Taylor, 15, and Mitch, 11. “I’m a real family guy,” Clark says, and then he takes a bite of a protein bar. A clearly defined purpose is what keeps Clark at the top of his game. “A purpose keeps the winners in life pushing,” he declares, “especially when they want to quit. I remember a friend of mine told me when I got my first cover, ‘Don’t expect this to last long.’ I chose not to listen to that. I was determined to make fitness a career, and it was the decision that made the difference for me.” Clark claims that turning 40 has been the best thing to happen to his career in a long time. “I’m able to market myself differently now,” he says. “There are tons of goodlooking, fit young guys out there, but there are fewer guys my age who are in peak physical condition. What sets me apart is that I’m the guy who’s still practicing what he preaches, at a stage in life when most people give up and go to pot. There are so many people over 40 who want to be in shape, and I aim to be their role model.” As one of fitness’s elder statesmen, Clark still has the strength, the musculature and the definition to attract the attention of magazine publishers. “They understand that the market trend is leaning toward the over-40 crowd, and I’m all over it,” he declares. “You can plan on seeing me on a lot more covers in the months ahead. I’m preparing to get in very marketable shape and presenting that to all the magazines. I really believe that I have an important story to tell, one that will resonate with guys in their 40s who’ve let their priorities slip over the years.” Clark admits that it takes him a

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Clark Bartram

Clark admits that it takes him a little longer to get cameraready than it used to.

(continued from page 175) made by Schiek products. “I’ll only involve myself with companies that I truly believe in,” he says. “The product has to be really good, and the people have to have integrity. My name and my reputation are my biggest assets,

and I work hard to protect them.” Clark has surely made a name for himself in the fitness industry. And, as he grows older, he plans to do even more to help up-and-coming models realize that they, too, can help others and enjoy a rewarding career by being dedicated and

professional. “I always try to be generous with advice,” he says. “And a lot of people have asked me for it over the years, especially the younger guys who look at all that I’ve accomplished and want to do the same things with their lives. I’ve been there and done

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”I feel that the mass market is gravitating toward a more achievable look—less big bodybuilder types.“

that, and I really want to share my years of experience with whoever will listen. That’s exactly why Clark wrote the popular book You Too Can Be a Fitness Model. “It’s now available in an Italian edition, so be sure to pick up a copy if you happen to read Italian!” he enthuses. Clark’s best advice for young models is also good advice for anyone who just wants to get in better shape or, for that matter, anyone with any goal at all. “Decide that it’s what you want to do, and attach a real purpose to your dream,” Clark says. “Why do you want your photo on a magazine cover? Is it to help people, or is it for selfish reasons? Is it to further your career, or is it to show the guys who picked on you in high school that you’re no longer a 98-pound weakling? See what I’m getting at? You have to have a purpose attached to any desire. If those things line up,

nothing will hold you back when you get passed over for a cover, or when you’re told that you’re too short or when someone says they don’t like tattoos. There are a ton of reasons why someone won’t choose you for a project, but your one purpose should be strong enough to override them all. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve been passed over, but I’ve never taken it personally and I’ve always moved on to the next opportunity.” Clark says that some people are made for this industry and others aren’t. “You are ultimately the one who will make that decision,” he says. “How bad do you want it? How hard will you work to achieve your goals? I always knew I would be where I am today, and I plan to continue going from glory to glory, from one level to the next. You have the same opportunities as I do, so go for it. Hey, bro, do you want a piece of this banana bread?” IM

Clark and Anita: “I’m a real family guy.”

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Balik \ Model: Mike Mentzer

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HEAVY DUTY

The Wisdom of Mike Mentzer by John Little Muscle Growth—A Slow Process Q: I’ve been training for five years, and my bodyweight has gone up by 20 pounds during that time. I really want to gain another 20 pounds this year. Can I do it with Heavy Duty? A: Not to burst your bubble, but anybody with any training experience knows that adding muscle tissue beyond normal levels is a seemingly impossible process. While Mike Mentzer offers a very scientific and precise means of speeding the process, you still have to operate within the confines of reality, which is that the process of growing muscle is a slow one—at the best of times. As Mike told me in 1981: “In many cases the dietary indiscretions of bodybuilders, as well as the training errors they make, are the direct result of a failure to realize just how slow the growth process is. If you expect to gain a pound of muscle a week or a pound of muscle a month and aren’t seeing those gains, you could become hysterical and begin training more often and

increase your protein intake and so forth. But if you can develop a firm grasp of just how slow the muscle growth process is, then it’s my firm belief that you’ll be less inclined to commit a lot of the ridiculous dietary and training errors so typical of bodybuilders. “Just how slow is the growth process? Well, gaining even 10 pounds of muscle a year is a tremendous achievement. Not 10 pounds of bodyweight—that’s easy—but 10 pounds of pure muscle. It doesn’t sound like a lot, and it isn’t a whole hell of a lot, but look at it over the long term, five years, which is how you have to look at your bodybuilding career. Nobody ever became Mr. America in one year. Gaining at that rate of speed, in five years you’d gain 50 pounds of muscle, which is enough to transform the average adult male weighing 165 pounds into a 215-pound bodybuilder.” So gaining 20 pounds of muscle mass this year may not be a realistic goal for you, however “perfect” your training program might be. I can guarantee, though, that if you don’t train “perfectly,” your chances of stimulating even 10 pounds of muscle growth in a year are very low indeed.

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HEAVY DUTY Bodybuilding Training and Athletic Competition Q: What did Mike recommend in terms of training for athletes? I play hockey at a university, and our team has three practices a week and at least one game a week over a season that lasts five months. I don’t want to overtrain, but I do want to get stronger for my sport. Any advice? A: You’ll have to be especially careful not to overtrain, given your schedule. We’ve found during sophisticated body composition testing at our training facility, Nautilus North, that athletes (hockey players in particular, since hockey is such a popular sport here in Canada) actually lose muscle after an intense practice or game. The implication is obvious: An athlete who has less muscle has

Neveux \ Model: Barry Kabov

“If you gained 10 pounds of muscle a year, in five years you’d gain 50 pounds, which is enough to transform the average adult male weighing 165 into a 215-pound bodybuilder. less strength, and less strength in a muscle makes it more susceptible to injury. Let’s say an athlete is at 100 percent in terms of his strength. He could tear a muscle upon meeting 140 pounds of force. If he loses strength, that same muscle might then tear upon meeting 100 pounds of force. It always behooves an athlete (and his coach) to compete when he’s at 100 percent of his physical prowess. As for what Mike would recommend: “Exercise is capable of producing two kinds of results: positive and negative. Just the right amount of exercise, and there will follow a strength increase. Any more exercise than is required, and overuse

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HEAVY DUTY

atrophy—loss of strength—will result. High-intensity training is best suited to athletes, for it’s the only approach that takes into account limited recovery ability, or a limited tolerance for the exhaustive effects

“Daily weight training is anathema for athletes, as it retards their already overtaxed recovery ability.” of exercise. Since most athletes are overtrained from calisthenics, running [in your case skating] and daily practice, the coach must be hyper-cautious about the amount of severely stressful weight training he permits his charges to engage in. “Daily weight training is anathema for athletes, as it retards their already overtaxed recovery ability. During the off-season

athletes should train once a week or less, depending on their exercise stress tolerance. That can be determined by keeping records of each workout. If a trainee is receiving the proper volume and frequency of weight training, he’ll witness strength increases at every workout. “Keep in mind that the amount of weight-training exercise he does has to be weighed against his other physical activities. All exercise exacts a toll on the body’s limited reserve of resources, or recovery ability. During the playing season the athlete should limit his workouts to two a month, each workout involving no more than two or three compound movements [such as leg presses, lat pulldowns and/or dips]. Limit the off-season workouts to two or three compound movements.” I hope that information helps. By the way, as former NHL penalty king Dave “Tiger” Williams once advised

me, “Keep your head up” while on the ice.

Stress Levels and Cortisol Q: I’ve read in both High Intensity Training the Mike Mentzer Way and The Wisdom of Mike Mentzer that Mike believed that too much exercise was not only unproductive (meaning that no additional size and strength gains would be possible) but “counterproductive” as well. While I can understand the former, I really don’t get how it could be detrimental. Can you elaborate? A: As Mike often pointed out, exercise is a form of stress, and as with other stressors, getting just enough will cause a positive, adaptive (continued on page 190)

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(continued from page 186) result, while getting too much will cause a problem: “The negative results from too much exercise are losses in strength and muscle size, and they’re associated with but not limited to the secretion of certain hormones,” according to Mike. He went on to quote the pioneer researcher in stress physiology, Hans Selye, M.D.: “It is remarkable that so-called adaptive, or stress, hormones are also important regulators of growth. ACTH and COL (cortisol) are potent growth-inhibitors. . . . It is not unexpected, therefore, that stress can affect the growth of the body as a whole. If children are exposed to too much stress, their bodily growth is stunted, and this inhibition is, at least, in part, due to an excess secretion of ACTH and COL.” Mike also emphasized his view that excess, prolonged exercise stress “will cause catabolism, or a loss of muscle.” That, my friend, would be very counterproductive. Editor’s note: For a complete presentation of Mike Mentzer’s Heavy Duty training system, consult his books Heavy Duty II, High Intensity Training the Mike Mentzer Way and the newest book, The Wisdom of Mike Mentzer, all of which are available from Mentzer’s official Web site, www.MikeMentzer .com. John Little is available for phone consultation on Mike Mentzer’s Heavy Duty training system. For rates and information, contact Joanne Sharkey at (310) 316-4519 or at www.MikeMentzer.com, or see the ad on the opposite page. Article copyright © 2007, John Little. All rights reserved. Mike Mentzer quotations provided courtesy of Joanne Sharkey and are used with permission. IM 190 MARCH 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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Neveux \ Model: Peter Putnam

Getting just enough exercise will cause a positive, adaptive result, while getting too much will cause problems— such as losses in strength and muscle.

Neveux \ Model: Steve Cuevas

HEAVY DUTY

Get Your Swagger Back

200 MARCH 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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8 Steps to Getting Back the Confidence You Had During Better Times and Reclaiming Your Power by Skip La Cour

Model: Skip La Cour

Six-Time National Bodybuilding Champion

Has life handed you some unexpected challenges over the years, and you aren’t really sure how you’ll recover? Have you let a few extra pounds stack up and you can’t get yourself motivated to get back into shape? Do you feel that you’re stuck in a boring, low-paying job with no way of escaping? Have the bad relationships you’ve experienced made you pessimistic about having real passion in your life? Have you settled for “survival mode” and been there for so long that you don’t even remember the dreams you had as a younger man? Change in life is inevitable.

Unfortunately, not all of it is the kind we hoped to experience when we were younger. Letting our bodies become unhealthy and out of shape, settling for a career far beneath our expectations, suffering financial setbacks and going through some bad breakups can take a toll on how we feel about ourselves. If you can relate to what I’m describing, you’re certainly not alone. Challenges in life continually affect the best of us. It’s not necessarily what happens in your life that makes it good or bad—it’s how effectively you deal with what happens to you. You’ll never get rid of your challenges. When you become

stronger, you’ll lessen the effect that those challenges have on the quality of your life. What do you do when life isn’t turning out the way you wanted? Do you start settling to avoid more anticipated pain? Or do you create a new plan and move forward with certainty and confidence? That’s the challenge. You can make your life better as you get older—no matter what’s happened in the past. You’re too young to give up on your dreams—and too old to keep on dreaming. You need a step-by-step plan for success. You need to take action now—to get your swagger back.

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Get Your Swagger Back

Model: Hidetada Yamagishi

“Get your swagger back” means getting yourself back into top physical, mental and emotional shape.

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Model: Jay Cutler

It’s all about remembering who you are and what you’re all about— and then creating that life you always dreamed you’d have.

What Is “Swagger”? “Get your swagger back” means getting yourself back into top physical, mental and emotional shape. It’s all about remembering who you really are and what you’re really all about—and then creating the life you always dreamed you’d have. How would you like to have more confidence in the direction you have chosen—even when times are challenging? How would you like to carry yourself with so much certainty, charisma and style that people are magnetically drawn to you? If you want to experience some of those feelings and emotions in your life, read on. Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Get Your Swagger Back Letting our bodies become unhealthy and out of shape, settling for a career far beneath our expectations, suffering financial setbacks and going through some bad breakups can take a toll on how we feel about ourselves.

Time Is Still on Your Side “The average man reaches the period of his greatest capacity to create between 40 and 60,” professed Napoleon Hill in his classic book, Think & Grow Rich, after analyzing more than 25,000 people. That means the very best days of your life are ahead of you when you reach the age of 40. It’s essential that you take care of your physical health as you enter your most productive years. Unfortunately, many in our youth-conscious society don’t realize the power we possess when we reach our 40s. We mistakenly believe that our better days are behind us. We unfortunately yearn for the years that have gone by. Hill goes on: “The tendency to slow down and develop an inferiority complex at the age of mental maturity, around the age of 40, falsely believing oneself to be slipping because of age,” is one of the major fears that limit a man’s potential. Don’t let that happen to you.

When you become stronger, you’ll lessen the effect those challenges have on the quality of your life. 204 MARCH 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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Model: Omar Deckard

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Model: Moe El Moussawi

Get Your Swagger Back

You can’t keep doing things the way you’ve always done them and expect better results. (continued from page 204)

8 Steps to Help You Get Your Swagger Back

“The average man reaches the period of his greatest capacity to create between 40 and 60.” —Napoleon Hill Think & Grow Rich

Positive change in your life starts with awareness. You can’t make better decisions until you understand why you’re making your current, disempowering ones. Then come up with a better set of strategies to create the life you want. You can’t keep doing things the way you’ve always done them and expect better results. Most important, you must take action. Commit yourself to actually doing those better thinking and physical habits on a consistent basis to get your life back on track. Here are eight steps that will help you to reclaim your power:

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Models: Moe El Moussawi and Erika Thompson

No matter what’s happened to you in the past, you must force yourself to keep going for what you really want in your life—not for what you think you can have.

1) Take Full Responsibility for Where You Are in Your Life The best strategies for improving your health, creating wealth or experiencing better relationships won’t be effective if you don’t work on the way you think first. It’s the way you think that put you in this place. Your thoughts are the first steps toward any outstanding accomplishment or disappointing failure.

If you’re going to improve the quality of your life, you must take 100 percent responsibility for where you are right now. You created your current situation. No one forced you into making the decisions that have led to where you are today. It’s easier to blame other people for the unfortunate events that have happened to you than to take responsibility. The more you do that, however, the less likely you will be to make positive changes. Allowing yourself to become uncomfortable with your current situation can be a totally empowering experience. The only time you’re actually growing in life is when

you’re uncomfortable. Simply reminding yourself that you—and no one else—control the events in your life can eventually give you the drive to finally do something to create the life you really want. You’ll be better off in the long run. It doesn’t matter whose fault things are. Your goal isn’t to find blame—it’s to create positive change. Your job is to figure out how. Nothing that happens to you has meaning except for the meaning you give to it. Choose to give empowering meanings to every event that happens in your life.

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To break out of your limited way of thinking, create a “dream” or “vision” board. Add pictures of people you want to meet, physiques you’d like to emulate and so on.

2) Identify Exactly What You Want for the Rest of Your Life When things aren’t going well in life, people often stop striving for what they really want and start going for what they think is available to them. If you think you’re worthy of the very best life has to offer, you’ll have the best chance to make that vision you have for yourself come true. Likewise, if you don’t think you’re worthy, you’ll make that vision of your life come true. Your thoughts and

actions will all lead you to where you think you ought to be. No matter what’s happened to you in the past, you must force yourself to keep going for what you really want in your life—not for what you think you can have. That step can open your mind to a life that you never would have imagined was possible for you. Think big. Dream big. Be specific. One of the ways that I learned how to break out of my limited thinking was to create a “dream” or “vision” board on my office wall. I continually add pictures of people I want to meet, things I want to own, places I want to see, the physique

I want to have and any other pictures that motivate me to strive to get more out of life. I was surprised at how difficult this was for me at first. I didn’t realize just how my limiting beliefs were affecting what was available to me. The amazing thing was how much easier it became to dream once I got myself going. I look at what I’ve posted on my dream board every day. “What you focus on in life expands,” and, “Where attention goes, energy flows and results show,” are sayings that remind me to review what I want for my life on a regular basis.

