JENA RICHTER - Parrillo Performance

A BODYBUILDERIS BORN

thank god I never quit!

IRON VIC SPEAKS!the tale of the under-confident overachieving olympia winner

BY JOHN PARRILLOthe truth about fat burners

THE PARRILLO PRINCINPLESabdominal exercise – myth versus reality

MUSCLE MEETS MEDICINE

shoulder health:one thing you should be doing

JENA RICHTERcrossing paths with a legendary Parrillo trainer

photo by Amir Marandi

Staff

PublisherJohn Parrillo

Editor At LargeMarty Gallagher

Design DirectorMarcus McCuiston

ContributingWritersJohn ParrilloMarty GallagherRon HarrisJeremy GirmannAndre NewcombIron Vic Steele

Contributing PhotographersJohn ParrilloDominique ParrilloMarcus McCuistonAmir MarandiTodd Ganci

John Parrillo’s Performance Press is published monthly. The subscription rate of one year (12) issues is $29.95 ©2016 by John Parrillo. All Rights Reserved. For information, Please contact Parrillo Performance at (513) 874-3305 or e-mail to [email protected]

JENA RICHTER MUSCLE MEETS MEDICINE

A BODYBUILDER IS BORN

IRON VIC SPEAKS

THE PARRILLO PRINCIPLES

BY JOHN PARRILLO

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Often dramatic physical change is a matter of circumstance

and luck. Take the case of Jena Richter. She was typical in that her circumstance seemed almost a cliché. Jena had been a super athletic youngster; she stayed lean, fit and trim – right up until the first of four pregnancies. Jena related, “I was always an athlete. All through school, I ran cross-country, I ran track, I played soccer and I did gymnastics. I was always in motion and always participating in some sort of sport or athletic activity.” Lean, fit, hyperactive athletic youngsters are able to eat any type of calorie and not suffer. Be it pizza, ice cream, pie, candy, junk food

bodybuilding protégé


By Marty Gallagher

or bread, teens and young adults can eat trash and not get fat. They possess blast furnace metabolisms. John Parrillo developed a method for systematically replicating this highly desirable “inferno metabolism” in his bodybuilders. When these youngsters become adults, the blast furnace metabolism flames out. Often life and circumstance conspire and, in addition to metabolic flameout, the life-long athlete, for a lot of good reasons, quits training. The athlete can go from fantastically fit to frighteningly fat in an amazingly short timeframe.

This exact calamity befell Jena. Her athlete’s body grew swollen and

distended. “Four pregnancies took a toll on my body. I gained fifty pounds of bodyweight. Needless to say, I was miserable, unenergetic and fat. When I developed a thyroid dysfunction I knew I had to do something.” Four pregnancies morph the human body. Jena was “lucky” that, despite the horrific condition she found herself in, she had several factors working in her favor. As an athlete from birth, she had a terrific amount of “muscle memory.” She had developed a great set of muscles that, through lack of use, had became flaccid and weak; when she eventually got serious again, her muscle memory allowed her to muscle-up and lean

out quickly, compared to a normal civilian. Jena also had a competitive athlete’s bulldog mindset: she was determined and had a high pain tolerance and terrific work ethic. She needed some inspired direction when she decided to begin her post-partum comeback. When Jena decided to seriously commit, she consulted her husband and life-partner, Brad. “Brad has always been into weight lifting and fitness. Through Brad I had resources. When I decided to get serious and undertake a regimented diet/exercise program, Brad shared with me a solid training and nutrition strategy. He is my biggest fan. He is my alarm clock; he is my personal chef and my positive motivator.” Jena was confounded and dismayed at how out of shape she was, “When I first started weight lifting and getting into shape, I couldn’t even do one push up! I was shocked at how weak I had become.”

When Jena committed, she trained hard, dieted with discipline and at just the right time had the good luck to cross paths with a Parrillo superstar, Franco Santoriello. Once one of the best bodybuilders in the world, Franco was the lead trainer at many a Parrillo training camp. He was deservedly famous for leading Parrillo Training Camp attendees thru savage, result-producing workouts and was known as the master at generating exercise intensity, both in lifting and cardio. His Parrillo Boot Camps were the stuff of legend. Jena, in some cosmic twist of fate (luck?) happened to train at a local facility that Franco frequented. “I train at Ideal Fitness in Loveland, Ohio. I met Franco Santoriello while training there. Franco took me under his wing. He introduced me to Parrillo’s way of training and nutrition. Parrillo is amazing. Franco is amazing.” Mr. Santoriello has used Parrillo methods and Parrillo products

for decades; as a personal trainer, Franco is peerless. Every single trainee that enacts his advice, exactly and precisely, obtains results – no ifs, and or buts. The Parrillo strategy combines high intensity weight training with high intensity cardio and “supports” the copious training with lots of clean calories. Franco has used this methodology for a long time and he has long ago mastered the nuances; this man has transformed hundreds of physiques. Deeply rooted in Parrillo, Franco introduced Jena to the real world of hardcore, result-producing training and strict, serious nutrition.

In the real world, hard training and serious nutrition are expected; the elite bodybuilder always has a plan and a purpose. Franco set Jena straight on every aspect of real bodybuilding, Parrillo-style Old School bodybuilding. Franco relates the cold truth of the “bodybuilding process” and that truth is that

the path is difficult but doable. Jena sensed the truth of Franco’s approach. “He (Franco) is a very positive person. He supports me in my efforts and serves as a continual resource. He is always pushing me to do my best, to go beyond my best…when I’m exhausted, when I want to give up, he pushes me and when he does I find it easy to go past my limits. No matter how hard I train when I train alone, when Franco is watching me train, it is easy to give more than I thought myself capable of…Franco will challenge me on those last reps; he asks me basic questions like, ‘why are you doing this in the first place?’ He is a master of motivation. Franco is super supportive; he has encouraged and supported me during every phase of my bodybuilding/fitness journey. He pushes me to do better and to continually do my best. Ever so often, he reminds me how far I have come. He also reminds me that I am fully capable of reaching my goal.”

Crossing paths with a legendary Parrillo trainerJena Richter

jena richter

Deeply rooted in Parrillo, Franco introduced Jena to the real world of hardcore, result-producing training and strict, serious nutrition.

Jena was confounded and dismayed at how out of shape she was, “When I first started weight lifting and getting into shape, I couldn’t even do one push up! I was shocked at how weak I had become.” photo by Amir Marandi


jena richter john parrillo’s performance press

“Franco educates me on nutrition and educates me on training and best of all, he holds me accountable. He taught me that consistency is key - and to trust the process.” Jena laughed and related, “He puts up with all my whining during our super-intense leg day! Franco pushes me to lift heavier weights than I think is possible. When I do, I get an indescribable feeling of accomplishment and pride.” Needless to say, once this former athlete started training under Santoriello’s expert direction, Jena’s dormant muscle memory awoke; her blast-furnace metabolism was reignited and to make a long story short, she lost forty pounds of body fat while adding ten pounds of muscle. Naturally, being a resurrected lifelong athlete, she shaped up so rapidly and so dramatically that her thoughts turned towards competing. “I worked really hard and people whose opinions I valued said I was

good enough and should compete. So I decided to compete in my first figure competition. I took eight months to prepare. I lost 40 pounds and won my first show.” Needless to say, this revitalized her, fired her up further. “I kept working hard. I competed again a year later in my first NGA show, I placed fifth. I am currently working hard for another competition this fall."

