Iron Man - USA №6 2006

JUNE 2006 / IRON RON MAN N MAGAZI MAGAZINE— A NE—WE —WE KN KNOW OW TRAINING T

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www.ironmanmagazine.com \ APRIL 2006 261

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150 DECEMBER 2009 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

June 2006

Vol. 65, No. 6 ™

Female Muscle, page 296

We Know Training

FEATURES FEATURES

76 TRAIN, EAT, GROW 80 Our TEG men move into their D-bomb ripping phase.

106 BI-LAWS The verdict is in: Big arms rule—and Eric Broser tells you how to build them.

126 10 STUPID THINGS BODYBUILDERS DO TO MESS UP THEIR WINNING MIND-SET Skip La Cour goes mental. Get ready for insane gains!

140 IN THE ZONA David Young interviews national-level bodybuilder Sebas­ tian Zona. (This dude is ripped!)

152 A BODYBUILDER IS BORN 11 Ron Harris learns some hard lessons about conest prep and fat burning.

160 SUGAR Jerry Brainum’s got the research. It may not be so bad after all.

Bi-Laws, page 106

188 HEAVY DUTY It’s been five years since Mike and Ray Mentzer passed away. Here’s our tribute—with plenty of classic photos.

206 CARB CYCLING Tim Wescott reveals the shredding secret of competitive bodybuillders.

Moe El Moussawi and Erika Thompson appear on this month’s cover. Hair and makeup Yvonne Ouellette. Photo by Michael Neveux.

216 RESEARCH TEAM NxCare’s Methyl Ripped. Prepare to look sliced and diced.

Heavy Duty, page 188

226 COMBAT CARDIO Stuart McRobert discusses the new aerobic fat attack.

242 LARRY SCOTT, PART 2 Rod Labbe’s Legends of Bodybuilding: The first Mr. O.

Arnold Classic, page 274

258 STUBBORN FAT Ori Hofmekler tells you how to shed the ugly stuff—and bolster your immune system in the process.

274 IFBB ARNOLD CLASSIC Giant photos from the big show. (Dexter wowed ’em!)

296 FEMALE MUSCLE Bill Dobbins’ breathtaking pics of the feminine form.

326 ONLY THE STRONG SHALL SURVIVE Bill Starr on mind, muscle and might.

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Muscle “In” Sites, page 266

DEPARTMENTS

36 TRAIN TO GAIN David Henry’s leg program, HIT vs. volume training and Joe Horrigan’s Sportsmedicine.

54 SMART TRAINING Top strength coach Charles Poliquin says some rows don’t help you grow.

62 EAT TO GROW More to milk than meets the eye, how to instinctively stop eating too much and the carb-count cut catalyst.

94 CRITICAL MASS Steve Holman discusses rep speed for fast mass.

Sebastian Zona, page 140

100 NATURALLY HUGE Train to Gain, page 36

John Hansen wades through the mass confusion.

254 BODYBUILDING PHARMACOLOGY Jerry Brainum dissects the GH-cancer connection.

266 MUSCLE “IN” SITES New column! Eric Broser surfs the Web for cool stuff you can use—and some funny Arnold pics too.

268 NEWS & VIEWS Lonnie Teper reports on the Arnold Classic—his always entertaining insider look at what went down.

290 PUMP & CIRCUMSTANCE Ruth Silverman was in Columbus, too, with camera in hand. That means hot pics here, gang!

314 MIND/BODY CONNECTION Randall Strossen, Ph.D., shows you how to think like a champ, and Dave Draper has a classic Bomber Blast on our favorite pasttime. Then there’s our photo doublewhammy: Graphic Muscle Stars and Serious Training.

Photograph © 2006 by MuscleTech. All rights reserved

Pump & Circumstance, page 290 News & Views, page 268

WEB ALERT!

from the world For the latest happenings , set your of bodybuilding and fitness zine.com aga nM ma ron w.I browser for ww om. e.c scl and www.GraphicMu

336 READERS WRITE Retr-O rocks!—it’s all about Rachel—Dunn deal and the weightlifting wow factor (lady lifters got it going on!).

In the next IRON MAN Next month we’ve got an eye-popping interview with training guru Dante, originator of Doggcrapp, or DC, training, which has developed a cult fol­ lowing on the Web. Pro bodybuilder David Henry swears by it, and not since Heavy Duty has a train­ ing system created so much buzz. Exciting stuff! Then Jerry Brainum looks at tanning. Is it safe? How much is too much? Are our muscles destined to be covered by a pasty, white shroud? Plus, our resident registered hypnotist Pete Siegel tells you now to ratchet up your intensity to Category 5, our TEG men take you further into the X-treme lean zone, and we’ll have a titanic triceps workout that will turn your guns into cannons. Watch for the so-fly July IRON MAN on newsstands the first week of June.

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John Balik’s

Publisher’s Letter

We Know Training Fifty years ago this month I picked up my first barbell as a 100-pound eighth grader. Training consisted of simply lifting the bar­ bell. I queried my uncle, whose barbell I was borrowing, and he said that when he was a teenager, he and his friends believed that anything they lifted was good for them. Just the act of lifting the barbell was seen as pro­ ductive. Even then I knew that there was more to it. Just prior to my starting to lift, my mother had bought me a copy of Iron Man. I knew by reading that 1956 issue that there was more to training than just lifting. I read the other magazines in the field in an attempt to gather as much information as possible in my quest to get bigger and stronger. Though I was only 14, I appreciated the personal touch Peary and Mabel Rader gave to Iron Man. The people they featured were real; the information felt authentic and was. Back then Iron Man was about train­ ing as defined by the Raders. In many editorials and articles Peary would talk about the facets of training. For him it was much more than just lift­ ing a barbell. He stressed getting good nutrition, eating six meals a day and developing consistent personal habits that contributed to the health benefits of the lifestyle. In fact, he advocated an integrated approach long before lifestyle entered our vocabulary. He talked about the psychological and spiritual aspects of training as well. With the advent of modern food supplements (Rheo Blair Protein and so on), Peary became an early advocate of what was later tagged sports nutrition. He was the first to alert the world to the dangers of steroids—in 1963—and always stressed the fact that the so-called champs’ routines were not necessarily the most effective for us genetically average trainees. I was hooked on Iron Man, and 30 years later I became the publisher and owner of the icon that started me on my own lifelong involvement with training. While the world has changed greatly, the basic tenets of Peary and Mabel Rader still echo in every issue. Iron Man has always been about the broader definition of training, a true lifestyle approach to personal development. It’s aimed at people who want to be bigger, faster and stronger for themselves. We’re not a fan magazine, even though we cover some bodybuilding competitions (for thousands of contest photos go to GraphicMuscle.com). Our focus is on you and helping you realize your training goals and dreams. When you scan the table of contents, you’ll see that about 80 percent of the editorial pages are dedicated to all aspects of training. For inspiration and motivation we add unusual and/or special pictori­ als on the art of bodybuilding. They may have a female focus, like our feature on the work of Bill Dobbins in this issue, or simply be one man’s sculptural vision of the human body—the photography of David Paul, for example. They also include our celebration of the winner of our annual Art Zeller Award for Artistic Excellence. This year’s recipient is Bob Gard­ ner, whose photography will be featured in the July issue. Male or female, the intrinsic beauty of the human body has moved and inspired human­ kind throughout history. We strive to make every issue as packed with information and motiva­ tion as possible. Let me know how we’re doing. Send comments or sug­ gestions to me via e-mail at [email protected]. IM

Founders 1936-1986: Peary & Mabel Rader Publisher/Editorial Director: John Balik

Associate Publisher: Warren Wanderer

Design Director: Michael Neveux

Editor in Chief: Stephen Holman

Art Director: T. S. Bratcher

Senior Editor: Ruth Silverman

Editor at Large: Lonnie Teper

Articles Editors: L.A. Perry, Caryne Brown

Assistant Art Director: Aldrich Bonifacio

Designer: Emerson Miranda

IRON MAN Staff:

Vuthy Keo, Mervin Petralba,

David Solorzano, 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, Stuart McRobert, Gene Mozée,

Charles Poliquin, Larry Scott, Jim Shiebler, Roger

Schwab, 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, Reg Bradford, Jimmy Caruso, Bill

Comstock, Bill Dobbins, Jerry Fredrick, Irvin Gelb,

J.M. Manion, Gene Mozée, Mitsuru Okabe, Rob

Sims, Leo Stern, Russ Warner

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 self-

addressed, 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]

30 JUNE 2006 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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

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SIZE MATTERS, SO…

36 JUNE 2006 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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

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PRO PROGRAMS

Lambaste Your Legs Dave Henry is definitely one of pro bodybuilding’s most exciting up-and-comers. Not only does he represent those among us not blessed with towering height (he’s 5’5”), but he’s also an athlete who continually improves. Winning his pro card at the ’02 Nationals weighing 175 pounds, he made his professional debut just 15 months later at the ’04 IRON MAN Pro with an amazing 20 addi­ tional pounds of muscle—while still retaining his 28-inch waist (most guys who gain that amount of muscle end up looking pregnant). The only criticism leveled at him was that his legs didn’t quite match his upper body. To solve that problem, he consulted with his trainer, Dante, originator of the DoggCrapp method of brief, intense training. Dante put together three leg workouts by varying the order of exer­ cises and the rep schemes to shock Henry’s lower body and force it to grow. Take a look:

David Henry–style

So if your quads aren’t quite up to par, give Henry’s strategy a try. The mix of pressing movements and high and low reps is bound to get your wheels spinning into a new growth zone. —Ron Harris www.RonHarrisMuscle.com Editor’s note: We’ll have an interview with Dante on his unique training method in the next issue of IM.

Workout 1 Leg presses 2 x 12-15, 1 x 50 Front squats 1 x 8-10, 1 x 35 Hack squats 1 x 6-8, 1 x 20

Workout 2 Hack squats 2 x 12-15, 1 x 50 Leg presses 1 x 8-10, 1 x 35 Front squats 1 x 6-8, 1 x 20

Workout 3 Front squats 2 x 12-15, 1 x 50 Hack squats 1 x 8-10, 1 x 35 Leg presses 1 x 6-8, 1 x 20 As you can see, the rep ranges for the first, second and third exercises stay the same, but the order of the exercises rotates. That means that his legs are constantly barraged by varying types of stimulation. Does it work? Henry’s stubborn legs grew a full inch, and he went on to win the Wildcard Showdown at the ’05 Olympia, beat­ ing men up to eight inches taller and 80 pounds heavier. And this year, at the ’06 IM Pro, he placed second to Lee Priest. (For hundreds of photos from that battle, visit www.GraphicMuscle.com.)

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

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Whatever You Need—Wherever You Train ™

TRAIN TO GAIN

MASS MOVES

A Unilateral Experience

X FACTORS

Color of Intensity

Does seeing red make you stronger?

Anyone who’s watched the barbaric “sport” of bullfighting is familiar with the way a matador, who “fights” the unarmed bull, attempts to anger him by waving a red cape in front of him. That could be where the familiar saying “seeing red” comes from, if not for one problem: Bulls are color-blind and can’t tell a red cape from a turquoise one. It’s the waving motion that gets the bull going, not to men­ tion all the banderillas, or darts, that have been thrust into the frenzied creature. Unlike bulls, most humans aren’t color-blind, and a recent study suggested that the color red offers advantages in human sport and competition. The re­ searchers noted that athletes who wore red in sports such as boxing, tae kwon do and wrestling showed a higher probability of winning. Studies show that red coloration in many animal species is equated with male dominance and greater testosterone levels. That information transferred to the gym would imply that training in a red outfit leads to higher testosterone levels during a workout, thus making the workout more anabolic. In fact, another recent study sought to confirm the hypothesis.1 Two groups of highly trained athletes wore either a red or black shirt while engaged in maximumeffort cycling to simulate actual competition. The groups experienced no differ­ ences in the levels of testosterone; samples were taken throughout the exercise session. The author, while noting that the study does not confirm that red affects tes­ tosterone levels, did note a few of its limitations. For one, the participants weren’t engaged in an actual event that produces winners and losers. They wore only shirts, not full uniforms. The sample—only 10 men—may not have been enough to either prove or disprove the red theory. —Jerry Brainum 1 Hackney, A.C. (2005). Testosterone and human performance: influence of the color red. Eur J Appl Physiol. 96:330-333.

•The ability to concentrate more completely on the target muscle, al­ lowing for more intense contractions and superior pumps •The use of more muscle fibers and exhaustion of more motor unit pools within the target muscle •Greater stimulation of stabilizer muscles •Improvement of strength imbal­ ances between the sides of the body While many of you have probably used basic unilateral movements such as concentration curls and one-arm dumbbell rows, very few trainees have taken advantage of such amaz­ ing growth-producing movements as unilateral leg presses, squats, seated

dumbbell presses, dumbbell upright rows, pulldowns, flyes, etc. You can perform dozens of exercises one side at a time while perhaps reaping double the rewards. —Eric Broser

38 JUNE 2006 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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Neveux \ Model: John Hansen

Neveux \ Model: Dan Decker

One of the best ways to shock your muscles into new growth is to force them to deal with a stress that they’re not used to. Because the human body adapts, if you continually perform the same exercises over and over again, you’ll eventually plateau in size, even if you increase your strength. Incorporating unilateral exercises is a fantastic method of providing a unique stimulus to the muscles and nervous system, the result being a heightened hypertrophic response. Some of the advantages of unilateral movements are as follows:

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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Bill Wilmore’s Winning Ways At 251 pounds Bill Wilmore is one of the IFBB’s biggest and bad­ dest new pros. (He got his card after winning the ’05 NPC National Superheavyweight crown with a perfect score and then taking the overall.) I got to sit down with the South Florida resident to get the scoop on just how he built one of the world’s elite physiques. EB: How long ago did you start training? BW: I started working out when I was 15 years old, basically to get stronger for wrestling. I’d been wrestling since I was five, in the 40-pound weight class. I was tough. [Laughs] EB: What bodypart do you consider your best, and what’s a typical workout for it? BW: My back is my best bodypart, for sure. Most of the exercises I do are the bread-and-butter ones like bent-over rows, onearm rows, deadlifts and lat pulldowns. I do four sets each, 10 to 12 reps. I like to finish with cable pull­ overs, and I have a unique way of doing them. I do three sets with three different angles, and at the peak contraction I hold for a count of two. That gives me an incredible pump, which I believe helps stretch the fascia and ultimately helps me grow. EB: Which bodyparts do you feel lag the most, and how are you attacking them to try and bring them up to par? BW: The bodyparts that I’ve been working on are my arms and legs, although from some angles my legs appear to be my best bodypart. I want to continue to improve the symme­ try, or, more specifically, the sweep of my thighs. I’m training legs twice a week and modifying my stance on front squats, leg presses and standard squats. It’s all about the foot posi­ tion. EB: What is your training split? BW: Sunday: chest and tri’s; Monday: back and bi’s; Tues­ day: off; Wednesday: legs; Thursday: shoulders; Friday: arms; Saturday: legs. My cardio varies throughout the year, but the Step Mill is the machine of choice. EB: Do you prefer heavy weights for low reps or light­

er weights for high reps? BW: I actually like both. As we know, it’s the fast-twitch muscle fibers that grow the most, and to engage them, you have to go heavy. However, the slow-twitch fibers are also quite prevalent in the muscle, and by stimulating them, you can help the overall look of the muscle. To en­ gage those, you have to go light with higher reps, which is why I do both. EB: Do you prefer very strict form, or do you like to be a bit looser? BW: Strict at first, but at the end of a set I cheat a bit to absolutely fatigue the muscle fibers to the max. EB: Do you use any intensity techniques like forced reps, drop sets, negatives or supersets? BW: Over the years I’ve tried them all, and I continue to use them all, again with the concept of working both fast- and slow-twitch muscle fibers and exhausting them to the max. EB: What is your favorite thing about training? BW: The pump, definitely! But also the sense of accom­ plishment—from two perspectives. One is the feeling after the workout, and the second is the results. That’s also a tip on motivation. If you’re only motivated by results, it will be tough to get into the gym every day and put in the effort; however, if you’re motivated by how you feel after the workout, it makes going to the gym much easier. Comstock

TRAIN TO GAIN

CHAMP Q&A

Bill plans to make his professional debut at the Colorado Pro in May, and he’ll follow that up with the New York Pro a week later. His goal is to keep the amazing conditioning he displayed at the Nationals while appearing just a bit fuller. To quote big Bill, “You can be big, and you can be ripped, but to be big and ripped—that’s the ultimate!” —Eric Broser

40 JUNE 2006 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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FLEXSOLATE

GRIP-FREE CUFFS Fact:

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

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Hyperextension Attention The hyperextension is commonly known as a lower-back movement, although it affects several muscles besides those located in the back itself. It can be a wonderful exercise and a real life and back saver for some people. As with most exercises, however, it also carries potential for injury. Most trainees perform this movement in a much more con­ servative manner than its name implies. The word hyperexten­ sion suggests that you’d arch your back excessively when doing it. The opposite movement is a flexion of the spine, and it occurs when you curl up your spine, as in a crunching movement. Extension occurs when the spine is flattened, or straightened, as when you’re standing at attention. It refers to position only and not which muscles make the action happen. There are two main methods of performing the movement—one in which the back is actually hyperextended, or arched backward, and one in which it is not. When average trainees learn to do hyperextensions, they’re usually instruct­ ed to raise the body until it’s parallel to the floor and no higher. The back remains relatively flat, and the majority of the mo­ tion occurs in the hip joint. The amount of active extension is minimal, and the amount of hyperextension is virtually nil. While there’s very little change in the back position itself, the hip moves almost 90 degrees. Hyperextensions done in that manner are principally a movement of hip extension. The hip extensors, which consist of the gluteus maximus and the hamstrings, do the bulk of the work. The erector spinae muscles of the lower back, which are parallel to the spine on each side, are also involved. However, they perform a relative­ ly isometric contraction (without joint movement) in the back. The erectors simply keep the back from rounding forward. With the second method the hyperextension of the lumbar spine is especially noticeable, as the lower back arches at the top. The vast majority of trainees don’t need to use the true hyperextension movement, and very few athletes do it. The parallel-to-the-floor method puts an adequate workload on the back, and, of course, the hip extensors get a thorough workout due to the amount of lengthening and contracting they do over the 90 degree range of hip motion. One group that does perform a full hyperextension move­ ment is Olympic weightlifters. Although they’re virtually an endangered species in the United States, Olympic lifters have

traditionally included that type of training in their routines. They also add resistance to the movement; in fact, former superheavyweight world champion Vasily Alexeev reportedly did hyperextensions while holding a bar loaded to well over 200 pounds behind his neck. That is a superhuman feat, and it places an incredible stress on the back. Unless you are one of the few Olympic-style weightlifters left, there is no need to attempt to push your back to this level. If you feel the need to use additional resistance on the more commonly performed hyperextension, begin with a 10-pound plate. In any event you probably won’t have to go higher than 25 pounds. If the movement is easy for you to do with 25 pounds and you have a healthy lower back, you should probably add the deadlift, Romanian deadlift or stifflegged deadlift to your routine to develop your hip and spinal extensors. Some powerlifters and advanced trainees like to include a set of hyperextensions as part of their warmups before doing deadlifts or squats. When you perform the hyper, don’t initiate the movement with your lower back. That will make the lower back hyperextend. Initiate the movement with your glutes and hams. Let those muscles raise your upper body without arching your lower back. Simply keep your back flat while letting your glutes and hams pull you up. Even parallel-to-the-floor hyperextensions can cause lowerback problems and aggravate other conditions. Nevertheless, it’s a relatively safe exercise as long as you use common sense. Don’t attempt it if you feel pain. And if you experience pain while you’re doing it, stop—no matter what you hear about how “good” the exercise is supposed to be. —Joseph M. Horrigan Editor’s note: Visit www.softtissuecenter.com for reprints of Horrigan’s past Sportsmedicine columns that have ap­ peared in IRON MAN. You can order the books, Strength, Conditioning and Injury Prevention for Hockey by Joseph Horrigan, D.C., and E.J. “Doc” Kreis, D.A., and the 7-Minute Rotator Cuff Solution by Horrigan and Jerry Robinson from Home Gym Warehouse, (800) 447-0008 or at www .Home-Gym.com.

Neveux \ Model: Will Willis

TRAIN TO GAIN

SPORTSMEDICINE

42 JUNE 2006 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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Maintain a flat back on hyperexten­ sions —no arching at the top—unless you’re an Olympic lifter.

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TRAIN TO GAIN

GENETICS

Do your genes determine the best training system?

We’ve all heard the adage that championship bodybuilding requires good genes. You can do the same training routine, eat the same way and even use the same drugs—if that’s your bent—and still not look like Mr. Olympia, unless you also possess his genes. Even so, few of us have undergone the testing to determine just what genes we have, so it’s hard to predict the outcome of training. Some have reached the pinnacle of bodybuilding success with what’s considered bad genetics, such as narrow shoulders, a wide waist and other structural flaws. Sheer de­ termination coupled with a certain degree of savvy, such as knowing how to disguise obvious flaws by highlighting strong points, led to their success. As science marches on, several gene combinations have been discovered that influence the effects of training programs or vice versa; that is, training can alter gene expression in the body. For example, if you regularly do aerobics, which fea­ tures fat oxidation, or burning, genes that affect fat oxidation will upgrade in the body after a few workouts. Studies show that the genes for FAT/CD36, a fatty acid transporter, and for CPT-1, an enzyme that works with L-carnitine in promoting fat entry into cellular mitochondria for oxidation, are upgraded by aerobic exercise. Another gene, one that controls peroxisome proliferative activator receptor-gamma, which promotes fat gains, is de­ pressed by aerobics. Exercise is also known to favorably affect genes related to glucose uptake in muscle. That explains why exercise may help prevent diseases such as diabetes. In fact, a new study suggests that training programs should match gene patterns for best results.1 It also explains why some people make great gains with high-intensity, low-vol­ ume training routines, such as that espoused by the late Mike Mentzer, while others get better results using more volume and higher sets and reps. At issue are inborn variants of the genes for angiotensin­ converting enzyme (ACE). The enzyme is usually associated with blood pressure, since it produces a substance called an­ giotensin-2, which constricts blood vessels, resulting in higher blood pressure. Variants of the ACE genes affect the way a muscle functions. For example, the D-variant (ACE-DD) favor­ ably affects strength training. If you’re born with it, you have a head start in making rapid bodybuilding gains. That could be an explanation for those who seem to make gains merely by thinking about training. The ACE-D refers to a deletion of part of the gene, which leads to more ACE being created in the body. ACE is pro­ duced in human muscle and is thought to help regulate mus­ cle growth responses. It also has a pathological side, since people who have the variant are also more prone to cardiac hypertrophy, which can lead to cardiac failure in later life. People with the D-variant of ACE show a higher ratio of fasttwitch to slow-twitch muscle fibers, which is more conducive to acquiring greater muscular size and strength. Athletes pos­ sessing it excel in sports requiring short-term, high-intensity effort, such as sprint swimming and running. Another variant of the ACE gene, ACE-2, is associated with

greater muscular endurance. Athletes who have it show greater adaption to hypoxia, or lack of oxygen, and have an abundance of slow-twitch muscle fibers, which are suited to higher oxygen intake. Thus, you’d expect champions in sports such as long-distance running to have this variant. From a weight-train­ ing point of view, those with the ACE-2 variant would make better progress by using a higher-volume, lower-intensity training system. In the new study 99 subjects were randomly assigned to three groups: 1) single set, 2) multiple set and 3) control. Both training groups used a periodiza­ tion system to create variations in train­ ing intensity and volume. During the first three weeks they used loads that were 60 to 70 percent of maximum, which permitted an average of 12 to 15 reps per set. For the next three weeks they upgraded to using 70 to 80 percent of maximum weight, with a rep range of eight to 12. For six weeks they trained three times a week, working nine to 11 muscle groups per session, with the single-set group doing one set of each exercise and the mul­ tiple-set group doing three. The subjects were genetically tested at the start. Those with the ACE-2 variant, or the endurance gene, responded best to the multiple-set system using 12 to 15 reps. When doing the slightly heavier eight to 12 reps, however, that group showed no difference in strength. Those with the ACE-DD variant showed similar gains for both types of loads and systems. They also made the great­ est strength gains—and made the same gains no matter how they trained. Still, the DD group made the most gains from the heavier training, implying that they respond best to that kind of weight work. The ACE-2 subjects responded to the higher reps more favorably because of their inherent endurance capacity. Such people are more likely to also respond to the experimental “hypoxia training,” during which blood vessels are purposely occluded, somehow leading to greater gains in muscle size. People who have the ACE-2 variant get greater tissue oxy­ genation, which can elevate the contractile properties of heart and skeletal muscle tissue. They would also show less lactate buildup, reflecting reduced muscle fatigue. It would appear that those who make exceptional gains with high-intensity, heavy training have the ACE-DD variants. They’d gain from just about any type of training program. Those with the ACE-2 variant wouldn’t respond favorably to a workout that features heavy weights and low reps; their physiology is geared toward endurance. For them a program that features multiple sets and a rep range of 12 to 15 per set would produce best results. From a health perspective, it’s better to have the ACE-2 variant, because, while the ACE-DD leads to bigger muscles, it also has unfavorable effects on cardiovascular factors, such as higher blood pressure and increased heart stress long-term. Thus, with ACE-2 you’ll be smaller but probably live longer. —Jerry Brainum Neveux \ Model: Derek Farn-

HIT vs. Volume

1 Colakoglu, M., et al. (2005). ACE genotype may have an effect on single vs multiple-set preferences in strength training. Eur J App Physiol. 95(1):20-26.

44 JUNE 2006 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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Visualize for Size Very few people consider the role of the mind when it comes to training effectively. Most trainees make sure they get their preworkout meal at a specific time, as well as their glutamine, creatine, BCAAs, NO2 and stimulants. Some make time for a nap before they train so they can hit the weights refreshed. Don’t get me wrong—all of those things optimize your time in the gym; however, if you truly wish to realize your intensity potential, it’s time you start using visualization. The technique has been used by many top athletes to bring about their best performance on game day. You, too, can use it to bring about your best performance in the gym. It’s easy, and it only takes a few minutes. I believe that the best time to use visualization is before you go to sleep at night (to optimize the following day’s workout) and/or right before you take a preworkout nap. Visualization can also be used at the gym, right before you perform a lift that you particularly want to improve. You’re probably saying, “So what do I have to do?” Here’s how I like to approach visualization, but you might find other ways to enhance the experience. •Relax. Lie down. Close your eyes. Breathe deeply. Clear your mind and calm your body. •Picture yourself in the gym. See the equipment and the people. Hear the music and smell the sweat. •See yourself as you wish to be: bigger, more cut, more vascular, more athletic. •Think about each lift you’ll be performing and picture the perfect set. See the weight on the bar that you wish to use

Neveux \ Model: Frank Zane

TRAIN TO GAIN

MENTAL MIGHT

and imagine yourself lifting it with ease, as if it were a feather. •Experience the incredible pump the workout will give you and the satisfaction it will bring about. If you program your mind for success, your body will follow. Note: For a more comprehensive look at visualization and relaxation techniques, see Bill Starr’s Only the Strong Shall Survive on page 326. —Eric Broser

TRAINING TWEAKS

I’ve been a personal trainer for the past 15 years, and one of the questions I’m often asked is, “How should I split up my bodyparts?” Unfortunately, there’s no cookie-cutter answer to that question, as everything depends on your goals, time schedule, strengths, weaknesses, recovery ability and more. I’ve seen many a bodybuilder have great success training anywhere from two to six days per week, although I find that most do best on a three-, four- or fiveday split. One interesting method I use in my own training, as well as that of many of my more serious clients, is some­ thing I call the rotating spli— training the entire body over three days during week 1, over four days during week 2 and over five days during week 3. Here’s how it might look: Week 1 Monday: Chest, lats, traps, abs Wednesday: Quads, hamstrings, lower back, calves Friday: Shoulders, biceps, triceps, abs Week 2 Monday: Chest, biceps, abs Tuesday: Quads, hamstrings, calves Thursday: Lats, lower back, abs Friday: Shoulders, traps, triceps, calves

Neveux \ Models: Don Fry & Ken Yasuda

Splitting Pretty

Week 3 Monday: Chest, abs Tuesday: Quads, hamstrings, calves Wednesday: Biceps, triceps Friday: Lats, lower back, abs Saturday: Shoulders, traps, calves After week three you rotate back to the first week’s schedule and continue. It’s an excellent way to keep things interesting in the gym while rotating recovery time, training intensity and volume for each bodypart. —Eric Broser

48 JUNE 2006 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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Row to Grow? Q: I have not seen you mention barbell rows in your workouts. Agreed, most people don’t perform them correctly, but what are your reasons for ig­ noring a great exercise? Could you provide a quick primer on barbell rows, just in case I get bored with chinups? A: The reason that I don’t mention barbell rows is simply that I don’t believe they are a great upper-back exercise, even when performed correctly. Why? Because too much neural drive is expended in firing the muscles involved in maintaining proper posture. There’s a great neuromuscular demand on firing the erector spinae, glutes and hamstrings at the same time—so much that the level of recruitment

finally left over for the lats is too minimal to be worth it. I would rather stick with variations of one-arm dumb­ bell rows. To develop optimal structural balance, I strongly believe that for every set of chinups, you should do a set of dumbbell rows (with each arm, of course). One-arm dumb­ bell rows make for even distribution of the load and great range of motion (particularly for the scapulae retractors). I can hear the functionalists already on the soapbox: “What about function? This is a primary movement.” My answer to that is, if you already did a good job in the loading pa­ rameters for the squat and deadlift exercises, why overtrain the posterior chain? Q: I just read that training with weights more often than one day a week causes overtraining. Is that right? What do you think is the best frequency for weight training?

Neveux \ Model: Andre Nielson

A: That makes as much sense as saying eating more than one meal a day will make you fat. I don’t know how some­ one can even say that with a straight face. The classic approach in strength training has been three resistancetraining sessions per week on alternate days for each muscle group. Normally, if muscle soreness interferes with performance during the subsequent training session, the implication is that the frequency or intensity of training is too severe. Competitive bodybuild­ ers and powerlifters have multiple training sessions in a week. They normally use a split routine (differ­ ent muscles trained each day) or a split program (different exercises for the same muscle on the same day or on successive days). In those high-workload programs the training frequency per muscle group is still limited to a maximum of three times per week. Of course, the consumption of ergogenic aids is fairly common among those athletes and may shorten the time for adaptive processes to take place. More than 17 differ­ ent training paradigms apply to the determina­ tion of optimal training frequency. Listing them all goes beyond the scope of this column. Here are four Because of the great neural drive expended in maintaining important ones: Principle 1: The great­ proper posture, certain rows may not be the best back builders.

54 JUNE 2006 \ 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

A sample varied-frequency periodized program for the torso muscles (source: Poliquin International Certification Program, Level 2 Theory)

Weeks 1 and 2 (twice a week, twice a day) A.M.: Monday and Thursday A1 Close-parallel-grip chinups, 5 x 6-8; cadence: 3/0/1/0; rest: 2 minutes A2 Incline dumbbell presses, 5 x 6-8; cadence: 3/0/1/0; rest: 2 minutes B1 Seated cable rows to neck, 3 x 8-10, cadence: 2/0/1/2; rest: 100 seconds B2 Unrolling incline flyes, 3 x 8-10; cadence: 2/1/1/0; rest: 100 seconds P.M.: Monday and Thursday A1 Cambered-bar bench presses, 4 x 8-10; cadence: 3/1/1/0; rest: 90 seconds A2 One-arm cable rows, 4 x 8-10; cadence: 3/0/1/1; rest: 90 seconds B1 Incline cable flyes, 3 x 10-12; cadence: 3/0/1/0; rest: 75 seconds B2 Hammer-machine lat pulldowns, 3 x 6-8; cadence: 3/0/1/3; rest: 75 seconds

Week 3 (twice a week, once a day) A.M.: Monday and Thursday A1 Close-parallel-grip chinups, 3 x 6-8; cadence: 3/0/1/0; rest: 2 minutes A2 Incline dumbbell presses, 3 x 6-8; cadence: 3/0/1/0; rest: 2 minutes B1 Seated cable rows to neck, 2 x 8-10; cadence: 2/0/1/2; rest: 100 seconds B2 Unrolling incline flyes, 2 x 8-10; cadence: 2/1/1/0; rest: 100 seconds

Frequency of bodypart training is one of the most underused methods of creating overload.

er the tolerance of training frequency, the greater the rate of progress. If an athlete is recovering rap­ idly from workouts, the rate of progress is quite appreciable. Once strength climbs, each workout creates far greater demands on the body. Principle 2: Frequency is underused as a method of overload. Rather than thinking that only one frequency will suit you, realize that a va­ riety of frequencies over time will be beneficial— e.g., twice a day for the same muscle, two days a week for a one-or-two-week period reduced to once a day twice a week for a one-or-two-week period. That form of planned overtraining fol­ lowed by more conventional training has been used by top-level Canadian and Finnish athletes, resulting in appreciable gains. See Table 1 for a sample program that illustrates this idea.) Principle 3: The weaker the individual, the greater the need for training frequency. The 56 JUNE 2006 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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Neveux

Table 1

weaker you are, the more important training frequency is. So in cases of rehabilitation, like postsurgery, training five or six times a week is well tolerated. Because of their lower levels of maximal strength, females initially need greater frequency of training to maximize their progress. Once a female trainee reaches higher levels of strength, that difference dimin­ ishes appreciably. It usually occurs after two years of solid training. Even at elite levels, however, women train more frequently and with greater volume than men. The very successful Chinese female national weightlifters are known to train more often and with greater volume than their equally successful male counterparts. Principle 4: Frequency should be the most individualized load­ ing element. Training frequency has perhaps the greatest range of possibilities. In strength training, especially with elite athletes, there are conflicting schools of thought on training frequency. For example, one world-record holder in the bench press recommends one ses­ sion per week per muscle group, while nine to 12 weekly sessions are common on European weightlifting teams. The training of hip and knee extensors has been done in short sessions for up to five times a day in

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Charles Poliquin’s

some countries; however, that type of volume is restricted to brief periods during the year. This situation is very confusing to the aspiring strength coach. The solution to the dilemma is fairly simple: Is the athlete improving? If not, frequency has to go either down or up. On average, it takes a good strength coach roughly six to eight weeks to determine what works best for an indi­ vidual. The Poliquin International Certification Program’s view is that in most cases, provided that the individual does honest work, once every five days per bodypart does the trick. A misconception perpetuated in strength-training circles is that you have to train the same muscle every 48 hours or progress will fall short. Quite the contrary; as numerous world-class bodybuilders and powerlifters are known to train a bodypart only once weekly. One of the greatest bench pressers of all time would decide whether to train that day based on a warmup with a broomstick. If he felt underrecovered, he would wait more days before bench-pressing again.

58 JUNE 2006 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Neveux

in 12 different sports, including the U.S. women’s track-and­ field team for the 2000 Olympics. He’s spent years researching European journals (he’s fluent in English, French and German) and speaking with other coaches and scientists in his quest to optimize training methods. For more on his books, seminars and methods, visit www.CharlesPoliquin .net. Also, see his ad on page 209. IM

Editor’s note: Charles Poliquin is recognized as one of the world’s most successful strength coaches, having coached Olympic medalists

Bradford

Bar placement on squats can have a direct impact on your development as well as possibly injuring your lower back, hamstrings and even elbows.

Q: I never see you prescribe low-bar squatting in any of your programs. Why is that? Isn’t it a great way to load up the bar? Isn’t load necessary for hypertrophy? A: In my opinion, low-bar squats should be used only by powerlifters. Yes, you can express greater loads, but you must realize that those lifts are done with supersuits and lifting belts. Those accessories are, in my opinion, crutches, and they shut down neurologically smaller syn­ ergistic muscles that are normally called into play. Low-bar squats force the muscles into a recruitment pattern that never actually happens in sport, as the shins are not allowed to travel forward enough. Also, when analyz­ ing training logs of national-team athletes, we’ve found that low-bar squats were associated with greater incidence of lower-back injuries and hamstring and groin pulls. Athletes who centered their training on high-bar squats, which I rec­ ommend, had dramatically lower injury rates in the lower back and the lower extremities. The low-bar position places enormous torque on the elbows. More often than not, that translates into brachialis tendinitis—which obviously has a negative impact in any direct elbow flexor work, such as curls, and upper-back work like rows and chinups.

