JUNE 2007 / IRON MAN MAGAZINE—WE KNOW TRAINING™

GIANT PHOTOS OF THE WORLD’S GREATEST PHYSIQUES! PAGE 244

MONTHS

15
How One Man
Did It—Drug Free!
TO PRO
MUSCLE

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Also, How to
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 LOW-CARB
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 June 2007 Vol. 66, No. 6
Deckard Does
Biceps,
page 142

We Know Training ™
FEATURES
FEATURES
62 TRAIN, EAT, GROW 92
The Rep Range rotation of P/RR/S training, as applied to
the original X-Rep program. Plus, size-surge supplements.

92 CREATINE FACT VS. FICTION

Jerry Brainum reveals things you may not know about this
power-packed power supplement—and the best way to
take it.

116 A BODYBUILDER IS BORN 23

Ron Harris explains why all great athletes are not great role
models. (No, we’re not talking about you, Mr. Tyson.)

126 D.C. TRAINING EXPERIMENT

From Bodybuilding.com: Mark Subsinsky steps into
Dante’s DoggCrapp workout style.

142 DECKARD DOES GIANT PHOTOS OF THE WORLD’S GREATEST PHYSIQUES! PAGE 244

BICEPS ™

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MUSCLE
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CREATINE
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180 MICHAEL LOCKETT Karen McDougal appear
The story of a boxing champ who on this month’s cover.
decided to lift weights and in only 15 Hair and makeup Yvonne
months won the Team Universe and Ouellette. Photo by
Michael Neveux
got his pro card—workout included.

198 X-FILES Q&A

The X-men discuss stretch overload, the ultimate
exercises, abbreviated workouts, rep speed, heavy/light
training and big guns. (Whew!)

222 HEAVY DUTY

John Little on metabolic momentum, motivation and the
psychology behind high-intensity workouts.
Arnold
Classic, 244 IFBB ARNOLD CLASSIC
page 244 Big prizes for beastly bodies—and lots of big pics to give
you even bigger inspiration. Prepare for shock and awe.

268 HARDBODY
Abby Wolf will have you growling and howling your
approval when you see her Texas physique.

282 ONLY THE STRONG SHALL SURVIVE

Bill Starr’s recipe for getting strong to the core—as in hip
and lower-back strength. (Good morning, lumbars!)

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 DEPARTMENTS
32 TRAIN TO GAIN
Back to free weights, older men and andropause, odd
lifts and a new study on high reps vs. low reps.

46 SMART TRAINING
Charles Poliquin discusses pains, gains and deadlift
range. His take on low-carb diets is here too.

52 EAT TO GROW
The nutrition/hormone link. Plus, meal frequency and
how it affects bodyfat.
Hardbody,
page 268
82 CRITICAL MASS
Steve Holman talks bodybuilding bashes and volume/in­
tensity clashes.

Michael 88 NATURALLY HUGE

Lockett, John Hansen outlines a program for best chest and a
page 180 classic back-to-basics two-way-split routine.

216 BODYBUILDING PHARMACOLOGY

Jerry Brainum looks at the research to determine if yo­
himbe is a faster fat blaster.

232 MUSCLE “IN” SITES

Eric Broser’s found more cool Web sites, including one
from the gym where Ronnie Coleman trains. Oh, and
let’s not forget hot babe Monica Guerra and Broser’s Net
Results Q&A section.

Muscle “In” 238 NEWS & VIEWS

Sites, Lonnie Teper, live from the Arnold Classic. Okay, he’s not
page 232 quite live, but he was a lively emcee—and he’s got some
interesting observations on the weekend from that killer
vantage point.

262 PUMP & CIRCUMSTANCE

Ruth Silverman was all over Columbus like paparazzi on
Paris Hilton. In other words, she’s got great pics of hot
News & Views, Pump & Circumstance, chicks, gang. (Thank you, Ironwoman!)
page 238 page 262
292 MIND/BODY CONNECTION
Randall Strossen, Ph.D., explains how to pick your per­
sonality, and Dave Draper presents another Bomber Blast.

304 READERS WRITE

Delightful Di Nino, as in Nancy; Mentis the Man, as in
Jimmy; and packing on mass, as in 3D muscle building.

In the next IRON MAN

Next month we’ve got an interview with an over-40
pro bodybuilder who recently made a comeback.
How did he do it? Was it worth it? Will he forge
ahead or re-retire? David Young has the answers in
his chat with David Fisher. Then Jerry Brainum has
new research on a fruit that provides potent muscle-
building power. You’ll want to add this to your diet
immediately, even if you’re low-carbing it. We’ll also
WEB ALERT! have lots of hot pics from the Figure, Fitness and
from the world
For the latest happenings Ms. International contests. Watch for the July IRON
of bodybuilding and fitness, set your
ww w.I ronMa nM agazine.com MAN on newsstands the first week of June.
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and www.Graphic Mu scl e.com.
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 John Balik’s
Publisher’s Letter
1936-1986:
Designer Genes
There’s no question that your genetic
makeup governs your bodybuilding results.
I didn’t say “success” because no matter
what your genetics, once you start weight
training consistently, you’ll gain some
muscle size and strength and improve your
health. That’s success in my book. In com­
petitive bodybuilding, however, genetic
factors rule the winner’s circle.
Michael Lockett, the ’06 NPC Team
Universe champion, is a prime example.
Fifteen months before that competition he
hadn’t performed a single weight-training
rep. He was a boxer, and, thanks to his genetics, he’d added muscle
to his frame merely from sparring, bag work and calisthenics. He
could tell, as could others, that he had a propensity for building
muscle—and in all the right places to be competitive onstage. With
encouragement from his family and friends, Lockett decided to give
it a shot, and after less than a year and a half of serious bodybuilding
training, he’s the proud owner of an IFBB pro card.
Lockett’s story is amazing, as you’ll see when you read David
Young’s interview with this incredible drug-free athlete, which begins
on page 180. You’ll learn a lot about the mind-set of a champion, as
well as his training ideas and program—but be careful. One of the
big mistakes up-and-coming bodybuilders make is copying the pro­
grams of the genetic elite.
Even I’ve made that mistake, and not just as a beginner. I remem­
ber training with Arnold in his competitive days at the original Gold’s
Gym. When he began a serious contest-training phase, his physique
changed almost from workout to workout. I figured that he must
know the secret, so I went along for the ride, every exercise and every
set. I thought I’d get bigger, but all I got were lots of aches, pains and
a serious case of overtraining after only a few weeks. Yes, Arnold had
discovered the secret—for his body and elite genetics.
We’re all individuals, and discovering what works for you is part
of the bodybuilding challenge, part of the journey. It’s the reason we
present different training ideas and programs in every issue of IRON
MAN. Experimentation in the gym is imperative if you want to im­
prove your bodybuilding results. You can be successful just by being
persistent in your workouts—you’ll tone up and get healthier. If you
want to take your muscular development to the brink of your genetic
potential, however, you’ll have to train harder and smarter, discover­
ing your individual requirements for adding size and strength. It’s
not easy, but it’s highly rewarding. And like a diligent, motivating
training partner, IRON MAN is here to help you every step of the way.
IM
30 JUNE 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com
Free download from imbodybuilding.com
Founders
Peary & Mabel Rader
Publisher/Editorial Director: John Balik
Associate Publisher: Warren Wanderer
Design Director: Michael Neveux
Editor in Chief: Stephen Holman
Art Director: T. S. Bratcher
Senior Editor: Ruth Silverman
Editor at Large: Lonnie Teper
Articles Editors: L.A. Perry, Caryne Brown
Assistant Art Director: Aldrich Bonifacio
Designer: Emerson Miranda
IRON MAN Staff:
Vuthy Keo, Mervin Petralba,
R. Anthony Toscano
Contributing Authors:
Jerry Brainum, Eric Broser, David Chapman,
Teagan Clive, Lorenzo Cornacchia, Daniel Curtis,
Dave Draper, Michael Gündill, Rosemary Hallum,
Ph.D., John Hansen, Ron Harris, Ori Hofmekler,
Rod Labbe, Skip La Cour, Jack LaLanne, Butch
Lebowitz, John Little, Stuart McRobert, Gene
Mozée, Charles Poliquin, Larry Scott, Jim
Shiebler, Roger Schwab, Pete Siegel, C.S. Sloan,
Bill Starr, Bradley Steiner, Eric Sternlicht, Ph.D.,
Randall Strossen, Ph.D., Richard Winett, Ph.D.,
and David Young
Contributing Artists:
Steve Cepello, Larry Eklund, Ron Dunn,
Jake Jones
Contributing Photographers:
Jim Amentler, Ron Avidan, Reg Bradford, Jimmy
Caruso, Bill Dobbins, Jerry Fredrick, Irvin Gelb,
Isaac Hinds, Dave Liberman, J.M. Manion, Gene
Mozée, Mitsuru Okabe, Rob Sims, Leo Stern
Director of Marketing:
Helen Yu, 1-800-570-IRON, ext. 1
Accounting: Dolores Waterman
Subscriptions Manager:
Sonia Melendez, 1-800-570-IRON, ext. 2
E-mail: soniazm@aol.com
Advertising Director: Warren Wanderer
1-800-570-IRON, ext. 1
(518) 743-1696; FAX: (518) 743-1697
Advertising Coordinator:
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Newsstand Consultant:
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We reserve the right to reject any advertising at our
discretion without explanation. All manuscripts, art
or other submissions must be accompanied by a self-
addressed, stamped envelope. Send submissions to
IRON MAN, 1701 Ives Avenue, Oxnard, CA 93033.
We are not responsible for unsolicited material.
Writers and photographers should send for our
Guidelines outlining specifications for submissions.
IRON MAN is an open forum. We also reserve the
right to edit any letter or manuscript as we see
fit, and photos submitted have an implied waiver
of copyright. Please consult a physician before
beginning any diet or exercise program. Use the
information published in IRON MAN at your own
risk.
IRON MAN Internet Addresses:
Web Site: www.ironmanmagazine.com
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Ruth Silverman, Senior Editor: ironwman@aol.com
T.S. Bratcher, Art Director: ironartz@aol.com
Helen Yu, Director of Marketing: irongrrrl@aol.com
Jonathan Lawson, Ad Coordinator: ironjdl@aol.com
Sonia Melendez, Subscriptions: soniazm@aol.com
 SEXY ROCK-HARD ABS FAST
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 Evan Centopani
went back to old-
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movements to
redefine his back.

32 JUNE 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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BIGGER BODYPARTS

Free Weights First A lack of barbell and dumbbell

moves can hold back your back

One of the benefits of training at a large commer­ of the men in our gym. Then it somehow withered and
cial gym is the plentiful assortment of equipment you looked soft and untrained. When I saw what she’d
have to choose from. For many bodybuilders, though, been doing on back day, I understood why. Without
what seems to be a blessing can in fact be a curse. me there to nudge her toward the free weights, Janet
That’s especially true when it comes to back training. was doing mainly cable pulldowns and seated cable
Evan Centopani, the ’06 Junior National champion rows, with the occasional Hammer Strength–machine
and superheavyweight runner-up at the ’06 Nationals, row thrown in for good measure. I had her switch
learned that the hard way. back to dumbbell and barbell rows after chinups, and
“I trained at home for a couple of years with just the within two weeks her back was regaining its usual
most basic equipment,” he recalls. “Then, toward the impressiveness.
end of high school, I joined a big gym and was blown The lesson here is that cables and machines are
away by all the fancy high-tech equipment.” nice and can really complement the basic free-weight
His back suffered the most from the new environ­ exercises for back, but they should by no means
ment, as chins and rows done with barbells and replace them. —Ron Harris
dumbbells were supplanted by all manner of machine www.RonHarrisMuscle.com
simulations. Soon he
noticed something
was amiss: “My back
didn’t have that thick,
full look to it, and it
was because I was
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bles and machines.”
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rows and deadlifts
with good old iron,
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once more, and he
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I saw a very similar
thing happen to my
wife, Janet, recently.
We hadn’t been train­
ing together for a
few months due to
Neveux \ Model: Nathan Detracy

conflicting schedules.
Normally, her back is
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 HE WANTED TO FIGHT-
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TRAIN TO GAIN ONSTAGE

Train Hard
Year-Round
We’ve all become so fixated on who
has the lowest bodyfat and the most
striated glutes on contest day that we
mistakenly believe victory goes to the
guy who diets longest and hardest.
Certainly, preparation is critical for any
contest, because without that extremely
shredded condition, all your hard work
can’t be seen. Dorian Yates, however,
knew a secret; so did Ronnie Coleman,
and so does Jay Cutler. Contests aren’t
won the day they’re held or even in the
final weeks beforehand. They’re won in
the off-season, through workouts that
test the boundaries of human perfor
mance and pain tolerance and in meals
that feed the muscles all year long.
Dorian’s training intensity was the stuff
Lee Priest.

Neveux
of legend. His workouts were fairly brief,
but he poured 100 percent into them.
MENTAL MIGHT No set was over until he couldn’t budge
the weight another centimeter. We’ve

Basic Instinct Using the mind/muscle

connection for better workouts
all witnessed Ronnie’s work ethic in the
gym and at the dinner table in his vari­
ous DVDs. Coleman pushed and pulled
weights no other bodybuilder could—or
Very little has changed about the way IFBB and PDI pro Lee Priest has dared to. The result
Jay
trained since he first picked up a weight more than two decades ago. His was a physique so Cutler.
huge and freaky that
winning program is based on heavy free weights and high volume—20 to
for nearly a decade
30 sets per bodypart. But as Priest has grown older, wiser and larger, he’s nobody could beat
learned to follow his own path when it comes to his training schedule. him. But his archrival
“When I was younger, I did what everyone else does, which was train on Cutler understood
the value of the off­
something like a three-or-four-on/one-off routine,” he says. “I’d do chest
season even better
one day; back the next; then shoulders, arms, legs and then take a day off.” than Ronnie toward

Comstock
Eventually, though, he began to heed his own body rather than the calen­ the end. While Ron­
dar. nie routinely took
a full three months
“If I feel great, sometimes I’ll train for 10 or 20 days straight before I take away from training following his Olympia
a day off. If I feel tired or just not motivated, I might take off a few days in a victories, Jay was back in the gym the
row or as long as a couple weeks—whatever my body needs.” very next day, hungry to fulfill his destiny
Another rule Lee routinely breaks is that he doesn’t always follow a set and claim the Sandow trophy as his own.
Jay’s discipline and drive also applied
sequence for the bodyparts he trains. “Maybe it’s supposed to be chest to his diet. He remained in very hard
day, but I feel like training back instead,” he explains. “Should I just go condition throughout ’06, so getting into
ahead and work chest like I’m supposed to and have an average workout, peak shape was no struggle. Ronnie, on
or should I train back, something I’m enthused about working, and have an the other hand, came into the show too
heavy, and it cost him his throne.
awesome workout?” That could be a problem if he were like a lot of novices If you have a competition in mind and
and heavily favored certain muscle groups while neglecting others, but Lee it’s still six or 12 months or a year away,
is a professional and makes sure each muscle group gets adequate atten­ don’t slack off now and think you can get
serious on down the line. Every workout
tion.
you do and every meal you eat have an
How can we use that information for our own benefit? Simple: It’s okay to impact on the physique you’ll display on
bend the rules. You don’t have to conform to a set training schedule. Train contest day. The question is, How badly
when you have the energy and the motivation, and rest when you feel you do you want to win that contest? If your
answer isn’t very passionate, you can bet
need it. We’re all individuals. Some of you may get the best results training
that someone out there is putting more
just twice a week; others may thrive on hitting the gym for seven to 10 days effort into his training now than you are,
in a row before taking a breather for a day or two. Listen to your body, and and you will probably have to watch as
pay close attention to how you feel. It could make a big difference over the his hand is held up in victory, not yours.
That contest won’t be won on that day.
long haul when it comes to maximizing your muscular potential. It’s being won or lost right now.
—Ron Harris —Ron Harris

34 JUNE 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com
 YOU CAN BENCH BIG
Add 20 Pounds to Your Bench Press Almost Overnight!
How would you like a surge in
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TRAIN TO GAIN MATURE MUSCLE
What Is Andropause?
All men who live into middle
age go through it, yet many
never feel overt symptoms.
Others, however, feel symp­
toms to such an extent that
they’re often misdiagnosed
with a syndrome or disease.
It’s known as andropause, and
it’s the male physiological and
hormonal equivalent to meno­
pause. Andropause is not as
drastic a change, nor does it
have as many overt symptoms
as menopause; but it can affect some men very negatively and
make their muscle-building goals impossible.
If you’re 40 to 75 and have never taken growth hormone or ste­
roids, the following symptoms could indeed indicate andropause:
• Chronic fatigue—not due to diabetes or bacteria or virus
• Loss or decreased libido
• Erectile dysfunction
• Frequent loss of erections
• Infertility
• Sleeping disorders
• Elevated PSA and/or benign prostate enlargement
• Low to no sperm count
• A general feeling of malaise
• Difficulty or intolerance to participating in exercise
• Loss of muscle mass
• Increased bodyfat, especially around the waist and
lower back
• Hot flashes
• Night sweats
• Muscle weakness
• Thinning of bones
• Depression
The key to the severity of andropause in any man is based on
three important factors:
1) Men who never need medical intervention for andropause
usually have lifted weights and lived a fitness lifestyle—that
includes eating healthfully, drinking little to no alcohol and keep­
ing the intake of sugars and refined foods to a minimum. (Doing
aerobics is not enough for two major reasons: It does not increase
the output of growth hormone and testosterone the way that train­
ing with weights does; and the muscle growth created by weight
training naturally increases the metabolic rate, which makes the
hormonal feedback loops to the hypothalamus more efficient and
effective.)
2) Some men have a genetic predisposition for producing high
levels of testosterone, estradiol, growth hormone and the all-im­
portant cyclic AMP, which helps hormones go from one organ to
another (directed by the hypothalamus).
3) Some men have altered the pituitary-hypothalamus-adre­
nal axis. That particular problem is, I believe, the cause of many
chronic illnesses, and the alteration usually happens in advanced-
technology-oriented parts of the world—living in a highly stressed,
highly aggressive society like the United States. How you react to
stress plays into the axis dysfunction. Cell-to-cell communication
and insulin penetration may also have been compromised by eat­
ing too many refined foods and not exercising. That’s compound­
ed by too much cortisol in the bloodstream, which is the first sign
that this axis is losing integrity. Cortisol is the chemical response
36 JUNE 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com
Free download from imbodybuilding.com
How do you know if you’re going
through it, and what can you do about it?
to the limbic system’s fight-or-flight mechanism. Once the axis
has been altered, you usually cannot sleep normally or stay awake
during the day, although you feel on edge. Some have burned out
their adrenal glands, which contributes to poor cellular integrity
and therefore poor hormonal communication.
On the opposite end of the hormonal spectrum are bodybuild­
ers, powerlifters, strength athletes, football players, baseball play­
ers, Olympic athletes and others who have used large amounts
of anabolic steroids and growth hormone. They may feel the
effects of andropause earlier in their lives. When you take synthetic
testosterone, the body shuts down its own production of the
hormone. Because of that, one-third to one-half of all the athletes
who have used steroids and/or GH chronically for many years will
have some signs of andropause early and perhaps for the rest
of their lives. Some will be diagnosed as having chronic fatigue
syndrome, chronic fatigue immune deficiency syndrome, lupus
and many other chronic diseases because their entire hormonal
communication systems are dysfunctional. The “cure,” however, is
the same for a man who is 65 and going through andropause.
I used the word cure, but there really isn’t one—only ways to
help the body better cope. Ideally, the pituitary gland—working
in conjunction with the hypothalamus—should be sending the
proper messages to all of the organs involved in the androgenic
pathways.
If you feel you’re going through andropause, your first step is
to find an endocrinologist. Sometimes you can get a referral from
your general practitioner; however, often you have to look for one
who has a more holistic mind-set—one who doesn’t believe each
symptom is the result of just one isolated area but rather a group
of organs that aren’t communicating with each other, with cells
and/or with the hypothalamus. Here are the tests advanced-think­
ing endocrinologists perform if andropause is suspected: free
testosterone (blood), total testosterone (blood), growth hormone
(blood), DHEA (saliva), estrodiol (saliva or blood), FSH (saliva or
blood), LH (saliva or blood). As for the tests that rule out thyroid
problems: TSH (blood); T-4, T-3, T-3R (blood); thyroid antibodies
(blood).
The main thing to remember is that if any of the levels are low,
you should only take testosterone that is considered biologically
correct for your age. An underperforming thyroid should be taken
care of no matter your age.
Usually, an endocrinologist will give you a low dose of testoster­
one via a patch, gel or injection—after you’ve been diagnosed with
andropause or hypogonadism. It is easiest to diagnose testicular
atrophy because of an obvious loss in size, but that doesn’t nec­
essarily mean that you need synthetic testosterone. Blood tests
are the only definitive way of knowing. In other words, you could
indeed have hypogonadism yet have a normal testosterone level.
—Paul Burke
Editor’s note: You can contact Paul Burke via e-mail at
pbptb@aol.com. Burke has a master’s degree in integrated stud­
ies from Cambridge College in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He’s
been a champion bodybuilder and arm wrestler, and he’s con­
sidered the leader in the field of over-40 fitness training. You can
purchase his book Burke’s Law—a New Fitness
Paradigm for the Mature Male, from Home Gym
Warehouse. Call (800) 447-0008, or visit www.
Home-Gym.com. His “Burke’s Law” training DVD
is available at www.PaulBurkeFitness.com. For
more information or for information on the pri­
vate-training facility he’s building outside Tampa,
Florida, see his Web site.
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 MASS MOVES
TRAIN TO GAIN
Odd Lifts for Back-Blasting Variety
The back is my favorite with elbows flared wide—a high
bodypart to train. I have dozens row. That hits the upper back and
of reasons, but what comes to rear delts hard and is a staple of
mind first is that it’s one heck of powerlifters.
a strong group of muscles, and Cable pullovers. Not the
nothing is cooler than a thick, oddest of the odd but some­
wide back. The variety of move­ thing you don’t see every day,
ments you can use means you these are also known as stiff-arm
never get bored. pulldowns. Stand in front of an
With so many exercises to overhead cable stack and use
choose from, it seems a shame either a rope or straight bar. To
to stick with only a few. Go into do the lift correctly, stand back far
any gym, however, and you’ll enough to get a prestretch in your
see the same old same old: lats; slowly bring the bar down
pulldowns, cable rows, barbell to your upper thighs with only a
rows, maybe chins and deadlifts slight bend at your elbows. Hold
if the trainees are putting some for a contraction and release back
effort into the session. to the top. Feel the stretch and
Now, there’s nothing wrong move to rep number two. I prefer
with those movements. In fact, pullovers done on a Nautilus ma­
if you’re trying to add size, chine, but many gyms don’t have

Neveux \ Model: Jonathan Lawson

sticking with the basics is the one, so cable pullovers make a
best way to gain. But if you’re good alternative.
an intermediate to advanced 45 degree hyperextension
lifter, don’t be afraid to spice bench barbell rows. The boys
things up now and then. Even at Westside Barbell in Columbus,
if you’re new to lifting, remem­ Ohio, taught me this one. It’s as
ber that the chinup has many odd as they come but can re­
variations (wide grip; ultrawide ally work
scapula stretch; triangle bar; the back
narrow, reverse, parallel, one- effectively
arm and mixed grips), so don’t once you
get too bogged down with only get the
one style. Mix it up. hang of
Here are some of the lesser- it. Warn­
known yet effective back blast­ ing: Start
ers: light at
Cable cobras. Stand in the first. It hits
center of a cable crossover sta­ the ham­
tion. Grab the upper D handles strings,
with opposite hands, palms glutes,
facing each other. Pull the cable lower
down to your sides. Pause at back, lats,
the peak contraction and feel grip, bi­
the muscles cramp along the ceps and
spine and midback. With slight midback
adjustments to your stance you hard. Lock
can hit either more midback your torso
or lats. Try stepping out from in place
the machine a bit and/or lean­ parallel
ing over slightly to see how it to the
affects the line of pull. Go for ground on
higher reps. Keep this as a a hyper­
finishing movement. extension bench, and then perform normal barbell rows. This
Incline-bench rope pulldowns. This is one I picked up variation can give your upper-back muscles a massive blast
from Monica Brant. Put an incline bench in front of an over­ and really add some meat once you get up in weight, but, like I
head cable and lie facedown on it. The bench angle should be said, take your time.
fairly steep. Grab a rope attachment and pull it down to around There you go—some odd lifts to give the gym rats a reason
eye level. Pause and squeeze the lats, then return. Again, use to scratch their heads and point. I bet you’ll get some con­
these as a finisher for a high-rep burn and pump. fused glances, but give it time. You’ll also see others giving the
Face pulls. Stand facing an overhead cable. Attach a lifts a try to emulate your new back mass and detail.
rope handle and step back. Pull the rope toward your forehead —William Litz

38 JUNE 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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TRAIN TO GAIN HARDGAINER
How to Avoid Injury
Over the past three columns I’ve given you 30 techniques
for avoiding injuries. That’s important information because you
can’t make bodybuilding progress if you keep getting injured.
Here’s the final batch of recommendations:
31) Don’t hold your breath. The common tendency,
especially when training hard, is to clench your teeth and hold
your breath during the hardest part of a rep. That increases
blood pressure and may cause blackouts and dizziness. Even
if it’s for just a split second, a loss of consciousness during
training could be disastrous. Although you may not suffer
blackouts or dizziness, headaches
are a common, immediate result of
breath holding during training. Over
the long term, breath holding during
training encourages varicose veins and
hemorrhoids because of the damage
to vein walls and valves caused by the
elevated blood pressure.
A general rule is to inhale during the
brief pause between reps or during
the negative phase of the movement,
and exhale during the positive phase
(especially the sticking point). For
exercises where there may be a pause
for a couple of seconds between reps,
inhale and exhale, then inhale immedi­
ately before the start of the next rep.
Here’s an alternative way to breathe
while training: Never hold your breath.
Focus on the exercise and muscles
being trained, not on your breathing. As long as you’re not
holding your breath, you’ll automatically breathe sufficiently.
After some practice you’ll find the points during your reps
where it’s easier to breathe in or out. If you take more than
about four seconds for each positive or negative phase of a
rep, you need to breathe more than once during each phase
of a rep.
Not holding your breath also applies out of the gym. When­
ever you put forth effort, exhale to avoid elevated blood pres­
sure. During demanding exercise you won’t be able to get
enough air through your nose alone. Breathe through your
mouth. That means you shouldn’t close your mouth. Keep it
open—just slightly—and your teeth apart.
32) Avoid using knee or any other joint wraps.
Tight bandages around joints can mask injuries that are ag­
gravated by training.
33) Avoid painkillers. Don’t use painkillers before,
during or after training, as they usually mask problems. Solve
problems; don’t cover them up and incubate serious injury.
34) Don’t wear a lifting belt. Many bodybuilders wear
lifting belts—especially while deadlifting and squatting—under
the misconception that it will protect them from back injuries.
Some wear a loose lifting belt throughout their workouts as if
it’s an item of general clothing. A loose belt doesn’t provide
any support. On the other hand, a tight belt is uncomfortable,
can restrict exercise technique, can lead to increased blood
pressure and can be tolerated only for short-duration sets.
Powerlifters use lifting belts for singles and low-rep work.
Wearing a lifting belt can create a false sense of security
that encourages the use of incorrect exercise technique.
It may let a lifter use more weight than he could otherwise
handle, which will cause greater injury if exercise technique
isn’t correct.
Build your own natural belt by developing a strong corset of
40 JUNE 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com
Free download from imbodybuilding.com
Part 4
muscle. Not wearing a belt
helps your body strengthen
its core musculature. A
lifting belt is a crutch—train
without it.
35) Don’t be foolish. Many injuries occur because a
bodybuilder has given in to bravado. Don’t try something you
know you’re not ready for, and don’t try another rep when
you know you can’t hold correct technique. Never go heavy in
an exercise you’re not familiar with or haven’t done for a few
weeks. Ignore people who encourage you
to try something you know is risky. They
won’t have to live with the consequences of
a moment of foolishness, but you will.
For exercises where the weight could
pin you, especially the squat and the bench
press, always use safety bars, such as
those of a power rack, and, ideally, a spot­
ter as well. Squat, bench press and incline-
press stations should incorporate safety
bars that the barbell can rest on if you fail
on a rep.
Neveux \ Model: John Hansen
36) Keep your wits about you.
Don’t just be concerned about what you’re
doing in the gym. Be aware of what’s
happening around you, and stay clear of
danger.
37) Wear appropriate footwear.
Shoes with thick, spongy soles and heels
may be fine for some activities but not for
strength training. A spongy base won’t keep your feet solidly
in position. That doesn’t mean you should train barefoot. Your
feet need support, but they need the right support.
Function comes first in the gym. Get yourself a sturdy pair
of shoes with good grip on the soles, arch support and, pref­
erably, no height difference between the sole and heel. That’s
especially important when squatting, deadlifting and leg press­
ing because heel elevation increases stress on the knees in
those exercises.
Worn shoes can lead to deviations in exercise technique.
Discard shoes that have unevenly or excessively worn soles
or heels. Ideally, have a pair of shoes you wear solely for gym
work. Furthermore, when you train, keep your laces tied tightly.
Even a small change in the height of the heel or the rela­
tive difference between the heel and sole thicknesses of your
shoes can mar your training. That applies especially to the
squat and the deadlift, although a change in balance can have
a negative effect on some other exercises, too.
38) Concentrate! Be 100 percent focused while you
train. Never be casual. Never turn your head or talk during a
set or pay attention to what anyone’s saying other than your
spotter, who is giving you technique reminders or encourage­
ment. Even a slight loss of focus leads to a loss of correct
technique and an increased risk of injury.
—Stuart McRobert
www.Hardgainer.com
Editor’s note: Stuart McRobert’s first
byline in IRON MAN appeared in 1981.
He’s the author of the new 638-page
bodybuilding opus Build Muscle, Lose Fat,
Look Great, available from Home Gym
Warehouse (800) 447-0008 or www
.Home-Gym.com.
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TRAIN TO GAIN AGELESS WORKOUTS

High Reps vs. Low Reps Hormones during training: young and old
One reason muscle mass declines with age is that the onds between
various anabolic hormones, such as testosterone and growth sets. They also
hormone, decline, while the catabolic hormones—mainly participated
cortisol—rise. You have two options for dealing with signifi­ in a control
cant body changes like that. You can supplement the miss­ session, in
ing hormones, or you can exercise. Weight training can help which they
maintain much of your anabolic hormone output. didn’t exercise
It becomes increasingly difficult, however, to train the same but sat quietly
way at 40 as you did at 20. Trust me: It’s the voice of experi­ while blood
ence talking. If I were to attempt to lift the kind of weight now was drawn at
that I did when I was in my 20s, I’d probably injure myself. the same inter­
Certain exercises I just don’t do anymore because they’re too vals as during
risky. exercise.
Years ago I interviewed Al Beckles, who was still compet­ Measure­
ing successfully at the pro level in bodybuilding, defeating ments included
men half his age. At the time, Beckles claimed to be nearly hormone and
50 years old. I asked him how he dealt with injuries, and he blood lactate
replied that he didn’t have any. He explained that he’d devel­ levels before,
oped his considerable muscle mass through years of heavy immediately
training; indeed, he’d started out as an Olympic lifter in Great after and 15
Britain. When he reached 40, though, he changed his training minutes fol­
style. Instead of constant heavy training, he used moderately lowing the Albert Beckles changed his heavy

Neveux
heavy weights and higher reps. According to Beckles, that workout. The training style when he hit 40.
relieved the strain on his joints and enabled him to continue lactate in­
to train hard. creased in both groups, with the highest levels in the younger
A recent study confirms many of Beckle’s empirical obser­ men. Testosterone and cortisol were higher in both groups
vations. Two groups of men, one young (average age 23) and right after and 15 minutes after the workout compared to the
one older (average age 69), both with training experience, inactive control measurements, showing that the exercise
used a “strength endurance” program, lifting weights equal to had a definite effect on hormone release. Growth hormone
60 percent of one-rep maximum for 15 reps a set. They did increased in both the young and old, with the younger men
six exercises for both upper and lower body, resting 90 sec­ showing greater amounts.
The study shows that you
METABOLIC MOMENTUM can get much of the benefit of
lifting heavy weights with lighter

Dead-On Mass weights. That’s particularly good

news to anyone over 40. The
younger men had more growth
Is the deadlift the king of back ex­ hormone because they also had
more exercise lactate, which
ercises? Mike Mentzer used to think
is a stimulus to GH secretion
so. Charles Poliquin has named the during exercise. The older men
deadlift the most underrated body­ produced less lactate because
building exercise. Eight-time Mr. they had less muscle than their
Neveux \ Model: Robert Hatch

Olympia Ronnie Coleman pulls more younger counterparts.

than 800 pounds. You put two and One message of the study is
two together. that you may want to consider
Beckles’ advice as you reach
The sheer intensity of the dead middle age. Consider using
smokes your whole back, from top moderate weights and perhaps
to bottom. The lats keep the bar higher reps. You will still get a
from getting away—through a com­ and lower back—well, that’s obvi­ definite anabolic hormone effect,
plex anatomical rig with the unpro­ ous. which will help to maintain the
nounceable name of lumbodorsal To get the most out of the deadlift muscle you’ve developed over
the years. If you’re lucky, you
fascia. They aid your erectors in in the meat-building department, may even be able to add some
keeping your spine straight. start with five sets of five three times new muscle.
The muscles between your shoul­ every two weeks; for instance, Mon­ —Jerry Brainum
der blades keep your upper back day, Friday and Wednesday. Start
in its proper alignment. The neck light, with a weight you can pull at Smilois, I., et al. (2006).
doesn’t get to relax either. Few pow­ least 10 times, and add a couple of Hormonal responses after a
erlifters do any direct neck work and strength endurance resistance
pounds at every workout.
exercise protocol in young and
even fewer can fit their bull necks —Pavel elderly males. Int J Sports Med.
into store-bought shirts. The traps Beyond Bodybuilding In press.

42 JUNE 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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 Charles Poliquin’s
Smart Training
Too Much
Pain to Gain
Q: I’ve had periodic elbow soreness over the years
from training. A couple of sportsmedicine doctors
said that it’s inflammation caused by years of heavy
training. Can you suggest anything other than glu­
cosamine and chondroitin, fish oil and vitamin C
that I should be taking to help alleviate it?
A: While nutrition may help, you have to look also at
soft-tissue alignment and/or training technique. Many
times nutrition won’t relieve elbow pain. That’s when you
should try a qualified soft-tissue practitioner, familiar with
weight training, to treat the problem.
Nutritionwise, I recommend fish oils and C3-curcumin
for inflammation of the elbows. Take anywhere from 15 to
45 grams a day of fish oil, in divided doses, depending how
lean you are, and nine to 15 capsules a day of curcumin,
depending on the degree of inflammation. That should
lower the inflammation. I recommend glucosamine and
chondroitin products only if the bones are affected, not for
tendinitis. Long-term use of glucosamine and chondroitin
use can interfere with insulin sensitivity.
Free download from imbodybuilding.com
If that doesn’t bring relief, you may want to look into
a liver cleanse. In Chinese medicine, elbow tendinitis is
linked to liver health. I’ve worked with lifters who have
gotten rid of chronic elbow tendinitis by doing a good liver
cleanse, alternating two Japanese herbal formulas for four
to eight weeks. If you believe you need to do that, call (401)
294-2066 and order my liver cleanse.
If you still have pain after a liver cleanse, consider a food
allergy panel. In many individuals a food allergy mani­
fests as tendinitis. I had elbow pain like yours for years, no
matter what I did. Even the lightest weight would make
me cringe. Once I figured out I was allergic to wheat and
stopped eating all gluten-containing products, my elbow
pain disappeared five days later and never came back.
Q: Coach, there’s very little written on the best
way to warm up for strength training. Any ideas on
where I could get information on that topic?
A: You’re right. There’s not much devoted to that topic. A
few weeks ago my colleague John Paul Cantarazzo released
a DVD called “Warm Up for Strength Training.” It shows
a plethora of warmup tools ranging from Swiss balls to
foam rollers to, of course, free weights. It addresses various
methods of warming up, from the correct forms of stretch­
ing to dynamic movements using the pendulum approach.
The DVD can be used by the neophyte lifter or the expe­
rienced strength coach, as it shows many techniques that
I’m sure many of my colleagues are not aware of. To pur­
chase John’s DVD, go to www.StrengthWarmup.com.
Performing the techniques illustrated on the DVD will
boost your chances of remaining
injury free and enable you to use
greater loads in training.
Q: Why do you advocate so
many long-range deadlifts?
A: I have always been a be­
liever in long-range movements
for maximum benefits in the
training room. I was first exposed
to that concept by Terry Hadlow,
who in the ’80s was the only
non–Communist bloc weight-
lifter ranked in the top eight
in the world, which back then
would have been the equivalent
of Guatemala having a football
team in the Super Bowl.
The man was brutally strong,
particularly in his lower back. He
gave credit to the coach he had in
his teenage years, who had him
do deadlifts using only 25-pound
metal plates to force a greater
range than the standard 45s.
Of course, a simpler solution
is to use a platform, one basically
the same size as a case of soda.
Neveux \ Model: Jeff Hammond
Elbow pain may be the
result of anything from
improper nutrition to bad
exercise form to food
allergies.
 COST OF REDEMPTION
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Mitsuru Okabe spent 4 days
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to his sixth win in a row of the
Mr. Olympia. This DVD is shot
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goal and he lives his life to
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press—almost every 45-pound
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 Charles Poliquin’s
Smart Training
That way you can still use 45-pound plates, and you don’t
need as many plates.
One of the biggest proponents of full-range movements
in the bodybuilding world is Gustavo Badell. He credits his
tremendous back, glute and hamstring development to
doing deadlifts on a platform. He doesn’t care that the load
he uses is 150 to 200 pounds lighter than what he’d use for
regular deadlifts, as he feels that the added range has con­
tributed to his enormous posterior-chain development. In
fact, newer lab research suggests that exercises that over­
load the stretch position contribute to hyperplasia, a split­
ting of muscle fiber.
Another simple way to increase range is to widen your
grip. Many Olympic throwers, sprinters and bobsledders
have seen a dramatic improvement in their sporting re­
sults after adding wide-grip deadlifts to their preparation
schemes.
Whether you are interested in greater hypertrophy or
functional strength for your sport, longer range deadlifts
are a short-cut to your goals.
Q: What are some advantages and disadvantages
of a low-carb nutrition approach?
48 JUNE 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com
Free download from imbodybuilding.com
Gustavo Badell credits a
lot of his back size and
detail to full-range regular
deadlifts. He frequently
does them on a platform
to increase his range of
motion.
A: There are so many advan­
tages to low-carb nutrition that I
tend to use it for about 75 percent
of my clients. Still, it’s not for ev­
erybody. Some genotypes do very
poorly on it, and the extent of how
badly they do on it is a function of
how long they are on it. Before you
look at the advantages and disad­
vantages, as Jonny Bowden would
say, “You need to approach your
fat-loss system the way you should
approach relationships: with daily
attention, nurturing, support,
crisis management, intervention,
focus, consciousness and mindful­
ness. It requires good negotiation
skills. All the things we tend not to
have when it comes to food.”
Here are some advantages of
following a low-carb diet:
1) It promotes muscle gains
while reducing fat stores. I’m
not a believer in the bulk-up/get­
lean approach in hypertrophy
training. I strongly believe that if
75 percent of the population wants
to gain lean body mass while los­
Neveux
ing fat, the low-carb approach will
do it better than anything, espe­
cially with supplements that en­
hance insulin sensitivity. Because insulin sensitivity tends
to improve on a low-carb diet, fat loss is more sustained.
2) It’s a very valuable in treating dyslipidemia.
Low-carb diets are particularly effective at reducing triglyc­
erides and very low-density lipoprotein, or VLDL, the very
bad kind of cholesterol. They also have a significant effect
on reducing LDL. Their effect on raising high-density lipo­
protein, the good form of cholesterol, is not as dramatic.
Overall, though, a low-carb diet improves the HDL to LDL
ratio in a manner that significantly reduces cardiovascular
risk.
3) It reduces inflammation. Many patients report
reduced joint pain while following a low-carb diet. High
insulin levels correlate with inflammation markers. As the
insulin output is lower with low-carb diets, another cardio­
vascular risk marker, Hs-CRP, goes down faster than Paris
Hilton after a few highballs.
4) Improved glycemia and insulin levels. Blood
sugar management is probably the biggest benefit of low­
carb diets. Insulin is the hormone of aging and inflam­
mation, and 68 percent of Americans are prediabetic.
Managing insulin is one of the best ways of guaranteeing
healthy long life. An added benefit of improving glycemia is
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 Charles Poliquin’s
Smart Training

Lab research suggests that

stretch-position exercises may
contribute to hyperplasia, a
splitting of muscle fibers.

