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6 DECEMBER 2013 | musclemag.com

DECEMBER 2O13

36 Add 50 lbs. to Your Squat, Overhead Press, Bench, Bent-Over RowTo build super strength and muscle size, you need to work the secondary muscles that assist in the execution of the major lifts. Here’s how to build power from the inside out.BY JIMMY PEÑA, MS, CSCS

46 Your 5-Week Ab ChallengeGo from flab to abs by making your workout progressively more challenging, building up your strength and your six-pack. Here’s a five-week plan that’ll make your abs pop. BY BILL GEIGER, MA

62 Jurassic MassMMI uncovers the truth about the popular ancestral Paleo diet and how it can keep your muscle gains from going extinct. BY MIKE CARLSON

70 Building a Classic PhysiqueMMI sat down with three legendary Mr. Olympia champions to discuss the current state of bodybuilding and ask for their insight on how to build a physique for the ages.BY ERIC VELAZQUEZ, NSCA-CPT

78 Stackin’ for MassCombine the right supplements at the optimal times for muscle gains around the clock.BY DWAYNE N. JACKSON, PhD

54 Double Your Reps, Double the Muscle

You can do twice the reps with a given heavy weight if you follow the rest-pause technique. Now’s your chance to make muscle and strength gains like never before.BY JIMMY PEÑA, MS, CSCS


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Departments

14 MUSCLEMAG

ONLINE

What’s on

musclemag.com

this month

15 EDITOR’S LETTER

By Bill Geiger

18 FREEZE FRAME

20 FEEDBACK

FIRST SET

22 EXERCISE OF

THE MONTH

By Jimmy Peña,

MS, CSCS

24 MAKE ONE

CHANGE

By Jimmy Peña,

MS, CSCS

26 TROUBLE-

SHOOTING 101

By Jimmy Peña,

MS, CSCS

27 PUMP QUIZ

By Bill Geiger, MA

28 FACE OFF

By Jimmy Peña,

MS, CSCS

29 BODYBUILDER’S

CHOICE

By Steven Stiefel

30 MUSCLE MEALS

By Ashif Tejani

31 FOOD PICKS

By Matthew Kadey

32 NUTRITION R&D

By Steven Stiefel

35 ON SHELVES

NOW

By Steven Stiefel

ON THE COVER

Larry Vinette by

Paul Buceta

DECEMBER 2O13

108 After-Dark Muscle BuildingOnce your workout ends, the

business of building muscle in

the kitchen begins. Here’s how

to maximize muscle growth and

fat loss with the right foods and

supplements from your post-

workout meal through bedtime.

BY ERIC VELAZQUEZ, NSCA-CPT

114 Sports Med: Your Achilles Heel in Your Pursuit to Get LeanIf you do high-impact cardio, you

might be familiar with plantar

fasciitis pain in the soles of your

feet. Here’s what causes the

condition and how to treat it.

BY GUILLERMO ESCALANTE, PhD,

MBA, CSCS

116 Eye of the TigressWe get up close and personal

with Nicole Wilkins, whose fierce

determination to win earned her a

third Ms. Olympia Figure title in 2013.

PHOTOS BY ROBERT REIFF

88 Cheat to Win in the GymMaintaining strict form will help you

build muscle, but there are times when

loosening your exercise execution can

help you boost the intensity of your

workout and reap even greater gains.

The key is knowing how to cheat right.

BY ROB RINALDI, MA

94 Cheat to Win on Your DietEating clean makes a bodybuilder

start craving the wrong kinds of foods,

especially those loaded with sugar and

fats. MMI explains which cheat strategies

will help boost your gains – and which

will bust your gut.

BY TEAM MUSCLEMAG

100 Is Your Muscle Sleep Putting You in Deadly Danger?One side efect of bodybuilding is a

stronger, thicker neck, but that can

cause you to fall victim to an insidious

nighttime killer called sleep apnea.

BY NICOLE MCPHERSON

116

100


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HARDCOREDepartments124 CONTENTS

166 ATHLETE PROFILE By Alex Zakrzewski

168 STRONGMAN

SUMMIT

By Mike Jenkins

170 BROOKLYN BUILT

By Anthoneil Champagnie, IFBB Pro

172 MAKING GAINS

By Alex Zakrzewski

174 MARKETPLACE

177 FITMART

DECEMBER 2O13

126 Back From the FutureA student of training, Toney Freeman takes a cerebral approach to his back/rear-delt/upper-traps workout that’s as multidimensional as it is unconventional.BY ERIC VELAZQUEZ, NSCA-CPT

138 Vintage VinetteCover model Larry Vinette discusses the training philosophy that helped him earn his IFBB pro card.BY JIMMY PEÑA, MS, CSCS

146 Miami Muscle MachineAlejandro Cambronero’s love for iron has brought him to America and ultimately a pro card. Here’s the Costa Rican’s formula for building massive pecs. BY LARA MCGLASHAN, MFA, CPT


ON THE INSIDE COVERIFBB Pro Lee Banks

Photo by Gregory James

156Real-Time Chest and Shoulder Workout with Lee BanksIFBB pro Lee Banks goes high volume/low rest in this raw, ofseason chest-and-delts thrash.BY ERIC VELAZQUEZ, NSCA-CPT


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Visit musclemag.com for exclusive videos,

articles, galleries and more.

Few sports give rise to

rivalries quite as personal

and polarizing as those found in

bodybuilding. From Arnold vs. Oliva

to Phil vs. Kai, these six monster

matchups have left an indelible

mark on the sport and will be

argued over for decades to come.

Be sure to let us know your all-

time favorite.

Making Even More GainsOur much-loved Making

Gains section is back! We

want to hear your training

success stories. Are you

bigger, stronger or more

shredded than ever before?

Send us a message on

Facebook, include a snappy

photo of yourself looking

Olympia-worthy, and much

like the lucky gym rats on

pg. 172, you just might find

yourself featured in the

pages of your favorite

bodybuilding magazine!

Train Like ThorIcelandic strongman

champion and Game

of Thrones star

Hafthor “Thor”

Björnsson, profiled on

pg. 166, is known for

performing mind-

blowing feats of

strength worthy of

the halls of Asgard!

Don’t believe us?

Check out these

incredible training and

competition videos

courtesy of Iceland’s

strongest man.

Biggest Bodybuilding Rivalries

Facebook: facebook.com/musclemag

Twitter: twitter.com/musclemag

YouTube: youtube.com/musclemagintl

We’re HUGE on Facebook and Twitter! Follow us at Facebook.com/MuscleMag and @musclemag.


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GROUP PUBLISHER Cheryl Angelheart

ACTING GENERAL MANAGER Todd Hughes

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Bill Geiger

DEPUTY EDITOR Michal Kapral

ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Donna Diamond

ADVERTISING ACCOUNT MANAGER Laura (Flores) Thorne

ART DIRECTOR Michael Touna

A/R MANAGER Alice Negrete

SALES MANAGER Holly Burns

PRODUCTION MANAGERS Lisa Snow, Patrick Sternkopf

ONLINE CONTENT MANAGER Alex Zakrzewski

COPY EDITORS Kristi Haar, Angie Mattison

CONTRIBUTING WRITERSGuillermo Escalante, Dan Filipe, Frank Hofman, Matthew Kadey,

Lara McGlashan, Rob Rinaldi, Steven Stiefel, Terry Webster

Efrem Zimbalist III Chairman & CEO

Andrew W. Clurman President & COO

Brian J. Sellstrom Senior Vice President & CFO

Patricia B. Fox Senior Vice President, Operations

MuscleMag is printed monthly in the U.S.A. © 2013 by Active Interest Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is strictly prohibited. The information in MuscleMag is for educational purposes only. It’s not intended to replace the advice or attention of health care professionals. Consult your physician before making changes in your diet, supplement and/or exercise program. MuscleMag, 24900 Anza Dr., Unit E, Valencia, CA 91355 - Toll Free: (800) 423-2874

MuscleMag (ISSN 1086-3400) is published nine times per year (2013 cover dates: Jan ’13, Feb ’13, Mar ’13, Apr ‘13, May ‘13, Jun ‘13, Jul ‘13, Nov ‘13, Dec ’13) by Cruz Bay Publishing, Inc., an Active Interest Media company. Advertising and editorial ofces at 24900 Anza Drive, Unit E, Santa Clarita, California 91355. The known ofce of publication is 5720 Flatiron Pkwy, Boulder CO 80301. Periodicals postage paid at Boulder, CO and at additional mailing ofces.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to MuscleMag, P.O. Box 420235, Palm Coast, FL 32142-0235. Subscription rates in the United States are one year $34.97. Canada: $49.97. Foreign: $84.97 (US funds only). The publisher and editors will not be responsible for unsolicited material. Manuscripts and photographs must be accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed return envelope. Vol. 16, No. 9. Printed in the United States by RR Donnelley, Strasburg, VA. 2013 by Active Interest Media Publication. Copyright © 2013 by Cruz Bay Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. This publication may not be reproduced, either in whole or part, in any form without written permission from the publisher.

DECEMBER 2013 ISSUE


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you measure those dues by time spent in

the gym — and quite literally, it’s mea-

sured in years. String together a week of

good workouts and you’re a bit closer to

your goal, but success comes only to those

who have the discipline to stick to it for

the long haul.

It’s hard to imagine behemoths like

Jay Cutler and Phil Heath as anything but

Mr. Olympia champions, but even those

guys started as rank beginners (albeit

many years ago). Most of us think of be-

ginners as skinny guys who get in our way

on bench-press day, but for most first-

year lifters, the excitement lies in seeing

the changes in strength that come almost

workout to workout. For the guys able to

advance to the next level, they see first-

hand the adaptation process, how muscle

grows stronger when it’s stressed in the

gym and given proper nutrients and rest.

Alas, one of the telltale signs of no

longer being a beginner is that progress

seems to come to a grinding halt. Those

weekly increases in strength and reps on

the bench press are a thing of the past.

The irony of progressing to the next lev-

el in bodybuilding is that everything just

got a little bit harder.

For me and for countless others in

the gym, stagnation was met with a com-

mitment to train harder, doing more ex-

ercises, more sets and longer, even more

frequent workouts to bust through train-

ing plateaus. In a lot of cases, however,

that’s exactly the wrong approach.

Bill GeigerEDITOR-IN-CHIEF

First Rep By Bill Geiger, Editor-in-Chief

A WORD FROM THE EDITOR

Paying Your Dues

Today I see a lot of guys in the gym

training hard but seemingly making very

little progress. Many continue to toil away

as if efort alone was the missing ingredi-

ent to their physique-building success.

Yet ask any top bodybuilder and he’ll

tell you that training is as much mental

as it is physical. While that may seem

counterintuitive in a sport in which

you’re lifting tons of iron a day, the fact is

training harder isn’t the same as training

smarter. Longtime bodybuilders know

there are a number of other variables

that can be manipulated — exercise se-

lection and order, past-failure intensity

principles, rest periods, time under ten-

sion — that are critical to your ultimate

achievement. The mental aspect comes

in because you need to think and plan

what you’re doing rather just showing

up at the gym and lifting.

As editor-in-chief of a publication

like MuscleMag, I don’t want our writers

to simply find out what the world’s best

bodybuilders are doing; I also want to

know why and how so that you get an in-

side look into the inner workings of their

mind. In each and every article we pub-

lish, I charge them with a simple task:

Teach me something that I didn’t al-

ready know. I’m looking for more detail

than what’s just beneath the surface;

many of these insider tips are pulled out

into our Power Pointers so that you have

a better understanding of the mental as-

pect of bodybuilding.

This month, you’ll find a number of

articles from which we hope you can use

a grain or two in your own workouts, es-

pecially if you’re facing the same zero-

growth stagnation that confronts many

lifters. You’ll find progressive programs in

which you increase the intensity over

time in both “Add 50 Lbs. to Your Squat,

Overhead Press, Bench, Bent-Over Row”

and “Your Five-Week Ab Challenge.” For

boosting your intensity in a given work-

out, check out “Double Your Reps, Dou-

ble the Muscle,” which explains how the

rest-pause technique is used by top body-

builders. And for pushing past failure, we

show you how — and when not to — in-

corporate cheating into your technique to

spur additional muscle gains. As usual,

you’ll also find interviews with some of

the world’s foremost bodybuilders — this

issue with Toney Freeman, Alex Cambro-

nero, Larry Vinette and Lee Banks, all

IFBB pros — to see what each man credits

for his individual success.

If gym smarts becomes increasingly

important the further you go in body-

building, you’ll be glad to know that your

investment in MuscleMag will continue

to bring you the best and latest informa-

tion on building your body, one workout

at a time.

In bodybuilding, whether you compete or not, everyone has to pay their dues. If your goal is to not just look strong but be strong,

musclemag.com | DECEMBER 2013 15


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Freeze Frame

Not Just Anybody Gets Advice From the ChampIFBB pro Toney Freeman is

all business when it comes to

a photo shoot, like the one

featured on page 126. Often-

times the bodybuilder is

highly depleted the day after

a contest, and such shoots

require performing a given

move time and time again

for both the photographer

and videographer. But all

work ceases when Toney

spots a young lifter in the

gym who could clearly use a

tip or two when it comes to

mass building. It’s a reminder

to us that, ultimately, this

shoot isn’t about Toney as

much as it is about helping

you, our readers.

Photo by Gregory James


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Feedback Facebook.com/MuscleMag AND ON TWITTER @musclemag


I don’t think he does. With the

amount of pure talent coming out

of the woodwork like Ramy, it will

be hard for him to maintain his

crown. Don’t forget about Kai,

either. He’s a man who will put it all

on the line!–CLAYTON D.

The bigger question is: Who is good

enough to beat him? Is there a guy ready

to take the Olympia away from him? Is

there a bodybuilder complete enough?–ERIK L.

It’s way too early for this talk.–@STHURMAN14

@STHURMAN14: @MUSCLEMAG. AGREED

#CANILIVE PLEASE? –@PHILHEATH

Q:Yeah he does! He’s young in comparison and has the best genetics since Flex Wheeler. As far as mass and shape, he’s unstoppable.”

–JAKE ALAN L.

Never! Ronnie is the king!” –MIRCEA I.

Nope. The competition is too

fierce. It is only a matter of time

before he is dethroned.–@STEVEKWELI

“Of course. He’s “The Gift” for a reason!”

–@REALSUPERSIDHU

ISA

AC

HIN

DS

Can Phil beat Ronnie’s record of eight wins?


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The Future Battle of Mr. Olympia?

Lewis Touna of Toronto, Ontario, (left) is definitely a born bodybuilder, but Easton Michael Burch of

Ninety Six, South Carolina, is growing bigger every

day. Are we seeing a preview of the 2045 Mr.

Olympia showdown?

Was at my hunting camp and decided to use it as skeet and blast it into pieces with a 12-gauge shotgun. #birdshot

@FITNESSCLAY

Failed on a heavy dumbbell press, dropped it on prework-out cup, and bam! Ev-eryone in the whole gym was coated in sticky drink. #unpopular

@UNKLELAY

Didn’t wash it out and let it sit in my car closed. The smell doesn’t wash out of the shaker :(

@DAL_GD

Another guy at the gym used mine by mistake. I threw it away.

@R_D_PHOTO

I dropped mine off of a hotel room balcony completely filled. It exploded on impact when it hit the ground. #wastedprotein

BONOMO27

Left it on my taxi’s roof then it drove off. Lol.

ALLEN L.

Lol. NEVER! It’s like the Holy Grail. Still using the same one for 4 years!

CRAIG B.

Had to pee into it when I was hunting this weekend. Threw it in the trash!

@BLANCHDANMAN

Set it down on the tail-board of the fire truck. We got a call. It made it 6 blocks before taking a corner & exploding.

@R_J_FIRE


One step at a time.

Those steps whether

big or small will find

their way along this

journey we call #Life.

@KAIGREENE

Next to every

successful man is an

incredible woman!

@FLEX_LEWIS

Can’t wait to try the

new peanut butter

Pop Tarts after the

Prague show!

@FSMALLS1

Bodybuilding has

come a long way

since PUMPING IRON!

#GenerationIron

@LOUFERRIGNO

MouthingsMuscle

FROM THE PROS

CLO

CK

WIS

E F

RO

M T

OP

LE

FT

: S

HU

TT

ER

STO

CK

(4

); IS

AA

C H

IND

S (

2); G

RE

GO

RY

JA

ME

S (

2); C

OU

RT

ES

Y B

UR

CH

; M

ICH

AE

L T

OU

NA

What’s the craziest way you’ve destroyed a protein shaker?


WorldMags.net



By Jimmy

Peña, MS, CSCS

STEP 1: Stand inside a Smith machine holding the bar in front of your upper

thighs.

STEP 2: Keep your chest up, shoulders back and eyes focused forward.

STEP 3: You should be close to the bar with your elbows by your sides, knees unlocked.

STEP 1: Begin the move by pulling your elbows back as you drag the bar up your body toward your upper abs/lower chest.

STEP 2: Drag the bar up your torso as high as possible, pushing your elbows behind you. You’ll notice the bar hits significantly lower on the body compared to the standard barbell curl.

STEP 3: Slowly return the bar along the same path and repeat.

TARGET MUSCLE:

BICEPS (WITH

EMPHASIS ON THE

LONG HEAD, OR PEAK)

1. Standing too far away. You need to

get up close and

personal with the bar.

Many lifters stand too

far back, which

defeats the purpose

of this exceptional

biceps move.

2. Not pulling your elbows back. This sets up the entire

move. If you pull your

elbows back and keep

them pulled back,

you’re far more likely

to get it right.

3. Shrugging the bar. There’s a bit of

a tendency to shrug

the bar upward, but

try to keep your

shoulders down to

ensure that the

emphasis remains

on the biceps. You

may have to drop the

weight slightly to

do so.

THIS MONTH’S EXERCISE

Smith Machine Drag CurlTHE START

EXECUTION

BEST ALTERNATIVE

STANDARD

BARBELL CURL

If you don’t have a Smith machine, you can target the biceps long head with a drag curl

using an Olympic bar or short straight bar. The Smith machine makes it a bit easier to

focus on the biceps because you don’t have to balance the bar, but the form is identical

with a standard barbell. Remember, because the exercise removes the delts from the

equation, you’ll need to reduce the weight; it doesn’t take a heavy load to target the

biceps. We’re betting this quickly becomes one of your go-to moves for the biceps peak.

Biggest Training Errors

Ph

oto

s b

y G

reg

ory

Jam

es

Mo

del IF

BB

Pro

Bra

nd

on

Cu

rry


If you finish the move with the bar in front of

your delts, the bar is too high and you didn’t

pull your elbows back behind you. The bar

should come no higher than your upper abs.

During the standard curl, the bar travels over a

natural arc that hits both the biceps and the

front delts to a certain degree. The Smith-

machine drag curl eliminates that arc com-

pletely and removes all deltoid involvement

from the equation. Since your hands stay close

to your body as the bar comes up, your elbows

must travel backward.

FIRST SET EXERCISE OF THE MONTH


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Both versions have their positive points, so be sure to do both kinds of squats. Before

going super deep, however, be sure to warm up with very light weight. Do parallel

squats often enough to work the upper range of motion, allowing you to use more

weight than you could for a full squat. Try both versions inside a power rack whenever

possible so that you can adjust the safeties downward as you work to increase strength as

well as hip and low-back flexibility. If you can’t squat deep, be sure to work on your

flexibility and keep your entire foot in contact with the floor throughout the move.

The squat is arguably the most effective exercise for targeting the legs, but what happens when you push it way down low?

MAKE THIS CHANGETAKE YOUR SQUATS

DOWN LOW: hips to heels.

While some people argue

that going just to parallel is

better for your knees,

research confirms that

sheer forces on the knees

are actually greater in a

parallel squat than a deep

squat. And for those who

think the parallel squat is

better for your lower back,

a full range of motion has

been found to be less

stressful on the spine than

a squat that stops at 90

degrees.

Finally, if the safety of

your knees and back

isn’t enough to convince

you, scientists report

that you increase the

muscular activity of all

three muscle groups

(quads, hamstrings and

glutes) by taking your

hips to the floor com-

pared to parallel squats.

Because all three

muscles are being

required to power you

through a greater

distance, you naturally

recruit more fibers, which

exposes you to greater

mass opportunities.

What Happens When ...

You Go Below Parallel When Squatting


Going DownObviously, the most popular

version of the squat is the

parallel squat in which the

thighs come parallel to the floor.

You stop the downward motion

when your knees approach a

90-degree angle, pause briefly,

then explode upward until your

legs are straight.

GR

EG

OR

Y J

AM

ES

The squat is head and shoulders above all other leg moves, targeting the quadri-

ceps, hamstrings and glutes to fulfill its demanding requirements. The key is to

press through the floor with your feet rather than try to lift the bar with your upper

body. You want the bar to feel attached to your traps as you move your entire

body as one unit. With your abs pulled in tight, chest up and the energy surging

through your feet and up your legs, there’s not a better exercise in the gym.

GET THE BENEFITS FROM BOTH

➔ SQUAT

B y J i m m y

Pe ñ a , M S , C S C SFIRST SET MAKE ONE CHANGE


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Check out the research and read about other serious athletes like you that take HMB

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FIRST SET TROUBLESHOOTING 1O1

PRESSDOWN

One of these photos shows a critical but common mistake on the pressdown.

TARGET

About the PressdownThe overhand-grip pressdown is an efective isolation move for all

three triceps heads, with emphasis on the lateral head. The pressdown

can help send much-needed blood to the elbow joints to help prepare

them for the workout ahead, or can be used as a finishing exercise to

pump the muscle. For a diferent feel, try using a straight bar, V-bar or

even a rope from workout to workout. Finally, keep your abs tight,

knees unlocked and chest up throughout the set.

Fix It Many form fixes begin

when you reduce the weight. Once you get the

hang of great form, by all means load it up.

Step close to the stack so the cable runs right

in front of your face. Grasp the bar, pull your elbows to your

sides and pin them there. You want the movement to occur

at the elbow joints alone, not the shoulders. After pressing to

full arm extension, allow the bar to come up to where your

forearms are about parallel to the floor; an inch or so above

is fine. This range of motion might feel much shorter than

you’re used to, but it’s what makes the exercise so efective.

CAN YOU SPOT WHICH ONE IS WRONG?

1 2

Spot the Error The key to executing the pressdown

efectively is to keep your elbows

pinned by your sides throughout each

rep. If you permit your elbows to come

forward as the bar comes up, you’ll

remove emphasis from the triceps

while inviting more abs, delts and even

the lats to join in. Photo one is correct.

Ph

oto

s b

y G

reg

ory

Jam

es

Mo

del V

icto

r L

un

a

By Jimmy

Peña, MS, CSCS

BEGINNER’S TIP

Without any weight on the stack, look to your

side in the mirror if possible. If you don’t have

a mirror, ask someone to let you know when

your forearms are parallel. You’ll notice that it’s

much more difcult to stop the upward motion

of the cable at parallel than to let it pull your

arms up farther. You’ll immediately feel a better

burn in your triceps, as well. Once you get the

hang of the short range of motion, slowly begin

adding weight to the stack and practice that

perfect form. Although it’s generally not a good

idea to turn your head to watch yourself, it’s a bit

safer with single-joint movements.



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After completing your warm-ups, which of these

exercises should come first in your workout if your goal is to pack size onto your chest?

A) PEC-DECK FLYE

B) BODYWEIGHT DIP

C) REVERSE-GRIP BENCH PRESS

D) FLAT-BENCH DUMBBELL PRESS

3 There are lots of good exercises for building big

biceps, but which is best for packing on mass and should be done before any others?

A) CONCENTRATION CURL

B) PREACHER-CURL MACHINE

C) SEATED DUMBBELL CURL

D) STANDING BARBELL CURL

1. Your first exercise is critical

because that’s when your energy

levels are highest; as you become

fatigued over the course of your

workout, your capacity to push

heavy loads diminishes. Typically,

you want to choose exercises

that allow you to push the most

weight, which in almost all cases

are multijoint moves rather than

single-joint exercises. The

close-grip bench press and

close-grip push-up are both

multijoint moves, but the bench

press is better because you can

add resistance. With the push-up,

you’re typically limited to

bodyweight and could end up

training in a rep range that’s

suboptimal. B is the correct

answer.

2. Because single-joint moves

are eliminated for the reasons in

answer No. 1 above, that takes

out option A. Training for size is

best done in the 8–12-rep range

to failure, and most of us can do a

lot more dips if we do them first,

so that’s out. Reverse-grip

benches are great for the upper

pecs, but the hand position

requires you to drop the weight

considerably over what you can

use for incline presses. You’ll gain

the most mass with flat-bench

presses as long as you train to

failure in the 8–12-rep range. D is

the correct answer.

3. These are all single-joint

moves, so the answer is a bit

diferent. The first two exercises

target just one biceps head,

making them less efective at

building overall mass. The first

three are also done seated, which

means it’s harder to generate mo-

mentum, so they’re better

isolation exercises. But most

bodybuilders want to use a little

body english in their first move to

help keep a set going. Think

about how much resistance you

can use on each of those four

exercises; you should push the

most weight by far on the

standing barbell curl. D is the

correct answer.

First PicksTEST

After warming up,

which of these moves

is considered the best mass

builder for triceps?

ANSWERS

1A) ONE-ARM REVERSE-GRIP PRESSDOWN

B) CLOSE-GRIP BENCH PRESS

C) ROPE PRESSDOWN

D) CLOSE-GRIP PUSH-UP

What’s the best exercise to do first in your workout? Test your iron IQ with these 3 challenging questions.

B y B i l l

G e i g e r, M A

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FIRST SET PUMP QUIZ



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B y J i m m y Pe ñ a , M S , C S C S

Both moves work the shoulders, but which one is best at targeting the middle delts?

vs. Overhead Barbell Press

Overhead Dumbbell Press

Overhead Dumbbell PressArguably the greatest benefit of dumbbells is that they

allow a greater range of motion than a barbell does. With

that comes greater time under tension and recruitment

of the traps, which act to raise the shoulder blades. Using

dumbbells also summons more stabilizer muscles to

perform the move. In other words, more total muscle

fibers are hard at work to perform the overhead dumb-

bell press. Most of the time this exercise is done seated,

but you can also perform it standing, which allows you to

go slightly heavier by using your lower body and core to

a greater extent.

Overhead Barbell PressThe overhead press is a great multijoint exercise that

works all three delt heads. If you don’t have a military

bench, try to work inside a power rack where you can

adjust the safeties up or down so that it’s easy to rack

the bar at the end of each set. Take a wide, overhand grip

on the bar each time and be sure to wrap your thumbs

around it for safety. If you’re new to this move or have

relied mainly on dumbbells for your overhead presses, be

aware that you’ll have to lean your head back slightly on

each rep to get your chin out of the way of the bar.

However, avoid leaning too far back because that could

cause undue stress on your lower back and cervical

Dumbbell Press Both moves are multijoint in nature and typically done first in your shoulder routine.

More than two sets of joints work together, in this case the muscles that attach to the elbow and shoulder joints, so the

triceps assist. In case you missed it above, dumbbells require the most coordination but also allow the most freedom.

Because you keep your elbows out to your sides during standard overhead dumbbell presses, the emphasis remains

primarily on the middle delts. In contrast, the standard overhead barbell press requires you to bring the bar in front of

your face to your upper chest. If you follow the path of the elbows, you’ll notice that they travel a bit more forward,

calling upon the front delts to a greater extent. So while you can move more weight with a barbell, the winner in the

middle delt category is the dumbbell version. Be sure to do both in your routine to gain the unique benefits of each.

ADVANTAGE


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FIRST SET FACE OFF


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The food Nazis went after bacon

and red meat many years ago, de-

monizing them. Since then, though,

research has shown red meat can

be healthful in moderation, espe-

cially grass-fed versions, which are

much higher in omega-3 fats. Ba-

con was considered to be a “bad”

food because of its fat, calorie and

nitrate content. And, thus, turkey

bacon was considered a healthful

substitute for pork bacon. The

question remains: Is turkey bacon a

better choice than pork bacon?

The short answer: maybe.

It depends on what you’re look-

ing for in your breakfast meat. Com-

parable amounts of pork and turkey

bacon (16 grams cooked of each)

derive a similar proportion of their

calories from protein and fat. Pork

bacon gets a little more than 28% of

calories from protein; turkey bacon

gets 29%. Comparable servings of

turkey bacon have 28% fewer calo-

ries than pork. Both products have

nitrates, which are common in many

processed meats and have been

linked to cancer in lab animals.

If you’re consuming bacon for

its flavor, fewer calories may make

turkey bacon the better choice, pro-

viding you consider the flavor to be

equal. However, at only 84 calories

for two slices of pan-fried pork ba-

con, it’s not the gut-buster it’s been

demonized to be.

Perhaps more salient factors to

consider are taste and sodium con-

tent, which vary from brand to

brand. Both turkey and pork are

available in low-sodium versions,

although turkey tends to be lower.

If you’re trying to avoid nitrates,

though, skip bacon altogether.

FIRST SET BODYBUILDER’S CHOICE B y S t e v e n S t i e f e l

WINNER: Turkey bacon during cutting phases. It’s a toss-up otherwise.

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Turkey Bacon1 oz. (16 grams)

Pork Bacon2 strips cooked

vs.

Calories

Fat (grams)

Protein (grams)

Calories

Fat (grams)

Protein (grams)



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B y Fr a n k H o f f m a n n


Seared Pork With Roasted Sweet Potato Fries

INGREDIENTS

2 medium sweet potatoes

2 tbsp. extra-virgin

olive oil

2 dashes sea salt

2 dashes black pepper

2 6-oz. pork chops

DIRECTIONSPreheat oven to 450˚F. Peel the sweet potatoes, cut in half lengthwise and then cut into thin wedges. Place the cut sweet potatoes into a bowl and add 1 tbsp. of olive oil and a dash each of salt and pepper; toss with your hands, coating each piece. Spread evenly onto a foil-lined baking sheet and bake for 25–30 minutes, turning each piece after 15 minutes.

After you turn over the sweet potatoes, season the pork chops with salt and pepper. Add olive oil to a pan preheated to medium-high, and sear the pork chops in the pan until done — about 4 minutes on each side. Let pork rest for a few minutes before plating; serve with sweet potatoes and enjoy.

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NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION Serves 2; per serving

24 gCarbs

29 gFat

561Calories

49 gProtein

FIRST SET MUSCLE MEALS

PREP TIME

10 minutes

COOK TIME

30 minutes


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FIRST SET FOOD PICKS B y M a t t h e w Ka d e y, M S , R D

Jacked with vitamins, miner-

als and beneficial fats, here

are 6 food picks bodybuild-

ers would be nuts not to keep

in their pantry at all times.

Top 6 Seeds & Nuts

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BRAZIL NUTSThis giant of the nut world is nature’s

best source of the antioxidant seleni-

um. European scientists recently

found that men with high blood sele-

nium concentrations had improved

blood sugar control, which lowers the

chances of fat gain and diabetes.

Roast Brazil nuts in the oven with

spices for a stellar snack food.

CHIA SEEDSOnce famously hawked

to the tune of ch-ch-ch-

chia, tiny chia seeds are

a fiber powerhouse with

six grams in each two-

tablespoon serving. By

slowing down digestion

and keeping you feeling

full, a high-fiber diet

can prevent the hunger

pangs that lead to ice

cream gorges. Sprinkle

them on your salads,

cottage cheese, yogurt

and oatmeal.

SUNFLOWER SEEDSTossing a handful of shelled sunflower seeds into

your yogurt or oatmeal is a surefire way to load

up on vitamin E. A study published in the Journal

of Physiological Sciences determined that sub-

jects who consumed higher amounts of vitamin E

experienced less oxidative stress and muscle

damage in response to resistance exercise, an ef-

fect that could speed recovery.

ALMONDSConsider almonds muscle food as they

contain more leucine, an essential amino

acid that is particularly important at insti-

gating muscle growth, than most other

nuts. These crunchy nuts are also loaded

with heart-healthy monounsaturated fat.

Bolster your post-workout shake by

blending in a handful of almonds.

PUMPKIN SEEDSAlso called pepitas, these jack-o’-lantern castofs ofer a smorgas-

bord of nutrients, including bone-strengthening vitamin K, testos-

terone-boosting zinc, and magnesium, an often-underconsumed

mineral shown to improve blood sugar control. Try toasting them

in a dry skillet and then tossing them onto your salads.


PISTACHIOSPistachios have an earthy flavor that tele-

graphs their health benefits. The green nut

contains more blood pressure-lowering po-

tassium than other types and is rich in phy-

tosterols, compounds shown to chip away at

high cholesterol numbers. Chop pistachios

and toss them into cooked rice or quinoa.