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3) Carefully Examine the Events That Have Led You to Where You Are Today in Your Life We are guided by certain events in our past—whether we realize it or not. Our way of thinking is programmed by those events. You are where you are right now in your life because of the way you’ve been thinking. Whether you’re happy or unhappy in certain areas of your life, you must accept that fact. If you want to change your life for the better, then you must change the way you think. Why? Because when you change the way you think, you take different actions. When you take different actions, you’ll get different results.

Here’s the gigantic challenge: No matter how dissatisfied we are with the way our lives may be going, we usually don’t take the time to analyze why we do the things we do. We assume the way we think about most things is the right way to think. Reflect on what drives you most. What positive events have shaped your beliefs about who you are and what you deserve in life? What negative events have shaped your beliefs? Examine your values, beliefs and rules. How have they helped shape the person you are today? The process of figuring out why you think the way you do about certain things is an ongoing one. Be patient with yourself.

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You must commit yourself to a structured workout and eating program.

4) Take Control of Your Overall Health and Appearance Studies have proven that people who take care of their overall health and appearance make more money, are mentally sharper, experience better emotional health and enjoy more opportunities in life than those who do not. People who exercise regularly and watch what they eat generally have more confidence and charisma too. Commit yourself to a structured workout and eating program. Follow through with your plan on a consistent basis. Understand that more than 80 percent of the way you look and feel will be determined by your eating habits. You can train hard in the gym week in and week out, but if you don’t back that up with sound nutritional practices, your results will be compromised.

5) Carefully Choose the People Who Surround You A mentor of mine once told me, “You’re the average of the five people you spend most of your time with. You’re nothing more and nothing less. In terms of personal power, income, drive, enthusiasm, you will become a part of the average of those five people.” Choose the people you surround yourself with wisely. Whether you realize it or not, the people you surround yourself with have a definite impact on the quality of your life. If you make the mistake of keeping the company of troubling and distracting individuals, you’ll be mediocre—at best—at what you strive to accomplish. Generally, you won’t realize just how negative an impact they have had until you look back on the time you spent with them. Learn from your mistakes. The real tragedy is when people continually make the same mistakes regarding the people with whom they choose to spend time.

If you surround yourself with extraordinary people, you’ll give yourself the very best chance of creating an outstanding life. Everything you want in life will come directly and indirectly from other people. There are times when you’ll have to put your faith and welfare (at least partially) in the hands of others. Inevitably, there will be times when people will let you down and force you to take steps backward. But, in my opinion, taking some intelligent risks with other people is really the only way one can experience true success and happiness. “Succeed by attracting to yourself the forces you wish to use and the cooperation of other people,” wrote Napoleon Hill. “Induce others to serve you because of your willingness to serve others.” What’s the best strategy for attracting positive people? Become positive and productive yourself. Be the kind of person that you’d like to be around. Be totally and consistently empowering in your thoughts, words and actions—with yourself and others.

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You absolutely must become a “people person” if you want to improve the quality of your life. Learn the skills of influence and persuasion. Know exactly what you want to happen during every interaction with other people—before the interaction even begins. Know your outcome in advance. Know exactly what you want the person to do at the end of the interaction—before the interaction even begins. Build rapport with other people by identifying with them, complimenting them and telling them pertinent stories that let them know you understand them. Confidently give people directives. Let them know exactly

what you’d like from them. Understand that people want that direct approach from you. Make sure you take care of yourself in every situation. When you win, everyone wins. Remember that you need to choose people who will fit into your specific life plans. If you’re dealing with people who have different plans, beliefs and values, you must know when to joyfully move on to one of the many thousands of people in this world who more closely align with your goals and beliefs. Don’t waste a lot of time trying to persuade someone who is going in a different direction. If you’re going to be happy in your own life, you must learn how to find people who are willing to be a part of your world. You can’t let yourself become a part of someone else’s world.

If you surround yourself with extraordinary people, you’ll give yourself the very best chance of creating an outstanding life.

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6) Learn How to Deal With Other People More Effectively

Get Your Swagger Back

7) Become an Expert at Something You’re Passionate About in Life One of the best ways to start feeling good about yourself again is to become an expert at something you’re passionate about. I once heard someone say that if you read only five books on a particular subject, you’ll know more about that subject than 95 percent of the rest of the world. That’s exciting. Whether you’re interested in health and fitness, cooking, salsa dancing, real estate investing or how to tell if a person is lying…it doesn’t matter. Read those five books. Attend a seminar. Get enthusiastic about your specialty area, and watch the people around you respond to your enthusiasm. People are attracted to other people who are passionate. You’ll find an audience who is interested—no matter where your passion lies. You’ll find yourself becoming a people magnet. You’ll develop confidence in yourself when you know you’re better than most in your chosen interest. In the other areas of your life make your strengths even stronger. Focus on bolstering your strengths instead of spending your valuable time neutralizing your weaknesses.

Be totally and consistently empowering in your thoughts, words and actions—with yourself and others.

(continued on page 222)

It’s not necessarily what happens to you that makes your life good or bad—it’s how effectively you deal with what happens to you.

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The only time you’re actually growing in life is when you’re uncomfortable.

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The fastest and most effective way to get from where you are now to where you want to be is to get an expert to help you. (continued from page 219)

8) Invest in Coaching The fastest and most effective way to get from where you are now to where you want to be is to get an expert to help you. Make the investment in yourself by hiring a great coach who can open a new way of thinking to you. A great coach will ask for more of you than you will of yourself. A coach will make you accountable. I have had the pleasure of helping hundreds of adult men get their swagger back over the years through my one-on-one coaching and group seminars. I’ve put men through a process that creates lasting change for the better in their lives. As your coach, I will teach you. I’ll guide you. I’ll push you. I’ll encourage you, praise you and even give you an unpleasant reality check when needed.

Editor’s Note: Skip La Cour is a success coach and six-time national bodybuilding champion. Get Your Swagger Back is his trademarked personal-development program that helps adult men reclaim the confidence and focus they need to get their lives back on track. Through his one-on-on coaching, seminars and Web site, La Cour has taken hundreds of men through the process of taking their lives to the next level. Let Skip La Cour personally coach you to greater success. During his 12-Week Success Coaching Program, you and he will talk every week on the telephone for 30 minutes. He’ll outline proven strategies that will help you produce significant results, and make assignments that make you accountable—to yourself as well as to him. For more information, go to www.GetYourSwaggerBack.com or www.SkipLaCour.com. IM

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Does It Help Build Muscle in Over-40 Bodybuilders? by Jerry Brainum

Model: Ronnie Coleman

Photography by Michael Neveux

ne of the sad realities of life is that just when you need muscle the most, you start losing it. Foremost among such factors is a drop in anabolic hormones that begins about age 40. No matter how hard you train in the gym, without a normal level of anabolic hormones, such as testosterone and growth hormone, you’ll find that muscle gains become a distant memory. Even harder to take is the gradual loss of strength, often coupled with an increase in bodyfat. The relationship of anabolic hormones to muscle maintenance has led many men to consider testosterone-replacement therapy. Most doctors won’t routinely prescribe it because of (unfounded) fears about its stimulating prostate cancer. They figure that unless a man has a big-time T deficiency, any treatment is superfluous and potentially dangerous. Those who would rather avoid using any type of

pharmaceutical hormone had, until recently, another choice: over-the-counter pro-hormones. Pro-hormones, as the name implies, were substances that enzymes converted into testosterone or were themselves synthetic versions of it, similar to anabolic steroid drugs. Many of the final generation of pro-hormone supplements were anabolic steroids never marketed by drug companies. They squeaked through legally due to loopholes in the 1994 Dietary Supplement Act. The loopholes were effectively closed by law, and in January 2005 all pro-hormones were removed from sale, with one notable exception: dehydroepiandrosterone, or DHEA. DHEA was the first pro-hormone sold over the counter in the late 1970s. Early versions were usually derived from a sterol found in Mexican yams and often showed a lack of quality control. In one analysis actual DHEA content varied from zero to 150 percent of what the label said, and only seven out of 16 products showed DHEA contents within 90 to 110 percent of listed label values. One product didn’t contain any DHEA, and two others contained only trace amounts. More recently, ConsumerLabs.com analyzed www.ironmanmagazine.com \ MARCH 2007 225

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Model: Hisashi Kamisawa

DHEA may provide some immune enhancement effects, as well as anticortisol effects, in men over 40.

several commercial DHEA supplements, finding that only one brand didn’t match label claims—it provided twice as much DHEA as listed on the product label. Those results, along with the fact that DHEA was a steroid, led to its removal for sale by the Food and Drug Administration in 1985. The passage of the supplement act in 1994 brought DHEA back to the market. Why DHEA was spared is a bit of a mystery. No FDA representative has ever explained it. Perhaps the FDA is convinced that DHEA is relatively harmless and can’t convert into active hormones—but that was true of other pro-hormone supplements too. Maybe it’s because of the health benefits attributed to DHEA. DHEA is often described as a “fountain of youth” supplement because of studies that show some reversal of age-associated health problems in those who took it. But what exactly is DHEA?

It should never be used by men under 40, since it may cause prostate gland enlargement.

DHEA is an adrenal steroid found in greater abundance than any other steroid in the body. The word steroid refers to substances made from 226 MARCH 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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DHEA: The Facts

DHEA will reliably increase testosterone levels in women, but not in men.

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DHEA may help relieve some forms of depression.

Model: Hisashi Kamisawa

cholesterol, including testosterone, estrogen, cortisol—even vitamin D. DHEA is made in the adrenal glands and transported to the liver, where a sulfate group (DHEA-S) is attached. That prevents the rapid breakdown of DHEA. Free, or unbound, DHEA degrades in about an hour, whereas the long-acting DHEA-S circulates in the blood for at least 10 hours. DHEA is also synthesized in the brain, where it acts as a neurosteroid, influencing brain activity. The precise function of DHEA remains a medical mystery, although most researchers suggest it acts as a pro-hormone for the synthesis of other steroid hormones, including testosterone and estrogen. It may have a major role in the adolescent growth spurt and is largely responsible for that bane of teen years—acne. DHEA levels peak at age 20, then begin a gradual decline starting at age 25. By age 40 the drop in DHEA becomes precipitous in many people. By age 70 its levels are about 20 percent of what young adults have. The idea that DHEA imparts youthful effects likely stems from the fact that healthy older people have higher levels of it, while those with health problems have belownormal levels. How and why DHEA favorably affects aging is unknown, but certain aspects of it are well-established. One example is its synergy with insulinlike growth factor 1, the primary anabolic effector of growth hormone. IGF-1 is produced locally in muscle and systemically in the liver under the stimulus of growth hormone. It maintains healthy tissues and organs, and people who are deficient in it often have such pathologies as heart failure and brain degeneration. DHEA helps maintain and increase IGF-1 levels in aging people. Other ways that DHEA may temper the aging process is through regulation of insulin and cortisol. In short, it appears to help prevent the insulin resistance that is common with advanced age and that leads to accelerated aging. DHEA also has anti-cortisol properties. Not only does cortisol break down muscle (a catabolic activity), but long-term cortisol release destroys neurons in the brain linked to memory and

intelligence. A recent study showed that DHEA had no effects when given to patients with Alzheimer’s disease, but that’s a clear case of the horse having left the barn, since Alzheimer’s patients already have extensive brain damage. In a study commissioned by the National Institutes of Health, three factors linked to longevity stood out among all others: low body temperature, low blood insulin and higher DHEA-S levels. Monkeys fed calorie-restricted diets all showed those markers, as did the healthiest older people examined in the study. The study that increased the popularity of DHEA as an anti-aging supplement featured 30 older subjects, age range 40 to 70, who took 50 milligrams of DHEA for three months. Another group got a placebo. Of those in the DHEA group, 67 percent of the men and 84 percent of the women showed significant benefits in physical and psychological well-being. None experienced any side effects. Another study found that giving only 25 milligrams of DHEA daily to older women improved the status of several brain

neurosteroids and other chemicals, resulting in improved mood. Another study involved 46 men and women ages 45 to 65 who had depression of moderate severity.1 Some got actual DHEA, while others got a placebo. Twenty-three of the DHEA subjects experienced a 50 percent reduction of depressive symptoms compared to 13 who got the placebo. Still another study showed that DHEA protected isolated cartilage cells from degeneration—an effect that would not only help offset arthritis but also preserve connective tissue. Since connective-tissue loss or weakening is one of the primary aspects of training-related injuries past age 40, that could prove highly significant to aging bodybuilders. Although DHEA helps maintain IGF-1 levels, some researchers think it’s related to breast and prostate cancer. The research evidence is hardly definitive, but DHEA studies involving animals show that the hormone offers protection. In younger women with higher estrogen levels, DHEA provides antiestrogenic effects. In older women www.ironmanmagazine.com \ MARCH 2007 229

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Those in the DHEA group had significant reductions in both visceral (deeplying) and subcutaneous (under the skin) fat stores in the abdominal area,

with lower estrogen levels, DHEA acts more like estrogen itself. That’s why younger women with lower DHEA levels show increased breast cancer risk, while DHEA raises the risk in older women. Initial studies of men showed that having high DHEA levels led to an average 48 percent decreased mortality rate from cardiovascular

disease. Later studies, however, found only a modest protective effect. Older women with higher DHEA levels show increased risk for cardiovascular-related death. Some studies show that DHEA, like anabolic steroids, may adversely affect cardiovascular health by lowering protective high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol.

DHEA and Fat Loss An area of great controversy concerning DHEA is its effect on fat loss. Genetically obese mice show extensive fat loss without any changes in diet or exercise when given DHEA. A study of five healthy young men reported that taking 1,600 milligrams of DHEA for a month

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led to an average 31 percent fat loss coupled with an increase in lean mass. Later studies, however, failed to replicate those findings. A more recent study featured 28 women and 28 men, age range 65 to 78, with low blood levels of DHEA who took 50 milligrams of DHEA or a placebo for six months.2 Those in the DHEA group had significant reductions in both visceral (deeplying) and subcutaneous (under the skin) fat stores in the abdominal area, along with an improvement in insulin activity. The improved insulin activity seemed due to decreased visceral fat, a known cause of insulin resistance. That effect may have occurred because DHEA increases

the activity of a substance that promotes fat oxidation. The men in the study experienced a 12 percent rise in IGF-1 levels, while the women had an 18 percent increase. Only the women experienced an increase in testosterone. By modulating cortisol activity, DHEA favorably affects immune function. It promotes the activity of T cells, which protect against cancer and viruses. HIV patients with low DHEA levels show a 2.3 times greater chance of progressing to full-blown AIDS. DHEA also appears to favorably affect various autoimmune diseases, such as systemic lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis.

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DHEA and Testosterone The big question for bodybuilders: Does DHEA increase testosterone levels in men? Several studies show that it converts into androstenedione but rarely into estrogen. In women, DHEA always converts into testosterone. One study examined the effects of DHEA on testosterone and weight training.3 In the first part of the study 10 young men (average age 23) took a 50-milligram dose of DHEA. Within an hour, serum levels of androstenedione rose by 150 percent. In the second part of the study 19 young men lifted weights for eight weeks and took 150 milligrams of DHEA daily. Serum levels of andro increased at weeks two and five, but testosterone, estrone and estradiol weren’t affected. Nor were blood lipids and liver enzymes. By the end of the study the DHEA and placebo groups had the same gains (remember, the subjects were young).

Model: Katsumi Ishimura

Another study found that DHEA primes the pituitary gland to produce greater growth hormone release.

of DHEA for six months. Those on the DHEA experienced blood elevations of DHEA, DHEA-S and ADG, which is a metabolite of dihydrotestosterone (DHT). No changes occurred in testosterone or estrogen levels, but the enzyme 5-alpha reductase converted DHEA mostly into ADG. While DHT doesn’t last long in the blood, ADG does. That’s bad news because, although that didn’t happen in this study, ADG works like DHT in promoting prostate gland enlargement. Another recent study confirmed that the primary route taken by DHEA in men is toward DHT synthesis.4 Another study found that DHEA primes the pituitary gland to produce greater growth hormone release.5 Topical use of DHEA maintains collagen production in aging skin and may offset sun damage and prevent wrinkles.6 The most recent study examined the anti-aging benefits of DHEA in 87 older men and 57 older women, all of whom had low blood levels of DHEA-S.7 The men got 75 milligrams a day of DHEA for two years, which led to a blood level of DHEA similar to that of young adults. Even so, they

Another study included 14 men, ages 18 to 42, who got either a placebo or doses of 50 or 200 milligrams

Genetically obese mice show extensive fat loss without any changes in diet or exercise when given DHEA.