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

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\ JULY 2006 181

EAT TO

NUTRITION SCIENCE

More to Milk Than Meets the Eye In a recent issue I discussed the hidden nutritional factors that qualify eggs as a functional food, meaning a food that contains esoteric elements that offer health benefits beyond sim­ ply meeting nutritional requirements or preventing deficiencies. Such ele­ ments are referred to as nutracueti­ cals because they behave like drugs but in a highly beneficial way.

any meaningful benefits. Some scientists think that the small proteins can survive the formi­ dable digestive barrier. Indeed, some studies show that absorption rates as low as 20 percent have considerable biological activity. No one argues that the milk components are easily absorbed by newborn babies, who require them for both growth and immunity. Babies are born with no immune factors other than some intestinal bacteria. They rely on mother’s milk to pro­ vide the nutrition required for proper growth and development, as well as protection from disease. A neonate’s gastrointestinal tract is far more per­ meable than an adult’s and permits the uptake of larger proteins that would likely be degraded in adults. Controversy arises in just how many—if any—of the active milk peptides do survive and get absorbed by adult humans. Some evidence shows that at least a few survive and are active in the body. Milk hormones include thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH), which controls thyroid activity; luteinizing-hormone-releasing hor­ mone, which regulates the production of steroids, such as testosterone and estrogen; somatostatin, which regu­ lates growth hormone release; insulin; estrogen and even testosterone. At least one milk peptide’s activ­ ity is apparent. Casein is Casein peptides have often characterized as a been shown to lower slow-acting protein, since blood pressure. it curdles in the stomach,

Besides eggs, milk-derived pro­ teins are the other popular supple­ ment protein source for bodybuilders. The two primary milk proteins are casein and whey; however, within those large protein structures are a number of smaller proteins, known as peptides, that have exciting health and bodybuilding potential. The controversy in scientific circles regarding milk peptides isn’t whether they’re active but whether the body can absorb them intact. Di­ etary protein undergoes a rigorous digestive process, dur­ ing which it is degraded into its constituent amino acids. The problem is that milk’s peptide pro­ teins depend on a minimal level of struc­ tural integrity to provide

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Nutrition With a Get-Big Mission leading to a release of amino acids that lasts for up to seven hours. That activity exerts anticatabolic effects in muscle, promoting an extended anabolic effect. Casein lasts so long because a peptide called casomor­ phin slows gastrointestinal motility. In short, it slows down the movement of food and may be involved in the curdling effect associated with the parent protein, casein. Casomorphins are so named be­ cause they mimic the effects of mor­ phine, and as such they are natural painkillers, or analgesics. Collectively, they’re known as opioid peptides. Another casein peptide, casoxin, is an opioid antagonist. Scientists can isolate these peptides. When they’re injected into the blood, they exert an analgesic and sedative activity. They’re nothing less than natural drugs capable of providing a calming effect. Some scientists think that the painkilling peptides are released in the gut when casein is digested. Besides slowing the transit time of food movement, they appear to help prevent diarrhea. Another group of casein peptides, called casein phosphopeptides, may increase the absorption and uptake of minerals, such as calcium and zinc. It assists mineral uptake in the presence of other food elements such as the phytate found in wheat and grain that would otherwise inter­ fere with mineral absorption. Other casein peptides help lower blood pressure by inhibiting an en­ zyme called angiotensin-converting enzyme. Several ACE inhibitors are currently used to treat high blood

pressure, but the casein peptides may work just as well and have a supe­ rior long-term safety profile. Since most of casein’s natural ACEinhibiting peptides are composed of only three bonded amino acids, they can easily be absorbed without being degraded. Another one, casopiastrin, pre­ vents the formation of internal blood clots by blood platelets. That could help prevent heart attacks and strokes, the majority of which are caused by narrowed blood vessels that are obstructed by blood clots. Casein supplies several peptides with potent immune-enhancing ef­ fects. They stimulate the proliferation and activity of immune cells, such as killer T cells, that protect against viruses and tumors. Others are ac­ tive against various strains of bacteria (including the ones that cause the most common types of food poison­ ing) and yeast. In addition, the whey fraction of milk provides a number of potentially useful peptides. Among them are alpha-lactorphin, beta-lactorphin, albutensin-A and beta-lactotensin.

Casein-and-whey supplements can bring you unique musclebuilding and immune-fortifying effects.

Animal studies show that whey of­ fers protective effects against various types of cancer, especially colon cancer. A whey protein, alpha-lactal­ bumin, may provide anticancer ben­ efits. In addition, whey offers a host of antibacterial peptides, such as lactoferrin, lactoperoxidase, lysozyme and immunoglobulins. No doubt continuing research will shed more light on the activities of milk protein peptides. In the mean­ time, look at them as a bonus that you get with the primary milk pro­ teins, casein and whey. —Jerry Brainum

www.ironmanmagazine.com \ JUNE 2006 63

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Eat to Grow NUTRITION NOTES

Food Facts

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That can affect your workouts, weight and wellness

WARRIOR NUTRITION AND EXERCISE

How to Instinctively Stop Eating For those who have large appetites and don’t instinctively know when to stop eating, here’s my answer: Stop once you feel signifi­ cantly more thirsty than hungry. That’s when to start drinking. The time to stop eating isn’t when you count your calories and say, “If I eat more, I’m going to gain weight.” And it doesn’t come because somebody told you to count the macro and micro nutrients. Stay away from all that guilt. But when your body tells you it’s more thirsty than hungry (and it will tell you more and more as you prac­ tice the Warrior Diet), that is the time to stop. Take a break and drink a glass of water or cup of tea. If after 15 or 20 minutes you still feel hungry, you can eat again. You prob­ ably won’t be, but if you are, go ahead. No other diet will give you that freedom. —Ori Hofmekler The Warrior Diet Editor’s note: Ori Hofmekler is the author of the books The Warrior Diet and Maximum Muscle & Minimum Fat, published by Dragon Door Publications (www.dragondoor.com). For more information or for a consultation, contact him at ori@warriordiet .com, www.warriordiet.com or by phone at (866) WAR-DIET.

Chromium can reduce over­ eating. A Cornell University study showed that 600 micrograms of chromium pico­ linate curbed appetite and cravings in subjects who suffered from depression. Cola may cause high blood pres­ sure. Harvard research­ ers studied 155,000 women for 12 years and found that the ones who drank the most regular or diet colas were at a greater risk of high blood pressure. Coffee drink­ ers had no increased risk, even at four or more cups a day. Coffee has anti­ oxidants, according to recent studies, which may offset some of the nega­ tive effects of caffeine. That’s a good thing, because according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the average Ameri­ can drinks about 24 gallons of it every year. Water may be something you want to consider getting more of. Recent estimates indicate that 75 percent of Americans are chronically dehydrated and that the thirst mechanism is so weak in most individuals that it’s mis­ taken for hunger. —Becky Holman www.X-tremeLean.com

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Eat to Grow WARNINGS

Bitter Orange—Sweet, Sound Fat Loss? You often see negative press stories about bitter orange (shades of ephedra), yet the mainstream press often ignore positive scientific reports. Oh, yeah: Negative stories sell; posi­ tive stories go to the trash bin. Scientists recently evaluated the hemodynamic and electro­ cardiographic effects of a single dose of commercially available dried bitter-orange extract.1 In a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled crossover study, 18 healthy volunteers aged 18 years or older were given either a placebo or bitter-orange extract in phase 1. After a washout period of at least seven days the subjects got the opposite treatment during phase 2. The rate-corrected QTc interval (basically the time between the first and second parts of the “cardiac cycle,” or heartbeat) and blood pressure were

measured before dosing and at one, three, five and eight hours after dosing. The researchers found that bitter-orange extract did not significantly alter the QTc interval or blood pressure after a single dose. Moral of the story: As with all things we take orally, dose and duration are key. Nothing is inherently good or bad, harmful or harmless. You could kill your­ self by drinking too much wine or you could drink in moderate amounts and help your heart’s health. Same with bitter orange. Use a proper dose, and you’ll likely benefit. Abuse it, and you’ll set yourself up for trouble. So be smart. —Jose Antonio, Ph.D. 1 Min, B., et al. (2005). Ab­ sence of QTc-interval-prolonging, or hemodynamic, effects of a single dose of bitter-orange extract in healthy subjects. Pharmacotherapy. 25:1719-24.

JOINT ANOINT

TOXINS

Ginger Snaps Pain

Microwave Mutations

A Texas Tech University study found that a ginger supplement can inhibit prostaglandins that cause pain and swelling in cartilage cells. It also appears to block certain proteins that cause inflammation. Advice: To protect your joints or relieve some of your joint pain, try taking a ginger supplement twice a day. —Becky Holman www.X-tremeLean.com

Dioxins can cause cancer and are highly poisonous to the cells. Dr. Edward Fu­ jimoto, well­ ness program manager at Castle Hospital in Kailua, Ha­ waii, has talked about dioxins and their health hazards, but you may be getting them without realizing it. According to Fujimoto, they can occur if you heat your food in plastic containers in a microwave oven, especially foods that contain fat. He says that the combination of fat, high heat and plastics releases dioxin into the food and ultimately into the cells of the body. Instead, use glass, CorningWare or ceramic contain­ ers for heating food. And forget the Saran Wrap, which is just as dangerous when placed over food in a microwave. Cover with a paper towel instead. —Becky Holman www.X-tremeLean.com

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Eat to Grow ANABOLIC DRIVE

Muscle Food for the Brain Saint-John’s-wort, tyrosine, ging­ ko. Those are probably the supple­ ments you think of when it comes to brain food, or neural enhancers. Oddly enough, one other supple­ ment may be as good for the brain as it is for the brawn—creatine. Yes, my friend, creatine not only increases muscle mass, muscle fiber size, muscular strength and power, but—get this—it can also put you in a better mood. Maybe a creatine­ and-caffeine combo is what the doctor should order. We all know how crabby we can get when we don’t get enough sleep. A recent study looked at sleep deprivation and the effect of creatine.1 The subjects were divided into a creatine group and a placebo group. They took five grams of creatine monohydrate or a placebo, depending on the group, four times a time a day for seven days immediately prior to the ex­ periment. It was a double-blind study, meaning that neither the scientists nor the subjects knew who was getting the creatine or the placebo. The subjects took tests of random movement generation,

X-TREME LEAN

verbal and spatial re­ call, choice reaction time, static balance and mood state before the test and after six, 12 and 24 hours of sleep deprivation, with intermittent exercise. They were tested for plasma concentrations of catecholamines (the so-called adrenaline hormones) and cortisol beforehand and at 24 hours. Here’s what the researchers found: At 24 hours the creatine group dem­ onstrated significantly less change in performance in random movement generation, choice reaction time, balance and mood. There were no significant differences between groups in plasma concentrations of catecholamines and cortisol. Thus, following 24 hours of sleep deprivation, creatine supple­ mentation had a positive effect on mood and tasks that place a heavy stress on the prefrontal cortex. (That’s the front part of your brain, if you’re wondering.) So, if you happen to have been up too late at the office, finishing that presentation that should have been done a week ago, take five grams of creatine daily on a regular basis to help keep your noggin alert. In ad­ dition, if you’re particularly fa­ tigued, that old standby caffeine will do wonders to help maintain mental clarity. If you use caffeine pills, take about 300 to 600 mil­ ligrams; if you drink coffee, the equivalent would be about three large mugs of the java. —Jose Antonio, Ph.D.

Carb Count, Cut Catalyst

“So how many grams of carbs do I need?” The ideal number is activity dependent—as are the percentages of protein and fats you should eat. For example, the body stores 300 to 400 grams of glycogen (carbs). The amount of carbohydrate you should eat each day depends on how much you burn. If you lift weights and/or perform cardio, you may need to eat up to 200 grams of carb in a 24-hour period to replenish what you burned and keep your body functioning normally, but probably no more than that. Any amount more than what you burn is considered excess energy and can be stored as bodyfat. —Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson X-treme Lean e-book www.X-tremeLean.com

1 McMorris, T., et al. (2006). Effect of creatine supplementa­ tion and sleep deprivation, with mild exercise, on cognitive and psychomotor performance, mood state, and plasma con­ centrations of catecholamines and cortisol. Psychopharmacol­ ogy (Berl).185:93-103.

Editor’s note: Listen to the “Performance Nutrition Show” (www.performancenutritionshow .com), the only radio Webcast and podcast on performance nu­ trition, with hosts Jose Antonio, Ph.D., and Carla Sanchez.

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Eat to Grow GOOD FATS

Carnosine: Intensity Kerosene? L-carnosine (not to be confused with L-carnitine) is a dipeptide, or combination of two amino acids bonded to­ gether. Carnosine has earned a reputation as a nutracuetical because of its potent antioxidant and anti-aging properties. Some research shows that it may blunt glycation, a process that deposits sugar in protein structures, which renders them stiff and weak. Glycation is considered a major cause of the aging process. Carnosine acts as an intramuscular buffer. That means it can reduce the acidity, or burning sensation, that occurs during and after an intense exercise set, enabling you to train harder. The increased acidity typical of intense weight training leads to a blunting activity of the enzymes required for energy production, the result being fatigue. As you might expect, regular intense exercise upregulates the muscle content of carnosine. It’s the body’s way of com­ pensating for the hypoxia, or lack of oxygen, characteristic of anaerobic exercise. The lack of oxygen causes the buildup of excess hydrogen ions and fatigue. Carnosine supplements are now available, but just how much can be absorbed into muscle is questionable. An enzyme called carnosinase degrades carnosine into its con­ stituent amino acids, histidine and beta-alanine. On the other hand, a few studies have recovered carnosine in the urine following oral intake, pointing to absorption. Others say that larger doses, such as 1,000 milligrams or more, bypass the carnosinase barrier to some extent—although smaller doses are rapidly degraded by the enzyme. Carnosine concentrates in type 2 muscle fibers, which makes sense, since type 2 fibers are employed in intense anaerobic exercise and thus require extra buffering capac­ ity. While carnosine supplements should offer considerable benefits, such as decreased fatigue and the ability to train harder, they may not be the most effective way to increase muscle carnosine. You could also take the two amino acids that constitute carnosine, but muscles are already saturated with histidine, and taking it does nothing to increase muscle carnosine content. Beta-alanine, however, is another story. One study showed that providing human subjects with four grams of beta-alanine for one week, followed by an increase to 6.6 grams daily for a month, led to a 60 percent increase in muscle carnosine content. Clearly, beta-alanine is the limiting factor for increasing muscle carnosine levels. According to another recent study, however, there is another way to increase muscle carnosine content: Become a bodybuilder.1 The study compared the muscle carnosine content of six competitive-level bodybuilders to six untrained men and found that the bodybuilders had twice as much carnosine as the untrained men. The bodybuilders’ levels of carnosine were estimated to promote a 40 percent increase in muscle-buffering capacity. Exactly why the bodybuilders showed the higher level wasn’t clear. One reason could be the exercise itself, since typical bodybuilding workouts are anaerobic and result in excess acid production. The increased carnosine may be an adapta­ tion to compensate for the higher acid levels that regularly

occur with training. Other possi­ bilities include dietary supplements. The bodybuilders in the study all used whey, glutamine, casein and branched-chain amino acid supple­ ments. They also used various herbs; however, none of those supplements is linked to an increase of carnosine in the body. The bodybuilders also freely admitted to using anabolic steroids. In a recent animal study, providing a dose of tes­ tosterone every other day for two weeks resulted in a 268 percent increase in muscle carnosine levels. How steroids do that isn’t clear. It may be just a result of increased muscle mass from steroid use or an increase in the activity of the enzyme that synthesizes carnosine in muscle. Another expla­ nation is increased muscle amino acid uptake, thus providing the precursor building blocks of carnosine. In the same study the bodybuilders showed 38 percent less taurine than the untrained men. Taurine concentrates in type 1, or slow-twitch, aerobic muscle fibers. As I noted recently in IRON MAN [January ’06], taurine offers many pos­ sible benefits. Why the bodybuilders were low on taurine wasn’t clear, although taurine is known to be excreted more rapidly after exercise. In addition, since bodybuilding focuses primarily on type 2 fibers, it may simply reflect an adaptive need of the body, because type 2 muscles need more carnosine. Some have suggested that workout efficiency can be greatly improved by taking large oral doses of carnosine. That may indeed work, but carnosine isn’t cheap, and the suggested doses would cost about $5 each. Carnosine can also be injected, but that’s not a likely option for most of us. The best carnosine-loading method appears to use an oral beta-alanine supplement. Interestingly, some preliminary research shows that combining beta-alanine with creatine significantly increases the intensity level of bodybuilding train­ ing. If beta-alanine supplements actually reach the market­ place, don’t take them at the same time as taurine supple­ ments. They use the same uptake carrier, and ingesting them simultaneously will cancel out the effects of taurine. —Jerry Brainum 1 Tallon, M.J., et al. (2005). The carnosine content of vastus lateralis is elevated in resistance-trained bodybuilders. J Strength Cond Res. 19:725-729.

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PERFECT POSTWORKOUT MEAL

TM

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

RecoverX 3 lbs. 14 oz.

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, Eat, GROW Train Muscle-Training Program 80 From the IRON MAN Training & Research Center

Model: Jonathan Lawson

by Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson • Photography by Michael Neveux

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activate the low-threshold motor units at the beginning of a set, then the mediums kick in, and finally, if fatigue doesn’t stop you early, your high-threshold motor units join the party. That’s when you fire lots of the fast-twitch­ ers that have the most growth potential. If you do too many reps, say 15 or more, in succession, the burn of lactic acid pooling in the target muscle will force you to stop the set during medium-threshold activation. Your highs never engage, which is not good if you’re looking to build maximum mass. That also

explains why those who train exclu­ sively with high reps have a stringy appearance—they’re only training endurance fibers and the endurance facets of some of the type 2A fasttwitchers. We want to train both the anaero­ bic and endurance components in as many fast-twitch fibers as pos­ sible. That happens with sets that last about 30 seconds—or a number of lower-rep sets done back to back; for example, drop sets and our fa­ vorite ripping-phase method, fearfactor double drops, both including end-of-set X-Rep partials. Now, with either of those techDetail work with continuous tension builds the endurance components of the fast-twitch 2A fibers, such as the mitochondria, where fat is burned.

Model: Steve Holman

Well, it’s that time of year again—time to rip it up! Warm weather is upon us, and if too much blubber is also upon us, we’re in trou­ ble. We usually start tight­ ening up our diets around March, with a few cardio days thrown in, as we like to cruise into summer with abs blazing. We seem to be on schedule. This past winter we both got up to our heaviest bodyweights ever, Jonathan at just over 220 and Steve at 217, and it didn’t appear as if we were any smoother than in years past. (Jonathan’s arms taped 19 1/4 inches.) We believe that with the right type of training, we can con­ tinue gaining muscle, and, we hope, peak out at heavier bodyweights than last year, even considering our winter obstacles. In case you haven’t been read­ ing our blog at X-Rep.com, Steve had eye surgery in November and then had to have it redone two times after the initial cut because his stitches kept ripping loose. He missed a month of workouts and then had to cope with the holidays in conjunction with breaking back into training. Jonathan got the flu and missed about two weeks, not as bad as Steve’s ordeal but still a setback. Nevertheless, we both were able to supersize our physiques—at least compared to past winters—a mirac­ ulous feat, all things considered. But that’s history; now we gotta rip it up. So what’s our plan as the weather starts heating up? You know we’re big fans of extended-set training. As we said last month, stressing the endurance facets of the fast-twitch type 2 fibers builds the mitochon­ dria of the muscle cells. And guess where bodyfat is burned? You got it. That could be why the old-time bodybuilders swore that higher reps helped them burn more fat—they morphed their mitochondria into more effective fat-frying blast fur­ naces. The problem with high reps is what we’ve termed the fatigue redline—if you do too many reps, fatigue products stop you before you reach fast-twitch overload. Once again, it boils down to the size principle of fiber recruitment: You

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Train, Eat, Grow / Program 80

IRON MAN Training & Research Center Muscle-Training Program 80 Workout 1A: Delts, Midback, Biceps, Forearms Rack pulls or dumbbell upright rows (drop set; X Reps) 2 x 8(6) Seated forward-lean laterals (double drop; X Reps) 1 x 8(6)(4) Standing dumbbell presses (drop set; X Reps) 1 x 8(6) Superset Dumbbell shrugs (X Reps) 1 x 8-10 Cable upright rows (X Reps) 1 x 8-10 Nautilus rows (X Reps) 1 x 10-12 Superset Nautilus rows (X Reps) 1 x 8-10 Cable rows (X Reps) 1 x 8-10 Bent-arm bent-over laterals (drop set; X Reps) 1 x 8(6) Superset Behind-the-neck pulldowns (X Reps) 1 x 8-10 Bent-over laterals (drop set; X Reps) 1 x 6(4) Cable curls (drop set; X Reps) 1 x 8(6) Superset Preacher curls (X Reps) 1 x 8-10 Cable curls 1 x 8-10 Concentration curls (double drop; X Reps) 1 x 8(5)(4) Incline hammer curls (double drop; X Reps) 1 x 8(5)(4) Dumbbell reverse wrist curls (double drop; X Reps) 1 x 10(7)(6) Dumbbell wrist curls (double drop; X Reps) 1 x 10(7)(6) Workout 3A: Chest, Lats, Triceps, Abs Incline presses (second set is drop; X Reps) 2 x 10, 8(6) High cable flyes (double drop; X Reps) 1 x 7(5)(4) Bench presses (X Reps) 1 x 10 Wide-grip dips (drop set; X Reps) 1 x 9(7) Low/middle cable flyes (double drop; X Reps) 1 x 7(5)(4) Pulldowns (X Reps) 1 x 10 Superset Chins (X Reps) 1 x 8-10 Undergrip pulldowns 1 x 6-8 Superset Machine pullovers (X Reps) 1 x 8-10 Rope rows (drop set; X Reps) 1 x 6(4) Elbows-flared pushdowns (drop set; X Reps) 1 x 9(5) Tri-set Lying extensions 1 x 8-10 Close-grip bench presses (X Reps) 1x6 Lying dumbbell extensions 1x5 Superset Kickbacks 1 x 8-10 Bench dips (X Reps) 1 x 8-10 Superset Incline kneeups (drop set; X Reps) 1 x 12(4) Flat-bench leg raises (X Reps) 1x7 Tri-set Ab Bench crunches (X Reps) 1x9 Twisting crunches (X Reps) 1x8 Bench V-ups 1x8

Workout 1B: Delts, Midback, Biceps, Forearms Rack pulls or dumbbell upright rows (drop set; X Reps) 2 x 8(6) Superset Cable laterals (drop set; X Reps) 1 x 8(5) Incline one-arm laterals (X Reps) 1x7 Standing dumbbell presses (drop set; X Reps) 1 x 8(6) Dumbbell shrugs (drop set; X Reps) 1 x 10(6) Nautilus rows (X Reps) 1 x 10-12 Superset Nautilus rows (X Reps) 1 x 8-10 Cable rows (X Reps) 1 x 8-10 One-arm dumbbell rows (X Reps) 1 x 10-12 Superset Behind-the-neck pulldowns (X Reps) 1 x 8-10 Bent-over laterals (drop set; X Reps) 1 x 6(4) Cable curls (drop set; X Reps) 1 x 8(6) Superset Preacher curls (X Reps) 1 x 8-10 Cable curls 1 x 8-10 Incline curls (double drop; X Reps) 1 x 8(5)(4) Incline hammer curls (double drop; X Reps) 1 x 8(5)(4) Dumbbell reverse wrist curls (double drop; X Reps) 1 x 10(7)(6) Dumbbell wrist curls (double drop; X Reps) 1 x 10(7)(6) Workout 3B: Chest, Lats, Triceps, Abs Incline presses (second set is drop; X Reps) 2 x 10, 8(6) Superset Incline flyes (drop set; X Reps) 1 x 8(5) High cable flyes (X Reps) 1x6 Wide-grip dips (drop set; X Reps) 1 x 10(6) Bench presses (X Reps) 1 x 10 Superset Flat-bench flyes (drop set; X Reps) 1 x 8(5) Low cable flyes (X Reps) 1x6 Pulldowns (X Reps) 1 x 10 Superset Chins (X Reps) 1 x 8-10 Undergrip pulldowns 1 x 6-8 Superset Dumbbell pullovers (drop set; X Reps) 1 x 8(5) Rope rows (X Reps) 1x6 Elbows-flared pushdowns (drop set; X Reps) 1 x 9(5) Tri-set Lying extensions 1 x 8-10 Close-grip bench presses (X Reps) 1x6 Lying dumbbell extensions 1x5 Superset Overhead dumbbell extensions (drop set; X Reps) 1 x 8(5) Bench dips (X Reps) 1x6 Superset Incline kneeups (drop set; X Reps) 1 x 9(5) Flat-bench leg raises (X Reps) 1x8 Tri-set Ab Bench crunches (X Reps) 1x9 Twisting crunches (X Reps) 1x8 Bench V-ups 1x8

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Train, Eat, Grow / Program 80 niques the fatigue redline can be a problem. For example, say you’re doing a drop set and manage 10 reps on the first phase. That’s fine, but if you drop to a weight that allows another 10 or more on the second phase, your rep total will be too high, and that second phase won’t be as productive from an anaerobic standpoint—you’ll redline too early. There’s a delicate balance here. A better sequence would be about eight reps on the first phase and six or seven on the second, with X-Rep partials added to either phase or both. Now your reps are low enough on both phases to create anaerobic overload, and the back-to-back performance will hit the endurance components as well. Very efficient. Double drops are even trickier—that is, two weight reductions

instead of just one. Now your reps should go something like eight, six, four. We usually prefer to use X Reps on the first phase and maybe the last, if the muscle is still capable of firing by then. Remember, on drop sets you get some rest time between phases as you change weights, so 18 total reps on a drop set or double drop isn’t like doing a straight 18-rep set. On the drop sets you get not only that brief fatigue-product-clearance time but also two high-threshold stages—the tough reps at the end of each phase. In effect, you do two or three lower-rep sets back to back with a slight rest/pause between them. A bonus of fatigue products, like lactic acid, is that the burn can trigger more growth hormone release. If you know about GH, you know ITRC Program 80 (continued) it’s a potent fat burner (another Workout 2 (Always on Wednesday): reason why Quads, Hams, Calves, Low Back drop sets are a Smith-machine squats (X Reps) 2 x 8-10 favorite ripping Superset tactic for us), Lunges 1 x 8-10 so the burn is Low, partial dumbbell squats (X Reps) 1 x 6 good—as long Superset as it doesn’t Leg extensions (drop set; X Reps) 1 x 10(5) get unbearable Sissy squats (X Reps) 1 x 7 before your Superset high-threshold Leg curls (drop set; X Reps) 1 x 10(5) motor units kick Hyperextensions (X Reps) 1 x 8 in. When do the Squats 1 x 10-12 highs activate? Superset That usually Stiff-legged deadlifts (low partials) 1 x 8-10 occurs around Dumbbell stiff-legged deadlifts (low partials) 1 x 6-8 rep seven or Reverse hyperextensions 1 x 10 eight of a 10-rep Leg press calf raises (X Reps) 3 x 15-20 set. If you use Tri-set a weight that Machine donkey calf raises (X Reps) 1 x 10 allows, say, 18 Standing calf raises (X Reps) 1 x 6-8 reps, fatigue Hack-machine calf raises (X Reps) 1 x 6-8 products will Seated calf raises (X Reps) 2 x 15-20 start pooling Low-back machine (X Reps) 1 x 10 around rep nine and no doubt Friday: We train the upper-body muscles that we cause you to worked on Tuesday, except back, plus legs, but we only crap out before use contracted- and/or stretch-position exercises (iso­ you reach high­ lation). See the X-Blog at www.X-Rep.com for detailed threshold terri­ workouts. tory.

That’s why

Note: Where X-Reps are designated, usually only one we like to make set or phase of a drop set is performed with X Reps or sure our reps an X-Rep hybrid technique from the Beyond X-Rep on a drop set Muscle Building e-book. or double drop add up to no

more than 20—slightly more for endurance-oriented muscles like calves, abs and forearms. You get plenty of high-threshold activation, plenty of tension time for mito­ chondria and capillary development and enough muscle burn to trig­ ger GH surges. If we can do more than 20 reps on drop sets or double drops, we add weight on one or all phases the next time. If your rep total is more than 20 on a drop set or double drop, don’t get discour­ aged because you think it wasn’t as effective as it could’ve been. You simply trained the endurance com­ ponents more than the anaerobic ones—and that’s fine every so often. But do increase your poundage at your next workout. Now for our new ripping-phase split, which we’re very excited about. We were training four days a week using the split-positions ap­ proach during the winter. Now we’re still using split-positions training, but we’re bumping it up to our usual five days a week—with a new twist. Here’s how it pans out: Week 1 Monday: Chest, lats, triceps, abs Tuesday: Delts, midback, biceps, forearms Wednesday: Legs, lower back Thursday: Chest, lats, triceps, abs Friday: Delts, biceps, forearms, legs—stretch- and/or contractedposition exercises only; no com­ pound movements Week 2 Monday: Delts, midback, biceps, forearms Tuesday: Chest, lats, triceps, abs Wednesday: Legs, lower back Thursday: Delts, midback, biceps, forearms Friday: Chest, triceps, abs, legs— stretch- and/or contracted-posi­ tion exercises only; no compound movements Week 3: Repeat week 1 Week 4: Repeat week 2 As we said, we train five days in a row. Now we know that’s not ideal; however, we can’t train on the weekends, so we feel that hitting the

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Train, Eat, Grow / Program 80 gym five days in a row is a must for us at this point (we’ve tried numer­ ous other schemes, and nothing works as well). That’s also why we put in the freaky Friday isolation workout—to lessen the stress on our recovery systems. Note that the

upper-body muscles that get the isolation treatment on Friday get hit again on the following Monday. Interesting—and excellent—unique variation. Also notice that the bodyparts we train on Thursday get hit again on

the following Tuesday, after five days of recovery, which is good consider­ ing both of those sessions are fullblown attacks with compound and isolation work. Back to the Friday isolation day: At the moment we don’t include

ITRC Program 80, Abbreviated Home-Gym Routine Workout 1A: Delts, Midback, Biceps, Forearms Dumbbell upright rows or rack pulls (drop set; X Reps) 2 x 8(5) Seated forward-lean laterals (double drop; X Reps) 1 x 8(5)(3) Standing dumbbell presses (drop set; X Reps) 1 x 8(6) Barbell shrugs (drop set; X Reps) 1 x 10(7) Bent-over barbell rows 2 x 10 Bent-arm bent-over laterals (drop set; X Reps) 1 x 9(6) Bent-over laterals (double drop; X Reps) 1 x 8(6)(4) Barbell curls 2 x 10 Concentration curls (double drop; X Reps) 1 x 8(6)(4) Incline hammer curls (double drop; X Reps)1 x 8(6)(4) Reverse wrist curls (double drop; X Reps) 1 x 10(8)(6) Wrist curls (double drop; X Reps) 1 x 10(8)(6) Workout 3A: Chest, Lats, Triceps, Abs Incline presses (second set is drop; X Reps) 2 x 10, 8(5) Incline flyes (double drop; X Reps) 1 x 8(6)(4) Bench presses (second set is drop); X Reps) 2 x 8-10 Decline flyes (double drop; X Reps) 1 x 8(6)(4) Chins (X Reps) 2 x 10-12 Undergrip rows (second set is drop; X Reps) 2 x 8-10 Decline extensions (X Reps) 2 x 10 Kickbacks (double drop; X Reps) 1 x 8(6)(4) Tri-set Incline kneeups 1 x 10 Bench V-ups 1x8 Twisting crunches (X Reps) 1 x 10-12 Workout 2 (Always on Wednesday): Quads, Hams, Calves, Low Back Squats 2 x 10-15 Superset Dumbbell lunges 1 x 8-10 Low partial dumbbell squats (X Reps) 1 x 5-8

Superset Leg extensions or hack squats (X Reps) 1 x 8-10 Sissy squats (drop set; X Reps) 1 x 8(5) Leg curls (double drop; X Reps) 1 x 8(6)(4) Front squats (nonlock) 1 x 10 Superset Stiff-legged deadlifts (bottom-range partials)1x8-10 Dumbbell stiff-legged deadlifts (bottom-range partials) 1 x 8-10 Hyperextensions (X Reps) 1 x max One-leg calf raises (drop set; X Reps) 2 x 15(8) Donkey calf raises (X Reps) 2 x 15-20 Seated calf raises (X Reps) 2 x 15-20

Workout 1B: Delts, Midback, Biceps, Forearms Dumbbell upright rows, or rack pulls (drop set; X Reps) 2 x 8(5) Incline one-arm laterals (double drop; X Reps) 1 x 8(6)(4) Standing dumbbell presses (drop set; X Reps) 1 x 8(6) Barbell shrugs (drop set; X Reps) 1 x 10(7) Bent-over barbell rows 2 x 10 One-arm dumbbell rows (double drop; X Reps) 1 x 8(6)(4) Bent-over laterals (double drop; X Reps) 1 x 8(6)(4) Preacher curls (X Reps) 2 x 10 Incline curls (double drop; X Reps) 1 x 8(6)(4) Incline hammer curls (double drop; X Reps)1 x 8(6)(4) Reverse wrist curls (double drop; X Reps) 1 x 10(8)(6) Wrist curls (double drop; X Reps) 1 x 10(8)(6) Workout 3B: Chest, Lats, Triceps, Abs Incline presses (second set is drop; X Reps) 2 x 10, 8(5) Incline flyes (double drop; X Reps) 1 x 8(6)(4) Wide-grip dips (second set is drop; X Reps) 2 x 10, 8(5) Flat-bench flyes (double drop; X Reps) 1 x 8(6)(4) Parallel-grip chins (X Reps) 2 x 8-10 Dumbbell pullovers (double drop; X Reps) 1 x 8(6)(4) Decline extensions (X Reps) 2 x 10 Overhead extensions (double drop; X Reps)1 x 8(6)(4) Tri-set Incline kneeups 1 x 10 Bench V-ups 1x8 Twisting crunches (X Reps) 1 x 10-12 Friday: Train your upper-body muscles that you worked on Tuesday, except back, plus legs; however, use only contracted- and/or stretch-position exercises (isolation). See the X-Blog at www.X-Rep.com for sample workouts.

Note: Where X-Reps are designated, usually only one set or phase of a drop set is performed with X Reps or an X-Rep hybrid technique from the Beyond X-Rep Muscle Building e-book. Note: Train Monday through Friday, following the sequence of workouts as listed but with workout 2, legs, always on Wednesday only. Also, for drop sets it’s best to have a selectorized dumbbell set, such as the PowerBlock, if you don’t have a rack of fixed dumbbells of various weights. If you don’t have a leg extension machine, do old-style hacks, nonlock style. Use part­ ner resistance, towel around the ankles, if you don’t have a leg curl machine.