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Lately, glutamine supplementa-

tion has taken a back seat to

other amino acids or com-

pounds such as creatine and ar-

ginine that provide noticeable

benefits almost instantly. But

glutamine exists in the human

body in greater amounts than

any other amino, comprising up

to 60% or more of free amino

acids. Much of glutamine’s im-

portance stems from the fact

that it can be converted readily

into other crucial aminos, so in

essence, a dose of glutamine

makes many other amino acids

available for specific physiologi-

cal needs. While supplementing

with other aminos and com-

pounds is beneficial, glutamine

should always be one of your ba-

sics for health and muscle build-

ing. Here’s why:

It fights catabolism and supports recovery.

When you train hard, your body

enters a catabolic state in

which it breaks down muscle

tissue. Because your glutamine

levels are depleted, your body

needs to pull it from storage to

help drive recovery and growth.

Supplementing with glutamine

before and after weight-training

workouts saves your body much

of this efort since it can almost

immediately begin to use the

supplemental glutamine. This

helps reduce the muscle break-

down that occurs to supply glu-

tamine for other recovery needs.

It boosts protein synthesis and anabolism. Besides pushing through a

catabolic state brought on by

intense training, you also want

to encourage muscle protein

synthesis. In an anabolic state,

Get Your GlutamineThis crucial amino acid provides multiple muscle-building benefits


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FIRST SET NUTRITION R&D

GLUTAMINE SUPPLEMENTATION FOR NEW MUSCLE BUILDERSKeep in mind that bodyweight is a factor in how much glutamine you need each day. This

program is designed for a 180–200-pounder who isn’t taking glutamine now. Use this

chart as a guideline for what you should take each day over a seven-week startup period.

WEEK UPON BEFORE AFTER BEFORE RISING (g) WORKOUTS (g) WORKOUTS (g) BED

1 0 5 5 0

2 5 5 5 0

3 5 5 5 5

4 5 5 10 5

5 5 10 10 5

6 10 10 10 5

7 10 10 10 10


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Ginger Boosts TestosteroneThe reputation of this root just keeps growing

Almost every guy who has ever watched Gilligan’s

Island understands this on some level: Ginger raises

testosterone and Mary Ann bakes a tasty pie. When

you want to boost your T levels, you can eat gingery

foods or take it as a supplement. Either way, it’ll make

your Lovey Howell.

Many animal studies have shown the testosterone-

boosting efects of ginger intake, but a recent study

performed in Tikrit, Iraq, may have been the first

human study to confirm these results. When married

men with fertility issues were put on a ginger regimen,

preliminary conclusions indicated that boosting ginger

intake increased levels of luteinizing hormone, which is

released from the pituitary gland and stimulates

testosterone production.

Although this study isn’t conclusive, a body of

research suggests that ginger supports testosterone

production. Moreover, ginger provides multiple muscle-

building and health benefits. Ginger is known as a

digestive aid, helping to soothe the intestinal tract and

reduce gas. It also provides anti-inflammatory efects,

crucial for those sufering from health problems or

exercise-induced soreness, and it supports immunity

by fighting of colds, flu and even cancer.

WHAT YOU CAN DO: Eat ginger, raw or pickled. Take in

100–200 mg of Panax (American) ginseng with your nitric

oxide boosters to enhance blood flow. Do both to cover

your bases. KA

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your body drives raw materials

straight to your muscles, helping

to create more muscle fibers so

that you continue to grow. Sup-

plemental glutamine is one of

the best ways to encourage mus-

cle growth right after you finish

training.

It supports immunity.Glutamine also benefits your im-

mune system, helping you fight

of infections and inflammation,

and reducing the impact of stress-

ors on your body. Specifically, glu-

tamine reduces the impact of

cortisol, a negative hormone that’s

generated by stressors including

exercise. While you can’t avoid

cortisol release, the goal is to push

through the period faster, reduc-

ing its ill efects on your body. This

allows you to return to an anabolic

(muscle growth) state.

It improves your digestive system.A lesser-known fact is that gluta-

mine’s immunity benefits go be-

yond muscle building. The amino

acid helps support overall health,

including digestive repair. Every

meal you eat causes wear and

tear on the lining of your gastroin-

testinal system, and regular gluta-

mine intake is one of the best

ways to hasten repair.

WHAT YOU CAN DO: Take 5–10

grams of glutamine up to four

times a day. Ingesting up to 40

grams of glutamine daily may

seem like a lot, but you can see

benefits at this level. Start with a

smaller daily total of about 10

grams split over two doses pre-

and post-workout. Add 5 grams

per day each week until you hit a

comfortable intake level.


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FIRST SET NUTRITION R&D

One of the most controversial issues in sports supplementa-

tion has been the illegal use of erythropoietin (EPO). Ingest-

ing outside sources of EPO, a glycoprotein hormone, boosts

red blood cell production and ultimately increases oxygen

delivery to muscle tissue. One way that athletes “cheat” is

by withdrawing samples of their own blood, spinning out

the liquid, then re-injecting the platelets at the time of per-

formance to drive their exercise capacity. This procedure

isn’t illegal, but it is forbidden by many professional athletic

associations. After all, there’s plenty of reason to believe it’s

medically beneficial.

There’s no doubt that increasing red blood cell produc-

tion can boost athletic performance, and a lesser known

supplement called piceatannol has been shown to help

boost EPO production. Research demonstrates benefits for

those sufering from digestive issues like Crohn’s disease,

and scientists have extrapolated these findings to suggest

athletic benefits for endurance athletes in particular.

Piceatannol is an analog of resveratrol, both of which come

from black grapes. Supplemental piceatannol not only boosts

endurance but also helps your body recomposition bodyfat

levels, science speak that means it helps you lose bodyfat

while gaining or maintaining muscle mass. While piceatannol

is available from suppliers, it’s not yet readily available in

bodybuilding supplements.

WHAT YOU CAN DO: Keep your eyes peeled for piceatan-

nol. Ask your favorite supplement company or point of dis-

tribution if they have any products that contain piceatannol.

Pick PiceatannolLook for this resveratrol analog

to appear in bodybuilding

supplements

That’s RichA high-protein diet and multiple meals per day are efective for weight loss

Bodybuilders have known for decades

that protein-rich nutrition plans not only

help build muscle mass but also encour-

age the burning of bodyfat, depending

on how many calories you consume.

Along the same lines, a recent study re-

inforced long-held bodybuilding beliefs,

including the benefits of high-protein di-

ets and multiple meals per day. Obese

subjects who consumed diets rich in

protein compared to comparable calorie

intake lost more weight. Moreover, obese

people who consumed the same amount

of calories per day over six meals com-

pared to three meals shed even more

pounds. Conclusion: Bodybuilding nutri-

tion programs are for everyone, includ-

ing those who are extremely overweight.

WHAT YOU CAN DO: Get in six meals a

day, and make sure each meal contains

at least 20 grams of protein while

keeping calories moderate when you

want to shed body fat.

Rice to the OccasionHow you can make the most of vegetarian proteins

It’s typically thought that vegetarian

forms of protein aren’t as efective as

animal forms for building muscle mass.

That’s often true whether you’re consid-

ering whole-food or supplemental sourc-

es. But recent research shows that

vegans don’t have to go animal to get

muscle-building results from their diets;

they just need to add leucine.

This crucial amino acid appears to be

the limiting factor; it’s notoriously low in

vegetable proteins but relatively high in

animal sources. New data shows that

adding leucine to rice protein helped

make it as anabolic as animal-based sup-

plemental proteins, including whey. While

few serious bodybuilders are vegans, the

takeaway message is this: Make sure you

have plenty of supplemental leucine in

your program to get the most from your

protein consumption.

WHAT YOU CAN DO: Add 6 grams of

BCAAs to your vegetable protein. Most

BCAA supplements contain a ratio of

2:1:1 of leucine:valine:isoleucine, which

will give you the 3 grams of leucine you

need to equal the anabolic efects of

animal protein. SHUTTERSTOCK


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Lose Your Inhibition, Gain Muscle

If your goal is to get the most out

of your training, you need to jack

yourself up before you hit the gym.

Mesomorph from APS provides all

the supplements you need to

maximize energy, then backs this

up by providing the raw materials

your body needs for growth and

repair after a great workout.

The product contains a matrix

designed for neuro stimulation. It

includes methylxanthine anhydrous,

also known as the dry form of caf-

feine, which research shows is superi-

or for enhancing strength and energy.

In addition, glucoronolactone — an

ergogenic chemical produced dur-

ing glucose metabolism — enhances

physical performance while protect-

ing the liver.

Mesomorph also includes beta-

alanine and citrulline malate, amino

acids that help drive better work-

outs and bigger muscle growth.

Beta-alanine boosts strength and

endurance during workouts, ulti-

mately leading to greater hypertro-

One of the limiting fac-

tors in human muscle

growth is levels of myo-

statin, a naturally occur-

ring protein that

prevents muscles from

expanding beyond a

certain size. But now

researchers at MHP

have formulated Myo-X,

a product that helps in-

hibit myostatin produc-

Mesomorph from APS gets you jacked in every way

Myo-X from MHP helps block myostatin to allow for greater growth

phy. Citrulline malate is a form of

the amino citrulline, which is known

to enhance production of nitric

oxide, the gas molecule that allows

blood vessels to relax so more

blood, oxygen and nutrients reach

working muscles.

Additional goodies include an

ample dose of creatine, agmatine

sulfate and geranium oil extract,

designed to help you power through

your most challenging workouts.

Regardless of what body type you

were assigned genetically, Meso-

morph can help you morph into the

best, most muscular version of you.

tion to provide greater

potential for beastly

muscle size.

Myo-X relies on

MyoT12, a proprietary

formulation that con-

tains 80 major proteins

and hundreds of small-

er peptides as well as

growth factors that

help modulate and in-

hibit myostatin activity.

It includes fecunded G.

gallus domesticus iso-

late, protein derived

from fertile egg yolks.

Clinical tests support

Myo-X’s ability to sup-

press unwanted myo-

statin efects in all

human subjects. In fact,

the product can reduce

myostatin levels by an

average 46% in 12 to 18

hours after just one

serving.

Shutting down myo-

statin’s impact on lean

muscle tissue accretion

could dramatically in-

crease your ability to

build mass. While the

benefits are obvious to

bodybuilders, they also

extend to other athletes

and even to older peo-

ple seeking to add

muscle tissue.

FIRST SET ON SHELVES NOW


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To build super strength and muscle size, you need to work the secondary muscles that assist in the execution of the major lifts. Here’s how to build power from the inside out for a stronger bench, squat, overhead press and bent-over row.By Jimmy Peña, MS, CSCS | Photos of IFBB Pro Evgeny Mishin by Paul Buceta

It’s written that a foolish man is he who

builds his house upon the sand, where

the winds and waves destroy it. The wise

man’s house, however, stands strong be-

cause he’s built his upon the rock. The

fact that you’re reading this means you’re

into building stuf, but how do you hold

up when the big weights come crashing

down? When was the last time you tested

the waters of strength? If you seem to

have reached your limit, it’s probably

time to fortify your foundation to find out

just how strong you can truly be. Now’s

your chance, so choose wisely.


THE INSIDE-OUT SPLIT

DAY BODYPARTS TRAINED

STANDARD^

1 Legs

2 Chest, triceps, shoulders

3 Back, biceps

4 Rest

INSIDE-OUT PROGRESSION

5 Legs

6 Chest, shoulders, triceps*

7 Back, biceps*

^You can cater the first three days of your week to

accommodate your current bodypart combina-

tions and routine, keeping in mind the order of

bodyparts you’ll work in days 5–7.

*Optional: You can skip arm training in the second

half of the week if so desired.

Note: We suggest you test your strength and

performance on four major lifts: 1) squat, 2) bent-

over row, 3) bench press and 4) overhead press.

After the program, you can attempt the same

exercises to test your newfound strength.


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BULGARIAN SQUAT

NEED-FOR-STABILITY RATINGHIGH

Most stabilizer muscles required to complete lift.

MODERATE

Some stabilizers needed for exercise execution.

MINIMAL

Better for isolation; fewer stabilizers needed.


THE INSIDE-OUT LEG PROGRAM

EXERCISE SETS REPS REST

Bulgarian Squat 3 6–8 2 min.

Squat 4 8–10 2 min.

Smith-Machine Squat 5 10–12 2 min.

Leg Extension 3 10–12 1–2 min.

Lying Leg Curl 3 10–12 1–2 min.

Standing Calf Raise 3 25 1–2 min.


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BULGARIAN SQUATSTART POSITION: Stand erect, holding dumbbells atop your shoulders or hanging

at your sides, with one foot raised behind you and resting atop a bench or step.

MOVEMENT: Keeping your head neutral, abs tight and torso erect, bend at the

knee and hips to slowly lower your body, until your front leg approaches 90 de-

grees. Press through your front heel to push your body up to the start position and

repeat for reps. Give yourself a short rest and then repeat on the opposite leg.

SMITH-MACHINE SQUATSTART POSITION: Stand inside a Smith machine with the bar across your upper back.

Take a very wide stance. Keep your chest up and back flat, eyes focused forward.

MOVEMENT: With your abs tight, bend your knees and hips, as if sitting in a chair, until

your thighs are parallel with the floor. Reverse motion by driving through your heels

and pressing your hips forward to return to the start position.

SQUATSTART POSITION: Stand erect, holding a bar across your upper back, with your

feet about shoulder-width apart, knees unlocked and your toes turned out slightly.

MOVEMENT: Keeping your head neutral, abs tight and torso erect, bend at the knees

and hips to slowly lower your body, as if you were going to sit down in a chair. Pause

when your legs reach a 90-degree angle and then forcefully drive through your heels,

extending at your hips and knees, until you return back to the standing position.

SMITH-MACHINE SQUAT

Most strength articles you’ll find focus

on a couple of important elements: load

and rest. And you won’t find us in dis-

agreement. Load (or intensity — that is,

choosing a weight that corresponds to

your maximum lift strength) and proper

rest periods are both crucial to the suc-

cess of someone eagerly seeking great

gains in strength. And those typical

strongman articles rightly gravitate to-

ward compound exercises and prime

movers that don’t rely so much on stabi-

lizer muscles, since stabilizers limit the

amount of force the big moves can create.

Still no real argument here.

THE DEVIL YOU KNOW

However, that’s exactly where this par-

ticular strength feature finds its indepen-

dence. See, we want you to focus on the

auxiliary muscles because they support

the joints of the major muscle groups, and

their ability — or lack thereof — could be

the limiting factor in your own progress.

Even if the muscles most responsible for a

particular lift are strong and capable, the

underlying and unseen structures that

support the joints might not be able to

keep up with what you’re trying to lift.

And when it comes to strength, some-

times the devil is in the inner details. If

you know your weakness lies in stabilizer

strength, then the devil you know beats

the devil you don’t.

The most important detail in this

strategy is the systematic order of exer-

cises. It’s the order of exercises for each

muscle group that makes the greatest dif-

ference in progressive strength in both

stabilizers and major lifts. The exercises

in and of themselves are not earth-shat-

tering or novel. But much like the correct

numbers to a lock combination or a sub-

strate to a chemical reaction, the order of

exercises will trigger a response unlike

any you’ve experienced.

Each day, you’ll be training in a way

that takes you from the exercises requir-

ing the most stabilizer activity to those

requiring the least. That way, as you move

throughout the day’s program, as the syn-

ergistic muscles and stabilizers tire out,

each new exercise you move on to will


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THE INSIDE-OUT CHEST PROGRAM


Flat-Bench Dumbbell Press 3 6–8 2 min.

Bench Press 4 8–10 2 min.

Smith-Machine Bench Press 5 10–12 2 min.

Incline Dumbbell Flye 3 10–12 1–2 min.

Smith-Machine Decline Press 3 10–12 1–2 min.

FLAT-BENCH DUMBBELL PRESS



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SMITH-MACHINEBENCH PRESS

BENCH PRESS

require less stability (and thus less work

on the part of those highly fatigued stabi-

lizers) than the one before it. You’re basi-

cally working from the inside out, and by

going deeper and training the smaller, in-

tricate stabilizers first, you’ll ultimately

ensure progressive strength and size of

the dominant muscles over the long term.

On chest day, for example, you might

go from a dumbbell move to a barbell move

and then finish on the Smith machine. At

the end of the day, you’ll have attacked the

chest with exercises (using dumbbells pri-

marily, then barbells) that tax the stabiliz-

ers of the joints responsible for working

the chest, as well as with exercises (on the

machine) that solely blast the chest with-

out much stability. When you melt the

benefits of each exercise together over the

course of four weeks, you can imagine how

much stronger you’ll be. And your chest

will look it. Big and strong … isn’t that what

we’re all here for?

STRONG TEMPTATION

You might be wondering whether we’re

breaking a cardinal rule of training called

specificity, which says that in order to

gain strength in a particular lift, you have

to perform that lift. We’re absolutely not

breaking the rule; we’re only enhancing

the body’s ability to perform all major

lifts. As you’ll see in each workout, the

major lift is prominent, just strategically

placed within each day. We realize that if

you practice the leg press, for example, it

won’t necessarily translate to a better

squat. However, if while you practice the

squat you also attack unfamiliar muscles

that are indirectly and directly related to

your squat performance, then you’ll have

the best of both worlds.

You might also be curious as to wheth-

er we’re breaking our own rule that says to

hit your major lifts early in your workout,

when you’re the most fresh. Again, no.

This scheme isn’t designed to replace your

standard bodybuilding or strength-train-

ing plan; it’s meant to be a technical tool to

be used in combination with your current

routine. For the next four weeks, we’re go-

ing to have you training each major body-

part twice per week, following a three-day

FLAT-BENCH DUMBBELL PRESSSTART POSITION: Lie faceup on the bench with your feet flat on the floor. Hold a

dumbbell in each hand just outside your shoulders.

MOVEMENT: Powerfully press the dumbbells toward the ceiling and together,

stopping when they’re an inch or so away from each other; then slowly return to

the start and repeat.

SMITH-MACHINE BENCH PRESSSTART POSITION: Place a bench centered inside a Smith machine. Grasp the bar

with a wide, overhand grip and rotate the bar to unrack it.

MOVEMENT: Slowly lower the bar to your lower chest, pausing when the bar is

just about an inch away from your pecs; then powerfully press the bar back up to

full arm extension and repeat.

BENCH PRESSSTART POSITION: Lie faceup on a bench with your feet flat on the floor. Grasp the

barbell with an overhand grip that is slightly wider than shoulder width apart.

MOVEMENT: Unrack the bar and slowly lower it toward your chest. Keep your

wrists stacked directly above your elbows, and your elbows pointed out to your

sides. When the bar just touches your chest, press back up explosively, driving the

bar away from you until just short of lockout.


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SEATED OVERHEAD DUMBBELL PRESSSTART POSITION: Sit erect on a low-

back bench, holding a dumbbell in

each hand above shoulder level with a

pronated grip. Keep your head straight

and eyes focused forward.

MOVEMENT: Keeping your shoulders

back, press the dumbbells overhead in

an arc but don’t let the weights touch at

the top. Slowly lower to the start posi-

tion and repeat.

OVERHEAD BARBELLPRESSSTART POSITION: Sit erect against the

back-pad support at a shoulder-press

station. Keep your lower back slightly

arched and your feet flat on the floor.

Grasp the bar outside shoulder width

with a prorated grip and with your

elbows pointing down and outward.

Carefully unrack the bar and hold it at

shoulder level.

MOVEMENT: In a smooth, strong motion,

press the bar straight up to just short of el-

bow lockout. Squeeze your delts and then

lower the bar under control to the start

(i.e., front of head, but you can also do this

behind the neck) and repeat for reps.

MACHINE OVERHEAD PRESSSTART POSITION: Sit erect in the

shoulder-press machine with your lower

back firmly pressed into the pad. Keep

your feet flat on the floor. Grasp the

handles at shoulder level, keeping your

head neutral.

MOVEMENT: Press the handles over-

head to full arm extension, but don’t

lock out your elbows. Squeeze your

delts hard for a count before slowly

lowering to the start. Don’t let the

weight stack touch down between reps.

OVERHEAD BARBELL PRESS

THE INSIDE-OUT SHOULDER PROGRAM


Seated Overhead Dumbbell Press 3 6–8 2 min.

Overhead Barbell Press 4 8–10 2 min.

Machine Overhead Press 5 10–12 2 min.

Dumbbell Lateral Raise 3 12 1–2 min.

Seated Bent-Over Lateral Raise 3 12 1–2 min.



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SEATED OVERHEAD DUMBBELL PRESS

split. The first time you hit a bodypart, you

can use your standard program; the sec-

ond time you hit it that week, you’ll follow

this inside-out approach.

So let’s go back to our chest example.

On the first chest day of the week, you’ll

hit your typical routine, in which you be-

gin with, say, incline barbell presses be-

fore moving onto flat-bench dumbbell

flyes, decline presses and cable cross-

overs. Perfect. But on the second chest

day, you’ll go from exercises requiring the

most stabilizer assistance to those that re-

quire the least. The fact that you’ve never

tried this will likely mean substantial in-

creases in how much weight you’ll ulti-

mately be able to lift after following this

program for just a few weeks.

STRENGTH TO STAND

We realize that it’s not sexy and doesn’t

sell magazines, but we want it at the top

of your mind: injury prevention and safe-

ty. Intentionally working to strengthen

your stabilizer muscles will absolutely,

positively help prevent injury over the

course of your bodybuilding career. If

most of us dedicated ourselves to this

type of inside-out routine, there would be

less nagging shoulder, elbow, hip and

knee pain — all culprits of both short- and

long-term setbacks.

Also, on the list of stabilizer muscles

within this inside-out approach, the core

musculature is near the top. Since the

core is so involved with single-arm and

other unstable exercises — because of

torque and required balance — it also gets

fatigued early in the workout before you

move on to exercises that require less.

Add a stronger core to the list of reasons

why you’ll be much stronger on each lift

you attempt at the end of the program —

especially on the major lifts.

At the end of the day, the best way

we’ve found to work the stabilizers is

with dumbbells. So, for our inside-out ap-

proach, in the second half of the week, for

each bodypart, you’re going to be work-

ing first with a dumbbell exercise, then

with a barbell move and finishing with a

machine move. Again, the reason we start

with dumbbells is that dumbbell exercis-


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ONE-ARM DUMBBELL ROWSTART POSITION: Bend over at the

waist and place one knee and the same-

side hand on a flat bench. Keep your

other foot on the floor beside the bench

and hold a dumbbell in your working-

side hand. Let it hang straight down

from your shoulder with your arm fully

extended.

MOVEMENT: Pull the weight up and

back into your hip, keeping your elbow in

close. Pull your elbow as high as you can,

squeezing your shoulder blades together

for a full contraction, and then lower the

dumbbell along the same path — down

and forward. Repeat for reps; then switch

arms.

BENT-OVER BARBELL ROWSTART POSITION: Standing with your

feet hip width apart, grasp a barbell

with a wide, overhand grip. Keeping

your knees slightly bent, lean forward at

your waist until your torso is just above

parallel to the floor. The barbell should

hang straight down in front of your

shins.

MOVEMENT: Without rising up from this

bent-over position, pull the barbell up

toward your abdomen, bringing your

elbows high and above the level of your

back. Hold the bar in the peak-contract-

ed position for a count and then slowly

lower along the same path and repeat

for reps.

T-BAR ROWSTART POSITION: Lean against the pad

with your torso and place your feet on

the platform. With your arms fully ex-

tended, grasp the handles with an over-

hand grip. Wrap your thumbs around

the bar for safety. Unrack the T-bar and

allow it to hang in front of you.

MOVEMENT: Pull the handles toward

you, bringing your elbows as high

as you can and squeezing your back

muscles at the top before slowly low-

ering back to the start.

THE INSIDE-OUT BACK PROGRAM


One-Arm Dumbbell Row 3 6–8 2 min.

Bent-Over Barbell Row 4 8–10 2 min.

T-Bar Row 5 10–12 2 min.

Straight-Arm Pulldown 4 12–15 1–2 min.

ONE-ARM DUMBBELL

ROW



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BENT-OVER BARBELL ROW

es, which allow the greatest range of mo-

tion in all sorts of directions, require the

stabilizers to work overtime to keep the

bodypart on the right path of motion on

each and every repetition. As you move

on to the barbell move, that reliance on

stabilizers decreases until you hit the ma-

chine, where you won’t have to worry

about balance or stability at all.

How much weight you lift on each ex-

ercise (as a percentage of your max lift for

each move) is referred to as the intensity,

and on this program you’ll stair-step the

weight, gradually decreasing it with each

successive exercise. Thus, the heaviest

sets will fall under those dumbbell exer-

cises that allow a lot of freedom, which

makes heavier weight even more chal-

lenging. Of course, the major target mus-

cles are also highly at work, which is why,

by the time you get to the machine moves,

you can decrease the weight slightly,

since they’ll be somewhat prefatigued.

Finally, we’ve focused our attention on

the major bodyparts whose major lifts are

the most crucial for overall strength. It’s

fine if you want to continue your standard

training for bodyparts such as arms, traps

and calves during the first few days of the

week, but keep in mind that you might

want to modify the total number of sets

and the intensity during the first half of

the week to accommodate the inside-out

style later in the week.

The inside-out workouts in the pro-

gram — for legs, chest, shoulders and back

— are designed for you to insert into your

training split, specifically, to build up your

strength in the basic core lifts: squats,

bench presses, overhead shoulder presses

and bent-over rows. You’ll also see that

we’ve allowed you to train your biceps and

triceps, but feel free to save those for the

first three days if you so desire. If you’re

not accustomed to training each bodypart

twice a week, this will certainly be a shock,

and the attention you’ll give your stabiliz-

ers will up the physiological ante. Ulti-

mately, this program is a sound way to

build strength and size, and it follows a

logical progression, which is especially

useful when other methods have come to a

grinding halt or have failed.

T-BAR ROW


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People tend to be creatures of habit, meaning you probably do some things over and over again because they feel comfortable. Like eating regularly at a favorite restaurant, wear-ing a favorite tight-fitting shirt on a date, or prepar-ing the same breakfast every morning. While that may suit you fine and well in your daily life, when it comes to your workout — especially when you’re training abdominals — it’s a sign of danger, at least so far as making progress is concerned.

If you’re like too many bodybuilders, your ab training consists of a few sets of crunches at the end of your training session. Do 20 repetitions, rest and repeat.

The problem with that approach is that you’re not challenging yourself. Compare that to how you once tried to keep pushing more weight on the bench press to test your upper body strength, con-stantly trying to add another five or 10 pounds to

your lift. Do you take that same approach with abs? If you’re not seeing results with your ab train-

ing, it’s time to put the progressive into progres-sive resistance. You may remember the funda-mental principle of resistance training: To make a muscle grow bigger and stronger, you need to continually tax it with heavier loads or more rep-etitions as it grows stronger.

Building a six-pack doesn’t happen by accident unless you’ve got exceptional genetics; for the rest of us, it takes hard work, a carefully planned approach and proper manipulation of the train-ing variables. This five-week ab workout builds progression into both the resistance you use and the reps you complete for each set. If your abs have resisted getting bigger, stronger and more defined, it’s time to break out of that comfort zone, public enemy No. 1 if you want a wash-board midsection.

Your

5-WeekAb Challenge

Go from flab to abs by making your workout progressively

more challenging, building up your strength and your six-pack.

Here’s a five-week plan that’ll make your abs pop.

BY BILL GEIGER, MA | PHOTOS OF ULISSES BY PAUL BUCETA



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YOUR AB PRESCRIPTIONHere’s a summary of the five-week ab workout that’ll take you from flab to abs.

1 The progressive five-week pro-gram requires you to train your

abs three times a week, resting at least 48 hours between ab-training sessions. That means you work abs on days 1, 3 and 5, or any other com-bination as long as you’re not doing them on consecutive days. If you have a tendency to blow off your abs because you’re tired after your regular workout, make ab training a priority for the next five weeks and do them first when your energy levels are highest. Theoretically, taxing your abs before an exercise like squats could adversely affect your leg workout, but unless you’re pushing yourself with very heavy weights on leg day, it’s probably a minor concern.

2 Do all four exercises each workout. The moves focus

mainly on lower and upper abs, but you can make some adjustments to work the obliques as well. Follow the exercises in order because they start with the most-challeng-ing moves, which are best done when your fatigue levels are lower.

3 The key is to select the right variation of each move to

reach the target rep. With the first two moves you want to complete just 10 reps (both of which focus on building ab strength and thick-ening up the abdominal wall), so if they’re too easy you must in-crease the level of difficulty. With the hanging knee raise, do this by straightening your legs (see under exercise descriptions for more advanced variations of each move); with the lying cable crunch, simply add more weight.

The 5-Week Ab WorkoutDo the following ab workout three times a week, resting at least 48

hours between workouts. Do all four exercises each workout in the or-

der presented below. Keep rest periods to 60 seconds between sets.

EXERCISE SETS REPS

Hanging Knee Raise 3 10

Lying Cable Crunch 3 10

Decline-Bench Crunch 3 20

Crunch 3 20

WEEK 1

Choose versions of each move so that you can just reach the target rep.

For example, if you can easily do the hanging knee raise, try a more

difcult version that challenges you to do just 10 reps with good form.

Do all three workouts this week for three sets for the target rep (ei-

ther 10 or 20), resting only 60 seconds between sets.

WEEKS 2–3

During your first workout of the second week, try to do an additional

1–2 reps on each set of every move. So instead of doing 10 reps of the

hanging knee raise (or whichever version of that move you’re doing),

do 11–12 reps on each set.

Over the course of the six workouts for weeks 2–3, try to do 1–2

more reps on each set for each additional day. By the last workout of

week three, you should be trying for at least 16 reps on each set of the

hanging knee raise and lying cable crunch, and 26 for decline-bench

crunches and flat-bench crunches.

WEEKS 4–5

Increase the degree of difculty of each exercise by one level (see

under exercise descriptions). That means increasing the angle of the

decline bench, straightening your legs with the hanging knee raise,

adding two plates to the lying cable crunch, and choosing a more chal-

lenging body position with the flat bench crunch.

Start again doing three sets of all four moves for 10 reps, resting 60

seconds between sets.

As during weeks 2–3, add 1–2 reps to each set of every exercise over

the course of each of the six workouts during this two-week span. By

the end of week five, you should be doing about 15 reps of the more

difcult variations of the lower-rep moves, and up to 25 reps of the

more difcult variations of the higher-rep moves.

WEEK 6 AND BEYOND

Continue to increase the level of difculty of your ab moves while in-

creasing the reps. If you’re already near the most difcult variation of

each ab move, reduce rest periods by 15 seconds to increase the level

of difculty.



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Your

5-WeekAb Challenge

HANGING

KNEE RAISE

Target: Lower abs

Setup: Use ab straps to support

you beneath your elbows or

hang freely from a pull-up bar.

Start: With a wide overhand

grip, hang at arms’ length, bend-

ing your knees about 90 degrees

and locking them in this position

for the duration of the set. Your

hips should be slightly bent at

the bottom.

Movement: Without swinging

your body, contract your abs to

bring your knees at least to the

point at which your quads are

parallel to the floor (your lower

glutes should curl up) and lower

under control. Come to a full

stop at the bottom so you’re not

generating momentum as you

go into your next rep.

Make It Harder:

• Bring your knees as high as you

can, curling your lower spine up

at the bottom and more efec-

tively recruiting your lower abs.

• Keep your legs straight

throughout each rep.

• Hold a medicine ball between

your straightened feet for the

duration of the set.



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4 The other two exercises are both done for higher reps (to

help increase the muscle burn, build muscle endurance and increase the total calories burned, which can help improve muscle definition); still, you need to select exercise variations so that you can complete just the target number of reps (20).

5 During the first week, do three sets of all exercises

for the target rep (10 or 20) on all training days.

6 Rest periods should be timed at 60 seconds consistently

between sets. The abdominals are a fairly small muscle group that recover quickly and don’t require the same amount of time between sets as larger bodyparts like chest or legs. In addition, you don’t want them to be quite fully recovered as you begin your next set. Individual rest times may vary and you can increase or decrease that interval, but realize recovery has an affect on your ability to complete the number of reps on subsequent sets.

7 For each workout during weeks 2–3, strive to do 1–2

more reps on each set of each exercise than you did the previous workout. So for the first workout of the second week starting with hanging knee raises, try to do 11–12 reps each set; same with the lying cable crunch. Do 21–22 reps for the other two exercises. On your next workout, try to do 1–2 more reps on each set of each move and so on for the duration of the two-week span.

8 When starting week 4, choose a more advanced variation of

each move, again starting back at 10 reps. Over the course of the next five workouts during weeks 4–5, try to increase your rep count on each exercise by 1–2 reps for each set of every exercise from the previ-


LYING CABLE CRUNCH

Target: Upper abs

Setup: Place a flat bench

directly in front of a lower

cable with a rope attached.

Start: Lie face-up on the

bench with your knees bent

and feet flat on the bench.

Grasp the rope with a neu-

tral grip, placing your hands

by your ears and locking

your arms in this position

for the duration of the set.

Movement: Contract your

abs to curl up as high as

you can, trying to get your

shoulder blades as far of

the bench as possible and

squeezing your abs at the

top. Lower just short of your

shoulder blades completely

resting on the bench be-

tween reps.