Q: What number of sets and reps

would you recommend for in-season
strength training for high school wres­
tlers? A typical practice is very demand­
ing, so I was thinking low volume with
high intensity. The exercises I like are
chinups or pullups, single-leg squats,
dumbbell chest presses or plyometric
pushups and a rowing movement.
A: For high school wrestlers the best ap­
proach in-season is to do one to two sets of
a four-to-10 RM weight and no more than
eight exercises that cover the whole body.

Neveux \ Model: Jay Cutler

Your main concern in-season is to maintain
muscle mass. So a routine would look like
this:

A-1 Front squats, 1-2 x 4-6 on a 4/0/X/0

tempo, rest two minutes
A-2 Lying leg curls, feet inward, 1-2 x 4-6
reduced mood swings and less likelihood of food bingeing. on a 4/0/X/0 tempo, rest two minutes
5) Lowered blood pressure. Because low-carb diets B-1 Sternum chinups, 1-2 x 6-8 on a 3/0/X/0 tempo,
reduce inflammation, improved blood pressure is a direct rest 100 seconds
benefit. B-2 Incline dumbbell presses, 1-2 x 6-8 on a 3/0/X/0
6) Greater energy. Before all the armchair experts lash tempo, rest 100 seconds
out and rush to burn Canadian embassies, hear me out. C-1 One-arm dumbbell rows, 1 x 8-10 on a 3/0/X/0
Greater energy is indeed a very common report of low-carb tempo, rest 90 seconds
dieters. Psychometrics tests always report greater well­ C-2 Seated dumbbell presses, 1 x 8-10 on a 3/0/X/0
being of the patient after this dietary approach. It probably tempo, rest 90 seconds
has more to do with the better management of glycemia.
As Robert Crayhon says, you want more energy, take care Keep the workouts short. The only goal is staying
of your mitochondria. Lower insulin levels help with the healthy. In-season is not the time to try to build strength.
mitochondria’s energy-producing capacities. Wrestling is more important now; build your strength in
the off-season. The main goals of in-season training are to
Here are some disadvantages of low-carb diets: maintain levels of muscle mass and strength and ensure
balance between the muscular structures.
1) Meals tend to be bland. Even so, there are plenty
of resources, such as books like Living the Low Carb Life by Editor’s note: Charles Poliquin is recognized as one
Jonny Bowden, that will provide you with a wealth of cook­ of the world’s most suc­
ing tips (www.JonnyBowden.com). cessful strength coaches,
2) Food prep time is greater. Since the meat con­ having coached Olympic
tent is greater, more time is needed to prepare the food. medalists in 12 different
Cooking a steak takes more time than making a sandwich. sports, including the U.S.
But again, there are solutions. If you substitute lettuce for women’s track-and-field
bread, you can do low-carb wraps in a flash. team for the 2000 Olym­
3) Constipation is often an issue. That can be offset pics. He’s spent years
by taking in a mixture of ground flaxseed hulls and ground researching European
fenugreek seeds first thing in the morning. Besides provid­ journals (he’s fluent in
ing the body with many forms of fibers, it detoxifies xeno­ English, French and Ger­
estrogens and improves insulin sensitivity. man) and speaking with
4) Possible nutrient deficiencies. I recommend that other coaches and scien­
all my clients take quality multivitamin supplements. That tists in his quest to opti­
goes along with a plan of antioxidants that changes every mize training methods.
eight days. To make it simple, I change the antioxidant For more on his books,
Bradford

colors. For example, the first product may have five to six seminars and methods,
flavonoids like limonene, which means the base color is visit www.CharlesPoliquin
yellow. The next eight days we switch to purple, so we use a .net. Also, see his ad on Charles Poliquin
formula that has grapeseed extract, bilberry, and so on. page 185. IM
w w w. C h a r l e s P o l i q u i n . n e t
50 JUNE 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com
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Train ™ \ JULY 2006 181
 NUTRITION SCIENCE
The Nutrition/Hormone Link
Both exercise and good nutrition
contribute to gains in muscle size and
strength, as well as fat loss. Various
scientific studies have examined how
specific combinations of nutrients can
influence anabolic and catabolic reac­
tions in muscle. Nutrient and exercise
interactions have also been investi­
gated.1 The following is an overview of
what the research has thus far shown:
Growth hormone. While growth
hormone promotes muscle growth by
positively influencing muscle protein
synthesis, it also may blunt protein
breakdown. GH provides what scien­
tists call a nutrient-partitioning effect
that helps add muscle while also stimu­
lating the use of fat instead of carbohy­
drates as fuel.
While intense exercise stimulates GH
What you eat or
drink before and
after a workout
can change your
growth hormone
levels.
Free download from imbodybuilding.com
secretion, the extent of its release is
modified by certain nutritional practices.
For example, having a drink con­
taining 25 grams of protein and
50 grams of carbohydrate before
and after weight training in­
creases the release of GH more
than exercise alone. It also pro­
duces a rise in GH levels in the blood
several hours after the workout.
What you want to avoid is fat. Ex­
cess fatty acids in the blood block the
release of GH, and eating fat prior to
training blunts GH release. So, surpris­
ingly, does the amino acid arginine.
(Arginine promotes GH release but
only under resting conditions, and you
have to take in quite a lot to make that
happen.) The B-complex vitamin niacin
blocks the use of fat during exercise.
Paradoxically, that increases
the GH response to exercise
because of the lower fatty
acid levels in blood.
Some people have writ­
ten that GH release during
exercise doesn’t mean much
because the GH is broken
down in the liver after about
an hour. Recent research,
however, shows that there
are more than 100 forms of
GH in the body, and exercise
interacts with the hormone
to extend its anabolic effects
on muscle protein synthesis.
Insulinlike growth
factor 1. Most of the
anabolic effects of growth
hormone are attributable to
Neveux / Model: Nezzar Jamo
IGF-1, which is secreted in
the liver under the influence
of GH release. IGF-1 is also
produced locally in muscle,
where it participates in reac­
tions related to muscle repair
and growth. It lasts far lon­
Anabolic-diet facts
ger in the blood than GH because it’s
bound to proteins that prevent its pre­
mature breakdown. As with other hor­
mones that bind to proteins in blood,
only the free, or unbound, hormone is
considered biologically active.
Eating doesn’t affect a person’s IGF­
1, although levels do decline with insuf­
ficient calorie or protein intake. What
feeding does affect, however, are the
binding proteins associated with IGF-1,
specifically insulinlike growth factor-
binding protein 1. As the name implies,
IGFBP-1 can have a minor insulinlike
impact on blood glucose. When liver
glycogen levels drop after extended ex­
ercise, IGFBP-1 increases and prevents
further lowering of blood glucose.
One recent study examined the
hormonal effect of an ultralow level of
carbohydrate (5 percent) coupled with a
high protein intake (35 percent) for one
week in eight healthy young subjects.2
That diet was compared to a typical
Western diet of 60 percent carbs, 30
percent fat and 10 percent protein.
Both diets contained the same number
of total daily calories.
The measurements of blood plasma
showed a 50 percent drop in insulin
levels; a 32 percent rise in free IGF-1;
and a 14 percent decrease in IGFBP-3
(the primary protein-binder of IGF-1 in
blood). There was no change in total
IGF-1 or GH release, but the amount of
IGF-1 messenger RNA in muscle dou­
bled, as did the rate of muscle protein
synthesis. Paradoxically, whole-body
protein breakdown (other than muscle)
increased 20 percent, apparently the
result of depressed insulin induced by
the lack of carbs. A higher protein
intake with minimal carbs seems
to provoke a positive anabolic
response in muscle because of
the upgraded activity of muscle
IGF-1.
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• Has anterior pituitary peptides, which normalize somatostatin,
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• Has produced a 12 to 36.6 percent increase in IGF-1 levels
(IGF-1 is one of the body’s most anabolic hormones)
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More growth hormone can...
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Muscle-Link. GH Stak is a trademark of Muscle-Link. These statements have not been evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Nutrition With a Get-Big Mission
Testosterone. Testosterone is the
hormone that most people think has the
most potent anabolic effect in muscle.
The well-known effects of anabolic ste-
roid drugs, which are synthetic versions
of testosterone designed to increase its
anabolic effects, illustrate the point.
You’d think that eating promotes a
rise in testosterone, but the opposite is
the case. Testosterone tends to drop
after meals, while cortisol rises. Exactly
why isn’t clear. The lowered testoster-
one may reflect an increase in cellular
uptake. Exercise promotes an increase
in androgen receptors, which interact
with Big T at the cellular level and thus
diminish it in the blood.
Other studies show that certain
types of fat can influence testosterone
levels. Eating saturated fat depresses
them for about two hours after the
meal. Yet saturated fat maintains
testosterone levels in the body.
So do monounsaturated fats,
such as those found in olive oil
and avocados. Lowering fat intake
to less than 20 percent of daily calories
leads to a significant drop in blood tes-
tosterone. Omega-3 fatty acids, found
in fish, nuts and other foods, lower
total testosterone but don’t affect
other hormones, including the ac­
tive, or free, form of testosterone
and estrogen.
Cortisol. When cortisol levels
are high, levels of anabolic hor­
mones, such as GH and testos­
terone, are low and vice versa.
For muscle growth it’s best to
limit the release of cortisol, the
body’s primary catabolic hor­
mone.
Several studies have shown
that carbohydrates may blunt
cortisol release during exercise.
Experiments involving weight
training, however, have dem­
onstrated that having a protein-
and-carb drink before and after
training influences GH levels but
Free download from imbodybuilding.com
has no effect on cortisol. Having carbs
during training, however, seems to blunt
the cortisol response. One study found
that taking in carbs during a weight
workout led to an increase in muscle
size ascribed to lowered cortisol levels.
Trouble is, chowing down carbs during
training blunts the use of fat as fuel. You
also need to limit the carbs to prevent
possible gastrointestinal problems such
as nausea. That means a workout drink
should contain no more than 8 percent
carbs, along with some electrolytes,
meaning minerals, to promote greater
fluid uptake. Adding amino acids or
protein to the drink is useless, since
no muscle protein synthesis occurs
during training and protein is used as
a fuel source only after available carb
sources—glycogen and blood glu-
cose—begin to dwindle.
From a supplemental stand-
point, phosphatidylserine has
been shown in several studies to
lower exercise-induced cortisol
levels by an average of 30 per-
cent. The effect is thought to be due
to PS’s blunting of ACTH, the hormone
that controls cortisol release from the
cortex portion of the adrenal glands.
Some recent
studies have
found no effect
of PS on corti-
sol but did find
that it extended
exercise endur-
ance.
Insulin.
Although most
associated with
glucose uptake
into cells, insulin
is a potent ana-
bolic hormone.
That explains
why healthy
bodybuilders
often use insulin
in combination
with other
anabolic hor­
mones, such
as testoster­
one and GH.
All three offer
synergistic
effects. GH
tends to raise
blood glucose
levels, while
insulin lowers
it. GH primar­ PS controls cortisol.
ily promotes muscle protein synthesis,
while insulin prevents muscle protein
breakdown and opposes the activity of
cortisol. Insulin also promotes amino
acid uptake into muscle, glycogen
replenishment and creatine uptake.
Most bodybuilders don’t re-
alize that insulin has anabolic
effects in muscle only in the
presence of an abundance of
amino acids. That explains the main
mechanism of protein-and-carb drinks
consumed before and after training.
The combination boosts insulin release
more than either nutrient alone. Taken
before training, that type of drink inter-
acts with exercise, since the increased
blood flow also boosts amino acid entry
into muscle. Adding the branched-chain
amino acid leucine to the mix further
boosts the way the drink affects muscle
protein synthesis, leading to definite
anabolic effects in muscle.
—Jerry Brainum
References
1 Volek, J., et al. (2006). Diet, ex-
ercise, and hormone interactions
in skeletal muscle. Hormone Res.
66(supp1):17-21.
2 Harber, M.P., et al. (2005). Effects
of dietary carbohydrate restriction with
high protein intake on protein metabo­
lism and the somatotropic axis. J Clin
Endocrin Metabo. 90:5175-81.
www.ironmanmagazine.com \ JUNE 2007 53
LIFT BIG TO GET BIG
Build Incredible Pressing Power and Bulletproof Shoulders

Unfortunately, shoulder injury

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Eat to Grow

NUTRITION NOTES

Food Facts
That can affect your
workouts, weight and wellness
Orange juice
should be a part
of your breakfast.
A study from
Vanderbilt Uni­
versity showed
that drinking
three glasses of
fruit or vegetable
juice every week
cut the risk of
memory loss by
76 percent.
Trans
fats are
bad for your
heart, and
they may
WARRIOR NUTRITION AND EXERCISE release more
calories than
other types of fat. In a new study
Better Body With Probiotics monkeys gained three times more
bodyfat on an 8 percent trans fat diet
than others fed the same calories
Probiotics are the friendly (beneficial) bacteria in your digestive tract. without any trans fat.
They’re necessary for healthy digestion and may be the first line of de­ Resveratrol,
fense in preventing disease. the compound in
The main function of probiotics is to aid in the efficient absorption of red wine believed to
food, vitamins and minerals. They secrete antibiotic substances that de­ be responsible for
its health benefits,
stroy harmful bacteria, yeast and parasites and thereby help you digest
appears to boost
and assimilate your food (and so use protein optimally). endurance. A study
The human gastrointestinal tract is supposed to contain 85 percent published in Cell
“good” bacteria and 15 percent found that resvera­
“bad” bacteria. Unfortunately, many trol-supplemented
Westerners today have the opposite mice could run
ratio. When our ancestors ate fresh double the distance of the mice not
given the supplement.
plants hundreds and thousands of Vitamin D
years ago, they unknowingly took deficiency may
in large amounts of the beneficial be one of the
microorganisms. With the advent of biggest cancer
modern farming techniques, which triggers. More
use pesticides, herbicides and fungi­ than 1,000
studies show
cides, however, the essential microorganisms have been greatly depleted
a link between
from our food supply. Therefore, supplementation is often needed. a lower risk of cancer and vitamin D.
—Ori Hofmekler In fact, low levels of vitamin D may
produce up to a 70 percent increase
Editor’s note: Ori Hofmekler is the author of in the risk for prostate cancer and
the books The Warrior Diet and Maximum Muscle & double the risk of colon cancer. Get
Minimum Fat, published by Dragon Door Publications some sunshine so your body can
make more vitamin D—and/or use
(www.dragondoor.com). For more information or for
supplements.
a consultation, contact him at ori@warriordiet.com, —Becky Holman
www.warriordiet.com or by phone at (866) WAR-DIET. www.X-tremeLean.com

54 JUNE 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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Included is complete
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•Chest training
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Eat to Grow
MUSCLE MEALS
Meal Frequency and Bodyfat
Those looking to lose bodyfat are frequentlly advised to
eat smaller meals more frequently. I’ve spoken with several
champion bodybuilders who eat six to 12 meals daily. Some
of those meals consist of nutrient drinks rather than solid food.
Eating small meals more often maintains a high level of blood
nitrogen from protein. Famed trainer Vince Gironda often
suggested swallowing several liver tablets every two hours for
anabolic purposes. Barry Sears, a biochemist who designed
the Zone eating plan, notes that your blood chemistry changes
every four hours, explaining why it’s vital to get in a meal within
that time.
Smaller meals taken more frequently also offer a number of
health benefits. The smaller the meal, the lower the release of
insulin and cortisol—both of which rise after a meal while tes­
tosterone drops. Maintaining lower insulin and cortisol tends
to limit bodyfat synthesis. Keeping a lid on insulin also leads
to a more stable blood glucose level, which, in turn, prevents
binges. Smaller but nutrient-dense meals tend to blunt the
increased fat synthesis that results from larger meals. Some
studies even suggest that the more often you eat, the lower
your blood lipids, such as cholesterol, so there’s less risk of
cardiovascular disease. Other hormones also come into play
in relation to meal frequency, such as leptin, GLP-1 and chole­
cystokinin, among others.
Does reducing your usual number of meals have any
adverse effects on body composition? French researchers
examined that issue in a study involving 24 young men, all of
normal weight. For 28 days half of the group ate four meals a
day, while the other half ate three. The meals differed only in
that the four-a-day group ate an afternoon meal. Over time the
subjects either added or dropped one meal from their eating
plan.
ANTIOXIDANTS
Leaded or Unleaded?
Coffee has recently been heralded as chock-full
of antioxidants and good for most people’s health.
But what about decaf? “There is no significant
difference in the anti­
oxidant levels between
decaf and regular cof­
fee,” according to Joe
Vinson, Ph.D., profes­
sor of chemistry at the
University of Scranton
in Pennsylvania. If you
have an aversion to
caffeine, you can still
get coffee’s health ben­
efits. Just go decaf.
—Becky Holman
www.X-tremeLean.
com
Free download from imbodybuilding.com
No changes resulted
from adding a meal,
but dropping one led to
increased bodyfat and
late-evening measures of leptin. Some decreased
activity accounted for fewer calories burned, but the subjects
who deleted the meal also increased their fat intake at the
other meals. That, coupled with less activity, caused them to
gain fat. Other studies show that after periods of decreased
eating, there is a tendency to eat more fat, as if the body were
attempting to make up for the calorie deficit. Since fat has a
greater concentration of calories than either carbs or protein,
the reason for the weight gain is clear.
The study did not distinguish between different types of fat
or consider the influence of increased exercise or even com­
bination of nutrients. For example, if the subjects had upped
their activity, the added calories in the other meals would have
been oxidized, and they wouldn’t have gained fat.
Although proportions of nutrients weren’t discussed, fat
gain would also likely have been avoided if the meal-dropping
subjects had cut down on their carbs, assuming that the fat
intake increased. That would have promoted a greater use of
fat as a fuel source, again avoiding a fat gain.
Finally, some forms of fat, such as trans fats and saturated
fats, tend to stimulate insulin resistance, which fosters fat gain.
Other, more benign fats, such as omega-3s, not only don’t
encourage fat gain but help suppress it as well.
—Jerry Brainum
Chapelot, D., et al. (2006). Consequence of omitting or
adding a meal in man on body composition, food intake, and
metabolism. Obesity. 14:215-227.
G LY C E M I C I N D E X
Careful With Carrots?
Carrots are often
said to be bad for
dieters because
they’re high on the
glycemic index.
That depends,
however, on how
many carrots you
eat. According to
Rob Thompson,
M.D., author of the
Glycemic-Load
Diet, you’d need to
eat 30 raw carrots
to get the same
glucose shock as you’d get from one bagel.
—Becky Holman
www.X-tremeLean.com
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Eat to Grow
ANABOLIC DRIVE
Brain Plasticity and Supplementation
You lift weights and eat plenty of protein, and what hap­
pens? You get bigger. Isn’t it that simple? We know that
muscles adapt to whatever exercise or nutrition you provide.
The visual aspect is certainly clear for all to see—the marathon
runner with little to no fat and not much muscle vs. the body­
builder with a tremendous amount of muscle and a variable
amount of bodyfat. But did you know that your brain also
adapts to proper diet and/or supplementation? The evidence
for that is fairly robust. I’d suggest you treat your brain the way
you treat your muscles. If you give it the right nutrients, func­
tion is optimal. If you feed it junk, be prepared for an IQ closer
to that of an avocado than an Einstein.
For instance, one study looked at the effects of swimming
and phytotherapeutic supplementation on oxidative damage
and brain cell survival. Oxidative stress, inflammation and
neurotrophic markers were measured in the brains of Wistar
rats that did “forced, chronic” (as the researchers called it)
swimming and that got a diet enriched with leaves of dried
nettle (Urtica dioica). Nettle looks like a hairy weed with attrac­
tive little flowers. It’s been used as a medicine in Europe for
more than 2,000 years. A tea made from its leaves and stems
has been used to stop bleeding. The root is a known diuretic
and relieves prostate problems, and dried nettle has antioxi­
dant properties. The rats were divided into groups subjected
to swimming (six weeks) or to nettle supplementation (eight
weeks) or to a combination of the two. Nettle supplementation
dispersed concentration of free radicals in two areas of the
brain, the cerebellum and frontal lobe.1
Research done with animal subjects has looked at the
effect of various nutrients on focal ischemic brain damage, or
oxygen deprivation. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed
equal amounts of food. One group got blueberry, spinach or
spirulina, the other a control diet. Animals that ate blueberry-,
spinach- or spirulina-enriched diets had a significant reduction
in the amount of damage to the brain.2 Another study exam­
ined the powerful antioxidant spice curcumin, which counter­
acted oxidative damage in the injured brain.3 Sesame oil may
also have a protective effect against brain ischemia.4
In an intriguing case study of a human patient, an essen­
tial fatty acid supplement rich in eicosapentaenoic acid was
given daily to a female with a six-year history of unremitting
58 JUNE 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com
Free download from imbodybuilding.com
symptoms
of chronic
fatigue
syndrome.
Cerebral
magnetic
resonance
scanning
was carried
out at base­
line and 16
weeks later.
The EPA-
rich essential
fatty acid
supplemen­
tation led to
a dramatic
improve­
ment in her symptoms, starting within six to eight weeks. The
brain scan revealed a change in her brain’s morphology.5
It should be as clear as the Montana sky that what you eat
goes to your head as well. The best general advice your pal­
ate can take is to eat as many plants and unprocessed carbs
as possible, rather than the processed crap you typically see
on the grocer’s shelves.
—Jose Antonio, Ph.D.
Editor’s note: You can listen to Dr. Jose Antonio and
Carla Sanchez on their radio show Performance Nutrition,
Web and podcast at www.performancenutritionshow.com. Dr.
Antonio is the CEO of the International Society of Sports
Nutrition—www.TheISSN.org. His other Web sites include
www.SupplementCoach.com, www.Javafit.com, www
.PerformanceNutritionShow.com and www.JoseAntonioPhD
.com.
References
1 Toldy, A., et al. (2005). The effect of exercise and nettle
supplementation on oxidative stress markers in the rat brain.
Brain Res Bull. 65(6):487-93.
2 Wang, Y., et al. (2005). Dietary supplementation with blue­
berries, spinach, or spirulina reduces ischemic brain damage.
Exp Neurol. 193(1):75-84.
3 Wu, A., Ying, Z. and Gomez-Pinilla, F. (2006). Dietary
curcumin counteracts the outcome of traumatic brain injury on
oxidative stress, synaptic plasticity, and cognition. Exp Neurol.
197(2):309-17.
4 Ahmad, S., et al. (2006). Effect of dietary sesame oil as
antioxidant on brain hippocampus of rat in focal cerebral
ischemia. Life Sci. 79(20):1921-8.
5 Puri, B.K., Holmes, J. and Hamilton, G. (2004). Eicosa­
pentaenoic acid-rich essential fatty acid supplementation in
chronic fatigue syndrome associated with symptom remission
and structural brain changes. Int J Clin Pract. 58(3):297-9.
6 Scheff, S.W., and Dhillon, H.S. (2004). Creatine-enhanced
diet alters levels of lactate and free fatty acids after experimen­
tal brain injury. Neurochem Res. 29(2):469-79.
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Eat to Grow
AMINO AMMO

Is Your Protein Supplement Damaged?

Most quality protein supple­ aged. One of the more reactive
ments on the market consist of amino acids under those conditions
milk-derived proteins, such as is the essential amino lysine. When
casein and whey. While some the Maillard reaction damages ly­
include both proteins, others sine, it produces a chemical called
contain only whey and mixtures furosine, and high levels of furosine
of other proteins, such as soy. in a supplement indicate damaged
There are various grades of whey, protein. That can lead to reduced
depending on how it’s processed. protein value and digestibility.
Overcooking food proteins leads A recent study looked at what
to denaturization—heat damages happens when various commercial
the amino acids that make up milk-based protein supplements
proteins. Overprocessed proteins commonly used by athletes are
are far less digestible and may processed. Nineteen ingredients
interfere with the absorption of and 13 sports supplements from
other food proteins. around the world were analyzed,
The less heat applied, the and the researchers looked at the
better for protein quality. Another amount of furosine in each product.
factor is how much sugar the Soy contained the least, mainly
supplement contains. When protein and sugar are heated, because soy isn’t a rich source of lysine. Of the milk pro­
the Maillard reaction occurs—a chemical version of cara­ teins tested, casein had the least furosine because casein
melization, which breaks food down during cooking even is processed less than whey. That’s especially true of
as the cooking adds flavor—and the amino acids are dam­ micellar casein, which is naturally derived and the highest
quality available. Whey protein
isolate (WPI), which is higher in
LEAN MACHINE protein and lower in sugar than
whey protein concentrate, had
less furosine than WPC. That’s
Protein to Get Lean because WPC contains more
lactose (6 to 8 percent) than WPI
Most people know that to get leaner you have to (less than 1 percent). The lactose
increase your meal frequency to five or six a day and content makes the protein more
err on the side of more protein than carbs. But what subject to the Maillard reaction,
type of protein is best when your goal is to drop fat as leading to amino acid damage.
quickly as possible without losing valuable muscle? What does all of that mean
Most bodybuilders have chosen whey in the past for you, the consumer? Stick
few years because of its high biological value and fast with higher-quality protein that
absorption; however, the tide is changing to a fast/ features whey protein isolates
slow combo—a mix of whey and casein with a help­ as the primary whey ingredient.
ing of egg. Why? Casein is a slow-releasing protein, WPI contains an average 86.8
so it protects your muscle from being used for energy percent protein compared to the
after the fast whey has rapidly moved in and out of 13.4 percent found in WPC. The
your bloodstream. Casein sticks around and trickle- higher lactose content of WPC
feeds your muscle tissue long after the whey has beat makes it a filler protein, which
a retreat. That’s good for metabolic stimulation and saves the manufacturer money
Neveux

satiation.
Becky Holman. but may result in the premature
What about egg protein? Eggs have been champi­ degradation of the product. Note
oned as the perfect food, so having some egg aminos that a high level of furosine re­
in the mix complements the other two proteins perfectly. duces the availability of the other
A fast/slow combo protein, like Muscle-Link’s Pro-Fusion (a fusion of the above three proteins, leading to poorer nutri­
proteins), is great for quick between-meal feedings, as an amino supercharger taken tional effect.
with solid-food meals and as a preworkout shake. It’s also great before bed, as the —Jerry Brainum
slow-releasing casein feeds your recovering muscle through the night. (It was my choice
during my body transformation process; visit www.X-tremeLean.com for more on that.) Henares-Rufian, J.A., et
High-protein diets stimulate the metabolism and reduce hunger on low-calorie fat­ al. (2006). Assessing nutri­
loss-style diets, and an anabolic/anticatabolic mix extends both of those effects. You tional quality of milk-based sport
can thank casein’s ability to hang around for hours and hours for those lean-machine supplements as determined
boosts. by furosine. Food Chemistry.
—Becky Holman 101:573-78.
www.X-tremeLean.com

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 TM

PERFECT POSTWORKOUT MEAL

To Kick-Start Immediate Muscle Growth After You Train

Breakthrough research in
exercise metabolism now
reveals this fact: What you
consume (or don’t consume)
immediately after training plays
a critical role in determining
your success or failure! That
time period is known as the
“anabolic window” of growth.

The biggest mistake many

bodybuilders make is eating
a meal of chicken breasts,
baked potato or rice and
vegetables after a workout. This
is an approach doomed to fail
because by the time this meal
digests, the anabolic window
has slammed shut.

The best way to produce this

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 Model: Jonathan Lawson

62 JUNE 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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 GRIND OUT THE GROWTH REPS™
Beta-Alanine Gives Your Muscles More Grow Power™

The biggest bodybuilders know that

the last few grueling reps of a set are
the key growth reps. It’s why they fight
through the pain of muscle burn on
every work set-—so they trigger the
mass-building machinery. But sometimes
it’s not enough; the burn is too fierce.
Fortunately, there’s now a potent new
weapon in this massive firefight to help
you get bigger and stronger faster.

Red Dragon is a new beta-alanine

supplement that packs your muscles
with carnosine—up to 60 percent more.
Muscle biopsies show that the largest
bodybuilders have significantly more
carnosine in their fast-twitch muscle
fibers than sedentary individuals for good
reason: Carnosine buffers the burn to give
muscles more “grow power” on every set.
The bigger and stronger a muscle gets,
the more carnosine it needs to perform
at higher intensity levels. You must keep
your muscles loaded with carnosine to
grow larger and stronger. It all boils down
to intensity and the ability to buffer waste
products—hydrogen ions and lactic
acid—so the muscle doesn’t shut down
before growth activation.

Straight carnosine supplements degrade

too rapidly to reach the muscles; however,
more than 20 new studies document that
beta-alanine is converted to carnosine
very efficiently. All it takes is 1 1/2 grams
twice a day, and you’ll see new size in
your muscles and feel the difference in
the gym—you can double or triple your
growth-rep numbers! Imagine how fast
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Whatever You Need—Wherever You Train ™

Muscle-Training Program 92
From the IRONMAN Training & Research Center
by Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson • Photography by Michael Neveux

ast month we switched Then repeat Week 1.

things up and went Week 1
Monday: Workout 1 (chest, lats,
back to our original X- triceps, abs)
Rep program, which has Tuesday: Legs (and lower back)
given us incredible gains Wednesday: Workout 2 (delts,
in the past. But we added a midback, biceps, forearms)
Thursday: Off
couple of twists:
Friday: Workout 1 (chest, lats,
1) We’re training only triceps, abs + soleus)
four days a week instead Weekend: Off (with cardio)
of five—Monday, Tues­
day, Wednesday and Fri­ Week 2
day. We always work legs Monday: Workout 2 (delts, mid-
back, biceps, forearms)
on Tuesday. The other
Tuesday: Legs (and lower back)
bodyparts are split over Wednesday: Workout 1 (chest,
two workouts, which lats, triceps, abs)
Thursday: Off
alternate over the other
Friday: Workout 2 (delts, mid-
three days. Here’s a two- back, biceps, forearms + soleus)
week snapshot of the
Weekend: Off (with cardio)
schedule to clarify:
2) We’ve got a lot of X-hybrid
techniques—everything from
Double-X Overload to X Fade to
Static Xes—in our mass-build­
ing arsenal, and we’re not afraid
to use them. (Those techniques
and many others are explained in
our e-book Beyond X-Rep Muscle
Building.)
3) We’re wedging our X-Rep pro­
gram into Eric Broser’s Power/Rep
Range/Shock system.
Most readers are familiar with
P/RR/S, but for those who are new
to this series and Eric’s work, here’s
a breakdown. In our version we do
one workout for each muscle group
in the specific protocol, then move
to the next protocol at the next ses­
sion for those muscle groups.
Power. Train every exercise with
straight sets—no supersets, tri­
sets or drop sets—and reps in the
four-to-six zone. We use slightly

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w w w. I ro n M a n M a g a z i n e . c o m
Decline
extensions
hit all three
triceps heads compound, moves, so they have the
hard, while most potential for force generation,
the flat-bench a key component of hypertrophic
version is stimulation.
less efficient, Then we move to a more isolated
giving less of exercise, either a contracted- or
a blast to two etch-position movement. We do
of the heads. two sets separated by a 20-second
est—as in Dante’s DoggCrapp
method. The first set we do 10 to
12 reps. Then we reduce the weight
during our 20-second rest and crank
out 13 to 15 reps—usually adding an
X Fade at the end. That means we
do X Reps in the contracted position
followed immediately by X Reps in
the semistretch position. Talk about
a killer burn and pump!
After that we do a final set on
the missing-position exercise for
around eight reps, with X Reps or an
X-hybrid technique. A good exam­
ple is triceps. Here’s our current

Model: Idrise W
program (M = midrange, S = stretch,
C = contracted):
M: Decline extensions 2 x 7-9
higher reps on endur S: Rope pushouts
ented muscles like calves, abs and (MRR/P; drop) 2 x 10-12, 13-15
forearms. C: Dips or pushdowns 1 x 8-10
Shock. Here you put your mus­
Rep Range. For the first exercise cles through the meat grinder That’s not a lot of sets, but when
you pick a weight that lets you get with supersets, drop sets and so you add X Reps and X-hybrid tech­
seven to nine reps. For the second on. Reps for most muscles stay in niques, the ache and pump are
exercise you do 10 to 12 reps. On the eight-to-10 range, but extend- outrageous. We smack the target
the third exercise you move the ed-set techniques are a must. muscle down with intensity and
rep range up to the high-end of efficiency.
Whew! Now that the Some bodyparts get a slightly
preliminaries are out of different attack, such as superset­
We’ve the way, let’s get to the ting two exercises for the MRR/P
swapped meat of the issue this rep-out sets on the second exercise.
Smith- month—our custom A good example of that is lats:
machine Rep Range workouts (we
incline M: Pulldowns 2 x 7-9
explained Power last
presses Superset (20-second rest)
month; Shock will be
for incline S/C: Machine
next month). We’re not
dumbbell pullovers 1 x 10-12
quite following the above
C: Rope rows 1 x 13-15
presses. description of RR, but it’s
C: Undergrip pulldowns 1 x 8-10
close.
And for multiheaded bodyparts
Rep Range we sometimes add exercises to
cover all areas. A good example is
Redux our delt workout:
M: Smith-machine wide-grip
We’re starting every
upright rows 2 x 7-9
bodypart with a big,
C: Seated laterals
midrange movement,
(MRR/P; drop) 2 x 10-12, 13-15
usually doing two sets of
M: Smith-machine behind­
seven to nine reps, and
the-neck presses 2 x 7-9
we add X Reps and/or a
C: Bent-over laterals
Static X to the second set.
(MRR/P; drop) 2 x 10-12, 13-15
Remember, midrange ex­
S: One-arm cable laterals 1 x 8-10
ercises are multijoint, or