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back work. Why? Lats and midback get hit Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. When we work lats, we get some residual midback work, and when we work midback, we get some residual lat work. With all of those back attacks, we figure we don’t need more on Friday. We also try not to do too much biceps work when biceps fall on Friday because they get trained indirectly during all back work. We tested out this split a few weeks ago, and it felt great. The back overlap wasn’t a problem, and the isolation day was a good change without being too stressful. It was actually fun—if you’re into searing your muscles with contracted- and stretch-position exercises. At the moment we’re still using the split-positions approach outlined in our Beyond X-Rep Muscle Building e-book. That means at one workout for a bodypart we use a big midrange exercise followed by a stretch-position movement, and the

Model: Jonathan Lawson

Train, Eat, Grow / Program 80

In our new split, Friday is muscle-isolation day.

next time we hit that bodypart we use the same midrange exercise but follow it with a contracted-position movement. If you’re using a program similar to ours, we encourage you to visit www.X-Rep.com and check out our X-Blog regularly. We describe every workout and any variations we’ve incorporated. Plus, we’ll throw in interesting exercise tips when we run across them. Tune in and rip up! Editor’s note: For the latest on the X-Rep muscle-building method, including X Q&As, X Files (past ezines), our before and after photos and the new X-Blog training journal, visit www.X-Rep.com. For more information on Positions-of-Flexion training videos and Size Surge programs, see page 229. To order the Positions-of-Flexion training manual Train, Eat, Grow, call (800) 447-0008, visit www.Home-Gym .com, or see the ad below. IM

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Steve Holman’s

Critical Mass

Rep Speed for

Fast Mass

Q: In your book Train, Eat, Grow you say to rest one to 1.5 minutes after every set, but recently you’ve written that three minutes is best. That’s a big difference, and it makes a tremendous impact on the weight I can use on my second set, not to mention overall workout length. Is three minutes the new standard? Also, do I need three minutes be­ tween exercises? For instance, after I finish squats, can I run to the leg extension machine before the allotted rest time is up? What if someone is already using it? What about between the last set for one bodypart and the first set for another? A: The three-minute rest time is based on new research on muscle-force production that was done on bench presses. Use that extended rest time on your big, multijoint exercises (squats, presses and so on). Use one to 1.5 minutes of rest on single-joint exercises—such as flyes and leg extensions—where fewer fibers are involved but where hitting both the anaerobic and endurance facets of the fast-twitch fibers is still important. With that variation you lean more toward building the anaerobic qualities of the fasttwitch fibers on multijoint exercises while still stressing the endurance facet somewhat with half-minute tension times. Then, when you move to more isolated exercises, you stress the endurance capacity more and the anaerobic capacity secondarily. That’s why drop sets are so good on isolation exercises—you can use lower reps on each phase, for an anaerobic effect, but one to two weight reductions keep the fibers fir­ ing and attack the endurance facet. Try not to worry too much about the rest between squats and leg extensions, for example. The pattern of fiber recruitment will be different, so just unload your bar fairly quickly, go to the leg extension and work in as soon as you can. Also, rest between bodyparts is insignificant, except from an overall time standpoint. Neveux \ Model: Noel Thompson

Q: You’ve written that the ideal rep speed is two seconds up and two seconds down; however, at your Web site [www.X-Rep.com] you say that the ideal rep speed is about 1.5 seconds up and 1.5 seconds down. On the “Critical Mass POF” DVD the bodybuild­ ers demonstrating the exercises move at a faster pace. I need clarification. The two-up/two-down speed seems very slow when I actually do it. I’ve also heard that bodybuilders should use as much speed as possible without generating momentum in order to produce the greatest force and, therefore, the greatest stress and growth stimulus on the working muscles. Can you be more specific? A: Rep speed is tricky. When I say two seconds up and two seconds down, it’s really a hard one-two count, not a true two seconds on each part of the stroke. That’s why I revised it to 1.5 seconds, which is technically the real speed. I also believe that if you want to activate the most fibers, a quick twitch at the turnaround, which is the max-force point, is important before you slow the rep speed some­ what. That can activate more fast-twitch fibers, especially

on stretch-position exercises like overhead extensions for triceps—but don’t bounce. It’s just a quick reversal. Whether you do two-, three- or four-second reps, time under tension for the entire set is key. Try to maintain 30 seconds of tension on the target muscle on most of your sets without jerking or throwing any of your reps. Adding X Reps—power partials at the max-force point—after fullrange power is exhausted can extend the tension time and make any set more productive.

Q: I train alone, so it seems I can’t do X

Reps on a lot of exercises. For example, on

Three minutes of rest after sets of compound moves, like squats, appears to be best for max-force production. When building the endurance facets of the fast-twitch fibers is a priority, less rest is best after isolation exercises. 94 JUNE 2006 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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Steve Holman’s

Critical Mass one that allows you to get at least 10 standard reps prior to firing out X Reps, or total CNS failure may prohibit X Reps.

You can use your free arm to help with so - called forced X Reps on one -arm movements.

squats there’s simply no way for me to power out X Reps near the bottom after I reach positive failure. The same applies to a lot of my exercises, such as dumbbell bench presses and military presses. On a lot of single-arm exercises, like biceps curls, I have to use my free arm to bring the working arm to the X-Rep position and do forced X Reps. The only solu­ tion I can think of is to do drop sets on the exercises on which I can’t do X Reps, but that would be diffi­ cult on squats or deadlifts. Supersets are out of the question, as I train at a crowded commercial gym. Any suggestions? A: On most exercises—not squats, as I’ll explain—if you can’t do X Reps, you should do a static hold at the X Spot (max-force point), which is down near the turnaround, below the middle of the stroke. Because you’re new to X Reps, you may simply lack the neuromuscular efficiency to do them on certain exercises. Static holds done at that point should help you gain the ability. Be sure you’re using a poundage that allows about 10 standard positive/negative reps; heavier, low-rep poundages force the nervous system to crap out early and make pulsing at the X spot impossible for most people. In other words, using a weight on bench presses with which you can only get five or six reps means you won’t have any nervous-system firepower left for X Reps (which is one reason lower reps build strength with­ out much size—your nervous system completely flakes out before excess fiber activation occurs, so you mostly stress tendons, ligaments and your nervous system). You can also try the rest/pause technique. On an exercise where there is lockout, such as squats, rest at the top for five or more seconds after your last full rep, and then move to the X Spot. Or try the Double-X Overload, one of the X-hybrid techniques from the e-book Beyond X-Rep Muscle Building (www.BeyondX-Rep.com). It’s basically perform­ ing an X Rep after each standard rep. Now, about free-bar squats: The X Spot is compromised by a leverage shift, so true X Reps are only possible on a Smith or hack machine, and even then they can be difficult. I’ve done them alone on a Smith machine, hooking the safety latches when the bar was at the low position after three or four X Reps. Once again, the poundage should be

A: I was doing this long before I published any books, so that’s not it. I’m a firm believer in the adage that man is essentially good and has an inner desire to help his fellow man. Helping others achieve gives me a good feeling, so in that regard I guess it could be considered a selfish pursuit, although in this case I don’t think selfish has a negative connotation. Tiger Ellison, who pioneered the run-and-shoot offense for football back in the 1950s, gave a speech to the Nation­ al Football Coaches Association that is a good summation of why a lot of us provide advice to others based on our knowledge and experience. In response to the question, “Why coach?” Ellison ended his speech with this poem: An old man going a lone highway came at the evening cold and gray To a chasm vast and deep and wide, through which was flowing a swollen tide. The old man crossed in the twilight dim; that swollen stream held no fears for him. But he paused when safe on the other side and built a bridge to span the tide. “Old man,” said a fellow pilgrim near, “you are wasting your strength in building here. “Your journey will end with the ending day. You never again must pass this way. “You’ve crossed the chasm deep and wide; why build you the bridge at the even tide?’’ The builder lifted his old gray head. “Good friend, in the path I have come...’’ he said. “There followeth after me today, a youth whose feet must pass this way. “This swollen stream which was naught to me, to that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be. “He too must cross in the twilight dim. Good friend, I am building the bridge for him.’’ Note: Thanks to my friend Craig Fields for sending me that passage in reference to what I do. 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 251 for details. Editor’s note: Steve Holman is the author many bodybuilding best-sellers, including Train, Eat, Grow: The Positions-of-Flexion Muscle-Training Manual. For information on the POF videos and Size Surge programs, see page 229. For information on Train, Eat, Grow, see page 86. Also visit www.X-Rep.com. IM

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Neveux

Neveux \ Model: Jonathan Lawson

Q: I’ve been reading your stuff for many years now, and I’ve learned a lot and gotten some great gains by following your advice. X Reps have really boosted my mass lately! I’ve always wanted to ask you, What motivates you to keep giving advice to bodybuilders? Do you do it because it sells your books, or is it some intrinsic drive?

Steve Holman [email protected]

Mr. Natural Olympia John Hansen’s

Naturally Huge

Mass Confusion Q: I’m an 18-year-old aspiring natural bodybuild­ er, and I’m always looking for the best way to train. Most of what I’ve learned is to work each bodypart once a week and do nine to 16 sets for most muscle groups. But I’m always confused about the best way to train. I know that different routines work best for different people, but I was wondering how you train. I’m told by some people to train chest with triceps and back with biceps, and others tell me to separate them. Should I be training each muscle group more than once per week? How many sets should I be doing for each muscle? Does it differ between muscles like triceps and biceps and larger muscles like chest, back and legs? Also, how many repetitions should I be doing if I want to gain mass? I already have some natural definition, so I’m more concerned with gaining mass. A: Here’s my training schedule: chest, triceps and calves on Monday; abs and legs on Tuesday; take Wednesday off; delts, traps and calves on Thursday; and abs, back and biceps on Friday. I train four days per week with three rest days, and I work each muscle group once a week, with the exception of abs and calves, which I train twice each week. That routine works well for me after nearly 30 years of

As Hansen got older, he found that he needed more recovery time for each bodypart.

consistent training (I’m 42 years old). As an 18-year-old aspiring natural bodybuilder, you may be able to train each bodypart more often and get good results. When I was 20 years old, I trained my body over two days, working each muscle group twice each week, and I made great gains. In fact, I bulked up from 205 to 230 pounds at the age of 21 using that routine. As I got older, I realized that I needed more recuperation, and I switched to training each major muscle group only once per week. The way to determine how often you should train each bodypart is by your progress. If you’re working each muscle group twice per week and getting stronger and bigger on a consistent basis, then you’re on the right track; however, if you’re tired and feel that your strength and muscle mass are going backward, then you probably need more rest time. The way I group the bodyparts together in my routine is based on what works for my body. I like training chest and triceps in the same workout and training back and biceps together because those bodyparts complement each other. My triceps are slightly pumped after I train chest, and the same goes for my biceps after a back workout. To me, it makes sense to train a smaller bodypart that is associ­ ated with a larger bodypart because it’s already warmed up. That cuts down on the risk of injury and gives similar muscle groups more time to recuperate. I make sure that the workouts for pushing muscles (chest, triceps and shoulders) are separated by a few days. Chest exercises such as bench and incline presses also involve the deltoids and triceps. If I were to do a shoulder workout a day before or after training chest and triceps, one or both of those workouts would be compromised. I also make sure that I separate the leg and back work­ outs from each other because of the stress to the lower back. Leg exercises such as squats, front squats and stifflegged deadlifts significantly involve the lower-back mus­ cles. Back exercises such as barbell rows, T-bar rows, seated cable rows and deadlifts also use the lower-back muscles. Doing a leg workout before or after a back workout would risk straining the lower-back muscles, which usually need several days to recuperate. As for the number of sets, I think you’re pretty much on the right track—the larger the bodypart is, the more sets you’ll need to fully train it. For example, the back needs more sets than the biceps. Larger bodyparts are also more complex—the chest can be divided into lower, upper, outer and inner sections. No one exercise can simultaneously work all four areas of the chest; you need at least three or four. Choose basic movements that activate the most muscle groups. I prefer using free weights (barbells and dumb­ bells) as opposed to machines because free-weight moves are harder to do and make the muscles respond better. Using the chest as an example, if you did barbell bench presses for the lower pecs, incline dumbbell presses for the upper pecs, flat-bench flyes for the outer pecs and dumb­ bell pullovers for the inner pecs, you’d have a complete chest routine. I try to get the maximum benefit out of on an page exercise (continued 102) in three to four sets at most. On bench presses I do two warmup sets, one moderately heavy set and then one or two heavy, growth-producing sets. When I move on to incline dumbbell presses, I’m already warmed up, so I do one moderately heavy set followed by two heavy sets. For

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Mr. Natural Olympia John Hansen’s

Naturally Huge

Neveux

only slightly different for each of those dumbbell flyes two to three sets is days. For example, if I ate 350 grams plenty, and on dumbbell pullovers I of protein, 200 grams of carbs and 60 only need two good sets to finish off grams of fats on a training day, that the pecs. That complete workout only would amount to 2,740 calories. The takes 10 to 11 work sets. breakdown would be approximately 50 I usually use only two exercises for percent protein, 30 percent carbohy­ biceps and calves and three exercises drates and 20 percent fats. for triceps. I train my biceps with six On a nontraining day I would eat sets and my calves with seven. I may around 300 grams of protein, only 140 use nine or 10 total sets for triceps, grams of carbs and the same 60 grams since it’s a slightly bigger muscle of fat. That’s 2,300 calories. So the group. breakdown would be 50 percent proI’ve always believed that the best rep tein, 27 percent carbohydrates and 23 range for building mass is six to 10. I percent fat. begin with a moderately heavy weight I write down everything that I eat that enables me to do 10 reps, and I add weight on each successive set until when I’m dieting to lose bodyfat. It’s the only way to make sure that what I’m pushing maximum resistance for Your postworkout drink can help you you’re doing will work. If you just guess six to eight reps. cycle carbs. at the amount of food, calories or carbs One key to getting bigger is to make you’re consuming, your progress will sure that your workouts are progres­ most likely be much slower. sive. If you use 100-pound dumbbells for seven reps in one I found that I had to limit my carb intake for my last workout, try to do eight or nine reps at your next workout contest preparation in order to get really ripped. I defi­ before moving up to the 105- or 110-pound dumbbells. You nitely don’t believe in a very low-carb diet because having need to push yourself to use more weight and do more reps a sufficient amount of glycogen stored in the muscles is in order to get your muscles to grow larger. critical to supplying the energy necessary for intense work­ Q: I read an article at your Web site (Natural outs. Carbs are also important for helping the muscles to Olympia.com) about a client of yours who took in recuperate and grow after a training session. Natural body­ 2,400 calories on workout days and 1,800 calories builders sacrifice muscle on a very low- or no-carb diet. on nontraining days to get his bodyfat down for I was eating approximately 300 grams of carbohydrates his transformation contest. I want to use a simi­ on a training day and 250 grams during rest days when I lar method to get my bodyfat down, but I have a started my precontest diet. My progress was excruciatingly few questions. Do you basically keep reducing the slow until I changed my carb intake, lowering it by 100 starchy carbs and increasing the fats to get your grams (200 on my training days and 140 on my rest days). bodyfat down? Did you keep the protein, carb and When I made that change, I slightly increased my pro­ fat percentages the same for the high- and lowtein and fat intake to keep the calories about the same. If I calorie days and just lower the amounts of the kept everything the same while lowering my carb intake by macronutrients equally, or did you keep the protein 100 grams, my calorie intake would have dropped by 400 up and lower the carbs and fats? I know I’ll have to calories per day, which is too big a drop and would have experiment, but I need a few guidelines. most likely resulted in muscle loss, since I was already eat­ A: I used the same nutrition approach for both my last ing a restricted-calorie diet. competition and that of my client. I manipulated the carb intake to reduce bodyfat. I kept the protein high (1.25 to Editor’s note: 1.5 grams per pound of bodyweight) and the fat moderate John Hansen has (approximately 20 percent of total calories), but I changed won the Natural the carbohydrate intake depending on whether I was train­ Mr. Olympia and is ing that day. a two-time Natural In general, my carbohydrate sources were oatmeal that I Mr. Universe winner. ate with breakfast and the sweet potato that I ate at lunch. Visit his Web site at The other meals consisted of either protein drinks (made www with water, Pro-Fusion protein powder and flaxseed oil) or .naturalolympia. lean protein (egg whites, chicken, fish or steak) combined com. You can write to with vegetables. Aside from breakfast and lunch, I limited him at P.O. Box 3003, my carbohydrate intake to vegetables. Darien, IL 60561, or On my training days I used three scoops of RecoverX call toll-free (800) immediately after a workout to restore glycogen. Three 900-UNIV (8648). His scoops of RecoverX contains 60 grams of simple carbs. new book, Natural That’s the major difference in my carbohydrate intake from Bodybuilding, is now a training and a nontraining day. I kept my carb intake at available from Home around 200 grams on the days that I went to the gym and Gym Warehouse, restricted myself to about 140 grams on my off days. [For (800) 447-0008 or John Hansen more on RecoverX, visit www.X-Stack.com.] www.Home-Gym [email protected] The percentage distribution of macronutrients was .com. IM 102 JUNE 2006 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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Bi-Laws

106 JUNE 2006 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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-Laws

The Verdict Is In: Big Arms Rule and Heres How to Get Them

by Eric Broser - Photography by Michael Neveux

Sometimes Iʼm completely fascinated with how badly the average gym dweller craves big arms. Although I witness these guys training chest, back, shoulders and legs with formidable intensity and passion, they seem to jump to another level when theyʼre attacking their arms. I often hear more yelling during a set of barbell curls than a set of squats. Strange but true. In fact, to illustrate my point about just how driven most trainees are to be able to flex a pair of 20-inchers, Iʼll tell you about a small poll I recently took in the gym. I asked a bunch of the more serious bodybuilders in my gym this question: If I could magically give you six inches of muscle to add anywhere on your body, how would you distribute it? The majority said that most of the “magic inches” would go to their arms. A few of them mentioned their chest, but the overwhelming response was arms. A couple of guys even went so far as to reply, “Iʼd take the entire six inches and slap three on each biceps!” And, of course, one joker told me heʼd put 1 1/2 inches on each arm and the other three somewhere else—and Iʼm sure you know the bodypart he mentioned.

The really interesting thing about my little poll was that most of the guys didnʼt even say that theyʼd add the inches to their arms. More specifically, they wanted to add to their biceps. That prompted me to mention that the mass of the triceps actually contributes to overall arm size more than the biceps do, but they still held firm that they wanted bigger, freakier, higher, thicker biceps. Now, Iʼm sure that if I were to poll a group of competitive bodybuilders, who must be more concerned with the symmetry and proportion of the physique, the results would be different. Since the majority of serious lifters out there have no desire to step onstage, however, I guess I can entertain their desire for simply building massive, freaky biceps at the expense of perfect proportions. And thatʼs exactly what this article is about—triggering new growth in lagging biceps using methods and techniques that perhaps youʼve never tried before. So if your biceps are not quite where you want them to be despite your most ferocious efforts in the gym, read on, and maybe you will run across a bi-law that will get the job done for you! www.ironmanmagazine.com \ JUNE 2006 107

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One of my favorite things to do between sets in the gym is to ob­ serve other people’s form while they train. I actually do it without even realizing it—I guess because train­ ing clients was all I did for about 13 years. Thus, I am always watching ’ doing it right, and whos ’ to see whos doing it wrong. Unfortunately, very few people use excellent form while they train. When it comes to working the biceps, one of the things I often see is people initiating their curls using forearm flexor power rather than pure biceps power. By the nature of their function, the forearms must be involved in every curling move­

ment, but if you actually turn the beginning of the movement into a wrist curl, you take away a lot of the stimulation that you’re intending for your biceps. Trainees often tell me that when they work their biceps, their fore­ arms get the more intense pump. That’s not a good thing if you’re looking for bigger guns. If that sounds like you, then what you should actually be doing during most curling movements is bending your wrists back and holding that position throughout the set. That effectively takes the forearm flexors out of the movement, forcing the biceps to do almost all of the work. Yes, it will feel a little odd at first—and chances are your curling poundages will drop somewhat— but trust me when I tell you that you will actually be hitting your biceps harder than ever before. Try using this method on at least one exercise in each biceps workout (I suggest a barbell movement), and I bet you’ll see improvements.

Bending your hands forward as you curl can give you more leverage, but bending them back somewhat can better activate the biceps.

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Model: Skip La Cour

Bend ’Em Back

Bi-Laws Giant Arms With Sky-High Bi’s

Holman

You have to blast, burn and brutalize a muscle to trigger extreme mass. And if you want to do it in as few sets as possible, that includes hitting as many muscle fibers as possible—with extended-set techniques like X Reps and drop sets—as well as increasing the capillary beds in the muscle via occlusion, or blocking of blood flow. And then there’s the fiber-splitting, or hyperplasia, phenomenon, which may occur as a result of stretch overload. Cover all of those bases in a few sets, and you’ve got a quick-hit massblast that can’t be beat. Sometimes, however, if you want to build a muscle—or at least make it appear larger than normal—you have to look beyond attacking only the target bodypart. What the heck are we talking about? The biceps is a perfect example. There’s a muscle that snakes underneath the biceps, and when you build it, it pushes the show muscle skyward. You may have heard of it, because Arnold was a big proponent of training it for arm mass. It’s the brachialis. If you want your arms to take on new dimen­ sions fast, you gotta build the brach! When your upper arm is up and flexed to show off the biceps, the brachialis ap­ pears as a knotty mass on the outside of the arm that sits between the biceps and tri­ ceps. And when that sucker is pumped and plumped, you’ll get a more gnarly, jagged peak to your biceps that’ll have people’s eyes popping out of their heads every time you flex. (Your arms will look much bigger just hanging at your sides, too, because of the new thickness and density.) Here’s how to blast the brachialis to new levels of size, which will get your biceps jutting to new heights, with a low-set, quick-hit method. First, the best exercise: According to MRI studies, incline hammer curls really light up the brachialis. Why are they so good? Because lying back on an incline bench with your arms straight down, angling back be­ hind your torso, and your thumbs facing forward puts the brachialis in an elongated state. We’ve discussed in our e-books that stretch-position exercises trigger extreme anabolic responses in muscle tissue and also have the potential to stimulate fiber splitting. One

study produced a 300 percent muscle mass increase in a bird’s wing muscle with stretch overload—in only one month. Even so, getting a muscle bigger faster takes more than just working it in the stretch position. Remember, you want capillary bed expansion and maximum fiber recruitment as well. Here’s how to get it all in just two sets: Set 1: Use a pair of dumbbells that allow you to get 10 reps in pistonlike fash­ ion—no rest at the top or bottom, 1 1/2 seconds up and 1 1/2 seconds down. Keep tension on the bra­ chialis muscles throughout the set, and when you reach nervous system exhaustion, do X-Rep pulses from just out of the full stretch position at the bottom, which is the maxforce point, to just below the middle of the stroke. If you can’t pulse, do a static contraction—hold the weight steady—at the max-force point till you can’t stand the burn. Rest about two minutes and admire the swelling that’s happening—but it’s just Lawson’s the beginning. Now for the 19 1/4­ money set... inch arm Set 2: Use less weight measurement. here, as you’ll be using the Double-X Overload tech­ nique. After each rep do an X Rep at the max-force point. When you can’t man­ age another full rep, do X Reps or a static hold at that sweet spot for maximum fiber recruitment. Even though your arms are screaming at this point, you’re not done yet. Stand up and do regular hammer curls to extend the set. You may only get a couple, but it will be the muscle-building icing on the cake. Do this quick-hit torture session after your normal biceps routine, as biceps curls hit the brachialis with midrange work. The above brachialis attack will be the finisher and provide unique fiber activation, occlusion and extended tension time for capillary bed expan­ sion—and the stretch will kick up anabolic hormone release and may even trigger some fiber splitting. In other words, it’ll put some freak on your biceps peak! Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson www.X-Rep.com

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Keep Your Chin Up No, I’m not here to give you a pat on the back and tell you that hav­ ing puny biceps is perfectly okay (although it is if you like sharing your girlfriend’s shirts). When I talk about your “chin,” I’m not referring to the one on your face but the kind you should be doing in the gym if you want to pummel those biceps into growth. Close-grip, underhand chins are one of the most effective biceps exercises you can do, yet few trainees ever use them. Yes, they also work the back musculature, but within the construct of a biceps program, you’ll feel them almost

seconds to get to the bottom posi­ tion. When you can get 10 to 12 reps with your bodyweight, add some extra resistance with a belt designed to hold plates and/or a dumbbell around your waist. Once you’re doing clean reps with 50 extra pounds attached to you, your biceps will have all the mass you could ever want—I promise.

entirely in your screaming biceps. I recommend using close-grip chins in one of two ways. Either perform them as the last exercise in your biceps routine, when your bi’s are already exhausted, or use them as the second exercise in a biceps superset (preacher curls followed by close-grip chins make an amazing combo). To get the most out of your close-grip chins, make sure you use perfect form. I recommend spacing your hands no wider than six inches apart. Begin the movement at a dead hang, with your arms com­ pletely straight. At the peak of the concentric portion of the rep your chin should rise just above the bar (no half-reps please) as you squeeze your bi’s hard. Try to lower yourself very slowly, taking up to four to six

Twice Is Nice It’s very much in vogue these days to train each bodypart only once per week, and with good reason: It works. When you’re looking for some extra growth in a particular muscle, however, it can be very ef­ fective to hit that muscle twice per week for a time. That works quite well with the biceps because they tend to recover from workouts very efficiently. The keys to an effective twodays-per-week biceps-prioritization program are as follows: 1) Make sure there are at least three days between workouts, and 2) do two different types of workouts each week. Here’s a split that you might use while doing two biceps workouts per week:

Monday: Chest and biceps Tuesday: Quads and hams Thursday: Lats and traps Friday: Shoulders, biceps and triceps

Model: Dan Decker

Undergrip chins done with various hand spacings can pack more mass on your biceps quickly.

With a program like this, I suggest you make Monday your main bi­ ceps day, using about a third more volume—that is, sets—than you use on Friday. It can also be very effective to use heavier weights and lower reps in one workout and lighter weights and higher reps in the next. Another way I like to vary the two biceps workouts is to use all barbell movements the first day and all dumbbell movements the next. That’s something you can experi­ ment with, as long as there are some meaningful variations between the two workouts.

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(continued on page 118)

the lift is completed in one second; there’s no pause at the bottom; the concentric, or positive, portion of the lift is completed in one second; and there is no pause at the top. At that tempo each rep takes approximately two seconds to complete, and since most sets are anywhere from six to 10 reps, the time under tension will only be 12 to 20 seconds. That’s not enough for those looking to stimulate hypertro­ phy in a muscle. Studies have shown that the optimal TUT for gains in muscle size is 40 to 70 seconds per set. Hmm, think it’s time to go into slow-mo? My suggestion to anyone seeking more size on them bi’s is a repetition tempo of 3/1/2/1, which will bring the length of each rep to seven seconds. That translates to a TUT of 42 to 70 seconds for sets of six to 12 reps. Perfect! Will this force you to drop your curling poundage considerably? Yes. But will you really care when your biceps are so big, you can’t touch your fingers to your shoulder? Didn’t think so.

Grow With Slow-Mo

118 JUNE 2006 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Model: Gus Malliarodakis

Making a set last more than 40 seconds can blow up your bi’s with new size.

Model: Robert Hatch

Whenever I watch the average gym rat training biceps, I often see more swinging during a single set ’ playground. Yes, than in an entire day at a childrens I know it’s fun to lift a ton of weight to impress your friends, fellow gym rats or the girl with the boobs as big as you want your biceps to be, but all of that cheating is only cheating you. Using momentum, leaning back and lifting your elbows while you curl is not a training technique but a train wreck. If you de­ sire to fill out your shirtsleeves a little better, it’s time to clean up your form and slow things down. It has been my observation that most guys do their curls with a tempo of 1/0/1/0. If you’re not familiar with that method of expressing lifting speed, it sim­ ply means that the eccentric, or negative, portion of

Less cheat can pack more meat on your guns and reduce injuries.

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•Instead of doing seated dumbbell curls, try incline dumbbell curls. If you already do those, try going for a steeper angle. •When doing dumbbell curls of any kind, try grabbing the ’bells by either the inside or outside plates rather than in the middle. That alone will change how the move­ ment affects the biceps. •When using a barbell, vary your grip from wide to narrow. •When using dumbbells, try either curling across your body or turn­ ing your palms out and curling away from your body. •Try sitting at an upper-pulley cable station and curling a straight bar back behind your head.

Altering the line of pull can hit those hard-to­ reach muscle fibers. 120 JUNE 2006 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Mode: Eric Domer

Drop the fishing pole, get off the boat, and take off the funny-look­ ing hat with all those lures attached, because that’s not what I mean by angling! Think about your biceps workouts, and tell me if you tend to do the same exercises over and over. Barbell curls, preacher curls, seated dumbbell curls, concentration curls, etc. Now, if your biceps are growing just fine, then it’s obvious that they’re still thriving on those same exercises. However, if your biceps growth is moving as fast as a turtle with Oprah on its back, then angling may be just what you need (bro, I told you, drop the fishing pole!). By angling I mean changing your lines of pull, body position and/or planes of motion in order to stimu­ late your biceps in ways they aren’t used to. That will change motor recruitment patterns, wake up the central nervous system and even

Mode: Noel Thompson

Go Angling

enable you to preferably recruit the inner or outer biceps head to a great­ er degree. All good stuff! Here are some ways to use the concept of angling in your biceps workout: •Instead of curling off of the angled side of a preacher bench, curl off of the vertical side.

•Try lying down at a seated cable row station and doing curls while flat on your back. So if your greatest desire is to have a pair of massive guns hanging from your shoulders, I hope you’ll give these bi-laws a try. They’ve worked for dozens before you, enabling them to reach the land of biceps bliss, and they can do that for you. Do what you’ve always done, and get what you’ve always gotten. Make a change, and those tiny biceps will soon be long forgotten! To summarize, you want to keep your chin up and bend ’em back, even when angling, preferably in slo­ mo, while remembering that twice is nice. Get my drift? (And don’t foget the brachialis for sky-high bi’s; see page 110.) Editor’s note: For individualized programs, online personal training, nutritional guidance or contest-prep coaching, contact Eric Broser at [email protected]. Readers are also invited to join Broser’s bodybuilding and fitness discussion board at www. BuildingMass.com. IM

Try using the vertical side of a preacher bench for a change—and a wicked peak contraction.

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10

Stupid Things

Bodybuilders Do to Mess Up Their Winning

Mind-set Part 1

by Skip La Cour Five-Time NPC Team Universe Champion

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1) They Don’t Fully Appreciate Their Strengths and Are Easily Discouraged by Their Weaknesses Too often, people who are work­ ing hard in the gym focus on their challenges, not on their advantages. They obsess about any weaknesses they may have and make their journey toward developing their physiques more challenging than it has to be. Instead of identifying what’s great about their particular circumstances, they emphasize what’s especially difficult for them. For example: “I can’t build muscle as easily as others because of my genetically skinny frame,” or, “I can’t get as lean as other people because I have a very slow metabolism.” Strive to be the very best version of you possible—regardless of ge­ netic limitations. We all have weak­ nesses. We have what we have. For weaknesses we can create a plan of attack to systematically overcome them. Our job is to make the most of what we’ve been given. If we are not careful, we can let our perceived limitations get in the way of our progress and our enjoyment of bodybuilding. We must consistently focus on the gifts we have—not on the ones we don’t. Those who complain about chal­ lenges could just as easily say, “I’m so fortunate to have the ability to lose bodyfat quickly and easily. When I discover the strategies to pack on more muscle—watch out!” or, “Unlike a lot of other people, I can gain muscle size efficiently. I may have to diet longer and more strictly than others—but I can sure pack on the muscle mass!”

Photography by Michael Neveux

Model: Skip La Cour

S

ome bodybuilders make some o sstupid mistakes when it comes tto the way they think. As I said llast month in 10 Stupid Things Bodybuilders Do to Mess Up Their B d b il Diets stupid might be a little too harsh a word for some of the mental challenges bodybuilders commonly face. Even so, it should get your attention. Mistakes we make when it comes to the way we think range from coming to conclusions too quickly or adopting the negative opinions of others. So when you see the word stupid,dont take offense,but do take action.

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Model: Luke Wood

Always expect the best from your efforts. Don’t get discouraged if you don’t get the results you want as soon as you want them. Persistence is the most prevalent trait of successful people.

2) They Expect Too Much Progress Far Too Soon Are you exceptional at your job? Have you mastered a musical in­ strument? Do you have a brilliant sense of humor? What are you great at in your life right now besides bodybuilding and training? Now, let me ask you another question: Did you become great in just a few weeks or a few months? You more than likely didn’t. You probably experienced a normal learning curve that included just as many defeats as victories. Your journey to success had many ups and downs along the way. You didn’t become great overnight, did you? What are some of the mental skills you displayed on your road to the greatness in your life? You were persistent. You were consistent in your efforts. You were patient with

your progress. You were determined and flexible, right? The journey toward developing an outstanding physique will pose the same challenges. Succeeding requires the same mental skills. Always expect the best from your efforts. Don’t get discouraged if you don’t get the results you want as soon as you want them. Just because you don’t have them now doesn’t mean that you won’t experience them later with more time and effort. Persistence is the most prevalent trait of the successful. Often they’re just people who’ve kept trying long after average people have given up. Persistence is believing, no mat­ ter how many times you’ve tried and failed in the past. The next strategy that you implement could be the one that takes you to the next level. Who knows? What seems dreadful today could turn around with a sim­ ple change in your perspective or with a big break. You’ll never know, however, if you don’t keep trying.

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10 Stupid Things Bodybuilders Do

You must open your mind to new and different strategies if you want better

results than you’re currently getting. Sometimes “right” can feel “wrong.”

3) They Are Willing to Do Only What They Are Willing to Do to Succeed Some bodybuilders are willing to do only so much to succeed. With­ out knowing what success feels like, they assume they’re already doing enough to nail the job. Believing that “this strategy is overkill” or “that training style doesn’t make sense” without enough experience to make such evaluations limits your progress. Concluding that “that much focus isn’t necessary” or “that kind of detail isn’t necessary” before even trying the strategy demonstrates that you put limits on what you’re willing to do to succeed. Just because you’re convinced you’re on the right track doesn’t

mean you really are. Just because you feel you are giving 100 percent doesn’t mean that’s enough to get the job done. Just because you think you’re a hard worker doesn’t mean you’re working hard enough to be successful. What makes you so certain that you already know what it takes to succeed? To be brutally hon­ est, how would you know exactly what that requires? You haven’t yet achieved what you want for your physique. Many inexperienced bodybuild­ ers make incorrect assumptions about the best way to train or eat. Their beliefs become ingrained convictions that stall progress and lead to frustration. You must open your mind to new and different strategies if you want better results than you’re currently getting. Mentors can help you reach that new level of enlight­

enment. Success leaves clues. If you do what you’ve always done in the past, you’ll produce the same results. What benefits will you enjoy by opening your mind to new bodybuilding information? You gain a sense of understanding, confidence and certainty that provides the mental edge needed to reach your full genetic potential. You progress more smoothly and efficiently. You make significant improvements in your physique much sooner. You generate un­ stoppable momentum that can produce results that rival those of someone with much more body­ building experience. All in all, you make the entire bodybuilding experience more fulfilling. Sometimes when you are going for your bodybuilding goals, “right” can feel “wrong” to you. Remem­ ber that.

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10 Stupid Things Bodybuilders Do

4) They Spend Too Much Energy Thinking About How Steroids and Other Drugs Could Make Building Their Bodies Easier

Model: Skip La Cour

Many bodybuilders want to be­ lieve that anyone who has a great physique must be taking steroids or illegal drugs—often a gigantic dis­ traction. It’s almost as if they want to believe that’s true. Why? Believing that everyone who has an awesome build takes drugs makes them feel better about their own shortcomings. It gives them an excuse that takes the pres­ sure off them to find the strategies or do the work necessary to do a better job of building their own physiques without drugs. Seek and you shall find. If you focus on all the people who have an easier time than you because they take drugs to assist them—you’ll find them. At the same time, if you look for people who have success­ fully built their great bodies without drugs, you’ll find them too. Most people who train in the gym don’t want to do “whatever it takes” to have an outstanding physique if it means using steroids or other drugs. If that’s you, great! But don’t stop there. Ask more of yourself than to “not use drugs.” Discipline yourself to create an awesome physique on your own terms. Don’t waste time talking or think­ ing about how much easier a time people who use drugs have than you do. Drugs or no drugs, you could look better than you do right now if you applied yourself and did the things you already know you should do, right? Better training, better eating, more consistency and more time doing it properly will make you better. You need to focus on those things.

Discipline yourself to create an awesome physique on your own terms. Seek and you shall find.

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10 Stupid Things Bodybuilders Do

If you surround yourself with people who train at a higher level of intensity and efficiency, you’ll become more intense and more efficient.

5) They Are Influenced by Negative People in the Gym “Most people’s lives are a direct reflection of the standards of the people around them. Who you spend time with is who you be­ come,” preaches Anthony Robbins. If you surround yourself with people who train at a higher level of intensity and efficiency, you’ll become more intense and efficient. If you hang around people who are optimistic that their training endeavors will eventually pay off if they’re intelligent and patient enough, you’ll become more opti­ mistic, more intelligent and more patient too. If your training partners believe it’s truly possible to build a respectable physique without the use of drugs, chances are you’ll adopt the same belief. Conversely, if you’re in the com­ pany of people who expect very little from themselves and their training, you’ll be more apt to be satisfied with the level of training you’re currently experiencing. If the guys in the gym feel that anyone

with a good physique “has to be on drugs,” you won’t always be able to suppress that belief when you hit a plateau in your development. Look for opportunities at the gym to train beside those who have earned good physiques, dem­ onstrate admirable work ethics and exude positive attitudes. When you’re in their presence often enough, you’ll discover it is easier to duplicate their success. Success­ ful people can help pace you as you move toward achieving excel­ lence yourself. You can adopt their winning strategies and powerful mind-set. Associate with people who are like-minded and appreciate your training objectives. They should be motivated to succeed in life and understand your goals. Heck! If you’re lucky enough to be invited, train with people who are more driven than you are to help ignite your desire. There you have the first five. Next month I’ll go over the second five: lack of concentration, bridled intensity, being too results orient­ ed, lack of appreciation for previ­ ous progress and impatience. I’ll

also have a summary of all 10 stupid things so you can review to wise up. Editor’s note: Visit Skip La Cour’s Web site at www.SkipLaCour .com. Take your physique to the next level by ordering his new DVD, “Packing On Muscle! Max-OT Style.” The two-disc four-hour training, instructional and motivational program includes a complete week of training (explained in great detail and jam-packed with perceptive insights), exercises not included in the training week, instruction and video footage of cardiovascular training, inspirational training seg­ ments, assorted detailed and unique “next level” tips, contest footage and a one-hour nutrition seminar. If you want to pack on slabs of muscle in the shortest time, this DVD is for you. It’s only $49.99 (plus $8.50 for shipping and handling—total $58.49; international orders add $17.50 for shipping and handling— total $67.49). Order online at www .SkipLaCour.com. Credit card orders call (800) 655-0986. Or send check or money order to Skip La Cour, 712 Bancroft Road #259, Walnut Creek, CA 94598. IM

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In the

Zona

With Inspirational Nationals Star Sebastian Zona by David Young

S

am Zona, a.k.a. Sebastian, is not a typical guy. As a bodybuilder heʼs on his way to conquering the national scene. Thatʼs no small feat. Heʼs also educated and very articulate and is a family man with a wife and son and close ties to his parents. Heʼs someone bodybuilders can look to for inspiration. I guess you figured out that Iʼm impressed by the guy. I challenge you not to be after you read his story. Iʼd met Sam through a mutual friend,

IFBB pro Bob Cicherillo, but I got to know him much better after a workout at Jim Rockellʼs Powerhouse Gym in Rochester, New York, that took place when I went home for the holidays last year. It was a

fortunate meeting because Iʼve already learned some valuable lessons from him. So sit down, strap yourself in, and letʼs hit the road with Sam Zona.