Make It Harder:

• Add more plates to

increase the resistance;

you can do this many times

to continue increasing the

level of dificulty.


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Your

5-WeekAb Challenge


DECLINE-BENCH CRUNCH

Target: Upper abs

Setup: Set the appropriate bench angle to match your level of ability and

the rep range you want to train in.

Start: Sit squarely on the bench, feet secured under the ankle pads. Cup

your hands behind your head to support it and go back (roughly two-thirds

of the way down), making sure your chin isn’t pressed into your chest.

Movement: Contract your abs to rise as high as you can to a point just

short of perpendicular to the floor, trying not to pull through your hip flex-

ors (quads) on your way up. Round your back on the way up to increase the

abdominal contraction. Lower under control but don’t allow your shoulder

blades to touch the pad.

Make It Harder:

• Use a steeper decline.

• Hold a weight plate against your chest or behind your head.

• Use a steeper decline and hold a weight plate against your chest or head.


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ous workout. By the end of your last workout on week 5, you should be trying to do at least 15 reps of your lower-rep moves (hanging knee raise and lying cable crunch) and 25 reps on your higher-rep moves (decline bench crunch and crunch).

9 If even the most advanced variations of each move are

too easy and you have no trouble reaching the target rep, reduce your between-sets rest period by 15 seconds (so it’s 45 seconds). Re-ducing your rest period is another way to increase the intensity of your workout.

10 Write it down. You’ll like-ly forget the weights you

used, the degree of difficulty and the number of reps, so you’re going to forget the important variables from previous workouts. Write down what you’ve done so that you can check back and make sure you try to beat it your next workout.

11 While progression is the key that drives this five-week

program, it would be a mistake to think that’s all you need to build washboard abs. You’ll want to pay particular attention to your diet — watching carb and fat intake, monitoring your total calories and following a smart supplementation program — while including cardio four times a week for 30-minute sessions to help strip the bodyfat. Only through a combination of car-dio and ab-training exercises as well as a smart diet can you truly bring out your ripped six-pack.



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Your

5-WeekAb Challenge

1) The range of motion is fairly

small in many abdominal moves.

Bringing your shoulder blades of the

floor in the basic crunch, for example,

works the abs through a full range of

motion; you don’t need to rise as you

would in a full sit-up, which doesn’t

result in additional contraction or

stimulation of the abs.

2) Hold the peak contraction

at the top of the movement.

Consciously squeeze and focus on

momentarily holding the fully con-

tracted position at the top of each

rep; you’ll work your abdominals

harder and be less inclined to race

through your reps.

3) Keep your head in line with

your torso. When grasping

your head to support it, don’t inter-

lock your hands; you’ll be more likely

to pull on your head and disrupt

spinal alignment. Lightly cup your

fingers behind your head to support

it — don’t pull on it. There should be

about enough space for an apple

between your chin and your chest.

4) Use a smooth, deliberate

speed of movement. Use

a slow, strict motion, which helps

increase the intensity of the con-

traction and minimizes momentum.

Momentum comes from using fast,

explosive motions, and it reduces

the quality of your workout because

your abs are doing less work. You’ll

also be more susceptible to injury.

5) Exhale at the top of the

move. Hold your breath until

you’ve reached the top of the move

(the peak-contracted position) for a

stronger, more intense contraction.

Exhaling early reduces intra-abdom-

inal pressure, so you won’t be able

to contract your abs as strongly.

6) Make sure the movement is

restricted to the waist. During

most upper and lower abdominal

movements, your spine flexes (mean-

ing your lower back actually rounds),

so don’t keep your lower back

arched during the movement. Other

joints should be stabilized so that

the action occurs only at the waist.

7) Maintain constant tension

throughout the set. The ab

muscles recover extremely quickly,

so if you rest between reps, even

if for only a second, you’ll find it

difcult to adequately fatigue the

muscle. Maintain constant tension

by stopping just short of the resting

point during the downward phase

of the movement. For many move-

ments, this means keeping your

shoulder blades of the floor as best

as possible.

8) Take defined rest periods of

about a minute between sets.

After you complete your set, rest

about 60 seconds to allow your abs

to recover so you can complete your

next set. If you start too early, they’ll

still be fatigued and you won’t reach

your target rep. In general, begin-

ners should take a little longer rest

between sets, as should individuals

who are training to build maximal ab

strength.

8 Keys to More Efective Ab Training


CRUNCH

Target: Upper abs

Setup: Place a flat bench in an

open space.

Start: Lie squarely on the bench

with your feet flat and knees bent

about 60 degrees. Cup your head

with your fingers — don’t pull on it.

Movement: Contract your abs to

raise your shoulder blades of the

bench — the range of motion is just

a few inches. Squeeze at the top

and slowly lower to just short of

resting back against the bench.

Make It Harder:

• Raise your legs so they’re per-

pendicular to the bench, causing

your lower abs to contract iso-

metrically.

• With your legs raised, reach as if

to touch your toes. If you do this

to alternate sides, you’ll also work

your obliques.

• With your legs raised, hold a

small weight plate against your

chest to increase the resistance on

your upper abs.


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Read it again: You can do two times more reps with a given heavy weight if you follow the rest-pause technique. Now’s your chance to make muscle and strength gains like never before.By Jimmy Peña, MS, CSCS Photos of Lionel Brown by Gregory James

it’s time to drop the old bit, because we

have just the tool you need to break

through.

If you’ve never tried the rest-pause

technique, you’re about to discover the

cutting edge when it comes to adding size

onto your frame. Whether your aim is to

bust through plateaus, push yourself to

new limits or simply jump-start a stale

routine, rest-pause is a proven place to

start rebuilding your muscle.

NUTS AND BOLTSTo start, understand this: The rest-pause

technique is an advanced training scheme

that builds extremely short rest periods

between reps or blocks of reps. You can

even think of them as “mini sets” if it

helps you wrap your mind around the

concept. As you’ll see, this tactic allows

you to complete more total reps — many

more — with a heavier weight than you

could have accomplished using a straight-

sets approach.

First of all, a straight set is exactly that:

straight. You choose a weight, say a weight

If you’re handy — good with tools — then you know full well how a new drill bit feels when tackling a tough job. Old bits are worn, smooth and just can’t cut it, to say nothing of breaking through the wall. But after you make the switch, breakthrough comes easy. And if you’ve hit a wall when it comes to your muscle growth, then

that you can do for just six reps (called a

6RM), and you tackle the set and fail at six.

Nothing fancy there. But with rest-pause,

it’s an entirely diferent situation. Take

that same 6RM for example. After a thor-

ough warm-up, you start your set of six,

but when you hit three reps, you actually

rack the weight and rest for a few seconds.

Then you pick the weight up again to do

three more reps. You string together mul-

tiple three-rep sets with very short rest

periods. That’s it in a nutshell. The most

important mental hurdle that most body-

builders need to get over is that it’s not

about getting as many reps as possible

with a given weight, nor is it about achiev-

ing absolute failure on every set.

TOUGH HABITSWe know habits are tough to break,

which is why this technique helps you

bust through barriers. But in truth, it’s all

about the work — the amount of force be-

ing applied to the muscle — during a giv-

en time. The greater the force your

muscle can produce, the more stimulus


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1

2


DOUBLE YOUR REPS, DOUBLE THE MUSCLE

the muscle receives and the greater your

ability to break through size plateaus.

Diving deeper inside the muscle cell

is really where we find the justification

for stopping short of failure and resting

a few seconds. First and foremost, it’s

all about replenishing adenosine tri-

phosphate, or ATP; it’s the energy you

use to perform any and every activity in

your workout. You have some stored

ATP inside your muscle cells, but as

that source runs out, you lean on three

energy systems to replenish it. When

you start a heavy set, you rely primarily

on creatine phosphate (CP) to restore

ATP, and for that reason, CP is labeled

as the primary energy source stored in

skeletal muscle that fuels short, power-

ful bursts of activity. CP depletes rapid-

ly, but fortunately it also replenishes

rapidly, usually in 10–20 seconds.

So to capitalize on this process, the

rest-pause method has you selecting a

weight that causes muscle failure at, for

example, six reps, but you perform only

three before taking 15–20 seconds of rest.

You then get right back in and do another

three reps. You continue this rest/work

sequence until you can’t perform even a

couple of reps with that particular weight.

MORE WORKWhen you add those reps together, you

realize that you did more work with more

weight than you ever could accomplish

had you not stopped to rest briefly

throughout the set. Put some actual num-

bers to it and it’s eye opening! Think of

your accomplishment strictly in terms of

total pounds lifted per exercise. Muscle

growth is the result of cumulative work,

correct? Therefore if you’re normally

benching 225 to failure for four sets of six

reps, that’s 5,400 pounds’ worth of reps.

If you apply the rest-pause technique

and do 200 pounds for three reps, six

times for two sets total, you’ve moved

7,200 pounds. That’s an additional 1,800

pounds of muscle-building work that re-

sults in bigger, fuller, thicker muscle bel-

lies from head to toe. Unmistakably, the

crowning achievement of employing rest-

pause training is that you’ll have lifted

USING REST-PAUSE IN YOUR WORKOUTDAY 1 — ARMS

BICEPS

EXERCISE LOAD SETS REPS/REST2 (SECONDS)

Barbell Curl 5RM 31 2/10, 2/11, 2/12, 2/13, 2/14, 2

7RM 2 3/11, 3/12, 3/13, 3/14, 3/15, 3

10RM 1 5/15, 5/16, 5/17, 5/18, 5/19, 5

Preacher Curl 5RM 3 2/10, 2/11, 2/12, 2/13, 2/14, 2

7RM 2 3/11, 3/12, 3/13, 3/14, 3/15, 3

10RM 1 5/15, 5/16, 5/17, 5/18, 5/19, 5

TRICEPS

Close-Grip Bench Press 5RM 31 2/10, 2/11, 2/12, 2/13, 2/14, 2

7RM 2 3/11, 3/12, 3/13, 3/14, 3/15, 3

10RM 1 5/15, 5/16, 5/17, 5/18, 5/19, 5

Overhead Rope Cable Extension 5RM 3 2/10, 2/11, 2/12, 2/13, 2/14, 2

7RM 2 3/11, 3/12, 3/13, 3/14, 3/15, 3

10RM 1 5/15, 5/16, 5/17, 5/18, 5/19, 5

DAY 2 — LEGS


Smith-Machine Squat 5RM 31 2/10, 2/11, 2/12, 2/13, 2/14, 2

7RM 2 3/11, 3/12, 3/13, 3/14, 3/15, 3

10RM 1 5/15, 5/16, 5/17, 5/18, 5/19, 5

Leg Press 5RM 3 2/10, 2/11, 2/12, 2/13, 2/14, 2

7RM 2 3/11, 3/12, 3/13, 3/14, 3/15, 3

10RM 1 5/15, 5/16, 5/17, 5/18, 5/19, 5

Leg Extension 10RM 1 5/15, 5/16, 5/17, 5/18, 5/19, 5

Lying Leg Curl 10RM 1 5/15, 5/16, 5/17, 5/18, 5/19, 5

DAY 4 — CHEST + SHOULDERS


Incline Bench Press 5RM 31 2/10, 2/11, 2/12, 2/13, 2/14, 2

7RM 2 3/11, 3/12, 3/13, 3/14, 3/15, 3

10RM 1 5/15, 5/16, 5/17, 5/18, 5/19, 5

Hammer-Strength Chest Press 5RM 3 2/10, 2/11, 2/12, 2/13, 2/14, 2

7RM 2 3/11, 3/12, 3/13, 3/14, 3/15, 3

10RM 1 5/15, 5/16, 5/17, 5/18, 5/19, 5

Smith-Machine Decline Press 5RM 3 2/10, 2/11, 2/12, 2/13, 2/14, 2

7RM 2 3/11, 3/12, 3/13, 3/14, 3/15, 3

10RM 1 5/15, 5/16, 5/17, 5/18, 5/19, 5

Overhead Barbell Press 5RM 31 2/10, 2/11, 2/12, 2/13, 2/14, 2

7RM 2 3/11, 3/12, 3/13, 3/14, 3/15, 3

10RM 1 5/15, 5/16, 5/17, 5/18, 5/19, 5

Smith-Machine Upright Row 5RM 3 2/10, 2/11, 2/12, 2/13, 2/14, 2

7RM 2 3/11, 3/12, 3/13, 3/14, 3/15, 3

10RM 1 5/15, 5/16, 5/17, 5/18, 5/19, 5

DAY 5 — BACK


Bent-Over Barbell Row 5RM 31 2/10, 2/11, 2/12, 2/13, 2/14, 2

7RM 2 3/11, 3/12, 3/13, 3/14, 3/15, 3

10RM 1 5/15, 5/16, 5/17, 5/18, 5/19, 5

Wide-Grip Seated Cable Row 5RM 3 2/10, 2/11, 2/12, 2/13, 2/14, 2

7RM 2 3/11, 3/12, 3/13, 3/14, 3/15, 3

10RM 1 5/15, 5/16, 5/17, 5/18, 5/19, 5

Front Lat Pulldown 10RM 2 5/15, 5/16, 5/17, 5/18, 5/19, 5

1 Doesn’t include 1–2 warm-up sets. Never take warm-up sets to muscle failure.2 Rest 2–3 minutes between each change in the working RM or change in exercise.


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Pause or Play?Use rest-pause with any exercise that easily allows the weight to be moved into the start

position, and avoid those movements where it’s overly difcult to rack and unrack your

weights. For example, the overhead dumbbell press takes a lot more efort in the set-up

than the machine overhead press. In addition, unilateral movements, such as concentration

curls and one-arm dumbbell rows, don’t work unless you do all the reps for one side before

switching sides. Here’s a quick guide when selecting the best exercises for rest-pause:

MUSCLE GROUP DO AVOID

Biceps Standing Cable Curl Spider Curl

Triceps Pressdown Weighted Bench Dip

Legs Hack Squat Front Squat

Chest Pec-Deck Flye Flat-Bench Dumbbell Press

Shoulders Hammer-Strength Shoulder Press Seated Overhead Dumbbell Press

Back T-Bar Row Prone Incline Dumbbell Row


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more total pounds in a given set simply by

mixing in these short and cogent rest pe-

riods. And that’s how it helps destroy pla-

teaus: muscle damage.

The greater your ability to cause mus-

cle damage, the higher your chances of

continuous changes in size. However, the

more experienced you are, the more dif-

ficult it becomes to trigger growth be-

cause your body has adapted to the

stresses you apply to it from one week to

the next. That’s how rest-pause can be so

refreshing. Even for the most experi-

enced bodybuilders, utilizing this tactic

can feel like you’ve uncovered the holy

grail of growth.

In addition, the more work you perform

at a given weight, the greater your chances

of swelling the muscle fibers. The fiber

swelling that comes from muscle damage

can also encourage muscle growth. When

a muscle cell fills with fluid, it places a

stretch on the muscle cell membrane. This

stretch signals the cell to increase the size

of its structure permanently.

TOOL BOXNow that you have the concept down, be

sure to understand that there are a few

important cogs in the system, none as im-

portant as the amount of rest you take.

You don’t want to rest so long that you

waste time, but if you don’t rest long

enough, you won’t replenish enough CP

to get you through as many reps as possi-

ble. A safe spectrum is 10–20 seconds.

The work-to-rest ratio is paramount, so

either wear a cheap watch or keep an eye

on the clock to make sure you stay on

track. You may even consider using a

journal to help you remember what you

did in previous workouts so that you can

make necessary adjustments.

As critical as taking precise rest periods

is selecting the ideal amount of weight for

each set. If you go too light, you risk work-

ing the muscle aerobically with no suf-

cient amount of force. If you go too heavy,

you may not get enough volume. So there

will be some trial and error as you embark

on the rest-pause technique. It’s helpful to

know your 3, 5, 7 and even 10RM. (If you

don’t, it’s easy to compute; see “Determin-

ing Your Weights.”) The goal for your sets

in the program we’ve developed will be to

repeat the work/rest sequence five times

before giving yourself a full 2–3 minutes of

rest. Remember, all those segments consti-

tute just one set; you’ll do multiple such

sets over the course of your workout.


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Can Strength Trainers Use Rest-Pause?If your focus is on strength training rather than

building muscle, that’s no reason to fear

occasionally trying the rest-pause tactic. What’s

clear is that a bigger muscle has more strength

potential than a smaller one, but most strength

athletes tend to rest three minutes between lifts

of low reps. The fact that rest-pause allows for

very little rest goes against the “strength” grain.

However, as you’ve seen, recovery time is all

about the replenishment of ATP (the energy

currency in all cells).

Reps of 1–6 rely mostly on the stored ATP

in the muscle fibers, which is replenished

relatively quickly by the creatine-phosphate

system. Sets of 10 or more reps use even more

creatine phosphate but also rely on muscle

glycogen, and that takes the longest of the

three to replenish.

So if you’re a strength-focused athlete, and

if reps 1 –6 rely mostly on stored ATP, which

replenishes extremely quickly, why do you rest

so long between those heavy sets? In fact,

researchers from the University of Memphis

studied squats at 1RM, with varying rest periods.

They had 17 weightlifters do two one-rep max

(1RM) sets of squats with either one minute,

three minutes or five minutes of rest between

sets. After resting just one minute between sets,

13 of the 17 lifters were able to lift their max

weight again on the second set. After resting

three minutes, 16 of 17 were able to complete

the second set, and after five minutes, 15 of 17

were successful. In summary, even as little as

one minute of rest was ample for 13 out of 17

lifters to complete the second set. This study

appears to indicate that resting longer than

three minutes isn’t as productive as resting

exactly three.

In short, the rest-pause technique can help

you become even more efcient within the

strength-specific rep ranges at recruiting the

powerful CP to replenish ATP. If you can recruit

those powerful muscle fibers with less rest time,

imagine how strong you’ll feel when you do rest

your customary three minutes between lifts. Of

note, if you train for strength, the research is

clear that strength is hindered when you take

each set to muscle failure, but taking only your

last set to failure is the best scenario. The rest-

pause technique fits nicely into that wheel-

house, because you don’t take those heavy sets

to absolute failure, but rather stop long before

that point of fatigue. Both the efciency with

rest and the limited failure points will help you

promote strength gains.



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Here’s how to include the rest-pause

technique in your workout with this sam-

ple exercise:

LEG PRESS

LOAD SETS REPS/REST (SECONDS)

5RM 3 2/10, 2/11, 2/12, 2/13, 2/14, 2

7RM 2 3/11, 3/12, 3/13, 3/14, 3/15, 3

10RM 1 5/15, 5/16, 5/17, 5/18, 5/19, 5

So on the first set of the leg press, you’ll

select a weight that would normally allow

you to fail at five reps, but you’re going to

do only two reps before resting 10 sec-

onds. After 10 seconds, do another two

reps before resting 11 seconds, so on and

so forth. You’ll link five such two-rep seg-

ments for a total of 10 reps with your 5RM

— and that’s your first set of three. (Re-

member, take a longer 2–3-minute rest

before beginning your next set or exer-

cise.) What’s evident is that it’s impossi-

ble to fully recover between blocks of

reps, but adding another second of rest

will prove marginally beneficial through-

out the exercise. And because you’re not

going to complete failure, your form is al-

most guaranteed to be solid throughout

the exercise, meaning proper muscle re-

cruitment from start to finish.

In the above example, also notice that

the heavier the weight, the shorter the

rest. The lighter you go, the more reps

you perform and the more rest you need

between them.


Determining Your Weights Use this simple calculation to estimate your weights for rest-pause training.

ESTIMATED REPS AT PERCENT OF ONE-REPETITION MAXIMUM

REPS: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

100% 95% 93% 90% 87% 85% 83% 80% 77% 75% 67% 65%

Use the chart above to

compute your max weight

on a given exercise, and

then estimate your work-

ing weight when you’re re-

quired to use a 5, 7 or

10RM. If you know your

1RM (your max weight on a

given movement using

good form without help for

one and only one rep) you

can skip the first step.

1) Determine how many

total clean reps you can do

with a given movement

with a given weight. Say

you can do four reps on

the bench press with 225

pounds. Four corresponds

to 90% of your 1RM. Hence

your one-rep max would

be computed by dividing

225 by 0.9, which equals

250 pounds. That’s your

estimated max bench press

(1RM).

2) The program requires

that you choose weights

that correspond to your 5,

7 and 10RM. For your 5RM,

choose a weight of 87% of

250 pounds, or a working

weight of 217.5 pounds.

You can round up or down

a few pounds. On your

7RM sets, use 207.5

pounds (83% of 250) and

on your 10RM use 187.5

pounds (75% of 250).

These are the approximate

weights you should be do-

ing on your working sets.


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The most important

mental hurdle that

most bodybuilders

need to get over is

that it’s not about

getting as many

reps as possible with

a given weight, nor

is it about achieving

absolute failure on

every set.


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MMI uncovers the truth about the popular ancestral Paleo diet and how it can keep your muscle gains from going extinctBy Mike Carlson


ISA

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Think of all the medical advances of the last 100 years: X-rays, MRIs, artificial joints, arthroscop-

ic surgery, all things that can help you live

a longer, more active life. Now think of

the nutrition inventions: high-fructose

corn syrup, partially hydrogenated vege-

table oil, artificial colors, preservatives. It

quickly becomes obvious that Nobel

Prize-winning, lifesaving interventions

have barely kept pace with the health-

destroying strides that the commercial

food manufacturers and fast-food

marketers have made.

This is a primary reason why the

Paleo diet has exploded in popu-

larity over the past few years.

While skeptics like to cast Paleo ad-

herents as simple-minded barbarians

who like to eat bacon at every meal

(that statement is only half true), Paleo-

style eating is as much about what it re-

jects as it is about what it embraces.

“Paleo is about getting back to basics

in terms of all the stuf that has crept into

the North American diet over the years,”

says Kristen Bell, a registered dietitian

and certified sports nutrition adviser who

has a private practice in West Los Ange-

les. “It’s about cutting out all the foods

that don’t come naturally from the earth

or from an animal. It’s fruits, vegetables,

nuts, seeds and animal protein. If it comes

in a box or package, don’t eat it.”

The CrossFit community has unof-

cially adopted Paleo as the nutrition pro-

gram that goes hand in hand with its

brand of functional fitness. But many of

those success stories are from people

who needed to lose weight to do the rope

climbs, pull-ups and handstand push-ups

“Paleo is about

getting back to basics

in terms of all the stuf that

has crept into the North

American diet over the years. It’s

about cutting out all the foods that

don’t come naturally from the

earth or from an animal. It’s fruits,

vegetables, nuts, seeds and

animal protein. If it comes in a

box or a package,

don’t eat it.”

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1 2


The Higher Cost of OrganicBuying organic foods on the Paleo diet is clearly more expensive,

so you need to weigh the cost against the benefits. Here’s a sam-

ple basket of foods showing the diference in average prices.

PRODUCT AVG. PRICE AVG. PRICE

NONORGANIC (USD) ORGANIC (USD)

Milk 2.28/half gallon 4.43/half gallon1

Ground Beef 3.58/lb. 8.39/lb.1

Eggs 1.35/dozen 3.99/dozen2

Chicken Breast 3.46/lb. 5.07/lb.2

Lettuce 1.78/head 3.54/head

Salad Mix 3.85/lb. 8.14/lb.

Spinach 4.44/lb. 8.59/lb.

Tomatoes 2.82/lb. 4.05/lb.

Strawberries 3.23/lb. 5.14/lb.

Bananas 0.57/lb. 0.89/lb.

Apples 1.57/lb. 2.34/lb.

1 Refers to grass-fed cattle. 2 Refers to free-range poultry.

Source: USDA Economic Research Service calculations using Nielsen Homescan data.

that are part of daily workouts. The fact is

that there are almost no CrossFit Games

competitors who follow a strict Paleo

diet. Their need to build and maintain

strength and muscle mass, as well as fuel

longer and more frequent workouts, rep-

resent a greater nutritional demand than

Paleo can fulfill.

“I find that people who have more fat

mass and need to lose 20–30 pounds usu-

ally have the most success with pure Pa-

leo,” says Bell. “Petite women, who may

have only 5 pounds to lose, see a pretty

positive response to it. But for men who

want to gain muscle, it’s harder for them

to do that eating 100% Paleo.”

Strict Paleo hasn’t been associated

with the bodybuilding crowd because Pa-

leo eliminates cereal grains (wheat, corn,

rice) from the diet, and sugar is strictly

forbidden. That means the limited

amount of simple and complex carbohy-

drates keeps your level of insulin, a highly

anabolic hormone, fairly low. Still, Paleo

has a lot to ofer those interested in hy-

pertrophy. Its bedrock of organic pro-

duce, grass-fed meats and pastured

poultry and eggs can vastly improve the

nutrient levels and fat profiles in a diet,

leading to less inflammation, faster recov-

ery and a reduction in bodyfat.

“Changing the quality of your food is

huge,” says Bell. “People feel better know-

ing they ate foods from a farmers market

and organic choices as opposed to going

to the supermarket. When people start to

eat higher-quality meats and vegetables,

the body will break it down much more

efciently and be exposed to fewer chem-

icals and hormones.”

By incorporating the tenets of Paleo

with some smart choices concerning

your carbs, you can put together a body-

builder-friendly program that promotes

muscle building along with overall health

and wellness. It’s a strategy that speaks to

short-term physique goals as well as the

bigger picture.

“Every seven years our body regener-

ates every single cell, so that means every

organ is 100% replaced,” says Bell. “So

what you’re eating right now determines

how you’re going to be in the future. With


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that in mind, do you want to eat high-

quality organic foods or the cheap stuf?”

RULE 1

BEAT THE WHEAT

Those who experience the greatest body-

transforming success on a Paleo program

tend to react positively to the elimination

of allergenic foods from their diet, name-

ly, corn, rice, legumes and especially

wheat. Even though these foods come

from nature, they require a significant

amount of processing and cooking to

make them edible. You can’t pick a stalk

of wheat and start chomping away the

way you can with, say, blueberries.

Grains and legumes contain lectins,

phytates and gluten, substances Paleo

devotees say can inhibit mineral uptake

and irritate the stomach lining to the

point that it becomes permeable, which

initiates the inflammation process. This

can be the cause of bloating and discom-

fort (which makes a workout tough on

everybody) that when left unchecked

may eventually lead to autoimmune dis-

eases such as rheumatoid arthritis.

Not all grains are created equal. White

rice, while a high-glycemic carb that’s

mostly bereft of nutrients and should be

avoided by those looking to drop fat, is

reasonably well-tolerated by many. Young

hardgainers can use steamed white rice

as an efective carb source in their quest

to build muscle.

Wheat, on the other hand, is best left

alone by almost everyone. Thanks to ge-

netically modified strains of wheat crops,

gluten levels in breads and wheat prod-

ucts have skyrocketed over the past few

years, contributing to an epidemic of glu-

ten sensitivity. According to the National

Institutes of Health, 5–10% of the popula-

tion has some form of intolerance to glu-

ten, a type of protein that’s found in

wheat, barley and rye.

“Most people don’t match well with

wheat, and it’s getting worse because it’s

more hybridized and contains more glu-

ten than ever,” says Stu White, co-owner

of BodyWork Lifestyle, a personal-train-

ing and nutrition consulting firm in Hun-

tington Beach, CA. “It can give you an

immune reaction that makes you sluggish

and tired. The last thing you want to be

doing is eating foods that make you le-

thargic and burpy.”

For the last few years, the darling of

How to Shop SmartOrganic. Pastured. Free range.

All natural. Local. These are

phrases to look for in the super-

market. Unfortunately these

terms often translate into “ex-

pensive.” The Environmental

Working Group, a leading envi-

ronmental health research and

advocacy organization, has

come up with a list that can

help you get the cleanest food

for your funds. The Dirty Dozen

are foods that tend to have the

highest pesticide contamina-

tion, and whose organic variet-

ies are thus worth the extra

money to buy. The Clean 15 are

the lowest in contaminants, so

conventionally farmed versions

are safe to consume.

The Dirty Dozen (Buy Organic)

1. Apples

2. Celery

3. Sweet bell peppers

4. Peaches

5. Strawberries

6. Nectarines (imported)

7. Grapes

8. Spinach

9. Lettuce

10. Cucumbers

11. Blueberries (domestic)

12. Potatoes

The Clean 15 (Buy Organic or Conventional)

1. Onions

2. Sweet corn

3. Pineapples

4. Avocado

5. Cabbage

6. Sweet peas

7. Asparagus

8. Mangoes

9. Eggplant

10. Kiwi

11. Cantaloupe (domestic)

12. Sweet potatoes

13. Grapefruit

14. Watermelon

15. Mushrooms

SHUTTERSTOCK


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For Building Muscle and Health

For the Hardgainer

For Fat Loss

BREAKFAST 6 free-range eggs, 2/3 cup oatmeal mixed with almonds and dried cranberries

MIDMORNING 4 oz. bison jerky (or grass-fed beef jerky), handful of strawberries or blueberries

LUNCH 9 oz. baked chicken breast (with skin on), 1 large sweet potato and asparagus

PREWORKOUT Small apple with 2 tbsp. almond butter

POST-WORKOUT Protein shake with 1 1/2 cups coconut water, 2 tbsp. raw cocoa, 2 oz. organic spinach, 2 oz. organic kale, 1/2 avocado, 1 oz. organic raspberries, 1 oz. whole cranberries, 2 scoops whey protein powder, 1 scoop greens drink mix (optional)

DINNER 9 oz. wild-caught salmon fillet, 2/3 cup quinoa, 3 cups steamed broccoli

DAILY TOTALS 3,240 calories, 244 g carbs, 264 g protein, 117 g fat, 70 g fiber

THE HARDGAINER

Naturally slender guys with fast me-

tabolisms will need to take the most

liberties with a strict Paleo program

and add substantially more carbs —

including more starchy carbs — to

their daily meals. Eliminating wheat

and other grains will improve diges-

tive efciency, so consuming the

necessary calories won’t amount

to gas and bloating. (Based on the

caloric needs of a 180-pound body-

builder.)

For anyone who has achieved desir-

able levels of muscle mass and

bodyfat, a balanced, slightly adapt-

ed Paleo program can still provide a

slew of benefits. The nutrient densi-

ty on this diet will be much higher

than on a conventional bodybuilding

plan, the fat sources will improve

joint health and minimize inflamma-

tion, and less exposure to pesticides

and genetically modified foods will

provide health and physique bene-

fits that are still being quantified.

(Based on the caloric needs of a

180-pound bodybuilder.)

BREAKFAST 4 free-range hard-boiled eggs, berries, a few macadamia nuts

MIDMORNING 4 oz. bison jerky (or grass-fed beef jerky), handful of strawberries or blueberries

LUNCH 8 oz. grass-fed ground beef in marinara sauce over 1 1/2 cups steamed vegetables

PREWORKOUT 4 oz. grilled shrimp and a handful of almonds

POST-WORKOUT Protein shake with 1 1/2 cups water, 2 tbsp. raw cocoa, 2 oz. organ-ic spinach, 2 oz. organic kale, 1 oz. organic raspberries, 1 oz. organic blueberries, 2 scoops whey protein powder, 1 scoop greens drink mix (optional)

DINNER Lettuce wraps with 8 oz. chicken, vegetables, guacamole and salsa


BREAKFAST Omelet made with 4 free-range eggs and 1/2 cup sautéed vegetables

MIDMORNING 4 oz. bison jerky (or grass-fed beef jerky), handful of blueberries

LUNCH Large spinach and kale salad with onion, garlic, parsley, 8 oz. free-range chicken or turkey and 2 tbsp. olive oil

PREWORKOUT 1 tbsp. of almond butter on celery

POST-WORKOUT Protein shake with 1 1/2 cups water, 2 tbsp. raw cocoa, 2 oz organic spinach, 2 oz. organic kale, 1 oz. organic raspberries, 2 scoops whey protein powder, 1 scoop greens drink mix (optional)

DINNER 8 oz. grass-fed rib-eye steak and 1 cup mashed cauliflower


For big guys who have some extra

bodyfat to lose, this meal plan will

look very similar to a strict Paleo

diet. This is because classic Paleo is

very efective for retraining a body

to be sensitive to insulin. There will

be no starchy carbs on this plan,

only fibrous vegetables and a little

fruit. (Based on the caloric needs of

a 180-pound bodybuilder.)

Paleo Adaptations for Bodybuilders


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and tubers, such as sweet potatoes, pars-

nips, squash and yams, are good choices

as are green vegetables like kale, spinach,

broccoli and asparagus. Fruits that aren’t

loaded with sugar, such as strawberries,

raspberries, blueberries and apples, are

on the menu as well.

Oats are verboten on a strict Paleo

plan and many types do contain gut-dis-

rupting gluten. Gluten-free steel-cut oats

are widely available and can be accom-

modated in the hypertrophic Paleo strat-

egy. Quinoa, also gluten-free, falls into the

same category.