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It’s difficult to predict what DHEA will do for those over 40.

undergo a DHEA-S blood test. In truth, however, it’s difficult to predict what DHEA will do for those over 40. As for Big T, DHEA reliably increases it in women, but not in men. It may boost IGF-1 levels, but whether that happens at the local or muscle level—where IGF-1 is most valuable to bodybuilders—has not yet been examined. The final aspect of DHEA to consider is that most of the studies showing its beneficial effects have involved rodent subjects. Problem is, rats and mice produce very little DHEA, and the activity of the hormone differs in them and in humans.

References

Model: George Turner

1 Schmidt,

experienced no beneficial effects on body composition, physical performance, insulin sensitivity or quality of life. The men showed no adverse effects on their prostate size or function. A form of DHEA called 7keto DHEA doesn’t convert into testosterone or estrogen and may provide many of the health benefits of DHEA minus hormonal effects. Some preliminary studies suggest that it exerts a thermo-

genic effect via increased thyroid activity. Keep in mind that DHEA should never be used by men under age 40, since it will convert into ADG and may cause prostate gland enlargement. In men over 40, it may benefit the immune system and counteract the impact of cortisol. Those who have low blood levels of DHEA-S are likely to show the most benefits. If you’re contemplating using DHEA, you should first

P.J., et al. (2005). Dehydroepiandrosterone monotherapy in midlife-onset major and minor depression. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 62:154-62. 2 Villareal, D.T., et al. (2004). Effect of DHEA on abdominal fat and insulin action in elderly women and men. JAMA. 292:2243-48. 3 Brown, G.A., et al. (1999). Effect of oral DHEA on serum testosterone and adaptations to resistance training in young men. J App Physiol. 87:22742283. 4 Labrie, F., et al. (2006). Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) is an anabolic steroid like dihydrotestosterone (DHT), the most potent natural androgen, and tetrahydrogestrinone (THG). J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 100:52-58. 5 Suarez, C., et al. (2005). DHEA modulates GHRH, somatostatin, and angiotensin-2 at the pituitary level. J Endocrin. 185:165-72. 6 Shin, M.H., et al. (2005). Modulation of collagen metabolism by the topical application of dehydroepiandrosterone to human skin. J Invest Dermato. 124:315-23. 7 Nair, K.S., et al. (2006). DHEA in elderly women and DHEA or testosterone in elderly men. NEJM. 355:1647-59. IM

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How to Set the Stage for Optimal Muscle Growth by David Robson • Photography by Michael Neveux

ach month we will comb the archives of Bodybuilding. com’s supersite and select one of the best articles to feature in our pages. This month we showcase David Robson’s work. It’s a comprehensive overview of how to keep your muscle growth on an upward trajectory. True, some of what he suggests is review, but we believe that it pays to review sensible views if you want to get huge. —the Editors Creating the ideal physique can be exceedingly frustrating for many, as a wide range of factors need to be in place to ensure an environment conducive to muscle growth. Ask any bodybuilder. He’d probably tell you that if he could provide the perfect environment in which his body could grow, his bodybuilding

troubles would disappear. Indeed, creating the appropriate environment—an anabolic environment— is the key to great gains. From here, the obvious question is, Just how do you create an anabolic environment? With anabolic pertaining to the stimulation of muscle growth, it follows that you should focus on and prioritize all facets of muscle growth facilitation to achieve an anabolic environment. An anabolic drive, which is defined as a precise synergy of nutritional, hormonal and metabolic activities that completely control growth, needs to be in place before you can achieve complete growth; however, an anabolic environment encompasses a more comprehensive set of targets. Of course, nutrition, hormonal control and metabolism are key factors, but it’s also very important to consider attitude, training intensity and appropriate recovery strategies when you’re aiming to grow at a fast rate. When you consider environment in the context of continual gains in muscle size, you need to look at both the inner and outer environ-

ments to ensure that you’re taking into account all factors conducive to muscle growth. The inner environment encompasses the anabolic processes that govern muscle growth, such as protein synthesis, glucose metabolism, insulin drive and hormone balance. Outer environmental factors can include various stressors, training stimulus and methods, pollution and recovery, all of which enhance the crucial inner anabolic processes. It’s important to consider all of those factors if building muscle is your aim. In reality, though, the lives we live often preclude this possibility. Of course, if one were to devote his life solely and exclusively to bodybuilding, and cost and time weren’t an issue, he could conceivably attain his dream physique. I am not discussing anabolic steroids (and other growth drugs) here, having chosen instead to look at building the ultimate physique from a natural perspective. You can create an anabolic environment without drugs by adhering to the following guidelines: www.ironmanmagazine.com \ MARCH 2007 239

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Full muscle glycogen stores fuel intensity in the gym, which brings more growth stimulation.

1) Ensure an adequate nutritional base In other words, “Eat well.” That’s a very simplistic view, and nutrition for bodybuilding purposes is anything but simplistic. To build muscle you must address all components of nutrition. Any deficiency could spell disaster for your results. In fact, one of the best strategies you could adopt would be to include a full spectrum of vitamins, minerals and other natural anabolism facilitators, such as ginseng, omega-3 fish oil, boron and echinacea. A good megapack will help considerably (I like the Universal brand). They will fill any nutritional gaps left by an inadequate diet. If your diet is adequate, experimenting with various supplements

can enhance your nutritional status and ultimately your muscle size. Of course, you should emphasize proteins, fats and carbohydrates in the correct proportion. For mass gains those would be 30 percent protein, 50 percent carbohydrate and 20 percent fat. Protein is of special significance to the bodybuilder because it’s what makes up muscle tissue. It’s imperative for growth. Of all the protein sources, whey isolate is best, and you should take it in supplemental form. Keep in mind that missing a meal is bodybuilding suicide when you consider the fact that progress effectively stops when the required amino acids and other nutrients aren’t delivered at the right times (usually every two to three hours) in precise amounts.

Furthermore, training progress regresses when energy levels plunge because of low muscle glycogen. The bottom line: Never miss a meal, and eat the required amount of quality foods at almost every meal. The stimulation of insulinlike growth factor 1, which travels to the muscle cells and causes them to grow, can be controlled through attention to diet also. Insulin release is key in that respect. Insulin also acts directly on muscle to drive amino acids into muscle cells for protein synthesis. To ensure an adequate supply of insulin, it’s important to eat six meals per day—and with each meal take two to four grams of ornithine alpha-ketoglutarate. Also, you must maintain a positive nitrogen balance to optimize the insulin drive— that means whey protein.

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It’s essential. During sleep (which has four stages) protein metabolism occurs at a better rate, as does the general restoration of mind and body. A shortage of sleep can contribute to feelings of lethargy and a lack of motivation, both of which halt training progress and promote a catabolic state—the opposite of an anabolic state. Catabolism means muscle is being broken down. Think of eight to 10 hours of sleep as muscle-building money in the bank. Studies show that sleep deprivation alters brain activity, slowing reaction time in certain cellular and chemical activities. During sleep, hormones help repair tissues, preparing them for a new day of movement. That means sleep deprivation can leave you vulnerable to injury. A sleep debt also interrupts the brain’s electrical patterns, producing feelings of tiredness upon waking.

Model: Jeff Dwelle

2) Get Adequate Sleep

Keep in mind that missing a meal is bodybuilding suicide.

Eat well. A potent multivitamin is good health insurance.

Model: Gus Malliarodakis

Insulin acts directly on muscle to drive amino acids into muscle cells.

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Bodybuilding.com Presents

3) Optimize Hormone Balance The release of growth hormone and testosterone is instrumental in creating an anabolic environment. Released from the anterior lobe of the pituitary gland, GH affects muscle-mass gain and fat loss and can improve sleep and stamina and improve kidney function. The best way to increase GH naturally is to supplement with arginine, ornithine (more than five grams a day of each) and gammaaminobutryic acid (GABA). As little as two grams of GABA taken immediately before bed should promote the development of lean tissue while decreasing bodyfat via GH release. Vigorous, intense weight training has also been shown to increase growth hormone. Testosterone is a hormone that has a unique effect on the male

Model: Steve Namat

Model: Marvin Montoya

The release of growth hormone and testosterone is instrumental in creating an anabolic environment.

Intense exercise and muscle burn are linked to GH release.

body. It’s produced in the testes and in the adrenal glands and helps to build protein and governs normal sexual behavior. It also affects many metabolic activities, such as the production of blood cells in the bone marrow, bone formation, lipid metabolism, carbohydrate metabolism, liver function and prostate gland growth. It’s believed that a high testosterone level will significantly enhance muscle growth. Testosterone release can be stimulated through relatively short, intense training sessions, coupled with attention to certain aspects of diet. Dietary factors that enhance testosterone release include higher-fat meals (both saturated and essential; use common sense here and do not consume enough fats to become obese) and an adequate supply of zinc, boron, vitamin C and branched-chain amino acids.

4) Minimize Exposure to Pollutants Pollutants can be many and varied. Some are completely avoidable (cigarette smoking and some smoggy environments, for example). Others are not (the air we breathe is usually polluted to some extent, as is much of the water we drink). Any type of pollutant will have an adverse health effect. One of your aims should be to minimize exposure to pollutants so you don’t smother anabolism. Walking in an area where there’s heavy traffic will restrict oxygen supply to the muscles due to the carbon-monoxide content of exhaust fumes. Carbon monoxide has a higher affinity with hemoglobin than does oxygen, and that deleteriously affects hemoglobin’s oxygen-carrying capacity. It amounts to a lack of oxygen— and nutrients—in the muscles, which will ultimately restrict muscle growth.

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Overreacting to stressful events isn’t in your best interests if you wish to grow either mentally or physically. When we encounter stress, we can choose to cope with it in a number of ways. Yelling, screaming or becoming agitated will only raise your blood pressure and promote cortisol release. When cortisol (a stress hormone) is released, muscle is literally eaten away, and bodyfat is likely to accumulate. Furthermore, becoming stressed in a negative way (there is a positive form of stress called eustress, which is pleasant, curative and unavoidable) can burn quite a large number of calories if that becomes a common way of dealing with stressful events. It’s better to concentrate on what’s important—your health and well-being—rather than give into some comparatively minor inconvenience. The most successful athletes tend to be the those who best manage their day-to-day inconveniences. Ways to deal with stress include aerobic exercise or weight training, deep breathing and concentrating on a way forward, rather than dwelling on your current “stressful” situation.

6) Ensure Sufficient Recovery Sufficient recovery is arguably the most important component of any bodybuilding program. It’s becoming a tired expression, but we really do grow out of the gym, not in it. Intense weight training causes a tremendous amount of muscular damage. Indeed, if you were to train without adequate recovery, you’d probably regress to the point of injury. A good rule for a natural trainee is to train one day on/one day off, with plenty of quality rest in between. I like a variation of Mike Mentzer’s Heavy Duty system, doing two sets per exercise per bodypart. Also, try to maintain a positive outlook on life, which can be exceedingly restful. A negative mindset can physically and mentally

Model: Jose Raymond

5) Minimize Negative Stress

Isolation moves are okay, but make sure your program is dominated by compound exercises.

Pollution can smother growth. drain you like nothing else. Make being positive part of your training strategy.

7) Training Stimulus and Methods Finally, what I consider to be the most important step in creating an anabolic environment: correct training. As mentioned, short, intense weight-training sessions will enhance the release of both testosterone and growth hormone, which, in turn, significantly increase the potential muscle gain. Also, the microcellular damage incurred through intense training is crucial to how your muscles respond and grow. If you increase the poundage you use and change exercises regularly, your muscles will continue to grow to meet the needs of the changing environment. On the other hand, if your routine stays the same, your body will simply stay the same too. It will have no need to adapt. It’s important to stick with the basic, multijoint exercises. Various squats, bench presses and bent-

over rows should be the foundation. Sure, you can also use triceps pushdowns, barbell curls, overhead presses and calf raises, but focus on the basics. You can use many techniques for increasing intensity, including rest/ pause, slow-mo reps, supersets and drop sets. Rotate those into your program periodically to insure that the muscles are constantly subjected to new stimuli. The key to a quality training experience is quite simple: Train as intensely as possible, stick to the proven basic exercises (or variations of them), incorporate intensity techniques, and stretch often. Remember, priming the anabolic environment is absolutely vital when you’re seeking to add size. Without sufficient attention to nutrition, sleep, hormone levels, stress management, pollutant minimization, adequate recovery and training, your gains will be minimal at best.

David Robson.

Editor’s note: David Robson is a martial artist, bodybuilder and accredited personal trainer. For more of his articles visit Bodybuilding. com. IM www.ironmanmagazine.com \ MARCH 2007 243

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Jerry Brainum’s

Bodybuilding Pharmacology

Arginine, Growth Hormone and NO Supplements

promoted GH release that it was used as a provocative challenge to determine GH deficiency. GH release is controlled by two opposing substances. The first, growth-hormone-releasing hormone, as the name implies, promotes the release of GH from the anterior portion of the pituitary gland; GH makes up 8 percent of the gland’s weight. In the body’s typical yin-yang balancing fashion, another substance, somatostatin, puts the brakes on GH release. GH release decreases in most people as they age because the release of growth-hormone-releasing hormone dwindles, allowing somatostatin to dominate; hence the lowered GH release when people get past age 40. Arginine blocks somatostatin activity. That means it Arginine is considered a semi-essential amino acid. It’s should set in motion a rapid and significant release of GH, one of three amino acids (the others being methionine and it does—when provided in infusion form. But studies and glycine) that are the precursors, or starting substancthat have examined the fate of orally taken arginine in relaes, of creatine synthesis in the body. Arginine also plays a tion to GH release have largely been equivocal, with the pivotal role in the urea cycle, which involves the eliminamajority showing little or no effect. tion of protein metabolic by-products—toxic protein byVarious explanations have been suggested. First, whatevproduct ammonia converts into harmless urea in the liver, er you eat must be processed in the liver before it’s released enabling the kidneys to excrete it. into the blood. The liver contains high levels of the enzyme In recent years arginine supplements have been associarginase, which degrades arginine. Some have tried to overated with boosting nitric oxide. Arginine is the immedicome that formidable liver barrier by taking bigger doses ate precursor of NO synthesis in the body by way of NO of arginine in an effort to mimic the 30-gram-dose arginine synthase enzymes. Before the advent of NO supplements, infusions that we know lead to GH release. The problem is however, the most popular bodybuilding use of arginine that large doses of arginine produce nausea and gastrointeswas as a growth hormone booster. tinal discomfort. (If you vomit that huge oral dose of argiProviding arginine in an infusion of 30 grams so reliably nine, you can’t realistically expect a GH response.) There are other problems too. For example, you can’t take any other Arginine is the precursor amino acids or protein with arginine, of nitric oxide, which can since free amino acids compete for increase blood flow. In other uptake. The presence of other amino words, it primes the pump. acids in the blood is enough to blunt GH release. The same holds true for fat and carbohydrate, as GH is best released when your blood glucose and blood fat are low. That explains why taking a GH-boosting supplement before bed with any type of food renders it useless. Even under the best conditions, only 60 percent of orally taken arginine is absorbed, and of that 10 percent is rapidly metabolized in the liver, which leaves 50 percent of the dose in the blood plasma. That’s seven times less than the dose you need to induce GH secretion. Recent research examining the relationship between arginine and GH has produced interesting results. For example, one study looked at what happened when rats were given consistently high levels of arginine in their drinking water.1 The rats showed an increase in the gene expression of GH in the pituitary gland, along with an increase in insulin resistance. GH promotes insulin resistance by opposing the actions of insulin. Yet paradoxically, from an anabolic perspective, insulin is synergistic with GH, since 246 MARCH 2006 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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GH promotes protein synthesis, while insulin prevents excess protein breakdown in muscle. Arginine itself promotes insulin release, and that may have been a factor in the insulin resistance that turned up in the study subjects. As indicated in the rat study, arginine aids in the synthesis of GH in the pituitary gland by increasing the gene activity that governs the process. That’s significant because it shows that arginine, besides blocking somatostatin release, also favors GH release. Another new study also looked at the effects of taking arginine prior to a weight-training workout.2 Eight healthy males were observed under four conditions: 1) Placebo 2) Arginine alone 3) Placebo and exercise 4) Arginine and exercise The subjects provided blood samples every 10 minutes for 3 1/2 hours. After giving a baseline sample, they took either seven grams of arginine or a placebo in a random, blinded protocol. On the exercise days the subjects did three sets of nine exercises, using weights equal to 80 percent of their one-rep-maximum lifts. Exercise promotes GH release via several mechanisms. One involves the heightened release of a brain neurotransmitter called acetylcholine. That blunts the release of somatostatin, leading to higher GH levels. In addition, intense exercise promotes the release of growth-hormoneincreasing hormone from the hypothalamus, further increasing GH release. In the new study, oral arginine increased GH release when the subjects were at rest (double baseline levels), but training alone produced a greater release of GH than arginine alone (sixfold over resting levels). Interestingly enough, the amino acid offers significant benefits to humans with diabetes, as a new study demonstrates.3 Thirty-three obese diabetic patients followed a low-calorie diet and trained on an exercise program for 21 days. They were divided into two groups, with one group on a placebo, the other on 8.3 grams of arginine a day. Both groups lost bodyfat, but the arginine group lost more. They also experienced improved glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity; better endothelial, or blood vessel, function; less oxidative stress and a greater sparing of lean mass during the diet. Diabetics, because of damage to the endothelium, often are deficient in NO, which leads to high blood pressure and various cardiovascular complications. Being on arginine seemed to lower blood pressure, likely the result of an improved NO profile. The authors note that they chose the dose of 8.3 grams a day of arginine because nine grams is the minimum effective dose that avoids side effects. Doses that are too high can lead to cardiovascular problems because of fat oxida-