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In the Zona

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Zona competes at 215 to 220 pounds.

DY: Let’s start with your stats— age, height and weight? SZ: I’m 32 years old and stand a towering 5’8”. I typically compete at around 215 to 220 pounds. My focus this past year was “lighter and tighter,” so my off-season weight didn’t go much above 235. I see too many guys make the mistake of getting caught up in weight. I’ve been as heavy as 270 off-season, but I looked and felt horrible and ultimately dieted down to nearly the same contest weight. So one must ask oneself, Is it really worth it and at some point does it become counterproductive to not only your contest prep but, more important, your health? At last year’s Nationals I was my lightest in years—around 215 onstage—and it was definitely my best conditioning to date. DY: Exactly how long have you been training? SZ: I’ve been hitting the weights for 20 years now—seems crazy to say that, but it’s true. I took what most would consider an unnatural interest in training at the very ten­ der age of 11. For some reason I just wanted to be big and strong. My dad had some of those old plastic sandfilled weights in the basement, and I started lifting them every night. I had no idea what I was doing, mind you, but I was lifting consistently at that age. No one would believe this, 142 JUNE 2006 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

He’s 5’8” and 32 years old. He’s been training for 20 years.

except those that know me, but I have never missed more than a week of training at a time in the last 20 years. No joke! DY: Nothing beats commitment and dedication. It sounds as if you knew that at a young age. SZ: It was either some serious commitment and dedication or I have a major obsessive compulsive disorder [laughs]. DY: Or you’re just deranged, brother. How did you get started in competitive bodybuilding? SZ: It’s funny because I never en­ visioned myself being a competitive bodybuilder. I just liked to train and lift heavy weights and wanted to get as big and strong as I possibly could. I have always been a bit on the shy side, so getting up onstage in front of people and flexing in glorified underwear wasn’t something I even considered. DY: I don’t think any of us really saw ourselves onstage in our un­ derwear! So what happened? SZ: In 1997, at the prompting of a friend, I entered the Mr. Buf­ falo contest. Much to my surprise, I won the whole show. If I am honest, though, I still enjoy the training and preparation much more than the contest itself.

do you do for a living? SZ: I’m a teacher. I teach health science and physical education in a small public school in upstate New York—junior and senior high stu­ dents, so, basically, 12- to 18-year­ olds. I enjoy it. I am also starting a nutrition-consultation business. I should have that up and running in the very near future. You can find more information at www .InTheZona.com. DY: I like the name. Catchy. Do you have any hobbies or play other sports? SZ: I was an avid athlete as a teen­ ager, playing football, basketball and baseball. I was a natural athlete but not gifted enough to pursue it at the collegiate level, unfortunately. Nowadays, playing sports for me in­ volves a pickup game of basketball with my son, throwing around the football with him and his friends or a no-holds-barred round of minia­ ture golf. Occasionally my wife and I will challenge him and his friends to a game of two-on-two basketball or even two-hand touch. We can still spank them pretty good. I can still move surprisingly well—it just hurts a bit more than it used to. For hobbies—everyone finds this funny for some reason, but I love karaoke. I have a system set up in our basement—surround sound, the whole deal. It’s not uncommon

DY: Besides bodybuilding, what

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In the Zona

In the Zona

In-the-Zona Training

“Self-improvement is what drives me in all aspects of my life.” to hear me rocking the house—the dogs start barking, cats meowing. I love it! DY: [Laughs] I can see it all now. Up onstage, posing in your under­ wear and singing “New York, New York.” Come to think of it, I’d rather not see it. What keeps you moti­ vated for your training and diet? SZ: I think the simple fact that I have not yet achieved my personal best. Self-improvement is what drives me in all aspects of my life. I want to continue to push myself and see exactly what Sebastian Zona is capable of. DY: What are your diet strategies for on-season and off-season? SZ: As a bodybuilder your daily goal, whether on-season or off, is to gain a little muscle and lose a little fat. I typically eat mostly the same foods year-round, but off-season I increase my carb and fat intake and drop my protein to a little more than a gram per pound of bodyweight. Precontest it’s moderate carb, low fat and high protein. Very similar to the approach most other bodybuild­ ers take—nothing radical. DY: Do you have a cheat day? SZ: Off-season I allow some cheating on Saturday and Sunday, but during the workweek I stick to a pretty specific plan. This past year, precontest, I allowed myself one cheat meal a week right up until five weeks out. It helps keep your sanity a bit, and keeping my weight down

“I start all workouts with a 10­ minute warmup on the stationary bike followed by stretching and two to three warmup sets of the first exercise I’m going to do,” says Sebastian Zona. “I then go directly to my heaviest weight for the first work set. “I like to keep a fast pace so my rest periods between sets are 45 to 60 seconds. I also train in a somewhat instinctual manner. I’ll have a plan of what I am going to train and what exercises I am going to perform, but if something isn’t feeling right, I switch it up— exercise, reps, whatever. Part of my ‘Train Smarter’ approach. “I generally do three exercises for three work sets per bodypart, not including warmup sets, for a total of nine work sets, and I use three rep ranges, as I mentioned. “Though I work my other bodyparts only once a week, I’ve found that my legs respond better to two sessions per week. I also tend to do slightly higher reps on my leg movements—in the 15-to-20 range—and perform all exercises with a very narrow stance.” Day 1: Chest, triceps Incline barbell or dumbbell presses Incline flyes Dips Straight-bar skull crushers Reverse dips (weighted) Pushdowns this past off-season allowed me the luxury. That hasn’t always been the case. DY: Can you give me a sample of your eating for a day? SZ: Here is the exact eating pro­ gram I used four weeks out from the ’05 Nationals: A.M. supplements 3 capsules Thermo-Shred 1,000 milligrams carnitine Multivitamin Multimineral Cardio: 4:45 a.m. 40 minutes on treadmill Meal 1: 6 a.m. 3 servings Nitro-Tech

Day 2: Legs Back squats Leg presses Leg extensions Lying leg curls (dumbbell between feet) Stiff-legged deadlifts Seated calf raises (up to 10 sets) Day 3: Back, biceps Front chins (start with a wide grip and move in narrower on each set) Bent-over rows Pullovers Hammer curls Reclining dumbbell curls Day 4: Off Day 5: Legs Smith-machine front squats Leg extensions Lunges (heavy, one leg at a time—not alternating) One-leg leg curls Hyperextensions Donkey calf raises Day 6: Delts, traps, arms Front presses Single-arm lateral raises Machine rear-delt flyes Dumbbell shrugs* Crunches (three sets to failure) Reverse crunches (three sets to failure) *“I rarely do any direct trap work—maybe once a month, which is usually one giant drop set down the rack.” 1 packet plus 2 tablespoons flavored Cream of Wheat Meal 2: 8:30 a.m. 9 ounces cooked chicken 1.5 cups rice 1 cup broccoli 2 tablespoons fat-free Italian dressing Midmorning supplements 10:30 a.m. 3 capsules Thermo-Shred 1,000 milligrams carnitine Meal 3: 11 a.m. 3 servings Nitro-Tech 10 ounces sweet potato Meal 4: 2:15 p.m. 9 ounces cooked chicken 1.5 cups rice

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In the Zona

Zona believes that bodybuilders must be self-driven, intrinsically motivated. 1 cup broccoli

2 tablespoons fat-free Italian

dressing

supplement. One of my new favor­ ites is MuscleTech’s Gakic, which enables me to maintain my inten­ sity level throughout my workout by eliminating the waste products ammonia and lactic acid. I have gotten great results from it, and it has become a staple in my supple­ mentation program.

Preworkout supplements 3 capsules Thermo-Shred

8 capsules Gakic

5 caplets Pump-Tech

Workout: 4 p.m.

Meal 5: 6 p.m.

1 packet plus 2 tablespoons

Cream of Rice

3 servings whey isolate

DY: Everyone at one time or an­ other faces training plateaus. How do you overcome them? SZ: It is crucial to consistently change up your training program. Not just exercise selection or order but rep scheme, muscle groupings, time of day, pace, rep speed, etc. Keep your body guessing.

Meal 6: 9 p.m. 13 egg whites

1 whole egg

2 cups broccoli

2 tablespoons fat-free Italian

dressing Totals: Calories: 3,133

Carbohydrate: 287.5 grams

Protein: 434 grams

Fat: 24.5 grams

DY: You listed several supple­ ments. What are your favorite supplements? SZ: At the very top of my supple­ ment list is protein. I use Nitro-Tech whey protein. I’m not sure how anyone could do without the conve­ nience and cost effectiveness of this

DY: How did you find what works for you in the gym? SZ: With bodybuilding inevitably it’s trial and error. Something can sound great on paper, but until you apply it, you can’t be sure how your body will respond. The funny thing is that what worked last year—or last show—might not work this year or this show. DY: What keeps you motivated? SZ: Most individual sports, es­ pecially bodybuilding, demand

that the athlete be intrinsically very motivated. If you are not self-driven or you require extrinsic motivators or someone else to push you, you ultimately will not be successful. If you look at the greats throughout history—Arnold, Haney, Yates, Cole­ man, Cutler—all of those guys were and are very self-motivated, very focused and very driven. They don’t need someone to call them and get them out of bed or drag them to the gym. They don’t need a trainer screaming in their ear. I would train alone in my basement in the dark if that was my only option—come hell or high water. DY: That’s awesome. I love it. What’s your proudest achieve­ ment? SZ: There is one thing that will always remain at the top of my achievement list. It has nothing to do with bodybuilding and certainly was not accomplished on my own. It’s my family. My wife, Amy, and I became parents at a very young age—16. It obviously was not a planned thing, and we were two very terrified kids. We knew the odds, the statistics, the bleak future, and we felt the stares and heard the comments. But despite all of that,

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In the Zona

once we held our son Sebastian in about the massive responsibility we our arms, we knew there was only carried. It brings tears to my eyes. one option. We had to ante up and It was meant to be, and I would not tackle this head on. change a thing. We are better people We ignored the advice of others for it. who were recommending adoption and who essentially were guaran­ DY: Wow. There’s much more to teeing our failure and predicting Sebastian Zona than just a phy­ a very depressing and hopeless sique. Your story is a great lesson future. We took full responsibility for us all about commitment and for our actions. We graduated from doing what’s right. What are your high school and got married shortly goals in bodybuilding and fitness? thereafter at 18 tender years of age. SZ: I definitely still have unfin­ We were just kids. We enrolled in ished business when it comes to college and moved away—on our bodybuilding. As I mentioned ear­ own, far from home and the many lier, I know I have not yet stepped naysayers. Nobody thought we had a chance. It seemed like “I know I us vs. the world for a have not good long while. We yet stepped never took a handout, onstage at never asked for help, my best.” never applied for social service. It was tough, but we would not ac­ cept defeat and become just another statistic. We managed to bal­ ance work, school and the responsibilities of family life. We were so determined to do it on our own that we never even had a baby-sit­ ter. Where we went, so did he. Class, the gym, wherever—he was al­ ways with one of us. What’s funny is, I still through all of that somehow found time to train. It might have been 12 a.m., but I still made it to the gym. My wife earned a B.S. in business and market­ ing, and I earned a B.S. in both health science and physical education with a teaching cer­ tificate. We were both very fortunate to secure onstage at my best. I am not going employment immediately upon to lie to you: My goal is to win and graduating. finally achieve pro status. In order Just two years ago I finally fin­ to do that, I have to achieve my ished my master’s in education. personal best. No more time for We are coming up on 14 years of mistakes. I have to train harder, diet marriage this July. My son is 15 and harder and be more focused than such an awesome kid. I can’t even my competition. If I can do that, I imagine (nor do I want to) my life believe I can achieve my goal. without the two of them. I look back at pictures in amazement as DY: That brings me to my next to how young we were and think

question. What mental or visual techniques do you use? SZ: I have always been a big dreamer. I love movies like “Rocky,” “The Natural,” “Rudy,” “Cinderella Man.” When the chips are down and the odds are against you, but you overcome it all to be a cham­ pion—that’s me. That is the vision in my mind, being the last one stand­ ing, trophy in hand. Overcoming everything to be victorious. That’s my vision. DY: How has all that you’ve been through shaped your philosophy about life? SZ: That is a tough question, the answer for which is very difficult to put into words. I know this might seem kind of corny for a big body­ builder dude, but I like to write—yes, sometimes poems. I quit trying to be cool years ago and have just embraced my dorkiness. I found this piece, which I wrote some time ago. I think it fits. Dr. Seuss has nothing on me. Life is a gift, we get just one shot. Some reach for the stars, others reach not. There are many paths we may choose to take. So many choices, tough decisions to make. Some take the right path, others go wrong. Life flies by too fast but for some it seems long. It’s all linked to­ gether your body and mind. So your mind educate and to your body be kind. Take time to laugh, to learn and to love. Be sure to give thanks to the Good Lord above. Sing in the shower and the morn­ ing commute. Get rid of the tie and while at it, the suit.

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In the Zona

Say your prayers, take your vita­ mins and say no to drugs. Smile when you can and give lots of hugs. Life is too short to hold anger inside. You may not succeed but you’ll know that you tried. Do not fear failure, it’s a way we can learn. Don’t get hung up on how much money you earn. Embrace your dreams and strive to achieve. Worry not, who else does believe. Let all that is great within you shine through. Hold your head high and to your own self remain true! DY: Jeez, a guy with many talents! What strategies do you use for success in body­ building that you’re able to carry into your life and career? SZ: Many of the skills and lessons that I have developed through bodybuilding and sports have carried over into life, career, etc. Commitment, dedication, account­ ability, discipline, con­ sistency, organization, self-evaluation—these are all character traits that both bodybuild­ ing and life demand in order to be successful. DY: I think a lot of people miss that les­ son. But those who do get it have gotten invaluable tools from bodybuilding that stay with them throughout their lives. What’s your training philosophy? SZ: Well, it used to be, “Go heavy or go home,” but in recent years, due largely to injuries, I have adopted the philosophy of my friend Bob Cicherillo: “Train smarter, not hard­ er.” If only I had adopted that philos­ ophy a few years earlier, I could have saved myself some agony. DY: How many weeks out do you

start your contest preparation? SZ: It varies depending on my off­ season condition. I used to require a full 16 weeks to prepare adequately, but now find I can do it in eight to 10. I stay in a lot better off-season shape these days.

and set three the lightest, 10 to 12 reps. I generally perform three dif­ ferent exercises per bodypart—with some exceptions.

DY: What about your cardio training? SZ: I know a lot of guys despise cardio and see it only as a necessary DY: How do you organize your evil come contest time. I actually training week? don’t mind it and do at least 20 to SZ: I generally follow a three-on/ 30 minutes five days a week, even one-off approach. For the 2005 Na­ in the off-season. Getting oxygen tionals I split my training like this: and nutrients to your muscles is Monday: Quads, hams, calves crucial to building muscle. Therefore, “I have found the more efficient that three work your cardiovascular sets per exercise system, the better. is ideal for me.” Not to mention the other health benefits. Do you really think walking on a tread­ mill for 20 minutes is going to cut into your muscle gains? Come on! For the Nationals last year I upped that to 40 minutes in the morning on an empty stomach, alternating between the treadmill and bike.

Tuesday: Chest, triceps, abs Wednesday: Quads, hams, calves Thursday: Back, biceps, abs Friday: Quads, hams, calves Saturday: Delts, traps, abs Sunday: Off

DY: What is your overall philosophy of bodybuilding? SZ: Hmm. I would have to say, “Own it; don’t let it own you.” I see so many people get so wrapped up in themselves and body­ building that they lose sight of what is truly important in life. Keep it in its proper place and that should not be at the top of your priority list. Don’t let it become you! Editor’s note: Visit Sebastian Zona at www.InTheZona.com. For more on the supplements he uses, visit MuscleTech at www .MuscleTech.com. IM

DY: What kind of set-and-rep pat­ terns do you use? SZ: I’ve found that following a warmup, three work sets per exercise is ideal for me. Set one being the heaviest, six to eight reps; set two being a little lighter, eight to 10 reps;

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A

r e d l i u b Body Is

Born Episode 11:

The Teacher Gets Schooled

F

or the past 10 months I’ve been telling you all about my mission to educate young Randy on the ways of becoming a top bodybuilder. The insinu­ ation was that because I’ve been training for almost 20 years and competing since 1989, I know it all, or at least I know everything worth knowing. But I’ve always believed that anyone who claims to know it all is an idiot. There’s always something more to learn in body­ building. We spend years figuring out how our bodies respond to vari­ ous types of training and nutrition, but in reality it’s a lifelong process. That all came crashing home to me when I was beaten badly in my last contest. The worst thing was that I wasn’t so much beaten by the other men onstage with me. I kicked my own ass. The trouble began with my

scheduling. I planned on shooting a training video in L.A., shooting with three magazine photogra­ phers the following week, then competing in California at the end of that week. But that wasn’t cram­ ming enough into a short time for me, so I also sent in my entry form for the New England Champion­ ships, which was being held back here in Boston the following week­ end. When I outlined my plan to Randy about a month beforehand, he seemed concerned. “Isn’t that too much stuff? Aren’t you gonna be exhausted?” Was that a challenge to me, the 33-year-old who no longer had the vigor and endurance of days gone by? No way. I was Superman and had five T-shirts with that logo to prove it. I would have gotten the tattoo as well if Lee Priest and Mat DuVall didn’t already have one.

by Ron Harris

Photography by Michael Neveux

“Don’t worry,” I assured him. “I know what I’m doing,” Famous last words. About three weeks before I left for L.A. I looked the best ever in my life. I was about 212 pounds and hard as nails, fuller and rounder and with even my poor arms looking decent. I couldn’t see myself competing any lighter than 205, up from 201 the year before. Yup, this was my year. That’s when some psycho switch went off in my brain and I decided I wasn’t quite lean enough in the lower body. Suddenly, it seemed like a smart idea to do more cardio. Understand I was already doing 45 minutes of very intense intervalstyle cardio on a Precor elliptical machine five days a week, burning 700 to 800 calories each time. That had done an excellent job of tak­ ing away the fat, as I’d started at a doughy 240 with not a cut in sight. But now I found myself staring at

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A Bodybuilder Is Born

Model: D. J. Green

contest photos of guys like Tommi “Glutezilla” Thorvidsen, who has striations in his butt muscles so deep you could swipe a credit card through them. “Hmm, I think I re­ ally need my glutes to look like that too,” I said. And so the madness began. My gym opens at 5 a.m. on week­ days and 7 a.m. on the weekends. I would snap awake automatically about an hour before opening every day and start getting ready to go do cardio. Forty-five minutes gradu­ ated to a full hour within days. After that I slammed down a protein shake, went home, showered, had breakfast and got my kids ready for school. Then it was time to go to the gym again for about 90 minutes of weight training and 40 more min­ utes of cardio. Yep, I was gonna be the most shredded man in body­ building history now! If I didn’t train myself into the ground in the pro­ cess, that is. It didn’t take long for me to notice that I was flattening out. That’s a term bodybuilders use to describe the way our muscles look when we’re undercarbed or overtrained. It’s almost as if we’re big balloons and someone let some of the air out of us. When I asked my wife what she thought, she recognized it as the bodybuilder’s equivalent to the common chick question, “Does my ass look bigger?” There’s no right answer that won’t infuriate the person who asked. So Janet took on an annoyed tone and said, “I don’t know, I can’t tell.” But in her own way she tried to steer me back. She made many comments about my doing way too much cardio, but I brushed them all off. “What does she know?” I said to myself. Poor Randy—he didn’t know any better. Having never seen anyone diet down before, he was just over­ whelmed by the daily changes in my body. He’d express disbelief at every new vein and striation that would reveal itself and helped me ignore the obvious. I was getting leaner, but I was losing muscle. It needs to be said that I was always eating plenty of calories and never went below 200 grams of carbs a day. The problem as I see it now was that I was trying to force my body to do two things at once that it

Yep, I was going to be the most shredded man in bodybuilding history now!

couldn’t. I wanted to maintain my muscle mass while drastically in­ creasing the volume of cardio I was doing to that of an endurance ath­ lete. My body did what any reason­ able body would do when put in the situation. It said, “Screw you, Ron.” The week in L.A. did turn out to be grueling, though I managed to score second place at the tough Orange County show. But—and this is a big but—I’d weighed in at just under the heavyweight limit. I hadn’t planned on being a light heavyweight. It got worse. Possibly because I’d weak­ ened my immune system so badly, I contracted food poisoning the last night I was there and couldn’t eat for about 36 hours. Oh, I tried, but the instantaneous vomiting that resulted when I swallowed anything except water convinced me I just had to ride it out until the nausea subsided and my appetite returned.

All that week in Boston, as soon as I could eat again, I tried to make up for the lost meals. I was also, how­ ever, at the gym twice every day, as before. I knew I’d lost some muscle fullness, but I blamed the food poi­ soning and honestly thought some extra food in the last couple of days would get it all back. The final insult came on Sunday morning, when I weighed in at 197.5 pounds. I almost fainted. I hadn’t weighed less than 200 pounds since 1995! Then as I watched the rest of my class weigh in, I knew I was done for. I went from second place in my last four contests to missing the top five for the first time since 1992. After a lot of pizza and ice cream, things started falling into place, as I attempted to analyze what had gone wrong. My wife, Janet, who also competed that day, was the example that showed me my main

The contest prep season taught me a very valuable lesson: We have to listen to our bodies when they say they need rest.

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Model: Derik Farnsworth

error. When family duties came up, as they often do in a large multigenerational Hispanic family like hers, she’d often miss a scheduled weight-training or cardio session. If she missed a day, it was no big deal. She didn’t sweat it. Yet she came into the contest in the figure divi­ sion looking much better than last year. I, on the other hand, would never, ever miss training. It was life or death! If something demanded my time in the day, I’d go at night. If I’d slept poorly, I’d be in the gym on three hours of sleep, masking my fatigue with endless cups of coffee. And lo and behold, I ended up look­ ing worse than last year! This contest prep season taught me a very valuable lesson, even if I had to learn it by failing miser­ ably. We have to listen to our bodies when they say they need rest. You should support your body as

Forty-five minutes graduated to a full hour within days.

best you can with all the right nu­ trients, but nothing will ever make up for lack of rest. Competitive bodybuilding is a unique endeavor in that we attempt to remain big and strong while stripping our physiques of every possible ounce of fat. In strength sports like powerlifting and strongman contests no such cross-purposes ever come up because the athletes know they’re bigger and stronger with some bodyfat. So because we bodybuild­ ers are in reality trying to do some­ thing quite unnatural, we must be very careful how we go about it. There’s a fine line for all of us be­ tween doing enough and doing too much, and crossing that line can have disastrous consequences. It wasn’t easy explaining it all to Randy, as I feared it would under­ mine my credibility and make him more likely to question anything I told him from then on. But he did understand that I’d been blind to what was happening. “Like I used to look in the mirror and see things that weren’t there until you pointed them out to me,” he said. “But you didn’t have any­ one to look at you, huh?” The sad thing was that I’d seen what was happening but had gone into a full-blown denial and ignored it. For those of you diet­ ing down right now, I urge you to have at least two other sets of ex­ perienced “eyes” look at you once a week. I also urge you to listen closely to what they say, even if it’s not what you want to hear. Pay at­ tention to them. Most important, listen to your body. Getting into contest condi­ tion is brutal in the final stages, and rest becomes more critical than ever. Unfortunately, many do as I did and step up the pace at a time when they need to be slowing down a tad. Don’t do as I did and sacrifice pure muscle that you busted your ass to build in the first place. It’s a lot harder for me to not work out than it is to train, as I suspect it is for a lot of us. But believe me when I say that there may come a time when doing a little less will deliver the best results. Editor’s note: Check out Ron Harris’ Web site, www .RonHarrisMuscle.com. IM www.ironmanmagazine.com \ JUNE 2006 155

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How Sweet It Is

And Why It May Not Be as Bad for Your

Health and Workout Welfare as You Think

by Jerry Brainum

n August 2005,at a meeting of the

American Sugar Alliance,the group

issued a statement that might surprise

many. The statement said that the link

between eating sugar and getting fat is a myth. The true culprit in the growing trend toward increased obesity is actually too much food,coupled with a lack of exercise. The group pointed out that sugar intake has declined to an estimated 63 pounds per person in 2002 from a previous average of 102 pounds in 1972. Thats sugar consumed over a year,not in one sitting. The president of the Sugar Association, Andrew Briscoe,also had something to say: We believe in calories in and calories out. Sugar is not part of obesity issues. He remarked that most people think a tablespoon of sugar contains 76 calories,when in fact it contains only 15 calories. While Briscoe and his group certainly have a vested interest in sugar consumption,

Model: Berry Kabov

I

the truth is that the majority of scientifically published material agrees with him: Sugar is not the villain that most people think it is. Although in one form or another sugar has been linked to such maladies as cardiovascular disease,cancer and obesity,the only direct link between sugar and disease is in the onset of dental caries,or cavities and even there the evidence is scant. Dental cavities are related to genetics,diet,oral acidity levels and other factors not directly connected to how much sugar you eat. The one exception to the sugar-as-benign­ nutrient idea is high fructose corn syrup,a concoction of glucose and fructose that appears to be a primary cause of the increased rates of obesity. HFCS has no nutritionally redeeming qualities other than convenience and greater shelf life. Still, the notion that eating sugar is bad for you persists.

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Sugar

Sugar Basics

Breast milk is rich in lactose, also known as milk sugar. Could the early sweet exposure be one reason for our sugar cravings?

Humans are born with a prefer­ ence for sweetness. In the womb human fetuses float in a gentle bath of sweet amniotic fluid. Soon after being born, most babies get breast milk as their primary food. Breast milk is rich in lactose, also known as milk sugar. When most people think of sugar, they think about sucrose, or table sugar. To a chemist, sugars are a group of compounds contain­ ing carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. The two main types are monosac­ charides, or single sugars, such as glucose, fructose and galactose, and disaccharides, which contain two monosaccharides bonded together. Sucrose, like lactose and maltose, is a disaccharide consist­ ing of glucose and fructose. Digestion of sugar begins in the mouth, but the majority of digestion and absorption occurs in the small intestine, where spe­ cific enzymes degrade the sugar into monosaccharides. Fructose is absorbed differently from other sugars—far more slowly. For that reason, fructose doesn’t promote an insulin response. Degraded sugars pass through the cells of the small intestine into a capillary portal that takes them directly to the liver, where a phosphate atom is added. The only sugar released into the blood is glucose, which travels to the brain, kidneys, muscle cells and fat cells. Since glucose is the primary fuel for the brain, 130 grams a day are required for proper brain function. That doesn’t mean you need to eat 130 grams of carbohydrate a day; glucose is also made in the liver from certain amino acids and the glycerol from fat. The primary fate of glucose is either to be stored as glycogen in liver and muscle or to circulate in the blood for use as energy by various body tissues. The break­ down of glucose to provide energy is known as glycolysis. Most sugars degrade during the process into two pyruvate molecules. Pyruvate is either completely oxidized in the primary energy pathway—the Krebs cycle—and in the electron transport (continued on page 168)

The primary fate of glucose is either to be stored as glycogen in liver and muscle or to circulate in the blood for use as energy.

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Sugar (continued from page 162) system

Did you know that the body converts carbs into fat inefficiently?

Model: Berry Kabov

If you eat carbs and fat together, the body burns the carbs first and stores the fat.

in the cellular mitochondria to yield the ultimate energy source, adenosine triphosphate (ATP), or is converted into lactate. You get lactate when there’s relatively little oxygen onboard, such as during an anaerobic exercise like weight training. The blood transports lactate released from muscle dur­ ing exercise to the liver, where it’s reconverted into glucose, which then circulates back to the work­ ing muscle as an energy source. Each gram of glycogen is stored with 2.7 grams of water. If glyco­ gen stores are filled to capacity and you take in more carbohy­ drate, the carbs will convert into fat. But it’s not that simple. The body converts carbs into fat inefficiently. One study found that it took 68 percent more energy to convert carbs into fat than to shuttle fat into fat stores. Those who criticize low-carb diets often mention the difficulty of convert­ ing carbs into bodyfat. On the other hand, carbs are the body’s preferred fuel source. If you eat fat and carbs together, the body burns the carbs first and stores the fat. If you restrict carbs, as during a typical low-carb diet, the body switches to using stored fat as its primary energy source. Other fac­ tors also come into play here, such as insulin output, which is re­ duced under low-carb conditions. When insulin release is reduced, fat is more easily oxidized.

Sugar can elevate blood triglycerides, but fish oil can counter that effect.

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Sugar

The body won’t use protein as an energy source unless carbs and fat aren’t available.

Do Carbs Cause

Heart Disease?

Critics of low-carb diets cite their higher fat and cholesterol intake as a cause of cardiovascular disease. Research conducted in recent years, however, shows that CVD is not a danger. If anything, low-carb diets help prevent CVD by reducing triglycerides, or fat, in the blood, and elevating high-density lipoprotein, the protective blood cholesterol. Blood triglycerides were long thought to play a minimal role in

Model: Luke Wood

Blood triglycerides are increased mainly by excessive alcohol and sugar intake.

Carbohydrates are stored as glycogen in the liver and muscles.

CVD, but later research showed that they weren’t innocent metabolic bystanders. Excess blood triglycer­ ides are converted in the liver into very-low-density lipoproteins, then converted into low-density lipopro­ teins. LDL is a primary link to CVD, scientists say; the lower the LDL, the better. What increases blood triglycer­ ides? You’d think that would be fat, but in fact BTs are increased mainly by excessive alcohol and sugar intake. Compared to starches, sug­ ars increase BTs by an average of 60 percent. The people most at risk for elevated BT levels after eating sugar are those who don’t exercise and have a lot of fat in the gut area—vis­ ceral, or deep-lying, fat. The big controversy is precisely which type of sugar is most efficient at rais­ ing BT levels. Most of the evidence points to fructose. Since sucrose or table sugar is half fructose, it, too, is implicated in elevated BTs. Luckily, you’ve got two simple cures for elevated BTs. One is to take more fish oil. The fatty acids in fish oil decrease BT an average of 60 percent—the other side of the sugar-intake coin. The other cure is exercise, which increases the activity of a fat-cell enzyme called lipoprotein lipase in removing excess BTs. The triglyceride is then oxidized as an energy source for the exercise.

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Sugar

The higher the exercise intensity, the greater the glycogen depletion. One study showed that doing three sets of curls to failure resulted in a 70 percent depletion of biceps glycogen stores.

Eating sugar promotes the release of natural opioids in the brain that have a calming effect.

Model: Gus Malliarodakis

Why Would Sugar

Make You Fat?

Sugar has a number of properties that tend to blunt its obesity-gener­ ating effects. Surprisingly, one has to do with insulin, the same hormone that low-carb-diet advocates link to getting fat. Among its many functions, insu­ lin turns off the appetite. Many stud­ ies have shown that when animals are given a sugar solution before eating a meal, they wind up eating less food. Most likely, that’s the re­ sult of an insulin surge produced by the sugar intake. Sugar affects brain chemicals related to appetite control. The urge to eat sugar is itself the result of an abundance of neuropeptide Y. Vari­ ous experimental drugs that blunt the effects of neuropeptide Y would have the effect of curtailing the urge to consume sugar. Many people tend to overeat carbs because it induces a feeling of pleasure. That, too, has a chemical basis. Eating sugar promotes the release of natural opioid chemicals in the brain that have a calming effect. Eating sugars offers a “feel-good” effect by interacting with the brain’s reward centers through the chemi­ cal dopamine. Reward centers are also affected by such drugs as co­ caine and alcohol, which explains why many who use those drugs have a sweet tooth. Another reason sugar isn’t all that fattening is that eating sugars increases the gene expression for uncoupling protein-3 in muscle.1 UCP-3 converts fat calories into heat, a thermogenic effect. Thyroid hormone is also thought to work through this protein. So when the activity of UCP-3 is high, you burn more fat at rest and during exercise. The production of UCP-3 is related to an increase of neuropeptide-Y gene expression, which is directly related to sugar intake. When you eat sugars, a hormone in the gut called glucagon peptide-1 is increased. GLP-1 is released when sugars make contact with the cells of the small intestine. It decreases gas­ tric, or stomach, emptying, which has the result of making you feel fuller—which curtails appetite.2

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Sugar

Sugar and Training

Model: Gus Malliarodakis

You can’t train intensely without full muscle glycogen replenishment from carbs between workouts.

Fact: Sugar has a number of properties that tend to blunt its obesity-generating effects.

The two primary sources of en­ ergy for exercise are carbs and fat. Protein can be used as an energy source, but it’s inefficient. In ad­ dition, the body won’t use protein as an energy source for a workout unless the other two sources of en­ ergy aren’t available. That pertains mainly to carbs, since the use of fat as a rapid energy source is limited by fatty acid uptake into muscle. Bodyfat as a sole energy source would provide enough energy for seven days of moderate-intensity exercise. Compare the measly two hours supplied by stored glycogen and blood glucose. The problem with fat is that as exercise intensity level increases, the body’s reliance on fat as a fuel source decreases. For high-intensity exercise, such as typi­ cal bodybuilding sessions, carbs are the primary fuel source. Carbohydrate is stored as gly­ cogen in liver and muscle, but the glycogen stored in any particular muscle can be used only by that muscle. When muscle glycogen stores get depleted, fatigue ensues. Muscles contains 79 percent of the body’s glycogen, while the liver con­ tains 14 percent. The blood contains 7 percent of the carb as circulating blood glucose. The higher the exer­ cise intensity, the greater the deple­ tion of muscle glycogen. One study showed that doing three sets of curls to failure resulted in a 70 percent depletion of biceps glycogen stores. Attempting to train while muscles are depleted of glycogen is a mistake for several reasons. For one, muscles don’t fully recover between workouts unless glycogen is replenished, with the primary route being carbohy­ drate intake. Many sports scientists suggest that hard-training athletes get seven grams of carbs per kilo­ gram (2.2 pounds) of bodyweight to ensure adequate muscle glycogen replenishment between workouts. You can’t train intensely without full muscle glycogen stores. You’ll find that fatigue sets in early in the workout, and your degree of muscle pump will be negligible. In addition, when you’re low in muscle glycogen, your chances of injury are greater (continued on page 178) due to

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Sugar

Taking in carbs during training can blunt the release of the primary catabolic hormone, cortisol; however, fat burning will also be blunted.