We asked Jena what advice she had for those women currently on the sidelines and seeking to mount a serious fitness effort. “The biggest thing I would stress to women is to not under-eat. It's tempting to starve and seems logical; starvation dieting is popular but starvation dieting really hurts you. It stunts the metabolism.” It is always a counterintuitive lesson. “If you eat ‘clean’ you can and should eat big!” Jena is 30-years old, stands 5’ 6’’ and in the off-season weighs 145 pounds. “In my free time, believe

it or not, I love to knit. I have a Maine Coon cat named Nigel. I’m the mother of three beautiful little girls: Eden 8, Farrah 6 and Callie age 3. My girls love ‘training’ with me; we practice flexing together.” Jena has to be a time management master to orchestrate three young vibrant children – and all that goes with it – while trying to fit in fitness. Yet she was able to successfully melt off forty pounds of excess body fat. When you are truly out of shape and suddenly undertake a serious fitness regimen (complete with cardio, weight training and diet) gains come quick and the results are dramatic. Jena is a terrific example of how sensational the result can be when determination is combined with expertise and accountability.

Daily Meal Schedule

Meal 1 Egg whites, cooked oats with CapTri®, PB for MCT™, grapefruit

Meal 2 Grilled chicken, green beans, asparagus, lentils

Meal 3 White fish, Brussels sprouts, brown rice cakes

Meal 4 Spinach leaves, salmon, cucumbers drizzled in CapTri®

Meal 5 Chicken, green salad with CapTri®, sweet potato

Meal 6 Flank steak, brown rice

“I will snack on bell peppers, celery and carrots throughout the day. I use the Parrillo protein bars for a handy on the go meal. I love the convenience of the bars because I cannot always fit in a meal. I use the Essential Vitamin™ and Mineral Electrolyte™ as they help support my thyroid. Through hard training and Parrillo supplements, I have been able to avoid all thyroid medication. I love Parrillo’s Advanced Lipotropic Formula™ and use them during the contest prep phase; they provide that extra added boost needed to spark fat loss. I use Muscle Amino Formula™ and have found branched-chain amino acids helpful for preserving muscle during the competition preparation phase. I am convinced that BCAAs decrease delayed onset muscle soreness. I use Maximum Endurance Formula™; they help me maintain my training intensity, especially on back and leg days: those workouts are tough.”

Jena uses CapTri® to boost her clean calorie intake. “My favorite Parrillo product is CapTri®. This supplement fuels my body with energy. CapTri® calories can’t be stored as a fat. I use CapTri® to flavor my fish, chicken and veggies. I love to combine CapTri® with the PB for MCT™ for a delicious taste treat. The Enhanced GH™ is excellent for building muscle. Enhanced GH Formula™ helped me gain ten pounds of lean mass in the last year. I always take my Parrillo Liver Amino Formula™ tablets with all meals; liver helps keep my muscle tissue dense and firm. Parrillo products are ‘clean’ with and with unlimited options for satisfying a sweet craving. The protein brownies are delicious, and the peanut butter is one of the best things that I have ever tasted. I absolutely love peanut butter, and it’s one of the toughest things for me to give up. With Parrillo’s new PB for MCT™, I get the best of both worlds, genuine PB taste plus potency.”

Weekly Training Split

Monday Biceps, triceps Tuesday Shoulders Wednesday Legs Thursday Chest Friday Back Saturday Glutes and hamstrings

Cardio: I do fasted cardio before breakfast on Stair Mill for 20 minutes. This is high intensity work. I do cardio six days per week. I like to add in cardio plyometrics. I will do cardio-plyo for 45 minutes twice each week. This will include sprinting on the row machine, using the treadmill with a steep incline and running sprints. I find high intensity cardio is really excellent fitness and burning off body fat.

Jena

“The biggest thing I would stress to women is to not under-eat. It's tempting to starve and seems logical; starvation dieting is popular but starvation dieting really hurts you. It stunts the metabolism.”

"...I decided to compete in my first figure competition. I took eight months to prepare. I lost 40 pounds and won my first show.” Needless to say, this revitalized her, fired her up further.


I have received several recent questions related to shoulder

pain. Those who have experienced shoulder discomfort to any significant degree are painfully aware of the limitations that it imposes, not only on training, but also on general daily function. I have become increasingly convinced that most of us could be protecting our shoulders and relieving common causes of discomfort by making a very simple addition to our daily routines.

muscle meets medicine

MEETS

By Dr. Jeremy Girmann

shoulder health: one thing you should be doing

Shoulder Health: One thing you should be doing

Several years ago, on days when I would perform a number of upper body pressing exercises, I would experience a fair amount of shoulder discomfort. As a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation physician and musculoskeletal “expert”, I was largely living the “do as I say, not as I do” adage when it came to training the shoulder and chest muscles. I understood that performing an adequate warm-up, balancing and strengthening the rotator cuff muscles, and maintaining proper

range of motion while paying close attention to biomechanics are of premier importance for optimal training and preservation of joint health. Despite my knowledge of this, when time was constrained (and when is it not?), I would take short cuts and fail to properly address these things.

Over time, I began to experience symptoms of shoulder impingement. One of the most common causes of shoulder discomfort, impingement classically results from an inflammation and irritation of the supraspinatus muscle (one of the four rotator cuff muscles) as it passes beneath parts of the shoulder called the acromion and coracoacromial ligament – together, the coracoacromial arch (CA arch). This condition can cause pain, weakness, and limited range of motion. It is often aggravated by overhead movements or by lying on the affected side.

After having dealt with the discomfort for some time, I began to hang from a bar between sets of bench press, shoulder press, and other pressing movements. Before long, I began to notice a significant improvement in how my shoulders felt during the workouts. This led to me to further consider the potential importance of joint distraction for optimal function and overall joint health. I began to think about the possible consequences of repeatedly engaging in weighted exercises that

create joint compression without also performing joint distraction.

As members of the primate family, humans share very similar anatomy with monkeys, chimpanzees, and orangutans. As it applies to functional anatomy, one readily apparent difference in the way that we use our shoulders is that we don’t get around by swinging from tree to tree. The use of arm swinging in arboreal locomotion is known as brachiation.

I figured that hanging from a bar was likely to alter the fluid pressures in and around the shoulder, therefore encouraging changes in the ways in which the blood and synovial fluid are delivered to the tissue comprising the shoulder structures. Perhaps this would enhance oxygenation and nutrient delivery to these regions. Additionally, I presumed that hanging from a bar was likely to

stretch muscles, tendons, ligaments, and fascia that are otherwise seldom stretched. I wondered whether this could impart permanent anatomic changes that would alter the ways in which the structures of the shoulders articulate and function.

As I dug deeper, I discovered that Dr. John Kirsch, an orthopedic surgeon who had been struck by similar curiosity, has done some pretty neat work on this concept of hanging. In the course of his investigations, Dr. Kirsch performed CT scans of subjects’ shoulders while simulating the hanging position. To do this, he had subjects lie in a CT scanner with their arm raised overhead while they held a rope that was attached to a 40-60lb. weight, creating traction on the shoulder joint. The images that were obtained from these scans revealed that in this position, the head of the arm bone – the humerus, lifted the CA arch.