GH is best released when your blood glucose and blood fat are low, which is why you shouldn’t take GH-boosting supplements on an empty stomach. tion and production of peroxynitrate free radicals that form when high levels of NO are exposed to hydrogen peroxide in the tissues. An additional and important benefit is that arginine increased the subjects’ adiponectin levels. Adiponectin, which is secreted by fat cells, is a very useful substance because it increases insulin sensitivity and promotes the use of bodyfat as a fuel source. Diabetics and those who are obese usually lack sufficient adiponectin release, which leads to the cluster of symptoms known as the metabolic syndrome. Speaking of adiponectin, another new study found that giving subjects the B-complex vitamin niacin dramatically increased adiponectin levels.4 Twenty-four people took an extended-release version of niacin. During the first four weeks the daily dose was increased at weekly intervals from 375 milligrams to 1,000 milligrams. The dose was maintained for a month, then increased to 1,500 milligrams a day for another six weeks. Those doses led to a 54 and 94 percent increase in adiponectin levels. Adiponectin not only helps with fat burning but also prevents metabolic syndrome, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Niacin, however, should never be taken before a workout, since it blocks the use of fat for fuel, prematurely exhausting limited glycogen stores. The extended-release niacin used in the study has also been linked to liver problems. What about the NO-boosting supplements? They’re popular, but do they work as advertised? The advertisements suggest they would prove useful by promoting NO synthesis and release, which are involved in the release of

An additional and important benefit is that arginine increased the subjects’ adiponectin levels. Adiponectin, which is secreted by fat cells, increases insulin sensitivity and promotes the use of bodyfat as a fuel source. www.ironmanmagazine.com \ MARCH 2006 247

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Jerry Brainum’s

Neveux \ Model: Moe El Moussawi

Bodybuilding Pharmacology

In one study subjects who combined arginine and alpha-ketoglutarate got significant strength increases.

various anabolic hormones, such as testosterone, growth hormone and insulin. Since NO dilates blood vessels, using the supplements should also provide greater blood flow to muscle, along with the psychological benefits of having a greater muscle pump. Boosting NO may also upgrade muscle protein synthesis while blunting catabolic effects in muscle. A new study looked at the absorption, safety and beneficial effects of NO supplements.5 The primary ingredients are arginine and alphaketoglutarate, AKG being a by-product of the citric acid energy cycle in cells. Past studies show that when it’s combined with amino acids, such as ornithine, it provides anticatabolic effects in muscle. In most such studies, however, subjects got the combination through feeding tubes rather than orally. In the first part of the study the safety and absorption characteristics of arginine and alpha-ketoglutarate, or AAKG, as the combination is called, were examined in 10 healthy men, aged 30 to 50. The men fasted for

eight hours, then took four grams of either a timed-release or a regular form of AAKG. That portion of the study, as expected, led to a peak in blood levels of arginine, which were higher in the subjects who got the regular than the timed-release form. The second part of the study involved a training component, in which 35 experienced weight-trained men were randomly assigned to take either a placebo or 12 grams of AAKG daily in three doses of four grams each. They trained four days a week for eight weeks. The AAKG proved safe, with no effects on liver enzymes, kidney function or blood composition. Those in the AAKG group showed significantly greater gains in their one-rep bench press and anaerobic power tests than those in the placebo group. The authors can’t explain the strength increase but suggest that it may have been because of an increase in muscle creatine levels—a highly dubious explanation at best. My view is that the strength increase was related to the high arginine intake

afforded by the supplement. That may have resulted in a greater NO synthesis, which may have supported the strength gains.

References 1 Barbosa, T., et al. (2006). Chronic oral administration of arginine induces GH gene expression and insulin. Life Sci. 79(15):1444-9. 2 Collier, S., et al. (2006). Oral arginine attenuates the growth hormone response to resistance exercise. J Appl Physiol. 101(3):848-52. 3 Lucotti, P.C., et al. (2006). Beneficial effects of oral L-arginine treatment added to a hypocaloric diet and exercise training program in obese, insulin resistant type-2 diabetic patients. Am J Physiol Endocrin Metab. In press. 4 Westphal, S., et al. (2006). Adiponectin and treatment with niacin. Metabolism. 55:1283-1285. 5 Campbell, B., et al. (2006). Pharmacokinetic, safety, and effects on exercise performance of L-arginine a-ketoglutarate in trained adult men. Nutrition. 22:872-81. IM

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Eric Broser’s

If you find something on the Web that IM readers should know about, send the URL to Eric at [email protected].

>http://TrinaGoosby.com A few months ago I was contacted on MySpace.com by a sultry and sexy gal named Trina Goosby. She asked to be my friend, and like any red-blooded American male in his right mind, I happily obliged. Over the course of several weeks Trina and I communicated by e-mail, then by phone and eventually in person. Getting to know Trina has been a wonderful experience, as she is beautiful not only on the outside but on the inside as well. She is also very well spoken, intelligent and caring and loves to laugh (which I quickly learned when we saw “Talladega Nights”). I’m mentioning all of this because so many gals in the industry are stuck-up and have a what-can-you-do-for-me attitude. That doesn’t describe Trina at all; she’s a rare gem in the fitness world. Because of that, I told Trina that I wanted to feature her site in the column, which she found an exciting prospect, as it’s recently been redone and is now one of the sharpest looking on the Web. And speaking of sharp-looking, at just 5’ tall and about 100 pounds onstage, Trina is on the fast track to becoming one of the top “tiny” figure gals on the scene. I recently had the pleasure of watching her win her class and the overall at the Florida Gold Cup/Zena Collins Figure Championships. Next is the Arnold Classic, where she’ll battle it out with some of the top pro-card-hungry figure women from across the nation. Trina was born in Dearborn Heights, Michigan, and grew up in a small town in northern Wisconsin. She now resides in Boca Raton, Florida, where she uses her education, which includes a B.S. in exercise physiology and kinesiology, to help others achieve better health and a harder body. Being of Filipino and Welsh descent has certainly given Trina an exotic look, which you can see firsthand in her stunning picture gallery. And trust me when I say her photos are hot—I recommend turning on your air conditioner before viewing. Another interesting fact about Trina is that she’s a classically trained ballet dancer, which explains her amazing grace and stage presence. You can learn much more about her in the “About Me” section. I really enjoyed Trina’s site: It’s easy to navigate, has a high-tech look and even plays some banging music in the background. Check it out. 250 MARCH 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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>www.KingKamali.com Tennis had John McEnroe. Football has Terrell Owens. And bodybuilding has Shari “King” Kamali. What do those three professional sports stars have in common? They love to rock the boat—as in create controversy. And they’re not afraid to speak their minds, no matter who gets pissed off. King is probably best known for his constant war of words with former pro bodybuilder Craig Titus, which made for some entertaining reading in the magazines as well as onstage. Hmm, you think King visits Craig in jail these days? Probably not. But I digress. It’s precisely because of Kamali’s controversial comments that I decided to check out his Web site to see if I can learn more about the man behind the mouth (and muscles, of course). King, born in Tehran, Iran, won his pro card at the ’99 NPC Nationals as a heavyweight and then stormed the pro scene in ’01 with a thirdplace finish at the IRON MAN Pro, fourth at the Arnold Classic and a top-10 showing at the Olympia. What Kamali lacked in muscle shape, he made up for in spades with his excellent hard-as-nails conditioning. Since 2001 King has had trouble recapturing his best form, however, and has been struggling in the more prestigious IFBB events. Don’t count the man out just yet, though, as he is one of the most passionate and driven athletes in the pro ranks. King thrives on criticism and the negative comments he hears about his physique and future in the sport. To quote his site, the man who would be King has this to say about his critics: “The interesting thing is that these idiots who constantly put me down do not realize that the more they hound me, the more dedicated I get. These morons keep adding fuel to my fire every time they open their mouths.” Kamali really needs to come out of his shell, huh? I was surprised to learn that he has a head on his shoulders; he earned a B.S. in exercise

physiology from George Mason University, which he makes good use of in his own training and the many seminars he puts on each year. I’m also impressed with the fact that King keeps his picture gallery up to date; many pros do not. Not only does he have photos from each show he competed in during 2006, but he also includes great hotel-room shots from two days out, one day out and just hours before the Arnold Classic. It’s interesting to see the subtle changes in his conditioning from day to day. Of course, Kamali has a store on his site as well, where he offers some cool autographed photos, training videos and his own lifting straps for sale. Definitely worth a look.

>www.NutritionData.com Starbuck’s caffe mocha with nonfat milk, 174 calories. Krispy Kreme vanilla iced doughnut with sprinkles, 280 calories. Burger King bacon double cheeseburger, 580 calories. NutritionData.com, priceless. Okay, so maybe the site isn’t quite as priceless as, say, your copy of IRON MAN, but it is without a doubt an extremely valuable tool and source of information for anyone serious about transforming his or her physique. The data above came from the site’s monster list of the complete nutritional content of just about any fast food you can think of! So the next time you sit down to your weekly cheat meal (or meals, Mr. Ab-less), you can quickly figure out exactly how many hours you’ll need to utter the phrase, “Oh, man, am I bloated.”

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Eric Broser’s >Net

Results Q&A

Interesting queries from message boards and forums from across the Internet, answered with precision, accuracy and plenty of outrageous opinions...

tax the lats, midback musculature (traps and rhomboids), posterior deltoid and biceps/brachialis. The inclines would target the pectorals, anterior deltoids and triceps. Using those three movements, I’d try a variety of grips, angles and ranges of motion in order to get the

Q: I’m trying to get ripped for my first bodybuilding contest and was told to avoid fruit. Fruit is so healthful, why is it not good when you’re on a diet?

Fruit can make it hard to get harder during those last few weeks of a diet.

Q: If you could choose only three exercises for your entire body, what would they be? A: That’s an interesting question, and one that I’ve thought about many times. After years of performing every exercise in existence, I’ve developed a pool of favorites—exercises that seem to be the most effective for me (and most trainees). Given the choice of only three, however, I’d probably go with full deadlifts, bent-over barbell rows and incline barbell presses. The deadlifts would hit the major muscles of the thighs, hip structure and lumbar region. The bent-over rows would

Neveux \ Model: Ken Yasuda

A: It does seem strange, doesn’t it? Yes, fruit is quite healthful, virtually fat free and loaded with vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients, but it also contains a natural sugar known as fructose. Sugar can greatly hinder your efforts toward a ripped physique. Diets too high in any type of sugar can induce insulin resistance, which can lead to higher blood lipids and bodyfat. If you’re serious about creating a stageworthy physique, you should stick with complex carbs like oatmeal, brown rice and sweet potatoes prior to a contest. I usually have my clients cut out fruit completely at least six weeks before a competition and recommend limiting fruit to only one meal per day (usually breakfast). Best of luck at your show!

Full deadlift: One of the best massproducing moves you can do— even better than the squat.

most from each one. Some trainees might look to replace the deadlift with the squat, but it’s my belief that the deadlift is actually a better overall exercise for inducing hypertrophy. Although you may not be able to build a “perfectly balanced” body using only three exercises, you still can certainly build an impressive physique. I know many guys who perform only a few basic lifts several times per week, and they’re extremely well developed. In fact, for at least four to six weeks of every year I go back to a program of just basic movements, leaving the cables and machines behind, and I always find that serves as a serious wake-up call to my muscles. Then, when I go back to a greater variety of movements, I find that I’m stronger on each one of them. Good stuff! IM

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Lonnie Teper’s

NEWS & ViEWS

NPC bodybuilding, fitness and figure come to the big conclave in Columbus.

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Balik \ Model: Jodi Friedman

Balik \ Model: Colleen Baldwin

Just when you thought the big weekend in Columbus, Ohio, had no more room to expand, it got larger again. Including its title. The threeday bash formerly known as the Arnold Fitness Weekend, which is set for March 2 through 4 this season, is now known as the Arnold Sports Festival. “This title recognizes the weekend’s growth, and this year’s event will host 17,000 athletes, 38 sports and events—14 of which are Olympic sports,” said co-promoter (and partner of guess who) Jim Lorimer. “The festival includes an expanded 650-booth Expo, and youth and adult athletes from more than 10 nations will participate in competitions and demonstrations.” The Ultimate Fighting Championships—UFC—will be back with a Saturday-night event that’ll be broadcast on pay-per-view TV. Among the new doings this year: USA weightlifting, grappling wrestling, sumo demo, WWE talent recruitment, the Arnold Archery competition, the International Youth Dance competition (featuring 14 U.S. couples hoofing away against 14 Canadian couples) and, of course, the amateur NPC Arnold Bodybuilding, Fitness and Figure Championships. I was going to enter the dance competition, but I’m much too old for a youth division. Plus, my wonderful partner, Nancy DeNino, is from Canada, which eliminates me as the logical choice for her partner. Masters division next year, Jim? Bob Lorimer, Jim’s son, is co-producing the NPC event with Ohio fitness and figure guru Mike Davies, and he admitted in early December that the mad rush of potential contestants contacting them caught even him off guard. “We were originally going to set the limit at 200, but it ended up at 300 before we cut it off,” Bob said. “We have 100 in figure—all competitors had to place in the top five at an NPC national qualifier.” I’m flattered that Bob has booked me to emcee the amateur shebang. I’ll also be back for my usual duties at the podium for the Arnold Classic as well, so it makes an already nonstop weekend that much more exciting. For more info on the magnetic

Comstock \ Model: Jeff Rodriguez

Big Fella’s weekend goes amateur

Dobbins \ www.BillDobbins.com

It’s Bigger and Better

Dobbins \ www.BillDobbins.com

AFW 2007

REWARDS Now he can go to the Junior Cal. Pages 258 and 259

FORMULA ONE New supplement in development? Page 260

IM PRO SPONSORS Just why is Vince so excited? Pages 260 and 261

weekend, log on to www.ArnoldSports Festival.com.

Okay, so Ron “Yogi” Avidan and Isaac “Lift Studios” Hinds, my teammates on that crack prognosticating trio “The Experts,” have been chastising me since the Swami’s notquite-right pick of Evan Centopani to win the ’06 Nationals. As it so happens, Dandy Desmond Miller, who left the Jackie Gleason Theater with the superheavyweight and overall crowns, isn’t joining in with the wisecracks. “You picking Evan to win in Miami Beach didn’t bother me at all,” said Evan Miller. “I like being the underdog. and Des. Besides, in your predictions you basically said it was between me and Evan, and you were right.” The 32-year-old Miller won more than a pro card in Florida—he also met someone who would end up being a pretty close friend. His name is Evan Centopani. “We never met before the Nationals,” said Miller, “and we became friends. Evan’s a great guy—we call each other, send e-mails. He’s going to visit me soon, and we’re going to do a leg workout together.” Centopani admitted that Miller had impressed him big time at the ’05 Nationals and that “his legs blow mine away.” That’s correct, and it’s nice to see that Evan wants to learn from the conqueror. And, since I’ve already gone on record as saying that the 24-year-old from Connecticut will win it all at the ’07 Nationals in Dallas, I’m happy with the tutorial program he’s seeking out. Speaking of shows, and predictions, Avidan and Hinds may not get the opportunity to critique my prediction that Miller will win in his pro debut at the New York Pro—Desmond was saying in early December that he wasn’t sure what …and contest would be his first on the flex-for-pay now. level, that he’ll discuss it with his wife, Marilyn, before finalizing his plans (don’t leave two-yearold Desmari out of the chat, either, Big D). “I need to make some improvements—more lats and shoulders—before I compete again, so it might be at the end of next year’s contest season,” Miller said. “I want to have a more complete package. I want to be a good pro. It would be an honor to compete against people like Victor [Martinez], so right now I’m just glad to be here.” So are a lot of promoters—and fans—big guy. Liberman

Craig Richardson.