SUGAR (continued from page 174) depressed nervous system reactions. Eating carbs about two hours prior to training may help restore some muscle glycogen, since it takes about 24 to 48 hours to fully replen­ ish a glycogen-depleted muscle. The preexercise meal, though, increases blood glucose levels, providing a greater sense of energy for the workout. The usual suggestion is to focus on low-glycemic-index carbs, or carbs that don’t elicit a significant insulin release. Eating too many high-glycemic-index carbs before training may cause some people to experience premature fatigue dur­ ing the workout due to a lowering of blood glucose as a result of excess insulin activity. Eating some protein before a workout is a good idea if you get some carbs at the same time. The branched-chain amino acids leu­ cine, isoleucine and valine oppose the uptake of another amino acid, L-tryptophane, into the brain. Carbs promote that uptake by promoting insulin release. In the brain, tryp­ tophane converts into serotonin, a calming neurotransmitter that can cause workout fatigue, especially when workouts exceed one hour. By blocking the uptake of tryptophane,

BCAAs can prevent that effect. What about taking in carbs during a workout? Some studies show that a drink containing no more than 8 percent carbs can decrease subjec­ tive feelings of fatigue, leading to more intense training. Other stud­ ies show that taking in carbs during training blunts the release of the primary catabolic hormone, cortisol. On the flip side, consuming carbs while training blunts fat use during the workout—a moot point anyway since a weight workout doesn’t use much fat. One sugar to avoid during training is fructose, which can cause stomach cramps. After-workout carbs, especially high-glycemic carbs, are vital for efficient glycogen replenishment. The effect is increased by also add­ ing protein in a 3-to-1 ratio of carbs to protein. Some studies show a 37 percent increase in muscle glycogen replenishment over taking carbs alone. The effect is thought to be due to increased insulin release fostered by the amino acids in protein. A quick-acting protein, such as whey, is best. Many studies show that any carbs you get within two hours after a workout are used exclusively for glycogen replenishment; there’s no spillover into fat, nor is there any

blunting of fat oxidation. If you’re still worried about the effect of eating simple sugars on health, take a natural eucalyptus leaf extract. In a recent experiment using rats as subjects, ELE extract inhibited the intestinal absorption of fructose and suppressed fat gain from eating sucrose.3 The research­ ers weren’t sure how the extract blocked fructose, but it seemed to inhibit the activity of sucrase, the intestinal enzyme that degrades sucrose. The rats that got ELE had lowered liver triglyceride levels too. Don’t be surprised if it shows up in a future “fat-burning” supplement.

References 1 Levine, A.S., et al. (2003). Sug­ ars: Hedonic aspects, neuroregula­ tion, and energy balance. Am J Clin Nutr. 78(Supp):834S-842S. 2 Anderson, G.H., et al. (2003). Consumption of sugars and the regulation of short-term satiety and food intake. Am J Clin Nutr. 78(Supp):843S-849S. 3 Sugimoto, K., et al. (2005). Eucalyptus leaf extract inhibits intestinal fructose absorption and suppresses adiposity due to dietary sucrose in rats. Brit J Nutr. 93:957­ 963. IM

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Heavy He H e vy

Duty Mike and Ray Mentzer Five Years Later • by John Little •

ike and Ray Mentzer. Their very names are synonymous with power and reason. Ray was particularly noted for his phenomenal strength, performing exercises with such onnage that th most bodybuilders would have been tonnage slack-jawed in witnessing his typical workouts. Mike, similarly, was renowned for his tremendous strength of sinew, but he is perhaps better known for having developed the first fully logical, mind/body-integrat­ ed system of bodybuilding science: Heavy Duty. I’ve always appreciated this quote from Mike: “The idea should be not to discover who’s right necessarily but what’s true. What’s the difference who says it? We all benefit by gaining the truth. The truth is our best friend.” I like it particularly because it summarizes the Mentzer brothers’ approach to life: Make the intel­ lectual effort to find out what is true—and then act on it. As many people will attest, Mike and Ray were unswerving in their commitment to advancing the scientific understanding of exercise. Most of us who have attempted to do likewise are—whether we care to admit it or not—merely footnotes to the Mentzers’ legacies. Given the magnitude of the Mentzer brothers’ im­

© 2006 by Wayne R. Gallasch, www.gmv.com.au

M

pact, it is certainly hard to believe that they’ve been gone for five years. Mike and Ray so positively af­ fected so many people’s lives that it seems as though they’re still with us. In certain important respects they still are, as their writings and teachings continue to flourish and provide not only a rational, scientific base for productive bodybuilding exercise but also an inspiration for tens of thousands of trainees. Their examples—and their awe-inspiring physiques—mo­ tivate all of us to get into the gym and train hard to realize our full genetic potential, however great or humble that may be. Moreover, the Mentzers believed in developing the mind along with the body, a philosophy that reso­ nates from their legacies. Always, they encouraged trainees to use their minds, to reason, to think –—and to apply their knowledge in their training and nutri­ tion efforts. The following quotes from the Mentzers and testi­ monials from others on their legacy come from MikeMentzer.com and are used with the permission of Joanne Sharkey, Mike’s successor. These are the men and women who knew the Mentzer brothers and who continue to lead more enlightened lives as a result of having crossed their paths. www.ironmanmagazine.com \ JUNE 2006 189

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Heavy Duty

Russ Warner

Mike and Ray Mentzer Five Years Later

Mike and Ray were unswerving in their commitment to advancing the scientific understanding of exercise.

Thoughts From Mike and Ray Mentzer While they were distinct individu­ als, Mike and Ray both believed in the superiority of high-inten­ sity training and the fundamental principles of intensity, duration and infrequent workouts. Here’s a sampling of some of their more significant insights into the science of bodybuilding: “About three years ago I wanted to prove a point. People, particularly powerlifters, were talking about the Russian training system and all that. And I said, ‘That’s a load of B.S.!’ I trained for six weeks on the barbell squat, starting at 550 pounds, and

at the end of that time I did two reps with 905. And I only squatted once a week, built up to my maximum and stopped. Just once a week. Just to prove a point—to show that it’s not the Russian system; it’s not that drug, this drug or anything else. It comes down to your heart, your soul, your being and what knowl­ edge you have obtained.” —Ray Mentzer “Did you ever compare the calves of a sprinter to the calves of a dis­ tance runner? I use this example all the time, and it’s one of the best there is. The sprinter always has a large, muscular calf. The distance runner always has a stringy little calf —because he overtrains. He’s

chronically overtraining. And I would venture to say that the major­ ity of bodybuilders, top bodybuild­ ers today who are training more than two hours a day, would look like distance runners if they weren’t taking steroids. They’re so grossly overtrained. You just cannot recover from that much training.” —Mike Mentzer “Bodybuilders do this system: two days on/one day off. I always ask them what that means. They have no idea! They say, ‘Well, you’ve got to get your other bodyparts in!’ When it comes to energy cycles— the Krebs cycle—your body works as a unit. It can’t distinguish whether you’re working the thighs or the

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Heavy Duty

Their examples—and awe-inspiring physiques— motivate all of us to get into the gym and train hard.

Mike and Ray Mentzer Five Years Later

“The point is that we aren’t all that different physiologically. We’re all unique as individuals, but when a young man goes to medical school—or a young woman—and studies mus­ cle physiology, whose physiology is he or she studying? Everybody’s! We all have the same muscle physiolo­ gy. The biochemical changes leading to muscle growth in Mike Mentzer are the same as those in you. And it follows that the specific stimulus re­ quired to induce those biochemical changes leading to muscle growth in you and me is the same. “What is that stimulus? Highintensity muscular contraction! It’s universal; it’s a medical fact—not subject to debate. It’s as simple as that. What is true, and this is where the confusion comes in, is that we all grow at different rates. I might grow faster as a result of high-in­ tensity training, but we all will grow faster when we train more intensely. If you’re not gaining quickly now or if you’re not gaining at all, you’ll gain faster when you train more intensely. You may not gain as rap­ idly as I do, but then again, you may

© 2006 by Wayne R. Gallasch, www.gmv.com.au

pecs. As for the hormones that have got to be produced and the energy cycles that have got to be produced, it’s all the same. So you’ve got to let those things recover. If you don’t, you’re going back­ ward; you’re spinning your wheels. So it should be the other way round; it shouldn’t be three days on/one day off; it should be one day on/two or three days off!” —Ray Mentzer

gain more rapidly than I do. We all have different innate adaptabilities to exercise—age, existing physical condition, motivation—but even so, the underlying muscle physiology is the same. “The people who say, ‘We all have different training requirements,’ are entirely wrong. They’re ignorant of the basic facts regarding muscle physiology. If we all had different physiologies, medical science could not exist. A doctor would have to study each individual as a separate physiological entity and then learn all the intricacies of his physiology and devise medicine around them. We could not have medical science. The very fact that they could take the basic principles of physiology and apply them to the whole human race is what makes medical science a viable discipline. Make sense? Sounds damn good to me.” —Mike Mentzer

“You can overtrain on twice-a­ week training. You’ve always got to watch that burnout because it’s easy to do. You’ve got to have enough in­ sight into your own self. That’s why it’s advisable to keep journals. Once you start getting stale—which is apt to be about five weeks—you need a break. It’s hard to tell bodybuilders that. I train some bodybuilders now, and they just don’t want to listen to it. I have to force them to not train.” —Ray Mentzer “There’s a wide range of variation among individuals I’m seeing with regards to recovery ability—ability to tolerate intense exercise. What the individual has to work with is the application. Everybody needs intense contractions to stimulate growth. What the individual has to work with is just how much volume and frequency he can tolerate. I’m (continued on page 198) beginning

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“We will all grow faster when we train more intensely.”

Mike and Ray Mentzer Five Years Later

(continued from page 192) to suspect

this thing with frequency has a hell of a lot to do with it. Maybe train each bodypart once every two weeks. Why not? Progress should not be an unpredictable, irregular phenomenon if you’re training in­ tensely enough to stimulate growth. Growth is only stimulated during the workout. If you’re working out too long and too frequently, you will short-circuit the recovery and growth processes. Three sets could prove too much. I have no doubt— this is the direction that has to go in. This high-intensity stuff places a demand on the body that is unreal.” —Mike Mentzer

Recollections From the Champions The bodybuilding champions who took the time to get to know Mike and Ray were affected pro­ foundly by it. These men in par­ ticular have made it known how significant the Mentzer brothers

were to bodybuilding: “I will personally remember Mike and Ray as pioneers in the sport, strong proud men who stood up for what they believed in and didn’t worry about going against the grain. I will miss them!” —Dorian Yates “I picked up a few good ideas from Mike in the early ’80s regard­ ing training methodology, such as the importance of slow negatives and a unique one-legged calf raise technique done on the Nautilus multi-purpose machine that result­ ed in over a half inch of calf growth in one month in 1981. The death of Mike and Ray was terrible news for myself and the industry as a whole.” —Frank Zane “I was privileged to know and train with Mike and Ray. We all un­ derstood the meaning of training hard and getting worthwhile gains in a short period of time. Mike had

insight when it came to helping people in their training and writing a multitude of articles that helped everyone in the industry. He per­ sisted for years. His brother Ray was also a great asset to the sport, and his rugged physique set the stan­ dard for today’s monsters in body­ building.” —Casey Viator “The one thing that stands out in my mind regarding Mike—besides his just being a great bodybuild­ er—was his intelligence and a very high degree of integrity. Mike would never lie about anything, a rare commodity in this industry. I en­ joyed a lot of the same things Mike was interested in outside of bodybuilding, including philosophy. His deep interest in philosophy inspired me to study it even further. I have fond memories of just sitting back and discussing things with him for hours. Mike was a very kind person and a good friend.” —Boyer Coe

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Balik

Heavy Duty

Mike and Ray Mentzer Five Years Later

Heavy Duty

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Heavy Duty

“Everybody needs intense muscular contractions to stimulate growth.”

May 10, 2005 Squats: 225 x 7 Deadlifts: 210 x 6 Dips: 165 x 9 Pulldowns: 165 x 7 July 29, 2005 Squats: 405 x 10 Deadlifts: 315 x 8 Dips: 260 x 6 Pulldowns: 255 x 6

Comments From Heavy Duty Trainees

Balik

Balik

Before Heavy Duty Neck: 16 inches Chest: 42 inches

Mike and Ray Mentzer Five Years Later

A year after graduating from high school, I entered a bodybuilding competition, weighing in at 154 pounds. Soon after that I heard the name of Mike Mentzer and decided to look him up at www .MikeMentzer.com. I found a train­ ing routine of Mike’s, and my train­ ing partner and I couldn’t believe our eyes. The routine called for training only 20 minutes once a week! I said to my friend, “What have we got to lose? We’ll take our measurements and see if we lose any muscle. If we do, we will just start training more frequently.” After six months of training Heavy Duty HIT style, I entered another competition and weighed in at 168 pounds—a 14-pound gain of new muscle in six months of training only once a week. I ordered Mr. Mentzer’s books to get a better un­ derstanding of what was happening to my body. It made so much sense, and yet it was so easy to doubt be­ cause so many bodybuilders had recommended high volume. It has been six months since that last competition, and I currently weigh 175 pounds (a 21-pound gain in one year). I still work out only once a week, and it is with great excitement that I describe the details of the gains I made last summer while using Mr. Mentzer’s Consolidated Routine, as outlined in Heavy Duty II:

I’m now a certified personal train­ er, and I can honestly say that Mike Mentzer was my inspiration. Thanks to the knowledge I gained from his teachings and philosophy, my goal is to train people the best way for getting optimal results in an optimal time frame. As far as I’m concerned, Heavy Duty is the only way to train. —Stuart Schaefer, Colorado

I had always followed the tradi­ tional volume approach. I trained hard for five years and achieved minimal results, suffering numerous injuries, such as dislocated shoul­ ders and damaged collarbones. Since using Heavy Duty training, however, I’ve been growing incred­ ibly! People even ask me if I’m on steroids, and even I cannot believe the results. I am definitely advo­ cating Heavy Duty high-intensity principles to people who are serious about their training. Here are my measurements taken before starting Heavy Duty and after I’d been using it for three years:

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Russ Warner

Heavy Duty

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Heavy Duty

The Mentzers believed in developing the mind along with the body, a philosophy that resonates from their legacies. Arms: 14 inches Legs: 22 inches Calves: 13 inches After three years of Heavy Duty Neck: 19 inches Arms: 18 inches Legs: 28 inches Calves: 17 inches

My name is Doug Harris, and I was lucky enough to train at Spar­ tan Health Club in Maryland from 1977 to ’79. Spartan was a hardcore gym—not one of the shiny chrome-and-glass palaces of today but rather a warehouse where airconditioning was a fan by an open door next to the squat rack and intensity was the name of the game! We were gym rats, and Spartan was our temple. Mike and Ray were

training there in secret in the early a.m., developing the most scientifi­ cally proven and researched training method ever. The brothers Mentzer used a combination of machines and free weights to create the “bible of bodybuilding,” and I was there! Words can’t describe Mike and Ray Mentzer. I still remember the first time I watched the two huge, godlike figures moving inhuman weights with an intensity I’d never before seen. Power and intensity— I’m talking 2,000-pound vertical leg presses (all the weight in the gym), 1,000-pound bull squats, 105-pound flye presses supersetted with 405­ pound inclines, cheat barbell curls with close to 300 pounds. Abs were hit with 85 degree incline situps done with a 100-pound plate super­ setted with hanging leg raises done with a 25-pound dumbbell. Inhu­ man weights! Picture this: It’s late December 1978. Mike is now the reigning Mr. Universe with a perfect score of 300, and Ray is Mr. USA. Mike is visiting Ray from L.A. for the holidays—and

There’s a wide range of variation among individuals with regards to recovery ability.”

Mike and Ray Mentzer Five Years Later

Balik

I’m still making incredible gains using the Heavy Duty methods that Mentzer advocated. I often read how popular the Heavy Duty type of

training is becoming, and one can see through logical deduction and reasoning that we are able to better understand our nature, not just in the gym or in terms of our physi­ cal and materialistic selves, but in terms of our day-to-day living. Mentzer’s principles are fundamen­ tal, as we are able to practice and apply our logic and reason to im­ prove all areas of our lives, including our gains in the gym. Hence we can achieve the things that we strive for through a logical, rational approach. —Paul Finlayson United Kingdom

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Mike and Ray Mentzer Five Years Later

Balik

Heavy Duty

Spartan breathes new life as Mike and Ray are training together again. John Balik photographs me while I am spotting Mike on the Nautilus pullover machine. (Two of those awesome pics appear in Mike’s new book, and they’ve been published in IRON MAN a number of times.) At the age of 16, I’m spotting the heavyweight title winner of the Mr. Olympia! It’s now 1979, and Ray is training for the Mr. America at Spartan, while Mike trains for the Mr. Olym­ pia out in Los Angeles with Casey Viator. Ray is doing front barbell raises, and I can see the side striations in his tri’s; just like Mike, he is confident and huge. I tell him this, and he replies with a big smile, be­ cause he has now grown even larger than Mike! I spend most of my time being trained under Ray’s expert eye, and both Mike and Ray always treat me with respect and always have time to answer my questions. It’s now 1980, the year of Conan, and Mike and Ray are at the top of the world, Mike’s favored to win the Olympia, and Ray’s favored to win the Universe. Mike loses to Arnold in one of the most controverisal Olympias ever. Ray is denied the Mr. Universe title, a tough pill to swallow. The brothers Mentzer walk

away—not from competition but from politics. Their methods are still proven today, but back then, those two never got their just due. I’ve moved some decent weight for a 180-pound guy: 360-pound flat bench, 315-pound inclines, dips with 140 pounds strapped on, widegrip pulldowns with a 300-pound stack for eight. I’ve learned more than just how to train my body; I’ve also learned to train my mind. Mike used to always say, “Why watch reruns on TV? Pick up a book and think!” I still train today at 41 years of age, but not at the intensity I had been doing. I’ll tell you, though, Heavy Duty rules! It’s the most ef­ fective training method ever. If you work hard, the results are extremely impressive—but work hard, you must. They don’t call it Heavy Duty for nothing! —Doug Harris Vienna, VA I hope that the foregoing quotes and recollections have given you a new insight into the lives and legacies of Mike and Ray Mentzer. Joanne Sharkey and I would like to thank the thousands of fans who have shared and who continue to share with us their experiences with

Heavy Duty high-intensity training and what they learned from the teachings of the Mentzer brothers. The Roman philosopher Seneca once said, “Life, if thou knowest how to use it, is long enough.” That the legacies of Mike and Ray Mentzer are still going strong, still inspiring and positively influencing people from all walks of life, is a testament to the fact that the lives of the Men­ tzer brothers, albeit brief in chrono­ logical time, were well used indeed. Editor’s note: For a complete presentation of Mike Mentzer’s Heavy Duty training system, consult his books Heavy Duty II, High Inten­ sity 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 © 2006, John Little. All rights reserved. Mike Mentzer quotations provided courtesy of Joanne Sharkey and used with permission. IM

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CARB

CYCLING

The Competitive Bodybuilder’s SECRET to GETTING SHREDDED

Layout Design by Aldrich Bonifacio

by Tim Wescott

h dieting hen fo for a body­ b building contest, Iu use an arsenal of weapons to lose lo excess bodyfat—the major one being to cycle my carbs. The body uses carbohydrates as energy. They fuel our workouts and provide ample fuel for use through­ out the day. Carbs also replenish our glucose and glycogen stores to prevent fatigue. Carb cycling lets you eat carbs from clean sources without adding bodyfat and use fat more efficiently as fuel—as opposed to burning carbs and hard-earned muscle tissue for fuel.

carb tim­ ing can, however, cause them to be stored as fat. Carbs have gotten a bad rap lately because so many people are jumping on the low-carb bandwagon to make a buck. A few years back it was all about bashing fats, remember? What will it be next year, protein? Well, that’s not going to happen in the bodybuilding world—muscle is protein.

Junk Carbs Are Carbs the Enemy? Carbs aren’t the villain some peo­ ple make them out to be. Improper

Carbohydrates eaten in excess or at the wrong time of day can add adipose tissue to the body. They’re not a bad thing, though, if properly

incorporated into a diet. Eat the majority of your carbs early in the day and at the postworkout meal, tapering off on them as the day goes on. Never eat carbs late at night—opt for protein instead. Sugar-laden junk foods are always bad. They should have no place in a serious bodybuilder’s diet. If people eliminated or cut down junk food alone, they’d lose a lot of weight and look and feel much better for it. Giv­ ing up junk food, however, is usually too much to ask of most people. Junk food is just that—calorie-dense garbage, totally devoid of nutrients. (Keep telling yourself that!) When I devise a diet for trainees, I have them cut back on junk gradu­ ally, until it’s totally eliminated from the diet, except for the occasional www.ironmanmagazine.com \ JUNE 2006 207

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once, it’s easier to cheat again and again. I know that from my early attempts at getting cut up and from what I’ve learned training my clients. Remain steadfast on your mis­ sion to get lean, and you most definitely will.

treat. Once it’s gone from the diet, it’s usually not thought about again, except for the occasional craving.

Cycling Carbs When I cycle carbs, I follow three low-carb days with two higher-carb days, which aid in recovery and re­ plenish glycogen. That provides just the right amount of carbs for fuel. Need I remind you to always use carbs from clean foods, not junk? The most important thing about carb cycling, in my opinion, is too never go too high, except for the latter stages of the diet, and then only if necessary. We’ll discuss that aspect later. The formula I recommend as a

The Proper Attitude

(continued on page 212)

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Neveux \ Model: Bob Donnelly

Carbs themselves aren’t the villain. It’s the types of carbs you eat and the specific times that you eat them.

CARB CYCLING

When talking with bodybuilders and others who want to lose fat or increase muscular definition for competition purposes, I often find that they think they can still eat taboo foods in moderate portions while on a diet. Terms like refeed, cheat meal and cheat day almost always come up. Those ideas can be used to your advantage, but, in my opinion, you should wait until you’re pretty close to achieving your desired bodyfat-percentage goals before even thinking about them. Yes, folks, I’m old school and firmly believe that you have to make some sacrifices and give up all bad eating habits if you want to lose fat or win a contest. I typically diet down for a con­ test to approximately 3 to 5 per­ cent bodyfat. Did I accomplish that while cheating and eating the occasional junk treat? No! I suffered a bit here and there, but once I flip the switch in my mind to eat clean, that’s what I do. There can be no half measures. You must get into the proper mind-set and stay completely focused on achieving your goals. If you screw around and cheat

starting point, to deter­ mine just how many carbs you should eat on your highest day, is one to 1.5 grams of carbs per pound of bodyweight. Start out using the higher number and adjust according to your results. I believe it’s vital to keep a nutrition journal so you can chart progress and make adjustments. That takes the guesswork out of dieting, and you can look back on it to see how your body responded to certain tactics. It’s an invaluable tool. Note: Don’t include fibrous vegetables like broccoli and green beans in your total carb count for the day. They’re low in calories and carbs and are a good source of fiber, so they don’t count in carb cycling. Count only starchy complex carbs, such as those listed at the end of this article. Some tweaking will of course be necessary for most, as some of us are a bit more carb sensitive than others. Activity level, training-in­ tensity level, age and sex will deter­ mine how much you need to adjust things, but as a rule 200 grams of carbs as your highest amount is a good place to start. After a time you can decide whether you want to raise or lower them, based on your body’s feedback. It’s good to

(continued from page 208)

try the technique On your high-carbs well in advance day eat one of a contest to to 1.5 grams learn how your body responds of carbs per to it. pound of Below is an bodyweight. example of my five-day carb­ cycling method, using 200 grams of carbs as the highest amount:

Day 1: 150 grams

Essentially, what I do is drop 50 grams of carbs over the course of the first three days, then increase them by 75 grams for the next two days. Some people prefer to raise fat intake on the lower-carb days or increase fats on their days off from the gym to make up for the lost calories on the lower-carb days. I find that interferes with the fatburning process, as fat is a caloriedense macronutrient. I also believe that without the fat increase, you’ll burn more fat as fuel on the low-carb days, espe­ cially when training hard, dieting and doing cardiovascular workouts. Besides, protein and carbs aren’t calorie dense, and you must be in calorie deficit to lose bodyfat.

Day 2: 100 grams Day 3: 50 grams Day 4: 125 grams Day 5: 200 grams Repeat cycle throughout the course of the diet.

On low-carb days keep your fat intake down too, and you’ll burn more bodyfat during cardio work.

Neveux \ Model: Dr. Dan Gwartney

CARB CYCLING

Reaching a Plateau Eventually, you’ll more than likely reach a fat-burning plateau. That’s the time to tweak the plan. The body resists change, and it eventually adapts to any stressors put upon it, so after a time you may stop burning fat as fuel. One way of revving the metabo­ lism is to suddenly have three to four high-carb days in a row. That can resurrect the fat-burning pro­ cess. Or you could go in the other direction—try zero carbs for three days and three days only. That can accomplish the same thing as three to four high-carb days, but it’s more radical and works well only for those who are very carb sensitive. If you try it, don’t stay at zero carbs for any longer than three days. Also, never go below 50 grams of carbs throughout the entire diet— except for the occasional three-day

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Complex carbs fuel your workouts, but you may not need as many grams as you think.

zero-carb period. Any lower, and your thinking will become cloudy. The brain needs a certain amount of carbs to function.

Complex Carbs These are the best sources of clean carbs to use when dieting in general and when cycling carbs:

Sweet potatoes Brown rice Oatmeal Cream of Wheat Grits I eat no bread or dairy products of any kind when dieting. Neither should you. The only time for sim­ ple carbs is the postworkout meal, when you should take in 50 grams of dextrose with a whey-and-protein shake immediately after training. You add the dextrose carbs to your daily total be­ cause even though the body uses them at the postworkout feeding, they’re still carbs and should count toward your total for the day.

CARB CYCLING

Don’t be too concerned about the glycemic index of foods. Instead, be more concerned with the total carbs you eat for the day. [Editor’s note: For more on carb cycling and abripping nutrition, visit www .X-tremeLean.com.]

The only time to eat simple carbs is at the postworkout meal, when you should take in 50 grams of dextrose with a whey-and­ protein shake immediately after training.

Don’t be too concerned about the glycemic index of the foods. In­ stead, be more concerned with total carbs you eat for the day. [Editor’s note: For a complete postworkout mix designed for maximizing the anabolic window, see page 219 or visit www.X-Stack.com.) I also recommend high-intensity cardio while dieting [see page 226], and a high protein intake through­ out the diet. That will help you retain the hard-earned muscle that you’ve garnered from your training. Editor’s note: You can visit Tim Wescott’s Web site at www.geocities .com/timbuktuweights. His forum is http://timwescott.proboards18 .com/index.cgi. IM

Tim Wescott.

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IRON MAN Research Team IRON MAN Research Team

Bodybuilding’s Strongest Fat

Burner?

Methyl Ri ppeds Unique Compounds Can Get You Shredded 216 JUNE 2006 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

by the Editors

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IRON MAN Research Team

h release of the new he ffat burner Methyl R Ripped has stirred up q quite a bit of excite­ m ment among body­ b builders and trainers. T That’s probably be­ ccause its highly potent fat burning fo fat-burning formula is engineered to work in the same way that many of the popular (yet illegal) body­ building fat-loss drugs are known to work. As a matter of fact, the scientists behind the Methyl Ripped formula studied the mechanisms of fat-loss drugs—such as clenbuterol, T3 (thyroid hormone) and DNP (2,4­ dinitrophenol)—before formulating this cutting-edge product. Methyl Ripped has only been on the mar­ ket a short while, but it’s become a favorite of bodybuilders across the country just about as quickly as it incinerates fat. Many are saying that it’s bodybuilding’s strongest fat burner.

T

the fat-burning process and is completely different and independent from other compounds that only directly stimulate beta-adrenergic receptors.

7

Seven Exclusive

Complexes to Enhance Fat

Burning

The blood and guts of the Methyl Ripped formula is a complex called Clenadrine, and it’s designed to work the way clenbuterol and ephedrine work. The compounds found in this one-of-a-kind complex have been scientifically shown to stimulate the release of noradrenaline.13,14,15,16 The noradrenaline then

binds to beta-adrenergic recep­ tor sites on the surface of fat cells, which results in a cascade of events that increases fat burning. Still, here’s much more to the Methyl Ripped formula than noradrena­ line stimulation because, just like clenbuterol, Methyl Ripped also has anticatabolic properties. CC-Vol, another complex found in Methyl Ripped, contains com­ pounds known to decrease cortisol production, and we all know how cortisol damages muscle.17,18,19,20,21 It’s critical to bodybuilders because the biggest downfall of dieting is muscle loss. Bodybuilding is about building muscle and losing fat—not losing muscle!

Eight New Fat-Loss

Ingredients Never Before

Seen in Bodybuilding

8

The Methyl Ripped formula isn’t like anything else available on the market today. To begin with, it contains eight new compounds never before seen in the bodybuild­ ing industry: di-caffeine alpha­ ketoglutarate, di-caffeine malate, Salix matsudana, isohumulones, S-allyl-L-cysteine, esterified green tea extract, amentoflavone-7,4’,4”’­ trimethyl ether, and 4-(4-hydroxy­ phenyl) butan-2-one (raspberry ketone). With the results of several clinical trials and piles of researchbased literature, there appears to be overwhelming scientific support for including these compounds in the ultimate fat-burning formu­ la.1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11 Take for example 4-(4-hydroxy­ phenyl) butan-2-one. In a clinical trial published in the prestigious journal Life Science, it significantly increasd norepinephrine-induced lipolysis associated with the translo­ cation of hormone-sensitive lipase from the cytosol to lipid droplets in fat cells.12 Understanding the physiological mechanism can be a bit confusing. What’s important to know is that it’s a critical step in www.ironmanmagazine.com \ JUNE 2006 217

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IRON MAN Research Team

Yet another complex in the Methyl Ripped formula, Betadrol, was included to overcome the shortcoming of clenbuterol, which is beta-receptor downgraded. If the beta-receptors are overstimulated, receptor downgrade can occur (as it does with clenbuterol use). The Betadrol complex in Methyl Ripped, however, is designed to support receptor regeneration to help over­ come the problem, allowing your fat-burning signal to be received and processed until you’re shredded to the bone. Bodybuilding’s strongest fat burn­ er also includes the Cytot3 complex, which is designed to stimulate thy­ roid hormone production. For years scientists have touted that as a key mechanism in increasing metabo­

lism and losing fat.22,23,24,25,26 Methyl Ripped’s DNP-X complex is designed to work in the same way as DNP, which has an uncoupling effect on oxidative phosphorylation in your cells’ mitochondria, thus allowing energy to be dissipated as heat (i.e., increased thermogen­ esis). The major problem with DNP, however, is that it has no negativefeedback mechanism, which is why so many people overdosed on it. Obviously, that’s not a good thing, as bodybuilders’ core temperatures became dangerously high. One of

the compounds found in the DNP-X complex, S-allyl-L­ cysteine, has been shown in clinical trials to help increase uncoupling protein content in fat tissue as well as to increase noradrenaline release, but without the negative side effects of unregulated DNP use.27 The cyclo-AMP complex included in the Methyl Ripped formula increases cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) to further en­ hance the fat-burning process.28,29,30 Cyclic AMP is a second messenger used for intracellular signal trans-

References 1

Dulloo, A.G., et al. (1999). Efficacy of a green tea extract rich in catechin polyphenols and caffeine in increasing 24-h energy expenditure and fat oxidation in humans. Am J Clin Nutr. 70(6):1040-5. 2 Nagao, T., et al. (2005). Ingestion of a tea rich in catechins leads to a reduction in body fat and malondialdehyde-modified LDL in men. Am J Clin Nutr. 81(1):122-9. 3 Arciero, P.J., et al. (1995). Effects of caffeine ingestion on NE kinetics, fat oxidation, and energy expenditure in younger and older men. Am J Physiol. 268(6):E1192-8. 4 Dulloo, A.G., et al.(1989). Normal caffeine consumption: influence on thermogenesis and daily energy expenditure in lean and postobese human volunteers. Am J Clin Nutr. 49(1):44-50. 5 Han, L., et al. (2003). Anti-obesity action of Salix Matsudana leaves (part 1). Anti-obesity action by polyphenols of Salix matsudana in high-fat-diet treated rodent animals. Phytotherapy Research. 17:1188-1194 6 Han, L., et al. (2003). Anti-obesity action of Salix matsudana leaves (part 2). Isolation of anti-obesity effectors from polyphenol fractions of Salix matsudana. Phytotherapy Research. 17:1195-1198 7 Morimoto, C., et al. (2005). Anti-obese action of raspberry ketone. Life Science. 77:194-204 8 Yajima, H., et al. (2005). Prevention of diet-induced obesity by dietary isomerized hop extract containing isohumulones, in rodents. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 29(8):991-7 9 Oi, Y., et al. (1999). Allyl-containing sulfides in garlic increase uncoupling protein content in brown adipose tissue and noradrenaline and adrenaline secretion in rats. J Nutr. 129(2):336-42. 10 Beretz, A., et al. (1986). Inhibition of human platelet cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase and of platelet aggregation by a hemisynthetic flavonoid, amentoflavone hexaacetate. Biochem Pharmacol. 35(2):257-62. 11 Saponara, R., et al. (1998). Inhibition of cAMP-phosphodiesterase by biflavones of Ginkgo biloba in rat adipose tissue. J Nat Prod. 61(11):1386-7. 12 Morimoto, C., et al. (2005). Anti-obese action of raspberry ketone. Life Science. 77:194-204 13 Davis, J.M., et al. (2003). Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 284(2):R399-404. 14 Han, L., et al. (2003). Anti-obesity action of Salix Matsudana leaves (part 1). Anti-obesity action by polyphenols of Salix matsudana in high-fat-diet treated rodent animals. Phytotherapy Research. 17:1188-1194. 15 Han, L., et al. (2003). Anti-obesity action of Salix matsudana leaves (part 2). Isolation of anti-obesity effectors from polyphenol fractions of Salix matsudana. Phytotherapy Research. 17:1195-1198.

16 Pelletier, C., et al. (2005). Effects of encapsulated green tea extract and caffeine on 24h energy expenditure and fat oxidation in men. Br J Nutr. 94(3):432-6. 17 Bouic, P.J., et al. (1999). Plant sterols and sterolins: a review of their immune-modulating properties. Altern Med Rev. 4(3):170-7. 18 Monteleone, P., et al. (1992). Blunting by chronic phosphatidyl­ serine administration of the stress-induced activation of the hypo­ thalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis in healthy men. Eur J Clin Pharmacol. 42(4):385-8. 19 Archana, R., et al. (1999). Antistressor effect of Withania som­ nifera. J Ethnopharmacol. 64:91-3. 20 Mishra, L.C., et al. (2000). Scientific basis for the therapeutic use of Withania somnifera (ashwagandha): a review. Altern Med Rev. 5(4):334-46. 21 Monteleone, P., et al. (1990). Effects of phosphatidylserine on the neuroendocrine response to physical stress in humans. Neuroendo­ crinology. 52(3):243-8. 22 Bobyleva, V., et al. (1997). The effects of the ergosteroid 7-oxo­ dehydroepiandrosterone on mitochondrial membrane potential: possible relationship to thermogenesis. Arch Biochem Biophys. 341(1):122-8. 23 Marwah, P., et al. (2001). Ergosteroids IV: synthesis and biologi­ cal activity of steroid glucuronosides, ethers, and alkylcarbonates. Steroids. 66(7):581-95. 24 Kar, A., et al. (2002). Relative efficacy of three medicinal plant extracts in the alteration of thyroid hormone concentrations in male mice. J Ethnopharmacol. 81:281-285. 25 Panda, S., et al. (1999). Gugulu (Commiphora mukul) induces triiodothyronine production: possible involvement of lipid peroxida­ tion. Life Sci. 65(12):PL137-41. 26 Tripathi, Y.B., et al. (1988). Thyroid stimulatory action of (Z)-gug­ gulsterone: mechanism of action. Planta Med. 54:271-7. 27 Oi, Y., et al. (1999). Allyl-containing sulfides in garlic increase un­ coupling protein content in brown adipose tissue and noradrenaline and adrenaline secretion in rats. J Nutr. 129(2):336-42. 28 Beretz, A., et al. (1986). Inhibition of human platelet cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase and of platelet aggregation by a hemisyn­ thetic flavonoid, amentoflavone hexaacetate. Biochem Pharmacol. 35(2):257-62. 29 Georgieva, Z.H., et al. (1989). [Study of the effect of sclareol gly­ col diterpene on the 3’,5’-AMP level] [Article in Bulgarian]. Eksp Med Morfol. 1989;28(3):1-7. 30 Insel, P.A., et al. (2003). Forskolin as a tool for examining adeny­ lyl cyclase expression, regulation, and G protein signaling. Cell Mol Neurobiol. 23(3):305-14.

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duction, such as transferring the effects of hormones like adrenaline. Basically, cAMP is the messenger system used for fat burning in the body. By increasing cAMP, you can increase fat burning. Not only does Methyl Ripped increase cAMP, but it also inhibits phosphodiesterase, which is the enzyme that breaks down cAMP. When the enzyme is in­ hibited, the life of cAMP is extended and fat burning is enhanced.