Given that the space under the CA arch through which the supraspinatus muscle and tendon pass can narrow over time due to bony changes, stiffening and contracture of ligaments, and development of muscular imbalances, the idea is that repeated hanging could create more space. If done consistently, it will lift the arch and stretch many of the structures that had previously caused narrowing and impingement of the supraspinatus. This, in turn, will decrease the irritation and inflammation that commonly cause shoulder pain.

Surgically, acromiopasty procedures are often performed to decompress and widen the region of impingement. Wouldn’t it be nice, however, if we could widen this space without the need for surgical intervention? Perhaps it’s possible.

...I presumed that hanging from a bar was likely to stretch muscles, tendons, ligaments, and fastcia that are otherwise seldom stretched

...performing an adequate warm-up, balancing and strengthening the rotator cuff muscles, and maintaining proper range of motion while paying close attention to biomechanics are of premier importance for optimal training and preservation of joint health.


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I generally recommend the following protocol:

• Perform very light, high-rep dumbbell lateral raises within a range of motion that does not cause discomfort. This will warm up the shoulder joints and soft tissue.

• Hang from a bar for 3 sets of 30 seconds.

• Perform the hanging stretches 5 days per week.

If you cannot comfortably hang with the full weight of your body, it’s okay to keep your feet in contact with the floor and perform this with partial bodyweight.

Though you’ll want to first discuss the cause of your shoulder pain and appropriateness of this protocol

with your physician, I have noted successful alleviation of pain with use of this routine even in individuals with partial rotator cuff tears. In the hanging position, the supraspinatus (the most commonly torn rotator cuff muscle) is relaxed and sits safely behind the acromion.

If you’ve been dealing with shoulder discomfort, or simply have an interest in maintaining optimal joint health, consider adding this to your routine.

muscle meets medicine


Episode 112: Thank God I never quit!

A thought occurred to me the other day, not for the first time.

But as the years go by, this thought becomes more pronounced and meaningful to me:

“Thank God I never quit!”

Those of you who bought my book “Real Bodybuilding” know that I inscribed each inside with this brief phrase:

“Train hard, train smart, and NEVER give up!”

It’s the never giving up part that resonates the loudest with me. Some bodybuilders were always big and strong. If you look at photos of Jay Cutler when he was 18 and had yet to start training, he was already a size some guys would need years of heavy training and eating to reach. A year of training later, and Jay was bigger than most bodybuilders ever get no matter how many years they train or how dedicated they are.

When I started fooling around with weights at 12-13 years old, I was not consistent. I would work out like a madman for a few days, then quit

a bodybuilder is born thank god I never quit!

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for months. I quit because I failed to see any results, and that led me to believe I never would. The real issue at the time was that I had not yet hit puberty, and without that burst of hormones there was just no way my muscles could grow. I was still a child. But I did know that I wanted to be a big, strong man someday.

By the time I started high school in ninth grade, I had made up my mind to stick with lifting no matter what. I had no expectations of ever being able to put on much size, though I desperately wanted to. I was just under five feet tall and 95 pounds.

As high school went on, I kept my promise to myself and continued lifting: at home, in the attic of my friend Paul Poirier’s house for the year we trained together every day after school, and at the bare-bones weight room of the Boys Club in Waltham, MA. I was gradually starting to become more athletic and muscular looking. In my mind, I hoped to get a lot bigger eventually, but I still didn’t believe it was possible. The couple kids I knew who were much bigger and stronger than the rest of us had gotten that way very fast. It was clear to me that there was something different about those kids and that they responded to training in a way that most people just didn’t. Nutrition and drugs were not in any way part of this equation, either. These kids ate the same crap food we all did, and nobody back then was using steroids at that age in my city.

By the time I started college in the fall of 1987 at the University of California at Santa Barbara (a long, long way from home), I had read my first copy of FLEX magazine and it was like a light bulb went off over my head. Looking at photos of the stars inside like Rich Gaspari, Lee Labrada, Lee Haney, Gary Strydom, Mike Quinn, and Mike Christian,

I knew that I wanted to look like those guys. I cut pictures out and taped them to the walls of my room, which my two roommates found hilarious. They found it even funnier that I thought I could look like that someday. So did everyone else I announced my plan to. I was discouraged at every turn and told not to get my hopes up. My girlfriend in LA the next summer, a B-movie actress named Linda, thought I was delusional, as did Dr. Ellington Darden of Nautilus fame, who I sent photos to for evaluation, and countless more. Not one person believed I would achieve my goal, and some tried to convince me to give up and spare myself the eventual frustration and heartache that my certain failure would bring.

Rather than believe what they said and get discouraged, I got angry and decided I would prove them all wrong. That ‘I’ll show them’ attitude changed over the years as I matured and gained more self-confidence, a quality I had been sorely lacking throughout my entire early life. Eventually I began to simply enjoy the process of challenging myself to train harder, eat better, and experiment with different workouts and pretty much every new supplement that came along over the years. Despite not dominating in competition, I kept doing that too, really because I loved it. Team sports had never been my thing, but I enjoyed wrestling Senior year of high school, and this was more like that. If I succeeded or if I failed, it was all up to me. There is nothing like the thrill of showing off the product of so much dedication and hard work, and putting it all on the line against others who share that same passion.

Long story short, here I am today at 46 years old and having been training consistently for 32 years of my life. The people who told me I

would never stand on a Mr. Olympia stage with the best pros were right all along, because my genetics were not at that elite level (forget drugs, because without the right genetics I can assure you that all the drugs in the world won’t take a person to that level).

But I am so glad I never gave up, because like I tell people, you just never know how good you can be until you try. I gave it my all and continue to do so, and the physique I see in the mirror today is one the 14-year-old me would have been stunned to own one day. If I could travel back in time and show the

younger me what I would look like in the future, it would have been a huge boost of motivation. But none of us can do that. When we start out, we have to operate on faith.

You really don’t know what your ultimate potential is until you have put a lot of time and effort into training hard, eating right, and resting - and I mean YEARS. After ten years of training, I looked a lot better than when I started. After twenty years, I looked better than I did at ten. And now, after over thirty years of training I can honestly say I am still improving, albeit very slowly in comparison to the early years.

And if I had given up at any point or even decided at any point that there was no way I could possibly get any better and had totally tapped out my potential, I wouldn’t look as good as I do now.

Do I look as good as Phil Heath or Dexter Jackson? Nope. But so what? And none of you should worry about what you look like compared to Phil, me, or the guy at the other end of the dumbbell rack doing curls at your gym. Measure your success by how you compare to the previous YOU, and there is no way you can fail. Bodybuilding is really all about the strive for self-improvement. You can always be a little bit better. The gains don’t come fast for most of us, and the longer you’ve been at it, the slower still they will come. But you can’t ever quit. As long as you don’t quit, you are a winner.

And I can promise you this. Keep working hard and smart, never quit, and you will be very happy you didn’t.

I am so glad I never gave up, because like I tell people, you just never know how good you can be until you try.