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 Train, Eat, Grow / Program 92
Wide-grip upright rows are a
midrange move for the medial-delt
heads. We follow those with a con­
tracted-position exercise for that
head, seated laterals done with a
slight forward lean. Then we go back
to a midrange exercise, Smith-ma­
chine behind-the-neck presses, that
focuses more on the front heads,
although the medial heads are still
involved. Then it’s rear-head work
with a contracted-position exercise,
bent-over laterals. We end with a
stretch-position move for the im­
portant medial head, one-arm cable
laterals. Once again, that’s not many
sets, but our delts are toast by the
end. It’s a very well-rounded rou­
tine—for well-rounded delts.
We won’t analyze every bodypart
routine. The point is that we’re flex­
ible about the Rep Range protocol;
the main thing is to hit the three rep
ranges. You can see all of our Rep
Range workouts on page 68.
Energize With Exercise
Sometimes you get in a rut and
don’t even realize it. It’s as if you
wake up and say, Hey, we’ve been
using this movement for almost a
year; time for a change. And that
one change can revitalize the entire
workout. We’ve recently made some
66 JUNE 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com
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version neglects the medial and lat­
eral heads somewhat. In other words,
declines are more efficient.
Incline dumbbell presses. We’ve
been using Smith-machine inclines
for a long while. It’s a great exercise,
but you can get burned out on any
move. We’ve swapped it for incline
dumbbell presses—when possible.
Our DBs go up to only 120s, so on
Power day (four to six reps) we may
have to go back to the Smith machine.
Or we could opt for a Double-X Over­
load set; that is, doing an X Rep after
each full rep. That requires less weight
while overloading the key semistretch
point more than a standard set. For
Rep Range day we’re doing both sets
with dumbbells at the moment.
Incline one-arm
Model: Jonathan Lawson
laterals work well as Free-bar squats. We always won­
a stretch-position der why we stopped doing this great
medial-delt-head exercise, and then—Bam!—our lower
movement. backs go out at the bottom once the
weight starts getting heavy. That’s why
we’ve decided to use it with lighter
exercise changes and additions that weights only. To ensure that, we do
have done just that. You may have our squats at the very end of our
noticed one in the triceps routine. quad workout. It feels great to crank
out reps and actually feel our quads
Decline extensions. We were working—and we can keep our tor­
doing close-grip bench presses as sos upright to get better front-thigh
our midrange exercise for triceps; activation. The Double-X Overload
however, that worked best on our old technique is also a good option here,
split, when we were training chest double dipping at the bottom of each
and triceps at different workouts. rep—we just have to remember to
Now we work chest and tri’s on the keep our lower backs tight and stay
same day, so by the time we get to in control—no bouncing. We’re using
triceps, our pressing ability is fried. the Tommy Kono waist wrap. It’s a
Because of that we’ve moved to the 10-inch-wide elasticized belt and
more-isolated decline extensions as wrap that has a Velcro closure—very
our leadoff midrange triceps exer­ comfortable and pliable. New stud­
cise. According to MRI studies, the ies show that squatting with waist
decline version trains all three heads support helps you better engage the
of the triceps, while the flat-bench quads. We can feel it!
Behind-the-back
shrugs give us a
unique angle for
attacking the upper
traps. They’re a Ronnie
Coleman favorite.
 Train, Eat, Grow / Program 92
One-arm leaning laterals.
For these you hold a dumbbell in
one hand and grab an upright with
your free hand, keeping your feet
next to the base. Then you extend
your support arm so you’re leaning
out at an angle. Now do one-arm
laterals. With your torso angled, you
get the upper range of medial-head
contraction. We often superset these
with one-arm cable laterals to end
our delt workout—getting a super
stretch on the cable move and a
searing upper-end contraction with
the leaning laterals.
Behind-the-back barbell
shrugs. This is a favorite of Ronnie
IRON MAN Training & Research Center Muscle-Training Program 92
Workout 1 (Rep Range): Chest, Lats, Triceps, Abs
Incline dumbbell presses (X Reps)
High cable flyes (MRR/P; drop; X Reps)
Wide-grip dips
Wide-grip dips (MRR/P; drop; X Reps)
Middle cable flyes (MRR/P; drop; X Reps) 2 x 10, 15
Pulldowns (X Reps)
Superset (20-second rest)
Machine pullovers (X Reps)
Rope rows (X Reps)
Undergrip pulldowns (X Reps)
Decline extensions (X Reps)
Superset (20-second rest)
Cable pushouts (X Reps)
Bench dips (X Reps)
Pushdowns (X Reps)
Incline kneeups (MRR/P; X Reps)
Tri-set
Ab-Bench crunches (X Reps)
Twisting crunches (X Reps)
End-of-bench kneeups (X Reps)
Legs (Rep Range): Quads, Calves, Hamstrings
Machine hack squats (nonlock; X Reps)
Leg extensions (MRR/P; drop; X Reps)
Leg presses (nonlock; X Reps)
Squats
Lunges
Leg curls (MRR/P; drop; X Reps)
Leg curls (X Reps)
Superset (20-second rest)
Stiff-legged deadlifts
Hyperextensions (X Reps)
Hyperextensions (X Reps)
Knee-extension leg press calf raises (X Reps) 2 x 10-15
Superset (20-second rest)
Hack-machine calf raises (X Reps)
Machine donkey calf raises (X Reps)
Machine donkey calf raises (X Reps)
Low-back machine (X Reps)
68 JUNE 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com
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Coleman’s, a man whose traps are coming on the market, many train­
so large that they seem to insert into ees are asking us what we’re taking
his eardrums. You place a loaded or plan to take as we move into our
barbell on the long pins of a power ripping phase. Here’s a rundown.
rack set at about knee level. Stand
in front of the bar facing away from Protein. To build muscle you
it. Squat down and grab the bar gotta have excess protein—no nega­
so you’re holding it at your upper tive nitrogen balance. Whey and ca­
hamstrings. Now shrug. It’s a unique sein, which are dairy products, plus
contraction angle for traps. We like eggs, which are a superb food, work
to do these as part of a superset with synergistically, so we use a combi­
dumbbell shrugs. nation powder. Muscle-Link’s Pro-
Fusion has whey, micellar casein
Size Surge and egg protein in abundance—and
only six grams of carbs per serving.
Supplements Whey gives you a fast anabolic blast,
while casein’s slow release comple­
With so many new supplements ments it with (continued on page 74)
Workout 2 (Rep Range): Delts, Midback,
2 x 7-9 Biceps, Forearms
2 x 10, 15 Smith-machine wide-grip
1 x 7-9 upright rows (X Reps) 2 x 7-9
2 x 7-9, 7-9 Seated laterals (MRR/P; drop; X Reps) 2 x 10, 15
Seated laterals (X Reps) 1 x 8-10
2 x 7-9 Behind-the-neck presses (X Reps) 1 x 7-9
Dumbbell presses (X Reps) 1 x 7-9
1 x 10-12 Bent-over laterals (MRR/P; drop; X Reps) 2 x 10, 15
1 x 13-15 One-arm cable laterals (X Reps) 1 x 8-10
1 x 8-10 Nautilus rows (X Reps) 2 x 7-9
2 x 7-9 Superset (20-second rest)
Bent-arm bent-over laterals (X Reps) 1 x 10-12
1 x 10-12 Behind-the-neck pulldowns (X Reps) 1 x 13-15
1 x 13-15 Barbell curls 2 x 7-9
1 x 8-10 Concentration curls or one-arm
2 x 7-9, 10-12 spider curls (MRR/P; drop; X Reps) 2 x 10, 15
Incline hammer curls (X Reps) 1 x 8-10
1 x 7-9 Superset (20-second rest)
1 x 10-12 Dumbbell reverse wrist curls (X Reps) 1 x 10-12
1 x 8-10 Forearm Bar reverse wrist curls (X Reps) 1 x 13-15
Superset (20-second rest)
Dumbbell wrist curls (X Reps) 1 x 10-12
Forearm Bar wrist curls (X Reps) 1 x 13-15
2 x 7-9
Rockers 1 x 12-15
2 x 10, 15
1 x 7-9
1 x 10-12 Add to Friday Workout (Power): Soleus
1 x 7-9 Knee-extension leg press calf raises (X Reps)2 x 12, 20
2 x 10, 15 Seated calf raises (X Reps) 2 x 12, 20
1 x 8-10
Note: The leg workout is always performed on Tues­
day; that is, legs are worked only once a week every
1 x 10-12
week—seven full days of recovery. Workouts 1 and
1 x 13-15 2 alternate on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so
1 x 8-10 upper-body muscles get four to five days of recovery.
1 x 10-15 Note: Where X-Reps are designated, usually only one
1 x 15-20 set or phase of a drop set is performed with X Reps or an
X-Rep hybrid technique from the e-book Beyond X-Rep
1 x 15-20 Muscle Building. See the X-Blog at www.X-Rep.com for
1 x 8-10 more workout details.
 Train, Eat, Grow / Program 92

(continued from page 68) an anticata­
bolic effect. We use a few scoops
between solid-food meals, usually
midmorning and midafternoon. Its
fast/slow combo also makes it per­
fect for before bed—to feed growing
muscles while you sleep. Once we
start our ripping phase, however,
we stop all food intake at 7 p.m., so
no before-bed shake. We swallow
amino capsules instead.
Branched-chain amino acids.
Studies show that taking about five
grams of BCAAs before an intense
workout can curb the release of cor­
tisol, the stress hormone that eats
muscle tissue. For the same reason
we also like to take BCAAs before
doing any type of cardio. Plus, we
keep a big bowl of amino acid caps
handy so we can grab three or four
whenever we think about it to keep
our nitrogen balance positive. You
may recall that the amino acid
leucine has been shown in recent
studies to have the most anabolic
effects on muscle hypertrophy, and
it’s prevalent in most BCAA supple­
ments.
Beta-alanine. Study after new
study shows that carnosine in
muscle tissue provides a buffering
effect, which allows you to grind
out more growth reps—and X Reps.
The biggest bodybuilders have more
than twice the carnosine levels of
nontraining individuals because
they’ve adapted to intense train­
ing. Scientists surmise that because
they do so many pain-zone sets,
the biggest bodybuilders stockpile
carnosine—to help them get bigger
and stronger. Beta-alanine converts
to carnosine, so by taking it you load
your muscle tissue with carnosine,
which will help you power further
into the growth zone on work sets.
We began taking Red Dragon in
its beta-test form last year and got
exceptional results. Our strength
kept moving forward at almost every
workout. Now that our calorie cuts
are starting, it will play a big part in
keeping our intensity in the growth
zone. New studies have shown that

ITRC Program 92, Home-Gym Routine

Workout 1 (Rep Range): Chest, Lats, Triceps, Abs Workout 2 (Rep Range): Delts, Midback,
Incline presses (X Reps) 2 x 7-9 Biceps, Forearms
Incline flyes (MRR/P; drop; X Reps) 2 x 10, 15 Wide-grip upright rows (X Reps) 2 x 7-9
Bench presses or decline presses (X Reps) 1 x 7-9 Seated laterals (MRR/P; drop; X Reps) 2 x 10, 15
Bench presses or decline Seated laterals (X Reps) 1 x 8-10
presses (MRR/P; drop; X Reps) 2 x 7-9, 7-9 Dumbbell presses (X Reps) 2 x 7-9
Flat-bench flyes (MRR/P; drop; X Reps) 2 x 10, 15 Bent-over laterals (MRR/P; drop; X Reps) 2 x 10, 15
Chins (X Reps) 2 x 7-9 Incline one-arm laterals (X Reps) 1 x 8-10
Superset (20-second rest) Bent-over barbell rows 2 x 7-9
Undergrip chins (X Reps) 1 x 10-12 Bent-arm bent-over laterals
Dumbbell pullovers (X Reps) 1 x 13-15 (MRR/P; drop; X Reps) 2 x 10, 15
Undergrip rows (X Reps) 1 x 8-10 Dumbbell shrugs (MRR/P; drop; X Reps) 2 x 10, 15
Decline extensions (X Reps) 2 x 7-9 Barbell curls 2 x 7-9
Superset (20-second rest) Concentration curls (MRR/P; drop; X Reps) 2 x 10, 15
Overhead extensions (X Reps) 1 x 10-12 Incline hammer curls (X Reps) 1 x 8-10
Bench dips (X Reps) 1 x 13-15 Dumbbell reverse wrist curls
Incline kneeups (MRR/P; X Reps) 2 x 7-9, 10-12 (MRR/P; drop; X Rep) 2 x 10, 15
Superset Dumbbell wrist curls (MRR/P; drop; X Reps) 2 x 10, 15
Weighted full-range crunches or Rockers 1 x 12-15
Ab Bench crunches (drop; X Reps) 1 x 8-10(8)
End-of-bench kneeups (X Reps) 1 x 8-10
Add to Friday Workout (Power): Soleus
Knee-extension donkey calf raises (X Reps) 2 x 12, 20
Legs (Rep Range): Quads, Calves, Hamstrings Seated calf raises (X Reps) 2 x 12, 20
Squats or front squats (nonlock; X Reps) 2 x 7-9 Note: The leg workout is always performed on Tues­
Leg extensions or old-style day; that is, legs get worked only once a week every
hack squats (MRR/P; drop; X Reps) 2 x 10, 15 week—seven full days of recovery. Workouts 1 and
Leg extensions or old-style 2 alternate on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so
hack squats (X Reps) 1 x 8-10 upper-body muscles get four to five days of recovery.
Squats or front squats (nonlock; X Reps) 1 x 7-9
Lunges 1 x 7-9 Note: Where X-Reps are designated, usually only one
Leg curls (MRR/P; drop; X Reps) 1 x 10, 15 set or phase of a drop set is performed with X Reps or
Leg curls (X Reps) 1 x 8-10 an X-Rep hybrid technique from the e-book Beyond
X-Rep Muscle Building. See the X-Blog at www.X-Rep
Superset (20-second rest)
.com for more workout details.
Stiff-legged deadlifts 1 x 10-12
Hyperextensions (X Reps) 1 x 12-15 Note: For drop sets it’s best to have a selectorized dumb­
Hyperextensions (X Reps) 1 x 8-10 bell set, such as the PowerBlock, if you don’t have a rack
Knee-extension donkey calf raises (X Reps) 3 x 10-12 of fixed dumbbells of various weights. If you don’t have
One-leg calf raises (MRR/P; drop; X Reps) 2 x 15, 20 a leg extension machine, do old-style hacks, nonlock
style. Use partner resistance, towel around the ankles, if
you don’t have a leg curl machine.

74 JUNE 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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One-arm leaning
laterals train
the medial-delt
head’s upper
contraction
range. They
work well
supersetted
after one-arm
cable laterals, a
stretch-position
delt exercise.
beta-alanine synergizes with creatine,
making size and strength gains even
more pronounced—a muscle-build­
ing smart bomb. We take two cap­
sules of Red Dragon upon awakening
in the morning and two before we
train.
RecoverX and CreaSol. We
believe our famous X Stack is es­
sential to kicking off the recovery
and muscle-building processes after
a workout. It gives you 60 grams of
fast carbs and 40 grams of fast whey
protein, much of it in peptide form,
the fastest whey available.
The compounds are quickly
digested so they get into your
bloodstream almost imme­
diately. The CreaSol provides
five grams of titrated creatine,
which is also a “fast” creatine
that’s almost 100 percent us­
able by the body. We each use
three scoops of RecoverX and
one scoop of CreaSol mixed
in water immediately after
our workouts.
Cort-Bloc. Any stressful
situation causes your body to
secrete muscle-eating corti­
sol, even intense workouts.
If you minimize cortisol, you
minimize muscle wasting
76 JUNE 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com
Free download from imbodybuilding.com
Cort-Bloc with fat burners.
Fat burner. We’re preparing
for our ripping phase and trying
to decide between two elite fat
burners—SAN’s Blaze Xtreme and
NxLabs’ Methyl Ripped. We like
them because both contain ample
amounts of forskolin. What’s so
great about that? Several new stud­
ies have shown significant fat-loss
effects with human subjects who
took a forskolin-based supple-
ment—with no serious negative side
effects. Positive side effects, other
than ramping up fat loss, are lower
blood pressure, more high-density
lipoprotein and—get ready—more
free testosterone! Yes, forskolin
stimulated the production of the
active form of that key anabolic
hormone. The amount in the study
Model: Jonathan Lawson
was 250 milligrams of 10 percent
forskolin twice a day. At the begin­
ning of our ripping phase we’ll take
our chosen fat burner before our
workouts infrequently at first, ramp­
ing it up to before every session for
and get bigger faster. We take four four to six weeks, then go off for a
capsules—about 800 milligrams—of week or two.
phosphatidylserine, a soy lipid, prior
to each workout to control cortisol L-carnitine. This compound
release and minimize the body’s use helps move fat into the mitochon­
of prized muscle tissue for energy. It’s
dria of the cells for energy. It helps
a must for high-strung hardgainer us dial in the last bit of detail to our
types, who should also use two cap­ physiques, as it’s a fat shuttle that
sules before bed (cortisol release is kicks in the adipose-burning mech­
very high in the later hours of sleep).anism sooner. There’s mass-building
It’s also a must when you start taking potential as well: New research says
fat burners that contain caffeine, as that carnitine increases anabolic
caffeine raises epinephrine release, receptors in muscle—something an­
which triggers cortisol surges. That abolic steroids do (J Steroid Biochem
means it’s good idea to always stack Mol Bio. 93(1):35-42; 2005). To make
that happen, subjects took
one gram in the morning
and one at noon. Anabolic-
receptor proliferation means
much faster size gains.
L-Carnitine has also been
shown to boost muscle
recovery, which we need
while we’re taking in fewer
calories, and muscular force
production. In one study
it improved the contractile
We’re doing
force in the latissimus dorsi
free-bar squats
of dogs by 34 percent and
again, but we overall force production by
put them at 31 percent (J Strength Cond
the end of our Res, 17:455-462; 2003). (That
quad workout means it can give your X
to fry our Reps more firepower, syn­
thighs. ergizing with creatine and
Train, Eat, Grow / Program 92

beta-ala­ tap Note: Our Rep Range week

nine!) into fat is outlined on page 68. For the
We stores original X-Rep routine that our
usu­ faster. current programs are based on,
ally take (Some see pages 78 through 80 in the e-
three caffeine book The Ultimate Mass Workout,
grams a can available at www.X-Rep
day: one help en­ .com. For more on Power/
gram hance Rep Range/Shock, see
in the that last Chapter 15 of the e-book 3D
morn­ effect.) Aminos preworkout Muscle Building, available at
ing, one We to help minimize www.3DMuscleBuilding.com.)
gram also catabolism.
Beta-alanine to help prior to take a multivitamin and multimin­ Editor’s note: For the latest
get more growth reps. cardio eral in the morning with breakfast on X Reps, including X Q&As, X
and one and a multimineral at night, as well Files (past e-zines), before and
gram prior to bed. By the way, the as extra vitamin C. We’ll add a po­ after photos and the X-Blog train­
killer cardio fat bomb is three to five tent antioxidant supplement as we ing and supplement journals,
amino tablets and 600 milligrams progress into our ripping phase and visit www.X-Rep.com. To order
of phosphatidylserine (Cort-Bloc), calories move lower. To follow what the Positions-of-Flexion training
which helps your body preserve we add and subtract, visit www manual Train, Eat, Grow, call (800)
muscle during cardio, along with .X-Rep.com and go to our Supple­ 447-0008, visit www.Home-Gym.
one gram of L-carnitine to help you ment Blog. com, or see the ad below. IM

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

 Steve Holman’s
Critical Mass
Bodybuilding
Bash
Q: I’ve been reading IRON MAN for more than 20
years, and I’ve enjoyed your training and nutrition
insights. They’ve helped me build a stage-worthy
physique, and I love how you’ve taken Postions-of-
Flexion training to the next level and merged it with
X Reps. One thing I’ve been curious about is that you
used to do a lot of bodybuilding-contest reports. In
recent years you seem to be mum about the com­
petitive scene. Why?
A: As Body for Life author Bill Phillips once said, most
fans in the audience at bodybuilding contests have hopes
of someday being onstage or are already involved in com­
peting. In other words, identifying with the competitors is
what makes it interesting. I found that to be true during my
high school and college years in Texas. I competed, and I
went to so many bodybuilding contests that it boggles my
mind. No complaints. Those were the days, and my passion
helped me get my dream job as editor of IRON MAN maga­
zine (newspaper experience and a journalism degree didn’t
hurt either).
My passion for competitive bodybuilding flourished
in my first few years with the magazine. I covered and/or
attended show after show. I went to a number of Mr. Olym­
pias and Arnold Classics and helped develop and put on
our show, the IRON MAN Pro—from driving the athletes to
and from the airport and the venue to taking tickets at the
door to manning booths to loading and unloading trophies.
But as I moved into my mid-30s and beyond, I began to see
bodybuilding as more of a competition with myself—trying
to improve every year—as opposed to viewing it as a com­
petition against others.
In other words, for me bodybuilding evolved into a
Steve, his daughters Lindsey and Chelsea and friend Haili
Matsukawa at the ’07 IM Pro.
82 JUNE 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com
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method of discovery and betterment of self. Don’t get me
wrong; I still follow the competitive side, checking out who
wins what and marveling at the incredible mass so many of
today’s champs have. (I even take my daughters and their
friends to the IM Pro every year.) But due to genetics—not
to mention other extenuating circumstances—I don’t en­
tertain the idea that I could ever get to that level.
You could say I’m more into bodybuilding for the health
of it, self-improvement and accomplishment these days,
which usually happens to those of us who are still lifting in
middle age. Of course, I’m still trying to build more muscle.
Am I happy with the state of competitive bodybuilding?
No, but that’s a subject for another time and place. (Don’t
get me started!)
Q: What do you think is more effective for build­
ing muscle in the Positions-of-Flexion exercise
sequence after the first midrange movement? A
stretch movement to activate the myotatic reflex?
That would better set up the fibers for the con­
tracted-position exercise. Or is it best to follow the
midrange movement with a contracted-position
movement and then finish the bodypart with a
stretch movement?
A: The original POF sequence was stretch after mid­
range, to trigger that emergency response and get more
fibers to fire during the contracted-position exercise that
ended the bodypart workout. For example, a POF triceps
workout would be:
Midrange: Close-grip bench presses 2 x 8-12
Stretch: Overhead extensions 1-2 x 8-12
Contracted: One-arm pushdowns 1-2 x 8-12
So the overhead extensions, with their extreme
triceps elongation and myotatic reflex action,
heighten fiber activation for the contracted-posi­
tion move that follows them, one-arm pushdowns.
Now, however, I’m starting to think that there
may be a better growth response if you do the
stretch-position exercise last, especially if you’re
going to integrate static holds. The rationale is that
the occlusion produced by the contracted-position
exercise will make stretching after it more effec­
tive—the target muscle is more pumped, so elon­
gating it will expand fiber encasements and may
even facilitate fiber splitting due to more heat and
blood flow.
We’ve been experimenting with that sequence—
midrange, contracted, then stretch—and getting
good gains. In the triceps routine above you’d do
close-grip bench presses first and one-arm push­
Fredrick
downs second, finishing with overhead extensions
for stretch work—and we like to use static holds at exhaus­
tion on stretch-position exercises, what we call a static X.
We’ll see what happens as we intensify our workouts over
the spring and summer. [For a workout-by-workout log of
what Holman and Jonathan Lawson are doing in the gym,
see their X Blog at www.X-Rep.com.]
Q: I recently read in one of your articles that
chins are better than pulldowns. But in your e-book
3D Muscle Building you say chins or pulldowns
are both good midrange movements for lats. So
are chins really more effective than machine pull-
downs? I train in a commercial gym, so I can do
either, but I want to do the best lat exercise.
A: I consider chins better than pulldowns in most cases
because it’s too easy to use your lower back to cheat the

Neveux \ Model: Tito Raymond

weight down on pulldowns. In fact, if you “hitch” at the bot­
tom of a chin, you actually engage
more lat fibers at the turnaround,
the key fiber-activation spot on
the stroke. (Note: Hitching at the
bottom of chins can be danger­
ous; you get a better mass-build­
ing effect by staying strict and
Neveux \ Model: Dave Goodin

Should stretch position exercises come last in the

adding X-Rep partials at that im­ bodypart workout? That may be best for possible
portant bottom area of the stroke hyperplasia activation and fascia stretching
at full-range exhaustion.) especially if you like to use static holds to end a set.
However—and this is a big
however—with pulldowns you
can angle your torso to hit the lats fiber recruitment and how the low-threshold motor units
from a slightly different trajectory, fire first in a set, followed by the mediums and finally the
which stresses different lat fibers. high-threshold motor units, which are most conducive to
You can’t do that on chins. growth. But we also read about how the nervous system
So both exercises have advantages and disadvantages, and fatigue cause the target muscle to fizzle too early in
with the edge going to chins. You say you can do either, so a set to stress the majority of those key high-threshold
why not do both? Do overgrip chins for your first midrange growth fibers. The choice is to do more sets to hit more of
set, with X Reps, then do a set of overgrip pulldowns with them, or do fewer sets but extend them to get at more of
your torso angled back at about 45 degrees, and add X Reps those mass-making fibers. X-Rep partials, which encom­
and/or a Static X. If you’re using 3D Positions-of-Flexion pass the point on the stroke where the most force occurs,
protocol, you can follow with a set or two of undergrip the semistretch point, do that job exceptionally well. That’s
pulldowns as your contracted-position exercise and finish why we made such spectacular gains the first month we
with pullovers for stretch overload. started using them—and we were doing only about five sets
per bodypart.
Q: I have all of your e-books, and I’ve read all of
Now we’ve discovered that forced X Reps may have even
them at least three times. Incredible information,
more growth-fiber-activation potential. That’s using about
and I learn something new every time I reread one.
a 4RM poundage and doing pure X Reps with partner as­
My question is, why do so many other bodybuild­
sistance. It produces extreme semistretch-point overload
ing trainers prescribe so many more sets than you
and high-threshold activation. We’ll have more on that in a
and Jonathan? Even drug-free guys like John Han­
future IRON MAN and at our Web site X-Rep.com.
sen often tell intermediates to do up to 15 sets per
bodypart.
Editor s note: Steve Hol­
A: You’ve read our e-books, so you know that we’re not man is the author of many
against volume training. It can work if it’s used correctly; bodybuilding best sellers, in
however, Jonathan and I can’t use it because we have to cluding Train, Eat, Grow: The
work out on our lunch hour. That means we have to do Positions of Flexion Muscle
everything we can to stimulate muscle growth quickly and Training Manual (see page
efficiently. In my first book, IRON MAN’s Home Gym Hand­ 78). For information on the
book, I coined the phrase efficiency of effort, and that de­ POF videos and Size Surge
scribes our workout philosophy—getting the most growth programs, see the ad sections
bang for our effort buck at every session. beginning on page 146 and
That’s why we’re constantly analyzing new research 278, respectively. Also visit
Neveux

and physiology texts—in an attempt to find better ways www.X Rep.com. IM

to stimulate growth. It’s what led us to our most produc­
Steve Holman
tive technique, X Reps. We ran across the size principle of
ironchief@aol.com

www.ironmanmagazine.com \ JUNE 2007 83

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 Mr. Natural Olympia John Hansen’s
Naturally Huge

development. To be compared to the best pro bodybuilders

Best Chest Full chest

is quite a compliment.
I can see you’ve really analyzed your chest development.
That’s important, and it’s something that many bodybuild­
ers don’t do when making up a training program. They
just do exercises that they hear are good for developing a
development muscle group.
requires a Now let’s talk about the exercises that are best for de­
multiangular veloping the areas that you’re concerned about. Many
training attack. bodybuilders develop big lower pecs just from doing bench
presses, but others have to do specific lower-pec exercises
like dips or decline presses to develop that area. Dips have
always worked better for me than decline presses or flyes.
Do them bending over at the waist with elbows flared out
wide and going deep to feel the stress in your lower pecs.
Also, rise only three-quarters of the way to keep tension on
your pecs. When I was younger and in my bulking phase, I
used to do dips with a weight belt and strap on an extra 50
to 100 pounds.
Incline flyes with a good contraction at the completion
of each rep will work the inner and middle part of your
upper pecs. Keep the bench at a 30 degree incline to focus
more on your chest. A higher incline will work your front
deltoids more. I also like dumbbell pullovers for chest
Neveux \ Model: Mike Morris

development. Doing them at the end of my chest workout

Q: I’m 6’8” and about 200 pounds—thin and
ripped—but I’m having a tough time packing on
muscle and getting detail in certain areas. I’ve been
working out on and off for about 1 1/2 years and
have a fairly good base, but one area keeps lagging
in size and definition: my chest. I noticed that you
have exactly what I want—a huge, ripped chest.
Yours is one of the better ones I’ve seen on anyone,
including the top pros. The problem with my chest
is that it’s only growing in the middle and it’s not
very wide. Three things would make my chest better:
1) more delineation around the chest muscle, 2) a
lot more outer-lower-pec development and 3) more
upper-pec development—especially middle and
inner regions. Here’s my current chest workout:
Monday
Flat-bench or incline barbell presses
warmup 2 x 12-10
80 to 90 percent 1RM 3-4 x 4-6
70 to 80 percent 1RM 2 x 8-10
Incline or decline dumbbell presses 3 x 8-10
Flat-bench or decline flyes 3 x 10
I do medium to medium-heavy back work su­
persetted with those exercises on Monday—three
sets of wide-grip pullups, three sets of barbell rows
and three sets of either behind-the-neck pulldowns
or seated cable rows. My back is one of my strong
bodyparts. I train legs on Tuesday, shoulders on
Wednesday and arms on Thursday. On Friday I do
the same chest workout as on Monday, but I add a
few sets of cable crossovers.
A: First of all, thank you for the comments on my chest
really pumps up my inner-upper pecs. Although the stretch
position of the pullover works the lats more than the chest,
you’ll feel these more in your pecs at the completion, or
top, of the movement.
As for the line defining the pecs, that’s basically the outer
portion. When the outer part of the chest is developed from
the top to the bottom, a distinct line separates the pecs
from the rest of the torso. I see from your training routine
that you include dumbbell flyes regularly, and that’s the
best exercise for building the outer pecs. Follow Arnold’s
lead, as I do, and keep your feet off the floor, which helps
put more stress on the pecs. Maintain a slight bend at your
elbows, lower the ’bells even with the bench, and then
bring them up in a wide arc, beginning another rep when
there’s approximately 10 inches between the dumbbells.
That keeps your pecs under constant tension and builds
more mass in the outer pecs.
I notice that you do a lot of sets of either incline presses
or bench presses. Since the middle part of your chest is
more developed than other areas, you should concentrate
on other exercises. Bench presses will continue to build
that part of your chest more, and it will remain out of pro­
portion to your upper and lower pecs.
I also think you’d be better off doing your chest work­
out by itself instead of supersetting it with back work. I
used to do chest/back supersets all the time when I was
younger, and it’s a great routine for getting an awesome
pump throughout the whole upper body; however, when
you have one strong bodypart and you superset it with a
weaker bodypart, the stronger and more responsive muscle
group usually gets the better pump than the struggling one.
For that reason I think you should do your chest workout
before your back workout to prioritize chest.
Here’s the routine I recommend for your chest workouts:
Monday
Incline barbell presses 4 x 10, 8, 6, 6
Flat-bench flyes 3 x 10, 8, 6
Dips 3 x 10, 8, 6

88 JUNE 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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 Thursday Workout 2: Tuesday and Friday

Dumbbell bench presses 3 x 10, 8, 6

Incline dumbbell bench presses 3 x 8, 6, 6 Incline leg raises 2 sets
Superset Squats 4 sets
Decline dumbbell flyes 2-3 x 6-8 Leg presses 3 sets
Dips 2-3 x 8-10 Leg curls 3 sets
Stiff-legged deadlifts 3 sets
Q: You must get this question all the time, but I’d Standing calf raises 3 sets
like to know the best way to gain muscle mass. I Close-grip bench presses 3 sets
only weigh 144 pounds, and I have a very fast me­ Dips 2 sets
tabolism. I’ve been trying to gain muscle and get my Barbell curls 3 sets
weight up to 180. Any advice? Total number of sets: 26
A: I could (and should) write a longer article on how to
gain muscle mass. It’s probably the number-one question Nutrition is also crucial. If you have a very fast metabo­
among bodybuilders because bodybuilding is all about lism, you need more calories. Exactly how many you need
getting big and putting on more muscle. The basic rules for is an individual matter. When I was 21 years old and trying
building muscle are to use the best exercises for the right to bulk up, I needed to eat an average of 5,000 calories a
number of day.
sets and You want to eat plenty of protein because protein re­
reps. I gave a builds the muscle after training. Shoot for about 1.25 to 1.5
seminar on grams of protein for each pound of bodyweight. In your
the subject case, you should try to eat 180 to 216 grams of protein each
at the ’07 day. It would be a mistake for you to eat low-fat protein
FitExpo in foods such as egg whites, fish and chicken. Go for more fat
Pasadena, with your protein—eggs, milk and red meats, such as sir­
California, loin steak and lean ground beef. You need that to get more
in Febru­ calories.
ary because In addition to the protein, you need to eat lots of com-
many body­ plex carbs. Carbohydrate foods like oatmeal, potatoes,
builders are rice, pasta and bread are ideal for providing your muscles
Hansen at his confused with the energy they need to fuel your heavy workouts. You
mass seminar about the should be eating at least two grams of carbs for each pound
at the FitExpo. best way of bodyweight. In your situation, I would recommend
to design nearly 300 grams of carbs per day to add more muscle
a training mass.
routine that will build muscle. If you follow these basic rules, you’ll be on your way to
You need to use the basic exercises—such as bench building more muscle. You just have to train hard and eat
presses, incline presses, squats, deadlifts, barbell rows, consistently and never give up. Even if your gains are slow­
military presses, dips, barbell curls, stiff-legged deadlifts er than you’d like, as long as you’re making progress each
and calf raises—for six to eight reps. Lower reps will build month, you’ll eventually get to your goal weight of 180.
thicker muscle fibers as well as strength. For a guy who’s
thin and trying to get bigger, that’s key. Editor’s note: John Hansen has won the Natural Mr.
It’s also important not to overtrain. Doing too many sets Olympia and is a two-time Natural Mr. Universe winner.
will prevent the body from growing to its maximum po­ Visit his Web site
tential. As I discussed in my seminar, anyone trying to add at www.natural
more mass should limit the total number of sets in a work­ olympia.com. You
out to about 25. If you were training four days a week using can write to him
a two-day split, you could do the following routine: at P.O. Box 3003,
Darien, IL 60561,
or call toll-free
Workout 1: Monday and Thursday (800) 900-UNIV
(8648). His new
Barbell bench presses 3 sets
book, Natural
Incline barbell presses 3 sets
Bodybuilding, and
Dumbbell flyes 2 sets
new training DVD,
Wide-grip chins 3 sets
“Real Muscle,”
Barbell rows 3 sets
are now available
Deadlifts 3 sets
from Home Gym
Military presses 3 sets
Warehouse, (800)
Upright rows 3 sets
Neveux

447-0008 or www
Incline situps 2 sets
.Home-Gymcom.
Total number of sets: 25
IM John Hansen
John@NaturalOlympia.com

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92 JUNE 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com
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 Things You May Not
Know About the Popular
Power Supplement—and
How to Take It
by Jerry Brainum

frequent criticism of many

food supplements is that
they’re marketed with little
or no scientific proof to
back commercial claims.
You can’t say that about creatine. An
estimated 70 percent of published
studies about the ergogenic effect of
creatine are positive. Since it came
on the market in 1993, creatine has
become one of the most popular—
perhaps the most popular—sports
supplements. And yet it’s still
surrounded by misconceptions and
eux \ Model: Dave Fisher

myths.

Free download from imbodybuilding.com


Many, for example, think that
creatine was unknown prior to its
introduction to the athletic world in
the early 1990s. In fact, creatine was
discovered back in 1832, although
its mechanisms were not fully ap­
preciated until a century later. The
first evidence that creatine has
something to do with exercise oc­
curred in 1847, when active foxes
were found to contain 10 times
more creatine in their bodies than
inactive animals.
We may have beaten the Russians
to the moon in 1969, but they were
already giving creatine to their elite
athletes that year. The pioneering
studies about the ergogenic effects
of creatine were published by a
Russian scientist named Olexander
Palladin in 1916.1 He showed that
the amount of creatine in muscle
has a direct relation to exercise. He
also found that fast-twitch muscle
fibers, the ones most linked to
muscle growth, contain the highest
amounts of creatine. In 1937 Palli­
din predicted that a full understand­
ing of creatine biochemistry would
enhance athletic performance.
The Soviet government spon­
sored research on creatine, finding
that it improved the running times
of sprinters and others engaged
94 JUNE 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com
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in high-intensity exercise. Soviet
athletes got small vials containing
creatine phosphate, which they took
prior to competition.
What Is Creatine?
Creatine is a by-product of amino
acid metabolism, synthesized in
the liver, kidneys and pancreas
from the amino acid precursors
arginine, methionine and glycine.
The body synthesizes about a gram
a day of creatine, and most people,
especially those who eat red meat,
get another gram a day from food.
Studies show that 95 percent of
creatine in the body is stored in
skeletal muscle, with the remaining
5 percent distributed in the brain,
liver, kidneys and testes.The average
150-pound man’s body contains 120
grams, or about a quarter pound, of
creatine.
Thyroid hormone, growth hor­
mone and testosterone are among
the factors that regulate creatine
synthesis. Thyroid hormone
produces a threefold increase in
creatine content, while insulin-
like growth factor 1 (produced by
growth hormone stimulation in the
liver) increases creatine by 40 to 60
Creatine may
cause water
retention;
however, one
solution is to
Neveux \ Model: Steve Namat
avoid creatine
loading.
percent.2 A study published in 2000
found that when six subjects took 20
grams of creatine, growth hormone
release rose by 83 percent, mainly
during the last four hours of the ex­
periment.3 In a later study, creatine
didn’t add any hormonal effects to a
weight-training session.4 More re­
cent evidence, however, shows that
using creatine supplements, when
combined with exercise, increases
the activity of IGF-1, which has
anabolic effects in muscle.5
To Load or
Not to Load?
Studies published in the early
1990s showed that the best proto­
col for loading the muscles with
creatine was to take five grams five
times a day for five to six days in a
row. Once the initial loading period
ended, the suggested dose was three
to five grams daily to top off creatine
stores and keep the muscles loaded.
A more specific loading protocol
based on bodyweight suggests an
intake of 0.3 grams of creatine per
kilogram (2.2 pounds) of body-
weight, followed by a maintenance
dose of 0.03 grams per kilogram of
bodyweight. In a 200-pound man
that translates to a loading dose
of 27 grams daily in divided doses
for five days, followed by a main­
tenance dose of 2.7 grams a day
(about half a teaspoon).
Later studies suggested that tak­
ing a creatine supplement with
simple sugars would lead to a
higher absorption and retention
rate. The theory was that insulin
release triggered the activity of the
creatine transporter protein, or CTP,
which determined creatine uptake.
Achieving that, however, required a
much higher than usual secretion of
insulin. You had to eat 95 grams of
simple sugars with creatine at least
four times daily, to the tune of at
least 1,400 additional calories.
Later studies found that the in­
sulin effect on creatine uptake was
short-lived, lasting only about one
day. Other research showed that
even the much vaunted creatine
load system wasn’t all that effec­
tive. After 48 hours on a load most
subjects were excreting 60 percent
or more of their creatine intake. One
study found that taking 50 grams of
protein and 50 grams of carbohy­
drate with creatine led to the kind
of muscle-creatine increases you
Free download from imbodybuilding.com
get from eating 100 grams of simple
carbs with the creatine.
Still later studies found that
taking only five grams a day, or a
teaspoon, of creatine for 30 days
brought about the same muscle
loading as the five-day high-dose
load system. The advantage of the
longer and lower-dose intake was
that less creatine was broken down
to its immediate metabolite, creati­
nine, than on the high-load system.
The usual recommendation now
is to avoid loading creatine, unless
you have an imminent competition
featuring anaerobic metabolism,
such as sprinting.
Some research shows that caf­
feine interferes with the ergogenic
benefits of creatine, so it may be a
good idea to avoid taking creatine
supplements with caffeine-contain­
ing beverages like coffee. On the
other hand, creatine doesn’t block
the ergogenic effects of caffeine. The
early studies showing creatine effec­
tiveness delivered creatine dissolved
in hot tea, which contains caffeine,
with no apparent ill effect. Other
evidence shows that taking creatine
with lipoic acid may increase cre­
atine uptake.
Once the muscles are loaded
with creatine, they stay loaded
for a month, even without more
supplementation. After that creatine
levels return to baseline. So if you
cycle creatine, take it for about two
months, laying off for at least five
weeks before beginning another
cycle.
Insulin and Uptake
Few realize that the creatine
transport protein and not insulin
is the primary impetus for creatine
muscle uptake. CTP is powered by
a mechanism known as the sodium
pump. That doesn’t mean it’s better
to take creatine with sodium than
carbs, for normal food intake easily
regulates the sodium balance of the
pump mechanism.
A more practical technique is
to take creatine with a fast-acting
protein, such as whey. Whey is rich
in several amino acids that provoke
an insulin response. That’s why a
whey-and-simple-carb combination
is often suggested for posttraining
recuperation. The combined ef­
fect of whey (continued on page 102)
Studies
show that
95 percent
of creatine
in the body
is stored
in skeletal
muscle.
 (continued from page 96) and carbs
provides a greater insulin response
than either taken alone. The in­
creased insulin release that results
leads to more muscle glycogen and
protein synthesis following train­
ing. Adding creatine to a moderate
intake of simple carbs, coupled with
whey, stimulates CTP activity. As
discussed recently in IRON MAN,
research by Australian scientist Paul
Cribb showed that taking in a com­
bination of whey and creatine prior
to and following training doubled
the rate of muscle gains compared
to a placebo.
Don’t be fooled by ads implying
that certain creatine supplements
increase blood creatine. How much
is in the blood is irrelevant. What
matters is how much is absorbed
into muscle, and that’s determined
by CTP. Various newer forms of cre­
atine supplements, such as creatine
ethyl ester, creatine alpha-ketoglu­
tarate, creatine gluconate, creatine
methyl ester and tricreatine orotate,
all claim superior absorption and
uptake over creatine monohydrate.
Some new version of creatine may
well prove superior to creatine
monohydrate, but independent
102 JUNE 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com
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research has yet to prove that.
Remember, the most trustworthy re­
search is produced by independent
researchers with no financial link to
the product.
Some creatine delivery systems
are better than others. While gastro­
intestinal distress, such as bloating
and gas, is rare with creatine use,
some people are more sensitive
than others. Using a product that
contains either effervescent or mi­
cronized creatine—meaning it has
smaller particles—may decrease
such problems. Some liquid forms
of creatine supplements claim not
only fewer potential side effects
but also greater absorption rates. In
fact, these formulas contain mostly
creatinine, the useless by-product
of creatine breakdown. One product
that claimed to provide 250 mil­
ligrams per dose of creatine actu­
ally contained only 27 milligrams,
or about 10 percent of the stated
dosage, according to an analysis
published by ConsumerLab.com.
ConsumerLab found that most
other commercial creatine products
were free of contaminants and did
contain the potency stated on the
label.
The body
synthesizes
about a
gram a day
of creatine.
Meat eaters
can get
another
gram a day
from food.
Keep in mind that when you’re
taking even one teaspoon—five
grams—of creatine, you’re get­
ting some five times more than
your body normally synthesizes.
The body detects the additional
creatine and responds by shut­
ting down its own production. In
a study of 16 healthy young men
who took a 20-gram loading dose
of creatine for a week followed by
a maintenance dose of five grams
for 19 more weeks, the precursor
substances for creatine synthesis
in the body declined by 50 percent
after the loading phase and 30 per­
cent throughout the maintenance
phase.6 Since the precursor sub­
stances of creatine synthesis are
downgraded, there’s more arginine
in the system. Arginine, the primary
amino acid for creatine synthesis, is
a useful factor in urea production,
but it can also convert into two sub­
stances that can cause convulsions.
Fortunately, that doesn’t seem to
happen with creatine supplementa­
tion. The added arginine your sys­
tem gets is applied to the synthesis
of nitric oxide.
Creatine Controversies
Several coaches have gone on
record as saying that since the
long-term health effects of creatine
aren’t established, it’s premature for
athletes to use it. They cite reports
of side effects, including muscle
cramps, dehydration, kidney dis-
ease—even cancer.
Most side effects linked to
creatine have not showed up in
controlled studies that evaluated
creatine safety. On the other hand,
water retention is a common side
effect of high-dose creatine load­
ing. It’s usually temporary but can
add four to 12 pounds in many
users. That may cause some of the
above-mentioned side effects. One
solution is to avoid creatine load­
ing—which isn’t effective after two
days anyway.
Besides the minor side effects
associated with creatine—often
related to something else, such as
dehydration—some more serious
side effects have been published in
the medical literature. They include
seizures and atrial fibrillation, a
heart rhythm disturbance. Those
 Neveux \ Model: Daniele Seccarecci