Rapid Gels—Methyl Ripped’s Fast-Acting Delivery Technology The new fat burner’s advanced formula is delivered in the form of Rapid Gels, which are specially designed to release the active ingre­ dients into your system as fast as possible. In fact, Rapid Gels release up to 200 percent faster than many traditional gelatin-based capsules

that are often referred to as liq­ uid caps. Within minutes after a serving of Methyl Ripped is taken, the active fat-fight­ ing compounds are going to work. Not only do Rapid Gels expedite the absorption of all ingredients, but this one-of-a-kind technology is also intended to enhance the overall bioavailability of ingredients. So is Methyl Ripped bodybuilding’s strongest fat burner? It was developed by the NxCare Research Team, the very same experts who created the extremely popular cell volumizer Anavol,

along with numerous other leading supple­ ments that bodybuild­ ers worldwide have come to rely on. The only real way to determine Methyl Ripped’s fat-burning power is to try it. And we’ve made it easier than ever. You can get two bottles for only $79.95 (plus shipping), a savings of $40 off the retail price of $59.95 per bottle. Plus, we’ll throw in the book Fat to Muscle 2, a $14.95 value! Call Home Gym Warehouse at (800) 447-0008 and ask for the Methyl Ripped Spe­ cial, and start getting shredded for summer. For more information on Methyl Ripped and NxCare, log on to www.NxCare.com. IM

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t a b Com Cardio

Aerobic Work With a Difference— Challenging, Satisfying and Radically Effective by Stuart McRobert Photography by Michael Neveux

I

t a common question: “To combine cardio and weight t’s training, what kind of aerobic work should I do, and t how much is enough?” The answer varies, depending h oon individual conditioning and fitness, age, recuperative aabilities, overall lifestyle demands, fitness goals, motivation, nutritional intake, sleeping habits and more. What can be too n much for some people may not be enough for others. For example, if you’re new to training or coming back after a long layoff and if you’re more than 40 years old, you’re going to have a different exercise tolerance from someone of the same age who’s been training consistently for 25 years. Just two gentle 45-minute weight-training workouts and 15 minutes twice a week of moderate aerobic work will be enough to wipe out most 45-year-old novices. Start novices off very gently on both the weight and aerobic fronts, and slowly pick up the workload and effort levels over time— and six months later they’ll be hammering out two intensive 60-minute weight-training workouts and two relatively vigorous 30-to-40-minute cardio sessions each week. The human body is wonderfully accommodating and can adapt to great increases in workload and intensity, but only if the increases in load and effort are gradual.

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What some people interpret as overtraining is really only a lack of conditioning. Doing too much too soon is the classic error in all types of training. It produces not only a negative physical reaction but in most cases a negative mental reac­ tion as well—“This is too much for me. I can’t continue this.” You need both physical and mental adapta­ tion from a gradual and progressive increase in workload. A basic template of two abbrevi­ ated weight-training workouts per week (usually two different sets of exercises), along with two or at most three aerobic sessions each week, will work for most bodybuild­ ers—once again providing all the components of recovery are satisfied and as long as the program is built up from a gentle start. Naturally, if you cut corners on the sleep and nutrition fronts, you’ll be unable to recover fully from your training, and overtraining will result. As far as aerobic training goes, you don’t have to become a profes­ sional or semiprofessional athlete to improve your cardiovascular fitness substantially. Two or three sessions of 30 minutes or so of aerobic work that keeps you slightly breathless— during which you can still hold a conversation, albeit haltingly—is enough to produce great benefit and isn’t physically tough to do. Any duration and frequency much more than that is training for rea­ sons other than pure cardiovascular fitness. It will probably seriously compete with your weight training, and you risk compromising your progress in strength and physique.

McRobert’s Approach to Cardio The foregoing is in essence the approach described in my book Beyond Brawn. It’s a simplified ap­ proach. There’s a lot more to aerobic training, however, than the simpli­ fied approach. For most people most of the time, the simplified approach is a fine option. That’s not to say it’s the optimal approach. The most important factor in aerobic training is consistency. No matter how “optimal” an aerobic program may be, if it’s not done week in and

Model: Adrian Janicke

Combat Cardio

Shorter, more intense cardio sessions can jack up metabolism.

week out, it’s not going to do you much good over the long term. So whichever approach you choose, it should be one you enjoy and keep up indefinitely. Most bodybuilders aren’t inter­ ested in achieving very high levels of aerobic conditioning. In any case high levels of aerobic conditioning aren’t necessarily synonymous with good health. The training involved in developing a very high level of conditioning will almost certainly compromise your strength and phy­ sique progress. “Moderate” aerobic conditioning yields lots of health benefits. For healthy bodybuilders who are mentally and physically up to the task, the alternative is shorter but more intensive aerobic work—hard

aerobics. That’s good news for body­ builders who find lower-intensity, longer-duration aerobic work so unchallenging that motivation is hard to sustain. Another bonus is that the hard aerobics requires less time than the less-stress but longerduration approach. Short-but-hard aerobic work produces benefits out of proportion to the limited duration of the work, due to the increased aerobic capac­ ity it produces. Improved aerobic capacity appears to be the key to substantial cardiovascular health benefits; it’s far more dependent on intensity of work than duration. Remember, if your cardio work isn’t intense enough to cause an adap­ tive change in the cardiorespira­ tory system, you won’t produce an

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Combat Cardio

Model: Jeff Dwelle

The training involved in developing a very high level of conditioning will almost certainly compromise your strength and physique progress. Moderate aerobic conditioning is best for bodybuilders.

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increase in aerobic capacity—a fact confirmed by peer-reviewed research.1 For hard aerobics, after warm­ ing up, you need to push your­ self hard (at up to 85 percent of your maximum heart rate) for only four minutes or so to pro­ duce the appropriate stimulus. You could do continuous work or interval training—say, alter­ nating 20 seconds of very hard work with 10 seconds of rest, perhaps eights “sets” of each. With a warmup of about five minutes and a cooldown period of similar duration, the whole session could be a mere 14 min­ utes. Most people are likely to find that interval training makes it tricky to stay at the required heart rate. Before you try the in­ terval method, spend a couple of months on the steady approach. Progressively work up to the hard aerobics. Start at 70 per­ cent and pick up the intensity gradually over several weeks to 80 percent, performing the aerobic work twice a week. After a few weeks at 80 percent, go up to 85 percent. But you must be free of any risk factors such as hypertension. If you’re a novice at exercising and/or in poor cardiovascular shape, invest in at least a month or two of lower-intensity, longer-duration aerobics to condition your body for something more rigorous. You should also get the consent of your physician before doing any type of hard aerobics, just in case you have risk factors you’re not aware of that would preclude such a stressful way of exercising. What about increasing aero­ bic fitness? “There doesn’t seem to be any relationship between duration of training and increas­ ing fitness,” Richard Winett, Ph.D., of Virginia Tech’s Center for Research in Health Behavior in Blacksburg told me. “Rather, intensity as defined by percent of oxygen consumption—more easily conveyed as a percentage of maximum heart rate—seems more important. So there’s really no reason to start with longer-

duration easier stuff unless you’re a novice and/or in very poor aero­ bic condition.” The commonly used age-adjust­ ed maximum heart rate (220 minus your age) may not be accurate in some cases. If you overestimate your maximum heart rate, the 85 percent level could end up work­ ing you too hard, which might be dangerous. On the other hand, if you underestimate your maximum heart rate, you’re unlikely to train intensively enough to produce big benefits from brief bouts of aero­ bic work. You may want to take the guesswork out of your calculations and actually discover your maxi­ mum heart rate with the help of a cardiologist or other trained medi­ cal professional. Since working at a specific heart rate is critical, a reliable heart rate monitor is essential so you know precisely and immediately what rate your heart is beating at. It’s vital that you know right away if you’re working too hard or not hard enough and respond accord­ ingly. You can get a basic heart-rate monitor for about $50. Considered as an investment in your health that you’ll use for many years, it’s a very small cost. With lower-level, longer-dura­ tion aerobic work, immediate recognition of your heart rate isn’t essential. To find out your heart rate, just stop what you’re doing, count your heart rate for 15 sec­ onds and then multiply that num­ ber by four. As with weight training, going beyond a certain level of aerobic work at a sufficient intensity is not better and may even be counter­ productive. In addition, the vol­ ume of work required to stimulate substantial improvement appears to be a lot less than the exercise world commonly leads us to be­ lieve. Especially with hard aero­ bics, two stints per week may be quite sufficient to produce plenty of health benefits. Three sessions could be overkill. If you want a third session, make it the lower-in­ tensity, longer-duration style. As your conditioning and fitness improve, you’ll need to gradually increase your pace of work (or (continued on page 236) resistance)

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Combat Cardio in order to produce a given percentage of your maximum heart rate. For example, after a couple of months or so of adaptation, the pace or workload that used to produce your 85 per­ cent rate will become just a transi­ tion during your warmup on the way to the higher level of work that you need to produce your new 85 percent rate. You may want to adopt the ap­ proach recommended by Dr. Winett and incorporate hard aerobics twice a week as your only cardio training: graded warmup of about five minutes, the prescriptive four minutes at 85 percent of maximum heart rate and a graded cooldown of at least four minutes. To quote Dr. Winett: “Separate this kind of very pre­ scriptive cardiovascular training [the ‘hard’ aerobics] from leisure pursuits and recreation for fun and burning calories. Easy walking, hiking and swimming, yard work, sports, etc., fill that bill and have a lot of physical and psychological benefits. “Alternatively, a person could combine them. For example, some­ where within a 45-minute walk, systematically do a graded warmup for several minutes and then walk stairs or a hill at the designated prescriptive heart rate for several minutes; then do a cooldown and continue the walk. “I think for a person who does resistance training, it’s a huge mis­ take to use cardiovascular training for calorie expenditure and fat loss. That really requires long duration, and the data on fat loss is this: Without prolonged higher-inten­ sity training there really isn’t much evidence for fat loss from cardio­ vascular training—and that kind of training will surely compromise strength. A better prescription is weight training for muscle mass, brief cardiovascular training for fitness, modest caloric reduction [through diet] and more caloric expenditure through recreation. “If people want to get a higher level of fitness, it won’t be in the fre­ quency or duration part; it will de­ pend upon their responsiveness to cardiovascular training (which has huge individual differences), how

Model: Dan Decker

(continued from page 231)

Gradually increase your pace as your conditioning improves. hard they want to push themselves and whether they start prioritizing cardiovascular work over weights. “Doing some decent cardiovas­ cular training shouldn’t be optional but part of the exercise equation. The notion that it will compromise strength and muscular development really applies only to long-duration, very frequent and fairly intensive training.” What specific type of aerobic work you do will be influenced by how demanding you want the work to be, how much aerobic fitness you want, whether you want to burn a lot of calories and what condition you’re in at the time. Accurately assess your current condition, de­ termine your goals, and then take it from there. While you shouldn’t underesti­ mate your body’s ability to adapt to

training, don’t expect the impossible. You won’t be able to handle six two-hour weight-training sessions a week along with an hour of aero­ bics daily unless you’re a genetic marvel. There’s a limit, and for most hardgainers the basic template of two abbreviated weight-training sessions and two or at most three aerobic sessions each week is a good rule of thumb. Progress to that level over time, if you’re a novice, and fine-tune the weight-training and aerobic work to suit you. Whether you perform aerobic work after your weight work to minimize your number of train­ ing days or perform it on off days is an individual matter. Try it both ways, and see which works best for you—in terms of both results and convenience. If you perform the cardio work (continued on page 240)

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Combat Cardio It doesn’t take a lot of aerobic work to get substantial cardiovascular benefits.

Do your cardio work after your weighttraining session.

Especially after a stint of hard aerobics, be sure to perform a graded cooldown. Take as long as you need to wind down gradually from the high heart rate to a point where your breathing has returned to normal. So during the cooldown you continue to exercise but at a diminishing intensity over four or more minutes. Editor’s note: Excerpted, with permission, from Further Brawn by Stuart McRobert, a 320-page book that includes more than 230 ques­ tions and answers on bodybuilding. McRobert is also the author of the new book Build Muscle, Lose Fat, Look Great, available from Home Gym Warehouse, (800) 447-0008 or www.Home-Gym.com.

Model: Tamer Elshahat

Reference

after your weight training, I recommend you don’t do them back to back but wait at least 20 minutes or so. That will help you to do justice to the aerobic work. Before each aerobic session al­ ways take a few minutes to warm up, to enable your body to adjust to the exercise. To do that, start your chosen aerobic activity at a very gentle pace and slowly pick up the effort so that after five minutes or so you’re right at the level of effort you’ve planned for that session— i.e., moderate intensity (that keeps you only slightly breathless) for 30 minutes or so or much higher inten­ sity for just four minutes.

1 Winett, R.A., and Carpinelli, R.N. (2000). Examining the validity of ex­ ercise guidelines for the prevention of morbidity and all-cause mortality. Ann Behav Med. 22:159–178. IM

Doing weights first can help you tap into fat stores faster during your cardio.

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Model: Tamer Elshahat

(continued from page 236)

Legends of Bodybuilding

The Golden Man, Part 2

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by Rod Labbe

n Part I of “The Golden Man,” Larry Scott reminisced about bodybuilding in the early 1960s and how it propelled him from Pocatello, Idaho, to the ’62 Mr. America competition and international fame. In the conclusion of this Legends of Bodybuilding interview, Larry candidly reveals how success can cut both ways. Though twice named Mr. Olympia—in 1965 and ’66—and on top of the muscle world, he heard another voice call­ ing. When he answered, his life— and ours—were forever changed. IM: By 1963 you and Joe Wei­ der had formed a tight bond. LS: Joe’s been instrumental in my career as well as my life, and I can’t say enough good things about him. Once he’s gone, bodybuilding will have lost its greatest pioneer. IM: Between ’64 and ’67, Joe put the focus squarely on Larry Scott and created a legend. An exciting time? LS: Legend is a word open to interpretation [laughs]. I actually stood by a busy magazine rack one day, and not a single person recog­ nized me—even though the news­ stand sold Mr. America and Muscle Builder. So much for legendary!

Illustration by Larry Eklund

IM: While all this craziness was unfurling, you appeared with Frankie and Annette as “Rock” in “Muscle Beach Party.” How’d that come to pass? LS: Pure happenstance. Right place, right time. A call came in to Vince’s [Gym, owned by Vince Gi­ ronda] that American International Pictures needed bodybuilders for their next beach-party movie. A bunch of us went down, and they asked us to take off our shirts and pose. End of audition. I spent the next six weeks on the beach, sur­ rounded by gorgeous ladies, and I got paid for it. What more could a young bodybuilder want? he b IM: You were easily the besty’s mu built guy in Jack Fanny’s muscle troupe. ckles as Jack LS: Ha, ha! Don Rickles Fanny! So funny!! We wore pink g cape shorts with matching capes. Ouch!

IM: I liked how you guys kicked butt during the climac­ tic fight scene. LS: We didn’t fake any of it! The surfer boys hated the muscle guys, so we let off steam with that fight. Even the director got in a few good punches! IM: What lessons did losing the ’63 Universe to Harold Poole teach you? LS: Number one, and I can’t emphasize this enough, never be­ lieve your own publicity. The hype said I was unbeatable, and I fool­ ishly bought into it. Harold’s victory taught me to avoid complacency, especially in bodybuilding. At our level of competition any of the top guys could’ve surged ahead—we were that good. IM: Did the loss accentuate your inner doubts? LS: A better question: What didn’t accentuate them? I may have been Mr. America and a Universe front-runner, but inside I was a mess—questioning, wondering and searching. The cycle went on and on.

IM: In ’64 you bounced back even stronger. LS: The beat down is a great mo­ tivator. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. It rattled my cage. All th through ’64, I worked with one goal in mind: to win the Universe. I left no thread hanging—like I’d done for the America, every angle would be looked at and carefully scrutinized. On the big night I waited a while www.ironmanmagazine.com \ JUNE 2006 243

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“Reaching the top is a strange feeling, almost like a hazy dream.” after they called my name. Slowly, as if unsure, I walked out, head down, pausing before stepping onto the posing platform. People were yell­ ing, “C’mon, Larry, you can do it!” I nodded and smiled. It was just them and me, and I wanted to establish a connection. IM: Were you nervous? LS: Not one bit. I lifted both arms overhead, body in an S, and looked up at an angle. The line from head to body was smooth and fluid. I listened carefully to the audience; if they reacted positively to certain poses, I held them longer. My rou­ tine ended with a twisting side pose that shifted 180 degrees to another twisting pose. I did a straddle shot, swung my arms around to a stand­ ing position and went back to the beginning. IM: A wonderful example of performance art. It snagged you the title! LS: [Grins] I wanted to go out like

gangbusters. Winning the Universe meant your competitive career was over, so I gave it my all. IM: But not quite over—1965 would see one very important title added to Larry Scott’s mus­ cle résumé. LS: Mr. Olympia, yes. Entirely Joe’s concept. He envisioned a kind of masters contest that would bring together all the retired Mr. Universe titleholders. Not everyone liked that idea. Bill Pearl, I remember, wanted no part of it. IM: Who could’ve known? You were standing on the cusp of history. LS: We were blissfully unaware. To us the Mr. Olympia was just an­ other show. IM: You went into it as the front-runner, and once again, Harold Poole was your numberone challenger. LS: Harold possessed excellent

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Photographs courtesy of Gene Mozée

THE GOLDEN MAN, PART 2

THE GOLDEN MAN, PART 2 Larry Scott’s Magazine Covers

Larry Scott’s Contest History

1959

Mr. Idaho (AAU)

Muscle Builder, November ’60 Mr. America, September ’61

1960 Mr. California (AAU), Winner

Mr. California (AAU), Most Muscular, 1st

Mr. Los Angeles (AAU), 3rd

Mr. Los Angeles (AAU), Most Muscular, 3rd

Mr. America, February ’62 Mr. America, October ’62 Muscle Builder, December ’62

1961

Mr. Pacific Coast (AAU), Winner

Mr. Pacific Coast (AAU), Most Muscular, 1st

Muscle Builder, June ’63 Mr. America, March ’64 Muscular Development, April ’64

1962 Mr. America (IFBB), Winner

Mr. America (IFBB), Medium, 1st

Muscle Builder, June ’64 Mr. America, November ’64

1963 Mr. Universe (IFBB), Medium, 1st

Iron Man, December ’64 Muscle Builder, March ’65

1964 Mr. Universe (IFBB), Winner Mr. Universe (IFBB), Medium, 1st

Strength & Health, April ’65

Muscular Development, June ’65

1965 Mr. Olympia (IFBB), Winner

Mr. America, August ’65 Mr. America, February ’66

1966

Mr. Olympia (IFBB), Winner

Muscular Development, July ’66

1979 Canada Diamond Pro Cup (IFBB), 9th

Grand Prix Vancouver (IFBB), Did not place

Muscle Builder, October ’66 Muscle Builder, December ’66 Muscle Builder, July ’67 Muscle Builder, August ’68 Mr. America, February ’69 Muscle Training Illustrated, February ’69 Muscle Builder, June ’69 Muscular Development, March ’70 Muscular Development, November ’71 Muscular Development, December ’72 Muscle Builder, August ’78 Muscle & Fitness, November ’82 Muscle & Fitness, May ’88 genetics and knew a thing or two about balanced muscle. Before we went onstage, I looked at him, he looked at me, and I immediately felt a pang of insecurity. He’d come in rock hard and ripped! IM: Yeah, well, Poole might’ve been a formidable opponent, but the ’65 Olympia was your night, Larry. How’d it feel, knowing you’d won?

LS: Thrilled, of course. Winning does have a tendency to lift one’s spirits. IM: Muscle Builder, Mr. America, Muscular Development and Strength & Health went ab-

it was very superficial. I never felt truly comfortable, really. The people conducting the interviews weren’t interested in what my heart felt or said. They wanted to hear about

solutely bonkers for you after that. LS: Reaching the top is a strange feeling, al­ most like a hazy dream. I did photo shoots and interviews, made a few more movies and even started a small mail-order business. New and exciting prospects presented themselves almost daily. IM: When you did those interviews, were you basically playing a part—the dignified Mr. Olympia, Larry Scott? Or would you let loose? LS: Gee, let me think. Yeah. Yeah,

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bodybuilding, not feelings. IM: And now? Is your guard down? LS: It’s down. And there’s a good reason. You and I have worked together several times, my friend. We’ve established a strong emo­ tional bond, quite unusual in the realm of bodybuilding journalism. It flows from our mutual respect and admiration, I think. You’re simply a great guy! Here’s to many more years of a rewarding relationship. IM: Ahem! Okay, I’m cool, I’m cool. Did you plan from the getgo to defend your Olympia title? LS: Yes, but only once. My win­ ning streak couldn’t go on forever, and after Joe introduced me to Ser­ gio Oliva backstage, I saw a new era dawning. IM: Ever regret the decision to retire so early? LS: I’ve never regretted any body­ building decision, not even retire­ ment at age 26. Wish I could say the same thing about life! IM: Reaction to your retire­ ment ranged from anger to utter astonishment. I couldn’t believe it—my hero, gone! Nah, had to be a rumor. LS: I’d been competing for 10 years and was feeling the strain. Bodybuilding stardom is an illusion. Fame is fleeting. It can’t be touched or held and won’t console you when you’re down. I was looking at the

prospect of a good marriage, and I’m a firm believer that happiness is found in family. IM: Is that about when you struck up your friendship with Bill McArdle? LS: What a character! I met him one day at the beach. He’d just breezed in from Texas. Bill was a nice kid, gracious and respectful, and had a lot on the ball. We hit it off right away and enjoyed each other’s company. He was married, and I was married. Then, I wanted to break up with my wife, and I— IM: Hold on! You don’t mean breaking up with Rachel? LS: Oh, no. I was married before, and it’s all because I got my hair cut by Jay Sebring. IM: Jay Sebring. Murdered with Sharon Tate, right? LS: Right. A tragedy. Jay said I had a great body, but my hair looked terrible. So he cut it for nothing, and the change was amazing! I couldn’t believe the man in that mirror was me. I felt like a whole new person. I went to a party one night and danced with every available lady there. A Japanese girl walked up and said, “Don’t you want to dance with me?” Well, sure! We danced, and that’s how it began. She totally entranced me. Sharp as a tack and so sexy! But since I was a virgin, I didn’t know much about the physical side of things, and—

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THE GOLDEN MAN, PART 2 and wanted an abortion. I couldn’t have that on my conscience, so we got married. Before the first week was out, I realized we’d made a ter­ rific mistake. Both of us were very immature. Constant fighting and arguing. She kept telling me to find somebody better, but it’s hard to break up with someone you love. IM: No baby? LS: Nope. It was all a ruse. After a tumultuous five years, I finally threw in the towel. IM: I think I’m getting a scoop here. LS: It wasn’t publicized back then. Marriage was bad for a bodybuild­ er’s image.

“I’ve never regretted any bodybuilding decision, not even retirement at age 26.”

IM: When did you and Rachel meet? LS: Five years later. Our first encounter was so unusual, most people find it hard to believe. I was driving to the gym one day and saw this beautiful Japanese girl wait­ ing for a bus. Something told me, “You just passed your future wife.” I flipped a U-turn and drove up alongside her, ready to make a good impression: bleached hair, big arms and a smile on my tanned face. She looked over the top of my little red Porsche and didn’t even notice me. The bus came, she got on, and that was it! IM: I love these stories. LS: And this one has a happy ending. On October 29, 1966, Ra­ chel and I were married, and she’s proved to be worth every ounce of effort I put forth. Each day, I love her more and more.

IM: Wait one cotton-pickin’ minute! The world’s most desir­ able man, known for his boynext-door sex appeal, was still a virgin? LS: [Laughs]. Listen, I was far from worldly. The Mormon faith preaches abstinence before mar­ riage. IM: And this girl put a tiger in your tank? LS: Wow, she was irresistible! We’d

start to make out, and I’d only go so far. Then one night she asked, “Aren’t you a man?” I guess I couldn’t have my manhood challenged and did the deed, half-expecting God to strike me dead with a lightning bolt. But He spared me, and it became easier. Soon, I was just enjoying the intimacy and ignoring the guilt. IM: Why marriage, though? Seems like a drastic step. LS: I fell for one of the oldest lines: She was supposedly pregnant

IM: What happened to Bill? LS: He and his wife, Rose, were having problems and broke up. We agreed to room together and rented a place in North Hollywood, a little ways from Vince’s. I worked, Bill worked, we trained. It was an eq­ uitable, fun arrangement. We even started going to an acting class. IM: Bill McArdle is one of those names from the ’60s that everybody recognizes but nobody really knows. LS: Bill had a keen brain and

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THE GOLDEN MAN, PART 2 “I’ve had feelings of, ‘I miss my moment in the sun.’ But I also remember why I stepped down. Happiness isn’t found onstage.”

IM: And the acting thing? LS: It didn’t interest Bill much, but I stayed until the teacher threw me out. [Laughs] IM: Before or after “Muscle Beach Party”? LS: After. Because of that one movie I thought acting was the best and easiest way to make money. I earned more playing an almost extra than I had in three months on my engineering job. IM: You and Bill eventually parted ways. Was it acrimoni­ ous? LS: No, I wouldn’t say that. We’d just reached a point where we didn’t see eye to eye, and he moved out. Not long after, I met Rachel, and a whole new chapter opened up in my life. IM: Forty years ago this au­ tumn you left the competitive spotlight. Has there ever been a moment when you looked back on it with a modicum of sad­ ness? LS: Sure, I’ve had feelings of, “I

miss that. I miss my moment in the sun.” But I also remember why I stepped down. Happiness isn’t found onstage. I’d already blown one marriage, I wasn’t gonna blow another one. It was time to put contests and such aside and look to another, more fulfilling future. IM: Was your physique a prod­ uct of its time? LS: Yes, 100 percent. If I were competing today, my situation would be so much different. Frankly, I don’t think I’d stand much of a chance!

IM: Well said. And I’d like to add one more thing: Larry Scott’s a genuine legend, and there aren’t too many of those around in these tired times. LS: Thanks, Rod. Working with you is one of life’s joys. And a tip of my hat to IRON MAN for giving us old fellas some space! Editor’s note: Larry Scott’s Web site is www.LarryScott.com. Also visit his Yahoo group at http://groups .yahoo.com/group/larryscott. IM

IM: Was size always the ultimate goal? LS: Always. We never trained for aesthetics. I desperately wanted to pack on beef. My physique was the result of much experimenta­ tion, switching exercise methods constantly and trying to find the combination that would produce optimum results. IM: Can you sum up your ca­ reer? What’s the Scott legacy? LS: My legacy? Gee. I guess it’s that I was dedicated and deter­ mined. I also understood the uplift­ ing power of dreams—how a goal can encourage and inspire. It saw me from Pocatello and Mr. America to the Olympia stage and beyond.

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Neveux

wouldn’t let me get away with any­ thing. I’d tell myself little lies, and he’d call me on every single one of them. It was very unusual for people to catch me.

Jerry Brainum’s

Bodybuilding Pharmacology

GH and the Big C

Neveux \ Model: John Cowgill

temper, and he once challenged the Barbarian Brothers to meet him in the Gold’s parking lot—and it wasn’t just for a talk. Lyle looked downright scary when he got mad, with his face turning crimson and his eyes appearing to be that of a madman. But when I last saw him at Gold’s Gym, he was anything but mean and scary. At 6’3” and 255 pounds, Lyle played 15 seasons as a defensive end for the Denver Broncos, Cleve­ land Browns and Los Angeles Raiders. He was twice named Shortly before his death in 1992, Lyle Alzado was a piti­ All-Pro, having compiled 97 sacks in 196 games. Yet, despite ful figure. I saw Lyle at Gold’s Gym in Venice, California, that impressive athletic record, what Lyle is best remem­ not long before he died, and I was shocked by his appear­ bered for today is his admission that he used anabolic drugs ance. He was wearing a bandanna to conceal the total hair for 30 consecutive years, starting in college to the end of his loss that resulted from chemotherapy treatment of T cell playing days. Even more significant than that, however, were lymphoma, a relatively rare brain tumor. When his eyes Lyle’s public statements that the long-term drug use was met mine, I asked him, “How’s it going, Lyle?” A seemingly responsible for his cancer. needless question, considering that the man standing be­ I interviewed and wrote an article about Lyle in 1990. At fore me was a shadow of his former self. “I’m doing great,” the time he was envisioning a comeback to professional he replied. The truth was, however, that Lyle died about football. The odds seemed against him, since he was 40 two months later. years old at the time. On the other hand, he physically Although he had a reputation as a fierce professional looked to be in the best shape of his life. I witnessed a photo football player who seemed to relish sacking other players session for the article, and Lyle looked truly impressive— with brute force, off the field Lyle was a quiet, gentle guy. hard and muscular with no fat anywhere. But not if you crossed him. In his heyday he had a violent Off-the-record Lyle confided to me his newfound “secret.” Although he had used ana­ bolic steroids for 30 years, he had just starting using human growth hormone, and he felt that the addition to his drug regimen was the source of his impressive body composition. According to Lyle, it was the GH that burned off nearly all his bodyfat. He even felt that it made the many injuries he’d sustained playing football far less painful. To say that Alzado was optimistic during our talk would be putting it mildly. Fast-forward two years later. Lyle looks like a man 30 years older than his chrono­ logical age. He walks slowly. Lyle has told the press that steroids are what did this to him, and he regrets using them. He embarks on a jour­ ney to spread the word about the dangers of drugs, hoping that his example will deter others from his fate. Privately, however, Lyle confides that it was probably the growth hormone that led to his medi­ cal problems, since he’s found Weight training can out that GH can activate a enhance growth hormone latent tumor. He thinks that production, but does it was his more recent GH that increase the risk of use that pushed him over the cancer? edge, though steroids were by no means innocent bystand­ ers. He died in May 1992. 254 JUNE 2006 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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Neveux \ Model: Justin Balik

Lyle was convinced that GH was the primary cause of the cancer that eventu­ ally killed him. On the surface that wasn’t an unreasonable assumption. Medical texts noted that while GH wasn’t known to cause cancer, it would likely promote the growth and spread of an existing tumor, especially in the brain. So the question arises: Does growth hormone use lead to cancer? The question is particularly pertinent because insulinlike growth factor 1 (IGF­ 1), another hormone that’s considered the main anabolic linked to GH use, is stimulated by GH. GH promotes the syn­ thesis and release of IGF-1 from the liver. IGF-1, in turn, as the name implies, is both a growth factor and similar to insulin in structure, although it differs from in­ sulin in physiological activity, with some overlap (IGF-1 can interact with insulin receptors). Among other functions, IGF-1 pro­ motes cell division. Cancer is a process involving uncontrolled cellular division. It stands to reason then that high levels of IGF-1 and cancer are not a healthy com­ bination. Many scientists have linked high Consider this: No direct cause­ levels of IGF-1 to certain types of cancer, and-effect relationship has ever including breast, prostate and colon can­ been established between rapid cer. The big debate in medicine revolves growth during youth and GH- or around a medical chicken and egg theory; that is, does the IGF-1 promote cancer, or do existing tumors somehow stimulate IGF-1 synthesis? Having a high level of IGF-1 would cer­ and other related problems. While subsequent studies tainly help cancer cells survive and spread. Among other disproved the relationship between GH and leukemia in things, it derails a cellular suicide cascade known collec­ children, other research showed that women who experi­ tively as apoptosis. In the brain that’s a good thing, since enced rapid growth during adolescence had a 30 percent IGF-1 aids in the survival of neurons. The same appears to increased risk of breast cancer when they were young and be true for cells in the heart. People who become deficient a 40 percent increased incidence after menopause. Simi­ in IGF-1 as they age experience increased brain and heart lar studies exist for men too; men who go through rapid degeneration. With cancer cells, however, that normally height increases during their teen years have a higher rate beneficial aspect of IGF-1 function works against us. of prostate cancer (20 percent) and colon cancer (20 to 60 By helping to keep cancer cells alive, IGF-1 also pro­ percent). motes their proliferation and spread, or metastasis. Can­ On the other hand, no direct cause-and-effect relation­ cer, no matter what type or where, is most dangerous when ship has ever been established between rapid growth it spreads, explaining the frequent admonitions to detect during youth and GH- or IGF-1–promoted cancers. Other cancer in its earliest stages, when it’s most amenable to factors could also play a role, including increased sex hor­ treatment. The cell survival aspect provided by IGF-1 is mone release, which peaks during teen years and is also so potent that it can even overcome the effects of chemo­ related to bone growth. The increased caloric intake typi­ therapy. Cancer cells are normally highly susceptible to cal of teen years is still another factor known to positively apoptosis, but the presence of high localized levels of IGF­ influence height. Indeed, a current controversy involves 1 stops that process. administering GH to teens who are considered short for Animal studies show that when cancer cells are de­ their ages but aren’t deficient in it. Some people even resort prived of GH or IGF-1—or when the cellular receptors for to using GH in the hopes that increased height may lead to those hormones are blocked—the cells rapidly die. Studies an NBA career. involving animals on highly restricted-diets also show far Lyle Alzado wasn’t the only person who linked GH use lower rates of cancer, and they are typically deficient in to cancer. One top bodybuilder a few years ago became ill IGF-1 and GH. with leukemia and told many that he considered his GH Years ago some studies implicated GH therapy in use to be the cause. He felt sure that his previous use of causing a higher incidence of leukemia in children. The anabolic steroids and other drugs played only minor roles, children involved had been given GH to treat dwarfism www.ironmanmagazine.com \ JUNE 2006 255

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Jerry Brainum’s

Bodybuilding Pharmacology One problem with the GH-leads-to-cancer theory is that GH is a potent stimulator of T cells, the same immune cells that protect against tumors.

Neveux \ Model: Frank Zane

if any. Luckily for this man, he sur­ The problem with that theory is have a higher-than-normal rate of vived his cancer. He may have been that GH is a potent stimulator of T colon cancer. Yet they don’t experi­ partially correct in his assessment in cells, the same immune cells that pro­ ence higher rates of other cancers than that he probably harbored genes that tect against tumors. People who are other people. set him up for leukemia, and the GH deficient in GH show a complete reju­ That may be explained by the recent turned out to be the trigger. venation effect in their immune func­ finding that high insulin levels ap­ Studies published recently show tion after undergoing GH therapy. pear to play a role in promoting colon no increased incidence of cancer in In addition, consider what happens cancer. As noted above, high IGF-1 can people who undergo GH therapy. But to older people who are deficient in interact with insulin receptors in the note that the goal of such therapy GH and IGF-1—brain degeneration colon, stimulating tumor growth or is to offer GH replacement dosages and loss of heart function. Those are possibly converting benign growths in to people who are deficient in it, as definite pathological conditions not the colon to invasive cancers. A drug determined by their circulating levels related to the aging process. Thus, called pegvisomant, which blocks cell and related symptoms. The hope is the notion that the body depresses receptors for GH, wipes out colon can­ that when the missing hormone is GH release as a form of protection is cer in animals when used in conjunc­ restored to proper levels, the symp­ ludicrous. tion with conventional chemotherapy. toms will abate and the quality of life Still, a number of studies show that So what’s the truth about GH and will improve. those who have the highest levels of cancer? GH does not cause cancer, but The dosages in the treatment pro­ IGF-1 seem to also show the high­ the product of GH, IGF-1, may help grams were determined by trial and est incidence of prostate, breast and existing cancers grow and spread. The error. Early dose levels proved too colon cancers. People afflicted with unanswered question is whether it’s high, leading to a number of side ef­ acromegaly, which is caused by a the normal IGF-1 produced in the body fects, including water retention, joint small tumor in the pituitary gland or the kind that’s locally produced by pain and carpal tunnel syndrome. that results in excess GH release, do a tumor that causes the effect. What The doses today are just is known is that IGF-1 enough to replace what’s allows cancer cells to missing. That avoids the survive. If you harbor a side effects for most peo­ dormant tumor some­ ple, though not all. The where in your body, big question is whether and you’re exposed to it’s wise to return GH a carcinogen that turns levels of older people to the tumor on, IGF-1 in those that mimic youth large amounts will help Some scientists sug­ that tumor survive and gest that a lowering of spread. GH with age is a normal Another thing to physiological protective consider is that the response. The theory is replacement doses of that the immune cells GH do not cause cancer that normally protect in any known way. That, against tumor forma­ however, cannot be tion dissipate with age, said about the unusu­ which explains why older ally high doses used by people have the highest many bodybuilders and incidence of cancer. It other athletes. While also explains why teens, even high levels of GH who show the highest won’t cause cancer, it levels of GH and IGF-1, could possibly ensure rarely get cancer—their the survival and spread immune systems protect of an existing one. them. Since GH and Insulin added to the IGF-1 are known tumor brew only makes things stimulators, it’s believed worse, since insulin is that the body lowers their also an established proGH production declines with age. Is it a protective mechanism release to protect against motor of cancer when to keep cancer at bay, or is it one of nature’s ways of cancer formation and used in high doses. IM compromising immunity to ensure our mortality? spread. 256 JUNE 2006 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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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].