Photo by Todd Ganci


Abdominal exercise – myth versus reality

Let’s get real about what ab exercise can and cannot do

Ab exercise reality check:

High repetition abdominal exercise will not and cannot create the ripped, fat-free, delineated washboard waistline that is the trademark of a true bodybuilder. When it comes to leaning out and getting a “six-pack,” diet and aerobic exercise are far more important than abdominal exercises. In the Parrillo approach, disciplined dieting is far and away the single most critical element in obtaining the coveted fat-free waistline. When you combine a Parrillo-style nutritional plan with intense and consistent cardio, the body is forced into using body fat for fuel. Back in the days of abdominal ignorance, the widely held and unchallenged belief was that ab exercises burned away the body fat that lay atop the abs, obscuring them from view. The solution, based on a faulty premise, was to do high volume ab work. Ab work would burn fat off the ab muscles. In 1970, a pro bodybuilder would typically spend an hour a day working abs, believing ab exercise was “defining” their waists – the credit for their improving waist clarity was actually

parrillo principles abdominal exercise – myth vs. reality

By Andre Newcomb

attributable to the fish-and-water, zero carb diets most of them followed. Olympia winners like Frank Zane and Chris Dickerson used to do 1,000 reps in the Roman Chair sit-up six days a week. And that was not all they did and they were not alone: when the crunch craze hit in the 1990s, trainers would routinely recommend clients perform hundreds of reps per session, daily, in order to “melt off the gut fat.” Now we know better: ab exercise cannot and will not

magically melt body fat. Spot reducing was, is and ever shall be, a myth.

Abdominal muscles deserve their fair share of training. We treat them like other muscles and muscle groups; no need to hundreds and thousands of reps, Parrillo ab training works the abs by breaking the abs region into sections and using a variety of isolative movements. Parrillo presents trainees with a broad spectrum of

innovative abdominal exercises; these varied ab movements are kept in heavy rotation: ab variety keeps ab training fresh and vibrant. Beginner bodybuilders typically fall into the trap of doing one or two favored ab exercises (that invariably attack the upper abs exclusively) while ignoring the other ¾ of the muscles that make up the entirety of the ab region. The solution is to understand ab physiology and train the abs using tremendous variety. Learn precision muscle targeting; the goal is to isolate and work separate and distinct ab “zones:” We need make the mind/muscle connection on every rep of every set of ab work.

Use as a warm-up:

Bodybuilding legend Bill Pearl had an interesting and highly applicable approach towards abs and ab training: do them first, use ab training as a warm-up for the rest of the body. Bill explained that like most bodybuilders, he saved ab training until the end of the training session and used it as a cool down. The problem was he kept blowing off the abs when the session was done. Something would always seem to come up that pulled him out of the gym and back into “real life” before his abs were done. He got a brainstorm and began doing them at the start of every session. This way he made sure the abs got done. He discovered ab work made for a terrific warm-up for the rest of the body. 15 minutes of high intensity ab work made for an excellent warm-up regardless the muscle being worked. Ab work raises core muscle temperature and eases the bodybuilder into the super high-intensity hardcore weight training session. Tear a page from Pearl’s book and do abs first, this ensures they get done and serves as a fabulous warm-up. Abs are muscles and need to be trained like any other

muscles. Abs, like forearms and calves, have a greater fiber density and respond best to moderate reps to high rep and more frequency. Off-season bodybuilders should train abs three times a week. Competing bodybuilders and competitive athletes might train abs every single day. Sessions can be done in 10-15 minutes, using high-intensity non-stop giant set strategies that compress the amount of exercise done in a short time.

Think outside the box:

Every abdominal exercise should be selected to target a specific region of the abs. The optimal ab routine includes an exercise apiece for upper abs, lower abs, left oblique/serratus/intercostal, and right oblique/serratus/intercostal. You would be amazed how many bodybuilders ab routines consists of nothing but crunches. While a case could be made that crunches are an acceptable upper ab exercise, there is no way crunches offer the

slightest stimulation to the other 4/5 of the ab region. John Parrillo is the muscle-targeting expert and has devised a whole series of innovative and overlooked ab exercises – each exercise has a specific technique and each is designed to isolate and maximally stimulate a specific region of the ab muscle complex.

• Hanging frog kick or leg raises – done with straps: Perhaps the best of all lower ab exercises is to hang from a pull-up bar and perform frog kicks, i.e. drawing the knees upward to the chest. The more difficult version is the hanging leg raise. Parrillo has his bodybuilders wear lifting straps that attach to the chin bar. The straps secure the grip, allowing for many extra reps. More reps equate to better results.

• Roman Chair sit-ups: If you can find a Roman Chair device, experiment with this amazing exercise. The “pre-stretch” is incredibly beneficial and the sit-

High repetition abdominal exercise will not and cannot create the ripped, fat-free, delineated washboard waistline that is the trademark of a true bodybuilder.

Perhaps the best of all lower ab exercises is to hang from a pull-up bar and perform frog kicks, i.e. drawing the knees upward to the chest.


virtually unknown and unheard of: lay back face up, looking at the ceiling on a lying leg curl machine. Hook your toes under the leg curl pad and pull it towards your chest. This is amazingly difficult and zeroes in on the lower abs. Pull, don’t jerk, to get the weight started, lower slowly. Excruciatingly effective!

• Deadlifts: deadlifts as an ab exercise? Indeed, as Parrillo points out, a proper deadlift is a “reverse sit-up.” Use a “conventional” (not sumo) deadlift stance and keep the barbell tight to the body. When it comes to strengthening abs, deadlifts are without peer. This is a far superior ab exercise than say, “broomstick twists” or the dangerous “weighted sit-up holding a plate.” Stiff leg deadlift variations are also tremendous ab stimulators.

Variety is the spice of life:

We have shared but a few of the offbeat ab exercises in the Parrillo arsenal. Sets, reps and frequency are pretty straightforward: most elite ab trainers like to perform “giant sets.” A giant set is 3-6 ab exercises done one after the other and without pause. When you complete a cycle of ab exercises, rest, and then do 2-3 more giant set cycles. Reps would vary on each exercise. Most in-shape bodybuilders can perform 2-3 cycles inside of 15 minutes. What a great way to start a weight training session. Three ab sessions per week in the off-season is sufficient. Prior to a competition or during a lean-out phase, the bodybuilder will want to perform abs daily. The giant set approach is optimal for time efficiency – if you were to do the same exercises in “straight set” fashion it would take 2-3 times as long to complete the same amount of work.

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up can be done with or without a twist. This exercise hits upper and lower abs. come erect on an angle and isolate the oblique. Make sure that you don’t turn this into a thigh exercise; if you flex the thighs you “assist” the sit-up; keep the thighs relaxed and use the abs alone to pull you erect from the low point.

• Russian bar rotation: this exercise isolates the side muscles with great specificity. Place one end of an Olympic barbell in a low corner where two walls meet. Pick up the other end (while facing it) and push the empty barbell overhead with both hands. Holding one end of the bar overhead with both hands and spread feet, bend as far as you can to the right and then left in a slow, deliberate arch. Do this movement right and the oblique muscles scream in real time.

• Leg raises with “below torso” heel touches: leg raises isolate the lower abs. Beginners should do their leg raises lying on the floor. Intermediate and advanced bodybuilders should perform leg raises on a bench; this will allow the legs to dip below the level of the torso. Leg raises done on a bench allows for a “pre-stretch”

that makes this exercise all the more intense and effective.

• Overhead cable crunch with twists: a Parrillo favorite, this exercise isolates the hard-to-isolate serratus and intercostal muscles. Technique is critical; from the kneeling position, sitting beneath an overhead pulley, crunch down on the left side, return upright, then crunch down on the right side. Make sure you feel the contraction in the armpit region on each side. Slow rep speed enhances the isolation. Exhale on the down crunch.