“If you’re going to eat a grain, quinoa is

a good bet,” says White. It’s not Paleo-

friendly, but a study from Sweden found

that quinoa significantly boosted IGF-1

[insulin-like growth factor 1], especially

compared with brown rice.”

When you’re trying to initiate a post-

workout insulin surge, don’t be tempted

by cheap refined sugars. They might be

efective for that purpose, but they’re

hardly necessary. Bell recommends her

clients use fruit to initiate post-workout

insulin response in order to minimize

recovery time and replenish glycogen

stores. Since most fruit has adequate

sugar, branch out from boring bananas

or grapes.

“For post-workout, I like pineapple

and dates. You can throw them into your

shakes for that fast glycemic hit,” says

White. “And protein still causes a reason-

ably strong insulin spike, especially whey

protein.”

RULE 3

GET SERIOUS

ABOUT GROCERIES

You don’t settle when it comes to choos-

ing a wife, a school for your kids or a

workout program, so why settle for food

that’s cheap and nutritionally barren?

One facet of the Paleo lifestyle that should

be adopted by everyone is the sourcing of

the highest quality foods possible. Organ-

ic produce has been shown to be nutri-

tionally superior to conventionally grown

fruits and vegetables, and fewer pesti-

cides in your food ensures fewer chemi-

mainstream nutrition has been whole

grains. Some manufacturers even embla-

zon the number of whole-grain servings

their product supplies as if they’re a nu-

trient instead of a food. Imagine a bag

containing a dozen apples that reads,

“Now with 12 servings of apples!” In fact,

the 2–3 grams of fiber and smattering of

B vitamins, iron, zinc and magnesium

that wheat ofers can easily be replaced

with some nutrient-rich vegetables.

“Grains are nutritionally irrelevant,”

says White. “There are no unique quali-

ties that make them necessary.”

RULE 2

CHOOSE GRAIN-FREE CARBS

One of the ways people lose weight on a

Paleo diet is through carb modification.

Paleo is not a low-carb program — you’d

be surprised how many carbs you can get

from fruits and vegetables — but when

grains are eliminated from a diet, overall

carb intake tends to drop. This adapted

plan allows for eating more carbs than

you’d find on a strict Paleo program and

ofers more leeway in the selection.

For slow-burning carbs that might be

eaten in preworkout meals, vegetables

“High-quality

dark chocolate is

great,” says nutrition

consultant Stu White.

“Cocoa is extremely high in

magnesium, calcium, iron

and manganese. Raw

cocoa in a protein

shake is amazing.”

SHUTTERSTOCK


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TM

Patent 5813950

Strictly speaking,

alcohol is not

allowed on a Paleo eating

plan, but even the most

diehard athletes will still cheat

once in a while on this one.

When it comes to happy hour,

tequila and red wine are your

most Paleo-friendly choices.

Beer is the worst because

of its yeast and grain

content.

cals in your body. But the benefits of

naturally raised food are most apparent

when you start talking about protein.

Grass-fed beef, butter and cream,

wild-caught fish and free-range birds

and eggs are getting easier to find all the

time. The demand for them continues to

rise for a number of reasons. These

farming practices are infinitely more hu-

mane and far easier on the soil and at-

mosphere than the horrors of factory

farming. But mostly they’re just nutri-

tionally better for you.

A study published in the Journal of

Animal Science detailed 10 major nutri-

tional advantages of grass-fed beef over

grain-fed beef. Grass-fed beef was shown

to be lower in total fat but richer in ome-

ga-3s and CLA, a nutrient that helps your

body burn fat. (It contains more vaccenic

acid as well, which can be transformed

into CLA.) Grass-fed beef is also higher in

beta carotene, vitamin E, thiamin, ribofla-

vin, calcium, magnesium and potassium.

A study published in the journal Animal

Feed Science and Technology showed that

eggs from free-range hens contain 10

times the amount of omega-3 fatty acids

as eggs from factory hens.

“You can see the nutrient diference

and you can see the actual ratios of fat

when you look at the full breakdown,”

says White. “You look at corn-fed animals

and they have a diferent spectrum of fat-

ty acids than a grass-fed animal. They

have less CLA and more omega-6 fatty

acids, which are inflammatory. They’ll

also have a higher fat total.”

While they might seem complex and

confusing — and maybe even silly if you

get too caught up in the caveman part

— the theories of Paleo and how they can

be applied to a muscle-building program

are really pretty simple. The hard part is

maneuvering around the manufacturers

who’ll stop at nothing to get you to buy

their products.

“A lot of stuf is coming out that’s ‘Paleo-

approved’ but comes in packages, like Pa-

leo granola bars,” says Bell. “Obviously,

that’s great for marketing, but too much of

that can easily become the typical highly

processed American diet. Keep it simple

and stick with the above principles.”

RO

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RT

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We may think we know training and nutrition, but we all collectively shut our mouths, stop tapping the

keyboard and soak it all in when former Mr. Olympias

Larry Scott, Samir Bannout and Franco Columbu have

something to say. Because when you get the chance to

hear from three Mr. O winners — guys who have been

victorious on the sport’s ultimate stage after years of trial

and error in the gym and kitchen — it’s time to forget

about what you think you know about bodybuilding.

MMI sat down with three legendary Mr. Olympia champions to discuss the current state of bodybuilding and ask for their insight on how to build a physique for the agesWith Eric Velazquez, NSCA-CPT Photos by Bill Dobbins and Robert Reif


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LARRY SCOTT,

MR. OLYMPIA

1965-1966


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MMI: Dieting today has become so

precise and so complicated. What was

your general approach to nutrition?

Larry: Honestly, dieting today has be-

come too complicated. No one diet will

work for everyone and the truth is, there’s

no one-size-fits-all plan. At contest time,

when it came down to dieting and nutri-

tion, I was constantly watching my ratios.

I’d go 2:1, protein to carbs. I ate in the of-

season the same way I’d eat during con-

test time. Consistent nutrition — not

seasonal — was part of my daily routine. It

didn’t stop just because I wasn’t onstage

competing. I didn’t allow myself to eat

any other way.

MMI: There’s a stark contrast to the

training approach of today’s pros ver-

sus the bodybuilders of your era. What

do you think is the right amount of time

to spend in the gym for max results?

Larry: Great question! I would typically

spend 2–3 hours a day in the gym. This

would help keep my workouts from be-

coming stale. I’m 74 now, and as much as

I’d like to be in the gym all day long, I sim-

ply can’t. Several years ago I came across

the concept of compound intensity,

LARRY SCOTT

The two-time Mr. Olympia ofers a simple formula for making gains.

OLYMPIA TRAINING SEMINARLARRY SCOTT BICEPS

“Something I think people forget is that all muscle groups are important.

Your body works as a whole, so everything to me is a favorite. But even now

at 74, I still find myself looking in the mirror and constantly critiquing my bi-

ceps. To this day, I’m amazed at how well the preacher bench performs.”

EXERCISE SETS REPS

Standing Dumbbell Curl 3 6–12

Standing EZ-Bar Curl 3 6–12

Scott Curl 3 6–12

The winner of the

first two Sandows

in 1965 and 1966,

Larry owns the most

famous biceps in

bodybuilding history.


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which allows me to still obtain great re-

sults in a reduced amount of time. Com-

pound intensity basically states that the

intensity exerted by a muscle is inversely

proportional to the weight of the load

times the square of the time under the

load. I dare anyone who lifts weights to

apply the concept of compound intensity

and tell me it doesn’t work.

MMI: What specific changes did you

make at contest time to get lean?

Larry: My exercises would stay virtually

the same. It wasn’t until I got with Rheo

Blair that I took my training to the next

level. He told me if I wanted to get bigger

and stronger, I needed to use a certain set

of [macronutrient] ratios. If I didn’t want

to gain weight but just wanted to main-

tain, I switched to another set of ratios.

And when I wanted to get really lean with

almost no bodyfat, I changed them again.

This was really important for me because

when it got right down to contest time, I

wanted to get rid of every ounce of fat to

show as much muscle as possible. As pro-

fessional bodybuilders we were extreme-

ly disciplined in our routines, so there

wasn’t much variance between sets, reps

and weight. I enjoyed focusing on what

my competitors weren’t working on.

MMI: What’s the best advice you can

give to today’s generation of body-

builders, both pro and aspiring?

Larry: My best advice? Nutrition, nutri-

tion, nutrition. I can’t stress it enough.

Make sure that your ratios are dead on.

Use instinctive training because no one

size fits all. Use compound intensity to

maximize your results and time in the

gym. Constant change keeps your work-

outs exciting. Bodybuilding requires dis-

cipline, hard work, patience and

determination. Keeping your goals fore-

most in your mind will help you maxi-

mize your results.


My best advice? Nutrition, nutrition, nutrition. I can’t stress it enough.“

“


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MMI: What are your thoughts on the

professional bodybuilding physiques

of today?

Samir: To be honest, I don’t like this look

at all. I’m very disappointed. Bodybuild-

ing is not just about how big you are; mass

is not everything. Unfortunately, it has re-

ally taken of. It’s a bit ridiculous. I don’t

like that these guys are eating 8–10 times

a day. Maybe I’m still living in the past,

[but] I look back at Arnold, Pearl, Draper

and Zane; the way those guys looked is

how it should be. They had the tiny waist

and the shredded physique, and I thought

they were more than big enough.

I like Dexter Jackson and his overall

look. I liked Phil Heath three years ago

more than I do now. Having said that, Flex

Lewis won the 212 last year. If he had a lit-

tle more back or chest, I’d say he’s the best

in the world right now. He’s got small an-

kles, small knees, small wrists. I like Shawn

Rhoden; he could get better still but his

whole physique is very nice. I hope he

doesn’t mess it up. If he put on 7–8 pounds,

I’d put my money on him. [But] I wish

bodybuilding would just go back to the art

and [that bodybuilders would] perform

onstage as artists, focusing on detail. And

that potbelly should not exist.

MMI: Dieting today has become so pre-

cise and so complicated. What was your

general approach to nutrition?

Samir: I had an advantage in that I

couldn’t get fat even if I tried. For me it

was easy to get in shape. In general, you

should never go below 250 grams of carbs

per day. When I won the Olympia I was

on 100–150 per day, then 75–100 per day

before the show. That was too low. You

need the glycogen to train as hard as nec-

essary. I was overtraining back then, and

undereating. If I knew then what I know

now, I could’ve won the Olympia again.

In the ofseason I went up to 254

pounds but I looked like a bull. I’d diet

mostly on chicken, which I hate; I felt like

it was poison for my body. Later on I found

out that I have type B blood, and I don’t

think chicken is well-tolerated by people

with my blood type. Bread can also mess

you up because of the gluten. At least for

me, it’s important to avoid bread and flour

at all costs. I was eating chicken, egg

whites, salad, broccoli. Now I eat sweet

potatoes, white potatoes, rice, broccoli.

Meat is important for bodybuilding.

People talk about cholesterol and all this ba-

loney. My grandfather lived to 106, and he

ate red meat and drank 10 cups of cofee a

day! And he died from getting hit by light-

ning … seriously! A good bet is to go with

10% [of calories from] fat from healthy

sources, 55% from carbohydrate and 1 gram

of protein per pound of bodyweight a day.

That’s perfect for today’s bodybuilders.

You’ve got to find a happy medium.



sus bodybuilders of your era. What do

you think is the right amount of time to

spend in the gym for max results?

Samir: After trial and error, I think that if

you train each bodypart once per week, it’s

SAMIR BANNOUT

Getting BIG without the BS in your training and nutrition.

I had an advantage in that I couldn’t get fat even if I tried. For me it was easy to get into shape.

“ “Known as The Lion of

Lebanon, Samir won the

1983 Mr. Olympia at a

reported bodyweight

of 195 pounds, and

was revered for his

symmetry and dense

muscularity.


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1 2

OLYMPIA TRAINING SEMINARSAMIR BANNOUT BACK

“I wasn’t a believer in counting reps at all. It was all by feel. In addition to

this workout, I’d do weighted hyperextensions every other week and dead-

lifts every three weeks. When I did either of those, I would train for the

max. I could deadlift 745 for three reps. In general, I’d vary my grip from

set to set on back moves to hit a slightly diferent area of the muscle.”

EXERCISE SETS3 REPS

Pull-Up 41 Varied2

Close-Grip Pulldown (from floor) 3 Varied

Bent-Over Barbell Row 3 8–12

1 On pull-ups, Samir performed two sets with a wide grip and two with a narrower grip. 2 On his first set he’d get 25–30 reps to engage his back muscles, but he didn’t count reps on the fol-

lowing sets. 3 After the workout, Samir performed 30-second static holds at the halfway point of a pull-up.


enough. It’s all about diet and intensity. It

should take more than 2–3 days [to recov-

er]. If you’re training hard, it’ll take a week

to recuperate. For me, I find it’s efective to

train a bodypart once every five days. I

trained each bodypart twice a week when

I won the O in 1983, and I wasn’t even eat-

ing a lot. Today’s bodybuilders need to re-

alize that, hey … if you don’t want to train

in the final week, don’t. The muscle won’t

disappear; it’s not going anywhere! If your

body needs the rest, just take it.



Samir: There were many, many factors.

When I won in 1983, I wasn’t completely

full. Some said I wasn’t even 75% of my

best. Honestly, I agree. If I could go back,

I wouldn’t have cut my sodium until 3–4

days out. Instead I would allow my body

one entire week of rest and just pump up

the day before the show with very light

weight. I’d eat more to make sure I have

enough glycogen in the muscles before

refining. Back then, we spent too much

time over-posing and worrying. Treat it

like there’s no contest. Let your mind re-

lax. Let your body recuperate.

Labrada. Practice the art of bodybuilding.

Hire a guy like Zane to show you how to

be a professional poser. That will separate

the men from the boys. And listen to your

body; don’t deprive it. When it says it’s

tired, rest up. If you’re thirsty, drink. I also

provide this kind of information through

my website, bannoutnutrition.com.


give to today’s generation of bodybuild-

ers, both pro and aspiring?

Samir: First of all, don’t overtrain. Train

extremely hard but don’t overtrain. Make

sure you’re able to show the muscle you

worked on. Don’t pose like a bonehead.

Try to copy guys like Frank Zane and Lee


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MMI: What are your thoughts on the

professional bodybuilding physiques

of today?

Franco Columbu: If you look at the old

photos of me, Arnold, Larry, Sergio Oliva,

you see small waists. We used to measure

them all the time. I could pull mine in to

26–28 inches. At the Olympia today, the

guys are more massive with very thick

muscles, but the stomachs are so big.

Frank Zane was more elegant than

me, very proportional. My goal was

strength. I wanted to be the strongest and

I wanted to look strong. By doing that, I

felt that I was really muscular and my

waist was really small. [Former MMI

publisher] Robert Kennedy had a saying

about muscles that had to do with good

looks; he wanted men and women to look

sexy, not just have thick muscles. When it

comes to bodybuilding, it goes to the bot-

tom line: Do you want to look like that

guy? Yes or no.

MMI: Dieting today has become so pre-

cise and so complicated. What was your

general approach to nutrition?

Franco: My nutrition changed very little

between contest and of-season. Back

then, most of the bodybuilders would

gain [weight] and get up to 250–280

[pounds] two to three months before

[competition], getting as big as possible,

then losing 20 pounds to go compete. On

the other hand Frank, Arnold, Sergio and

I were [at our] heaviest the day before the

competition. We would work to gain as

much muscle as we could all the way up

to the contest and show up ready to win. I

think it’s too much stress to the organs to

go that far overweight, then bring it back

down. I never followed that theory.



sus bodybuilders of your era. What do

you think is the right amount of time to

spend in the gym for max results?

Franco: If you train each bodypart once

per week, you’ll never get enough frequen-

cy. We’d usually divide the body into three

workouts: chest-back, shoulders-arms,

thighs-calves. It takes a minimum of 48

hours to restore all the glycogen from a

two-hour workout. I’d train each bodypart

twice per week; for mass, that’s enough.

For definition, maybe three times one

week, then twice the next week.

FRANCO COLUMBU

This Mr. Olympia focused on strength first.

OLYMPIA TRAINING SEMINARFRANCO COLUMBU CHEST

“I always trained to be as strong as possible. For chest, and most other

bodyparts for that matter, I’d just pick the best 3–4 exercises and train hard.

Then afterward I’d go to the mirror and pose. The brain gains more control

over the muscle, so that’s why I felt when I posed I showed the muscles

better than anybody. I got the best results by following this system.”

EXERCISE SETS1 REPS2

Bench Press 7 20, 20, 12, 8, 6, 5, 4

Incline Barbell Press 3–4 12, 10, 6–8, 6–8, 4–6

Dipsuperset withDumbbell Flye

3–4

3–4

15

15

1 Franco increased weight on every set of presses, doing as many reps as he could at each weight. 2 The listed rep ranges are merely suggestive of where he’d reach failure depending on the increases in

load on each set.

“


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If you train each bodypart once per week, you’ll never get enough frequency. I’d train each bodypart twice per week.

“




Franco: A few days before a show, [some-

times] a week to 10 days, I skipped the last

set, which was the heaviest. I would cut

out fruit on certain days because I discov-

ered that it was making me smooth. Fruit

causes slight water retention because of

the sugar.


give to today’s generation of bodybuild-

ers, both pro and aspiring?

Franco: The best advice I can give is to

select an intermediate workout that’s

neither too heavy nor has too many exer-

cises. Keep rest periods down. Choose

basic exercises. Select the best 2–3 exer-

cises for each bodypart and work them

hard. Do more free weights than ma-

chines because machines aren’t as ef-

cient for the body.

“

A two-time Olympia

winner who took the

Sandow home in 1976

and 1981, Franco was

known for his focus

and is considered to

be, pound for pound,

one of the strongest

bodybuilders ever.


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Combine the right supplements at the optimal times for muscle gains around the clock

STACKIN’

FOR MASS

By Dwayne N. Jackson, PhD

Illustrations by Mark Collins



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STACKIN’

FOR MASS

In the not-so-distant past,

bodybuilding was considered a

“hit or miss” science, whereby

most successful training pro-

grams and diets were created on

a trial-and-error basis. With the

fitness explosion of the 1990s,

however, there was an influx of

scientific efforts to maximize

athletic performance safely, le-

gally and naturally. As a result,

the supplement industry experi-

enced exponential growth — lit-

erally flooding the market with

new, innovative products. Today,

in a gargantuan supplement

world, there are many science-

backed products designed to

push your muscular potential

and maximize your gains. This

is both a blessing and a curse —

after all, you have a ton of choic-

es, but you also have to sift

through the good, the bad and

the downright useless to come

up with the most effective sup-

plementation regimen. Read on

for a walkthrough of the best

supplement stacks to take at key

markers of the day to amp up

your mass-and strength-build-

ing efforts. (Editor’s note: This

schedule assumes your training

occurs in the afternoon and be-

fore dinner. Make adjustments as

necessary, according to your

training time.)

There was an influx of scientific eforts to maximize athletic performance safely, legally and naturally.



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WAKE AND SHAKE


Your body is starving for nutrients

when you roll out of bed, especially your

recovering muscles. After a 7–10-hour

fast, you need some fast-absorbing nu-

trition. Here’s a stack that’ll surely shut

down catabolism (i.e., muscle wasting)

and get your body refueled for growth.

1 Weight Gainer

When you’re trying to gain lean mass,

you need to pack in as many beneficial

calories as possible — weight gainers

provide 500–1,000 supplemental calo-

ries, depending on serving size. The prod-

uct you choose should be composed

mainly of high-quality proteins like whey

protein isolate (WPI) and micellar ca-

sein. Ideal weight-gain products are high

in protein (50–60 grams per serving)

and carbohydrates with a modest amount

of fat. Because the goal is to gain lean

mass and minimize fat accumulation, steer

clear of products with more than 50%

fast-digesting carbohydrates (e.g., simple

sugars like high-fructose corn syrup or

sucrose) and more than 5 grams of satu-

rated fat per serving.

›› Drink one shake immediately upon

waking (i.e., about 30 minutes to an

hour before breakfast).

2 Creatine Monohydrate

No other mass-building supplement

works as well as creatine. Research il-

lustrates that creatine is a potent cell

volumizer that increases muscle water

content and glycogen resynthesis (sig-

nals for anabolism). Creatine also boosts

muscle creatine levels for short-term en-

ergy and bolsters anabolic signaling through

insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1).

›› Mix 5 grams of creatine monohy-

drate into your shake. Use the German or

American pharmaceutical grade to

avoid gastrointestinal distress. Most

weight-gain formulas already contain

small amounts of creatine. The addi-

tion will ensure adequate dosing for

faster muscle gains.

3 Branched-Chain Amino

Acids (BCAAs)

The BCAAs (leucine, valine, isoleucine)

are unique essential amino acids that

share a branched-chain structure and

are preferentially taken up by skeletal

muscle and broken down during exer-

cise. New research illustrates that BCAA

ingestion directly stimulates anabolism

by acting as an “anabolic switch.” In addi-

tion, this supplement trio is anticatabolic,

reduces exercise-induced muscle pain

and decreases mental fatigue during

intense exercise.

›› Mix 5–10 grams of BCAA powder

into your weight-gainer shake.


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As you’re planning out your overall nu-

trition and supplement regimens, re-

member whole foods should make up

the majority of what you fuel your

body with. Supplements are just that —

products made to supplement (not re-

place) a quality diet. Assuming your diet

is in check, there are a few key products

that absorb more completely when tak-

en with a meal to give your breakfast an

extra anabolic kick.

1 Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs)

This group of fatty acids can’t be

synthesized by the body and therefore

must be taken in through diet. There are

two families of EFAs: omega-3 (alpha-lino-

lenic acid) and omega-6 (linoleic acid). In

terms of mass building, these “healthy fats”

promote growth hormone secretion, in-

crease protein synthesis and increase in-

sulin sensitivity.

›› Take 2–3 grams of a balanced ome-

ga fatty-acid blend with breakfast.

2 Multivitamin

Micronutrients are essential for

proper cellular function and nutrient ab-

sorption. Many a bodybuilder’s diet has

been known to contain very little variety,

so a daily multivitamin will ensure you’re

not lacking certain micronutrients. Fur-

thermore, vitamins act as catalysts for

many important internal processes; heavy

training boosts metabolism, therefore mak-

ing the vitamin requirement needed to

catalyze cellular reaction go up.

›› Use a multivitamin formulated for

athletes; take as directed on label.

3 Tribulus Terrestris

Tribulus terrestris is a flowering plant

that contains natural steroidal compounds

called saponins. When ingested, these

saponins tell the brain to pump out lu-

teinizing hormone (LH), which signals

the testes to make more testosterone.

Research has shown that a saponin called

protodioscin has the greatest efect on

increased LH production and testoster-

one release. Therefore, you must use

high-quality products standardized to

contain at least 80% total saponins and

40% protodioscin.

›› Take 500–750 milligrams with

breakfast on training days.

4 L-Carnitine L-Tartrate (LCLT)

LCLT is a stable form of L-carni-

tine and is completely absorbed by the

body. Recent research has demonstrated

that LCLT supplementation upregulates

the skeletal androgen receptor (the re-

ceptors that testosterone binds to) expres-

sion and increases LH secretion. The end

result is greater testosterone and recep-

tors for interaction. LCLT also reduces ex-

ercise-induced muscle tissue damage.

›› Take 2 grams of LCLT with breakfast.

5 Beta-Alanine

A naturally occurring beta amino

acid, beta-alanine is the rate-limiting

precursor to the production of carnosine

in the body. Research has shown that

powerful fast-twitch muscle fibers have

higher levels of carnosine, and it bufers

skeletal muscle pH. In a recent study,

dietary supplementation with beta-ala-

nine for 2–4 weeks was shown to increase

BREAKFASTSTACK



WorldMags.net



JUMP-START

RECOVERY WITH AN INTRA-WORKOUT SNACKThe post-workout meal is generally

considered the most important of the

day for the bodybuilder, but now sup-

plement companies are eyeing a new

opportunity: intra-workout nutrition

that can begin even before you finish

your last set. (Theoretically this is es-

pecially plausible for bodybuilders

who train bodyparts sequentially, and

nutrients can start working for one

area after it’s been trained while

you’re still training the smaller muscle

groups in your workout.) According to

MuscleMag writer Scott Stevenson,

PhD, LaC, “Science has demonstrated

that a pre- and/or intra-workout re-

covery supplement with both protein

and carbohydrates can mean better

maintenance and promote faster re-

covery in muscle glycogen stores

[stored sugar], less muscle damage

and strength loss, improved protein

turnover (more synthesis and/or less

breakdown) during and after exercise,

less catabolic cortisol and more anti-

catabolic insulin levels, and in the long

haul, greater gains in muscle mass.”

Moreover, research suggests that

the mid-workout protein and carb

combo elevated protein synthesis to a

greater degree than a drink taken im-

mediately post-workout. As Stevenson

says: “The research is fairly clear:

While protein metabolism is elevated

for days after resistance exercise, the

time for most dramatically afecting

muscle growth nutritionally is just be-

fore and during the exercise itself.”

As for what to consume and how

much, a whey-based supplement high

in leucine helps trigger protein syn-

thesis. For rapid absorption we rec-

ommend 25 grams of whey hydroly-

sate, which means the whey has been

broken down into low molecular

weight fractions that are more easily

transported into the bloodstream,

thus resulting in a rapid increase in

blood levels of branched-chain amino

acids. Carb intake should be in the

form of glucose, sucrose (table sugar)

or maltodextrin, and can vary from 0

grams for the dieting bodybuilder to

100 grams for the mass-gainer.

vastus lateralis carnosine concentration

by more than 60%. In terms of perfor-

mance, science has shown that beta-ala-

nine supplementation for as few as four

weeks can result in 13% greater gains in

total work completed during training with

no change noted among the control group.

›› On nontraining days take 2 grams

with breakfast.

A few hours after breakfast and about

one hour before lunch think about giv-

ing your body a calorie boost. This is an

ideal opportunity to help load up with

nutrients for a busy day.

1 Weight Gainer

›› Drink one 500-calorie weight-

gain shake 1–2 hours before your

high-protein lunch.

Since we’ve assumed lunch comes be-

fore your workout in this supplement

schedule, you should be consuming a

well-balanced, high-protein whole-food

meal that meets your nutritional needs.

PRE-LUNCHMUNCH

LUNCH

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When training for mass, you want to be

sure the body’s cellular environment is

primed for performance. To achieve this

state, there are a number of supplements

designed to feed your muscles and min-

imize catabolism throughout the train-

ing session. The following preworkout

stack is designed to optimize energy

and muscle performance while blunt-

ing muscle breakdown during training.

1 L-Glutamine

This is the most abundant nones-

sential amino acid in the body, and years

of research have uncovered its several

direct and indirect performance-boost-

ing benefits. Glutamine supplementation

has been shown to enhance cell volu-

mization and serve as a potent anticata-

bolic factor and muscle-building aid dur-

ing heavy training. Its major efects on

muscular growth result from the fact

that glutamine increases leucine concen-

tration and maintains positive nitrogen

balance in skeletal muscle. Further mus-

cle-building support comes from glu-

tamine’s ability to boost growth-hor-

mone and steroid production. Finally,

through augmenting bicarbonate pro-

duction, glutamine significantly increas-

es skeletal-muscle-bufering capacity, thus

delaying muscular fatigue during exercise.

›› Ingest 5 grams of pharmaceutical-

grade L-glutamine one hour before

training on an empty stomach.

2L-Arginine

In the body, this conditionally es-

sential amino acid’s primary role is in

nitric oxide (NO) production. Thus, ar-

ginine supplementation elevates skel-

etal muscle blood flow, especially dur-

ing your workout. The end results are

more efcient delivery of nutrients and

complete metabolite clearing in work-

ing muscles, enabling you to work out

longer and harder. After exercise and

during rest, the augmented blood flow

to trained muscles continues to enhance

nutrient delivery and flushes out byprod-

ucts to optimize recovery.

L-arginine also increases anabolic

substrates like growth hormone and in-

sulin. With long-term supplementation,

L-arginine ingestion upregulates mito-

chondria (the cellular energy “power-

houses”) in skeletal muscle, resulting in

heightened metabolism and greater ca-

pacity to use energy for contraction. In ad-

dition, extended use has been shown to in-

crease the growth of blood vessels in

skeletal muscle and the heart, resulting

in an even greater capacity to deliver

nutrients and remove metabolites during

and after your workouts.

›› Ingest 5 grams of pharmaceutical-

grade L-arginine, one hour before

training, on an empty stomach.

3 Tribulus Terrestris

›› Take 500–750 milligrams

about 30–60 minutes before training.

4 Beta-Alanine

This preworkout dose is intended

to ensure substrates for carnosine pro-

duction are maximized for the upcom-

ing training session.

›› Take 2 grams of beta-alanine 30–

60 minutes before training.

5 Whey Protein

Isolate (WPI)

Whey protein isolate is the best source

of protein to ingest before training. It di-

gests rapidly and completely, filling

your blood with amino acids, including

BCAAs and other essential aminos. Sci-

ence has shown it’s the hyperaminoaci-

demia that gives WPI its great anabolic

properties. WPI also provides the body

with additional mass-building support,

as research indicates WPI ingestion up-

regulates glutathione (a powerful anti-

oxidant) production because of its large

fraction of the amino acid cysteine.

›› Consume a shake with 25–40 grams

high-quality, cross-flow microfiltered

WPI 30 minutes before training.

6 Beta-Hydroxy-Beta-

Methylbutyrate (HMB)

This metabolite of leucine has been

scientifically proven to prevent muscle

breakdown, increase strength and pro-

mote fat loss. The anticatabolic efect of

HMB is more pronounced in beginners

than intermediate or advanced body-

builders, but HMB is a potent strength-

and recovery-boosting supplement for

all levels of trainers.

›› To maximize strength, take 3–6 grams

with your preworkout protein shake.

PRE-WORKOUT



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In terms of mass building, scientific data

suggests proper post-workout nutrition

and supplementation are vital because

cells are depleted of nutrients and can

quickly slip into a state of catabolism. This

period is termed the “anabolic window”

and represents an approximate two-hour

time frame when the body is hypersen-

sitive to any nutrient intake. The fol-

lowing stack has been designed to capi-

talize on the anabolic window by aug-

menting anabolic hormones, replacing

amino acids and maximizing recovery.

1Creatine Monohydrate

This dose of creatine is vital to restore

the creatine pool in your muscle. It’ll

also fire up key anabolic pathways for a

more complete and faster recovery.

›› Ingest 5 grams of creatine mono-

hydrate immediately after training.

2 L-Carnitine L-Tartrate

(LCLT)

Research shows that ingesting a 2-gram

dose of LCLT immediately after train-

ing will augment LH responses and

increase androgen (testosterone) recep-

tor expression in skeletal muscle.

3 L-Glutamine

Taken post-workout, L-glutamine

is a proven agent for blunting catabo-

lism. Research shows that ingestion of

L-glutamine immediately after exercise

enhances recovery and muscle growth.

›› Take 5 grams of L-glutamine im-

mediately after training.

4 Beta-Hydroxy-Beta-

Methylbutyrate (HMB)

Scientific data suggests that HMB sup-

plementation post-exercise augments

the recovery process. The outcome is

more strength and size in a shorter pe-

riod of time. As well, among novices,

HMB will significantly blunt the cata-

bolic response.

›› Take 3–6 grams of HMB immedi-

ately after training.

5 Whey Protein

Hydrolysate (WPH)

Whey protein hydrolysate is made from

WPI by enzymatic degradation (hydro-

lysis). Essentially, manufacturers use

special enzymes to predigest the pro-

teins in WPI. The end product is digest-

ed high in the gastrointestinal tract and

enters the blood almost immediately upon

ingestion. WPH is the fastest-digesting

protein source, and studies illustrate that

the faster amino acids enter the blood

after exercise, the greater the anabolic re-

sponse. The rapid digestion of WPH also

loads water into muscle cells (cell volu-

mizing), speeds recovery, drives anabo-

lism and supports immune function. The

drawback is that WPH is costly to manu-

facture and thus is relatively expensive.

›› Consume a shake with 25–30 grams

of high-quality WPH immediately af-

ter your workout.

6 Dextrose

This D-form of glucose is a small

monosaccharide and one of the sim-

plest sugars. It’s digested high in the

gastrointestinal tract (beginning in the

mouth) and is very high on the glycemic

index. The rapid absorption rate of

dextrose makes it an ideal post-training

carbohydrate supplement that enters

the blood immediately to cause a great

spike in blood insulin and drive sugars

into depleted muscles. In addition, insu-

lin is very anabolic, so combined with high

amounts of protein, dextrose serves as a

mass-building agent.

›› Mix 25–50 grams of dextrose into

your WPH shake and drink immedi-

ately after training.

POST-WORKOUT



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When you begin undertaking a bodybuilding program, your body responds quickly, so you need to create an environment that’s

conducive to growth. Consuming the most critical raw materials will help ensure that your body remains in an anabolic state

throughout the day. Here are four that should be on every beginner’s list.