Comstock

Budding Relationship

Photos courtesy of Mike Torchia

Mike Torchia then.

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Craig Steals the USO Show

Mike Torchia was quite a bodybuilder in his day. He won the Teenage Mr. America in 1976, the Collegiate Mr. USA in ’77 and the middleweight class at the Mr. California ’81. These days Mike flexes his muscles as one of the highest paid celebrity trainers in the country (try Matt Damon, Kevin Spacey, Al Pacino, Kim Cattrall, Sinbad and Ralph Lauren on for size) and as the host of a new radio talk show, “Shape Up America,” that was scheduled to make its debut on Los Angeles’ FM 97.1 (former home of “The Howard Stern Show”) on January 7. Mike says the hourlong program will run every Sunday morning at nine and will cover all aspects of fitness. “We love our families and want to protect them,” Torchia says, “but many of us are ignoring common sense every day. We are continually putting our lives and those of our loved ones in danger despite to the mounting evidence about the epidemic of obesity and the specter of metabolic syndrome X. “MSX is a condition that weakens immune systems and makes people much more susceptible to type 2 diabetes, cancer, heart disease and other crippling lifestyle diseases.” Despite having had a Hollywood who’s who training under his guidance, Mike says he’s gotten the most satisfaction from working with kids. “I’ve hosted my youth fitness seminars at schools and gyms across the nation and have worked one-on-one with families to help them make positive and permanent fitness lifestyle changes. I’ve come to understand that there’s a key ingredient missing in the fight against obesity—that ingredient is the family.” Good stuff, Mike. The fight against obesity has been a losing one over

Comstock

Sherlyn Roy.

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Comstock

Torchia Torks Up America

Phil “the Thrill” Vasquez.

Jay is Mr. O.

Comstock

Thumbs-up to New Jersey–based IFBB pro Craig Richardson, who organized a USO tour last fall, entertaining American troops stationed overseas. “Craig contacted the USO and presented a novel proposal for entertaining the troops,” said Harley Breite, Richardson’s training partner and sidekick on the goodwill mission. “After clearance from the Pentagon, we were flown to Italy and toured Army and Air Force bases all over the country. “The presentation consisted of our self-produced five-minute documentary film, depicting Craig’s life as a family man [Richardson is married and a father of three] and professional bodybuilder. I addressed the crowd just before Craig began his posing routine, and afterward Craig gave a seminar and then signed autographs.” Breite said Craig was thrilled to do the shows, and the audiences were thrilled he was there. “Every base we went to, people waited an hour or more to speak to Craig and get advice on various aspects of training. They really loved it when he’d jump into the audience while posing and then take pictures with the troops and little kids.” I’ve always liked Richardson’s physique. Now I know his heart is bigger than his peaked biceps. This is a guy who quit high school to support a newborn, then went back to earn his high school degree—at 28 years old! Talk about resolve. To contact Richardson for guest posings, seminars or store appearances, write to Breite at [email protected].

the years. Let’s hope you can play a part in changing that.

Heavenly Heather.

Mr. O Happenings

Find complete coverage of the IRON MAN Pro Bodybuilding Championship— February 16–17— at Graphic Muscle.com.

Daniel Stuckart

Larry Mosby.

PASADENA, HERE HE COMES—The Ultimate Beef is also a man of his word. When he guest-posed at my Junior California Bodybuilding and Figure Championships a few years back, he promised to return the following year—this time as Mr. Olympia. Ronnie Coleman had something to say about that, of course; so two years ago I had both the Big Nasty and Jay as featured performers. This time it’s official: Now Mr. Olympia, Cutler will return to the Sexson Auditorium on the campus of Pasadena City College for this year’s Junior Cal, which is set for June 23. And with last year’s show having been the biggest in its history (both in number of contestants and fans in the seats), the latest version will, I hope, be the best yet. Last year’s champs—Darren Telfair and Sherlyn Roy—were honored as Graphic Muscle Stars in this magazine, and the 2007 winners will get the same treatment. I’m also working on a photo shoot with the victors that would run in IRON MAN. Roy had a spectacular year in 2006; she won the fitness title and took second in her class in figure at the California Championships, followed that up with a victory at the Junior Cal and went on to finish seventh at the Figure Nationals and ninth at the USA. For those who think you’re at too high a level for this non-national qualifier, read the previous sentence again. The Junior Cal is the only contest (at least to my knowledge) that has a collegiate division; it includes a teen division, and some of the six teens who flexed onstage last year have promised to be back, including Phil “the Thrill” Vasquez, a ripped-to-the-bone 17-year-old who made his bodybuilding debut as a high school junior in ’06. On the other end of the ledger is Jungle Jim Arrington, a 74-year-old wonder who says he’s ready to take on the young kids again. To try and even the playing field a bit for Jim, I’m adding a 60-and-over division this year. Just don’t ask me to go for a 70-and-over class, kid. Contest info and entry forms for the event are available at GraphicMuscle.com; or if you have further questions, you can contact me at the addresses listed at the end of this column.

Merv

Les Sidweber

JAY ON THE MOVE—Newly crowned Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler has had even more on his plate than usual lately, including hiring a publicist and contemplating a move to Southern California. Cutler, the consummate businessman, hopes to capitalize on his Sandow trophy by getting some mainstream work—films, commercials, appearances on Leno, Letterman, et al.—and feels a publicist and quarters in the entertainment capital need to be part of the game plan. Cutler and his wife, Kerry, the unsung hero behind her man’s success, will not give up their beautiful Las Vegas home; they’re looking for a condo or townhouse, preferably in the Marina del Rey area, to have a place to settle while making the anticipated more-frequent-than-usual trips to the Southland.

Trey Brewer, onstage and five months out.

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In Memoriam: Larry Mosby Sad news hit the bodybuilding community when it was learned that Larry Mosby, a former competitor and the co-founder (with his exwife, pro figure competitor June Munroe) of Flexstar Nutrition, passed away In his sleep on November 14 due to a heart attack. He was 46 years old. Larry was a great guy and was always up for an L.T. fun session. I used to introduce him as Howie Long at contests; one year at my Junior Cal he cut his hair the same style as Long’s, wore similar glasses and bought a turtleneck to complete the outfit. He was magnificent when I brought him out to hand out the trophies, waiving to the crowd, and later keeping a straight face while signing autographs for Long devotees. Earlier in the evening Larry and Lee Priest, who was guest posing, jammed into a phone booth in the lobby at of the Sexson Auditorium. Larry was a large man, about 6’8” and 400 pounds, and was living in Valley Ranch, Texas, at the time of his death. He loved 1960s cars, and I remember June saying a few years back, “I wish I could get him to spend as much time on business as he does on cars and wheels!” The last time I saw Larry was at the ’06 Europa Super Show; I was the emcee and saw him in the audience, but I never got a chance to chat with him that night. My deepest sympathy to his family and friends.

UP, DOWN AND ROUND THE

VYOTECH CHRISTMAS PARTY 1

Athlete Notes HEATHER LEE IS HEAVENLY—I recently heard from bodybuilderturned-figure competitor Heather Lee, and the New Jersey filly says she plans on making the official switch to figure during the 2007 season. In the meantime she’s completed the shoot for another supersexy calendar and shared a few pics from the final editing session. I’ll just give you a peek at one. If you’d like to have a calendar full of alluring shots of Heather hanging on your wall at home (or any place your heart desires), check out www.HeatherLeeNJ.com and purchase one for yourself. Heavenly, Heather Lee.

WATCH OUT FOR: TREY BREWER—Can you believe the development of this 21-year-old, who took the overall at the NPC Excalibur on December 2 in Culver City, California? Can you believe what he looked like five months out, about 325 pounds? Can you believe the size of his wheels? Are they the best in the NPC today? How about the IFBB as well? Does he remind you of former pro star Mike Francois? The scary thing is that Brewer’s nutritionist-trainer, Daniel Stuckart, says that Trey, who carried 255 pounds of beef on his 5’11” frame at the contest, didn’t work his lower body for several months prior to it in order to bring better balance to his physique. Brewer flew 2,500 miles from Atlanta to enter the Jon Lindsay production, which, as always, attracted one of the largest lineups of the year—1,780 athletes. Turned out to be worth it for the kid, who has positioned himself as someone to keep a close eye on. Wherever he competes next, you can bet Trey will have a leg up on his rivals.

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Holiday Fun: VyoTech Holds the Key Vince and Spiro Kandis sure know how to give great party. I joined the folks at the ’06 VyoTech Christmas celebration, held at Key Club in West Hollywood, California, on December 2, and it was some do. Now, I’m not much of a drinker, so when I do touch alcohol, it’s usually 4 something on the, ah, sweeter side of the drink menu. Still, I didn’t expect Vince to bust up so much when I ordered a piña colada that he injured Photography by Lonnie Teper his ribs. Every hour or so, Vince would pass by, ask me how my drink 260 MARCH 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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1) Kristi and Shawn Ray lead the band of revelers. 2) A beautiful bartender happily pours the holiday spirits. 3) The gang’s all here (from left): Jim Manion, Kevin Levrone, Vince Kandis, Shawn Ray and Bob Cicherillo. 4) Laura Mak can’t resist the chocolate-covered strawberries.

5 was, crack up some more and then grab his bruised ribs. Speaking of ribs, there was a lot of great food there, guys, but I won’t mind if ribs are added to the carte du jour next year. Several industry celebs showed up at the event, including Shawn and Kristi Ray, who took houseguest Mild (okay, Bill, how about Wild?) Bill Wilmore with them to celebrate the extension of Wilmore’s contract with the company. I have to admit that, after razzing Shawn for years about his lack of rhythm, I was impressed with his version of the robot. Okay, it was a little out of date, but I’ll overlook that small point. (Besides, he’s too old to hip-hop.) And Vince proved he’s not so shabby on the dance floor, either. Kevin Levrone was there, as were Mary Jo Cooke and Laura Mak. Bob Cicherillo and his wife, Tocha, about a month or so from the date their first child was expected, joined the festivities. So did Steve Parris, who promoted many major shows years ago before moving on to handle all of the clothing lines at Gold’s and World gyms. Ron and Lori Avidan stopped by, as did actor Lawrence Hilton Jacobs, a regular on one of my all-time-fave TV shows, “Welcome Back, Kotter.” and the guy who played Joe Jackson in the made-for-television flick about the life of the famous Jackson family. Winning the award for People Who Came the Farthest were Jim Manion and Debbie Albert and their friend and fellow Pittsburgher Kim Pappaterra. Poor Jim. Because he got there late and was, as usual, dressed to the nines, a few people thought Manion worked at the club and began ordering drinks from him. Lats, being in the holiday spirit, didn’t mind making multiple trips to the bar to accommodate them. Seeing Kevin and Chick there with Manion took me on a trip down memory lane. More than 15 years ago, when Jim hosted the ’91 NPC Nationals in Pittsburgh, Levrone came out of nowhere to win the greatest heavyweight lineup of all time: Flex Wheeler, Paul DeMayo, Ronnie Coleman, and Matt Mendenhall, in that order, rounded out the top five. Manion was stunned when it turned out I was right about Bob’s sixth-place finish at the contest. By the way, an up-and-comer named Chris Cormier placed seventh. A great time was had by all at the holiday bash, thanks to the generous Kandis brothers, who picked up the tab for everything—food, drinks, parking. Shoot, they even supplied two bucks if you wanted to snap black-and-whites in the old school photo booth. A nice lead-in to VyoTech’s role To contact Lonnie as title sponsor of the IRON MAN Teper about material Pro and FitExpo, which will be possibly pertinent to right around the corner by the time News & Views, write you read this. to 1613 Chelsea So, Vince, where are we eating Road, #266, San Marino, CA 91108; to celebrate my birthday on Februfax to (626) 289-7949; ary 16? Oh, yeah, I don’t celebrate or send e-mail to those anymore. IM

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Ron Avidan

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Neveux

5) Lori and Ron Avidan make merry. 6) Pittsburgh in the house: Manion, Debbie Albert and Jill Pappaterra. 7) Spiro Kandis cheers on the dancers. 8) Shawn and L.T. say welcome back to Lawrence Hilton Jacobs. 9) Mary Jo Cooke and hubby David Elliot party with Josh and Katrina. 10) Vince gets down. 11) L.T. chows down. 12) The Chicks, Tocha and Bob. Ron Avidan

[email protected].

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Pro Seaso LEE PRIEST IRON MAN PRO

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n Preview IRON MAN Pro, Sacramento Pro, Arnold Classic

Jump-Start 2007 by Lonnie Teper

DEXTER JACKSON Arnold Classic

Photography by John Balik, Michael Neveux, Armando Sanchez and Bill Comstock

Contest aficionados won’t need much time to get into the flow of the 2007 season: The IRON MAN Pro starts the show, as always, with the first battle of the year on Saturday, February 17, at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. This marks the 18th year in a row that the IM Pro has given the IFBB season a great liftoff. A week later it’s the Sacramento Pro (formerly known as the San Francisco Pro), then on to Columbus, Ohio, for the perennial blockbuster, the Arnold Classic.

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Pro Season Preview

IRON MAN Pro Once again we’ll give the fans a peek at the IM Pro lineup at the press conference, where I weigh in each competitor (and even get some of them to take off their sweats). It will take place at the FitExpo on Friday at 4 p.m. in the Pasadena Civic Center. After the press conference a “Meet the Athletes” event will be held at the same location.

At press time in mid December it was hard to know who’s in, who’s not for the season’s first two competitions, but based on the history of the John Balik and Michael Neveux–produced IRON MAN, it’s safe to say the lineup will have some of the game’s top players. Thanks to IFBB Pro League head Jim Manion, the contest is now a top-five Mr. Olympia qualifier. The longest running show on the West Coast, its record book lists

DAVID HENRY

Flex Wheeler as the all-time IM Pro champion with five victories, and right behind Flex is Chris Cormier, with four. Vince Taylor has won it twice. A guy named Jay Cutler won it in 2003. Shawn Ray was the first to wear the crown; other superstars to take the title include J.J. Marsh, Dexter Jackson, Gustavo Badell and Lee Priest. The IM is one contest Ronnie Coleman didn’t win. Cormier, who I now call the “Real Enigma” rather than the “Real Deal,”

CHRIS CORMIER

IRON MAN PRO

IRON MAN PRO

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MARK DUGDALE

TROY ALVES

IRON MAN PRO

IRON MAN PRO

ERYK BUI IRON MAN PRO

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Pro Season Preview had his troubles on and off the stage last year and ended up in the hospital with a spinal infection that, along with other tribulations, kept him from competing in 2006. Can he bounce back? Will it be at the IM Pro? Seems like a great place to start for Chris, who, approaching his 40th birthday, doesn’t have a lot of time to prove that he still ranks among the finest in the industry. We do know last year’s winner, Lee Priest, won’t be back to defend

his crown (Priest opted to compete in the PDI last year), but runnerup David Henry should be back with the $15,000 first-place prize money firmly in his sights. Henry and Ronny Rockel were the most overlooked Mr. O competitors last year, so a victory at the IM would ease the pain a bit for David. Troy Alves, Kris Dim and Mark Dugdale finished third, fourth and fifth, respectively, last season, and at least Dim and Dugdale are planning

to engage in battle again this year. Ditto for Eryk “Chop” Bui, who made a fine pro debut last year with an eighth-place finish and vows he’ll be in the top five this time around. Gary Strydom talked earlier in the year about doing the IM for the first time since the inaugural affair way back in 1990. At 47, Gary still looks great and definitely would battle for an Olympia-qualifying spot in Pasadena. Another chap with a grade-A

GARY STRYDOM

IRON MAN PRO

IRON MAN PRO

Isaac Hinds \ Lift Studios

KRIS DIM

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physique who’s planning to do the show is Omar Deckard. Omar carried 255 pounds on his 6’2” frame last year and feels he can add 10 pounds of quality muscle and still show off the same conditioning that brought him the overall at the USA back in July. For updates on the IM and the accompanying FitExpo, check online at IronmanMagazine.com and GraphicMuscle.com.