104 JUNE 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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Neveux \ Model: Buster
cases, however, often involve just
a single person and may therefore
represent an idiosyncratic reaction,
considering how many others take
creatine supplements without inci­
dent.
To be safe, it’s best to stay hy­
drated while you’re on creatine
supplements. That means ensuring
that you drink sufficient fluid during
the course of a day, especially when
you’re training. That should prevent
muscle cramps, strain and dehydra­
tion.
In 2001 France’s equivalent of
the Food and Drug Administration
issued a report indicating that cre­
atine is a carcinogen, or substance
capable of causing cancer. The as­
sertion was based on two products
created when creatine was heated,
both of which are known carcino­
gens. One of the substances was
activated by the presence of nitrates
in the stomach. Nitrates (used as
preservatives in some kinds of meat)
can form mutagens when combined
with creatine by-products. But the
reaction is completely curtailed by
the presence of vitamins C or E.
Besides, few athletes eat enough
nitrates to trigger that problem, and
the amount produced naturally in
the body is also too small to have
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Creatine has
anti-aging
effects,
including
protection
from free
radicals,
which can
help skin
cells.
any significant effect.7
The other alleged dangerous sub­
stance isn’t produced in amounts
that could cause health problems.
Besides, the studies that identified
the problem were in vitro, or test
tube, studies, so the effect itself is
theoretical. It appears only under
conditions of high temperature in
cooked meat. So if you don’t cook
your creatine supplements under
high temperature conditions, you
have little to fear.
One synthetic analog of creatine,
called cyclocreatine, is known to
shrink tumors by displacing creatine
in tumor cells. Tumors synthesize
creatine as an energy source for
replication, though creatine itself is
known to shrink tumors. A notable
side effect of cyclocreatine is muscle
weakness and mental problems,
since it provides no actual creatine
energetic activity.
Creatine: For the
Health of It
Creatine provides likely health
benefits beyond normal energy pro­
duction. Many diseases result from
out-of-control oxidation reactions
in the body, (continued on page 108)

(continued on from page 105) includ­
ing cancer and cardiovascular and
brain diseases. Creatine provides
some direct antioxidant activity, es­
pecially against a noxious free radi­
cal called the hydroxy radical, which
is implicated in many diseases.8
Another recent study showed that
by maintaining the energy produc­
tion of skin cells, creatine may help
prevent skin aging and help protect
the skin from damaging ultraviolet
rays.9
The synthetic production of
creatine yields a number of by-
products, one of which is related
to cyanide, a deadly poison. They
include creatinine, dicyandamide,
dihydrotrianzines and even arsenic,
another poison. The by-products
are removed during the processing
of creatine supplements, though it’s
hard to tell how much may remain
in any particular supplement. Gen­
erally, supplements manufactured
in the United States and Germany
have a strong reputation—a high
grade of creatine with no known
impurities. One author a few years
ago suggested that anyone contem­
plating the use of a creatine product
should first contact the manufac­
turer to obtain a certificate of qual­
ity control.
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The side effect most often linked
to creatine relates to its effect on
kidney function. Some isolated
reports of kidney failure in creatine
users have led to the notion that
creatine is toxic to the kidneys.
That’s been investigated and de­
bunked by a number of researchers.
It turned out that those who expe­
rienced kidney-related side effects
after creatine use had prior kidney
problems.
Can creatine cause kidney prob­
lems? The major by-product of
creatine metabolism, creatinine, is
a minor irritant of the kidneys. On
In 1847, active foxes were
found to contain 10 times more
creatine in their bodies than
inactive animals.
One study
showed
that growth
hormone
release
Neveux \ Model: Hisashi Kamisawa
rose by 83
percent
with
creatine
use.
the other hand, with normal kidney
function and copious fluid intake,
the body has no problems handling
creatinine, even the higher than
usual levels that are produced by
creatine supplementation. Inter­
estingly, much renal pathology is
related to oxidative reactions, and
creatinine, like creatine, has some
antioxidant properties, thus pos­
sibly helping protect the kidneys.
Creatine has even been given to
people on dialysis—who already
have kidney failure.10
Creatine also may help prevent
disease by lowering levels of homo­
cysteine, a toxic metabolite of the
amino acid methionine. Homocys­
teine is implicated in such varied
diseases as cancer, Alzheimer’s
disease and heart disease. Using
supplemental creatine lowers blood
levels of homocysteine by an aver­
age of 27 percent.
Creatine has shown preliminary
value in the treatment of various
neuromuscular disorders, in­
cluding muscular dystrophy and
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or
Lou Gehrig’s disease. It stabilizes
mitochondria, the portion of the cell
where energy is created. Mitochon­
drial dysfunction leads to cellular
failure. One review even stated that
“the neuroprotective role of creatine
may be more relevant for mankind
than the effect on muscle perfor­
mances.”
Creatine on the Brain
The brain loads creatine, just as
muscles do, and in the brain cre­
atine helps maintain energy reac­
tions, as it does in muscle.12 The
level of creatine in the brain is relat­
ed to the protection against various
brain diseases. Through maintain­
ing the vital energy production in
the brain, creatine helps protect
the brain against traumatic injury.13
One study showed that giving rats
and mice creatine before they were
subjected to brain injury led to 50
percent and 36 percent less injury,
respectively.
Creatine may also help the brain
work better. In one study, 45 adult
vegetarians who took five grams a
day experienced improved memory
and decreased mental fatigue. Other
studies show that creatine helps
prevent the negative effects of sleep
deprivation.14 Another found that
creatine in the brain appears to help
Free download from imbodybuilding.com
regulate appetite and weight. With­
out creatine, appetite declines.15
Some ads say that creatine
monohydrate, the most common
supplemental form, is mostly de­
graded into creatinine in the harsh
acidic conditions of the stomach.
Curiously, no references are ever
provided for claims like that. In fact,
orally taken creatine monohydrate
is 99 percent absorbed. A study with
human subjects found that blood
creatine peaks after 2 1/2 hours fol­
lowing oral intake. While some cre­
atine is converted into creatinine,
the amount is considered negligible
during the first six hours.16 Common
sense dictates that if the alleged
Some studies suggest that
caffeine may interfere with
creatine absorption.
Creatine helps protect the
brain and may help it work
better.
creatine reaction in the stomach oc­
curred to any significant degree, cre­
atine would provide no benefits at
all. That’s belied by the vast research
base confirming the effectiveness of
creatine supplementation.
Most important from a body­
building standpoint is whether the
gains that accrue from creatine
use are merely water or actual lean
mass. While creatine is known to
produce water retention, especially
following a loading phase, some
evidence does point to definite
anabolic effects. One study, for
example, showed that creatine use
after training amplified the activity
Studies show
that creatine
blunts the
catabolic
effects of
cortisol, the
hormone that
increases due
to stress.
Neveux \ Model: Hidetada Yamagishi

of satellite cells, which are stem cells
required for both muscle repair and
growth.17 Other studies show that
creatine blunts the catabolic ef­
fects of cortisol on muscle.18 Those
two effects alone would encourage
muscle growth. Other studies sug­
gest that creatine may help increase
muscle protein synthesis, possibly
by promoting a cellular hydration,
which signals anabolic effects in
muscle; that’s a hypothesis based on
Simple sugar is believed to
increase creatine absorption,
but it takes 95 grams of simple
sugar taken with creatine four
times a day to get that effect—
that’s about 1,400 additional
calories.
112 JUNE 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com
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creatine’s water-retention proper­
ties.
While the primary function of
creatine is to provide a backup for
maintaining ATP (the immediate
cellular energy source) activity in
cells, it also provides many health
benefits that extend beyond its
usual function.
References
1 Kalinski, M.I. (2003). State-
sponsored research on creatine
supplements and blood doping in
elite Soviet sport. Pers Biol Med.
46:445-51.
2 Persky, A., et al. (2001). Clinical
pharmacology of the dietary
supplement creatine monohydrate.
Pharm Rev. 53:161-76.
3 Schedel, I.M., et al. (2000). Acute
creatine loading enhances human
growth hormone secretion. J Sports
Med Phys Fitness. 40:336-42.
4 Eijnde, B., et al. (2001). Short-
term creatine supplementation does
not alter the hormonal response to
resistance training. Med Sci Sports
Exer. 33:449-53.
5 Deldicque, L., et al. (2005).
Increased IGF mRNA in human
skeletal muscle after creatine
Stacking creatine
with your
postworkout
shake—which
should contain
whey and simple
carbs— is ideal,
as your muscles
are more
receptive after a
workout.
supplementation. Med Sci Sports
Exer. 37:731-736.
6 Derave, W., et al. (2004). Plasma
guanidino compounds are altered
by oral creatine supplementation
in healthy humans. J App Physiol.
97:852-857.
7 Derave, W., et al. (2007). Oral
creatine supplementation in
humans does not elevate urinary
excretion of the carcinogen N­
nitrosarcosine. Nutrition. In press.
We may have beaten the
Russians to the moon in
1969, but they were already
giving creatine to their elite
athletes that year. They found
that fast-twitch muscle fibers
contain the highest amounts of
creatine.
 against traumatic brain injury. Ann
Neurol. 48:723-29.
14 McMorris, T., et al. (2006). Ef­

fect of creatine supplementation

and sleep deprivation, with mild
exercise, on cognitive and psycho­
motor performance, mood state,
and plasma concentrations of
catecholamines and cortisol. Psy­
chopharmacology. 185:93-103.
15 Galbraith, R., et al. (2006).

Possible role of creatine concen­

trations in the brain in regulating
appetite and weight. Brain Res.
1101:85-91.
16 Schedel, J.M., et al. (1999).

Acute creatine ingestion in hu­

mans: consequences on serum
creatine and creatinine concentra­
tions. Life Sciences. 65:2463-2470.
17 Olsen, S., et al. (2006). Creatine

supplementation augments the

increase in satellite cell and myo­
nuclei number in human skeletal
muscle induced by strength train­
ing. J Physiol. 573:525-34.
18 Menezes, L., et al. (2006). Cre­

Neveux \ Model: Steve Namat

atine supplementation attenuates
corticosteroid-induced muscle
wasting and impairment of exer­
cise performance in rats. J Appl
Physiol. In press. IM

8 Sestili, P., et al. (2007).

Creatine supplementation affords Creatine,

cytoprotection in oxidatively when
injured cultured mammalian cells
via direct antioxidant activity. Free
combined
Rad Biol Med. In press. with
9 Lenz, H., et al. (2005). The
exercise,
creatine kinase system in human
skin: Protective effects of creatine increases
against oxidative and UV damage the activity
in vitro and in vivo. J Invest of insulinlike
Dermatol. 124:443-452.
10 Poortmans, J., et al. (2000). growth
Adverse effects of creatine factor 1.
supplementation: Fact or fiction?
Sports Med. 30:155-170.
11 Wyss, M., et al. (2002). Health

implications of creatine: Can oral

creatine supplementation protect
against neurological and athero­
sclerotic disease? Neuroscience.
112:243-60.
12 Dechent, P., et al. Increase of

total creatine in human brain after

oral supplementation of creatine
monohydrate. Am J Physiol. 277:
R698-R704.
13 Sullivan, P., et al. (2000). Di­

etary supplement creatine protects

114 JUNE 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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 Craig Titus is currently
being held on suspicion
of murder charges.

116 JUNE 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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 All Great Athletes Are Not Great Role Models
by Ron Harris Photography by Michael Neveux
fter a fruitful off-season in which
I’d built some good size and
strength, it was time to lean
out for the summer and, more
important, for my contest in
September. That meant that
cardio, which had been mini­
mal during those cold months of heavy lifting
and stuffing my face with obscene amounts of
food, was back as a regular part of my workout
regimen. Randy, my protégé and copycat, was
also doing cardio. Of course, his only motiva­
tion was to, and I quote, make all the babes
drool over my six-pack at Hampton Beach this
summer. I’ll be sure to bring some Kleenex
along and walk 10 steps behind him, dabbing
away at all the excess saliva on the chins of his
female admirers.
Randy preferred to walk fast on the tread­
mill; I like the Precor elliptical runner, as it s
easier on my knees. The two are right next
to each other in my gym. We re also differ
ent when it comes to what we do while we
perform our cardio. I put my headphones on
and blast my MP3 player, with plenty of tunes
from bands like Disturbed, Marilyn Manson
and Godsmack. There may also be some tracks
from less macho musicians, such as Avril Levi­
gne and Britney Spears, but you don t need to
know that. Randy prefers to read, and his gym
bag is always full of dog-eared bodybuilding
Model: Craig Titus
magazine he pores over as he sweats and burns
fat.
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Episode 23
To each his own would normally be the case,
but not with Randy and his magazines. He s
never content to merely read them; he also feels
the need to engage me in discussions about
every little thing on the pages before him. It s
the same thing every time. He calls my name,
and I ignore him, pretending I can t hear him
over my headphones. That buys me only about
two seconds of peace before he taps me on
the shoulder. Sighing to show that I’d much
rather be listening to good tunes than debat­
ing someone s calf routine or whether beef is
a better protein source than chicken, I remove
the headphones from the ear facing him and
say, What?”
Today he was really eager to talk, which had
to mean he d been looking over the latest gos­
sip and news items about the pro bodybuild­
ers. “Did you hear about (blank)? He just got
busted again for receiving steroids from China
in the mail! And (blank) just got out of jail for
steroids.
He flipped a few more pages in the gossip
section. “(Blank) just left his wife and kids,
and now he s with this bimbo fitness pro, he
continued, and online last night they were
talking about how (blank) looked so bad at his
last show because he s a big Nubain addict. Can
you believe these frigging guys?” Clearly, he was
waiting for some reaction from me and said the
last with genuine disgust: “Some role models
they are. Doesn t it piss you off?”
“No, I honestly don t (continued on page 120)
www.ironmanmagazine.com \ JUNE 2007 117
 You need to separate the physiques
of these men and the hard work
that went into them from what
they do in their private lives.
(continued from page 117) even care
anymore.”
Randy was mortified. “How can
you say that? We’re supposed to look
up to these guys! They’re profes­
sional athletes, aren’t they?” The kid
was on a holy roll.
“Yes, they are,” I said. “Which
means what? That they’re excep­
tional at their chosen sport. Nothing
more, nothing less. Charles Barkley
said, ‘I’m not a role model,’ and
I think that was one of the most
genuine and meaningful statements
to ever come out of an athlete’s
mouth.”
“Yeah, but...” Randy trailed off. He
didn’t really have any rebuttal.
“Randy, look at something like
the Kobe Bryant incident.” I knew
that would work because unlike me,
120 JUNE 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com
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Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Freud
were both addicted to cocaine.”
“Sir Arthur who? What did he do,
invent the Conan the Barbarian
character?” At least he knew who
Sigmund Freud was—I hope.
“Okay, let’s make it easier. There
have been many famous rock stars
and musicians who struggled with
alcoholism and drug addiction. But
you still love and appreciate their
music. Hemingway was one of the
greatest writers of the 20th century
and also happened to be an incor­
rigible drunk and a suicide. Is any­
thing getting through to you yet?”
“Not really. Bodybuilders are sup­
posed to be role models, at least
more than those other types of fa­
mous people.”
Randy actu­
ally watched
professional
sports and was
somewhat of
a fan when it
came down to
playoffs. “Does
what Kobe does
in his per­
sonal life off the
court make his
Just as in any cross section of the population,
achievements
and skills on
you will always have a few who are into criminal
the court any less activity.
impressive? Was he a better player “And why is that? It’s because it’s
when you thought he was a Boy the only sport where most of the fans
Scout? are trying to be stars themselves.
“Let’s broaden the scope. There How many guys watch baseball and
have been plenty of brilliant people then spend two hours a day, six days
with drug problems through history. a week practicing so they can be the
next Barry Bonds? Because most
bodybuilding fans are trying to look
No matter who the like their idols in the IFBB, they try
bodybuilder is, to emulate them down to the last
you can still draw detail.”
inspiration from Randy tossed the magazine to the
his physique and floor. He wasn’t paying attention
dedication. and almost hit the leg of the woman
on the treadmill next to us. Luckily
she was so entranced reading the
subtitles on the TV monitor showing
Regis and Kelly that she didn’t notice.
“Okay then, so see what I mean
how these guys are letting us down
getting into legal problems and
everything?”
“Look, you can train the way these
guys train and eat the way they eat,
Model: Ron Harris
but it has to end there. If Jay Cutler
buys a lime-green Mercedes Benz
and enjoys foreign films, does that
mean you have to?”
 Not many fans watch
baseball or football and
then spend two hours
a day, six days a week
practicing so they can
be the next Barry Bonds
or Peyton Manning.
“I work at a Ford dealership,”
Randy reminded me. “And foreign
films? They make movies in other
countries or something?”
“You’re missing the point. You
need to separate the physiques of
these men and the hard work that
went into them from what they do
in their private lives.”
Randy snorted. “Yeah, because
they’re a bunch of degenerates these
days.”
“That’s not true at all. I know
plenty of top amateur and pro body­
You shouldn’t try
to emulate your
athletic heroes
down to the last
detail of their lives.
122 JUNE 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com
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I train hard and eat right and do my
best to show as many people as I can
how they can do it too, but I’m not
an angel. I’m just a human being like
anyone else, with my good and bad
points. If some people want to con­
sider me a role model because I have
a wife and kids, am somewhat suc­
cessful in my industry and stay out
of trouble, fine. I’d never stand up on
a pedestal, though, and proclaim my
perfection to the world. Every single
one of us has faults and makes mis­
takes, but when you’re in the public
eye as a professional athlete, the
whole world knows about them.”
I looked down at the display on
my machine. Thirty-two minutes,
and only 410 calories. If I’d been
rocking out to my music, I would
builders, and at least 90 percent of
them are solid, upstanding men and
women with integrity and character.
I’m not saying they all have halos
gleaming around their heads, but
they are good, decent people. But
bodybuilders are human beings.
Just as in any cross section of the
population, you will always have
a few who are into drugs, criminal
activities, who are violent, what­
ever the case may be. That doesn’t
mean you can’t look at their photos
in a magazine or on the Internet
and draw inspira­
tion from them. It
doesn’t mean that
they have nothing
to offer when it
comes to showing Bertil Fox, convicted
the rest of us how murderer, great physique.
to train hard and
eat right. I know it’s
very hard to look have kept a faster pace and would
past the lurid gos­ have been up over 500 by this point.
sip and appreciate I scowled, considered telling Randy,
what those men but said nothing. Randy was now
and women have watching Regis and Kelly with his
done and continue mouth hanging open; the Olsen
to do as athletes, twins were the guests.
but you really need “Jailbait,” I said.
to try.” “Nah, they turned 18, dude.”
Randy was pen­ “You doing okay at work, selling
sive. He looked some cars?”
over cautiously. “Yeah,” he replied, only half pay­
“What about you, ing attention.
Ron—you’re not a Something caught my eye in the
role model?” newspaper someone had left on
That’s a question the machine next to me. “Best Buy
I’m never comfort­ is having a big sale on MP3 players
able answering. starting today,” I told him. “I think
“You know what?” I you should go and pick one up im­
said. “I don’t know. mediately.” IM
 Stepping Into Dante’s DoggCrapp Workouts
by Mark Subsinsky - Photography by Michael Neveux

126 JUNE 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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One thing I’ve noticed while surfing the Internet
is a lot of bodybuilding discussion on D.C., or
DoggCrapp, training. I initially tried the standard
multirep rest/pause formula based on what was
available in posts on message boards, but as with
any training system, it needed some tinkering to
fit my needs.
What follows is my take on D.C. training,
focusing on the things I’ve found that I liked and
exploited to my advantage. What I did may differ
from what others consider “pure” D.C. training.

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 Bodybuilding.com INCLINE PRESSES
Presents
The Basics
DoggCrapp is the brainchild of
Dante Bautista, and bodybuilders
appear to have a love/hate rela­
tionship with his training philoso­
phy—people either love it or hate
it. There’s very little middle ground.
I’m not sure why because the train­
ing style really isn’t that radical. It’s
multirep rest/pause; that is, you
take a weight you can get about 10
reps with. You do a set to failure,
rest 20 seconds, do a second set to
failure, rest 20 seconds, and then do
a third and final set to failure. Reps
decrease on each succeeding set.
Is D.C. training effective? Yes. I’ve
made significant gains in strength,
size and weight. The Program fibers to accomplish the work.
Is D.C. training tough to follow? As I said, it’s three sets with the
That depends. If you haven’t Although I’m not an authority on same weight separated by 20 sec­
trained with much intensity in the D.C. training, I have enough experi­ onds of rest. I use 12 to 15 deep
past, then it’s a difficult system. If ence to provide my interpretation breaths between sets. For the en­
you’re a novice trainee, I don’t rec­ and my adaptation. If you really tire set, you should be performing
ommend it. If you’ve been training want the true training and diet pro­ anywhere from 10 to 25 total repeti­
for more than a couple of years, gram, go directly to Dante or one of tions. The set could look something
then D.C. isn’t that difficult to follow. his trainers. like this: nine reps, four reps, two
Is the D.C. training system the D.C. is based on the often-ne­ reps. For most exercises, I preferred
best method of training? glected overload principle and rest/ a higher rep total—13 to 18.
Let’s save the answer to that one pause, which enables you to recruit Notice that you use both low and
for the end. a maximum amount of muscle high repetitions. Combining the

PUSHDOWNS SHRUGS
Model: Nathan Detracy

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two in a workout stimulates both
muscular growth and strength
improvement.
D.C. training also limits the
number of working sets per muscle
group—one or two exercises in the
multirep rest/pause fashion and
an extreme stretch. Static holds
are also an effective addition at the
more advanced stages, but I used
those sparingly.
The low volume of work enables
faster recuperation and a shorter
turnaround time between work­
outs. You can train the whole body
over two workouts, and the system
is typically set up with sessions on
Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
So every bodypart is worked twice
every eight days.
Intensity must be high. D.C.
training has a Mentzeresque or
Yates-like training feel to it—a
Free download from imbodybuilding.com
limited number of sets to maximum
intensity. As in other high-intensity
programs, dense muscularity is a
common result.
Important Aspects
Three other important aspects
to the program are exercise rota­
tion, record keeping and breaks in
training. None of those are all that
radical.
Exercise rotation. The program
is set up with a three-workout rota­
tion. Each of these three workouts
has distinct exercises. The rotation
would be A1, B1, A2, B2, A3, B3, A1,
B1 and so on, with A being the first
half of the body and B being the
other half.
Training journal. The idea
behind keeping a journal is that
more work must be performed in
 Bodybuilding.com
Presents
CABLE ROWS
each successive workout, and writ­
ing down your exercises, weights and
reps lets you see how you’re doing.
For example, if you did bench
presses and got 12 total repetitions
with 315 pounds in your first A1
workout, you should do more repeti­
tions with the same weight or use
more weight the next time you per­
form an A1 workout.
You should make progress each
time you train. The exercise rotation
provides a natural break of roughly
12 days from the first performance of
an exercise to its next performance.
That should be ample time to re­
cover, grow and overcompensate,
thus enabling you to get more reps
LATERAL RAISES
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program. To start I used a three-day
split because of my time constraints
and recovery ability. My commit­
ments outside the gym often take
precedence over workouts. I found
that the two-day split required too
much time at each session. Gen­
erally, the three days I lifted were
nonconsecutive and varied based
on my work schedule.
Another reason for splitting my
bodyparts into three sessions: Al­
though I used a limited number of
Model: Michael Semanoff
working sets, I still needed adequate
warmups. Coupled with some cool-
down after the workout and recov­
ery between sets, the two-day-split
MACHINE SQUATS
or increase the weight.
Training breaks.
The break, or cruising, as
Dante calls it, gives your
joints, tendons and central
nervous system time to re­
cover. I was taking a week
off from lifting roughly
every 10 weeks. During the
week off, I usually did one
or two light weight-train­
ing sessions, no exercises
to failure.
Customization
As mentioned earlier,
I deviated from the basic
workouts were taking roughly 90
minutes to finish—too long for me.
With a three-way split, I was in
and out of the gym in roughly an
hour. I adapted an exercise schedule
and split more to my liking:
Round 1
A1: Chest, delts, triceps
Incline presses, lateral raises,
rear lateral raises, close-grip bench
presses
Model: Sagi Kalev
A2: Back, traps, biceps
Rows, undergrip pulldowns,
shrugs, barbell curls
A3: Legs
 PRESSES

Seated leg curls, seated calf rais­
es, squats
Round 2
B1: Chest, delts, triceps
Bench presses, seated Arnold
presses, rope pushdowns
B2: Back, traps, biceps
Pulldowns, cable rows, shrugs,
preacher curls
B3: Legs
Standing calf raises, hack squats,
adductor ma­
chine, lying leg STANDING CALF RAISES
curls
posterior heads, so I added some.
I also included some direct trape­
zius work, which I did on back days
when I didn’t deadlift.
For most dumbbell work,
namely, lateral and curl exercises, I
often reduced the poundage—drop
sets—instead of keeping the weight
the same. The reason was to reduce
the possibility of injury. I found it
unwise to use exercises like lateral
(continued on page 134)

Round 3
C1: Chest,
delts, triceps
Hammer
incline presses,
seated overhead
presses, dips
C2: Back,
traps, biceps
EZ-curl-bar
curls, Zottman
curls, chins,
deadlifts
C3: Legs
Stiff-legged
deadlifts, leg
press calf raises,
leg presses

I changed a
couple of things.
The program
didn’t include
much direct
deltoid work for
the medial and

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 Bodybuilding.com
Presents
(continued from page 131) raises for
EZ-CURL-BAR CURLS extremely low repetitions.
For quads the original D.C. pro­
gram calls for two sets—the first
for four to eight reps followed by
a second set of 20 reps. It calls for
quads to be done last in the session
because you should be spent after
training them. For regular squats
that’s true; however, I found I had
enough left in the tank after hack
squats, so I did them earlier in the
leg routine. Additionally, I added a
set of adductor exercises after hack
squats.
Back exercises were of two variet­
ies, either for width or for thickness.
And like quad work, back exercises
should be done in a two-set man­
ner to reduce the risk of injury. For
deadlifts and rows I used two low-
rep sets. For pulldowns and chins I
STRAIGHT-BAR did rest/pause sets.
CURLS Calves are also unique. D.C.
training calls for one set, but with
a 10-to-15-second pause/stretch
at the bottom of each repetition. I
modified that by doing a set with
the stretch between reps for roughly
seven to 12 reps. I followed with
a standard 12-to-20-rep set—no
stretch between reps.
Based on my energy levels I often
added an additional pure X-Rep set
to the training program. I particu­
larly liked machines for that, usually
performing one or two X-Rep sets
per training session. For example, I
used the seated row machine at the
end of the C2 workout and focused
on the bottom half of the stroke.

PREACHER CURLS Stretching

Stretching in the program is
unique and needs further explana­
tion. The stretch is used at the end
of a bodypart routine to stimulate
fascia expansion, to make room
for additional size. The validity of
the technique is questionable, but
I do believe the stretch assisted my
recovery. Here are the stretches for
each bodypart. Hold the stretch po­
sition for 30 seconds to one minute.
Chest. On a flat or incline bench,
take a pair of dumbbells to the
extended lockout position. Do a
10-second controlled negative rep
Model: Binais Begovic

into a deep stretch at the bottom of

a press.
Triceps. Perform it like an over­
head dumbbell extension. From the

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 Bodybuilding.com
Presents
extended overhead position, slowly
lower the dumbbell into the stretch
position and resist the weight while
leaning back slightly.
Shoulders. Face away from a
squat rack and grab a barbell in
the rack that’s set at roughly shoul­
der height. While maintaining a
palms-up grip on the bar (hands
below the bar), walk out until the
stretch gets painful—then roll your
shoulders downward and hold.
Biceps. Work them the way you
do the shoulder stretch position,
but hold the barbell palms down
now (hands over the bar), and sink
down to stretch your biceps.
Back. I prefer a weighted hang
from the chin bar, lats flared out.
Hamstrings. Place one leg up
on a high barbell, grab either your
toe or the barbell, and force your
upper body toward your knee.
After a minute, repeat it with the

Model: Richard Longworth

other leg. You can also use light
stiff-legged deadlifts.
Quads. Basically a sissy squat—
quads and torso on the same
plane—with the bottom position SISSY SQUAT STRETCH

held as a stretch. Stay up on your

toes, upper body leaning back as far
as you can go (head almost touch­
ing the floor).
Calves. Stretching for the calves
is done as part of the exercise rou­
tine—you hold the stretch position
for 10 to 15 seconds after each rep.

Nutrition
A specific aspect of D.C. train­
ing is nutrition and, in particular,
protein. Excess protein is the key
to repair, recovery and mass devel­
opment. Most information on the
D.C. diet recommends roughly two
grams of protein for each pound
you weigh.
I was getting roughly 1.5 to two
grams of protein per pound of
bodyweight every day. That’s a good
guideline.
Supplementation was basic. My
supplements included various pro­
tein drinks, some thermogenics,
glutamine, flaxseed oil and multivi­
tamins and minerals. No pro-hor­
mones or pro-steroids.

Results
I trained on the program consis­

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Presents
PULLDOWNS
tently for nearly eight months. That
was a more than adequate amount
of time to evaluate its success.
My increase in gross weight was
a little more than 30 pounds. Lean
muscle increase was slightly more
than 14 pounds. That’s accurate, as
I proceeded to diet down to a simi­
lar condition I was in eight months
prior. Size increases were visible,
although I didn’t measure.
Strength gains were considerable.
I moved up significantly in each lift
I used.
Conclusion
The bottom line is that I was
very pleased with the results, doing
everything with average supple­
mentation and average genetics.
The program was enjoyable—I liked
hitting the gym to train that way.
Do I think I could have made
similar results with other training
methods? No, not as consistently, as
my past had proven.
Why did I stop? I started a con-
test-prep diet and found my train­
ing results diminishing (weights and
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reps dropping). My take is that D.C. training program—the ability to
training needs to be further modi­ make it your own.
fied for contest prep. The other essential ingredient for
Should you use D.C. training all a good training program is that you
the time? For mass-gaining cycles, actually perform it. If you don’t go
it’s a great program; however, if your out and bust your butt in the gym
goals vary, you should vary your and then provide adequate nutri­
training. tion and
So, is the D.C. program the best? recovery,
Simply put, there isn’t one “best” the pro­
training program; however, D.C. gram will
ranks up there as one of the best be worth­
methods for building mass that I’ve less. So get
ever experienced. to the gym
My final thought is that D.C. and train
training principles and the various hard!
adaptations are excellent for inter­
mediate to advanced bodybuilders. Editor’s
The D.C. style of training is system­ note:
atic, and it works. If you have a good Mark
base coming into the program— Subsinsky
having lifted for a few years—and has been
Mark Subsinsky
good nutrition, you can make some lifting
significant gains. weights
You can stay with a traditional since his high school years in the
D.C. program or follow what I out­ ’70s. He was educated as a biochem­
lined here. Or you can further tinker ist but currently works as a nuclear
with the program and adapt it to fit power plant operator For more of
your own needs and likes. To me, his articles visit www.Bodybuilding.
that’s essential for any successful com. IM
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BICEPS

How New Pro Omar Deckard

Blasts Bi’s for Size and Detail
Detail

by Cory Crow
Photography by Michael Neveux

O n Saturday, February 17, the ’07

IFBB professional season officially
got under way with the IRON MAN Pro.
By the time you read this, we’ll know
who the winners are, and we’ll also know
which competitors finished in the top
five, qualifying for the ’07 Mr. Olympia.
As I write this, on the Tuesday before the
show, all we have is excitement about
the arrival of another bodybuilding
season. One thing we can be sure of: The
competitors will be hitting a front double-
biceps pose almost as soon as they hit the
stage.

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 DECKARD DOES BICEPS

It’s probably no accident that this

pose comes first. No other muscle is
so synonymous with strength as the
biceps. From Michelangelo’s David
to Superman, Western culture is full
of examples of well-developed bi­
ceps. They’re the first muscle group
that novice lifters focus on when
they take up lifting, and the make-
a-muscle command never elicits a
lat spread or a most muscular. The
first pose we hit is the front double-
biceps.
The biceps are so hardwired into
our psyche as the muscle to build,

Leading Up to the Show

Do you ever wonder what it’s
like those last few days before a
big bodybuilding contest? Here’s
Omar Deckard’s routine for the
three days leading up to the
IRON MAN Pro:
Wednesday: Posing. No
workouts are planned, but there
will be a lot of posing practice
and physique assessments with
his adviser, Hany Rambod.
Today Omar will finally get to
take in some carbohydrates so
his physique will start to fill out.
During the USA he had difficulty
sleeping due to logistical issues
and other problems and came
in at (for him) a flat 255. He
plans to be much fuller this time
out with the same crisp condi­
tioning he had at that show.
Thursday: Rest, food and
posing. Omar plans to do a
quick full-body workout today,
doing one exercise per bodypart
of only about two sets each.
He’ll do some calf work and
forearms and use pretty light
weights. The objective here is
more to burn the food that he
eats than to work any muscle
groups
Friday: Friday is typically
hectic, as the expo gets under
way and the press conference
takes place. Omar thinks the
key will be getting plenty of rest
and making sure he’s on time
for his tanning. He also plans
to reserve time for talking busi­
ness with sponsors and supple­
ment companies. —C.C.

(continued on page 148)

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 DECKARD DOES BICEPS
“I’m constantly
harping on
kids to look at
bodybuilding from
a month-to-month
perspective, not day
to day.”
(continued on from page 144) we often
forget that the triceps makes up a
large majority of the arm mass. The
biceps are what we want to see—
what we want to build—sometimes
to the exclusion of other muscle
groups.
It was with that thought in mind
that I contacted IFBB rookie pro
Omar Deckard in the week just be­
fore he made his professional debut
at the IRON MAN, in Pasadena,
California. I wanted to give read­
ers some insight into how the pros
build their mammoth arms. There’s
no hiding weak arms on a pro stage.
If they’re out of balance with the
rest of the physique, it’s obvious.
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When the arms match, however, the
deltoids flow into cannonball biceps
set off by hanging triceps. The result
is a physique that is awesome to be­
hold. In Omar’s case that physique
is big—around 6’1” big.
In detailing his chest routine in
the January ’07 IRON MAN, Omar
explained that he took things slow
and steady when building his pecs.
His philosophy for biceps is much
the same: Take it slow and build
quality muscle. “I’m constantly
harping on the kids to look at body­
building from a month-to-month
perspective, not day by day,” Deck­
ard said. “You’ve got plenty of time
to build your physique and will stay
more motivated if you focus on
making long-term improvements.”
In our “fast-food” world that’s a
philosophy that would benefit many
areas of life, not just bodybuilding.
I caught up with Omar on Tues­
day, four days out from the IM Pro.
His final biceps workout was sched­
uled for that evening, so the topic
was on his mind. It was his last day
of extreme carb depletion, and he
had some filling out to look forward
to over the next couple of days, a
process that would be closely moni­
tored by bodybuilding nutritionist
Hany Rambod. One thing about
Omar: He loves to talk about body­
building, carb depleted or not.
 DECKARD DOES BICEPS

Deckard’s father was a wrestler

and dabbled in bodybuilding in
the ’60s. Omar’s introduction to
weight training came at the age of
12. As you might imagine, he grew
just a little more quickly than the
other kids on the block, although
he didn’t realize that until people
remarked on how big he was. Those
old workouts consisted of grabbing
a bar and curling until he couldn’t
curl anymore. Workouts of eight
sets per exercise for high reps were
common. Of course, form and
efficiency were anything but com­
mon, although Omar thinks that
he could handle the stress of those
workouts because he was “young
and resilient.”
Today his biceps workout is a
shortened and modified version of
the one he did as a child. Gone are
the mammoth set counts and bad
form, but the exercises he performs
remain basically the same. “I don’t
feel the need to lift ultraheavy
weights for biceps anymore, since
they’re a relatively small muscle,”
he said. Instead he focuses on lift­
ing a comfortable weight designed
to stimulate the muscle in a vari­
ety of ways. One other thing has
changed as well, he said: “When I
was a kid, I thought that by working
arms everything else would grow. I
thought that by doing curls my legs
would get bigger, etc. Of course,
now my workout is more varied.”
On the cusp of his professional
debut and what may be the biggest
bodybuilding show of his life, Omar
performed the biceps routine he’s
done for the past several years—the
one that has made his double-bi­
ceps pose a sight to behold.

“The biceps is a
relatively small
muscle than can
reach its capacity
without extremely
heavy weight.”