MORNING PREWORKOUT POST-WORKOUT BEDTIME

Whey Protein Isolate 30 grams 30 grams 30 grams 30 grams

Creatine 2–5 grams 2–5 grams

Glutamine 2–5 grams 2–5 grams 2–5 grams 2–5 grams

Multivitamin As per label directions

BASIC BEGINNER’S MASS-GAIN STACK

Since we’ve assumed that dinner follows

your workout in this supplement sched-

ule, it’s imperative you consume a large,

well-balanced, high-protein dinner.

1 Essential Fatty Acids

›› Take 2–3 grams of balanced

EFAs with dinner.

The day is done and it’s time for some

high-quality rest and recovery. Since

you’ll be fasting for the next 7–10 hours,

it’s crucial you give your body the ap-

propriate nutrition before hitting the

hay. Here’s a stack that’ll feed your mus-

cles and help prevent catabolism while

you sleep.

1 Micellar Casein

This is the purest casein protein avail-

able, and its unique properties make it

seem like a custom food supplement de-

signed specifically for sleeping bodybuild-

ers. Its slow digestion results in a sus-

tained release of amino acids into the

blood, which produces anticatabolic

efects in the body. In fact, research has

shown that ingestion of micellar casein

inhibits muscle breakdown by over 30%.

Additional data illustrates that casein

ingestion produces a seven-hour sus-

tained plateau in blood amino acid levels

and that it ofers the best muscle nitrogen

retention and utilization needed for

substantial mass gains.

DINNER

BEDTIME



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Optimizing muscle anabolism means eating a clean, protein-rich diet and combining supplements that meet your metabolic

needs depending on the time of day. Here’s an overview of how you can jump-start your natural muscle-building engines with

supplements. Note: This schedule assumes you train in the late afternoon and before dinner.

WAKE AND

SHAKEBREAKFAST STACK

PRE-LUNCH

MUNCH

PRE-

WORKOUT

MID-

WORKOUT

POST-

WORKOUTDINNER BEDTIME

Weight Gainer 50–60 g protein

50–60 g protein

Creatine Monohydrate 5 g 5 g 5 g

Branched-Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs)

5–10 g

Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs) 2–3 g 2–3 g

Multivitamin As directed on label

Tribulus terrestris 500–750 mg 500–750 mg

L-Carnitine L-Tartrate (LCLT) 2 g 2 g

Beta-Alanine 2 g 2 g

L-Glutamine 5 g 5 g

L-Arginine 5 g

Whey Protein Isolate 25–40 g

Beta-Hydroxy-Beta- Methylbutyrate (HMB)

3–6 g 3–6 g

Whey Protein Hydrolysate (WPH) 25 g 25–30 g

Dextrose 25 g 25–30 g

Micellar Casein 30–50 g

Vitamin B-6 11 mg

ZMA 450 mg magnesium, 30 mg zinc

SUPPLEMENTAL MASS — THE CHECKLIST

›› Immediately before bed,

drink a shake with 30–50 grams

of high-quality micellar casein.

2 Zinc Monomethionine

Aspartate and Mag-

nesium Aspartate (ZMA)

ZMA is an acronym for zinc

monomethionine aspartate and

magnesium aspartate, a proprie-

tary zinc supplement reported to

increase growth hormone and tes-

tosterone levels when taken before

bed. A bonus side efect of ZMA

supplementation is that users have

reported falling asleep more quick-

ly and deeply. In a recent study, it

was found that subjects who took

ZMA during eight weeks of train-

ing had 250% greater strength

gains than the placebo group. The ZMA

group also had a 20% greater increase in

testosterone levels as well as over 20%

greater insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-

1) levels compared to the placebo group.

›› ZMA supplements are formulated

in the following ratio: 11 milligrams vi-

tamin B-6, 450 milligrams magnesium,

30 milligrams zinc. For optimal results

you should try taking this supplement

on an empty stomach approximately

30 minutes before drinking your mi-

cellar casein shake before bed.

Dwayne N. Jackson, PhD, is a professor and scientist in medical biophysics at one of Canada’s top medical schools, the University of Western Ontario. He has over 12 years of university education in physiology and has attended the University of Ottawa, the University of Western Ontario and the Yale School of Medicine. He also has over 20 years of competitive and recreational bodybuilding experience and is an expert in the areas of performance nutrition and supplementation.

© S

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Maintaining strict form will help you build muscle, but there are times when

loosening your exercise execution can help you boost the intensity of your

workout and reap even greater gains. The key is knowing how to cheat right.

By Rob Rinaldi, MA


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“Use strict form on every set.” You read these words on this magazine’s

pages so many times that you likely just

gloss over them. Yet you look around the

gym and bodybuilders of all levels are

bouncing bars of their chest, throwing

their hips forward to generate momen-

tum or otherwise leaning into a move for

biomechanical advantage. It seems like

no one’s using what you’d consider to be

decent, let alone good, form.

When your exercise execution strays

from textbook form, it’s called cheating.

And perhaps as with the IRS, but hope-

fully not with your wife or girlfriend, ev-

eryone does it. Even top bodybuilders get

a little sloppy from time to time. In the

context of bodybuilding, cheating is the

application of a high-intensity training

technique that allows you to take a set

past failure and boost muscle growth.

The danger inherent in cheating that’s

not present in other advanced training

techniques is the increased risk of injury

associated with poor exercise form.

Cheat ing means other muscle groups are

involved at the expense of proper exer-

cise execution, so the brunt of the force

can unintentionally fall on a vulnerable

joint or connective tissue. What’s impor-

tant is to know when and how to cheat,

because while you should indeed com-

plete each and every repetition with

proper technique, it would be a mistake

to think there’s not a time and a place to

loosen up your form.

HOW TO CHEATPhysical therapist and amateur body-

builder Guillermo Escalante, DSc, ATC,

CSCS, PTA, who runs SportsPros Inc., an

athletic- and personal-training business

in Claremont, California, describes cheat-

ing as a method employed by bodybuild-

ers using momentum or “bad form” as a

way to lift the weight. “But used properly,

1) Start with a good

warm-up before

using cheating motions

because of the higher

risk of injury to muscle,

joints and connective

tissue. Always include

several lightweight sets

of the given move in your

warm-up as well.

2) Be an expert on

good form. If you

don’t know the diference

between good form and

poor exercise technique,

you won’t be able to

apply cheating as an

advanced technique.

Read bodybuilding

books or magazines like

MuscleMag, or hire a

certified personal trainer.

3) Don’t cheat on

every set. Do it on

your last 1–2 sets of an

exercise to get a few

extra reps.

The Cheat Sheet Here are 12 important

considerations for experienced bodybuilders who

want to implement cheating in their exercise form.

4) Because

momentum is

most easily generated

through your legs, it’s far

more common to see

cheating motions with

standing exercises than

seated ones.

5) Cheating is also

more commonly

done with free-weight

moves rather than with

machines, which general-

ly lock you into a prede-

termined biomechanical

pathway. On the flipside,

it’s far easier to exceed

your range of motion

with a heavy free weight,

which can put a joint in a

vulnerable position.

6) Use cheating

infrequently

during your workout.

Doing other advanced-

training techniques can

work the target muscle

group in diferent ways

to help break through

training plateaus and

sticking points.

7) Know which

exercises are best

— and worst — to cheat

on. Some exercises put

your spinal column and

rotator cufs at risk, and

they’re especially bad

choices to cheat on. With

others you need to be

very careful.

8) Cheat just enough

to get a weight

past its sticking point,

then allow the target

bodypart to take over

again so that it gets

maximally worked.

9) Cheating should

be an intentional

approach, not something

that just happens be-

cause you put too much

weight on the bar or are

unfamiliar with a given

exercise’s proper execu-

tion. Use a challenging

weight but not one be-

yond your abilities.

10) Cheat only

when your

energy level is high,

toward the beginning of

your workout. If you’re

fatigued, mentally or

physically, it’s easier to

get sloppy and thus

increase your risk of

injury.

11) Keep strict form

on your heaviest

sets. Bad form in

combination with heavy

weight significantly

boosts your risk of

training injury. Use

cheating motions for

moderate-weight sets

when your muscles and

joints aren’t under such

extreme stress.

12) Cheating isn’t

recommended if

you have a pre-existing

injury, especially if the

added stress is generated

at the damaged joint or

muscle that’s assisting.

If you’ve got a herniated

disk, rotator-cuf injury

or knee trouble, you’ll

want to limit stress that’s

increased when cheating

moves are added.

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cheating is a premeditated and intention-

al movement rather than simply bad

form. Some bodybuilders may use poor

form unintentionally because they don’t

know how to correctly do a given move-

ment and therefore don’t know how to

properly isolate the target muscle.”

What’s certain is that using bad form

increases an individual’s risk of training

injury to muscles, tendons and/or joints.

But Escalante doesn’t condemn cheating

outright, saying instead that applied cor-

rectly, it can boost muscle gains.

“Knowledge is critical here, and

cheating should be used only by body-

builders who are experienced and really

know the diference between good and

bad form. They can apply cheating as a

technique to push past muscle failure. In

that sense it’s just another method to

shock your body in a manner diferent

than what it’s accustomed to, allowing

you to complete more reps with a given

weight or use a heavier weight than you

might normally be able to handle. The

downside is that it can lead to injury if

done improperly or even too frequently.

Therefore, it’s an approach that should

be reserved for every once in a while

rather than on a workout-to-workout ba-

sis. From my experience, beginners rare-

ly know the diference between decent

and perfect exercise form, and they gen-

erally make good gains in strength and

size from more traditional means, so it’s

not recommended for them to cheat.”

What’s the most common way to gen-

erate momentum? A slight thrust of the

hips and bounce in the knees. Essentially

it allows you to do an extra rep or two

when you hit a sticking point. Instead of

ending your set, you use additional mus-

cles that aren’t directly involved in the

execution of the lift to help you work past

the point of muscle failure. You can cheat

on just about any exercise, but one of the

most common is the standing barbell

curl. While strict exercise form enlists

only the biceps, when you hit muscle fail-

ure with a given weight you can continue

the set by using your back (leaning back-

ward) or legs (bending and extending at

the knees and hips) to overcome the

sticking point and help you lift the weight.

While additional muscle groups are

called into play and the biceps aren’t

working as hard as when doing strict

curls, they’re still highly involved, as long

as you keep the cheat move to a mini-

mum. The other involved muscle groups

merely work to make up the diference

between the remaining strength of your

fatigued arms and the force necessary to

overcome the sticking point.

Escalante argues that the key to cheat-

ing correctly is to use this strategy at the

end of your set, not the beginning. “Body-

builders who are cheating on their first rep

are simply going too heavy,” he says. “It’s

only after you take the target muscle to

failure by completing 6–8 reps on your

own with strict form should you begin to

add momentum or a little body english.

Then it should be just enough to keep the

weight moving. Good form is still impor-

tant, but adding a little extra momentum

or assistance from other muscle groups

would be considered an acceptable form

of cheating that won’t cause undue harm.”

Therefore, a set includes both perfect

reps and cheat reps, the latter added at LA

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The Cheat List Some exercises are better than others when it comes to cheating (see

“Okay to Cheat,” “Cheat with Caution” and “Just Say No to Cheating”).

Essentially, the heavier you go the more dangerous it becomes when

using bad form, and any time your spine is in a vulnerable position, the

more risky it is to break form. Remember, you want to do 6–8 reps on

your own with strict form before adding cheat reps; if you can’t do even

one rep with good form, any exercise is dangerous. Only more advanced

bodybuilders who know the diference between good and bad technique

should incorporate a few cheat reps. The cheating motion should be

intentional — not accidental — and should be distributed as best as

possible over several areas.

Lateral RaiseVery few trainers do this move cor-

rectly in the gym, and the most

common problem results from go-

ing too heavy. The outcome is com-

promised form, including a slight

extension of the hips and knees to

generate momentum. (Try this

move from a seated position if you

want to see what it’s like to reduce

body english.)

Alternating Dumbbell CurlWhen you do these alternating

sides, whether seated or standing,

leaning into your working-side arm

actually helps you get just a little

more body into the move to assist

with the lift.

Calf RaiseAfter the reps get difcult, a little

bounce out the hole helps you

overcome the sticking point. On

straight-legged calf raises, don’t

lock out your knees.

Hanging Leg RaiseIf you use a bit of body swing at the

end of your set, you can do a cou-

ple of extra reps past muscle failure.

If you swing right from the start,

very little work is ultimately done

by the lower abs.

Seated Cable RowYou should be keeping your torso

in an upright position, just very

slightly extending back as you pull,

and leaning only slightly forward

during the release. Greater degrees

of lean recruit the low-back mus-

cles to help generate momentum.

Just don’t round your back.

Okay To CheatThese exercises are generally safe to cheat with, as long as your

form breaks are in accordance with the suggestions listed and

you’re not maxing out.

the end. “Because cheat reps require you

to start your set with textbook technique,

the bodybuilder must know the difer-

ence between good and bad exercise

form. That kind of knowledge takes a

bodybuilder a good couple of years to

learn.” Escalante warns that anyone who

doesn’t know good form versus poor ex-

ercise form should probably refrain from

using cheating techniques.

Of interest to advanced bodybuilders

is the addition of the “cheat” at the end of

a set, which allows you to train past mus-

cle failure when the alternative is to put

the weight down and end the set. In that

sense, it increases the overall intensity.

Compare that with an individual who

uses bad form from the very first rep.

Here, the bodybuilder is actually making

the set easier (as he can’t even complete

one rep with good form and must resort

to recruiting additional muscle groups),

not harder.

What’s more, there are any number of

ways to add body english to keep the

weight moving through the sticking

point, and it takes a knowledgeable body-

builder to know what’s acceptable and

how much. For ex ample, in the standing

barbell curl the cheat can be any combi-

nation of a slight knee bend and/or hip

thrust and/or lower-back extension. In

addition, you can bring your elbows for-

ward from their position by the sides of

your torso to recruit the front delts.

Moreover, speeding up the rep can also

help you overcome a sticking point. Com-

bining any and all of these strategies will

help you take a working set of barbell

curls past muscle failure.

Some of those suggestions are more

risky than others. Overarching your back

can strain your spine, while a slight

bounce in the knees may be less chancy.

Escalante recommends using several in

conjunction to better distribute the force.

Of course, each and every successive rep

re quires a little more assistance, so the

amount of stress continues to increase.

Therefore, keep your cheat reps to just a

few because the more you do at the end of

a set, the greater your risk of injury.

Cheat to Win in the Gym

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SquatThis is a highly technical

lift that engages a number

of muscle groups. Your

low back is at risk if you

can’t hold your body up-

right. While just about

every bodybuilder has

bounced a few times out

of the bottom, doing so is

not good for your knees.

DeadliftAnother highly technical

lift with heavy force on the

low back. Add heavy

weights to the mix and

you’d better be using great

form on each and every

rep. Avoid training to fail-

ure with this exercise.

Stif-Leg DeadliftDuring this exercise there’s

actually a slight rounding

of your lower back at the

bottom position, which

means you’re highly vul-

nerable to injury. Its cousin,

the romanian deadlift, re-

quires a flat back through-

out. Don’t ever make the

common mistake of

bouncing the bar of the

floor. Only in conventional

deadlifts should the bar

touch the floor.

ShrugThis may come as a sur-

prise, but the tendency

here is to put your head

down when using heavy

weights, which disrupts

spinal alignment. Have

you ever had a herniated

disk in your neck from

heavy shrugs, which then

basically interrupts the

nerve signal to an entire

side of your body — for al-

most a year? It happened

to me, and it’s a total di-

saster for a bodybuilder.

Behind-the-Neck Shoulder PressWith a heavy bar behind

your head, your shoulders

are already in a highly

vulnerable spot. If you

bounce or otherwise get

sloppy with form, you can

damage the rotator cufs.

Standing Barbell CurlThe danger is to your low

back from generating mo-

mentum through your

hips and leaning back-

ward. You can also use a

little knee bounce and

bring your elbows forward

at the top to get an assist

from your front delts.

Bench PressArching your back and

lifting your hips of the

bench turns this exercise

into a decline movement

in which most bodybuild-

ers are stronger. A little

bounce of the chest may

also help.

Flat-Bench Dumbbell PressProbably a bit more risky

than the barbell version,

as you can’t readily

bounce the bar of your

chest; instead, a bouncing

motion will be absorbed

in the shoulder joints and

rotator cufs.

Good MorningAny lower-back move,

this one in particular, puts

stress on the muscles pro-

tecting your lower spine.

Don’t cheat on moves that

target your lower back.

Keep your back flat —

don’t let it round.

Bent-Over Barbell RowSimilar to the bent-over

lateral raise (also a moder-

ate risk) you’re required to

hold your body in a bent-

over position. Most body-

builders typically use their

lower backs to assist in

the move (and hence they

rise); the danger is in

rounding the back when

you become fatigued.

Just Say No to CheatingHere are the five worst ofenders, exercises in

which losing good form can compromise either

the disks in your spine or your rotator cufs.

Use textbook form at all times. To boost the in-

tensity of your training and work past muscle

failure, instead of cheating try another ad-

vanced technique.

Cheat With CautionRestrict cheating motions to the end of your

set as long as you’re not doing extremely heavy

weights; go strict on those sets.

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Eating clean makes a bodybuilder start craving the wrong kinds of foods,

especially those loaded with sugar and fats. MMI explains which cheat

strategies will help boost your gains — and which will bust your gut.

By Team MuscleMag

Illustrations by Larry McCusker


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Here’s the good news from the bodybuilding nutrition trench-

es: You can eat any food you want without

blowing your diet. Here’s the bad news:

You can’t eat every food you want, and it’s

crucial that you limit how much you con-

sume when you do decide to cheat.

Cheating, as you know, can really de-

rail your nutrition program. An all-day

binge on pizza, hamburgers, ice cream,

cakes and pastries can practically ruin

months of hard work and soften up a

rock-hard bod. Not to mention one cheat

day can lead to another one, and so on.

Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither

was your physique, but it sure can be de-

stroyed just that fast.

There’s plenty of bad news for the

bodybuilders, but there’s also an upside to

cheating: Sometimes it can actually en-

hance your gains. For instance, you can

consume fats and sugar at certain times of

the day to provide benefits to your body

during most of your bodybuilding season.

The key is to know what types of cheat

foods are beneficial, what types are neu-

tral and what types are detrimental to

your physique goals.

Many bodybuilders tout the idea of

following a bodybuilding diet year-round.

But that protocol may not be the best op-

tion for young bodybuilders, especially

those who have trouble growing. A mod-

erate amount of cheating, which we’ll de-

fine as occasional straying of a clean,

high-protein, high-complex carbohy-

drate diet — accompanied by an other-

wise solid bodybuilding nutrition (and

training!) program — can help provide

your body with necessary calories and

nutrients including saturated fats and

sugars, which are beneficial for growth

when consumed appropriately. That’s

right, even some of those foods you swore

to stay away from can be favorable when

consumed appropriately.

Of course, cheating is a double-edged

sword: If you cheat too much, you’ll gain

excess bodyfat; if you don’t cheat enough,

you’ll get ripped, but you won’t be able to

maximize your muscle growth. Learning

how to strike a balance is the No. 1 key to

success. MuscleMag spoke with IFBB

pros Troy Brown and Mike Van Wyck to

get their expert insights on how best to

use non-bodybuilding foods in a positive

way to accomplish your overall goals.

With your nutritional succes s in mind,

here is the MuscleMag sheet on the seven

best ways to cheat.

Cheat to Win on Your Diet

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CHEAT RULE 1

Build your diet around foods you like that serve you well.One of the ways to reduce your desire to

cheat is to satisfy yourself with foods that are

in your diet regimen. When you’re on a well-

regimented plan, slow-digesting carb foods

such as yams can taste quite sweet, helping

to satisfy your cravings for sugary foods.

Salmon and other fatty fish have an oily tex-

ture, which helps decrease your desire for

unhealthy, deep-fried foods.

Do you love chicken breast? Great — eat it

as many days a week as you want in the ofsea-

son or when you’re preparing for a show. Or

do you find chicken dry and flavorless? If so,

you’re probably not inclined to consume as

much of it as you should at any given meal in

the ofseason to provide sustained muscle

growth. A better strategy for you may be to eat

cuts of beef that are slightly fattier than chick-

en breast. You will consume more protein as

well as a few more calories, but gravitating to-

ward beef will probably help you add more

muscle mass in the long run.

Toronto bodybuilder Mike Van Wyck of-

fers this example: “I don’t like sweet potatoes

so I don’t eat them in the ofseason. I eat them

only when I’m getting ready for a show be-

cause they’re such a great bodybuilding food.

But I love rice, so I pound it in the ofseason.”

To keep growing, you should emphasize the

foods you like best that will help you reach

your goals.

CHEAT RULE 2

Don’t overcheat in the offseason.The flipside to overdieting is to overconsume

cheat foods in the ofseason, believing the

more bodyweight you add the more muscle

mass you’ll gain. Beyond a certain threshold,

this is false. Once you have reached a point at

which you’re slowly adding bodyfat, you’ve

almost guaranteed that you’re taking in

enough calories to maximize muscle gains.

Excess calories will only make you fatter,

making it harder to lose bodyfat when you do

want to get in shape to show of all your hard

work in the gym. When you adopt this over-

eating ofseason strategy, you’re much more

likely to win the title of Biggest Loser rather

than Mr. Olympia. “Remember, you have to

burn those extra calories of to get in shape for

a competition or for the summer season,

which means extra cardio,” former British

champion Troy Brown says. “Be wise in your

choice of cheat meals, and don’t go overboard

with the eating, even in the ofseason.”

Mike agrees that moderation with cheat-

ing is one of the big keys to success. “I don’t

go over the top and eat everything I want,

but I don’t follow the strictest plan in the of-

season because I need a lot of calories to

keep growing. I also do cardio year round,

and I work out pretty damn hard.”

CHEAT RULE 3

Cheat to help get in all the nutrients you need to maximize growth.Too many bodybuilders over-regiment their

nutrition program. Guess what happens in

many cases? These bodybuilders end up de-

pleting their muscles, providing too few calo-

ries and nutrition to support growth. “I train

a lot of hardgainers who are trying to put on

weight,” Mike says. “I tell them to order dou-

ble the food they think they want. The prob-

lem these guys have is that they’re just not

getting in enough calories to grow.”

You see, bodybuilders must surpass a

threshold of many diferent nutrients to

maximize their muscle gains. You need a cer-

tain amount of protein and a certain amount

of vitamins and minerals (supplied through

nutrient-dense foods from categories such as

fruits, vegetables and numerous others). But

bodybuilders also need a minimal threshold

of calories just to hold their ground. Without

consuming the appropriate total calories on a

daily basis, you simply won’t grow.

Once you’ve included all the protein your

body can use for growth (at least 1 gram per

pound each day), consuming more protein

won’t really help boost muscle growth any

further if you’re still coming up short on the

total daily calories you need to sustain or add

bodyweight. In fact, a bodybuilder who fol-

lows an extremely high-protein diet that’s

low in calories will begin to lose weight. At

this point, you need to bump up total calorie

consumption — not protein consumption —

to keep adding muscular bodyweight. Satis-

fying, easy-to-consume foods can be valuable

for growth at this point.

Those who over-regiment their nutrition

programs often end up undereating total cal-

ories, diminishing their potential gains. As

Mike explains, some “cheating” may be nec-

essary for you to boost your calorie intake for

maximal growth.

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CHEAT RULE 5

Cheat at the right time of your contest schedule.If you compete, you don’t want to binge on a

Philly cheesesteak the night before a contest,

but you don’t want to go into your show

looking flat and depleted, either. Taking in

carbs such as buckwheat pancakes with syr-

up can help fill out your muscles so that

they’re striated and full. This meal will make

you feel like you’re cheating, but you’re really

just maximizing the appearance of your hard

work. Consume it the night before you want

to look your best. Keep the total calories

moderate (about double your bodyweight)

for best results.

If you’re really out of shape, however, you

have your work cut out for you. “If you’re 60

pounds overweight when you start to diet

and you have set a goal of 12 weeks to get in

tip-top shape (say, for a contest or just for

the start of summer), you’d better not cheat

at all,” Troy says. “But if your starting point

is just 10–20 pounds from where you want to

be at the end of those 12 weeks, you can have

a cheat meal once per week after beginning

with two weeks of strict dieting.” You have

to assess your situation to know how much

cheating you can handle without compro-

mising your goals.

CHEAT RULE 4

Cheat at the right time of the week.You might feel as if you’ll go insane if you

don’t get a cheeseburger or slice of pizza oc-

casionally. However, something worse may

happen as well: You may undercut your gains

by not taking in cheat foods that help keep

your metabolism revved to the max; you

want your metabolism functioning in high

gear to burn bodyfat while in the process of

maintaining or building muscle mass.

A moderate amount of cheating every

few days is a little like a workout session for

your digestive system. Think of these cheat

meals as “heavy lifting” for your stomach,

small and large intestines. “As long as a

bodybuilder doesn’t go overboard and binge

excessively, a cheat meal can help support

normal thyroid function,” says Troy. “It can

also help to reload glycogen stores [the

stored form of carbohydrate] in muscle tis-

sue of the dieting bodybuilder, which in

turn will help to fuel their intense work-

outs.” Many fatty cheat foods also provide

building blocks for important hormones

such as testosterone and give you the calo-

ries you need for sustained growth.

These cheat foods will also help to create

a metabolic ebb and flow. You’re better able

to burn bodyfat in the periods between these

cheat meals. Then, the additional calories

help you restock, making you stronger at the

gym and boosting your metabolic rate for ad-

ditional fat burning.

CHEAT RULE 6

Cheat at the right time of the day.If you crave carbs or fats, you can find a time

of day almost any day when you can consume

both to benefit your gains, and likewise there

are times when you can instead maximize the

damage. When cheating at the right times, you

may feel like you’re getting of track, but you’ll

really be enhancing your overall program. You

see, sugar creates a boost in insulin release,

and an increase in insulin around the time of

your workouts helps drive muscle recovery

and thus growth by delivering more nutrients

where and when they’re needed. Fats can help

slow down digestion so that protein is deliv-

ered more slowly, helping to sustain its avail-

ability in your body.

To benefit your gains, consume sugary

foods before and after your workouts. Want a

soda or even candy such as Skittles or Gummy

Bears? You can have them on your way to the

gym or right after your workout. Eating sugar

at this time will help drive nutrients to your

muscles for growth because these high-sugar

foods boost insulin levels. This is a much bet-

ter alternative than a protein shake without

carbs (who would’ve thought?) before and af-

ter workouts. Just make sure to avoid fats

while you’re consuming these pre- and post-

workout carbs because that’ll slow everything

down, including the insulin boost.

Similarly, fatty foods can be worthwhile to

your overall nutrition plan. First, many satu-

rated fats from animal products support hor-

mone production such as testosterone, which

is essential for maximizing muscle growth.

Second, foods with a higher fat content slow

digestion. When you consume fats with pro-

tein, you efectively provide a time-released

efect upon the amino acids in protein. These

aminos will be available for use for much lon-

ger periods of time, helping to prevent

your body from breaking down muscle

tissue for stored aminos (catabolism).

Eat fattier forms of protein (such as

whole eggs, deli meat, cheese and

nuts) before bedtime to make sure

there are aminos floating in your

bloodstream longer. Just make

sure to skip the carbs during these

meals.

Cheat to Win on Your Diet

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CHEAT RULE 7

When you cheat, cheat in moderation.When you consume an excess of calories

during the day, especially if you gorge out at

a single meal, you’re virtually assured of

storing that surplus as bodyfat. You’re much

better served by spreading your cheating

around a bit. Instead of ordering a Domino’s

double-cheese pizza with all the fixings and

gobbling it down in one night, you’d be bet-

ter of having a couple of slices for your

cheat meal that night and sharing the rest

with family or friends. If you’re eating

alone, though, keep it to two slices. Then,

the next day you can have one slice with a

protein shake for lunch. Freeze the rest and

have it several days later as your next cheat

go-round.

Troy ofers this rule of thumb: “If you

have to undo the top button of your pants,

you cheated too much. Never stuf yourself

or eat until you feel uncomfortable.” Take a

look at “The Treat Sheet” to see how you can

successfully include moderate amounts of

cheat foods without blowing your diet.

The Treat SheetCravings are a beat-’em-or-join-’em proposition. Either you get over your crav-

ing or satisfy it. Often, the only way to satisfy a craving is to eat that particular

food. But is there a best “cheat” food? “No,” says IFBB pro bodybuilder Troy

Brown. “If a bodybuilder is craving pizza, he should cheat with pizza. Only the

pizza will curb cravings for pizza. That goes for any food. If you crave it cheat

with it, but only if you’re in good enough shape to aford to cheat and can put

the brakes on after just a small portion.”

The good news is that any “terrible” cheat food can be turned into a reason-

able bodybuilding meal by complementing a moderate amount of it with a pro-

tein food, rather than just stufng yourself with a box of Oreos, a dozen

doughnuts or an entire pizza. As a baseline, we’ve established 500 calories as

the amount you should limit yourself to for an acceptable cheat meal. Here, we

give you the cheat food and advice on how to make sure you’re not just taking

in empty calories.

Pizza“Having a couple of slic-

es should be enough to

curb those cravings and

still allow you to feel

good afterward,” says

Troy. Two slices of pizza

(a 14-inch medium pizza

from a chain such as

Domino’s) has about 23

grams of protein and a

little more than 500 cal-

ories. Actually, it’s not

terrible for a cheat meal.

Nevertheless, nutrient

breakdown is pretty bad

for a standard body-

building meal since less

than 20% of the calories

comes from

protein. You can add

more protein with a tall

glass of nonfat milk —

skip the beer.

DoughnutsYes, they’re considered

one of the worst foods

for bodybuilders. But if

that’s what you want,

that’s what you want.

Eat one large or two

small doughnuts. One

large glazed doughnut

(about 4½ inches in

diameter) has approxi-

mately 300 calories with

5 grams of protein. Add

two whole eggs and

four egg whites to com-

plete a 500-calorie

breakfast that has al-

most 30 grams of pro-

tein.

Desserts Don’t desert your diet

when you eat dessert.

Keep your portions

moderate (two medium

cookies, a moderate

wedge of fruit pie, a

small piece of cake). All

of these goodies have

about 300 calories and

very little protein. Add a

cup of cofee and a pro-

tein shake to turn this

into a more sensible

meal. If you’re eating

this dessert on top of a

meal, cut back to a

much smaller serving.

It’ll be a true test of your

willpower to stop at just

that small amount.

Ice Cream Ice cream is a dairy

product, but it’s little

more than a cheat food.

If you want to turn this

frosty treat into any-

thing but decadence,

you’re going to have to

augment protein. Go

ahead and have your ice

cream (fatty versions

close to bedtime; nonfat

versions closer to your

workout). An 8-ounce

serving (two scoops) of

regular ice cream has

about 300 calories but

only 5 grams of protein.

Specialty brands tend

to be higher in calories

per ounce. If you want,

throw those scoops

of ice cream into a

protein shake.

CheeseburgerLean beef is a great

bodybuilding food. Fast-

food burgers are not.

When you’re cheating

the key is to straddle the

line between the two,

making your cheat meal

a justifiable bodybuild-

ing meal. A McDonald’s

quarter pounder has a

little over 500 calories

with 29 grams of pro-

tein. Whether you’re or-

dering out or making it

at home, avoid fatty

condiments such as

mayo or “special sauce.”

Then, consider taking

of the “hat” — the top

part of the bun. Doing

so will cut empty calo-

ries while still delivering

the beef relief that you

seek. You can even go

double meat. Also, avoid

the fries and the sugary

Coke if it’s the burger

you’re craving.

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100 MONTH 2013 |

Muscle Sleep

One side effect of bodybuilding is a stronger, thicker neck, but that can cause you to fall victim to an insidious nightime killer called sleep apnea

By Nicole McPherson

Photos by Paul Buceta

Model Adam Headland

Is Your

Putting You in

Deadly Danger?



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Imagine you’re lying in bed, catching some ZZZs. Suddenly, a plastic bag is put over your head. You struggle to get it off and frantically gasp for air. Finally, after minutes that feel like hours, you rip the bag open and break free. Your heart is racing and you desperately inhale. You thank God you’re awake and alive ... at least for now.

This isn’t the beginning of a horror mov-

ie, but rather the story of amateur body-

builder Carl Cheung’s life — before he

was diagnosed with sleep apnea. Carl,

who has competed in a number of Ontar-

io (Canada) Physique Association cham-

pionships, remembers many times like

this when he’d wake up suddenly

throughout the night, desperate

to catch his breath. Back

then, he had no idea that he had a severe

and dangerous sleeping condition called

sleep apnea. It wasn’t until his friends

begged him to see a sleep specialist that

he discovered the truth.

“The doctor was surprised I was still

alive,” Carl remembers about his sleep

test results. “That’s how severe my sleep

apnea was. I stayed overnight at the sleep

clinic to be tested and I was extremely

shocked by the results. In a seven-and-a-

half-hour period, I woke up more than

300 times. One time, I’d stopped breath-

ing for a full four minutes.”