• The little wheel of death: the little wheel has a handle coming out of each side. Kneel down, hold each handle and roll outward. Done right, this is one of the few ab exercises that works the front ab plate from crotch to solar plexus. The trick is to lower down slow until your nose is barely above the floor. Lower down slow, rise up as fast as possible. A strong man can do 10 perfect reps. Watch out for a collapse that results in a nose-plant on the floor.

• Toe Pulls on the lying leg curl: this is a lower ab exercise that is

Pre-breakfast cardio:

The optimal strategy for getting ripped abs is to tighten up on the nutrition and radically increase the amount of cardio. There is no point in deciding to get ripped abs without deciding to get serious about nutrition. All the ab work in the world (and endless cardio) CANNOT overcome bad nutrition! Square up the nutrition; weight training is done regularly, ab exercise is included and done first, with variety, intensity and imagination. There is another trick of the bodybuilding trade that is widely used by competitive bodybuilders: as soon as you awake (and before breakfast) perform a high intensity aerobic session. Glycogen is carbohydrate broken down in the body and the body’s favored fuel. Upon awaking, glycogen (coming off a 6-8 hour sleep/fast) is at its lowest level. If a high intensity cardio session is undertaken before fueling up on carbs, the cardio exercise will burn through whatever residual glycogen is left and then, when glycogen is exhausted, begin using the body’s second favorite fuel: stored body fat. This fat-burning tactic is why competitive bodybuilders nationwide are seen in gyms in the early morning

hitting cardio. Expropriate it to dramatically accelerate fat burning.

What we’ve learned:

To recap: those seeking to obtain a crisp, delineated, shredded waistline need to first and foremost get onto a Parrillo nutritional program. The second order of business is to mount a serious cardio effort. Smart trainers perform pre-breakfast cardio to amp up the fat burning. John Parrillo will have competitive bodybuilders prepping for a contest to add a second cardio session later in the day. Ab training should be used as a warm-up for hardcore weight training. Seek out new ab exercises that hit all the individualized regions of the abs; be inventive with the selection and creative in creating ab routines. Periodically rotate ab exercises to keep it fresh and exciting. Hold this course for six weeks and watch as the six-pack and obliques emerge from beneath the slowly melting layer of fat that lies atop the abs. This is the classical Parrillo prescription and it never fails to deliver results for those disciplined enough and diligent enough to implement this strategy in its beautiful entirety.

TM

The Little Wheel of Death!

Watch out for a collapse that results in a nose-plant on the floor.

As soon as you awake (and before breakfast) perform a high intensity aerobic session... This fat-burning tactic is why competitive bodybuilders nationwide are seen in gyms in the early morning hitting cardio.


of the monthTips & TidbitsTips & Tidbits

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FoodFoodof the month

Question &Answer

Question &Answer SupplementSupplement

of the month

Beets• Choose small or medium-sized beets whose roots

are firm, smooth-skinned and deep in color. Smaller, younger beets may be so tender that peeling won't be needed after they are cooked.t

• Rinse gently under cold running water, taking care not to tear the skin, which helps keep the health-promoting pigments inside.

• Simply grate raw beets for a delicious and colorful addition to salads or decorative garnish for soups.

Nutritional Information for: Beets, sliced, cooked, 1.00 cup (170g)

Calories: 74.8Protein: 2.86gFat: 0.31gTotal Carbs: 16.93g

Fiber: 3.40gSodium: 130.90mgPhosphorous: 64.60mgCalcium: 27.20mg

Iron: 1.34mgVitamin A: 59.50 IUPotassium: 518.5mg

RecipeRecipeSpotlight

Researchers from the University of Birmingham have found that extended rest intervals between sets of weight-lifting could help with muscle growth.

The findings, published in Experimental Physiology, go against the conventional belief that favours shorter periods of rest. The study highlights that short rest intervals may actually impair the processes that control muscle growth.

16 males completed resistance exercises interspersed by either one minute or five minutes of rest. Muscle biopsies were obtained at 0, 4, 24 and 28 hours post-exercise and analysed to determine myofibrillar protein synthesis (MPS) and intercellular signalling.

In the early part of recovery, the increase in MPS from resting levels was two-fold greater in those with longer rest periods. They saw a 152% increase, versus 76% increase in those with short rest intervals.

Dr Leigh Breen, from the University of Birmingham, explained, "With short rests of one minute, though the hormonal response is superior, the actual muscle response is blunted. If you're looking for maximised muscle growth with your training programme, a slightly longer interval between sets may provide a better chance of having the muscle response you're looking for."

The team recommend that novices starting out on weight training programs should take sufficient rest, of at least 2-3 minutes, between weight lifting sets.

Dr Breen added, "Over time, they may need to find ways to push beyond the plateau of muscle building that commonly occurs, and so may gradually decrease their rest periods. For experienced lifters, it's possible that they may not experience the same blunted muscle building response to short rest intervals, particularly if they have trained this way for a prolonged period and adapted to this unique metabolic stress. Nonetheless, similar recommendations of 2-3 minutes between sets should help to ensure maximal muscle growth in well trained individuals."

The research team are currently following up the investigation with a longer term study to see effects over a number of months, and further research into how individuals can maximise their training outcomes by manipulating variables, such a rest, in their training.

University of Birmingham. "Extended rest between weight-lifting sets could help muscle growth." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 3 May 2016. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/05/160503104757.htm>.

Question: Why do you exclude fruit and fruit juices from your Nutrition Program?Answer: I am frequently asked to explain why fruit and fruit juices are not included in my Nutrition Program. The answer has to do with a little-understood simple sugar found in fruit: fructose. Fructose came into favor years ago because of its low glycemic index. Unlike other simple sugars, it triggers neither a surge in insulin nor a corresponding drop in blood sugar an hour or more after eating it. But there’s more to the fructose story. After you work out, your body moves from an energy-using mode (catabolism) to an energy-storing and rebuilding mode (anabolism). During the transition, dietary carbohydrate is broken down into glucose and fructose to be used for “glycogenesis,” the manufacture of glycogen to restock the muscles and liver. Fructose is used primarily to restore liver glycogen; it’s really not a good re-supplier of muscle glycogen. Glucose, on the other hand, bypasses the liver and is carried by the bloodstream straight to the muscles you just worked, where the glycogen-making process begins.

Any muscle emptied of glycogen due to exercise is first on the list to get its quota of glucose. Clearly, one of the keys to effectively restoring glycogen is the type of carbohydrate you eat. Natural, complex carbohydrates such as potatoes, yams, whole grains, corn, legumes or maltodextrin-based drinks like our Pro-Carb™ Formula do a better job at this than simple sugars do. In one study, a diet high in starchy carbohydrates

News & DiscoveriesNews & DiscoveriesIn Fitness & Nutrition

Extended rest between weight-lifting sets could help muscle growth

restocked more glycogen in the muscles 48 hours after exercise than simple sugars did. If you eat simple sugars like fructose, you’re not going to be able to store as much glycogen. What implications does this have for you as an athlete or bodybuilder? First, you won’t be able to train as hard or as long during your next workout because you will be glycogen-deficient.

Second, you’ll notice less of a pump while working out, also due to lower glycogen stores in the muscle. If you can’t get a good pump, it’s difficult to fully stretch the fascia tissue surrounding the muscle when you stretch between sets. This limits your growth potential. Third, fructose is easily converted to body fat. Because of fructose’s molecular structure, the liver readily converts it into a long-chain triglyceride (a fat). Therefore, a majority of the fruit you eat can end up as body fat on your physique. People on our program notice incredible differences when they eliminate fruits and juices from their diets. If you want to get leaner and more muscular — and build your recuperative powers by restocking glycogen more efficiently — avoid fruit altogether and choose starchy and fibrous carbohydrates instead, as our Nutrition Manual recommends.