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 DECKARD DOES BICEPS
“The focus [on concentration curls] is the
rep speed and the muscle squeeze all the
way up and down the rep.”
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Preacher curls 3 x 8-10
Standing barbell curls
135 pounds 1 x 10
185 pounds 1 x 8-10
225 pounds 1 x 5-6
185 pounds 1 x 8-10
Concentration curls 3 x 8-10
Hammer curls 3 x 10-12
Preacher Curls
“I do preacher curls just to get
blood into the biceps before I start
working on them,” Omar said. Be­
cause of that, the weight he uses
isn’t as important as is keeping a
medium rep speed and ensuring
that he works through a full range
of motion on every rep. All too often
he sees novice lifters starting off too
heavy. “I try to help them, especially
the new lifters. When I was younger,
there wasn’t anyone around to guide
me, so I learned by doing and read­
ing.”
The warmup was something
Omar learned from bodybuilding
books as a young man, and he be­
lieves in it firmly today. He also be­
lieves that novice lifters should read
all of the bodybuilding books and
publications they can. “There’s all
kinds of information out there if you
want to learn; you just have to be
willing to go and get it.” His advice
to new lifters is to use a weight on
the preacher curls that just flushes
the muscle; don’t worry about wear­
ing it out—that comes next.
Standing Barbell Curls
After Omar finished describing
this workout to me, I was curious
if he ever mixed things up by using
an EZ-curl bar. “No,” he said, “but
that doesn’t mean I don’t like to do
curls that way.” Deckard feels that
the standard Olympic bar better
targets the biceps, but he’s quick to
point out that it can put stress on
the joints. If you have shoulder or
elbow problems, it would be wise
to use an EZ-curl bar in place of a
standard bar.
My second question was about
weight—specifically, how much.
He said that the weight he uses has
been built up over time and again
stressed his belief that lifting ultra-
heavy weights is counterproductive
for a smaller muscle like the biceps
and lends itself more to injury than
it does muscle growth. “The biceps
 DECKARD DOES BICEPS

is a relatively small muscle that
can reach its capacity without ex­
tremely heavy weight.” His weights
are based largely on feel, as is the
rep range. Omar tries to ensure that
’
the amount of weight he chooses Omar focuses on lifting
for every set. Egos and pride often
make for torn muscles caused by a comfortable weight
excess weight or bad form. A muscle designed to stimulate the
that’s broken won’t grow, and a
’
muscle in a variety of ways.
’
’

“
“

’ -
’

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 DECKARD DOES BICEPS

rest of the workout is designed to Workout Schedule

augment that and balance out the
stress placed on his biceps to pro­ Deckard uses a three­
vide multiple stimuli for complete
growth.
on/one-off split:
Omar keeps the same basic lifts,
oup of
ounded accompaniments. Day 1: Hamstrings
eplaces and calves in the
ation curls with
nate dumbbell curls just morning; shoulders
to attack the biceps at a in the evening
ry the
stimuli. On most oc-
ever,
Day 2: Quads in the
’ll see him in morning; chest and
the gym, bang-
ing away
biceps in the evening
using the
outine Day 3: Traps and tri­
that’s ceps in the morning;
listed
re, back in the evening
working
to slow­ Day 4: Off*
ly add
size Repeat
and

attain a

better shape
*Depending on how
to his biceps.
or all lifters his body feels, Omar
d suggests occasionally takes a
cises
k the best and second day off to en­
“ oo sure complete recov­
ernight
ernight. ery. The second day off
n about your is always taken in con­
eact to differ-
ks and junction with the first
” one and never between
ON
ookies the three working
was heading to the gym to give his
was
days—barring illness.
ed, but feeling
’ ever felt leading up
had a good support
itionist Webcast as Omar climbed up on a
’ wife and his pro stage for the first time. Deckard
ew knew that he had to hit the gym and
, who would be watching via get in one last workout, because he
could be the guy who would lead off
“Take your time and learn the show—with his 6’1” frame and
your biceps and how they 265 pounds squeezing into a front
double-biceps.
react to different lifts. Then
take what works, and use Editor’s note: Omar Deckard
can be reached for guest posing and
that to grow.” sponsorships at omardeckard2@
yahoo.com. IM

www.ironmanmagazine.com \ JUNE 2007 155

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 CNS
How Your Nervous System Controls Muscle
Size and Strength Gains
by Jerry Robinson • Photography by Michael Neveux

T he nervous system is divided into two parts: the central

nervous system—the brain and spinal cord—and the
peripheral nervous system, which consists of the nerves
traveling to and from the spinal cord, serving the muscle, skin
and all organs.
Muscle contraction calls on both systems. The signal to
contract begins in the central nervous system in the brain and
travels to the spinal cord. From there it moves to the peripheral
Model: Skip La Cour

nervous system, where it travels along nerves to the muscles.

(continued on page 162)

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 www.ironmanmagazine.com \ JUNE 2007 159
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CNS

Total strength is related to total muscle mass: The more muscle

tissue you have available for contraction, the greater strength you

can deliver. That’s only part of the story, however.

(continued from page 159) When with the muscle fibers it supplies, is brain sends a weak signal down the
a nerve nears a muscle, the nerve called a motor unit. nerve, and only a small percentage
splits into many tiny branches. Each Not all motor units are activated of the total motor units are acti­
branch supplies a number of muscle with every contraction. If a gentle, vated. If a strong, fast contraction
fibers. The nerve branch, together slow contraction is needed, the is needed, the brain sends a strong
signal, activating a larger percentage
Past Nervous System Failure for Bigger Muscle Gains of the total motor units. The brain
has a great deal of control over the
Your nervous system is preventing you from growing. Why? It doesn t number of motor units it can acti­
want you to get hurt. It prevents you from overexerting, and it s also a vate, which is why the same muscles
roadblock to unnecessary muscle, which the body perceives as excess that can do a quarter-ton deadlift
baggage. But we want more muscle, so we have to figure out ways to get can also perform delicate surgery.
past nervous system failure. Total strength is related to total
Training consistently enables you to gain more neuromuscular effi­ muscle mass: The more muscle
ciency, but scientists say that only 30 percent of the available fast-twitch tissue you have available for con­
fibers ever engage in any one all-out set. The nervous system fizzles way traction, the greater strength you
before total activation (it s that saving-you-from-yourself syndrome). can deliver. That’s only part of the
Right when you re on the verge of max growth stimulation in any set, story, however. Even with substan­
your nervous system short-circuits. The nerve of that CNS! tial muscle mass, if you can activate
During a set, the size principle of muscle fiber activation sets the stage only a small percentage of total
for order of recruitment. On the first few easy reps, the low-threshold motor units, your strength will be
motor units fire. As the set gets harder, the mediums engage. Finally, limited. That’s where nervous sys­
near the end of the set, the high-threshold motor units kick in. Those tem adaptations come in: Intense
highs are the ones with the most growth-stimulation potential, but right training increases how much of that
as they start to activate, your nervous system craps out, and you re left muscle mass you can activate for a
with the vast majority of your fast-twitch fibers unused. How do you get contraction, how frequently you can
around that to make the set more productive in the growth-stimulation get individual motor units to fire
department? There are a few ways: and how long each motor unit can
1) Forced reps. When you hit exhaustion, your training partner can sustain a contraction. Those chang­
apply just enough help to get you through a few more reps. Forced reps es lay the groundwork for mass-
could be called nervous system helpers, but there s also a lot of waste building, high-intensity workouts.
and unbalanced loading and unloading throughout each forced rep—
which can actually overstress the nervous and endocrine systems. Increased Muscle

2) Drop set. When you hit exhaustion, reduce the poundage and
Activation

continue with more reps immediately. That will engage a few more fibers
in the second phase, as the recruitment pattern changes. Most of the evidence for nervous
3) Rest/pause. At the end of a set, rest for 10 to 20 seconds, then system adaptations to exercise has
continue. The break will let energy substrates recharge to a degree and come from electromyographic stud­
regenerate nervous system activity. ies. EMGs measure the electrical
4) X Reps. At exhaustion move the resistance to a point on the stroke activity of a muscle. Because muscle
at which the target muscle is slightly elongated, such as near the bot­ contraction is an electrical process,
tom of an incline press or leg extension, and continue with eight-inch the stronger the signal from the
partial movements. That s the max-force point for the target muscle and brain to contract, the greater the
enables more fibers to fire. When no more partials are possible (you may electrical activity in muscle.
need help from a partner to get more than a couple), hold the resistance Though not all motor units are
in the semistretch position and force the muscle to continue to fire. That activated with every contraction,
improves neuromuscular efficiency and triggers more fiber activation training increases the maximum
and mass stimulation. X Reps are much more effective than full-range number of motor units that can be
forced reps because of the concentrated movement at the max-force activated during a contraction. So
point—there s no imprecise unloading over a long stroke, which has your strength increases.
been shown in research studies to cause cortisol, a muscle-eating stress How does training increase motor
hormone, to skyrocket. unit activation? Untrained people
—Steve Holman may have either some kind of motor
www.X-Rep.com unit inhibition or insufficient moti­
vation that prevents full activation
under normal circumstances.

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 CNS

Motor Unit Inhibition

Contraction of the main muscle
motivating a movement is often
associated with simultaneous
contraction of its antagonists, the
muscles opposing that movement.
That may seem paradoxical—like
having your foot on the accelera­
tor and the brake at the same time.
Simultaneous contraction of a main
muscle and its antagonist, however,
does have a purpose: It increases
precision. Indeed, it occurs most
prominently in movements requir­
ing precision.
Contraction of the antagonist also
occurs when the action of the prime
mover is strong and rapid, especially
in untrained subjects. Here, the
“braking” action of the antagonist
may have a protective function. It
may limit full activation of the main
muscle, preventing the beginner
from lifting much more than he or
she is accustomed to—thus decreas­
ing risk of injury. With training and
experience you reduce antagonist
braking, and your apparent strength
increases.

Increased Motor Unit

Firing Rate
The second nervous system adap­
tation to strength training changes
how frequently individual motor
units fire. Motor units don’t just fire
once per contraction but repeatedly.
The more frequently they fire, the
greater the strength, with maximum
strength occurring at a firing rate
of about 50 times a second. Trained
Model: Tommi Thorvildsen

bodybuilders are able to come

closer to the 50-times-per-second
maximum than untrained ones.
In some small muscles, such as
those of the hand, most, perhaps all,
motor units are called upon when
you contract with half of your maxi­
mum strength. To increase force to
greater than half of maximum, you
must increase the firing rate of the
motor units already recruited.
In the big “power” muscles, such
as the biceps and delts, motor units
are recruited throughout the range
Contraction of the main muscle motivating
of force—and force is increased by a movement is often associated with
raising both the motor unit firing
rate and the number of motor units
simultaneous contraction of its antagonists.
activated. Training probably im­
proves strength in the biceps, delts

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CNS
Model: Sagi Kalev
Intense training increases how much muscle
mass you can activate for a contraction, how
frequently you can get individual motor units
to fire and how long each motor unit can
sustain a contraction.
164 JUNE 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com
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and other large muscle groups by
facilitating both changes.
Prolonged Motor Unit
Contraction
The third neurological adapta­
tion to exercise is an increase in how
long each motor unit can sustain a
contraction. While a motor unit may

start out contracting 50 or even 100
times per second, it can’t sustain
those rates for long. Within a few
seconds some motor units drop
to a rate of 30 to 40 cycles per sec­
ond. Along with the drop in firing
rate comes a loss in overall muscle
strength.
Training, however, appears to
delay the drop in firing rates for at
least some individual muscle fibers.
In one experiment untrained sub­
jects could keep certain motor units
active for only about three seconds.
After training, the same subjects
could keep those motor units active
for about 20 seconds. In addition,
they were able to fire the motor
units more rapidly. That kind of ad­
aptation probably prolongs time to
overall muscle contraction failure.
Model: Skip La Cour
Free download from imbodybuilding.com
Other Neurological
Adaptations
There are other neurological ad­
aptations to training that are not as
well understood. These are changes
in strength that seem to be adapta­
tions of the central nervous system.
Learning. The best-known of
these adaptations is learning. Ev­
eryone knows that practice makes
perfect, but how that happens is
not well understood at all. Feed­
back from repeated performance of
specified movements somehow gets
incorporated into the nervous sys­
tem so that the movements come a
little closer to ideal every time. That
involves carefully balancing speed
and strength of contraction in both
main muscles and antagonists.
Motivation. Trained bodybuild-
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CNS

In the big “power”

muscles motor
units are recruited
throughout the
range of force.

ers seem to be better at focusing

their attention and energies on
lifting than nonweightlifers. The
increased mental focus results in ac­
tivating a greater number of motor
units. Motivation can also be in­
creased with hypnosis or with feed­
back during an event—for example,
when the audience shouts encour­
agement at a physique contest.
Cross training. Another such
adaptation is cross training. Cross
training is an odd phenomenon:
Believe it or not, training one limb
increases strength in the other. If,
for example, you do biceps curls
with just your right arm, strength
will increase in both your right and
left arms. The left arm shows in­
creases in strength, even though it
was never trained.
In one study eight weeks of train­
ing one biceps resulted in a 36.4
percent increase in strength in that
arm and a 24.7 percent increase in
the other, untrained arm.
You can’t attribute the cross-
training effect to local changes
within the muscle or to changes
in the peripheral nervous system.
It’s probably due to changes in the
central nervous system, in the cross-
communication networks between
limbs.
Bilateral deficit. Another cen­
tral nervous system adaptation is
the bilateral deficit, in which exert­
ing one limb decreases strength in
the other.
Let’s say you squeeze a hand grip
strength-testing device with one
hand. If you retest that same hand
Model: Allen Sarkiszadeh

while testing the other hand simul­

taneously, strength in the first hand
will drop. The drop is usually about
5 percent to 25 percent of maximum
strength and (continued on page 170)

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CNS

Feedback from repeated

performance of specified

movements somehow

gets incorporated into the

nervous system so that the

movements come a little

closer to ideal every time.

(continued from page 166) is not at-

tributable to changes in posture or
positioning.
Bilateral deficit seems to come
from the way we use our limbs. We
generally use our limbs separately,
instead of together. For example,
we use both legs separately, as with
walking, more often than we use
them together, as with the leg press
or vertical jump.
With training, however, you can
turn a bilateral deficit into an in­
crease. For example, the deficit in
the legs is usually fairly large, ex­
cept in athletes such as bodybuild­
ers who train both legs together
with leg presses, squats and other
two-legged exercises.
Those athletes can experience
bilateral facilitation rather than
bilateral deficit. That suggests that
the bilateral deficit is a central ner­
vous system phenomenon that will
adapt with training.
Bilateral deficit is the argument
behind recommendations to do
dumbbell movements one arm
at a time or alternating arms (for
example, to do supinated dumb­
bell curls first with one arm, then
with the other). Since training can
turn bilateral deficit into bilateral
facilitation, however, the argument
doesn’t hold water. So if you feel
like doing a dumbbell movement
with both hands at the same time,
go right ahead—you won’t be com­
promising your gains.
Note: To learn how to apply the
above information in the gym, see
“Past Nervous System Failure for
Bigger Muscle Gains” on page 162.
Editor’s note: Jerry Robinson
Model: Dave Goodin

is the co-author of The 7-Minute

Rotator Cuff Solution, available for
$29.95 from www.Home-Gym.com,
or you can call (800) 447-0008. IM

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 How Boxer Michael Lockett Lifted Weights for a Little
More Than a Year to Win the NPC Team Universe
by David Young • Photography by Bill Comstock

Maybe one person in a million is born with the

genetics to become an outstanding bodybuilder.
Of those few, not many have the drive or work
ethic to realize their potential. So it’s rare to
encounter a guy like Michael Lockett, who has
the predisposition for building muscle and is also
hungry—and I do mean hungry!—to achieve his
goals.
After only 15 months of serious (gut-wrench­
ingly serious) hardcore training, Michael gained
27 pounds of muscle, completely clocked his
competition, won the overall at the Team Uni­
verse and became an IFBB pro. Sit down, tune
in, and listen up. Here’s how he did it.

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 MICHAEL LOCKETT

“I’m ver
competitive.
Once I
decide I want
something,
I don’
anything stop
me. If I have to
train harder
train harder

www.ironmanmagazine.com \ JUNE 2007 181

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 MICHAEL LOCKETT

DY: How did you get started in

bodybuilding and fitness?
“If I hadn’t taken ML: I was a boxer. But after sev­
up bodybuilding, eral years it was time to leave it. My
it would be like brother Reggie and my sister Donna
influenced me to start bodybuilding.
I was wasting They told me that I was born with a
my God-given natural bodybuilding physique, so
genetics.” why not take up bodybuilding and
realize my full potential?
I took what they said to heart
and joined a gym called Fitworks.
It’s sort of an old-school hardcore
gym: real weights that clang, people
working out with fire in their eyes,
grunting, sweating—you know, a
real gym. When I was working out at
Fitworks, I met the general manager,
Mark Sustin, who could write sev­
eral textbooks on bodybuilding. He
was a bodybuilder, and he encour­
aged me. He also taught me what
I needed to know about training,
nutrition and motivation. I already
had the work ethic and conditioning
from boxing.

DY: I love those types of gyms.

It sounds like your brother, sis­
ter and Mark were all good in­
fluences on you. It also sounds
like you did do your homework.
Give us your stats.
ML: I’m 23, 5’10” and 220 pounds.

DY: And how long have you

been training?
ML: 15 months.

DY: No, I don’t mean how long

you trained for the Team Uni­
verse. I mean how long have you
been bodybuilding?
ML: That’s it, just 15 months.
In that time I gained 27 pounds of
muscle, won the Team Universe and
got my IFBB pro card.

DY: Oh, but you used to lift

weights for boxing, right?
ML: No, never. I didn’t lift weights
until 15 months before the Team
Universe. When I was boxing, it
was just boxing training along with
pushups and situps.

DY: I’m shaking my head. That

just doesn’t happen.
ML: I know, I get that all the time.
That’s why my brother and sister
told me to start bodybuilding. They
saw the determination and condi­
tioning I had from boxing and they

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 MICHAEL LOCKETT

boxing again.

DY: The passion is still there

for boxing?
ML: Yes. There’s a certain confi­
dence that comes from being able
to handle yourself in the ring.

DY: Does that confidence

carry over into other worth­
while endeavors?
“If I’m in the ML: Yes, it does. It carries over
into my business, it carries over
gym and into bodybuilding, and it even
carries over into my personal
I need to relationships. I’m not referring
to the violent part; I’m referring
get 12 reps to the fact that boxing is a series
of strategies and overcoming
with a new obstacles and setbacks. It’s also
very motivating to know that I can
weight, I’m overcome those obstacles and
going to get setbacks.

those reps DY: Bodybuilding training

and dieting require a lot of
no matter motivation. What keeps you
motivated for that?
what.” ML: I’m very competitive. Once
I decide I want something, I don’t
let anything stop me. If I have to

also saw the predisposition I have for

building muscle. In fact, if I hadn’t
taken up bodybuilding, it would be
like I was wasting my God-given ge­
netics. The way I look at it, I was given
my genetics for a reason, and it would
be almost a discredit to my Maker.

DY: Let’s go back. When did you

start boxing?
ML: When I was about 15.

DY: I understand that now

you’re a personal trainer at Fit-
works. What do you like about
that?
ML: I like taking people who
aren’t getting results and completely
turning them around. When people
start getting the kind of results they
should, they get motivated. I love
motivating and influencing others in
a positive way. I loved learning about
bodybuilding, nutrition and motiva­
tion. That’s why I became a personal
trainer.

DY: Do you play any other

sports or have any other hob­
bies?
ML: No. But I’m thinking about

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 MICHAEL LOCKETT
“I don’t diet.
train harder, I train harder. I set my I always stay
goals. If I’m in the gym and I need ripped. It comes
to get 12 reps with a new weight, I’m
going to get those reps no matter
naturally to me.”
what. I fire up my willpower, I roll
up my sleeves—metaphorically—
and I dig in.

DY: Tell us your diet strategy

on-season and off.
ML: It’s the same on- and off­
season. I don’t diet. I always stay
ripped. It comes naturally to me.
I even cheat three days a week by
having an entire bag of red licorice.
I love it.

DY: I really hate you now.

[Both laugh] Maybe we could
sell this as the new diet fad:
“The licorice way to fab abs.”
Okay, Mr. Licorice, can you give
me a sample of your eating for
a day?
ML: Oatmeal, egg whites, chicken
breast, protein shakes and brown
rice.

DY: So you eat clean except

for the licorice—you just don’t
think of it as a diet.
MY: Correct. That would be the
wrong mind-set. I love what I eat. I
just don’t have a huge appetite.
DY: Do you have a favorite
supplement?
ML: Met-Rx RTD protein shakes.
DY: How do you overcome
training plateaus? Although you
probably haven’t had too many
in only 15 months.
ML: I really feel as though it’s all
about concentration. You have to be
totally focused in your workouts and
let nothing stand in your way. You’ve
got to stand toe to toe with the
weights. They’re either going to beat
you, or you’re going to beat them.
It’s up to to you to decide which.
DY: Toe to toe—just like a box­
ing match. Ah, now I’m starting
to understand your mind-set.
ML: I’m a naturally self-motivated
person. No one has to force me into
the gym. No one has to push me. It’s
all on me—and God.
God is responsible for my suc­
cess. It’s not me; it’s God. My goal is
to be the best bodybuilder I can be.
But more important, I want to show
people what’s really possible with­
out drugs—no steroids, no growth
hormone, no insulin or whatever
else they’re using. You have to have
faith in your own abilities.
DY: So you want to take it to
another level without drugs
and influence people that way.
Is that your life philosophy?
ML: Yes, that’s it. Without a clear
vision, I will perish.
DY: Are there any secrets to
your training success? You
know, secrets to muscle growth.
ML: Without pain we can’t grow.
You’ve got to push through the pain
barrier. That’s what makes the dif­
ference. The pain is going to come.
The question is, Can you keep going
beyond the pain, or will it stop you?
If it stops you, you’re done. If you
can go through it, that’s the secret to
success.
I train that way all year-round.
And I look the same all year-round. I
just keep trying to improve. That’s it.
DY: How many weeks out do
you start your preparation?
ML: I’m ready all the time, so I
make only a few alterations one or
two weeks out.
DY: Do you use supersets or
forced reps?
ML: Yes, on occasion, just to mix
it up. Never as a regular training
principle, though.
DY: What kind of sets-and­
reps patterns do you use?
ML: On every exercise, I do ei­
ther four sets of 12 or four sets of
eight. Let’s say it’s four sets of 12.
That first set or two may be rela­
tively easy to get my 12 reps, but
the last two or three sets, it’s a fight.
It’s me against the iron. It’s cold,
hard and nasty, and I’m getting my
reps no matter what.
DY: How many exercises do
you do for each bodypart?
ML: Almost every bodypart gets
four exercises and four sets per
exercise. Back gets slightly more
because I’m trying to bring it up
into balance with the rest of my
physique, and calves and abs get
less because they are naturally my

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 MICHAEL LOCKETT
“It’s about
concentration.
You have to
be totally
focused in your
workouts and
let nothing
stand in your
way.”
best-developed bodyparts. To do
more for them would be wasted ef­
fort and simply cut into my recovery
ability.
DY: How do you organize your
training week?
ML: Like this:
Monday: Back, Triceps
Tuesday: Chest, Biceps
Wednesday: Legs
Thursday: Shoulders
Friday: Back, Triceps
The following week continues the
sequence, beginning with chest and
biceps. It works out to each body-
part getting trained two times every
eight days rather than one time a
week.
DY: Yes, I follow a similar phi­
losophy. I found that training
a bodypart only once a week
wasn’t enough for me. So I went
188 JUNE 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com
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Michael Lockett’s Team
Universe Training
He does four sets of eight
to 12 reps on each exercise,
except where indicated. He
uses a two-seconds-up/two­
seconds-down cadence and
rests about 90 seconds after
each set—slightly longer on
bench presses and squats.
Chest
Incline dumbbell presses
Flat-bench dumbbell
presses
Incline flyes
Flat-bench flyes
Biceps
Barbell curls
Preacher curls
One-arm dumbbell curls
Back
Pullups (5 sets)
Seated cable rows
Pulldowns
Bent-over rows
Dumbbell rows
Shoulders
to twice in eight days, and it’s Seated dumbbell presses
worked well. Front raises
ML: I think you need to train Lateral raises
slightly more frequently than once Rear-delt-machine laterals
a week, especially if you’re drug- Shrugs
free. [Note: Michael’s complete
routine is at right.] Triceps
Pushdowns
DY: What about cardio? Reverse pushdowns
ML: None. Dips
DY: Are there any other Quads
training, nutrition, supple­ Squats
mentation or cardio strat­ Legs presses
egies that you think are Leg extensions
important to building a great Lunges
body?
ML: Consistency. One day of Hamstrings
training, eating right or what­ Leg curls
have-you does not build a great Stiff-legged deadlifts
body. It’s all the days, weeks and
months put together over time. Calves
Standing calf raises
Editor’s note: To contact Mi­
chael Lockett for appearances, Abs
training or sponsorship, send e- Roman-chair situps
mail to thebutcher_1982@yahoo
.com. IM
 X-FILES
Q & A: Muscle-Building Solutions
From the IM E-zine
by Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson • Photography by Michael Neveux

Q : I’ve been getting excellent results with X-Rep

partials, using them at the end of a set in the
semistretch position [near the bottom of bench
presses for instance]. I’m in college, and my physiol­
ogy professor agrees with the X-Rep concepts, but he
says the X spot should be at the fully stretched posi­
tion because you get more fiber action there. Why do
you think it’s higher on the stroke than at the very
bottom [full-stretch point]? (continued on page 202)

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 www.ironmanmagazine.com \ JUNE 2007 199
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X-FILES
Models: Markus Reinhardt and Hubert Morandell
Moving from near the bottom of the stroke to
near the halfway mark covers the X Range, where
optimal force and fiber activation occur.
A: It may depend on the exercise
and individual leverage points,
but let s generalize. We originally
developed the X-Rep concept to
interact with 3D Positions of Flexion
training. So in the beginning the X
spot corresponded with a particular
exercise s position. For example,
quads:
Midrange: squats—X Reps near
the middle of the stroke.
Contracted: leg extensions—X
Reps at the top, contracted posi­
tion.
Stretch: sissy squats—a squat
up on your toes with the legs
and torso on the same plane—X
Reps and/or a static X at the full-
stretch point.
That is described in our first e-
book, The Ultimate Mass Workout,
202 JUNE 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com
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and works well. Then we came
across findings from William J.
Kraemer, Ph.D., and Steven J. Fleck,
Ph.D., two of the most respected
researchers in strength training:
The total amount of force devel­
oped depends on the total number
of myosin crossbridges interacting
with active sites on the actin. At the
optimal length there is potential for
maximal crossbridge interaction
and thus maximal force. Below this
optimal length, less tension is devel­
oped because with excessive short­
ening [closer to peak contraction]
there is an overlap of actin filaments
so that the actin filaments interfere
with each other s ability to contact
with the myosin crossbridges. Less
crossbridge contact with the active
sites on the actin results in a smaller
potential to develop tension.
In other words, as you get close to
the contracted position, the fibers
are too crowded to fire optimally,
and the result is less force. So that
discounts the so-called flexed posi­
tion for maximum fiber recruit­
ment. What about the semistretch
and stretch positions? Back to the
scientists:
At lengths greater than optimal
[more stretch] there is less and less
overlap of the actin and myosin
filaments. This results in less po­
tential for crossbridge contact with
the active sites on the actin.... Some
prestretch of the muscle prior to
initiation of an action will increase
the amount of force generated. Too
much prestretch will, however, actu­
ally decrease the total amount of
force developed.
So at the full-stretch point the
fiber alignment is not optimal, and
you get less force. That means the
full-stretch position is not the best
X spot and neither is the fully con­
tracted position; it s the semistretch
point, in a range from just above
full stretch to the midpoint of the
stroke, which is where the actin
and myosin filaments are perfectly
aligned for max-force production.
That eight-to-10-inch range is
where you should do the X Reps.
That goes for all exercises.
Nevertheless, we suggest using a
static X in the full-stretch position
on stretch-position exercises. As we
and others have found, that can re
sult in big strides in muscle size. To
get through the pain, just remem­
ber the 300 percent size gains one
animal study achieved in only one
month of static-stretch overload.
Q: You guys suggest a rep
speed of 1.5 seconds up and
1.5 down. Wouldn’t a slower
negative be more beneficial?
It would mean lower training
poundage, but since the nega­
tive is so important, emphasiz­
ing it seems like a no-brainer.
A: Because the muscles are so
much stronger on the negative,
or lowering, part of the rep, many
fibers disengage. In other words, a
lot of fibers rest during the negative.
So if you perform it too slowly, you
lose tension on groups, or bundles,
of fibers for too long—but you still
build up fatigue products quickly,
leading to premature exhaustion,
a.k.a. failure.

That s why we use the same speed
on both the positive and negative—
fast, but not too fast. One and a half
seconds up and 1 1/2 seconds down
is about as fast as you can go with­
out using momentum; however, you
should move a bit slower on both
phases of the stroke on the first few
reps because that s when the muscle
is strongest and can produce more
force—which could trigger injury.
As the set progresses, your rep
speed should increase so by the end
of the set you re trying to explode at
the turnaround—without jerking or
bouncing. Keep in mind that even
though you re thinking explosive,
the reps will be even slower than
normal due to fatigue. But attempt­
ing to move as fast as possible as the
set progresses recruits more high-
threshold motor units toward the
end of a set.
What about X-Rep partials? You
should still be thinking explosive,
but with control. Luckily, on most
exercises you won t be able to heave
or jerk at the X spot, but even if you
can, don t do it! Move as fast as pos­
sible, but stay in control. That keeps
Models: Andre and Rune Nielsen
Free download from imbodybuilding.com
the muscle engaged and more fast-
twitch fibers firing.
Q: I’m pressed for time, so
I like the idea of using the ul­
timate exercise for each body
part [as listed and explained in
the e-book The Ultimate Mass
Workout]. I’m using one of the
split routines you outline, but
I want to vary the rep range on
my two work sets. My question
is, Should I do my higher-rep
work set (10 to 12 reps) or my
lower rep set (four to six reps)
first? I know pyramiding is
popular, so I would guess the
higher-rep set.
A: If you do a quick, comprehen­
sive warmup, you ll be primed for
your heavy set first, which is what
we recommend. Why the power set
first? The reason is twofold.
First, heavy weights heighten ner
vous system response, so you ll be
able to activate more fibers on your
second higher-rep growth-range set,
which should have about 30 sec­
onds of tension time. That s exactly
what you want—the best strength
X-FILES
(force) activation on your first set
and the best hypertrophic (growth)
stimulation on your second.
When you reduce your weight for
your second set, you ll feel much
more powerful because of that
heightened innervation. That means
you ll glide through the size princi­
ple of fiber recruitment much more
readily and activate more growth
fibers toward the end of that second,
lighter growth set—especially if you
add X-Rep partials at exhaustion.
The other reason you should do
your heavy set first is that you deal
with less fatigue-product accumu­
lation. You want to be as fresh as
possible so the muscles don t crap
out early. Remember, low-rep sets to
exhaustion cause your central ner
vous system to balk very early—an
emergency shutdown. If you reverse
the order and do your higher-rep
set first, residual fatigue products
make hitting that CNS wall on your
heavier set happen even sooner.
Do your lower rep set first most
of the time. You may be asking, But
won t fatigue products accumulate
with that (continued on page 208)
Forced reps
can extend
tension
time on the
muscle;
however,
much of
the range
is wasted
due to
less-than­
optimal
force
generation
and
unbalanced
loading and
unloading
from your
partner.
www.ironmanmagazine.com \ JUNE 2007 203
X-FILES

are a few people who have very

low neuromuscular efficiency, or
nerve-to-muscle connections, and/
or fewer-than-average fast-twitch
fibers. But those anomalies aside,
let s outline a few things you must
do to get the most out of every set of
your quick-hit workouts:
1) Nonlock sets. You must keep
tension on the target muscle, even
on the big, multijoint exercises like
bench presses and squats. That
means you shouldn t lock out and
rest between reps. If you re after
maximum size stimulation, do
enough reps to give you at least 25
seconds of tension time—usually
about nine.
2) Continu­
ous-tension sets. Jay Cutler
That means no uses a lot
heaving or jerking,
as momentum can
of partial
reduce stress on pulses
the target muscle between
along the stroke.
For example,
full reps,
bouncing the bar such as
off your rib cage near the
on the bench press
takes tension off
bottom on
your pecs through dumbbell
part of the bot­ presses, a
tom range—not
good, as that s
technique
the most impor we call
tant area for fiber Double-X
activation. Keep
your reps under
Overload.
control—about His delts
1 1/2 seconds up appear
and 1 1/2 seconds
down. Move like a
to have
(continued from page 203) as well?” most trainees. piston in an en­ responded
No—at least not enough to nega­ gine, but don t use nicely to
tively affect your higher-rep set. Q: I’ve tried a lot of quick momentum. Feel
There isn t much fatigue-product workouts similar to [the three- the muscle work­
that tactic.
pooling on a six-rep set, and the days-per-week] Phase 1 of your ing. Notice that
Inset photo from Mitsuru Okabe’s “Jay Cutler Ripped to Shreds” DVD

low-rep power set will supercharge 20-Pounds-of-Muscle-in-10­ nine reps times

your second set due to heightened
nervous system response.
Pyramiding, as in doing four sets
and adding weight on each, is okay,
but keep in mind that the first few
sets are like heavier and heavier
warmups. The last, heaviest set in
the pyramid is usually the only one
taken to exhaustion, which means
there s a lot of fatigue-product pool­
ing by then and you don t get that
CNS-turbocharging effect. That
makes pyramiding inefficient for
Weeks program [in 3D MB]. I three seconds
haven’t found one that’s done per rep equals 27
much for my muscle size. Am seconds—putting
I just one of those people who you smack in the
need more sets? Maybe I’m ge­ muscle-building
netically not cut out to be any target zone.
bigger. What do you think? 3) Efficient
A: Almost everyone should be warmup sets.
able to get considerably bigger in We usually recom­
the muscle-size department—even mend two pro­
with workouts that last about an gressively heavier
hour three days a week. We say al­ warmup sets that
most” everyone because, yes, there mix full-range and

208 JUNE 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

partial reps to get blood into the
muscle quickly without creating too
much fatigue-product pooling (see
Chapter 12 of 3D MB).
4) Beyond-exhaustion sets.
Go past failure on at least one set
per bodypart. A forced rep or two
can work, but in our opinion, X-Rep
partials that encompass the semi-
stretch, or max-force, point on the
stroke are best, followed by a static X
right at that X spot for more stretch
overload. For example, once you
reach exhaustion on incline presses,
move the bar to just off your chest
and do partial reps up to just below
the halfway point—fire up and
Free download from imbodybuilding.com
down through that eight-inch range
to exhaustion. Then hold the bar
right above your pecs for a static
hold.
Keep in mind that when Jonathan
gained 20 pounds of muscle in 10
weeks, he was on a two-phase ab­
breviated program that included
most of the above—except for X
Reps, which we hadn t discovered
yet. He did use a few forced reps,
however. We think if hed had X
Reps, he could ve gained even more
muscle.
Before you consider yourself
genetically challenged in the
muscle-building department, try
X-FILES
your quick-hit workouts with all of
the above. You should see a mind-
blowing, muscle-growing difference
immediately.
Q: You mention the myotatic
reflex in 3D Muscle Building.
I’ve seen it mentioned other
places as a way to get more
muscle fibers to fire on stretch
exercises. [Editor s note: To
activate the myotatic reflex,
use a quick twitch—but not
a bounce—to change direc­
tions. There s no pause in the
stretch position.] But I’ve also
read about fascial stretching,
www.ironmanmagazine.com \ JUNE 2007 209
X-FILES

which can loosen up

the fiber encasements
to make more growth
happen. That requires a
long hold in the stretch
position. Which is bet­
ter—a long pause in the
stretch position or no
pause?
A: The simple answer is,
don t pause during sets of
stretch-position exercises,
like dumbbell flyes, so you
take advantage of the myo­
tatic reflex for enhanced
fiber recruitment; then,
when you reach full-range
exhaustion—you can t do
another full-range rep—
hold the weight at or near
the full-stretch position for
as long as possible. (Yes, it
hurts, but remember those
animal-study results men­
tioned above.)
In most Positions-of-
Flexion programs we usu­
ally recommend two sets
of stretch-position exer
cises—like flyes for pecs
and pullovers for lats—so
you may want to do your
second set with a reduced
poundage and use Double-
X Overload, which is per
forming an X Rep between
full reps throughout the
set. Then at exhaustion do
a static hold in the stretch
position. DXO gives you
more stretch-point stimu­
lation throughout the set,
which can heighten fiber
activation.
We noticed that Jay Cut­
ler, the current Mr. Olym­
pia, uses a version of that
technique on many of his
exercises, even big moves
like dumbbell presses.
While that seems to have
worked for him in the delt­
development department,
we think DXO works best
on stretch-position exer
cises. But we re not going to
argue with Mr. O.
One of Arnold’s favorite biceps programs contained a Q: You talk about the
3D attack—dumbbell curls (midrange), incline curls force/extended-tension
(stretch) and concentration curls (contracted). concept in 3D Muscle
Balik

Building, and you say

210 JUNE 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com
Free download from imbodybuilding.com

that it’s similar to the heavy/
light system bodybuilders in
the ’50s and ’60s used to get big.
Why don’t pro bodybuilders
today use heavy/light or F/X­
style training?
A: Anabolic steroids. They have
all but destroyed the science of
bodybuilding because they distort
recovery. When you re on drugs, just
about any type of training works
and no stress-and-recovery balanc­
ing act is necessary. You can train
heavy and with loads of sets at al­
most every workout and do just fine.
If you re drug-free, you can still
train hard at every workout, but
we ve found that if you do, you have
to incorporate a back-off week,
which entails subfailure training
and/or less volume, every so often.
Depending on individual recovery,
you should do it about every five
weeks—sooner in many cases.
Keep in mind that when Jona­
than gained 20 pounds of muscle
in 10 weeks, he was training heavy
three times a week; however, he
downshifted for supercompensation
every fifth week for at least three
workouts.
If you train with a heavy/light
system, which is a heavy, lower rep
workout followed later in the week
by a lighter, higher-rep session, you
can push that back-off supercom­
pensation week further out—say,
seven to eight weeks.
Once again, those time frames
depend on individual recovery
ability, which is radically distorted
by anabolic steroids. If you re using,
you can train intensely for months
on end and not have to worry about
overtraining and muscle catabo­
lism. When you go off, however,
you ll have no idea of how to train to
build muscle.
We think it s best to not use
drugs, and that means training with
heavy/light, or F/X, or working in a
downshift week after every month
of all-out training.
Q: I notice that your arm
workouts are very short. I’m
interested in building big arms,
but I’m worried that four or five
sets won’t be enough. If I want
to specialize, should I add more
sets?
A: While everyone s work capacity
Free download from imbodybuilding.com
Jonathan packed on 20 pounds of muscle in 10 weeks using a basic
three-days-per-week routine followed by a Positions-of-Flexion
phase. (The program he used appears in 3D Muscle Building.)
and recovery ability are different,
keep in mind that a recent study
showed that doing only three sets
of barbell curls depletes more than
70 percent of the glycogen stores in
the biceps. And that exercise has no
continuous tension!
If you re familiar with our Posi­
tions-of-Flexion mass-building
approach, you know that we follow
two sets of the midrange exercise
(barbell curls) with a stretch-posi­
tion movement and then a continu­
ous-tension contracted-position
exercise, with some X Reps or
X-hybrid techniques thrown in for
good measure (and bigger mea­
surements). Once you try it, you ll
see that with an efficient, precise,
intense program like that, it doesn t
take a lot of volume to completely
annihilate the target muscle.
And speaking of measures and
measurements, remember that Jon­
athans arms measure more than 19
inches, and that s without steroids
and after using brief 3D workouts.
If you re new to 3D POF, it s basi­
cally training a muscle through its
three specific arcs of flexion so you
accomplish full-range, max-fiber
recruitment with minimal sets. For
example, for biceps you d do barbell
curls for midrange work, incline
curls (reclining on an incline bench)
for stretch and concentration curls
for continuous-tension, contracted-
position work.
With those three exercises you
X-FILES
train the biceps in a range where
they’re back behind your torso
(stretch; incline curls), in a range
where your arms are slightly in
front of your torso (midrange; bar
bell curls) and a range where your
arms are out and up close to your
head (contracted; concentration
curls). They cover the biceps’ full
arc of flexion—and it takes only one
or two sets in each position to get
full, dense development.
That approach gives you max-
force production, occlusion (blood­
flow blockage, which has been
shown to significantly increase size
and strength) and stretch overload
(which has been linked to hyper
plasia, or fiber splitting—the bird-
wing study that increased muscle
mass by 300 percent in one month).
By the way, one of Arnold s fa­
vorite biceps programs was barbell
or dumbbell curls, incline dumb-
ell curls and concentration curls.
Sound familiar? Yes, he had good
genetics, but he also knew instinc­
tively that those three exercises in
one workout were very powerful.
Editor s note: For more
on X Reps and other con­
cepts mentioned in this fea­
ture, visit www.X-Rep.com and
www.3DMuscleBuilding.com. To
subscribe to the weekly IM e-zine,
go to www.IronManMagazine.com.
It s free. IM
www.ironmanmagazine.com \ JUNE 2007 211
 Jerry Brainum’s
Bodybuilding Pharmacology