What exactly is sleep apnea? Charac-

terized by repeated breathing interrup-

tions during sleep, sleep apnea has been

defined as “a condition in which breath-

ing stops for periods of time during sleep

due to on-and-of blockage of air passag-

es.” In fact, the Greek word apnea literally

means “without breath.” The culprit is

typically excess and collapsed throat tis-

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| MONTH 2013 103

sue that’s blocking the airway, which is

why suferers often wake up gasping for

air. When you experience five or more ap-

nea episodes per hour (i.e., waking peri-

ods with at least a 10-second interval

between breaths), your level of sleep ap-

nea is considered “clinically significant.”

Based on these criteria, Carl’s results

were of the charts.

Not surprisingly, being jolted awake so

many times throughout the night had a

staggering efect on Carl’s daily life. Be-

cause he was never able to fall into a deep,

quality sleep, he was in a constant state of

extreme fatigue. And his bodybuilding

gains, as would be expected, were poor.

The amount of sleep needed, of course,

varies by age. Infants spend a majority of

their time sleeping — 16–18 hours per day.

Teenagers require a good chunk, too; ap-

proximately nine hours. Adults can go

with less (about 7–8 hours), but most

bodybuilders find their needs are greater.

After vigorous workouts, adequate rest is

essential for growth and repair. While

your body rests, protein synthesis occurs.

During this process, the muscles you

trained are strengthened and repaired,

thereby allowing better recovery and

more growth.

“When you’ve got sleep apnea, you’re

extremely groggy when you first wake

up,” explains 30-year-old Carl. “As the

day progresses, you can hardly focus.

Having conversations is difcult, and

you’re always asking people to repeat

themselves. When you’re sitting in meet-

ings at work, trying to pay attention and

be responsive, you can barely stay awake.

But you assume you’re just tired because

of the topic or the temperature in the

room. You can even fall asleep while

standing up. There were times when I’d

even fall into a deep sleep at a red light,

until I’d hear someone honking at me. But

I had no idea I had sleep apnea, or what

sleep apnea even was. It’s difcult to diag-

nose yourself. My friends were the ones

who noticed I was always falling asleep

and unable to focus. They convinced me

to go see my family doctor, who referred

me to a sleep specialist.”

Not long after, Carl went for a poly-

somnogram, an overnight diagnostic test

where many of his bodily functions were

monitored while he slept (including his

brain activity, eye movements, muscle ac-

tivity, heart rhythm, respiratory airflow

and respiratory efort). Results showed

that Carl had obstructive sleep apnea, the

most common form of the condition.

During obstructive sleep apnea, the up-

per airway becomes narrow as the mus-

cles relax naturally during sleep. As a

result, oxygen in the blood is reduced,

which causes you to frequently wake up.

Des per ate for a solution, Carl began using

a CPAP machine, short for Continuous

Pos itive Airway Pressure. A CPAP ma-

chine aids breathing by delivering a

stream of compressed air via a hose to a

nasal pill, nose mask or full-face mask.

Although it took some time to get used

to wearing his CPAP machine, Carl says

his life has been much improved since.



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104 MONTH 2013 |

“At first you feel awkward using the

machine because of the tubes and having

things around your nose and mouth,”

Carl says. “A lot of people refuse to use it

because if they’re with someone, they’re

afraid of what that person will think.

Having gone through it myself, I know

that people who have sleep apnea can be

really sensitive about the condition and

embarrassed about using the machine.

You’ve also got to bring it with you when-

ever you travel. But you have to realize

this is the best solution. It can help re-

solve your sleep issues and every aspect

they afect in your life.”

A BETTER LIFE, A BETTER PHYSIQUE Aside from being more focused at work,

more alert in social settings and safer be-

hind the wheel, Carl claims that his bet-

ter-quality sleep has also made him a far

better bodybuilder.

“Everyone knows you don’t build mus-

cle in the gym; you grow and repair when

you’re asleep. So I’ve definitely seen a dif-

ference in the amount of quality muscle

I’ve put on since using the CPAP,” he says.

“Within a month of using it I saw a

15-pound diference in my body, and I at-

tribute that progress to just getting quali-

ty rest. Before that, I was stuck, hitting a

brick wall. So for me gaining 15 pounds

was huge.”

One possible reason for these gains is

that human growth hormone (HGH), a

peptide hormone that stimulates growth

and cell reproduction, is produced during

sleep. HGH levels typically rise about

35–45 minutes after you’ve fallen asleep.

HGH efects on the body are anabolic; if

you’re missing out on your sleep, you’re

missing out on muscle building.

Mike Kelly, a competitive bodybuilder

from Toronto, can relate. Like Carl, he

was a victim of sleep apnea without even

realizing it. He too would experience ex-

treme fatigue during the day, to the point

where he’d easily nod of while talking to

people. Episodes of waking up suddenly

in the middle of the night were a constant

occurrence.

“My wife actually stopped sleeping in

the same bed as me out of fear,” says

Mike. “She didn’t want to look at me




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| MONTH 2013 105

Sleep apnea is a common disorder in

which you have one or more pauses

in breathing or shallow breaths while

you sleep.

Breathing pauses can last from a

few seconds to minutes. They often

occur 5–30 times or more an hour.

Typically, normal breathing then

starts again, sometimes with a loud

snort or choking sound.

Sleep apnea usually is a chronic

(ongoing) condition that disrupts

your sleep three or more nights

each week. You often move out of

deep sleep and into light sleep

when your breathing pauses or be-

comes shallow.

Poor sleep quality results, making

you tired during the day. Sleep apnea

is one of the leading causes of exces-

sive daytime sleepiness.

OVERVIEW

Sleep apnea often goes undiag-

nosed. Doctors usually can’t detect

the condition during routine ofce

visits. Also, there are no blood tests

for the condition.

Most people who have sleep ap-

nea don’t know they have it because

it only occurs during sleep. A family

member and/or bed partner may

first notice the signs of sleep apnea.

The most common type of sleep

apnea is obstructive sleep apnea. This

most often means that the airway has

collapsed or is blocked during sleep.

The blockage may cause shallow

breathing or breathing pauses.

When you try to breathe, any air

that squeezes past the blockage can

cause loud snoring. Obstructive

sleep apnea happens more often in

people who are overweight, but it

can afect anyone.

OUTLOOK

Untreated sleep apnea can:

• Increase the risk for high

blood pressure, heart attack,

stroke, obesity and diabetes.

• Increase the risk for or

worsen heart failure.

• Make irregular heartbeats

more likely.

• Increase the chance of having

work-related or driving accidents.

Lifestyle changes, mouthpieces,

surgery and/or breathing devices

can successfully treat sleep apnea

in many people.

Information from the National

Institutes of Health.

What Is Sleep Apnea?

A CPAP machine

isn’t pretty, but it

can save your life.

Many bodybuilders

use one.



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106 MONTH 2013 |

while I was asleep and see how my chest

would start heaving and how I’d sud-

denly fly up to take a big gasp of air. This

would go on all night, and she couldn’t

bear to see me like that.”

While at a routine check-up with his

family doctor, Mike shared his story of

restless nights and over-sluggish days.

His doctor immediately referred Mike to

a sleep specialist, where it was confirmed

that he had sleep apnea. Like Carl, Mike

now uses a CPAP machine, and he feels

like a new person because of it. Because

Mike is a personal trainer, the extra sleep

has helped his bodybuilding career in

more ways than one.

“Before when I was personal training,

I’d have such a hard time staying awake.

Your clients expect you to be upbeat, hap-

py and energetic all the time, even when

you’re dieting for a show, which can be

hard. When you add lack of sleep into the

mix, it’s really difcult. Now, all around,

everything is better. I have so much more

energy.”

WHO’S AT RISK? Although high risk factors include being

male, overweight and over the age of 40,

sleep apnea doesn’t just afect people like

your beer-bellied relatives who are ad-

dicted to Twinkies and TV and who don’t

exercise. The condition is an extremely

common one — as common as diabetes.

In fact, according to the National Insti-

tutes of Health, sleep apnea afects more

than 12 million Americans. This includes

men and women, young and old. Even

children are susceptible.

Cox Tan-Ngo, MD, founder of Clinical

Sleep Solutions, Inc., a private sleep clinic

in Vancouver (British Columbia, Cana-

da), has personally experienced sleep ap-

nea and can attest to the stereotypes

associated with the condition.

“When we think of sleep apnea, we

sometimes assume just obese males are at

risk. But in fact, I have some patients who

are 100 pounds soaking wet. Any one with

a narrow or recessed jaw, a short neckline

or a large neck can be predisposed to

sleep apnea. Neck size is actually a good

predictor of potential for developing

sleep apnea. If your neck size is larger

than 17 inches, the risk is typically higher.

That’s likely why many bodybuilders

have sleep apnea. But a lot of it is anatom-

ical in nature. You might be predisposed

to it or have small airways.”

There are three distinct forms of sleep

apnea: Obstructive sleep apnea (which

represents 84% of cases), central sleep

apnea (representing 0.4% of cases) and

complex sleep apnea (representing 15%

of cases). Obstructive sleep apnea is

caused by a blockage of the airway, typi-

cally when the soft tissue in the rear of

the throat collapses and closes during

sleep. Breathing is interrupted by a physi-

cal block to airflow despite respiratory ef-

fort. With central sleep apnea, the airway

isn’t blocked, but the brain fails to signal

the muscles to breathe. Breathing is inter-

rupted by the lack of respiratory efort.

Complex sleep apnea is a combination of

the first two conditions.

Each time you experience an apnea

episode, your brain briefly arouses you in

order for you to resume breathing. It’s for

this reason that sleep becomes so frag-

mented and interrupted … and why suf-

ferers can barely function the next day. In

severe cases, the condition can even trig-

ger a heart attack and death.

BEING DIAGNOSED Unfortunately, because the public is still

rel atively uninformed about sleep apnea,

many people go undiagnosed and un-

treated. They assume their fatigue is just

a symptom of something else. And many

people don’t even realize they’re waking

up as often as they are during the night.

Symptoms may go unnoticed for years,

Lack of quality sleep at night

makes you drowsy during

the day.




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musclemag.com | MONTH 2013 107

during which time suferers may simply

become conditioned to feeling tired all

the time. As was the case with Carl

Cheung, it’s typically friends or family

who first catch wind of the symptoms

and suggest professional treatment.

“The biggest problem with regard to

sleep apnea is that, although it’s a sleep

disorder, most people who have it fall

asleep easily and sleep through the prob-

lem,” says Tan-Ngo. “It’s diferent than

insomnia where you have difculty get-

ting to sleep. With sleep apnea, you can

experience waking periods without

knowing it or understanding why.”

Another myth surrounding sleep ap-

nea is that it’s just a “snoring problem,”

but Tan-Ngo urges people not to overlook

their snoring habits.

“If people tend to snore quite loudly,

the more important it is for them to look

into sleep apnea as a condition,” he ex-

plains. “The last thing you want to do is

leave mild sleep apnea untreated only to

have it lead to high blood pressure years

later. So assess your snoring as a first

screening tool, then look at your quality

of sleep, how you’re waking up, and then

how you are during the day.”

As for treatments, the CPAP machine

isn’t the only option. Several choices are

available, and research into additional op-

tions continues. One route is to have an

operation involving the removal of some

soft tissue of the palate, tonsil area and in-

ner lining of the throat to create a larger

air passage. The idea is to “open up” the

throat area. Sound painful? Well, it can

be. Some who’ve had this operation com-

pare it to having gargled with razor

blades. On the flip side, there are others

who this surgery has worked wonders

for. The important point is to speak to

your sleep specialist about what the best

option is for you.

At Clinical Sleep Solutions, the CPAP is

still the treatment method of choice.

“We consider the CPAP machine the

gold standard for treating the problem,”

says Tan-Ngo. “And that’s why we usually

start with it. When you go the surgery

route, there’s no turning back. If you re-

move tissue and then the problem isn’t

fixed, you can’t put that tissue back. Oral

appliances are another alternative, but

because of their limitations in managing

all forms of sleep apnea, they’re hit or

miss.”

Not all patients who get the CPAP ma-

chine, however, stick with it. Some would

rather sleep on a bed of nails than sleep

with a mask attached to their face.

When Mike Kelly first got his CPAP

machine, he was unenthusiastic about us-

ing it. His wife was the one who con-

vinced him to give it a fair shot.

“The first week I had the machine, I’d

put it on and fall asleep, but then rip it of

a couple of hours later,” he remembers.

“Just getting those extra couple of hours

sleep made such a diference though, and

my wife and I started sleeping in the same

bed again. Then sometimes I’d wake up

halfway through the night and rip it of,

and she’d leave the room again. So finally

I just decided to stick with it.”

According to Tan-Ngo, what separates

those who succeed with the CPAP ma-

chine and those who don’t is mindset.

“I believe that people who buy the ma-

chine but then don’t use it are the people

who, when initially tested, didn’t believe

the problem to be as severe as it was. The

people who use the machine are the ones

who know it can change their lives. The

last thing we want is to see some one who

doesn’t use the machine and their quality

of life sufers. That’s why our main focus at

the clinic is helping people follow through.

The easy part is buying a machine; the

hard part is continuing to use it.”

Left completely untreated, the sleep

apnea picture isn’t pretty. The condi-

tion can lead to high blood pressure,

heart disease and stroke. It can also play

a part in memory problems, weight

gain, impotency and headaches. Feel

like sabotaging your job or increasing

your chance of getting into a car acci-

dent? Untreated sleep apnea can have a

big impact in those departments, too.

Put simply, your quality of sleep is

crucial. If you’ve been letting it take a

backseat to other aspects of your life,

you need to switch your priorities.

“What I notice with my patients is

that sleep is always the first thing people

sacrifice if they’re stressed or busy, but

it’s never what they consider to be the

problem,” says Tan-Ngo. “People never

think lack of sleep is causing them to feel

sick, or that they might need more sleep.

Their first impulse is to think the answer

lies in medications.”

WHAT ABOUT YOU?Just sitting on the problem isn’t going

to do you any good. In fact, it could do

you a ton of harm. Rather than sabotag-

ing your gains as a bodybuilder and lit-

erally putting your life at risk, take the

time to get your sleep levels tested.

You’ve heard the stories: You could

pack on more muscle, feel a lot more

energetic and focused, and live an all-

around better life.

Sleep Apnea Increases Early Death RiskIndividuals with severe sleep apnea have a 46% increased risk of dying

early, according to a 2009 Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore) study.

Sleep apnea is closely associated with obesity, high blood pressure, heart

failure and stroke. The study looked at 6,400 men and women over eight

years and found that those with major sleep apnea were 46% more likely

to die from any cause than healthy individuals the same age, regardless of

other factors. The study, published in the Public Library of Science journal

PLoS Medicine, found that people with milder sleep-breathing disorders

were not more likely to die early. It’s estimated that 12–18 million Ameri-

cans have sleep apnea, and most are neither diagnosed nor treated.



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Once your workout ends, the business of building muscle in the kitchen begins. Here’s how to maximize muscle growth and fat loss with the right foods and supplements from your post-workout meal through bedtime.

By Eric Velazquez, NSCA-CPTPhotos of Justin Lovato

by Robert Reif



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Most lifters tend to think their food and

supplements schedule ends when they’ve

gone fork-to-mouth for the last time at the

dinner table, but that’s simply not the case

— not if you want to maximize your gains,

anyway. Just as your morning routine is

designed to stop the wasting of muscle,

your nighttime routine can help to prevent

it. As you sleep, your brain requires glucose

to operate. As stored sugars become scant,

your body starts to break down amino ac-

By now, you know that bodybuilding nutrition — the kind that powers workouts and keeps you building lean mass all day — starts when your alarm goes off in the morn-

ing. This crucial window helps to put an immediate and defini-tive halt to muscle catabolism as circulating glucose levels have dropped and your glycogen-starved body goes on the search for fuel. But what about the other end of the nighttime fast?

ids from other sources like circulating

amino acids and even muscle to convert

into glucose for energy purposes. That’s

suboptimal for a lifter looking to add some

extra pounds.

“In the evening, the body is in recov-

ery mode, hormonally and energetical-

ly, as is the central nervous system,”

says Tim Ziegenfuss, PhD, CSCS, presi-

dent of The International Society of

Sports Nutrition. “Therefore, an opti-

mal nutrition program addresses each

of these processes.”

It’s not quite as complicated as your

morning routine in that it involves few-

er steps, but how you handle your eve-

ning nutrition and supplementation can

go a long way toward determining just

how big and lean you can become. Here

are a handful of points you should con-

sider at night to make sure you’re hold-

ing on to your hard-earned sinew.

T MINUS 240 MINUTES IMMEDIATELY POST-WORKOUT

As someone who likely trains right after

work or school, the most complex part of

your nutrition plan is that it’s condensed

into a few short hours before you hit the

sheets. And though a few steps may fol-

low, the most important feeding happens

immediately following the final set of

your workout. This anabolic window is

crucial for keeping gains on track because

your muscles are begging for a fresh dose

of amino acids to begin the repairing pro-

cess and fast-digesting carbs to spike in-

sulin and top of depleted fuel stores. In

fact, skipping this “meal” on a regular ba-

sis can often result in a drastic backslide

in strength and muscle gains.

In the interest of expedience — and in

anticipation of the whole food meal to

come — the best thing to do is to take in a

shake containing 40–60 grams of pro-

tein to provide your muscles the build-

ing blocks they need to get on the mend.

Whey is best, but studies show that a

mix of whey and casein (faster-digesting

hydrolysate is fine) post-workout can in-6:45 p.m.


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7:30 p.m.



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Is it worth it to consume a very, very late night (or very, very early) shake to stave of muscle catabolism? Food for thought.

There are tales of bodybuilders with

visions of Sandows dancing in their

heads who set their alarms for 3 a.m.

— every morning — breaking their

slumber so that they can pound

down a 40–60-gram shake before

ambling back to bed. Is it worth it?

“It’s really not needed unless

you’re up anyway,” says Ziegenfuss.

If you eat the right foods and supple-

ments just before bed, you’re good

for at least 4–6 hours, maybe longer.”

It’s more important to actually

make sure that you’re rested. If you

wake yourself up, you interrupt your

sleep cycle — and some may not be

able to get back to sleep at all — put-

ting yourself at risk for overtraining,

excess stress or injury from lack of

concentration in the gym. At the very

least, your workouts (and workday)

will be generally compromised. So it’s

okay to skip the late-night feedings.

Catch up on your Zs instead.

TIME MEAL WHAT TO TAKE

6:45 p.m. Post-workout meal (on training days)

• 40–60 g whey and casein protein • 60–100 g fast (simple) carbs

7:30 p.m. Dinner • 40 g protein• 80 g slow (complex) carbs• minimal fats

9:30 p.m. Evening snack (optional) • 30–40 g protein• minimal carbs•10 g healthy fats

1 0 : 4 5 p.m.

Bedtime supplements • ZMA (as directd on label) • 3–5 g arginine• 30–40 g micellar casein shake with water• 2–3 tbsp. flaxseed oil• 1 tbsp. peanut butter (optional)

Follow this post-workout evening timeline to ensure complete workout recovery

and prevent overnight muscle wasting.

The “Big” Night

crease muscle gains in the long run.

And though you may have to fight

your get-lean instincts, fast-digesting

carbs are a must at this time. Having 60–

100 grams of the stuf from sources like

sports drinks, sugary snacks or white

bread spikes insulin, which helps trans-

port the carbs you eat into muscles where

they can be used later for fuel. It also

helps to increase protein synthesis and

promotes creatine uptake in muscles.

T MINUS 180 MINUTES

DINNER

If you train in the evening like most

people, you can’t just have anything for

your evening repast. You have to take

care to select the right balance of foods

that’ll maximize recovery and set you

on your way to new size.

“It depends on workout length, inten-

sity and how long after training you eat,

but the guy who busts his ass for an hour

and eats dinner 2–3 hours before bed

should take in about 0.5 grams of carbs

and 0.25 grams of protein per pound of

bodyweight, with only a few grams of fat,”

says Ziegenfuss. That averages around 40

grams of protein and 80 grams of carbs.

If bodyfat is of particular concern,

you can increase protein and decrease

carbs at dinner, but slow-burning carbs

such as sweet potato and brown rice are

important for rebuilding muscle in the

hours following high-volume training.

Here’s a case where not all carbs are

created equal. While your dinner should

have a slow-burning carb, avoid fast

carbs. Mind you, if you trained before

dinner, your post-workout meal should

in fact be high in fast carbs (like waxy

maize). But your post-workout meal is

not — or at least shouldn’t be — your din-

ner. The biggest diference between the

two is the kind of carbs you choose (of-

tentimes the post-workout meal is a

shake while dinner is a whole food).

That’s why at dinnertime, to keep

the scale moving in the right direction

without adding those extra pounds of

blubber, try to limit the amount of fast-

digesting sugars you shovel in your face

while you’re watching TV. These foods

spike insulin levels, which can trigger

the storage of excess fat. Those fast

carbs that did such a great job with your

post-workout meal are now a bad idea.

“Before bed, avoid fast carbs such as

white pasta, rice or potatoes, chocolate

milk, ice cream, juices or sugary cereals

like Lucky Charms,” says Ziegenfuss. “I

also think most fruits should be avoided

at night, even though they’re slow carbs.

For many athletes trying to cut, fruit at

night seems to make it near impossible

to get really lean, probably because fruc-

tose helps refill liver glycogen.”

If your post-workout meal and din-

ner are one in the same, you need to fol-

low the rules for post-workout nutrition,

but by all means get it in as soon as pos-

sible after your workout.

T MINUS 90 MINUTES

SNACK

The biggest downside of training hard

or following a carb-limited bodybuild-

ing diet is that nighttime cravings are

almost inevitable. Somewhere between

9 and10 p.m., you start getting the itch

to forage through the pantry for some-

thing to satisfy your sweet tooth. Eat-

ing, in and of itself, isn’t bad particularly

if you’re trying to gain size. But your

food selection can go a long way to de-

termining whether or not you’re going

to be adding inches to your biceps — or

your waistline.

“Yes, there are some good foods that

you can eat at night that’ll help you

with gains,” says Ziegenfuss. “Foods


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10:45 p.m.

such as cottage cheese — actually most

cheeses are okay — natural peanut but-

ter, modest servings of fish, flax or olive

oil are all good choices. Again, the key is

to eat protein and fat with very few

carbs, but still stay within your daily

calorie goals.”

T MINUS 15 MINUTES PRE-BEDTIME SUPPLEMENTS

Scientists say you have to do something

16–21 times in a row before it becomes

habit. Well, for the next few weeks,

keep a shaker and some key supple-

ments by your bedside table so that

supplementation becomes part of your

bedtime routine.

As you begin to wind down, about

10–15 minutes before lights out, you

should take a 3–5 gram dose of stimu-

lant-free arginine to help optimize

growth hormone levels, which peak at

nighttime. Ziegenfuss also recommends

a dose of ZMA (zinc and magnesium).

“Zinc is a great anti-aromatase, and

many guys have suboptimal zinc levels,”

he says. “Magnesium is useful because it

takes the edge of while promoting re-

laxation. In addition it’s a co-factor in

several hundred chemical reactions.”

But before you put your head on that

pillow, it’s time to focus specifically on

the fast ahead and there’s only one

choice for lifters here.

“Micellar casein is a slow protein that

clots in the stomach and is released over

a prolonged period of time,” says Ziegen-

fuss. This efect helps reduce muscle

protein breakdown, a major pain during

sleep. Avoid the mistake of purchasing

casein hydrolysate, which digests much

quicker.”

Don’t feel bad for casein — it won’t be

all by itself in your shaker cup. Ziegen-

fuss also recommends throwing in 2–3

tablespoons of flaxseed oil to further

slow the rate of digestion. The flax also

helps to facilitate joint recovery and to

aid fat loss. If you choose to blend a

shake before bed, you can toss in a

spoonful of peanut butter for added tex-

ture, taste and healthy fat.


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SPORTS MED


If you do high-impact cardio, you might be familiar with plantar fasciitis pain in the soles of your feet. Here’s what causes the condition and how to treat it.By Guillermo Escalante, PhD, MBA, CSCS

YOUR ARCHILLES HEEL

IN YOUR PURSUIT TO GET LEAN


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TREATMENT HOW IT WORKS

Night splints These splints provide a gentle, prolonged stretch to the

plantar fascia, Achilles tendon and gastrocnemius (calf

muscle) while you sleep.

Nonsteroidal anti-

inflammatory drugs

(ibuprofen, sodium

naproxide)

Taken in a prescription-grade dosage as prescribed by

your physician, these medicines can help alleviate

inflammation.

Foot orthotics If you have flat feet or high arches, orthotics can help

support your feet and may relieve foot problems or

other orthopedic ailments related to poor foot

structure.

Corticosteroid

injections

These usually include medicine that helps reduce

inflammation and a local pain medication to

immediately relieve discomfort. It’s important to note

that while this may relieve pain in the short term, the

original cause of the problem — like poor foot structure

— must be addressed or the condition will persist.

Rehabilitation This can include modalities such as electrical

stimulation, ultrasound, low-level laser and ice. Manual

therapy techniques like joint mobilization, fitting for

custom orthotics, and therapeutic exercise to address

flexibility/strength imbalances may also be

implemented.

CONSERVATIVE TREATMENT OPTIONS

You wake up in the morning and step out of bed. But when you put your feet on the

floor, it feels like you landed on a nail. The pain is sharp along the inside of your heel and ex-tends along the entire sole of your foot. The pain slowly subsides after you walk for a few minutes, but may persist throughout the day.

This is what it feels like to have plan-

tar fasciitis, the most common cause of

heel pain1 to afect both athletes and

nonathletes. Although the problem is

more prevalent among runners, body-

builders and other athletes may also en-

counter it, especially those who do a lot

of cardio activity for heart health and to

keep bodyfat levels low.

The condition is usually caused by a

biomechanical imbalance resulting in

tension and inflammation along the

plantar fascia2, the thick connective tis-

sue that supports the arch on the bot-

tom of the foot. These imbalances may

include a tight gastrocnemius/soleus,

structural foot problems like flat feet,

and inflexible joints or weak muscles

farther up the kinetic chain like the glu-

teus maximus/medius that indirectly

create tension in the plantar fascia.

Wearing old or worn shoes and doing

excessive-impact cardiovascular exer-

cise such as brisk walking, especially

downhill, or running without letting

your body recover between runs can

also contribute.

Plantar fasciitis can be successfully

managed with conservative treatment in

about 90% of cases1 (see “Conservative

Treatment Options for Plantar Fasciitis”).

In addition, complete rest, ice and stretch-

ing over the course of 1–3 weeks often

helps relieve the pain. For a full recovery,

fied athletic trainer or physical thera-

pist to help you implement other

treatment options.

References

1 Neufeld, S.K., Cerrato, R. “Plantar fasciitis: evaluation and treatment.” J Am Acad Orthop Surg. June 2008; 16(6): 338-346.

2 Barrett, S.J., O’Malley, R. “Plantar fasciitis and other causes of heel pain.” Am Fam Physician. April 1999; 59(8): 2,200–2,206.


make sure you have proper, supportive

shoes. You may have to switch to low-im-

pact cardio activities such as swimming

and cycling in the short term to reduce

the impact to the bottom of your feet.

Don’t try to tough out this type of injury; it

can easily make matters worse.

If the pain persists, it’s always smart

to consult a podiatrist, physician, certi-

SH

UT

TE

RS

TO

CK

WHAT IS IT?

The most common

cause of heel pain in

trainees and athletes,

it occurs when the

long fibrous plantar

fascia ligament along

the bottom of the foot

develops tears in the

tissue, resulting in pain

and inflammation.

WHAT ARE THE

SYMPTOMS?

Common complaints

include burning, stab-

bing or aching pain in

the heel of the foot.

Because the fascia

ligament tightens

during the night as

you sleep, once you

get up in the morning

and place pressure on

the foot, the ligament

becomes taut and

causes acute pain.

Pain usually subsides

as the tissue warms

up, but it may return

after long periods of

standing or weight-

bearing physical ac-

tivity.

IS IT COMMON?

It’s estimated that

about 10% of Ameri-

cans will develop

plantar fasciitis over

the course of their life-

times. Because it’s as-

sociated with long

periods of weight-

bearing activity, it’s

also linked with being

overweight or obese.

Plantar fasciitis can be successfully managed with conservative treatment in about 90% of cases

Plantar Fasciitis FAQ

Inflammation of the plantar fascia


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We get up close and personal with Nicole Wilkins, whose fierce determination to win earned her a third Ms. Figure Olympia title in 2013.

Photos by Robert Reif

TigressEye

of the


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Nicole WilkinsHEIGHT: 5’6”

WEIGHT: 130 lbs.

YEARS TRAINING: 13BIRTHPLACE: Sterling Heights, MI

WEBSITE: nicolewilkins.com

TWITTER: @NicoleMWilkins

FACEBOOK: /nicolewilkins01

SPONSOR: Met-Rx

“The mainstream media love women to be skinny, but that’s not me. I love muscle on women.”

MA

KE

UP

/H

AIR

: N

AN

CY

JA

MB

AZ

IAN

; S

TY

LIN

G: E

LIS

AB

ET

TA

RO

GIA

NI; B

OD

Y S

UIT

AN

D S

HO

ES

BY

RIC

HA

RD

BO

WM

AN

.NE

T


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Nicole Wilkins

“You can show skin and be sexy without being trashy.”

BO

LE

RO

AN

D B

OO

TS

BY

RS

NB

OH

EM

E.C

OM


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| DECEMBER 2013 119

“Fans ask me some strange things.

Recently a guy wanted

to take a picture of my feet.

Go figure!”

Nicole Wilkins


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“I don’t consider myself to be superstitious, but I have a

shirt that says ‘determined’ that my friends gave me in

Michigan that I always wear backstage at a show.”


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Nicole Wilkins

“The most attractive thing in a man is confidence. They have to be very secure in their own skin. Second to that is humor.”

BR

A, P

AN

TY, S

HO

ES

BY

VIC

TO

RIA

SS

EC

RE

T.C

OM

; D

RE

SS

ON

CH

AIR

BY

RS

NB

OH

EM

E.C

OM


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“I have never been a really

skinny girl, and I’ve always had

an athletic physique, so it

was nice to find a sport

that embraced that ideal.”

CONTEST HIGHLIGHTS

3x IFBB Figure Olympia Champion; 3x IFBB Figure International Champion

2009: New York Pro Figure Champion; Europa Orlando Pro Figure Champion

2011: St. Louis Pro Figure Champion; Tournament of Champions Pro Figure Champion; IFBB Sheru Classic Champion

KIM

ON

O B

Y F

RE

DE

RIC

KS

.CO

M

Nicole Wilkins


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The dumbbell advantage to bringing up your arms

Montreal’s Larry Vinette reveals the training system that earned him his pro card

VINTAGEVINETTE

iami uscle achineM

How North American light-heavy champ Alex Cambronero uses a dual approach to make his pecs grow

LEE BANKS’

HIGH-OCTANE

UPPER-BODY BLASTFreeman’s back ‘n’ traps

workout may be the toughest you’ve ever tried

THE

TONEY AWARD


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146 Miami Muscle MachineAlejandro Cambronero’s love for

iron has brought him to America

and ultimately a pro card. Here’s the

Costa Rican’s formula for building

massive pecs.

By Lara McGlashan, MFA, CPT

168 The Need for SpeedKick-start your quickness with these

speed-training strategies and slash

those seconds of the stopwatch.

By Mike Jenkins, Team MHP Athlete

166 All Hail the Mighty Thor!Icelandic strongman champion

Hafthor “Thor” Björnsson shows of

his freakish physique in the fourth

season of Game of Thrones.

By Alex Zakrzewski

170 Welcome to the Gun ShowWe pick the brain of IFBB pro

Anthoneil Champagnie on how

to keep your biceps and triceps


126 Back From the FutureA student of training, Toney

Freeman takes a cerebral approach

to his back/rear-delt/upper-traps

workout that’s as multidimensional

as it is unconventional.

By Eric Velazquez, NSCA-CPT

138 Vintage VinetteCover model Larry Vinette discusses

the training philosophy that helped

him earn his IFBB pro card.

By Jimmy Peña, MS, CSCS

DECEMBER 2O13

138

156 Real- Time Chest and Shoulder Workout With Lee BanksIFBB pro Lee Banks goes

high volume/low rest in

this raw, ofseason chest-

and-delts thrash.