To read more visit our question and answer section of our website at www.parrilloperformance.com/category/questions-and-answers/

Butter Flavor CapTri®• Concentrated calorie source for gaining

muscle mass.• Energy source for dieters intent on

losing fat while retaining muscle.• A healthy way to add flavor and variety to

your meals.

Butter Flavor CapTri® contains all the great nutritional value of the original CapTri®, but with a delicious butter flavor. Use Butter Flavor CapTri® to liven up your boring veggies and add amazing flavor to your meals. It’s easy, just drizzle Butter Flavor CapTri® on your steamed broccoli, asparagus, red potatoes, and corn. You can pour it over your baked potatoes and sweet potatoes. Sprinkle Butter Flavor CapTri® over your pancakes, muffins, grits, or stir it into your oatmeal. Butter Flavor CapTri® also tastes great on fish and seafood. You can even drizzle it over popcorn for a snack you’ll crave!

Italian Marinade9 tbsp. CapTri®9 tbsp. lemon juice1 tbsp. dried OR 3 tbsp. fresh oregano1 tbsp. dried OR 3 tbsp. fresh thyme1 slice onion1 garlic clove

Blend CapTri®, lemon juice and herbs with a folk. Add onion and garlic. Should be used for 600 to 800 g. chicken breast. If you are cooking less chicken, use 2 to 3 tbsp. Of the marinade and refriger ate leftover marinade. Marinate chicken or fish at least one hour before grilling.

Calorie count is only 114 per tbsp. used, which you should add to the calorie count of your meat!


protein content). Whey, in Parrillo’s Optimized Whey Protein™, would be ideal. As a fast-digesting protein, it can move leucine to the muscles as quickly as possible. Place two scoops in a small plastic container, throw the dry mixture in your gym bag, office desk drawer, or purse and mix with 8 ounces of water.

Whey Protein + CreatineWhey protein is definitely great for helping to lean out the body. But when you add it to creatine, watch out. The combo is super-effective for increasing muscle and burning body fat.

Creatine is available from Parrillo Performance as Parrillo Creatine Monohydrate™. Increasing the levels of creatine in your muscles gives them another fuel source besides glycogen from carbohydrates. The question is: how much creatine do you need? To start, we recommend for the first one to two weeks you use 20-30 grams each day, divided into even servings of 5 grams each taken with each meal or mixed with our Parrillo Optimized Whey Protein™. This is the loading phase. Use the lower end of these recommendations if you’re in the 150-200 pound range and the upper end if you’re over 200 pounds. We recommend one to two weeks, but the loading phase can last up to four weeks in some individuals. After this, 5-10 grams a day should be sufficient to maintain elevated muscle stores of creatine. It takes approximately 4-8 weeks to deplete creatine stores after you stop taking it.

Try all of these supplements to turbo-charge your fat-burning. For information on diet and training, make sure you follow the recommendations in the Parrillo Nutrition Manual™ and the Parrillo Training Manual™ – and you’ll turn into a lean, ripped, sculpted machine in no time.

Captri®CapTri® is our C8 medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) oil, a special type of fat that the body uses for energy because it is burned like a carbohydrate. MCTs are not stored as fat, unlike conventional fats. Both of these attributes make CapTri® effective in a low-carb diet, which works well for fat-burning. Also, MCTs consist of shorter (medium-length) chains as their chemical structure. This structure accounts for the ability of MCTs to stimulate metabolism and thermogenesis, two factors involved in burning fat. Scientific studies have shown that when lipids like CapTri® are used in place of carbohydrates, body fat stores are lower. And fewer carbohydrates are converted into fat, even in the presence of insulin. Insulin is an anabolic hormone which is released from the pancreas in response to an increase in blood glucose (sugar). Insulin causes cells to absorb glucose and amino acids, thereby stimulating growth. Unfortunately, insulin also causes fat cells to absorb glucose and fatty acids, stimulating fat storage. Fat storage enzymes are less active when lipids like CapTri® are added to the diet, even under conditions of insulin stimulation.

CapTri® is the most highly refined, ultrapurified MCT on the market. The formulation of CapTri® was specifically designed for people who want to be as lean as possible. CapTri® is available exclusively from Parrillo Performance. So if you’re looking for a good source of calories to provide energy while dieting, try CapTri®.

Usage: Start with one-half tablespoon per meal, then increase by one-half tablespoon every three days until desired usage is acheived.

The Omega-3sFound in fatty fish and specific dietary supplements, omega-3s are a

help with joint and liver repair and muscle recovery, as well as reduce inflammation and the risk of heart disease.

Chromium PicolinateThis mineral has been shown to increase glucose tolerance (to help get carbohydrates into your cells to be used for energy rather than stored as body fat) and stabilize blood sugar levels (to avoid low-energy periods).

Usage: When supplementing, take one capsule of Parrillo Advanced Lipotropic Formula™ with each meal.

ArginineThis amino acid is one of two main ingredients in our Enhanced GH Formula™ (the other is lysine). Why is arginine a fat burner? Simple. It can stimulate “lipolysis” in fat cells, which means the cells yield up fat for fuel more readily. Arginine is involved in protein synthesis, the detoxification of ammonia, and the conversion of glucose to produce energy. In addition to these physiological functions, arginine plays a role in the secretion of growth hormone [a muscle builder and fat burner; its involvement in the synthesis of creatine (a muscle builder)]; and its role in augmenting nitric oxide (NO). NO has direct relevance to exercisers, bodybuilders, and athletes. Because it dilates your blood vessels, more blood flows through to your muscles. And blood carries oxygen and nutrients, indirectly leading to better muscle energy and growth.

Usage: Take a couple of capsules of our Enhanced GH Formula™ prior to working out. In addition, take two Ultimate Amino™ tablets, which also contain arginine with each meal for even more optimal results.

Maybe you didn’t quite lean out like you wanted

to this summer. Maybe you want more definition. Maybe you need something to help you get more cut.

Can fat-burning supplements help? Before I answer that question, let me emphasize that the right diet (lean protein, low-fat, high-fiber, and vegetable-rich), coupled with intense weight training and regular cardio workouts, is your best bet. That said, if you add in certain fat-burners, you can certainly get an extra edge, big time. Here are my recommendations for using these supplements to your advantage.