Yohimbe

the effects are mild at best, and some studies that have
compared a few of them with placebos have found no
difference.
In an effort to tap into the lucrative fat-loss market,
various companies have produced exotic-sounding com­
pounds that are claimed to promote relatively rapid fat

Faster Fat Blaster?

loss. The scientific evidence proving the effectiveness of
the products is either based on animal studies or simply
nonexistent.
Despite inflated advertising claims, the truth is that One compound that looks good on paper and that is
most over-the-counter fat-loss supplements have limited an ingredient in many fat-loss supplements is yohimbe,
value. The combination of ephedrine and caffeine proved which is extracted from the bark of a West African tree
to be the most effective combination on the market, but called Pausinystalia yohimbe. A pharmaceutical form of
the Food and Drug Administration banned products con­ yohimbine called Yacon was formerly used to treat impo­
taining ephedra due to dubious safety concerns. Since tence, though it has since been supplanted by Viagra and
that happened, a number of books and articles have im­ other more effective drugs. Yacon worked for only about
plicated the pharmaceutical industry, in cahoots with the a third of users and, like Viagra, had no effect on libido.
FDA, in a plan to eliminate the competition that products Yacon worked as an alpha-2 adrenergic blocker, increas­
containing ephedrine plus caffeine were giving to various ing blood flow within the sex organs, thereby improving
weight-loss drugs. Most of those drugs are no more effec­ erections. Yohimbine is still a major ingredient in so-called
tive than OTC fat-loss supplements, and they have consid­ herbal Viagra formulas.
erably greater chance of side effects. From the standpoint of promoting fat loss, yohimbe
The current crop of fat-loss supplements provides is thought to act through its alpha-adrenergic block­
some mild thermogenic effects, which, in conjunction ing properties. Fat cells contain two types of adrenergic
with proper diet and exercise, can result in fat loss. But receptors, beta and alpha. Beta-receptors respond to
catecholamines, such as
norepinephrine, leading to
A recent study a cascade that culminates
concluded that in the release of fatty acids
yohimbe enhances from lipocytes, or fat cells.
fat burning when it s Lipocytes that contain a
used in conjunction preponderance of alpha-
with a weight adrenergic receptors, such
training program. as those found in the upper
thighs, buttocks and hips,
are more resistant to the
fat-releasing effects of
norepinephrine. By block­
ing the function of alpha-
adrenergic fat cell receptors,
yohimbe helps you lose
stubborn fat deposits.
Animal studies—on dog,
rat and mouse subjects—
show that yohimbe seems
to increase fat mobilization.
The rodent studies have
little relevance for humans
because most of the fat
mobilization occurred in
brown fat, or BAT, a highly
thermogenic fat tissue that
is scarce in adult humans.
The results in human
studies of yohimbe have
been equivocal. Exercise
also stimulates catechol­
Neveux \ Model: Joey Gloor

amine release, and an

additive effect has been
observed in human subjects
who take yohimbe. Other
studies show increased
fat loss when yohimbe is

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combined with a low-calorie diet. In one study a group of
overweight women who took yohimbe supplements while
following a 1,000-calorie-a-day eating plan lost more
weight than another group of women following the same
diet minus yohimbe.
In a Polish study published years ago, a group of women
who’d been previously unable to lose bodyfat in their
upper thighs, buttocks and hips did so successfully after
taking yohimbe supplements. Despite continual dieting,
the women had never been able to lose their recalcitrant
fat stores. Those areas are hard to reduce because the
fat cells contain a preponderance of alpha-2 adrenergic
fat cell receptors. Scientists think that the female body
evolved in this way to ensure an adequate number of
calories for perpetuating the species (it takes an average of
80,000 calories to produce a human baby).
Other human-based studies, however, have come up
empty in terms of the fat-loss properties of yohimbe. One
study examined the effects of various topical creams on fat
loss in the thighs of a group of women.1 Aminophylline,
a beta-adrenal agonist, proved most effective. Yohimbe
turned out to be the least effective. Even so, several skin-
cream products are currently on the market with yohimbe
as the primary ingredient.
In a double-blind study 33 men, average age 42, were
randomly assigned to a yohimbe or a placebo group, with
neither group knowing who was taking which substance.2
The men in the yohimbe group took a peak dose of 43 mil­
ligrams a day, considered an effective dose for fat-loss pur­
poses. For six months researchers tested body mass, blood
lipids, bodyfat and bodyfat distribution as measured by a
CAT scan and waist-to-hip ratio. There were no differences
in fat loss between those getting the real yohimbe and
those who got the placebo.
Yohimbe has also been touted as a testosterone booster.
How that came about isn’t clear, but there’s no proof that
yohimbe has any effect on any anabolic hormones, in­
cluding testosterone and growth hormone.
A recent study examined the effects of yohimbe on
body composition and sports performance in 20 top-
level soccer players.3 The athletes were assigned to two
groups, with one group taking yohimbe at a dose of 20
milligrams twice daily for 21 days. The other group got a
cellulose placebo. No significant differences in body mass
and muscle mass were found between the groups. Those
in the yohimbe group, however, did have a significantly
greater loss of bodyfat than those in the placebo group. No
performance changes occurred in either group, nor were
any side effects reported. Since both groups also trained
with weights, the authors concluded that yohimbe supple­
mentation boosts fat loss when used in conjunction with a
weight-training program.
Yohimbe has been touted as a testosterone
booster. How that came about isn’t clear, but
there’s no proof that yohimbe has any effect on
any anabolic hormones, including testosterone
and growth hormone.
Free download from imbodybuilding.com
Some studies done
with humans show a
heightened fat-burning
effect when yohimbe is
taken before exercise
and/or combined with
a low-calorie diet.
One reason the human studies produced such diver­
gent results may be quality control. Analysis of commer­
cial yohimbe supplements indicates that many contain
either too little or no active ingredients. Yohimbine bark
contains 0.7 percent yohimbine, while most supplement
forms contain zero to 0.05 percent. One survey of prod­
ucts sold over the Internet showed a variance in yohimbe
content that ranged from zero to 9.5 milligrams per unit.
In the American products tested, two out of 18 contained
clinically relevant amounts of yohimbe. Many dietary
supplement forms of yohimbe contain 3 percent yohimbe,
which means that a 100-milligram tablet will provide only
three milligrams of actual yohimbe—if any at all. The
accepted dose for fat-loss purposes is 0.2 milligrams per
kilogram of bodyweight.
Yohimbe lasts for only about an hour before being
degraded in the body. Active metabolites, however, can
last up to six to eight hours. For best results you must take
yohimbe on an empty stomach, since food totally negates
its fat-mobilizing effects. That may explain the failure of
some studies to show yohimbe’s role in fat loss.
Since yohimbe works by triggering norepinephrine
release, it would initially appear logical that combining
it with other supplements that promote catecholamine
release would increase the effectiveness of all. Taken
alone, yohimbe isn’t considered stressful to cardiovascular
function, though it isn’t recommended for those with high
blood pressure or kidney problems. Adding it to a stack of
ephedrine and caffeine, however, put more stress on the
www.ironmanmagazine.com \ JUNE 2007 217
 Jerry Brainum’s
Bodybuilding Pharmacology
One way to contol cortisol release during exercise is to take branched
chain amino acids before training at least five grams.
heart.
As with ephedrine, too much yo­
himbe can bring on side effects. They
include high blood pressure, since
norepinephrine constricts blood
vessels, rapid heart rate and severe
anxiety. Blood pressure is height­
ened if you eat foods containing an
amino acid by-product called tyra­
mine—aged cheeses, red wine and
chocolate. Years ago I spoke with a
martial artist who said that his use of
an OTC yohimbe supplement resulted
in a panic attack so severe that he had
to be hospitalized. His experience was
idiosyncratic and uncommon. Still,
it’s best not to take more than 40 mil­
ligrams a day.
Perhaps the best way to use yo­
himbe for fat loss would be to take it
in the morning before doing aerobic
exercise. Early morning aerobics
minus food increases fat oxidation
more than usual, and adding yo­
himbe may increase the effect.
Caffeine and Cortisol
Cortisol is a catabolic hormone
218 JUNE 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com
Free download from imbodybuilding.com
A recent study examined the effects
of caffeine and cortisol on exercise.4
Ninety-six men and women took 250
milligrams of caffeine three times a
day—the equivalent of about six cups
of coffee. Their cortisol levels were
measured eight times a day, and they
engaged in either mental stress or
moderate-intensity exercise, followed
by an afternoon meal.
At the start of the study, both men
and women had similar resting corti­
sol levels. The women had a smaller
cortisol response to mental stress
than the men, and caffeine increased
the cortisol response to stress in both
sexes. The exercise alone didn’t in­
crease cortisol, but when the subjects
took caffeine before exercising, the
same workout led to elevated cortisol
in the men.
Exercise alone didn’t activate a
cortisol response because the work­
out was of moderate intensity and not
Neveux \ Model: Moe El Moussawi
long. Cortisol helps regulate blood
glucose, among other functions, so
cortisol release during exercise is usu­
ally activated when the blood glucose
level begins to fall. In this study the
men who took caffeine prior to train­
ing experienced substantial cortisol
release that persisted into the evening
hours.
One way to control cortisol release
during exercise is with carbohydrates,
that promotes the breakdown of as lower blood glucose signals cortisol
protein in the body. It is the yang to release. Another way to block corti­
the yin of anabolic hormones, such sol’s catabolic effect on muscle is to
as testosterone, growth hormone and take at least five grams of branched-
insulin. In fact, they vary inversely— chain amino acids—leucine, isoleu­
when cortisol levels are high, anabolic cine and valine—before training. Be
hormone levels are usually low and aware, however, that if you take in
vice versa. One key to gaining muscle carbs during training, you’ll blunt any
size and strength is controlling excess fat-releasing effect induced by caf­
cortisol release. You wouldn’t want to feine.
completely curtail all cortisol release,
since it helps your body manage
stress; without it shock could prove
deadly under some conditions. You
References
also need it to control inflammation 1 Greenway, F.L., et al. (1995).
in the body, and curtailing all cortisol Topical fat reduction. Obes Res.
synthesis would likely lead to severe Supp4:561S-568S.
joint pain in most hard-training 2 Sax, L. (1991). Yohimbine does not
bodybuilders. affect fat distribution in men. Int J
Caffeine is a popular ergogenic aid Obesity. 15:561-565.
for athletes and bodybuilders because 3 Ostojic, S. (2006). Yohimbine: the
it promotes alertness and may help effects on body composition and ex­
increase fat oxidation during exercise. ercise performance in soccer players.
Other studies show that caffeine may Res Sports Med. 14:289-299.
increase the potency of muscle con­ 4 Lovallo, W., et al. (2006). Cortisol
tractions during training through an responses to mental stress, exercise,
interaction with calcium ions. What’s
less well known about caffeine is that
and meals following caffeine intake
in men and women. Pharm Biochem
it also increases the cortisol count. Behavior. 83:441-47. IM
 Balik

222 JUNE 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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Heavy
Duty
The Wisdom of
Mike Mentzer
by John Little
Q: In his last book, High
Intensity Training the
Mike Mentzer Way, Mike
indicated in his chapter on
metabolic momentum that
“all-out effort of the high-
intensity variety requires
a lot of motivation and
actual physical and mental
courage.” What exactly did
he mean by that? I’ve always
looked at bodybuilding as
a physical activity—not a
psychological one.
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how. You’ll discover:
•eatPrecise nutrition guidelines and diets—
to max out your muscle mass as pounds
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• Which substance—found in almost any
kitchen—is the ultimate aid for energy,
better muscular response and fat burning.
• How dairy can help you burn fat—
yogurt, cheese and milk can get you leaner.
• How to increase fat use with a minimum of
aerobic exercise, and why aerobics may be
a waste of time for a lean, muscular look.
• The amazing direct/indirect Fat-to-
Muscle 2 training program—with this
innovative routine it appears as if you train a
bodypart only once a week, but you really
train each twice thanks to indirect work (and
each workout takes less than an hour).
• The 8 key nutrients for faster fat burn­
ing, including how much to take of each.
•
•
Top 6 fat-to-muscle tricks. (Great info!)
The 10 rules for super energy.
The secrets to melting away bodyfat as you
build lean, ripped muscle
are all packed in this IRONMAN
Magazine’
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Heavy Duty
Balik
A: Mike viewed the mind and
body as interrelated. Because high-
intensity muscular contraction
places a large demand on the body’s
limited supply of adaptive energy
and because the body has been
conditioned over time to use such
energy only sparingly as a response
to conditions that are potentially
life threatening, one’s mind and
body do everything possible to
prevent conditions from occurring
that would warrant tapping into the
extremely potent but rare supply of
energy. As Mike once pointed out:
“Lassitude, anxiety and even a
preference for low-intensity work­
outs are manifestations of the
mind’s disinclination to engage
the body in such maximal efforts.
Therefore, as your muscles get
stronger and stronger, you must
exercise your will to get stronger
apace. Having been successful in my
efforts to become both muscularly
224 JUNE 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com
Free download from imbodybuilding.com
massive and very strong, I can assure
you that the principle of intensity re­
fers almost exclusively to the human
will and the ability to command your
muscles to contract against the only
real resistance—your own mind.”
That of course has been a malefac­
tor of human performance for eons
and has been written about and
commented on by everyone from
psychologists and philosophers to
poets and playwrights:
“Thus conscience doth make cow­
ards of us all.”
—Shakespeare, Hamlet (III.i)
“Compared with what we ought to
be, we are only half awake. Our fires
are damped, our drafts are checked.
We are making use of only a small
part of our possible mental and
physical resources.”
—William James, “The Energies of
Men”
All-out physical
effort requires
not only ample
psychological
motivation but
physical and
mental courage
as well.
“I assess the power of a will by
how much resistance, pain, torture
it endures and knows how to turn
to its advantage.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche, The Will
to Power
Mike’s point is well taken, as
all-out physical effort requires not
only ample psychological moti­
vation but physical and mental
courage as well. The mind is im­
mensely capable of aiding muscu­
lar contractions. The strength of a
muscle is directly proportional to
its physiological or effective cross
section, which is approximately
140 pounds per square inch in the
average male and 105 in the aver­
age female.1 It’s the pull exerted
at the point of attachment to the
skeleton. Under normal condi­
tions, however, we can’t produce
the physiological maximum. The
reason, according to physiologist
Heavy Duty
Arthur Steinhaus, is that we typical­
ly operate only to our psychological
limit, although it may be extended
via excitement, desperation, hyp­
nosis, insanity or shock therapy.
No doubt most of us have noted a
degree of reluctance to engage in an
all-out physical effort; it’s something
that we ordinarily avoid. Over the
millennia human beings have sur­
Neveux \ Model: Chris Cook
226 JUNE 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com
Free download from imbodybuilding.com
vived by being efficient at conserv­
ing energy—rather than dispelling
it. Again, to quote Mike:
“Other than in athletic train­
ing and competition, such effort
is required only in emergency
situations. Only a person fired by a
strong, almost overwhelming sense
of purpose and meaning will be able
to train with maximum intensity.”2
The body
requires a
fairly severe
stimulus to
bring about
physiological
change.
Mike went on to cite psycholo­
gist and philosopher William James
to the effect that only the “unusual
stimulus” can fill you with the
emotional excitement to make the
“‘extra effort’ that will carry you
over the dam to optimal training
progress.”3
That point was verified scientifi­
cally by Dr. Steinhaus more than
50 years ago during experiments
he conducted in order to deter­
mine the factors that affected the
maximum expression of human
strength. As Steinhaus recalled:
“I came to try a very simple
experiment in this area. We pulled
against a scale to measure strength
of forearm flexors. Whenever the
second sweep hand came to the
one o’clock position, the individual
was to pull as hard as he could. So
we registered a maximal contrac­
tion every minute. Then without
warning to the individual we shot
a gun at various times before the
clock came to the pulling position.
Invariably, we found the individual
had more strength after the shot.
We found that the shot about four
seconds before the pull got the
greatest increase. We found the in­
crease was sometimes as much as
30 percent. Then we tried yelling.
When they yelled, their strength
was also more than usual. Then we
tried hypnosis. Under hypnosis it
is possible to do away with inhibi­
tions. We found up to 50 percent
improvement in strength.... We had
found three ways of crashing the
psychologic [sic] barrier that stops
us in the execution of strength. The
psychologic limit is always short
of the physiologic one. Professor
Hill of England once said that one
of the big differences between the
athlete and the nonathlete is that
the athlete has learned to close
the gap between the psychologic
and physiologic limits. He drives
himself closer to the physiologic
limit.”4
Most trainees, except perhaps
the greatest champions, rarely
summon the mental drive nec­
essary to wring maximum con­
traction from their muscles. The
majority of bodybuilders who seek
to achieve maximum results have
to find a means of strengthening
their will—or to bypass their mo­
tivational shortcomings. It can be

done by applying an exogenous
training method such as forced
reps or negatives to the muscle so
that contractions can always be
maximal—exogenous means exter­
nal, or initiated from outside the
body. Some believe that through
normal conscious direction per­
haps only 30 percent of a single
muscle can be stimulated at any
one time. If that limiting factor
could be removed, you would ef­
fectively remove the impediment
to your stimulating closer to 100
percent of that muscle at one time.
Many years ago John Zeigler,
“Only a person
fired by a
strong, almost
overwhelming
sense of
purpose and
meaning will
be able to train
with maximum
intensity.”
Balik
a physiologist from Olney, Mary­
land, created a muscle-stimula­
tion machine that was used by
champion bodybuilders (such as
Mike and Ray Mentzer) and pro­
fessional athletes, such as mem­
bers of the Washington Redskins
football team. Both Ziegler and
the Mentzers considered it help­
ful because it enabled the indi­
vidual to stimulate 100 percent of a
muscle via bypassing the trainee’s
motivational and neuromuscular
shortcomings. The resistance was
provided through an exogenous
source—electricity wired directly
Free download from imbodybuilding.com
into the subject’s muscles.
In 1974, shortly after he returned
to the East Coast from a lengthy
trip to Deland, Florida (where he
trained with Casey Viator and talk­
ed training for many months with
Nautilus impresario Arthur Jones),
Mike began to work with Ziegler. As
he recalled:
“What made Dr. Ziegler even
more interesting was his world-fa­
mous electronic muscle stimulator.
With the assistance of an electron­
ics engineer, Ziegler developed a
machine that could contract any
of the body’s skeletal muscles to
varying degrees—including maxi­
mal contraction where every fiber
of a given muscle is activated.
The Federal Trade Commission
investigated Ziegler’s machine and
claimed it was harmless, because
it wasn’t supposed to work. Well,
the machine most certainly did
work, since my brother and I were
giving each other treatments, as
well as administering them to in­
jured athletes and those who were
handicapped or had lost the use of
certain limbs.”5
In almost constant touch with
Mentzer during that period was his
Heavy Duty
old friend and sometime training
partner Roger Schwab, currently
proprietor of the hugely success­
ful Main Line Health and Fitness
Center in Pennsylvania. It wasn’t
long before Mentzer told him of
Ziegler’s machine, with the result
that Schwab decided to check it out
for himself.
“Mike told me about it, and it
sounded very intriguing,” Schwab
says, “so I went down to see Mike
and Dr. Ziegler once a month, over
the course of a year, maybe 10 or
12 times. The machine was incred­
ible—you could put it on any body-
part—and you turned it up and it
would contract the muscle, some­
times really intensely. We put it on
our calves and abs, pecs, delts and
arms, and Mike was using it twice
a week—and I was using it once a
month—and it gave me the oppor­
tunity to spend the day with him.
“You’d sit or lie there, and he
would dial up the intensity. It felt
like you were really fatiguing the
muscle even though you weren’t
doing any lifting, but it felt after­
ward like you had done a workout.
It was not a continuous buildup. It
was intermittent—contract/relax,
www.ironmanmagazine.com \ JUNE 2007 227
Heavy Duty

contract/relax—but that was Mike;

always on the lookout for new ways
to build more muscle.”
Thus the benefit of an exogenous Perhaps only
stimulus. But who said that you can 30 percent
get an exogenous muscle stimulating of a single
effect only from an electronic ma­
chine? As you get bigger and stron­ muscle can
ger, many very real barriers—both be stimulated
physiological and psychological— at any one
begin to impose themselves on your
physiology. Your body doesn’t want time.
to change. It literally must be forced.
A high-intensity rep—all things
being equal—is the most productive
rep you can perform. That contrac­
tion, and thus the resistance you’re
contracting against, is maximal. It
becomes increasingly difficult to
psych yourself up for a maximum
effort—much as Olympic sprinters
must psych themselves up for an all-
out sprint every time they go to the
track. Indeed, Heavy Duty training
is even more difficult, as the inroad
into the muscle’s recovery ability is
greater than what you encounter
in sprinting. The depletion of the
body’s energy reserves is greater.
Given how slow the muscle-growth
process is, it takes an individual of
incredibly strong willpower to de­
rive motivational sustenance from
witnessing changes in your strength
and appearance that are incremental
at the best of times. How, then, can
you improve your motivation shy
of enrolling in a course of hypno­
therapy?
Moreover, as you get stronger,
your body doesn’t remove waste
products as efficiently. Contractions
become so draining and the onset
of fatigue so immediate that it gets
Neveux \ Model: Steve Namat

progressively more difficult for you

to derive full benefit from a set. Neu­
romuscular efficiency can also limit
the recruitment and stimulation
of muscle fibers. Some individuals
are born with a tremendous genetic
advantage in that regard; they can
contract almost all of their available
muscle fibers (providing sufficient
overload is imposed on them) at • He must reduce the volume of put a trainee generates, the greater
will, while others can contract only his workouts to enable his muscu­ the corresponding rest required
a small percentage of fibers, despite lar contractions to become more prior to his next workout. In some
their greatest conscious effort. Nev­ intense. instances it can be as long as three
ertheless, the advanced bodybuilder • He must adjust the frequency of to four weeks—just to let adequate
must make a concerted effort to his workouts to permit full recovery recovery take place. Then, of
do three things if he desires further and growth to take place after each course, an additional block of time
progress: workout. must elapse to allow for the mus­
• He must make his muscular The third point requires some cle growth that was stimulated to
contractions more intense. elaboration. The greater energy out- be produced.

228 JUNE 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

At my training facility in Canada,
Nautilus North Strength & Fitness
Centre, we’re often asked whether
it’s better to train more frequently
to hasten the fat-loss and/or
muscle-growth processes. Since we
typically don’t prescribe more than
one training session per week (at
most), it is to be expected that in
an age of chronic misinformation,
many people believe that “more is
better” when it comes to their exer­
cise habits.
While “more” may or may not be
“better” in terms of achievement,
happiness and understanding,
“more” can be downright toxic in
the case of exercise. Exercise is a
stimulus that acts upon the body
to produce a response. As with
medicine, the precise dose can and
should produce the optimal re­
sponse—but too much of the stim­
ulus administered too frequently
simply results in an overdose that
can have disastrous consequences.
The body, being very resistant to
change and very protective of the
status quo, requires a fairly severe
stimulus in order to bring about
any desired physiological change,
such as a change in body composi­
tion—that is, in bodyfat-to-muscle
ratio—whether the stimulus is in
the form of a drug or exercise. Ac­
cording to Doug McGuff, M.D.,
an emergency-room physician in
Seneca, South Carolina, and the
owner of Ultimate Exercise, a per­
sonal-training facility:
“The problem with most drugs
is that there is a narrow window
between an amount of stimula­
tion which produces the desired
response and an amount of
stimulation which produces a toxic
response. Generally, the more ef­
fective a drug is at producing a
stimulus, the more narrow the
space between a therapeutic and
toxic dosage. Another critical ob­
servation is that the therapeutic
effect always plateaus so that push­
ing the dose higher only produces
toxicity and never produces any
additional therapeutic effect.”6
Dr. McGuff logically concludes
that there’s no point in risking
toxicity. He cites the pain-relieving
effects of ibuprofen, which max out
at approximately 400 milligrams. If
you increase that dosage, you get
no more pain relief but you will
Free download from imbodybuilding.com
Heavy Duty
increase the likelihood of burning a was required to induce maximum
hole in your stomach lining. growth stimulation. And if, in fact,
A similar relationship between I had not recovered—which was
dose amount and frequency ex­ obvious—why train at all? Recovery
ists with exercise, with anything always precedes growth, and growth
above the threshold impeding or was our ultimate goal; if we had not
preventing the desired physiologi­ recovered, then, in fact, there was
cal response from taking place. no way we could have grown from
That’s being corroborated by more the first workout. In that kind of
and more researchers in the field case the best thing that can happen
of exercise physiology, who report would be that you merely wouldn’t
that if another stimulus (workout)
is introduced before recovery is
complete, a host of negative bio­
chemical reactions occurs within
the body.
Sound familiar? It should. Mike
Mentzer said it first—back in the
early 1980s. He told me about it in
1986:
Training is like
ibuprofen. If you
increase the dosage
past a certain
point, you get no
more pain relief
but you increase
the likelihood of
physical damage.
“Back in 1979 I remember meet­ make any progress. You’d just spin
ing my brother in the gym for one your wheels. Carried on for too
of our usual workouts. I think it was long, you’ll actually lose muscular
the second day of a split routine mass and strength—you’ll always be
schedule, and we were both quite making inroads into your recovery
fatigued, apparently still not hav­ ability and never allowing yourself
ing recovered from the previous to recover, let alone grow, which is
day’s workout. Just all of a sudden secondary. You have to recover be­
it occurred to me that it would be fore you can grow.
useless to train with anything less “It was obvious that we were
than all-out intensity—since that still tired, that the forced reps and
www.ironmanmagazine.com \ JUNE 2007 229
Heavy Duty

the negatives we’d done with the
legs and the back, for instance,
were so exhausting that we hadn’t
overcome the effects of the work­
out. How the hell were we going
to grow unless we at least let that
happen? We knew that recovery
was important in terms of overall,
or systemic, recovery. We weren’t
worried about localized or particu­
lar muscle recovery; we knew that
happened relatively quickly after
a workout. But it was obvious due
to our general exhaustion that we
hadn’t even recovered our overall
systems’ energies and so forth—let
alone grown. And since growth was
our primary goal along with getting
defined, at that point we realized
that it would have been counter­
productive—perhaps even harm-
ful—to our progress to train.”
Science has revealed that train­
ing before recovery has taken place
creates a very negative environ­
same amount of resistance for as
long as you did in the last workout.
If you have waited long enough, you
should be stronger on every set of
every movement in your workout.
We have found through experimen­
tation that four days is the mini­
mum that most average adults will
require between workouts. Some
people may require as many as
nine or 10 days. In general, the vast
majority can recover sufficiently in
seven days.”7
At Nautilus North, people have
made excellent progress training
as little as once every four weeks.
Indeed, two women at our facil­
ity were out of the gym for three
months and both went up in reps
and weight in every exercise upon
their return. Science has revealed
that training before
References
recovery has taken
1 Mentzer, M. (2003). High Inten­

ment for muscle growth, the result sity Training the Mike Mentzer Way. place creates a very
of incomplete protein turnover, New York: McGraw-Hill. negative environment
which causes a slowing of the re­ 2 Mentzer, M. (1979). Metabolic

covery process and creates an over­
stressed condition. That leads to
secretion of the catabolic hormone
cortisol, which, in turn, creates
additional tissue breakdown. The
degeneration can bring on a host of
maladies, including but not limited
momentum. The Revised Heavy for muscle growth, the
Duty Journal. Copyright renewed
2002 Mentzer-Sharkey Enterprises, result of incomplete
Inc.
3 Mentzer, M. (1979). Metabolic
protein turnover, which
momentum. causes a slowing
4 Steinhaus, A.H. (1961). Towards

to muscle soreness and stiffness, an understanding of health and

tendinitis, a suppression of the im­
mune system, increased frequency
of upper-respiratory-tract infec­
tions, depression, lethargy, weak­
ness, reductions in testosterone
and greatly reduced sperm count
in men, depressed muscle glyco­
gen reserves, insomnia, a marked
decreased in exercise performance
and symptoms of Cushing’s dis­
ease. In fact, research conducted
by Kuipers and Keizer in 1988 re­
of the recovery
physical fitness. Paper presented at process and creates
the 29th annual convention of the
southern district of AAHPER, At­ an overstressed
lanta, Georgia, February 28–March condition. That leads
3, 1961.
5 Mentzer, M. (2003). High Inten­ to secretion of the
sity Training the Mike Mentzer Way.
6 McGuff, D. (2000). The dose-re­ catabolic hormone
sponse relationship of exercise, part cortisol, which, in turn,
II: The narrow therapeutic window
(www.ultimate-exercise.com). creates additional
7 McGuff, D. (2000). The dose-re­

vealed that individuals who are so sponse relationship of exercise.

overtrained may require upward of
three to six months off from train­
ing in order to fully recover.
That’s why Heavy Duty train­
ing calls for but one workout per
week—particularly for trainees
with more than two months of
training under their belts. As Mc-
Guff points out:
“If you work out too soon, you
will know that you have done so
because you will actually be weaker
in your workout rather than stron­
ger. You will not be able to lift the
Editor’s note: For a complete
presentation of Mike Mentzer’s
Heavy Duty training system,
consult his books Heavy Duty II,
High Intensity Training the Mike
Mentzer Way and the newest book,
The Wisdom of Mike Mentzer, all of
which are available from Mentzer’s
official Web site, www.MikeMentzer
.com.
John Little is available for phone
consultation on Mike Mentzer’s
Heavy Duty training system. For
tissue breakdown. The
degeneration can bring
on a host of maladies.
rates and information, contact
Joanne Sharkey at (310) 316-4519
or at www.MikeMentzer.com, or
see the ad on the opposite page.
Article copyright © 2007, John
Little. All rights reserved. Mike
Mentzer quotations provided
courtesy of Joanne Sharkey and are
used with permission. IM

230 JUNE 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com
 Eric Broser’s

If you find something on the Web that IM readers should know about, send the URL to Eric at bodyfx2@aol.com.

>www.MetroflexGymTraining.com
Question: Where on earth are you most likely to
hear the following phrases uttered? “Ain’t nuthin’ but
a peanut.” “Light weight, baby.” “Yo-o-o buddy.” “Ev­
eryone wants to be a bodybuilder, but nobody wants
to lift heavy-ass weights.” Well, if you’re a serious fan
of pro bodybuilding, you know the answer without
hesitation: Metroflex Gym in Arlington, Texas, the
Neveux \ Model: Ronnie Coleman
legendary stomping ground of eight-time Mr. Olympia,
and the very man—man? More like an alien from the
planet Freakazoid—who made the above lines famous,
Ronnie Coleman. Look up the word hardcore in the
dictionary, and you’ll find a picture of Metroflex. It’s
known throughout the bodybuilding world as one of
the most dungeonlike, sweaty, intense and pure gyms
on the planet. There’s nothing fancy, modern or pretty about the place, and that’s exactly the way the members
want it. When you walk through the doors of Metroflex, you better be ready to “go hard, or go home.” You have two
choices when training there: Pour out some serious sweat, or run away with your tail between your legs. Just talking
about Metroflex is enough to get my testosterone skyrocketing, but what has me even more pumped up is that we
all now have the opportunity to learn from the main man behind the Metroflex madness, owner and operator Brian
Dobson. Just think how cool it would be to have the same secrets in your back pocket as Brian has taught to Ronnie
Coleman, Branch Warren and dozens of other top-level pro bodybuilders, powerlifters, football players, fitness ath­
letes and UFC fighters. What are you waiting for? Check out the Web site and find out how you too can benefit from
the insights of a man who’s spent 30 years creating champions in the iron sports. You have nothing to lose and only
slabs of new muscle to gain.

232 JUNE 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

Free download from imbodybuilding.com
>www.LiftStudios.com
Just having a great body, effective product, sexy
look or even an IFBB pro card doesn’t guarantee
financial success in the extremely competitive
bodybuilding industry. You may be exceptional
when you’re out among the general public, but
within the confines of the fitness and physique
world you’re a dime a dozen. Thus you must find
ways to promote yourself so you stand out among
your peers. That’s where a company like Lift Stu­
dios, a brand-strategy and design firm providing
branding, consulting, design, interactive and
marketing services, can be enormously valuable.
Located in Denver, Colorado, Lift Studios offers
creative solutions for everything from your adver­
tising, marketing and public relations to corporate
identity, Web design and photography—and any­
thing in between. With such well-known clients as
Monica Brant, Phil Heath, King Kamali and Dina
Al-Sabah, Lift Studios is trusted in the bodybuilding and fitness industry. Go to www.LiftStudios.com to learn
more about this company and how it may be able to help you get your career on the fast track to success.

>www.MonicaGuerra.com cular pounds, she’s just plain hot. There’s not a lot of
information on this site, nor is it up to date; however,
Okay, sometimes I just got to take care of my
the gallery is worth the trip—you know, just for the
boys—my iron brothers. I know you guys work hard,
stress relief. Consider it therapy.
at school or in the office—and, of course, in the gym.
Every once in a
while it’s just nice
to relax, kick back,
sip a protein drink
and enjoy a little
eye candy. If you
agree, then let me
introduce you to
California personal
trainer and IFBB
Fitness pro Monica
Guerra. Born in
beautiful Santa
Barbara and now
residing in Redon­
do Beach, Monica
has a stunning,
exotic look that
causes men’s—and
women’s—blood
to boil. At 5’2” and
109 symmetrical
and not-too-mus­

www.ironmanmagazine.com \ JUNE 2007 233

Free download from imbodybuilding.com
 Eric Broser’s
>Net Results Q&A
Interesting queries and replies from message boards
and forums from across the Internet, answered with
precision, accuracy and plenty of outrageous opinions...
Q: I really feel the need to have a couple of
cheat meals each week—you know, something
way off the typical bodybuilding diet. Is that
horrible? Will it totally kill my progress? When
is the best time for me to have meals like that?
A: Hey, we’re all human, so I totally understand the
need to break free from the typical chicken, brown rice
and vegetables in order to eat something that lets you
focus more on your taste buds than your muscles.
That said, most bodybuilders who eat cheat meals
still take in plenty of protein and useful carbohydrates
when they go off their
diet, instead of eating
100 percent nutrition­
ally vacant meals.
Typical cheats for
bodybuilders are burg­
ers and fries, pizza,
fried chicken, Chinese
food and so on. What
really makes those
meals cheats is the
number of calories,
as well as the excess
sodium and fats.
So is it horrible to
eat those things a few
times per week? Will
it destroy all of your hard work in the gym? Thankfully,
the answer in no. In fact, it can be quite beneficial to
splurge once or twice per week, as the excess calories
will have a positive effect on your metabolism, serving
to rev it up a bit. More important, eating things that you
truly enjoy will give your mind a rest, which makes it
a lot easier to remain on a strict regimen the majority
of the time. Just try to make your cheats reasonable,
with at least some nutritional value. Hey, even pizza has
some important antioxidants (lutein, anyone?).
As for the best time to put away delicious goodies,
that would be at the meal immediately following your
workout. Right after you train, your body is metabolical­
ly set up to absorb more overall calories and to partition
most of these calories toward muscle cells rather than
fat cells. Because of the metabolic posttraining window
it’s best to have a cheat meal at that time—as long as
it’s a meal and not ice cream, cake, cookies and so on.
Your muscles will get what they need in terms of protein
and carbs and will be less likely to store the excess
calories as fat.
So go ahead and enjoy a guilt-free cheat meal once
or twice per week—and the extra time you’ll spend in
the bathroom (just make sure you have the latest copy
of IRON MAN with you).
234 JUNE 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com
Free download from imbodybuilding.com
Q: I really
like your
P/RR/S pro­
gram, ex­
cept for one
thing: You
advocate
training
each body-
part once
per week,
and I have
a couple of
weak points
(shoulders
and chest)
that I think need more stimulation. Can I do
extra work? If so, how would you arrange a
split for four days per week?
A: One of the greatest attributes of my program is
that it’s very versatile and can be tweaked to meet
the specific needs of each individual. Normally, yes,
I do advocate training each bodypart very intensely
just once per week, but there are certainly exceptions
to that rule. I have some clients with extraordinary
recovery ability who need to train each muscle twice
per week, or at least twice every five to six days rather
than every seven. I also have clients who burn out very
easily and benefit most from training each bodypart
once every eight or nine days. We all have somewhat
different needs, due to our individual hormonal profiles,
constitutions, immune systems, lifestyles, stress levels,
sleep patterns, eating habits, etc.
Now, as to your specific question, yes, there’s room
in P/RR/S for more frequent bodypart training, espe­
cially when it comes to lagging muscle groups. In fact,
I believe that one of the best ways to bring up a muscle
is to train it a bit more often. Remember, though, that
won’t always solve the problem. Some people fail to
improve certain muscle groups because they use poor
form or improper exercise selection or even have com­
promised nerve innervations. If none of those apply,
however, more frequent training for the lagging muscle
group quite often alleviates the problem.
Generally, I don’t recommend two full workouts per
week for lagging muscles but rather one full and one
miniworkout that’s at half your normal volume. In other
words, if your normal chest workout consists of 10
sets, then your miniworkout should be no more than
five or six sets. Usually, that’s enough to get the stub­
born muscle growing without compromising your over­
all recovery ability.
Since your weak bodyparts are shoulders and chest,
here’s a split for you:
Monday: Chest, biceps, abs
Tuesday: Quads, hamstrings, shoulders (mini)
Thursday: Lats, lower back, chest (mini)
Friday: Shoulders, traps, triceps, calves IM
Lonnie Teper’s

NEWS &ViEWS
’07 Arnold Classic

Vic Does the Trick

As Yogi did predict

Ron ”Yogi” Avidan says his partners on “The Experts”—me and
Isaac Hinds—should get down on our knees and pay homage to him.
Dan Solomon says the Swami might need a crystal ball cleaning.
I say both of you must be sniffin’ glue.
First, Yogi. As you can see on “The Experts” video wrapup of the pre­
judging at the Arnold Classic on March 3—find it at www.GraphicMuscle Victor
.com—Avidan is flowing with attitude because he feels his pick to win the Martinez.
Columbus, Ohio, bash, Victor Martinez,
is a lock to take home the grand prize of
$130,000, a $20,000 Audemars Piguet
watch, a splendid Tony Nowak jacket
and congrats from the Governator.
Several hours later Yogi’s prediction
becomes a reality. What makes things even
worse is, as the emcee of the contest, I’m
the one who gets to make things official
when I read off the final placings. Isaac, I
feel your pain. This is nothing against Mar­
tinez, who is a great bodybuilder. It’s more
about losing to Avidan.
Now for the real story behind Avidan’s
pick. As executive producer of “The Ex­
perts” I wanted three different athletes to
be selected by our terrific trio. I was going
with two-time defending champ Dexter “the Blade” Jackson,
and Isaac’s choice was sophomore sensation Phil Heath.
Getbig.com’s Big Ron was confused, as usual. He was waf­
fling between two or three contestants (who did not end up in

the top six) when I told him that his time was up and that he

would be selecting Martinez, the co-precontest favorite with the

Arnold Classic photography by John Balik, Roland Balik and Merv

Blade. Talk about a handout.