By Eric Velazquez, NSCA-CPT


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TONEY FREEMAN

NICKNAME: The X-Man

BIRTHDATE: August 30, 1966

BIRTHPLACE: South Bend, IN

CURRENT RESIDENCE: Canton, GA

WEIGHT: 280–285 lbs. contest;

305 lbs. ofseason

CONTEST HIGHLIGHTS: 2013: Arnold

Classic, 3rd, Arnold Classic Brazil, 2nd,

Australian Pro, 2nd 2012: Masters

Olympia, 2nd, Tampa Pro, 2nd, Europa

Super Show, 3rd 2011: Pro World Masters,

2nd, Europa Super Show, 1st

CONTACT: [email protected]

TWITTER: @IFBBProTFXman


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A student of training, Toney Freeman takes a cerebral

approach to his back/rear-delt/upper-traps workout

that’s as multidimensional as it is unconventionalBy

Eric Velazquez, NSCA-CPT | Photos by Gregory James

FUTURE from the

BACK

Toney Freeman was going to be an electrical engineer. Putting himself through the paces at a

technical institute, he looked forward to

the salary promised him by faculty upon

graduation. “Up to $70,000 per year,”

they said. After two solid years, he started

anticipating the coming conversations

with recruiters and how he would man-

age his retirement plan once hired. Then

came high-level math.

“I’d been getting As and Bs but the

math started kicking my ass, and those

[grades] started turning into Cs and Ds,”

Toney says. “The perfectionist in me

couldn’t handle that. I was working two

jobs at the time and they were paying me

more than I was going to make when I got

out. So I dropped out and that’s about the

time I started bodybuilding.”

Now 47, Toney trained and ate his way

through the amateur bodybuilding ranks,

applying proven programs and one-size-

fits-all routines as needed to ensure his

ascension to the pros. But an epiphany

would come in 1995, an evolution of phi-

losophy born out of misfortune.

DAY BODYPARTS TRAINED

1 Quads, hamstrings, glutes

2 Chest, front and middle delts

3 Back, rear delts, upper traps

4 Biceps, triceps, forearms

5 Cycle repeats

Toney doesn’t include scheduled rest days in his

split, instead taking days of only when he feels

they’re necessary or when he’s traveling.

TRAINING SPLIT


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“I tore my pec during a Dorian Yates-

style chest workout,” he says. “I’m a

huge fan of HIT and was at the time, but

this routine just wasn’t for me. [Editor’s

note: High-intensity training, or HIT, re-

quires just one all-out set after several

warm-ups but because of the degree of in-

tensity and weight, it’s hard on the joints.]

After that happened, I realized that I

can’t bodybuild the way everyone else

does. That opened the door to the way I

think now. I’m actually grateful for the

experience. It forced me to get back to

basics but also to stay within the realm of

my genetics.”

Toney spends most of his days now

trying to problem-solve. Like a 300-

pound mad scientist, he vigorously re-

searches, hypothesizes and experiments

to coax his body into doing what he wants

it to do. In a word, his style of training is

highly unconventional. He sits in on sem-

inars, digs through journals and enlists

the wisdom of training gurus, Franken-

steining it all into a usable formula for

success. His engineering hopes dashed by

arithmetic, Toney has gone on to master

the academics of physique artistry.

FUTURE from the

BACK


TONEY’S BACK/REAR-DELT/UPPER-TRAPS ROUTINEEXERCISE SETS REPS

Giant set done without rest until he finishes all four exercises

Incline-Bench Straight-Arm Kickback 2 8–10

Supinated Dumbbell Row

Pronated Dumbbell Row

Neutral-Grip Dumbbell Row

Neutral-Grip Dumbbell Row with Hold 1 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 (each side)1

Pull-Up x2 50

One-Arm Pulldown with Hold 3 7–103

Wide-Grip Pulldown 3–5 8–10

Shrug Series 3 304

Rear-Delt Series 3 305

1 Toney holds both dumbbells in the fully contracted position. Keeping one weight up, he performs five

reps with the other arm, then switches. He repeats this in diminishing-reps fashion — performing four on

each side, then three, then two, then one — keeping one dumbbell in the top position while the other

arm is working. He does only this exercise this way every other workout. When he doesn’t, he simply

runs through his opening giant set a third time.

2 Toney completes as many sets as necessary to reach 50 total reps.

3 Toney keeps one handle in the lowered, peak-contracted position while the other arm works. He

performs all reps for one side before switching and does all three sets consecutively without rest.

4 Toney does 10 reps of three shrug variations. First, he does 10 with his palms facing his glutes behind

him, then he does 10 using a neutral grip with the dumbbells at his sides, then he finishes with 10

holding the weights in front, palms facing his thighs.

5 Toney does 10 reps of three diferent dumbbell bent-over lateral raises. For the first 10, he brings the

weights toward the tops of his ears. For the next 10, he performs standard bent-over lateral raises and

takes the dumbbells straight out to his sides, upper arms perpendicular to his torso. For the final 10, he

decreases the angle between his upper arms and torso, bringing the dumbbells slightly toward his hips.

He reverses the order from set to set.

If you’re doing this move

for the first time, Toney

recommends doing it

standing with a 45-degree

forward lean. Think about

moving your lower lats, then

your shoulder blades, then

your elbows.

Do as many reps as you can with

perfect form. You could probably

do more reps on the first move-

ment than the last, but aim for

8–10. The number is only impor-

tant because you have to do the

same amount of reps per exer-

cise for balance. Some people

may be able to do only five each

way, but don’t get too hung up

on the number. When I train peo-

ple, I tell them to focus on what

they’re doing and what they’re

doing is not counting. That’s

where some trainees mess up:

If you do all of them wrong be-

cause you’re too busy counting,

you’re wasting your time.

Toney’s Tip on the Giant Set


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INCLINE-BENCH

STRAIGHT-ARM

KICKBACK

DO IT RIGHT: Toney does this lower-lat

isolation move first because he says the

weak lower lats typically aren’t activated

because the stronger upper lats take

over. Lean squarely against a bench with

a dumbbell in each hand and raise the

weights directly behind you without

bending your elbows.


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DEEP THOUGHTS

When Toney discusses training, nutrition

and health, he sounds more like some be-

spectacled lab geek than a perennial top-

six IFBB pro. Rarely will you hear a

bodybuilder talk about cellular biology or

multiplanar movements for mass, but it

could be that kind of deeper thinking that

has led Toney to his post-40 surge. Al-

ready this year, he has finished third at

the Arnold Classic and second in the

same show in Brazil. He took second in

the Australian Pro as well as at the hotly

contested Masters Olympia in 2012.

“I’m like a sponge,” he says. “I like to

know things. I just got back from Russia,

but when I first got there, I was quiet and

didn’t say much. I had an interpreter.

They thought maybe I was just being sol-

emn or unhappy, but I was being quiet in

order to listen and learn. If you don’t

know something, you just need to be still

and learn. That’s how I end up catching

bits and pieces of information. I’ve always

been a student of the game, no matter

what the game is.”

Toney traces his inquisitive nature

back to his dad’s church, where he be-

came something of a bible scholar from

simply listening. “Even when I was in

construction, I was always looking at the

blueprints,” he says. “It wasn’t enough to

just know that I needed to hang sheet

rock, I wanted to know why. In 1995, af-

ter the injury, I did some soul searching

to get my head together. Life was just

different. I wasn’t the same guy I was be-

fore the accident. I had to find myself

and reinvent myself.”

When he got back into training, Toney

got other people involved. “I worked with

pretty much every guru out there. But I’ve

been doing this as long as all of them, if not

longer. I basically paid them for their

knowledge and information. I learned a lot

and discarded some things that weren’t for

me. I wasn’t coming to them helpless. I

wanted them to be part of my situation, I

didn’t want to be part of their situation.”

Toney’s greatest critique of today’s

stable of experts — as well as some wide-

eyed up-and-comers — lies in the aban-

FUTURE from the

BACK

SUPINATED DUMBBELL ROW

DO IT RIGHT: This multijoint exercise hits the lower lats a bit

higher up. You’re probably accustomed to doing a dumbbell

row similar to this one, but the reverse grip ensures your

elbows stay tight to your sides. This more strongly activates

the lower lats while recruiting the biceps to a greater degree.

Elbow position

relative to your

torso is critical

when it comes to

muscle activation.

An underhand grip

shifts the emphasis

from the upper to

lower lats.


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NEUTRAL-GRIP

DUMBBELL ROW

DO IT RIGHT: A slight shift in

hand position causes a slight

shift in emphasis on the target

muscle, one reason that it’s

good to use a variety of grips.

This is probably the most

common variation of the

dumbbell row and likely your

strongest, so Toney does it last

in his giant set.

PRONATED

DUMBBELL ROW

DO IT RIGHT: Keep your body

square to the bench and use

an overhand grip. Pull the

weight into your hip, bringing

your elbow as far above the

plane of your back as possible.

To fully exhaust the muscle

fibers, Toney keeps his

nonworking arm in the top

position to keep his upper lats

working overtime.

NEUTRAL-GRIP

DUMBBELL ROW

WITH HOLD

DO IT RIGHT: In this variation,

hold your nonworking arm in

the peak-contracted position as

you train the other side. This

requires the lower lats to

isometrically contract instead of

being allowed to rest.

You can shift the muscular emphasis by

changing your grip. An overhand grip

keeps the elbows out and away from

your sides, which targets the upper lats,

rear delts, middle traps and rhomboids.

The hammer-

style grip keeps

the elbows in

tight to your sides,

best for activating

the lower-lat fibers.

Toney on Isometric Training“This exercise involves 15 reps per side, basically: You do

five on each side, then four, then three, then two, then

one. The whole time, you keep one dumbbell in the up

position. That’s very challenging for your ‘resting’ side,

so it becomes much harder than a normal set of 15.”



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FUTURE from the

BACK


PULL-UP

DO IT RIGHT: The wide-grip pull-up is a

staple upper-lat move that keeps the

elbows away from the sides of the body.

Use a strong motion going up, squeeze

momentarily in the peak-contracted

position and lower under control

without swinging between reps.


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Toney doesn’t do a pre-

determined number of sets.

Rather, in a strategy similar to

what Arnold did decades earlier, he

sets a target rep total and completes

as many sets as it requires to reach

that target. “Some days I may go

for 100; usually at this point in my

workout I’ll get 6–8 at a time,” he says.


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FUTURE from the

BACK


ONE-ARM PULLDOWN WITH HOLD

DO IT RIGHT: As with the dumbbell row with hold, here one side is isometrically

contracting while you actively work the opposite side. Notice how Toney uses an

elastic band on one side and attaches a D-handle to use with the working side..

“I always start with my right side,

which is weaker. Using a towel for

the grip makes the move more

functional. To increase the intensity

and make it more demanding, keep

your left side flexed while you train the

right. By increasing the time under

tension, you incorporate more fibers

and exercise stabilizer muscles, too.”

donment of basic, proven training

principles. “No one teaches the basic stuff

anymore,” he says. “They’re so hardcore,

and all about extreme this and advanced

that. No one is learning the nuts and bolts

of bodybuilding.”

He concedes that things once thought

to be advanced are now considered com-

monplace, even for beginners, which is

why he insists on learning as much as he

can about emerging science. Toney takes

a whole-body approach to bodybuilding,

waxing philosophical on the dangers of

artificial sweeteners and the glycemic in-

dex, traveling halfway across the country

for medical colonics and sending out for

grass-fed bison to meet his red-meat re-

quirements. It’s not that other trainees

don’t share in some of this, it’s just that

most don’t have a bibliographical justifi-

cation for it.

“There are a couple of guys I know

who take it to the level I do,” Toney says.

“Ben Pakulski is a lot like me. I met an-

other guy from England who’s similar.

But I don’t think they go to the extremes

that I go to. Eventually they will because

“You may find a particular style of

training that works, but likely it

works only once or twice, then

your body adapts to it and you

have to do something else. There’s

no way in the world that you can

do the same thing and continue

making progress. When you take

your body out of its comfort level,

it fights its way back by adapting,

and progress diminishes. You just

have to do something diferent.

That’s why I went from guru to

guru. At my first pro show I was

252 pounds; at the last show I was

282. Training the same way over

and over is known to give you im-

balances, visual or physical. That’s

why I do machines, free weights,

kettlebells, all kinds of training.

Sorry, but three sets of 10 ain’t

gonna cut it.”

Toney on Adaptation


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WIDE-GRIP

PULLDOWN

DO IT RIGHT: “Most people

would be done by now, but I

can handle a bit more stimulus

than most. So I choose an

exercise I know I can perform

properly. I don’t have to use a

lot of weight; I’m basically

doing a back double biceps

against resistance.”

To better isolate the

upper lats, avoid

leaning back as you

pull the bar into your

upper chest.


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FUTURE from the

BACK

SHRUG SERIES

DO IT RIGHT: “People do shrugs with

enormous amounts of weight. I’m not

against that, but you can’t do it forever.

It’s far better to train your traps in a

more complete way. I see more

striations in my traps lately because I

work them the way I work my biceps,

hitting them from three angles.”

Regardless of how you

position the weights

relative to your torso,

shrug your shoulders straight

up toward your ears and hold.

Don’t round your shoulders,

and try to keep your arms as

straight as possible.

we’re sharing information, so I’ll be do-

ing stuff that they’re doing and the other

way around. If you want to continue do-

ing what you do, you have to do things

that prolong your career and your health.

I don’t know if people think I just wake

up this way [looking like a bodybuilder].

This takes a lot of work, a lot of prepara-

tion and a lot of money.”

He may have always been this way,

but Toney is stumped on exactly why.

It’s easy to posit that he relies on his crit-

ical-thinking skills because it’ll help him

reach the pinnacle of his sport, but more

likely it’s pure survival instinct, with his

gray matter being his most valuable and

versatile weapon.

“I’ve been on the brink of quitting a

couple of times,” he admits. “I just

couldn’t handle it mentally, physically

or financially. So I do all this research

and strategizing. I’m just a problem-

solver. When a problem gets in my way,

I work through it. If I don’t know what’s

going on, I ask for help. That’s what

life’s all about.

“I want it all. My ears are always on

alert. I might interrupt someone’s con-

versation if they’re talking about some-

thing that can help me. I want to be Mr.

Olympia, but I don’t want to dwell on it.

I’m a realist. There are so many other

things to focus on, so it’s not my No. 1 ob-

jective. I want to be more well-rounded

and will have to divide myself a bit to ac-

complish all my goals. If I get most of ’em,

I’ll be good. I’m prioritizing myself more.”

Toney’s physique has been crushing

competitors for years. But ultimately and

perhaps ironically, it may be his brain that

carves out his lasting legacy.


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REAR-DELT SERIES

DO IT RIGHT: “Most people use too

much weight for rear delts and that’s

why they can train them only one way.

But for your shoulders to develop all the

way around — so they look like

parentheses facing each other — you

need to hit them from as many angles as

possible. The reverse pec-deck flye hits

your rear delts from just one. With my

three-way bent-over lateral raises, I

bring the weights to my ears on the first

set. As I fatigue in that plane, I change

to a neutral grip and do 10 reps straight

out to the sides. As I fail there, I go back

toward my hips with another 10. Then I

switch the order on my next set.”

Keep your elbows

locked in a slightly bent

position throughout the

set. Opening and closing at

the elbow invites the triceps

to help perform the exercise.


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Cover model Larry Vinette discusses the training philosophy that helped him earn his IFBB pro card By Jimmy Peña, MS, CSCS | Photos by Paul Buceta



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Montreal’s Larry Vinette is one such leader. The Canadian-

born champ started competing in 1994, finally earning his

IFBB pro card in 2012 by taking the masters division at the

Canadian Nationals. Although he competed as an amateur at

198 pounds, his current goal is to make his pro debut in 2014

at a big, hard and lean 212. That extra time of will help Larry

recover from a serious training injury he sufered when he

tore his triceps when visiting Las Vegas for the Olympia last

September, an injury that required surgery for re-attachment.

MuscleMag readers might be familiar with Larry’s name: He

was the only athlete signed to a contract with sister publication

Reps, appearing on its first cover and pen-

ning a training column in each issue. Now

that he has moved up in weight class,

Larry’s making his first featured appear-

ance in MMI. We wanted to learn more

about how he has continued to improve

with age and what makes the training of

one of the sport’s up-and-coming leaders

so successful. So, Larry, let’s not make the

customers wait.

MMI: Your personal philosophy is

“lead by example,” so would you say

that’s your favorite quote?

Larry: Actually, my favorite quote is tat-

tooed across my chest: “What doesn’t kill

you makes you stronger.”

MMI: You just won the Canadian

Nationals. What are your goals now?

Larry: I’m taking a year of to add some

weight for my pro debut. I turned pro at

198 pounds, but I want to tip the scales at

212 to be competitive. As far as business

goes, I’m still coaching athletes for con-

test prep like Henri-Pierre Ano, who

graced the cover of this mag recently. He

made a very strong showing at last year’s

Canadian Nationals and should be a force

has been said that the greatest leaders are those who spend the majority of their time serving others. The better a leader is at equipping those for whom he’s re-sponsible, the better he’ll be at taking care of the customer, anticipating needs and delivering a first-class product.


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to be reckoned with this year. I also work with MMA fighters

with their diet and weight cut, like my girlfriend, pro female MMA

fighter Valerie “Trouble” Letourneau.

MMI: The 212s are a competitive bunch. What areas do

you need to improve on and how do you tackle them?

Larry: I’m focusing on bringing up my arms, so I train them

first in my training cycle. I’ll eat very high-carb the day before

my arm workout, aiming for close to 1,000 grams of carbs.

Power PointerPutting a weak bodypart first in your split is key to bring-

ing up that muscle group. Doing it first means you’re the

most fresh after a rest day or two. You may have a lagging

bodypart because you neglected to fully train a particular

area. Follow Larry’s example and rearrange your training

so that you hit that muscle group first in your split.

MMI: What’s your current training split and why does it

work for you?

Larry: I currently train two-days-on, one-day-of. This allows

me to fully recuperate from my workouts by giving my nervous

system time to rest.

Power PointerTake a close look at Larry’s training split: He schedules

arms far away from chest and back days. This allows him

LARRY’S TRAINING SPLIT

DAY BODYPART(S) TRAINED

1 Arms

2 Legs

3 Rest

4 Chest, Calves

5 Back, Delts

6 Rest

7 Rest


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to destroy his bi’s and tri’s on a day all their own, not

preceded by a larger muscle group that might compro-

mise his arm strength. He also gets arm work indirectly a

second time when training back and chest. Then at the

end of the week, he takes a full two days of before his

next arm workout so that he’s ready to go.

MMI: What types of equipment do you prefer? What does

your day in the gym look like?

Larry: I usually start my workout with free weights but then I

may switch to machines, which don’t require stabilizers to bal-

ance the weight. I sometimes use chains and bands for variety

and to create a diferent stimulus.

Power PointerWhen using chains, Larry starts with a lighter weight that

gradually gets heavier the higher he lifts it. As more

chains leave the floor, the load gets heavier. As Larry

knows full well, you get stronger toward the top of the

range of motion, and chains allow for maximal tension on

the muscle being trained at the point of peak contrac-

tion. As Larry lowers the weight and the chains settle on

the floor, the bar gets lighter.

Power PointerUsed in a similar way to chains with free weights, bands

provide Larry with what’s called linear variable resis-

tance. That’s a technical way of saying the bands get

more difcult to move the more they’re extended. Al-

though few bodybuilders understand their usefulness,

bands are an integral part of Larry’s training regimen.

MMI: What are some examples of high-intensity tech-

niques that you utilize within your workouts?


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Larry: I use drop sets, forced reps and even the rest-pause tech-

nique. I usually use them on the last set of an exercise.

Power PointerEvery bodybuilder knows that breaking down the muscle

is the key to growth. So when Larry can’t complete an-

other rep on his own, he doesn’t end his set. After reach-

ing failure, he quickly strips an equal amount of weight

from each side of the bar or reaches for lighter dumb-

bells and continues repping until he fails again.

Power PointerA common mistake guys make when training for maxi-

mum size is applying intensity techniques on all sets of

all exercises. There comes a point — and it’s sometimes

too late to avoid — when those eforts become counter-

productive. Larry judiciously applies the proven tactics

of going beyond initial failure, enjoying the benefits

without the unfortunate costs of overtraining.

MMI: What are your favorite exercises for growth and why?

Larry: I don’t have any favorite exercises per se; well, anything

other than legs is my favorite, I suppose. But these days I like

working my bi’s and tri’s because they’re the muscles that need

the most improvement. I like the sleeve-busting feeling I get

when I finish my arm workout.

MMI: What are the most important keys to getting a great

workout? If you had to narrow it down, what’s your best

piece of advice?

Larry: Get a good night’s sleep, and increase important neu-

rotransmitters like acetyl-choline and serotonin to increase

mental focus and motivation before your workouts. I take a

supplement that contains huperzine, vinpocetine, bacopa ex-

tract, ginkgo extract, phosphatidylserine, acetyl-L-carnitine

and N-acetyl-cysteine. And to stimulate the nervous system, I

take a good dose of cafeine about 30–45 minutes before I train.

Power PointerYou may already know that cafeine binds to fat cells,

enhancing the removal of fat, and can help you burn ex-

tra fat during your training session. But adding cafeine

to your diet like Larry does can actually help you add

mass. Researchers have found that weight-trained men

who consumed about 200 mg of cafeine before training

increased their max bench press by 5–8 pounds! Take

about 200–400 mg of cafeine 60 minutes before you

hit the weights.

MMI: How does your ofseason approach difer from your

precontest training?

Larry: My workouts don’t change much from precontest to of-

season. My rest periods between sets might drop precontest,

and getting closer to the show I might favor machines a little

more to reduce the risk of injury, but that’s about it.

EXERCISE SETS REPS

Scott Curl 5 6–8

Incline Dumbbell Curl 4 8–12

Alternating Hammer Curl 3 10–12

Pressdown 4 8–12

Close-Grip Bench Press 5 6–8

EZ-Bar Overhead

Extension3 10–12

EXERCISE SETS REPS

Leg Extension 4 20

Front Squat 5 6–8

Walking Dumbbell Lunge 3 20

Lying Leg Curl 5 6–8

Romanian Deadlift 4 10–12

Barbell Hip Thrust 3 10–12

EXERCISE SETS REPS

Flat-Bench Dumbbell Press 5 6–8

Incline Barbell Press 4 8–12

Weighted Dip 4 8–12

Flat-Bench Dumbbell Flye 3 10–12

Standing Calf Raise 4 10–12

Seated Calf Raise 3 20–25

EXERCISE SETS REPS

Pull-Up 5 6–8

One-Arm Dumbbell Row 4 8–12

Reverse-Grip Pulldown 3 10–12

Supported T-Bar Row 4 8–12

Dumbbell Lateral Raise 5 6–8

Alternating Dumbbell

Front Raise3 10–12

Bent-Over Lateral Raise 3 12–15

SET BY SET WITH LARRY

DAY 1: ARMS

DAY 2: LEGS

DAY 4: CHEST, CALVES

DAY 5: BACK, DELTS

Larry typically starts of each exercise with a lighter weight for higher reps and

adds weight on each succeeding set, pyramiding down in reps.


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His love of iron has brought him to America and ultimately a pro card. Here’s the Costa Rican’s formula for building massive pecs.By Lara McGlashan, MFA, CPT | Photos by Gregory James

MuscleMiami

Machine

Picture Alejandro Cambronero 90 pounds smaller. Not an easy task, but when he came to

Miami in 2000, he stepped on a scale

and barely hit 130. The scale printed out

his weight on a slip of paper, which he

pocketed and keeps with him to this day,

a reminder of where he’s been and how

far he’s come.

In actuality, Alejandro has come

some 1,113 miles, relocating from Costa

Rica. He was led to the States by the lure

of a bodybuilding lifestyle, but he wasn’t

always so muscle-minded.

“When I was younger I was a BMX

bike racer,” says Alejandro. “I raced mo-

tocross from ages 4 to 18, and I won eight

national championships, three Central

American championships and went to

the ’95 World Championships. I was the

number-one rider in my country and

was beating guys who were much older

than I was in the open class. I thought, I

can do anything I want!”

But a cast-off magazine from a friend

completely changed his definition of

“want.” “That magazine featured Lee

Haney … I saw his back, and I wanted that

back!” says Alejandro. “It was so cool.

And the pictures of Ronnie [Coleman]

that were in there — they were amazing.”

So Alejandro, all 130 pounds of him,

began his journey into the weight room.

While he made some progress, he decid-

ed he needed to make a change — not just

in the gym, mind you, but to come to

America to realize his dream more quick-

ly. “Bodybuilding isn’t very big in Costa

Rica,” he says. “The only way to get into

the training and the competition and the

lifestyle was to come to America.”


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ALEJANDRO CAMBRONERO

BORN: Oct. 19, 1976

BIRTHPLACE: Costa Rica

CURRENT RESIDENCE: Miami

HEIGHT: 5'8"

WEIGHT: 215–220 lbs. ofseason; 195 contest

COMPETITIVE HIGHLIGHTS: 2013 North

Americans, 1st light-heavyweight (pro card);

2012 Nationals, 7th light-heavyweight; 2012

USAs 7th light-heavyweight

MARRIED: to figure pro Maggy Cambronero

FACEBOOK: [email protected]

TWITTER: @AlejCambronero


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mailto:[email protected]



Miami Muscle Machine


So across the Gulf he came, settling

into life as a busboy at Gloria Estefan’s

restaurant, Larios on the Beach. He didn’t

speak much English. But his schedule

gave him plenty of time to train, and as a

bonus, he met his future wife, Maggy,

when she came in one evening to dine.

Even though he was a dedicated lifter,

Alejandro didn’t feel ready to compete

until 2010 when he did the Ronnie Cole-

man Classic. Unfortunately that experi-

ence was nothing short of a disaster. “I

tore my pec before the show and had to

have surgery two days later,” he recalls.

“But I competed anyhow, and I placed

very, very badly. I even cried!”

A few months later, he took another

shot, this time at Dayana Cadeau’s compe-

tition up I-95 in Fort Lauderdale. There he

redeemed himself by placing first in the

light-heavies and winning the overall and

best-poser awards. “Then, of course, I had

to do the 2011 Ronnie Coleman show to

prove I could do it,” he laughs. “I placed

second in the light-heavyweight against

[current IFBB pro] Cory Mathews.”

These days, the 37-year-old maxes out

at 220 pounds offseason, trimming down

ALEJANDRO’S DUMBBELL CHEST ROUTINE

EXERCISE SETS1 REPS WEIGHT (LBS.)

Incline Dumbbell Press 4 10–12 100–140

Cable Crossover 4 15–20 Half the stack

Flat-Bench Dumbbell Press 4 10–12 100–140

Incline Dumbbell Flye 4 10–12 40–50

Dip 4 20–25 Bodyweight + up to 100

ALEJANDRO’S BARBELL CHEST ROUTINE

EXERCISE SETS1 REPS WEIGHT (LBS.)

Smith-Machine Incline Press 4 10–15 225–315

Peck-Deck Flye 4 15 Full stack

Bench Press 32 6–12 135–405

Hammer-Strength Machine Press 6 8–20 90–450

Decline Barbell Press3 4 12 225

Dip3 4 20–25 Bodyweight + up to 100

1 Alejandro does 1–2 warm-up sets for each exercise before getting into his working sets.

2 The third set of this exercise is a drop set starting with 405 for 6 reps, 315 for 8 reps, 225 for 8 reps, and 135 for 10 reps.

3 Alejandro supersets these exercises, taking a minute’s rest after he completes both moves.

to a neat 195-pound package come con-

test time. After competing with some suc-

cess on the national amateur stage,

Alejandro finally found the winning for-

mula when he took the light-heavy class

at the 2013 North Americans last August

in Pittsburgh. In less than three years Ale-

jandro had grabbed a coveted pro card.

“I put on about 6 more pounds by ex-

tending my offseason, bringing up the

backs of my legs, especially the ham/glute

tie-in. Previously I had soreness in my low-

er back, especially after squatting, pain

that would last a week. I determined it was

TRAINING SPLIT DAY BODYPARTWORKOUT 1

Monday Back, absTuesday ShouldersWednesday Legs, abs (hams/glutes emphasis)

Thursday OfFriday ChestSaturday Legs, abs (quads emphasis)

Sunday Of

WORKOUT 2

Monday BicepsTuesday TricepsWednesday Legs, abs (hams/glutes emphasis)

Thursday OfFriday ShouldersSaturday Legs, abs (quads emphasis)

Sunday Of

Alejandro trains calves on leg days.

Ofseason he does 20 minutes of cardio

twice a week. Precontest that increases

to 30–50 minutes twice a day.


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INCLINE DUMBBELL PRESS

SET-UP: Adjust an incline bench to 45

degrees and sit squarely on the bench,

kicking the weights up to your shoulders with

the aid of your thighs. Turn your palms to face

forward, elbows pointing outward and down.

EXECUTION: Press the dumbbells forcefully

upward and together, extending your arms

without locking out. At the peak, your arms

should be perpendicular to the floor with the

inner heads of the weights nearly touching

over your upper chest. Reverse the motion,

lowering slowly to the start.

ALEJANDRO’S KEY TIP: “This is one of my

favorite exercises to develop thickness in the

upper chest. I put it first because this is an

area that needs work and I want to do it when

I have the most energy.”

Don’t get locked into

always using the

same bench angle.

With an adjustable bench,

sometimes use a steeper

incline, sometimes nearly

flat, to vary the point of

emphasis on your upper

pecs.


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related to flat feet, so inserting orthotics

into my shoes made a big difference and

helped eliminate the lower-back pain.”

Though his contest resume was rather

thin, and the best he’d done before his big

win in Pittsburgh was a seventh-place

finish at the 2012 NPC Nationals and the

USAs the same year, Alejandro credits his

meteoric rise in part to his coach, IFBB

pro Bill Wilmore. “We worked on bring-

ing up my legs. We trained legs twice a

week, and I noticed a lot of gains in the

last year. I also had to actually work out

with Bill, who is a lot bigger and stronger

than I am. He always pushes me out of my

comfort zone; it’s definitely hard work!”

Besides having a motivational training

partner who weighs nearly 80 pounds

more than he does, Alejandro found that

Bill’s style of supersets and FST-7 training

worked especially well for him. “Bill has

really made the biggest difference — he’s

an exceptional trainer and coach — and I

made huge improvements that I wouldn’t

have been able to make on my own.”

Alejandro made another move that

paid big dividends: He gave up his full-

time job working for an electrical firm to

become a personal trainer, which allowed

for him flexibility with his training sched-

ule as well as the time to eat the requisite

meals he needed to make the big gains.

Though his win in Pittsburgh might

have been somewhat unexpected, Alejan-

dro already has new plans as he enters the

pro ranks, setting his sights on making his

pro debut at April’s Europa Super Show

in Orlando. He’s well under the weight

limit, so he hopes to add another 10

pounds by then.

In the meantime, he and Maggy are

regularly seen on local television as

they’re taking ABC news reporter Tamika

Bickham through a 20-week transforma-

tion, all documented on video, as they

prepare her for a local contest. In addi-

tion, he’s signed contracts with Total Nu-

trition and Boca Tanning in South Miami.

He’s come a long ways from the

130-pound cyclist living in Costa Rica, but

Alejandro’s finally got a winning formula

and no longer needs a bike to move swift-

ly in the right direction.


CABLE CROSSOVER

SET-UP: Attach two D-handles to the upper pulleys and

grasp one handle in each hand, centered in the apparatus.

Use a split stance with your knees bent, leaning slightly

forward and positioning your arms out to the sides,

maintaining a slight bend in your elbows.

EXECUTION: Pull the handles forward and down toward the

centerline of your body, keeping your elbows slightly bent

and your torso steady. At the peak contraction your hands

should be centered at your lower chest with your knuckles

nearly touching. Slowly open your arms back out to your

sides, resisting the pull of the weight stack on the return.

ALEJANDRO’S KEY TIP: ÒThis isnÕt a boxing workout so

donÕt ÔpunchÕ the handles forward with this move. I see a lot

of guys doing this, but that works your shoulders and triceps

and lessens the emphasis on your chest.Ó

Again, don’t

always get

locked into

doing the movement

the same way. On

occasion bring the

handles more

forward than down;

at other times step

forward so that the

angle of pull changes

to hit the pecs

slightly diferently.


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FLAT-BENCH

DUMBBELL PRESS

SET-UP: Lie on a flat bench with

your back arching naturally and

hold a pair of dumbbells directly

over your mid-chest with your

arms straight (elbows unlocked)

and perpendicular to the floor,

palms facing away from you. The

inner heads of the weights

should be nearly touching.

EXECUTION: Slowly lower the

weights, keeping your wrists

stacked over your elbows, your

forearms perpendicular to the

floor. Lower the weights to a

point just outside your shoulders.

Forcefully press the dumbbells

back up, extending your arms

and squeezing your chest to full

arm extension.

ALEJANDRO’S KEY TIP: “While

you can’t bounce the weights of

your chest as you can with a

barbell, bouncing out of the

bottom position is hard on the

shoulder joints and reduces the

contribution from the pecs. You

never want to make an exercise

easier to do.”

The dumbbell version allows

for a longer range of motion

and deeper contraction than

the barbell bench press. Hence it

makes a good substitute for adding

variety to your workout.