>BrinkZone.com William Brink is one of our industry’s foremost authorities on diet and supplementation. He’s been interviewed right here in the pages of IRON MAN [June and July ’01] and has written such popular e-books as Priming the Anabolic Environ­ ment and Diet Supplements Revealed. But that’s only the beginning of what you’ll find at this awe­ some site. Check out Will’s extensive Q&A sec­ tion, in which he covers such topics as hair loss, the next breakthrough in fat burning and, umm, penis enlargement (not that any of us need that). And if you truly wish to educate yourself on subjects that could have a profound effect on your training, health and body composition, click on “Online Articles” and feast your eyes on the discussions Will presents on subjects like “Nutritional Myths That Just Won’t Die” and “The Simplest Weight-Loss Tips No One Follows.” He has been a personal consultant to many toplevel bodybuilders, helping them get in shape for competitions or gain more mass in the off­ season. If you’re interested in getting Will’s help with your own diet and training, there’s info at the site on how to set up a one-on-one consultation. So, as you can see, where there’s a Will, there’s a way—to get big and ripped! 266 JUNE 2006 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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>IronManMagazine.com

>BuildingMass.com With hundreds of bodybuilding and fitness discussion boards to choose from, it can be hard to decide which one is best. What sets a board apart is its members. If you like to post on boards that have lots of drama, gossip, fighting and rumors, then BuildingMass.com is not the place for you. However, if you enjoy a truly sup­ portive, family atmosphere, where everyone is treated as an equal, no matter what his or her level, then you may want to settle in here. This site has all of the common sections found on most discussion boards (training, nutrition, chat,

Not to be self-serving, but this magazine is doing something on it’s Web site that is very cool, and you need to know about it. Now you can find many of its best features, in full color and just as they appeared in the magazine, as downloadable PDF files. You’ll find the link to the PDF library on the home page. Click it and before your eyes you’ll see a page with thumbnail pics of each feature opening, along with its title and a synopsis of what it’s about. You can even preview the feature in your browser first, and if you like what you see and read—dramatic photos, great info—download the full fea­ ture to your computer. Collect them, share them with friends and keep them handy for reference and motivation. What a great idea!

photos), plus some interesting areas. One called

>DavanaMedina.net

>http://forum .bodybuilding.com/ showthread.php?t=443337

This is the official site of reigning Figure Olympia champ Davana Medina. If you’re a fan, you’ll definitely want to add it to your favorites list. On it you will find Davana’s contest history, as well info on her up­ coming appearances. She also offers a free gallery with some pretty sexy pics—although if you want to shell out a little cash and become a member of her site, you’ll have access to what I’m sure are even steamier photos of this fitness diva (just don’t let the wife or girlfriend see the credit card bill). Two of the coolest aspects of the site are the downloadable wallpapers for your computer and the candid photos of Davana’s friends and family. I like it when pro athletes show a bit of their personal side. A couple of things that I think are missing are a little more personal info about Davana and maybe some training and diet tips from her (that may be in the works, as the site states that it’s being updated). Oh, and we could use a few more free pics (yes, we are cheap—but very lovable). One thing’s for sure, however: Just looking at images of this gorgeous woman is as effective as any prod­ uct on the market in raising natural testosterone levels. DavanaMedina. net: a replacement for steroids? Hmm.

Injury and Rehab is moderated by a chiropractor and physical therapist who works with body­ builders and athletes from high school age to the pro level. There’s also a forum devoted entirely to the Power/Rep Range/Shock training program that has been featured in IRON MAN. Registra­ tion at BuildingMass.com is free, but the wealth of information you can find there is invaluable.

Every so often I run across a forum filled with funny or interesting stuff. In this case both bases are covered. “Bodybuilding Pictures That Make You Wonder,” found at Body building.com, has loads of photos submitted by visitors—a lot of them shots of Arnold that I’ve never seen before: making ridiculous faces, in line at the water fountain at the old Gold’s Gym, face to er, um, face with bare breasts, and more! Lots of the pictures submitted don’t involve Arnold, though: an array of synthol-in­ jected lunatics and weird exercises, to name a couple of categories. Just click on the little jpg icons, and I guaran­ tee you’ll be enter­ tained! Warning: Some photos are explicit.

IM www.ironmanmagazine.com \ JUNE 2006 267

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Lonnie Teper’s

NEWS &ViEWS v

’06 Arnold Classic

The Blade Cuts Up the Field

Branch Warren.

Dexter Jackson.

Warren Is Biggest Surprise

The Blade and the Oak talk cuts.

Balik

He says that after a year’s layoff he was at his all-time best. Don’t know if I can agree with that, but Dexter Jackson was definitely dazzling enough to defend his Arnold Classic title, flexing his 5’6 ½”, 205-pound body to a unanimous victory in Colum­ bus, Ohio, and picking up the $100,000 first-place check, a brand-new Ford Expedition (instead of the usual Hummer) and another Audemars Piquet watch worth $20K. Did I say 205 pounds? That’s how the Blade was listed for this one, and that’s just about the weight I’ve argued that he’s carried during the past few seasons (he said he was 225 to 230 in ’04 and ’05). Okay, he might have been 212 to 215 onstage, but I will continue to use Shawn Ray as my point of comparison. At about the same height, Shawn always weighed between 205 and 210 pounds and had rounder, fuller muscle bellies than Dexter; no way was Jackson Marvelous ever 15 to 20 pounds heavier than Ray. Melvin. So, what does it all mean? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. It ain’t about the weight; it’s about the quality, the balance, the sharpness of the muscles. Giving Dexter straight ones across the board, the magistrates left no doubt as to who they thought the champ was, and the rest of the bodybuild­ ing world could have no doubt that the Jackson­ ville, Florida, ace is still one of the world’s pre­ mier physique artists. Jackson’s victory was no surprise; Branch Warren’s runner-up finish was. Warren was coming off a splendid ’05 season with back­ to-back wins at the Europa and Charlotte Pro shows and an impressive eighth-place finish in his Mr. Olympia debut. But, with such highly acclaimed vets as Jackson, Gustavo

Balik

Find thousands of photos from the Arnold Classic at GraphicMuscle.com

Badell (left) and Martinez.

268 JUNE 2006 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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IRON TALES— He couldn’t move it an Inch. Page 272

Balik

Emcee L.T.

Photography by Bill Comstock

Go, Zydrunas, go!

SEEING RED— Why does this man rate a whole bevy? Page 271

Badell, Victor Martinez, Lee Priest and Melvin Anthony in the event, a top-six ending seemed like a solid goal for the Warren. As it turned out, Buffed Branch was the only guy in the 15-man field who brought a vastly improved package to the stage. At 5’6” and Lee Haney 240 pounds of granite muscle, and Arnold. including some of the wickedest wheels in the game, Warren will never be confused with Anthony or Darrem Charles. But the man was Pushups, downright freaky and, the new mandate Calypsostyle. that the judges must look for a “prettier” physique notwithstanding, Warren was the chief of beef and was rewarded to the tune of $60,000. Branch was also honored with the Most Muscular award—and rightly so—which gave Dexter some anxious mo­ ments from the time Warren took posses­ sion of the trophy, a large goblet created by Joska Crystal. “I won the Most Muscular last year,” said Jackson, “and the winner of that usu­ ally wins the show, so I was a bit nervous when Branch got the award.” Hey, it’s good to keep everyone guessing, Blade. Martinez and Badell followed Warren in the placings; neither was crisp enough to chal­ lenge Jackson for the title. I’d say Victor was five to seven pounds too heavy, Gustavo at least the same. The Freakin’ Rican started out slowly at the judging and got harder as time went on, but by then it was too late and fourth place was his eventual fate. Speaking of Melvin Anthony, this guy has an Jim Lorimer and son Bob. absolutely beautiful physique and could have challenged for the crown in my book. I know, I know, many point to his flaws in the calf, chest and glute areas. Not thick enough. Not wide enough. Hell, I say the over­ all flow of the man’s total package makes him marvelous, for sure. Anthony did pocket $22K, though, with his fifth-place finish and as the repeat winner of the Best Poser award. Can anyone possibly beat Melvin when it comes to the entertainment round? Do you hear me, Vince Tay­ lor? Lee Priest, coming off his big win at the IRON MAN two weeks earlier, was a surprise in sixth; I thought he was in good shape and could have at least duplicated his fourth-place finish of last year. His Superman costume at the finals, though, complete with the red boots, earned my award for Best Wardrobe at the Classic. Of course, Lee had to cut the boots down the back to fit his monstrous calves into them. Mustafa Mohammad, who was ticked off about his sixth-place finish at the IRON MAN, was in an angry mood in Columbus when he found out he’d just missed an Olympia-qualifying spot by taking seventh (the top six qualified for the Big Dance). Mustafa is a very good bodybuilder, with some very impressive bodyparts—like a huge chest, legs and bi­ Photo courtesy of Classic Productions

Super Lee.

COVER STORY— Who was the hottest babe at the Arnold Expo? Page 271

www.ironmanmagazine.com \ JUNE 2006 269

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ceps—but was not sharp enough in the minds of the judges to land in the top six. Hang in there, Mustafa, you’ll make the Olympia lineup this year, I predict. Darrem Charles (eighth), Amanda Toney Freeman (ninth) and Troy Finn at the Alves rounded out the top 10. controls. (I had Toney higher in the plac­ ings with his very balanced 6’2”, 280-pound frame.) David Henry (11th), Ahmad Haidar (12th), Johnnie Jackson (13th), Kris Dim (14th) and Chris Cook (15th) completed the field. Smokin’ A special moment Joe. took place when Arnold came to the podium to present Lee Haney with the Arnold Schwar­ zenegger Lifetime Achievement Award. Haney, who retired at 31 with eight consecu­ tive Mr. O crowns to his name, lives outside of Atlanta and devotes his time to helping out young boys without fathers at his Harvest House. A great man hon­ ored with a great award. Congrats, Lee, you’ll always be large and in charge to us. Speaking of great—how in the hell do those dudes known as the Calypso Tumblers do that stuff? I mean, when one guy wrapped himself up into a ball and starting doing pushups on the floor—talk about bringing down the house. This one was filled with nearly 4,000 screaming fans. It was a fun contest, and I was happy to return to the podium as emcee after a two-year stint on the pay-per-view broadcast team. It marked the 10th year I’ve hosted the Arnold Classic, and getting back in front of the live crowd reminded me just how much fun it is—and how much I’ve missed being there. The Arnold Strongman competition, the final event of which followed the bodybuilding finals, remains a popular part of the evening. Zydrunas Savickas of Lithuania won four events to capture his fourth straight title. Talk about large and in charge! Hats off once again, natch, to Arnold’s partner in the venture, Jim Lorimer, and to all of Jim’s staff (way too many for me to mention), who continue to show the true meaning of a “class act.”

ADD ARNOLD CLASSIC—My award for the Most Creative folks at the Classic goes to Shawn Loevenguth and his Live Technologies Inc. crew (including Carrie, Karl, Amanda, Adam, Jocelyn, Steve and Jamie) for the set design: a movie theater with posters of all the body­ building magazine covers lining the backdrop. Live Technologies, by the way, is involved in or produces more than 800 events annually across the United States, ranging from concerts to theatrical productions, corporate theater, special events and, natch, the Arnold Classic. Loevenguth, who has worked with Jim Lorimer for more than 12 years on various portions of the huge Arnold Fitness weekend (this was his 10th year in charge of producing the Classic), was the man in charge with regard to video, lighting, set design and construction, audio, truck crew for the pay-per-view, show scripting and management. The team created two complete sets, one for the women’s competitions on Friday night and one for the Arnold Classic finals on Saturday. During the year up to 20 set designs are submitted until the final is chosen.

Shawn and Lon.

Sly and the family Instone. See page 273

270 JUNE 2006 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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Bev, Balik and Debbie A.

In addition to the Friday- and Saturday-night shows, Shawn played a major role producing the first-ever Gracie Fight Championship, held Friday night at Nationwide Arena. In addition to designing a large Brazilian-and-Japanese–flavored set, he handled the lighting (more than 350,000 watts), sound, video, PPV TV crew, event logistics and management. To my knowledge, this is the first time there have ever been back-to-back PPV shows at two separate locations at the AFW, but Loevenguth and his crew were up to the challenge. The two people I’ve worked the closest with in the past few years have been Shawn and Carrie Roller, and, let me tell you, they are cool, calm and collected at all times. That, of course, is a necessity if you want to be successful in such ventures, which can get kinda wacky (as in superstressful) at times. Now, if I can just get Shawn, who won a shape-up challenge I threw at him a few years back (he lost more than 30 pounds using a diet featuring Muscle Meals), to spend less time on building the set and more on slim­ ming down the bod, I’d be much happier for him. So, Loevenguth, the challenge is on again. Send me a before pic or two, and you’ll have 12 weeks to turn into the new you.

SMOKIN’ BANQUET—I couldn’t be­ lieve my eyes when I saw who was about to join my table at the postcontest ban­ quet. It was Smokin’ Joe Frazier, one of the greatest boxers of all time and, as he reminded me in a poem minutes after we introduced ourselves, “‘Float like a butter­ fly, sting like a bee’; I’m the guy who beat Muhammad Ali.” Joe then broke into his version of “Mustang Sally” and gladly Mervin and the signed autographs and took pictures with Rachel cover. the horde of fans who quickly moved over to our area when they realized who was sitting there. Frazier was in town to receive an award at the Friday night fights and happily stuck around for the weekend. Yes, Smokin’ Joe did beat Ali—and we were but four days from the anniversary of their clas­ sic bout, which took place March 8, 1971. (Was it really 35 years ago?) and which I watched on a screen from the balcony of the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. Of course, Ali came back to defeat Frazier twice, taking a two-one edge in their series of classic battles. I met Ali in 1973 at East Los Angeles College; more than 30 years later I Another Shawn. got to spend an hour or so with Smokin’ Joe in Columbus, Ohio. You just never know who’ll show up at an event connected with the name Schwarzenegger, do ya?

L.T. and Jay. Dorian checks it out.

Ron and his bevy.

UP, DOWN AND ROUND THE ARNOLD EXPO—I could only get to the expo on Friday, but the place was packed (Sat­ urday is always the biggest day). As always, the scene was a who’s who in bodybuilding, fitness and figure. I spent four hours, accompanied by Bill Comstock, interviewing many of the celebs in attendance; here’s a small look at what was happen­ ing: IRON MAN Publisher John Balik and staff member Mervin Petralba were manning the IM booth, handing out copies of the April issue, which featured Rachel McLish on the cover. Need­ less to say, the 8,000 copies they’d brought were gone by the www.ironmanmagazine.com \ JUNE 2006 271

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Lift Studios

end of the day. Balik greeted many of the biggest names in the industry, including six-time Mr. Olympia Dorian Yates. Bev Francis and Deb­ bie Albert were also among the more recognizable visitors. On the subject of Rachel, since the interview was published, I’ve received so many requests for info about her that those queries can now go di­ rectly to McDish instead of me. You can write to her at [email protected].… Mega-popular Jay Cutler, going about 290, was swamped at the MuscleTech booth and showed me what he’ll do to me “if you don’t pick me in the News & Views to win to the Olympia.”… Jay’s nemesis, eight-time Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman, was sur­ A pair of Rons. rounded by a bevy of beauties in red dresses, and assured me that not only will he take the crown to set a new record of nine wins this year, but he’s going for 10 in a row in ’07 as well. He looked extremely happy (like, why wouldn’t he be?) and admitted, “It feels great to be king.”… The Vyo-Tech area had its share of stars—and babes—with Shawn Ray, Melvin Anthony and Bill Wilmore hanging out and figure competitors Mary Jo Cooke and Lisa Bick­ els drawing second and third looks in their shiny, ah, form-fitting black outfits. Don Long, the ’95 National champ, appeared joyful and healthy as he stopped by to congratulate Wilmore on his Nationals victory, which came a decade after Don’s. Richard Sandrak was also in the booth, spreading the word about his Sandrak flexes. starring role in the flick “Little Hercules.”… More hot babes: Gerard Dente was with one at his MHP booth, and it just happened to be Kristen Arntz, the former wife of pro bodybuilder Jason Arntz. Kristen has been competing in figure for a couple of years now; keep an eye on this rising star. Gerard showed me no respect, though, when he doubted I could lift the 172-pound Thomas Inch dumbbell he had on display. As you can see, it was like a man playing with toys, a toy that probably only nine people in the entire expo could lift (the circus dumb­ bell lift—even heavier than the Inch—was the final event of the strongman contest).… Dente Add babes department: Wow, did Sherry Goggin look and Arntz. splendid at her usual post at the Pinnacle booth. Do you ever age, girl?... On the subject of people who never age, Vince Taylor was the talk of the town. He’s turning 50 in August but could pass for someone 15 years younger. Vince the Prince, who returned to the competitive stage at the Australia event two weeks after the Arnold, did a good job as the color commentator on the Classic pay-perview.… Lou Ferrigno, joined by daughter Shawna, was at his usual slot at the Weider booth. I congratulated him on his new appointment as a Los Angeles County Reserve Deputy Sher­ iff.… Flex Wheeler, CEO of Flex Wheeler Choppers, was on hand with one of his beautiful bikes.… Noah Steere, at 6’7” and 375 pounds, was again the largest man in the expo, at least from what I saw. I tried, for the 10th time, to get Noah to come out of retire­

Bill Wilmore and Don Long.

Bickels and Cooke.

Vince the Prince.

272 JUNE 2006 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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Sherry Goggin.

L.T. tackles the Inch dumbbell.

Lift Studios

Ferrigno.

Ron and Dina.

Steve Stone and Pam Betz.

ment, to no avail. Think I’m going to argue with this guy?… Rich Gaspari’s Gaspari Nutrition booth was loaded with workers and fans. Rich and his lovely wife, Liz, added Cathy Le Francois to their team last year, and the lady with the bluest eyes in the land has done a great job for them.… Danny Padilla, a lean and mean 54 years old, still packs some wicked biceps and was a hit with the fans, who fondly remember the original Giant Killer.… Super expediter Steve Stone and standout promoter Pam Betz were spotted along the way, probably talking about kicking butt at this year’s Junior Nationals, which Pam is putting on.… Franklin Roberson shed his shirt at the urging of some crazed journalist and gave the stunned but extremely happy fans a look at the “new Ripped Roberson” he plans to display in ’06.… I can’t believe Padilla’s gun. people think Ron Avidan, the creator of GetBig.com, gets too close to the athletes with his defensive postings on the site; I mean, the man wouldn’t even get near sexy Dina Al Sabah at Jason Dhir’s big postcontest bash. And there was even a Ron lookalike in Columbus, complete with same first name.

Sly Stallone’s Challenge

Liberman

Noah

Neveux

Rich and Liz Gaspari plus L.T. and Cathy Le Francois.

On February 25, at a gala dinner at the Loew’s Beverly Hills Hotel, screen icon and fitness enthusiast Sylvester Stallone hon­ ored the 10 Instone LifeChange Challenge finalists for 2005. I tried my darndest to make it to the event, but a bad cold knocked me out. Yeah, I ain’t no Rocky Balboa, for sure! From thousands of contestants, 10 finalists were selected, with the intention of naming one grand-prize winner. Contestants from all over the country and from all fitness levels had committed themselves to the com­ petition and carefully monitored their progress. They submitted pictures taken both before and after the LifeChange Challenge period, along with descriptions of their daily meal plans and exercise routines and essays that related their emotional and physical changes throughout the contest. At the dinner it was announced that the judges had been so impressed with the finalists’ notable physical transformations and inspir­ ing personal accounts that they were unable to name just one grand-prize winner. Instead, they declared all 10 finalists as grand-prize winners, with each receiving a $15,000 contract and other To contact Lonnie special prizes, including the opportunity to be Teper about material possibly pertinent to featured in Instone’s 2006 advertising campaign. News & Views, write Congrats to Darrin Black, George Castillo, to 1613 Chelsea Michael Conley, Ruth Hushour, Tamara Road, #266, San McElwee, Henry Pelitire, Don Roberts, Paul Marino, CA 91108; Versarge, Bryan Ward and Justin Zahn. And fax to (626) 289-7949; for those who want a shot at the 2006 title, or send e-mail to registration is already open. Check out the details [email protected]. at www.InstoneNutrition.com.

Liberman

Flexin’ his choppers.

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Arnold Classic ’06

The Blade Has It Made in the Shade in Columbus Photography by John Balik and Bill Comstock

Arnold Classic FOR HUNDREDS MORE PHOTOS AND EXTENSIVE CONTEST COVERAGE VISIT

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1) Dexter Jackson

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Arnold Classic ’06 2) Branch Warren

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Arnold Classic ’06 3) Victor Martinez

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Arnold Classic ’06 4) Gustavo Badell

FOR HUNDREDS MORE PHOTOS AND EXTENSIVE CONTEST COVERAGE VISIT

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5) Melvin Anthony

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Arnold Classic ’06

6) Lee Priest

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Arnold Classic ’06 7) Mustafa Mohammad

6) Lee Priest

4) Gustavo Badell

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8) Darrem Charles

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8) Toney Freeman

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Arnold Classic ’06 10) Troy Alves

11) David Henry

12) Ahmad Haidar

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Arnold Classic ’06 11) David Henry

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15) Chris Cook

14) Kris Dim

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Ruth Silverman’s

PUMP & CiRCUMSTANCE MS. INTERNATIONAL

Is back in the winner’s circle

Contest photograpy by Bill Dobbins and Bill Comstock

Kyle-Style Muscle

Columbus top-five flexers (from left): Iris Kyle, Jitka Harazimova, Dayana Cadeau, Yaxeni Oriquen

Frilly hair-dos and open-handed posing were the order of the day at the ’06 Ms. International competition, which was held at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium and Greater Co­ lumbus (Ohio) Convention Center on March 3, during Arnold Fitness Weekend, but the judges didn’t let that distract them from focusing on the muscle. With most of the Olympia final­ ists from 2005, including Ms. O champ Yaxeni Oriquen, laying it on the line, the potential for a shakeup was great. The results produced a shakeup of sorts but not one big enough to stimulate the kind of change some would like to see in the sport’s direction. For the most part, the 14 flexers who snagged the coveted invites to the women’s pro season opener came in top shape, starting with ’04 International and Olympia winner Iris Kyle. Big, full and deeply separated, Kyle was all muscle and flow personified, with the bodyparts working together in a way they weren’t at the Olympia, when she lost to Oriquen. Ditto for Dayana Cadeau, the Ms. O third-placer, who was at her best with packed muscles and a trim torso. Yaxeni, on the other hand, was just a bit off compared with her ’05 performance at both shows, which brings us to Jitka Harazimova, who was not. Coming off a smash end-of-season return to competition

after a six-year-hiatus, Harazimova rode her sensational sym­ metry to a fourth-place finish at the O. At that show—as it had been during her heyday in the mid-1990s—her conditioning had been just a smidgen of sharpness short of convincing the panel to place her any higher than that. In Columbus that smidgen was in the house, and though it didn’t end up that way, some observers saw the contest as a two-way bout between Iris and Jitka, with more than just, Who was the best bodybuilder onstage that day? at stake. Instead, the pecking order was Cadeau in the runner-up spot, Oriquen in third and Harazimova getting the fourth-place check once again, all unanimous decisions. One panel member I spoke with suggested that Jitka hadn’t projected much personality. I would respectfully disagree (see the photo above). I will admit that the pale blue-gray posing suit she wore at the finals was not the most flattering choice for showing off Harazimova’s graceful sum of the muscular bodyparts, but, fourth? C’mon, guys and gals! Stage presence abounded at the finals. The pro women continue to be vastly more entertaining on the posing platform—with better music choices—than the guys, but that and two bucks will get you a protein bar. Still, the crowd went wild when Betty Pariso, who recently hit 50, came out on-

BACKSTAGE AT THE VETERANS

Lisa Aukland, appearing in her fourth Ms . I lineup, gets in a glamour shot at the makeup mirror.

Annie Riviec­ cio glows with the confidence that comes from knowing you look good.

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Photography by Ruth Silverman

Tonie Norman enjoys her first time competing in Columbus. Bet it won’t be her last.

FITNESS I

Hustle and Flow

and Betty Pariso.

stage in her best condition and posed with a walker. Pariso was fifth, followed by a finely tuned Bonny Priest, who, as she had at the Olympia, landed in sixth. Annie Rivieccio, in seventh, was at the top of her game and also could have finished higher. Thanks to a new rule involving the number of Olympia qualifi­ cations per contest in seasons when there aren’t enough con­ tests to produce a lineup, like this one, all of the above plus eighth-placer Lisa Aukland earned tickets to the big show. Kim Harris, in ninth, and Tonie Norman looked fine to round out the top 10.

No wonder Bonny Priest is smiling. Her abs are in, and all’s right with the world.

Behold the top bus favorite three professional Hendershott, fitness athletes in who came out the world. What­ in a gown and ever order they crown, spoof­ land in, some ing herself fans’ sensibilities as “queen of will be offended. fitness,” before At the Fitness ripping off the International in dress to rock Columbus, Ohio, the house with on March 3, Adela another fluid­ Garcia returned and-fabulous to the form that performance. had her finishing Even if the numero uno at this panel had show—and the seen it my Olympia—in 2004 way, though, it and got a return wouldn’t have trip to the top of changed the the heap. Taking outcome (see three out of four comments rounds, she ended on physiques the evening just above). five points ahead Elsewhere of second-placer in the routine Kim Klein, which round—and left last year’s big giving notice flipster, Jen Hen­ that her ad­ dershott, dangling vance pub in third. Ouch. was accurate, As so often World champ Klein was smokin’ and JenHen was dressed to kill, happens at these Regiane but Garcia mowed down the competition. affairs, the die DaSilva was cast in the physique rounds, where grabbed everyone’s attention by perform­ the always-adept Adela ruled, with Kim ing a pushup while balanced on one arm. and her ever-shrinking thighs solidly in The 5’5 3/4” DaSilva just loves to throw second, and Hendershott, who’s come a her body around the stage. The panel long way, physiquewise, to earn her spot placed her fourth in the long routines, and in the first callout, taking third in the two­ in a lineup that included sterling perfor­ piece-suit comparisons and fourth in the mances from the likes of Julie Childs, one-piece. Though Jenny aced the man­ Tanji Johnson, Stacy Simons, and datory routines with a unanimous win, the pretty much everyone else, that may have judges liked Garcia’s mafia-themed num­ been her greatest feat. ber the best in the long programs—but Fourth overall went to Tracey Green­ only slightly. In fact, the scores were so wood, whose statuesque physique con­ close between the top three—Garcia, tinues to impress the judges and whose nine, with Klein and Hendershott tied at routines are always a personal best. 11—you could hardly call it a consensus. Childs, fifth, and Johnson, sixth, made Now, I loved Adela’s new program— their first trips to the top-show-top-six­ her between-pushups tricks included finish club, with Julie Palmer landing in dancing on her hands—and the latest seventh; DaSilva, eighth; Angie Semsch, version of Kim’s “Smokin’ in the Boys’ ninth; Simons and Mindi O’Brien tied for Room” had the New Jersey teacher mak­ 10th; and rookies Heidi Fletcher and Al­ ing it look too darned easy once again. lison Daughtry in the rounding-out-the­ My vote, if I’d had one, however, would lineup-because-someone-had-to slots. have tipped toward hometown Colum­

Look for IRON MAN’s blowout photo coverage of the Fitness, Figure and Ms. International competitions in the July issue. www.ironmanmagazine.com \ JUNE 2006 291

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PUMP & CiRCUMSTANCE MORE BACKSTAGE

MUSINGS

Manly Women Or girliemen? Let’s be honest here. Raise your hand if you think Iris Kyle could have won the Arnold Clas­ sic. Don’t misunderstand. That’s not a comment on how much muscle is too much on the female form but whether the male ideal has moved, well, just a tad over to the feminine side. I mean, no one ever accused John Grimek of having an hourglass figure. Or Arnold Schwarzenegger. And not even Steve Reeves could boast a wasp waist—if he’d even have wanted one. Yet in the mod­ ern era of highly evolved physique development, the bodybuilders who are considered the most aesthetically gifted—think Flex Wheeler—resemble those most female of descriptions. Perhaps it’s just a consequence of the increas­ ingly massive physiques being built by bodybuilders of all genders. The more mass you put on, proportion­ ately, everywhere but your waist, Iris’ hourglass was right on time for a peak in the more you build the hourglass, er, um, V-taper. The point could be made that Wheeler, the guy with the “prettiest physique in the sport,” never won the Mr. Olympia—there was always someone who was bigger and harder to earn the judges’ favor—while Kyle and her Wheeler-esque physique have won the Ms. O (as well as the Ms. I) twice. But could she have won the Arnold, which was in fact won by the known-for­ his-aesthetics-as-well-as-his-muscle Dexter Jackson? Top 10—maybe—and I guarantee you that afterward, if you asked the panel members why she didn’t do better, you would hear them say, “When I look at her, all I can see is that she’s a woman.”

CHAMPS

Pose Down

Bootys Total tease. IM’s photog­ raphers always manage to capture Tracey Green­ wood’s statuesque physique in some wonderful routine shots. Catch her flying through m. aphicMuscle.co

the air at Gr

Total talent. Originally from Brazil, German import Regiane DaSilva, the ’05 World Amateur champ, was a worldclass aerobics competitor before migrat­ ing to fitness.

Only in bodybuilding

Frequently, when I photograph women bodybuild­ ers or fitness athletes, I say, “Give me your husband’s (or boyfriend’s) favorite pose,” and my models oblig­ ingly move into their best boudoir-worthy or mock­ boudoir-worthy posture. Not so Fitness I winner Adela Garcia. “Give me Lee’s favorite pose,” I called to the lady, referring to Garcia’s sweetie, Lee Priest, and what did she do? Hit Priest’s signature hands-over­ head, wrists-in triceps shot. Now, that’s love. Adela, who moved to Austin, Texas, last year, is now holding weekend boot camps covering “every aspect of fitness and figure competition, nutrition and posing.” Says the sport’s number-one chica Latina, “Whether you are a new or seasoned competitor or just wants to get into the best shape of your life, come to Austin and find out what it takes to become your personal best.” For more information, write to her at [email protected].

Such a kidder. Picture her with a Superman cape.

Total focus. Forget any rumors that Jen is think­ ing of retiring. “I am fired up and want re­ venge,” ow. she said s after the sh e a few week with a twinkl ess O! Look out, Fitn

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RETURN S

FIGURE I

Tight Race

Feats of Strength

And recovery

One flu over the cuckoo’s nest

It only looks as if C.J. James is sewing on Mary Elizabeth’s shadow.

When a stomach flu caused threetime Figure International winner Jenny Lynn to withdraw at the last minute, a foregone conclusion became an open competition. I should have known Mary Elizabeth Lado was going to beat Mo Brant when I saw how lovely Lado looked in the blue one-piece backstage. For the record, Lado won it in the one-piece round. She, Brant and thirdplacer Amanda Savell were actually tied in the two-piece round. Chastity Sloan, Jane Awad and Christine Pomponio-Pate rounded out the top six. Lynn planned to return to competi­ tion at the Pittsburgh Pro in May. More scenes from the Figure I next month.

Mooney got the screws out of her foot, but she’s still screw­ ing around.

Teri Mooney demonstrates how she kept off her feet during her long rehab from a torn lis franc tendon and broken foot suffered at the Emerald Cup a year ago. “I did a lot of walking on my hands,” admitted Mooney, who was thrilled to be standing again, not to mention working the Nutrex booth at the Arnold Expo. One thing she was not thrilled about: that her name and photo had been used—without her permission—in conjunction with a wanna-be women’s phy­ sique organization that was making the news last fall. Due to circumstances beyond its organizers’ control, the new group never got off the ground, but in case there were any lingering impressions, she wanted to set the record straight. Teri, who had more pressing problems, wasn’t exactly thinking about getting on any stage last fall. Besides, she pointed out, after all the years it took her to make pro, she was hardly looking to jump ship. Though competing in fitness was still a long way off for the New Jersey tumbler, Teri would not rule out getting back onstage. “I do not quit,” she said, suggesting that she might do a figure show this year just to keep her hands and feet in. As for her future in fitness, she said, “I may not do flips, but my strength moves are insane.” No kidding.

S.F. RESULTS

Refigured

Fuel of champions

Chastity Sloan (right) slurps down a quick dose of the amazing carb-loading substance that has helped bring her 5’6” physique into the figure bright lights in 2006. A week after taking fourth at the Figure Interna­ tional, Sloan scored her first pro win in Sacramento, with these ladies filling out the top five, in order: Gina Camacho, Andrea Dumon, Zahanna Rotar and Debbie Leung. Add Camacho and Dumon to the list of those who’ll make their Olympia debuts in September.

Other Matters and Musings

In Case You Missed It The IFBB’s 2006 rule book for ama­ teur competition includes chapters on men’s fitness and a new sport called “men’s classic bodybuilding.” The former has been around for a few years and in fact has inspired the first World Amateur Men’s Fitness Championships, which is scheduled for Spain in Sep­

tember along with the Women’s World Championships. The latter is in response “to the increasingly worldwide demand for competitions for men who prefer, un­ like today’s current bodybuilders, to develop a less muscular yet athletic and aesthetically pleasing physique,”

according to the new rules, which set limits on how much a fellow of a certain height can weigh. Figure for men, you query? Don’t be ridiculous. In men’s classic bodybuild­ ing competitors are required to do the seven mandatory poses as well as quarter turns. www.ironmanmagazine.com \ JUNE 2006 293

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PUMP & CiRCUMSTANCE SCENES FROM A CLASSIC WEEKEND P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y R U T H S I LV E R M A N Eerie. Iris Kyle and Dayana Cadeau correctly predict that they will be on top at the Ms. Inter­ national.

Christine Roth makes a fashion

Athletes’ rep Betty Pariso reports a new program to make health insurance available for IFBB pros. In her ninth appearance on the Ms. I stage, the veteran flexer finished fifth.

Blade 3. Michelle Adams shows what happens to figure gal s who diet for an entire season.

Tanji Johnson recreates the moment wh en she realized she’d be taking home more tha n just happy memories: a ch eck for mak­ ing the top six. Speaking of diva babes with abs, Julie Childs was almost giddy with de­ light about her top-five finish in fitness.

Monica Guerra, ninth in the Figure I, and Chris “Mother Hen” Cormier bask in the post contest glow after the women’s finals.

Trophy shot. Confi­ dential to Jitka: Next time pull out all the stops.

Here’s a new ré­ sumé category: booth babe–fitness diva. That’s some set of abs on Stacy Simons.

It’s hard out here for a pump… Heidi Fletcher, Julie Palmer and Monica Brant band to­ gether back­ stage. Special thanks to Mo for revealing this sizzling hot secret of the fitness trade.

New fitness pro Sonja Bruce checks out the competition. Am I the only one who thinks this very military lady is a dead ringer for “Sex in the City’s” Kim Cattrall?

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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Anna Larsson

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Female Muscle Photography by Bill Dobbins, www.BillDobbins.com

Over the past few years weve featured Bill Dobbins’photography in our annual Female Muscle issue, and it never fails to get a response from readers. In fact, we’ve gotten such rave reviews, we decided that once a year just isn’t enough. A better idea: How about giving his images the spotlight every few issues?