Now he’s acting like some legit expert and wants praise for

“his” pick? Okay, I’ll be a man about it and give Avidan his props,

tainted as they are. Well, all three of us did say Toney Free­
man would win the IRON MAN Pro, so Ron is on a roll.

Let’s see just how long Yogi’s winning streak lasts. I’m picking
Dennis James to take the New York Pro on May 12. Hinds
says last year’s Nationals champ, Desmond Miller, will win
it in his pro debut. I’ve been a fan of Miller’s since I first saw
him at the ’05 Nationals, and it was hard not going with Big D
for this one. In fact, I was going with him up until the moment
that I heard that James would compete. Yogi is taking Darrem
Charles. At press time—mid-March— I’m not sure who’s all in,
who’s out of the Steve Weinberger production.
Now back to Solomon. The creator of the standout radio
show “Pro Bodybuilding Weekly” (can you believe the Gover­ Freeman and Badell (right).
nator was actually on for an hour before the Arnold Classic?) Above: The Blade and Mar
danced up to me at the postcontest banquet (with Canadian tinez compare cuts.
dance diva Nancy Di Nino doing the leading) and promptly let

238 JUNE 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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 HOT MOVES TRICK CALF
Is Dan bucking QUESTION ROUNDUP
to be nicknamed How many See pages
Dancezilla? times does this 242 and 243
Pages 238 to garment appear
240 in this column?
Pages 242 and
244

me know that the Swami’s predictions of late haven’t been first rate.
Hold on a minute, young man. It’s not like the Blade got stomped in
Columbus. He looked terrific, as I said he would. Count me as one of
many who thought the show was a lot closer than the final verdict—a
unanimous victory for Martinez.
Jackson was great; the judges simply thought Victor
was greater. I can live with that. In the end Vic was just
too slick. That he was selected to win the Most Mus­
cular Award is noted as well.
You and your Webcast mate Bobzilla Cicherillo
need to get over your obsession regarding my ’Zilla
nicknames. In more than 20 years I have given the
moniker three times: to the late Paul
“Quadzilla” DeMayo in 1989, to Tommi
“Glutezilla” Thorvildsen in 2001 and to
Ahmad “Abzilla” Haidar in 2003. Okay, I
did give a gal out of San Diego the moniker
of “Boobzilla” about 18 years back, but if
you saw her, you’d understand. Gee, I’m up
to six now; you two may have a point.

ADD ARNOLD CLASSIC—Back to

the show. I felt the lineup might have been
one of the most balanced in Classic history,
and although the point totals don’t reflect
that (except for the battle between Freeman
and Gustavo Badell for third, I stand tall
on that statement. Check the pictures here
and in the pictorial that begins on page
244—as well as those at GraphicMuscle.
com—and let me know your thoughts.
I went with Dex because he’s really at
the top of his game. I know that Martinez
has perhaps the best genetics in the sport
but wasn’t sure he could peak again so
soon after coming in prime condition to last
season’s Mr. Olympia. Although he didn’t
look as good as he did at that show, he
was impressive. And, yes, he does beat Jackson in both the
front and rear lat spreads and in the back double-biceps pose.
Freeman, my ’06 Comeback Bodybuilder of the Year, is lead­
ing the pack for ’07 Bodybuilder of the Year honors after he
edged Badell for third. The 6’2”, 280-pounder out of Atlanta had
made it two for two a week earlier with a victory at the Sacra­
mento Pro. (The X-Man was also set to compete at the Australia
Grand Prix a week after the Arnold but had passport problems
and was forced to miss the event, which, by the way, was won
by the Blade. Darn, that Swami knows his stuff! Okay, okay,
Martinez wasn’t onstage at that contest.)

Clockwise from Some folks had Heath as high as third early in the judging, but the 27­
top: Vic with
Governor S, L.T. year-old Denver phenom had slipped to fifth when all was said and done.
at the podium, A disappointment? Hardly. Heath added about eight pounds to his 5’9”
Phil Heath, frame and wasn’t tight enough in the upper body to match his awesome
Abzilla, Silvio wheels, calves and hams.
Samuel and After the show, Heath and trainer Hany Rambod expressed dis­
Markus Rühl. appointment and admitted they were thinking about passing on the
Olympia again to concentrate on next year’s events. “If Phil placed fifth

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 Haley
here,” Rambod reasoned, “where will he finish at the Olympia, with Jay gets
[Cutler], Ronnie [Coleman], Gunter [Schlierkamp], Melvin [An­ down.
thony] and other top guys competing?”
Well, I don’t think Gunter will be getting onstage in 2007, so one of
your worries is over.
I do understand Rambod’s concern that the Gift won’t have enough
time before the Big Dance—at the end of September—to make the im­
provements the judges are looking for. Still, Phil the Thrill will be someone
to be reckoned with in the near future. Trust me.
This season’s biggest surprise, Silvio Samuel, continues to prove
that his name deserves to be uttered when people are discussing the
best in the game. Fourth at the IRON MAN, second in Sacramento and
sixth at the Arnold, he was set to compete in Australia as well but, like
Freeman, had passport problems.
Branch Warren, Ronny Rockell,
Markus Rühl and Vince Taylor finished
seventh through 10th, respectively, and, in
the biggest upset of the night, Taylor was
beaten by Marcus Haley for the Most
Entertaining Posing award, which padded
Haley’s wallet with 10 grand. To be fair,
Marcus deserved it; Vince is one of the all-
time greats, both as a bodybuilder and a
poser, but, for reasons unknown, his per­
formance lacked the creativity and energy
we’ve become accustomed to.
Back to Branch. After finishing eighth in
his initial try at the Olympia, in 2005, War­
Nancy Di Nino
ren muscled his way into second place and Dan Solomon.
at last season’s Arnold—and he won the
Most Muscular award to boot. Then, after
losing to Badell at the ’06 San Francisco Pro,
he finished fifth a week later at the Australia

NPC Arnold photography by Amir Marandi

Grand Prix. He had a legit excuse for the lat­
ter; he was on his honeymoon.
But Warren was way off at the ’06 Olym­
pia, landing in 11th, and this year’s Arnold
was his “I’ll show you I’m still a contender”
contest. Branch came in a bit smaller, espe­
cially in the upper body—his wheels were still
outrageous—in an obvious attempt to bring
back his grade-A conditioning. He’s sched­
uled to compete in the New York Pro. A
huge performance there would put him back
where he left off a year ago.
Mark Dugdale (11th), Haley (12th), Hi­
detada Yamagishi (13th), David Henry
(14th), Sergey Shelestov (15th) and Luke
Wood (16th) rounded out the field.

CORY IS THE STORY—It was great to

see Cory Everson again. The six-time
Ms. Olympia, who retired after her final
victory in 1989, was on hand to receive
the Arnold Schwarzenegger Lifetime
Achievement Award, and the Governator
himself was on hand to present it.
Not only did I get to chat with Cory at
the postcontest banquet (and meet her
husband, Steve Donia, and her two
beautiful children, Boris and Nina, who
were adopted from Russia at ages three Arnold amateur top names (clockwise from
and five), but I did likewise with another upper left): Miguel Neil, Diane Brown, Kara
blast from the past—Cory’s sister, Cameo Kneuer-Bernard. Flowers, Sara Flom and promters Lorimer and
Davies.
240 JUNE 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com
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 For those who remember, Cameo was big in the fitness industry
around the time Cory was dusting her Ms. O opponents year after year.
She was the very first winner of the very first big fitness competition, the
’87 Ms. National Fitness Championship, and held the title for two years.
The fitness business has been very rewarding to her, she said.
“I have been doing infomercials on a yearly basis ever since I compet­
ed and have made a great living from it,” said Cameo. “Cory and I live a
few miles apart, and we train as much as we can
together. We hold each other accountable and
are best friends. We help each other with our
kids, and she is so happy to be a mom.”
Cameo is married to Randy Bernard, CEO
of Professional Bull Riders, and they have three
children—Priscilla, 17, Ryan 16 and Alexan­
dria, 14. They live in Woodland Hills, California,
Ronnie’s Jay
tanks it. Reg and and Colorado Springs, Colorado.
pinstripes. Mareon Park. “Priscilla is a varsity water-polo player,” said
Photography by Lonnie Teper, Dave Lliberman and Ron Avidan

the proud mother. “Ryan is a varsity volleyball

Lisa player and plays for the number-two-ranked Santa Monica
Aukland Beach Club team. Alexandria is a freshman varsity water-polo
and Dave player, is on the varsity swim team and also played junior
Liberman. varsity basketball.”
Is that all? Now, what would you expect from anyone
blessed with those wonderful Kneuer genes? Have those 18
or so years been kind to Cory and Cameo? I can’t wait an­
Lackdaddy
and Monica. other two decades until we meet again, so let’s connect soon,
ladies. Lunch on me. Just no sprints in the pool with the kids.

MORE ARNOLD ACTION—Good thing I like to talk. Because I

certainly did a lot more than usual during the weekend in Columbus.
In addition to my usual duties as emcee of the Arnold Classic and
Ms. International finals, I was hired by Bob Lorimer and Mike Da­
vies to host the newly revived NPC Arnold Championships,
Rockell which took place on Friday and Saturday morning at Veterans
eats
cake. Auditorium and on the expo stage.
About 250 athletes from around the United States joined the
fray, which began on Friday at 9 a.m. and ended at 2 p.m. with
the completion of the bodybuilding prejudging and the fitness
and figure finals. Even I’m surprised I could jabber that long
(including a new all-time fill record of more than 30 minutes).
There were so many figure competitors that the fitness and
figure prejudging had to be held in a separate room (hosted by
former Collegiate National champ and current engineer/writer­
photographer-emcee Mike Lackner) while I handled things at
Vets Memorial.
Elissa On Saturday morning the trophies were given out to the fit­
Sandy, Lats and Schlichter ness and figure winners, and all the bodybuilding finalists posed
Debbie. and John and got their medals on the main stage at the ever-expanding
Tuman. expo. When I called out the first contestant at 9 a.m. sharp, the
place was already packed.
Congrats to men’s champ Miguel Neil, a home­
town guy out of Columbus, and Dazzling Diane
Brown, from Hyattsville, Maryland, in the women’s
bodybuilding category. Ditto for fitness champ Sara
Flom, a Granada Hills, California, athlete who in her
spare time doubles as an attorney. The figure winner
Photos courtesy of Cameo Kneuer-Bernard

was Kara Flowers of Blacklick, Ohio, who I met

when I announced her as the winner of the Natural
Ohio last year. I predicted then that she’d earn her pro
card at the Team Universe in 2006, but she was unable
to compete there, so I’m making the prediction again
for 2007 here and now.
Emceeing the NPC Arnold was a fun experience,
and I hope to do it again next year. Kudos to Lorimer
and Davies for bringing the event back (it was held in a

Cory with Arnold (above) and with sister Cameo and L.T. www.ironmanmagazine.com \ JUNE 2007 241
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 smaller format a couple of times about a decade ago), as well as to head
judge Gary Udit and head expediter Rick Bayardi for running such a
smooth show.

Teper’s Tales
Don
As always, the weekend attracted an industry who’s who. Mr. Long.
Olympia Jay Cutler and the man he dethroned, Ronnie Cole­
man, greeted each other warmly. The Big Nasty, known for his
wild suits, was true to form with a shiny new black pinstripe; Jay
was sporting a suit as well, but he looked more at home in his
Team MuscleTech tanker at the expo.… Don Long, who fulfilled
his wish of competing in a pro bodybuilding show again at the
Atlantic City Pro in September, told me he’s signed a contract with
ISS Research. Congrats, Don, you looked great as always.… At
the postcontest banquet I sat at the legends table, which included
Reg Park and his lovely wife, Mareon. They both looked great.
Also at the table were Mike Katz and Winston Roberts, Hunter (left) and Lee
Dave Liberman and Linda Reho (how in the heck did they Labrada with Linda Reho.
get to sit at the legends table?—oh, I got them tickets) and my
fellow emcee Clint Richards. Clint, are they trying to tell
us something?… Liberman couldn’t contain himself when L.T. greets
Dot and Mits.
he saw Lisa Auckland’s marvelous calves walking into the
Veterans Memorial lobby after the Ms. International finals.
“If I had calves like that, I could have been a pro,” lamented
Liberman.… A Lee Labrada look-alike was working the
Labrada Nutrition booth—none other than Lee’s 14-year-old
son, Hunter. Does he look like Pops, or what?... Chris
Cormier was at the MuscleTech booth and said he’ll prob­
ably make his comeback at the Europa in August.… The
IRON MAN staff, sans Ruthless Ruth Silverman, who was
having dinner with friends, met at Mitchell’s Steakhouse on
Friday night and sat opposite a table filled with IFBB and Jack and Elaine LaLanne.
NPC promoters and judges, led by Lats Manion, whose
one-liners keep me in stitches every time we meet. We Tony Novak.
all got to see Johnny Tuman and Elissa Schlichter announce
their engagement. I got the money shot of the weekend while the two
smooched just as Jim Rockell was preparing to dive into his super­
sized piece of carrot cake. Elissa is a doctor, as well as an NPC figure
competitor. Also at the table was Sandy Williamson, who used to
be known as Sandy Ranalli. Here’s a belated best wishes to Sandy
and former NPC Los Angeles District Chairman Ted Williamson on
their marriage…. Mike Lackner brought along his charming wife,
Monica, who is a huge supporter behind the scenes in Lackdaddy’s
life.…

MORE TALES—I ran into ageless Jack LaLanne and his super-
energized wife, Elaine, while changing planes in Phoenix, and the two
kids drew admirers as always. Also as usual, I was unable to get Jack Shawn
to spring for a free Power Juicer, the kitchen appliance that has made Loevenguth.
him a very well-to-do man in recent years, as if he hadn’t been one
already!...Mits and Dot Kawashima made their annual trek in
from Hawaii to attend the Arnold Sports Festival. Mits said he won’t
be promoting his Hawaii Classic anymore, but the show will continue
to run.… Tony Nowak, who produced the official jackets for the
Olympia, did likewise for the Arnold. Tony has done terrific work for
many years with his handmade leather works; check them out at
www.TonyNowak.com, or call (800) 272-555.… One guy who really Carol does
loved this year’s jacket was Shawn Loevenguth, the main man a Semple.
at Live Technologies, the company responsible for set design and
lighting at the Classic. In fact, Shawn cherished the coat so much
he had to be apprehended in the production office before he could
run off with the one that would eventually go to Victor Martinez.

242 JUNE 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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 Corney’s The man lost it for a moment, hitting various poses while wearing
DVD. the Nowak creation, trying to show why he was the best fit for the
garment.… I ran into Carol Semple at the Columbus airport on
Sunday, and the former Fitness International and Fitness Olym­
pia champ (has it really been 10 years since Carol copped those
crowns?) was talked into performing her famous legs-over-shoul­
ders pushups by some lunatic who was waiting to board a flight
to California. Semple is simply amazing.… Remember Roger
Stewart and his giant calves? Saw Roger, who’s still living in
Orlando, Florida, at the banquet, and he showed that he still has
the huge diamonds on his lower legs. Stew­
art edged John Romano in a calf down,
even though Romano did shock the hell out
of me with his well-developed lower leg.…
Rob Klein is getting his wish. “Since Kim
[Klein] won the show,” he said, meaning
the Figure International, “do I finally get my
Cathy’s calf. picture in your column?” Yes, Rob, you do.
And are you going to congratulate me on my
correct prediction of Kim’s win on Graph­
icMuscle two weeks earlier? Solomon, are
you listening?... The saddest news to come
out of the Arnold Weekend: Ray “Thunder”
Stern passed away at the age of 74, ac­
cording to his wife Debi Lee Stern, the
Kris Gethin and former fitness star-turned-physique judge.
Marika Johannson. Stern, who was born Walter Bookbinder in
Brooklyn, New York, on January 12, 1933,
became a pro wrestling star, gym owner and
avid pilot, proving successful in all three fields. In 1979 he founded Stern
Air, a charter flight service, in Dallas. Ray always had a big smile on his
face and was always very complimentary whenever we met. Debi, whom
he met 10 years ago, was the biggest reason for his happiness. Condo­
lences to Debi and the Stern family.…

STILL MORE TALES—The San Francisco Pro, which has played

Kim and in various Bay Area venues over the years, seems to have finally found a
Rob Klein. Chris Cormier. home. The Jon Lindsay–Steve O’Brien production, now known as
the Sacramento Pro and featuring men’s and women’s bodybuilding, was
Dave
held at the Crest Theater in that city this year, and the guys were happy
Draper. with the outcome. So the show stays in Sacramento, moving to a week
after the Arnold, in 2008.… Cathy LeFrancois, who finished second
to Tonie Norman in the women’s lightweight division at the Sac, had a
full plate, to say the least: competing in the Ms. International the follow­
ing week and co-promoting her first contest, with Paco Hernandez, in
Fresno, California, a week after that.… Ed Corney was in the lobby sell­
ing pictures and his DVD, “The Master Poser,” which
features some of his amazing posing routines. I was
mesmerized watching the film; check out Ed’s Web
site at EdCorney.net.… Kris Gethin and Marika
“Da Freeka” Johansson were also greeting fans,
Romano and with Kris displaying his new magazine, Kaged Muscle,
Neveux

Stewart. and Marika selling her new DVD, on which she trains
with industry icon Dorian Yates. Gethin is one of the
Neveux

most enthusiastic, hardworking gents in the sport—

Ray and check out his Web site, www.KagedMuscle.com
Debi Lee To contact Lonnie
Stern. for more details.… And, finally, Dave Draper, who
Teper about material
had a quadruple bypass and valve repair surgery on possibly pertinent to
February 23, came home a week later and wrote his News & Views, write
first recovery column a week after that. According to to 1613 Chelsea
wife Laree, Dave started to feel pretty good after only Road, #266, San
Photo courtesy of Debi Lee Stern

three weeks and was “planning to dink around the Marino, CA 91108;
gym Saturday or Sunday for the first time. No weights fax to (626) 289-7949;
allowed.” Yeah, try and tell the Blond Bomber to stay or send e-mail to
away from the iron! IM tepernews@aol.com.

www.ironmanmagazine.com \ JUNE 2007 243

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 Victor
Martinez Snags a
Unanimous Win
at the ’07 Arnold
Schwarzenegger Classic

Photography
by John Balik,
Roland Balik
and Merv

Victorious
244 JUNE 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com
Free download from imbodybuilding.com
1) Victor Martinez

’07 Arnold Classic

1) Victor Martinez*
2) Dexter Jackson*
3) Toney Freeman*
4) Gustavo Badell*
5) Phil Heath*
6) Silvio Samuel*
7) Branch Warren
8) Ronnie Rockel
9) Markus Rühl
10) Vince Taylor
11) Mark Dugdale
12) Marcus Haley
13) Hidetada Yamagishi
14) David Henry
15) Sergey Shelestov
16) Luke Wood
*Qualifies for the ’07 Mr.
Olympia.
Free download from imbodybuilding.com
 2) Dexter Jackson

ARNOLD
CLASSIC

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

3) Toney Freeman

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

 4) Gustavo Badell

ARNOLD
CLASSIC

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

5) Phil Heath

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

6) Silvio Samuel

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7) Branch Warren

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 8) Ronnie Rockel

ARNOLD
CLASSIC

See More Photos at

www.IronManMagazine.com

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 Top five finishers at pre-judging, Badell, Heath, Freeman, Jackson and Martinez.

Jackson, Martinez, Freeman and Heath.

254 JUNE 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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9) Markus Rühl

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 10) Vince Taylor

ARNOLD
CLASSIC

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 11) Mark Dugdale

ARNOLD
CLASSIC

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12) Marcus Haley—Most
Entertaining Posing Award

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 13) Hidetada Yamagishi

ARNOLD
CLASSIC

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www.IronManMagazine.com

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 INTERNATIONAL SHOW TIME W O M E N ’ S B O DY B U I L D I N G
Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ on
Icon-ic
Another slam-bang Arnold Classic
weekend went down in Columbus, Flexing in the age of Iris
Ohio, on March 2 through 4. They
keep adding sports and changing
the name of this mammoth meeting
of the fit and fabulous—now known
as the Arnold Sports Festival—but
when you’re on the physique beat,
it’s all about the Arnold, a.k.a.
“Columbus,” a.k.a. the Arnold
Schwarzenegger Classic World
Bodybuilding Championship and
Ms., Fitness and Figure International
competitions.
This year’s edition of the IFBB Pro
League’s early-season A-list party
was so full of fascinating develop­
ments, even the contests that were
business as usual were not business
as usual. Snowstorms in the Mid­
west and Northeast plus tornadoes
in the South ensured that everyone
traveling to central Ohio would have
interesting stories to swap before the
women’s judging got started at noon Is it my imagination, or was Iris glow­
on Friday. Once the fitness athletes ing under all that muscle? See page
strode onstage in their one-piece 266.
End of an era. Hendershott calls it suits, there was plenty of other stuff
quits. See page 265. to talk about. Here’s as much of it as “Iris will win until she retires.” That
would fit on five pages. observation by one bodybuilding sage
of my acquaintance pretty much sums
up the results of the Ms. International
D R E S S I N G R O O M TA L E S competition, in which defending champ
Sage advice. and Ms. Olympia Iris Kyle nabbed a
Amanda five-point victory over Yaxeni Oriquen
Savell teach­
es Sonia Ad- and a lineup of 16 of the world’s finest
cock how to female flexers. Yaxeni would be the first
pose for the to disagree with that assessment—she’s
money shot. beaten the 5’6”, 158-pounder with the
Rumors,
anyone? fab X-factor from Fullerton, California,
numerous times and no doubt expects
to do it again—but now that Kyle has
put consistency on her list of admirable
qualities, not even the Yaxinator may be
able to stop her.
Not that Oriquen didn’t try. Those
who were
Photography by Ruth Silverman

wondering
if the ’05
Olympia
and Inter
national
Girl talk. Lisa champ’s
Aukland tells drop to
Tonie Nor
Hot bods seventh at
man about
her own long, collide (from the ’06 O
slow climb to left): Inga, signaled
the Ms. I top Zena, Debbie
and Chris­
the end
five.
tine make
for colorful
combustion.
262
Free download from imbodybuilding.com
 of the 5’8”, 170-pound
Venezuelan vixen’s own
run at the top can find
something else to stew
about. Yaxeni was back
in championship form,
meaning tighter, her
large, evenly distrib­
uted bodyparts flowing
majestically as she hit
her mandatories at the
judging.
Even so, Yaxeni is
40, and in an interview
published online last So there. Policky declared her
self a major force in the sport.
year, she questioned
how long she would
Yaxeni is back! (Was there any want to continue com­ the judges thought she could
doubt?) peting. Iris is 32 and have been drier—and sharp­
seems to be settling in er. I also wondered whether
for a Ronnie Coleman–like run. Queried the above-men­ they were so blinded by the
tioned sage, Is anyone with the genetics to beat Iris even beef, they didn’t actually see
coming up? anyone who weighed under
Fans of new pro sensation Heather Policky, who 140 (Dayana is thick, but
was fresh off her win at the Sacramento Pro Grand Prix the she’s a lightweight).
week before, clear their throats at that. Based on the first Not for nothing did another
callout—Kyle, Oriquen and Policky—they may have a point. wise observer say, “The con­
Ms. and Fitness International photography by Roland Balik, Merv and Bill Dobbins \ www.BillDobbins.com

Policky’s got all the ingredients, with jaw-dropping muscular test was a complete waste
ity, anatomy-book definition and a vicious V-taper leading the of time and money for the
list. The Olympia should be very interesting, eh? smaller girls.” While that may
Rounding out the top six, in a surprising order, were Lisa be a bit of an exaggeration—I don’t know any athletes who
Aukland, Betty don’t enjoy competing at the International—it’s also true
Pariso and Daya­ that none of the leaner, “more aesthetic” types, even
na Cadeau. (See, among the heavier women, could break into the money
I told you you’d be placings. From top: Cadeau’s
surprised.) Aukland One larger athlete who sixth-place fin­
is another vet who wasn’t at her best, Annie ish was her low­
has developed the Rivieccio, dropped to seventh est since her Ms. I
debut in ’99, when
knack of nailing her from third at the O in Septem­ she was 11th; Pariso
conditioning every ber. Bonny Priest, fourth at was at her best; and
time. Now that the O, landed in eighth. She so was Aukland.
she’s brought her looked good but perhaps a little Don’tcha just love
Lisa’s new shape?
waist in and, literally, smaller than at recent shows.
changed her shape, With the 5’7”, 173-pound
there appears to Policky grabbing the spotlight,
be no stopping her. however, the 5’5 1/2” 158­
Pariso—speaking of pound Priest could have ap­
veterans, Lisa is 48, peared downright diminutive.
Betty is 51—may Tonie Norman, the light­
have brought her weight winner at the Sac, dialed
personal-best phy­ “Hey, don’t forget it in again, only to finish ninth,
sique to the stage in us!” cries the 5’2”, with Cathy LeFrancois
135-pound Cathy. The
Columbus. I’ve said call for having weight much improved from the week
that before, but she classes at more pro­ before but again landing be­
actually keeps get­ women’s shows is hind Norman, in 10th. Eleventh
ting better. getting louder. through 16th, in order, went to
As for Cadeau’s Lora Ottenad, Denise Ma­
sixth-place finish, I’m sino, Kim Perez, Colette
not sure what that was about. At first glance her physique Nelson, Rosemary Jennings
seemed on point. On closer inspection I considered whether and Susanne Niederhauser.

www.ironmanmagazine.com \ JUNE 2007 263

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 FITNESS FUN MORE FITNESS

So In-Kleined
Panel says Kim’s
time has come
Reporter’s
The revolving crown of professional
Notebook
Kim nailed her
routine—and the fitness took a new turn in Columbus
title. when Kim Klein, the runner-up at
every major competition since the
’05 Olympia, (gracefully) flipped past
Adela Garcia and Jen Hender­
shott to land her now-dainty derriere
on the throne at last. Fifteen of the
most amazing athletes in the fitness
universe (note lower case) came to
Columbus in tip-top condition to
perform for the industry’s most en­
thusiastic audience. No one expected
the winner to be other than one of the
three above-mentioned headliners,
and when it turned out to be Kim, no
one was shocked—pleased for the
5’2 1/2” former grade-school teacher
Dancing
from New Jersey, but not really sur­ With the
prised. Stairs. “Say
Was it Adela’s coming in a bit hello to my
smaller again or Kim’s trimming her little friend.”
lower body just a smidge more that
made the difference? No matter. The I have to admit I was really sur
point shift definitely occurred in the prised when Adela Garcia didn’t
physique rounds, where Kim finally win the ’07 Fitness International—
slipped past Texas transplant Garcia to win them solidly. A pair of second-place and not because I’d predicted that
scores in the routine rounds gave her a seven-point margin of victory. she’d retain her title. After all, I’d
Considering the history of pro fitness since Susie Curry retired—Garcia won seen her in the past win the physique
the International and the Olympia in 2004, lost both titles to Hendershott in ’05 rounds looking exactly the way she
and won them back in ’06—Klein would seem to be halfway to the double crown. did that morning. Plus, I thought
With Hendershott out of the mix at the Olympia, who’s going to stop her? she had the best two-minute rou­
tine—tangoing with her silent partner.
Oh, well. Another example of why
STILL MORE FITNESS I’ll never be invited to judge these
things. Adela, in fact, took third in
both routine rounds and third overall,
Best perfor
mance by a
rookie. Hol­
lie Stewart
The Rest with Jen Hendershott, third last
year, moving up to second.
Hendershott, who looked her best
was the only
Columbus
Of the best ever in the physique rounds, took
first-timer to third in both, and aced both routine
break the top Tanji Johnson continued wig­ rounds. Despite the sentiments ex­
10. gling her way up the totem pole with a pressed above, I don’t have a prob­
fourth-place finish at the International. lem with her finish. These ladies are
Julie Palmer, who I thought had the so good, any one of them could win.
best physique in the bunch, picked Too bad about that difference in prize
up the fifth-place check, and Tracey money (see item on page 265).
Greenwood got the last of the top-six
places.
Julie Shipley-Childs had to
settle for seventh. That’s what hap­
pens when there are too many divas
onstage. Debbie Czempinski and
her Zorro routine took the number-eight
spot, ’06 Team Universe champ Hollie
Stewart landed in ninth, and Angela
Semsch was 10th, with Amy Villa Who
Nelson, Mindi O’Brien, Bethany says
Gainey and Amy Haddad rounding cat-suit
shots
out the lineup. aren’t
hot?

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 GOOD-BYES
Speaking of Jen Hendershott
Jenhen takes The first big news to drift my
her eighth way in Columbus came from the
Fitness I
bow above-named gal, who greeted me
and bids with a twinkle in her eye. “This is
adieu. going to be my last competition,”
she said.
Shut up, I replied.
No, she would not be onstage
for the Olympia in September, in­
sisted fitness’ reigning performance
artist, who moved with hubby
Brian Kinn to Charlotte, North
Carolina, from Columbus a year
or so ago. It’s time to start making
babies.
Hendershott, who is 35, wanted
to go out with a bang in her home­
town, and she succeeded. Dressed as a Girl Scout, she wheeled
a wagonload of cookies onstage and proceeded to pass them out
to the judges, shaking booty and body and thoroughly pleasing the
crowd at the Veterans with her trademark moves and grooves.
I can’t say I’m really shocked at Jen’s decision. In fact, I’ve kind
of been expecting it (and there’s another old interview favorite I
wouldn’t be surprised to hear making a similar statement soon).
Having won the Fitness International—and the Olympia—Hender­
shott has nothing to prove, and with her Phat Camps threaten­
ing to take over the fitness world, she’ll hardly be gone from the
scene.
Jen will be a motivating force in the industry for years to come—
you can take that to the bank. But those high-energy, high-con­
cept, choreographed-to-thrill routines—Who else could have won
the Olympia dressed as a banana?—will be sorely missed.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Cleveland Rocks!
stage again. As one gal who dropped a couple of plac­
If reading about the Colum­
bus festivities has you jonesing
for something to motivate your
spring shape-up, look no further
than 143 miles to the northeast:
PlanetPhysique.com’s Healthy
Lifestyle Weekend goes down at
Gray’s Armory in Cleveland on
June 9 and 10. Promoter Robert
Szarek has lined up a two-day
expo designed to knock your gym
socks off: “My goal is to have per­
formances going on all day and try
to make it a family event.” The fun
will include an NPC fitness contest
presented by Mari Kudla; a
performance by Tanji John­
son; the Danielle Rouleau Fit
Body contest; the “Posedown in
Tanji’s guest-posing routine C-Town,” with Frank Roberson
and “Save Fitness” seminar are and a slew of NPC and IFBB pos­
part of the Healthy Lifestyle ing artists, plus tons of exhibitors.
Weekend. “We had 50 booths last year and
expect 70 to 75 this time,” said Szarek. For the full rundown, visit
www.HealthyWeekend.com.
Free download from imbodybuilding.com
MORE COLUMBUS
Cash Concerns
Did someone say prize money?
I usually don’t go into the prize money at these shin­
digs because, where the women’s sports are concerned,
there’s not much to talk about. That makes the exception
of the International competitions worth mentioning. Even
as the women’s physique
sports grew to three, Arnold
Sports Festival promoters
Jim Lorimer and Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger
continued to support them
all. The Columbus shows are
invitationals, meaning all the
athletes’ expenses are paid
(16 men and 46 women this
year). The ladies get a royal
production at the Veterans
Memorial Auditorium on
Friday night, and the money
Silverman
prizes, although nowhere
near the $130,000 Victor
Martinez earned for win­ Mad money. Julie got
ning the Classic, are way three grand for taking
above the $3,000 picked fifth, the same as she
by the victor at the average earned for taking first at
the Palm Beach Pro last
women’s show. First-place fall.
checks at the International
are $25,000 each to the
bodybuilding and fitness winners and $12,000 to the
figure champ.
Could it be more? Absolutely, but women’s body­
building, fitness and figure competition are by definition
don’t-quit-your-day-job situations. On the other hand, it’s
a nice chunk of change a gal could get used to having;
so don’t be surprised if you see some high-on-the-phy­
sique-chain competitors not waiting until the O to hit the
ings from 2006 said after a reporter suggested she’d be
taking an Olympia qualification away from some young
hopeful, “Honey, I gotta make some money.”
What About Figure?
P&C coverage of two- More on
time Figure Interna­ M.E. next
tional champ Mary month.
Elizabeth Lado and the
rest of the quarter-turn­
ers continues in the July
issue, when IRON MAN
presents its eye-widen­
ing pictorial on women’s
night at the Arnold
Classic. In the mean­
time—if you haven’t
already—check out our
in-the-moment media-
blitz coverage of the
weekend in Columbus,
including video reports
and photo galleries, at
IronManMagazine.com
Silverman
and GraphicMuscle.com.
www.ironmanmagazine.com \ JUNE 2007 265
 Photography by Ruth Silverman
TALES FROM THE ARNOLD SPORTS FESTIVAL WEEKEND
Friends.
Who said
suitmak­
ers Cynthia
James and
Merry Chris­
tine are
never in the
same place
at the same
time? Care­
ful, ladies,
someone
seems to be
going after
both your
clients.
Questionabl
e trends. Su
hauser (top) sanne Nied
and Rosem er
the short-h ary Jennings
A hot dressing- aired route went
bottom of th and finishe
room shot? No e rankings. d at the Peak attraction.
Coincidenc
problem, says e? Mindi O hits a
Colette. personal best.

Even in
sweats,
Denise
Masino
brings a
touch of
elegance
to the
­
proceed
ings.
Welcome
back!
No truth to the rumor
that Betty has to be
Did somebody say
wound up before she rumor? Adela
and Tracey practic
does her Mike Mata­ e a not-so­
Cute Couplings razzo impression.
mixed pairs fitness
routine.

Nancy and Dina get a little anxious wait­

ing for their steaks at Morton’s. Watch it,
girls. This is how rumors get started.

Another
cute Co­
lumbus
couple.
Latisha
Wilder
Hometown honeys and
Speaking of rumors, here’s one
in the house. Briana hubby “True story,” says He
that proved to be true: Iris Kyle idi. “Adela
Tindall and Nick Sam. used to drive a sch
and John Sherman. ool bus!”
Hetterscheidt.

NPC Arnold Julie bills herself as Shipley-Childs these days. Not

Figure that she ever really intended to drop her maiden
champ name, but after a fan told her she was a dead ringer
Sara Flom for a ’90s fitness star named Julie Shipley—and what
and Stacy ever happened to her?—she thought it might be time
Cravens to make a statement.
threw
themselves You can contact
a surprise Ruth Silverman,
wedding
last De­ fitness reporter
cember, and Pump & Cir
inviting
Neveux

family and
cumstance scribe,
friends to in care of
an “en­ IRON MAN, 1701 Ives Ave.,
gagement
party.” Oxnard, CA 93033; or via e-mail at
Nice way to onwman@aol.com.
do it your
way, guys.

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

268 JUNE 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com
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 Austin’s Abby Marie Wolf
Packs a Feminine-Muscle Punch
Compiled by Jonathan Lawson Photography by Michael Neveux

Height: 5’6” - Age: 29 - Weight: 116

Hometown: Austin, Texas
Current residence: Austin—“The best city in Texas!”
Occupation: Medical equipment company owner for five

years and fitness and bikini model

Marital status: “Married to a very patient and supportive

man.”

Workout schedule: Five days a week—Sunday, legs; Tues­

day, chest; Wednesday, back; Thursday, shoulders; Friday,

arms

Sample bodypart workout (legs): Leg presses, 5 x 20;

squats, 5 x 12; leg curls supersetted with leg extensions, 4 x

12

Favorite foods: “Cereal—at least four kinds mixed in the

same bowl; Tri-O-Plex protein cookies, which are addictive;

Hair and makeup by Alexandra Almond

well-seasoned chicken breasts; sweet potatoes; and any­

thing sweet—especially carrot cake with a glass of milk.”