VICTOR MARTINEZ Arnold Classic

Sacramento Pro The Jon Lindsay and Steve O’Brien–produced Sacramento Pro Men’s and Women’s Pro Bodybuilding Grand Prix moves to the Crest Theater in Sacramento one week after the IM, one week before the Arnold Classic. Did I say women’s bodybuilding? Yup— female flexers will replace the figure competitors in the companion contest to the men’s show, with two weight classes, thanks to the IFBB’s recent ruling that promoters may opt to have weight classes at women’s pro bodybuilding events. It’s safe to assume that several of the male competitors who take the stage in Pasadena will do likewise in Sacramento seven days later. For more info on the contest, log on to www.MuscleContest.com. (continued on page 270)

Teper

JON LINDSAY and STEVE O’BRIEN

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Pro Season Preview

Arnold Classic The lineup for the Arnold, set for March 3 at Veterans Memorial Auditorium, looks to be one of the most competitive in history, and if you know the background of this show, you know that’s saying a mouthful. Two-time defending champ Dexter Jackson will be onstage once again to go for the triple crown. To do that, however, the Blade will have to topple the likes of Victor Martinez, Melvin Anthony, Gustavo Badell, Dennis James, Branch Warren…and last year’s rookie wunderkind, Phil “the Gift” Heath. I’d been waiting for Martinez to fulfill his Mr. O potential for several years. The 5’9”, 240-pounder did just that with a powerful third-place showing at the ’06 Olympia, placing ahead of Jackson, Anthony and Badell, in that order (and behind, of course, Cutler and Ronnie Coleman). Does Victor enter as the favorite even though the 5’6 1/2”, 215pound Jackson is coming off those back-to-back wins? No more than a co-pick with Dexter in my book. Jackson has proven he can nail his conditioning at every show; Victor hasn’t. If Martinez shows up in top shape again, however, the Arnold’s $110,000 first-place prize is obviously well within his grasp. I’ve always been a champion of Anthony’s physique and thought he was at his all-time best at the Olympia last year. I told people I could have seen the 5’8 1/2”, 240pounder placing as high as third. If you want the classic small waist, V-taper look, who is a better model than Marvelous? And there’s no need to mention that he’s the best poser in the history of the game. Okay, maybe there is. Badell missed his peak at both the Arnold and the Olympia last year (fourth in Columbus, sixth at the O) and is out to prove he’s still worthy of title contention. Ditto for Branch Warren, who chased Jackson to the ASC crown last year, winning the Most Muscular award in the process, but ended the season on a disappointing note by landing in 11th at the Olympia. 270 MARCH 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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GUSTAVO BADELL Arnold Classic

And then there’s Heath, who could make a major dent in the lineup in his first attempt at the Arnold. Last year the 5’9”, 215pounder from Denver won the first two flex-for-pay shows he entered— the Colorado Pro and the New York Pro—after dominating the ’05 USA. Heath was shredded in Denver and a bit more filled out in New York and now will give fans what they’ve been waiting for since he turned pro—he’ll compete in a lineup

featuring most of the top pros in the world. Is the 26-year-old ready—is he big enough—to make a dent such an illustrious array of bodybuilders? I say yes. Can he be in the top six? For sure. Top three? Perhaps. Prove that he merits mention in the same breath as the top players in the game? Why not? Throw in more quality physiques

like Henry, Dugdale, Mustafa Mohammad, Darrem Charles, Ronny Rockel, Vince Taylor (is this cat really 50?) and more (go to www.ArnoldClassic.com to get the final roster of competitors), and it’s easy to see the depth of the lineup. Not surprisingly, it will be muscle heaven in 2007. Let’s get ready to rumble. IM

BRANCH WARREN Arnold Classic

MELVIN ANTHONY Arnold Classic

RONNY ROCKEL Arnold Classic

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CHAMPS ROSTER

2006 ROUNDUP

Many Happy Returns

Qualilty,

In the year that was

Bodybuilder of the Year: Iris Kyle

Is it me, or did 2006 flash by faster than the murderfor-hire case against Craig Titus? It seems like only yesterday we were dashing for cover and scrounging for umbrellas at the IRONMAN Pro/FitExpo. Now it’s almost time for the ’07 edition (see the preview on page 262 if you can’t believe it either). Before you pack your slicker for the big doings in Pasadena on February 16 through 18, however, a leap through the events of the past season, as it pertains to the three women’s physique sports, is in order, with a look at some of the champs and near-champs who quarterturned (among other things) with such excellence. It’s a testament to the health of the three women’s physique sports, whatever you may hear, that they produced too darned many notable bodies for just one edition of this column. This month, then, the focus is on pro shows, the highs and lows.

Not quantity The ’06 IFBB Women’s Bodybuilding Champs Ms. International, March 3, Iris Kyle Europa Supershow, August 25, Heather Foster Atlantic City Pro, September 23, Lisa Aukland (pictured) Ms. Olympia, September 29, Iris Kyle

The good news: The ’07 season will have at least three open competitions, as the Jon Lindsay and Steve O’Brien–produced Sacramento Pro joins the lineup on February 24 (see News & Views on page 256).

UP-AND-COMERS

Annie Rivieccio.

Here’s a list that shows how entrenched the upper echelon of women’s bodybuilding is: Annie Rivieccio, Bonny Priest and Lisa Aukland are far from overnight sensations. Aukland won her pro card in 2001, and Rivieccio was an amateur forever. Now that they’ve reached the Olympia top five, can they stay there? If they keep doing their homework so well, it’s a distinct possibility. A lot depends on the ladies discussed on the next page.

WOMEN’S BODYBUILDING

Flex Appeal

Here’s what didn’t happen in 2006

Here’s what didn’t happen in 2006: Women’s bodybuilding did not die—on the pro or amateur level. Not that it didn’t seem as if the death knell was being rung when the IFBB scheduled only three Olympia qualifiers: The Ms. International—an invitational—plus two open competitions. With the possibility staring them in the face that they might not be able to field a decent-sized lineup at the O, Pro League officials enacted a new rule that increased the number of qualifications available in a year when there are fewer than three open competitions, like the year at hand. Of course, it didn’t matter how many contests they offered, the props for female flexer of the year still would have to go to Iris Kyle, who brought her 5’7”, 162 pounds of statuesque muscle to the stage looking big and full but lean and altogether musically put together. The headline on this column was “Kyle-Style Muscle Is Back,” referring to what appeared to be a reversion to pre 20-percent-less-muscle standards. Is the IFBB’s advisory notice on that subject, issued prior to the ’05 season for all the women’s sports, a dead issue, as it applies to bodybuilding? Ask me again when someone comes along who has a “more feminine” look, a superb structure and enough evenly distributed muscle to stand next to Iris without disappearing. Best Flexer in a Supporting Role: Dayana Cadeau. Second at the International and the Olympia. If it weren’t for Iris, this seductive lady of muscle and symmetry would be queen. Hmm…

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MORE CHAMPS

FITNESS

Photography by Ruth Silverman \ Ms. Olympia photography by Bill Dobbins \ www.BillDobbins.com

Julie Palmer. Balik

Olympia and International contests knocked out the gal who beat her in ’05 and regained both crowns, with Adela Garcia in the role of returning champ and Jen Hendershott as the upstart ’05 champ who, like Yaxeni Oriquen in bodybuilding, dropped to third at the FitAdela takes a well-deserved bow (left). Says Kim K.: Now, wait just a darned minute. ness I. Unlike Yaxeni, Another thing that didn’t happen in however, Hendershott held on to her top2006: Fitness didn’t die either, with some three spot at the O. Some seers might of the dowager divas of the sport launchspeculate that the athlete to keep your ing campaigns to ensure that flexible eye on in this equation is Kim Klein, females will be flying into pushups and runner-up at both contests—but not by splits on the physique stage for some time a lot: a six-point margin at the Olympia to come. How well it takes remains to (as opposed to 20 points if the ladies had be seen. I admit, I’m prejudiced: Fitness perfect scores), five at the International. competitions are entertaining and fun to Even a small shakeup in the numbers write about. could tip the total toward K.K.’s smooth More parallels to women’s pro bodymoves and even smoother lines in the building: The ’04 winner of the Fitness future. Place your bets. Balik

Balik

More Twists

Pro Fitness

And turns

Fitness International, March 3, Adela Garcia New York Pro Fitness, April 15, Julie Childs All-Star Pro Fitness, July 7, Tanji Johnson Europa Supershow, August 25, Tanji Johnson Atlantic City Pro Fitness, September 23, Julie Palmer Fitness Olympia, September 29, Adela Garcia Palm Beach Pro Fitness*, October 7, Julie Palmer Netherlands Pro Fitness*, October 8, Regiane Da Silva *Qualifies for the ’07 Olympia.

QUESTION MARKS

MOVING UP

By dropping to seventh at the O after her dip to third at the International, 2006’s Ms. Olympia and Ms. International, Yaxeni Oriquen, created some doubts as to whether she can regain her spot in the hallowed circle. I’m not going to write off the 5’8” tower of flowing feminine muscle, who reportedly lost her mother due to cancer a few months before the O. With hard-body builders who have learned to nail their condition at every outing, like Annie Rivieccio and Bonny Priest, nipping at her butt, however, Oriquen will have to do likewise if she wants to turn that question mark into an exclamation point. Ditto for Jitka Harazimova, who got sick before the Olympia and was not at her best, earning a 10th-place finish.

Julie Childs.

Yaxeni at the O.

OTHER KINDS OF QUESTIONS So does Iris Kyle’s return to the top mean that all the stops have been pulled out? Certainly some observers, citing also the victories of the highly muscular Heather Policky and Lora Ottenad at the NPC’s two top national-championship events, the USA and Nationals, respectively, would say that’s a well, duh. I’m not so sure, but I’m still waiting for the tooth fairy. Policky and Ottenad will both be onstage in Columbus, Ohio, on March 2 standing next to most of the muscular marvels mentioned in these pages. Always improving. In addition to streamlining her physique, Iris got a new hairstyle.

Tanji Johnson cracked the top six at the Fitness International, picked up wins three and four of her pro career and took fourth at the O. Julie Childs earned her first pro win after taking fifth at the I. Congrats, ladies!

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FIGURE QUEENS

High Drama

Story of another stripe

For pro figure it was a year of surprises followed by predictable outcomes. In reviewing the 14 contests that took place since I did the 2005 season roundup, I was amazed to discover that I’d actually made a correct prediction at the end of last year. I said that figure was the women’s physique sport most likely to have a shakeup in the top ranks. Still, the medical problems that prevented Jenny Lynn and Davana Medina from winning their fourth consecutive Figure International and Figure Olympia titles, respectively, were not what I had in mind. With Lynn out, the Figure I went to Mary Elizabeth Lado, leaving Monica Brant in the runner-up slot for the fourth time in the contest’s four-year history. (That streak will be broken in 2007; Brant is passing on competing at the big weekend in Columbus.) Lynn picked up a quick rebound win in Pittsburgh but then lost to Valerie Waugaman a week later at the Colorado Pro, casting some doubt on her position as the gal most likely to inherit the crown after Medina’s anIt didn’t start out that way, but ’06 was nounced retirement at the end of the season. Jenny’s year. Oh, baby! Not to worry. When triple-O winner Medina pulled out of the big show at the last minute, Jenny had the shape and style to bring the Olympia title home. Mo, meanwhile, had new problems to deal with: Amber Littlejohn, sitting out the rest of the season on the strength of her fourth-place finish at the ’05 Figure O, came back looking too fine to be ignored. She snuck past Brant to take second by a five-point margin. Does that make the 5’8” Littlejohn the heiress apparent behind Jenny or one of three, at the least, contenders for the title of next-in-line? Other candidates include Lado, fifth for the second consecutive year at the O, and Waugaman, whose larger-than-life choreography and less-than-perfect conditioning at the O earned her some jeers before she picked up an early invite for the ’07 Olympia at the postseason Sacramento Pro. I’m not making a prediction at this point, but I will point out that Amber, who’s also passing on the International, is the most consistent of the three in terms of conditioning.

MORE FITNESS

Athletes to Keep an Eye On

Mary Elizabeth Lado.

Figure International, March 3, Mary Elizabeth Lado San Francisco Pro Figure, March 11, Chastity Sloan Pittsburgh Pro Figure, May 6, Jenny Lynn California Pro Figure, May 27, Christine Pomponio-Pate New York Pro Figure, July 15, Jessica Paxson-Putnam Motor City Pro Figure, August 12, Jennifer Searles Europa Supershow, August 25, Amanda Savell Montreal Pro Figure, September 4, Michelle Adams Tournament of Champions Pro Figure, September 23, Gina Aliotti Figure Olympia, September 29, Jenny Lynn Palm Beach Pro Figure*, October 7, Amber Littlejohn Netherlands Pro Figure*, October 8, Inga Neverauskaite Sacramento Pro Figure*, November 4, Gina Camacho *Qualifies for the ’07 Olympia.

Bradford

This top-five victory lineup from the Atlantic City Pro Fitness includes a pair of genuine divas-in-waiting. Bethany Gainey waited a year after her ’05 Team Universe class win to make her pro debut at the Supershow, finishing ninth. A month later she scored a top-five A.C. angels (from left): Bethany Gainey, Stacy Simons, Julie finish in A.C. Julie Palmer, Angela Monteleone-Semsch and Julie Lohre. Lohre waited out an injury, competing in figure for half a season before picking up her fitness career at the Supershow and earning fourth-place honors in this group.

Of 2006

Comstock

FIGURE

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Monica Brant, always royalty in this column.

MORE QUESTION MARKS

B A B E S P E C U L AT I O N

Hot New Blood Any prediction of figure futures would have to make mention of some lasses who went right to the top in their first year in the pros. Gina Aliotti and Gina Camacho, a pair of California girls whose physiques have the judges in rapture, finished sixth and eighth out of 21 in their Olympia debuts, respectively. Jessica Putnam, formerly billed as Paxson, qualified for the big show at her pro debut and took 11th. Not too shabby for a gal who’s only competed a handful of times overall.

Jane Awad.

Ups and Downs Top five at the International, too low to mention at the Olympia. Jane Awad and Chastity Sloan are prime examples of the yo-yo syndrome that can strike without warning in the bloated-with-talent pro-figure ranks. Can they keep up as the amateur class of 2006 matriculates into the lineup?

Gina Aliotti.

Comeback of the Year Cathy LeFrancois came back from bottom-of-the-barrel figure scores to the posing platform in midseason, finishing seventh at the Atlantic City Pro. Look for her on March 2 at the Ms. I, where she won the lightweight class in 2003.

Cathy LeFrancois.

M O R E U P D AT E S

True Crime Tales

Speaking of the Ballad of Craig and Kelly

In case you haven’t kept up with security procedure so humiliating, the only thing the trials and tribs of the physique worse than having to go through it would be world’s most notorious murder susto have it videotaped and posted on the World pects since Bertil Fox, the plot Wide Web. For those who feel this man needs continues to thicken like a classic to be punished…hello. “Law & Order” episode. Here are the Meanwhile, Ryan, whose mother passed highlights of some of the more Bizarro away a few months ago, has reportedly gotten developments that have taken place religion and spends time counseling her fellow in recent months, as Craig Titus inmates in her area of expertise, exercise and and Kelly Ryan remain incarcerated diet. She has received visits from several former in Las Vegas’ Clark County Detention sisters-in-fitness, some of whom have come Center, awaiting a trial that had, at quietly and discreetly—some not so much—to year’s end, been rescheduled for April support a friend who has perhaps woken up 2007. from a long sleep to discover what a tragic In October Las Vegas police armess she’s made of her life. rested an acquaintance of Titus’ in an Still, both she and Craig maintain that they alleged murder-for-hire scheme that did not kill their assistant, Melissa James, Ryan and Titus in 2001. The couple targeted three key witnesses against in December 2005, and, according to the Reremains tight, according to reports. the couple. Pointing to recorded view-Journal’s Glenn Puit, who quotes taped phone calls between Craig and the poor schnook, in which a interviews with Ryan conducted by homicide detectives, she discussion about a “book” and “screenplay” project is believed has so far refused to roll over on her husband. to be code for the murder-for-hire, the authorities made their Did the Vegas cops go further than Lenny Briscoe would case. The story quickly fizzled, however, when it was revealed have? (Could Craig possibly have gotten a book deal?) For that the hit man hired was a setup orchestrated by the police those who want to keep up with—or catch up on—the gory and a citizen described by the Las Vegas Review-Journal as a details of any and all of these plotlines, the “News & Rumors on “jailhouse informant.” Craig Titus & Kelly Ryan” forum at GetBig.com continues to be Meanwhile, a suspicious episode at the detention center a great clearinghouse of info, including all the R-J stories. Go that turned out to have nothing to do with Titus led authorities on, admit it: This is an episode you haven’t seen before, and to move him to another cell at the facility, subjecting him to a you can’t bring yourself to change the channel.