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Don’t stay vertical,

as that’s the

triceps version of

this movement. Raising

your feet behind you

helps push your center

of gravity forward, key

for emphasizing the

pecs.

He’s a big Heat fan:

Sure it’s hot in

South Florida, but

the Cambroneros

are season-ticket

holders for the

NBA’s Miami Heat

basketball team.

“We even have

a 90-pound

Doberman named

Udonis!”

Therefore, he hates

the Knicks: “The

very first Heat

game I went to,

they played the

Knicks. Everyone

just hates that

team. So I do too,

even to this day!”

He still has a yen for

BMX: “I’m planning

to buy a bicycle,

but don’t tell my

wife and my coach

— they don’t want

me to ride! I’m

pretty sure I’ll get

one anyhow.”

He’s a man of

influence: “I spent

2–3 years trying to

talk my wife into

working out and

going to the gym

when we first met.

And now she’s a

pro; she got her pro

card before I did!”

He’s a good husband:

“My wife competed

in the Toronto Pro

figure division last

June, so I ate what

she did, doing the

competition diet with

her, even though I

didn’t compete till

late August!” Maggy

placed 10th.

5 Things You Didn’t Know About Alejandro


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INCLINE DUMBBELL FLYE

SET-UP: Adjust an incline bench to about 45 degrees and sit

squarely on the bench with the dumbbells positioned outside your

shoulders, arms extended. With the weights facing upward and

forward in your hands, lock a slight bend in your elbows.

EXECUTION: Contract your pecs to bring the weights together

not in a pressing motion but in a wide arc, squeezing your chest

hard for a count in the peak-contracted position. Slowly open your

arms out to the sides, maintaining the bend in your elbows,

lowering until the weights come almost level with your shoulders,

feeling a deep stretch through your chest.

ALEJANDRO’S KEY TIP: “This is a great move to develop

separation in your pecs. Try to establish a solid mind-muscle

connection to really feel the movement, really squeezing and

holding each repetition at the top.”

PARALLEL-BAR DIP

SET-UP: Stand inside the dip apparatus and place your hands on

the rails, palms facing inward. Hop up and straighten your arms so

that you’re suspended between the bars. Cross your feet behind

you and lean forward.

EXECUTION: Bend your elbows and lower yourself down,

maintaining control of your speed at all times and allowing your

elbows to flare out. When your arms form 90-degree angles, press

into your palms and extend your arms to return to the start.

ALEJANDRO’S KEY TIP: “I like to start with just bodyweight, but

then with each subsequent set add a little weight to a belt around

my waist.”

As with all chest moves,

keep your chest lifted by

retracting your shoulder

blades; don’t cave in and let your

shoulders round forward. This

allows for a greater stretch and a

more powerful contraction.


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Alejandro’s 6 Keys to Bigger Pecs1) Every other week I change my

equipment, so one week I’ll use

dumbbells and the next I’ll use bar-

bells. This allows me to work on

building size and strength one week,

then work on additionally strength-

ening the supporting muscles and

stabilizers the next.

2) When I do pressing motions, I

move the dumbbells in a vertical

plane; in other words, I don’t bring

them in toward each other. I feel this

better emphasizes my chest and de-

creases the input of the triceps.

3) For pressing motions I don’t fully

extend my arms, so you can see a

slight bend in the elbows even at the

top. I want the focus to stay on my

chest completely. I find that if I push

all the way up to lockout, I’m using

more triceps than I want to.

4) For all my exercises, I do a warm-

up set using lighter weight and high-

er reps. Rehearsing the motion first

gets my mind and muscles in sync.

Then I can go into the heavy sets

completely ready.

5) I sometimes use machines on bar-

bell day, and with those I really like to

focus on the negative contraction.

Machines have a predetermined

movement pattern and you don’t

need a spotter to help you control

the weight. I really like the Hammer

Strength press for negatives. I’ll use a

1-to-2 ratio of positive-to-negative

rep speed.

6) I train pretty heavy in the ofsea-

son when I have more energy and

carbs in my system. As I get closer to

a show, I still lift heavy, but I do more

supersets and giant sets. These help

me with my detail while also en-

abling me to lean out quicker.


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Alejandro’s Total Nutrition Supplement Stack“Hard work is the cornerstone of

success, but I also have to credit

much of my bodybuilding success

and progress over the last year to

both my trainer, IFBB pro Bill

Wilmore, and the pharmaceutical-

grade supplements I receive from

my sponsor, Total Nutrition

Superstores. I feel these formulas

gave me a distinct advantage over

the competition as each formula

delivers full clinical dosages of every

ingredient for awesome results.

“Here’s a sample ofseason mass-

building stack I used over the last

year. My trainer will make

modifications and adjustments

based on my conditioning in both

the ofseason and precontest.”

TEST-BOOSTING STACK: Nutracore

Nutrition Massive-RX & Dianatest,

used twice daily (a.m./p.m.)

PREWORKOUT STACK: Pharma Fuel

Engaged Extreme and 3 Capsules

Nutracore Nutrition Hypertrim

INTRA-WORKOUT STACK: Nutracore

Nutrition Carbalean mixed with

Amino Active (stimulant-free)

POST-WORKOUT: 1 serving

Nutracore Lean Active Gainer

(2:1 carb-to-protein ratio)

BEFORE BED: 1 serving Nutracore

Anabolic Dreams

ABOUT TOTAL NUTRITION

SUPERSTORES: Total Nutrition

Superstores is the fastest-growing

sports-nutrition franchise in the

world with more than 100 locations

in the U.S. and new ones opening

each month around the world. Visit

TotalNutritionSuperstores.com for

more information.


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http://TotalNutritionSuperstores.com




Birthdate: Sept. 26, 1971

Birthplace:

Jacksonville, FL

Current residence:

Jacksonville, FL

Height: 5'9"

Weight: 235 lbs. contest;

250 lbs. ofseason

Contest Highlights:

2013: PBW Tampa Pro,

6th; Wings of Strength

(Chicago), 6th 2012:

PBW Tampa Pro, 5th

2010: North Americans,

heavyweight winner

(pro card)

Website: teambanks-

bodybuilding.com

Twitter: @BanksLee

Real-Time

CHEST AND

SHOULDER WORKOUT

IFBB pro Lee Banks goes high volume/low rest

in this raw, offseason chest-and-delts thrash

Eric Velazquez, NSCA-CPT

Photos by Gregory James


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http://teambanksbodybuilding.com

http://teambanksbodybuilding.com



If you looked at IFBB pro Lee Banks

and all 235 pounds of his lean, mean muscle mass and

didn’t know what he did for a living, what would you

guess as his occupation? Bouncer? He certainly has

the presence to work the velvet ropes. Super soldier,

perhaps? Closer; he did serve a stint in the U.S. Army.

But would you ever in a million years guess child-

care magnate? Not likely. But for this Jacksonville,

FL, native, kids have been his business for more than

15 years. At Super Duck Child Care, which employs

11 people at its two area locations, this sleeve-stretch-

ing bodybuilder is known simply as Lee.

“Most parents don’t even know what I do,” he

says. “They’ll just drop off the kids or pick ’em up.

They don’t even ask. Surprisingly, the parents all take

pretty well to me.”

Lee, whose mother ran a daycare when he was

younger, dove into the world of kiddie care after see-

ing his sister’s bank account grow in her first year of

running her own facility. “I’ve done really well with

it. I’m very structured and detail-oriented because of

what I learned in the military, and I think that helps

me with the chaos of it all,” he laughs.

Keeping kids engaged and entertained for hours

on end can mystify many, even parents, but Lee is no

more intimidated by that than he is the daunting up-

hill climb of professional bodybuilding. A pro since

2010, he has managed a few top-six contest finishes

but has yet to compete in the Olympia or an Arnold

Classic. Not that Lee laments these shortcomings.

Ever the laid-back gentleman, he sees competition

accolades as merely the icing on the cake. By his

measure — and in the opinion of many others — he’s

already a successful pro.

“I think I’ve done pretty well to this point,” he

says, tightening his belt for today’s real-time chest-

and-delts workout for the MuscleMag cameras.

“Maybe more of my success has been off the stage

than on the stage, but that makes me happy. I’m still

getting published, which keeps my face out there.

I’m getting guest-posing appearances. And because

I’m sponsored by Champion Nutrition and making

good money, I can go into these shows comfortable,

not feeling like I have to win. I want to, of course, so I

do the best I can. But my prep is always more relaxed.

That makes a big difference for any bodybuilder.

Stress levels can affect performance and make the

difference between who looks best on a given day

and who doesn’t.”

With that, the conversation begins to trail off. Lee

takes a deep breath and heads over to the dumbbell

rack to get ready for his first exercise of the day. No-

ticeably, his gait is less like that of a competitor with

a show date approaching and more like a guy out for

a stroll on a sunny day. For Lee, bodybuilding is more

of a pleasure pursuit than a paycheck, and he aims to

enjoy every minute of it.


WITH LEE BANKS


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4 sets x 10 reps

DUMBBELL PULLOVER

Lee is training today in a tank and it’s hard

not to notice his leanness. Unlike some

pros, his weight doesn’t fluctuate much in

the offseason. His heaviest is about 250,

but when Lee stepped onstage during

last summer’s Tampa Pro in Florida and

Wings of Strength in Chicago, he weighed

235 and finished sixth in both contests.

“I started working with Chris Aceto

back in March, and I didn’t want to give

him a raggedy base to work with so I got

my diet straight,” he says. “But I didn’t

have to do any cardio or any crazy prep for

today’s shoot. I really go by how I look. I

don’t concern myself with the scale. It’s

healthier for me, especially at my age.”

The concept of “age” lingers as Lee

takes only one warm-up set with his pull-

overs before grabbing a 120-pound dumb-

bell for his four working sets. “I’m not

really a warm-up guy,” he jokes. With eight

exercises on the day’s docket, this quickie

practice set seems anything but adequate.

“When I was younger, I’d go and start

throwing up 120-pound dumbbells on over-

head presses,” he explains. “Nowadays, I

still don’t do much. I just get in there and

do one warm-up set and say, ‘Let’s do this!’

But the pump comes pretty quickly. I trans-

form in the gym in like 15 minutes. Every-

thing just blows up.”

Real-Time


EXERCISE

Lee says he places the dumbbell pull-

over first in his chest routine because he’s

focusing on building his upper pecs. “Some-

thing about this move just puts a lot of

blood in there for me. But it’s easy to get it

wrong. You really want to keep your arms

straight and extend on each rep. Think

about tightening your upper chest so it en-

gages properly and keep a nice arch in

your back. It took me a while to get it, but

it has really helped my upper chest.”

Lee, who keeps things moving with

rest periods of 30–45 seconds, adds that

this move fires his upper pecs for his pri-

mary upper-chest mass-builder that’s next

in line.

For even more empha-

sis on the upper pecs

and to further reduce

lat engagement, do this

move seated on an incline

bench set to about 45 degrees.


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musclemag.com | MONTH 2012 159

4 sets x 10 reps

INCLINE DUMBBELL PRESS


EXERCISE

“I normally work my way up to 150s

or heavier, but that’s if I’ve gotten enough

food in,” he explains. This workout is

taking place midday and Lee has downed

only two of the six meals he has usually

slain by this time. Still, the impressively

lean physique he sported before his first

working set has morphed into a stage-

ready work of art. Full and vascular, Lee

reminds us this is what he said would

happen: Just 15 minutes into his work-

out and he’s already fully pumped up.

Each rep is smooth and steady. Lee

prefers a controlled motion, never bounc-

ing out of the bottom or slamming the

weights together at the top, which would

take tension off the muscle.

“The pullover engages my upper chest,

and since I’m focused on bringing up

that area, I go right into another upper-

pec move,” Lee says. With incline press-

es, he alternates between using barbells

and dumbbells from week to week.

When using dumbbells, he does all four

sets with 120 pounds, banging out steady,

controlled reps with only a brief pause

at the bottom of each.

An oft-overlooked factor is the degree

of incline you set the bench to. The

steeper you go, the higher on your

chest you’ll focus but the greater you’ll in-

volve the weaker shoulder muscles. Vary

the degree of incline from one workout to

the next for more complete upper-pec de-

velopment.


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4 sets x 10 reps

DECLINE BENCH PRESS

Real-Time


EXERCISE

Understandably, Lee is a fan of angles

when it comes to training chest. And while

a great many of our gym brethren choose

to tackle incline moves first — we live in

a very upper-chest deprived culture —

there seems to have been a mass migra-

tion away from the decline in recent years.

Lee aims to bring it back.

Loading the bar with 245 pounds, he

explains, “I noticed that guys who get

into my age bracket, 40s and over, start

to have their lower chests drop the way

females’ lower glutes do! To keep the mus-

cles up there, you’ve got to do declines. But

for me it doesn’t have to be heavy; I just

want to get some blood in there to keep

that part of my pecs squared off.”

Again keeping things simple, he goes

through four sets of 10, taking a few sec-

onds between sets to walk around and

let the blood clear from his head. In-

tense but not strained on his last two

sets, Lee says he does the two types of

presses at the start of his workout to

build size, and that’s where he portions

out most of his focus for the day.

“The rest of the chest workout is

more detail and shaping work,” he says.

“At this point I’m pretty spent. I make it

a point to focus on the presses for obvi-

ous reasons.”

Here the range of motion is actually

shorter than the other pressing angles

for chest. And because your lats

contribute to the action, most lifters

find that they’re stronger on the decline

than on other types of presses.


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He may have spent all of his explosive

strength on his two pressing moves, but

Lee still tackles the pec deck like a man

on a mission. Locking himself into posi-

tion, he rocks the handles toward each

other in a wide, controlled arc. When the

handles meet in front of him, he squeez-

es them together forcefully.

Between sets and breaths, Lee elab-

orates: “Now the focus is on detail, so

I’m focusing on squeezing my hands to-

gether on each rep. Mentally, I’m visual-

izing someone doing their most muscular,

and seeing those lines and striations all

the way up the chest.”

This pec-deck pin is set at 120 pounds,

which is where Lee likes to stay for all

of his sets. “This is perfect for me. It’s

EXERCISE

4 sets x 15 reps

PECK-DECK FLYE

not too heavy, and allows me to focus on

getting a good stretch and contraction

rather than just moving the weight.”


Keep your elbows

elevated and in line

with your shoulders

and hands. It’s easy to

drop your elbows, but that

makes this single-joint

movement less efcient.


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Setting the pins at 60 pounds on the

two opposing weight stacks at the cable

station, Lee grabs the D-handles and

takes a half-step forward. With his arms

parallel to the floor, he takes a deep

breath and muscles the handles down

in front of his waist. As with the pec

deck, he squeezes intently at the bot-

tom of each rep before returning to the

start position.

Lee says it’s typical for him to in-

clude two isolation movements back to

Real-Time


EXERCISE

4 sets x 15 reps

CABLE CROSSOVER

back at the end of his chest workout.

Usually, as is the case today, the exer-

cises are done at different angles. He’ll

use the pec deck, the crossover or even

an incline bench flye to isolate various

areas of his chest. “At contest time, I’ll

do two or even three different angled,

single-joint exercises,” he says.

Make sure you lock a

slight bend in your el-

bows for the duration

of the set. If you ex-

tend your elbows you’ll in-

stead press the weights,

and this single-joint move

is about isolating the pec

fibers. Keep your triceps

out of the movement.


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“One day I was doing a chest press

here, and when I changed the angle of

my body I found that my front delt was

popping more,” he explains. “I was like,

‘Wow, this is working my delt more than

my chest.’ Even though this is a compound

movement, the most important part is

to angle your body in such a way that

you get your chest out of it as much as

possible. I know it doesn’t look that way,

but if you experiment with it you’ll see.”

Lee performs a set for his left, then

his right, then rests 45 seconds. Taking


EXERCISE

4 sets x 10 reps

HAMMER STRENGTH ONE-ARM INCLINE PRESS

quick stock of himself in the mirror be-

fore moving on, he says, “At this point,

my shoulders are pretty much pumped.

They’re not capped yet because I haven’t

done any middle-delt work, but they’re

pumped. My whole upper body is kinda

flooded right now.”

Lost as we’ve been in chest exercises —

five total are in the books — it’s time for

the second phase of today’s workout:

delts. In recent months, Lee has taken

to training shoulders three times per

week. He’ll use a lower volume of 2–3

exercises after chest and back or do a

dedicated shoulder workout with up to

six moves.

“It works well for me,” he says.

“Somewhat oddly, I have less pain or

discomfort in my shoulder joints doing

it this way compared to when I did just

one all-out day for delts per week. Be-

cause I’m training them more often, I

don’t have to try to use as much weight

to force them to grow and the greater

frequency has really worked.”

Strangely, Lee parks himself at a

seated Hammer Strength chest-press

machine. Loading a 45 and a 25 on each

side, he takes a seat, places his left hand

on the handle, then leans his entire body

a bit to his left. This is where he begins

each rep.

This upper-chest exercise can be

made into more of a shoulder

movement by angling your body

to one side. It also allows you to work

each side individually, which is a great

way to bring up a weaker side if you

have strength imbalances.


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Real-Time EXERCISE

So about those uncapped delts: Dumb-

bell lateral raises are next, so Lee heads

over to the rack and grabs a set of 40s.

It’s customary at this point, even for

hardcore lifters, to mix in a lighter set

to prep the delts for the stress of this

3 sets x 12 reps

DUMBBELL LATERAL RAISE

type of isolation work. But not Lee.

“Yeah, this is [the weight] I normally

use. There’s no sense in warming up be-

cause I’m already warm from all the

other work. I just grab the 40s and keep

it there for three sets.”

Deviating slightly from his “four sets

of 10” scheme, Lee cranks out three sets

of 12, bringing the weights to the out-

side of his hips on each rep. “I just feel

more comfortable this way,” he says. “I

tried doing it with dumbbells in front,

but I felt like it was a wasted motion. I

get a good enough stretch coming to my

sides, and it isolates that middle delt

more than if I come to the front. Going

to the front just gets too many other

muscles involved.”

Still, Lee’s breaks are brief, lasting no

more than 30 seconds. “If I take any

longer than that, I feel like I’m getting

cold,” he says with a wink.


A Champion in Lee’s CornerLee powers through

his high-intensity chest

and shoulder workout

with the aid of these

key supplements from

Champion Nutrition:

• Before Morning Cardio

— Performance Amino

Shooter Edge With

Meals 1 & 5

• Performance Liver

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• Performance BCAAs

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• Performance Pure

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shake with Power

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Performance Power

Creatine


WorldMags.net




“I just love ’em,” he says. “You get a

great stretch and good constant tension,

and because of that you end up with

those great striations.”

On each rep, Lee brings the handle

to eye level before lowering back to the

start with his arm by his side. He takes

almost no rest between sides or sets,

giving the impression that he senses the

finish line just around the corner. After

a third set with each arm, he brings the

workout to a close.


EXERCISE

3 sets x 12 reps

ONE-ARM CABLE FRONT RAISE

THE LEE WAYUnbuckling his belt and tossing it in his

bag, Lee walks over to fill his protein

shaker with water. Then he mixes a few

heaping scoops of Champion Whey —

vanilla ice cream, in case you were won-

dering — and gets to blending. He talks a

bit about what shows he might do next

year, but for the moment doesn’t seem

particularly concerned about any of

them despite the fact that he looks like

top-six material right now. His ability to

compartmentalize so well is laudable.

“I just separate myself from body-

building,” he explains. “I have the fan-

tasy life of a bodybuilder but when I’m

at home or at work, I’m just Lee Banks.

A lot of guys get caught up in all this be-

cause that’s all they do. To my parents

I’m a normal guy. I don’t even show

them my magazines because I don’t

want them to see me any differently!”

His easygoing attitude is also a pow-

erful public relations tool, Lee says. “I

think humility is one of the greatest as-

sets you can have in this line of work. It

can make you or break you. People al-

ways look at us as intimidating. So to

find out that we can walk around with

all this muscle and be humble puts the

sport in a good light and eliminates a lot

of prejudice about who we are.”

His pecs and delts sufficiently

thrashed, this humble bodybuilder in-

congruously heads out to rub elbows

with 4-year-olds to close out the work-

day at Super Duck.

“I love what I do,” he says as the gym

door swings shut behind him.

Lee heads back to the cable station for

his final exercise of the day: the one-

arm cable front raise.

“I want to go pretty light on these,”

he says, setting the pin at 35 pounds.

“I’m already pretty done, but I want to

finish strong.” Doing these unilaterally

allows him to concentrate on getting a

quality contraction with each rep, and

he says he enjoys cables for delt isola-

tion work.


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All Hail the

Icelandic strongman champion Hafthor “Thor” Björnsson looks like something straight out of Norse mythology, and this spring you can catch his freakish physique on the fourth season of Game of Thrones, where he fittingly plays a gigantic medieval war machine known as The Mountain. By Alex Zakrzewski

Strong Acting SkillsDespite being on set for 12 hours a day, Björns-son has been enjoying the filming. “I had four consecutive filming days, and believe me, it’s hard work — espe-cially for the first few days as I was in full-body armor the whole time and wielding a very heavy sword,” he says. “The sun kept shining brightly every day and the heat was intense. But they took care of me. Three beautiful women waving hand-held fans worked hard to cool me down, peo-ple carried platters of fruit and, as I told them I needed to eat every 2–3 hours, they brought me whatever I needed. At times I felt like a real medieval king!”

PH

OTO

S C

OU

RT

ES

Y H

AF

TH

OR

JU

LIU

S B

JO

RN

SS

ON

HAFTHOR JULIUS BJÖRNSSONAGE: 25

BORN: Akranes, Iceland

CURRENT RESIDENCE: Kopavogur, Iceland

NICKNAMES: Haf, Thor,

Lion, The Mountain

TWITTER: @ThorBjornsson_

INSPIRATIONS: Jon Pall

Sigmarsson, Bill Kazmaier

Mighty Thor!

DEADLIFT

902 lbs.

SQUAT

772 lbs.

LOG LIFT

424 lbs.

BIGGEST LIFTS

ATHLETE PROFILE


WorldMags.net




JOINING THRONESThe makers of Game of Thrones first approached Björnsson through Face-book. “I received a short mes-sage that read, ‘Would you like to act in Game of Thrones?’” he says. “I assumed this was a joke and didn’t reply.” It wasn’t until the hit show be-gan filming in Iceland that it dawned on Björnsson that it was a real ofer, so he immediately approached the director and expressed his interest in auditioning. Like his Viking ances-tors centuries before, Björnsson found that swinging a sword came naturally, and he quickly impressed coaches and crew alike with his strength and athleticism. Within a short time, he was ofered the role of George R. R. Martin’s fearsome char-acter, “The Mountain” Gregor Clegane.


Feeding the OdinsonBjörnsson’s day begins at 8 a.m. with what he calls “a super secret boost of super food.” Meals at 2–3-hour intervals always con-sist of a healthy combo of proteins such as salmon, chicken or steak, accompanied by brown rice and either sweet or baked potatoes. A helping of broccoli or raw salad adds some fiber to the mix.

From Hoops to StonesGiven Hafthor Björns-son’s towering 6'8" height, it’s no surprise that basketball was his Hafthor Björnsson’sfirst athletic passion. That all changed in the sum-mer of 2009 when he

began training with Icelandic strongman

legend Benedikt Magnusson, who recognized the young up-and-comer’s talents and encouraged Björnsson to test his

mettle at the Westfjord Viking Strong-man competition. In just his first event, he set a new Icelandic record in stones

and finished the contest in a respect-able fourth place. It turned out to be the beginning of a long list of strong-man laurels that today includes three consecutive first-place showings at Westfjord from 2010 to 2012.

Height:

6'8"Weight:

375 lbs.

Biceps:

20"Forearms:

17"Chest:

60"Thighs:

31"Calves:

22"

BY THE

NUMBERS

STRONGMAN HIGHLIGHTS1st Place 2013 Strongman Champions League

3rd Place 2012 World’s Strongest Man

1st Place 2011, 2012 Iceland’s Strongest Man

1st Place 2010, 2011, 2012 Strongest Man in Iceland

1st Place 2010 Iceland’s Strongest Viking


WorldMags.net




STRONGMAN

• BY MIKE JENKINS, WORLD’S STRONGEST MAN,

TEAM MHP ATHLETE

STRONGMAN SUMMIT

[A] Well, considering it’s strong-

man, you need that brute

strength to be able to handle the heavy

loads that are in contests these days.

That said, without good foot speed you’ll

struggle in events like yoke and farmer’s

walk. Any kind of loading medley is also

speed-biased. Most of the implements

are liftable by all the competitors, but

those who can literally run with them

will do much better. The sport has be-

come so competitive that you see lots of

guys who are 375-plus pounds who run

like they’re 225.

THE NEED FOR SPEED


Being a successful strongman requires

great agility and athleticism. Are there

any events in which better footwork

and speed almost always win out over

pure brute strength?

Slow and steady may pay off for some, but today’s top strongmen won’t win the race moving like a tortoise. Kick-start your quickness with these speed-training strategies and slash those seconds off the stopwatch.


WorldMags.net




STRONGMAN SUMMITP

ho

tos b

y G

reg

ory

Jam

es


BUILDING STRONGMAN QUICKNESSRotate between heavy and light event days

when training for a specific timed event.

Save your event days for the weekend or

whenever you typically have more time to train.

Pick a weight and see how far you can go in 8–10 seconds.

Use 60%–70% of a contest weight and try

to reduce your run time each week.

Stick to 3–4 quality runs at max speed.

Learn to keep accelerating through the contest

finish line by going 10 feet farther in training.

Tracking my progress in strength is

second nature to me now, but how do

I know if my speed and quickness are

improving on pace? How do you track

your speed progression, and what are

some realistic goals I should set for

myself from week to week?

[A] Start by taking the same weight

farther or faster each week or a

heavier weight for the same or for better

time. It can be as easy as setting out

cones to where you made it to last week

in 20 seconds so you know that this

week you have to get there in less time. If

it’s an event for distance, having a goal to

shoot for, like a line or cone from a previ-

ous week, can really help you. It’ll make

you aware of the extra push you need to

get another 10 feet, which could make

the diference between first and fifth

place. Basically a stopwatch and some

cones or sidewalk chalk are all you need.

I’ve been competing in strongman

meets for the past year and making

huge gains in strength, but I’m really

falling behind in the timed events.

How should I restructure my training

to boost my speed?

[A] I tell everyone I train that

you’ve got to run fast to get fast!

That has stuck with me since my foot-

ball days at James Madison University.

In football you don’t need to run

800-meter sprints, you need to be able

to go hard for 4–6 seconds. Similarly in

strongman, you obviously won’t run a

quarter-mile with a yoke, but you also

won’t get anything out of plodding along

for 60 seconds with an extremely heavy

implement. Start light and focus on your

footwork, and over time your numbers

will go up. Measure how far you can go

in 10 seconds with a given weight; then

each week try to go either a little farther

or a bit heavier. When training for spe-

cific events, pick one that you’ll go light

on during your event day and moder-

ately heavy on another, but don’t worry

so much about moving fast.

In training, I’m very comfortable push-

ing myself for those extra reps and

adding more weight to my lifts. I’m far

more cautious and hesitant to push

myself during farmer’s walk, running

with a keg or atlas stones, etc. Any

tips on how I can train safely but still

push myself to get better at these?

[A] I think it’s easier to do this, ac-

tually. The key is to remember

that you can always just drop the weight.

Having someone time you may also

help; having that clock running will

make you push a little harder. If you fin-

ish a given event in 24 seconds on the

first run, have the timer make you aware

of it so you can try to beat that time on

the next run. And it may sound kind of

simple, but I honestly think that visual-

ization works. If you were to listen to

me before an event, I keep talking to

myself, saying, “fast, fast, fast.”

"Measure how far you can go in

10 seconds with a given weight;

then each week try to go a little

farther or a bit heavier."


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Sleeve-splitting arms is a goal of every true gym rat, but getting your ticket to the Gun Show takes real work. We pick the brain of IFBB pro Anthoneil Champagnie on how to keep your biceps and triceps fully loaded.

Ph

oto

by G

reg

ory

Jam

es

WELCOME TO THE GUN SHOW


Built IN BROOKLYN

• BY ANTHONEIL CHAMPAGNIE,TEAM MHP ATHLETE

(A) Thanks. Making sure my arms

stay in proportion to each other

is something I’ve always paid close at-

tention to. I like to use a lot of single-arm

exercises in my routine. Whether I’m

training biceps or triceps, the key is to

make sure one arm isn’t doing more

work than the other. One-arm isolation

exercises are great finishers, too.

You have some impressive arm develop-

ment — great size and everything looks

in proper proportion. How do you make

sure that your biceps and triceps grow

evenly when you’re trying to put on size?


WorldMags.net




(A) In the ofseason I like to train

my arms once a week, but during

contest prep I drop it way down. I may do

arms two times a month, or sometimes I

include triceps or biceps on a day with an-

other bodypart. Mainly because I’m train-

ing so much as I get closer to a show, I can

easily get a pump in my arms while train-

ing back or chest. I also don’t want to in-

jure myself, so I’m very cautious on days

when my arms feel tight.

(A) As a bodybuilder, genetics is al-

ways a factor. Some guys are

born with great shape to their muscles.

The rest of us sometimes have to focus a

lot more on weak points. To build more

thickness in the biceps from the front,

try using a wider than normal grip

when doing barbell curls, which better

targets the short (inner) head of the bi-

ceps. Same thing on seated preacher

curls, so be sure to use free weights and

not the machine station.

(A) Well, the first thing you’ll learn

sooner or later as a bodybuilder

is that you can’t go heavy all the time.

Remember that heavy weight won’t

necessarily increase your arm size, but

being able to contract and control the

proper weight for quality reps will.

That said, you could try using elbow

wraps if you still want to lift heavy, but

I’m not a fan of this. Properly warming

up can help, too, but your best bet is to

cycle periods of heavy training with

lighter-weight/higher-rep ones.

BUILT IN BROOKLYNP

ho

to b

y J

aso

n B

reeze


I’ve had some injuries in the past and my

right biceps really lags behind compared

to the left. So I try to avoid any barbell

curls and stick to training each arm indi-

vidually. What exercises should I do to

make sure both arms develop evenly?

A significant weakness in my arms is

that my biceps look thin from the front,

but from the side they look great. What

exercises should I start doing to fix this?

I love to train heavy on arm day, but

my elbows are starting to get sore.

Any tips on how I can keep the stress

of my elbow joints but still train my

arms heavy?


WorldMags.net




Making Gains By Alex Zakrzewski, Online Editor

Shaun Hoisington AGE: 33 | HOMETOWN: Burleson, TX

THE SHREDDERFour years ago, a 400-pound Shaun realized he couldn’t play with his children more than 10 minutes before almost collapsing from exhaustion. After burning through every top training DVD you can think of, he has shredded down to a muscular 194 lbs. and is no longer pre-diabetic. Better yet, everyone in his family has become a fitness fanatic, including his 4-year-old daughter. Dakota

Jordan Brown AGE: 18 HOMETOWN: Haysi, VA

VASCULAR

VIRGINIANAt age 15, Dakota

started lifting weights

“just for fun.” Today,

he still has fun in the

gym, but his laughter

is often drowned out

by the gasps of envy

he gets whenever he

takes off his shirt.

Brandon Wickens AGE: 22HOMETOWN: Toronto, ON

PHILOSOFREAKIt’s hard to believe that Bran-

don was once — by his own

admission — skinny, weak and

insecure. Despite having built

himself into an impressive speci-

men of solid muscle, he insists

the real gains have been on the

inside. “The stronger I get in the

gym,” he says, “the easier it is for

me to battle the ups and downs

of life.”

Tyler Bell AGE: 27HOMETOWN: Valrico, FL

CAPTAIN CRUSHWhile on deployment in Af-

ghanistan, Capt. Tyler Bell used

weightlifting to help relieve

stress. He even had his family

mail him protein and tuna to

ensure he kept his major gains.

Now safely back home, he

weighs in at an iron-dense 205

lbs. When on base, he’s often

mistaken for an M1 Abrams

battle tank.

Jason Oliver AGE: 33 HOMETOWN: Marydel, MD

ICE GIANTNine years ago, back spasms

ended Jason’s hockey career.

His doctor gave him two

options: Get surgery or join

a gym. Jason smartly chose

the latter, and today his back

is healthier and more ripped

than ever. He also looks like

the meanest thing on ice since

the ’73 Philadelphia Flyers.

Have you crushed your training goals and made gains you once thought impossible? Stop telling everyone at the gym and start telling us!

Drop us a line on Facebook and let us know your incredible

success story. Like these lucky fans, you just might find

yourself featured in the pages of MuscleMag.


Craig Vigil AGE: 25HOMETOWN: Tooele, UT

PEC-TACULAR

POPSCraig was a 160-pound partier

until his wife introduced him

to the fitness lifestyle. The

father of three has since gone

from being a party animal

to an animal in the gym and

couldn’t be happier.


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MuscleMag International 2013-12

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Transcript of MuscleMag International 2013-12