Factoid: “I have a three-year-old daughter, Kirsten Nicole

Wolf, who is the cutest kid in the world. I have a bachelor's

degree from Texas A&M. I was the floor exercise Texas State

champion in high school and a college gymnast. More re­

cently I was the ’05 NPC Texas State Fitness champion,

the ’05 INBF Alamo Classic Fitness champion and the ’06

Southwest Regional Fitness and Bikini America champion. I

took fifth in the ’06 Bikini America Championship.”

www.ironmanmagazine.com \ JUNE 2007 269

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 Building Hip and Lower-Back Strength
by Bill Starr • Photography by Michael Neveux
ery few The trouble is, few meet those
strength requirements. They cut off their
back squats, substituting partial
athletes’ or movements for full-range ones or
bodybuilders’ at most barely breaking parallel. All
routines in­ they re interested in is a legal squat
in regard to powerlifting rules.
clude specific exercise Many of those same lifters also start
for their hips. They fig­ their deadlifts with hips set high.
ure if they’re working They neglect specific exercises for
the lower back or use only light
their legs and lower weights. They shun front squats
backs, they’re also unless they do some Olympic
hitting their hips. lifting. As a result, their hips start
falling behind, and that s when
Not necessarily. If problems occur.
you’re going deep on The muscles and corresponding
back squats, doing attachments of the hips are
potentially the strongest in the
front squats, setting body. If they re not stimulated
your hips very low directly and with heavy
on your deadlifts weights, though, they become
disproportionately weaker than the
and high pulls and surrounding groups. What makes
handling heavy pound­ the hips even more important is
age on good mornings they re at the very center of the
body, and that s the source of all
or almost straight- strength development.
legged deadlifts, then
Model: Noel Thompson
Even if you re no longer trying
you’re indeed strength­ to see how much you can move
in the squat or deadlift, you still
ening your hips. need to maintain a certain level of
Free download from imbodybuilding.com
strength in your hips to perform
everyday tasks and keep them
from being injured. Should you
happen to be one of the million
people genetically disposed to
osteoarthritis, then it s even more
crucial that you pay close attention
to strengthening your hips.
Even though the hips can
be made extremely strong,
they re also quite complicated
and are susceptible to many
types of injuries, both large and
small—and a host of diseases,
such as rheumatoid arthritis and
osteoarthritis.
A couple of points that are often
misunderstood: Osteoarthritis
is not an inevitable part of the
aging process. It can be halted and
reversed if you catch it in time.
You sometimes hear that joint
deterioration happens because of
the stress placed on them during
strenuous physical activities, such
as weight training. Not true—just
the opposite. Studies have shown
that vigorous exercise enhances
joint integrity and is a useful
means of improving the health of
joints that are showing signs of
osteoarthritis.
www.ironmanmagazine.com \ JUNE 2007 283
 afternoon an older gentleman came
to see me just as I got to the Hopkins
weight room. He came to the athletic
center to swim and play squash
regularly, but his left hip was hurting
him so badly that he limped when he
walked and had trouble getting up
from a chair. He was dreadfully afraid
that he might have to have surgery
and was willing to try anything I
suggested.
I laid out a program. He came
in and worked out under my
supervision before the teams started
their programs. Naturally, he wasn’t
very strong, since he’d never weight-
trained before, but that proved to
be an advantage because he hadn’t
picked up any bad form habits. He
started out using only the Olympic
bar and, for the good mornings,
just a broomstick. As he learned
the technique on the lifts, I slowly
increased the resistance. He lifted
three days a week and swam six. He

Model: Mike Morris

agreed to curtail playing squash until
his hip got better.
Right away I saw that his lower
back was very weak, so I put lots
of lumbar work into his program.
Don’t shun front squats. They can do a lot to bring the Prior to lifting, he did situps and
hips and lower back into strength alignment. hyperextensions and after the
workout leg raises and reverse
hypers. I also had him come to the
weight room on his nonlifting days
I’m not, however, giving an you’re likely already doing, but I and do situps and hyperextensions
across-the-board endorsement of want to modify them just a bit so before he swam.
all forms of exercise. High-impact that they involve
aerobics, for example, should be your hips even
avoided. Sloppy form, which jars the more. They should
hips, is also harmful. Whenever any be most useful
exercise continually traumatizes your to someone who
hips, knees or shoulders, you need is experiencing
to eliminate it from your routine a slight hip pain
because it’s doing more harm than that’s not severe
good. enough to visit
Here’s why the hip is a complicated a doctor. Even
joint. It’s formed of bone, of course, though it doesn’t
and safeguarded by 22 muscles, not hurt terribly, you
including the lower abs and lumbars, know something
which are also connected to the hips isn’t quite right.
and play a major role in stabilizing I’ve given the
them. There are six flexors, four program to a
extensors, two abductors, four number of athletes,
adductors and six outward rotators, and they were
plus all the tendons and ligaments able to remedy
that add support to the structure. An the problem
Model: Idrise Ward-El

amazing piece of work. completely in a

I’m going to list some things you couple of months.
can do to maintain the health of That may seem
your hips, but first I want to deal like a long time,
with exercises that can help you but consider the
to strengthen them. Most of them alternative. One Good mornings may be difficult, but they’re
one of the most productive moves in strength
284 JUNE 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com training.
Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Regular deadlifts can do a lot for core strength. And because
the exercise trains so many muscles at once, it has tremendous
metabolic-stimulating powers.
When you’re setting up your program to
improve hips and lower-back strength, be
sure you give your abs plenty of attention.
There should be something for the upper
and lower abs and the obliques. True,
your midsection isn’t formed by two
separate planes but rather is a continuous
girdle of muscle. So you need to work all
parts—front, back and sides—in order to
maintain proportionate strength.
286 JUNE 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com
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two recommendations I gave him
were equally important. We’ll get
to them, but I want to stay with the
exercises for now.
The reason I like wide-stance
squats and deadlifts is that they work
the hips more than when you do
them with a closer foot placement.
In order for them to be effective,
however, you really must go low on
the squat and set your hips extra low
before you pull on the deadlift. If
you can’t go low with a wide stance,
use your normal stance and try to sit
on your heels. Also, whenever you
employ a wide stance, you activate
your adductors to a greater extent,
and they’re most valuable to leg and
hip strength.
When starting out on wide-stance
squats, stay with higher reps until
you get the feel of the different
movement. How wide? As wide
as you can set your feet and still
maintain your balance when you go
low. The key to making the lift work
Model: Chris Cook
for you is locking your back tight and
keeping your torso erect throughout
the up-and-down motion: no
leaning whatsoever. When you think
you’ve gone just as low as you can,
squeeze down another inch; then
another.
Four sets of 20 will give you plenty
of work. That final set should be
Here’s the workout tough. After a few weeks doing 20s,
I gave him: Monday, you can reduce the reps to five and
deep squats and low add a few extra sets. That will enable
deadlifts; Wednesday, you to use more weight and thus
wide squats and increase your hip and leg strength.
good mornings; In the event you’re not bothered
Friday, deep squats by any sort of hip problem but still
and sumo, or wide- want to work them just for a bit of
stance, deadlifts. insurance, do wide-stance squats as
Occasionally. I your back-off set or sets after your
substituted almost regular squat workout.
straight-legged Sumo deadlifts also activate the
deadlifts for various muscles and attachments of
good mornings the hips in a fashion slightly different
and hack lifts for from conventional deadlifts. So
deadlifts. Once he they’re quite useful for building
got comfortable strength in those joints. Be sure to
with wide-stance set your hips extra low at the start,
squats, he did them and don’t let them rise too fast. The
exclusively. bar and your hips should elevate
By the third week at the same rate. Concentrate on
he’d stopped limping, squeezing your hips down as the
and after a month bar breaks off the floor. It will take
he was pain free. a bit of trial and error to determine
While the strength exactly where to place your feet and
work certainly played grip the bar, but it’s a simple exercise
a major role in his to learn. I like to alternate these set-
recovery, the other and-rep formulas: four sets of eight;
five sets of five; three sets of five
followed by three sets of three.
I also use regular-stance deadlifts
for improving hip strength, but with
a twist. Do the exercise with 25­
pound plates and, again, position
your hips extra low at the start.
That makes them do more work
at the start than when you use 45­
pound plates. Get in the low starting
position, tighten all the muscles of
your body, and think about driving
your feet down through the floor. If
you think about pulling on the bar,
your hips will tend to come up too
rapidly, and the exercise resembles
an almost straight-legged deadlift.
Be sure to lower the bar in the
same way—lowering your hips as
you lower the bar. Change the sets
and reps as suggested for the sumo
deadlifts.
Another excellent hip exercise
that was part of almost every
strength routine when I first started
training is the hack lift. It’s also

Model: Daryl Gee

called the straddle lift, and for good
reason: You straddle the bar. While
it will take a bit of practice to figure
out where to place your feet and
where to grip the bar, the hack lift When starting out on wide-stance squats, stay with higher reps
is easy to master. It works your hips until you get the feel of the movement. Go as wide as you can
in unique ways. Your upper body and still maintain your balance when you go low.
must stay erect from start to finish.
Change your hand placement on
every set. If you place your rightthat position on the following set. many neglect their lumbars is that
hand in front of your body on the Lift and lower the bar in a smooth, when done correctly, lower-back
first set, move your left hand to rhythmic stroke, and never rebound exercises are very demanding. Good
the plates off the mornings may be the most difficult
floor. The lower you exercise in strength training, but
set your hips at the they’re also the most productive.
start, the more you Using token weight on specific
involve them. Use lower-back movements just doesn’t
the same rotation get the job done, and when the
of sets and reps, lumbars lag behind strengthwise,
changing them at the weakness affects the hips.
every workout. Whenever people complain to
I’ve found me about hip pain, I check out their
that, as with my program to see how much work
older gentleman, they’re doing for the lower back.
pain in the hip is Invariably, it’s severely lacking.
frequently caused Once they increase their overall
by a weakness in workload on lumbars, the hip pain
the lower back. disappears. The increase is achieved
That’s almost always gradually. It’s not prudent to attack
because the person any muscle group that’s obviously
isn’t doing any deficient.
specific exercise I have them do hypers prior to
to strengthen his lifting and reverse hypers to finish
The muscles and corresponding lumbars, or if he is, off the workout. Start out with 20
attachments of the hips are potentially the he isn’t handling reps on both, and steadily add a
strongest in the body. enough weight. couple of reps at each session until
The main reason so you reach 50. Also do one or both

www.ironmanmagazine.com \ JUNE 2007 287

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 on your nonlifting days. It isn’t
that hard to figure out a way to do
them at home. I’ve done reverses
on kitchen counters and hypers on
a small table with my feet locked
under my desk.
Those exercises are useful in
helping to expand your base, but
you’ll need to do one core exercise
for your lower back in order to get it
strong. While I think good mornings
are the most beneficial, almost
straight-legged deadlifts are good
too. Neither, however, will bring
the result you’re seeking unless you
work them hard and heavy. The key
form points for good mornings are
1) once you break your knees at
the start, don’t allow them to bend
any further, and 2) the lower you
go, the more muscles you activate.

Model: Moe Elmoussawi

You can do them with a flat back,
rounded back or while seated. It
doesn’t matter where you start,
only where you end up. My older
gentleman, who used a broomstick
at his first two workouts, was doing
them with 100 pounds by the end Use hypers prior to lifting and reverse hypers to finish off the
of a month’s training. Your eventual workout. Start with 20 reps on each, and steadily add a couple
goal is to handle 50 percent of what of reps at each session until you reach 50.
you’re squatting for eight to 10 reps.
Someone who squats 300 pounds
should be doing eight to 10 reps Unlocking your knees doesn’t affect the two lower-back exercises suits
on good mornings with at least 150 the benefits of the exercise at all and them better than doing either one
pounds. greatly reduces the risk of pulling exclusively. I use the same set-and­
Many prefer almost straight- your hamstring. That applies to rep sequence for both: five sets of
legged deadlifts over good mornings hyperextensions as well. eight at one workout and four sets of
because they think they’re Keep in mind that whenever 10 at the next. Although that might
easier—not true if they’re done you’re working your lumbars, you’re not seem like much of a change, it is.
right. They’re very demanding. Use also strengthening
straps, and don’t stand on a bench your hamstrings—
or block. You can get the same yet another
benefits by using 25-pound plates reason to include
and standing on the floor. When you specific lower-back
stand on a bench, you have to deal exercises in your
with balance, and there’s a risk of hip-strengthening
dropping the bar across the bench. routine. The
I’ve seen it happen several times, hamstrings are
and it didn’t make the gym owner crucial to the
happy at all. health of the hips.
The most important thing to My guideline for
know about that exercise is you almost straight-
must bend your knees slightly. I legged deadlifts
realize that it’s generally called is to use three-
the stiff-legged or straight-legged fourths of your
deadlift and that nearly every photo best squat weight
in fitness magazines shows the for eight to 10 reps.
model doing them with his or her Our 300-pound
legs locked. Well, that’s incorrect squatter should
form. Whenever you’re working your aim for 200 for
lower back directly, you need to eight to 10 reps.
unlock your knees. Otherwise you’re Some find
placing your hamstrings in jeopardy. that alternating Vitamin C and manganese increase the joint-
support formula of chondroitin and glucosamine.
288 JUNE 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com
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 his bad hip healthy were 1) find a
competent chiropractor and 2) go to
a health food store and buy vitamin
C, multimineral supplements,
chondroitin and glucosamine
(making sure the latter two were
sulfates).
By competent, I mean a
chiropractor who knows how
to work on muscular people.
Regardless of what those in the
profession declare, some are
definitely more capable than others.
So don’t look for a chiropractor
in the Yellow Pages. Instead, ask
around in the athletic community
before making your selection.
The strength work you’re doing
in the weight room for your hips
and lower back will be much more
productive if your back in aligned
properly. Alignment, however, is
not enough to solve the problem.
If your back muscles remain weak,
they’ll be unable to hold the spine
in place as the vertebrae move out

Model: Ray Campisi

of alignment when placed under
stress. So you need both strength
work and alignment.
Chondroitin and glucosamine
The hip is formed of bone, of course, and safeguarded by 22 have a terrific success rate in
muscles, not including the lower abs and lumbars, which are halting osteoarthritis, if you
also connected to the hips. catch the problem early enough.
Obviously, if the cartilage in your

In addition to strengthening
the muscles and attachments
responsible for keeping your hips
stable, you can do other things to
help ensure that the joints stay
healthy as you grow older. While
genetics may finally win out, you
can prolong it as long as possible
and not succumb without a fight.
Avoid high-impact activities, such
as running. Studies have shown
that walking can bring you the
same benefits as running without
the pounding to your back, hips,
and knees. Walking at a brisk pace
for 12 miles a week helps improve
cardiovascular and respiratory
fitness, control bodyweight, reduce
cholesterol levels, enhance the
health of your heart and lower the
risk of many types of cancer. Sounds
good to me. Other useful, low-
impact aerobic activities include
biking, rowing and, maybe best of
all, swimming.
By the way, the two additional
recommendations I made to my Sumo deadlifts activate the various muscles and attachments
older gentleman (he was 72) to get of the hips in a fashion slightly different from conventional
deadlifts.
290 JUNE 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com
Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Walk, don’t run. Studies show that walking can bring you the
same benefits as running without the pounding to your back,
hips and knees.
hips is completely worn away,
no supplement is going to help.
If the problem is slight, though,
those substances help build new
cartilage as well as the ends of the
bones where cartilage is attached,
the capsules surrounding the joints
and the muscles adjacent to the
joints. Take 1,200 milligrams of
chondroitin three times a day and
1,500 milligrams of glucosamine
every day.
Vitamin C and manganese
increase the effectiveness of
chondroitin and glucosamine.
Water-soluble, both vitamin C
and manganese are antioxidants
and assist the immune system
in destroying joint-damaging
free radicals. Manganese plays
a key role in the synthesis of
cartilage, so it needs to be taken
regularly. Take five grams of C
daily, and every time you do, take a
multimineral tablet as well. I think
taking minerals in a mixed form
rather than separately is a good
idea because of mineral synergy
in the body. Just make sure your
multimineral has an adequate
amount of manganese in it.
Free download from imbodybuilding.com
Models: Adrian Janicke and Amy Lynn
Another product, ASU, has been
used successfully for the treatment
of osteoarthritis in France since
the early ’90s, but it’s only recently
become available in the United
States. It’s derived from avocado
and soybean oils and works well
with chondroitin and glucosamine.
It may be hard to find. If you do,
take 300 milligrams a day. To
learn more about taking care of
your joints, read The Arthritis
Cure by Dr. Jason Theodosakis
(St. Martin’s). It’s changed the way
people deal with joint pain and
osteoarthritis.
Even though your hips feel
strong and healthy, it’s a smart idea
to include specific exercises for
them in your strength program.
You may be able to avoid future hip
problems by taking the nutritional
supplements I mentioned. An
ounce of prevention.…
Editor’s note: Bill Starr was a
strength and conditioning coach
at Johns Hopkins University from
1989 to 2000. He’s the author of The
Strongest Shall Survive and Defying
Gravity. IM
 Mind
Mind

Pick Your Personality Is it time to re-create yourself?

IRONMIND

G
o into any gym and you’ll see people who attack their The truth is, the so-called permanent personality character­
workouts. They don’t coast through the tough exercis­ istics are extremely malleable; they can usually change with the
es. They make each set count. They have an air about social situation we’re in. That means you can change who you
them—they expect to succeed. You can almost feel it. It’s the are and become what you want.
same outside the gym, too, and other people can’t help but Before we touch on how to make the changes you want,
notice it. They describe such people as winners, attributing all let’s take a minute to explore just how flexible our personalities
manner of good things to them and summing it up by saying are. We’ll begin by considering the importance of the social
that they have terrific personalities. situation in determining how we think and act.
You know the other side of this story: the people who lose Twenty-some years ago Stanford research psychologist Phil
at everything they try; the people for whom failure seems to Zimbardo and his colleagues recruited students and randomly
be a required result no matter what they are doing—building assigned them to be either prisoners or guards in a study.
biceps, taking a test, handling a job. It’s always the same, and Conditions were as realistic as could be managed, from the
it isn’t good. Once again, others notice and write those people time the students were “arrested” by the local police to their
off as chronic losers. incarceration in cells. Very quickly, the stereotypical relation­
ships and behaviors of prisoners vs. guards developed. The
prisoners became passive and depressed, while the guards
became aggressive and abusive. The first prisoner had to be
released in less than a day and a half due to his uncontrollable
crying, disorganized thinking, fits of rage and so forth. It wasn’t
pretty. Things became so strained that what originally had been
planned as a two-week experiment had to be terminated after
six days. Remember, only random assignment determined who
was a prisoner and who was a guard.
Not so startling but just as telling was a body of psychologi­
cal research demonstrating that, lo and behold, people weren’t
as consistent as you might think from one situation to another.
They might be honest here, dishonest there and somewhere
in the middle in a third situation. That posed a big problem for
classic personality theories that would have us expect people
to behave very predictably across a variety of settings. Now it
was clear that particular situations influence a person’s behavior
in a very particular way.
The moral of the story is that you might think you’re destined
to waste away as a wanna-be or a wallflower, but you really
don’t have to. You can re-create yourself in whatever image you
Neveux \ Models: Clark Bartram and Michael O’Hearn

want, Viking warrior, Amazon queen or anything in between.

Less dramatic but more to the point, you don’t have to be the
person who misses workouts, makes a halfhearted effort when
in the gym and always finds the best reasons for not sticking
with a program. You can be a winner.
The first step in your transformation is to pick the type of
personality you want to have. In our example you’d want to be
someone who isn’t just enthusiastic about training when he’s
lying on a couch watching his favorite muscle video. You’d
want to be the type of person whose deep-rooted enthusiasm
motivates and sustains each workout. You look forward to
training and can’t wait to get started. You can’t wait to get to

Free download from imbodybuilding.com

Body
Body

your heavy sets, and you welcome the chance to set a

new personal record, no matter how hard the required
effort or how small the step forward. After training, it’s
natural to get the nutrition and rest required for optimum
recovery and progress. You’re brimming with energy, and
Hormones

Laugh Ends With GH

it seems as if the harder you train, the harder you want to

I
train. It’s great—you’ve become a self-sustaining training n a new study
machine. volunteers who an-
To reach that state, you need to cultivate the right ticipated watching
thoughts and behaviors. Gone are the people who tell you a funny movie had 27
that lifting weights is a waste of time. Gone are the people percent more endor­
who tell you that you’re genetically suited to be a wimp. phins and 87 percent
Gone are the people who say that they never built more more human growth

Neveux \ Model: David Yeung

than a 16-inch arm, so why should you expect any more? hormone. Both of
Gone are the people who always say “no,” “can’t” and those substances
“never.” Gone are the thoughts of everything that could enhance the immune
possibly go wrong along the way. Gone are the late-night system, and GH can
binges that cripple the next day’s training. Gone is the help boost fat burning
junk food that can undo your best efforts in the gym. and muscle growth
In their place are the elements you need to build the [Bottom Line Health,
successful you. Here are the people who always believe March ’07]. —Becky Holman
that you can do what you dream about. Here are the www.X-tremeLean.com
people who are in charge of their own lives. Here are
the people who like to challenge themselves and never
settle for yesterday’s best. Here are the people who do
the things that others said were impossible. Here are the
thoughts of how to make the next step forward. Here is Mental Health
the discipline to eat, sleep and think in a way that almost
guarantees progress.
As you can see, building a winning personality isn’t just
Flax or Fishin’ For omega-3s
a bunch of emotional cheerleading or fanciful visualiza­

Y
tion—it’s serious work. Along the way you have to keep ou may know that omega-3
your eyes and ears open, trying to learn things that will fatty acids are good for your
help you reach your goal. You have to keep your sleeves heart and can even relieve
rolled up to do the work that will get you there. It’s a chal­ depression, but are you eating
lenge, but look at what you stand to gain. more fish? If not, you may want to
It’s your choice, winner or loser: Pick your personality. consider flaxseed. Two tablespoons
—Randall Strossen, Ph.D. of ground flaxseed provides 1,000
milligrams of omega-3s—and only
Editor’s note: Randall Strossen, Ph.D., edits the 25 calories. You can get the same
quarterly magazine MILO. He’s also the author of Iron- amount of omega-3s in two ounces
Mind: Stronger Minds, Stronger Bodies; Super Squats: of cooked salmon, but that has a
How to Gain 30 Pounds of Muscle in 6 Weeks and Paul little over 100 calories, not to men­
Anderson: The Mightiest Minister. For more information tion a fishy taste. You may want to
call IronMind Enterprises Inc. at (530) 265-6725 or Home try adding ground flaxseed or flaxseed oil to your protein
Gym Warehouse at (800) 447-0008, ext. 1. Visit the Iron- drinks to get more of those important omega-3 fats.
Mind Web site at www.IronMind.com. —Becky Holman
www.X-tremeLean.com

www.ironmanmagazine.com \ JUNE 2007 293

Free download from imbodybuilding.com
 Bomber Blast
Lost-and-Found Department
S
ome folks col­
lect rare coins,
stamps or an­
tique cars—precious,
impressive and a joy
to the owner. The
fascinating items are
appropriately stored in
safe places and ad­
mired by enthusiasts
on special occasions.
Sometimes they’re
traded or sold for large
sums of money.
I collect old forgot-
ten facts and similar
abstract collectibles
relative to exercise
and fitness (I also have
a garage full of rusty
scrap metal). They’re
valuable yet don’t cost a dime. People
seek them as precious gold nuggets, yet
I find them in plain sight on any gym floor.
Once found, they are not stored under
lock and key; they are applied and utilized
regularly. And I don’t trade them or sell
them for large sums of money; I give them
away to anyone who can use them.
Not a week goes by at the gym that
I’m not reminded of an effective exercise,
exaggerations (lies) to effect the
training technique or nutritional truth that has slipped through
growth of healthy muscle and might. Watch closely.
the ever-widening cracks in my mind. For example...
The slumpbuster is standing barbell curls supersetted with
I’m watching a couple of nerd-types (I’m not a prejudiced
person; some of my best friends are nerds) out of the corner
of my eye as I carefully make my workout preparations. One’s
wearing Bermuda shorts and knee-high socks and a spiffy
HappySoftware.com T-shirt, the other’s in a puffy gray sweat­
shirt and sweatpants and new Reeboks, and they both wear
iPods and carry cell phones, calculators, clipboards and tim­
ers. Goofy and Goofus.
Now get this. Goofy takes the lead, closely followed by
Goofus, and commences a series of exercises—one after the
other—with little more than 15-second pauses. The string of
exercises at first glance appears to be a calamity of random­
ness typical of new lifters, but further scrutiny reveals that the
routine demonstrates advanced formation: five upper-body
movements in a thoughtful and complementary cycle—incline
dumbbell presses (chest and shoulders), straight-arm pullovers
(two hands, one dumbbell—lats), lateral raises (shoulders), in­
cline curls (biceps), overhead triceps presses (two hands, one
dumbbell—triceps). They complete three cycles of five sets of
six reps with weights that make them work hard.
Who are these guys?
That workout MO has been in the closet for a generation.
Where and when did this unlikely pair uncover the lost, forgot­
ten alternative muscle-building technique? Apparently, they’ve
been paying attention.
Going through a sack of bodybuilding tricks can be frus­
trating, but often riches unfold. The familiar gym bag with its
294 JUNE 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com
Free download from imbodybuilding.com
MIND/BODY
clutter of things only you risk touching—battered
water bottle, frayed wraps, chalky towel, sticky loose
change, squashed MRPs, smeared phone numbers
on Post-its and business cards, and that brown
paper sack of training tricks ’n’ treats—tells the story
of a long, arduous and worthy journey. The know­
ing and persistence with which you approach your
dilemma defines a responsible, purposeful individual.
Each step, sure or uncertain, takes you forward and
makes you more, better, tougher and smarter. You’re
a creator, an innovator, an improviser, a battler. You
Neveux \ Model: Sagi Kalev
are dauntless.
Ah-ha! What’s this? A dusty, retired slumpbuster
created to blast the arms and spirits out of their stinky
socks. Had you not paused to refresh yourself with a
tug on the ole flask of gratitude, you might have en-
tertained frustration and displeasure, doubt and sur-
render. Unlikely, really. That’s the
course of a loser, and a loser
doesn’t know a good slump-
buster from a ham-and-cheese
sandwich. You’re a bomber.
The bi-tri slumpbuster is nei-
Neveux \ Model: Jose Raymond
ther retired nor old, but another
dirty trick to remind you of my
favorite builder of big guns, or,
in the case of gals and fitness
rascals, developer of strong and
shapely arms. I resort to tricks,
smoke and mirrors and teensy
lying barbell extensions. I like five sets with reps ranging from
10 to six for bi’s and 12 to eight for tri’s. The mass, density,
shape and strength of the arms and assisting muscles improve
in proportion to the maximum-muscle intensity applied—each
set, every rep. Work equals improvement.
Remember, intensity is relative. I work harder today—fo­
cusing, exerting, forging and burning—than I did 10, 20, 30
and 40 years ago. I move a fraction of the weight with less
freedom, I search for an agreeable groove to facilitate muscle
engagement with solid effort and I use a frazzled elastic wrap
where and when necessary, but I blast it. With one eye on risk
and both eyes on the goal, I get what I can while I can. See
my crooked mouth? That’s a smile.
Whadaya know...the end of the runway. I have one ole
battered body to get this tin can off the ground and high in the
sky before it’s too late. That and a
lot of heart is all it takes.
—Dave Draper
Editor’s note: For more from
Dave Draper, visit his Web site,
www.DaveDraper.com, and sign
up for his free newsletter. You can
also check out his amazing Top
Squat training tool, classic photos,
workout Q&A and forum.
News
VPX Sports Awards $50,000

V
PX is proud to announce team
“Fat 2 Fit” as the winners of
the $50,000 Zero Impact Chal­
lenge. After 12 weeks of dieting and
training while following Zero Impact
diet principles and taking VPX prod­
ucts, such as Redline, the members
of team Fat 2 Fit set a new fat-loss
record by losing a combined 189.6
pounds of bodyfat. You can learn
more about their astonishing transfor­
mation by going to www.zidiet.com.
The team Fat 2 Fit members are
now $50,000 richer for their accom­
plishment. Moreover, the team will be
featured in ads in all the top fitness
and bodybuilding publications. Imag­
ine, $50,000 and massive exposure
to celebrate this amazing fat-loss
record. Congratulations once again to
team Fat 2 Fit.
What’s next? How about a $75,000 grand prize!
That’s right, the next Zero Impact contest will have a $75,000 grand prize,
and preregistration has already begun. You can preregister online at
www.zidiet.com. In the following weeks we’ll have everything together for you
to officially enter the next contest, which begins June 28, 2007.
Preregister today. You could be the next Zero Impact Challenge winner!

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P
lasmavol, bodybuilding’s first blood plasma expander, from NxLabs can
help you reach a professional level of vascularity in a matter of hours.
All it takes is squirting a serving of this one-of-a-kind liquid formula into
a glass of water. Before you
know it, your veins will start
popping like the Fourth of
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 Gallery of Ironmen MIND/BODY

Sergei Ivanovich Eliseev

E
arly-20th-century Russia was
a volatile place where the
czar ruled with an iron fist and
revolutionaries strove to overthrow
him. One of those rebellious fighters
was a mighty athlete who challenged
authority and demonstrated that
strength of muscle and strength of
character are sometimes united in
the same person. The young man’s
name was Sergei Ivanovich Eliseev,
and he was one of the most powerful
lifters ever to emerge from the heart
of Mother Russia.
Eliseev was born in 1876 in Ufa,
a city in the remote southern Ural
Mountains. He was a strong youth
and a champion wrestler from an
early age. In April 1898 he went to
St. Petersburg, where he began his
lifting career under the sponsorship
of Vladislav Krajewski (Gallery of
Ironmen, May ’05). There he learned win an international gold medal for his
the finer points of weightlifting from country.
the growing community of athletes Although he continued to compete
who were active there. His progress occasionally as an amateur in national
was so dramatic that he was sent to and international contests, Eliseev
Italy in 1899 to the World Weightlift­ left St. Petersburg and returned to
ing Championships. The newcomer Ufa, where he found work as a met­
surprised almost everyone by taking alworker at a locomotive repair shop.
top honors at the competition, thus In addition to lifting, Sergei Ivanovich
becoming the first Russian ever to was politically active, and when a
revolution broke out in 1905, the ath­
lete was in the thick of things.
He came to the attention of
the czarist secret police often
enough to earn a code name
in the official records. He was
known as “the Athlete.”
Eventually, he was exiled
to Siberia, and two years after
the Communist revolution of
1917 he settled in the city of
Tomsk, located on the Trans-
Siberian Railroad. Eliseev held
a variety of jobs, but despite
the poverty and hardships that
beset almost everyone in the
Soviet Union at that time, he
continued to work out and to
coach others in weightlifting.
Lon \ Photo courtesy of the David Chapman collection

Although the facts of his death

are not entirely clear, it seems
that the outspoken Russian
lifter was liquidated in 1939 in
the infamous Stalinist purge
of “troublemakers.” Tragically,
Eliseev had survived one tyran­
nical regime only to fall victim
to another.
—David Chapman

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 New Stuff MIND/BODY

Use Your Stress To fuel your success

I
n so many people’s lives, stress effectiveness
has become a life-robbing nega­ and measur­
tive; it’s intense, even overbearing, able personal
for prolonged periods of time. Actual­ advance. It’s
ly, millions have allowed it to become a 12-chapter
intense, overbearing and prolonged. 112-page
Don’t be one of them. You can e-book.
change your perspective and begin Unlike any
using stress as motivation to produce personal-
incredible life improvements. growth book
For 27 years Pete Siegel, through you’ve ever
hundreds of published articles and read or used
interviews, radio segments, TV ap­ before, Using
pearances, book and CD sales, Your Stress
seminars, classes and, more recently, to Fuel Your
podcasts and e-articles, has helped Success! presents unique and prov­
millions worldwide overcome nega­ en concepts. Siegel has taken all the
tives in their lives and then go on to guesswork out for you. Just read and
experience remarkable levels of apply the book’s step-by-step, easy­
personal growth and success (es­ to-understand chapters, and you’ll
pecially in the areas of performance begin to deliberately use your stress
enhancement and personal income). and stress factors to richly enhance
His new, groundbreaking work Using your life—in esteem-building, power-
Your Stress to Fuel Your Success! magnifying, growth-commanding
has cracked the code for conquering ways you never even considered.
(not just managing but conquering) For more information about Using
the unsettling effects of stress—in a Your Stress to Fuel Your Success!,
way that leads to truly enhanced per­ visit www.IncredibleChange.com.
sonal vitality, emotional strength, life

New Stuff

Carb-Conscious Bar
T
he Supreme Protein bar, long a favorite among serious athletes, will soon be
available at 7-Eleven and Vitamin Shoppe stores. That merchandising move
marks a radical change in sales strategy for Supreme Protein maker Pro-
Source, which has always been content to restrict sales of its gourmet protein bar
to its own Web site and exclusive catalog.
Why the change of heart? It seems ProSource and the national retail chains have
been inundated with thousands of requests from customers who simply couldn’t
understand why their favorite bar wasn’t available in convenience stores (like so
many other bars that, frankly, lack Supreme Protein’s premier protein content and
great taste).
The Supreme
Protein bar is
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its outrageously
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isolate, it is the undisputed industry leader in protein content. That makes it a far
cry from most competing bars, which contain large amounts of useless gelatin. It
contains healthful fats, including flaxseed oil, and a full spectrum of vitamins and
minerals. The Supreme bar also has only six net carbs, low sugar and zero trans fat.
Of course, those of you who have long preferred to deal with ProSource directly
can still get your favorite bodybuilding snack by going to www.Prosource.net or
calling up its industry-leading customer service team at (800) 310-1555.

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 Physique Flaws MIND/BODY

The Perfect Body?

R
ecently, someone asked me what constitutes the
“perfect” body. I was somewhat taken aback, as
I don’t think perfection is possible. Even if it were,
wouldn’t perfection be different for each one of us? So
here’s how I answered:
When discussing the look of a bodybuilder’s physique,
we normally mention symmetry first. Basically, that means
both sides of the body are equal in size and shape. Is it
possible to achieve this? Yes, visually pretty much, al­
though everyone has slight variations on each side in terms
of size (sometimes up to an inch or so on a tape measure),
as well as in the shape of each muscle group. You don’t
need perfect symmetry, however, to be successful as a
bodybuilder. Jay Cutler proves that every year; one of his
thighs looks bigger than the other, and he’s the number-
one pro in the world.
Another important aspect of the equation is propor­
tion, which means that every bodypart is in balance with
the others. While people have come up with formulas to
describe perfect proportions, few people actually fit that constitute the perfect body for me might not be what you
measure. Proportion is more of a visual experience, in that feel is perfection. Some feel that the freakiness of Markus
it is easy to see when someone’s arms look too big for his Rühl defines perfection, while others feel it’s Flex Wheeler
chest (sorry, Lee Priest), or someone’s thighs are too small or Shawn Ray. Still others look at all IFBB pros as being
in relation to the upper body, or one’s shoulders dominate entirely too large for their bone structures and appreciate
the chest or arms. guys more along the lines of Steve Reeves or Reg Park.
Accordingly, “perfection” comes down to trying to make You need to look in the mirror and decide for yourself
sure that your physique is symmetrical and proportionate. what perfection is. Nobody has your exact structure, in­
In bodybuilding we also look for the best V-taper possible, sertions and shapes, so you must look to simply make
which means a wide back and shoulders coupled with a yourself the best you can be in your eyes—especially if
small waist. Take that further and you have the X-frame, you don’t plan to step onstage in front of judges. In other
which includes thighs that sweep nicely out to the sides, words, you need to be your own judge.
from the hip to the knee. —Eric Broser
But remember: Bodybuilding is subjective. What might www.PRRSTraining.com

New Stuff Sleep

Edge Active Care Sound for Shut-eye

S
C Johnson has created the first

I
ntermittent sounds during the night can disrupt your
premium shave preps with the sleep, which can lead to less growth hormone release
launch of Edge Active Care, a line and muscle repair. According to Thomas Roth, Ph.D.,
of products that deliver a great shave director of the Sleep Disorders and Research Center at
and good skin care. Each of the new Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, “It’s the inconsistency
shave preps specifically addresses a of the sound or silence that’s disruptive.” Fans or other
man’s unique needs while providing a white-noise devices produce steady sound that can
superior shaving experience with unsur­ block out noises that can disrupt sleep. If you’re having
passed protection from the razor’s edge. trouble staying asleep, white noise may do the trick.
Edge Active Care shave preps are all —Becky Holman
dermatologist-tested, and the creams
sit close to the skin to give you a close,
comfortable shave.
Look for Deep-Hydrating Shave
Cream, Deep-Cleansing Shave Cream,
Revitalizing Shave Cream and Therapy
Shave Gel. The Edge Active Care shave preps are all
enhanced by exfoliants, cleansers and vitamins to leave
the skin nourished, soft, smooth and comfortable.
For more information visit www.EdgeActiveCare.com.

300 JUNE 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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Graphic Muscle Stars / GraphicMuscle.com

Meriza Goncalves
Weight: 96 pounds contest; 100
pounds off-season
Height: almost 5’
Years training: Six
Residence: San Diego
Favorite foods: Sushi (healthful);
cheesecake, In-N-Out Burgers
(cheat)
Web site: MerizaFigure.com
e
of Pete Ciccon
Photo courtesy

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 Readers Write

Delightful Di Nino Mentis the Man

I’ve always been a big
fan of IRON MAN. I like
the fact that many of the
bodybuilders featured are
in their 40s or above. Last
March you did an article on
one of them, Jimmy Mentis.
After checking out his nu­
trition ideas and workout
programs on his Web site,
I decided to write to him
with some questions. To
my surprise, he responded
immediately. He even gave
me a great workout pro­
gram and nutrition guide to
follow and told me he’d be
at the Arnold Classic pro­
moting his new supplement

Neveux
line. I went, and it was an Jimmy Mentis.
honor to meet him and his
wife, Suzie. To this day he checks up on me via e-mail and
makes sure I’m leading a healthy lifestyle. At 46 years old, I
need that. I am amazed that he took so much time to help
me out. He’s changed my life.
Brian Clerici
Nancy Beaver Falls, PA
Neveux

Di Nino.
Editor’s note: For more on Jimmy Mentis, click your
way to www.JimmyMentis.com.
Nancy Di Nino [IRON MAN Hardbody, April ’07] is so-o-o
hot—fiery red hair, just the right amount of muscle and an
exotic, angular face that is very sexy. I was blown away when
I realized she’s a correctional officer in a men’s jail. Lock me
Packin’ on Muscle
up—please! Just wanted to drop you a note and let you know how
Sam Frutousky well my workout routine is going with the Phase 1 Mass F/X
via Internet Program from the e-book 3D
Muscle Building. I decided
Walkin’ and Talkin’ to use that program for 10
weeks, and I’m now entering
I am impressed that so many of IRON MAN’s writers talk week six. The results have
the talk and walk the walk. John Hansen, Steve Holman, been outstanding. Since the
Jonathan Lawson and now Eric Broser—these men have start of the program, I’ve
drug-free physiques that I can aspire to. I’ve enjoyed read­ put on about five pounds of
ing Train, Eat, Grow and how Holman and Lawson are using solid muscle, only about one
Broser’s Power/Rep Range/Shock method along with their pound of fat and 4.5 pounds
own POF and X Reps. Very interesting, and it was good to of “lean body mass”—which
see a big photo of Broser in the latest installment [April ’07]. to me means intercellular
You guys keep it real to keep me training real hard. water weight. A big thank-you
Cesar Martinez for such an outstanding mass-
Oakland, CA building routine!
C.J.
via Internet

Editor’s note: For more information on 3D Positions of

Flexion and X-Rep training, visit www.3DMuscleBuilding
.com and www.X-Rep.com.
Muscle-Training Program 90 Vol. 66, No. 6: IRON MAN (ISSN #0047-1496) is published monthly by IRON MAN Pub­
From the IRONMAN Training & Research Center
by Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson • Photography by Michael Neveux lishing, 1701 Ives Ave., Oxnard, CA 93033. Periodical Mail is paid at Oxnard, CA, and at
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