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Photography by Ruth Silverman

JUST A FEW MEMORIES OF THE YEAR THAT WAS 2006 Familiar sight. Michelle Adams at the GNC booth. Don’t you justlove this Hendershott shot? Newbies and vets at Arnold Fitness Weekend. Danielle Hollenshade finished 11th at the Figure International but by season’s end she’d become a figure to keep an eye on. Jessica PaxsonPutnam had a hot rookie year— and she got married.

Good times . Catching up figure athlet w es like Chris ith tine Pomponio-Pate backstage at the Cal and the Pitts burgh.

larMr. Popu ro ity. Cal P r promote y sa Jon Lind e signs th ’ winners n checks o the spot.

ebve and D sight. Ste n booth. r ia il m io fa Another Champion Nutrit e bie at th

More vets and newbies. Tanji Johnson with figure rookie Bernadette Galvan. Timea’s Hardbody layout of Bill Dobbins photos in the December ’06 issue had IM readers raving.

Brave man. n, Ron Goldstei here with , C.J. James promoted women’s g bodybuildin at and fitness his Atlantic City Pro. He and partner Stokely Palm ck er will be ba e in A.C. com for September ied 7 ’0 e th tion.

Dr. Dena, here with tanning titan Stacy Kaufman, cut a colorful swath through her rookie year in the pros.

Best cell phone shot. Reg pretends to be checking for messages as Debbie smiles for the camera.

Colette finally made it to the O. Way to go.

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

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Neveux

Pretty. Adela’s victory dress.

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Brenda Kelly’s Active Lifestyle Keeps Her Ageless Compiled by Jonathan Lawson • Photography by Michael Neveux Hair and makeup by Yvonne Ouellette www.ironmanmagazine.com \ MARCH 2007 281

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Height: 5’2” Age: 48 Weight: 110 Hometown: Born in Honolulu, Hawaii; raised in Seattle, Washington Current Residence: Los Angeles, California Occupation: CEO of Brenda Kelly Productions, fitness writer, model, actress Marital Status: Single Workout Schedule: “I do cardio or a light weight program when needed. I have so much muscle memory from my years of fitness competitions, weight training, swimming, ballet, hula and teaching exercise classes that it doesn’t take much to keep things where they belong.” Favorite Foods: Healthful: My own lowfat, made-fromscratch soups and fresh sashimi dipped in wasabi with low-sodium soy. Not healthful: Fillet mignon with a loaded baked potato and dry red wine. Factoid: “I have one wonderful child, Andrea. She is not of my loins but of my heart. I've had her since she was seven, and she’s now a beautiful 5’9”, 21-year old who just graduated from a Florida college and is planning to move to Montana to set roots. I’m so proud of her and love her so much.” Future plans: “I’m set to host some top TV, Web and media shows. I love the production part, so I like to be involved with all aspects at the back end as well as being in front of the camera. I also have some upcoming Brenda Kelly figure and modeling contests set for 2007.” Contact info and Web site: www.BrendaKelly.com Motto: Take care of yourself. You’re worth it. IM www.ironmanmagazine.com \ MARCH 2007 283

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Only the Strong Shall Survive

Midback Muscle and Might

Beef Up Your Squats, Pulls by Bill Starr and Presses Photography by Michael Neveux

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Model: Daniel Decker

Building a strong, functional physique is a process that requires constant scrutiny. Since certain exercises are more enjoyable than others, some bodyparts or areas of the body get considerably stronger and better developed than others. Some disparity in strength doesn’t pose a problem. Should that difference get way out of proportion, however, then some changes are in order. Your relative weakness may not reveal itself as an injury or even cause pain, but you could experience diminished performance. Let’s say your squats have hit a standstill because your back rounds excessively when you get to the heavy work sets. The form breakdown causes you to get out of the proper positioning needed to grind the bar up through the sticking point. Same deal for the deadlift. When you get to the max poundage, your back rounds so much that you’re no longer in a position to bring the bar to the finish.

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Only the Strong Shall Survive Those are common problems if you’re handling heavy weights on squats, deadlifts or any other heavy pulling exercise, and they’re caused by weakness in the middle back. So this month I want to focus on that frequently overlooked area of the body. Not only will a relatively weak middle back adversely affect a number of exercises in your program, but if you don’t give it the proper attention, you’ll eventually experience pain in that area. That could be a boon to M.D.s and chiropractors but not much fun for you. To be sure, the back is one continuous plane, with the various

muscles often overlapping, but I believe that when you’re setting up a routine, it helps if you think of it as having three parts: upper, middle and lower. Anyone I talk with about middle-back exercises invariably thinks I’m referring to movements for the lats. True, the lats are one of the

DUMBBELL OVERHEAD PRESSES Model: Daniel Deccker

DEADLIFTS

Model: Ted Arcidi

Building more midback strength can help improve your deadlifts, overhead presses and even bench presses.

major groups in the midback, but there are lots of others. You may not realize that the traps form a large portion of the middle back. They originate at the base of the skull and spread out and down—hence the name trapezius, a type of quadrilateral. It sweeps down and connects to your spine at the last thoracic vertebra, right in the middle of your back. The traps extend over some of the latissimus, too, which means what works for one group usually works for the other. Another muscle that makes up a part of the middle back is also named for its shape, the rhomboid. It lies beneath the middle of the trapezius. Here are the others: serratus anterior, serratus posterior, teres major, infraspinatus. They all extend into the upper back and are strengthened when you work that area. Anytime you work your middle back directly, you’re also strengthening your rear deltoids and the small groups that comprise the rotator cuffs—another excellent reason for doing some specific exercises for that area of your body. That’s especially true if you’re infatuated with the bench press to the extent that you forsake all back work. The combination of ham-

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Only the Strong Shall Survive

Model: Tomm Voss

BENCH PRESSES

Too much bench pressing without comparable middle-back work can lead to shoulder problems. Hypers are a good warmup move. mering away on bench presses and neglecting to keep your back proportionately as strong leads you down the path to shoulder and rotator cuff problems that could easily have been prevented by including one or two core exercises for your middle and upper back. You must have a strong middle back in order to squat, pull or press heavy weights. Yes, I include presses. If you doubt that you need a strong middle back for overhead exercises, try doing some when that area of your back is hurt. If you can do them at all, you’ll be restricted to very light weights. Should your midback injury be severe, you’ll discover that even some of the tamest exercises, like curls and crunches, are impossible to do. A strong middle empowers you to maintain a perfectly flat back during the execution of a max attempt. A weakness may not show up until you try a really heavy weight. One thing is sure, though: If the signs are there that your middle back is lagging way behind and you don’t do something about it, you’re asking for an injury. Not only that, but a hurt midback has no mercy. You won’t be able to find a comfortable position: Standing, sitting and lying will all be painful. Even if you’re quite sure that your

middle is as strong as your upper and lower back, it’s still a smart idea to have at least one specific exercise in your program for that part of your body. Can’t hurt, and it may save you some grief later. I’ve never heard anyone comHYPEREXTENSIONS plain that his back was too strong. An ounce-of-prevention idea. Some of my athback thoroughly before moving letes were unable to handle much weight on specific exercises for their to whatever you have planned for your middle back. A high-rep set middle backs because their lumbars of hyperextensions—back hypers were too weak for them to hold the proper position on such movements or reverse back hypers—will fill the bill. as bent-over rows or long pulls on a My favorite exercise for the machine. That’s especially true for middle back is bent-over rows. You older trainees and those trying to can do them with dumbbells, but rehab their middle backs. In those unless your back is very weak or cases I lay out a program of specific you’re rehabbing it, use a bar. It’s exercises for both the middle and much more effective simply because lower back in equal doses. It works nicely. As their lumbars get stronger, you can use so much more weight. It’s an easy lift to learn, yet there are they can handle more resistance on several key form points. Place your their midback exercises. feet at shoulder width, toes straight Which reminds me—since the ahead. Bend your knees and lean lower back is involved in any exerforward while keeping your back cise for the middle back, it’s always tight and flat. Very flat. Let your a good idea to warm up your lower

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BENT-OVER ROWS

arms dangle. That tells you where you should place the bar. It’s one of the few pulling exercises done with the bar away from your body. The grip: Use straps. Although you may not need them for the lighter warmup sets, you will once the weights get heavy, so you might as well get used to them on the way to the higher numbers. I have my athletes vary their grip on each set. I have them start quite wide and, as the weight increases, slide their hands in a few inches until they end up using a clean grip, which is approximately a thumb’s length from the smooth center knurl on an Olympic bar. I alter the grip for a couple of reasons. The change works the back muscles in a slightly different manner, and the closer grip will be a bit stronger than the wider one, thus enabling you to handle more weight. More weight is always a good thing. After you’ve set your feet firmly into the floor and made sure your back is flat and parallel, grip the bar, taking care that your grip is

Model: Dan Decker

Vary your grip on each set of bent-over rows.

even. Look straight ahead, and pull the bar upward until it touches your chest. It should be hitting right at your nipples. Do the first few reps deliberately until you get the feel of the line, and then start being more aggressive with the upward motion. Try to bang the bar into your chest, but lower the bar back to the floor in a controlled manner. Never let it crash downward. That’s potentially harmful to your shoulders and elbows. Pause a brief moment at the bottom to make sure your back is flat and parallel before doing the next rep. The hardest part of doing bent-over rows is learning to keep your back in the same position throughout the lift. Your torso should not bend down to meet the bar or rise up at the end. I’ll amend that advice later; for now, maintain very strict form. If you have bumper plates, use them. They’re easier on your joints, bar and floor. With bumper plates, however, there’s a tendency to rebound them off the floor to get a jump-start on the next rep. Don’t do that. It will adversely affect your line of pull and cause your back to move out of position or to round. Start out with light weights so you can concentrate fully on your form. Do as many sets as you need to find the best way to lock your back in place, where to set the bar relative to your feet and where you want to grip the bar. During the learning stage, while you’re using light weights, use the same grip for all your sets. There’s a score on most Olympic bars 10 inches in from the collars. It’s there to help Olympic weightlifters find their correct grips for the snatch. Grip the bar so that your ring finger is around the score.

That’s the ideal bent-over-row grip for most people. The bar should travel in a straight line from the floor to your chest. I’ve seen many pull in a backward stroke so that the bar touches right at their navels. That’s not nearly as effective. Another important point is often abused: Your knees must be bent. Not much, but they should never be locked. Models in magazines are frequently shown doing bentover rows with locked knees, and young readers copy their form. It’s not only less beneficial, but it puts undue and unnecessary stress on the hamstrings as well. You’ll be able to handle much more weight when you bend your knees and at the same time will be lowering the risk to your hams. I mentioned that your torso needs to stay parallel throughout the lift. After you’ve been doing rows for six to eight weeks and have added a considerable amount of weight to your final sets, you can cheat a bit. Breaking from strict form might be a better term than cheating. When you cheat on a lift, you get inferior results. In this case, you get better action, and it’s safe. On your heavy sets do the first couple of reps with your back parallel to the floor. On the final sets elevate your torso at the end of the row. Not much, just enough for you to move heavier weights higher. That’s helpful because you’re still working your target muscles, and the upward movement is a means of overloading those muscles and attachments. Don’t adopt the technique, however, until you’ve established perfect form and built a solid base. If you have a very weak middle and lower back or are in the process of rehabbing those areas, dumbbells might fit your needs more than a barbell. You can do dumbbell rows one arm at a time or both arms together. You can use more weight with one hand, but I believe doing them together is useful as well, since you force all parts of the middle back to work at the same time. Of course, there’s no reason you can’t do both styles, alternating them from week to week or workout to workout. I have a friend who was recovering from back surgery. The bar was too heavy, and he felt that rowing www.ironmanmagazine.com \ MARCH 2007 301

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Only the Strong Shall Survive

SEATED ROWS

Model: Ken Yasuda

Keep your upper body locked in an upright position, and make your middle back do all the work.

the dumbbells simultaneously was more advantageous than doing them separately. His problem was that his back was too weak for him to hold the bent-over position long enough to do any reps. So he rested his forehead on the padded back of his recliner. That gave him the support he needed, and he was able to rebuild his back. Another good midback exercise is long pulls done on a machine. As with all exercises, form is everything. If you let your upper body swing back and forth and use your legs to provide much of the force, then you’ll only get marginal results. Keep your upper body locked in an upright position, and make your middle back do all the work. If possible, vary your grip on the sets. Start wide, and move your hands in as the poundage gets heavier. I prefer higher reps on this one, four to six sets of eight to 10 reps. If you’re really piling on the resistance either in stacks or plates, though, lower the reps to five. Fewer reps done right are more productive than higher reps performed in sloppy fashion—a truism for any exercise in weight training. What about T-bar rows? My answer has everything to do with the

design of the machine. If the lifter can release the weight without having to twist sideways, fine. On the other hand, if he has to swivel his body in order to move the weight from the side and position it directly in front of him before commencing the rows, then I don’t like it. Twisting your torso while moving any amount of weight is potentially dangerous, and when you’re attempting heavy weights, the risk factor soars. Against my advice, that type of T-bar rower was put in the Hopkins weight room, mostly for crew and swimmers. Not surprisingly, a number of athletes from those sports began coming to me and the trainer complaining of dings to their backs. Since I couldn’t get rid of the machine or discourage them from using it, I suggested that they get someone to assist them in moving the weights from the side to the starting position. Those who listened to me did all right. Those who didn’t continued to end up with aggravated backs. Then there’s the method of doing T-bar rows that was used long before the various specialized machines came along. One end of an Olympic bar was fixed against the base of a wall. Weights were placed

on the other end, and a bar from a lat machine or something similar was locked above the weights or under the collar of the bar. The lifter straddled the bar and proceeded to do rows. Sometimes, when a cross bar wasn’t available, the lifter just gripped the bar and rowed. Here’s my view: If the bar and wall belong to you, well and good—go ahead and do them. If you’re training in someone’s facility or a university weight room, however, don’t do them. They wreck the expensive Olympic bar and damage the wall. Why not just do bent-over rows? Rowing machines are especially good when you’re rehabbing your back, since the resistance isn’t that great. You get your workload in through the repetitions, which is what you want when you’re dealing with a hurt area. Although the lats are very much involved in all of these exercises, you might want to focus on them even more. Wide lats add to any physique, and strong lats are extremely valuable in a great many sports activities, such as Olympic weightlifing, crew and swimming. Chins top my list of lat exercises. There was a time when everyone who trained did chins, yet I rarely

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Only the Strong Shall Survive