So here we go. Once again we proudly present the world of female muscle as seen through Dobbins’ lens. His powerful photographs can evoke many emotions. They are dramatic, with a unique artistic style— and his busy shooting schedule ensures that we’ll have more new and classic shots from the Dobbins collection in a few months. If you can’t wait till then, visit www.BillDobbins.com. —The Editors www.ironmanmagazine.com \ JUNE 2006 297

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Female Muscle Cynthia Bridges

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Female Muscle Dina Al-Sabah

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Female Muscle Kim Lyons

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Meriza Goncalves

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Female Muscle Sherry Goggin

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Female Muscle Michiko Nishiwaki

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Female Muscle Lena Johannesen

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Mind IRONMIND

MIND/BODY

In Charge of Champions I

magine this: Your mission is to produce a stunning array of world champions in the highly competitive arena of Olym­ pic-style weightlifting, and you have at your disposal just about whatever you might want to help reach your goal. For starters, there’s no need to limit your athlete pool to a scanty group of scrawny walk-ins better suited to watching slow-pitch

Strossen \ Model: Robin Byrd-Goad

Think like a champion, and you can become better today than you were yesterday.

softball than trying to lift several times their bodyweight from the ground to arm’s length overhead. You have highly refined scouting tools, and you’re not kidding about this evaluation business. You might test 100,000 prospects and identify per­ haps 70 as having enough potential to give your program a try. What you end up with is a group of athletes who have the abil­ ity to lift weights most of us can barely roll across the floor—think of relatively slender 150-pound guys who can lift more than 350 pounds from the floor to overhead, and you’ll get the picture. Xiong Han Yang, head coach of the Chinese national men’s weightlifting team, one of the most fearsome lifting machines on the planet, thinks the first key to producing the champions he wants is selecting the right athletes— the ones who have the potential to develop the right stuff to produce gold medals. As he sees it, the right stuff has three elements: 1) strength—no surprise, since we’re talking about the ability to lift big, big weights; 2) technique—the Olympic lifts are highly complex athletic moves that require speed, flexibility and coordination; and 3) psychological makeup. Coach Yang says a champion requires three principal psychological qualities. First, you have to want to be a champion. “I want to be a cham­ pion,” you say. Yeah, and you’d also like to drive a Lamborghini. How much do you really want to become a champion—are you willing to walk over hot coals to meet your goal, or do you wimp out at the first sign of distress? Becoming a champion requires a level of commitment that most people simply can’t muster. Ask yourself some hard questions about how many workouts you’ve missed in the past year, whether you tend to overtrain or undertrain, what kind of limits you put on your performance and so forth.

314 JUNE 2006 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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Body Remember, nobody but you will see the answers to those the day when you’ll be able to handle two 45s on each end of questions, so you might as well be honest and get the benefit the bar. “That would really be something,” you say to yourself. of knowing where you stand. When the time comes, if you’ve got the right stuff, you’ll blow The second key, Coach Yang says, is developing the con­ it up like nobody’s business. fidence that comes from having a high success rate in train­ Most of us wouldn’t rate as the janitor in a highly selective ing. For example, there are a lot of stories about how few lifts lifting program, but that shouldn’t deter us from reaping all three-time Olympic champion Naim Suleymanoglu missed in the riches good, heavy training produces. It should be very a year’s training. Even if that’s an exaggeration, you get the reassuring to know that no matter what your structure, fastpoint. Champions don’t practice missing lifts; they practice twitch muscle supply or pattern of muscle insertions, you can making them. How about you? If you’re missing a half dozen think like a champion and become better today than you were lifts per workout, you need to rethink your training philosophy yesterday. That’s not such a bad deal, is it? because all you’re doing is undermining your confidence. —Randall Strossen, Ph.D. If you’re missing a lot of lifts, it’s reasonable to expect that you’ll miss a lot of future ones. Not exactly the way a cham­ Editor’s note: Randall Strossen, Ph.D., edits the quarterly pion should think, is it? Once again, there’s no use in kidding magazine MILO. He’s also the author of IronMind: Stronger yourself—if a little self-reflection, coupled with a review of your Minds, Stronger Bodies; Super Squats: How to Gain 30 trusty training diary, reveals too many misses, it’s time to do Pounds of Muscle in 6 Weeks and Paul Anderson: The Mighti­ yourself a favor and come back down to weights you can lift. est Minister. For more information call IronMind Enterprises Oddly enough, if you’ve been missing too many lifts, reduc­ Inc. at (530) 265-6725 or Home Gym Warehouse at (800) ing your training weights might be the single best way to get 447-0008, ext. 1. Visit the IronMind Web site at www stronger. Fast. .ironmind.com. Finally, Coach Yang looks for lifters who can apply tremen­ dous focus in competition. Think of athletes who, under the pressure of a big contest, can walk up to a weight they’ve never even tried before and New Stuff smoke the lift. Think of lifters who succeed when they have their backs against the wall, when they have one do-or-die attempt at a weight, and you’ll understand not just what this kind of focus means but also why it’s so critical to championship per­ BSN announces the release of the first formance levels. Interestingly enough, my years of ultrapremium a.m.-p.m. lean-mass gainer, watching the top lift­ True-Mass. Availers in the world have able in delicious revealed that one chocolate, vanilla of the most striking and strawberry characteristics they milk shake flavors, display is an ability True-Mass adto come through in a dresses your clutch. Where lesser lean-mass-gainmen and women ing nutritional fold, the champions requirements from charge forward. morning through That’s why they’re evening. champions. The Each serving provides six premium proteins, principle is just as glutamine peptides and AKG, BCAAs, MCTs— applicable if you’ve and is a good source of fiber. True-Mass is been squatting with aspartame free. It’s used by eight-time Mr. 220 pounds and Olympia Ronnie Coleman, WWE superstar Triple looking forward to H and other Team BSN athletes. For more information call BSN toll-free (877) Ronnie Coleman. 673-3727, or visit www.BSNonline.net. Neveux \ Model: Ronnie Coleman

True-Mass From BSN

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Bomber Blast

MIND/BODY

About Weight Training

I

Neveux \ Model: Noel Thompson

might miss the training topics vital to you, but at least—here comes a laughable presumption—I stir up your thoughts. In hopes of being more specific, let’s begin our brief time together from another angle. What is it about your training that bothers you the most? What perplexes you, distresses and disturbs you, disap­ points you? What gets in your way, slows you down, prevents you from making progress—losing weight, building muscle, increasing strength and gaining shape? How about energy, endurance and general conditioning? It’s always those in the front row who raise their hands franti­ cally before the question is completely asked. They say, Guys are always staring at my butt (train at home, Bob), or the weights are cold in the morning (wear mittens, Bob), or, I’ve been lifting till I drop for three weeks and nothing’s happening—nothing, noth­ ing, nothing, I tell you, and I want to scream (Jane, have you met Bob?)!!! Having spent considerable time in the gym in the pursuit of physical development, I’ve paused, scratched my head and devised a random yet comprehensive list of problems I suspect represent us all. Perhaps we can whittle them down or reshape them into little more than annoyance to attend, not problems to perplex and suppress. Problem List: 1) Purpose, the lack thereof. You’re lazy. You procrastinate and you’re unmotivated. Correspondingly, you have no energy, en­ durance or drive. Beyond that you are without spirit or enthusiasm. You feel no excitement or desire. Why bother, you say rhetorically. You just don’t get it. In the ’60s we said you were a bummer on a bad trip. Today I say you are without purpose. If your purpose was strong and welldefined, none of the aforementioned negatives would materialize.

What, where, when, how and why

They would not survive. They would, like pesky mosquitoes, be swatted before they could light. Laziness is a physical vulgarity. It afflicts those to whom the no­ tion of lifting weights and being strong does not occur. Life without purpose is not life at all; it’s existence—dead man walking. And procrastination is a blight no muscle builder dares endure. Putting off one’s training enters the right ear and exits the left swiftly with­ out tweaking the brain. To skip a workout is blasphemous, illegal, treasonous and immoral. Thou must not cancel thy workout. No man or woman who has truly experienced the iron desires to avoid it. Their purpose is too deep, too high, too wide and too grand. Motivation is never in question. It never wavers, and it endures supremely, as long as your purpose is clear. Purpose is the heart of the matter, the spark, the fuel and the fire. Where there’s fire, there’s heat and, therefore, energy and force and drive. We’re not physical beings apart from our spirit, and when pur­ pose is intellectually determined, the spirit is aroused. When the spirit is aroused, purpose takes on greater dimension and intensity. The body responds with enthusiasm, excitement and desire. The package is complete. Purpose must be held high and strong and in clear view for suc­ cess day by day. Let it falter and fade, and you fail proportionately. Without purpose you have nothing. 2) Discipline, the callous taskmaster. I’ll be kind. I won’t dwell on the topic. Discipline develops by our side, and by its side we develop. We see discipline in our eyes when we look in the mirror, and it’s noticed by the way we walk and in our posture. Mostly, though, it’s observed in our nature. He insists, persists and perseveres; he’s disciplined. She refuses to give up, makes no excuses and endures the pain; she’s disciplined. They’re heroes in a life where freedom has been confused with anything goes, de­ bauchery comes before control and tolerance of weakness before the development of strength. Love discipline like a brother or sister, father or mother, spouse or best friend. Without discipline you’re out of control. 3) Time, the imaginary gatekeeper. What can be said about time except that we never have enough and can’t manage what we have. Slightly optimistic adult-life scenario: Have a family, se­ cure the job, grow fat, weak, sickly and ill-spirited and die early. Poor design. Go back to purpose and review discipline and get out your little black book. Somewhere under “urgent appointments” simply write: Work out at the gym for the purpose of good health and muscle and long life. Engage discipline and perseverance to perform the heroic physical act. Good! Done!! Do not dilly-dally! On to the next pressing appointments: Growing and learning, respect and responsibility. 4) Gym facility, inadequate and inconvenient. Let’s face it. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. We can work out in a bedroom, garage, basement, backyard or park—any space where we can do pushups, dips, chins, dynamic tension, crunches and leg raises. With purpose, time and discipline we can do it. But there’s nothing like a great gym just the way you like it. Give me a clean gym with meaty equipment, sufficient space, enough people, no jerks, some jolt-free sounds and plenty of air. Around the corner with my own personal parking space out front would be nice, but I’ll walk cross-town if I have to. Anything worthwhile is worth working for. Be strong, be coura­ geous. No wimps allowed. That goes for jerks, too. Another thing we must face, while we’re facing things: As the world turns, we’re running out of such marvelous places. Neigh­ borhood gyms have been perverted by the “scene.” They’re being

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replaced by no-heart corporate chains, facilities with acres of slick late-model treadmills, trick machines and personal trainers wearing Pampers. Head ’em up, roll ’em out. It’s a good day for those who are building their own home gym. Hang in there! 5) Training knowledge and methodol­ ogy—what to do, how, when and why. Once you’re past the fundamentals, there’s nothing more confounding than determin­ ing the proper exercise routine. Once you survive the frustration of managing interme­ diate training, how on earth do you design the workout scheme exactly suited to your metabolism, genetic makeup and evolving lifestyle? You read the mags, refer to the books, ask online and guess. No two answers are the same. The methodologies are endless, complex and conflicting. Beware! They might be mythology, not methodology. How about little white lies, exaggerations, mistakes, car-salesmanship or none-too-rare ego-espousing hype? Put knowledge aside; it confounds understanding. Let the intellect be still; it inhib­ its the soul. Think less; it thwarts focus. Be consistent, work hard, apply common sense, but don’t take night courses in building muscles and power, biochemistry or nutrition. Eat lots of protein and get plenty of sleep instead. A personal trainer with muscles, experience, humility, compassion, conviction, and ears that listen and a mouth that speaks kindly and wisely can be worth his weight for three one-hour training sessions and an occasional follow-up consulta­ tion. Training’s personal. Greet yourself with respect and appreciation, the best training partner you’ll ever have, and the best source of personal information, straight talk and insight this side of DaveDraper.com. Trust the hearty companion you are and, thereby, impart en­ couragement to your lockstep mentor—yup, you. As he or she grows, so do you. Count on it. He or she is certainly an advocate and, no doubt, wiser than you think. 6) Eating right, or menu, diet and nutrition. About eating: You know what to do, don’t you? You just don’t want to do it. High protein, medium-to-low-glycemic carbs, medium essential fatty acids and no bad, greasy fat. Lots of fresh vegetables and fruit and pure water. Smaller well-balanced meals more frequently (five to six) throughout the day, starting with breakfast. Be consistent. Supplement sufficiently. Don’t forget your Bomber Blend and Super Spectrim vitamins. This is as basic as weightlifting, which doesn’t necessarily make it easy or fun. Go back to purpose and discipline before you order your next pizza. Don’t spread graffiti or bite the mailman. 7) Drugs for muscle enhancement. One of the biggest problems with steroids and their associates is they are there. We’re a weak bunch, and shortcuts are popu­ lar in this day and age. Excuse me—shortcuts and instant riches have been popular since Adam and Eve and apple pie. But before you start downing the pills, injecting and stacking generously, remember this: They’re illegal; they’re an admission of weakness; they’re a lie, harmful to the physical system and destructive to the emo­ tional system. They’re financially draining, hard to get. Sources are uncertain, quality is dubious, gains are temporary, and they’re a monkey on your back. Dependency is a cruel and unrelenting animal. I inhaled once. As a user you unconsciously walk in shadows, withhold an uncomfortable secret in your regular world and unwillingly become part of an ignoble subculture you’d rather view from a safe distance. They say ’roids make users angry. Maybe it’s their personal disappointment that makes them angry. Time is flying, but I’m not. The sun’s gone down, and I haven’t left the runway. Heads, I take to the sky. Tails, I taxi back to the hangar. Let’s see...where’d I put my handy two-headed coin? Go, bombers. Godspeed. —Dave Draper www.DaveDraper.com

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Gallery of Ironmen

MIND/BODY MIND/BODY

Donald Dinnie

Photo courtesy of the David Chapman collection

S

cotland is a hard and stony land that has always bred strong, muscular men, but few Scotsmen have had as great an impact on the world of strength and sports as Donald Dinnie. In the mid-1800s Dinnie was a professional sportsman, the first man in history to make a living from his strength and skill. The remarkable athlete was born in 1837 in the heart of the Scottish highlands. He was a stonemason, but he enjoyed participating in the strength events of the Highland Games. From an early age, Dinnie had the strength of a champion; that was proved around 1860, when the strong lad was at work on a bridge. He carried two enormous stones, one weighing 340 pounds and the other 435 pounds, across the bridge for a distance of five yards. Those Din­ nie Steens have become legendary, and strongmen continue to try their prowess on them. Thanks to his great muscular power, Donald Dinnie trav­ eled across Scotland exhibiting his extraordinary prowess and increasing his reputation. Although unquestionably strong, the young Scotsman was no mere musclehead. He was constantly thinking of new and better methods of performing the traditional strength feats. Most famously, he figured out a new way of throwing the hammer by swinging around his head rather than using the unwieldy old pendulum style. He began to make a regular cir­ cuit of Highland Games, and he was

so good at his feats that organizers started to pay him for performing at their festivals. As his skills and fame increased, Dinnie received invitations to go to North America to exhibit his strength and skills. He was a rous­ ing success in the U.S. and Canada among both the expatriate Scots and their non-Celtic neighbors. He even took up wrestling and weightlift­ ing and proved just as successful at those endeavors as he was at the traditional Scottish sports. By the early 1880s Dinnie had worked his way across the conti­ nent and performed up and down the West Coast, but in 1883 he was invited to compete and exhibit in New Zealand and Australia. He was destined to live in the Southern Hemi­ sphere until 1897, when he left on a tour of South Africa and then went back to Britain. Donald Dinnie was a seasoned and stalwart competitor, and he is said to have won more than 10,000 awards over his long career. His cash earnings would be some $2.5 million in today’s money. Unfortunately, the Scotsman’s last days were spent in poverty because he was not very good with money. He had invested or given away his earnings, and by 1912 he was in dire straits. Fortu­ nately, the sporting community of Great Britain had such respect for the man that many famous athletes organized a benefit in 1913 and raised enough money to enable the destitute Dinnie to live out his final years in comfort. Dinnie died in 1916 of heart disease. He was 79. —David Chapman

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Inspiration

MIND/BODY

I’m not here to make a living; I’m here to make a

difference.

—Helice Bridges

L

iving a life of purpose will make your life worth

living. All human beings want to know what

they are here to do. Mother Theresa did, Nelson

Mandela did, and Arnold Schwarzenegger did. Look

at Jack LaLanne; he is still fulfilling his life’s work and

living a passionate, purposeful life at 90-plus. Living

on purpose is really living.

In the July ’05 IM I discussed goals. There is a dif­ ference, however, between goals and purpose. Your purpose is the big picture, like a globe of the world. Goals are the steps along the way, like a local street map. You need the globe to determine where you want to go in the world, and you need the street map to zero in on the destination. Your purpose and goals work exactly the same way, and you need both. When you plan your everyday goals with a well-defined purpose, you will wake up every morning champing at the bit because you know what you’re sup­ posed to do, and you’ll go to bed at night fulfilled. Here are three keys to living a life of purpose:

1) Align your purpose with your passions and natural ability. We all have

God-given gifts; discovering those gifts will unlock your purpose.

2) Be determined. Many people lose their direction in life because they’re easily distracted or influenced by others. Don’t be easily distracted. Don’t be what Zig Ziglar calls a wandering generality. 3) Be humble; Zig Ziglar also points out that being humble is not thinking less of yourself, it is just thinking of yourself less. Live outside yourself. Don’t let an unhealthy ego destroy your good intention. You’re designed for greatness. The world needs what you have. Now go

live the life you were meant to live!

—John Rowley

www.Home-Gym.com Best Sellers Books: 1) Train, Eat, Grow— The Positionsof-Flexion MuscleTraining Manual by Steve Holman 2) Fat to Muscle 2 by IRON MAN Publishing 3) The 7-Minute Rotator Cuff Solution by Joseph Horrigan, D.C., and Jerry Robinson 4) 10-Week Size Surge by IRON MAN Publishing 5) The Precontest Bible by Larry Pepe DVDs/Videos: 1) “IRON MAN’s Bodybuilding Beauties”

2) “IRON MAN’s Swimsuit Spectacular #9” 3) “Jay Cutler’s Ripped to Shreds” 4) “Sizzlefest: IM’s Hottest of the Hottest” 5) “Ronnie Coleman’s The Cost of Redemption” Top E-book: The Ultimate Mass Workout— Featuring the X-Rep Muscle-Building Method by Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson (available at www The origi­ .X-Rep nal X-Rep .com)

manual is getting rave reviews. See “Satisfied X-Rep­ pers” at X-Rep .com.

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Petralba \ Model: Arnold Schwarzenegger

Power of Purpose

IRON MAN MAGAZINE PROUDLY PRESENTS:

MIND/BODY

The Bodybuilding Stars of Tomorrow Here Today!

Michael Ergas’ Stats Weight: 211 Height: 5’6” Age: 37 Occupation: Personal trainer Residence: Culver City, CA Factoid: “I’ll be back at the USAs in ’06 looking better than last year. I’m going to give the show every­ thing I have and work my ass off to make this show count and get my pro card!” 322 JUNE 2006 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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Photography by Bill Comstock

To see more great photos

of upcoming physique stars, visit

www.GraphicMuscle.com

James Bivens’ Stats

Weight: 282 Height: 6’3” Age: 37 Occupation: Security/personal trainer Residence: Miami Beach, FL Factoid: ’00 Team Universe, 2nd (to Skip La Cour) Heavyweight; ’04 Junior USA, 1st Superheavyweight; ’05 Nationals, 5th Superheavyweight

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Serious Training

MIND/BODY

Cassie Fields Photography by Jerry Fredrick Location: Gold’s Gym, Venice, California

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Serious Stats Weight: 140 Height: 5’4 1/2” Bodypart split: Monday: chest, triceps; Tuesday: hamstrings, quads, glutes; Wednesday: back, rear delts; Thursday: shoul­ ders, biceps; Friday: legs; Saturday: shoulders, rear delts; Sunday: rest Factoid: Loves to read novels; attends Bible study every weekend.

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Model: Chris Cook

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M ind,M u scle and M ig ht

The Mental Factor by BillSt rr Photog raphy by M ichaelNeveu x or athletes to be successful in their chosen sports, they require many attributes. Having a high degree of athleticism, which includes such things as coordination, balance, quickness and a sense of timing during the performance of a physical skill, is key. Having a strong body that can endure repeated impacts in contact sports as well as the ability to play longer at a more intense level are genuine advantages. That’s the physical side of the coin. Then there’s the mental side, which, as many great athletes contend, is even more important than the physical. I happen to agree. During my competitive years in Olympic weightlifting, I saw countless examples of lifters who were clearly not as strong as their opponents emerge the winner due to their mental superiority. At the pinnacle of every sport the difference between the competitors is minute. All have similar qualities in terms of athletic ability and sport skills, yet invariably one or two always seem to come out on top. Lance Armstrong is a perfect example. In high-dollar sports, psycholo-

F

gists are frequently brought in to help players who are struggling to overcome their problems. They obviously have all the necessary tools to excel, but they’re faltering badly. Hypnosis and other forms of inducing a state in which the athletes are very responsive to suggestion are used, and in nearly every case it w works. The players snap out of their funk and return to their previous champion caliber. And yet I’m fairly sure that very few readers have the means to seek out professional assistance when their confidence has hit bottom. They have to figure out how to correct the problem on their own. The good news is, it can be done and will not cost you a dime. Many are of the opinion that having self-assurance is innate—either y have it or you don’t. While it’s you true that some do possess a higher degree of natural confidence than others, that doesn’t mean the trait can’t be improved. It’s a skill, and as with any other skill, the more y practice it, the more proficient you y will become at using it in your you sports activities, including weight training. In team sports an athlete’s confidence can be bolstered by coaches

and teammates, but that isn’t quite the same for individual sports. True, your coach can encourage you and provide some form suggestions, but you are very much alone during the performance of your event. And while an athlete in a team sport can be a member of a championship squad without playing a significant role, the individual-sport athlete relies 100 percent on his or her own accomplishments. So self-assurance is more critical to success for those who go it alone. Nevertheless, the methods I’m about to present can also be useful to those who play team sports. They’re not restricted to those who participate in individual sports requiring independent action. At Johns Hopkins, all of the members of the Olympic weightlifting team also played football. I taught them how to mentally prepare for a contest, and once they learned that skill, they used it to their benefit when football season rolled around. I’ve mentioned that practice is necessary in order to become better at this skill, and so is patience. Some think it’s a magic formula. It’s not. Time must be spent because proficiency doesn’t come overnight. And that’s exactly why the majority www.ironmanmagazine.com \ JUNE 2006 327

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Model: Eric Domer

Only the Strong Shall Survive

You can use mental rehearsal for a wide range of activities, not just your workouts.

of those who start practicing mental rehearsal don’t stick with it. A men­ tal skill is harder to achieve because it has to be done precisely each and every time. You might get stronger even though you use poor tech­ nique on some exercise, but that’s not the case with a mental exercise. It also needs to be understood that some are able to master this skill rather easily while others must spend a longer time working on it. I’ve observed that those who took part in a wide range of competitive sports when they were younger, and did well in them, have an easier time dealing with the stress of com­ petition than those who didn’t play sports when they were young. Suc­ cess breeds success. One of the nice bonuses of learn­ ing how to use mental rehearsal is that you can also apply it to dayto-day activities—to help you plan for an upcoming hectic schedule or deal with an invasion of in-laws during a holiday or a bunch of mid­ terms or finals. In other words, it’s a really good skill to have whether you’re engaged in a competitive activity or just desiring a stress-free life. I call the process mental re­ hearsal. Others use similar methods and give it other names, but a rose is a rose. As I mentioned, it can be used for a wide range of activities, but I’ll restrict this article to how it can benefit weight training and competitive lifting. I should men­ tion that I always did a form of men­ tal preparation—even before I got serous about Olympic lifting. When I wrestled and boxed, I would review the fundamentals and try to pump up my self-esteem prior to going into the ring or on the mat. Once I started devoting all my energy to lifting, I continued to use this same idea—going over my intended attempts and thinking about the keys. I did it in a perfunc­ tory manner, however, and never set aside a specific period of time to mentally plan for the contests. I’m sure it helped some, although I’m not sure how much. I was missing lifts that I should have made. The value of this discipline was brought into perspective as I was getting ready to compete in the ’66 North Americans, which were held

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in York, Pennsylvania. It was by far the biggest meet I’d ever qualified for and I was understandably ap­ prehensive. The month before, Bob Bednarski, Russ Knipp and I had driven to Boone, North Carolina, to take part in a contest. As every lifter knows, a certain amount of bonding takes place on a road trip, especially a long one, so we all got to know one another and became friends. The night before the North Americans, Tommy Suggs, Russ and I gathered at Bednarski’s trailer at Brookside Park, only a few miles from Bob Hoffman’s residence near Dover. That’s the site of the an­ nual York Barbell Company picnic. Sometime during the casual affair, Russ pulled me into a back room and asked what I planned on lift­ ing the next day. I told him, and he prompted me to go through the three lifts step by step from the first warmup to the final attempt. He told me to visualize each lift as I verbalized it and focus on the form

points. I worked my way through the press and snatch but never got to the clean and jerk because Barski insisted we join the rest of the party. At the contest I felt extremely confident. I proceeded to make all my presses and snatches, setting personal records on both. I was on a roll. That is, until I got to the clean and jerks. My high confidence level disappeared. I only made my open­ er. There was no doubt in my mind that if I had rehearsed my clean and jerks as I had the other two lifts, I would have succeeded with every attempt that night. I was convinced that going through the lifts and picturing each one from start to finish was a tremendous asset, yet I couldn’t impose on Russ to talk me through the preparation every time. I had to figure out how to make it work on my own. I began mentally going through my planned attempts and highlighting the various form points on the night prior to a meet. It did

help, but not for the significant contests, like the ’68 Olympic Trials, where the stakes were so high. When I tried to go through my in­ tended attempts, I would get so ner­ vous that my pulse rate would soar and I could feel my muscles tighten. No matter how hard I tried to relax, I couldn’t, particularly when I got to the final lifts. The rehearsals did me no good at all, because I just wasn’t able to relax enough to focus on my lifting. I knew that I was missing a criti­ cal part of the process, but I didn’t have a clue what it might be. Then I stumbled across it. I was leafing through a book on martial arts, hop­ ing to glean enough information to put together an article for Strength & Health, when I came across a chapter on systematic breathing and relaxation. Bingo, I had found the piece of the puzzle I was need­ ing to make my mental rehearsals bear fruit. Or at least I thought I had. In two weeks there was a meet

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Only the Strong Shall Survive

Model: Dan Decker

Preworkout visualization can help your form and focus in the gym.

in Wilmington, Delaware. I would put the idea to the test. I’d like to say I did great at the contest. I didn’t. I was full of confidence, however, and basically missed some attempts simply because I was not yet strong enough. My mind, on the other hand, was more than prepared because I was able to go through almost an hour of mental rehearsal without getting too nervous to con­ tinue. It was all due to the breathing. As I began the procedure described in the book, I felt my body relax. Then I started my intended attempts, thinking more of the technique than the numbers. Whenever I began to get anxious, I would start the deep breathing again and stay with it until I was once again calm. It was exactly what I was looking for and was so simple that I wanted to kick myself for not figuring it out on my own. But that’s the story of my life. The reason that the deep breath­ ing enabled me to avoid becoming anxious is the basic fact that the mind can only concentrate on one thing at a time. I learned that in my college psychology classes but had never considered it to be in­ strumental in helping me prepare for a contest. When I was focusing on inhaling and exhaling deeply, I wasn’t able to think about my lifts. As I said, it’s a skill, and the longer I practiced it, the easier it was for me to go through all my intended at­ tempts without getting anxious and having to stop and start over. Eventually, I gave little attention to the numbers and concentrated on technique. I didn’t even set my opening attempts firmly but kept them flexible. I might start with 270 if my warmups went well or 260 if they didn’t, reminding myself of the often forgotten truism in competi­ tion that it doesn’t matter where you start, only where you end up. I also didn’t lock in my second or third attempt either, so I could change them according to what my compet­ itors were doing without affecting my confidence. I began using the deep breath­ ing during my warmups and before going on platform. It served two useful functions. It enabled me to calm down and conserve my energy for the upcoming attempt, and it

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helped me focus on the small form keys—both most useful when 10 pounds often means the difference between winning and watching the victory ceremony from the audi­ ence. So here’s a short course on learn­ ing how to relax that anyone can master if he or she is willing to put in some practice time. It’s just as useful for athletes who are primar­ ily interested in improving their training lifts as it is for competitive athletes. Find a quiet place. For some that poses a problem—like a friend of mine who has four young children or an athlete who lives in a frat house. My advice to both: Go sit in your car. I prefer a dark or dimly lit room and want it to be as quiet as possible. Many people find light music agreeable, but you should stay away from anything that dis­ tracts from the task at hand. No radio or TV, and unplug the phone and fax. If you can sit on a fat pillow and assume the lotus position, do so. That places you in an ideal posture from which to breathe deeply. The main thing is to be comfortable, however. You cannot concentrate on your breathing when some part of your body is screaming in pain. So you can sit in your recliner or even lie down. Take a few moments to try to let your mind go blank. Keep your back flat, and lift your head slightly. That will enable you to take deeper breaths. Slow and steady, draw in air and while doing so, try and picture your lungs expanding. When they’re full, suck in a bit more, then hold your breath for eight to 10 seconds. In the beginning you may not be able to hold the air in for that long, but with practice you will. Don’t let the air gush out. Rather, slowly release it, emitting a soft whoosh­ ing sound. When your lungs feel empty, contract your diaphragm and squeeze out a tad extra. Do not inhale for five or six seconds, and after that you must resist the urge to suck in huge quantities of air. In­ stead, inhale slowly, as you did with your first breath. The holding times are merely guidelines. What you are trying to learn is the rhythm of the exercise.

Only the Strong Shall Survive

Mental rehearsal

is a learned skill.

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Model: Skip La Cour

Visualize yourself as muscular and confident. Once you accomplish that, you will be able to extend the amount of time it takes you to fully inhale and exhale as well as hold the air in your lungs during the oxygen-starvation period. As you breathe in and out,

concentrate on the action of your diaphragm. Visualize it expanding in your relaxing abdomen while you’re inhaling and contracting far up in your chest cavity when exhaling. Once you’re totally focused on

your rhythmic breathing and the motion of your diaphragm, you won’t be able to think about any­ thing else, and that’s the idea. After you’ve completed three cycles, turn your thoughts to your upcoming workout or competition. Since I’ve covered a great deal about contest preparation, I’ll show how to get ready for the next session in the weight room. While I said that I eventually stopped fixing specific numbers to the various lifts in a meet, I do want to lock them in for training. That’s because you’re only competing against yourself in the gym and should know exactly what poundages you’re aiming for at any given workout. Write down all your projected warmups and top-end lifts before you do your mental rehearsal. That gives you a tangible game plan. Otherwise, it’s hit or miss. Our imaginary strength athlete this month is a football player who’s in the final weeks of his off-season

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Only the Strong Shall Survive

Model: Jamo Nezzar

Harness your mental energy, and you will achieve your goals much faster.

so can you. It’s not magic; it’s practice. Even if you have no desire to lift heavy objects or to com­ pete in any type of strength event and only want to main­ tain strength fitness, it’s still beneficial to do some mental rehearsal for your training. It will help you make your next workout much more productive. During my hour commute to Johns Hopkins I would preview my planned workout. I didn’t do any breathing exercises, since I wasn’t going to be trying any personal records, although I certainly could have while I sat for several minutes waiting for all the lights to turn green. When I got to the weight room, I knew exactly what I had to do and was ready to do it. One final note: The rhythmic breathing is an excellent way to relax and reduce stress, whether it’s the physical or mental variety. For several years I trained in non­ air-conditioned gyms in Texas and Maryland. In both places the tem­ perature often hit 100 degrees with matching humidity. I had difficulty getting my pulse and respiratory rates back down to normal. I duti­ fully swallowed a fistful of multiple minerals and vitamin C, but it still took an hour or longer for my body to calm down. Then I remembered the deep breathing. Within five min­ utes my breathing and pulse rate had dropped appreciably. As I said, the simplest solution to a problem is often overlooked. So whether you’re trying to hurl a shot out of the stadium, polevault over a tall building, be the first human to elevate a half ton over­ head or merely enjoy being fit and strong enough to take long hikes in the country, start incorporating some mental rehearsal into your routines. By harnessing more of your mental energy, you’ll be able to achieve your goal much faster. It’s time well spent. E dit ors not e 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

strength program. On Monday he squatted 450x5, so on Friday he wants to do 460x3. Here’s how he plans to work his way up to that weight: 135x5, 225x5, 315x5, 385x3, 435x3 and 460x3. It’s no trouble for him to commit these to memory. On Thursday night he sets aside 30 minutes to do his mental re­ hearsal. After three cycles of rhyth­ mic breathing, he’s relaxed and goes through each of his six sets in deliberate fashion. He visualizes the bar being loaded, placing his feet just right, locking his back tightly and making each lift with power to spare. He knows he’s strong enough to handle 460 for a triple since he’s already done 10 pounds less for five. The only thing that can keep him from making his final set is a break­ down in technique. So he does another cycle of deep breathing, then proceeds to go through his squat routine again. This time he doesn’t focus on the amount of weight on the bar but rather concentrates on key form points. No more than three, how­ ever. More than that will only com­ plicate the execution of the lift. Recalling that he has a tendency to round his back on the heavy weights, which often results in fail­ ure, he built the potential form flaw into his preparation. One key for descending (keep back extremely tight), one for the initial drive out

of the bottom (lift chest up), and a final one for bringing the bar to the finish (no hesitation through the middle). Of course, everyone has his own set of keys, but this works for our athlete. I tell my athletes to imagine that they are taking a video of themselves and try to picture themselves doing each and every rep in perfect form. When our athlete walks in the weight room on Friday, he’s ex­ tremely confident that he will succeed with the 460 pounds and that’s way more than half the battle already won. Yuri Vlasov, the great Russian Olympic lifting heavyweight of the ’50s and ’60s, was also a published author. He wrote about being able to center his mental focus on lift­ ing a certain poundage so intently that he felt as if he were standing in a circle of bright light, with every­ thing around him blacked out, even sound. I had no idea what he was talking about until it happened to me. It was at the William Penn High School in York. As I stood over the bar, it was just as he described. All I could see was the center of the bar, and I was standing in a pool of vivid light. It was a heady, euphoric, al­ most transcendental sensation that I dearly wished I could capture more often. Sadly, I only did so a couple of times after that. But the point is, if I could achieve that ideal state,

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Readers Write Retr-O Rocks!

Weightlifting Wow Factor

Neveux

Dunn Deal

The April ’06 IRON MAN N with Rachel McLish on the cover is the feel-good issue of the year! When I saw our first Ms. Olympia and how elegant she looks even now, I realized why I got into the sport. I had almost totally lost my desire to be associated with female bodybuilding. When I see that cover photo and then think about the product that is out there now, I wonder what the hell happened. After I read the interview by Lonnie Teper, I felt better. When Rachel talked about walking away from the sport and never looking back, it really helped me deal with my own issues. Sometimes the competitive side gets the best of us, and we lose track of reality. As Lenda Murray said in a recent interview, we don’t like what we do or how we look, but we want to win. I am not walking away, but I know I need to give it a break to focus on what is real in life. Thank you. Carolyn Bryantt via Internett

Bravo Broser You’ve published a number of articles by Eric Broser, and I applaud the addition. I’ve been following Eric’s advice online at his forum, and he’s very knowledgeable. He knows how to get results. Please keep the Broser features coming. Bill Zuniga a Las Vegas, NV V E dit ors not e You’ll be happy to see Eric Broser’s Muscle “In” Sites in this issue. It’s his new column, which will highlight various bodybuilding-related Web sites every month. That’s right, every month he’ll wade through the Web and give you interesting picks and pans. Don’t worry, we’re also forcing him to continue to write features as well—and we’ll try not to let the shackles chafe him.

Just a quick note to let you know how Robin Byrd-Goad gets airborne much we have enjoyed with double her bodyweight. the recent addition of Ron Dunn’s illustrated posters [September ’05, October ’05, December ’05]. So much, in fact, that two of them, framed and signed by the artist, are proudly displayed at the front of our brandnew gym, Hard Corp Fitness. Thanks so much N for sharing the art of to Dunn and IRON MAN bodybuilding. Clay Hutson and Raymee Leitzz Hard Corp Fitnesss Roseville, MII E dit ors not e We plan on having Ron do more in his Legends series. Keep your eyes on IRON MAN N for more of his inspiring illustrations.

X Rep at BB.com Thank you for the X-Rep method. I just started using it on a couple of exercises, and I’m really excited about training. I’ve gone through years of minimal progress. I might be crazy, but after only one session with X Reps I feel different. I did a chest and back workout, and I really felt like I hit the target muscles with maximum force. Will there be more [XRep] training articles on Bodybuilding.com? Jim Websterr via Internett E dit ors not e Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson have contributed a number of training articles to Bodybuilding .com, all of which are in the site’s archive. They will continue to do so as time permits. You can also find many of those articles and others at their site, www.X-Rep.com. Vol. 65, No. 6: 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 © 2006. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced in any manner without written permission from the publisher. Printed in the USA.

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Strossen

I was very impressed with your pictorial “Lady Lifters” in the April ’06 IM. M What a great way to showcase feminine strength and beauty. Randall Strossen’s photos were magnificent, and most of the poundages those ladies were moving were impressive. A 106­ pounder driving up 220 pounds, more than double bodyweight? Now, that’s incredible! George Mangelio Pittsburgh, PA

Rachel McLish.