LipotropicsFrom years of working with bodybuilders, I have found that in addition to cleaning up their diets and getting in the gym consistently, faster results come when they are use “lipotropics.” Lipotropics are natural supplements that help you utilize stored fat for energy and spare glycogen. Our product, Advanced Lipotropic Formula, contains the following ingredients:Biotin. A B-vitamin, biotin activates genes involved in regulating insulin and blood sugar. Biotin is required to make four key enzymes called carboxylases. These enzymes are involved in the metabolism of fats, and the conversion of protein and fat to glucose. Without biotin, the body cannot adequately metabolize fat.

by john parrillo the truth about fat burners

THE TRUTH ABOUT FAT BURNERSBy John Parrillo

CholineThis B vitamin is a “first string” player among lipotropics. Its most vital function is regulating the amount of fat that accumulates in the liver, which is one of the body’s storage sites for excess fat.Another benefit of choline is that it helps emulsify cholesterol, preventing it from building up in artery walls or gallbladder. Also, choline works to rid the body of toxins, poisons, and any drug residues. This is important because toxins can impede fat-burning.Inositol. Closely associated with biotin and choline is the B vitamin inositol. This nutrient stimulates the body’s production of lecithin, a lipid-based component in the body that transports fats from the liver to the cells for energy. Inositol is thus an important regulator of fat metabolism. It also helps reduce cholesterol by preventing the build-up of fatty deposits in the arteries that lead to their narrowing.L-carnitine. Another key lipotropic is carnitine, a protein-like nutrient made by the body but also found in foods. Its main function is to assist the body in burning fat. In studies, carnitine appears to emulsify fat build-up in the arteries and internal organs. Carnitine also stimulates the adrenal glands, which help the body in using its fat reserves as fuel.Betaine. This nutrient is a substance from which choline is formed and has similar functions. Betaine can

special type of dietary fat that have a long resume of health benefits. One of these benefits is in the fat-burning realm. These fats help speed up the loss of body fat and preserve muscle during diets such as pre-competition diets. Omega-3 fats are rarely stored as body fat, either.

In addition to eating fish, a good move is to take omega-3s in supplement form. Parrillo Performance offers its omega-3 supplement: Fish Oil DHA 800 EPA 200™. It is a natural marine-lipid concentrate that contains omega-3 fatty acids in medically recommended concentrations.

Usage: I suggest one to two servings daily with your meals.

LeucineIf you’re dieting and attempting to get cut, I definitely recommend leucine supplementation. Here’s why: if you cut back on calories, leucine in the muscle is used to manufacture the amino acid alanine, which is then used to produce glucose in the liver. The net effect is more fuel circulating in your body while you’re dieting. Those higher leucine intakes therefore help spare protein (so that it is not eaten up for fuel) and to improve blood glucose control (so you don’t feel fatigued or low on energy).

Usage: Leucine is found in our Muscle Amino Formula™. The suggested usage is two or more capsules with each meal. Remember that BCAAs require insulin for absorption into muscle cells so take them with food (carbs) rather than on an empty stomach!

Another terrific source of leucine is through supplemental protein beverages. Of the commonly available dietary proteins, whey and casein have the highest leucine contents (14 percent and 10 percent, respectively, of their total

23www.parrilloperformance.com July 2016

order today!

Hello Vic!

I did some rough calculating the other day and compared to what Parrillo recommends, I am way low on my protein intake – I figure I am barely breaking 100 grams per day. I weigh 195 standing 6-foot. I am a fire fighter and have always been an athlete. While I am not a competitive bodybuilder, I weight train like a bodybuilder. I run 3-5 miles most every day and play competitive racquetball and rugby on the club level. I also compete in Highland

Progress stalled? Up the protein intake!

The tale of the under-confident, overachieving Olympia winnerMachines versus free-weights reduxSmart guy sizes up starch

How the big boys eat in the offseason

iron vic speaks

This is an excellent exercise for developing the rhomboid muscles of the mid-back. To perform the exercise correctly, take a wide grip on the barbell (a close grip places too much emphasis on the arms). Keep you back slightly arched throughout the movement and your shoulders back. Pull the bar up toward your pecs. Then make sure you pinch your rhomboids at the top of the movement. Use the power of your opposing muscles to lower the bar. Be sure to keep constant tension on the working muscles throughout the range of motion.

Keep your back slightly arched.

Pinch your rhomboids in the contracted position at the top of the movement.

PERFORMANCE POINTS

With the Parrillo Training Manual™ you will learn specific exercises that have proven effective for some of the nation’s top competitive athletes. It will help you determine the optimum rep/set scheme you need to maximize muscular density, cardiovascular density and muscular endurance. The manual is designed to help you increase your mental acuity, perfect your form and intensify your workouts. It also contains individual chapters for each muscle group, featuring sample workouts used by John Parrillo with some of the top professional and amateur bodybuilders in the world. Each chapter has illustrated movements to show you the proper form for that particular exercise. The Parrillo Training Manual™ also gives you information on the importance of aerobic training and how it can help improve your physique. In addition to this, there are chapters on fascial stretching, a revolutionary way to stretch your muscles for maximum growth and a chapter on proper posing. Including all of the mandatory poses for most bodybuilding organizations.

order today!

bent over rows

protein intake with 1 - 1.5 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight recommended. For Parrillo, protein is the key critical nutrient. First off, when Parrillo says protein he means lean protein, i.e., devoid of long-chain saturated fat; we want as little fat as possible attached to our protein. The reason protein is first among nutrients is its ability to heal and grow muscle tissue shattered and battered by the hardcore training Parrillo insists on. Protein is an amino acid which is diminished and degraded during and after high intensity weight training and extended aerobic sessions. For a guy like you, someone that is athletic, lean, a team sport player, a runner and a weight trainer, I recommend that you double your current (pathetic) lean protein intake. If you double up, you will see a huge improvement in muscle size and muscle hardness. Plus you will reap big gains in power and strength. You likely will gain 5-10 pounds of lean mass over a 2-3 month period. The additional 100-grams of protein need be lean protein, as LCT fat-free as possible. Here is how to do without eating a single additional bite of food or having to change anything about your current eating habits. Keep eating what you’re eating – just augment your current

BY IRON VIC STEELE

Games in the under 200-pound class. I note that Parrillo recommends a whole lot more protein than I am taking in – if I were to suddenly up my protein, what kind of results could I expect to see?

Tim, Columbia

I flat guarantee that by dramatically upping the protein intake you will become bigger, way stronger and remain just as lean. The Parrillo nutritional approach always starts by establishing benchmarks in lean

The reason protein is first among nutrients is its ability to heal and grow muscle tissue shattered and battered by the hardcore training Parrillo insists on.


iron vic speaks john parrillo’s performance press

diet with each these four Parrillo Products…

Optimized Whey™ protein shake 34 grams of protein - single serving

Parrillo Soft Chew Bar™22 grams of protein - one bar

Liver Amino Formula™ 23 grams of protein - 15 per day, 3 tabs 5 x daily

High Protein™ shake32 grams of protein - single serving

Total 111 grams of protein

Upon waking up, drink a serving of Optimized Whey™ – Bang! What a great way to get the day started. The whey acts fast and has 34 grams of protein with only four carb grams. Fat-free and sugar free, the whey shake tastes rich and delicious; not something you gag down, something you look forward to. Mid-morning

eat a Parrillo Soft Chew bar™. This little powerhouse contains a mere 130 calories – yet delivers 22 grams of protein and 17 grams of fiber. Five times a day, at equidistant intervals, take three Liver Amino™ tablets. Each tablet contains 1.5 grams of protein and is loaded with blood-oxygenating heme iron. Before bed drink a delicious Hi-Protein™ shake. Elite bodybuilders load up on protein before bed: the caseinate shake delivers time-released protein; take a handful of beef liver tabs and 2-3 capsules of Parrillo’s Enhanced GH formula™. While you sleep you will be slowly being fed a steady stream of time-released protein. Is this not a delicious, easy way in which to double your protein intake, reaping muscle and strength gains and without having to change anything about your regular eating?