Model: Berry Kabov

chinning ability? I’ve known some who did weighted chins, but they were very advanced and already doing 20-plus without any resistance. The average person isn’t going to benefit from adding weight. Here’s the formula I give my athletes. It’s simple, and it works. Do four sets of as many as you can do, and then add the total number of reps. Our sample athlete did 10, 8, 7, 6, a total of 31. The next time he chins. his WIDE-GRIP goal is to add at least one CHINS rep to his previous total. The increase is generally accomplished on the first set, although some do better after a warmup set. The athlete did 12, 8, 7, 6 for a total of 33 at his second chinning session. And so on and so forth. Should he not be able to add to the total on a certain day, he’ll do an additional set. An athlete at Hopkins see people do them now, unless came to me requesting a program they have a special reason. Some to improve his chinning strength jobs—fire departments, police and because he was going to be tested government security—include chins in six weeks at the FBI Academy. He as part of their physical fitness tests. was able to do a dozen at the first If you’re looking for a wide flair, workout. At the end of six weeks, he do chins with a very wide grip. Few was up to 28 and breezed through do enough chins to warrant the the test. need for straps, but if you feel they There are several other reasons help, by all means use them. Always I like chins. They’re great for buildchin to the front, never behind ing bigger, stronger biceps, and who your neck. As I’ve stated before, the doesn’t like that? As they enhance shoulder girdle isn’t designed to strength in the biceps and the prime deal with behind-the-neck movemovers of the upper arm—brachiaments. You can do more reps in the lis and brachoradialis—that new front, so to me it’s foolish to tempt strength can be used in all of your fate. Why invite trouble? You’ll find pulling exercises. plenty without asking for it. Chins also help me self-adjust my I don’t much like helping someback. Just before doing my first rep, one through the sticking point when I exhale, relax my lower body, then he’s chinning, just as I don’t like explode upward to the bar. I can giving anybody the “all-you” during feel my back pop and the tightness any other exercise. Weight training lessen. is not a team sport. Either you make As I recommended for bent-over the chin on your own, or you don’t. rows, move your hands in a tad on Otherwise, your numbers are based each set. Not much, because you on false assumptions. When you get want to hit your lats. About a thumb tested, no one is going to help you. length is enough to make a differGet used to it. ence. So how can you improve your Of course, pulls done on the lat

machine hit the lats directly. You need to do them in a smooth fashion, not herky-jerky, and always to the front. Again, you can handle more weight in the front; why irritate your shoulders and rotator cuffs for no good reason? An exercise that builds strong lats is the wide-grip high pull. Olympic weightlifters do lots of these to help them snatch more weight, and the top athletes in that sport have some of the most impressive lat development in the world. Use straps for these and stay with five sets of five until you’ve perfected the form and start handling heavy poundages; then do three sets of five, followed by three sets of three. Switching to lower reps will help you maintain your form. Speaking of form, one of the main points to remember when doing any exercise for your middle back is to keep your entire back rigidly tight. Anytime you round your back, you diminish the benefits. The best way to maintain a locked back is by squeezing your shoulder blades together and keeping them in that position throughout the performance of the exercise. I realize that some rounding is inevitable when you get tired or load up the bar. Some is okay, but when it becomes excessive, stop. Lower the resistance so you can do the next set flawlessly. A strong middle back is critical to long-term progress for any bodybuilder or strength athlete. The power generated by the legs, hips and lower back has to be carried through the middle in order for the upper back, shoulders and arms to use it. When the middle is weak, that transition doesn’t occur properly. In addition, a strong middle is necessary for you to support heavy weights on your shoulders, back and overhead. It also enables you to maintain perfect technique on all pulling movements, front and back squats, jerks, snatches and presses. On the more practical side, keeping your middle back strong will save you a great deal of physical—and financial—pain. Editor’s note: Bill Starr was a strength and conditioning coach at Johns Hopkins University from 1989 to 2000. He’s the author of The Strongest Shall Survive and Defying Gravity. IM

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Mind Training: It’s Good-Mood Food

F

eeling a little stressed out, like your nerves are frayed? Is general anxiety keeping your day off balance? Or is a touch of depression keeping you glued to your couch, feeling that just about anything is too big an effort? Don’t worry; it’s perfectly normal to feel a bit down from time to time. As long as it’s not an ongoing situation, one of the most effective ways to counter feelings of stress, anxiety and depression is training. Let’s take a closer look at what might be making you feel bad and how a little exercise can help. Acute stress can be triggered by just about anything that’s gone wrong in your life. Maybe you were in a fender bender or just got dumped by your significant other. Maybe you’re way behind on an important project. You may have anything from a tension headache to a backache to jaw pain—or any of a range of stomach-related ailments. You may also have high blood pressure, dizziness or chest pains. It’s not a pretty picture, and it can get worse. What psychologists call “episodic acute stress” describes the lives of people who are always in a rush, constantly feeling they have too much to do, as well as the “awfulizers”—people who think the world is a terrible, dangerous place where anything that can go wrong will. Worse still is chronic stress, which is the type that grinds you down day after day. Maybe you’re stuck in a job you hate or a relationship that isn’t working, or you’re caught in some kind of war. That type of stress gives rise to feelings of helplessness and makes people quit trying to find solutions to their problems.

Neveux \ Model: Binais Begovic

IRONMIND

MIND/BODY

Irritability, anxiety and depression are the three stress emotions, and they’re probably present in some form regardless of the exact kind of stress you’re under. Irritability is what makes you go berserk when someone cuts in front of you in traffic. Anxiety is a general feeling of fear or worry—it’s not specific, like being afraid of falling off a cliff, but it’s a gnawing feeling of great apprehension. Something’s not right, in a big way, even if you don’t know exactly what it is. Depression is characterized by decreased activity and effort. Everything seems too hard—and too hopeless—so you do nothing. Severely depressed people literally don’t get out of bed. As you can guess, any of the negative emotional-behavioral states cuts into your training big time. Unnecessary stress eats into your ability to recover, which puts the brakes on your progress. Anxiety keeps you from being able to fully concentrate on your training, to the point where your workouts become a matter of going through the motions and you get about the same results you’d get if you were watching someone else train. Depression just plain keeps you out of the gym, and you know what that does to your gains—wipes them out. If you told your grandmother you learned in college that exercise makes you feel better, she might wonder just why your parents had to spend so much money to make you so smart. What even your wise grandmother might not know, however, is that the positive emotional effects of exercise appear to be rooted in brain chemistry, and they can actually prove to be a potent therapeutic tool. We’ve all heard about endorphins, the source of the so-called runner’s high, but lately another brain chemical has been getting a lot of attention. It’s called norepinephrine, and scientists believe it may help the brain manage stress. For the past five or 10 years animal-based research has shown that exercise increases concentration of epinephrine in the stress-responserelated portions of the brain. Interestingly, some antidepressant medicines are also known to increase brain concentrations of norepinephrine. One theory researchers have come up with is that exercise enables the body to practice dealing with stress, and, as with everything else in life, practice makes you good at it. On the other hand, if you’re sedentary, you lose the edge, and your body becomes less efficient at dealing with stress.

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Body Editor’s note: Randall Strossen, Ph.D., edits the quarterly magazine MILO. He’s also the author of IronMind: Stronger Minds, Stronger Bodies; Super Squats: How to Gain 30 Pounds of Muscle in 6 Weeks and Paul Anderson: The Mightiest Minister. For more information call IronMind Enterprises Inc. at (530) 265-6725 or Home Gym Warehouse at (800) 447-0008, ext. 1. Visit the IronMind Web site at www.IronMind.com.

Anti-Aging

Do Something, Live Longer study performed by the National Institute on Aging had more than 300 healthy seniors as subjects for six years. The most active burned 2,600 calories a day; the least active burned 1,766. Researchers found that the “movers” were 70 percent more likely to be alive at the end of the study—and for every 287 additional calories they expended each day, their mortality risk decreased by 30 percent. Even gardening and housecleaning counted. Think about how beneficial a daily weight workout would be. —Becky Holman www.X-tremeLean.com Neveux \ Model: Jeff Hammond

A

Happiness

Older, Bolder, Happier

A

ccording to an item in the November ’06 Prevention, aging can make us more content. A University of Michigan Medical School study of 542 adults of various ages found that the happiest people were in the 60-to-86 range. Apparently, as we age, we lighten up by “focusing less on achievement and more on enjoying life and relationships.” And you thought aging would make you cranky. It will, but only if you let it. —Becky Holman Neveux \ Models: Teagan Clive and Frank Zane

Whatever its exact mechanism(s), the positive mental health benefits of exercise are becoming so well accepted that they’re an integral part of some therapeutic practices. In fact, clinicians and researchers who study the benefits of exercise consider it useful for relieving the symptoms not just of anxiety and depression but also of more serious disorders. “Exercise is about as close to a panacea as you can get…. It’s a health inducer, a stress reducer and a self-confidence booster,” says Jerry May, Ph.D., psychiatry professor at the University of Nevada, Reno, School of Medicine. What’s also nice to know is that you don’t have to launch into a workout suitable for Mr. Olympia or an Olympic gold medalist to reap the benefits of exercise. Research has supported the idea that even a moderate amount of exercise can yield significant improvement in things like anxiety. That’s particularly encouraging because when you’re feeling down, the thought of a three-hour workout is simply not what the doctor ordered. If feeling down has become a way of life for you, seek competent professional help. If it’s something that crops up from time to time, accept it as a normal part of life, but don’t let those feelings pin you on the ropes. Fight back with a little training, and remember that a little might be all it takes. This isn’t the time to try squatting 400 pounds for 20 reps. Instead, try pumping up your favorite bodypart, doing technique drills to improve your clean or jogging at a nice, comfortable pace. The first thing that will happen is, you’ll feel better—you’ll know because you’ll feel like stepping up the intensity. The renewed drive will help you train a little harder, which will give you your next round of gains and, consequently, make you feel even better. It’s funny how when things start going well, they just keep getting better. When things are going great, you think of training in terms of adding another inch to your arms or another 50 pounds to your deadlift. When things aren’t going so great, you have a chance to learn that exercise does even more than build your body: It makes you feel good. And when you feel good, there’s nothing you can’t do. —Randall Strossen, Ph.D.

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Bomber Blast

MIND/BODY

Neveux \ Model: Dave Goodin

More Bomber Q&As

Q: I’m 80 years old, lifted a long time ago and am looking for a simple weight-training course. Can you help me? A: Good thinking. You’ll increase your muscle and strength and improve your attitude by returning to weight training. First thing I’d do is review the list of basic barbell and dumbbell exercises available to you with the equipment you have said you have on hand: curls, presses from a flat or incline bench (avoid any exercise that involves standing and holding weight

Stress

Getting back into training

overhead—lower-back danger), one-arm rows, lying and seated overhead triceps extensions, side and front lateral raises, pullovers, shrugs, deadlifts for reps, squats and calf work with dumbbells in hand. That’s a short list to remind you. Take your time to once again familiarize yourself with the exercises and the concept of lifting, recalling its benefits, demands and satisfaction. During the first days determine the exercises you like and can do. Form a logically balanced routine from the selection—you are better equipped to do that than I. Start slowly and with light weight and stay in the 10-rep range. Consider three workouts a week, beginning with some crunches and leg raises (five to 10 minutes) to strengthen the gut and act as a physical and mental warmup. In the early days you’ll experience limited range of motion, limited strength, stiffness, soreness and fatigue. Your first job is attaining reasonable conditioning by patiently persisting without undue mental or physical pressure. Have fun, shun disappointment and be grateful for everything you can do. That you’ve chosen to explore and revive your exercising habit is marvelous and encouraging. You’re back. Do one exercise for each muscle group in the following order: chest, back, shoulders, biceps, triceps and legs. Work up to two or three sets of 10 reps of each. You might want to split your routine into two parts to give you more time for each muscle group or shorten your gym time: chest, back and shoulders on day one, and arms and legs on day two, alternating the workouts through the days, weeks and months ahead. In time you’ll become stronger and more familiar with yourself and the exercises, your training capacity and your devotion to good health. With the inevitable progress and increased knowledge, you’ll be able to vary or expand your workouts to suit your desires and needs. Look out. There’s a new kid on the block. Eat right and be consistent and be positive and be strong. This stuff works. An added note: This advice is suitable for any fitness lifter returning to the gym after a substantial layoff. At some point, if you are growing in interest, you might enjoy my book, Brother Iron Sister Steel, for general and specific exercise straight talk suitable for all ages. Read, apply, learn and grow. —Dave Draper

Working for the Weekend

Y

ou gotta relax—especially on weekends—or you could damage your heart! So say Finnish researchers who conducted a study of 788 workers. Those who didn’t often feel renewed after their weekends were about three times as likely to die of heart disease or stroke. —Becky Holman www.X-tremeLean.com

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.

310 MARCH 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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Gallery of Ironmen

MIND/BODY MIND/BODY

out of the eight ancillary awards that were offered! Then he placed second in the ’66 Mr. California contest, after which he ceased to compete and disappeared completely from the magazines and the world of bodybuilding. Larry Scott never forgot his friend, however, and he confirmed recently that Gable “was always very charming and easy to get along with. He trained hard and had good concentration. Overall, he was a nice person to be around and terrific to have in the gym when you were training.” There could hardly be a better testimonial to a gym partner. —David Chapman

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The 1960s was a decade of change in both society and sport, and one of the men who represented a massive shift in bodybuilding techniques and nutrition was a strapping young Louisiana native named Gable Paul Boudreaux. Despite his short stature—he was only 5’5”—Boudreaux managed to make quite a mark in the physique world of that era. His future greatness was nowhere to be seen, however, when the young man was declared “underweight and anemic” by Navy recruiters, but Boudreaux was determined to improve his physique. He began working out, and he soon packed on enough muscle to rack up a half dozen competitive victories. He reached a sticking point, though, and it wasn’t until after he moved to California in 1962 that he overcame his problem. Boudreaux got married, found employment in an oil company office and enrolled in college, so he had little time at first to continue his workouts. Eventually, the young athlete took up weight training again, and he found his way to Vince Gironda’s famous gym. It wasn’t long before he made friends among the many star athletes who exercised there. One was the great bodybuilder Larry Scott, who gave Boudreaux some good advice: Train according to Gironda’s instructions, and follow Rheo H. Blair’s nutritional regimen [Note: Blair was featured in the November ’06 Gallery of Ironmen]. Gable was eager and hardworking, and he took Scott’s recommendations to heart. The results were soon evident: Boudreaux made faster progress on Blair’s concoction than any other athlete of the time. His new bulk and muscularity helped him win some major Southern California competitions. At the ’66 Mr. International contest, for example, he won the overall title plus best arms, chest, back, legs and most muscular—seven

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316 MARCH 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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Randy Moore

Weight: 255 off-season; 225 contest Residence: Oxford, MS Occupation: Bookkeeper, personal trainer, freight broker Contest highlights: ’03 Junior USA, 1st HW; ’04 Nationals, 6th HW; ’06 Nationals, 3rd HW

Photography by Merv To see more great photos of upcoming physique stars, visit

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www.ironmanmagazine.com \ MARCH 2007 317

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Readers Write

Muscle-Science Salute

tions that were pleasing to the eye. It was great to read that he was proud of his career as a personal trainer. Hail to a true iron man! Keener Bert Kelly Port Orchard, WA

More Rachel Raves

Fredrick

I just can’t get over Rachel McLish. She was the first Ms. Olympia Rachel McLish and John Balik. back in the ’80s, and now I see photos of her in IRON MAN in which she looks better than ever. The one of her flexing her biceps next to John Balik in the News & Views [December ’06] had my eyes popping out of my head. What a gorgeous woman and a fantastic representation of what bodybuilding should be. Kyle McClellan via Internet

I thoroughly enjoy your annual Muscle-Science Roundup [January ’07]. This year’s was especially good, with coverage of beta-alanine, L-carnitine and forskolin. I’m a longtime reader of IRON MAN and recall Peary Rader’s Readers Roundup. I like the way you guys hark back to that era while still keeping things current and cutting-edge. James Tushka St. Petersburg, FL

Omar Deckard.

Deckard Does It Thanks for the article on Omar Deckard’s chest training. He’s big and symmetrical, and his pec routine is totally old school. He’ll make a great pro. Frank Spinoli via Internet

Reg Lewis.

Tarzan Time I always enjoy David Chapman’s stories on iron men of the past. I remember Reg Lewis very well [Gallery of Iron Men, December ’06]. He had what I call a Tarzan type of build—very impressive from all angles. Reg was more the Frank Zane type, with very even propor-

Editor’s note: There are a few more pics of Rachel in this issue. Find them on pages 150 and 151, along with some words of wisdom from her. Also, check out Jerry Brainum’s short video interview with Rachel at GraphicMuscle.com. She definitely gets your attention.

In Awe I am in awe of X Reps and 3D Positions of Flexion. To be able to wade through all the science, observe the champs’ training and create such a functional muscle-building system boggles my mind. POF makes total sense, training every bodypart in three distinct positions that each do something specific for muscle growth. And what can I say about X Reps? An amazing yet simple technique that builds mass. I’ve already added an inch to my arms with your system. Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson are right up there with Arthur Jones and Mike Mentzer in my book. Craig Greeter via Internet Editor’s note: Well, with more than 40 years of cumulative training experience Holman and Lawson had better have figured out a few things about building muscle. For more on X Reps, visit www.X-Rep.com. For more on 3D POF, visit www.3DMuscleBuilding.com. Vol. 66, No. 3: IRON MAN (ISSN #0047-1496) is published monthly by IRON MAN Publishing, 1701 Ives Ave., Oxnard, CA 93033. Periodical Mail is paid at Oxnard, CA, and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to IRON MAN, 1701 Ives Ave., Oxnard, CA 93033. Please allow six to eight weeks for change to take effect. Subscription rates—U.S. and its possessions: new 12-issue subscription, $29.97. Canada, Mexico and other foreign subscriptions: 12 issues, $49.97 sent Second Class. Foreign orders must be in U.S. dollars. Send subscriptions to IRON MAN, 1701 Ives Ave., Oxnard, CA 93033. Or call 1-800-570-4766. Copyright © 2007. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced in any manner without written permission from the publisher. Printed in the USA.

320 MARCH 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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