Hello,

We used to hear tales of how much food bodybuilding champions could

and would eat in the off-season. It seems like that classical approach to adding mass – eat tons of calories in the off-season is (currently) politically incorrect. It seems to me that the younger bodybuilders are too concerned about their “condition” and “muscularity” and lack muscle size. Because of their over-concern for condition, they never really change their physiques. Don’t get me wrong, the kids are lean and have some muscle - but they look more like male models than bodybuilders. This type never ups the calories enough to add any significant size. I know Parrillo must have a hundred stories about Old School bodybuilders and their off-season eating exploits. That is how they grew – right? Eat big, grow big!

Red, Wheaton

Oh yeah. One Parrillo tale that sticks in my mind is when John had a lunch with IFBB pro bodybuilder legend Sonny Schmidt (rip.) John recounted, “We were all attending a contest and seminar at Gator's Gym in Vancouver, B.C. and ended up at a really good Chinese restaurant after the prejudging. Sonny wasn’t competing and sat across from me. He got things started by ordering three beef and broccoli dinners just for him. “Sonny Schmidt was Polynesian and barely spoke English; his real name was unpronounceable. Sonny stood 5’10” and competed weighing 235 to 240. In the off-season his bodyweight would spike up to 275, carrying no more than a 10% body fat percentile. This was Sonny’s off-season and he was famished, starving and insatiable. John continued. “He devoured every bite of his three meals before we’d finished one meal. I noticed that he had started to sweat; his metabolism was so perfect that as he was consuming all these calories his blast-furnace metabolism was

spiking; working so hard that his body temperature soared.” He was sitting, eating like a wild animal, wiping sweat off his face and throwing off body heat so intense that was palpable. “Then he began asking people at the table if they were done eating and could he have their leftovers? He hadn’t really said anything to anyone; the language thing reduced him to grunts and gestures. He ate so fast and so ravenously that conversation would have been impossible anyway.” Parrillo figures Sonny likely downed 10,000 calories in 90 minutes of concentrated eating. And that is just one story of big man eating: when Reg Park was at his awesome peak, he once ate 25 veal cutlets at one sitting. Lee Priest (allegedly) eats an entire bucket (20 pieces) of KFC chicken by himself in one sitting. On and on it goes.

Vic,

A few years back John Parrillo told me a very funny story that involved a hotel room and an Olympia competitor – do you know that story? Could it be retold?

Clarence, Kansas

This must be story-telling month: I do know that story and it doesn’t involve just an Olympia competitor, it involves an Olympia winner. John Parrillo was attending a major IFBB event. He was in his hotel room on the Friday night before the prejudging laying down on the bed watching TV. His room was right across from the elevators. Every time the elevator bell rings, he hears voices talking in the hallway. After the fourth time this happens, Parrillo leaps up, goes to his hotel door and peers out through the peephole. When the elevator bell rang, signifying people are getting off; a figure emerges from the hotel room to the right of the elevator. A

barefoot man in a robe walks past the elevators carrying an ice bucket. He is on his way to obtain some ice from the machine and happens to bump into the people emptying out of the elevator. 97% of the people staying at this hotel, the venue hotel for the show, are bodybuilders or hardcore fans. They are wonderfully surprised to run into one of tomorrow’s leading contenders, a famous bodybuilder and one of the favorites to seize the overall title. The fans greet the bodybuilding superstar and conversation ensues. At some point the bodybuilding superstar asks if the fans would like to have a peak at his physique. He opens his robe and luckily happens to be wearing a set of posing trunks. He presents his incredible body to the incredulous fans, he hits a series of muscle poses, Agog and amazed, the fans praise the champ to the heavens before heading on their way. The glowing superstar heads back to his room. He has forgotten his ice. John Parrillo then watched this future Mr. Olympia go through

this exact charade four more times: over and over and over, the elevator ding, the champ emerging from his room on the way to get ice. The lesson learned? Some people crave adulation and thrive on praise. One hint: it wasn’t Dorian Yates!

Mr. Vic Steele

What is wrong with exercise machines? I seem to get great results using the chest press machines and the different curl and triceps machines. I do leg presses and hack squats and leg extensions and toe raises – all on machines and I get a killer workout. For my back I do seated machine rows, pulldowns and machine shrugs – when I am done, I am toast! How much harder could I work?? I mean, I push and tug until I can’t do another rep – or fail! Ditto for lateral raises and shoulder presses. You rail against machines like they were invented by Satan; machines are safer and failure is failure regardless if I am pushing a barbell overhead or pushing

Eat big, grow big!

The lesson learned? Some people crave adulation and thrive on praise.

July 201626 1-800-344-3404

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iron vic speaks

October 22nd – 23rd, 2016

the handles of a press machine. I don’t get why you are so down on machines?! You need to slow your roll!

Rocko, NYC

Here’s the deal Rocko – see if you can wrap your brain around this: when you press the handles of a chest press machine, you can allot 100% of you available strength to pushing or pulling. When you use a machine you stay within a frozen, predetermined groove, a mechanical pathway. When you push a barbell overhead, you have to allot a certain portion of your available strength to controlling side-to-side movement. No real need for muscle stabilizers to fire during a machine chest press; however during a free-weight set of dumbbell bench presses muscle stabilizers are freaking out: stabilizers must fire maximally in order to make the barbell/dumbbells conform to the motor-pathway the lifter wants. Free-weights force muscle stabilizers to spring into action and this creates a deeper muscular inroad: strength is increased to a far greater degree using free-weight exercises than by using the machines that mimic them. Parrillo training makes use of machines; they are fabulous for certain exercises and make giving forced reps a breeze. We like to think of machines as we would dessert after a meal: eat your meat and potatoes first (free-weights) and if you have room left over, have a dessert – but never eat dessert first and never skip the meat and potatoes and just eat pie.

Vic,

What is Parrillo’s take on starchy carbs? Is there a starchy carb pecking order? Are some starches highly preferred? Are other starch carbs positively detrimental? Does it matter? My take on the Parrillo

nutritional approach, in 25-words or less is, eat lean protein, eat lots of fibrous carbs, ditch the LCT fat and replace with MCT fat. Refined carbs, industrial foods, sugar, food in a can, booze, all gone! Starch carbs are used in varying amounts at varying times – want to add mass? Eat more starch. Want to lean out? Remove all the starch; replace lost starch calories with CapTri® MCT calories. Has that about got it??

Arn, Point Pierre

That is pretty damned good summation of the Parrillo nutritional approach. Sure there is a pecking order amongst starch and it relates to the differing levels of insulin secreted in relationship to the food eaten. You don’t hear a lot of talk about the glycaemic index in Parrillo world because we eat our foods in combination, not alone. Insulin associated with eating starch can be dampened and minimalized if starch is eaten in combination with lean protein and fibrous carbs. The classical Parrillo meal was not designed by chance: the goal is to always include a portion of protein, a portion of starch and a portion of fiber at every food meal. Then add in some potent Parrillo supplements and you have created a maximally effective nutritional game plan. Regardless the goal, always eat lean protein and fiber carbs. Both intakes are always high; what modulates is the starch consumption. Embarking on a mass-building regimen? Add more starch calories each successive week to create lean weight gain. Looking to get maximally leaned out? Slowly eliminate starch carbs over an extended period. Replace lost starch calories with CapTri® calories; this way muscle mass is retained while stripping off body fat. Yes there are preferential starch carbs, but as long as you are diligent and eat starch with meals, the distinctions are not all that critical.

Seth DrakeJune 2016 Feature Athlete

Scott CanatseyAugust 2015 Feature Athlete

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JENA RICHTER - Parrillo Performance

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